1881-1884.
The monotonous tale of Moorish apathy is continued, only diversified
by occasional gleams of hope that he had succeeded in rousing the
Sultan to a sense of his position—a hope never fulfilled. Thus on
January 19, 1881, Sir John writes from Tangier:—
Things are looking better in the interior. The Sultan has addressed
energetic letters to all the Governors, rebuking them for the state
of misgovernment, and threatening his dire displeasure if murderers
and malefactors are not arrested and punished.
_Entre nous_, I have pulled this wire; but His Sultanic Majesty might
almost as well have addressed me a letter on the state of Ireland.
Now I am at work for the revision of our Convention of Commerce, as
instructed by the Foreign Office. Merchants of course expect much,
far more than I can obtain. I am communicating with some who are very
sanguine. I have pointed to the conduct of civilised Governments
who reject liberal measures, and ask how they can expect ignorant
folk like Moorish Ministers to introduce free trade.
And on April 7:—
I have worked up the Treaty, but cannot get the torpid Bargash to
respond. All must go to Sultan, and His Majesty will require two
months to consider.
The debt of Morocco to British Loan Contractors expires next
year. $30,000,000 have passed through my hand as Commissioner. No pay:
nothing has stuck. Alhamdulillah[59].
Returning from a brief holiday spent in Europe he found the old
state of affairs unchanged:—
_August 30_, 1881.
We are quiet in Morocco, but there are rumblings. If the French
make any rash movements towards Morocco territory we might have an
outbreak of fanaticism, and then the direst consequences may ensue.
The Sultan is still marching towards Marákesh, ‘eating up’
his indigestible subjects, and thus preparing them to welcome the
Nazarene.
Bargash has not returned, so nothing has been done about
Convention. These Moors understand the value of _vis inertiae_. I
am sick of them, and some day may strike work, for counsels are all
thrown away on such a corrupt torpid brute as the present Uzir.
Ravensrock, _Oct. 9_, 1881.
I think the French will leave Morocco alone. They must bide their
time.
The world does not form a favourable opinion of the result
of the prospect they held out of introducing civilisation and
prosperity. Instead we have murders, robbers, and the fanatical
feelings of a quiet inoffensive people roused. A gentleman who
resides in Algeria describes the treatment of the Arab population
in the interior there before the insurrection, as being as hard as
that of the poor people in this country.
Hundreds extort money and grind down the Mohammedans. I dare say we
were as bad in India _years ago_.
Sir John was at this time more than usually despondent of the future
of Morocco, for another of his favourite projects for the improvement
of trade had met with a complete check. Ever since the Commercial
Treaty of 1856 he had continuously urged on the Moorish Government
the importance of allowing the exportation of grain. All his efforts
were, however, without result until 1881, when a half-hearted trial
of the new system was made. Unfortunately in this year a prolonged
drought, with consequent failure of crops, resulted in a famine,
and the superstitious Moors at the Court at once concluded that the
Deity was angered at the innovation, and they therefore refused to
renew the permission to export grain in following years.
The results of the famine were, in other ways, most distressing. The
peasantry, fired by the prospect of a larger market for their grain,
had greatly extended cultivation, and many square miles of land,
barren before, had been ploughed and sown, and, with the usual
improvidence of a poor and thoughtless race, they had raised money
from usurers on their ungrown crops. Thus with the complete failure
of these crops, nearly the whole population of the immense arable
plains of Morocco were reduced, not only to beggary, but to absolute
starvation.
Once more Sir John proceeded to the Court, and endeavoured to rouse
the Moors to action.
‘We are off to-morrow,’ he writes on March 28,
1882. ‘H.M.S. “Salamis,” takes us to Dar-el-Baida, then we go
to Marákesh by land. Sultan sends escort, &c., &c. to meet us. The
French have preceded us, Italian and Spanish Ministers follow. These
Missions are like locusts eating up the country, and, alas! no rain
falls, and failure of crops and consequent famine are menaced. . . .
