Chapter M: Pasquier (6)

The friendship between France and Russia dates from the year 1815, and was increased at the congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, under the influence of the Duc de Richelieu; but at that period, as we learn from the despatches of Count Nesselrode, France was too much overwhelmed by the fatal consequences of the two invasions to take an active part in affairs, or afford a support that would make her alliance worth seeking by the various cabinets of Europe: but from the year 1819 France exhibited such a developement of vital powers and military energy, that Russia hastened to include her in her diplomatic means. The inclinations of the French cabinet turned in this direction, under the Duc de Richelieu and M. Dessolles; and they continued thus until the more English administrations of Polignac, of Montmorency, and of Villèle. The ministry of M. de la Ferronays again was favourable to the Russian alliance; and the ties that now bound France to Russia were not merely those of gratitude for the services rendered at the restoration, but the well-grounded conviction that the Russian alliance could on no occasion injure our interests, but might, on the contrary, on many occasions augment our diplomatic influence and our territorial boundaries. The collection of the despatches of Nesselrode and Pozzo di Borgo during this interval, and all the diplomatic papers that exist in the Foreign Office, attest the good-will of the cabinet of St. Petersburg, and the offers made secretly by it to obtain the alliance and concurrence of France on the Eastern question.

Another cause which made this friendship so greatly desired, was the rivalry that had already become apparent between Russia and England. The system of the alliances in 1815 had overturned all the ancient diplomatic ideas, and all private jealousies had given way before the common object of Europe,--the destruction of Napoleon's power. But one great fault then committed by England was her inordinate augmentation of the power of Russia, thus, to a certain degree, creating her future omnipotence; for it was with the money and subsidies of England that the cabinet of St. Petersburg acquired the means of influencing for ever the southern interests. Nesselrode, who had been engaged in the greater part of the transactions of 1815, was obliged to detach himself from the traditions of the alliance of 1812, and great ability is required in order to make these transitions without abruptness; supple minds possess their influence as well as those of a more decided character, and ruin follows close upon the attempt to resist too much. Nesselrode is essentially the man of transitions; he has never assumed an inflexible attitude in a system or an idea, but has constituted himself the translator of times and interests: from which cause, as I have before observed, it sometimes occurred that his opinions as _chancelier d'état_ to the Emperor Nicholas were opposed to those he professed when he held the same situation under Alexander. The ideas of these two princes were not alike, neither were they placed in the same situations; yet Nesselrode served them both with the same fidelity and the same intelligence. It is a talent in public affairs to know how to make one's self the interpreter of another person; there are but a few of those very superior minds who, being deeply impressed with their own conceptions, obtain a dominion over times and characters, and even they frequently fall. But many very distinguished ministers never are able to attain that point of elevation, and, not daring to make themselves types, they are content with being impressions. They agree with all periods, all situations, and all difficulties.

From the accession of the Emperor Nicholas to the revolution of 1830, the Russian policy was in some measure absorbed by the war with the Porte. All the ancient theory of the Holy Alliance was abandoned for less undecided interests, and less fear was entertained concerning revolutions at the time the most complete revolution took place. Whatever judgment may be formed of the event of 1830, it must suddenly have awakened a new train of emotions in the Russian _chancellerie_; for the popular principle which had caused this violent irruption had demonstrated as much energy, as did formerly the military power of Napoleon, against whom all Europe had risen in arms. The old education of Nesselrode was here destined again to be of service to him; for the first consequence of the revolt was, though not exactly to _revive_ the treaties of the Holy Alliance, an old parchment which had fallen to pieces, at least to pave the way for a treaty of mutual guarantee. All private dissensions were naturally compelled to give way, that people might hasten to provide against the most pressing danger; Metternich appeared entirely to resume his former ideas, as if he were returning to the projects of 1815, and the diplomatic school abandoned many serious plans for the chances of a crusade against democratic principles. We are inclined to think Nesselrode did not dislike this reminiscence of the principles of political repression, being those which he most perfectly understood, and which he had particularly dwelt upon during his early years of study and labour: but age had now supervened; in 1830 Nesselrode was no longer young, and it is not at the second period of existence people are able to encounter the great perturbations which shake the world to its centre. In recapitulating the causes of the maintenance of peace, people have not sufficiently considered the dread of change that possessed those wearied existences. Truly, it was not without reason that the Greeks placed in the hands of the aged the decision concerning peace or war. Let us suppose Metternich with the impetuosity of youth, and Nesselrode fifteen years younger, who can tell what might have occurred? Perhaps a violent war might have broken out, and with it all the chances of disorder.

The insurrection in Poland, however, gave plenty of occupation to Russia, and the ideas of the Emperor Nicholas on the subject of repression harmonised perfectly with those of his minister. What the Russian people desired was the union of Poland to Russia; and the amalgamation, which had so long been the constant subject of Nesselrode's thoughts, was, at last, on the point of being finally accomplished. He never fully entered into the prejudices of the old Muscovites on this point, but he, nevertheless, was of opinion that this divided nation, this double and simultaneous government, injured the political and administrative unity of Russia.

