Chapter LXII: {victoria. 1850} (1)

Foreign Relations..... Colonial Affairs..... Ireland.....
Home Incidents-Debates in Parliament..... Deaths of
Remarkable Persons.

{A.D. 1850}

The year 1850 was not a striking period of English history. There was no foreign war, no colonial revolt, no great question to be solved at home; yet in every department of the national affairs there were occurrences of importance, as might be expected in so vast an empire, with so many and complicated interests.

FOREIGN RELATIONS.

_Spain_.—The interruptions of diplomatic relations with Spain, in consequence of the offence taken by General Narvaez at the interference of Sir Henry L. Bulwer, was brought to a termination by the appointment of Lord Howden as envoy extraordinary, and ambassador plenipotentiary of the Queen of Great Britain to the court of Madrid. This event seemed to give great satisfaction to the Spanish court and people, and her Iberian majesty, on the assembling of the cortes, made the matter a prominent topic in her address; but little interest was taken in Great Britain in connection with the event.

_Greece_.—The independence of the Greek kingdom was not followed by any improvement in the condition or character of the people. The government constituted by the three protecting powers (England, France, and Russia) was corrupt and incompetent, and the king despotic and faithless. Russia had an interest in keeping Greece disturbed, and especially in exciting both king and people to ambitious projects against Turkey, and Louis Philippe, King of the French, aided in promoting the corruption, and founded a policy for France inimical to the permanent advantage of Greece and the peace of Europe. The Greek government well knowing the unfavourable feeling of both Russia and France to England, treated British subjects with insult, and frequently allowed Greek subjects to treat them with wanton and unprovoked injury. The remonstrances of the English minister were unavailing, the wrongs of English citizens were unredressed. At last, the British foreign minister determined to make a categorical demand for justice, and in case of refusal to take reprisals. The demands made by Lord Palmerston were for satisfaction of the following claims:—

1. Mr. Finlay, an English subject, was deprived of land in 1838, which was enclosed in the gardens of the royal palace at Athens, in 1840.

2. M. Pacifico, a native of Gibraltar, was insulted, his house broken into at Athens in open day by a mob, aided by soldiers and gendarmes, in 1847. The mob supposed that certain measures of the government were incited by the British, and that M. Pacifico had personally some part in the matter. The government made no effort to restrain the rioters, and refused all reparation.

3. In October, 1846, six Ionian boats were plundered at the custom-house of Salcina. The Greek government refused all satisfaction.

4. Two Ionians were illegally arrested at Pyrgos, in 1847, and cruelly flogged.

5. The police at Paints arrested two Ionians, and subjected them to various cruelties and indignities for putting up some English, Ionian, and Greek flags on the awning of a coffee-shop.

6. The boat’s crew of a British man-of-war landed the son of the British consul at Patras, in January, 1848, when Greek soldiers seized the unarmed sailors, beat and imprisoned them. The Greek government refused to apologise for the outrage.

After these claims were made, another was added—that the isles or rocks of Corvi and Lapienza belonged to the Ionian Isles, and that, therefore, the Greek government should forego all acts of sovereignty in respect to them.

On the 28th of December, 1849, Mr. Wyse, the English minister at the court of Athens, called the attention of M. Londos, the minister for foreign affairs at the court of Athens, to the claims of England, declaring, that the long forbearance of her majesty’s government must not be construed into indifference. No notice was taken of the note; the Greek king and his ministers had for so many years been permitted to offer insults to the English government with impunity, they could not conceive that it was now in earnest. The conduct of Lord Aberdeen in the English foreign office had especially encouraged this state of feeling, and Lord Palmerston had found no opportunity during the eventful years 1847–8–9, to enter upon the matter with such purpose as the case required, from the known sympathies of Russia and France. On January 10th, Mr. Wyse and Admiral Parker had an interview with M. Londos, who listened to their representations, but reserved a formal reply. The next day he read a note, refusing the concessions required. No allusion was made in any of these transactions to the cession of the islets. Mr. Wyse then made a formal written demand, and allowed twenty-four hours for a reply. During that time the agents of both Russia and France were consulted by the Greek minister, who was encouraged by them to resist the English requisitions. This was notorious at Athens; yet, at the expiration of the twenty-four hours, M. Londos offered to submit the matter to the arbitration of France and Russia. Her majesty’s minister, of course, refused to bring in the arbitration of the powers whose jealousy and intrigue had led to the situation. He accordingly declared the blockade of the Piræus by the English fleet, and himself embarked on board Sir W. Parker’s flag-ship. The Greek government treated the blockade with contempt, and sent out the _Otho_, and other government vessels. These were seized and sent to Salamis by the admiral, or detained near his own ships. On the 20th, M. Londos sent a protest to Mr. Wyse against these proceedings, and an hint that the other nations of Europe would interfere. Sir W. Parker next laid an embargo upon all Greek ships, and made arrangements for the capture of all he might find at sea.

On the 5th of February, M. Drouyn de Lhuys made an offer in London of friendly offices on the part of France, which were accepted, and on the 12th official notes were exchanged to that effect. Orders were, consequently, sent to Mr. Wyse and Admiral Parker to suspend coercive measures, pending the friendly intervention of France. The French government sent out a negotiator, Baron Gros, who arrived at Athens on the 5th of March. That gentleman, on examining the claims, fixed upon those of M. Pacifico as exaggerated, and no agreement between him and the British negotiator could be concluded; and on the 23rd of April, he notified the failure of his mission to the Greek government.