‘A fierce stand has been made against modification of the scale
of duties by this stupid people. But I have other fish to fry at
the Court. Sysiphus will continue to roll up his stone to the last.’
Sir John in this letter refers to the system of ‘mona’ levied on
the provinces through which the Missions pass. In times of scarcity
the tax falls very heavily on the unfortunate peasantry. The Kaids
order much more than is required, and they and the dependants of the
Mission often divide the spoil. Sir John always did what he could
to mitigate this evil, fixing the amount of provision required, and
appointing one of his staff to watch the distribution. Any surplus
was sold by auction each day, and the proceeds given to the poor of
the district. The Spanish Minister adopted the same system on his
visit to the Court at this time.
The next letter shows him immersed in business at Marákesh.
Dar-Mulai-Ali, Marákesh, _April 21_, 1882.
I am so bothered with work that I hate the sight of a pen and ink,
even when writing to those I love.
It is getting very hot here. In the shade about 80° (Fahrenheit)
at 2 p.m.; but in our rooms, in this thick-walled house, 71°. We
are very comfortable.
The Sultan is most gracious and flattering, but he wants to keep me
until Dons and Italian Mission have come and gone. If so, we shall
be here for a month more. The French Minister went away pleased,
and thanked me for aiding him in getting satisfactory answers.
Nothing is decided about the new Convention. I find the greatest
opposition to any free trade suggestions; but I hammer away, though
I tell them my preachings and warnings have the same effect as the
efforts of a man who attempts to fill a bucket which has no bottom,
or at least a hole in it.
The Sultan has assembled twenty-five thousand men to go to Sus to open
ports, as we advised. Crops and all vegetation have failed there and
in other Southern provinces. We passed through stunted crops dried
up; no rain. It is most sad; for the Sultan, following my advice,
had encouraged agriculture—and in the grand rich province of
Shawía, through which we passed, we did not see two acres of land
uncultivated. Wheat is far dearer than in England; horses and cattle
are dying; misery everywhere. I am trying to dissuade the Sultan
from going to Sus, and urging him to await another year and better
harvest. His troops will desert him and a revolution will follow if
he should be compelled to retreat. _Nous verrons_ the effect of my
advice. Everybody, high and low, is begging me to stop the expedition.
I have settled some affairs and others are in progress. This is an
Augean stable, and I am tired of sweeping, as filth accumulates ten
times faster than I can sweep. I tell the Sultan as much.
The Palace of Dar-Mulai-Ali, in which Sir John was lodged in 1882,
has attached to it the following story.
Mulai Ali, the late owner, and uncle of Sultan Mulai Hassan, had
been a great favourite of the people of Marákesh. A student, kind
and just, he passed his time with the learned men of the city and
in the great mosque, the Kutubía; the grounds of the mosque and
the beautiful orchard belonging to Mulai Ali being separated only
by a wall, some six feet high, having in it a door of communication.
One Friday, not many months before our arrival, the Sultan, his Court
and the people of Marákesh were startled by hearing the ‘muddin’
cry from the minaret of the Kutubía—after the usual chant at
midday of ‘God is great and Mohammed is his prophet,’—‘Long
life to our Sultan Mulai Ali.’ The ‘muddin’ was seized and
brought before the Sultan, and though put to the torture, all he
would admit was, that God had inspired him and not man—and he
was thrown into prison. Mulai Ali was also questioned by his royal
nephew, but denied any knowledge of what had taken place—except
that he had heard the cry. A few days after the occurrence Mulai Ali
died suddenly—the Court said of apoplexy, but the people whispered
poison, and the Sultan confiscated his property.
The house was really beautiful, with a great marble court and
splashing fountain in the centre. The garden stood right under the
shadow of the Kutubía tower, and therefore it was considered a
special compliment that a Christian Envoy should be allowed to live
there, though of course the door of communication between the mosque
and Mulai Ali’s property was kept closed.
