A Political Diary, 1828-1830 Part 54

At nine went to Apsley House. Met the Chairs. We went in to the Duke. Our conversation lasted two hours. As they are to send in a _proces verbal_, it is unnecessary for me to state it. The substance was that, supposing the monopoly to be taken away, they would administer the Government of India as heretofore on one of two conditions; either closing their account with the public and receiving payment in full, or an equivalent annuity for all their property in India, in which case they would require no guarantee of the present dividend; or making over all their property, and taking a perpetual guarantee of the dividend.

The public to make good in either case all deficiency of Indian revenue, and in either case the Company to be the agents for the territory, providing all necessary sums here and receiving repayment at a rate of exchange to be paid from time to time fairly.

The Chairs were given to understand that the public being liable to the making good of Indian deficiency, we should require a strict control over the whole expenditure _here_, as well as in India.

They show, especially Campbell, a disposition to leave off trading and become gentlemen. They were told by the Duke that if they did so we must be at liberty to revise our arrangement with them. We might as well go to the Bank as to them, if we were to treat with a body not commercial.

The Duke seems much pleased with his foreign prospects.

M. de Choiseul was waiting to see him. I suppose on the affair of Holyrood House.

It seems probable that the French will abolish the punishment of death, and so save Polignac.

_October 14._

Found at the office several papers giving accounts of Radical meetings in Lancashire. All the old Radicals are reappearing on the scene. They do not as yet seem to be attended by any numerous a.s.semblies, never above 200 or 300.

A letter from a clergyman at Wrotham speaks of burnings near that place, and of the bad conduct of the people who interfere with the working of the engines, and seem to rejoice in the destruction.

Read all the papers relating to the education of the Princess Victoria, who seems to have been admirably brought up.

At the Cabinet room read a long and excellent letter of Hardinge's respecting the state of Ireland.

The 87th Regiment at Newry, when paraded for church, refused to march without music, to which it had been accustomed in the south. It had been discontinued in the north to avoid displeasing the Orangemen.

The captain sent for the Lieutenant-Colonel Blair, who was at first disobeyed, but he placed a drum to have a drum-head court martial, and then they marched. The Duke says it is, and always has been, the worst regiment in the service. It ran away at Salamanca and exposed him to being taken prisoner. It has always been unmilitary, and from the same cause, a disposition to seek popularity on the part of its officers. Hardinge proposes embarking it at once for the West Indies. The Duke prefers bringing it to Dublin, where there are other regiments to keep it in order, and soon sending it to England, and by detachments at no distant period to Botany Bay. They do not expect there will be any further exhibition of mutinous spirit. The only mischief of this is the effect at this time.

There have been apprehensions of an attempt to scale the Pigeon House, and a full garrison has been ordered into it, with directions to add to its defences on the seaside so as to protect it from escalade.

Hardinge can bring twenty guns together in a very short time, at any point in Dublin. He talks of arming the students in Trinity College in the event of an explosion.

They rather expect an explosion about the 18th or 19th, when probably there will be the first meeting of the new a.s.sociation.

This it will be the first object to put down by the Act of 1829. The meeting to pet.i.tion for the repeal of the Union will be permitted.

Hardinge is quite himself on horseback. The only fear is that he should be too lively. Peel seems to think he is; but it is a great comfort to have him there instead of Lord Francis Leveson, who was always wrong.

The King of the Netherlands has called his States at the Hague, the Const.i.tution requiring them to meet this year in Belgium. He takes advantage of the provision in the Const.i.tution which permits him to call the States in Holland in case of war. They fear the loss of Antwerp. The Prince of Orange thinks things look better.

The Netherland Amba.s.sador is much annoyed at the refusal of pecuniary a.s.sistance; but, as was expected, the Dutch have got their money, only paying a little more for it.

Our depots are only 160 strong. We have hardly a battalion. One or two at least of those which were going abroad will be retained for a time.

The Duke of Brunswick does not much like abdicating. The Duke of Wellington thought he had brought him to make his brother Governor-General for his life, retaining the succession for his children. However, Aberdeen seems to have blundered him back again. He is to go to see the King on Sat.u.r.day. The King desired he might come early, that he might not be obliged to have him to dinner, and he desired Aberdeen would remain in the room.

Pozzo thinks the French Government is gaining strength; but they are very inefficient in preventing armed men from a.s.sembling on the frontiers of Spain.

The French have exercised such coldness towards the Belgians that they are become unpopular. De Potter was French while he had hopes of becoming so.

Now he is a Republican.

