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THE PRIME MINISTERS OF ENGLAND 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 STUART J. REID 
 
 THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
THE 
 
 PRIME MINISTERS of ENGLAND 
 
 A SERIES OF POLITICAL BIOGRAPHIES 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 STUART J. REID 
 
 Author of "The Life and Times of Sydney Smith" 
 With Photogravure Frontispieces. Cloth ^ 2J. ^d, net per vol. 
 
 NEW VOLUME 
 
 LORD ROSEBERY. By Samuel Herbert Jeyes. 
 
 [/w Preparation. 
 THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD. 
 
 By James Anthony Froude. Ninth Edition. 
 
 VISCOUNT MELBOURNE. 
 
 By Henry Dunckley. 
 SIR ROBERT PEEL. 
 
 By Justin McCarthy. 
 W. E. GLADSTONE. 
 
 By G. W. E. Russell. Fifth Edition. 
 
 THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY. 
 
 By H. D. Traill. Second Edition. 
 
 VISCOUNT PALMERSTON. 
 
 By the Marquis of Lorne. 
 
 THE EARL OF DERBY. 
 
 By George Saintsbury. 
 
 THE EARL OF ABERDEEN. 
 
 By Lord Stanmore. Third Edition. 
 
 LORD JOHN RUSSELL. 
 
 By Stuart J. Reid. 
 
 Large Paper Library Edition, printed on hand-made paper, with 
 extra illustrations, fac-simile reproductions of letters and speeches in 
 some cases. Only sold in complete sets. For price apply to the 
 booksellers. 
 
CC^y^^-L^/c^L^i^ 
 
 
THE EARL OF 
 
 ABERDEEN 
 
 BY 
 
 LORD STANMORE 
 
 A fesr^ <A ^«— vss C> s 
 
 Let Princes and States choose such ministers as are more 
 sensible of Duty than of Rising ; and such as love Businesse 
 rather upon Conscience than upon Bravery. 
 
 Bacon, "Of Ambition." 
 
 THIRD EDITION 
 
 LONDON 
 
 J. M. DENT & CO. 
 
 ALDINE HOUSE, BEDFORD STREET 
 
 1905 
 
All righti re sewed 
 
 
TO 
 
 MARY 
 
 COUNTESS DOWAGER OF ABERDEEN 
 
 THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED 
 
 511868 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 It was with reluctance that I consented to write this book, 
 when requested to do so by Mr. Stuart Reid, for the 
 events of Lord Aberdeen's hfe and the nature of his cha- 
 racter were such as render it peculiarly difficult to do justice 
 to them within the limits of a short biography. I am con- 
 scious, moreover, that the appearance of such a volume 
 must materially diminish the interest and value of any 
 future publication of Lord Aberdeen's Correspondence — a 
 duty entrusted to me by the terms of my father's will. 
 
 Nevertheless, as, to complete the series of ' Lives of the 
 Prime Ministers of Queen Victoria,' a Life of Lord Aberdeen 
 must in any case have been written, I thought that it was, 
 on the whole, better that the task should be undertaken by 
 me than by someone having no personal knowledge of the 
 subject of the Memoir. 
 
 The misgivings with which I began my work have 
 been fully justified. The narrow compass within which the 
 volumes of this series are necessarily confined has com- 
 pelled me to omit much of importance to a true under- 
 standing of Lord Aberdeen's character, and to content 
 myself with assertion where I should have desired to adduce 
 documentary proof. Full materials for a true appreciation 
 of Lord Aberdeen himself, or for an accurate knowledge 
 
Vlll LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 of the events in which he took part, will not exist until 
 the publication of the Correspondence above referred to. 
 The longer I consider what I have now written, the more 
 sensible I become of its faults and shortcomings. 
 
 The beauties to th' original I owe, 
 
 Which, when I miss, my own defects I show. 
 
 It is my duty humbly to acknowledge the permission 
 graciously accorded by Her Majesty the Queen to publish 
 the letter printed at page 291. 
 
 My thanks are also due to Mr. Gladstone for leave 
 to make use of the extracts from his letters which are to be 
 found in different parts of the volume ; as well as to Mrs. C. 
 Baring for permission to quote those of her father, Sir 
 James Graham. 
 
TABLE 
 
 OF 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY YEARS : I784-1812 
 
 The Gordon Family — Lord Aberdeen's Childhood — Names Pitt 
 and Dundashis Guardians— Harrow and Cambridge — Travels 
 in the Levant — Bentley Priory — Marriage — Death of Mr. 
 Pitt — Opening of Public Life— Death of Lady Aberdeen — 
 Letter to Gurney ...... 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 EMBASSY TO GERMANY 
 
 Lord Aberdeen accepts Embassy to Austria — His Instructions — 
 Journey to Teplitz — Treaty with Austria - Battle of Leipsic — 
 Negotiations at Frankfort— Advance to the Rhine — Congres? 
 of Chatijlon — Peace of Paris 20 
 
LORD ABERDEEN 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 SECOND MARRIAGE— PRIVATE LIFE : 1814-1827 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's Second Marriage — Domestic Life — Letter to 
 Castlereagh on Greek Insurrection ^The Aberdeen Acts — 
 Joins the Duke of Wellington's Cabinet —Becomes Foreign 
 Secretary ,,.....,.. 66 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FOREIGN OFFICE : 1828-I83O 
 
 War between Turkey and Russia— Choice of a Sovereign for 
 Greece — Affairs of Portugal — Expedition to Algiers — French 
 Revolution of 1830 ........ 76 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 OPPOSITION — COLONIAL OFFICE : 183O-I84I 
 
 Reform Bill — Marriage of Lord Abercorn — Death of Lady Alice 
 Gordon, of Lady Aberdeen, and of Lady Frances Gordon — 
 Formation of Sir R. Peel's Government — Colonial Office — 
 Mr. Gladstone — Canada — Opposition — Private Life — Opi- 
 nions on Foreign Affairs — Again becomes Foreign Secretary 103 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SCOTCH CHURCH AFFAIRS 
 
 Constitution of the Scottish Church— The Veto Act— Mr. Whyte's 
 Case— Negotiation with Church Leaders — Introduction of 
 Lord Aberdeen's Bill — Attitude of the Government and of 
 the General Assembly — Bill withdrawn — Fresh Negotiations 
 — Their Failure at the moment of success — Attitude of 
 Parties in 1842-43 — The Great Secession — Lord Aberdeen's 
 Act adopted I2i 
 
CONTENTS XI 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 FOREIGN OFFICE: 184I-1846 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Relations with France— The Tahiti Affair— The Greek Revolu- 
 tion—The Spanish INIarriages— The Ashburton and Oregon 
 Treaties — Questions raised in connection with Texas — Fare- 
 wells of M. Guizot and Mme. de Lieven . . . .152 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 1846-1853 
 
 Lord Aberdeen at home — Language as to the Spanish Marriages 
 — Disapproval of Lord Palmerston's Policy— Death of Sir 
 Robert Peel— Ecclesiastical Titles Bill — Asked to form a 
 Government, but declines — Neapolitan Letters — Attitude 
 after the Fall of Lord John Russell's Government — Becomes 
 Prime Minister 1^8 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE CRIMEAN WAR 
 
 Prince Menschikoff's Mission — Count Nesselrode's Forecast of 
 Events— Alarm felt in England— The Principalities occupied 
 by Russia — The Vienna Note — Subsequent Negotiations — 
 Battle of Sinope— Declaration of War— Policy of Lord Aber 
 deen during the War 219 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 LORD JOHN RUSSELL AS A COLLEAGUE 
 
 Lord John Russell and the Vienna Note — Lord Palmerston's 
 Resignation — Postponement of the Reform Bill— Correspond- 
 ence respecting the War Office— The Kennedy Affair — Resig- 
 nation of Loid John Russell— Letter to the Duke of Bedford 265 
 
XU LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 CLOSING YEARS : 1855-I86O 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Lord Aberdeen assists in the Formation of Lord Palmerston's 
 Government — Letter to Sidney Herbert — Is made a Knight 
 of the Garter— Letter from the Queen — Letter from Mr. 
 Gladstone — Lord John and the Vienna Negotiations — Do- 
 mestic Life — Visit from the Queen— Illness and Death — Mr. 
 Gladstone's Estimate of Lord Aberdeen — General Sketch of 
 Character 287 
 
 Index • • • • 325 
 
LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY years: 1784-1812 
 
 The Gordon Family — Lord Aberdeen's Childhood— Names Pitt and 
 Dundas his Guardians — Harrow and Cambridge — Travels in the 
 Levant — Bentley Priory— Marriage— Death of Mr. Pitt— Opening 
 of Public Life — Death of Lady Aberdeen — Letter to Gurney. 
 
 That Bertrand de Gourdon, by whose arrow King Richard L 
 was killed before the Castle of Chalus in Perigord, left chil- 
 dren who settled in Scotland and became the progenitors 
 of the House of Gordon, is a proposition which I should 
 hesitate to affirm ; but it is one which, in the presence 
 of other members of that House, I should equally hesitate 
 to deny. The legend may not be altogether without founda- 
 tion. The period to which it relates is not so remote as to 
 be beyond the age of credible tradition. But no records 
 in fact exist of the first settlement of the family in the South 
 of Scotland, and the authentic evidence of charters points 
 to its establishment there at a period long anterior to the 
 commencement of the thirteenth century ; the time at 
 which, according to the received tradition, the children 
 of Bertrand de Gourdon must have sought that country as 
 refugees and adventurers. The migration northward of the 
 
 B 
 
2* LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 familj' in the fourteenth century, and the gradual acquisition, 
 by its head, of territorial possessions from the German Ocean 
 to the Atlantic, in which he exercised all but uncontrolled 
 power, can be more clearly traced. The direct male 
 descent of the senior branch of the family came to an end in 
 1402. Its heiress married Alexander Seton, who assumed 
 the Gordon name. This second family of Seton-Gordon, 
 the male descent of which is still represented by the 
 Marquess of Huntly, also came to an end, so far as 
 its direct line was concerned, on the death of the last 
 Duke of Gordon in 1836, when a great portion of his vast 
 estates devolved on the son of the Duke's eldest sister 
 the Duchess of Richmond, in favour of whose grandson, 
 the present Duke of Richmond, the dukedom of Gordon 
 has lately been revived by the Queen. More than half a 
 century, however, before the marriage of the heiress of 
 the Gordons with Alexander Seton, a cadet of the family 
 was established as Laird at Haddo in Aberdeenshire, and 
 from him, in unbroken and direct male descent, springs 
 the present Earl of Aberdeen. As a rule, these Lairds 
 of Haddo were a tough and exceedingly long-lived race. 
 Excepting those who came to a violent end on the battle- 
 field or the scaffold, there were few of them who did not 
 attain or exceed the allotted age of man. Sir John Gordon, 
 a distinguished Cavalier leader, was created a baronet 
 of Nova Scotia by Charles I. His castle of Kellie was 
 besieged by the Marquess of Argyll, and forced to sur- 
 render in consequence of the desertion of the artillery- 
 men engaged in its defence. Sir John himself was taken 
 as a prisoner to Edinburgh, and there beheaded in July 
 1644, being the first person judicially executed for adher- 
 ence to the Royal cause. His second son. Sir George, 
 who succeeded to the title and estates on the death of 
 
THE GORDON FAMILY 3 
 
 his elder brother, was by Charles II. created Earl of 
 Aberdeen and appointed Lord High Chancellor. That 
 office was in Scotland usually held as one purely political 
 by some great nobleman possessing no knowledge of law. 
 Lord Aberdeen, who had begun life as a younger son, had 
 been bred to the bar, and obtained considerable credit by 
 his judicial decisions as Chancellor. He declared, as a 
 judge, that the orders of the Privy Council rendering 
 husbands and fathers responsible by fine and imprison- 
 ment for the opinions of their wives and daughters, could 
 not be carried out under any existing statute, and he declined, 
 as a minister, to propose any alteration in the law. On 
 being told by the King that he * would be served in his own 
 manner, and according to his own measures,' Lord Aber- 
 deen at once resigned the Great Seal. On the Revolution 
 he retired from public life, to the regret of William III., to 
 whom he had been represented as * the solidest statesman in 
 Scotland.' He remained a nonjuror till the accession of 
 Queen Anne, when he again took the oaths. Like so many 
 others of his family, he lived to a great age, dying in 1720, 
 seventy- six years after the execution of his father. His son 
 William, when Lord Haddo, had been elected, after the 
 Union, to the Parliament of Great Britain, as member for 
 Aberdeenshire, but the election was, after much debate, set 
 aside in 17 14, on the plea that the eldest sons of peers had 
 not been allowed to sit in the Scottish Parliament, and were 
 therefore ineligible for Scottish seats in that of the United 
 Kingdom. Lord Haddo was a decided Jacobite, and per- 
 haps more attention was given by the House of Commons 
 to that fact than to the principles of constitutional law, 
 which were somewhat strained by the decision. Earl 
 William married successively a daughter of the Duke 
 of Athjl and a daughter of the Duke of Gordon, and 
 
4 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 it may be supposed that neither of these alliances 
 weakened his attachment to the House of Stuart. He 
 talked a good deal of joining the Pretender in 1745, but 
 though his mind had been nearly made up by the early 
 successes of Prince Charles, he was still only talking about it 
 when, fortunately for the interests of the family, he died 
 somewhat suddenly. His eldest son and successor, George, 
 had, according to the prudent custom then prevalent in great 
 Scottish families, been bred a Whig, and at once declared 
 his adhesion to George II. He died in 1801, when over 
 eighty, surviving his eldest son, George, Lord Haddo. Lord 
 Haddo had married, in 1782, Charles Baird, daughter of 
 William Baird, of Newbyth, and sister of the well-known 
 general. Sir David Baird. Their eldest son, another George, 
 the subject of the present memoir, was born at Edinburgh 
 January 28, 1784. 
 
 Lord Haddo died suddenly, October 2, 1791. After 
 his death his widow removed to England, taking with 
 her the boy George, who received his earliest education m 
 a school at Barnet (where Lady Haddo lived), and subse- 
 quently at Parsons Green. Lady Haddo never recovered 
 the shock of her husband's sudden death, and lived in 
 great retirement and dejection. She pined during some 
 four years, and died in 1795. By her death her children 
 were left in a position which, for their rank in life, was one 
 of singular dreariness and isolation. Lady Haddo had in- 
 curred Lord Aberdeen's displeasure by the well-grounded 
 disapproval she had expressed of his mode of life, and had 
 been regarded by him with open enmity. He had wholly 
 neglected, and rather disliked, a grandson whose interests 
 were incompatible with those, to the promotion of which by 
 the purchase of estates wholly at his own disposal, the 
 later years of his life were devoted. He had, indeed, 
 
CHILDHOOD 5 
 
 been persuaded, or coerced, by powerful frie.ids to send 
 the young Lord Haddo to Harrow, but there his inter- 
 vention ended. He would perform none of the duties 
 towards his grandchildren which naturally devolved on him, 
 and in this condition of things other relations appear to 
 have been afraid or unwilling to interfere. The boy George, 
 then between eleven and twelve years old, finding a respect- 
 ful application to his grandfather wholly unheeded, invoked 
 the intervention of Henry Dundas, afterwards Lord Melville, 
 and at that time all-powerful in Scotland. With him 
 Lord Haddo had been well acquainted, and to him Lady 
 Haddo had occasionally turned, and not in vain, for counsel 
 and support. He at once responded to the boy's appeal, 
 moved, no doubt, by compassion for the seven orphan and 
 deserted children, the eldest of whom was not twelve years 
 of age and the youngest barely four. Perhaps also he was 
 not wholly unmindful of the advantage of bringing under 
 his influence one of the most powerful families in the North 
 of Scotland. The young Lord Haddo found a home in 
 Dundas's house, and his only sister, Alicia, lived for the 
 next thirty years, as a daughter, with Lady Jane Dundas, 
 under whose maternal care all the children for a time came. 
 As the five younger brothers grew up, two, William and 
 John, entered the navy, and both lived to attain the rank of 
 admiral. Two others, Alexander and Charles, obtained 
 commissions in the army. Of these, the former was a 
 favourite aide-de-camp of the Duke of Welhngton, and gave 
 early promise of distinction, being already a lieutenant- 
 colonel and a K.C.B., when killed at Waterloo at the age 
 of twenty-eight. Charles also became a K.C.B., and died 
 colonel of the Black Watch in 1835. Of the career of the 
 remaining brother, Robert, who entered the diplomatic 
 service, we shall hear more in the later part of this volume. 
 
6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 There was no more frequent visitor at Dundas's Wim- 
 bledon villa than Mr. Pitt. He from the first evinced the 
 keenest interest in the young Lord Haddo, and that interest 
 continually increased as the boy grew older. Meanwhile 
 his education was not neglected. At Harrow he devoted 
 himself chiefly to Greek scholarship, in which he obtained 
 distinction. He was a quiet and studious boy, taking little 
 part in the games of the school. But he was an omnivorous 
 reader, and before he left Harrow he possessed a better 
 acquaintance with the Italian poets than most men acquire 
 in a lifetime. He had also read a large portion of such 
 works relative to the modern history of Europe as were 
 then attainable. Among his schoolfellows and friends were 
 many of those more or less associated with his subsequent 
 career. 
 
 When the boy reached the age of fourteen he availed- 
 himself of the right given by the Scotch law to one of that 
 age to name his own * curators ' or guardians. He nominated 
 in that capacity Mr. Pitt, then Prime Minister, and Henry 
 Dundas. They accepted the charge, and thenceforward 
 the lad lived with them alternately. He and Lady Hester 
 Stanhope were the only young inmates of Mr. Pilt's house, 
 and it is significant that in the * Memoirs of Lady Hester 
 Stanhope,' as recorded by her doctor, Lord Aberdeen is 
 never mentioned. Had she not retained at the bottom of 
 her heart some lurking kindness for the companion of her 
 early years, he would hardly have escaped that merciless 
 outpouring of misanthropical satire which she so freely 
 bestowed on all other acquaintances of her youth, save her 
 brothers and Sir John Moore. 
 
 When the time drew near for his leaving Harrow, Lord 
 Haddo proposed to continue his studies at the University of 
 Cambridge. He met with an unlooked-for obstacle in the 
 
HARROW AND CAMBRIDGE 7 
 
 positive refusal of his grandfather to furnish him with the 
 means of indulging what he deemed a needless extravagance. 
 Lord Haddo's curators were, however, of a different mind, 
 and Lord Haddo himself, as Mr. Pitt tersely informed Lord 
 Aberdeen, ' did not concur with his lordship in considering 
 that rank superseded the necessity for education.' From a 
 letter written by Lord Melville it appears that the curators 
 threatened Lord Aberdeen that, if he would not provide for 
 his grandson's education and other wants, they would them- 
 selves advance what was required from their own personal 
 funds. Whether Lord Aberdeen submitted to the disgrace 
 of allowing them to do so, or listened to wiser counsels, I 
 am not aware, but at all events Lord Haddo entered at 
 St. John's College, Cambridge, in June 1800. His grand- 
 father died in the following year. At that time not only 
 did the vicious practice of granting degrees to noblemen 
 without examination prevail, but they were actually pre- 
 cluded from presenting themselves for examination, even 
 when desirous of so doing. The industry or idleness of a 
 young peer consequently depended wholly on himself. 
 Lord Aberdeen, however, did not require any external 
 stimulus to work. He read largely during his stay at 
 Cambridge, and while there collected a fine library, con- 
 sisting chiefly of early or rare editions of the classics and 
 of early Italian poetry. He pursued his Greek studies, and 
 made himself a good Latinist. But his inclination led him 
 to the study of modern history and to bypaths of literature, 
 especially that of the Renaissance. In his correspondence 
 with his friend, Hudson Gurney, I find such passages as the 
 following : 
 
 April 18, 1802. — I waited till I had read over again the 
 poem ' De Immortalitate Animi,' which I thought was by Vida, 
 but I find the author is Aonius Palearius, his intimate friend and 
 pupil. The composition possesses, no doubt, great merit, but 
 
8 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 I do not think it would repay the time given up to translate it 
 The only books of Vida of any importance are the ' Christiad,' 
 translated tolerably by a Mr. Thomson ; the ' Scacchia Ludus,' 
 well done by Murphy ; and the ' Bombyces,' which, so far as 
 1 know, is not translated at all. Many parts of it are extremely 
 beautiful, and it abounds with lively and picturesque descrip- 
 tion, but I am bold to say, if I were you, I would not undertake 
 its translation. ... I will in some sort defend Vida when we 
 meet, but meanwhile do you read Sannazarius. You will be 
 pleased with him, and also with Fracastorius. You mentioned 
 you had been translating Propertius. Do send me a packet ; 
 you shall have my sincere opinions and humble addenda and 
 corrigenda. Have you translated those eight lines from the 
 elegy in the second book where he relates that he dreamed 
 Cynthia was shipwrecked ? I do not mention the number of 
 the elegy, for I have only an Aldus edition, where they are 
 very badly arranged, and often not separated at all. 1 think 
 them very pretty. 
 
 These, it must be remembered, are the familiar letters of 
 a lad of eighteen to a friend little older, not the notes of a 
 recluse scholar. How many undergraduates of the present 
 day have read Vida, or know that such a writer ever ex- 
 isted ? It must be confessed, however, that their ignorance 
 involves no great loss. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's chief friends at Cambridge were Lord 
 Royston, whose early death Lord Aberdeen always regarded 
 as a grave public misfortune, and a young Fellow of St. 
 John's, the Rev. G. Whittington, one of the earliest intelligent 
 admirers and students of Gothic architecture, on which, as 
 it exists in the North of France, he wrote a volume, not per- 
 haps altogether meriting the oblivion which has overtaken 
 it. Another of his closest intimates was Hudson Gurney, a 
 member of the great Quaker family of that name, but him- 
 self a Churchman. Very rich and very benevolent, but 
 having no sufficient stimulus to exertion, Mr. Gurney's fine 
 abilities were to a great extent squandered on dilettante 
 pursuits, which, while they occupied him, he affected — not 
 perhaps untruly — to despise. His intimacy and correspond- 
 
TRAVELS ON THE CONTINENT Q 
 
 ence with Lord Aberdeen, whom he survived, lasted over 
 sixty years. That singular genius, Henry Drummond, not 
 unlike Gurney in his fine taste, keen perceptions, and con- 
 templative rather than active attitude in life, but very unlike 
 him in most other points, was also one of those with whom 
 Lord Aberdeen was in most intimate relations. 
 
 The Peace of Amiens reopened the Continent to Eng- 
 lish travellers, and in the autumn of 1802 Lord Aberdeen 
 visited Paris. Young though he was, one so nearly con- 
 nected with Mr. Pitt, even though the great minister was at 
 the moment out of office, was not a person to be neglected, 
 and he was the object of much attention. Lord Aberdeen 
 dined several times at Malmaison, almost in private, and had 
 much conversation with the First Consul, whose genius and 
 career had captivated his imagination, and by whose singular 
 beauty he was fascinated. I have often heard him say that 
 Napoleon's smile was the most winning he ever saw, and that 
 his eye was wholly unlike that of any other man. He pro- 
 ceeded on the ordinary tour through the South of France to 
 Italy, and whilst at Florence spent some mteresting evenings 
 at the house of the Pretender's widow, the Countess of Albany. 
 At one end of the room sat the Countess with her bevy of 
 visitors; at the other, cloaked and hatted, sat Alfieri, alone, and 
 apparently unnoticed by the little court around the Countess. 
 To him Lord Aberdeen ventured to address himself, and the 
 poet found in him an acquaintance with Italian literature 
 and a facility in the use of the language to which he was not 
 accustomed in British visitors. Contrary to his usual custom 
 he entered readily into conversation, and encouraged Lord 
 Aberdeen to return for its renewal on subsequent days. 
 
 But a visit to the more civilised parts of Europe did not 
 content Lord Aberdeen. Full of the Greek classics, he was 
 bent on travelling in the Levant, and at length extorted from 
 
10 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Mr. Pitt and Lord Melville a somewhat reluctantly accorded 
 permission to do so. 
 
 At Malta, Lord Aberdeen joined the new British Am- 
 bassador to the Porte, Mr. Drummond, and accompanied 
 him to Constantinople. The Embassy pursued its way in 
 the most leisurely manner, touching at almost every island 
 of the ^gean in its route. After at length reaching Con- 
 stantinople Lord Aberdeen spent some time there, and 
 then, having obtained the necessary firmans, left the 
 Embassy, and proceeded on a prolonged journey through 
 Greece and Asia Minor. Travelling in the Levant was not 
 then the easy matter it now is, and Lord Aberdeen's wander- 
 ings were attended with much hardship and not infrequent 
 danger. After a considerable stay at Athens, during which 
 he rediscovered and excavated the Pnyx, he crossed over to 
 Smyrna, and thence visited Ephesus and other points in 
 Asia Minor. He returned to Greece and very thoroughly 
 explored the Morea and Albania, then seldom visited by 
 Englishmen. Passing over from thence to Corfu, he 
 returned home after an absence of two years, by way of 
 Dalmatia, Venice, Vienna, and the North of Germany. 
 During his travels in the East, Lord Aberdeen kept a care- 
 ful and often very copious journal, from which, were my 
 space less limited, I could have desired to make some ex- 
 tracts. His conversations with Sir Alexander Ball at Malta 
 are there recorded with great minuteness, and are of much 
 interest, as is also his account of an audience of the Sultan 
 Sehm." His visits to sites then all but unknown, in the Pelo- 
 ponnesus and Epirus, are carefully recorded, and with the 
 notes made by him of the then condition of the Parthenon, 
 and of his excavations at Ephesus, Athens, and many 
 other places, possess considerable archaeological value, 
 as do also the careful copies taken by him of a very 
 
RETURN TO ABERDEENSHIRE II 
 
 large number of inscriptions, many of which have since 
 disappeared. 
 
 Not the least curious incident related in this journal is 
 his reception by Ali Pasha, of Janina, who spoke to him 
 freely of his ain:ks, and entrusted him with a letter to Mr. 
 Pitt, whose support the Pasha was eager to obtain in the 
 pursuit of his ambitious projects. 
 
 After his return to England, in 1804, Lord Aberdeen 
 lived, as before, with Mr. Pitt and Lord Melville, until he 
 attained his majority. This he did on January 28, 1805. 
 On that occasion he went down to Haddo House to take 
 possession of his estates and receive the congratulations of 
 his tenants and neighbours. He had not revisited Aber- 
 deenshire since he left it as a child of eight years old, 
 with a child's illusions as to the surroundings of a home 
 which has been his world. He was wholly unprepared for 
 the rough awakening which awaited him, and on the rare 
 occasions on which he could be induced to speak of his 
 own early days, he dwelt with great force on the sensations 
 he experienced when brought face to face with the reality 
 before him. The backward condition of agriculture, the 
 miserable dwellings and half-savage habits of the people, 
 the ignorance and coarseness of the gentry, the inclemency 
 of the climate, the ugliness and monotony of the country 
 — bare, undulating, and treeless — were all very unlike his 
 dreams, and filled him with dismay. AVild ideas of breaking 
 the entail and disposing of the property gave way before 
 the consciousness that it was impossible to realise them. 
 They were succeeded by intentions of permanent ab- 
 senteeism, and it was not until after days of mental conflict 
 that his eagerness to escape gave place to the conviction 
 that it was his duty not to abandon but to improve the 
 territorial possessions to which he owed his place in the 
 
12 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 world ; not to desert those living under his influence, but 
 to aid them in their progress upward to civilisation and 
 comfort. Having adopted this conviction, he did not 
 shrink from the duties it imposed. He drained, he planted, 
 he built. Tracts of moorland became fields of corn, new 
 schools rose in every parish, new buildings on every farm. 
 Few knew the sacrifice of tastes and inclination involved in 
 his adoption of Haddo as an habitual summer residence. 
 For many years it was in the highest degree repugnant to 
 him. But in spite of inclination he persevered. 
 
 Something of the dismay he felt may be traced in a letter 
 to Hudson Gurney, written from Haddo three or four days 
 after his majority. After telling him that he had * feasted 
 about eight or nine hundred neighbours, as well as the prin- 
 cipal gentlemen of the county,' and had been * immersed, not 
 in Greek ' (as Gurney supposed), * but in Port and Claret ' ; 
 he adds : * Greece is before my eyes : my right hand points 
 to India, and my left to St. Petersburg. ... I am confined 
 to the house by a sore throat and cough. If I were 
 stretched at ease under the shadowy branches of the olive 
 grove on the banks of the Ilissus, it would do more than 
 all remedies. After your severe illness, the mild sun of 
 Italy and Greece will surely tempt you to desert our cold 
 and cheerless sky.' 
 
 The scene before him was certainly ' cold and cheei - 
 less.' The short lime avenue before the house terminated 
 in a dreary and extensive peat-moss, which lay stretched 
 between it and the grim high walls of a distant deer park. 
 Snipe were to be shot in the marshy swamp which reached 
 to the foot of the garden terrace. Stacks of fuel and sheds 
 of lumber were piled against the walls of the house itself, 
 the 'appalling badness' of which, he wrote, was 'only 
 equalled by the desolation of the exterior.' The neigh- 
 
LORD ABERCORN 1 3 
 
 bouring lairds, not excluding the few peers who lived almost 
 wholly in the county, were uneducated and boorish, and 
 had little in common with * Athenian Aberdeen.' 
 
 Though now of age, and his own master, Lord Aberdeen 
 continued to live chiefly with Mr. Pitt, and his entrance 
 into society was effected under the auspices of Mr. Pitt's 
 friends and those of Lord Melville and the Duchess of 
 Gordon. Among those to whose notice Lord Aberdeen 
 was specially commended by ]\Ir. Pitt was John James, 
 Marquess of Abercorn, a man who never sitting in a 
 Cabinet or accepting office, nevertheless by virtue of the 
 possession of rank and wealth, at the command of shrewd 
 ability, exercised no inconsiderable influence on affairs, 
 and was consulted by ministers and by the sovereign. 
 In his youth Lord Abercorn's accession to the title had 
 not been anticipated, but his handsome person, his great 
 strength, and the boldness and frequency of his adventures 
 of gallantry had made him at an early age a marked figure 
 in society. Mr. Pitt had a very high opinion of his talents, 
 and, according to Walter Scott, declared that had Lord 
 Abercorn remained a commoner he would have become 
 one of the most distinguished speakers of the lower house. 
 As a peer he was remarkable for pride and stateliness, but 
 in the brilliant society which he gathered round him 
 literature and art held at least as high a place as rank and 
 power. The imperious owner of Bentley Priory and those 
 who habitually assembled there have been sketched by Sir 
 Walter Scott in a now forgotten article of the ' Quarterly 
 Review.' The picture is an attractive one. The Sheridans, 
 Walter Scott himself, Lawrence the painter, Kemble the 
 actor, Payne Knight the antiquary, were among the most 
 constant and familiar guests, and to Lord Aberdeen the 
 Priory soon became almost a home. 
 
14 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 After what has been said of Lord Aberdeen's studious 
 habits, the reader may be surprised to learn that one of his 
 favourite recreations while at Cambridge was acting. Silent, 
 shy, and sensitive, the personation of another seemed to give 
 him a confidence which naturally he did not possess. On 
 one occasion he and two friends presented themselves 
 under assumed names to the manager of the theatre at 
 Canterbury, and were engaged by him to perform the 
 principal parts in Shakespeare's tragedy of *King John.* 
 Their success was complete, and the manager showed anxiety 
 to retain them in his company, offering Lord Aberdeen a 
 liberal salary if he would only enter into an engagement for 
 the entire season. Lord Aberdeen was therefore a welcome 
 recruit for the private theatre at the Priory. I have now 
 before me the cast of the characters for several of the pieces 
 performed there. In that for the tragedy of *Oronoko.' 
 in which there are but eleven male parts, I have found 
 among the actors two Prime Ministers (Lord Aberdeen 
 and Lord Melbourne), two Ambassadors at Vienna (Sir 
 R. Gordon and Lord Beauvale), Sir Thomas Lawrence, and 
 Mr. T. Sheridan. 
 
 The eldest daughter of Lord Abercorn, Lady Catherine 
 Hamilton, was one of those bright and rare beings who 
 seem rather to rest on the earth's service than to belong to it. 
 Her graceful form, full of restless life, her stately bearing and 
 eager passionate face have been preserved to us by Law- 
 rence in more than one of his most pleasing works. But 
 though- the fire and animation of the mobile features are 
 shown upon his canvas, it is evident that their beauty, 
 great as it is, must have been enhanced by the constant 
 play of varying expression over them : the Lampeggia deW 
 angelico riso which goes so far to form love's paradise. To 
 his friends, Lawrence whispered that his fortune would have 
 
LADY CATHERINE HAMILTON 1 5 
 
 been made if he could have dared to paint, as the embodi- 
 ment of scorn, her attitude and expression, as with half- 
 averted head and outstretched arm she allowed the Princess 
 of Wales to fasten an armlet above her elbow. Many of 
 her letters to her father have been preserved, which show 
 the bright and sportive joyousness of her character ; but it 
 had also a stronger side. With her Lord Aberdeen fell 
 passionately in love, and she with him. There was nothing 
 to impede his suit, and they were married July 28, 
 1805. Lord Aberdeen worshipped her with the most 
 ardent devotion, and found in her society a happiness he 
 had never known or imagined, which was all the more 
 appreciated from its contrast to his previous solitary and 
 forlorn condition. Kind as his guardians had been, the 
 dependence on strangers had been bitter to him. He had 
 known no home, none on whom freely to lavish his strong 
 affection, and he had early learned to repress all outward 
 signs of feeling. For a few short years his happiness was 
 now brilliant and unclouded. It was then lost for ever. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's marriage made no difference in his 
 relations with Mr. Pitt. The impeachment of Lord Melville 
 and his removal from office had deprived Lord Aberdeen of 
 one powerful friend, but Mr. Pitt's solicitude on his behalf 
 was only increased thereby. Mr. Pitt lived at this time 
 at Bowling Green House, Putney, and at his request the 
 young couple took up their residence at Lord Melville's 
 villa at Wimbledon, which was lent, or let, by him to Lord 
 Aberdeen. 
 
 Under the auspices of the all-powerful minister. Lord 
 Aberdeen's prospects of early distinction were of the 
 brightest character. He was promised an English peerage 
 during the ensuing session, and no doubt existed of his 
 early entrance into high office. But Mr. Pitt's life was 
 
l6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 drawing towards its dose, and on January 23, 1806, he 
 expired. Lord Aberdeen writes thus in a diary which he 
 commenced the following day : 
 
 Jan. 24, 1806.— I received on the evening of the 22nd a 
 note from Lord Melville intimating that his death might be 
 expected ; and on the morning of the 23rd I was informed that 
 he was no more, having expired at a quarter-past four that 
 morning. From my having lived with him on terms of the 
 utmost intimacy from my childhood, from his having been my 
 guardian, and from his constant affection for me, the dismay 
 and affliction I suffered, and still do suffer, being absorbed in 
 individual feeling, render me comparatively callous and in- 
 sensible to considerations of a public nature. Yet the idea is 
 dreadful. Lord Melville breakfasted with me this morning on 
 his return to Bath. He embraced me with tears, and for some 
 time could not speak. We at last expatiated on the dreadful 
 calamity which we and the country had sustained. I never 
 witnessed grief more poignant ; he almost wished a general 
 apathy to come upon him as the only relief, and declared that, 
 if he lived a hundred years, it would be impossible to remain 
 an hour without having the image of Mr. Pitt in his mind. He 
 was glad to hasten out of this house, where every object recalled 
 him. 
 
 To his friend Whittington he wrote on the same day : 
 
 Mr. Pitt is no more. The country has lost its only support 
 in this dreadful time of disasters, and I have lost the only friend 
 to whom I looked up with unbounded love and admiration. 
 Why are you absent ? Not that I can tell you anything, but 
 Lord Melville was here this morning in absolute despair. 
 Everybody in the streets looks as if they had lost a father and 
 protector ; and they are right, for so they have. He was 
 sensible till a short time before he died, which he did with 
 perfect resignation. He continued, when senseless, to talk, 
 and wished to write to the Foreign Office and the Treasury. 
 But why do I expatiate on anything so distressing ! To think 
 that I am now writing at a table where I have seen him a 
 thousand times, and how seen him ! — is indeed agony. 
 
 A few days later he writes from London : 
 
 Great as my distress has been, I have been obliged to con- 
 sole others. Lady Melville is in despair at the situation ot 
 Lord Melville. I, who know the strength of his mind and of 
 his nerves, am able to estimate the misery of his condition, 
 when he declares that for the first time in his life he looks in 
 vain for any resource within himself. We are come here for a 
 few days, but mean very soon to return to Wimbledon. I am 
 
PROPOSES TO STAND FOR CAMBRIDGE 1 7 
 
 much more composed since I left it, for there every object 
 tended to provoke grief. Being so near the spot where he lived, 
 my imagination pictured him before my eyes the whole night, 
 and totally deprived me of sleep while I staid. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was impatient to take his place in 
 
 Parliament. The English peerage, which he had been 
 
 led to anticipate, was now no longer attainable. Was it 
 
 impossible that he should obtain a seat in the House of 
 
 Commons ? Peers, though disqualified from voting at other 
 
 elections, did not consider themselves forbidden to do so 
 
 at those of Members for the Universities. Lord Aberdeen 
 
 argued that, not being a Peer of Parliament, he must be 
 
 qualified to represent a constituency in which he was 
 
 qualified to vote, and he proposed to offer himself as a 
 
 candidate for the seat vacated by Mr. Pitt. The transaction 
 
 is thus recorded in his diary : 
 
 Jan. 25. — I received a letter from Henry Petty informing 
 me of his intention of offering himself as a candidate for the 
 University of Cambridge, and requesting my vote. In answer 
 I told him that, if I possessed a vote, the same qualification 
 would probably enable me to offer myself, which in that case 
 I certainly should do. 
 
 Ja7i. 26. — My express returned from Cambridge, and brought 
 me the good wishes of the University, and regrets, which I 
 really believe to be sincere, at my inability to offer myself. Dr. 
 Turner, Mr, Pitt's old master, and at present Vice-Chancellor, 
 wrote in particular to say that I should have had his cordial 
 support. Had it been possible there is no reason to doubt my 
 success. 
 
 The death of Mr. Pitt and the disgrace of Lord Melville 
 of course materially affected Lord Aberdeen's position, but 
 he was still regarded as a young man certain to rise, even 
 without the adventitious aids which he had lost. Canning 
 offered him in 1807 the Embassy to Sicily, then a post of 
 considerable importance, which, however, he declined, unless 
 allowed the same control over the Sicilian Government 
 which had till then been exercised by the British Ambas- 
 sador, but which it was now intended to discontinue. At 
 
 c 
 
1 8 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 the first dissolution of Parliament which followed his majority 
 he was elected one of the sixteen representative peers of 
 Scotland, and in 1808, at the age of twenty-four, he received 
 the ribbon of the Thistle. In the following year he refused 
 the Embassy to Russia, the offer of which to so young a 
 man speaks highly of the estimation in which he was held. 
 Nor was he regarded as a man likely to be conspicuous in 
 public life only. He obtained yet more consideration 
 from his artistic tastes, knowledge, and literary culture. 
 The excavator of the Pnyx was speedily elected to the 
 Presidency of the Society of Antiquaries. He became a 
 Trustee of the British Museum, a Fellow of the Royal 
 Society, and a leading member of all associations for 
 the promotion of art and literature. He wrote in the 
 ' Edinburgh Review,' and though not a frequent speaker in 
 the House of Lords, took part in all the more intimate 
 discussions, out of Parliament, of Mr. Pitt's remaining 
 political friends. But in truth he was too much engrossed 
 by domestic life to care very deeply for pubHc employment 
 or affairs. The happiness of his home was enhanced by the 
 birth of three daughters — Jane, Caroline and Alice, born 
 in 1807 and the two following years. A son born in 1810 
 survived his birth only a few hours. In that year, Lady 
 Aberdeen, always delicate, began to droop, and after a 
 long illness, during which Lord Aberdeen watched and 
 nursed her with the closest and most unremitting atten- 
 tion, she expired on February 29, 181 2. With her the sun- 
 shine went out of his life for ever. From the day of her 
 funeral to that of his own death, nearly fifty years later, he 
 constantly wore mourning for her. For more than a year 
 he kept a record in Latin of her almost daily appearance to 
 him in visions. ' Vidi,' ' Vidi, sed obscuriorem ; ' * Verissima 
 dulcissima imago ; ' ' Tota nocte vidi, ut in vita ; ' * Verissima 
 
DEATH OF LADY ABERDEEN IQ 
 
 tristissima imago,' are entries which continually recur, 
 and were only brought to a close by the stirring incidents 
 of his Embassy. Those who knew him best thought that 
 in the long passages of Italian poetry which to the close ot 
 his life he was wont to murmur half aloud to himself, he 
 was dwelling in fancy on his lost love, and that his strong 
 preference for Petrarch's sonnets was not due wholly to 
 the charm of their versification. 
 
 He was now less disinclined than before to accept 
 employment abroad, but refused the mission to the United 
 States offered him in 1812. Had he gone there his con- 
 ciliatory character makes it not improbable that he would 
 have succeeded in averting the unfortunate war which 
 followed. But, while declining to take an active part in 
 foreign affairs, his attention was still constantly turned to 
 them. Hudson Gurney having in October 181 2 asked him 
 his opinion as to the progress of events in Sicily, he 
 replied : 
 
 Some of the things that have been done appear to me 
 clearly good, but others are rather doubtful. To talk of ' giving 
 the British Constitution,' as siic/i, is quite nonsense. You must 
 first create the people, the state of society, the whole system 
 by which the British Constitution is kept alive. Give the 
 people more liberty as you see them fit for it ; break the power 
 of the nobles ; destroy commercial monopoly ; introduce justice 
 in taxation ; banish venality and corruption from the judicature ; 
 all by specific measures, as fast as you please : but to give them 
 a fine sounding ?ia?;ie will not carry much real good along with 
 it. The thing, if anything is meant by it, must be greatly 
 modified, and by talking about it difficulties are only created 
 which need never have been heard of 
 
 The mission which he did at length consent to under- 
 take will be described in the following chapter. 
 
20 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 EMBASSY TO GERMANY 
 
 Lord Aberdeen accepts Embassy to Austria — His Instructions — 
 Journey to Teplitz — Treaty with Austria — Battle of Leipsic — 
 Negotiations at Frankfort — Advance to the Rhine— Congress of 
 Chatillon— Peace of Paris. 
 
 In the spring of 1813 it became probable that Austria, 
 stimulated by the example of Prussia, would attempt to 
 shake off her enforced connection with France. It was 
 an object of the utmost moment to Great Britain that the 
 attitude to be assumed by Austria in such an event should 
 be one, not of neutrality, but of active hostility to Napoleon. 
 Lord Castlereagh accordingly proposed to Lord Aberdeen 
 that he should undertake a mission to Vienna for the 
 purpose of securing the co-operation of the Imperial Court. 
 The offer was declined, partly on public and partly on 
 private grounds. In July, however, * the urgency of Castle- 
 reagh himself, as well as the entreaties of the other ministers,' 
 had, he wrote to Lord Abercorn, become ' so great that it 
 would be affectation to refuse.' 
 
 Austria had not yet openly declared herself, nor even 
 finally decided which side to take in the great impending 
 struggle which was to determine the fate of Germany, and 
 it was still possible that in the end she might be found 
 appearing as the ally of France. Lord Aberdeen therefore 
 left England without any official character, but armed with 
 the most ample powers, and furnished with instructions of a 
 
LORD ABERDEEN'S INSTRUCTIONS 21 
 
 general nature leaving a wide discretion to his action. He 
 was told that, in the opinion of the English Cabinet, no 
 peace would provide adequately for the tranquillity and 
 independence of Europe, which did not confine France 
 within the limits of the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Rhine ; 
 but that if the Powers more immediately interested should 
 prefer a more imperfect arrangement to the risks of a more 
 protracted struggle. Great Britain was on certain conditions 
 ready to assent to such a course. These conditions were 
 the fulfilment of the obligations she had already contracted 
 as to the independence of Sicily and Spain, and the sur- 
 render of Norway to Sweden. Lord Aberdeen was also 
 authorised to negotiate with IMurat, and to conclude a 
 treaty with him confirming him in the possession of the 
 kingdom of Naples, should his accession to the allied cause 
 prove to be purchasable only at that price ; but at the same 
 time he was told that the restoration of Naples to the 
 Bourbon family, and the provision elsewhere of an equi- 
 valent dominion for Murat, was an alternative greatly 
 preferred by the British Government. 
 
 In the existing state of Europe Lord Aberdeen found 
 himself obliged to take a circuitous route to reach the 
 headquarters of the allied armies, which he was directed to 
 visit before proceeding to Vienna. Sailing from Yarmouth 
 on August lo, in H.M.S. Cydnus^ he landed at Gottenburg 
 in Sweden on the 14th, and traversing that country for 
 about 300 miles, crossed the Baltic from Ystadt to Stral- 
 sund, thence pursuing his still very indirect way through 
 Berlin, Breslau, and Glatz, to Prague. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's almost daily letters to his sister-in-law. 
 Lady Maria Hamilton, give a lively account of this hurried 
 journey. He describes the part of Sweden which he tra- 
 versed as 
 
23 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 quite delightful ; it is most beautifully wooded, and the ground 
 varied, as to form, in the most agreeable manner ; cultivation 
 is mingled with all the most romantic scenes, which produces 
 an effect to me always peculiarly charming. The woods are 
 chiefly oak, alder, ash, beech, and birch ; there are also a good 
 many fir-trees, growing naturally, but not in any great number. 
 We crossed many fine streams, and altogether the country is 
 not very unlike some of the richest parts of the Highlands, 
 excepting the hills, which are small, and not of a particularly 
 good form. The people without exception appear to be the 
 best humoured I ever saw. In passing through a country so 
 rapidly there is not time for much observation, but one cannot 
 be deceived in the honest frankness of their appearance. . . . 
 The roads are excellent, and we travelled fast. My carriage 
 was drawn by half a dozen little long- tailed ponies, that put one 
 in mind of Cinderella and her attelage. 
 
 After a stormy voyage across the Baltic in a dirty and 
 unseaworthy Swedish packet, and a hurried journey through 
 Pomerania and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Lord Aberdeen and 
 his party arrived at Berlin between six and seven o'clock on 
 the morning of Monday, August 24. 
 
 I had intended (wrote Lord Aberdeen) to take a few hours' 
 rest ; but observing, even at that early hour, some appearance 
 of bustle and confusion in the town, I found on inquiry that the 
 French army was really approaching. The scene of agitation 
 and interest was soon at its height ; the French army was 
 ascertained to be about twelve or sixteen English miles from 
 the town ; the Crown Prince had taken up his position near 
 Potsdam ; an action was now momentarily expected ; the noise 
 of cannon was heard ; nothing to be seen but estafettes arriving 
 and departing ; officers galloping through the streets ; crowds 
 of people collected in all the public places ; reports, true or 
 false, spread and collected with equal avidity. I never before 
 witnessed a scene of such powerful interest ; it put me in mind 
 of the state of Athens on the approach of Philip to ChKjronea. 
 
 Notwithstanding his natural desire to await at Berlin the 
 issue of the apparently approaching contest. Lord Aberdeen, 
 on being told by General I'Estocq, the commandant, that 
 there was little hope of the city being saved, and that in 
 the event of the fall of the capital his communication with 
 Frankfort on-the-Oder would be wholly cut off, considered 
 
JOURNEY TO TEPLITZ 23 
 
 it his duty at once to start again upon his way. The rest 
 of the journey was marked by repeated overturns, narrow 
 escapes from French outposts, some httle danger and much 
 discomfort. On the not unfrequent occurrence of upsets 
 the party often had 
 
 to stand in the rain for hours before any assistance could be 
 procured, and which was only afforded very unwillingly ; we 
 then had to sit in our wet things in the carriage for the rest of 
 the night. We have more than once spent the day without 
 other food than dry black bread. Our distresses may not be 
 very poetical, or read well on paper, but I assure you they are 
 serious enough in reality. 
 
 On his way Lord Aberdeen heard successively that 
 the conferences at Prague, only entered into by Napoleon 
 with a view of gaining time, were at an end ; that the 
 armistice had terminated; that Austria had declared war 
 with France on August 17 ; and that the Emperor and his 
 minister were with the army, the headquarters of which 
 were established at Teplitz. To this place, therefore. Lord 
 Aberdeen's steps were directed, and he arrived there on the 
 2nd of September. 
 
 The allied sovereigns, their ministers, and the diplo- 
 matic agents accredited to them, were all gathered together 
 at this small Bohemian town, which had accordingly become 
 ' a focus of intrigues, cabal, and tracasserie of every kind.' 
 For miles around were spread the lines of the vast armies of 
 the allies, v^hile a large French force, animated by the fre- 
 quent presence of Napoleon himself, occupied rising ground 
 within three miles of the town. Affairs of outposts were of 
 daily occurrence, more serious encounters not unfrequent, 
 and a decisive batde was supposed to be impending. 
 * Every morning we pack up everything, ready to start in 
 case they attack the town,' wrote Lord Aberdeen to Lady 
 Maria. 
 
 All thought oi mediation had, of course, been aban- 
 
24 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 doned, nor was any management longer necessary to bring 
 over Austria to the side of allies with whose forces her 
 own were already united. All that remained was to settle 
 the terms of concert. There was no serious difficulty 
 in the negotiation of such a treaty, which was Lord 
 Aberdeen's first task at TepHtz. It provided that Austria 
 should, until the end of the war, keep on foot an army of 
 not less than 150,000 men, and that Great Britain should 
 pay a subsidy of 1,000,000/. in lieu of the armed force which 
 could neither be spared from Spain nor raised in addition 
 to the forces she had already on foot. But it at once 
 occurred to Lord Aberdeen that he might so take advantage 
 of the occasion as to induce Austria to bind herself to pur- 
 sue the war until the objects, which Great Britain had most 
 at heart, had been attained, and by thus pledging her to a 
 greater extent than Russia or Prussia yet were, might draw 
 on those powers to follow her example. Austria had 
 already concluded a treaty of alliance with Russia and 
 Prussia, but no obligation had been contracted to pursue 
 the war for other objects than the liberation of Germany 
 and the restoration of Hanover to Great Britain. Lord 
 Aberdeen therefore proposed to Count Metternich that, in 
 addition to the treaty of concert and subsidy, a treaty of 
 alliance should be entered into, containing engagements 
 that no peace with France should be concluded which did 
 not secure the complete independence of Spain, Holland, 
 and Italy. To this Metternich readily assented, and the 
 terms of the treaty were finally arranged and settled at 
 Teplitz, of which place it bears the date, although in fact 
 signed at Comotau after the removal thither of the 
 Imperial headquarters. On this treaty. Lord Aberdeen 
 proposed to found a general treaty of alliance, to be at 
 once signed by Austria, Russia, and Prussia, and to be 
 
POSITION OF AUSTRIA 2$ 
 
 subsequently acceded to by other powers, as they joined in 
 making common cause against Napoleon. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen arrived on the Continent sharing to a 
 great extent the apprehensions of the English Government, 
 which feared that there would be much difficulty in en- 
 gaging Austria heartily against Napoleon, and believed 
 Metternich's leanings to be altogether French. These 
 suspicions were shared and strengthened by the English 
 ambassadors to Russia and Prussia ; but Lord Aberdeen 
 soon perceived that, whatever reluctance might have existed 
 (not unnaturally) on the part of the Emperor Francis to draw 
 the sword against his daughter's husband, or on the part of 
 his minister to incur the resentment of an enemy still so 
 formidable, they both clearly saw that in declaring war with 
 France they had excited against themselves a degree of 
 resentment which Napoleon felt towards no other enemy, 
 and that in the event of his triumph, they would experience 
 the utmost vengeance that it was in his power to inflict. 
 This being so, the complete overthrow or subjugation of 
 Napoleon was indispensably necessary to save Austria from 
 practical annihilation. Every exertion was consequently being 
 made to extend the alliance and to strengthen the Imperial 
 forces. But this the English Government and most of its 
 subordinate agents abroad, who took their cue from the 
 Foreign Office, v;ere slow to perceive, and it was not im- 
 mediately that Lord Aberdeen's representations produced 
 their full effect. Before Castlereagh himself, however, had 
 left England, he had become convinced that no Power was 
 more in earnest than Austria in a struggle, success in which 
 was essential to her very existence, and that no man was 
 more indifferent to the fate of Napoleon than his father- 
 in-law. 
 
 Influenced by the feelings of suspicion above referred 
 
26 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 to, Lord Cathcart, at the request of the Emperor of Russia, 
 had concealed from Count Metternich the fact that 
 England had accepted the mediation of Austria, and at the 
 request of Lord Cathcart and Count Nesselrode Lord 
 Aberdeen, in his first communication to Count Metternich 
 of the terms of peace desired by England, did the same. 
 But reflection led him to doubt the propriety of this course. 
 The friendly relations already established with Austria 
 appeared to invite confidence, while it was clear that it 
 would be impossible long to conceal from that Court what 
 was already known to those of Russia, Prussia, and Sweden. 
 Lord Aberdeen therefore informed Metternich of what had 
 taken place, and explained the reasons which had led to the 
 suppression of the intended communication. Metternich 
 received the information with surprise but without dis- 
 pleasure, and admitted that his conduct had been, in 
 appearance, too equivocal to command confidence. 
 
 The headquarters of the allies remained at Teplitz for 
 the whole of September. During this time the Austrian 
 reinforcements were hurried forward from all parts of the 
 Empire with the utmost expedition, and by skilful negotia- 
 tion Bavaria was not only detached from her alliance with 
 France, but engaged to employ an army of 30,000 men 
 against Napoleon, whose communications were thereby 
 imperilled and the right flank of his army endangered. 
 Lord Aberdeen did full justice to the ability shown by 
 Metternich in his treatment of Bavaria, and agreed in the 
 reasoning which led him to advise his master to abstain 
 from resuming the Imperial crown of Germany, as had 
 been wished by Russia, Prussia, and England. 
 
 The time spent by him at Teplitz enabled Lord Aber- 
 deen to take a full survey of the existing state of affairs, 
 and become well acquainted with the allied sovereigns, 
 
VIEWS OF THE ALLIES 2/ 
 
 their generals and ministers. There was no illusion on 
 the part of Austria as to the vital nature of the contest in 
 which she was engaged. That the Emperor of Russia was 
 equally resolute in his hostility to Bonaparte, Lord Aber- 
 deen was disposed to believe, but the Russian generals 
 almost to a man avowed themselves tired of the war and 
 anxious for its conclusion. • Old Barclay de Tolly,' he 
 wrote, 'talks of returning to Russia on the most trifling 
 occasions, if he has a bad lodging, or anything else as 
 absurd.' The Prince Royal of Sweden, Bernadotte, he 
 found bent solely on promoting his own personal interests, 
 without the least regard to the objects of the alliance. That 
 Napoleon was almost certain to meet with some crushing 
 disaster before he could withdraw the French armies from 
 Germany, Lord Aberdeen believed, but he nevertheless 
 judged that the dissensions of the allied powers were such 
 as to render peace desirable the moment it could be con- 
 cluded on such terms as to render its permanence probable. 
 Metternich and Nesselrode shared this view, but Prussia, 
 animated by a thirst for vengeance, regarded with impa- 
 tience all prospects of accommodation. 
 
 Magnificent as was the outward appearance of the allied 
 armies. Lord Aberdeen was filled with dismay by the im- 
 mediate discovery that jealousy and ill-feeling prevailed in 
 the highest degree among those who composed them. 
 
 It is impossible (he wrote privately to Castlereagh a few 
 days after reaching Teplitz) to view the state of the fine army 
 by which we are surrounded, with reference to the manner in 
 which it is directed, without the most lively concern and 
 apprehension. Prince Schwartzenberg, after much difficulty 
 and discussion, having been appointed Commander-in-Chief, 
 is after all placed in a situation in which he is invested with 
 scarcely more than nominal authority. Of the merits and 
 claims of Schwartzenberg I know nothing, but I am quite sure 
 that no commander on earth would prove efficient in the situa- 
 tion in which he is placed. The vigour of every measure is 
 
28 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 paralysed, the wisdom of the most sagacious proposition 
 rendered ahiiost abortive, by the delay which is necessary to 
 procure the approbation of the different sovereigns and their 
 advisers. The movement made yesterday morning by the 
 greater part of the Austrian army towards Silesia, intended to 
 support Bliicher by acting on the right flank of Bonaparte, 
 would have been undertaken eight-and-forty hours sooner had 
 it not been for the difficulty of persuading the Emperor Alex- 
 ander to agree to the measure. The mutual discontent and 
 ill-will existing in the different armies, which have been in- 
 creased by the early operations of the campaign, have arrived 
 at a considerable height ; and when at last the Austrians 
 marched separately yesterday morning, it was with a joy and 
 acclamation as if they had obtained a victory. 
 
 From the first moment of his arrival Lord Aberdeen 
 assumed, or rather was accorded, a position different from 
 that occupied by any of the other British diplomatic agents 
 on the spot, or from that of any other minister accredited 
 to the Austrian Court. This was partly owing to his 
 having come last from England, furnished with the latest 
 views of the British Cabinet. But much must also have 
 been due to his own personal qualities, and especially to 
 that temper of mind which enabled him without effort to 
 place himself in the position of those with whom he was 
 negotiating, and regard questions dispassionately from their 
 point of view — gifts not common among the diplomatists 
 of the time. At all events, however it was accomplished, 
 he certainly succeeded in acquiring with great rapidity the 
 complete confidence both of the Emperor and of his 
 minister. At an early period of the campaign he wrote : 
 
 The distinction with which I am treated by the Emperor 
 is without any example in the annals of this proud Court. He 
 has insisted on my dining and supping with him every day, and 
 desires me to do so through the whole campaign. I am 
 always placed at his right hand, and both in manner and con- 
 versation nothing can be more flattering. Lord Pembroke, or 
 any one who has been at Vienna, will tell you what a total 
 revolution of all his habits this is. Metternich told me that 
 nothing of this sort had ever been. I see him in private when- 
 
THE EMPEROR FRANCIS 29 
 
 ever I please, and discuss everything in the most unreserved 
 manner. Everybody told me I should never hear him speak a 
 word of politics. 
 
 It may be that the attentions thus received were not 
 
 without their influence on Lord Aberdeen's estimate of the 
 
 character of the Emperor Francis ; but, on the other hand, 
 
 it must be remembered that the intimacy to which he was 
 
 admitted afforded him opportunities possessed by but few 
 
 of judging accurately of the real man as distinguished from 
 
 his mere ordinary appearance. Certainly his opinion of 
 
 the Emperor, formed at the time, but retained through life, 
 
 was a far more favourable one than that of many superficial 
 
 observers. He wrote thus of him at an early stage in the 
 
 campaign : 
 
 His manner at first is awkward and rather foolish, arising 
 from great diffidence in himself, and as foreigners seldom know 
 more of him, he has been reckoned weak and ignorant ; 
 nothing can be more unjust. I find him a man full of know- 
 ledge of every kind, a good Latin scholar, an excellent Italian, 
 well acquainted with their authors and fond of discussing them, 
 and very knowing in all the affairs of his government. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen used similar language when writing of the 
 Emperor in the Quarterly Review more than thirty years 
 later. 
 
 On October 5 the Emperor moved to accompany the 
 allied armies, which had already marched on Dresden and 
 Leipsic in pursuit of the retreating French, and during 
 the whole of this advance Lord Aberdeen was the only 
 diplomatic agent of any nation whom the Emperor kept 
 constantly with him. Other ambassadors might be left to 
 lodge in neighbouring towns, but for Lord Aberdeen a place 
 must always be found in the same village or bivouac as the 
 Emperor. This distinction was not without its drawbacks, 
 and Lord Aberdeen could sometimes have spared the atten- 
 tion. In a letter of October 8 he complains of having had 
 
30 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 to relinquish a picturesque and comfortable old house, * such 
 as you read of in romances, and see sometimes repre- 
 sented on the stage, very irregular, with many passages and 
 corners,' at Saatz (in which town the other members of the 
 corps diplomatique were lodged) for a ' delightful abode, 
 consisting of one room, just built, the walls not dry, and 
 without any fireplace,' at Comotau, in order to be with the 
 Emperor. 
 
 The journey from Teplitz to Leipsic, and from Leipsic 
 to Frankfort, was performed almost entirely on horseback, 
 and Lord Aberdeen's letters are full of the picturesque 
 scenery and incidents of the route. Metternich, Pozzo di 
 Borgo, and Merfeldt were those who most frequently ac- 
 companied him, especially Metternich. One evening he 
 and Metternich, having started late, were benighted. 
 
 The road was execrable (he writes) ; we lost it, and 
 wandered through woods and fields. We were in the great 
 Thuringian forest, and were very near passing the night under 
 a fir-tree. It was a hard frost, and altogether very unpleasant. 
 At last we discovered a wretched hamlet, but found no quarters 
 there. After much difficulty we got admittance to a hay-loft, 
 where Metternich and I passed the night together. 
 
 Both Metternich and Aberdeen were still young men. 
 Daily companionship in the stirring life of a campaign 
 ripened intimacy between them as years of ordinary diplo- 
 matic intercourse would not have done, and before reaching 
 Frankfort they had formed a personal friendship far more 
 close than any that usually springs from an ambassador's 
 intercourse with the minister of the Court to which he is 
 accredited. 
 
 Such a journey in such company, and at such a time, 
 doubtless had its charms, but the impression which was 
 most deeply fixed on Lord Aberdeen's mind by the scenes 
 around him was that of the calamities which war entails. 
 
HORRORS OF WAR 3 1 
 
 Only two days after his arrival at Teplitz he wrote to Lady 
 
 Maria : 
 
 The near approach of war and its effects are horrible beyond 
 what you can conceive. The whole road from Prague to this 
 place was covered with waggons full of wounded, dead, and 
 dying. The shock and disgust and pity produced by such 
 scenes are beyond what I could have supposed possible at a 
 distance. There are near two hundred thousand men round 
 this town. There is much splendour and much animation in 
 the sight, but the scenes of distress and misery have sunk 
 deeper in my mind. I have been quite haunted by them. 
 
 Nor was the impression thus produced in any way 
 blunted, as with many men it was, by greater familiarity. 
 On the contrary, it was only rendered more intense and 
 more painful by every additional day's stay with the army. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen though not under fire during the battle 
 
 of Leipsic, was in the immediate vicinity, and has left an 
 
 interesting account of the vicissitudes of hope and fear felt 
 
 during its varied progress. He entered the city on the day 
 
 following the close of the series of battles which preceded 
 
 its capture. His letters from the first moment of his arrival 
 
 at the seat of war are, as has just been mentioned, full of 
 
 the impression made on him by the sufferings with which 
 
 he was surrounded, but it was the field of Leipsic which 
 
 gave him that abhorrence of any but defensive war which 
 
 he retained for the remainder of his life. 
 
 How shall I describe (he writes to Lady Maria) the entrance 
 to this town ? For three or four miles the ground is covered 
 with bodies of men and horses — many not dead, wretches 
 wounded, unable to crawl, crying for water, amidst heaps of 
 putrefying bodies. Their screams are heard at an immense 
 distance, and still ring in my ears. The living, as well as the 
 dead, are stript by the barbarous peasantry, who have not 
 sufficient charity even to put the miserable wretches out of 
 their pain. I will not attempt to say more of this. Our victory 
 is most complete. It must be owned that a victory is a fine 
 thing, but one should be at a distance to appreciate it 
 
 At Leipsic Lord Aberdeen received a mail from England 
 
32 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 and had the satisfaction of finding that he had, as to two 
 important subjects, anticipated the wishes of his Govern- 
 ment. Lord Castlereagh's letters expressed uneasiness at the 
 concealment of the acceptance of the Austrian mediation, 
 and directed the negotiation of a general treaty of alliance. 
 During the short halt of the allied forces at Leipsic an 
 incident occurred which I should prefer to pass over in 
 silence, but which, as a conspicuous instance of Lord Aber- 
 deen's placability and command of temper even at that com- 
 paratively early period of his life, I cannot omit to notice. 
 General Count Merfeldt was taken prisoner during the 
 battle. He was brought before Napoleon, with whom he 
 had a most important conversation, in which the French 
 Emperor stated the sacrifices he was willing to make for 
 peace. General Merfeldt, who was released on parole, 
 detailed the interview to Sir Robert Wilson, who, * writing 
 under shell fire,' forwarded full notes of it to Lord Aber- 
 deen. This important missive was entrusted to Sir Robert 
 Wilson's aide-de-camp, an honest blundering officer, very 
 eager to be back in the thick of the battle, and very sulky 
 at being sent off the field, as an estafette, during its progress. 
 Coming across another English diplomatic agent of high 
 rank, before he had succeeded in finding Lord Aberdeen, 
 and apparently thinking one diplomatist as good as another, 
 he gave him the letter for Lord Aberdeen, and galloped 
 back at once to the battle. The accidental recipient of 
 Napoleon's offers forthwith addressed a despatch to Castle- 
 reagh," conveying, as from himself, the information he had 
 thus acquired, and instead of handing the letter to Lord 
 Aberdeen when they met, as they did the same evening in 
 Leipsic, retained it until after the messenger had started for 
 England. He then forwarded it to its address. Lord Aber- 
 deen, not knowing that he had been forestalled, himself 
 
LEIPSIC TO FRANKFORT 33 
 
 wrote a despatch on the subject, and was then told that the 
 news was already gone. The forwarder of the intelligence 
 received the warmest thanks of the Government and sub- 
 stantial reward. Lord Aberdeen, and Sir Robert Wilson, 
 who was not mentioned in the despatch sent, got neither. 
 With most men this would have led to a violent quarrel. 
 Lord Aberdeen felt that any such quarrel between two 
 English ministers, in the presence of strangers, would be 
 out of place, and injurious to the public interest. He 
 preserved uninterruptedly the most friendly and familiar 
 relations with his colleague, and the only expression of his 
 feelings that he permitted himself was the addition of the 
 following postscript to a letter written in terms of accustomed 
 cordiality : * I hope you repent of your silence to me at 
 Leipsic ; it was not fair or friendly, and I am sure could 
 not have been deserved by me.' 
 
