Chapter XVII (1)

Lord John Russell and Lord Stanley--Lord Palmerston's Leadership--Dissensions in the Liberal Party--The Queen and her Ministers--Lord Stanley at the India Office--The Queen's Letter to the Prince of Wales--Reform Speeches and Projects--Lord Palmerston's Confidence--Prosecution of Count Montalembert in France--Lord Clarendon's Visit to Compiègne--The Emperor's Designs on Italy--The Emperor and the pope--Approach of War--Lord Palmerston's prudent Language--Lord Palmerston's Italian Sympathies--The Electric Telegraph--Opposition in France to the War--The Emperor's Prevarication--Opening of Parliament--Debates on Foreign Affairs--Lord Cowley's Mission to Vienna--General Opposition to the War--A Reform Bill--Mr. Walpole and Mr. Henley resign--Duplicity of the Emperor--Mr. Disraeli's Reform Bill--The Emperor denies his Warlike Preparations--The Whigs oppose the Reform Bill--Anxiety to defeat the Government--Lord Cowley returns from Vienna--War impending--Dishonest Conduct of both Parties--Lord Cowley's Account of Cavour's Policy--His Mission to Vienna--A Congress proposed--Indifference to Reform--Debates on the Reform Bill--Defeat of the Reform Bill--An Emissary from Cavour.

[Sidenote: LORD JOHN RUSSELL AND LORD STANLEY.]

_Hinchinbrook, September 5th._--At The Grove last week, and on Friday to Osborne for a Council. At the Grove I met Charles Villiers and the Duke of Bedford, and had much talk with both of them about affairs in general, particularly with the Duke about Lord John. He is busily employed in concocting a Reform Bill, which he had probably better leave alone. He seems to have shown his project to several people, and recently to Aberdeen, who wrote him word that he must take care not to make it too mild, so much so as to be inconsistent with what he has before proposed. It seems it is very mild, for it embraces no Schedule A, no disqualification, though a good deal of addition to the constituency. Lord John has recently struck up a great intimacy with Lord Stanley, and has had him repeatedly down to Pembroke Lodge. They take very kindly to each other, and Lord John is evidently anxious to cultivate him, for he asked the Duke to invite Stanley to go to Woburn, where Lord John and all his family are gone to stay. He has been talking a great deal to Stanley on past politics, but not on present, which would have been rather awkward in their relative positions, but he has told Stanley a great deal about the political affairs in which he has been engaged, especially with respect to the great Reform Bill, its history and incidents, which details no doubt were very interesting and useful to him, and I am not surprised at Stanley's being much pleased with Lord John's society and conversation, for Lord John is very agreeable and full of that sort of political information in which Stanley takes the greatest delight and interest. Although Lord John has abstained from making any attempt to establish political relations between them, it is highly probable that he should look forward to the possibility of some such relations being hereafter established, for in the present state of parties a fresh organisation and combination is almost inevitable, and he may very naturally look forward to a combination into which they may both enter, and with this view he may be very glad to cultivate a personal and social intimacy, and the Duke thinks he has some such view in his mind.

The Duke told me that he was at Lord Broughton's the other day, when Broughton said he had been applied to by some of Palmerston's former followers to make a representation to Palmerston of the present state of affairs and of the Liberal party, and to suggest to him the expediency of his abdication of the lead of it, and the impossibility of that party regaining its ascendency so long as he insisted on continuing its chief and retaining his pretensions of returning to office. To this request he sent a refusal. He said he entirely agreed with the people making it, but that it would have no effect whatever except that of making a personal quarrel between himself and the Palmerstons, with whom he had always been on very good terms. I did not learn the names of these Whig malcontents. Charles Villiers takes a similar view, but does not think that anything would induce Palmerston to retire, or that his former colleagues and immediate adherents would transfer their support to any one else as long as he continues to claim it from them. He thinks, moreover, and he has very good means of judging, that his position and that of John Russell and the impossibility of their reunion will effectually paralyse the Liberal party and secure the possession of office to the present Government, and that there is on the whole rather a preference for the continuation of the present state of things than any desire for a change which would bring the Whigs back again. He had recently been with George Lewis, and found him at length rather disposed to come into my view of the matter of their resignation, and to regret it. It is entirely the opinion of Charles Villiers himself, and he said there would have been no difficulty in obtaining from the House of Commons a vote of confidence, for there was no wish to turn them out, and having administered the rebuke which the Government so well merited, the majority would have seized with alacrity an occasion to make it up with them, and to show that they had no desire to quarrel with them outright.

The Opposition now found all their hopes on the dissensions which they expect to arise in the Tory Government and camp, which is a very uncertain prospect, and as to which they are very likely to be disappointed. The day I went to Osborne I had some conversation with Disraeli, who gave me to understand that he was well aware the Opposition relied on this contingency, but that it was not likely to happen. He was aware of Lord Stanley's _liaison_ with Lord John, and it was evident that the former had made no secret of it, and had told Disraeli that there was (at present) nothing political in it. Lord John had not said a word about his Reform Bill to Stanley, and Disraeli knew that he had not. All this looks like union and confidence between them.