On the day of the public audience, Miss Hay rode with her father
to the gate of the palace. There, as on former occasions, she was
about to dismount, for, as a rule, no mounted person but the Sultan
is allowed within the palace court. But one of the chief ushers came
forward, and said, ‘Sidna (our Lord) desires you will remain on
horseback.’ He then led her into the great court, which was lined
with foot-soldiers, and ordering some of the men to stand back, placed
her in front of them; himself, with several subordinate officials,
standing as a guard before her.
Sir John, with the other members of the Mission, had taken up a
position in the centre of the court.
Then from the soldiers the cry arose of ‘Long life to Sidna,’
which was caught up and echoed and re-echoed throughout the whole
town of Marákesh. The large green gate, the private entrance to
the palace, opened, and the Sultan, riding a milk-white horse, with
his guard, umbrella-bearer and attendants, entered and rode up to
the Envoy. After the interview, he passed near where Miss Hay was
stationed, turned his horse so as to face her, and caused it to curvet
and rear slightly, while himself saluting her. She acknowledged the
salute, and the Sultan proceeded on his way to the palace.
This act of courtesy raised much comment among the Moors, as it was
the first time that the presence of a lady at a public audience had
been acknowledged by any Sultan. Next day the Uzir’s wife, a clever
and very pretty woman, congratulated Lady Hay and her daughter on
having won such a high mark of favour from His Sherifian Majesty.
On the return journey, Sir John writes from the camp at Kasba Jedída,
four hours’ march from Rabát, on May 30:—
All wondrous well. Actually cold to-day, with a fresh wind blowing
from the Atlantic: 74° in tent at 3.30 p.m.
Yes, some sneaking, jealous person put in the papers an unfounded
story about my being stoned. The members of the French Mission did
get into a row, and they had a lot of people arrested and flogged,
and a poor woman came crying to me to aid her in begging for release
of her husband. As to our party, all the Moors, high and low, wild
and tame, vie with each other in showing us attention, civility, and
hospitality. ‘Ingliz, you are just; you are kind; you are generous;
we look upon you as one of us.’ These are the expressions of every
one, including the Sultan.
My friend Diosdado[60] has gained golden opinions
everywhere. ‘Kindness and charity; honour bright.’ He has won
the good-will of the Sultan and his Court, and reversed the bad
policy that existed. He and I were like brothers.
I think I told you I was behind the curtain to arrange the question
between France and Morocco. . . . the chief object of my Mission
is accomplished.
The basis of the Commercial Convention is arranged, but nothing will
be done till the state of the country and prospects improve.
One hundred and two claims settled.
Señor Diosdado, mentioned in the foregoing letter, was the Spanish
Envoy, who was at Fas on a Mission to the Sultan at the same time as
Sir John. One of the members of this Spanish Mission was the Father
Superior of the Franciscan Brotherhood in Morocco, a very able man,
much beloved and esteemed by persons of all nationalities and creeds
throughout Morocco, and whom Sir John had always regarded as a good
and trusted friend.
When, after Sir John’s death, his elder daughter returned to
Tangier in the spring of 1894, the Father Superior called on her,
and expressed heartfelt sympathy with her and her family in their
bereavement, and his regret for the loss to himself of an old and
valued friend. He added:—
Your father always showed me great kindness and friendship, and never
shall I forget how much I owe him for a few words of encouraging
recommendation at a critical moment.
It was during my visit to the Court of Morocco, where I had gone
with the Spanish Envoy. Your father had preceded us there, also
on a Mission to the Sultan, and one evening, immediately after our
arrival, I called on His Excellency with the Spanish Minister and
some of his suite. Sir John happened to be in conclave with one of
the Sultan’s most influential Ministers, but their conversation
was suspended during our visit, and we were severally introduced
to this dignitary. When presenting me, your father said, ‘Let me
introduce my old friend Padre Lerchundi, and recommend him to you
as a good man, a friend to the Moors and kindly to all. Believe me,
you may put entire trust and confidence in him.’
This recommendation, added the Superior, assisted me more than any
representations could have done from other quarters.