 The journey from Leipsic to Frankfort was, like that 
 from Teplitz to Leipsic, accomplished chiefly on horseback. 
 It did not diminish Lord Aberdeen's sense of the horrors 
 of war. His letters tell us that the terrible sights through 
 which he passed made it impossible for him to take any 
 pleasure in the beautiful scenery which enchanted his 
 companions. 
 
 The whole road to this place (he wrote from Fulda) is 
 scattered with dead. It is not like a field of battle, but single 
 bodies lie by the roadside at such small intervals that we were 
 scarcely a minute or two without a repetition of the object. 
 These poor wretches had dropped down from fatigue, some 
 actually in the middle of the road, and the people had not 
 taken the trouble to remove them to the side, although they 
 had all been not only carefully searched for anything of value 
 they might have had, but the bodies were stripped of every 
 vestige of clothing. 
 
 Again, from Gelnhausen : 
 
 He [Napoleon] must have lost immense numbers. You 
 have no conception of the road to this place ; it is covered with 
 
34 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 dead bodies and wretches djnng. The bodies were so thick in 
 coming into this town that we actually drove over them. . . . 
 The most affecting sight I think that I ever beheld, I have seen 
 to-day. Houses were burning ; the owners of these cottages in 
 the deepest misery, and their children playing around, quite 
 delighted with the fire which consumed the whole property of 
 their parents, and condemned them to cold and hunger. Here 
 is a mixture of innocence and wretchedness which goes to the 
 heart. I do not know when I have felt more severely the 
 wretchedness of mankind. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen entered Frankfort on the 6th of November 
 with the Emperor Francis, and was a witness of the enthusi- 
 asm with which his return was greeted there. 
 
 The streets, windows, and even roofs of houses were 
 crowded with spectators ; the acclamations were universal, and 
 it was easy to see that these unbought shouts came from the 
 heart, and were produced only by gratitude for their deliver- 
 ance. It was impossible to mistake the sincere and heartfelt 
 emotion by which they were produced. It is but seldom that 
 the fate of kings is to be envied, yet I confess that the 
 sensations of the Emperor of Austria on entering this town, 
 after all that has happened since his coronation here, twenty- 
 one years ago, are such as one would give a good deal to enjoy. 
 
 The headquarters of the allied sovereigns remained for 
 more than a month at Frankfort. Lord Aberdeen had 
 feared that it might become ' a Capua ; ' but this was not 
 the case. It was, however, a stage, on which kings, generals 
 and statesmen were even more crowded than at Teplitz. 
 Lord Aberdeen was not a little disappointed by the es- 
 sentially commonplace character and moderate abilities of 
 the leading actors, both civil and military, in the great 
 drama in which he was called on to take part. *I have 
 seen all the great men whose names at a distance are im- 
 posing,' he had already written to Lady Maria from Teplitz, 
 ' but I think little of most of them. Old Platoff is a strik- 
 ing figure, but quite a barbarian ; Barclay de Tolly the 
 dullest dog you can imagine ; Bennigsen sensible, but near 
 eighty years of age. I rather like the Grand Duke Con- 
 stantine. He is the image of Paul, and very mad, but 
 
PRINCES AND MINISTERS 35 
 
 very entertaining, and in a way clever. But the Prince 
 Royal of Prussia is the prince of the greatest promise. He 
 is very like his mother, and shows great spirit.' Nesselrode 
 he describes as a man of but moderate abilities, and selected 
 by the Emperor Alexander as his minister for that very 
 reason ; ' the moment he is suspected of possessing talents 
 superior to those of his master will be the last of his power.' 
 The naive and excessive vanity of Metternich, and the 
 narrowness of many of his views, inclined Lord Aberdeen 
 in the first instance to take a lower view of his abilities 
 than he did at a later period of the campaign, but while 
 doing full justice to his extreme dexterity and instinctive 
 perception of what was in any given circumstances possible, 
 he persisted in considering that his reputation far exceeded 
 his true intellectual rank. It is curious, as showing how 
 complete had been the cessation of intercourse with the 
 Continent, to find Lord Aberdeen gravely correcting the im- 
 pression of the English Foreign Secretary that Metternich 
 was at that time a very old man ! 
 
 It is easy to comprehend the species of intoxication 
 which must have attended the vast successes of the allies. 
 After so many years of unchecked ascendency on the part 
 of Napoleon, the mere spectacle of his flight from German 
 soil must have caused a singularly novel as well as satis- 
 factory sensation to all good Germans ; but the news which 
 poured in from all quarters in succession, the accession of 
 Bavaria to the alliance, followed by that of Wurtemberg, 
 the dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine, the ex- 
 pulsion of the French from Spain, the defection of Murat, 
 the revolt of Holland, the submission of Denmark, were 
 sufficient to turn the strongest head, and that in many 
 cases they did so is suiBciently apparent from the corre- 
 spondence which has been preserved. They did not, how- 
 
36 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 ever, turn that of the young ambassador, who still held that, 
 on all grounds, peace should be made as soon as it could 
 be made with security. That security, he believed, would 
 be afforded by stripping from Napoleon all the possessions 
 and influence which he had acquired beyond the natural 
 limits of France ; nor did he think that those limits could 
 be infringed or diminished without the strongest probability 
 of exciting on the part of the French nation an universal 
 patriotic resistance, the strength of which had been under- 
 rated twenty years before, and might easily be underrated 
 again. Lord Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart held other 
 opinions, in which they were warmly supported by the rank 
 and file of the regular diplomatic service ; whose jealousy of 
 the * amateur ambassador,' who had never before held any 
 diplomatic post, was not diminished by the extraordinary 
 favour and confidence with which Lord Aberdeen was dis- 
 tinguished, not only by the sovereign to whom he was 
 accredited, but by those also with whom Lord Cathcart and 
 Sir Charles Stewart were in ostensibly closer relation. It 
 was not with Lord Cathcart, but with Lord Aberdeen, that 
 Count Nesselrode conferred on the subject of the general 
 alliance, the arrangements with Denmark, the future 
 operations of the allies, and the propositions to Napoleon, 
 of which, as well as of the proposals to Denmark, Lord 
 Aberdeen alone of the English ministers was cognisant, 
 and which were only communicated to Lord Cathcart at a 
 later period, and by Lord Aberdeen's express wish. 
 
 It " has already been mentioned that during the course 
 of the battle of Leipsic General Count Merfeldt was taken 
 prisoner, and sent back to the Austrian army, on parole, by 
 Napoleon. He brought from the French Emperor offers 
 for the surrender of the Elbe fortresses, and overtures for 
 peace, accompanied by an expression of Napoleon's willing- 
 
THE FRANKFORT BASIS 37 
 
 ness to make sacrifices which Merfeldt plainly told him the 
 allies would certainly require. The offer of the fortresses 
 was rejected with no other reply than that involved in the 
 renewal of the battle ; but to the intimation that Napoleon 
 was willing to treat for peace, it was requisite to give some 
 answer ; and it was decided between Metternich, Nesselrode, 
 and Aberdeen, that the Count de St. Aignan, the French 
 Resident at Gotha and Weimar, who had been taken prisoner 
 at Leipsic, should be charged with the response to the 
 overture. His release, both as a non-military man and a 
 diplomatic agent, was in any case inevitable, and his natural 
 departure from the allied lines for France was consequently 
 unlikely to excite any curiosity or suspicion. In this trans- 
 action Lord Aberdeen again gave proof of that calm sober- 
 ness of judgment and moderation which so eminently 
 distinguished him. He reports, that at a long conference 
 between Metternich, Nesselrode, and himself on November 
 8, ' Count Nesselrode wished to state the terms of the allies 
 in the first instance as high as possible, and reduce them 
 afterwards in the course of negotiation.' Lord Aberdeen 
 was of opinion that it ' would be the preferable course to 
 state the terms as low as possible, and firmly to adhere to 
 them. I told him,' he wrote, 'that if the propositions 
 were made with the hope of being accepted, common sense 
 dictated that they should be rendered as palatable to Bona- 
 parte as was consistent with the fixed views of the allies. 
 If the proposition were made without any such hope, I 
 deprecated the whole proceeding, as being most erroneous 
 in principle, and calculated to produce the greatest injury 
 to the common cause. In this reasoning Prince Metternich 
 concurred.' ^ The following evening Metternich, Nesselrode, 
 
 ' Count Metternich had been created a Prince immediately after 
 the battle of Leipsic. 
 
38 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 and Aberdeen saw St. Aignan immediately before his 
 departure. A conversation ensued, in which the essential 
 bases of negotiation were stated to be the adoption by Bona- 
 parte of the natural limits of France, meaning generally there- 
 by the Alps, the Rhine, and the Pyrenees : ' the absolute 
 independence of Germany, and the renunciation of every 
 species of constitutional influence in that country on the 
 part of France ; not meaning thereby the natural and in • 
 dispensable influence which every powerful state must exer- 
 cise over its weaker neighbours : ' and the absolute inde- 
 pendence of Spain, Italy, and Holland. On the other hand 
 Lord Aberdeen told M. de St. Aignan that England was 
 ready to make great sacrifices in order to obtain peace for 
 Europe ; that she did not interfere with the freedom of 
 commerce, or with those maritime rights to which France 
 could with justice pretend, and had no wish to interfere 
 with the reasonable pretensions of France. ... * My great 
 object, if any propositions were made, was so to frame 
 them as to afford the greatest probability of success con- 
 sistent with the fixed policy of the allies. . . . My next 
 object was that the whole transaction should be conducted 
 with the utmost secrecy and expedition. . . .' 
 
 When Lord Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart became 
 aware of what had passed, the former was startled, and 
 inclined to insist on the prosecution of the war without any 
 negotiation ; but he was on the spot, and Lord Aberdeen 
 was able to induce him to adopt views similar to his own, 
 nor from that time forward did he encounter any difficulties 
 on the part of Lord Cathcart. Sir Charles Stewart was 
 unfortunately at Hanover with the Crown Prince of Sweden, 
 and consequently out of the reach of Lord Aberdeen's 
 personal influence ; while he was worked on by those about 
 him who disliked Lord Aberdeen, and despised him as an 
 
THE BASIS APPROVED 39 
 
 amateur. These persons persuaded Sir Charles Stewart that 
 Lord Aberdeen had abandoned the interests of England and 
 of Europe, and that France had no ' maritime rights ' to 
 which she could with justice pretend, and no * pretensions ' 
 which could be considered reasonable. In his despatches on 
 that subject Sir Charles Stewart insisted that Lord Aberdeen 
 had omitted from the propositions, which Napoleon was to 
 be called on to accept, several objects of the highest interest 
 to Great Britain. But Castlereagh and the British Cabinet 
 shared Lord Aberdeen's views, adopted his reasoning, and 
 approved his action. Sir Charles Stewart was somewhat 
 curtly told that he had omitted to perceive the essential 
 difference between a basis of negotiation and the terms of a 
 definitive treaty, and Lord Aberdeen was assured of ' H.R.H. 
 the Prince Regent's full approval of the part he had borne in 
 these delicate and momentous discussions,' and of the will- 
 ingness of the British Government to treat on the bases 
 proposed, including therein the frontier of ' the Rhine, with 
 such departure therefrom as may sufficiently provide for the 
 independence and security of Holland,' which country had 
 in the interval successfully freed itself from French control. 
 
 But the commencement of negotiations for peace was 
 not the only matter which attracted Lord Aberdeen's atten- 
 tion during his stay at Frankfort. The liberation of Holland 
 and of Switzerland, the detachment of Denmark from the 
 French cause, the position of Murat, and the negotiation of 
 the general treaty of alliance equally occupied his thoughts. 
 
 The liberation of Holland, from which the French were 
 expelled almost without fighting, was effected with little 
 dif^culty ; but in the Low Countries the rising was more 
 partial, and an attempt to seize Antwerp failed. As to Swit- 
 zerland Lord Aberdeen wrote, that the Avoyer of Berne had 
 sent secretly to consult him, and that he had vigorously sup- 
 
40 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 ported the plan of effecting a revolution in Switzerland and 
 the restoration of the old cantonal government concurrently 
 with the entrance of Switzerland by the allied armies on 
 their road to France. 
 
 That Denmark was added to the allies was entirely due 
 to the firmness of Lord Aberdeen. Prussia already cast an 
 eye on the provinces which it annexed half a century later, 
 and on Swedish Pomerania, which it could only hope to 
 receive if Sweden acquired fresh territory elsewhere. Russia, 
 for reasons of its own, desired such an aggrandisement of 
 Sweden at the expense of Denmark as would excuse its own 
 extension westwards. The English Government was bent 
 on satisfying its guarantee to Bernadotte, and w^as on the 
 whole impatient of discussions which seemed to retard, if 
 not imperil, its fulfilment and his co-operation. Lord Aber- 
 deen was, however, far from sharing the sentiments of his 
 Government on this point. Although he might not be able 
 very materially to soften the hard conditions to be imposed 
 on Denmark, he was at all events determined to avert, if he 
 could, her threatened extinction as an independent state, 
 and afford her an opportunity of recovering her position 
 by entering the alliance, should she make up her mind to do 
 so on the only conditions now attainable. 
 
 It was with great surprise that Lord Aberdeen learnt 
 on his arrival at Teplitz, that Murat was actually in Dresden 
 and in command of Napoleon's cavalry. He had been 
 lured there by Napoleon on the pretence that peace was 
 upon the point of conclusion. On his arrival he was placed 
 under arrest until he consented to comply with Napoleon's 
 wishes. He nevertheless contrived to keep up intercourse 
 with Metternich and Lord Aberdeen, and on the first op- 
 portunity after the defeats of Leipsic he quitted Napoleon 
 and fled, with the utmost expedition, to Italy, whence he 
 
JEALOUSIES AMONG THE ALLIES 41 
 
 issued orders for the recall of the Neapolitan troops then 
 serving with the French army. Finally, an armistice 
 between the Austrian and Neapolitan forces was followed by 
 one between Murat and the British army in Sicily, signed 
 on behalf of England by Mr. J. G. R. Graham, whose long 
 and clear letter giving an account of the transaction, and 
 excusing his own boldness in taking upon himself, though 
 *a very young man,' to sign an arrangement not exactly 
 authorised by his instructions, was the first communication 
 ever received by Lord Aberdeen from the most intimate 
 correspondent of his later life. Sir James Graham of 
 Netherby. 
 
 But the greatest and most successful service rendered 
 by Lord Aberdeen during the month spent by the allied 
 sovereigns at Frankfort and the subsequent month passed on 
 the banks of the Rhine was the prevention of any out- 
 break of the mutual jealousies which were ever ready 
 to blaze forth, and were only suppressed by his exer- 
 cise of tact and resolute retention of a commanding 
 position as the representative of England. But this was 
 a service which, though of infinite importance, was not one 
 to attract the public eye, or to be loudly celebrated 
 by colleagues whom it cast into the shade. It was, 
 however, fully recognised by Lord Castlereagh and Lord 
 Liverpool, and has equally been so by those who have made 
 the diplomatic transactions of the campaign a matter of 
 serious study. *It is probable,' writes the accomplished 
 author of a series of articles which appeared in the Edinburgh 
 Review for 1858-59, 
 
 that after the Duke of Wellington no British statesman or 
 soldier so largely influenced the successful issue of the great 
 struggle for the freedom of Europe in 181 3 [as Lord Aberdeen]. 
 It may be doubted whether, but for the firmness, the tact, the 
 temper, and the sagacity which form the character of Lord 
 Aberdeen, the influence of England would have overcome the 
 
42 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 rival interests which first obstructed the combination of the 
 European powers and next threatened the dissolution of their 
 confederacy. 
 
 This is the language of a man of great knowledge, and the 
 
 calmest judicial temperament/ who was bound to Lord 
 
 Aberdeen by no tie of political connection or personal 
 
 attachment ; and it will probably command the acquiescence 
 
 of the few who possess an accurate knowledge of the secret 
 
 history of the time. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's difficulties were materially increased 
 
 by the marked difference shown by his Government in its 
 
 attitude towards Russia and Austria. On December 4 he 
 
 wrote to Castlereagh : 
 
 The outrageous compliment you pay [in the Prince Regent's 
 speech] to the Emperor of Russia does not suit the taste of the 
 successor of the Caesars ; and when you put Austria and 
 Bavaria in the same paragraph, you cannot be surprised that 
 the proudest Court in Europe should take offence. Really 
 these sallies undo all that I am labouring to accomplish ; God 
 knows there are heart burnings enough to allay, and the task is 
 not easy. I do my best, but I tell you plainly a few more 
 instances of such odious preference will go far to loosen the 
 very foundations of the coalition. 
 
 Besides the great political questions which occupied his 
 attention, there were others of a more personal character in 
 which Lord Aberdeen took a lively interest. 
 
 Among the brilliant assembly which Lord Aberdeen 
 had found collected at Teplitz there was an English officer, 
 Sir Robert Wilson, previously unknown to Lord Aberdeen 
 except by reputation. With him Lord Aberdeen speedily 
 contracted relations of close intimacy. Sir Robert Wilson 
 had accompanied the Russian armies as English miUtary 
 representative during the whole of the campaign of 1812- 
 13 ; and he was now temporarily attached in a somewhat 
 similar capacity to the army of Prince Schwartzenberg. 
 • The late Sir George Cor ae wall Lewis. 
 
SIR ROBERT WILSON 43 
 
 The absence of Tory prejudices on Lord Aberdeen's part 
 astonished him, and whilst at Frankfort he wrote in his 
 diary : ' By principles Aberdeen belongs to tis. He is a 
 Liberal politician, and a man of high independent spirit, 
 with a very reasoning mind, in which there is no inextirp- 
 able prejudice. I should have thought Lord Grey and he 
 would have been inseparables ; and they would have been, 
 if accident had favoured nature and brought them more in 
 communication.' ^ The testimony of so strong a Liberal 
 as Sir Robert Wilson to the breadth of Lord Aberdeen's 
 views is remarkable, though it was no doubt accentuated 
 by gratitude. Wilson had been temporarily attached to 
 Schwartzenberg's headquarters, the moment the Austrian 
 army bad joined the allies. His previous service with the 
 Russian army and intimacy with the Emperor Alexander 
 and with Bliicher made him specially useful as a medium 
 of communication between all the divisions of the allied 
 force, and gave him an influence and position which no man, 
 however able, coming newly to the scene could hope for a 
 long period to possess. But the officer whom the English 
 Government had now sent out to act as military attache with 
 the Austrian army was not an able man ; whilst of course he 
 was totally unacquainted with those with whom he would 
 be placed in relation. He was the eldest son of Lord 
 Westmorland, Lord Burghersh, then a young soldier with- 
 out distinction. He was known afterwards as a fair 
 amateur musician, who once wrote an opera and composed 
 a Mass ; who for a long period represented England with 
 credit at the Courts of Tuscany and Naples ; and who 
 afterwards became British minister at Berlin and ambas- 
 sador at Vienna. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen knew and liked Burghersh, but at once 
 * Sir Robert Wilson's Private Journal, 1813-14, vol. ii. p. 238. 
 
44 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 saw that not only was he not the man to replace Wilson, 
 but that the substitution of the one for the other had in it 
 something which bordered on the ludicrous. He therefore 
 strongly urged Castlereagh to leave Sir Robert Wilson 
 where he was, and to send Lord Burghersh with the army 
 of Marshal Bellegarde to Italy. This was pressed by him 
 in the strongest language. 
 
 Schwartzenberg and Metternich have frequently spoken to 
 me on the subject. The first has written to me in the most 
 pressing manner ; the latter has told me that he had it in 
 command from the Emperor to express his sense of the great 
 services of Wilson, and to state his wishes that he should con- 
 tinue with the army. Schwartzenberg told me he would as 
 soon part with Radetzky, the Quartermaster-General ; that 
 Wilson was admitted to all their councils, and that they had 
 the most entire confidence in his zeal and talents. His services 
 in the field have been most conspicuous. In short, to enu- 
 merate his military services would be endless. But great as 
 they are, they fall short in Schwartzenberg's estimation of those 
 which he has rendered out of the field. From his intimate 
 knowledge of the Russian and Prussian armies, and the great 
 respect invariably shown him by the Emperor of Russia and 
 the King of Prussia, he is able to do a thousand things which 
 no one else could. He was the means of making up a differ- 
 ence between the King and Schwartzenberg, which was of 
 the utmost importance. In short, I cannot possibly be deceived ; 
 I hear it from morning till night from all nations ; and I am 
 perfectly persuaded there is no man in existence who unites in 
 the fourth part of the degree the love and admiration of the 
 three armies. 
 
 And again, somewhat later : 
 
 I do not know how to express the sensation which the 
 intelligence of Wilson's removal has produced in all ranks of 
 all armies. The Emperor of Russia has flatly declared that he 
 will take on himself the responsibility of making him stay, and 
 that he will write to the Prince accordingly. The King has 
 been equally kind, and old Bliicher has pressed him to come 
 and share his quarters for the rest of the campaign, where he 
 shall be treated as his son. But in the Austrian army, from 
 the first to the last, the feeling is the same, and as strongly 
 expressed. I assure you that Schwartzenberg more than once, 
 in speaking of it, has absolutely cried with vexation — a pretty 
 good proof that he was in earnest. He says that in the 
 
SIR ROBERT WILSON 45 
 
 disagreeable sort of command which he has over Russians and 
 Prussians there are many things which, if it were not for 
 Wilson, he should not venture to propose. In the field it has 
 frequently happened that he has sent Wilson to persuade 
 Russian officers, nay, even the Emperor himself, to do what he 
 would not otherwise have thought of Schwartzenberg told 
 me that he had stated this in pretty plain terms to Burghersh, 
 in the hope that he would have chosen to go to Italy. The 
 Emperor of Austria has taken it up as strongly ; he has 
 spoken to Metternich about it, and directed him to take some 
 steps on the subject. Now you may think all this intrigue, but 
 how is it possible ? Would everybody that is highest and most 
 respectable join in a matter of this kind if they had it not 
 really at heart ? Besides the Emperor and Metternich, every 
 Austrian at all distinguished has come to me with the same 
 language. Merfeldt, Liechtenstein, Colloredo, Fresnel, Ra- 
 detzky, all agree ; and this feeling is not confined to military 
 men. I believe that I have given tolerable satisfaction here to 
 both Austrians and Russians, and may, perhaps, be of some 
 use by not being thought ill of by either ; but it is the deliberate 
 conviction of my mind that neither I nor any minister whatever 
 could be of half the use to the general cause that Wilson has 
 been. I am not blind to his faults — he may be too meddling ; 
 his political opinions may have been violent, and of course an 
 ill-directed zeal may lead him into error : but what, after all, is 
 the result ? Never man was more loved and admired than he 
 has been, and it is at a moment like the present that one finds 
 it out in its full extent. With regard to myself, it is quite 
 impossible that I should have any object in this affair. I never 
 knew Wilson before coming here. I declare before God with 
 the most deep-rooted conviction that the good of the service 
 absolutely demands my interference in this case. And I tell 
 you with the same frankness which I hope always to use 
 towards you, that if you persevere in this arrangement you are 
 guilty of an act more injurious to the general good than 
 anything else of a personal nature which I can possibly 
 conceive could be. If you value the wishes of every person to 
 whom you ought to attend here, if you value the good of the 
 service, if you wish to possess a tie by which Austrians, 
 Russians, and Prussians may be united, and mutual asperities 
 smoothed, you will keep Wilson here. 
 
 But he wrote in vain. Sir Robert Wilson's Liberal 
 
 politics were fatal to him, and Castlereagh replied, with 
 
 something like a sneer, that Sir Robert Wilson might enjoy 
 
 the confidence of other European Governments, but did not 
 
 possess that of his own ; that, however, as Lord Aberdeen 
 
46 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 wished him to continue with the Austrian armies, he might 
 be allowed to do so ; but only at the headquarters of 
 Marshal Bellegarde in Italy. I have thought this incident 
 worthy of narration at some length, because it is highly 
 illustrative both of Lord Aberdeen's character, and of the 
 way in which such matters were regarded in official circles 
 in the early years of this century. To Lord Aberdeen it 
 seemed only natural and right that the officer of experience 
 and influence should remain at the post where that know- 
 ledge and influence were most usefully exercised, and that 
 the newcomer should go to Italy ; but to his diplomatic 
 colleagues, and especially to the smaller fry of officials, like 
 Sir George Jackson, it appeared not only amazing, but 
 positively scandalous, that such considerations should 
 induce him to prefer a man of Whig opinions to a supporter 
 of the Government ; a man previously unknown to him to 
 one with whom he was familiar ; ^ and a soldier without birth 
 or connection to the son of a Cabinet minister. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen has left on record a strong opinion with 
 regard to the capitulation of Dresden, which, though not 
 that of the majority of his contemporaries, the verdict of 
 posterity has ratified. 
 
 The attempt to restore things to their former condition is so 
 essentially absurd — and the enemy will so well know how to 
 turn it to account — that I am sure it would have been better to 
 fulfil the conditions, however unauthorised. Being on that foot- 
 ing of intimacy with Schwartzenberg which enabled me to ven- 
 ture to do so, I spoke to him on the subject. He received my 
 observations with the utmost kindness, but said it was now at all 
 events too late to do anything, and that he had considered the 
 matter coolly, and was convinced he was justified in equity and 
 military law in not ratifying the act. Of course I did not press 
 the matter further. In the evening I saw the Emperor. He 
 talked with me a long while on the subject. He said that he 
 himself entirely agreed with me in the view that I had taken, 
 
 * ' The droll thing is that Lord Aberdeen, to whom Wilson 
 was unknown till he met him here, supports him." — Bath Archives^ 
 Sir G. Jackson, vol, ii. p. 347. 
 
CHARACTER OF METTERNTCH 47 
 
 and had spoken to Metternich accordingly. He said that they 
 had persuaded him to agree to the course that had been 
 adopted, but that it was against his judgment. He said 
 a hundred things about the interest which I had taken in his 
 honour, and altogether spoke in so cordial a manner that I 
 cannot do justice to the satisfaction he exhibited. 
 
 While desirous of peace, and inclined to believe that it 
 might be brought about with safety, and without the sacri- 
 fice of any essentially English interest. Lord Aberdeen 
 never ceased to urge meanwhile the most vigorous pro- 
 secution of the war. He strongly advocated and assisted in 
 deciding the advance of the armies into France itself, a 
 measure apparently almost as distasteful to the other English 
 diplomatists on the spot, as the intimation of a readiness to 
 negotiate had been. The English Government was reluctant 
 to surrender its apprehension that Metternich was in- 
 clined to favour France, and that slowness and indecision 
 would be shown by the Austrian Government in raising 
 forces for the contest. Views of this nature were expressed 
 in a letter from Castlereagh, and Lord Aberdeen's answer 
 was highly characteristic : 
 
 Do not think Metternich such a formidable personage ; 
 depend upon it I have most substantial reasons for knowing 
 that he is heart and soul with us ; but, my dear Castlereagh, 
 with all your wisdom, judgment, and experience, which are as 
 great as possible, and which I respect sincerely, I think you 
 have so much of the Englishman about you as not quite to be 
 aware of the real value of foreign modes of acting. Put your- 
 self 171 Mettcr}2icUs place. He had an Austrian game as well 
 as a European one to play, and to play which was his first 
 duty. To enter into the war with most insufficient means — 
 to deliver himself, even if successful, into the hands of Russia 
 and Prussia — could not be wise in the minister of this 
 weakened but still mighty empire. He has come forward as 
 the head of the German body should appear — the leading 
 power ; the effect has been decisive. Now do not be afraid of 
 me. There is a sort of half confidence and intimacy which 
 ambassadors may enjoy which perhaps is likely to mislead. 
 My intercourse with Metternich is of another description. 
 Living with him at all times and in all situations, is it possible 
 
48 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 that I should not know him? He is singularly acute but 
 
 withal not a very clever man. He is very vain, but he is 
 
 a good Austrian. He is at this moment the main support of 
 warlike measures. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen, who considered that he had fulfilled his 
 mission by firmly establishing the Austrian alliance, con- 
 templated returning home from Frankfort. He wrote to 
 Castlereagh : 
 
 I write as if I looked forward to eternity, but it is only the 
 peculiarity of my situation which renders it tolerable — and 
 that does not bring me my children. You know my bargain ? 
 When I look back on what I have done, I feel perfectly 
 confident that I have laid a foundation of friendship and 
 cordiality which may be easily preserved and turned to the 
 best account. If we are to have negotiation and you chuse me 
 to stay, I will do my best, and with the utmost pleasure ; but if 
 the war continues I think of home. Parliament has met, and 
 although I am not a regular performer, that is the scene after 
 all. To assist you I would do this, or almost anything else, but 
 I lean towards home. 
 
 On the receipt of Napoleon's acceptance of the bases of 
 negotiation sent from Frankfort, Count Pozzo di Borgo was 
 despatched to England with the news, and furnished with 
 the views of the three allied powers respecting them. He 
 was also the bearer of their request that Lord Aberdeen 
 might be appointed the English negotiator, as equally ac- 
 ceptable to all the three Governments, and fully acquainted 
 with the feelings of each. Lord Aberdeen had intended 
 to accompany Pozzo to England, but forbore doing so, 
 partly because he did not wish to have the appearance of 
 pressing his own claims, and partly because his presence at 
 headquarters could ill be spared. He wrote to Lady Maria 
 on October 22 ; 
 
 I have met with quite enough to turn a stouter brain ; do 
 not think me too arrogant, but I really assure you that you can 
 scarcely imagine the position in which I stand. Events of im- 
 portance unparalleled are passing through my nands. Enjoying 
 the confidence of the Austrian Government, the first member 
 
GERMAN CHARACTER 49 
 
 of this great confederation, and consulted by the minister with- 
 out reserve, and with almost as little reserve by the minister of 
 Russia, you may have some notion of the objects of my atten- 
 tion. Yet would I leave them all with pleasure were I sure I 
 could do it also with dignity. When I see the picture of the 
 dear children everything sinks in importance. 
 
 On the arrival in London of Pozzo di Borgo, the English 
 Cabinet, after a careful consideration of the various com- 
 munications of which he was the bearer, decided that Lord 
 Castlereagh himself should proceed to the Continent, and 
 confer on the spot with the allied sovereigns and their 
 ministers. 
 
 Meanwhile the allied armies moved forward to the French 
 frontier. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's almost daily letters to Lady Maria 
 
 Hamilton form a sort of journal of this advance, and are 
 
 in many ways full of interest. The following extract will 
 
 convey an idea of their character : 
 
 I like the Germans better on better acquaintance. They 
 are a good people. The Emperor is as good a man as any in 
 his dominions, in all the essentials of goodness : a good hus- 
 band and father, a man of truth and honour, and as a sovereign 
 benignant and just. But it is not among the conspicuous per- 
 sons of the Court that I should wish to judge. In the sort of 
 life I have led it has been my chance to be the guest of all 
 ranks, from the highest to the lowest, one night sleeping in a 
 palace, another in a cottage. I have been generally a forced 
 guest, it is true, and might therefore have found the worst side 
 apparent. I have, on the contrary, always been struck by the 
 goodness, the bojihomie^ the honesty of all ranks. Madame 
 de Stael describes them well ; poetically, but well. I have not 
 yet had time to finish her second volume ; but I certainly agree 
 with you as to what she says of their literature, so far as I under- 
 stand it, for it is a little rash to pronounce at once without a 
 more thorough knowledge of their language. It is clear that 
 Madame de Stael does not enter fully into the spirit of English 
 composition, nor can she understand it. But is not this the 
 case with all nations ? There is a degree of intimate knowledge 
 which a stranger can never attain to. Besides which, there is 
 a national feeling, a sort of attachment, which you may call 
 prejudice if you will, but which even in this case is perhaps a 
 virtue, by which we are rendered partial judges. It is like a 
 
50 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 face which is dear to us ; when we know and love the mind 
 we cannot bear the frigid criticisms of a stranger on the features 
 in which it is exhibited. I by no means deny the justice of 
 her general remarks on English literature ; but to tell you the 
 truth, I take the liberty of receiving all criticisms of this sort 
 with great indifference. To feel strongly, to enjoy fully, what 
 appear to me beauties is the first point ; to make others feel 
 and enjoy them too augments the pleasure twofold, provided 
 they are persons whose sensations are worthy of exciting 
 interest. But I must have done for to-night ; all this I could 
 have told you just as well at home. Freybiirg^ i8th Decem- 
 ber. — At Offenburg we came to the edge of the Black Forest ; 
 we have skirted it all to-day. This town is situated at the 
 entrance of a gorge leading into the forest, and is backed by 
 fine hills covered with wood. I have long wished to see the 
 Black Forest. I have always heard much of its picturesque 
 beauty ; and you know it is the native country of the banditti, 
 assassins, and all heroes of that sort who figure in romances. 
 I am glad to see that there is a fair proportion of fine oak and 
 beechwood, and that it is not only the eternal Scotch or spruce 
 fir. The forms seem to be fine, the hills rocky, and plenty of 
 torrents, so I shall have employment for some days. I hope I 
 do not tire you by writing of nothing but the appearance of the 
 country and beautiful scenery. We are old fellow-travellers, 
 and you know there is nothing which at all times has so 
 benignant an influence over me as the enjoyment of nature. 
 It is so pure and unmixed, it is so perfectly within our power 
 at all times and in all places, and it is so intense, that I think 
 those persons who do not possess it are much to be pitied. 
 They have a sense the less. . . , 
 
 During the three weeks spent by Lord Aberdeen at 
 Freibuig and in its vicinity, he found ample exercise for all 
 his powers in appeasing the dissensions of the allies, which, 
 though constantly made up, broke out from time to time 
 to a most alarming degree. On one occasion the Emperor 
 Alexander gave orders to suspend the onward progress of 
 his forces, and threatened to withdraw them altogether 
 from the scene of action. Whilst at Frankfort it had been 
 agreed by the allied sovereigns, and the Emperor Alexander 
 among them, that the allied forces should enter France 
 through Switzerland, the neutrality of which, they held, 
 could not in existing circumstances claim to be respected. 
 
SWISS NEUTRALITY 5 1 
 
 But Alexander subsequently changed his mind, and an- 
 nounced that he should consider the entrance of the 
 Austrian forces into Switzerland as a declaration of war 
 against himself. Prince Metternich was determined not to 
 permit the advance of the allies to be thus interrupted, but 
 spared no pains to disarm the Russian opposition, and by 
 wonderfully skilful management succeeded in so doing. A 
 revolution was easily effected in Switzerland, the old cantonal 
 governments being restored in most cases by the very officers 
 who presided over the state as constituted by Napoleon. 
 The Austrians were then invited by the new Government to 
 pass through Switzerland, and the invitation was accepted. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander was compelled to admit that it 
 was necessary to take advantage of the favourable disposition 
 of the Swiss people, but still adhered to his former opinions 
 as to the principle of the measure. Prince Metternich, as 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote, ' wisely did not dispute the principle 
 laid down, being content to have secured the Emperor's 
 conformity of conduct.' Lord Aberdeen, who had seen the 
 Swiss agents at Frankfort, and had given pecuniary assist- 
 ance to effect the revolution, warmly seconded him ; and 
 Sir Robert Wilson, who had not yet gone to Italy, had 
 a last opportunity of displaying the extent and value of his 
 influence among the officers of the Russian army. Before 
 he left the Austrian headquarters Sir Robert received from 
 the Emperor Francis the coveted and rare gift of the 
 Commander's Cross of Maria Theresa, one of the highest 
 of military distinctions, and one which by the laws of the 
 Order can only be bestowed for services of the most 
 brilliant description. The Emperor at the same time 
 conferred on Lord Aberdeen the great Hungarian order 
 of St. Stephen, never given to any other Englishman, and 
 rarely to any foreigner unless of royal rank. 
 
52 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Lord Aberdeen, notwithstanding the settlement of the 
 quarrel as to Switzerland, continued to regard the relations 
 of the allies with the utmost alarm, and the tension was 
 such that he wrote on the 19th December: 'Notwith- 
 standing our brilliant successes, every day convinces me 
 more and more that if we can contrive to negotiate a 
 tolerable peace at this moment we shall adopt the only 
 means of securing our advantages.' It was at Freiburg 
 that Lord Aberdeen received intelligence from Castlereagh 
 of his intention to repair to the Continent. The intimation, 
 on the whole, gave him pleasure, although he felt uncertain 
 as to the effect which Castlereagh's presence on the scene 
 might have. To Lord Abercorn he wrote : 
 
 I am not certain if the arrival of Castlereagh will do good. 
 It may, if he acts wisely ; but if he comes with all the partiali- 
 ties and prejudices long cherished in England, his presence 
 will be most pernicious. Personally, I am much satisfied, for 
 I wish for nothing more than that he should judge on the spot 
 of the effect of all my intercourse with the Austrian Govern- 
 ment, and the other powers. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh arrived at Basle on the 19th January. 
 He was at first somewhat inclined to conduct the negotia- 
 tions for peace himself, but assured Lord Aberdeen that 
 should he not do so he would certainly confide their con- 
 duct to him,^ by whom they had been really commenced at 
 Frankfort. Castlereagh did not come to any decision for 
 ten days, and during that time Lord Aberdeen, rather against 
 his will, felt bound to remain with him. 
 
 Castlereagh has not made up his mind how the negotia- 
 tion shall be conducted (he wrote to Lord Abercorn), and I 
 am bound to wait for his decision. I think it most probable 
 that he will manage it all himself, in which case I think he will 
 scarcely have treated me fairly in not coming to a decision 
 sooner, because my departure at this moment cannot but be 
 misunderstood. Whatever be the result, my presence at this 
 moment is very useful to Castlereagh, and I am sure he feels 
 it, v/hich makes a short delay tolerable. 
 
ADVANCE INTO FRANCE 53 
 
 Of the advance into France Lord Aberdeen wrote from 
 Vesoul on the 24th January : 
 
 This being the third day of my journey in France, if I 
 write to you everywhere else, you may well expect to hear from 
 me now. Even a letter which contains nothing must be 
 received with satisfaction when written at the present moment 
 a hundred miles within the French territory. . . . The uni- 
 versal cry is for peace ; they all abuse Napoleon as the author 
 of their sufferings, but do not appear to have any desire to 
 change the dynasty. I have only heard 07ie man speak in 
 favour of the Bourbons ; yet I doubt not, if they thought that 
 the return of the Royal Family was an indispensable condition 
 of peace, they would be too happy to agree to it. The con- 
 scription is the dreadful engine by which they are oppressed ; 
 no family is without cause of lam.entation. It is not only the 
 extensive destruction which ensues of those who march, but 
 numbers are torn from their homes under circumstances in 
 which to survive is almost worse than death. In other 
 respects they have not much to complain of The taxes are 
 not immoderate ; the cottages appear to be good, and the 
 people not ill-clad. The country through which we have 
 passed is extremely beautiful ; diversified with hills, valleys, 
 and fine woods of oak and beech. It is well cultivated, and 
 the high roads are most magnificent. The people are very 
 civil and well-disposed, and do not suffer more than is in- 
 separable from the passage of so large an army composed of 
 such different materials. Schwartzenberg does his best to 
 observe the strictest discipline, but nothing can prevent the 
 excesses of the Cossacks and Russians. It is a little difficult 
 to find the means of conveyance when such a multitude of 
 horses is required for the service of the army. All the horses 
 of the country are put in requisition, and the peasants are 
 happy if they ever see these animals again when once they are 
 taken. We have surprised them very much by paying for 
 them. In Germany it is the custom for one man to ride and 
 drive four horses, or even six ; here I have had four horses 
 brought from different ploughs and each required to be ridden, 
 so that with my four postilions, in the most grotesque and 
 various dresses imaginable, I have exhibited a singular attelage. 
 In all this confusion and distress the people do not lose their 
 gaiety. Poor fellows who have been plundered of ever>'thing 
 in the world, and beaten for not possessing more, intersperse 
 their narratives with jokes. They all do full justice to the 
 position of our nation, and give us even more credit than we 
 deserve with respect to this great confederacy. I was a little 
 shocked, however, last night, to find that my host, a decent 
 man, the notary-public of the town, had never heard the name 
 of Lord Wellington. 
 
54 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 On January 29 Lord Castlereagh arrived at the decision 
 that, as neither Prince Metternich nor Count Nesselrode 
 proposed to act as negotiators themselves, neither would he. 
 His first intention was to employ Lord Aberdeen alone as 
 the British plenipotentiary. But when this became known 
 to Lord Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart, as well as the 
 flict that Lord Aberdeen attended meetings of the minis- 
 ters of the four Powers, from wdiich they were excluded, 
 their discontent was so violent, and seemed likely to have 
 such prejudicial consequences, that Castlereagh was induced 
 to hesitate, and begged Lord Aberdeen, while himself re- 
 maining ' the sole efficient person, to make all reports, to be 
 the sole mouthpiece and generally the negotiator,' to consent 
 that Lord Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart should act along 
 with him as assistants in ' a sort of Cabinet.' Castlereagh 
 told Lord Aberdeen that although one of the disappointed 
 negotiators was his own brother, he should have thought no- 
 thing of their dissatisfaction had it not been for the oppor- 
 tunity of serious mischief which might be given by the in- 
 smuation, that the appointment of the ambassador to Austria 
 as the v<:ole English plenipotentiary showed a disposition to 
 disregard the interests of Russia and Prussia, and begged 
 Lord Aberdeen, in language of the most earnest entreaty, to 
 agree to an arrangement which he felt he could not require, 
 and could hardly expect him to accept. 
 
 For his compliance with Lord Castlereagh's wishes Lord 
 Aberdeen was severely taken to task by many of his friends. 
 Lord Abercorn especially wrote to censure his sacrificing 
 himself by 'playing into Lord Castlereagh's and his brother's 
 hands. All praise will be arrogated by Lord Cathcart and 
 his extensive connections, and blame and unpopularity you 
 will studiously be made to share.' But it is clear that the 
 principles on which he invariably acted left Lord Aberdeen 
 
CONGRESS OF CHATILLON 55 
 
 really no option, and that a refusal by him of the chief con- 
 duct of the negotiation could only have been based on 
 personal considerations, which would not on public grounds 
 have afforded any justification of his action. 
 
 The negotiators arrived at Chatillon on February 3 ; and 
 on the 5th held their first conference with the Duke of 
 Vicenza. It was chiefly occupied by matters of form, but 
 Caulaincourt showed an unexpected readiness to meet the 
 wishes of the allies. 
 
 The result (wrote Lord Aberdeen to Castlereagh) I believe 
 none of us anticipated, although I think it necessary to wait 
 for our next meeting before we can attempt satisfactorily to ex- 
 plain the cause of the wonderful facility evinced by the French 
 plenipotentiary. Different motives may be easily assigned for 
 his conduct : Napoleon may be so much reduced in his means 
 of resistance as to make him desirous of concluding a negotia- 
 tion on any terms which would leave him on the throne of 
 France. Or he may make these preliminary concessions in 
 order to place himself in a favourable light with the people, and 
 thereby endeavour to excite a spirit of enthusiasm with the 
 view of ultimately resisting the more important demands of the 
 allies. At the same time it is impossible to deny that the French 
 negotiator has hitherto only made those concessions which 
 would be agreed to by any wise man desirous of concluding a 
 peace on those moderate and equitable terms which are best 
 calculated to ensure its duration. 
 
 On the 7th a second conference was held, at which it 
 became apparent that the French plenipotentiary was ready 
 to acquiesce substantially in the demands of the allies, and 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote to Castlereagh that he thought it was 
 *now evident that the French Government entertains a 
 sincere and earnest desire of peace. 
 
 Had Napoleon accepted, in the first instance, the pro- 
 positions brought to him by M. de St. Aignan, the allies 
 were pledged to leave to France the frontier of the Rhine. 
 While he hesitated, the revolt of Holland took place, which 
 materially altered the situation ; but even when he did accept 
 he might have secured a frontier considerably to the north 
 
56 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 of that of Royal France, had the negotiation commenced 
 immediately. Castlereagh's intimation that he intended to 
 take a personal part in the discussion, however, necessarily 
 caused some delay, and when the conferences at Chatillon 
 actually opened, the armies of the allies had advanced far 
 into France, while the Low Countries, as well as Holland, 
 were in full revolt. As a result of the successes obtained 
 and the actual position of affairs, the allied demands now 
 comprised the reduction of France to the limits of the mon- 
 archy of 1792, instead of leaving the Rhine as the frontier. 
 
 Caulaincourt at the conference on the 7th applied 
 for an armistice, but was told that the signature of pre- 
 liminaries of peace would answer the same purpose, and 
 prove a more effectual step. There can be little doubt 
 that at the next conference the terms of the preliminary 
 treaty would have been adjusted, possibly the treaty itselt 
 signed. That the British Government was fully prepared 
 for such a step is shown by the following laconic note from 
 Castlereagh to Lord Aberdeen, written in answer to an 
 inquiry as to the manner in which the pacific dispositions 
 of Caulaincourt were to be met : ' My dear Aberdeen, we 
 must sign. Certainly we must sign. We shall be stoned 
 when we get back to England, but we must sign. — Yours 
 ever, C Nor do either the protocols of the conference, 
 or Lord Aberdeen's public reports or private letters, show 
 any trace of the indignation or inflexibility attributed by 
 M. Thiers to Caulaincourt. ^ On the contrary, it is clear 
 that to have obtained an armistice he would have assented 
 to the allies' terms, and (possessing, as he at that time did, 
 full powers to do so) would probably have signed preliminaries 
 of peace to ensure it. But on February 9th the unexpected 
 action of the Emperor Alexander suspended that of the con- 
 
 > Histoire du Cotmdai et de VEmpire^ torn. xvii. pp. 292-296. 
 
INTRIGUE WITH BERNADOTTE 57 
 
 ference. On the morning of that day the Russian pleni- 
 potentiary received orders to proceed no further until fresh 
 instructions had reached him. Lord Aberdeen was highly 
 indignant at a proceeding which was in fact inconsistent 
 with good faith. The Emperor Alexander's head had been 
 turned by the victory (though a hardly bought one) of 
 La Rothiere, and he desired to treat no longer with 
 Napoleon, but to press on to Paris, and there leave, at 
 least in name, the choice of a French sovereign to an 
 elective assembly. But behind this proposal lurked what 
 Lord Aberdeen styled a ' dark intrigue ' of Russian aggran- 
 disement. It was to be arranged that this nominally free, 
 but virtually packed, assembly should elect Bernadotte king 
 of France; and that, in gratitude for so great a service, 
 the Prince Royal of Sweden, before surrendering his con- 
 nection with that country, should make over to Russia the 
 ever open haven of Varanger Fiord. ^ But this scheme 
 received a double check. When the possibility of Ber- 
 nadotte's election was hinted at to the Emperor Francis, 
 he at once declared that he would not suffer any such 
 scheme to take effect. He was, he said, quite prepared to 
 assist in dethroning his daughter's husband, if the welfare 
 of Europe rendered such a step essential, and if it were 
 apparent that peace on fit terms could not be otherwise 
 secured ; but he was not prepared to do so for the benefit 
 of a French adventurer. If Napoleon were indeed to be 
 deposed, he would treat with no sovereign of France save 
 Louis XVIII. An even more fatal blow to such pretensions 
 was given by Napoleon himself, who, in the ten days which 
 succeeded La Rothibre, gained a series of brilliant victo- 
 ries, which necessitated a retreat of the allied forces, and 
 which seemed to render their expulsion from France more 
 ' In the newly acquired part of Norway. 
 
58 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 probable than their advance to Paris — a state of things which 
 changed the over-sanguine anticipations of the Emperor 
 Alexander into equally exaggerated alarm and despondency, 
 whilst at the same time it restored all Napoleon's overween- 
 ing confidence in his own good fortune. 
 
 When, therefore, the conferences were by mutual agree- 
 ment resumed on February 17, the plenipotentiaries natu- 
 rally found Caulaincourt in a different frame of mind from 
 that in which they left him, and far less ready to accept 
 the terms of the allies than had been the case a week before. 
 They found him also in a very different position, though 
 that, indeed, they could not know. At the earlier meetings 
 of the conference he was in possession of full powers to 
 sign any engagement which he felt to be essential. These 
 powers, originally granted with reluctance and wrung from 
 Napoleon with the utmost difficulty, had now been recalled, 
 and Caulaincourt had been instructed to sign nothing 
 without previous reference to the French Emperor. 
 
 Notwithstanding the recent reverses of the allies, it had 
 been wisely determined that there should be no diminution 
 in their demands, and on the renewal of the conference the 
 sketch of a preliminary treaty was submitted to the French 
 plenipotentiary for his consideration. The main conditions 
 of this draft were the renunciation by France of all acquisi- 
 tions of territory made since 1792, and the abandonment 
 by the Emperor of all direct or indirect constitutional in- 
 fluence possessed by him beyond the limits of France as 
 King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, 
 and Mediator of Switzerland. Some of the minor terms 
 were harsh, but would no doubt have been modified had 
 these essential points been conceded. These concessions 
 Caulaincourt pressed his master to make, while at the same 
 time he strenuously sought to render the sacrifice more 
 
CONVERSATIONS WITH CAULAINCOURT 59 
 
 palatable by procuring counter concessions with regard to 
 
 the princes and states dependent upon France, and l)y 
 
 modifying the language of the treaty. He told Lord 
 
 Aberdeen (so the latter wrote to Castlereagh) that 
 
 though he was ready to make the same sacrifices for peace as 
 when he first came to Chatillon, we [the allies] had done every 
 thing in our power by the form of \\\c pj^ojet to make it difficult. 
 He said that he must be supposed to know his own master, and 
 that he was satisfied he might have so changed the form, with- 
 out altering the substance, as to make it palatable to Bonaparte 
 instead of being revolting. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen told him that there was ' no intention 
 to offend or degrade, and that if the provisions were 
 substantially obtained no attachment existed to a particu- 
 lar phraseology.' Caulaincourt particularly complained of 
 the insertion of an article for the abolition of the slave 
 trade : 
 
 ' a fit article to insert in a treaty with Deni7iai'k^ but not with us. 
 If you wish to abolish the slave trade we will meet you half- 
 way, and arrange it between ourselves, but the compulsory 
 article you have inserted can never be tolerated by a great 
 people, who are not yet in a situation to be insulted with perfect 
 impunity.' Again, he said : ' You represent all Europe. You 
 say you treat for your allies, and profess to bind them by their 
 engagements, and yet you offer your good offices in order to 
 persuade Sweden to give up Guadaloupe to France.' He said 
 that if there were anything in the world which could be revolting 
 to Bonaparte, it was to employ good offices with Bernadotte in 
 order to obtain the colony. He said a good deal about the 
 personal character of Bonaparte, and how much would be done 
 by a little attention to manner. He spoke in perfectly good 
 humour, and said all this in a half-laughing manner. 
 
 But though negotiations had been resumed, and the 
 draft of a treaty agreed to among the allies, the uncer- 
 tain attitude of the Emperor of Russia still caused great 
 difficulties. 
 
 Castlereagh wrote to Lord Aberdeen on the 25 th : 
 
 The political question has been miserably prejudiced by 
 opposite extremes of mismanagement ; at one time too proud 
 to listen to anything, at another so impatient to be delivered 
 
60 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 from the pressure of our enemy as to make our propositions at 
 Chatillon almost ludicrous. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen continued desirous to effect peace, 
 though quite aware of the unpopularity which would in 
 England attach to any peace made with Bonaparte. * If 
 he lives,' he wrote, ' you must make it, for there is no 
 chance of any other person. . . . The terms of peace are 
 unobjectionable — in a word, we insist on the limits of 
 ancient France as a basis, preliminary to any other proceed- 
 ing. This ought to satisfy you. As to making war against 
 the man, it may become necessary, but must be hopeless so 
 long as the people adhere to him.' But the chief reason 
 which weighed with Lord Aberdeen in desiring peace was 
 the apprehension caused him by the mutual jealousies of 
 the great powers. Writing to Castlereagh on the 28th, he 
 says : 
 
 The enemy is, in my view, a source of danger much less to 
 be dreaded than what arises among ourselves. I cannot too 
 often represent to you the real state of the minds of those weak 
 men by whom Europe is governed. The seeming agreement at 
 Langres covered distrust and hate. A little success will cement 
 them again, but if they are to be severely tried by adversity 
 their dissolution is certain. It is not a bystander who speaks, 
 but one who knows what their I'eal feelings are, and who knows 
 that they are actuated by feelings more than by principle. In 
 all events I am heartily rejoiced that you are in a situation to 
 see and judge for yourself in all things. It will do you no harm 
 to see and know the interior of a coalition. 
 
 On February 28, no answer having been returned by 
 Caulaincourt to the projet submitted to him for accept- 
 ance ten days previously, he was informed that if another 
 ten days elapsed without any reply being given it would be 
 regarded as a refusal on the part of France to entertain the 
 proposals of the allies. For ten days, therefore, the con- 
 ferences were suspended ; the plenipotentiaries remained 
 idle, and unpleasantly situated in the midst of a hostile 
 population. 
 
CAULAINCOURTS COUNTER-PROJECT 6l 
 
 The peasants are rapidly arming (writes Lord Aberdeen on 
 the 28th), and the people of the town go out in parties to hunt 
 and shoot the stragglers. They have killed about forty Austrian 
 soldiers between this place and Dijon. They appear to be most 
 enraged in the immediate neighbourhood of this place, and we 
 are advised not to go far from the gates. The Mayor has 
 published a most touching address to the inhabitants on our 
 behalf, from which one would almost imagine they were anthro- 
 pophagi, and required much persuasion to prevent them from 
 devouring us. 
 
 On March loth Caulaincourt presented to the Con- 
 ference a long note arguing against the proposals of the 
 allies as a whole. He was at once told that this was not an 
 answer to their projet, and he then produced a list of the 
 cessions which Napoleon was ready to make. This list, 
 Lord Aberdeen expressed his conviction to Lord Castle- 
 reagh, had not been received by Caulaincourt from his 
 master, but had been composed at Chatillon. The Duke 
 of Vicenza was informed that this paper, though an accept- 
 ance in part of the proposals of the allies, was not that 
 absolute reply to them for which they had a right to look, 
 and on the 1 3th he was pressed to return, within twenty-four 
 hours, either an acceptance or refusal of the terms submitted 
 to him, or to propose a contre-projet of his own. After a 
 good deal of fencing on his part, and a not unreasonable 
 demand for time to communicate again with his Court, he 
 agreed to present a contre-projet in twenty-four hours, and 
 actually did so in forty-eight. This contre-projet contained 
 no renunciation of possessions acquired by France since 
 1792, excepting such as w^ere specifically named, and con- 
 sequently maintained the Rhine throughout its course as 
 the frontier of France. It proposed to recognise Eugene 
 Beauharnais as King of Italy, to which state the Ionian 
 Islands were to be attached. Stipulations were also intro- 
 duced for the retention of the principality of Benevento by 
 
62 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Talleyrand, of the principality of Neufchatel by Berthier, of 
 
 the grand duchies of Lucca and Parma by Eliza Bonaparte, 
 
 and of the grand duchy of Berg by a son of King Louis 
 
 and Queen Hortense. These propositions were unanimously 
 
 considered by the plenipotentiaries to be inadmissible even 
 
 as topics for discussion, but they were nevertheless referred 
 
 by them to the allied sovereigns, by whom they were at 
 
 once rejected. The conferences therefore terminated, and 
 
 Lord Aberdeen returned to the allied headquarters on 
 
 March 21. Four days later Caulaincourt desired to accept 
 
 the allied terms as they stood, and intimated his readiness 
 
 to proceed to the headquarters of the army for that purpose. 
 
 It was then too late. 
 
 M. Thiers ' more than insinuates that the allies never 
 
 intended to make peace, and that the terms offered were 
 
 only proposed in order to be rejected. That this was not 
 
 the case as regards the earlier stage of the negotiation, 
 
 prior to its interruption by the Emperor of Russia, the 
 
 short note of Lord Castlereagh, which I have already 
 
 quoted, abundantly proves. That the negotiators on the 
 
 spot did not after the resumption of the conferences expect 
 
 peace, is true, but that some at least of them desired.it is 
 
 not less certain. That it was perhaps less desired by the 
 
 members of Government at home, who did not see so 
 
 closely the dangers to which thp alliance was exposed, is 
 
 also probable ; but they too were prepared to accept it. Lord 
 
 Liverpool wrote to Lord Aberdeen so late as March 2 1 : 
 
 Peace, if it comes, will be most unpopular in this country. 
 If it can be obtained, however, upon our own terms, I shall not 
 fear the result. We shall have played a straight game, and it 
 is a problem, to say the least, what may be the ultimate conse- 
 quence of embarking in the war upon a new principle. We 
 must not, however, lower our terms. 
 
 ' Ilhloire du Cons2ilat et de V Empire, torn. xvii. 
 
BOURBON RESTORATION 63 
 
 And Lord Harrowby on the nth had written : 
 
 If your terms were yesterday accepted we shall feel that we 
 ought to be more glad than we shall be. . . . Whatever other 
 demerits we blocks may have, we have at least the merit of 
 jogging on side by side with great cordiality. We shall all 
 swing together whenever your signature at Chatillon, or else- 
 where, brings us to the gallows, for nothing but ' no peace with 
 Bonaparte' is to be heard from the Land's End to Berwick. 
 
 Until the conclusion of the conferences at Chatillon 
 
 Lord Aberdeen had shown himself strongly in favour of 
 
 peace with Napoleon, but after the failure of that negotiation 
 
 he began to think more favourably of the restoration of the 
 
 Bourbons. He wrote from Dijon on the 29th March : 
 
 We negotiated in the hope of securing such a peace as was 
 the real object of the war. This endeavour has failed. Bona- 
 parte has shown himself too obstinate to yield to such conditions 
 as are indispensable for the tranquillity of Europe. You will 
 recollect that I have always represented peace as the grand 
 object of the French nation ; and this is the engine by which 
 we must work, and by which all may be done. We must show 
 that the return of the Bourbons will bring peace, and that 
 without their return it is not attainable in consequence of the 
 ambition of Bonaparte. When convinced of this fact, the 
 French people may be led to endure any prince, or support any 
 pretender from whom they can receive the blessing they desire. 
 These are my views, which are formed by the present position 
 of affairs, and which, though different in the application, are 
 consistent in principle with those I have always entertained. 
 For, as you justly say, he is a fool who does not allow circum- 
 stances to modify his sentiments and system. 
 
 And on the 4th of April, also from Dijon, he wrote : 
 
 It happened that the news of the taking of Paris and the 
 defeat of the enemy arrived here this morning. I had all the 
 principal persons of all the allied nations to dine with me. 
 We appeared with the white cockade, which has been generally 
 adopted by the inhabitants of this town. This step was the 
 more necessary as the Emperor of Russia in his declaration 
 does not say a syllable of the Bourbons ; it was, therefore, in- 
 cumbent on us to explain the sense in which we understood that 
 document. The first toast I gave was Louis XVIII. This will 
 do great good, for it will do much to check the intrigue which 
 we know exists to a great extent between our friend the Prince 
 Royal and the French Government. 
 
64 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was, however, no believer in the per- 
 manence of the Bourbon restoration. He at once perceived 
 that they were only accepted as the pledge of an at least 
 temporary peace, and that, provided peace was secured, 
 the nation 
 
 would have hailed the re-establishment of the Republic, or any 
 other system, with the same satisfaction. . . . The people showed 
 it very clearly by their exclamations when the allies entered 
 Paris : ' Vive la Paix, Vive les Allies, Vive qui voudra ! ' 
 
 Again, after a month's residence in Paris, he wrote : 
 
 Louis XVI IL has 7io root, and may be upset by a Republic 
 at any time that a comparative degree of prosperity and quiet 
 has been restored. ... On the day of the king's entry the 
 Guards cried out, ' Vive Napoleon, Vive I'Empereur ! ' even 
 close to the king's carriage. It is very lucky for the Bourbons 
 that the tyranny of Bonaparte was so much exercised in 
 carrying on the war so unmercifully ; none of his acts of 
 interior administration would produce any effect against him. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen accompanied the army to Paris, and 
 was one of the plenipotentiaries for the settlement of the 
 general treaty of peace. As Lord Castlereagh was him- 
 self present. Lord Aberdeen took but a subordinate though 
 not unimportant part in the negotiation. He was, for several 
 reasons, most eager to return to England, but Lord Castle- 
 reagh, as was usual in their intercourse, prevailed, and he 
 remained at Paris till the signature of the treaty. 
 
 The baseness of the desertions from Napoleon of his 
 most trusted generals greatly disgusted Lord Aberdeen, and 
 yet more the insolence which accompanied it, and which he 
 describes as ' insufferable.' One singular instance is worth 
 recording. * I dined yesterday,* wrote he to Lord Aber- 
 corn, 'with a party similar to that I met at Cathcart's,* 
 
 ^ * I dined yesterday with Cathcart, and was the only civilian 
 among a military party made for Wellington. Seven marshals of dif- 
 ferent nations were at dinner. So many, I suppose, never met before.' 
 
FOUCH^.'S SUGGESTION 65 
 
 with the addition of Ney and Marmont. Only imagine the 
 effrontery of Ney, by whom I sat, entertaining me, in the 
 presence of Lord WelHngton and the victorious generals of 
 the allies, by proof of the ease with which the expedition 
 to England would have succeeded ! This was a piece of 
 taste and good breeding to which none but a Frenchman 
 could be equal. I do not think he is likely to return to the 
 subject.' 
 
 This was, however, but insolence, more or less pardonable 
 on the part of a humiliated and conquered enemy, desiring 
 to show that he too might have achieved a triumph had 
 the wheel of fortune taken another turn ; but what can be 
 said for the callous want of patriotism of Fouche ? He, 
 in conversation with Lord Aberdeen, reproached the aUies 
 for having left France too strong, and suggested that they 
 ought to have parcelled it out into a number of Grand 
 Duchies. On its being remarked that Frenchmen would 
 not have endured a foreign rule, he intimated that there 
 were Frenchmen who had held territory in, or derived titles 
 from, foreign places, who would be quite ready to exchange 
 them for the sovereignty of a French province, and gave 
 it to be understood that there would at all events be 
 no scruple on that head on the part of the Duke of 
 Otranto ! 
 
 Immediately after the signature of the treaty Lord 
 Aberdeen started for England, taking the treaty with him 
 in his carriage. 
 
66 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 SECOND MARRIAGE — PRIVATE LIFE : 1814-1827 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's second marriage— Domestic life — Letter to Castle- 
 reagh on Greek insurrection— The Aberdeen Acts— Joins the 
 Duke of Wellington's Cabinet— Becomes Foreign Secretary. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's sister-in-law and correspondent, Lady 
 Maria Hamilton, whose health had long been precarious, 
 died January 21, 18 14. Her death had been a heavy blow 
 to Lord Aberdeen, who was tenderly attached to her. On 
 reaching London on the 31st May he found Argyll House 
 unprepared for his reception, his arrival having at the last 
 been unexpected. He went on to Lord Harrowby's house 
 in Grosvenor Square, and there learnt that a fresh calamity 
 had befallen the Abercorn family. Lord Hamilton had just 
 expired. 
 
 The death of Lord Hamilton had consequences of the 
 utmost importance to Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 Lord Abercorn had seen his infant granddaughters de- 
 prived of a mother's care by Lady Aberdeen's death. His 
 yet younger grandsons were now without a father, and with 
 the whole force of his imperious nature he at once determined 
 to bring about a marriage between his late daughter's 
 husband and his son's widow. He succeeded in accomplish- 
 ing his desire, though there were no slight obstacles to be 
 overcome. On July 15, 1815, Lord Aberdeen and Lady 
 Hamilton ^ were married at the Priory. With her he lived 
 ' Harriet Douglas, sister of the seventeenth Earl of Morton, 
 
BENTLEY PRIORY 6y 
 
 happily for eighteen years. Though strikingly handsome, 
 the new Lady Aberdeen had not all the beauty of her 
 predecessor, nor was she her intellectual equal ; but her de- 
 votion to her husband was unbounded, and each year as it 
 passed saw them united in closer bonds of tranquil affection 
 and mutual esteem. 
 
 Lord Abercorn died January i8, 1818. Lord Aberdeen 
 succeeded to a large share of his personal property, and 
 became guardian to the infant heir. From that time 
 until 1834 the Priory was Lord Aberdeen's habitual 
 home. His summer visits to Scotland were still made, but 
 Stanmore was now for many years the centre of his life. 
 Situated as it is within a few miles of London, he was able 
 to assemble with ease at the Priory a constant succession of 
 guests distinguished in literature, art, and public life. Above 
 all, it was associated with the most important incidents of 
 his domestic life. When, in 1848, it was let to the Queen 
 Dowager, with a view to its ultimate sale, Lord Aberdeen 
 wrote : 
 
 Queen Adelaide's visit seems to have been a most successful 
 affair, but I am heartily glad that I was not there. Everything 
 in this world is so transitory that as we advance in life we must 
 of course expect to see great changes. To me, the Priory at 
 all times exhibits many such, but these are all changes in the 
 order of Providence and beyond control. The present one I 
 cannot help regarding in a different light. It is more than 
 forty years since I first was taught to consider the Priory as a 
 home, and for many years I occupied it as its master. I never 
 now go there without going to seek the dead, as well as the 
 living. But I have not the least reason to complain. Every 
 man has a right to do what he likes with his own ; and all this 
 is matter of little consequence. It will soon be of still less. 
 