[Sidenote: THE QUEEN AND THE MINISTRY.]

As far as outward appearances go, the Queen is on very good terms with them, for she gave audiences to several of them, and long ones. Her conduct at the time of the breakup was certainly curious and justifies them in saying that it was by her express desire that Derby undertook the formation of the Government. If Palmerston and his Cabinet were actuated by the motives and expectations which I ascribe to them, Her Majesty certainly did not play into their hands in that game. When Derby set before her all the difficulties of his situation, and entreated her again to reflect upon it, a word from her would have induced him (without having anything to complain of) to throw it back into Palmerston's hands. But the word she did speak was decisive as to his going on, and there is no reason to believe that she was playing a deep game and calculating on his failure. Nor do I believe that she would herself have liked to see Palmerston made all powerful. She can hardly have forgotten how inclined he has always been to abuse his power, and how much she has suffered from his exercise of it, even when he was to a certain degree under control, and although she seemed to be quite reconciled to him, and to be anxious for the stability of his Government, it is difficult to know what her real feelings (or rather those of the Prince) were, and it is more than probable that her anxiety for the success of Palmerston's Government was more on account of the members of it whom she personally likes, and whom she was very reluctant to lose, than out of partiality for the Premier himself. To Clarendon she is really attached, and Granville she likes very much; most of the rest she regarded with indifference.

_London, November 4th._--Two months have elapsed during which I have felt no inclination to note down anything in this book, but now that the Newmarket meetings are at an end, and I must needs think of other things, I shall jot down the very few things that have come across me in the interval. When I was at Hillingdon a few weeks ago, I was surprised to hear from Charles Mills a glowing panegyric on Lord Stanley, who has gained golden opinions and great popularity at the India House.[1] I was prepared to hear of his ability, his indefatigable industry, and his businesslike qualities; but I was surprised to hear so much of his courtesy, affability, patience, and candour, that he is neither dictatorial nor conceited, always ready to listen to other people's opinions and advice, and never fancying that he knows better than anybody else. I afterwards told Jonathan Peel what I had heard, and he confirmed the truth of this report, and said he was the same in the Cabinet; but he made me comprehend his popularity with the Council by telling me that he espoused all their views and interests, and co-operated with them in endeavouring to retain certain powers which belonged to the extinct Court of Directors, but which ought, as a consequence of the change, to pass into other hands, particularly military appointments and matters of military control. This received confirmation not long ago from the Duke of Cambridge, whom I met at Cheveley, and who gave me an account of some matter in which he had received and executed certain orders from the Secretary of War, and soon after received a very sharp letter from Stanley calling him to account for having interfered in what, he said, belonged to the Indian Secretary. The Duke referred him to the War Office, so that there seems already a conflict of jurisdiction between the two offices. From all this it is apparent that we shall have fresh Indian discussions when Parliament meets, and there will be a necessity for fresh arrangements for the transaction of business. This may seem to be a very trifling matter, and not worth noticing, but Lord Stanley is so completely _the man_ of the present day, and in all human probability is destined to play so important and conspicuous a part in political life, that the time may come when any details, however minute, of his early career will be deemed worthy of recollection.

I hear the Queen has written a letter to the Prince of Wales announcing to him his emancipation from parental authority and control, and that it is one of the most admirable letters that ever were penned. She tells him that he may have thought the rule they adopted for his education a severe one, but that his welfare was their only object, and well knowing to what seductions of flattery he would eventually be exposed, they wished to prepare and strengthen his mind against them, that he was now to consider himself his own master, and that they should never intrude any advice upon him, although always ready to give it him whenever he thought fit to seek it. It was a very long letter, all in that tone, and it seems to have made a profound impression on the Prince, and to have touched his feelings to the quick. He brought it to Gerald Wellesley in floods of tears, and the effect it produced is a proof of the wisdom which dictated its composition.

Footnote 1: [Lord Stanley, the present Earl of Derby, had succeeded to the Presidency of the Board of Control upon the resignation of Lord Ellenborough, and was the first Secretary of State for India upon the abolition of the former office.]

[Sidenote: LORD DERBY'S REFORM BILL.]