While this was going on at Athens, the French ambassador in London and the English foreign minister had agreed upon a plan of settlement, and the French government sent immediately a frigate with despatches for Baron Gros, instructing him to that effect. From some mistake or oversight the English government sent no orders to Mr. Wyse, and the result was that he refused to recognise the instructions sent out to the baron by his government. Hostilities commenced next day, which compelled the Greek government to submit to the demands of the English minister.

When tidings of these transactions reached France the French ambassador quitted London, but the difference between France and England was ultimately arranged by friendly explanations, and by the English government substituting the terms of agreement which had been made by the two governments at London, for the mere stipulations accepted by the Greek government at Athens.

The czar was enraged at these proceedings, and his ministers addressed a remonstrance to the British cabinet, couched in terms indignant and affrontful. The diplomatic turmoil in connection with the affairs of Greece caused considerable discussion in the country and the commons, which will be noticed under the section appropriated to parliamentary proceedings.

_Liberia_.—The British government, in its desire to put down negro slavery, took a deep interest in the prosperity of the free black colony of Liberia. The English public regarded it as a great experiment as to the adaptation of the negro race for self-government and modern civilization. The origin of the colony was not as philanthropic as was supposed in England. It did not originate in the benevolence of American citizens anxious to promote the advantages and progress of the negro, but in the selfishness of those who favoured slavery, and were desirous to exile the free blacks from the land of their birth, where their good conduct was a reproach to oppressors, and their freedom a temptation to the whole negro race to break their own bonds. In 1848–9 negotiations for a treaty of commerce, based on reciprocal advantages, was opened between the infant black state and her Britannic majesty. It consisted of eleven articles, which stipulated perpetual peace and friendship, freedom of commerce, mutual protection of the subjects of the respective states, the establishment of consuls, the slave trade to be piracy, English vessels of war in pursuit of slavers to be received with hospitality, and at liberty to visit any suspected vessels sailing under the Liberian flag. This treaty belongs strictly to the history of the previous year, but became known to the British public generally at the beginning of 1850.

_Costa Rica_.—The trade of England with the South American republics having for many years assumed considerable importance, a formal recognition of the principles by which it was desirable to conduct that trade became necessary with this particular state. This treaty consisted of sixteen articles, which engaged the powers mutually to preserve perpetual amity; freedom of commerce; freedom of correspondence; “the most favoured nation” clause; personal freedom and protection; exemption from forced loans and military conscriptions; establishment of consuls; in case of any interruption of friendly intercourse, citizens on the coasts to be allowed six months, and in the interior twelve months, to wind up their affairs, and safe conduct to be afforded to them; liberty of Christian burial and protection of places of sepulture; total prohibition of the slave trade. This treaty was signed at San Jose de Costa Rica, November 27th, 1849, and ratified at London, February, 1850. The treaty to exist for seven years, or longer, unless either party gave notice to the contrary after that date.

_St. Domingo_.—This was a treaty of eleven articles, engaging the respective powers named to mutual friendship; freedom of commerce; personal protection and protection of property; “the most favoured nation” clause; consular immunities and privileges; religious freedom for the subjects of each state within the territory of the other; perpetual prohibition of slavery; “right of search;” existence of treaty to be ten years, and after that, until due notice on either party had expired. Subsequently, an additional article was inserted, providing for the possible suspension of the previous articles in case the Dominican republic should continue at war with Hayti, or be again at war with that nation.

The treaty was signed at St. Domingo on the 6th of March, and the ratifications were exchanged at the same place on the 10th of September.

_Coast of Guinea_.—On the Gold Coast, or Coast of Guinea, the Danes had long held certain positions or forts, named Christiansbergh, Augustabergh, Kongensteen, and Prindsensteen; connected with these was an undefined amount of territory. The Danish merchants, who at first derived some profit from these establishments, soon found that they could obtain from Great Britain more cheaply the various articles of that commerce, than by direct communication with the country itself. This arose from the numerous interests of Great Britain, and the broader foundation of her commercial speculations. The Danish government felt the African possessions cumbersome and expensive, and agreed to cede them, with their guns, stores, property, territorial rights, &c, to her Britannic majesty for the sum of £10,000. A treaty to this effect was signed in London on the 17th of August, and ratified there September 11th.

COLONIAL AFFAIRS.

_Australia_.—Considerable excitement existed in the Australian colonies for a more constitutional form of government, and at last the imperial legislature took up the subject with earnestness. Constitutions were granted to the Australian colonies in harmony with their British origin. These concessions of the mother country were hailed with delight in the colonies. The general prosperity of Australia secured peace. Crime, however, prevailed to a great extent in New South Wales, Victoria, and Van Dieman’a Land: in the first and last named, from the presence of convicts, or those who had been such. Many of this class had made their escape to the colony of Victoria, where they committed depredations and violence, and brought some disrepute upon the settlement.

