preceded it. The one had been undertaken in the interest of aristocracy
and of property, in a panic of fear of the growth of the liberty of the
people; now the whole nation was driven to defend itself, and, while
defending itself, Europe also, from the aggressions of a gigantic and
all-absorbing ambition. The outbreak of this war marks a change in the
career of Napoleon. He had hitherto acted, nominally at all events, as
an agent for the propagation of national liberty. He had pretended
throughout to be spreading the principles of the French Revolution; he
had met with much sympathy from downtrodden nations; he had found it
easy to overwhelm effete and unpopular dynasties. He was now entering
upon a war against the people themselves, and, though success at first
attended his arms, when it became evident that it was not assistance
against tyrants but subjugation to a foreign power that he brought, the
efforts to oppose him became national, and before the uprising of
nations he ultimately succumbed. Bonaparte's first step after war was
declared corresponded exactly with this change. Crowds of Englishmen had
thronged to see with their own eyes the condition of revolutionized
France. All the English in France between the age of eighteen and sixty,
numbering it is believed about 12,000, were suddenly by a single decree
taken prisoners, and kept confined till the close of the war, thus
spreading sorrow and discomfort broadcast through England. The pretext
was the capture of two ships before war was declared; they were not
however captured till after the ambassadors had withdrawn, nor, as has
subsequently been made evident, till Bonaparte had himself ordered an
embargo to be laid on the English shipping.
[Sidenote: He excites discontent in Ireland.]
Bonaparte's interference in the affairs of Ireland had also its share in
rendering the war truly national. It had been hoped that the great work
of the Union, following the suppression of the Rebellion of 1798, would
have introduced peace and prosperity into the island. Nor at first did
the hopes appear ill founded. Both Lord Hardwicke, the Lord-Lieutenant,
and Lord Redesdale the Chancellor, appear to have believed in the rapid
improvement both of the physical and political condition of the country.
The Catholics, although disappointed of their hopes, seem to have
understood the state of affairs which obliged Pitt to refrain from the
further prosecution of their claims, and to have postponed all idea of
present agitation.
[Sidenote: Emmett's Rebellion. 1803.]
But the miserable cultivation and the prevalence of waste lands in
Ireland allowed of the existence of an extremely ignorant and prejudiced
peasantry, and among them it was not difficult to excite again their old
animosity to England. Bonaparte took advantage of this opening, and
while the Peace of Amiens lasted many French agents seem to have been
poured into Ireland, both for the purpose of inquiring minutely into the
resources of the English Government there and of establishing a
connection with the discontented peasantry. Many intercepted letters
proved to Government the existence of these agents; their presence in
Ireland was excused, like Sebastiani's mission to Egypt, by the
assertion that they were merely commercial agents, following a system
which had obtained in France ever since the time of Colbert. Their
success was limited by the distaste of the Catholics for the French
Revolution. In spite of Bonaparte's intercourse with Rome and the
establishment of the Concordat with Pius VII., by which he established
Roman Catholic Christianity as the religion of France, the Catholics
could not forget the destructive doctrines which had attended all the
former steps of the Revolution. It was therefore among the republicans
only (not an influential body) and the ignorant mob that the agitation
took any hold. A leader was found in Robert Emmett, the son of a Dublin
physician, who with his brother had been more or less implicated in the
affairs of 1798. He visited Paris early in the Peace, had personal
interviews with the First Consul, and returned home ready to instigate
the rebellion. The other leaders were Russell, a religious enthusiast,
and Quigley, a professional agitator. About Christmas 1802 the
conspirators began their operations. Arms and powder were collected at
depôts in Dublin, and members of the conspiracy were enrolled. Some of
these informed the police of what was going on. The explosion of the
powder in one of the depôts, and the discovery of pikes there, still
further warned the Government, and Emmett considered it necessary to
hasten the outbreak. Saturday the 23rd of July was the day fixed for the
rising. It proved to be little more than a city riot. As no soldiery had
been brought into Dublin, it was for some time in the hands of the mob,
who plundered and got drunk. The only important incident of the riot was
the murder of Lord Kilwarden, the Chief Justice, who, returning from his
country-seat with his daughter and nephew, was met in the streets by a
part of the mob and brutally murdered. The arrival at the castle of his
daughter, who had contrived to make her escape from the murderers, at
length set the military in motion, and the mob was dispersed without
much difficulty. The depôt was discovered, with the supply of arms,
green uniforms, and the proclamation of the provisional government which
was to have been established. Emmett sought safety by pretending to be a
French officer; but the French were not liked; his flight was not
favoured by the people; he was captured and hanged. The importance of
the outbreak lies chiefly in the disclosure of the deepseated hostility
of the Irish, and the necessity laid upon the English of establishing a
series of coercive laws, which remained in force for many years, and
went far to neutralize the healing effect which it was hoped the Union
would have exercised.