 But greatly attached though he had become to the Priory, 
 his original dislike of Haddo was rapidly giving way to a 
 very different feeling. Residence there was no longer a 
 penance, and instead of rejoicing to escape from it, he 
 
68 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 began to regret the day when he was obliged to leave it. 
 To the people of the district he speedily became attached ; 
 the species of authority he enjoyed among them he fully 
 appreciated ; and now that his earliest improvements were 
 beginning to show their effects in the altered face of the 
 country, he found the place growing ever dearer and dearer 
 to him. This is very evident from his letters to Lady Aber- 
 deen, who did not always accompany him to Haddo. In 
 1821 he writes to her : 
 
 I am a good deal tired to-night, for from eleven o'clock till 
 eight I did not sit down an instant. 1 staked out two or three 
 considerable plantations with Johnston, and I took a couple of 
 hours' hard work in thinning the plantation at the bottom of the 
 garden, which is so thick that the trees are injuring each other. 
 I principally cut down poplars, many of which were fifteen and 
 eighteen inches in circumference at the root, which is an 
 astonishing growth. I can tell you that, if I live ten years 
 more, I shall make this really a fine place. You have no idea 
 how well it looks from the new road. ... I rode to Formar- 
 tine, and walked all over the ground on that side of the river, 
 which is to be planted. It was really quite delightful ; a bright 
 sun shone on the wood and rocks opposite, and the leaves just 
 beginning to change colour made it extremely beautiful. I sat 
 for an hour on the rock, and on the very spot where our tower 
 is to be. I built it half a dozen times, and indulged in day 
 dreams, which to me have always been a great enjoyment. 
 While ruminating there a couple of ravens were sailing round, 
 and a falcon darted from the rock opposite. I could hardly tear 
 myself away. When you are next here, if you are not strong 
 enough to go on a pony, I must positively have you carried to 
 the spot in a lettica. 
 
 And in the following year he writes of the same spot : 
 
 I went to Formartine yesterday alone. But you know I do 
 not mind being alone, and particularly when I can indulge in 
 delightful day dreams. I went to our tower, which I speedily 
 built ; other alterations of different kinds I performed with as 
 little difficulty, and sitting under the rock without a human 
 being in sight I anticipated the effects of time upon the scene. 
 But, sweetheart, will your love bear its effects as well .'' for our 
 tower owes its existence, even in the mind, to a feeling of love, 
 and without it would be annihilated and vanish. Without it all 
 the joys of life become flat, stale, and unprofitable. 
 
DEATH OF LORD ABERDEEN'S DAUGHTERS 69 
 
 Strong, however, as was his affection for his second wife, 
 Lord Aberdeen never for a moment forgot the idol of his 
 youth. This devotion to his first wife and all belonging to 
 her naturally caused Lady Aberdeen some uneasiness, not 
 always wholly concealed, and that feeling was strengthened 
 by the intense solicitude which, after the death, preceded by 
 a long and painful illness, of his second daughter Caroline, 
 Lord Aberdeen manifested as to the health, always very 
 precarious, of his two remaining daughters. 
 
 These impressions Lord Aberdeen exerted himself by 
 every means in his power to combat and remove, nor did 
 Lady Aberdeen's love and admiration of her husband per- 
 mit such appeals to be made in vain. When, in 1824, Lady 
 Jane, at the age of eighteen, and just after her first entrance 
 into the world, died suddenly after only a few hours' illness, 
 the shock entirely overcame her, and led her to share her 
 husband's absorbing anxiety as to the one remaining child of 
 his first marriage, Alice, who after apparent recovery from 
 several long and dangerous illnesses, now showed increasing 
 symptoms of decay, and faded away slowly before their eyes. 
 On her account Lord Aberdeen spent the three next winters 
 at Nice. To her he devoted every moment of his spare 
 time, and to be with her he retired almost wholly from active 
 life. What were politics, art, or literature to him, as com- 
 pared with the child, who formed his last link on earth to the 
 being whom he had adored, and who was herself endowed 
 with every bodily and mental charm ? 
 
 Yet during the period of which this chapter treats public 
 life had not been altogether neglected by him, and to it we 
 must now turn. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh had wished Lord Aberdeen to retain 
 his Embassy, and to return to Germany as one of the 
 plenipotentiaries at the Congress of Vienna. This Lord 
 
70 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Aberdeen declined to do. He offered to go to Vienna 
 for the purpose of investing the Emperor with the Order 
 of the Garter, but not as a negotiator. He knew that 
 Castlereagh himself, and the Duke of Wellington, were both 
 going to Vienna, and that his own part there must necessarily 
 be a more subordinate one than he cared to assume, while 
 his views on many points differed too materially from Castle- 
 reagh's to admit of his easily taking part in the Congress. 
 Their friendship remained unbroken, but it was never again 
 quite so close and cordial as it had been before 1814. 
 
 But Lord Aberdeen was still frequently consulted in con- 
 fidence before decisions of importance were taken, and the 
 despatches in which those decisions were embodied were not 
 unfrequently submitted to his criticism. In 182 1, Castlereagh 
 sent him the draft of a despatch he was about to forward 
 to St. Petersburg, deprecating hostilities against the Porte or 
 any encouragement of the Greek insurrection. In returning 
 this draft, Lord Aberdeen addressed Castlereagh at great 
 length. The part afterwards taken by him as minister in 
 1829 and in 1853 renders it of interest to show what his 
 views were at the commencement of the Greek insurrection, 
 and I accordingly insert an extract from this letter ; 
 
 I cannot help expressing my belief that, notwithstanding 
 your exertions to preserve peace, you are destined ultimately to 
 fail in this object. . . . Circumstances in my opinion render it 
 extremely doubtful whether the Emperor may possess the power, 
 whatever may be his disposition, to abstain from hostile inter- 
 ference. I refer to the eftect produced on the minds of his own 
 people and throughout Europe by the Greek Insurrection. On 
 this subject I would bespeak your patience while I offer a 
 few remarks made under impressions deeply felt, and which 
 may tend to modify in some degree the line of policy you have 
 adopted. The existence of the Greek Insurrection would give an 
 entirely new character to a Turkish war. It would no longer 
 be a dispute between neighbouring Governments for frontiers or 
 provinces, but the cause itself would be in a measure sanctified, 
 and the end and aim of the contest enlarged in proportion. The 
 attempt of any Government n Europe to support the Turkish 
 
LETTER TO CASTLEREAGH 7 1 
 
 power for the avowed purpose of riveting the chains of their 
 unhappy Christian subjects would scarcely be tolerated. I beg 
 entirely to disclaim any view of this question influenced by the 
 associations of ancient history, or under the effects of early 
 enthusiasm. In truth, when we hear of the descendants of the 
 ancient Greeks, we hear of that which has little reality. The 
 Christian population of Greece is a bastard and mongrel breed 
 derived from many sources — Romans, Sclavonians, Gauls, 
 Catalans, Venetians, and others ; they have but little connection 
 with the ancient Greeks in blood. Still, they are Christians, 
 quick-witted, and capable of any degree of improvement. You 
 have yourself admitted that the first and natural impulse of 
 every mind must be in favour of their exertions. If this is the 
 case with every man of common humanity in Europe what 
 must we expect to be the feelings of the Greeks themselves ? 
 You are good enough to pray in the despatch that ' Time and 
 Providence'' may bring relief to their sufferings, but can we 
 be surprised at their desire to hasten this time, and to assist 
 the action of Providence ? Can we in their situation call it 
 impatience ? I think not. This is a struggle to which nothing 
 m the civilised world can present the least analogy. It 
 may not be easy to acquiesce in the abuses of the despotic 
 Governments ot Europe ; but in doing so I have always felt 
 that, whatever their vices, there was little actual tyranny in 
 any of them in the most essential points which constitute the 
 happiness of their subjects, and even in the worst there is 
 always the hope and prospect of amendment without the 
 necessity for previous destruction. The gradual increase of 
 knowledge and wealth among the people must always in these 
 times tend to modify the most arbitrary power. But the slavery 
 of the Greeks admits of no alleviation, and the very principle of 
 the Turkish Government forbids all improvement in their con- 
 dition. Other conquerors, however ferocious, have mixed with 
 the conquered, and have gradually become one people ; but 
 these are as perfectly separate and distinct as they were four 
 hundred years ago, when Mahomed II. crossed the Bosphorus, 
 a nation of masters and a nation of slaves. It is true that the 
 Greeks have of late years made considerable advances in the 
 acquisition of knowledge and of wealth, but it is clear that every 
 step they take in their progress towards civilisation must only 
 make them feel their degraded situation more acutely, and 
 instead of diminishing must only increase their sufferings. It 
 is quite impossible that we should expect them to enter into 
 general views of preserving the tranquillity of Europe, or to 
 participate in our dread of commotions or our love of peace, in 
 the blessings of which they have no share whatever. Having 
 personally witnessed their condition, I can have no hesitation 
 in thinking them fully justified in using every possible means 
 
72 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 to shake off the truly horrible yoke under which they groan. 
 Their actual situation is a solecism in the poHtical world, and 
 when it is changed, as it infallibly must be, and that in no long 
 time, posterity will believe with difficulty that what we now 
 daily witness ever existed. Under these circumstances, although 
 it may perhaps be the duty of a prudent Government to observe 
 neutrality in the contest now existing between the unhappy 
 Greeks and their masters, this, it seems to me, must be the ut- 
 most sacrifice to make. What might be the result of the unaided 
 efforts of the Greeks it is difficult to say. The general opinion 
 appears to be against the probability of their success ; but I 
 know not why, for they have sufficient numbers, and I am 
 sure they have sufficient cause, to animate their exertions. If, 
 after all, the freedom of the Greeks should be accomplished 
 through Russian means, and should be made subservient to 
 the aggrandisement of this already colossal power, I admit 
 that the event, both in its progress and in its completion, could 
 not be contemplated without feelings of alarm. But is it 
 impossible to avert these consequences by taking part in a 
 settlement which sooner or later will surely be effected, and 
 which, if effected without our aid, can at best, if accomplished by 
 the Greeks alone, earn us no goodwill, and which, if carried out 
 by Russian arms, may seriously imperil our most vital interests 
 
 Castlereagh took the letter good-naturedly. He would, 
 he said, be much more ready to adopt a plan of Greek 
 regeneration prepared by Lord Aberdeen than one ' framed 
 by the mongrel minister ' [Capo dTstrias], * who would 
 probably be the draftsman of such a scheme at St. Peters- 
 burg ; ' but he was sure Lord Aberdeen would not be 
 surprised that he ' did not think it prudent to occupy his 
 time in Downing Street by taking with his own hands the 
 initiative in such portentous experiments.' Lord Aberdeen 
 subscribed to the Greek cause, and attended a meeting 
 in its favour. But all the pressure that the Government 
 could exercise was put upon him to detach him from the 
 movement. Lord Bathurst wrote with earnestness and 
 
 dismay : 
 
 Consider that if you lend the weight of your name to such a 
 proceeding it must seriously embarrass Government, and tend 
 to raise a cry it will be most difficult to manage. Consider 
 that the Greek cause is supporled by every Jacobin in France 
 
SCOTCH ENTAILS 73 
 
 and England. Consider that you will appear to sanction all 
 the atrocities committed by the Greeks. Will you subscribe to 
 a cause you see your namesake and kinsman has abandoned as 
 too disgraceful to belong to ? 
 
 Lord Aberdeen had now arrived at a point at which 
 further public action on behalf of the insurgents would 
 have led to a breach with all those with whom he lived 
 in habitual intimacy. From this he shrank. His con- 
 stitutional indisposition to self-assertion led him to avoid 
 putting himself forward as a leader in action, little as 
 he cared for being alone in opinion ; while his habitual 
 modesty prevented his ever seeing the importance of his 
 own position, or that it might be his duty, however little it 
 might be his inclination, publicly to declare his views. To 
 him it appeared to matter little whether one man more or 
 less took part in any movement or abstained from it. It is, 
 therefore, not improbable that he would under any circum- 
 stances have abstained from further participation in the 
 Philhellene movement ; but decision was unnecessary, for 
 at this juncture he found himself withdrawn from London 
 and from public life by the long and dangerous illness 
 of his youngest daughter. He employed a part of this 
 leisure in completing an essay on the Principles of Grecian 
 Architecture, which he had before commenced as a preface 
 to an edition of Vitruvius, and which he published in a 
 separate form in the course of 1822. 
 
 In the autumn of that year he took part in the recep- 
 tion of the King at Edinburgh. While there he received the 
 news of Castlereagh's suicide. Though for some years their 
 intimacy had not been what it once was, the shock was great 
 to Lord Aberdeen's sensitive nature. 
 
 In 1825 he introduced a Bill which had far more im- 
 portant effects than were at the time perceived. As is well 
 known, the system of Scotch entails was remarkable for its 
 
74 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 great strictness and complexity. A Scotch entail could not 
 be broken save by Act of Parliament, and almost every 
 Scotch estate was entailed. Although the life tenant of an 
 entailed estate might, to a certain extent, put burdens upon 
 the property in order to effect improvements on it, he was 
 unable to make the smallest provision for his widow or 
 children. Lord Aberdeen's Act gave this power. It was 
 accepted by the proprietors of entailed estates as a welcome 
 relief, and few of them perceived that, this step once taken, 
 others must follow which would be less palatable to them. 
 
 It is odd (wrote Lord Aberdeen to his friend John Hope, 
 Dean of the Faculty of Advocates) that no one should see that 
 if the tenant for life may transmit the estate to his successor 
 heavily burdened, that successor may with justice demand that 
 he should have the option of assuming those burdens or of 
 disposing of the estate to those who may with less difficulty 
 bear them. I am not sorry that it is so, for the discovery would 
 render the passage of my Bill less easy. I do not think I am 
 called on myself to raise obstacles in its way, but if the objec- 
 tion be made I shall be prepared to meet it. I do not myself 
 regard such consequences with any alarm. To give the 
 possessor of an estate, who may have no personal means inde- 
 pendent of it, the right to provide from it for his wife and 
 children, is an act of bare justice to him and to them. It 
 should not be denied because its grant may sooner or later 
 have consequences which, if not effected violently, or with too 
 great rapidity, are perhaps not to be regretted. The feudal 
 system has perished, and what remains of it is destined to 
 ultimate extinction. We still preserve some of its institutions, 
 because they are still useful. But these too will disappear as 
 their utility ceases or becomes less apparent. This may or 
 may not be a matter for regret ; but, provided it is not effected 
 by means of revolution or of measures inflicting suffering and 
 loss upon multitudes of harmless individuals, can it be regarded 
 as an evil ? Few will deny that the changes in the position of 
 the great and of the people, which have steadily advanced in 
 the last few centuries, have been attended with advantage. Is 
 it reasonable to suppose that they have now terminated, or 
 presumptuous to hope that, if only made when obviously called 
 for, they will be accompanied by similar benefits ? But I admit 
 that this reasoning would not recommend my Bill to the House 
 of Lords, and am therefore glad that the necessity for urging it 
 has not arisen. Personally, I am much of Gibbon's opinion, 
 
ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE 75 
 
 that primogeniture is an ' insolent prerogative ' ; but I am sure 
 that its abolition would at this moment produce mischiefs not 
 to be counterbalanced by any corresponding advantage. It may 
 not always be so. But I must stop, or you will think Hudson 
 Gurney quite justified in styling me ' a Jacobin' ! 
 
 During the years between 1822 and 1828, however, his 
 friendship with the Duke of Wellington became much more 
 close and intimate, and whilst I doubt whether their inter- 
 course and concert in politics much altered his opinions, 
 it certainly restrained their expression. 
 
 He refused a seat in Canning's Cabinet, but when a 
 year later he was asked by the Duke of Wellington to join 
 him in forming an Administration, he readily consented to 
 do so. The Duke told him that, had all the former 
 Cabinet retired, he had destined him for the Foreign Office, 
 but that, as Lord Dudley had elected to remain, he must, of 
 course, retain the office he already held. He therefore wished 
 Lord Aberdeen to accept an office — that of Chancellor 
 of the Duchy of Lancaster — which, having little business 
 of its own, would enable him to devote his time to foreign 
 affairs, and to the assistance of Lord Dudley in their 
 management. Such assistance Lord Dudley was himself 
 aware that he needed ; his habits of procrastination, his ex- 
 cessive indecision, and his slow and painful style of com- 
 position, both in writing and oratory, rendering him quite 
 unable to keep abreast of the business of his office. Being 
 on terms of the most cordial and intimate friendship with 
 Lord Aberdeen, he welcomed his aid without reserve or 
 jealousy, good-humouredly styling him his ' coadjutor yz^^^ 
 successionis.'' That succession was not long in coming. In 
 May 1828, Lord Dudley resigned, along with Huskisson and 
 Palmerston, and Lord Aberdeen received the seals as Foreign 
 Secretary. 
 
76 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FOREIGN OFFICE : 1828-3O 
 
 War between Turkey and Russia— Choice of a Sovereign for Greece — 
 Affairs of Portugal — Expedition to Algiers— French Revolution of 
 1830. 
 
 The correspondence of the Foreign Office is now more 
 than seven times as great as in 1828, but it was even then 
 of vast bulk, and dealt with the most various subjects. It 
 is beyond my power, within the limits assigned to me, to do 
 more than indicate the chief transactions in which during 
 Lord Aberdeen's tenure of the office he took part, and the 
 principles by which his action was guided. 
 
 When he became Secretary of State he found Russia 
 and the Porte at war. He also found the Greek insur- 
 gents in possession of the Morea, and the return thither of 
 Turkish troops prohibited by the Powers allied to carry 
 out the Treaty of London of 1827. The Greek claims 
 formed no part of the ostensible grievances which had 
 led Russia to declare war, but the two questions were, of 
 course, closely connected, and the line adopted by Lord 
 Aberdeen with regard to them has been at different times 
 held up to popular disapproval from two opposite points of 
 view, and for reasons not only inconsistent but contra- 
 dictory. In 1828-30 popular sympathy was with the Greeks, 
 and with Russia as the enemy of the Porte and the friend 
 of Greece. Lord Aberdeen was accordingly taunted with 
 
TURKEY AND RUSSIA y^ 
 
 entertaining Turkish sympathies, with want of generosity 
 towards Russia, and with a desire to cripple the resources 
 and limit the extent of the new Greek State. Lord John 
 Russell expressed delight at each fresh Russian success, 
 and Lord Palmerston asked why the Turks should be 
 maintained at Constantinople. Twenty-five years later, on 
 the eve of the Crimean War, popular opinion had veered 
 round to a totally opposite point. Those who had hailed 
 the defeats of the Porte with joy, were now its warmest 
 friends : while Lord Aberdeen was denounced for not having 
 actively supported Turkey against Russia in 1828, and was 
 stigmatised by the public voice as having at that time 
 betrayed her interests for the benefit of her revolted sub- 
 jects. Responsible politicians were not ashamed to style 
 him the author of the Treaty of Adrianople, and Kinglake 
 has blamed him for not having accepted the invitation 
 which he erroneously believed to have been given by 
 Austria to oppose by force the progress of the Russian 
 arms. Another thirty years has brought another change 
 in popular sentiment, which is now once more, generally, 
 on the anti-Turkish side ; and in Mr. Walpole's ' History of 
 England since 181 5' we find sharp reprehension of the 
 policy of the Wellington Government, as having been 
 unfriendly to the cause of liberty and progress, and unduly 
 solicitous for the maintenance of the Ottoman power. 
 
 Of these contradictory charges that which attributes to 
 Lord Aberdeen any sympathy with Russia may be dis- 
 missed as purely imaginary. The other has such founda- 
 tion as may be discovered in distrust of the professions 
 of the Russian Government, and apprehension of the 
 consequences of Russian conquest. That distrust and 
 apprehension were clearly shown in a note addressed to 
 Prince Lieven by Lord Aberdeen immediately on his 
 
78 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 accession to office, and in the instructions given by him 
 to Lord Heytesbury, whom he at once despatched as 
 Ambassador to Russia. Lord Heytesbury was speedily 
 convinced by the Czar that he had no thought of aggran- 
 disement ; and assurances to this effect were conveyed to 
 Lord Aberdeen in despatches, which were perused by him 
 ' with interest, but not without concern,' and which gave 
 no warning of an event which brought Russia and England 
 to the very verge of war. 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas, who had previously promised 
 to abstain from any exercise of his rights as a belligerent 
 in the Mediterranean, suddenly, and without any previous 
 communication with his allies, directed the blockade of 
 the Dardanelles, On the receipt of this intelligence, Lord 
 Aberdeen, without even waiting to consult the Cabinet, 
 informed Lord Heytesbury that the step taken would not 
 be tolerated. 
 
 We have made the King declare to Parliament (he wrote) 
 that which the Emperor is now determined to falsify. Even if 
 we could be base enough to disgrace ourselves by submission, 
 I am quite persuaded that the country would never endure it. 
 
 The abstract right of Russia to institute the blockade 
 was admitted, but surprise and displeasure were expressed 
 at its exercise, after the declaration of the Emperor in a 
 contrary sense j and Lord Heytesbury was instructed to 
 demand the exemption from the operation of the blockade 
 of all British vessels, however loaded^ which might have 
 sailed on the strength of the King's declaration. The 
 despatch thus concludes : 
 
 If the Russian Government should persevere in refusing to 
 listen to the propositions of Your Excellency, you may add that 
 the officer commanding the additional force, which has been 
 sent to the Mediterranean, will be ordered to give that effectual 
 protection to British vessels, which Your Excellency has failed 
 to obtain from the justice of His Imperial Majesty. 
 
CAMPAIGN OF 1 828 79 
 
 The Russian Government yielded, and the obnoxious 
 orders were withdrawn ; but all naval co-operation with 
 Russia in carrying out the Treaty of London ceased. 
 
 War against Turkey had been commenced by the Czar 
 without remonstrance from any Power in Europe, and 
 indeed with an acknowledgment from most of them that 
 he had right on his side. In the earlier stages of that 
 contest the Russian arms were by no means successful ; 
 but Lord Aberdeen felt, and avowed, that their ultimate 
 triumph was secure, and that it might so affect the interests 
 of England as to demand, at any risk, the assumption of 
 a very different tone from that which had been hitherto 
 employed ; for in 1828, as in 1853, Lord Aberdeen regarded 
 the possession of Constantinople by Russia as a danger 
 to Europe. 
 
 The aid of Austria was requisite if this danger was to be 
 effectually averted, and to obtain it Lord Aberdeen, on 
 December 26, 1828, addressed a long and very able de- 
 spatch to Lord Cowley, the English Ambassador at Vienna. 
 The operations of the Russian armies had, he admitted, 
 
 undoubtedly been attended with heavy losses of every descrip- 
 tion — in men, in horses, in stores and baggage, and, above all, 
 in the temporary destruction at least of that character of 
 invincibility which had perhaps been too readily granted to the 
 arms of His Imperial Majesty. But let us not deceive our- 
 selves. These losses are not overwhelming, neither are they 
 irreparable. 
 
 The causes which led to the comparative failure of the 
 campaign were then shown to be such as were not likely to 
 recur, and Prince Metternich was urged to consider 
 
 the inevitable consequences of a successful invasion of the 
 Turkish Empire. Let His Highness contrast the situation 
 and character of the Ottoman dominions with those of any 
 other European states. In ordinary cases, even after the most 
 sanguinary wars and the most extensive conquests, peace heals 
 all wounds. Governments may be changed, and dynasties 
 
80 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 overthrown or destroyed, without the general frame of society 
 and the due exercise of lawful authority being materially 
 affected. But if the Turkish power be once destroyed, its 
 reconstruction is impossible. 
 
 So long as it was the first duty of England to require 
 from the Porte its assent to the provisions of the Treaty 
 of London, it was impossible to take her part as against 
 Russia. Prince Metternich was therefore entreated to use 
 his influence at the Porte to induce it to assent to a settle- 
 ment of the Greek question. Were that once disposed of, 
 the Emperor Nicholas would probably be ready to make 
 peace on easy terms ; but if not, it would then be com- 
 paratively easy to compel him to do so. 
 
 Prince Metternich, in reply to this overture, denied the 
 accuracy of the assumptions on which it was based. He 
 professed to believe that the campaign of 1829 would not 
 be more successful than that of 1828, and that the Turks 
 were able to hold their own without support or assistance. 
 In the course of the following spring another attempt 
 was made to induce him to prevail on the Turks to assent 
 to the establishment of a Greek State, and thus clear the 
 way for effective interposition on their behalf ; but he replied 
 that 
 
 Austria was in a very embarrassing position, and that he 
 believed the safest course for her to pursue would be to abstain 
 altogether from interfering upon the present occasion. 
 
 It is therefore an error, though one very generally 
 entertained, to suppose that Prince Metternich desired 
 to undertake an armed intervention on behalf of Turkey. 
 The attitude he really occupied is thus pithily and accu- 
 rately described by the Duke of Wellington in a letter to 
 Lord Aberdeen : 
 
 Metternich is garrulous — he is not very fond of the Russians, 
 but very much so of talking and writing upon the extent and 
 consequence of their losses, which, as usual in persons of that 
 
CAMPAIGN OF 1 829 8 1 
 
 disposition, he exaggerates ; and boasts, probably with some 
 truth, that if the consequences could be prevented, it is in the 
 power of his master totally to destroy their combination for the 
 next campaign. But he no more thinks of interfering by arms 
 than he does of attacking France ; and he would act more 
 wisely if he kept himself quiet altogether and was silent. I'll 
 engage for it that the Emperor of Russia is more afraid of us, 
 who are as quiet as mice, than he is of the Austrians, though 
 the Austrians have more in their power immediately. 
 
 The campaign proceeded, and Lord Aberdeen's predic- 
 tions were fully verified. 
 
 The advance of the Russian forces was unchecked, and 
 although an absence of all designs of aggrandisement con- 
 tinued to be proclaimed, no explanation was offered of the 
 intentions of the Emperor, and it began to be rumoured 
 that heavy pecuniary indemnities and some territorial 
 cessions would be included in the terms of peace. Lord 
 Aberdeen's communications, both with the Russian Govern- 
 ment and with Prince Lieven, became more and more 
 animated ; and a change having taken place in the com- 
 position of the French Cabinet, he thought it worth while 
 to invite its co-operation : 
 
 even although it should be certain that every word of the 
 despatch would be immediately communicated to Russia. 
 
 But the French Government declined to assist in any 
 measures to prevent the apparently approaching catastrophe ; 
 and Prince Polignac saw, or professed to see, no reason to 
 distrust the assurances of moderation already given by the 
 Emperor of Russia. 
 
 It was therefore evident that England would be left 
 to succour the Turks single-handed, if succour was to be 
 afforded ; but, although unsupported by those to whom 
 the preservation of the Ottoman power was apparently 
 a matter of more immediate interest, the occupation of 
 Constantinople by the Russians, however temporary its 
 
82 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 nature, would have led to open collision. Peace was, how- 
 ever, concluded at Adrianople. It is now said that, had 
 the weakness of the Russian army been properly estimated, 
 the war would have been continued. The Russian army 
 may have been greatly enfeebled by disease, but, what- 
 ever its condition, it must not be forgotten that a panic 
 had seized the Turks, which rendered resistance difficult, 
 if not impossible. I see no reason to doubt the accuracy 
 of the picture drawn by the British Ambassador, Sir R. 
 Gordon, a warm friend of the Turks, and strongly animated 
 by anti-Russian and anti-Greek prejudices. 
 
 Nothing (he wrote) but an immediate cessation of hostilities 
 can possibly save this Empire from total destruction. The in- 
 ternal disorder is even more alarming than the danger with 
 which it is threatened from without : disaffection and insub- 
 ordination have reached the highest pitch. There no longer 
 exists an embodied Turkish army ; and the few scattered 
 troops which the Russians have fallen in with decline to offer 
 any resistance. ... It is certain, so broken-hearted are the 
 Turks, that if the Russians appeared with 10,000 men upon 
 the heights above the capital, they might enter the next day, 
 as at Adrianople, by capitulation ; in ten days more they might 
 be masters on both sides the Hellespont from Tenedos to the 
 Black Sea. 
 
 However this might be, the Treaty of Adrianople was 
 signed on September 14th. When the conditions of the 
 peace were known, the Emperor of Austria and the King of 
 France wrote to congratulate the Emperor Nicholas on the 
 success which had attended his arms, and the moderation 
 he had displayed. The King of England did not write a 
 similar letter ; on the contrary. Lord Aberdeen addressed 
 a despatch to Lord Heytesbury, containing very severe 
 criticism upon the terms of the treaty. 
 
 Prince Mctternich did not approve the treaty, but con- 
 tinued to urge the absolute necessity of close union between 
 Russia and Austria, as a counterpoise to the revolutionary 
 
REPLY TO METTERNICH 83 
 
 tendencies of France. While doing so he let drop the remark 
 that the adoption of a more decided tone by Great Britain 
 might have prevented many of the calamities which had 
 fallen on the Turkish Empire, a remark since applied to 
 the transactions of a later period. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen replied to this observation by in- 
 quiring : 
 
 At what moment would Prince Metternich have recom- 
 mended the adoption of a more decided tone ? 
 
 When the Emperor Nicholas declared war against the 
 Porte, he exercised the right belonging to every independent 
 sovereign, of obtaining redress for injuries alleged to have 
 been committed against his own honour and the interest of 
 his subjects. All the Great Powers of the Continent, not 
 excepting Austria, recognised the justice of these hostilities. 
 It was otherwise with His Majesty's Government. 
 
 The objections felt and urged by Great Britain to the 
 commencement of the war, her insistence on the aban- 
 donment of pretensions injurious to the dignity of the 
 allies, and her refusal to acknowledge the blockade of the 
 Dardanelles, were recapitulated, and the despatch thus 
 continued : 
 
 At what subsequent period, we may ask, would it have been 
 proper or justifiable to have assumed this decided tone towards 
 Russia? Prince Metternich cannot surely mean that we might 
 acquiesce in the declaration of war by the Emperor Nicholas, 
 and yet feel ourselves at liberty to quarrel with him for carrying 
 it on with vigour and success ; in a word, that we should 
 expect Russia to make war with reference principally to our 
 convenience, rather than in conformity with her own policy, 
 and to the promotion of her own interests. 
 
 Had the Turkish Government manifested any desire for 
 the restoration of peace ; had reasonable propositions been 
 rejected by the Cabinet of St. Petersburg ; there might, indeed, 
 have been some ground for the intervention of a neutral 
 power. But it is well known that the reverse of this is the 
 fact ; it is notorious that the pacific overtures of the Emperor 
 were more than once rejected by the blind obstinacy of the 
 Porte. 
 
 It is no doubt gratifying that the Austrian Cabinet should 
 look to the tone of Great Britain as the means of averting 
 
84 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 evils which in their consequences may too probably endanger 
 the peace of the world. Having no separate objects to attain, 
 and having nothing to fear, it has been peculiarly our office to 
 watch over the peaceful relations of States, and by upholding 
 the established balance to promote the security and prosperity 
 of each. From this office we shall not shrink ; but however 
 prompt to act, when called upon exclusively by a regard for 
 the honour and dignity of Great Britain, Prince Metternich 
 will probably admit that when the interest is European it is 
 reasonable that we should look for European concert and 
 support. 
 
 The motive which led Lord Aberdeen to deprecate any 
 diminution of the strength of Turkey was not love of the 
 Turks, but apprehension of the designs of Russia. The 
 same motive induced him to look less favourably on the 
 Greek cause than he would otherwise have done ; and, as 
 we have already seen, he in fact had done only a few years 
 previously. The Greek insurrection was mainly directed 
 by Russia, and had at its head a Russian minister who had 
 filled high office at St. Petersburg. To enlarge and strengthen 
 Greece was apparently to give to Russia the control of the 
 Southern Provinces of European Turkey. This was the 
 cause of a desire to prevent the Sovereign of Greece from 
 assuming a formally independent position, which would 
 allow him to be practically the tool of Russia. By preserving 
 the nominal suzerainty of the Sultan, the new State would, 
 in foreign affairs at all events, be rendered unable to act in 
 hostility to the Porte. There was another reason for desiring 
 to restrict within moderate dimensions the demands of 
 Greece, and that was the importance attached to placing 
 the Porte in a position in which Great Britain would be free 
 to give her a more unequivocal support. This was im- 
 possible so long as the Greek question was unsettled and 
 the terms of the Treaty of London unfulfilled ; but it was 
 manifest that the more moderate the terms asked of the 
 Turks the more chance there was that they would be 
 
TREATY OF ADRIANOPLE 85 
 
 induced to grant them, and to reconsider the obstinate 
 refusal they had hitherto given to all proposals on the 
 subject. In reply to Lord Holland, Lord Aberdeen avowed, 
 in the House of Lords, that he indeed regretted the weak- 
 ness of Turkey, but ' not from any love of the Turks or of 
 the Turkish Government. God forbid. I have seen and 
 know the effect of the barbarous rule existing there, and 
 nobody can be more alive to the horrors with which it 
 abounds. But give me leave to say that the improvement 
 of even Turkey may be purchased at too dear a rate, and 
 I still think that the conquest of that country by Russia 
 would be paying dear indeed for the amelioration of its 
 condition.' 
 
 But the conclusion of the Treaty of Adrianople led 
 Lord Aberdeen at once to abandon the hope he had enter- 
 tained of finding in Turkey any effectual resistance to the 
 progress of Russia. He now sought it in another direction, 
 and from those with whom he had more natural sympathy. 
 In writing officially to his brother, Sir Robert Gordon, 
 he says : 
 
 The events of the war have clearly shown to the most 
 incredulous, not only that the Porte was utterly unable to con- 
 tend with any prospect of success against the arms of Russia, 
 but that, trusting to its own resources and without foreign aid, 
 the existence of the Turkish Empire may be said at this 
 moment to depend upon the absolute will and pleasure of the 
 Emperor Nicholas. 
 
 We may justly deprecate that restless policy which, dissatis- 
 fied with whatever is established, eagerly anticipates change, 
 and hoping for contingent good, does in truth only disturb the 
 tranquillity of States. But the present moment ofters a crisis 
 in which common prudence demands that we should endeavour 
 to prepare for the approach of those great events which, accord- 
 ing to all appearance, cannot long be delayed. . . . We may 
 perhaps be tempted to suspect that the hour long since pre- 
 dicted is about to arrive, and that, independently of all foreign 
 or hostile impulse, this clumsy fabric of barbarous power will 
 speedily crumble to pieces from its own inherent causes of 
 decay. . . . We may still attempt to avert the period of its 
 
S6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 final dissolution, and may possibly for a time succeed ; but when- 
 ever this feeble and precarious dominion shall cease, we ought 
 not to occupy ourselves in vain efforts to restore its existence. 
 Our object ought rather to be to find the means of supplying 
 its place in a manner the most beneficial to the interests of 
 civilisation and of peace. 
 
 . . . Whatever may have been its defective composition, a 
 government which had maintained relations of peace with 
 European courts for centuries was not to be wantonly destroyed 
 in the mere hope of future improvement and at the risk of a 
 general convulsion. But whenever this State, now hastening 
 to its fall, shall be entirely overthrown, its reconstruction will 
 be beyond our power, even should we possess the inclination 
 to attempt it. We cannot be blind to the detestable character 
 of Turkish tyranny. Every day renders more certain the im- 
 possibility of any European sympathy with a system founded 
 upon ignorance and ferocity. And although, if necessary, we 
 might reasonably expect support in resisting Christian aggran- 
 disement and ambition, we could scarcely look to receive it in 
 an attempt to restore a Mohammedan authority in Europe. 
 
 A guarantee of the integrity of the Ottoman dominions, if 
 the inclination and policy of the powers of Christendom per- 
 mitted them to enter into such an engagement, might preserve 
 this Empire from hostile attack, but it could offer no real 
 security against the causes of internal dissolution. Should 
 such a general guarantee be entered into, it is probable that its 
 greatest utility would be found in establishing the existence of 
 a species of European concert at the time of emergency. . . . 
 
 The principle of the arrangement which we ought now to 
 desire to see accomplished is that which should most effectually 
 secure the tranquillity of the Levant during the remaining 
 existence of the Turkish Government, and which, at the period 
 of its dissolution, should offer in the Greek State a substitute 
 whose interests we should naturally be called on to support in 
 preference to the pretensions of all others. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen therefore proposed that Greece should 
 be an independent State, free from even the nominal 
 suzerainty of the Porte, and that its frontiers should receive 
 a considerable extension beyond what was contemplated by 
 the protocols of March 22, 1829. 
 
 In writing privately to Sir R. Gordon on the same day, 
 
 Lord Aberdeen thus explained his views : 
 
 You know that to preserve the Porte substantially entire was 
 my great wish. But the instant that the Russians had arrived 
 
SOVEREIGNTY OF GREECE 87 
 
 at Adrianople and we saw of what the Turkish Empire was 
 composed, I changed my views, and determined to lay the 
 foundation, if possible, of making something out of Greece. . . . 
 I now look to establish a solid power in Greece with which we 
 may form a natural connection, and which, if necessary, we 
 may cordially support in future. 
 
 But Lord Aberdeen found little support among his 
 colleagues, except from Sir Robert Peel, and to some ex- 
 tent from Mr. Goulburn. The Duke himself clung to his 
 Turkish sympathies, and Lord Bathurst, Lord EUenborough, 
 and others were still more firmly wedded to their original 
 predilections. After much discussion, the independent 
 sovereignty was conceded to Lord Aberdeen ; but he could 
 not gain the assent of the Cabinet to any extension of the 
 limits of Greece beyond those already determined. With 
 his accustomed loyalty to his chief and to his colleagues, he 
 strove, in all his correspondence, to make the best of an 
 arrangement he did not really like. To his brother alone 
 he permitted himself to express the whole extent of his 
 views with regard to the future which lay before the new 
 State. In his judgment, however, the exact limits of the 
 Greek kingdom had now become of far less importance 
 than the choice of an efficient sovereign for it. He thought 
 it essential that he should be a man of real capacity, willing 
 to work and competent to rule ; one on whom would 
 naturally devolve — or who, in case of need, might seize— 
 the inheritance of the Sultan. 
 
 Among the numerous princes who were either candi- 
 dates for the new sovereignty, or had been urged to become 
 so, there were two — Prince Frederick of Orange and 
 Prince Philip of Hesse — who appeared to Lord Aberdeen 
 to combine the qualities required for the post Both 
 were men of ability, decision, and strength of character. 
 But of these, Prince Frederick declined to allow himself to 
 
88 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 be nominated, and the French Court refused to permit the 
 appointment of a prince who was also a general in the 
 Austrian army, which was the position of Prince Philip. 
 It was therefore necessary to make a selection among other 
 competitors. Prince John of Saxony was the candidate 
 preferred by France, while the claims of Prince Charles 
 of Mecklenburg were urged by Prussia. The Archdukes 
 Maximilian and Bernard of Tuscany, who were not indis- 
 posed to undertake the task, were amiable and cultivated 
 men, but fitter, in Lord Aberdeen's opinion, to criticise 
 Greek architecture and collect Greek coins than to rule 
 a turbulent and hungry crowd of modern Greeks. Prince 
 Emilius of Hesse, though not without some of the recom- 
 mendations of his cousin Philip, had too much of the stiff- 
 ness of a military pedant to be suitable for the situation. 
 Two other princes had proposed themselves as candidates, 
 and eagerly pressed their respective claims : Prince Paul of 
 Wiirtemberg and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. Prince 
 Paul was a man of many gifts and restless ambition, but his 
 unquestionable cleverness was tinged with eccentricity, and 
 his aptness for intrigue inspired distrust. Prince Leopold 
 of Saxe-Coburg was therefore accepted, to his own great 
 satisfaction, by the Conference, rather as one to whom no 
 Power could offer any definite objection than as in himself 
 the best choice that could be made. 
 
 The shrewdness and diplomatic talents of the future 
 King of the Belgians, Prince Leopold, were not then appre- 
 ciated. It is probable that a belief in his indolence and 
 indecision, which it was thought would ensure his being 
 easily guided by the Russian minister who then presided 
 over the Greek State, led to his being proposed by Russia. 
 Capo d'lstrias had no wish to part with his own authority ; 
 and when he became aware, as he soon did, that the Prince 
 
ABDICATION OF LEOPOLD 89 
 
 was a man of no ordinary capacity, he became as unwilling to 
 submit to him as he had in the first instance been forward to 
 name him. By playing on the indolence and self-indulgence 
 of Prince Leopold's character, he knew how to frighten 
 him into abdicating the dignity he had accepted. It was a 
 misfortune. Had he, or either Prince Frederick of Orange 
 or Prince Philip, assumed the reins of government, Greece 
 would probably have played the part which Lord Aberdeen 
 intended her to play, and which was much the same as that 
 which Bulgaria has played in our own times. No successor 
 to Prince Leopold had been selected before Lord Aberdeen 
 left the Foreign Office. By Lord Palmerston it was deter- 
 mined that the sovereign of Greece should not be its ruler, 
 but a constitutional king of the approved type, a figure-head, 
 not a governor ; and that, even during the time which must 
 elapse before a constitution could be framed, he should rule 
 through a council. Accordingly, the young Otho of Bavaria 
 was chosen, and a council ot regency, mainly composed of 
 Germans, set up to rule in his name. It was an unfortunate 
 choice. What Greece wanted was the direction of a single 
 vigorous mind, the grasp of one firm hand. What it got was 
 a divided council of timid and selfish pedants, acting in the 
 name of a dull incompetent boy. 
 
 The space at my disposal warns me that I must not 
 attempt to discuss at equal length the line taken by Lord 
 Aberdeen with reference to the affairs of Portugal. 
 
 It had been arranged that a separation of the crowns of 
 Portugal and Brazil should take place on the death of King 
 John VL, and that bis eldest son, Dom Pedro, should elect 
 which of the two he would retain. He chose the Empire 
 of Brazil, and resigned the crown of Portugal to his infant 
 daughter. He at the same time granted a constitution to 
 Portugal of a liberal character, but which wholly set aside 
 
go LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 the existing and ancient Cortes. His sister, the Infanta 
 Isabella, was in 1828 compelled by ill-health to resign the 
 regency which had been conferred upon her, and by the 
 Emperor's appointment the regency devolved upon his 
 younger brother Dom Miguel. The position of Dom 
 Miguel was peculiar. In the opinion of many Portu- 
 guese, and probably in his own, the crown had devolved 
 on Dom Miguel on his father's death, Dom Pedro's as- 
 sumption of a separate crown as Emperor of Brazil having 
 invalidated his power to transmit the right of succession to 
 that of Portugal. It was also contended that constitutional 
 changes could not legally be effected without the consent 
 of the Cortes, and that an Emperor of Brazil who had re- 
 nounced the succession to the throne of Portugal in 1826 
 could not possibly nominate a regent of that country in 
 1828. Whether, therefore, in accepting the regency, and 
 swearing as he did to maintain his niece's rights and uphold 
 the Constitution, Dom Miguel acted honestly, may well be 
 doubted ; although it may be said in his favour that, if he 
 was from the first insincere, he deceived so experienced and 
 acute an observer as Prince Metternich, and that, even if 
 he had gone to Portugal with the most sincere intention of 
 being faithful to the young Queen and the Constitution, it 
 is probable that any prince, unless he had been a man of far 
 greater strength of mind than Dom Miguel possessed, would 
 have found it difficult to resist the all but universal desire 
 of the nation to seat him on the throne and restore the 
 ancient constitution of Portugal. As to the unanimity of 
 that wish no doubt can exist. It may be freely admitted 
 that it was the offspring of folly and ignorance, but its 
 reality cannot be questioned. The Constitutional Charter, 
 and the new order of things, had no stronger partisan than 
 the British Amoassador, Sir F. Lamb; yet his testimony, 
 
AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL 9I 
 
 which is above suspicion, is to the effect that Dom Miguel 
 
 was * incessantly assailed with recommendations to declare 
 
 himself king, and reign without the Chambers.' * It 
 
 depends,' he wrote, ' entirely on his will to do so ; the 
 
 Chambers would offer no opposition, and the measure 
 
 w^ould be popular with the great majority of the country. 
 
 . . . No party of any consequence appears to attach the 
 
 least value to the Charter.' 
 
 The question really, therefore, was whether the success of 
 
 a popular revolution, already effected, should be admitted, or 
 
 the young Queen and the Constitution should be imposed on 
 
 Portugal by British bayonets, and kept there by the support 
 
 of British troops. Lord Aberdeen was decidedly of opinion 
 
 that neither the interests of England nor of Portugal would 
 
 be benefited by such a course, while by its adoption the 
 
 constitution itself would be rendered odious to the people, 
 
 as the badge of a foreign yoke. It is not easy to resist the 
 
 argument contained in Lord Aberdeen's reply to M. de 
 
 Barbacena, when called on by that minister to interfere 
 
 actively on behalf of the young Queen. He says : 
 
 It is then either for the purpose of resisting successful 
 rebellion, or for that of deciding by force a question of doubt- 
 ful succession, that Great Britain has now been called upon to 
 act. But it is impossible 10 imagine that any independent 
 State could ever intend thus to commit the direction and 
 control of its internal affairs to the hands of another power ; 
 for doubtless if His Majesty be imder the necessity of furnish- 
 ing effectual succour in the event of any internal revolt or 
 dissension in Portugal, it would become a duty, and indeed it 
 would be essentia], to take care that no such cause should exist 
 if it could possibly be prevented. Hence a constant and minute 
 interference in the affairs of Portugal would be indispensable, 
 for His Majesty could never consent to hold his fleets and 
 armies at the disposal of a king of Portugal without any of those 
 due precautions, and that superintendence, which would assure 
 him that his forces would not be liable to be employed in 
 averting the effects of misgovernment, folly, or caprice. Is this 
 a condition of things in which any State professing to be in- 
 dependent could endure to exist ? 
 
92 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 The demand of M. de Barbacena was echoed in the 
 House of Lords by Lord Holland. To him Lord Aberdeen 
 pointed out that it would be preposterous to suppose that 
 the obligation undoubtedly incumbent on Great Britain 
 to defend the House of Braganza from foreign invasion 
 extended to the case of internal dissensions. 
 
 It would (said he) be quite impossible to fulfil such engage- 
 ments, if they had ever been entered into, which they had not. 
 There would be no end to interference, if we were liable to be 
 called on in every case of dispute between the members of 
 that family or between the king and his people. . . . What- 
 ever our wishes to see the establishment of liberal institutions, 
 to enforce such institutions contrary to the will of the people 
 would be to do that which could not be approved by the noble 
 lord. 
 
 No one nowadays would consider it possible that Great 
 Britain should conceive it her duty to aid the King of 
 Portugal in the suppression of a popular revolt, in com- 
 pliance with the provisions of an antiquated treaty made 
 more than five hundred years ago ; and it is dif^cult to 
 understand how the Liberals of 1830 could be induced to 
 depart so widely from their accustomed principles, only 
 because such a departure would in this particular instance 
 have been favourable to the cause with which they sym- 
 pathised. Lord Aberdeen was unquestionably right in policy, 
 and probably in fact also, in declining to admit that any 
 obligation to intervene in the domestic affairs of Portugal 
 was imposed by the treaty of 1370. 
 
 But if not obliged to do so by the provisions of a treaty, 
 certainly no British interest called on England to interfere 
 in a purely internal struggle, or to reverse by force the 
 popular decision. Dom Miguel was in quiet and undis- 
 turbed possession, and according to the usual practice of 
 recognising a i^: facto sovereign, would have been acknow- 
 ledged by other States as king, had it not been for the 
 
THE TERCEIRA EXPEDITION 93 
 
 unusually odious circumstances of his usurpation. The 
 strong sympathy of the English Government with the young 
 Queen, the legitimacy of whose claims it recognised, was 
 shown by this departure from the ordinary course, and by 
 the suspension of diplomatic relations with Portugal. But 
 having determined on the observance of strict neutrality, 
 Lord Aberdeen was fully justified in saying, as he did in the 
 House of Lords, that ' of all courses that might have been 
 adopted, that which alone was perfectly indefensible was to 
 lay down this principle in the first instance, and then depart 
 from it whenever our opinions, feelings, or interests prompted 
 us to do so.' 
 
 One exhibition of this neutrality was especially blamed 
 by the Liberal party. This was the interception, by an 
 English man-of-war, of troops sent by Dom Pedro's agents 
 from Plymouth to Terceira in defiance of the King's pro- 
 clamation and the provisions of the Foreign Enlistment 
 Act, as well as those of international law. These troops 
 had declared for Donna Maria at Oporto, but, receiving no 
 support, had fled precipitately to Spain, which country they 
 were ordered to quit within a month. On grounds of 
 humanity the British Government interposed on their be- 
 half ; procured for them permission to prolong their stay 
 in Spain, and promised them hospitality for a time in 
 England, on their way to Brazil, whither they expressed 
 their intention to repair. But after their arrival in England 
 it appeared that it was the intention of those who directed 
 the movements of these troops to send them not to Brazil 
 but to the Azores. All these islands were under the rule 
 of Dom Miguel, except the island of Terceira, which was 
 divided, the population being in favour of Dom Miguel, 
 and the garrison of the fortress having declared for Donna 
 Maria. Dom Pedro's agent was informed that no hostile 
 
94 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 expedition against any part of the Portuguese dominions 
 could be permitted to start from England, but that pro- 
 hibition was not the result of any special eagerness to 
 defeat his objects ; and he was repeatedly told that if he 
 would only take his troops to some other country, France 
 or Brazil, and start thence on his expedition, its progress 
 would not be interfered with, and its success or failure 
 would become a matter of comparative indifference. 
 
 It was at last agreed that the troops should go to Brazil, 
 but having by false clearances effected their departure, 
 they set sail for Terceira. They had been told they would 
 not be allowed to land there, and they were followed and 
 prevented from doing so. The British Government, Lord 
 Aberdeen maintained, had a right to prevent that being 
 done by fraud which it was its duty to prevent being done 
 openly. Had it not done so, it would have rendered itself 
 liable to compensate Portuguese subjects for all injuries 
 done to them by the expedition, and would have given the 
 Portuguese Government a just cause for war, a course not 
 the less unjustifiable because it was unlikely to be attended 
 with that result. 
 
 According to the doctrines now generally accepted, the 
 action taken by the English Government was that which, 
 in the exercise of an honest neutrality, was incumbent on 
 it. But, while on the one hand it refused to protect the 
 sovereign, the legitimacy of whose claims it acknowledged, 
 against the revolt of ^zr subjects, or to impose a particular 
 form of government on a people unwilling to receive it, the 
 Spanish Court on the other was sternly forbidden to give any 
 aid to the usurper. When British interests required such a 
 course, Dom Miguel was addressed in language of undisguised 
 menace. British subjects had been molested, and the rights 
 secured to them by treaty disregarded, by the Portuguese 
 
RELATIONS WITH PORTUGAL 95 
 
 Government. In consequence of energetic representations 
 made, Dom Miguel issued decrees confirming and assuring 
 to foreign residents all privileges they had heretofore 
 enjoyed. But this was by no means sufficient for the 
 English Government, which observed that the decrees, how- 
 ever satisfactory in general, had no reference to the par- 
 ticular case of Marcos Ascoli, and that, if within three days 
 the reparation demanded on his account were not given, 
 measures would at once be taken to ensure the most ample 
 redress. 
 
 Again, eighteen months later, the Portuguese Government 
 was told that, unless the demands made on behalf of cer- 
 tain British vessels improperly detained by the Portuguese 
 blockading squadron, were within three days complied with, 
 an adequate force would be directed to the Azores, there 
 to obtain redress for injuries already committed and effec- 
 tively to prevent their recurrence. 
 
 But, however little sympathy might be felt by Lord 
 Aberdeen for Dom Miguel and his cause, it was clear to all 
 but the most prejudiced party opponents that, after he had 
 occupied the throne of Portugal for more than two years 
 without resistance, and was to all appearance permanently 
 and peaceably established there, his recognition could not 
 be long avoided. In 1830 the government of Dom Miguel 
 was, and had been for two years past, the undisputed govern- 
 ment de facto of Portugal ; English interests were injured 
 by the absence of an accredited English minister ; and 
 though abhorrence of Dom Miguel's character and conduct 
 rendered the act distasteful, recognition of his position was 
 sooner or later inevitable. There can be no question that, 
 but for events in Brazil, which did not take place till after 
 Lord Aberdeen had quitted the Foreign Office, and which set 
 Dom Pedro free to return to Europe to fight in his daughter's 
 
g6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 cause, the Government of Lord Grey would in the long run 
 have equally felt obliged to acknowledge accomplished 
 facts, and to recognise, however reluctantly, Dom Miguel 
 as King of Portugal. 
 
 Another popular prejudice, wholly groundless, but which 
 has left its traces on the traditions of liberalism, is, that 
 the Duke of Wellington and Lord Aberdeen entertained a 
 strong sympathy with the reactionary Government of France, 
 and, if they did not advise, at least regarded without dis- 
 pleasure its attempts to recover autocratic power. No 
 mistake could be greater. The public correspondence of 
 Lord Aberdeen shows how clearly he saw the folly, and 
 how decidedly he disapproved the violence, of the French 
 Government ; while his private letters prove that the 
 Government of Charles X. was regarded by him from first 
 to last with suspicion, distrust, and dislike. For some 
 time, indeed, before the revolution of July 1830, a discussion 
 with Prince Polignac had been in progress, which daily 
 assumed a more threatening aspect, and which, but for that 
 revolution, might not improbably have brought about a war 
 between France and England. 
 
 In the latter part of 1829 rumours reached the English 
 Government that France contemplated an expedition against 
 Algiers, in which she was to be assisted by Mehemed Ali, 
 Pasha of Egypt. The truth of these rumours was persis- 
 tently denied, but in January 1830 Lord Aberdeen received 
 copies of the despatches of the French Ambassador at Con- 
 stantinople to his Government, which Prince Metternich had 
 found means to intercept. These despatches afforded in- 
 controvertible evidence not only that the French Govern- 
 ment contemplated an expedition against Algiers, but also of 
 its alliance with Mehemed Ah, who was to receive as his 
 reward the Regencies of Tunis and Tripoli. The English 
 
FRENCH EXPEDITION TO ALGIERS 97 
 
 Ambassadorat Paris, Lord Stuart de Rothesay, was instructed 
 to make inquiries on the subject, and was told by Prince 
 PoHgnac that the expedition was resolved on, and would en- 
 force the demolition of the fortifications of Algiers and the 
 abolition of piracy and slavery. But Prince Polignac at the 
 same time explicitly denied any intention on the part of 
 the French Government to form any colony, or place French 
 garrisons, on any part of the African coast ; and on a later 
 day as distinctly assured Lord Stuart that he should 
 
 not hesitate to declare the renunciation of any intention on the 
 part of the French Government to obtain territory on the coast 
 of Africa, because they had never contemplated such acquisi- 
 tion in undertaking this expedition. 
 
 But this was only stated in conversation, and no such ex- 
 press renunciation was to be found in the despatch which, 
 after a long delay, was communicated by the French Am- 
 bassador to Lord Aberdeen. The demand for such an 
 assurance was renewed in more and more pressing terms, 
 and Prince Polignac was told that 
 
 His Majesty's Government expect that His Most Christian 
 Majesty should renounce any project of permanent conquest or 
 aggrandisement ; and that His Majesty should give some inti- 
 mation of his intentions in the event of the entire subversion 
 of the State of Algiers. 
 
 The promised explanations not being furnished, Lord 
 
 Aberdeen, on the 4th of May, wrote in still more energetic 
 
 language : 
 
 The affair, in truth, begins to wear a sinister appearance, and 
 to give rise to doubts and suspicions which it would be very far 
 from the desire of His Majesty's Government to entertain. We 
 have a duty to perform from which we cannot shrink. ... If 
 the projects of the French Cabinet be as pure and disinterested 
 as is asserted by M. de Polignac, he can have no real difficulty 
 in giving us the most entire satisfaction. 
 
 The anticipated communication was made a few days 
 later ; but it was received by Lord Aberdeen, as he 
 
 H 
 
98 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 informed Lord Stuart, 'with astonishment and concern, 
 for in it 
 
 the French Minister, after detailing at much length the nature 
 and objects of the expedition, and complaining of the unreason- 
 able expectations of His Majesty's Government, declines to 
 give any further explanations or assurances in an official form. 
 
 Lord Stuart was instructed to draw the serious attention 
 of Prince Polignac to the promises which had been made 
 and the pledges repeatedly given, as well as to the manner 
 in which it was now proposed that they should be redeemed, 
 and the despatch closed with the significant hint that, 
 
 when you shall have reported the result of this appeal thus 
 made to the consistency and good faith of M. de Polignac, it 
 will be my duty humbly to take His Majesty's commands 
 respecting such further instructions to Your Excellency as the 
 occasion may seem to require. 
 
 While, however, Prince Polignac refused any official ex- 
 planation, he continued, privately, to disclaim all intention 
 of conquest ; and on July 19 he told Lord Stuart that, 
 
 as to territorial possession, he intended to acknowledge the 
 authority of the Porte, to negotiate with it exclusively for the 
 possession of the small posts France claimed before the war, 
 and to leave the Porte to make its own arrangements for secur- 
 ing its authority over the whole of the rest of the Regency. 
 
 Whether the French Government would have had the cou- 
 rage to carry out its professions — whether, indeed, it even 
 intended to do so — may be doubtful. But it is clear that 
 there would have been difficulty in evading the promises it 
 had already made, and that a serious breach with Great 
 Britain would have resulted from such a course. Ten days, 
 however, after this conversation with Lord Stuart, not 
 M. de Polignac alone, but the dynasty he served, was over- 
 thrown by the Revolution which drove Charles X. from 
 France. 
 
 This catastrophe was little anticipated by Lord Stuart, 
 
REVOLUTION OF 183O 99 
 
 who, on July 23, the very day before the issue of the 
 
 Ordinances, wrote : 
 
 . . . The various reports respecting the possibility of a 
 coup d'etat I believe to be utterly unfounded. 
 
 On the receipt of intelligence of the issue of the Ordi- 
 nances, unaccompanied as it at first appeared to be by any 
 serious disturbance, Lord Stuart was at once instructed to 
 deliver no opinion 
 
 either to the French Government, to his colleagues, or to any 
 other person, and to declare that this reserve is prescribed by 
 the express instructions of his Government. This silence will 
 sufficiently indicate the nature of the impression which has been 
 produced upon the minds of His Majesty's Government by the 
 recent decision of the Cabinet of the Tuileries. 
 
 In writing privately to Lord Stuart on the following day, 
 Lord Aberdeen expressed his own opinion, that the question 
 to be decided was, * whether a monarchy under any form 
 will be permitted to exist, or whether we shall again see a 
 republic ; ' but mentioned the fact, which is a curious one, 
 that, * notwithstanding the astonishment, and even alarm, 
 which prevail here, the effect on the funds has been but 
 slight, the persuasion in the City being that a change of 
 ministers will set all to rights.' It is impossible within 
 these limits to describe in any detail the very interesting 
 correspondence carried on with Lord Stuart during the 
 progress of the Revolution ; but I may mention one inci- 
 dent, not, I believe, generally known. On August 5, Lord 
 Stuart wrote that King Charles X. had reason to believe 
 that it was intended that the vessel on which he was to be 
 embarked should convey him to the United States, and re- 
 quested that two English vessels should be sent to Cher- 
 bourg to escort the royal family to Jersey, or wherever else 
 they might determine to seek an asylum. Lord Aberdeen 
 replied ; 
 
100 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 If, under pretence of allowing the King to go where he 
 pleases he should be kidnapped and taken to America, it is 
 clear that our interference to prevent it, to be effectual, must be 
 forcible, and would therefore be a measure of war. Odious and 
 detestable as such an act would be, we should not be justified 
 in resenting it in this manner. If our interference should be 
 merely officious, we shall clearly do injury to the King, and 
 give evidence of hostility against the new Government, which 
 it is most desirable at present to avoid. I confess that I am 
 not disposed to believe in the intention ascribed to the French 
 Government ; but even if it were certain, our interference could 
 not but be disadvantageous, and ought most assuredly not to 
 be thought of. 
 
 Nor is it possible for us to take the responsibility of giving 
 advice respecting the disposal of the Duke of Bordeaux. The 
 situation of the King in this respect is the most difficult and 
 cruel which can be imagined, but it is not foreign advice 
 which can improve it. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington was at first disposed to abstain 
 from any recognition of the Revolution until after the allies 
 had been consulted, nor did he wholly reject the idea 
 of subsequent intervention. Lord Aberdeen energetically 
 combated these views during the first week in August, 
 arguing that the case was not one foreseen by the treaties, 
 and that the unconstitutional action of Charles X. had re- 
 lieved the allies from all obligations to support him. And 
 he further urged that, unless it was intended to engage in 
 a war to which he would be no party, it was folly to throw 
 away any chance of preserving peace ; and that the recogni- 
 tion of Louis Philippe, if made at all, would be far more 
 useful if made at once. 
 
 In a few days the Duke acquiesced. 
 
 I will immediately go to London (he wrote on the 12th 
 August), and we can then decide whether we will act without 
 assembling the Cabinet. There are some bitter pills to 
 swallow. . . . However, the best chance of peace is to swallow 
 them all. If we don't quarrel with them they must set these 
 matters to rights, or quarrel among themselves, or quarrel with 
 us. Any one of these would be better for us and for the world 
 than that we should at this moment quarrel with them. 
 
RECOGNITION OF LOUIS PHILIPPE lOl 
 
 And on the 14th, after repeating his former opiriou that 
 he was * quite certain that the case is one of revolution, 
 and that we are bound by treaty to concert with our alHes,' 
 he added the admission that ' circumstances render it ex- 
 pedient for their interest, as well as our own, that we should 
 act without that concert, and we must take that course.' 
 
 Louis Philippe was accordingly at once recognised as 
 King of the French ; and an elaborate despatch in explana- 
 tion of this step was written by Lord Aberdeen, and sent to 
 all the principal courts of Europe. 
 
 The decision not to interfere in the affairs of France, and 
 to recognise the right of that country to effect a revolution 
 very similar to that which had taken place in England in 
 1688, will not now be questioned ; but that the uncon- 
 stitutional action of Charles X. freed the allies from the 
 obligations entered into by them at Aix-la-Chapelle is 
 perhaps more open to dispute. This initial difficulty, 
 however, being surmounted, and a policy of neutrality 
 resolved on, the arguments urged in favour of the im- 
 mediate recognition of Louis Philippe were incontestable. 
 
 The French Revolution was in a few weeks followed 
 by an insurrection in Belgium, which bad management 
 speedily converted into a revolution. Questions more 
 difficult of solution than those involved in the recognition 
 of the French Revolution were thus raised. Whatever 
 might be said as to the inapplicability of the protocol of 
 Aix-la-Chapelle to the existing state of things in France, it 
 was impossible to deny that the obvious prima facie inter- 
 pretation of existing engagements under the treaties of 1814 
 and 1815 bound England and her allies to maintain the 
 integrity of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and to comply 
 with the King's request for their aimed intervention be- 
 tween himself and his revolted subjects. But the Duke of 
 
IG2 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Wellington and Lord Aberdeen were resolved not to adopt 
 a course which would have rendered war with France all 
 but inevitable, and were most anxious to engage the French 
 Government in negotiations which would, at all events, 
 prevent any open assistance being afforded to the Belgian 
 insurgents from that quarter. In the pursuit of these ob- 
 jects they were most efficaciously aided by Talleyrand, who 
 had been sent to London as French Ambassador by Louis 
 Philippe ; and it is not impossible, nor indeed improbable, 
 that with his assistance means would have been found to 
 maintain the link which bound together the provinces of 
 the Netherlands, while giving effect to the just complaints 
 of Belgium. 
 
 But Lord Aberdeen's share in the negotiations was 
 brought to an abrupt close by the defeat of the Duke of 
 Wellington's Government in the House of Commons, and 
 its consequent resignation on November i6, 1830. 
 
I03 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 OPPOSITION — COLONIAL OFFICE : 1830-4I 
 
 Reform Bill— Marriage of Lord Abercorn— Death of Lady Alice 
 Gordon, of Lady Aberdeen, and of Lady Frances Gordon — Forma- 
 tion of Sir R. Peel's Government— Colonial Office— Mr. Gladstone 
 — Canada — Opposition — Private Life — Opinions on Foreign 
 Affairs — Again becomes Foreign Secretary. 
 
 In the preceding chapter I have dealt only with the 
 business of the department over which Lord Aberdeen pre- 
 sided, and have made no allusion to the general conduct of 
 the Government of which he was a member. In the ordi- 
 nary administration of domestic affairs he took little part, 
 and indeed felt but comparatively little interest. In the 
 progress, however, of the two great measures of home policy 
 which were carried through Parliament by the Duke of 
 Wellington's Government, he had the warmest sympathy. 
 The repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts was, of course, 
 in entire accordance with his tolerant and liberal views, and 
 he had long advocated the repeal of the disabilities under 
 which Roman Catholics tnen laboured. He had not, like 
 many of his colleagues, opinions on that subject to recant, 
 or pledges to violate ; and the conversion of the Duke of 
 Wellington and Sir Robert Peel, if not exactly to the views 
 he entertained, at all events to the practical course he de- 
 sired to follow, gave him unmixed pleasure. He alone, I 
 believe, of the Cabinet protested against the foolish step of 
 invalidating the Clare election. 
 
104 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 On the Reform question his views were moderate, and 
 he was wholly unprepared for the declaration made by the 
 Duke of Wellington on November 2, 1830. He has often 
 said that, had the Duke spoken to him previously on the 
 subject, he could have kept him from uttering the idolatrous 
 eulogy he then pronounced on the unreformed Parliament. 
 But when the Duke was on his legs he was wont, if he had 
 to praise at all, to deal in superlatives, and to employ 
 exaggerated language. Services which he commended were 
 always ranked as among the most remarkable he had ever 
 known ; institutions he approved were apt to be described 
 as faultless. When the Duke resumed his seat, he turned 
 to Lord Aberdeen, who sat beside him, and said : ' I have 
 not said too much, have I ? ' Lord Aberdeen put his chin 
 forward, with a gesture habitual to him when much moved, 
 and only replied : * YouHl hear of ztT After leaving the 
 House he was asked what the Duke had said. ' He said 
 that we were going out,' was the reply. From that moment 
 Lord Aberdeen considered the doom of the Cabinet sealed. 
 It fell a fortnight later, November 16, 1830. 
 