The divers administrations which constitute the vast Russian empire, and which all tend to one common centre, under the hand of the Emperor, are, as a whole, very remarkable. Ever since the constituent assembly established an unity of administration in France, our system of government has no longer cause to dread that, in a homogeneous whole, one province or one district will be opposed to another; their strength has been blended in a manner very convenient to those in power. But it is far otherwise in Russia: the cabinet of St. Petersburg has to command thousands of different races--Tartars, Mahometans, Poles, and Cossacks; each of these people has its laws, its customs, its power, and its recollections, and it is necessary to maintain this individuality without detracting from the unity of the system. There is neither one general rule observed in the mode of levying the taxes, nor even, in a great measure, is there any undeviating rule for the military conscription. Some pay tribute, others are subject to contributions of arms and horses; in some places the recruits are furnished by the nobles, in others they are obtained by means of _levées en masse_; some people are still subject to feudal government under the Czar, and others, again, depend on the regular and immediate authority of the princes. In France the administrative clockwork is so simple that nothing but a will and a hand for business are required to set it in motion; nothing can be easier than the situation of a prefect, or even of a minister for the home department; interests, rights, and customs, are all sacrificed to the strength of the government.

All these circumstances lead to the necessity in Russia of a more careful and more finished education for a statesman; for a young man who is preparing for a diplomatic situation at St. Petersburg, must not only be acquainted with French and German, but must also understand modern Greek and some of the Oriental languages. Nesselrode, in spite of his long experience, has been obliged to submit to the general rule; and a considerable portion of his life has been devoted to the study of living languages. His mind has become a repertory of treaties, he is a living catalogue of all the transactions of his time. The offices over which he presides are the most extensive, the most multiplied, and the most minute that can be imagined; there is a division for the relations with Persia, another for those with China, and with the little Mahometan princes, independent of those for the secret correspondence with the chiefs of the various tribes lately conquered by Russia. Nesselrode presides over all these affairs of the _chancellerie_ with an activity nothing can slacken: his extreme facility in the despatch of business, and his laborious existence in the midst of the European relations, have naturally confirmed his credit with the Czar; who is also accustomed to act very much for himself, and only requires a minister as a sort of memorandum-book he can consult when he pleases, and as a faithful arm to execute his will. During the last five years the system of diplomatic aides-de-camp has been revived in full force, for the Emperor likes those semi-military appointments, which give a constantly armed attitude to Russia; in fact, it is one of the active sources of his moral influence.

Nesselrode, it is true, is only the enlightened hand which writes the will of the Emperor; he is valued as a man of good counsel, which means, that he listens a great deal, and that he can discover the secret thoughts of the person that consults him, without himself having any of those determined plans which clash with the will of the sovereign.

The junior diplomatic school of Russia regard Nesselrode as a living archive, something in the way M. d'Hauterive was considered in France; and it is of great importance that a person who is called to direct the affairs of his country in the present times should be well acquainted with its former history--it also adds greatly to the elevation of his position. The temperate system, adopted by men weary of agitation, is a great benefit when opposed to the fiery spirits who wish to proceed with impetuosity in public affairs. The proud and generous disposition of the Emperor renders it necessary he should have at his side a man who will not execute his orders till the following day, because time is thus afforded for reflection, and an order issued to-day might very possibly be revoked after the lapse of a night; on these occasions there is a great advantage in a man of a temperate mind.

Nesselrode has, in every respect, the most agreeable _salon_ in St. Petersburg, and the one where the most conversation goes on. He takes pleasure in collecting people who hold the most various opinions, in such a manner as to form a neutral ground, on which every body may meet; and when a man has reached a venerable age, full of years and of honours, what more can be desired? our tent must be pitched somewhere. When for forty years, people have been engaged in the most gigantic events, like the aged men in Homer, they offer hospitality to the young, when they recount to them all they have seen, and the judgment they have formed; they contemplate the present generation with the feelings experienced by a traveller who, from an elevated tower, looks down on the cities far below him, and the people incessantly busy, and thronging to perform the part assigned to them in the weary task of humanity.

LORD CASTLEREAGH.

I am about to write the life of a statesman whose character has been more violently attacked in the annals of England--I might almost say of Europe--than any other with whom I am acquainted. No one ever had to endure more outrages and insults, and no one ever displayed more inflexible firmness, in the course of a most chequered and agitated life. I shall offend many little prejudices, and hurt many vulgar opinions; but things of this sort have never prevented me from proceeding straight to the truths of history, respecting men who have accomplished a great political career.

On the picturesque Lake Foyle[50] in Ireland, whose shores are studded with ancient mansions, and whose waters are diversified with fertile islands, inhabited by little colonies of aged fishermen, a young man of eccentric manners, but whose appearance denoted a being of a superior class to those around him, had for two years fixed his residence. His only habitation was his boat: fishing, hunting, and violent exercises, filled up his time; and in the evening, surrounded by the fishermen, he made them relate to him all the old legendary tales of the country, and, in his turn, instructing the inhabitants of the district, he drew up laws respecting fishing, and hunting, as if he were the sovereign of this watery republic. No one could exhibit more intrepidity than did this singular being. Upon one occasion he set sail in his frail bark, in the strait that separates Ireland from England; and his shipwreck on the Isle of Man, where he had alone managed his yacht in a stormy sea, like one of the Ossianic heroes, was long recorded by the peasantry. His dreams were of the legends of the lake; and being deeply enamoured of the daughter of one of the fishermen named Nelly, he sacrificed every thing to this ardent and romantic passion, wearing simply the dress of the children of the lake, for he loved and was desirous of being beloved again. Enthusiastic and passionate in his feelings, he would endure no contradiction; and an attempt having one day been made to deprive him of his mistress, he defied his rival to a duel after the Scandinavian fashion--that is to say with battle-axes--and conducted himself with a degree of intrepidity that was celebrated all over Great Britain.

