A Political Diary, 1828-1830 Part 25

The Duke and the Chancellor were to see Leopold to-morrow.

Another Cabinet to-morrow at four for going on with the Speech.

_January 30._

Hardinge called. He told me all was not settled as to Lord Chandos having the Mint. He referred to the Duke of Buckingham, [Footnote: He had, as appears from the Wellington correspondence, pressed for years his claims to a seat in the Cabinet, with an importunity to which the Duke of Wellington expressed his objection. His large parliamentary interest, which almost made him the chief of a party of his own, made him appear ent.i.tled to expect it.] who would rather have it himself, with a seat in the Cabinet.

Lord MountCharles goes out to annoy his father, and force him to give him a larger allowance, unaccompanied by the condition of constant attendance in the House of Commons.

Read the Duke of Northumberland's letter to Peel on the state of Ireland.

The Duke represents the Catholic Relief Bill as having produced none of the evils antic.i.p.ated by its opposers, if it has not produced all the benefits expected by its supporters--as having upon the whole worked better than could have been expected in so short a time and under such circ.u.mstances.

The disturbances he thinks confined to the counties of Tipperary, Clare, and Roscommon; in the first produced by too high rents; in the second by late collision and the want of proper management on the part of the gentlemen; in the last by attempts to convert the Catholics, and the zeal of new converts. The Catholic Union is dissolved. The great body of the Catholics have abstained from the ostentation of triumph.

_Monday, February 1._

Bankes called this morning, but I did not see him. He saw Henry. He came to say he was out, and S. Wortley in his place. When he understood Lord Chandos did not take the Mint, he went to the Duke and offered to remain, thinking his going out, with Lord Chandos's declining to come in, might, taken together, embarra.s.s the Government. However, the arrangement was already made.

Read Lushington's minute on the Neilgherry hills. He wants to make an English colony there. If he had, every man would make some excuse, desert his duty in the hot months, and go to the Neilgherry hills.

Read the first volume of Gamba's 'Travels in South Russia.' He was Consul of France, but writes like a Russian. He talks of restoring the commercial communication with Asia by the Phasis, Caspian, and Oxus. All this is absurd. Unless indeed the Russians, after occupying China, turn the Oxus into its old course, and thus enable themselves to carry goods by water carriage to the foot of the Himalaya, or rather within 250 miles of Cabul.

_February 5._

Received last night a note from the Duke asking me, if I could, to have a Cabinet to-day on Batta. If I could not, to send Peel the letters of Malcolm, &c.

I determined to have the Cabinet. Peel had not read till the day before yesterday the Batta papers, and, although inclining to the opinion that the present orders must be maintained, he thinks it, as it is, a serious question for the Government to decide after the minutes of Lord William Bentinck and the members of council, with the apprehension of a mutiny as the possible result of our standing firm. I said if we gave way the other armies would bring forward their demands--that it was a question, not only between the Home Authorities and the army, but the Home Authorities and the Local Government which had for sixteen years resisted the orders sent to them.

The Duke cautioned the Cabinet as to the character of the Indian army, which he said was a _mercenary army_, retained in obedience by nothing but the wish to return to England; but he thought after what had taken place we must resist, and adhere to our present orders. Peel wished all the members of the Cabinet to read the minutes before they decided, and there is to be a Cabinet on Sunday.

It was determined that if a question should be asked to-night, Peel should say 'the orders had not been countermanded.' Peel observed very justly on the state of things which seemed to exist in India. An army sending such memorials to the Government, and the members of the Government writing pamphlets against each other. In point of fact, years will be required to restore a proper tone to the Government of India.

I mentioned to the Duke the mission of two Russian Poles to India and Manilla, and that I suspected Russia of a wish to purchase Manilla. Neither the Duke nor Aberdeen seemed to think the Spaniards would or could sell the Philippines. However, Aberdeen will write to the man at Madrid to find out whether any proposal to that effect has been made by the Russian Government.

The members of the House of Commons consider their majority last night fortunate. The House is very loose. In the majority and minority were the most opposite parties. O'Connell went out with Sadler. The Brunswickers are in high glee, and have sent for their valiant champion, Falmouth. In our House they made a poor show.

Prince Leopold is not by any means disposed to take Greece without Candia, and it was thought, from Lord Lansdowne's speech, he and others had advised him to take this line. Aberdeen is very much embarra.s.sed to find a subst.i.tute.

_February 6._

Spring-Rice asked Bankes in the House last night whether the letter to Sir J. Malcolm published as mine was mine. Bankes said that I had no copy of it, and therefore could not say it was correctly given. It was a private letter. Brougham, and Mackintosh, and that a.s.s, M. A. Taylor, spoke in reprobation of it. Mackintosh most unfairly and disingenuously pretended to understand I endeavoured to get off by saying it was a private letter, and said it would be an extenuation of my offence if I would disavow the sentiments contained in it. What must he be himself to suppose I would disavow what I had written! Upon the whole, the tone taken by Peel and Bankes, but more especially by Peel, was too apologetical. I shall be obliged to go to the House on Monday to have a question put to me by Lord Lansdowne. I shall distinctly declare he may consider the letter as mine, and that I am ready to defend every line of it. Wrote to Lord Wellesley to offer to put his name upon the Committee on East India affairs if he would attend. He declines on account of ill-health.