 With the new Government the question of Reform took 
 precedence of all others, and on this question Lord Aber- 
 deen, while not caring to dissociate himself from his party, 
 was in but imperfect sympathy with it. He never forgot, 
 and often repeated, that Mr. Pitt .had remained until his 
 death convinced of the expediency of considerable reforms 
 in the system of parliamentary representation, and that, 
 though the scheme was laid aside for the time as unsuitable 
 for discussion during the course of a great war, it was not 
 abandoned, but only deferred to some later period of the 
 career which the still young minister, unconscious of his 
 approaching death, fancied yet lay before him. In the 
 abstract Lord Aberdeen was not unfavourable to reform, but 
 
REFORM BILL OF 1 832 lOS 
 
 this did not lead him to desire so complete a revolution in 
 the balance of the Constitution as was involved in the pro- 
 visions of Lord John Russell's Reform Bill. He believed, 
 and rightly believed, that it would destroy the existing aristo- 
 cratic constitution, and this he regarded as in itself an evil. 
 He did not, on the one hand, share the delusion of Lord 
 Grey, that the influence of the House of Lords would be 
 little impaired, and that, though abuses would be abolished, 
 affairs would continue with little alteration in the old groove. 
 Nor, on the other hand, did he hold, with the Radicals, 
 that the destruction of the old aristocratic influence would 
 be beneficial to the nation. But he saw that the omission 
 to make moderate reforms, which, if effected before the 
 French Revolution of 1830, might have rendered further 
 changes for some time unnecessary, had now made a very 
 large measure of reform unavoidable. Entertaining as he 
 did the opinion that such a measure, however inevitable, 
 would be attended by unfortunate consequences, he con- 
 sidered that the House of Lords should in the first instance 
 reject the Bill as a solemn protest against its tendency, but 
 that when brought up again it should accept the measure 
 and face its consequences. Among those consequences the 
 House must be prepared to admit that henceforth its duties 
 would be only those of checking and revising decisions 
 which it would no longer be able to reverse. 
 
 That under the present condition of affairs this is the 
 true function of the House of Lords is now generally ad- 
 mitted, but this was recognised by few in 1831. Lord 
 Aberdeen's view, that the Bill should be protested against 
 but passed, was ridiculed and scoffed at by Whigs, Tories 
 and Radicals with equal impartiality. Lord Grey was 
 unable to see how greatly the balance of the old Constitution 
 was destroyed, and in his correspondence with Madame de 
 
I06 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Lieven sneered at what seemed to him Lord Aberdeen s 
 strange notions. The Tories saw in the suggestion of 
 ultimate acquiescence a cowardly abandonment of the 
 coequal right of the Lords to reject any measure of the 
 Commons of which they disapproved ; and the Radicals 
 exclaimed at the apparent absurdity of any man opposing, 
 in the first instance, a measure which he was prepared 
 ultimately to allow to pass. With characteristic indiffer- 
 ence he took no trouble to explain, except to very few, the 
 grounds of his opinion. When, however, in 1832, on the 
 resignation of Lord Grey in consequence of a check in 
 the progress of the Reform Bill, the Duke of Wellington 
 attempted to form a Government, and asked Lord Aberdeen 
 to resume his place at the Foreign Office, there was no 
 obstacle on principle to his acceptance of the invitation, 
 although he from the first predicted that success in such an 
 attempt was at the moment altogether impossible. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington's attempt to form a Government 
 ended disastrously in less than a week, and having con- 
 sented to form part of a Government which was to have 
 accepted the Reform Bill, it appeared to Lord Aberdeen 
 inconsistent to oppose the further progress of the measure. 
 He consequently retired to Scotland. There the Reform 
 Bill effected an even more complete revolution of the 
 electoral system than in England. . Up to that time none 
 but landed proprietors had votes at the election of county 
 members in Scotland, while the borough members were 
 returned by the town councils. A thoroughly popular 
 franchise was now substituted. Lord Aberdeen's supremacy 
 in Aberdeenshire was not, however, disturbed by the new 
 electorate, and his brother Captain William Gordon, who 
 had represented the county since 18 18, under the old 
 system, was on the dissolution re-elected to the first 
 
DEATH OF LADY ALICE GORDON 107 
 
 Reformed Parliament by a great majority. On October 
 25 th, Lord and Lady Aberdeen were present at Gordon 
 Castle, at the marriage of Lord Abercorn to Lady Louisa 
 Russell, daughter of the Duke of Bedford. Lord Aber- 
 corn had just attained his majority, and this marriage gave 
 both Lord and Lady Aberdeen the liveliest pleasure. It 
 was the commencement of a happy union of more than 
 fifty years' duration. But this was only a bright gleam amid 
 the anxieties and sorrows of Lord Aberdeen's domestic life, 
 as to which, smce his acceptance of office in 1828, we have 
 been silent, and to which we must now return. 
 
 In 1827 an improvement seemed to have taken place in 
 Lady Alice's health, and hopes were entertained that she 
 might outgrow her constitutional delicacy. But in 1828 
 she grew worse, and the end evidently approached. Every 
 spare moment of Lord Aberdeen's time was passed with 
 her : his first inquiry and first visit on returning from the 
 House of Lords or from the Foreign Office were for her. 
 All that skill could do was done, but in vain, and on April 
 29, 1829, at the age of twenty, she passed away in his 
 arms, where for hours previously she had lain. For some 
 days afterwards he shut himself up at the Foreign Office 
 absolutely alone. 
 
 The unintermitting anxiety which, during the last ten 
 years, had been his chief preoccupation was now over. 
 None of the children of his Catherine now remained alive. 
 One by one they had faded before his eyes, through long 
 periods of pain and suffering. ' I have known many 
 sorrows, ' he wrote in his solitude ; but from those sor- 
 rows he sought to draw their true lesson. About this time 
 Uvedale Price wrote thus to Rogers : 
 
 I shall never forget my having seen, some twenty years ago, 
 a number of children coming out of a house in Grosvenor 
 
I08 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Square. I was so struck by their beauty that, when they 
 had passed by me, I went up to the porter, who, with the 
 door half open, was following them with his eyes, and asked 
 him whose children they were. * Lord Aberdeen's,' he an- 
 swered, 'and there is not a finer family in all Britain.' I 
 soon afterwards became acquainted with Lord Aberdeen, 
 and soon very intimate ; was continually at the Priory, and 
 saw these beautiful and amiable children growing up in all 
 their loveliness ; but mixed with the colour of youth and 
 beauty was that of disease, with the ' terniic glory* of Homer's 
 Sirius. 
 
 Aa/LtTTporaros- fxeu oS' ((tti, kukov Be re arjfxa TervKTaif 
 Kai re cj^epei ttoXXov nvpeTov deikola-i ^porolatv. 
 
 Not long after Lord Abercorn's marriage, the health of 
 Lady Aberdeen began to fail, and after a very long and 
 painful illness she expired at Argyll House on August 
 26, 1833. She was truly and long lamented, and her loss 
 cast an additional shade of gloom over the remaining 
 years of an already overclouded life. In the same year 
 which had seen Lady Alice's death, Lady Aberdeen's 
 youngest son was born. To him Lord Aberdeen at once 
 transferred something of the love he had borne his lost 
 daughter. The child was a sickly infant, and on Lady 
 Aberdeen's death, as the youngest, frailest, and most helpless 
 of her children, became the object of histenderest and most 
 constant solicitude. 
 
 In the spring which succeeded Lady Aberdeen's death 
 she was followed to the grave by her only daughter, Lady 
 Frances, in her sixteenth year. The loss of this, his last 
 remaining daughter, was a new wound to Lord Aberdeen. 
 On hearing of it, his old and intimate friend, Madame de 
 Lieven, proposed to come down to stay with him at the 
 Priory, where he then was. He wrote to thank her, but 
 told her that if she came she would not find him, as he was 
 going at once to a distant part of the country. * You must 
 not think me churlish or insensible if I shun even your 
 
HADDO HOUSE lOQ 
 
 society at this moment. There are some misfortunes which 
 are too great for speech.' 
 
 Lord Aberdeen spent the greater part of the summer and 
 autumn at Haddo, keeping up a constant correspondence 
 with the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Madame de 
 Lieven, and others, but chiefly occupied by the improve- 
 ment of his estate and the development of his park and 
 pleasure-grounds. These were no longer the dreary waste 
 which thirty years earlier they had been. Plantations 
 were everywhere assuming the character of woods ; a stately 
 avenue, a mile in length, stretched from the house to a hill 
 in the deer park. A large lake had taken the place of a 
 morass. Roads intersected the grounds in every direction, 
 and the flower-beds and terraces were bright with colour. 
 In the house itself much had been done in the way of 
 addition and alteration, which now rendered it, if not a 
 first-class house, at least a very habitable one. On the 
 estates, evidences of the improvements which had been 
 prosecuted with untiring vigour for thirty years were on all 
 sides to be seen. The ruinous 'farm-town' of 1800 had 
 been replaced on almost every one of the nine hundred 
 farms by a comfortable and substantial, if remarkably ugly 
 house and farm buildings of granite. But, much as had 
 been done, there were still mosses to drain and wastes to 
 plant, and much other work yet to do. From these pursuits 
 Lord Aberdeen was summoned in the middle of November 
 1834 by a most characteristic letter from the Duke of 
 Wellington, calling him to his assistance in London. The 
 Duke told him of the king's coup d'etat^ and that the Govern- 
 ment had * gone out sulkily,' but that he * had been very 
 cool and quiet, and engaged to keep things very cool and 
 quiet,' till Peel's return. 
 
 The Duke was desirous that Lord Aberdeen should 
 
no LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 resume his place at the Foreign Office, his own assumption 
 
 of that post being, he thought, objectionable on account of 
 
 his deafness. But this obstacle was overruled. 
 
 The Duke (wrote Lord Aberdeen to Madame de Lieven) 
 is at the Foreign Office, having been urged, by me certainly 
 more strongly than by any one, to go there. His own wish was 
 that I should have resumed the situation ; but I could not be 
 blind to the superior weight of his name and influence. I had 
 intended to decline for myself any other laborious office, and 
 was to have been President of the Council, which would have 
 enabled me to give the greater part of my time to foreign 
 affairs. I was, however, first persuaded to accept the Admiralty; 
 and since that time I have, though much against my inclina- 
 tion, been appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies. 
 
 This office was highly distasteful to him, and it was 
 with sincere relief that he relinquished its uncongenial 
 duties on the overthrow of Sir Robert Peel's short Ad- 
 ministration in the spring of 1835. His dislike of the post 
 was due chiefly to two causes — the amount of patronage 
 which then belonged to it, the distribution of which was to 
 him odious ; and the existence in almost every colony ol 
 what he recognised as true and well-founded grievances, 
 which were nevertheless so mixed up with faction and un- 
 reasonable pretensions as to render their redress a work of 
 the utmost embarrassment and difficulty. Everywhere he 
 found agitation and discontent. *As a lover of your 
 country ' (he wrote to his old friend Gurney) * you will be 
 glad to hear that Heligoland is quiet and contented. This 
 it is something to be able to say, for of no other colony can 
 it be said.* 
 
 In after years Lord Aberdeen was accustomed to say 
 that the irksomeness of the Colonial Office was accom- 
 panied by but one compensation — that which was to be 
 found in the pleasure which he derived from the constant 
 society and companionship of Sir James Stephen, then 
 Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, 
 
FIRST MEETS MR. GLADSTONE III 
 
 in whose conversation Lord Aberdeen found a peculiar 
 charm. 
 
 But his intercourse with his Political Under Secretary 
 also was destined to become the foundation of a lifelong 
 friendship, for it was in that capacity that he first made 
 acquaintance with Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 In the same letter to Mr. Gurney from which I have 
 
 already quoted, Lord Aberdeen says : — 
 
 In consequence of the defeat of my Under Secretary in the 
 county of Forfar, I have been obliged to appoint another. I 
 have chosen a young man whom I did not know, and whom I 
 never saw, but of whose good character and abilities I had 
 often heard. He is the young Gladstone, and I hope he will do 
 well. He has no easy part to play in the House of Commons, 
 but it is a fine opening for a young man of talent and ambition, 
 and places him in the way to the highest distinction. He 
 appears to be so amiable that personally I am sure I shall like 
 him. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone himself thus describes their first inter- 
 view : 
 
 On an evening in the month of January 1835 I was sent 
 for by Sir Robert Peel, and received from him the offer, which 
 I accepted, of the Under Secretaryship for the Colonies. From 
 him I went on to your father, who was thus to be, in official 
 home-talk, my master. Without any apprehension of hurting 
 you, I may confess that I went in fear and trembling. I knew 
 Lord Aberdeen only by public rumour. Distinction of itself 
 naturally and properly rather alarms the young. I had heard 
 of his high character ; but I had also heard of him as a man 
 of cold manners, and close and even haughty reserve. It was 
 dusk when I entered his room — the one on the first floor, with 
 the bow-window looking to the Park — so that I saw his figure 
 rather than his countenance. I do not recollect the matter of 
 the conversation ; but I well remember that, before I had been 
 three minutes with him, all my apprehensions had melted 
 away like snow in the sun ; and I came away from that inter- 
 view, conscious indeed — as who could fail to be conscious? — 
 of his dignity, but of a dignity so tempered by a peculiar purity 
 and gentleness, and so associated with impressions of his kind- 
 ness, and even friendship, that I believe I thought more about 
 the wonder of his being at that time so misunderstood by the 
 outer world, than about the new duties and responsibilities of 
 my new office. 
 
112 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 * Misunderstood ' he most unquestionably was, and that 
 to a degree which is truly surprising, making every allow- 
 ance for party misrepresentations and the unfavourable 
 impression produced by his own reserve and seclusion. 
 On the assembling of Parliament in 1835, Lord Howick 
 vehemently assailed the Duke of Wellington and Lord 
 Aberdeen as the leaders of the new Government in the 
 House of Lords, and denounced the latter as a man whose 
 principles made him an enemy of the human race ! Three 
 years later, in 1838, Lord Howick very handsomely ad- 
 mitted that such terms had been undeserved, and that, 
 on returning to office, he had found (no doubt, to his 
 surprise) that, both in what he had written and what he 
 had done, Lord Aberdeen's short administration of the 
 Colonial Office was marked by thorough liberality. In 
 later years no one more highly appreciated Lord Aberdeen 
 than Lord Grey (as Lord Howick had then become). 
 But in 1838 Lord Howick did not know, and I doubt 
 whether he is to this day aware, that, had it not been for 
 the speech to which I have referred, it was to him that 
 Lord Aberdeen had resolved to offer the conduct of the 
 measures to be taken for the conciliation of the Canadian 
 people. Lord Aberdeen, indeed, still wished to make the 
 offer, even after the denunciation in question, but on this 
 Sir Robert Peel placed his veto. Lord Howick, he said, 
 could not now accept the proposal, and might therefore 
 affect to doubt the sincerity with which it had been made ; 
 while the offer itself would, in the circumstances, be 
 hardly compatible with the consideration due to the Duke 
 of Wellington, or indeed with self-respect on the part of 
 Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 Short, however, as was his tenure of the office, and much 
 as he disliked its duties. Lord Aberdeen, while Secretary of 
 
FOREIGN POLICY II3 
 
 State for the Colonies, contrived to take some steps of con- 
 siderable importance. His instructions to Lord Amherst, 
 whom he had intended to send as High Commissioner 
 to Canada, with full powers not only to investigate but to 
 settle on the most liberal principles the grievances of the 
 colony, were considered by him one of his best composi- 
 tions, and were certainly full of wisdom and justice. The 
 intention was not carried into effect by his successor. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen had given a silent vote against the 
 Reform Bill, and took no active part in the agitating dis- 
 cussions on domestic affairs which occurred in the two 
 first short Parliaments of William IV. But he criticised 
 severely the conduct of foreign affairs by Lord Grey's 
 Government, which was already marked in some degree 
 by Lord Palmerston's influence, and the peculiar charac- 
 teristics of his policy. On again finding himself in opposi- 
 tion, after the fall of Sir Robert Peel's Government, Lord 
 Aberdeen continued these criticisms, and again steadily 
 opposed the principle, which he deemed a vicious one, on 
 which that policy was based, — the principle, justified by 
 Lord Palmerston (to use his own words), of ' intermeddling, 
 and intermeddling in every way and to every extent short of 
 actual military force,' ^ in the affairs of other countries, 
 under the impression that by so doing he increased the 
 influence of England. Lord Aberdeen, on the other hand, 
 held that the influence of England was really diminished 
 by such a course, and that morality forbade interference at 
 all where we were not prepared to face its legitimate results. 
 He deemed such interference inexpedient, because English 
 diplomatic agents on the Continent were not likely, in his 
 opinion, to be better qualified to interfere in the domestic 
 
 * Speech in the House of Commons, June i, 1829. 
 
114' LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 affairs of other states than foreign agents were in our own ; 
 because such interference was sure to make England hated, 
 even by those on whose behalf she intervened, and scorned 
 by those who saw that her blustering language, if firmly 
 met, was followed by no serious action ; and because, what- 
 ever our sympathies, it was only for the defence or further- 
 ance of English interests that it became a duty to interfere. 
 It was, of course, easy to denounce Lord Aberdeen as a 
 sympathiser with despotism, for naturally it was against 
 despotic powers that the bravado of meddling was most 
 displayed ; that he was not so, it would be easy enough to 
 prove. 
 
 But however decidedly opposed to Lord Palmerston's 
 mode of condacting foreign affairs, Lord Aberdeen had no 
 strong antagonism to the Government of Lord Melbourne, 
 between many of the members of which and himself there 
 existed ties of personal friendship or family connection. 
 Nor was he at all eager, either on public or personal 
 grounds, to hasten the overthrow of the Whig Government. 
 
 As I have before observed, he found great difficulty in 
 being a partisan. He felt that there was little or no 
 essential difference between the Whig noblemen and 
 gentlemen who were in office, and the Tory noblemen and 
 gentlemen who looked to succeed them. Nor could he 
 attribute overwhelming importance to measures as to the 
 wisdom of which opinions might indeed differ, but which 
 were not revolutionary, and which would make no vital 
 change in the condition of the country. It was conse- 
 quently difficult to persuade him to remain in London 
 during the latter part of the session. On one occasion the 
 Duke of Wellington, who looked more seriously at the situa- 
 tion, had urged Lord Aberdeen to postpone his departure 
 for Scotland, on the ground that there were many important 
 
THE duke's opinions IBS 
 
 measures coming up from the House of Commons to which 
 the House of Lords must give their attention, and on which 
 they must decide. On Lord Aberdeen demurring to do 
 so, and expressing an opinion that, except in very special 
 cases, the Lords should not interfere with Bills the Com- 
 mons had passed, the Duke lost patience, and rejoined : 
 
 I think that men must now open their eyes, and see that if 
 they don't act together, and make an effort to preserve property 
 and rights from further invasion, they must all and each of them 
 in his turn become a sacrifice to the new principles and course 
 of action. I wish the House of Lords, if possible, to prevent 
 the enactment of fresh mischief in this session of Parliament ; 
 or that, if such must be enacted, men's minds should be 
 awakened to the contemplation of it through the discussion of 
 the measures in contemplation. Possibly I am wrong. All 
 this trouble and these efforts may be useless, nay, more, 
 injurious. It may be best to let the country go to the devil its 
 own way, or according to the guidance of the Government, the 
 Political Unions, the Chartists ! With all my heart ! Be it so ; 
 I will not desire anybody to stay ! I have before stood, and I 
 can now stand, alone ; and, please God, as long as I have 
 strength and voice, they shall hear of the mischief which they 
 have done and are doing. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen did not share these exaggerated appre- 
 hensions, and was, morever, confident that were the Whig 
 Government inclined to adopt dangerous measures, which 
 he did not believe, the Conservative party was too strong 
 to render any indulgence of such tendencies possible. He 
 wrote to Madame de Lieven in 1838 that, on public grounds, 
 
 I and one of my friends ^ are perfectly satisfied to remain 
 out of office, fully possessed of the means of preventing all 
 legislative mischief, and able to expose any weakness or miscon- 
 duct of the Government. We can wait without any sacrifice, 
 but our eager friends are not easily to be repressed. They do 
 not understand these cool speculations, and think that nothing 
 is gained so long as a Whig Ministry is in office. 
 
 After the death of Lady Aberdeen he went little into 
 general society. His appearance there was regarded with 
 
 » Peel. 
 
Il6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 respect and curiosity, but he was never a familiar figure 
 
 in the eyes of the pubhc, or in London drawing-rooms. 
 
 Towards the end of 1838 Madame de Lieven had written 
 
 to him that she sought rehef from the contemplation of 
 
 her own sorrows in the bustle and interest of political life. 
 
 He replied : 
 
 With your great talents and acquirements you can never 
 be without resources ; but in one respect I confess that we 
 greatly differ. You look for interest and amusement in the 
 agitation of the world and the spectacle it affords ; now I 
 cannot express to you my distaste for everything of the kind. 
 This is not from a tendency to become gloomy and morose, for 
 the contrary is the fact ; but I have had enough of the world, 
 and without any extravagance, would willingly have as little to 
 do with it as is decent. 
 
 The great possessions and personal popularity of the 
 Duke of Buccleuch rendered him the natural head of the 
 Scotch Conservatives. In 1838 he was compelled by ill- 
 ness to leave England for a considerable time ; and Lord 
 Aberdeen was urged by the Duke of Wellington to assume 
 the leadership and management of the Conservative party 
 in Scotland. Lord Aberdeen declined to do so, alleging 
 that neither his habits nor his character were suited to the 
 duties of such a post, which ought to be filled by a man of 
 more popular address, to whom general society was less 
 distasteful and party politics more interesting. The Duke 
 replied that he had written to Sir Robert Peel to join with him 
 in overcoming Lord Aberdeen's resistance, and added: 
 
 I close my answer to your letter of the 5th with this observa- 
 tion, which I beg you to reflect on. You went to the Colonial 
 Office disliking it and its business, and everything connected 
 with it. You see how well you succeeded in it, and that you 
 are now the standard of our Colonial policy, as you were before 
 of our foreign policy. This was done in a few months. The 
 conclusion which I wish you to draw is this, that you have only 
 to give your attention to any subject or any business, however 
 irksome or disagreeable to you, to do it better than others, and 
 you will master it as easily as you did the affairs of the Colonial 
 Department. 
 
LORD HADDO'S MARRIAGE II7 
 
 Lord Aberdeen yielded to the solicitations of his two 
 friends, but it was with reluctance. Haddo House had 
 become as dear as it was once detested. He was always 
 impatient to get there from London, and always left it with 
 reluctance and regret. It was now his home, and he was 
 never so well content as when there, in the midst of cette 
 grande existence feodale^ which so struck M. Guizot when 
 some years later he visited Haddo. 
 
 His elder sons were now growing up to manhood. 
 Lord Haddo had made a successful start at Cambridge, 
 and in his first year at the University gained some distinc- 
 tion, greatly to Lord Aberdeen's delight, who wrote that 
 it had brought tears to his eyes, but that they were tears of 
 joy. Lord Haddo did not, however, continue the pursuit 
 of academical honours, and was abroad, on a prolonged 
 tour in Italy and Greece, when in 1837 he attained the age 
 of twenty-one. Lord Haddo's majority was made the 
 occasion of a great manifestation, and Lord Aberdeen 
 entertained at dinner nearly a thousand of his tenants. In 
 1840 Lord Haddo married, and when he brought home 
 his bride the tenants, who to the number of 700 or 800 
 had escorted their carriage on horseback from the Lodge, 
 in their turn invited Lord Aberdeen and the newly 
 married pair to a dinner presided over by one of their 
 own body. At this dinner Lord Aberdeen, with Lady 
 Haddo on his arm, walked past the long rows at each 
 table as though inspecting a regiment, and then in a few 
 simple and very touching words presented her to them as 
 the wife of their future landlord, and the successor of those 
 'whom she might equal but could not surpass.' He was 
 from the first greatly captivated with his daughter-in- 
 law, and till his death their mutual affection grew ever 
 closer. 
 
Il8 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 The first time I ever saw him (writes Lady Aberdeen) 
 was at a garden-party given by Lady Mansfield at Caen Wood. 
 Somebody pointed him out to me, and said, ' You might take 
 him for a Methodist parson.' Certainly he was dressed in 
 black, and looked very grave and sad, but somehow his 
 countenance impressed me in a remarkable way, so much so 
 that I have still a perfectly distinct recollection of his appear- 
 ance on that day. The next occasion was at the time of 
 Harriet's marriage, and after that I do not remember seeing 
 him again till just before my own. Naturally I felt some 
 trepidation at meeting him then, but his gentle kindness and 
 the calm affectionate tone of the little he said to me helped to 
 reassure me, and when I was told that in answer to Made- 
 moiselle d'Este's praises of my younger sister he had said, ' I 
 like my own best, however,' my surprise and gratitude were 
 very great : I think I was never really afraid of him after that. 
 Then came our arrival at Haddo, and the words he spoke that 
 day. All the time that we were there he seemed to take pains 
 to become acquainted with me and to make me feel that he 
 looked on me as a daughter ; though it was, of course, only 
 gradually that the relation of father and daughter between us 
 became as true (and I do think it did) as if I had been his own 
 child. 
 
 In 1839, had Sir Robert Peel succeeded in the attempt 
 to form a Government, Lord Aberdeen would have re- 
 turned to the Foreign Office. During the next two years 
 his attention was very largely engaged by the affairs of the 
 Church of Scotland \ but it was in foreign affairs that he 
 was always chiefly interested, and to them the greater part 
 of his time was devoted. 
 
 Unlike many of his friends, he approved the policy of 
 the Whig Government in regard to Egypt and Syria. A 
 few extracts from letters to Madame de Lieven will show 
 the views he entertained on this subject, and the readiness 
 he felt to do justice to his rival where he believed him to 
 be essentially in the right : 
 
 Aug. 14, 1840.— I rather think that Lord Palmerston will 
 be able to make out a good case in justification of the course 
 he has adopted, although I perceive that some of my friends 
 are of a different opinion. Notwithstanding all the warlike 
 demonstrations which have taken place, I cannot feel much 
 
LETTER TO PRINCESS LIEVEN IIQ 
 
 alarm. I have always told you that my reliance is on the 
 wisdom of the King. It is impossible that he should permit 
 the personal feelings of M. Thiers or the national vanity of his 
 people to precipitate him into a position so dangerous to the 
 existence of his dynasty as a war with the great Powers of 
 Europe, and for no real French objects or essential interests. 
 This is quite incredible. If the four Powers are united they 
 have nothing to fear from the ill-humour of France in a ques- 
 tion of this kind, nor is there any danger of the French people 
 undertaking a crusade against all Europe in support of such 
 a barbarian as the Pasha of Egypt. 
 
 Aug. 31. — I retain my former opinions, and am persuaded 
 that your apprehensions are unfounded. It is true that M. 
 Thiers blusters mightily, and is very warlike, but unfortunately 
 he can get nobody to believe him. Throughout Europe the 
 peace establishment is eveiywhere preser\^ed ; and although the 
 French were a little sensitive at first, even they have recovered 
 their equilibrium. All this arises from the absurdity of sup- 
 posing it possible that France should go to war against the 
 great Powers of Europe without any shadow of a justifiable 
 cause. . . . You say that the national vanity is deeply wounded, 
 and that all parties are agreed. You think, therefore, that the 
 King would not be able, and is not inclined, to control public 
 feeling. Now I still place great confidence in the King. The 
 national vanity and self-love may be excited, and the King may 
 find it necessary to sail with the current, but he will know how 
 to vary his course in good time. He will never expose the 
 safety of his country and his family in a quarrel so preposterous. 
 .... There appears to be a general notion that we have been 
 guilty of some want of respect, and that the affair has been mis- 
 managed, and France needlessly affronted ; but I confess that 
 I have as yet seen no evidence whatever of this being the 
 case. 
 
 Nov. 3. — You may easily believe with what impatience we 
 wait to see the proceedings of the Chambers at their meeting 
 on the 5th, deciding as they will the fate of this country and 
 of the world with respect to peace or war. I confess that I 
 am very sanguine about the pacific character of their conduct, 
 not that I have any profound respect for the wisdom of the 
 French Chambers, but France has really no case at all to 
 justify the burning of an ounce of gunpowder. All these war- 
 like demonstrations have been regarded with astonishment. 
 M. Guizo. is a lover of peace, and although he may think there 
 is ground of complaint on the part of the French Government, 
 he knows perfectly well that there is no hostile intention in the 
 Treaty of July 15, nor anything which can possibly justify 
 extreme measures. I am sure that this opinion must be shared 
 by the reflecting portion of the French people, who must see the 
 
120 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 extreme danger of provoking war under such circumstances. 
 France, with a just cause, and her real national interests at stake, 
 is equal m power to all Europe united ; but France, with the 
 ridiculous casus belli Qx^2X^di by the Radical journals, would find 
 herself no match for the other Powers. 
 
 Dec. 12. — I regret to see that efforts are still made, and not 
 without success, to persuade the French people that they have 
 been insulted by the four Powers, notwithstanding the absurdity 
 of such an assertion. I entirely agree with M. de Lamartine, 
 that the only insult offered to France has been the complete 
 indifference of the Powers to all her warlike preparations, and 
 that none of them have increased their force, or incurred any 
 additional expense. But this insult was in fact a compliment, 
 in so far that it gave credit to the French people for sufficient 
 common sense to see the unreasonable nature of the course 
 adopted. 
 
 But if he approved of the Syrian expedition, he as 
 decidedly censured the coldness with which, after the fall 
 of M. Thiers, the overtures of M. Guizot for a better under- 
 standing with England were received. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen also disapproved strongly of the 
 dissolution of 1841. Fully aware as the ministers were 
 of the hopelessness of their appeal to the country, he 
 considered the step hardly constitutional, and decidedly 
 unfair towards the Queen, whose prerogative was thus 
 exercised. Personally he was grateful for a decision which 
 enabled him to spend the best part of the summer at Haddo ; 
 and when, after the elections, he left it with the knowledge 
 that the fall of the Government was inevitable, and that in 
 the course of a few days he would be called on to take part 
 in the formation of another, it was with bitter regret that he 
 reflected that years might pass before he would be at home 
 again for any lengthened stay. Lord Aberdeen received the 
 seals of the Foreign Department for the second time on 
 September 3, 1841. 
 
121 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SCOTCH CHURCH AFFAIRS 
 
 Constitution of the Scottish Church— The Veto Act— Mr. Whyte's 
 Case — NegotiHtion with Church Leaders — Introduction of Lord 
 Aberdeen's Bill— Attitude of the Government and of the General 
 Assembly — Bill withdrawn— Fresh Negotiations— Their Failure at 
 the moment of success — Attitude of Parties in 1842-43 — The Great 
 Secession — Lord Aberdeen's Act adopted. 
 
 The ignorance of even well-informed people in the 
 southern part of Great Britain as to Scottish affairs was, at 
 the beginning of the century, almost total, and even half a 
 century ago was surprisingly great. Since that time it has 
 probably diminished, but it cannot be denied that it is still 
 considerable. That a Presbyterian Church is established 
 in Scotland, and that Scotland has preserved its own 
 system of civil and criminal jurisprudence, are facts generally 
 known ; but how the one is governed and the other ad- 
 ministered, or in what relation they mutually stand, are 
 matters which most fairly well-informed Englishmen would 
 find it difficult to explain. A few prefatory words are 
 therefore requisite if this chapter is to be rendered intelli- 
 gible to the ordinary Enghsh reader : attractive, I fear, I 
 cannot hope to make it. 
 
 The deliberative assemblies of the Church of England 
 were reduced to silence and inaction early in the eighteenth 
 century, but the Church of the sister kingdom retained 
 unimpaired in vigorous life and activity, the organisation 
 
122 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 which gave it in many respects practical independence of 
 the State. Every parish had its Kirk Session of minister 
 and lay elders, by which the affairs of the parish were 
 regulated, and which administered spiritual discipline in the 
 way of excommunication and penance with a vigour and 
 promptitude which might be envied, but could not be 
 imitated, by the clergy of the southern part of Great Britain. 
 The Presbytery of the bounds, consisting of all the 
 clergy of a district of moderate size, conferred ordination 
 and exercised other quasi-Episcopal functions ; while the 
 Synod, a body whose functions were chiefly deHberative, 
 was composed of the united Presbyteries of a large area, 
 the boundaries of which, speaking roughly, pretty nearly 
 coincided with those of the ancient dioceses of the Scottish 
 Church. Above all these was the General Assembly, 
 composed of elected clerical and lay members from every 
 Presbytery, which met annually for a few days in the month 
 of May. 
 
 The beginning of the present reign found the Established 
 Church of Scotland, which then comprised an overwhelming 
 majority of its population, divided by conflicting opinions on 
 the subject of the method to be observed in the admission 
 of ministers to parochial charges. These differences were 
 reflected in the General Assembly of the Church, in which 
 those styled Non-Intrusionists were the stronger party. At 
 the accession of William IV., seven years earlier, the law 
 of the Church with regard to the settlement of the 
 parochial • clergy stood as it had stood unaltered for more 
 than a century. Under it, three distinct rights were un- 
 derstood to be recognised : that of a patron to present 
 to a living ; that of any member of the congregation to 
 object to such presentation ; and that of the Church Courts 
 to determine the validity of such objection. But the 
 
THE VETO ACT 1 23 
 
 • call ' which the presentee was expected to receive from 
 his future parishioners had become as hollow a form as the 
 election of a bishop by an English chapter ; and the right 
 of objection had practically fallen into such desuetude that 
 many doubted its existence, and maintained that it had 
 been abolished by the Act of 1712, which restored the 
 right of presentation to a single patron. 
 
 The Church of Scotland, however, did not escape the 
 influence of the Reform movement, and in 1832 limitations 
 on the right of patronage were suggested in the General 
 Assembly ; but any idea of thereby giving a veto on its 
 exercise to the majority of the parishioners was expressly 
 and studiously disclaimed. But in the following year 
 the grant of such a veto was proposed on the motion 
 of Dr. Chalmers, the most eminent member of the 
 Assembly, and rejected by only a small majority : in the 
 session of 1834 it was adopted. This regulation of the 
 Assembly, known as the Veto Act, was regarded with 
 very different eyes by the various sections of the majority 
 which adopted it. Some regarded it as a mere measure of 
 expediency ; by others it was looked on as the fulfilment 
 of a Scriptural obligation. Some considered it merely a 
 declaration and definition of the existing law. Others ad- 
 mitted its novelty, but insisted on the inherent right of the 
 Church to legislate with regard to all that concerned the 
 induction of its ministers. Dr. Chalmers himself had, from 
 the first, doubts as to the legality of the measure, which he 
 afterwards on one occasion designated as ' a great blunder.' 
 Lord Aberdeen, while not free from doubts as to the legality 
 of the Assembly's action, was disposed lo think that it 
 might be covered by an unrepealed section of the Scotch 
 Act of 1690 ; and that, at all events, some right of objec- 
 tion, cognisable by the Church Courts, was inherent in the 
 
124 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 congregation. So long as the discussion was confined to 
 the purely practical point of discovering the best means of 
 effecting that which nearly all desired — the non-intrusion 
 on a parish of a minister unacceptable to it — the question 
 was in the main one of expediency ; but the intervention 
 of the Civil Courts raised questions of principle as to the 
 limits of civil and ecclesiastical authority, which, if fought 
 out to an absolute conclusion, were certain to rend the 
 Established Church asunder, as in the end they did. Such 
 differences had existed from the foundation of the Scottish 
 establishment, and had been only kept from mischievous 
 action by the most cautious handhng. 
 
 Some months after the passage of the Veto Act, a pre- 
 sentation made by Lord Kinnoull having been vetoed by 
 the congregation, the patron and presentee appealed to the 
 Court of Session, and obtained from it a decree which set 
 aside the veto as ultra vires. This decree was confirmed 
 on appeal (but not till 1838), by the unanimous judgment 
 of the House of Lords. That judgment left untouched 
 the powers of the Presbytery as to ultimate rejection, 
 but ruled that it was bound to admit the presentee to 
 what are styled his trials. The judgments then delivered 
 convinced Lord Aberdeen of the illegality of the veto, 
 but did not destroy his inclination to legalise it. ' I 
 certainly had some misgivings,- he wrote, 'about the 
 Auchterarder case ; but I am now satisfied that the law 
 has been correctly laid down and applied. Whether the 
 existing law can continue without alteration is another 
 question.' 
 
 While matters were in this state the practical working 
 of the veto was unexpectedly brought home to Lord Aber- 
 deen in a forcible shape at his own door. The Rev. Ludo- 
 vick Grant, who had been minister of the parish of Methlic 
 
CASE OF MR. WHYTE 12$ 
 
 for more than fifty years, died in the spring of 1839, and it 
 became Lord Aberdeen's duty, as patron, to nominate his 
 successor. After long and careful inquiry into the qualifi- 
 cations of different candidates, his choice fell on Mr. James 
 Whyte, a gentleman of whose ability, activity, and successful 
 work he had received most satisfactory evidence. Indeed, 
 his possession of these qualifications was not questioned ; but 
 a report was circulated in the parish that Mr. Whyte had, 
 at an earlier period of his career, been guilty of immoral 
 conduct. This report induced a large number of the 
 parishioners to protest against the appointment. Lord 
 Aberdeen, to quote his own words, 
 
 wrote immediately to the Presbytery, and desired the strictest 
 inquiry to be made — and in the most public manner — with the 
 view of satisfying the parish. It took place accordingly in the 
 Church of Methlic, and lasted fifteen or sixteen hours. The 
 result was that the accusation was completely disproved, not 
 only to the entire satisfaction of the Presbyteiy, but to that of 
 the agent of the accusing parties, who declared his consdtuents 
 as well as himself to be perfectly convinced of the utter ground- 
 lessness of the charge. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen very naturally ' thought the affair was at 
 
 an end ; but Scotch farmers are hard to convince, and slow 
 
 to abandon any impression they have once formed ; and, 
 
 notwithstanding the trial by the Presbytery, the people 
 
 still imagined there might be some truth in the accusation,' 
 
 and on that ground continued to object. What followed 
 
 will be best described in Lord Aberdeen's own words, as 
 
 contained in letters to the Dean of Faculty : 
 
 Sept. 5. — I had a meeting the other day with about a hundred 
 of the heads of families. They were very civil and very respect- 
 ful, but very obstinate. They declared over and over again that 
 they had no other objection to the presentee than the existence 
 of this/^wm, but that such being the case, and the accusation 
 not disproved to their satisfaction, he could never be a useful 
 minister to them. They had no wish to interfere with my 
 patronage, and would be ready to receive anyone I should 
 name, but for the reason stated they could never derive any 
 
126 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 good from this man, and must therefore object to him. In 
 the behef that they were sincere, I endeavoured to argue the 
 matter with them for about an hour, but without much success. 
 I shall meet them again the day after to-morrow for the same 
 purpose, although, I confess, without much prospect of a better 
 result. I am afraid they have got into bad hands. Their 
 former law-agent would have nothing more to do with the 
 bisiness, but I hear that a radical attorney in Aberdeen has 
 taken it up for them. I am convinced, from their professions 
 towards me, that they are animated by no bad motive, but 
 that it is sheer stupidity which makes them persevere, and an 
 immense majority of the parish are under this delusion. It is 
 altogether a strange business, and it is rather comical that 
 it should have happened to me— a kind of 'eldest son of the 
 Church.' Sept. 9. — I had my meeting in the Parish Church 
 on Saturday, and did my utmost to convince the people of 
 their error, and of my own sentiments and opinions. I cannot 
 yet say decisively what effect has been produced, but it has 
 certainly been considerable. Many have already avowed a 
 change, and I am inclined to hope the greater number will 
 retract. At the same time it is uphill work ; for out of about 
 two hundred and forty heads of families in communion with 
 the church, upwards of two hundred had signed a paper de- 
 claratory of their intention to oppose my presentee. The 
 ground of opposition is confined exclusively to the fama^ and 
 they have all along been perfectly civil and respectful to me. 
 It is this confidence in their personal feeling towards me that 
 has induced me to venture on such a step as calling them 
 together in the church and haranguing them on this occasion. 
 I have told them, from an examination of the evidence, of my 
 firm conviction of the innocence of Mr. Whyte, and have given 
 this opinion as if I had spoken from the jury-box. I believe 
 this will have great weight with many ; for they wil^, trust my 
 sincerity and will think that I am better able to judge than 
 they are themselves. They are unfortunately under the influ- 
 ence of two or three bad advisers, .but I rather think that I 
 shall prove too strong for them. We shall very soon know 
 the result, for we are to have the ' call ' the day after to- 
 morrow. I am very much inclined to attend myself on the 
 occasion ; but after the terms on which I have always lived 
 with these people, it would require great philosophy to see 
 them oppose me before my face. You shall hear when the 
 affair is concluded. Meanwhile all this does not tend to 
 recommend the veto to my affections. Sept. 12. — The veto 
 affair has ended prosperously. I attended the church to-day, 
 and after a very good but very long sermon from Mr. Robertson 
 of Ellon, I signed the call myself, and was followed in so doing 
 by a considerable number. No symptom of dissent appeared ; 
 
CASE OF MR. WHYTE 12/ 
 
 but those who had been most hostile to Mr. Whyte either did 
 not come to the church or left it without signing. My allocution 
 on Saturday produced a great effect, and I fairly confess that 
 I never addressed the House of Lords with a tenth part of the 
 interest which I felt on that occasion. Had I failed, considering 
 the footing on which I have always stood with these people, 
 I really should not have known what to do or what to have 
 felt. The result is the more satisfactory as I neither threat- 
 ened nor entreated, but adopted a grave, although a friendly, 
 tone of expostulation. I have not seen the letter, but I under- 
 stand the people of the parish have written to their radical 
 agent in Aberdeen, and have given as the reason for retracting 
 their mandate the feelings which they profess to entertain 
 towards myself. Sept. 17. — The issue of Mr. Whyte's affair 
 has been highly satisfactory, for I really believe, from all I 
 hear, that even a better feeling exists between the people and 
 myself than ever prevailed before. Certainly it required a 
 strong stimulus for me to volunteer an oration in a church ! 
 Undoubtedly I felt very strongly the injustice and cruelty of 
 their proceedings against Mr. Whyte. I told them fairly that 
 if I had been aware of the existence of the fama I would not 
 have appointed him, whether innocent or guilty ; but that, 
 having named him, and an investigation having taken place 
 which had perfectly satisfied me of his innocence, no power on 
 earth should induce me to abandon him. All this I felt, and 
 all this was true ; but I fear that my self-love was also deeply 
 wounded at the notion that their conduct exhibited a deficiency 
 of deference towards myself. It tended to prove to me that I 
 did not possess that measure of their respect which I had 
 flattered myself was the case. If the truth must be told, I very 
 much fear that I was secretly even more interested for myself 
 than for Mr. ''vVliyte. 
 
 It is satisfactory to be able to add that Mr. Whyte 
 speedily gained the affection and respect of his parishioners, 
 with whom he lived in unbroken harmony for over forty 
 years, full of good works, and died universally regretted and 
 beloved in 1881. 
 
 Almost immediately after Mr. Whyte's induction. Dr. 
 
 Chalmers paid a visit to Haddo House. In reply to an 
 
 inquiry from the Dean of Faculty, Lord Aberdeen thus 
 
 wrote of this visit : 
 
 Sept. 17.— You wish to know the result of Chalmers's visit 
 here, and I can only tell you that it had no result at all. We had 
 
128 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 a good deal of talk respecting Church matters, and especially 
 the veto. He appeared to admit that some change was 
 required, or at least that it might be safely agreed to ; but he 
 did not specify the points which he would concede. As far as 
 I could understand him, I think he seemed disposed to give to 
 the Presbytery all that he took from the people. He agreed 
 that there should be some means of applying a remedy to 
 cases of manifest injustice, and admitted that the instance of 
 Mr. Whyte, which I detailed to him, was one in which it 
 was desirable to have some means of correction. He con- 
 fined himself on the whole to vague generalities, and was 
 therefore unsatisfactory. He was decidedly of opinion that a 
 legislative measure was indispensable, but not at all prepared 
 with its provisions. I spoke to him pretty much in the same 
 strain, though less favourably of the veto than formerly, and 
 abstained from giving any opinion until I should see the 
 heads of the Bill which it may be proposed to introduce into 
 Parliament for the purpose of settling these affairs. We there- 
 fore adjourned our discussion until I should meet him in 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 The case of Mr. Whyte naturally made much impression 
 on Lord Aberdeen. Up to this time, although he had 
 * entertained great doubts respecting the veto,' he was by 
 no means convinced that it was objectionable in principle, 
 or hkely to be mischievous in practice. He was now 
 satisfied that ' it must be greatly modified before it can be 
 made tolerable. ' 
 
 To the popular election of ministers he saw comparatively 
 little objection. It was, however, then impracticable ; for 
 it was at that time desired by but very few, and any measure 
 attempting to legalise it was certain to be rejected by over- 
 whelming majorities in both Houses of Parliament. But to 
 the veto he entertained far graver objection. In the first 
 place it was enacted against lay patrons only, and did not 
 apply when the patronage had fallen into clerical hands. 
 Now, the mere act of presentation did not save the patron's 
 rights. If the * settlement ' of a minister was not effected 
 in a parish within six months, the presentation lapsed to 
 the Presbytery, and against its presentation no veto was 
 
OBJECTIONS TO THE VETO ACT 1 29 
 
 allowed. All, therefore, that a Presbytery, greedy of power, 
 
 had to do was to promote a veto which would throw the 
 patronage into their hands. Nor did the Act provide any 
 of those checks upon the exercise of a popular veto which 
 were essential to prevent its acting in a manner neither ex- 
 pected nor desired by its authors. These, however, were 
 only incidental objections, which might be removed in re- 
 casting the measure. Lord Aberdeen's main objections 
 were of a more insuperable character, viz. that it deprived 
 the Presbytery and other Church Courts of rights properly 
 belonging to them, and that it inflicted a stigma, probably 
 a lifelong one, on the rejected candidate, not inflicted by 
 rejection at a contested election, in which the question to be 
 decided was which was the fitter of two men, whilst in this 
 case it was a question of positive fitness. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen, though he chose to style himself a 
 Presbyterian, and was, for the ten years from 181 8 to 1828, 
 the lay representative of the Presbytery of Ellon in the 
 General Assembly, cannot be said to have personally 
 belonged to that communion ; for, while he never in his life 
 attended the administration of the Sacrament in a Scotch 
 church, he was in the habit of receiving the Holy Com- 
 munion in an English church every year on Good Friday. 
 But he had a very keen sense of the social mischief wrought 
 by the difference of faith and worship which subsisted be- 
 tween a large number of the Scottish nobility and land- 
 owners, and those who dwelt on their estates ; while he esti- 
 mated very lightly the differences, whether of doctrine or 
 discipline, between the Churches of England and Scot- 
 land. He had, moreover, the highest admiration for 
 the work done by the Scottish clergy, and he held it 
 to be the duty of all well-wishers of the country to 
 uphold and assist them. He was, therefore, when in 
 
 K 
 
130 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Scotland, a constant attendant at the services of the 
 Church. 
 
 In pursuance of these views he had exerted himself 
 strenuously in favour of the measures of Church Extension 
 which had been proposed, and thus came into intimate 
 intercourse with Dr. Chalmers, the ablest of its advocates. 
 He was, therefore, a person to whom the Church naturally 
 looked for deliverance from its troubles, and he was in- 
 duced to contemplate the idea of introducing a measure to 
 preclude the recurrence of disputes such as had just taken 
 place, should the Government of the day fail to undertake 
 that duty. 
 
 It is a common error, which has been much fostered by 
 Free Church publications, that lay patronage is in some 
 sort repugnant to the teaching of the Scottish Reformers 
 and the spirit of the Scottish Church ; that it was abolished 
 by the Scottish Parliament in 1690, and forced again upon 
 the Church by the Act of the Imperial Parliament in 1712. 
 This is a mistake. Except for a short time during the 
 Commonwealth, the practice of presentation to preferment 
 by patrons existed unbroken from the Reformation until 
 patronage itself was abolished in 1874. The Act of 1690 
 did but transfer the right of presentation from a single 
 patron to the heritors ; that is to say, the landed proprietors 
 of the parish, together with the' elders or churchwardens. 
 In a large number of cases the alteration in the law can 
 have effected little alteration in practice, a great proprietor 
 being often sole heritor of many parishes, while in all 
 cases their number was very small when compared with 
 that of the congregation, or even of the heads of families 
 being communicants, whose sole right, under the Act 
 of 1690, remained that of objection, which they had 
 before possessed. And as to the ultimate admission or 
 
LORD ABERDEEN'S PROPOSALS 131 
 
 rejection of the presentee, the Presbytery remained the 
 judges. 
 
 In 1833 the General Assembly of the Church, when 
 rejecting the veto, adopted a resolution to the effect that 
 it was competent for the 'heads of families in full and 
 regular communion with the Church, to object to the 
 settlement of a presentee, and for the Presbytery, if they 
 found the objections well founded, to reject the presenta- 
 tion.' Upon the lines of this resolution already once 
 agreed to by the General Assembly, and embodying the 
 understanding of ages. lord Aberdeen proposed to found 
 a measure for restormg peace to the Church. He had no 
 special affection for patronage, nor any strong desire to main- 
 tain it ; but, on the other hand, its destruction seemed to 
 him uncalled for, and he knew its abolition to be at that 
 time impossible. But he was desirous to give new life to the 
 powers of objection and rejection which he believed to be 
 recognised by the existing law. 
 
 Early in January 1840, on his way to London, Lord 
 Aberdeen conferred with Dr. Chalmers and the Non- 
 Intrusion Committee at Edinburgh. Lord Aberdeen 
 thus described this conference : 
 
 I took an early opportunity of declaring my assent to the 
 principle of non-intrusion, and I ventured to suggest a mode by 
 which it might be carried into full effect, and which it appeared 
 to me that the Legislature might sanction. This suggestion 
 was in substance as follows : that the Presbytery shall be 
 bound to take a qualified presentee on trial ; and in the course 
 of the proceedings previous to ordination, the objections of the 
 parishioners, if any, shall be received, and duly weighed by the 
 Presbytery ; such objections in every case to be accompanied 
 with reasons assigned ; but the Presbytery to be at liberty to 
 consider the whole circumstances of the case before them, and 
 to form their judgment without reference to the actual number 
 of persons dissenting, or their proportion to the whole amount 
 of communicants and heads of families in the parish — the 
 decision of the Presbytery with respect to the fitness of any 
 individual for the charge to which he is presented to be founded 
 
132 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 on such full and mature consideration, and to be pronounced on 
 their own responsibility, and according to the dictates of their 
 hearts and consciences ; in a word, and to adopt the expression 
 of Dr. Chalmers, it was proposed to recognise a presbyterial 
 veto instead of the popular veto, which it had been attempted 
 to establish by the Act of the General Assembly. . . . 
 
 The whole discussion proceeded on the understanding of 
 the abrogation of the veto ; and more than once I expressed 
 an anxiety effectually to prevent the possibility of an attempt 
 to re-enact it under some different form. You may also, per- 
 haps, recollect my declaration that I should prefer the popular 
 election of ministers to the establishment of the veto. . . I left 
 the meeting highly gratified by the conciliatory spirit which had 
 been evinced by the Committee, and strongly impressed with 
 the conviction that they had given the most favourable reception 
 to the suggestions which had been offered for their considera- 
 tion. 
 
 There was a party in the Non-Intrusion Committee which 
 this arrangement did not satisfy ; but Dr. Chalmers and the 
 Committee generally agreed, that reasons should in all cases 
 of dissent be assigned, and that if a Uberum arbitrium were 
 granted to the Presbytery it would be sufficient. This 
 Hberum arbitrium^ however, the more violent party sought 
 practically to limit, by making it imperative for the Presby- 
 tery to reject, if a majority of the parishioners, even with- 
 out reasons, dissented from the presentation. This was 
 the real and somewhat narrow point of difference. Lord 
 Aberdeen was willing to permit the Presbytery, if it thought 
 fit, to reject on the ground of unsuitableness due to in- 
 acceptability. The Committee desired, covertly or openly, 
 to enact that it must do so. Dr. Chalmers, however, was 
 very decided in his opinion that the free judgment of the 
 Presbytery, ' though not all that the Church might wish, 
 would be, and ought to be, accepted as sufficient* During 
 the spring Lord Aberdeen occupied himself in correspond- 
 ence with Dr. Chalmers, and in giving shape to his measure. 
 After fully considering several alternative schemes, some of 
 which he rejected as undesirable and others as impracti- 
 
LORD ABERDEEN'S BILL 133 
 
 cable, he prepared a Bill which recognised the right of any 
 communicant to make objections of any kind to the in- 
 dividual presented, or assign any reason against his settle- 
 ment, or against his gifts and qualifications for the cure of 
 the particular parish to which he was presented ; and the 
 right of the Presbytery, ' if it or other Church Court 
 shall be of opinion, due regard being had to the whole 
 circumstances and condition of the parish, and to the 
 spiritual welfare and edification of the people, that in 
 respect of any of the said objections or reasons the 
 individual presented ought not to be settled in the said 
 parish,' to reject him. It is clear, therefore, that while 
 under this Bill the mere fact of unacceptability to a 
 majority of the parishioners would not be regarded as 
 a valid objection, the allegation that the disfavour with which 
 the presentee was regarded was such as to destroy his 
 chance of future usefulness was one which might be urged, 
 and to which the Presbytery, if it saw fit, might give effect. 
 This, though giving to the Presbytery the free judgment 
 for which Dr. Chalmers contended, did not, of course, 
 satisfy those who, under cover of the words liberum arbitrium^ 
 meant, in the event of the dissent of a majority, to take away 
 all freedom from the Presbytery, and compel it, through a 
 direction of the Assembly, to give effect without discretion 
 to the objections of the congregation. 
 
 Before bringing in the Bill, Lord Aberdeen showed it to 
 Messrs. Hamilton and Buchanan, who had been sent up by 
 the Assembly to confer with him. They proposed certain 
 amendments which they said were not inconsistent with 
 the principle of the Bill, and which Lord Aberdeen was not 
 unwilling to adopt. Had he done so, the question would 
 probably, for the time at least, have been settled, and the 
 Disruption, if not averted, at all events reduced to very 
 
134 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 small proportions. Unfortunately, as I cannot but think, 
 the Dean of Faculty was at the time in England, whither 
 he had come to place his sons at school at Hatfield, and 
 was within reach of the Priory, where Lord Aberdeen then 
 was. He denounced the amendments, partly as carrying 
 out covertly the popular veto, and partly as compromising 
 Lord Aberdeen's position of independence. Thoroughly 
 self-confident, and possessing that influence which a strong 
 narrow mind of a positive, overbearing type often exerts 
 over a mind of much higher quality, in which self-distrust 
 and humility are leading characteristics, the Dean succeeded 
 in persuading Lord Aberdeen to defer to his advice. 
 Several of the amendments suggested were adopted, but 
 the most important clauses in the Bill were allowed to re- 
 main unchanged. Lord Aberdeen was the more inclined 
 to follow this course because he felt that his Bill already 
 gave all that the objectors professed to ask in the amend- 
 ments they proposed. On May 5 he read his Bill a first 
 time in the House of Lords. 
 
 The leading Scotch peers present heartily supported 
 the Bill, and Lord Melbourne, then Prime Minister, said a 
 few complimentary words, but would not commit himself 
 either to support or oppose it. But he showed his inability 
 to realise the gravity of the position by saying that ' the oc- 
 casion which had arisen was not by any means so grave and 
 serious ' as Lord Aberdeen's speech was calculated to make 
 the House suppose, and that ' the exigency was in no re- 
 spect so pressing as it had been represented.' On returning 
 from the House of Lords, Lord Aberdeen at once wrote to 
 Dr. Chalmers. He concluded his letter as follows : 
 
 I believe that the peace of the Church is at this moment in 
 your hands ; for, although, from the accident of birth and 
 social position, I have had the means of proposing this measure 
 
DR. CHALMERS 135 
 
 to the Legislature, it will depend on you whether it is to receive 
 life and efficacy. 
 
 I pray that you may be led by the spirit of wisdom ; and 
 that your great talents may be directed to the restoration of 
 peace and order, and to the happy union of all the real friends 
 of the Church. 
 
 * Semper hones nomenque tuum, laudesque manebunt.^ 
 
 The genius of Dr. Chalmers, his piety and eloquence, 
 and the noble disinterestedness displayed by the ministers 
 whose secession from the Established Church he headed 
 rather than led, have thrown a veil over the weaknesses of 
 a singularly complex character. He now found himself in a 
 position of considerable difficulty. Without any intention 
 to deceive, he had used language to Lord Aberdeen on the 
 one hand, and to the more extreme members of the Non- 
 Intrusion Committee on the other, which gave to each a 
 right to claim his support. He could not deny that he 
 had given Lord Aberdeen to understand that he was pre- 
 pared to repeal the Veto Act, to require the assignment of 
 reasons in all cases of objection to a presentation on the 
 part of the people, and to substitute a presbyterial for a 
 popular veto. But he allowed the Non-Intrusion Com- 
 mittee to believe that in so doing he would insist that the 
 action of the Presbytery should be subject to the directions 
 of the General Assembly, or, in other words, to the Veto Act 
 itself, which, though admitted to be illegal as an enactment, 
 might, being unrepealed, retain force as an ecclesiastical 
 Regulation, with the provisions of which the clergy, under 
 pain of spiritual censures, would be still bound to comply. 
 Dr. Chalmers had up to this time been the advocate of 
 conciliation, and as such had often found himself in a 
 minority on the Non-Intrusion Committee. It cannot be 
 questioned, that he thought a settlement might be arrived at 
 on the principles which Lord Aberdeen had announced as 
 
136 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 those of his measure. But after some days' discussion with 
 the more violent members of the Committee, in which (if 
 Lord Aberdeen was not misinformed) Dr. Chalmers sought 
 to secure, if not approval of the proposed measure, at least 
 acquiescence in it, he was obliged to relinquish the hope 
 of effecting such an agreement. He had then to decide 
 between severance from a large section of his party and 
 hostility to Lord Aberdeen's Bill. His choice was soon sub- 
 stantially made ; but he hoped still to delay, if not avert, an 
 open rupture. The Bill, he said, limited the free judgment 
 of the Presbytery in a manner which Lord Aberdeen had 
 not led him to expect, and he was therefore unable to sup- 
 port it in its present shape. But he held out the expectation 
 that, with some modification, the Bill might still be the 
 basis of settlement. He thus hoped, on the one hand, to 
 satisfy those who opposed the Bill, and on the other to con- 
 tinue negotiations with Lord Aberdeen as to the modification 
 of his measure. The main principles of that Bill were, on 
 the one hand, the recognition of the right of a presbytery 
 to reject an unsuitable presentee, and, on the other, the 
 prohibition of a popular veto unaccompanied by reasons. 
 These two points had from the first been clearly laid down 
 in all Lord Aberdeen's letters ; one, the presbyterial veto, was 
 Dr. Chalmers's own suggestion, and the other had been un- 
 equivocally accepted by him. But if these principles were 
 mutually accepted, the details of the Bill became matter 
 to be dealt with by the suggestion of amendments to be 
 introduced into it when in Committee. It was too late at 
 that period to take exception to what Lord Aberdeen had 
 from the first stated to be the basis of his measure. If the 
 objection to what he proposed was fundamental, it should 
 have been stated to be so at the outset, and Lord Aberdeen 
 should not have been encouraged to undertake a task from 
 
DOUBTFUL ATTITUDE OF DR. CHALMERS 1 37 
 
 which no useful result could be anticipated. If, on the 
 other hand, the objection was one of detail, however earnestly 
 it might be pressed, it should not have been made the 
 ground of rejecting the measure as a whole. All this Dr. 
 Chalmers, it may be presumed, felt, and he was consequently 
 disposed to adopt a temporising course, intermediate be- 
 tween adoption and rejection of the Bill. But this by no 
 means satisfied the more extreme Non-Intrusionists, who 
 daily crossed the Forth to confer with Dr. Chalmers at 
 Burntisland, where he was then living. Violent discussions, 
 it is said — in which complaints of Dr. Chalmers's so-styled 
 secret communications with Lord Aberdeen, and even 
 threats founded on some equivocal propositions in his 
 lectures, are stated to have been freely uttered — took place 
 in his presence. Of these discussions the result was that 
 he, greatly embarrassed, absented himself altogether from 
 the meeting of the Synod of Lothian, at which the re- 
 ception to be given to Lord Aberdeen's Bill was to form 
 the chief subject of discussion. His absence left the more 
 violent party free from all check or control, and when 
 brought face to face with the warm supporters of Lord 
 Aberdeen's Bill, they condemned that Bill and its author in 
 the most extravagant terms. 
 
 The meeting was thus described in a letter from Dr. 
 Muir to the Dean of Faculty : 
 
 Language the most violent, vituperation quite exorbitant, 
 passion inflated beyond conception, characterised the opponents 
 of the Bill. That the Bill ' deposed the Lord Jesus Christ 
 from His mediatorial throne'; that the Bill is fraught with 
 elements calculated to destroy the Established Church, were 
 some among the mild epithets by which Lord Aberdeen's 
 measure was characterised. Dr. Chalmers was not present. 
 My opinion is that he has been awaiting the result. His son- 
 in-law, Mr. Hanna, was there, and though he some time ago 
 indicated an intention to coincide with Mr. Tait, Mr. Hunter, 
 and myself, he started off to the side of Mr. Cunnii.ghame. 
 
138 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 This I deem a decided indication of what Dr. Chalmers is to 
 do. He sails with the tide — sixty to twenty !— that he can 
 never resist. I predict, therefore, that he is now primed for 
 the Assembly. 
 
 On receiving this intelligence, Lord Aberdeen addressed 
 Dr. Chalmers in tones of grave remonstrance, as follows : 
 
 ... It is right you should know that the only intimation of 
 any objection or opposition in Parliament to the Bill has arisen 
 exclusively from the opinion that I have recognised too great a 
 discretionary power in the Church Courts — a power which, 
 whatever may have been their pretensions, is held, and by high 
 authority, to be unwarranted. 
 
 Notwithstanding the opinions entertained in Parhament on 
 this subject, I feel confident of being able to carry the Bill 
 through both Houses in its present form, provided it is acqui- 
 esced in by the Assembly ; and that, too, without any pro- 
 ceeding by the Assembly on the subject of the Veto Act. It 
 seems clear, from the speeches in the Synod to which I have 
 alluded, that no repeal of the veto, by a declaration of the in- 
 competency of the Assembly, is to be expected ; but I think 
 that Parliament would be disposed to regard the Act as a 
 nullity, and as possessing no force or validity against the law 
 of the land. 
 
 The result, therefore, is now in your hands. It is for you 
 to consider, with the admitted necessity of legislative interfer- 
 ence, and with the certainty that no measure will be sanctioned 
 by Parliament more favourable to the Church than that which 
 I have now proposed — whether you will prolong a state of 
 things pregnant with danger to the Establishment, and which 
 I am persuaded may but too probably lead to its destruction. 
 I would venture, with as much solemnity as it is befitting me 
 to assume, to point out the heavy responsibility of following 
 such a course. 
 
 Dr. Chalmers replied that he had not been at the Synod, 
 and should have a different motion to bring before the 
 Assembly ; that he was much comforted and relieved by the 
 contents of Lord Aberdeen's letters, and hoped shortly to be 
 able to announce such a common understanding as would 
 lead the Church, if not positively to approve of the Bill as 
 absolutely the most desirable, at least to acquiesce in it as a 
 good working measure. 
 
OPPOSITION OF DR. CHALMERS 1 39 
 
 The Assembly met on May 22nd. On that day Dr. 
 Chalmers wrote to Lord Aberdeen as follows : 
 
 I beg your attention to my brief allusion to your lordship's 
 Bill. I meant it as preparatory to the expression afterwards of 
 my wish, that it should be made the basis of a negotiation with 
 your lordship. . . . 
 
 I expect to send you from time to time brief notices of what 
 is going on. 
 
 It is clear, therefore, that up to this time Dr. Chalmers 
 was anxious not to shut the door upon negotiation, and 
 that he still hoped to make Lord Aberdeen's Bill the basis 
 for an understanding which his own party might be brought 
 to accept. But he could not control his own friends, and 
 it was made manifest to him that he could not retain his 
 position as their leader without adopting the course prescribed 
 by them. 
 
 Within twenty-four hours after the above letter was 
 written, Dr. Chalmers addressed a few cold lines to Lord 
 Aberdeen expressing regret that his recent communications 
 did not warrant the hopes which he had founded on all 
 their previous correspondence ; nor, although Lord Aber- 
 deen gave him an opportunity of doing so, did he ever 
 again, orally or by letter, communicate with Lord Aberdeen, 
 on whom he was induced to make a personal attack 
 accusing him of having misled and deceived the Church. 
 He himself moved the resolution condemning the Bill. His 
 now decided opposition rendered approval of the measure by 
 the Assembly hopeless. But its rejection by that body was 
 rendered more decisive by certain well-meant but ill-judged 
 negotiations undertaken by Sir George Clerk, from which 
 the dominant party in the Assembly drew the not unnatural 
 conclusion, that, if Lord Aberdeen's Bill were rejected, a 
 measure more in harmony with their own wishes would be 
 introduced into Parliament. Dr. Chalmers's motion was 
 carried by a majority of 87. 
 
140 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 The Assembly sat a few days longer, during which the 
 
 excitement of its members only increased. 
 
