The Life of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke Volume I Part 36

In France the great ally of the Sultan's Fabian policy had fallen. M. de Freycinet found himself forced to resign on September 19th:

'On September 9th I recorded that Gambetta means to turn out Freycinet. He foretold all this when Freycinet took office, and said to me at that time: "He will do well enough until he tries to fly. But one of these days he will set off flying." Gambetta turned out Freycinet on this occasion, but the day was to come when Freycinet would turn out Gambetta.'

On the 23rd Sir Charles 'heard from Paris that the fallen Minister "had been discovered to have been negotiating with the Vatican for months, without the knowledge even of his own colleagues."'

In the new Ministry, with Jules Ferry as Prime Minister, the Foreign Office fell to Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, [Footnote: M. Barthelemy Saint- Hilaire, born in 1805, the well-known philosophical writer and translator of Aristotle, was now seventy-five years of age. He entered the Chamber of Deputies in 1848 as a member of the Left, and became a member of the Senate in 1876. He was the first Secretaire-General de la Presidence de la Republique.] and Lord Houghton said: "Think of the old Aristotelian Barthelemy having the F.O.! Without pretension, I think at my age I am just as fit for the English one." This was a view in which Sir Charles inclined to agree, although M. Barrere wrote: "Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire's tendencies are excellent. He is in complete accord with _us_, and his views are wholly ours."

Lord Houghton also spoke of an interview with Moltke, who had told him that 'Russia was the cause of the necessity for the immense arming of Europe, not France, which at present might be trusted to keep quiet.'

'On September 28th I noted: "Cabinet suddenly and most unexpectedly summoned for Thursday to sit on Parnell, the Sultan, and the Queen, about Ireland, Dulcigno, and Kandahar respectively."... [Footnote: The decisions as to the Irish difficulties are dealt with in the first portion of Chapter XXII., pp. 343-348.]

'On September 30th Chamberlain, who was staying at Sloane Street, gave me a note of what pa.s.sed at the Cabinet. With regard to Kandahar, the Generals whose names had been suggested by the Queen had been consulted, and had, of course, p.r.o.nounced against giving it up. So the Queen had got her own way sufficiently for the matter to be left over till after Christmas. The Cabinet were evidently sorry that they had not more fully and more early adopted my suggestion of British coercion of the Turks at Smyrna. And on this occasion they agreed to try to induce the other Powers to agree upon (1) local action, or (2) the seizure of a material guarantee: (1) meaning a demonstration at the Dardanelles, and (2) meaning Crete.'

But the Eastern, unlike the Irish, trouble was now nearing a close, though--

'On October 1st Lord Granville came to sit with me, and was very gloomy. He thought that Mr. Gladstone was inclined to give in to the Turks rather than resort to coercion. Harcourt came in also--at one moment, "Whatever we do, we must not be snubbed," and the next, "After all, it will be no worse than Palmerston and Denmark."'

Sir Charles's plan for the seizure of Smyrna was now agreed to in principle by the Ministers in London, but while it still remained uncertain whether they could carry other Powers with them in this coup, Lord Lyons, British Amba.s.sador at Paris, had written expressing a wish to see, Dilke concerning negotiations for a commercial treaty, 'and the Foreign Office also desired that I should deal with the Danube question later.' Sir Charles left London on October 11th.

'Before I left, Lord Granville showed me a letter from Hartington from Balmoral saying that the Queen had not named Kandahar to him, and had "agreed to the Smyrna seizure project," but was angry about Ireland.

Hartington added that he had pledged Forster to put down Parnell. As to her not naming Kandahar, Lord Granville said that she never attacked the policy of a department to its chief.'

At Paris Sir Charles was warned by Lord Lyons that '"you will find the French Foreign Office in some confusion, as the new Under-Secretary of State is vigorously employed in 'purging' it of clericals and reactionaries."' On October 12th he went with Lord Lyons to see Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, and also Jules Ferry, the Prime Minister, and Tirard, the Minister of Commerce, with whom he would be princ.i.p.ally brought into touch.

Lord Granville was in London with Mr. Gladstone, bewailing the unhappy fate of those who have to wait for an Eastern Power to make up its mind.

But at last the Porte's decision to surrender Dulcigno was announced, and Lord Granville wrote:

"MY DEAR DILKE,

"I accept your felicitations _d'avance_--the Turkish Note has got us out of a great mess. My liver feels better already. I hope you will improve the occasion by impressing upon all that it only requires firm language from all, such as was used by them on Sat.u.r.day, to make the Turk yield.

