Chapter XLIV: {william IV. 1834} (3)

On the 15th of April, Mr. Roebuck moved for a select committee to inquire into the political condition of the Canadas. These provinces, he said, in consequence of bad government, were in a state of revolt. By their constitution they had a governor, a legislative council, and a house of assembly. Some years after the constitution had been conferred upon them, the two provinces were permitted to provide for their own expenses, and consequently to have control over the expenditure of the government. It had been proposed to pass the estimates annually; but that plan had been thwarted by the government, which charged the house of assembly with disrespect to his majesty. The representatives of the people next resolved to vote their money by items; but this having excited the jealousy of the officials, put a stop for the time to the business of the state. In consequence of all this the public mind was embittered, and the country was divided into two hostile sections—a small band of official persons on the one hand, and the nation, with their representatives at their head, on the other. Mr. Stanley said, that he was glad of the opportunity of bringing under the notice of the house the present state of the province of Lower Canada, and after entering into the subject at great length, he moved as an amendment for the appointment of a select committee, to inquire and report whether the grievances complained of in 1828 by certain inhabitants of that colony had been redressed; and also, whether the recommendation of a committee of that house, to which the question of those grievances was referred, had been complied with on the part of government: also to inquire into other grievances set forth in the resolutions of the house of assembly in Lower Canada, and report thereupon to the house. Mr. O’Connell said that the object of government was to thwart the Catholic clergymen of Canada, and to throw obstacles in the way of their building chapels. He recommended that the motion should be withdrawn, and the amendment allowed to be carried, so as to throw upon government the responsibility of appointing the committee. Mr. Hume contrasted the tyranny exercised over the colony by the present government, with the leniency of the measures adopted by Lord Goderich; and Lord Howick expressed a hope that the committee about to be appointed would succeed in effecting an amicable adjustment of the differences prevailing in Lower Canada. Finally the motion was withdrawn, and the amendment of Mr. Stanley adopted.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued by the king in person on the 15th of August. In his speech his majesty lamented the still unsettled state of Holland and Belgium; but expressed satisfaction that civil war had absolutely terminated in Portugal. He rejoiced, he said, that the state of affairs in the Peninsula had induced him to conclude with the King of France, the Queen Regent of Spain, and the Regent of Portugal that quadripartite treaty, which had materially contributed to produce so happy a result. Events, however, had since occurred in Spain, to disappoint for a time those hopes of tranquillity, which the pacification of Portugal had inspired. In his speech his majesty alluded to the numerous and important questions that had engaged, and would still engage the attention of parliament.

DISSOLUTION OF THE CABINET.

Before parliament was prorogued the weakness and vacillation of the ministry had been very apparent. From the moment of Earl Grey’s resignation, indeed, the want of intrinsic power had rendered them dependent on O’Connell and his faction. And this very support was vouchsafed to them in such a way as tended to bring their government still more into contempt: while the Irish demagogues supported them, they expressed the utmost contempt for them. Thus, in the month of October, O’Connell wrote a series of letters to Lord Duncannon, in which every species of abuse was heaped upon the ministry and the Whigs.

Another circumstance which contributed to lower the reputation of the ministry was the hostility evinced to them by the public press. There was scarcely a daily newspaper, except the _Morning Chronicle_, which did not occasionally express contempt for them; and as for the _Times_, its columns perpetually exposed their feebleness and incapacity to carry on government on any fixed set of principles. The conduct of Lord Brougham also tended to bring his colleagues into contempt. During the autumn he traversed different parts of Scotland, making speeches wherever hearers were to be found, in which at one time he would go the utmost lengths of ultra-radicalism, and at another, would speak in such a way as would have induced the Conservatives to hail him as their own. The dissolution of the ministry, however, was especially aided by the death of Earl Spencer, which took place on the 10th of November. As that event moved Lord Althorp to the house of lords, it was requisite to find a new chancellor of the exchequer, and a new leader of the house of commons.

On the 14th of November Lord Melbourne waited on the king at Brighton, to submit to his majesty the changes in official appointments which the death of Earl Spencer had rendered necessary, Lord John Russell being the individual selected as leader of the house of commons; but the king thought that business could not be carried on by such a ministry as it was proposed to construct, and he expressed his opinion that Lord Brougham could not continue chancellor, as well as his dissatisfaction with the selection of the members of the cabinet who were to frame the Irish church bill. The king, in fact, announced that he should not impose upon Lord Melbourne the task of completing the official arrangements, but would apply to the Duke of Wellington.