_Canada_.—The annexation movement continued to disturb the province and disquiet the government. Persons holding civil situations, and officers of militia who took any part in the agitation, were dismissed; and by a vigilant repressive policy the government gradually brought the Canadas into a more quiescent state. A reaction at last set in, and general expressions of loyalty prevailed where opinions in favour of an independent confederation of the British American provinces had been boldly announced. The ministry by which the indemnity bill was carried during the previous year were not able to retain power. The governor, on opening the provincial parliament at Toronto, delivered a speech in French and English, which was well received by both parties. Before the year closed it was proved that a large majority of the people of the Canadas were against separation from the mother country.

_The West Indies_.—The West India Islands were in a discontented state throughout the year. Jamaica led the way in the expression of dissatisfaction. The English free-trade measures were the chief source of the disquietude, and tinged every disappointment or misfortune that befel the colonists. The post-office arrangements; the local finance; the provision required by the imperial government for the support of the various colonial administrations; the relation of the planters to the negro free labourers, were all topics of angry debate in the colonial press and legislatures. A very general desire to unite with the North American States was felt, or at all events, expressed; the desire being, as in Canada, to escape free trade, and the additional motive that, by such a change, negro slavery might possibly be restored. A fear and hatred of freedom was the grand source of colonial sedition throughout the continent and islands of British America.

INDIA.

The vast territory comprised in British India was seldom wholly at peace, the agitations of contiguous countries extending to it, and requiring the constant vigilance of the government, lest mischief beginning beyond the borders should spread within them.

In the early part of the year there were signs of disaffection throughout the north-west districts, and the native garrison of Delhi manifested some insubordination on account of batta which they demanded if ordered beyond the Sutlej, and which the government had determined to refuse. Sir Charles Napier persevered in his attempts to reform the army, and put down drunkenness and gaming among the officers, and some severe examples were made even in the case of officers of professional merit. In these efforts the commander-in-chief was not seconded by the governor-general and the authorities at Calcutta.

In the Nizam’s territory disturbances occurred which compelled the attention of the Indian government. At Sikhim, in the latter part of the previous year, two British officers were seized by the independent sovereign of that country, formerly a dependency of Nepaul. The offence of these officers was entering the territory without permission; and the severity, and even cruelty and indignity with which they were treated, called for the interposition of the authorities at Calcutta; but it was necessary to move troops against the tyrant before he gave the satisfaction required.

The border tribes in the neighbourhood of Peshawur gave great uneasiness notwithstanding that severe chastisement was inflicted upon them at the close of the previous year by Colonel Lawrence. Sir Colin Campbell was sent against them, at the head of a considerable force, but his expedition was not attended with success. Dost Mohamed used every exertion to prevent the peaceful occupation of the province by the English, his hope being that they would abandon it as too troublesome and expensive, and that he might take possession of it on their retirement. Early in June one of the most terrible calamities which had ever occurred in British India took place at Benares. A number of magazine boats were in the river, which by some means ignited and blew up, spreading destruction far and wide. One thousand persons were killed, many of them blown to pieces, and great numbers besides were injured. Rumours reached England of the dissatisfaction expressed by Sir Charles Napier with many things connected with the native armies in India. The extravagance and dissipation of the officers, and the constitution generally of the army of the Bengal Presidency, were named as the subjects of his displeasure.

IRELAND.

The condition of this unhappy country during the year 1850 was only a little less miserable than it had been in what were emphatically called the “famine years.” Great distress prevailed, aggravated by bad laws, and the general social state and spirit of the people. The moral condition of the country was still worse than its material circumstances. Scarcely had the year opened, when a series of the most atrocious murders that ever disgraced a country were perpetrated. A gentleman, steward to a person of large landed property in the county Tipperary, was shot near his own dwelling by cowardly assassins, who fired upon him from behind a hedge. Two brothers, in the same county, disputed about land; the younger clove the skull of the elder with the spade which he held in working. A poor emaciated man, in the same blood-stained county, while in a state of starvation pulled a turnip in a turnipfield, and was caught by the owner in the act of satisfying his hunger upon it; the inhuman wretch shot the miserable delinquent on the spot.

These atrocities were but samples of the barbarous deeds which took place over many districts in Ireland throughout the year. The criminals were not always poor men; farmers, farmers’ sons, and even men of this class possessing what might be called affluence, either committed, or caused others to commit, the savage acts which disgraced their country and shocked all civilized nations. Sometimes the murders were effected by men who had no wrong to complain of, no injury to redress, but who for a small sum of money, or being chosen by the ballot of the ribbon lodges, assassinated men whom they had never seen before, having been pointed out by their associates in the ribbon conspiracy. Sometimes the assassinations were on account of religion; in a few cases, for personal vengeance; but, generally, they were in connection with disputes about land. The state of the law was such as to have enabled the government to put down these societies, and to disarm the people, who were unworthy to be trusted with the liberty of keeping dangerous weapons; but the Whigs were unwilling to incur unpopularity, and only acted with spirit and determination when the government itself was endangered, and anarchy impended. The Conservatives charged the government with tolerating, to a certain extent, for political purposes, evils which nothing could justify a government for allowing to be perpetrated. This imputation was deserved.

The political agitations were of the usual character, but gradually diminished; the events of the two preceding years having nearly extinguished the Young Ireland party, and so lowered the tone of its rival, as to deprive it of much notice either in Ireland or England.

