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.

_September 7th, 1845._--A complete absence of events, till a few days

ago, when after a very short illness Lord Spencer died at his house

near Doncaster. My own acquaintance with him was not intimate, but I

had a great respect and esteem for him, and no man ever died with a

fairer character, or more generally regretted. In his county he was

exceedingly beloved and respected, not less by those who differed from

him, than those who agreed with him in politics, and his personal

friends and former colleagues, who were warmly attached to him,

highly valued his opinions upon public matters, and on all important

occasions anxiously sought, and placed great reliance on his advice.

The career of Lord Spencer presents few materials to the biographer,

for he had neither the brilliant nor even plausible exterior which

interests and captivates vulgar imaginations, but he had sterling

qualities of mind and character which made him one of the most useful

and valuable, as he was one of the best and most amiable men of his

day. He was the very model and type of an English gentleman, filling

with propriety the station in which fortune had placed him, and

making the best use of the abilities which Nature had bestowed upon

him. Modest without diffidence, confident without vanity, ardently

desiring the good of his country, without the slightest personal

ambition, he took that part in public affairs which his station and

his opinions prompted, and he marched through the mazes of politics

with that straightforward bravery, which was the result of sincerity,

singleness of purpose, the absence of all selfishness, and a true,

genuine, but unpretending patriotism. His tastes, habits, and turn, of

mind were peculiarly and essentially English; he was a high-minded,

unaffected, sensible, well-educated English gentleman, addicted to all

those rural pursuits and amusements which are considered national, a

practical farmer and fond of field sports, but enjoying all things

in moderation, and making every other occupation subordinate to the

discharge of those duties to his country, whether general or local,

the paramount obligation of which was ever uppermost in his mind. In

his political principles he was consistent, liberal, and enlightened,

but he was too much of a philosopher, and had too deeply studied the

book of life to entertain any wild notions of human perfectibility,

or to countenance those extravagant theories of popular wisdom and

virtue which are so dangerous to peace, order, and good government. He

observed, therefore, a just proportion, and a perfect moderation in

his political views and objects, firmly believing in the capacity of

the Constitution to combine the utmost extent of civil and religious

liberty with the predominance of law, and a safe and vigorous

administration of public affairs. His whole life, therefore, was

devoted to the object of widening and strengthening the foundations

of the Commonwealth, of abrogating exclusive and oppressive laws, of

extending political franchises, of giving freedom to commerce, and

by the progress of a policy at once sound and safe, to promote the

welfare and happiness of the mass of the people, and the power and

prosperity of the country.

[Sidenote: LORD SPENCER'S CHARACTER.]

Lord Spencer came into office as Chancellor of the Exchequer and

leader of the House of Commons with Lord Grey's Government in 1830;

on the death of his father in 1834, his elevation to the House of

Lords obliged him to relinquish that office, upon which, as is well

known, King William dismissed the Whig Government, on the pretext

that it was so weakened as to be unworthy of public confidence and

incapable of carrying on the business of the State. This was indeed

only a pretext for getting rid of an obnoxious Ministry; but the

King's venturing upon so bold a step upon such grounds affords a

convincing proof of the high consideration which Lord Spencer enjoyed

in the House of Commons and in the country. Nor, indeed, was it

possible to exaggerate that consideration. The greatest homage that

ever was rendered to character and public virtue was exhibited in his

popularity and authority during the four eventful years when he led

the Whig Government and party in the House of Commons. Without one

showy accomplishment, without wit to amuse or eloquence to persuade,

with a voice unmelodious and a manner ungraceful, and barely able

to speak plain sense in still plainer language, he exercised in the

House of Commons an influence and even a dominion greater than any

leader either after or before him. Neither Pitt the father, nor Pitt

the son, in the plenitude of their magnificent dictatorships, nor

Canning in the days of his most brilliant displays of oratory and

wit, nor Castlereagh, returning in all the glory of an ovation from

the overthrow of Napoleon, could govern with the same sway the most

unruly and fastidious assembly which the world ever saw. His friends

followed this plain and simple man with enthusiastic devotion, and

he possessed the faculty of disarming his political antagonists of

all bitterness and animosity towards him; he was regarded in the

House of Commons with sentiments akin to those of personal affection,

with a boundless confidence and a universal esteem. Such was the

irresistible ascendency of truth, sincerity, and honour, of a probity

free from every taint of interest, of mere character unaided by the

arts which captivate or subjugate mankind. This is the great practical

panegyric which will consecrate the memory of Lord Spencer, and

transmit it nobly to the latest posterity; but it is a panegyric, not

more honourable to the subject of it than to the national character

which is susceptible of such impressions, and which acknowledges such

influences. We may feel an honest pride and a happy confidence in

the reflexion that it is by such sterling qualities, by the simple

and unostentatious practice of public and private virtue that men may

best recommend themselves to the reverence, the gratitude, and the

affection of their countrymen, and be remembered hereafter as the

benefactors of mankind.

[Sidenote: M. THIERS IN ENGLAND.]

_London, November 16th._--I have passed the last two months in

locomotion and amusement, without anything worth noticing but a visit

to the Grange, where I went purposely to meet M. Thiers. He came to

England in his way from Spain, and passed about a fortnight here. He

was extremely well received, invited to Bowood and to the Grange,

dined with Lady Holland in London, and had interviews with Palmerston

and Aberdeen. I had met him some years ago at Talleyrand's, in

London, but he of course had forgotten me, nor do I know whether he

recollected or not my connexion with Guizot during his administration

in 1840. Whether he did or not, he was extremely civil and disposed

to talk to me, though unfortunately the extraordinary rapidity of his

utterance and the thickness of his articulation, added to my deafness,

rendered half of what he said unintelligible. He was very agreeable

and very loquacious, talking with a great appearance of _abandon_ on

every subject, politics general and particular, and his own History,

which he was ready to discuss, and to defend against all objections

and criticisms with great good humour. On the Sunday morning he took

me aside, and talked for a long time about his position and practice,

and he then said that it was to be regretted that Lord Aberdeen had

evinced such a preference for one political party in France, and it

was a mistake; and, for his part, he considered that he had nothing

to do with Whigs or Tories here, but that it was his business to

be equally well with public men of all parties; that he had called

on Palmerston, and he should have called on Peel and Aberdeen, if

they had been in town, and he expressed a wish that I would make his

sentiments known to them. I said I certainly would, and regretted

that they were not in London to receive him. Soon after I learnt

that Aberdeen was to be in town the next day on his way to the Grove,

where I was to meet him, when I resolved to write to him and tell him

what Thiers said, and to suggest that he should see him. We all went

to town the next morning by rail, and on arriving at the station a

messenger met me with a note from Aberdeen, saying he should be very

glad to see Thiers if he would call at the Foreign Office. I told

him, and he was extremely pleased. I took him there and introduced

him to Aberdeen, who received him very cordially, and their interview

lasted an hour and a half. When Lord Aberdeen came to the Grove he

told me he was much obliged to me for bringing Thiers to him and

very glad to receive him. He thought him very agreeable, but not so

fair to Guizot as Guizot was to him, for the latter always spoke

handsomely of Thiers, while Thiers spoke very disparagingly of him;

in fact, Thiers speaks of Guizot with the greatest contempt. He says

he is great in the tribune, but good for nothing elsewhere, neither a

statesman nor a man of business, which is certainly doing his great

antagonist much less than justice. We had a great battle in the train

about many points of his History, and with a self-delusion, which

is marvellous if sincere, he said that nobody could accuse him of

any want of candour towards our country and of not having rendered

us ample justice! I am sorry now that I did not at the time write

down some particulars of his conversation and opinions about men

and things, which would not be devoid of interest. The only thing

of any consequence I recollect now is the fact, which he asserted

on the evidence of letters now in existence, of Talleyrand's having

advised the Spanish war, whereas it has always been supposed that

he opposed it, and that his opposition to it was a principal cause

of his disgrace with the Emperor.[104] He spoke of Talleyrand with

great bitterness and dislike. Nothing would persuade him that our

Government had not been implicated in Georges' conspiracy and his

plots of assassination, but he entertains the most vulgar and mistaken

notions about us, our affairs, and our national character. I take it,

however, that he was not more surprised than pleased at his reception

here, so frank, cordial, and dignified, received and entertained

at Whig and Tory houses with equal cordiality, with the attention

due to his celebrity as a writer and a statesman, and without the

slightest appearance of resentment (or anything but the most perfect

indifference) at his anti-English prejudices and violence. All this

must have struck him with no small respect as well as wonder. I have

heard since that the Queen said she should have been glad to receive

him if he had expressed any desire to be presented to her; that she

was not in the habit of receiving foreigners (passing through) at

Windsor, but would have made an exception in his favour.