"I wonder whether they will be keen about Turkish finance. It is rather in their line.

"How are we to help our poor friends the Greeks?"

The letter closed by a warning not to write by the post, "unless to say something which it is desirable the French Government should know."

Caution as to danger of gossip about his frequent meetings with Gambetta was also urged. [Footnote: Sir Charles notes on 11th November: 'Having had a telegram from Lord Granville to caution me, I told Gambetta that I did not want my visits talked about because of the German newspapers. The result of it was that the _Agence Havas_ stated that I had not seen Gambetta, and this was copied by Blowitz next day, so that the _Times_ repeated the untrue statement!']

Acting on these suggestions, Sir Charles Dilke during the next four days discussed with the French Foreign Office and with Gambetta (who had written on September 28th to say, "Je reviendrai expres de Suisse pour vous vous en causer a fond"), not only commercial negotiations, but also Turkish finance and the affairs of Greece. According to Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, the interests of Greece were at this time suffering because Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire was anxious to reconcile the Porte to those designs "which France was executing at Tunis and contemplating at Tripoli"; [Footnote: _Life of Granville_, vol. ii., pp. 215, 436.] and in Sir Charles's notes of these interviews there is repeated mention of Gambetta's references to what Lord Salisbury had promised or suggested in regard to Tunis. Gambetta himself was strongly Philh.e.l.lene, but said to his friend on October 17th: "Mr. Gladstone has spoilt our European affairs by putting Montenegro first." He held, and M. de Courcel agreed with him, that the Concert was for the moment "used up," and that Greece must wait until it could be reinvigorated. The conclusion which Sir Charles drew and conveyed to Lord Granville was that 'France waited on Germany, and Germany on Austria, in regard to the Eastern Question, and consequently that, Austria being absolutely mistress of the situation, a confidential exchange of opinions at Vienna was essential.'

The demonstration at Dulcigno was carried out in December, but no further progress was made then towards helping their "poor friends the Greeks."

Sir Charles's health was not at this time fully restored, but he was hard at work. Even when he went for a short rest to his villa near Toulon he was obliged to take a cipher with him, and, having no secretary at hand, spent much of his time (most grudgingly) in ciphering and deciphering telegrams.

'On October 25th Lord Granville wrote to me to Toulon, in cipher, to the effect that Odo Russell thought that "Bismarck was jealous of the leading part in Europe which we were now taking."'

Later, in November, the Prince of Wales, just returned from Berlin, confirmed this. At the German Court Sir Charles was regarded as a "most dangerous man" and as "a French spy." "But," the Prince added, "they say the same of me." On November 22nd Lord Odo Russell is quoted as saying 'that at the Court of Berlin I was considered a most dangerous man, but that the Crown Princess fought my battles like a sound Liberal and a true Briton as she is.'

At the close of the year, addressing his const.i.tuents, Sir Charles delivered a very effective general reply to Lord Salisbury's attacks on the Government's European policy. It was a little hard to be blamed for delay in settling difficulties which all sprang from Lord Salisbury's own "harum-scarum hurry" when he was Foreign Minister and Second Plenipotentiary of England. Lord Salisbury might say of the naval demonstration that the Powers might as well have sent "six washing-tubs with flags attached to them." The fact was that only to the concerted action of the whole of the Powers had Turkey yielded.

"The European Concert is the first real attempt in modern times to arrive at such an understanding between the six Great Powers as might gradually become a basis for partial disarmament, and for the adoption of a policy which would cease to ruin nations in time of peace by perpetual preparations for war. In arriving at the idea that when territorial changes are to be made it is for Europe to arrange them, a practical step has been taken in the direction of this policy."

"Quite excellent," wrote Lord Granville. "I am delighted, and so, let us hope, is Salisbury." [Footnote: The complicated story of the negotiations relating to the Montenegrin and Greek frontier questions will be found in detail in the _Life of Granville_, vol. ii., chap, vi., and the _Life of Lord Goschen_, vol. ii., chap. vii. The princ.i.p.al doc.u.ments, with ill.u.s.trative maps, are given in Sir Edward Hertslet's _Map of Europe by Treaty_, vol. iv.]

CHAPTER XXII

HOME POLITICS--COMMERCIAL TREATY--PERSONAL MATTERS

I.

The opening successes of British foreign policy under the Gladstone Government were to a large extent neutralized by other difficulties in which the new Administration found itself at once involved. Ireland carried confusion into the very heart of Imperial authority, and discord into the counsels of the Government.

On October 30th, 1880, Lord Tenterden wrote:

'Odo Russell says there is a general opinion abroad that the Gladstone Government will be in a minority when Parliament meets, ... and that then the policy of England will have to be changed. There will be no more demonstrations, or concerts, or inconvenient proposals. I told him that such ideas were illegitimate offspring of Musurus and the _Morning Post_.'

These rumours of coming defeat sprang from the Irish situation. Captain Boycott's case had given a new word to the language; agrarian murders were frequent; and the decision to seek no powers outside the ordinary law, which had been pressed on Mr. Forster, was vehemently challenged by the Opposition. Radicals wished for a Bill offering compensation to tenants evicted under harsh conditions; but this proposal bred dissension in a Government largely composed of great landlords, two of whom, Lords Hartington and Lansdowne, possessed wide domains in Ireland. On June 13th, 1880, Sir Charles, after dining with Lord Rosebery in company with Mr.

Gladstone, noted that there was disagreement in the Cabinet, 'all the peers being opposed to an Irish Land Bill, and all the Commoners supporting Forster in this branch of his proposals.'

'On July 2nd trouble broke out in the Cabinet with a letter from Lord Hartington advising the withdrawal of Forster's Irish Land Bill.

[Footnote: The Compensation for Disturbance measure.] ... I placed my conditional resignation in Chamberlain's hands, and he his and mine in Forster's, in case the latter was inclined to nail his colours to the mast. I noted in my diary: "I do not care in the least about the Bill, but I must either go out with these men or climb into the Cabinet over their bodies, to either become a Whig or to eventually suffer the same fate, so I prefer to make common cause. I suppose there will be a compromise once more;" and so, at the Cabinet of the next day, Sat.u.r.day, the 3rd, there was.'

The compromise of July 3rd did not terminate dissension. Lord Lansdowne retired from the Government, and in the first days of August the Compensation for Disturbance Bill itself was rejected by the Lords, many of Mr. Gladstone's nominal supporters voting against it.

This was the first revolt of the Whigs. The old order was pa.s.sing, and shrewd eyes perceived it. Lord Houghton wrote to Sir Charles from Vichy on August 8th:

"I told Hugessen [Footnote: Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen had been created Lord Brabourne in this summer.] that a peer always voted with his party the first Session as a matter of etiquette; but it seems he does not think so. The Government will have to decide in the vacation whether they can govern without the Whigs or not. I am glad that I have not to decide this point, but I own I am glad that I have lived in a Whig world. It has been a wonderful combination of public order and personal liberty. I do not care much for future order, but I care a good deal for individual liberty, which is slipping away from under us."

For the moment the House of Lords had given victory to the Whigs; but the sequel was, in Mr. Gladstone's own words, "a rapid and vast extension of agrarian disturbance," which grew all through the winter of that famine- stricken year, presenting to the Chief Secretary the traditional Irish problem, how to deal with a lawless demand for redress of grievances.

Towards the end of September Mr. Chamberlain wrote:

"Next Session will settle Forster one way or the other. Either he will pa.s.s a Land Bill and be a great statesman, or he will fail and be a p.r.i.c.ked bubble for the rest of his natural life."

Mr. Forster wanted to pa.s.s a Land Bill, but he also wanted to deal with lawlessness by coercive legislation, and, after the Cabinet hurriedly called on September 28th, Mr. Chamberlain reported:

'"With regard to Ireland, Forster made a strong case for a Coercion Bill, but the Cabinet thought it best that the insufficiency of the present law should be thoroughly proved before new powers were asked for."

'Chamberlain went on:

'"Probably a prosecution will be tried against Parnell and the Land League for intimidating tenants and others. Even if it fails, it may divert the attention of the Land League from its present agitation, and so lead to a cessation of outrages."'

'I added in my diary: "I hope they will not commit the folly of prosecuting Parnell, which they discussed to-day. I sent for Hill, and got the _Daily News_ to d.a.m.n the idea." But my intervention through the _Daily News_ was not on this occasion sufficiently strong ultimately to prevent this folly, for I had not, this time, any following at my back.'

Later in the year he told Mr. Chamberlain that "to try to stop Irish land agitation by making arrests was like firing a rifle at a swarm of midges."