An agitation for what was called tenant right extended itself, but especially in Dublin, the great centre of all Irish agitation, and in the north. The character of this movement will more fully appear when noticing the debates in parliament which afterwards took place on the subject: it is here only necessary to say, that the ostensible and real objects of the agitators were very different. They professed to seek justice for the occupying tenant; they desired to inflict injustice upon the owner of the soil. The Irish tenant suffered much from an unfair state of the law in favour of the landlord, who often used to the uttermost the inequitable advantage thus afforded him. In the province of Ulster this was less the case; a more generous disposition prevailed among the landlords, and a more confiding one among the tenantry; the relations between the two classes were, as described by themselves, “live, and let live.” The outgoing tenant claimed a right to a certain sum for his improvements and interest, from the incoming tenant, which was altogether irrespective of any bargain between the latter and the owner of the soil. This prescriptive right was so generally recognised, that all parties were satisfied. In the other provinces of Ireland it was otherwise. The English and Scottish settlers in Ulster found this usage, which was an old Celtic tradition, and adopted it; their power enabled them to assert it; but the vanquished Celts themselves were not permitted by those to whom the estates were confiscated, to retain a custom so favourable to the occupier. The professed object of the agitation was to secure compensation to the occupying tenant all over the country for his improvements, and such certainty of tenure, according to the nature of his lease or taking, as would secure him from vexatious lawsuits and inequitable ejectments, against which, notwithstanding that they were inequitable in the eyes of all men, there was no redress. As the agitation was developed, it was plain that the real object was political and religious on the part of the prime movers. It became noticeable that while the clergy of the Established Church, the Methodists, Congregationalists, &c, abstained from all participation in the struggle, those of the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian communions fiercely fanned it. The higher classes were generally episcopal Protestants, the former in the north, to a large extent, were Presbyterians, and in the other provinces Roman Catholics; it was the interest of the clergy of both sects that their flocks and chief supporters should be placed in as independent position as possible. Ultimately, however, the two parties ceased to coalesce, their objects became so dissimilar, that all co-operation was impossible. The tenant-right league became a focus of Roman Catholic agitation, for purely Roman Catholic objects. Mr. Lucas, an English proselyte to the Church of Rome, who had formerly been a Quaker, became a very prominent person, and he carried his fanaticism to great lengths. Charles Gavan Duffy coalesced with him, and these men, abetted by others, so disgusted their Presbyterian confederates, that the latter seceded altogether from the confederacy. The doctrines taught by the party which remained became increasingly bold, and it was soon apparent that the league was a knot of conspirators, whose object was to transfer the property of the Protestant landlords of Ireland to the hands of their Roman Catholic tenants, the former having a sort of rent-charge upon their own land, which would in time have been also taken from them. The state of the law of landlord and tenant was so unjust, that a well-organized opposition to it, conducted with truth, dignity, and honour, must have speedily adjusted matters. The imperial legislature could not have resisted demands so fair. But the movement, like almost all others in Ireland, no matter for what object originally framed, became a mere sectarian and party one, conducted without justice or decency, and with designs that were disloyal to the government, and insidious to all classes of Irishmen not identified with it. These remarks anticipate the progress and character of this unprincipled agitation, as it soon became, but in doing so, an explanation is afforded to the reader which enables him to comprehend occurrences and debates which entered into the history of subsequent years.

The remaining matters of interest connected with Ireland will be found in the section given to the affairs of parliament.

HOME EVENTS.—PROPOSAL FOR AN EXHIBITION OF THE INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS.

Early in the year a project was mooted for bringing together in one vast building specimens of the industry of all nations, The object in view was to promote commerce and national amity. The persons who projected this scheme had several consultations at the Institution of Civil Engineers, in Westminster, and it was finally agreed, if possible, to interest Prince Albert in the matter, give him all the credit of its origin, and its chief direction. On communicating the matter to the prince, he accepted the responsibility, and from that moment her majesty became deeply concerned in its success. The interest taken by the queen and her consort soon communicated itself to the rest of the royal family and to the government, and every exertion was made to secure the aid of foreign courts and governments, and the sympathy of foreign nations. A committee was organized of the most likely persons to conduct such an undertaking to a fortunate conclusion, and the powerful influence of the court was exerted throughout the British Isles. It was resolved to erect a building in Hyde Park for the display of the various productions that might be forwarded, and although a fierce opposition was raised by the aristocracy of Kensington and Knightsbridge, the court and government supported the committee as to the site they had chosen. A design was made by Mr. Paxton, gardener to the Duke of Devonshire, to erect a structure of glass, which was accepted, and Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Co., of Birmingham, contracted for the erection. The contemplated size of the “Palace of Industry” was such as to make the undertaking one of much courage and enterprise on the part of those who made themselves responsible for its construction: the particulars will be most properly given under another chapter.

On the 2nd of March, the Lord Mayor of London gave a splendid entertainment at the Mansion House to the chief magistrates of as many towns and cities of Great Britain and Ireland as could accept the invitation. There were present two hundred and two chief magistrates of English and Welsh cities and boroughs, ten provosts of Scotch burghs, and five mayors of Irish cities and boroughs. Prince Albert was present on the occasion. The assembled magistrates received such information as enabled them in their respective localities to promote the object. The bringing together so unusual an assembly attracted the notice of the empire and of the civilized world; the project was in that way greatly accelerated.