Europeans, who were ignorant of the nature of the people with whom
Sir John had to deal, were prone to attribute the lack of progress
throughout the country to his apathy. An English Company had been
formed to carry out railway, telegraphic and other works in Morocco,
and Sir John was asked to use his influence to secure concessions. He
promised his aid and did his utmost; but, writing in 1883, after an
interview with one of the projectors, he says:—
During thirty-seven years, having unceasingly worked to obtain all
this for British subjects without success, I could hold out little
hope that the Company would succeed so long as the present form of
Government existed in Morocco and the Sultan’s venal Ministers
remained in power.
I said, however, that he should carry out his intention of visiting
the Court, and then he would be able to judge from all he heard and
saw whether there was any hope of success; for people in England
seem to be foolishly impressed with the idea that I uphold this
Government in its rejection of all improvements and reforms.
The state of this country becomes daily more hopeless, and I do
not see even a glimmering of hope for the future. Unjust claims are
daily pressed on them, and protected Jews concoct false documents
and extract thousands of dollars from the Mohammedans. I have warned
the chief Jews that, if the Sultan dies and there is a revolution,
the Mohammedans will not forget their wrongs, and there will be a
general massacre.
I am sick of Morocco and its affairs, and am thinking seriously of
taking off the galling collar; for I pull and pull, and the vehicle
only backs. . . .
One of the Company formed for regenerating Morocco has started for
the Court. I am glad; for the Company will learn, I expect, that it
is not Drummond Hay who stops the way.
In 1883 the forward policy of France was already producing serious
results in Morocco, which seemed in the near future likely to assume
still more formidable proportions. Writing from London on October 4,
Sir John expresses his fears of the effect of French machinations:—
The action of France appears to be that of paralysing all government
and authority of the Sultan by covert proceedings, and, when anarchy
takes place, then, perhaps, _la Grande Nation_ hopes to be asked by
the civilised world to step in and protest.
In the following spring matters looked very serious, and, after his
return from a week’s pigsticking at the ‘Lakes,’ he writes to
his sister on the subject, after a short allusion to his favourite
sport:—
Ravensrock, _May 20_, 1884.
We enjoyed our camp life during the first week of May, though
for two days it blew an easterly hurricane, which spoilt our
sport. Nevertheless fourteen of the enemy were slain. J.’s fine
horse badly wounded; also the horse of the Basha’s son.
You will perhaps have seen in the papers contradictory reports
about the state of relations between France and Morocco,—telegrams
asserting that relations are broken off and flag hauled down; then
telegrams declaring that the most friendly relations exist. The
fact is Ordega has been blustering here and threatens to break off
relations, to march an army across the frontier, to send a fleet
and encourage the Sheríf[61] to raise the standard of rebellion
and march upon the capital, and that a French force would cross
the frontier and support him. All this to obtain the dismissal of
Jebar, the Khalífa of Wazan, who was unfriendly to the Sheríf, the
_protégé_ of France. Some one of Jebar’s dependants had called
the Sheríf’s son an infidel for accepting French protection;
upon which the latter seized the Moor and had him flogged and poured
boiling water on him. Naturally, a few days afterwards he died. Then
Ordega sent a Secretary of Legation to inquire about this, and
the Sheríf’s son brought his witnesses to prove that Jebar had
poisoned his own dependant[62]!
The Sultan refused to dismiss Jebar without inquiry. Then followed
menace upon menace, and finally Ordega left for Paris. The French
flag was hauled down, and all letters from Moorish authorities were
returned by the _Chargé d’Affaires_. The impression of course
left on the mind of the Sultan and of every one (except myself)
was that war was imminent. I telegraphed to my Government, and so
did my other colleagues. Lord G. telegraphed back that Ferry assured
him the Governments of Morocco and France were on the most friendly
relations, and that they had no desire to create disturbance. In
the meantime the Sultan appealed to the Austrian, British, German,
Italian, and Spanish Governments against the proceedings of Ordega
in affording protection to the Sheríf, his sons, and thousands
of dependants, and complained that he was fomenting insurrection
by sending emissaries to all parts of the Empire to call upon the
population to rebel against His Sherifian Majesty’s authority. No
reply has as yet been given to this appeal, and the conspiracy
continues, backed by the French. I think it probable, however,
that Ordega has misled his Government and declared that he has not
done what he has done; for he took care not to write his threats,
and when a letter was addressed to him containing a repetition of
all he had menaced, he would not receive it.