It has been during the last two months that the rage for railroad

speculation reached its height, was checked by a sudden panic in full

career, and is now reviving again, though not by any means promising

to recover its pristine vigour. I met one day in the middle of it the

Governor of the Bank at Robarts', who told me that he never remembered

in all his experience anything like the present speculation; that the

operations of '25, which led to the great panic, were nothing to it,

and that there could not fail to be a fearful reaction. The reaction

came sooner than anybody expected, but though it has blown many of

the bubbles into the air, it has not been as yet so complete and so

ruinous as many of the wise men of the East still expect and predict.

It is incredible how people have been tempted to speculate; half the

fine ladies have been dabbling in stocks, and men the most unlikely

have not been able to refrain, from gambling in shares, even I myself

(though in a very small degree), for the warning voice of the Governor

of the Bank has never been out of my ears. Simultaneously with all

this has grown up to a gigantic height the evil of the potato failure,

affecting in its expected consequences the speculations, and filling

with fear and doubt every interest.[105] That the mischief in Ireland

is great and increasing is beyond a doubt, and the Government are

full of alarm, while every man is watching with intense anxiety the

progress of events, and enquiring whether the Corn Laws will break

down under this pressure or not.

[Sidenote: THE POTATO FAILURE.]

There have been Cabinets held, with long and anxious consultations,

and (as it is believed) debates,[106] but as I do not know what

passed with anything approaching to certainty, I shall say but little

about them. It has been said that Peel was not indisposed to take

this opportunity of doing away with the Corn Laws, and again that he

was resolved not to abandon his sliding scale; that Aberdeen was the

strongest of any against the Corn Laws; the Duke most determined to

support them. I am inclined to believe the two latter suppositions

to be true, and I lean to the belief that Peel is waiting for a case

sufficiently strong to lay before his agricultural friends, before

he tells them that he must throw the ports open. There have not been

wanting circumstances significant of Peel's disposition, especially

a speech which Dr. Buckland made at Birmingham of a very Free Trade

complexion; and he went there from Drayton, and has since been made

Dean of Westminster. However it is idle to speculate on intentions,

which a short time must develop and explain.

All the world went last night to the St. James's Theatre to see the

second representation of 'Every Man in his Humour,' by Dickens and

the 'Punch' people. The house was crammed full. I was in a bad place,

heard very ill, and was so bored that at the end of the third act I

went away. Dickens acted Bobadil very well indeed, and Douglas Jerrold

(the author of the Candle Lectures in 'Punch') Master Stephen well

also; the rest were very moderate and the play intolerably heavy. A

play 200 years old, a comedy of character only, without plot or story,

or interest of any sort or kind, can hardly go down. The audience were

cold as ice, because, it was said, they were too fine; but I believe

because they were not at all amused.[107]

I have said nothing of Newmarket. My horse 'Alarm' proved himself the

best going (to all present appearance) and won the great stake of the

Houghton Meeting; but I won very little on him, not daring to back

him. I had the mortification of seeing it proved that he would, beyond

all possibility of doubt, have won the Derby but for his accident.

That would have been worth winning; it would have rendered me

independent, enabled me to relinquish my office when I pleased and be

my own man, and given me the power of doing many an act of kindness,

and assisting those I care for. Such a chance will probably never

occur again.

[Footnote 104: [The _Memoirs of Madame de Rémusat_ (published in

1879) prove that M. de Talleyrand was strongly opposed to the

Spanish policy of Napoleon. But M. Thiers was always disposed to

judge Talleyrand harshly.]]

[Footnote 105: [It was in the middle of August that the alarm

first began, and the Ministers became uneasy, as is stated in _Sir

R. Peel's Memoirs_, p. 111. In October the accounts from Ireland

became alarming. On October 17th Graham first started the question

of a suspension of the Corn Laws. The Cabinet assembled on October

31st and November 1st, because immediate decision had become

necessary on these questions: 'Shall we maintain unaltered, or

modify, or suspend the operation of the Corn Laws?' 'Can we vote

public money for the sustenance of the people on account of actual

or apprehended scarcity, and maintain the existing restrictions

against importation of grain?' 'I am bound to say my impression is

we cannot.' (_Sir R. Peel's Memoirs_, p. 145.)]]

[Footnote 106: [From what passed at the Cabinet of October 31st it

became clear there was no chance of a common accord as to the means

to be adopted. At another Cabinet on November 6th, Peel proposed

to issue an Order in Council remitting duty on grain in bond to

one shilling, and to open the ports at a smaller rate of duty till

a day named; to call Parliament together and declare an intention

of proposing a modification of existing laws. The Cabinet rejected

these proposals by a large majority. Sir Robert Peel was only

supported by Aberdeen, Graham, and Sidney Herbert.]]

[Footnote 107: [I went to see this performance with Lord Melbourne,

Mrs. Norton, and my cousin Lady Duff Gordon, who gave me a place

in their box. Lord Melbourne said before the curtain rose that it

was a dull play, 'with no mythos in it,' that was his expression.

Between the acts he exclaimed in a stentorian voice, heard across

the pit, 'I knew this play would be dull, but that it would be so

damnably dull as this I did not suppose!'--H.R.]]

[Sidenote: THE BRIDGEWATER TRUST.]

_Worsley, November 22nd._--I came here, for the first time, on Monday

last, to see the fine new house Francis Egerton has built. It is a

very handsome specimen of Blore's architecture, rather spoilt by

alterations made while the building was in progress; comfortable

enough, but with many faults. The place is miserable; no place at

all; no trees worth looking at, and a wet clay soil; no extent, and

everything to make. The house stands on an eminence, and commands a

very extensive prospect of a rich flat country, the canal running

beneath, not a quarter of a mile off, while a little further off the

railroad crosses Chat Moss and all day long the barges are visible

on the one, and continual trains snort and smoke along the other,

presenting a lively exhibition of activity and progress. But it

is a miserable country to live in; so wet and deep that the roads

all about are paved, and the air is eternally murky with the fire

and smoke vomited forth from hundreds of chimneys and furnaces in

every direction; no resources, such as hunting and shooting, and no

society but the rare visitants from distant parts. In such a place

as this they have expended 100,000_l._ in a fine house, with all the

appendages of gardens, &c, and they have done this and much more

from a sense of duty, from fully recognising the authority of the

maxim that 'property, has its duties as well as its rights.' The

Duke of Bridgewater created this vast property, and his enterprise

and perseverance were crowned with a prodigious success. He called

into activity and gave employment to an immense population, and

he occasionally resided at Worsley, to have the satisfaction of

witnessing the astonishing results which he had obtained; but with

this he was contented. He bequeathed the canal and the collieries to

his agent Bradshaw, with unlimited power of management, in trust for

the late Duke of Sutherland, and after him to Francis Egerton. During

the long reign of Bradshaw and the Duke the property continued to

increase in value. Bradshaw was a profligate old dog, who feathered

his own nest, and lived a dissolute life. The Duke touched the

proceeds, and never troubled himself about the source from which he

derived them. At length he died. The trust remained unaltered, but the

new _cestui que trust_ came to the enjoyment of his enormous fortune

with other ideas and a more stringent sense of obligation. He and

his wife thought it behoved them to enquire into the condition of

the population in their employment, and to do their best to improve

it. They found that it was very bad; that the mass of the people was

in the lowest state of ignorance and degradation, and that there was

plenty for their beneficence to do. They soon set about the task,

and began by making a bargain with Bradshaw to get him out of the

trust. He made it over to a man of the name of Sotherton, who had

been for some time employed in the canal office, and who was believed

to be a fit and proper person. Sotherton no sooner found himself in

power (for the power of the trustee is almost unlimited) than he

began to play all sorts of pranks and to quarrel with the Lord. They

endeavoured to oust Sotherton, and went to law with him, but found the

difficulties so great that they ended by compounding with him, and

gave him 45,000_l._ to relinquish the trust and appoint a nominee of

Francis's in his room. He selected Mr. James Loch, who is now trustee.

This done, they set to work in earnest. This house was erected, and

they have built churches and established schools and reading-rooms

in various places; they have done all they could, sparing neither

pains nor money to civilise and improve the population, to diffuse

education, and encourage habits of sobriety and order, and a taste

for intellectual occupations. They have evinced a solicitude for the

welfare of the people under their influence that has produced a very

beneficial effect, and they are gradually improving their condition

and purifying their morals without, however, entertaining any

extravagant expectations of superhuman success.

[Sidenote: MANCHESTER.]

I have passed these few days in seeing this place and some of the

manufacturing wonders at Manchester. On Tuesday I went over the house

and place; and then to Francis' yard, a sort of small dockyard and

manufactory; then on the canal in the Trust boat--a luxurious barge

fitted up with every convenience and comfort, with a fireplace, and

where one may write, read, and live just as in the house; a kitchen

behind. The boat is drawn by two horses with postilions in livery, and

they trot along at a merry pace, all the craft (except, by compact,

'the Swift boats,' as they are called) giving way to the Trust boat.