A very large portion of the upper classes were, however, very much opposed to the whole design. An alarm was spread that men would be brought together from all nations, revolutionists and anarchists, especially from France, Italy, and Germany, and that possibly, with the assistance of these invaders landing upon our shores in the disguise of promoters of peace and industry, a revolution of the disaffected among ourselves would be attempted. Many were the dissuasions resorted to for the purpose of checking the zeal of the committee, and causing the court to swerve from its patronage of so bold a measure! The court, the government, the committee, and the leading men in the mercantile interests of the metropolis and the provinces, pursued the even tenor of their way, amused at the folly of so many persons in a condition of life to know better. These fears proved how large a portion of the classes who occupy the higher positions in society are ignorant of their own countrymen, and of the world. They could not comprehend the scheme, sympathise with its objects, or appreciate its benefits. Many men of strong conservative tendencies who wished to persevere in what they called the good old ways for ever, declared that the shopkeepers of London would be ruined, and that western London would be lost in a deluge of immorality, the result of such an influx of wicked foreigners from every clime. All these apprehensions were destined to be dissipated; but it was in vain that men eminent for wisdom and experience, pointed out their groundlessness; they were indulged until facts confuted them.

Meanwhile, communications were transmitted from foreign courts and governments that the most eminent persons in their respective countries were nominated as commissioners to collect and arrange the products of those countries in the form and way most calculated to ensure the end in view. Intelligence of this sort was received from Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, the Hanse Towns, Nassau, Hanover, Oldenburgh, Mechlenburgh, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Sardinia, Switzerland, the United States, Venezuela, and some other foreign countries, as well as from the governors of all our colonies, and from various Indian princes.

It would appear as if the exhibition which had been held in France for various limited objects, and that intended to be held in Vienna, in 1851, had suggested to the English projectors the feasibility and desirableness of uniting all nations in one grand attempt to exhibit together their products, natural and industrial, in the great centre of finance, commerce, and power—the metropolis of the world. The Emperor of Austria, however, entered heartily into the views of Prince Albert, and postponed the exhibition intended at Vienna to the year 1852. Throughout the year the great preparations were pursued, and at the appointed time in the ensuing year reached a happy consummation, to the amazement of all, and gratification of most of those whose vaticinations were so gloomy.

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY.

The commercial condition of Great Britain throughout the year was favourable. The railway speculations of previous years exercised a prejudicial influence upon the money market, and “calls” were severely felt; but the foreign commerce of the country increased rapidly, and the revenue was in a state which tended to preserve public confidence, and showed that the resources of the nation were unimpaired notwithstanding so many recent calamities. Free trade began already largely to tell upon the great interests which it affected, and justified its advocates and promoters.

The farming interest was, however, distressed; free trade in corn had deranged their habits, and rendered alterations necessary in their customary procedure as to the landowners, their farms, and the markets which they were reluctant to adopt. The landlords were unwilling to concede lower rents, and kept up those which were brought about by war prices during the great struggle with France. Hence a protectionist agitation pervaded the country, unsettling the minds of the farmers, inspiring false hopes, irritating the trading classes, producing counter agitation, and by all these means inflicting injury upon the country.

THE CHOLERA.

The cholera, which broke out at the close of 1848, slumbered during the winter and spring, 1849, and then ravaged the country, continued to afflict, more or less, during this year also. The mitigation and removal of the disease during the year enabled medical and scientific men to give more calm and undisturbed investigation as to its phenomena. Some of the laws which characterized its advance, prevalence, and removal, were discovered and brought before the public; but the cause or source of the pestilence still remained a mystery, and no specific treatment was discovered. It was remarked that it appeared generally in the same districts, towns, streets, houses, and some persons affirmed, even apartments, which had entered in the year 1832.

PAPAL AGGRESSION.

The most striking home incident of the year, was the event which went generally under the name of papal aggression. England, since the Reformation, had been exceedingly jealous of any exercise of authority by the Roman pontiff within her dominions, and in consequence of this feeling it had been deemed politic at Rome to govern the Roman Catholics of England by vicars apostolic. For some years, however, the church and court of Rome had been encouraged by the Romanist tendencies of the “High Anglican” and Puseyite parties in the English church. Many clergymen and laymen went over to Rome, especially of the former, and very many more were known to be inclined to follow. It was also alleged that a large body of the clergy and gentry were favourable to a union of the Church of England with the Church of Rome. In many of the churches, the communion-table was turned into an altar; lighted candles were employed in the daytime, crucifixes were placed above what was called the altar, and the clergy practised genuflexions and intonations which were supposed to be peculiar to Roman Catholicism. All these things prepared the minds of the people, who were in the main attached to Evangelism, and were steady in their Protestantism, to meet any aggressive action on the part of Rome with anger, and even exasperation. An occasion arose to put this to the test. The pope issued “a brief,” constituting an episcopal hierarchy in England instead of the vicars apostolic. One archiepiscopal and twelve episcopal sees were created, and the territorial limits of the province and the sees were marked out. Dr. Wiseman, elevated to the rank of cardinal, was appointed Archbishop of Westminster. The language of the brief was arrogant in the extreme, and literally outraged the feelings and the honour of the English people. It was followed by a document still more offensive, written by Cardinal Wiseman, which he termed a pastoral, and dated “Out of the Flaminian Gate at Rome.” This was addressed to the faithful about to become, and whom he treated as though they had already become, his subjects. The arrogance of this document was such as to move the Protestant feeling of the country, and to awaken a spirit of hostility to the Church of Rome which seemed unlikely ever to be quenched. The irritation created among the Protestant population was greatly increased by the tone in which the cardinal and his newly-created bishops addressed their followers upon their appointment to their new offices. The cardinal adopted the style of a prince, commencing with the royal “We,” his authority to “rule over” the province to which he was nominated. His vindication of the course pursued by the pontiff was a bitter sneer at English and Protestant institutions, mingled with an insulting defiance of the established authorities of the British nation. He reminded his hearers and the whole British nation (whom he knew would at such a crisis peruse his address) that he had no authority in Westminster, or in Westminster Abbey, by law, and that he would still pay the entrance fee to go into Westminster Abbey like other liege subjects, resign himself meekly to the guidance of the beadle, and “listen without rebuke when he pointed out to his admiration detestable monuments, or show a hole in the wall for a confessional.” “He would still visit the shrine of St. Edward, and meditate on the olden times when the church would fill without a coronation, and multitudes hourly worshipped without a service.”

The popish Bishop of Birmingham, Dr. Ullathorn, went beyond his master in boasting, and uttered the following blasphemous address:—“The people of England, who for many years had been separated from the see of Rome, were about, of their own free will, to be added to the Holy Church. He did not recollect any people on earth, but those of Great Britain, who, having rejected the religion of God, were again restored to the bosom of the Church. The hierarchy was restored, the grave was opened, and Christ was coming out.”

Great as was the excitement produced throughout the country by the event itself, and by the preposterous pretensions of the new Roman bishops, the public feeling was much intensified by a letter of Lord John Russell’s to the Bishop of Durham. The prelate was supposed to be an ardent and consistent Protestant, and the circumstance of a man of such a character being selected by the premier as the medium through which to give his opinions to the public, parliament not being then sitting, led the country to believe that his lordship really sought its support for some great and practical purpose; that the letter was intended to indicate an anti-papal policy for the future, for which the support of the nation was sought. It was as follows:—

_TO THE RIGHT REV. THE BISHOP OF DURHAM_.

My dear Lord,—I agree with you in considering “the late aggression of the pope upon our Protestantism” as “insolent and insidious,” and I therefore feel as indignant as you can do upon the subject.

I not only promoted to the utmost of my power the claims of the Roman Catholics to all civil rights, but I thought it right, and even desirable, that the ecclesiastical system of the Roman Catholics should be the means of giving instruction to the numerous Irish immigrants in London and elsewhere, who, without such help, would have been left in heathen ignorance.

This might have been done, however, without any such innovation as that which we have now seen.

It is impossible to confound the recent measures of the pope with the division of Scotland into dioceses by the Episcopal Church, or the arrangement of districts in England by the Wesleyan Conference.

There is an assumption of power in all the documents which have come from Rome—a pretension to supremacy over the realm of England, and a claim to sole and undivided sway, which is inconsistent with the queen’s supremacy, with the rights of our bishops and clergy, and with the spiritual independence of the nation, as asserted even in Roman Catholic times.

I confess, however, that my alarm is not equal to my indignation.

Even if it shall appear that the ministers and servants of the pope in this country have not transgressed the law, I feel persuaded that we are strong enough to repel any outward attacks. The liberty of Protestantism has been enjoyed too long in England to allow of any successful attempt to impose a foreign yoke upon our minds and consciences. No foreign prince or potentate will be permitted to fasten his fetters upon a nation which has so long and so nobly vindicated its right to freedom of opinion—civil, political, and religious.

Upon this subject, then, I will only say, that the present state of the law shall be carefully examined, and the propriety of adopting any proceedings with reference to the recent assumption of power deliberately considered.

There is a danger, however, which alarms me much more than any aggression of a foreign sovereign.

Clergymen of our own church, who have subscribed the Thirty-nine Articles, and acknowledged in explicit terms the queen’s supremacy, have been the most forward in leading their flocks, “step by step, to the very verge of the precipice.” The honour paid to saints, the claim of infallibility for the church, the superstitious use of the sign of the cross, the muttering of the liturgy so as to disguise the language in which it is written, the recommendation of auricular confession, and the administration of penance and absolution, all these things are pointed out by clergymen of the Church of England as worthy of adoption, and are now openly reprehended by the Bishop of London in his charge to the clergy of his diocese.

What, then, is the danger to be apprehended from a foreign prince of no great power, compared to the danger within the gates from the unworthy sons of the Church of England herself?

I have little hope that the propounders and framers of these innovations will desist from their insidious course; but I rely with confidence on the people of England; and I will not bate a jot of heart or hope so long as the glorious principles and the immortal martyrs of the Reformation shall be held in reverence by the great mass of a nation which looks with contempt on the mummeries of superstition, and with scorn at the laborious endeavours which are now making to confine the intellect and enslave the soul.

I remain, with great respect, &c.,

J. Russell.

Downing-street, Nov. 4.