SIR ROBERT PEEL APPOINTED PRIME-MINISTER.

Having thus dismissed the cabinet, his majesty sent for the Duke of Wellington, who advised him to entrust the government to Sir Robert Peel. As Sir Robert, however, was in Italy, he offered to carry on the public business till his return. This course was adopted, and as a temporary arrangement, his grace was appointed first lord of the treasury, and sworn in as one of the principal secretaries of state. On the 21st of November, Lord Lyndhurst received the great seal, and took the oaths as lord-chancellor, but he did not resign the office of lord-chief-baron till the settlement of the ministry in December. Sir Robert Peel, who had been sent for by a special messenger, arrived on the 9th of that month, and one of his first steps was to propose to Lord Stanley and Sir James Graham that they should be members of the new administration; but they both declined pledging themselves to the extent to which they might be considered bound by the acceptance of office. The official arrangements, however, were completed by the end of December, and the new cabinet consisted of the following members:—Sir Robert Peel, first lord of the treasury; Lord Lyndhurst, lord-chancellor; the Earl of Rossyln, president of the council; Lord Wharncliffe, lord-privy-seal; the Duke of Wellington, secretary-of-state for foreign affairs; Mr. Goulburn, secretary-of-state for the home department; the Earl of Aberdeen, colonial secretary; Mr. Alexander Baring, president of the board or trade; Sir George Murray, master-general of the ordnance; Sir E. Knatchbull, paymaster of the forces; Earl de Grey, first lord of the admiralty; Lord Ellenborough, president of the board of control; Lord Maryborough, postmaster-general; the Earl of Jersey, lord-chamberlain; the Earl of Roden, lord-steward; Lord Lowther, vice-president of the board of trade, and treasurer of the navy; Mr. C. Wynn, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster; Mr. Hemes, secretary-at-war; Mr. F. Pollock, attorney-general for England; and Mr. Follett, solicitor-general. The Earl of Haddington went to Ireland as lord-lieutenant; Sir Edward Sugden was appointed lord-chancellor of Ireland; Sir Henry Hardinge became chief-secretary to the lord-lieutenant; and Sir James Scarlett succeeded Lord Lyndhurst as lord-chief-baron of the exchequer, with the title of Lord Abinger.

DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT.

Every man of penetration saw that the new ministry had too much of the old leaven to stand long as the present parliament was constituted. Sir Robert Peel, however, did not despair. Though there was a reformed parliament, he fully anticipated carrying on the government with advantage to the country. In the month of November he expounded the principles on which he designed to conduct government, in a long address to his constituents at Tamworth, observing, that he would not accept power on the condition of declaring himself an apostate from the principles on which he had hitherto acted, and declaring that he had not been a defender of abuses, or an enemy to judicious reforms, either before or after the reform bill had passed. It was evident, however, to Sir Robert Peel and his colleagues that government could not be carried on with the present parliament; and therefore, on the 30th of December, a proclamation was issued, dissolving it, and convoking a new one to meet on the 5th of February, 1835.

THE ACT ABOLISHING SLAVERY IN THE WEST INDIES CARRIED INTO EFFECT.

On the 1st of August in the present year, the act for the emancipation of the negroes came into operation. In some islands symptoms of insubordination were exhibited, and the planters were obliged to have recourse to punishment and force, in order to overcome the reluctance of the black population to regular labour; yet this great change took place without any serious disturbances. In Barbadoes, indeed, there was perfect tranquillity and order; and in Jamaica the transition was accompanied with very little alarm or commotion. The slave felt grateful that he was permitted to take his proper station among the great family of mankind.

STATE OF THE CONTINENT.