_November 17th._--The principal topics of interest for the last fortnight have been Bright's speeches, the visit of Palmerston and Clarendon to Compiègne, the Portuguese and French quarrel, and the pamphlet and approaching trial of Montalembert, on all of which there is plenty to say. Bright's speeches have evidently been a failure, and if they produce any effect, it will probably be one rather useful to the Government; but the very failure only proves more strongly the bad policy of Derby in bringing forward a Reform measure, and how much more safe he would have been if he had let it alone. There is a considerable though not universal impression that by some means and through the operation of the chapter of accidents this Reform Bill will prove fatal to him. Mr. Elwin, the editor of the 'Quarterly Review,' told the Duke of Bedford he thought so, and that he had been told by a Cabinet Minister that there had been such serious differences of opinion amongst them on this subject that if the session had been prolonged the Government would probably have gone to pieces at that time, and Lord John told the Duke that Walpole had intimated to him something of the same kind. Lord John is expecting, and Palmerston is hoping, that the Government will fall, and the latter is still confident that his day will come again, a confidence which no one else seems to partake of. Clarendon, who is the staunchest of Palmerston's allies and colleagues, has been endeavouring to dissipate this illusion and to bring him to take a more accurate view of his own position, but without success. 'He cannot see why John Russell should not again take office under him,' and it is in vain that Clarendon assures him that nothing on earth will induce Lord John to do so. Lord John seems disposed to bide his time, and evidently cherishes a hope and expectation that the Whig party will return to their allegiance to him and enable him to form another Government. He seems to have a liking for Bright, though he does not agree with all his views of Reform. At this moment my own belief is that the present Government have the best chance in this race for power from the mere fact of their being in possession, and from the hopeless disunion and confusion in which the Whigs and Liberals are plunged.

Montalembert's paper is admirable, and I agree with almost every part of it, especially about the Indian debate and Indian policy, and the causes of Palmerston's extraordinary fall and the loss of his popularity. His prosecution by the Imperial Government is either an enormous mistake and political error, or a stroke of policy so deep and refined as to be beyond my comprehension. Here everybody regards it as a great imprudence.

[Sidenote: PROSECUTION OF COUNT MONTALEMBERT.]

_December 2nd._--I returned to town yesterday, having been to Badger Hall, thence to Grimstone, then to Ossington, and yesterday from Hinchinbrook. If I have written nothing it is not from want of interesting events worth notice, but because I have known and heard nothing more than all the world learnt from the newspapers. The chief topics of interest have been the pamphlet and the trial of Montalembert and the visit of Palmerston and Clarendon to Compiègne. The first seems to have excited more interest here than in Paris, where the tyrannical proceeding was taken very quietly, and little sympathy felt for a man who wrote so enthusiastically about England, and rebuked his own countrymen, and particularly his co-religionaries, for their unworthy conduct and language towards us. There appears to have been a general feeling of regret or disapproval of the visit to Paris, even on the part of those who are most friendly to the two Lords. I think it is a pity they should have gone just at this moment, when the Montalembert affair and the Portuguese quarrel have made the Emperor Napoleon very unpopular here; but it does not seem to me to be a matter of much consequence, or to be worth the indignation which in some quarters it has elicited.

_Hillingdon, December 12th._--I went to The Grove on Wednesday last and came back on Friday. There I had long talks with Clarendon for the first time for many a day, when he told me a great deal that was interesting, just as he used to do formerly, first about his visit to Compiègne and his conversations with the Emperor. The Emperor told him that his motive for prosecuting Montalembert was that he was aware that there was a conspiracy of literary men, enemies of his Government, to write it down in a very insidious manner, not by any direct attacks, but, under the pretence of discussing subjects either not political or not French, to introduce matter most hostile and most mischievous to him, and that it was necessary to put down such a conspiracy, and he thought the best course was to proceed at once against a man so conspicuous as Montalembert, and to make an example of him, by which others would be deterred. This was his excuse, whatever its value. It appears to me a very bad one, and I doubt if the fact itself is true, though Clarendon seemed to think it was. They had a great deal of conversation about Italy and the anti-Austrian projects attributed to France, touching which the Emperor's ideas were most strange and extravagant. He said there had been two questions in which France was interested: one the regeneration of Poland, the other the regeneration of Italy; that in the pursuit of the first France naturally became the ally of Austria against Russia, in the pursuit of the other she became the ally of Russia and Sardinia against Austria; that the peace with Russia had put an end to anything being done about the first, and the second alone became possible. Clarendon then pointed out to him all the difficulties of involving himself in such a contest as this scheme supposed, that Austria would sacrifice her last florin and her last man in defence of her Italian provinces, that to go to war with her would almost inevitably sooner or later plunge all Europe into war, and that the object to be gained by it, even by France herself, would be wholly incommensurate with the cost and the danger that would be incurred. The Emperor appeared to have no reply to make to Clarendon's remonstrances, nor did I gather that His Majesty had any _casus belli_ against Austria, nor even any just cause of complaint to urge against her, from which I draw the inference not only that his policy is of a very wild and chimerical character, but that at any moment when he might see, or think he saw, any advantage in attacking another Power, no consideration of justice and good faith, still less of moderation and care for the happiness and peace of the world, would restrain him, and from such a contingency England would be no more exempt than any other country.[1]

Footnote 1: [It is remarkable that this conversation of the Emperor with Lord Clarendon at Compiègne took place within a month of the speech to Baron Hübner on New Year's Day, which was the signal of war between France and Austria, and at a time when the secret alliance between the Emperor and M. de Cavour had been already concluded. The Emperor's object was evidently to delude his English guests, and Lord Clarendon was partially deceived by him, although he clearly perceived that there was danger of war ahead.]

