MASTER NEGATIVE NO 92-80770-1 MICROFILMED 1 992 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material... Columbia University Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: HERTSLET, EDWARD TITLE: RECOLLECTIONS OF THE OLD FOREIGN OFFICE . . PLACE: LONDON DATE: 1901 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT Master Negative # %Z ^ PO 770 - / BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET Restrictions on Use: Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record 942 j£^^ * Hertslot, Sir Edv.ard 1824- : RecollectionG of the old foreign office I London, Murray 1901 10 + ^i^ + 275 p per pi •^ V±^U\\ TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA REDUCTION RATIO: \W FILM SIZE: ^J±I^__ IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA ^5^ IB IIB DATE FILMED: J5_-z_^_^_-^_^ INITIALS ."^A^ FILMED BY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS. INC WOODBRIDCe'ct kv c Association for information and image Management 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 Silver Spring. Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 MMIII MllllllMIIIIIIIIII MlMMjmjMnhMjmj^^ TTTTT Inches 1 T 2 3 1.0 1.25 - IIIIM 5J0 ^^^ S.6 Mil 3.2 63 I I I I.I ^ 4.0 Kibu. 1.4 rm I I I 4 2.5 fm 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 15 mm MPNUFfiCTURED TO PIIM STPNOnRDS BY RPPLIED IMfiGE. INC. iK I* If •^iSTE -.,-' 04-2. H in ttte ®itM of ^sttf ^ovk ,^- t r jF'^^^^s book is due two weeks from the last date statnped below, and if not returned at or before that time a fine of five cents a day will be incurred. DEC 10 ^* f. ,.NZ6'ft« 1 j , 41 - 1 , . . -*• ^ ' ■" . ' I- I 5.1 Ip ■ ■ ,*t,!^-^j;~;|yJi^-^-3s .,1^,^ ^■:-^!*? RECOLLECTIONS OF THE OLD FOREIGN OFFICE V (! :i ii m it '■•"^ «;^ RECOLLECTIONS OF THE OLD FOREIGN OFFICE ) ^/f ^./^«'/"?>e^<'-'V-. /r^A.^/r'"-r'' ,y/^^ ^^y^^^^ ^?/^<=:^^ v^/^. "/rJ9 \ ' /' By sir EDWARD HERTSLET, K.C.B. MANY YEARS LIBRARIAN ANO KEEPER OF THE ARCHIVES OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 1901 5 t - J s PREFACE u - l(.3(. ON February 3, 1896, I retired from the Foreign Office, after a service of close upon fifty-six years, and at the request of many old colleagues and friends I have been induced to put on record my recollections of the old Foreign Office as it was In Downing Street, as well as during its temporary transference to Whitehall Gardens, before its re- moval to the present building ; together with a few anecdotes and incidents connected with that office, which came either under my own personal obser- vation during my somewhat unusually long official career, or were related to me by my father and others. I have consented to do this the more readily as I have often regretted that I kept no record of many other Interesting and amusing anecdotes which my father, Mr. Lewis Hertslet, my predecessor in the office, used to relate to me concerning the old office and its inmates during the longer and perhaps even more eventful times during which he was connected with the same department. The 5 th February, 1901, was the centenary of my father's entrance into the Foreign Office, where he held the appointment of Sub- Librarian from 1 801 till 181 1, and that of Librarian and Keeper H VI PREFACE of the Archives from the latter date till 1857— a period of nearly fifty-seven years. He served under Mr. Fox, Mr. Canning, Lords Castle- reagh, Aberdeen, and Palmerston, the Duke of Wellington, and Lords Granville, Malmesbury, Russell, and Clarendon. He was in the Foreign Office during the latter part of the French Revo- lutionary War ; before the signature of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 ; during the sitting of the im- portant Conferences at Paris and Vienna in 18 14 and 181 5 ; of the Conferences in London, 1830-32, which terminated in the recognition of the Inde- pendence of Belgium ; and the Conferences at Constantinople and London, 1827-32, which led to the recognition of the Independence of Greece ; and he did not retire until 1857, after the termina- tion of the war with Russia. He was therefore a witness of many little incidents which would, no doubt, have been read with interest in these days had they been recorded; but as neither he nor any of his contemporaries wrote or pub- lished any reminiscences of their official life, most of these incidents have passed beyond recall ; still a few of them have survived In tradition or corre- spondence. I have therefore ventured to publish a few facts and anecdotes connected partly with the old establishment and partly with the new office, which I had jotted down from time to time, for my own amusement, in the hope that they may be read with some little interest, not only by my former colleagues and those who may aspire to enter that important department of the State, but also by the general public. PREFACE Vll It has been my endeavour to avoid touching on any events, political or personal, the recording of which might be considered injudicious in the public interests, or in the least degree painful to any indi- vidual. I trust that in this, at any rate, I have succeeded. There are no doubt many of my colleagues who could add largely to the anecdotes and records which I have ventured to make public : and I hope that they may some day be tempted to do as I have done, or at least that they will not be deterred from doing so by any suspicion that the example which I have set them is a bad one. In the Appendix will be found an account of the early creation of the office of Secretary of State, with the names of those statesmen who filled, at various times, the office of Secretary of State for the " Northern *' and *' Southern " Departments respectively, before the appointment, in 1782, of the first ** Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs." The names of those who have filled the office of Foreign Secretary since that date are also given in the Appendix. EDWARD HERTSLET Richmond, September^ 1901. ,3vSi^**S^P=^S»«i««*^«"«MBs«-»*(i^ . »w^»-'jiSSi*»*'*^'^v.-. ■I, \ CONTENTS CHAPTER I Site of the Foreign Office Buildings CHAPTER II Foreign Office Rooms CHAPTER III Downing Street and Fludyer Street CHAPTER IV Secretaries of State CHAPTER V Secretaries of State— continued CHAPTER VI Under Secretaries . CHAPTER VII Foreign Office Officials CHAPTER VIII King's (Queen's) Messengers CHAPTER IX Salaries, Fees, and Perquisites CHAPTER X Anecdotes and Incidents • PAGE I 17 53 60 90 127 . 138 • • 157 . 164 177 ^g0g»miKamm-^*'t^'*>m>'mH''m''>'imm Hi FAGS . 230 X CONTENTS CHAPTER XI Diplomatists and Consuls . CHAPTER XII The Abyssinian Question CHAPTER XIII "Foreign Office List" appendix Secretaries of State for "Northern" and "Southern" Departments, AND FOR "Foreign Affairs" . . 249 245 Index . 266 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Duke of Leeds . Public Entrance to the old Foreign Office Main Entrance to the old Foreign Office The old Foreign Office, facing St. James's Park Appearance of the Site after the Removal of the old Foreign Office Aspect of the old Office from Whitehall Site of the old Cockpit The new Foreign and India Offices, 1868 Minute by Lord Palmerston on Handwriting An Attempt to put Salt on the Tail of the Russian Eagle * • • Lord Hammond Frontispiece To face page 8 28 32 »' »» »» »> >» >> >> ., 48 page 19 16 78 »» >* >> page 120 I, . V RECOLLECTIONS OF THE OLD FOREIGN OFFICE 1 1 i CHAPTER I SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS TT may be well to commence this work with a -^ short account of Cleveland Row, St. James's, and of the " Cockpit "^ at Whitehall, as the Foreign Office was situated at each of those places for a time before it was finally removed to Downing Street. I have often heard the question asked, ^* Where was the Foreign Office before it was first situated in Downing Street ? " The answer is that the ** Foreign Office " was first so called on the discon- tinuance of the separate offices of the Secretaries of State for the " Northern " and '' Southern " Depart- ments, on March 27th, 1782.^ Both those depart- ments were at that time in Cleveland Row, St. ' The old Cockpit was pulled down about 1740. tion received from Sir John Soane's Museum.) 2 See Appendix, p. 249. B (From informa- /I I •■I !. 2 SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS James's, when the "Foreign Office" and "Home Office" replaced them. There the Foreign Office remained until September, 1786, when it was removed to the still so-called " Cockpit " at White- hall. It remained there until December, 1793. when it was transferred to some private houses m Downing Street which had been leased for that purpose and thrown into one. It remamed m Downing Street until August 27th, 1861, when it was temporarily moved to Pembroke House and Lord Malmesbury's house, Nos. 7 and 8, Whitehall Gardens, for seven years, pending the erection— partly on the old foundations— of the new building in Downing Street. As soon as the new building was completed, the office was removed from White- hall Gardens back to its present and permanent quarters in Downing Street (July ist, 1868). There is another question which has often been put to me, which is : " Where was the Foreign Office situated in Cleveland Row, St. James's, and were the despatches then dated from Cleveland Row or from St. James's?'; This may be answered thus : — In May, 1761, the Earl of Bute removed his of^ce — the '* Northern" Department — from the Cockpit at Whitehall to a house in Cleveland Row, St. James's, which -Row" was situated at the extreme end of a narrow passage, or street, in front of St. James's Palace, forming the continuation of Pall Mall westward. The house stood next door to Cleveland Court, and it had previously belonged to Baron Behr. Other Secretaries of State, either for the CLEVELAND ROW, ST. JAMES'S 3 '* Northern " or the '* Southern " Department, sub- sequently occupied this house as their official resi- dence for some years, and when they did so all their official letters were dated from ** St. James's," and not from Cleveland Row. On the 23rd July, 1770, when Lord Weymouth was Secretary of State for the " Northern " Depart- ment, the following letter was addressed by his lordship's desire to the Board of Works, request- ing that certain repairs to this house might be undertaken : — "St. James's, /«i^ 23^^, 1770. **SiR, — It appearing necessary that a very old ceiling of a room in my Lord Weymouth's office should forthwith be taken down and a new one made in lieu of it, and also that the ceilings of three or four other rooms should be whitewashed and the wainscotting of some papered rooms painted, I am directed by his lordship to desire that, if it be proper, you will acquaint the Commissioners of His Majesty's Board of Works therewith, that the necessary orders may forthwith be given for these repairs to be made to his lordship's office. *' I am, etc., **Wm. Fraser."^ On the 7th December of the same year another letter was addressed, by the Secretary of State's desire, to the Lord Chamberlain— upon whom then devolved the duty of supplying certain Govern- ment offices with furniture — requesting him to furnish a house in Cleveland Row, late in posses- sion of Baron Behr, which had been hired for the removal thither of the Secretary of State's office from Whitehall.^ 1 Calendar, Home Office Papers, 1770-2, p. 170. ^ j^^^^ ^ ^99. -m h i I \ 4 SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS In the following year this office was extended by the addition to it of an adjoining house, and on the '6th February and 28th April, ijlh letters were addressed by the Under Secretary of State to the Lord Chamberlain, requesting that the "smaller house " which had been added to the house in Cleveland Row and which had been taken for the office of the Principal Secretary of State for the "Northern" Department, might also be furnished. A list was also sent of certain articles required for the "first" house, and of others required for the "second" house/ In September, 1786, the Foreign Office was removed from Cleveland Row to the Cockpit at Whitehall, as will be seen from the following letter, which was addressed by the Marquess of Car- marthen (afterwards Duke of Leeds), at that time Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to Sir George Warren, from whom the temporary premises had been rented :- _ ^^ ^^^^^.^^ ^^^^^ ^g^^^ ^^^^ .< Sir —His Majesty having signified his pleasure that the Secretary of State's office in Cleveland Row should be removed, I hereby give you notice that I shall quit the house and premises in Cleve- land Row. St. James's, belonging to you, wherein I now carry on the business of one of His Maiesty's Principal Secretaries of State, on or before Michaelmas next, and that neither I or any of His Majesty's servants shall use or occupy the said house after that date. " I am, etc., " Carmarthen." » Home Office Domestic Entry Book, vol. xxiv. p. 263. ( C "a « M e U -= C -^ ^ Z o w H O H 0. I i5 Q ^ 00 C 1/5 — a CD _, __ V V H O ^ o "0 O en "a S o u «> e C3 H MPH wmmmf^i^fttt V \' ; il I k . i I COCKPIT AT WHITEHALL 5 There is yet another question which I have many times heard asked, and that is this : '' Where was the old Cockpit at WhitehaH ?" In answering this, It may be remarked that there were formerly numerous cockpits in London, but the two best- known were the Royal Cockpit and the Cockpit at Whitehall ; and the latter is the one most fre- quently mentioned in history as being associated with distinguished personages, and the place where the Secretaries of State were for many years located. The Royal Cockpit was in Birdcage Walk, and stood at the junction of Queen Square with Park Street, at the top of Dartmouth Street; it was taken down in 18 16. The actual position of the old Cockpit at White- hall is shown on the accompanying plan, reduced from the " Survey and ground plan of the Palace of Westminster, by Jno. Fisher, in 1680, as engraved and published by Geo. Vertue, in 1 747, on a scale of sixty feet to the inch/' It will be seen from this plan that it was situated in that part of the Palace which abutted on St. James's Park ; and that one of the approaches to it was in Whitehall, for it will be observed on the plan that over a passage in the Palace at Whitehall is written, "The entrance to the Cock- pit " : but it is not clearly shown how the Cockpit was reached from this entrance ; probably it was through an archway. The general opinion of the Treasury authorities would appear to be that the Cockpit (still so called) occupied part of the site of the official residence 6 SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS of the First Lord of the Treasury, lo, Downing Street, and that the room in which the Secretary of State sat looked across the Parade (south), and over the First Lord's Garden (west). Other authorities have confirmed this view by statmg that the present " Treasury Chambers," so called to this day, adjoin the spot where the Cockpit for- merly stood. In a report made by Mr. William Lascelles— 31st March, 1857— on the transfer of the books and papers of the Irish Reproductive Loan Fund from the Treasury Chambers to the Public Record Office, it is recorded that : — ** Following the same instructions by which I carried on the removal of the Treasury registered papers from Whitehall— in October, 1856— I entered into communication with Mr, Begent, of the Fmance Department of the Treasury, and from him received the charge of the Irish Reproductive Loan Fund books and papers, which I accordingly removed from a room on the basement there, near the Cockpit, to the Public Record Office, on the i ith October, 1856. ** The Cockpit retained its original name long after the change of its use, and the minutes of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury were dated from the Cockpit^ at Whitehall as late as the year 1780, if not later/' Mr. Begent retired from the Treasury in 1892; but before leaving he told me that the room here spoken of adjoined the Treasury kitchen on the right-hand side of the Treasury passage leading from Downing Street to St. James's Park. DOWNING STREET OFFICE 7 In November, 1793, arrangements were made for removing the office of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from the Cockpit at Whitehall to two houses belonging to Lord Sheffield and Sir Samuel Fludyer respectively, situated in Downing Street, which had been leased for that purpose, as will be seen from the following copy of a letter which was addressed by Mr. Burges,^ at that time Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to the Lord Chamberlain's office,^ it being still the duty of that department to supply such furniture, etc., as might be necessary for the offices of the Secretaries of State : — ** Whitehall, November iisty 1793. **SiR, — The office of His Majesty's Secretary of State for the Foreign Department, lately taken upon lease from Lord Sheffield and Sir Samuel Fludyer, having undergone certain repairs and alterations, which has made it necessary to have the whole of the office papered and a number of locks provided, I have to request that you will move the Lord Chamberlain to give the necessary directions for the same to be furnished without delay, as His Majesty's Secretary of State must take possession of the new offices before Christmas next. '' I have, etc., '']. B. BURGES." My attention has been called to the fact that in a return of supplies for miscellaneous services granted by Parliament in 1 799, and reproduced in the Annual Register of that year, the following item appears : — ^ Afterwards Sir James Bland Burges Lamb, Bart. ^ Lord Chamberlain's Warrant Book, No. 768. MUitai 8 SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS " For the 'purchase ' of a house for an office of one of the Secretaries of State, £7>37^ 3^- °^-" ' and that in a return of similar supplies granted in 1806, also reproduced in the Annual Register of that year, the following item appears :— " For a house in Downing Street for an office for the Secretary of State, jQ^AZS ^9s- (>d." But I think these houses could not have been those originally assigned for the use of the Foreign Office, as that office was established in Downing Street in December, 1793, unless it was that the leases were then purchased. In the summer of 186 1 arrangements were finally made for pulling down the old Foreign and Colonial Offices to make room for the erection of the new buildings partly on the old sites. The accompanying sketch shows the appearance of the old Foreign Office when in course of demolition, and the one facing page 48 shows the view obtained from St. James's Park after it had been pulled down. The initials attached to the sketches are those of Sir George Scharf, Keeper of the National Portrait Gallery. The State Paper Office was included in the destined demolition. It was a handsome stone building which stood in St. James's Park and abutted on a flight of wide stone steps which led from the end of Delahay Street into the park. It cost ^40,000 to erect, and answered the purpose for which it was built admirably ; but as it stood in the way of the projected new buildings, it had to be pulled down, and the site is now occupied by the southern angle of the new India Office. f ?.i, cr<'< y J^« /ot^oe 'iAtXC^ tt<^a£^e 8 >^^se«*«*'»'-"»''i^ '■-"'■;:■■ ",;^^^^:^ WHITEHALL GARDENS 9 The removal of the Foreign Office from Down- ing Street to "Pembroke House," No. 7. Whitehall Gardens and Lord Malmesbury's house No 8. was commenced in July, 1861. but the budding was not ready for business until August 27, l»6i on which day the following notice was published in the London Gazette : " On and after to-morrow, the 27th inst, the business of the Foreign Office will be carried on at No. 7. Whitehall Gardens Foreign Office, August 26th." This notice appeared in the Tims and other papers on August 28th. Pembroke House was a large house, formerly belonging to the Earls of Pembroke, and afterwards occupied by the Earl of Harrington. It had a porter's lodge opening into Whitehall Gardens, but the principal rooms looked Over a garden on to the river Thames. The Thames Embankment had not then been built, and the river, at high water, came up to the garden, where there was a boat-house ; and when we first went over the building, before we took official possession of it, there w'as a large boat in the boat-house. Adjoining the boat-house, but out of reach of the water, there were spacious stables. There were also a very lofty kitchen, and long passages in the basement leading from the back of the house to the entrance gates. After the water had been well bricked out these places were used, during our occupation of the premises, for stowing away the printed books, parliamentary papers, and the like, whilst the stables were appropriated to the bookbinder and his statt. The MS. library, or the " Reference Room, —so called— was to the right of the long passage leading 10 SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS from the entrance gates to the main building. Lord Malmesbury's house adjoined the porters lodge of Pembroke House, and the door was immediately opposite the statue of King James II. in the centre of Whitehall Yard. The Librarian s room, which I occupied, was formerly used by Lord Malmesbury as his dining-room. It had two French windows, facing a small garden which occupied the space between the two houses and into which I occasionally sauntered. In the old office in Downing Street the original treaties had been kept simply in a glass case in the Librarian's room; but here, for greater security, a fireproof safe with slate shelves was specially built out from the Librarian's room into the garden for their reception. i i r r u The printing establishment was on the left ol the passage leading from the entrance to the main building. r c» » • The Permanent Under Secretary of States room' was opposite to my own, up a short flight of Stairs, and the windows faced Whitehall Yard. The Secretary of State's rooms ^ and those of his private secretary were immediately above the Under Secretary's room, and were approached by a Steep flight of steps. These rooms also faced Whitehall Yard. The Other rooms, assigned to the Parliamentary and Assistant Under Secretaries of State, the Chief Clerk's department, and the political departments, faced the river. There were two small houses 1 Then Mr. Hammond's. ' Then Lord John Russell's. WHITEHALL GARDENS IX adjoining, formerly used as " annexes to the War Office and the Commander-in-Chiefs Office These houses, which were not fireproof, were handed over to the Foreign Office (much to the annoyance of those two departments), and in the rooms belong- ing to them were placed the foreign manuscript correspondence for a number of years and the original ratifications of treaties. These valuable documents are now deposited in the Public Record Office The library messenger, George Mason, a trustworthy and highly respected man, resided here with his family during the time that the Foreign Office was temporarily housed m Whitehall Gardens. , When Pembroke House was pronounced to be ready for our reception. I went over the different rooms, and, on entering one of the attics, I observed that a fire was laid with paper which struck me as much resembling that on which our confidential correspondence was printed, and on pulling the paper out, I found it was a copy of a printed confi- dential memorandum, which had been prepared for the Secretary of State's use, showing how the various foreign political questions stood on the day on which it was written, which was only a short time previously. How it came to be put there, or by whom, was, of course, never discovered ; but it was fortunate that it fell into my hands. I may here mention a litde incident which oc- curred whilst we were in Whitehall Gardens. One day I had occasion to send two telegrams to my friend Consul Hamilton, of Boulogne, and as they were on private business I paid the cost at the 12 SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS time of sendiijg them, and was given receipts for the amount. The charge was half a crown each, and it was customary in those days for the telegraph clerks to give receipts for messages sent. There was at that time a running account kept between the Telegraph Company and the Foreign Office, and at the end of the quarter the company sent in their bill to the Chief Clerk for telegrams which had been sent on Government account, and as my two telegrams, which had been sent on my own private business, were charged in this bill, the Chief Clerk very properly ran his pen through the items, and gave an order for the payment of the bill less these two items. A few days afterwards a member of the firm of Messrs. Lewis and Lewis, solicitors, called upon me at the office, and demanded from me pay- ment for these two telegrams, and I at once told him that I had paid for them at the time of sending them. *' Have you the receipts?" he inquired; and on my saying ** Yes/' and preparing to produce them, he said, ** Oh, pray dont trouble yourself now; but perhaps you will be good enough to attend at Bow Street to-morrow morning and pro- duce them there." He then told me that the telegraph clerk had been arrested for fraud ; that the company had long suspected him, but without being able to catch him ; but that what he had done in my case, in accepting payment from me for two private telegrams and charging them in the company's account with the Foreign Office as un- paid telegrams, constituted a misdemeanour. At that time the sum of /io,ooo was authorised by Acts of Parliament to be issued annually out of A TELEGRAM INCIDENT 13 the Consolidated Fund for Home Secret Service/ and I was informed that the Treasury had been in the habit of sending telegraphic messages, costing sometimes as much as ;^50 each, through the telegraph clerk, who had only given his company credit for half the amount, keeping the other half himself. I attended at Bow Street, accordingly, and produced my receipts, whereupon the telegraph clerk was committed for trial at the Clerkenwell Sessions. When the trial came on I appeared as a witness, and on the accused being told that he might ask me any question he pleased, he replied that he did not wish to ask me anything, as he had lost his character and did not care what became of him. He was found guilty, and as the judge was about to pass sentence, a benevolent old gendeman rose and asked if he might be allow^ed to say a w^ord, and on the judge giving his consent, he said he had travelled several hundred miles in order to attend that trial, and to plead for mercy for this young man. He said the family were hard-working and highly respectable people, and that this youth had always led a quiet and steady life until he came to London and got into bad company. On hearing this appeal, the judge replied that he would take all these facts into consideration, and would modify the sentence that he was about to pronounce. He then sentenced him to six months* imprisonment with hard labour. As I was leaving the court I ^ Hansard^ vol. 305, pp. 1829-31 and 1846-72, May 24th, 1886. Acts repealed, 50 Vict. cap. 2, September 25th, 1886. ( JtmHttii 14 SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS asked a policeman If that was a very severe sentence, to which he replied, ^' Humph ! There won't be much of him left after the six months." He was a slender youth, and I could not help feeling very sorry that I had unintentionally been the means of his receiving so severe a punishment, although I believe he deserved it. In 1856 it was decided to bring together in one great edifice, the Home, Foreign, Colonial, India, and the Local Government Offices, and the consent of Parliament having been obtained, archi- tects were invited to submit competitive designs; and these various designs when received were placed on view in the tea-room of the House of Commons, in the months of July and August, 1859. Sir Gilbert Scott was eventually appointed archi- tect. His original design was for an ornate Gothic structure; but a change of Ministry led to a change of views. Lord Palmerston declared that he would have nothing to do with a Gothic design, and, after many protests and much negotiation, Sir G. ScOtt consented to make designs of an Italian character, which were finally accepted. Building operations were commenced as soon as the ground was cleared and the preliminary arrangements completed. The Foreign and India Offices were first taken in hand, and these were completed in 1868. The building of the other offices was then proceeded with. An interesting fact Is recorded^ that when the old houses which constituted the Foreign Office in Downing Street were pulled down to make room 1 Building News of January 27th, 1865. THE NEW FOREIGN OFFICE »5 for the foundations of the new offices, it was found that they had originally been erected on wooden piles, and that, in excavating the ground for the new buildings, no less than 10,000 of these piles had to be dug out of the ground. •To the Foreign Office was appropriated the north-western portion of the proposed block, or half the northern part in Downing Street, and half the north-western part fronting St. James's Park. Sir Gilbert Scott's accepted design was, at the last moment, cut down by the Office of Works, the range of statues which were to have crowned the summit and turrets of the angles of the facade, on which the architect relied for breaking the level sky-line and brightening the monotony of the elevation, being peremptorily disallowed. Sir G. Scott complained bitterly of the unhappy mutilation of his great work, especially lamenting the loss of the corner towers, which are much needed to relieve the monotony of so vast a group. ^ When the Foreign Office was completed, a grand opening reception was given by Mr. Disraeli, then Prime Minister. During the time that the Foreign Office was, temporarily, at Whitehall Gardens, despatches were still dated from the Foreign Office. On July I of that year (1868), all the manuscripts, printed books, etc., having been carefully brought back from Whitehall Gardens, the new building was officially occupied. Lord Stanley was then ^ Wheatley and Cunningham's London: Past and Present, vol. ii. p. 132. „ SITE OF THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDINGS Foreign Secretary, he having been .ppoin.ed on '%' jr.; ,868, .he following notice was inserted '" .he n^, ana -her ^aily pap^s :- ^^^^ "We are requested to state in^ ^^^^ ;st of Jul,, *-renS o Te "ffice for general rangle. The entrance to *« P" P ^„,eri„g rD«SJrsT-:a"*eofficeison.hehr.. landing." . , u ^ TRfi8 Lord Stanley resigned, On December 9. 1868 Lor J and was succeeded by the Earl S CHAPTER II vXS" FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS THE old Foreign Office consisted of a block of several private houses thrown into one. The larger houses contained some very fine rooms, the windows of which overlooked St. James's Park ; but the smaller ones, the windows of which looked either into Downing Street or Fludyer Street, were in a very tumble-down condition at the time when I entered the office, so much so that, when the ad- joining houses at the King Street end of Downing Street and, later, those at the King Street end of Fludyer Street were taken down, the block form- ing the east end of the Foreign Office had to be shored up, which for many years gave this most important public office a most unsightly, not to say undignified, appearance. (See sketch facing page i8.) There were two main entrances to the office in Downing Street — one was used chiefly by the Secretary of State, the Under Secretaries, and foreign ambassadors, and the other by the clerks and the general public ; but there was also a small private entrance from St. James's Park, and a back door in Fludyer Street, which latter was used by the printers and bookbinders, and it is said that a Secretary of State has, on more than one occasion, C 17 i8 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS >i- \ given a small despatch bag, addressed to one of Her Majesty's ministers abroad, to a friend who was in pecuniary difficulties, so that he might leave the office by this back door, and thus escape the vigilance of the bailiff who was waiting to meet him at the Downing Street entrance. It was said that this same Secretary of State had a fellow- feeling for his friend, having been, at one period of his life, himself so much **out at elbows" that he gave orders to his buder never to answer a knock at the door or a ring at the bell until he had put up the small chain, hung at the side of the hall door, so as to prevent the forced entrance of any un- desirable visitor in the shape of a dun. This faithful butler, whom I well remember, was afterwards appointed to the post of lamplighter in the Foreign Office. He was a very stout man, and, being troubled with asthma, was so short-winded that when he went his daily rounds of the office to light the oil lamps in the various rooms in the winter months (for there was no gas in those days), it was painful to hear him panting for breath, and al- though considerably more than half a century has passed since I last saw him, even now, at times, 1 fancy I can hear his hard breathing. Some of the office rooms were comfortable enough in their way — far more so, indeed, than those in the new building — still, they were most inconvenienriy arranged, in proof of which it need only be mentioned that the Secretary of State in going from his own room to the Cabinet Room had to pass through two rooms occupied by other persons. In fact, the whole arrangement Fludyer Street I Foreign Office !Do>vning Street Privy Council Office ASPECT OF THE OLD FOREIGN OFFICE FROM , WHITEHALL ^ FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS 21 I I I I was so inconvenient and unsatisfactory, both at the Foreign Office and at the Colonial Office ad- joining, that a Select Committee of the House of Commons was at length appointed, in 1839, to inquire into and report on the condition of the public offices in Downing Street.^ My father was at that time Librarian and Keeper of the Archives of the Foreign Office, and he, with others, gave evidence before that Committee. The most important rooms in the office were those assigned to the Secretary of State, to the Private Secretary, and the Precis Writer, on the first floor ; and those assigned to the Permanent Under Secre- tary of State, and the *' French" Department (now called the "Western" (Europe) Department) adjoining, on the ground floor. The windows of the Secretary of State's room, as well as those of the private secretary and precis writer adjoining, looked into St. James's Park, as did also those of the Permanent Under Secretary of State's room and those of the French Department. The windows of the other rooms of the office looked either into the small *' square," so called, which formed a cul-de-sac at the end of Downing Street, or into Fludyer Street. The Private Secretary's and Precis Writer s room was very long and spacious — so large, indeed, that it was at one time used by the Secretary of State to give his ministerial dinners in. The .French De- partment was a long room of the same dimensions, but before we left the office a party wall had been ^ A small sketch of the external appearance of the building ap- peaffed in the Illustrated London News of November 23, 1861. / 22 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS THE "NURSERY" 23 I built across it, to increase the number of separate working rooms in the office. The walls of the Secretary of State s room were hung around with fine old tapestry, a portion of which had been purposely cut through on one side by some official " Goth " of those days, to conceal a doorway which led into the Private Secretary's room adjoining. This tapestry was removed to the princi- pal room assigned to the Secretary of State in Lord Malmesbury's old house, temporarily occupied by the Foreign Office in Whitehall Gardens from 1861 till 1868, and now occupied by the Board of Trade.^ The Permanent Under Secretary of State s room in the old office had a handsome mahogany Book- case in it, which extended along the whole length of the east wall, and the doorway of this room was concealed by imitation backs of books, handsomely bound, and inserted in the door, which gave it the appearance of forming part of the mahogany Book- case. This handsome piece of furniture is now placed in the Chief Clerk's room in the new Foreign Office. The room in which the Cabinet then held their sittings had three windows facing Downing Street, and the large Inkstand of black wood which stood upon the table in the centre of the room, might be said to be an historical one, as it was used by the Cabinets in the time of Pitt, Fox, and the Duke of Wellington, and by many other illustrious Prime Ministers and Secretaries of State. When the old office was demolished this inkstand was given to 1 The tapestry now hanging on the walls of the corridor of the new office has only been put up in very recent years. me; it stood upon my official table during the seven years that the Foreign Office was in White- hall Gardens, and afterwards in the new office from the time that it was first officially occupied, m July, 1868, until I retired in 1896, when it was handed over to my successor, on whose table it stil stands. The marble Mantelpieces in the old buildings in Downing Street which constituted the Foreign Office were beautifully carved, and most of them are at the present moment, in the new building. One of the rooms in the attics, facing Downing Street, was set apart for some of the young gentle- men of the office. This was called the " Nursery, and here they used to pass away any spare time which they might have on their hands. A piano was provided-not by H.M.'s Government, but at their own cost-as well as foils, single-sticks, boxing doves, and other sources of amusement. My readers will probably smile at this, but many were the happy days spent and lasting friendships made in this juvenile abode of bliss ; but it should be remembered that, although the office hoUrS WefC fixed, these supposed idlers, who have been com- pared to the Trafalgar Square fountains, because it was said they "played from ten to four were very frequendy detained at the office until eight or nine o'clock in the evening, and often later still during the sitting of Parliament, for when Lord Palmerston was Secretary of State he > The meetings of the Cabinet were held in the Foreign Office until .856, when they were transferred to the official fe^'d^nce the F.m Lord of the Treasury, at No. .0, Downing Street The Cabmet Room at the Foreign Office was, however, still held at the d.sposal of Cabmet Ministers, and boxes of despatches were placed there for their perusal. d I I / 24 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS expected, on his return from the House of Com- mons, to find someone in attendance, to carry out any instructions which he might have to give. Many were also in attendance on Sundays. But whatever the British public may think, after reading this narrative, of the apparently lax way in which the business of the Foreign Office was con- ducted in those days, the highly creditable manner in which the clerks invariably performed their duties was fully recognised by Lord Palmerston on each occasion when he retired from the Foreign Office, and official minutes to that effect have been laid before Parliament. (See page 64.) Certain pretty dressmakers occupied rooms in one of the houses in Fludyer Street, just opposite- the windows of the rooms occupied by some of these same "frivolous youths." A mutual recogni- tion generally took place every morning between some of them. In one of these rooms there used to be one gentleman with a round head and another with red hair, and should the former first open his window, the young ladies opposite, who generally worked with their windows open, would call out, *'Good morning, Turnips, how's Carrots.'^"; and should the latter be the first to appear, the saluta- tion would be, *• Good morning. Carrots, how's Turnips ? " One day the youths in the " Nursery " arranged a looking-glass in their own room in such a manner as to throw the sun's rays straight into these young ladies faces and on to their work, and as these little jokes were repeated on other days when the sun permitted, complaints were made against the .. ..-fcif* ,»iH»i.*- STRAWBERRIES FROM FLUDYER STREET 25 practice, not, I believe, by the parties themselves, but by residents in the same street, who were annoyed at what they saw going on. The com- plaints were addressed to Lord Palmerston, who was then Foreign Secretary, and his lordship there- upon wrote a minute, in which he inquired, ** Who are these unmannerly youths who have been casting Reflections on young ladies opposite ? ** This was considered a very mild and jocular rebuke, and as an apology was at once offered and the practice discontinued, no further notice was taken of it. It was not an uncommon practice for the occu- pants of the upper rooms facing Fludyer Street to let down strings of red tape from the top windows and haul up pottles (as the long baskets were then called) of strawberries, which they had purchased from fruit-sellers in the street, and I remember on one occasion a youth in my own department (the Library) saying to his fellow-clerks, as the potdes were passing his window, **What fun it would be if someone was to cut that tape ! ", when one of his colleagues exclaimed, ** I dare you ! " ** You dare me?" inquired the youth. '* Yes, I dare you," the other repeated. No sooner had he said the words a second time than the tape was cut, and down fell into the area below four pottles of beautiful straw- berries, which were being most carefully lifted up by the expectants in the department above. A row, of course, ensued, but it was soon setded by the payment of the cost of the strawberries, accompanied by a promise not to repeat the offence. Shortly before George Mason, the library messenger, retired, in 1869, I asked him if he had been long enough in # I 26 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS the office to remember this practice, when he re- plied, " Yes, sir, I remember it well, for I was then foreman to the bookbinder, whose rooms looked into the area, and didn't we have a feast off those strawberries when they fell ! " This practice must have continued until 1854, if not later, for when the Earl of Kimberley was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in March, 1894, and I had the honour of an inter- view with his lordship on his arrival at the Foreign Office, he asked me if I remembered when we used to draw up the pottles of strawberries from Fludyer Street in the time of the old office, which I told him I did, perfectly well. But although the clerks indulged in those practices, I never knew before that the Under Secretaries of State indulged in them also. The Earl of Kimberley, when Lord Wodehouse, was Under Secretary of State from December 28, 1852, till April 10, 1854, and again from June 19, 1859, till August 15, 1861, and it was probably the practice at the earlier of these dates that he was alluding to. But it must be admitted that the junior officials just mentioned were not the only ones who were somewhat frivolous in their behaviour ; for besides the pastimes which took place in the '' Nursery," some of the clerks who occupied rooms in the upper floors facing Fludyer Street used occasionally to amuse themselves by pea shooting and throwing water over organ-grinders who disturbed them at their work. I remember on one occasion that when water was thrown over an offending organ-grinder, the man put down his organ and picked up a good 1 THE PRINTED LIBRARY 27 big stone, which he threw with all his force through a window at the heads of his assailants. I was in the room at the time, and placed myself safely between two windows, whilst one of my companions took refuge under his desk, so that no serious bodily harm was done, but I think it had the effect of Stopping the attack on the organ-grinders. But other complaints were made by gentlemen whose servants* liveries were soiled by having water accidentally thrown over them when the organ- grinders were attacked, so that this practical joking had to be officially forbidden. '* Hot coppers " were, I believe, also thrown to the organ-grinders at times as a hint to them to depart. The Printed Library suffered under a misnomer, as there was no room set apart for the reception of the books, except one small room in the base- ment, the volumes being dispersed throughout the passages of the office wherever space could be found for the erection of a few shelves for their reception, no matter how dark or inaccessible such spots might be. The books were also arranged, as a rule, in rows of three deep, one behind the other, SO that the difficulty experienced in finding a book readily can well be imagined. In his evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons on Diplomatic and Consular Services, in 1878, Mr. (afterwards Lord) Hammond spoke thus of this Library : — ** These books are very valuable, both for their worth and for daily reference, for our own purposes. It is only since we have got into the new office that we have had ready access to them. In the u 28 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS i old office in Downing Street they were put in cellars and in rickety rooms where there was not the slightest protection from fire, not the slightest means of access to them, no catalogue, and no means of knowing what we had. When we went into the house in Whitehall Gardens there was a large kitchen, cellars, and some rooms adjoining in which we managed to pile the books and make a catalogue of them. Now we have got a proper Library, and certainly I was never more surprised — and I believe the Librarian was equally surprised — than when I found the vast accumulation of valu- able books which we possessed, but never had any means of access to." The Manuscript Library, which at that time (1840) comprised about five thousand volumes — the earlier ones being deposited at the State Paper Office— was kept partly in what was termed the Reference Room ; but the other volumes were dis- tributed throughout the passages of the office in wooden presses with locked doors, but without any protection whatever against fire. The Reference Room, in which the Sub- Librarian and I sat, was for many years on the ground floor, with windows looking into Fludyer Street ; but the Librarians room was on a floor above, in another part of the building — a most inconvenient arrangement. A few years before we left the old office a rearrangement of the official rooms of the office took place, when the Reference Room was transferred to a room on the ground floor facing Downing Street, and a room adjoining it was assigned to the Librarian; but it was so small, dark, and inconvenient in every w^ay that he was ta tOf^n I- ^ 42 ^x «3 J] CS:!