 I remained to the close of the Assembly (wrote Mr. Pringle 
 on June 2nd) at four o'clock this morning, by which I was the 
 better enabled to form an estimate of their temper and fanati- 
 cism than was indicated in any previous part of their proceed- 
 ings. If it had not been for the impossibility to call the roll 
 at that hour for a division, I do believe that they would have 
 carried by acclamation any resolution of any kind, however wild, 
 which Dunlop might have cared to move, however irregularly. 
 
 A certain degree of misgiving, however, appeared to 
 come over the Non-Intrusion party when the Assembly 
 had risen, and they more calmly considered what had been 
 done, and the terms of settlement they had rejected. The 
 first act of the newly appointed Non-Intrusion Committee 
 was to dismiss their secretaries, Messrs. Candlish and Dunlop, 
 on account of their violence, and to express a wish to reopen 
 negotiation with Lord Aberdeen ; while Dr. Chalmers, who 
 had retired both from the Non-Intrusion Committee and 
 from the General Assembly itself, put forth a pamphlet 
 in which he emphatically declared that * the first thing ' the 
 Church ought to do was to repeal the Veto Law, which 
 had been not only declared illegal, but which it was clear 
 the Legislature would not adopt. Had this advice been 
 taken, a peaceful settlement of the question would, without 
 doubt, have been effected ; but it was treated with derision 
 by the more active members of the party of which Dr. 
 Chalmers was made to feel that he was no longer the true 
 leader, and of which he could only preserve the titular 
 headship at the price of compliance with all the dictates 
 of its real managers. This interval of moderation was, 
 however, but of short duration. The violent party shortly 
 recovered its complete ascendency, and those members of 
 the Committee who were favourable to Lord Aberdeen's 
 Bill were forced to quit it. 
 
SECOND READING OF THE BILL I4I 
 
 Rejected by the Assembly, unsupported by the Govern- 
 ment, and denounced by the Law Lords as containing 
 dangerous concessions to the Church, it was clear that Lord 
 Aberdeen's Bill had little prospect of becoming law. On 
 the strong advice of Sir Robert Peel, however, he deter- 
 mined to proceed with the measure, and the Bill was ac- 
 cordingly read a second time on June i6th. 
 
 Lord Melbourne's own opinion was favourable to Lord 
 Aberdeen's Bill ; but, on the one hand, the Chancellor and 
 others in the Cabinet were hotly opposed to what seemed 
 to them the grant of undue privileges to the Church, and on 
 the other, the Lord Advocate and party managers in Scotland 
 were urgent that for political reasons he should not offend 
 the extreme Non-Intrusionist party, who were to a great 
 extent supporters of the existing Government. In these cir- 
 cumstances Lord Melbourne found an admirable excuse for 
 indulging his own constitutional disposition to 'let things 
 alone.' His speech was a curiosity of cautious hedging. 
 
 He would not (he said) enter upon the whole question, but 
 would only say that it was not so certain that the Bill would 
 decide the question as to make it prudent to proceed with it. 
 He gave no opinion upon the Bill. He did not wish to say 
 whether It was or was not now the law of Scotland, as had 
 been contended, but he meant to say that it was not so certain 
 to be of avail and advantage as to make it prudent for their 
 lordships to proceed. He did not mean to say that a Bill 
 framed in that spirit might not be suited to the occasion, but 
 he thought the House ought not to proceed at present with 
 the measure, seeing that a measure exactly similar might be 
 brought forward on any occasion when time and further ex- 
 perience should have shown that it would be likely to be 
 beneficial. 
 
 This remarkably lukewarm opposition from the Premier 
 did not prevent the Bill being read a second time by a large 
 majority. 
 
 It now seemed not improbable that, after all, the Bill 
 would become law. On June 22nd Lord Aberdeen wrote : 
 
142 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 I met Melbourne accidentally to-day in the Park, and walked 
 with him for some time. . . , He evidently himself would not 
 object to the Bill going on, and even said it was not too late to 
 withdraw opposition ; but I am persuaded that he will not 
 venture to do anything of the kind. 
 
 And a few days later he continues : 
 
 I have been with Lord John this morning, and have fully 
 explained to him my situation and intentions. He is not un- 
 willing to let the Bill pass through the House of Commons, 
 but he is greatly afraid of his friends. Were it not for the 
 Advocate and Fox Maule there would be no difficulty at all 
 about the matter. But personally compromised as they are, 
 they cannot give way ; and it is scarcely possible for the 
 Government to take it upon themselves to neglect the remon- 
 strances of their own officers. Lord John promised to speak to 
 Melbourne ; and he would endeavour with him to see if they 
 could not contrive not to oppose the Bill. He is to let me know 
 in two or three days what is the result. 
 
 This result was an overture to withdraw opposition to 
 the Bill if Lord Aberdeen would consent to restrict to a 
 majority the right to object given by it to any parishioner. 
 As this alteration would have only made the Bill more 
 distasteful to the Church, and deprived individual parish- 
 ioners of a right which Lord Aberdeen believed them 
 already to enjoy, and which he thought they ought to 
 enjoy, he was, of course, unable to assent to this proposal, 
 and after passing the Bill through Committee he decided 
 to withdraw it. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen felt very deeply- the treatment he had 
 received at the hands of the Church leaders. He had, as he 
 himself said, a * habit of believing people,' and he had ac- 
 cepted without reserve their expressions of a readiness to 
 accept any substitute for the veto which would secure the 
 rejection of an unfit presentee. He now could not but 
 believe that some of them had all along entertained fixed 
 objects which they had not avowed, with which they knew 
 he had no sympathy, but for which they hoped to engage 
 
CLAIMS OF THE CHURCH I43 
 
 his support without his own knowledge. To Dr. Chalmers 
 himself he only attributed the weakness of having allowed 
 himself to be driven from the position he wished to 
 assume through fear of offending those with whom he 
 acted. To attribute any other course to Dr. Chalmers, 
 and to claim for him, as his biographer and the writers of 
 the Free Church have done, the credit of unswerving 
 insistence on the popular veto, is to accuse him of far 
 worse than weakness. Whatever may have been the case 
 with others, it is impossible that Dr. Chalmers can have 
 had any doubt as to Lord Aberdeen's meaning, explicitly 
 declared and frequently repeated. If the exclusion of an 
 absolute veto by the people were an insuperable bar to 
 the acceptance of Lord Aberdeen's Bill, honesty required 
 that he should have been at once told so ; and if the 
 fundamental principle of the Bill was erroneous, such a 
 note as that of May 22 from Dr. Chalmers should not have 
 been written. 
 
 Up to this time, although the questions of principle 
 underlying it had not been left out of view, the practical 
 question of the best mode of securing the non-intrusion 
 of unfit ministers was that which had most occupied the 
 public mind, and to which most prominence had been 
 given. But a much graver question, which threw that of 
 Non-Intrusion comparatively into the shade, was now daily 
 assuming increased prominence. The claim to independ- 
 ence put forward on the part of the Church is one not 
 easily made intelligible to English ears, nor is it indeed 
 compatible with the fundamental idea of an Established 
 Church, as those who raised it in the end acknowledged. 
 Nor is it even compatible with the ordinary obligations of 
 civil society. Even in a Church wholly unconnected with 
 the State, it is perfectly competent to any individual to 
 
144 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 appeal to the Courts of Law to decide whether an exercise 
 of authority by which he has been deprived of any civil 
 right is such as those exercising it are justified in having 
 resort to by the terms of the compact on which they rely. 
 
 The principle that the interpretation of Statute Law 
 must rest with the Courts of Law, and that their inter- 
 pretation must be obeyed, and, if need be, enforced, rises 
 in the South (or until lately rose) to the position of an 
 axiom ; but in Scotland a large following was prepared 
 to adopt with acclamation the proposition that the Courts 
 of Law had no sort of jurisdiction over any question which 
 the General Assembly had declared within the competence 
 of the Ecclesiastical Courts, and that 'all Acts of the 
 Parliament of Great Britain passed without consent of the 
 Church and nation, in alteration of or derogative to the 
 government, discipline, rights and privileges of the Church, 
 and also all sentences of Courts in contravention of the 
 said government, discipline, rights and privileges, are and 
 shall be null and voidJ • 
 
 To such pretensions but one answer could be given, 
 and in repudiating them statesmen of all parties con- 
 curred. In this matter, Sir Robert Peel and Lord John 
 Russell, Lord Melbourne and Lord Aberdeen, were alto- 
 gether at one. 
 
 The judgment of the House of Lords, which declared 
 the passing of the Veto Act by the General Assembly to 
 have been ultra vires and null, and confirmed the decree 
 of the Court of Session ordering the Presbytery of Auchter- 
 arder to proceed to the trial of the presentee, was, of course, 
 of general application. Another vetoed minister, the pre- 
 sentee to the parish of Marnoch, applied to the Court of 
 Session to issue a similar decree to the Presbytery of Strath- 
 * General Assembly's * Claim of Right, 1842. 
 
THE MARNOCH CASE I45 
 
 hogie on his behalf. The Court of Session complied with 
 his prayer. The proceeding was somewhat analogous to that 
 of moving in the Court of Queen's Bench for a mandamus 
 to compel a bishop to hear a suit which he had declined to 
 entertain. The Court did not prescribe the judgment to be 
 given by the ecclesiastical authority. It did not even pre- 
 scribe the procedure. It did not direct the Presbytery to 
 ordain, as the Non-Intrusionists laboured hard to prove it 
 did ; but it did direct it to perform the proper function 
 imposed on it by statute, of inquiring whether the pre- 
 sentee lawfully presented was or was not qualified for 
 ordination. This, however, the dominant party in the 
 Assembly regarded as an intrusion into things spiritual, 
 and prohibited the Presbytery from obeying the decree of 
 the Court of Session. The majority of the Presbytery, 
 nevertheless, resolved to perform their statutable duty, as 
 directed by the Court. They did not proceed to ordain 
 the presentee, but they examined him, and reported him 
 qualified, and for so doing they were at once suspended 
 from all clerical functions by the General Assembly. 
 
 The suspended ministers appealed by petition to the 
 House of Lords for protection, and their petition was pre- 
 sented to the House by Lord Aberdeen on June 19. 
 
 It never happened to me before (he wrote) to speak to an 
 audience every one of whom by his looks and voice and 
 manner gave evident token of his agreeing in every word I 
 said. When I say every one of my audience, I must except 
 the unhappy Breadalbane, who literally stood alone. ... I felt 
 that every word told\ and that the whole thing was very 
 effective. 
 
 During the autumn and winter of 1840 the agitation 
 
 in favour of Non-Intrusion continued and increased, and a 
 
 new feature was given to it by the conversion of the leading 
 
 members of the dominant party to the view that the total 
 
 abolition of patronage afforded the only effectual safeguard 
 
146 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 against the intrusion of unacceptable ministers. To such 
 a settlement of the question Lord Aberdeen would have 
 felt no strong repugnance ; but it was useless at that time 
 to regard it as a practical solution of the difficulty, as it 
 would have been impossible to force a measure giving effect 
 to it through the Legislature. Nor would any settlement, 
 however satisfactory, of the Non- Intrusion question alone 
 have now sufficed altogether to restore peace, for the Church 
 was daily, step by step, committing itself more deeply to the 
 assertion of claims in which no civil government could for 
 a moment acquiesce. 
 
 On the reassembling of Parliament in 1841 Lord Aber- 
 deen was questioned as to the course which he proposed to 
 pursue. He replied that he did not at present intend to 
 renew his action of the previous year. 
 
 Different as were the objections made to it — the Lord 
 Chancellor deeming it a violation of the rights of the Crown 
 and the laity, and the General Assembly regarding it as 
 * riveting the chains of patronage,' and an attempt to ' dethrone 
 the Redeemer' — they were united in practical opposition to the 
 Bill. He hoped it was not liable to either class of the objections 
 urged against it ; but combined, they appeared to deprive him 
 of all chance of effecting the only good he hoped for — that of 
 restoring peace. 
 
 My limits preclude me from entering at any length on 
 the measure which, on Lord Aberdeen's withdrawal, the late 
 Duke of Argyll announced his intention to propose. The 
 head of a great house, distinguished for its attachment to 
 the Scottish Church, he possessed a species of hereditary 
 claim to undertake a task for which he had few other quali- 
 fications. Had he persevered, it was Lord Aberdeen's 
 intention to move amendments which would have made the 
 Bill essentially conformable to his own. 
 
 I think (he wrote) I could manage to do this without much 
 difficulty ; and when done, it would probably be less unaccept- 
 able to the majority of the Assembly, and less humiliating to 
 
PROSPECT OF ARRANGEMENT I47 
 
 them than to return to my original Bill. I continue to have 
 much discussion with Lord John. He still adheres to the 
 necessity of having a majority to dissent. Such is his opinion 
 of the Presbyteries that he fears they will excite the objections 
 of a few in order to give effect to them afterwards. He told me 
 that the matter had been discussed some time ago in the 
 Cabinet, and that it was determined they should support my 
 Bill if I would agree to adopt the provision of a majority. 
 
 The defeat of the Government, however, and the dissolu- 
 tion of Parliament which followed, practically put an end to 
 any further action on the part of the Duke of Argyll. 
 
 From an early period of the session of 1841 it had be- 
 come evident that the days of the Melbourne Ministry were 
 numbered, and that Sir Robert Peel and Lord Aberdeen 
 would speedily be at the head of a Government in which 
 the influence of the latter on Scotch matters would be para- 
 mount. This fact, and the reaction produced by the 
 violence and illegality of the proceedings of the Church 
 leaders, led during the summer to attempts at arrangement, 
 which Lord Aberdeen willingly promoted. 
 
 The result of these conferences was that Bills were pre- 
 pared, different in form but containing the essential principle 
 of Lord Aberdeen's Bill ; and it was settled that Sir George 
 Sinclair should receive powers from the Church authorities 
 to propose to the Government a Bill so altered, and that the 
 new Government, which had now succeeded that of Lord 
 Melbourne, should accept it. 
 
 There was, therefore, every prospect that the preliminary 
 agreement on the questions at issue would be crowned with 
 complete success ; and it probably would have been so but 
 for an unlucky accident. 
 
 On the very day on which the arrangement was to be 
 carried into effect, by the ratification of the Non-Intrusion 
 Committee, the news of an unexpected indiscretion on the 
 part of the new Lord Advocate, Sir William Rae, wholly 
 
148 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 defeated it. He had vacated his seat by accepting office, 
 
 and had to undergo re-election in Bute. He was unopposed, 
 
 and need have made no embarrassing declarations, but he 
 
 thought proper to announce that the Government had a 
 
 measure in view for the settlement of the Church question, 
 
 and that it would be a liberal measure, going even beyond 
 
 that of the Duke of Argyll. The natural result followed. 
 
 Cunningham, Ca7tdlish, and Bruce (wrote the Dean of 
 Faculty), though at first much excited by the speech, concurred 
 in the resolution to propose to give Sir G. Sinclair the requisite 
 powers ; but Dunlop refused to attend, and at the meeting of the 
 Non-Intrusion Committee succeeded in persuading a majority 
 to reject the plan. Up to the moment of seeing Rae's speech the 
 clergy were in perfect earnest — most anxious, most thankful — 
 and the readiness which they showed as to the adjustment of the 
 Strathbogie case marked how anxious they were to get out of 
 the whole scrape. From what Candlish and Cunningham said 
 to Sinclair, there is no doubt that Dunlop and the other Whigs 
 worked on the Committee (of course for double mischief) by 
 the aid of Rae's speech ; and no wonder, for they said : ' Here 
 it is announced that the Government have a plan : you see how 
 it is described : how absurd it is in us Jiow to agree to something 
 so far short of the lowest meaning that the Lord Advocate's 
 words are susceptible of. . . .' 
 
 Of course the Lord Advocate's uncalled-for blundering, 
 
 and its results, gave great disappointment to Lord Aberdeen 
 
 and the rest of the Cabinet who took interesi in the question. 
 
 Sir R. Peel and Sir James Graham were so sure of success, 
 
 that they had begun to discuss whether the session should 
 
 not be prolonged in order to pass the necessary Bill. Sir 
 
 James Graham wrote to Lord Aberdeen : 
 
 Nothing can be more tantalising and annoying than this 
 total failure on the eve of complete success. I have not seen 
 the report of Rae's speech ; if it be inaccurate he must 
 instantly publish a correction of it, and endeavour to remove 
 the false impression which unhappily he has produced ; if it 
 be accurate, he must acknowledge the error into which he 
 himself has fallen, and avow that he spoke without authority, 
 and that the Government disclaims any promise or intention 
 of Icgnslation such as he seems to have contemplated. No time 
 should be lost. 
 
FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS 1 49 
 
 This course was at once adopted, but the mischief had 
 been done ; and though negotiations were renewed, and Sir 
 George Sinclair ultimately received a species of authority 
 from the Committee to accept Lord Aberdeen's Bill with 
 the addition proposed by him, which Lord Aberdeen was 
 ready to adopt, the golden moment had passed irrecover- 
 ably ; for the Committee rose in its demands, and attached 
 to the additional clause a meaning which it would not bear, 
 and when this was pointed out, professed that they had 
 accepted it under a mistaken impression. They, in truth, 
 decided to await the proposals which they still expected 
 would be made to them by the Government, and which 
 they still thought would be more favourable to them. Lord 
 Aberdeen then wrote : 
 
 I am of opinion that we ought to suspend all negotiations 
 with the dominant party at present. They know to what we 
 would have acceded ; and I see no reason to advance a step 
 further. We were disposed to assent to a proposal made to us ; 
 and we may listen to, but not invite, any other. 
 
 I am not writing the History of the Disruption of the 
 Scottish Church Establishment, but that of Lord Aberdeen's 
 share in the transactions connected with it. The year 1842, 
 so far as he was concerned, was comparatively one of 
 quiescence as regards ecclesiastical affairs. Acting on his 
 advice, no measure was introduced by the Government 
 with a view of altering the law, and his occupations as 
 Secretary of State hindered his active intervention in the 
 progress of events in Scotland. But though the Government 
 was quiescent, the Church was far from being so. On 
 May 25, 1842, the General Assembly adopted its famous 
 * Claim of Right,' and in the following November resolu- 
 tions were adopted at a Convocation of Non-Intrusionists 
 held at Glasgow, which pledged those who voted for it to 
 secession in the event of that claim being rejected. A 
 
I50 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 secession of greater or less magnitude was now inevitable, 
 
 for the ' Claim of Right' was one which no Civil Government 
 
 or Legislature could admit on the part of an Established 
 
 Church, or indeed any other ; and Lord Aberdeen thought 
 
 that the time had now come for legislation with a view to 
 
 limiting the approaching schism to the smallest possible 
 
 dimensions. 
 
 I do not agree with you (he wrote on March lo, 1843,10 the 
 Lord Justice-Clerk, as the Dean of Faculty had now become) 
 in the opinion you express of the inexpediency of attempting 
 anything at present. I am inclined to think that we ought to 
 make an effort to prevent the great secession which now seems 
 inevitable. I believe we may carry through Parliament any- 
 thing we think likely to be of use ; and if Parliament and the 
 Government are united in their support of that which will satisfy 
 all the reasonable portion of the Church, we may hope matters 
 will gradually become tranquil. . . . Your letter is at present 
 in Peel's hands, and he is, I think, very likely to agree in the 
 view you take of the question. Probably more entirely than I 
 can do, although I fully admit there is great force in all you say. 
 I have not time at present to explain more fully the reasons 
 which make me demur in arriving at your conclusion. 
 
 On March 28th he says : 
 
 I do not now think there is much probability of a Bill being 
 attempted. I was the only person who desired it, and this 
 was chiefly with a wish to save these poor fellows if possible. 
 I fear they will not have courage to break off from their party 
 in any great numbers, unless under such encouragement. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was perfectly right, and Sir James 
 Graham in later years loudly and emphatically expressed 
 his bitter regret at having disregarded Lord Aberdeen's 
 deliberate and independent judgment on this occasion ; 
 ' the only time I ever did so.' But the strong and vehe- 
 ment opposition of the Lord Justice-Clerk prevailed ; the 
 offer of legislation was delayed till the meeting of the 
 General Assembly in May ; and a secession then took place, 
 the dimensions of which must have not a little surprised 
 that eminent personage, who up to the last moment had 
 
PASSAGE OF THE ACT 151 
 
 thought that the number of seceders would be small. It 
 is curious to observe how often the acutest lawyers are 
 deceived by their over-estimate of the power of the written 
 law. 
 
 The need of a provision against the intrusion of unfit 
 persons into a parochial charge did not cease with the 
 secession ; and, the Assembly having resolved that the illegal 
 Veto Act had been ab initio null and void, Lord Aberdeen 
 reintroduced his Bill, which was strenuously objected to by 
 the English Law Lords as giving too much power to the 
 Church. Greville's Diary gives a specimen of the views in 
 this sense expressed even by the Lord Chancellor, who had 
 to defend the Bill. It may be judged from this what 
 chance there would have been of passing such a Bill as 
 the authors of the ' Claim of Right ' desired. Lord Aber- 
 deen's Act became law in August 1843, and remained in 
 force until the aboHtion of patronage in 1874. 
 
152 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 FOREIGN OFFICE : 1841-1846 
 
 Relations with France— The Tahiti Affair -The Greek Revolution— 
 The Spanish Marriages — The Ashburton and Oregon Treaties — 
 Questions raised in connection with Texas— Farewells of M. 
 Guizot and Mme. de Lieven. 
 
 The desire to follow out the Scottish Church Question 
 to its end has led me to anticipate events. We must 
 now return to 1841, and the overthrow of the Melbourne 
 Ministry. On Sir Robert Peel's accession to power, Lord 
 Aberdeen had, as a matter of course, returned to the 
 Foreign Office. He resumed the seals of that department 
 with very different authority from that which belonged to 
 him when he first received them thirteen years before. Not 
 only did he possess, in a far hijher degree than he had 
 then done, general confidence and respect, but his relation 
 towards the chief of the Government was wholly different 
 from what it had been in 1828. He had regarded the 
 Duke of Wellington as his superior, and shown to him a 
 deference which he never accorded to Sir Robert Peel, with 
 whom he had grown up from boyhood on an intimate 
 footing of perfect equality. A still more important dif- 
 ference resulted from the fact that while the Duke of 
 Wellington, when Prime Minister, occupied himself largely 
 with foreign affairs, which he liked and understood, Sir 
 Robert Peel, who did not so well understand them, was 
 content to leave their control and management as entirely 
 
FRANCE AND ENGLAND I 53 
 
 in the hands of Lord Aberdeen, as in the Melbourne Cabinet 
 they had been in those of Lord Palmerston. 
 
 The principal achievement of the five years spent by 
 Lord Aberdeen at the Foreign Office, and which were un- 
 questionably the most successful and the happiest of his 
 official life, was the establishment and maintenance of 
 a cordial and intimate understanding with the French 
 Government. 
 
 The present generation is hardly able fully to estimate 
 the difficulties of effecting such an understanding. France 
 and England are at the present day bound together by 
 many ties. The manners and character of the French 
 people are no longer regarded by the average Englishman 
 with contempt and ridicule. France, as a nation, is now 
 neither feared nor hated by England, and while it must be 
 confessed that antipathy to England is still too common in 
 France, it does not possess the same intensity as during 
 the first half of the present century. The jealousy and 
 suspicion with which Englishmen then regarded France 
 have been to a great degree transferred to Russia ; while 
 Germany, rather than England, is now the object of French 
 hatred and ill-will. Memories of Sedan have obscured 
 those of Waterloo. 
 
 But in 1 84 1 France was still, and justly, regarded as 
 the most formidable enemy with which England could be 
 called on to contend in Europe, and as the power with 
 which, owing to the existence of conflicting interests in 
 every quarter of the globe, disputes were most likely to 
 arise, while the memories of defeat had roused passions 
 which rendered the settlement of such disputes particularly 
 difficult. The ill feeling ordinarily existing towards England 
 in France was, in 1841, accentuated by the successful efforts 
 of M. Thiers to stimulate it in the previous year — efforts 
 
154 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 which had led the two countries to the brink of war, — and 
 by the irritation of the Cabinet which had succeeded him, 
 at the want of consideration shown by Lord Palmerston 
 to its exertions in the cause of peace. For this state 
 of things it was Lord Aberdeen's aim to substitute a 
 cordial alliance, but an alliance of a peculiar character. 
 England and France united might indeed dictate to the 
 world : but Lord Aberdeen coveted no such dictation. 
 While on friendly terms with France, and acting in concert 
 with her, it was his object at the same time to preserve 
 intimate relations with those Powers, the alliance of which 
 with England acted as a check on France. A good under- 
 standing with France alone would have left too much 
 in her power. To be of real value to England, the under- 
 standing must be one not calculated to disturb the suscepti- 
 bilities of other great Powers in Europe. Lord Aberdeen 
 therefore strained every nerve to secure the same cordial 
 goodwill on the part of other nations that he had obtained 
 from the French, and with such success, that when, in spite 
 of the perfect understanding between their Governments, the 
 mutual suspicion and dislike of the two nations seemed 
 about to make a cause of war out of a trumpery quarrel, 
 the Emperor of Russia, who had no personal or national 
 interest in the matter in dispute, offered to place his fleet 
 at the disposal of the Queen of England. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's efforts to put the relations of France 
 and England on a satisfactory footing were cordially met 
 by equal efforts on the part of Louis Philippe and his 
 minister. Louis Philippe was determined at all costs to 
 remain at peace with England, and M. Guizot attached 
 no less importance to its preservation. Between Lord 
 Aberdeen and Guizot there was a similarity of character 
 which enabled them thoroughly to appreciate and under- 
 
ABERDEEN AND GUIZOT 1 55 
 
 Stand each other. Each was essentially a scholar and 
 philosopher, to whom the conduct of public affairs was 
 comparatively an accident of life, not its most absorbing 
 interest and business. In both, a reserved and austere 
 exterior covered, and all but concealed, an exquisite tender- 
 ness, little suspected by those with whom they ordinarily 
 came in contact in the world. Each had a profound and 
 half-scornful sense of the comparative triviality of even the 
 most important affairs with which they had to deal. Each 
 was sincerely and simply religious, and rigid in his notions 
 of public virtue. Each was a lover of peace for its own 
 sake, estimating but lightly the value of military glory, and 
 perhaps underrating the amount of ability involved in 
 military exploits. They soon became bound to each other 
 not only by ties of mutual esteem as public men, but by 
 those of strong personal affection. In this personal cha- 
 racter of the famous entente cordiale lay both its strength 
 and its weakness. 
 
 The greatest difficulty encountered by both statesmen 
 was that of inducing their subordinate agents to act in the 
 spirit of their own understanding. Each had in this task 
 to contend with nearly the same degree of obstinate pre- 
 judice. There was hardly an English agent abroad, whether 
 ambassador, minister, or consul, who did not think that 
 opposition to France was necessarily the soundest English 
 policy, or who did not feel a kind of superior and con- 
 temptuous pity for the bhndness and weakness of a 
 Secretary of State who allowed himself, as they supposed, 
 to be duped by the professions of a French statesman. 
 And if this was the case among English agents, similar 
 feelings exercised a yet stronger influence over those of 
 France. English public servants might differ from or even 
 despise their chiefs, but as a rule they obeyed them The 
 
156 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 bonds of discipline were far looser in the French service. 
 French diplomatists abroad hardly concealed, and indeed 
 in many cases did not conceal, their indignation at the 
 tameness of a Minister whom they stigmatised as corrupted 
 by la perfide Albion, Only too often they almost openly 
 defied their instructions, and, relying on the certainty of 
 support in the Chambers and in the Press, intrigued against 
 and opposed the English colleagues with whom they had 
 been told to act in concert. 
 
 The extent of the difficulty thus created can only be 
 truly estimated when it is remembered that the spirit in 
 question was strongest, and its exhibition least liable to 
 control, among the minor agents of both Powers : the host 
 of consuls who cover the face of the globe. Wherever an 
 English and a French consul were stationed, each regarded 
 the other as a natural enemy. Each regarded the actions 
 and wishes of the other with dislike and distrust, and con- 
 sidered it an even more imperative duty to thwart (as the 
 case might be) English or French interests (or what to their 
 narrow local view seemed to be such) than to advance those 
 of his own country. 
 
 The most serious danger to the friendly relations be- 
 tween the two countries which arose during Lord Aber- 
 deen's administration was due to an obscure collision of this 
 character in Tahiti ; where an English subject, who had 
 once been a missionary, and subsequently a consul, but who, 
 at the time in question, was neither the one nor the other, 
 was, on political grounds, imprisoned with some harshness 
 and indignity by the French governor. 
 
 Had the conduct of foreign affairs been in other hands in 
 either country \ had Thiers presided over them in France, or 
 Palmerston been Secretary of State in England, war would all 
 but inevitably have ensued. The excitement in both countries 
 
THE TAHITI AFFAIR 157 
 
 was extreme. The demand for punishment of the outrage 
 on a British consul, as Mr. Pritchard was universally though 
 erroneously styled, was all but unanimous, and the fact 
 that he had been a missionary led to a clamour for war 
 from those who were usually ministers of peace. Sir Robert 
 Peel himself was carried away by the torrent, and made a 
 speech which rendered the difficult task of those who were 
 labouring to preserve peace yet more difficult. This speech 
 he had afterwards to modify, and expressed regret for having 
 made it. 
 
 Guizot and Aberdeen were, however, determined that, 
 so long as they remained ministers, hostilities should not 
 ensue, and that, if indeed the war fever prevailed, it should 
 only be through the overthrow of both. But the danger 
 was grave. A majority of the English Cabinet, including the 
 Prime Minister, were for the adoption of measures which 
 must have rendered war inevitable, and which were with 
 difficulty averted by Lord Aberdeen ; while, on the other 
 hand, the indemnity which the French Government agreed 
 to pay to the aggrieved Englishman had to be defrayed by 
 the King from his own Civil List, as no vote for its payment 
 could be proposed to the Chamber of Deputies with any 
 chance of success. 
 
 Had this ' senseless outcry ' really proved too strong for 
 
 their control, the two Ministers had agreed to resign on the 
 
 same day. How nearly this result was reached is shown 
 
 by the following extracts from Lord Aberdeen's letters to 
 
 Madame de Lieven : 
 
 You may imagine how very critical our situation must have 
 been, when I tell you that the Speech was read and approved 
 by the Queen in Council at Windsor on Tuesday, and that it 
 did not contain a single word of allusion to France, or to any 
 foreign matter whatever. This silence would have been elo- 
 quent, and the lamentable consequences awaiting us would 
 have been as clearly announced by it as by any words. . . . 
 
158 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 You could have formed no conception of the state of publick 
 feeling in this country. I saw it with astonishment and regret, 
 but it was impossible to deny that persons of all ranks and classes 
 had made up their minds to war ; even those from whom it could 
 least have been expected. People are easily reconciled to what 
 they believe to be inevitable, and this appeared to be the 
 universal persuasion. 
 
 In the same letter he told the Princess that * notwith- 
 standing her incredulity, she would at last be convinced, 
 and perhaps before long, of the sincerity of his desire to 
 abandon all official employment.' She replied : 
 
 Vous choisissez mal votre moment pour me menacer do 
 votre retraite. Comment ! Lorsque vous venez de donner 
 une preuve si frappante de I'importance attachee k votre per- 
 sonne, k votre jugement, k votre influence, vous parlez de 
 quitter la partie? Vous savez que sans vous la paix etait 
 compromise ; vous savez que sans vous elle pourrait I'etre 
 demain, et vous enverriez comme cela promener I'Europe? 
 Oh non, my lord, cela ne pent plus etre. Vous avez perdu le 
 droit de le faire et meme de le dire. Je ne puis plus douter 
 de la sincerite de votre desir, car il doit etre bien ardent pour 
 que vous ayiez pu vous livrer k une pensee pareille dans un 
 pareil moment, apres une pareille epreuve de votre puissance. 
 Je crois done k vos voeux tant que vous voudrez, mais je le 
 repete, vous n'avez plus le droit de vous retirer. La paix du 
 monde doit passer avant vos gouts et vos inclinations, et, — 
 Dieu merci, — vous avez trop d'honneur au coeur pour ne pas 
 savoir porter ces sacrifices. 
 
 Vous souvenez-vous du temps ou je vous conjurais d'etre 
 vraiment Ministre, de ne consulter que votre propre instinct, 
 votre propre jugement ? Depuis trois ans vous avez use de 
 la plenitude de ce droit, et certes I'Europe doit benir votre 
 Ministere. Je repete, je suis bien contente, et meme un peu 
 fi^re, car vous savez les sentimens que j'ai pour vous. 
 
 In Spain, in Greece, and elsewhere. Lord Aberdeen and 
 Guizot had to deal with subordinates who, in evading their 
 orders, sincerely thought that they were serving their 
 country. 
 
 In Spain, the want of cordial co-operation between the 
 diplomatic agents of the two nations led to lasting and 
 disastrous results. In Greece, it was the cause of much 
 
THE GREEK REVOLUTION 1 59 
 
 temporary embarrassment, but had little effect on the ulti- 
 mate march of events. 
 
 Those who would attribute Lord Aberdeen's rooted 
 objection to the meddling of England in the domestic affairs 
 of other nations to a sympathy with despotic governments, 
 might with advantage study the attitude which he assumed 
 towards the Greek Revolution of 1843. This was a revolu- 
 tion brought about by no foreign influence. The move- 
 ment was spontaneous, general, and decisive, and as such 
 would in any case have been readily accepted by Lord 
 Aberdeen as an expression of the will of the Greek people. 
 But this was not all. It was hailed by him as a wise and 
 judicious step. He rejoiced to see the Greek people thus 
 assert their right, their power, and their determination to 
 rule their own land. He wrote to Sir Robert Peel that he 
 had, in compliance with his wish, toned down the terms of 
 approval which he had used in writing officially on the sub- 
 ject, but he added that, though he had done so, 
 
 I think it will be desirable that we should take our ground at 
 once in support of the Greek Revolution. I have never known 
 a change more imperatively called for, more fully justified, or 
 more wisely carried into effect. 
 
 Instead of allowing free play to the action of the new 
 Constitution, the English and French Ministers at Athens 
 distracted the little State by their intrigues and animosities ; 
 each of them adopted a favourite politician, and spared 
 no exertion to bring him into power and to discredit his 
 adversary. The British Minister was Sir Edmund Lyons, 
 afterwards Lord Lyons, a gallant sailor and distinguished 
 admiral, but no diplomatist. The French Minister was 
 M. Piscatory, who looked more to the plaudits of the Oppo- 
 sition in the French Chambers than to the wishes of his 
 own Government. The following letter from Lord Aberdeen 
 
l60 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 to Sir Edmund Lyons gives a fair idea both of his style of 
 
 remonstrance with his subordinates and of the difficulties he 
 
 had to encounter : 
 
 Novejnber ii, 1844. — I lament that M. Piscatory should 
 have promoted M. Coletti's intrigue for the overthrow of 
 Mavrocordato's Ministry. This renders future confidence be- 
 tween you impossible ; but you have allowed your resentment 
 to interfere with your social relations in a very undignified and 
 improper manner. When you make it the subject of official 
 complaint that M. Piscatory regaled a set of idle ragamuffins 
 with wine and fruit, and that he held up his two little children 
 in his arms to the populace, I am surprised that you should 
 not see that such pitiable stuff as this is not worthy of being 
 reported. 
 
 I have prescribed in my official despatches the course which 
 you ought now to pursue. Confidence is out of the question, 
 and you should maintain a dignified reserve in all matters 
 connected with the internal politics of Greece. But there ought 
 to be no change whatever in your personal habits of courtesy 
 and politeness. It is for the French Government to judge the 
 conduct of M. Piscatory. 
 
 I cannot require you to approve of, or to support the Govern- 
 ment of M. Coletti, because I by no means approve of it 
 myself; but it will be your duty to do nothing, either directly 
 or indirectly, to oppose it. I must repeat my positive injunc- 
 tion that no man shall be considered as the English candidate 
 for office. I believe M. Mavrocordato to be a perfectly honest 
 man, probably the most honest public man in Greece ; and I 
 sincerely regret, for the sake of his country, that he has not been 
 able to retain his situation as Minister. He may reasonably 
 complain of the hostility of those from whom he had every ground 
 to expect support. But you are to recollect that you are living 
 in a Constitutional Government, and that M. Mavrocordato's 
 defeat could not have happened if he had possessed a majority 
 in the Chambers. We may lament the perverseness of the 
 King and the blindness of the Legislature, but there is no 
 appeal from this decision ; and it is in the Chambers only that 
 M. Mavrocordato must take his revenge. You are to recollect 
 that Greece is not England, and that if the King and the 
 Chambers prefer a bad Ministry to a good one, it is their own 
 misfortune ; but they are supreme. 
 
 I must say a word about the loss of English influence, 
 which is a fertile topic in our newspapers. But I really do not 
 comprehend what this means. Let M. Piscatory and M. 
 Coletti govern Greece if they can, and in the best manner they 
 can. Let them make Greece as French as they please, I will 
 take good care that justice shall be done to British subjects 
 
LETTER TO GUIZOT l6l 
 
 whenever their rights or interests are concerned. I defy them 
 to destroy or to weaken the only influence which is worth 
 possessing. Whether you possess the ear of the Minister or 
 not is a matter of very Httle importance ; the superior probity, 
 enterprise, and wealth of British merchants will always ensure 
 the preservation of British influence. I desire no other than 
 that which arises from this source, and from our upright and 
 disinterested conduct in our relations with the Government. 
 
 But while writing thus to Sir E. Lyons, Lord Aberdeen 
 
 did not conceal from M. Guizot his opinion of the conduct 
 
 of M. Piscatory. 
 
 I am bound to declare (he writes) that I cannot doubt 
 M. Piscatory's participation in the intrigue for the overthrow 
 of Mavrocordato. This may safely be inferred from the tenour 
 of all his correspondence with you. ... He continues to 
 evince the most absurd, groundless, and ridiculous suspicions 
 of English predominance. . . . With respect to M. Coletti, 
 who entertains the opinion that we desire to make an English 
 Pashalick of Greece, I can only say that he does his country a 
 great deal too much honour. Most assuredly I would not 
 make a Pashalick of Greece, if I could ; but with the opinions 
 expressed by M. Piscatory, I confess that I am not much 
 surprised at the sentiments of his friend. I leave M. Coletti 
 with his convictions. As they excite in my mind no feelings 
 but disdain, I shall take no pains to undeceive him. Indeed, 
 I have no complaint to make of M. Coletti ; he is only 
 labouring in his vocation. It is very evident that from the 
 first construction of M. Mavrocordato's ministry he has employed 
 every means to accomplish its destruction. But in a Constitu- 
 tional Government M. Coletti had a perfect right to make 
 himself Minister if he could ; and although he had solemnly 
 promised M. Mavrocordato his best support, this is a question 
 of Greek morals upon which it is not necessary for me to pro- 
 nounce any judgment. The only part of this transaction which 
 gives me any real uneasiness is the evidence it affords of the 
 improbability that our good understanding should lead to the 
 results we both desire. ... All those who opposed the Greek 
 Revolution would be delighted to see Constitutional Govern- 
 ment discredited by its failure in Greece, and you must be 
 aware that this is a subject of hope and expectation with many at 
 this moment. I would willingly prevent this result, and I trust 
 that your support of M. Coletti will not extend to any such 
 consequences. Notwithstanding our mutual confidence, and 
 the object which above all others we have in view, it is vain 
 to think that our desires and endeavours will produce any good 
 unless our agents shall really act in the spirit of the instructions 
 they may receive. 
 
 M 
 
r62 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 The misunderstanding at Athens was vexatious, but the 
 jealousy of the French and English ministers in Spain 
 involved far graver and more disastrous consequences, of 
 which indeed the indirect results are not yet exhausted. It 
 led to the destruction of that cordial understanding between 
 France and England, which Lord Aberdeen and M. Guizot 
 had with such pains laboured successfully to establish, but 
 which, soon after Lord Aberdeen's retirement from office, 
 was put an end to by what were known as the 'Spanish 
 Marriages' of 1846 ; a misfortune, for which the discord of 
 the agents of the two governments at Madrid was mainly 
 responsible. 
 
 The true history of that once famous transaction is little 
 known, and is generally altogether misrepresented and mis- 
 understood. 
 
 Isabella II. of Spain was placed, while yet an infant, upon 
 a throne her right of succession to which was disputed. 
 The additional strength which a judicious alliance might 
 give to her cause was too obvious to be overlooked, and 
 projects for the ultimate disposal of her hand were discussed 
 from almost the first moment of her accession. 
 
 It would be unnecessary to dwell at length on these pro- 
 posals, even if the space at my command did not render it 
 impossible. Louis Philippe had refused an offer to betroth 
 the Queen to his son, the Due d'Aumale ; but this refusal 
 was conditional on her marriage to some other member of 
 the House of Bourbon, and the consequent maintenance of 
 the succession to the Crown in that family. In 1845, on 
 the occasion of a visit made by Queen Victoria to the 
 Chateau d'Eu, an important assurance was given by the 
 King and M. Guizot, which was thus described by Lord 
 Aberdeen in a letter written the same evening to Sir Robert 
 Peel: 
 
SPANISH MARRIAGES 163 
 
 They said that, having promised to support the pretensions 
 of the King of Naples, they were bound not to abandon the 
 Count de Trapani so long as there was a chance of his being 
 successful in his suit. Both the King and Guizot said they had 
 no objection to the Duke of Seville, and that, if it should be 
 found that the Count de Trapani was impossible, they would 
 willingly support him. With respect to the Infanta, they both 
 declared in the most positive and explicit manner that, until the 
 Queen was married and had children, they should consider the 
 Infanta precisely as her sister, and that any marriage with a 
 French Prince previously would be out of the question. The 
 King said he did not wish that his son should have the prospect 
 of being on the throne of Spain, but that, if the Queen had 
 children, by whom the succession would be secured, he did 
 not engage to preclude himself from the possibility of profit- 
 ing by the great inheritance which the Infanta would bring 
 his son. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that in thus announcing his 
 intention to delay the proposed marriage of his son with the 
 Infanta, Louis Philippe never abandoned, or in any way 
 implied that he abandoned, the condition which he had 
 attached to his renunciation of the hand of Queen Isabella 
 for one of his own sons. That condition was, that the 
 Crown of Spain should not pass out of the House of 
 Bourbon, as it would do in the event of the Queen's mar- 
 riage to a prince of any other family, and the succession to 
 the throne of the children of that marriage. Lord Aberdeen 
 deprecated this limitation as derogatory to the independence 
 of the Spanish nation and disrespectful to the Queen of 
 Spain. But he was quite aware that the withdrawal of the 
 King's sons from among the candidates for the Crown 
 matrimonial of Spain was contingent on the observance of 
 this condition, and that, in the event of any serious pro- 
 spect of a marriage of a different character, the King would 
 hold himself perfectly free to permit the Duke of Mont- 
 pensier to marry at once, not the Infanta, but the Queen 
 herself. 
 
 The promise, therefore made by the King was really, 
 
1 64 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 that the marriage of the Duke of Montpensier with the 
 
 Infanta should not take place until Queen Isabella was 
 
 married to a me?}iber of the House of Bourbon^ and had 
 
 children, the issue of such a marriage. The condition was 
 
 repeated and laid down in writing a few months later by 
 
 the French Government. In a memorandum delivered by 
 
 M. de Ste. Aulaire to Lord Aberdeen, on February 27, 1846, 
 
 it is explicitly declared that : 
 
 Si le manage, soit de la Reine, soit de I'Infante, avec le 
 Prince Leopold de Coburg, 011 avec tout autre Prince etranger 
 aux descendans de Philippe V, devenait probable et imminent 
 . . . dans ce cas nous serions affranchis de tout engagement, 
 et libres d'agir immediatement pour parer le coup, en deman- 
 dant la main, soit de la Reine, soit de I'Infante, pour M. le due 
 de Montpensier. 
 
 Here certainly there is no concealment. The preten- 
 sions of the French Government, however arrogant, are plainly 
 enough avowed. And if the marriage of the Queen of 
 Spain, or of her sister, with Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg 
 was * probable and imminent,' the French Government must 
 stand acquitted of any breach of faith in disregarding the 
 conditional engagement of the Chateau d'Eu, however much 
 we may, from other points of view, lament and condemn 
 their action in departing from it. 
 
 The real question, then, so far as the accusation of 
 breach of faith is concerned, is : ' Was the marriage of 
 Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg with the Queen of Spain, 
 or the Infanta Fernanda Luisa, really 'probable and im- 
 minent' in the month of August 1846?' It is, I think, 
 impossible to deny that it was so. 
 
 The British Minister at Madrid at this time was Sir 
 Henry Bulwer, a very able, but not over-scrupulous diplo- 
 matist. On his return to Spain in the autumn of 1845, he 
 was enjoined to observe an entirely passive attitude of neu- 
 trality with regard to the candidature of the King of Naples 
 
SPANISH MARRIAGES 165 
 
 brother, the Count of Trapani,for the Queen's hand — a candi- 
 dature unpopular in Spain, but warmly pressed by the French 
 Government. This neutrality Bulwer speedily converted 
 into active and successful opposition, and at the same time 
 pressed on Lord Aberdeen the desirability of Prince Leopold 
 of Saxe-Coburg becoming the Queen's husband. During 
 the winter he continued to dwell on the superiority of Prince 
 Leopold to all other candidates, and concluded one of his 
 letters on the subject in the spring of 1846 by saying : 
 
 I may add that I could make the marriage if you instructed 
 me to do so, and that your instructions to me were kept secret. 
 
 On May 7 th Lord Aberdeen replied : 
 
 Whatever we may feel towards an amiable and deserving 
 young Prince, nearly connected with our own Queen, we have 
 really no political interest whatever in his success. On the 
 contrary, I can easily conceive that it might lead to much 
 inconvenience, notwithstanding his personal merits ; for it is 
 probable that he maybe regarded by the Spanish Government as 
 likely to receive the countenance and active support of England, 
 if placed in the situation of the Queen's husband. Now, I have 
 no belief whatever that such would be the case ; and, even if 
 it were, it could only lead us into the most impolitic and em- 
 barrassing engagements. As we have no English candidate, 
 I should be sorry to see you actively engaged in the support of 
 any other, be he who he may. 
 
 Before this letter could reach Buhver, he had lent him- 
 self to a palace intrigue at Madrid, which resulted in the 
 despatch of a letter from the Queen-mother Christina to the 
 Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, then at Lisbon, containing an 
 offer of her daughter's hand to Prince Leopold, a letter 
 certainly revised, if not dictated, by Bulwer himself. A copy 
 of the letter was forwarded by him to Lord Aberdeen, with a 
 sketch of the plan by which he proposed to give effect to 
 the measure contemplated. A change of ministry was to be 
 effected, the Cortes summoned, the Queen's marriage with 
 Count Trapani proposed to it and rejected, marriage v/ith 
 
l66 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Prince Leopold then suggested, approved, and celebrated ; 
 after which the French Government was to be informed of 
 the faty accompli^ and the intimation softened by the offer of 
 an immediate marriage between the Infanta and the Duke 
 of Montpensier. 
 
 This proceeding of Bulwer's was a serious departure 
 from the passive attitude which he had been instructed to 
 maintain, and, what was worse, it was a secret and under- 
 hand departure from it. His action was even more strongly 
 condemned by Sir Robert Peel than by Lord Aberdeen, who 
 thus replied to his letter : 
 
 I think that the situation in which you have been placed 
 with regard to the Spanish marriage is liable to two very grave 
 objections. In the first place, I think that we shall appear to 
 be justly liable to the imputation of joining in an intrigue, 
 directed against the policy of France, to promote an object in 
 which we have no real interest, and at the expense of our own 
 good faith. Secondly, if the marriage of Prince Leopold be, 
 in itself, at all desirable, I think your position is most unfor- 
 tunate, as the success of the project could only be injured by 
 the appearance of any English interference whatever. 
 
 I have further expressed my entire disbelief of any negotia- 
 tion on the part of Prince Leopold being in progress to promote 
 his marriage with the Queen, and have given the most positive 
 assurances that, at all events, the English Government would 
 take no part in such a project. 
 
 I have felt it incumbent on me, therefore, at once to inform 
 the French Government through M. Ste. Aulaire that a com- 
 munication had been made to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg on 
 this subject, and also that you had been cognisant of such com- 
 munication. I added, too, that you had acted in the matter 
 without my instructions, and entirely without my knowledge, 
 but that our own views and opinions hp.d undergone no change. 
 
 This prompt explanation will remove an unpleasant impres- 
 sion which the French Government might have received from 
 a knowledge of the transaction which they could not have 
 failed very shortly to obtain. Depe?id upon it^ that^ as you have 
 discovered the i7itrigue of Bresso7i^ he would inevitably have 
 discovered yours. I have said formerly that I thought Bresson 
 had behaved ill, and that we had not been treated in a manner 
 we had a right to expect ; but I repeat, that it is not for us to 
 
 ' The French Ambassador at Madrid. 
 
SPANISH MARRIAGES 'I67 
 
 follow this example. I cannot help fearing that you have per- 
 mitted yourself imperceptibly to be influenced in this matter by 
 a feeling of personal resentment, which, although not unnatural, 
 might better have been repressed. 
 
 This, then, was the situation of affairs at the time of 
 the resignation of Sir Robert Peel in July 1846. Even 
 before that event the French Court and Government un- 
 questionably felt great sensitiveness and alarm as to the 
 pretensions of Prince Leopold. Lord Aberdeen had found 
 it scarcely possible to prevent some fresh outbreak of ap- 
 prehension every month ; and it was only probable that 
 yet greater uneasiness would be felt after Lord Aberdeen's 
 retirement. 
 
 Unfortunately, Lord Aberdeen's policy of entire open- 
 ness towards the French Government, which he had felt 
 to be the only possible mode of efificaciously disarming 
 suspicion, was not adhered to by his successor. On the 
 contrary, the most extreme reserve was resorted to, and 
 instructions were sent to Bulwer, without any previous com- 
 munication with the French Government, in which, without 
 directly advocating them, the pretensions of Prince Leopold 
 were not unfavourably spoken of. 
 
 The French Government, however, in spite of suspicion, 
 adhered loyally to the obligation it had taken upon itself to 
 wait for the birth of heirs to the Spanish Crown before the 
 conclusion of the marriage of the Infanta ; but a hint received 
 by M. Guizot, that the English Government was endeavour- 
 ing to effect her marriage in the meanwhile to some other 
 Prince, induced him to authorise Count Bresson, in case of 
 need, to declare that, so soon as the Queen's marriage was 
 concluded, he would be ready to commence negotiations 
 for the eventual marriage of the Duke of Montpensier with 
 the Infanta. 
 
 The hint given to M. Guizot was not an unfounded one. 
 
l68 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Up to this time Bulwer, when advocating the marriage of 
 the Queen to Prince Leopold, had always coupled it with 
 the marriage at the same time of the Duke of Montpensier 
 to the Infanta, hoping thus to overcome, or at least 
 diminish, the opposition of France. But a new prospect 
 was now opened. It occurred to Lord Palmerston that 
 the delay to which the French Government was pledged 
 might be so taken advantage of, as to prevent the possibihty 
 of the Infanta's union at any time, under any circumstances, 
 with the Duke of Montpensier. She might be married at 
 once to some one else ! 
 
 In a series of letters to Bulwer, Lord Palmerston urged 
 him to effect and carry out at once the double marriage of 
 the sisters to the Duke of Seville and Prince Leopold, 
 leaving it a matter of comparative indifference whether the 
 latter married the Queen or the Infanta. Extracts (at least) 
 from these letters were given by Bulwer to Queen Christina, 
 and by her at once shown to the French Ambassador at 
 Madrid, Count Bresson. 
 
 It is not wonderful that the effect produced at the 
 Tuileries by such a disclosure was electrical. What stung 
 the French King and Royal Family far more than even 
 the avowed advocacy of a Coburg marriage for one or other 
 of the sisters (which, however, in itself at once restored 
 the right of free action to France)", was the discovery that 
 the King's voluntary renunciation of all attempts to effect 
 the Infanta's marriage to his son, until after the Queen had 
 borne children, had been made use of to promote a scheme 
 designed to render such a marriage at any time, and in any 
 circumstances, altogether impossible. 
 
 That up to this time the King and M. Guizot, in spite 
 of doubts and suspicions, had been sincere in their adher- 
 ence to the declaration voluntarily made by them at Eu, is 
 
SPANISH MARRIAGES 169 
 
 proved by the confidential correspondence between them 
 which accident has since given to the world. 
 
 The King and M. Guizot had in their hands evidence 
 of Lord Palmerston's wishes, and of the imminent proba- 
 bility of their accomplishment, if they hesitated to parer 
 le coup in the manner in which they had already announced 
 they should, in such case, hold themselves free to do. 
 Approval of the double marriage, arranged by Queen 
 Christina and M. Bresson the moment that Lord Palmer- 
 ston's letters were communicated to the latter, was con- 
 sequently at once telegraphed (by semaphore) to Madrid. 
 
 The evidence obtained as to the proposals of Lord 
 Palmerston was not such as could be publicly produced. 
 The French Government was consequently obliged to 
 seek the justification of its action in Lord Palmerston's 
 public despatches and utterances. These, though sufficient, 
 when coupled with a reserve contrasting harshly with the 
 cordial intimacy of intercourse which had existed with his 
 predecessor, to justify some suspicion, were altogether in- 
 sufficient to prove such suspicion to be well founded. 
 Read by the light of the private letters which accompanied 
 them, we may now perceive that M. Guizot was not far 
 wrong as to their meaning ; but, without such a commentary, 
 there is nothing to be seen in them which is inconsistent 
 with adherence on the part of Lord Palmerston to the 
 policy of his predecessor. Even those critics most favour- 
 able to M. Guizot considered the grounds publicly alleged 
 by him quite inadequate to justify the abrupt breach of 
 an engagement voluntarily undertaken. Lord Aberdeen, in 
 writing to M. Guizot, frankly told him ^ that the corre- 
 spondence on which he relied did not warrant the con- 
 
 ' Lord Aberdeen to M. Guizot, September 14, 1846. Revue 
 Retrospective, p. 324. 
 
170 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 elusions he had drawn from it. To this Lord Aberdeen 
 added that he was himself confident that neither directly 
 nor indirectly had any proposition on behalf of Prince 
 Leopold received the slightest encouragement or support 
 from this country. Lord Aberdeen was mistaken : but his 
 belief was that which remained for many years the belief of 
 every one, and it has been generally accepted as one of the 
 facts of history. 
 
 The publication by Lord Bailing of some of the letters 
 communicated to the King of the French renders them 
 public property, and removes all obligation of secrecy with 
 regard to their contents. With these letters before us, it is 
 easy to perceive how different, in truth, was the attitude of 
 the two successive English Secretaries of State. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen enjoined the British Minister at Madrid 
 to observe perfect neutrality, and avoid all appearance of 
 putting forward an English candidate : Lord Palmerston 
 eagerly adopted and pressed the candidature of Don Enrique 
 (at the moment an impossible one). Lord Aberdeen left 
 the question of the Infanta's marriage to be dealt with in 
 the future: Lord Palmerston bade Bulwer ^ try for' an 
 immediate (and apparently secret) betrothal of the Infanta 
 to Prince Leopold. Lord Aberdeen regarded the marriage 
 of the Queen as of comparatively small importance — a step 
 which in the middle of the nineteenth century was little 
 likely to influence the course of national policy : Lord 
 Palmerston looked on the marriage of either of the daughters 
 of Christina to a French prince ' as a plain and public 
 declaration that both Spain and France were looking forward 
 to a combined war against England ! ' Lord Aberdeen 
 considered the marriage of the Duke of Montpensier to the 
 Infanta as in certain conditions an event perfectly harmless, 
 and as a step to which in no case formal diplomatic objec- 
 
SPANISH MARRIAGES 17 1 
 
 tion could be taken. ^ Lord Palmerston directed the Spanish 
 Government to be told that it would be 'a measure of 
 contingent hostility to England.' Lord Aberdeen main- 
 tained unreserved communication and concert with the 
 French Government ; Lord Palmerston pointedly abstained 
 from any communication with it on the subject of the 
 Queen's marriage. Lord Aberdeen had assured the French 
 Ambassador that he might be 'perfectly easy' about Prince 
 Leopold ; that there was no more chance of his marrying 
 the Queen of Spain than of Lord Aberdeen himself doing 
 so, and that ' the English Government would take no part 
 in such a project.' Lord Palmerston, though preferring 
 that Don Enrique should marry the elder, and Prince 
 Leopold the younger sister, assured the Spanish Government 
 that he would support the marriage of the Queen to Prince 
 Leopold, if resolved on ; and ordered Bulwer to ' try for it ' 
 as 'the next best thing,' if the plan for the marriage of 
 Don Enrique to the Queen and of Prince Leopold to the 
 Infanta failed. Lastly, Louis Philippe having engaged for 
 a certain time to delay the marriage of his son, it never 
 entered into the heads of Lord Aberdeen or Sir Robert 
 Peel to use that time in negotiations, kept secret from the 
 French Government, for at once bestowing the hand of the 
 Infanta on another man ; nor am I inclined to think that 
 they would have considered such negotiations consistent 
 
 ' ' A short time ago it was universally understood and believed that 
 the marriage of the Due de Montpensier with the Infanta was quite 
 settled, and would take place without delay. Had this been the case, 
 I do not know what we could have done to prevent it. We might with 
 good reason have been displeased with the King, but we could not really 
 have opposed the marriage, or make any valid objection to it. Still 
 less could we have treated it as a question of European interest, and 
 have attempted to enlist the Great Powers in any co-operation to defeat 
 it.' — Lord Aberdeen to Sir R. Peel, October 8, 1S45. Aberdeen 
 MSS. 
 
1/2 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 with their own dignity and self-respect, or with their honour- 
 able obligations towards King Louis Philippe. 
 
 On an impartial review of the whole transaction it must, 
 I think, be admitted — (i) that the engagement entered into 
 at Eu was avowedly a conditional one ; (2) that full and 
 fair notice of the consequences of a breach of its conditions 
 was given ; and (3) that in August 1846 the marriage of 
 Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg to the Queen of Spain or 
 her sister was * probable and imminent.' No charge of 
 breach of faith, therefore, can justly be preferred against 
 M. Guizot and the King. Nevertheless, the course taken 
 by the French Government must be deplored, and may be 
 censured. The friendship of England was worth more to 
 Tx)uis Philippe than the dowry of the Infanta. 
 
 To the even more serious charge that the marriage 
 actually effected was designed to secure the succession of the 
 Infanta to the throne, it is in itself almost a sufficient answer 
 to reply that the choice of the Duke of Cadiz as the Queen's 
 husband was the result of no deliberate selection on the 
 part of Louis Philippe. On the contrary, both he and the 
 Queen of the French had set their hearts on the marriage 
 of Queen Isabella with the Count of Trapani, Queen Marie 
 Amelie's nephew. 
 
 Up to the month of May 1846 this marriage was still 
 thought possible by the French Government, and even after 
 the hope of effecting it had been reluctantly abandoned, 
 every passing chance which appeared to offer any possi- 
 bility of reviving the plan was eagerly caught at by the 
 French King, even up to so late a period as a month 
 before the arrangement of the marriage which actually took 
 place. ^ 
 
 ' ' Jecruis qu'il faut s'efibrcerde relever Trapani.* — Louis Philippe 
 to M. Guizot, July 26, 1S46 Revue Rctrosi)iictive^ p. 187. 
 
ABERDEEN AND GUIZOT I73 
 
 But when the candidature of the Count of Trapani be- 
 came impossible, of all the living descendants of Philip V., 
 the two sons of Don Francisco alone remained unmar- 
 ried and in a position enabling them to pretend to the 
 Queen's hand ; and of these two, the rash folly of the Duke 
 of Seville rendered the Duke of Cadiz the only available 
 candidate. 
 
 It is unfair to attribute to the deeply-laid machinations 
 of the King and M. Guizot a result due mainly to Buhver's 
 opposition in one case, and to Don Enrique's folly in another. 
 It is equally unfair to assume that a candidate, whose pre- 
 tensions were only seriously entertained at the last moment, 
 and whose success involved the disappointment of the 
 cherished wishes of the French Royal Family with regard 
 to the Count of Trapani, was the candidate whom the King 
 and Guizot had all along marked out as the man of their 
 choice. 
 
 In the autumn of 1844 Louis Philippe, accompanied 
 by M. Guizot, returned at Windsor a visit which the 
 Queen had paid him in the previous year at the Chateau 
 d'Eu. During that visit Lord Aberdeen and M. Guizot 
 were in constant intercourse, and from that time it is not 
 too much to say, as Mr. Walpole has done in his * History 
 of England,' that they were *not friends but colleagues.' 
 Each was in the habit of showing to the other not merely 
 the official despatches which he addressed to his sub- 
 ordinates, but also the private letters by which they were 
 accompanied. Each consulted the other's wishes and sus- 
 ceptibilities as far as possible, and I fully believe that this 
 was quite as largely and as sincerely done by M. Guizot as 
 by Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen had his way with regard to the French 
 alliance, but his difficulties were neither few nor small. 
 
174 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Public opinion in England remained hostile to France, jealous 
 of her position, and suspicious of her acts. Not only did 
 the Opposition clamour, as every Opposition has clamoured, 
 as to the undue deference shown to a foreign power, but 
 even Lord Aberdeen's own colleagues were full of distrust. 
 Suspicions which from the first had been expressed by the 
 Duke of Wellington, to whom friendship with France, if not 
 distasteful, at least seemed unnatural, extended to other mem- 
 bers of the Government. Sir Robert Peel and Sir James 
 Graham invariably put the worst construction on every act of 
 the French Government, and sought to find in it evidence of 
 covert hostility. Before his death, Sir Robert Peel did full 
 justice to Guizot ; and Sir James Graham, in later years, 
 regretted and smiled at the groundless fears with which 
 he had disturbed Lord Aberdeen's course. But this was 
 long after the period of which I am now treating. Neither 
 Peel nor Graham had that power of putting himself in 
 another's place, and seeing matters with another's eyes, 
 which Lord Aberdeen instinctively possessed. Each would 
 in words have admitted that the first duty of every Minister 
 was that which he owed to his own country, but they 
 habitually reasoned as though the interests of England 
 ought to be the first consideration, not only with English 
 statesmen, but with those of foreign countries also, and that 
 we were entitled to consider ourselves wronged when this 
 was not the case. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen saw with alarm the growing divergence 
 of opinion between himself and other members of the 
 Cabinet on the subject of our relations with France ; and 
 on September 28, 1845, ^^ wrote as follows to Sir Robert 
 Peel : 
 
 Graham has assured me that his own views, with respect to 
 our relations with France, have recently undergone an entire 
 change; and such, I perceive, is also the case with yourself. 
 
LETTER TO PEEL 175 
 
 A policy of friendship and confidence has been converted into 
 a poHcy of hostility and distrust. 
 
 This change will, of course, justify and call for a corre- 
 sponding change in the character of the measures adopted by us ; 
 and although, from the prudence and caution with which you 
 will act, it is possible that I may feel no great objection to 
 these measures when proposed, I cannot too strongly express 
 my dissent from the spirit and motives by which they will have 
 been suggested. It is my deliberate and firm conviction that 
 there is less reason to distrust the French Government, and to 
 doubt the continuance of peace, at the present moment, than 
 there was four years ago, when your administration was first 
 formed ; and I cannot perceive the slightest ground for any 
 change in the policy which at that time it was thought wise 
 to pursue. I fully admit that, in spite of all calculation, it is 
 possible that war may suddenly, and when least expected, take 
 place. It is also certain that, sooner or later, this calamity 
 must fall upon us. Every reasonable degree of preparation, 
 therefore, for such a contingency is justifiable, and even 
 necessary ; but the character of the measures adopted will, of 
 course, depend upon the greater or less amount of apprehension 
 under which we act. For my own part, I would never for an 
 instant forget the possibility of war, and would make all reason- 
 able provision accordingly ; but I would continue to live under 
 the conviction of the greater probability of peace. 
 
 It seems to me that we are now acting under the influence 
 of a panic, both with respect to the intentions of France and 
 our own real condition, and that such a course of conduct has 
 a direct tendency to produce the very evil which it is intended 
 to avert. 
 
 The preparation of our 'advanced ships' has not quite the 
 same character ; and I am informed that there has been 
 more activity in this respect during the last six months than 
 for the three preceding years. If it be true, as I have been 
 told, that the ships have actually got their water on boards I 
 should be disposed to regard it as the evidence of childish 
 restlessness ; but our neighbours may draw other inferences, 
 and give us credit for more serious intentions than we probably 
 entertain. 
 
 A suggestion has lately been made to me from the Admiralty 
 respecting the recall of the Pe?ielope and one or two other 
 steamers from the coast of Africa. If it be intended to substi- 
 tute other steam vessels of less size and more speed, there can 
 be no objection ; but you must be aware that I could not agree 
 to interfere with the success of the great experiment which is 
 now in progress in that part of the world, without a little more 
 evidence of danger at home than I have hitherto been able to 
 perceive. 
 
176 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 I have said, however, that it is not very likely that measures 
 should be proposed in which it would be impossible for me 
 to concur ; but whether this be the case or not, the spirit 
 and feeling with respect to France are so different from mine, 
 and everything is looked at in such a different point of view, 
 that it is difficult not to anticipate some unpleasant conse- 
 quences. 
 
 A trifling matter of recent occurrence will explain how 
 extensively, and in what manner, this difference of feeling 
 operates. The visit of the Prince de Joinville to examine the 
 injuries sustained by the new floating breakwater at Brighton, 
 and of which as a scientific work he spoke to me with much 
 interest, appeared to me to be not only innocent but laudable. 
 I find, however, that this visit is considered here as an event 
 of political importance, and a serious offence on the part of the 
 Prince ! 
 