On Wednesday I went through the subterraneous canal, about a mile and

a half long, into the coalpit, saw the working in the mine, and came

up by the shaft; a black and dirty expedition, scarcely worth the

trouble, but which I am glad to have made. The colliers seem a very

coarse set, but they are not hard worked, and, in fact, do no more

than they choose. There are many miles of this underground canal. On

Thursday I went to Manchester, and saw one of the great cotton and

one of the great silk manufactories; very curious even to me, who am

ignorant of mechanics, and could only stare and wonder, without being

able to understand the niceties of the beautiful and complicated

machinery by which all the operations of these trades are performed.

The heat of the rooms in the former of them was intense, but the

man who showed them to us told us it was caused by the prodigious

friction, and the room might be much cooler, but the people liked the

heat. Yesterday I went to the infant school, admirably managed; then

to the recreation ground of the colliers and working hands--a recent

establishment. It is a large piece of ground, planted and levelled

round about what is called the paying-house, where the men are paid

their wages once a fortnight. The object is to encourage sports

and occupations in the open air, and induce them not to go to the

alehouse. There are cricket, quoits, and football, and ginger-beer and

coffee are sold to the people, but no beer or spirits. This has only

a partial success. Afterwards to Patricroft, to see Messrs. Nasmyth's

great establishment for making locomotive engines, every part of which

I went over. I asked at all the places about the wages and habits of

the workpeople. In Birley's cotton factory 1,200 are employed, the

majority girls, who earn from ten to fourteen shillings a week. At

Nasmyth's the men make from twenty to thirty-two shillings a week.

They love to change about, and seldom stay very long at one place;

some will go away in a week, and some after a day. In the hot factory

rooms the women look very wan, very dirty, and one should guess very

miserable. They work eleven hours generally, but though it might

be thought that domestic service must be preferable, there is the

greatest difficulty in procuring women-servants here. All the girls go

to the factory in spite of the confinement, labour, close atmosphere,

dirt, and moral danger which await them. The parents make them go,

because they earn money which they bring home, and they like the

independence and the hours every evening, and the days from Saturday

to Monday, of which they can dispose.

_Worsley, November 24th._--To Manchester this morning; to the

Collegiate Church; good chanting and an excellent reader; to the

Athenæum (or the Institute), and saw Dr. Dalton's statue, a good work

of Chantrey's; then to Messrs. Hoyle's calico-printing establishment;

extremely well worth seeing, interesting, and the more so because

intelligible. People know very little how many processes the calico

they wear so cheaply goes through, and what a mighty business its

preparation is. They told us 800 men were employed here, the highest

wages two guineas a week. The room containing the copper cylinders

has in it a capital of 100,000_l._, the cost of these cylinders. I

was surprised to hear that the price of labour (the wages) is not

affected by the more or less irksome nature of the employment. The

workman at the calico printing, which is much more agreeable than the

cotton-weaving business, is as highly paid as the latter, perhaps more

highly; indeed the lowest rate of wages seems to be at the mill.

[Sidenote: DEATH OF LADY HOLLAND.]

The day I came here Lady Holland died, that is, she died at two

o'clock in the preceding night. She evinced during her illness a very

philosophical calmness and resolution, and perfect good humour, aware

that she was dying, and not afraid of death. The religious people

don't know what to make of it. She never seems to have given the least

sign of any religious feeling or belief. She has made a curious will,

leaving the greater part of the landed property at her disposal to

John Russell for his life, and her jewels to Lady Elizabeth Grey, a

poor parson's wife--bequests severely blamed and justly. The legatees

ought not to accept what she has bequeathed to them, but give all up

to her daughter who wants it. Though she was a woman for whom nobody

felt any affection, and whose death therefore will have excited no

grief, she will be regretted by a great many people, some from kindly,

more from selfish motives, and all who had been accustomed to live at

Holland House and continued to be her _habitués_ will lament over the

fall of the curtain on that long drama, and the final extinction of

the flickering remnant of a social light which illuminated and adorned

England and even Europe for half a century. The world never has seen

and never will again see anything like Holland House, and though it

was by no means the same thing as it was during Lord Holland's life,

Lady Holland contrived to assemble round her to the last a great

society, comprising almost everybody that was conspicuous, remarkable,

and agreeable. The closing of her house, therefore, will be a serious

and an irreparable loss, especially to those old friends who are

too old to look out for new places of resort and to form new social

habits. She was a very strange woman, whose character it would not

be easy to describe, and who can only be perfectly understood from a

knowledge and consideration of her habits and peculiarities. She was

certainly clever, and she had acquired a great deal of information

both from books and men, having passed her whole life amidst people

remarkable for their abilities and knowledge. She cared very little

for her children, but she sometimes pretended to care for them, and

she also pretended to entertain strong feelings of friendship for

many individuals; and this was not all insincerity, for, in fact,

she did entertain them as strongly as her nature permitted. She was

often capricious, tyrannical, and troublesome, liking to provoke, and

disappoint, and thwart her acquaintances, and she was often obliging,

good-natured, and considerate to the same people. To those who were

ill and suffering, to whom she could show any personal kindness and

attention, among her intimate friends, she never failed to do so. She

was always intensely selfish, dreading solitude above everything, and

eternally working to enlarge the circle of her society, and to retain

all who ever came within it. She could not live alone for a single

minute; she never was alone, and even in her moments of greatest

grief it was not in solitude but in society that she sought her

consolation. Her love and habit of domination were both unbounded, and

they made her do strange and often unwarrantable things. None ever

lived who assumed such privileges as Lady Holland, and the docility

with which the world submitted to her vagaries was wonderful. Though

she was eternally surrounded with clever people, there was no person

of any position in the world, no matter how frivolous and foolish,

whose acquaintance she was not eager to cultivate, and especially

latterly she had a rage for knowing new people and going to fresh

houses. Though often capricious and impertinent she was never out

of temper, and she bore with good humour and calmness the indignant

and resentful outbreaks which she sometimes provoked in others, and

though she liked to have people at her orders and who would defer to

her and obey her, she both liked and respected those who were not

afraid of her and who treated her with spirit and freedom. Although

she was known to be wholly destitute of religious opinions she never

encouraged any irreligious talk in her house. She never herself spoke

disrespectfully or with levity of any of the institutions or opinions

which other people were accustomed to reverence, nor did she at any

time, even during periods of the greatest political violence, suffer

any disloyal language towards the sovereign, nor encourage any fierce

philippics, still less any ribaldry against political opponents. It

was her great object, while her society was naturally and inevitably

of a particular political colour, to establish in it such a tone

of moderation and general toleration that no person of any party,

opinion, profession, or persuasion might feel any difficulty in coming

to her house, and she took care that no one who did should ever have

reason to complain of being offended or annoyed, still less shocked

or insulted under her roof. Never was anybody more invariably kind to

her servants or more solicitous for their comfort. In this probably

selfish considerations principally moved her; it was essential to her

comfort to be diligently and zealously served, and she secured by her

conduct to them their devoted attachment. It used often to be said in

joke that they were very much better off than her guests.

[Sidenote: BRETBY AND OSSINGTON.]

_Ossington, December 3rd._--Left Worsley on Wednesday last; went to

Bretby, stayed there till Saturday, not a creature there, nothing to

do but look at horses in the morning and go to sleep in the evening.

What would the last Lord Chesterfield but one, the celebrated peer,

say, if he could see into what hands his title has fallen, and the

half of his estate which has not been squandered away? Came here

on Saturday, stopped at Southwell to see the church, a beautiful

specimen of Norman architecture. It is quite a cathedral, though only

a collegiate church, and with no higher dignitaries than prebends. It

has been shorn of its splendour by the Ecclesiastical Commission, and

with some difficulty enough of its revenues was saved for its handsome

maintenance. The Chapter-house is exceedingly beautiful, especially a

gateway erected or adorned by Wolsey, who sometimes resided here, as

it was formerly a church in the diocese of York, though now removed

to that of Lincoln. On Monday we rode all over the Forest, through

Thoresby, Clumber, and Clipston, and by the Duke of Portland's

water-meadows. Twenty years have elapsed since I saw this country in

which so much of my youth was passed, and I had forgotten, or never

sufficiently remembered, how grand it is.