[50] Quære, Coyne?--_Editor._

This young man, whose eccentricity took so poetical a form, for his youth was like a ballad, was Robert Stewart, afterwards Viscount Castlereagh and Marquess of Londonderry. His family was not originally Irish, but came from Scotland. James I., as every one is aware, created some great fiefs in Ireland, and bestowed them upon some of his most faithful subjects, in the hope of more closely uniting Ireland to the British empire. Eight of these fiefs, with a kind of _suzeraineté_, fell to the share of the Duke of Lennox; and the Stewarts, that noble name in Scotland, no doubt allied to the royal line, held some of the lands subject to the Lennox family. It has always been the fate of Ireland to be under the dominion of strangers to her soil; the yoke of conquest becomes more heavy after each impatient tumult. Her oppression arises from her disturbed condition; each unsuccessful revolt produces additional servitude, and much of her suffering is owing to the crime of the popular agitators, who are instigated by nothing but their own insatiable vanity to endeavour to destroy all old and respectable national feeling.

The Stewarts, however, decided in favour of William III., and of what is termed in England the glorious Revolution. As possessors of military fiefs they were naturally inclined to second the accession of a new dynasty, by whom their usurpation of the conquered country was likely to be sanctioned. When great alterations have taken place in the rights and tenure of property, a change of power is required, and, indeed, is almost indispensable to restore peace and quiet to the country. The Orangemen, therefore, formed a closely-united party in Ireland, and exercised military dominion over the people. In vain did the unfortunate James, in his rapid passage through Ireland, cause the parliament of Dublin to pronounce a sentence of confiscation, on account of felony, against the estates of Colonel Stewart, serving under William of Orange. This confiscation continued in force but a short time; and William, having gained the victory, lavished his rewards upon the officer who had so powerfully supported his cause. William Stewart, thus loaded with wealth by the king of 1688, was one of the most determined oppressors of Ireland--one of those who ruled with a rod of iron the country reconquered after the battle of the Boyne.

The young man dwelling among the fishermen on the shores of the lake, therefore, came of a noble lineage; and his mother was a Seymour, named Sarah-Frances, like the Puritan dames who have been re-animated by the genius of Walter Scott. Robert Stewart, like the rest of the youth of Great Britain, had pursued his studies at the University of Cambridge; and, on leaving college, he had precipitated himself into this romantic sort of life, some said from his love for the fisherman's daughter, while others, on the contrary, declared such a passage was merely incidental to his eccentric life, like a wreath of wild flowers on the brow of a Scandinavian warrior. He, however, led a generous life, for money appeared to be of no value to him; and he spent largely in constructing little ports for the fishermen, and distributing among them boats of a superior construction, like a beneficent deity. Such is the great source of the power enjoyed by the English aristocracy. While their public life is passed in the midst of cities, their private life is in the country. All that was benevolent in the old feudal system is still to be found in their castles: from their turrets flow the alms still, as in ancient times, conferred upon the people; the donjon is converted into a dispensary, where medicines and assistance are afforded to the sick. And thus the aristocracy reign over the peasantry, in virtue of the powerful aid they are ready to afford to all who require it in their neighbourhood.

Nevertheless, the wish to distinguish himself in public life began to animate the heart of young Stewart. Parliament appears necessary to the youth of Great Britain, and it is there they prepare themselves for political life, taking their place among the Whigs or Tories according to a certain order of political principles. It was necessary the Stewarts should have seats in the Irish parliament, for they had a great stake in the country; but, owing to the family being Protestants, the election was violently contested, and cost the successful candidate thirty thousand pounds. These corruptions are a general rule in England, and they even add to the strength of the country; for there is no danger a bad choice should result from them, every thing being fixed according to settled rules; every thing is so well foreseen and organised by the mechanical arrangements made, that the elections that take place are always of men of safe principles. Pecuniary corruption in the existence of states often acts as a corrective of another, and far more injurious, corruption for a people--I mean ideas tending to revolutionary principles.

The Irish parliament, then still existing, was a great cause of disorder in the unity of the British government, until the illustrious Pitt placed every thing under the common law of the triple crown. There is something strange and perfectly inconsistent in the pretensions of Ireland. The people profess to respect the Union without ever wishing to depart from it; and then they claim a parliament for themselves, and desire something resembling a republic independent of England. Let them exult in their Catholic emancipation; they have a right to do so, and cannot value it too highly. But do they wish still to make part of the British empire?--do they wish the harp of Erin still to hold her place on the escutcheon of England? Alone, Ireland cannot subsist. Her commerce is supported by the vast trade of England: she only exists by means of the colonies, and the day she ceases to be English she will be ruined. What, then, is the meaning of all those revolts, those protests on all occasions, which serve no purpose except that of conferring a certain sort of renown upon street orators and demagogues?