At the close of the last year, the government of the Queen of Portugal was in possession of the capital, as well as of Oporto. Having an efficient army, as the authority of Don Miguel was obeyed over a large extent of country, the government resolved to pursue its military operations with vigour. The plan adopted was to crush the smaller bodies of men in arms for the pretender in various parts of the kingdom, till there should be no Miguelites but those who were around himself at Santarem. In pursuance of this plan, the Duke of Terceira joined the queen’s army in January, in order that Saldanha might undertake other operations. Saldanha made himself master of Leyria, between Lisbon and Coimbra, and Torres Novas, in which a system of massacre was adopted disgraceful to himself and his officers. His army now separated Miguel from the north, while the army of the Duke of Terceira pressed upon him from Lisbon. Saldanha took up his position at Almoster, where, in February, he was attacked by the Miguelites; but he repulsed them with great slaughter. Events equally favourable to the queen took place in the north, where considerable numbers of Miguelites were still in arms. The provinces north of the Duero were, indeed, cleared of the enemy by the Duke of Terceira; and he then retraced his steps to expel the partisans of Miguel from the positions which they still held between the Duero and the Tagus, particularly Coimbra, on the Mondego, and Figueiras, at the mouth of that river. Figueiras was reduced by a naval expedition, under Admiral Napier, and Coimbra opened its gates to the duke himself. The queen’s forces now pressed upon Don Miguel; and on the 18th of May he abandoned his lines at Santarem, and retreated towards Guadiana, in the direction of Evora. He was followed by Count Saldanha and the Duke of Terceira, who were at the head of 20,000 men; and seeing no hopes of success or escape, he sought a suspension of arms for the purpose of negociating. The government refused to enter into any negociation, or to listen to any terms different from those which had been already tendered; namely, that Don Miguel should leave Portugal within fifteen days, and engage never to return to any part of the Spanish provinces or the Portuguese dominions, nor in any way concur in disturbing the tranquillity of these kingdoms; that he would be allowed to embark in a ship of war belonging to any of the four allied powers; and that he should receive a pension of sixty centos of reis, about £15,000, and be permitted to dispose of his personal property, on restoring the jewels and other articles belonging to the crown and to private individuals. The troops of Don Miguel were to lay down their arms, and return peaceably to their homes under the protection of the amnesty; and he was to issue orders to commanders of fortresses, or of troops, who still recognised his authority, immediately to submit, under the same protection, to the government of the queen. To these terms Don Miguel now consented; and having signed the convention, he went on board a British vessel of war, which carried him to Genoa. The civil war was thus brought to an end in Portugal; and it was this happy event which led his majesty to conclude a treaty with that government, as alluded to in his speech. One act of ingratitude which the Portuguese government committed, however, must not be forgotten. It was chiefly by the valour of the British volunteer auxiliaries that the cause of the queen was triumphant; and these volunteers had been induced to enter into the service by promises of pay equal to that of England, exclusive of allowances for compensation and other advantages. The Cortes, however resolved, in January, 1834, that they should only receive Portuguese pay; and when the war came to an end, the British troops remained unpaid. The men, in fact, on whose bravery the sole dependence was placed when danger was threatened, were left to wander through the streets of Lisbon in rags and poverty, and compelled to prolong a miserable existence on scanty rations of beans and bread, with the occasional addition of a morsel of salt fish. Such is the usual reward of mercenaries who hire themselves out as the supporters of foreign revolutionary governments.

During this year the political relations between Holland and Belgium continued in the same state of uncertainty in which they had been left at the close of the former year. In Spain, also, the history of the present year opens with a continuance of the same contests for the succession to the crown which had marked the close of the preceding. Throughout the whole year, indeed, there was war between the queen-regent and Don Carlos; and the year closed while yet they were in arms. In Switzerland some agitation was occasioned by an attempt of the Poles in that country, in concert with Italian fugitives in the French departments of the Rhone and Isère, to overthrow the Sardinian throne in Turin, by a sudden attack upon Savoy. Greece, during the present year, suffered both the evils of civil war and of political intrigue. In Turkey, the ascendancy of Russia was increased by an alliance, offensive and defensive, which was concluded between those two powers. The emperor gave up two-thirds of what remained to be paid in respect of the indemnities stipulated for by the treaty of Adrianople; and, on the other hand, to surround his Asiatic frontier, the Porte ceded to him an extensive tract of country in the pachalic of Athattsick. Turkey was to pay that portion of the indemnity which was not relinquished when it might suit her finances; and, in the meantime, Silistria was to remain as a pledge in the hands of the Russians, an arrangement which gave them the effective command of Moldavia and Wallachia, and left the frontier of Turkey defenceless against invasion. Russia also was to have the free passage of the Dardanelles.