_London, December 5th._--I came to town yesterday, and find political

affairs in a state of the greatest interest and excitement. The

whole town had been electrified in the morning by an article in the

'Times,' announcing, with an air of certainty and authority, that the

discussions and disputes in the Cabinet had terminated by a resolution

to call Parliament together early in January, and propose a total

repeal of the Corn Laws, and that the Duke had not only consented, but

was to bring forward the measure in the House of Lords. Nobody knew

whether to believe this or not, though all seemed staggered, and the

more so because the 'Standard,' though affecting to disbelieve the

'Times,' and treating it as a probable fiction, did not contradict

it from authority, as might naturally have been expected if it had

been untrue. This morning I heard the whole matter precisely as it

stands, and the affair, including the way it comes to my knowledge,

presents a curious under-current in politics. On this question of the

Corn Laws Aberdeen has taken a very strong and decided part, and he

has been Peel's most strenuous supporter in the contest he has had to

maintain in his Cabinet, for it now appears that Peel has all along

been for repealing the Corn Laws, and has not, as I was once led to

believe, been disposed to stand by his own sliding scale. It appears

that before the appearance of John Russell's letter, the free-trading

Ministers were disposed to take the course now determined on, and

Aberdeen thinks it was a great error and misfortune that they did

not do so in November, and so appear to have taken the initiative,

rather than to be goaded to it. Lord John's letter, however (which

was written without concert with, or the knowledge of, anybody), fell

like a spark on a barrel of gunpowder. The effect it produced was far

greater than he even could have expected, greater probably than he is

yet aware of. It struck despair into the hearts of the Protectionists,

but it really was of service to Peel, though it appeared to put him

in fresh difficulty. The publication of the letter was followed by

an article in the 'Times,' alluding to this difficulty, and the

day this article appeared Aberdeen sent for Delane, and told him

that Peel considered the letter mischievous, but the article far

more mischievous than the letter. In the course of this and other

conversations he gave Delane to understand what his own opinions were,

and told him pretty clearly what sort of a contest was going on in

the Cabinet. The Duke was at first decidedly against repeal;[108]

and Ripon and Wharncliffe were, as far as I can make out, the most

strenuous opponents besides. On Tuesday last the decisive Cabinet was

held, at which it was finally to be determined which party should

prevail, and if Peel could not carry his views, it was his intention

to resign, and Aberdeen with him. On Wednesday, Aberdeen sent again

for Delane, and after talking to him about all sorts of matters

connected with foreign policy, and many other things, and when Delane

was preparing to leave him, he began upon the Corn Laws, and told him,

in fact, the substance of what appeared in the article yesterday,

together with many details which did not appear. He told him that

the Duke of Wellington had offered to resign, but that Peel said, if

he resigned, he himself would also, for he could not undertake to

carry the measure without the Duke's concurrence and support, and at

last the Duke gave way, and agreed to stay in, and use his influence

to carry it through the House of Lords. Peel was aware that without

this it would have been impossible, and as it is, he expects great

opposition, and several resignations in the Cabinet.[109] These

resignations will, however, materially strengthen the Government,

as the men who go out will probably be replaced by Ellenborough,

Dalhousie, and Gladstone, a great improvement in point of capacity.

[Sidenote: REPEAL OF THE CORN LAWS.]

When the article appeared yesterday morning, Lord Wharncliffe was

in a great state of agitation, and told Reeve (as he had done

before) that it was not true, that the 'Times' was mystified, and

had been all along. Reeve said that certainly the editor of the

'Times' thought he had good authority for what he had put forth,

and would not have risked his credit so far without strong grounds,

but that if Lord Wharncliffe really meant to declare that to his

knowledge the statement was false, he would, if he pleased, send

for Delane and tell him so. He hung back on this, and said he did

not wish to appear. Reeve said he need not appear, but if he would

_authorise_ the contradiction, it should be contradicted. He would

not, however, but said that 'nothing was settled.' I have no doubt

that though everything is virtually settled, the matter remains to

be formally arranged. The Chiefs are agreed, but the whole Cabinet

is not yet agreed, and this is what he means, while any hopes he may

have entertained of staving off the blow are defeated by this rapid

publication. There can be very little doubt that it was Aberdeen's

object that Delane should publish what he did, though he did not

tell him to do so, and the reason is very obvious. Yesterday the

American Mail went off, and it took with it the morning papers, and

consequently this article in the 'Times.' It was exactly what Aberdeen

wanted. As Foreign Secretary his most earnest desire is to get over

the Oregon affair as well as he can, and he knows that nothing will

have so great an effect in America, nothing tend so materially to the

prevalence of pacific counsels, as an announcement that our Corn Laws

are going to be repealed.

[Footnote 108: All this was true as to the Duke, Ripon, and

Wharncliffe, but it is odd no mention was made of Stanley and his

opposition: _vide_ letters of the Duke, Ripon, and Wharncliffe.]

[Footnote 109: [Such was the information we had at the time of what

had occurred, but from the _Memoir_ since published by Sir Robert

Peel this turns out to be a very incorrect and imperfect statement.

A Cabinet took place on Tuesday, December 2nd, at which Peel read

to the Cabinet a Memorandum (p. 214), in which he said: 'I wish

to reconcile the gradual approach towards sound principles with a

full and cautious consideration of the relations which have been

established, and the interests that have grown up under a different

system;...from the principle...that protective duties are in

themselves evils, I cannot withhold my assent, but the retrospect

from a system long established requires caution and great

consideration.... If, in order to meet an unexpected calamity, the

import duties on foreign grain were suspended, it would become

necessary to avow the course we intended to pursue with reference

to the state of the law, when suspension would expire.... It would

be quite out of my power, consistently with my recorded opinions

and present convictions, to guarantee the existing amount of

protection...on the termination of the suspension.... The choice

in my opinion is between resistance to alteration in the existing

law, and the proposal of a new law that involves...the principle of

progressive reduction of protective duties.... I will undertake to

propose such a law, and should hope to...to carry it, if it meets

with the cordial and unanimous sanction of my colleagues.' The

discussions in the Cabinet lasted from November 25th to December

5th. At length Lord Stanley and the Duke of Buccleugh declined

to support such a measure, while all the other members of the

Government waived their objections. On December 5th Peel resigned,

and Lord John Russell was sent for the same day.]]

[Sidenote: THE 'TIMES' CONTRADICTED.]

_December 6th._--It is impossible to describe the agitation into

which all classes of persons have been thrown by the announcement

about the Corn Laws--the doubts, hopes, and fears it has excited,

and the burning curiosity to know the truth of it. Some deride and

scout it; others believe it, partly or entirely. Yesterday morning

I went to the office and saw Wharncliffe. 'His face was as a glass,

where men might read strange matters;' it was easy to see his state of

agitation. Assuming it was all true, I said I hoped he did not mean

to resign, and that whatever his opinions might be, if the Duke did

not, he surely need not either, and any break-up of the party would

be an evil. He acknowledged nothing, but replied, very lugubriously,

that he was seventy years old! I did my best to encourage him, and he

did his best to make me doubt the accuracy of the 'Times' statement,

telling me nothing, but mysteriously saying a very short time would

reveal the truth. In the afternoon he went to a Cabinet. Meanwhile

the 'Standard' appeared with a contradiction of the 'Times' in large

letters. Wharncliffe came into my room from the Cabinet much excited,

but apparently rather hilarious. I asked him if he had seen the

'Standard.' He said no, he wanted to see it. He read it, and then

said, 'What do you say to that?' I said, I laughed at it, and had

not a doubt that the 'Times' was right. 'Very well,' he replied, 'it

will soon be seen who is right; but I tell you the "Times" has been

mystified, and neither you nor Reeve know anything of what is going

on.'[110] I was enough staggered by his manner to write to Reeve

and tell him this, and he went to Delane. They went over all that

had passed with Aberdeen, which was too clear, too precise, and too

decisive to admit of any mistake. After his communication to Delane,

Aberdeen asked him what he meant to do with what he had told him.

'Publish it,' he answered, 'to be sure!' A pretty strong proof that

he told it him for no other purpose. Palmerston hit the right nail on

the head, for William Cowper told me last night he had guessed that

Aberdeen had got this information put into the 'Times,' that it might

go over to America and influence the Oregon question; only he did not

seem certain it was true, and was not without a suspicion that it was

done with an intention to deceive, and not to enlighten the American

public.

[Footnote 110: [This was quite true; we did not know what was going

on, for the Government had resigned the day before.]]

_December 9th, Tuesday._--On Saturday afternoon Wharncliffe came

to the office and sent for me. I found him walking about the room,

when he immediately broke out, 'Well, I must say the impudence of

the "Times" exceeds all I ever knew.' 'What's the matter?' I asked,

'what have they done?' 'Why, notwithstanding the contradiction in

the "Standard" last night, they have not only neither qualified nor

withdrawn their assertion, but have repeated the statement more

positively than before. I must say this beats every other impudence.'