_December 12th._--Another day the Emperor asked Clarendon to come into his room, when he told him that he wanted his advice, that he was in a great dilemma and embarrassment in regard to his Roman occupation, and in a false position, from which he did not know how to extricate himself. He was dying to recall the French troops and yet unable to do it. He had always hoped to be able to get the policy laid down in the Edgar Ney letter carried out, but as soon as the Pope and his ecclesiastical councillors returned to Rome they refused to do anything, and whenever he held out any threat of withdrawing his troops they always said he might do so whenever he pleased, for they knew very well the reasons which prevented his doing it: the moment the French troops marched out there would be an uprising in Rome and in the Papal States. The religious party in France would deeply resent his exposing the Pope to any such danger, and as soon as the French went away the Austrians would march in and be masters of the whole country. Clarendon acknowledged the gravity of the situation and the difficulty, but could suggest no solution of it. They discussed the possibility of inducing the Pope to relinquish his temporal sovereignty, and to accept a great revenue instead, but neither of them seems to have thought this plan feasible.

[Sidenote: NAPOLEON'S SPEECH TO BARON HÜBNER.]

_January 14th_,1859.--I purposed at the close of the last year to say a few words about a year which might well be called _annus mirabilis_ and _annus mæstissimus_ besides, for I do not remember any year marked by a greater number and variety of remarkable events and occurrences, and certainly none which has been so fatal to the happiness of so many of our friends. One calamity has succeeded another with frightful rapidity, till it is difficult to point to any one who has not sustained some terrible bereavement in the persons of near and dear relations or intimate friends. A severe fit of gout which attacked me on Christmas Day, and has kept hold of me ever since, prevented my executing my purpose, and now I have forgotten all I intended to say, and can only take up the present condition of affairs as they present themselves at the beginning of this year, and this is dark and unpromising enough. All Europe has been thrown into alarm by the speech which the Emperor Napoleon made to the Austrian Ambassador Hübner on New Year's Day, and by the announcement which followed it that Prince Napoleon was going to Turin to marry the King of Sardinia's daughter. The language of the King of Sardinia in his speech to his Parliament shortly afterwards confirmed the general apprehensions. The menacing manifestations having produced their effect, the Emperor seems to have thought it adviseable to draw in his horns, and to try and calm the effervescence he had produced. This, however, was not so easy, and in spite of certain tranquillising articles which the French Press was instructed to put forth, the impression that mischief is brewing cannot be effaced, and though many think that there will be no immediate outbreak, and the money dealers and speculators comfort themselves with thinking that want of money will prevent the great military Powers from going to war, the best informed persons, and those who are most accustomed to watch the signs of the times, are convinced that the time is near at hand when the peace of the world will be broken, that the Emperor is determined upon an aggression on Austria, and that he is only undecided as to the time when the operation shall be begun. It is now evident that when our Ex-Ministers were at Compiègne, and when the Emperor pretended that he wanted to consult Clarendon confidentially, he only made a half-confidence of his views and his position, and that he concealed from Clarendon the important fact of the marriage of Prince Napoleon, which was arranged at the time.

_The Grove, January 25th._--I have passed three days here very agreeably; a large party on Saturday and Sunday, after which Clarendon, George Lewis, and I, talking over everything interesting at home and abroad. There has been a good deal of correspondence between Clarendon and John Russell in a very friendly spirit, quite different from the terms they have been on till lately, and indicating the possibility of their coming together again in Opposition and in office. I saw also some letters of Palmerston's upon foreign affairs, exceedingly sound and judicious. I am bound to say that all I hear and see of Palmerston's views, opinions, and conduct is highly creditable to him, and very different from what I expected. He evinces no impatience to return to office, and no misconception of his own position. All he writes on foreign affairs, on France and Austria and Italy, is marked by great wisdom and moderation. He is taking his proper place as head of the Liberal and Whig party, prepared to go to Parliament and wait for the development of the policy and measures of the Government, before forming any plan of a political campaign. Reading at the same time the letters of Lord John and those of Palmerston on the same subject, that of foreign policy, I am struck with the great superiority of the latter.

[Sidenote: LORD PALMERSTON'S VIEW OF THE ITALIAN WAR.]

