CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRAHV 
 
 3 1924 088 004 24" 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924088004241 
 
i 
 
 THE 
 
 GEBVILLE MEMOIES 
 
 (THIED PAET) 
 Vol. I. 
 
FEINTED BY 
 
 SPOTTISWOODB iKD CO., NEW-STBEBT SQDABE 
 
 lONEOS 
 
Tee Gbeville Memoibs 
 
 (TBIBD PART) 
 
 A JOUENAL OF THE EEIGN 
 
 OF 
 
 QUEEN VIOTOEIA 
 
 FEOM 1852 TO i860 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 CHARLES C. F. GEEVILLE, Esq. 
 
 clerE op the council 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES— VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO. 
 
 1887 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
PREFACE 
 
 OF THE EDITOR 
 
 TO THE THIED PART OF THIS JOURNAL. 
 
 It appears to be unnecessary and inexpedient to 
 delay the publication of the last portion of these papers, 
 which contain some record of the events occurring 
 between the year 1852 and the close of the year 1860, 
 a period already remote from the present time, and 
 relating almost exclusively to men of the last genera- 
 tion. I have httle to add to the notices prefixed by 
 me to the two preceding portions of this work, but 
 I am grateful for the length of days which has enabled 
 me to complete the task confided to me by Mr. Greville 
 three and twenty years ago, and to leave behind me a 
 record of that delightful company to which I was 
 bound by the closest ties of intimacy and friendship. 
 On looking back upon the first half of the present 
 century, I believe that we were too unconscious of 
 the exceptional privileges we enjoyed, and that we did 
 not sufficiently appreciate the remarkable gifts of the 
 statesmen, the orators, the historians, the poets, and 
 the wits who shed an incomparable lustre on the poli- 
 tics, the literature, and the social intercourse of those 
 
Tl PEEFACE. 
 
 years. Of these personages some traces are to be found 
 in the preceding volumes and in these pages. 
 
 Nor am I less grateful for the reception this publica- 
 tion has met with from the world, which has far sur- 
 passed the modest expectations of the author, and has 
 at last conveyed to the reader a just estimate of the 
 integrity and ability with which these Journals were 
 written. They bear evident marks of the changes 
 which are wrought in a man's character and judge- 
 ments by the experience of life and the course of years ;. 
 and they fall naturally into the three periods or divi- 
 sions of Mr. Greville's life which I was led from other 
 causes to adopt. In the first part he appears as a man 
 of fashion and of pleasure, plunged, as was not incon- 
 sistent with his age and his social position, in the dissi- 
 pation and the amusements of the day ; but he was be- 
 ginning to get tired of them. In the second part he 
 enters with all the energy of which he was capable,, 
 though shackled by his official position, upon the great 
 political struggles of the time — the earnest advocate of 
 peace, of moderation, of justice, and of liberal principles 
 — regarding with a discriminating eye and with some 
 severity of judgement the actions of men swayed by 
 motives of ambition and vanity, from which he was 
 himself free. This was the most active period of his 
 life. But years advanced, and with age the infirmities 
 from which he had always suffered withdrew him more 
 and more from society, and deprived him of many of 
 those sources of intelligence which had been so freely 
 opened to him. Hence it is possible that the volumes 
 
PEEFACE. Til 
 
 now published contain less of novelty and original 
 information than the preceding portions of the work. 
 But on the other hand, the events recorded in them 
 are of a more momentous character — the re-establish- 
 ment of the French Empire, the Imperial Court, the 
 Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, and the Italian 
 "War, are more interesting than the rise or fall of a 
 Ministry ; and it is curious to note precisely the effect 
 produced at the time on the mind of a contem- 
 porary observer. No one was more conscious of the 
 incompleteness of these Journals, and of a certain 
 roughness, due to the impromptu character of a manu- 
 script hastily written down, and rarely corrected, than 
 the author of them. He was more disposed to underrate 
 their merit, as appears from his concluding remarks, 
 than to exaggerate their importance. But the public 
 have judged of them more favourably ; and if he enter- 
 tained a hope that he might contribute some pages to 
 the record of his times and the hterature of his country, 
 that hope was not altogether vain. 
 
 HENRY REEVE. 
 
 January 1887. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIEST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Divisions of the Liberal Party — Lord Lansdowne as Head of a Liberal 
 Government — Hostility of the Radicals — National Defences — Lord John 
 Russell's Literary Pursuits — The Queen's Speech — The PeeUtes — Protec- 
 tion abandoned — Duke of Wellington's Funeral — Mr. Villiers' Motion — 
 Disraeli's Panegyric on Wellington — Death of Miss Berry — The Division 
 on the Resolution — Disraeli's Budget — Lord Palmerston's Position — The 
 Division on the Budget — Lord Derby resigns — Liberal Negotiations — 
 Formation of Lord Aberdeen's Government — Lord St. Leonards — Tone 
 of the Conservatives — Lord Olanricarde and the Irish Brigade — Violence 
 of the Tories — Lord Palmerston agrees to join the Government — The 
 Aberdeen Cabinet — First Appearance of the New Ministry — Irritation 
 of the Whigs page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Royal Commission on Reform — M. de Flahanlt on the Emperor Napoleon 
 — Lord John's Blunder — Disraeli's Negotiation -with the Irish Members — 
 Lord Beauvale's Death — Lady Beauvale's Grief — Napoleon III. and 
 MdUe. de Montijo— Parliament meets — The Emperor's Marriage — Dis- 
 raeli's Attack on Sir 0. Wood — Dislike of Mr. Disraeli — Lord John 
 RuBseU leaves the Foreign Office — Lord Stanley's Liberal Votes — Dis- 
 raeli's Opinion of his Colleagues — The Government in Smooth Water — 
 England unpopular abroad— Massimo d'Azeglio— The Austrians in Italy 
 The Bishop of Lincoln — The Duke of Bedford's Papers— Lord Palmer- 
 ston leads the House— Social Amenities— Rancour of Northern Powers 
 against England — ^Friendly Resolution of the Emperor Napoleon III. — 
 Difficulties at Home— The India BUI— The Eastern Question— The Czar's 
 Proposals — Russian Assurances — The Royal Family , . page 30 
 
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Weakness of the Government — Gladstone's Budget — A Conversation 
 with Disraeli— Suicidal Conduct of the Tories— Their Irritation— A 
 Charge against Mr. Gladstone defeated— The Stafford Committee- 
 Harmony of the Government — Electoral Corruption- Impending "War 
 —Success of the Government— Macaulay's Speech on the Judges' 
 Exclusion Bill— Erroneous Predictions from Paris— Unsettled Policy 
 as to the War— Lord John's Anti-Catholic Speech— The English and 
 French Fleets sail for the Dardanelles— Conduct of Austria— Russia 
 means War — Attacks hy the Opposition — Explanations desired — 
 Attempted Mediation— Lord Aherdeen's Confidence shaken— Divisions of 
 Opinion — Terms of Accommodation- Lord Palmerston's Views — Pro- 
 spect of Peace — Division in the Lords on the Succession Duties Bill — 
 Friendly Relations of Lord Palmerston and Lord Clarendon — Fears of 
 War — Hopes of Peace — Lord Palmerston and Mr. Oobden — Rejection 
 of the Vienna Note — Lord Palmerston courted by the Tories — Lord John 
 Russell's Position— The Duke of Bedford's part in the last Crisis — 
 Dangers at Constantinople — Lord Stratford's Influence — Suspected 
 Intrigue of France and Russia — Lord Palmerston goes to Balmoral — 
 Sir James Graham's View — Lord Stratford's Conduct — Importance of 
 the Vienna Note — A Cabinet summoned .... page 58 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Conference at Olmiitz — The Turks declare War — Lord Palmerston's 
 Views — Lord Palmerston lauded by the Eadicals and the Tories — Failure 
 of the Pacific Policy — Lord Aberdeen desires to resign — Lord John to 
 be Prime Minister — Obstacles to Lord John's Pretensions— Danger of 
 breaking up the Government — Lord John's Wilfulness and Unpopularity 
 — Alliance of the Northern Powers defeated by Manteuffel — Conflict 
 of the two Policies — Meeting of Parliament discussed — French Refugees 
 in Belgium — General Baraquay d'Hilliers sent to Constantinople — ^Mr. 
 Reeve returns from the East — Lord John's Reform Bill — The Emperor 
 of Russia writes to the Queen — Sir James Graham's Views on Reform, 
 &c. — Opponents of the Reform Scheme — Abortive Attempts at Negotia- 
 tion — The Four Powers agree to a Protocol — Lord Palmerston threatens 
 to secede — ^Lord Palmerston resigns on the Reform Scheme — Lord 
 Palmerston opposed to Reform — Effects of Lord Palmerston's Resigna- 
 tion — Conciliatory Overtures — Lord Lansdowne's Position — Lord Aber- 
 deen's Account — Lady Palmerston makes up the Dispute — Lord Pal- 
 merston withdraws his Resignation — Baraquay d'Hilliers refuses to enter 
 the Black Sea — War resolved on — Review of the transaction page 92 
 
CONTENTS OF THE EIEST VOLXJME. xi 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Lord Palmerston's Return — The Ozar's Designs — Uncertain Prospects — A 
 Dinner of Lawyers — -Preparations for War — Th.e Reform Scheme modi- 
 fied — Russian Preparations for War — Entry of the Black Sea — Intrigues 
 of France with Russia — Attacks on Prince Albert — Virulence of the 
 Press — Attitude of Russia — Reluctance on both sides to engage in War 
 — Prince Albert's Participation in Aifairs of State — Opening of Parlia- 
 ment — Vindication of Prince Aulbert — Ofier of Marriage of Prince 
 Napoleon to Princess Mary of Cambridge — Publication of the Queen's 
 Speech — The Hesitation of Austria — Justification of the War — The Blue 
 Books — Popularity of the War — Last Efibrts for Peace — The Emperor 
 Napoleon's Letter — ^Lord John's Reform Bill — ^Difiiculties arising — The 
 Greeks — Objections to the Reform Bill — Postponement of the Reform 
 Bill page 121 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Dinner to Sir Charles Napier — A Ministerial Indiscretion — Doubts as to the 
 Reform Bill — Discontent of Lord John Russell — The Secret Correspon- 
 dence with Russia — War declared — Weakness of the Government — Mr. 
 Greville disapproves the War — Divisions in the Cabinet — Withdrawal of 
 the Reform BiU — Blunder of the Government — The Fast Day — Licences 
 to trade in War — Death of the Marquis of Anglesey — Mr. Gladstone's 
 Financial Failures — Dissolution of Parties — Mr. Gladstone's Budget — 
 Lord Cowley's Opinion of the Emperor's Position — The House of Com- 
 mons supports the War — Disraeli attacks Lord John Russell — A Change 
 of Plans — Lord John Russell's Mismanagement — Attacks on Lord 
 Aberdeen — Popularity of the War — Government Majority in the Lords 
 — Attitude of the German Powers — A meeting of the Liberal Party — 
 An Appointment cancelled — Expedition to the Crimea — English and 
 French Policy united in Spain — Close of the Session — ^The Character 
 of Lord Aberdeen's Government — ^Eflect of the Quarrel with Russia — 
 Lord Palmerston's Resignation — Waywardness of the House of Com- 
 mons P«g^ 145 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Difficulties of the Campaign— Prince Albert and the King of Prussia — The 
 Prince goes to France — Military Commanders — Critical Relations of the 
 
 Ministers The Crimea — The Emperor Napoleon and Prince Albert — 
 
 Austria and the Allies— The Landing in the Crimea— The Battle of the 
 Alma— Royal Invitations — The Crimean Expedition— Lord John's Hos- 
 tility to his Colleagues— False Report from Sebastopol— The Crimean 
 Campaign— Anecdotes of Lord Raglan— The Russian Defence— Trade 
 with the Enemy— Anecdote of Nesselrode— John Bright's Opinion of the 
 War— Defence of Sebastopol— The Balaklava Charge— The Judges at the 
 
xii CONTENTS OF THE FIEST VOLUME. 
 
 Nommation of Sheriffs — Lord John takes more moderate Views — The 
 Battle of Inkerman — Impolicy of the War — Inkerman — Spirit of the 
 Nation — Military Enthusiasm — Parliament summoned — Want of Fore- 
 sight — Accounts of the Battle — Lord Eaglan as a General — Sufferings of 
 the Army — Agreement with Austria — Opponents of the War — -Meeting 
 of Parliament — The Government attacked — The Foreign Enlistment Bill 
 — Foreign Enlistment Bill passed — Mr. Bright's Speech on the War — 
 Review of the Year page 182 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Lord John's Views on the Ministry — Gloomy Prospects — Attacks on Lord 
 Raglan — Russian and Prussian Diplomacy — Lord Pahnerston more in 
 favour — French View of the British Army — Russian Negotiations — Lord 
 
 John Russell in Paris — Conference at Vienna — Lord Raglan unmoved 
 
 Terms proposed to Russia — Failure of the Duke of Newcastle — Hesita- 
 tion of Austria and France — Deplorable State of the Armies— Chances 
 of Peace — Meeting of Parliament — Further Negotiations — Lord John 
 
 Russell resigns — Ministers stay in — The Debate on Roebuck's Motion 
 
 Resignation of Lord Aberdeen — Lord John Russell's real Motives — Lord 
 Derby sent for — and fails — Wise Decision of the Queen — Ministerial 
 
 Negotiations — Lord Palmerston sent for — The Peelites refuse to join 
 
 Lord Palmerston forms a Government — Lord Palmerston's Prospects 
 
 Lord John RusseU sent to Vienna — Lord Palmerston in the House of 
 Commons — General Alarm — DiiBculties of Lord Palmerston — The Peelites 
 secede — Lord John accepts the Colonial Office — Sir George Lewis Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer — Death of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia 
 
 Lord Palmerston supposed to be a weak Debater — Weakness of the 
 Government — Fresh Arrangements — The Budget — The Press, page 217 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Vienna Conference — Literary Occupations — A Roman Catholic Privy 
 Councillor — Negotiations at Vienna — The Emperor Napoleon in London 
 — The Emperor's brilliant Reception — Russia refuses the Terms offered 
 
 — The Sebastopol Committee — Debate on the War — Visit to Paris 
 
 Resignation of M. Drouyn de Lhuys— The Emperor's Journey to the 
 Crimea — The Repulse at the Redan — Visit to Thiers — A Dinner at the 
 
 Tuileries— Conversation with the Emperor — M. Guizot on the War 
 
 Death of Lord Raglan — A Dinner at Princess Lieven's The Palace of 
 
 Versailles — Revelations of Lord John Russell's Mission — Dinner with 
 the Emperor at Villeneuve I'Etang— Lord John Russell's Conduct at 
 Vienna — Excitement in London — Lord John's Resignation — Lord John's 
 Conduct explained — ' Whom shall we Hang ? ' — Prorogation of Parlia- 
 ment page25B 
 
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Queen's Visit to France — Sir George C. Lewis on the War — Inefficiency 
 of Lord Panmure — The Queen and the Emperor — Lord John Russell's 
 Estrangement from his Friends— The FaU of Sebastopol — The Queen 
 on the Orleans Confiscation — ^The Prince Regent's Letter on the Holy- 
 Alliance — Ferment in Italy — The Failure at the Redan — Lord John's 
 Defence — General Windham — Lord John Russell's Retirement — Death 
 of Sir Robert Adair — A-dieu to the Turf — Progress of the War — Colonial 
 Office proposed to Lord Stanley — Lord John Russell's Position — Rela- 
 tions with Mr. Disraeli — -Mr. Lahouchere Colonial Secretary — Negotia- 
 tions for Peace — The Terms proposed to Russia — The King of Sardinia 
 and M. de Cavour at Windsor — The Demands of the King of Sardinia — 
 Lord Palmerston presses for War — Lord Macaulay's History of Eng- 
 land — An Ultimatum to Russia — Death of the Poet Rogers — French 
 Ministers — The Emperor's Diplomacy — Sir George 0. Lewis's Aversion 
 to the War — Quarrels of Walewski and Persigny — Austria presents the 
 Terms to Russia — Baron Seebach mediates — The Emperor's Difficulties 
 and Doubts page 281 
 
A JOUENAL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA 
 
 FROM 1852 TO 1860. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Divisions of the Liberal Party— Lord Lansdowne as Head of a Liberal 
 Government — Hostility of the Eadicals — National Defences — Lord 
 
 Jolin Russell's Literary Pursuits— The Queen's Speech— The Peelites 
 
 Protection abandoned— Duke of Wellington's Funeral — Mr. Villiers' 
 
 Motion — Disraeli's Panegyric on "Wellington — Death of Miss Berry 
 
 The Division on the Resolution — Disraeli's Budget — Lord Palmerston's. 
 Position — The Division on the Budget — Lord Derby resigns — Liberal 
 Negotiations — Formation of Lord Aberdeen's Government — Lord St. 
 Leonard's — Tone of the Conservatives — Lord Clanricarde and the Irish 
 Brigade — Violence of the Tories — Lord Palmeraton agi'ees to join the 
 Government — The Aberdeen Cabinet — First Appearance of the New 
 Ministry — Irritation of the Whigs. 
 
 October 22nd, 1852. — -As usual a loug interval, for since 
 the Duke's death I have had nothing to write about. The 
 distribution of his offices and honours has not given satis- 
 faction. The appointment of Pitzroy Somerset would have 
 been more popular than that of Hardinge to the command 
 of the army, especially with the army ; but I have no doubt 
 the Court insisted on having Hardinge, who is a great 
 favourite there. 
 
 Matters in politics remain much as they were. There 
 has been a constant interchange of letters between Lord John 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
 J-j 
 
2 KEIGN OF QXTEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 Eussell and his leading friends and adherents, and conversa- 
 tions and correspondence between these and Palmerston, the 
 result of the whole being a hopeless state of discord and dis- 
 agreement in the Liberal party, so complete that there 
 appears no possibility of all the scattered elements of oppo- 
 sition being combined into harmonious action, the conse- 
 quence of which can hardly fail to be the continuance in 
 of&ce of the present Government. The state of things may 
 be thus summed up : Lord John Eussell declares he will 
 take no office but that of Premier, considering any other a 
 degradation ; but he says he does not want office, and if a 
 Liberal Government can be formed under anybody else he 
 will give it his best support. He resents greatly the ex- 
 pressed sentiments of those who would put him by and 
 choose another Prime Minister, and this resentment his 
 belongings foster as much as they can. Palmerston pro- 
 fesses personal regard for Lord John, but declares he will 
 never again serve under him, though he would with him, 
 and his great object has been to induce Lord Lansdowne to 
 consent to put himself at the head of a Government (if 
 this falls) under whom he would be willing to serve, and 
 he would consent to Lord John's leading the House of 
 Commons as heretofore. This he communicated to the 
 Duke of Bedford in conversation at Brocket, and he after- 
 wards wrote a detailed account of that conversation to Lans- 
 downe himself, which was an invitation to him to act the 
 part he wished to allot to him. Lord Lansdowne wrote him 
 an answer in which he positively declined to put himself at 
 the head of a Government, stating various reasons why he 
 could not, and his conviction that John Eussell was the 
 only man who could be at the head of one hereafter. With 
 regard to other opinions, Graham is heart and soul with 
 Lord John, and decidedly in favour of his supremacy. The 
 Whig party are divided, some still adhering to him ; others, 
 resenting his conduct in the past Session and distrusting his 
 prudence, are anxious for another chief, but without having 
 much considered how another is to be found, nor the con- 
 sequences of deposing him. The Radicals are in an un- 
 
1852] MINISTERIAL COMBINATIONS. 3 
 
 settled and undecided state, neither entirely favourable nor 
 entirely hostile to Lord John ; the Peelites are pretty unani- 
 mously against him, and not overmuch disposed to join 
 with the Whig party, being still more or less deluded with 
 the hope and belief that they may form a Government them- 
 selves. G-raham has always maintained (and, as I thought, 
 with great probability) that it would end in Palmerston's 
 joining Derby, and at this moment such an arrangement 
 seems exceedingly likely to happen. There were two or 
 three articles not long ago in the ' Morning Post ' (his own 
 paper), which tended that way. I have just been for two 
 days to Broadlands, where I had a good deal of talk with 
 him and with Lady Palmerston, and I came away with the 
 conviction that it would end in his joining this Government. 
 He admitted it to be a possible contingency, but said he 
 could not come in alone, and only in the event of a remodel- 
 ling of the Cabinet and a sweep of many of the incapables 
 now in it. Sidney Herbert, who was there, told me he had 
 talked to him in the same tone, and spoke of eight seats 
 being vacated in the Cabinet, and as if he expected that no- 
 body should certainly remain there but Derby, Disraeli, and 
 the Chancellor. It is evident from this that it depends on 
 Derby himself to have him, and if he frames measures and 
 announces principles such as would enable Palmerston with 
 credit and consistency to join him, and if he will throw over a 
 sufficient number of his present crew, he may so strengthen 
 his Government as to make it secure for some time. It may, 
 however, be a matter of considerable difficulty to turn out a 
 great many colleagues, and not less so for Palmerston to find 
 people to bring in with him ; for though he is very popular, 
 and can excite any amount of cheering in the House of 
 Commons, he has no political adherents whatever, and if 
 Derby was to place seats in the Cabinet at his disposal he 
 has nobody to put into them, unless he could prevail on 
 Gladstone and Herbert to go with him, which does not seem 
 probable.' 
 
 1 [A list of the members of Lord Derby's Administration will be found 
 in the third volume of the Second Part of this Journal, p. 451.] 
 
 u 2 
 
4 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [CSap. I. 
 
 November Srd. — Since writing the above, circumstances 
 have occurred which may have an important influence on 
 future political events. John Eussell, whether moved by 
 his own reflexions or the advice or opinions of others I know 
 not, has entirely changed his mind and become more rea- 
 sonable, moderate, and pliable than he has hitherto shown 
 himself. He has announced that if it should hereafter be 
 found practicable to form a Liberal Government under Lord 
 Lansdowne, he wiU not object to serve under him, only re- 
 serving to himself to judge of the expediency of attempting 
 such an arrangement, as well as of the Government that 
 may be formed. The letter in which he announced this to 
 Lord Lansdowne was certainly very creditable to him, and 
 evinced great magnanimity. He desired that it might be 
 made known to Palmerston, which was done by Lord Lans- 
 downe, and Palmerston replied with great satisfaction, 
 saying, ' for the first time he now saw daylight in public 
 affairs.' Lord Lansdowne was himself gratified at Lord 
 John's conduct to him, but he said that it would expose him 
 to fresh importunities on the part of Palmerston, and he 
 seems by no means more disposed than he was before to 
 take the burden on himself, while he is conscious that it 
 will be more dif&cult for him to refuse. He has been 
 suffering very much, and is certainly physically unequal to 
 the task, and le cas echeant he will no doubt try to make his- 
 escape ; but, from what I hear of him, I do not think he will 
 be inexorable if it is made clear to him that there is no 
 other way of forming a Liberal Government, and especially 
 if Lord John himself urges him to undertake it. 
 
 The other important matter is a correspondence, or rather 
 a letter from Cobden to a friend of his, in which he expresses 
 himself in very hostile terms towards John Eussell and 
 Graham likewise, abuses the Whig Government, and an- 
 nounces his determination to fight for Radical measures, 
 and especially the Ballot. This letter was sent to Lord 
 Yarborough, by him to the Duke of Bedford, and by the 
 Duke to Lord John. He wrote a reply, or, more properly, a 
 comment on it, which was intended to be, and I conclude 
 
1852] NATIONAL DEFENCES. 5 
 
 was, sent to Cobden ; a very good letter, I am told, in wliicli 
 he vindicated his own Government, and declared his un- 
 alterable resolution to oppose the Ballot, which he said was 
 with him a question of principle, on which he never would give 
 way. The result of aU this is a complete separation between 
 Lord John and Cobden, and therefore between the Whigs 
 and the Radicals. What the ultimate consequences of this 
 may be it is difficult to foresee, but the immediate one will 
 probably be the continuation of Derby in office. Lord John 
 is going to have a parliamentary dinner before the meeting, 
 which many of his friends think he had better have left 
 alone. He wrote to G-raham and invited him to it. Graham 
 declined, and said he should not come up to the meeting. 
 To this Lord John responded that he might do as he pleased 
 about dining, but he assured him that his absence at the 
 opening of the Session would give great umbrage to the 
 party and be .injurious to himself. Graham replied that he 
 would come up, but he has expressed to some of his corre- 
 spondents his disapproval of the dinner. Charles Yilliers 
 agrees with him about it, and so do I, but the Johnians are 
 very indignant with Graham, and consider his conduct very 
 base, though I do not exactly see why. 
 
 The question of national defence occupies everybody's 
 mind, but it seems very doubtful if any important measures 
 will be taken. The Chancellor told Senior that the Govern- 
 ment were quite satisfied with Louis Napoleon's pacific 
 assurances, and saw no danger. It is not clear that John 
 Eussell partakes of the general alarm, and whether he will 
 be disposed (as many wish that he should) to convey to Lord 
 Derby an intimation that he will support any measure he 
 may propose for the defence of the country, nor is it certain 
 that Derby would feel any reliance on such assurances after 
 what passed when he came into office. On that occasion 
 Derby called on Lord John (who had just advised the Queen 
 to send for him) and said on leaving him, ' I suppose you 
 are not going to attack me and turn me out again,' which 
 Lord John assured him he had no thoughts of, and directly 
 after he convoked his Chesham Place meeting, which was 
 
6 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. LChap. I. 
 
 certainly not very consistent with Ms previous conduct, nor 
 with his engagement to Derby. 
 
 London, November 11th, 1852. — I passed two days at The 
 Grrove with John Eussell the end of last and beginning of 
 this week, when he was in excellent health and spirits, and in 
 a very reasonable composed state of mind. There were Wilson, 
 Panizzi, George Lewis, and the Duke of Bedford ; very little 
 talk about politics, except in a general way. Lord John has 
 been engaged in literary pursuits, as the executor of Moore 
 and the depositary of Fox's papers, and he is about to bring 
 out two volumes of Moore and one of Fox, but in neither is 
 there to be much of his own composition ; he has merely 
 arranged the materials in each. 
 
 There has been great curiosity about the Queen's Speech, 
 and a hundred reports of diflSculties in composing it, and of 
 dissensions in the Cabinet with regard to the manner in 
 which the great question should be dealt with. As I know 
 nothing certain on the subject, I will spare myself the 
 trouble of putting down the rumours, which may turn out 
 to be groundless or misrepresented. A great fuss has been 
 made about keeping the Speech secret. They refused to 
 communicate it to the newspapers, and strict orders were 
 given at the Treasury to allow nobody whatever to see 
 it. Derby, however, wrote to Lord John that as he had 
 always sent it to him, he should do the same, and accord- 
 ingly Lord John received it, and read it at his dinner, 
 but those present were bound on honour not to communi- 
 cate the contents of it. Lord John and his friends have 
 been all along determined, if possible, to avoid proposing 
 an amendment. 
 
 There was a Peelite gathering at a dinner at Hayward's 
 the day before yesterday, at which Gladstone, Sidney Her- 
 bert, Newcastle, Francis Charteris, Sir John Young, and 
 others were present ; and Hayward told me they were all 
 united, resolved to act together, and likewise averse to an 
 amendment if possible; but from the manner in which 
 they have dealt vrith Free Trade, it is very doubtful 
 whether Cobden at least, if not Gladstone, will not insist on 
 
1852] DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S FUNERAL. 7 
 
 moving an amendment. A very few hours will decide this 
 point.' 
 
 November '12th. — The question of Protection or Free 
 Trade, virtually settled long ago, was formally settled last 
 night, Derby having annoimced in terms the most clear and 
 unequivocal his final and complete abandonment of Protec- 
 tion, and his determination to adhere to, and honestly to 
 administer, the present system. His speech was received in 
 silence on both sides. There has not yet been time to ascer- 
 tain the effect of this announcement on the various parties 
 and individuals interested by it. 
 
 November 16th.— L went yesterday to the lying in state of 
 the Duke of Wellington ; it was fine and well done, but too 
 gaudy and theatrical, though this is unavoidable. After- 
 wards to St. Paul's to see it lit up. The effect was very 
 good, but it was like a great rout ; all London was there 
 strolling and staring about in the midst of a thousand work- 
 men going on with their business all the same, and all the 
 fine ladies scrambling over vast masses of timber, or duck- 
 ing to avoid the great beams that were constantly sweeping 
 along. These public funerals are very disgusting med sen- 
 tentid. On Saturday several people were killed and wounded 
 at Chelsea ; yesterday everything was orderly and well con- 
 ducted, and I heard of no accidents. 
 
 Charles Villiers' motion, after much consultation and 
 debate, whether it should be brought on or not, is settled in 
 the affirmative, and was concocted by the Peelites at a meet- 
 ing at Aberdeen's, Graham present. Nothing could be more 
 moderate, so moderate that it appeared next to impossible 
 the GoTemment could oppose it. Yesterday morning there 
 was a Ministerialist meeting in Downing Street, when Derby 
 harangued his followers. 
 
 November 21st.^I saw the Duke's funeral from Devon- 
 shire House. Eather a fine sight, and all well done, except 
 the car, which was tawdry, cumbrous, and vulgar. It was 
 contrived by a German artist attached to the School of 
 
 ^ [Tte new Parliament was opened by the Queen in person on 
 November 11.] 
 
8 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 Design, and under Prince Albert's direction — no proof of his 
 good taste. The whole ceremony within St. Paul's and with- 
 out went off admirably, and without mistakes, mishaps, or 
 accidents; but as all the newspapers overflow with the 
 details I may very well omit them here- 
 
 Now that this great ceremony is over, we have leisure to 
 turn our thoughts to political matters. I have already said 
 that Villiers proposed a mild resolution which was drawn 
 up by Graham at Aberdeen's house, and agreed to by the 
 Peelites.' Then came Derby's meeting, where he informed 
 his followers that he must reserve to himself entire liberty of 
 dealing with Villiers' resolution as he thought best, but if 
 he contested it, and was beaten, he should not resign. He 
 then requested that if anyone had any objection to make, or 
 remarks to offer, on his proposed course, they would make 
 them then and there, and not find fault afterwards. They 
 all cheered, and nobody said a word ; in fact they were all 
 consenting to his abandonment of Protection, many not 
 at all liking it, but none recalcitrant. After this meeting 
 there was a reconsideration of Villiers' resolution. Cobden 
 and his friends complained that it was too milk and water, 
 and required that it should be made stronger. After much 
 discussion Villiers consented to alter it, and it was even- 
 tually put on the table of the House in its present more 
 stringent form. Lord John Eussell was against the altera- 
 tion, and Gladstone and the Peelites still more so; but 
 Charles Villiers thought he could not do otherwise than 
 defer to Cobden, after having prevailed on the latter to 
 consent to no amendment being moved on the Address. 
 There is good reason to believe that the Government would 
 have swallowed the first resolution, but they could not make 
 up their minds to take the second ; and accordingly Disraeli 
 
 • [On November 23, Mr. Charles Villiers moyed Eesolutions in the House 
 of Commons, declaring the adherence of Parliament to the principles of Free 
 Trade and approving the Repeal of the Corn Laws. Mr. Disraeli moved an 
 amendment, not directly adverse. But this amendment was withdrawn in 
 favour of one more skilfully drawn by Lord Palmerston. On this occasion 
 Lord Palmerston rendered an essential service to Lord Derby's Govern- 
 ment.] 
 
X852] DISRAELI'S OEATION ON 'WELLINGTON. 9 
 
 announced an amendment in the shape of another resolu- 
 tion, and the battle will be fought on the two, Dizzy's just as 
 strongly affirming the principle of Free Trade as the other, 
 but it omits the declaration that the measure of '46 was 
 * wise and just.' At this moment nobody has the least idea 
 what the division will be, nor how many of the most con- 
 spicuous men will vote, nor what the Government will do 
 if they are beaten. Moderate men on the Liberal side re- 
 gret that the original resolution was changed, deprecate 
 the pitched battle, and above all dread that the Govern- 
 ment may resign if they are beaten, which would cause 
 the greatest confusion, nothing being ready for forming a 
 government on the Liberal side, and the Government would 
 go out with the advantage of saying that they were prepared 
 with all sorts of good measures which the factious conduct 
 of their opponents would not let them produce. Things 
 have not been well managed, and I expect the result of all 
 these proceedings will be damaging to the Liberal interest, 
 and rather advantageous to Lord Derby. 
 
 An incident occurred the other night in the House of 
 Commons, which exposed Disraeli to much ridicule and 
 severe criticism. He pronounced a pompous funeral oration 
 on the Duke of Wellington, and the next day the ' Globe ' 
 showed that half of it was taken word for word from a pane- 
 gyric of Thiers on Marshal Gouvion de St. Cyr. Disraeli 
 has been unmercifully pelted ever since, and well deserves it 
 for such a piece of folly and bad taste. His excuse is, that 
 he was struck by the passage, wrote it down, and, when he 
 I'eferred to it recently, forgot what it was, and thought it 
 was his own composition. But this poor apology does not 
 save him. Derby spoke very well on the same subject a 
 few nights after in the House of Lords, complimenting the 
 authorities, the people, and foreign nations, particularly 
 France. It is creditable to Louis Napoleon to have ordered 
 Walewski to attend the funeral.' 
 
 ^ [Count WalewsH, then Frencli Ambassador in London, expressed some 
 reluctance to attend the funeral of the conqueror of Napoleon I., upon which 
 Baron Brunnow said to him, ' If this ceremony were intended to bring the 
 
10 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 On Saturday night, about twelve o'clock, Miss Mary Berry 
 died after a few weeks' illness, without suffering, and in pos- 
 session of her faculties, the machine worn out, for she was in 
 her 90th year.' As she was born nearly a century ago, and was 
 the contemporary of my grandfathers and grandmothers, she 
 was already a very old woman when I first became acquainted 
 with her, and it was not till a later period, about twenty 
 years ago, that I began to live in an intimacy with her 
 which continued uninterrupted to the last. My knowledge 
 of her early life is necessarily only traditional. She must 
 have been exceedingly goodlooking, for I can remember her 
 with a fine commanding figure and a very handsome face, 
 full of expression and intelligence. It is well known that 
 she was the object of Horace Walpole's octogenarian attach- 
 ment, and it has been generally believed that he was anxious 
 to marry her for the sake of bestowing upon her a title and 
 a jointure, which advantages her disinterested and indepen- 
 dent spirit would not allow her to accept. She continued 
 nevertheless to make the charm and consolation of his latter 
 days, and at his death she became his literary executrix, in 
 which capacity she edited Madame du DefEand's letters. 
 She always preserved a great veneration for the memory of 
 Lord Orford, and has often talked to me about him. I 
 gathered from what she said that she never was herself 
 quite sure whether he wished to marry her, but inclined to 
 believe that she might have been his wife had she chosen 
 it. She seems to have been very early initiated into the best 
 and most refined society, was a constant inmate of Devon- 
 shire House and an intimate friend of the Duchess, a friend- 
 Duke to life again, I can conceive your reluctance to appear at it ; but aa it 
 is only to bury him, I don't see you have anything to complain of.'] 
 
 ' [Miss Mary Berry was born at Kirkbridge, in Yorkshire, on March 16, 
 1763 ; her sister Agnes, who was her inseparable companion for eighty- 
 eight years, fourteen months later. Her father, Robert Berry, was the 
 nephew of a Scotch merchant named Ferguson, who purchased the estate of 
 Raith, in Fifeshire. William Berry, the brother of Robert, and uncle of 
 these ladies, succeeded to this property, and took the name of Ferguson. 
 The Miss Berrys first made the acquaintance of Horace Walpole in 1788, 
 when he was seventy years of age, and they became the objects of his devoted 
 attachment and regard. See ' National Biography,' vol. iv. p. 397.] 
 
1852] DEATH OF MISS BEREY. 11 
 
 sliip whicli descended to ter children, all of wtom treated 
 Miss Berry to the last with unceasing marks of attention, 
 respect, and affection. She had been very carefully educated, 
 and was full of literary tastes and general information, so 
 that her conversation was always spirited, agreeable, and 
 instructive ; her published works, without exhibiting a high 
 order of genius, have considerable merit, and her ' Social 
 Life in England and Trance ' and ' The Life of Eachel, Lady 
 Russell,' will always be read with pleasure, and are entitled 
 to a permanent place in English literature ; but her greatest 
 merit was her amiable and benevolent disposition, which 
 secured to her a very large circle of attached friends, who 
 were drawn to her as much by affectionate regard as by the 
 attraction of her vigorous understanding and the vivacity 
 and variety of her conversational powers. For a great many 
 years the Misses Berry were amongst the social celebrities of 
 London, and their house was the continual resort of the most 
 distinguished people of both sexes in politics, literature, and 
 fashion. She ranked amongst her friends and associates all 
 the most remarkable literary men of the day, and there 
 certainly was no house at which so many persons of such 
 various qualities and attainments, but all more or less dis- 
 tinguished, could be found assembled. She continued her 
 usual course of life, and to gather her friends about her, till 
 within a few weeks of her death, and at last she sank by 
 gradual exhaustion, without pain or suffering, and with the 
 happy consciousness of the affectionate solicitude and care of 
 the friends who had cheered and comforted the last declining 
 years of her existence. To those friends her loss is irre- 
 parable, and besides the private and individual bereavement 
 it is impossible not to be affected by the melancholy con- 
 sideration that her death has deprived the world of the sole 
 survivor of a once brilliant generation, who in her person 
 was a link between the present age and one fertile in great 
 intellectual powers, to which our memories turn with never 
 failing curiosity and interest. 
 
 December 4<ih. — Last week the House of Commons was 
 occupied with the ' Resolutions,' the whole history of whicK 
 
12 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 was given by Graham, and which need not be repeated here.' 
 The divisions were pretty much what were expected, and 
 the only interesting consideration is the effect produced, and 
 the influence of the debate on the state of parties. Palmer- 
 ston is highly glorified by his small clique, and rather smiled 
 on by the Tories, but he has given great offence to both 
 Whigs and Eadicals, and removed himself further than ever 
 from a coalition with John Eussell and the Liberal party. 
 Lord John himself, who made a very good speech, rather 
 gained reputation by his behaviour throughout the transac- 
 tion, and is on better terms both with Cobden, Bright, 
 and his own party, than he has been for some time past. 
 Disraeli made a very imprudent speech, which disgusted 
 many of his own adherents, and exposed him to vigorous 
 attacks and a tremendous castigation on the part of his 
 opponents, by Bernal Osborne in the coarser, and Sidney 
 Herbert in more polished style. The Protectionists generally 
 cut a very poor figure, and had nothing to say for themselves. 
 ' If people wish for humiliation,' said Sidney Herbert, ' let 
 them look at the benches opposite.' But all the dirt they 
 had to eat, and all the mortification they had to endure, did 
 not prevent the Derbyites from presenting a compact de- 
 termined phalanx of about three hundred men, all resolved to 
 support the Government, and to vote through thick and thin, 
 without reference to their past or present opinions. The 
 Ministerial papers and satellites toss their caps up and pro- 
 claim a great victory, but it is difficult to discover in what 
 the victory consists. It certainly shows that they are strong 
 and devoted if not united. 
 
 After the division there was a good deal of speculation 
 rife as to Palmerston's joining the Government, which his 
 friends insist he will not do. I am disposed to think he 
 will. Since that we have had Beresford's affair in the 
 House of Commons, and Clanricarde's folly in the Lords. 
 
 ' [After three nights' debate, the Resolutions moved by Mr. ViUiers were 
 negatived by 256 to 236, and the motion adroitly substituted for them by 
 Lord Pahnerston in favour of ' unrestricted competition ' was carried by 
 468 against 5.3, being accepted by the Government.] 
 
1852] ME. DISBAELI'S BUDGET. l^ 
 
 Cockburn produced a strong prima facie case against Beres- 
 ford, and tlie committee has been appointed on his case, and 
 proceeds to business on Monday.' Clanricarde chose de son 
 chef to propose a resolution like that of the Commons, which 
 Derby refused to take and offered another in its place, which 
 Clanricarde has accepted. He gave Derby the opportunity 
 he wanted of setting himself right with his own party, who, 
 albeit resolved to support him, are smarting severely under 
 his complete abandonment of Protection, and the necessity 
 to which they are reduced of swallowing the nauseous Free 
 Trade pill. He will make the dose more palateable by 
 soothing their wounded pride. Clanricarde went to Lord 
 Lansdowne and told him what he proposed to do. Lans- 
 downe objected, but Clanricarde said he did it individually 
 and would take all the responsibility on himself, on which 
 Lansdowne very unwisely ceased to object. His purpose is 
 to take no responsibility on himself. 
 
 December 6th. — Ever since the termination of the ' Eeso- 
 lutions ' debate the world has been in a state of intense curi- 
 osity to hear the Budget, so long announced, and of which 
 such magnificent things were predicted. The secret was so 
 well kept that nobody knew anything about it, and not one 
 of the hundred guesses and conjectures turned out to be 
 correct. At length on Friday night Disraeli produced his 
 measure in a House crowded to suffocation with members 
 and strangers. He spoke for five and a half hours, much 
 too diffusely, spinning out what he might have said in half 
 the time. The Budget has been on the whole tolerably well 
 received, and may, I think, be considered successful, though 
 it is open to criticism, and parts of it will be fiercely at- 
 tacked, and he will very likely be obliged to change some 
 parts of it. But though favourably received on the whole, 
 it by no means answers to the extravagant expectations that 
 were raised, or proves so entirely satisfactory to all parties 
 and an interests as Disraeli rather imprudently gave out that 
 it would be. The people who regard it with the least 
 
 1 [This related to proceedings witli reference to the recent election at 
 Derby,] 
 
14 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 favour are those who will be obliged to give it the most un- 
 qualified support, the ex- Protectionists, for the relief or 
 compensation to the landed interest is very far from com- 
 mensurate with their expectations. It is certainly of a Free 
 Trade character altogether, which does not make it the 
 more palateable to them. He threw over the West Indians, 
 and (Pakington, their advocate, sitting beside him) declared 
 they had no claim to any relief beyond that which he 
 tendered them, viz. the power of refining sugar in bond — a 
 drop of water to one dying of thirst. I think it will go 
 down, and make the Government safe. This I have all along 
 thought they would be, and every day seems to confirm this 
 opinion. They have got from three hundred to three hun- 
 dred and fifteen men in the House of Commons who, though 
 dissatisfied and disappointed, are nevertheless determined to 
 swallow everything and support them through thick and 
 thin, and they have to encounter an opposition, the scattered 
 fractions of which are scarcely more numerous, but which is 
 in a state of the greatest confusion and disunion, and with- 
 out any prospect of concord amongst them. 
 
 The Duke of Bedford came to me yesterday, and told me 
 he had never been so disheartened about politics in his life, 
 or so hopeless of any good result for his party, in which he 
 saw nothing but disagreement and all sorts of pretensions 
 and jealousies incompatible with any common cause, and 
 Aberdeen, whom I met at dinner yesterday, is of much the 
 same opinion. The principal object of interest and curiosity 
 seems now to be whether Palmerston will join them or not. 
 On this the most opposite opinions and reports prevail. Just 
 now it is said that he has resolved not. At all events, if he 
 does, he will have to go alone, for he can take nobody with 
 him, as it certainly is his object to do. But it does not 
 appear now as if there was the least chance of Gladstone or 
 Sidney Herbert joining him. The Duke of Bedford told me 
 that both Derby and Palmerston were in better odour at 
 Windsor than they were, and that the Queen and Prince ap- 
 prove of Pam's move about the Eesolutions, and think he did 
 good service. Aberdeen also thinks that though the Whigs 
 
1852J DEFEAT ON THE BUDGET. 15 
 
 and Radicals are angry with Lord Palmerston, and that his 
 proceeding was unwarrantable, he stands in a better position 
 in the country, and has gained credit and influence by what 
 he did. Abroad, where nobody understands our affairs, he 
 is supposed to have played a very great part, and to have 
 given indubitable proof of great political power. 
 
 December 9th. — Within these few days the Budget, which 
 was not ill received at first, has excited a strong opposition, 
 and to-morrow there is to be a pitched battle and grand trial 
 of strength between the Government and Opposition upon 
 it, and there is much difference of opinion as to the result. 
 The Government have put forth that they mean to resign if 
 beaten upon it. Derby and Disraeli were both remarkably 
 well received at the Lord Mayor's dinner the night before 
 last, and this is an additional proof that, in spite of all their 
 disreputable conduct, they are not unpopular, and I believe, 
 if the country were polled, they would as soon have these 
 people for Ministers as any others. Nobody knows what part 
 Palmerston is going to take. 
 
 December ISth. — The last few days have been entirely 
 occupied by the interest of the Budget debate and specula- 
 tions as to the result. We received the account of the 
 division at Panshanger yesterday morning, not without 
 astonishment ; for although the opinion had latterly been 
 gaining ground that the Government would be beaten, no- 
 body expected such a majority against them.^ Up to the 
 last they were confident of winning. The debate was all 
 against them, and only exhibited their weakness in the 
 House of Commons. It was closed by two very fine speeches 
 from Disraeli and Gladstone, very different in their style, but 
 not unequal in their merits. 
 
 Panshanger, December l^th. — I went to town yesterday 
 morning to hear what was going on. Lord Derby returned 
 from Osborne in the middle of the day, and the Queen had 
 sent for Lords Lansdowne and Aberdeen. She had been 
 
 ' [The division on the Budget took place on December 16 after five 
 nights' debate, the numbers being— for the Government, 286 ; against, 305 ; 
 adverse majority, 19.] 
 
16 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 gracious to Derby, and pressed hiin to stay on, if it were 
 only for a short time. I saw Talbot, and from the few 
 words he let drop I gathered that they have already resolved 
 to keep together, and to enter on a course of bitter and 
 determined opposition. Not that he said this, of course, 
 but he intimated that he had no idea of any new Government 
 that might be formed being able to go on even for a short 
 time, and that they would very speedily be let in again. 
 The language of the Carlton corresponds with this, and I 
 have no doubt they will be as virulent and as mischievous 
 as they can. It remains to be seen, if a good Government 
 is formed, whether some will not be more moderate, and 
 disposed to give the new Cabinet a fair trial. 
 
 Clarendon writes me word that the meeting at Woburn 
 between John Russell, Aberdeen, Newcastle, and himself 
 has been altogether satisfactory, everybody ready to give and 
 take, and anxious to promote the common cause, without any 
 selfish views or prejudices. Newcastle is particularly reason- 
 able, disclaiming any hostility to John Russell, and only 
 objecting to his being at present the nominal head of the 
 Government, because there is rightly or wrongly a preju- 
 dice against him, which would prevent some Liberals and 
 some Peelites joining the Government if he was placed in 
 that position ; but he contemplates his ultimately resuming 
 that post, and he (Newcastle) is ready to do anything in 
 office or out. There is no disposition to take in Cobden 
 and Bright, but they would not object to Molesworth. 
 
 I went over to Brocket just now, and found the Palmer- 
 stons there. He is not pleased at the turn matters have 
 taken, would have liked the Government to go on at all 
 events some time longer, and is disgusted at the thought of 
 Aberdeen being at the head of the next Ministry. This 
 is likewise obnoxious to the V^higs at Brooks's, and there 
 will be no small difficulty in bringing them to consent to it, 
 if Lansdowne refuses. Beauvale said if Palmerston had 
 not been laid up, and prevented going to the House of Com- 
 mons, he thinks this catastrophe would not have happened, 
 for Palmerston meant to have done in a friendly way what 
 
1852] THE COALITION MINISTEY. 17 
 
 Charles Wood did in an nnf riendlj one, and advised Disraeli 
 to postpone and remalce his Budget, and this advice so 
 tendered he thinks Dizzy would have taken, and then the 
 issue would have been changed and deferred till after the 
 recess. But I don't believe this fine scheme would have 
 taken effect, or that Dizzy would or could have adopted such 
 a course. Beauvale says he is pretty sure Palmerston will 
 not take office under Aberdeen's Premiership ; on the other 
 hand, Aberdeen has no objection to him, and will invite 
 Palmerston, if the task devolves upon him. EUice fancies 
 Lansdowne will decline, and that Aberdeen will fail, and that 
 it will end in Derby coming back, reinforced by Palmerston 
 and some Peelites. The diflBculties are certainly enormous, 
 but by some means or other I think a Government will be 
 formed. The exclusions will be very painful, and must be 
 enormous. Lord Derby met Granville and others at the 
 station on Friday, and he said he calculated the new Cabinet 
 could not consist of less than thirty-two men, and many 
 then left out. It will be a fine time to test the amount of 
 patriotism and unselfishness that can be found in the political 
 world. 
 
 London, Decemher 2lst. — I came to town yesterday morn- 
 ing, and heard that the day before (Sunday) a very hostile 
 feeling towards Aberdeen had been prevailing at Brooks's, 
 but no doubt was entertained that the Government would 
 be formed. In the afternoon Clarendon came to me on his 
 way to the House of Lords, and told me all that had passed 
 up to that time. On receiving the Queen's summons, a 
 meeting took place between Lansdowne and Aberdeen at 
 Lansdowne House, at which each did his best to persuade 
 the other to accept the commission to form a Government. 
 Lansdowne pleaded absolute physical inability, and his 
 friends seem to be quite satisfied that he really could not 
 undertake it. Accordingly Aberdeen gave way, and de- 
 parted for Osborne on a reiterated summons, and, after 
 telling the Queen all that had passed between Lansdowne 
 and himself, undertook the task. Nothing could be more 
 cordial all this time than the relations between himself 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
18 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 and Jolm Russell; but as soon as it became known that 
 Aberdeen was to form the new Government, certain friends 
 of John Russell set to work to persuade him that it would 
 be derogatory to his character to have any concern in it, 
 and entreated him to refuse his concurrence. These were 
 David Dundas and Romilly, and there may have been 
 others. This advice was probably the more readily listened 
 to, because it corresponded with his original view of the 
 matter and his own natural disposition, and it produced so 
 much effect that yesterday morning he went to Lansdowne 
 and told him that he had resolved to have nothing to do with 
 the new Government. Lansdowne was thunderstruck, and 
 employed every argument he could think of to change this 
 resolution. It so happened that he had written to Macaulay 
 and asked him to call on him to talk matters over, and 
 Macaulay was announced while Lord John was still there. 
 Lansdowne told him the subject of their discussion, and the 
 case was put before Macaulay with all its pros and cons for 
 his opinion. He heard all Lansdowne and Lord John had 
 to say, and then delivered his opinion in a very eloquent 
 speech, strongly recommending Lord John to go on with 
 Aberdeen, and saying that, at such a crisis as this, the refusal 
 of his aid, which was indispensable for the success of the 
 attempt, would be little short of treason. Lord John went 
 away evidently shaken, but without pronouncing any final 
 decision. Clarendon then called at Lansdowne House, and 
 heard these particulars, and Lansdowne entreated him to 
 go and see Lord John and try his influence over him. Cla- 
 rendon had the day before given him his opinion in writing 
 to the same effect as Macaulay. He went, saw him, and 
 repeated all he had before written. Lord John took it very 
 well, and, when he left him, said, ' I suppose it will be as 
 you wish,' and when I saw Clarendon he seemed reassured, 
 and tolerably confident that this great peril of the whole 
 concern being thus shipwrecked in limine had passed away. 
 After the House of Lords where I heard Derby's strange and 
 inexcusable speech, we again discussed the matter, when he 
 said Lord John had raised another difficulty, for he said he 
 
1852] LOED ST. LEONAED'S. 19 
 
 would not take the Foreign Office, alleging, not without 
 truth, that it was impossible for him or any man to perform 
 the duties of so laborious an office and lead the House of 
 Commons. Lord John also signified to Clarendon that he 
 should insist on Ms being in the Cabinet, which Clarendon 
 entreated him not to require. Newcastle, who was there, 
 suggested that Lord John might take the Foreign Office for 
 a time, and if he found the two duties incompatible, he 
 might give it up, and Clarendon seemed to think this might 
 be done, and at all events he means to persuade Lord John 
 (as no doubt he will) to make up his mind to take it, for his 
 not doing so would certainly be very inconvenient. Should 
 Lord John prove obstinate in this respect, I have no doubt 
 Clarendon will himself be put there. 
 
 We talked about the Great Seal, and Senior had been 
 with Lord Lansdowne, v\rho appears to incline very much to 
 getting Lord St. Leonard's ^ to stay if he will, but Senior 
 thinks he will not; certainly not, unless with the concur- 
 rence of his present colleagues, which it is doubtful if Derby 
 in his present frame of mind would give. The Chancellor 
 was at Derby's meeting in the morning, which looks like a 
 resolution to go out with them. It will be a good thing if 
 he will remain, but it will do good to the new Government 
 to invite him, whether he accepts or refuses. We talked of 
 Brougham, but Clarendon, though anxious to have Brougham 
 in as President of the Council, thinks he would not do for 
 the woolsack, and that it will be better to have Cranworth 
 if Lord St. Leonards will not stay. There is a great diffi- 
 culty in respect to the retiring pension. There can only be 
 four, and Sngden's will make up the number, so that a 
 fresh Chancellor could have none except at the death of 
 
 1 [Sir Edward Burtenshaw Sugden was one of the most eminent equity 
 lawyers of the day, distinguished as an advocate in the Court of Chancery 
 and by his important legal writings. He was twice Lord Chancellor of 
 Ireland under the two Administrations of Sir Kohert Peel, and he received 
 the Great Seal of England on the formation of Lord Derby's Administra- 
 tion in 1852, with a peerage under the title of Baron St. Leonards. But 
 he owed his celebrity and his promotion to his eminence as a lawyer, far 
 more than to his activity as a politician.] 
 
 u 2 
 
20 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 one of tlie otliers. The worst part of the foregoing story 
 is, that Lord John will not join cordially and heartily, and 
 it is impossible to say, during the difficult adjustment of 
 details, what objections he may not raise and what em- 
 barrassments he may not cause. 
 
 There was a meeting at Lord Derby's yesterday morning, 
 at which he told his friends he would continue to lead them, 
 and he recommended a moderation, in which he probably 
 was not sincere, and which they will not care to observe. 
 Lord Delawarr got up and thanked him. Nothing can be 
 more rabid than the party and the ex-ministers, and they 
 are evidently bent on vengeance and a furious opposition. 
 I fell in with Lord Drumlanrig and Ousely Higgins yesterday 
 morning, one a moderate Derbyite (always Free Trader), the 
 other an Irish Brigadier. Drumlanrig told me he knew of 
 several adherents of Derby who were resolved to give the 
 new Government fair play, and would not rush into opposi- 
 tion, and Ousely Higgins said he thought the Irish would be 
 all right, especially if, as the report ran, Grranville was sent 
 to Ireland ; but there is no counting on the Irish Brigade, 
 whose object it is to embarrass every Government. If they 
 could be friendly to any, it would, however, be one composed 
 of Aberdeen, Graham, and Gladstone, the opponents of the 
 Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. 
 
 December 22nd. — On going to The Grove yesterday after- 
 noon, 1 found a letter Clarendon had received from Lans- 
 downe in bad spirits enough. He had seen Aberdeen, who 
 had received no answer from John Eussell, and Aberdeen 
 was prepared, if he did not get his acceptance the next 
 morning, to give the thing up. Lansdowne was greatly 
 alarmed and far from confident Lord John would agree, at 
 all events, that he would not take the Foreign Office, in 
 which case Lansdowne said he (Clarendon) must take it.. 
 Nothing could look worse. This morning Clarendon received 
 a letter from Aberdeen announcing that Lord John had 
 agreed to lead the House of Commons, either without an 
 office or with a nominal one, and asking Clarendon to take 
 the Foreign Office. We came up to town together, he- 
 
1852] THE DUKE OF BEDFORD CONSULTED. 21 
 
 meaning to accept unless he can prevail on Lord John to 
 take it, if it be only for a time, and he is gone to see what 
 he can do with him. He told me last night that when he 
 was at Wobum last week, the Duke informed him that he 
 had had a confidential communication from Stockmar, ask- 
 ing for his advice, whom the Queen should send for if the 
 Government was beaten and if Derby resigned. He had 
 just received this letter, and had not answered it, and 
 consulted Clarendon what he should say. Clarendon advised 
 him to recommend Lansdowne and Aberdeen, and he wrote 
 to that effect. The very morning after the division, just as 
 they were going hunting, the hounds meeting at the Torr, 
 a Queen's messenger arrived with another letter, requesting 
 he would communicate more fuUy his sentiments at the 
 present crisis. The messenger was ordered to keep himself 
 secret, and not to let his mission transpire. The Duke, 
 under Clarendon's advice, wrote a long letter back, setting 
 forth in detail all that had, not long ago, passed about 
 Palmerston and Lansdowne, and his notions of the difficul- 
 ties and exigencies of the present time. He said that it 
 was evident Lord John could not make a Government, and 
 that he was himself conscious of it. 
 
 December 2Srd. — It appears that on Tuesday (21st) Aber- 
 deen went to Palmerston, who received him very civilly, 
 even cordially, talked of old times, and reminded him that 
 they had been acquainted for sixty years (since they were 
 at Harrow together), and had lived together in the course of 
 their political lives more than most men. Aberdeen offered 
 him the Admiralty, saying he considered it in existing cir- 
 cumstances the most important office, and the one in which 
 he could render the greatest service to the country, but if 
 he for any reason objected to that office, he begged him to 
 say what other office he would have. Palmerston replied 
 that he had no hostile feeling towards him, but they had for 
 so many years been in strong opposition to each other, that 
 the public would never understand his taking office in Aber- 
 deen's Government, and he was too old to expose himself to 
 fiuch misconceptions. And so they parted, on ostensibly 
 
22 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 very friendly terms, which will probably not prevent Palmers- 
 ton's joining Derby and going into furious opposition. In. 
 the course of the day yesterday both Clarendon and Lans- 
 downe called on Palmerston, and he expressed great satis- 
 faction at Clarendon's appointment to the Foreign OfBce. 
 
 In the afternoon I called on Lady Clanricarde, who gave 
 me to understand that Clanricarde was likely to become a 
 personage of considerable influence and power (and therefore . 
 worth having), inasmuch as the Irish Band had made over- 
 tures to him, and signified their desire to act under his 
 guidance. She said this was not the first overture he had 
 received of the kind from the same quarter ; that for various 
 reasons he had declined the others, but she thought at the 
 present time he might very well listen to it ; that they were 
 very anxious to be led by a gentleman, and a man of con- 
 sideration and station in the world. All this, to which I 
 attach very little credit, was no doubt said to me in order to 
 be repeated, and that it might impress on Aberdeen and his 
 friends and colleagues the importance of securing Clanri- 
 carde's services and co-operation ; and I am the more con- 
 firmed in this by receiving a note from the Marchioness in 
 the evening, begging I would not repeat what she had 
 told me. 
 
 There was nothing new yesterday in the purlieus of 
 Whiggism, but I think somewhat more of acquiescence, and 
 a disposition to regard this combination as inevitable. The 
 Derbyites quite frenzied, and prepared to go any lengths, 
 Lonsdale told me the party were delighted with Derby's in- 
 temperate speech in the House of Lords, which seems to have 
 been rehearsed at his own meeting the same morning ; and 
 the other day twenty ruffians of the Carlton Club gave a 
 dinner there to Beresford, to celebrate what they consider 
 his acquittal ! After dinner, when they got drunk, they went 
 upstairs, and finding Gladstone alone in the drawing-room, 
 some of them proposed to throw him out of the window. 
 This they did not quite dare to do, but contented themselves 
 with giving some insulting message or order to the waiter, 
 and then went away. 
 
1862] LORD PALMERSTON ACCEPTS OFFICK. 23 
 
 Haichford, Friday, 24th.- — The great event of yesterday 
 was Palmerston's accession to the Government. Lord Lans- 
 downe had called on him the day before, and had, I suspect, 
 little difficulty in persuading him to change his determina- 
 tion and join the new Cabinet. He said he would place 
 himself in Lord Lansdowne's hands, and yesterday morning 
 I heard as a secret, though it was speedily published, that 
 he had agreed to take the Home Office. The next thing 
 was Lord John's consent to take the Foreign Office. This 
 he was persuaded to do by Clarendon, who engaged to help 
 him in the work, and relieve him by taking it himself the 
 moment Lord John should find himself unequal to it, and 
 on these conditions he consented. It was settled that Glad- 
 stone should be Chancellor of the Exchequer, but Delane 
 went to Aberdeen last night for the purpose of getting him 
 to change this arrangement on the ground of the difficulty 
 there would be about the Income Tax, 
 
 The important part of forming the Cabinet is now done, 
 and nothing remains but the allotment of the places. It 
 will be wonderfully strong in point of ability, and in this 
 respect exhibit a marked contrast with the last ; but its very 
 excellence in this respect may prove a source of weakness, 
 and eventually of disunion. The late Cabinet had two para- 
 mount chiefs, and all the rest nonentities, and the nominal 
 head was also a real and predominant head. In the pre- 
 sent Cabinet are five or six first-rate men of equal or nearly 
 equal pretensions, none of them likely to acknowledge 
 the superiority or defer to the opinions of any other, 
 and every one of these five or six considering himself abler 
 and more important than their Premier. They are all at 
 present on very good terms and perfectly satisfied with 
 each other; but this satisfaction does not extend beyond 
 the Cabinet itself ; murmurings and grumblings are already 
 very loud. The Whigs have never looked with much be- 
 nignity on this coalition, and they are now furious at the 
 unequal and, as they think, unfair distribution of places. 
 These complaints are not without reason, nor will it make 
 matters better that John Eussell has had no communication 
 
24 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 with his old friends and adherents, nor made any struggle, 
 as it is believed, to provide for them, although his adhesion 
 is so indispensable that he might have made any terms and 
 conditions he chose. Then the Radicals, to judge from their 
 press, are exceedingly sulky and suspicious, and more likely 
 to oppose than to support the new Government. The Irish 
 also seem disposed to assume a menacing and half hostile 
 attitude, and, having coatributed to overthrow the last Go- 
 vernment, are very likely (according to the policy chalked 
 out for them after the election) to take an early opportunity 
 of aiding the Derbyites to turn out this. Thus hampered 
 with difficulties and beset with dangers, it is impossible to 
 feel easy about their prospects. If, however, they set to 
 work vigoronsly to frame good measures and remove prac- 
 tical and crying evils, they may excite a feeling in their 
 favour in the country, and may attract support enough from 
 different quarters in the House of Commons to go on, but I 
 much fear that it will at best be a perturbed and doubtful 
 existence. Such seems the necessary condition of every 
 Government nowadays, and unfortunately there is a con- 
 siderable party which rejoices in such a state of things, and 
 only desires to aggravate the mischief, because they think 
 its continuance and the instability of every Government 
 will be most conducive to the ends and objects which they 
 aim at. 
 
 London, December 28th. — The remonstrances against 
 Gladstone's being Chancellor of the Exchequer were unavail- 
 ing, but he says he is not tied up by anything he said about 
 the Income Tax. This will nevertheless be a great difficulty, 
 for Graham and Wood, though not perhaps so much com- 
 mitted as Gladstone, are both against the alteration, which 
 the public voice undoubtedly demands. Last night the new 
 Ministers took their places on the Treasury bench, and the 
 Tories moved over to the opposite side. Aberdeen made 
 his statement, which was fair enough and not ill received, 
 but it was ill delivered, and he omitted to say all he might 
 and ought to have said about Lord Lansdowne, nor did he 
 say enough about John Eussell. He said, on the other hand. 
 
1852] lEEITATION OP THE WHIGS. 25 
 
 more tlian enougli about foreign policy, and gave Derby a 
 good opportunity of attacking tbat part of his speech. 
 Derby was more moderate and temperate than on the first 
 night, and made a pretty good speech. He was wrong in 
 dilating so much on what had passed in the House of Com- 
 mons, and he made very little of the case of combination ; 
 he was severe on Graham and his speech at his election 
 at Carlisle, and Graham heard it all. Nobody else said a 
 word. 
 
 The Government is now complete, except some of the 
 minor appointments and the Household. It has not been 
 a smooth and easy business by any means, and there is 
 anything but contentment, cordiality, and zeal in the con- 
 federated party. The Whigs are excessively dissatisfied with 
 the share of places allotted to them, and complain that 
 •every Peelite without exception has been provided for, while 
 half the Whigs are excluded. Though they exaggerate the 
 case, there is a good deal of justice in their complaints, and 
 they have a right to murmur against Aberdeen for not doing 
 more for them, and John Russell for not insisting on a 
 larger share of patronage for his friends.' Clarendon told 
 me last night that the Peelites have behaved very ill, and 
 have grasped at everything, and he mentioned some very 
 flagrant cases, in which, after the distribution had been 
 settled between Aberdeen and John Eussell, Newcastle and 
 Sidney Herbert, for they appear to have been the most 
 active in the matter, persuaded Aberdeen to alter it and 
 bestow or offer offices intended for Whigs to Peelites and 
 in some instances to Derbyites who had been Peelites. 
 Clarendon has been all along very anxious to get Brougham 
 into the Cabinet as President of the Council, and he pro- 
 posed it both to Lord John and Aberdeen, and the latter 
 acquiesced, and Clarendon thought it was going to be 
 arranged that Granville should be President of the Board of 
 Trade, and Brougham President of Council ; but Newcastle 
 
 ^ [It was, however, Lord John who prevented Mr. Oardwell, the 
 President of the Board of Trade, from having a seat in the Cabinet, on 
 ihe ground that there were already too many Peelites in it.] 
 
26 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 and Sidney Herbert not only upset this plan, but proposed 
 that Ellenborough should be President of Council, and then, 
 when he was objected to, Harrowby. They also wanted 
 that Jersey should remain Master of the Horse, Jonathan 
 Peel go again to the Ordnance, and Chandos continue a 
 Lord of the Treasury. With what object they wished for 
 these appointments I have not an idea, but the very notion 
 of them is an insult to the Whigs, and will be resented 
 accordingly. 
 
 Lord Lansdowne seems to have taken little or no part in 
 all this. He hooked Palmerston, and, having rendered this 
 great service, he probably thought he had done enough. 
 The Whigs at Brooks's are very angry, and Bessborough 
 told me that he thought his party so ill used, that he had 
 implored Lord John to withdraw even now rather than be 
 a party to such injustice. Lord John seems to have been 
 very supine, and while the Peelites were all activity, and 
 intent on getting all they could, he let matters take their 
 course, and abstained from exercising the influence in behalf 
 of his own followers which his position and the indispen- 
 sability of his co-operation enabled him to do. This puts 
 them out of humour with him as much as with Aberdeen 
 and his friends. 
 
 We had a great reunion here (at Lord Granville's) last 
 night, with half the Cabinet at dinner or in the evening. I 
 told Graham what the feelings of the Whigs were. He 
 said they had a very large and important share, the Chan- 
 cellors of England and of Ireland, etc., and he defended 
 some of the appointments and consequent exclusions on 
 special grounds. They have made Monsell, an Irish Catholic 
 convert. Clerk of the Ordnance, together with some other 
 Irish Catholic appointments, and he said that these were 
 necessary in order to reconquer in Ireland what had been 
 lost by the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and that it was of more 
 consequence to conciliate that large part of the Empire than 
 to provide for the Ansons and the Pagets ; and on the same 
 ground he justified the appointment of St. Germans instead, 
 of Lord Carlisle as Lord Lieutenant. All this may be very 
 
1852] THE CLAIMS OF THE PEELITES. 27 
 
 true, but the Whigs to be left out to make room for these 
 substitutes will not be convinced or pacified by the political 
 expediency which Graham sets forth, nor will such appoint- 
 ments be at all popular here. If, however, they really should 
 be the means of rallying the Irish Brigade to the support 
 of the Government, it may be patronage well bestowed. 
 But this makes it a disagreeable start, and may be hereafter 
 productive of serious consequences. Nothing can be more 
 shortsighted, as well as unfair, than the conduct of the Peel- 
 ites in trying to thrust their own people instead of Whigs 
 into the of&ces, for they can only hope to keep their places 
 at all by the zealous support of the whole Whig force, them- 
 selves bringing next to nothing in point of numbers, and to 
 encounter such a numerous and compact Opposition will 
 require the zealous co-operation of all who wish well to the 
 Liberal cause, and who are against Derby. Newcastle talked 
 to me last night about Aberdeen's speech, acknowledged 
 its deficiencies, and said he had told Aberdeen what he 
 thought of it. Aberdeen acknowledged it all, said he was 
 so unaccustomed to make such statements, that he had for- 
 gotten or overlooked it, and wished he could have spoken it 
 again to repair the omission. They all seem at present very 
 harmonious in their intercourse. 
 
 After dinner last night John Russell and Charles Wood 
 went off to meet Aberdeen, for the purpose, I believe, of 
 settling some of the arrangements not yet fixed. Clarendon 
 told me that Charles Wood had been of use in stimulating 
 John Eussell to interfere and prevent some of the proposed 
 changes which the Peelites wished Aberdeen to make in 
 the list as originally settled between him and Lord John, 
 and it is very well that he did. It is impossible not to see 
 that Lord John himself, though now willing to co-operate 
 and do his best, has never been hearty ia the cause, nor en- 
 tirely satisfied with his own position ; and this has probably 
 made him more lukewarm, and deterred him from taking a 
 more active and decided part in the formation of the Govern- 
 ment. We are just going down to Windsor, the old 
 Government to give up seals, wands, etc., the new to be 
 
28 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. I. 
 
 sworn in. They go by different railways, tliat they may not 
 meet. It is singular that I have never attended a Council 
 during the nine months Lord Derby was in office, not once ; 
 consequently there are several of his Cabinet whom I do not 
 inow by sight — Pakington, Walpole, and Henley. With 
 my friends I resume my functions. 
 
 Becemher 29th. — I went down to the Council yesterday at 
 Windsor vrith the ins, and we saw nothing of the outs, who 
 went by another train and railway. Palmerston was there, 
 looking very ill indeed. They all seem on very cordial terms. 
 Oraham told me he had had a very friendly conversation 
 with Palmerston, and was greatly rejoiced at being again 
 united to his old colleague. He acknowledged that it was a 
 great mistake in Aberdeen to have offered the Mastership of 
 the Horse to Lord Jersey. Aberdeen has now proposed the 
 Lord Steward's place to Carlisle, which he will probably not 
 take, and possibly be offended at the offer, I suppose Aber- 
 deen has been subjected to pressure from various quarters, 
 but might have made a better selection and distribution 
 than he has done. 
 
 January Bth, 1853. — The elections are all going on well, 
 except G-ladstone's, who appears in great jeopardy. Nothing 
 could exceed the disgraceful conduct of his opponents, lying, 
 tricking, and shuffling, as might be expected from such a 
 party. The best thing that could happen for Gladstone 
 would be to be beaten, if it were not for the triumph it 
 would be to the blackguards who have got up the contest ; 
 for the representation of Oxford is always an embarrassment 
 to a statesman, and Peel's losing his election there in 1829 
 was the most fortunate event possible for him. The only 
 speech of the new Ministers calling for special notice is 
 Palmerston's at Tiverton, which appears to me to conceal an 
 arriere-pensee. He spoke in civil, even complimentary, terms 
 of the Derby Government, so much so, that if any break-up 
 or break-down should occur in this, and Lord Derby return 
 to office, there appears no reason why Palmerston should 
 not form, a fresh coahtion with him ; and it looks very much 
 as if he was keeping this contingency in view, and putting 
 
1853] 
 
 LOED ABEEDEEN'S ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 29 
 
 himself in such an attitude as should, enable him with some 
 plausibility to join the camp of such a restoration. 
 
 The Cabinet of Lord Aberdeen's Administration consisted 
 of the following Ministers : — 
 
 Earl of Aberdeen . 
 Lord Cran worth 
 Earl Granville 
 The Duke of Argyll 
 Mr. Gladstone 
 Viscount Palmerston 
 The Duke of Newcastle 
 Lord John Russell (and 
 
 Earl of Clarendon) 
 Sir James Graham 
 Mr. Sidney Herbert 
 Sir Charles Wood . 
 Sir William Molesworth 
 The Marquii 
 
 First Lord of the Treasury 
 Lord Chancellor 
 Lord President of the Council 
 Lord Privy Seal 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 Home Secretary of State 
 Secretary for Colonies and War 
 
 later the 
 
 . Foreign Secretary 
 . First Lord of the Admiralty 
 . Secretary at War 
 . President of the Indian Board 
 . First Commissioner of Works 
 of Lansdowne without office. 
 
30 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Eoyal Commission on Reform — M. de Flahault on the Bmpei'or Napoleon 
 — Lord John's Blunder — Disraeli's Negotiation with the Irish Members — 
 Lord Beauvale's Death — Lady BeauTale's Grief — Napoleon III. and 
 Mdlle. de Montijo — Parliament meets — The Emperor's Marriage — Dis- 
 raeli's Attack on Sir 0. Wood — Dislike of Mr. Disraeli — Lord John 
 Eussell leaves the Foreign Office — Lord Stanley's Liberal Votes — Dis- 
 raeli's Opinion of his Colleagues — The Government in Smooth Water — 
 England unpopular abroad — Massimo d'Azeglio — The Austrians in Italy 
 — The Bishop of Lincoln — The Duke of Bedford's Papers — Lord Palmers- 
 ton leads the House — Social Amenities^-Rancour of Northern Powers 
 against England — Friendly Resolution of the Emperor Napoleon III. — 
 Difficulties at Home — The India Bill — The Eastern Question — The Czar's 
 Proposals — Russian Assurances — The Royal Family. 
 
 Boivood, January 12th, 1853. — I came here on Monday to 
 meet tlie Cannings, Hareourt,' and Lady Waldegrave, tlie 
 Bessboroughs, Elphinstone, Senior, and tlie family. Senior 
 talked to me about the Government and Reform, and the 
 danger of their splitting on the latter question and propounded 
 a scheme he has for obviating this danger. He wants to 
 have a Royal Commission to enquire into the practice of 
 bribery at elections and the means of preventing it, or, if 
 possible, to have an enquiry of a more extensive and com- 
 prehensive character into the state of the representation 
 and the working of the Reform Bill. We talked it over, and 
 I told him I thought this would not be a bad expedient. 
 He had already spoken to Lord Lansdowne about it, who 
 seemed not averse to the idea, and promised to talk to Lord 
 John Russell on the subject. Senior, when he went away, 
 Degged me to talk to Lord Lansdowne also, which I at- 
 tempted to do, but without success, for he seemed quite 
 ndisposed to enter upon it. 
 
 Beaudesert, January 19th. — To town on Saturday and here 
 
 ^ [George Granville Harcourt, Esq., M.P., eldest son of the Archbishop 
 if York, and third husband of Frances, Countess of Waldegrave.] 
 
1853] LOED JOHN'S AHEANaEMENT DISAPPROVED. 31 
 
 on Monday, with the Flahaults, Bessboroughs, Ansons, my 
 brothers and the family. Lord Anglesey and M. de Flahanlt 
 talk oyer their campaigns, and compare notes on the events 
 of Sir John Moore's retreat and other military operations, 
 in which they have served in opposing armies. Flahanlt 
 was aide-de-camp to Marshal Berthier till the middle of the 
 Russian campaign, when he became aide-de-camp to Napo- 
 leon, whom he never quitted again till the end of his career. 
 His accounts of what he has seen and known are curious 
 and interesting. He says that one of the Emperor's greatest 
 mistakes and the causes of his misfortunes was his habit of 
 ordering everything, down to the minutest arrangement, 
 himself, and leaving so little to the discretion and respon- 
 sibility of his generals and others that they became mere 
 machines, and were incapable of acting, or afraid to act, on 
 their own judgements. On several occasions great cala- 
 mities were the consequence of this unfortunate habit of 
 Napoleon's. 
 
 London, January 24th, — The Duke of Bedford called here 
 this morning. I had not seen him for an age ; he was just 
 come from Windsor with a budget of matter, which as usual 
 he was in such a hurry that he had not time to tell me. I 
 got a part of it, however. I began by asking him how he 
 had left them all at Windsor, to which he replied that the 
 state of things was not very satisfactory. The Queen dis- 
 approved Lord John's arrangement for giving up the seals 
 of the Foreign Office on a given day (the 15th February) 
 which had not been previously explained to her Majesty, as 
 it ought to have been. She said that she should make no 
 objection if any good reason could be assigned for what was 
 proposed, either of a public or a private nature, any reason 
 connected with his health or with the transaction of busi- 
 ness, but she thought, and she is right, that fixing before- 
 hand a particular day, without any special necessity occurring, 
 is very unreasonable and absurd. Then they are all very 
 angry -with Lord John for an exceeding piece of folly of his, 
 in announcing to the Foreign Ministers, the day he received 
 them, that he was only to be at the Foreign Office for a few 
 
32 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 weeks. This, as the Duke said, was a most unwise and 
 improper communication, particularly as it was made without 
 any concert with Aberdeen, and without his knowledge, and, 
 in fact, blurted out with the same sort of levity that was 
 apparent in the Durham letter and the Reform announce- 
 ment, with both of which he has been so bitterly reproached, 
 and which have proved so inconvenient that it might have 
 been thought he would not fall again into similar scrapes. 
 The Foreign Ministers themselves were exceedingly asto- 
 nished, and not a little annoyed. Brunnow said it was a 
 complete mockery, and they all felt that it was unsatisfactory 
 to be put in relation with a Foreign Secretary who was only 
 to be there for a few weeks. 
 
 The Queen is delighted to have got rid of the late 
 Ministers. She felt, as everybody else does, that their 
 Government was disgraced by its shuffling and prevarication, 
 and she said that Harcourt's pamphlet (which was all true) 
 was sufficient to show what they were.' As she is very 
 honourable and true herself, it was natural she should dis- 
 approve their conduct. 
 
 Yesterday Delane called on me, and gave me an account of 
 a curious conversation he had had with Disraeli. Disraeli 
 asked him to call on him, which he did, when they talked 
 over recent events and the fall of the late Government, very 
 frankly, it would seem, on Disraeli's part. He acknowledged 
 that he had been bitterly mortified. When Delane asked 
 him, ' now it was all over,' what made him produce such a 
 Budget, he said, if he had not been thwarted and dis- 
 appointed, he should have carried it by the aid of the Irish 
 Brigade whom he had engaged for that purpose. Just before 
 the debate, one of them came to him and said, if he would 
 agree to refer Sharman Crawford's Tenant Eight Bill to the 
 Select Committee with the Government Bill, they would all 
 vote with him. He thought this too good a bargain to miss, 
 and he closed with his friend on those terms, told Walpole 
 
 ^ [Mr. William Harcourt publislied a pamptlet at this time on 'The 
 Morality of Public Men,' in which he censured with great severity the 
 conduct of the late Ministers.] 
 
1853] ■ DISRAELI AND THE IRISH BRIGADE. 33 
 
 what he had arranged, desired him to carry out the bargain, 
 and the thing was done. No sooner was the announcement 
 made than Lord Naas and Sir Joseph Napier' (who had 
 never been informed) came in a great fury to Disraeli and 
 Walpole, complained of the way they had been treated, and 
 threatened to resign. With great difficulty he pacified or 
 rather silenced them, and he was in hopes the storm had 
 blown over, but the next day he found Naas and Napier had 
 gone to Lord Derby with their complaints, and he now 
 fonnd the latter full of wrath and indignation likewise ; for 
 Lord Eoden, who had heard something of this compromise 
 (i.e. of the Tenant Eight Bill being referred to Committee), 
 announced his intention of asking Lord Derby a question in 
 the House of Lords. Added to this, as soon as the news 
 reached Dublin, Lord Eglinton and Blackburne testified the 
 same resentment as Naas and Napier had done, and threat- 
 ened to resign likewise. All this produced a prodigious 
 flare up. Disraeli represented that it was his business to 
 make the Budget succeed by such means as he could, that 
 the votes of the Brigade would decide it either way, and 
 that he had made a very good bargain, as he had pledged 
 himself to nothing more, and never had any intention of 
 giving any suite to what had been done, so that it could not 
 signify. He did not succeed in appeasing Lord Derby, who, 
 a night or two after in the Lords, repudiated all participa- 
 tion in what had been done, and attacked the Irishmen rery 
 bitterly. Disraeli heard this speech, and saw at once that 
 it would be fatal to the Budget and to them, as it proved, 
 for the whole Brigade voted in a body against the Govern- 
 ment, and gave a majority to the other side. He seemed 
 in pretty good spirits as to the future, though without for 
 the present any definite purpose. He thinks the bulk of 
 the party will keep together. Delane asked him what he 
 would have done with such a Budget if he had carried it. 
 
 ^ [Lord Naas was Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Sir Joseph Napier 
 Attorney-General for Ireland, in Lord Derby's Administration of 1852. 
 Lord Eglinton was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and the Right Hon. Francis- 
 Blackburne Irish Lord Chancellor.] 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
34 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 He said they should have remodelled their Government, 
 Palmerston and Gladstone would have joined them {Glad- 
 stone after the debate and their duel !) ; during the interven- 
 ing two or three months the Budget would have been 
 discussed in the country, what was liked retained, what was 
 unpopular altered, and in the end they should have produced 
 a very good Budget which the country would have taken 
 gladly. He never seems to have given a thought to any 
 consideration of political morality, honesty, or truth, in all 
 that he said. The moral of the whole is, that let what will 
 happen it will be very difficult to bring Lord Derby and 
 Disraeli together again. They must regard each other with 
 real, if not avowed, distrust and dislike. Disraeli said that 
 Derby's position in life and his fortune were so different 
 from his, that their several courses must be influenced ac- 
 cordingly. It is easy to conceive how Lord Derby, embarked 
 (no matter how or why) in such a contest, should strain 
 every nerve to succeed and fight it out ; but the thing once 
 broken up, he would not be very likely to place himself 
 again in such a situation, and to encounter the endless diffi- 
 culties, dangers, and mortifications attendant upon the lead 
 of such a party, and above all the necessity of trusting 
 entirely to such a colleague as Disraeli in the House of 
 Commons without one other man of a grain of capacity 
 besides. 4-s it is, he will probably betake himself to the 
 enjoyment of his pleasures and pursuits, till he is recalled 
 to political life by some fresh excitement and interest that 
 time and circumstances may throw in his way ; but let 
 what will happen, I doubt his encountering again the 
 troubles and trammels of office.' 
 
 January 30f/t.— Yesterday morning Frederic Lamb, Lord 
 Beauvale and Melbourne, with whom both titles cease, died at 
 Brocket after a short but severe attack of influenza, fever, and 
 gout. He was in his seventy-first year. Lady Palmerston thus 
 
 1 [A singularly unfortunate prediction ! The alliance of Lord Derby 
 and Mr. Disraeli remained untrolien, and continued long enough to enable 
 them (after a second failure) to bring the Conservative party back to 
 power.] 
 
1853] DEATH OF LORD BEAUVALE. 35 
 
 becomes a ricli heiress. He was not so remarkable a man in 
 character as his brother William, less peculiar and eccentric, 
 more like other people, with much less of literary acquire- 
 ment, less caustic humour and pungent wit, but he had a 
 vigorous understanding, great quickness, a good deal of gene- 
 ral information, he was likewise well versed in business and 
 public affairs, and a very sensible and intelligent converser 
 and correspondent. He took a deep and lively interest in 
 politics to the last moment of his life, was insatiably curious 
 about all that was going on, and was much confided in and 
 ■consulted by many people of very different parties and opi- 
 nions. He never was in Parliament, but engaged all his life 
 in a diplomatic career, for which he was very well fitted, 
 Jiaving been extremely handsome in his youth, and always 
 very clever, agreeable, and adroit. He consequently ran it 
 with great success, and was in high estimation at Vienna, 
 where his brother-in-law, Palmerston, sent him as Ambas- 
 sador. He was always much addicted to gallantry, and had 
 endless liaisons with women, most of whom continued to be 
 his friends long after they had ceased to be his mistresses, 
 much to the credit of all parties. After having led a very 
 free and dissolute life, he had the good fortune at sixty years 
 old, and with a broken and enfeebled constitution, to settle 
 (as it is called), by marrying a charming girl of twenty, the 
 •daughter of the Prussian Minister at Vien aa,.Count Maltzahn. 
 This Adine, who was content to unite her May to his De- 
 cember, was to him a perfect angel, devoting her youthful 
 energies to sustain and cheer his valetudinarian existence 
 with a cheerfal unselfishness, which he repaid by a grateful 
 and tender affection, having an air at once marital and 
 paternal. She never cared to go anywhere, gave up all 
 commerce with the world and all its amusements and plea- 
 sures, contenting herself with such society as it suited him 
 to gather about them, his old friends and some new ones, to 
 whom she did the honours with infinite grace and cordiality, 
 and who all regarded her with great admiration and respect. 
 In such social intercourse, in political gossip, and in her 
 untiring attentions, his last years glided away, not without 
 
 n 2 
 
36 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II, 
 
 enjoyment. He and his brother William had always been 
 on very intimate terms, and William highly prized his advice 
 and opinions ; but as Frederic was at heart a Tory, and had 
 a horror of Eadicalism in every shape, he was not seldom 
 disgusted with the conduct of the Whig Government, and 
 used sorely to perplex and mortify William by his free and 
 severe strictures on him and his colleagues. He nomin- 
 ally belonged to the Liberal party, but in reality he was- 
 strongly Conservative, and he always dreaded the progress 
 of democracy, though less disturbed than he would other- 
 wise have been by reflecting that no material alteration could 
 possibly overtake him. His most intimate friends abroad 
 were the Metternichs and Madame de Lieven, and his 
 notions of foreign policy were extremely congenial to theirs. 
 Here, his connexions all lying with people of the Liberal 
 side, he had nothing to do with the Tories, for most of whom 
 he entertained great contempt. Brougham, EUice, and myself 
 were the men he was most intimate with. He was very fond 
 of his sister, but never much liked Palmerston, and was 
 bitterly opposed to his policy when he was at the Foreign 
 Office, which was a very sore subject between himself and 
 them, and for a long time, and on many occasions, em- 
 bittered or interrupted their intercourse ; but as he was 
 naturally affectionate, had a very good temper, and loved an 
 easy life, such clouds were always soon dispersed, and na 
 permanent estrangement ever took place. He was largely 
 endowed with social merits and virtues, without having or 
 affecting any claim to those of a higher or moral character. 
 I have no doubt he was much more amiable as an old man 
 than he ever had been when he was a young one ; and though 
 the death of one so retired from the world can make little or 
 no sensation in it, except as being the last of a remarkable 
 family, he will be sincerely regretted, and his loss will be 
 sensibly felt by the few who enjoyed the intimacy of his 
 declining years. 
 
 February 8th. — Yesterday I went to see the unhappy 
 Lady Beauvale, and, apart from the sorrow of witnessing so 
 much bodily and mental suffering, it is really a singular and 
 
1853] LADY BEAUVALE. 37 
 
 extraordinary case. Here is a -woman thirty-two years old, 
 ^nd therefore in the prime of life, who has lost a husband of 
 seventy-one deprived of the use of his limbs, and whom she 
 had nursed for ten years, the period of their union, with the 
 probable or possible fatal termination of his frequent attacks 
 of gout constantly before her eyes, and she is not merely 
 plunged in great grief at the loss she has sustained, but in a 
 blank and hopeless despair, which in its moral and physical 
 effects seriously menaces her own existence. She is calm, rea- 
 sonable and docile, talks of him and his illness without any 
 excitement, and is ready to do everything that her friends 
 advise ; but she is earnestly desirous to die, considers her 
 sole business on earth as finished, and talks as if the pro- 
 longation of her own life could only be an unmitigated evil 
 and intolerable burden, and that no ray of hope was left for 
 her of any possibility of happiness or even peace and ease 
 for the future. She is in fact brokenhearted, and that for a 
 man old enough to be her grandfather and a martyr to dis- 
 ease and infirmity ; but to her he was everything ; she had 
 ■consecrated her life to the preservation of his, and she kept 
 Ms vital flame alive with the unwearied watching of a Vestal 
 priestess. She had made him an object and an idol round 
 •which all the feelings and even passion of an affectionate 
 heart had entwined themselves, till at last she had merged 
 her very existence in his, and only lived in, with, and for 
 liim. She saw and felt that he enjoyed life, and she made it 
 her object to promote and prolong this enjoyment. ' Why,' 
 she says, ' could I not save him now, as I saved him hereto- 
 fore ? ' and not having been able to do so, she regards her 
 own life as utterly useless and unnecessary, and only hopes 
 -±0 be relieved of it that she may (as she believes and expects) 
 be enabled to join him in some other world.' 
 
 February 9th. — Yesterday Clarendon told me a curious 
 thing about the Emperor Napoleon and his marriage, which 
 ■came in a roundabout way, but which no doubt is true. 
 Madame de Montijo's most intimate friend is the Marchioness 
 
 ' [She lived, however, and married Lord Forester, en secondea noces, in 
 1856.] 
 
38 EEIGN OF QUEEN TICTOEIA. [Chap. II„ 
 
 of Santa Cruz, and to her she wrote an account of what had 
 passed about her daughter's marriage and the Emperor's 
 proposal to her. When he offered her marriage, she ex- 
 pressed her sense of the greatness of the position to which, 
 he proposed to raise her. He replied, ' It is only fair that 
 I should set before you the whole truth, and let you know 
 that if the position is very high, it is also perhaps very dan- 
 gerous and insecure.' He then represented to her in detail 
 all the dangers with which he was environed, his unpopu- 
 larity with the higher classes, the malveillance of the Great 
 Powers, the possibility of his being any day assassinated at 
 her side, his popularity indeed with the masses, but the 
 fleeting character of their favour, but above all the existence 
 of a good deal of disaffection and hostility in the army, the 
 most serious thing of all. If this latter danger, he said, 
 were to become more formidable, he knew very well how to 
 avert it by a war ; and though his earnest desire was to 
 maintain peace, if no other means of self-preservation should 
 remain, he should not shrink from that, which would at once 
 rally the whole army to one common feeling. All this he 
 told her with entire frankness, and without concealing the 
 perils of his position, or his sense of them, and it is one of 
 the most creditable traits I have ever heard of him. It was,. 
 of course, calculated to engage and attach any woman of 
 high spirit and generosity, and it seems to have had that 
 effect upon her. It is, however, curious in many ways ; it 
 reveals a sense of danger that is not apparently suspected, 
 and his consciousness of it ; and it shows how, in spite of a 
 sincere wish to maintain peace, he may be driven to make 
 war as a means of self-preservation, and therefore how en- 
 tirely necessary it is that we should be on our guard, and 
 not relax our defensive preparations. I was sure from the 
 conversations I had with M. de Flahault at Beaudesert, that 
 he feels the Emperor's situation to be one of insecurity and 
 hazard. He said that it remained to be seen whether it 
 was possible that a Government could be maintained per- 
 manently in France On the principle of the total suppres- 
 sion of civil and political liberty, which had the support 
 
1853] MAEEIAGE OF THE EMPEEOE NAPOLEON UI. 39 
 
 of the masses, but whicli was abhorred and opposed by 
 all the elevated and educated classes. The limbs of the 
 body politic are with the Emperor, and the head against 
 him. 
 
 February 11th. — Parliament met again last night. Lord 
 Derby threw off in the Lords by asking Lord Aberdeen what 
 the Government meant to do, which Aberdeen awkwardly 
 and foolishly enough declined to give any answer to. The 
 scene was rather ridiculous, and not creditable, I think, to 
 Aberdeen. He is unfortunately a very bad speaker at all 
 times, and, what is worse in a Prime Minister, has no readi- 
 ness whatever. Lord Lansdowne would have made a very 
 pretty and dexterous flourish, and answered the question. 
 Lord John did announce in the House of Commons what 
 the Government mean to do and not to do, but they say he 
 did it ill, and it was very flat, not a 'brilliant throw-off at all. 
 
 February 16th. — Yesterday Cowley arrived from Paris. 
 He called on me, and gave me an account of the state of 
 things there and some curious details about the Emperor's 
 marriage and his abortive matrimonial projects. He con- 
 firms the account of Louis Napoleon's position set forth in 
 Madame de Montijo's letter. The effect of his marriage has 
 been very damaging everywhere, and the French people were 
 not at all pleased at his calling himself a ' parvenu,' which 
 mortified their vanity, inasmuch as they did not like to 
 appear as having thrown themselves at the feet of a parvenu. 
 For some time before the marriage was declared, Cowley, 
 from what he saw and the information he received, began 
 to suspect it would take place, and reported it to John 
 Kussell. Just about this time Walewski went to Paris, and 
 when Cowley saw him he told him so. Walewski expressed 
 the greatest surprise as well as mortification, and imparted 
 to Cowley that a negotiation had been and still was going 
 on for the Emperor's marriage with the Princess Adelaide 
 of Hohenlohe, the Queen's niece, at that time and still with 
 the Queen in England. This was begun by Lord Malmes^ 
 bury, and the Emperor had regularly proposed to her through 
 her father. A very civil answer had been sent by the 
 
40 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 Prince, in whicli lie said that he would not dispose of his 
 daughter's hand without her consent, and that he had re- 
 ferred the proposal to her, and she should decide for herself. 
 The Queen had behaved very well, and had abstained from 
 giving any advice or expressing any opinion on the subject. 
 They were then expecting the young Princess's decision. 
 This being the case, Cowley advised Walewski to exert his 
 influence to stop the demonstrations that were going on 
 between the Emperor and Mile, di Montijo, which might 
 seriously interfere with this plan. The next day Walewski 
 told Cowley that he had seen the Emperor, who took him 
 by both hands, and said, ' Mon cher, je suis pris,' and then 
 told him he had resolved to marry Mile, de Montijo. How- 
 ever, on Walewski representing the state of the other affair, 
 he agreed to wait for the Princess Adelaide's answer, but 
 said, if it was unfavourable, he would conclude the other 
 affair, but if the Princess accepted him he would marry 
 her. The day following the answer came : very civil, but 
 declining on the ground of her youth and inexperience, and 
 not feeling equal to such a position. The same day the 
 Emperor proposed to the Empress. Cowley says he is evi- 
 dently much changed since his marriage, and that he is 
 conscious of his unpopularity and the additional insecurity 
 in which it has involved his position. 
 
 February 19th. — Lord Cowley told me something more 
 about the marriage. He saw the Queen on Thursday (17th), 
 who told him all about it. The first step was taken by Morny, 
 who wrote to Malmesbury, and requested him to propose it, 
 stating that the Emperor's principal object in it was to 
 ' resserrer les liens entre les deux pays.' Malmesbury 
 accordingly wrote to the Queen on the subject. She was 
 annoyed, justly considering that the proposal, with the reason 
 given, placed her in a very awkward situation, and that it 
 ought not to have been mentioned to her at all. The result 
 was what has been already stated, but with this difference, 
 that the Queen set her face against the match, although the 
 girl, if left to herself, would have accepted the offer. How- 
 ever, nobody knows this, and they are very anxious these 
 
1853] DISRAELI'S ATTACK ON SIR CHARLES -WOOD. 41 
 
 details should not transpire. The two accounts I have given 
 of this transaction seem to me to afford a good illustration 
 of the uncertainty of the best authenticated historical state- 
 ments. Nothing could appear more to he reUed on than the 
 accuracy of Cowley's first account to me, and if I had not 
 seen him again, or if he had not imparted to me his conver- 
 sation with the Queen, that account would have stood un- 
 corrected, and an inaccurate version of the story would have 
 been preserved, and might hereafter have been made public, 
 and, unless corrected by some other contemporaneous narra- 
 tive, would probably have been taken as true. The matter 
 in itself is not very important, but such errors unquestion- 
 ably are liable to occur in matters of greater moment, and 
 actually do occur, fully justifying the apocryphal character 
 "which has been ascribed to almost every historical work.' 
 
 The Queen seems to be intensely curious about the Court 
 ■of France and all details connected with it, and on the 
 other hand Louis Napoleon has been equally curious about 
 the etiquette observed in the English Court, and desirous of 
 assimilating his to ours, which in great measure he appears 
 to have done. 
 
 Last night there was the first field day in the House 
 of Commons, Disraeli having made an elaborate and bitter 
 attack on the Government, but especially on Charles Wood 
 and Graham, under the pretence of asking questions respect- 
 ing our foreign relations, and more particularly with France.^ 
 His speech was very long, in most parts very tiresome, but 
 with a good deal of ability, and a liberal infusion of that 
 sarcastic vituperation which is his great forte, and which 
 always amuses the House of Commons more or less. It was, 
 
 ^ [Further details with reference to the marriage of the Emperor will 
 T)e found in Lord Malmesbury's Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 374 and 378, which 
 •confirm Mr. GrevUle's narrative.] 
 
 " [Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, made a speech 
 to his constituents at Halifax on February 3, in which he commented in 
 severe language on the despotic character of the Imperial Government of 
 France. The speech was thought to be unbecoming in the mouth of a 
 Cabinet minister, and Sir Charles apologised for it. But Mr. Disraeli made 
 it the subject of a fierce attack in the House of Commons.] 
 
42 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II, 
 
 however, a speech of devilish malignity, quite reckless and 
 shamelessly profligate ; for the whole scope of it was, if pos- 
 sible, to envenom any bad feeling that may possibly exist 
 between Trance and England, and, by the most exaggerated 
 representations of the offence given by two of the Ministers 
 to the French Government and nation, to exasperate the- 
 latter, and to make it a point of honour with them to resent 
 it, even to the extent of a quarrel with us. Happily its 
 factious violence was so great as to disgust even the people 
 on his own side, and the French Government is too really 
 desirous of peace and hai-mony to pay any attention to the 
 rant of a disappointed adventurer, whose motives and object 
 are quite transparent. 
 
 February 20th. — Disraeli's speech on Friday night was 
 evidently a political blunder, which has injured him in the 
 general opinion, and disgusted his own party. It is as- 
 serted that he communicated his intention to his followers, 
 who disapproved of it, but he nevertheless persisted. The 
 speech itself was too long ; it was dull and full of useless 
 truisms in the first part, but clever and brilliant in the last ; 
 and his personalities were very smart and well aimed ; but 
 there was not a particle of truth and sincerity in it ; it was a 
 mere vituperation and factious display, calculated to do- 
 mischief if it produced any effect at all, and quite unbecom- 
 ing a man who had just been a Minister of the Crown and 
 leader of the House of Commons, and who ought to have 
 been animated by higher motives and more patriotic views. 
 This was what the more sensible men of the party felt, and 
 Tom Baring, the most sensible and respectable of the Derby- 
 ites, and the man of the greatest weight amongst them, told 
 me himself that he was so much disgusted that he was on the 
 point of getting up to disavow him, and it is much to be 
 regretted, as I told him, that such a rebuke was not admi- 
 nistered from such a quarter. It does not look as if the 
 connexion between Disraeli and the party could go on long. 
 Their dread and distrust of him and his contempt of them 
 render it dif&cult if not impossible. Pakington is already 
 talked of as their leader, and some think Disraeli wants to- 
 
1853] LORD JOHN RUSSELL LEAVES THE FOREIGN OFFICE. 43 
 
 shake tliem off and trade on his own bottom, trusting to 
 his great abilities to make his way to political power with 
 somebody and on some principles, about neither of which 
 he would be very nice. Tom Baring said to me last night, 
 'Can't you make room for him in this Coalition Govern- 
 ment ? ' I said, ' Why, will you give him to us ? ' ' Oh, yes,' 
 he said, ' you shall have him with pleasure.' 
 
 Lord John Eussell has taken leave of the Foreign Office, 
 and has had an interview with the Queen and Prince, satis- 
 factory to both. She has been all along considerably an- 
 noyed at the arrangement made about his taking the Foreign 
 Office only to quit it, and his leading the House of Com- 
 mons without any office, which she fancies is unconstitu- 
 tional, and the arrangement was announced in the news- 
 papers without any proper communication to her. The 
 consequence has been some little soreness on both sides, but 
 this has now been all removed by explanations and amicable 
 communication. The Queen attacked him on the constitu- 
 tional ground, but here elle Va pris par son fort, and he 
 easily bowled over this objection.' Then she expressed her 
 fear lest it should be drawn into a precedent, which might 
 be inconvenient in other cases, to which he replied that he 
 thought there was little fear of anybody wishing to follow 
 the precedent of a man taking upon himself a vast amount 
 of labour without any pay at all. Then she said that a man 
 independent of office might consider himself independent 
 of the Crown also, and postpone its interests to popular 
 requirements ; which he answered by saying that he did not 
 think any Minister, as it was, thought very much of the 
 Crown as contradistinguished from the people, and that he 
 was not less likely to take such a part as she apprehended 
 by holding an office of 5,000L a year, from which a vote of 
 the House of Commons could at any moment expel him, 
 
 ^ [The objection taken by Her Majesty was to Lord John Bussell's pro- 
 posal that he should retain his seat in the Cabinet and the leadership of th& 
 House of Commons without holding any special office in the Government. 
 But in feet, as a Privy Councillor of the Crown, a Minister, with or without 
 office, is imder precisely the same obligations to the Sovereign and to Parlia- 
 ment.] 
 
44 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 -He appears to have satisfied them both, and to be satisfied 
 Mmself, which is still more important. 
 
 February 2Bih. — The Jew question and the Maynooth 
 question have been got over in the House of Commons 
 without much debate, but by small majorities. The most 
 remarkable incident was young Stanley' voting with the 
 majority in both questions, and speaking on Maynooth, and 
 well. As he is pretty sure to act a conspicuous part, it is 
 good to see him taking a wise and liberal line. Disraeli 
 voted for the Jews, but did not speak, which was very base 
 of him. Last night I met Tomline at dinner, who is a 
 friend of his, and told me a great deal about him. He has a 
 good opinion of him, that is, that he has a good disposition, 
 but his personal position perverts him in great measure. 
 He says he dislikes and despises Derby, thinks him a good 
 ^ Saxon ' speaker and nothing more, has a great contempt 
 for his party, particularly for Pakington, whom they seem 
 to think of setting up as leader in his place. The man in 
 the House of Commons whom he most fears as an opponent 
 is Gladstone. He has the highest opinion of his ability, and 
 he respects Graham as a statesman. Tomline told me that 
 his system of attacking the late Sir Robert Peel was settled 
 after this manner. When the great schism took place, 
 three of the seceders went to Disraeli (Miles, Tyrrel, and a 
 third whom I have forgotten), and proposed to him to 
 attack and vilify Peel regularly, but with discretion ; not to 
 fatigue and disgust the House, to make a speech against 
 him about once a fortnight or so, and promised if he would 
 that a constant and regular attendance of a certain number 
 of men should be there to cheer and support him, remark- 
 ing that nobody was ever efBcient in the House of Com- 
 mons without this support certain.^ He desired twenty 
 
 ' [The present Earl of Derby, who succeeded his father as fifteenth Earl 
 in 1869. He entered public life as Under Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Affairs in 1852.] 
 
 * [This anecdote is related on the authority of Mr. Tomline as stated in 
 the text. It was mentioned in the lifetime of Lord Beaconsfield, and in. 
 justice to him it must be said that he altogether denied the truth of the 
 story.] 
 
1863] WHIG MALCONTENTS. 45- 
 
 mimites to consider of this offer, and finally accepted it.. 
 We have seen the result, a curious beginning of an im- 
 portant political career. Now they dread and hate him, for 
 they know in his heart he has no sympathy with them, and 
 that he has no truth or sincerity in his conduct or speeches, 
 and would throw them over if he thought it his interest. 
 
 March 1st. — The Government seem upon the whole to he 
 going on prosperously. They have at present no difficulty 
 in the House of Commons, where there is no disposition to 
 oppose their measures, and an appearance of moderation 
 generally, which promises an easy Session. John Russell 
 has spoken well, and seems to have recovered a great share 
 of the popularity he had lost. Aberdeen has done very well 
 in the House of Lords, his answers to various ' questions ' 
 having been discreet, temperate, and judicious ; in short, up 
 to this time the horizon is tolerably clear. On the other 
 hand the divisions have presented meagre majorities, and the 
 Government have no power in the House of Commons, and 
 live on the goodwill or forbearance of the several fractions 
 of which it is composed. John Russell is in his heart not 
 satisfied with his present position, and not animated with 
 any spirit of zeal or cordiality, though he is sure to act 
 honestly and fairly the part he has undertaken. There is 
 still a good deal of lurking discontent and resentment on the 
 part of those who were left out, and of the Whig party gene- 
 rally, who are only half reconciled to following the banner of 
 a Peelite premier ; of the malcontents the principal are Car- 
 lisle and Clanricarde, who are both in different ways very 
 sore ; Normanby is dissatisfied, Labouchere, Seymour, and 
 George Grey not pleased, but except Clanricarde none have 
 shown any disposition to withhold their support from the 
 Government, or even to carp at them. Aberdeen seems to 
 have no notion of being anything but a real Prime Minister. 
 He means to exercise a large influence in the management 
 of foreign affairs, which he considers to be the peculiar, if 
 not exclusive, province of himself and Clarendon. Palmerston 
 does not interiPere with them at all, but he must do so, if any 
 important questions arise for the Cabinet to decide, and then 
 
46 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 it is very likely some dissension will be the consequence. 
 There are four ex- Secretaries for foreign affairs in this 
 Cabinet, all of whom will naturally take part in any discus- 
 sion of moment. Argyll began rather unluckily, running his 
 head indiscreetly against EUenborough on an Indian petition. 
 He is burning with impatience to distinguish himself, and 
 broke out too soon, and out of season ; but he was not un- 
 conscious of his error, and it will probably be of use to him 
 to have met with a little check at his outset, and teach him 
 to be more discreet. He spoke again last night, and very 
 well, on the Clergy reserves, when there was a brilliant 
 passage of arms in the Lords, in which Lord Derby and the 
 Bishops of Exeter and Oxford distinguished themselves. 
 
 News came by telegraph last night that the dispute 
 between Turkey and Austria is settled, which will relieve us 
 from a great difficulty. If it had gone on, we should have 
 had a difficult part to play, and unluckily the good under- 
 standing that was reviving between us and Vienna has all 
 been upset by the late attempt on the Emperor's life,' which 
 has thrown the Austrians into a ferment, and renewed all 
 their bitter resentment against us for harbouring Kossuth 
 and Mazzini, to whom they attribute both the emeute at 
 Milan and the assassination at Vienna severally. They are 
 no doubt right about Mazzini and wrong about Kossuth, but 
 fortunately for us the first is not in England and has been 
 abroad for some time, and it will probably be impossible to 
 bring any evidence against Kossuth to connect him with the 
 Hungarian assassin. But these troubles and attempts, the 
 origin of which is attributed to men residing here, and, 
 though neglected by the Grovernment, more or less objects 
 of popular favour and sympathy, render all relations of amity 
 impossible between our Government and theirs, and the dis- 
 union is aggravated by our absurd meddling with such cases 
 as the Madiai and Murray at Florence and at Rome, which 
 
 ' [The Emperor of Austria was stabbed in tbe neck on February 18, by 
 Joseph Libeny, on the ramparts of Vienna, fortunately without serious con- 
 sequences. The assassin had not the remotest connexion with anyone in 
 this country.] 
 
185S] AUSTRIAN OPPRESSION IN ITALY. 47 
 
 rare no concern of ours, and which our Government does in 
 compliance with Protestant bigotry. What makes our 
 conduct the more absurd is that we do more harm than good 
 to the objects of our interest, for no Government can, with 
 any regard to its own dignity and independence, yield to our 
 ■dictation and impertinent interference. The Grand Duke of 
 Tuscany said that the Madiai would have been let out of 
 prison long ago but for our interference, John Eussell's 
 published letter on this subject, which was very palateable to 
 the public, was as objectionable as possible, and quite as in- 
 solent and presumptuous as any Palmerston used to write. 
 
 Last night the Marquis Massimo d'Azeglio came here. 
 He was Prime Minister in Piedmont till replaced by Count 
 •Cavour, and is come to join his nephew, who is Minister here. 
 He is a tall, thin, dignified looking man, with very pleasing 
 manners. He gave us a shocking account of the conduct of 
 the Austrians at Milan in consequence of the recent outbreak. 
 Their tyranny and cruelty have been more like the deeds in 
 the middle ages than those in our own time ; wantonly put- 
 ting people to death without trial or even the slightest 
 semblance of guilt, plundering and confiscating, and in every 
 respect acting in a manner equally barbarous and impolitic. 
 They have thrown away a good opportunity of improving 
 their own moral status in Italy, and completely played the 
 game of their enemies by increasing the national hatred 
 against them tenfold. If ever Prance finds it her interest 
 to go to war,' Italy will be her mark, for she will now find 
 the whole population in her favour, and would be joined by 
 .Sardinia, who would be too happy to revenge her former 
 reverses with French aid ; nor would it be possible for this 
 country to support Austria in a war to secure that Italian 
 ■dominion which she has so monstrously abused. 
 
 March 3rd. — Lord Aberdeen has gained great credit by 
 making Mr. Jackson, Eector of St. James's, Bishop of Lin- 
 -coln. He is a man without political patronage or connexion, 
 and with no recommendation but his extraordinary merit 
 both as a parish priest and a preacher. Such an appoint- 
 ' [RemarkaMe prediction, verified in 1859.] 
 
48 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II, 
 
 ment is creditable, wise, and popular, and will strengthen 
 the Government by conciliating the moderate and sincere 
 Mends of the Church. 
 
 The Duke of Bedford writes to me about his papers and 
 voluminous correspondence, which he has been thinking of 
 overhauling and arranging, but he shrinks from such a 
 laborious task. He says : ' With respect to my political cor- 
 respondence, it has been unusually interesting and remark- 
 able. I came so early into public life, have been so mixed up 
 with everything, have known the political chief of my own 
 party so intimately, and of the Tory party also to a limited 
 extent, that there is no great afEair of my own time I have 
 not been well acquainted with.' This is very true, and his. 
 correspondence, whenever it sees the light, will be more 
 interesting, and contribute more historical information, than 
 that of any other man who has been engaged in public life. 
 The papers of Peel and of the Duke of Wellington may be 
 more important, but I doubt their's being more interesting, 
 because the Duke of Bedford's will be of a more miscellaneous 
 and comprehensive character; and though his abilities are 
 not of a very high order, his judgement is sound, his mind is 
 unprejudiced and candid, and he is a sincere worshipper of 
 truth. 
 
 For the last few days John Russell has been kept away 
 from the House of Commons by the death of the Dowager 
 Duchess of Bedford, when Palmerston has been acting as 
 leader, taking that post as naturally and undoubtedly belong- 
 ing to him, and his right to it being entirely acquiesced in 
 by his colleagues of both camps. They say that he has 
 given great satisfaction to the House, where he is regarded 
 with the same favour and inclination as heretofore, and 
 personally much more acceptable than Lord John. Cobden 
 dined with John Russell the other day, and, what is more 
 remarkable, Bessborough told me he met Roden at dinner 
 the other day at the Castle at Dublin, St. Germans and he 
 on very goodhumoured terms. These are striking examples 
 of the compatibility of the strongest political difference with 
 social amenities. Cobden, however, is not in regular oppo- 
 
1853] ALLIANCE OP rEANCE AND ENGLAND. 49 
 
 sition to the Government, but in great measure a sup- 
 porter. 
 
 March 10th. — I met M. de Flahault last night, just re- 
 turned from Paris. He said that he found there a rancour 
 and violence against us amongst the Austrians, and Russians 
 and Prussians no less, quite inconceivable. He talked to 
 them all and represented to them the absurdity of their 
 suppositions and exigencies, but without the slightest effect ; 
 he found the Emperor, however, in a very different frame of 
 mind, understanding perfectly the position of the English 
 Government, and completely determined to. maintain his 
 alliance with us, and not to yield to the tempting cajolery 
 of the Continental Powers, who want him to make common 
 cause with them against us. Such is their madness and their 
 passion, and such the necessity, real or fancied, in which they 
 are placed by the revolutionary fire which is still smoulder- 
 ing everywhere, and their own detestable misgovernment 
 (at least that of Austria, which the others abet), that they 
 are ready to cooperate with Prance in coercing and weaken- 
 ing ns, and to sacrifice all the great and traditional policy of 
 Europe, in order to wage war against the stronghold and 
 only asylum of constitutional principles and government. 
 
 Plahault said that the Emperor has had an opportunity of 
 placing himself in the first year of his reign in a situation 
 which was the great object of his uncle's life, and which he 
 never could attain. He might have been at the head of a 
 European league against us, for these powers have signified 
 to him their willingness to follow him in such a crusade, the 
 Emperor of Russia and he being on the best terms, and a 
 cordial interchange of letters having taken place between 
 them. But Napoleon has had the wisdom and the magna- 
 nimity to resist the bait, to decline these overtures, and to re- 
 solve on adherence to England. Plahault said that he had had 
 an audience, at which he frankly and freely told the Emperor 
 Ms own opinion, not being without apprehension that it 
 would be unpalateable to him, and not coincident with his own 
 views. While he was talking to him, he saw him smile, 
 which he interpreted into a sentiment that he (Plahault) 
 VOL. I. ^ 
 
oO EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 was too English for him in his language and opinions, and 
 he said so. The Emperor said, 'I smiled because you so 
 exactly expressed my own opinions,' and then he told him 
 that he took exactly the same view of what his true policy 
 was that Flahanlt himself did. Flahault suggested to him 
 that, in spite of the civilities shown him by the Northern 
 Powers, they did not, and never would, consider him as one 
 of themselves, and they only wanted to make him the 
 instrument of their policy or their vengeance ; and he re- 
 minded him that while England had at once recognised 
 him, they were not only in no hurry to do so, but if England 
 had not recognised him as she did, he would not have been 
 recognised by any one of those Powers to this day, all which 
 he acknowledged to be true. 
 
 The prevailing feeling against England which Flahault 
 found at Paris has been proved on innumerable occasions. 
 Clarendon is well aware of it, and does his best, but with 
 very little success, to bring the foreign Ministers and others 
 to reason. Madame de Lieven writes to me in this strain, 
 and even liberal and intelligent foreigners like Alfred Po- 
 tocki, who has been accused of being a rebel in Austria, 
 writes that we ought to expel the refugees. At Vienna 
 the people are persuaded that there is some indirect and 
 undeiinable participation on the part of the British Govern- 
 ment in the insurrectionary and homicidal acts of Milan 
 and Vienna, and they have got a story that the assassin 
 Libeny had a letter of Palmerston's in his shoe. Unrea- 
 sonable as all this is, we ought to make great allowance for 
 their excited feelings, for they have a case against us of a 
 cumulative character. It goes back a long way, and em- 
 braces many objects and details, and is principally attri- 
 butable to Palmerston, partly to his doings, and perhaps 
 more to his sayings. They cannot forget that he has long 
 been the implacable enemy of Austria, that he advised her 
 renunciation of her Italian dominions, and that he and his 
 agents have always sympathised with, and sometimes aided 
 and abetted most of the revolutionary movements that have 
 taken place. Then there was the Haynau affair, and the 
 
1853] HOSTILITY OF AUSTEIA. 51 
 
 lukewarmness and indifference which the Grovernment of 
 that day, and Palmerston particularly, exhibited about it ; 
 then the reception of Kossuth, the public meetings and his 
 speeches, together with the speeches at them of Cobden and 
 others of which no notice was ever taken, and finally the 
 transaction about Palmerston's receiving Kossuth and his 
 famous answer to the addresses presented to him from 
 Pinsbury and Islington. All these things satisfy the foreign 
 Governments that we are not only politically but nationally 
 their enemies, and that we harbour their rebellious subjects 
 out of hatred to them, and that we regard with sympathy 
 and a secret satisfaction the plots which they concoct in 
 safety here and go forth to execute abroad. And when they 
 are told that our laws afford these people an asylum, which 
 no Government has the power to deny them, and that Par- 
 liament and public opinion will not consent to arm the 
 Government with the powers of restraint or coercion they do 
 not possess, they only explode the more loudly in denuncia- 
 tions against that free and constitutional system which is 
 not only a perpetual reproach, but, as they think, a source of 
 continual danger to their own. So much for foreign affairs. 
 At home, while the political sky is still serene enough, 
 -fchere are some rocks ahead, and I think the Government in 
 peril from more than one cause. Pirst and foremost there 
 is the Indian question. There is something ominous in the 
 conjunction between a Coalition Government and an India 
 EUl, and if they don't take care, they will get into a scrape.' 
 The Opposition is broken and disorganised, and at present 
 there is no disposition on the part of the extreme Liberals to 
 join in any strong measures against the Government; but 
 this is a question on which all the scattered fractions might 
 l)e made easily to combine, and there are already symptoms 
 of a possible combination ad hoc in the Indian Committee of 
 
 1 [The Charter of the East India Company being about to expire, Sir 
 ■Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control, introduced in an 
 elaborate speech a Bill for the future government of India by the Company, 
 which changed the constitution and limited the patronage of the Court of 
 Directors. The Bill was finally passed on July 28.] 
 
 e2 
 
52 EEIGN OF QXTEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 the House of Commons. Lowe is very mucli dissatisfied 
 with Charles Wood, and with the intentions of Government, 
 and even talks of resigning ; and the ' Times ' is going into 
 furious opposition on the Indian question, and is already 
 attacking the Government for their supposed intentions. 
 This, therefore, is assuming a serious aspect. There is besides- 
 the Budget and the difficulty of the Income Tax, and these 
 two questions are enough to put them in great perplexity. 
 
 March 19th. — The question of Indian government and the 
 renewal of the Charter is every day increasing in importance 
 and attracting more and more of public attention. It is a 
 matter of great difficulty for the Government to deal with. 
 They are threatened by enemies, and pressed by friends and 
 half friends, who want them to postpone any measure for 
 another year or two years. They, on the contrary, stand 
 pledged, and think they ought to propose something this 
 year. It presents a field on which the various fractions of 
 hostility and semi-hostility to the Government may meet 
 and combine, and perhaps place them in great difficulty. 
 The Committees are going on taking evidence with the 
 knowledge that the Government will probably not wait for 
 their several reports before proceeding to legislation. Gran- 
 ville has got the management of the Government measures 
 in the House of Lords, and is working very hard at Indian 
 affairs. Yesterday I met at dinner at EUice's two able men 
 just arrived from India for the purpose of giving evidence,, 
 a Mr. Halliday and a Mr. Marchmont. They are for main- 
 taining the present system, but with many reforms and 
 alterations ; they spoke highly of Lord Dalhousie as a man 
 of business. 
 
 March 24i/i,. — As I never see Clarendon now, who is 
 entirely absorbed in the duties of his office, he engaged 
 me to go and dine with him alone yesterday, that we might 
 have a talk about all that is going on, and he told me a 
 great deal of one sort or another. I learnt the state of our 
 relations with France and Eussia in reference to the Turkish 
 business, and he gave me to read a very curious and in- 
 teresting despatch (addressed to John Eussell) from Seymour,, 
 
1853] CONVEESATION OF THE EMPEEOE NICHOLAS, 53 
 
 giving an account of a long conversation he had. had with 
 the Emperor Nicholas about Turkey and her prospects and 
 condition, and his own intentions and opinions, which were 
 amicable towards us, and very wise and moderate in them- 
 selves, contemplating the dissolution of the Turkish Empire, 
 disclaiming in the strongest terms any design of occupying 
 Constantinople — more than that, declaring that he would not 
 do it — but supposing the event to happen, not thinking the 
 solution of the problem so difficult as it is generally regarded. 
 He threw out that he should have no objection, if a partition 
 was ever to take place, that we should appropriate Egypt 
 and Candia to ourselves. He seems to have talked very 
 frankly, and he said one curious thing, which was that 
 Russia was not without a revolutionary substratum, which 
 was only less apparent and less menacing than in other 
 parts because, he possessed greater means of repression, 
 but nevertheless that the seeds were there. It is lucky 
 Dundas is a prudent man, and refused to carry his fleet up 
 to the vicinity of the Dardanelles at Rose's invitation, or 
 mischief might have ensued. As it is, we disapprove of 
 Rose's proceedings and have approved Dundas's, at the same 
 time ordering him not to move without express orders from 
 home, and moreover Clarendon refused to give Stratford 
 Canning any discretionary authority to send for the fleet 
 (though it was afterwards given), which he had asked to be 
 entrusted with. Clarendon is much dissatisfied with the 
 conduct of the French Government, who were in a great 
 hurry to send off their fleet, and they sent orders to sail on 
 the mere report of what Rose had done, and without waiting 
 to learn the result of his application to the Admiral ; and 
 they did this, although they knew the despatches were on 
 the road, and that a very few hours would put them in 
 possession of the actual state of the case. Moreover, Cowley 
 moved heaven and earth to induce Drouyn de Lhuys to 
 withdraw the order to sail, but without effect. They per- 
 sisted in it, after they knew we were not going to stir, 
 and Cowley could not see the Emperor, who he says was 
 evidently avoiding any communication with him. Still 
 
54 EEiaN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 very friendly language continues to pass between us, and 
 our Government are inclined to attribute this unwise pro- 
 ceeding to tbe vanity of the French, their passion for doing 
 something, and above all the inexperience and want of 
 savoir /aire in high matters of diplomacy of the Emperor 
 and his ministers. There is not one amongst them who is 
 fit to handle such delicate and important questions, the 
 Emperor, who governs everything by his own will, less than 
 any ; and Drouyn de Lhuys, who has been for many years 
 engaged more or less in the Foreign Office, is a very poor 
 and inefiicient minister. 
 
 Clarendon told me he had seen Brunnow, and after 
 recapitulating to him all the various causes for alarm, 
 resting on facts or on rumours, especially with regard to 
 Russia and her intentions, he said that our Government 
 had received the word of honour of the Emperor that he 
 had no sinister or hostile intentions, and disclaimed those 
 that had been imputed to him, and that on his word they 
 relied with such implicit confidence that he had not the 
 slightest fear of disquietude. Brunnow was exceedingly 
 pleased, and said that was the way to treat the Emperor, 
 who would be excessively gratified, nothing being dearer 
 to him than the confidence and good opinion of this country, 
 and he said he would send off a courier the next day, and 
 Clarendon should dictate his despatch. The instructions 
 given to Menschikoff have been enormously exaggerated, 
 the most serious and offensive parts that have been stated 
 (the nomination of the Greek Patriarch, &c.) being totally 
 false.' I asked what they were, and lie said nothing but 
 
 '■ [Whilst these pacific assurances were given in London, Prince Men- 
 schikoff arrived in Constantinople on March 2, and commenced that arrogant 
 and aggressive policy -which led in the course of the year to hostilities 
 between Russia and the Porte. It has, however, only recently transpired, 
 by the publication of Lord Malmesbury's Memoirs (vol. i. p. 402), that when 
 the Emperor Nicholas came to England in 1844, he, Sir Robert Peel, then 
 Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, and Lord Aberdeen, then Foreign 
 Secretary, drew up and signed a Memorandum, the spirit and scope of which 
 was to support Russia in her legitimate protection of the Greek religion and 
 the holy shrines, and to do so without consulting France. To obtain this 
 agreement was doubtless the object of the Emperor's journey. It bore his 
 
1853] THE EASTEEN QUESTION. 55 
 
 a string of conditions about shrines and other ecclesiastical 
 trifles. Walewski seems to have done well here, condemning 
 the conduct of his own Government, and not concealing from 
 them his own opinion, and entirely going along with us. It 
 was on Saturday night that the courier arrived with Eose's 
 and Dundas's despatches, and a few of the Cabinet met on 
 Sunday at the Admiralty to talk the matter over. Clarendon 
 sent for John Eussell from Richmond, and he thought it 
 advisable to summon Palmerston to this conciliabule, to 
 keep him in good humour, which it had the effect of doing. 
 There were himself, Palmerston, John Eussell, Aberdeen, 
 and Graham. He had written to Lord John on Saturday 
 night, and sent him the despatches ; he got an answer from 
 him, full of very wild talk of strong measures to be taken, and 
 a fleet sent to the Baltic to make peremptory demands on the 
 Emperor of Russia. This, however, he took no notice of, 
 and did not say one word to Aberdeen about it, quietly 
 letting it drop, and accordingly he heard no more about it, 
 nobody, he said, but me, knowing what Lord John had pro- 
 posed. I asked him what were Palmerston's views. He 
 replied that he did not say much, and acquiesced in his and 
 Aberdeen's prudent and reserved intentions, but he could see, 
 from a few words that casually escaped him, that he would 
 have been ready to join in more stringent and violent 
 measures if they had been proposed. His hatred of Russia 
 is not extinguished, but as it was, there was no expressed 
 difference of opinion, and a general agreement. He said he 
 had had a prejudice against Gladstone, but he now liked him 
 very much, and Granville had already told me the same thing. 
 
 own personal signature. Tlie existence of this Memorandum -was a profound 
 secret known only to the Queen and to those Ministers who held in succes- 
 sion the seals of the Foreign Department, each of whom transmitted it 
 privately to his successor. Lord Malmesbury received the document from 
 Lord Granville, and on leaving office in 1853 handed it to Lord John 
 Kussell. This fact, hitherto unknown, throws an entirely new light on the 
 causes of the Crimean War. The Emperor of Russia naturally relied on 
 the support of the very ministers who had signed the agreement and were 
 again in power, whilst Lord Aberdeen was conscious of having entered 
 into an engagement wholly at variance with the course of policy into which 
 he was reluctantly driven. — H. R.] 
 
56 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. II. 
 
 Aberdeen likes his post and enjoys the consciousness of 
 having done very well in it. He is extremely liberal, but of 
 a vyise and well-reasoned liberality. As it has turned out, 
 he is far fitter for the post he occupies than Lansdowne 
 would have been, both morally and physically. 
 
 The Queen is devoted to this Grovernment, and expressed 
 to Aberdeen the liveliest apprehension lest they should get 
 themselves into some scrape with the India Bill, and en- 
 treated he would run no risks in it. Aberdeen, in announc- 
 ing this one day to the Cabinet, said that the best thing for 
 them to do was to bring forward a measure of so liberal and 
 popular a character as to make any serious opposition im- 
 possible. Clarendon agreed in this, and I told him that this 
 had long been my own idea, and that what they ought to do 
 was to throw open the civil and military appointments to 
 competition, and to grant appointments after examination 
 to qualified candidates, just as degrees are given at the uni- 
 versities. We passed the whole evening together, talking 
 over all matters of interest, and he told me everything he 
 knew himself. 
 
 April 4<th. — I went to Althorp last week, and returned 
 for a Council on Friday. After it Graham and I stayed 
 behind, when he talked about the Government and their 
 prospects, which he thought pretty good ; they were going 
 on in great harmony, and. the greater, he thought, because 
 they had originally had such diversities of opinion. This 
 led to a disposition to mutual concession, and feelings of 
 delicacy towards each other. The Queen is extremely attached 
 to Aberdeen, more than to any minister she had ever had. 
 Lord John's position anomalous and unsatisfactory, and 
 always a question whether he would not become disgusted 
 and back out. Graham said that Clarendon was doing 
 admirably — better than he had anticipated. 
 
 Lady Lyttelton, whom I met at Althorp, told me a great 
 deal about the Queen and her children ; nothing particularly 
 interesting. She said the Queen was very fond of them, but 
 severe in her manner, and a strict disciplinarian in her 
 family. She described the Prince of Wales to be extremely 
 
1853] . THE EOYAL CHILDEEN. 57 
 
 shy and timid, with -very good principles, and particularly 
 an exact observer of truth ; the Princess Eoyal is remarkably 
 intelligent. I wrote this because it will hereafter be curious 
 io see how the boy grows up, and what sort of performance 
 follows this promise, though I shall not live to see it. She 
 spoke in very high terms of the Queen herself, of the Prince, 
 and of the simplicity and happiness of her private and 
 ■domestic life. 
 
58 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Weakness of the Government — Gladstone's Budget — A Conversation 
 with Disraeli— Suicidal Conduct of the Tories— Their Irritation — A 
 Charge against Mr. Gladstone defeated — The Stafford Committee — 
 Harmony of the Government — Electoral Corruption — ^Impending War 
 — Success of the Government — Macaulay'a Speech on the Judges' 
 Exclusion Bill — Erroneous Predictions from Paris — Unsettled Policy 
 as to the War — Lord John's Anti-Catholic Speech — The English and 
 French Fleets sail for the Dardanelles — Conduct of Austria — Russia, 
 means War — Attacks by the Opposition — Explanations desired — 
 Attempted Mediation — Lord Aberdeen's Confidence shaken — Divisions of 
 Opinion — Terms of Accommodation — Lord Palmerston's Views — ^Pro- 
 spect of Peace — Division in the Lords on the Succession Duties BiU — 
 Friendly Relations of Lord Palmerston and Lord Clarendon — Fears of 
 War — Hopes of Peace — Lord Palmerston and Mr. Cobden — Rejection 
 of the "Vienna Note — Lord Palmerston courted by the Tories — Lord John. 
 Russell's Position — The Duke of Bedford's Part in the last Crisis — ■ 
 Dangers at Constantinople — Lord Stratford's Influence — Suspected 
 Intrigue of France with Russia — Lord Palmerston goes to Balmoral — 
 Sir James Graham's View — Lord Stratford's Conduct — ^Importance of 
 the Vienna Note — A Cabinet summoned. 
 
 London, April 21s<, 1853. — I liave had such a bad fit of 
 gout in my hand, that I have been unable for some time past 
 to write at all, though there has been plenty to write about. 
 The Government has been sustaining defeats in the House 
 of Commons on detached questions of taxation, much to- 
 their annoyance and embarrassment, and which were more 
 serious from the inference to be drawn from them than 
 for their intrinsic importance. They were caused by th& 
 meddling and absurd crotchets of some of their friends, and 
 the malignity and unprincipled conduct of their enemies : 
 the first bringing forward motions for reduction of certain 
 items, merely to gratify clients or constituents, and the 
 Tories joining with the Eadicals in voting for things which 
 they opposed when they were themselves in office, reckless. 
 
1853] MR. GLADSTONE'S BUDGET. 69 
 
 of consistency or of consequences. But the wliole affair 
 was unpleasant, as it displayed strikingly how little autho- 
 rity the Government has over the House of Commons, and 
 the difficulty, if not impossibility, of carrying on the service 
 of the country. 
 
 These little battles were, however, of little moment com- 
 pared with the great event of Gladstone's Budget, which 
 came off on Monday night. He had kept his secret so well, 
 that nobody had the least idea what it was to be, only it 
 oozed out that the Income Tax was not to be differentiated. 
 He spoke for five hours, and by universal consent it was one 
 of the grandest displays and most able financial statement 
 that ever was heard in the House of Commons ; a great 
 scheme, boldly, skilfully, and honestly devised, disdaining 
 popular clamour and pressure from without, and the execu- 
 tion of it absolute perfection. Even those who do not 
 admire the Budget, or who are injured by it, admit the merit 
 of the performance. It has raised Gladstone to a great 
 political elevation, and, what is of far greater consequence 
 than the measure itself, has given the country assurance of 
 a man equal to great political necessities, and fit to lead 
 parties and direct governments. 
 
 April 22nd. — I met Gladstone last night, and had the 
 pleasure of congratulating him and his wife, which I did 
 with great sincerity, for his success is a public benefit. They 
 have been overwhelmed with compliments and congratula- 
 tions. Prince Albert and the Queen both wrote to him, and 
 John Russell, who is spitefully reported to have been jealous, 
 has, on the contrary, shown the warmest interest and satis- 
 faction in his success. The only one of his colleagues who 
 may have been mortified is Charles Wood, who must have 
 compared Gladstone's triumph with his ovm failures. From 
 all one can see at present, it promises certain success, though 
 many parts of the Budget are cavilled at. It will be difficult, 
 if not impossible, to find any common ground on which 
 Radicals or Irish can join the Derbyites to overthrow it, and 
 the sanguine expectations which the latter have been enter- 
 taining for some time, of putting the Government into some 
 
60 BEIGN OF aUEEN VIOTOKIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 inextricable fix, tave given way to perplexity and despond- 
 ency ; and they evidently do not know what to do, nor how to 
 give effect to their rancour and spite. Lord Derby had a great 
 meeting not many days ago, at which he recommended union, 
 and cheered them on in opposition, of course for form's 
 sake, talking of moderation and principles, neither of which 
 he cares a fig for. Mischief and confusion, vengeance 
 against the coalition, and taking the chance of what may 
 happen next, are all that he and Disraeli are bent upon. I 
 met the latter worthy in the street just before the Budget, 
 a day or two previous. He asked me what I thought of the 
 state of affairs, and I told him I thought it very unpleasant, 
 and it seemed next to impossible to carry on the Government 
 at all, everybody running riot in the House of Commons, 
 and following his own fancies and crotchets ; nor did 1 see 
 how it could be othervrise in the present state of'parties and 
 the country ; that since Peel's administration, which was a 
 strong Government, there had been and apparently there 
 could be none. The present Government was not strong, 
 and they were perpetually defeated, on minor points indeed, 
 but in a way that showed they had no power to work 
 through Parliament. I said of course they would dissolve 
 if this continued, but that Gladstone's Budget might make 
 a difference one way or the other. Disraeli scouted the 
 idea of a dissolution, by which, he said, they would cer- 
 tainly gain nothing. Why, he asked, did not the Peelites 
 join us again, as they might have done, and got as good 
 terms as they have now, and then there would have been 
 a strong Government again? As I don't want to quarrel 
 with anybody, I restrained what it was on my lips to say — 
 ' Ton could not possibly expect them to join you ' — but I 
 did tell him that, even if the present Government could not 
 maintain itself, of all impossible things the most impossible 
 was the restoration of his Government tale quale, to which 
 he made no reply. To be sure, the Protectionist seceders 
 from Peel have now drunk the cup of mortification, disgrace, 
 and disaster to the very dregs. They are a factious and (as 
 I hope) impotent Opposition, under the unprincipled guid- 
 
1853] SUICIDAL CONDUCT OF THE TOEIES. 61 
 
 anee of men, wlio, clever and plausible tliougli they be, are 
 totally destitute of wisdom, sincerity, and trutb. They have 
 not only lost all the Protection for the maintenance of 
 which they made such struggles and sacrifices, but they 
 have likewise brought upon themselves the still heavier 
 blow to the landed interest which is going to be inflicted 
 in the shape of the legacy duty. Had they possessed more 
 foresight, and been less violent and unreasonable, this 
 would not have happened to them ; for if Peel's original 
 Government had held together, and they had been content 
 to accept his guidance, no Budget would have contained 
 this measure. Schemes might have been devised to lighten 
 their burdens, or to increase the compensations they really 
 have obtained in other ways ; but, be this as it may, they 
 would certainly have been saved from this direct impost, 
 which I doubt if Peel himself ever contemplated, but which 
 he would certainly have spared them if they had not deserted 
 him, nor would his successors have departed from his policy 
 in this respect. But from first to last their conduct has 
 been suicidal in every respect. 
 
 May 3rd. — The Government is going on very flourishingly. 
 A capital division in the House of Lords on the Canada Clergy 
 Eeserves Bill,^ on which occasion there was a scene between 
 Derby and Clarendon, in which both were, to my mind, in 
 the wrong. The whole affair appears in all the newspapers, 
 but what does not appear is the rather absurd termination 
 of it, when, after much excitement and strong language 
 interchanged, the belligerents ended by drinking each other's 
 healths in water across the table. The victory in the Lords 
 has been followed up by one still more important in the 
 House of Commons on the Income Tax, which was carried by 
 71, a great many of the Opposition voting with Government, 
 much to the disgust of their friends. These divisions have 
 filled the Derbyites with rage and despair, and nothing can 
 exceed their depression and their abuse of the Budget and 
 its authors. What vexes and provokes them so much is the 
 
 1 [This was a Bill abolishing the title of the Protestant Clergy to certain 
 portions of waste lands in the Oniony.] 
 
62 BEiaN OF QUEEN VICTOKIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 ascendency and triumpli of the Peelites. They could endure 
 it in the Whigs, but their hatred of the name and party of 
 Peel is inextinguishable. 
 
 May 15th, — At Newmarket last week, during which the 
 Budget was making its way very successfully through the 
 House of Commons, where Gladstone has it all his own way. 
 The Speaker told me he was doing his business there 
 admirably well. While I was at Newmarket came out the 
 strange story of Gladstone and the attempt to extort money 
 from him before the police magistrate.' It created for the 
 moment great surprise, curiosity, and interest, but has almost 
 entirely passed away already, not having been taken up 
 politicallj^, and there being a general disposition to believe 
 his story and to give him credit for having had no improper 
 motive or purpose. Nevertheless it is a very strange affair, 
 and has not yet been satisfactorily explained. It is creditable 
 in these days of political rancour and bitterness that no 
 malignant attempt has been made to vilify him by his oppo- 
 nents or by the hostile part of the press. On the contrary, 
 the editor of the ' Morning Herald ' wrote him a very hand- 
 some letter in his own name and in that of the proprietor, 
 assuring him of their confidence in his purity and innocence, 
 and that nothing would induce them to put anything offen- 
 sive to him in the paper, and they had purposely inserted 
 the police report in an obscure part of the paper. It is very 
 fortunate for Gladstone that he was not intimidated and 
 tempted to give the man money, but had the courage to face 
 the world's suspicions and meet the charge in so public a 
 manner. 
 
 The Stafford Committee has at length closed its pro- 
 ceedings, after exposures of the most disgraceful kind, which 
 are enormously damaging not only to Augustus Stafford 
 himself but to Lord Derby and his Government. The Duke 
 of Northumberland comes clear out of it as to corruption, 
 but cuts a wretched and ridiculous figure, having failed to 
 
 ' [An attempt had been made to extort money from Mr. Gladstone on a 
 spurious charge, which he met by instantly giving the delinquent into 
 custody and meeting the case at a police office.] 
 
J8531 THE STAFFORD COMMITTEE. 63 
 
 perform the duties or to exercise the authority of a First 
 Lord while he was at the Admiralty. Disraeli's evidence 
 -was nothing but an attempt to shirk the question and in- 
 volve it in a confusion of characteristic verbiage which only 
 •excited ridicule. This affair has done great harm to them 
 as a party, and served to make them more odious and con- 
 temptible than they were before.^ They are now irretriev- 
 ably defeated, and though they may give much trouble and 
 throw difficulties and obstructions in the way of the Govern- 
 ment, it is all they can do. Every day adds to the strength 
 and consistency of the Government, both from their gaining 
 favour and acquiring influence in the country, and from 
 the ruin in which the Tory party is involved, and the total 
 impossibility of their rallying again so as to form another 
 Government. This latter consideration has already pro- 
 duced the adhesion of some moderate and sensible men who 
 take a dispassionate view of affairs and who wish for a 
 strong and efficient Government, and it will produce still 
 .greater efEects of the same kind. 
 
 May 22nd, — I met in a train a day or two ago Graham 
 and the Speaker, not having seen Graham for a long time. 
 Since my friends have been in office I have hardly ever 
 set eyes on them or had any communication with them. 
 Graham seemed in excellent spirits about their political state 
 and prospects, all owing to Gladstone and the complete 
 success of his Budget. The long and numerous Cabinets, 
 which were attributed by the 'Times' to disunion, were 
 -occupied in minute consideration of the Budget, which was 
 there fully discussed, and Gladstone spoke in the Cabinet one 
 day for three hours, rehearsing his speech in the House of 
 Commons, though not quite at such length. Graham again 
 •said Clarendon was doing admirably. Palmerston he thinks 
 much changed and more feeble, his energy much less, and 
 his best days gone by. He thinks Lord John's position 
 
 ' [Charges of misconduct in the department of the Admiralty were 
 Tbrought against Mr. Augustus Stafford, who had held office under the late 
 Government. They were investigated by a Select Committee of the House 
 ■oi Commons.] 
 
64 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. Ill, 
 
 without office an unfortunate one, and regrets he did not stay 
 at the Foreign Office or take another ; he thinks his influence 
 impaired by having none. He talked of a future Head, as 
 Aberdeen is always ready to retire at any moment, but it is 
 very difficult to find anyone to succeed him. I suggested 
 Gladstone. He shook his head and said it would not do ; and 
 he was for John Russell, but owned there were difficulties 
 there too. He considered Derby and the Tories irretrievably 
 ruined, their characters so damaged by Stafford's Committer 
 and other things ; he spoke of the grand mistakes Derby had 
 made. Gladstone's object certainly was for a long time to 
 be at the head of the Conservative party in the House of 
 Commons, and to join with Derby, who might in fact have 
 had all the Peelites if he would have chosen to ally himself 
 with them instead of with Disraeli ; thus the latter had been 
 the cause of the ruin of the party. Graham thought that 
 Derby had committed himself to Disraeli in George Ben- 
 tinck's lifetime in some way that prevented his shaking him 
 off, as it would have been his interest to do. The Peelites 
 would have united with Derby, but would have nothing to do 
 with Disraeli. Bad as the cases were that had come forth 
 at the election committees, that of Liverpool was worse than, 
 any of them, and would create a great scandal. Forbes 
 Mackenzie could not face it, and would probably retire ; but 
 it is doubtful if this would prevent an enquiry and exposure, 
 and when boundless corruption appeared at such a place as 
 Liverpool, with its numerous constituency, it was a blow to 
 the representative system itself, and showed the futility of 
 attempts to destroy bribery and improper influence. 
 
 May 30th. — Great alarm the last two or three days at an 
 approaching rupture between Russia and Turkey, as, if it 
 takes place, nobody can pretend to say what the consequences 
 may be. Vast indignation of course against the Emperor 
 of Russia, who certainly appears to have departed from the 
 moderate professions which he made to Seymour a short time 
 ago, and the assurances that were given to us and France. 
 But Clarendon, whom I saw yesterday, is rather disposed ta 
 give him credit for more moderate and pacific intentions 
 
1853] APPEO ACHING EUPTUEE OF EUSSIA AND TUEKEY. 65 
 
 than his conduct seems to warrant. He says that he is per- 
 suaded the Emperor has no idea of the view that is taken of 
 his proceedings here, and that he thinks he is requiring no 
 more than he is entitled to ; and it is only the other day 
 that Nesselrode congratulated Seymour on the prospect of 
 everything being satisfactorily settled, having no doubt of 
 the Turks accepting the last proposals made to them, a copy 
 of which Nesselrode showed him. Still, though matters look 
 very black. Clarendon is not without hopes of war being 
 averted and some means found of patching up the affair, the 
 Emperor having promised that he will in no case resort to 
 ulterior measures without giving us notice of his intention. 
 The difficulty for him now is to recede with honour, as it 
 would be to advance without danger. He has once before 
 receded after to a certain degree committing himself, and he 
 may not choose to do so a second time. Then he is naturally 
 provoked with the French, who are in fact the real cause of 
 this by their intrigues and extortions about the holy places ; 
 and we suspect that he is, besides this, provoked at the 
 Montenegrin affair having been settled by Austria without 
 his having a finger in that pie. All these considerations 
 combined make great confusion and difficulty. Brunnow is 
 in mortal agony, dreading above all things the possibility of 
 his having to leave this country. 
 
 The Government continues to go on very well ; the Oppo- 
 sition got up a debate on the legacy duties in the House 
 of Lords the other night, which only served to prove how 
 entirely Derby's influence has declined even there. They 
 had thought themselves sure of beating the Government, but 
 not only were they defeated, but accident alone (people shut 
 out and absent) prevented their being defeated by a con- 
 siderable majority. The Cabinet is going on in the greatest 
 harmony, and the men who were strangers up to the time 
 of its formation have taken to each other prodigiously. 
 Aberdeen unfortunately wants the qualities which made 
 Lord Lansdowne so good a leader, and is rather deficient in 
 tact and temper in the House of Lords as he used to be 
 formerly, when he attacked Lord Grey's Government and 
 
 VOL. I. ^ 
 
66 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 Palmerston's administration of foreign affairs always with 
 too much asperity ; hut in spite of these defects he has not 
 done ill even there, and in the Cabinet he is both liked and 
 respected, being honest, straightforward, and firm, very fair, 
 candid, and unassuming. Granville tells me that of the 
 whole Cabinet he thinks Aberdeen has the most pluck, 
 Grladstone a great deal, and Graham the one who has the 
 least. He speaks very well of Molesworth, sensible, coura- 
 geous, and conciliatory, but quite independent and plain 
 spoken in his opinions. 
 
 June 1st. — John Russell made an imprudent speech the 
 night before last on the Irish Church, giving great offence 
 to the Irish and the Catholics. He could nob help, as leader 
 of the Government, opposing a proposition having for its 
 object the destruction of the Irish Church, but he might 
 have done it with more tact and discretion, and not in a way 
 to elicit the cheers of the Tories. The Tail will pay him off 
 for this whenever they can. Quantum mutatus ab illo, who 
 broke up a Government for the sake of an appi'opriation 
 clause. 
 
 Last night Macaulay reappeared in the House of Com- 
 mons, and in a speech of extraordinary power and eloquence 
 threw out the Judges' Exclusion Bill.' It was the first 
 time he had spoken, and though his physical strength is im- 
 paired he showed that his mental powers are undiminished. 
 
 Senior called on me a day or two ago, just returned from 
 Paris, where he has been living and conversing with all the 
 notabilities (principally of the Liberal party), and he tells 
 me there is but one opinion amongst them, that this Empire 
 cannot last, and they only differ as to the time it may last. 
 Most of them think it will be short. Thiers gives it only a 
 year, Duchatel alone thinks it will go on for some years. 
 The unpopularity of Louis Napoleon increases and his dis- 
 
 ' [A Bill was Ijefore Parliament which would have excluded the Master 
 of the Rolls from the House of Commons, he heing the only Judge who 
 could sit there. The Judge of the Admiralty Court had already heen ex- 
 cluded. Macaulay opposed the Bill with such force and eloquence that he 
 changed the opinion of the House, and defeated the measure. An unusual 
 occurrence.] 
 
1853] UNPOPULARITY OF THE FEENCH GOVEENMENT. 67 
 
 •credit likewise, and as soon as tlie unpopularity shall extend 
 to the army, it will be all over with him. The Opposition 
 which has sprung up, which has increased rapidly and will 
 increase still more ia the Corps Legislatif, is deemed to be 
 very important and significant, and they think it will be 
 impossible for him to go on with such a body so constituted 
 and disposed, and he will have to decide upon suffering the 
 embarrassment it will cause him, or having recourse to a 
 -cov^p d'etat, a measure which would be hazardous. There 
 are no fresh adhesions to the Court beyond the half dozen 
 men of rank or name who have already joined it, and who 
 are hated and despised for having done so. While such is 
 'the opinion of the people of mark at Paris, they are never- 
 theless sensible of the danger which would accompany a 
 counter revolution, and of the uncertainty of what might 
 follow, what influences might prevail, and what form of 
 government be adopted ; but they seem generally to think 
 that while in the first instance there would be a succession 
 -of provisional arrangements and fleeting transitory govern- 
 ments, it would end in the restoration of the monarchy 
 under Henri V., but that this would not take place by the 
 acceptance and triumph of any divine hereditary right, but 
 must be adopted by the nation and ratified by a national 
 vote. 
 
 June hfh. — I saw Clarendon on Friday morning for a 
 few minutes; he takes a very gloomy view of the Eusso- 
 Turkish question, and is greatly disgusted at having been 
 -deceived by the Emperor ; he says he is harassed to death 
 with the whole affair, and with the multiplicity of business 
 he has besides; he has a difficult task to perform, taking 
 a middle position in the Cabinet between the opposite 
 opinions of those who are for more stringent measures and 
 those who, like himself, are for patience and moderation. 
 Palmerston, in whom his ancient Russian antipathies are 
 revived, is for vigour, and as in former times ' leading John 
 Eussell by the nose,' Clarendon and Aberdeen for modera- 
 tion; but he is beset by different opirions and written 
 suggestions and proposals, and all this worries him exceed- 
 
 V 2 
 
68 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. Ill, 
 
 ingly. I asked him liow the Court was, and he said very- 
 reasonable, their opinions being influenced of course by 
 Aberdeen. 
 
 He talked with great disgust of John Russell's speech; 
 on the Irish Church, how unfair it was as well as unwise, 
 and how reckless of the damage it caused to the Govern- 
 ment, and the embarrassing and awkward situation in which 
 he thereby placed many of their supporters. These are the 
 general sentiments with regard to that speech, which was- 
 neither more nor less than speaking the Durham letter over 
 again, and, considering what that famous letter cost him, he- 
 might have been expected to steer clear of such a scrape. 
 But he is more than ever the creature of impulse and of 
 temper, and he seems to have lost a great deal of his tact 
 and discretion, and certainly he is no longer fit to be either 
 head of a Government or leader of the House of Commons,, 
 and perhaps the latter position in such a Government as this- 
 suits him still less than the former would. When I came 
 to town yesterday morning I found that several of the Irish 
 Eoman Catholic members of the Government, occupying 
 subordinate offices (Messrs. Keogh, Monsell, and Sadleir)^ 
 had resigned in consequence of Lord John Eussell's speech, 
 but an hour afterwards I learnt that they had been induced 
 to remain by an assurance from Lord Aberdeen that Lord 
 John did not express the sentiments of the Government on. 
 this subject. 
 
 Charles Wood brought on the India Bill on Friday night 
 in a speech of unexampled prolixity and dulness. There is 
 not yet time to ascertain how the plan is likely to be re- 
 ceived, but I suspect it will meet with a great deal of oppo- 
 sition, although, as it is more favourable to the existing 
 interests than was expected, it will very likely pass, as, if 
 Leadenhall Street was to go further, it would certainly fare 
 worse. 
 
 St. Leonards, June 7th. — I am here for Ascot, a lovely place 
 and divine weather. The affair with the Irish has ended as 
 harmlessly as anything so awkward could do. Mr. G. H. Moore 
 asked some rather impertinent questions in the House of 
 
1853J THE ALLIED FLEETS AT THE DARDANELLES. 69 
 
 Commons on Monday, which Lord John answered in an 
 easy, nonchalant, jesting manner. The House laughed, 
 nobody said anything, and there it ended, but the Brigade 
 will probably seek opportunities of showing their teeth and 
 of revenging themselves on Lord John. It has been rather 
 mortifying for him, but he has taken it very quietly, and 
 Aberdeen's letter to Monsell was shown to him and received 
 his assent. The Trench are behaving very well about the 
 Eastern question, and I begin to think that it will in the 
 end blow over, as diplomacy will probably hit upon some 
 expedient for enabling the Emperor of Russia to do what 
 his real interests evidently point out. 
 
 June 13th. — I came back from Ascot on Friday, havinsr 
 met Clarendon on Thursday on the course, who gave me an 
 account of the state of affairs. On Saturday I met 
 Walewski at dinner, and had much talk with him, and 
 yesterday I saw Clarendon again. The great event has 
 been the sailing of our fleet from Malta to join the French 
 fleet at the month of the Dardanelles, to the unspeakable 
 satisfaction of the French Government, who desire nothing 
 so much as to exhibit to all Europe an entente cordiale with 
 Tis ; and Walewski said to me that, however the affair might 
 end, this great advantage they had afc all events obtained.' 
 The Emperor of Russia will be deeply mortified when he 
 Tiears of this junction; for besides that it will effectually 
 bar the approach of his fleet to Constantinople, if he ever 
 contemplated it, there is nothing he dislikes and dreads so 
 much as the intimate union of France and England. His 
 Majesty is now so greatly excited that nothing can stop 
 Mm, and he told Seymour the other day that he would 
 spend his last rouble and his last soldier rather than give 
 vray. Still he professes that he aims at no more than a 
 "temporary occupation of the Principalities, and renounces 
 all purpose of conquest. The Russian army will therefore 
 •certainly march in, and it will be the business of the other 
 
 1 [Orders were sent to Admiral Dundas on June 2 to sail for the Dar- 
 danelles, and the fleet proceeded to Besika Bay, together with the French 
 aeet.] 
 
70 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. LChap. Ill, 
 
 Governments to restrain the Turks and prevent a collision^ 
 which Walew^ski thinks they can certainly do. 
 
 Austria holds the same language that we do, but will 
 not act. Clarendon sent for Count Colloredo on Saturday 
 (who never hears from Buol), and set before him in detail all 
 the dangers with which Austria is menaced by the possibility 
 of war breaking out in the East, and above all by that 
 of France being brought into the field in hostility with 
 Austria. In such a case the French would be quite unscru- 
 pulous, and excite all the revolutionary spirit, which, though 
 now repressed, is thickly scattered over every part of the 
 Austrian Empire, from Milan to Hungary. Colloredo- 
 acknowledged the truth of the representation, and promised 
 to report textually to Buol what Clarendon said. 
 
 All now depends on the Emperor Nicholas himself. If 
 he adheres to his determination not to advance beyond the 
 Principalities, time will be afforded for negotiations, and 
 some expedient may be found for enabling him to recede 
 without discredit, and without danger to his own prestige 
 at home. The French and English feel alike on this point, 
 and are conscious that the Emperor has gone too far to 
 recede. He is pushed on by an ardent and fanatical party 
 in Russia, and is not entirely his own master. Both Govern- 
 ments are therefore willing to make allowance for the 
 exigencies of his position, and to assist him to the uttermost 
 of their power in getting honourably out of the scrape into 
 which he has plunged himself and all Europe. 
 
 June 22nd, — The Opposition papers (especially the 'Morn- 
 ing Herald ' and the ' Press,' Disraeli's new journal) have been 
 making the most violent attacks on Aberdeen and Clarendon, 
 calling for their impeachment on the ground of their con- 
 duct in this Eastern quarrel, particularly charging them 
 with having been cognisant of and approved of Menschi- 
 koff's demands, which have occasioned all the hubbub. At 
 last it was thought necessary to make a statement in reply, 
 which was done by the ' Times ' on Thursday last. The 
 article was a good one, but contained an inaccuracy, about 
 which Brunnow wrote a long but friendly letter of complaint 
 
1853] DIVIDED OPINIONS IN THE CABINET. 71 
 
 to Clarendon. The day after this, another article was 
 inserted to set the matter right, with which Brunnow was 
 quite satisfied ; but the explanations of the ' Times ' failed 
 to stem the torrent of abuse, and the Tory papers only 
 repeated their misrepresentations with greater impudence 
 and malignity than before. It was thought necessary a 
 stop should be put to this, and it was proposed to Clarendon 
 to let discussions come on in both Houses, moved by Layard 
 in the Commons, and Clanricarde in the Lords, which would 
 afford an opportunity for the only effectual contradiction. 
 Ministerial statements in Parliament. Last night I met 
 him at the Palace, when we talked the matter over. He is 
 still of opinion that it is essential to delay the explanations 
 and put off all discussion till the matter is decided one 
 way or another. He thinks so in reference to the case 
 itself, leaving out of consideration the convenierce of the 
 Government ; he thinks that any discussion in the House of 
 Commons will elicit a disposition for peace a tout prix, which 
 would seriously embarrass affairs, and only confirm Eussia 
 in the course she is pursuing. I do not think so, but his 
 opinions are founded on what he hears Cobden has said, 
 and on the animus of the peace party. He told me again 
 what a task his is in the Cabinet, standing between and 
 mediating between Aberdeen and Palmerston, whose ancient 
 and habitual ideas of foreign policy are brought by this busi- 
 ness into antagonism, and he says the difficulty is made 
 greater by Aberdeen's unfortunate manner, who cannot 
 avoid some of that sneering tone in discussion which so 
 seriously affects his popularity in the House of Lords. He 
 is therefore obliged to take a great deal upon himself, in 
 order to prevent any collision between Palmerston and 
 Aberdeen. It appears that Palmerston proposed on Satur- 
 day last that the entrance of the Russians into the Princi- 
 palities should be considered a casus belli, in which, however, 
 he was overruled and gave way. The Cabinet did not come 
 to a vote upon it, but the general sentiment went with 
 Aberdeen and Clarendon, and against Palmerston. He 
 seems to have given way with a good grace, and hitherto 
 
72 EEIG-N OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 nothing has occurred of a disagreeable character; on the 
 contrary, both Clarendon and Granville tell me Palmerston 
 has behaved very well. Clarendon thints (and in this I con- 
 cur) that the country would never forgive the Government 
 for going to war, unless they could show that it was abso- 
 lutely necessary and that they had exhausted every means of 
 bringing about a pacific solution of the question, and nobody 
 here would care one straw about the Russian occupation of 
 Moldavia and Wallachia. 
 
 That all means have not been exhausted is clear from 
 this fact. The Austrians, who are more interested than any- 
 body, have moved heaven and earth to effect a settlement, 
 and the Emperor of Russia has himself asked for their ' hons 
 offices ' for that end. They have entreated the Turks on the 
 one hand to strike out some mezzo termine compatible with 
 their dignity and with their previous refusals of Menschi- 
 koff's terms, promising that they will urge its acceptance on 
 the Emperor with all their force, and on the other hand they 
 have implored the Emperor to delay the occupation of the 
 Principalities, so that by temporising, mediation, and a joint 
 action and a judicious employment of diplomatic resources 
 and astuteness, it is still possible some mode may be hit 
 upon of terminating the quarrel. 
 
 July 9th. — For the last fortnight or three weeks little 
 has occurred which is worth noting. The Eastern Question 
 drags on, as it is likely to do. Aberdeen, who ten days ago 
 spoke very confidently of its being settled, now takes a more 
 desponding view, and the confidence he has hitherto reposed 
 in the Emperor of Russia is greatly shaken. Clarendon has 
 long thought the prospect very gloomy, but they are still 
 endeavouring to bring about an accommodation. The ques- 
 tion resolves itself into this : what are the real wishes and 
 views of the Emperor ? If his present conduct is the execu- 
 tion of a long prepared purpose, and he thinks the time 
 favourable for the destruction of Turkey, no efforts will be 
 availing, and he will listen to no proposals that we can 
 possibly make. If, on the contrary, he is conscious that he 
 has got into a dilemma, and he wishes to extricate himself 
 
1863] THE INDIA BILL CAERIED. 73 
 
 from it by any means not dishonourable to himself, and such 
 as would not degrade him in the eyes of his own subjects, 
 then, no doubt, diplomatic astuteness will sooner or later hit 
 upon some expedient by which the quarrel may be adjusted. 
 Which of these alternatives is the true one, time alone can 
 show. Meanwhile the expense to which the Turks are put 
 in the wretched state of their finances will prove ruinous 
 to them, and, end how it may, the fall of the Turkish 
 dominion has been accelerated by what has already taken 
 place. There has been a great deal of discussion about 
 bringing on debates on the Eastern Question in both Houses, 
 but all the leading men of all parties have deprecated dis- 
 cussion, and it was finally determined last night that none 
 should take place. Disraeli alone, who cares for nothing 
 but making mischief, tried to bring it on, but in the House 
 of Lords Derby took a different and more becoming course, 
 and recommended Clanricarde to give it up. Disraeli urged 
 Layard to persevere. Granville told me yesterday that 
 while he lamented that Aberdeen was not a more judicious 
 and conciliating leader in the House of Lords, and was so 
 inferior in this respect to Lord Lansdowne, he liked him 
 very much, thought he was a very good Prime Minister, and, 
 above all, anything but deficient in political courage, in 
 which respect he was by no means inferior to Palmerston 
 himself. 
 
 The Government have been going on well enough on the 
 whole. Their immense majority on the India Bill was 
 matter of general surprise, and showed the wretched tactics 
 of Disraeli, as well as his small influence over his party, for 
 he could not get one hundred of the Tories to go with him. 
 A few small holes have been made in Gladstone's Budget, 
 but nothing of consequence. Tom Baring, however, told me 
 he thought Gladstone had made some great mistakes, and 
 that Graham would have been a better Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer; but this I much doubt. Popularity is very 
 necessary to a Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Graham 
 would never have been so persuasive with the House as 
 Gladstone. 
 
74 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 July 12th. — The ' Times ' newspaper, always famous for 
 its versatility and inconsistency, has lately produced articles 
 on the Eastern Question on the same day of the most oppo- 
 site characters, one warlike and firm, the next vehemently 
 pacific by some other hand. This is of small importance,, 
 but it is indicative of the difference which exists in the 
 Cabinet on the subject, and the explanation of the incon- 
 sistency of the ' Times ' is to be found in the double in- 
 fluence which acts on the paper. All along Palmerston has- 
 been urging a vigorous policy, and wished to employ more 
 peremptory language and stronger measures towards Russia, 
 while Aberdeen has been very reluctant to do as much as 
 we have done, and would have been well content to advise- 
 Turkey to accept the last ultimatum of Russia, and so 
 terminate what he considers a senseless and mischievous 
 quarrel. Clarendon has had to steer between these two 
 extremes, and while moderating the ardour of Palmerston, 
 to stimulate Abei-deen, and persuade him to adopt a course 
 congenial to public opinion in this country, which, however 
 inclined to peace and abhorrent of war, is not at all disposed 
 to connive at the aggrandisement of Russia, or to submit to- 
 the insolent dictation of the Emperor. The majority of 
 the Cabinet have supported Clarendon, and approximate 
 more nearly to the pacific policy of Aberdeen than to the 
 stringent measures of Palmerston. When the two articles 
 appeared in the 'Times,' to which I particularly allude, 
 Clarendon approved of the first, and found great fault with 
 the other, while Aberdeen wrote to Delane and expressed 
 his strong approbation of the second, and his conviction 
 that the public would sooner or later take the views therein 
 set forth. Clarendon tells me that he has no doubt Aber- 
 deen has on many occasions held language in various 
 quarters that was not prudent under the circumstances, and 
 was calculated to give erroneous impressions as to the in- 
 tentions of the Government, and he thinks that the Emperor 
 himself has been misled by what he may have heard both of 
 the disposition and sentiments of the Prime Minister, and 
 of the determination of the House of Commons and the 
 
1853] WAELIKE VIEWS OF LOED PALMERSTON. 75 
 
 country at large to abstain from war in every case except 
 one in which our own honour and interests were directly 
 concerned. 
 
 I had a long talk with Clarendon on Sunday, when he 
 told me that the chances of peace were a little better than 
 they had been, inasmuch as there seemed to be a disposition 
 at St. Petersburg to treat, and the Austrian Government was 
 now in earnest bringing to bear all their influence on the 
 Emperor to accept reasonable terms of accommodation. 
 Colloredo brought him the copy of a despatch to St. Peters- 
 burg, which he said was excellent, very frank and free in its^ 
 tone. Austria seems more fully sensible of the danger to 
 herself of any war, which would inevitably let loose the 
 revolutionary element all over the world. Clarendon has 
 drawn up the project of a Convention which embraces all the 
 professed objects of the Emperor, and which the Turks may 
 agree to ; he sent it to Paiis, whence Drouyn de Lhuys has 
 returned it, with the full concurrence and assent of the 
 French Government, and it went to Petersburg yesterday. 
 The reception of this proposal will determine the question 
 of peace or war. 
 
 July IMh. — G said to me this morning that Pal- 
 
 merston is beginning to stir up matters afresh. I saw him 
 yesterday morning at Holland House in close confabulation 
 with Walewski, with whom I have no doubt he interchanged 
 warlike sentiments, and complained of the lukewarmness of 
 Aberdeen and Clarendon. It is evident that he is at work, 
 and probably, according to his ancient custom, in some un- 
 derhand way in the press. His flatterers tell him that a 
 majority of the House of Commons would support him and a 
 warlike policy, and though he may wish to believe this, and 
 perhaps does, he wiU hardly go the length of trying to break 
 up this Cabinet, with the desperate hope of making another 
 Government himself, based on the policy of going to war. 
 Certain newspapers are always asserting that the Cabinet is 
 divided and in dissension, and at the same time accusing it 
 of timidity and weakness, urging strong measures, and 
 asserting that, if we had employed such long ago, Eussia 
 
76 BEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 -would have been frightened, and never have proceeded to 
 ^such lengths. But the Government are resolved, and 
 wisely, to avoid war as long as they can, and if driven on 
 to it, to be able to show the country that they had exhausted 
 all means of preserving peace. 
 
 July 18th. — At last there appears a probability of this 
 Turkish question being amicably settled. On Saturday I 
 was told that despatches were just come from Sir Hamilton 
 Seymour of a more favourable character, and representing the 
 Imperial Government as much more disposed to treat, with a 
 real disposition to bring the negotiations to a successful issue. 
 My informant added that Palmerston predicted that none of 
 the projects and proposals which have emanated from the 
 different Courts would be accepted at Petersburg, which he 
 thought they all would. Yesterday I saw Clarendon, and 
 found matters even in a still more promising state. After 
 the Cabinet Walewski went to him, and communicated to 
 him very important news (of a later date than Seymour's 
 letters) from St. Petersburg, which to my mind is decisive 
 ■of the question of peace. It appears that both France and 
 Austria have been concocting notes and projects of a pacific 
 tendency to be offered to the Emperor. There have been 
 .several of these, some framed at Constantinople, others at 
 Paris. A short time ago the French Government prepared 
 one, which it submitted to ours; Clarendon thought it 
 would not answer, and told them so. They asked whether 
 he had any objection to their sending it off to St. Petersburg 
 and Vienna and making the experiment. He replied, none 
 whatever, and though he did not think it would succeed, he 
 should rejoice if it did, as, provided the affair could be set- 
 tled, it did not matter how. In the meantime he drew up 
 his own project of a Convention, which went to Paris, and 
 received the cordial approbation of the Emperor ; and this 
 document is now on its way to Petersburg. In the mean- 
 time the French project was sent there, Castelbajac took it 
 to Nesselrode, who read it very attentively, and said that he 
 liked it very much, but that he could give no positive answer 
 till he had submitted it to the Emperor. The same afternoon 
 
1853] SUCCESSION DUTIES BILL. 77 
 
 lie saw the French minister again, and told him that he had 
 laid the project hefore the Emperor Nicholas, and that His- 
 Majesty was not only satisfied, but grateful for it, 'non seule- 
 ment satisfait, mais reconnaissant,' and that the only reason 
 he did not at once close with it was that his ally, the Emperor 
 of Austria, had also submitted a proposal, and he did not 
 like to take another from another Court exclusiyely without 
 previous communication with him. Clarendon thinks that 
 his proposal will be still more agreeable to the Emperor than 
 the Erench one, and that he will probably end in taking it ; 
 nor will there be any difficulty in this, because our's is sa 
 fully concurred in by France as to be in fact her's as much 
 as our's. 
 
 July Slst. — Having been at Goodwood the last week, I 
 have not troubled myself with politics, either home or foreign, 
 nor have any events occurred to excite interest. The most 
 important matter here has been the division in the House of 
 Lords on Monday last on the Succession Duties Bill, on which 
 the Opposition were signally defeated. For a long time the 
 Government were very doubtful of obtaining a majority, but 
 their whippers-in were more sanguine at last. Great exer- 
 tions were made on both sides, the Derbyites whipped up all 
 the men they could lay their hands on, and the Government 
 fetched their ministers from Paris and Brussels, and the 
 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The majority was greater than 
 either side expected, and Derby and his crew were exceed- 
 ingly disconcerted, and Derby himself much out of humour. 
 When Bessborough went over to him after the division, and 
 said ' Lord Aberdeen wants to know if you will object to the 
 Bill being read a third time on Thursday next,' he pettishly 
 replied, ' The Bill may go to the devil for all I care ; I shall 
 take no further trouble about it.' 
 
 August 1st. — I saw Clarendon as usual yesterday (Sun- 
 day), when he read to me a letter from Sir Hamilton Sey- 
 mour, giving an account of his delivering to Nesselrode the 
 Convention which Clarendon sent over, as well as reading to 
 him Clarendon's private letter, which was a stinging one, 
 but very good. Nesselrode said of all the projects he liked 
 
78 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 tliat tlie best, and if it was tendered to them froTti Vienna, 
 he thought it might do as the basis of an arrangement, but 
 he could give no positive answer till he had submitted it to 
 the Emperor. At the Cabinet on Saturday Clarendon read 
 Seymour's letter, when his colleagues begged they might see 
 the private letter of his which was alluded to, and he pro- 
 duced and read that likewise. It was generally approved of, 
 but the next day Palmerston wrote a note to Clarendon, in 
 which he expressed the warmest approbation of his note, 
 and added that he had only refrained from saying all he 
 thought. of it at the Cabinet lest his approval might make 
 others think it was too strong. He added that he rejoiced 
 that the management of our foreign affairs was in such able 
 hands, and that, in fact, he (Clarendon) could do and say 
 what Palmerston himself could not have done. It was a 
 very handsome letter, very satisfactory both to Clarendon 
 personally and as showing that there is no disagreement on 
 the Eastern Question in the Cabinet, or at least between 
 Palmerston and Clarendon, which is the essential point. 
 'Their union and friendship are remarkable when we recollect 
 their past antagonism and Palmerston's jealousy of Claren- 
 don, and the persuasion of both himself and Lady Palmerston 
 that Clarendon was always waiting to trip up his heels and 
 get his place. All these jealousies and suspicions were, how- 
 ever, dissipated when Clarendon refused the I'oreign Office 
 last year, since which time they have been the best of friends, 
 and Palmerston was quite satisfied at his having the Foreign 
 Office. With regard to the chances of a pacific settlement, 
 the assurances from St. Petersburg are all very favourable, 
 but the acts of the Eussian generals in the Principalities are 
 quite inconsistent with them, and between these conflicting- 
 manifestations Clarendon is in no small doubt and apprehen- 
 sion as to the result. 
 
 London, August 8th. — Ever since last Monday, when 
 Clarendon made a speech in the House of Lords on which 
 a bad interpretation was put in reference to the question of 
 peace or war, there has been a sort of panic, and the public 
 •mind, which refused at first to admit the possibility of war, 
 
1853] NEGOTIATIONS WITH ETJSSIA AND TUEKEY. 79 
 
 ■suddenly rushed to tlie opposite conclusion, and everybody 
 became persuaded that war was inevitable. The conse- 
 quence was a great fall in the funds, and the depreciation of 
 every sort of security. So matters remained till the end of 
 the week. On Saturday afternoon I met Walewski, who 
 told me he had that day received a letter from Castelbajac 
 (the French Ambassador at St. Petersburg), informing him 
 that the Emperor had signified his willingness to accept the 
 proposal which was then expected from Vienna, and last 
 night fresh news came that the proposal had arrived, and he 
 had said he would take it, if the Turks would send an 
 ambassador with it, exactly as it had been submitted to him. 
 This I heard late last night, and Granville considered it con- 
 clusive of an immediate settlement. But this morning I 
 went to Clarendon and found him not so sure, and not 
 regarding the pacific solution as so indubitable ; there still 
 remain some important matters of detail to be settled, though 
 certainly the affair wears a much more favourable aspect, and 
 there is every reason to hope it will all end well. But while 
 this proposal was concocted at Vienna, the Cabinet here 
 (last Saturday week) made some small verbal alterations in 
 it, so that ultimately it will not be presented for the Em- 
 peror's formal acceptance word for word the same, and if he 
 wants a pretext to back out of his present engagement, he 
 can therein find one, as he only agreed to take it if it 
 was word for word the same. Then it has not yet been 
 submitted to the Turks, and it is by no means sure they may 
 not make difficulties, or that Stratford Canning may not 
 raise obstacles instead of using all his influence to procure 
 their agreement, so that Clarendon does not consider that 
 we are out of the wood, though he expects on the whole that 
 it will end weU. If it does it will be the triumph of diplo- 
 macy, and a signal proof of the wisdom of moderation and 
 patience. Granville says it will be principally owing to 
 ■ Aberdeen, who has been very staunch and bold in defying 
 public clamour, abuse, and taunts, and in resisting the 
 wishes and advice of Palmerston, who would have adopted a 
 more stringent and uncompromising course. 
 
80 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 August 9th. — At Court yesterday Aberdeen was quite con- 
 fident of tlie settlement of the Eastern affair, and Brunnow, 
 who was there with the Duchess of Leuchtenherg to see the 
 Queen, very smiling. Clanricarde interrupted Clarendon in 
 the House of Lords, and made a violent speech. Clarendon 
 answered very well, without committing himself. The 
 Government are in high spirits at the prospect of winding 
 up this prosperous Session with the settlement of the Eastern 
 Question : nothing else is wanting to their success^ 
 
 August 11th. — I saw Clarendon yesterday. Nothing new, 
 hut he said he fully expected Stratford Canning would play 
 some trick at Constantinople, and throw obstacles in the 
 way of settlement. This seems to me hardly possible, unless 
 he behaves foolishly as well as dishonestly, and it can hardly 
 be believed that his temper and Russian antipathies will 
 betray him into such extravagant conduct. It is, however, 
 impossible to consider the affair as ' settled.' 
 
 Yesterday all the world went to the great naval review 
 at Portsmouth, except myself. It appears to have been a 
 fine but tedious sight, for Granville set off at 5.30 a.m., and 
 only got back at one in the morning. 
 
 August 27th. — Since the 11th I have been absent from 
 town, at Grimstone for York races, then at Hatchford, and 
 since that gouty. While at York the Session closed with 
 eclat by a speech of Palmerston's in his most flashy and suc- 
 cessful style. John Russell gave a night at last for the discus- 
 sion of the Turkish question, and made a sort of explanation, 
 which was tame, meagre, and unsatisfactory. After some 
 speeches expressive of disappointment and disapprobation^ 
 Cobden made an oration in favour of peace at any price, 
 and this drew up Palmerston, who fell upon him with great 
 vigour and success. The discussion would have ended 
 languidly and ill for the Government but for this brilliant 
 improvisation, which carried the House entirely with it. It 
 was not, however, if analysed and calmly considered, of 
 much use to the Government as to their foreign policy, for it 
 was only an answer to Cobden, and Palmerston did not say 
 one word in defence of the policy which has been adopted. 
 
1853] TURKISH DIFFICULTIES. 81 
 
 nor identify himself with it, as he might as well have done. 
 Though there was nothing in it positively indicative of 
 dissent and dissatisfaction, any one might not unfairly draw 
 the inference that, if Palmerston had had his own way, he 
 would have taken a more stringent and less patient course. 
 However, nothing has been made of this, and on the whole 
 his speech did good, because it closed the discussion hand- 
 somely, and left the impression of Palmerston's having cast 
 his lot for good and all with his present colleagues, as is 
 really the case. 
 
 The Session ended with a very flourishing and prosperous 
 speech from the Throne, and nothing was wanting to the 
 complete success of the Government but the settlement of 
 the Turkish question, which, however, seems destined to be 
 delayed some time longer: for the Turks have refused tO' 
 accept the Vienna note, except with some modifications, 
 though these are said to be so immaterial that we hope the 
 Emperor will not object to them. But all this is vexatious, 
 because it reopens the whole question, causes delay and 
 uncertainty, and keeps the world in suspense and apprehen- 
 sion. Granville told me that what had occurred showed 
 how much more sagacious Aberdeen had been as to this 
 afikir than Palmerston, the former having always maintained 
 that there would be no difficulty with the Emperor, but if 
 any arose it would be from the Turks ; whereas Palmerston 
 was always sure the Turks would make none, but that the 
 Emperor would refuse all arrangements. 
 
 August 28th. — It seems the Turks, after a delay of ten 
 days from receiviug the proposition, sent it back to Yienna, 
 asking for some not important alterations ; but immediately 
 afterwards they required a stipulation for the evacuation 
 of the Principalities, and guarantees that they should not 
 be occupied again. It is very improbable that the Emperor 
 will listen to such conditions. Nesselrode has all along told 
 Seymour that they (the Eussians) mean in fulfilment of their 
 pledges to evacuate the Principalities, as soon as they have 
 got the required satisfaction, but that it must not be made 
 a condition, aad entreated him to abstain from any demand 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
82 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 "whicli might give an air of compulsion to tlie act, much in 
 the same way as we have told Nesselrode he must not 
 attempt to make any stipulation about the withdrawal of 
 our fleet. Clarendon thinks that the Emperor is certain to 
 reject the Turkish terms, and that the Turks are very 
 capable of declaring war thereupon ; for in their last com- 
 munication they said that they were prepared for ' toutes 
 les eventualites,' and he suspects that Stratford has not 
 bond fide striven to induce them to accept the proffered 
 terms. Their rejection is the more unreasonable because 
 the proposal is a hash-np of Menschikoff's original Note, 
 and that which the Turks proposed in lieu of it, but in 
 Tvhich the Turkish element preponderates, so that not only 
 are their honour and dignity consulted, but in refusing they 
 recede from their own original proposal. 
 
 The Queen is gone to Ireland, and Lord Granville with 
 her, who is afterwards to attend her to Balmoral. This is 
 new, because hitherto she has always had with her either the 
 Premier or a Secretary of State. Granville is to be relieved 
 when circumstances admit, but at present there is no other 
 arrangement feasible. Aberdeen and Clarendon are both 
 kept in town till the question is settled. Newcastle got 
 leave to go to Clumber for his boys' holidays, and Her 
 Majesty does not desire to have the Home Secretary. 
 
 But Charles Villiers told me last night that Lord 
 Palmerston's influence and popularity in the House of 
 Commons are greater than ever, and if this Government 
 should be broken up by internal dissension, he would have 
 uo difficulty in forming another, and gathering round him a 
 party to support him. This is what the Tories are anxiously 
 looking to, desiring no better than to serve under him, and 
 flattering themselves that in his heart he personally dislikes 
 his colleagues, and in political matters agrees with them- 
 selves. They pay him every sort of court, never attack 
 him, and not only defer to him on all occasions, but make 
 all the difFerence they can between him and the rest of the 
 Government ; nor does he discourage or reject these civilities, 
 though he does not invite them, or say or do anything in- 
 
1863] LOED JOHN RUSSELL'S POSITION. 83 
 
 consistent with his present position, but he probably thinks 
 the disposition towards him of that large political party 
 enhances his value to his own friends and increases his power, 
 besides affording to him a good alternative in case anything 
 should happen to break up the present Government or 
 separate him from it. 
 
 September 2nd. — For the last week the settlement of 
 this tedious Turkish question has appeared more remote than 
 •ever, and Clarendon was almost in despair when I saw him 
 a few days ago, and the more so because he suspected that 
 Lord Stratford was at the bottom of the difficulties raised 
 by the Divan. However, according to the last accounts it 
 would seem that Stratford was not to blame, and had done 
 what he could to get the Turks to comply with the terms of 
 the Conference. At this moment the affair wears rather a 
 better aspect, and my own belief is that it will be settled. 
 It is a great bore that it drags on in this way, creating 
 alarm and imcertainty, shaking the funds, and affecting 
 commerce. 
 
 The Duke of Bedford, of whom I have seen nothing for 
 a, long time, called on me a few days ago, and talked over 
 the present state of affairs, and the position of Lord John 
 Eussell. He said Lord John was now quite satisfied with 
 it, and rejoiced at his own comparative freedom, and his 
 immunity from the constant attacks of which he used to be 
 the object ; and he is now conscious that, by the part he 
 has acted in waiving his own pretensions, he has not only 
 not degraded himself, but has greatly raised himself in 
 public estimation and acquired much credit and popularity, 
 besides rendering the country a great service. He is very 
 well with his colleagues, and gratified at the deference 
 shown him, and the consideration he enjoys in the House of 
 Oommons. There, however, I know from other sources, all 
 the popularity is engrossed by Palmerston and by Gladstone, 
 and Lord John has foolishly suffered Palmerston to take his 
 place as leader very often, because he chose to stay away at 
 Richmond, and not come near the House. 
 
 The Duke took this opportunity of telling me what is 
 
 o 3 
 
84 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III.. 
 
 now a very old story, but whicli lie said he thouglit he had 
 never told me before, and I am not sure whether he did or 
 not. It was what happened to him at the time of the forma- 
 tion of this Government last year, of which he was evidently 
 very proud. Just before the Derby Government broke down,, 
 and before that reunion at Woburn of which so much was 
 said, the Prince gave him to understand that they should 
 look to him for advice if anything occurred, which they were 
 every day expecting. The Duke was at Woburn, and one 
 morning when the hounds met there and half the county 
 was at breakfast in the great hall, word was brought him 
 that a messenger had come from Osborne with a letter for 
 him. He found it was a letter from the Prince, in which he 
 informed him that this was despatched by a safe and trust- 
 worthy hand, and nobody was to know of its being sent; 
 that the Derby Government was at an end, and the Queen 
 and Prince were anxious for his opinion on the state of 
 affairs, the dispositions of public men, and what course they 
 had better take. The Duke had recently been in personal 
 communication with all the leaders, with Aberdeen and 
 Lord John, Newcastle, Clarendon, Lansdowne, Palmerston, 
 and others, and he was therefore apprised of all their sen- 
 timents and in a condition to give very full information 
 to the Court. He sat himself down and with the greatest 
 rapidity (his horse at the door to go hunting) wrote four or 
 five sheets of paper containing the amplest details of the 
 sentiments and views of these different statesmen, and ended 
 by advising that the Queen should send for Lords Lansdowne 
 and Aberdeen — as she did. Lord John had already told him 
 he did not wish to be sent for. After this of course he could 
 not resent the advice the Duke gave ; and happily Lord 
 John was firm in resisting the advice of some of those about 
 him, and acted on the dictates of his own conscientious 
 judgement and the sound advice of his friends. 
 
 September Srd, — I dined last night tete-a-tete with Claren- 
 don and heard all the details of the state of the Turkish 
 question, and read the interesting correspondence of Cowley^ 
 with his accounts of his conversations with the Emperor,. 
 
isas] OPPOSITION OF LOED STEATFORD. 85 
 
 and manj other things. Clarendon is very uneasy because 
 lie thinks the Emperor Nicholas' pride will not let him accept 
 the Note as modified by the Turks, though he would have 
 accepted the same Note if it had been presented originallj' 
 l)y the Conference. This is one danger. The next is one 
 at Constantinople, where there is a strong bigoted violent 
 j)arty for war, disposed to dethrone the Sultan and replace 
 him by his brother. This brother (of whom I never heard 
 before) is a man of more energy than the Sultan, and is 
 ^jonnected with the fanatical party. The Sultan himself is 
 enervated by early debauchery and continual drunkenness, 
 and therefore in great danger should he by any unpopular 
 measures provoke an outbreak from the violent faction. 
 Clarendon thinks that Stratford has encouraged the resist- 
 ance of the Divan to the proposals of the Conference, and 
 that he might have persuaded the Turks to accept the 
 ierms if he had chosen to do so and set about it in a proper 
 manner ; but Clarendon says that he has lived there so 
 long, and is animated with such a personal hatred of the 
 Emperor, that he is full of the Turkish spirit ; and this and 
 his temper together have made him take a part directly 
 contrary to the wishes and instructions of his Government. 
 He thinks he wishes to be recalled that he may make a 
 grievance of it, and come home to do all the mischief he can. 
 Westmorland wrote word the other day that Stratford's lan- 
 guage was very hostile to his Government and the Ministers 
 of all the other Powers at Constantinople, thought he had 
 actually resigned, and reported the fact to Vienna. 
 
 The most important question now pending is what to do 
 with the fleets. They cannot remain much longer in Besika 
 Bay, and must either retire to Vourla or enter the Dar- 
 danelles. The Emperor Napoleon wishes they should enter 
 ihe Dardanelles, but only a little way, and not go on to Con- 
 stantinople ; and Clarendon takes the same view, proposing 
 a mezzo termine. The Emperor professes an earnest desire 
 for a peaceful solution, and the strongest determination to 
 act in concert with England to the end, and his views seem 
 very sensible and proper. But, notwithstanding this disposi- 
 
86 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. Ill, 
 
 tion, in which he probably is sincere, there is reason to 
 believe that he is all the time keeping up a sort of secret 
 and underhand communication with Russia, and the evidence 
 of this is rather curious. It appears that he has recently 
 written a letter to the Duchess of Hamilton, in which he 
 says that he believes the Russians will not evacuate the 
 Principalities, and that he does not care if they stay there. 
 This letter the Duchess showed to Brunnow, and he imparted 
 it to Aberdeen, who told Clarendon, but none of the other 
 Ministers know anything of it. Clarendon wrote word of 
 this to Cowley, and told him to make what use of it he 
 thought fit. In the first instance he said something to- 
 Drouyn de Lhuys of the Emperor's entertaining views dif- 
 ferent from our's, which Drouyn repeated to the Emperor^ 
 who spoke to Cowley about it, and protested that he had no 
 separate or different objects, when Cowley, without men- 
 tioning names, told him what he had heard of his having^ 
 written. The Emperor made an evasive answer to this, but 
 gave many assurances of his determination to act with us 
 heartily and sincerely. This incident seems to have made a 
 great impression both on Cowley and Clarendon, particularly 
 as both know something more. Cowley says he knows that 
 the Emperor has a private correspondence with Castelbajac,. 
 of which Drouyn de Lhuys is ignorant, and Seymour writes- 
 to Clarendon that he has observed for some time past a great 
 lukewarmness on the part of the French Minister in pressing- 
 the Russian Government, and an evident leaning to them. 
 As the Duchess of Hamilton has no intimacy with Brunnow^ 
 it appears very extraordinary that she should communicate 
 to him a letter of the Emperor's, and such a letter, which 
 would be a great indiscretion unless he had secretly desired 
 her to do so ; and all these circumstances taken together 
 look very like a little Intrigue between the Emperor and the 
 Russian Court, which would also be very consistent with his 
 secret, false, and clandestine mode of conducting his affairs. 
 It is probable enough that he may wish to keep on good 
 terms with Russia and at the same time maintain his inti- 
 mate connexion with England. That he is bent on avoiding 
 
1853] DISPOSAL OF THE FLEET. 87 
 
 war there can be no doubt, and for very good reasons, for 
 France is threatened with a scarcity, and he is above all 
 things bent on keeping the people supplied with food at low 
 prices ; and for this object the Trench Government is straining 
 every nerve and prepared to make any amount of pecuniary 
 sacrifice ; bu-t? the necessity for this, which absorbs all their 
 means, renders it at the same time particularly desirable to 
 maintain peace in Europe. 
 
 There never was a case so involved in difficulties and 
 complications of different sorts, all the particulars of which 
 I heard last night ; but the affair is so tangled, that it is 
 impossible to weave it into an intelligible and consistent 
 narrative, and I can only jot down fragments, which may 
 hereafter serve to explain circumstances connected with 
 the denouement, whenever it takes place. John Russell and 
 Palmerston are both come to town, so that a little Cabinet 
 will discuss this matter. Palmerston is extremely reason- 
 able, does not take the part of the Turks, but on the con- 
 trary blames them severely for making difficulties he thinks 
 absurd and useless, but is still for not letting them be 
 crushed. He is on the best terms with Clarendon, and goes 
 along with him very cordially in his policy on this question. 
 Both Palmerston and Lord John seem to agree with Cla- 
 rendon on the question of the disposal of the fleet better 
 than Aberdeen, who is always for trusting the Emperor, 
 maintaining peace, and would be quite contented to send the 
 fleet to Vourla or Tenedos, and would see with regret the 
 more energetic course of entering the Dardanelles. How- 
 ever, there is no chance of any material difference on this 
 score, and I have no doubt, if the question is not settled 
 before the end of the month, the fleets will anchor within 
 the Straits and there remain. 
 
 I was glad to find that the Queen has consented to let 
 Palmerston take his turn at Balmoral, and Aberdeen has 
 informed him that he is to go there. It was done by Aber- 
 deen speaking to the Prince at Osborne, who said he thought 
 there would be no difficulty. The Queen acquiesced with 
 the good sense she generally shows on such occasions, being 
 
88 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. III. 
 
 always open to reason, and ready to consent to whatever 
 can be proved to her to be right or expedient. 
 
 September 4th. — I went to Winchester yesterday, and fell 
 in with Graham in the train, so we went together and had a 
 great deal of talk, mostly on the Eastern Question. He 
 thinks the Emperor of Russia will not accept the Turkish 
 alterations, and he is very hot against Stratford, to whom he 
 attributes all the difficulties. He has heard that Stratford 
 has held language hostile to the Grovernment, and he is 
 inclined to think not only that he has acted treacherously 
 towards his employers, but that proofs of his treachery might 
 be obtained, and he is all for getting the evidence if possible, 
 and acting upon it at once, by recalling him ; he thinks the 
 proofs might be obtained through the Turkish Ministers, 
 and if they can be, he would not stop to enquire who might be 
 displeased, or what the effect might be, but do it at once. 
 He acknowledges, however, that it would not do to act on 
 surmises or reports, and that nothing but clear proofs of 
 Stratford's misconduct, such as will satisfy Parliament, would 
 render such a step justifiable or safe. With regard to the 
 fleets, he says there is no reason why they should not remain 
 in Besika Bay, and it is a mistake to suppose they could not, 
 and he is very decidedly against their entering the Darda- 
 nelles in any case, because it would be contrary to treaty 
 and afford the Emperor of Russia a just casus belli ; and he 
 maintains that his having (contrary to treaties and inter- 
 national rights) occupied the Principalities affords no reason 
 why we should infringe them in another direction. When 
 this question comes to be discussed, his voice will evidently 
 be for not entering the Dardanelles, though he acknowledges 
 that we cannot retreat while the Russians remain where 
 they are. He talked a great deal about Palmerston, of 
 whom he has some distrust, and fancied he has been in 
 communication with Stratford, and that he would concur 
 with him in his proceedings, and he expressed great satis- 
 faction when I told him that Palmerston and Clarendon 
 were on the most cordial and confidential terms, and that 
 the former entirely disapproved of the conduct of the Turks 
 
1853] LORD STRATFORD'S GOOD FAITH. 89 
 
 (which is that of Stratford) in regard to the Note. He thinks 
 Palmerston looks to being Prime Minister, if anything 
 happened to Aberdeen, but that neither he nor John Rus- 
 sell could hold the oflSce, as neither would consent to the 
 elevation of the other. On the whole, he inclines to the 
 opinion that Palmerston has made up his mind to go on with 
 this Government and his present colleagues, that he means to 
 act fairly and honestly with and by them, and has no arriere 
 jpensee towards the Tories, though he is not sorry to have 
 them always looking to him, and paying him, as they do, 
 excessive court. It ensures him great support and an easy 
 life in the House of Commons, where, however, he says Pal- 
 merston has done very little this year, and he does not seem 
 much impressed with the idea of his having gained very 
 considerably there, or obtained a better position than he had 
 before. 
 
 September 8th. — I saw Clarendon on Sunday. There is 
 nothing new, but he said he would lay two to one the 
 Emperor does not accept the modified Note ; it will be a 
 contest between his pride and his interest, for his army is in 
 such a state of disease and distress that he is in no condi- 
 tion to make war ; on the other hand, he cannot without 
 extreme humiliation accept the Turkish Note. What will 
 happen, if he refuses, nobody can possibly divine. The four 
 Ministers met to discuss the matter, and were very har- 
 monious ; Palmerston not at all for violent measures, and 
 ■Clarendon said he himself was the most warlike of the four. 
 I told him of my journey with Graham and aU that he had 
 said. He replied that he knew Graham was very violent 
 against Stratford, but that it would be impossible to make 
 out any case against him, as he certainly had read to the 
 Turkish Minister all his (Clarendon's) despatches and in- 
 structions, and he gave the most positive assurances, which 
 it would be diflBcult to gainsay, that he had done everything 
 in his power to induce the Turkish Government to give way 
 to the advice of the Conference, and whatever his secret 
 wishes and opinions might be, there was no official evidence 
 to be had that he had failed in doing his duty fairly by his 
 
90 KEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap III, 
 
 own GoTernment ; therefore it would be out of tlie question 
 to recall him. 
 
 September 20th. — At Doncaster all last week ; I found 
 Clarendon yesterday very much alarmed at the prospect in, 
 the East. He thinks it will be impossible to restrain the 
 Turkish war party ; he told me that the Conference at Vienna 
 had imparted their Note to the Turkish Ambassador there, 
 and both he and his dragoman had expressed their entire 
 approbation of it. They had considered this to afford a 
 strong presumption that it would not be unpalateable at 
 Constantinople, but it was not sent there because this would 
 have occasioned so much delay, and it was desirable to get 
 the Russians out of the Principalities as speedily as possible. 
 The Eussian generals had actually received orders to pre- 
 pare for the evacuation, which the Emperor would have 
 commanded the instant he heard that the Turks were willing- 
 to send the Vienna Note. The Emperor Napoleon has again 
 given the strongest assurances of his determination in n» 
 case whatever to separate his policy from ours, his resolution 
 to adhere to the English alliance, and to maintain peace 
 a tout pi'ix, which he frankly owns to be indispensably neces- 
 sary to the interests of his country. The Austrians are 
 already beginning to hang back from taking any decided 
 part in opposition to Russia, and while still ready to join in 
 making every exertion to maintain peace, they are evidently 
 determined if war breaks out to take no part against 
 Russia, and this disposition is sure to be improved by the 
 interview which is about to take place between the Emperors 
 of Russia and Austria. 
 
 September 26th. — I have been at Hatchford all last week. 
 I saw Clarendon on Thursday before I went there, and heard 
 that two ships of each fleet were gone up the Dardanelles,'' 
 and that the rest would probably soon follow, as the French 
 were now urging that measure. He was then going to- 
 Aberdeen to propose calling the Cabinet together, the state 
 
 ^ [The British vessels were steamers, the ' Retribution ' and another. There- 
 ■was at that time only one line-of-hattle ship in each fleet having steam, 
 power ; all the other vessels of the line were sailing ships.] 
 
1853] PROSPECTS OF WAR. 91 
 
 of aflfairs becoming more critical every hour, and apparently 
 no chance of aTOrting war. The prospect was not the 
 brighter from the probability of a good deal of difference of 
 opinion when they do meet. He showed me a letter from 
 Palmerston, in which he spoke very coolly of such a contin- 
 gency as war with Russia and Austria, and with his usual 
 confidence and flippancy of the great blows that might be 
 inflicted on both Powers, particularly alluding to the possible 
 expulsion of the Austrians from Italy, an object of which he 
 has probably never lost sight. Meanwhile the violence and 
 scurrility of the press here exceeds all belief. Day after 
 day the Eadical and Tory papers, animated by very different 
 sentiments and motives, pour forth the most virulent abuse 
 of the Emperor of Russia, of Austria, and of this Govern- 
 ment, especially of Aberdeen. 
 
■92 KEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IV, 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 The Conference at Olmiitz — The Turks declare War — Lord Palmerston's 
 Views — Lord Palmerston lauded by the Radicals and the Tories — Failirre 
 of the Pacific Policy — Lord Aberdeen desires to resign — Lord John to 
 be Prime Minister — Obstacles to Lord John's Pretensions — Danger of 
 breaking up the Government — Lord John's Wilfulness and Unpopularity 
 — Alliance of the Northern Powers defeated by Manteuffel — Conflict of 
 the two Policies — Meeting of Parliament discussed — French Refugees in 
 Belgium — General Baraguay dllilliers sent to Constantinople — Mr. 
 Reeve returns from the East — Lord John's Reform Bill — The Emperor 
 of Russia writes to the Queen — Sir James Graham's Views on Reform, 
 &c. — Opponents of the Reform Scheme — Abortive Attempts at Negotia- 
 tion — The Four Powers agree to a Protocol — Lord Palmerston threatens 
 to secede — Lord Palmerston resigns on the Reform Scheme — Lord 
 Palmerston opposed to Reform — Eifects of Lord Palmerston's Resigna- 
 tion — Conciliatory Overtures — Lord Lansdowne's Position — Lord Aber- 
 deen's Account — Lady Palmerston makes up the Dispute — Lord 
 Palmerston withdraws his Resignation — Baraguay d'Hilliers refuses to 
 enter the Black Sea — War resolved on — Review of the Transaction. 
 
 October 4<th. — I went to The Grove on Saturday, and spent 
 great part of the afternoon on Sunday reading the Eastern 
 Question despatches, printed in a Blue Book to be laid by- 
 and-by before Parliament. On Sunday came Westmorland's 
 account of his interviews with the Emperor of Russia and 
 Nesselrode at Olmiitz, which sounded very satisfactory, for 
 the Emperor was very gracious and pacific, and Nesselrode 
 in his name disclaimed in the most positive terms any in- 
 tention of aggrandising himself at the expense of Turkey 
 or o£ claiming any protectorate, or asserting any claims in- 
 ■consistent with the sovereignty and independence of the 
 Sultan, and moreover signified his willingness to make a de- 
 claration to that effect in such form and manner as might 
 be hereafter agreed upon. All this was very well, and 
 served to confirm the notion that, if some sensible men. 
 
1853] TURKISH DECLARATION OP WAR. 93- 
 
 really desirous of settling the question, could be brought 
 together, the accomplishment would not be difficult ; but 
 the distance which separates the negotiating parties from 
 each other, and the necessity of circulating every proposition 
 through so many remote capitals, and the consequent loss 
 of time, have rendered all conferences and pacific projects 
 unavailing. 
 
 Yesterday morning a messenger arrived, bringing the 
 telegraphic despatch from Vienna, which announced the 
 determination of the Turks to go to war, and that a grand 
 Council was to be assembled to decide on the declaration, 
 news which precluded all hope of adjustment ; ' and yester- 
 day afternoon the further account of the decision of the 
 Council was received. Such of the Ministers as are in town 
 met in the afternoon, and it was decided that all the rest 
 should be summoned, and a Cabinet held on Friday next. 
 
 It will be no easy matter to determine what part we shall 
 take, and how far we shall mix ourselves up in the quarrel 
 as belligerents. It will be very fortunate if the Cabinet 
 should be unanimous on this question. Palmerston has 
 hitherto acted very frankly and cordially with Clarendon, 
 but the old instincts are still strong in him, and they are all 
 likely to urge him to recommend strong measures and an 
 active interference. GrranvUle told me last night he thought 
 Palmerston was not at aU displeased at the decision of the 
 Turks, and as he still clings to the idea that Turkey is 
 powerful and full of energy, and he is quite indifferent to the 
 danger to which Austria may be exposed, and would rejoice 
 at her being plunged in fresh difficulties and threatened with 
 fresh rebellions and revolutions, he will rather rejoice than 
 not at the breaking out of hostilities. He will not dare to 
 avow his real propensities, but he will cloak them under other 
 pretences and pretexts, and give effect to them as much as 
 
 1 [The declaration of the Turkish Council or Divan, held on October 3, 
 was to the effect that, if the Principalities -were not evacuated in fifteen days, 
 a state of war would ensue. To this the Emperor of Bussia responded on 
 October 18 by a formal declaration of war. War being declared, the 
 Straits were opened, and, at the request of the Sultan, the allied fleets entered 
 the Dardanelles on October 22.] 
 
^4 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IV. 
 
 lie can. He has been speechifying in Scotland, where, though 
 he spoke very handsomely of Clarendon, he did not say one 
 word in defence of Aberdeen, or anything calculated to put 
 an end to the notion and repeated assertions that he and 
 Aberdeen had been at variance on the Eastern Question. I 
 find Aberdeen feels this omission very much, and it would 
 certainly have been more generous, as well as more just, if he 
 had taken the opportunity of correcting the popular error as 
 to Aberdeen, after having been reaping a great harvest of 
 popularity at his expense. 
 
 Palmerston's position is curious. He is certainly very 
 popular, and there is a high idea of his diplomatic skill and 
 vigour. He is lauded to the skies by all the Radicals who 
 are the admirers of Kossuth and Mazzini, who want to 
 renew the scenes and attempts of 1848, and who fancy that, 
 if Palmerston were at the head of the Government, he would 
 play into their hands. On the other hand, he is equally an 
 ■object of the flattery and praise of the Tories, who cannot get 
 over their being succeeded by a Peelite Prime Minister, and 
 they cling to the belief that there can be no real cordiality, 
 and must be complete difference of opinion, between Aber- 
 deen and Palmerston, and they look forward to the prospect 
 of their disunion to break up this odious Government, and 
 a return to office with Palmerston at their head. These 
 are the political chimeras with which their brains are filled, 
 and which make them take (for very different reasons) the 
 same part as the Radicals on the Eastern Question. My 
 own conviction is that both parties reckon without their host. 
 Palmerston is sixty-nine years old, and it is too late for him 
 io look out for fresh political combinations and other con- 
 nexions, nor would any object of ambition repay him for the 
 dissolution of all his personal and social ties. He will, 
 -therefore, go on as he does now, accepting such popularity 
 as is offered him as a means of enhancing his own im- 
 portance in this Cabinet ; and, in the event of any accident 
 happening to it, of making his own pretensions available. 
 
 October 6th. — Delane was sent for by Lord Aberdeen the 
 night before last, when they had a long conversation on the 
 
1863J FAILURE OF THE PACIFIC POLICY. 95 
 
 state of afiFairs, and Aberdeen told him that he was resolved 
 "to be no party to a war with Russia on such grounds as the 
 present, and he was prepared to resign rather than incur 
 such responsibility. This was the marrow of what he said, 
 and very important, because not unlikely to lead to some 
 difference in the Cabinet, and possibly to its dissolution. 
 
 October 7th. — Clanricarde called here yesterday morning ; 
 ie is very strong against the Government and their policy, 
 a,nd maintains that if we had joined France and sent the fleet 
 Tip when she did, the Emperor of Russia would then have 
 receded, as his obstinacy was entirely caused by his convic- 
 tion that France and England would never remain united, 
 and that nothing would induce the latter to make war on 
 Eussia. He said this idea had been confirmed by the 
 language of Aberdeen, who had continually spoken of his 
 •determination to avoid war to Brunnow and others, and in 
 his letters to Madame de Lieven — la paix a toutprix. Clanri- 
 •carde, however, himself said he would not declare war against 
 Russia, and we might defend Turkey without going that 
 length. I went and told Clarendon all he had said (in greater 
 detail), and he owned that it was more than probable that 
 Aberdeen had held some such language as was attributed to 
 him ; indeed, he had more than once had occasion to re- 
 monstrate with him upon it. Clarendon was very uneasy at 
 the prospect of the discussion about to take place, and 
 •contemplates as extremely probable the breaking-up of the 
 Oovernment on the question of war. Palmerston has been 
 very reserved, but always on the same friendly terms with 
 his colleagues, and Clarendon in particular; but Lady 
 Palmerston as usual talks a qui veut I'entendre of the mis- 
 conduct of the whole affair, and affirms that, if Palmerston 
 had had the management of it, all would have been settled 
 long ago. As matters have turned out, it is impossible 
 not to regret that we were perhaps too moderate and patient 
 at first; for as the course we have adopted has not been 
 successful, it seems unfortunate we did not try another, 
 which might have been more so. But this is judging apres 
 ^oup, and nothing is so easy as to afiHrm that, if something 
 
96 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IV. 
 
 had been done, whicli was not done, success would have 
 attended it. 
 
 October 8th. — The Cahinet went off very well yesterday,, 
 no serious difference of opinion about anything, and a good 
 concurrence both as to what had been done and what ought 
 to be done hereafter. Lord Aberdeen is well pleased. 
 
 Newmarhet, October 12th. — This morning I met the Duke 
 of Bedford on the heath, who told me he wanted very much 
 to speak to me about certain communications he had re- 
 ceived which made him extremely uneasy, and full of appre- 
 hension of coming difficulties, threatening the very existence 
 of the Government. It seems that a short time ago Lord 
 Aberdeen imparted to John Russell his wish to resign, and 
 to place the Government in his hands. He said that he 
 had only taken his present post because his doing so was in- 
 dispensable to the formation of the Government, and had 
 always contemplated Lord John's eventually succeeding him, 
 and he thought the time was now come when he might 
 very properly do so. He did not anticipate any insurmount- 
 able opposition in any quarter, and he should himself speak to- 
 Gladstone about it, who was the most important person, to be 
 consulted, and he was in fact only prevented doing so, as he 
 had intended, by not being able to go to Scotland, where he 
 had expected to meet Gladstone. Whether Aberdeen had 
 spoken to Gladstone since his return to London, the Duke 
 of Bedford did not know. No steps appear to have been 
 taken with regard to Palmerston, nor does it appear that 
 any progress was made in accomplishing this change. The 
 Queen had been apprised of Aberdeen's intentions. Such, 
 was the state of things when a short time ago the Duke 
 received a letter from Lord John, in which he said that 
 matters could not go on as they were, and that there must 
 be some changes ; and that very soon he could no longer act 
 without being primarily responsible for the policy of the 
 Government — in other words, without resuming his post of 
 Prime Minister. This is all the Duke knows, as Lord John 
 entered into no explanations or details, and he is in total 
 ignorance of the grounds of his brusque determination, and 
 
1863] LORD JOHN EUSSELL'S PRETENSIONS. 97 
 
 of what can have occurred to produce it. He sees, however, 
 all the difficulties and embarrassments that in consequence 
 of it are looming in the distance, and how very possible it is 
 that the Government may be broken up. All this we very 
 fuHy discussed, but without either of us being able to guess 
 what it all means, or what the result will be of Lord John's 
 putting his intentions into execution. 
 
 October \Qth. — I came to town yesterday morning, and in 
 the afternoon went to the Foreign Office, and saw Clarendon, 
 to whom I imparted what the Duke of Bedford had told me. 
 He said he knew it all, Aberdeen having told him what had 
 passed between John Eussell and himself; but Jiaving made 
 Clarendon give his word of honour that he would not say a 
 word of it to anybody, so he said, ' I would not mention it 
 even to you, to whom I tell everything.' He then, however, 
 went into the whole question, and told me what had passed, 
 which did not exactly agree with the Duke's story. Accord- 
 ing to Clarendon, Lord John went to Lord Aberdeen before 
 Parliament was up, and told him he could not consent to go 
 on in his present position, to which Aberdeen replied, ' Very 
 well, you only meet my own wishes, and you know I always 
 told you that I should be at any time ready to resign my 
 place to you.' 
 
 Nothing more seems to have taken place at that time, 
 nor till lately, when Lord John went again to Aberdeen, and 
 repeated his determination not to go on ; but this time the 
 communication does not seem to have been received by Aber- 
 deen with the same ready acquiescence in the proposed 
 change, and some plain speaking took place between them. 
 I infer, but as Clarendon did not expressly say so I put it 
 dubiously, that Aberdeen had spoken to Gladstone and ascer- 
 tained that he would by no means agree to the substitution 
 of John Eussell, and should go with Aberdeen if he retired. 
 At all events, while Aberdeen told him that he was prepared, 
 if he wished it, to broach the matter to his colleagues, he 
 intimated to him that it was evident he wanted to turn him 
 out, and put himself in his place, but that he (Aberdeen) 
 could not agree to retire at this moment, and before Parlia- 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
^8 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. IV. 
 
 ment met, and that Lord Jolin had better well consider the 
 step he was about to take, as it would in all probability 
 break up the Government, and asked him if he was prepared 
 "to encounter the odium of doing so, more especially as he 
 must remember that he had only consented to form this 
 Government on Lord John's own assurance to him that he 
 was himself unable to form one. He asked him if he was 
 secure of Palmerston's concurrence in the change he pro- 
 posed, and he replied that he did not expect to find any 
 difficulty in that quarter. This was the substance of what 
 passed between them, Aberdeen being evidently a good deal 
 nettled, and thinking Lord John is behaving very ill. This 
 is Clarendon's opinion also, and he thinks, if Lord John 
 persists, the Government will be inevitably broken up, for a 
 considerable part of the Cabinet will certainly not consent 
 to have Lord John again placed at the head of the Govern- 
 ment. Clarendon does not believe a word of Palmerston's 
 being a party to it, and he knows that both Gladstone and 
 Newcastle would resign. Graham he is not sure of, but 
 inclines to think he would retire with Aberdeen, especially 
 if Aberdeen has any compulsion or ill-usage to complain of. 
 Por the moment, however, this storm has blown over, as Lord 
 John has signified to Aberdeen that he does not mean to 
 press the matter again for the present. The Queen, when it 
 was mentioned to her, was anything but approving of or 
 consenting to the change. 
 
 In all this matter there is little doubt that Lord John has 
 been instigated by his connexions, and they none of them. 
 Lord John himself included, have sense enough to see that 
 the course he is adopting is quite suicidal, and would be not 
 less fatal to his own reputation and popularity than to the 
 Government he belongs to. He failed as Prime Minister, 
 and no credit attended his Administration, and no regret his 
 fall. The popularity he lost, he in good measure regained 
 by his conduct on the formation of this Government, when 
 he waived his own pretensions, and for the public good 
 consented, after having held the first place, to accept the 
 second ; but the world does not know how reluctantly and 
 
1853] THEIR MISCHIEVOUS EFFECTS. 99 
 
 grudgingly he did this, and how sorely his pride and vanity 
 suffered on that occasion. The position he occupied of leader 
 of the House of Commons without an oflSce was anomalous, 
 and many thought it objectionable, but he himself insisted 
 on it, and it proved successful. The House of Commons 
 not only accepted it, but were pleased to see a man so 
 eminent eschewing of&ce with its functions and emoluments, 
 and gratuitously devoting himself to the service and the 
 business of Parliament. He became popular again in the 
 House, and would have been more so if he had not chosen 
 to quit the Treasury Bench early every afternoon, and go 
 down to Richmond, leaving Palmerston to do his work, and 
 ingratiate himself with the House. Aberdeen reminded Lord 
 John that this position, which he now found intolerable, was 
 one he had chosen to make for himself ; that he had not only 
 declared he could not form a Government, but that every 
 office had been at his disposal, and he had been invited to 
 take the greatest offices, or, if he preferred it, any smaller 
 one, but that he had insisted on holding none. Aberdeen is 
 xjuite right not to resign now, or before Parliament meets, 
 where he must appear as Minister to defend his own 
 policy. 
 
 I expect that Lord John will not renew his demands 
 -for some time, if at all ; but if he does, this is what will pro- 
 bably take place. The Government will be broken up, Lord 
 John will try to form one and will fail, and the Government 
 will again be constituted minus Lord John. Nobody would, 
 I think, go out with him. This is supposing (which I think 
 oertain) that Palmerston would not make common cause 
 with him, but prefer to remain with the rest. There would 
 then remain the great difficulty of the lead of the House of 
 •Commons and the part Palmerston would play ; but, danger- 
 ous as it would be, it would probably be found necessary to 
 irust him with the lead, most distasteful though it would be 
 both to Aberdeen and to the Queen. 
 
 October XQth. — The Emperor of Russia moved heaven and 
 earth to bring about a new Holy Alliance between himself, 
 Austria, and Prussia, in which he would have succeeded if 
 
 H 2 
 
1 00 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IV.. 
 
 it had not been for the wisdom and firmness of Manteuffel,* 
 who was proof against all his seductions. Austria consented, 
 but only on condition that Prussia did likewise. The King- 
 of Prussia would have given way with his characteristic 
 weakness, but ManteufFel would not hear of it, and contrived 
 to keep his master straight. In an interview of two hours 
 between the Emperor and Manteuffel tete-a-tete, the Emperor 
 employed all the means he could think of to prevail on the 
 Prussian Minister, but all in vain ; he refused positively to 
 allow Prussia to depart from her neutrality. This had the 
 effect of keeping Austria neutral also, and that of making 
 the Emperor more inclined to peace ; but the Turkish decla- 
 ration of war and peremptory summons to him to quit the 
 Principalities leave him no alternative but that of taking 
 up the gauntlet thus thrown down. 
 
 November 2nd. — All last week at Newmarket, during which 
 nothing of moment occurred but the renewed attempts at 
 negotiation, and the consent of the Turks to defer the com- 
 mencement of hostilities. I saw Clarendon the day before 
 yesterday, who told me how matters stood, and showed 
 me a despatch just received from Vienna with a copy of a 
 very moderate and pacific Note from Nesselrode to Buol, 
 showing that there is every disposition at St. Petersburg 
 to patch matters up. Clarendon told me that he was heartily 
 sick of the whole question, in which the double trouble and 
 difficulty were cast upon him of reconciling the Russians and 
 the Turks and of preserving agreement in the Cabinet, where 
 Aberdeen was always opposing measures of hostility towards 
 Eussia, and Palmerston for pushing them forward. He said 
 he steered between the two, and that he and John Eussell 
 were more nearly agreed than any of the others ; he told me 
 at the same time a characteristic trait of Palmerston. The 
 Turks having determined to plunge into war against the 
 advice of their protectors, especially against our's, and it 
 
 1 [Count Manteuffel was the Prussian Minister for Foreign Affairs, and 
 the leadin;^ member of the Prussian Cabinet. He was accused of sacrificing- 
 Prussian interests to those of Austria at the Conference of Olmiltz ; but in 
 fact he succeeded in defeating -what would have been a very formidable 
 confederacy of the German Powers with Russia.] 
 
J 853] OBJECTIONS OF LORD PALMERSTON. 101 
 
 liaving been made known to us that the Sultan and hig 
 Ministers were not disinclined to be guided by us, but that 
 they were themselves overruled and driven to this extreme 
 course by the Grand Council, it became necessary in Claren- 
 don's opinion to notify to the Turkish Government that, 
 since they had thought fit to take their own independent 
 course, we should reserve to ourselves the right of acting 
 according to our own discretion, and not consider ourselves 
 bound to be dragged into a war at the heels of the Grand 
 •Council, which is an assembly of ruffians and fanatics, by 
 whom it would be utterly inconsistent with the dignity of 
 ■our Crown that our policy should be governed and influenced. 
 It seems too that this is a point on which the Queen feels 
 very strongly, and is exceedingly anxious that the honour 
 and dignity of the Crown should not be compromised. Ac- 
 •cordingly Clarendon drew up a despatch to this effect, to 
 which the Cabinet acceded, and Palmerston also, though with 
 some reluctance. However, he not only saw the proposed 
 despatch, but he made some alteration in it with his own 
 hand, thereby of course subscribing to it. Just after this 
 ■Clarendon went to Windsor, and submitted the despatch to 
 the Queen and the Prince ; they objected to it that it was 
 not strong enough in their sense, but Clarendon prevailed 
 upon them to waive their objections, and, as it had been 
 a.greed to in the Cabinet, to let it go. But before it was 
 gone Clarendon received a letter from Palmerston, strongly 
 objecting to the despatch altogether, and desiring Clarendon 
 to inform Lord Aberdeen that he would be no party to such 
 a communication. This was extremely embarrassing. Clar- 
 endon spoke to Aberdeen, and afterwards (at Aberdeen's 
 suggestion) informed the Queen what had occurred. Her 
 Majesty said, ' I advise you not to attach much importance 
 to this communication. I know Lord Palmerston from much 
 experience, and it is probably only an attempt to bully, which, 
 if you take no notice of it, you will hear no more of.' The 
 result justified the Queen's sagacity, for Clarendon sent off 
 the despatch, and at the same time wrote word to Palmer- 
 ston that he had done so, giving him sundry reasons why he 
 
102 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. IV, 
 
 could not do otherwise, to which he received in reply a very 
 good-humoured letter, merely saying that, as it was gone, it 
 was useless to say any more about it, and probably it would 
 do no harm. 
 
 There has been talk abroad and discussion in the Cabinet- 
 about the meeting of Parliament. Lord John and Lord 
 Aberdeen both wished Parliament to meet, the first because 
 he is always hankering after the House of Commons, the- 
 latter because he wished Parliament to decide on the question 
 of peace or war, so that in the one alternative his hands, 
 might be strengthened, or in the other he might have a 
 pretext for resigning. But both Clarendon and Palmerston 
 were much against it, and now that there is a fresh prospect 
 of peace, it is rendered more unnecessary and undesirable. 
 
 King Leopold is here, still uneasy (though less than he 
 was) upon the subject of his demeles with the Emperor of the 
 French. The cause of them is the libellous publications of 
 the French refugees in Belgium. They compose the most 
 outrageous attacks of a personal nature on him and the 
 Empress, which they have printed in Belgium, and get these 
 papers smuggled into Prance, and disseminated amongst the 
 lower classes, and particularly the troops. This naturally 
 gives the Emperor great offence, and Leopold would afford 
 him redress if he could ; but the Constitution was made by 
 journalists, and the unrestrained liberty of the press is so- 
 interwoven with the Constitution, that the Legislature itself 
 has no power to deal with the case, nor any power short of a 
 Constituent Assembly. All this Leopold has submitted to 
 his powerful neighbour, and their relations seem to be more 
 amicable ; for very civil letters have passed between the two 
 monarchs, through the Prince de Chimay, whom Leopold. 
 sent to compliment the Emperor when he went lately to 
 Lille. 
 
 November 10th. — All attempts at settling the Eastern. 
 Question by JSfotes have been rudely interrupted by the 
 actual commencement of hostilities. Meanwhile the Notes 
 sped their way, but at Vienna it was deemed no longer 
 possible to settle it in this manner, but that there must now 
 
1853] LOED STEATFOED'S INPLUENCi!;. 103 
 
 be a regular treaty of peace, the terms of wliich the Allies 
 might prescribe, and there is now a question of having a 
 Congress or Conference here, to carry on the affair. It is, 
 however, difficult to make out what the French are at, and, 
 with aU our intimacy, we must keep on our guard against all 
 contingencies on the part of our Imperial neighbour. Nobody 
 knows what is his real motive for sending Baraguay d'Hilliers 
 to Constantinople. Francis Baring, when I told him of this 
 appointment, said it could be only for the purpose of quar- 
 relling, for he was the most violent of men, and was certain 
 to quarrel with whomsoever he had to deal. If this be so, his 
 quarrelling with Lord Stratford is inevitable, and it is by 
 no means improbable that Louis Napoleon is tired of playing 
 second fiddle to us, and sends this General there for the 
 express purpose of counteracting our superior influence, and, 
 by the tender of military counsel and aid, to substitute his 
 own for ours. 
 
 Reeve is just returned from the Bast, having spent some 
 time at Constantinople, and he came home by Vienna. Lord 
 Stratford treated him with great kindness and hospitality, 
 and talked to him very openly. He says that Stratford 
 exercised a great but not unlimited influence and control 
 over the Turkish Government, and of course is very jealous 
 of the influence he possesses; for example, he boasted to 
 Eeeve that he had carried a great point, and had procured 
 the appointment of the candidate he favoured as Greek 
 Patriarch, an interference which, if it had been made by the 
 Emperor of Eussia, whose concern it is much more than our's, 
 would have excited in us great indignation. Such an exer- 
 cise of influence and in such a matter, of which the Eussians 
 are well aware, is calculated to exasperate them, and it is 
 not unnatural that the Emperor should feel that, if any 
 foreign influence is to prevail in Turkey, he has a better right 
 than any other Power to establish his own. Eeeve has a 
 very poor opinion of the power, resources, and political con- 
 dition of Turkey, and does not doubt the military success of 
 the Eussians. He says that the corruption is enormous— 
 everybody bribes or is bribed. The Greek Patriarch whom 
 
104 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. IV. 
 
 Stratford got appointed had to pay large sums to Eedschid 
 Pasha and his son. The whole State is rotten to the core. 
 
 November 12th. — This morning John Eussell breaks 
 ground on the Reform plan, by referring his scheme to a 
 Committee of the Cabinet, which is to meet at his house, 
 consisting, besides himself, of Granville, Newcastle, Graham, 
 Charles Wood, and Palmerston. I am afraid he will propose 
 a lower franchise, probably bl., in spite of many warnings 
 and the signs of the times, which are very grave and alarm- 
 ing — nothing but strikes and deep-rooted discontent on the 
 part of the working classes. I am in correspondence with 
 Ellesmere on the subject, and have sent his letters to John 
 Eussell, who does not appear disposed to admit the force of 
 his reasoning against lowering the franchise. This Com- 
 mittee will probably be on the whole favourable to a demo- 
 cratic measure, Lord John from old prejudices and obstinacy, 
 Graham from timidity, Newcastle because he has espoused 
 Liberal principles ; Granville will be inclined to go with 
 Lord John, and Palmerston alone is likely to stand out 
 against a democratic scheme, unless Charles Wood should 
 go with him, of whose opinions on the question of Eeform I 
 know nothing. Aberdeen is himself a Reformer, but I hear 
 he is resolved not to consent to a 51. franchise. I confess to 
 great misgivings about this project in the present state of 
 the country, and dread the further progress of democratic 
 power. The success of the great Reform Bill and the 
 experiences of twenty years without any of the apprehen- 
 sions of the anti-Reformers having been realised, are now in 
 my opinion sources of danger, as they create an opinion that 
 progress, as it is called, is not only necessary, but perfectly 
 safe. It consoles me for growing old that I shall not live to 
 see the confusion in which this well-ordered State is likely 
 to be involved, the period of peril and suffering it will have 
 to go through, and the reaction, which will restore order 
 and tranquillity at the expense of that temperate and rational 
 freedom, which we alone of all the nations of the earth are 
 in possession of. I see no reason why, if we choose reck- 
 lessly, and without any cause, to cast away the good we 
 
18S3] EFFECTS OF DEMOCEATIC EEFOEM. 105 
 
 enjoy, we should be exempted from paying the penalty whicli 
 our folly and wickedness would so richly deserve. The above 
 question in all its ramifications is infinitely more important 
 than the Russian and Turkish quarrel, but there is no saying 
 how the former may be indirectly and consequentially affected 
 through the latter by means of the political differences which 
 may arise out of it. Everything now looks black in the 
 political horizon, and the war which has begun between the 
 principals can hardly fail to extend itself sooner or later to 
 the collateral parties. 
 
 November Ibth. — Yesterday morning having met Clarendon 
 on the railway, he from Windsor, I from Hillingdon, I got 
 into the carriage and went home with him. He told me all he 
 had to tell, of what he had to go through with the conflicting 
 proposals of Palmerston and Aberdeen in the Cabinet : the 
 latter as averse as ever to any strong measures, and always 
 full of consideration for the Emperor ; the former anxious for 
 war, and with the same confidence and rashness which were 
 «o conspicuous in him during the Syrian question, insisting 
 that nothing will be so easy as to defeat Eussia, and he now 
 goes the length of urging that none of the old treaties 
 between her and the Porte should be renewed. All this 
 jactance, however, does not go much beyond words, for he 
 evinces no disposition to separate from his colleagues or 
 to insist on any course which the majority of the Cabinet 
 object to. 
 
 The Emperor of Eussia has taken the unusual step of 
 writing an autograph letter to the Queen. Brunnow, who 
 was rather puzzled, took the letter to Aberdeen, and asked 
 what he was to do with it. Aberdeen told him to take it 
 to Clarendon, who sent it to the Queen. She sent it to him 
 to read, and he suggested certain heads of an answer, but 
 did not communicate the letter, nor the fact of its having 
 been received, to any one but Aberdeen. The Queen wrote 
 an answer in French, and he says a very good one. 
 
 Cowley has sent him an account of a conversation he 
 lately had with the Emperor Napoleon, in which he said that 
 the condition of France and the rise in the price of pro- 
 
106 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. IV, 
 
 visions, so deeply affecting tlie working classes, made him 
 more tlian ever bent upon preserving peace, and lie proposed 
 that the Powers should be invited to concur with England 
 and France in drawing up a scheme of pacification and 
 arrangement, which should be tendered to the belligerents, 
 and whichever should refuse to accept it should be treated as 
 an enemy. Clarendon said that there were many objections 
 to this plan, but he seemed to believe in the sincerity of the 
 Emperor's desire for peace, in spite of the opposite presump- 
 tion afforded by Baraguay d'Hilliers' mission, and its accom- 
 paniment of French officers. He attributes that mission to 
 the wounded vanity of France, and the determination of the 
 Government to send some man who shall dispute the in- 
 fluence of Stratford, and assert that of France. The character 
 of Stratford had been fully explained to Baraguay d'Hilliers, 
 and he went, ostensibly at least, with instructions and an 
 intention to act with him in harmony, but this the character 
 of the two ambassadors will probably render quite impossible. 
 
 The Queen told Clarendon an anecdote of Palmerston, 
 showing how exclusively absorbed he is with, foreign politics. 
 Her Majesty has been much interested in and alarmed at 
 the strikes and troubles in the North, and asked Palmerston 
 for details about them, when she found he knew nothing 
 at all. One morning, after previous enquiries, she said to 
 him, ' Pray, Lord Palmerston, have you any news ? ' To 
 which he replied, ' No, Madam, I have heard nothing ; but 
 it seems certain the Turhs have crossed the Danube.' 
 
 In the afternoon I called on Graham at the Admiralty, 
 and had a long talk with him about the Government and its 
 prospects, and the disposition and intentions of John Rus- 
 sell and of Palmerston. He is, contrary to custom, very 
 cheerful and sanguine on these points ; he was apprised of 
 all that Lord John has said and done, but except on one 
 occasion, just about the time of the prorogation, has had no 
 communication with Lord John himself on the subject. He 
 is now satisfied that Lord John has abandoned his designs, 
 and has made up his mind to go on as he is, and he infers 
 this from his frank and friendly conduct about the Reform 
 
1853] LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S REFORM BILL. 107 
 
 Bill, which he has not kept to himself, but submitted to a 
 Committee for the purpose of bringing it before all his col- 
 leagues in a very good spirit, and quite willing to have 
 Palmerston on this Committee, from whom the greatest 
 opposition was to be expected. Graham said their first 
 meeting had gone off very pleasantly, and Palmerston had 
 urged much less objection than he had expected ; he thinks 
 therefore that his own reflexions and his knowledge of the 
 difficulties which would oppose themselves to his purpose 
 have determined Lord John to acquiesce in his present posi- 
 tion, nor is he afraid of Palmerston separatijig himself from 
 this Cabinet, thinking that at his age he will not speculate 
 so deeply for the chance of greater power and a higher place, 
 to be purchased at the certain sacrifice of all his social re- 
 lations and personal connexions, and he therefore expects 
 Palmerston will conform to the general sentiments and de- 
 cisions of his colleagues, both as to foreign policy and to 
 Reform. Graham said he approved entirely of Lord John's 
 scheme, and thought his proposed measure good and safe. 
 
 November 27th. — Council at Windsor on Friday 25th. 
 The Queen was afflicted by the Queen of Portugal's death, 
 though they never saw each other but once when they were 
 children. I heard the particulars of the Reform Bill, which 
 (if there is to be one at all) seems as little mischievous as 
 can be. It seems to have enountered little or no opposition 
 in the Cabinet, and Lord John considers it as having been 
 accepted and settled there. Lord Lansdowne has not pro- 
 nounced himself positively ; but though, no doubt, he dislikes 
 it exceedingly, they think he will not retire upon it, and up 
 to the present time he has indicated no such intention. 
 Graham, who is always frightened, told me on Friday he 
 was very uneasy lest Lansdowne should decline to be a party 
 to it. 
 
 Palmerston has written a letter to Lord John, strong in 
 the beginning, denouncing the measure as unnecessary and 
 unwise, and complaining of his having originally committed 
 his colleagues to it, by declaring his own opinion without 
 any previous consultation and concert with them. Then^ 
 
108 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IV. 
 
 after criticising the Bill (ably, as I am told), he ends by 
 announcing that he shall consent to it. He sent copies of 
 this letter to Aberdeen and to Lansdowne. 
 
 I brought Clarendon from the station to Downing Street, 
 when he told me that he had begun some fresh attempts at 
 renewing negotiations. The proposal of the Emperor Napo- 
 leon to force terms on the two parties would not do, but 
 he had sent a proposal of some sort (I could not exactly 
 make out what), which, contrary to his expectation, Buol 
 had agreed to ; but he did not seem very sanguine about 
 any result from this beginning. He said nothing could 
 exceed the difficulties of the case, nor the embarrassments 
 of his own position. The Turks are now indisposed to agree 
 to anything, or to make any concessions whatever, and of 
 course the Emperor of Russia neither will nor can make 
 peace and withdraw, without some plausible satisfaction. 
 Then at home the difficulty is just as great between Palmer- 
 ston, who is all for going ahead, and wants nothing less 
 than war with Russia, and Aberdeen, who is in the other 
 extreme — objecting to everything, and proposing nothing. 
 John Russell is very reasonable, and agrees almost entirely 
 with Clarendon ; but whenever he thinks he is going to be 
 outbid by Palmerston, is disposed to urge some violent 
 measures also. He said he had a regular scene with Aber- 
 deen the other day. After this Note (or whatever it was) 
 had been discussed and agreed to in the Cabinet, and aU 
 settled, Aberdeen came into his room, and began finding fault 
 with it, and raising all sorts of objections, when Clarendon, 
 out of all patience, broke out : ' Really, this is too bad. Ton 
 come now, after it has all been settled in the Cabinet where 
 you let it pass, and make all sorts of objections. And this 
 is the way you do about everything ; you object to all that is 
 proposed, and you never suggest anything yourself. What 
 is it you want ? Will you say what you would have done ? ' 
 He declares he said all this with the greatest vivacity, being 
 really exasperated. Aberdeen had nothing to say, and 
 knocked under. The truth seems to be that the attacks 
 upon him in the newspapers (though they don't know it) 
 
1853] PROTOCOL OF THE FOUR POWERS. 109' 
 
 are pretty well justified, and very little exaggerated ; nor is 
 the idea of Palmerston's real inclination much mistaken. 
 They have by accident very nearly hit upon the truth. Aber- 
 deen, it seems, objects particularly to have any Conference 
 here, and if there is to be anything of the kind, it seems 
 likely to take place at Vienna, where, however, somebody 
 would be sent to assist, if not to supersede, Westmorland. 
 
 December lOiA. — The Protocol just signed at Vienna 
 brings the four Powers together again, and Austria not only 
 signed it with alacrity, but Buol told Westmorland, if the 
 Emperor of Russia was found unmanageable, ' Nous irons avec 
 vous jusqu'au bout.' The Turks are now desired to say on 
 what terms they will make peace, and I expect they will reply 
 that they will not make peace at all till the Principalities 
 are evacuated. It seems very doubtful whether this fresh 
 opening will lead to any result between two Powers so im- 
 practicable as the belligerents. 
 
 The Duke of Bedford has been endeavouring to persuade 
 Lord John to reconsider the franchise in his Reform Bill, 
 and Lord John tells him not to be afraid of its going too 
 low, and that there is more chance of its appearing too 
 niggardly. Aberdeen said it was not yet settled. Mean- 
 while, the Bill is drawn and privately printed. Lord John 
 considers it to have been accepted by the Cabinet, and that 
 he is sure of the acquiescence of the two principal dis- 
 sentients — Lansdowne and Palmerston. The former went 
 out of town, only saying that he hoped the landed interest 
 would have its due share of influence. Palmerston's letter 
 I have already mentioned ; but the other day Lady Pal- 
 merston held forth to the Duke against the Bill, and said 
 that it was not settled at all, but was still under the con- 
 sideration of the Cabinet; from which he infers that Pal- 
 merston is still making or prepared to make objections and 
 difficulties. Between Reform and the Eastern Question, 
 I think this Government would infallibly be broken up but 
 from the impossibility of another being formed. I am still 
 persuaded Palmerston will not try a new combination, and. 
 break with all his old friends and associates for the purpose 
 
1 10 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA, [Chap. IV. 
 
 of putting himself at the head of some fresh but unformed 
 combination. Great as his ambition is, he will not sacrifice 
 so much to it, and risk so much as this would oblige him to do. 
 December 12th. — I begin to think that I am after all mis- 
 taken as to Palmerston's intentions, and that his ambition 
 will drive him to sacrifice everything and risk everything, 
 in spite of his age and of all the difficulties he will have 
 to encounter. I have said what passed between the Duke 
 of Bedford and Lady Palmerston about Reform. This 
 morning the Duke of Bedford came here, and told me he 
 had called on Clarendon on Saturday, when he said to 
 Clarendon that he was very uneasy about Palmerston, and 
 thought he was meditating something, though he did not 
 know exactly what he was at. Clarendon interrupted him 
 — ' Certainly, he is meditating breaking up the Govern- 
 ment ; in fact, he told me so.' At this moment it was an- 
 nounced that two or three foreign Ministers were waiting to 
 see him, when he abruptly broke off the conference, and they 
 parted. I said, ' Depend upon it, what Clarendon alluded 
 to was not the Eeform Bill, but the Eastern Question ; and 
 it is on that that Palmerstoa is making a stir.' The Duke 
 said he thought so too ; indeed, he was sure of it, because 
 Clarendon did not trouble himself about Eeform, and he had 
 already told him more than once what excessive trouble and 
 annoyance he had had between the widely opposite views 
 and opinions of Aberdeen and Palmerston, and that he had 
 only been able to go on at all from the agreement between 
 Lord John and himself. However, Lord John is to see Aber- 
 deen this morning, and his brother afterwards ; and before the 
 day is over we shall learn something more of this disagree- 
 able matter. My belief is that the differences between 
 Aberdeen and Palmerston have arrived at a height which 
 threatens a break up, and that, with reference to this occur- 
 ring, Palmerston is also going back on the Eeform question ; 
 that if he does separate from the Government, he may reserve 
 to himself to work hoth questions. But I refrain from further 
 speculations, as in a few hours they will be resolved into 
 certainty of some sort. 
 
1853] LOED PALMEESTON'S EESIGNATION. Ill 
 
 Panshanger, December 14th. — It turned out that Palmer- 
 ston had struck on account of Reform, and not (ostensibly, at 
 least) about foreign affairs. John Eussell was indignant, and 
 inveighed to his brother against Palmerston in terms of 
 great bitterness, saying he was absolutely faithless, and no 
 reliance to be placed on him. Of this fact these pages 
 contain repeated proofs, but I own I am amazed at his 
 making this flare up on the question of Reform. But his 
 whole conduct is inexplicable, and there is no making out 
 what he is at. The news of the Turkish disaster in the 
 Black Sea is believed, but Government will do nothing about 
 it till they receive authentic intelligence and detailed ac- 
 counts of the occurrence.' So Clarendon told Reeve on 
 Monday, but he is disposed to take a decisive part if it all 
 turns out to be true ; and yesterday Delane had a long con- 
 versation with Aberdeen, who owned that if the Russians 
 (as they suppose) attacked a convoy of transports at anchor, 
 it is a very strong case, and he thought war much more 
 probable than it was a few days ago, and he did not speak 
 as if he was determined in no case to declare it. This does 
 not surprise me, in spite of his previous tone ; for he has gone 
 so far that he may be compelled in common consistency to 
 go farther. 
 
 London, December 17th. — Yesterday morning the news 
 of Palmerston's resignation was made public. It took 
 everybody by surprise, few having been aware that he ob- 
 jected to the Reform measure in contemplation. I received 
 "the intelligence at Panshanger, and as soon as I got to town 
 went to Clarendon to hear all about it. He had been quite 
 prepared for it, Palmerston having told him that he could 
 not take this Bill. Clarendon says Palmerston behaved per- 
 fectly well, and in a very straightforward way from first to 
 last. When he was invited to join the Government, he told 
 
 1 [The Eussian fleet in the Black Sea attacked and destroyed the Turkish 
 squadron in the harbour of Sinope on November 30. This decisive event, 
 -which was at variance with the previous declarations of the Emperor of 
 Russia, compelled the British and French Governments to order their fleets 
 to enter the Black Sea and occupy it. The Russian fleet withdrew within 
 the harbours of Sebastopol.] 
 
112 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IV, 
 
 Aberdeen and Lansdowne that he was afraid the Eeform 
 Bill would bring about another separation between them. 
 When the time arrived for discussing the BUI, and John 
 Russell proposed to him to be on the Committee, he said 
 that he accepted, because, although he saw no necessity for 
 any Reform Bill, and he entirely disapproved of John Russell's 
 having committed himself to such a measure, he would not 
 (as matters stood) absolutely object to any measure whatever, 
 but would join the Committee, discuss it, state all his objec- 
 tions, and endeavour to procure such alterations in it as 
 might enable him to accept it. Finding himself unable to- 
 do this with the Committee, he still waited till the measure 
 had been brought before the whole Cabinet; and when he 
 found that his objections were unavailing, and that the 
 majority of his colleagues were resolved to take Lord John's 
 scheme, nothing was left for him but to retire. He said he 
 might have consented to a smaller measure of disfranchise- 
 ment, and the appropriation of the disposable seats to the 
 counties, but to the enlarged town i-epresentation, and espe- 
 cially to the proposed franchise, he could not agree ; and 
 moreover he said he was not prepared, at Ms time of life, 
 to encounter endless debates in the House of Commons on 
 such a measure. The first time. Clarendon said, he had ever 
 heard him acknowledge that he had a time of life. Clarendon 
 showed me a very friendly letter Palmerston had written to 
 him, expressing regret at leaving them, and saying he 
 (Clarendon) had a very difficult task before him, and, ' as the 
 Irishman said, I wish yer Honner well through it.' He has 
 never hinted even at any dissatisfaction as to foreign affairs 
 as forming a part of his grounds for resigning. 
 
 Clarendon said he thought it would ere long be the means 
 of breaking up the Government, and I thought so too ; but, on 
 reflecting more deliberately upon the matter, I am disposed 
 to take a different view of the political probability, and of 
 the part which Palmerston will play. As I have been so 
 constantly opposed to him, and have both entertained and 
 expressed so bad an opinion of him on a great many occa- 
 sions, I feel the more both bound and inclined to do justice 
 
1853] MOTIVES OF LORD PALMERSTON'S RESIGNATION. 113 
 
 to his conduct upon this one, in which, so far as I am in- 
 formed, he really has been irreproachable. The first thing- 
 which seems to have suggested itself to everybody is that he 
 has resigned with the intention of putting himself at the 
 head of the opponents of Eeform, of joining the Derbyite 
 party, and ultimately coming into office with Derby, or 
 forming, if possible, a Government of his own. I doubt all 
 this, and judge of his future conduct by his past. If he had 
 been actuated by selfish and separate objects of ambition, 
 and really contemplated transferring himself from the Whig 
 to the Tory party, or setting up an independent standard, 
 instead of breaking with this Cabinet on the question of 
 Eeform, he would certainly have done so upon the Turkish 
 war, as he easily could. He would then have gone out 
 amidst shouts of applause ; he would have put the Govern- 
 ment into an immense difficulty, and he would have reserved 
 to himself to take whatever course he thought fit about 
 Eeform. He has acted much more honestly, but less cun- 
 ningly for his own interest, supposing that he has the views 
 and projects that are attributed to him. Lord Lansdowne 
 is placed in great embarrassment, for he agrees entirely with 
 Palmerston ; and if he acts consistently on his own convic- 
 tions, he will retire too — that is, cease to form a part of the 
 Cabinet. Clarendon expects he will do so. 
 
 Hatchford, December 21st. — On Monday when I came to 
 town from Goodwood, where I went on Sunday, I found a 
 letter from Lady Palmerston, very friendly indeed. She 
 said her son William had told her what I had said to him 
 about Palmerston and his resignation, which had gratified 
 her. She then went on to explain why he had resigned, and 
 why at this moment instead of waiting longer ; she said he 
 would have accepted a Eeform Bill, but wanted Lord John's 
 to be altered, had proposed alterations, and written to 
 Aberdeen to urge them, and upon Aberdeen's reply that his 
 suggestions could not be taken, he had no alternative but to 
 resign, and he had thought it fairer to the Government to 
 do so at once, and give them time to make their arrange- 
 ments, than to put it off till the last moment, when Parlia- 
 
 TOL. I. I 
 
114 REIGN OF QUEEN VIOTOEIA. [Chap. IV. 
 
 ment was on the point of meeting. I confess I tliink he was 
 right in so doing, and I was greatly provoked with the 
 ' Times ' for attacking him, twitting and sneering at him, 
 and finding fault with him for his desertion ; so provoked 
 that I wrote a letter to the 'Times,' which appeared on 
 Tuesday, with my opinion thereupon. 
 
 On Tuesday morning I was surprised at receiving a letter 
 from Lord Lansdowne, entreating I would tell him what was 
 said, and what was the state of public opinion about Palmer- 
 ston's resignation, giving me to understand that he was as 
 yet undecided what course he should adopt, and should not 
 decide at all events till he had seen the Queen next Friday ; 
 he also said that he had been greatly surprised at this hap- 
 pening ' so soon, whatever might have been the case later, 
 having occurred (marvellous to say) before there had been 
 any decision taken by the Government as such on the whole 
 matter, or any ground for me at least to think that issue 
 would be joined upon it without that apparently essential 
 preliminary.' I wrote to him in reply all I had heard of 
 the reports and notions floating about, and said I hoped his 
 determination would eventually be not to withdraw, and I 
 sent him Lady Palmerston's letter to me, which I said 
 seemed to me somewhat at variance with his statement, in 
 as much as Palmerston evidently considered that the matter 
 was settled. I don't understand, however, why he wrote to 
 Aberdeen, if the question was still before the Cabinet, and 
 not yet definitively settled. Assuming Lord Lansdowne's 
 statement to have been correct, Palmerston ought to have 
 disputed the matter in the Cabinet, and if overruled there, 
 he might have resigned, and not till then. 
 
 Delane went to Aberdeen, and asked him for his version 
 of the affair, when he said at once he had no hesitation in 
 saying that the Eastern Question was the cause and the sole 
 cause of Palmerston's resignation; that he had all along 
 been opposing what was done, and might have resigned 
 upon it any time for months past, and that but for that 
 question he would have swallowed the Eeform Bill. Delane 
 observed, if this was true, Palmerston had acted a very high- 
 
1853] LADY PALMEESTON'S STATEMENT. 115 
 
 minded and disinterested part. It lias been imprudent of 
 the Government papers to insist so sirenuously that Palmer- 
 «ton resigned solely on account of Reform, and that there 
 was no difference on foreign policy, because this elicited a 
 violent article in the ' Morning Post,' insisting in turn that 
 Hhe Eastern Question was the real cause of his retirement, 
 and everybody will believe that this was inserted or dictated 
 by himself. It is strange to find myself the advocate and 
 apologist of Palmerston, when the preceding pages are 
 brimful of censure of his acts and bad opinion of his cha- 
 racter; but, whatever prejudices I may have or have had 
 against him, they never shall prevent my saying what I 
 believe to be true, and doing him ample justice, when I 
 think that he is acting honourably, fairly, and conscien- 
 -tiously. This letter of Lord Lansdowne's has a little shaken 
 my convictions, but still I am struck with the fact of his 
 having refrained from resigning on the Eastern Question, 
 •when by so doing he might have damaged the Grovernment 
 rimmensely, and obtained for himself increased popularitj'- 
 -and considerable power if these were his objects. 
 
 London, December 22nd. — I went to town this morning, 
 called on Lady Palmerston, found her in good spirits and 
 humour, and vastly pleased at all the testimonies of appro- 
 Tsation and admiration he has received. She exclaimed with 
 exultation, 'He is always in the right in everything he 
 4oes,' a position I could not confirm, and which I did not 
 •care to dispute. We then talked of the present crisis, when 
 io my no small amazement she said that she saw no reason 
 now why it should not be made up, and he should not 
 remain, that he left the Government with regret, liked his 
 -office, and had no wish to quit his colleagues, but could not 
 consent to such a measure as Lord John had proposed. She 
 .then recapitulated what she wrote to me, and complained 
 of Aberdeen's having replied to Palmerston's note in such a 
 .style of peremptory refusal ; if he had only expressed regret 
 at the difference, and proposed a fresh reference to the 
 Cabinet, it might have been avoided. Still, she thought if 
 -they were disposed to be reasonable it was possible to repair 
 
 1 2 
 
116 EEiaN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [CnAr. IV.- 
 
 the breacli. Palmerston had never had any answer to his 
 letter of resignation, no notice liad been taken of it, nor had 
 the Queen's acceptance of his resignation ever been conTeyed 
 to him. She talked with bitterness of the articles in the 
 ' Times,' and of his resignation having been so hastily pub- 
 lished, and said he had all along been very much dissatisfied 
 with the conduct of the Eastern Question, and convinced that,. 
 if his advice had been taken at first, we should not be in our 
 present dilemma and embarrassing position, and he had only 
 consented to stay in the Government, when overruled in his. 
 suggestions, because he thought he could nevertheless effect 
 some good by remaining, and tender essential aid to Claren- 
 don. I expressed the strongest desire that the matter might 
 be patched up, and entreated her to try and bring it about. 
 Palmerston was gone out, so I did not see him. 
 
 I then went to the Of&ce, and directly wrote to Graham,, 
 who was at the Cabinet, begging him to see me, and telling 
 him I had reason to believe Palmerston was not disinclined 
 to stay. Meanwhile Bessborough called on me, and told 
 me all the reports from Marylebone and other parts of the- 
 metropolis, as well as the oountry ; all represented Palmer- 
 ston's popularity to be immense, great enthusiasm about the- 
 Eastern Question, and profound indifference about Reform ;. 
 and he said there was a report that Palmerston was not un- 
 likely to stay in, and that it was of the greatest importance 
 that he should. He also said that Hayter declared there- 
 was no chance whatever of their carrying the Eeform Bill 
 in the House of Commons, especially if Palmerston headed 
 the opposition to it. 
 
 He was hardly gone when Graham came to mo I told 
 him all that had passed between Lady Palmerston and me^ 
 and entreated him to see if something could not be done. 
 He said he himself should be too happy to bring it about 
 if possible, and he had no personal ground of complaint,, 
 but he did not know how Lord John might be disposed, 
 particularly as Palmerston in one of his letters had spoken, 
 in very uncourteous terms of him and Aberdeen. He said 
 it was wonderful how Palmerston, quite unlike most men. 
 
1853] A BECONCILIATION. 117 
 
 •was often intemperate witli his pen, wliile lie was always 
 very guarded in his language. In reply to some of the 
 things Lady Palmerston had said, he told me that the dififi- 
 -culty was that Palmerston's objections went to the principle 
 • of the measure, and though the details might still be open 
 to discussion, it was impossible they could concede the 
 3)rinciples of the measui-e without dishonour, and this was 
 not to be thought of. That with regard to fresh reference 
 to the Cabinet, Palmerston had stated all his objections to 
 the Cabinet, when they had been considered and overruled, 
 therefore another reference to the Cabinet would have been 
 useless. He asked me if Palmerston was prepared to give 
 up his objections. I said I presumed not, but he must 
 understand that I did not know what he was prepared to 
 concede or require, only what I had repeated, that he was 
 not disinclined still to remain if the matter admitted of 
 adjustment. He said the office was still open, and that the 
 Cabinet then going on was not about filling it up, but 
 entirely on the Eastern Question. After a good deal of talk 
 we parted, he promising to see what could be done to bring 
 about a compromise and reconciliation. 
 
 I then wrote to Lord Lansdowne telling him what had 
 passed, and suggested that, as he is to see the Queen to- 
 morrow, he should invoke her assistance to settle this affair, 
 and so the matter stands. I am satisfied that at this moment 
 Palmerston would prefer staying where he is to anything 
 else, present or prospective, and he does not wish to embark 
 in fresh combinations ; but it is impossible to say what he 
 may not do under fresh circumstances, and if he is exposed 
 to all the attractions of excessive flattery and the means of 
 obtaining great power. If this Government should be over- 
 thrown, I see no other man who could form one. Derby 
 is in such a deplorable state of health that I do not think he 
 could possibly undertake it, and though Palmerston's diffi- 
 culties would be great, they would not be insurmountable, 
 and the very necessity of having a Government, and the 
 impossibility of any other man forming one, would give him. 
 . great facilities, and draw a great many people from various 
 
118 EEIGN OF aUKEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IV 
 
 parties to enlist under him. It is, therefore, of immense 
 importance that there should be a compromise now, for I 
 am strongly of opinion that if there is not the Government will 
 not be able to go on. What I fear is that, if a negotiation 
 should be begun, the parties will not come to terms, and 
 neither be disposed to make sufficient concessions. Lady 
 Palmerston hinted at Aberdeen's going out, which she said 
 he had always professed his readiness to do, but I gave her' 
 to understand that if he did, Lord John would insist on 
 taking his place, which would not, I apprehend, be more- 
 palateable to Palmerston than the present arrangement. 
 
 December 24i/i. — I went to town this morning to hear 
 what was going on. I found Granville who told me there 
 was a negotiation on foot, conducted by Newcastle, who had 
 been to Palmerston yesterday and discussed the matter. 
 Palmerston was to give his answer at twelve to-day ; Granville 
 did not think any concessions about Reform were to be made 
 to him, and nothing more than an agreement that the whole- 
 question should be reconsidered. He was to write a letter^ 
 saying there had been ' a misunderstanding,' said he was- 
 evidently dying to remain, full of interest in foreign politics,, 
 and could not bear to be out the way of knowing and having 
 a concern in all that is going on, and probably by no means- 
 insensible to the difficulties of another position, that of being 
 the leader of an Opposition, and still more to the having to- 
 form and carry on a Government should that Opposition be 
 successful. All this I think exceedingly probable. I then 
 went to Clarendon, where I learnt that Palmerston had 
 given his answer, and that he meant to stay. He had 
 written a letter, not exactly such a one as they could have 
 wished, but which must do; and though it was not yet 
 formally settled, it had gone so far that it could not 
 fail now. Both Clarendon and Granville told me John 
 Russell had behaved admirably, which I was glad to- 
 hear. Granville thinks Palmerston has no rancune against 
 Aberdeen, but a good deal against John Russell. Granville' 
 said I had made a bad selection in writing to Graham on; 
 Thursday about Palmerston's staying in, as of all the- 
 
1853] BARAGUAY DECLINES TO ENTER THE BLACK: SEA. 119 
 
 Cabinet he was the man most against him, and most opposed 
 to his return ; but Clarendon said for that very reason he 
 was very glad I had addressed myself to Graham, and that 
 I had since written him a strong letter, as I did yesterday, 
 setting forth as forcibly as I could the expediency of a 
 reconciliation and the danger of Palmerston's separating 
 himself from them, and the infallible consequences thereof. 
 
 Walewski has been making a great flare up about the 
 article in the ' Times,' stating that Dundas wanted to 
 pursue the Russian fleet after Sinope, and that Baraguay 
 d'Hilliers put his veto on the operation. Clarendon assured 
 him the statement was inserted without his privity, and he 
 had nothing to do with it. Walewski then asked him to 
 authorise a formal contradiction in the ' Globe,' or to let 
 it be officially contradicted in the ' Moniteur.' Clarendon 
 declined the first, and advised against the latter course. I 
 offered to speak to Delane about contradicting it in the 
 ' Times,' which I afterwards did. He said the fact was 
 true, and he had received it from various quarters, and it 
 was useless to contradict it ; but there was no reason the 
 ' Moniteur ' should not do so if they liked, so I sent him to 
 Clarendon to talk it over and settle what was to be done to 
 smooth the ruffled plumage of the French. 
 
 On Thursday at the Cabinet the resolution was taken 
 which amounts to war. The French sent a proposal that 
 the fleets should go into the Black Sea, repel any Russian 
 aggression, and force any Russian ships of war they met 
 with to go back to Sebastopol, using force in case of resist- 
 ance. We assented to this proposal, and orders were sent 
 accordingly. This must produce hostilities of some sort, 
 and renders war inevitable. It is curious that this stringent 
 measure should have been adopted during Palmerston's 
 absence, and that he had no hand in it. It will no doubt 
 render the reconciliation more agreeable to him. This 
 incident of his resignation and return, which has made such 
 a hubbub not only here but all over Europe for several days, 
 is certainly extraordinary, and will hardly be intelligible, 
 especially as it will hereafter appear that he has withdrawn 
 
120 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. TChap. IV. 
 
 his resignation witli hardly any, or perhaps no, conditions. 
 On looking dispassionately at it, it seems to me Palmerston 
 and Aberdeen have both been somewhat to blame. Lord 
 Lansdowne left town ten days or a fortnight ago, with a 
 distinct understanding, as he affirms, that the question of 
 the Eeform Bill was not to be definitively settled till after 
 Christmas, and though he was aware of Palmerston's objec- 
 tions, he had no idea he would take any decisive step till 
 then. A few days after he was gone to Bowood, Palmerston 
 vn'ote to Aberdeen, a most unnecessary and ill-judged act. 
 Aberdeen — instead of referring in his answer to the above- 
 named understanding, and giving no other answer, replies 
 that he has consulted John Russell and Granville, who think 
 that nothing can be proposed that will remove his objections, 
 and that he agrees witli them, on which Palmerston sends 
 in his resignation in a letter described to be brief and 
 peremptory in its tone. All these letters were wrong, and none 
 of them ought to have been written. I see they (his colleagues 
 or some of them) think Palmerston never had really any 
 intention of quitting his post, but more suo tried to bully a 
 little, not without hopes that he might frighten them into 
 some concessions on the Eeform Bill, and meaning, if he 
 failed, to knock under, as he has so often done upon other 
 occasions. I am much inclined to suspect there is a great 
 deal of truth in this hypothesis, being struck by Lady 
 Palmerston's mildness and abstinence from violence and 
 abuse, and the evident anxiety of both of them for a recon- 
 ciliation, and again by the very easy terms on which he has 
 been induced to stay. There has been no exaction or dicta- 
 tion on his part, but, so far as appears at present, something 
 very like a surrender. 
 
1863] LORD PALMEESTON RESUMES OFFICE. 121 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 lord Palmerston's Return — The Czar's Designs — Uncertain Prospects — A 
 Dinner of Lawyers — Preparations for War — The Reform Scheme modi- 
 fled — Russian Preparations for War — Entry of the Black Sea — Intrigues 
 of France with Russia — Attacks on Prince Albert — Virulence of the 
 Press — Attitude of Russia — Reluctance on hoth sides to engage in War 
 — ^Prince Albert's Participation in Affairs of State — Opening of Parlia- 
 ment — "Vindication of Prince Albert — Offer of Marriage - of Prince 
 Napoleon to Princess Mary of Cambridge — Publication of the Queen's 
 Speech — The Hesitation of Austria — Justification of the War — The Blue 
 Books — Popularity of the War — Last Efforts for Peace — The Emperor 
 Napoleon's Letter — Lord John's Reform Bill — Difficulties arising — The 
 Greeks — Objections to the Reform BUI — Postponement of the Reform 
 BiU. 
 
 Bowood, December 26th. — I came here to-day through 
 town, where I saw en passant Granville and Clarendon; 
 received a letter this morning from Graham, telling me 
 •everything was arranged and Palmerston would stay, which 
 of course I knew long before. Clarendon thought Newcastle 
 had managed it exceedingly well, inasmuch as by this 
 mixture of conciliation and firmness he had got Palmerston 
 to write and withdraw his resignation, without any condi- 
 tions; indeed, Clarendon considers that Palmerston has 
 virtually acceded to all the provisions of Lord John's Bill to 
 which he had objected. Whether his actions correspond 
 with this idea we shall see hereafter. The letter he has 
 written they say is ' artful and cunning,' but Aberdeen 
 does not appear dissatisfied with it ; and as it is a consider- 
 able concession in him to write any letter at all, they are 
 Tight not to quarrel about the expressions. On the whole, 
 I am now of opinion that Palmerston will be damaged by 
 this proceeding. Nothing could justify his resignation at 
 such a crisis but a case of urgent necessity, and if he really 
 
122 KEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. V, 
 
 was urged to it by sucli a necessity, lie clearly could not be 
 justified in recalling his resignation five or six days after- 
 wards, finding himself exactly in the same situation as he 
 was in before it. It seems to me that he is certainly on 
 the horns of this dilemma, that he was either wrong in 
 resigning or wrong in returning. I told Lord Lansdowne 
 so, but he did not say much in reply ; and I find the lan- 
 guage of this place is all favourable to Lord Palmerston, 
 which I presume to be from their sympathising in his 
 objections to Reform ; and they throw most of the blame on 
 Aberdeen for writing to him the letter he did, in which no 
 doubt he erred. However, they are all very glad it is made 
 up, and justly think that the less that is said about it 
 hereafter the better. I think now that some steps had been 
 taken towards a reconciliation even before the Thursday 
 when Lady Palmerston spoke to me, and the Queen knew 
 on Thursday that the reconciliation was highly probable ; 
 for she wrote to Lord Lansdowne that evening, and told 
 him he need not come to Windsor on Friday, which letter 
 he received just as he was going to set off. The Tories 
 and the Radicals are equally puzzled, perplexed, and dis- 
 gusted, and do not know what to say. They accordingly 
 solace themselves with such inventions and falsehoods as it 
 suits their several purposes to circulate. 
 
 Clarendon received a letter from Cowley while I was 
 with him, in which he said he sent him a paper tending to 
 show that the Emperor of Russia was bent upon the destruc- 
 tion of Turkey, and prepared to run every risk, and encounter 
 any enemy, in the pursuit of that object. This is, I thiuk,. 
 very likely ; and what is equally likely that, per damna per 
 ccedes, and with much danger and damage to himself, he will 
 accomplish the ruin of the Turk. But all speculation must 
 be vague and fallacious as to the results of such a war as is 
 now beginning. 
 
 January 3rd, 1854. — I returned from Bowood on Satur- 
 day, having had no conversation whatever on politics with 
 Lord Lansdowne — and of course I sought none. News 
 came there that the Turks had accepted the proposal of 
 
1854] PEEPAEATIONS FOR WAE. 123- 
 
 the Allied Powers to enter into a negotiation, and we are 
 now waiting to see what the Emperor of Eussia will be dis- 
 posed to do ; but almost everybody thinks he will refuse to 
 treat, and certainly he will never admit, as the preliminary 
 condition of negotiation, that no former treaties shall be 
 revived. The Cabinet meets to-day for the purpose, I con- 
 clude, of resuming the consideration of the Reform BilL 
 The only thing Lord Lansdowne did say to me was, that he 
 had had several conversations with John Russell when he 
 was at Bowood, and that he thought he had made an im- 
 pression on him ; he evidently expected that Lord John 
 would make concessions in his Bill which might satisfy, or 
 partly so, him and Palmerston. 
 
 January 5th. — I dined on Tuesday with the Chancellor, 
 Lord Cranworth : an array of lawyers, the Chancellor of 
 Ireland (a coarse, vulgar-looking man, with twitchings in 
 his face). Lord Campbell, Alderson, Coleridge, and the 
 Solicitor- G-eneral (Bethell) ; besides these Aberdeen, Graham, 
 and one or two more men. 
 
 I sat next to Graham and had much talk. He said the 
 Cabinet that morning had gone off easily, and he thought 
 matters would proceed quietly now. Palmerston is quite at 
 his ease and just as if nothing had happened, which was- 
 exactly like him. Graham thinks the Emperor of Eussia is 
 determined on war, and will not consent to negotiate ; he said 
 he had been as anxious as any man to maintain peace, but if 
 we were driven to go to war, he was for waging it with the 
 utmost vigour, and inflicting as much injury as we could 
 on Russia, and that we might strike very severe blows. It 
 was commonly supposed Sebastopol was unassailable by sea, 
 but he was not satisfied of that, as they are not in pos- 
 session of suiScient information to be at all sure about it,. 
 but that he did not know what a powerful fleet with the aid 
 of steam could not accomplish. He was inclined to believe 
 that such a fleet might force the entrance to the place and 
 destroy the Russian fleets, but that it would probably cost 
 many ships to effect such an operation. In discussing the 
 probability of Russia and Turkey being brought to term& 
 
124 EEI&N OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 we agreed tiat tlie conditions accepted by the Turks should 
 prove a sufficient basis. When I asked him whether this 
 would not satisfy even Palmerston, and whether he would 
 not be desirous of peace if it could be so brought about, he 
 said he thought not, that Palmerston's politics were always 
 personal, and that nothing would satisfy him now but to 
 humiliate the Emperor. 
 
 Yesterday afternoon I saw Clarendon at the Foreign 
 Office. He said the Cabinet went off smoothly enough, and 
 Palmerston did not appear dissatisfied; confirmed what 
 Graham said of his easy manner — no awkwardness or re- 
 serve. Aberdeen had written to him in answer to his letter 
 recalling his resignation, saying he wondered he should 
 have thought the matter of the Reform Bill final ; and John 
 Russell, when it was all over, called on him. The altera- 
 tions in the Reform Bill were principally these : to extend 
 somewhat the disfranchisement and to give more of the seats 
 to the counties (which was what both Lord Lansdowne and 
 Palmerston wished), and to reduce the county franchise 
 from 20 to 10, taking Locke King's plan, the town franchise 
 to be 61., with three years' rating, as originally proposed. 
 This is intended to admit the working classes ; as Clarendon 
 said, the principle of the last Reform Bill having been to 
 exclude them, and this to admit them. It seems now that 
 Lansdowne and Palmerston will not dissent from this plan, 
 though they do not like it. The various propositions were put 
 to the vote seriatim in the Cabinet and carried nem. diss., so 
 that, instead of everything having been conceded to Pal- 
 merston (as the lying newspapers proclaimed), nothing has 
 ■been ; and he has, on the contrary, knocked under. 
 
 Clarendon showed me the Note submitted to the Turkish 
 •Government with the proposals as the basis of negotiations, 
 to which we have not yet received a formal answer; but 
 from a confused telegraphic message they think the Turks 
 have accepted them. These terms will then have to go to St. 
 Petersburg. But meanwhile the notification to the Emperor 
 ■ of the orders to our fleets was to reach St. Petersburg this 
 day, and Clarendon thinks it exceedingly likely this will 
 
1854] THE ATTACK ON SINOPE. 125 
 
 produce an immediate declaration of war on his part. His 
 warlike preparations are enormous, and it is said that the 
 Church has granted him a loan of four and a half millions to 
 defray them, I told Clarendon what Graham had said to 
 me of Palmerston's disposition. He said he did not know, 
 but it was not unlikely, and quite true about personal motives 
 always influencing his conduct; and that he had always 
 pleased himself with the reflexion that the downfall of Louis 
 Philippe might be traced to the MoDtpensier marriage, which 
 had really been the remote cause of it. Graham had told 
 me that Stratford was now really anxious for peace, for he 
 began to see the possibility of war bringing about the sub- 
 stitution of French influences at Constantinople in place of 
 Kussian, and of the two he infinitely preferred the latter. 
 Clarendon confirmed this. 
 
 January 6th. — All going on very amicably in the Cabinet, 
 and Pam and Johnny the best friends possible, cutting their 
 jokes on each other, and Palmerston producing all his old 
 objections to the Eeform Bill just as if it was discussed for 
 the first time. From what has been settled in regard to the 
 fleets at Constantinople I think we are running an enormous 
 risk of some great catastrophe.' It appears that Admiral 
 Hamelin declared it was impossible to enter the Black Sea 
 with safety, and Baraguay d'Hilliers agreed with him. 
 Dundas was of the same opinion, but said he was ready to go 
 if ordered. Stratford was not convinced of the danger as 
 Baraguay d'Hilliers was. Before the opinion of the French 
 Admiral could reach Paris orders were sent out for the fleets 
 to enter, and though some discretion is left to the Admirals, 
 the orders are so precise that it is extremely probable they 
 
 ^ rOn November SO the Russian fleet from Sebastopol attacked the 
 Turkish squadron in the harbour of Sinope and destroyed it. It was thia 
 •violent action on the f)art of Russia that at once decided the British and 
 French Governments to occupy the Black Sea with their fleets. The Russian 
 ships withdrew within the harbour of Sebastopol, which they never left 
 again. I believe that Admiral Dundas and Admiral Lyons proposed tO' 
 enter the Black Sea at once and intercept the Russian vessels before they 
 could reach Sebastopol, but this proposal was overruled by the French 
 ofiicers, who were disinclined to act until they received peremptory orders 
 from the Emperor.] 
 
126 EEIGN OF aUEEUr VICTORIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 will obey them in spite of the danger, great as it is ; for the 
 Black Sea is so dark they can take no observations, and so 
 deep it cannot be sounded, perpetual fogs (which make the 
 darkness), and no harbour where the fleets can take refuge. 
 If the fleets should meet with any serious disaster, the indig- 
 nation and clamour here would be prodigious, and the most 
 violent accusations would be levelled at the Government. It 
 would be said that they would not let the fleets go during 
 the summer and safe seasons, when they could have done 
 anything they pleased ; but, having allowed the Sinope afi'air 
 to take place, and failed to bring about peace, they now send 
 the fleets when they can do no good and prevent no mischief, 
 and only expose them to damage or destruction. 
 
 Broadlands, January 8th. — I came here on Friday; no- 
 body is here but the Flahaults and Azeglio ; I walked with 
 Palmerston yesterday and talked of the Turkish question. 
 He thinks the Emperor will not declare war on receiving 
 news of the orders to the fleets, but send some temporising 
 answer. He said that if these orders had been sent four 
 Tnonths ago, the whole thing would have been settled, which 
 may or not be true ; he is very confident of the success of 
 our naval operations, and of the damage we may do to 
 E.ussia; he has never alluded to Reform or anything con- 
 nected with it, and is in very good humour. 
 
 January IBth. — I have never yet noticed the extra- 
 ordinary run there has been for some weeks past against the 
 Court, more particularly the Prince, which is now exciting 
 general attention, and has undoubtedly produced a consider- 
 able effect throughout the country. It began a few weeks 
 ago in the press, particularly in the ' Daily News ' and the 
 ' Morning Advertiser,' but chiefly in the latter, and was 
 immediately taken up by the Tory papers, the ' Morning 
 Herald ' and the ' Standard,' and for some time past they 
 ihave poured forth article after article, and letter after letter, 
 full of the bitterest abuse and all sorts of lies. The ' Morn- 
 ing Advertiser ' has sometimes had five or six articles on the 
 same day all attacking and maligning Prince Albert. Many 
 ■of these are very vague, but the charges against him ai'e 
 
1854] NEWSPAPER ATTACKS ON PRINCE ALBERT. 127 
 
 principally to this effect, that he has been in the habit of 
 meddling improperly in public affairs, and has used his 
 influence to promote objects of his own and the interests of 
 his own family at the expense of the interests of this 
 country ; that he is German and not English in his senti- 
 ments and principles ; that he corresponds with foreign 
 princes and with British Ministers abroad without the know- 
 ledge of the Grovernment, and that he thwarts the foreign 
 policy of the Ministers when it does not coincide with his 
 own ideas and purposes. He is particularly accused of 
 having exerted his influence over this Government to prevent 
 their taking the course which they ought to have done with 
 regard to Turkey, and of having a strong bias towards 
 Austria and Russia and against France. Then it is said 
 that he is always present when the Queen receives her 
 Ministers, which is unconstitutional, and that all the papers 
 pass through his hands or under his eyes. He is accused of 
 interfering with all the departments of government, more 
 particularly with the Horse Guards, and specifically with the 
 recent transactions and disagreements in that office, which 
 led to the retirement of General Brown, the Adjutant- 
 Oeneral. Then he and the Queen are accused of having got 
 up an intrigue with foreign Powers, Austria particularly, for 
 ■getting Palmerston out of office last year; that she first 
 hampered him in the Foreign Office, by insisting on seeing 
 his despatches before he sent them off, and then that she 
 •compelled John Eussell to dismiss him on the ground of 
 •disrespectful conduct to herself, when the real reason was 
 condescension to the wishes of Austria, with which Power 
 the Prince had intimately connected himself. Charges o£ 
 this sort, mixed up with smaller collateral ones, have been 
 repeated day after day with the utmost virulence and inso- 
 lence by both the Eadical and the Tory journals. For some 
 time they made very little impression, and the Queen and 
 Prince were not at all disturbed by them ; but the long con- 
 -tinuance of these savage libels, and the effect which their 
 continual refutation has evidently produced throughout the 
 country, have turned their indifference into extreme annoy- 
 
128 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. V, 
 
 ance. I must say T never remember anything more atrocious 
 or unjust. Delane went to Aberdeen and told Mm tbat 
 immense mischief had been done, and that he ought to know 
 that the effect produced was very great and general, and 
 offered (if it was thought desirable) to take up the cudgels 
 in defence of the Court. Aberdeen consulted the Prince^ 
 and they were of opinion that it was better not to put forth 
 any defence, or rebut such charges in the press, but to wait 
 till Parliament meets, and take an opportunity to repel the 
 charges there. One of the papers announced that a Liberal 
 member of Parliament intended to bring the matter forward 
 when Parliament meets, but I do not expect he will make 
 his appearance. At present nobody talks of anything else, 
 and those who come up from distant parts of the country 
 say that the subject is the universal topic of discussion in 
 country towns and on railways. It was currently reported 
 in the Midland and Northern counties, and actually stated in 
 a Scotch paper, that Prince Albert had been committed to 
 the Tower, and there were people found credulous and foolish 
 enough to believe it. It only shows how much malignity 
 there is amongst the masses, which a profligate and im- 
 pudent mendacity can stir up, when a plausible occasion is 
 found for doing so, and how ' the mean are gratified by 
 insults on the high.' It was only the other day that the 
 Prince was extraordinarily popular, and received wherever 
 he went with the strongest demonstration of public favour, 
 and now it would not be safe for him to present himself 
 anywhere in public, and very serious apprehensions are felt 
 lest the Queen and he should be insulted as they go to open 
 Parliament a fortnight hence. In my long experience I 
 never remember anything like the virulence and profligacy 
 of the press for the last six months, and I rejoice that 
 Parliament is going to meet and fair discussion begin, for 
 nothing else can in the slightest degree check it, and this, it 
 may be hoped, will. 
 
 January 16th. — The attacks on the Prince go on with 
 redoubled violence, and the most absurd lies are put forth 
 and readily believed. It is very difacult to know what to 
 
1854] VACILLATION OF THE FRENCH. 129 
 
 do, but the best thing will be a discussion in the House of 
 Commons, if possible in both Houses. It is now said that 
 Sir Robert Peel is going to raise one. Clarendon told me 
 yesterday that he should not be surprised if the Emperor 
 of Russia were to recall Brunnow and not Kisseleff, as he 
 is more particularly incensed against England, knowing 
 very well that we have acted consistently and in a straight- 
 forward direction throughout, while the French have been 
 continually vacillating, and have kept up a sort of coquetry 
 with him; for example, Castelbajac congratulated the 
 Emperor on the Sinope affair, and said he did so as a 
 Minister, a soldier, and a Christian. A pretty Government 
 to depend on, and which our stupid and ignorant press is 
 lauding to the skies for its admirable and chivalrous conduct 
 as compared to ours. 
 
 January 2\st. — For some days past the Tory papers have 
 relaxed their violence against the Court, while the Radical 
 ones, especially the ' Morning Advertiser,' have redoubled 
 their attacks, and not a day passes without some furious 
 article, and very often five or six articles and letters, all in 
 the same strain. It is not to be denied or concealed that 
 these abominable libels have been greedily swallowed all 
 over the country and a strong impression produced. The 
 press has been infamous, and I have little doubt that there 
 is plenty of libellous matter to be found in some of the 
 articles, if it should be deemed advisable for the Attorney- 
 General to take it up. There can be little doubt thab the 
 Tory leaders got alarmed and annoyed at the lengths to 
 which their papers were proceeding, and have taken 
 measures to stop them. The Radical papers nothing can 
 stop, because they find their account in the libels ; the sale 
 of the 'Advertiser' is enormously increased since it has 
 begun this course, and, finding perfect immunity, it increases 
 every day in audacity and virulence. One of the grounds of 
 attack (in the 'Morning Herald ' and ' Standard ' principally) 
 has been the illegality of the Prince being a Privy Councillor. 
 In reply to this I wrote a letter (in my own name) showing 
 what the law and practice are, but incautiously said the 
 
 VOL, I. K 
 
130 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. V, 
 
 argument had been advanced by a member of tlie Carlton 
 Club, whereas it was in fact a member of the Conservative, 
 and I had imagined the two Clubs were the same. This 
 mistake drew down on me various letters, attacking and 
 abusing me, and for several days the ' Morning Herald ' has 
 been full of coarse and stupid invectives against me, supplied 
 by correspondents, who, from the details in their letters, 
 must be persons with whom I live in great social intimacy. 
 They are, however, of a very harmless description, and too 
 dull to be effective. 
 
 January 25th. — I wrote a letter in the ' Times ' (signed 
 Juvenal), showing up the lies of the 'Morning Advertiser,' 
 and how utterly unworthy of credit such a paper is. I find 
 Palmerston and Aberdeen have come to an understanding as 
 to what shall be said in the way of explanation, which is a 
 good thing. It is not to be much, and they will tell the 
 same story. One faint ray of hope for peace has dawned. 
 The Emperor on receiving our Note has not recalled Brunnow, 
 but ordered him to ask for explanations, and he is only to 
 withdraw if the answer is of a certain tenor. Clarendon told 
 him he could not give him an answer at the moment, and 
 Seymour had said in the P.S. to his last despatch, 'For 
 God's sake don't give Brunnow any answer for three days.' 
 It is clearly one of two things — the Emperor meditates 
 making peace, or he wants to gain time. The fact is, he has 
 got the answer, for our instructions to the Admirals (which 
 were communicated to him) explain our intentions. In a 
 few days more we must receive his reply to the pacific 
 overtui-e. 
 
 January 29th. — Brunnow has not received his answer, but 
 is to have it on Tuesday, when I imagine he will announce 
 his departure. Kisselefi" has not had his either, and there 
 is some disagreement as to the answers between us and 
 the' French Government. Clarendon has sent to Paris the 
 answer he proposes to give, but the French wish not to give 
 Kisseleff any answer at all, nor even to tell him what it 
 is, but to send their answer through their Ambassador at 
 Petersburg, to which Clarendon strenuously objects. This 
 
1851] COUNT ORLOFJF'S MISSION TO VIENNA. 131 
 
 is only for the purpose of delay, the Emperor Napoleon 
 being so reluctant to go to war, and anxious to put off the 
 evil day as long as he can. It is not wonderful, for the 
 accounts of the distress in France, the stagnation of trade, 
 and the financial embarrassments, and the consequent alarm 
 that prevails as well as suffering, make it very natural that 
 the Grovernment should shrink from plunging into a war 
 the duration of which is doubtful, but the expense certain. 
 CoUoredo told me the other day that he thought Orloff's 
 mission to Vienna afforded a good prospect of peace, because 
 he was sure Orloff would not have accepted the mission 
 unless he had really expected to bring it to a successful 
 issue, but Clarendon told me last night that Orloff is only 
 empowered to propose the same conditions which the Em- 
 peror originally insisted on, and that his real object is to 
 detach Austria and Prussia from the alliance, by any means 
 he can and by offering them any terms they please. 
 
 The attacks on the Prince are subsiding, except from 
 the ' Morning Advertiser,' which goes doggedly on in spite 
 of its lies being exposed. John Russell told me the other 
 day that soon after the Queen's marriage she asked Mel- 
 bourne whether the Prince ought to see all the papers and 
 know everything. Melbourne consulted him about it, and 
 he thinks that he consulted the Cabinet, but is not quite 
 sure of this. However, Melbourne and Lord John (and the 
 whole Cabinet if he did consult them) agreed that it was 
 quite proper she should show him and tell him everything, 
 and that was the begianing of his being mixed up in public 
 affairs. Why he did not then begin to be present at her 
 interviews with her Ministers I do not know, but that prac- 
 tice began when Peel came in, and Lord John said he found 
 it established when he came back, and he saw no objection 
 to it. He told me last night that the Queen had talked to 
 him about the present clamour, which of course annoyed 
 her, and she said, if she had had the Prince to talk to and 
 employ in explaining matters at the time of the Bedchamber 
 quarrel with Peel, that affair would not have happened. 
 Lord John said he thought she must have been advised by 
 
 K 2 
 
132 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 somebody to act as she did, to which she replied with great 
 candour and naivete, ' No, it was entirely my own foolish- 
 ness.' This is the first time I have heard of her acknow- 
 ledging that it was ' foolishness,' and is an avowal creditable 
 to her sense. Lord John said, when Lord Spencer was con- 
 sulted on the matter he replied, ' It is a bad ground for a 
 Whig Grovernment to stand on, but as gentlemen you can't 
 do otherwise.' 
 
 February 1st. — Parliament met yesterday, a greater crowd 
 than usual to see the procession. The Queen and Prince 
 were very well received, as well as usual, if not better ; but 
 all the enthusiasm was bestowed on the Turkish Minister, 
 khe mob showing their sympathy in his cause by vociferous 
 cheering the whole way. The night went off capitally for 
 the Government in both Houses. In the Lords Derby made 
 a slashing speech, but very imprudent, and played into Aber- 
 deen's hands, who availed himself thereof very well, and 
 made a very good answer, which is better to read than it was 
 to hear. Derby afforded him a good opportunity of vindi- 
 cating the Prince, which he did very effectively, and then 
 Derby followed him and joined in the vindication, but he 
 clumsily allowed Aberdeen to take the initiative. Clarendon 
 answered Clanricarde, who was hostile, but not very bitter ; 
 the former showed how much he suffers from want of prac- 
 tice and facility. I thought he would have failed in the 
 middle, but he recovered himself and went on. Derby was 
 put into a great rage by Aberdeen's speech, and could not 
 resist attacking me (whom he saw behind the Throne). He 
 attacked my letter (signed C), in which I had pitched into 
 the Tories for their attacks on the Prince. I saw his people 
 turn round and look towards me, but I did not care a fig, 
 and was rather pleased to see how what I wrote had galled 
 them, and struck home. In the Commons the Govern- 
 ment was still more triumphant. The Opposition were dis- 
 organised and feeble; all who spoke on that side took 
 different views, and very little was said. John Russell made 
 a very good speech, and took the bull by the horns about 
 the Prince, entered at once on the subject, and delivered an 
 
1854] OFPEE OF MARRIAGE TO PRINCESS MAEY. 133 
 
 energetic vindication of and eulogium oa him in his best 
 style. It was excellent, and between his speech and Aber- 
 deen's and all those who chimed in, that abomination may 
 be considered to be destroyed altogether, and we shall pro- 
 bably hear no more of it. 
 
 This evening told me a secret that surprised me 
 
 much. I asked him casually if he knew for what purpose 
 Prince Napoleon was gone to Brussels, when he told me 
 that he was gone to try and get King Leopold to use his 
 influence here to bring about his marriage with the Princess 
 Mary, the Duke of Cambridge's sister ; that for a long time 
 past Palmerston had been strongly urging this match with 
 the Queen, and had written heaps of letters to press it, 
 having been in constant communication about it with 
 Walewski and the Emperor himself. They had made such 
 a point of it that the Queen had thought herself obliged to 
 consult the Princess Mary herself about it, who would not 
 listen to it. The negotiator did not make the proposal more 
 palateable, and he did not recommend himself the more, by 
 suggesting that such a match was very preferable to any 
 little German prince. It is incredible that he should have 
 mixed himself in an affair that he could hardly fail to know 
 must be very disagreeable to the Queen, besides that the 
 Princess is not likely to sacrifice her country and her posi- 
 tion for such a speculation, so hazardous and uncertain at 
 best, and involving immediate obligations and necessities at 
 which her pride could not fail to revolt. 
 
 February 2nd. — The above story, put together with some 
 other things, leads to strange conjectures about Palmerston, 
 which seem to justify the suspicions and convictions of the 
 Court and others about him. I have before alluded to his 
 intimate connexion with Walewski, and the notorious favour 
 with which he is regarded by the Emperor, who considers 
 him as his great appui here. 
 
 Before proceeding I must, however, refer to another 
 matter, which seems to have no connexion with it. There 
 is always great anxiety on the part of the press to get the 
 Queen's Speech, so as to give a sketch of it the morning of 
 
134 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 the day when it is made, and those who do not get it are 
 very jealous of those who do. There has been great bother 
 about it on some former occasions, once particularly, because 
 one of the Derbyites gave it to their paper, the 'Morning 
 Herald,' it having been communicated in strict confidence, 
 and according to recent custom, to the leaders of the partj^ 
 The other day Aberdeen refused to give it even to the 
 'Times,' and of course to any other paper, and he begged 
 Palmerston not to send it to the ' Morning Post,' which is 
 notoriously his paper. Nevertheless, the Speech appeared 
 in the ' Times,' and what seemed more extraordinary, in the 
 'Morning Advertiser,' the paper which has been the fiercest 
 opponent of the Government, and the most persevering and 
 virulent of the assailants of the Prince. How these papers 
 got the Speech nobody knows, but as there were four 
 dinners, at which at least a hundred men must have been 
 present, it is easy to imagine that some one of these may 
 have communicated it. Delane has friends in all parties, 
 and he told me that he had no less than three offers of it, and 
 therefore he had no difficulty. But how did the ' Morning 
 Advertiser ' come by it ? It is politically opposed to both the 
 Ministry and the Derbyites ; but it must have got the Speech 
 from some person of one or the other party, with whom it 
 has some community of interest or object. The run upon the 
 Prince was carried on equally by the ' Morning Herald ' and 
 the ' Morning Advertiser ' till within ten days of the meeting 
 of Parliament, when the former was stopped ; the latter 
 never ceased. I have heard it surmised more than once that 
 these attacks proceeded from Paris, and were paid for by 
 the Emperor Louis Napoleon, but I never could believe it. 
 The other day I met M. Alexandre Thomas at dinner at 
 Marble Hill, and we came to town together. He told me he 
 had no doubt the abuse of the Prince was the work of the 
 Emperor, and paid for by him. It did not make much im- 
 pression on me at the moment ; but now, putting all these 
 things together, I cannot help partaking in the opinion that 
 the whole thing has been got up, managed, and paid for by 
 Louis Napoleon, Walewski, and another person here. 
 
1854] PUBLICATION OF OFFICIAL COEEESPONDENCE. 135 
 
 Brunnow received his answer yesterday, with many 
 civilities and regrets, de part et d'autre. Orloff as we hear 
 has failed in his mission to cajole the Austrian Government, 
 but non constat that Austria will act a firm part against 
 Russia. If she would only announce her intention to do so, 
 the matter would probably be settled ; for Eussia would, as 
 we believe, certainly come to terms, if she was sure of 
 Austria acting against her, so that, in fact, Austria holds the 
 decision in her own hands, and the greatest service she can 
 do to Eussia herself would be to compel her to surrender, as 
 she may still do with an appearance of credit and dignity. 
 
 February 9th. — Nobody now thinks of anything but of 
 the coming war and its vigorous prosecution. The national 
 blood is up, and those who most earnestly deprecated war 
 are all for hitting as hard as we can now that it is forced 
 upon us. The publication of the Blue Books has relieved the 
 Government from a vast amount of prejudice and suspicion. 
 The public judgement of their management of the Eastern 
 Question is generally very favourable, and impartial people 
 applaud their persevering efforts to avert war, and are satis- 
 fied that everything was done that the national honour or 
 dignity required. I have read through the thick volumes, 
 and am satisfied that there is on the whole no case to be made 
 against the Government, though there are some things that 
 might perhaps have been better done ; but what is there of 
 any sort, or at any time, of which as much may not be said 
 when we have been made wiser by experience and events ? 
 These Books are very creditable in the great ability they 
 display. As Lord EUenborough said in the House of Lords, 
 the case had been most ably conducted, both by Govern- 
 ment and its agents. Clarendon's despatches are exceedingly 
 good, and in one respect greatly superior to Palmerston's 
 when he was at the Foreign OfBce : they are very measured 
 and dignified, and he never descends to the scolding, and the 
 taunts, and sarcasms in which the other delighted. Palmer- 
 ston always wrote as if his object was to gain a victory in a 
 war of words, and have the best of an argument; Clarendon, 
 on the contrary, keeps steadily in view a great political 
 
136 BEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 object, and never says a word but with a view to attain it. 
 Stratford's despatches are very able, and very well written, but 
 they leave the impression (which we know to be the truth), 
 that he has said and done a great deal more than we are in- 
 formed of ; that he is the real cause of this war, and that 
 he might have prevented it, if he had chosen to do so, I 
 have no doubt whatever. His letters have evidently been 
 studiously composed with reference to the Blue Book, and 
 that he may appear in a popular light. I find he has been 
 all the time in correspondence with Palmerston, who, we 
 may be sure, has incited him to fan the flame, and encourage 
 the Turks to push matters to extremities. I should like to 
 know what Palmerston would have said, when he was at the 
 Foreign Office, if one of his colleagues had corresponded 
 with any one of his Ministers abroad, in a sense differing 
 from that in which he himself instructed him. The won- 
 derful thing is the impunity which he continues to enjoy, 
 and how, daring and unscrupulous as he is, and determined 
 to have his own way, he constantly escapes detection and 
 exposure. The good case which the Government has put 
 forward, and the approach of war, have apparently ex- 
 tinguished or suspended all opposition, and the Session, 
 which everybody expected to be so stormy and dangerous, 
 bids fair to be as easy as possible. Great difference of 
 opinion exists as to the wisdom of committing our Baltic 
 fleet to Charles Napier. It was, however, decided at the 
 Cabinet yesterday that he should have it,' and we have got 
 a very powerful squadron ready. The war is certainly very 
 popular, but I don't think its popularity will last long when 
 we begin to pay for it, unless we are encouraged and com- 
 pensated for our sacrifices by some very flattering successes. 
 February 15th. — Several days ago there was a short discus- 
 sion in the House of Lords, in which the Government did not 
 cut a good figure. Aberdeen made a declaration in favour of 
 
 ^ [There -was a question of appointing Lord Dundonald, a far abler man ; 
 but he was seventy-nine, and besides he made it a condition that he should be 
 allowed to destroy Oronstadt by some chemical process of his own inven- 
 tion.] 
 
1854] LETTER OF NAPOLEON TO NICHOLAS. 137 
 
 peace, saying ' war was not inevitable,' which produced an 
 explosion against him, and it was so imprudent in him, and 
 so calculated to mislead, that Clarendon insisted on his 
 rising again and saying that no negotiations were going 
 on, threatening to do so himself if Aberdeen did not. He 
 complied, but the whole thing produced a bad effect, al- 
 though there are no negotiations to which we are a party. 
 Austria is making a new attempt with the Emperor, to 
 which she was encouraged by OrlofP before he went. We 
 are satisfied with the conduct of Austria, but though she 
 has rejected the Russian overtures, she will not engage to 
 join us against Russia in certain contingencies. If she 
 would do this, it would most probably settle the affair, and 
 make the Emperor agree to reasonable terms. 
 
 This morning appears in all the newspapers the auto- 
 graph letter of the Emperor .Napoleon to the Emperor 
 Nicholas, which has been so much talked of. If the Em- 
 peror of Russia at once closes with it, he will place us in 
 a great dilemma, but it may produce peace. On Sunday 
 Clarendon told me all about this letter. The Emperor 
 took it into his head to write it, and sent a copy here 
 for the approval of our Government. Clarendon made 
 many objections, particularly to the suggestion of a simul- 
 taneous withdrawal of the Russian troops and the Allied 
 fleets, and to the separate negotiation of Turkey, two points 
 we had all along laid great stress upon. Walewski returned 
 the letter with the objections raised by us, and soon after 
 informed Clarendon that the letter had been altered accord- 
 ing to our suggestions, and the objectionable parts omitted ; 
 but he did not bring him the amended letter. Clarendon 
 wrote to Cowley, and said what had passed, and that he 
 was glad the alterations had been made, but was sur- 
 prised the letter, as altered, had not been shown to him. 
 Cowley told Drouyn de Lhuys, who said they had sent the 
 letter to Walewski, and he could not think why Clarendon 
 had not seen it, and he wrote to Walewski desiring him to 
 take it to Clarendon. He did so, when, much to his annoy- 
 ance as well as surprise, he found that they had only made a 
 
138 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 few verbal alterations, and left the really objectionable parts 
 nearly the same as before. This may put us in a very awk- 
 ward position. If the Emperor Nicholas agrees, we must 
 either agree also to what we entirely disapprove, or disavow 
 the French, and perhaps separate from them ; and it will be 
 very embarrassing if the Government are asked in Parlia- 
 ment whether they were a party to this letter and its pro- 
 posals. Clarendon told me this was only one of many 
 instances in which the conduct of the French had been very 
 louche and insincere. He thinks this more attributable to 
 Drouyn than to his master, and Walewski has behaved with 
 great loyalty and straightforwardness; but hardly a week 
 has passed that he has not had to complain of something 
 done by the French Government in a separate or clandestine 
 manner, or of some proposal which they ought not to make, 
 and this makes one of the difficulties of the position of which 
 nobody is aware — a fine prospect to be married to such a 
 people on a great question ; but what can be expected from 
 the Government of such a Sovereign and such Ministers ? It 
 confirms my long settled opinion, that we are always in ex- 
 treme danger of being thrown over by them. With regard 
 to the whole question (and omitting these details) the 
 Emperor Napoleon has behaved well enough to us ; for he 
 has adhered steadily to the joint policy, though it is his 
 interest to maintain peace, and public opinion in France 
 runs as strongly that way as here it runs in the opposite 
 direction. 
 
 The day before yesterday John liussell introduced his 
 Reform Bill, having resisted the most urgent representations 
 and entreaties to postpone it. His speech was very tame, 
 and nothing could be more cold than its reception. The few 
 remarks that were made were almost all against it, or par- 
 ticular parts of it, and it has excited no enthusiasm in any 
 quarter. The prevailing impression is that it will not pass 
 if it is persisted in. If any Eeform Bill were to be proposed 
 at all, this does not seem to be a very bad measure, and some 
 points in it are good ; but nobody wanted any measure, and 
 the few Radicals who do, do not care for the particular 
 
1864] INSURRECTION OF THE GREEKS; 139 
 
 measures Lord Jolm proposes, and ask for other things 
 which he will not hear of, so that he offends and alarms the 
 Conservatives without conciliating the Liberals, and he 
 disgusts and provokes his own adherents by his refusal to 
 defer his Bill. Palmerston and his clique are sure to abuse it, 
 and to employ all the underhand means they can to stir up 
 opposition to it. 
 
 February 20th. — John Eussell answered the questions put 
 in the House of Commons about the Emperor Napoleon's 
 letter very dexterously, telling the truth, but in a way not 
 offensive to the Emperor. He also made an excellent speech 
 on the debate on the Blue Books, brought on by Layard in 
 a bitter speech very personal against Clarendon. The 
 House of Commons as well as the country are so exces- 
 sively warlike that they are ready to give any number of 
 men and any amount of money, and seem only afraid the 
 Government may not ask enough. I expect we shall have 
 had quite enough of it before we have done with this ques- 
 tion, and that our successes and the effect produced on 
 Russia will not be commensurate with the prevailing ardour 
 and expectation here. The most serious of all difficulties 
 seems to be rapidly coming, the insurrection of the Greek 
 population ; and this is a matter which has already caused a 
 good deal of difference of opinion and debate in the Cabinet, 
 one half wanting to assist in putting down the Greeks, the 
 other half opposing this scheme. The danger of attacking 
 the Greeks is, that we should thereby throw them at once 
 into the arms of Eussia, whereas the true policy is to persuade 
 them if possible to be quiet, and induce them to look up to us 
 for protection and future support. It is an element in the 
 question of great importance, and very difficult to deal with. 
 It is disgusting to hear everybody and to see all writers 
 vying with each other in laudation of Stratford Canning, who 
 has been the principal cause of the war. They all think that, 
 if he had been sincere in his desire for peace, and for an 
 accommodation with Russia, he might have accomplished it, 
 but on the contrary he was bent on bringing on war. He 
 said as much to Lord Bath, who was at Constantinople. 
 
140 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 Lord Bath told Mm he had witnessed the fleets sailing into 
 the Black Sea, when he replied, ' You have brought some 
 good newsj for that is war. The Emperor of Russia chose to 
 make it a personal quarrel with me, and now I am revenged.' 
 This Lord Bath wrote to Lady Ashburton, who told Clarendon. 
 I asked John EusseU yesterday why he sent Stratford back 
 to Constantinople. He said when he sent him the quarrel 
 was between France and Eussia, and only about the Holy 
 Places ; they knew nothing there of Menschikoff's demands, 
 and nobody was so qualiiied as Stratford to assist in settling 
 the original affairs. 
 
 February 2bth. — Last night Clarendon made a capital 
 speech in the House of Lords, far superior to any he ever 
 made before, and the best that has yet been made in defence 
 of the Ministerial policy. He has got on wonderfully since 
 the Session began, each of his speeches being much better 
 than the preceding one, till at last he has made one of very 
 great merit and power, as all admit. It was spirited, digni- 
 fied and discreet. I began to fear he would never get over 
 the misfortune of his want of early practice, and never excel 
 as a speaker ; but this speech was so good, that I now hope 
 he will, having acquired confidence and facility, speak up to 
 the level of his ability. The rage for this war gets every day 
 more vehement, and nobody seems to fear anything, but that 
 we may not spend money and men enough in waging it. 
 The few sober people who have courage enough to hint at 
 its being impolitic and uncalled for are almost hooted down, 
 and their warnings and scruples are treated with indignation 
 and contempt. It does now appear as if Austria had made 
 up her mind to act with us, and that we may depend upon 
 her. The French made known to the Austrian Government 
 some time ago that, in the alternative of her taking a hostile 
 part, she must expect to be attacked in Italy, and Clarendon 
 early in the business pointed out to CoUoredo all the serious 
 consequences his Government had to apprehend in all parts 
 of her dominions if she abetted Eussia. With a war so 
 popular, and supported cordially by Parliament, and a 
 flourishing revenue and trade, Government would look round 
 
18.54,J LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S REFORM BILL. 141 
 
 on a cloudless horizon, if it were not for the Eeform Bill, 
 which is a matter replete with uncertainty, difficulty, and 
 danger. Nobody has an idea whether it will be carried in 
 the House of Commons ; almost all the friends of Government 
 want Lord John to withdraw it, and the Cabinet is divided 
 on the subject. Lord John, Graham, and Aberdeen being 
 strongly in favour of pressing it on at all hazards, Palmerston 
 violently against. He has now reproduced all his own ob- 
 jections and arguments against the Bill itself, as weH as 
 against forcing it on now, quite justified in the latter, but 
 unjustifiable in the former course. Having once knocked 
 under, and come back to office, consenting to swallow it, 
 however reluctantly, it is too late to cavil at the Bill itself ; 
 but he may consistently and properly unite his voice with 
 the voices of all prudent and moderate men, and strenuously 
 resist its being persevered in at this moment against a 
 feeling and opinion which are all but universal. On the 
 whole, I rather expect (but with much doubt) that Lord John 
 will yield to the general sentiment, and consent to postpone it. 
 February 27th. — We are on the very verge of a Ministerial 
 crisis. John Russell will listen to no reason about his Reform 
 Bill, he insists on going on with it, and will have it that his 
 honour and character demand that he should, and he says, 
 ' When the honour of public men is preserved, the country 
 is safe.' Clarendon dined here yesterday, and told me he 
 thought Lord John would break up the Government. It is, 
 in fact, a political duel between Lord John and Palmerston. 
 
 thinks, and probably he is right, that at the last 
 
 moment Palmerston will give way, but in the meantime he 
 himself and all his followers and admirers are moving Heaven 
 and earth to defeat the measure, and to set up opposition 
 to it — none more active than Hayter, Secretary to the Trea- 
 sury, whose borough is one of those to be disfranchised. 
 Everybody thinks Sir Edward Denny's motion will be 
 carried, and if it is that Lord John will retire. If it were 
 not for the difficulty about leading the House of Commons, 
 this would not signify. I do not see how any arrangement 
 is possible but that Palmerston should take the lead, but I 
 
142 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 do not know if this will not lead to other resignations. 
 Clarendon is indignant at the state of things brought about 
 by Lord John's obstiaacy. He told me that Graham sup- 
 ported Lord John vehemently, but that Aberdeen took no 
 strong part, and had behaved very well. Having accepted 
 Lord John's Reform measure, and pledged himself to it, he 
 was ready still to abide by that pledge. There never was 
 such a mess as it all is. Clarendon is now very hot on this 
 war, which he fancies is to produce great and uncontem- 
 plated effects. He says for very many years past Russia 
 has been the great incubus on European improvement, and 
 the real cause of half the calamities that have afflicted the 
 world, and he thinks a great opportunity now presents itself 
 of extinguishing her pernicious influence, and by liberating 
 other countries from it, the march of improvement and 
 better government will of necessity be developed and acce- 
 lerated, and in this way civilisation itself may be the gainer 
 by this contest. The Emperor Napoleon has earnestly pressed 
 that our contingent should be put under the command of 
 the French Marshal, to which we have altogether objected, 
 and he has acquiesced, though reluctantly. We have agreed 
 on a sort of mezzo termine, viz. that, in the event of a battle 
 in which both forces are engaged, they should be under one 
 Commander-in-Chief, who must be the Frenchman. Cla- 
 rendon lamented that he had got no better Minister at 
 Vienna than Westmorland just now, who though well mean- 
 ing is nearly useless, as CoUoredo is here, who will take 
 nothing on himself. He says Castelbajac at St. Petersburg 
 has really not represented the French Government at all, 
 nor acted iu any way in conjunction with Seymour, but been 
 all along a base courtier of the Emperor Nicholas. Cla- 
 rendon has again and again remonstrated through Cowley 
 with Drouyn de Lhuys on this inconsistency, and Drouyn 
 has always replied that he is quite aware of it, and has been 
 at least as much annoyed at it as we could be, but that the 
 Emperor would never allow him to be recalled. I asked 
 Clarendon whether, now that war really was inevitable, Aber- 
 deen was more reconciled to it, and he said not at all ; he 
 
1854] THE REFORM BILL POSTPONED. 143 
 
 yielded to the necessity, but very sulkily, and in the discus- 
 sions relating to it in the Cabinet he took no part, and 
 evinced a total indiflference, or rather disgust. However, he 
 expressed great admiration of Clarendon's speech, which he 
 said was the best he ever heard. Lord John has sent to his 
 brother to come to town, telling him a crisis is at hand. 
 Granville, who is all with Lord John, personally and poli- 
 tically a Reformer, and highly approving of this Bill, is 
 going to him to-day to see if he can prevail on him to give 
 way to the general opinion, and at all events to put him in 
 possession of what is said and thought on the subject. 
 
 March 6th. — After a great struggle John Russell was 
 persuaded to put off his Reform Bill, but only till the end 
 of April, so that in a few weeks the same embarrassment 
 will begin again. The satisfaction at its being deferred at 
 all is great and general, and everybody thinks that some 
 expedient will be devised for putting it off again, when the 
 time comes, and so that we shall be rid of it for this year. 
 All the Cabinet was for putting it off, except Graham and 
 Aberdeen. The former has devoted himself to Lord John, 
 and goes heart and soul with him. Why Aberdeen took 
 that view I cannot imagine, unless he wished to bring about 
 a crisis, and to make his escape by favour of it. My own 
 opinion at present is, that on April 27 Lord John will 
 insist on bringing it on, and abide the consequences. The 
 tenour of his speech and still more that of Aberdeen, the 
 same night, lead me to that conclusion. The Radicals with 
 old Hume at the head of them, approved of the course liord 
 John took, but expressly with the understanding that he 
 really meant and would bring it on at the period to which 
 it was postponed ; and as he is sure to be incessantly urged 
 on by his entourage to be firm when the time comes, and 
 he will be very reluctant to encounter the indignation and 
 reproaches of his reforming friends and adherents, the 
 chances seem to me to be in favour of the battle taking 
 place. I think his speech on putting it off was not at all 
 good, nor what he ought to have said. He laid himself open 
 to an attack from Disraeli, which was very just, and he 
 
144 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. V. 
 
 could not answer it. It was quite absurd to ground the 
 postponement on the war and its exigencies, and it was 
 moreover not the real and true reason. He put it off because 
 he was importuned by everybody to do so, because Hayter 
 proved to him that he would infallibly be defeated, and 
 because there was no other way of preventing a break-up 
 of the Government. He might have anticipated Disraeli's 
 philippic by reverting to what he had before said, repeating 
 his own conviction that the war afforded no reason for not 
 going on with the Bill ; but that he found so many of his 
 own friends and such a general concurrence of feeling in 
 the House of Commons on the other side, added to great 
 indifference in the country, that he had thought it right to 
 defer to those opinions, and give up his own to them. Such 
 a defence of his conduct as this would have been more 
 effective and more consistent with the truth, but it would 
 have involved something like an acknowledgement of error, 
 from which it is probable that his pride and obstinacy re- 
 volted, so he made what I think was a very bad speech. If 
 he does bring it on again in April, I expect he will be de- 
 feated, and then retire. In any case his retirement will 
 lead to Palmerston's elevation, as leader of the House of 
 Commons if Lord John goes alone, as Prime Minister if 
 Graham and Aberdeen go with him, and there seems no 
 alternative, unless Lansdowne can be induced to replace 
 Aberdeen, which some think not impossible, though it would 
 only be for a short time. 
 
1854] DINNER TO SIR CHARLES NAPIER. 145 
 
 CHAPTBE VI. 
 
 Dinner to Sir Charles Napier — A Ministerial Indiscretion — Doubts as to the 
 Reform Bill — Discontent of Lord John EusseU — The Secret Correspon- 
 dence with Russia — War declared — Weakness of the Government— Mr. 
 Greville disapproves the War — Divisions in the Cabinet — Withdrawal of 
 the Reform Bill — Blunder of the Government — The Fast Day — Licences 
 to trade in War — Death of the Marquis of Anglesey— Mr .Gladstone's 
 Financial Failures — Dissolution of Parties — Mr. Gladstone's Budget — 
 Lord Cowley's Opinion of the Emperor's Position — The House of Com- 
 mons supports the War — Disraeli attacks Lord John Russell — A Change 
 of Plans — Lord John Russell's Mismanagement — Attacks on Lord 
 Aberdeen — ^Popularity of the War — Government Majority in the Lords 
 — Attitude of the German Powers — A Meeting of the Liberal Party — 
 An Appointment cancelled — Expedition to the Crimea — ^English and 
 French Policy united in Spain — Close of the Session — The Character of 
 Lord Aberdeen's Government — Effect of the Quarrel with Russia — Lord 
 Palmerston's Resignation — Waywardness of the House of Commons. 
 
 London, March 13th, 1854. — The only event of recent 
 occurrence was the dinner given last week to Sir Charles 
 Napier at the Reform Club, with Lord Palmerston in the 
 chair. Everybody disapproves of the whole proceeding, 
 which is thought to have been unwise and in bad taste. 
 The only Ministers there besides Palmerston were Graham 
 and Molesworth, and the former made an excessively foolish, 
 indiscreet speech, which has been generally censured, and 
 to-night he is to be called to account for it in the House of 
 Commons. It is marvellous that a man of mature age, who 
 has been nearly forty years in public life, should be so rash 
 and ill-judged in his speeches.' There seems now to be a 
 
 ^ [At this dinner at the Reform Club, Sir James Graham made an in- 
 temperate speech in which he said : ' My gallant friend (Napier) says that 
 ' when he goes into the Baltic he will declare war. I, as First Lord of the 
 ' Admiralty, give my free consent to do so. I hope the war may be short, 
 ' and that it may be sharp.' Sir Charles Napier's subsequent performances 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
146 REIGN. OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 better chance of John Eussell's again putting off his Reform 
 Bill next month. There are not two opinions, except among 
 the extreme Radicals, of the expediency of his doing so, and 
 his best friends (including his brother) greatly regret that he 
 did not put it off sine die instead of to another fixed day. 
 
 March 20th. — There has been a little episode, not very 
 important, but which being entirely personal caused some 
 noise in the world. About a week ago, or perhaps more, 
 appeared the Petersburg ' Gazette ' with a sort of manifesto, 
 complaining bitterly of the conduct of the British Govern- 
 ment, which was said to be the more inexcusable as a con- 
 fidential correspondence had taken place between the two 
 Governments, and we had been all along informed of their 
 views and intentions. The ' Times ' published this (as did 
 all the other papers), and with it a peremptory denial of its 
 truth, stating that John Russell, then Foreign Secretary, 
 had sent an indignant refusal to the proposals made to us. 
 Derby took this up in the House of Lords, complaining of 
 State secrets having been imparted to the ' Times,' and in- 
 sinuating his belief that Aberdeen had communicated them. 
 Aberdeen denied the imputation with some resentment, and 
 said that a flagrant breach of confidence had been certainly 
 committed, and he had reason to believe that the culprit was 
 a man formerly in the Foreign OfBce as clerk, though now 
 out of it, who had been appointed by Lord Malmesbury. On 
 this Malmesbury flared up, and desired to know his name, 
 which Aberdeen said he did not know. On a subsequent 
 night Malmesbury again took the matter up, and challenged 
 Aberdeen to give the name and produce his proof. Aberdeen 
 said he had received the information in a way which left no 
 doubt on his mind of its truth, and he was willing to leave 
 the matter to the gentleman himself, and if he denied it, he 
 would acknowledge that he was mistaken and had been mis- 
 informed. By this time everybody was aware that a young 
 man of the name of Astley was the accused party. He wrote 
 a letter to Malmesbury denying the charge, but his letter 
 
 in the Baltic did not at all correspond to this heroic language, and did not 
 add to his former reputation.] 
 
•1854] LORD JOHN EUSSELL'S EEFORM BILL. 147 
 
 'was not Tery distinct. However, Malmesbury read it in the 
 House, and called on Aberdeen to retract the charge, which 
 he immediately and completely did, and there the matter 
 ended ; hut though the man is thus acquitted, and the 
 Opposition papers abuse Aberdeen (who in fact was very im- 
 prudent to mention it), there seems no doubt that he really 
 did babble about this matter, though it is very certain it was 
 •not from him the ' Times ' got its information.' The story 
 -told is this : Astley talked of the correspondence to some 
 person in a railway carriage. That person told it to Lady 
 Ashburton, who repeated it to Clarendon. When thus talked 
 x)f, it might easily get to the ' Times ; ' and the only wonder 
 is, it did not get into many other papers besides. 
 
 Lord John Russell continues in a very perplexed and 
 uncertain state about his Reform Bill, and hesitates whether 
 "to bring it on or not next month. On one hand he is urged 
 i;o do so by his little knot of domestic adherents, by Graham 
 -vehemently, and to a certain degree by Aberdeen ; on the 
 -other he is entreated and argued with by all the rest of his 
 ■colleagues, by his brother, by Hayter, and by an immense 
 majority of his political friends and supporters. Still he 
 liesitates. He has got a notion, and others tell him so, that 
 his character is concerned in bringing it on, and that he is 
 bound to risk everything to maintain it. Graham is quite 
 inconceivable ; always rash at one moment and cowardly at 
 another, he is now, and on this question, in his rashest mood, 
 and he has persuaded himself, and tries to persuade Lord 
 ■John, that if he perseveres and is beaten (which he cannot 
 disguise from himself is probable, if not certain) he will only 
 have to go out in order to return in triumph as Prime 
 Minister. If a dissolution is proposed, and the Cabinet con- 
 sent to it, he fancies a new Parliament will give him every- 
 thing; if the Cabinet will not dissolve, Lord John, Graham 
 and Aberdeen would retire, the Government be broken up, and 
 
 ^ [The indiscretion, sucli as it -was, appears to have been that of Lord 
 Aberdeen himself, and Lord Malmeshiuy quoted with a good deal of wit 
 •iind a propos, in the House of Lords, Sancho Panza's saying, ' that a cask 
 may leak at the top as well as at the bottom.'] 
 
 I. 2 
 
148 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI» 
 
 Lord John would liave Parliament and the country with him 
 in forming another. All this I believe to be pure delusion. 
 By persisting in his course he may, and probably would,, 
 break up the Government, but he would destroy himself, he 
 would never be forgiven by his party or by the country at 
 large for breaking up the Government at such a moment as- 
 this, and all his visions of success and power would soon 
 be dispersed. Whatever else might happen, he would be 
 excluded from office, probably for ever. His discontent with 
 his present position the more inclines him to take this 
 hazardous step, because he wants a change of some sort. 
 
 The Duke of Bedford came to me the other day to telL 
 me Lord John was determined no longer to go on as he now 
 is, and it seems that he is moved principally by pecuniary 
 considerations.' He is poor and has a large family. While 
 he is in ofBce he is obliged to incur expenses by giving 
 dinners and parties, and this additional expense is defrayed 
 by the Duke, but in a very unsatisfactory way. Lord John, 
 sends him a sort of estimate or account of his extra expenses, 
 and the Duke pays the money. It is not surprising that 
 Lord John dislikes such assistance as this, and though he 
 never complains, he is probably mortified and provoked that 
 his brother does not once for all give him a sum of money or 
 a large annuity. Everybody else is amazed that he does not- 
 do this ; but though he is much attached to Lord John, 
 ■admires and is proud of him, his love of money is so great 
 that he cannot bring himself, even for his brother, to do a 
 generous thing on a great scale. His colossal fortune, which 
 goes on increasing every day, and for which he has no use, 
 might well be employed in making his brother easy, and in 
 buying golden opinions for himself; but the passion of 
 avarice and the pleasure of accumulation outweigh all such 
 considerations, and he falls in readily with Lord John's notion 
 of taking an office for the sake of its emoluments. The pre- 
 sent idea is to have this matter settled before Easter, to turn 
 -out Mr. Strutt from the Duchy of Lancaster, and put Lord 
 
 ' [Lord John at this time had a seat in the Cabinet and led the House 
 of Commons without any oiEce in the Ministry and without any salary.] 
 
■1854] WAE IS DECLAKED. 149 
 
 Jolm in tlie place, with an increased salary during his occu- 
 pation of it. Nothing, however, is settled about it yet. 
 
 The publication of the secret correspondence with Rus- 
 sia has excited great interest, and does great credit to the 
 <3rovernment, but it increases the public indignation against 
 the Emperor, because it exposes the extreme duplicity of 
 lis conduct ; and as he must have been aware that such 
 would be the inevitable result of publicity, it is difficult to 
 conceive what induced him to provoke it, unless Walewski's 
 conjecture is the true one. He thinks that the Emperor 
 thought it would make bad blood between us and France, 
 fancying that we had not imparted the correspondence to 
 ahe French Government, in which he was mistaken, as 
 we had done so. 
 
 March 29th. — The die is cast, and war was declared 
 jesterday. We are already beginning to taste the fruits of it. 
 Every species of security has rapidly gone down, and every- 
 hody's property in stocks, shares, &c., is depreciated already 
 rfrom twenty to thirty per cent. I predict confidently that, 
 ^before many months are over, people will be as heartily sick 
 -of it as they are now hot upon it. Nobody knows where 
 our fleets and armies are going, nor what they mean to 
 attempt, and we are profoundly ignorant of the resources 
 and power of Eussia to wage war against us. As the time 
 ^br action approaches, Austria and Prussia grow more 
 reluctant to engage in it. The latter has proclaimed her 
 neutrality, and unless some events should make a change in 
 her policy, I do not believe the former will ever be induced 
 •to act with us and against Russia. The Government here 
 are in a very weak unsatisfactory state. They are supported 
 in carrying on war, but in every other respect they are 
 treated with great indifference, and appear to have very 
 little authority or influence either in Parliament or in the 
 •country. Nobody seems to have risen in estimation, except 
 perhaps Clarendon, who has done his work well and got 
 credit for it. Palmerston and Graham have positively 
 -disgraced themselves by .their dinner to Napier, and the 
 foolish speeches they made both there and in the House of 
 
150 EEIGN OF QUEEJ!ir VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI.. 
 
 Commons afterwards. I do not know what Palmerston's 
 popularity might turn out to he if it should be tested by 
 some change which brought him forward, but he certainly 
 has greatly lost ground this year by his whole conduct from 
 his resignation down to this time. Gladstone, the great 
 card of the pack, has forfeited by the failure of his financial 
 schemes a good deal of the credit he had obtained. John: 
 Russell has offended everybody by his obstinacy about his 
 ill-timed Reform Bill, so that the Government does not stand 
 very high, and is only strong in the weakness of all other 
 parties. They are constantly beaten on small matters in 
 the House of Commons, which produces a bad effect. Up to- 
 this moment nobody knows what John Russell means to do- 
 about the Reform Bill ; if he puts it off again, he ought to 
 do so to-morrow, when the discussion will take place about 
 the declaration of war. 
 
 April 2nd. — The debates in both Houses were marked by 
 great bitterness on the part of the Opposition, by Derby in 
 one House, and by Disraeli and Layard in the other. The 
 war fever is still sufficiently raging to make it impossible 
 for any man who denounces the war itself to obtain a pa- 
 tient hearing. Nobody ventures to cry out against it but 
 Bright in the House of Commons, and Grey in the House of 
 Lords, but already I see symptoms of disquietude and alarm. 
 Some of those who were most warlike begin to look grave,, 
 and to be more alive to the risks, difficulties, and probably 
 dangers of such a contest. I cannot read the remonstrances, 
 and warnings of Bright without going very much along with 
 him ; and the more I reflect on the nature of the contest, its 
 object, and the degree to which we are committed in it, the 
 more uneasy I feel about it, and the more lively my appre- 
 hensions are of our findiiig ourselves in a very serious 
 dilemma, and being involved in great embarrassments of 
 various sorts. Amongst other misfortunes, one is the discredit 
 into which Gladstone has fallen as a financier. Notwith- 
 standing his extraordinary capacity, most people who are 
 conversant with the subject of finance think he has greatly 
 mismanaged his affairs, and suffered his notions or crotchets- 
 
1854] DIVISIONS IN THE CABINET. 151 
 
 to get the better of his prudence, and consequently that he 
 has prepared for himself as Chancellor of the Exchequer very 
 great difficulties. His Budget last year was so popular, and 
 his wonderful readiness and skill in dealing with everything 
 relating to finance excited so much admiration, that his repu- 
 tation was prodigious, and he was not only the strength of 
 the Government, but was marked out as the future Prime 
 Minister whenever changes took place. AH this prestige is 
 very much diminished ; and although his failures are in great 
 measure attributable to accidents over which he had no con- 
 trol, many who are not unfriendly to him think he has been 
 rash, obstinate, and injudicious, and no longer feel the same 
 confidence in him which they did a short time ago. 
 
 April Srd. — -The Duke of Bedford has just been here, as 
 uneasy about the state of affairs and as disgusted and 
 alarmed at the war as I am. He does not know what Lord 
 John will do about the Reform Bill, but fears rather than 
 hopes as to his intentions. Aberdeen had desired that there 
 should be a Cabinet before Easter, and that Lord John should 
 then determine what he would do, but Palmerston requested 
 that the final decision should only be made on the 26th, the 
 day before that on which it is to come on. What his object 
 is, they do not know. The Duke in talking to Lord John 
 suggested the certainty of his breaking up the Government 
 by bringing on his measure, and the enormous evil this would 
 be, to which Lord John replied that if he knew what the in- 
 ternal state of the Government was, he would perhaps not 
 think the evil of the dissolution so great. The fact is, that 
 when the Opposition, as is their wont, taunt the Government 
 with their internal disagreement and want of cordiality and 
 union, they are much more right than they themselves are 
 aware of. The Duke told me that the Queen told him the 
 other day that she had herself written to Lord John urging 
 him to give up bringing on his Bill. Xot long ago the Queen 
 was in favour of proceeding with it, but circumstances were 
 very different at that time. 
 
 April 15th. — This has been a week of excitement. It 
 had been settled that on Monday last John Eussell should 
 
152 KEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 announce Ms intention with regard to the Eeform Bill. His 
 uncertainty still prevailed, and he got into such a state of 
 mind about it that it made him ill. He could not sleep, and 
 was in a terrible state of vexation and perplexity. Aberdeen 
 then proposed to him to give up the Bill, but to obtain from 
 the Cabinet a unanimous consent to his pledging them to 
 go on with it hereafter at some indefinite time. On Saturday 
 there was a Cabinet, at which he made this proposal, but 
 Palmerston and Lansdowne both refused their consent, and 
 Lansdowne was in conversation with his friends very vehe- 
 ment about it. Graham appears to have been reasonable at 
 this Cabinet, and ready to adopt the course proposed to Lord 
 John. It was eventually settled that he should announce the 
 abandonment of the Bill, and make the best statement he 
 could, not pledging the whole Cabinet as he had intended ; 
 but before this he urged them to accept his resignation, 
 which they refused, and then Palmerston begged he might 
 resign, which they refused equally. So matters stood on 
 Saturday night, and everybody believed it was settled. On 
 Sunday Lord John's doubts and fears returned, his mind 
 became unsettled again, and he was inclined to withdraw 
 from his agreement and to go on. To the surprise of the 
 whole House of Commons, when Monday came, Lord John 
 only said he would make his statement the next day. Every- 
 body saw something was wrong, and the curiosity and ex- 
 citement were very great. All Monday and Tuesday morn- 
 ings were passed in conferences and going backwards and. 
 forwards, the Duke of Bedford being called in to work upon 
 Lord John. He did his best, and at last on Tuesday morn- 
 ing he and others finally persuaded Lord John to adhere to 
 what had been determined and withdraw his Bill. This he 
 did in a very good speech, full of an emotion and manifes- 
 tation of sensibility which succeeded completely with the 
 House, and he was greeted with prodigious cheering and 
 compliments and congratulations on all sides. Nothing 
 could in fact go off better, or in a way more gratifying to 
 him, and the Government appears to have been strengthened 
 by the operation. His emotion was sincere, because he is 
 
1854] A FAST DAY. 163 
 
 no actor, but it was in my opinion totally uncalled for ; and 
 as there is but a step between the sublime and the ridiculous, 
 it might just as well have appeared ridiculous ; but for- 
 tunately for him his audience were disposed to take it au 
 grand serieux. Even his brother, partial as he is to him, 
 takes the same view of this that I do, and has written to me 
 that as Lord John has often been abused when he did not 
 deserve it, so he has now been overpraised. 
 
 April 24th. — When this Government was formed, its 
 principal merit was supposed to be its great administrative 
 capacity, and the wonderful way in which the business of 
 the country was to be done. It has turned out just the 
 reverse of what was expected, for they commit ^'one blunder 
 after another, and nothing can be more loose, careless, and 
 ignorant than the way in which their business is conducted. 
 All sorts of mistakes and embarrassments are continually 
 occurring in the House of Commons, and I have had occa- 
 sion to see ample proofs of what I say, in all that has been 
 done and is doing about licences and trade permissions, 
 consequent on the recent declarations and Orders in Council.' 
 ^ow another matter has occurred, discreditable from the 
 carelessness which has been evinced. When it was thought 
 necessary to order a fast day for the war, the Queen set 
 her face against it. She thought it very absurd (as it is) 
 and objected in toto. Aberdeen with some difficulty over- 
 came her objections, setting forth that it had been done by 
 Oeorge III., and that the religious part of the community 
 would make a clamour if it were not done. So she gave way, 
 but still insisted it should not be a ' fast,' so they settled 
 it should be a day of 'humiliation.' The Archbishop of 
 
 ' [On the outteeak of the war a Committee of Council was summoned to 
 ■consider and frame divers Orders with reference to the prohibition of the 
 export of military and naval stores, the detention of Russian ships, and 
 questions of trade in Russian produce. Dr. Lushington, the judge of the 
 Admiralty, was a memher of this Committee, besides several Cabinet 
 Ministers. The French Government proposed to revert to the old system of 
 licences to trade with the enemy ; but this proposal was not agreed to by 
 Great Britain, The Russian trade was left open, except when stopped by 
 blockade. Licences were issued by the Privy Council for the export of 
 military and naval stores to neutral ports.] 
 
154 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 Canterbury fully concurred, and the proclamation was issued 
 accordingly. But the other day the merchants took alarm,, 
 and represented that, as the word ' fast ' was omitted, the 
 case would not come within the provisions of Masterman's 
 Bill, and that bUls of exchange, &c., would be payable 
 on the day itself, and not the day before as provided by 
 that Act, and that all sorts of confusion would arise. The 
 Bank of England took the Solicitor General's opinion, who 
 thought that such would be the law. A great dif&culty 
 arose, for time pressed. The Chancellor thought the case 
 would stand, and was for taking the chance, but the Cabinet 
 on Saturday decided that it would be safer to correct the 
 error even thus late. Aberdeen went to the Queen and 
 told her, and this afternoon there is to be a Council to turn 
 the ' day of humiliation ' into a ' fast day,' in order that 
 ' merchants ' bills may be presented on one day instead of 
 another, and that banking operations may not be deranged. 
 The ridicule this throws on the religious part of the question 
 is obvious, and the effect it ought to have is to discontinue 
 these preposterous observances, which all sensible people 
 regard as a mockery and a delusion. But all this ought to 
 have been provided for, and the law officers ought to have 
 foreseen the consequences and advised accordingly. In 
 Peel's time this never would have happened ; but with a 
 nominal Premier, a Home Secretary who will give himself 
 no trouble about the details of his office, and an Attorney 
 General who does nothing, knows nothing of law, and won't 
 attend to anything, it is no wonder that such things and 
 many others occur. 
 
 To return to the question of trading licences. When we- 
 went to war, the Government, I believe very wisely, resolved 
 to relax belligerent rights and give all possible latitude to- 
 trade, with no more restrictions and reservations than were 
 essentially necessary for carrying on the war. But this 
 resolution involved a revolution of the old system and the- 
 necessity of completely constructing a new one, and as they 
 long ago knew war was inevitable, they ought to have well 
 considered all this, and framed their regulations before they 
 
1854] DEATH OF THE MARQUIS OF ANGLESEY. 155' 
 
 issued their orders. But not a bit of this was done, and the 
 consequence was a state of unparalleled confusion and 
 embarrassment, applications from all sides, and hosts of 
 petitions for leave to export goods of different descriptions. 
 The Government at last set to work to deal with these cases, 
 but in a very irregular, unbusinesslike way. Some two or 
 three of them met in Committee at the Council Office, and 
 with the help of Cardwell, President of the Board of Trade 
 but not in the Cabinet, and Dr. Lushington, who has nothing 
 to do with the Government, they have contrived to scramble 
 through the business ; but the laches and indifference of those 
 who ought to be most concerned, and the loose way of pro- 
 ceeding, have been verj"- striking. Some would not come at 
 all, some came for a short time, different people attended on 
 different days, so that different opinions prevailed, and no 
 regular system was established. The other day, on Cardwell's 
 saying these questions would be taken up as soon as Parlia- 
 ment met and Government called to account, I suggested to 
 
 that, such being the case, he ought to get Lord John 
 
 Russell to attend the Committee. He said he would ask him, 
 ' but John Eussell could not bear details ; he doubted if he 
 would come, and, if he did, would be of no use, as he would 
 be sure to go to sleep; ' and this is the way business of the 
 greatest importance is transacted. 
 
 May 8rd. — The death of Lord Anglesey, which took place 
 a few days ago, has removed one of the last and the most 
 conspicuous of the comrades of the Duke of Wellington, who 
 all seem to be following their commander very rapidly. I 
 have lived with Lord Anglesey for so many years in such 
 intimacy, and have received from him such constant kind- 
 ness, that I cannot pass over his death without a brief 
 notice, 
 
 A more gallant spirit, a finer gentleman, and a more 
 honourable and kindhearted man never existed. His 
 abilities were not of a very high order, but he had a good 
 fair understanding, excellent intentions, and a character 
 remarkably straightforward and sincere, Li his youth he 
 was notoriously vain and arrogant, as most of his family 
 
156 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOBIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 were, but as he advanced in age, his faults and foibles were 
 diminished or softened, and his virtues and amiable dispo- 
 sition manifested themselves the more. He distinguished 
 limself greatly in the command of the cavalry in Sir John 
 Moore's retreat, but was not employed in the Duke's army 
 during the subsequent years of the Peninsular war. In the 
 Waterloo campaign he again commanded the cavalry, not, 
 as was supposed, entirely to the Duke's satisfaction, who 
 would have preferred Lord Combermere in that post. He 
 lost a leg at the battle of Waterloo ; for this wound Lord 
 Anglesey was entitled to a very large pension, of which he 
 never would take a shilling. He was a great friend of 
 George IV., and exposed himself to unpopularity by taking 
 the King's part in the Queen's trial; but their friendship 
 came to an end when Lord Anglesey connected himself with 
 the Whig party, and when he went to Ireland as Lord 
 Lieutenant he deeply offended the King by his open advo- 
 cacy of the Roman Catholic cause in 1829. The Duke of 
 Wellington, then Minister and about to give up the Catholic 
 question, quarrelled with Lord Anglesey and recalled him. 
 For some years past they had not been on very friendly 
 terms. Lord Anglesey was jealous of the Duke, and used 
 to affect to disparage his capacity both as a general and 
 a statesman, and this political difference completed their 
 mutual estrangement. These hostile feelings did not, how- 
 ever, last long ; Lord Anglesey had a generous disposition, 
 and was too fair and true to do permanent injustice to the 
 Duke. I do not know how the reconciliation between them 
 was brought about, but their temporary alienation was 
 succeeded by a firm and lasting friendship, and the most 
 enthusiastic admiration and attachment entertained by Lord 
 Anglesey towards the Duke. For many years before the 
 4eath of the latter, the two old warriors were the most 
 intimate friends and constant companions, and every vestige 
 of their former differences and antipathies was effaced and 
 had given way to warm sentiments of mutual regard. When 
 the regiment of Guards became vacant. King William sent 
 for Lord Anglesey and announced to him that he was to have 
 
1854J A FINANCIAL PAILUBE. 157 
 
 it ; he of course expressed his acknowledgements ; but early 
 the next morning he went to the King and said to him that 
 he felt it his duty to represent to him that there was a man. 
 worthier than himself to have the regiment, that Lord Ludlow 
 had lost his arm at their head, and that he could not bear to 
 accept that to which Lord Ludlow was so justly entitled. 
 This remonstrance, so unselfish and honourable, was accepted, 
 and the regiment was conferred on Lord Ludlow.' 
 
 May 7th. — The failure of Gladstone's Exchequer Bill 
 scheme has been very injurious to the Government, and 
 particularly to him. The prodigious applause and admira- 
 tion with which he was greeted last year have given way to 
 distrust and apprehension of him as a finance minister, and 
 the repeated failures of his different schemes have- in ai very 
 short time materially damaged his reputation, and destroyed 
 the prestige of his great abilities. All practical men in the 
 City severely blame him for having exposed himself to the 
 risk of failure, and reproach him with the folly of trying to 
 make too good a bargain, and by so doing exposing himself 
 to the defeat he has sustained. The consequences wUl not 
 probably be serious, but the Government is weakened by it, 
 and the diminution of public confidence in Gladstone is a 
 public misfortune. 
 
 Next in importance to the financial difficulty is the 
 Oxford Bill, with which Government have got into a mess, 
 and they are struggling through the measure with doubtful 
 and small majorities, having been beaten on an important 
 point, and now quite uncertain if they shall be able to carry 
 it. I fell in with Graham yesterday, and spoke to him. 
 about these things, when he replied that Gladstone's failure 
 was very unfortunate, but he had no doubt he would make a 
 great speech in Ms own defence on Monday night. With 
 regard to Oxford, he said it was quite true that they could 
 
 ' [George James, 3rd Earl of Ludlow in tlie peerage of Ireland, and 
 created a baron of the United Kingdom in 1831, was born December 12, 
 1758, and died April 16, 1842, when the titles became extinct. He served 
 with distinction in the army, .and was colonel of the 38th regiment of 
 foot.] 
 
158 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI, 
 
 not depend on carrying the clauses of their bill, but that 
 was because in the present state of the House ' they could 
 ■' not carry a turnpike bill,' they were absolutely without 
 power, and ' it was a state of things that could not go on,' ' 
 Last night I had a talk with Charles Wood on the same 
 subject, and he said that the truth was, a revolution had 
 silently been effected. Parties were at an end, and the 
 House of Commons was no longer divided into and governed 
 lay them ; and that the predicament in which this Govern- 
 ment is placed would be the same with every other, and 
 business could no longer be conducted in Parliament in the 
 way it used to be. All this is in my opinion quite true, and 
 what has long struck me. Whether the extreme elasticity 
 of our institutions, and the power of adaptation to circum- 
 istances which seems to pervade them, will enable us to 
 find remedies and resources, and that the apparent derange- 
 ment will right itself, remains to be seen. But it is a 
 condition of affairs full of uncertainty, therefore of danger, 
 and which makes me very uneasy whenever I think of it. 
 It is evident that this Grovernment is now backed by no 
 great party, and that it has very few independent adherents 
 on whom it can count. It scrambles on with casual support, 
 and its continuing at all to exist is principally owing to the 
 extreme difficulty of forming any other, and the certainty 
 that no other that could be formed would be stronger or more 
 secure, either more popular or more powerful. 
 
 May 7th. — It is scarcely a year ago that I was writing 
 enthusiastic panegyrics on Gladstone, and describing him as 
 the great ornament and support of the Government, and as 
 the future Prime Minister. This was after the prodigious 
 success of his first Budget and his able speeches, but a few 
 months seem to have overturned all his power and authority. 
 I hear nothing but complaints of bis rashness and passion 
 for experiments ; and on all sides, from men, for example, 
 
 > [Lord John Russell introduced a till to make further provision for 
 the good government of the University of Oxford and the colleges therein, 
 which passed hoth Houses, with some amendments, in the course of the 
 session.] 
 
1854] ME. GLADSTONE'S BUD&ET. 159 
 
 like Tom Baring and Eobarts, one a Tory, the other a Whig, 
 "that the City and the moneyed men have lost all confidence 
 in him. To-morrow night he is to make his financial state- 
 ment, and intense curiosity prevails to see how he will provide 
 the ways and means for carrying on the war. Everybody 
 expects that he wiU make an able speech; but brilliant 
 speeches do not produce very great effect, and more anxiety 
 is felt for the measures he will propose than for the dexterity 
 and ingenuity he may display in proposing them. Parlia- 
 ment is ready to vote without grumbling any money that is 
 asked for, and as yet public opinion has not begun to waver 
 and complain ; but we are only yet at the very beginning of 
 ihis horrible mess, and people are still looking with eager 
 interest to the successes they anticipate, and have not yet 
 Tsegun to feel the cost. 
 
 May IQth. — Gladstone made a great speech on Monday 
 Tiight. He spoke for nearly four hours, occupying the first 
 half of the time in an elaborate and not unsuccessful defence 
 of his former measures. His speech, which was certainly 
 very able, was well received, and the Budget pronounced an 
 honourable and creditable one. If he had chosen to sacri- 
 fice his conscientious convictions to popularity, he might 
 have gained a great amount of the latter by proposing a loan, 
 and no more taxes than would be necessary for the interest 
 of it. I do not yet know whether his defence of his abor- 
 tive schemes has satisfied the monetary critics. It was cer- 
 tainly very plausible, and will probably be sufficient for the 
 uninformed and the half-informed, who cannot detect any 
 fallacies which may lurk within it. He attacked some of his 
 •opponents with great severity, particularly Disraeli and Mont- 
 eagle, but I doubt if this was prudent. He flung about his 
 ;sarcasms upon smaller fry, and this certainly was not discreet. 
 I think his speech has been of service to his financial cha- 
 racter, and done a good deal towards the restoration of 
 his credit. 
 
 May \2th. — Cowley called on me yesterday, when we talked 
 •over the war with all its etceteras. He said the Emperor 
 Jiad been most reluctant to go into it, but was now firmly 
 
160 REIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 resolved to pursue it vigorously, and not to desist tiU lie had 
 obtained fair terms of peace ; above aU things he is bent on 
 going on with us in unbroken amity. Cowley thinks his 
 political position as secure as any position can be in France, 
 and certainly the country seems satisfied with his rule. His 
 social position is unimproved and rather worse ; his marriage 
 was a fatal measure ; he would have done far better if he 
 could have married the Hohenlohe girl, who was dying to be 
 Empress, and Cowley thinks the Queen was wrong to prevent 
 the match. In that case the Court might have been very 
 different. In the beginning, after his marriage, he attempted 
 to purify it as well as he could, and to get rid of all the dis- 
 reputable women about it ; but by degrees they have all come 
 back again, and now they are more encanaillees than ever. 
 
 The French Government have given a strong proof of 
 their goodwill to us by recalling Baraguay d'Hilliers from 
 Constantinople, and not sending another ambassador, as they 
 find none can possibly live on good terms with Stratford. 
 Cowley says the war might have been prevented, he thinks, 
 and particularly if Stratford had not been there. The 
 Emperor would have made greater concessions if Stratford 
 had not been at Constantinople, and another ambassador 
 would have striven to preserve peace instead of being, as he 
 was, bent on producing a war. 
 
 Edward Mills tells me Gladstone's recent speech has im- 
 mensely raised him, and that he stands very high in the 
 City, his defence of his measures very able, and produced a 
 great effect ; he said he lately met Walpole, who told him 
 he had the highest admiration of Gladstone, and thought he 
 had more power than ever Peel had even at his highest tide. 
 
 May 2Qth. — I have been so much occupied with the very 
 dissimilar occupations of preparations for Epsom races in 
 the shape of trials, betting, &c., and the finishing and 
 correction of an article in the ' Edinburgh Review ' on King 
 Joseph's Memoirs, that I have had no leisure to think of 
 politics, or to record what has been going on in the political 
 world, nor in truth has much material been furnished either 
 by domestic or foreign transactions. The last fortnight in 
 
1854] DEFEATS OF THE GOVEENBIENT. 161 
 
 Parliament lias been going on mucli in the way in which 
 the present Grovernment always goes on, and Grladstone, 
 whom I met at dinner the other day, repeated to me very 
 much what Graham had said some time before, about their 
 utter inability to carry their measures in the House of 
 Commons. There is, however, one important exception to 
 this rule, and that is one of vital importance. On everything 
 which relates to the war, and on all questions of supply, they 
 can do whatever they please, and have no difficulty, and en- 
 counter no opposition. Tom Baring's motion on Monday 
 last exhibited a striking proof of this ; he introduced it by 
 an able speech, and he mustered all the support that could 
 be got, and yet he was defeated by above 100. I met Disraeli 
 in the street the next day, when he said, ' Tour Government 
 is very strong.' I said, the war which was supposed to be 
 their weakness turns out to be their strength. They can 
 carry everything which appertains to that, and nothing else. 
 And so it is ; no sooner do they get a great majority on some 
 important question than they find themselves in a minority, 
 perhaps more than one, on something else. John Russell 
 got beaten on his Oaths Bill the other night, a victory which 
 was hailed with uproarious delight by the Opposition, though 
 leading to nothing, and only mortifying to John Eussell 
 personally. These defeats, however, do not fail to be morally 
 injurious to the Government, and to shake their credit. It 
 was an ill advised measure, which drew down upon itself 
 those who are against the Jews and those who are against 
 the Catholics. Palmerston has been showing ill humour in 
 the House of Commons, and has ceased to be so very popular 
 as he used to be there. They have great difficulty in getting 
 on with the University Bill, and Gladstone told me the other 
 night he was very doubtful if they should be able to bring 
 it to a successful end. All the Tories and High Churchmen 
 are against it of course, and the Dissenters regard it with no 
 favour because it does not do for them what they desire ; 
 so it is left to the support of the friends of Government and 
 those who sincerely desire a good measure of reform for 
 those bodies. 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
162 EEIGN OF aUEBN VICTOEIA. LOhap. VI. 
 
 June 5th. — I was at Epsom all last week. In tlie beginning 
 of it or the week before there was a great passage of arms in 
 the Honse of Commons between John Eussell and Disraeli, 
 not a ver}'- creditable exhibition, but which excited greater 
 interest than more important matters. Though Disraeli 
 began the attack, Lord John threw the first stone of offence, 
 which he had better have let alone. In reply to this Disraeli 
 broke out with inconceivable violence and made the most 
 furious assault upon John that he could, saying everything 
 most offensive and provoking. Lord John made a rejoinder, 
 and was followed by Bright, whose speech was very hos- 
 tile and spiteful, and much more calculated to annoy Lord 
 John than that of Disraeli, though much less vituperative. 
 Disraeli seems inclined to have recourse to his old tactics 
 against Peel, and to endeavour to treat John Russell, and 
 Gladstone when he can, in the same way, hoping probably 
 to re-ingratiate himself with his own side by giving them 
 some of those invectives and sarcasms against their oppo- 
 nents which are so congenial to their tastes. This course 
 will not raise him either in the House or in the country, and 
 he will not find in Lord John a man either so sensitive or so 
 vulnerable as Peel, and he can make out nothing against a 
 man who refuses place, patronage, and emolument, and gives 
 his gratuitous services at a great personal sacrifice because 
 he thinks it his public duty to do so. There is nothing new 
 in the condition of the Government; they are very firmly 
 seated in their places, the House of Commons supporting 
 them by large majorities in aii their great measures and 
 those which involve a question of confidence ; but having no 
 dependable majority on miscellaneous questions, nor even 
 knowing whether they can carry any measure or not, it is 
 idle to twit them with being a Government on sufferance 
 and Lord John with not ' leading ' the House of Commons. 
 A revolution has taken place in the conditions of the pohti- 
 cal existence of governments in general and their relations 
 vdth Parliament, and there is at present no likelihood that 
 any government that can be formed will find itself in different 
 circumstances, or that the old practice by which a govern- 
 
1854] THE PEESIDENCT OF THE COUNCIL. 163 
 
 ment could command the House of Commons on almost 
 everything will ever be restored. Whether the new system 
 be better or worse than the old may be doubtful, bnt govern- 
 ments must make up their minds to conform to it for the 
 present at least. In the course of the next few days the 
 division of the Colonial from the War Department will take 
 place. There seems little doubt that Newcastle will elect to 
 take the War Department, and Clarendon told me yesterday 
 he thought he would be the best man for it, warmly praising 
 his energy, industry, and ability, and his popular and con- 
 ciliatory qualities. Their great object is to prevail on Lord 
 John to take the Colonial Office, which I expect he will 
 eventually do, but not without much reluctance and hesi- 
 tation. Granville tells me he is in a dissatisfied state of 
 mind, in which he will probably long remain, especially as his 
 entourage will always do their best to foment his discontent. 
 June 11th. — Yesterday and the day before the world was 
 made acquainted with the recent arrangements and appoint- 
 ments, which have been received with considerable disappro- 
 bation.' Nobody can understand what it all means, and 
 why John EusseU, if he was to take office, was to insist on 
 so strange an arrangement, and such a departure from the 
 invariable practice of putting a peer in the office of President 
 of the Council. Nothing can be more ungracious than the 
 air of the whole proceeding : he turns out GranviUe to make 
 room for himself, and turns out Strutt to make room for 
 Granville. It seems that they wanted him to be Colonial 
 Secretary, but this he would not hear of on the score of his 
 health, and as it is now admitted as an axiom that the 
 leader in the House of Commons has enough to do, and can- 
 not efficiently discharg''' the duties of a laborious department, 
 
 1 [Lord Joka Russell insisted on taking tte office of Lord President of 
 the Council, whicli has always been held by a peer, and to effect this change 
 Earl Granville was removed from the higher office of Lord President to that 
 of Chancellor of the Duchy. The Right Honourable Edw ard Strutt, who 
 had been Chancellor of the Duchy with a seat in the Cabinet, was dismissed 
 from office, but he was subsequently raised to the peerage with the title of 
 Lord Belper. This transaction reflected no credit on the author of it, who 
 consulted nothing but his own dignity and convenience.] 
 
 M 2 
 
164 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 it was reasonable enoiagh that Lord Jolin should decline the 
 Colonies ; but there seems no sufficient reason for his not 
 taking the Duchy of Lancaster, for the more completely the 
 office is a sinecure, the more consistent his taking it would 
 appear. However, he would be President of the Council or 
 nothing. I have been amazed at his indelicacy and want 
 of consideration towards Grajuville, who deserved better 
 treatment at his hands. Granville has always been his 
 steady and stout adherent, defending his Reform Bill, holding 
 himself his especial follower in the Coalition Cabinet, and 
 ready to support him or go out with him if necessary. It 
 was therefore particularly odious to insist on foisting himself 
 into Granville's place, and inflicting on him the mortification 
 of going downstairs. Granville behaved very well about it, 
 with great good humour, only anxious to do whatever was 
 best for the general interest, and putting aside every 
 personal consideration and feeling ; and his conduct is the 
 more meritorious, because he dislikes the arrangement of all 
 things. Aberdeen behaved very kindly to him, and told him, 
 if he objected to the change, he would not consent to it, and, 
 cost what it might, would tell John Russell he could not and 
 should not have the place. Granville proposed to go out, at 
 least for a time, but Aberdeen said he could not spare him, 
 and nothing could be more flattering than all he expressed 
 of his usefulness in the House of Lords, and of the value of 
 his services. Personally, therefore, he loses nothing; for 
 though he preferred the Council Office to the Duchy, his 
 conduct has raised him in everybody's estimation, and he 
 will play a part even more prominent than he did before. 
 
 One reason why Lord John should not have come to the 
 Council Office was the embarrassment he will be sure to find 
 himself in about questions of education, his reputation and 
 his antecedents, as well as his political connexions, making 
 him peculiarly unfit to be at the head of the Education 
 Department ; and I am inclined to agree with Vernon Smith, 
 who said to me the other day that it would infallibly end 
 in Lord John's bringing in next year an impracticable Edu- 
 cation Bill and withdrawing it. George Grey's coming into 
 
1854] LOED JOHN RUSSELL'S POSITION. 165 
 
 office will be of use to the Government. Newcastle's being 
 War Minister is sure to be attacked, and all the Palmer- 
 stonians are indignant that Palmerston is not in that place, 
 which never was offered him, nor was he consulted about the 
 arrangement. I think there is still a considerable opinion 
 that he would make a good War Mmister, though everybody 
 is aware he makes a very bad Home one, and the prestige. 
 about him and his popularity are greatly worn out. They 
 have been obliged to go back to the reign of Henry VIII. to 
 find a precedent for a commoner being President of the 
 Council, when they say there was one, but I don't know 
 who he was. 
 
 Jwne 21st. — At St. Leonards last week for Ascot races, 
 where I got wet, and have been ever since confined with the 
 gout. The 'Times,' though by way of supporting the 
 Government, went on violently attacking John Russell about 
 the recent changes. Lord John was very well received in 
 the City at his election, and at the opening of the Crystal 
 Palace he was more cheered than anybody. This morning 
 the Duke of Bedford came here and told me he had had a 
 good deal of conversation with his brother about this busi- 
 ness, to which he (the Duke) had been a stranger while it 
 was going on. Lord John said that when the Government 
 was formed he had proposed to Aberdeen that he should be 
 President of the Council, but Aberdeen had objected on the 
 score of its being so unusual, therefore he was only going 
 back to Ms original design. He had an invincible repug- 
 nance to taking the Duchy of Lancaster or any inferior 
 office. Both when the Government was formed and now, 
 he would have much preferred to have kept aloof, and to 
 have led in the House of Commons that section of the Whig- 
 party which would have followed him, but he found this 
 impossible, and as the Government could not have been 
 formed without him, and could not now go on without him, 
 he was obliged to sacrifice his own inclination. I said I 
 could not conceive why he coidd not go on as he was till the 
 end of the session, and then settle it, that his pushing out 
 Granville had a very ungracious appearance, and he would 
 
166 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 have done mucli better to take tlie sinecure office of the 
 Duchy, it being quite absurd to suppose that he could be 
 degraded by holding any office, no matter what. The Duke 
 owned it would have been better to wait till Parliament was 
 xip before anything was done, and he regarded the question; 
 of the particular office much as I do. 
 
 There was a disciission in the House of Lords on Monday 
 night on the war, when Lyndhurst made a grand speech,, 
 wonderful at his age — 82 ; he spoke for an hour and a quarter 
 with as much force and clearness as at any time of his life j 
 it was greatly admired. Clarendon spoke well and strongly, 
 and elicited expressions of satisfaction from Derby, after 
 whom Aberdeen rose, and imprudently spoke in the sense of 
 desiring peace, a speech which has been laid hold of, and 
 drawn down upon him a renewal of the violent abuse with 
 which he has been all along assailed. I see nothing in his 
 speech to justify the clamour, but it was very ill judged in 
 him with his antecedents to say what he did, which malig- 
 nity could so easily lay hold of. 
 
 June 2hth. — There never was such a state of things as 
 that which now exists between the Government, the Party, 
 and the House of Commons. John Russell made such a 
 hash of it last week, and put himself and his Government 
 in such a position, that nothing but the war, and the impos- 
 sibility which everybody feels there is of making any change 
 of Government in the midst of it, prevents the immediate 
 downfall of this Administration. Last week John Russell 
 opposed the motion for the abolition of Church rates in a 
 flaming High Tory and Church speech. The motion was 
 rejected by a slender majority, but his speech gave great 
 offence to the Liberal party and his own friends. Immedi- 
 ately afterwards came on the motion in the University Bill 
 for admitting Dissenters to the University. This John 
 Russell opposed again, although in his speech he declared 
 he was in favour of the admission of Dissenters, but he 
 objected to the motion on various grounds. The result was 
 that he went into the lobby with Disraeli and the whole 
 body of the Tories, while the whole of the Liberal party and 
 
1854] LOED JOHN EUSSELL VOTES "WITH THE TORIES. 167 
 
 all liis own friends and supporters went against him and 
 defeated him by a majority of 91. He took with him six or 
 seven of his colleagues, and two or three of the underlings. 
 Molesworth, Bernal Osborne, and some more stayed away, 
 and some others voted in the majority. In the majority 
 were found Christopher and a few Tories besides, who, how- 
 ever, only voted with the object and hope of damaging the 
 bill itself and procuring its rejection in the House of Lords. 
 Never was man placed in so deplorable and humiliating a 
 position as John Russell, and nothing can exceed his folly 
 and mismanagement in getting himself into such a scrape. 
 The indignation and resentment of the Liberals are bound- 
 less, and I think he has completely put an extinguisher on 
 himself as a statesman and as the leader of a party ; they 
 never will forgive him or feel any confidence in him again. 
 There was a capital article on him and his proceedings in 
 the 'Times' yesterday, which was not acrimonious, like 
 some others on him, and was perfectly just and true. 
 
 The victorious Liberals managed their affairs very ill. 
 Instead of resting satisfied with a victory which must have 
 been decisive (for after all the House of Commons had af- 
 firmed the principle of admitting the Dissenters by so large 
 a majority, neither the House of Lords nor the University 
 would have ventured to oppose it), they imprudently pressed 
 on another division ' in which they were beaten, though by 
 a small majority, and this of course does away with a good 
 deal of the effect of the first division. Between the recent 
 changes which were universally distasteful, and his extraor- 
 dinary maladroitness in these questions, Lord John is fallen 
 prodigiously in public favour and opinion, and while he is, or 
 has been till very recently, dreaming of again being Prime 
 Minister, it is evident that he is totally unfit to be the leader 
 of the Government in the House of Commons even in a sub- 
 ordinate post. He communicates with nobody, he has no 
 confidence in or sympathy with any one, he does not impart 
 
 1 It seems it was Mr. Walpole who insisted on the second division, which 
 he did for the express purpose of neutralising the effect of the first, hoping 
 to get a majority, which he did, and it was rather dexterously done. 
 
168 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 his intentions or his wishes to his own political followers, 
 and does not ask to he informed of theirs, but he buries 
 himself at Richmond and only comes forth to say and do 
 everything that is most imprudent and unpopular. 
 
 The House of Commons is in a state of complete anarchy, 
 and nobody has any hold on it ; matters, bad enough through 
 John Eussell, are made worse by Aberdeen, whose speech 
 the other night has made a great, but I think unnecessary 
 clamour ; and Layard, who is his bitter enemy, took it up in 
 the House of Commons, and has given notice of a motion on 
 it which is equivalent to a vote of censure. Almost at the 
 same moment Aberdeen, with questionable prudence and 
 dignity, gave notice in the Lords that on Monday he should 
 explain the speech he made the other night. Layard's design 
 can hardly be matured, because they never can permit a 
 speech made in one House of Parliament to be made the 
 subject of a motion and debate in the other. It is, however, 
 incontestable that clamour and misrepresentation have suc- 
 ceeded in raising a vast prejudice against Aberdeen, and that 
 he is exceedingly unpopular. 
 
 The people are wild about this war, and besides the 
 genera] confidence that we are to obtain very signal success 
 in our naval and military operations, there is a violent desire 
 to force the Emperor to make a very humiliating peace, and 
 a strong conviction that he will very soon be compelled to do 
 so. This belief is the cause of the great rise which has been 
 taking place in the public securities, and all sorts of stories 
 are rife of the terror and dislike of the war which prevail in 
 Russia, and of the agitation and melancholy in which the 
 Emperor is said to be plunged. But the authentic accounts 
 from St. Petersburg tell a very different tale. They say, 
 and our Consul just arrived from St. Petersburg confirms 
 the statement, that the Emperor is calm and resolute, that 
 his popularity is very great, and the Russians of all classes 
 enthusiastic in his cause, and that they are prepared to a 
 man to sacrifice their properties and their lives in a vigorous 
 prosecution of the war. 
 
 July 9th. — It is remarkable that the Government are 
 
1854] UNPOPULAEITY OF LOUD ABERDEEN. 169 
 
 unquestionably stronger in the House of Lords than in the 
 House of Commons, as has been clearly proved by the result 
 of the Oxford University Bill. Derby endeavoured to alter 
 it, and was completely defeated. There were several divi- 
 sions, in all of which the Government obtained large majori- 
 ties, and at last Derby said it was evidently useless to 
 propose any alterations, as the Government could do what 
 they pleased in that House. The session is drawing to a 
 close ; that is, though it will last a month longer, all impor- 
 tant business is over. The Government will end it much in 
 the same condition as they were in at the beginning of it, 
 only that their weakness and want of popularity have been 
 manifested in a thousand ways during the session. Aber- 
 deen's explanatory speech and the publication of his despatch 
 of 1829 have given rather a turn to the current against him; 
 for though his violent opponents still snarl at him and abuse 
 him, the impartial people begin to think he is not so bad as 
 he has been represented, and the excessive absurdity of the 
 charges with which he has been assailed begins to strike 
 people. There is still, however, a strong prejudice against 
 him, particularly amongst the extreme Liberals, and I saw a 
 long letter from Sir Benjamin Hall to the Duke of Bedford 
 setting forth the discontent of the Liberal party and vehe- 
 mently urging that the Government should be immediately 
 modified, Aberdeen retire, and Lord John Russell again be 
 Minister, with Palmerston as War Minister — perfectly absurd 
 and impracticable, but showing what the notions are of the 
 ultra- Radicals. The Tories, agreeing in nothing else, concur 
 with the Radicals in hating Aberdeen because he represents 
 the Peel party, and is Minister as the successor of Sir Robert 
 Peel, for whose memory their hatred is as intense as it was 
 for his person when he was alive. The war goes on without 
 any immediate results, and without, as far as can be seen, 
 a probability of the attainment of any signal or important 
 successes. The foolish public here, always extravagant and 
 impatient, clamour for attacks upon Sebastopol and Cron- 
 stadt, and are very indignant that these places are not taken, 
 without knowing anything of the feasibility of such opera- 
 
170 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap, VI. 
 
 tions. We now begin to believe tbat Austria is going to 
 side actively witb us, but we do not feel certain of it, nor 
 shall we till sbe actually enters on the campaign. 
 
 July 19th. — -Within a few days everything is changed. 
 In respect to Austria, the intrigues of Russia with Prussia, 
 and the determination of the King to do everything that he 
 can or that he dares to assist his imperial brother-in-law, 
 have had the effect of paralysing the Austrian movements, 
 and suspending the operation of her Treaty with Turkey. 
 She cannot venture to declare war against Russia and to 
 march her army into the Principalities while there is a large 
 Russian force on the borders of Galicia, and the Prussians 
 are in such an ambiguous attitude and disposibion, that she 
 can not only not depend upon Prussia to execute their defen- 
 sive Treaty by protecting her dominions in the event of their 
 being attacked by Russia, but she cannot depend upon not 
 being taken in flank by Prussia as the ally of Russia. 
 Clarendon told me on Sunday that it was impossible to 
 make out what Austria was about, or what she really 
 means to do. There is no doubt about Prussia, and he still 
 inclines to believe that Austria's disposition to act with us is 
 unchanged, but that she is compelled to act a cautious and 
 dilatory part by her uncertainty as to Prussia. 
 
 On Monday John Russell convoked his supporters and 
 quasi-supporters to a gathering in Downing Street, when he 
 harangued them on the state of affairs and the difficulties of 
 the Government, intimating the necessity of being better 
 supported if the Government was to go on at all. There are 
 differences of opinion as to the way in which the meeting 
 went off, and whether it was on the whole satisfactory. 
 The principal speakers were Bright, Vernon Smith, and 
 Horsman, the two latter bitter enough against the Govern- 
 ment. Bright, rather hostile, spoke well and alluded to 
 Aberdeen in a friendly spirit, as did Hume. The meeting 
 gradually melted away, so that Lord John had no oppor- 
 tunity of making a reply, which was a pity, as he might 
 have answered the objectors. The best proof, however, that 
 on the whole it was successful, was afforded by the fact that 
 
1854] AS APPOINTMENT CANCELLED. 171 
 
 there was neither debate nor division on the War Secre- 
 tary's estimate moved for by Lord John that night. All 
 went off with the greatest ease. I am in hopes therefore 
 that the Government is somewhat in better plight than 
 it was. 
 
 August 4th. — I have been out of town for the greater 
 part of the time since the 19th ultimo, at Goodwood, nearly 
 ten days. Nothing very important has occurred in politics. 
 As the session has drawn towards a close, the Government 
 have, on the whole, done rather better in Parliament, that 
 is, the Opposition have been quite incapable of striking any 
 blows or doing them any injury. The points that were 
 expected to be made against them entirely failed, and, with 
 the exception of one personal matter, they have had no diffi- 
 culties or annoyances to vex them. This matter was the case 
 
 of , the denouement of which took place two days ago ; 
 
 after being Gladstone's private secretary for two years, this 
 gentleman was appointed by Newcastle, just before he gave 
 up the Colonies, to be Governor of South Australia. The 
 appointment was criticised, but about ten days ago it was 
 called in question in the House of Commons, and at the 
 same time rumours were rife that he had been gambling in 
 the funds and had lost money ; he denied, and authorised 
 his friends to deny the imputation, but some of the Carlton 
 runners got scent of his transactions and followed it up with 
 such perseverance that he became alarmed and thought him- 
 self obliged to prevent the shame and odium of detection by 
 confessing the fact. The consequence was that the appoint- 
 ment was cancelled, and the whole matter explained and 
 discussed on Thursday night in the House of Commons, 
 when George Grey made a long statement. The discussion 
 upon it was very creditable to the House, for there was no 
 personal animosity and no coarseness or inhumanity dis- 
 played, but, on the contrary, forbearance and good nature 
 towards the individual. Any expectation of being able to 
 wound Gladstone through him has quite failed. He is a 
 clever fellow enough and well educated, but he has been 
 very imprudent, and contrived at once to lose his place of 
 
172 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 private secretary, his government, his seat in Parliament, 
 his character, and Ms money. 
 
 At last it does now appear as if Austria was going to 
 join us completely against Russia, and the invasion of the 
 Crimea is about to take place in complete ignorance of the 
 means of resistance and defence possessed by Russia, and 
 whether it will be a nearly impossible or comparatively easy 
 enterprise. 
 
 Clarendon, when I saw him last Sunday, expressed great 
 alarm at the state of affairs in Spain, from the weakness of 
 Espartero, the difficulty of any cordial union between the 
 military chiefs, so long rivals, and above all from the 
 republican element which is so rife in Spain, and which may 
 produce effects extending far beyond that country. He said 
 that the French Grovernment were acting in complete har- 
 mony and concert with us ; the Emperor is much alarmed at 
 the state of Spain, but resolved to go with us in the policy of 
 non-interference, and to take no part but such as we should 
 take also. If he adheres to this wise course, it will cement 
 the alliance between the countries, and bind us to him more 
 than anything that could happen, and it will form a great 
 and happy contrast to the policy of Louis Philippe and the 
 conduct of Palmerston and Guizot. 
 
 August 14th. — The session closed on Saturday, and, all 
 things considered, the Government wound it up tolerably well. 
 Clanricarde, true to the last to his spiteful opposition, gave 
 Clarendon an opportunity of making a parting speech on 
 foreign affairs, of which he acquitted himself very success- 
 fully, and placed himself and the Government in a very good 
 position as respects our diplomacy and the conduct of the 
 war. But though all immediate danger is removed from the 
 Government, and, unless they fall to pieces during the recess 
 by any internal dissensions, they will probably go on un- 
 scathed, the state of affairs is very unsatisfactory, and 
 pregnant with future troubles and difficulties. The Govern- 
 ment in its relations with the House of Commons throughout 
 the past session has been extraordinary, and I believe unpre- 
 cedented. From the Revolution to the time of the Reform 
 
1854] PABLIAMENTAEY GOVERNMENT. 173 
 
 Bill, that is during 150 years, the system of Parliamentary 
 government had been consolidating itself and was practically 
 established ; the Sovereign nominally, the House of Commons 
 really, appointed the ministers of the Crown, and it was 
 settled as an axiom that when the Government was unable 
 to carry its measures, and was subjected to defeats in the 
 House of Commons, its resignation was indispensable — not 
 indeed that any and every defeat was necessarily fatal, 
 because governments have often been beaten on very 
 important questions without being ruined or materially 
 weakened, but it was supposed that repeated defeats and 
 Government measures repeatedly rejected implied the with- 
 drawal of the confidence and support of Parliament so clearly 
 that in the aggregate such defeats were equivalent to an 
 absolute vote of want of confidence, which is in itself a 
 sentence of political death. In former times the Crown was 
 a power, and the House of Commons was a power, generally 
 blended and acting harmoniously together, but sometimes 
 resolving themselves into their separate elements, and acting 
 independently, perhaps antagonistically, towards each other. 
 In modern times, and more entirely in our own, this separate 
 and independent action ceased, the Crown became identified 
 with the majority of the House of Commons, and no minister, 
 when he could no longer command that majority so as to be 
 certain of carrying out all, or nearly all, his measures of 
 government and legislation, could continue to be minister, 
 and was obliged as a matter of course to surrender ofiBce to 
 those who were in possession of, or could count upon, that 
 command. The ministers were taken from the ranks of the 
 Parliamentary majority, and when once appointed it was 
 considered indispensable and certain that the same majority 
 would place confidence in them, accept at their hands all the 
 measures they should concert and propose, and support them 
 against all hostile attacks, the spirit of party and combina- 
 tion suppressing all individual prejudices, crotchets, fancies, 
 and partial or local influences. The Government and the 
 party were bound by a sort of mutual allegiance to each 
 other, and supposed to be, and usually were, animated by the 
 
174 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 same spirit and a communion of opinion and interest. Such 
 were the general relations and such the normal state of things, 
 liable to occasional variations and disturbances, bringing 
 about various political changes according to circumstances. 
 But the system was complete, and practically it worked well, 
 and conduced to the prosperity and progress of the country. 
 When the great measure of Eeform in Parliament was 
 introduced in 1831, apart from all question of party struggles 
 there was the still greater question considered by many 
 reflecting people, whether the new Parliamentary and electoral 
 system would be found compatible with the old practice of 
 government by means of party and steady Parliamentary 
 majorities. The Duke of Wellington in particular expressed 
 his apprehension that it would not, and he put the question 
 which has so often been quoted and referred to, ' How is the 
 King's Grovernment to be carried on ? ' He did not, so far as 
 I remember, develope his thoughts at the time, and argue the 
 matter in detail, but it is very evident that what he antici- 
 pated was some such state of things as that at which we now 
 appear to have arrived. For a long time his apprehensions 
 appeared to be groundless, and certainly they were not 
 realised by the course of events. In consequence of political 
 circumstances which I shall not stop to specify and explain, 
 notwithstanding all the changes which were effected, the 
 governments contrived to go on without any insuperable 
 difEiculties, and without any striking difference from the way 
 in which governments had been previously conducted. The 
 popularity of the Eeform Bill Administration supported them 
 for a few years, and the Tory reaction, together with the 
 great abilities of Sir Robert Peel, supported the Conservative 
 Government for a few years more. Matters went on better or 
 worse, as might be, till the great Conservative schism in 1846, 
 which completely broke up that party, and produced a final 
 separation between the able few and the numerous mediocrity 
 of the party. Ever since that time the House of Commons has 
 been in a state of disorganisation and confusion : the great 
 party ties had been severed. After the repeal of the Corn 
 Laws and the establishment of Free Trade it was difficult to 
 
185i] REVIEW OF PARTIES. 175 
 
 find auy great party principles which could be converted into 
 bonds of union, and every day it became obviously more and 
 more difficult to form any government that could hope to be 
 strong or permanent. John Russell succeeded on the fall of 
 Peel, but the Peelites warmly resented the conduct of the 
 Whigs in Peel's last struggle, and, though they hated Derby 
 and his crew much more, never gave Lord John's Government 
 a cordial support. 
 
 Next came the quarrel between Palmerston and Lord 
 John and the fall of the Whig Government. Many people, 
 and Graham especially, were of opinion that a Derby Govern- 
 ment/or a time was an inevitable but indispensable evil, and 
 after one abortive attempt at length a Derby Government 
 was formed. From the beginning nobody thought it could 
 last ; the wretched composition of it, its false position, and 
 the mixture of inconsistency and insincerity which charac- 
 terised it, deprived it of all respect, authority, and influence, 
 and it was the more weak because divided and dissatisfied 
 within, and because all the more honest and truthful of the 
 party were disgusted and ashamed of the part they were 
 playing. Thus feeble and powerless, despised by the public 
 and detested by the Court, the first moment that the different 
 parties and sections of parties combined to overthrow them, 
 their destruction was inevitable, and after enjoying office for 
 one year they fell. 
 
 It was easier to turn them out than to find a good and 
 strong government to replace them. It was obvious that 
 neither the Whigs nor the Peelites could form a government, 
 still less Palmerston or the Radicals, and it became a matter 
 of absolute necessity to attempt a coalition, which, whatever 
 objections there might be to coalitions, would at least have 
 the advantage of filling the several offices with able men. 
 
 When the Queen had a short time before, in anticipation 
 of the event, consulted the Duke of Bedford as to whom she 
 should send for when Derby resigned, he had advised her to 
 send for Lord Lansdowne and Lord Aberdeen, being himself 
 conscious that Lord John could not again form a government, 
 at least not at that time. She did send for them, and each 
 
176 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VI. 
 
 of them very sincerely and earnestly endeavoured to persuade 
 tlie other to accept the post of Prime Minister, and the task 
 of forming a Grovernment. Lansdowne was ill at the time, 
 and while it is very doubtful whether anything would have 
 induced him to come forward, his attack of gout was enough 
 to ensure his peremptory refusal, and nothing remained but 
 that Aberdeen should make the attempt. The task was 
 difficult and unpleasant, for it was impossible not to make 
 many people discontented and mortified, inasmuch as places 
 could not be found for all who had previously been in office, 
 or who aspired to it, and it was no easy matter to decide 
 who should be taken in, and who left out. Aberdeen resolved 
 to make the coalition very comprehensive, and as much as 
 possible to form a government which should represent the 
 Opposition which had turned Derby out, but he put almost 
 all the Peelite leaders into good offices, and the exclusions 
 were principally on the Whig side. For a long time it was 
 very doubtful whether John Eussell would enter the Govern- 
 ment at all, but Aberdeen was so well aware that he could 
 not do without him that he announced his determination to 
 throw up the Government unless Lord John consented to 
 join. After much hesitation, and a struggle between his 
 family and some malcontent hangers on who wished him to 
 keep aloof, on one side, and the wisest of his political friends 
 and colleagues who urged that it was his duty to come for- 
 ward on the other. Lord John consented to lead the House 
 of Commons, but without an office. He proposed indeed 
 to take the Presidency of the Council, to which Aberdeen 
 objected, but gave him the choice of every other office. He 
 said that if he could not be President of the Council he 
 would be nothing at all, and so it was settled. Next came 
 the negotiation about Palmerston, who first refused, and 
 afterwards, at the pressing solicitation of Lansdowne, agreed 
 to join. Moles worth came in to represent the Eadicals ; Mon- 
 sell and Keogh (not in the Cabinet) represented the Irish, and 
 so the Coalition Government was completed. 
 
 Very strongly composed, it never, however, was so strong 
 as it looked. The Ministers, Aberdeen, John Eussell, Pal- 
 
1854] THE COALITION GOVERNMENT. 177 
 
 merston, having consented to act together, were too sensible, 
 too gentlemanlike and well-bred, not to live in outward good 
 fellowship with each other, but their respective and relative 
 antecedents could not be forgotten. There could be no real 
 cordiality between Palmerston and Aberdeen, or between Pal- 
 merston and John Eussell, and both the latter all along felt 
 uncomfortable and dissatisfied with their respective positions. 
 Lord John fancied he was degraded, and his flatterers en- 
 deavoured to persuade him he was so, by joining a govern- 
 ment of which he was not the head, and by serving under 
 Aberdeen. Palmerston could not forget the long and bitter 
 hostility which had been carried on between himself and 
 Aberdeen upon foreign pohcy, and still less his having been 
 turned out of the Foreign Office by John Russell. The Whigs 
 were dissatisfied that the Peelites, who had no party to bring 
 to the support of the Grovernment, should have so large a 
 share of the offices, and above all the great bulk of the Whig 
 party could not endure that a Peelite should be at the head 
 •of the Government, and of all the Peelites they most particu- 
 larly disliked Aberdeen, so that they yielded a reluctant alle- 
 giance, and gave a grudging and capricious support to the 
 coalition. 
 
 Nevertheless, the first session of Parliament was pretty 
 well got through, principally owing to Gladstone's successful 
 Budget, the great ability he displayed in the House of 
 Commons, and the efficient way in which the public busi- 
 ness was done, while the numerous measures of improve- 
 ment which were accomplished raised the reputation of the 
 Government, and gave them security if not strength. The 
 session of 1853 closed in quiet, prosperity, and sunshine, but 
 during the recess clouds began to gather round the Govern- 
 ment ; they were beset with internal and external difficulties. 
 John Russell became more and more discontented, and at 
 last he announced to Aberdeen that he was resolved not to 
 meet Parliament again in his present position, and intimated 
 his intention to be once more Prime Minister or to quit the 
 concern. In the meantime the Turco-Russian quarrel had 
 begun, the hostile correspondence with Russia was in full 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VI.. 
 
 activity, the public mind in a high state of excitement, the 
 press bellowed for war and poured forth incessant volleys of 
 abuse against the Government, but more particularly against 
 Aberdeen, who was singled out as the object of attack, and 
 the persevering attempts to render him unpopular produced 
 a certain amount of effect. The Cabinet became divided as 
 to the mode of carrying on the dispute and the negotiations, 
 some being for what were called vigorous measures, that is,. 
 for threats and demonstrations of force which could only lead 
 to immediate war, while others were for exhausting every 
 attempt to bring about an accommodation and preserve 
 peace. Something was known or suspected of these divisions, 
 they were published and commented on with enormous ex- 
 aggerations and the most unscrupulous violations of truth, 
 and the Tory and Radical newspapers vied with each other 
 in the violence of their denunciations of Aberdeen, and, in a 
 less degree, of Clarendon. 
 
 When this fury was at its height, the world was startled 
 and astounded by the news of Palmerston's resignation. It 
 is needless to state here the history of that affair, which I 
 have already recorded in ample detail. It was in vain that 
 the ' Times ' proclaimed that it was the Reform Bill and not. 
 the Eastern Question which was the cause of it. The state- 
 ment was scouted with the utmost scorn, and the public in- 
 credulity was confirmed when the ' Morning Post,' which was 
 notoriously devoted to Palmerston, asserted the direct con- 
 trary. Everybodj' imagined that the Government would go 
 to pieces, that when Parliament met there would be pro- 
 digious revelations, and that the Eastern Question with its 
 supposed mismanagement would prove fatal to the Coalition 
 Cabinet. The Derbyites were in raptures, and already 
 counted on Palmerston as their own. Great as had been the 
 public surprise and the exultation of the Carlton Club at 
 Palmerston's resignation, greater still was that surprise and 
 the mortification and disappointment of the Carlton, when a 
 few days afterwards it was announced that Palmerston had 
 changed his mind and was not going to resign. Nobody 
 could comprehend what it all meant, and ample scope was 
 
1854] THE BLUE BOOKS. 179- 
 
 afforded to every sort of conjecture, and to all the statements 
 and inventions that anybody chose to circulate. But as 
 about the same time the Eastern affair progressed a step or 
 two, and some energetic measures were adopted, the most 
 plausible explanation was, that Palmerston had resigned 
 because enough was not done, that the Government had been 
 frightened into doing what he had before advised, and that, 
 on their adopting his suggestion, he had consented to remain. 
 In process of time the truth began to ooze out, but it never 
 was completely known till Parliament met, and even then 
 many people continued to believe that though the Eeform 
 Bill was the pretext, the Eastern Question was the real cause 
 of Palmerston's conduct. 
 
 These threatening clouds cleared away. Aberdeen told 
 Lord John nothing should induce him to resign after all the 
 attacks that had been made on him, and he would meet 
 Parliament and defend himself. Lord John gave up his 
 demands, and consented to go on leading the House of 
 Commons. Palmerston agreed to swallow the Eeform Bill, 
 and at length Parliament met. Everybody was ravenous for 
 the Bine Books, which as soon as possible were produced. 
 Their production was eminently serviceable to the G-ovem- 
 ment, and though some criticisms were made, and there 
 were some desultory attacks in both Houses, and the press 
 continued to be as scurrilous and abusive as ever, the 
 general impression was extremely favourable. Clarendon's 
 despatches were highly approved of, and all fair and candid 
 observers, including many who had found fault with the 
 Government before, declared that they were perfectly satis- 
 fied that our policy had been wise and proper, and the 
 whole of the negotiations very creditable to all who had 
 been concerned in carrying them on. So little did the event 
 correspond with the general expectation, that the Eastern 
 Question, which had been considered to be the weak part of 
 the Government, turned out to be its greatest strength; and 
 the war which eventually broke out has been the principal 
 cause of their being able to maintain themselves in power. 
 It is now the fashion to say that if it were not for the war, 
 
 N 2 
 
180 EEIGN OF QUEEK VIOTOEIA. [Chap, VI. 
 
 they would have been turned out long ago. It is certainlj 
 true that their power in the House of Commons has been 
 limited to all that concerns the war, in respect to which they 
 hare had no difficulty to contend with. The estimates have 
 been granted without a semblance of opposition, and they 
 have received hearty and unanimous support in every mea- 
 sure and every demand requisite for carrying on the war, 
 nor, though exposed to some adverse criticism, have they 
 been seriously assailed with regard to their diplomacy or 
 their warlike preparations. 
 
 But while this, which is the most essential, has also been 
 their strongest point, on everything else, without exception, 
 they have been almost powerless, and the House of Commons 
 has run riot with an independence and waywardness and a 
 caprice of which it would be impossible to find an example. 
 The Government has had no majority on which it could 
 depend, and it has never brought forward ai>y measure 
 which it could count upon carrying through. Obliged to 
 withdraw many measures altogether, and to submit to the 
 alteration of others till they became totally different from 
 what they originally proposed, their defeats have been innu- 
 merable, and nobody seems to have the smallest scruple in 
 putting them in a minority upon any occasion ; at the same 
 time it was very evident that the House of Commons was 
 determined that they should continue in office, for when- 
 ever any vital question arose, or any vote which could be con- 
 strued into a question of confidence, and therefore involved 
 the existence of the Government, they were always sure of a 
 majority, and the Derbyite opposition, while they were able 
 to worry and insult them by partial defeats and by exposing 
 their general weakness, found themselves miserably baffled 
 whenever they attempted anything which had a tendency to 
 place the Government in serious embarrassment. The whole 
 conduct of the Session, and the relations of the Government 
 with the House of Commons, presented something certainly 
 very different from what had ever been seen before in the 
 memory of the oldest statesman, implied a total dissolution of 
 party ties and obligations, and exhibited the Queen's Govern- 
 
1854] PKECAEIOUS TENUEE OF THE MINISTEY. 181 
 
 ment and the House of Commons as resolved into tlieir separate 
 elements, and acting towards each other in independent and 
 often antagonistic capacities. Disraeli was always reproach- 
 ing the Government with holding office on what he termed 
 the unconstitutional principle of not being supported by a 
 majority of the House of Commons, and of living from hand 
 to mouth ; but though this was a plausible topic, he knew 
 very well that no other government could be formed which 
 could exist otherwise, and that the House of Commons, while 
 it buffeted the Government about au gre de ses ca/prices, was 
 quite determined to keep it alive, and not to allow any other 
 to be substituted for it. At present it is difficult to see how 
 this state of things is to be altered, and time alone can show 
 whether great parties wiU again be formed, and governments 
 be enabled to go on as in times past, powerful in a consistent 
 and continual Parliamentary support, or whether a great 
 change must be submitted to, and governments be content 
 to drag on a precarious existence, taking what they can get 
 from the House of Commons, and endeavouring to strengthen 
 themselves by enlisting public opinion on their side. 
 
 With regard to the prospects of this Government, much 
 depends on the progress of the war ; for though they* have 
 done their part and are not responsible for failure or success, 
 they are sure to be strengthened by success or weakened by 
 failure. But much depends also upon what passes in the 
 Cabinet. John Eussell, whose mind is in a state of chronic 
 discontent which was suspended for a time, is again be- 
 coming uneasy and restless, and will soon begin making 
 fresh difficulties. Then his Reform Bill, which he gave up 
 so reluctantly, is still in his thoughts, and he wiU most likely 
 insist upon bringing it forward again, a proposition which is 
 sure to produce dissension in the Cabinet. 
 
182 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Difficulties of the Oampaign — Prince Albert and the King of Prussia — The 
 Prince goes to France — Military Commanders — Critical Relations of the 
 Ministers — The Crimea — The Emperor Napoleon and Prince Albert — 
 Austria and the AUies — The Landing in the Crimea — The Battle of the 
 Alma — Royal Invitations — The Crimean Expedition — Lord John's Hos- 
 tility to his Colleagues — False Report from Sebastopol — The Crimean 
 Oampaign — Anecdotes of Lord Raglan — The Russian Defence — Trade 
 with the Enemy — Anecdote of Nessebode — John Bright's Opinion of the 
 War — Defence of Sebastopol — The Balaklava Charge — The Judges at the 
 Nomination of Sheriffs — Lord John takes more moderate Views — The 
 Battle of Inkerman — Impolicy of the War — Inkerman — Spirit of the 
 Nation — Military Enthusiasm — Parliament summoned — Want of Fore- 
 sight — Accounts of the Battle — Lord Raglan as a General — Sufferings of 
 the Army — Agreement with Austria — Opponents of the War — Meeting 
 of Parliament — The Government attacked — The Foreign Enlistment Bill 
 — Foreign Enlistment Bill passed — Mr. Bright's Speech on the War — 
 Review of the Year. 
 
 August 29th, 1854. — I have been out of town since the 
 above was written ; at Grimston for York races, where Lord 
 Derby was in high force and spirits, carrying everything 
 before him at the races, and not a word was ever uttered on 
 politics. There is no news, but dreadful accounts of the 
 health of both armies and of the prevalence of cholera both 
 abroad and at home. The French particularly, who have 
 lost the most, are said to be completely demoralised and 
 disheartened, and to abhor the war which they always dis- 
 liked from the beginning. My present impression is that we 
 shall come to grief in this contest ; not that we shall be beaten 
 in the field by the Russians, but that between the unhealthy 
 climate, the inaccessibility of the country, and the distance 
 of our resources, Russia will be able to keep us at bay, and 
 baffle our attempts to reduce her to submission. 
 
 September ith. — At The Grove for a couple of days, where 
 
1851] PEINOE ALBERT AND THE KING OF PRUSSIA. 183 
 
 I had much talk with Clarendon, and he showed me a great 
 many papers about different matters : a very good letter 
 written by Prince Albert to the King of Prussia, who had 
 "written to him a hypocritical letter, asking where the 
 English and French fleets were going to winter, and whether 
 he might depend on them in case he was attacked by Russia 
 in the Baltic, which Clarendon said was a mere artifice to 
 obtain knowledge of our plans, that he might impart them 
 to the Emperor Nicholas, as he well knew he was in no danger 
 of being attacked by Russia. The Prince wrote an excellent 
 answer, giving him no information, and entering into the 
 whole question of Prussian policy without reserve. He 
 starts to-day to Boulogne, invited by a letter from the 
 Emperor himself, beginning ' Mon cher frere,' replied to 
 very well and civilly by Prince Albert who began, ' Sire et 
 mon cher fr^re.' Clarendon said Aberdeen was as hot as any 
 one upon the Crimean expedition. 
 
 They are not at all satisfied with Lord Raglan, whom 
 they think oldfashioned and pedantic, and not suited to the 
 purpose of carrying on active operations. They wanted him 
 to make use of the Turkish light cavalry, Bashi-Bazouks, 
 who under good management might be made very service- 
 able, but he would have nothing to say to them ; and still 
 more they are disgusted with his discouragement of the Indian 
 -ofBcers who have repaired to the army, and who are, in fact, 
 the most efficient men there are. They look on General 
 Brown as the best man there, and have great expectations of 
 Cathcart. It is very curious that neither the Government 
 nor the commanders have the slightest information as to the 
 ^Russian force in the Crimea or the strength of Sebastopol. 
 Some prisoners they took affirmed that there were 150,000 
 men in the peninsula, but nobody believes that, except 
 Dundas who gives credit to it. They are impatient for the 
 termination of Dundas's period of service, which will be in 
 December, when Lyons wiU command the fleet. 
 
 Septemher 11th. — I went to The Grove on Friday, but 
 was brought up on Saturday by gout, and detained in 
 London ever since. We had much talk about a variety of 
 
184 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VII, 
 
 things. The Prince is exceedingly well satisfied with his 
 visit to the Emperor. The invitation to Windsor appears- 
 to have been publicly given in an after dinner speech. 
 Clarendon said a great deal about the Government, its- 
 prospects and its difficulties, and of the conduct and dis- 
 positions of different men in it, that the Peelites had all 
 behaved admirably, and he has a very high opinion of 
 Newcastle, who is able, laborious, and fair. He does not 
 see so much of Aberdeen as he did last year while the 
 question of peace or war was still pending. He and Aber- 
 deen do not very well agree, and therefore Aberdeen doe& 
 not come to the Foreign Office as he used to do. I asked 
 him in what they differed, and what it was Aberdeen now 
 wanted or expected. He said that Aberdeen was quite of 
 opinion that a vigorous prosecution of the war afforded the 
 best chance of restoring peace, and that he was as eager as 
 anybody for the expedition of Sebastopol, but he was out of 
 humour with the whole thing, took no interest in anything 
 that was done, and instead of looking into all the depart- 
 ments and animating each as a Prime Minister should do, he 
 kept aloof and did nothing, and constantly raised objections 
 to various matters of detail. In the Cabinet he takes hardly 
 any part, and when differences of opinion arise he makes no 
 effort to reconcile them, as it is his business to do. In short, 
 though a very good and honourable man, he is eminently 
 unfitted for his post, and in fact he feels this himself, has 
 no wish to retain it, but the contrary, and only does so 
 because he knows the whole machine would fall to pieces if 
 he were to resign. John Russell Clarendon thinks a neces- 
 sity as leader of the House of Commons, but he is disgusted 
 with his perpetual discontent and the bad influence exer- 
 cised over him by his confidants, and he thinks he has not 
 acted a generous part towards Aberdeen in suffering him to 
 be attacked and vilified as he has been by his (John's) 
 followers and adherents, who endeavour to make a distinc- 
 tion between him and Aberdeen, which is equally uncon- 
 stitutional on principle and false in fact. The same thing 
 applies to Palmerston, and they have neither of them stood 
 
1854] VISIT OF PEINCE AXBERT TO FEANCE. 18& 
 
 forward as they ought to have done in Aberdeen's defence, 
 and claimed a joint responsibility with him in every act of 
 the Government. We talked over what could possibly be 
 done if Aberdeen did retire, and I suggested that he (Claren- 
 don) might take his place, and that the rest would be more 
 willing to accept him for the head of the Government than 
 any other man. He expressed the greatest disinclination to 
 this idea, to which he never could consent, but owned his 
 present office was extremely agreeable to him and deeply 
 interesting. Nevertheless, I do not think, if the case occurred 
 and the place was offered to him consensu omnium, that his 
 scruples would be insurmountable. 
 
 So certain are they of taking Sebastopol that they have 
 already begun to discuss what they shall do with it when 
 they have got it. Palmerston wrote Clarendon a long letter 
 setting forth the various alternatives, and expressing his own 
 opinion that the Crimea should be restored to the Turks. 
 Clarendon is dead against this, and so, he told me, is Strat- 
 ford. At Boulogne the Emperor and Newcastle agreed that 
 the best course will be to occupy the Crimea and garrison 
 Sebastopol with a large force of English and French, and 
 hold it en depSt till they can settle something definitive ; and 
 Clarendon leans to this arrangement, which will at least her 
 a gain of time. 
 
 London, September 19th. — At The Grove again last week, 
 where as usual I heard a great deal of miscellaneous matters 
 from Clarendon and read a great many despatches from 
 different people. I asked him what the Prince had told him 
 of his visit to Boulogne, and what his opinion was of the 
 Emperor. He said the Prince had talked to him a great 
 deal about it all at Osborne, and this is the substance of 
 what he said as far as I recollect it : The Prince was very 
 well satisfied with his reception ; the Emperor took him in 
 his carriage tete a tete to the great review, so that they 
 conversed together long and without interruption or wit- 
 nesses. The Emperor seems to have talked to the Prince 
 with more abandon and unreserve than is usual to him. 
 The Prince was exceedingly struck with his extreme apathy 
 
186 KEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 and languor (which corresponds with what Thiers told me 
 of him) and with his ignorance of a variety of matters which 
 it peculiarly behoved him to know. He asked the Prince a 
 great many questions about the English Constitution and its 
 working, relating to which the Prince gave him ample and 
 detailed explanation, and Clarendon said that all that he 
 repeated as being said to the Emperor was as good, sound, 
 and correct as it possibly could be. The Emperor said that 
 he felt all the difficulties of his own position, and enlarged 
 upon them with great freedom, particularly adverting, as 
 one of them, to the absence of any aristocracy in France. 
 The Prince, in reply to this, seems to have given him very 
 judicious advice ; for he told him that any attempt to create 
 an aristocracy in Prance resembling that of England must 
 be a failure, the conditions and antecedents of the two 
 countries being so totally dissimilar ; that he might confer 
 titles and distinctions to any amount, and so surround him- 
 self with adherents whom he had obliged, but that he had 
 better confine himself to that and not attempt to do more. 
 When they parted, the Emperor said he hoped it would not 
 be the last time he should have the pleasure of seeing His 
 Royal Highness, to which the Prince replied that he hoped 
 not, and that he was charged by the Queen to express her 
 hope that he would pay her a visit at Windsor, and give her 
 an opportunity of making the Empress's acquaintance, to 
 which the Emperor responded ' he should be very glad to 
 see the Queen at Paris.' This insouciant reception of an in- 
 vitation which a few months before he would have jumped 
 at is very unaccountable, but it meant something, for it was 
 evidently a mot d'ordre, because when the Prince took leave 
 of Marshal Vaillant, he said he hoped he would accompany 
 the Emperor to Windsor, where, though they could show no 
 such military spectacle as the Emperor had shown him, they 
 would do what they could, to which Vaillant replied, ' We 
 hope to see Her Majesty the Qiieen and Tour Eoyal Highness 
 at Paris.' There seems no disposition at present to give him 
 the Garter which is supposed to be the object of his ambition, 
 and which Walewski is always suggesting. 
 
1854] LANDING IN THE CRIMEA. 187 
 
 Clarendon is extremely disgusted at the conduct of Austria 
 and her declaration of neutrality, and he said that the com- 
 plaints of .the doings of the Austrians in the Principalities 
 were not without foundation. Drouyn de Lhuys spoke very 
 openly to Hiibner on the subject, and pitched into the Austrian 
 Government without stint or reserve, and Cowley sent a 
 despatch in which all he said was detailed, with the addition 
 that it was Drouyn de Lhuys' intention to embody it in a 
 formal despatch to Bourqueney to be communicated to the 
 Austrian Government. 
 
 September 22nd. — The army has landed in the Crimea 
 without opposition. It is difficult to conceive that the 
 Russians should have been so utterly wanting in spirit, and 
 so afraid to risk anything, as to let the landing take place 
 without an attempt either by land or sea to obstruct it. 
 They have a great fleet lying idle at Sebastopol, and though, 
 if it had come out, its defeat and perhaps destruction would 
 have been certain, it would have been better to perish thus, 
 vitam in vulnere ponens, and inflicting damage on its enemy 
 as it certainly might have done, than to remain in gloriously 
 in harbour and wait to be taken or destroyed, as it infallibly 
 will be when the town itself shall fall. Great indignation is 
 expressed at the prospect of Napier's returning from the 
 Baltic without making any attempt on Cronstadt, or to per- 
 form any exploit beyond the Bomarsund affair. He is 
 detested by his officers, and they one and all complain that 
 he has been so little adventurous, and maintain that more 
 might have been done. The justness and correctness of this, 
 time will show. 
 
 October 2nd. — At The Grove on Saturday, where I gene- 
 rally pick up some scraps of information from Clarendon on 
 one subject or another. On Saturday came the news that 
 Sebastopol bad been taken, which we did not believe a word 
 of, but after dinner the same evening we got the telegraphic 
 account of the victory gained on the 20th on the heights 
 above the Alma, and yesterday Eaglan's telegraphic despatch 
 was published. It is nervous work for those who have 
 relations and friends in the army to hear of a ' desperate 
 
188 EEIGN OF QUKEN VICTOELA.. [Chap. VII. 
 
 battle ' and severe loss, and to have to wait so many days for 
 the details and casualties. The affair does not seem, so far 
 as we can conjecture, to have been very decisive, when only 
 two guns and a few prisoners were taken. If it had depended 
 on St. Arnaud, the expedition would have put back even 
 after it had sailed ; while actually at sea, St. Arnaud, who 
 stated himself to be ill and unable to move, summoned a- 
 council of war on board the ' Ville de Paris.' The weather 
 was so rough that it was determined that it would not be 
 safe for Raglan to go, as with his one arm he could not get on 
 board ; so Dundas went, and General Brown, and some other 
 ofBcers deputed by Eaglan to represent himself, together with, 
 the French Admiral. A discussion took place which lasted 
 several hours. St. Arnaud strongly urged that the expedi- 
 tion should be put off till the spring, and he objected to all 
 that was proposed as to the place of landing — in short, threw 
 every obstacle he could in the way of the whole things. 
 Dundas and all the English officers vehemently protested 
 against any delay and change of plan, and represented the 
 intolerable shame and disgrace of putting back after having* 
 actually embarked, and their opposition to the French 
 general's proposal was so vehement that he ended by giving 
 way, rose from his sick bed, and consented to go on. He- 
 declared that he only agreed to the place proposed for land- 
 ing in consequence of the urgent representations of his allies,, 
 and this he wrote home to his own Government. He is a 
 very incapable, unfit man, and Clarendon told me that his- 
 own army recognised the great superiority of Raglan to him,, 
 and that the French were all delighted with the latter. 
 
 It seems that there was some misunderstanding as to the 
 invitation given by the Prince to the Emperor at Boulogne,, 
 and the latter gives a very different account of what passed 
 from that given by the Prince. The Emperor says that when 
 he took leave of the Prince, he said, ' I have not been able 
 to give you such a reception as I could have wished, but you 
 see I am only occupying an hotel ; if you will come to Paris,, 
 where I should be delighted to receive the Queen, I could 
 give her and yourself a more fitting reception ; ' and then, he- 
 
18S4] THE INVITATION TO WINDSOE. 189 
 
 says, the Prince invited him to Windsor, which he only 
 seems to hare taken as a civility unavoidable under the 
 , circumstances. It is impossible to say which account is the 
 true one, but I rather beheve that of the Emperor to be 
 correct. Clarendon wrote this to the Queen, whose answer 
 I saw ; she said the intention was to make the invitation 
 something between a cordial invitation and a mere civility, 
 which the Emperor might avail himself of or not, according 
 to his convenience. However, Her Majesty says she thinks 
 the matter stands very well as it is, and she desires it may be 
 •notified to the Emperor that the most convenient time for 
 his visit, if he comes, will be the middle of iN'ovember. 
 
 The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Napoleon have both 
 been strongly opposed to the Crimean expedition ; the latter, 
 they say, does nothing but cry, and is probably a poor 
 creature and a poltroon. I am surprised the Duke should 
 be so backward ; however, 1 hope to hear he has done his 
 duty in the field. The clamour against Dundas in the fleet 
 is prodigious, and the desire for his recall universal, but he 
 will stay out his time now, which will be up in December. 
 It is the same thing against Napier in the Baltic ; he wiU 
 come away as soon as the ice sets in, and next year Lyons 
 will be sent in his place, as the war will then be principally 
 carried on in the north. 
 
 I think a storm will before long threaten the Government 
 from the quarter of John Eussell, who has been for some 
 time at Minto. He wrote to Clarendon the other day, and 
 alluded to the necessity of having an autumn session, to 
 which Clarendon replied that he was not so fond of Parlia- 
 ment as Lord John was, and deprecated very much any such 
 measure. To this Lord John sent as odious and cantankerous 
 an answer as I ever read, and one singularly illustrative of 
 his character. He said that he was not fonder of Parlia- 
 ment than other people, and his own position in the House 
 of Commons had not been such as to make him the more so, 
 and that it had been rendered more disagreeable by the fact 
 of the two morning papers which professed to support the 
 Government being always personally hostile to him ; but, he 
 
190 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 went on, if we were fortunate enough to obtain a complete 
 success in tlie Crimea, lie did not see why be should not be 
 at liberty to retire from this, wbich he thought the very 
 worst government he had ever known. Of course, if there 
 was any failure, he must remain to bear his share of the 
 responsibility of it. Clarendon was immensely disgusted, 
 but wrote back a very temperate answer. He said that it 
 was equally difficult to go on with him and without him, for 
 the Whigs, though often very angry with him, would follow 
 him and would not follow anybody else. He thinks, however, 
 that he is in a state of mind to create all sorts of embarrass- 
 ments, and particularly that be will propose to bring forward 
 his Reform Bill again, the consequences of which nobody can 
 foresee. He says Palmerston has behaved much better, for 
 though he might complain, having been disappointed in 
 certain objects he had (such as being War Minister), he 
 has made no difficulties, and been very friendly. Clarendon 
 confirmed what I had heard, that Aberdeen is in a state of 
 great dejection and annoyance at the constant and virulent 
 attacks on him in the press ; his mind is dejected by the 
 illness of his son, whom he never expects to see again, and 
 this renders him sensitive and fretful, and he is weak 
 enough to read all that is written against him instead of 
 treating it with indifference and avoiding to look at the 
 papers whose columns are day after day full of outrageous 
 and random abuse. 
 
 October 8th. — The whole of last week the newspapers 
 without exception (but the ' Morning Chronicle ' particu- 
 larly), with the ' Times ' at their head, proclaimed the fall 
 of Sebastopol in flaming and triumphant articles and with 
 colossal type, together with divers victories and all sorts of 
 details, all which were trumpeted over the town and circu- 
 lated through the country. I never believed one word of it, 
 and entreated Delane to be less positive and more cautious^ 
 but he would not hear of it, and the whole world swallowed 
 the news and believed it. Very soon came the truth, and 
 it was shown that the reports were all false. Anybody 
 who was not run away with by an exaggerated enthusiasm 
 
1854] BATTLE OF THE ALMA. 191 
 
 might have seen the probability that reports resting on no 
 good authority would probably turn out untrue, but the 
 press took them all for gospel, and every fool follows the 
 press. When the bubble burst, the rage and fury of the 
 deluded and deluding journals knew no bounds, and the 
 ' Times ' was especially sulky and spiteful. In consequence 
 of a trifling error in a telegraphic despatch they fell on the 
 Foreign Office and its clerks with the coarsest abuse, much 
 to the disgust of Clarendon. 
 
 October 2Qth. — At Newmarket all last week ; very success- 
 ful on paper, but won very little money. I am every day 
 more confirmed in my resolution to get rid of my racehorses,, 
 but shall do it gradually and as opportunities occur, and then 
 confine myself to breeding. The two objects I now have in 
 view are this, and to get out of my office. I want to be inde- 
 pendent, and be able to go where and do what I like for the 
 short remainder of my life. I am aware that ' man never 
 is, but always to be blest,' and therefore when I have 
 shaken off racing and office I may possibly regret both ; but 
 my mind is bent on the experiment, and I fancy I can amuse 
 myself with locomotion, fresh scenes, and dabbling in litera- 
 ture selon mes petits moyens. Of politics I am heartily sick, 
 and can take but little interest in either governments or the 
 individuals who compose them ; with the exception of Clar- 
 endon I am on intimate and confidential terms with no one. 
 
 Ever since the news came of the battle of the Alma, the 
 country has been in a fever of excitement, and the news- 
 papers have teemed with letters and descriptions of the 
 events that occurred. Eaglan has gained great credit, and 
 his march on Balaklava is considered a very able and judi- 
 cious operation. Although they do not utter a word of com- 
 plaint, and are by way of being fully satisfied with our allies 
 the French, the truth is that the English think they did very 
 little for the success of the day, and Burghersh told some one 
 that their not pressing on was the cause (and not the want 
 of cavalry) why the Eussian guns were not taken. The 
 French, nevertheless, have been well disposed to take th& 
 credit of the victory to themselves. 
 
192 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 Burghersh tells two characteristic anecdotes of Raglan. 
 He was extremely put out at the acclamations of the soldiers 
 when he appeared amongst them after the battle, and said 
 to his staff as he rode along the line, in a melancholy tone, 
 * I was sure this would happen.' He is a very modest man, 
 and it is not in his nature any more than it was in that of 
 the Duke of Wellington to make himself popular with the 
 soldiers in the way Napoleon used to do, and who was conse- 
 quently adored by them. The other story is that there were 
 two French officers attached to headquarters, very good 
 fellows, and that the staff were constantly embarrassed by 
 the inveterate habit Raglan had of calling the enemy ' the 
 French.' He could not forget his old Peninsular habits. 
 
 In this war the Russians have hitherto exhibited a great 
 inferiority in their conduct to that which they displayed in 
 their campaigns from 1807 to 1812, when they fought the 
 battles of Eylau and Borodino against Napoleon. The posi- 
 tion of Alma must have been much stronger than that of 
 Borodino, and yet how much more stoutly the latter was 
 defended than the former. Then their having allowed the 
 allies to land without molestation is inconceivable, and there 
 is no doubt that they might have attacked Raglan with 
 great effect as he emerged from the wood on his march to 
 Balaklava, but all these opportunities they entirely neglected. 
 I expect, however, that they will make a vigorous defence at 
 Sebastopol, and that the place will not be taken without a 
 bloody struggle and great loss of life. 
 
 Within the last few days a very important question has 
 arisen, the decision of which is a very difficult matter. It 
 has been found that the commerce of Russia has not been 
 materially diminished, as their great staples (hemp, &c.) have 
 passed regularly through the Prussian ports, being brought 
 there by land, and it is now desired to devise some means of 
 putting an end to this exportation. Clarendon has written 
 to Reeve about it, and Granville has obtained returns of the 
 amount of hemp and linseed imported from Russia ia past 
 years and in the present, from which it appears that though 
 there is a diminution it is not a very considerable one. The 
 
1884] EUSSIAN TRADE. 193 
 
 effect produced is only the inevitable consequence of the 
 policy that was adopted deliberately and after great con- 
 sideration at the beginning of the war; and how that policy 
 is to be adhered to, and the consequences complained of 
 prevented, is the problem to be solved. A blockade of the 
 Prussian ports in the Baltic has been suggested — a measure, 
 as it seems to me, very questionable in point of right and 
 political morality, and certain to be attended by the most 
 momentous consequences. Such a measure may not be with- 
 out precedent, or something resembling precedent; but no 
 Power with anything like self-respect or pride could tamely 
 submit to such an outrage and such an insult, and as it would 
 certainly afford a casus lelli, Prussia could hardly, without 
 abandoning all claim to be considered a great Power, abstain 
 from declaring war instanter ; and, whatever may be the senti- 
 ments of the Prussian nation and of the Germans generally 
 with regard to Russia, it is by no means unlikely that such 
 an arbitrary and imperious proceeding would enlist the sym- 
 pathies and the passions of all Germans without exception 
 in opposition to us, and to Prance if she became a party to it. 
 
 Newmarket. — Granville told me on Saturday morning that 
 he was much alarmed at the disposition evinced by John 
 Russell, and he expects an explosion sooner or later. 
 
 London, October iiOth. — I returned last night and found a 
 meeting of the Committee of Council settled for to-day, to 
 consider the question of stopping Russian trade. Wilson has 
 drawn up a paper in which he discusses the various modes of 
 accomplishing this object, and recommends that the Queen 
 should forbid all trade with Russia, and prohibit the im- 
 portation of Russian produce, and require certificates of 
 origin for tallow, hemp, &o. John RusseU writes word that 
 he cannot attend the meeting, but is ready, though reluctant, 
 to vote for Wilson's proposal. Granville and Cardwell are 
 both dead against it, after a discussion at the Council Office 
 at which the majority were against the proposal. 
 
 November 4<th. — At The Grove from Wednesday to Satur- 
 day ; the Walewskis, Lavradios, Granvilles, Azeglio, and 
 Panizzi were there, a pleasant party enough. Walewski told 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
194 EEI&N OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 me a curious tiling whicli he said lie knew to be true. We 
 were talking of Nesselrode, and I asked if he knew what 
 his present position was with his Emperor. He said he 
 had been out of favour, but latterly had resumed all his in- 
 fluence and was very well at Court ; that although in the 
 beginning of the quarrel he had done his best to moderate 
 the Emperor and to preserve peace, it was nevertheless 
 true that he was perhaps the immediate cause of the war, 
 which had turned upon the acceptance or refusal of the 
 Turkish modifications of the Vienna Note ; that when they 
 arrived the Emperor was inclined to accept them, and that 
 Nesselrode dissuaded him from doing so, advising him to ad- 
 here to the unaltered Note, not to listen to the modifications, 
 and insisting that, if he did so, the allies would compel the 
 Turks to waive their demands and to accept the Note in its 
 original shape. Walewski also said that the Emperor was 
 exceedingly incensed when the fatal circular, which made the 
 Vienna Note an impossibility, was published. He said it was 
 never intended for publication, and he found great fault with 
 the document itself, insisted on knowing by whom it had been 
 composed, and ordered the author to be brought before him. 
 The man (whose name I forget) was not to be found, and 
 events which pressed on drove it out of His Majesty's mind. 
 
 In the ' Times ' of yesterday appeared a very able letter 
 of Bright's with his view of the war, and the faults committed 
 by our Government in respect to it, which letter as nearly 
 as possible expresses my own opinion on the subject. I have 
 never agreed with those who fancy that by mere bluster we 
 might have averted the war, but I think by more firmness 
 towards not only Eussia but towards Turkey, and still more 
 towards the press and the public excitement here, together 
 with a judicious employment of the resources of diplomacy, 
 we might have prevented it. However, we are in for it, and 
 I not only see no chance of getting soon out of it, but I do 
 not feel the same confidence that everybody else does, that 
 we are certain to carry it to a successful end. 
 
 London, November 13th. — At Worsley all last week ; no- 
 thing was thought of but the war, its events and vicissitudes. 
 
1854] SEBASTOPOL BESIEGED. 195 
 
 The tardiness of intelligence and the perplexity and agitation 
 caused by vague reports and telegraphic messages drive 
 everybody mad ; from excessive confidence, the public, always 
 nose-led by the newspapers, is fallen into a state of alarm 
 and discouragement. There is no end to the mischief which 
 the newspapers and their correspondents have done, are 
 doing, and no doubt will continue to do. There does not 
 seem at this moment more reason to doubt that we shall 
 take Sebastopol than there ever was, but the obstinate 
 defence of the Eussians indicates that its capture will not 
 be effected without a tremendous struggle and great sacrifice 
 of life. On the other hand, the Russians, instead of despair- 
 ing of being able to hold the place, are full of confidence that 
 they will be able to protract their defence, till our losses, 
 and still more the weather, will compel us to raise the siege, 
 and then they expect to compel us to abandon the Crimea 
 altogether, and to make our re-embarkation a dangerous 
 and disastrous operation. It is to be hoped that such a 
 calamitous result is not in store for us, but there is no dis- 
 guising from ourselves that we have got a much tougher and 
 more difficult job on our hands than we ever contemplated, 
 and that our success is by no means such a certainty as 
 we have all along flattered ourselves that it would be ; for 
 supposing we succeed in entering the place by storm, our 
 work will then be not nearly done. Sebastopol is not invested, 
 and when the Russian garrison finds itself no longer able to 
 hold the place, there is nothing to prevent its evacuating it 
 on the other side and effecting a Junction with the main 
 Russian army. We shall then have to reduce the forts on 
 the northern side, to put the place in a state of defence, and 
 commence a fresh campaign against Menschikoff in the 
 centre of the Crimea. All this presents an endless succes- 
 sion of difficulties, demanding large supplies and resources 
 of all sorts which it will be no easy matter to afford. We 
 are now talking of sending every soldier we possess to the 
 scene of action, and expending our miUtary resources to the 
 last 'drop, leaving everything else at home and abroad to 
 take care of itself, a course which nothing but an extreme 
 
 o 2 
 
196 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 necessity can justify, while at the same time it cannot be 
 denied that having gone so far we cannot stop halfway, and 
 having committed so large a part of our gallant army in this 
 unequal contest, we are bound to make the greatest exer- 
 tions and sacrifices to prevent their being overwhelmed by 
 any serious disaster. But this very necessity only affords 
 fresh ground for condemning the rashness with which we 
 plunged into such a war and exposed ourselves to such 
 enormous dangers, and incurred such large sacrifices for so 
 inadequate an object. 
 
 It is not very easy to ascertain what the feeling is in 
 Russia about the war, but there is reason to believe that the 
 nobles are getting very sick of it, and are very discontented 
 with the Emperor, not so much for having engaged in it as for 
 the manner in which it has been carried on. At St. Peters- 
 burg there prevails an intense hostility to us, and great 
 wrath against Austria, and instead of yielding, or any thought 
 of it, the notion is that they mean to redouble their efforts 
 next year, and bring into the field far greater forces than 
 they have yet done. I perceive that the question of the 
 disposal of the Crimea (when we get it) is still undecided. 
 Some fancy that we ought to hold it, as a great advantage 
 to have the power of offering it back to Russia when the 
 question of peace arises. I am more inclined to the other 
 view, of destroying the place, and if possible the harbour, 
 and, after carrying off or destroying all the ships, to abandon 
 the peninsula and leave the Russians to reoccupy it if they 
 please. This would be very consistent with the object with 
 which the war was professedly undertaken, and the Crimea, 
 without Sebastopol and without a fleet, would be no longer 
 formidable to Turkey for many a year to come ; but no doubt 
 there would be difficulty in this as in any arrangement, and 
 much difference of opinion, not unlikely to produce dissension, 
 amongst our allies and ourselves. There is good reason to 
 believe that our late naval attack on the forts was a blunder, 
 and that it did no good whatever. If Lyons had been in 
 command, he probably would have declined to make it, and 
 he could have ventured to exercise his own discretion, which 
 
1864] BALAKLAVA. 197 
 
 Dundas could not. Then it was very badly arranged, and 
 this was the fault of the French Admiral, who at the last 
 moment insisted on altering the plan of attack, and (contrary 
 to the advice of all his officers) Dundas gave way to him. In 
 this, however, it is not fair to blame the English Admiral, 
 who may have acted wisely ; for his position was delicate 
 and difficult, and he had to consider the alliance of the 
 countries and the harmonious action of the two fleets, as 
 well as the particular operation. 
 
 November 14:th. — Yesterday morning we received tele- 
 graphic news of another battle, from which we may expect 
 a long list of killed and wounded. The affair of the 25th, 
 in which our light cavalry was cut to pieces, seems to have 
 been the result of mismanagement in some quarter, and the 
 blame must attach either to Lucan, Cardigan, Captain Nolan 
 who was killed, or to Eaglan himself. Perhaps nobody is 
 really to blame, but, if any one be, my own impression is that 
 it is Raglan. He wrote the order, and it was his business to 
 make it so clear that it could not be mistaken, and to give 
 it conditionally, or with such discretionary powers as should 
 prevent its being vigorously enforced under circumstances 
 which he could not foresee, or of which he might have no 
 cognisance. 
 
 It is evidently the plan of the Russians to wear out the 
 allied armies by incessant attacks and a prolonged defence, 
 sacrificing enormous numbers of men which they can afford, 
 but considering that they gain on the whole by the dispro- 
 portionate, but still considerable, losses they inflict upon us. 
 It is quite on the cards, if they can keep up the spirit of 
 their men, who show great bravery though they cannot stand 
 against our's, that they may cunctando restituere rem, and 
 compel us at last to raise the siege, and at St. Petersburg 
 they are very confident of this result. Here, though people 
 are no longer so confident and elated as they were, no human 
 being doubts of our ultimately taking the town. 
 
 Yesterday we had rather an amusing scene in the Court 
 of Exchequer at the nomination of sheriffs, which does not 
 often supply anything lively. The Head of Caius College, 
 
198 EEIGN OF QUEERS' VICTOEIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 Cambridge, and this year Vice-Chancellor, was on the list, 
 and Judge Alderson vehemently protested against his remain- 
 ing there. A long discussion ensued, in which almost every- 
 body took part, whether his name should be kept on or not, 
 and if he should be struck off the roll. At last Alderson 
 moved he should be struck off, to which somebody moved as an 
 amendment (a course I suggested) that he should be omitted, 
 but not struck off. It was to be put to the vote, when I 
 asked if Alderson himself could vote, whether it was not 
 a meeting of the Privy Council, at which the judges attended 
 to give in names for sheriffs, and that Privy Councillors only 
 could vote as to the choice of them. Alderson vehemently 
 denied this view, and asserted that it was no meeting of the 
 Privy Council, the proof of which was that the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer took precedence of the Lord President, and 
 that the puisne judges had a right to vote. They then de- 
 sired to see the Act of Richard II., which the Chancellor ex- 
 amined and read out, and afterwards he gave it as his 
 opinion that the judges could vote, and this opinion was 
 acquiesced in by the rest. Ultimately they all agreed. Aider- 
 son included, to accept the course I had proposed, and the 
 Doctor's name was omitted from the list, but not struck off 
 the roll. 
 
 November 15f A.— The Duke of Bedford tells me that Lord 
 John is in a better frame of mind than was apprehended not 
 long ago, by no means satisfied with his own situation, and 
 complaining of much that appertains to the Government, but 
 conscious that his position cannot be altered at present, and 
 not at all disposed by any captious conduct to break up or 
 endanger the Government itself. With regard to Reform 
 he is extremely reasonable, feeling the difi&culty of his own 
 antecedents in regard to the question ; he is ready to conform 
 himself to the necessities of the case, and does not think 
 of urging anything unreasonable and impracticable. He is 
 naturally enough very anxious that the Government should 
 manage their affairs in Parliament better this year than 
 last, and not expose themselves to so many defeats and the 
 mortification of having their measures rejected or spoilt, and 
 
185*] BATTLE OF INKEEMAN. 199 
 
 his notion seems to be that they should introduce and 
 announce fewer measures, only such as are urgent and 
 generally desired, and such as they may reasonably expect 
 to carry, and, having taken that course, to stand or fall by 
 them; this is the wisest and most becoming course, and I 
 hope it will be adhered to and succeed. Its success depends 
 very much on Lord John's own conduct, and the way in 
 which he treats the Whig and Liberal party. I hear nothing 
 of the intentions and expectations of the Opposition, but 
 Lyndhurst tells me he considers them extinct as a party 
 and in no condition to get into power. He spoke very 
 disparagingly of Disraeli, and said his want of character was 
 fatal to him, and weighed down all his cleverness. 
 
 November 16th. — A telegraphic despatch arrived from 
 Eaglan with account of the battle of the 6th,* from which we 
 learn only that we were entirely successful in repulsing the 
 Russian attack, but that our loss was very great. Another 
 long interval of suspense to be succeeded by woe and mourn- 
 ing ; but besides the private misery we have to witness, the 
 aggregate of the news fills me with the most dismal forebod- 
 ings. Raglan says the Russian force was even greater than at 
 Alma, and vastly superior to his own. Menschikoff says that 
 he is assembling all his forces, and preparing to take the 
 offensive, that their numbers are very superior, and he 
 confidently announces that he shall wear us out, and that 
 our army cannot escape Mm. I do not see how the siege is 
 to be continued by an army itself besieged by a superior 
 force and placed between two fires. The reinforcements 
 cannot possibly arrive in time, and even if they were all 
 there now, they would not be sufiicient to redress the 
 balance. I dread some great disaster which would be 
 besides a great disgrace. Whether every exertion possible 
 has been made here to reinforce Raglan, or whether anything 
 more could have been done, I cannot pretend to say ; but if 
 matters turn out ill there will be a fine clamour, and princi- 
 pally from those rash and impatient idiots who were so full 
 of misplaced confidence, and who insisted on precipitating 
 ' [The tattle of Inkerman was fought on November 5.] 
 
200 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 our armies on the Crimea, and on any and every part of the 
 Russian territory, without knowing anything of the adequacy 
 of our means for such a contest. To overrate the strength 
 and power of the allies, and to underrate that of Russia on 
 her own territory, has been the fault and folly of the English 
 public, and if they find themselves deceived in their calcula- 
 tions and disappointed in their expectations, their rage and 
 fury will know no bounds, and be lavished on everybody but 
 themselves. In the height of arrogance few exceptions 
 were found to those who imagined it would be quite easy to 
 crumple up Russia, and reduce her to accept such terms as we 
 might choose to impose upon her. All the examples which 
 history furnishes were disregarded, and a general belief pre- 
 vailed that Russia would be unable to oppose any effectual 
 or prolonged resistance to our forces combined. When the 
 successes of the Turks at the beginning of the war became 
 known, this confidence not unnaturally became confirmed, 
 and boundless was the contempt with which the Russians 
 were treated ; and the bare idea of granting peace to the 
 Emperor excfept on the most ruinous and humiliating terms 
 was scouted. We now see what sort of a fight the Russians 
 can make ; and though the superhuman valour and conduct 
 of our troops still inspire confidence and forbid despair, it is 
 evident that we have rashly embarked in a contest which 
 from the nature of it must be an unequal one, and that we 
 are placed in a position of enormous difiiculty and danger. 
 
 November 23rd. — Last week at Savernake and at The 
 Grange ; came back on Tuesday ; and yesterday morning 
 arrived the despatches with an account of the furious battle 
 of Inkerman, in which, according to Raglan's account, 8,000 
 English and 6,000 French resisted the attack of 60,000 
 Russians, and eventually defeated and drove them back with 
 enormous loss, our own loss being very great. The accounts 
 of Raglan and Canrobert do not quite agree as to the numbers 
 engaged, but, admitting that there may be some exaggeration 
 in the estimate of the numbers of the Russians and of their 
 loss, it still remains one of the most wonderful feats of arms 
 that was ever displayed ; and, gallantly as our troops have 
 
1854J MILITARY CBITICISMS. 201 
 
 always behaved, it may be doubted if they ever evinced such 
 constancy and heroism as on this occasion — certainly never 
 greater. My brother lost his youngest and favourite son in 
 this battle — a boy of 18, who had only landed in the Crimea 
 a few weeks before, and who was in a great battle for the first 
 and last time. This is only one of innumerable instances 
 of the same kind, and half England is in mourning. It is 
 dreadful to see the misery and grief in which so many are 
 already plunged, and the universal terror and agitation which 
 beset all who have relations engaged in the war. But the 
 nation is not only as warlike as ever, but if possible more full 
 of ardour and enthusiasm, and thinking of nothing but the 
 most lavish expenditure of men and money to carry on the 
 war ; the blood that has been shed appears only to animate 
 the people, and to urge them to fresh exertions. This is so 
 far natural that I, hating the war, feel as strongly as any- 
 body that, now we are in it, and our soldiers placed in great 
 jeopardy and peril, it is indispensable to make every possible 
 exertion to relieve them ; and I am therefore anxious for 
 ample reinforcements being sent out to them, that they may 
 not be crushed by overwhelming force. 
 
 In reading the various and innumerable narratives of the 
 battle, and the comments of the ' correspondents,' it is im- 
 possible to avoid coming to some conclusions which may 
 nevertheless be erroneous ; and I -have always thought that 
 people who are totally ignorant of military matters, and who 
 are living at ease at home, should not venture to criticise 
 operations of which they can be no judges, and the conduct 
 of men who cannot explain that conduct, and who are nobly 
 doing their duty according to their own judgement, which 
 is more likely to be right than any opinions we can form. 
 With this admission of fallibility, it still strikes me that 
 there was a lack of military genius and foresight in the recent 
 operations. It is asserted that our position was open and 
 undefended, that General Evans had recommended that pre- 
 cautions should be taken and defences thrown up, all of which 
 was neglected, and nothing done, and hence the sad slaughter 
 -which took place. ,This was Eaglan's fault, if any fault 
 
202 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. YIL 
 
 there really was. It is admitted that no tactical skill was 
 or could be displayed, and the battle was won by sheer courage 
 and firmness. Then Cathcart seems to have made a false and 
 Tery rash move which cost his own life and 500 men besides. 
 These are melancholy reflexions, and the facts prove that we 
 have no Wellingtons in our army now. 
 
 November 26th. — Government have determined to call 
 Parliament together on the 12th of December, though it 
 stands prorogued to the 14th. This is done under the autho- 
 rity of an Act, 37th George III. ch. 120. In the present 
 state of affairs they are quite right, and it is better for them 
 to have fair Parliamentary discussion than clamour and the 
 diatribes of the press out of doors. The ' Times,' as usual, has 
 been thundering away about reinforcements, and urging the 
 despatch of troops that do not exist and cannot be created 
 in a moment. I had a great battle with Delane the other 
 day about it, and asked why he did not appeal to the 
 French Government, who have boundless military resources, 
 instead of to our's who have none at all, and accordingly 
 yesterday there was a very strong article entirely about French 
 reinforcements. 
 
 In the course of our talk he did, I must confess, make 
 some strong charges against the Government, and particu- 
 larly Newcastle. He complained that after the expedition 
 was sent to the Crimea they remained idle, and made no 
 attempt to form an army of reserve or to send continual re- 
 inforcements to supply the casualties which everybody knew 
 must occur, and this is true. Again, when he returned from 
 the East ' he went to Newcastle and urged him to make an 
 immediate provision of wooden houses against the winter, 
 which would in all probability be required, and he suggested 
 that this should be done at Constantinople, where, all the 
 houses being built of wood and the carpenters very skilful, 
 it might easily be done at a comparatively small expense, and 
 whence the conveyance was expeditious and cheap. His 
 advice was not taken ; nothing was done, and now that the 
 
 ' [Mr. Delane had gone to the theatre of war in the autumn, and was 
 there with Mr. Englake, the brilliant historian of the Crimean War.] 
 
1864] ADMINISTRATIVE BLUNDEBS. 203 
 
 winter is come, and the troops are already exposed to 
 dreadful suffering and priyation, the work is begun here, 
 where it will cost four times as much and, when done, will 
 require an enormous time to convey the houses to the 
 Crimea, besides taking up the space that is urgently re- 
 quired for other purposes. I was obliged to confess that this 
 was inexcusable negligence and blundering, and I repeated 
 what had passed to GranviUe last night, who could make no 
 defence, and only said that Newcastle, with many merits, had 
 the fault of wishing to do everything himself, and therefore 
 much was not done at all ; and that the fact was, nobody ever 
 imagined we should be reduced to such straits, and there was 
 a universal belief that aU would have been over in the 
 Crimea before this, and that such things would not be required. 
 I am afraid Newcastle, who is totally ignorant of military 
 affairs of every sort, is not equal to his post, and hence the 
 various deficiencies; nor is Sidney Herbert much better — very 
 well both of them in ordinary times, but without the ability 
 or the resource necessary to deal with such an emergency as 
 the present. 
 
 I saw a letter yesterday from Charles Windham, a Q.-M.- 
 General on poor Cathcart's staff, with an account of the 
 battle, and he says that if, directly after the march on 
 Balaklava, Sebastopol had been assaulted, it must have been 
 taken. This corresponds with the reports of Russian 
 deserters, who declare that there were only 2,000 men in 
 the place after the battle of Alma. There is always so 
 much difference of opinion and fault finding in such affairs 
 that it is not easy to come to a sound conclusion thereupon. 
 
 Novemler 29th. — My surviving nephew arrived from the 
 Crimea yesterday morning. He gave me an account of the 
 battle, and denies that General Cathcart ever refused, or 
 was ever offered, the aid of General Bosquet, as has been 
 stated. He says that Cathcart was not in command, and 
 it was not therefore to him that the offer would have been 
 made, and that Cathcart did not go into action till he was 
 sent for by General Pennefather, when he got his Division 
 out, and went on the field. He was killed quite early, aboiit 
 
204 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 twenty minutes after lie reached tlie field of battle. My 
 nephew confirms what has been said about the non-fortifica- 
 tion of the position, which seems to have been an enormous 
 blunder, against which most of the Generals of Division 
 remonstrated. He says Cathcart was opposed to the 
 expedition to the Crimea, not thinking they were strong 
 enough, and he strongly advised, and in opposition to Raglan, 
 that the place should be attacked immediately after the 
 battle of Alma, while the Eussians were still panic struck, 
 and before they had time to fortify the town on the south 
 side. He says he left the army in good health and spirits, 
 but not expecting to take Sebastopol this year. Their suffer- 
 ings had not been very great, though it was a hard life 
 — plenty to eat, but mostly salt meat. He thinks, though 
 the French behaved very gallantly and their arrival saved 
 the army, that they might have done more than they did ; 
 and a body of them that came late on the field actually 
 never stirred and did nothing whatever. 
 
 In the evening I met Clarendon at the Travellers', and 
 had a long talk with him about all sorts of things. He has 
 been much disturbed at the ' Times,' especially as to two 
 things — its violent abuse of Austria and its insertion of 
 a letter from the Crimea, reflecting severely on Prince 
 Napoleon. With regard to Austria it is peculiarly annoy- 
 ing, because we are now on the point of concluding a tripar- 
 tite Treaty which is actually on its way to Vienna, and in a 
 day or two it will be decided whether she signs it or not ; and 
 nothing is more calculated to make her hang back than 
 such articles in the ' Times.' Then as to Prince Napoleon, 
 it has annoyed the Emperor and all his family beyond ex- 
 pression, and to such a degree that Drouyn de Lhuys has 
 written an official letter to Walewski about it — a very proper 
 and reasonable letter, but still expressing their vexation, and 
 entreating that such attacks may, if possible, be prevented 
 for the future. 
 
 We talked over Lord Eaglan and his capacity for com- 
 mand, and we both agreed that he had given no proofs of his 
 fitness for so mighty a task. Clarendon said he was struck 
 
1854] SUFFERINGS OF THE AEMY. 205 
 
 with tlie badness of his private letters, as he had been from 
 the beginning by those from Varna, showing that he had 
 evidently not a spark of imagination and no originality. 
 We both agreed that it would never do to hint a doubt about 
 his merits or capacity, and at all events that he is probably 
 equal to anybody likely to be opposed to him. His personal 
 bravery is conspicuous, and he exposes himself more than he 
 ought. It is said that one of his aides-de-camp remon- 
 strated with him and received a severe rebuff, Eaglan telling 
 him to mind his own business, and if he did not like the fire 
 to go to the rear. Clarendon says there is no chance of 
 taking Sebastopol this year,,nor of taking it at all till we 
 have an army strong enough to drive the Russians out of the 
 Crimea. For this, 1 50,000 men would be required to make 
 it a certainty ; but with this force, no Russian army, how- 
 ever numerous, could resist the allies, and then the place 
 would fall. This is a distant prospect. I expressed my 
 wonder at the Russians being able to obtain supplies, and 
 he said they got them from the Don and from Kertch. 
 
 December 5th. — I was at Middleton on Saturday and re- 
 turned yesterday. Ther^ I saw a letter from Stafford, who is 
 at Constantinople tending the sick and wounded, writing for 
 and reading to them, and doing all the good he can — a very 
 wise and benevolent way of re-establishing his reputation 
 and making his misdeeds at the Admiralty forgotten.' He 
 says he had heard so much of the suffering^ and privations 
 of the soldiers, and of the bad state of the hospitals, that he 
 resolved to go there and judge for himself of the truth of all 
 that had been written and asserted on the subject ; that he 
 did so, and found the very worst accounts exceeded by the 
 reality, and that nothiag could be more frightful and ap- 
 palling than it all was. It had greatly improved, but still 
 was bad enough. The accounts published in the 'Times,' 
 
 ^ [Mr. Augustus Stafford had been Secretary to the Admiralty under 
 Lord Derby's first Administration, where he was supposed not to have done 
 well ; but when the accounts arrived of the sufferings and privations of the 
 army in the dreadful winter of 1854-5, Mr. Stafford was one of the first persona- 
 to go out and endeavour to relieve the deplorable condition of the troops.] 
 
206 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 therefore, turn out to be true, and all tlie aid that private 
 charity could supply was no more than was needed. I 
 believe there has been no lack of zeal and humanity here, 
 but a great deal of ignorance and inexperience, and, above 
 all, culpable negligence on the part of Lord Stratford, who 
 had carte ilanche from the Government as to expense, and 
 who, after having done his best to plunge us into this war, 
 might at least have given his time and attention to provide 
 relief for the victims of it ; but it seems that from some fit 
 of ill-temper he has chosen to do nothing, and evinced no- 
 thing but indifference to the war itself and all its incidents 
 ever since it broke out. This I am assured is the case. 
 His wife has been very active and humane, and done all she 
 could to assist Miss Nightingale in her mission of benevolence 
 and charity. But to return to Stafford's letter. He says 
 that while nothing could exceed the heroism of our soldiers, 
 the incapacity of their chiefs was equally conspicuous, and 
 that the troops had no confidence in their leaders ; he adds, 
 it is essential to give them a good general if the war goes 
 on. This, and much more that I have heard, confirms the 
 previous impression on my mind that Eaglan is destitute of 
 military genius or skill, and quite unequal to the command of 
 a great army. It does not appear, however, that the enemy 
 are better off than we are in this respect, and we do not 
 know that in England a better general would now be found. 
 The man, Stafford says, in whom the army seem to have the 
 greatest confidence is Sir Colin Campbell. All this is very 
 serious, and does not tend to inspire a great expectation of 
 glorious results. From what Clarendon said to me it is 
 evident that he does not think much of Raglan, but it 
 would never do to express any doubt of his ability or of his 
 measures in public. Delane told me yesterday that he had 
 received letters without end in this sense, and that he enter- 
 tained the same doubts that I did, but should take care not 
 to give utterance to them in the ' Times.' This reserve is the 
 more necessary and even just because, after all, the opinions 
 may not be well founded ; and, as it is impossible to change 
 the command, it is very desirable not to weaken the authority 
 
1854] ME. BRIGHT ON THE WAR. 207 
 
 and self-confidence of the General by casting doubts upon 
 his conduct of the war. 
 
 December 11th. — For the last week the Austrian Treaty- 
 has occupied everybody's thoughts, though, as the exact 
 terms of it are not yet known, people do not very well know 
 what to expect from it. The great question that lies behind 
 it is, whether Prussia will follow in the wake of Austria, and 
 the rest of Germany with her. If all Germany joins the 
 Allies ib seems absolutely impossible that Russia should oEfer 
 any effectual resistance to such a combination of forces; and it 
 will then be to be seen what impression can be made on an 
 Empire which, with many political deficiencies, nature has 
 made so strong for defensive purposes, and, if the contest 
 continues, whether the opinions and object of the Allies will 
 not diverge and ultimately break up the alliance. 
 
 Bright has published his letter in a penny form (or some- 
 hody has done it for him) with pieces jusUficatives extracted 
 from the Blue Books. and from other sources, and in my 
 opinion he makes out a capital and unanswerable case. He 
 does not, indeed, prove, nor attempt to prove, that the Em- 
 peror of Eussia is in the right absolutely, but he makes out 
 that he is in the right as against England and France, and 
 he shows up the conduct of the Western Powers very success- 
 fully. But in the present temper of the country, and while 
 the war fever is still raging with undiminished violence, all 
 appeals to truth and reason will be totally unavailing. Those 
 who entertain such opinions either wholly or in part do not 
 dare to avow them, and all are hurried along in the vortex. 
 I do not dare to avow them myself; and even for holding my 
 tongue, and because I do not join in the senseless clamour 
 which everywhere resounds, I am called ' a EussJan.' The 
 progress of the contest has changed the nature of public 
 opinion, for now its principal motive is the deep interest 
 taken in the success of our arms and the safety of the band 
 of heroes who have been fighting in the Crimea. This is, 
 of course, right and patriotic, and a feeling which must be 
 common to those who have been against, and those who have 
 been for the war. 
 
208 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 PansJianger, December 14ith. — The debates on Tuesday 
 night were on the whole satisfactory, and not bad for the 
 Government. Derby made a slashing, effective philippic on 
 the text of ' Too late,' asserting that the fault of the Govern- 
 ment had been that they had done everything too late. 
 Newcastle answered him, but was dull and feeble, totally 
 unequal to meet Derby in debate. His case was not bad, 
 but he could not handle it with effect. Government did 
 better in the Commons, where Sidney Herbert made a 
 capital speech, and produced a very good case in a very com- 
 plete and satisfactory manner. He proved that reinforce- 
 ments had been sent out mouth after month, and that they 
 had never folded their hands and stood still as Derby charged 
 them with having done. All the rage for the war which is 
 apparent in the country was manifested in both Houses. 
 According to present appearances, there will be very little 
 done on the part of the Opposition against the Government 
 during this short session. 
 
 December 17th. — These smooth appearances were deceit- 
 ful, for the Government met with an unexpected and violent 
 opposition to their Foreign Enlistment Bill, and only carried 
 the second reading by a majority of 12. Ellenborough, 
 puffed up with conceit and soured by disappointment and 
 the nullity of his position, commenced a furious attack on 
 this bill in an able speech replete with bitterness and 
 sarcasm. Derby, too happy to join in any mischief, 
 brought the support of his party, and a debate ensued, in 
 which, as usual, the speaking of Ellenborough and Derby 
 gave them the advantage, but the Government got a majority 
 enough for their purpose. The bill itself is very unpopular, 
 nobody can tell why, except that all sorts of misrepresen- 
 tations were made about it the first night, and people have 
 not yet been undeceived. I doubt if it was worth while to 
 bring in such a bill, but it is certain if they had not done so, 
 and immediately, they would have been furiously reproached 
 by those who oppose them now, and above all accused of 
 being ' too late.' The imprudent speech which John Eussell 
 made about Austria the first night elicited a violent attack 
 
1854] THE FOEEIGN ENLISTMENT BILL. 209 
 
 on him in the 'Times,' which is sure to have put him in very 
 bad humour. The speech and the attack were equally un- 
 justifiable and mischievous. I have no idea why he said 
 what he did, unless it was for the sake of appearing to fall 
 in with the vulgar prejudice against Austria. 
 
 December 18th. — The dislike of the Foreign Enlistment 
 Bill is very general, but nobody can give any reason for their 
 opposition to it.' It is, however, so great that it is not 
 certain that it can be carried through the House of Commons, 
 and so little is the Government cared for that I doubt many 
 being found who will incur the resentment of their constitu- 
 ents or give an unpopular vote to save them. If they should 
 be beaten, I think they must go out. John Russell is in 
 a bad disposition of mind, as may be gathered from his 
 entourage, who are in rabid opposition. Lord John, however, 
 will probably do what he can to make this measure go down, 
 as I find he is himself the author of it ; but I much doubt if 
 he would care for the Government being broken up, and he 
 is not unlikely to regard such a catastrophe as the event best 
 calculated to restore him to the post he so much covets. It 
 is certainly possible that Derby, conscious he could not make 
 a Government himself, would offer to support the Whig 
 section of this Cabinet with all the Peelites eliminated from 
 it, and that an attempt might be made to form a Government 
 with Lord John, Palmerston, and perhaps EUenborough. 
 However, all this is vague speculation, and not worth follow- 
 ing out. 
 
 December 20th. — Government got a majority of 39, better 
 than was expected. Lord John threatened to resign if he 
 was beaten. The debate wiU not do them much good when 
 it is read, nor serve to render their measure more popular. 
 Everybody thinks the whole affair has been grossly mis- 
 managed, and that, instead of making a mystery of their 
 
 ^ [The object of tke Foreign Enlistment Bill was to enable the Govern- 
 ment to enlist 15,000 foreigners in the British army to be drilled in this 
 country. It was denounced and opposed especially in the House of Lords as 
 a dangerous and unconstitutional measure, but it eventually passed, and a 
 considerable number of Germans were enlisted under it,] 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
210 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 intentions, they ought to have thrown out such intimations 
 of them as would have elicited public opinion ; but the 
 truth is, not one of them had the least suspicion that the 
 measure would meet with any resistance or even objection, 
 nor would there have been any if EUenborough had not 
 started the hare, and then Derby and his party joyfully 
 availed themselves of the opportunity to do mischief, and 
 joined in the cry. When the bill was announced, Derby 
 never dreamt of opposing it. The arguments against the 
 measure seem to me very plausible, except the constitutional 
 one, which is all stuff, and in which none of those who urge it 
 are sincere ; on the other hand, the former precedents do not 
 apply in this case. The best argument for it is, that Eaglan 
 wants trained men as soon as possible, and complains that 
 they send nothing but boys, who are of little use at first, and 
 who die in great numbers under the hardships and privations 
 the climate and the operations inflict on them. Not only 
 were the Government totally unconscious of the opposition 
 they should encounter, but, when they found the steam was 
 getting up, they neglected to enter into such explanations 
 and make out such a case as might, if well done, have 
 extinguished dissension in the beginning. All this dis- 
 plays a want of prudence and foresight, for in a matter of 
 such importance it is not enough to say that they did not 
 expect any fault to be found with their proposal, and they 
 ought to have employed some means to see what was likely 
 to be thought of it before they committed themselves to it. 
 They ought to have ascertained how it was to be carried 
 into effect, and if they could count upon its success, and to 
 be able to give Parliament some assurance of it, instead 
 of saying they had taken no initiative steps out of affected 
 deference to constitutional scruples, and knew not how they 
 were to get the men they are asking for. It seems the 
 general opinion of their own friends that they have mis- 
 managed their case, and plunged into a difficulty they 
 might have avoided. The best way of avoiding it would 
 have been to raise a regiment or two without applying to 
 Parliament at all, mustered and arrayed them at Malta or at 
 
1854] LOEB EAGLAN'S DEFICIENCIES. 211 
 
 Heligoland, or wherever they pleased out of England, and 
 sent them off as an experiment to the Crimea. Then, if 
 they had done good service, and Eaglan had expressed his 
 satisfaction and asked for more, they might have raised any 
 number and landed them here without cavil or objection ; but 
 to have adopted this course they must have seen the neces- 
 sity of feeling their way, which not one of them did. The 
 great complaint now is the want of organisation and good 
 arrangement in the Crimea and generally at and about the 
 seat of war, the confusion that has taken place in forwarding 
 and distributing supplies, and the want of all expedients for 
 facilitating the service in its various branches. There is 
 much truth in all this, but the responsibility for it rests upon 
 Raglan, who, if he had been of a prompt and energetic 
 character, would have looked to these things, seen what was 
 wanting, and have taken care to provide everything and set 
 the necessary machinery in motion. He had carte hlanche 
 from the Grovernment as to money and everything else, and, 
 if he had concerted what was necessary with Stratford, and 
 insisted on his exerting himself, I believe none of the com- 
 plaints would have been made, and none of the deficiencies 
 have been found. This is what the Duke of Wellington 
 would have done, and his despatches are full of proofs that it 
 is what he was always doing. 
 
 December 24th. — The third reading of the Enlistment Bill 
 carried by 38, after a very fine speech from Bright, con- 
 sisting of a part of his letter with its illustrations. In 
 my opinion this speech was unanswerable, and no attempt 
 was made to answer it. He was very severe on both Lord 
 John and Palmerston. It is impossible that such reasoning 
 as Bright's should not make some impression in the country ; 
 but I do not think any reasoning however powerful, or any 
 display of facts however striking, can stem the torrent of 
 public opinion, which still clamours for war and is so burn- 
 ing with hatred against Russia that no peace could be 
 deemed satisfactory, or even tolerable, that did not humble 
 Russia to the dust and strip her of some considerable 
 territory. Yesterday the 'Times' ventured on an article 
 
 p 2 
 
212 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 against Eaglan as the cause of the disorder and confusion 
 and consequent privations which prevail in the army. 
 Delane wrote to me about it, and said he was aware he 
 should be bitterly reviled for speaking these truths. I agree 
 entirely with what he said, and see no reason why the 
 saddle should not be put upon the right horse. 
 
 The Grove, December Slst, 1854. — The last day of one of 
 the most melancholy and disastrous years I ever recollect. 
 Almost everybody is in mourning, and grief and despair over- 
 spread the land. At the beginning of the year we sent forth 
 an army amidst a tumult of joyous and triumphant antici- 
 pation, and everybody full of confidence and boasting and 
 expecting to force the Emperor Nicholas in the shortest 
 possible time humbly to sue for peace, and the only question 
 was, what terms we should vouchsafe to grant him, and how 
 much of his dominions we should leave him in possession 
 of. Such presumptuous boasting and confidence have been 
 signally humbled, and the end of this year sees us deploring 
 the deaths of friends and relations without number, and our 
 army perishing before the walls of Sebastopol, which we are 
 unable to take, and, after bloody victories and prodigies of 
 valour, the Russian power hardly as yet diminished or im- 
 paired. All last week I was at Hatchford with Lord Grey, 
 when we did nothing but talk over the war, its management 
 and mismanagement, Eaglan, etc. Grey's criticisms are 
 clever and not unfair, far from favourable to the Government, 
 but detesting Derby, of whom he has the worst opinion, 
 formed from a very ancient date and upon long experience 
 of his character and conduct. Grey's idea is that there has 
 been much m.ismanagement here and still greater on the spot, 
 and that Eaglan is quite incompetent and, as far as we can 
 see, nobody else any better. The opinion about Eaglan 
 appears to be rapidly gaining ground, and the Ministers 
 have arrived at the same conclusion. 
 
 I came here yesterday to meet Cowley, come over for a 
 few days from Pans, and to have a talk with him and 
 Clarendon. Cowley says that the alliance between the two 
 countries is very hollow, and in fact there is nobody in France 
 
1854] THE PEENCH ALLIANCE. 213 
 
 really friendly to us except the Emperor, Persigny, and 
 perhaps Drouyn de Lhuys. The Emperor is bent on pursuing 
 the war with vigour, and is sensible of the importance to 
 himself of the French flag being triumphant. I asked him 
 what they thought of our armies and our generals ; he said 
 from the Emperor downwards they had the highest admira- 
 tion for the wonderful bravery of the troops, but the greatest 
 contempt for the military skill of the commanders, and for 
 all our arrangements and savoir faire. He told us the follow- 
 ing anecdote as a proof of the blundering way in which our 
 affairs are conducted. Newcastle wrote to him lately to beg 
 he would ask the French Grovernment to give us a model of 
 certain carts their army used in the Crimea, the like of which 
 our people there had applied to him for. The French 
 Minister replied that he could give drawings, but had no 
 model ; but at the same time he advised us not to think of 
 having similar ones, as these carts are so ill adapted for the 
 purpose that they had discarded them, and had ordered 
 others and better ones to be made, which were now in course 
 of construction at Malta. So that we propose to get these 
 machines without finding out whether they are suitable or 
 not, while the French supply themselves with the proper 
 article in our own territory, 
 
 I find from Clarendon that he is not only fully alive to 
 Raglan's inefficiency, but has all along suspected it, and now 
 the Government seem to have the same conviction; still they 
 can take no step in the matter, for he has done nothing and 
 omitted nothing so flagrantly as to call for or justify his 
 recall, and if they were to recall him they do not know where 
 to look for a better man to replace him. The war has 
 hitherto failed to elicit any remarkable abilities or special 
 aptitude for war, except in one instance, that of Captain 
 Butler, the defender of Silistria, a young man of remarkable 
 promise who, if he had lived, would probably have done great 
 things and have risen to distinction. 
 
 Canrobert writes to his Government that he hopes soon 
 to attempt the assault, but the Emperor and M. Vaillant by 
 no means approve of it, and have sent him orders not actually 
 
214 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VII. 
 
 proliibitiiig it, but enjoining caution in such, a manner 
 as will most probably effectually deter him from doing 
 anything. They all think that the capture of the place 
 could only be achieved (if at all) at a great cost of life, and 
 that the captors could not hold it for many hours, as they 
 would be pounded from the Northern forts which entirely 
 command the place. 
 
 We discussed Austria and what she will do when the 
 Russian answer comes to the last communication of the 
 Conference at Vienna, and what she can do. Even if she 
 recalls her ambassador from St. Petersburg and declares war, 
 Cowley thinks she will never cross bayonets with the Russians 
 or fire a shot unless attacked ; and he believes, on what 
 appear good grounds, that if any fighting takes place between 
 the Austrians and the Russians, the former will get beaten, 
 and that the Russian army is much the best of the two. 
 This is the reverse of the general notion, but it seems that 
 the Austrian officers themselves are of that opinion. It is no 
 wonder, therefore, that they have no mind to go to war and 
 to encounter this danger to accommodate us, whom they 
 still cordially hate on many accounts, but especially for the 
 Haynau affair, which still rankles in their hearts and in 
 which they think their uniform was insulted. A propos 
 of this. Clarendon told me that the Queen was talking to 
 him very lately about this affair, and told him that she had 
 entreated Palmerston at the time to write some expression 
 of regret to the Austrian Government, but that nothing 
 would induce him to do it, and he never did. 
 
 I asked Clarendon what was Palmerston's present tone 
 about the war. He said he was very uneasy about the army 
 and its condition, but just as confident as ever as to the final 
 result of the war, and as lofty in his ideas of the terms of 
 peace we should exact from Russia. He is all for restoring 
 the Crimea to Turkey, and, what is more, he has persuaded 
 the Emperor Napoleon to embrace that opinion. As usual, 
 he never sees any difficulty in anything he wishes to do. I 
 told Cowley and Clarendon what Grey said — viz. that he 
 agreed entirely with Bright's letter, and that the war might 
 
1854] NEGOTIATIONS WITH PEANCE. 215 
 
 have been avoided by either of the two courses — to have told 
 the Emperor of Russia in the beginning we would make war 
 on him if he persisted, and compelled to understand that 
 we really meant it, or to have forced the Turks to accept 
 the Vienna Note; and, in either case, war would have been 
 avoided, but that, the Cabinet itself being divided, every- 
 thing was done in a spirit of compromise, and a middle course 
 adopted which led to all the mischief. Oowley answered 
 the first alternative and Clarendon the second. Cowley 
 said that one of the great difficulties of the British Govern- 
 ment was to secure concert with the French, and to explain 
 their own conduct without hurting the susceptibility of their 
 allies or divulging what passed between the two Govern- 
 ments. The French were perpetually blowing hot and 
 cold, with a false air of vigour superior to our's at one 
 moment, and at another wanting to do what our Ministers 
 would have been torn to pieces for consenting to. For 
 instance, in spite of us they would send their fleet to the 
 Dardanelles to support the Turks, and afterwards they 
 proposed to send the two fleets to Constantinople to compel 
 the Sultan to sign the Vienna Note. Cowley told me this 
 war in its present shape and with these vast armaments 
 had gone on insensibly and from small beginnings, nobody 
 could well tell how. In the first instance, the Emperor told 
 Cowley he had no intention of sending any land forces to 
 the East, and when we proposed to him to despatch there 
 a small corps of 5,000 English and 10,000 French he 
 positively declined. Soon after Sir John Burgoyne was sent 
 to examine and report on the state of the country, and he 
 gave an opinion that it would be desirable to send such a 
 force to occupy a fortified position at Gallipoli in case of 
 the Russians making a sudden attack with their fleet on 
 Constantinople, in which case our fleets might be in some 
 danger. Cowley took him to the Emperor, to whom he told 
 his story. The Emperor said he thought his reasons good, 
 and this was a definite and tangible object, and he would 
 send the troops. When Raglan was ofiered the command 
 of the forces we were to send out, he said he would not 
 
216 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VH. 
 
 go witli less than 20,000 men ; and when we agreed to send 
 this force, the French said if we sent 20,000 they must 
 send 40,000, and so the expedition began, and it has since 
 swelled to its present magnitude — our's in consequence of the 
 clamour here and pressure from without, and their's to keep 
 pace with our's in relative proportions. With regard to the 
 Vienna Note, Clarendon said Stratford never would have let 
 the Turks sign it, and if they had recalled him the Cabinet 
 here would have been broken up, Palmerston would have 
 gone out, Sttatford would have come home frantic and have 
 proclaimed to the whole country that the Turks had been 
 sacrificed and betrayed, and the uproar would have been so 
 great that it would have been impossible to carry out the 
 intention. I think the first answer is more weighty than 
 the last, and that the popular clamour and Palmerston's 
 secession ought to have been encountered at whatever 
 hazard rather than persist in the fatal course which could 
 hardly fail to lead, and did eventually lead, us into this 
 deplorable war. 
 
218 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 on the war more efficiently, which, he does not. This letter 
 is a complete reply to the objection Clarendon urged against 
 Palmerston's being War Minister, for if Lord John himself 
 wished it, nobody else could well object. He ought to have 
 insisted on it, and, if he had, it must have been done. 
 
 Nothing can wear a gloomier aspect than affairs do ab 
 home and abroad — the Government weak, unpopular, dis- 
 pirited, and divided, the army in the Crimea in a deplorable 
 state, and the prospects of the war far from brilliant, no con- 
 fidence in the commanding officers there, and no likelihood 
 of finding more competent ones, everybody agreeing that till 
 we have 150,000 men in the Crimea we cannot count on 
 taking Sebastopol, and the difficulty of ever assembling such 
 a force appearing very great. So far as I can collect, the 
 violent articles which the ' Times ' emits day after day have 
 excited general resentment and disgust. They overdo every- 
 thing and, while they are eternally changing their course, 
 the one they follow for the moment they follow with an 
 outrageous violence which shocks everybody. But as those 
 who complain most of the ' Times ' still go on reading it, 
 the paper only gets more rampant and insolent, for as long 
 as its circulation is undiminished it does not care what 
 anybody thinks or says of it. 
 
 January 4th. — I wrote the Duke an answer with my 
 opinion on Lord John's position and obligations, which has 
 elicited another from him this morning. He says that it was 
 a few weeks ago that John made a formal proposal to 
 Aberdeen that Palmerston should replace Newcastle at the 
 War Department. Aberdeen desired time to consider, and 
 then refused. Subsequently the matter was renewed, when 
 Palmerston himself objected, and then it necessarily ended. 
 The Duke thinks that Lord John will not now stir it again, 
 and will make up his mind to go on, and to defend his Govern- 
 ment in the House of Commons. He consulted Sir George 
 Grey, Lord Lansdowne, and Panmure, and they all advised 
 him not to resign. It is strange that while this is imparted to 
 me ' very confidentially,' and I had heard nothing of it before, 
 it is currently reported, and stated positively in the ' Morniag 
 
1855] CENSUEES OP LOED EAGLAN. 219 
 
 Herald,' that Lord John and others, mentioned by name, 
 haTe insisted on Newcastle's being tnnied out. That some 
 part of what has occurred has got out is clear, and I incline 
 to think that some of his satellites have set to work, and 
 that, by way of assisting Lord John's object, they have given 
 notice of what was going on to some of the Derbyites. 
 There is a mysterious allusion to some impending event in 
 the ' Press ' on Saturday last, which looks very like this. 
 
 The ' Times ' goes on against Eaglan with greater 
 vehemence every day, and will not be restrained by any 
 remonstrances. Evans has put himself in communication 
 with Delane (though certainly having no hand in these 
 attacks) and has sent him an account of his having addressed 
 a letter to Canrobert many days before the battle of Inker- 
 man for the purpose of getting him to assist in taking 
 precautionary measures to resist the attack he was persuaded 
 the Russians would make, and Canrobert's answer, in which 
 he says that his means are curtailed by the necessity of pro- 
 viding for the defence of Balaklava, and of extending his 
 line and making dispositions ' dans I'interet de la situation 
 commune,' but that he has ordered Bosquet to move nearer 
 to Evans' division, and to be in readiness if anything should 
 happen. There was a passage omitted in the printed letter 
 of Evans to Raglan in which he alludes to the neglect of the 
 precautionary measures he had recommended. 
 
 Gortschakoff has declared the Emperor of Russia will 
 accept the first, second, and fourth articles of the four points, 
 and will consider of the third. This may mean that he really 
 wishes to make peace, or only be done for the sake of Austria, 
 and to give her a pretext for not declaring against him. 
 Clarendon is satisfied with Usedom, but not at all with his 
 proposals. He says the King of Prussia has sent him to try 
 and make a treaty with France and England entirely out of 
 jealousy and mortification at Austria having made one, but he 
 does not propose one similar to the Austrian Treaty, only a 
 defensive one. Clarendon says the King in his heart hates 
 Russia and winces under the influence he submits to, that 
 he is indignant at the insults which have been heaped on 
 
220 EEiaN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 him by his Imperial brother-in-law, and the contumely with 
 which he has been treated, but, being physically and politi- 
 cally a coward, he has not energy to shake off the yoke he 
 has suffered to be imposed on him. 
 
 Aldenham, January 6th. — I came here to-day. I saw 
 Cowley yesterday, who has been to Windsor, and tells me that 
 he finds by conversations he has had with Stockmar that the 
 Queen is much softened towards Palmerston and no longer 
 regards him with the extreme aversion she did. On the 
 other hand, she is very angry with John Russell, and this 
 is, of course, from knowing what he has been doing, and 
 resentment at his embarrassing and probably breaking up 
 the Government. This relaxation in her feelings towards 
 Palmerston is very important at this moment, and presents 
 the chance of an alternative which, if this Government falls, 
 may save her from Derby and his crew, whom she cordially 
 detests. I hear Newcastle is very low, as well he may be, 
 for no man was ever placed in so painful a position, and 
 it is one from which it is impossible for him to extricate 
 himself. When the Government goes to pieces, as I am 
 persuaded it will, the Queen is very likely to send for 
 Palmerston, and he and BUenborough, as War Minister, 
 might make a Government that would probably stand during 
 the war, and which in present circumstances the House of 
 Commons and the country could not but support. My 
 notion is that Lord John would not take any office, but 
 would support Palmerston, and advise all his friends and 
 followers to do so. I know no reason why EUenborough 
 should not act with anybody, and many of the present 
 Government might stay in, and certain changes be made 
 which would let in more Whigs, and so conciliate that party, 
 while the Conservatives would abstain from supporting any 
 Government which did not contain Aberdeen and Newcastle. 
 Gladstone might be a difficulty ; Clarendon would be none, 
 for he and Palmerston have pulled very well together, and I 
 have no doubt Palmerston would be very happy to keep him. 
 This opens a new prospect, and one very preferable to having 
 Derby and his friends in office again. 
 
1855] OANROBERT'S OPINION OF BEITISH AEMY. 221 
 
 I asked Cowley about Canrobert's confidential letters to 
 bis Government on tbe state of our army of wbich I bad 
 beard. He said it was very true, and be bad seen several of 
 tbese letters, in wbicb Canrobert said tbat notbing could 
 exceed bis admiration of tbe Britisb soldiers, but be was 
 convinced tbe army would disappear altogetber, for tbeir 
 organisation and management were deplorable ; and be en- 
 treated bis Grovernment, if tbey possibly could, to interpose 
 in tbe interest of tbe common cause to procure some 
 amelioration of the organisation, witbout wbicb notbing 
 could save tbe army from destruction. The Emperor, 
 Cowley said, never mentioned our troops or commanders to 
 bim except iu terms of respect and with expressions of his 
 admiration, but he knew tbat to others be spoke in a 
 very different tone, and said tbat our army was commanded 
 by an old woman. 
 
 January 12th. — I returned to town last night. Tbe 
 Emperor of Eussia's acceptance of tbe four points, as inter- 
 preted by us, of course excites hopes of peace, but I think 
 few people are sanguine as to the result. It is suspected to 
 be only a dodge to paralyse the action of Austria, but unless 
 there was some secret concert with Austria, wbicb is not 
 likely, I cannot see what Russia is to gain by accepting 
 conditions wbich she does not reaUy mean to abide by. 
 Such conduct could only deceive the Allies for a short time, 
 and, as there is no question of any suspension of military 
 operations, notbing would be gained in tbat respect, while 
 •as soon as some decisive test of the Emperor's sincerity was 
 applied, bis real meaning must be made manifest, and then 
 not only would the acharnement of the Western Powers be 
 increased, but it would be quite impossible for Austria not 
 to join tbe Coalition, and to act verily and indeed against 
 Russia. Tbese reasons would induce me to put faith in the 
 Russian announcement; on the other hand, it is barely 
 credible that tbe Emperor should consent to the sacrifice of 
 Sebastopol in tbe present state of the campaign, and with 
 tbe almost certainty tbat we cannot take it for many months 
 to come, if at all. 
 
222 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 Jolin Russell is gone to Paris, not for any political object, 
 but merely to see one of his wife's sisters ; but bis journey 
 there and conversations with the Emperor may not be with- 
 out some consequences. I hear almost daily from the Duke 
 of Bedford on the subject of John's conduct, the conduct of 
 the war, and the state of the Government. For the present 
 he appears to desist from doing anything to make an 
 explosion. The curious thing is that the public, and 
 particularly the Derbyite, newspapers should be so well 
 informed as they are of what is going on. Though the 
 immediate danger of a break up seems to be over, I still 
 think the animus Lord John exhibits, the manifold diffi- 
 culties of the Government, and their undoubted though 
 unjust unpopularity, will before long break them to 
 pieces. 
 
 January 14th. — I met Clarendon last night and had a 
 talk about affairs at home and abroad. John Russell at Paris 
 is satisfied with his conversation with the Emperor, who 
 agreed that we could make no peace but one which would 
 be glorious for us. Clarendon does not believe the Emperor 
 of Russia really means to sacrifice Sebastopol, and thinks 
 when he sent his acceptance of the four points he was not 
 apprised of what had passed in the Conference, which was 
 merely verbal. Gortschakoff, in a passion, said, ' I suppose 
 you mean to limit our naval force, or to dismantle Sebastopol, 
 or both ; ' to which they replied, ' Yes ' ; but nothing was put 
 in writing to this effect. This makes a great difference, but I 
 do not despair. There is a great question about a negotiator, 
 and the Queen and Prince want Clarendon himself to go. 
 He refused point blank ; he does not hke to leave it to West- 
 morland alone. I suggested Canning, but he thought Canning 
 had not had experience enough, and that it ought to be a 
 Cabinet Minister, and asked, ' Why not Palmerston ? ' I ob- 
 jected the difficulty of relying on him, his hatred of Austria, 
 and the terror he would inspire ; and I said Granville might 
 do, but that I saw no reason why he should not go himself if he 
 had reason to think it was likely to succeed, though I would 
 not go merely to return re infectd. We then talked of Lord 
 
1855] LORD EAGLAN'S COMPOSUEE. 223 
 
 John and of Newcastle. He said that Newcastle is exceed- 
 ingly slow, and has a slow mind, but that there is no case 
 whatever for turning him out, and he cannot be blamed for 
 the failures in matters of detail, and as for the great measures 
 the responsibility belongs alike to all. Lord John never is 
 and never will be satisfied without being again Prime 
 Minister, which is impossible. I said the Duke of Bedford 
 assured me that his brother did not now want to be Prime 
 Minister. ' What does he want then ? — to retire altogether ? ' 
 ' Yes,' said Clarendon, ' that is his intense selfishness ; utterly 
 regardless of the public interests, or of what may happen, he 
 wants to relieve himself from the responsibility of a situation 
 which is not so good as he desires, and to run away from his 
 post at a moment of danger and difficulty. If we had some 
 great success — if Sebastopol were taken, for example — we 
 should hear no more of his retirement.' As matters are, how- 
 ever. Clarendon thinks very ill of them abroad and at home. 
 This disposition of Lord John's keeps the Government in con- 
 stant hot water, and no confidence can be placed in Raglan, 
 while it is impossible to find anybody who would, as far as we 
 «an judge, do any better. 
 
 The Court are exceedingly annoyed and alarmed at 
 Raglan's failure ; the Prince showed Clarendon (or told him 
 of) a letter from Colonel Steele, who said that he had no idea 
 how great a mind Raglan really had, but that he now saw 
 it, for in the midst of distresses and difficulties of every kind 
 in which the army was involved he was perfectly serene and 
 undisturbed, and his health excellent ! Steele meant this 
 as a panegyric, and did not see that it rea,lly conveyed a 
 severe reproach. The conviction of his incapacity for so 
 great a command gains ground every day ; he has failed in 
 those qualities where everybody expected he would have 
 succeeded best, even those who thought nothing of his 
 military genius. But, having learnt what he knows of war 
 under the Duke, he might at least have known how he 
 ■carried on war, and have imitated his attention to minute 
 details and a general supervision of the different services, 
 seeing that all was in order and the merely mechanical parts 
 
224 EEiaN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 properly attended to on wliich so much, of the efficiency as 
 well as of the comfort of the army depended.' 
 
 January 19th. — We are still uncertain as to the real 
 intentions of the Emperor of Russia, and whether he means 
 to accept the terms offered by the Allies ; but my own impres- 
 sion is that he will not accept them in our sense, and that he 
 never will consent to the sacrifice of Sebastopol till we have 
 taken the place and destroyed the fortifications, thereby 
 rendering its dismantling a, fait accompli. There is certainly 
 nothing in the present state of our aifairs which warrants 
 our lofty pretensions, and the proposal of terms so humiliat- 
 ing to the Emperor. The only possible grounds that can be 
 imagined for his acceptance are, his own knowledge of the 
 state of his own country and of the resources he can command 
 for carrying on the war, and a dispassionate and farsighted 
 calculation of the disposition and of the resources of his 
 opponents. It is not impossible that he may foresee that he 
 must eventually succumb in a contest so unequal and in 
 which the number of his enemies increases every day. He 
 may deem it better to make certain sacrifices now, with the 
 view of being able before long to retrieve his losses, than to 
 expose himself to the chance and great probability of being 
 obliged to make much greater sacrifices hereafter, and such 
 as it will be more difficult for him to repair. The Duke of 
 Bedford tells me that Aberdeen and Clarendon are both 
 hopeless of peace, and that Lord John and Palmerston do 
 not consider it so absolutely hopeless ; Aberdeen says the 
 negotiations will not last half an hour. 
 
 The accounts from the army are as bad as possible; 
 one-third of it is in the hospitals, and the quays of Balaklava 
 are loaded with enormous stores of every kind, which it was 
 impossible to transport to the camp. Very intelligent people 
 therefore entertain the greatest apprehension of some 
 catastrophe occurring whenever the severity of the winter, 
 
 ^ [It may be proper to remark that a different and far more favourable 
 view of Lord Eaglan's capacity as a General -will be found infra at the 
 beginning of Chapter XII. of this Journal, upon the evidence of Sir Edmund 
 Lyons, who was entirely in the confidence of the Oommander-in-Chief.] 
 
1855] ILL CONDUCT OF THE WAE. 225 
 
 which has hitherto been comparatively mild, sets in. The 
 hest security is in the eqiially distressed state of the 
 Russians, and in fact nothing but this can account for their 
 having left us alone so long. 
 
 The Duke of Bedford and I talked over the state of 
 affairs here, and the political possibilities in the event of this 
 Government falling to pieces or being compelled to resign. 
 We both desire any arrangement rather than another Derby 
 Government, and we agree in thinking that on the whole 
 the best would be for Lord Lansdowne to undertake the 
 formation of a Government, if he can be persuaded to 
 do so, which does not appear wholly impossible. This would 
 satisfy Lord John, who would then remain in his present 
 office, half a dozen of the present Cabinet would go out, 
 some Whigs might replace them, and the thing would 
 undoubtedly go on for a time. It is impossible for New- 
 castle to continue to conduct the war, with the universal 
 clamour there is against him and the opinion of his own 
 colleagues (at least of such of them as I know the opinions 
 of) that he is unfit for the post. He has two very great 
 faults which are sufficient to disqualify him : he is exceed- 
 ingly slow, and he knows nothing of the qualifications 
 of other men, or how to provide himself with competent 
 assistants ; nor has he any decision or foresight. He chose 
 for his under- secretaries two wholly incompetent men who 
 have been of no use to him in managing and expediting the 
 various details of the service, and he has a rage for doing 
 everything himself, by which means nothing is done, or done 
 so tardily as to be of no use. Then all the subordinate 
 Boards are miserably administered, and the various useless, 
 inefficient, or worn out officers have been suffered to remain 
 at their posts, to the enormous detriment of the service. 
 The genius of Lord Chatham or the energy and will of the 
 Duke of Wellington would have failed with such a general 
 staff here, and with such a Commander-in-Chief as Hardin ge, 
 a,nd with the faineantise of Eaglan. 
 
 January 20th. — It is only by degrees one can unravel the 
 truth in political affairs. John Eussell told me last night 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
226 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 that Austria lias never given in her adhesion to our condi- 
 tion of making the destruction of Sebastopol a sine qua non 
 of peace. She joins us in insisting on the ' faire cesser la 
 prepotence,' hut the means of accomplishing this remain to 
 he discussed. This is very different from what I had ima- 
 gined, and makes it anything but certain that she will join 
 her forces to our's, if the negotiations fail in consequence of 
 our demands. We are now endeavouring to bring the Court 
 of Vienna into an agreement with us as to the conditions to 
 be required, and it is no easy matter to get the Cabinet to 
 agree upon the wording of the communications we make to 
 her. This arises from the necessity of looking to the effect 
 of what will appear in the Blue Books. Blue Books, Parlia- 
 mentary discussions, and the Press tie up the hands of a 
 Government, fetter its discretion and deliberate policy, and 
 render diplomatic transactions (especially with Governments 
 whose hands are more free) excessively difficult. Granville 
 told me yesterday morning that the course of Russia had been 
 more straightforward than that of England and Prance, and 
 this morning he reminded me of having said so, and added 
 that we were in a great diplomatic mess, Prance always 
 finessing and playing a game of her own ; and I infer from 
 what he said that, having got all she can out of us, she is 
 now coquetting with Austria, and disposed to defer to her 
 wishes and objects, and to be less exigeante towards Russia. 
 This is only of a piece with what Clarendon has often said 
 to me about Prance and her way of dealing with us ; how- 
 ever, if Prance will only insist on making peace on plausible 
 terms, and with the semblance of its being an honourable 
 and consistent peace, we cannot do otherwise than acquiesce 
 in her determination, and if we only follow the lead she 
 takes the public here must needs be satisfied. This is 
 Granville's own idea, as it is mine, and God grant that 
 affairs may take this turn, and so we may get out of the 
 tremendous scrape we are in, the escape from which will be 
 cheaply purchased by the fall of the Government — a conse- 
 quence that is almost certain if it does not happen before 
 anything can be done. 
 
1855] ABORTIVE NEGOTIATIONS. 227 
 
 Day after day the accounts from the Crimea represent a 
 more deplorable state of things, entirely confirmative of 
 Canrobert's statements to his own Government, and it is 
 difiBcult to read them and not apprehend some fatal cata- 
 strophe. We know nothing of the state of the Russians 
 either within or without Sebastopol, and this ignorance is 
 not one of the least remarkable circumstances in this war, 
 but we must conclude either that their condition is as bad as 
 our's, and that they are unable to attack us, or that their 
 policy is to let the winter do its work, and that they do not 
 think it necessary for them to fight sanguinary battles with 
 Tery doubtful results when disease is ravaging the allied army 
 a.nd producing effects as advantageous for them as the most 
 complete victories could do, as surely, only more gradually. 
 
 January 22nd. — Every day one looks with anxiety to see 
 and to hear whether the chances of peace look well or ill, 
 and at present they look very ill. Clarendon seems to set 
 his face against it — that is, he considers it hopeless ; and it is 
 not promising that the negotiations should be under the 
 management of one who has no hopes of bringing them to a 
 successful issue, and whose despair of it evidently arises from 
 his determination to exact conditions that there is no chance 
 of obtaining. I hear, too, this morning, that the instructions 
 to Bourqueney are to be as exigeant as possible — not very wise 
 pretensions anyhow, but they rather indicate the tone adopted 
 by England than the real intentions of France, for it is one 
 thing to make great demands and another to persist in 
 them. It is, however, idle to speculate on the progress 
 of a negotiation which must be so largely influenced by the 
 operations and events of the war. Parliament meets to- 
 morrow, and I think a very short time will elapse before the 
 fate of the Government is decided by some vote about the 
 conduct of the war. I think the Government themselves 
 desire it, and, conscious of the state of public opinion and of 
 the deplorable state of afPairs, and most of them thinking 
 there has been great and fatal mismanagement, they wish 
 the question to be decided, would not be sorry to be driven 
 out by an adverse vote, and consider that it would be a better 
 
 O 2 
 
228 EEIGN OF aXJEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 and more respectable way of ending than by those internal 
 dissensions, which, like a cancer, are continually undermin- 
 ing them. John Russell sees nothing but difficulties in the 
 formation of another Government of a Whig complexion 
 including a large portion of the present Ministers, and says 
 that he does not think Lord Lansdowne would, or that he or 
 Palmerston could accomplish it. He means now to stand 
 by his colleagues, to accept his share of responsibility, and 
 defend what has been done. 
 
 January 23rd. — Parliament meets to-day, and probably 
 no time will be lost in attacking the Government, but it is 
 impossible yet to know whether they will be harassed by a 
 continual succession of skirmishes and bitter comments on 
 details, or whether some grand and decisive assault will be 
 made. The general impression is that the War Department 
 cannot remain in Newcastle's hands, and if he cannot be got 
 rid of without the whole Ministry going to pieces it must 
 so end. I think this is pretty much the opinion of the 
 Ministers themselves ; and though I believe they all, or most 
 of them, personally like him, they seem, so far as I can see, 
 to be agreed that he is unequal to his post. 
 
 With regard to peace, the prospect looks anything but 
 bright. The negotiations will not begin till we receive posi- 
 tive information as to the meaning of the Emperor of 
 Russia in accepting the four points. Some weeks ago 
 Clarendon wrote a despatch to Westmorland, in which he 
 stated explicitly the meaning we attached to the four points, 
 but this has never been put officially before the Emperor, 
 that we know of. Buol acquiesced, as I understood, in our 
 explanation, but John Russell distinctly told me that Austria 
 had never signified her concurrence in making the demolition 
 of Sebastopol a sine qua non condition. Now, however, some 
 fresh communication has been made by Austria to Russia, 
 and we will not begin the negotiation until Austria shall have 
 signified to us that the Emperor's acceptance is such as will 
 warrant us in negotiating. I am not sufficiently acquainted 
 with all the details to form a conclusive opinion, but, as far 
 as I can see, we have been hanging off from being perfectly 
 
1855] LOED JOHN EUSSELL EESIGNS OFFICE. 229 
 
 explicit, and have neyer yet come to a complete understand- 
 ing witli Austria, much less with Russia, and I am afraid of 
 our Ministers committing themselves in Parliament by some 
 declarations and professions of intentions which may make 
 peace impossible and break up the negotiations at once, for 
 as to Eussia consenting to dismantle Sebastopol, I look upon 
 it as impossible, and absurd to expect it. I earnestly hope 
 that Bourqueney may be instructed to come to an under- 
 standing with Austria, and that, if we insist on terms impos- 
 sible to obtain, oiar two Allies may compel us to give way, or 
 leave us to fight the battle alone. The only thing quite 
 certain is that we are in a state of the utmost doubt, danger, 
 and perplexity at home and abroad, all of which is owing to 
 our own egregious folly and unskilfulness, and the universal 
 madness which has pervaded the nation. 
 
 January 24th. — The Grovernment is at an end, or at least 
 it probably will be before the end of the day. The Duke of 
 Bedford has just been to me to tell me that last night, after 
 returning from the House of Commons, Lord John wrote a 
 letter to Aberdeen to resign his office, and he will not attend 
 the Cabinet to-day. Nobody knows it but Aberdeen himself, 
 and I am not permitted to tell Granville even, but it will be 
 announced to the Cabinet this morning. The immediate cause 
 of Lord John's resignation is Roebuck's motion, of which he 
 gave notice last night, for a Committee to inquire into the 
 conduct of the war ; it is intended as a hostile motion, and 
 would have been turned into a vote of censure and want of 
 confidence. Besides this, it seems Hayter had told Lord 
 John that the aspect of the House was bad, and members of the 
 Government party disinclined to attend. Accordingly, he said 
 he could not and would not face the motion ; Graham and Sidney 
 Herbert might defend the conduct of the war, but he could not. 
 Heaven only knows what will occur. Lord John took no 
 time to consider, but sent his resignation at once, the moment 
 he returned from the House. I told the Duke that I thought 
 he had made himself obnoxious to very just reproach, run- 
 ning away from such a motion, and explaining (as he must do) 
 that he could not defend the conduct of the war. He will 
 
230 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 naturally be asked how long he has been dissatisfied with its 
 management, and why he did iiot retire long ago. The Duke 
 said he was aware of this, but he endeavoured to make out 
 that the case bore some analogy to that of Lord Althorp 
 in 1834, when he resigned in consequence of a motion of 
 O'Connell's. But this was altogether different. Nothing 
 can, in my opinion, justify Lord John, and his conduct will, 
 if I am not mistaken, be generally condemned, and deprive 
 him of the little consideration and influence he had left. It 
 has been vacillating, ungenerous, and cowardly, for after 
 all, in spite of errors and mistakes, the conduct of the war 
 admits of a defence, at least as to many parts of it, and it 
 would have been far better to stand up manfully and abide 
 the result of the battle in Parliament, than to shirk the fight 
 and leave his colleagues to deal with the dif&culty as best they 
 msij, trying to escape from the consequences of a responsi- 
 bility which nothing he can say or do can enable him to 
 shake off. 
 
 January 26tli.- — Yesterday morning the Cabinet met, and 
 after some discussion they resolved unanimously not to 
 resign, but to encounter Roebuck's motion. Aberdeen went 
 down to Windsor, and there is another Cabinet this morning. 
 I saw John Russell in the afternoon, and told him in very 
 plain terms what I thought of his conduct, and how deeply 
 I regretted that he had not gone on with his colleagues and 
 met this attack with them. He looked astonished and put 
 out, but said, ' I could not. It was impossible for me to 
 oppose a motion which I think ought to be carried.' I 
 argued the point with him, and in the middle of our talk 
 the Duke of Bedford came in. I asked him if he did not 
 think the remaining Ministers were right in the course they 
 have taken, and he said he did. I then said, ' I have been 
 telling John how much I regret that he did not do the same,' 
 when John repeated what he had said before, and then went 
 away. After he was gone the Duke said, ' I am very glad 
 you said what you did to John.' The town was in a great 
 state of excitement yesterday, and everybody speculating on 
 what is to happen, and all making lists of a new Govern- 
 
1855] ME. EOJEBUCK'S COMMITTEE OF ENQUIEY. 231 
 
 ment according to their expectations or wishes ; most people 
 place Palmerston at the head. In the House of Lords 
 Derhy asked me what it all meant. Clarendon came up 
 while we were talking, and gave Derby to understand that 
 he would probably have to take office again, expressing his 
 own eagerness to quit it. I now hear that Lord John has 
 been leading the Cabinet a weary life for many months past, 
 eternally making difficulties, and keeping them in a con- 
 stant state of hot water, determined to upset them, and 
 only doubting as to what was a fit opportunity, and at last 
 taking the. worst that could be well chosen for his own 
 honour and character. He is not, however, without coun- 
 tenance and support from some of his adherents, or from 
 those who were so impatient for the destruction of this 
 Government that they are satisfied with its being accom- 
 plished, no matter how or by whom or under what circum- 
 stances ; and as he has been long accustomed 
 to sit attentive to his own applaiise 
 
 from a little circle in Chesham Place, so he will now be told 
 by the same set that he has acted a very fine and praise- 
 worthy part, although such will not be the verdict of history, 
 nor is it, as far as I can see, of the best and wisest of his 
 own contemporaries. Nobody entertains a doubt of Eoe- 
 buck's motion being carried by a large majority against the 
 Government. 
 
 January 30th. — For the last three days I have been so ill 
 with gout that I could not do anything, or follow the course 
 of events. John Russell made a cunning and rather clever 
 speech in explanation of his resignation, George Grey a 
 good one and strong against Lord John. Opinions fluC' 
 tuated about the division, some, but the minority, fancying 
 Government would have a majority because the proposed 
 Committee is so excessively difficult and in all ways objec- 
 tionable; but when it became known that the Derbyites 
 meant to vote in a body for the motion, no one doubted the 
 result, and it became only a question of numbers.' Lord 
 
 ^ [Mr. Roebuck's Motion for a Oommittee of Enquiry was carried on the 
 29th of January by a majority of 167 in a House of 453 members present.] 
 
232 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 John seems to have felt no regret at what he has done, and 
 at exciting the resentment and incurring the blame of all 
 his colleagues ; and he goes so little into society, and is so 
 constantly patted on the back at home, that the censure of 
 the world produces no effect on him. They tell me he is in 
 high spirits, and appears only to be glad at having at last 
 found the opportunity he has so long desired of destroying 
 the Government. Everybody appears astonished at the 
 largeness of the majority. Gladstone made a very fine 
 speech, and powerful, crushing against Lord John, and he 
 stated what Lord John had never mentioned in his narra- 
 tive, that he had been expressly asked in December whether 
 he still wished the change to be made which he had urged 
 in November, and he had replied that he did not, that he 
 had given it up. This suppressio veri is shocking, and one 
 of the very worst things he ever did. 
 
 Aberdeen went down to Windsor this morning to resign. 
 It is thought that the Queen will send for Lansdowne, and 
 ask him if he can make a Government, or will try, and, if 
 he declines, that he will advise her to send for Palmerston ; if 
 Palmerston fails, then she can do nothing but take Derby. 
 It seems likely now that we shall have either a Whig or a 
 Derbyite Government, and that the Peelites will be left out 
 altogether. The difficulties are enormous, and though every- 
 body says that at such a crisis and with the necessity of 
 attending to the war, and the war only, no personal preju- 
 dices or antipathies should prevent anybody from taking 
 office if their services can be of use, men will not be governed 
 by motives of such pure patriotism ; and, whoever may make 
 the Government, I expect there will be many exclusions and 
 many refusals to join. Some say that, if Derby com.es in, 
 and with the same or nearly the same men as before, he 
 ought to be kicked out at once, but I do not think so, and, 
 much as I should abhor another such Government, I think in 
 present circumstances it must be allowed the fairest play, 
 and be supported unless and until it commits some flagrant 
 errors. 
 
 January Slst. — The division was curious : some seventy 
 
1855] THE GOVERNMENT BROKEN UP. 233 
 
 or eighty Wliigs, ordinary supporters of Government, voted 
 against them, and all the Tories, except about six or seven 
 who voted against the motion ; Cobden and Bright stayed 
 away. John Russell's explanation, had he spoken the truth, 
 would have run in these terms : ' I joined the Government 
 with great reluctance, and only at the earnest entreaty of my 
 friends, particularly Lord Lansdowne. From the first I was 
 disgusted at my position, and I resolved, unless Lord Aber- 
 deen made way for me, and I again became Prime Minister, 
 that I would break up the Government. I made various 
 attempts to bring about such a change, and at last, after 
 worrying everybody to death for many months, I accom- 
 plished my object, having taken what seemed a plausible 
 pretext for doing it.' 
 
 February 1st. — Contrary to general expectation, the Queen 
 did not send either for Lansdowne or Palmerston, but at 
 once for Derby. He went directly to Palmerston, who 
 declined to join him. He is trying to form a Government, 
 and I see the Whigs are chuckling over the probability of 
 his failing and being obliged to give it up, when they evi- 
 dently flatter themselves that it will fall again into the hands 
 of John Russell. Rather than this should occur, I would 
 prefer that Derby should succeed, and, if he can get no foreign 
 aid, that he should reconstitute the wretched Government 
 he had before. My disgust at the conduct of mj Whig 
 friends is intense. Although they were to the last degree 
 indignant at the conduct of John Russell, they have, ever 
 since the interregnum began, been dancing attendance on 
 him, evincing every disposition to overlook the enormity of 
 his conduct and to reform the party with a view of carrying 
 him again to the head of affairs and making another pure 
 Whig Government. I confess I thought that nobody could 
 refuse to serve at the present crisis, and, if the Queen sent 
 for Derby, Palmerston, if invited, could not help joining, 
 and taking the War Department ; but I was wrong. I see in 
 no quarter, as far as I have been able to observe and judge, 
 any disposition to discard prejudices, antipathies, and per- 
 sonal feelings and interests, and to make every consideration 
 
234 EEIGK OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap, VIII. 
 
 yield to the obligations wMcli the present emergency imposes. 
 However, the game is not half played out yet. Meanwhile 
 we are exhibiting a pretty spectacle to Europe, and I don't 
 think our example will tempt other nations to adopt the 
 institutions of which we are so proud ; for they may well 
 think that liberty of the Press and Parliamentary govern- 
 ment, however desirable they may be when regulated by 
 moderation and good sense, would be dearly purchased at 
 the expense of the anarchy and confusion which they are 
 now producing here. 
 
 February 2nd. — The Queen herself decided to send at once 
 to Derby, and the result proves how wise her decision was, 
 for she is relieved from the annoyance of having him, and he 
 is placed in such a position that he cannot embarrass her new 
 Government when it is formed. Derby went to Palmerston, 
 invited him to join and to bring Gladstone and Sidney 
 Herbert with him. On their declining he gave it up, and 
 Her Majesty then sent for Lord Lansdowne. 
 
 Last night the Duke of Newcastle defended himself in 
 the House of Lords against John Russell, and replied to his 
 statements in the House of Commons, and did it very success- 
 fully, carrying the House with him. The whole affair, as it is 
 gradually evolved, places John Russell in a disgraceful and 
 odious light, and ought to demolish him as a public man, for 
 he has shown himself to be actuated by motives of pique, per- 
 sonal ambition, and mortified vanity, and to have been in- 
 sincere, vacillating, uncandid, and untruthful. The Duke's 
 statement was crushing, and appears to me not to admit of a 
 rejoinder. It ought to cover him and his wretched clique 
 with confusion ; but they will probably attempt to brazen it 
 out, and doggedly to insist that John was justified in all he 
 did. The discussion last night was very characteristic of 
 Derby. If ever there was an occasion in which seriousness 
 and gravity seemed to be required of a man in his position, 
 it would seem to be that of last night ; but his speech was 
 nothing but jeering at the late Cabinet and chaffing New- 
 castle ; it was really indecent, but very smart and funny, if 
 it had not been so unbefitting the occasion. 
 
1855] LOED DERBY SENT FOE. 235 
 
 February Mil. — No one can remember anch a state as the 
 town has been in for the last two days. No Government, 
 difficulties apparently insurmountable, such confusion, such 
 excitement, such curiositj'-, everybody moving about craving 
 for news, and rumour with her hundred tongues scattering 
 every variety of statement and conjecture. At last the crisis 
 seems to be drawing to a conclusion. The Queen has be- 
 haved with admirable sense of her constitutional obligations. 
 When Aberdeen took down his resignation, she told him she 
 had made up her mind what to do, that she had looked at 
 the list of the division, and found that the majority which 
 had turned out her Government was composed principally of 
 Lord Derby's adherents, and she should therefore send for 
 him. Aberdeen said a few words rather discouraging her ; 
 but she said, though Lord Palmerston was evidently the 
 popular man, she thought, according to constitutional prac- 
 tice. Lord Derby was the man she ought to send for. It 
 has been seen how Derby failed; then she sent for Lord 
 Lansdowne, whom she desired to consult different people 
 and see what their opinions and inclinations were, and report 
 them to her. This was on Friday. He did so and made 
 his report, after which, on the same principle which had 
 decided her to send for Derby, she resolved to send for John 
 Kussell, his followers having been the next strongest element 
 of the victorious majority. Accordingly, on Friday night 
 or early yesterday morning, she placed the formation of a 
 Government in his hands. He accepted it, and began by 
 applying to Palmerston, offering him any office he chose to 
 take. Palmerston did not refuse, but his acquiescence 
 seems to have been of a hesitating and reluctant kind, and 
 nothing was definitely settled between them. Gladstone and 
 Sidney Herbert, and afterwards Graham, decidedly refused ; 
 Clarendon desh-ed to have some hours to consider of it. How- 
 ever, the result of his applications was so unfavourable that 
 last night he considered his attempt virtually at an end, 
 though he had not actually given it up this morning, and 
 some further communication was taking place between him 
 and Clarendon, which was to be decisive. As soon as this is 
 
236 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 over, the Queen will play lier last card, and have recourse to 
 the man of the people ! — to Palmerston, whom they are crying 
 out for, and who, they fondly imagine, is to get us out of all 
 our difficulties. From all I hear, I think he will make a 
 Government, because he really wishes and is determined to 
 do it, and many of the most important who would not join 
 John Russell will join him. In the course of to-day I 
 imagine it will all be settled. The impression made by 
 Newcastle's speech against Lord John has been prodigious, 
 far greater and more general than I imagined, and it is con- 
 fidently affirmed that, if he had taken office and stood again 
 for the City, he would have been beaten. He still shows 
 fight against Newcastle, and intended to have answered him 
 and vindicated himself in the House of Commons yesterday, 
 if he had not been detained so long by the Queen that the 
 hour was up when he got there. He means to return to the 
 charge to-morrow. In the course of all these transactions 
 he urged Lansdowne himself to take the Government, and 
 offered to continue at the Council Office and lead the House 
 of Commons, or to take no office at all, and give him inde- 
 pendent support in the House of Commons, or to go to the 
 House of Lords and give him his best assistance there ; but 
 Lord Lansdowne declined all these offers. 
 
 February 5th. — I have often had occasion to remark on the 
 difficulty of avoiding making false or erroneous statements in 
 affairs like those I am treating of, for the reports which we 
 hear from different people generally vary considerably, and 
 sometimes the same thing repeated by the same person varies 
 also ; not that there is any intention to misrepresent or mis- 
 lead, but circumstances apparently trifling are narrated 
 differently according as the narrator has been impressed by, 
 or remembers them, and thus errors creep in and accumulate, 
 and at last it becomes difficult to reconcile statements that 
 have become conflicting by degrees. However, I can only 
 jot down what I hear, and reconcile the accounts afterwards 
 as well as I can. Yesterday afternoon I saw Clarendon, who 
 confirmed his refusal to join Lord John, but with some slight 
 difference as to the details. He said he had spoken very 
 
1855] LORD PALMEESTON TAKES OFFICE, 237 
 
 openly to him, but so gravely and quietly that he could not 
 take offence, and he did not. It was not till he received 
 Clarendon's final refusal that he v^rote to the Queen and 
 threw np his commission. 
 
 Her Majesty had seen Palmerston the day before, and 
 told him if Lord John failed she should send for . him, 
 and accordingly she did so yesterday evening. Palmerston 
 had told Lord John, as soon as he received the commission he 
 should go to him. At present he has only invited Clarendon 
 and Charles Wood f Whigs) to join him. Clarendon of course 
 is ready, but Charles Wood demurs, and insists that unless 
 Lord John will take office in the Grovernment he cannot join, 
 and that the whole thing will be a failure. Lord John is 
 very averse to take ofB.ce, and the more averse because he 
 must then go to the House of Lords, for of course he cannot 
 remain in the Commons, not leading it. The Duke of Bed- 
 ford has been here in a grand quandary, seeing all sorts of 
 difficulties, and in fact they spring up on every side. He 
 agrees with Lord John, but was shaken by the arguments of 
 Wood, which are backed up by George Grey and Panmure. 
 I argued vehemently against Wood's view, and strongly 
 advised Lord John's not taking office, and I convinced the 
 Duke, who is gone back to Lord John to talk it all over with 
 him again. On the other hand, the Peelites want the Govern- 
 ment to be restored, with Aberdeen again at the head of it, 
 and it is very questionable whether they will join at all, and, 
 if they do, not without much difficulty and negotiation, which 
 will at least consume valuable time. In short, at this 
 moment the formation of a Palmerston Government, which 
 was to be so easy, is a matter of enormous difficulty. The 
 Queen wrote a civil and even kind answer to Lord John's 
 note giving the task up. 
 
 February 6th. — Great disappointment and dismay yester- 
 day, the Peelites having refused to form part of Palmerston's 
 Government. Graham, Gladstone, and Sidney Herbert all 
 declined unless Aberdeen formed a part of it. Sidney 
 Herbert was very willing to join, but would not separate 
 himself from Gladstone, who was deaf to all entreaties and 
 
238 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOKIA. [Chap. YIII. 
 
 remonstrances. It is believed that Graham is the one who 
 has persuaded Gladstone to take this course. Aberdeen is 
 anxious, or pretends to be so, that they should join, and 
 Newcastle certainly is. What Gladstone says is, that unless 
 Aberdeen is in the Cabinet he can have no security that his 
 (Aberdeen's) principles will be acted on, and that he may not 
 be called upon to be a party to measures, relating either to 
 war or peace, of which he disapproves. However, I have 
 only heard second hand what he says in conversation with 
 others. It has been in vain represented to him that there 
 will be an explosion of indignation against them all in the 
 country for refusing their aid at such a crisis, and their con- 
 duct will never be forgiven. All this, he says, he is aware 
 of, but his objections stand on too high ground to be shaken. 
 Palmerston means not to be baffled, and, failing the Peelites, 
 to turn to the Whigs and make the best Government he can. 
 His popularity, which is really extraordinary, will carry him 
 through all difficulties for the present. It was supposed 
 that his popularity had been on the wane, but it is evident 
 that, though he no longer stands so high as he did in the 
 House of Commons, and those who know him can easily see 
 he is not the man he was, in the country there is just the 
 same fancy for him and sanguine opinion of him as ever. 
 John Eussell made a rejoinder to Newcastle in the House of 
 Commons last night — a plausible speech enough, and it 
 served to set his friends and the Brooks's Whigs crowing 
 again, and saying he had made out a complete case ; but I 
 do not see that it made his case a bit better than before. All 
 who are at all behind the scenes are aware of the fallacies 
 and deceptions in which his statements abound, and that 
 they are of a nature that may not be exposed. 
 
 February 7th.- -Yesterday Aberdeen and Newcastle, par- 
 ticularly the latter, renewed their endeavours to prevail on 
 Gladstone to give up his scruples and to join the Government, 
 and at last they succeeded, and in the evening Palmerston 
 was able to announce that he had accomplished his task and 
 the Government was formed. John Eussell, on his side, 
 pressed all his Whig friends to unite with Palmerston, and 
 
1865] THE PALMEESTON ADMINISTEATION. 239 
 
 by ttese means tlie difficulties were gradually overcome. 
 Lord Lansdowne would not take the Council Office, but 
 agreed to be the organ of the Government in the House of 
 Lords, though he seems afraid this should be thought to have 
 committed him to more trouble and responsibility than he is 
 inclined to take, and it is only a sort of quasi-leadership that 
 he will own to. I find the Queen did propose to him to 
 form a Government, and under certain conditions he was not 
 unwilling to undertake it, but of course he much prefers the 
 present arrangement. It is admitted on all hands that both 
 Aberdeen and Newcastle have behaved very well, and done 
 all in their power to facilitate Palmerston's arrangements. 
 It is, however, much to be regretted that these Peelites have 
 acted in concert and as a party, and I see from the fact a 
 vast deal of embarrassment and opposition to the Government 
 in prospect. Already the Derbyites are sulky and angry to 
 the greatest degree, and the Whigs not a little indignant 
 that so much anxiety has been shown to get Gladstone and 
 his friends, and such a high price paid for them ; and the 
 fact of their forming so large and important a part of the 
 Government will secure the fierce hostility of the Derbyites, 
 and make the support of the Whigs very lukewarm. The 
 latter, too, will be influenced by John Eussell, who, in spite of 
 his present professions of amity and promises of support, is 
 sure to be very soon a frondeur, and then in open and direct 
 opposition. He told Clarendon ' he meant to give his best 
 support to the Government.' Clarendon said, ' You do ; well, 
 at what do you think I value your support? ' ' What? ' he 
 asked. ' Not one sixpence.' ' At first Palmerston will meet 
 with no opposition to signify; if he does, he has only to 
 dissolve, and the country will give him a majority. But 
 opposition will gather about him soon enough ; extravagant 
 expectations are raised of the good he is to do and the great 
 acts he is to perform, all which will only lead to disappoint- 
 ment and mortification. If the luck which for many years 
 accompanied him should do so still, and some unexpected 
 success crown his administration, he may thus gain a great 
 position ; but it is idle to depend on the chapter of accidents 
 
240 
 
 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 and, according to all human probability, lie is destined to 
 carry on a disastrous war or to make a peace (the wisest 
 thing he can do) which will be humiliating, because so wholly 
 incommensurate with our extravagant expectations and ridi- 
 culous pretensions. However, if any man can make such a 
 peace it is Palmerston, and it is much better that Aberdeen 
 should have no concern with the Grovernment, for it would 
 be much more difficult if he was in the Cabinet, and supposed 
 to have any hand in it.' 
 
 February 8th. — Now that all is settled there is a momen- 
 tary lull, and people are considering what sort of an arrange- 
 ment it is, and how it is likely to succeed. Many of those 
 who know better what Palmerston really is than the ignorant 
 mob who shout at his heels, and whoTiave humbugged them- 
 selves with the delusion that he is another Chatham, entertain 
 grave apprehensions that the thing will prove a failure, and 
 that Palmerston's real capacity will be exposed and his 
 prestige destroyed. Some wish for a dissolution while his 
 popularity is still undiminished, fancying it will give him 
 
 ' [The Administration formed "by Lord Palmerston was composed as 
 follows : — 
 
 First Lord of the Treasury- 
 Lord Chancellor 
 Lord President 
 Lord Privy Seal 
 Home Secretary 
 Foreign Secretary 
 Colonial Secretary 
 
 Secretary at War 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 
 Board of Control 
 
 First Lord of the Admiralty 
 
 Board of Trade 
 
 Postmaster General 
 
 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 
 
 Woods and Forests . 
 
 Viscount Palmerston 
 
 Lord Oranworth 
 
 Earl Granville 
 
 Duke of Argyll 
 
 Sir George Grey 
 
 Earl of Clarendon 
 
 Eight Hon. Sidney Herhert (and, on 
 his resignation, Lord John Russell) 
 
 Lord Panmure 
 
 Mr. Gladstone (and, on his resigna- 
 tion, Sir G. Cornewall ,Lewis) 
 
 Sir Charles Wood 
 
 Sir James Graham (and, on his re- 
 signation, Sir Charles Wood, who 
 was replaced at the Board of Con- 
 trol by Mr. Vernon Smith) 
 
 Eight Hon. E. Oardwell (and, on 
 his resignation. Lord Stanley of 
 Alderley) 
 
 Viscount Canning 
 
 Earl of CarUsle 
 
 Sir Benjamin Hall.] 
 
-1855] LOKD JOHN EUSSELL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. 241 
 
 a sure majority and will protect him against any change 
 of opinion; but, unless the Derbyites give him an oppor- 
 tunity by some vexatious opposition, he can hardly dis- 
 solve, and if he did, though he would gain by it for a 
 time, any change of opinion that might take place would 
 be found no less in the House of Commons than in the 
 country. 
 
 February ISth. — The political wheel turns rapidly round, 
 and strange events occur, none more remarkable than John 
 Russell's career during the last month, and the unexpected 
 positions in which he successively appears. A few weeks ago 
 breaking up his own Government, deeply offending colleagues 
 and friends, and making himself generally odious, then try- 
 ing to form a Government and finding nobody willing to 
 act with him ; he appeared to be in the most painful position 
 of isolation, and everybody expected that his anomalous and 
 unsatisfactory state would render him mischievous, and soon 
 conduct him into a troublesome opposition to the Govern- 
 ment. Very differently have matters turned out. He began 
 by evincing a good and friendly spirit, and scarcely is the 
 Government formed, when Clarendon proposes to him to go 
 to Vienna as Plenipotentiary to treat for peace, and John at 
 once accepts the offer, and yesterday morning his mission was 
 publicly announced. It was a happy stroke of Clarendon's 
 in all ways, and it was wise in Lord John to accept it, for it 
 has all the appearance of a patriotic and unselfish act, will 
 cause his recent misdeeds to be forgotten, and replace him 
 in the high situation from which he was fallen. It is a very 
 good thing for him to be thus withdrawn from Parliament 
 for a time. There he is always in danger of saying and 
 doing something foolish or rash, and it will leave his followers 
 in a condition to attach themselves to the Government with- 
 out abandoning their allegiance to him, which will relieve all 
 parties from embarrassment.' 
 
 ^ [The Conference of the Great Powers which was to open at Vienna, to 
 which Lord John Russell was sent as British Plenipotentiary, had been con- 
 voked for the purpose of negotiating on the hasis of the four points which 
 contained the demands of the belligerent Allies and had been accepted as 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
242 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 February 17th. — Palmerston presented himself to the 
 House of Commons last night for the first time as Minister, 
 and not apparently with a very brilliant prospect of success. 
 He made a tolerable speech, giving a rather meagre account 
 of the formation of his Grovernment, with the usual promises 
 of vigour. The great point he had to handle was the disposal 
 of Roebuck's Committee, which he is determined, if he can, 
 to get rid of. The success of this, his first great operation, 
 seems very doubtful. One man after another got up and 
 declared he should vote for its going on. Roebuck insists 
 on it ; and Disraeli announced his determined opposition to 
 any attempt to quash it. If Palmerston fights the battle and 
 is beaten, he must try what a dissolution wiU do for him ; and 
 I think the success of it would be very doubtful, for, in spite 
 of all the clamour that was raised by his name, and his 
 apparently vast popularity in the country, it looks as if it 
 was of a very shadowy, unsubstantial kind, and would very 
 likely be found wanting at a general election. The temper 
 of the House seems to be anything but good, and unless we 
 are very soon cheered and encouraged by much better ac- 
 counts from the Crimea, this Grovernment will not fare much 
 better than the last. The ' Times ' is going into furious 
 opposition, and Palmerston will soon find the whole press 
 against him except his own paper, the 'Morning Post,' 
 and the ' Morning Chronicle,' neither of which have any cir- 
 culation or any influence in the country. The whole conduct 
 of the ' Times ' is a source of great vexation to me, for I am 
 to the last degree shocked and disgusted at its conduct and 
 
 a basis of neg-otiation by the Emperor of Bussia. These points were aa 
 follows : — 
 
 1. That Bussia shonld abandon aU control over Moldavia, Wallachia, 
 and Servia. 
 
 2. That Bussia should relinquish her claims to control the mouths of the 
 Danube. 
 
 3. That all Treaties calculated to give Bussia a preponderance in the 
 Black Sea should be abrogated. 
 
 4. That Bussia should renounce the claim she made to an exclusive right 
 to protect the Christians in the Ottoman Dominions. 
 
 It was on the third of these points that the principal difficulty of the 
 negotiation arose, and that the Conference failed to conclude a peace.] 
 
.1856] EOEBUCK'S COMMITTEE ACCEPTED. 243 
 
 the enormous raischief tliat it is endeavouriag to do ; and I 
 have for many years had intimate personal relations with its 
 editor, which I do not well know how to let drop, and I am 
 at the same time not satisfied that their unbroken mainten- 
 ance is consistent with the feelings I entertain, and which 
 ought to be entertained, towards the paper, 
 
 February 19th. — The Government have determined to 
 knock under about Roebuck's Committee, a.nd they would 
 have done much better to have done so at first. What they 
 are now doing will not strengthen them or avert future at- 
 tacks ; but the state of the House of Commons is such that 
 nothing but some verj' unexpected turn can enable them to 
 go on long. Palmerston has no authority there, the House 
 is in complete confusion and disorganisation, and, except the 
 Derbyites, who are still numerous and act together in oppo- 
 sition, in hopes of getting into power, nobody owns any alle- 
 giance or even any party ties, or seems to care for any person 
 or any thing. There seems a general feeling of distrust and 
 dissatisfaction, and, except the scattered Radicals and Revo- 
 lutionists, who wish to upset everything, nobody seems to 
 know what he would be at, or what object he wishes to 
 attain. For the first time in my life I am really and seri- 
 ously ala.rmed at the aspect of affairs, and think we are ap- 
 proaching a period of real difficulty and danger. The press, 
 with the ' Times ' at its head, is striving to throw everything 
 into confusion, and running a muck against the aristocratic 
 element of society and of the Constitution. The intolerable 
 nonsense and the abominable falsehoods it flings out day after 
 day are none the less dangerous because they are nonsense 
 and falsehoods, and, backed up as they are by all the regular 
 Radical press, they diffuse through the country a mass of in- 
 flammatory matter, the effect of which may be more serious 
 and arrive more quickly than anybody imagines. Nothing 
 short of some loud explosion will make the mass of people 
 believe that any serious danger can threaten a Constitution 
 like our's, which has passed through so many trials and 
 given so many proofs of strength and cohesion. But we have 
 never seen such symptoms as are now visible, such a thorough 
 
 E 2 
 
244 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 confusion and political chaos, or the public mind so com- 
 pletely disturbed and dissatisfied and so puzzled how to 
 arrive at any just conclusions as to the past, the present, or 
 the future. People are furious at the untoward events in the 
 Crimea, and cannot make out the real causes thereof, nor 
 who is to blame, and they are provoked that they cannot 
 find victims to wreak their resentment on. The dismissal of 
 Aberdeen and Newcastle seems an inadequate expiation, and 
 they want more vengeance yet, hence the cry for Roebuck's 
 absurd Committee. Then, after clamouring for Palmerston 
 from a vague idea of his vigour, and that he would do some 
 wonderful things, which was founded on nothing but the re- 
 collection of his former bullying despatches and blustering 
 speeches, they are beginning to suspect him ; and the whole 
 press, as well as the malignants in the House of Commons, tell 
 them that they have gained very little, if anything, by the 
 change, and they are told that it is not this or that Minister 
 who can restore our affairs, but a change in the whole system 
 of government, and the substitution of plebeians and new 
 men for the leaders of parties and members of aristocratic 
 families, of whom all Governments have been for the most 
 part composed. What effect these revolutionary doctrines 
 may have on the opinions of the people at large remains to 
 be seen ; but it is evident that the ' Times,' their great pro- 
 pagator, thinks them popular and generally acceptable, or 
 they would not have plunged into that course. 
 
 I sat next to Charles Wood at dinner yesterday and had 
 much talk with him on the state of affairs, and found that he 
 takes just the same view that I do, and for the first time he is 
 alarmed also, and so, he told me, is Sir George Grey. He talked 
 much about Raglan, and said that the Government had been 
 placed in the most unfair position possible, it being impossi- 
 ble to throw the blame of anything that had occurred on 
 him, or even to tell the truth, which was that, so far from his 
 making any exertions to repair the evils so loudly complained 
 of, and sending away inefficient men, he never admitted 
 there were any evils at all, or that any of his people were 
 inefficient, or anything but perfect ; and he said that Raglan 
 
1855] THE PEELITES RESIGN. 245 
 
 had never asked for anything the want of which had not 
 heen anticipated by the G-overnment here, and in no instance 
 was anything required by him which had not been supplied 
 a month or more before the requisition came. Palmerston, 
 too, said to me that nothing could exceed the helplessness of 
 the military authorities there; that they seemed unable to 
 devise anything for their own assistance, and they exhibited 
 the most striking contrast to the navy, who, on all emer- 
 gencies, set to work and managed to find resources of all 
 sorts to supply their necessities or extricate themselves from 
 danger. 
 
 February 20th. — Nothing certainly could be more mortify- 
 ing than the reception Palmerston met from the House of 
 Commons on the first night when he presented himself as 
 Minister, nothing more ungracious or more disheartening. 
 His entreaty to postpone the Committee was received with 
 a sort of scorn and manifestation of hostility and distrust. 
 His position was at once rendered to the last degree painful 
 and difBcult. He cannot avert the Committee, he cannot sub- 
 mit to it without deep humiliation ; many of his colleagues 
 are supposed to shrink from the disgrace of such a submis- 
 sion and to prefer any alternative to it. Already there is a 
 general impression that this G-overnment cannot last long; 
 nobody thinks they would gain anything by a dissolution, 
 the result of one would be uncertain ; but the probability 
 seems to be that the Conservatives would gain and the 
 Radicals likewise, while the Whigs would lose, and Peelites 
 and Moderates would be scattered to the winds. We should 
 most likely see a Parliament still more ungovernable than 
 this, unless a widespread alarm in the country should rally 
 the whole Conservative and anti-revolutionary element to 
 Derby and his party, which would bring them all into office 
 for a time. Palmerston spoke much better last night than 
 the first night, and with a good deal of spirit and force ; but 
 he has a very uphill game to play, and must already be aware 
 how fleeting his popularity was, and on what weak founda- 
 tions it was built. 
 
 February 2Brd. — Graham, Gladstone, and Sidney Herbert 
 
246 EEIGN or QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 have resigned, greatly to the disgust and indignation of their 
 colleagues, to the surprise of the world at large, and the 
 uproarious delight of the Whigs and Brooks's Club, to whom 
 the Peelites have always been odious. These stupid Whigs 
 were very sorry Palmerston did not leave them out when he 
 formed his Government, and take whomever he could get 
 instead of them; and they are entirely indifferent to the con- 
 sideration that the greater part of the brains of the Cabinet 
 is gone out with these three, that it is exceedingly difiBcult 
 to fill their places, and that we exhibit a sad spectacle to 
 all Europe, with our Ministerial dissensions and difSculties 
 and the apparent impossibility of forming anything like a 
 stable Government. The first thing done was to send off for 
 John Russell at Paris, and ask him if he would come back 
 and join the Government. Cardwell was offered the Chan- 
 cellorship of the Exchequer, which he refused. It is much 
 to be regretted that these Peelites do not now dissolve 
 themselves as a party and make up their minds to act 
 independently and according to their several opinions and 
 circumstances. Aberdeen much disapproves of the exodus 
 of the three, and was very anxious Cardwell should accept ; 
 but he does not choose to separate himself from the rest. 
 
 February 24iA.. — Never was I more surprised than when 
 I heard that John Eussell had accepted the Colonial Office 
 and joins the Government, still continuing in the House of 
 Commons, and of course acting under Palmerston. When 
 we think of all he has been doing for the last two years, his 
 discontent at being in a subordinate capacity though still 
 leader of the House of Commons, and the various pranks he 
 has played in consequence thereof, it is inconceivable that 
 he should consent not only to take office under Palmerston, 
 but to serve under him in the House of Commons. But it 
 is impossible not to give him credit for patriotic motives in 
 making such a sacrifice of personal pride and vanity. What 
 his conduct may be if the Government lasts long enough to 
 allow him to come home and take his place in it, may be 
 considered doubtful. Last night the retiring Ministers gave 
 their explanations — Graham in a very good speech; Gladstone 
 
1855] SIE GEOEGE LEWIS CHANCELLOB OF THE EXCHEQUEE. 247 
 
 was too diffuse, and Sidney Herbert feeble, but coming after 
 Graham they bad nothing new to say. There is much to be 
 said for and much against their conduct. If they had ac- 
 cepted office under Palmerston with the condition that he 
 should try and get rid of the Committee and that they should 
 retire in case he failed, there would have been nothing to 
 say, because without doubt they ought not to hold high 
 offices while a Committee of the House of Commons is sitting 
 in judgement on their conduct ; but the whole course of pro- 
 ceeding is so anomalous, and the exigencies of the time are 
 so great and peculiar, that on the whole I think they ought 
 to have stayed in. Palmerston speaks almost every night, 
 and his speeches do not read amiss ; but everybody says they 
 are feeble and flat, and nothing at present indicates anything 
 like stability or a long existence to the present Government. 
 The tone of the House of Commons last night was on the 
 whole rather pacific than not. Bright made an admirable 
 speech, the peroration of which was very eloquent. 
 
 February 25th. — This morning George Lewis came to me 
 very early and told me Palmerston had proposed to him to 
 be Chancellor of the Exchequer ; he set forth very fairly all 
 the reasons for and against accepting. We discussed the 
 whole subject, and I asked him whether he felt sufficient 
 confidence in himself to undertake an office of such vast im- 
 portance, whether he had sufficiently turned his attention to 
 financial matters and had mastered the principles and details 
 of finance. He said he thought he was sufficiently versed 
 therein to undertake it, having given much attention to tax- 
 ation and its principles, and to political economy generally, 
 though he did not know much about the Funds, but sup- 
 posed sufficient knowledge about them was easily attainable. 
 Finally I advised him to accept, and he said he should make 
 up his mind to do so. So bhe Admiralty, Colonial Office, and 
 Exchequer are settled. There is much difficulty and much 
 discussion and difference of opinion about some of the other 
 places. They are very wisely going to take in Laing, but 
 very unwisely will not give a place to Lowe, who, if left 
 out, will contrive to do them some damage. Granville has 
 
248 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 moved Heaven and earth, to get Lowe an office, but Palmer- 
 ston and others set their faces against him. Lansdowne 
 has most unreasonably and unwisely insisted on Vernon 
 Smith being taken in, and it is at present intended to make 
 him President of the Board of Control. He is very un- 
 popular and totally useless, and just the man they ought not 
 to take in ; while Lowe is just the man they ought, to meet 
 the prevailing sentiment about old connexions and new men. 
 
 March 2nd. — News just arrived that the Emperor of 
 Russia is dead. John Russell had telegraphed from Berlin 
 that he was given over. This great and unexpected event 
 must have the most important consequences whether for 
 peace or for war. A disputed succession is not impossible, 
 as it has long been reported that the Grand Duke Constan- 
 tine was disposed to contest the succession with the Cesare- 
 witch, but this will probably turn out to be a fable. It is 
 supposed that the new Emperor has been all along inclined 
 to peace, and that he was in disgrace with his father on that 
 account. If this be true, it renders it still more probable 
 that he will be anxious to put an end to this destructive and 
 dangerous war, and the Allied Powers may be less exacting 
 with him than they were disposed to be with the late 
 Emperor. On the other hand, should the war unhappily 
 continue, the death of Nicholas is likely to damp the ardour 
 of the Russians and to relax their exertions, so that we can 
 hardly fail to profit by it. Clarendon is gone over to 
 Boulogne to confer with the Emperor Napoleon. 
 
 There seems something like a lull here for the moment, 
 and less of excitement and violence than there was. Pal- 
 merston has not been in office a fortnight, and already he 
 is enormously haisse ; his speeches night after night are 
 miserable. The truth is, he never had any power as a 
 debater, and he is out of his element as leader in the House 
 of Commons, where he has to answer everybody, to speak on 
 every subject, and to be continually debating more or less. 
 He has made a few great speeches, prepared, and on his own 
 subject of foreign affairs, and every now and then a smart 
 chaffing retort which excited the hilarity of the House, and 
 
1858] DEATH OF THE EMPEilOR NICHOLAS. 249 
 
 that has been all he could do. Then he seems supine and 
 undecided ; he does not fill up the vacant places or seemingly 
 endeavour to do so, and he does not put good men in the 
 places he does fill up, all of which does him harm in gen- 
 eral estimation. Clarendon has told Lady Palmerston very 
 frankly that he will soon ruin himself in public opinion if 
 he goes on in this way. Few things are more extraordinary 
 than the notion that was abroad of Palmerston's fitness and 
 eificacy. Never was there a greater delusion, and never one 
 that is so rapidly being dissipated. 
 
 March lOtli. — It is remarkable that, though seven days 
 have elapsed since the news of the death of the Emperor of 
 Eussia reached us, and that we heard of it by electric tele- 
 graph the very day it happened, we are still without authen- 
 tic and detailed information of what has since occurred at 
 St. Petersburg ; and of the manifesto of the new Emperor, 
 which is looked for with so much curiosity, we have only a 
 partial extract or imperfect summary, so that we have still 
 no means of judging whether the chances of peace are im- 
 proved by the accession of Alexander II. 
 
 Palmerston's Government does not seem to take root or 
 gain much strength; every day seems to prove the more 
 clearly that he is unfit for the task he has taken on himself. 
 He inspires neither respect nor confidence, and is totally 
 unable to manage the House of Commons ; his speeches are 
 feeble and bad, and he is not always prudent and conciliatory, 
 but, on the contrary, pettish and almost offensive. He finds 
 great difficulty in filling the vacant offices, and he evinces 
 much want of tact and good management in his endeavours 
 to do so, offering and retracting his offers in a very loose 
 way. For example, he offered Sir Eobert Peel the Clerkship 
 of the Ordnance, which he accepted ; and then he found 
 Monsell did not mean to resign it, so he had to withdraw 
 the offer. Then he told him he should be Colonial Under- 
 Secretary if John Eussell would consent. John EusseU 
 would not consent, and then he offered him a seat at the 
 Admiralty. Sir Eobert in some dudgeon demurred, and 
 Palmerston, inferring from his ill humour that he would not 
 
250 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 take this place, offered it to Henry Brand, who accepted, 
 desired his writ might be moved for, and went to the railway 
 station to go down to the place he represented. Just as he 
 was starting, a messenger arrived with a letter from Palmer- 
 ston saying Sir Robert Peel had taken the Admiralty, so 
 he could not have it, and the gentleman had to return 
 home without any office at all. This is a sad way of doing 
 business, and will not make him more popular. Grenville 
 Berkeley (whipper-in) told me he thought Palmerston was 
 doing rather better latterly and that there was a better dis- 
 position in the House of Commons ; but Jonathan Peel, who 
 is a shrewd, dispassionate observer, and tolerably impartial, 
 though with no good will to the present Government, told 
 me a different story. He says the Government is as weak as 
 possible, Palmerston wretched, and the House of Commons 
 ill disposed and unruly, and he thinks it absolutely imposs- 
 ible that this concern can last many weeks. The Derbyites 
 are quite confident of forcing their way to office, and quite 
 determined to do so ; but it is their game to damage the 
 present Government as much as possible, and they will do 
 everything in opposition but what may recoil upon them- 
 selves after they have got into office, and no other considera- 
 tion will restrain them. I regard with the utmost dislike 
 the prospect of their return, because I think their conduct 
 so monstrously unprincipled. I hear Gladstone is very 
 much out of humour, and expect soon to see him and his 
 small band in overt opposition to the Government. Many 
 fancy that it will end in his joining Derby, but so do not I. 
 I am not sure that he would be indisposed if a proper occasion 
 presented itself, but I do not believe any consideration or any 
 circumstances whatever would induce the Derbyites to admit 
 him again into their party. Their indignation — that is, of a 
 great many of them — was unbounded at Derby having offered 
 him office the other day, and at the great meeting at 
 Eglinton's such manifestations of resentment were made on 
 that account as to make it nearly impossible (for in these 
 days nothing is quite impossible) for any future attempt at 
 reconciliation and reunion to be made. 
 
1855] LOED CLAEENDON AND THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 261 
 
 March 11th. — A fresh shuffling of the cards is being 
 arranged by which Frederick Peel is to go to the Treasury, 
 vice Wilson, Vice President of the Board of Trade ; Sir 
 Robert to the War Department, vice his brother ; and Henry 
 Brand to the Admiralty. Palmerston seemed to consider all 
 the blunders he made about these offices rather a good joke 
 than a mischievous gaucherie. ' Ha, ha ! ' he said, ' a Comedy 
 of Errors.' George Lewis told me this morning he thinks 
 the temper of the House of Commons more favourable, and, 
 if he can succeed in producing a palateable Budget, that 
 they may get on; he told me the revenue was extremely 
 flourishing and the country very rich, but the expenses are 
 enormous. He means to meet them by a loan, but the 
 question is of what amount, and how much of the additional 
 expense shall be provided by it. He will want ninety 
 millions to cover the whole. 
 
 Clarendon was much pleased with his visit to the Em- 
 peror, who talked to him very frankly and unreservedly about 
 everything. They lit their cigars and sat and talked with 
 the greatest ease. He said the Emperor spoke to him about 
 the English press, and all he said was sensible and true ; 
 that he was aware that a free press was a necessity in 
 England, and as indispensable as the Constitution itself, 
 and that he had hitherto believed that the editors of the 
 •principal newspapers had the good of their country at heart, 
 and always acted from conscientious motives ; but that he 
 could no longer entertain that opinion. The press during 
 the past months, and the ' Times ' particularly, had done 
 an incalculable amount of mischief to England and to the 
 alliance between us. The effect produced by their language 
 in Germany was most injurious, and of service only to Russia. 
 When the English papers talked of their own country in the 
 way they did, of its degradation and disgrace, its maladmin- 
 istration, the ruin of its military power, and the loss of all 
 that makes a nation great and powerful, though he (the Em- 
 peror) knew what all this meant, and how much or how little 
 of truth there was in such exaggerated statements, yet in 
 Prance they were generally believed, and it became very 
 
252 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. VIII. 
 
 difficult for Mm to reconcile tlie nation to an alliance for 
 wliicli he was reproaclied with making sacrifices and shap- 
 ing his policy in accordance with our's, when it was evident 
 from our own showing that our alliance was not worth having, 
 and our impotence was so exposed that, whenever peace 
 should put an end to the necessity of the alliance, we should 
 be entirely at their mercy ; and while such was the feeling in 
 France, in Germany it was still stronger, and there the 
 ' Times ' had succeeded in creating a universal conviction 
 that we are in the lowest condition of weakness and ineffi- 
 ciency : at all of which he expressed the greatest regret. I 
 was surprised to hear Clarendon say that he did not believe 
 the resources of Russia to carry on the contest to be in 
 any sensible degree exhausted, that her commerce had not 
 suffered at all, and as to her finances she could go on for a 
 good while with her paper money and the gold which, in a 
 certain quantity, she drew from the Ural Mountains.' 
 
 ■ [In justice to the conductors of the ' Times ' it must be said that 
 althoiigh the language of the paper was violent and extremely annoying to 
 the Government and its Allies, yet it was by the power and enterprise of the 
 press that the deplorable state of the army was brought to the knowledge 
 of the public and even of Ministers themselves ; and it was by the ' Times ' that 
 the first steps were taken to supply the deficiencies of the Administration, 
 The fund raised by voluntary contributions for this purpose amounted to 
 25,000Z. and competent persons were sent out to apply it to the most press- 
 ing wants of the army.] 
 
1865] THE VIENNA CONPERENCE. 253 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 The Vienna Conference — Literary Occupations — A Eoman Catholic Privy 
 Councillor — -Negotiations at Vienna — The Emperor Napoleon in London 
 — ^The Emperor's brilliant Reception — Russia refuses the Terms offered 
 — The Sebastopol Committee — Debate on the War — Visit to Paris — 
 Resignation of M. Drouyn de Lhuys — The Emperor's Journey to the 
 Crimea — The Repulse at the Redan — Visit to Thiers — A Dinner at the 
 Tuileries — Conversation with the Emperor — M. Guizot on the War — 
 Death of Lord Raglan — A Dinner at Princess Lieven's — The Palace of 
 Versailles — Revelations of Lord John Russell's Mission,— Dinner with 
 the Emperor at Villeneuve I'Etang — Lord John Russell's Conduct at 
 Vienna — Excitement in London — ^Lord John's Resignation — Lord John's 
 Conduct explained — ' Whom shall weHang? ' — Prorogation of Parliament. 
 
 March Blst, 1865. — Three weeks have passed away and I 
 have had nothing to say ; nor indeed have I anything now of 
 the least importance, and can only glance at the general as- 
 pect of affairs. The Government, on the whole, seems in a 
 somewhat better condition. They say Palmerston speaks 
 better than he did, and his good humour and civility please. 
 At last the offices, except the Under-Secretaryship to the 
 Colonies, are filled iip. Lord Elgin and Lord Seymour suc- 
 cessively refused the Duchy of Lancaster, and after going a 
 begging for many weeks Lord Harrowby has taken it. Laing 
 and Wilson, and I think somebody else, declined the Yice 
 Presidency of the Board of Trade, and they have got 
 Bouverie. 
 
 Within these few days the hopes of peace have waxed 
 faint. The fatal third point is an insurmountable obstacle, 
 and it seems likely that we shall be condemned to fight it 
 out more fiercely than ever, and without Austria, who, as I 
 all along expected, will not join us in forcing hard conditions 
 on Eussia. It remains to be seen whether we or Austria 
 
254 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 are in fault, assuming the rupture of the negotiations to be 
 inevitable. If Austria recedes from what she had already 
 agreed to, she is; if we require anything more, we are. 
 Drouyn de Lhuys has been here for twenty-four hours, and 
 goes on to Vienna directly to bring things to a conclusion 
 one way or another. Clarendon is pleased with him. The 
 Emperor is to be here in three weeks. 
 
 Having no public events nor any secret information to 
 record, I must put down my own private concerns, unin- 
 teresting as they are. I am busy on the task of editing a 
 volume of Moore's correspondence left to me by John Russell, 
 and finishing the second article upon King Joseph's Memoirs.' 
 These small literary occupations interest and amuse me, and, 
 being quite out of the way of politics, and seeing nobody, 
 except Clarendon at rare intervals, who can or will tell me 
 anything, it is well I can amuse myself with them ; and now 
 that I am growing old (for I shall be sixty-one the day after 
 to-morrow) it is my aim to cultivate these pleasures more 
 and more, and make them my refuge against the infirmities 
 which beset me, and the loss of youth. My great fear is lest 
 my eyesight should fail, and I earnestly hope I may die 
 before such a calamity should befall me. 
 
 The war goes languidly on, and I hear Raglan and 
 Canrobert are squabbling instead of acting, and that it 
 seems to be more the fault of Canrobert ; but the melan- 
 choly truth is that there are two incompetent generals in 
 command, who have no skill or enterprise, and are letting 
 the opportunity for attacking the enemy shp away. A 
 divided command and two independent armies are in them- 
 selves an immense drawback, but when they begin to dis- 
 agree it becomes fatal. We have now an enormous force 
 there, and yet they seem incapable of doing anything and 
 of striking any great and serious blow. 
 
 April 1st. — ^I went to a Council yesterday and got into 
 a difficulty. Without any previous notice, Mr. Monsell, a 
 Roman Catholic, came to be made a Privy Councillor. I 
 
 1 [Mr. Greville wrote the review of the Memoirs of King Joseph Bona- 
 parte which appeared in two successive articles of the Edinburgh JEteview.'] 
 
1855] THE CATHOLIC OATH. 255 
 
 had never sworn a Eoman CathoKe and did not know what 
 to do, so I proposed to Monsell to put it off till another day, 
 and meanwhile I would ascertain how he was to be sworn. 
 The diflaculty was told to the Queen, and the Prince set 
 about finding what was to be done. He looted out the 10th 
 George IV. (Emancipation Act), and, just as we were sum- 
 moned into the Queen's presence, Granville brought the 
 volume, put it into my hands, and told me I must administer 
 to Monsell the oath set forth there, in lieu of the oaths of 
 abjuration and supremacy. I was sure it was a mistake ; 
 but there was no time to remonstrate, and I was compelled 
 to bring him in and administer the oath. As soon as I got 
 back to my office and looked into the matter I found it was 
 all wrong, and that he had not, in fact, been sworn at all. 
 What he ought to have done was to take this oath in one 
 of the Law Courts, and then to have the Privy Councillor's 
 oath administered to him, and so I sent him word. 
 
 Afterwards I met Sidney Herbert, and he told me what 
 he believed to be the cause of Drouyn de Lhuys' coming 
 here, and the actunl state of affairs at Vienna. We have 
 proposed the reduction of the fleet ; the Eussians refuse. 
 The Emperor Napoleon would like, if possible, to obtain 
 some great success in the Crimea, and is not indisposed to 
 continue the war if he can see a reasonable hope of such an 
 achievement ; but when he despairs of this his mind inclines 
 to the other alternative, to make peace (which would be 
 popular in France), and he does not care very much about 
 the terms and is not averse to waive the condition as to the 
 fleet. But our Government want to insist on it, or go on 
 with the war, and Sidney Herbert believes they have suc- 
 ceeded in talking over Drouyn de Lhuys and persuading him 
 to join us in this determination, and to carry it off to Vienna. 
 However, he is very likely to be talked over again there, 
 and it remains to be seen whether the Emperor, if he really 
 wishes for peace, will not join with Austria in opposing us, 
 and accepting some other conditions. I always fancied that 
 we had come to a regular unmistakeable agreement with 
 Austria what we should ask of Eussia, and that she had 
 
256 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap, IX. 
 
 bound herself to join in the war if the terms agreed in were 
 refused, but, according to Sidney Herbert, this has never 
 been done. Clarendon did, indeed, at last state distinctly to 
 Austria the terms on which France and England meant to 
 insist, and Austria expressed her concurrence in them as a 
 matter of opinion, and her desire to obtain them, consenting 
 also to unite her efforts to theirs in attempting to obtain 
 them ; but she never consented to go to war if they were not 
 conceded, therefore we have no reason to complain of her if 
 the negotiations break off on these grounds, and she refuses 
 to depart from her neutrality. She has all along said, she 
 wished with all her heart we could succeed in taking Sebas- 
 topol, but as we had not succeeded, and apparently could not, 
 it was impossible to press very stringent terms on Russia ; 
 and she has never held out any expectation to us of joining 
 in the war against Russia, unless Russia refuses such reason- 
 able and not humiliating terms of peace as she herself thinks 
 indispensable for the objects to the attainment of which she 
 has all along been a party. The best chance of peace now 
 is that the Emperor Napoleon may think he is not likely to 
 do any great things in the Crimea and that peace is his best 
 policy, and he is the real arbiter of peace and war. If he 
 prefers following in the wake of England, and to defer to 
 our war policy, peace will ascend to Heaven, and the odious 
 war will be resumed with more fury than ever, and no one 
 can guess how long it will last, nor what will be the end 
 of it. 
 
 April 1 7th. — Yesterday I went out ' with all the gazing 
 town' to see not the least curious of the many curious 
 events I have lived to witness, the entry of the Emperor and 
 Empress of the French into London. The day was magnifi- 
 cent, the crowd prodigious, the reception not very clamorous, 
 but cordial and respectful. A fine sight for them to see such 
 vast multitudes, so orderly and so prosperous, and without a 
 single soldier except their own escort. The Queen received 
 them with the utmost cordiality, and omitted none of the 
 usual forms practised between Sovereigns. She met the 
 Imperial pair at the entrance to the Castle, embraced the 
 
1855J THE EMPEEOll NAPOLEON AT ■WINDSOR. 257 
 
 Emperor and then the Empress when she was presented to 
 her. 
 
 April 20th. — -The visit of the Emperor has been one 
 continued ovation, and the success of it complete. None of 
 the Sovereigns who have been here before have ever been 
 received with such magnificence by the Court or by such 
 curiosity and delight by the people. "Wherever and when- 
 ever they have appeared, they have been greeted by enormous 
 multitudes and pi'odigious acclamations. The Queen is 
 exceedingly pleased with both of them ; she thinks the Em- 
 press very natural, graceful, and attractive, and the Emperor 
 frank, cordial, and true. He has done his best to please her, 
 talked to her a great deal, amused her, and has completely 
 succeeded. Everybody is struck with his mean and diminu- 
 tive figure and vulgar appearance, but his manners are good 
 and not undignified. He talked a very long time to Lord 
 Derby on Tuesday at Windsor and to Lord Aberdeen on Wed- 
 nesday. This last was very proper, because he had a great pre- 
 judice against Aberdeen, and fancied he was his enemy, which 
 Aberdeen knew. When he was invested with the Garter, 
 he took all sorts of oaths — old feudal oaths — of fidelity and 
 knightly service to the Queen, and he then made her a short 
 speech to the following effect : — ' I have sworn to be faithful 
 to Tour Majesty and to serve you to the best of my ability, 
 and my whole future life shall be spent in proving the 
 sincerity with which I have thus sworn, and my resolution 
 to devote myself to your service.' The fineness of the 
 weather brought out the whole population of London, as 
 usual kept in excellent order by a few policemen, and in 
 perfect good humour. It was a beautiful sight last night 
 when the Eoyal and Imperial party went to the Opera in 
 state ; the streets lit by gas and the houses illuminated and 
 light as day, particularly opposite the Travellers' Club, where 
 I was. I am glad the success of the visit has been so great, 
 and the contentment of all the parties concerned so complete, 
 but it is well that all will be over tomorrow, for such excite- 
 ment and enthusiasm could not last much longer, and the 
 
 VOL. I. s 
 
258 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 inconvenience of being beset by crowds, and the streets 
 obstructed, is getting tiresome. 
 
 I saw Cowley for a moment yesterday. He told me tbe 
 Russians refused any conditions which imposed loss of ter- 
 ritory or limitation of naval forces, and they declined to 
 offer any counter project, though they are ready to discuss 
 anything we propose. He therefore considers the continuance 
 of the war unavoidable, and does not believe Austria will 
 join in it, though Drouyn de Lhuys still writes his own 
 expectation that she will. He said they had never said or 
 done anything which bound them to join, and that their 
 diplomacy had been much more adroit and successful than 
 our's, but that this was principally the fault of the French, 
 who never would consent to take a peremptory course so as 
 to compel them to be explicit. The consequence of this is, 
 that it will be impossible to produce the diplomatic corre- 
 spondence, and its retention will put Parliament and the 
 press in a fury, and expose the Government to attacks 
 which they will find it very difficult to repel or to silence. 
 They cannot give the reason why, and their enemies and 
 detractors will believe, or at least insist, that they do not 
 dare disclose their own share in the transaction. I asked 
 Clarendon how it was that the French Government in their 
 last paper in the ' Moniteur ' said so positively that they 
 had secured the cooperation of Austria if the last conditions 
 were refused by Russia ; he replied that he supposed they said 
 so in order to make it the ground of an accusation against 
 Austria when the Conference broke up and she refuses to 
 declare war. Clarendon thinks we shall get the better of 
 Russia, but that it will be by blockading her ports and 
 ruining her commerce, and not by military operations, and 
 that this may take two or three years or more, but is certain 
 in the end. ' 
 
 May 24:th. — The Sebastopol Committee is finished, and 
 the result proves that it is a very good thing to have had it, 
 
 ^ [The failure or suspension of the negotiations for peace at Vienna was 
 formally announced to Parliament on May 21, and the protocols of the 
 Conference laid upon the table.] 
 
1855] THE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE. 259 
 
 for no ill consequences liave come of it, and the evidence 
 has benefited instead of injuriag both the Government and 
 "those who were most bitterly abused, especially Hardinge 
 and Newcastle, about the latter of whom there has been 
 a considerable reaction of opinion. In Parliament nothing 
 has taken place of much consequence. EUenborough gave 
 battle in the Lords and was signally defeated. Layard had 
 announced a hostile motion in the House of Commons, 
 which he has since given up to Disraeli, who brings forward 
 a regular want of confidence motion tonight, which will 
 decide the fate of the Government. Sir Francis Baring has 
 moved an amendment which the Peelites will not vote for, 
 because it pledges the House to support the war, they having 
 now become furiously pacific ; as if they were not unpopular 
 enough already, they are now doing all they can to mar their 
 own efficacy by giving their enemies a plausible case for 
 attacking and abusing them, and by breasting the tide of 
 warlike zeal and passion, which, though very absurd and very 
 mischievous, is too strong and too general to be openly and 
 directly resisted at present. It is quite fit and becoming to 
 reason with it, and to endeavour to bring the public to a more 
 Teasonable frame of mind, but great tact, caution, and good 
 management are required in doing this. It is very difiicult 
 to make out what Gladstone and his friends (for it would be 
 ridiculous to call them a party) are at, and what they expect 
 or desire in reference to their political future. Palmerston 
 is said to have done better in the House of Commons lately 
 than he did at first, but it is curious to see how completely 
 his popularity has evaporated. All the foolish people whose 
 pet he was, and who clamoured for him with the notion that 
 he was to do every sort of impossible thing, now that they 
 :find he can do no more than other men, and that there never 
 was any real difference between him and his colleagues, are 
 furious with him because they so deceived themselves, and 
 want to break the idol they set up. 
 
 May 30th. — The division last Friday night gave Govern- 
 ment a larger majority than anybody expected,' and if it did 
 
 ^ [Mr. Disraeli's Motion condemniag tlie Government for their mis- 
 
 s 2 
 
260 EEIGN OF atJEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 not give tliem permanent strengtli it averted immediate 
 danger. Gladstone made a fine speech, but gave great 
 offence to all who are not for peace, and exposed himself to 
 much unpopularity. The discussion is only suspended till 
 Parliament meets again, when the amendments will be de- 
 bated, and there will no more divisions ; but in the meantime 
 the news which has arrived of the successes in the Crimea, and 
 the fair prospect there appears of still greater advantages, 
 must serve to silence the advocates of peace and encourage 
 those who are all for war, and to render a contest popular 
 which is likely to be crowned with brilliant results, and, as 
 many imagine, to give us the means of dictating peace on 
 our own terms. I believe in the prospect of success, but 
 not that it will reduce the Russians to make peace on our 
 terms, particularly as the conditions will infallibly be harder 
 than before. But I do marvel that they did not make peace 
 at Vienna on the terms which were there offered them, when 
 they must have known that all the chances of war were 
 against them. The Emperor of Russia might have taken 
 warning from the history and fate of Napoleon, who con- 
 stantly refused the terms he could have obtained, and con- 
 tinually insisted on something more than his enemies would 
 give him, and by this obstinacy lost his crown. The most 
 interesting incident which occurred last week was the scene 
 at the end of the debate between Graham and John Russell, 
 who had a fight of considerable asperity ; and according to 
 all appearances the Peelites and the Whigs are completely 
 two. When Graham was reconciled to Lord John two or 
 three years ago, he vowed that nothing should separate them 
 again, but ' quam parum stabiles sunt hominum amicitise,' and 
 now they appear to be as antagonistic as ever. But, to be 
 sure, Graham could not contemplate or foresee all the tricks 
 which Lord John played during the whole time he was a 
 member of Aberdeen's Government. 
 
 JSTotwithstanding the success of Government in the House 
 of Commons and of the armies in the Crimea, things are in 
 
 conduct of the war was rejected hj 319 to 219. Lord John Eussell made a. 
 warlike speech in the course of this debate.] 
 
1856] A VISIT TO PAEIS. 261 
 
 a very unsatisfactory and uncomfortable state here, and 
 nobody knows what will happen. There is no confidence in 
 any party or any men, and everybody has a vague apprehen- 
 sion of coming but undefined evil and danger. The world 
 seems out of joint. 
 
 Paris, June 17th. — Having resolved to go to Vichy for 
 my health, here I am on the road ; I crossed over yesterday 
 morning, a very disagreeable but short passage from Folke- 
 stone, good journey by rail, and got here at nine o'clock, being 
 lodged very hospitably at the Embassy. French carriages on 
 the railway are much better than ours, particularly the second 
 class ; the country between Boulogne and Paris looks well and 
 thriving. I had some talk with Cowley last night before we 
 went to bed, when he gave me an account of the circum- 
 stances of Drouyn de Lhuys' resignation. ^ He also descanted 
 on the difficulties of the Government here and of the main- 
 tenance of the alliance, which he attributes up to this time 
 entirely to the good faith and fairness of the Emperor him- 
 self, and his determination that nothing shall interrupt the 
 good understanding between the two countries, on which he 
 is above all things bent. The Emperor says it is a great 
 misfortune that there are no men of capacity or character 
 whose services he can command, nor in fact any men, if he 
 could command their services, in whom the public would be 
 disposed to place confidence. Cowley had no very good opinion 
 of Drouyn de Lhuys, and said no reliance could be placed in 
 him ; but in some respects he is a loss, because he has a 
 certain capacity and clean hands, he is enormously rich, 
 and guiltless of any peculation or jobbery. When Drouyn 
 announced that he meant to go to Yienna, Lord Cowley urged 
 him to go to England first and come to an understanding with 
 the Cabinet there as to the terms which should be proposed 
 at the Conference. He consented and went, and Cowley 
 
 ^ [At the Conference at Vienna M. Drouyn de Lhuys departed from 
 tlie conditions of peace agreed to between the French and British Govern- 
 ments, and was disposed to accept the more favourable terms -which were 
 supported by Austria. This led to his disavowal and resignation on his re- 
 turn to Paris. It turned out that Lord John Russell, the British envoy to 
 the Conference, had taken a similar course.] 
 
262 EEIGN OF QUf:EN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 urged Clarendon to have the agreement put down in writing 
 that there might he no mistake about it. This was done, and 
 Drouyn went to Vienna. When he took upon himself to make 
 the proposition he did, it was in direct opposition to his agree- 
 ment with us, but he thought he should bring the Emperor 
 to concur with him and to sanction it. The Emperor 
 seemed at first disposed to do so, and when he saw Cowley 
 intimated as much to him. Cowley submitted that it was 
 quite contrary to the understanding with us, and objected 
 on every ground to the proposal. The Emperor said he 
 really got quite confused in the intricacies and details of 
 this affair, but he would see Drouyn again and speak to him 
 upon it. Cowley requested (a very strange request as he 
 owned) that he might be present at the interview. The 
 Emperor seemed somewhat surprised, but acquiesced. When 
 Cowley came he found Drouyn had been there an hour, and 
 that Marshal Vaillant was also present. They went over 
 the ground again and Drouyn said what he had to say, 
 when Cowley merely said he would not go into the general 
 question and would only ask whether M. Drouyn's proposal 
 was in conformity with what had been settled in London, 
 and he appealed to Marshal Vaillant whether the termina- 
 tion of the war on such terms would be advisable. It was 
 impossible to maintain that the terms were consistent with 
 the joint agreement, and Vaillant declared that if the 
 French army was brought away, and a peace made on con- 
 ditions which would appear to tarnish the honour of their 
 arms, he would not answer for the consequences. This put 
 an end to the discussion. Drouyn de Lhuys retired, and as 
 soon as he got home sent his resignation to the Emperor, 
 who wrote him back a very goodhumoured answer advising 
 him to recall it, and expressing a wish that he would come 
 and talk the matter over with him, when he had no doubt 
 they should come to a satisfactory understanding, Drouyn 
 persisted, and then the Emperor accepted his resignation 
 and sent for Walewski. I asked Cowley how Walewski was 
 likely to do, and he said wretchedly, and that he was not of 
 a calibre to fill such a post. 
 
18i5] THE emperor's JOURNEY TO THE CRIMEA. 263 
 
 He told me all about the intended journey of the 
 Emperor to the Crimea and why it was given up. The 
 Emperor was bent on it, while all the Ministers deprecated 
 it and did all they could to prevent it. They suggested that, 
 if any misfortune occurred while he was there, he could not 
 quit the army ; if any success, he would infallibly stay to 
 pursue it, so that his speedy return could not be counted on. 
 This failed to move him. The intention was that Jerome 
 should be, not Regent, but Chief of the Council of Ministers, 
 and they advised Jerome only to consent to take this oflBce 
 on condition that he was invested with the same despotic 
 power as the Emperor himself. This His Majesty would not 
 consent to, as the Ministers foresaw, and this was the reason 
 why the expedition was given up. 
 
 Paris, June 2Srd. — ^I came here to pass through to 
 Vichy, and accordingly on Tuesday last to Vichy I went. I 
 arrived there in the evening, found a detestable apartment 
 without a fireplace ; the weather was intolerable, it never 
 ceased raining, and the cold was intense. Finding that it 
 was useless to take the waters or baths in such weather, and 
 being disgusted with the whole thing, I resolved to return 
 to Paris, which I did on Friday, and here I am comfortably 
 established in the Embassy again. 
 
 On my arrival I was greeted with the painful intelligence 
 of the repulse sustained by the French and English on the 
 18th in the attack on the Mamelon and Eedan batteries, and 
 of the great losses which both armies had suffered. This 
 failure has cast a great gloom over Paris and London, and 
 the disappointment is greater because we had become so 
 accustomed to success that everybody regarded failure in 
 anything as impossible. Cowley told me that the Emperor 
 was excessively annoyed, and the more because they entirely 
 disapprove of Pelissier's proceedings. Without tying him 
 down or attempting from hence to direct the operations of 
 the campaign, they had given Pelissier the strongest recom- 
 mendations to abstain from assaults which they had reason 
 to believe would not be decisive and would cost a vast 
 number of lives, and they were very anxious the operations 
 
264 EKIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 against the Eussians in the field should be pressed instead. 
 There had been some half angry communications between the 
 Government and Pelissier, who had talked of resigning the 
 command. The opinions of the Government had been 
 principally formed from those of General Niel, who had 
 constantly reported his conviction to the above mentioned 
 effect, and had earnestly deprecated these assaults. Then 
 there is reason to apprehend that such unsuccessful attempts 
 may produce bad blood and mutual accusations between the 
 allied forces. Already Pelissier and Eaglan have begun to 
 cast the blame of the failure on each other, though appa- 
 rently the difference has not yet swelled to any serious 
 amount. I have always thought that it would have been 
 better to have no divided command, but to place an English 
 corps under a French commander-in-chief, and a French 
 squadron under an English admiral. This was what the 
 Emperor proposed, and he wrote a letter himself on the 
 subject, which Cowley promised to show me. We have had 
 much conversation about the Emperor, his character and 
 his capacity, and I am puzzled how to understand and to 
 do justice to the latter. Being such as he is represented 
 to be, and having the defects he has, it is difficult to com- 
 prehend his having accomplished the great things he has, 
 and raised himself to such a situation and such a height of 
 personal power. 
 
 June 24t7i. — Last night I went to Thiers', where I found 
 Mignet, Roger du Nord, and others of his adherents, none of 
 whom I recollected, nor they me. This morning I called on 
 Achille Fould, who told me the Emperor knew I was here and 
 would like me to be presented to him, and it was settled that 
 this should be done. I am nothing loth, for I have a curiosity 
 to see this remarkable man and to converse with him. 
 Madame de Lieven told me this morning that not long 
 before the Revolution of '48 Jerome Bonaparte had entreated 
 her to exert her influence to get him made a peer. 
 
 June 26th. — Yesterday morning arrived an invitation to 
 dine at the Tuileries the same evening. I went there, was 
 ushered into a room with eight or ten men in it, none of 
 
1855] A DINNER AT THE TUILEEIES. 265 
 
 whom I knew except Count Baccioclii, whom I had met at 
 Fould's the day before — three in uniform, the rest in plain 
 clothes. A man, whom I suppose to be the aide de camp de 
 service, came forward to receive me and invited me to sit 
 down. Presently the same or another man came and said 
 'Milord ' (they all milorded me), ' vous vous mettrez a table, 
 s'il vous plait, a c6te de I'Empereur a sa droite.' I was then 
 taten into the next room, which adjoins the cabinet of the 
 Emperor. In a few minutes His Majesty made his appear- 
 ance ; he immediately came up to me, bowed very civilly, 
 and asked me the usual questions of when I came to Paris, 
 etc. In a minute dinner was announced and we went in. 
 As we walked in he said to me, ' L'Imperatrice sera bien 
 f^chee de ne vous avoir pas vu.' At dinner, which did not 
 last above twenty- five minutes, he talked (a sort of dropping 
 conversation) on different subjects, and I found him so easy 
 to get on with that I ventured to start topics myself. After 
 dinner we returned to the room we had left, and after coffee, 
 seeing me staring about at the portraits, he said all his 
 family were there, and he told me who they all were and the 
 history of these portraits, which, he said, had made the tour 
 of the world. 
 
 After this he asked me to sit down, which I did at a 
 round table by his side, and M. Visconti on the other side of 
 me, and then we had a conversation which lasted at least 
 an hour and a half on every imaginable subject. It was im- 
 possible not to be struck with his simplicity, his being so 
 natural and totally without any air or assumption of great- 
 ness, though not undignified, but perfectly comme ilfaut, with 
 excellent manners, and easy, pleasant, fluent conversation. 
 I was struck with his air of truth and frankness, and though 
 of course I could not expect in my position and at this first 
 interview with him that he should be particularly expansive, 
 yet he gave me the idea of being not only not reserved but as 
 if, when intimate, he would have a great deal of abandon. It 
 was difficult to bring away all the subjects he discussed, and 
 I do not know that he said anything wonderfully striking, 
 but he made a very favourable impression on me, and 
 
266 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 made me wish to know more of him, which I am never likely 
 to do. 
 
 He talked of the war and its conduct, of the faults com- 
 mitted, and of the characters and talents of the generals 
 engaged, comparing them, much to their disadvantage, with 
 the generals of the Empire. I asked him which were the 
 best, and he said all the African generals were much of the 
 same calibre : Changarnier, Lamoriciere, St. Arnaud, Can- 
 robert, Pelissier — very little difference between them. The 
 war they waged in Africa was of a peculiar character, and 
 did not render them more capable of conducting great 
 strategical operations in Europe. He talked of Thiers and 
 Odilon Barrot, and described scenes with the latter in 
 Council when Barrot was his Minister ; of the ' Times ' and 
 its influence ; of Spain ; in short, of a vast variety of subjects ; 
 of the Exhibition here, and with some appearance of disap- 
 pointment that the people "will not go to it. His simplicity 
 and absence of allfaste were remarkable ; thus, I asked him 
 what he thought of the Hango affair, when he said it was 
 not so bad as had been reported. ' I have had an account 
 of it from Admiral Penaud to-day ; should you like to see 
 it ? ' I said ' Yes,' when he got up, went into his cabinet, 
 and came back with the letter in his hand ; and a little 
 while after, when we were talking of the siege of Sebastopol,^ 
 he asked if I had ever seen a very good engineer's map of 
 the whole thing ; and when I said I had not, he said, ' Then I 
 will show you one ; ' and he again went into his cabinet and 
 brought it out. After this long palaver he took leave of 
 me, shaking hands with much apparent cordiality. 
 
 June 27th. — Bosquet has written to the Emperor that 
 these assaults on the Russian works are only a useless waste 
 of time. Marshal Vaillant has told Cowley that they agree in 
 this, but they must either recall their general or let him go on 
 in his own way, amd if they interfere, the blame of any disaste»" 
 will inevitably fall on them, no matter what might be th& 
 cause. I dined with Flahaut yesterday ; in the morning rode 
 round all the boulevards, a grand promenade by which Paris 
 is well seen ; and I met Guizot at Madame de Lieven's, whO' 
 
1865] DEATH OF LORD EAGLAN. 267 
 
 talked of the war and asked how it was ever to end. ' People 
 go to war,' he said, ' to make conquests or to make peace ; 
 you profess not to intend the first, how do you propose to effect 
 the second ? By reducing Eussia to accept your terms — can 
 you do so ? will she yield ? If not, what then ? — you may 
 wound her, but you can't strike her in a vital part ; and the 
 more barbarous she is, the more she will consent to suffer 
 and the less she will be disposed to yield.' He gave me an 
 account (in short) of the bother about the Academy and the 
 Emperor's interference. They do not mean to give way, but 
 they think he will; if he does not, he will have to dissolve them. 
 Paris, July 5th. — One of my attacks of gout came on this 
 day week and disabled me from going anywhere, doing any- 
 thing, and still more from writing anything. In the meanwhile 
 we received the news of Lord Raglan's death.' Though they do 
 not care about it here, there has been a very decent display 
 of sympathy and regret, and the Emperor wrote to Cowley 
 with his own hand a very proper letter. There is good reason 
 to beheve that the fatal termination of Lord Raglan's illness 
 was in some (perhaps in great) measure produced by vexa- 
 tion and disappointment at the failure of the 18th, and 
 annoyance at the many embarrassments of his position. It 
 is certain that for a considerable time great disunion and 
 poignant differences existed between him and the French 
 generals. Canrobert wrote home a very unhandsome letter, 
 in which he gave as one of his reasons for resigning the im- 
 possibility of going on with Raglan. I believe Raglan com- 
 plained of Canrobert with much better reason. On the 18th 
 Pelissier changed the plan of attack that had been agreed 
 on between them ; and, besides all the mistakes that occurred 
 in the French operations, there seems to have been a want 
 of continual and active concert between the two commanders- 
 in-chief during the operations. Raglan proposed a general 
 attack on the town when the assaults failed, which Pelissier 
 refused to agree to. There is a fair probability this would 
 have succeeded, as an English force did get into a part of 
 the town, stayed there some time, and got away un- 
 " TLord Raglan died in the Crimea on June 28.] 
 
268 EEIGN OP QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 observed. There is now a bad feeling, a disposition to 
 recrimination, between the two armies which may have very 
 bad effects, and it is awful to think our army is under an 
 untried man of whom nothing is known, and who is not 
 likely to have more weight with, and receive more considera- 
 tion from, the French generals than his predecessor. How- 
 ever desirable unity of command may be, in the present 
 temper of the troops and after all that has occurred it would 
 be impossible. General Torrens, who is here, speaks in high 
 terms of Eaglan, especially of his magnanimity in bearing all 
 the blame which has been thrown upon him and never saying 
 one word in his own vindication, which might have entirely 
 exonerated him but have done some injury to the cause. 
 Torrens thinks that in all or almost all in which he has ap- 
 peared most obnoxious to censure he could have triumphantly 
 excused himself, and have proved that the causes were 
 attributable to others and not to himself. His must have 
 been a painful as it was an ungrateful service, and it was 
 a melancholy and untimely end. 
 
 Paris, July 6th. — I went yesterday to the Exhibition in 
 the morning; then to Notre Dame and the Luxembourg 
 Gardens and drove about Paris ; dined en trio with Madame 
 de Lieven and Guizot, when there was of course nothing but 
 political talk. Guizot thinks there has been not only a series 
 of diplomatic blunders, but a wonderful want of invention, not 
 to strike out some means of adjusting this quarrel, in which 
 I agree with him. This morning Labouchere and I went to 
 Versailles. Fould had given me a letter to the Director of 
 the Museum there, M. Soulie, whom we found very intelli- 
 gent, well informed, and obliging. We told him our object 
 was to avoid the giro regolare of the endless rooms fitted 
 up with bad pictures by Louis Philippe, and to see the 
 apartments full of historical associations from the time 
 of Louis XIV. down to the Eevolution. We were completely 
 gratified, and he took us over everything we wished to see, 
 being admirably qualified as a cicerone by his familiarity with 
 the localities and the history belonging to them. We saw all 
 the apartments in which Louis XIV. lived, and what remains 
 
1855J LOED JOHN EUSSELL'S EETUEN. 269 
 
 of those of Madame de Maintenon. The Palace has been so 
 tumbled about at different times, and such alterations made 
 in it, that it is not always easy to ascertain correctly where 
 the rooms of certain personages were, but our guide proved 
 to our complete satisfaction that certain rooms he showed us 
 were those which really did belong to Madame de Maintenon. 
 We saw too in minute detail the apartments of Louis XVI. 
 and Marie Antoinette, and the passages through which she 
 fled to escape from the irruption of the mob on the 6th of 
 October. The whole thing was as interesting as possible. 
 
 Paris, July 9th. — I meant to have left Paris last night, 
 but, an invitation arriving to dine with the Emperor at 
 St. Cloud today, I put off going till tomorrow. I went 
 yesterday to Versailles to see the grandes eaux and was 
 disappointed, and dined there with the Ashburtons. This 
 morning telegraphic news came of a Russian sortie last 
 night ; no details of course. Yesterday we were thrown into 
 consternation by the intelligence from London of the reve- 
 lations of John Russell in the House of Commons and the 
 discussion thereupon. Le Marchant wrote to Labouchere 
 and told him the effect was as bad as possible, and the whole 
 case very deplorable. My own opinion is that nobody could 
 have acted more indiscreetly and unjustifiably than John 
 Russell has done, and he has sacrificed his character and 
 authority in a way which he will find it dif&cult to get over. 
 But I am disposed to agree with him that the terms pro- 
 posed by Austria, if they could have been brought to maturity 
 and carried out, were quite sufficient to make peace upon, 
 and that the negotiations ought to have continued in order 
 to endeavour to bring about this result. The effect of this 
 public announcement to the whole world, that the English 
 Minister at the Congress as well as the French one was 
 willing to accept the terms proposed by Austria, will not fail 
 to mate a great sensation, and produce a considerable effect 
 both in Germany and in France. In England it is doubtful 
 whether it will have any other result than to damage John 
 Russell himself, and increase the vulgar prejudice against 
 public men. My own idea is that it will render the war 
 
270 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap, IX, 
 
 still more unpopular in France, and the English alliance 
 likewise, because it will encourage the prevailing notion 
 that the war is carried on for English interests and in 
 deference to the wishes of England. Though John Russell 
 declared that the resolution of the Emperor to part with 
 Drouyn de Lhuys and reject the Austrian proposal had been 
 made before the intention of the English Cabinet was known, 
 this will not be believed, or at all events everybody will be 
 convinced that he knew what the sentiments of England 
 were, and that he really acted in conformity with them, as 
 was beyond all doubt the case. 
 
 July 10th. — I dined at Villeneuve I'Etang. We went to 
 the Palace of St. Cloud in Cowley's carriage, where we found 
 an equerry and one of the Emperor's carriages, which took us 
 to Villeneuve. A small house, pretty and comfortable enough, 
 and a small party, all English — Duke and Duchess of Hamil- 
 ton, Lord Hertford, Lord and Lady Ashburton, General 
 Torrens and his aide de camp, Cowley and myself, the Due de 
 Bassano, Comte de Montebello, the aide de camp de service, 
 and M. Valabregue, ecuyer, that was the whole party. The 
 Emperor sat between the two ladies, taking the Duchess in 
 to dinner. It lasted about three quarters of an hour, and as 
 soon as it was over His Majesty took us all out to walk about 
 the place, see the dairy and a beautiful Bretonne cow he ordered 
 to be brought out, and then to scull on the lake, or Mang, 
 which gives its name to the place. There were a number of 
 little boats for one person to scuU and one to sit, and one 
 larger for two each; the Emperor got into one with the 
 Duchess, and all the rest of the people as they liked, and we 
 passed about half an hour on the water. On landing, ices, 
 etc., were brought, and the carriages came to the door at nine 
 o'clock, a char a lane with four percherons and postillions 
 exactly like the old French postboy, and several other open 
 carriages and pair. The two ladies got into the centre of 
 the char a banc, Cowley, Hertford, and I were invited to get 
 up before, and the Emperor himself got up behind with 
 somebody else, I did not see who. We then set off and 
 drove for some time through the woods and drives of Ville- 
 
1855] A DINNEE AT VILLENEUVE L'ETANG. 271 
 
 neuve and St. Cloud, and at last, at about ten o'clock, we were 
 set down at the Palace. There we all alighted, and, after 
 walking about a little, the Emperor showing us the part 
 which Marie Antoinette had built and telling some anecdotes 
 connected with Louis XVIII. and Louis Philippe, and the 
 Chateau, he shook hands with all of us very cordially and 
 dismissed us. His Majesty got into the char a lane and re- 
 turned to Yilleneuve, and we drove back to Paris. When 
 we were walking about the court of the Chateau (it was quite 
 dark) the sentinel challenged us — ' Qui va la ? ' when the 
 Emperor called out in a loud voice, ' L'Empereur.' 
 
 Of course, in this company there was nothing but general 
 conversation, and I had no opportunity of having any with 
 His Majesty; but he was extremely civil, offering me his 
 cigars, which I declined, and expressing anxiety that I 
 should not catch cold. He made the same impression on 
 me as before as to his extreme simplicity and the easiness of 
 his intercourse ; but I was struck with his appearance being 
 so very mesquin, more than I thought at first. 
 
 Lady Ashburton told me she had received a letter from 
 EUice, telling her that the affair in the House of Commons 
 had produced the most serious effect, and that it would 
 probably end in the retirement of John Eussell, and eventu- 
 ally to a change of Government. He had got a story, which 
 I utterly disbelieve, that Milner Gibson had been instigated 
 by John Russell himself to give him this opportunity of say- 
 ing what he did, which was certainly more than he need 
 have said.' Lord John seems for some time past to have 
 
 1 [On July 6, Lord Jolm Ruissell declared in the House of Commons, in 
 answer to a question put by Mr. Milner Gibson, that he was personally con- 
 vinced that the terms proposed at Vienna by the Austrian Government gave 
 a fair prospect of the termination of hostilities, but that on his return to 
 England the Government declined to accept them. M. Drouyu de Lhuys, 
 the French envoy, had also been in favour of these terms. This declaration 
 appeared to be wholly inconsistent with the warlike speech which Lord 
 John had made, on his return, on May 24. Sir E. B. Lytton then gave 
 notice of a motion condemning the conduct of the Ministers charged with 
 negotiating at Vienna; but Lord John Eussell anticipated the inevitable 
 vote of censure by resigning oiBce, and he was succeeded in the Colonial 
 Department by Sir William Molesworth. This transaction was held to 
 
272 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 been bereft of his senses, and to commit nothing but blunders 
 one after another. What has been passing in his mind, and 
 what his real objects are or have been, it would puzzle any- 
 body to say. If he had personal views and wanted to regain 
 the station and power which he had lost, never did any man 
 take such false steps and pursue so erroneous a course to 
 obtain his ends. He had in some measure retrieved the 
 character and consideration which he forfeited by his conduct 
 at the beginning of this year ; but I do not see how he is 
 ever to get over this, nor how his followers can any longer 
 have any confidence in him, and I do not believe the country 
 at large ever will. As to his opinion on the terms of peace, 
 I agree with it, and think it would have been wiser to close 
 with Buol's proposal, and to continue to negotiate ; but this 
 makes no difference as to his conduct in the affair, for which 
 there is no excuse. He never ought to have committed 
 himself at Vienna; his instructions were clear and precise 
 and quite inconsistent with Buol's proposition. He might 
 have engaged to bring it before his Government, but should, 
 especially as he was a Cabinet Minister, have abstained from 
 expressing any opinion of his own upon it. He appears at 
 Vienna to have been easily talked over, and to have been ex- 
 ceedingly wanting in diplomatic finesse and penetration ; but 
 all I have picked up here in conversation proves to me that 
 there have been errors innumerable and the greatest mistakes 
 in the conduct of these affairs throughout, and the exigen- 
 cies of the alliance and the necessity of concerting every- 
 thing to the most minute particular with both Cabinets have 
 produced results not less unfortunate in diplomacy than in 
 war. The affair before Sebastopol the night before last 
 turns out to have been of no importance, only a demonstra- 
 tion against the English lines. 
 
 London, July I'dth. — I left Paris on Tuesday night at 
 7.30, got to Calais at three ; low water and steamer three 
 miles out at sea ; went out in a boat in a torrent of rain 
 
 reflect deep discredit on Lord Jolm Eussell's conduct, and justifies the severe 
 language applied to him in the text, but this was somewhat mitigated by 
 Mr. Greville in a subsequent passage.] 
 
1855] LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S EXPLANATION. 273 
 
 wMch had lasted the whole journey and all day. Train was 
 just gone when we got to Dover, but we arrived in town about 
 eleven. I found a precious state of affairs, all confusion and 
 consternation, Bulwer having given notice of a motion of 
 want of confidence on account of John Russell, whose affair 
 has brought himself and the Government to the very brink 
 and almost to the certainty of ruin. There is as much excite- 
 ment against Palmerston's Government, all on account of 
 Lord John, as there was a few months ago against Aberdeen. 
 I found Brooks's in a state of insurrection, and even the 
 Attorney- General (Cockburn) told me that the Liberal party 
 were resolved to go no further with John Russell, and that 
 nothing but his resignation could save the Government, 
 even if that could ; that they might be reconciled to him. 
 hereafter, but as long as the war lasted they repudiated him. 
 Meanwhile he has not resigned. There was a long Cabinet 
 the day before yesterday in which they discussed the state 
 of affairs, and what measures could be taken. Lord John, 
 offered to resign, but they would not hear of it, and came to 
 a resolution to stand or fall together. I saw Clarendon 
 yesterday, who was fully aware of the imminence of the 
 danger and of the probability of their being out on Monday ; 
 he said Lord John's whole conduct was inconceivable, and he 
 knew not to what to attribute his strange speech, in which 
 he had made for himself a much worse case than the cir- 
 cumstances really warrant and given to the world impres- 
 sions which are not correct ; for in point of fact he did not 
 urge Buol's proposal upon the Cabinet, but when he laid it 
 before them and found it not acceptable, he at once yielded 
 to all the arguments against it, and instead of making any 
 attempt to get peace made on those terms, he joined with 
 all his colleagues in their conviction of the necessity of 
 carrying on the war vigorously; and this conviction induced 
 him to make the warlike speech with which he is now 
 reproached as being inconsistent with the opinions he was 
 entertaining (as it is said) at the time he made it. Yester- 
 day he attempted to make something of an explanation, but 
 he only floundered further into the mire, and was laughed 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
274 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 at. Everybody thinks lie made his case worse rather than 
 better, but he really seems to have lost his head. His whole 
 conduct at Vienna and here has exhibited nothing but a series 
 of blunders and faults, and he has so contrived it, that no 
 explanations he can possibly make will extenuate them, or 
 place him in a tolerable light in the eyes of the public. In 
 the morning yesterday I had occasion to call on Disraeli about 
 some business, when he talked over the state of affairs very 
 freely and gave me to understand that he intended and ex- 
 pected to turn out the Government and to come in with his 
 party, but he owned that their materials for forming a 
 tolerable Government were very scanty, that he would not 
 attempt their old Government over again, but, except Lytton 
 Bulwer, of whom he spoke in terms of high praise, he knew 
 not where to find any fresh men worth anything. 
 
 Bath, July 19th. — I came here on Saturday night. In 
 the course of Friday morning I met Drumlanrig, who told 
 me the subordinate place men had caused John EusseU to 
 be informed that if he did not resign they should, and vote 
 for Bulwer's motion on Monday. This produced his resig- 
 nation, but under circumstances as mortifying as possibly 
 could be, and which must have made him deeply regret that 
 lie did not resign at first, although he is not to be blamed 
 for having yielded to the wishes of his colleagues, and I am 
 satisfied he did so from the best motives. It was no sooner 
 known that he had resigned than the excitement began to 
 subside, and everybody thought that Bulwer would withdraw 
 his motion, and at all events nobody doubted that it would 
 come to nothing. The motion was withdrawn but the 
 debate took place, and such a debate ! — it was impossible to 
 read it without indignation and disgust. Bulwer's speech 
 was a tissue of foul abuse with the grossest and most wil- 
 ful misrepresentations and endeavours to draw inferences he 
 knew to be false and fallacious, with the hope and purpose 
 of damaging the characters of the Ministers. In these 
 times, when the great evil is the bad opinion which the 
 public has been led to entertain of public men, Bulwer en- 
 deavours, for a mere party purpose, to aggravate that hostile 
 
1855] APOLOGY FOR LORD JOHN. 275 
 
 feeling and to make tlie world believe that, in a great party 
 and a Cabinet composed of men wbose characters have 
 never been impugned, there is neither truth, sincerity, nor 
 good faith, and by producing such an impression to bring 
 the aristocracy into greater disrepute. Disraeli, of course, 
 spoke in the same tone, Palmerston was very bad, and his 
 speech was quite unbecoming his position. John Russell's 
 defence was not calculated to relieve him from the weight 
 of obloquy and unpopularity he had brought on himself, and 
 the whole thing was unsatisfactory, except that it denoted 
 the end of the contest and the disappointment of the Opposi- 
 tion, whose hopes had been so highly raised, 
 
 After much consideration of John Eussell's conduct, I 
 think it is not obnoxious to the severe censure with which it 
 has been visited, and though he has committed errors, they 
 are venial ones and admit of a fair explanation. Had not 
 Buol's publication revealed to the world what had passed 
 between them confidentially, nothing of it would have been 
 known, and he would have been left to the enjoyment of the 
 popularity he had gained by his anti-Russian speech. The 
 statement about him in Buol's Circular naturally led to 
 questions, and then it was necessary to tell everything and 
 lay bare the arcana of Cabinets and Conferences ; and when 
 he endeavoured to explain his own conduct it became, amidst 
 all the complexities of the case itself, its endless variety of 
 details and confusion of dates, next to impossible to unravel 
 it satisfactorily, and quite impossible to protect himself from 
 the imputations which an unscrupulous and malignant assail- 
 ant could easily contrive to bring against him ; and in this 
 great difficulty he displayed no tact and ingenuity in extri- 
 cating himself from the dilemma in which he was placed ; 
 on the contrary, he went blundering on, exposing himself to 
 many charges, all plausible and some true, of inconsistency, 
 inaccuracy, and insincerity, and he made in his speeches a 
 case against himself which left very little for his enemies to 
 do. It might be strange in any other man, but is perhaps 
 only consistent in him, that he is now more indignant with 
 the friends who refused to follow and support him on this 
 
276 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOKIA. [Chap. IX, 
 
 occasion than either ashamed or angry with himself for 
 having blundered into such a scrape. He writes, meanwhile,, 
 to his brother, who has sent me his letter, in these terms : — 
 ' I have endeavoured to stand by and support Palmerston, 
 too much so, I fear, for my own credit, but had I resigned 
 on my return from Vienna, I should have been abused as- 
 wishing to trip him up and get his place : in short, the situa- 
 tion was one of those where only errors were possible. I 
 have acted according to my own conscience ; let that suf- 
 fice.' False reasoning and wounded pride are both apparent 
 in this letter, but he is quite right when he says that ' only 
 errors had become possible.' There is no course he could 
 have taken that would not have exposed him to bitter 
 attacks and reproaches, and these unavoidable errors were 
 not confined to himself. 
 
 The first thing that strikes me is that the Cabinet ought 
 to have accepted his resignation when he first tendered it ;, 
 but there were no doubt difficulties and objections to that 
 course, and their reluctance to let him throw himself over- 
 board was not unnatural and was generous. The defence 
 which his conduct really admits of may be (to state it very 
 briefiy) thus set forth. I put it loosely, and as it strikes me^ 
 taking a general view of the case ; to make it more accurate 
 and complete, the dates and the documents should be before 
 me, which they are not. He went to Paris with instructions 
 precisely corresponding with what was verbally arranged 
 in London between Drouyn de Lhuys and the Cabinet, 
 and they were conjointly to propose the conditions which 
 the two Governments had agreed to require from Russia;, 
 but still they were not the bearers of an Ultimatum, they 
 did not go to give law to Russia, or as judges to pronounce 
 sentence upon her. They went to confer and to negotiate, 
 to endeavour to obtain the precise terms which would be 
 entirely satisfactory to their two Governments, and failing 
 in this to see what they could obtain. If they were in- 
 structed to insist on the limitation, just as they proposed 
 it at the Conference, and to accept nothing else, nothing 
 either short of it or varying from it, then the very idea 
 
a855] LOKD JOHN'S CONDUCT AT VIENNA. 277 
 
 of a Conference and a negotiation was a mockery and a 
 delusion. It was a mockery to invite the Russian plenipo- 
 tentiary to make proposals, and tlie conduct of the Allies was 
 disingenuous and deceitful. Certainly Austria never con- 
 templated, still less would she have been a party to, such a 
 course of proceeding ; and her notion was, and, of course, 
 that of Russia also, that there should be a iond fide nego- 
 tiation, and an attempt to bring about an understanding by 
 the only way in which an understanding ever can be brought 
 about — mutual concessions. We proposed the limitation 
 scheme, and Austria backed us up in it cordially, sincerely, 
 and forcibly, at least to all appearance. Russia rejected it 
 on the ground of its incompatibility with her honour and 
 dignity. Then Russia made proposals, which the Allies, 
 Austria included, rejected as insuiScient. John Russell and 
 Drouyn de Lhuys appear to have fought vigorously in the 
 spirit of their instructions, but when they found there was 
 no chance of the Russians consenting to the limitation, they 
 both became anxious to try some other plan, by which peace 
 might possibly be obtained, and they each suggested some- 
 thing. At last, when the Conference was virtually at an 
 end, as a last hope and chance Buol produced his scheme. 
 John Russell had already committed himself to an approval 
 of the principle of it, by the plan he had himself suggested, 
 and, when he found that both his French and Turkish col- 
 leagues were willing to accept it, it is not surprising that he 
 should have told Buol privately and confidentially that he 
 acquiesced in it, and would urge it on his Government. As 
 it has turned out, this was a great indiscretion for which he 
 has been severely punished. As he had every reason to 
 believe that Buol's plan would not be acceptable to his own 
 Government, what he ought to have done was to give notice 
 to Clarendon that such a proposal had been made, and to 
 beg it might be considered before any final resolution was 
 taken, and to tell Buol that he had done so ; to promise that 
 he would submit to the Cabinet all the arguments that had 
 been used in its favour, but to abstain from any expression 
 of his own opinion, and shelter himself from the necessity of 
 
278 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap, IX, 
 
 giving any by the tenour of his own instructions. When he 
 found the French Minister for Foreign Affairs consenting, he 
 might very well suppose that the French Government would 
 not reject the proposal, and that he should not be justified 
 in putting a peremptory veto on what France was disposed 
 to accept as sufficient. Besides, although he has never put 
 forward such an argument in any of his speeches, he may 
 have thought, as I do, that ' counterpoise ' and ' limitation '' 
 were the same thing in principle, and the only difference 
 between them one of mode and degree. Buol's counterpoise 
 involved limitation, our limitation was to establish a counter- 
 poise ; therefore, even in the spirit of the instructions and argu- 
 ments of the French and English Governments, their plan 
 of limitation having failed, Buol's plan of counterpoise was 
 entitled to consideration,' and the only question ought to 
 have been whether it would have been effectual for the pur- 
 pose common to all, and whether it would be an honourable 
 mode of terminating the war. 
 
 John Russell's fault was committing himself to Buol a& 
 approving his plan before he knew how it would be viewed 
 at home ; but I see neither impossibility nor inconsistency 
 in his having regarded it favourably at Vienna, and being 
 biassed by all the arguments in its favour which there beset 
 him on all sides, and when he returned to England and found 
 the opinions of all his colleagues adverse to it, and heard their 
 reasons for being so, that he should have been convinced by 
 them, have subscribed to the general decision, and joined cor- 
 dially with them in the vigorous prosecution of the war. 
 Having come finally to this conclusion, his warlike speech was 
 not unnatural, and he made it probably very much to prove to 
 his own colleagues that he was in earnest with them. There 
 was no necessity for his proclaiming what had passed at 
 Vienna, as nothing had happened in consequence, and the 
 question was not what impression had been made on his 
 
 ■^ [The proposal submitted to the Conference by Count Buol was that 
 each, of the Powers should have the right to maintain a limited naval power 
 in the Black Sea. The whole discussion turned upon suppression of the ■ 
 naval supremacy of Russia in the Black Sea and the manner in which it 
 ■was to be effected.] 
 
1855] COMMAND OF THE ARMY. 279 
 
 mind there in the course of the negotiations, but what was 
 the opinion and what the resolution at which he finally 
 arrived when all was over. But he has repeatedly in the 
 course of his career contrived to do a vast deal of mischief 
 by a very few words, and so it was in this instance. When 
 he was driven to confess that he had endorsed Buol's pro- 
 posal, and said that he was still of the same opinion, his 
 opponents were able with every appearance of truth to say 
 that he had intended to conceal what he had done at Vienna, 
 and to deceive the country, both as to his past conduct and 
 his present opinions ; and as it was obvious from his own 
 avowal that he still was of the same opinion as at Vienna, 
 his war speech was hypocritical and insincere, and he was 
 unfit to be in a Cabinet pledged to carry on the war earnestly 
 and vigorously. Against such an attack it was very diffi- 
 cult to make a good defence, and I doubt whether the most 
 lucid and circumstantial statement and the most natural 
 explanation of his own motives and sentiments at dififerent 
 periods of the transaction would have received a patient 
 hearing and dispassionate consideration. The House of 
 Commons and the public were in that frame of mind that 
 will not listen, and cannot be fair and just, and he became, 
 and could hardly avoid becoming, the victim of his own 
 want of caution and prudent reserve and the excessive com- 
 plication of the circumstances and details of the case. 
 
 London, July 28th. — I returned from Bath yesterday ; went 
 to Newmarket in the evening and returned this morning. 
 There is nothing new at home and abroad ; to all outward ap- 
 pearance the siege standing still, but they say it is going on 
 in a safe and judicious manner calculated to bring about suc- 
 cess. General Simpson wants to resign, but no man fit to suc- 
 ceed him can be found.' I have read the pamphlet ' Whom 
 shall we Hang?' and think it makes a very good case for 
 the late Government, especially Newcastle, but it is so long 
 
 1 [Upon the death of Lord Raglan General Simpson, an officer of whom 
 little was known, succeeded, as senior in rank, to the command of the army. 
 He retained the command but a short time, General Codrington having been 
 appointed by the Government to succeed him.] 
 
280 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. IX. 
 
 tliafc few people will read it ; and though it may convince 
 and satisfy some one here and there, it will not suffice to 
 stem the torrent which is so swollen by ignorance and 
 malice. At Brooks's this afternoon I met Fitzroy, who said 
 a great deal to me about the condition of the Government, of 
 the state and disposition of the House of Commons, and 
 Palmerston's management there, and his conduct as a leader. 
 London, August 14th. — Since my last date I have been to 
 Goodwood, and since then here, having had nothing to note 
 beyond what has appeared in all the newspapers. Parliament 
 was prorogued yesterday, after a session of average duration, 
 but marked by a great many incidents of a disagreeable cha- 
 racter, and exhibiting a downward tendency as regards the 
 future tranquillity and prosperity of the country. The last 
 few days were marked by an angry contest provoked by Lord 
 Grey in the Lords, not altogether without cause : the Limited 
 Liability Bill came up so late that, according to the Standing 
 Order, it could not be considered. Government moved the 
 suspension of the Order, which was carried, but there was no 
 time to discuss properly the provisions of the bill, and it was 
 hurried through the House by force, probably in an incomplete 
 form. Grey was very angry, and fought it tooth and nail, de- 
 claring his opposition to a Government which had, he insisted, 
 behaved so ill. Mr. Monsell was made a Privy Councillor, the 
 oath having been altered to meet his scruples, in spite of all 
 the remonstrances I could offer against such an unworthy 
 compliance as this appears to me. 
 
1855] THE aUEEN'S VISIT TO FRANCE. 281 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 The Queen's Visit to France — Sir George C. Lewis on the "War — Inefficiency 
 of Lord Panmure — ^The Q.ueen and the Emperor — Lord John Russell's 
 Estrangement from his Friends — The Fall of Sehastopol — The Queen 
 on the Orleans Confiscation — The Prince Regent's Letter on the Holy 
 Alliance — ^Ferment in Italy — The Failure at the Redan — Lord John's 
 Defence — General Windham — Lord John Russell's Retirement — Death 
 of Sir Robert Adair — Adieu to the Turf — Progress of the War — Colonial 
 Office proposed to Lord Stanley — Lord John Russell's Position — Rela- 
 tions with Mr. Disraeli — Mr. Lahouchere Colonial Secretary — Negotia- 
 tions for Peace — The Terms proposed to Russia — The King of Sardinia 
 and M. de Cavour at Windsor — The Demands of the King of Sardinia — 
 Lord Palmerston presses for War — Lord Maoaulay's History of England 
 — An Ultimatum to Russia — Death of the Poet Rogers — French Ministers 
 — The Emperor's Diplomacy— Sir George C. Lewis's Aversion to the War 
 — Quarrels of Walewski and Persigny — Austria presents the Terms to 
 Russia — Baron Seehach mediates — The Emperor's Diificultiesand Doubts, 
 
 London, August 2\st. — The Queen as usual has had 
 magnificent weather for her Paris visit, and all has gone 
 well there except that unluckily she arrived after her time 
 at Boulogne and still more at Paris, consequently the Emperor 
 was kept waiting at Boulogne, and the whole population of 
 Paris, which turned out and waited for hours under a broiling 
 sun, was disappointed, for they arrived when it was growing 
 dark. However, in spite of this, the scene appears to have 
 been very fine and animated. Clarendon, who is not apt to 
 be enthusiastic, writes so to Palmerston, and tells him that 
 Marshal Magnan said he had known Paris for fifty years, 
 and had never seen such a scene as this, nor even when 
 Napoleon returned from Austerlitz. 
 
 George Lewis called on me yesterday. I have hardly 
 seen him during the session, and, having advised him to 
 take his present office, I was glad to be able to congratulate 
 
282 EEIGJS' OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 him on his success. He was very natural about it, and owned 
 that he had every reason to be satisfied with his reception 
 both by the House of Commons and the City. I found that 
 his sentiments about war and peace were identical with my 
 own. He had been all along against the war, and thought 
 it ought to have been prevented, and might have been in the 
 outset, and that peace ought to have been made the other 
 day ; but, as he was in no way responsible for the war, 
 he had nothing to do but to submit to the fait accompli and 
 to do his best to raise the necessary supplies in the most 
 advantageous manner. It is evident that, if there could have 
 been a potential peace party in the Cabinet, he would have 
 been one of them, but as it is he kept his real sentiments 
 to himself and subscribed to the decision of the majority. 
 We talked of the session and its incidents. He said history 
 recorded nothing like the profusion with which the present 
 House of Commons was inclined to spend money. It was 
 impossible to ask for too much ; their only fear seemed to be 
 lest the war should not be conducted with sufficient vigour, 
 and to accomj)lish this they were ready to vote any amount 
 of money. Lewis thinks the rage for war as violent as 
 ever, and the zeal of the country not at all diminished, he 
 sees no symptoms of it. The wealth and resources which the 
 crisis has developed are most curious ; thus, he reduced the 
 interest on Exchequer Bills not long ago — an operation he 
 believes never before attempted in time of war. War has had 
 little or no effect on trade, which is steady and flourishing ; 
 but he thinks, unless some great successes infuse fresh anima- 
 tion into the public mind, that before long they will begin 
 to tire of the contest, and to reflect that it is being carried 
 on at an enormous cost for no rational object whatever, and 
 merely from motives of pride and vanity and a false notion 
 of honour. Charles Villiers thinks differently, and that there 
 is already a manifest change of opinion, and that opposition 
 to the war has already begun. I wish I could see some 
 symptoms of it, but, though there may be some, I think they 
 are shght. Lewis thinks John Eussell has completely done 
 for himself by his last speech. He was recovering from the 
 
1855] BATTLE OF THE TCHEKNAYA. 28S 
 
 effects of tis first ; there was a reaction in his favour ; his- 
 friends were anxious to be reconciled to him and to renew 
 their support and confidence, when he played into the hands 
 of his enemies and made his own position worse than it was 
 before. 
 
 Lewis told me that he was much struck with the medio- 
 crity of Panmure, who was one of the dullest men he ever 
 knew, and that he was by far the least able man in the 
 Cabinet, and as bad as possible as Minister of War — pre- 
 judiced, slow, and routinier. It is evident that Newcastle 
 was a much abler man, and if he had happened to have come 
 after Panmure, he would have been as much belauded as he 
 has been abused. 
 
 September 5th. — A complete stagnation in every way ; na 
 news whatever since the battle of the Tchernaya,' and nobody 
 has the least idea. Ministers included, of the state and progress 
 of the war. I asked Granville, who is just come from Paris, 
 if he knew anything, and he said he did not, and that the 
 Emperor, whom he had seen a day or two ago, complained 
 of being equally in the dark. His Majesty, Grranville said, 
 was very low about the war, and complained that none of 
 the expeditions and diversions had been undertaken which 
 might have advanced the cause more rapidly. Pelissier seems 
 to be very much deconsidere and thought worth very little as a 
 general. 
 
 I saw Clarendon one day last week for a short time, but 
 had no opportunity of hearing the details of his sojourn at 
 Paris. He said the Queen was delighted with everything and 
 especially with the Emperor himself, who, with perfect know- 
 ledge of women, had taken the surest way to ingratiate himself 
 with her. This it seems he began when he was in England, 
 and followed it up at Paris. After his visit the Queen talked it 
 aU over with Clarendon, and said, ' It is very odd ; but the 
 Emperor knows everything I have done and where I have 
 been ever since I was twelve years old ; he even recollects 
 
 ^ [The battle of the Tchernaya was fought on the 16th August, when 
 General Liprandi attacked the French and Sardinian armies in their lines, 
 with a large force, but was repulsed with great loss.] 
 
284 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 how I was dressed, and a thousand little details it is extra- 
 ordinary lie should be acquainted with.' She has never 
 before been on such a social footing- with anybody, and he has 
 approached her with the familiarity of their equal positions, 
 and with all the experience and knowledge of womankind he 
 has acquired during his long life, passed in the world and 
 in mixing with every sort of society. She seemed to have 
 played her part throughout with great propriety and success. 
 Old Jerome did not choose to make his appearance till just 
 at the last moment, because he insisted on being treated as 
 a king, and having the title of Majeste given him — a preten- 
 sion Clarendon would not hear of her yielding to. 
 
 September 7th. — I had a long visit from the Duke of 
 Bedford this morning, who came to talk to me about his 
 brother John, his position and prospects. He has seen John 
 and heard from him in great detail all his case, and he has 
 likewise seen Clarendon and heard his and the Government's 
 case. He tells me that he has never in his life suffered more 
 pain than at hearing these cases and witnessing the bitter 
 feelings which exist and the charges which are mutually 
 made, especially between Clarendon and Lord John. The 
 latter thinks he has been very ill-used by most of his former 
 colleagues, but especially by Clarendon, whose conduct he 
 thinks both unjust and ungrateful. Clarendon wrote to him 
 while he was at Vienna in such a tone and language that 
 Lord John had determined to resign his embassy and return 
 home, and had actually written a letter to Clarendon for the 
 purpose, but he gave up doing so partly because he felt that 
 it would make a prodigious noise all over Europe and partly 
 because, having consulted his brother-in-law, George Elliot, 
 he prudently advised him against such a step ; but he felt 
 deeply, and resented what he thought bad conduct towards 
 himself. I read to the Duke all that I had written about 
 John in the preceding pages, against which he had nothing 
 to say. He asked his brother how he came to speak so ill 
 for himself in the House of Commons, and he replied that he 
 was embarrassed by the impossibility of saying everything 
 that he knew, especially the fact, which I have mentioned. 
 
1855] THE PALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 285 
 
 of the way in which the Emperor Napoleon determined to 
 throw over Drouyn de Lhuys and to reject the Vienna pro- 
 posals. This was told to John by Baudin ; and one of the 
 things he complains of is that the Cabinet never was informed 
 of what had passed, and its members were allowed to sup- 
 pose, like the public, that the Emperor's rejection had been 
 spontaneous, instead of having been suggested and urged 
 upon him by us. John bitterly feels his own position, his 
 estrangement from his old friends, and, above all, the un- 
 kindness and ingratitude he thinks they have been guilty of 
 towards him. He is now intent upon his own vindication, 
 and is preparing to compose it with a view of giving it to the 
 world, though he does not know, and it is difficult to deter- 
 mine, in what shape. He seems less dissatisfied with his 
 old enemy Palmerston than with any of the others, and says 
 he thinks Palmerston is the best man there is at present to 
 be Prime Minister. After Clarendon he most reproaches 
 Charles Wood. 
 
 September 17th. — Went to The Grove with Clarendon last 
 Saturday sennight ; on Monday to Doncaster, where I had 
 no time to write anything but bets in my betting-book, all f 
 of which I lost. On the Saturday we heard from General 
 Simpson by telegraph that the assault was to take place that 
 day. We were kept in suspense all Sunday, but on Monday 
 morning read in the ' Times ' that the Malakoff was taken, 
 but we had no idea then that the city with all its vast defences 
 would fall immediately after, but I heard it the same night 
 at the Huntingdon station.' 
 
 I heard a great deal from Clarendon about the royal 
 visit to Paris, and details connected with it, and we talked 
 over the quarrel with John Eussell, at which he expressed 
 great regret, though not without bitterness. Clarendon said 
 nothing could exceed the delight of the Queen at her visit 
 
 ^ [The final bombardment of Sebastopol commenced on the morning of 
 September 5th, and continued without intermission until the 8th, when the 
 Russians blew up their magazines and in the night evacuated the southern 
 portion of the city. The intelligence of the fall of Sebastopol reached Eng- 
 land on the afternoon of Monday, September 10, and was received with, 
 great enthusiasm throughout the country.] 
 
^86 EEIGN OF aUEEN VIOTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 to Paris, at her reception, at all she saw ; and that she was 
 charmed with the Emperor. They became so intimate, and 
 she on such friendly terms with him, that she talked to him 
 with the utmost frankness, and even discussed with him the 
 most delicate of all subjects, the confiscation of the Orleans' 
 property, telling him her opinion upon it. He did not 
 avoid the subject, and gave her the reasons why he thought 
 himself obliged to take that course ; that he knew all this 
 wealth was employed in fomenting intrigues against his 
 Government, which was so new that it was necessary to take 
 all precautions to avert such dangers. She replied that, even 
 if this were so, he might have contented himself with se- 
 questrating the property and restoring it when he was satis- 
 fied that all danger on that score was at an end. I asked 
 Clarendon what he thought of the Emperor himself, and he 
 said that he liked him, and he was very pleasing, but he was 
 struck with his being so indolent and so excessively ignorant. 
 The Prince of Wales was put by the Queen under Claren- 
 don's charge, who was desired to tell him what to do in 
 public, when to bow to the people, and whom to speak to. He 
 said that the Princess Royal was charming, with excellent 
 manners, and full of intelligence. Both the children were 
 delighted with their sejour, and very sorry to come away. 
 When the visit was drawing to a close, the Prince said to the 
 Empress that he and his sister were both very reluctant to 
 leave Paris, and asked her if she could not get leave for them 
 to stay there a little longer. The Empress said she was 
 afraid this would not be possible, as the Queen and the 
 Prince would not be able to do without them ; to which the 
 boy replied, ' Not do without us ! don't fancy that, for there 
 are six more of us at home, and they don't want us.' The 
 Emperor himself proposed to the Queen to go to the Chapel 
 consecrated to the memory of the Duke of Orleans upon the 
 spot where he met with his fatal accident and expired. It 
 is creditable to her that she talks without gene or scruple to 
 the Emperor about the Orleans family, making no secret 
 of her continued intimacy with them, and with equal frank- 
 ness to them of her relations with him. She wrote to the 
 
1865J MAEEIAGES OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 287 
 
 Queen Marie Am^lie an account of lier going to the Cliapel 
 and of the Emperor taking her there, and received a very 
 amiable reply. The first thing she did on her return was to 
 receive the Due and Duchesse de Montpensier. 
 
 Clarendon told me a few things besides of no great im- 
 portance, and which I am not sure that I recollect : about 
 Spain, he said that matters were going on better there and 
 the Government had contrived to get money — the Spaniards 
 were very anxious to take part in the war, but he had dis- 
 couraged it entirely. As to Naples, that we were calling the 
 Neapolitan Government to account for their recent imperti- 
 nence to us, but that Palmerston and he had disagreed as to 
 what should be done, Palmerston, according to his old habit, 
 wanting to send ships of war to Naples and to proceed to 
 violence, while he was opposed to having another Pacifico 
 affair on our hands, and proposed to proceed with caution and 
 <juietly. 
 
 While they were in the yacht, crossing over, Prince Albert 
 had told him that there was not a word of truth in the pre- 
 vailing report and belief that the young Prince of Prussia and 
 the Princess Royal were fiances, that nothing had ever passed 
 between the parents on the subject, and that the union never 
 would take place unless the children should become attached 
 to each other. There would be no mere political marriage. 
 The Prince showed Clarendon all the correspondence which 
 tad taken place between the Emperor of Russia and the 
 Prince Regent about the Holy Alliance, which he said was 
 ■very curious, and George IV.'s letter declining to be a party 
 tio it very good indeed. These documents were left in Lord 
 Liverpool's papers, and fell into the hands of Harcourt, who 
 married his daughter. Harcourt lent them to the Prince to 
 read, but exacting a promise that he would not take a copy 
 ■of them, and he had since repeatedly pressed the Prince to 
 return them. I told Clarendon they ought not to be re- 
 turned, or at least that Harcourt ought to be desired to give 
 them to be preserved in the Government Archives, for they 
 <3an in no way be considered as private property. Lord 
 Liverpool's papers were for the most part destroyed, but 
 
288 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 these were preserved. Tkis is all I can recollect of what he 
 told me. 
 
 September 2Srd. — At The Grove from Saturday to Mon- 
 day ; nobody there but Reeve ; nothing very particular. 
 Clarendon said Prussia was very anxious to interpose to 
 renew negotiations, but they would not hear of her inter- 
 ference, and if anything was done it could only be by 
 Austria. He showed me a paper sent by Hudson with an 
 account, very brief, of the state of Italy, which is in fermen- 
 tation though not in open disturbance. The Sicilian mal- 
 contents sent to the King of Sardinia an offer of their crown 
 for one of his sons. He replied, ' You have need of a man, 
 and a boy will be of no nse to you.' This they took for a 
 refusal, and they are now thinking of a Coburg ; in no case 
 will they have a Murat. I forget what the Neapolitan 
 Liberals want, but I doubt if the country will have either 
 the courage or the power to emancipate itself. 
 
 September 28th. — No fresh news, but a letter from Charles 
 Windham (the hero of the Redan), in which he gives an 
 account of that affair which corresponds very closely with 
 the report of Russell, the ' Times ' Commissioner. He gives 
 a poor character of the generals in the Crimea, and says the 
 troops, except some of the old soldiers, behaved by no means 
 well. The whole thing seems to have been grievously mis- 
 managed on our part.' 
 
 I have had much correspondence with the Duke of Bedford 
 about Lord John and his case, which the Duke says, now 
 that he has heard it all and seen the correspondence, he 
 thinks much better than he had supposed, and that John 
 was meditating the publication of a defence of himself, but 
 could not determine in what shape it should be. I earnestly 
 advised him to dissuade his brother from publishing any- 
 
 ' [The British attack on the Redan failed, whilst the French attack on the 
 Malakoff succeeded, to the extreme annoyance of the British army and public : 
 but in his assault Colonel Charles Windham (as he then was) displayed the 
 most signal bravery, which in some measure redeemed the credit of the 
 British forces. This circumstance gave him an amount of popularity and 
 distinction which his rank in the army and his previous services did not 
 altogether justify.] 
 
1855] GENERAL CHARLES WINDHAM. 289 
 
 thing, as he could not make an effectual defence of his 
 conduct without making revelations that would be held 
 unjustifiable and cause all sorts of ill humour and recrimina- 
 tions, and render his position, both personal and political, 
 worse than it now is. Some communications in a friendly- 
 spirit have taken place between Lord John and Clarendon, but 
 I can see that there is still existing a great deal of soreness 
 and a not very cordial feeling between them. I have been 
 reading Lord Grey's speech on the war, which he has published 
 in a pamphlet, and I think it excellent and unanswerable. I 
 long to write something on the subject and to add to Grey's 
 argument on other parts of the case. I do not care about 
 the unpopularity of doing so, and am only deterred from 
 taking so much trouble by feeling that it would be unavail- 
 ing, and that to attempt to make the public listen to reason 
 and take a dispassionate view of the various questions con- 
 nected with the war on which they have been so completely 
 bamboozled and misled, would be like Mrs. Partington and 
 her mop. 
 
 October 2nd. — I have been in correspondence for a long 
 time with Charles Windham, and had a letter from him written 
 a few days after his great exploit at the Redan. I showed 
 his letter to Granville, and he to Palmerston and Clarendon. 
 I was glad to find every disposition to reward his bravery 
 and conduct, and Henry Grenfell told me they had made 
 him a general and were going to give him a division, as 
 Markham and Bentinck are both coming home. This was 
 no more than was reasonable to expect ; but great was my 
 astonishment when I was told yesterday morning that they 
 were thinking of making Windham Commander-in-Chief, and 
 I was asked to give any of his letters to me, from which 
 extracts might be made to show to the Cabinet to enable 
 them to judge of his character and talents. I offered to get 
 liis journal and letters, from his wife and others, which I 
 did ; but at the same time I said I thought it a hazardous 
 speculation to raise him per saltum from being a colonel and 
 
 "brigadier to the command of a great army. B said 
 
 this was true, but the matter pressed and they did not know 
 
 VOL. I. u 
 
290 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 where to find a man. This morning I gave him some papers, 
 and he then told me Simpson had resigned, and it was 
 necessary to come to some immediate decision. Codrington 
 would have been undoubtedly chosen if he had not appa- 
 rently (for as yet we know very little) failed in what he had 
 to do on the 8th. With regard to Windham what the 
 Cabinet will do I know not. I suggested that it would be 
 better to try him first in his command of a division and go 
 on if possible for some time longer, but Simpson's resignation 
 compels them to come to some immediate decision, and they 
 do not like to appoint another man pro tempore. I still 
 incline to the opinion that Windham's extraordinary pro- 
 motion from so low to so high a rank, and his passing over 
 the heads of such multitudes of ofiBcers, will occasion great 
 jealousy, envy, heart-burning, and resentment, besides cast- 
 ing a slur on the whole service in the eyes of the world ; for 
 when every general in the service is passed over, and a 
 colonel appointed who has never done any but subordinate 
 work, and shown extraordinary bravery and coolness, but no 
 aptitude for command, because he has had no opportunity of 
 so doing, every general and superior colonel now on service 
 will feel himself insulted and a stigma cast upon him. I 
 am not at all sure Windham may do better than any other 
 man would do, but to justify such an appointment he ought 
 to do far better; and, though he is a sharp fellow enough, I 
 have never seen anything in him which indicates real genius 
 or a superior intellect. 
 
 October 7th. — At Wobum, where the Duke and I had 
 much conversation about Lord John and his position, and he 
 showed me a great many of John's letters to him about his 
 quarrel with the Government and the conduct of Clarendon 
 to him, which he cannot forgive, though they are again cor- 
 responding with ostensible amity. The Duke owns that he 
 does not see how John can take any prominent part in public 
 life, at least for the present, and indeed considers it probable 
 that his career as a statesman is closed ; and, what is more, 
 John seems to consider it so himself and to acquiesce in his 
 position, though what his secret aspirations may be none 
 
1855] DEATH OP SIR ROBERT ADAIR. 291 
 
 can tell. He has, however, determined to give up his house 
 in town, which looks like retirement. I strongly advised 
 that John should go to the House of Lords, where he might 
 still act a dignified and useful part; his position in the 
 House of Commons would be very anomalous and disagree- 
 able, and it is not at all certain that he would not lose his 
 seat in the event of an election — very doubtful whether he 
 would be returned again for the City ; and the thing most to 
 be deprecated is that he should stand and be defeated for 
 that or any other place. The Duke neither agreed nor 
 dissented, but he owned what I said of John's position was 
 true, though he still thought he would be very reluctant 
 to quit the House of Commons for ever, and retire to the 
 Lords. 
 
 On Tuesday last, after a few days' illness, Sir Robert Adair 
 died at the age of 93, having preserved his faculties, and 
 especially his remarkable memory, quite to the last. He 
 was the last survivor of the intimate friends of Vox and of 
 the political characters of his times. He had entertained 
 a warm affection for Fox, and he preserved a boundless 
 veneration for his memory; and the greatest pleasure he had 
 was in talking of Fox and his contemporaries, and pouring 
 forth to willing circles of auditors anecdotes and reminis- 
 cences of the political events with which he had been mixed 
 up, or of which he had been cognisant in the course of his 
 long life. This he did in a manner quite remarkable at so 
 advanced an age, and he never had any difficulty in finding 
 listeners to his old stories, which were always full of in- 
 teresting matter, and related to the most conspicuous cha- 
 racters who flourished during the reigns of George II T. and 
 George IV. 
 
 October 29th. — All last week at Newmarket, and probably 
 very nearly for the last time as an owner of racehorses, for I 
 have now got rid of them all, and am almost off the turf, 
 after being on it more or less for about forty years. I am 
 sorry that I have never kept any memoranda of my turf 
 life, which might have been curious and amusing; for I 
 have known many odd characters, and lived with men of 
 
 u 2 
 
292 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 wliom it would have been interesting to preserve some record. 
 Perhaps I may one day rake together my old recollections 
 and trace the changes that have taken place in this racing 
 life since I first knew it and entered into it, but I cannot do 
 so now. 
 
 Since I last wrote, the war has proceeded without any 
 great events, but with the same progress and success on the 
 side of the Allies which have marked the contest throughout 
 and have excited my wonder. The most important of these 
 successes has been the defeat of Mouraviefif at Kars by the 
 Turks under English officers, which, after what Clarendon 
 told me, was the very last thing I expected. The death of 
 Molesworth has made a difficulty for Palmerston ; I knew so 
 little of him that I cannot pretend to say anything about 
 him. That of Lord Wharncliffe touches me more nearly ; 
 but this is more matter of private regret than of public con- 
 cern, as the part he played in life was never important, 
 though very honourable. The appointment of Codrington 
 seems to be well taken, more perhaps because nobody can 
 suggest a better choice than from any peculiar merits of the 
 new Commander-in-Chief.' 
 
 London, November 7th. — The event of the last few days 
 has been the offer of the Colonial Office to Lord Stanley and 
 his refusal to take it. When Palmerston proposed it to him 
 he said bhat he could not give an answer without consulting 
 Ms father, which implied that he would accept if his father 
 gave his consent. He posted down to Knowsley, from whence 
 he had just come, and entered the room where Derby was 
 playing at billiards, and much to his astonishment saw his 
 son suddenly return. ' What on earth,' he cried out, ' has 
 brought you back so soon ? Are you going to be married, or 
 what has happened to you ? ' Stanley said he wanted to 
 speak to him, and carried him off. What passed is not 
 known, but of course he advised his son to refuse office. He 
 
 ' [The Right Hon. Sir William Molesworth, Secretary of State for the 
 Colonial Department, died on October 22, 1855, aged 45. John, 2nd Baron 
 Wharncliffe, also died on the 22nd. General Sir William Codrington had 
 been appointed to the command of the British forces in the Crimea, on the 
 resignation of General Simpson.] 
 
1855] LOED STANLEY. 293 
 
 wrote to Palmerston in very becoming terms, and, I hear, a 
 very good letter. He had, if not consulted, certainly im- 
 parted to Disraeli what passed, for Disraeli told me so. I 
 think he judged wisely in declining, for it would have been 
 an awkward thing to pass at once from the Opposition side of 
 the House to the Treasury Bench, and take high office in a 
 Cabinet without having any political or personal connexion 
 with a single member of it, and to which he has hitherto 
 been opposed generally, although upon many subjects his 
 opinions have much more coincided with theirs than with 
 those of the party to which he still nominally belongs. He 
 is young and can afford to wait, and his position and abilities 
 are certain before long to make him conspicuous and to 
 enable him to play a very considerable part. He is exceed- 
 ingly ambitious, of an independent turn of mind, very in- 
 dustrious, and has acquired a vast amount of information. 
 Not long ago, Disraeli gave me an account of him and of 
 his curious opinions — exceedingly curious in a man in his 
 condition of life and with his prospects. Last night Lord 
 Strangford (George Smythe) talked to me about him, ex- 
 pressed the highest opinion of his capacity and acquirements, 
 and confirmed what Disraeli had told me of his notions and 
 views even more, for he says that he is a real and sincere 
 democrat, and that he would like if he could to prove his 
 sincerity by divesting himself of his aristocratic character 
 and even of the wealth he is heir to. How far this may be 
 true I know not : if it be true, it may possibly be ascribed 
 in some desrree to his own consciousness that the realisation 
 of his ideology is impossible, and at all events time will show 
 whether these extreme theories will not be modified by cir- 
 cumstances and refiexions. Nothing appears to me certain 
 but that he will play a considerable part for good or for evil, 
 but I cannot pretend to guess what it will be. At present 
 he seems to be more allied with Bright than with any other 
 public man ; and, as his disposition about the war and its 
 continuance is very much that of Bright, it would have been 
 difficult for him to take office with Palmerston, whose whole 
 political existence, or at least his power, rests on the cry for 
 war and its active and energetic prosecution. 
 
294 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 London, November 12th. — I saw Jolm Russell on Saturday 
 morning to have a talk with, him about the state of affairs 
 and the questions of peace and war. There still exists a 
 great deal of bitterness between him and Clarendon, he think- 
 ing that he has been very ill used by Clarendon and others 
 of his former colleagues. He is particularly sore about their 
 allowing so many things to be said to his disadvantage con- 
 cerning the Vienna negotiations which they know to be 
 untrue, without saying a word to contradict them and cause 
 justice to be done to him, particularly in reference to the 
 matter of Austria having engaged to join if Russia refused 
 her last proposals. George Grey denied that Austria had so 
 engaged, and none of the others ever admitted it, whereas it 
 was perfectly true. Lord John and I do not agree as to the 
 earlier part of the question, because he was originally a party 
 to the war while I was always against it. He was, however, 
 rather against it quite at first, being, as he told me, with 
 Aberdeen, and against Clarendon and Palmerston, who were 
 all along inclined to go to war. He had been at the 
 Mansion House dinner the night before, where he was very ill 
 received, though he would not allow it ; he prefers to flatter 
 himself that the signs of his unpopularity were not so strong 
 and marked as everybody else who was present thought 
 them. 
 
 I likewise saw Disraeli and had some talk with him. He 
 told me that he had now nothing whatever to do with the 
 ' Press,' and that the series of articles in that paper on the 
 war and in favour of peace were all written by Stanley. He 
 said he had received a letter from Stanley to this effect: 
 ' My dear Disraeli, — I write to you in confidence to tell you 
 that I have been offered and have refused the Colonial Of&ce. 
 As it is due to Lord Palmerston to keep his offer secret, 
 I have told nobody of it but yourself and my father, and 
 I beg you not to mention it to anybody.' On receiving this 
 he said he began to concoct an answer in his mind of rather 
 a sentimental kind, and conveying his approbation of the 
 course he had taken, but before he put pen to paper he got 
 he ' Times ' with Stanley's letter to Sir , which was 
 
•855] ME. LABOUCHERE TAKES OFFICE. 295 
 
 tantamount to a disclosure of the whole thing, on which he 
 wrote instead, ' Dear Stanley,— I thank you for your letter, 
 but I had already received your confidential communication 
 
 through your letter to Sir ,' 
 
 I have occasion to see Disraeli very often about 
 
 affairs, about which he has been wonderfully kind and 
 serviceable, and on these occasions he always enters on some 
 political talk, and in this way we have got into a sort of 
 intimacy such as I never thought could have taken place 
 between us. 
 
 London, November 24fA.— After his failure with Stanley, 
 Palmerston applied to Sidney Herbert, who went to Broad- 
 lands, but, finding that he and Palmerston could not agree 
 upon the subject of war and peace (the details of their 
 disagreement I do not know), he declined the offer of the 
 Colonial Office. Palmerston then sent for Labouchere, who 
 accepted.! He called on me the day after and told me he 
 had been to Broadlands, that Palmerston had told him every- 
 thing about the state of affairs and his own views and 
 opinions, and, as he could find nothing therein to object 
 to, he had accepted the office. As Labouchere is certainly 
 moderate, this would indicate more moderation on the part 
 of Palmerston than Sidney Herbert found in him, unless 
 Labouchere and Sidney Herbert take totally dissimilar views 
 of affairs. 
 
 After this, a few days ago, I had a long conversation with 
 George Lewis, who told me that Prance and Austria were 
 endeavouring to bring about peace, and that communications 
 were going on between Prance and our Government on the 
 subject, and he said, moreover, that Palmerston was by no 
 means so stiff and so bent on continuing the war as was gene- 
 rally supposed. This intelligence appeared to me to explain 
 what Icouldnotunderstandin his communications with Sidney 
 Herbert and Labouchere ; for, if the Emperor has really inti- 
 
 ' [The Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, born in 1798, a highly respected 
 member of the Whig party, who filled many oifices in Liberal Governments. 
 He was created Baron Taunton on his retirement from office in 1859, and 
 died in July 1869.] 
 
296 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. X.. 
 
 mated to our Government Ms determination to try and make 
 peace, Palmerston must needs come down from his very tigh 
 horse and evince a disposition to go along with our Imperial 
 ally, who has got the whole game in his own hands, and vrhom 
 we must perforce follow when he is determined to take his 
 own course. Then our warlike propensities may be probably 
 restrained by the alarming prospect of financial difficulties 
 vrhich Lewis sees looming in the distance. He said to me,- 
 ' I am sure I do not know how I shall provide ways and means 
 next year, for the enormously high prices will be a great blow 
 to consumption, and the money market is in a very ticklish 
 state.' I said, ' You will have to trust to a great loan, and 
 ten per cent, income tax ; ' to which he assented. They 
 have now patched up the Government, by getting Baines to 
 take the Duchy of Lancaster with a seat in the Cabinet — 
 a very respectable man, who cannot speak, and who will be 
 of no use to them. Neither he nor Labouchere will add 
 much to their strength, but they are. both very unexception- 
 able appointments. I think that, in spite of the undiminished 
 violence of the press, the prevailing opinion is that there is 
 the beginning of a change in the public mind, and an in- 
 cipient desire for peace ; and I agree with Disraeli, who 
 thinks that, when once the current has fairly turned, it will 
 run with great rapidity the other way. 
 
 November 27th. — At length there really does appear to b& 
 a prospect of putting an end to this odious war, and my 
 conjectures of a few days ago are assuming the shape of 
 realities. Yesterday morning I met George Lewis in the 
 Park and turned back and walked with him to the door of 
 his office, when he told me the exact state of affairs. I had 
 received a letter from the Duke of Bedford in the morning, 
 who said that Charles Wood, who was at Woburn, had told 
 him the statement in the ' Press ' a week ago was so substan- 
 tially accurate that they must, he thought, have received 
 their information from some French official source. This 
 was in itself confirmatory of all I had already inferred and 
 believed. Lewis's story was this : The Austrians have framed 
 a proposal for peace which they offer to send to Eussia, and,. 
 
1855] PROPOSALS FOE PEACE. 297 
 
 if slie refuses it, Austria engages to join the Allies and to 
 declare war. The Emperor Napoleon agrees with Austria, 
 and is resolved not to go on with the war if peace can be 
 arranged on the Austrian terms. This resolution he has 
 communicated to us, and invited us to accede thereto ; 
 Walewski's letters are not merely pressing, but even peremp- 
 tory. It is in fact a second edition of the Vienna Conference 
 and proposals, with this difference, that, while on the last 
 occasion the Emperor knocked under to us and reluctantly 
 agreed to go on with the war, he is now determined to go 
 on with it no longer, and requires that we should defer to 
 his wishes. Our Government are aware that they have no 
 alternative, and that nothing is left for them but to acquiesce 
 with a good grace and make the best case they can for them- 
 selves here, the case being that the Emperor is determined 
 to make peace, and that we cannot carry on the war alone. 
 This was the amount of Lewis' information, to which he 
 added the expression of his disgust at the pitiful figure we 
 cut in the affair, being obliged to obey the commands of 
 Louis JSTapoleon, and, after our insolence, swagger, and bra- 
 vado, to submit to terms of peace which we have already 
 scornfully rejected ; all which humiliation, he justly said, was 
 the consequence of our plunging into war without any reason 
 and in defiance of all prudence and sound policy. Afterwards 
 I saw Charles Villiers and had a talk with him. He told 
 me Clarendon had been sent for on Sunday to Windsor in a 
 great hurry to meet Palmerston there. The Queen had re- 
 ceived a letter from the Emperor, brought by the Duke of 
 Cambridge, which no doubt contained in a private and 
 friendly shape to her the communications which Walewski 
 had already made ofiScially to the Government and she wanted 
 to know what answer she should send to it. Charles Villiers 
 told me that Palmerston had already thrown out a feeler to 
 the Cabinet to ascertain if they would be willing to carry on 
 the war without France, but this was unanimously declined. 
 I can hardly imagine that even Palmerston really contem- 
 plated such a desperate course. 
 
 Nov&tnler 29ih. — T met Sidney Herbert last night. He 
 
298 EEIGN OF aUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 seems to know what is going on and thinks we shall have 
 peace; he only doubts whether the terms will be such as 
 Eussia will accept, for he is not convinced, as I am, that 
 Austria has already settled that with Eussia. He told me 
 that, when Palmerston offered him office, he had not received 
 the French communication, and was ignorant that it was 
 coming. 
 
 December 4th. — At The Grange the last four days, where 
 I found everybody in total ignorance of what is passing about 
 peace, except Sidney Herbert, who told me that the plan 
 is neutralisation. On coming back yesterday I met Lord 
 Malmesbury just come from Paris ; he is supposed to be the 
 person who supplied all its information to the ' Press ' paper, 
 and I believe it was he. He confirmed the Emperor's desire 
 for peace, but thought it very doubtful whether Eussia would 
 accept the terms of the Allies. He told me likewise that 
 Pelissier has sent word he is in a fix, as he cannot advance or 
 expel the Eussians from their positions ; and James Macdonald 
 told me the Duke of Cambridge is going again to Paris to 
 represent us at a grand council of war to be held there, to 
 decide on future operations. If it were not that the Allies 
 seem infallible and invincible, and the Eussia.ns unable to 
 accomplish anything, offensive or defensive, I should augur 
 very ill from this council of war, for nothing can be worse 
 than to have a set of men at Paris forming plans to be 
 executed by another set in the Crimea who have had no 
 share in the deliberations. 
 
 This morning the Duke of Bedford writes me word that 
 Westmorland tells him he has heard from Clarendon the 
 state of affairs, and the answer we have sent to Prance, and 
 he augurs ill of peace, as he thinks there can be no agree- 
 ment with Eussia on such terms ; and the ' Morning Post,' 
 which has long been quite silent about war or peace, has 
 this morning an article which is evidently a regular Palmer- 
 stonian manifesto, decidedly adverse to any hope of peace, 
 for it is certain that Eussia will continue the war, coute que 
 coute, rather than submit to such conditions as the ' Morning 
 Post ' says we are to impose on her. I am persuaded 
 
1855] THE PROPOSALS MODIFIED. 299 
 
 Palmerston and Clarendon will do all they can to prevent 
 peace being made on any moderate terms, and the only hope 
 is that the Emperor Napoleon may take the matter into his 
 own hands and employ a douce violence to compel us to give 
 way. 
 
 December 6th. — I met Charles Yilliers last night, who 
 told me a good deal of what is going on, and cleared up 
 some matters. The Austrian proposal transmitted here by 
 the Emperor Napoleon was considered by the Cabinet and 
 sent back with amendments — that is, it was made more 
 stringent. The Emperor consented to send it so amended 
 to Vienna, and it remains to be seen what course Austria 
 will take — whether she will send it in its present shape to 
 Eussia or adhere to her own edition, and whether, if she does 
 send it, she will (supposing it to be rejected) join the Allies 
 and declare war. The latter, I think, she will not do, nor 
 be bound to do. Next is the question what the Emperor 
 Napoleon will do if Austria declines to adopt the amended 
 version, or if Eussia should reply she would take the original 
 proposal, but not our amendments. The Emperor is cer- 
 tainly very anxious to make peace, and when he is bent upon 
 a thing he generally does it, and my own opinion and hope 
 is that he will refuse to give way to us now as he did last 
 May. It is universally admitted that every man in France 
 desires peace ardently. There is, Charles Villiers tells me, 
 great uneasiness amongst Palmerston's adherents, and some 
 idea that, if peace cannot be had on the terms he has insisted 
 on, he will be no party to making it, and if the majority of 
 the Cabinet are for taking the original terms proposed, sup- 
 posing the Emperor Napoleon again to press their acceptance, 
 that he will resign, throw himself on the popular enthusiasm 
 for the war, and leave his colleagues to make an unpopular 
 peace. If Palmerston was forty instead of seventy he would 
 probably do this ; but he has not time to wait for fresh com- 
 binations and to speculate on distant chances, so he will 
 probably consent to make peace if he is obliged by France 
 to do so, and trust to fortune to enable him to reconcile 
 Parliament and the country to it. This is rendered more 
 
300 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTOJBIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 likely by Disraeli having made a communication to the 
 Government that he and Stanley vrill be ready to support 
 any peace they may now make. 
 
 December 6th. — I saw George Lewis yesterday, who told 
 me the state of affairs so far as he recollects it ; but it is 
 evident that he takes but a secondary interest in the details 
 of diplomacy, however anxious he may be about the results, 
 and what passed shows the extreme difficulty of keeping- 
 clear of mistakes, even when one's information is derived 
 from the best sources. He said he did not think Russia 
 would accept the offered terms, and Clarendon thought not 
 also. The terms which it will be most difficult for her to 
 swallow are the neutralisation of the Black Sea, which as 
 worked out is evidently worse than limitation, for she is to 
 have no fortress and no arsenal there, so that she will, in 
 fact, be quite defenceless, while the other Powers can at any 
 time collect fleets in the Bosphorus and attack her coasts 
 when they please. Then she is to cede half Bessarabia to 
 the Turks, including the fortress of Ismail, the famous con- 
 quest of Souvaroff when he wrote to the Empress Catherine, 
 ' L'orgueilleuse Ismailoff est a vos pieds ; ' and they are not 
 to repair Bomarsund, or erect any fortress on the Aland 
 Isles. The alterations we made in the scheme sent to us^ 
 were not important, and what surprised me much was, the 
 terms, instead of being tendered by Austria, were concocted 
 at Paris by Walewski and the Emperor — at least so Walewski 
 asserts, but there must I think be some incorrectness in this, 
 for it is impossible to doubt that the Emperor and Austria 
 really concerted them between themselves, though Walewski 
 may have had a hand in the matter in some way. How- 
 ever, the terms are gone or going directly to St. Petersburg. 
 I earnestly hope they may be accepted, be they what they 
 may. Russia is to be asked whether she wiU take them 
 Yes or No, and, upon the preliminaries being signed, hostili- 
 ties will cease. I asked if Russia might not accept as a 
 basis, and negotiate as to modification and details, but 
 Lewis professed not to understand how this is, or whether 
 her acceptance generally would or not bind her to all the- 
 
1855] M. DE CAVOUE AT "WINDSOR. 301 
 
 conditions precisely as they are set forth. He knows no- 
 thing in fact of diplomacy and its niceties and operations. 
 
 Lord John Russell met Clarendon at Windsor Castle,' 
 but refused to hear what Clarendon offered to tell him of the 
 state of the negotiation ; he thought he should compromise 
 his own independent action if he did. He says, ' Were peace 
 ' to be made on the four points newly explained and enlarged, 
 * I would do nothing but applaud and support.' The only 
 men Lord John communicated with at Windsor were Cavour 
 and Azeglio. He writes : ' I asked Cavour what was the 
 language of the Emperor of the French ; he said it was to 
 this effect : France had made great efforts and sacrifices, she 
 would not continue them for the sake of conquering the 
 Crimea ; the alternative was such a peace as can now be 
 had by means of Austria, or an extension of the war for 
 Poland,' etc. The Sardinians, Ministers and King, are 
 openly and warmly for the latter course. I suspect Palmer- 
 ston would wish the war to glide imperceptibly into a war 
 of nationalities, as it is called, but would not like to profess 
 it openly now. I am convinced such a war might suit 
 Napoleon and the King of Sardinia, but would be very 
 dangerous for us in many ways. Cavour says if peace is 
 made without anything being done for Italy, there will be 
 a revolution there. Clarendon is incredulous. 
 
 London, December llth. — I met Clarendon at the Travel- 
 lers' on Friday evening, and had a talk with him. He did 
 not seem inclined to enter much into the question of peace 
 and war, but he told me that Buol declared most solemnly 
 that he had had no communication with Russia about the 
 terms, and that he had only slight hopes that peace might 
 be made. Of the terms themselves Clarendon did not say a 
 word. He talked a great deal about the King of Sardinia, 
 and gave me an account of his conversations both with the 
 King and Cavour. He thinks weU of the King, and that he 
 is intelligent, and he has a very high opinion indeed of 
 
 1 [The King of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel, arrived in England on the 
 SOth November, accompanied by his Minister, M. de Cavour. Lord Claren- 
 don and Lord John Eussell were invited to Windsor to meet the King.] 
 
302 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 Cavour, and was especially struck with his knowledge of 
 England, and our Constitution and constitutional history. I 
 was much amused, after all the praises that have been 
 lavished on Sardinia for the noble part she has played and 
 for taking up arms to vindicate a great principle in so un- 
 selfish a manner, that she has after all a keen view to her 
 own interest, and wants some solid pudding as well as so 
 much empty praise. The King asked Clarendon what the 
 Allies meant to do for him, and whether he might not expect 
 some territorial advantage in return for his services. Claren- 
 don told him this was out of the question, and that, in the 
 state of their relations with Austria, they could hold out no 
 such expectation; and he put it to the King, supposing 
 negotiations for peace were to take place, and he wished his 
 pretensions to be put forward by us, what he would himself 
 suggest that a British Minister could say for him ; and the 
 King had the candour to say he did not know what answer 
 to give. Cavour urged the same thing, and said the war had 
 already cost them forty millions of francs, instead of twenty- 
 five which they had borrowed for it and was the original 
 estimate, and they could only go on with it by another loan 
 and fresh taxes, and he did not know how he should propose 
 these to the Chambers without having something advan- 
 tageous to offer to his own country, some Italian acquisition. 
 They would ask for what object of their's the war was carried 
 on, and what they had to gain for all their sacrifices and 
 exertions. Clarendon said they must be satisfied with the 
 glory they had acquired and the high honour their conduct 
 had conferred on them ; but Cavour, while he said he did not 
 repent the part they had taken, thought his countrymen 
 would be very little satisfied to have spent so much money 
 and to continue to spend more without gaining some Italian 
 object. They complained that Austria had, without any 
 right, for a long time occupied a part of the Papal territory, 
 and suggested she should be compelled to retire from it ; but 
 Clarendon reminded him that France had done the same, and 
 that this was a very ticklish question to stir. 
 
 The King and his people are far better satisfied with their 
 
1855] THE KING OF SARDINIA. 30S 
 
 reception here than in France, where, under much external 
 civility, there was very little cordiality, the Emperor's inti- 
 mate relations with Austria rendering him little inclined to- 
 wards the Piedmontese. Here the Queen was wonderfully 
 cordial and attentive ; she got up at four in the morning to 
 see him depart. His Majesty appears to be frightful in per- 
 son, but a great, strong, burly, athletic man, brusque in his 
 manners, unrefined in his conversation, very loose in his 
 conduct, and very eccentric in his habits. When he was at 
 Paris his talk in society amused or terrified everybody, but here 
 he seems to have been more guarded. It was amusing to see 
 all the religious societies hastening with their addresses to 
 him, totally forgetting that he is the most debauched and 
 dissolute fellow in the world ; but the fact of his being ex- 
 communicated by the Pope and his waging war with the 
 ecclesiastical power in his own country covers every sin 
 against morality, and he is a great hero with the Low 
 Church people and Exeter Hall. My brother-in-law said 
 that he looked at Windsor more like a chief of the Heruli 
 or Longobardi than a modern Italian prince, and the 
 Duchess of Sutherland declared that, of all the Knights of 
 the Garter she had seen, he was the only one who seemed as 
 if he would have the best of it with the Dragon. 
 
 My hopes of peace wax fainter. Everybody seems to 
 think there is no chance of Russia accepting our terms, or of 
 her proposing any that the Allies would accept. Lewis told 
 me yesterday evening that he expected nothing, and that 
 Eussia had now made known (but in what way he did not 
 say) that she was disposed to treat. Meanwhile Palmerston 
 continues to put articles in the ' Morning Post ' full of arro- 
 gance and jadance, and calculated to raise obstacles to 
 peace. I told Lewis so, and he said it was very foolish, and 
 that he held very different language in the Cabinet, but this 
 is only like what he did in '41, when he used to agree to 
 certain things with his colleagues and then put violent 
 articles in the ' Morning Chronicle ' totally at variance with 
 the views and resolutions of the Cabinet. Labouchere told 
 me that he thought the condition of the cession of Ismail 
 
304 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 ought never to liave entered into fclie terms proposed to 
 Eussia. 
 
 December IMh. — My hopes of peace, never very sanguine, 
 are now completely dashed, for Lewis told me last night 
 that he thought the terms were at last pretty well agreed 
 upon between England, France, and Austria. I was greatly 
 surprised, for I thought they had been agreed upon long ago 
 and must be by this time on their way to St. Petersburg. I 
 said so; and he replied, ' Oh no, they are only just on the 
 point of being settled.' It was quite extraordinary, he said, 
 how eager Palnjerston was for pursuing the war. I gathered 
 from him that our Government has been vehemently urging 
 that of Trance, through Cowley, to be firm in pressing the 
 most stringent terms on Eussia, and particularly not to 
 consent to any negotiation, and to compel her to accept or 
 refuse. I said this was not reasonable, and that we had no 
 right to propose the terms as an ultimatum. That, he 
 replied, was exactly what we were doing, that Cowley was 
 very urgent with the Emperor, who appeared to be intimi- 
 dated by him, and that he was evidently very much in awe 
 of England and afraid of having any difference with us. I 
 said I could not believe that the Emperor would not leave 
 himself a loophole, and if, as was most probable, Eussia de- 
 clined the terms, but offered to negotiate, that he would 
 agree to that course, which, however, Lewis clearly thought 
 he would not do against our inclination. I was greatly sur- 
 prised to hear this, because I had a strong impression that 
 the Emperor, when he really desired anything very much 
 (as I believe that he did this peace), would obstinately per- 
 severe in it ; and it seems so obviously his interest to gratify 
 his own people rather than to be led by this country, that I 
 was persuaded he never would consent to this proposal being 
 un dernier mot, and thus to ensure the failure of the attempt, 
 Palmerston, who is the most obstinate man alive in pressing 
 any object he has once set his mind upon, was sure to press 
 the French Government with the utmost vehemence and 
 pertinacity as soon as he found there was a chance of 
 making them yield to his will. 
 
1856] MACATJLAY'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 305 
 
 December 17th, — This morning the two new volumes of 
 Macaulay's History came forth. The circumstances of this 
 publication are, I believe, unprecedented in literary history ; 
 25,000 copies are given out, and the weight of the books is 
 fifty-six tons. The interest and curiosity which it excites 
 are prodigious, and they afford the most complete testimony to 
 his immense popularity and the opinion entertained by the 
 world of his works already published. His profits will be 
 very great, and he will receive them in various shapes. But 
 there is too much reason to apprehend that these may be 
 the last volumes of his history that the world will see, still 
 more that they are the last that will be read by me and 
 people of my standing. Six years have elapsed since the 
 appearance of the first volumes, and these two only advance 
 about ten years. He announced at the outset that he 
 meant to bring down the history of England to a period 
 within the memory of persons still living, but his work has 
 already so much expanded, and of course will do so still 
 more from the accumulation of materials as he advances, 
 that at his present rate of progress he must live much 
 beyond the ordinary duration of human life, and retain all 
 his faculties as long, to have any chance of accomplishing 
 his original design ; and he is now in such a precarious state 
 of health that in all human probability he will not live many 
 years. It is melancholy to think that so gifted an intellect 
 should be arrested by premature decay, and such a mag- 
 nificent undertaking should be overthrown by physical infir- 
 mities, and be limited to the proportions of a splendid fragment. 
 He is going to quit Parliament and to reside in the neigh- 
 bourhood of London. 
 
 This morning the 'Morning Post' has published the 
 terms which are offered by the Allies and are now on their 
 way from Vienna to St. Petersburg. They were already pretty 
 well known, but it is the first time that Palmerston (for the 
 article is evidently his own) has announced them so openly 
 and distinctly, and they state totidem verbis that it is an Ulti- 
 matum which is sent to St. Petersburg. I believe this course 
 to be unprecedented, and it is certainly unfair. If Eussia 
 
 VOL. I. X 
 
306 IlEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 tad applied to the Allies and expressed a desire for peace, if 
 she had asked them on what terms they would consent to 
 terminate the war, it would have been quite fair and reason- 
 able that they should have stated the precise conditions, 
 adding if they pleased that they would consent to no 
 others and to no change whatever in them, though it may 
 be doubted if it would be wise to be thus peremptory. But 
 to send to Russia and propose to her to make peace, and 
 accompany the proposal with an Ultimatum and an announce- 
 ment that they would listen to no remonstrances or sugges- 
 tions, much less any alterations, and that she must say Yes 
 or No at once, is a stretch of arrogance and dictation not 
 justified by the events of the war and the relative conditions 
 of the belligerents, or by any usage or precedent that I ever 
 heard of. 
 
 Reports are very rife of the distressed state of Russia 
 and of her inability to make head any longer against the 
 Allies, but very little is really known of the condition of 
 the country, of its remaining resources, and of the disposition 
 of the people. Nobody can doubt that the terms are deeply 
 humiliating to the pride of such a Power, which has been 
 long accustomed to stand in so high a position and hold 
 such lofty language; and if she consents to accept the 
 offered terms, it must be that her enormous losses have 
 really incapacitated her for going on with the war, and that 
 her Government is conscious that the next campaign will be 
 still more disastrous to her than the two preceding ones 
 have been. I have very little doubt that Palmerston has 
 hastened to publish these terms in hopes that they may 
 find acceptance with a considerable part of the public here, 
 and that they may the more tightly bind the Emperor 
 Napoleon, and, in the event of Russia sending any conditional 
 acceptance and proposing to treat, that he may be unable 
 to enter into any negotiation whatever. It has surprised me 
 that he should have so completely given way to Palmerston as 
 he has done. 
 
 December 21st. — The poet Rogers died two days ago at the 
 age of 98 . I have known him all my life, and at times lived 
 
1855] DEATH OF MR. ROGERS. 307 
 
 in a good deal of intimacy with him, but for some years past 
 lie had so great an aversion to me that I kept away from him 
 and never saw anything of him.' He was an old man when 
 I first made his acquaintance between thirty and forty years 
 ago, or probably more. He was then very agreeable, though 
 peculiar and eccentric ; he was devoured by a morbid vanity, 
 and could not endure any appearance of indifference or 
 slight in society. He was extremely touchy, and always 
 wanted to be flattered, but above aU to be listened to, very 
 angry and mortified when he was not the principal object in 
 society, and provoked to death when the uproarious merri- 
 ment of Sydney Smith or the voluminous talk of Macaulay 
 overwhelmed him and engrossed the company ; he had a 
 great friendship nevertheless for Sydney Smith, but he 
 never liked Macaulay. I never pretended, or could pretend, 
 to be a rival to him, but I was not a patient and attentive 
 listener to him, and that was what affronted him and caused 
 his dislike to me as well as to anyone else of whom he had 
 the same reason to complain. His voice was feeble, and it 
 has been said that his bitterness and caustic remarks arose 
 from the necessity of his attracting attention by the pungency 
 of his conversation. He was undoubtedly a very clever and 
 accomplished man, with a great deal of taste and know- 
 ledge of the world, in the best of which he had passed his 
 life. He was hospitable, generous, and charitable, with 
 some weaknesses, many merits, and large abilities, and he 
 was the last survivor of the generation to which he be- 
 longed. 
 
 The Grove, December 23rd. — Came here for Christmas. 
 No other guests but the family. We have had some talk 
 about the peace propositions and other odds and ends. 
 Clarendon told me that Walewski and Persigny are bitter 
 enemies, and their estrangement the greater because Wa- 
 lewski is a corrupt jobber and speculator, and Persigny an 
 
 1 [Samuel Rogers, the author of the Pleasm-es of Memory (which was 
 published in 1792), was horn at Stoke Newington in 1762. His father was 
 a banker, and he remained a partner in the bank aU his life. He died on 
 December 18, 1855.] 
 
308 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 honest man. When Drouyn de Lhuys resigned the Foreign 
 Office, much to the Emperor's annoyance and regret, he 
 did not know where to find a man, and he determined 
 to appoint Walewski because he knew not whom else to 
 take. Not choosing to send the offer to him through 
 Drouyn, he employed Cowley, and requested him to telegraph 
 in cypher to Clarendon a request that Cowley would send 
 ior Walewski and communicate to him the Emperor's in- 
 tentions. A curious shift to be reduced to, but throughout 
 the Eastern Question Cowley has acted the part of Foreign 
 Minister to the Emperor almost as much as that of Ambas ■ 
 sador. 
 
 Lewis this morning recapitulated to me the exact cir- 
 cumstances of the overtures from France about peace. It 
 arrived here on a Saturday ; was submitted to the Queen on 
 Sunday, who approved of it ; on Monday (or Tuesday) it was 
 read to the Cabinet, when no discussion took place, but 
 Palmerston shortly said, without giving any reasons, that he 
 thought we must agree to the proposal, which was generally 
 concurred in. The next day there was another Cabinet, 
 when they examined in detail all the articles and discussed 
 them. A few alterations were made, none of which were of 
 any importance except the Bomarsund question. The ces- 
 sion of Bessarabia and the neutralisation of the Black Sea 
 both formed part of the original proposal, and the latter was 
 particularly insisted upon, and reasoned out at considerable 
 length by France, for it turns out that the Emperor has 
 never had so much in view the object of making peace (not 
 expecting, nor ever having expected, that these proposals 
 would be accepted) as the object of securing the active co- 
 operation of Austria, which he expects to do. Austria en- 
 gages, if Russia refuses the conditions, to put an end to diplo- 
 matic relations between the two Empires, and Napoleon 
 thinks this cannot fail to end in hostilities, and to this exten- 
 sion of the alliance he looks for bringing the war to a conclu- 
 sion. He thinks, moreover, that, when Austria has declared 
 war, Russia will attack her defenceless frontier, and that as 
 any attack upon Austria will compel the whole of Germany to 
 
1856] CEITICISMS ON THE WAE. 309 
 
 assist her and to take part in the war against Russia, this offer 
 will lead to Prussia and the whole of the German States being 
 engaged on the side of the Allies, and that such a confederacy 
 cannot fail to bring the war to a successful issue, because 
 Russia would be absolutely incapable of offering any resistance 
 to it. This is a new view of the policy and motives of France, 
 but I very much doubt if the whole of the Emperor's scheme 
 will be realised. Even though Austria may take up arms, 
 it is probable that Russia will act strictly on the defensive, 
 and will avoid giving any cause to the German States to 
 depart from their neutrality. We both agreed that the con- 
 duct of Austria is quite inexplicable, and that Russia will 
 never forgive her for the part she has acted and is acting 
 now. 
 
 The Grove, Decemher 24fth. — George Lewis and I have been 
 walking and talking together all the morning. He is fully as 
 pacific as I am, and entertains exactly the same thoughts that 
 I do, of the egregious folly of the war, of the delusion under 
 which the English nation is labouring, and of the wickedness of 
 the press in practising upon the popular credulity in the way 
 it has done. He seems to like to talk to me on this subject, 
 because he can talk freely to me, which he could hardly do 
 with any of his own colleagues, still less in any other society. 
 This morning he again recurred to the circumstances of the 
 negotiations now going on, and he gave me an account of 
 the transaction which puts the whole thing in a very ridicu- 
 lous light, which woiild be very comical if it were not so very 
 tragical. 'Think,' he said, 'that this is a war carried on 
 for the independence of Turkey, and we, the Allies, are bound 
 to Turkey by mutual obligations not to make peace but by 
 common consent and concurrence. Well, we have sent an 
 offer of peace to Russia of which the following are among 
 the terms : We propose that Turkey, who possesses one half 
 of the Black Sea coast, shall have no ships, no ports, and no 
 arsenals in that sea; and then there are conditions about the 
 Christians who are subjects of Turkey, and others about the 
 mouths of the Danube, to which part of the Turkish 
 dominions are contiguous. Now in all these stipulations so 
 
310 EEIG:<r OF aUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 intimately concerning Turkey, for whose independence we 
 are fighting, Turkey is not allowed to have any voice what- 
 ever, nor has she ever been allowed to be made acquainted 
 with what is going on, except through the newspapers, where 
 the Turkish Ministers may have read what is passing, like 
 other people. When the French and Austrian terms were 
 discussed in the Cabinet, at the end of the discussion someone 
 modestly asked whether it would not be proper to communi- 
 cate to Musurus (the Turkish Ambassador in London) what 
 was in agitation and what had been agreed upon, to which 
 Clarendon said he saw no necessity for it whatever; and 
 indeed that Musurus had recently called upon him, when he 
 had abstained from giving him any information whatever of 
 what was going on. Another time, somebody suggesting in 
 the Cabinet that we were bound to Turkey by treaty not 
 to make peace without her consent, Palmerston, who is a 
 great stickler for Turkey, said very quietly that there would 
 be no difiiculty on that score ; in point of fact, the Turk 
 evidently 
 
 ' Stands like a cypher in the great account.' 
 
 The Grove, December 'iQth. — Since I have been here 
 Clarendon has resumed all his old habits of communication 
 and confidence with me, has told me everything and shown 
 me everything that is interesting and curious. I wish I 
 could remember it all. Such fragments as have remained in 
 my memory I will jot down here as they recur to me. Here 
 ai-e letters from Seymour at Vienna describing his good recep- 
 tion there, gracious from the Court, and cordially civil from 
 the great society, especially from Metternich who seems to 
 have given the vnot d'ordre. Metternich talked much to Sey- 
 mour of his past life and recollections, complimented him for 
 his reports of conversations with the Emperor Nicholas, and 
 said that many years ago the Emperor had talked to him. 
 (Metternich) about Turkey in the same strain, and used the 
 same expression about ' le malade ' and ' I'homme malade, 
 when Metternich asked him ' Est-ce que Votre Majeste en 
 parle comme son medecin on comme son heritier?' Also 
 
1865] DISPUTES OF FRENCH MINISTEES. 311 
 
 letters from Bloomfield (Berlin) and from Buchanan (Copen- 
 hagen) with different opinions as to the probability of Russia 
 accepting or refusing — the former for, the second against ; 
 some curious letters from Cowley, full of his indignation 
 against Walewski ; the quarrels of Persigny and Walewski ; 
 the perplexity of the Emperor, his desire for peace, his hopes 
 that Russia may lend a favourable ear to the proposals; 
 Cowley's suspicions of Walewski, and in a smaller degree of 
 the Emperor himself, especially of His Majesty's communi- 
 cations with Seebach, the Saxon Minister, and not impossibly 
 through him with St. Petersburg. 
 
 A curious anecdote showing the strange terms the parties 
 concerned are on : One day Cowley was with Walewski (at 
 the time the question of terms was going on between France 
 and Austria) and the courier from Vienna was announced. 
 Walewski begged Cowley, who took up his hat, not to go 
 awa3', and said he should see what the courier brought. He 
 opened the despatches and gave them to Cowley to read, 
 begging him not to tell the Emperor he had seen them. In 
 the afternoon Cowley saw the Emperor, who had then got 
 the despatches ; the Emperor also gave them to Cowley to 
 read, desiring him not to let Walewski know he had shown 
 them to him ! 
 
 There has been a dreadful rixe between Walewski and 
 Persigny. I have forgotten exactly the particular causes, 
 but the other day Persigny -went over to Paris partly to 
 complain of Walewski to the Emperor. He would not go 
 near Walewski, and told the Emperor he should not ; the 
 Emperor, however, made them both meet in his Cabinet the 
 next day, when a violent scene took place between them, 
 and Persigny said to Walewski before his face all that he 
 had before said behind his back ; and he had afterwards a 
 very long conversation with the Emperor, in which he told 
 tim plainly what danger he was in from the corruption and 
 bad character of his entourage, that he had never had any- 
 thing about him but adventurers who were bent on making 
 their own fortunes by every sort of infamous agiotage and 
 speculation, by which the Imperial Crown was placed in 
 
312 REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 imminent danger. ' I myself,' Persigny said, ' am nothing 
 but an adventurer, who have passed through every sort of 
 vicissitude ; but at all events people have discovered that I 
 have clean ha.nds and do not bring disgrace on your Govern- 
 ment, like so many others, by my profligate dishonesty.' 
 ' Well,' said the Emperor, ' but what am I to do ? What 
 remedy is there for such a state of things ? ' Persigny re- 
 plied that he had got the remedy in his head, but that the 
 time was not come yet for revealing his ideas on the subject. 
 As we went to town, we talked over the terms proposed 
 to Prussia. Clarendon said he could not understand the 
 policy of Austria nor what she was driving at. She had 
 entered very heartily into plans of a compulsory and hostile 
 character against Russia, who would never forgive her, espe- 
 cially for proposing the cession of Bessarabia. I said I 
 thought the most objectionable item of their propositions 
 (and I believed the most unprecedented) was the starting by 
 making it an Ultimatum. He replied that it was Austria who 
 tendered the Ultimatum, and that it was not exactly so, the 
 sharp edge having been rounded off by the mode to be 
 adopted, which was as follows : Esterliazy was to communi- 
 cate the project to the Cabinet of St. Petersburg, and say he 
 had reason to believe that the Allies would be willing to make 
 peace on those terms ; he was then to wait nine days. If 
 in that time the Russian Government replied by a positive 
 negative, he was, as soon as he got this notification, to quit 
 St. Petersburg with all his embassy; if no answer was 
 returned at the end of nine days, he was to signify that his 
 orders were to ask for an answer in ten days, and if at the 
 end thereof the answer was in the negative, or there was no 
 answer, he was to come away, so that there was to be no 
 Ultimatum in the first instance. ' But,' I said, ' what if 
 Russia proposed some middle course and offered to nego- 
 tiate ? ' ' His instructions were not to agree to this.' 
 'Well,' said I, 'but when you abstain from calling this 
 an Ultimatum, it is next to impossible that Russia should 
 not propose to negotiate, and if she does beg that her pro- 
 posal may be conveyed to the Allies before everything is 
 
1855] NEGOTIATIONS FOE PEACE. 313 
 
 closed, it will be very difficult to refuse this ; and is it not 
 probable tbat France and Austria will both vote for entering 
 into pourparlers ; and, if tbey do, can you refuse ? ' He 
 seemed struck with this, and owned that it was very likely 
 to occur, and that, if it did, we should be obliged to enter 
 into negotiation. So probable does this contingency appear, 
 that there has already been much discussion as to who shall 
 go from hence to the Congress, if there is one. I said he 
 had much better go himself. He expressed great dislike to 
 the idea, but said the Queen and Prince wished him to go, 
 and that Cowley urged him also, and was desirous of going 
 with him. I see he has made up his mind to prevent any 
 negotiation if he can, and, if it is unavoidable, to take it in 
 hand. 
 
 This afternoon Persigny arrived from Paris and came 
 directly to the Foreign Office. The Emperor had given him 
 an account of his interview with M. de Seebach,' who had 
 gone off directly afterwards via Berlin to St. Petersburg. 
 The Emperor told him to do all he could to induce the Russian 
 Government to consent to the terms, and to assure them that, 
 if they did not, it would be long enough before they would 
 have any other chance of making peace ; that he wished for 
 peace, but that above everything else he was desirous of main- 
 taining unimpaired his alliance and friendship with England 5 
 that England had most fairly and in a very friendly spirit 
 entered into his difficulties and his wishes ; that she was a 
 constitutional country with a Government responsible to Par- 
 liament, and that he was bound in honour to enter in like 
 manner into the obligations and necessities of this Govern- 
 ment. They had had some differences of opinion which were 
 entirely reconciled ; they were now agreed as one man, and 
 no power on earth should induce him to separate himself 
 from England or to take any other line than that to which 
 he had bound himself in conjunction with her. This an- 
 nouncement, which the Emperor made with great energy, 
 carried consternation to the mind of Seebach, and he re- 
 
 ' [M. de Seebach was the Saxon Minister in Paris, through whom many 
 of these communications passed.] 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
314 EEIGN OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. [Chap. X. 
 
 solved to lose no time in getting to St. Petersburg to make 
 known the Emperor's intentions. 
 
 It is thus evident that the Emperor's mind is divided 
 between his anxiety to make peace and his determination to 
 have no difference with England ; but his desire for peace 
 must be great when, as Clarendon assures me, it was not 
 without difficulty that he was deterred from ordering his 
 army away from the Crimea. The feeling here towards the 
 Emperor seems to be one of liking and reliance, not unac- 
 companied with doubt and suspicion. He is not exempt 
 from the influence of his entourage, though he is well aware 
 how corrupt that is, and he listens willingly to Cowley and 
 to whatever the English Government and the Queen say to 
 him, but his own people eternally din into his ears that we 
 are urging him on to take a part injurious to his own and to 
 French interests for our own purposes, and because our 
 Government is itself under the influence of a profligate press 
 and a deluded people ; and although he knows that those 
 who tell him this are themselves working for their own 
 private interests, he knows also that there is a great deal of 
 truth in what they say. His own position is very strange, 
 insisting upon being his own Minister and directing every- 
 thing, and at the same time from indolence and ignorance 
 incapable of directing affairs himself, yet having no confi- 
 dence in those he employs. The consequence is that a great 
 deal is iU done, much not done at all, and a good deal done 
 that he knows nothing about, and he is surrounded with 
 quarrels, jealousies, and struggles for influence and power 
 both between his own Ministers and between them and the 
 foreign diplomatists at his Court. 
 
 We have had a good deal of talk about Palmerston. 
 Clarendon says nothing can go on better than he and 
 Palmerston do together. They seldom meet except in the 
 Cabinet, and their communications go on by notes between 
 Downing Street and Piccadilly. Palmerston, much more 
 moderate and reasonable than he used to be, sometimes 
 suggests things or expressions in despatches, which Claren- 
 don always adopts or declines according to his own ideas. 
 
1855] LORD PALMERSTON'S POSITION. 315 
 
 and Palmerston never insists. Palmerston is now on very 
 good terms with the Queen, which is, though he does not 
 know it, greatly attributable to Clarendon's constant endea- 
 vours to reconcile her to him, always telling her everything 
 likely to ingratiate Palmerston with her, and showing her 
 any letters or notes of his calculated to please her ; but he 
 says it is impossible to conceive the hatre d with which he is 
 regarded on the Continent, particularly all over Germany. 
 An agent of his (Clarendon's) who, he says, has supplied 
 him with much useful information, has reported to him that 
 he finds the old feeling of antipathy to Palmerston as strong 
 and as general as ever, and that it is as much on the part of 
 the people as of the Governments, both thinking they have 
 been deceived and thrown over by him. 
 
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