'Well,' I said, 'don't you see the reason, namely, that the "Times"

does not care for the denial of the "Standard," and thinks its own

authority for the statement better than any the "Standard" can have

for denying it.' I then told him that everybody believed the 'Times,'

go where you would people canvassed which was the most credible, and

all believed the 'Times,' Lord Carnarvon, whom I met in the morning,

for instance; and I myself believed it, that is, I believed it to be

substantially correct, though perhaps not so in all its details. 'Very

well,' he said, 'a short time will show the truth; but I tell you

again that the "Times" knows nothing about it, has been mystified, and

you will soon see that you are all wrong.' On this I said, 'Am I then

to understand you that the facts put forth by the "Times" are really

untrue, that no resolution has been come to by the Cabinet, and that

the Duke of Wellington in one House and Peel in the other are _not_

going to bring forward a measure which, without quibbling or splitting

of hairs, is a virtual abandonment of the principle of protection?' He

said, 'Well, I do mean to say that all this is untrue, it is not the

fact; I positively tell you so, and I mean it without any quibbling

whatever.' 'Very well, of course you know and I cannot, and I am bound

to believe you. May I then contradict it on your authority?' 'No, I

will not have my name used. I tell you not to believe it, and you may

say what you please as from yourself, but I will not have my authority

mentioned, and events will contradict it soon enough.' We had a great

deal more talk. He complained of the mischief that the report had

done, and the speculation it had set afloat. After this contradiction

so positive, specific, and peremptory, I knew not what to believe.

On Monday I looked with anxiety for the article in the 'Times,' and

found only a calm adhesion to its story. Delane had seen Aberdeen

the evening before, who said to him that he had not said a bit too

much, except that his statement the second day, that 'the heads of

the Government had agreed,' was more correct than that of the first,

which said that 'the Cabinet' had. He desired him to go on in the same

strain, reasoning on it as a fact. He gave him, however, to understand

that the publication had created considerable agitation. Delane in the

course of conversation said that the whole thing turned on the Duke of

Wellington, whether he was consenting or not, but Aberdeen would not

tell him which way the Duke was.

[Sidenote: THE 'TIMES' MAINTAINS ITS GROUND.]

In the afternoon I saw Delane himself. Peel went down to the Queen on

Saturday, came up yesterday afternoon, and there was a Cabinet at five

o'clock. Wharncliffe told me that Peel was very angry at the article

in the 'Times,' and sent a messenger to the Queen thereupon. There

is no doubt that Delane, in the excitement of the moment, said more,

much more than he ought to have said, and that Wharncliffe's statement

to me was really true, for the Cabinet, so far from being agreed

on a measure, was in a state of disagreement, amounting almost to

dissolution.[111] Delane was very imprudent, for he might have guarded

his statement and yet produced precisely the same effect. My own

belief is that yesterday evening decided the fate of the Government,

and that all turned on the Duke. However, a very short time will clear

up everything. Meanwhile the agitation, excitement, and curiosity are

universal and intense. The rising wrath of the Tories and landlords is

already muttering at the bare suspicion of the intended act, and it

will be awful when all the truth breaks upon them. Peel's situation is

very curious, and though many will think he has done a great service,

he has so played his cards from first to last that his reputation will

be irretrievably damaged by it, for men of both, or indeed of all,

parties will unite in condemning him. He is now going to reap the

fruits of the enormous error he committed in coming into office on the

principle of Corn Law protection and the sliding scale, an error the

more unpardonable because it was quite unnecessary.

[Footnote 111: [The article in the _Times_ was not skilfully

expressed, and would have been equally effective in more guarded

language. I am not sure who wrote it, but I am inclined to think

it was Mr. Delane himself (though he seldom wrote anything), and

I afterwards heard him express dissatisfaction with it. To a

certain extent he was misled, for though Lord Aberdeen made known

to him the intentions of the Free Trade party in the Cabinet, he

omitted to communicate the all-important fact that the Ministry had

resigned on the day after their first conversation, and that the

Free Trade party was for the moment defeated.]]

_Thursday, 11th._--On Tuesday afternoon Lord Wharncliffe sent for

me, and told me Parliament was to be prorogued, but not called for

despatch of business. This was enough: it satisfied me that the

Ministers were out; there was no other solution of so strange a fact.

Yesterday morning we went down to the Council at Osborne; the Duke

joined us at Basingstoke. Nothing was said. I never saw the Cabinet

in such a state of hilarity. Peel was full of jokes and stories,

and they all were as merry (apparently and probably really) as men

could be. Peel and Aberdeen alone had long audiences of the Queen;

nothing transpired there. When I got back to town I found the reports

of resignation current, and at dinner at George Harcourt's it was

treated as a thing certain, and my conversation with James Wortley

and then with Sir R. Gordon and Canning quite satisfied me that my

conjectures the day before had been fully realised. When we returned

from Osborne I had no idea the Ministers had already resigned some

days before, for they none of them took leave, and Peel and Aberdeen

only had audiences. Not one of them hinted to me what was going on,

and the only thing said about it was a joke of Stanley's, who said to

a Bishop, who was of the party, that the right reverend prelate had

probably often seen as much patience, but never could have seen so

much resignation.

[Sidenote: RESIGNATION OF SIR ROBERT PEEL.]

_Friday, 12th._--Yesterday all was known. Peel had resigned on

Saturday, and Lord John was sent for the same day, but the Ministers

kept that secret, nor did Aberdeen tell Delane the state of the case;

I suppose he was afraid to tell him any more. Lord John was at Osborne

yesterday, and has called his friends together to-day. The Whig talk

at Brooks's is that the Government about to be formed can not stand,

that they will be able to do nothing with the House of Lords, and

assuming that the Duke of Wellington's opposition has broken up the

Government, which was totally untrue, they conclude that he will

head the Tories in support of the Corn Laws in the Upper House. I

met Macaulay at dinner at Milman's yesterday (for the Westminster

Play), and he told me this was the tone at Brooks's. I said I did not

think they would have so much difficulty as they imagine, that Peel

would support them, and the Duke, so far from leading on the landed

interest, would keep them quiet if he could and help the Government.

It is now more than ever to be regretted that Lord John is not on

better terms with Peel, and that he should have allowed himself to

twit him so offensively as he did in his letter the other day, for it

is essential that there should be some concert between them; and as

Lord John's Government must in fact depend for its existence on Peel's

support, it would have been far more becoming and more convenient that

their personal relations should be amicable, and that they should

not be separated from each other by a barrier of mutual antipathy.

I believe, however, that Lord John's feelings towards Peel are not

at all reciprocated by the latter. The Tories will now bitterly

regret that they rejected the eight-shilling duty, and how true have

been the prognostics that they never would have again so good an

opportunity of making a compromise. I doubt whether their rage and

fury against Peel will be the least diminished by his resignation; on

the contrary, they will think he has cast them into the lion's mouth.

Everybody asks first of all what is the crisis, what the necessity

which compelled him to insist on throwing over the Corn Laws, and

making it the condition of his remaining in office; and next, when the

majority of the Cabinet would have supported him, why he did not let

the dissentients go and fight his battle out. These questions will be

answered in time.

Lord John gave considerable offence to some of his colleagues by his

letter; two only, however, objected (in letters to him) to what he

said--Lansdowne and Palmerston. Clarendon objected to his firing off

such a letter without consulting anybody, but did not write to him

at all; he wrote to the Duke of Bedford. However, as Palmerston's

objection was grounded on an assumption that it would _strengthen_

Peel, now that Peel is out, and the doors of the Foreign Office are

thrown open to him, he will be no doubt reconciled to it; for I don't

imagine he cares about corn, fixed duty, sliding scales, or anything

else, except so far as they may bear upon his return to that abode of

bliss.

_Saturday, 13th._--Yesterday morning I called on Wharncliffe, who

was still ill in bed, and very low. He complained of the 'Times' for

saying that the Duke of Wellington had broken up the Government by

changing his mind, first consenting and then withdrawing his consent;

that 'it was hard upon the old man,' who had behaved admirably

throughout, never having flinched or changed, but he had said to Peel

that he (Peel) was a better judge of this question than himself, and

he would support him in whatever course he might take. I said 'the

old man' would probably not see the paper, and certainly not care a

straw if he did. I told him everybody asked why they had resigned,

and when the day of explanation came, that it would be difficult to

give a satisfactory answer to the question. He said he thought so too;

that he never could see any sufficient reason (it being now clear

that the supposed deficiency of food would furnish none); but that

from the beginning Peel and Graham, especially Graham, had appeared

_panic-struck_, and would hear no reasons against the course they had

resolved upon; that Lord Heytesbury had contributed to this panic by

his representations; that the original statement in the 'Times' was

the most extraordinary, because _on the very day_ when it appeared,

Thursday, the Government was virtually broken up. Peel resolved to

repeal the Corn Laws, but only to attempt it provided he could do

so with a unanimous Cabinet. This he found was impossible, and that

very Thursday he determined to resign. They begged him not to be in

a hurry. He said he would not, and would take twenty-four hours to

consider it. He did so, and on Friday he announced to his colleagues

that he persisted in his resolution, and should go down the next day

to Osborne to resign. All this, which I had from Wharncliffe's lips,

is unquestionably true.