Whether the noble writer of this letter was sincere in the feelings he expressed was doubted by few at the time, although his subsequent turning and time-serving justified the public in believing that the letter was used merely for the party purpose of forestalling the opposition by an appeal to the Protestant feeling which then seemed irresistible. The immediate effect of the letter upon the country was to stimulate afresh the indignation which had been so keenly felt and warmly expressed. Public addresses were presented to the Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and other notable persons, by the clergy of the various dioceses, the universities, the corporations of cities, and voluntary assemblies, pledging those who presented them to the most loyal support of her majesty and the legislature in resisting the pretensions of popery. On the 5th of November, the anniversary of the gunpowder plot, there was a burst of anti-popish feeling all over the kingdom, such as had not been witnessed since the glorious revolution of 1688. The pope, Cardinal Wiseman, the new bishops, members of the conclave at Rome, and various other persons, offensive by their popery, were burnt in effigy, and “Guys” were carried about through London and the provincial cities in mockery of their assumed dignity and pretensions.

These events produced very opposite effects upon the Roman Catholics themselves. Cardinal Wiseman manifested some alarm, and endeavoured to appease the popular wrath by directing his emissaries to speak slightingly of the importance of the matter, and to represent it as an ecclesiastical arrangement only of any interest to Roman Catholics themselves. Lord Beaumont, and other members of the Latin church, who were men of culture and enlightenment, deprecated the whole proceeding of the court of Rome, and the haughty spirit in which its English agents proclaimed them. In Ireland the Roman Catholic party were stirred up to perfect fury, and “Conciliation Hall” echoed with blustering attacks upon the government, and upon Protestantism. The following extract of a speech of John O’Connell’s depicts the spirit of the Irish sympathies with Cardinal Wiseman and his English coadjutors:—“If a cry be raised against the Catholic Church, cannot a cry be raised against the Protestant Church? In Ireland, at least, we shall do so. Does the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster send tax-gatherers and bring the force of law to bear upon Protestants to compel them to contribute to the support of his dignity? No; he will be supported by the voluntary contributions of the Catholics; he will receive no money under false pretences; he will take no money for services he does not render. But the Protestant Archbishop of Dublin, and the Protestant archbishop and bishops of other sees are not so; they receive money under false pretenses—they exact money for services they do not perform. The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, or the other Catholic bishops in England or Ireland, do not enforce the payment of tithes at the point of the bayonet; the life of no widow’s son is taken on their account. The soil of Ireland has been saturated with blood in the forced collection of this odious impost, and the Catholic people are still compelled to pay it indirectly, for they cannot get their receipts for their rent until they pay the tithes to the landlord, who has to pay it to the parson in the first instance. We must put an end to this. I hope the country will rally, and meet the cry against popery by a cry against the Protestant Church establishment.”

The cardinal and his colleagues persisted in their assumption of territorial ecclesiastical authority, and the ceremony of his enthronisation was attended with extraordinary pomp and parade, while the doctrines propounded on the occasion showed Rome to be, as to her ambition and purpose, _semper eadem_.

Finally, a bill rendering illegal and punishable the assumption of ecclesiastical titles was brought into parliament under the auspices of the premier: the right of prosecution was, however, reserved to the government, and as it was well known that the Whigs would never exercise that right from fear of losing the parliamentary support of the Romanists, their bill was seen by the public to be a sham. This circumstance, taken in connection with the premier’s vehement letter to the Bishop of Durham, threw an imputation of inconsistency and insincerity upon the political character of Lord John Russell, which impaired his subsequent usefulness and credit.

COMPLIMENT TO LORD PALMERSTON.

The keystone of the whig political arch was Lord Palmerston. He was by far the ablest man attached to the party. It was well understood that the connection of the noble viscount with the whig government was not from any partizan predilections, but from approval of their foreign policy, and from a patriotic desire to maintain the honour and credit of the country in its relation to other states, by devoting his diplomatic talent and experience to the conduct of the foreign office. The conservative party, knowing the powerful support which the presence of the noble lord in the whig cabinet gave to it, was unscrupulous in its desire to weaken his prestige, and “the peace party,” considering that his lordship would be prompt in claiming redress for any injuries offered to British subjects, affected to believe that his policy was rash, and to desire on public grounds his removal from office. The policy of Sir Robert Peel, and his foreign minister, Lord Aberdeen, was essentially one of compromise: it preserved peace by a concession of everything that the national temper would allow to be conceded. This answered the views of the peace party, and of those whose commercial interests were subserved by peace at any price, and who therefore identified themselves with “the peace party on principle,” although not holding at heart its theory. The House of Commons supported the policy of Viscount Palmerston, and early in June originated a subscription among its members for the purpose of presenting to Lady Palmerston a picture of her gifted husband. On the 22nd of that month a deputation, consisting of about ninety members, waited upon her ladyship, and presented the portrait, with a suitable address. The picture was a full length, and represented Lord Palmerston in cabinet council, a portrait of Canning, his political preceptor and exemplar, being suspended in the council-room. It was a curious and happy coincidence, that on the day on which this tribute of respect to her husband was presented to Lady Palmerston, a telegraphic despatch from Paris announced the settlement of the Greek question.

ARRIVAL OF THE KOH-I-NOOR.

Considerable excitement was created by the arrival of this magnificent diamond. “The mountain of light,” as its eastern designation means, was valued at two millions sterling, and was the most costly precious stone in the world. A certain Brazilian gem in the crown of Portugal was alone admitted to be a rival. Its discovery was made in the mines of Golconda, and passed into possession of the Mogul emperors from the king of that country. From Delhi it was borne away by the conquering Persian, and when his rebellious subjects assassinated him (Nadir Shah), Ahmed Shah carried away to Affganhistan this treasure. Runjeet Singh obtained it thence by inhospitable and unjust stratagem. At the conquest of Lahore the gem became the property of the British crown. The great diamond at the top of the Russian sceptre weighed a greater number of carats, but was not so beautiful. The arrival of the “glittering carbon” was opportune for the great Exhibition of 1851. Many events of political importance caused less conversation and curiosity than the arrival of this “mountain of light.”