The election of Robert Stewart, however, though anti-Catholic, was not ministerial; for he promised on the hustings to support parliamentary reform, and on taking his seat in the House of Commons he placed himself on the opposition benches. This was a sort of sacrifice to popularity necessary from all statesmen at the beginning of their career, and the most powerful have not been exempt from paying this tribute to rhetoric. However, even at that time, young Stewart appeared to keep within certain limits of order and principles; and, avoiding declamation, he spoke seriously, and restrained himself while speaking. He was not an orator with a sonorous, reverberating voice, who, by means of biting epigrams, drew peals of laughter from his auditors. His speeches bore the impress of the Toryism of his family, and all his inclinations were those of an eminently Conservative mind.

England and Ireland were at this time agitated more especially by two questions; the first was parliamentary reform, and the other the free commerce of Ireland with the colonies. On the first of these points, the Castlereagh family, like the Wellesleys, considered it absurd to impose upon the Catholics a conscientious oath, which would exclude them from participating in the benefit of the elections; but, at the same time, was it not very unwise to prepare an indefinite reform, which would overturn the whole of the social condition of Great Britain? It was with a view to the admission of the Catholics into parliament that the Irish Tories became friends with the opposition; they shewed themselves favourably inclined to the emancipation of those who differed with them in belief, and at the same time opposed to radical reform: and this last subject was the cause of Castlereagh's withdrawal from the Irish agitators, who now began to aim murderous blows at the Union.

Robert Stewart, also, considered that Ireland could not with justice be deprived of an extensive commerce with the colonies. What was the use of a system which made all the advantages fall to the share of England and Scotland, without allowing the essentially agricultural population of Ireland, to participate in them? Young Stewart defended the interests of Ireland with energy and great ability, and he immediately attracted the attention of those in power, more especially the Marquis of Buckingham and Lord Westmoreland.

The rebellion in Ireland took place at this juncture; the people were determined to separate themselves from the English crown; the time was past when the questions raised by the opposition were those of religious liberty or political independence; they now wanted to establish a sort of Irish republic, under the protection of the democracy that was then setting Europe in a blaze. Treasonable correspondence with the French republic could not fail to place the society of United Irishmen without the pale of the constitution and of all patriotic feelings. Ireland called for the assistance of foreigners, and a strong party was naturally formed to oppose these evil designs. The Orangemen, who sided with the government, organised the yeomanry--a sort of feudal system against the insurgents, and a civil war broke out in Ireland at the time of the expeditions to their coasts, commanded by Generals Hoche and Humbert. The members of parliament could not venture on further hesitation; for it was necessary either to take part with the United Irishmen supported by foreigners, or to declare for the government of Mr. Pitt. Robert Stewart, who had just acquired the title of Castlereagh, upon his father being created Earl of Londonderry, exhibited no indecision as to the course he was to pursue, and from this time forth he was always firmly convinced that the only real statesmen are those who know how to repress the tumultuous movements of popular excitement.

He now devoted himself to repressive measures, with the energy that formed the basis of his character. He had been appointed secretary for Ireland under Lord Camden, and by this means became identified with the Orange party. It was principally owing to his vigorous measures that the insurrection was brought to a termination, for he never was arrested by any of the trifling obstacles which often form the ruin of causes; he considered it necessary the government should display perfect inflexibility, for the salvation of the country was at stake: amnesties were granted, it is true, but not until the tumult was over and the rebels had laid down their arms. During this struggle Lord Castlereagh was particularly distinguished for the strength and importance he conferred upon the Orange party, consisting of men of property who were formed into a body for the defence of their land. Lord Cornwallis was able, after a time, to succeed Lord Camden in the government of Ireland, and the repressive system had then produced such a state of security, that the government considered the season of pardon and oblivion to have arrived.