_Bretby, January 27th._--I left The Grove yesterday morning, and came here to-day. At breakfast yesterday Clarendon handed over to me a letter from Reeve, enclosing one from Guizot upon the aspect of affairs in Europe and the chances of war and peace; an admirable letter, as all his are. Reeve said that he had been told that Palmerston was likely to give utterance to some sentiments very anti-Austrian, and in favour of Italian nationality, than which nothing could be more mischievous or more conducive to the objects of Louis Napoleon. This seemed to me so inconsistent with the spirit of moderation and good sense which I had remarked in the letters I had already seen of Palmerston's, that I said I could not think it possible that he was meditating anything of the sort, and I was greatly surprised when Clarendon replied, and George Lewis agreed with him, that nothing was more possible, and that he should not be at all surprised if he expressed sentiments which were very much those which he had always entertained. Of course they both deprecated any such language in the strongest manner. When I got to town I told Reeve what had passed, and he then told me his authority for what he had written, and that his informant had gathered it from conversations with Palmerston himself. It was at all events satisfactory to find that the language of the 'Times' had undergone no alteration, and that they adhered to the same judicious course and vigorous argumentation which they have all along adopted. Clarendon and George Lewis are equally afraid of what John Russell may say, but they are aware that though he may do considerable mischief, his _dicta_ are infinitely less important than Palmerston's. Granville arrived last night from Paris and Rome, and I saw him for a few minutes as I was starting to come here. I had just time to ascertain that his views are identical with those of Clarendon and George Lewis, and that his efforts will be joined to theirs in attempting to persuade both Palmerston and John Russell to refrain from saying anything which may serve as an encouragement to the Emperor, and George Lewis said that on Palmerston's language in the House of Commons the peace of the world might possibly depend. There seems no reason to doubt that one of the things which keeps the Emperor's mind in suspense and uncertainty is his desire to hear what passes in our Parliament, and to ascertain what amount of sympathy and support the Italian cause and a war against Austria are likely to find in this country. Palmerston must have already taken such a measure of the public feeling here as to know that any appeal to anti-Austrian and pro-Italian sympathies would meet with no response either in or out of Parliament. The most, therefore, that he will probably venture to do will be strenuously to recommend a complete neutrality, and that this country should determine to keep aloof from any contest that may ensue. This would be playing the Emperor's game, and might perhaps be more useful to him than any other course we could take, for it would find pretty general concurrence, and most likely elicit many expressions of opinions which the Emperor would be able with some plausibility to construe in the manner most favourable to his own pretensions and designs.

_January 31st._--Dined with Lord Salisbury on Saturday at the Sheriffs' dinner, when I met all the Cabinet, except Malmesbury, Hardwicke, and John Manners. Derby told me a curious thing. An experiment was made of the possible speed by which a telegraphic message could be sent and an answer got. They fixed on Corfu, made every preparation, and sent _one word_. The message and return were effected in six seconds. I would not have believed this on any other authority.

[Sidenote: UNPOPULARITY OF THE WAR.]

Granville is just come from Paris, where he spent a week; he saw and conversed with everybody, beginning with the Emperor and ending with Thiers. All the Ministers he talked to, Walewski, Fould, and Rouher, are dead against war, Morny the same, Baroche said to be for it, and Fleury, who wants to distinguish himself in the field. The Emperor talked over the whole question and assured him he had not committed himself to the King of Sardinia, but on the contrary had told him he would not support him if he committed any imprudence towards Austria. Granville's impression is that the question is adjourned for the present, owing to the clear manifestation in France, but much more to the unanimous tone of the German and English Press. He is, however, waiting in great anxiety for the debates in our Parliament, and still hopes for some anti-Austrian expression which may favour his own views. He has such a contempt for his own nation and for the opinions of the French people that these last do not weigh much with him, and he fancies that they may be at any moment changed and run in a warlike current. Granville thinks our Government have acted properly throughout these transactions, so far as he can judge.

_February 5th._--Parliament opened on Thursday with, as everybody owned, a very good speech, and the discussions in both Houses were in a very good tone, and all that could be desired as to foreign policy. It will be impossible for the Emperor to derive from what passed a single word from any quarter favourable to his projects. The disappointment of his expectations in this respect may be very annoying to him, and possibly induce him still to defer his final resolution, but it is too much to hope that the language of our Parliament will turn him altogether from his design. Indeed it has now become equally difficult for him to advance without danger or to retreat without discredit, and in his position discredit is in itself fraught with danger.

_February 12th._--The Emperor Napoleon's speech, looked for with so much anxiety here, arrived a few hours after its delivery on Monday last, and was on the whole regarded as rather pacific than the contrary, but still so reserved and ambiguous that it might mean anything or lead to anything or nothing. The general opinion seems to be that nothing will take place _for the present_. The Government have begun their campaign so quietly, and with so little disturbance or threatening of any, that if such calm appearances were not often fallacious, one should predict their passing smoothly through the session; but when one thinks of this time last year, of the apparent strength and security of Palmerston's Government, and of the suddenness of his fall, it is impossible to rely upon the continuance of this unclouded sky.