|f: lU. i,-'i^-3i ; I 00 u O =° u ^^ '■^' o „ O (A O »- " s o o w •- X ^ H S O wi « i THE MS. LIBRARY; REGISTRY 29 ' i) forced to do the greater part of his more important work, which consisted in the preparation of memoranda for the use of the Secretary of State, at his own private house, No. 16, Great College Street, Westminster, close at hand. There was no Register or Index to the bound MS. correspondence before 18 10, but in that year my father suggested the following ** Plan," which was adopted, and it has proved to be of the greatest value in making researches in the office. It has also been adopted, I am told, by more than one foreign Government for the registering and indexing of its MS. archives; but I regret to hear that another system has been adopted during the last few years. w " Plan proposed for a Register or Digest of the hole of the Correspondence of the Foreign De- partment, and for forming an Index thereto. " By the Librarian.^ "I. The Series of Papers belonging to the different countries to be arranged in conformity with the list subjoined, assigning to each country two or more specified letters, for the purpose of distinguishing them in the Index. '' 2. The Number, Date, Name of Person, and Description of each Dispatch, Letter, etc., to be regularly entered, monthly, into the Book appro- priated for the Register according to the said Order of Arrangement. **3. The Dispatches from the British Ministers, Consuls, and Agents at Foreign Courts, and the Colonies dependent thereon, with the drafts of their ^ Mr. Lewis Hertslet. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm 30 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS M. MAZZINI 31 A Instructions, and all Letters and Communications from the different parts of the said Countries, and the Answers thereto, to constitute the Foreign part of the Register, and to be entered separately in the Order above mentioned. ** 4. The Notes, etc., of the Ministers, Consuls, and Agents from Foreign Courts resident in England, together with the Communications from the different Departments of the State, and all other Letters or Papers relating to each particular country forwarded from any part of Great Britain, when arranged in order of dates and divided according to the List above mentioned, to be considered as forming the Domestic part of the Register. " 5. The Foreign and Domestic parts of the Digest to be bound together, comprising a year's correspondence. " 6. The Index, entered in a separate volume, to include the names of the Persons, Places, Ships, and Subjects adverted to, and principally concerned, in the Register — referring to the year (by the in- sertion of the terminating Figures), the abridged name of the Country, and the Pages of the Register wherein the Papers or Subject required is contained — to be arranged in alphabetic order, and, for the greater facility of access to the reference, the left-hand side of the Book to contain the Names of Persons, Places, and Ships, and the opposite Pages to be appropriated solely for the insertion of the Matter or Subject. '* Foreign Office, ''i^thjuly, 1 8 10." Then followed a List of Countries, with proposed abbreviations of names, etc. In connection with the Library the following incidents may be mentioned. In July, 1844, Sir James Graham, who was then Home Secretary, was accused of opening letters addressed to Mazzini and other foreigners then in this country as refugees, and an illustration ap- peared in Punch, representing Sir James, dressed as Paul Pry, squeezing the sides of a letter and peering into its contents. I well remember a gentleman coming into the library one afternoon and inquiring whether there was any letter for him from abroad. The Sub- Librarian did not catch the name which he gave, but knowing that there was a question going on about letters arriving in this country from abroad, suggested that he should apply to the Home Office. "No," was the in- dignant reply, ** I will not go to the Home Office ; my name is Mazzini,'' and he bounced out of the room, much to the astonishment of the Sub- Librarian, who was at a loss to conceive what he had said to give offence ; but when he was told that the intruder had declared that his name was Mazzini, the Sub- Librarian at once saw that he had quite unintention- ally added insult to injury by telling him that there were no letters for him at the Foreign Office, but that he had better apply to the office where it was generally suspected that letters for foreigners were opened and examined. Although nearly sixty years have passed since this incident occurred, I have a perfect recollection of the appearance of Mazzini as he then entered the Foreign Office Library, and of the rapidity with which he left it. The Sub- Librarian was an elderly gentleman, of a somewhat nervous temperament ; and I am sorry to say that we youngsters (for we were all youths at ^ il l\ '] li i iii il' If 32 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS this time, now nearer sixty than fifty years ago), used to take great delight in teasing him. One morning as he entered his room, feeling somewhat unwell and perhaps more nervous than usual on that account, he addressed us thus : *' I wish to have no conversation with you young gentlemen this morning except upon official business." Upon hearing this we all hung down our heads, as if busily engaged on our work, and said nothing, but before his arrival we had taken the heads off a box of wax lucifer matches, and had stuffed up the pipe of the key with which he opened his desk. On reaching his desk he sat down and tried to unlock it, but finding a difficulty in so doing, he said aloud, *' I suspect you young gendemen have been playing tricks with my key," to which we made no reply, but kept our heads down more closely to our desks than ever, although we found no little difficulty in suppressing our laughter, know- ing what would inevitably happen in a few moments. Peeping up, we saw him take from a drawer of his desk a long, thick needle, used for stitching papers together with silk (which was then the practice), and insert it into the pipe of the key for the purpose of removing whatever obstruction there might be, when a loud *'bang" was heard, upon which the nervous Sub- Librarian sprang to his feet, and raising the keys over his head dashed them into the fireplace, exclaiming as he did so, '*Now I will go and report you all to the Under Secretary of State," and out of the room he rushed. But he was far too good-natured to carry out his threat, and after walking up and down the •1 \j w;^ - . T^:-^ ^--s. >"- Q/ i f •si 5 3 > 'u en ID jll„V-.,...-.t < In W < a. u u o g u < fa O gs fa -Q C rt u fa C o SI 2 o X H I i I I I ! r- i I f^l M i ■: { W\ I I FIRE AT THE FOREIGN OFFICE 1839 33 passage for a few minutes, he returned to his desk, and the lock now being opened without difficulty, the business of the day was proceeded with as if nothing unusual had happened. Just before I entered the Foreign Office a fire broke out, which might have been productive of very serious results. It took place in the Manu- script Library, known as the Reference Room, on the ground floor, in which the Sub- Librarian, my uncle, sat. An official inquiry, presided over by Lord Palmerston, who was then Foreign Secretary, was held as to its origin, and on my uncle being called upon to give evidence, he commenced thus : — **Two little boys, my nephews, came to see me one evening " (it was during the Christmas holidays in 1839), "and seeing a large fire blazing in the grate, they put their heads down on the hearthrug and, looking up the chimney, exclaimed, 'Oh, uncle, your chimney is on fire!'" I was one of those little boys. My uncle then went on to say that some coals were, in consequence, taken off, and the size of the fire was considerably reduced. On the housekeeper being communicated with, orders were given for the chimneys to be swept, and the next morning a chimney-sweeper, a very small climbing-boy, arrived, and was sent up the chimney. On coming down again, after sweeping it in the ordinary manner, the litrie sweeper declared that everything was ^'all right," and that there was no appearance of any red-hot soot remaining. But he had overlooked a flue on one side of the chimney, where a mass of soot had accumulated and was still •fm 34 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS smouldering unobserved. The next day, when the office was in full work, and some of the clerks belonging to other departments of the office were in the Reference Room making inquiries, down came a large piece of the wall near the fireplace, without the smallest warning, and out burst the flames. One of the clerks visiting the Reference Room at the time was Mr. Adolphus Turner, who afterwards became H.M. s Charg^ d' Affaires and Consul-General at Monte Video. Seeing the danger, he at once jumped on to one of the dwarf presses in the room, and on his shouting loudly for help, an active little housemaid quickly appeared carrying a pail of water, and having deposited this she fetched another, and yet another ; Mr. Turner dashed these against the opening in the wall, and succeeded in keeping the flames under until the fire-engines arrived. In the meantime a messenger had been despatched to the Horse Guards, close by, with an appeal for assistance, and a number of Life Guards- men, in undress uniform, rapidly appeared on the scene. They quickly proceeded to take the MS. volumes down from the shelves in the presses, and made arrangements for throwing them out into Fludyer Street, as soon as the public should have been excluded by the police. But, fortunately, this was not necessary, as the fire was soon got under by the firemen. Lord Palmerston was soon on the spot, when an official peeped into the room, and seeing his lordship there, called out, for a joke, **For G — 's sake take care of the protocols!'* Lord Palmerston, who was at that time nicknamed * 'Protocol Palmerston," was evidently much annoyed I FIRE AT THE FOREIGN OFFICE, 1839 35 at the remark, and turned sharply round to see who had dared to allude to him in that familiar and im- proper manner, but the official (who was well known in the office) was too quick for him, and rushing down the short flight of stairs which stood in the passage, just outside the door of the room, two or three steps at a time, he escaped out of the office. Lord Palmerston then went upstairs to the top of the house, and entering the room in the attic in which the translator (Mr. Huttner, an old gentle- man) sat, he inquired, *' Have you any valuable books in this room, Mr. Huttner ?" The translator, who was a German, looked up, and not knowing who it was who was addressing him, coolly inquired, **And what if I have?" "Oh! nothing, if you have,'* rejoined Lord Palmerston ; '' but I suppose you know that the house Is on fire?" Upon hear- ing which Mr. Huttner sprang to his feet, and paced up and down the room exclaiming, ** Oh ! mein Gott ! mein Gott ! " upon which Lord Palmerston closed the door and left him, and went downstairs again to the ground floor, by which time the fire had been entirely extinguished. Mr. Turner also gave evidence before the Com- mittee of Inquiry into the origin of the fire, and how- it was subdued, when he was thanked for his timely exertions, and as it was hinted to him that the Government was anxious to recognise his services in some manner, he repudiated all idea of his re- ceiving any reward, observing that he had simply done his duty ; but I remember being told that he begged hard that some substantial reward might be given to the energetic little housemaid who had 36 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS brought him the pails of water so quickly, which had enabled him to keep the flames under, and but for whose exertions the fire would probably have had a far more disastrous effect ; but all to no purpose — she got nothing ! at least so I was told. The manuscript volumes have always been bound in the office. In the old office, dark and damp cellars were deemed sufficient for the bookbinder's accommodation ; but it proved to be a most un- healthy and unsatisfactory arrangement, and even during the temporary transfer of the office to White- hall Gardens no great improvement was made, as the rooms assigned to the bookbinder and his staff were those which formerly adjoined the boathouse, and were consequently very damp. But far better accommodation has been provided in the new office. Golding Collins was the bookbinder when I first entered the office, and since his death, which took place many years ago, the binding of the manu- script volumes, as well as of the printed books, has been entrusted to his son Edward Collins ; and it is only fair to say that each of them has in his turn proved himself to be thoroughly honest and trustworthy, although the appointment is not an official one. The Story of the bookbinder s Cat has often been told in the office, and it may perhaps be interesting to relate it here. In the passage leading to the bookbinders rooms, in the basement of the old office, a long series of bound volumes of the Times and some other newspapers were arranged on shelves ; and THE BOOKBINDER AND HIS CAT 37 one day, one of the large tomes being required for reference, it was taken upstairs by the messenger, and a vacant space was for some time left in the rack. In due course the volume was sent downstairs again to be replaced, when the cat, hearing some- one approaching down the passage, rushed into the vacant space for safety; but, alas ! it proved to be its sepulchre, for its movement being unobserved, the heavy volume was put into its place again, and poor pussy was buried alive and starved to death behind the books. Some litde time after this, bad smells were complained of by the bookbinder and others, and the Board of Works being communicated with, a labourer who had been employed about the build- ing for many years was told to search for a drain along this passage. Whilst so employed, a gentleman from the Colonial Office, who had occasion to speak to the Foreign Office bookbinder, saw this old man hard at work taking up the flagstones, and on asking him what he was doing, he replied that a bad smell had existed in the passage for some days, and that he was searching for the drain. '* Drain !" exclaimed the gentleman, ''why, you know very well there is no drain here, and that all the drains run in another direction"; to which the old man simply replied, ** Please, sir, Tm obeying my orders/' and he went on with his digging ; but it need scarcely be added that he found no drain. When the old office was about to be removed temporarily from Downing Street to Whitehall Gardens, these heavy books had to be taken down from the racks for the purpose of removal, and in due course the workmen discovered 38 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS MANUSCRIPT TREATIES 39 the mortal remains of the cat lying on its side, with its black fur still preserved, as if asleep ; but the moment the air touched it the black hair arose and vanished, and there lay the skeleton of the cat, covered, apparently, with white parchment stretched tightly over it. There was no longer any doubt in my mind as to where the foul smell had come from, which had so long disturbed the office ; but, curiously enough, I never heard the dead cat assigned as having been the cause of it. The incident was deemed so curious that the skeleton of the cat was put into a large red despatch box and sent up to the Secretary of State (then Lord John Russell) for his inspection ; and I was told at the time that the box containing the cat was also sent round to members of the Cabinet. The skeleton is still in existence, I believe, and when I last heard of it it was in the possession of Mrs. Mason, the widow of George Mason, for many years the messenger of the Foreign Office Library. The collection of MS. Treaties is a very interest- ing one, and several royal personages honoured me with visits for the purpose of inspecting them when I held the office of Librarian. One day the late Queen Emma of the Netherlands was ushered into my room by the late Earl of Derby, when Foreign Secretary, and on Her Majesty asking me to show her some treaties which I considered most interesting, I produced first the Vienna Congress Treaty of 1815, then other well-known political treaties, then Queen Victorias Marriage Treaty, and lastly the Treaty for the Marriage of Princess Charlotte in 1816. Why I selected this last one I know not, but the moment the Queen of the Netherlands saw it she exclaimed, '' Oh ! the poor dear Princess Charlotte's Marriage Treaty ! I am so pleased to have seen it, you could not have shown me anything which interested me more ; she was my dearest friend." Another day the Emperor Frederick of Germany, when Crown Prince, was conducted into my room also by the late Earl of Derby, for the purpose of seeing these treaties, and among those which I exhibited was the treaty of March 13, 187 1, between the Great Powers of Europe, formally consenting to the abrogation of the clauses of the treaty of March 30, 1856, which placed restrictions on the Russian and Turkish naval forces in the Black Sea. His Majesty seemed much struck by the massive iron safes in which these original treaties are kept (I believe they weigh five tons), and, smiling, ob- served, ** You are evidently determined that no one shall break your treaties." Some time after this a gentleman came over to me from the Colonial Office, accompanied by a friend, and on his asking if he could be allowed to see some of the original treaties, I readily consented, and proceeded to show them amongst Others the Treaty of Peace signed between the Powers at Paris at the close of the Crimean War, on March 30, 1856, and to which was attached the separate treaty between Russia and Turkey of the same date. This is generally known as the " Black Sea Treaty,'' and by it those I 40 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS Powers mutually agreed to a limitation of their naval forces in the Black Sea. I drew the special attention of these two gentlemen to this treaty, saying, ''This is the Black Sea Treaty, concluded between Russia and Turkey in 1856," and, pointing to the invocation at the heading, I said, ** Here is the appeal to the Almighty that they will never break it'* — '' Au Norn de Dieu tout puissant \ but I added that, in 1871, the Emperor of Russia declared that he would no longer be bound by it. The moment I said this, my friend from the Colonial Office smiled and said, " Oh, I should have intro- duced my friend to you ; he is a Russian." I did not attempt to apologise, but merely said, *'You clearly understand I am only showing you an historical document " ; but he did not seem to care about remaining to see any more ** interesting historical documents." On the 6th July, 1827, a treaty was signed be- tween Great Britain, France, and Russia, for the pacification of Greece, on the understanding that it was to be kept secret ; but it was shortly afterwards published in the Times newspaper. This disclosure of the treaty naturally caused great excitement both in this country and on the Continent. The French Government at once issued a circular, with the object of showing not only that the breach of trust had not been committed by them, but that it was the English copy which had been made public. In reply to this Lord Dudley, who was then Foreign Secretary, addressed a circular to H.M.'s representatives abroad (July 30, 1827) pointing out how improbable it was that the betrayal of trust had been com- PUBLICATION OF A SECRET TREATY 41 mitted by any person in this country, inasmuch as words appeared in the Times copy which never existed in any Foreign Office copy, but which were to be found in the copies of the French and Russian Embassies. The following is a copy of the English circular which was written on that occasion : — "The extraordinary publication in the Times newspaper of the treaty concluded between Great Britain, France, and Russia, for the pacification of the Levant,^ has no doubt attracted your attention, as well as that of the Government to which you are accredited. It is hardly necessary to remark that it could only have taken place either through a flagrant breach of trust, or^ from— what it is impossible to suspect — some political motive on the part of one of the signing or contracting parties. "H.M.'s Government have not been remiss in investigating, as far as lay in their power, every circumstance which could, in any way, throw light upon this disgraceful transaction. ** Without possessing undeniable proof of the actual perpetrator, H.M.'s Government was unwill- ing, merely with a view to absolve the Foreign Office, to make any declaration respecting it. Hav- ing, however, this morning learnt that the French Government have thought proper to address ^ a circular, having for its object not only to contradict any participation on their part in the communica- tion of this treaty to the public journals, but also to point out the circumstances of Great Britain being named the first of the three contracting Powers, as a proof that the English copy of the treaty must have been ^that which was transcribed, it now be- comes an imperative duty upon me, not only to declare that H.M.'s Government witnessed the 1 July 6th, 1827. 42 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS A LOST RATIFICATION FOUND 43 publication of this treaty with surprise and indig- nation, and deplored it as a public misfortune, but also positively to affirm that there does not exist the smallest reason to suppose that it was occasioned by a breach of confidence in any person belonging to this department. This I am enabled to state with the more confidence because the treaty, in the shape in which it was at length signed, was en- trusted to the custody of an individual whose honour and integrity, during twenty-five years of service in this office, under successive Secretaries of State, place him beyond the reach of suspicion.^ *' It is impossible not to observe upon the strange inaccuracy of that mode of reasoning, by which the order in which the signatures to the treaty appeared in the Times, is adduced as an evidence of the quarter whence the communication of the copy it- Self came. *' It cannot be supposed that the person who divulged the secret should have overlooked a mode so obvious to a man of business experience, of misleading the ignorant and inconsiderate part of the public. *'Nay, if we were once to suppose that the author of this treachery were in a situation to be consulted afterwards upon the subject by his official superiors, would not he probably be the first to suggest a circumstance contrived by himself, as an argument by which suspicion might be averted from the guilty, and directed towards an innocent quarter .'* ** There is one other fact to which I wish to direct your attention. It is undoubtedly true that certain verbal mistakes, which existed only In the Foreign Office copy, appeared in that given by the Times. These mistakes existed only for a few hours, and in that copy only ; which, after having ^ Mr. Lewis Hertslet. been corrected in the presence both of the Russian and French Secretaries, was subsequendy signed. This fact, taken singly, might lead to an mference that the English copy was betrayed to the Times, and by English hands. But that inference is pre- cluded by another fact, equally true, and utterly irreconcileable with it, namely, that words appear in the Times copy which never existed in any Foreign Office copy, but which were to be found in the copies both of the French and Russian Embassies. It is, therefore, perfectly obvious that the knowledge of the person that betrayed the secret was not confined to the Foreign Office copy ; but that he was equally aware of the variations from it, existing in those belonging to the French and Russian Embassies, and might, therefore, as far as any reasoning goes that can be founded upon this particular fact, with equal likelihood be supposed to belong to either of the three nations." Bearing on the subject of treaties, the following incident may now be mentioned to show how the ratification of a treaty with a foreign country which had been lost by that country for many years was eventually recovered and restored : — In November, 1877, the late Commander G. C. Musters, r.n., called upon me one day at the Foreign Office with an introduction from Mr. (now Sir) Clements Markham. He held in his hand a brown paper parcel, which he opened and produced therefrom the original ratification of our treaty with Bolivia of September 29, 1840. He said he had resided in Bolivia for about three years, and that on one occasion, during a revolution at Sucre, all the official archives were thrown out of the windows of the public offices into the street, 44 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS THE PRINTING DEPARTMENT 45 \l when the majority of them were destroyed by the populace ; and that as he happened to be passing by at the time and saw a large thin book bound in crimson velvet, he had the curiosity to pick it up and look into it, when he found it to be the original ratification of a treaty between England and Bolivia. He therefore retained it in his possession until he came to England, when he brought it to the Foreign Office and delivered it to me. He said he set no value upon it what- ever, but merely brought it to me as a curiosity. The usual wax seal in a silver box was missing, and there was only one tassel (and that very much soiled) to the ratification when he found it. A minute to the above effect was sent up by me to the late Lord Derby, who was then Foreign Secretary, who wrote upon it : '* This is a curious story." It was then passed on to Lord Tenterden, who returned it to me, and I placed the ratification in a cupboard in my room for safety. Eighteen years after this— that is to say, on December 5, 1895 — the Bolivian Minister in Chile addressed an official letter to Colonel (now Sir James) Hayes Sadler, who was then H.M.'s Consul -General at Valparaiso, in which he stated that the original commercial treaty with Great Britain of September 29, 1840, had been lost, and asked him if he would apply to the British Government for a legalised copy of the ratification of that treaty for the use of his Government; and on Colonel Hayes Sadler's despatch being shown to me, I at once saw that this was the very document which was found by X i Commander Musters, and handed over to me in 1877. It was accordingly sent to Colonel Hayes Sadler, to be returned to the Bolivian Minister, together with the purport of the minute which I had written at the time, showing how it came into the possession of the British Government. Commander G. C. Musters, r.n., was employed for some months in the Foreign Office, and was appointed to be H.M.'s Consul for the Portuguese possessions on the East Coast of Africa, to reside at Mozambique, September 23, 1878; but he died, before proceeding to his post, January 25, 1879. A word may now be said about the printer and his staff. In the old office, rooms were assigned to the printer's reader and his staff in the attics in that portion of the old building which overlooked Fludyer Street. This arrangement was always productive of very great inconvenience, and, as time went on, it became a serious question how much longer these rickety old shored-up buildings would bear the weight of the printers machines, the ever-increasing mass of type, and the accumu- lation of his '' formes," as it was becoming positively dangerous to allow such a heavy weight to remain any longer at the top of the house, but, fortunately, no mishap occurred. The whole mass of these buildings was eventually taken down to make room for the new offices. The printing of the confi- dential correspondence with foreign courts, etc., was all done then, as it is now, under the roof of the office. 46 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS THE PRINTER'S STAFF 47 I' Mr. Thomas Harrison was then the printer. His establishment for printing ordinary non-confidential work was in Orchard Street, Westminster, a very- narrow street leading out of King Street, and when these premises were pulled down, many years ago, the printing establishment for non-confidential work was removed to St. Martin s Lane. Mr. Thomas Harrison's father and grandfather had both held the same official appointment, besides that of printers to the London Gazette. The name of Thomas Harrison first appeared as printer of the London Gazette on April 17, 1756, and it is still printed and published by that firm. On March 23, 1847, Thomas Richard Harrison succeeded his father as printer to the Foreign Office, and he held that appointment until April 29, 1869, when he died. On May 6 of the same year his eldest son, Thomas Harrison, was appointed to succeed him ; but the printing of the confidential correspond- ence was really superintended by a younger son, James W. Harrison. Thomas Harrison died on April 25, 1896. The Harrison family — the firm now being Harrison and Sons — has had entrusted to them for many years, not only the printing of the con- fidential correspondence of the Foreign Office, but also that of the War and Colonial Offices, the . Treasury, and other Government departments, and it is only an act of common justice to them and to their staff to state that there has never been an instance, I believe, certainly not within my know- ledge, in which that trust has been misplaced. I ) Sir Sydney Waterlow, Bart., who, in addition to his having held many other important offices, was Lord Mayor of London in 1872—3, learnt his trade as a printer under Mr. Thomas Harrison at the Foreign Office, and he has informed me that he often received my father s instructions for printing some of the earlier portions of Hertslefs Com- Tuercial Treaties^ to which reference will be found later on (p. 145); and it may be mentioned as a curious coincidence that, before I was aware of the above facts, I presented a handsomely bound set of these volumes, so far as they were then published, to the Guildhall Library at the time when Sir Sydney Waterlow, who had spent, as he said, many days and weeks in composing the pages of this work, was Lord Mayor of London. The chief manager of the printing department at the Foreign Office, and corrector of the Press for foreign languages — under Mr. Harrison — was formerly Mr. P. S. King, who held that office for many years; but he resigned in 1852, when he purchased the business of parliamentary book- seller in premises formerly situated at the corner of Bridge Street and Parliament Street; but this business was removed to King Street, Westminster, when the old corner house was pulled down to improve the approach to new Westminster Bridge, and when King Street was also recently pulled down to make room for the extension of the Public Offices in Whitehall, the business was re- moved to Orchard House, Great Smith Street, Westminster. On the retirement of Mr. King, Mr. John Joseph \ 48 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS Olding was on January 30, 1853, appointed by Mr. Harrison to be Mr. King's successor. On April 24, 1862, Mr. - (afterwards Lord) Hammond, when Under Secretary of State in the Foreign Office, wrote Mr. Olding a testimonial, from which the following is an extract : — ** I can, without the slightest hesitation, give John Joseph Olding the highest testimonial ; and I am sure that every person engaged in carrying on the business of the Foreign Office will concur with me in my estimation of his conduct. I have uniformly found him accurate as regards the print- ing, not only in English, but also in foreign languages ; trustworthy, willing, intelligent, inde- fatigable, however much of his time and bodily strength may have been taxed, to meet the pressing demands which are constantly made on the printing establishment of the Foreign Office ; and I have more than once felt it my duty to bring his merits before the Secretary of State, and have had the satisfaction to obtain for him rewards which were justly due to his zealous exertions in the discharge of his duties." There was formerly a little joke told in the office about a misprint which, it was said, once occurred in a printed paper and was overlooked. The story was that a despatch was once written by one of H.M.'s ministers abroad to the Secretary of State, in which the minister, after relating what had passed between himself and the Foreign Minister of the country to which he was accredited, concluded his despatch by saying that His Excellency had ended the conversation by making the following ''filthy" remark. Attention having been called to this, the I ^v m^' i >?- ■ t f- ".J I ■yx- . t P'^itm ii ^■if^v -M,^ -''*ul'i -4 U l-H fa O :?: o l-H b Q o X H b o < > g w X H H < 03 U u a o en V o 4) o C/5 bo c B o u M H fa o u < < a. H '^ L ^1 « M i.miiriiiiHiMillll PRINTING DEPARTMENT 49 passage alluded to was most carefully scrutinised by several clerks in the office, but without discovering anything whatever "filthy" in it. The print was then collated again with the MS., when it was found that the word was not ** filthy," but '* pithy." How the story got about I have never discovered, and it is only fair to Mr. Olding and the printers to bear witness to the fact that I never saw a paper in which such a misprint occurred, and that I firmly believe it to have been a " canard." Its existence has been indignantly denied by Mr. Olding, who has challenged the production of the paper, but it has never been discovered. On April i, 1872, Mr. Olding was granted by the Foreign Secretary an official allowance as manager of the printing establishment of the Foreign Office, and corrector of the Press for foreign languages — under Mr. Harrison — which post he still holds, and I am sure it would be to the great benefit of the office that he should long be spared to do so. No doubt errors have occasionally but very rarely crept into Blue Books prepared for Parliament generally in the most hurried manner ; but it would be most unfair to lay the blame for these rare occur- rences on the Foreign Office printer. It will be remembered that attention was once called in Parliament to an error which occurred in the translation of a paper which was laid, and in which reference was made to vessels **venant sur lest " as vessels '* coming from the East," instead of ** vessels in ballast"; and I remember, many years ago, another Blue Book being laid before Parliament, respecting the proceedings of the Dutch in the East £ ii ■^Pf! M|WKalMMMlMI 1 ; i i i i I PRINTING DEPARTMENT 49 passage alluded to was most carefully scrutinised by several clerks in the office, but without discovering anything whatever ''filthy" in it. The print was then collated again with the MS., when it was found that the word was not ** filthy," but ''pithy." How the story got about I have never discovered, and it is only fair to Mr. Olding and the printers to bear witness to the fact that I never saw a paper in which such a misprint occurred, and that I firmly believe it to have been a " canard." Its existence has been indignantly denied by Mr. Olding, who has challenged the production of the paper, but it has never been discovered. On April i, 1872, Mr. Olding was granted by the Foreign Secretary an official allowance as manager of the printing establishment of the Foreign Office, and corrector of the Press for foreign languages — under Mr. Harrison — which post he still holds, and I am sure it would be to the great benefit of the office that he should long be spared to do so. No doubt errors have occasionally but very rarely crept into Blue Books prepared for Parliament generally in the most hurried manner ; but it would be most unfair to lay the blame for these rare occur- rences on the Foreign Office printer. It will be remembered that attention was once called in Parliament to an error which occurred in the translation of a paper which was laid, and in which reference was made to vessels **venant sur lest " as vessels '* coming from the East," instead of "vessels in ballast"; and I remember, many years ago, another Blue Book being laid before Parliament, respecting the proceedings of the Dutch in the East ■ .»". fc.-i^--*j^'— mm 3Baw«lHMRHto> 50 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS fl M Indies, in which attention was called to the number of Netherlands ships of war in those seas, and by an error in the translation it was stated that they had one more ship there than they really had — '* Le Pyroscaphe L'H^cla" having been translated ^^T/ie Pyroscaphe and The Hecla^' instead of **the steamer Hecla.'^ But owing to pressure of business and the urgent demands of Parliament, the assistance of translators outside the office had to be called in. One word more in praise of the printing depart- ment of the office. Some few years ago— since the erection of the new offices — two French gentlemen came over to London, deputed by the French Government, to inspect the printing establishment of the Foreign Office, with a view to ascertain what precautions were taken to preserve the secrecy of the con- fidential printing. Sir Julian (now Lord) Paunce- fote, then Permanent Under Secretary, Sir Francis Alston, then Chief Clerk, and myself accompanied these French gentlemen, and showed them over the printing department, after seeing which, and having matters explained to them as to how it was con- ducted, they expressed their great surprise. One of them inquired what official rank was given to the chief superintendent of so important an office ; and on being told that the management was entrusted to Mr. Harrison who appointed his chief reader (who was then, and is still, Mr. Olding) to superintend it, and that there was no Government official what- ever appointed over him, they expressed still greater surprise, and raising their hands, exclaimed, ** C'est merveilleux ! " and really so it is, and Messrs. WAX CANDLES— COAL PORTER 51 > Harrison may justly be proud of having had such implicit confidence placed in them for such a very long period ; but they have shown by their conduct that it has been well deserved. There was no Gas in my early days ; and the office rooms were lighted by oil lamps and wax candles. The unconsumed ends of these candles were allowed to be retained by the house-keeper as her perquisite, and they were sold by her to the gentlemen in the office for a small sum, and taken away by them to their own private residences where they were duly appreciated by the female branch of their establishments, as the wax was of exceptionally good quality. But there can be no doubt that this practice was a highly objectionable one, being open to great abuse, although no suspicion was ever attached to our good old house-keeper, Mrs. Watson, of her having abused her little privilege. Lifts were not used in the old office ; consequently the Coals which were required in the different rooms had to be carried up the different staircases, of which there were several in the building. One man per- formed that duty single-handed. He had a yoke across his shoulders, and carried up two scuttles of coal at a time ; each scuttle containing about half a hundredweight. He was an old man, diminutive in stature, and having a very weakly appearance, and it often excited one's pity to see this poor old creature staggering up the stairs under his heavy burthen. His task was to carry up half a ton of coals altogether each morning during the cold weather. He was an honest old fellow, and after % _ "'.^sat ifcS4(*'«*i*^'j:5.r ■^^^^^■"-'m-m'^W^ ■ ■■-^^^'B^i^^giQ^ ^__ 52 FOREIGN OFFICE ROOMS I! he had had a " wash and brush up " the gentlemen used occasionally to employ him to run errands and execute little commissions for them ; so I suppose he found it worth his while to stick to his arduous duties as coal porter as long as his health and Strength would permit him to do so. -'i CHAPTER III DOWNING STREET AND FLUDYER STREET DOWNING STREET was so called after Sir George Downing, of East Hatley in Cam- bridgeshire, who, when Mr. Downing, was sent by Cromwell on a mission to Holland ; but, after the Restoration, Mr. Downing became a Royalist, and was appointed Secretary to the Treasury, when the office of Lord High Treasurer was in commission (May, 1667) on the death of Lord Southampton. Downing Street was a narrow street of from twenty-five to thirty feet in width, which ended in a cul-de-sac. The street is described by Strype as being — in 1698— ^^ a pretty open space, especially at the upper end, where are four or five very large and well-built houses, fit for persons of honour and quality, each house having a pleasant prospect into St. James's Park, with a terras {sic) walk."^ A drawing of the upper end of Downing Street is preserved in the British Museum (Portfolio xvi.), and another of the houses as they appeared facing St. James's Park (No. 63"^). The United States Ambassador in London, the 1 Strype, B. vi. p. 63 ; Wheatley and Cunningham's London : Past and Present^ vol. i. p. 519. S3 I. .' ', •f r..-. k\ *■**»»'■'■ ,. .■-. -^*-?fe.a ■MMiB 54 DOWNING STREET AND FLUDYER STREET Hon. Joseph H. Choate, in a speech made at the Mansion House on November 9, igcx),^ claimed that Downing Street was an American street, and that it derived its origin and its history from the earliest periods of the English colonies in America. He mentioned that at the school which he attended in Massachusetts, over the archway at the entrance there were inscribed the words, "Schola publica prima "—the first school organised in Massachusetts, — and underneath was inscribed the name of George Downing, the first pupil educated at that school. Mr. Choate then went on to say that Mr. Downing went to Harvard College, where he graduated in the first year that it sent any youths into the world, the year I/642 ; that he found his way to England, and became the chaplain of Colonel Oakey s army under Cromwell, and soon began to display the most extraordinary faculties in the art of diplomacy of any man of his day. He first hood- winked Cromwell himself, and persuaded him to send him as Ambassador to the Hague. After the Protector died, he hoodwinked the "Rump," and they re-appointed him Ambassador to the Hague; and when the Restoration came he practised his wily arts upon the Merry Monarch, and induced him to send him again as Ambassador to the Hague ; and finally induced the king to grant him a great tract of land at Westminster, provided, or so the grant ran, that the houses to be-built upon the grounds so near the Royal Palace should be handsome and graceful. So he built himself a house, possibly in Whitehall, and he built more ^ Times f November lo, 1900, I DOWNING STREET 55 mansions between there and Westminster Abbey ; and the old annals of the time describe these houses as pleasant mansions, ** having a back front upon St. James's Park'— an exact description of the Foreign Office, for it also has a back fronting on St. James's Park, and really it is the most important side, because that is where H.M.'s Minister for Foreign Affairs always finds his way in and out with a private key by the back front-door. In the natural course.of things George Downing died, and by his will he divided his mansion and estate and his farm at Westminster among his children ; and now they are long since gone, leaving no trace behind except a litde bit of ground one hundred yards long and twenty yards wide, sometimes narrowing to ten, which still bears his illustrious name. - It is the smallest and at the same time the greatest street in the world, because it lies at the hub of the gigantic wheel which encircles the globe under the name of the British Empire. At the beginning of the last century there was no other official residence in the street than the house which belonged by right of office to the First Lord of the Treasury — No. 10— but by degrees one house was bought after another ; first the Foreign Office, increased afterwards by three Other houses ; then the Colonial Office ; then the house in the north corner, which was the Judge Advocate s, afterwards added to the Colonial Office; then a house for the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and lastly a whole row of lodging-houses, chiefly for Scotch and Irish members.