The most violent hatred was now aroused against Lord Castlereagh: it is, alas! the fate of all who by violent means restore order in a country, for they occasion discontent, and all the spirits whose turbulence had troubled the country are, of course, opposed to them; because their proceedings have been severe, people insist that they have been sanguinary. These invectives of the Irish did not permit Lord Cornwallis to retain Lord Castlereagh as secretary, he therefore gave in his resignation; for, in peaceful times, the men who commanded during the storm are no longer required, and when the tempest is over the services of the hardy pilot are scarcely remembered: thus Marquis Cornwallis, whose government was distinguished for its indulgence, no longer required the inflexible hand of the former secretary. No part of his conduct, however, had escaped the vast intellect of the statesman then at the head of the English government. Mr. Pitt had discovered the secretary for Ireland to possess an inflexible mind, which, when once convinced of the expediency of any measure, was capable of making every exertion, and encountering every risk, in order to carry out an idea he had formed; and this kind of disposition must have been particularly satisfactory to Mr. Pitt at a time when England was threatened with so many dangers. In unsettled times, the presence of men of firm and determined characters, who will prevent society from falling to pieces, is of the greatest importance to a government. From this moment, a communication took place between Pitt and Lord Castlereagh. The great minister required a powerful supporter in the definitive question of the parliamentary union of Ireland and England; for the late disturbances, and more especially the unfortunate appeal to a foreign power, and to the leaders of the French revolution, had inspired Mr. Pitt with a firm conviction, that neither strength nor order were to be hoped for, except through the means of the Union, and that the existence of the Irish parliament was in direct opposition to the spirit of centralisation, which can alone secure the prosperity and glory of a country. After every insurrection Ireland was losing some portion of her freedom,--a fate always prepared by agitators for those who trust too much to their words! A nation obtains concessions only when it remains in a quiescent position, and when its well-founded complaints are uttered with calm sobriety of manner; silent suffering produces a great effect on the minds of the beholders, and the feeling of justice exercises an unspeakable influence. Lord Castlereagh in the Irish parliament made himself the zealous champion of Mr. Pitt, in his plan for uniting the two parliaments; the country comprehended the advantages to be derived from this measure, and it was decided that the three crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland, ought to form one great whole, which would hereafter be the support of the Continent when threatened with danger. Pitt was highly satisfied with Lord Castlereagh's speech for the Union; he was summoned by the ministerial party to the united House of Commons, and appointed president of the Board of Control for the affairs of India. This is one of the appointments conferred in England by the ministers upon the talented men with whom they surround themselves, for the sake of their support in parliament.

No man could be better acquainted with the situation of Ireland than Lord Castlereagh, or more perfectly aware of all the resources of the Orange party which could be employed for the purpose of repression. This knowledge rendered him a person of great importance, for the prime minister was then anxious to put into execution the union between England and Ireland, which had been decided upon in parliament, and Lord Castlereagh, who by his profound acquaintance with the moral topography of Ireland was the man most calculated to realise this design, was consulted upon all the measures to be pursued. Mr. Pitt especially possessed the practical genius which enabled him to discover men of particular capacity, and around him were a multitude of young and clever men, each with his appointed station and employment. The system of under-secretaries of state in England produces wonderful results; it gives to affairs their full developement, enabling the statesman to confine himself to generalities, both of ideas and systems, while the young under-secretaries devote all their energies to the statistics of detail and the internal administration. Thus was Lord Castlereagh situated; a man of an inflexible and laborious disposition, who never arrived at a general idea except by means of the most careful and minute study of all the circumstances.

This special knowledge of affairs caused Lord Castlereagh to be retained even during Mr. Addington's ministry, which lasted but a very short time, and was succeeded by Mr. Pitt's still more decided plans against the French revolution. Addington signed the peace of Amiens, and Castlereagh, as president of the Board of Trade, had to deliberate upon all the measures which augmented the commercial relations of England with India and the colonies. He assumed no position as a political character, for he did not agree with the ideas entertained by Addington, and he, therefore, completely gave himself up to his duties at the Board of Control and to the affairs of Ireland. His heart was full of detestation for France, and, in imitation of his master, he allowed this administration to pass without taking any part in it. As a reward for his conduct on this occasion, Pitt, on resuming his situation at the head of affairs, gave him the portfolio of the War department.

It is necessary to observe that Pitt's great ambition was that all the various departments should be entirely dependent upon him; he did not like to have any men about him except those of his school, or immediately attached to his system,--his _fides Achates_, as they were classically termed by Dundas; and among these young men the names of Castlereagh and Canning are especially resplendent: both were subject to his power, but of essentially opposite characters, and jealous of each other. Castlereagh was so firm and decided, that he never gave up an idea he had once formed; his manner of speaking was slow, and rather heavy, but serious, and never thoughtless. Canning, on the contrary, was sarcastic, and rather inclined to classic declamation; an orator, rather spoiled from a constant striving after effect. Castlereagh was often listened to with impatience, nevertheless, he generally attained his object; while Canning, by the generality of people, was only viewed in the light of an eloquent speaker. Castlereagh was a statesman; Canning, a man of words, rather theatrical, not to be relied on, and with an indescribable levity of language and purpose. Castlereagh would have laid down his life for his party, or for an idea; Canning was a renegade to his party, he supported every thing with ability, and gloried in his oratorical triumphs, at the very time he was compromising his cabinet.

When Pitt, their illustrious chief, died broken-hearted by the victory of Austerlitz, the king considered it indispensable, in order to conclude a peace with France, that Fox and Grenville, the leaders of the Whigs, should assume the ministry; it was an unfortunate attempt, often repeated in England. Fox, and all his friends, shewed themselves perfectly devoid of political knowledge, and they also evinced extreme incapacity, which gave occasion to the remark that a Whig ministry was a misfortune both for the country and for the party itself; for the country, because it compromises it, and for the party, because the Whigs always forfeit their reputation, throwing away, in a ministry which lasted fifteen months, the fruit of fifteen years of popularity. As might be expected, Canning and Castlereagh were the most violent opponents of Fox's cabinet. The debates in parliament during this ministry form a curious study; Canning and Castlereagh did not like each other, though they were on the same side of the question, and this was mainly owing to the difference in their talents, as well as in the character of their minds and intellects. Castlereagh attacked the administration by means of reasoning, an appeal to figures, and a sort of traditional influence, which produced a great effect upon the Tories; while Canning, on the contrary, trusted to poetical sallies, or ridicule. Above all, Fox was out of place at the head of affairs.