Received a note from Peel begging me to have the Chairs to meet him on the appointment of the committee. I sent to the Chairman, and he came and met Peel; but Astell was out of the way. We are to meet at half-past one to- morrow. Peel did not seem to have looked much into the subject, which the Chairman observed.

Saw Bankes. He is not certain of succeeding now to the secretaryship of the Admiralty, but he expects it ultimately. He thinks the Duke of Buckingham had nothing to do with Lord Chandos's rejection of the Mint: but does not know how it went off. He thought that Lord Chandos had accepted, and the Duke seems to have thought so too.

A very good account from Ireland. The country gradually and quietly coming round.

_Sunday, February 7._

Cabinet. First, Batta. The Duke gave his decided opinion in favour of adhering to the present order. After some conversation, but no opposition, the Cabinet acquiesced unanimously in that decision, which has been mine from the first.

I had a moment's conversation with Peel about the letter to Sir J. Malcolm, and told him I would defend every word of it, elephants and all.

Then we had a good deal of discussion respecting the policy to be pursued with regard to Cuba, against which the Mexicans are preparing to organise a slave insurrection, for which purpose they have sent a Minister to Hayti.

It seems to be generally believed that Canning, about the year 1823, issued a sort of prohibition to the Mexican and Columbian States to attack Cuba, but no trace can be found in the Foreign Office of any such prohibition.

Sir R. Wilson means to ask a question upon the subject to-morrow. He says, if you prohibit the Mexicans and Columbians from attacking Cuba, you should prohibit the Spaniards from attacking them--which is fair--in fact the expedition of Barradas was undertaken before we knew anything about it, and if we had wished we could not have interfered.

The question as to what answer should be given to Sir R. Wilson, and what policy pursued, was deferred till to-morrow.

In the meantime it appears that Mr. Robertson, who is at Mexico, remonstrated strongly with M. de Bocaregna, respecting the objects of the emba.s.sy to Hayti, and he was told by Aberdeen that he did quite right, and that not only ourselves but other states might view with disapprobation an attempt to excite a warfare of an uncivilised character in Cuba.

The French have a.s.sembled 35,000 men to attack Algiers. They promise not to keep it. [Footnote: This promise was repudiated by the Government of July.]

They intimate their intention of a.s.sisting Mehemet Ali with a fleet; but in the meantime they are satisfied at Constantinople that Mehemet Ali will not move.

Aberdeen told Laval that we had informed the Pasha of Egypt that we should view with disapprobation his attack upon Tunis and Tripoli without the consent of the Sultan. Laval begged this might be repeated to him three times.

Much conversation as to the state of the House of Commons. The Tories are most radical. Sir R. Vyvyan told Holmes or Planta his object was to reduce the Government majorities as much as possible, and to make the Government as contemptible as possible. Sir E. Knatchbull leads about twenty-three. I think the probability is that, unless we make some coalition with the Whigs, we shall go to the ground between the two parties, [Footnote: This eventually occurred on the Civil List question after the accession of William IV.] both uniting against us upon some point (upon my letter to Sir J. Malcolm as likely as any other).

I took home Sir George Murray. He expressed his surprise the Duke should cling to the hope of reclaiming the ultra-Tories, whom he would not get, and who were not worth having.

I confess I think he carries it on too long, although I am not surprised he should have wished it at first.

Prince Leopold has given no reply to Aberdeen's letter, or to the offer of the amba.s.sadors.

Lord Holland gives notice to-morrow of a motion about Greece, and Lord Melbourne moves for some papers respecting Portugal.

Lord Melville gives notice for me of the committee on East Indian Affairs, and I am not to go down till Tuesday, that we may have out the letter to Malcolm and other Indian matters all at once.

_February 8._

Wrote a memorandum for Peel and Bankes to this effect: 'That I had neither copy nor recollection of the letter; but that I had no doubt the letter published as mine was substantially correct. It was a confidential exposition of the motives which induced me to recommend two judges to the King. [Footnote: It was suggested that with these colleagues Sir J. Grant would be like a wild elephant between two tame ones. Alluding to the method of taming captured elephants in India.] It was never intended to be published, nor did I expect it would be. The expressions, therefore, were unadvised, but the sentiments were and are mine, deliberately formed upon full consideration of the official doc.u.ments before me.

Cabinet. It appears on looking into papers of 1825 and 1826 that so far from our having prohibited Mexico and Columbia from making any attack upon Cuba, we uniformly abstained from doing anything of the kind. The Americans declared they could not see with indifference any state other than Spain in possession of Cuba, and further their disposition to interpose their power should war be conducted in Cuba in a _devastating_ manner, and with a view to the excitement of a servile war.

We offered to guarantee Cuba to Spain in 1823 if she would negotiate with the colonies with a view to their recognition.

Subsequently we were willing to enter into a tripart.i.te guarantee of Cuba to Spain with the United States and France.

The United States seemed not unwilling, but France held back.

Peel is to say there was no record of any prohibition, but that the United States declared so, and it was possible Mr. Canning may have intimated a similar disposition on our part. This is to keep open to us the faculty of interfering if we please.