^ 1 Wheatley and Cunningham's London: Past ami Present^ vol. i. p. 519. % IN HifffMI — ' ' n$ m ti fmm m m»' " ^1 - ■■«iW^'««»Mini"«'*«it^ r jg^ III I ;} 56 DOWNING STREET AND FLUDYER STREET Downing Street has a world-wide reputation from the fact of No. lo having been the official head- quarters of successive Prime Ministers, although all have not lived in it. Still, both Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. Gladstone used it as a residence. The house, No. lo, became, early in the last century, the property of the Government, and King George the Second gave it to Baron Bothmar, the Hanoverian Minister, for life. At his death the King offered it to Sir Robert Walpole, who only accepted it on condition that it should be attached to the First Lord of the Treasury for ever, a con- dition which has ever since been observed. During the whole time that I was in the old Foreign Office, from 1840 till 1861 (before its temporary removal to Whitehall Gardens), and, no doubt, during the whole time that my father was there for many years previously, a sentinel was always placed at the public entrance door in Down- ing Street, and another at the foot of the steps leading from Fludyer Street to St. James's Park (see sketch, facing p. 32) ; whilst a third was placed at the end of Downing Street, at the entrance to the Colonial Office. They had evidently a very hazy notion of the important duties which they might be called upon to perform, for on more than one occasion I have heard strangers inquire of them which was the Foreign Office, and have heard them reply that they believed it was one of the offices about there, but they did not know which. Raikes, in his diary, relates a good story about a sentinel in Downing Street, which, although re- peated by Cassell, ' may, I think, be also recorded ^ Vol. iii. p. 389. / DOWNING STREET AND FLUDYER STREET 57 here. He says, "In the early Reform Riots, a mob ran violently into Downing Street, and rush- ing up to the sentinel at the door of the Foreign Office, cried out, ' Liberty or death ! ' upon which the old soldier presented his musket and said, * Hands off, you fellows ! I know nothing about liberty, but if you come a step further I'll show you what death is.'" A sentinel was also placed at the main entrance to the office when it was temporarily moved to Whitehall Gardens, from August, 1861, till July, 1868, and I remember that one day, when the relieving guard went its rounds, it was discovered that this sentinel had fled, leaving his coat, bearskin cap, and rifle in the sentry-box, but he was soon found and sev^ely punished. On the return of the office to the new buildings in Downing Street sentinels were again placed at the entrance, as formerly, and the practice was continued until December, 1891, when they were, to the regret of many old officials, removed from all the public offices in the immediate neighbourhood of Whitehall, except the War Office in Pall Mall and the Horse Guards Gate. Fludyer Street was formerly situated to the south of Downing Street, and extended from King Street to St. James's Park. It was built about 1766, and was called Fludyer Street after Sir Samuel Fludyer, Bart (Lord Mayor of London in 1761), the ground landlord. It was a very narrow street, not exceeding a few feet in width at the widest part near King Street, and so narrow near the park end that a person living on one side of the street could easily converse 1 If ¥- 4 liM) M i Hl »ii -'1 ll . » «»I» 1 1»»W»> '.- ■■»' >' '■ « ■«"••««■ i* I ff I 58 DOWNING STREET AND FLUDYER STREET with his or her neighbours opposite. There was a Stone slab let into the wall of the house at the end near King Street, with the name Fludyer Street on It, with the date 1766. I well remember seeing this stone, and a drawing of the street showing the stone upon it exists in the British Museum. Between December, 1793, and the beginning of 1807, all official letters emanating from the Foreign Office were dated from "Downing Street"; but on April 4, 1807, two letters were addressed to the Admiralty, one of which Wcis dated from ** Downing Street" and the other from the '* Foreign Office." The same thing occurred in the case of letters written on August 1 9 following. For some months later " Downing Street " was occasionally used as the address, but before the end of the year 1807 the new address '' Foreign Office" appears to have been definitely adopted, and since that time the rule has been to use the latter address on all official letters emanating from the Foreign Office. On one occasion, when Earl Granville was Foreign Secretary, his lordship addressed an official despatch to one of Her Majesty s Ministers abroad, dated from Walmer Castle, and giving an account of an interview with a foreign representa- tive who had come to see him there, he being then Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and resident at the Castle.^ It was found on examination that this was unusual, and that when a Secretary of State went abroad, it was the practice to send a circular letter to all the foreign ambassadors and ministers in London, requesting them to address * December 7, 1881. State Papers ^ vol. Ixxiii. p. 1049. I ADDRESS, "FOREIGN OFFICE" 59 their communications to the Foreign Qffice, not- withstanding the temporary absence of the Secretary of State, and informing them that replies to their letters would be sent to them from that office as usual. The only precedent in point was that when the Earl of Clarendon went to Wiesbaden for his health, in September, 1869, he dated a despatch to H.M. 's ambassador at St. Petersburg (reporting an important conversation which he had had with Prince Gortschakoff on the affairs of Central Asia), from Wiesbaden.^ On it being pointed out to Lord Granville that it was not usual to date Foreign Office despatches from any other place, his lordship issued a minute, in which he gave directions that in future all such despatches should be dated from the Foreign Office only. ^ State Papers^ vol. Ixiii. p. 668. 1. t : 'I VISCOUNT PALMERSTON 6i t I CHAPTER IV SECRETARIES OF STATE DISCOUNT PALMERSTON was the first ^ of the Secretaries of State under whom I served. He was Foreign Secretary on three different occasions — from November 22, 1830, till November 15, 1834 (in the Ministry of Earl Grey, and later of Viscount Melbourne); from April 18, 1835, till September 2, 1841 (in the Ministry of Viscount Melbourne) ; and from July 6, 1846, till December 26, 1851 (in the Ministry of Lord John, afterwards Earl, Russell). Among the many important questions which Lord Palmerston had to deal with during his Jirs^ term of office, between 1830 and 1834, were : — the inde- pendence, sovereignty, and boundaries of Greece, which were settled by the treaty of May 7, 1832 ; the separation of Belgium from Holland, which was partially brought about by the treaty of November 15, 1 83 1 (although not finally settled until April 19, 1839) ; the Russian proceedings in Poland ; and the pacification of Spain and Portugal, which was setded by the treaty of April 22, 1834. The protocols which he signed with the repre- sentatives of other Powers on the affairs of Belgium alone were so numerous (seventy-eight in number) that he was nicknamed by officials '' Protocol Pal- merston. 60 Among the important questions which engaged his lordship's attention during his second tenure of office, between 1835 and 1841, were: — the final settlement of the question of the separation of Belgium and Holland, including the position of Luxemburg, by the treaty of April 19, 1839; the pacification of the Levant, and the Pachalic of Egypt, which were settled by the Convention be- tween the four Powers and Turkey of July 15, 1840 (to which France declined to be a signatory party) ; and the convention between the five Powers (including France) and Turkey of July 13, 1841, respecting the passage of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. During the sitting of the Belgian and Greek Conferences in London, which lasted from 1831 till 1839, many of the clerks in the office were always in attendance on Sundays, as was also either the librarian or the sub-librarian. A Story is told that one Sunday morning, during church-time, Lord Palmerston entered one of the rooms of the office, accompanied by Lady Palmers- ton, and not finding the head of the department at his post, he inquired of one of the juniors where he was, and on being told that he was at church, his lordship expressed much surprise at his not being at his desk, and was beginning to wax rather warm on the subject when he was stopped by Lady Palmerston 's remarking, " But, you see, my dear, some people go to church on Sundays." Lord Palmerston evidently felt that this was an awkward remark for her to make under the circumstances; but he said no more, and quietly left the room. I 62 SECRETARIES OF STATE VISCOUNT PALMERSTON 63 Lf The refusal of France to become a party to the Convention of July 15, 1840, which contained the conditions of an arrangement which the four Powers had agreed to submit to Mehemet AH, Pacha of Egypt (who had been driven out of Syria), and which they were prepared to compel him to accept,^ led to the relations between this country and France being considerably strained, as is shown by a de- spatch which was addressed by Lord Palmerston to H.M/s Ambassador in Paris. A vote had been proposed in the French Chamber for the increase of the French Navy, and the attenti'on of Lord Palmerston having been called to it, he wrote a despatch to the British Ambassador in Paris (August 4, 1840), in which he said : — ** The British Fleet in the Mediterranean will be quite strong enough to do everything which it can be required to do in pursuance of the engagements of the Treaty of the 15th of July. The force of that Fleet will also be abundantly sufficient to secure it against molestation or insult from any squadron which the French may think proper to send to the Levant, and if any proceeding of the French Squadron should bring on a Collision — which H.M. s Government trust the French Government will have the prudence and wisdom to avoid— H.M. s Government have no fear as to the result ; but it must certainly strike every impartial observer that if France means to preserve Peace, this armament, which is only a display of irritation, cannot tend to inspire the mutual cordiality which belongs to peace ; and that, on the other hand, if the French Government mean to go to War, this armament affords an inadequate measure of the resources with 1 State Papers^ vol. 28, p. 342. ijiFTTtilil WI S^m^^.^:.^':KXik.m3wm^mmm which they are prepared for entering upon the contest. H.M.'s Government, however, entertain the most confident hope and belief that the French Government mean to preserve peace, notwithstand- ing these hostile demonstrations ; but if it were Otherwise, it is always in the power of the Crown to assemble Parliament in a fortnight, in order to ask from it the means which may be necessary, in any case, for protecting the interests and upholding the honour of the Country." The above despatch was laid before Parliament with other correspondence relative to the ** Affairs of the Levant,"^ and It struck my youthful official mind as being couched in somewhat strong Ian-, guage ; but it had its effect, as France did not go to war to enforce her views. The most important questions with which Lord Palmerston had to deal during his third tenure of office, between 1846 and 1851, were: — the an- nexation of Cracow by Austria, against which a British protest was issued (November 23, 1846) ; the pacification of Portugal, which country had again become disturbed, but the settlement of which was effected by the protocol of May 21, 1847 ; and the dispute between Prussia and Denmark, which included the question of succession to the throne, and the integrity of the Danish Monarchy, which latter question was settled by the protocol of July 4, 1850. • But besides these, there were boundary questions in Italy, the differences with Spain which led to the suspension of diplomatic relations in 1848, and numerous other affairs of less importance. ^ Octavo edition, vol. 11. p. 58. 64 SECRETARIES OF STATE On quitting the Foreign Office, in November, 1834, Lord Palmerston requested the Under Secretary of State to explain how much he re- gretted that he had been prevented from having any personal communication with the clerks before he quitted it, and continued : — " I regret this circumstance, for I should have wished to have thanked them for the able assistance which they have afforded me in the performance of the important duties with which I have been charged, and to have expressed my sense of the indefatigable zeal and unwearied cheerfulness with which they have, during the last four years, gone through the unusual labour and submitted to the excessive confinement arising out of the extra- ordinary pressure of public business. Pray be kind enough to help me to repair this involuntary omission, by conveying to the gentlemen of the Foreign Office this expression of my acknowledg- ment and thanks. ,. Palmerston." Again, on quitting office in December, 185 1, he wrote to the chief clerk as follows : — ** I can assure you that I feel great regret at finding myself separated from my fellow-labourers in the Foreign Office, to whose assistance I have been so much indebted for the success which has attended our united exertions ; and whose ability, in- telligence, industry, and zeal have made the Foreign Office a model Department. ,, p „ . I will here add a few incidents which occurred during Lord Palmerston's period of office, although they may not all have a direct personal association with him. REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS, 1848 6S The year 1 848 was a very eventful one, especially for the Foreign Office. The whole of the continent of Europe was in a state of revolutionary excite- ment. A revolution broke out in Paris, which drove King Louis Philippe from his throne, and led to the proclamation of a French Republic ; whilst insurrectionary movements also took place at Berlin, Vienna, Rome, and elsewhere, which led to the abdication of King Frederic William IV. of Prussia, of the Emperor Ferdinand I. of Austria, and the flight of Pope Pius VI L in disguise from Rome to Gaeta. At home we had our own little excitement in the shape of a threatened Chartist riot ; and, as if that was not sufficient to occupy the time and attention of the Foreign Office, a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the miscellaneous expenditure. Mr. Hammond, Mr. Lenox-Conyngham (then Chief Clerk), Mr. Lewis Hertslet (my father), who was then Librarian, etc., and other Foreign Office officials, gave evidence before this Committee, which inquiry led to the publication of a very ponderous Blue Book. The expulsion of Mr. Bulwer (afterwards Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, and later Lord Dalling) from Madrid caused great excitement at the time. In May, 1848, he was ordered by the Spanish Government to quit Madrid within forty-eight hours, on the alleged ground of his improper interference in the internal affairs of Spain. He accordingly left that capital. The Spanish Minister in London, M. Isturitz, was, in consequence, in- formed that he could not any longer be allowed to 66 SECRETARIES OF STATE continue at the Court of St. James as Minister from the Queen of Spain, and he accordingly left London.' Diplomatic relations were suspended between the two countries from June, 1848, till April, 1850, when they were renewed. The Spanish Government has always been very tenacious about the interference of foreign Governments in their domestic affairs ; and it will no doubt be remembered by many how sharply it resented the conduct pursued by the allied Sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, at Verona, in 1823. In January of that year, notes were addressed to the Spanish Government by the Charges d' Affaires of those three countries, in which they each, officially, announced the views of their respective Sovereigns assembled at Verona, which were that, owing to the disordered state of the country, they were unable to remain any longer to represent their countries at the Court of Madrid ; they at the same time demanded their passports. To the Austrian Chargd d' Affaires' note, the Spanish Foreign Minister replied as follows :— ** I have received the note which you were pleased to address to me yesterday, and confining myself, for the present, to informing you that it is a matter of indifference to His Catholic Majesty s Govern- ment whether it maintains, or not, relations with that of Vienna, I forward, by Royal order, the passports which you demand." But to the Russian Charg^ d' Affaires' note, a 1 SlaU Papers, vol. 38, p. 928. CHARTIST RIOT, 1848 67 much sharper answer was returned. The Spanish Minister said : — '' I have received the very insolent note which you addressed to me yesterday, and confining my answer to informing you that you have scandalously abused — perhaps through ignorance — the Law of Nations, which must always be respectable in the eyes of the Spanish Government, I transmit to you, by His Majesty's order, the passports which you' have demanded, and hope you will be pleased to leave this capital in as short a time as possible."^ Well do I remember the great Chartist meeting, which was held on April 10, 1848, although fifty-three years have passed since that day. The so-called *' National Convention," led by Feargus O'Connor and others, proposed to hold a mass meeting of 200,000 men on Kennington Common (since in- closed), and to march thence in procession to West- minster, for the purpose of presenting a petition to the House of Commons, and, as a riot was ex- pected, every precaution was taken to suppress it. The Bank of England and other places were guarded by the military, and 150,000 persons of all ranks of society, including Prince Louis Napoleon, afterwards Emperor of the French, were voluntarily sworn in as special constables. I attended, with five of my colleagues in the office at the police court, West- minster, and on being sworn, a policeman's truncheon was presented to each of us, with a warrant author- ising us to act as special constables for three months. The following is a copy of the warrant which was given to me : — 1 SUi^e Papers, vol. 10, pp. 927, 929. 0,m ^ '': ■J if 1 68 SECRETARIES OF STATE "WESTMINSTER POLICE COURT. "To Mr. Edward Hertslet, Foreign Office in the Parish of Saint Margarets, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex. " Whereas it has been made to appear unto ME, ToHN Palfrey Burrell, Esquire, one of the Magistrates of the Police Courts of the Metropohs sittine at the Westminster Court within the Metro- ..Melopou- politan Police District, and usually tan Police fes- acting for the said District, upon the iTd utty'Jf Oath of Henry Hatchard Sugg, a Westminster to credible Witncss, that Tumults and '^'' Riots have lately taken place in the City and Liberty of Westminster, within the said District, and may reasonably be apprehended to take place again. And I, the said Magistrate being of opinion that the Ordinary Officers appointed for preserving the Peace in the said City and Liberty are not sufficient for the preservation of the Feace and for the protection of the Inhabitants and security of the Property in the said City and Liberty, do hereby, in pursuance of an Act of Parliament made and passed in the Session of Parliament holden in the First and Second Years of the Reign of his late Maiesty William the Fourth, intituled 'An Act for amending the Laws relative to the Appointment of Special Constables, and for the preservation ot the Peace," nominate and appoint you the said Edward Hertslet as and to act as a Special Con- stable for the Preservation of the Public Peace, and for the Protection of the Inhabitants, and Security of the Property within the said City and Liberty. Such appointment to continue in force during the period of Three Months from the date hereof. "Given under my Hand at the Westminster Police Court aforesaid, this sixth Day of April One thousand Eight hundred and Forty-eight. "J. P. Burrell." SPECIAL CONSTABLES, 1848 69 Many will no doubt remember the cartoon which appeared in PuncA at that time, where a "special" was represented addressing a rioter thus : — " Now look here, if you kill me it's murder ; but . if I kill you it's nothing." As it was feared that an attack might be made on the Foreign Office, the windows of the MS. Library, on the ground floor, facing Downing Street, were filled with books, loopholes being left to pass muskets through, should they really be required ; but there never was a greater farce. A few muskets of the old Brown-bess pattern were fetched from the Tower of London— it should be remembered that there were no rifles in those days— and sent into the office, but, so far as I could ascertain, without ammunition ; and there was not a soul in the office who had ever handled one of these clumsy weapons before, or knew how to fire it off, as it was long before the commencement of the volunteer move- ment. A few navy cudasses were also supplied by H.M.'s Government, but they looked, for all the world, as if they had been borrowed from Astley's theatre. There had been no previous attempt at drilling, nor was anyone instructed what to do in the event of the rioters making their appearance, probably owing, in a great measure, to the jealousy which existed among the officials in the Government offices in the immediate neighbourhood of Whitehall. At the Foreign Ofifice the dispute between the permanent Under Secretary of State and the Chief Clerk waxed so warm that the latter was reported to have said to the former that if he meddled in matters 70 SECRETARIES OF STATE which did not belong to his province in the office, but were solely within that of the Chief Clerk, he would shoot him ! A similar squabble, I was told, was going on between the Treasury officials and those of the Board of Trade— the office of which was then at Whitehall. Orders were given for the Treasury men to defend the Board of Trade windows, but the Board of Trade officials considered that they were perfecriy competent to perform this duty themselves, and they consequently declared that, if the Treasury men attempted to carry into effect those orders, they would be resisted by force. What would have hap- pened, therefore, if the rioters had only had the officials to deal with, and a serious attack had been made on the public offices in Downing Street and Whitehall, it is impossible to say ; but I was after- wards told that ample arrangements had been made by the Government for the suppression of the riot, and that, had the mob shown in force in that neigh- bourhood, the troops, which were kept concealed on the parade in St. James's Park, would have entered the public offices from the rear and defended them. The afternoon turned out wet, and instead of the 200,000 who were to be mustered on Kennington Common, only between 15,000 and 20,000 appeared, and it was said that Feargus O'Connor and his friends had been informed quietly by the police that, in the event of their exciting the mob to acts of violence, their instructions were to shoot down the ringleaders, which information, true or false, had a magic effect, as the rioters were implored by their leaders to disperse, which they quickly did, when ( LOUIS PHILIPPE AT CLAREMONT 71 the rain began to fall heavily. Thus ended the threatened English revolution of 1848. On February 24, 1848, Louis Philippe abdicated in favour of his grandson, the Comte de Paris, but his nomination was not accepted, and the Royal Family fled from Paris to avoid the fury of the French mob. The King having assumed the name of '' Mr. Smith," succeeded in escaping to England. Claremont was placed by Her Majesty Queen Victoria at the disposal of the ex-King and his Queen, and I weU remember, on one occasion, seeing his late Majesty enjoying the calmness and solitude of this peaceful retreat. It was on a Sunday afternoon; a friend of my father, Dr. ' Neville of Esher, had the privilege of possessing a key to a private gate which led into the park, and this key he was permitted to lend at times to his friends. He had lent It on that Sunday afternoon to my father, who, \^ith my uncle Charles and myself, took a walk in the Claremont grounds, and knowing that the ex- King was then residing there, we were careful not to approach too near the house, lest we should intrude upon royalty, but kept to the secluded paths, where we thought we should be able to enjoy our walk unobserved ; but it so happened that it was just this part of the park which had attracted the attention of the ex-King, and on turning a corner we found ourselves close to a seat upon which His Majesty was seated between two aides-de-camp. We immediately drew back, and were about to retreat to another part of the park when His Majesty rose, as did the two aides- 72 SECRETARIES OF STATE de-camp, and all politely bowing and taking off their hats, one of the aides-de-camp exclaimed, . *' Pray come forward, pray come forward,'* and as it was impossible to retreat under those circum- stances, we advanced, and taking off our hats and bowing lowly, we passed by His Majesty. After we had gone by some little distance, we replaced our hats on our heads, and venturing to look back to see if we were well out of sight, we saw, to our astonishment. His Majesty still standing with his hat off and holding it in his hand. We immediately removed our hats again and kept them off until we were quite sure we were out of sight. It was really a sad sight to see this old man, who had done so much for France, now taking refuge from his own people in old England. He died at Claremont, August 26, 1850, and was buried at the Roman Catholic chapel at Weybridge, Surrey ; but, in 1876, his remains were removed to France. During the sitting of Parliament in 1850, the late Mr. Roebuck made a formal attack in the House of Commons against Lord Palmerston's foreign policy. The motion was divided into no less than forty headings, which occupied five pages of the ** Votes." The period over which the attack extended was from 1827 to 1847, although the policy attacked had over and over again formed the subject of debates in Parliament. To provide material for a complete answer to the various charges made in this *' monster motion," the Librarian and his staff were sorely taxed, as the information sought for was contained in between 2,000 and 3,000 MS. volumes. \l X-_ "CIVIS ROMANUS SUM." 73 The debate lasted for four nights, and Lord Palmerston ended his successful speech with the following words : — " I therefore fearlessly challenge the verdict which this House, as representing a political, a commercial, a constitutional country, is to give on the question now brought before it ; whether the principles on which the foreign policy of Her Majesty's Govern- ment has been conducted, and the sense of duty which has led us to think ourselves bound to afford protection to our fellow-subjects abroad, are proper and fitting guides for those who are charged with the government of England ; and whether, as the Roman, in days of old, held himself free from in- dignity, when he could say Civis Romanus sum, so also a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong." ^ It is a well-known fact that Lord Palmerston was, at one time, hated abroad on account of the firm and determined manner in which he upheld British interests and demanded redress on every occasion on which a British subject had suffered insult or injury at the hands of officials in foreign countries ; but his administration of foreign affairs did not always meet with the approval of public opinion even in this country. It is said that on one occasion a case of table- knives was stopped at an Austrian custom-house because the name of the manufacturers, Palmer and Son, stamped on the blades, was mistaken by the officials for '* Palmerston," and they thought * Hansard, 25 June, 1850, vol. 112, p. 444- • I 74 SECRETARIES OF STATE that the knives were about to be imported for the purpose of carrying out some foul and wicked conspiracy to overturn the Austrian Empire ! On another occasion an EngUsh traveller, on crossing the Austrian frontier and producing his Foreign Office passport signed by Lord Palmerston, had it struck out of his hand by the Austrian custom-house official, who at the same time ex- claimed, **Cest un nom detestable." But it is not surprising that the Austrian Govern- ment was at times enraged against this country. For instance : — A gross insult was offered to the Austrian General Haynau in 1850, when Lord Palmerston was Foreign Minister, and his lordship's refusal to investigate the matter, or to punish the offenders unless they were prosecuted in the usual manner, naturally added fuel to the flame which already existed. I may, I hope, be excused for repeating here the following account taken from the Annual Register of what occurred on that memorable occasion. **A disgraceful attack was made on this dis- tinguished officer — General Haynau — the most successful of the Austrian commanders in the Hungarian War, evoked by the reputation he had obtained among the English populace for great cruelty, more especially for the flogging of women. Shortly before twelve o'clock — on September 4, 1850 — three foreigners, one of whom wore long moustachios, presented themselves at the brewery of Messrs. Barclay and Co. for the purpose of in- specting the establishment. According to the regular practice of visitors, they were requested ASSAULT ON MARSHAL HAYNAU 75 to sign their names in a book in the office, after which they crossed the yard with one of the clerks. On inspecting the visitors book the clerks dis- covered that one of the visitors was no other than General Haynau. It became known all over the brewery in less than two minutes, and before the General and his companions had crossed the yard nearly all the labourers and draymen were out with brooms and dirt, shouting out, ' Down with the Austrian butcher ! ' and other epithets of rather an alarming nature to the General. He was soon covered with dirt, and perceiving some of the men about to attack him he ran into the street to Bankside, followed by a large mob, consisting ol the brewers men, coal-heavers, and others armed with all sorts of weapons, with which they be- laboured the General. He ran, in a frantic manner, along Bankside until he came to the 'George public-house, when, forcing the doors open he rushed in and proceeded upstairs mto one ot the bedrooms, to the utter astonishment of the land- lady. The furious mob rushed in upon him, threatening to Mo ' for the ' Austrian butcher, but, fortunately for him. the house is very old-fashioned, and contained a vast number of doors, which were all forced open, except that of the room in which the General was concealed. The mob had in- creased at that time to several hundreds, but a messenger being despatched for the assistance ol the police, a party of this force speedily appeared, but with great difficulty dispersed the mob, and got the General out of the house. A police galley was at the wharf at the time, into which he was taken and rowed towards Somerset House, amidst the shouts and execrations of the mob. ^'The General immediately left this country, and no steps were taken to punish the perpetrators of this cowardly onslaught. 76 SECRETARIES OF STATE "The indignity thus offered to their most dis- tinguished General, and the apparent unwillingness of the British Government to take any measures to discover the offenders, excited a strong feeling in Austria and throughout Germany." The General— or rather Marshal— Haynau, on his return to Vienna, declined to make any personal complaint against the treatment which he had re- ceived. The Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs- Prince Schwartzenburg — however, informed the British Ambassador at Vienna that he was glad to see that most of the London newspapers, even those which habitually were opposed to Austrian policy, had united in stigmatising this disgraceful breach of English hospitality in the person of an Austrian subject of a very high position. An official demand was then made that an investigation should take place into the circumstances of the assault committed on the Marshal ; but Messrs. Barclay and Perkins had already instituted an inquiry, which failed to lead to the discovery of the instigators of the outrage or even of the principal actors in it, and under those circumstances the Home Office considered that it would be most inexpedient for the Crown to institute criminal pro- ceedings in a case of that nature without any reasonable expectation of success ; and so the matter dropped.^ Lord Palmerston's "Minutes" were frequently very amusing, and when intended to convey a rebuke or censure they were written in a satirical rather ^ State Papers, vol. 42, p. 388. LORD PALMERSTON'S "MINUTES" 77 V than in a severe tone. His own handwriting was very clear and legible, but he generally spelt the names of persons and things, and frequendy even adjectives and pronouns, with a capital letter (see facsimile of minute facing page 78), which peculiarity is looked upon in these days as a grievous error. A subordinate official at one of H.M/s Legations in South America once wrote a despatch containing certain suggestions which his lordship entirely dis- approved of ; and he simply wrote on the docket of the despatch, *' Goose, Goose, Goose," and it was then **put by/' On another occasion he gave the following in- struction as to an answer which was to be returned to a letter, which had been addressed to him, con- taining a request with which he was unable or unwilling to comply: "Civil answer — meaning nothing," and the head of the department had to frame an answer accordingly for his lordship's ap- proval. To every minute he wrote he attache4 his initial, " P," with the date added in figures. He was very particular about Handwriting. He considered it to be of the utmost importance that those who wrote despatches or letters which were to be preserved for all time should take care to write them well, and on several occasions he sent circulars to ministers and consuls abroad, desiring them to write large, round, legible hands, and to use black ink. This was carried to such an extent that a despatch which his lordship received from Mr. Plowden, Consul at Massowah, was ordered to be returned to him to be written over again in blacker ink— a difficult order, perhaps, for the consul to 78 SECRETARIES OF STATE carry out, in those days at any rate, in such an unapproachable part of the world ; but I remember seeing another minute from his lordship in which he inquired, " Where exactly is Massowah ? " so that the difficulty was, perhaps, not quite apparent when the order was given. The following are a few of Lord Palmerston's official minutes on the subject of Ink and Hand- writing, but given in the ordinary type. His practice was to sit Up working late at night, and it was pain- ful to him to have to read bad handwriting, and, even when a middle-aged man, he had the greatest objection to having placed before him letters written in a small hand. His invariable rule was to write on such letters '* Readable Copy," and a copy of the letter had then to be made in the approved style by one of the clerks in the office. A clerk once — more, perhaps, by way of joke than from a particular desire to please his lordship — copied out a memorandum for his use in an unusually large handwriting; upon which his lord- ship wrote the following minute — whether by way of returning the joke or not was never known : — ** The Writer of this Paper would write an ex- cellent hand if he wrote a little larger." On a very badly written despatch he wrote :— in a * Separate,* that the Tell Mr. W- person who copies out his despatches should form his letters by connecting his slanting down strokes by visible lines at top or bottom according to the letters which he intends his parallel lines to represent. ^ ^ "P. 1 8/4/5 1." MINUTE BY LORD PALMERSTON ON HANDWRITING. 2a///^4^ I To /ace J>€ige 78 \ I I LORD PALMERSTON'S "MINUTES" 79 On another badly written despatch from one of H.M.'s consuls he wrote :— " A Despatch must contain much valuable matter to reward one for deciphering such handwriting as this— which can only be compared to Iron Raihngs leaning out of the perpendicular. „ p 23/12/57." On another despatch he wrote :— "Reading Mr. R 's handwriting is like running Penknives into one's Eyes. „ p_ 21/4/64." On one occasion, on receiving a batch of badly written despatches from certain of H.M.'s consuls, Lord Palmerston wrote the following minute :— "These Consuls are too bad ; there is hardly one of them that writes a decent hand and with readable Ink Write to each of the offenders that if they do not write larger and more legibly, and with black Ink, I shall be obliged to send all their despatches back to them to be written over agam ; and il they do not pay more attention to their Instructions, Other persons will be found who will do so. This is not to be a Circular, but special to those who deserve it. Life is not long enough to decipher their scribbling. "P. 29/1/51-" He had also the greatest objection to persons writing what is known as a back-hand, and on one occasion when a letter was sent up to him for his signature written in that style, he returned it with the following minute : — "Has the Writer of this Letter lost the use of his right hand? If not, why does he make all his letters slope backwards like the raking masts ot an American schooner ? in \ \ \ V \ II 8o SECRETARIES OF STATE If A semi-official letter was once received by the Superintendent of the Consular Department from one of H.M/s consuls in South America, of which the following is an extract : — "... What I have undergone for the last twelve months in the house I lately occupied is beyond all imagination. What with fleas and other vermin, it was absolutely insufferable." Upon this letter being sent up to Lord Palmerston for his perusal, his lordship wrote upon it : — " Living with his Fleas can hardly be worse than reading his handwriting, which I cannot do. Let me have an abstract of what it is about. ''P. 24/4/32." On the question of Ink, here is another minute which he wrote on the subject : — "Why is such Pale Ink used in the Office.^ It is very important that Ink should be used which will last. I apprehend that those who write, put water into their Ink when it gets thick; but instead of doing this, they should throw the thick Ink away and tap a fresh bottle. . "P. 18/2/37." On a despatch written by Mr. Bulwer (afterwards Sir Henry, and later Lord Bailing) from Madrid, in March, 1847, Lord Palmerston wrote the following minute : — *' Request Mr. Bulwer to cause his Inclosures to be written with the same Ink which is used for his Despatches. "The Inclosures are written with a Steel Pen and fluid Ink, which is no doubt pleasant for the writer, but far otherwise to the reader, and they will LORD PALMERSTON'S "MINUTES" 81 i moreover soon disappear like the Proclamations of General Breton." And on another despatch from Mr. Bulwer he wrote : — ** Send this Despatch back to Mr. Bulwer, to be written over again in better Ink, and ask him where he got the Ink in which it is written. -P. 1 1/3/47." But next in importance to handwriting and ink in his lordship^s eyes was Punctuation. He had a great objection to persons " sowing Commas," but Still more did he dislike despatches written out for signature in true lawyer style, without any stops whatever. He once wrote the following minute on a batch of letters being sent up to him for signature without being properly stopped : — ''Write to the Stationery Office for a sufficient supply of Full Stops, Semi-colons, and Commas; but more especially Semi-colons, for the use of the copying clerks of the office ; I furnish these things out of my own private stores when I have time to look over despatches for signature, but I am not always sufficiently at leisure to supply deficiencies. '*P. 1/6/5 1." On the importance of writing despatches in proper language, he once wrote the following minute on a badly worded draft of a despatch sent up for his approval : — " The construction of sentences is stiff, strained, and roundabout ; words are used in meanings which they are not accustomed to bear, and relatives and G M H ill 82 SECRETARIES OF STATE antecedents are so mixed as to leave the meaning of sentences often obscure. Sentences should be constructed to begin with the nominative, to go on with the verb, and to end with the accusative, and the mind of the person who reads should follow the sentence without effort. Life is not long enough to correct them and put them into plain English, planting Sugar Canes would not be more laborious. *^P. 2/12/36." He also commented thus on a despatch received from one of H.M. s charges d'affaires :— *' Mr. B W- — seems to think that Secre- taries of State have nothing else to do but to read his despatches, admire his long sentences, his multitude of words, and his never-ending remarks. It is highly desirable that he should be more pithy and concise." He had also a strong objection to the use of Pins for the purpose of fastening papers together, and having on one occasion— when Home Secretary, I believe — been pricked somewhat sharply with a pin when unfolding a paper, he wrote the following minute : — *' I desire that all the Pins in this Office be im- mediately made over to the Female Branch of the Establishment. " As an instance of Lord Palmerstons jocular disposition, I remember being told the following anecdote : — A gentleman of the name of Smallwood applied to his lordship for the post of Queen's Foreign ( FOREIGN BONDHOLDERS 83 Service Messenger; but there happened to be in the corps at that time a Queen's Messenger of the name of Littlewood, and it is said that Lord Palmerston declined to accede to Mr. Smallwood's request on the ground that it would be too absurd to allow a gentleman of the name of Smallwood and another of the name of Littlewood to be seen driving in a curricle together. I cannot vouch for the truth of this story, but I knew both of these gentlemen personally. There was one class of our countrymen who had a great grievance against the treatment which they had received at the hands of certain foreign Govern- ments — more especially those of Central and South America — and these were those who had invested their money in foreign bonds. These complainants were very numerous and incessant, and they gave Lord Palmerston an immense amount of trouble, as they have done others who have succeeded him at the Foreign Office. But Lord Palmerston, whilst doing his best to assist them, informed them, one and all, that those who invested their money in the bonds of other countries in order that they might obtain a high rate of interest for it, knew perfectly well that they were running a great risk of losing their capital, and had no claim to the assistance of H.M.'s Government on their behalf. Still, he was always ready, as his successors have also been, to give them his best support where it could be shown that they had been treated with manifest injustice, as will be seen from the following minute. On an occasion when a foreign Government had not kept faith with the British claimants, he gave i 1/ !-; 84 SECRETARIES OF STATE instructions for the following despatch to be sent to H.M/s Charge d' Affaires: — *' Mr. W to state, in a short Note to the Government, that the patience and forbear- ance of H.M/s Government in regard to these matters have reached their limits, and that if the sums due to the British Claimants are not paid within the stipulated time and in money, H.M/s Admiral commanding on the West India Station will receive orders to take such measures as may be necessary to obtain Justice from the nation in this matter. ,. p jg/A/ci " I knew one of these claimants personally. He was fairly well off, and had invested a considerable sum of money in the bonds of one of the South American republics, which turned out to be almost worthless. This induced him at last to publish a small pamphlet, in which he set forth his griev- ances, and in sending a copy of it to the Foreign Secretary he made an earnest appeal to him that he would make an official complaint against the manner in which that Government had treated its foreiofn creditors. On the tide page of this pamphlet appeared the following scriptural quotation : ** I would to G — , that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these Bonds!' I am afraid the joke was never fully appreciated in the office, as I never once heard it alluded to ; but it struck me, on perusing the pamphlet at the time, as being a '* happy thought," although a sad perversion of Scripture. I \ \ LETTER -WRITING. A SLIP DETECTED 85 Lord Palmerston used to work up to a late hour at night, and frequently into the early morning; but there are not many who could do this for any length of time with impunity, should they be tempted, which was never Lord Palmerston's case, to take a **nip" or two whilst writing, or rather composing, the drafts of their letters and despatches. I knew a case many years ago in which one of the clerks in the office made a sad slip, when com- posing a letter to a lady respecting her husband's imprisonment abroad, which would have got the office into sad discredit had not the error been detected by the Under Secretary of State, to whom the draft letter was submitted for approval. Several British subjects had been imprisoned during a civil war in one of the South American republics, and the wife of one of them wrote repeatedly to the Secretary of State imploring him to do all in his power to obtain the release of her husband, and everything possible was done by H.M.s Government to obtain his release, as well as that of all the other prisoners. After a considerable length of time a despatch arrived from H.M.'s representative at the place where the inci- dent occurred, reporting that all the prisoners had been set at liberty, with the exception of the one respecting whom the lady in question had so fre- quently and so imploringly written to the Secretary of State. Upon receipt of this despatch, one of the clerks was instructed to prepare drafts of letters informing the relatives of each of the released prisoners of its contents. He did so late at night, and drafted a letter to this un- j 86 SECRETARIES OF STATE THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON 87 h I; \ happy lady, to be signed by the Under Secre- tary, informing her that the Secretary of State had great pleasure in announcing that all the prisoners had been released, with the exception of her husband! Fortunately the error was at once detected by the sharp-eyed Under Secretary, and the letter which was actually sent to the lady was couched in very different language. The clerk who had committed so gross an error, after dinner, was never given an opportunity of making another such blunder. The lady's husband was eventually released. Lord Palmerston died at Brockett Hall, Herts, on October 18, 1865, and was buried in West- minster Abbey. A brief account of his official, parliamentary, and other services will be found recorded in the Foreign Office List} The Duke of Wellington was Foreign Secretary in Sir Robert Peels Ministry from November 15, 1834, till April 18, 1835, and he died at Walmer Castle on September 14, 1852. His body was laid in State at Chelsea Hospital from November 12 to 17, and he was buried at St. Paul's Cathedral on the eio^hteenth of that month. I was at that time temporarily attached to the Lord Chamberlain's Office for a few days merely to assist in the funeral arrangements, and I sat by the coffin for each of the days that the body was lying in state. Three mourners sat on each side of the coffin, two being officers of the household troops, and the third an officer of the Lord Chamberlain s Office (or his representative, of whom I was then one). * Edition 1866, p. 177. An officer of the Brigade of Foot Guards sat at the head of the coffin as chief mourner. At the foot of it was a display of the late Duke's orders and batons. Each mourner sat on a black velvet stool, with his feet resting on a strip of gold silk carpet. Behind each seat stood a Warder of the Tower, or '' Beef-eater," and between each seat was a huge candelabra, with several branches, all having the appearance of being made of solid silver, but, I was told, they were made of wood silvered over. The large candles in the branches were also made of wood, with the exception of the upper portions, which were of solid wax, and as huge drops came down occasionally with a thud as they melted, it was very unpleasant when they fell upon one's uniform. From the ceiling, over the bier, was hung a canopy of black velvet lined with delicate silver tissue, and on one occasion a serious accident very nearly happened. The crowds of people who went through the room in which the coffin was placed were very great, and one afternoon, as I was seated beside the coffin, I saw a -thief" slide down one of the candles, and in the course of a short time set fire to the wood. I whispered to the '' Beef- eater " behind me to go out quiedy and call atten- tion to it, but he replied that he did not dare to leave his post. Seeing someone moving on the opposite side 1 coughed, and managed to engage his attention, and looking up he saw that the wood- work was alight. He therefore hastened out, and returned with a wet table-napkin, but as the candle was a litrie too high for him to reach, he seized hold of the huge candelabra itself, which had the effect Hi r. ' ■ ! I 8S SECRETARIES OF STATE of making it, together with its array of many candles, sway towards him, and it would certainly have set light to the silver-tissued canopy above had not the chief mourner jumped up from his seat and steadied it, while the lighted wood was extin- guished. It was an affair of a moment, and fortu- nately no one in the crowded room observed it, but when my ''relief" came, the officer acting as chief mourner came up to me and inquired if I was in charge from the Lord Chamberlain's Office, and on my replying that I was he said, "Then I may tell you that it is my intention to inform the Lord Chamberlain that we have had a most merciful escape from having the whole building destroyed by fire " ; to which I replied that the Lord Chamberlains Department had no concern what- ever with such details of the funeral arrangements, as they were solely under the management of the undertaker. However, the officer no doubt, very properly, reported what he had witnessed, for the next day a brass wire was attached to each cande- labra so as to steady them all together. One day some of my friends in the Foreign Office, who were unaware that I had taken a fort- night's leave of absence for the purpose of assisting in the Lord Chamberlain's Office, were much astonished at seeing me seated as a mourner at the side of the coffin ; they stared at me, but of course I did not recognise them ; neither did I recognise a cousin who tried in vain to catch my eye, as she passed close beside me ; but I found it very difficult to wear a wooden face. On the fourth day, just before the lying in state was ended. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON 89 Captain of the police came up to me and re- ported that he had heard that, when the ceremony was over, an attack would not improbably be made on the building, as questions of perquisites had arisen on previous occasions, and he told me that he had heard it said that at the lying in state of H.R.H. the Duke of York in 1827 the velvet was actually torn off the coffin by those who claimed their per- quisites. On my asking him what had better be ' done, he replied that it was his duty to carry out such instructions as the Lord Chamberlain's officials mio-ht eive him. I then inquired who was in charge of the troops, and on his saying Colonel (afterwards Sir John) Steel, we went to him, and he immediately gave orders for all the doors but one in the building to be closed and fastened. He then ordered sentries to be placed in front of each window, sp that they could be seen by the crowd outside (which was very dense), with instructions to *' call out guard " if anyone attempted to climb over the railings. But, seeing that every precaution was taken, there was no attempt at rioting, and all passed off quietly. ■i^. - EARL OF ABERDEEN 91 1; ) CHAPTER V SECRETARIES OF STATE CONTINUED LORD ABERDEEN, LORD GRANVILLE, LORD MALMESBURY, LORD RUSSELL, LORD CLARENDON ' I "HE 4th Earl of Aberdeen was Secretary of State -*- for Foreign Affairs in the Duke of Wellington's Ministry from June 2, 1828, till November 22, 1830, and again in Sir Robert Peel's Ministry, from September 2, 1841, till July 6, 1846. Just before his lordship accepted the Seals of the Foreign Office for xS\^ first time (1828-30), war had broken out between Russia and Turkey, which naturally occupied the serious attention of this country, but it was eventually terminated by the Treaty of Adrianople (September 14, 1829). The long-standing questions in dispute between the Ottoman Porte and the Greeks, and the steps to be taken to secure the pacification of Greece, were also occupying the attention of the guaranteeing Powers — Great Britain, France, and Russia — and among the last of a long series of protocols signed in London^ was that of February 3, 1830, whereby those three Powers agreed to recognise the inde- pendence and sovereignty of Greece. During Lord Aberdeen's second tenure of office (184 1-6), among other important questions was that of the regulation ^ State Papers^ vol. 17, p. 191. 90 j of the Stade Toll, which led to much discussion between the Powers interested in the system and control of the dues levied by the Hanoverian Government. At length, a convention on the subject was concluded between the Elbe-bordering States (April 13, 1844) and between Great Britain and Hanover July 22, 1844).^ It was during Lord Aberdeen's second term of office (in 1 843) that the following incident occurred : On September 26, 1843, a letter was written by a private individual in Mexico to a friend in London, and a copy of it was sent to the Foreign Office. In it occurred the following passage : — **Our relations with England are becoming daily less and less friendly. The non-fulfilment of some pecuniary contracts has given cause for several bitter communications, and the conduct of the new Charge d' Affaires is such as to make us believe that England wishes to bring things to a crisis. Among the flags and colours taken by the Mexicans from the Texans, an English flag had, by some accident, been found, and already Mr. Pakenham had, before his departure from here, applied to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, requesting that if an English flag should be found among the trophies, it might be given to him, as it could not, by any possibility, be said to belong to the Mexicans. Mr. Pakenham had received no answer to this application, and nothing more had been heard of the affair until the other day, when the anniversary of the surrender of the Spaniards at Tampico, in the year 1829, was celebrated by a ball, and the great saloon was decorated with the flags and colours above-mentioned. Mr. Doyle, the present Chargd 1 state Papers, vol. 32, pp. 8-20. The Stade Toll was actually redeemed on June 22, 1861, and the Elbe Dues on June 22, 187a 92 SECRETARIES OF STATE EARL OF ABERDEEN 93 i II d'Affaires, heard, before attending the ball, that an English flag was paraded among the rest, but, on inquiry, this was denied. Nevertheless, on his arrival, he found the flag as stated, and immediately applied to the Minister for Foreign Affairs to have this obnoxious flag removed during supper, when it might be done without being observed. This was also refused after an application by the Foreign Minister to the President; consequently all the Englishmen left the ballroom." Three days later, the same person wrote : — '' What I^ feared has taken place. On the 27th, a second national festival was celebrated, and the captured flags, the British among the rest, were again paraded. Mr. Doyle declared, in a note dated twelve o'clock on that day, that the diplomatic relations between the British and Mexican nations had ceased, and communicated the same yesterday, through the Consul, to all British subjects, adding that they now stood merely under the protection of the Consul." ^ I remember hearing, at the time that this event occurred, that one of these fetes was held in a theatre, and that on the Mexican minister refusing to remove the British flag from the military trophies there dis- played, the British Chargd d'Affaires went up into the gallery and pulled down the flag with his own hands. About the same time it was reported that as a British ship of war was passing a Mexican merchant- man the Mexican captain hung the British flag over the stern of his ship ; but that on a shot being fired from the British ship of war, in reply to this presumed insult, the flag was quickly removed from its position. Lord Aberdeen, while applauding the zeal with which Mr. Doyle had maintained the honour of the national standard, said that, even supposing the ground of offence to have been as strong as he (Mr. Doyle) supposed, H.M.'s Government could not admit that it was sufficient to justify, on his part, so extreme a measure as that to which he had had recourse, namely, the suspension of diplomatic relations with the Mexican Government, and that a strong protest would have been sufficient. He accordingly instructed him to resume diplomatic intercourse. The Mexican Government expressed its willing- ness to hand over the flag in question to Her Majesty's Government should it, on examination, prove to be English, which offer was willingly accepted by Lord Aberdeen. At the same time the Mexican Government disclaimed any intended insult to the British flag. On examination the flag proved to be English, and it was therefore handed over to the new British Minister (Mr. Bankhead). Lord Aberdeen was most kind to all old officials, and gave appointments to their sons on several occasions as a reward for their services, I being included among that number. He was stern in his manner, and I remember being told that on one occasion Captain , a Queen's Foreign Service Messenger, who had been allowed access to Lord Palmerston's room by simply tapping at his door, having a grievance, went up to Lord Aberdeen's room (his lordship having succeeded Lord Palmer- ston), and after tapping at his door, and hearing the cry, ** Come in ! " strode up to his lordship in true military style, and began to address him thus : I 'li i t iHi 11 I 94 SECRETARIES OF STATE **Your lordship is aware- — ," when he was at once stopped by Lord Aberdeen, who said, '' I am aware of nothing, sir ! Leave the room ! " and the gallant captain at once performed a ^' right about face" and retired. Lord Aberdeen was Prime Minister from December 28, 1852, till February 20, 1855 ; and died December 14, i860. Viscount Leveson, afterwards 2nd Earl Gran- ville, was Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (under Viscount Palmerston) from March 7. 1840, till September 4, 1841, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Viscount Canning, afterwards Earl Canning, k.g., and Viceroy of India. I have a vivid and most pleasant recollection of the personal appearances of both these statesmen in their younger days. Viscount Leveson succeeded to the tide as 2nd Earl Granville on January 8, 1846, and was thrice Foreign Secretary— first, from December 26, 1851, till February 27, 1852 (in Earl Russell's Ministry) j secondly, from July 6, 1870, till February 21, 1874 (in Mr. W. E. Gladstone s Ministry) ; and thirdly, from April 28, 1880, till June 24, 1885 (also in Mr. Gladstone s Ministry). Earl Granville succeeded Lord Palmerston as Foreign Secretary in December, 1851 ; but the policy pursued by his lordship did not tend to improve matters in the eyes of certain Foreign Governments. At the time of Lord Palmerston s retirement an angry correspondence was being carried on between his lordship and the Governments of Austria, France, Prussia, and Russia respecting the conduct of certain foreign refugees in London, as complaints \ (/ I EARL GRANVILLE 95 were made by those Governments of the '*6norme abus que font du droit d'asile les r^fugies politiques auxquels I'Angleterre accorde g^n^reusement I'hos- pitalit^." On Lord Granville's appointment, the Austrian Ambassador (Count Buol), by direction of his Government, presented two notes to his lordship, bringing before H.M.'s Government the remon- strances which the Modenese and Papal Govern- ments also considered themselves entitled to make, with regard to the abuse by Piedmontese and Roman refugees of the asylum accorded to them in England ; but Lord Granville declined to receive these notes, on the ground that he could not admit the right of the Austrian representative to make official communications on behalf of Italian Courts by whom he was not accredited to Her Majesty.^ Lord Malmesbury, in his Memoirs, said that Lord Granville threw the notes after Count Buol as he left his room ; but in a letter addressed to Lord Malmes- bury and published in the Times, at Lord Granville's request, his lordship said : ** I was not guilty of any personal discourtesy to Count Buol, a diplomatist of high character. If you refer to the Parliamentary Papers, you will see that I did not throw the notes after him, but returned them in a despatch, giving at length the reasons for doing so." This explanation was accepted by Lord Malmesbury. On December 29, 185 1, a most wanton and un- provoked outrage was committed at Florence by two Austrian officers on a young Englishman named Erskine Mather. He and his brother, aged re- ^ See State Papers, vol. 42, p. 410. See also Diary of an Ex- Minister (the Earl of Malmesbury), and letter from Lord Granville in the Times of October 7, 1884. t i'r 96 SECRETARIES OF STATE spectively nineteen and sixteen years, on that day were following a band playing before a regiment, and they were walking like any other persons, between the band and the head of the regiment, when the elder of the two was suddenly struck by an officer on the back with the flat of his sword, and on his turning round and expostulating with the officer who inflicted the blow, he was struck in the face by another officer, while the original assailant inflicted a severe blow on his head with the sharp edge of his sword, which rendered it necessary for him to be conducted to the hospital. The Austrian officer, however, who struck the blow on Mr. Mathers head, declared that he had not the slightest idea that he was an Englishman. The case was first taken up by Lord Granville ; but it was continued by Lord Malmesbury, his successor. A long cor- respondence ensued, and the matter was eventually setded by diplomatic negotiation.^ The Tuscan Government expressed its profound regret at the violence inflicted on Mr. Mather, and repelled all idea of that unhappy event beino" con- sidered as in any wise testifying disrespect towards Her Majesty or the English nation. At the same time it recognised in its fullest sense the duty of protecting British subjects by the ordinary tribunals as a general rule, and by the executive authority in all those cases in which the ordinary tribunals could not be applied to, including such as might arise during the then existing arrangement with Austria respecting the auxiliary troops of that Government stationed in the Tuscan territory, His Imperial and * S/a^^ Papers^ vol. 42, p. 474. \ EARL GRANVILLE 97 Royal Highness accepted the full responsibility which attached to the duty of the aforesaid pro- tection. On February 27, 1852, a Conservative Govern- ment came into office ; and on March 5 following, the Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Prince Schwarzenberg— addressed a despatch to the Aus- trian Ambassador in London — Count Buol in which he said, " La nouvelle de la formation du nouveau Minist^re sous les auspices du Comte de Derby a 6t6 accueill^e par le Cabinet Imperial avec un sentiment de veritable satisfaction," etc.^ In his second term (1870-4), Lord Granville was called upon to deal with the following important questions : the attitude of this country in the war between France and Prussia; the neutrality of Belgium therein ; the limitation of the Russian and Turkish naval forces in the Black Sea; the navi- gation of the rivers Danube and Pruth ; the con- stitution of the German Empire, and the affairs of Central Asia (1873). During his lordship's third term of office (1880-5) the following questions had to be dealt with, in execution of the Treaty of Berlin (July 13, 1878): the boundary of Montenegro ; the Russo-Turkish boundary in Asia ; the Turco-Greek frontier (which was settled by the treaty of May 24, 1881); reforms, etc., in Armenia; the Turco - Persian boundary ; the frontier between Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia; the Danubian frontier; the frontier of Bulgaria and Turkey ; the Roumanian- Bulgarian (Dobrudza) ; the Danubian frontier on H * State Papers^ vol. 42, p. 438. I 98 SECRETARIES OF STATE >^ V the Danube near Silistria ; the navigation of the Danube. There were also the questions of Egypt and the Suez Canal; the navigation of the Congo and Niger; the suppression of the African slave trade by land as well as by sea; the temporary British occupation of Port Hamilton (April-June, 1885); Samoa (1884-5); affairs of Central Asia (1883); finances of Egypt (1884-5); the fall of Khartoum and the death of General Gordon (26 January, 1885); grant of the North Borneo Charter (i November, 188 1); differences between France and China (1883-4); affairs of Zanzibar (January to June, 1885); and the three Rules of the Treaty of Washington. Lord Granville's handwriting was, at times, not very legible, and on one occasion he sent the following minute into the office : — "Foreign Office, Marck 18, 1873. '* I employ an amanuensis, for reasons which I need not state, to say that the question having been raised in the Cabinet whether the handwriting of the Foreign Office and of the Diplomatic Service has not deteriorated from the perfection to which Mr. Canning and Lord Palmerston had brought it, I was obliged to give an assent by silence. ** Granville/* Earl Granville died on March 31, 1891. The Earl of Malmesbury was Foreign Secretary from February 27 till December 28, 1852 (in the Ministry of the fourteenth Earl of Derby) ; and again (in Lord Derby's Ministry) from February 26, 1858, till June 18, 1859. During his y^r^/ tenure of office, in 1852, the most k r k \- I II EARL OF MALMESBURY 99 pressing questions which engaged his attention were : ^ the demand made by the French Govern- ment for the expulsion of Socialistic refugees from Switzerland ; the confiscation by the French Govern- ment of the Orleans property ; the claim of Prussia to Neufchitel ; the claims of Abbas Pasha in Egypt of power of life and death, refused by the Sultan ; the succession to the Greek and Danish crowns which were satisfactorily settled by conventions ; and the great uncertainty respecting Louis Napoleon's intentions as to his policy, and as to making himself Emperor, but which title, as Napoleon III., was eventually recognised. Lord Malmesbury stated in his Memoirs that he did not require any advice or assistance from the Foreign Office in the settlement of these and other disputes. He said, when he assumed his duties at the Foreign Office, ^*all the staff were kindly dis- posed, but I could see they expected me to give them much trouble, and to ask their advice. They were surprised to see how I knew the routine work, and all the verbiage of the profession, as I did thoroughly, from having, in 1844, published the Memoirs, State Papers, and Correspondence of my grandfather, the ist Earl."^ Still, I think it is evident, from the wording of the following minute which he addressed ^^To Mr. Under Secretary Hammond and the Gentle- men of the Foreign Office," on his giving up the Seals of Office in 1858, that, during his terms of 1 Memoirs of an Ex-Minister, by the Earl of Malmesbury, vol i p. 320. •'' * ' ^ Vol. i. p. 319. ■■ .fe1 98 SECRETARIES OF STATE the Danube near Silistria ; the navigation of the Danube. There were also the questions of Egypt and the Suez Canal ; the navigation of the Congo and Niger; the suppression of the African slave trade by land as well as by sea; the temporary British occupation of Port Hamilton (April-June, 1885); Samoa (1884-5); affairs of Central Asia (1883); finances of Egypt (1884-5); the fall of Khartoum and the death of General Gordon (26 January, 1885); grant of the North Borneo Charter (i November, 1881) ; differences between France and China (1883-4); affairs of Zanzibar (January to June, 1885); and the three Rules of the Treaty of Washington. Lord Granville's handwriting was, at times, not very legible, and on one occasion he sent the following minute into the office : — "Foreign Office, March 18, 1873. '* I employ an amanuensis, for reasons which I need not state, to say that the question having been raised in the Cabinet whether the handwriting of the Foreign Office and of the Diplomatic Service has not deteriorated from the perfection to which Mr. Canning and Lord Palmerston had brought it, I was obliged to give an assent by silence. ** Granville." Earl Granville died on March 31, 1891. The Earl of Malmesbury was Foreign Secretary from February 27 till December 28, 1852 (in the Ministry of the fourteenth Earl of Derby) ; and again (in Lord Derby's Ministry) from February 26, 1858, till June 18, 1859. During his y?rj/ tenure of office, in 1852, the most I. EARL OF MALMESBURY 99 pressing questions which engaged his attention were : ^ the demand made by the French Govern- ment for the expulsion of Socialistic refugees from Switzerland ; the confiscation by the French Govern- ment of the Orleans property ; the claim of Prussia to Neufchdtel ; the claims of Abbas Pasha in Egypt of power of life and death, refused by the Sultan ; the succession to the Greek and Danish crowns which were satisfactorily settled by conventions ; and the great uncertainty respecting Louis Napoleon s intentions as to his policy, and as to making himself Emperor, but which title, as Napoleon III., was eventually recognised. Lord Malmesbury stated in his Memoirs that he did not require any advice or assistance from the Foreign Office in the settlement of these and other disputes. He said, when he assumed his duties at the Foreign Office, *^all the staff were kindly dis- posed, but I could see they expected me to give them much trouble, and to ask their advice. They were surprised to see how I knew the routine work, and all the verbiage of the profession, as I did thoroughly, from having, in 1844, published the Memoirs, State Papers, and Correspondence of my grandfather, the ist Earl."^ Still, I think it is evident, from the wording of the following minute which he addressed *^To Mr. Under Secretary Hammond and the Gentle- men of the Foreign Office," on his giving up the Seals of Office in 1858, that, during his terms of 1 Memoirs of an Ex-Minister, by the Earl of Malmesbury, vol i p. 320. ^ Vol. i. p. 319. H I lOO SECRETARIES OF STATE EARL OF MALMESBURY lOI office, he must have derived valuable assistance from the *' office" as his predecessors had done : — ** I cannot part with you for the second time in my official capacity without sincerely thanking you for the continued assistance you have rendered me during my tenure of, perhaps, the most arduous post under the Crown. My former experience of the laudable esprit de corps which pervades you all ensured me the aid which you know to be indis- pensable to the creditable conduct of a great Public Department, and I feel assured that for your own sakes you will always afford it to every Minister equally ; but I must be allowed further to notice with gratitude the spontaneous and obliging manner in which that aid has been rendered by all with whom the duties of the time may have brought me into personal connection. It has displayed a senti- ment of personal regard and respect which I can never forget, and which I earnestly assure you is sincerely returned by " Your faithful Servant, ** Malmesbury." During Lord Malmesbury's second term of office (1858-9) the relations with France were again In a very unsatisfactory state, and among the more im- portant questions which engaged his lordship's serious attention were : the seizure of the Sardinian vessel, the Cagliari, by Sicilian insurgents, and the imprisonment of two English engineers em- ployed on board ; the union of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, including the question of the flag", which was settled by the conven- tion of August 19, 1858; the differences between Germany and Denmark respecting Holstein ; the correspondence with France and Portugal respect- i I ing the detention and condemnation of the French vessel, the Charles et Georges, by Portuguese authorities, at Mozambique, on the charge of slave trading; the proposal made by Russia for a European Congress to setde the affairs of Italy, to include (as proposed by Austria) the question of disarmament ; and the outbreak of war between Sardinia and France on the one hand and Austria on the other (April, May, 1859). The following incident, in connection with the case of the Cagliari^ is mentioned in order to show the great importance of H.M.'s representa- tives abroad adhering strictly to the instructions which they may receive from the Secretary of State. In 1857-8 a long correspondence passed between the British, Sardinian, and Neapolitan Governments with reference to the seizure of the Sardinian vessel the Cagliari by Sicilian insurgents, and the imprison- ment of two British subjects (Messrs. Watt and Park). In the course of the correspondence an unfortunate error occurred. Sir James Hudson, who was then H.M.'s Minister at Turin, was instructed by Lord Clarendon (who was Foreign Secretary when the incident arose) to address a note to Count Cavour, inquiring ijuhether the Sardinian Government meant to object to the proceedings taken by the Neapolitan Government in the case of the seizure, with refer- ence to the detention of the two British subjects found on board that vessel, on the ground that the Neapolitan vessel of war had no right to pursue the Cagliari and to capture her beyond Neapolitan territorial jurisdiction. Sir James Hudson drafted I02 SECRETARIES OF STATE a note to Count Cavour in that sense, and sent it into the Chancery to be copied ; but a very material alteration was unfortunately made in it by the Secretary of Legation, who, in copying the de- spatch out fair for Sir James Hudson's signature, altered the passage inquiring whether the Sardinian Government meant to object to the proceedings adopted by the NeapoHtan Government, and made it run thus : ** I have been instructed to acquaint your Excellency that Her Majesty s Government are disposed to object to these proceedings, etc." A copy of Sir James Hudson's note was communicated to the Earl of Malmesbury (who had succeeded Lord Clarendon at the Foreign Office) by the Sardinian Minister in London, and Sir James Hudson was at once called upon to send home a copy of the note which he had addressed to Count Cavour respecting the Cagliari, and to state on what authority he had said in it that ** Her Majesty's Government were disposed to object to the Neapolitan proceedings in regard to the pursuit and capture of the vessel." Sir James Hudson replied that in the draft which he had sent to the Chancery to be copied he had not said so, but that it had been altered without his knowledge by the gentleman who copied it for his signature, and that he had not discovered the discrepancy, because he was not in the habit of comparing the notes which he signed, when he had once approved the drafts, with the drafts themselves. This explanation was considered unsatisfactory, and the Secretary of Legation was told that his conduct in making so material an alteration in the sense of the letter to Count Cavour, without calling Sir iSKTiCTBIW *^v> ■frii """•M^lpS* io6 SECRETARIES OF STATE "REST AND BE THANKFUL" 107 American, and it was eventually knocked down to me for ^icx) ! This book, or rather unbound pamphlet of about I so pages, bore the following title : — THE BRITISH TREATY. With an Appendix of State Papers; which are now first published. AMERICA : Printed, unknown where, or by whom sold. LONDON : Re-printed for John Joseph Stockdale, 41, Pall Mall. 1808. Price 3s. 66, The treaty referred to was the '' Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America. Signed at London, 19 November, 1794." This has been a lesson to me, and I have never since given a carU blanche to anyone — bookseller or anyone else — to bid for me at a sale without limiting him to a price beforehand. My only consolation at the time was, that, if at that particular moment it was worth while for an American to give such a high price for this book, it was to the interest of this country to prevent him from then obtaining it. One day, during the time when Lord Russell was Foreign Secretary, I received a letter from a lady who had a grievance against the Foreign Office, and who thought that I was the cause of her claim not \ \ being more favourably entertained than it had been by the Secretary of State, in which she said that unless I recommended her for more money than she had received (which was a large sum) for surrender- ing certain official papers which had come into her possession through the decease of her husband (but to which she had no possible right whatever), she would shortly become a pauper **if not a criminal." On my making this known to the Under Secretary, I was asked if I felt alarmed at this implied threat, for that if I did, the matter should be placed in the hands of the police ; but I at once disclaimed any fear on the subject, and it was as well that I did so, for the next day I received another letter from the lady, apologising for having, in her anger, written me such " a silly letter.** But a few months afterwards she wrote another letter to the Secretary of State (Earl Russell) saying that she had spent all the money which had been given to her and asking for some more, on the ground that she had come across some still more valuable papers which she had omitted to send to the office with the others ; but upon his lordship being told that she had declared, in writing, that she had given up all the papers in her possession, and had given a receipt for the sum given to her ** in satisfaction of all demands," he wrote a minute in which he said, ^^ Let her rest and be thankful!' She was therefore written to and told (of course not in the same words) that nothing more could be done for her ; but not being satisfied with this reply, she called upon me again, and after expressing her dissatisfaction at the letter which she had received, she said, *^ Do you suppose Tm f % io8 SECRETARIES OF STATE ESCAPE FROM IMPRISONMENT 109 going to rest and be thankful?" This rather Startled me, as I had in a locked red box by my side the Secretary of State's minute, which she could not possibly have seen. I assured her, how- ever, that no further appeals which she might make would be likely to have the smallest effect after the declaration which she had made and the receipt which she had given, and she eventually ceased to trouble the office. I Will now mention an Incident which occurred in January, 1 860, respecting the production of official papers in courts of law, also at the time when Lord John Russell was Foreign Secretary. For several months in the preceding year a firm of solicitors had addressed letters to the Secretary of State praying for the production of certain papers in a trial for libel which was then about to take place in the Court of Exchequer ; but, on the advice of the law officers of the Crown, the request for the production of these papers was refused. On the evening before the trial, just as I was about to leave the office, someone knocked at my door, and on my saying "Come in," a gentleman, who after- wards proved to be a lawyer's clerk, inquired, "Is this Mr. Hertslet's room .?" I informed him that it was, whereupon he inquired, "Are you Mr. Hertslet?" to which I replied, "Yes, "and he then handed me a ''sub- poena duces tecum." Not suspecting what it was, I opened it, when I saw at once that it had reference to the trial, which was set down for hearing the next morning at ten o'clock. I therefore said to the clerk, " Why, you have been told officially, in writing, that it would not be convenient to the 1 ! public service that these papers should be pro- duced " ; to which he replied, " We have had some very unsatisfactory letters from the Foreign Office, but, having ascertained that the papers are m. your personal custody, we have obtained a subpoena for you to produce them, and you will have the good- ness to do so." I assured him that I could not, upon which he simply remarked, *'Well, we will see what the judge says to that to-morrow morn- ing." He then left my room. On being informed of what had taken place, Lord J. Russell desired me to proceed at once to the Attorney-General that evening with a letter from the Under Secretary requesting that I might be protected in court the next morning*. I hurried off to the chambers of the Attorney- General (Sir Richard Bethell, afterwards Lord Chan- cellor Westbury), in Lincoln's Inn ; but it was now between seven and eight o'clock, and he had gone home. I therefore drove to his private residence in Westbourne Terrace, which I reached about eight. On knocking at the door, I inquired if the Attorney- General was within, to which a manservant replied, **Yes, sir; but he is having his dinner." I then handed him my letter, and asked him to deliver it at once, saying that I would wait for the answer. At this the manservant looked very much as- tonished, and said, ** Really, sir, I dare not ; he s having his dinner, as I told you." I therefore stepped into the passage and asked the servant to show me into some room where I could wait until he could find an opportunity of delivering to his master Mr. Hammond s letter. I \ »m^i''''^3^ no SECRETARIES OF STATE was then shown into the drawing-room, where I sat for about a quarter of an hour, after which time the door was slowly opened, and a gendeman, in a slow, deliberate voice, and with his hand still on the handle of the door, addressed me thus, **It is very inconvenient my being disturbed in this way." I expressed my regret, and assured him it was no pleasure to me to be driving about London at that time of the evening, but that I was simply obeying my instructions. Upon this he shut the door, and said, smiling, ^'Very true; perhaps, after aH, you are more to be pitied than I am." We then sat down, and his next remark was, *' Mr. Hammond has written me a most amus- ing letter; he requests I will protect you in the Court of Exchequer to-morrow morning. How can I possibly protect you ? " I pointed out that, as one of the law officers, he had reported to the Foreign Office that certain papers asked for in the case in question ought not to be produced by the Secretary of State, and that I individually had been called upon to produce them ; and I ventured to suggest that when my name was called he might rise in his place and explain the matter ; at which he laughed and said, -You evidendy don't know the practice of the courts of law. The judge will call you, and no one else can answer. You are in a difficulty, I must admit, and it is a pity that you didn't throw the subposna in the insolent attorney's face." (Sir Richard Bethell did act in this way himself a few months afterwards, I am told, and got into great trouble for doing so.) " How- ever," he said, "you must consider well whom you \m ESCAPE FROM IMPRISONMENT III will obey — the Secretary of State or the judge." I replied without hesitation, '' Oh, I have quite made up my mind upon that point." '* Indeed," he observed, "may I ask you whom you wiU obey?** I at once replied, ** My master, the Secretary of State." **And you will disobey the order of the judge?" said he. **Yes," said I; "my duty is to keep the papers, and I wiU do so, unless the Secretary of State authorises me to part with them." **Then," said he, "to prison you will go to a certainty, and I cannot help you. But, really, it is a matter in which I cannot interfere, and I should advise you to see the Solicitor to the Treasury" (at that time Mr. Greenwood). He nevertheless did give me the following piece of advice : Not to take any of the papers mentioned in the subpoena into court, but, when called upon as a witness, to state that the originals of the papers required were believed to be In the archives of one of H.M.'s embassies abroad; that copies of them existed at the Foreign Office ; but that Lord John Russell, H.M.'s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, acting under advice, considered that it would be highly detrimental to the interests of the public service that such documents should be produced in court, and had therefore desired me not to bring them with me (which, strictly speaking, his lordship had not done). He then wished me '* Good-night," and as I did not know Mr. Greenwood's address, and it was then past nine o'clock, I went home ; but early next morning, having ascertained his address, I went to Mr. Greenwood, and told him what 112 SECRETARIES OF STATE had passed. He at once saw the difficulty I was in, but said, " I think I can help you out of it." I inquired how, and he then said, " Vou, per- sonally, have not got the papers, have you'?" I replied, " I'm afraid I have." " In your custody, perhaps," said he, " but you have not got them in your actual possession— in your drawer. I mean .> " To which I again replied, "I'm afraid I have." "Oh, then," said he, "I'm afraid you will have to go to prison if you positively decline to obey the judge's sudpasna duces tecum, but they will only detain you probably for a short time, just to vindicate the majesty of the law ! " It was now close upon ten o'clock, and he advised me to leave at once for the court, lest I should be punished for contempt also for not appearing ! So I left, and on my way to the court I met my friend the late Sir Edmund Hornby, H.M.'s Judge of the Supreme Court at Constantinople, and, he being an official, I told him of the dilemma I was in After hearing my story, he asked, " Will you really decline to produce the papers ? " I said, " Certainly I shall declme to do so " ; upon which he remarked, " then I will come and see how you do it, for I have been a judge for some time, and I have never been defied yet." This was not very encouraging, as I well remembered that although Lord John Russell through Mr. Hammond, had desired me to go to the Attorney-General, and be guided by his instructions, yet that his lordship had not forbidden me to produce the papers; that the Attorney-General had declined to assist me in court ; that I had had no time to obtain Lord John Russell's final instructions after my ESCAPE FROM IMPRISONMENT "3 interview with the Attorney-General; and that therefore if I refused to produce the papers I did so on my own responsibility. I had not been many minutes in the court before a clerk in the War Office came up to me and in- quired if I had been subpoenaed on the trial, and on my saying " Yes," and observing that I had nothing m my hand, he asked me where my papers were. I told him I had none to produce. "What ! " said he in astonishment, " won't you produce any .?, then I will decline to produce mine," and, handing me a packet he said, " Please hold these in case I am called.'' He had no sooner said so than his name was called in court. He at once answered to it, and in reply to the question whether he had got certain papers With him from the War Office, he said that he had not / This produced quite a sensation among the plaintiffs counsel, and one of them, Mr. Edwin James, at once rose and complained that he had been badly treated by the War Office. He said he had seen Mr. Sidney Herbert, Secretary of State for War, the night before, and that he had promised that a clerk from the War Office should attend next day with the papers he had asked for, " And now " said Mr. James, "the clerk says he has not got them." The judge. Baron Bramwell, smiled, but told Mr. James that the only advice he could give him was to subpoena Mr. Sidney Herbert himself. "I'm much obliged to you, my lord, for the suggestion," said Mr. Edwin James, and pro- ceeded forthwith to fill up a subprnna addressed to Mr. Sidney Herbert. The War Office clerk was unaware of what had passed between Mr ■ i 114 SECRETARIES OF STATE Sidney Herbert and Mr. Edwin James, and at once left the court and proceeded to the War Office to inform his chief of what had happened. After a short delay the Secretary of State took his seat beside the judge. In answer to the inquiry whether he would produce certain papers which were considered important in the case, he said he did not think it would be to the interest of the public service that they should be produced. But the judge asked the question point-blank, ^*Do you decline to produce them, Mr. Herbert?" to which he answered, - Yes, I do." - Then," said the judge, addressing Mr. Edwin James, and smiling, -now you can try the point by committing Mr. Sidney Herbert to prison for contempt of court,'' at which Mr. James shook his head, and said, " No, my lord, I should be very sorry to try the point in the case of SO important a personage as Mr. Sidney Her- bert"; and Mr. Herbert then left the court. I need not say what my feelings were at hearing these remarks, remembering the disparity which existed between my official position and that of Mr. Sidney Herbert, and fully expecting that I should be the next witness called. However, to proceed, there was standing beside me in the court a clerk from the Commander-in- Chief s Office, and he begged of me to hold his papers also, in the event of his being called ; but, being perfectly satisfied with my own unpleasant position as it stood, I declined to do so. But the clerk had made up his mind not to produce them, after what had passed, and feeling that they would be safe even near me{\) he placed them on the ESCAPE FROM IMPRISONMENT „. floor, close to my feet. He then told me that he had a letter from the Duke of Cambridge in his pocket, addressed to the judge, to say that, in the opmion of H.R.H., the papers were of such a con- fidential nature they ought not to be produced in court, and I therefore advised him to hand in his letter without remark, as soon as he was called. 