Men whose whole life is passed in attacking others, are essentially in a bad position when they assume the direction of affairs; they are unable to breathe, they are neither free nor happy in this sphere, for it is not congenial to them. The men of business, on the contrary, who are for a short time in the opposition, become very dangerous opponents, especially if they possess a flow of language and a quick and earnest manner; as they have seen a great deal, they preserve an incontestable degree of authority while reproaching the opposition with succeeding no better than _they_ did when in power, and with imitating awkwardly the very conduct they had formerly attacked with great violence. The men who declaim are not to be feared; the only really formidable adversaries are those who have had much experience in the course of events.

The wretched administration of Lord Grey, after the death of Fox, was a continuation of the Whig politics. His lordship had at all times been rather the bulwark than leader of his party, and the tool of the able men who availed themselves of his high reputation: there are generally in politics some characters who serve as a stalking-horse for certain opinions; they have a great name, which is taken hold of, to be employed or absorbed according to circumstances.

The ministry of Lord Grey, and Grenville, only lasted for a few months after the death of Fox, for the continental questions began to assume so serious an aspect that it was not possible for the Whigs to direct them. Fox had been desirous of a peace with France--one of those bastard truces attempted by Addington at the peace of Amiens; but how was it possible there should be peace between two such proud and powerful authorities as Napoleon and the English aristocracy? the irrevocable fall of one or other of the parties was inevitable. Austerlitz had given birth to Fox's ministry, and the awaking of Prussia from the torpor in which she had been plunged brought about the fall of the Whigs. The Duke of Portland, belonging to the moderate Tory party, undertook the difficult and painful task of directing the affairs of Great Britain, and the two most determined and unvarying opponents of the former administration were naturally included in the present ministry: as I have before observed, they were men of perfectly different characters. Castlereagh returned to the War Office, with the detail of which he was perfectly well acquainted; and Canning was appointed minister for foreign affairs, as being the favourite pupil of Pitt and the inheritor of his doctrines.

From this time a peace with France was no longer thought of; that idea gave place to the determination to engage in a fierce and implacable war against Napoleon, who had now reached the _apogée_ of his glory, and on this point the opinion of Lord Castlereagh was firm and unvarying. His great object was to find the leaven of war, on that continent now humbled under the sword of the Emperor; and, by means of secret springs, to arouse the governments and people, crushed beneath his gigantic power. The influence of France extended from Cadiz to Hamburg, from Antwerp to Trieste; Austria had made peace with her after the sad defeat at Austerlitz; and Prussia, after appearing for a moment as if roused to resistance, had again bowed beneath the yoke. Germany was subject to the Confederation of the Rhine; Switzerland to the predominant mediation of the French empire; Italy was in a state of vassalage under the Iron crown; at Tilsit a friendship had been formed between Russia and France, and the two emperors were about to meet again at Erfurt, to cement the alliance projected at Tilsit, and divide the world between them.

England, therefore, stood _alone_ in the struggle now fiercely undertaken against Napoleon. Castlereagh, who held the same opinions that Mr. Pitt had done, resolutely rejected every attempt at peace with a power whose principle had hitherto been to grasp at every thing, and which appeared resolved it should continue so to be. The Duke of Portland had a degree of rashness, and something chivalrous, in his disposition, which led him to engage boldly in the struggle; and the new connexion between Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington gave him a sort of pre-eminence in the cabinet, which offended the vanity of Canning. Like all political speakers, the minister for foreign affairs aimed at power, and, because he possessed a happy facility in quoting some classical verses acquired at the University, he considered himself fitted to occupy a higher situation than Castlereagh, whose speech was slow and embarrassed. This jealousy increased after the brilliant expedition to Copenhagen, in which the minister of war had displayed very great ability, and the arrangements of which were so perfectly successful that the Danish fleet remained in the power of the English. The opposition in vain declared it was an iniquitous action, contrary to all the principles of the law of nations: but necessity has no law; and was it not absolutely necessary that Great Britain should prevent the coalition of the Danish squadron and the fleet of Antwerp? The lukewarm neutrality of Denmark was not a sufficient guarantee to England, and it was indispensable either to force that government to declare itself, or to destroy a fleet which lay too near the formidable arsenal of Napoleon. Mr. Canning was very jealous of his ministerial colleague; he had always considered himself to hold the first place since the death of Mr. Pitt, and he could not bear that another should share in this renown: this enmity soon burst forth in a striking manner.

The active diplomatic proceedings of England on the Continent had excited the fears of Austria, as to the probable results of a war; the interview at Erfurt determined the cabinet of Vienna to take arms against Napoleon, and England immediately contracted a league of offence and defence with Austria, based upon subsidies which she agreed to furnish.

It was well known that, ever since the commencement of the war in Spain, great dissatisfaction had existed in the French empire against the insatiable ambition of Buonaparte; and several ministers, as for instance Talleyrand and Fouché, had begun to look forward to the possibility of the death or downfall of the Emperor. When generals like Bernadotte were out of favour, one might easily imagine that, in case of the death of Napoleon, or of a military insurrection, the vast empire raised by one man would fall into complete decay and dissolution. This was, from henceforward, the groundwork of the plans of England. It was intended an English army should land in Holland, at the same time that Austria should open the war by an immense military demonstration, and thus effect a rapid popular insurrection. The thing Lord Castlereagh considered of the most importance was the destruction of the fleet and arsenal of Antwerp, in the same manner as the capture of the Danish fleet had formerly been effected; he therefore, as minister of war, made immense preparations for the Walcheren expedition; but,--must it be said?--here commenced the treachery of Mr. Canning towards his country and his colleague. It is incontestable that Mr. Canning furnished information to Fouché, to let him know the intentions of Lord Castlereagh;[51] for when jealousy has taken possession of the heart it listens to nothing. As to his conduct towards his colleague, Canning persuaded the Duke of Portland to get rid of Lord Castlereagh, as a man of a harsh and inflexible disposition, incapable of conducting the war department, or of directing or supporting a debate. In parliament, Mr. Canning wanted to rule over the Tory party, and Lord Castlereagh was an obstacle to his ambitious designs.

[51] This assertion is untrue, and not borne out by any evidence.--_Editor._

The Walcheren expedition failed, and explanations naturally took place between the colleagues. Unfortunate catastrophes are always followed by harsh and bitter words, because no one is willing to stand by the consequences. A feeling was raised against Lord Castlereagh, who was denounced by the Whigs as unfit for his situation. "How had it happened," said they, "that a fine English army had been thus plunged into sickness and misery?" Lord Castlereagh was obliged to defend himself, and the storm which was growling around him rendered it impossible for him to retain his situation; but he wrote a sharp and angry letter, openly accusing Canning, if not of actual treason, at least of underhand practices, which had occasioned all these disasters. Canning replied in a confused manner, by details on the delays that had taken place in the departure of troops, and the wrong address of the despatches; he was only ardent and cutting when he came to personal recriminations against Castlereagh, who, deeply offended, sent a challenge to his adversary. He was thus returning to the early and poetic part of his existence, to the reminiscences of the eccentric youth on the shores of Lough Foyle, where he had fought a duel in the Scandinavian fashion; and now, when he was a serious and reflecting statesman, he considered that in personal questions the only means of terminating a quarrel was by a personal encounter. Canning and Castlereagh fought with pistols: in England people are ready to lay down their lives for an idea or a system; both were brave men, and would not draw back, but Castlereagh was the most fortunate, for Canning was severely wounded. The resignation of the minister of war was nevertheless accepted, while Canning continued in office, and the Duke of Portland pursued the middle course which had occasioned the rupture between his two colleagues.

The situation of parties and of affairs is sometimes such, that a man is possessed of more influence when out of the cabinet than when he actually forms one of the ministry; and the firm and inflexible attitude of Lord Castlereagh, and his implacable hatred towards France, secured him a degree of ascendancy among the Tories, which Canning had striven for in vain. The Wellesleys, then rendered so powerful by the successes of the Duke of Wellington, shared their credit with the ex-minister; and he followed in parliament the energetic political system which infallibly leads to the downfall of all feeble or temporising measures. The ministry of the Duke of Portland and Mr. Canning had already taken some steps towards peace with Buonaparte, but Castlereagh was constantly opposed to it; he agreed with the ministers whenever repressive measures, or any plan favourable to Conservative ideas was in debate, but opposed them when they were inclined to make any concessions to Whiggism, or the idea of peace. By this skilful conduct he gradually rose in public estimation, and when the unfortunate death of Mr. Perceval occasioned the dissolution of the ministry, the Tories proposed Lord Castlereagh as minister for foreign affairs in the room of Mr. Canning.