On his arrival in Paris an article appeared in the _Gaulois_ of
May 8, signed by the Editor, making calumnious charges regarding
the corrupt practices of all the Representatives (myself included)
except the German. Then on the 10th, in consequence of the demand of
a Spanish diplomat resident at Paris, the Editor retracted as regards
Diosdado. I telegraphed to Lord G. that I required retraction and
an apology to be inserted in the _Gaulois_: for the Editor openly
declares that he has reported the language held by Ordega to Ferry
on May 7, and subsequently communicated to him.
The Italian and Portuguese Ministers both wrote to their Governments
to demand satisfaction.
S. takes it up personally, and threatens to call out Ordega if an
apology is not offered.
Our days of Quixotism are passed; but my fingers tingle to box the
fellow’s ears. I do not know how he can return here amidst the
nest of hornets he has roused. . . .
Unfortunately, just at this crisis, i.e. on the 14th, appeared an
article in the _Times_ which declares that England has no commanding
interest in the political condition of Morocco, leading the reader to
believe that the action of France is beneficial to British interests.
This leader may have been inspired by those who desire to prepare and
mould the minds of the British public for the prosecution of their
undoubted future, if not immediate, design of becoming mistress
of the Straits and of the Mediterranean from Spartel to Tripoli,
and perhaps hereafter to Egypt.
Should France annex or establish a protectorate over Morocco, the
port of Tangier might be made a safe and well-fortified harbour
for torpedo vessels and the like craft, and other harbours could be
formed likewise to the eastward between Tangier and Ceuta. France and
Spain would probably be allied in case of war, and our shipping would
only pass by running the gauntlet. Gibraltar must fall or come to
be of little value as a harbour of refuge. Nelson said, ‘Tangier
must either remain in the hands of a neutral Power like Morocco,
or England must hold it.’ Of what avail is it that we took our
stand about the passage of the Dardanelles, and defended at such
cost our free passage through the Suez Canal, if this end of the way
to the East and to India can be stopped when it pleases France? Yet
the _Times_ says, ‘we have no political interest in Morocco.’
This article is based on a letter dated May 12, addressed to the
Editor of the _Times_ by the Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society,
wherein he dwells, and with strong grounds, upon the state of
misgovernment, slavery, and other abuses in this country; but
Mr. Allen is not always correct, especially when he speaks of my
being ‘all-powerful,’ and yet intimates that I do not use my
influence to good purpose.
The leader in the _Times_ says that (in the case of the man murdered
at Wazan) ‘the action of France has on the whole tended to promote
the cause of civilisation, good government, and freedom in a country
which has long been a stranger to these blessings.’
Now I know not one single act of the French Government or its
Representative in this country which has been beneficial to the cause
of civilisation or introduced any reform or improvement in Morocco,
and I defy any Frenchman to state them. The compulsory payment by
the Moorish Government of numerous claims of French citizens and
protected subjects has certainly been obtained, but that can hardly be
regarded as beneficial to civilisation, unless the protection afforded
to the Sheríf can be considered beneficent. If the proceedings of
the Sheríf are not put a stop to, and civil war ensues, a state of
anarchy will be produced, and probably a massacre of the unfortunate
Jews in the interior.
This would benefit civilisation!
The form of Government in Morocco is the worst in the world. No
officials except the Customs Officers are paid. The consequence
is that all live by peculation, extortion, and bribery; or, in the
words of a Moor describing the system, ‘We are like fishes—the
big live by eating up the small.’ The population is reduced to
misery by the avarice of the Governors, and the latter, who have to
send twice a year large sums of money to satisfy the rapacity of the
Ministers, are constantly killing the geese (the farmers) to get the
golden eggs. No security for life or property, no encouragement to
industry—and it is only a matter of wonder that the whole country
is not allowed to lie fallow.
The people are a fine race; but, since the days when they were
ejected from Spain and returned to Morocco to be subject to the rule
of Sultans who are Pope-Kings, they have degenerated gradually and
become a degraded people.
I am described by Mr. Allen as being all-powerful. If so, the
inference naturally is that I have neglected to do my duty in
requiring the Sultan and his Government to introduce reforms and
improvements.
I have never ceased for nearly forty years to preach and pray, to
urge and beg. My archives are full of notes addressed to Ministers
of the Moorish Government, with suggestions and propositions for
improving commerce, introducing railways, roads, telegraphs, mining
operations, removal of restrictions on commerce, &c., &c. All this,
however, to little purpose, for the venal advisers of the Sultan
have no interest in reforms or improvements when they do not see a
direct means of filling their own pockets. Promises are frequently
made to me, but rarely fulfilled. I have lately received promises
that the prohibition on the exportation of barley and wheat, now
lying rotting in granaries, will be removed, and yet they hesitate
and delay; and so it is with everything.
Yet I may conscientiously declare that the few improvements which
have been effected in this country have been brought about through
my representations and acts.
I have worked hard of late to obtain the revision of the Treaty
of Commerce (of 1856), which has been agreed to by the Sultan; but
still the old story of promise, pause, postpone, and then leave the
matter alone.
I have frequently pointed out to my masters at home that if we
consider it desirable that the independence and integrity of a neutral
Sovereign like the Sultan should be upheld, so that the passage of
our shipping through the Straits should remain free in time of peace
or war, it is _our_ duty, it is the duty of _all_ those Powers who
desire to maintain the _status quo_, to take a more active and decided
part than they have done hitherto in requiring the Sultan and his
Ministers to introduce reforms and improvements, and that the people
of this country, who can be almost seen from the shores of Europe,
should not be allowed to remain in their present degraded state—a
disgrace to civilisation. But this is a totally different view of
the question from that of allowing France to become the mistress
of the great gut of commerce, where all our shipping must pass when
bound for the East or for India, and to say to us _Ne plus ultra_.
Again on June 13, 1884, Sir John returns to the subject of French
designs and British apathy:—
Papers will tell you much of passing events here, some correct,
others, especially French, full of mis-statements. Did you see the
_Standard_ of June 3?
It contains an admirable article and a letter from ‘One who
Knows.’
John Bull ought to know what our insidious neighbours are about,
though singing to our Government ‘Lullaby, lullaby,’ whilst
preparing the mine which will explode when it suits their purpose
to make themselves masters of the Straits and Southern coast of the
Mediterranean from Spartel to Tripoli!
You will have seen in the papers that Ordega returned in an ironclad
and demanded that the fort should salute the French flag with
twenty-one guns before his landing, and that the acting Minister
for Foreign Affairs and all the authorities should come down to the
pier to meet him. ‘To hear is to obey,’ with the heavy guns of
the ‘Redoutable’ pointed at this wretched town; and all asked
for was conceded.
Yesterday a squadron of eight ships (!) arrived here; they remain,
I am told, at the disposition of Ordega.
P.S.—Just as I closed my letter the French squadron left, and I
got a note to say some arrangement has been made about protection
to the Sheríf, and that the question of frontier is deferred. It
will come on, however, before long.
For the time the danger, as the following letter shows, was
averted:—
I said to a colleague the other day that man was prone to attribute
to the machinations of the devil anything that was adverse, whereas
the poor devil is the victim of his traducers; thus, I said, it is
with me. Whatever goes wrong in Morocco is attributed to that _bête
noire_—Drummond Hay.
I know not whether you have seen another clever letter of ‘One
who Knows’ in the _Standard_ of 30th ult.