1 his he did. and if I remember rightly the judge deeded that they need not be produced under those circumstances. It was now past one o'clock, and the court rose lor luncheon, when Sir Edmund Hornby said to me Now ,s your opportunity ; you are in a painful position, for the court is getting angry at informa- tion being thus withheld by the public offices, and when they call you, after luncheon, as they certainly Will do, It Will go hard with you if you simply decline, upon your own responsibility, to produce the papers called for in the subpoena duces tecum ad- dressed to you personally. Come, therefore, with me and I will introduce you to Mr. Edwin James and try and induce him not to call you." So we entered the body of the court together. At first Mr James wouldn't listen to the proposal ; but, turnina round and seeing me, he inquired, " Is this Mn Hertslet? to which I replied. " Yes ; if you call me 1 can only give you the same answer as that which you have received from the War Office, and the Commander-in-Chiefs Office, namely, that it would be exceedingly inconvenient to the public service that these papers should be produced, and I am very anxious to get back to my pressing duties at the Foreign Office." "Very well, then." said n itm ii6 SECRETARIES OF STATE Mr. Edwin James, ''I won't call you/' ''Thank you very much," said I, and I said so feelingly, for I was greatly relieved, and was glad to escape the risk of being imprisoned for contempt of court for refusing to produce the papers. One morning, on entering our temporary quarters in Whitehall Gardens, I saw a man pacing up and down the passage, and a policeman watching him. I had seen an announcement in the Times that a dangerous lunatic had escaped from Hanwell and was still at large, and this individual turned out to be the identical man. He had asked to see Lord John Russell, but his lordship had declined to see him. As I entered the office he passed me, and I heard him say aloud, '* I want to see someone in authority," but I took no notice of his remark and went into my room. He then entered the waiting-room and sat down, but the policeman followed him, and going up to him told him that he must leave the office and not disturb gentlemen at their work. He declined to leave, saying, " I admit I have escaped from Hanwell, but, according to the law of England, if a person should escape from a lunatic asylum and remain at large for a fortnight, without committing any insane act, he cannot be taken back to the asylum without a fresh order from a Justice of the Peace." He then commenced to write a letter, upon which the policeman in the room called to another police- man who was outside, and asked him to fetch a sergeant from Scotland Yard. The sergeant soon arrived, and, on his entering the room, the man repeated his statement as to his having escaped A DANGEROUS LUNATIC ny from Hanwell, and expressed his views on the law of England as regarded an escaped lunatic ; but the sergeant replied, - 1 know nothing about that, but I cannot allow gentlemen to be disturbed in the public offices." As the man continued to repeat what he had said and refused to go, the sergeant called to the policeman in the room to seize one of his arms while he himself seized the other, and on givmg the order, -Bring him along," the man was hurried down the main steps of the office and taken off to Scotland Yard. What became of him after- wards I never heard. An incident which occurred In 1865, when a correspondence was passing between the British and Kussian Governments respecting the proceedings of Russia m Central Asia, may be briefly alluded tO here A report had reached H.M.'s Government that the Russian army in the desert of Khokand was preparmg to advance to Kashgar and Yarkand, and as the progress which Russia was then making in Bokhara and in other territories in Central Asia was open to suspicion, Earl Russell instructed Mr. Savile Lumley (afterwards Lord Savile). then HM.s Charge d'Affaires at St. Petersburg, to inform Prince Gortchakow of the rumours which had reached H.M.'s Government, and to make the following proposal, with a view to the removal of every cause which might threaten the good under- standmg between England and Russia. The pro- posal was embodied in a despatch to Mr. Lumley (July 31, 1865), and ran as follows ; '^ Her Majesty's Government consider it would be useful for this end if the two Powers were to ^ftmm. ii8 SECRETARIES OF STATE make friendly explanations to each other, based on the present state of affairs. **Her Majesty's Government on their part are determined to respect the present state of possession in Central Asia. Her Majesty's Government will also respect the independence of the Persian Monarchy, will be careful not to encroach upon the territory of Persia, and will act in such a manner as may best support and strengthen the sovereignty of the Shah. "If His Majesty the Emperor of Russia will be prepared to make analogous declarations, Her Majesty's Government think that without the formality of a Convention an exchange of notes might take place which would tend to settle the minds of the inhabitants of Central Asia, and prevent misunderstandings, thereby affording a fresh security for the maintenance of peace between the two Empires."^ In reply to this proposal the Russian Ambassador in London, then Baron Brunnow, was instructed by his Government "to repeat the assurance that it had in Central Asia no other interest save that of repose, of the security of the Russian frontiers, and of the establishment of commercial and pacific relations with their neighbours, by which Russia would not profit alone." To this Lord Russell replied on September i6, 1865 as follows:— " These assurances are satisfactory, but it would have given Her Majesty's Government still greater confidence if Prince Gortchakow had replied to the declaration of the views of Her Majesty's Govern- ment by a similar declaration. **Her Majesty's Government, however, are * S^aU Papers^ vol. 63, pp. 1306, 13 12. RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA 119 willing to accept the explanation of the principles which guide the policy of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia, contained in the Circular (which was referred to), and are quite ready to believe that legitimate desires for the extension of commerce, and the security of the Russian frontiers, and no wish for territorial aggrandisement guide the pro- ceedings of the Government of Russia. **Such an extension of commerce, and the security of the Russian frontiers, will no doubt tend to the advantage of other nations who carry on trade with Central Asia, and of none more than Great Britain." It was feared in the "Office" that this reply would not be likely to stop the advance of the Russian armies, and the cartoon shown on p. 120 was accordingly sketched by one of our local artists, showing Lord Russell trying to put salt on the tail of the Russian eagle ! On giving up his Seals of the Foreign Office, Lord Russell wrote the following minute ^ : '* Being about to give up the Seals of the Foreign Office, Lord Russell requests all the members of the office to accept the expression of his grateful thanks for the energy and goodwill that they have shown, and the zealous and able assistance they have rendered to him during the time that he has had the honour of being Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. " He wishes this minute to remain in the Foreign Office, and he requests Mr. Hammond to com- municate it to his successor. ,. j^ Earl Russell died on May 28, 1878. > Laid before Parliament in 1868, with the "Statements respecting Foreign Office Agencies." I f r; I u i' AN ATTEMPT TO PUT SALT ON THE RUSSIAN EAGLE'S TAIL \ EARL OF CLARENDON 121 The Right Hon. George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (in the administration of the Earl of Aberdeen, and afterwards of Viscount Palmerston) from February 21, 1853, till February 26, 1858 ; again, from November 3, 1865, till July 6, 1866 (in Earl Russell's administration); and, for the third time (in Mr. W. E. Gladstone s Administra- tion), from December 9, 1868, till June 27, 1870. I may, perhaps, be excused for relating a little incident that occurred when the Earl of Clarendon was first appointed Foreign Secretary, in 1853 ; he was conducted round the office by Mr. Addington, who was then Permanent Under Secretary of State. Mr. Addington had a great aversion to smoking, and, in course of conversation with his lordship, as they passed through the rooms, he informed him that there was a very stringent rule against anyone smoking during office hours ; upon which his lord- ship— who was himself an inveterate smoker- observed, with a smile, "Oh, indeed," and taking out his cigar-case handed it to Mr. Addington, saying, '' Can I offer you a cigar ? " This remark was observed and soon got wind in the office, and from that moment it was considered that the prohibitory rule against smoking, which it is believed was laid down by the Earl of Aberdeen, was thus cancelled by his successor, the Earl of Clarendon. Soon after his first appointment (in February, 1853), war broke out between Russia and Turkey (October 4, 1853); and on March 28, 1854, war was declared by Great Britain against Russia, In support of Turkey, which was eventually terminated rmeam'^m mn.i i. i jum. i ii ii,--U»in«>J'« i i-gi- .a Bsmm mmt 122 SECRETARIES OF STATE EARL OF CLARENDON 123 by the Treaty of Peace, signed by Lord Clarendon and Lord Cowley (at that time H.M.'s Ambassador at Paris) on March 30, 1856. Lord Clarendon held the Seals of the Foreign Office during the whole course of the war be- tween this country and Russia, at which time many important questions connected with the affairs in the East engaged his serious attention, such, for instance, as the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia, and Servia ; the free navigation of the Danube ; the limitation of the naval forces of Russia and Turkey in the Black Sea ; the treatment of the Christian subjects of the Porte ; the integrity of the Ottoman Empire; and the passage of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. All these questions were discussed in conferences between the representatives of four of the Great Powers and Turkey, at Vienna, between March and June, 1855, and were settled for a time by the Treaty of Peace with Russia of March 30, 1856. The protocol respecting mediation, and the declaration respecting maritime law were also signed by Lord Clarendon, at Paris, in April, 1856. During the war between this country and Russia, that is to say, in December, 1855, the Shah of Persia wrote a letter to his minister, the Sadr Azim, in which he spoke of the English minister at Teheran, then Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Murray, in most insulting terms, and required him to leave the Persian capital. This led to a declaration of war by this country against Persia, which lasted from November i, 1856, till March 4, 1857, when a Treaty of Peace was signed at Paris by Lord Clarendon and the Persian minister. In the Treaty this insulting letter was declared to be withdrawn, and an ample apology offered in an official letter, signed by the Persian minister in Paris, which was annexed to the treaty.^ Other important questions were, during this period, settled by his lordship, such as the integrity of Sweden and Norway (treaty of November 21, 1855); the Sound Dues (treaty with Denmark March 14, 1857) ; and the questions of Neufchatel and Valengin (treaty with Switzerland, May 26, 1857) ; also arrangements respecting the Bessarabian frontier, the Isle of Serpents, and the delta of the Danube, in 1857; and the Turco-Russian frontier in Asia, in 1857. Differences with the kingdom of the Two Sicilies led to the suspension of diplomatic relations (October 28, 1856), which were not renewed during his lordship's first tenure of office. Official intercourse with the United States was also discontinued (May 28, 1856), on account of the proceedings of Sir John Crampton, H.M.'s minister at Washington, on the recruiting question, and diplomatic relations were not renewed until January, 1857. . ^ , , 1 Disputes also arose with Bolivia, which led to the suspension of diplomatic relations from October 21, 1853, till July 6, 1857. , ^ . ^n: On resigning the Seals of the Foreign Uttice, in 1858, Lord Clarendon issued the foHowing minute : — *at was my intention to have taken leave to-day individually of the gendemen of the Office ; but as this was rendered impossible by the pressure ^ Hertslet's Treaties^ vol. x., p. 95'- --*:?, 124 SECRETARIES OF STATE of business, I must request Mr. Hammond to bid them farewell in my name, to express to them the high sense I entertain of the talent and ability by which, as a body, they are distinguished, and to assure them that I shall hold in grateful remem- brance the zeal with which their arduous duties have been performed during the five years that I have been at the head of the Department. I shall always take an interest in their welfare ; and it is a source of great satisfaction to me that, while I was Secretary of State, arrangements were made by which the position and prospects of the Clerks in the Foreign Office have been improved. "Clarendon." During Lord Clarendon's second term of office (1865-6) the following were among the most im- portant political questions with which he had to deal : the Egyptian Succession ; the proposed as- sembly of a Congress for the preservation of Peace (May and June, 1866); the outbreak of war between Austria and Prussia and the dissolution of the Ger- manic Confederation (June 14, 1866); conferences at Paris respecting the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (May and June, 1866) ; the war between Spain and Chile and Peru (1865-66), and hostilities in the River Plate. On quitting office in 1866, Lord Clarendon addressed the following letter to Mr. Hammond :— "Grosvenor Crescent, /^^ 6, 1866. "My dear Hammond, — Will you have the goodness to convey to the Clerks of the Foreign Office my cordial thanks for the assistance they have given me during the time that I have presided over the Department. t V ft»»*a -^--m^^jt.: EARL OF CLARENDON 125 ''It will be a matter of lasting regret that I did not personally become better acquainted with them, and particularly with those gentlemen who have from time to time furnished me with such valuable memoranda for my information and guidance ; but when I was at the office the pressure of business was SO great that I deferred, until it was too late, giving effect to my intentions. ** I have always felt, however, that whoever was at the head of the Foreign Office might well be proud of his staff, as I am certain there is no Department in the country where the public busi- ness is conducted with the same zeal and com- pleteness, or where confidence is repaid by such perfect integrity and honour. ''Yours, etc., Clarendon."^ The principal political question which engaged Lord Clarendon's attention during his third tenure of office (1868-70) was the dispute between Greece and Turkey ; and his lordship was anxiously dealing with the question of the state of affairs in Greece when he died, after a short illness, at his own private residence on June 27, 1870. His death was very deeply and universally felt, not only in this country but also abroad, and copies of the numerous communications which were received by H.M.'s Government from foreign Governments, as well as from H.M.'s Representa- tives at foreign Courts, conveying the expressions of their deep regret at hearing of his lordship's decease, were laid before Parliament. 1 Similar minutes, equally complimentary to the clerks in the office, although couched in different language, have been issued since this date by every Foreign Secretary on his quitting office. I *. ^MUfcijaiaiHii 126 SECRETARIES OF STATE A marble full-leng-th statue was erected to his memory at the right-hand side of the grand staircase at the new Foreign Office, where it now stands. Before he succeeded to the tide of the Earl of Clarendon he held the post of H.M.'s Envoy Extra- ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Madrid from August i6, 1833, till October 18, 1839, and after his succession to the peerage, as 4th Earl of Clarendon, he held various high and important offices of State, including that of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, from May 26, 1847, till February 18, 1852. In May, 1855, he accompanied Her Majesty to Paris; and in 1856 he was joint British Pleni- potentiary, with Lord Cowley — H.M's Ambassador at Paris — at the conferences held there, and, as already stated, signed the Treaty of Peace with Russia of March 30 of that year. On October i, 1 86 1, he was sent on a special embassy to King William I. of Prussia on the occasion of H.M.*s coronation at Konigsberg.^ * A more detailed statement of the services of this great statesman is given in the Foreign Office List^ 2nd edit., 1870, p. 75 ; and also in the Annual Register. The names of those noblemen who have filled the office of Foreign Secretary since the death of Lord Clarendon, in 1870, are given in the Appendix, pp. 264, 265. I CHAPTER VI UNDER SECRETARIES IT Is not my Intention to record In detail the valuable services of all the various Permanent Under Secretaries of State who held that important post during the time that I was in the old office, or of those of the senior officials, but I may perhaps be excused for relating a few anecdotes and inci- dents connected with Mr. George Hammond, Mr. J. Backhouse, Mr. Edmund Hammond, the Bidwells, Mr. G. Lenox-Cony ngham, and my father, Mr. Lewis Hertslet. Mr. John Backhouse, who was Permanent Under Secretary of State when I first entered the office, was a native of Liverpool. He was the son of one of the oldest merchants of that town, and was for several years the salaried agent in London for the commercial bodies of Liverpool. He resigned that appointment in 1822, when he was succeeded by Mr. William Wainewright. On his retirement, Mr. Backhouse was appointed to a clerkship at the India Office ; but he resigned that appointment two years later, on being made a Commissioner of Excise. In 1827 he was appointed Receiver-General of that department, and on April 23 of the same year he was appointed Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, which post he held 127 -H ■,»■! 128 UNDER SECRETARIES MR. EDMUND HAMMOND 129 until March 4, 1842, when he retired on account of ill health, and was succeeded by Mr. Henry Unwin Addington. Mr. Backhouse died at Hans Place, Chelsea, on November 13, 1845, in the sixty- second year of his age.^ Mr. Backhouse's son, George Canning Backhouse, was appointed to an assistant junior clerkship in the Foreign Ofifice on April 5, 1838. He was attached to the Legation at Frankfort for some months during the year 1841, and was appointed H.M.'s Commissary Judge at Havana, December 16, 1852. On August 31, 1855, he was murdered at his post by a Mulatto who, accompanied by others of a gang, attacked him in his own house about eight o'clock in the evening for the purpose of plundering his dwelling. There was, it was said, no political motive for this murder. I remember him well ; he was a most quiet, inoffensive man, and was very much liked by his colleagues in the Foreign Office. Mr. George Hammond, the father of Mr. Edmund (afterwards Lord) Hammond, held several appoint- ments abroad in the Diplomatic Service between 1783 and 1 79 1. On July 5, 1 791, when only twenty- eight years of age, he was sent as Minister Pleni- potentiary to the United States of America, being the first British Minister accredited to that republic. He held that appointment until October, 1795, when he was appointed Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, but even after that time he was again employed abroad in the Diplomatic Service on several occasions. In 1806 he retired on a * A detailed account of his services to the Liverpool merchants is given in the Annual Register for 1845, p. 313. pension of ;^ 1,200 a year, but instead of receiving it himself, a pension of £600 was granted to him, at his own request, and a pension of ;^I50 to each of his children — two sons and two daughters.^ He was reappointed Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, March 30, 1807, and held the post till October 16, 1809. In September, 18 14, he was appointed a Joint Commissioner of Arbitration, with Mr. David Morier, for securing to British subjects in France indemnity for loss of property during the French Revolutionary War, which Commission sat until July, 1828. He died in Portland Place, April 22, 1853. Mr. Edmund Hammond was the youngest son of Mr. George Hammond. He was born in Spring Gardens, in 1802. He held a clerkship in the Privy Council Office before being appointed to a clerkship in the Foreign Office in April, 1824. In 1831 he was attached to Sir Stratford Canning's Special Mission to Constantinople, and in 1833 to his Mission to Madrid. He was head of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office — which then in- cluded Persia, Turkey, and China— from 1830 till 1854. On April lo, 1854, he was appointed Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on the retirement of Mr. H. U. Addington. With the exception of Mr. Joseph Planta, who was promoted from the ** office" to the post of Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 181 7, this was then (in 1854) the only in which such a promotion had been instance Parliamentary Paper on Pensions, 1838, p. 37. # 1,1 ■' I30 UNDER SECRETARIES made; but in more recent years there have been many instances in which senior clerks in the office have been promoted to be Assistant Under Secre- taries, namely : — James Murray (Assistant). Hon. Charles Spring- Rice (Assistant). Charles Stuart Aubrey Abbott, afterwards Lord Tenterden (Assistant and afterwards Permanent). Thomas Villiers Lister, now Sir Villiers Lister (Assistant). Philip H. W. Currie, afterwards Sir Philip, now Lord Currie (Assistant and afterwards Permanent). Sir Thomas H. Sanderson (Assistant and after- Wards Permanent). Henry Percy Anderson, afterwards Sir Percy Anderson (Assistant). Hon. Francis L. Bertie (Assistant). Hon. Francis H. Villiers (Assistant). In February, 1855, Mr. Hammond accompanied Lord John RusseH on his special mission to Vienna. He was sworn a Privy Councillor on June 11, 1866. He retired on October 10, 1873, on a pension of ^2,500 a year, after fifty years' public service ; and, on his retirement, a marble bust was subscribed for by his colleagues, and placed on a pedestal facing the grand staircase of the new Foreign Office, where it now stands. He was raised to the peerage, as Baron Hammond, on February 22, 1874. An absurd story got abroad at this time that he was only offered, by telegraph, a ■It ^1 /y2^-^^^^^'- £:^g&erags;:yA'; '^rxfyiar'f aaiarrr^^s^ "^ ' .^ t'." ■■■'■'■■'■'-- I30 UNDER RET ARIES made; but in more recent shears there have been many instances in which senior clerks in the office have been promoted to be Assistant Under Secre- taries, namely- : — fames JMurray (Assistant). Hon C ce (x^ssistant). Charles Siuari \bbott. afterwards Lord Tenierde I afterwards Permanent). Thomas Villiers Lister, now Sir Vilhers Lister (Assistant), Phi^' H, W. ^'^urrie. afterwards Sir Philip. ^ now Lor*' (Assistant and afterwards Pern' Sir Th' ' H. Sander- ^uirit and aiter-^ ru^ X crmanent). Henry Percy An^^ lerwards Sir Percy Anderson (A Hon. " ^Assistant). Hon. (Assistant). In Febr ' --V) i855> Mr ^^ >^^ond accompanied d |o' issell on his special mission to Vienna. -, qworn a Privy Co»^nr i\. tor)' got abroad only offered, by telegraph, a / i li Vy^^t-<^tu4^^i4/>v"^ I I .1 V I Si if I MR. EDMUND HAMMOND 131 baronetcy, and that the word ** barony" was wired in error ; but there was nothing very unusual in his being raised to the peerage, as many precedents existed of Under Secretaries of State having been so raised. The accompanying photograph was taken when he had passed the age of eighty by some years. He died at Mentone on April 29, 1890, aged eighty-eight. Mr. Hammond was a man of very decided charac- ter and speech, and I should Hke to record some of the stories which are told about him. On one occasion, one of the secretaries in H.M. s Diplomatic Service, being in London, sought an interview with him on official business ; they had not before met, and Mr. Hammond was unaware of the fact that this gentleman had a painful impediment in his speech. On entering Mr, Hammond's room he was invited to take a seat near to him, which he did ; when, however, he commenced to speak, his voice failed him, and, in his nervousness, he drew his chair a little nearer to Mr. Hammond, and on his doing this a second time, without being able to give utterance to what he w^ished to say, Mr. Hammond was impressed with the idea that he was not in his right mind, and terminated the interview. The gentleman was naturally much hurt at this, as he was no lunatic, but a highly distinguished official ; still he had nothing to do but to take his departure, and although he remained in the Diplomatic Service for many years afterwards, I am told that he never sought another interview with any official at the Foreign Office. Mr. Hammond was subject to attacks of the gout. ^*- m*^' lll^-'*"" rflf*' n 132 UNDER SECRETARIES MR. EDMUND HAMMOND 133 |i t4 |( ! and one day, when suffering from a very sharp attack, an officer in the Army sent in his card and requested a short interview. Mr. Hammond was sitting in an armchair, before the fire, reading the Times newspaper — a most unusual proceeding with him. The gentleman who called was the father of one of the Queen's foreign service messengers, and his object in calling was to express a hope that an application which had been made by his son for a short leave of absence, but which had been refused by the chief clerk, might be granted, since he had performed several fatiguing foreign journeys during the previous months. Upon hearing this appeal, Mr. Hammond smiled and remarked, ** I suppose he wants to go out shooting " — an unfortunate re- mark, considering it was in the month of April. *^No," replied the visitor sharply, *'my son is not in the habit of telling falsehoods, or of making excuses, he wants rest." "Rest! rest! rest!''^ ex- claimed Mr. Hammond, "I never take rest"; to which the gendeman rejoined, ''No, I dare say not, with your feet sinking into Turkey carpets, and with nothing to do but to sit before the fire and read the Times newspaper, I dare say you don't require rest." This was a most cruel and unkind remark, and a severe blow to poor Mr. Hammond, who it was well known had always been one of the hardest-worked men in the Civil Service. The messenger's leave was granted. Many years ago a Chinese minister arrived in this country, and a day was fixed for his reception at the Foreign Office. It so happened that just before the hour appointed, a person in Chinese garb, and with a long pigtail, entered the office, and the office- keeper having jumped to the conclusion that this was the expected ambassador, showed him into Mr. Hammond s room. On the Chinaman entering, Mr. Hammond rose politely from his seat to receive him ; but as the stranger proceeded at once to appeal to him piteously for pecuniary assistance, saying, ** Me very poor ; me very hungry ; me no home," Mr. Hammond was not slow in perceiving that he was not His Celestial Majesty's envoy, but a Chinaman in distress, who had gained entrance into his room. Fortunately for this poor man, a member of the British consular establishment in China happened to be in London, on leave of ab- sence, at the time, and on the incident being men- tioned to him he sought out the man, and after a litde conversation with him, discovered that he knew the man s family well when in China ; that he was no beggar or impostor. He was therefore kindly treated, and arrangements were at once made to send him back to his native country. I remember being told a story of one of the pre- vious Chinese ministers having on a visit to this country been much struck with the beautiful appear- ance of English lawns, and on being told, in answer to his inquiry, that they were raised from grass seed, he took back with him to China some sacks of the seed, and having sent for a staff of Chinese labourers, he ordered them to be arranged in rows, each man being provided with a drill, with which he was in- structed to make a hole in the ground just large and deep enough to admit of a seed, and then to cover it over with earth. In due course of time L-.- i 134 UNDER SECRETARIES MR. EDMUND HAMMOND I3S I! i Pi the grass appeared, and, having been so carefully sown, the lawn had every appearance of being as smooth as a billiard table. One day the Chargd d'Affaires of one of the foreign legations in London called upon me at the Foreign Office, and as I happened to be absent from my room at the time, he went into the adjoin- ing room, known as the Reference Room or Manu- script Library, in which sat the sub-librarian, to whom this gendeman was also well known. Whilst they were conversing together Mr. Hammond entered the room, and seeing a foreign diplomat there he politely informed him that foreign ministers were not allowed in the Library, and he accordingly left. A few days afterwards the Charg^ d'Affaires called upon me again at the office, notwithstanding this intimation, and as he was passing down the passage which led to my room he looked round, and saw to his dismay Mr. Hammond coming down it also not far behind him, and, being anxious to avoid him, he went into my messenger's room, which was next to my own, and hastening to the window he looked out so that Mr. Hammond might not see his face. Mr. Hammond fortunately passed by without seeing him, and my friend the Charg6 d'Affaires then thought that without calling upon me that day he would seek safety in flight, and look in upon me some other day ; but on reaching the door with the object of making his escape he heard Mr. Hammond returning, whistling softly to himself, so he hurriedly hid himself behind the door until the sound of Mr. Hammond's footsteps could no longer be heard. He then left the office as quickly as he possibly could. On his telling me this second story, which he did in a most amusing manner, I told him that if he had been caught secreted behind the door of the messenger s room, where manuscript volumes belonging to the library were occasionally left temporarily— after he had been told officially that foreign ministers were not allowed to enter the Manuscript Library — serious consequences might have occurred ! He evidendy felt that he had committed an act of great indis- cretion, and after this he never attempted to call upon me again at the Foreign Office. This same foreign official was afterwards trans- ferred to Brazil, and he told me a story of what happened to him on his return journey to England which may be worth repeating. He said, just as he was about to start on his journey, and was hurrying across a street at Rio, a friend stopped him and inquired the cause of his great haste, when he informed him that he was going to the insurance office to insure his baggage and effects ; upon which his friend laughed and said, ^'What! insure in a * Royal Mail ' boat ? Why, I have crossed over a dozen times at least, and I have never insured; now take my advice, my friend, don't waste your money on insurance." Unhappily, he took his friend's advice, and suffered in consequence. All went on well until the boat arrived at the mouth of the Tagus, when a collision took place and the vessel went to the bottom with all my friend's baggage and effects, including his wife's jewellery. To add to his misfortune, he told me he saw a sailor hastily enter his cabin just before the ship - ' :;..jiii.---'».-iii- — ■wii ^£i» I 136 UNDER SECRETARIES MR. EDMUND HAMMOND ■ i It 1 1 !!■ f 1 ' ' went down and return with his hands full of sovereigns. The man was detected and pursued by other sailors up the rigging of the other ship to which the passengers of the sinking ship had been transferred, and my friend saw the thief throw the sovereigns into the sea in order to avoid being taken with the money on him. When my friend arrived in London, he assured me he had saved nothing but the clothes which he then had on his back. Within a month after Mr. Hammond had retired from the Foreign Office an incident occurred which caused him no litde pain at the time. He called one day at the office, and entering the Turkey Department he inquired of a young gentleman, whom he found writing at a desk, when the next Queen s Messenger would leave for Constantinople. It so happened that this youthful diplomatist had only been appointed a few days, and feeling the position of ^' awful responsibihty " in which he was placed, he simply gazed at Mr. Hammond and re- phed, *' I don't know wh^her I am justified in telling you. Who are you ? " This was a cruel blow to the distinguished old official. He left the room without saying another word, and hurrying into my room he asked me if I could have believed it possible that before he had left the office one month, some junior clerk should have asked him to his face, * Who are you ? ' This story reminds me of another litde incident which occurred when another high official retired. When he had made up his mind to retire he came into my room to announce the fact, remarking that a man should always retire when he was at the zenith 137 of his power. It will not, I hope, be thought un- kind on my part to state that he gave me to under- stand that he felt that the office could not well do without him ; but when the letter to the Treasury was drafted, asking for his pension, and recounting all his past meritorious services, his feelings were much hurt on perusing it. He came into my room again and condemned it as being only such a letter as would have been written to the Treasury had the object of it been a third-class clerk in the office. He thereupon asked me to help him in the matter, and at my request the Chief Clerk kindly proceeded at once to Mr. Hammond, who, on hearing what Mr. thought of his draft (for Mr. Hammond had written it with the kindest intention), observed, " Oh, I thought it was a very good draft, for I want to do all I can to please him ! If he does not like what I have written ask him to write anything he likes and I will sign it." On being told this Mr. said it was only adding insult to what he considered an injury, adding that ** the office " might write what it liked. The letter was, however, improved ; and a short time after he had retired he paid me another visit, and his first remark was, " Well, and how does the office get on without me?" To which I could only reply, **0h, pretty well.'* He then asked whether the clerks in the office had not been to me to express the regret and loss which they felt at his retirement. This was an awkward question, for no one had expressed any such sentiments to me, and I was reluctandy compelled to tell him so, but I could see that he felt it most deeply. !W*i t P • t i. ,1 ^ r ^ j r CHAPTER VII FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS AT the time when I entered the Foreign Office, in 1840, the following retired clerks were still living — their names appearing in the Pension List for that year : — service in official Age. Years. Allowance. Date of Retirement. Richard Ancell (Librarian) . 55 ... 33 ... 200 o ... Jan. 5, 1810 John Jackson (Clerk) . . 50... 31 ... 520 o ... July 5, 1830 Edward Scheener (Clerk) . 41 ••• 20 ... 272 10 ... July 5, 1830 George Lowth (Clerk) . 30 ... 12 ... 78 o ... April 5, 1838 Hon. F. Byng (Senior Clerk) SS ••• 4o ... 827 10 ... April 5, 1839 Mr. Richard Ancell, my fathers predecessor as Librarian, etc., at the Foreign Office, was appointed in 1777, and held the appointment for thirty-three years. Mr. Lowth's pension was a "record" one. He was appointed a clerk in the Foreign Office on January 5, 1826, and retired on April 5, 1838, on account of ill health, at the early age of thirty, after only twelve years' service, on a "superannua- tion " "allowance — so called — of ;^78 a year. This pension he lived to enjoy for the unprecedentedly long period of nearly fifty-six years, as he was in the receipt of it till the time of his death, on December 31, 1893. The Hon. Gerald Frederick Byng was appointed 138 S. ' HON. G. F. BYNG 139 a Page of Honour to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales in 1 79 1. He was a lieutenant in the Army, and was for some time in the War Office before being appointed a clerk in the Foreign Office, January 5, 1801. In 1803 he was appointed an Ensign in the St. George's Volunteer Infantry, and was present with the regiment when it was reviewed by H.M. King George III. in that year. He retired on a superannuation allowance, November 5, 1839, after forty years' public service, including his service In the Army. On May 24, 1824, he was appointed to attend upon the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands during their visit to England in May, June, and July of that year. They both died in London, from an attack of measles— the Queen on the 8th and the King on the 14th July. Their bodies, after being embalmed in accordance with the custom of the Sandwich Islands, were conveyed back to Owyhee (Hawaii).^ I remember my father telling me that when Mr. Byng was in attendance upon their Majesties, they presented him with a wonderful pair of breeches made entirely of feathers, and that as soon as this became known a caricature appeared in the window of a well-known shop in St. James's Street, in which Mr. Byng was depicted sitting in his feather breeches upon a nest of eggs, as if trying to hatch them. This naturally gave him great annoyance, and It was not long before he caused this offensive cartoon to Tbe removed from the public gaze. 1 Annual liegisiery 1824, pp. 61 and 102. Tsmmfmmiim'tmmmmgmm !;rr5ZIsT^» «■ w -—•*"- I, r> ii *K ; f f: "S 140 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS On March 28, 1831, Mr. Byng was appointed one of the Gentlemen Ushers to the Privy Council. In 1859 he joined the ranks of the Queen's (West- minster) Rifle Volunteers, and was present when the regiment was reviewed by Her late Majesty on June 23, i860. He often related, with pride, the fact of his having been reviewed as a volunteer by King George HI. in 1803, and by Queen Victoria in i860. Mr. Byng was for many years a conspicuous figure in London society, and as he was generaUy accompanied in his walks by a black French poodle dog, he went by the name of '' Poodle Byng." He retired on November 5, 1859, and died on June 5, 1871. Four generations of Bidwells have held appoint- ments under the Foreign Office, their services extending, in the aggregate, over 158 years. I. Mr. Thomas Bidwell (many years Chief Clerk), 1 767-1 8 1 7, fifty years* service. Died September 28, 1817. 2. Mr. Thomas Bidwell (also many years Chief Clerk), 1 790-1 84 1, fifty and a half years' service. Died May i, 1852. 3. Mr. John Bidwell, 1798-1851, fifty-three years' service. Died October 31, 1853. 4. Mr. John Bidwell, junior, 1842-72, thirty years* service. Died August 22, 1873. On the occasion of the death (in 181 7) of the first Thomas Bidwell, an article appeared in the Gentleman s Magaziney in which it was stated that, besides his official appointment in the Foreign Office, he held, for many years, the office of THE BIDWELL FAMILY 141 Superintendent of St. James's and Hyde Parks, and that it was under his active superintendence that this part of the Crown domains received the improvement in planting, which, it was added, would, in due time, essentially contribute to the embellishment of the Metropolis. What then, it may be asked, would not have been Mr. Bidwell's delight and admiration, had he lived to see the beautiful flower-beds and shrubs in Hyde Park and the Other parks, which now adorn the Metropolis ? John Bidwell, senior, of the Foreign Office, used to be fond, I am told, of relating the story of how he was robbed by two soldiers one night when crossing Hyde Park, after dining with his uncle, Thomas Bidwell, at the Ranger's Lodge ; but I am afraid matters have not greatly improved since then, and that the dangers attending the crossing of Hyde Park at night are as great now as they were more than a century ago. He was a nephew of the first Thomas Bidwell above mentioned, and was also Deputy Ranger of Hyde Park. He accompanied Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Adair on his special mission to Constantinople, in July, 1808, and re- mained in the East till 181 1. In April, 181 3, he was selected to accompany Lieut. -General Sir Charles Stewart (afterwards Marquess of Londonderry) on his mission to the King of Prussia, and he accom- panied him on his visits to the headquarters of the Allied Armies at various places on the Continent. He was for many years Superintendent in the Consular Department of the Foreign Office. John Bidwell, junior — son of the above-named John Bidwell— '' Young John," as he was called, g fj' iiii . ii p ii r. i' * ' tw ' '1 ^ hi m I l\ % ^ 142 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS was appointed to a clerkship in the Foreign Office in 1842. Was attached to the Legation at Wash- ington in 1845-6. Was prdcis writer to the Earl of Malmesbury, when Foreign Secretary in 1852; and private secretary to his lordship, when Foreign Secretary in 1858-9. He was attached to the Earl of Clarendon's special mission to Paris in 1856; accompanied his lordship to Potsdam in August, 1858, when in attendance upon Her late Majesty ; and was promoted to be a senior clerk, April I, 1859. He was a tall, thin man, but very active. In private life he was a most welcome guest in society, and was particularly fond of taking part in theatrical performances, his great forte being the performance of the part of harlequin, which he executed admir- ably. On one occasion he, with others, hired the Lyceum Theatre for a private theatrical perform- ance, and the jumps which he made, one being through the face of a clock, could not have been better performed by a professional. Sir Francis Alston has told me that he was present on the occasion, and was witness to the complete success which attended his performances. He died on August 22, 1873, aged forty-eight, and was buried in Brompton Cemetery. Mr. George Lenox-Conyngham was a super- numerary clerk in the Foreign Office from July 5, 181 2, till July 5, 181 7, when he was appointed to a clerkship ; he was precis writer to Viscount Castle- reagh, from January 5, 1817, till July 5, 1819; he succeeded to a senior clerkship May 16, 1834, and had the superintendence of the China Department MR. G. LENOX-CONYNGHAM 143 for many years; he was appointed Chief Clerk, April 5, 1 84 1. When a young man, Mr. Conyngham met with a severe gun accident. He had just got on to the outside of the Cambridge coach, at the Golden Cross Hotel, Charing Cross, intending to go into the country for a day's shooting, when his gun, which had been loaded and was carelessly left rest- ing against his leg, went off, and the charge entered the upper part of the thigh of his left leg. He was at once removed from off the coach into the hotel, where his leg was amputated near the hip joint. Some days later the surgeons discovered that it had not been cut off quite high enough, and Mr. Conyng- ham submitted, with wonderful courage, to having another slice taken off, and as this was before the days of anaesthetics, his sufferings must have been very great indeed, considering that he was a very tall, stout, and heavy man. He was very seldom seen with an artificial leg. When in the office, he used to walk, or rather hop, about with a crutch under his left arm and a walking-stick in his right hand. When the weather was changeable and heavy rains were expected, his sufferings were intense, and I have seen him cry like a child with the pain. At such times he was obliged to take large doses of laudanum to alleviate the suffering ; but as soon as the rain actually fell, the intense pain ceased. One day a Quaker called upon him at the Foreign Office, to make some inquiry. It was probably on one of his bad days ; and when suffering, he was not very particular as to the language which he used, i. 144 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS .*! i i p. It . even to strangers. After some little conversation had passed between them, the Quaker put the finger of his right hand up, reproachfully, and addressing Mr. Conyngham, said, " Thou hast taken the Name of the Lord in vain thrice " ; and he then handed him a little tract, headed, ** The Swearer's Oath.'