 Under all the circumstances to which I have referred, and 
 the apprehensions I entertain, it is my belief that it will be the 
 safest course for you to allow me now to retire from the Govern- 
 ment. No difference as yet has taken place, and none what- 
 ever is expected. It is well known to my friends and connec- 
 tions that office is not only irksome to me, but that considera- 
 tions of health have more than once pretty urgently called for 
 this proceeding. No other motive will be assigned, and it will 
 be the more easy to sanction this, as I have no wish ever to 
 enter the House of Lords again. 
 
 I am very sensible that this change would expose you to 
 some inconvenience ; and I do not deny that at the present 
 moment, from various causes, it is probable that there may 
 be no person altogether so acceptable to the Great Powers of 
 Europe as myself. But this is merely temporary, and I can 
 contemplate more than one mode of arrangement which would 
 leave you little reason to complain. At all events, the danger 
 of any difference of opinion would be removed, which, if it 
 should unfortunately occur, could scarcely fail to lead to the 
 most serious mischief. 
 
 Sir Robert replied that whatever motive Lord Aberdeen 
 
 might assign for his resignation, the real reason would 
 
 assuredly leak out, and that with the most disastrous results ; 
 
 that as Minister of Foreign Affairs he could not be replaced ; 
 
 and that, even if these objections to his resignation did not 
 
 exist, the personal loss to himself would be * irreparable ; ' 
 
 adding a postscript to the letter in terms of affection such 
 
 as he seldom used. 
 
RELATIONS WITH FRANCE 1 77 
 
 Lord Aberdeen remained in office, and from this time 
 the alarmists in the Cabinet at least held their peace, but 
 Lord Aberdeen was by no means easy as to the effects which 
 might be produced by their sentiments. In sending for 
 Peel's perusal a letter which he had received from M. 
 Guizot, he had said that he was glad to perceive that Guizot 
 agreed with him in the opinion which he had long enter- 
 tained and frequently expressed, that the old maxim of 
 preparing for war in order to preserve peace was entirely 
 inapplicable to the condition of Great Powers, and to the 
 political system of modern times, and the present state of 
 society. 
 
 The nature of Peel's reply will be perceived from Lord 
 Aberdeen's rejoinder : 
 
 I fully subscribe to the general truth of your description of 
 the past and present state of France, and of the French people 
 and Government ; but was not all this well known four years 
 ago? France then, as now, had an army of 350,000 men, the 
 fortifications of Paris were then in progress, and revolutionary 
 changes of every kind had already taken place. Nevertheless 
 we thought it possible not only to remain at peace with France, 
 but to live and act with her in the spirit of peace and friendship. 
 Our policy is now changed, and every newspaper is filled with 
 the account of our hostile preparations. We still talk of peace, 
 having war in our hearts. I confess that I regret this recent 
 and great change, for which I see no good reason ; and I regret 
 it the more, and indeed chiefly, because it is but too probable 
 that it may lead to the very consequences we most desire to 
 avoid. I trust the chance of war is still very remote, but I am 
 by no means of opinion that it is more so now than it was three 
 months ago. 
 
 I do not conceive the possibility of our intercourse with 
 foreign Powers being at all practically affected by the state of 
 our preparations. If a knowledge of the wealth, activity, 
 patriotism, and courage of the people cannot give us all the 
 confidence we need on such occasions, it is not more batteries 
 and guns in position, or ships of war more or less advanced, 
 that will do it. 
 
 But if, with the exceptions mentioned, no question arose 
 during Lord Aberdeen's ministry to disturb the serenity 
 
 N 
 
178 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 of the relations existing between Great Britain and other 
 European Powers, it was otherwise in the Western Hemi- 
 sphere. On his accession to office, Lord Aberdeen found 
 the relations between the United States and England in a 
 very critical condition. One cause of peril was removed 
 by the acquittal of M'Leod, an English subject, who had 
 been arrested and tried for murder on account of the share 
 he had taken in the capture and destruction of the steamer 
 Caroline during the Canadian rebellion of 1838, and 
 whose execution it would have been impossible not to 
 resent in a manner which would certainly have involved 
 the two countries in war. But the irritation caused by 
 this incident rendered the existence of other matters in 
 dispute more dangerous and their discussion more difficult. 
 The long-standing difference as to the North-East Boundary 
 between the United States and the British Provinces might 
 at any time, through some quarrel between English and 
 American settlers on the spot, bring the two nations into an 
 attitude of active hostility from which neither could recede. 
 So, too, the right of visiting vessels on the high seas to 
 ascertain their nationality, assumed by cruisers engaged in 
 the suppression of the Slave Trade, and which formed the 
 subject of some of Lord Aberdeen's earliest and ablest 
 papers after his return to office, might at any moment leaa 
 to a collision which, in the existing temper of the two 
 countries, could only end in war. To add to the embarrass- 
 ment of the situation, the British Minister in Washington, 
 though hot without ability, was not only one of the most 
 indolent of men, spending the greater part of his time in 
 bed, but had rendered himself socially unpopular in the 
 highest degree. In these circumstances Lord Aberdeen 
 determined to send a special mission to America, and 
 entrusted it to Lord Ashburton, who, as the head of the 
 
THE ASHBURTON TREATY 179 
 
 great house of Baring, was nearly as much interested in 
 the peace and prosperity of the United States as in that of 
 Great Britain. He did his work well, and removed all 
 danger of war by the agreement he made with the Govern- 
 ment of the United States as to the suppression of the 
 Slave Trade, and the compromise by which the disputed 
 territory on the north-eastern frontier was divided. That 
 compromise was bitterly attacked by Lord Palmerston, but 
 without much popular effect, for it was generally felt that 
 any obstinate insistence on all to which England had a claim 
 must inevitably have led to war, and that peace was well 
 worth purchasing at the price of a tract of barren pine 
 swamp. The attack was felt to be one made for party 
 purposes, and would have been yet more fully recognised as 
 such had it been generally known that the compromise 
 adopted was substantially one which Lord Palmerston him- 
 self had ten years previously suggested. 
 
 The serious character of the questions involved in the 
 settlement of the North-East Boundary threw all other 
 boundary disputes into the shade. There were, however, 
 two others — one of trivial importance, relating to the 
 boundary immediately to the west of Lake Superior, which 
 was easily settled by Lord Ashburton ; and a second, of far 
 more consequence, as to the possession of the region watered 
 by the Columbia River. But this question, which was 
 involved in a good deal of difficulty, and the settlement of 
 which required investigation and research, did not at that 
 time cause any irritation, and was not regarded as a source 
 of danger to the relations of the two countries. It would 
 have taken time to settle it, and Lord Ashburton was eager 
 to return to England before the autumnal gales made the 
 passage of the Atlantic formidable to a landsman. He 
 therefore left the negotiation to be carried on through the 
 
l8d LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 ordinary channels of diplomatic intercourse— an unfor- 
 tunate resolution ; for had he remained, he would almost 
 certainly have settled the dispute on terms more favourable 
 than those ultimately agreed on, and would have saved 
 the irritation of the following years, which in 1845 ^^^ the 
 two countries to the brink of war. The country, which in 
 1842 was an empty waste, had, three years later, become 
 the resort of settlers. An offer made by Lord Aberdeen to 
 refer the questions in dispute to arbitration was refused by 
 the United States ; and President Polk, in a message to the 
 Congress, not only claimed the whole of the debatable terri- 
 tory as belonging to the United States, whose rights to it 
 were, he said, ' clear and unquestionable,' but threatened 
 to take active measures to give effect to this exclusive claim. 
 This would have been equivalent to hostilities with England. 
 'We too, my lords,' exclaimed Lord Aberdeen amid the 
 cheers of the House of Lords, * have rights v/hich are " clear 
 and unquestionable," and these rights, with the blessing of 
 God and your support, we are fully prepared to maintain.' 
 But while ready to fight rather than yield to pretentions 
 wholly unreasonable. Lord Aberdeen was equally deter- 
 mined to make a last effort to avert the incalculable evils of 
 war. He prepared a scheme of reasonable compromise, 
 which was at the same time in fact, though not in form, an 
 ultimatum. As such, it was purposely framed in the most 
 liberal spirit. 
 
 I am not disposed (he wrote) to weigh very minutely the 
 precise amount of compensation or equivalents which may be 
 received by either party in the course of this negotiation, but 
 am content to leave such estimate to be made by a reference 
 to higher considerations than the mere balance of territorial 
 loss or gain. We have sought peace in the spirit of peace ; 
 and we have acted in the persuasion that it would be cheaply 
 purchased by both countries at the expense of any sacrifice 
 which should not tarnish the honour or affect the essential 
 interests of either. 
 
THE OREGON TREATY I&I 
 
 The proposed convention was accepted and signed by 
 the American Government, and ratified by the Senate, 
 without the alteration of a single word. Lord Aberdeen 
 was assured by Mr. Pakenham, the English Minister at 
 Washington, by the United States Minister in London, and 
 by Mr. Everett and other friends in the United States, that 
 this ready acquiescence was mainly due to the apprehension 
 that Lord Aberdeen was about to be replaced at the Foreign 
 Office by a statesman, discussion with whom, it was believed, 
 would make it difficult to maintain friendly relations between 
 the two countries. It was anticipated that Lord Palmerston 
 would not oifer, or accept, similar terms, although the hope 
 of peace depended on their being such as could be safely 
 presented to the American people ; while it was urged that, 
 even if he did so, it would be in a tone and manner likely 
 to excite such irritation as would render their acceptance in 
 the United States all but impracticable. 
 
 The treaty was ratified by the Senate as drafted by 
 Lord Aberdeen, and against its provisions no murmur of 
 objection was ever raised. He was able to announce its 
 conclusion in the House of Lords on the same day that the 
 resignation of Sir Robert Peel's Government was communi- 
 cated to it. 
 
 Of the gravity of these questions all the world is 
 cognisant, but few are aware how seriously the relations 
 between the United States and England were imperilled 
 by their mutual attitude towards a state, the ephemeral 
 existence of which as an independent Republic has well- 
 nigh been forgotten. 
 
 About 1839 the territory of the Mexican Republic was 
 invaded by bands of American citizens, who, establishing 
 themselves in the fertile plains between the Rio Colorado 
 and the Rio Bravo del Norte, assumed the sovereignty of 
 
1 82 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 the territory they occupied, and successfully resisted the 
 efforts of the Mexican Government to expel them. They 
 formed, under the name of Texas, an independent Republic, 
 of which they established the capital at Austin, and the 
 port of which, Galveston, soon assumed considerable im- 
 portance. 
 
 It was clear enough that, if Mexico persisted in trying to 
 subjugate the infant state, Texas would seek and would 
 receive protection and support from the United States, and 
 that a collision between Mexico and the United States would 
 thus occur, in which, if unassisted, the former must neces- 
 sarily be worsted. The like result would ensue if Texas 
 sought admission into the United States, and its absorption 
 into them was permitted by the Cabinet at Washington 
 before its independence was recognised by Mexico. The 
 independence of Texas had been acknowledged by the 
 United States, by France, and by England; but the two 
 latter powers were by no means desirous either to see Texas 
 annexed to the United States or the power of the great 
 northern Republic extended over Mexico, as it would be by 
 a successful war. They therefore took every possible step to 
 induce the Mexican Government to recognise the independ- 
 ence of Texas, but in vain. Meanwhile, although annexa- 
 tion was in some quarters desired, a majority of the Texan 
 people desired to maintain the independence they had 
 acquired. Missions were despatched from Texas to England 
 and France to secure the support of these Powers. Their 
 goodwill was easily obtained ; but the recognition of Texas 
 by Mexico, and the signature of a treaty pledging Texas to 
 maintain its independence, were insisted on as preliminaries 
 to any more substantial aid. The latter condition was 
 readily complied with, but no efforts on the part of the 
 English and French Ministers were suflicient to induce the 
 
MEXICAN OFFERS 1 83 
 
 Mexican Government to admit the independence of Texas, 
 and it is not impossible that we may have to thank the 
 obstinacy of Mexico for having averted war between the 
 United States and England. When, somewhat later, in con- 
 sequence of the annexation of Texas, war between Mexico 
 and the United States became imminent, the Mexican 
 Government offered practically to cede the province of 
 California, which it could not defend, to Great Britain. 
 This was to be effected by the grant of exclusive privileges 
 to British subjects and settlers, amounting to a virtual ces- 
 sion. Lord Ellenborough, then at the Admiralty, strongly 
 urged on Lord Aberdeen the advantages to be gained 
 from the acquisition of the site of what is now San 
 
 Francisco. 
 
 Look at the chart (he wrote); you will see that it is not only 
 the finest harbour, but the most easily defended, really un- 
 attackable from the land side, and therefore as good as an 
 island, while towards the sea it has facilities of defence which 
 are hardly to be found anywhere, unless at Malta and Corfu. 
 When we are about it, let us obtain possession, while we can, 
 of the key of the north-west coast of America. 
 
 Nor was Sir Robert Peel wholly undazzled by the pro- 
 spect. Lord Aberdeen, however, maintained that although, 
 had the interest already existed, it would be right to 
 maintain it, its establishment at such a moment, and in such 
 a manner, would be little less hostile than a declaration by 
 England and France that they would not permit the con- 
 quest of California, which would virtually be a declaration 
 of war against the United States. But even this he would 
 prefer to the creation of an unreal interest for political pur- 
 poses. The grant might create a very pretty quarrel, but no 
 amount of privileges bestowed by Mexico would suffice to 
 keep out American settlers, who would probably be too 
 powerful for the English. But, above all, while the Oregon 
 question was still capable of a peaceful settlement, he depre- 
 
1 84 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 cated a measure which would practically render such a 
 settlement impossible. Should the negotiation respecting 
 it end in war, the offers of Mexico should be at once 
 accepted, and the active co-operation of Mexican troops on 
 the south-west frontier of the United States encouraged as a 
 formidable diversion of the American forces. It is curious 
 now to speculate on what might have been the possible 
 results of the establishment of British authority over San 
 Francisco. 
 
 Speculation as to what might have been, had Lord 
 Aberdeen's action been different from what it was with 
 regard to another matter in the Western Hemisphere, is also 
 suggested by the fact that, after his escape from Ham, Prince 
 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte wrote to Lord Aberdeen that he 
 had received offers of a species of dictatorship in Venezuela, 
 and that his acceptance or refusal of the proposal would 
 depend upon the support which his enterprise would receive 
 from the British Government. Lord Aberdeen at that time 
 only saw in the future Emperor the adventurer of Strasburg 
 and Boulogne, and discouraged the idea. Ten years later 
 he regretted that he had done so. 
 
 It was not only in North America that English diplomacy 
 had difficulties to encounter. In South America also the 
 British Cabinet deemed it requisite to assert itself in a 
 peremptory manner, and to adopt very decided action. The 
 treaty with Brazil, concluded for a term of years, by virtue 
 of which Brazilian vessels engaged in the Slave Trade were 
 made liable to seizure by British cruisers, having expired 
 without renewal, Lord Aberdeen introduced, and persuaded 
 the British Parliament to adopt, an Act authorising the 
 naval forces engaged in the suppression of the Slave Trade 
 to continue to proceed in exactly the same manner as if the 
 treaty had remained in force — a high-handed measure which 
 
FREE TRADE 1 8$ 
 
 it is not easy to justify, and the proposal of which in the 
 present day would be impossible. 
 
 In the River Plate, an attempt to impose the joint 
 mediation of France, England, and Brazil on the Republics 
 of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video led to serious hostilities, 
 and to a series of transactions which, as illustrating the 
 character of Lord Aberdeen, possess considerable interest, 
 but on which it is impossible to dwell in these pages. 
 
 I have rapidly touched on some of the most important 
 events connected with Lord Aberdeen's second tenure of 
 the Foreign Office, but I must not omit some notice of 
 matters affecting himself personally rather than any public 
 interest. 
 
 He gained in a high degree the favour and confidence of 
 the Queen and Prince Albert, and in 1844 he was offered 
 by them the house at Bagshot now occupied by the Duke of 
 Connaught. This he declined, but in the following year he 
 accepted the Ranger's House at Blackheath, which he oc- 
 casionally inhabited himself, and which became during the 
 rest of his life the habitual residence of Lord and Lady 
 Haddo and their family. 
 
 When in the autumn of 1845 several members of the 
 Cabinet expressed their dissent from Sir Robert Peel's pro- 
 posal to repeal the Corn Laws, he appealed to Lord Aberdeen, 
 who astonished his colleagues, as he aftenvards did the House 
 of Lords, by at once saying that he had long considered the 
 Corn Laws logically indefensible, and had only supported 
 them because he supposed their abolition impossible. Sir 
 James Graham and Sidney Herbert followed in a similar 
 sense, but Lord Aberdeen was the first who expressed assent 
 to Sir Robert Peel's proposal. 
 
 The friendship already shown and the confidence reposed 
 in Lord Aberdeeu by Peel could hardly be exceeded ; but if 
 
1 86 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 possible they were now increased, and the absolute control 
 of all foreign affairs was more unreservedly and more com- 
 pletely than ever left in his hands. 
 
 As is well known, the failure of the attempt of Lord 
 John Russell to form a Government on Sir Robert Peel's 
 resignation in 1845 was due to Lord Grey's refusal to sit 
 in a cabinet in which Lord Palmerston would have held the 
 seals of the Foreign Office — a refusal based on the antipathy 
 with which Lord Palmerston was regarded by all foreign 
 courts, and especially by that of France. Lord Palmerston, 
 therefore, with an eye to the future, thought it prudent in 
 the spring of 1846 to visit Paris, and attempt to dissipate 
 the prepossessions existing against him there. Although his 
 success there was by no means such as would be gathered 
 from the pages of his biographers, it was still considerable. 
 To Lord Aberdeen, whose chief political interest was the 
 maintenance of the entente cordiale between the two 
 countries, nothing could be more agreeable than the 
 knowledge that one of the greatest dangers to its con- 
 tinuance was, if not removed, at all events materially 
 abated. 
 
 It would have been a poor compliment to me (he wrote to 
 M. Guizot on May 5), had you sent back Lord Palmerston 
 discontented and affronted ; and, in truth, no one would have 
 regretted it more than I should have done, from the manner in 
 which it might have affected our future relations. I have never 
 desired to injure Lord Palmerston ; on the contrary, at the time 
 of our ministerial crisis in December, I endeavoured by every 
 means in my power to smooth his advent to office. Party men, 
 or mere politicians, will not understand this conduct, and I 
 doubt if Lord Palmerston comprehends it himself \ but you will 
 have no such difficulty. 
 
 About a month later the end came, and Lord Aberdeen 
 wrote to announce his fall to M. Guizot and Madame de 
 Lieven. The replies of both are characteristic. 
 
RESIGNATION 1 8/ 
 
 Madame de Lieven wrote : 
 
 Juillet 15, 1846. — Je suis pleine de tristesse et en meme 
 temps d'orgueil pour vous. Jamais ministere n'a quitte les 
 affaires sous des auspices plus magnifiques, plus glorieux. — A 
 I'interieur, k I'exte'rieur, les plus grands succes. Cest drama- 
 tique ; c'est superbe, mais je recommence ;— c'est triste. 
 
 M. Guizot's farewell was as follows : 
 
 II faut done enfin que je vous ecrive pour vous dire adieu. 
 Je n'esperais pas, et pourtant j'attendais. C'est pour moi un si 
 vif deplaisir, un regret si profond ! On ne se resigne qu'k la 
 derniere extremite. Vous sortez bien glorieusement. J'ai 
 appris votre bonne fortune de I'Oregon avec la meme joie que 
 si elle m'eut concerne personnellement ; vos succes etaient mes 
 succes. Vous partirez probablement bientot pour Haddo ; moi 
 je pars dans quelques jours pour le Val-Richer. Que ne 
 pouvons-nous mettre en commun notre repos, comme nous 
 avons mis en commun notre travail? Mais on arrange si peu 
 sa vie comme on voudrait ! on jouit si peu de ses amis ! On 
 se rencontre, on s'entrevoit un moment. Puis on se separe, et 
 chacun va de son cote, emportant des souvenirs doux qui 
 deviennent bientot de tristes regrets. 
 
 The resignation of Lord Aberdeen was lamented 
 throughout Europe ; for. while vigilant in the maintenance 
 of English interests, he had ever shown studious respect 
 to the national pride and sensitiveness of other countries — 
 often strong in States materially weak. He exacted, sternly 
 enough, reparation for wrongs done, and insisted on the 
 acknowledgment of rights belonging to Great Britain ; but 
 he abstained from lecturing foreign statesmen on the con- 
 duct of their internal policy. That, he deemed, was best 
 judged by themselves and those over whom they ruled. 
 Where there was courage to demand, and power to main- 
 tain reforms, he believed they would soon be adopted. 
 Where they did not exist, he had little faith in the utility 
 or permanence of changes effected through foreign influence. 
 
1 88 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 1846-1853 
 
 Lord Aberdeen at home— Language as to the Spanish Marriages — Dis- 
 approval of Lord Palmerston's Policy — Death of Sir Robert Peel — 
 Ecclesiastical Titles Bill — Asked to form a Government, but 
 declines— Neapolitan Letters— Attitude after the Fall of Lord 
 John Russell's Government — Becomes Prime Minister. 
 
 Shortly after his resignation Lord Aberdeen went down 
 to HaddOj and there remained till recalled to London by 
 the reassembling of Parliament in February 1847. For 
 the six following years also he spent in Scotland the whole 
 period between the close of one session and the commence- 
 ment of the next, and this part of the year was certainly that 
 which he passed most agreeably to himself. The * vie de 
 grand seigneur de province ' which he there led has already 
 been sketched by M. de Jarnac, in his excellent article on 
 Lord Aberdeen in the ' Revue des Deux Mondes ' for August 
 1862, and by M. Guizot in his letters to his family ; but my 
 task would be ill performed if I were to leave unnoticed so 
 characteristic and considerable a portion of his life. His 
 habits were as regular and methodical as his tastes were 
 simple. Rising early, he invariably took a short walk, ac- 
 companied by one of his sons, before meeting his family 
 and guests at breakfast, from which meal, however large the 
 party, the attendance of servants was rigorously excluded, 
 as it was also from luncheon. After breakfast he wrote in 
 
LIFE AT HADDO 1 89 
 
 his own room till the departure of the post. He then 
 saw his bailiff, who presented him with a * Daily State ' of 
 the labourers employed in the house, farm, gardens, and 
 grounds, often exceeding one hundred in number, and re- 
 ceived his orders for the day. As twelve o'clock struck, he 
 descended the broad flight of steps which led from the 
 drawing-room to the terrace. The head gardener, who was 
 standing ready at the foot of the steps, accompanied him 
 round the terrace and garden. At the end of the short 
 lime avenue with which the long walk leading to the lake 
 begins, the head forester awaited him. They went together 
 through some portion of the plantations, instructions as to 
 the thinning of which were given, the construction of new 
 walks was planned, and other projected improvements dis- 
 cussed. On Saturdays this routine was varied. On that 
 morning, at noon, Lord Aberdeen appeared, not on the 
 drawing-room steps, but on the corresponding flight on the 
 opposite side of the house, and there received all who wished 
 to speak to him on business, to complain of any grievance, 
 to ask advice, or to give information. He spoke to each 
 separately, and took notes of what was said. This species 
 of ' sitting in the gate ' — a survival, I presume, of the days 
 of the heritable administration of justice — was not un- 
 common among great Scottish landlords in the eighteenth 
 century. The Duchess Countess of Sutherland and Lord 
 Aberdeen were, I believe, the last to practise it. It must 
 be remembered that at that time the burdens and duties 
 which fell upon a proprietor of great estates in Scotland 
 were, and indeed to a large extent still are, much more con- 
 siderable than those of an English landlord. Almost all 
 public works, the making of roads, the building of bridges, 
 the building and maintenance of churches, schools, and 
 manses, the relief of the poor, and many other matters, were 
 
190 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 determined on by the ' heritors ' of the parish, and exe- 
 cuted at their expense. But when a single man was, as 
 was often the case, 'sole heritor' in many parishes, the 
 whole power of determination lay with him, and the whole 
 burden of cost fell on him. He had therefore great power 
 and great responsibility, and became the referee and arbiter 
 of many matters which would in England have been settled 
 by the Petty Sessions, the Poor Law Guardians, the Vestry, 
 and other local authorities. 
 
 These Saturday morning levees were therefore never 
 without attendants, but on the first Saturday after Lord 
 Aberdeen's return from England there was always a specially 
 large assembly ; and to the demand on what business they 
 came, the reply that they had no business, but wished 
 to see his face again, was not uncommon. The custom had 
 its value, but for some years before his death Lord Aberdeen 
 abandoned it ; partly to avoid fatigue, but chiefly as being 
 no longer necessary, and inconsistent with modern usages. 
 A practice most useful when comparatively few could write, 
 ceased to be so when every one could express himself with 
 facility in writing. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's favourite amusement in the afternoon 
 was driving himself in a light pony carriage. His fast- 
 trotting ponies carried him over a great extent of ground in 
 a very short time, and he was thus enabled to visit works in 
 progress at a considerable distance, or to wander for some 
 hours, as he often did, in the picturesque valley of Formartine, 
 now realising the expectation he had formed of its future 
 beauty more than twenty years before. 
 
 On Sundays the parish church was duly visited. There 
 was but one service, at midday, in consideration of the 
 great distance from which many of the congregation came. 
 A long array of vehicles conveyed the whole household, 
 
SUNDAY AT HADDO IQI 
 
 servants and masters, from the house to the church, and as 
 the huge lumbering old coach, holding six inside, with 
 which the procession closed, was seen to round a certain 
 corner on the road, the minister, in his Geneva gown and 
 bands, emerged from the back door of the ' manse,' ana 
 crossed the village green to the church ; round and not /«, 
 which, according to immemorial custom, the congregation, 
 whatever the weather, was assembled. Lord Aberdeen and 
 his family climbed the steep flight of rough stone steps, 
 external to the building, which led to their seat, and the 
 congregation poured into the church ; while the minister, 
 sidling with difficulty past the old women, arrayed in red or 
 clay-coloured cloaks, and high stiff white ' mutches,' who by 
 right of deafness sat upon the pulpit stairs, made his way to 
 that eminence, hung up his hat on a peg therein, and 
 proceeded to read the metrical psalm with which the service 
 commenced, and which was sung sitting. The roar of many 
 hundred voices, every one of which joined in contributing 
 to the volume of sound, unaccompanied by any instrument, 
 was solemn and imposing, notwithstanding the want ot 
 harmony ; — far more solemn than the performance of the 
 bonneted and beribboned 'choir,' to the accompaniment 
 of an American organ out of tune, which does duty for 
 congregational singing in so many Scottish Presbyterian 
 churches of the present day. At the close of the service, 
 the minister, after pronouncing with extended arms the final 
 blessing, turned to the ' loft,' in which ' my lord ' was seated, 
 and made a low bow, which was returned with equal gravity 
 and depth of obeisance by his lordship standing. In the 
 afternoon a solemn walk of the whole family and guests was 
 taken to the top of a hill in the deer park, round the lakes, 
 and to the kitchen garden. After dinner, the day was 
 concluded by the assembly of the whole household in the 
 
192 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 library for prayers. These consisted of a series of prayers 
 written by Lord Aberdeen himself, and of great beauty. 
 
 In 1840 Lord Aberdeen had built a small house at 
 Buchan Ness, a promontory on the sea-coast about twenty 
 miles from Haddo, and the most eastern point of Scotland. 
 There he delighted to go for a few days at a time. It is 
 a wild and striking spot. The granite cliffs, torn and rent 
 by countless narrow fiords and gullies, descend abruptly 
 into deep water, in every variety of form and colour No 
 tree is to be found on that desolate coast, but the tints 
 of the rocks themselves, and of the lichens which encrust 
 them, prevent the eye from greatly missing arboreal vegeta- 
 tion. In one of the numberless ravines which indent the 
 coast, Lord Aberdeen formed a garden descending in a series 
 of terraces to the sea. It was divided at the bottom by a 
 * stack ' of bright red granite, which rose abruptly in the 
 centre of the ravine. The effect of this combination, when 
 the terrace beds were gay with many coloured flowers, was 
 singularly lovely. 
 
 The fishing population of the adjoining village, Scandi- 
 navian in origin, peculiar in their habits, and picturesque in 
 their appearance, had a special attraction for Lord Aberdeen, 
 and under his care the village, without losing much of its 
 picturesque beauty, became a model of neatness and cleanli- 
 ness — virtues not often cultivated in Scottish fishing villages. 
 The women were accustomed to spend much time in watch- 
 ing the departure of their husbands and sons at night for 
 the fishing, and in looking for their return in the morning. 
 For their accommodation. Lord Aberdeen put up, in a 
 sheltered nook overlooking the little harbour, a number 
 of granite seats, and nothing pleased him better than to see 
 them well filled. At the same spot he caused a large 
 barometer to be inserted under glass in an upright slab of 
 
LIFE AT HADDO I93 
 
 red granite, so that it might be easily consulted by the 
 fishermen ; and to its warnings the Boddam herring fleet 
 more than once owed its escape from dangers which proved 
 fatal to boats belonging to other villages on the coast. 
 
 Whilst at Haddo he was always surrounded by the greater 
 part of his family ; his brothers, his sons and daughters-in-law, 
 his stepchildren and their families, and his grandchildren. 
 There were generally also a few guests of greater or less dis- 
 tinction in the house, — former colleagues, friends from the 
 great outer world, or county neighbours to whom the Lord 
 Lieutenant desired to show civility. During the six months 
 spent at Haddo he hardly ever left it, or paid visits else- 
 where. 
 
 I have thought it worth while to be thus minute in my 
 
 account of the habits of life followed by Lord Aberdeen at 
 
 home, not only because some account of them is material 
 
 to a right understanding of the man, but because the style 
 
 of life described is one which, in its mingled simplicity 
 
 and stateliness, has now wholly disappeared. The almost 
 
 ostentatious absence of display, and the care with which 
 
 any outward assertion or symbol of rank or wealth was 
 
 avoided, contrast strangely with the luxury and show of 
 
 nearly all great houses of the present day. On the other 
 
 hand, the deference, unexpressed, but felt and tacitly shown, 
 
 which formed the basis of this life, is now unknown. Lord 
 
 Aberdeen's daughter-in-law, the present Countess Dowager, 
 
 writes thus of those days 
 
 There was a formality and stiffness which even then struck 
 most strangers, and would now do so still more, and which gave 
 rather the impression of a little court with a somewhat rigid 
 etiquette. The admirals ^ read their papers in the anteroom, 
 the younger ones talked in an undertone in a corner, while the 
 rest of us either conversed inaudibly, or waited in silence for his 
 lordship to begin before we spoke to him. 
 
 ' Lord Aberdeen's brothers. 
 
194 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 ' His lordship ' : — the very fact that even in familiar 
 intercourse he was never spoken of by any other name by 
 those who loved him best, itself shows something of this 
 formality. Even at the time, that stiffness was felt to be a 
 * survival ; ' and it was often said by the younger members of 
 the family, that it only needed the guard of halberdiers to 
 make the formal Sunday walk an exact counterpart of the 
 Due de Sully's solemn family promenades. 
 
 But though Lord Aberdeen spent so large a portion of 
 his time each year in strict retirement at Haddo, and took 
 no very active part in public life when in London, he now 
 held a position in the State which made entire abstinence 
 from political action on his part, even when at home, 
 impossible. Almost immediately after his resignation he 
 was induced to preside at a meeting of the Agricultural 
 Society of the four north-eastern counties of Scotland. In 
 spite of his Free Trade views, the personal respect felt for him, 
 and his position, ensured him a hearty welcome from the 
 assembled lairds and farmers, strong Protectionists though 
 the great majority of them were ; and he took advantage of 
 the opportunity to deliver to them an uncompromising 
 Free Trade speech, which was well received. 
 
 On all domestic questions he gave a steady support to 
 the Government of Lord John Russell, but he entertained, 
 and frequently expressed, the strongest disapproval of the 
 policy which, under the guidance of Lord Palmerston, 
 that Government pursued in its dealings with foreign 
 affairs. 
 
 I have in another chapter told the true story of the 
 famous Spanish marriages, which were arranged within three 
 months of Lord Aberdeen quitting the Foreign Office. He 
 did not at the time know how widely Lord Palmerston had 
 departed from the course which he had himself taken with 
 
SPANISH MARRIAGES f95 
 
 reference to that matter, and did not believe that any such 
 departure had taken place. But though he considered the 
 French Government to have acted hastily and unjustifiably, 
 he entertained not the slightest doubt of its good faith, and 
 was above all things desirous, that the action of the two 
 Governments in concert, which had been attended with such 
 numerous advantages, should not be interrupted. In reply 
 to denunciations of the King and his Minister which Lord 
 Aberdeen received from Prince Albert, he wrote : 
 
 I will venture to observe that a good understanding with 
 France is just as necessary now as it was at the moment when 
 the entente was most cordial and intimate. This marriage is 
 not an adequate cause of national quarrel, and whatever may 
 be the private and personal feelings necessarily produced by 
 what has taken place, I am satisfied that the Queen is too 
 magnanimous to give way to undue resentment, and too wise 
 to desire to deviate from a policy of forbearance and peace. 
 
 And, the Prince having resumed the subject in a subse- 
 quent letter. Lord Aberdeen replied : 
 
 The marriage of the Due de Montpensier is really an affair 
 of little importance to England, and it is an event with which 
 in itself we have no right to quarrel. It derives its present 
 objectionable character entirely from the breach of the engage- 
 ment at Eu, which for my own part, and for the sake of both 
 countries, I heartily wish had never been entered into at all. 
 As matters now stand, the entente as it formerly existed must be 
 at an end. The Queen has expressed her feelings upon the 
 whole transaction in a manner the most dignified and convincing ; 
 and I only venture to hope that these feelings of displeasure 
 will never degenerate into active hostility. 
 
 He wrote in the same tone to Peel, to Sir James Graham, 
 and to Guizot himself, and, when he heard that there was 
 an intention to protest against the marriage of the Due de 
 Montpensier as a violation of the Treaty of Utrecht, he 
 exerted himself to show very fully the unreasonableness of 
 such a course. He had no difficulty in shivering to pieces 
 the argument on which the protest was founded, and I much 
 
196 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 regret that space does not permit me to give some quotations 
 from writings which are admirable examples of close rea- 
 soning and conclusive argument. Their main points were 
 afterwards published in an article in the ' Quarterly 
 Review.' 
 
 The French Revolution of 1848 of course profoundly 
 affected Lord Aberdeen. M. Guizot and his family were, 
 on reaching England, pressed to take up their abode at 
 Argyll House, but for many reasons M. Guizot preferred to 
 establish himself in a house of his own at Brompton. He, 
 however, saw Lord Aberdeen almost every day, and their 
 friendship became more than ever close and intimate. 
 
 During the next two sessions Lord Aberdeen continued 
 to protest against the policy of Lord Palmerston, which 
 reached its culminating point in the discreditable bullying 
 to which, in 1850, the Greek Government was subjected on 
 account of the claims of Don Pacifico. We now know that 
 Lord John Russell and a majority of the Cabinet did not 
 entertain any very different opinion of Lord Palmerston's 
 policy from that held by Lord Aberdeen. It was unfortunate 
 that no inkling of the resolution at which Lord John Russell 
 had arrived, to deprive Lord Palmerston of the seals of 
 the Foreign Office, had reached Sir Robert Peel and Lord 
 Aberdeen. Had it done so, the famous Pacifico debate, 
 which forced Lord John to undertake the defence of a 
 colleague he had already determined to dismiss, and gave 
 Lord Palmerston more than another year of office, would 
 never have been raised ; whilst on the retirement of Lord 
 Palmerston the union of the friends of Sir Robert Peel with 
 the great bulk of the Liberal party would have been effected 
 earlier than it actually was, and without the friction to which 
 by that time their relations had been subjected. Such an 
 union, in 1850, would almost certainly have saved Lord 
 
DEATH OF PEEL 197 
 
 John from the great error of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, 
 and might not improbably have averted the Crimean War. 
 
 The needful knowledge was, however, wanting ; and even 
 Sir Robert Peel, friendly as were his feelings to the Govern- 
 ment, and greatly as he dreaded its overthrow, felt com- 
 pelled, even at this risk, to denounce a policy which he 
 regarded as not only indefensible but dangerous. But the 
 Civis Romanus sum argument was popular with the House 
 of Commons and the public. Beaten by a large majority 
 in the House of Lords, the Government obtained a more 
 than compensating majority in the House of Commons, 
 and Lord Palmerston became for a time its most popular 
 member. 
 
 In the afternoon of the day on which this vote was 
 given. Sir Robert Peel met with the accident which in a few 
 days caused his death. 
 
 The shock felt by Lord Aberdeen at the loss of his 
 perhaps closest friend was very great, and all the greater 
 from the mask of coldness which he so successfully assumed, 
 as to hide from all but those few who knew him best the 
 depth to which he was affected. The day before Sir Robert 
 Peel died Lord Aberdeen was at Blackheath. He stood 
 on the rug and spoke of indifferent matters. ' Why does 
 grandpapa stand so very still to-day ? ' asked the children. 
 Their mother well knew, and was not surprised to hear that 
 at night he was attacked by violent spasms, the physical 
 reaction of the effort to suppress all outward emotion. 
 
 The death of Sir Robert Peel forced upon Lord Aber- 
 deen a prominence which he would gladly have avoided. 
 He became, by the spontaneous action of every member of 
 what was called the Peelite party, its recognised leader and 
 head. That this party, small though it was, owed its con- 
 tinued existence to the bonds of similarity of opinion and 
 
198 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 principle, and not to the mere accident of personal con- 
 nection, was curiously proved in the winter of the same 
 year, when, without any previous communication or know- 
 ledge of each other's sentiments, Lord Aberdeen, Sir James 
 Graham, the Duke of Newcastle, Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. 
 Sidney Herbert, each came independently to the conclusion 
 that the line taken by Lord John Russell in meeting what 
 was called Papal aggression, and in which he was supported 
 by the vast majority of the nation, was one inconsistent 
 with the true principles of religious liberty, and must be 
 firmly opposed, at whatever sacrifice of popularity, and at 
 the cost of a breach with a Government with which they 
 were, on the whole, in sympathy. 
 
 The Ecclesiastical Titles Act of 1851 has since been 
 repealed, it may be said by acclamation. It is now 
 generally admitted that the popular frenzy on the subject 
 was a delusion, and Lord John's encouragement of it a 
 grave error. Bat at the time the few who ventured to 
 refuse to echo the popular cry became the objects of 
 general obloquy and suspicion, and it required no small 
 degree of courage openly to oppose a measure called for by 
 the yells of frantic meetings from one end of Great Britain 
 to the other. Lord Aberdeen, at all events, showed the sin- 
 cerity and depth of his convictions. They were known to 
 members of his family, and to his -most intimate friends, 
 but he had not publicly declared them, nor were they 
 generally suspected, when, early in 185 1, Lord John Russell 
 sought his assistance, and that of Sir James Graham, in the 
 construction of a new Government, in which Lord Palmer- 
 ston was not to be included. The temptation was great, 
 and the termination of the isolation of the Peel party would 
 have been a great public gain; but both Lord Aberdeen and 
 Sir James Graham at once declared negotiation impossible, 
 
LORD ABERDEEN DECLINES OFFICE 1 99 
 
 unless Lord John would withdraw the Ecclesiastical Titles 
 Bill. To this Lord John would not, and indeed, after the 
 pledges he had given, could not, consent, though he agreed 
 to withdraw and abandon all its clauses but the first, and 
 for a moment this appeared to afford room for agreement. 
 But Lord Aberdeen, though willing to assent to a declaration 
 repudiating the arrogance and offensiveness of the Pope's 
 mode of action, was resolute in his refusal to agree to any 
 penal enactment, and concert being impossible, the nego- 
 tiation fell to the ground. The Queen then wished Lord 
 Aberdeen himself to undertake the formation of a Cabinet, 
 but, fully recognising the determination of the people to pass 
 the measure of which he conscientiously disapproved, he 
 declined to attempt a task which must necessarily prove 
 futile. Lord Russell afterwards acknowledged that Lord 
 Aberdeen was right, and has expressed regret that he did 
 not adopt his suggestion to proceed by resolution ; * but at 
 the time he thought otherwise, and resumed office with the 
 same Cabinet as before his defeat. Lord Aberdeen gave to 
 Madame de Lieven the following account of the transaction : 
 
 After the resignation of Lord John and his whole Cabinet 
 on Saturday morning, the Queen sent for Stanley, who told 
 her that he was not prepared at that moment to undertake the 
 formation of a Government ; but that if other combinations 
 were attempted and should fail, he would then endeavour to 
 perform the task rather than leave the Queen without a 
 Government. 
 
 The Queen sent for Lord John again, and also for me, and 
 Graham. We met at the Palace, and after a long interview 
 it was decided that Lord John should try to form a Govern- 
 ment by a junction with Peel's friends and the best of his o\vn. 
 The next day, however, convinced Graham and me that we 
 could not conscientiously agree to the ' No Popery ' measure 
 which Lord John proposed, and which Parliament appeared to 
 
 ' * The course suggested by Lord Aberdeen would have been as 
 effectual, and less offensive, than that which I adopted.' — Lord Russell's 
 
200 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 sanction. The negotiation was in consequence brought at once 
 to an end, and Lord John resigned his commission. 
 
 The Queen then sent for me, and wished me to undertake 
 the formation of the Government. You will readily believe 
 that I was not sorry to have such a reason for declining to do 
 so as was afforded me by the relation in which I stood to the 
 Popery question, and the certainty of defeat in the House of 
 Commons upon it. The next morning the Queen sent for 
 Stanley again, and he is now engaged to form a Govern- 
 ment. His prospect of success is gloomy enough. Canning 
 has refused the Foreign Office, and Gladstone has declined to 
 enter his Cabinet. Whether he will persevere, and endeavour 
 to produce something like an Administration, or give up the 
 attempt altogether, I really cannot say. Ridicule will attend 
 him in either case. 
 
 And to his youngest son he wrote : 
 
 I might have been Prime Minister at this moment had it 
 not been for my resistance to the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. 
 Without doubt this is a most unpopular ground ; but I feel 
 quite satisfied that I am right. Stanley came to me direct 
 from the Queen, and endeavoured to persuade me to be her 
 Foreign Secretary. He went from me to Canning, with the 
 same proposal. Having failed with him and Gladstone, he 
 never had a chance of forming a Government. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen said that, when he explained in the 
 House of Lords the reasons which had led him to decline 
 to effect a junction with Lord John, or to form an adminis- 
 tration himself, he saw surprise depicted upon the counte- 
 nances of his hearers. His was the first public protest 
 against the folly and injustice of the contemplated legislation, 
 and he became the leader of resistance to it. On him, 
 consequently, fell the chief burden of opposing it in the 
 House of Lords. 
 
 The minority which had resisted the passage of the Bill 
 in the House of Commons had been small, but it will 
 now readily be admitted that the victory in argument rested 
 with it. Few speeches of Mr. Gladstone have been finer 
 than that which he made on this occasion, and that of Sir 
 James Graham is a masterpiece of powerful reasoning. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL TITLES BILL 20I 
 
 Lord Aberdeen headed a yet smaller minority in the 
 House of Lords. In the speech in which he opposed the 
 second reading he showed how little the act complained of 
 had in it of an objectionable nature, and that, though done 
 in a foolish and offensive manner, against which protest might 
 well be made, it afforded no ground for penal legislation. 
 The Pope had converted vicars apostolic in England into 
 diocesan bishops, such as already existed in Ireland — a 
 change which had been long contemplated, which had 
 been thought desirable, and which in 1794 it had been 
 sought to effect at the desire of the British Government, and 
 as a concession to its wishes. The prohibition contained in 
 the Roman Catholic Relief Bill to take the title of any exist- 
 ing bishopric in England or Ireland (broken with impunity 
 in the latter country from the time of the passing of the Act) 
 had in this case been scrupulously respected ; and the desig- 
 nations of the new bishops were such as, under the pro- 
 visions of that Act, they might fairly consider themselves 
 entitled to assume. He pointed out the close parallel 
 between the position of the bishops of the Episcopal 
 Church of Scotland and that of the Roman Catholic 
 bishops in England, and showed the folly of supposing 
 that any object was gained by prohibiting the use of names 
 which had no legal significance. He dwelt on the futility 
 of meeting the Pope's insolence by punishing, not the 
 offender, but the innocent English Roman Catholics ; and 
 he was able to taunt Lord John with inconsistency, and to 
 expose the persecuting spirit which lurked under the clauses 
 of the Bill. The protest which he recorded against the 
 passage of the Bill obtained but twelve signatures, but 
 there is hardly an article in it which would not now com- 
 mand universal assent. It objected to the measure as 
 inconsistent with either justice or expediency ; as mainly 
 
202 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 dictated by prevalent excitement, which it was the duty of 
 the Government and the Legislature rather to allay than 
 to encourage ; and as inconsistent with full toleration to 
 the Roman Catholic religion, in prohibiting that species 
 of communication with the See of Rome which was indis- 
 pensable for its perfect discipline and government. It urged 
 further, that the restraints imposed involved the principle, 
 and might involve the practice, of religious persecution ; 
 and it asserted that the ancient statutes against the exercise 
 of a foreign jurisdiction, which it was sought to revive, 
 being equally directed against all exercise of jurisdiction, 
 whether by diocesan bishops or by vicars apostolic, were 
 incompatible with our recognised principles of toleration and 
 religious freedom. 
 
 At the end of the session Lord Aberdeen left London 
 one of the most unpopular men in Great Britain. That he 
 would in little more than twelve months be summoned, 
 with general assent, to assume the post of Prime Minister 
 would at that time have seemed a wildly improbable pre- 
 diction. He himself was under the full belief that, by the 
 attitude he had assumed, he had excluded himself from 
 office for the remainder of his life. This was, however, to 
 him no great sacrifice, nor did he feel very uneasy at the 
 invectives heaped on him for his defence of what he felt to 
 be a just cause. 
 
 I see (he wrote to his youngest son) that I have been un- 
 mercifully abused at a Free Church meeting at Edinburgh, 
 especially by Dr. Candlish. This was to be expected, and 
 cannot be helped ; but the exhibition of rancour, bigotry, and 
 intolerance was deplorable. 
 
 He was more concerned by what seemed to him the 
 misrepresentation of his arguments by other speakers in 
 the House of Lords. The Duke of Argyll having heard 
 that Lord Aberdeen considered him to have stated them 
 
MR. GLADSTONE'S NEAPOLITAN LETTERS 203 
 
 unfairly, wrote to him to invite a discussion of the unfair- 
 ness alleged. Lord Aberdeen declined the controversy. 
 He was, he said, an old man retiring from the field of 
 public life : the Duke a young one, to whom its contests 
 were opening, and who would probably obtain in them great 
 distinction. He had no wish to diminish the satisfaction 
 he should feel in those successes by entering upon a 
 personal conflict with him, nor did he consider the defence 
 of his own position of sufficient consequence to lead him 
 to abandon his fixed resolution to avoid any polemical 
 correspondence with a friend. This letter made a great 
 impression on the Duke, who thenceforth did to Lord 
 Aberdeen's character a justice which it had not before re- 
 ceived from him. 
 
 To this year 1851 belongs the somewhat curious episode 
 of the publication of Mr. Gladstone's letters respecting 
 the condition of political prisoners at Naples. When Mr. 
 Gladstone returned to England after his visit to Naples, 
 he went to Lord Aberdeen, full of the impressions which 
 he had received, and declared his intention to bring the 
 subject before Parliament and the public. Lord Aberdeen 
 dissuaded him from so doing until he had himself used his 
 influence to put an end to the cruelties of which the 
 Neapolitan Government was accused. This Lord Aberdeen 
 promised to do, provided Mr. Gladstone remained silent ; 
 for, as he pointed out, silence was essential to allow any 
 chance of success to his intervention, or any mitigation of 
 the prisoners' treatment. He accordingly requested Mr. 
 Gladstone to write a full statement of the case, in which he 
 should be careful to say nothing which did not admit of 
 positive proof, and which might be used by Lord Aberdeen 
 as he might find expedient. Mr. Gladstone's first letter was 
 written in compliance with this request. 
 
204 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Lord Aberdeen then wrote to Prince Schwarzenberg) 
 and enclosed Mr. Gladstone's letter : 
 
 I told him (he wrote afterwards to Princess Lieven) that, 
 Avithout myself being able to answer for its truth, my knowledge 
 of Gladstone's character made me certain that it was written 
 by him under full conviction of its accuracy. I drew the 
 Prince's attention to the evil consequences which must follow 
 from such accusations made by a person like Gladstone ; and 
 I entreated him to look at the case in the interest of order and 
 monarchical government of which he had himself been so zealous 
 and so successful a supporter. As an old friend of the Austrian 
 Government, I ventured to request him, if he should find Glad- 
 stone's accusation well founded, to employ his influence at 
 Naples with the view of effecting some improvement. Such 
 a proceeding could only be creditable to Austria, and advan- 
 tageous to the cause which he had at heart. ... 
 
 In the meantime, however, Gladstone began to grow im- 
 patient. I did not hear from Prince Schwarzenberg, and he 
 concluded that no attention would be paid to my letter. I had 
 written in May, and we were in the month of July ; he pro- 
 posed, therefore, to publish without further delay. I remon- 
 strated against this, and told him it would place me in a very 
 false position with respect to Prince Schwarzenberg. I thought 
 he was bound to wait for the Prince's answer, and if that was 
 unfavourable, he might then do as he pleased. I got him to 
 delay another fortnight ; but at last, in spite of my remon- 
 strances, he sent his letter to the press. Two days after the 
 publication, Count Buol arrived, bringing me a long letter from 
 Prince Schwarzenberg, in which, after discussing at length the 
 condition and claims of political offenders, he says that, had 
 any official application been made to him, he should have felt 
 it his duty to decline all interference ; but that he would confi- 
 dentially and privately take measures to comply with my wishes ; 
 and this he was the better able to do, as I had been the means 
 of suspending Gladstone's appeal to the public. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote again to Prince Schwarzenberg, and 
 begged him to recollect that the facts of the case and the 
 dictates' of sound policy and humanity remained the same. 
 But the mischief was done. Prince Schwarzenberg had 
 been deprived of his most efficient means of acting, and it 
 had been made infinitely more difficult for the King of 
 Naples to alleviate the condition of the political prisoners, 
 even if inclined to do so. 
 
THE NEAPOLITAN PRISONERS 205 
 
 Lord Aberdeen undoubtedly felt that in first resorting to 
 his intervention, and then acting without waiting till he was 
 satisfied that such intervention had failed, Mr. Gladstone had 
 treated him inconsiderately ; but with his usual magnanimity 
 he refrained from the expression of displeasure. ' I have 
 certainly,' he wrote, 'much reason to complain of Glad- 
 stone ; but he is so honest and so perfectly sincere, and we 
 are both personally and politically connected so closely, that 
 although I have not concealed my feelings from him, it is 
 impossible for me to entertain any resentment.' Mean- 
 while, he wrote a letter to the Neapolitan minister, which 
 he requested might be laid before the King himself, point- 
 ing out that Mr. Gladstone's publication, though it might 
 make clemency more difficult, by giving to it an aspect of 
 submission to external force, did not in any way alter the 
 alleged horrors of the imprisonment, or make the claims of 
 humanity less imperative. He repeated the same language 
 to the King's brother, the Count of Aquila, the following 
 spring, in a letter also written for submission to the King. 
 But he wrote in vain. The concession which had been 
 made by the Neapolitan Government to Prince Schwarzen- 
 berg was not repeated, now that the matter had become 
 public. The publication of Mr. Gladstone's letters, in 
 the long run, assisted the cause of revolution in Italy, 
 by rendering English opinion hostile to the King. Its 
 immediate effect was to prolong the sufferings of Poerio aud 
 his companions. 
 
 The dismissal of Lord Palmerston from the Foreign 
 Office, in December 1851, removed almost all practical dif- 
 ference between Lord Aberdeen and Lord John Russell, 
 and it was not without some regret that Lord Aberdeen 
 saw his friends refuse office, when it was offered to them at 
 the beginning of 1852, — a regret tempered by the reflection 
 
206 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 that the Russell Cabinet, however it might be patched up, had 
 become too weak to stand, and that an interval of Conser- 
 vative administration was probably necessary to secure the 
 abandonment by that party of the doctrines of Protection, 
 as well as to bring about a general reorganisation of political 
 forces. In February, on the reassembling of Parliament, 
 Lord Palmerston had his revenge, and carried a motion with 
 respect to the Militia which compelled Lord John Russell 
 to resign. Lord Derby succeeded him as Prime Minister, 
 and the alliance of Lord Aberdeen and his friends now 
 became an object of desire both to the new Government 
 and to the leaders of the Opposition. Lord Derby's 
 Cabinet was almost avowedly provisional. It contained 
 an unusual proportion of mediocrities and untried men, 
 and it was known that its head was ready to purchase 
 Peelite support by a large modification of its composition. 
 Lord Aberdeen's position was a peculiar one. In opinion 
 he far more nearly agreed with Lord John Russell and 
 his friends than with the supporters of Lord Derby ; but 
 he had for his whole political lifetime been opposed 
 to the Whig party, and whatever cordiality might exist 
 between its leaders and himself, it was impossible that 
 the mass of that party could view an old opponent with 
 confidence, or that he should not himself regard them 
 with some suspicion. On the other hand, he had been 
 accustomed for many years to act in concert with Lord 
 Derby, and his relations of private friendship with most 
 of the leading members of the Conservative party were 
 such as it was not easy for him to break. Provided, 
 therefore, that Lord Derby frankly renounced Protection, 
 abstained from coquetting with the ' No Popery ' cry, and 
 pursued a conciliatory and rational foreign policy. Lord 
 Aberdeen would probably have preferred to see him main- 
 
DISSOLUTION OF 1 852 207 
 
 tained in office, and at a proper time would have come to his 
 help. This was certainly the decided wish of Mr. Gladstone 
 and of Sidney Herbert. Sir James Graham's inclinations 
 were in an opposite direction. The Duke of Newcastle 
 distrusted and disliked Lord Derby and Lord John in 
 nearly equal measure. As, however, the period for the dis- 
 solution of Parliament approached, it became more and more 
 evident that the conditions on which alone Lord Aber- 
 deen could give decided support to the Derby Govern- 
 ment would not be fulfilled. Lord Derby was going to the 
 country on a mingled cry of Protection and Protestant 
 ascendency, while the extravagant friendship shown by his 
 Foreign Secretary for the author of the coup d'etat was 
 not at all to Lord Aberdeen's taste. At the same time, 
 Lord Aberdeen cherished a hope that the results of the 
 election might be such as would induce Lord Derby to 
 adopt sounder views, and he was therefore still reluctant 
 to commit himself to any step of decided hostility to the 
 Government. 
 
 The dissolution came. Lord Derby made no overture 
 to the Peelites. Lord John Russell, more restless, on 
 July 2nd, wrote to Lord Aberdeen for the purpose of re- 
 pudiating any association with the sentiments which Lord 
 Palmerston had expressed in the House of Commons as 
 to the future of Italy. In so doing, he was well aware 
 that he removed one of the chief obstacles to intimate co- 
 operation. A month later, he again wrote to suggest concert 
 with a view to the adoption of combined action at the com- 
 mencement of the ensuing session, to secure the supremacy 
 of Free Trade principles, which might or might not afterwards 
 be followed by closer union. This letter, and the answer 
 to it, have been printed by Mr. Walpole in his Life of Lord 
 John Russell. But in order justly to appreciate the patience 
 
2o8 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 and moderation of Lord Aberdeen, or the weight of his 
 personal influence, it is necessary to read, not only these 
 two letters, or such selected extracts from others as are con- 
 tained in Mr. Walpole's book, but the whole correspondence 
 carried on during the summer of 1852 by Lord Aberdeen with 
 Lord John himself, and with Sir James Graham, Mr. Glad- 
 stone, the Duke of Newcastle, and Sidney Herbert. It is im- 
 possible, within the limits of such a volume as this, to quote 
 these letters fully, or even to make a large use of extracts 
 from them. Yet without doing so it is equally impossible 
 really to understand the difficulties with which Lord Aber- 
 deen had to contend in promoting the work of reconciliation, 
 or the patient dignity with which those difficulties were 
 overcome by him. Mr. Gladstone was most reluctant to 
 take any step which might lead towards the absorption of 
 the Peelites into the Liberal party. He considered that 
 Lord Aberdeen and his friends would do that party but 
 little good by such a measure ; much less than they might 
 hope to do to the Conservative party by — 'not taking, 
 but keeping' — the place they already occupied on the 
 Liberal wing of it ; and that they ought not to leave 
 men from whom they differed, only to join other men 
 from whom also they differed. While not indisposed to 
 censure the Government, he was most anxious not to break 
 with those by whom that Government was supported, 
 regarding, as he did, the intelligent and sober-minded among 
 them as the best and most valuable raw material of 
 political party in the country. Partly for the very reason 
 that he did not think over well of the Government, he was 
 unwilling that it should leave office with three hundred men 
 behind it, including almost every person with whom he had 
 been accustomed to vote, to be contemplated by him on 
 the Opposition benches from the other side of the House. 
 
PEELITE VIEWS 209 
 
 And, on the whole, he considered that the country had 
 benefited by the change of Government. The Colonies 
 were better governed ; Lord Derby had no schemes for 
 moulding the Church to his own views in religion, and he 
 would not alter the Constitution. Mr. Gladstone's objec- 
 tions to any further reform of Parliament were in them- 
 selves enough to forbid union with Lord John and those 
 who were in a manner pledged to it. 
 
 The Duke of Newcastle, on the contrary, was prepared 
 for union with the Liberal party, but not to accept Lord 
 John Russell as its chief. Sir James Graham, again, 
 though preferring Lord Aberdeen as the head of a new 
 Cabinet, was not personally unwilling to see Lord John 
 again Prime Minister ; but he was aware that Lord 
 Palmerston, the Peelites generally, the Irish members, and 
 a large section of the Whigs themselves, would not consent 
 to it, and therefore considered his accession to office at 
 that time impossible. On the other hand, there was a 
 section of Lord John's friends who dreamed of the re- 
 storation of an exclusive Government of pure Whigs, of 
 which the Peelites were to be the humble followers. 
 That was a dream of the past. Such exclusive combina- 
 tions had now become impossible. It was even then the 
 dream of but few, but the influence of those few with Lord 
 John was altogether disproportionate to their numbers. 
 
 In the midst of these conflicting views, passions, pre- 
 judices, and jealousies. Lord Aberdeen sate calm and 
 unruffled, combining, as no other man could have done, 
 what there was of agreement between the different shades 
 of opinion, and minimising the occasions of difference. To 
 Lord John he could say : 
 
 I am sorry you should have felt some displeasure at Glad- 
 stone's remarks, although I cannot say it is surprising that you 
 should have done so ; but you must forgive him for repeating 
 
 P 
 
210 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 sentiments which we have, all of us, been in the habit of con- 
 stantly expressing for years. I have never known much party 
 bitterness myself, and, so far as I am concerned, these feelings 
 have long ceased to exist. 
 
 Lenit albescens animos capillus. 
 
 I doubt not that you have yourself sometimes attributed motives 
 to Tory opponents which further experience has taught you to 
 abandon. Gladstone possesses so much that is excellent and 
 amiable in character, that you may be fully persuaded, if it 
 should ever be your fate to act together, you will find in him 
 nothing but frankness and cordiality. 
 
 With the Duke of Newcastle he thus expostulated : 
 
 You must allow me, my dear Duke, very strongly to recom- 
 mend to you a disposition to put the most charitable con- 
 struction upon all things. If we are to act at all with Lord 
 John, it is clear that, to do so to any good purpose, it must be 
 upon a footing of mutual confidence and respect. He may have 
 many failings, as we all have ; but if I did not think him essen- 
 tially honourable and true, there could be no cordiality between 
 us, and therefore no common action. 
 
 To Mr. Gladstone he wrote from Buchan Ness : 
 
 I will not delay to write to you, although I must say that 
 when I see and admire the various forms and colours of my 
 granite cliffs, and when I recollect, and feel, the motto which 
 I have inscribed over the door of my house,^ I almost wonder 
 that I should encounter subjects so little calculated to give 
 pleasure. Long habit, the desire of association with friends, 
 and perhaps in some small degree a sense of duty, must account 
 for it. I confess that after the events of the last six years I 
 should look with no common satisfaction on the formation of 
 a Government mainly under the auspices of Peel's friends. I 
 still think that Lord John, from his station and past life, is the 
 fittest person to be at the head of any Liberal Government ; but 
 he appears by common consent to be out of the question at this 
 time. Can Peel's friends supply his place? If high character 
 and ability only were required, you would be the person ; but I 
 am aware that, at present at least, this would not be practicable. 
 Whether it would be possible for Newcastle or me to undertake 
 the concern I cannot say ; but I am sure that it must be essen- 
 tially with Liberal support, and with little chance of accessions 
 from the Protectionist camp. ... I am not afraid of the effects 
 of reform, and I have no doubt the abuses are sufficiently great 
 to justify those who seek for change. But I much doubt the 
 
 ' Frociil negotiis beatus. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH SIR JAMES GRAHAM 211 
 
 probability of any great improvement. Influence, intimidation, 
 and corruption are inseparable from any representative system, 
 and, with all our professions, the English are as venal as any 
 people in Europe. 
 
 On the other hand, he told Sir James Graham that he 
 
 had, in his opinion, gone too far in unreserved adhesion to 
 
 Lord John : 
 
 I have a great respect for Lord John, and should very much 
 desire to see him at the head of a Government surrounded by 
 a portion of Peel's friends. Both he and they are already 
 informed of this desire on my part ; but if insuperable obstacles 
 arise in the way of its completion, I am not desirous, as an 
 alternative, of seeing him at the head of a Whig Radical 
 Government. I am not deficient in Liberal views either at 
 home or abroad, but I cannot altogether renounce my Conser- 
 vative character. 
 
 Sir James Graham, in reply, assured Lord Aberdeen 
 that the only person to whom he fixedly adhered was him- 
 self ; and at a later date, when returning the correspondence 
 after having perused it in a collected form, said : 
 
 I cannot say that I have read it with pleasure, except the 
 part which is your own. You have exhausted every endeavour 
 to soothe irritation and to accommodate differences, but I fear 
 that your success falls short of the scope and merit of your 
 exertions. In truth, if there be a disposition to find fault, and 
 not to forget injuries, the transactions of the last twenty years 
 afford ample ground for accusation and resentment on both sides ; 
 and nothing but a strong sense of public duty, combined with a 
 forgiving temper and hearty goodwill, can extinguish jealousies 
 and enmities such as the strife of party is apt to engender. 
 
 When Parliament met, a practical accord had been 
 established between the Peelites and Whigs for Opposition 
 purposes, though it was still doubtful whether it was of such a 
 nature as would suffice to justify official co-operation. While 
 Mr. Gladstone was bent on the accomplishment of the 
 impossible task of separating the Conservative party from 
 the Conservative Government, Lord John and his friends 
 naturally regarded any such aspirations with jealousy ; as their 
 success would have entirely altered the balance of strength 
 
212 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 in the probably impending coalition, and would have rendered 
 it one in which the Conservative element would be domi- 
 nant, instead of one which would practically consist of the 
 old Liberal party with the addition of a few Conservative 
 elements. 
 
 The Government escaped defeat at the opening of the 
 session by accepting the Free Trade legislation which it 
 had hitherto been the avowed aim of the Protectionist 
 party to reverse ; but it was clear that their escape was but 
 for the moment, and that defeat on the Budget pro- 
 posed by Mr. Disraeli was not improbable. In these cir- 
 cumstances. Lord Aberdeen, Lord Lansdowne, and Lord 
 John Russell met at Woburn Abbey, and discussed the 
 situation. The result of these discussions was to convince, 
 at all events, their host that, in the event of the overthrow of 
 the existing Government, the only arrangement which could 
 be made with any chance of permanent stability would be 
 that Lord Aberdeen should head the new Cabinet, and that 
 Lord John should act as leader of the House of Commons. 
 
 On the morning of Friday, December 17th, the Govern- 
 ment was defeated by a majority of nineteen. Lord Derby 
 resigned that afternoon, and the same night the Queen 
 sent for Lord Aberdeen and Lord Lansdowne to attend 
 her on the following morning. Lord Lansdowne was too 
 unwell to undertake a journey, and the summons being 
 addressed to them jointly, Lord Aberdeen declined to 
 go to Osborne alone, unless specially commanded to do 
 so. Meanwhile he had a full discussion with Lord Lans- 
 downe on the situation of affairs, and on leaving him went 
 to Sir James Graham, who strongly urged the impolicy of 
 his accepting any joint commission. Any offer made by 
 him to Lord John, if spontaneous, would be a pledge both 
 of Lord Aberdeen's personal regard and of his Liberal policy. 
 
LORD ABERDEEN AND LORD JOHN RUSSELL 21 3 
 
 Mere submission to the will of the Queen on his part 
 would be regarded by Lord John as a proof of royal favour 
 rather than of his personal regard, and they would start 
 as co-equals if not as rivals. Lord Aberdeen assented to 
 Sir James Graham's reasoning, and assured him that he 
 could only accept undivided authority. 
 
 While returning home on foot, across Hyde Park, from 
 Sir James Graham's house in Grosvenor Place, Lord Aber- 
 deen met Lord John Russell, and they took a walk together in 
 the park. Lord Aberdeen told Lord John of his visit to 
 Lord Lansdowne, and of his intention to proceed to Osborne 
 alone the next day, if summoned, Lord John had that 
 morning received a letter from his brother the Duke of 
 Bedford, by whose advice he was often guided, to the effect 
 that political and party differences could be best solved by 
 Lord Aberdeen consenting to be placed at the head of 
 the new Government, and Lord John leading the House 
 of Commons. The Duke wrote in similar terms to Lord 
 Aberdeen himself, adding : 
 
 I need not trouble you with the reasons that have forced 
 this conclusion upon me, but I am quite satisfied that no other 
 arrangement would give us any chance of a strong and lasting 
 Government. I trust, therefore, your sense of public duty Avill 
 induce you to accept the task. 
 