_February 19th._--The general complaint is that nothing is done in Parliament, and that there is a general apathy, under the continuance of which the Government gets on without hindrance, while their faults or blunders pass unchecked. The Chancellor incurred a momentary odium by his attempt at perpetrating a very shameless job, by making his son-in-law a Judge in Lunacy without having any qualifications for such an office; but after a little spurt in the House of Commons, the result of which was the appointment being rescinded, the matter quietly dropped. Gladstone's extravagant proceedings at Corfu[1] have elicited something like an attack led on by Lord Grey, but although this subject will probably be more seriously and warmly discussed after he comes home, it does not seem likely to lead to much at present, and Derby will probably parry Grey's attack on Monday next.

Footnote 1: [Mr. Gladstone had accepted, temporarily, the office of Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, under Lord Derby's Government. His proceedings there excited great surprise in England. The eventual result of his mission was the surrender of the Protectorate of the Ionian Islands to the Kingdom of Greece.]

[Sidenote: LORD COWLEY'S MISSION TO VIENNA.]

_February 27th._--Derby prevailed on Grey to defer his Ionian motion till Gladstone's return, which he said would be in a fortnight at least. Palmerston had given notice of his intention to call the attention of the House of Commons to the present state of Europe, and to ask if the Government could give the country any information on the subject. The Government tried to persuade him to defer his intention, but without effect, and he persisted in his course. In the meanwhile Cowley suddenly arrived in England, sent for by the Government, as it was said, for the purpose of receiving instructions in respect to the conferences expected at Paris on the Danubian affairs. On Thursday morning the world was electrified at reading an article in the 'Times' stating that Cowley was going on a special mission to Vienna for the purpose of making matters up, if possible, between France and Austria. The day before I had been apprised of the fact by Granville, who had heard it from Clarendon, to whom Cowley had imparted the secret of his mission. The mission was in fact rather one from the Emperor than from our Government, who had really done nothing whatever, but were too happy to allow Cowley to go and try his hand in patching matters up. He has done it all off his own bat. Seeing how day after day war appeared to be becoming more imminent, he resolved to see if he could not do something to arrest the evil; he found the French Ministers quite agreed with him, and the Emperor in a state of mingled rage, disappointment, and perplexity, clinging with his characteristic tenacity to the designs on which his mind has been so long fixed, and to which he probably stands committed more than we are aware of, by his own professions, and by his cousin, who no doubt gave Cavour to understand he might certainly count upon the Emperor's aid. This course also he is the more reluctant to abandon, as he has certainly persuaded himself, or has been persuaded by others, that in no other way can he secure himself from the attempts of Italian conspirators and assassins, so that it is personal fear which is the real ground of what is called his policy. On the other hand, he is intensely disgusted and enraged at finding the whole feeling and opinion of England so decidedly pronounced against him, and that in no quarter whatever, neither in Parliament nor the Press, which represents the mind of the whole country, nor in any public men, can he find the slightest sympathy or encouragment, or anything but the most indignant disapprobation.[1] The sentiment of England is if possible still stronger in the same sense in Germany, and it is universal in France, where it is only prevented from manifesting itself with as much force and vivacity as in Germany and here by the fettered and subservient condition of the Press. In addition to this I am informed that the project of war is not popular with the army itself; and as it is not morally certain that by plunging into war the Emperor will be secure from the danger of assassination, and there is at least as good a chance of war bringing with it perils of another sort quite as formidable, so his very selfishness makes him doubt and waver, and inclines him to listen to the remonstrances which are addressed to him. Upon this uncertain and varying state of mind Cowley has been endeavouring to work, and he has so far succeeded as to have been entrusted by the Emperor with a commission to go to Vienna and negotiate with the Austrian Government a settlement of their differences, or rather, as there are in fact no differences to settle, to obtain from the Austrian Government some concessions by virtue of which he may be enabled to withdraw from his present false position without discredit, by which means he may give satisfaction to France and Europe, though at the risk of disappointing Sardinia and exasperating the Italian Carbonari.

When Palmerston's discussion came on upon Friday last, it was already known (through the 'Times') that Cowley was going to Vienna, though he himself had told nobody of this expedition (except Clarendon), and he evidently did not mean it should have been proclaimed. On Friday, Disraeli and Malmesbury said nothing of Cowley's mission, but they both announced that the Papal territories would be evacuated by the French and Austrian troops, and the public inferred that this evacuation was going to take place by a mutual agreement, and everybody asked, 'Why then is Cowley going to Vienna?' but the truth was that the Pope had requested the two Governments to withdraw their troops, and one of Cowley's objects is to procure the assent of Austria to that withdrawal, France having no doubt agreed to it on certain conditions, of which I do not know the details, but which are committed to the management of Cowley. Clarendon seemed to think that there was no more danger _now_ of the pacific purpose of Cowley being obstructed at Vienna than at Paris, for he said that the Austrians are so proud, and moreover so greatly incensed at the conduct of France, that it is very doubtful whether they will be induced to make any concessions at all, and whether the Emperor of Austria will not prefer to encounter all the danger of war, prepared as he is, than consent to anything which should have the appearance of humbling himself before the outrageous pretences and intolerable insolence of the Emperor of the French.

[Sidenote: MR. WALPOLE AND MR. HENLEY RESIGN.]

In the midst of the absorbing interest of this great question, the Government Reform Bill is coming on. They appear to have thought it adviseable to bespeak the good word of the 'Times,' and accordingly they sent Delane a copy of their Bill. This morning the heads of it appear in the 'Times' with an approving article. Mild as it appears to be, it is too strong for Walpole and Henley, who have resigned, but why they did not resign before it is difficult to understand. At Kent House yesterday afternoon there was a little gathering of Clarendon, Charles Wood, and George Lewis, when they all agreed that if the Government measure was such a one as they could possibly support, their proper policy would be to assist the Government in carrying it.

Footnote 1: [The war of 1859 is now judged of more favourably than it was at the time of its inception, and the result obtained--the independence and unification of Italy--has led men to condone the tortuous and deceitful policy by which it was arrived at. The object of M. de Cavour was a noble one, although the means he employed were unscrupulous. The chief motive of the Emperor Napoleon was the fear of his old allies the Carbonari. Orsini's attempt on his life had powerfully affected him.

To English statesmen of all parties (with one or two exceptions) it was apparent that the declaration of war by France on Austria was the destruction of the great compact of 1815, which (whatever may have been its defects) had given forty-four years of peace to the Continent of Europe, and which had survived the Revolution of 1848 and the Crimean contest of 1854. It was the first outbreak of the military power of the French Empire and it was likely to lead to future wars, as the result has proved. The defeat of Austria and the dissolution of the Germanic Confederation in 1866 was the result of the combined action of Prussia and Italy, north and south of the Alps; and the Franco-German War of 1870 was the result of the military ascendency Prussia had thus acquired in Europe. The policy of England was simply based on the principle that the duration of peace depended on the maintenance of the existing territorial arrangements of Europe.]

_March 1st._--According to all political calculations Cowley's mission ought to succeed, but I feel no confidence in his success, and rather believe that the Emperor Napoleon is acting with his usual duplicity and treachery, and duping Cowley to gain time, which is necessary to his plans.[1] It is revolting to see that the peace of the world and so much of the happiness or misery of mankind depend upon the caprice and will and the selfish objects and motives of a worthless upstart and adventurer, who is destitute of every principle of honour, good faith, or humanity, but who is unfortunately invested with an enormous power for good or evil. And this is the end of fifty years of incessant movement, of the progress of society, of the activity and development of the human intellect in the country which is eternally mouthing about its superior civilisation and its mission to extend the benefits of that civilisation over the whole world.

Disraeli brought forward his Reform Bill last night in a well-set speech, only too elaborate. It was coolly received, except by its most angry opponents, who lost no time in denouncing it.

Footnote 1: [This was the fact. It was not known until long afterwards that positive engagements had been entered into at Plombières between the Emperor and M. de Cavour in the preceding autumn, including the marriage of Prince Napoleon to the daughter of the King of Sardinia, and the cession of Savoy and Nice as a compensation for the conquest of Northern Italy. Cavour had the Emperor in his power, and threatened, if he drew back, to publish the correspondence.]

[Sidenote: THE GOVERNMENT REFORM BILL.]

_March 3rd._--It would be difficult to say what the feeling of the House of Commons really is on the subject of the Government Reform Bill. The night it came out everybody who spoke spoke against it. The Ultra-Reformers, from Bright down to John Russell, naturally express nothing but abhorrence and contempt for such a measure; half-and-half Reformers, who consider Reform a necessity, and who would be glad to have the question settled for the present on such easy terms, do not venture to say much in its favour; and the Whigs generally, particularly at their head-quarters, Brooks's, discuss with much variety of opinion whether the second reading ought to be resisted or not, the prevailing opinion being that the principle of the Bill (which is the equalisation of town and county franchise) is so inadmissible that it ought to be rejected, and they come to that conclusion the more readily because they think its rejection in that stage would put an end to the Government. On the other hand, Derby brought together two hundred of his supporters the day after the Bill appeared, and obtained their assent to it, and an engagement to support it. The resignations of Henley and Walpole have been prejudicial to the Government. Their explanations, which were full of half-suppressed bitterness towards their colleagues, were considered damaging, and to have revealed trickery on the part of Derby, though they seem to me to have rather exhibited weakness on the part of the retiring Ministers. But what they have clearly shown is the extreme penury of the party in point of intellectual resources, when they can find no man of any weight or reputation to fill up the vacancies. But if the Government is weak, and their position very precarious, the state of the Opposition is at least as deplorable, for there is no union or agreement amongst them, and Granville acknowledged to me last night that if Derby should fall on the second reading, and Palmerston be sent for, as it may be expected he would be, by the Queen, that it is impossible to see how another Government could be formed. This state of affairs and the magnitude of the embarrassment will probably at last make some of those who so obstinately insisted upon their being right in resigning last year after the Vote of Censure, begin to think that they would have done better to accept the rebuke and stay in. All that is now occurring serves to confirm my own opinion upon that point.