* Mr. Conyngham was not at all offended at this, but calmly rang his bell, and when the office messenger arrived, he said, *'Take this paper down to the bookbinder and tell him to mount it on a piece of cardboard for me." He then told the Quaker that he would put it on his mantelpiece, as a caution to his friends when they visited him, not to swear. He always signed his name thus : " G. Lenox-C." He died on November 26, 1866. Mr. Lewis Hertslet^ was appointed Sub-Librarian in the Foreign Office on February S, 1801, and ** Librarian and Keeper of the Papers," in January, 18 10. On the departure of King George IV. for Hanover, in 182 1, he acted as one of the Secretaries to the Lords Justices in England during the King's absence. On June 30, 1824, he was appointed, in addition to the office which he held as Librarian and Keeper of the Archives of the Foreign Office, ** Superintendent of King's Messengers and Con- troller of the Accounts for the Three Secretaries of States Offices" (Home, Foreign, and Colonial), with an additional salary of ^£4^0 a year, w^hich raised his income to ;^ 1,2 50 a year. This additional post he held for thirty years. ^ There have been four generations of the Hertslet family in the Foreign Office since 1795. I HERTSLET'S "STATE PAPERS" AND "TREATIES" 145 In 1825, he originated, compiled, and edited, during his leisure hours at home, a work, now universally well known and appreciated, entitled British and Foreign State Papers, The object of the work was to collect together, in a convenient form, the principal Treaties between foreign Powers, and documents, which had been made public, re- lating to the political and commercial affairs of nations, and to their relations with each other, from the termination of the war in 181 5 to the latest period. The work was originally printed exclu- sively for the use of H.M.'s Government and H.M. s Diplomatic Agents abroad, but the general interest which was attached to the collection, after the issue of the first few volumes, led to its being published and placed on sale. As the work was published "for the use of H.M.'s Government," it was simply stated on the title-page of each volume that it was " Compiled . by the Librarian and Keeper of the Papers of the Foreign Office," the name of Lewis Hertslet never appeared, and although it was pretty generally known, in official circles, who the com- piler was, Still the fact of his name not being given, operated greatly to his disadvantage, inas- much as his name did not appear in the cata- logues of many important public libraries, as the author of this admittedly most useful and valuable publication. About the same time Lewis Hertslet further undertook, with official sanction, also during his leisure hours at home, another work on treaties, to which he gave the title of Hertslefs Commercial L j^pMM i H-ii m i t, e i iFmS tKOmi 146 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS PUBLIC DOCUMENT BOOK 147 1^ and Slave Trade Treaties. His object, as stated on the title-page, was to give, in a collected form, **A11 the Treaties and Conventions and Reci- procal Regulations, actually existing, between Great Britain and Foreign Powers, as well as the Laws and Orders in Council concerning the same, so far as they related to Commerce and Navigation, to the Repression and Abolition of the Slave Trade, and to the Privileges and Interests of the Subjects of the High Contracting Parties." No such complete work of the kind had ever been published before, and the value of the collec- tion will at once be seen, when It is pointed out that in the first two volumes were copies of or extracts from all the old treaties which had been concluded between Great Britain and foreign Powers, which conferred commercial or other benefits on this country, and which were specially renewed or were actually in force at the termination of the French Revolutionary War in 181 5. This was a herculean task, and one of no little responsibility, which could only have been undertaken by one who was thoroughly master of the subject ; and to his great credit, be it said, the accuracy of the opinions which he formed on treaty questions has never been controverted, either in this country or abroad. The work is supplied officially to H.M.'s Embassies, Missions, and Consulates abroad, and (through the Admiralty) to H.M.'s principal ships of war. The great labour and ability which he displayed in the compilation of these two important works, notwith- standing the many arduous and important duties which devolved upon him during office hours in his w 1.1 position of Librarian and Keeper of the Archives of the Foreign Office, have been universally recog- nised. The Times, in recording his death, which took place on March 15, 1870, said that these two works ^' would ever remain a lasting monument of his intelligence and industry." Of the State Papers, thirty-seven volumes, and of Hertslets Treaties, eleven volumes, had been issued during his lifetime. After his death, in 1870, both works were continued by me until my retirement from the Foreign Office in 1896. They are now continued by the Foreign Office. In consequence of this deep research into treaties, Lewis Hertslet soon became the standing authority on all subjects involving international, historical, or geographical points which affected British interests, and the numerous reports which he prepared from time to time for successive Secretaries of State are carefully preserved in the archives of the Foreign Office, and fully indexed, where they will be available for future reference for a long time to come. So valuable were his reports considered, that he was dubbed by one Secretary of State as the "Walking State Paper." Another work of great utility compiled by my father, but solely for the use of the Foreign Office, consisted of documents and important facts extracted from trustworthy British and foreign journals, which were pasted by the bookbinder on large folio pages. These, after being bound, were carefully indexed, with the dates, country, and subject put against each extract, showing where it was taken from. The series commenced in 1796, 148 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS f i ! / and was carried on till 1873, when it was discon- tinued ; but the earlier volumes, especially, supplied a new and abundant source of useful information for the Foreign Office and the members of Her Majesty's Government at a time when such docu- ments and facts were not made so generally public as they are now. It was called the Public Document Book, and forms no less than seventy-eight folio volumes on the shelves of the Foreign Office Printed Library. On March 30, 1873, an old Foreign Office official retired from the service, much to the regret of his many friends and colleagues, and a card, in the shape of a funeral tablet, was placed upon the mantelpiece of his old room, with the following inscription on it : — In Memory of • • • • who departed this Official Life on the 30 March, 1873. Scrupulous in the avoidance of every duty, he gracefully escaped the obligations of this tran- sitory life. Regarding virtue as a thing beyond price, he was careful not to degrade it by practice. His mind was a storehouse of know- ledge of which he had lost the key; and in finally paying the debt of nature, he left to his sorrowing friends the consolation of meeting his other liabilities. Pax Nobis ! So far from his taking offence at this little joke he expressed himself highly amused at it, and the VISIT TO WOOLWICH ARSENAL 149 last I heard of it was that it stood upon one of the mantelpieces in his own private house. I cannot refrain from now telling a story about my old friend A. S. G. He and I, besides being official friends in the same department in the office (the Library), had been private friends for many years. H is father was a retired Admiral, and he had brothers, the elder one being, at the time of which I write (1854), a major in the Royal Artillery, stationed at Woolwich. War was expected to be declared between this country and Russia, and A. S. G. suggested to me that we should go down to Woolwich together and inspect the Arsenal. We had no order of admission, but he undertook to arrange matters if I would only consent to follow his directions implicitly, which I promised to do, and we there- fore Avent dow^n by rail to some place immediately opposite the Arsenal on the other side of the river, and on arriving there we went down to the river side. Here A. S. G. called a boatman and told him to row us across to the Garrison steps. The man inquired, *'Are you gentlemen officers of the garrison?" to which A. S. G. coolly re- plied, much to my astonishment, ^'Yes." The boatman touched his cap and on board his boat we went. On reaching the Arsenal steps, we saw a sentry posted at the top, and I must confess I did not quite relish our little exploit, but having promised to obey my friend's orders, I asked no questions, but followed him. We landed, paid our fare, and on reaching the top step the sentinel saluted us ; ISO FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS m h ^ we returned his salute and walked on into the Arsenal yard. On arriving at the first shed we saw three or four gentlemen being conducted round the Arsenal, and their guide was explaining to them the mechanism of a newly invented ambulance wagon. We joined the party at a short distance, and listened with interest to the explanation which was being given, but on looking up we saw to our dismay that one of these gentlemen was H.R.H. the Prince Consort, another H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, and the third Mr. Delane, the editor of the Times. They all looked at us, but said nothing, nor did we say any- thing. After a short time we left the royal party, and at A. S. G.'s suggestion we proceeded to another part of the Arsenal, to inspect the Gun Cap manufactory, but were somewhat taken aback by the sentry slapping his musket and saying that his orders were not to allow any officers to pass into that part of the Arsenal unless they were in uniform, for which piece of interesting information we thanked him, and, turning round pretty sharply, went elsewhere, feeling rather small. We then entered a room in which a man was explaining to the royal party the new mode which had then been but recently adopted of cutting bullets out of solid pieces of lead. It was most interesting, and if I remember rightly, he said that these machines could each turn out 100,000 bullets a day. Before this invention, I was told, all bullets were cast in moulds. After this we left the Arsenal by the main entrance, and proceeded to the messroom at the VISIT TO WOOLWICH ARSENAL 151 , Royal Artillery, when my friend A. S. G. asked for his brother the major, and when he appeared he was told that we should be glad of a little lunch, as it was luncheon time, and in a few minutes we sat down at a table together, Mr. Delane, a great friend of the G family, joining the party. We were no sooner seated than A. S. G. told his brother what we had been doing and how we had gained admittance into the Arsenal without an order, at which he expressed his utter astonishment and sur- prise at our impudence, and declared that if he had found us there and had known how we got there, he would have at once put us under arrest! I remember askinor Mr. Delane if he had not been astonished at the way in which bullets were cut out of the solid lead, adding that I should have liked to bring away one of them as a souvenir, but that I did not like to prig one out of the basket, lest the man in charge should have to account for the exact number made, to which he replied, *' Oh, I wasn't so thin-skinned; I bagged several," and he presented me with one, which I kept for a long time, but lost it at last. The visit was, no doubt, a very indiscreet one on our part, to use the mildest term, but I think it was perhaps more reprehensible on the part of the military authorities to have allowed it to be possible for utter strangers to visit the Arsenal, especially on the eve of the outbreak of a war, without a written permit or even a verbal password ! I will now relate another little anecdote con- nected with my friend A. S. G. On one occasion he and one of his colleagues in the ^«4r- '. i 152 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS Library of the Foreign Office, when walking one day up Downing Street together, observed a small crowd of respectably dressed men entering the Education Office, and it was suggested by A. S. G. that they should join what they not un- naturally concluded to be a deputation, as they had never been present at one before, and the proposal having been agreed to they entered with the other gentlemen, and were all shown into a large waiting-room. After waiting there a short time the door opened, and an office keeper entered and beckoned to two of the gentlemen to follow him, which they did. After the lapse of a few minutes the same individual re-entered the room and beckoned to two others to follow him, and they also left. A. S. G. and his companion being some- what puzzled to know what this all meant, ventured to inquire of one of the gentlemen in the room what was the object of the deputation ; to which question he smUingly replied, *^ Deputation, sir? this is not a deputation; we are candidates for the appoint- ment of schoolmaster, and we are all waiting to be examined in turn." It can easily be imagined how quickly these two intruders decamped, thank- ing their lucky stars that they were not the first two to be called out of the room together for the purpose of being examined as schoolmasters. Speaking of deputations, I may relate a singular mistake which occurred, many years ago, in the office. The Secretary of State was asked, I was told, by a certain society to receive a deputation from their body respecting the safety of their agents and their wives and families in a foreign country, DEPUTATIONS 153 1 which was then in a very disturbed state. The Secretary of State was unable himself to receive the deputation, but they were told that the Under Secretary of State would be happy to do so on a day which was named. When the day arrived a certain number of gentlemen came to the Foreign Office, and the office keeper, not having been in- formed of their expected arrival, was in a difficulty to know what to do with them, so he went to the senior clerk of the department having charge of the affairs of that particular country and asked him what should be done with the deputation. The clerk in question, who was also Ignorant of any appointment having been made, and was therefore as much puzzled as the office keeper to know what to do with them, replied, "Oh, show them in; I'll see them ! " and they were ushered into his room, lie commenced by asking them whether they were married, of how many their family consisted, and so forth, and after he had assured them that they might rely upon H.M.'s Government domg all in their power to protect their relatives, they thanked him and retired. After they had gone, the Under Secretary rang his bell and on the office keeper appearing he asked him if the deputation had not arrived, as it was much past the hour appointed for the reception. "Oh, yes, sir!" replied the office keeper, "they have been here and are gone." "Gone!" exclaimed the Under Secretary. " Who saw them ? " he inquired. " Mr. , sir," was the reply. "Ask him to come to me," said the Under Secretary, and Mr. went to him. On his entering the room the Under < 1 i h' I ' 154 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS Secretary inquired if it was true that he had re- ceived the deputation from the missionary society. "Yes," he replied, ** I saw some gentlemen; I knew nothing about a deputation coming, or the object of their visit.'* "What did you say to them ? " was the next question, to which Mr. answered, '* I really don't remember. I asked certain commonplace questions about their wives and families, and told them that H.M.'s Govern- ment would do all in their power to protect them ; with which they seemed perfectly satisfied, and departed " ; and here the matter fortunately ended. When the Emperor Napoleon III. held the celebrated ** Feast of Eagles" at Paris, in 1852, many British officers were invited to take part in it.^ Two of them, who had greatly distinguished themselves in India, were in England at the time, and they at once accepted the invitation. They were brothers of my friend A. S. G., already alluded to, and at their request he agreed to accompany them to Paris. On their arrival they proceeded to the Tuileries, where they all three left their cards, my friend A. S. G. out of pure politeness ; but early next morning, before he was out of bed, a rap was heard at his bedroom door, and on his saying '' Entrez," a gendarme entered and, making a pro- 1 Extract from Histoire du Second Empire^ by Pierre de la Gorce, published in 1895 by MM. C. Plon, Nourrit, and Cie, Paris : — "La Dictature etat Social en 1852. Au mois de Mai, des Aigles ayant ixi distributes aux Regiments, cette c^rdmonie devint le signal d'une veritable explosion de rdjouissances. Les portes des Tuileries s'ouvrirent pour un grand bal ou pr^s de cinq mille personnes d€fil^rent sous les yeux du President." ( I "FEAST OF EAGLES" 155 found salute, presented my friend A. S. G. with a huge pantomimic envelope which, on opening it, he found to contain an invitation from the Emperor for him to attend the '' Feast of Eagles." What was to be done ? He was not a British officer and had no uniform to appear in ! However, after consulting with his brothers, it was arranged that they should all three go together; so, when the evening arrived, they presented themselves at the Tuileries. A theatre had been erected for the occasion in which all the dlite of Paris and the foreign naval and military officers appeared in full uniform. The master of the ceremonies read out aloud the class of visitors in the order arranged for them to enter the theatre. After a list of grand personages had been given out, the master of ceremonies called out, '' Messieurs les gdndraux " ; then ** Messieurs les amiraux"; and then *' Messieurs les officiers anglais," when my three friends stepped forward. The master of the ceremonies, on observing that A. S. G. was out of uniform, inquired politely, ** Votre uniforme, monsieur?" and A. S. G. replied that he had forgotten it, but was nevertheless allowed to pass. When the company were all assembled this ''distinguished Englishman" was at once noticed, especially by the British Ambassador, to whom he was unknown, and by all the party in His Excellency's box, but no observation was made, nor was any further notice taken of the incident. But, jocular and somewhat indiscreet as I have shown A. S. G. to have been, he did his work at the Foreign Office exceedingly well, and at his 156 FOREIGN OFFICE OFFICIALS death, on October 7, 1875, the following minute was issued by the Secretary of State : — ** Lord Derby has heard with great regret of the death of Mr. A. S. G., whose attention to his duties and ability in the discharge of them are well known, and will cause his loss to be severely felt in the °^"^- - D. Oct. 8/75." CHAPTER VIII KING'S (QUEEN'S) MESSENGERS T T was during Lord Malmesbury's second term of -■■ office that a great change was made in reward- ing the services rendered by the Queen's Foreign Service Messengers. A great deal of interesting matter, beyond that which has already been made public in various ways with regard to the present corps, might be furnished with regard to the old corps of King's Messengers ; the arduous and dangerous duties which they were frequently called upon to perform, especially before the introduction of railways or steamboats ; the great confidence which had invariably been placed in them by H.M/s Government ; the many instances in which they lost their lives by shipwreck, or were murdered ; the innumerable cases in which they suffered bodily injury by being thrown from their horses or carriages ; their sufferings from frost-bite, exposure, and so forth ; but it would occupy far too great a space to give even a superficial account of the corps in this book. But some of the dangers and hardships which they endured can be well under- stood by the relation of the few following facts. In September, 1797, two messengers (Brooks and Magistri) were drowned off Calais in attempting to land at night, In an open boat, from the Diana packet. 157 158 KING'S MESSENGERS DEATHS OF KING'S MESSENGERS The boat was upset by the violence of the surf. The despatches of which Brooks was the bearer, and which were afterwards recovered, were intended for Lord Malmesbury (afterwards created ist Earl of Malmesbury), who was carrying on negotiations with the French authorities at Lille. In his Memoirs Lord Malmesbury alludes to the fact that, at this time, his letters were conveyed to him by another messenger (Hertslet^), who met him at St. Omer after his departure from Lille, the conferences there having just been broken up.^ In the same year (1797) another messenger (Flint) was killed by a carriage accident near Augsburg^, on a return journey from Naples. In 1807 another (Sparrow) was stabbed by boat- men, who were conveying him along the coast of Sicily, and it was believed that he fell a sacrifice to a most heroic defence of his despatches, which led to a commission in the Army being given to his son by H.R.H. the Duke of York. In 181 5 another (Lyell) was murdered at Madrid ; and in the same year another messenger (Shaw) had both his feet amputated owing to their having been severely frost-bitten ; and he did not long survive the shock. In 1820 another (Brown) died at St. Petersburg from fatigue and the effects of accidents, after a continuous journey of twenty-three days and nights. In 1823 another (Bettles) died in consequence of a severe winter in Russia, and the hardships en- * Louis Hertslet, my grandfather, who was a King's Messenger from 1795 ^^^^ ^^02. 2 Vide Times, September 15, 16, 17, 1797, and Diary of the Earl of Malmesbury^ vol. iii. p. 577. 159 f I dured on the return journey from St. Petersburg in a ship of war. In 1827 another (Dykes) died from injuries sustained by a fall from his horse between Calais and Paris. In 1833 another (Latchford) died from an attack of Asiatic cholera, brought on by over-fatigue after a journey of thirteen days and nights to St. Peters- burg. In 1836 another (Smith) was drowned at Fal- mouth, and no doubt many other cases could be mentioned. There are also numerous instances on record, especially between 1815 and 1834, of messengers having been compelled to cross over from Dover to Calais in an open boat, when the sea was so rough that the captain of the packet could not be induced to risk the passage. The boatmen would appear to have been paid sums varying from £1 55. to ^25 for their services, but on several occasions their boats were dashed to pieces on reaching Calais, when the loss had to be made good by the mes- sengers on behalf of H.M. s Government. In 1840 a messenger (Barnard) had to pay ;^35 to a boat- man for the loss of his boat, which shows pretty clearly that the boat, in which he had Jiad to cross in the gale, was not a very large or seaworthy one. During the French Revolutionary War, when the sea passage to Calais was impracticable, the messengers had to reach the Continent by way of Great Yarmouth and Cuxhaven, a sea passage which, in ordinary times, occupied a few days only, but in winter, or tempestuous weather, many weeks. i6o KING'S MESSENGERS MESSENGERS' SALARIES, ETC. i6i For instance, one messenger (Hertslet) on a return journey from St. Petersburg to London in 1799 was detained at Cuxhaven for twenty-eight days, owing to the large quantities of ice afloat ; he was then seven days in making the passage, or thirty-five days ^n all in passing from Cuxhaven to Great Yarmouth. Another (Dickenson) was detained at Cuxhaven in the same year for thirty days ; and another (Ruffe) for thirty- two days. On the above journey, the messenger Hertslet was travelling for over four consecutive months, and was in his saddle for fifty-two days, off and on. The messengers at that time travelled either on horseback or in their own carriages; but it frequently happened that, owing to the badness of the roads, which were often mere tracks, they had to be con- veyed in small carts of the country, oxen being employed where they could do the work better than horses ; and peasants, provided with lanterns, being procured to lend assistance when the roads were obliterated by heavy falls of snow, or by floods and mud. There are also numerous instances on record of the messengers having been stopped and robbed, not only abroad, but even in England on their way to the Continent. They were frequently entrusted with matters of the greatest importance, and statesmen have in- variably borne testimony to the fact that they discharged their duties most zealously, efficiently, and faithfully. When I first entered the office (in 1840), I re- member seeing the messengers* carriages standing, .\ with four horses attached, at the office door, ready to convey the messengers, in uniform, to Dover, the railway not having then been completed. The badge was formerly worn on the messenger s breast, affixed to his coat, not suspended by a ribbon, according to more recent regulations. These badges were frequently lost or stolen ; for instance, between the years 1732 and 1759, no less than twelve messengers either lost the badge en- tirely, or the silver greyhound appended to it, or had the crystal (which protected the royal arms painted on the centre of the badge) broken by their having been thrown from their horses. The badge which was thus worn by J. P. Louis Hertslet, King's Messenger during the reign of King George III., is still in my possession. Each Foreign Messenger was paid a small salary of ;^6o a year, with an allowance for ''board wages " of 6s. Scl. a day when in England, and 13^. 4^. a day when abroad, with a mileage profit on journeys performed which varied according to the mode of travelling adopted, whether on horseback or by carriage ; but when the railway system was intro- duced, and as it became more developed, their duties became less arduous, and these charges were accordingly altered from time to time. When Lord Malmesbury became Foreign Secretary he decided (November 4, 1858) to abolish this anti- quated system of remuneration and to give each messenger a fixed annual salary of ;6^500, without any other emoluments whatever ; their actual travel- ling expenses being paid by the Government. It was admkted by his lordship that the average salary M l62 KING'S MESSENGERS and emoluments received by each messenger during the preceding three years was jC&oo, some having received a great deal more and some less, but j£8oo was considered by him to be out of all pro- portion to the services performed. This material change produced great discontent among the members of the corps, who pointed out to his lord- ship that, considering the immense distance which each messenger travelled annually, *'the perils which they had often to encounter ; the constant exposure in all climates and seasons, the greater part of nine months in the year, continually out of their beds during winter nights in Russia, and in the heat of the East, sometimes travelling in open sledges, on horseback, in steamboats or on railways ; the wear and tear of constitution consequent on such severe trials ; and also bearing in mind the heavy expenses to which they were subjected at hotels on the Continent," ;^500 salary alone was quite in- adequate, unless accompanied by an additional allowance for expenses while engaged on duty abroad. Their salary was, in consequence of this remonstrance, increased to ;^52 5 a year, but the increase ''from pounds to guineas," as they were pleased to call the change, was still deemed in- sufificient by the messengers ; and the question was subsequently considered by a Committee of the House of Commons sitting on the Diplo- matic Service,^ when Lieut. -Col. Townley, who had been one of the corps for seventeen years, attended and gave evidence, after Lord Malmes- bury had been examined and given his. Lieut. -Col. ^ House of Commons paper, No. 459, 1861. MESSENGERS' SALARIES, ETC. 163 f \ -i It* 7 Townley said, ** I have always looked upon the chang-e that was made as an unjust measure carried out in a very harsh manner; men entered the service when the appointment was notoriously worth ;^8oo or ;!^900 a year, insured their lives in the belief that no change would be made, and were now in distress" (June 6, 1861); whereupon Lord Malmesbury, by permission of the House of Lords, applied to be examined again before the committee, when he denied that the corps of Queen^s Foreign Service Messengers had been *' harshly" or ''unjustly" treated (June 24, 1861), and entered into further explanations as to what had led to the change being made. On their continued remonstrances being con- sidered by Lord John Russell, who in June, 1859, had succeeded Lord Malmesbury at the Foreign Office, the salary assigned to each messenger was fixed (June 8, 1861) at ;^400 a year, with an addi- tional allowance of ;^i a day while employed on foreign service, which was deemed a more satis- factory arrangement and settled the question. The salary has, however, again been altered in recent years, and at the present moment there are four Foreign Service Messengers w^ith salaries fixed at ;^400 a year each, and five at ;^250, with an additional allowance of ;^i a day when employed abroad ; their actual travelling expenses being paid , by H.M.'s Government. \ CHAPTER IX SALARIES, FEES, AND PERQUISITES T T E R Majesty's Government was much more ^ -■• liberal in the first half of the nineteenth century than at its close, as the Treasury was not nearly so powerful as it is now. Each Secretary of State's office possessed a " Contin- gent Fund/' which was a fine institution, for out of it a Secretary of State could make any small payment he pleased without the interference of the Treasury ; but, alas ! it has long ceased to exist, and no payment, however small, can now be made without Treasury sanction having been first obtained. In those **good old times" a roll of bread, round in shape and slighdy sweetened, and a decanter of water was placed in each room every morning by the housekeeper, for which no payment was demanded or made, as the rolls were supplied by the generosity of H.M.'s Government. This was generally called the '' Prison Allowance.** Some years later, a biscuit was substituted for the small roll, and I have seen mice enjoying a hearty meal off these rations when the office was in full work. Then again, at Christmas-time, nearly every clerk in the office received a small, double-bladed pen- 164 CONTINGENT FUND 165 ( knife in a neat little red leather case ; and should a demand for a pencil be made, a packet containing a dozen, or at least half a dozen '' H.B. s" was at once supplied by the head office-keeper. Post Office Directories, and handsomely bound octavo volumes with gilt edges, containing a collection of Almanacs, were also freely given to all those who were high enough up in the office to be entitled by their position to receive them. I have in my posses- sion several of these almanacs, which formerly be- longed to my father. But, alas ! all these little marks of delicate atten- tion on the part of H.M.'s Government have long since been discontinued, and nothing now remains in the shape of a gratuitous offering to remind one of those bygone days but the bottle of water, which is Still supplied to each room daily, and gratuitously ! Before 1840, official Envelopes had not been invented, although stamped postage covers for ordi- nary letters came into use on May 6 of that year ; after the establishment, on January 10 preceding, of a uniform penny postage. All official letters to be sent by post or by hand, had to be inserted in a cover, carefully folded for the purpose, so as to form an envelope ; and as the use of gum had not then been thought of for such a purpose, every letter had either to be closed with a wafer, which had to be pressed down by a stamp, or carefully sealed with. red sealing-wax (unless the Court was in mourning, when black was used). The seal used was the coat-of-arms of the Secretary of State then in office, which was en- graved on steel; but this practice has been dis- H v* ^ h i66 SALARIES, FEES, AND PERQUISITES continued for many years, the Royal Arms being now invariably used, superscribed on the larger ones with the words ''Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs," and on the smaller ones, " Foreign Office." If several letters had to be inserted in a long cover, the outer cover inclosing them was fastened down with two seals, one at each end. The ad- dresses on all letters had to be written by hand, as printing was then never used for such a purpose, and the time thus wasted can scarcely be credited, although the Foreign Office Agency system, which then existed, was a great saving of trouble to the office in this respect. The following is a specimen of the address which had to be written on every letter sent to H.M.'s consuls abroad : — On Her Britannic Majesty's Service. To William Hamilton, Esquire, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul, Boulogne s/m. Care of G. S. Marshall, Esquire, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul, Calais. Care of the Agent of Her Majesty's Packets, Dover. Foreign Office. (With date of Transmission.) This precious document, which had the Secretary of Staters name signed by deputy upon it, and which frequently contained nothing more important OFFICIAL SALARIES 167 than private letters, was then sealed with one or two seals, according to its size, and committed to the post. The consumption of sealing-wax was, in consequence, immense. It should, however, be remembered that I am now speaking of a time when soldiers wore tail coats, officers gold epaulettes, policemen chimney- pot hats, and before the general construction of railways. The Salaries paid to officials in former days were small. The actual salary of a Secretary of State was much smaller then than it is now. The salary of the Earl of Rochford, for instance, in 1770, was but ;^3,ooo a year; that of the Under Secretary ^500; and of the nine clerks in his office ^100 each; but the ** perquisites " added to the salaries of the Secretaries of State at that period made each of them worth £7^000 a year, and as the under secretaries and clerks each received their perquisites their salaries were proportionately in- creased thereby. The ancient system in most, if not in all, of the public offices was to appoint officers either without salaries, or with a salary inadequate to the value of their services, leaving them to pay themselves by the receipt of fees from the parties for whom those services were performed; but in 1785 an Act of Parliament was passed (25 Geo. III. c. 19), under which Commissioners were appointed to inquire—- among other things — into fees, perquisites, and emoluments received at the public offices ; and in their report they advised the payment of the different establishments by fixed salaries, and the '* t» 1 68 SALARIES, FEES, AND PERQUISITES abolition of this ancient system; all officers who received fees being placed under the obligation of accounting for them to a fund from which the ex- penses of the respective departments were partly defrayed. In November, 1836, a Treasury Committee was appointed to look into these matters, and the follow- ing was— briefly stated— the result of that inquiry, SO far as the Foreign Office was concerned.^ It was found that the following fees, gratuities, perquisites, and emoluments were formerly received from the public by the Chief Clerk of the Foreign Office, through the Treasury, to be applied to the Fee Fund for the payment of the former estab- lishment : — On the appointment of an Ambassador . . . 88 /o o »f M of an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 60 9 6 and of a Minister Plenipotentiary, a Secretary of Embassy, or a Secretary of Legation . .each 33 12 o But the fees upon the appointment of ambassa- dors and other members of the Diplomatic Service had not always been paid by the public. About the year 1816, in consequence of some communication as to the burden of these fees upon the parties appointed as ambassadors, or connected with legations, directions were given for these fees to be borne by the public, and this practice con- tinued until the year 1834, when they ceased to be paid^ by the public, and they have now been dis- continued altogether. 1 First Report, Treasury Committee on Fees and Emoluments of Public Offices, laid before the House of Commons, 1837, Paper 192. FEES 169 r ? The Treasury inquiry further brought to light the fact that for each letter signed by the Secretary of State, for the issue of extraordinary expenses, salaries, and outfits, a fee was paid of ^^2 2^. 6^., and that for each letter to the Treasury for deter- mination of allowances, signed by the Secretary of State, a fee was paid of £2 2s. 6d. The following fees were paid by the individuals themselves : — On appointment of a Consul . . . . 12 15 o For each letter to the Treasury, signed by the Secre- tary of State, for the salaries of Consuls . .226 The fees on letters to the Treasury were abolished in March, 1836. For warrants of approbation of foreign consuls in British ports, otherwise called ''Exequaturs," signed by the King, and countersigned by the Secretary of State, the fee charged was £^ ly, 6d, But these fees on *' Exequaturs *' were also abolished in March, 1836, upon the ground that British consuls in foreign ports were not subjected to any such charges. For each Passport signed by the Secretary of State the fee charged was £2 2s. 6d. The fee now charged is two shillings. It was also shown, from a return which was produced, that the following total amounts were received under these headinofs :— In ^^2>Z^ -^^1,560 19J. ; in 1834, ^2,208 19J. 6^.; in 1835, ;^i,545. It was stated before this committee that the period when these fees, etc., were first demanded and collected was not known ; that no Act of Parliament could be cited, or any other authority quoted, under which they were levied ; but it was I 170 SALARIES, FEES, AND PERQUISITES declared to have been an "immemorial" custom, confirmed by H.M.'s Order in Council of February 27. 1795. Previously to 1825^ the fees paid by consuls on their appointments amounted, in each case, to ;^I2 2 17^'., viz. fees ;^I2 15^., and **gratuities" ;^iio 25., which sum was carried to the Public Fee Fund. In March of that year consuls were relieved from the payment of the gratuities, but they were still re- quired to pay the fee of /12 15^. on their appoint- ment. The Treasury Committee of 1836 stated in their report that they were at a loss to understand why, when diplomatic agents were altogether relieved from charges on their appointments, it was considered a sufficient relief to consuls to diminish the fees and gratuities payable by each of them on their appointment from the sum of ;^I22 17^. to ;^I2 15^., inasmuch as the same reason seemed to exist for a total as for a partial abolition. But consuls had also to pay, at that time, £2 25. 6^. for a letter from the Secretary of State to the Treasury for their salaries upon their first appointment, so that, in fact, the fees then paid by every consul were ;^ 1 4 1 75. 6^. ; but these fees have long since ceased to be paid. In addition to these charges the Chief Clerk of the Foreign Office stated before the committee that he then still received for his own use a fee of £^ 5^. on the appointment of each consul, which produced, on an average, about £'}p or £6p a year. This was called the ** passing fee," and it was paid * The Consular Act was passed in 1825. "LONDON GAZETTES" 171 \ to the Chief Clerk on " passing " the appointments. He also received £1 annually from the Signet Office. The ''passing fee" of ^5 5^. was still paid as late as October 29, 1859, when it was dis- continued. Another curious way of remunerating the office- keepers and door-keeper for their services was by ordering, for the use of the office, thirty-five copies of the London Gazette y which were appropriated as follows : — To the senior office-keeper To the two junior office-keepers (6 copies each) . To the door-keeper . ... Filed in the office . ... 12 copies 9 » 2 ,, 35 '1 Of this number two only were actually delivered, and they were filed in the office ; but for the re- mainder, the office -keepers and the door-keeper received payment, at the rate of Zd, a sheet, in lieu thereof, from Mr. Watts, at that time the publisher of the London Gazette. The amounts paid in this way, in 1840, to two office-keepers (Venfield and Cocking) averaged £']0 a year, and to the door- keeper (Gracewood) £^^o a year. The two copies, which in the first instance were simply filed, were afterwards bound, and as time went on, the duplicate copies of these very bulky volumes occupied a great deal of useful space in the Printed Library ; but they eventually proved to be of great value, when, in 1854, a Secretary of State for War was appointed, the business of the Secretary of State for' War and the Colonies being then divided. 11 I w * I I 172 SALARIES, FEES, AND PERQUISITES It was very necessary that the War Department should, if possible, possess a complete series of the London Gazette from its commencement ; but as it was found impossible to procure a complete set of the volumes in the ordinary way, an appeal was made to the Foreign Office for advice in the matter, when one of the two sets in the Printed Library — including the Oxford and London Gazettes^ which commenced in 1665 — were handed over to the War Office, much to Its delight, and the Foreign Office was only too glad to get rid of it, so as to be able to utilise the space which these bulky volumes had so long occupied. Another fact was elicited from this Treasury Inquiry in regard to Christmas-boxes paid to the office-keepers, the office messenger, and the door- keeper. It appeared that the office-keepers attended at the foreign ambassadors' houses for Christmas-boxes ; that one person went there and collected for the office ; that the butler was generally seen, but that sometimes the ambassadors or ministers sent for the person into their rooms. The amount given, which rested with the ambassador or minister, was gene- rally eight guineas, and seldom less than five guineas. Should a lesser sum than five guineas be given it was accepted without any observation. These Christmas-boxes were equally divided be- tween the two office-keepers^ the office messenger, and the door-keeper. The office-keepers, however, paid ;^30 a year out of their Christmas-boxes to the office -keepers at the Home Office ; deducting this amount, the CHRISTMAS-BOXES 173 average income received by the office-keepers, and others above mentioned, from this source was about £\o a year. It was stated by the junior office-keeper that when, in 1834, Lord Palmerston became aware of the fact of these Christmas -gifts being received, he was *'perfecdy astonished'* at that mode of re- muneration to the office-keepers, etc. ; but, never- theless, no order was then given to prohibit or alter the practice. The door-keeper also received one guinea from each of the gentlemen in the office, besides one guinea from seyeral other public offices. He also had furnished apartments in the Foreign Office, with coals, candles, etc., supplied gratuitously. His situa- tion was stated to have been worth ;^300 a year. The Treasury Commissioners, in their report, expressed their regret at finding that Christmas- boxes were received by the office - keepers and Others of the Foreign Office. They said they considered it still more objectionable from the practice which prevailed of collecting by personal application to the foreign ministers and others ; a practice which they declared to be very discredit- able, for reasons which were obvious, and which must necessarily produce an impression on the minds of those who were not aware of the liberal scale of the salaries of establishments of the country, that the servants of the public depart- ments were inadequately remunerated. Even Under Secretaries in those days were not above taking Christmas-boxes, for it appeared that Mr. John Backhouse and the Hon. William Fox- wmm '74 SALARIES, FEES, AND PERQUISITES PRESENTS ^75 III M % i ' fe B: i Strangways each received, for his own use, a Christmas gratuity of £2 1 2s, 6c(. from the General Post Office, which fee was brought them annually, in accordance with ''ancient usage," but of the origin of this usage there appeared to be no record. The committee recommended the discontinuance of these payments also, and they were discontinued in consequence. In the **good old times" presents were made to the members of the Foreign Office, on the occa- sion of the ratification of an important treaty ; for instance, on the occasion of the ratification of the Commercial Treaty with France of 1786, 525 Louis d'Or, or 500 guineas, were presented by the French Government to the *' British Chancery," which was distributed as follows : — To Under Secretaries (xV^^) To Chief Clerk (^th) To Junior Clerks (yV^s) . 300 guineas. 150 »> 500 n On June 25, 1793, /i,ooo were received from the Russian Government **as a present to the Under Secretaries and Clerks of Lord Grenville's office/' on the occasion of the ratification of two conventions between His Majesty King George III. and the Empress of Russia, which sum was distri- buted as follows : — Two Under Secretaries ;^30o each ("fths of all presents to the office from foreign Courts ") — J. B. Burges, ;£"30o) G. Aust, ^300 / Ten clerks (in proportion to their salaries) . . 400 o o 600 j£l,OOQ o o I' In the same month ;^500 were presented by the Sardinian Chancery to the Under Secretaries of State and clerks in Lord Grenville's office for a treaty ratified between His Majesty and the King of Sardinia on the 13th June, 1793. Each Under Secretary received ;^i50, and the remainder was divided between nine clerks according to their rank and salary in the office. In the same month ;^8o were received on the conclusion of a treaty with Hesse, and were divided between ten clerks — the Under Secretaries not par- ticipating in this distribution. In September, 1793, ;^500 were presented **by the Emperor (of Germany) to the Under Secretaries of State and clerks in Lord Grenville's office" for a convention then recently ratified between His Majesty and the Emperor. Each Under Secretary received ;^I50, and the remainder was distributed between nine clerks in the office : and in the same month presents from the Spanish, Prussian, and Sicilian Chanceries, of ^500 each, were made to the Under Secretaries of State and clerks in Lord Grenville's office. Of this amount, ;i^ 1,500 in all, each of the Under Secretaries received ^"450, and the nine clerks in due proportion, ac- cording to their salaries. Similar presents were made by the British Government to foreign chanceries in His Majesty's name. This practice was continued till the year 1831. On January 18, 1831, a circular was sent by Lord Palmerston to H.M.'s diplomatic agents abroad, informing them that, with a view to economy. His 5 It . 176 SALARIES, FEES, AND PERQUISITES Majesty had been pleased to order that the presents which it had been hitherto customary to give, in His Majesty's name, to the plenipotentiaries and chanceries of foreign states, upon the exchange of the ratifications of treaties and conventions, or to ambassadors or ministers of foreign Courts sent to His Majesty upon special missions of congratulation or condolence, or to the representatives of foreign Powers permanently accredited to the British Court, on their taking leave of His Majesty at the ter- mination of their functions, should be thenceforth altogether discontinued; and on April 9, 1834, this rule was extended to other branches of H.M.'s service, prohibiting, indiscriminately, all persons in H.M.'s employment, in diplomatic, consular, naval, or military capacities, from receiving from a foreign Government any presents, whatever might be the occasion on which presents might be offered. > ' CHAPTER X ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS *<\T7*HAT'S in a name?" is a question which ^^ has frequently been asked ever since the days of Shakespeare. Some people attach a great deal of importance to a name, should it be only that of a ship, and I may here relate what hap- pened in 1842. In that year an arrangement was come to between the British and Prussian Governments for the creation of a Protestant Bishopric of Jerusalem. The first Bishop appointed by the British Govern- ment under the Act 5 Vict. cap. 6, was the Rev. M. S. Alexander, and it was thought that it would give more importance to the event and add eclat to the affair if the Bishop was conveyed to the Holy Land in a British ship of war. The Admiralty were accordingly communicated wuth, and, I was told, offered to place at the Bishop's disposal H.M.S. Infernal, then building at Woolwich. The Bishop, it is said, was indignant at the offer, and declined to be conveyed in a ship bearing such an objection- able name. The Admiralty, however, had some difficulty in finding another vessel available just at that time ; but at length they stated that they could place at the Bishop's disposal H.M.S. Devastation, This was no very great improvement in the name N 177 ?( lir 1 'f; M 178 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS of a ship of war which was to convey a Bishop of the Church of England for the first time on his journey to Jerusalem ; but there was no help for it, and the Bishop was, I am told, conveyed to Jaffa, on his way to the Holy Land, in that vessel. The next incident has reference to the recovery of a lost book belonging to the British Museum. I had occasion, in the year 1852, to go to the Museum to consult Mr. Watts, who was then Keeper of the Printed Books, with a view to ascertain whether a Russian ukase had ever been published which bore upon a political question then under consideration.^ Mr. Watts seemed much pleased at a reference being required to his Russian Library. He told me that when he first entered the British Museum there were scarcely any Russian books in the Library, which made such an im- pression upon him that he set to work at once to see if he could not improve upon that state of things, with the result that, after many years, he had succeeded in making the collection of Russian books one of the best in any library in the world. On entering the Russian Library, of which he was so justly proud, he said to me, pointing to one of the shelves, '* Do you see that blank space ? " I replied that I did ; upon which he said with a sigh, ** Ah ! it makes my heart ache whenever I look at that vacant space, for the library is incomplete owing to the want of one book which should be there to complete the collection." On examining the bind- ing of the volume of the series to which he pointed, 1 It was when H.R.H. Prince Alfred, after^vards Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg, was offered the Throne of Greece. A LOST BOOK FOUND 179 I said, " Do you know, I think Ive got that very book ; for we have had in our Printed Library at the Foreign Office for several years one Russian book, bound precisely like those I now see before me, and it may, on examination, prove to be that very missing volume. Should it turn out to be so, I will at once send it to you." Mr. Watts was enchanted at the very thought, and on my forward- ing the volume to him for his inspection, after my return to the office, it proved to be his long-lost child. The book had been stamped ^'Foreign Office," but at Mr. Watts' request I wrote inside the cover that it had been ** stamped Foreign Office in error," and I attached my signature to the state- ment, and I was told that the valuable collection of Russian books in the British Museum was thereby then made complete. The book had been brought from St. Petersburg in a Queen's messenger's bag, addressed to the Librarian of the Foreign Office, but without any letter or intimation that it was intended for the British Museum. I believe that no one but my- self had ever noticed the book, so that it was fortunate that I went myself to the British Museum to consult with Mr. Watts. I once had occasion to go to the House of Lords to see Mr. Thoms, the Librarian, who held that post for many years. On my entering his room he ex- pressed his agreeable surprise at my paying him a visit *'at last." I apologised for never having done so before, and told him that I had not been into the Library of the House of Lords since Mr. Leary was there. He laughed at this, and said, ' i V i8o ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS I \ **Why, Mr. Leary has been dead these thirty years." I then told him that I knew him very well, and remembered his calling upon my father at the Foreign Office one day and asking him if he knew where the quotation came from, * while Bradshaw bullied in a broad-brimm'd hat " ; saying that some peer wished to quote it in a speech which he was about to make that evening. Mr. Thoms started on my telling him this, and asked me whether I had been looking at some papers which he had on his desk, to which I replied that he well knew I had not moved from where we were then standing, which was many yards from his desk, upon which he said, ''Then come and see it " ; and we then walked up to his desk, and he showed me that he was at that very moment writing to a paper, and pointing out, in answer to a querist, where that very quotation was taken from — ^' while Bradshaw bullied in a broad- brimm'd hat."^ There are probably few official persons now living who remember the late ''Bishop of Bond Street." It may be as well, therefore, to remind my readers who he was, and to record a few anecdotes respect- ing him. One day an office-keeper came into my room holding in his hand the card of a gentleman who, he said, was anxious to see me. On looking at the card I saw the name, ''The Bishop of Bond Street," printed upon it, surmounted by a bishop's 1 The following will be found in Bramston's T^e Man of Taste^ in allusion to the trial of King Charles I. :— * * So Britain's monarch once uncover'd sat. While Bradshaw bullied in a broad-brimm'd hat." THE «' BISHOP OF BOND STREET" i8i mitre in gold. I thought this very extraordinary, but told the office-keeper to show the gendeman in. The door opened, and in walked a jolly-looking individual, having every appearance of being a Methodist parson. On entering he at once explained, with a familiar smile, that his name was '' Bishop," and that he was the well-known gunsmith of Bond Street— in fact, that he was "the Bishop" of Bond Street. His object in caUing upon me was merely to make an inquiry respecting one of H.M. s consuls^ abroad who had had some business transactions with him. I remember being told that Mr. Bishop had a remarkable faculty for tracing and recovering lost or stolen property, no matter what it might be— a dog, a piece of jewellery, or anything else of value— and that he was so clever in recovering dogs which had been stolen that he was invited to "assist the Government in framing a Bill to be introduced into Parliament for the punishment of anyone who might be detected In actually stealing, or in aiding, abetting, or assisting others to steal a dog belonging to another person. The Bill, I was told, was passed into law, and that the first person arrested under it was this very same Mr. Bishop who had helped the Government to frame the Bill ! How far this may be true I am unable to say ; but some years after this I was told another dog story about Mr. Bishop, which I believe to be a true one. It was this. One day G. E. M., of the Foreign Office, lost a favourite large white Pomeranian dog. Its name was '' Brush," and I have often seen it perform some very clever tricks. The dog-stealers ---wis^afs? rup n w »i in ni < HHW iii tmmmntr'mmt^m'^^ 182 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS soon fixed their eyes on it, and one day it was stolen. G. E. M., on discovering his loss, at once proceeded to Mr. Bishop, and after laying the case before him, asked his advice as to how he should proceed in order to recover his lost pet. Mr. Bishop replied that it would take some little time to consider the matter, and asked him to call again in a day or two. On G. E. M. paying his second visit Mr. Bishop said, ** Well, I think I can find your dog for you, sir. In the course of a day or two some man will probably come up to you as you are taking your usual walk, and, stopping you, will say inquiringly, ' Beg pardon, sir, but might ' you have lost a dog ? ' to which you will, of course, reply, * Yes.' He will then ask you to describe its colour and appearance, which you will proceed to do. He will then say, * Well, I knows a friend who knows a pal who has found a dog just like that ere one as you describe, and I think I could persuade him to let you have him for a couple of sovs.' You must then say, * Well, if you can get me back that dog which I believe to be mine I will give you a couple of sovereigns ' ; but, what's more," Mr. Bishop said, ''you must give him the money then and there. He wont deceive you, for there's honour among thieves." He then said, **The man will then appoint a day and time for you to meet him, and when you do so you will find he has got your dog for you all right." A couple of days after this a little, stout-built man, with a large ring on his thumb, stopped G. E. M., and the very conversation which *^ the Bishop " foretold did actually pass between them, and at the end of DOG STEALING 183 the interview the man appointed GEM. to meet him outside a public-house in Searle Street, Lin- coln's Inn Fields, on the following morning at ten o'clock. As soon as the man had gone GEM went off to Scotland Yard and engaged a detective to accompany him to Searle Street on the following day, his intention being to give the „.an into custody for dog-stealing (whether this was quite fair or not, under the circumstances I won t presume to say) ; but the little man proved himself to be too wide awake to be caught in such a trap. He was at his post at the time appointed, and on seeing G. E. M. approaching he went up to him and said " Now what's the use of your brmgmg that •ere 'detective here? I sees him at the corner of the street" G. E. M. endeavoured to assure him that he was mistaken, but it was of no avail ; the litde man replied, "Oh, indeed; now look ere. you've got a detective a-watching o* me, and i ve got a detective a-watching o' he, so as long as he remains there no business will be done. There was no help for it, therefore, but for G. E. M. to put the best face he could on it, and to go up to the detective and request him to depart, which he did. On G. E. M.'s return to the little man he found him still standing outside the small public- house, and on G. E. M. being invited into the passage, there, sure enough, was the lost dog. On seeing it G. E. M. made a grab at the mans collar! but he was too quick for him, for there were a succession of swing doors through which he easily passed and made his escape. This little piece of excitement over, G. E. M. was delighted (/ 1 84 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS at regaining possession of his long-lost pet; but he was soon doomed to be sadly disappointed, for it was not long before he discovered that it was no lonofer the same desirable animal that it had previously been, for instead of being very cleanly in its habits it was dirty in the extreme, and instead of being clever it was as stupid as an owl, which was, no doubt, caused by its having been left for about a fortnight in a pitch-dark hole under the floor of a room in the man's house and half starved. He eventually made a present of it to a friend, by whom it was greatly admired, and who felt sure she would be able to reform it, but whether she succeeded in doing so or not I never heard. A word should be said about " Pam," another dog which was a great favourite in the office for some few years. He was a fine large Newfoundland, with smooth, jet black hair, and was the property of Mr. (now Lord) Currie. He used to wander through the different rooms of the office at will, as if the whole place belonged to him, and as his visits were fully appreciated, he was frequently rewarded with a gift of one of the far-famed office biscuits, although there was a strong suspicion in the minds of most of us that ** cupboard love," and not personal friendship for anyone in particular, except his own master, was the cause of his visits. He could perform many of the usual dog tricks, such as jumping great heights, pretending to be dead, and so forth ; but his great accomplishment was the performance of the hat trick. An old hat, known as '' Pam's hat," used to hang on a peg in Mr. Curries room, and should a mt I *' THE DOG "PAM" i8S friend call upon him who, by chance, was not aware of the trick, the subject of the hat was introduced into the conversation, and if the friend could be induced to put the hat on his head, which he occasionally did, Pam, who was generally lying on the hearthrug, apparently asleep, but "wide awake," would instantly spring to his feet, and bounding across the room, would jump on to the visitor, and putting his large from paws on his shoulders, would remove the hat from the visitor s head with his mouth, much to the surprise and sometimes alarm of the visitor, but to the great amusement of the lookers on. There were several swing doors in the narrow passages of the old office, and should Pam's master put his own hat on and show signs of going out, Pam would instantly rush through the passages before his master like a wild animal, and set the swing doors flying backwards and forwards, until he got to the hall door, which he could, however, push open, like the others, with his paws. But, alas! when the office was temporarily re- moved to Whitehall Gardens, poor old Pam's happi- ness ceased ; the passage doors were much heavier, and some only opened on one side, which so baulked poor Pam that he soon showed signs of being disgusted with the change. He remained, however, with us during the seven years that we were in Whitehall Gardens, and accompanied us back to the new offices in Downing Street. But it was not the same place to him ; there were no longer any swing doors to amuse him, and the office biscuit had been discontinued, but worst of y ^ff i86 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS all, he had to be chained up, and no strangers then ventured to go near him. Eventually he dis- appeared, where to, I cannot say; I can only guess ! The story of ' ' Pam " and the biscuits reminds me of another sagacious dog belonging to another gentle- man In the Foreign Office. I frequently had a bag of biscuits in a drawer of my writing-table, and one dog especially, out of the many which used to accom- pany their masters to the office, soon became aware of this, and as I occasionally gave him a biscuit when he came into my room with his master he would sit up on his haunches by my side and he always got his reward. But one day when he paid me a visit I opened the drawer and convinced him that I was '' out of biscuits," at which he speedily took his departure, and I saw nothing of him for some time ; but after the lapse of a few days I had occasion to go into his master's room, and there I saw my little friend lying on the hearthrug before the fire. He took no notice of me, nor I of him ; but as I was leaving the room I said in a whisper, '* I've got a fresh bag of biscuits in my room, if you would like to come and see me." Still he never moved, and seemed to take no notice whatever; but I had not returned to my room for more than a couple of minutes before the dog escaped from his master's room and con- trived to get into my room through a door in an adjoining room leading into mine, and there I saw him, to my astonishment, sitting up and begging for his biscuit as usual ; and I need scarcely say he was not disappointed. GRIEVANCE-MONGERS 187 Ever since the day when Bellingham shot Mr. Spencer Perceval in the lobby of the House of Commons (May 11, 181 2), on account of an unredressed claim which he had against H.M/s Government, there have always been grievance- mongers against various departments of the State, and no doubt there wiU be such persons, unfortu- nately, to the end of time. In the days of the old Foreign Office, an indi- vidual named Dr. Q was perpetually address- ing letters to the Secretary of State respecting a certain claim which he had against a foreign Government. As the replies which he received from the Foreign Secretary always declined to support it officially, he called one day at the Foreign Office, and having gained access to the department which had the management of the cor- respondence relating to that particular country, he walked Into the room and took a chair uninvited, and, addressing the senior clerk of the department, said in a defiant tone, " I don't move from here until I get a satisfactory reply to the numerous letters which I have addressed to the Secretary of State respecting my claim against the Government." The senior clerk, an old official of long standing, made no reply, but quiedy rang his bell, and on the messenger who was stationed in a passage close at hand entering the room, he said, ^* Fetch a policeman"; but before the officer arrived the worthy doctor had taken the hint and departed, and very little more was ever heard of him and his groundless claim. Again, those who know Folkstone well may i88 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS FOREIGN ORDERS 189 \ I* I 9 ! \. have noticed in the churchyard adjoining the parish church a broken column, erected to the memory of a certain reverend gentleman who was chaplain at various places abroad. A long in- scription was originally put upon it, but it has for many years been designedly obliterated ; still, the words ** Foreign Office" can be distinctly traced. This gentleman had a long-standing grievance against the Foreign Office, which those who erected this monument to his memory were desirous of permanently recording, but such a mode of redressing a grievance was apparently considered by others to be unsuited to a memorial in a churchyard, and the whole of the story of his grievance was afterwards chiselled through in such a manner as to render it illegible. The column has since been removed from where it originally stood, and it now stands behind the iron fencing on the south side of the parish church, partially concealed by shrubs. My father had once a rather unpleasant visit from a grievance-monger. One evening a stranger entered his room at the Foreign Office, and address- ing him said, '' I believe you are Mr. Hertslet," and my father, by a slight bow, acknowledged that he was. The stranger then proceeded to address him thus : '* I have, for a long time past, had certain claims against the Government, and from inquiries which I have made, I have reason to believe that the unsatisfactory replies which I have received from the Secretary of State, denying the justice of my claims, have been based upon written reports made to him by you in your official capacity. I therefore now tell you, in the coldest blood, that It is my intention to wait for you some evening at the corner of Downing Street and blow your brains out. Good evening 1 " This was not pleasant hear- ing, and my father, who was anything but a nervous man, remembering how Bellingham had shot Mr. Spencer Perceval when labouring under a similar supposed grievance, thought it more prudent to return home by another route than his usual one for a few days, until the excited gendeman s wrath should have subsided, and he heard no more of him. About 1872, Mr. John Brodribb Bergne,' (father of Sir Henry Bergne), was then Superintendent of the Treaty Department, and among his many other duties was the management of all questions relating to the acceptance and wearing of foreign Orders by British subjects. He came into my room one day, and told me that an English officer had applied to be allowed to accept and wear the Portuguese Order of the ** Tower and Sword" for military service rendered by him to Portugal many years previously. The applicant said he knew that according to the regu- lations of 1 8 1 5 the time had long gone by within which he ought to have made his application, but that he then founded his request to be allowed to wear the Order on the ground that another British officer who had served in Portugal at the same time as he did, and In the same capacity as himself, had been allowed to accept and wear the same Order. 1 He was In the Foreign Office from 1817 to 1873, nearly fifty-six years. I •!P f r I 1 * ( 190 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS The matter was not one which really concerned me, but Mr. Berene asked me to read a minute which he had written, and in which he had pointed out the reasons why the request could not be com- plied with. After reading it I looked up, and said, ''Do you know, I am in a position to prove that the officer referred to never was allowed to accept and wear that Order, and, more than that, that he never did wear it " ; and, putting my hand in my pocket, I produced the very Order in question. Mr. Bergne seemed utterly astonished at this extraordinary coin- cidence, and inquired how I got possession of the Order, and what proof I had that it was the iden- tical Order, upon which I offered the following explanation. When I succeeded my father as Librarian of the Foreign Office, I found in one of the drawers of his desk some letters addressed by the Portu- ofuese Government to certain British officers, and also some foreign Orders to which the letters referred. For some reason, which I never heard, these letters were not sent forward, and one of them was addressed to the very officer to whom the applicant in question referred as forming a precedent in his case. This, I maintained, clearly showed that the Order had not even been offered to him, and the fact that the Order was still retained in the Foreign Office was, I said, a clear proof that he never wore it. Then Mr. Bergne proceeded to inquire how it happened that I had the Order in my pocket at the very moment he came to make the inquiry. It was MR. CHARLES MARVIN 191 about Christmas-time, and I had undertaken to per- sonate the well-known deception of a dwarf, for the amusement of my children and their litde friends, and had taken this Order, with one or two others, home with me to decorate the dwarfs dress. The festivities being over, I had that morning brought the Orders back to the office to replace them In the drawer where I found them, and was about to do so when he entered the room. He was as much astonished at the coincidence as I was, and before he left me I handed to him all the letters and Orders which I had discovered, as they really be- lono-ed more to his department than they did to mine ; but what ultimately became of them I never heard. Mr. Bergne died on January 16, 1873. The name of Charles Marvin will long be remembered in connection with an event which occurred at the Foreign Office on the eve of the meeting of the Congress at BerHn in June, 1878. He was employed in the Treaty Department as a temporary copying clerk or writer, at loo". an hour, and was paid by the Civil Service Commissioners, by whom he was recommended to the F^oreign Office. He was not, therefore, a Foreign Office clerk, as most people would naturally infer from reading a book which he published, bearing the title of Our Public Offices, in which is embodied **An account of the disclosure of the Anglo- Russian Agreement and the unrevealed Secret Treaty of May 31, 1878, by Charles Marvin, formerly of the Foreign Office." On the 30th May the Globe newspaper published in an ** Extra Special Edition" what purported to ■H'\JM11^iiM.»-» «-> >., » 193 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS be the chief heads of a secret agreement between England and Russia. The Marquis of Salisbury left London on June 10, 1878, to attend the Congress of Berlin. On June 14 an article appeared in the Globe (fifth edition) headed, '' Full Text of the Anglo- Russian Agreement." After an introductory para- graph It gave a substantial translation of two documents, one headed '' Projet de Memorandum," with the names of ^^Schouvaloff" and ** Salisbury" printed at the end, and the other ** Memorandum No. 2." This naturally caused great excite- ment." On June 27 Charles Marvin was brought before Mr. Vaughan, the then magistrate at Bow Street, on a warrant charging him with stealing, copying, and appropriating certain documents connected with the negotiations then pending between the Governments of England and Russia. After the charge had been formally preferred, the case was adjourned until July 9, when Marvin was re- examined, and released on bail. ^ On July 16 the inquiry was continued before Mr. Vaughan, who, after hearing all the evidence produced, decided that there was no evidence to support the charge of larceny against Charles Marvin, and he therefore ordered him to be dis- charged. * The ^* Official Secrets Act, 1889," had not then been passed. 1 Times, June 10, 17, and 28, 1878. 2 Annual Register, 1878, p. 245, "The Secret Despatch." STATE SECRETS 193 With regard to divulging State secrets, the reader may be reminded that during the reign of Queen Anne an inferior clerk in Mr. Secretary Harley's office was tried at the Old Bailey, and executed at Tyburn, for corresponding with the French Government during the war. The event is thus recorded in Smollett's History of England : — **At this period (1707) Mr. Secretary Harleys character incurred suspicion, from the treachery of William Gregg, an inferior clerk in his office who was detected in a correspondence with M. Chamillard, the French King's Minister. When his practices were detected, he made an ample confession, and, pleading guilty to indictment at the Old Bailey, was condemned to death for high treason. The Queen granted him a reprieve, in hope of his making some important discovery, but he really knew nothing of consequence to the Nation. He was an indigent Scot, who had been employed as a spy in his own Country, and now offered his services to Chamillard, with a view of being rewarded for his treachery; but he was discovered before he had reaped any fruits from his correspondence. As he had no secrets of im- portance to impart, he was executed at Tyburn (26th April, 1708), where he delivered a paper to the^ Sheriff, in which he declared Mr. Harley entirely ignorant of all his treasonable connections, notwithstanding some endeavours that were made to engage him in an accusation of that Minister." In 1863 the Ionian Islands were annexed to the Kingdom of Greece, with the consent of the Powers which had in 18 15 placed them under British pro- tection. But this change was very displeasing to some British ladies, who had been either born at O 194 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS Corfu or on one of the other islands, as well as to ladies who had married lonians, and who, by the change, became Greek subjects. Still the fact of persons being born in the Ionian Islands at the time they were under British protection did not make them British subjects, as the Ionian Islands were neither a British colony nor a British posses- sion. A case in point occurred some few years after the annexation had taken place. A lady of English birth married an Ionian during the time that those islands were under British protection. After their annexation to Greece her husband died, and she returned to England. By her marriage the lady naturally assumed the nationality of her husband, and at his death she remained the widow of a Greek subject, and took no steps to resume her original British nationality. One day she applied at the Passport Office for a British passport, but it was at first refused to her, on the ground that she had by her marriage become a Greek. The lady was very irate at this, and maintained that as her husband was dead and she had returned to England, she had no longer anything to do with the Ionian Islands or with Greece ; and as a passport was still refused to her at the Passport Office, she demanded to see someone of higher authority than the official who had arrived at this decision. She was accordingly shown into the room of one of the senior clerks, who, on hearing her statement, assured her that the passport clerk was quite right, and again explained to her that by her marriage with an Ionian she had A GREEK LADY AND HER PASSPORT 195 become a Greek. Upon which she laughed and said, **Come, come; you really must not talk rubbish to me," adding, **I know nothing about your treaties or naturalisation laws. All I know is that I am an English lady, and I demand a British passport as such*'; and a passport was eventually granted to her, her good looks, good temper, and fascinating manners having overcome all official scruples. What the Home Office would have said had they known this at the time, I cannot say. When Terashima Munenori, the first Japanese Minister, came to this country, on August 12, 1872, I was instructed by the Secretary of State (Lord Granville) to assist him in obtaining such informa- tion as he might require with regard to the manage- ment of the various Government Departments in this country ; and I did so. The Minister and his staff, all dressed in Japanese costume, were brought into my room by Mr. Ham- mond, and they were shown our collection of treaties with Foreign Powers, including those with Japan, in which latter they appeared to take special interest. As they were closely examining the text and signa- tures attached to one of their treaties, Mr. Hammond looked over their shoulders, and was explaining matters, when the Minister looked at him, and whispering to me, inquired, ** Who is this?" when I had to explain that it was the Permanent Under Secretary of State. On March 3, 1875, Wooyeno Kagenori suc- ceeded Terashima Munenori as Japanese Minister in London. In 1879 Wooyeno Kagenori was recalled to 196 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS Japan, to fill a high position (that of Foreign Secretary, I was told) in the Japanese Govern- ment, and he and Madame Kagenori, with their little infant, who was born here, were compelled to leave England in the height of summer, when the heat in the Red Sea was excessive. The result was that, to their intense grief, their little babe died on the passage, and was buried in the ceme- tery at Aden. A few months later, Suzuki Kinso, the Japanese Secretary, was also recalled to Japan, and before leaving England he received a letter from Wooyeno Kagenori, requesting him to have a gravestone prepared, with an inscription cut upon it, in memory of his litde child, and to place it in the cemetery at Aden, on his way to Japan: The order was given for the stone to be prepared and engraved in accordance with the late Minister's instructions; but just before Suzuki Kinso left England he came to me in despair. He asked me how it was possible for him to place the stone in the cemetery at Aden, when he knew no one there, and the steamer only remained but a very short time. Being anxious to assist him as far as I could, I went across to the India Office to consult my friend the late Sir William Merewether, who was then one of the members of the Council of India, and had formerly been Resident at Aden, as to the best steps to be taken. Finding that he knew the gentleman who was then the Resident, I asked him to be good enough to write him such a friendly letter as I should have written to himself had he been still Resident there, requesting him to give Suzuki Kinso all the assistance in his power i \ ^'.-.!«-<5 BURIAL OF A JAPANESE INFANT 197 in the object which he had in view. This he readily consented to do, so that, on my return to the office, I was able to console Suzuki Kinso by assuring him that I would send him a letter next morning, which I felt sure would enable him to do all that he re- quired on his arrival at Aden. The next day I received a letter from Sir William Merewether, addressed to the Resident at Aden, inclosed in one to myself, in which he asked me to tell my friend to let it be known who he was the moment he arrived at Aden, as in his letter he had asked the Resident to send down his carriage to meet him, to invite him to the Residency, to treat him as a foreign official of rank during his short stay at Aden, and to assist him in every way he could. I put both these letters in an envelope and sent them off at once to Suzuki Kinso, one to be presented to the Resident on his arrival, and the other, which Sir William had written to myself, for his perusal. The next day he called upon me again at the Foreign Office to express his gratitude, ^ and to make, as he said, one more request, which was, that I would allow him to keep the letter which Sir William Merewether had addressed to myself, so that he might, on his return to Japan, show his countrymen how kindly the English people be- haved to the Japanese. I readily gave Suzuki Kinso permission to keep my letter, as I firmly believe that such litde acts of social kindness tend far more towards producing a friendly feeling between nations than any amount of official correspondence. I afterwards heard that the Resident at Aden 198 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS had taken Suzuki Kinso into the British Residency, had treated him most kindly in every way, and had enabled him to carry out the wishes of Wooyeno Kagenori and his wife with regard to their child's grave. Some time after this I happened to meet in London a friend who I had heard had been appointed to a chaplaincy in India, and on my inquiring how he Hked his new post, he told me that he had not gone further than Aden, as, on his arrival there, he had been offered that chaplaincy, and had accepted it. Upon his telling me this, I inquired whether he was at Aden at the time when a tombstone was placed in the churchyard to the memory of a Japanese baby. He replied that he was, and on my pro- ceeding to relate to him the circumstances of the case, as above related, he exclaimed, **Then you are the gentleman who caused me to be done out of my fees, as the Governor gave orders that all fees were to be remitted on that special occasion ! " On March 28, 1879, I received two handsome bronze vases, inlaid with gold, as a present from the Japanese Government (not in any way con- nected with the above Aden incident), which I obtained Lord Salisbury's permission to accept. They were accompanied by the following letter : — "Japanese Legation, March 28, 1879. **Dear Sir Edward Hertslet, — I have been in- structed by my Government, through the Minister of Marine, to request your kind acceptance of a pair of bronze Japanese vases, as a slight memorial of the appreciation of the courtesy which you have always shown to my countrymen when they have THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD i99 required Information on subjects on which yOU are SO well known an authority, and particularly on the occasion of a visit of a Japanese Naval Com- missioner to this country m 1875. " In sending you these vases, please permit me to add the assurance of my personal esteem. " I am, dear Sir Edward Hertslet, " Very truly yours, ^_ "WooYENO Kagenori. I hope I may be excused for now relating what passed at an interview which I once had with the Earl of Beaconsfield. . Just before the close of the war between Russia and Turkey, in 1877. I received a message from Lord Beaconsfield to say that his lordship wished to see me at his official residence. I accordingly went over to 10, Downing Street, and on my arrival I was shown into a room in which Mr. Montagu Corry (now Lord Rowton) was seated ; and after a few moments. Lord Beaconsfield entered. On my being introduced to him by Mr. Corry, he shook me warmly by the hand, and said, " I am delighted to make your personal acquaintance. 1 he name of ' Hertslet' has been familiar to me for a great many years, and it is a name which I have always highly respected." He then asked me what I thought of the Russian reply to Turkey respecting the proposed peace negotiations. I replied that I had not seen it. He then inquired whether I had not read the Times of that morning ; and on my saying that I had. he said. " Well, you may take the telegram from St. Petersburg as official." and again inquired what I thought of it. I asked his lordship .. ,;„-,«JtJ«,Jfa«M« ,-T , .- ■- -— ** 200 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD 20I « what the particular point was upon which he had invited my observations, and he said, ** The Russian Government have told the Porte that they had left the question of a general armistice to be settled between the Russian and Turkish commanders." On his inquiring if that ^vas in accordance with custom, I replied that I thought it was not. I told him that, speaking from memory, I thought it was quite within the province of military commanders to conclude a truce for the purpose of settling such questions as the burial of the dead, the surrender of a fortress, or the exchange of prisoners, but that as to a general armistice such as was proposed by Russia, which had reference to the suspension of hostilities by sea as well as by land, and to the military operations in Asia as well as in Europe, It appeared to me that the Russian and Turkish Governments alone could arrange the terms, and that although the Russian Government might have given authority to their commander to dictate the terms of an armistice, which were to form the basis of a preliminary treaty of peace, the Sultan could only give authority to his commander to accept those terms, provided he was prepared to authorise him to accept those of unconditional surrender. But I proposed that I should be allowed to look into precedents of what had occurred in former negotiations of a similar kind before giving a posi- tive opinion. Upon this Mr. Corry said, ** I am sure the Prime Minister will as^ree to what I am about to say"; and, then turning to me, he said, ^' What the Prime Minister wishes to receive from you is not a memorandum, but an expression of your views as to what should be done with regard to agreeing to the Russian proposal." I replied that I would at once proceed to do as his lordship wished, and I asked when my report would be required. To which Lord Beaconsfield replied, *' If you would caH upon me again to-morrow morning, between eleven and twelve, I should be happy to see you." I looked at my watch, and finding that it was then close upon five o'clock, I hurried back to the Foreign Office, collected a few papers together, and started home with them ; and after a very light dinner I went to bed early, and arose next morning to commit to paper what had passed in various previous negotiations for an armistice between con- tending Powers, and my comments and views with regard to them, and what, in my humble opinion, should be done in the case then under considera- tion. At the hour appointed I presented myself again at lo, Downinor Street. The Lord Chancellor was with Lord Beaconsfield, but when he left I was shown into his lordship's room, and I then handed to him my report. He very kindly wheeled an armchair before the fire, and, addressing me, said, *' Now, you sit down there and make yourself comfortable whilst I read this paper, which I shall do most carefully." On my making my apologies for the rough manner in which my memorandum had been written, and explaining that time would not permit of its being written over again in a legible hand, his lordship observed, ** Is this your handwriting?" and on my saying that it was, he said, '' I think you write a capital hand ; I can read s n B S'n9fmr^ & I 202 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS every word of it." He then commenced to read it at his standing-desk. After reading over a second time the first page, which explained the object of the memorandum, he turned to me and remarked, ** That's very well put " ; and when he had read my paper through he came up to me, and, shaking me warmly by the hand, said, ** I need not detain you any longer. You have done just what I wanted you to do ; you have touched upon every point I wished touched upon, and, what's more, you have done it well, as you always do everything." I felt quite overpowered with this high compliment, coming from such a quarter, and, making my bow, I left his room. A Cabinet was held immediately afterwards, and when it was over, the Private Secretary to the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (the late Sir Stafford Northcote) came over to my room, and, addressing me, said, *' My dear Hertslet, my father wishes to know from you what is the difference between a 'truce' and an 'armistice.*" ^'Oh," I replied, '* I think I had better refer you to the Prime Minister." " Exactly," rejoined the Private Secretary, *'my father wants to know what you have been saying to the Prime Minister, for he says he never saw him more animated at a Cabinet Council than he was to-day. He gave the Cabinet an account of the various wars that had taken place in Europe in modern times, and how they were terminated, and explained the difference between a ' truce ' and an ' armistice ' in a manner which quite surprised the Cabinet ; and on my father speaking to Lord Beaconsfield on the subject, after THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD 203 the Cabinet was over, all the answer he could get from him was * Hertslet Memorandum.' Now, my father wants to know whether you are going to prepare a memorandum, or whether you did pre- pare one and gave it to Lord Beaconsfield; and, if you did give him one, he would like to have a copy of it." I replied that I had given his lord- ship one, but that I wrote it so hastily I had not time to keep a copy of it. Here the matter ended, so far as I was concerned ; but explanations were obtained from the Russian Government that they had authorised their military commanders to state the conditions on which an armistice would be agreed to. One evening after dinner at the British Embassy at Berlin, in 1878, I was invited by one of the Secretaries of Embassy into an inner drawing- room to be introduced to his wife. On entering, I found Lord Beaconsfield, Lord and Lady Odo Russell (afterwards Lord and Lady Ampthill), Mrs. (now Lady) Bering, and one or two others, sitting and conversing together, and telling amusing stories about Uniforms and Foreign Orders. This is one of the stories as told by Lord Beaconsfield, and I give it, as nearly as I can remember, in his own words. He said, "You know, I have the honour of being one of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House. Well, there is a special uniform belonging to that office. One day I was about to attend a lev^e at St. James's Palace, and my valet laid out my diplomatic uniform ready for me to put on. Putting implicit confidence in him, I put it on and went to the lev^e. On appearing before the .^ #1 I II y 204 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS Prince, and making my bow, His Royal Highness jocularly remarked, ' It won't do, youVe found out/ *In what, sir?' I inquired. * Oh,' said the Prince, ' you've got the wrong trousers on ' ; and, to my horror, on looking down I found that I had got the diplomatic uniform coat on, with the Trinity House trousers. It seemed to amuse the Prince im- mensely.'