With reference to the last paragraph, I have to say that a great
change has come over Ordega since the hurried departure of the French
squadron (ordered by telegraph). He has altered his tone with the
Moorish Government and the local authorities, and has told the Sheríf
he cannot support the tribes who seek for his protection against
the authority of the Sultan. The question of rectifying the frontier
has also been abandoned, and the most solemn assurances are given to
Italy, Spain, and England that France will not disturb the _status
quo_, unless a state of anarchy takes place in Morocco compelling
her to interfere. That is, however, the question. Insurrection has
been prevented, and the Sultan has given orders for the chastisement
of the disaffected tribes. This system of ‘eating up’ rebels,
which you can remember in the time of the old Sultan, renders of
course the Sovereign most unpopular with his unfortunate subjects.
With reference to the calumnious article in the _Gaulois_ to which
he had called Lord Granville’s attention, he writes from London
on October 18, 1884:—
I have just received a courteous private letter from Lord Granville,
saying he had delayed replying to my letter as he has been in
communication with Waddington; he asks to see me on Monday.
The result of the interview is given in a letter three days later:—
Lord Granville was very civil and kind.
Ferry shirked getting justice done by publishing a disclaimer. His
Lordship agreed that a question should be put in the House of
Lords. He only asked that Zouche should give him notice, and
promised to reply in a manner that would be satisfactory to me. I
gave him a full dose; outpouring all that was in my heart, both about
abuse and my having been passed over in the course of my career by
juniors—being told my ‘services were too useful in Morocco to
be dispensed with’—and now, I said, ‘the public press declares
that I am useless and stop the way,’ &c.
Lord Granville looked blandly at me, now and then making encouraging
remarks, such as, ‘_Your character stands too high_ to be affected
by the attacks of men like Monsieur Ordega, and that bankrupt
fellow,’ meaning ———.
Before the subject was mentioned in the House of Lords, Her
Majesty’s Government had given proof that they did not underrate
Sir John’s integrity and good service, thereby affording him
sincere satisfaction.
‘I think you will be glad to hear,’ he writes from Ravensrock
in November, 1884, ‘that I have just received a note from Lord
Granville announcing that Her Majesty has been pleased to confer upon
me the G.C.M.G., “in recognition of my long and good service.”
I confess I care little to add some letters of the alphabet after
my name, but I am pleased at the discomfiture of enemies who have
been plotting against me. My French colleague will have an attack
of the _English_ malady, “spleen.” He is now treating with these
unfortunate Moors at the cannon’s mouth.
‘An ironclad is in the bay to support his demands. He seeks for
revenge, on account of the humiliation suffered by his _protégé_
and dupe the Sheríf, who is now treated almost as an outcast by
the Moors of Tangier, and is called the Sheríf “francés.”’
The question to which Sir John referred in his interview with Lord
Granville was asked by a personal friend in the House of Lords. It
elicited replies which completely exonerated him from all the blame
which had been cast upon him, and was made the occasion for the
strongest expressions of satisfaction with his long and arduous
services. The following passages are taken from the _Times_ of
November 22, 1884:—
Lord Zouche asked Her Majesty’s Government whether any official
denial had been published by the French Government to an article
which appeared in the _Gaulois_ newspaper in the spring of this year
wherein the editor accused several of the Foreign Representatives at
Tangier of corrupt practices, and among them the British Minister,
Sir John Drummond Hay, stating that he (the editor) had obtained
this information from the French Minister at Tangier, M. Ordega,
who was at that time in Paris on leave of absence; and, as it would
appear that, owing to the fact of no denial having been given to
those grave charges, other accusations were made by French journals
which were referred to in English journals to the effect that Sir
J. D. Hay had obstructed British enterprise and commerce, and had
encouraged the Sultan of Morocco in his policy of resistance to all
reform and improvement, whether there were any grounds for such grave
charges having been put forward. Sir John Hay had been passed over by
many of his juniors, and had now been upwards of forty years in his
present post, and he and his friends thought it incumbent upon them
to have some sort of public contradiction of these most unfounded
charges and some sort of public vindication of his character.