Since Cowley's arrival at Vienna nothing has been heard of his mission, but there is nothing apparent tending to lead to the conclusion that he has been able to do any good, and the general impression is that the Emperor Napoleon is only endeavouring to gain time, and making a tool of Cowley in hopes of thereby committing this country in some degree to his ulterior designs, and there are not wanting persons who believe that it will after all be against this country that his arms will be turned, and not against Austria.

_March 8th._--On Saturday morning the 'Times' published the article in the 'Moniteur' (evidently the Emperor's composition), in which a formal denial was given to the imputed warlike intentions of France. The general impression produced by this manifesto was that the Emperor had at last been diverted from his purpose by the various manifestations which he had seen at home as well as abroad, and that he had resolved to abandon it altogether. Many, however, refused to believe in this happy result, and thought that he was only trying to throw dust in the eyes of the world, and endeavouring to gain time. All things considered, I incline to believe that he has resolved to postpone his warlike designs _sine die_, though retaining his wish to employ the vast means on which he has expended so much money, and looking forward to some pretext which the chapter of accidents may afford him to execute his purpose.

Strenuous efforts are making to bring about an understanding and agreement between the Whig leaders as to opposing the Government Bill, in which nobody is so active as George Lewis, who being very intimate with John Russell, and much in his confidence, and at the same time still on a footing of an adherent of Palmerston, is better qualified than any one to form a link between the two and to produce a mutual accord. John Russell has drawn up certain Resolutions which he intends to move on the second reading. These Resolutions have been shown to George Grey and to Palmerston, who have agreed to support them, and it may be presumed that if all the Whig leaders, or even most of them, take this course, they will be followed by the majority of the rank and file. The Government and their friends are considerably alarmed at this hostile demonstration, and the more disappointed because they had been led to believe that Palmerston intended to support the second reading, and they knew that many moderate Whigs were inclined to take the same course. Some may do so still, but if the rival leaders can agree upon an attack on the Bill, though they may be agreed on nothing else, it is certainly probable that the Government will be beaten. Then will come the question of dissolution or resignation. This will probably depend on the amount and composition of the majority, and it will be a knotty point for Derby to decide upon.

[Sidenote: OPPOSITION TO THE REFORM BILL.]

_Savernake, March 9th._--I met George Lewis at the Athenæum yesterday, and had a talk about the state of affairs here. He told me that the whole Liberal party, he believed, would support John Russell's Resolutions. There had been considerable doubt at first whether the second reading of the Bill should be opposed or not, but upon a close examination of the Bill they found that it was such a dishonest measure that it could not be allowed to pass, and therefore it was better to throw it out at once. Palmerston and Lord John are now on very good terms. Lord John had sent his Resolutions to Palmerston, and Palmerston had sent him word he would support whatever he proposed. Lewis thinks, though there is no agreement between them further than this with regard to the Reform Bill, that if this Government falls, and the Whigs return to power, means will be found of adjusting the rival pretensions of the two leaders, and getting them to act together. To effect this, his reliance is mainly on the Queen, who he thinks may and will exert her influence and authority for this end. There is, however, a notion abroad that if John Russell persists in his Resolutions, the Government will withdraw the first clause, which is tantamount to withdrawing the Bill itself. Lewis believes in this intention, and that if they do it they will become so unpopular, and incur so much discredit, that it will be impossible for them to go on or to attempt a dissolution. Another notion is that they will withdraw the Bill, and endeavour to go on without any Bill at all, trusting to the Opposition not daring to propose a vote of want of confidence, which it is very doubtful if they could carry. The only thing clear is that they are very anxious to turn the Government out, and to take their chance of the consequences. Their success seems not at all unlikely, but when they have accomplished their object their embarrassments will begin. First there will be Lord John and Palmerston, then _l'embarras des richesses_ of the numerous candidates for office, and settling who is to come in and who are to be thrown overboard.

_March 15th._--Cowley arrived from Vienna on Saturday. I have not yet seen him, but Clarendon told me yesterday that he brings back the most satisfactory assurances on the part of Austria, who is ready to give every pledge of her pacific intentions, and to come to any agreement with France upon the withdrawal of both their forces from the Papal States, but that she will make no concessions inconsistent with her rights and her dignity, or which could seem to damp the enthusiasm now prevailing in Germany in her favour; in fact, that she has no concessions to make. Within the last few days the symptoms from France have been more menacing. At Paris the conviction is general that war is meant, and I am obliged to believe it likewise. The resignation of Prince Napoleon seems to have been a mere sham, and his intimacy with the Emperor as close as ever. There is no reason to believe that the military preparations in France are suspended, and in Piedmont they are certainly going on actively.

[Sidenote: LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S RESOLUTIONS.]