The situation of Europe at this time rendered it imperatively necessary that the conduct of England should be decided and full of energy. Though it can hardly be said that war was actually on the point of breaking out on the Continent, there were every where the elements of an universal conflagration: Spain had hoisted the signal of independence, and the English armies extended in the Peninsula, from Lisbon to Cadiz. Immediately after he had taken charge of the Foreign Office, Lord Castlereagh was called upon to explain himself concerning the question of peace or war with France. Buonaparte was then on the eve of undertaking the Russian campaign, and in order to give an undeniable proof of his pacific inclinations, and also as a lure to public opinion, he caused M. Maret to write to Lord Castlereagh, proposing peace upon what he termed easy and simple conditions, which reduced themselves to the following points. At Naples and at Madrid, the actual dynasty, and in Portugal and Sicily also the reigning dynasty (without any further explanation). The English minister, being closely connected with Russia, had little inclination to treat with Napoleon; and it was no doubt sarcastically that he proposed the following question to M. Maret,--"First of all, it is necessary to understand what dynasty you are speaking of; in Spain, is it Ferdinand VII. or Joseph Buonaparte? At Naples, is it the House of Bourbon or Murat, that is considered as the actual dynasty?" And when M. Maret replied that his majesty Don Joseph and his majesty Joachim were meant, Lord Castlereagh, with proper spirit, declared any further proceedings were out of the question, because he had nothing to do with these usurpers,--it was only with the legitimate sovereigns of Spain and Naples that England had any connexion. The accession of the leader of the active Tory party, therefore, caused the politics of England to assume a firmer attitude respecting all the affairs of Europe. When Buonaparte undertook his adventurous expedition against Russia, the English minister turned his closest and most careful attention upon Turkey and Sweden, both of which possessed powerful means of action. The negotiation feebly entered into by the agents of M. Maret, had been rendered abortive by the abrupt and imperative character of Buonaparte; and Lord Castlereagh, more fortunate and more adroit, went direct to his object with regard to Bernadotte and the Porte. He knew the Crown Prince was displeased with the haughtiness of Napoleon, and offered him subsidies if he would maintain a strict neutrality, reserving to himself the chance of future events. In his relations with Europe he was still more fortunate in bringing about the peace of Bucharest, which left the Czar master of all his forces. This plan of increasing the strength of the enemies of Buonaparte, and thus depriving him of the necessary alliances, was an admirable mode of attack. The peace of Bucharest enabled the Czar to advance with the army, which attacked Napoleon on the flank and encircled him in its vast coils; and the neutrality observed by Sweden permitted to Russia the disposition of her forces near Riga--a circumstance that did more towards causing the defection of Prussia than people are aware.

The active mind of Lord Castlereagh, and the determined energy which distinguished his character, were more especially manifested in the European movement which led to the fall of Napoleon. In 1813, the whole continent was full of English agents; they were everywhere--at Vienna, at Berlin, and at Stockholm, and even among the secret societies of Germany: for the Tories perceived that the time was come for them to act with vigour, and put an end to the power by which they had so long been threatened. Parliament never presented a more animated or truly national spectacle, or evinced a more unanimous devotion to the cause supported by the old English aristocracy; no sacrifice appeared too great, and subsidies were granted almost without limitation. The disasters of Moscow had inflamed all hearts, and with the assistance of one magic word, _Liberation_, the plans most hostile to Napoleon were realised. Treaties of alliance and subsidy were concluded by Lord Castlereagh with almost all the powers of Europe; and in order more completely to identify himself with his system, the minister appointed his brother, Sir Charles Stewart, to a special mission to the courts of Prussia and Sweden. This officer, now Marquis of Londonderry, was sent as commissioner with the English armies, and has himself published his despatches addressed to him whom he mentions as his illustrious brother. The English commissioners, who all received appointments both military and political, were at the same time soldiers, negotiating agents, and commandants of troops. We see in these despatches the painful efforts made by Sir Charles Stewart to produce some degree of unity in the coalesced camp. As England was paying armies to the right and left, with unheard-of liberality, she was desirous of retaining the political direction of events in her own hands, and as this supremacy encountered obstacles raised by the spirit of calculation and of self-love, it was necessary to be perpetually engaged in discussions with the generals-in-chief and the government. Sir Charles was at that time a young man, with a warm temper and some pride of birth; and Bernadotte, in spite of his doubtful position, preserved a certain degree of personal dignity: this led to perpetual differences of opinion, and even to quarrels, which required the skilful and moderate interference of the Russian commissioner, Count Pozzo di Borgo. Sir Charles having conceived a feeling of mistrust regarding Bernadotte, no doubt with reason, watched him closely, and his elevated position as brother to the Prime Minister of England invested him with an undoubted superiority in all negotiations. The attitude of England at that time was so proud! I am not acquainted with any period in the history of empires more magnificent, from the energy displayed, than that of England from the year 1792 to 1814; and this energy led to the general rising of Europe against Napoleon. Castlereagh was the soul of it, for the elements of which the English ministry were then composed were subject to his power; indeed when a character of great strength is anywhere met with, every thing gives way to his influence, for a superior mind never fails to be acknowledged. Lord Liverpool was no doubt a man of great consideration, and he held the first place officially in the cabinet; but when Europe began to rouse herself from her sleep, Castlereagh gave so powerful an impulse to the English diplomacy that it very soon ruled the world: let us now see what an immense task she had to perform.

Europe, with all her desire of acting vigorously against Buonaparte, possessed neither money nor credit, and this to such a degree, that Prussia, for instance, had not a million of florins at her disposal; England not only provided subsidies, but also the means of negotiating loans: she became security for Prussia, Austria, and Russia; thus taking upon herself the credit of the world. The whole of the subsidies were not paid in money--arms, clothing, and provisions were also sent; and this extraordinary effort gave employment to her machinery, work to the labouring classes, and immense occupation to her mercantile navy. Her inexhaustible liberality demanded in return the abatement of the tariffs and free entry for her manufactures; by which means she regained a great portion of the advantages she afforded. In order to be convinced of this, it is only necessary to consult the rate of exchange for that period, which was almost always in favour of London; that is to say, that while she appeared to be furnishing money, it was merely changing the location of her funds. Hamburg, Frankfort, Vienna, and Berlin, were in debt to London, and the loans thus compensated themselves; shewing the prodigious strength of the commercial principle, and the magnificent power of an aristocratic state, directed by a superior mind.