ATTACK UPON GENERAL HAYNAU.

During the struggles between the Kasir and his insurgent provinces, one of his most efficient and successful generals was Haynau. He was also, unfortunately, one of the most cruel and sanguinary, women having been frequently subjected by his orders to the most indecent and merciless application of the lash.

This officer visited England during the autumn, and his presence excited much indignant comment, and various demonstrations of personal dislike. It occurred that, on the 5th of September, he, with two other foreigners, presented themselves at Barclay’s brewery for permission to inspect that very great establishment, so much an object of curiosity among foreign visitors. According to the rules of the establishment, visitors sign their names in a book, and this circumstance caused the general to be identified by the numerous work-people, who were excited with an intense disgust of his presence. The draymen and brewers abandoned their occupations, and cried out. “Down with the Austrian butcher,” “Down with the woman-flogger,” and many other expressions too truly descriptive of the general’s character. He was assailed with every form of indignity, even with blows, and sought for safety in flight, pursued by a large and furious mob, every moment increasing. The general ran along Bankside, and found refuge in the “George” public-house, whither the mob pursued him, forcing open every door but that in which the general found concealment. The police opportunely arrived, and with difficulty dispersed the mob; the general was then brought out upon the wharf, and brought up the river to Somerset House in the police galley, crowds following along shore, uttering menaces and execrations. None of the perpetrators of the attack were identified or punished; and it is beyond question that the authorities did not pursue the matter as international relations with Austria gave that power a right to expect. A diplomatic quarrel between the two governments ensued, which threatened the interruption of all friendly communication. The Austrian foreign minister dispatched an indignant protest against the inhospitality shown to a dignified subject of the Kasir, and the apathy of the British government in reference to the offence of the offenders. It was the cause of much bad feeling to England in the higher circles of Vienna; yet it impressed the government of his imperial majesty, and other foreign governments, with the fact, that the people of England sympathised with liberal policy, and hated cruelty and oppression; that no European state could be guilty of the atrocities which Austria had committed, and hold the respect or esteem of the English people.

PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY.—OPENING OF THE SESSION.

Parliament was opened by commission on the last day of January. The lord chancellor read the royal speech from the throne. The speech referred to the leading events, the history of which have been already related in this chapter. It also gratified the house by the intelligence that Sweden and the United States of America had taken steps to reciprocate the advantages conceded to the ships of these nations. Her majesty referred to her visit to Ireland with great satisfaction, and the countenances of the audience expressed sympathy with these statements. The address to her majesty in the Lords, was moved and seconded by the Earl of Essex and Earl Methuen. The former complimented the press in eloquent and judicious terms for the great services which it had rendered to the cause of law and order during the tumultuous seasons that had so recently passed. An amendment was proposed declaring that recent legislative enactments, and heavy local taxation, oppressed the agricultural interest and caused distress. The mover of this amendment was the Earl of Stradbroke, and it found a seconder in the Earl of Desart.

It was obvious thus early in the session that the Protectionists were prepared to urge their principles, and if possible compel the legislature to retrace its steps on the subject of free trade. “Out of doors” this produced anger and discontent among the numerous and powerful classes who had carried the free-trade agitation to a successful issue. It had the effect of lowering the reputation of the conservative party for wisdom, discretion, and disinterestedness. The leaders of the party were boldly reproached by the press as anxious to sustain their luxurious living by taxing the necessaries of the people, and the House of Lords was denounced by the popular press, and at popular meetings, as “a normal school of agitation,”—the title given by Lord Lyndhurst as speculatively applicable to popular corporations. Lord Stanley lent his great name and his able advocacy to the support of the amendment; it was opposed by the free-trade lords and the ministry, and defeated. In the commons, a similar amendment to the address was moved by Sir J. Trollope, and seconded by Colonel Chatterton. After a debate of two nights, the amendment was rejected by an overwhelming majority.

AFFAIRS OF GREECE.

The political campaign of the session might be said to have opened on the 4th of February, when Lord Stanley demanded explanations from ministers in reference to the affairs of Greece. The Marquis of Lansdowne gave a clear, temperate, and just exposition of the facts, and of the policy of the government. Lord Aberdeen animadverted upon that policy in a manner that was deficient in all those qualities which characterized the speech of the ministerial leader. It was neither clear, temperate, nor just.

In the commons, Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Milner Gibson, both addressed demands for explanation, Mr. Disraeli in the interest of the tory opposition, and Mr. Gibson in the interest of the “Peace at all price” party, as a certain knot of gentlemen in the house was designated. The answers of Lord Palmerston were lucid and statesman-like; his opponents were no more than children in his hands. He had neither the eloquence of Disraeli, nor the assurance, which ignorance alone can supply, possessed by Mr. Milner Gibson, who, whatever his merits, was innocent of all knowledge, for good or evil, on subjects of foreign policy; but his lordship showed his perfect cognizance of all the bearings of the dispute, of international law, and of the policy which his country could alone pursue, with honour to herself, and justice to her injured subjects.