* Another member of the party present then told the following story, which I believe arose out of the fact that of the British plenipotentaries (Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury) and their staff from England, Mr. Corry (now Lord Rowton), Mr. (now Lord) Currie, Mr. A. Turner, Mr. Austin Lee, Hon. F. Bertie, Hon. Eric Barrington, Mr. Hopwood, Mr. Gosselin, Mr. A. J. Balfour, and myself, I alone, with the exception of the English military staff, had displayed an Order, which was a C.B. A foreign diplomat was once boasting of the fact that he possessed every foreign Order obtainable ; upon which one of his listeners re- marked, ** I think I have an Order which you do not possess." ** Impossible !" was the reply, fol- lowed by the inquiry, " What is that one ? " " The Order of the Sandwich Islands," was the answer. Upon this the hero's countenance fell, as he did not possess that Order, and the story told was that he died a disappointed man, for, although he possessed nearly all the Orders obtainable from different countries, that of the Sandwich Islands was not one of them ! CHAPTER XI DIPLOMATISTS AND CONSULS I DO not propose to relate many anecdotes con- nected with the Diplomatic or Consular Services, but the following may perhaps be allowed to find a place here. In speaking of the Diplomatic Service, it will be remembered by some that considerable value was attached by one of our great diplomatists, in giving evidence before the House of Commons, to the giving of hospitality. This was Sir Hamilton Seymour, who, in his examination before the House of Commons on *' Official Salaries" in 1850, made a statement which gave rise to a good deal of com- ment at the time and a certain amount of ridicule in some quarters. On being asked by the chairman — Mr. J. Wilson Patten— whether it was the custom of the profession to entertain the foreign body, he replied, '* Certainly; I consider the giving of dinners is an important part of diplomacy. I have no hesitation in saying SO. I have no idea of a man being a good diplo- matist who does not give good dinners. Mr. Cobden then observed, '' I understand you to say that you attach great importance to the hospi- tality which is exercised by our ministers. You 205 206 DIPLOMATISTS AND CONSULS MR. GRENVILLE MURRAY 207 think that the life and soul of diplomacy is to give good dinners?'* To which Sir Hamilton Seymour replied, '' I did not mean to speak of a Lucullus dinner, but of the importance of maintaining a hospitable table"; and he added, ** In most cases greater importance is attached to a good dinner abroad than in this country. But what I said had reference rather to the society one meets with under such circumstances. It is of great importance to have a house where those who frequent it are likely to meet the ministers or chief people of the country." He further expressed the opinion that the man who would be shocked at the idea of a bribe, was open to the influence of a good dinner and good society. Some years later, in 1861, another Select Com- mittee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the Diplomatic Service, and on Sir Hamilton Seymour being examined before it, the following question was put to him by Mr. Layard, *' Do you still hold to the opinion, which has become somewhat celebrated, that, after all, a good dinner goes a great way in diplomacy ? " To which Sir Hamilton replied, ** I know that my evidence upon that point has given rise to jocular remarks, to which I do not object, but I take the liberty of adhering entirely to that opinion. I would add that it is because I think that much is to be done by kind and social intercourse. My object is this, that people should meet and talk together, and get into amicable relations. In this way the transaction of business is much facilitated." And in answer to this further question, ''Therefore you would not consider it a desirable saving to cut down the allowances made to the heads of missions, so as to leave them a bare salary to meet their expenses ? " he replied, '* No; certainly not!*' Mr. Eustace Clare Grenville Murray held the appointment of Attach^ in the Diplomatic Service, and was sent to Vienna, Hanover, Constantinople, and Teheran. He subsequenriy held the appoint- ment of H.M.'s Consul-General at Odessa from July 24, 1858, till May 28, 1868, when his "services ceased." The correspondence respecting his dis- missal from the Consular Service was laid before Parliament in the latter year. If he was not the real he was the generally reputed author of the Roving Englishman (1855) ; Turkey, (1855); Pictures from the Battlefields (1856);^ Embassies and Foreign Courts, by the Roving Englishman (1855), etc. The first of these books, of which I believe he denied the authorship, contained much scurrilous abuse of certain members of the Diplomatic Service; Sir Stratford Canning, afterwards Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, being alluded to as " Sir Hector Stubble," Lord Westmorland (who was very musical) as ** Lord Fiddle-de-dee," and so forth ; whilst Mr. John Bid- wells father, who was for many years one of the *' private agents" in the Foreign Office, was spoken of in such disparaging terms that his son, who was then Mr. Grenville Murray's private agent, declined to act in that capacity any longer, and returned to him his power of attorney. Mr. Murray 1 Reprinted from Household Words. MMBMp AS '■if iff -*«» l| ii II P pmpMPHHteBw>»'!n4^UK "'"""r— fi iii i ii »\i g 4\ ? .? ' 256 SECRETARIES OF STATE sentinel at His Graces office; but, at the same time, he thinks it proper that one should be con- tinued for a constancy, as is done in the other Secretary of State's office in Cleveland Row." The Duke of Richmond resigned on the 30th July, 1766. He died on the 29th December, 1806. On the 13th July, 1766, William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, afterwards ist Marquess of Lansdowne, was appointed Secretary of State for the ** Southern" Department, and his official letters were dated from Whitehall until the 21st October, 1768, when he resigned. In the 8th year of the reign of King George III. (20th January, 1768) a third Secretary of State was appointed, to attend to American affairs. He was styled ** Secretary of State for the Colonies " ; but this appointment was abolished in 1782 (22 George III. cap. 82). His office was at Whitehall. On the 20th January, 1768, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth, afterwards ist Marquess of Bath, was appointed Secretary of State for the " Northern " Department, then in Cleveland Row, St. Jameses. Both the "Northern" and "Southern" Departments were then, temporarily, at St James's. On the 21st October follow- ing. Viscount Weymouth was transferred to the •* Southern " Department, then at Whitehall, in the room of the Earl of Shelburne, and on the same day William Henry Nassau, 4th Earl of Rochford, K.a, who had previously been H.M. s Ambassador at Paris, was appointed Secretary of State for "NORTHERN" & "SOUTHERN" DEPARTMENTS 257 the '* Northern" Department, then in Cleveland Row. On the 19th December, 1770, the *' Southern" Department (which had remained at Whitehall when the Earl of Bute removed his office — the ** Northern " Department — thence to Cleveland Row, in 1 761, but which had been temporarily transferred more than once to Cleveland Row after that date) was finally removed from White- hall to Cleveland Row. Both departments were at Cleveland Row from about December, 1 770, until March, 1782. At the previous date (the 19th December, 1770) the Earl of Sandwich was again appointed Secretary of State for the ''Northern" Department and the Earl of Rochford Secretary of State for the " Southern *' Department. The Earl of Sandwich died in 1792. On the 22nd January, 1771, the Earl of Halifax was again transferred to the *' Northern " Depart- ment, still at Cleveland Row. On the 1 2th June, 1771, Henry Howard, 1 2th Earl of Suffolk and 6th Earl of Berkshire, was appointed Secretary of State for the "Northern" Department On the loth November, 1775, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth, afterwards ist Marquess of Bath, was again appointed Secretary of State for the '* Southern " Department On the 27th October, 1779, David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont, afterwards 2nd Earl of Mansfield, was appointed Secretary of State for the " Northern " Department, which post he held till the 27th March, 1782. I ' * * ? "NORTHERN" & "SOUTHERN" DEPARTMENTS 257 the ''Northern" Department, then in Cleveland Row. On the 19th December, 1770, the "Southern" Department (which had remained at Whitehall when the Earl of Bute removed his office — the ''Northern" Department — thence to Cleveland Row, in 1 76 1, but which had been temporarily transferred more than once to Cleveland Row after that date) was finally removed from White- hall to Cleveland Row. Both departments were at Cleveland Row from about December, 1 770, until March, 1782. At the previous date (the 19th December, 1770) the Earl of Sandwich was again appointed Secretary of State for the "Northern" Department and the Earl of Rochford Secretary of State for the " Southern " Department. The Earl of Sandwich died in 1792. On the 22nd January, 1771, the Earl of Halifax was again transferred to the " Northern " Depart- ment, still at Cleveland Row. On the i2th June, 1771, Henry Howard, 1 2th Earl of Suffolk and 6th Earl of Berkshire, was appointed Secretary of State for the " Northern " Department. On the loth November, 1775, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth, afterwards ist Marquess of Bath, was again appointed Secretary of State for the '* Southern " Department. On the 27th October, 1779, David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont, afterwards 2nd Earl of Mansfield, was appointed Secretary of State for the ** Northern " Department, which post he held till the 27th March, 1782. s ,58 SECRETARIES OF STATE On the 24th November, 1779- William Hill, .St Earl of Hillsborough, afterwards xs. Mar.ues of Downshire, was appomted Secretary of btate for the " Southern " Department, which office he held till the 27th March, 1782. n L ..nd year of the reign of King George IIL (.7th March. 178a) the terms ; Northern and ..Southern" Departments were ^-^^^^n^^lZ the duties were divided between the ' Home and " Foreign " Departments, the affairs of Ireland ana the Colonies devolving (for a time) upon the Home ^'oT'the nth April, 1786, the Commissioners who were appointed to inquire into the fees m public offices recommended th. t e o^^^^^ o ;;;e another, which led to the erection of the bUte Paper Office, in Delahay Street, but that office was pulled down in 1861 to make room for the . "^^o^st'of th?Public Records including those of the Foreign Office, except those of a compara- tively recent date, are now carefully preserved at the Public Record Office. The Right Hon. Charles James Fox was the J Secret^ of State for Foreign Affairs, and his office was in Cleveland Row, St. James s He was appointed on the 27th March, 1782. and r the 17th July he resigned. He was succeeded by Thorn' s Robinson, .nd Lord Grantham, who rJsigned 2nd April. X783. when Mn Fox was agafn appointed Secretary of State for Foreign FOR "FOREIGN AFFAIRS" 259 Affairs. Lord Grantham died on the 20th July, 1786. On the 23rd December, 1783, Mr. Fox again resigned, when he was succeeded by Francis Godolphin Osborn, Marquess of Carmarthen- Baron Osborn by writ— afterwards 5th Duke of Leeds, k.g. At Michaelmas, 1 786, the Foreign Office was re- moved from Cleveland Row back tc the Cockpit at Whitehall ; and from that date until Christmas, 1793, all letters emanating from the office of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs were dated from "Whitehall." On the 8th June, 1791, the Duke of Leeds resigned, when William Wyndham Grenville— Lord Grenville— was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. His official residence was also at Whitehall. He died on the 21st January, 1 834. After the retirement of the Duke of Leeds the gentlemen of the Foreign Office had a full-length portrait of His Grace painted in oils by Thomas Lawrence, r.a., which they presented to Her Grace the Duchess of Leeds in 1792, and a steel engraving of it was afterwards made by R. M. Meadows. No record exists in the Foreign Office of the circum- stances under which the presentation of this portrait was made to the Duchess of Leeds, nor are the names of the subscribers preserved there ; but in the J?oya/ Calendar of that date the names are given of those who then composed the Foreign Office establishment. The following inscription was printed under the = \ (. j6o secretaries of state steel engraving, under his coat of arms, with motto, "Pax in bello":— "His Grace Francis, Duke of Leeds, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, late His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, etc., etc., etc. " From a Portrait by Mr. Lawrence, presented to Her Grace the Duchess of Leeds by the Gentlemen of the Foreign Department ^^ "Stinted by T. Lawrence, r.a. Engraved by R. M. Meadows/' The photograph here given is from the above engraving. The Duke of Leeds died on the 31st of January, 1799. ,xy In the 34th year of the reign of King George 111. (nth July, 1794) a third Principal Secretary of State was appointed, namely, for War ; and the business of the Colonies, which had hitherto been earned on at the Home Office, was, on the 17th March, 1801, transferred (for a time) to that Secretary of State On the 20th February, 1801, Robert Banks Jenkinson, Lord Hawkesbury, afterwards 2nd Earl of Liverpool, succeeded Lord Grenville as Secre- tary of State for Foreign Affairs. His lordship died 4th December, 1828. The following is a list of the changes which have subsequently taken place in the Office of Foreign Secretary : — 1 t j 14th May, 1804. Dudley Ryder, 2nd Lord Harrowby, afterwards ist Earl of Harrowby. Died 29th December, 1847. nth January, 1805. Henry Phipps, 3rd Lord Mulgrave, afterwards ist Earl of Mulgrave. Died 7th April, 1 83 1. • 1 FOR "FOREIGN AFFAIRS" 261 7th February, 1805. Charles James Fox, for the third time. Mr. Fox died at the Duke of Devon- shire's seat at Chiswick, on the 13th February, 1806. 24th September, 1806. Charles Grey, Lord Howick, afterwards 2nd Earl Grey, k.g. (in Lord Grenvilles Ministry). Was Prime Minister from 1830 to 1833. Died 17th July, 1845. 25th March, 1807. George Canning was Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 5th January, 1796, till ist April, 1799. On the 25th March, 1807, he was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (in the Duke of Portland's Ministry). The failure of the Walcheren Expedi- tion, in 1809, l^d to Mr. Canning's duel with Lord Castlereagh on Putney Heath, 21st September, 1809, when Mr. Canning was wounded, and on the 2 ist October following he resigned. nth October, 1809. Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, k.g. (in Mr. Spencer Perceval's Ministry). Died 27th July, 1834. 6th December, 1809. Richard Wellesley, 2nd Marquess Wellesley, k.g. (in Mr. Spencer Perceval's Ministry). Died 26th September, 1842. 4th March, 18 12. Robert Henry Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, afterwards 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, k.g. (in the Earl of Liverpool's Ministry). Died 12th August, 1822, at the Duke of Devonshire's seat at Chiswick, in the same house as that in which Mr. Fox died in 1806. 1 6th September, 1822. George Canning (in the Earl of Liverpool's Ministry), for the second time, till 30th April, 1827, when he became Prime Minister. Died 8th August, 1827. f 262 SECRETARIES OF STATE 11 i\ \ 30th April, 1827. John William Ward, Viscount Dudley and Ward, afterwards 4th Earl of Dudley (in Mr. George Canning's, Viscount Goderich's, and the Duke of Wellington's Ministries respectively). Died 6th March, 1833. 2nd June, 1828. George Hamilton Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, k.g. (In the Duke of Wellington s Ministry). 22nd November, 1830. Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, g.c.b. (in Earl Grey s, and later, in Viscount Melbourne's Ministry). 15th November, 1834. Arthur Wellesley, ist Duke of Wellington, k.g. (in Sir Robert Peel's Ministry). Died at Walmer Castle, 14th September, 1852. 1 8th April, 1835. Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, g.c.b. (in Viscount Melbourne's Ministry), for the second time. 2nd September, 1841. George Hamilton Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, k.g. (in Sir Robert Peel's Ministry), for the second time. Died 14th De- cember, i860. 6th July, 1846. Henry John Temple, 3rd Vis- count Palmerston, g.c.b., afterwards k.g. (in Lord John Russell's Ministry), for the third time. Died 1 8th October, 1865. 26th December, 1851. Granville George Leve- son Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, k.g. (in Lord John Russell's Ministry). His lordship was Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when Vis- count Leveson, from 7th March, 1840, till 4th September, 1841. 27th February, 1852. James Harris, 3rd Earl ■[! FOR "FOREIGN AFFAIRS" 263 of Malmesbury, g.c.b. (in the 14th Earl of Derby's Ministry). 28th December, 1852. Lord John Russell, after- wards ist Earl Russell, k.g., g.c.m.g. (in the Earl of Aberdeen's Ministry). 2ist February, 1853. George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, k.g., g.c.b. (in the Earl of Aberdeen's and subsequently in Viscount Palmerston's Ministry). In the 17th year of the reign of Victoria (12th June, 1854) a fourth Principal Secretary of State (for War) was appointed, when the business of the War Department was removed from the Colonial Office. 26th February, 1858. James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury, g.c.b. (in the 14th Earl of Derby's Ministry), for the second time. Died 17th May, 1889. In the 22nd year of the reign of Victoria (2nd September, 1858), on the abolition of the East India Company's charter, a fifth Principal Secretary of State was appointed for the affairs of India. There are now five Secretaries of State, viz. for the Home, Foreign, War, and Colonial Departments, and for India. 1 8th June, 1859. Lord John Russell, afterwards ist Earl Russell, k.g., g.c.m.g. (in Viscount Palmer- ston's Ministry), for the second time. Died 28th May, 1878. 3rd November, 1865. George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, k.g., g.c.b. (in Earl Russell's Ministry), for the second time. 6th July, 1866. Edward Henry Stanley, Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe, afterwards 15th Earl of 264 SECRETARIES OF STATE Ih ? Derby, k.g. (in Mr. Disraeli's, afterwards the Earl of Beaconsfield^s, Ministry). 9th December, 1868. George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, K.G., g.c.b. (in Mr. W. E. Gladstone's Ministry), for the third time. Died 27th June, 1870. 6th July, 1870. Granville George Leveson Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, k.g. (In Mr. W. E. Gladstone's Ministry), for the second time. 2ist February, 1874. Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, k.g. (in Mr. Disraeli's, after- wards the Earl of Beaconsfield's, Ministry), for the second time. Died 21st April, 1893. 2nd April, 1878. Robert Arthur Talbot Gas- coyne Cecil, present and 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, K.G. (in Mr. Disraeli's, afterwards the Earl of Beaconsfield's, Ministry). 28th April, 1880. Granville George Leveson Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, k.g. (in Mr. W. E. Gladstone's Ministry), for the third time. Died 31st March, 1891. 24th June, 1885. Robert Arthur Talbot Gas- coyne Cecil, present and 3rd Marquess of Salis- bury, K.G., for the second time. He was at the same time Prime Minister. 6th February, 1886. Archibald Philip Primrose, present and 5th Earl of Rosebery, k.g. (in Mr. W. E. Gladstone's Ministry). 3rd August, 1886. Stafford Henry Northcote, ist Earl of Iddesleigh, g.c.b. (in the Marquess of Salisbury's Ministry). Died 12th January, 1887. 14th January, 1887. Robert Arthur Talbot Gas- coyne Cecil, present and 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, FOR "FOREIGN AFFAIRS" 265 K.G., for the third time. He was at the same time Prime Minister for the second time. 1 8th August, 1892. Archibald Philip Primrose, present and 5th Earl of Rosebery, k.g. (in Mr. W. E. Gladstone's Ministry), for the second time. Was afterwards Prime Minister. nth March, 1894. John Wodehouse, present and 1st Earl of Kimberley, k.g. (in the Earl of Rosebery s Ministry). His lordship was Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when Lord Wodehouse, from 28th December, 1852, till loth April 1854, and again from 19th June, 1859, till 15th August, 1 86 1. He was subsequently Am- bassador at St. Petersburg, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 29th June, 1895. Robert Arthur Talbot Gas- coyne Cecil, present and 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, K.G., for the fourth time. He was at the same time Prime Minister for the third time. 1 2th November, 1900. Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, present and 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, k.g., g.c.s.l, g.c.m.g., g.c.i.e. (in the Marquess of Salisbury's Ministry). It will be seen from the above list that the 2nd Earl of Shelburne, afterwards ist Marquess of Lansdowne, was Secretary of State for the "Southern" Department from 1766 till 1768. s 2 .-i-ii I A INDEX Aberdeen, 4th Earl of, Foreign Secretary 1828-30, 1841-6 : 90; Appendix, 262 — a messenger's interview with: 93 Abyssinian Question: 230. See also Cameron, Consul; Schatey, Johannes Address of letters : see Letters Agency System, incidents con- nected with: 226. See also Consuls, Law Courts Almanacks, present of: 165 "A man of discretion": 243 American affairs : see Colonies Anecdotes, various : 177 Anglo- Russian Agreement, 1878: see Marvin, Charles Approval of conduct of Foreign Office officials: see Palmer- on, Lord; Malmesbury, Lord; Russell, Lord; Clarendon, Lord; and note, 125 "A pretty little crocodile": 226 "Armistice" and "Truce," differ- ence between : 200 A. S. G., anecdotes respecting: 149, I5I».I54 — official mmute, regret at his death: 156 Austrian Ambassador and Lord Granville-foreign refugees: 95 Backhouse, George C, murdered at Havana: 128 — John, Under Secretary 1827- 42: 127 Bathurst, 3rd Earl, Foreign Sec- retary 1809: Appendix, 261 Beaconsfield, Earl of, interview with: 199 — anecdote related by : 203 Begent, Mr., on position of the cockpit: 7 Berlin Congress: see Beaconsfield, Earl of Bidwell family: 140 Biscuits, gratuitous supply : 164 "Bishop of Bond Street": 180 — his cleverness in recovering lost property : 181 Bishop of Jerusalem— ship of war incident: 177 Black Sea Treaty— an incident : 39 Bondholders — " Except these Bonds": 83, 84 Bookbinder and his cat : 36-8 Bookcase, a large mahogany one: 22 Book purchased at sale for i\Qo\ 105 "Bradshaw bullied in a broad- brimm'dhat": 179 British Museum— a lost book found: 178 Bulwer, Mr., expulsion from Madrid 1848: 65 Bute, 3rd Earl of. Secretary of State "Northern" Depart- ment, 1761 : Appendix, 253 Byng, Hon. F.: 138 — present to, from King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands: 139 — a volunteer in 1803, and again in i860: 139 Cabinet Room : 22 Cagliari, Sardinian vessel, seizure by Sicilian insurgents: loo-i Cameron, Consul C. D., appoint- ment to Abyssinia: 230 — imprisonment: 231 266 INDEX 267 Cameron, Consul C. D., royal letters between the Queen %nd King Theodore: 230-33 — and others imprisoned: 230 — army sent for release: 233 — Magdala captured, captives released: 233 — presents from : 234 — Johannes Schatey (Cameron's servant): 236 — threatened action by a released prisoner against a publisher: 244 — See also Abyssmia Candles, supply of wax: 51 Canning,George, Undersecretary ofState 1796, 1799: Appendix, 261 — Foreign Secretary 1 807, 1 822-7 : Appendix, 261 Carmarthen, Marquess: ^^^ Leeds, Duke of, Appendix, 259 Carrington, Lord: see Murray, Grenville "Casting reflections"— Lord Pal- merston's minute : 25 Castlereagh, Viscount, Foreign Secretary 1812: Appendix, 261 Central Asia, Russian proceedings in: 117 (cartoon, 120) Charlotte, H.R.H.Princess— Mar- riage Treaty, I 8 16: 39 Chartist Riot, 1848: 67 Chinaman, interview with Mr. Hammond: 132 Chinese Minister, Admiration of English lawns: 133 Christmasboxestocertainofficials: 172. See also Presents — — to office keepers, office messengers, etc., by Foreign Ministers: 172 to Under Secretaries: 173 Civil Service Commission— Ex- amination of Consuls: 216-19 " Civis Romanus Sum" — Lord Palmerston's speech, 1850: 73 Claremont, residence of ex- King Louis Phihppe 1848: 71 Clarence, H.R.H. Duke of: see King William IV. Clarendon, 4th Eari of. Foreign Secretary 1853-8, 1865-6, 1868-70: 120, 125 ; Appendix, 263, 264 — — important questions dealt with by: 1 21-125 _ _ order against smoking cancelled, 1853: 121 minutes of approval of Foreign Office officials, 1858- 66: 123, 124 death universally regretted, 1870: 125 marble statue erected and placed in Foreign Office, 1870: 126 valuable pubhc services: 126 Clerk executed at Tyburn in reign of Queen Anne: 193 — epitaph on a retired clerk : 148 Clerks: see Foreign Office officials Cleveland Row, St. James's, "Northern" and " Southern" Departmentsin, 1761-82: 1,2; Appendix, 251, 253, 257 — despatches and letters dated from " St. James's": 2 — repairs of office— letter 23rd July, 1770: 3 — furniture supplied, I770j I77i : 3 — addition to office, 1771 '• 3 — removal of office to the Cockpit, Whitehall, 1761-82: Appen- dix, 253, 257 —"Foreign Office" m, 1782-6: 1,4 Coal porter: 51 Cockpit, old. Plan showing its position at Whitehall, 1680: 5 — pulled down about 1740: i "Cockpit," still so called, at Whitehall, "Northern" and " Southern" Departments at: I, 4. Appendix, 251, 253, 257 — opinion of Treasury officials as to position: 6 — statement by Mr. Lascelles: 7 — statement by Mr. Begent : 7 — Foreign Office removed from Cleveland Row to White- hall, 1786: 4 -— Foreign Office removed from Whitehall to Downing Street, 1793 : 8. See also Cleve- land Row ; Whitehall V ~jiiu"T'""'^'^'S***"'**" i' z68 INDEX Cockpit, Royal, its position : 6 Collins, bookbinders: 36 Colonies, Secretary of State for American Affairs, 1768-82: Appendix, 256 — business removed from Home Office, 1794: Appendix, 260 — business transferred to War Office, 1 801: Appendix, 260 — business separated from the War Office, 1854: Appendix, 263 Consuls, anecdotes respecting: 205 — Cameron (Abyssinia): 234 — Crispin (Corunna): 216 — Grenville Murray (Odessa) : 207 — unfair use of a telegram by a Consul's wife: 224 — attachment of salary : see Law Courts — Smith (Lisbon) and King William IV.: 219 — a Vice-Consul's Life Certificate ante-dated: 221 — outrage on a British Vice- Consul (Magee): 215 — a claim for a lost map: 213 — a disappointed 'bus driver : 222 — application of a Consul's wife for husband's transfer to a better post: 222 — use of strong language by a Consul's wife: 224. See also Civil Service Com- mission Contingent Fund: 164 Conway, F. M. Seymour, Secre- tary of State, "Northern" and " Southern " Depart- ments, 1765: Appendix, 255 Conyngham, G. Lenox-, serious accident: 142 — interview with a Quaker: 143 Correspondence, MS.: 28 Courts of Law: see Law Courts Crispin, Ex-Consul: see Consuls Deputations— incidents: 151 -4 Derby, 15th Earl of, Foreign Secretary 1874: Appendix, 264. See also Stanley, Lord, of Bickerstaffe Design for new office, 1859: 15 Despatch writing — Lord Palmer- ston's minutes: 81-2 Despatch picked up in the street: Appendix, 252 — from Foreign Secretary in- correctly altered abroad : 101-3 Despatches from the "Northern" or " Southern " Departments when at Cleveland Row dated from"St. James's," 1 761-82 : i ,2 — from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when at Cleveland Row dated from " St. James's," 1782-6: 2 — dated from " Whitehall," 1786- 93 : 4) 8 — dated from "Downing Street," 1 793-1 807: 58 — dated from " Foreign Office " since 1807: 58 — dated from " Foreign Office *' when at Whitehall Gardens, 1861-8: 16 — one erroneously dated from "Walmer Castle," 1881: 58 — first registered in 18 10: 29 Devastation, H.M.S.: see Jeru- salem, Protestant Bishop of Diplomacy : see Good dinners Directories, present of, to officials: 165 Documents lost: Appendix, 251 Dog stealing: 181; incidents of dogs' sagacity: 184-6 Downing Street — inquiry into condition of public offices, 1839: 21 — houses leased from Lord Shef- field and Sir S. Fludyer for Sec. of State's office, 1793^ 8 — claimed as an American street — speech of American Am- bassador, 9th November, 1900: 54 — oflficial residences in: 55 — sentinels: 56 — letters dated from, 1 793- 1 807: 58 — personal history of Sir George Downing: 53, 54 — description of street: 53 — Foreign Office in, 1 793-1 861, I and since 1868: i, 2, 8 INDEX 269 Dudley and Ward, Viscount, Foreign Secretary 1827: Ap- pendix, 262 Egremont, 2nd Earl of, Secretary of State for the " Southern " Department 1761: Appendix, 254 Egypt — dispute with France re- specting, 1840: 62 Envelopes: 165 Epitaph on a retired clerk: 148 Escape from imprisonment: 108 "Except these Bonds"— quotation on a pamphlet: 84 Exequaturs, fees paid on: 169 " Feast of Eagles " — reception at the Tuileries, 1852: 154 Fee Fund: i68 Fees, 164, 169 — "Passing Fee" on Consular appointments: 170, 171 Fire at the Foreign Office in 1839: 33 Fludyer Street: 53-8 — dressmakers in: 24 Folkstone, monument at, to an ex-consular chaplain : i88 Foreign Bondholders, 83 Foreign Charg^ d'Affaires' visit to the Foreign Office: 134 — loss of effects at sea: 135 Foreign Office— site of buildings : I — rooms: \^ — in Cleveland Row, St. James's, 1782-6: i; Appendix, 258 — at the Cockpit at Whitehall, 1786-93: 1,4; Appendix, 259 — in Downing Street, 1793-1861: 1, 10 — at Whitehall Garden (tempo- rarily), 1861-8: 2, 10 notice — opened for business 27th August, 1861: 10 — in new offices in Downing Street, ist July, 1868: 2, 16 — sketch of old office shored up: — sketches of old office in course of demolition: 8, 48 — sketch of new office, 1868: 16 — notice— opened for business July ist, 1868: 16 Foreign Office ; list retired officials before 1840; 138 — fire at, 1839: 33 — precaution against possible attack from rioters, 1848: 69 — entrances into, from Downing Street, St. James's Park, and Fludyer Street: 17 — room s inconveniently arranged : 18 — epitaph on a retired clerk, 1 873: 148 — approval of Services of Officials — minutes of Secretaries of State. See also Palmerston, Russell, Clarendon, Malmes- bury: and note, 125. — tapestry in Foreign Secretary's room: 22 — first called "Foreign Office," 1782: i; Appendix, 258 — despatches first dated from thence, 1807: 58 — architect, Sir Gilbert Scott— his original plans altered and not completed: 15 — letter to Treasury on retirement of an official: 136 "Foreign Office List'': 245 Foreign Orders, anecdotes re- specting: 189, 204 Foreign refugees in London: 94 Foreign Secretaries: 60, 90; Appendix: 249 Fox, Charles James, first Secre- tary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1782, 1783, 1805: Ap- pendix, 258, 261 France — dispute with, as to Egypt, 1840: 62 Frivolous youths: 24 German Crown Prince (late)— visit to Library: 39 Good dinners— test of good diplo- macy: 205 Grafton, 3rd Duke of. Secretary of State "Northern" Depart- ment, 1765: Appendix, 255 Grantham, 2nd Lord, Foreign Secretary, 1782: Appendix, 258 Granville, 2nd Earl, Foreign Secretary 185 1-2, 1870-4, T^mm^^ p 270 INDEX ( If H li 1880-5: 94-7; Appendix: 262, 264. Sea also Foreign Refugees Granville, 2nd Earl, minute on handwriting: 98 Greek lady and her passport: 194 Grenville, George, Secretary of State " Northern " Depart- ment, 1762: Appendix, 254 Grenville, Lord, Secretary of State 1791: Appendix, 259 Grey, 2nd Earl: see Howick, Lord Grievance-mongers— Dr. Q : 187 — column at Folkstone to an ex- consular chaplain: 188 — threat to assassinate the late Librarian: 188 — another implied threat: 107 Halifax, 2nd Earl of. Secretary of State "Northern" and " Southern " Departments, 1762-71: Appendix, 254, 257 Hammond,Edmund(Lord),Under Secretary of State: 129 anecdotes respecting: 131 interview with a military officer: 131 interview with a diplomatist: interview with a Chinaman: 132 a foreign Charge d' Affaires incident: 134 retirement, incident on: 136 — George, diplomatic services : 128; Under Secretary of State I795> 1807-9: 128 Handwriting, Lord Palmerston s minutes on: 77-80 — Lord Granville's minute on: 98 Harrisons, printers: 46 Harrowby, Lord, ist Earl of, Foreign Secretary 1804: Ap- pendix, 260 Hawkesbury, Lord, Foreign Sec- retary, 1 801: Appendix, 260 Haynau, Austrian Marshal, As- sault on: 74 Hertslet, Lewis: I44> 145 "Treaties"; 145 *' State Papers " : I45 Hertslet, Lewis, Public Docu- ment Book: 148 ^ Comptroller of Queen s Messengers: 144 threat to assassinate: 188 — J. P. Louis, King's Messenger 1795-1802: 158, 160, 161 — four generations of the family in Foreign Office since I795'- note 144 Hillsborough, ist Earl of. Secre- tary of State "Southern" Department, 1779- Appendix, 258 , „ Home Office, first so called 1782: Appendix, 258 House of Lords— a visit to the library: 179 Howick, Lord, Foreign Secretary, 1806: Appendix, 261 Huttner, Mr., fire at the Foreign Office in 1839: 35 Iddesleigh, ist Earl of, Foreign Secretary 1886: Appendix,264 Incidents, various: i77 India, Appointment of Secretary of State for affairs of, 1858: Appendix, 263 Infernal, H.M.S.: j^^ Jerusalem, Protestant Bishop of Ink, Lord Palmerston's minutes and circulars: 79-8 1 Inkstand, an historical one: 22 Instructions from Secretary of State altered abroad: 100-3 Ionian Islands, effect of annexa- tion to Greece: 193-4 Japanese minister, assistance to: 195 — present from Japanese Govern- ment: 198 — death of an infant, burial at Aden: 196 Jerusalem, Protestant Bishop of: 177 kimberley, ist Earl of. Foreign Secretary 1894: Appendix, 265. See also Wodehouse, Lord King William IV. and Consul Smith: 219 ft INDEX 271 King, P. S., Chief Manager of Printing Department: 47 King's (and Queen's) Foreign Service Messengers. See Messengers Lamps, oil: Si Language of Despatches— Lord Palmerston's minutes: 81 Lansdowne, 5th Marquis, Foreign Secretary 1900: Appendix, 265. See also Shelburne, 2nd Earl of Lascelles, Mr. W., on position of the Cockpit: 7 Law Courts — a subpcsna duces tecum: 108 — attachment of a Consul's salary: 226 Leeds, Duke of, Foreign Secretary 1 783791: Appendix, 259 — portrait presented to Duchess by gentlemen of the Foreign Office 1794: Appendix, 259 Letter writing: see Despatches — a sHp detected: 85 Letters^-addresses in manuscript, 1840: 166 — from whence addressed at different periods: 2, 58. See also Despatches Leveson, Viscount, Under Sec- retary of State 1 840-1: 94. See also Granville, 2nd Earl Library, Manuscript: 28 — fire at, in 1839: 33 — precautions against possible attack on, by rioters in 1848: 69. See also Registration — Printed Books: 27 — Mr. Hammond's testimony as to its value: 27 Lifts, not used in old office: 51 Littlewood and Smallwood — Lord Palmerston's minute: 82 London G^^^-^/Z^J— perquisites of office keepers and others : 1 7 1 — presentation of a set to the War Office, 1854: 171 Louis Philippe, Ex- King of the French— flight from Paris: — residence at Claremont: 71 Lunatic at Whitehall Gardens: 116 Magee, Vice-Consul: 215 Malmesbury, ist Earl of, memoirs referred to: 99 — 3rd Earl of, Foreign Secretary 1851-2: 1858-9: 98-103; Ap- pendix, 262, 263 thanks for assistance from Foreign Office staff: 99 See also Messengers Mantel-pieces, marble: 23 Marvin, C ., Anglo-Russian Agree- ment, 1878: 191 Mason, George, Library Messen- ger: 12,25 Mather, Erskine, outrage on, at Florence: 95-7 Mazzini, M., visit to MS. Library, 1844: 31 Mehemet Ali: see Egypt Messengers, King's (and Queen's), the corps: 157 — deaths on service, 1797- 1836: — accidents: 157 — arduous nature of duties: 160 — crossing from Dover to Calais in open boats: 159 — sea passage, Great Yarmouth to Cuxhaven, 1 59 — badges lost or broken: 161 — posting, London to Dover, 1840: 160 — duties faithfully discharged: 160 — salary and emoluments: 161 — system of payment altered by Lord Malmesbury 1858: 161 — interview of one with Lord Aberdeen: 93 Mexico, British flag incident: 91 Mice, tameness of: 164 Modenese — Government remon- strance against foreign refu- gees in London: 95 Mulgrave, 3rd Lord, Foreign Secretary 1805: Appendix, 260 Murray, Grenville, and Queen^s Messen_g^ernGwspa.per: 208 — and Lord Carrington: 207-13 Musters, Commander, R.N., re- covery by, of lost ratification of a Bolivian treaty : 43 272 INDEX Netherlands, Queen Emma of, visit to Foreign Office Li- brary: 38 „ J- "Northern Department," termdis- continued, 1782 : i ; Appen- dix: 258 — countries assigned to each Sec- retary of State: i ; Appendix: 250 — names of Foreign Secretanes: Appendix, 251-65 — first at Cleveland Row, St. James's, 1761: Appendix, 253 — at St. James's and Whitehall alternately between 1761 and 1782: Appendix, 257-8 "Nursery," room at Foreign Office SO called: 23 Office of Secretary of State: Ap- pendix, 249 Olding, J. J., Chief Manager of Printing Department: 47-9 Omnibus driver's ambition: 222 Organ-grinders in Fludyer Street, 26 Palmerston, Viscount, Foreign Secretary 1830-4, 1835-41, 1846-51: 60, 61, 63; Ap- pendix: 262 — rebuke of "unmannerly youths": 25 — fire at the Foreign Office 1839: 33 — minutes — approval of Foreign Office officials, 1834, 1 851: 64 on "casting reflections": 25 various: 76-84 on handwriting: 77-8o on use of black ink: 79-81 on use of steel pens: 80 on punctuation: 8i, 82 jocular remarks: ^T^ 82 on language of despatches: 81 on the use of pins: 82 facsimile of one of his "minutes": 78 Mr. Roebuck's attack on his foreign policy : 72 disliked abroad: 73 "Palmer and Son's" knives: 73 Palmerston, Viscount, disrespect to his signature on a pass- port: 74 France and Egyptian Ques- tion, 1840: 62, 63 on Littlewood and Small- wood: 82 PalmerandSon's— nameonknives mistaken for " Palmerston " : 73 "Pam" — favourite dog: 184 Papal Government and foreign refugees in London: 95 Papers lost: Appendix, 251 — a despatch picked up in the road: Appendix, 252. See also Treaties "Passing Fee": \lo,\li Passports, treatment of Lord Palmerston's abroad: 74- See also Greek lady and her pass- port Pea-shooting at organ-grmders: 26 Pembroke House, Whitehall Gar- dens—description of rooms: 10. See also WhitehaU Gar- dens — an important paper found at: 12 Pencils, liberal supply of : 165 Penknives — presents at Christ- mas time: 164 Pensioners — a record one: 138 Perquisites: 164-7 Persian War, cause of, 1855: 122 Pins to connect papers — Lord Palmerston's objection to: 82 Pitt, William, Secretary of State "Southern" Department 1 760: Appendix, 251 Portraits, Hammond, Lord: 131 — Duke of Leeds: 260 Practical joking: 25,31 Presents: 174. 6"^^ a/J^ Christmas boxes ; Ratification of treaties — discontinued 1831: I75 5 1834: 176 Printing Department: 45-51 — Messrs. Harrison, printers: 46 — the printer's staff: 45-7 — P. S. King: 47 — J.J. Olding: 47-9 ^ ^ . , — inspection of by French officials : 50 — a supposed misprint: 48 INDEX 273 Printing Department — cont. — rare occurrence of errors: 49, 50 " Prison allowance," so called : 1 64 ** Public Document Book," by Lewis Hertslet: 148. See also Hertslet, Lewis Punctuation of despatches — Lord Palmerston's minute: 81, 82 Q , Dr., a grievance-monger : 187 Queen's Foreign Service Messen- gers ; see Messengers Queen^s Messengern^^'s^2i^^x'. 208 Ratification of treaties— presents on exchange: 174 — one lost by a foreign Govern- ment and recovered: 43. See also Treaties Reference Room: 28. See also Library, Manuscript Registration of MS. correspond- ence: 29 "Rest and be thankful"— Lord J. Russell's minute: 107 Revolutionary movements at home and abroad, 1848: 65 Richmond, 3rd Duke of. Secretary of State " Southern" Depart- ment 1766: Appendix, 255-6 Rochford, Earl of, Secretary of State " Northern " Depart- ment 1768: Appendix, 256 " Southern " Department 1770: Appendix, 257 — salary in 1770: 167 Roebuck, attack on Lord Palmer- ston's foreign policy: 72 Rolls supplied gratuitously: 164 Rooms, description of, at White- hall Gardens: 10 in Downing Street: 17-28 Rosebery, 5th Earl of, Foreign Secretary 1886, 1892-94: Ap- pendix, 264, 265 Russell, Lord John : see Russell, Eari — 1st Earl, Foreign Secretary 1852-3, 1859-65: 103, Ap- pendix, 263 minute — approval of services of Foreign Office officials: 119 Russia in Central Asia, 1865: 117 cartoon: 120 Russian book lost and found: see British Museum Russian gentleman's visit to Foreign Office Library: 39 Ryder, Dudley: see Harrowby, 2nd Earl "St. James's," despatches dated from: see Despatches Salaries formerly paid to officials: 164, 167 Salisbury, 3rd Marquis of. Foreign Secretary 1878-80, 1885-6, 1887-92, 1895-1900: Ap- pendix, 264, 265 Sandon, Viscount : see Harrowby, 1st Earl of Sandwich, 4th Earl of, Secretar)^ of State "Northern" Depart- ment 1763-70: Appendix, 255 Scarf, Sir George — sketches of old Foreign Office In course of demolition: 9 Schatey, Johannes, Consul Came- ron's servant: 236-42 Scotch affairs— Secretary of State 1708: Appendix, 250 Scott, Sir Gilbert, architect to new Foreign Office: 15 Sea passages by Messengers — difficulties and dangers : 159 Seals used by Secretaries of State: 165 Secretary of State — first use of title: Appendix, 250 — account of office and duties : Appendix, 249 Secretaries of State for " Northern " and "Southern" Departments, 1760-82: Appendix, 251-258 terms discontinued 1782 : Appendix, 258 — for " Foreign Affairs " since 1782: Appendix, 258 — importance of literally fulfilling instructions given by : loi — Lord Palmerston: 60-6 — Duke of Wellington lying in state: 86-9 ^ — Lord Aberdeen: 90-4 — Lord Granville : 94-8 — Lord Malmesbury: 98-103 INDEX 274 Secretaries of State, Lord Rus- sell: 103-19 — Lord Clarendon: 12 1-6 — countries assigned to each Sec- retary of State: Appendix, 250 — names of Foreign Secretaries: Appendix, 251-65 , Sentinels— placed at the office m Cleveland Row, 1766: Ap- pendix, 255 . 1 ,1 — placed at cockpit at Whitehall, 1766: Appendix, 255 — placed at the office in Downing Street: 56 — placed at park entrance to Fludyer Street: 56 — placed in Whitehall Gardens: 57 — their duties undefined: 56 — discontinued at public offices, except at War Office and Horse Guards, December, I 891: 57 Shelburne, 2nd Earl of, Secretary of State " Southern" Depart- ment, 1766: Appendix, 256 Site of the Foreign Office buildr ings: I Sketches ; position of the Cockpit (plan): 5 — old Foreign Office in course of demolition: 8, 48 — aspect of old Foreign Office from Whitehall: 19 — an attempt to put salt on the tail of Russian eagle: 121 Smallwood and Littlewood-Lord Palmerston's minute: 82 Smith, Consul: see King William IV.: 219 ... Smoking prohibited — prohibition withdrawn: 120 *• Southern" Department at Cock- pit, Whitehall,! 761 : Appendix — at Cleveland Row, St. James's, 1770: Appendix, 257 — at St. James's and Whitehall alternately between 1770 and 1782: Appendix, 257-8 — term discontinued, 1782: i; and Appendix: 258. See also Secretaries of State Spain — foreign interference in domestic affairs resented, 1823, 1848: 65, 66 Special constables, 1848: 67 — warrant: 68 Stanley of Bickerstaffe, Foreign Secretary 1866-8: Appendix, 263. See also Derby, 15th Earl of _ . State Papers.British and Foreign: 145. See also Hertslet, Lewis. State Paper Office erected and demolished: 9 State secrets— execution of a clerk at Tyburn, in Queen Anne s reign: 193 Stormont, 7th Viscount, Secretary of State *' Northern " Depart- ment, 1779: Appendix, 257 Strawberries from Fludyer Street: Sub- Librarian, practical joking on: 31 Suttolk, 1 2th Earl of, and 6th Earl of Berkshire, Secretary of State "Northern" Depart- ment, 1771: Appendix, 257 Tapestry in Secretary of State's Room: 22 Telegraph clerk arrested, White- hall Gardens: 13 Theodore, King of Abyssinia; see Abyssinian Question Treaties — collection of originals — inspected by royalty and others: 38 — formeriy kept in cupboards with glass doors: il — brick room built for them m Whitehall Gardens: 11 — iron safes in new building: 39 — publication of a secret treaty, 1827: 40-2 — some lost and recovered: Ap- pendix, 251. See also Ratifi- cations, and Hertslefs Com- mercial Treaties and State Papers Turner, Mr. A— praiseworthy con- duct at Foreign Office fire, 1839: 35 Under Secretaries of State: 1 27. See also Hammond, Mr. Edmund INDEX 275 Under Secretaries of State, (assis- tant) list of senior clerks pro- moted to be: 130 — Christmas boxes given to: 173 Wafers, use of, in place of sealing- wax: 165 "Walmer Castle," a despatch dated from: 58 War, Secretary of State for, 1794: Appendix, 260 — a 4th Secretary of State, for War appointed, 1854: Appen- dix, 263 business separated from Co- lonial Department, 1854: Ap- pendix, 263 Wateriow, Sir Sydney, Bart., 47 Water-throwing over organ- grinders: 26 Wellesley,2nd Marquis of. Foreign Secretary 1809: Appendix,26i Wellington, ist Duke of, Foreign Secretary 1834, 1835: 86, Appendix, 262 Wellington, ist Duke of, death of, and lying in state, at Chelsea Hospital: 86 Weymouth, 3rd Viscount, 1768, 1775) "Northern" and " Southern " Departments : Appendix, 256, 257 "Whitehall," despatches dated from, 1786-93: 4, 8 Whitehall Gardens, Foreign Office at Nos. 7 and 8, 1861-8: 2, 10 — rooms in Pembroke House: 10, 1 1 — two houses annexed: 1 1 — a telegram incident at: 13 — despatches still dated from the "Foreign Office": 16 Wodehouse, Lord, Under Secre- tary of State 1852-4, 1859-61: 26 See also Kimberley, ist Earl of. Foreign Secretary: Ap- pendix, 264 Woolwich Arsenal, a visit to, 1854: 149 Jaj^ tlin . < i .0 l l li ft'*"" It' ...i, a i »,:. . ««.; .»; f , I I I , i ,