The Austrians will send troops into the Sardinian dominions if there is any insurrection. [Footnote: They had similarly interfered to put down the Const.i.tutional movement in Piedmont which followed on the Neapolitan revolution of 1821.] This by invitation.

The Queen of Spain has, it is said, a son. [Footnote: It was a daughter, afterwards Queen Isabella II., born October 10, 1830. The alteration of the succession in favour of the female line led to a civil war on Ferdinand VII.'s death. A son might have secured peace, but probably without a Const.i.tution.] This event would, it is thought, secure Spain against any revolutionary movement.

_October 15._

Called on the Duke. Settled with him the alterations necessary in the Chairs' memorandum of the conversation on the 12th. He thought we had gone too far in leading them to expect they should be repaid the money they had sunk in the territory while they held the Government.

Received from him the opium letter. He thinks the principle good, but considers it is not fair to make the Scindians prevent the transit of opium. We cannot prevent them, for they are independent; but unless we endeavour to persuade them, and succeed in doing so, we shall lose our opium revenue.

_October 16._

Chairs at 11. Head over with them my alterations of their protocol. Astell did not seem to see the greatness of the variations. Campbell did, and particularly observed upon the words, 'value of the fixed property in India which might be adjudged to appertain to the Company in their commercial capacity.' He wanted an admission of the justice of the claims, leaving nothing for adjustment but their amount. I said we could not admit claims without examination, the nature of which we did not yet know. All we could admit was that the claims were such as should be submitted to examination, and their validity decided upon just principles.

Astell wished to go back again and recommence the discussion. I said he knew I could decide nothing without the Cabinet, and he nothing without the Court; all he had to do now was to bring the subject before them.

He asked whether they were distinctly to understand that the Cabinet had decided upon the termination of the monopoly? I said that the question not having yet been before the Cabinet I could not give an answer officially; but when the First Lord of the Treasury and the President of the Board of Control desired to know what the course of the Court would be in the event of its being proposed that the Court should administer the Government without monopoly, I thought it was not difficult to draw an inference.

_October 19._

Sent to the Duke a memorandum on his letter. Read at the Cabinet room. The King of the Netherlands is much annoyed at the desertion, as he thinks it, of his allies. He now proposes a Congress of the Four Powers and _France_ at Breda or Cleves. He admits France very unwillingly, and by no means acquiesces in the reasoning in favour of the advance we made.

Sir Ch. Bagot seems to think the Prince of Orange will be losing the affection of the Dutch without gaining the Belgians.

The German Confederation is arming in the neighbourhood of Hanau for the preservation of the peace. They have put 6,000 or 7,000 men in motion, and have a reserve of 15,000 or 18,000.

The excitement against Polignac and Peyronnet increases, and the Ministers run the hazard of their places by attempting to save them. I fear that is hopeless. The Spanish Radicals seem to find it would be dangerous to pa.s.s the frontier.

_October 20._

Office. Cabinet room. The Prince of Orange has written a most offensive letter to the King of the French, almost insinuating that the troubles in Belgium are fomented by France, and saying that by a declaration against the Belgians France would show her good faith, and secure the recognition of Russia. The French Cabinet is much offended at the silence of the King of the Netherlands, and Count Mole is going to write to the Dutch Minister upon the subject.

Nesselrode seems to see great difficulties in the intervention of France in the settlement of Belgium--the union of Belgium and Holland having been made _against_ France. The Russian Minister at the Hague has general directions to follow the course of England upon all points not provided for by his instructions.

There is a great fall in the Funds to-day; partly, it is said, in consequence of those who desired to keep up the Funds being no longer able to do so; partly from the general aspect of affairs. My surprise is that the Funds have not fallen before, and much more.

Cabinet dinner at the Duke's. Showed the protocol of our Conference with the Chairs. The heads of the speech were read. Aberdeen's will not do at all. To my surprise he intended to announce the recognition of Miguel, he having engaged to do a great act of justice; that is, to publish the amnesty. He will not do it till a British Minister arrives at Lisbon; that is, he makes us, whom he has once deceived, dependent upon his word. This would be a very incautious step on our part. We meet on Friday to consider the speech in detail.

We had a good deal of conversation about the d.u.c.h.ess of Kent's allowance, which is to be much increased. It is proposed to give her 20,000 a year.

She has now 12,000 for herself and the Princess, out of which she pays interest and insurance upon 12,000 she borrowed on the Duke of Kent's death for her outfit.

The King has about thirty people at dinner every day, belonging to the Household. His expense must be enormous in living.