[Sidenote: LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S AUDIENCE.]

There was a meeting at John Russell's in the morning; no one was

present but Palmerston, Cottenham, Clarendon, and Macaulay, who came

in at the end. The letters convening his other friends had not reached

them in time. X---- came to me afterwards and told me what had passed.

The Queen wrote to Lord John, and summoned him to her presence. Sir

Robert Peel had resigned, and she had thought it expedient to send

for him to assist her. He asked her why Peel had resigned? She said

that since November last he had been satisfied that the time was

arrived when the Corn Laws must be repealed, but that the difficulty

he had found with his Cabinet had at length induced him to resign.

Lord John then said that, before he could undertake anything, he

must know what would be Peel's course in respect to the measures he

should propose, and what chance he should have of being able to carry

them. The Queen told him that Peel had given her every assurance

of his support. He left her without anything being settled, and he

is in fact not yet Minister. At the meeting yesterday, Cottenham

alone was against undertaking it; but Lord John was pretty well

determined, only they all agreed that he must feel his way and obtain

some positive information as to the sort and amount of support which

Peel would and could give him. Clarendon urged this very strongly,

and Lord John quite agreed. This morning, at eleven o'clock, they

are all to assemble at his house, and in the afternoon Lord John and

Lord Lansdowne are to go down to Windsor together. Nothing will, I

apprehend, be definitively settled till some communication, direct

or indirect, has taken place between Peel and John Russell, so that

the latter may have some certain knowledge of the intentions of

the former. Lord John has, however, already had some communication

with Graham, but I do not know what.[112] The language at Brooks's

is generally that of extreme despondency; but I have done my best

to encourage them, and have told all those I have communicated with

(and most of them come to me for information or an opinion) that

the new Government will not fail. I met Lord Lansdowne last night,

and I found that he meant to come back to his old office. However,

the distribution of places will be a very difficult matter, the

adjustment of claims and expectations, and making these square with

the exigencies of the crisis.

Yesterday afternoon Graham met Lord Lansdowne and John Russell; the

conversation was frank and amicable. Lord John said he must ask

'what was the measure which Peel had intended to propose.' Graham

said he could not tell him without Peel's consent. This morning he

received a letter from Graham recapitulating what had passed, but

informing him Peel declined to tell him what his intended measure was.

It seems, however, that it was a measure of Repeal, or leading to

ultimate Repeal, accompanied with certain other measures of relief;

that in November he announced to his Cabinet that he thought this

necessary; but that it was received with such opposition that _he

never laid before them his measures_, and the Cabinet has actually

broken up without knowing what they were. Strange and incredible as

this appears, it must be true, for Graham told Lord John so.[113] His

and Peel's motives were, that the state of Ireland is so awful, with

famine and complete disorganisation, and a social war probable, that

money and coercive laws must have been called for; and these they

could not demand of Parliament, and leave the Corn Laws as they are.

[Sidenote: DELIBERATIONS OF THE WHIGS.]

There was another meeting at Lord John's house at eleven to-day;

present, the same as before, and the Duke of Bedford and Francis

Baring. Lord John produced Graham's letter. Lord Lansdowne said that

certainly he could not say there was anything in it at variance with

what he had said at their interview, but that there was an appearance

of drawing back in it, and something in the tone that he did not like.

The feeling of this meeting was, that Peel and Graham were not going

to deal fairly and frankly with them, and they would not hear of

Peel's excusing himself from divulging his intentions, and giving as

the excuse for his refusal that he could not tell them a plan which

he had not told his colleagues. They unanimously agreed that great

caution and determination were necessary, and that they must see their

way more clearly before they committed themselves to taking office.

It was settled that Lord Lansdowne and Lord John should go together

to Windsor and tell Her Majesty what they proposed. This was, that

Peel should again be invited to state frankly what sort of measure he

contemplated and would be prepared to support; and if he refused to

do this, Lord John was to commit to paper a project, which was to be

sent to Peel, desiring at the same time that he would say whether he

would support it, and what amount of support he calculated on being

able to bring with him. They will have no appearance of intrigue or

underhand dealing, but an open, frank proceeding which may enable

them to see the exact condition in which they stand. I saw the Duke

of Bedford soon after the meeting, who gave me precisely the same

account that Clarendon had done; he said that Lord John had acted with

great judgement in his communication with the Queen, not pressing

her or asking for details about the differences in the late Cabinet,

taking what she chose to tell. She wrote to Melbourne, and told him

she had sent for Lord John, knowing that the state of his health would

not admit of his assisting her. He wrote back word that a voyage from

Southampton to Cowes would be as bad for him as to cross the Atlantic.

The Queen spoke to Lord John immediately about Lord Palmerston, and

expressed great alarm at the idea of his returning to the Foreign

Office, and her earnest desire that he would take the Colonial Office

instead, and that Lord John would propose it to him. She had already

talked to Aberdeen about it, who told her she must make up her mind to

Palmerston's returning to the Foreign Office, as he would certainly

take nothing else. They agreed (Lord John and those whom he consulted)

that it would never do to propose any other office to him, and it was

much better to avoid any appearance of reluctance or distrust, and

to give it him at once. But they mean that the Queen should herself

express to Palmerston her earnest desire that nothing may be said or

done to interrupt the amicable relations which subsist between her and

the King of the French, and that Palmerston should be at once made

to understand that the Foreign Office is to be a department of the

Government, the affairs of which are to be considered in common, and

not dealt with according to his good will and pleasure. He will not

like this, but with or without a struggle he will no doubt conform to

it; and John Russell is not a man to surrender the proper functions

of a head of the Government, or to be either tricked or bullied into

letting Palmerston be independent and arbitrary. Clarendon told Lord

John not to think about him in making his arrangements. Lord John

threw out a hint about Ireland; but he at once said he could not go

there at the expense of the certain ruin of his health. He asked his

brother, the Duke of Bedford, if he would take office, but he said it

was out of the question. I try to persuade him to be in the Cabinet

without an office, and to this he seems rather inclined. There will

be great difficulties about the offices, between the necessity of

inviting new men, such as Cobden and Charles Villiers; the claims of

men once but not last in office, such as Grey, Auckland, Charles Wood,

George Grey, Clanricarde, &c.; and adjusting the pretensions of the

men turned out by Peel. There was an admirable article in the 'Times,'

giving the whole _rationale_ of Peel's four years of office, of his

conduct, motives, and the feelings and sentiments which he engendered,

excellently done and perfectly true.

[Footnote 112: [There was a correspondence between them with Peel's

consent. _Vide Memoir_, p. 227.]]

[Footnote 113: [It is very remarkable that in the course of this

narrative, derived from the most authentic sources, Lord Stanley's

name is never mentioned; yet it is now well known that Lord Stanley

was the most energetic opponent of the measures contemplated by

Sir R. Peel on the Corn Question, whatever they might be. It is

stated in the _Edinburgh Review_ (vol. clviii. p. 556), on the

authority of the Aberdeen Correspondence, that Sir Robert Peel

did not propose to his Cabinet the repeal or abandonment of the

Corn Laws, but the suspension of them in consequence of the Irish

famine. The real question was whether the suspension should be

temporary or otherwise. Sir James Graham says in a letter in

that Correspondence, that 'after Lord John's failure to form

a Government when they returned to office, Stanley would have

consented to a suspension of the Corn Laws if Peel would have

pledged himself to reimpose them when the suspension ceased.

The question was not brought to an issue till then, and Stanley

seceded, not because Peel proposed repeal, but because Stanley

insisted on a pledge to reimpose them after a fixed period, in

circumstances which could not be foreseen.']]

[Sidenote: LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S SECOND AUDIENCE.]

_Tuesday, December 16th._--Nothing is settled; Lord Lansdowne and

Lord John Russell went to Windsor on Saturday. The first novelty that

struck them was the manner of their reception; all is changed since

they went out of office. Formerly the Queen received her Ministers

alone; with her alone they communicated, though of course Prince

Albert knew everything; but now the Queen and Prince were together,

received Lord Lansdowne and John Russell together, and both of them

always said _We_--'We think, or wish, to do so and so; what had _we_

better do, &c.' The Prince is become so identified with the Queen

that they are one person, and as he likes business, it is obvious

that while she has the title he is really discharging the functions

of the Sovereign. He is King to all intents and purposes. I am not

surprised at this, but certainly was not aware that it had taken such

a definite shape. However, they told the Sovereigns that they thought

it necessary to obtain a positive assurance that the dissentient

section of the Cabinet was unable, and would in no case undertake, to

form a Government, and suggested that they should either send for or

write to Peel, and ask him the question. The Prince wrote, and last

night John Russell got from him Peel's answer, which was a distinct

declaration that those persons could not and would not attempt to form

a Government. This morning there is another and more numerous meeting,

for now the scattered Whigs have had time to arrive. Peel having

refused to disclose his intentions in his Cabinet, it now remains

for Lord John to tell him what he is inclined to propose, and to ask

him if he will support it. What this shall be will be discussed this

morning. The greatest doubt prevails in the town about the formation

of the Government. If Peel and Graham would communicate frankly with

John Russell, and really try to come to some understanding or fair

compromise; if they would consider the difficulties together and make

a joint attempt to remove them, the work would not be difficult; but

there is always a great difficulty when it is necessary to deal with

such men as Peel and Graham--the one cold, reserved, suspicious, and

insincere, the other slippery.