Earl Granville.—My Lords, I think the noble lord has correctly
stated the facts of the case. The editor of the _Gaulois_, it appears,
accused Sir John Hay and his colleagues of most intolerable practices,
and gave M. Ordega as his authority. Now, I am not sure that if I
read such an article as this concerning myself I should not treat
it with contempt and trust to whatever character I had. But it is a
different thing when men serving their country in distant countries
are thus unjustly attacked, for, as in this case, the extract from
the French paper is copied not only into other foreign newspapers,
but into English newspapers. However, after what has occurred I
thought it necessary, at the request of Sir J. D. Hay, to make an
application to M. Ferry, in courteous terms, that M. Ordega should be
called upon either to substantiate, or retract, or to say that he had
not communicated the article to the _Gaulois_. M. Ferry, in the first
instance, said the _Gaulois_ was perfectly wrong, that no such report
had been circulated by Ordega himself, and that he thought that it
was hardly worth while to contradict a statement made in a newspaper
which was well known to be so strongly opposed to the existing French
Government. M. Ordega was, however, applied to, and he telegraphed
to Paris entirely denying that he had communicated or inspired any
such article in the _Gaulois_. M. Ferry took the view that a great
deal of time had elapsed, and that it was really better not to call
attention to the matter now. I have been in correspondence with Sir
J. D. Hay, and the last letter I received from him, only a day or two
ago, was to the effect that he was perfectly satisfied and that he
should trouble his head no more in the matter. I am glad to be able
to add that I believe there is no man in the diplomatic service more
honourable or more energetic in the discharge of his duties than Sir
J. D. Hay. The noble lord says that Sir J. D. Hay has been passed
over for promotion; but I remember instances where persons employed
in the diplomatic service have been, to use a homely phrase, kicked
upstairs to get them out of a place where they were doing mischief
instead of good. I believe it to be exactly the contrary in the case
of Sir John Drummond Hay. He is most fit for the post he has held, and
for that reason he has lost some chances of personal advancement. I
really can only repeat in the strongest way that Sir Drummond Hay
was quite justified in dismissing from his mind any imputation made
against him, and I have great pleasure in adding that a short time ago
the Queen granted him the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George.
The Marquis of Salisbury.—As the youngest and most recent of
the foreign secretaries the noble earl has referred to, I have
very great pleasure in joining with him in expressing the high
estimation which was always entertained for Sir Drummond Hay by his
superiors. Not only was the charge against him ridiculous, as it would
have been against any representative of the Crown, but he is a man
of singular integrity and patriotism, and a more able, progressive,
and intelligent adviser does not exist in the diplomatic service. I
always thought it a weak point in our diplomatic arrangements that
a class of men like Sir Drummond Hay, of whom there are several
in the service, who have special qualities for the particular post
they occupy, cannot be rewarded as they should be rewarded without
detriment to the public service, because by the rules of the service
their rank cannot be increased where they are, and because they
cannot be removed from the post they occupy without doing harm to
the public service. I think Sir Drummond Hay has been more than
repaid by the universal confidence with which he is looked up to and
the very high esteem in which he has always been held. I think it
is unnecessary to vindicate any English statesman against foreign
newspapers, because their statements are, as a rule, absolutely
phenomenal. I remember one statement in a foreign newspaper which
informed us that the noble duke for whose eloquence we are waiting
to-night was about to go abroad to spend the winter in the South
of France with his well-known greyhounds; and I remember another
such statement which informed us that a well-known statesman, and
English Lord Chancellor, was about to receive some high honour from
the Crown for his services as President of the Berlin Congress.
The Earl of Malmesbury and Lord Napier of Magdala also bore their
testimony to the high integrity and character of Sir Drummond Hay,
and,
The Earl of Derby said that he did not know any person in any branch
of the public service more utterly incapable of such conduct as that
imputed to him than Sir Drummond Hay. He had always known him as an
active and able public servant.
[Illustration: RAVENSROCK]