[Sidenote: Difficulty of Addington's position.]
[Sidenote: His vigorous measures inefficiently carried out.]
The declaration of war called Pitt from his retirement, for the war, in
the form it had now assumed, seemed to demand the co-operation of all
patriotic men. Pitt therefore again appeared in the House; he thought it
his duty to see, now that war had come, that no laxity was displayed in
its support, and returned to his place, intending, as he himself said,
not to join in any opposition to the ministry so long as their measures
seemed energetic, but to forget all that was past (and many things had
been done of which he could not fully approve) and devote himself to
insuring vigour and activity for the future. Few positions could now be
more embarrassing than that of Addington. His peaceful plans had come to
nothing; and conscious, as he could not but have been, of his own
inferiority, and of the general desire under present circumstances for
Pitt's return to office, he had now to withstand the powerful attacks of
an unusually able Opposition, and the damaging criticism of a so-called
friend whom all the world regarded as his rival. And it must be owned
that Pitt's views were far more in accordance with the views of the
Opposition than with those of the minister. Grenville, Windham, and
Spencer, the consistent supporters of the preceding war, had entered
into a close alliance with Fox, its consistent opponent. Their common
view, which was shared by Pitt, was that the condition of the country
was so critical that nothing but the ablest possible ministry could be
tolerated--that the present ministry, consisting as it for the most part
did of the least able members of Pitt's old Government, was wholly
incompetent to meet the present dangers, and that the one thing
necessary was a great combined arrangement by which the administration
of affairs should be intrusted to men of all parties of the widest
experience and the greatest talents. They were naturally anxious that
Pitt, whose views they knew to be almost identical with their own,
should openly join them, but, as has been seen, although he shared their
views, he felt himself still bound to give some sort of support to a
ministry which he had himself created, and which nominally upheld the
same principles which he had always advocated. In this trying position
Addington's Government showed very creditable activity. Their budgets,
with which Pitt had at first been discontented, were now conceived in
accordance with his own principles. A considerable portion of the
increased burden was borne by taxation, especially by the reimposition
of a property tax, and loans were contracted only as far as needful.
Militia to the number of about 70,000 were embodied; an army of reserve
50,000 strong, raised by ballot to serve for four years, voted; and by a
Bill, known as the Military Service Bill, the enrolment as volunteers of
all men between the ages of seventeen and fifty-five provided for. The
number of these volunteers speedily rose to beyond 300,000. As the
standing army was kept at about 120,000, there must have been of one
sort or other upwards of 500,000 armed men for the purposes of defence.
The temper of the nation was thoroughly roused. Pitt himself, as Warden
of the Cinque Ports, raised and commanded 3000 volunteers, and caused
considerable offers of gunboats to be sent in to the Government from the
maritime towns.
[Sidenote: Increasing opposition.]
[Sidenote: Pitt offers to undertake the Government.]
[Sidenote: Addington resigns. April 26, 1804.]
But great though these preparations were, they were carried out with a
dilatoriness and want of energy in which Pitt and the Opposition found
much cause of complaint. Windham was an enthusiast for the regular army
and disliked the volunteers. Pitt pointed out, that although volunteers
were exempted from serving in the militia, they could only claim their
exemption when properly enrolled and armed, and the issue of arms was so
slow as to throw a great damp upon volunteering, which this exemption
was intended to encourage. There was also a great blot in the
administration which afforded plentiful room for attack. Lord St.
Vincent, great as an admiral, had proved himself incompetent as the head
of the Admiralty. In the desire of the ministry for economy many of the
gunboats and other ships had been rapidly broken up, and the stores in
the dockyards sold, much of them to the French themselves. Attacks
directed on these points began to tell. Other circumstances combined to
drive Pitt to declare himself. He was perfectly conscious of his own
greatness, and of the universal feeling that his present position was
unworthy of him, and he believed that he was the right man to be
intrusted with the Government in the present crisis. It was with much
alarm that he heard that the King's health was again failing. There
seemed every prospect that a regency would be necessary. If that regency
were established, it was understood that Lord Moira, the Prince of
Wales' chief adviser, would be called upon to form a Government. Pitt
declared that under those circumstances he should be compelled to
decline office; fearful of being thus permanently removed from the
ministry, he thought the time for action had arrived; if he was to be
minister at all he must take steps to become so; he therefore declared
his total want of confidence in the present ministry, and stated his
intention, should the state of the King's health permit, of writing to
him, stating his views, and putting himself at his Majesty's service; he
desired, if possible, a broad Government, but that if the King objected
to that he should state his willingness to attempt to form one even upon
a narrow basis. He further declared his belief that after the recess the
combined Opposition would be sufficiently strong to compel the ministers
to resign. Addington also was so conscious of this, that when, on the
reopening of Parliament on the 5th of April, the Opposition assault
began, he authorized Lord Eldon to enter into communication with Pitt.
Through the Chancellor the letter before alluded to was laid before the
King. Meanwhile the ministerial majorities were diminishing. The Irish
Militia Bill was carried by a majority of twenty-one only, at that time
regarded as very small. On the 23rd Fox moved to refer all Army Bills to
a committee of the whole House. His motion was rejected by only
fifty-two; while, two days afterwards, on his attack on the Army of
Reserve Bill, the ministerial majority again sunk to thirty-seven in a
House of 443 members. Upon this Addington resigned.
[Sidenote: Pitt desires a broad ministry.]
[Sidenote: Pitt yields to the King's opposition.]
[Sidenote: He forms a Tory ministry.]
On the 30th Mr. Pitt was informed of the King's desire that he should
draw up a plan for a new administration; he accordingly stated, first in
writing, and subsequently (May 7) in a long interview, what he
considered best for the country. On three grounds he strongly urged a
large and comprehensive ministry. The war was a national one, and
promised to be both long and expensive; to induce the nation to make the
required sacrifice unanimity was most desirable. To wage war
singlehanded was beyond the power of England; but while party divisions
were rife in Parliament the confidence of foreign nations could not be
gained. And lastly, if the King wished to keep the question of the
Catholic emancipation from discussion, it was desirable that there
should be no formidable Opposition certain to make use of the Catholic
claims as a means of offence against Government. On these grounds the
new minister urged the admission of both Grenville and Fox to the
ministry; but he here found the King obstinate. Grenville he would
admit, Fox never. The course that statesman had followed with regard to
the American War, his strong language in favour of the Revolution, his
strenuous opposition to the last French war, had rendered him
politically hateful to the King. His friendship for the Prince of Wales,
and the share which the King believed he had taken in the direction of
the Prince's conduct, had excited his strong personal dislike. To these
prejudices Pitt, in an evil hour for himself, yielded. He had indeed, as
he had already stated, intended to do so. He consented to exclude Fox
from his arrangements. But he still hoped to win the support of his old
colleague Grenville, and since Fox, with great magnanimity, told his
partisans that he had no wish that the King's personal prejudice against
himself should influence their conduct, he was not without hopes of
strengthening his Government by the addition of some of the Whigs. These
hopes were disappointed. The two sections of the Opposition held
separate but simultaneous meetings. In one Grenville declared he would
not take office without Fox, and his followers accepted his decision; in
the other the friends of Fox determined to decline office if their chief
was excluded. No resource was therefore left to Pitt but to form his
government as best he could upon a narrow Tory basis. The political
sections from which he was enabled to draw were his own immediate
followers, and such of the late minister's as did not feel themselves
pledged to follow Addington in his retirement. The result was not wholly
satisfactory. Lord Eldon, the Duke of Portland, Lord Westmoreland, Lord
Castlereagh, and Lord Hawkesbury, continued to hold office, Lord
Hawkesbury surrendering the important post of Foreign Secretary to Lord
Harrowby, and receiving in exchange the Home Office. Dundas, who had
been created a Peer as Lord Melville, became First Lord of the
Admiralty, while Lord Camden, Lord Mulgrave, and the Duke of Montrose,
also became members of the Cabinet, which consisted of twelve, all of
whom, with the exception of Pitt and Castlereagh, were in the Upper
House. Several other men of importance were admitted to subordinate
offices; Canning became Treasurer of the Navy, Huskisson one of the
Secretaries of the Treasury, and Mr. Perceval, the future Prime
Minister, remained in the position of Attorney-General.[20]
[Sidenote: Difficulties of Pitt's position.]
The change of ministry implied a complete change of policy. As
Addington's ministry had been from the first intended as a peace
ministry, so the accession of Pitt to office implied a vigorous
prosecution of the war. But it was with very maimed influence that it
entered upon its work; all hope of acting in foreign affairs with the
full weight of a great combined national party behind him had
disappeared from Pitt's view. The same opposition which had opposed
Addington was ready to oppose him; while Addington himself, unable to
act in any great or magnanimous manner, had also joined its ranks, and
was in open opposition to his old friend. It was with a majority
scarcely larger than that of the ministry he had succeeded, supported by
the same mediocre men, and aided in the Commons by one minister alone,
that Pitt found himself obliged to encounter the bitter enmity of
Bonaparte.
[Sidenote: Real danger from France.]
The necessity for energy Pitt probably felt more strongly than any of
his contemporaries. Strange incredulity was expressed both by Fox and
Grenville as to the reality of the invasion with which Bonaparte was
threatening England. Yet it is certain that the intention of invasion
was perfectly real. Bonaparte had determined to carry out the threat he
had let drop to Lord Whitworth. In the first place it suited his policy
to keep his army together and thoroughly employed. The temper of the
Parisians was lukewarm; he felt that some pressure was necessary to
induce them to give him the support his ambition required, and such
coercion could in no way be more certainly procured than by exciting the
personal devotion and enthusiasm of his soldiers by unfolding before
them constant visions of glory. At the same time his exasperation
against the English led him to underrate the difficulties which lay in
his way, and to believe in the real practicability of his scheme. The
minute and careful preparations in which he engaged are incompatible
with the idea that the invasion was a mere feint. In all the ports of
the Channel boats were being built; even inland towns with any water
communication with the sea were busily employed in the same labour. A
great basin was constructed at Boulogne, of a peculiar shape, intended
to allow of an extremely rapid embarkation of the army, which was
encamped upon the neighbouring heights, and fortifications were raised
to render the flotilla secure from the sea. Yet in all probability, had
the plan been tried, it would have proved a failure. The boats used to
transport the troops were to be of several classes and sizes, and the
mere action of the tides, which are of great strength and complexity in
the Channel, would have been exerted quite differently on these
different sized vessels, and would almost of necessity have separated
the flotilla; yet the whole success of the movement depended on the
simultaneous landing of the army at one point. Moreover, for the passage
of heavily-laden and flat-bottomed boats an absolute calm of two days
would have been necessary, and a calm of two days is a phenomenon of
rare occurrence in the Channel; while, thirdly, success presupposed the
complete absence or idleness of the British fleet.
[Sidenote: Preparations for defence.]
However, whether practicable or impracticable, Napoleon intended to make
the effort, and Pitt, in common with the English nation, believed in his
intention. The excitement was universal. The country was entirely
occupied in drilling and warlike preparations; martello towers were
built along the southern coast, beacons rose on every hilltop, a great
canal or ditch was dug along the coast of Kent, and Pitt excited the
ridicule of Grenville by the energy with which he superintended the
numerous reviews which he set on foot through his brother Lord Chatham.
Such defences have been derided as ridiculously inefficient, and
certainly neither the Kentish ditch nor a few round towers mounting one
gun each, nor a half-disciplined militia, could have checked the French
army had a landing been effected. The real value of such preparations
was the life and energy and courage which they roused in the people. The
more real work of the minister was the restoration of the national
forces to their full efficiency, and the effort to induce the other
countries of Europe to combine in withstanding the dangerous ambition of
the French usurper.
[Sidenote: The Additional Force Bill.]
[Sidenote: Increase of the navy.]
With regard to the army the great ministerial measure was the Additional
Force Bill. There existed at this time two systems of enlistment, the
one for a limited term, the other for the general service; the
recruiting officers in these two branches had entered into a sort of
competition, the effect of which was that very large and quite
unnecessary bounties were offered to induce men to enlist on one or
other of the two systems. A second difficulty was one which constantly
attends a volunteer army, the difficulty of procuring a constant and
regular supply of recruits. The intention of the Additional Force Bill
was to obviate these two difficulties. Pitt thought that this might be
done by raising an additional force of 50,000 men, whence a supply of
trained soldiers could be constantly passed into the regular army. There
already existed an army of reserve, collected under the Reserve Bill
passed by the late ministry, but its full complement of 50,000 had not
been reached; there was a deficiency of 9000 men. At the same time the
militia had risen much beyond its usual numbers. It was at present
74,000 strong, instead of 40,000 for England and 8000 for Scotland,
which was regarded as its normal strength. The present Bill reduced the
militia to its old dimensions. The remainder, with the 9000 as yet
unraised men of the army of reserve, was to form the additional force
from which 12,000 annually were to pass into the army. Parishes were to
be assessed at a certain number of men, and if they failed to supply
them a moderate fine was to be laid upon them, to go to the general
recruiting fund. It was an attempt, in fact, to introduce in some degree
the principle of compulsory service, already slightly recognized in the
militia. The newly-organized body had this also in common with the
militia, that it was connected with the regular army by forming second
battalions not bound to serve abroad, but to be used to supply the place
of the regular army when it was required for foreign service. It was
supposed that there would be no difficulty, when military habits were
once formed, in finding the annual 12,000 to feed the regular troops.
The whole strength of the Opposition was brought to bear against the
Bill, which certainly, in its compulsory clauses, introduced a new
principle into the English military system, and it was only with the
comparatively weak majority of forty that it was carried through the
House. As far as the naval forces were concerned energy and activity
were all that was required, and these were supplied by Lord Melville. In
the first year of his administration he could boast that he had added to
the fleet no less than 166 vessels, either completed or in a state of
forwardness, while during the same period 600 ships had been docked and
repaired.
[Sidenote: Napoleon attempts to form a coalition.]