 Influenced probably by his brother's letter, Lord John 
 authorised Lord Aberdeen to inform the Queen that he 
 was willing, should it be Her Majesty's pleasure, to accept 
 the seals of the Foreign Office, and conduct the Govern- 
 ment business in the House of Commons. Lord Aberdeen 
 praised the generosity of the offer, and closed with it on the 
 spot. Strengthened by it, he proceeded the next morning 
 to Osborne. He told the Queen fairly that Lord Lans- 
 downe, had he been able to attend the Queen's summons 
 would have advised her to associate Lord John with Lord 
 
214 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Aberdeen in the commission to form a Government, but he 
 added, that he must also inform Her Majesty that he must 
 have declined any such divided authority, for the emergency 
 required her concentrated confidence and entire sanction. 
 The Queen and Prince at once adopted the view taken by 
 Lord Aberdeen, and before he left the closet he kissed the 
 Queen's hand as her First Minister. On returning to town 
 in the evening he went at once to Lord John Russell, and 
 proceeded to discuss with him the formation of the new 
 Cabinet. The following morning, however. Lord Aberdeen 
 received a note from Lord John, stating that a night's 
 reflection had convinced him that he was ' not equal to the 
 work of the Foreign Office, with the lead of the House 
 of Commons,' and intimating an inclination to take the 
 Home Office. This letter was speedily followed by the 
 appearance at Argyll House of Lord John himself ; and it 
 then became apparent that, although apprehension of the 
 fatigue of the Foreign Office was really felt by him, he 
 was more largely influenced by apprehension of the effect 
 likely to be produced on his political friends by his 
 acceptance of any office whatsoever : an apprehension 
 which led him not only to retract his offer to take the 
 Foreign Office, but also to refuse to form any part of the 
 new Administration ; to which, however, he offered his 
 support. There is reason to suppose that, down to the time 
 when he saw Lord Aberdeen after his return from Osborne 
 on Sunday night, Lord John had not communicated to any 
 one the offer which he had made, or his intention of com- 
 plying with the advice of the Duke of Bedford ; and that, 
 when those in his most intimate confidence became aware 
 of that intention, any hesitation or reluctance he may have 
 felt to take the step contemplated was so worked on as to 
 induce him to withdraw from joint action with Lord Aber- 
 
CABINET MAKING 215 
 
 deen. Lord Aberdeen's position was, of course, wholly 
 changed by this determination. To head a Government 
 dependent for its existence on the wayward support of Lord 
 John free from all the obligations of office, and necessarily 
 composed to a great extent of men who would look for 
 guidance to their old chief rather than to the actual Prime 
 Minister, as would also the majority of the supporters of the 
 new Government in the House of Commons, was to place 
 himself in a position which he at least never would consent 
 to assume ; and he at once determined, if Lord John per- 
 severed in the resolution now announced, to resign the com- 
 mission which he had undertaken during the existence of a 
 different state of things. On the following day (Tuesday, 2 ist) 
 Lord John offered to lead the House of Commons without^ 
 office, and on the evening of the 22 nd so far reverted to his 
 original proposal as to consent to accept the Foreign Office, 
 provided his tenure of that post were of short duration, 
 and he were then allowed to assume the position of Leader 
 of the House of Commons without office, which he had 
 chosen. An anxious week followed before the Administra- 
 tion was finally formed. It was, of course, impossible tha^ 
 all those who had held office under Lord John Russell two 
 years before should be included in a Government which 
 necessarily comprised members of the Peelite party, who 
 by their talents, and by the share they had taken in the 
 overthrow of Lord Derby, were marked out for Cabinet 
 office. But every disappointed Whig considered himself 
 the victim of injustice, and complained that he was ill- 
 used by Lord Aberdeen and abandoned by Lord John, 
 who was by no means allowed to repose upon a bed of 
 roses. So strong was this feeling that, after the Cabinet had 
 been formed, and all the great offices of State disposed of, 
 with Lord John's full assent, he insisted on the addition of 
 
< 
 
 2l6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Other Whig members to the Cabinet. Sir James Graham 
 
 wrote in his diary : 
 
 I discussed these matters at Argyll House with Lord Aber- 
 deen and Lord John : if we three were left alone, we could 
 easily adjust every difficulty ; it is the intervention of interested 
 parties on opposite sides which mars every settlement. ... I 
 never passed a week so unpleasantly. It was a battle for 
 places from hostile camps, and the Whigs disregarded fitness 
 for the public service altogether. They fought for their men 
 as partisans, and all other considerations as well as conse- 
 quences were disregarded. Lord Aberdeen's patience and 
 justice are exemplary ; he is firm and yet conciliatory, and has 
 ended by making an arrangement which is on the whole 
 impartial, and quite as satisfactory as circumstances would 
 admit. 
 
 The same hand thus described the new Cabinet when 
 
 formed : 
 
 It is a powerful team, but it will require good driving. 
 There are some odd tempers and queer ways among them ; 
 but on the whole they are gentlemen, and they have a perfect 
 gentleman at their head, who is honest and direct, and who 
 will not brook insincerity in others. 
 
 It is impossible to dissociate the Aberdeen Cabinet 
 from the chief event which marked its existence, — the 
 Crimean War ; and the coalition has accordingly been 
 regarded as a failure. With that war and its causes I will 
 hereafter deal. But the year of peace which preceded it 
 is well worthy of attention, and its annals show that the 
 coalition, far from being a failure, was during that period a 
 remarkable success. It would have'continued to be so, but 
 for the unfortunate differences which arose with regard to 
 foreign affairs. There has seldom been a more brilliant 
 session than that of 1853, or one which closed more 
 triumphantly for the Government of the day. The first 
 Budget of Mr. Gladstone gave it illustration, and marked 
 him out, more distinctly than had ever been the case before, 
 as the future leader of the House of Commons. That this 
 remarkable Budget was presented in an unmutilated form 
 
SESSION OF 1853 217 
 
 was due to Lord Aberdeen, whose steady support never 
 wavered, and who refused to allow a single alteration in it, 
 in spite of the alarms of many of his colleagues and hints of 
 resignation from more than one. 
 
 Discouraged by the reception of his scheme, and 
 not then possessing the self-confidence conferred by the 
 long exercise of authority, Mr. Gladstone began to doubt 
 whether he could be right, or at all events whether it would 
 be fair to his colleagues, to drag them reluctantly after him, 
 and whether he ought not therefore to modify or abandon 
 his scheme. He accordingly went to Lord Aberdeen to 
 state this doubt, and leave to him its decision. Without a 
 moment's hesitation Lord Aberdeen at once pronounced 
 that any modification would spoil the plan, and bade Mr. 
 Gladstone proceed, saying that he would make himself 
 responsible for the acceptance of the scheme by the 
 Cabinet. After this interview, Mr. Gladstone says he hesi- 
 tated no more, and felt no further doubt as to the course 
 he should pursue. 
 
 The Government of India Bill, in itself a great measure, 
 was carried virtually as proposed by the Government, which 
 indeed met with no check or rebuff during the whole session. 
 But, above all, the fusion of the PeeUtes with the general 
 body of the Liberal party was practically complete. On 
 all questions of domestic administration, save Reform, the 
 Cabinet was essentially at one, and where its members 
 differed, whether on home or foreign affairs, the line of 
 cleavage between them was not that of the parties to which 
 they had formerly belonged. The opponents of parliamen - 
 tary reform counted but one member of the Peelites among 
 their number, who on this point was in agreement with two 
 old Whigs. Nor on the great question of the negotiations 
 with Russia was the division one between those who had 
 
21 8 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 followed Sir Robert Peel and those who had followed Lord 
 v John Russell. The decided war party in the Cabinet con- 
 sisted of Lord Lansdowne, Lord Palmerston, and the Duke 
 of Newcastle. Lord John Russell's uncertain influence was 
 to be found now on the one side and now on the other. 
 But all the other members of the Cabinet, without an ex- 
 ception, not only agreed with Lord Aberdeen in desiring the 
 preservation of peace, but also as to the measures most likely 
 to preserve it. ' Remember that the silent members of the 
 Cabinet are all with you,' wrote Lord Granville, then Presi- 
 dent of the Council, in the summer of 1853, after a hot 
 discussion had taken place as to the degree of support to be 
 afforded to Turkey. When, shortly after the close of the 
 session, the acceptance by the Emperor of Russia of the Vienna 
 Note appeared to put an end to all danger to the continu- 
 ance of peace. Lord Aberdeen considered his work as done. 
 He had conducted the Government triumphantly through 
 a session of Parliament ; he had, as he fondly thought, 
 preserved peace when endangered ; he had established 
 cordial unity of action between his own friends and those of 
 Lord John ; Ireland was quiet and prosperous, and the 
 irritation caused by the Ecclesiastical Titles Bills had to a 
 great degree subsided, now that the measure was seen to be 
 totally inoperative. Lord Aberdeen therefore thought the 
 time had come when he might retire in Lord John's favour. 
 He obtained the assent, though the reluctant assent, of most 
 of his friends to this arrangement, and felt no doubt as 
 to his power ultimately to persuade those members of the 
 Cabinet most averse to the step to consent to it. He anti- 
 cipated escape in a few weeks from the fatigues of office, 
 and the satisfaction of leaving to Lord John the chief place 
 in an united Cabinet, Liberal, but yet Conservative, in its 
 principles. His hopes were destined to disappointment. 
 
219 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE CRIMEAN WAR 
 
 Prince 'lenschikofif's Mission — Count Nesselrode's Forecast of Events 
 — Alarm felt in England — The Principalities occupied by Russia 
 — The Vienna Note— Subsequent Negotiations — Battle of Sinope 
 — Declaration of War — Policy of Lord Aberdeen during the War. 
 
 I NOW enter on the saddest chapter of this story — that 
 which relates how, under the administration of the most 
 devoted lover of peace who has governed the country since 
 the Revolution, England became involved in the only 
 European war in which she has taken part for the last 
 seventy-five years. 
 
 It is, I think, impossible for any one who now calmly 
 reviews the question, to deny that Russia had fair cause for 
 complaint against the Porte, and was entitled — perhaps, 
 indeed, required by a due regard to her own honour — to 
 demand some reparation from her. Concessions had been 
 made, at the dictation of France, to the Latin clergy, which 
 were clearly irreconcilable with pledges given to Russia, and 
 the demand made by her that members of the Greek Church 
 should enjoy equal privileges with the members of other 
 Christian communities was not in itself unjust or even un- 
 reasonable. Indeed, there is good reason to believe that, 
 but for interference from without. Prince Menschikoff, who 
 had been sent to Constantinople on a special mission for the 
 purpose, would have come to a satisfactory arrangement with 
 the Porte on this subject. The history of the negotiations 
 
220 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 published by the Russian Government^ shows that Menschi- 
 koff all but accepted the provision which, as the condition of 
 their signing it, the Turks wished to insert in the convention 
 proposed by him ; and that he would have done so, had 
 he not thought the request to be, as in fact it was, the result 
 of foreign dictation. 
 
 The English Government prudently refused to comply 
 with Colonel Rose's request, that the English fleet should 
 be sent to the entrance of the Dardanelles on the arrival of 
 Prince Menschikoff 's mission at Constantinople ; but the 
 action of the French Emperor, who, without waiting for 
 English co-operation, at once despatched the Toulon fleet to 
 Smyrna, seriously complicated the situation, and by its implied 
 menace made it more difficult for the Emperor Nicholas to 
 recede from his demands, or even modify them. Into the 
 secret schemes of Louis Napoleon we cannot penetrate ; but 
 it does no injustice to his character to believe that he 
 deliberately desired a breach with Russia, which would en- 
 able him not only to win glory for the French arms in the 
 East, but to do so without exciting the ill-will of England ; 
 nay, more, which might enable him to exhibit England to 
 Europe as his ally in a war in which his armies must play a 
 far more considerable part than hers. This was the opinion 
 of Count Nesselrode. In a private letter written immediately 
 after the proclamation of the FrencTi Empire in December 
 1852, not addressed to Lord Aberdeen, but intended for his 
 perusal, he had said : 
 
 Voici, je le Grains, quel peut etre son plan et la mani^re 
 dont il raisonne. Louis Napoleon doit s'etre dit. . . . * Ce que 
 rOccident me refuse, il faut le chercher en Orient. Brouillons 
 la Russie et la Porte, en obligeant celle-ci, par mes exigences, 
 k mecontenter et insulter la premiere. Ou la Russie, par 
 eloignement pour la guerre, devorera en silence les affronts 
 
 • A Diplomatic Study of the Crimean War^ 1880. 
 
LETTER FROM COUNT NESSELRODE 221 
 
 que je forcerai les Turcs k lui faire subir, ou bien elle perdra 
 patience, et voudra en avoir raison, en prenant I'initiative de la 
 guerre. Dans le premier cas, rien de mieux, Je serai parvenu 
 h aneantir le credit de la Russie en Orient, et k mettre I'influ- 
 ence Frangaise au-dessus de toutes les autres, y compris 
 I'Angleterre. Dans le second cas, si, poussee k bout, la Russie 
 a recours k la guerre, cette guerre-la, soutenue au nom de 
 I'independance et de I'integrite de la Porte, je la ferai dans de 
 toutes autres conditions que je ne pourrais la faire en Occident. 
 II ne s'agira plus pour moi de combattre seul et sans allies 
 contre une coalition. C'est la Russie qui, k son tour, se 
 trouvera seule et sans allie's, contre tout le monde. C'est de la 
 gloire, et du bruit, k bon marche comparativement. En atten- 
 dant, mes forces principales restent sur pied en Occident. Elles 
 continuent par leur attitude k inquieter I'Autriche et la Prusse, 
 k maintenir dans ma dependance les petits Etats de I'Allemagne, 
 et de I'ltalie, et k m'assurer, sans danger serieux, la suprematie 
 politique en Europe. 
 
 * II est bien vrai que la Russie, si elle nous est inferieure sur 
 mer, conserverait contre la Turquie la libre disposition de ses 
 forces de terre. Elle peut occuper les Principautes, franchir 
 de nouveau les Balkans, soulever les populations Chretiennes 
 de son rit, entrer k Constantinople, renverser I'Empire Otto- 
 man ! Eh bien, soit, qu'elle le renverse ! Elle ne saurait tout 
 prendre ; encore moins, tout garder. Et d^s lors surgit la 
 question du partage. Maroc, Tunis, I'Egypte, la Palestine, la 
 Syrie, Candie, dans tout cela assurement je puis pretendre k 
 quelque chose. Sinon — obtenir en Europe, k titre d'indemnites 
 pour ce que j'abandonnerai a d'autres en Orient, la Belgique, 
 la Savoie, la frontiere Rhenane. II y a Ik de quoi negocier, de 
 quoi remanier de mille fagons la carte territoriale de I'Europe. 
 L'ceuvre de 1815 aura ete mise k neant. Le retablissement de 
 I'Empire n'aura pas ete un vain mot. II aura, comme il me le 
 faut pour ma gloire, et mes interets de conservation, agrandi 
 au dehors les limites et la force morale de la France.' 
 
 Convenez que si ce plan n'est pas reel il est au moins tr^s 
 plausible. Sa mise k execution nous placerait dans la plus 
 facheuse des positions : — celle de jouer forcement le jeu de 
 Louis-Napoleon ; soit que nous nous resignions k la paix, soit 
 que nous prenions les armes. 
 
 Count Nesselrode's forecast of the future was prophetic. 
 The theory put forward by him is, as he himself says, ' at 
 least plausible.' That Louis Napoleon, when he sent the 
 Toulon fleet to Smyrna, shared the apprehensions of an 
 immediate Russian descent on Constantinople, honestly 
 
222 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 entertained by Colonel Rose, it is impossible to suppose. 
 That he wished to embroil England and Russia is not 
 improbable. That he had rendered any peaceful accom- 
 modation of the question more difficult is unquestionable. 
 ■c On the withdrawal of Prince Menschikoff from Con- 
 stantinople renewed apprehension was felt of an immedi- 
 ate descent of Russian forces on Constantinople, and Lord 
 Palmerston, in a letter to Sir James Graham, urged that the 
 English fleet, in conjunction with that of France, should 
 be sent to the nearest safe anchorage to the Dardanelles, 
 ready to proceed at once to the defence of Constantinople 
 should it appear endangered. Lord Aberdeen replied : 
 
 ^ My great objection to the course proposed is, that it does 
 nothing effectual. Sending our fleet into Turkish waters ap- 
 pears, in the eyes of the public, to be a vigorous and decisive 
 step ; but in truth it affords no protection whatever to the Turks. 
 Sir Baldwin Walker tells you that, forany practical purpose, there 
 is little difference between Malta and Smyrna. He says that a 
 Russian force could land without difficulty at a point near the 
 entrance of the Bosphorus and advance to Constantinople, 
 even if the English fleet should be at the Dardanelles. I know 
 the spot well, from which the distance to the city is only about 
 fifteen or twenty miles. This makes an end of all the elaborate 
 calculations of the time required by the Russians to march 
 from the Bay of Bourgas, or any distant point on the Black Sea. 
 I have the greatest reliance on the opinion of Sir Baldwin 
 Walker ; I have none whatever on that of Colonel Rose. If, 
 therefore, you expect a coti^ de main, it is not at the Dardanelles 
 that you can prevent it ; for you are aware, too, that the wind 
 in these waters is northerly during the whole of the summer 
 months. 
 
 If we have good reason to expect an attack on Constanti- 
 nople, and are disposed to quarrel with Russia for the protec- 
 tion of the " Turks, we ought to approach the capital, or rather 
 to enter the Black Sea, by which means any naval movement 
 on the part of Russia could effectually be stopped. 
 
 The only effect of such half-measures as are recommended 
 would be to release the Emperor of Russia from the obligations 
 which he has voluntarily contracted towards us, without accom- 
 plishing our own object. 
 
 It is impossible to suppose that the removal of our fleet, 
 under the circumstances in which it will take place, can be 
 
ADVANCE OF THE FLEETS 223 
 
 reg"arded as merely a friendly visit in a Turkish port, or that 
 it bears any resemblance to the case mentioned of a French 
 fleet being recently anchored in Torbay. It can only be 
 considered as a menace, and must be so intended. 
 
 As we do not know the manner in which the diplomatic 
 rupture has taken place (which, of itself, by no means involves 
 the necessity of war), I think it is unwise to give up the moral 
 guarantee we now possess of the conduct of the Emperor 
 towards us for no definite object. If he should violate his 
 engagements towards us, and give us real ground of offence, 
 if we act at all, we ought to resent it worthily, and not by a ■ ^ 
 poor demonstration which only insults him, and does nothing y^ 
 effectual either for us or for the Power we desire to protect. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's task in the management of his own 
 Cabinet was not easy. Though prepared to support him 
 loyally in case of his deciding that the fleet should remain 
 at Malta, even his own immediate friends were in favour 
 of an advance eastwards ; some, because they were really 
 apprehensive as to the safety of Constantinople ; some, 
 because they thought the step would be attended with 
 popularity ; some, because it was, ostensibly and technically, 
 merely such a change of position as the Mediterranean 
 fleet was accustomed to make on the approach of summer. 
 But, through all these negotiations, Lord Aberdeen had a 
 yet greater difficulty to deal with than the wishes of his 
 own colleagues — the imperative exigencies and the uncertain 
 faith of the ally with whom we were acting. The French 
 Emperor urged the advance of the fleets to the Dardanelles 
 in terms that could not be trifled with, and all the less 
 because the English Government had some reason to believe 
 that, while pressing for such a demonstration, he was at 
 the same time secretly making overtures to the Emperor -^ 
 Nicholas for an alliance on the basis of common hostility / 
 to England. Lord Aberdeen felt that he must give way, 
 and be content with depriving the step of any character 
 of marked hostility. He wrote to Lord Clarendon : 
 
 I should have wished, before moving our fleet, to know the 
 
224 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 circumstances under which Menschikoff left Constantinople, 
 and of which, at present, we are not perfectly informed. If 
 friendly interference be still possible, we may, perhaps, sacrifice 
 our chance of using it with effect, after having adopted a step 
 so hostile to Russia. 
 
 The Cabinet, or at least a portion of it, appears to wish 
 that the fleet should sail, without waiting to know on what 
 footing Russia and the Porte had been placed by the rupture 
 of the negotiation. I do not object to this, but I think you 
 should communicate frankly to Russia the motive and spirit of 
 our movement. It is possible that the step we shall have 
 taken may not destroy our salutary influence so much as I fear. 
 
 Looking to the means of preserving and restoring peace as 
 the great object we ought always to have in view, I think our 
 best prospect of success is to be found in the union of the four 
 Powers, and in their firm but friendly representations at St. 
 Petersburg. 
 
 The authority given to Lord Stratford to call up the fleet 
 to Constantinople is a fearful power to place in the hands of 
 any minister, involving as it does the question of peace or war. 
 The passage of the Dardanelles, being a direct violation of 
 treaty, would make us the aggressors, and give to Russia a 
 just cause of war. It is most important, therefore, that Lord 
 Stratford should not have recourse to such a step, except under 
 the pressure of actual hostilities, or under circumstances fully 
 equivalent to such a state. It is right that we should know on 
 what grounds — short of the occupation of Constantinople by a 
 foreign force — the Parliament and people of this country would 
 be prepared to enter into a war on behalf of such a State as 
 Turkey. 
 
 On July 2, 1853, the Russian armies crossed the Pruth 
 and occupied the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia, 
 which the Emperor Nicholas declared his intention of 
 holding until the Porte had given him the satisfaction he 
 required. The act, which would have been perfectly legiti- 
 mate as an act of war, was high-handed and unjustifiable 
 on the part of a Power at peace with the sovereign whose 
 territories were thus invaded. It would have warranted 
 an immediate declaration of war on the part of Turkey. 
 Possibly it was intended to provoke one, but more probably 
 the Emperor of Russia regarded it as a proof of modera- 
 tion on his part. He had causes of grievance against the 
 
THE PRINCIPALITIES INVADED 22$ 
 
 Porte which were unremoved. He had exhausted the re- 
 sources of direct negotiation, and, in his own opinion at 
 least, would have been fully justified in striving to obtain 
 reparation by force. In abstaining from hostilities, and 
 in occupying, as a material guarantee, not an integral part 
 of the Turkish Empire, but two provinces which were 
 already virtually independent of the Sultan's control, he 
 probably considered that he acted with self-restraint and 
 forbearance. 
 
 The English Cabinet was unanimously of opinion that 
 the Porte should be advised not to meet the Russian 
 invasion by a declaration of war, and that efforts should be 
 made, in conjunction with France, Austria, and Prussia, to dis- 
 cover terms of accommodation which Turkey might offer and 
 Russia accept. The grave importance which France and 
 England attached to the transactions in progress was already 
 marked by the approach of their fleets to the Dardanelles, " 
 a measure at which the Emperor Nicholas was not entitled 
 to take umbrage, for it conveyed no overt threat ; but 
 which was quite sufficient to intimate to him that any fur- 
 ther forward movement on his part would call forth the 
 active opposition of France and England. In the advice 
 given to the Porte, Lord Palmerston concurred ; but a few 
 days later, on the publication of a circular by Count Nes- 
 selrode, in which the invasion of the Principalities was 
 treated as a set-off against the attitude assumed by the 
 French and English fleets, he recommended that the fleets 
 should pass the Dardanelles and take post in the Bosphorus, 
 or even enter the Black Sea. Lord Aberdeen made a 
 minute on this proposal as follows : 
 
 There is, at last, every probability that our endeavours to 
 preserve peace are now on the point of being attended with 
 success. We have prepared a form of Convention betweeji 
 Russia and the Porte which is cordially supported by the 
 
 Q 
 
226 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 French Government. It preserves the dignity of the Sultan, 
 and gives to the Emperor everything he can reasonably 
 demand. Indeed, it fulfils all the conditions which Count 
 Nesselrode has himself repeatedly described as being neces- 
 sary for the restoration of friendly relations with the Porte. 
 The language of Austria has of late become more firm and 
 independent, and there can be no doubt that our plan of 
 Convention will be warmly adopted at Vienna. 
 
 Under these circumstances, if other projects of settlement 
 already made the subject of discussion should fail, we have 
 good ground to hope that the plan of Convention proposed by 
 us will be successful, unless we shall create fresh difficulties by 
 our own imprudence. 
 
 It may readily be admitted that Count Nesselrode's last 
 circular, although with some pacific expressions, is, in its gen- 
 eral character and language, open to very serious objections. 
 The assertion that the entrance of the Russian troops into the 
 Principahties was produced by the appearance of the combined 
 English and French fleets in the Dardanelles is not only not 
 true in point of fact, but, even if such had been the case, would 
 have left the act itself equally unjustifiable. I think, therefore, 
 that this circular should be answered in a tone of grave expostu- 
 lation and remonstrance, but with calmness and dignity ; and 
 while plainly expressing our own sense of the proceeding, 
 taking care, at the same time, not to aggravate the difference 
 by passion or invective. 
 
 When the four Powers simultaneously advised the Porte 
 not to regard the entrance of the Russian troops into the 
 Principalities as a casus belli^ but to meet it only with a solemn 
 protest, it was not that they attached any weight to the 
 declaration of the Emperor that he did not intend to make 
 war upon Turkey, or that they entertained any doubt of an act 
 of real hostility having been committed, but they wished 
 to accept his declaration so far as to preserve in their own 
 hands the means of negotiation with greater hopes of success 
 than if the utmost extremity of war had been proclaimed. We 
 were bound, therefore, to make use of this interval in the 
 interest of peace, and fortunately may now congratulate our- 
 selves on the prospect before us. 
 
 But if we answer Count Nesselrode's note by sending our 
 fleet into the Bosphorus or the Black Sea, what shall we gain 
 by this empty bravado ? We shall have violated the stipula- 
 tions of a treaty and have made the chances of peace infinitely 
 less probable. Instead of such logic as this, it would be more 
 reasonable at once to declare war, and no longer to pretend to 
 seek peace while we adopt measures calculated to render it 
 unattainable. 
 
 When the Cabinet determined to send the fleet from Malta 
 
FRANCE OPPOSED TO DRAFT CONVENTION 227 
 
 to the Dardanelles, it was not to insult Russia, but to be at 
 hand in order to protect Constantinople should it be necessary, 
 Constantinople is not in danger, nor is it threatened ; but if at 
 any time information, really credible, should be obtained of 
 preparations at Sebastopol, or elsewhere, for such an attack, 
 the combined fleets might properly leave their present position 
 and repair at once to the scene of action. 
 
 It may be well to observe that the only hostile operation 
 contemplated by the Cabinet has been the defence of Con- 
 stantinople against a Russian attack. How far we may con- 
 tract engagements with the Porte, in the event of actual war, 
 and under what circumstances we should find ourselves justi- 
 fied in being finally committed against Russia, ought to be the 
 subject of future deliberation. 
 
 We are at present bound by no stipulations of treaty in this 
 respect, and are free to adopt such a course as may appear most 
 consistent with our real interests and honour. 
 
 The arguments of Lord Aberdeen convinced even the 
 authors of the proposal. Lord John wrote : * I agree 
 generally in the views you have expressed in your paper 
 in answer to Palmerston.' And Lord Palmerston himself 
 wrote : * I acquiesce in your reasoning ; and on considera- 
 tion I admit that, as we have launched proposals for a 
 peaceful arrangement, it would be better not to endanger 
 the negotiation by throwing into it any fresh element of 
 difficulty.' 
 
 Unfortunately the English draft Convention, which would 
 probably have been accepted both by Russia and Turkey, did 
 not in the end find favour at the Tuileries. If a peaceful 
 settlement of the dispute could not be avoided, Louis Napoleon 
 wished to appear as the principal agent in effecting it, and 
 proposed, in lieu of the Convention, that the Porte should 
 address a Note to the Russian Government to the same effect. 
 With this French draft Note as a basis, the diplomatists 
 of Europe set to work to devise terms which might afford to 
 Russia the satisfaction to which she was entitled, and thus 
 remove her from Roumania, and which might at the same 
 time be safely granted by Turkey. The result of these 
 
228 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 deliberations was the famous Vienna Note ; which, recom- 
 mended by the Four Powers, and accepted as satisfactory 
 by the Czar, was rejected by the Turks as containing — 
 unless modified as they proposed — admissions incompatible 
 with the safety of the Ottoman Empire. 
 
 The negotiations which took place up to this period have 
 been fully and carefully detailed by more than one historian ; 
 but, after recounting their failure, and the non-acceptance of 
 the Note by the Turks, a sense of weariness and lassitude 
 appears to have overcome all these writers, who have ap- 
 parently paid little attention to the discussions which sub- 
 sequently took place, and at all events have given but a 
 meagre and too often an inaccurate account of them. And 
 
 fyet the negotiations which took place in the six months 
 which intervened between the final abandonment of the 
 Vienna Note on September 19, 1853, and the declaration of 
 war on March 13, 1854, were of the highest importance, 
 and more than once afforded the fairest promise of success. 
 It is my own firm belief that, but for the catastrophe of 
 Sinope, peace between England and Russia would have 
 
 I remained unbroken. Be this as it may, some knowledge of 
 these negotiations is essential to a proper appreciation of 
 the position and conduct of Lord Aberdeen during this 
 period, and though the limited space at my command 
 renders the task one of all but insuperable difficulty, I 
 shall attempt to give a hasty sketch of their course and 
 character. 
 
 Mr. Walpole, in his eagerness to defend Lord John 
 Russell, has suggested an entirely novel theory, which did 
 not at the time occur to any one engaged in the discussion. 
 It is that, after proposing to Russia that she should accept 
 the Turkish modifications, it became impossible to urge the 
 Turks to accept the Vienna Note in its unmodified form. 
 
THE TURKISH MODIFICATIONS 229 
 
 7his would, no doubt, have been the case had the accept- 
 ance of the modifications been recommended to Russia on the 
 ground that they were essential, or even useful ; but this was 
 not so. The Four Powers, in effect, said to the Porte : * We 
 consider that you ought to sign the note which we have pre- 
 pared, and which the Emperor Nicholas has already accepted 
 as a full satisfaction of his complaints ; but, as the alterations 
 you have made appear to us, though unnecessary and without 
 importance, to be in themselves unobjectionable, we are 
 ready to see whether he will accept them, and so terminate 
 the affair to the satisfaction of all parties. Still we cannot 
 press such a demand ; and should he refuse (as he well may) 
 to admit any alteration in a Note prepared by the Powers 
 of Europe in concert, which he has already accepted, we 
 must adhere to our advice, already given, that you should 
 sign it unaltered.' This was the course on which Lord 
 Aberdeen had determined, before the transmission of the 
 Turkish modifications to the Czar, and this course would 
 unquestionably have been adopted, but for one of those 
 singular fatalities which so often occurred in the course 
 of these negotiations. 
 
 The Russian refusal had been anticipated, and in no 
 way altered the policy of the English Cabinet. It was 
 couched in moderate language and courteous terms, and 
 gave as the reason for refusal the repugnance of the 
 Emperor to permit the Turks to alter the terms of a 
 document which had been prepared by the Four Powers 
 in the interests of the Porte, and already accepted by the 
 Emperor. The validity of this reason not even Lord 
 Palmerston was inclined to deny. In conjunction with Lord 
 Aberdeen and Lord Clarendon, he considered that the 
 modifications must be abandoned ; and he concurred, almost 
 as a matter of course, in the recommendation to the Sultan 
 
230 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 to accept the unmodified Note, which gave so much offence 
 to Lord John Russell. Had this advice reached Constanti- 
 nople, either the Porte would have complied with it, in 
 which case the incident would have terminated ; or by its 
 refusal would have absolved the English Government 
 from all further interference in its behalf. Unfortunately, 
 the indiscreet or culpable action of a subordinate member 
 of the Russian Mission at Berlin led to the appearance in a 
 German newspaper of a memorandum which had been for- 
 warded to Baron Budberg, the Russian Minister there, for his 
 confidential information. In this document the modifica- 
 tions were compared with the original draft, and their effect 
 pointed out. From this comparison it plainly appeared 
 iThat the Russian Government interpreted the Note in a 
 I different sense from that given to it by the Four Powers, 
 and had rejected the modifications because they in distinct 
 terms excluded that right of interference which the Russians 
 considered the original Note to confirm, and the Turkish 
 Government held it to confer, but which it had not been 
 the intention of the Powers to recognise. Neither this 
 paper, nor the fact which it revealed, was ever officially 
 communicated to the English Government ; but the know- 
 ledge was, of course, sufficient to make it impossible 
 honestly to press for the adoption of the unmodified Note 
 by the Porte. 
 
 But vexatious as was the failure of an arrangement 
 which had been so nearly effected, and which would have 
 secured the maintenance of peace, it was not at first sup- 
 posed by the ministers of any of the Four Courts, or at St. 
 Petersburg itself, that the mischief done was irremediable. 
 One mode of settlement had failed ; another had to be 
 devised. Nor, in truth, was there any essential difficulty 
 in framing such a document. It was the will to do so 
 
231 
 
 which was wanting. The Sultan and his advisers (and it 
 was not by Turkish counsellors alone that he was guided) 
 were determined that the contest should not have a peace- 
 ful issue. The opportunity for a contest with Russia, in 
 which Turkey might be aided by the armies of France and 
 England, was not one to be lost. The Porte determined 
 to follow up the rejection of the Vienna Note by a declara- 
 tion of war, should a pacific settlement not be obtained 
 within a certain limited time. This at once rendered a 
 settlement far more difficult, though even yet not hopeless. 
 Seized in a right spirit, the propositions made by the Em- 
 peror Nicholas, at his meeting with the Emperor of Austria 
 at Olmiitz, might have easily been made the foundation of a 
 peaceful solution of the question at issue. The preference^ 
 was, however, given to a plan proposed by Lord Stratford "^ 
 de Redcliffe, that a fresh Note, which he had himself 
 prepared, free from the objections to which the original 
 Note was liable, and yet containing all that the Emperor 
 of Russia had declared at Olmiitz to be needed to give 
 him satisfaction, should be substituted for that originally 
 put forward. Whether Lord Stratford really felt the re- 
 sponsibility of his position, and gave this counsel with an 
 honest view to its acceptance, or only as a means of render- 
 ing abortive any other scheme founded on the conferences 
 at Olmiitz, and with the knowledge that what he proposed 
 would be refused by the Porte, can never be known. It 
 was felt to be an advantage that the proposal should have 
 emanated from him. It would, it was thought, be difficult 
 for him even indirectly to suggest the rejection of a Note 
 known to be his own work ; it might be hoped that, as his 
 own, he might feel some anxiety in assuring its success, 
 and that his self-esteem might be gratified by effecting 
 what the most eminent diplomatists of Europe had vainly 
 
232 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 attempted to accomplish. The wording of the Note ap- 
 peared to Lord Aberdeen to be such as ought perfectly to 
 satisfy both Russia and Turkey ; but he equally distrusted 
 Lord Stratford and the Turkish ministers ; and to ensure 
 the acceptance by the Porte of the new Note as presented^ 
 he considered it essential that it should be accompanied by 
 a declaration that, if it were not adopted, the Four Powers 
 would not ' permit themselves, in consequence of unfounded 
 objections, or by the declaration of war, which they have 
 already condemned, to be drawn into a policy inconsistent 
 with the peace of Europe, as well as with the true interests 
 of Turkey itself.' 
 
 To Mr. Gladstone, who was absent from London, Lord 
 Aberdeen, on October 17 th, wrote thus : 
 
 I believe we are now arrived at the last step it may be 
 possible for us to take. Lord Stratford has informed us that 
 the only chance left for arresting the progress of war is by a 
 fresh Note to be presented to the Turks with a perfect union of 
 the Four Powers, and a determined interference on their part. 
 A Note has consequently been prepared, in which all the Turkish 
 objections to the Vienna Note have been obviated, and drawn 
 up in such terms as may reasonably be accepted by both 
 parties. It is proposed to accompany this Note with a 
 declaration by each of the Four Powers, stating their desire to 
 recognise and give effect to the principle which dictated the 
 Treaty of 1841 by the preservation of the Turkish Empire. 
 The declaration then proceeds to describe more particularly 
 the objects of the Powers, and how they are provided for by 
 the Note, which is recommended to the consideration of the 
 Porte. 
 
 This is how the matter stands ; but, reasonable as it is, I 
 fear the proposition will not have the least chance of success, 
 q^he Turks, with all their barbarism, are cunning enough, and 
 see clearly the advantages of their situation. Step by step 
 they have drawn us into a position in which we are more or 
 less committed to their support. It would be absurd to 
 suppose that, with the hope of active assistance from England 
 and France, they should not be desirous of engaging in a 
 contest with their formidable neighbour. They never had 
 such a favourable opportunity before, and may never have 
 again. They will therefore contrive to elude our proposals and 
 
PROPOSED DECLARATION 233 
 
 keep us in our present state, from which it will be difficult to 
 escape. 
 
 I have thought it necessary to propose such an addition to 
 the declaration of the Four Powers as is contained in the 
 enclosed paper. It seems to me perfectly reasonable and just, 
 considering our relation to the State on whose behalf we are 
 attempting to mediate, and as affording the only chance of 
 inducing the Turks to listen to pacific advice. Should the 
 Turks yield and approve of our Note, we must be prepared for 
 the possible refusal of the Emperor. In this case, I fear it 
 would only be just to give the Turks a greater degree of support 
 than we should otherwise have been disposed to do. 
 
 Prior to the Turkish declaration of war, I should have had 
 no fear of the Emperor's acceptance ; but I cannot say what 
 effect this, and the indignity inflicted by the summons of Omer 
 Pasha, may have produced. 
 
 There may be some difference of opinion with respect to my 
 proposal. Clarendon at first entirely agreed with me, but at 
 present seems rather doubtful. Palmerston certainly, and 
 Lord John probably, Avill be against it. Newcastle approves 
 of it, and Graham thinks it indispensable. My own opinion is, 
 that it can only be objected to by those who really wish to make 
 peace impossible. 
 
 It soon became evident, however, that persistence in 
 
 requiring such an addition would break up the Cabinet. 
 
 Reasonable as it was (wrote Lord Aberdeen to Mr, Glad- 
 stone), I have not thought it prudent to adhere to it. I found 
 that both Palmerston and Lord John were determined to resist 
 it to the utmost extremity, and I had to consider how far I 
 should be justified in creating a breach on such grounds ; for 
 the practical question at issue would have been whether we 
 should impose on the Turks the necessity of making no altera- 
 tion whatever in a Note which was to be signed by them and 
 delivered in their name. To those who did not know all that 
 had passed such a condition would have appeared harsh and 
 unjust, and I felt that it could not properly be made the ground 
 of an irreconcilable difference in the Cabinet. 
 
 Viewed in the light of subsequent events, I cannot but 
 
 regret that Lord Aberdeen did not, nevertheless, continue to 
 
 press the adoption of this paragraph, the terms of which are 
 
 given on the preceding page. It afforded almost the last 
 
 chance of recovering for England her freedom of action. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen might have failed (for though the great 
 
 majority of the Cabinet shared Lord Aberdeen's views, 
 
 ^ 
 
234 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Lord John's withdrawal would have broken up the 
 Government), but his action would have relieved him 
 from all responsibility for subsequent events. His retire- 
 ment would, indeed, have hastened the commencement of 
 the war, but he would have retired in circumstances, and 
 with a following, which might soon have brought him back 
 to power as the Minister of peace. But at the moment 
 he thought that he might attain the end he had at heart 
 by another method. 
 
 ' I propose (he wrote) that we should exact from the Turks 
 a suspension of active hostilities during the progress of the 
 negotiation in which we are engaged on their account. ... In 
 case of the refusal of the Turks, it . . . will give us the liberty 
 
 Upf action we desire. Clarendon does not object to this pro- 
 posal, and is to send it to-night to Palmerston and Lord John, 
 by whom I fear it will not be favourably received. Nevertheless, 
 even should this be the case, I am disposed to insist on its 
 adoption. 
 
 No objection was, however, made by them, and the 
 instruction, with one slight (but, as it turned out, fatal) 
 addition made by Lord John Russell, was at once despatched 
 to Lord Stratford. Everything now depended upon time. 
 If the Turks at once, and before any active hostilities took 
 place, signed the newly proposed Note, there was every 
 reason to suppose that it would be accepted by the Emperor 
 of Russia. It became, therefore, the business of those who 
 desired war, and desired also to retain for the Porte the 
 support of France and England, so to manage, that the con- 
 sideration of the new Note by the Porte should be prolonged 
 until after war had actually commenced. 
 
 The paragraph drafted by Lord Aberdeen, and accepted 
 by the Cabinet, had required the Porte to abstain from 
 hostilities during the progress of the negotiations under- 
 taken on its behalf. In the despatch actually sent, the 
 words * for a reasonable time ' were inserted by Lord 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES 235 
 
 John Russell, and of this full advantage was taken. This 
 * reasonable time' was by the Porte, with Lord Stratford's ,.^. 
 full approval, if not at his suggestion, limited to one fort- y/ 
 night, — a period wholly insufficient for negotiation with 
 Russia, and ensuring the commencement of hostilities be- 
 fore any fresh despatches could be received from England. 
 Meanwhile, though acceptance of the English proposal 
 might lead to peace, rejection of it was unsafe, as it might 
 involve withdrawal of English support. Lord Stratford, 
 in this dilemma, assured Lord Clarendon that Reshid 
 Pasha was personally inclined to agree to the adoption 
 of the new Note, but that there would be great difficulty 
 in inducing the Council to do so. After hostilities, however, 
 commenced, there was no longer danger that what might 
 still seem an act of deference to England could lead to any 
 practical result. But when Lord Stratford at length reported 
 the tardy acquiescence of the Turks, and their acceptance of 
 the desired form of Note, he must have well known that it 
 was too late, and that the only answer he could receive would 
 be that which was in fact returned, that it was uselesT 
 now to ask Russia to accept a Note which a few weeks 
 previously she would have gladly received. Shots had 
 been fired in anger ; blood had been shed ; the war no 
 longer existed on paper only, but had become a stern reality, 
 and only a treaty of peace could now put an end to the 
 differences between the two Powers. Lord Palmerston had 
 speedily repented of his acquiescence in the instructions 
 despatched to Lord Stratford, and sent a message to Lord 
 Aberdeen to that effect. Lord Aberdeen replied on 
 November 6th : 
 
 I understood that you had no*, only seen and approved of 
 the instructions in question, but that some alterations had been 
 adopted at your suggestion. From the very commencement 
 of this unfortunate contest it has always been my desire to 
 
236 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 preserve for ourselves an entire liberty of action and an 
 unfettered judgment under all circumstances that might arise. 
 The demands of Prince Menschikoff were certainly unreason- 
 able, and the invasion of the Principalities was most unjustifi- 
 able ; but as we had no treaty obligations with the Porte, we 
 were perfectly free to take any such course as our own interests 
 and the justice of the case should seem to require. It is 
 clearly ascertained that the Treaty of 1841 imposed no other 
 stipulation on the contracting parties than an obligation to 
 observe the ancient regulations of the Turkish Empire, by 
 ^ which the Straits of the Dardanelles and of the Bosphorus 
 \ were closed against foreign ships of war when the Porte was 
 at peace. 
 
 When the rupture of diplomatic relations took place on the 
 departure of Prince Menschikoff, the great object we proposed 
 
 <to ourselves was to preserve peace, by advising such reasonable 
 and timely concessions on the part of Turkey as might be 
 made without any real sacrifice of the dignity or independence 
 of the Sultan. This has been our policy throughout the whole 
 of the transactions connected with this dispute ; and it is the 
 policy which, as it seems to me, we ought still to keep steadily 
 in view. 
 
 It is true that, during these negotiations, we have found it 
 necessary to assume a more hostile attitude towards Russia, by 
 advancing our fleet to Constantinople, and by giving assurance 
 to the Porte that we were prepared to defend the capital, or 
 even any part of the Turkish territory, from an attack by sea ; 
 thereby greatly extending the scope of the proposition made 
 to us by the French Government. But this decision did not 
 preclude the continuance of negotiation ; on the contrary, it 
 was expressly assented to by me on the clear understanding 
 that such was to be the case. 
 
 Peace is still our object ; and we have surely a right to 
 expect that the Turks should do nothing to counteract the 
 endeavours we are making on their behalf Recent intelli- 
 gence from Constantinople appeared to indicate some dis- 
 position to listen to the pacific recommendations of Lord 
 Stratford ; but the sincerity of this disposition is doubtful, for 
 ^-r-'-'Omer Pasha crossed the Danube long after he might have 
 S. been informed of the decision of the bultan to suspend 
 hostilities. The war itself was proclaimed in opposition to the 
 remonstrances of our Ambassador ; and we have recently 
 informed the Porte that a cessation of hostilities is indispens- 
 able for the continuance of our negotiations. If the Turks 
 should reject our advice, and should be obstinately bent on 
 war when we are labouring for peace, I confess that I am not 
 disposed to sacrifice our freedom of action, and to permit our- 
 selves to be dragged into a war by a Government which has 
 
LETTER TO LORD PALMERSTON 237 
 
 lost the requisite control over its own subjects, and is obliged 
 to act under the pressure of popular dictation. Such a 
 sacrifice on our part could scarcely be expected, even if we 
 had entered into treaty engagements with a powerful and 
 civilised State ; but, without any such engagements to submit, 
 against our better judgment, to be directed by a Government 
 like that of Turkey seems altogether preposterous. Notwith- 
 standing the favourable opinion entertained by many, I have - 
 no belief whatever in the improvement of the Turks. It is 
 true that under the pressure of the moment benevolent decrees 
 may be issued, but which, except under the eye of some 
 Foreign Minister, are entirely neglected. Their whole system 
 is radically vicious and abominable. I do not refer to fables 
 which may be invented at St. Petersburg or Vienna, but to 
 numerous despatches of Lord Stratford himself and of our 
 own consuls, who describe a frightful picture of lawless oppres- 
 sion and cruelty. This is so true that, if war should continue, 
 and the Turkish armies meet with disaster, we may expect to 
 see the Christian population of the Empire rise against their 
 oppressors, and in such a case it could hardly be proposed 
 to employ the British force in the Levant to assist in com- 
 pelling their return under a Mahommedan yoke. 
 
 It is not to be doubted, as you truly observe, that a cause 
 espoused by England and France ought to succeed ; but the 
 course pursued by these Powers is not exactly such as to 
 ensure this result. If the Turkish cause be so just, and our 
 interest in its success so great, we ought, in common with the 
 Porte, to declare war against Russia, and to put forth the 
 whole power and energy of the State ; but practically to carry 
 on war without avowing it is neither doing justice to our ally 
 nor creditable to ourselves. If England and France are afraid 
 to declare open war, they place themselves in a position in 
 which success is no longer certain. 
 
 I have no wish to abandon Turkey ; on the contrary, I fully 
 concur in the policy which seeks to preserve it ; for, whatever 
 may be the opinion I entertain of the Government and the 
 people, I believe that its preservation at this moment 
 European necessity. I would, however, endeavour rather to 
 preserve it by peace than by war ; for I am satisfied that war, 
 whatever may be its immediate result, is full of danger to the 
 existence of the Turkish Empire. 
 
 Be this as it may, I should be perfectly prepared to oppose, 
 even to the extremity of war, the possession by Russia of -».,^^ 
 Constantinople and the Dardanelles, with the approaches to ^^ 
 the Mediterranean, and I think that this decision would be y 
 justified by English and by European interests. It is true 
 that the Emperor of Russia has invariably declared that he 
 entertains no such projects, and that he would reject any such 
 
 the "^^ 
 
 is a y 
 
 r tn -^ 
 
< 
 
 238 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 proposition ; but if a contest should ever arise on this ground, 
 it would probably embrace other objects than the security of 
 the Turkish dominion. It is difficult to say into whose hands 
 these territories would ultimately fall ; but whoever might 
 profit by the result, it is to be expected that the Turkish 
 barbarians would speedily disappear, never more to return to 
 a soil upon which, in the face^ of Christendom, they have so 
 long encamped. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's view of the state of the negotiations 
 at this time is thus given in a letter to Mr. Gladstone of 
 December 3rd : 
 
 I think it is impossible that we should meet Parliament 
 without being prepared to lay before it a full account of our 
 proceedings in the East during the recess. There may be 
 much to criticise, but on the whole I am disposed to think 
 that the appearance will not be unfavourable. I agree with 
 you, however, in the opinion that we ought previously to review 
 our own position, and clearly to understand the principles on 
 which we mean to act. 
 
 To look at the subject from the commencement : Russia, 
 having put forward a just ground of complaint, subsequently 
 extended this beyond the bounds of moderation, and en- 
 deavoured to enforce compliance by a threatened occupation 
 of the Principalities. We first appeared in the East in defence 
 of Constantinople, supposed to be in imminent danger of 
 attack, although, I believe, without the least foundation. This 
 defence we have subsequently extended to the Turkish 
 territory against any direct aggression by sea. We have 
 assumed this defensive character from the first, and still 
 maintain it. If it shall be thought right to persevere in this 
 course, I am at all events of opinion that it will not be wise at 
 ,present to embark in more active hostilities. Our professed 
 object from the beginning was to secure peace and to prevent 
 the necessity of having recourse to actual war. The Emperor 
 of Russia had most unjustifiably invaded the Principalities, 
 but he had not declared war, and did not require an inch of 
 territory. For some months the Turks determined not to 
 resent this invasion by a declaration of war ; and as the 
 Emperor only required certain official assurances from the 
 Porte connected with the privileges of the Greek Church, we 
 employed ourselves in suggesting such forms as the Porte 
 might adopt with safety and the Emperor receive with honour. 
 In this we have hitherto failed ; although, if the two par- 
 ties were acting in good faith, it ought not to be difficult 
 to succeed. We even promised to secure for the Turks by 
 * Originally written ' to the disgrace,'* 
 
LETTER TO MR. GLADSTONE 239 
 
 negotiation the evacuation of the Principalities, provided they 
 abstained from a formal declaration of war ; but they refused 
 to follow our advice. They thought that our ambassadors, with 
 the English and French fleets, were at their service, and that 
 we had no option but to take part in the war. 
 
 I do not discuss the Vienna Note with its subsequent 
 modifications, and especially the declaration at Olmiitz, which, 
 if received in a fair spirit, might perhaps have led to peace ; 
 but it appears by the accounts from Constantinople that our 
 last Note, drawn up under Turkish advice, and with the view 
 of meeting every Turkish object, has also been rejected. 
 Reschid Pasha has officially informed Lord Stratford that if it 
 had arrived two months sooner it would have been accepted. 
 Now, although it may be true that the last two months have 
 made a change in the position of the Turks, I do not see why 
 this change should affect us. We never professed to make 
 common cause with them in a war declared against our advice, 
 but merely to protect them from immediate attack. Our ^..^ 
 object was to obtain peace by a restoration of the status quOy .--'' 
 and in consideration of a declaration to be addressed to the 
 Emperor of Russia by the Porte. 
 
 It will be important to keep this in view, for we shall 
 probably have new demands made upon us of a very different 
 description. Our last attempt at Constantinople has been to 
 make the Turks declare on what terms they would be willing 
 to treat for peace. I expect something unreasonable ; perhaps 
 not the restoration of the Crimea or Bessarabia, but certainly 
 not the renewal of treaties and the status quo. Whatever 
 these terms may be, can it be maintained that we ought to 
 support them in opposition to the basis laid down by ourselves, 
 and through all the chances of a war declared against our 
 advice, and the declaration of which has rendered abortive our 
 pacific endeavours on behalf of the Porte itself? 
 
 The Turks, although barbarous in some respects, are, like 
 all Orientals, cunning enough, and know how to press an 
 advantage. They will do their best to profit by the assistance 
 of England and France, and, if possible, to force us into the 
 adoption of the most decided hostilities. 
 
 I expect at the next Cabinet to hear some proposal made 
 for taking a more active part in warlike measures, although 
 without any declaration of war against Russia. No doubt it 
 would be mere convenient to avoid this if possible, and by 
 various modes of insult and attack to force Russia to declare 
 war. I think we have gone far enough in this direction ; 
 although the situation of affairs has become more critical since 
 Lord Stratford determined to send ships of war into the Black s,^^^ 
 Sea for objects not contemplated in his instructions. The ^^ 
 effect it would produce was perfectly well known. 
 
240 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 We have now happily established a more decided union and 
 concert of the Four Powers, which will enable us to hold a firm 
 language to Russia, and perhaps induce the Turks to listen to 
 reason, so that peace may still not be impossible. 
 '^^ -c-r-^" ■^'^^' 3-ft^r ^llj it is the exclusion of Russia, rather than the 
 preservation of the Turks, that we ought to have in view. 
 And it is well not to lose sight of this ; for if the war should 
 continue we shall infallibly see a rising of the Christian popula- 
 tion, of which indeed there is already some appearance. In 
 that event, do you think there are many who would urge us to 
 fight on the side of our Turkish friends ? 
 
 Lord Palmerston, some weeks later, suggested that, in the 
 interest of peace, pressure should be put on the Emperor of 
 Russia, by so far assisting the Turks as to prevent Russian 
 ships from leaving Sebastopol. Lord Aberdeen replied : 
 
 I take for granted that we both desire to see the termina- 
 tion of the existing war between Russia and the Porte, but I 
 confess I am not at present prepared to adopt the mode which 
 you think most likely to restore peace. 
 
 You think that the Emperor ought to be made to evacuate 
 the Principalities, to abandon his demands, and to consent to 
 the revision of the treaties between Russia and Turkey. 
 
 The first condition will probably offer no difficulty in the 
 way of peace, as the Emperor has repeatedly declared that he 
 does not desire or intend to retain an inch of Turkish territory. 
 
 I agree with you that the Emperor ought to be made to 
 abandon all unjust demands. He has already abandoned much, 
 and will probably abandon more. But, after the former breach 
 of engagement by the Turks, he has some right to expect a 
 reasonable assurance by a diplomatic act, against the recurrence 
 of this violation of good faith, as well as that the Greek 
 Christians should be duly protected. This claim has been put 
 forward from the commencement of the negotiations, and to 
 this we have repeatedly advised the Turks to accede, without 
 prejudice to the sovereign rights of the Sultan. 
 
 With regard to the third condition, it is vain to expect that 
 Russia will ever agree to the revision of her former treaties 
 with the Porte, unless reduced to the last extremity ; and if 
 Omer Pasha, instead of having only crossed the Danube, had 
 advanced to Moscow, such a proposition would scarcely have 
 been entertained. 
 
 Neither do I see that Europe has any great interest in pro- 
 curing such a revision. Peace has been maintained between 
 Russia and the Porte for the last five and twenty years, since the 
 Treaty of Adrianople, and if renewed it may continue as long. 
 
 The interpretation of treaties, which impose a moral obliga- 
 
LETTER TO LORD PALMERSTON 24 1 
 
 tion upon one of the parties, will always be open to doubt and 
 cavil ; but the substitution of the Great Powers instead of Russia, 
 as you propose, would probably render the execution of such 
 stipulations still more complicated and uncertain. 
 
 You admit that, in order to bring the Emperor to agree to 
 these terms of peace, ' it is necessary to exert a considerable 
 pressure upon him.' Now what you call a considerable pres- 
 sure, I can only regard as war. And it is a sort of war which 
 I do not think very creditable to the honour and character of this 
 country. If the conduct of Russia has been so injurious to the 
 Porte, and our own interests are so deeply affected, as to make us 
 think it necessary to resist her attack, it is not by capturing a 
 few ships or blockading some "port that we shall best prove our 
 sympathy ; but we ought rather at once to declare war and to 
 make common cause with our ally. We have no treaty engage- 
 ments with the Porte ; and, although I do not pretend to say 
 to what extremities we may be driven by the course of events, I 
 do not believe that the people of this country are prepared to 
 make such a sacrifice, or that our national honour and interests 
 are so much concerned, as would make it justifiable in us to incur 
 all the risks and horrors of war. 
 
 Much as I desire to avoid war, and reluctant as I am to 
 prolong that which already exists between Russia and the Porte 
 by aiming at unattainable conditions of peace, I would not have 
 you imagine that under no circumstances should I be prepared 
 to have recourse to such an alternative. I think that Russia -, 
 could never be permitted to occupy Constantinople and the y 
 Straits of the Dardanelles ; and if it became evident that any 
 such intention was entertained, I believe that the interests of 
 this country and Europe would justify us in resorting at once to 
 the most active hostilities. 
 
 Allow me to recall your attention to our actual position with 
 respect to the pending negotiations for peace. We have just 
 effected the union of the Four Powers, and their cordial con- 
 currence in the steps about to be taken for arriving at this great 
 end. I regard this union as a most important fact, and as cal- 
 culated essentially to affect our proceedings, whether they termi- 
 nate in war or peace. We ought not rashly to endanger thel 
 permanence of this European concert ; and as the Powers have 
 declared that the integrity of the Turkish territory is an object 
 of general interest, it is to be presumed that they will take such 
 means as may be necessary to secure it. But if, while we havcj 
 sent pacific overtures to Constantinople, and are endeavouring 
 as mediators to establish an armistice between the belligerents, 
 we should ourselves have recourse to acts of direct hostility, we 
 can scarcely expect that our allies would approve of such a 
 decision. I greatly doubt whether even the French Government 
 would think it just or honourable to join us in such a course. 
 
< 
 
 242 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Even now, the terms of a treaty of peace between the 
 Porte and Russia might not improbably have been satis- 
 factorily arranged ; but on December 12, 1853, England was 
 startled by the first rumours of the battle of Sinope. They 
 were not generally credited ; but on the 14th fuller details, 
 • amply confirmed, appeared in all the newspapers. Looked 
 at in the light of after years, there was nothing in the battle 
 of Sinope to justify the outcry of horror which it called 
 forth. Russia and Turkey were at war — a war declared not 
 by Russia but by Turkey. When nations are at war, an 
 attack on the fleet of one belligerent by the fleet of the other 
 is not only justifiable but to be expected, nor does the 
 number of ships sunk or captured, the completeness of the 
 victory, or the fact that the enemy's fleet was at anchor in 
 one of its own ports, aff"ect the legitimate character of the 
 action. Less than thirty years before, an English fleet, in 
 conjunction with those of France and Russia, had destroyed 
 the Turkish navy in a Turkish harbour, and that at a time 
 when both England and France were at peace with Turkey. 
 But that * untoward event ' had been as much lauded and 
 rejoiced over in England as the untoward event of Sinope 
 was denounced and shuddered at. The English public did 
 not trouble itself to inquire into the legal or technical 
 character of the transaction. It had taken the Turks into 
 its friendship, and now saw its friends worsted. It dubbed 
 the battle a massacre, and called for vengeance.^ Up to the 
 beginning of October the feeling of the public had been 
 
 * It is not uninteresting, as an evidence of changed public opinion, 
 to compare a cartoon published in ' Punch ' at this time, with one 
 which appeared in the summer of 1877. In the former. Lord Aberdeen 
 exclaims, ' I'm afraid I must let him go,' as he holds back by the 
 mane the British lion, which, in a rampant attitude, is struggling to 
 free himself for a dash forward upon the Russian bear. In the latter, 
 a number of journalists are depicted vainly striving to rouse, with the 
 points of their pens, the same lion from his majestic repose. 
 
BATTLE OF SINOPE 243 
 
 decidedly pacific. During the two months which followed 
 it underwent a considerable change, and now burst into a 
 flame of furious passion. The Tinies^ which, in close concert 
 with Lord Aberdeen, had until this time done its best to 
 allay popular excitement, now went over to the other camp, 
 and clamoured for ' decided measures ' as loudly as any other 
 journal. 
 
 The Turkish ships were sunk, burnt, or captured ; but 
 they had effected the purpose for which they had been sent 
 into the Black Sea. At the price of a huge loss of Turkish 
 lives the Sultan had practically secured the support of Eng- 
 land in his contest with Russia. The Porte could now, 
 without exciting any apprehension among those eager for war, 
 afford to express its willingness to make peace on the most 
 reasonable terms, and it accordingly assented to the trans- 
 mission to St. Petersburg of propositions which, if made a 
 month earlier, would have closed the discussion. 
 
 Unhappily, Sinope made a great change in the attitude 
 of the French Government, and before the Turkish accept- 
 ance of the proposed convention was known in England 
 a resolution had been taken at its instance — it may almost 
 be said at its dictation — which, by offering a grievous affront 
 to the Emperor of Russia, went far to render the preservation 
 of peace impossible. The Emperor Louis Napoleon called 
 on England to send her fleets into the Black Sea, and an- 
 nounced that, if she did not, he would either send the French 
 fleet there alone, or recall it to Toulon. The entrance of the 
 fleet into the Black Sea had already been conditionally sanc- 
 tioned, in the event of its being necessary for the protection 
 of Turkish territory, or if the Russians crossed the Danube. 
 Telegraphic intelligence was at this juncture received in 
 London stating that the entry of the fleets had already been 
 effected. This was false, but it produced the desired effect. 
 
244 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Pressed as the measure was by France, its approval, if already 
 practically adopted, could not be avoided, and Lord Aberdeen 
 consented to it, on the condition that all hostilities, whether 
 on the part of Turk or Russian, were equally prohibited. This 
 he thought would obviate the otherwise inevitable danger of 
 a collision between the Turkish and Russian fleets, in the 
 presence of English ships, which would certainly take the part 
 of the Turks, and thus commence hostilities with Russia. 
 
 Meanwhile the negotiation had proceeded, and with better 
 hopes of success. A form of treaty was prepared which the 
 Turks agreed to, which all the Four Powers were prepared 
 to recommend to Russia, and which there was every reason 
 to think that Russia would substantially accept. But on 
 January 4, 1854, the French and English fleets entered the 
 ^ Black Sea. Russia was not now prepared to close with 
 Uerms which till then she would have accepted readily. 
 But her course was still temperate, and she called for ex- 
 planations as to the entry of the Black Sea in a tone which 
 showed that she did not desire a rupture, and that if similar 
 restrictions were imposed on both belligerents, the Czar 
 was not indisposed to pass over the affront without actively 
 resenting it. 
 
 Even yet the cause of peace was not wholly desperate. 
 The Four Powers were again entirely united as to the terms 
 to be proposed to Russia, and which in their opinion Russia 
 could and should honourably accept. Turkey (however 
 tardily) had subscribed to these terms, and they appeared to 
 comply essentially with the declarations made by the Emperor 
 of Russia at Olmiitz. If these terms were accepted peace 
 was saved. 
 
 So late as January 12, 1854, Lord Aberdeen wrote : 
 
 Most welcome intelligence has arrived from Vienna by tele- 
 graph, from which it appears that the Turkish Government had 
 
FINAL NEGOTIATIONS 245 
 
 agreed to the propositions of the representatives at Constan- 
 tinople. The conference at Vienna were unanimously of opinion 
 that the answer was sufficiently favourable to authorise Count 
 Buol to send it off at once to St. Petersburg for the acceptance 
 of the Emperor. The objections of the Emperor will apply 
 more to the proposed form of proceeding than to the substance 
 of the proposal itself. He will probably resist the notion of 
 being summoned like a criminal before what he calls La Police 
 Correctionnelle of Europe. Should a real desire exist on both 
 sides to arrive at peace, these difficulties of form may be over- 
 come. 
 
 But no such desire existed on the part of the Porte, the 
 French Emperor, the English people, or, I fear it must be 
 added, the English Cabinet. Well might Lord Aberdeen, 
 speaking of his colleagues, exclaim in the words of David : 
 * I labour for peace, but when I speak unto them thereof, 
 they make them ready for battle.' 
 
 The answer returned by France and England to the 
 Russian demand for explanations as to the entrance of their 
 fleets into the Black Sea was couched in terms which were 
 not conciliatory, and which showed that, though the Turks 
 would be restrained from active hostilities, it was intended 
 to impose greater restrictions on the action of Russia than 
 on that of Turkey. The Russian ministers were accordingly 
 withdrawn from Paris and London. 
 
 It was not, however, improbable, nay, it seemed even 
 likely, that Russia would yield to the united pressure of 
 Europe, especially when in so doing she would give up 
 nothing she possessed, nor do anything inconsistent with her 
 previous declarations. It is well known that the Emperor 
 seriously hesitated whether he should not do so, and we learn 
 from the Russian * Diplomatic Study,' that the non-accept- 
 ance of the Vienna proposals, as they stood, was subsequently 
 deeply regretted at St. Petersburg. Finally, the Emperor 
 Nicholas took what seemed to him a middle course. He 
 accepted, or professed to accept, the substance of five 
 
246 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 of the seven Vienna proposals, but with certain reserves. 
 He required that the negotiations for peace should be 
 carried on directly between Russia and Turkey, either at 
 St. Petersburg or at the headquarters of the Russian Army, 
 and that the evacuation of the Principalities should only 
 take place on the conclusion of peace. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen, though he had entertained hopes that 
 Russia would have accepted without change the terms pro- 
 posed at Vienna, had contemplated the probability of some 
 such modifications being proposed. He did not think their 
 discussion unreasonable, and would have been prepared to 
 negotiate upon them had that course been advocated by the 
 Austrian Cabinet, as he firmly anticipated it would be. The 
 state of public opinion in England, and the views of nearly 
 the whole Cabinet, made it impossible to hope that anything 
 short of the unqualified acceptance by Russia of the Vienna 
 proposals could now avert war ; but it would have been easy 
 for Lord Aberdeen to have relieved himself of responsibility 
 by insisting on acquiescence in the proposal of Austria for 
 further negotiation, and retiring from office if his views were 
 overruled. What, then, was his surprise to find that Austria 
 not only at once rejected the Russian reserves as inad- 
 missible, but herself proposed that their rejection should 
 be followed up by a summons to Russia to evacuate the 
 Principalities forthwith — a measure which was practically a 
 conditional declaration of war. 
 
 There can be no doubt that, when this proposal was 
 made, the Austrian Cabinet intended to take part in the 
 war which must be the inevitable result of its adoption ; 
 and it is equally certain that, when the 'summons' was 
 despatched from England, Lord Aberdeen and Lord Claren- 
 don were under that impression. Either Lord Westmorland 
 failed to detect or he failed to report any change in the 
 
AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA 247 
 
 intentions of the Austrian Government ; and it was with 
 surprise and disappointment that, whefi the summons was 
 actually gone ^ the Enghsh Cabinet learnt that it was only ^-^ 
 diplomatic support which it would receive from Vienna. '"'^ 
 What was the cause of this retreat has never been fully 
 known. At the time, those who, like Lord Palmerston, 
 and some other members of the Cabinet, were prejudiced 
 by rooted suspicion and dislike of Austria, saw in it clear 
 proof of an understanding between the two Emperors. 
 Time, and the disclosure of documents, have shown this 
 notion to be wholly unfounded. It is more probable that 
 the King of Prussia, who was bound by treaty with Austria 
 to succour the latter Power with his whole force in the 
 event of her being attacked by Russia, intimated to the 
 Emperor Francis Joseph that he had entered into a similar 
 obligation towards Russia should Austria be the assailant. 
 To make war with Russia with the support of all Europe 
 was one matter ; to do so under such conditions as those 
 now suggested was quite another. To resist at once an 
 invasion of Hungary by Russia, and of Bohemia by Prussia, 
 as well as the invasion (in such an event but too probable) 
 of Lombardy by Sardinia, was more than the Cabinet of 
 Vienna could prudently undertake, and her active support 
 was, for the time at least, reduced to a benevolent neutrality. 
 
 The * summons ' remained unanswered, and France and Eng ^ 
 
 land alone declared war against Russia on March 28, 1854. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen, Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone — 
 the most pacific members of the Cabinet — all assented to 
 the issue of this declaration, and assisted in its preparation. 
 It is well that we should pause to inquire how such a 
 result became possible. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was of opinion that the possession, or 
 even occupation of Constantinople by Russia would be 
 
< 
 
 < 
 
 24^ LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 a menace to Europe, and would seriously affect British 
 interests. He held from the first that any advance on the 
 part of Russia, rendering the danger of such occupation 
 imminent, should be resisted, and that, if necessary, by 
 force. He did not suppose the Emperor Nicholas to 
 entertain any such design ; but he thought it not impro- 
 j bable that he might seek to acquire rights of interference in 
 Turkey, and of influence over its Christian subjects, which 
 the Porte could not safely grant, and the refusal of which 
 might easily lead to events which would place Constantinople 
 in danger. Such claims, however, he believed, would not be 
 persisted in by Russia, if decidedly disapproved by the four 
 other Great Powers of Europe. Menace on the part of 
 England alone, or even on that of England and France 
 combined, was not, he thought, likely to intimidate, whilst 
 it was certain to irritate, the Czar, and equally certain to 
 increase the reluctance of Austria and Prussia to co-operate 
 in the exercise of that combined pressure which Lord Aber- 
 deen regarded as irresistible. It therefore appeared to 
 him essential that any expression of doubt as to the pacific 
 intentions of the Russian Court (whether they were really 
 trusted or not) should be carefully avoided ; that a rigid 
 control should be maintained over the action of Turkey, 
 certain, if left to itself, to precipitate a contest ; and that 
 the Four Powers should adopt resolute and identical 
 language at St. Petersburg, in which the intimation of 
 a desire to see the just complaints of Russia redressed 
 should be combined with a clear indication of united 
 resistance to the acquisition by Russia of new and objec- 
 tionable powers within the Turkish Empire. The great 
 majority of the Cabinet (indeed, at first, the whole of it) 
 agreed with Lord Aberdeen as to the soundness of this 
 pohcy, and could it have been steadily pursued, the Russian 
 
SHADES OF OPINION 249 
 
 demands would probably have been reduced to perfectly 
 safe dimensions without recourse to the extremity of war.^ 
 
 This policy was never lost sight of by Lord Aberdeen 
 and his friends, but whilst all the Cabinet were agreed that 
 a Russian attack on Constantinople would compel Great 
 Britain, even if she stood alone, to take up arms against her, 
 and that it was expedient meanwhile to act in concert not 
 only with France but with the powers of Central Europe, a 
 divergence of opinion soon arose as to what was to be con- 
 sidered an attack on Constantinople, and what degree of 
 importance was to be attached to European concert. 
 
 From the outset, the varying impulses, personal objects, 
 and uncertain faith of the French Emperor made such con- 
 cert difficult; but in the beginning there was no divergence of 
 opinion in the English Cabinet. The decision that the fleet 
 should not leave Malta was an unanimous one, and though 
 Lord Palmerston, a little later, recommended its advance 
 to the Dardanelles, he withdrew that recommendation and^ 
 as has been shown on page 227, assented to Lord Aberdeen's 
 policy of quiescence, in which Lord John Russell also 
 agreed. But they both gravely underrated the importance 
 of close union and concert on the part of the Four Powers, 
 and, from various causes, subsequently became impatient, as 
 did some other members of the Cabinet, for more active 
 
 * That Russia was justly entitled to require that the privileges 
 previously granted to the Christian subjects of the Porte, and guaranteed 
 by Treaties, should be rehearsed and renewed, and that a solemn con- 
 firmation of them should be given by the Sultan and formally communi- 
 cated to Russia, was admitted ; but that the guardianship and enforce- 
 ment of these privileges should rest with Russia and not with the 
 Sovereign who granted them, and that the privileges granted io foreign 
 members of other Christian Churches should be equally enjoyed by the 
 millions of Turkish subjects belonging to the Greek Church, appeared 
 to the Cabinets of Vienna and Berlin, as well as to those of Paris and 
 London, inconsistent with the maintenance of the Sultan's inde- 
 pendent authority. 
 
 y 
 
250 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 demonstrations of sympathy with the Porte than the two 
 C" Central Powers of Europe were at the time prepared to 
 make. 
 
 Lord Palmerston believed sincerely in the regeneration 
 of Turkey, and suspected Russia of the most sinister designs. 
 He was therefore disposed to consider Constantinople con- 
 structively attacked by any hostilities whatever between 
 Russia and the Porte. He detested the Austrian Govern- 
 ment, and disliked the idea of waiting for its concurrence — 
 perhaps that of any concert at all with Austria which would 
 render the encouragement of revolutionary outbreaks in 
 Lombardy, Hungary, and Poland impossible. Nor had he 
 any great fear or horror of war, or any strong sense of the 
 advantage of German alliances. To his easy optimism it 
 seemed a light task for England and France united to 
 overcome the forces of Russia. 
 
 Though he did not fully sympathise with Lord Palmer- 
 ston's aspirations. Lord John Russell also but imperfectly 
 appreciated the strength and value of European concert. A 
 patriotic Englishman, he had no misgivings as to the power, 
 as well as right, of England to act alone. His peculiar 
 position made him also very sensitive to the strictures of 
 the press and the possible censure of Parliament, and he 
 ^ was anxious not only to take such steps as would preserve 
 ^ peace, but such as would conciliate public opinion. In his 
 opinion, Constantinople should be deemed attacked if a 
 Russian soldier crossed the Danube. 
 
 The position of Lord Aberdeen and those who agreed 
 with him was a peculiar one. They formed a large majority 
 in the Cabinet. In the ordinary course of things any resolu- 
 tion arrived at by them would have been at once acted on, and 
 any dissentient member of the Cabinet must have acquiesced 
 in the steps adopted, or resigned. But the resignation of 
 
ACTION OF THE CABINET 2$ I 
 
 of y 
 
 Lord John Russell would have destroyed the Government, 
 and thus probably have made inevitable that very calamity 
 war which it was desired to prevent. On every occasion of 
 ditTerence with him, therefore, Lord Aberdeen and the ma- 
 jority of the Cabinet had to consider how far they could, 
 without sacrificing their own policy, agree to meet his wishes. 
 The case was not that of individuals reluctantly remaining 
 members of a Cabinet from the policy of which they dis- 
 sented, but that of a Cabinet striving to meet the scruples 
 and hesitation of some of its members. The disposition 
 to do so may have been carried too far, but it is by no 
 means clear at what moment it would have been right to 
 accept a rupture, or at which indeed it would not have been 
 wrong to throw away those chances of peace which still 
 existed, and which would have been sacrificed had Lord 
 Aberdeen, Mr. Gladstone, and Sir James Graham quitted 
 the Cabinet. And if it be not easy, even now, to pronounce 
 at what particular moment a decided stand should have 
 been made against any further step in support of Turkey, it 
 was yet more difficult to do so during the progress of the 
 negotiation. I myself regret that such a stand was not made 
 before the Turkish declaration of war, and that Lord Aber- 
 deen did not press to the last extremity his proposal that 
 the Turks should be plainly told that they must not expect ^^„^^_^ 
 the assistance of Great Britain in a war commenced in /^ 
 defiance of her advice. It afforded almost the last chance 
 of recovering any real freedom of action, and, although the 
 Government might have been broken up. Lord Aberdeen's 
 course would have been intelligible and consistent. CouldJ 
 he have relied on the support of Lord John Russell, he 
 would doubtless have insisted on this intimation being given 
 to the Porte. He was prepared to disregard the secession of 
 Lord Palmerston, and the probability of expulsion from 
 
252 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 office on the re -assembling of Parliament ; for he was con- 
 fident that he could, in the interval, effect an arrangement 
 which, once effected, would not be subsequently disturbed, 
 although its authors might be overwhelmed by popular 
 disapprobation. But the retirement of Lord John would 
 have involved the dissolution of the Government, and the 
 dissolution of the Government necessarily involved war. On 
 the whole, therefore, he thought (and those on whom he 
 ; most relied for advice thought with him) that the interests 
 ^ of peace would be best served by attempting to gain, though 
 \ by a less perfect road, the immediate object he had in view, 
 — the prevention of acts of open hostility between the 
 Russian and Turkish forces. I am less able to understand 
 his acquiescence in the modification introduced by Lord 
 John into the instructions actually sent, and which practi- 
 cally defeated the intention of the Cabinet that the Turkish 
 Government should abstain from the commencement of 
 hostilities during the continuance of the negotiations to 
 which it was desired to give free play. I can only con- 
 jecture that, glad and surprised to find Lord John assent 
 to his proposal, the seemingly trivial verbal modification 
 passed almost without Lord Aberdeen's notice, if indeed he 
 was cognisant of it. That the Divan would make that use of 
 it which they did was certainly not contemplated by Lord 
 Aberdeen, nor by Lord John himself. By the insertion of 
 the words * a reasonable time,' the latter wished to guard 
 against frivolous delays, which he apprehended on the part 
 of Russia, desirous, as he supposed, to postpone the com- 
 mencement of hostilities till the spring ; but he had no 
 intention of intimating to the Turks that by postponi ng; 
 operations for a fortnig ht they would fully comply with the 
 wishes of the British Government. But for subsequent 
 events this wilful misunderstanding of the purport of the 
 
LORD STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE 253 
 
 English demand would probably have been made the ground 
 for refusing assistance to Turkey. 
 
 Concessions, however, to colleagues at home, and to the 
 exigencies of the French Emperor, need not necessarily have 
 resulted in war, had the cause of peace been zealously served 
 by the British Ambassador at Constantinople. Unfortu- 
 nately, it was not. 
 
 Lord Stratford de Redcliffe possessed great abilities and 
 great acquirements, but his hatred and dread of Russian in- 
 fluence in Turkey bore a character of fanaticism. Nor was 
 his temperament that of a mediator and peacemaker. He 
 was a man of strong will and of imperious and hasty temper, 
 impatient of control, and little accustomed to heed instruc- 
 tions he disapproved. He probably thought that in formally 
 complying with them he did all that strict duty required of 
 him. Of the highest personal integrity, chivalrous and 
 honourable above other men, he yet allowed himself, where 
 he conceived national interests to be at stake, to disregard 
 the spirit, while he obeyed the letter, of the instructions he 
 received. No doubt, he deemed that he had a higher duty 
 to perform towards the nation he represented than to the 
 Ministry which he for the time served. It may even be 
 that, in the absorbing interest of each step in the game, the 
 exact nature of the part he was playing never fully presented 
 itself to him. He knew too, and perhaps took into account, 
 the fact that some members of the British Cabinet shared 
 his own views, and had but reluctantly acquiesced in the 
 instructions which he ostensibly obeyed and virtually dis- 
 regarded. But whatever the motives by which he was 
 actuated (and none that are not high and noble should be 
 attributed to him) it is not the less the case that a large — 
 perhaps the largest — share of responsibility for the Crimean 
 War must rest upon Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, Voluntarily, 
 
254 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 or involuntarily, he allowed it to be perceived that he thought 
 the Porte would act wisely in rejecting the advice of which 
 he was the official mouthpiece. He encouraged the not 
 unnatural desire of the Sultan ' to strike off the fetters of 
 Kainardji and Adrianople ' and ' settle accounts with Russia 
 once for all ; ' • and those about him had no doubt that he 
 hoped for a war which he believed would humiliate Russia 
 and give new life to the Ottoman Empire.^ Nor is it easy 
 to read his despatches without arriving at the same conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 It has been asked, and not unreasonably, why, if all this 
 
 was known to the Cabinet, his recall was not insisted on ? But 
 
 ; to this measure Lord John Russell, Lord Palmerston, and 
 
 [ several of their colleagues would not have consented. Their 
 
 \ resignation would have dissolved the Cabinet, and the disso- 
 
 \ lution of the Cabinet, as I have already pointed out, meant 
 
 ^ war. In these circumstances, nothing short of a conviction 
 
 that Lord Stratford's further stay at Constantinople rendered 
 
 the continuance of peace impossible would have justified his 
 
 recall ; and of this Lord Aberdeen was not convinced. On 
 
 the contrary, *by great prudence and watchfulness, and 
 
 with careful instructions,' he * hoped that mischief might be 
 
 prevented ; ' and after anxiously considering with Lord 
 
 Clarendon the balance of dangers, they decided that it was 
 
 safer to run the risks involved in Lord Stratford's retention 
 
 • Lord Stratford's own words. 
 
 "^ I was told by the late Dr. H. Sand with, C.B., that, on receiving 
 <^ the news of the battle of Sinope, Lord Stratford exclaimed in a loud 
 ^ voice, • Thank God, that's War.' I have heard this also from General 
 Sir F. (then Colonel) Williams; but, though intimately acquainted 
 with all that passed at the Embassy, he was not at that moment with 
 Lord Stratford, which Dr. Sandwith was. According to Lord Malmes- 
 bury's Memoirs (not always a safe authority), vol. i. p. 425, and 
 Greville's Diaries, 3rd scries, vol. ii. p. 140, Lord Stratford said much 
 the same to Lord Bath, on the entry of the fleets into the Black Sea. 
 
PUBLIC FEELING IN ENGLAND 255 
 
 of his Embassy than to incur those attending an attempt, 
 probably inefiectual, to recall him. Their 'watchfulness,* 
 however, did not prevent the prospect of war being at more 
 than one critical moment brought perceptibly nearer by what 
 Lord Stratford did or refrained from doing. 
 
 Nevertheless, the policy which would have preserved 
 peace unless Russia were prepared to defy all Europe might 
 yet have been successfully adhered to, had it not been for ~> 
 the growth in England of a popular cry for war. Its progress 
 was at first slow ; but after the beginning of October 1853 
 it spread very rapidly, and soon assumed an intensity which 
 it is now hard to realise. No one who has failed to study 
 carefully the newspapers of that day — perhaps those only 
 who personally recollect the state of opinion at that time 
 — can have any idea of the enthusiasm and unanimity dis- 
 played. Whigs and Tories and Radicals, men and women, 
 young and old, orators on the platform and preachers in the 
 pulpit, vied with one another in denunciations of the am- 
 bition of Russia and of the supineness of the Government 
 in resisting its encroachments. A few members of the 
 Cabinet and a few dispassionate men out of office, such 
 as Lord Grey, Bright, and Cobden, strove in vain to recall 
 the nation to a sense of the losses and risks involved in war, 
 and the inadequacy of the motives for incurring them, but 
 they were unheeded, or heard only with irritation and impa- 
 tience. When for a moment it was believed that the Emperor 
 Nicholas had accepted the whole of the Vienna proposals of 
 January 1854, a cry of disappointment that 'the beggar would 
 not fight' rang through the land. Those who still preached 
 peace were branded as men indifferent to the honour of the 
 country, if not indeed something worse ; and absurd as 
 was the impulse which attracted crowds to Tower Hili -y 
 to witness the committal of the Prince Consort and Lord 
 
256 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Aberdeen to the Tower, the very fact that such gatherings 
 were possible is sufficient to show the popular excitement, 
 and the degree of exasperation which prevailed against 
 those who were supposed to hinder the commencement of 
 I hostilities. Lord Aberdeen deplored the popular fury and 
 ^ / its probable results, but his judgment was not influenced by 
 I it. He had no sympathy with the feelings which at an 
 earlier period had led Lord Clarendon, though agreeing 
 with Lord Aberdeen in principle and loyally supporting 
 him in the Cabinet, to recommend that he should allow 
 the fleet to be sent to the Dardanelles, as being 'the 
 least measure that would satisfy public opinion ' and one 
 that might ' do some good to ourselves, which ought not to 
 be our last consideration.' When Lord Palmerston about 
 the same time, and in reference to the same step, wrote, ' I 
 am confident that the country expects this course, and I 
 cannot believe that we should receive anything but support 
 in pursuing it from the party now in opposition,' Lord 
 Aberdeen replied; 'I have not the least doubt that the 
 country and the party of opposition in the House of 
 Commons would be delighted if we took such a step. But 
 the country would not look to the consequences, and the 
 Opposition would only anticipate our speedy overthrow. In 
 a case of this kind I dread popular support.' 
 
 But the force of public opinion had a powerful effect on 
 ^ the Cabinet at large. Several of those who had shared 
 Lord Aberdeen's views went over to the side of immediate 
 war. Even those to whom he most looked for assistance 
 considered the whole blame of the rupture to rest upon the 
 Emperor Nicholas, on account of his refusal of the terms of 
 agreement sent from Vienna in January 1854, and urged the 
 immediate despatch to St. Petersburg of the summons to 
 evacuate the Principalities which had been suggested by 
 
DECLARATION OF WAR 257 
 
 Austria. To this Lord Aberdeen assented, believing it to 
 be the seal of that European concert as to which he 
 was so anxious, and from which he looked for such great 
 results. Having once assented to it, it was impossible for 
 him to dissent from its inevitable consequences, even 
 though he found it was not to receive the support on 
 which he had counted. The summons had gone with his 
 consent, and being unanswered, he could not but concur 
 in the declaration of war which followed. He did so with 
 a heavy heart. 'The abstract justice of the cause,' he 
 wrote to Lord John Russell, * although indisputable, is but 
 a poor consolation for the inevitable calamities of all war, 
 or for a decision which I am not without fear may prove to 
 have been impolitic and unwise. My conscience upbraids 
 me the more because, seeing, as I did from the first, all that 
 was to be apprehended, it is possible that, by a little more 
 energy and vigour, not on the Danube, but in Downing 
 Street, it might have been prevented.' He admitted that 
 war was now inevitable, while with his whole soul he longed 
 to be relieved from the burden of conducting it. But 
 he decided that, on the whole, it would be better for the 
 interests of peace, and, as he beheved, of England, that 
 he should remain at his post. So long as he did so, the 
 war would not be converted into an engine for remodel- 
 ling the map of Europe. He was more likely than any 
 other man to secure that co-operation of Austria to which 
 he looked for bringing the war to a speedy close ; and if 
 the war fever subsided, which he believed it would do as 
 rapidly as it had arisen, it would be well that the Govern- 
 ment should have at its head a man determined to seize 
 the first opportunity for concluding an honourable peace. 
 Lord Aberdeen on this as on other occasions undertook man- 
 fully a task he loathed. In so doing he may have been right 
 
 s 
 
258 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 or he may have been mistaken ; but he certainly never gave a 
 greater example of that quiet self-sacrifice to a sense of duty 
 which through life distinguished him. 
 
 War once declared, Lord Aberdeen's main object was the 
 early re-establishment of peace. This, he perceived, could 
 only be effected by accomplishing the objects for which the 
 war was undertaken ; and to do this he thought it necessary 
 to keep those objects steadily in view to the exclusion of 
 all others ; to prosecute the war vigorously ; and, above all, 
 to unite the forces of Austria with those of the two Powers 
 already engaged in the contest. 
 
 To all that would widen the scope of the war, or direct 
 it to other objects than those it was originally undertaken 
 to effect, he was immovably opposed. It was not to 
 restore Finland to Sweden, or the Crimea to Turkey ; it 
 was not to make Poland independent, or to transfer 
 Lombardy from the Emperor of Austria to the King of 
 Sardinia, that England had gone to war. To ensure the 
 security of Turkey, Lord Aberdeen had reluctantly con- 
 sented to the commencement of hostilities. He was not 
 prepared to continue them for other purposes. Moreover, 
 he thought, and thought justly, that the expedition to the 
 Crimea would tax all the resources of this country, and that 
 It was the reverse of sound policy, until Sebastopol had 
 fallen, to undertake other enterprises. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's abhorrence of exaggeration, his inability 
 to simulate passionate resentment which he did not feel, or 
 appreh elisions which he did not share, and his determination 
 to confine the war to its original objects, not unnaturally 
 produced an impression of half-heartedness in its prose- 
 cution, which rendered him highly unpopular. A nation at war 
 is not disposed to regard the case of its opponent judicially 
 or dispassionately, and the Emperor Nicholas was for the. 
 
LORD ABERDEEN AND THE WAR 259 
 
 moment regarded by the British public with as much alarm 
 and hatred as had ever been the case with Bonaparte himself. 
 Lord Aberdeen considered the Russian pretensions in- 
 admissible, and the cause of Turkey just ; but he had no 
 apprehensions of Russia as an European power, and no 
 sympathy with those who would have undertaken a crusade 
 for her destruction. When, therefore, Lord Lyndhurst, in 
 the House of Lords, pronounced a vehement philippic 
 against the Czar, and made an impassioned appeal to his 
 hearers on behalf of the liberties of Europe, threatened by 
 the encroachments of Russia, Lord Aberdeen, in replying 
 to him, expressed his exact thoughts and opinions with the 
 most transparent openness. Read now, his speech would 
 probably appear to most men unexceptionable. His 
 sentiments were in fact those of more than one of his col- 
 leagues, but their avowal raised a storm of obloquy which 
 he had some difficulty in fully understanding. That the 
 conduct of the Russian Government should be impartially 
 considered was not to be borne ; and it was not unnaturally 
 supposed that Lord Aberdeen, feeling no strong animosity 
 against Russia, and anxious to restore peace, would shrink 
 from prosecuting the war with decision and vigour. 
 
 But this belief, however natural, was altogether mis- 
 taken. Lord Aberdeen held in the strongest manner that 
 peace would be the more speedily obtained the heavier 
 and more rapid were the blows struck by the allies ; and, 
 in the language of Sir James Graham, * he was ever ready 
 to listen to the most decided counsels, and give effect to the 
 boldest enterprises.' On the evacuation of the Principalities, 
 therefore, he was one of those who most warmly advocated 
 the immediate invasion of the Crimea. 
 
 The war with Russia is known by the name of the 
 Crimean War, and it is almost forgotten that it had already 
 
260 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 lasted six months before the expedition to the Crimea was 
 undertaken. During those six months the progress of the 
 aUies had been eminently successful. When, in March, 
 war was declared, the Russian forces were on the Danube, 
 and it was expected that the country south of the Balkan 
 would be the scene of the campaign. By July there was not 
 a Russian soldier upon Turkish soil, and preparations were 
 already on foot for the invasion of Russia. In the north, the 
 Aland Islands had been seized the moment the navigation 
 of the Baltic was possible. A great fortress (Bomarsund) had 
 been destroyed, battle had been offered to the Russian fleet 
 at the very doors of the capital, and the way lay open to a 
 series of brilliant operations. That they were not even 
 attempted, was due to the strange and unexpected caution 
 of an admiral whose previous career had certainly not been 
 distinguished by that quality. The rapid despatch of the 
 army to the East, the successful landing of the allied forces 
 in the Crimea, the brilliant victory of the Alma, the 
 commencement of the siege of Sebastopol, and the 
 anticipation of its speedy end, caused general exultation ; 
 and when on his passage through Aberdeen, early in 
 October, on his way to spend a few days at Haddo, Lord 
 Aberdeen was presented with a congratulatory address, 
 he was told by Sir James Graham that his answer should be 
 'a song of triumph.' The personal unpopularity, which 
 attached to him for his supposed want of sympathy with 
 the popular enmity to Russia, was for the time swallowed 
 up in the satisfaction caused by these achievements ; 
 and on the fall of Sebastopol, which was then daily 
 expected, it was Lord Aberdeen's intention to dissolve 
 Parliament, a step which at that moment would undoubtedly 
 have secured a large ministerial majority. But during the 
 next three months the favour which the Government had 
 
CORRESPONDENTS IN THE CAMP 26 1 
 
 temporarily acquired with the public was rapidly lost. The 
 first and perhaps chief cause for this change of sentiment 
 may be found in the fact that for a whole week a false 
 report of the fall of Sebastopol was universally believed. 
 Even when it was found that its capture had not yet been 
 effected, it was supposed to be immediately imminent ; and 
 an impatience for the speedy close of the siege was thus 
 created which would not otherwise have existed, and the 
 disappointment of which excited irritation and complaint. 
 These feelings were intensified by the accounts received, 
 and made public, of the privations under which for a time 
 the army suffered, and for which the Government at home 
 was naturally held responsible ; while dissatisfaction was 
 increased by the injudicious publicity given to all the 
 grumbling and hasty censure of the camp. 
 
 The conditions under which intelligence from the seat 
 of war was given to the public were singularly unfortunate. 
 No English army had previously been attended by news- 
 paper correspondents. Never before had there been so 
 many men in the ranks who could write, and never before 
 had there been such facilities at home for the publication of 
 soldiers' letters. On the other hand, the checks upon the 
 amount and character of the information furnished, which 
 have since been imposed, had not then been devised. The 
 newspaper correspondents stood in no recognised relation 
 to the Head- Quarters Staff, and were practically under no 
 control ; while the ignorant and often hostile criticism 
 contained in the letters of subalterns and sergeants was 
 published without reserve, and greedily swallowed by the 
 public. Had the Duke of Wellington's campaigns in the 
 Peninsula been conducted under like conditions, it may 
 be questioned whether they would ever have been allowed 
 to reach their glorious conclusion. But the Duke's army 
 
262 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 was not accompanied by journalists ; the number of private 
 soldiers who wrote letters was then comparatively small, and 
 the letters of officers to their families were not scattered 
 broadcast with the same want of reticence as in 1854. In 
 later campaigns, confusion as to transmission and disposal 
 of stores little if at all inferior to that in the Crimea has 
 not been unknown ; but means had then been found of 
 more carefully concealing it from the public eye. At the 
 time of the Crimean War the period when an army in the 
 field was silent was over ; that of judicious censorship had 
 not begun. The publicity given to the state of the camp 
 made the hardships endured by the army during November 
 and December appear greater than in fact they really were, 
 and greater than those of other armies, which in former 
 campaigns had suffered at least as much, but in silence. 
 A part of these hardships were only such as must in- 
 evitably attend every army engaged in a winter campaign 
 at a great distance from its base of operations. But 
 besides these there were real hardships, which were more 
 or less preventible, and it was perfectly natural that the 
 Government at home should have been held responsible 
 for them, though in fact little to blame. There was no 
 parsimony in the despatch of stores from England. Few 
 at all realise the magnitude of the blow inflicted by the loss 
 of the transports in the gale of November 13th. For the 
 delay in delivery at the front, owing to the condition of 
 the road,, the local authorities were responsible, and so 
 soon as a knowledge of the truth reached England the 
 construction of a railway was resolved on. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen believed that the pressure which Russia 
 would most feel would be the junction of Austria with the 
 allies ; but in his efforts to secure such united action he 
 met with little support or sympathy. The sincerity of 
 
PROSPECTS OF PEACE 263 
 
 Austria was doubted. It was supposed by some that she 
 was secretly aiding Russia and was unfriendly to the allies ; 
 while those who wished, as some did, to carry on the 
 war for Polish and Italian objects, preferred her enmity to 
 her friendship. Even Lord Clarendon, who was not one of 
 these, and who loyally acted with Lord Aberdeen, expressed 
 himself as * sorry ' that a treaty with Austria should be con- 
 templated, and predicted that she would never be brought 
 to sign a secret article fixing a date for the commencement 
 of her active co-operation. But the treaty was concluded, 
 and the secret article signed ; and the immediate effect of this 
 step was to compel Russia to accept the basis of peace pro- 
 posed by the allies, to which Austria had given her adhesion. 
 After some discussion it was agreed, at the beginning of the 
 year 1855, that, while hostilities were not to cease, con- 
 ferences for peace should be opened at Vienna. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen now saw a real prospect of the restora- 
 tion of peace. He believed that it might be made on terms 
 which would fully attain the objects of the war. That a 
 peace made while Sebastopol was yet untaken would be 
 fatal to the Government which made it he had little doubt, 
 although, if Lord John Russell were the negotiator — as 
 Lord Aberdeen meant that he should be — he considered it 
 possible that terms accepted by Lord John might be accepted 
 by the country. For this, however, he cared comparatively 
 little ; he at all events saw his own way clear. Only a day 
 or two before the reassembling of Parliament in January 1855 
 he told the writer that, for the first time since the commence- 
 ment of the war, he now had hopes of the conclusion of a 
 rational peace, and that if it were effected he should not 
 regret having remained minister. But even if peace were 
 not made, as he would certainly be no party to insisting on the 
 acceptance of unreasonable conditions, he saw a prospect of 
 
264 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 his own deliverance from bondage. He was more cheerful 
 and more hopeful than he had been at any time since the 
 war began. A few days later, his hopes of peace, or of 
 securing at least an honourable retreat from office, were 
 destroyed by the sudden, and at that moment unexpected, 
 secession of Lord John Russell from the Cabinet ; the votes 
 of whose followers, combined with those of the regular 
 opposition, carried Mr. Roebuck's motion for an inquiry 
 into the conduct of the war, and by so doing overthrew 
 Lord Aberdeen's Government. But the causes which led 
 to this result must form the subject of a separate chapter. 
 
265 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 LORD JOHN RUSSELL AS A COLLEAGUE 
 
 Lord John Russell and the Vienna Note — Lord Palmerston's Resigna- 
 tion — Postponement of the Reform Bill — Correspondence respect- 
 ing the War Office — The Kennedy Affair— Resignation of Lord 
 John Russell — Letter to the Duke of Bedford. 
 
 In more than one letter written during the summer of 1852 
 Lord Aberdeen expressed his opinion that the Government 
 which it would be most for the benefit of the country to 
 form, and which would offer the best prospect of perma- 
 nence, was one of which Lord John Russell should be the 
 head, but which should include among its members the 
 principal friends and followers of Sir Robert Peel. 
 
 That the formation of such a Government was at the 
 moment impossible Lord Aberdeen recognised with regret. 
 That it was impossible was felt by all, save a certain 
 fraction of the old Whig party. Those who saw their own 
 exclusion from the Cabinet threatened, to make room for 
 Peelites, naturally felt aggrieved. Those who, not having 
 yet held it, looked forward to office themselves, deprecated 
 any widening of the circle of selection involving a diminu- 
 tion of their own chances. A certain number of narrow 
 paity politicians, too, hated the very thought of combination 
 with men who had long been their opponents, and still sat 
 on the opposite side of the House to themselves. But, to 
 all beyond this restricted though not uninfluential circle, 
 it was apparent that the time had not yet arrived for Lord 
 
266 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 John's restoration to the highest seat of power. The just 
 anger of the Roman CathoHc body, and the i .sentment of 
 Lord Palmerston, had been too recently excited, and the 
 distrust of some of the most conspicuous members of the 
 Peelite party was still too strong, to permit the experiment to 
 be made with safety. With Lord John, Peelites, Papists, and 
 Palmerston alike might act ; mider him, they as yet could 
 not. As the summer passed, this was more and more clearly 
 seen by those best able to feel the pulse of public opinion, 
 including that very shrewd observer, Lord John's own 
 brother, the Duke of Bedford ; and it was acquiesced in by 
 Lord John himself. Lord Aberdeen therefore reluctantly 
 allowed himself to be placed at the head of the new 
 Government. He was the natural leader of the Peelites, 
 who, of course, readily took office under him. He had 
 headed the opposition to the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and 
 was therefore acceptable to the Roman Catholics and the 
 Irish. If Lord John himself became a member of his 
 Government, no other Whig, if asked, could well refuse to 
 do so ; and if Lord Palmerston was willing to serve under 
 so old an opponent as Lord Aberdeen, there were no such 
 personal injuries on either side to forgive as those which 
 stood between Lord Palmerston and Lord John. But in 
 assuming the position, Lord Aberdeen did so with a full 
 intention of using all his influence' to bring about ultimately 
 what he considered a better arrangement, whenever it could 
 be effected Ynthout breaking up the Government ; for this 
 he did not think it v;ould be fair either to the Queen or to 
 his colleagues to do for such an object. 
 
 In consenting to serve with and under Lord Aberdeen, 
 Lord John undoubtedly made a great sacrifice to his sense 
 of public duty ; but though capable of an act of self- 
 abnegation, Lord Jolm was unable to sustain with equal 
 
FORMATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 267 
 
 magnanimity the position in which he found himself placed 
 by that act. Left to himself, it is probable that the 
 same spirit which had prompted his first generous de- 
 termination would have sustained him in its execution. 
 Unfortunately, however, some of those who were most 
 about him in private life, and who shared most largely his 
 familiar confidence, were themselves members of that small 
 band of disappointed office-seekers who had sustained the 
 injury of exclusion, and, still worse, the slight of seeing 
 others of their own party preferred to themselves. These 
 men, though counted among its supporters, hated the 
 newly-formed Government with greater hatred than was 
 felt for it by the regular opposition, and, above all things, 
 desired to put an end to what they considered an unnatural 
 combination. They were ever on the watch to point out to 
 Lord John slights which were not intended, to embitter 
 every difference, to dwell on and exaggerate every unfounded 
 bit of gossip, to extol and confirm any hesitation which 
 Lord John felt as to common action with his colleagues. 
 Unfortunately they succeeded but too well. 
 
 After a discussion which took place almost immediately 
 after the formation of the Government as to the time for 
 which Lord John should hold the seals of the Foreign 
 Office, Lord Aberdeen told him that so soon as he found 
 the Cabinet prepared to accept Lord John as his successor, 
 it was his intention to ' slip out of office.' This prospect 
 made Lord John for the time less restless, though even 
 during the first six months of 1853 he twice tendered his 
 resignation. 
 
 The session closed on August 20th, and closed trium- 
 phantly for the Government. Lord Aberdeen thought the 
 time had now come at which his proposal to retire in Lord 
 Tohn's favour might be made to the Cabinet with some 
 
268 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 chance of success. It was, therefore, mentioned by him 
 privately to several of his colleagues. Not one of them 
 accepted the suggestion willingly, and in this respect several 
 of Lord John's former friends showed quite as strong a 
 disinclination to the change as Lord Aberdeen's personal 
 adherents. Still, the most important of them had been 
 spoken to and had consented. Mr. Gladstone, however, 
 who was known to be the member of the Government most 
 unlikely to consent, was absent from town. To him Lord 
 Aberdeen wrote, saying that it was essential that he should 
 see him for the discussion of a matter of the most urgent 
 importance, and appointed a day on which to meet him at 
 Haddo House. 
 
 When that day came, neither Lord Aberdeen nor Mr. 
 Gladstone was at Haddo. Lord Aberdeen was kept in 
 town by the hesitation of the Porte to accept the Vienna 
 Note, and wrote to Mr. Gladstone at Haddo, where he sup- 
 posed him to be, begging him to remain there a few days 
 till he could himself come down to Scotland after a settle- 
 ment of the Turkish question. But Mr. Gladstone, who was 
 on a visit at Dunrobin, was detained there for some weeks 
 by serious illness. When he and Lord Aberdeen did meet 
 a month later in London, the whole complexion of affairs 
 was changed. 
 
 Lord John had borne, not without impatience, but still 
 had borne, a delay which he trusted would be terminated by 
 his accession to power at the end of the session. Imme- 
 diately after the prorogation he had intimated to Lord 
 Aberdeen that it was only as its head that he would remain 
 a member of the Government. He had done this in a 
 manner which Lord Aberdeen, considering all his own 
 exertions on Lord John's behalf, thought peremptory and 
 ungracious, but which caused no change in Lord Aberdeen's 
 
THE VIENNA NOTE 269 
 
 intentions. Difficulties, however, which had not been an- 
 ticipated, arose as to the acceptance of the Vienna Note, 
 and Lord John himself was compelled to admit that Lord 
 Aberdeen's retirement at that moment was impossible. But 
 the disappointment he now sustained overcame his equa- 
 nimity, and from that time, with the exception of two short 
 intervals of cordiality, to be hereafter mentioned, he seems to 
 have regarded Lord Aberdeen not as the head and chief 
 of the Government of which he was a member, but as an 
 obstacle in the way of his own resumption of what he 
 deemed his proper place. 
 
 At the time when the acceptance of the Vienna Note 
 by Russia had seemed to render the continuance of peace 
 certain, Lord John was prepared for the refusal of the Czar 
 to accept any modifications in it. He then wrote to Lord 
 Aberdeen : 
 
 I am very sorry for the wrong-headed answer of the Turks. 
 I think, as you do, that we cannot press the Emperor to accept 
 the modifications, but we may tell him he will do well to do so^ 
 as it will close the chapter. 
 
 Lord John, at the request of Lord Aberdeen and Lord 
 Clarendon, came to London, and conferred with them and 
 Lord Palmerston. Lord Aberdeen wrote to Sir James 
 Graham the same evening of this interview : 
 
 We occupied ourselves a good deal in considering the pro- 
 ceedings which should be adopted by the Conference at Vienna, 
 with a view to induce the Turks to accept the Note, in case the 
 Emperor, as is most likely^ should reject their proposed modifi- 
 cations. In this we were pretty well agreed. 
 
 Lord John returned to Scotland, and on the receipt of 
 
 the Emperor's refusal of the modifications, Lord Aberdeen 
 
 wrote to him there as follows : 
 
 Palmerston was with us yesterday, and we agreed to pro- 
 pose at Vienna that the Four Powers should declare that they 
 adopted the Turkish modifications as their own interpretation 
 
270 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 of the Note, and that they were prepared to adhere to this 
 interpretation in all time hereafter. This would be a virtual 
 guarantee to the Porte of more value than any they could 
 expect. Indeed the declaration is so strong that I entertain 
 some doubt of its being agreed to by Austria and Prussia. But 
 it is still more doubtful whether Lord Stratford will allow the 
 Turks to accept it. 
 
 This was in substance what had been agreed on at 
 their former meeting, and Lord Aberdeen was consequently 
 astonished and dismayed by the receipt in quick succes- 
 sion of two notes from Lord John, one written before and 
 one after the receipt of Lord Aberdeen's letter. In the 
 first he said : 
 
 I was in hopes the Emperor might have accepted some of 
 the modifications. I must now conclude . . . that nothing less 
 than the subjection of Turkey will satisfy him. If that is the 
 case the question must be decided by war, and if we do not 
 stop the Russians on the Danube we shall have to stop them on 
 the Indus. 
 
 As the rejection of the modifications had all along been 
 
 expected, and as Lord John had fully agreed that the 
 
 acceptance of the unmodified Note should nevertheless, in 
 
 that case, be pressed upon the Porte, this was sufficiently 
 
 startling. Still more unexpected was the intimation, in 
 
 reply to Lord Aberdeen's letter, that the * only hope ' he 
 
 had was 
 
 that Turkey may instantly reject such a proposal, but even that 
 will not wipe away the shame of having made it. . . . If the 
 Austrians agree to Clarendon's terms, and forward them to 
 Constantinople, I do not see how I can remain a member of 
 your Government. 
 
 On receiving this letter Lord Aberdeen wrote to Sir 
 
 James Graham ; 
 
 I fear I must renounce the sanguine view I have hitherto 
 taken of the Eastern Question ; for nothing can be more alarm- 
 ing than the present prospect. I thought that we should have 
 been able to conquer Stratford, but I begin to fear that the 
 reverse will be the case, and that he will succeed in defeating 
 
LETTER TO SIR JAMES GRAHAM 27 1 
 
 us all. . . . Although at our wits' end, Clarendon and I are still 
 labouring in the cause of peace ; but really to contend at once 
 with the pride of the Emperor, the fanaticism of the Turks, 
 and the dishonesty of Stratford is almost a hopeless attempt. 
 In the meantime, we have had some very curious domestic 
 incidents, which to me are very significant. Very recently, 
 Clarendon and I agreed to make a proposal to the Conference 
 at Vienna, with the view of obtaining a declaration of the Four 
 Powers. This was in substance communicated to Lord John 
 both by Clarendon and by me. He partly misunderstood us 
 both, but he wrote Clarendon a very strong letter, and spoke 
 of the disgrace attending the proposal. He added, that 
 Clarendon must not be surprised if, in the event of its being 
 carried into effect, he must decline to be a party to it. To 
 me he wrote in more civil terms, but said, if the proposal 
 should be adopted, he could no longer remain a member of my 
 Government. Now the comical part of this affair is that we 
 caught Palmerston on his way to Balmoral, and the proposal 
 which has so much excited Lord John's indignation not only 
 had Palmerston's concurrence, but was in great part his own 
 work ! Clarendon has been greatly annoyed, and has written 
 very strongly to Lord John. I shall only laugh at him a little. 
 But I told you it was significant ; and it seems to me pretty 
 clear that Lord John is determined to go. It is probable that, 
 on reflection, he found the intention of leaving a Government 
 with whom he entirely agreed, and a place which, however 
 exceptional, was of his own making, would put him in a 
 ridiculous point of view, and was in fact an untenable position. 
 It was therefore necessary to have some ground of difference, 
 and the Turkish affair presented one out of which some capital 
 might be made into the bargain. He has made a bad hit this 
 time, but he may be more successful on the next occasion. . . . 
 This Eastern Question affects my own position a good deal. 
 Of course I never took it into my calculation, and concluded 
 that it would be settled some way or other, long before it was 
 necessary for me to act. This may still be the case ; and if so, 
 I should have no difficulty ; but I should not like to have the 
 appearance of running away from an unfinished question of 
 great importance and of a most complicated description. 
 Personally, I had much rather that Lord John should break up 
 the Government by some such decision as that which he has 
 already announced. But then what is to follow .? How I wish 
 that you were here ! However, no immediate decision is 
 necessary, and we shall have time to reflect, if not to consult, 
 before we act. My intercourse with Clarendon is most satis- 
 factory and confidential. He is a little too much afraid of the 
 public and the press, but all his views are sound. Nothing can 
 be more cordial than our footing, which is a great comfort. 
 
272 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 And on October 4th he wrote of the Cabinet to be held 
 that afternoon : 
 
 It will be proposed by Lord John, and I believe by Palmer- 
 ston, to engage as auxiliaries on the side of Turkey, but not as 
 principals in the war. It will be very difficult to establish a 
 distinction of this kind, and in our position I should think 
 impossible. I should much doubt if the law of nations would 
 allow of such a position as he would propose to take up. The 
 practical question will be war or peace ; any other course will 
 not be intelligible. ... I shall be very glad to hear from you 
 to-morrow on the subject of our domestic affairs. But in 
 truth these are now comparatively of little importance, and the 
 whole affair has assumed an entirely new character. I cannot 
 entertain a doubt that Lord John will seek, and of course will 
 find, an opportunity of breaking off on a popular ground instead 
 of on one ridiculously untenable. Palmerston most undoubtedly 
 will do the same. Indeed, I feel that very possibly I may stand 
 alone. I am almost inclined to hope so. 
 
 Far from * standing alone,' however, Lord Aberdeen 
 found, when the proposition was made, that most of 
 Lord John Russell's friends in the Cabinet, Lord Gran- 
 ville, Sir Charles Wood, etc., joined in its reprobation, 
 and were as decidedly pacific in their views as Lord 
 Aberdeen himself. In these circumstances it was clear 
 that, though Lord John might be able to upset the existing 
 Government, it would be impossible for him to construct 
 a new one out of its ruins. The proposition, therefore, 
 which was brought forward by Lord Palmerston, received 
 only a perfunctory support from Lord John, and was 
 without difficulty abandoned by him. 
 
 Another suggestion made by Lord John was that Parlia- 
 ment should meet early in November, to which Lord Aber- 
 deen was willing to agree, but the Cabinet generally was not. 
 Petty but vexatious questions also arose as to patronage, as 
 to which Lord Aberdeen almost always did what Lord John 
 Russell desired; without, however, at all succeeding in 
 satisfying him. 
 
LORD PALMERSTON AND REFORM 2/3 
 
 For a short time, however, it appeared likely that a cor- 
 dial good understanding would be restored between Lord 
 Aberdeen and Lord John, and that they would act together 
 in strict accord. Lord Palmerston intimated to Lord Aber- 
 deen that he strongly objected to the measure of Parliamen- 
 tary reform of which the principle had been accepted by the 
 Cabinet. Lord Aberdeen and Lord John both considered 
 that, this being so, Lord Palmerston ought not to continue 
 a member of the Government; and after coming to a thorough 
 understanding as to the course to be pursued towards 
 Russia and Turkey, a letter, which was virtually one of 
 dismissal, was prepared by Lord Aberdeen, in concert with 
 Lord John, Lord Clarendon, and Sir James Graham, and 
 sent to Lord Palmerston. He resigned, but was brought 
 back to the Cabinet by a very singular agency. The Duke 
 of Newcastle and another member of the Cabinet set them- 
 selves to work to induce him to recall his resignation ; both 
 agreeing at that time in distrust of Lord John Russell, but 
 in other respects actuated by different motives : for the 
 Duke, like Lord Palmerston, desired that strong measures 
 should be taken against Russia, which his colleague did not ; 
 and the latter felt then some sympathy with Lord Palmerston 
 as to Parliamentary reform, while the Duke was an ardent 
 reformer. Lord Aberdeen and Lord John refused to allow 
 any overtures to be made to Lord Palmerston, although 
 they could not decline to consider an unconditional request 
 from him to be allowed to withdraw his resignation. Such 
 a request he was induced to make, moved, no doubt, by the 
 news of the battle of Sinope, which had by this time been 
 received. The fair prospect of the continuance of peace 
 which had rejoiced Lord Aberdeen on December loth had 
 before the 22nd of that month wholly vanished. The 
 Cabinet, as a whole, had become less indisposed to active 
 
 T 
 
274 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 operations against Russia ; Lord Palmerston was again in 
 office ; and Lord John was now less than ever disposed to 
 hsten to peaceful counsels, though for a short time he dis- 
 played more cordiality towards Lord Aberdeen, with whom 
 in the matter of Lord Palmerston he had been in full accord. 
 They repelled in concert, and with complete success, at the 
 opening of the session, the absurd and offensive attacks made 
 on Prince Albert ; and Lord John received from Lord Aber- 
 deen a steadier support on the Reform question than from 
 any other colleague. Of this Lord John was very sensible ; 
 and when the Bill was finally withdrawn, he wrote to the 
 Queen, that ' Lord Aberdeen alone had shown any regard 
 for the honour of the Government.' 
 
 The intimate counsellors of Lord John were all eager 
 for the postponement of the Reform Bill, a course to which 
 he was himself strongly averse ; and consequently, during 
 the discussions on that subject, they did not exercise over 
 him their accustomed influence. The result was seen in 
 greater mutual confidence between him and Lord Aberdeen, 
 whose * personal kindness to ' Lord John, as well as * the 
 sense of justice and honour which guided him on all occa- 
 sions,' were warmly acknowledged. 
 
 To the postponement or withdrawal of the Reform Bill 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was strongly opposed. On February 26th 
 
 he wrote to Lord John : 
 
 I have never been a great Parliamentary reformer, but 
 having conscientiously adopted the principle of reform, and 
 believing that the present measure is perfectly safe, and likely 
 to be generally advantageous, I am clearly of opinion that 
 we ought not to give way to a combination of persons, many of 
 whom we believe to be prompted by very questionable motives. 
 Should we postpone the Bill, it would be a virtual defeat, and 
 we shall not be long in experiencing its effects. 
 
 The second reading of the Bill was, however, postponed ; 
 and when the date to which it had been put off approached, 
 
THE REFORM BILL OF 1 854 275 
 
 there was again question of further delay, which was heartily 
 
 desired by the greater part of the Cabinet and the majority 
 
 of Lord John's own followers in the House of Commons. 
 
 On this Lord Aberdeen wrote : 
 
 Postponement of the Reform Bill means postponement 
 during war. Now I should not much object to postponement, 
 provided an honest desire existed to bring the war to the 
 earliest possible termination, and to neglect no opportunity of 
 restoring peace consistently with honour. The exigencies of 
 the country might justify this, if coupled with a pledge to 
 return zealously to the work of domestic reform as soon as we 
 were relieved from foreign exertions. Instead of this, we have 
 a plan sketched out of a thirty years' war, and even if we 
 could dictate peace at Moscow, we have the certainty of our 
 colleagues undertaking Parliamentary reform with indifference 
 if not with reluctance. It was my opinion that we should have 
 done better to move the second reading of the Bill on March 
 13th, as first proposed. Our position would have been more 
 clear and our difficulties less, whatever might have been the 
 result. 
 
 Ultimately the Bill was withdrawn, and withdrawn 
 
 without being accompanied by Lord John's resignation, 
 
 which had twice been tendered. That this was the case 
 
 was, in the Queen's judgment, owing 
 
 to that great spirit of fairness, justice, and unflinching single- 
 ness of purpose, and rare unselfishness, which so eminently 
 distinguish our kind and valued friend. Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 The withdrawal of the Reform Bill brought Lord John 
 great discomfort in the House of Commons, and renewed 
 the influence of his entourage^ which had for a moment 
 been in abeyance. When, on the commencement of the 
 war, the Secretaryship of State for War and Colonies was 
 divided. Lord John recommended Sir George Grey for the 
 latter post, but at the same time expressed his own desire 
 to assume the management of a substantive department 
 or to resign. As it had, from the formation of the Govern- 
 ment, been Lord Aberdeen's desire that Lord John should 
 hold office, he was, of course, well pleased that he should 
 
2/6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 do so, but was somewhat disturbed by Lord John's choice 
 of a post — that of Lord President of the Council. Since 
 the days of Henry VI 1 1, that office had invariably been 
 held by a peer ; and not only would Lord John's appoint- 
 ment be contrary to all precedent, but it would involve 
 various other shiftings of offices, naturally giving umbrage 
 to those who held them. He endeavoured in vain 
 to induce Lord John himself to take the Colonies, and 
 he felt that there was a want of consideration shown, in 
 making him the unwilling instrument of depriving friends 
 of Lord John of posts to which they had been appointed 
 at his instance. 
 
 You must recollect (he wrote) that I am not in the situation 
 of a minister who has formed his Government exclusively from 
 his own friends, and who can therefore with less difficulty 
 make to them such suggestions as he thinks best. It is only 
 reasonable that people who fill offices at your own suggestion 
 should feel that you are equally concerned in any change which 
 may be proposed to them. 
 
 But though every wish of Lord John had been comphed 
 with, and many made discontented to satisfy what might 
 almost be called a whim. Lord John again, in three weeks 
 after his appointment as Lord President, tendered his 
 resignation, on the ground that, as he had failed in con- 
 ducting the Government busmess in the House of Commons, 
 where the Government had sustained a series of petty but 
 irritating defeats, while Lord Aberdeen had been eminently 
 successful in the House of Lords, he ought to relieve him 
 of his association. 
 
 Mention has been made in the preceding chapter, page 
 259, of the offence given by the judicial tone adopted by 
 Lord Aberdeen in spealdng of the war and its objects. While 
 the irritation caused by that speech was at its height, some 
 of Lord John's constituents in the City sent a requisition 
 
IMPATIENCE OF LORD JOHN 2/7 
 
 to the Lord Mayor to convene a public meeting, to thank 
 Lord John for his patriotic speeches and to censure Lord 
 Aberdeen. Of this meeting Lord John seems to have 
 expressed no disapproval, but sent to Lord Aberdeen a 
 copy of the requisition, a step which reminded more than 
 one person of the famous * praescript ' by which Canning 
 sought to scare Addington from the Treasury. The highly 
 successful speech made by Lord Aberdeen a few days later 
 in the House of Lords rendered the attempt at censure a 
 ridiculous failure, but from that time forward the efforts 
 of a portion of Lord John's friends out of office to substi- 
 tute him for Lord Aberdeen as head of the Government, 
 and themselves for the Peelite members of the Administra- 
 tion, were all but unconcealed. Lord Aberdeen acquitted 
 Lord John of personal participation in these intrigues ' to 
 trip up his heels,' but he could not perceive that they 
 were discouraged by Lord John in the manner which loyalty 
 as a colleague required. Nor was he alone in this feeling. 
 It was as warmly shared by the old Whig members of the 
 Government as by any others. And Lord John was plainly 
 told by Lord Clarendon, that if he should succeed in 
 removing Lord Aberdeen from office, and be himself called 
 on to fill his place, there was now not a single member of 
 the existing Cabinet who would consent to take part in 
 any Administration he might form. 
 
 As the year went on, Lord John became more and more 
 impatient and restless. A rupture with Lord Aberdeen, 
 in which the latter had the sympathy of the greater part 
 of the Cabinet, though it might ensure the fall of the 
 Government, was by no means certain or even likely to lead 
 to Lord John's own accession to power, whilst, if the change 
 was effected by Parliamentary vote, it would probably bring 
 Lord Derby into office. 
 
278 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Shortly after his return to town in November, Lord John 
 wrote to Lord Aberdeen, suggesting the removal of the 
 Duke of Newcastle from the War Office and the substitution 
 of Lord Palmerston. Lord Aberdeen by no means relished 
 this proposal. He underrated Lord Palmerston's capacity 
 for the office, and overrated that of the Duke of Newcastle. 
 He, moreover, dreaded the results which might ensue if the 
 direction of the war, the scope and objects of which Lord 
 Palmerston desired to extend, were committed to his hands. 
 But it may be doubted whether, as War Minister, he would 
 have exercised more real influence on its course ; whilst it 
 cannot be doubted that he was the man in whose hands the 
 public desired to see the office. Had he filled it. Lord 
 John's final resignation, if ever offered, would not have 
 produced the effects which actually resulted from it. 
 
 On the whole, Lord Aberdeen concluded that no 
 such public advantage was likely to result from the 
 change as to justify the removal of the Duke from a 
 position in which, if he had shown no brilliant qualities 
 and achieved no striking success, he could not be said to 
 have failed. Lord John ended the correspondence by 
 saying that he should bring the proposal before the Cabinet. 
 This, however, he did not do, having in the interval before 
 its meeting ascertained that he would receive no support 
 from any of its members. But he intimated that, unless he 
 were himself placed at the head of the Government, he 
 intended to retire from the Cabinet on the close of the 
 short session then commencing. When, however, on 
 December i6th, the Cabinet met to prepare and discuss 
 measures to be introduced into Parliament in the regular 
 session of 1855, Lord John Russell took an active part in 
 the discussion. Lord Aberdeen had been previously made 
 aware, although not by himself, of the change which had 
 
THE KENNEDY QUESTION 279 
 
 taken place in Lord John's intentions. After the meeting 
 of the Cabinet, Lord John came to Lord Aberdeen and 
 spoke of a matter of comparatively trivial importance, but 
 did not seem disposed to advert to any other subject. 
 Lord Aberdeen therefore took an opportunity of referring 
 to the correspondence which had taken place, and the 
 * notice to quit' which had been given by Lord John. 
 Without any embarrassment or apparent sense of incon- 
 sistency, he at once admitted that he had changed his 
 intention. 
 
 Meanwhile, another ground of difference suggested 
 itself, on which there was really a fair prospect that Lord 
 John's old friends would side with him, and Lord Aberdeen 
 and the Peelites be left in a minority. In the month of 
 May, Mr. Gladstone had rather hastily dismissed the Right 
 Honourable P. Kennedy from the post he held in the office 
 of Woods and Forests. Technically, this dismissal was the 
 act of ' the Treasury,' i.e. of the Prime Minister ; practi- 
 cally, it was that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 alone. 
 
 Into the merits of this purely personal question, in which 
 Lord John (who had at first acquiesced in his dismissal) 
 ultimately took Mr. Kennedy's part so warmly as for some 
 time to make a rupture upon it probable, it is unnecessary 
 to enter. Lord Aberdeen did not deny Mr. Kennedy's 
 honour and integrity, and might perhaps, had he been con- 
 sulted, have seen his way to some other course than that 
 actually taken ; but he was not prepared to allow that Mr. 
 Gladstone had acted without sufficient cause. Notice was 
 given by a member of the House of Commons, before the 
 close of the session of 1854, that he would in the following 
 year move for a Committee of Inquiry into this subject ; 
 and there were differences of opinion, which did not appear 
 
28o LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 likely to be removed, as to the manner in which such a 
 motion ought to be met. Finally, as correspondence 
 seemed ineffectual. Lord Aberdeen suggested that it would 
 be better to wait until Mr. Gladstone came to town, and 
 that then, if they three could not agree upon a course to 
 be pursued, the matter must go before the Cabinet. Lord 
 John replied curtly that ' he must decline to submit to the 
 decision of the Cabinet on questions regarding his personal 
 honour.' 
 
 The projected conference was postponed in consequence 
 of a sudden journey of Lord John to Paris, nor was the 
 question ever brought before the Cabinet. As a cause of 
 quarrel it might have had its attractions. It would have 
 involved no Parliamentary vote of censure, affecting the 
 whole Government, whilst it would have necessitated the 
 retirement of Lord Aberdeen, Mr. Gladstone, the Duke of 
 Newcastle, and Sir James Graham, whose places might have 
 been filled by Whigs. But it was urged on Lord John by 
 some of his friends, and that strongly, that his resignation 
 on such a ground would be attended with ridicule, and that 
 at a grave public crisis it would be felt that he did wrong in 
 giving prominence to petty personal questions, in which no 
 great interest or principle was involved. 
 
 There were some who thought that the permission which 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury had obtained from Lord 
 Aberdeen for a session of Convocation might lead to an 
 irreconcilable difference ; but the storm seemed for the 
 moment, at all events, to have blown over; and Lord 
 Clarendon wrote to Lord Aberdeen that he 'had not for 
 years seen Lord John in such good spirits and good 
 humour' as after his return from Paris on January i6th. 
 
 He was present at the Cabinets held January i6th, i8th, 
 and 2oth, and took an active part in the discussion 
 
RESIGNATION OF LORD JOHN 28 1 
 
 and preparation of the measures of the session. On the day 
 before Parliament reassembled, he sent to Lord Aberdeen 
 the outline of some measures of military reorganisation 
 which he said he intended to propose at the next Cabinet ; 
 and after the House of Commons had met he gave notice 
 of his intention to move at an early day the first reading of 
 the Education Bill he had prepared. He had distinctly 
 faced the probability, or rather the certainty, that a motion 
 of censure would be proposed ; for on Lord Aberdeen men- 
 tioning that it had reached his ears that it was likely to be 
 moved by Sir Robert Peel, Lord John congratulated himself 
 that it was not his father he would have to encounter. When, 
 therefore, on the evening that Parliament again met, on 
 January 23rd, Lord John resigned, because Mr. Roebuck 
 had given notice of a vote of censure which he did not feel 
 able to resist, Lord Aberdeen's sensation was one of sur- 
 prise — a surprise to which, in the case of some of his 
 colleagues, was for the moment added an indignant sus- 
 picion of deliberate treachery. 
 
 It cannot be denied that the resignation was effected at 
 the worst possible time, and in the worst possible manner 
 for Lord John's reputation. Had he resigned either on the 
 failure of his proposal to displace the Duke of Newcastle, 
 or at Christmas, according to his original announcement, his 
 course might on public grounds have been censured, but 
 would have been open to no shadow of personal reproach. 
 But after the change of purpose avowed by him on 
 December i6th ; after taking part in the preparation of the 
 measures for the session ; after contemplating the certainty 
 that a vote of censure would be proposed ; his resignation, 
 on notice of that vote being given, without his having even 
 hinted to a single colleague that he contemplated such a 
 step, assumed another character, and could not escape the 
 
282 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 charge of inconsiderate levity without admitting one far 
 graver. 
 
 I am myself convinced that, when Lord John left the 
 House of Commons on the evening of the 23rd, he had no 
 formed intention of resigning. He had received the dis- 
 quieting intelligence that many of his old followers would 
 vote against him, and doubtless felt this keenly. Disturbed 
 in his mind he may have been ; but that he was acting a 
 part when he gave notice of the Education Bill, and when 
 he suggested to the Government whip that Mr. C. Villiers 
 should be induced to move an amendment to Mr. Roebuck's 
 motion, I for one cannot believe. Yet this is what those 
 would have us suppose, who affect to regard Lord John's 
 resignation in such circumstances as a step which had been 
 long intended, and which ought to have been foreseen. 
 
 The resignation did not, however, produce exactly the 
 effect which Lord John or his friends had counted on. 
 They had expected that Lord Aberdeen would at once 
 resign, when deprived of the support of his most powerful 
 colleague ; or that at all events, if he did not do so, those 
 old Whigs who had been accustomed to act with Lord 
 John would retire from a Government of which he was no 
 longer a member. If the Cabinet were thus broken up 
 before any Parliamentary censure was inflicted on it. Lord 
 John might, it was thought, be able to present himself as 
 the head of a new, more vigorous, and purely Whig Adminis- 
 tratioa On the morning of the 25th Lord John was 
 visited by Mr. Hayter, the Secretary to the Treasury. He 
 found Mr. Vernon Smith and Colonel Romilly with Lord 
 John. Mr. Hayter was eagerly interrogated by the trio, 
 and great disappointment was expressed when they learned 
 that no one but Lord John had resigned. As the day 
 wore on, and it became evident to Lord John that no one 
 
LORD JOHN'S RESIGNATION 283 
 
 of the Cabinet intended to join him in deserting Lord 
 Aberdeen, he began to feel that he had made a mistake, 
 and that, though he had probably ensured the defeat of 
 the Government, he might have seriously injured himself 
 Accordingly, on the evening of the 25th, he intimated to 
 Lord Aberdeen, through a common friend, that he did not 
 think it too late to reconsider his resignation, if securities 
 were given him as to the future conduct of the war. Such 
 security he was willing to find in the appointment of Lord 
 Palmerston to the War Office ; which had in fact been 
 resolved on at an earlier date. The Duke of Newcastle, 
 while not, of course, acquiescing in the justice of the popular 
 discontent with his administration, was fully aware of its 
 mischievous effect both on the Government and on the con- 
 duct of the war itself, and had determined to retire after the 
 short session before Christmas. Unfortunately, he deferred 
 doing so until after the commencement of the regular session, 
 and, yet more unfortunately, he insisted that Lord Aberdeen 
 should not communicate his intention to his colleagues. 
 Lord Palmerston was disposed to encourage such a reconcilia- 
 tion as Lord John now proposed, but these overtures were at 
 once and peremptorily rejected by Lord Aberdeen. Matters 
 had in this instance gone too far for repentance, nor, come 
 what might, was he prepared at that time to accept Lord 
 John again as a colleague. His first impulse had been to 
 retire from a contest in which Lord John's defection had 
 rendered defeat all but certain, but this intention was over- 
 ruled by the Queen and the Cabinet, every member of 
 which desired publicly to testify his disapproval of Lord 
 John's action. It was, therefore, determined to resist Mr. 
 Roebuck's motion, and to meet it with a direct negative. 
 The result depended on the Conservative vote. Lord Derby 
 and Mr. Disraeli, it is believed, hesitated for a moment, but 
 
284 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 finally determined to vote for the appointment of the com- 
 mittee, and, with the Radicals and discontented Whigs, of 
 course made up an overwhelming majority in the division, 
 which took place on January 29th. The following day Lord 
 Aberdeen resigned. 
 
 No expression of irritation escaped Lord Aberdeen 
 during this crisis. On the night on which he announced 
 his resignation in the House of Lords, Lord John's sister. 
 Lady Abercorn, dined with the family at Argyll House. 
 Her relations with Lord Aberdeen were those of a daughter, 
 and she was full of distress at her brother's action. Lord 
 Aberdeen devoted the whole evening to reassuring her, 
 dwelling on all the noble traits of Lord John's character, 
 and speaking of him in terms of ungrudging praise, while 
 lamenting the weakness and eagerness which had made 
 him in this instance the instrument of more selfish men. 
 But while all along doing justice to Lord John's personal 
 honour, and in the end believing that he had acted from 
 impulse, IvOrd Aberdeen certainly at the time conceived his 
 overthrow to have been deliberately planned. Carefully 
 though he refrained from allowing any expression unfriendly 
 to Lord John to escape his lips, he had written in that sense 
 to his daughter-in-law in Egypt. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen thought that, in resigning as he did, 
 Lord John made a great mistake in regard to his own 
 personal interests. In writing to the Duke of Bedford in 
 December 1856, he said : 
 
 You say that Lord John thinks he committed an error in 
 leaving my Government in the way he did. It is certain that 
 a different course might more probably have led to the result at 
 which we both wished to arrive. 
 
 Had he supported us against Roebuck's motion, or enabled 
 us in some mode to meet it with success, this might have been 
 the case. Clarendon and I had already spoken about the 
 possibility of Lord John going to Vienna to negotiate on the 
 
LETTER TO THE DUKE OF BEDFORD 285 
 
 Government I can have little doubt that peace would have 
 been made. