A Political Diary, 1828-1830 Part 45

We went to the House for fear Lord Durham should play us a trick, and it is perhaps fortunate we did, for he was there and made a protesting speech, which was followed by one from Westmoreland on the East Retford Bill.

However, we had a majority in the House, and there was no division.

_July 22._

Rode to town. Cabinet. Considered the King's Speech. Peel had introduced a plagiarism from the first speech of the old King, 'Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton.' However, the whole sentence would not do, and it was omitted. I a.s.sisted in working the sentences into form, and breaking them up into short ones. Went away to dress for the Council, thinking the whole settled. Council at three. First the deputies of the two Houses carried up the joint address respecting Sir Jonah Barrington. Then the King being alone, and saying he was ready for his Ministers--none being there but me--I went in, and first asked him to allow Clare to wear the uniform the late King gave him. This led to a long talk about uniforms for Indian Governors, and I had some little difficulty to carry my coat without having a general consideration of the whole question of Governor's uniforms. I then told the King of the approaching death of Sir J. Macdonald. He asked whom we proposed sending in his place? I told him it did not entirely depend upon the King's Ministers, but that I thought, if we recommended a very fit man, we should get the Chairs to name him.

The King said, 'You heard what I said to the East India Company yesterday?'

I had not, but I bowed, and he added, 'I told them they should not be unfairly dealt with. There is a run on them, and the notions of people are very much exaggerated with regard to the question.'

I said the question would require and receive the most mature consideration from his Ministers before they ventured to offer any advice to his Majesty upon the course to be pursued.

The King said in about ten or twelve days he should be able to give me a day or two for Indian matters.

I thought I had given time to the others to arrive, and rose. I should mention that he spoke of Algiers, and said he suspected there was an understanding about it between the Russians and the French.

I said I did not entertain much fear of the French having Algiers. With a little money we could raise Morocco on one side and Tunis on the other, and hara.s.s them from the interior, and while we took care they had not Tunis, Algiers was comparatively unimportant. With Tunis, Malta, and Corfu we should hold our hands across the Mediterranean.

I went out and found them come. The Duke went in. The King gives up dining with Leopold. He gave it up the moment the objections to it were mentioned to him.

The speech was, I found, much improved after I went away. The King said he thought nothing could be better, and indeed it is a very good speech. He said he thought the reference to the Catholic question was unavoidable, as it was the great measure of the Parliament; and it was particularly proper that he should refer to it as he had voted for it, really thinking that the Church would be more secure by means of Catholic admission than by their exclusion.

I thought the King seemed a little tired. Well he might be. He had been at an inspection of troops, the Grenadier Guards and the Lancers, from ten to one, and the day was very hot. He inspected the troops on foot.

The Duke of Wellington pa.s.sed the King at the head of his regiment, and Lord Rosslyn at the head of his. Lord Rosslyn is delighted with the opportunities of wearing his uniform, and playing the general officer again.

_July 24._

Council at 11. Parliament dissolved. The seals were delivered to the Secretaries and to Goulburn. Herries kissed hands.

Sir G. Clark becomes Under-Secretary to the Home Department. W. Peel goes to the Treasury. Charles Ross comes into Clark's place. Macnaughten goes out.

_July 26._

Dined at St. James's. The King of Wurtemburg, the Ministers, Foreign Ministers, Household, and Knights of the Garter there, in all 80. After dinner the King made a speech which made his Ministers' hearts fail within them. However, we were _quitte pour la peur_. He only spoke of his love of peace. The only thing painful was that he should speak at all, and before his servants, like a chairman of a public meeting.

At the Duke of Wellington's on Sunday he made a speech, praising very much the Duke, and declaring his entire confidence in him. This was before the Foreign Ministers. The speech was a little warlike, I believe. The Duke's reply very short indeed, and peaceful. The King should recollect that what he speaks is as important as what is written in a State Paper.

_July 28._

Levee. Before it a Council, _standing_, in the King's closet, for swearing in Privy Councillors. Sir R. Wilson was presented on his restoration to the army, and holding the King's hand in his expressed his grat.i.tude.

The King made an energetic reply, and then there was a short rejoinder from Sir R. Wilson. I could not hear what was said. We afterwards shook hands cordially with Sir R. Wilson, whose restoration pleases everybody.

The French Government have dissolved the Chamber without allowing it to a.s.semble; have placed the press under restriction, and altered the mode of electing deputies, so as, as far as I can understand, to give to _les plus imposis_ the power of electing a majority.

No letter has been received by any Foreign Minister or by us. The whole was kept a profound secret. The report to the King respecting the press, which is made the foundation of the Ordonnance, is a long violent declamation, very weakly written indeed. [Footnote: These were the celebrated Ordinances which cost Charles X. his crown.]

_July 28._

Cabinet at half-past three. I was rather late, and found them considering what should be said by Lord Stuart at Paris, respecting the late violent measures of the French Government. They had decided that Lord Stuart, if Prince Polignac endeavoured to draw from him in conversation his opinion, should say he was directed to offer none. They seemed inclined to tell him, if Prince Polignac required his opinion by offering an explanation, to say we considered the measure adopted was in violation of the Charter. At my suggestion, if Polignac asked his opinion more formally and offered no explanation, he was directed to request the explanation might be in writing, and he would transmit it to his Court, or it might be made through the French Amba.s.sador here. The French Amba.s.sador, however, knowing nothing of what was doing, left England on Monday, and would meet the news on his road to Paris.

At six o'clock on Tuesday evening a row was going on, and a Guardsman had been killed. This was resistance when the police broke the types, &c., of a press which would go on. The idea is, that the Chamber of Deputies will meet, considering the dissolution to be illegal.

Matuschevitz openly inveighs against the measure. It is doubtful whether Metternich did not advise it. He sent a long paper from Johannisberg, giving his views on the present position of the French Government.

The King of Wurtemburg had an interview of two hours with the Duke of Wellington yesterday. He is very anxious on the subject of France. He says the people of Wurtemburg will cry out that a similar measure is intended against them--that everywhere the two extreme parties will be placed in collision. Bulow thinks the same. The Duke advised the King of Wurtemburg to avoid Paris on his return; but the King has some _emplettes_ to make, and goes there. The Duke advised him then, if he must go for his _emplettes_, to stay only a day. He said he would not stay above five or six! Thus is every consideration of real importance sacrificed to motives of private fancy and convenience!

Lea informed Aberdeen that a vessel was fitting out in the Thames with Spanish refugees and arms to endeavour to raise an insurrection in Spain.

After some time they found the vessel, and to-day she was detained. She had sixty-nine men, and about 150 stand of arms on board. They sank the printed proclamations which were picked up. Torrijos and Valdes were to be the leaders. Torrijos was to join below the revenue vessels. Some of the men had 10 each, given to them by the Spanish Committee, to aid their voyage to Rio. There is some doubt under what law they are to be indicted, and the Attorney and Solicitor-General are out of town.

Received a letter from Lord Heytesbury, enclosing one he had received from Captain Campbell, announcing the death of Sir J. Macdonald.

_July 29._

The Duke told me he had seen Rothschild that morning, who had recent intelligence from Paris. The Guards were faithful, but the 53rd Regiment, which was at the Hotel de Ville, had joined the people, and so had individual soldiers of other regiments. The people and the National Guards were arming. The Chambers had a.s.sembled. The King was not at Paris. He was nought to be at Compiegne.

The Duke thought Henry had better not go to Paris, that one party or the other would soon attack the English.

Called on Elphinstone. Offered him Persia. He was much obliged, but said nothing would induce him ever to go to Asia again.

Spoke to him of Monteith. He knows him, and a little doubted his discretion. He promised to find him, and send him to the Duke if he was in town; but he thought he was at Algiers. Spoke to him of Jenkins and Briggs.

He says Jenkins is the abler man.

Saw Lord Ess.e.x and Lord Clinton. They had heard the Duke of Orleans was proclaimed Regent.

_July 31._

Went to town early. Called at the Duke's to hear the news. None had arrived since yesterday morning. The Duke said he considered the King dethroned, and we should soon have to consider whether we should acknowledge the new Government. I observed that our course must depend very much upon the manner in which the French effected their Revolution. The King had put himself decidedly in the wrong, and if they make their Revolution as we made ours in 1688, there was no reason why we should not acknowledge the new Government, be it what it might. The Duke said the foreigners were already coming to know what we thought and meant to do. We should have them all in our train, and provided we took a reasonable course on the question of Algiers, and others which might arise, we should do very well. The mischief was that this event would place the two parties in presence on every occasion, and every trifling difference would resolve itself into one of Liberal and anti-Liberal. I said I feared whatever party predominated, even if the King regained his power, France would be precipitated into a war, for no party would be able to maintain itself in quiet times. The Duke said the King's Government was becoming very dangerous. It had, as was shown in the case of Algiers, and their discussions with us, no more morality than that of Buonaparte, and it had the favour of European Powers as an ancient dynasty, while it was prepared to act upon the principles of a new one. Now, under a Government of Revolutionary origin, all their Acts would be viewed with disfavour and suspicion.

The Duke spoke very strongly against Canning's policy, in admitting France to the Triple Alliance [Footnote: By the Treaty of London with reference to Greece.] and thus bringing her into a prominent station in Europe again.

She would naturally have risen again in good time. The time should not have been antic.i.p.ated by us.

The Duke agreed with me in thinking the Government here would be strengthened by what was occurring in France.

I lamented Brougham's success in Yorks.h.i.+re, and viewed with some apprehension the increased power it would give him. He said Yorks.h.i.+re was quite radicalised by having four members. No gentleman could bear the expense--the middle cla.s.ses had it all to themselves.

At a quarter to four I called at the Treasury and found Rothschild had received intelligence down to the 29th, at 4 P.M. Drummond showed me the Duke's letter to Peel which contained this account:--That there was fighting all Wednesday, the 28th, and Thursday, till 3 P.M. There had been a terrible ma.s.sacre, but the troops got the worst of it. The people were led by the students of the Ecole de Droit, and of the Ecole Polytechnique.

The 53rd Regiment, which it was said yesterday had joined the people, had in fact surrendered. The people had armed themselves at the a.r.s.enal. On the night of the 28th the Guards retook the Hotel de Ville, but were driven out again, and retired to the Louvre. The firing did not cease at the Tuileries till past 3 P.M. The people pillaged it when the troops retreated, and the tri-coloured flag was hoisted there, and on the column in the Place Vendome. The Ministers escaped by subterraneous pa.s.sages from the Tuileries, and were with the King, who had a great many troops about him at St. Cloud. La Fayette commanded the National Guard, and was a member of the Provisional Government. Generals Gerard, Lafitte, and Casimir Perrier were the others. C. Perrier was deputed to the King at St. Cloud.

No couriers were allowed to leave Paris. These letters were sent by private servants to the first stage.