Certainly the contrast between Peel's position and his reputation

on his coming into office four years ago, and at this moment of his

quitting it, is most remarkable and curious. Never was any Minister

so triumphant as he was then. He had routed his opponents, reduced

them to a miserable state of weakness, and heaped unpopularity and

discredit upon them. With his own party he was like a general who

had just led his troops on to victory; they looked up to him with

admiration, and obeyed him implicitly; all the world was admiring

and applauding him, abroad and at home. And what has been his career

before the world? Successful to the uttermost of general expectation;

personally he vanquished the dislike of the Queen and ingratiated

himself entirely with her. He terminated dangerous contests and

embarrassing disputes, he restored peace, he put the finances in

good order. It would be difficult to point out any failure he

suffered, and easy to show that no Minister ever had to boast of four

more prosperous years, or more replete with public advantage and

improvement. His majority in both Houses of Parliament has certainly

not been diminished; and if he had met Parliament as Minister next

session, he would in all probability have found himself supported

by majorities quite as large as when he took possession of the

Government. And the end of all this triumph, popularity, prosperity,

and power is a voluntary fall, a resignation of office in the midst

of such a storm of rage, abuse, and hatred as no other Minister was

ever exposed to. His political opponents are not disposed to give him

credit for either wisdom or patriotism, while his followers (friends

he has none) heap reproaches upon him, in which they exhaust the

whole vocabulary of abuse, and accuse him of every sort of baseness,

falsehood, and treachery. And what is the cause of this mighty change?

It is because he is wiser than his people, that he knows better than

they do what are the true principles of national policy and national

economy; because, amidst a chaos of conflicting prejudices and

interests, amidst the clashing of mighty powers, he entertains sound

views and wants to give effect to them. It was well said that it was

his purpose 'to _betray_ the country into good measures.' The tendency

of his measures has been good. If he had had time, he would have

accomplished much good; but he was unfortunately 'cribbed, cabined,

and confined' by his antecedent conduct, and he has been obliged to

work his way by the employment of means destructive of his character,

subversive of his influence, and, in the end, fatal to the objects

which he had in view. The history of Peel's four years is well worth

a close study. There is so much in it in connexion with the past to

blame, so much in connexion with the future to praise, and all well

worth pondering upon and fit to point a moral.

[Sidenote: SIR ROBERT PEEL'S POSITION.]

_Afternoon._--The meeting of the Whigs took place this morning,

fourteen or fifteen present. The day before Howick[114] had

arrived, and immediately began squabbling with and dissenting from

everybody. He and Ellice were with Lord John together, and Lord John

so much disagreed with Howick's violent views (for he was all for

extreme measures, immediate repeal, no compensation, trampling on

adversaries), that Howick said pettishly, 'I see it would be useless

for me to attend your meeting to-morrow.' Ellice interfered and said,

'Oh, nonsense, you had better come,' and he did. Lord John said he was

very sorry Ellice had prevailed on him to come, as he should much have

preferred taking him at his word.

Lord John had written to the Queen, and begged her to obtain a more

positive answer whether the Protectionist part of the Cabinet would

or could form a Government; and the Queen wrote to Peel accordingly.

Peel's answer Lord John received this morning; it was a long letter,

four sides of paper. After stating positively that the dissentients

would not make the attempt, he went on to say that he was disposed

to support the measures of the new Government, but that he thought

it better there should be no direct communication between them;

that it would give offence to many people, and not be relished by

Parliament; that he could say that there were many Peers who, whatever

their opinions might be about the Corn Laws, would be anxious that

any measure which passed the House of Commons should pass the House

of Lords, and would do all they could to assist it. This letter was

first read separately, and then when Lord Lansdowne arrived late (from

Bowood), and they all took their places, it was read aloud. After

considerable discussion upon it, some thinking it was not enough,

Clarendon proposed that another letter should be written to the Queen,

requesting that she would ask Peel whether he would be opposed to a

measure of immediate and total repeal, accompanied by other measures

of compensation, but entering into no details, and not saying what

measures of compensation they meant. This was supported by Howick,

and finally agreed to. They now know that Peel intended to propose

immediate suspension and final abolition, but with a short period of

revival. The Whigs think this will never do; they do not indeed see

any great cause for the immediate suspension; but to say so would

be inconsistent with all they have been lately urging, and would

make them appear less liberal than Peel. Then they do not think the

Corn Laws, once suspended, can ever be allowed to revive; so on the

whole they prefer immediate and total repeal, with other measures

of a compensatory character. His letter was to be despatched to the

Queen to-night, who would, of course, send it to Peel directly, and

on his answer the formation of the Government depends. The Queen in

sending Peel's letter expressed her concurrence with his reasoning,

and her hope that it would be found satisfactory, and begged to have

the letter back again directly. X--, from whom I heard all this, told

me the meeting went off very well, and on the whole harmoniously. I

wanted Clarendon to contrive that there should be some communication

made through Graham to Peel, that he may understand how much depends

on the answer he may think fit to send. He ought to be frank and

candid, but it is not in his nature, and there are many people who

fancy he wants to have the Government thrown back upon him, and to go

on. I do not believe this.

[Footnote 114: [Charles, second Earl Grey, the head of the

Government of 1830, died on July 17th, 1845, and was succeeded

by Henry George Grey, his son, the third Earl. This statesman,

therefore, was about to take his seat in the House of Lords for

the first time as Earl Grey. But he was so much better known by

his former courtesy title of Lord Howick, and the title to which

he had just succeeded was still so unfamiliar, that throughout the

narrative of these transactions he is styled Lord Howick by Mr.

Greville, though Earl Grey is meant.]]

[Sidenote: LORD JOHN ACCEPTS THE GOVERNMENT.]

_Friday, December 19th._--Yesterday morning the die was cast. John

Russell accepted the Government. As I have already said, he wrote a

letter to the Queen, and a remarkably good one, setting forth that

he did not think Sir Robert Peel's plan would be sufficient, and his

reasons why, and begging to know whether he would have insuperable

objections to total and immediate repeal. It was certainly understood

by his whole conclave that on Peel's reply to this appeal to him was

to depend the question of taking or refusing the Government. The

Queen sent it to Peel, and all day on Wednesday he and Graham sat

in consultation upon it. On Wednesday evening he sent his reply,

and yesterday morning there was another meeting at Lord John's,

where the reply was read. It was very cold, declined to enter into

any discussion or give any pledges, and expressed a hope that Her

Majesty would not consider him wanting in respect if he referred

her to his former letter. On this being read there was a silence,

when Clarendon first said, 'There, you now see the wisdom of having

required a positive assurance from Peel. It is evident that he will

not support us, and there can be no question that it will not do

for us to take the Government upon it.' Howick instantly interposed

that he did not see that at all, quite disagreed with him, thought

Peel could not say more, and that it was quite as much as they could

expect. Then ensued a quantity of conversation and discussion, all

the pros and the cons, Peel's peculiar character and position, and,

in short, whether they should go on or give it up. At length Lord

John, who had stood with folded arms and let this go on for some time

in silence, said, 'If you wish to know my opinion, I think we ought

to take the Government.' He did not enter into any argument, but

thus pronounced his opinion, and at last it was put to the vote. Ten

were for taking, five were for declining: Lord Lansdowne, the Duke

of Bedford, Clarendon, and two others whom I do not yet know, were

against; all the others for. On the whole I think they did right.

The only awkward part of it is that they seemed at first to announce

a determination only to accept it provided they could get a certain

assurance from Peel. To ask for that assurance--to be refused by

him--and then to draw back from their announced resolution--to submit

to his refusal--and take the Government without it as they could not

have it with it--there is something in this rather mortifying and

a little undignified. But though Peel would not pledge himself to

any particular course, there is one very important feature in his

conduct. If he has not said that he had no insuperable objection to

the measure they contemplate, neither has he said that he has; and he

has, after learning the extent to which they mean to go, given the

same assurance of a disposition to support them which he gave before

he knew it. I think, therefore, that he means to act fairly by them,

to give them his support, and that he really does think that it is

better for them as well as for himself that he should not say more

or pledge himself more, and that he should be able to tell the House

of Commons and his friends that he is unfettered, and that there is

neither arrangement nor understanding between them. I should certainly

have voted for accepting if I had been there. It is obviously Peel's

interest to act a fair and honourable part. In no other way can he

stand well with the country; and in spite of the hatred of the Tory

landlords and his political followers, and the abuse of the press,

there is a very strong impression throughout the country amongst the

well-informed and business-like middle classes that Peel is the ablest

of our public men, that his intentions are good, his principles sound,

and his measures wise and skilful; that on the whole, in spite of

prejudice and obloquy, he has governed the country well and supplied

correction and improvement in every department and direction. Peel's

conduct at the present moment seems to me to be inconsistent with any

design of acting unfairly by the new Government. There is such an

inveterate distrust and suspicion of him that many people cannot be

persuaded he is not hatching some secret and cunning plot to overthrow

them in the end; but if his object had been to recover power and

reconcile himself with the Tories, he had now in his hands a better

opportunity than he can ever expect to find again; if he had only

said one word, the Government fell back at once into his hands; if he

had said he had insuperable objections to total and immediate repeal,

John Russell would at once have declined, and the Queen would have

sent for him again. He would have reformed and reinforced his Cabinet,

and he would have told the Tories he came back to save them from the

extreme measure of John Russell; he would have invited them to support

his safer and more moderate measure instead of appearing as their

destroyer; he would represent himself as standing between them and

destruction, as their defender against ruin. That with his dexterity

he might have turned this to account and have assuaged the fury of

many of them can hardly be doubted. But he has done nothing of the

kind; and in not taking this advantage and rejecting the Government

thus placed within his grasp, I think there is far greater assurance

of his fair intentions than reason to doubt them because he will not

give specific and definite pledges and assurances. All this I have

said to one of my friends this morning who has been all along disposed

to take a different view of the case and has been the principal

advocate for caution and non-acceptance.

[Sidenote: SIR ROBERT PEEL'S HONOURABLE CONDUCT.]

_December 20th._--No novel or play ever presented such vicissitudes

and events as this political drama which has been for ten days acted

before the public. Yesterday, when I went to dinner at Lord Foley's,

Leveson whispered to me that 'everything was at an end.' I had seen

nobody in the afternoon and knew nothing, but after dinner he told me

Charles Gore had told him this. I went off to Kent House and there

heard the whole story. Yesterday morning they met at John Russell's

as usual, and first began by a discussion of the compensations, Lord

Lansdowne and others thinking it advisable to come to an agreement

as to the general principles on which they should proceed in this

important particular. Howick as usual argued, disputed, and battled,

but at last this question was settled. Then John Russell said, 'Now,

if you please, I want to see you singly, and I will begin with

Howick.' Accordingly the rest went into the next room. Howick remained

there forty minutes, at the end of which he stalked out, head in the

air, and, without saying a word to anybody, took himself off. John

Russell then called in one or two more and told them what had passed.

He had offered Howick the Colonies. Howick accepted, but begged to

know the other arrangements, and particularly who was to have the

Foreign Office. He told him 'Palmerston.' Then said Howick, 'I will

not be in the Cabinet.' He argued with him, told him all the reasons

for this arrangement, said everything he could think of, but all in

vain. So they parted. Then Bear Ellice, whom John Russell called

into council, said it was intolerable; and he and Sir George Grey,

who was to have the Home Office, went after him, and it was settled

there should be another meeting in the evening. They could not find

him for a long time, and when they did he would hear of nothing. It

appears that some days ago John Russell did sound Palmerston about

taking another office, hinted that people were alarmed at him, but

said he would not offer him anything else, and that the Foreign Office

was at his disposal. Palmerston did not bite the least, but treated

the alarms as fictitious or ridiculous, said he knew nothing of any

other office, eulogised his own administration, and said he would

take nothing else. Howick had on his side written a letter to John

Russell, not objecting to Palmerston, but intimating that he should

expect to be informed how the offices were to be allotted: something

indicative of a possible breeze, but not of the storm which has burst

forth. In the middle of the day John Russell wrote to Palmerston and

told him a difficulty had arisen, and that _one_ of their colleagues

objected to his taking the Foreign Office. Palmerston very properly

replied that 'this was an additional reason for his accepting no

other.' In the afternoon John Russell, finding Howick would come to no

terms, declared that he would throw the whole thing up, that he could

not do without Grey in the Lords, and that the breach with him would

produce difficulties and embarrassments that would materially impair

his chance of success. Peel was to go down to Windsor this morning

to resign, and John Russell wrote to the Queen to inform her of what

had occurred, and begged her to put Peel off till the afternoon,

and meanwhile he would himself go down to Windsor, where he is, in

fact, gone, to resign. I find that most of his colleagues concur in

this resolution: Auckland, who was at Kent House, Clarendon and Lord

Lansdowne, both of whom have always been against taking office, and

I know not who besides. I think they are wrong. It may be a question

whether they ought to have accepted or refused upon Peel's letter,

whether they had then grounds enough; but it seems to me pusillanimous

and discreditable to suffer Howick to break up the Government they had

consented to form, upon a purely personal question, unmixed with any

political one. Such is the state of things this day at twelve o'clock;

but from hour to hour it is impossible to say or guess how it may all

be changed. The Government is really like a halfpenny whirling in the

air, with John Russell's head on one side and Peel's on the other.

[Sidenote: THE WHIG GOVERNMENT COLLAPSES.]

_Sunday, December 21st._--John Russell went down at eleven o'clock,

resigned, and the Queen accepted his resignation. He gave her a

Minute, setting forth his difficulties (but without naming Grey and

Palmerston) and explanatory of his motives; exceedingly well done,

I am told, terse and clear. This he left with her to show to Peel.

She behaved very graciously to him, thanked him for his exertions,

approved of his conduct, particularly in supporting Palmerston, on

whom she pronounced a high eulogy; praised his talents and industry,

and said she was sure he would have ably and faithfully discharged

his duty. She showed John Russell a letter from Louis Philippe, very

judicious and expressive of his confidence that the change in her

Government would in no way affect the good understanding which existed

between the two countries. Nothing could be more satisfactory than

this interview.

At two o'clock Peel arrived, and upon her informing him that John

Russell had resigned, giving him the Minute to read, and requesting

him to retake the Government, he immediately and without making any

difficulties consented to do so, saying, however, that he would have

supported John Russell if he had formed his Government. The Queen

wrote to John Russell and told him what had passed, which he announced

to us at dinner at Palmerston's. I never saw people so happy, as most,

perhaps all of them, are to have got out of their engagement; even

Lady Palmerston said she did not wish for the Foreign Office again. It

was known yesterday that Howick was the cause of this sudden break-up,

and what he had done, and there was a general disposition to blame him

severely, but also to blame them for not having let him depart and

gone on without him. If they had been really anxious to come in, and

if they had had an entire confidence in Peel's intentions, they no

doubt would have done so; but the Peers of the party, who were all of

them opposed to taking office on Thursday, were still more decidedly

against it when they found Howick was to leave them. They had counted

upon him as their principal speaker in the House of Lords, and when

they found that the whole burthen was to fall on them, and that they

were very likely to have Howick against them instead of for them,

urging impossible measures, they vehemently pressed John Russell to

give it up; and this disinclination on the part of so many members

of his Cabinet to face these difficulties determined him to resign.

If Peel's engagement to support them had been more definite and

positive, they would probably not have cared for Howick's secession;

but, already dissatisfied with Peel, they were too happy to take

the opportunity which Howick afforded them to draw back altogether.

Peel's reserve was really then the cause of the failure, and I have

a strong suspicion that he was reserved and abstained from pledging

himself because he thought John Russell would very likely not be able

to accomplish his task, that in case of failure the Government would

fall back into his hands, and that he was resolved all the time to

retake it if it was offered to him again. At all events he has shown

his prudence, and it is very fortunate for him that he did not pledge

himself to any particular course, and that he has kept himself at

liberty to do exactly what he pleases. He is not the least pledged

either for or against total repeal. The conversation I had with Sidney

Herbert some nights ago gave me a suspicion that they were looking

forward to the possibility, if not the probability, of their immediate

resumption of office. I think, on the whole, Lord John had sufficient

reason for giving it up, but that the world--that is, the Whig

world--and those who desired his success, who cannot know what was

passing in his green-room, will think he ought, after going so far, to

have gone on to the end. The last scene will not appear to have been

well played out. It will be thought that if they saw cause enough on

public grounds to undertake it, they ought not to have been deterred

from proceeding because one unreasonable member of the Cabinet raised

objections and difficulties of a purely personal nature, and which had

no reference to the great measure which it was their mission to carry

through. This is, as far as one can see, the general opinion.

[Sidenote: SIR ROBERT PEEL RESUMES OFFICE.]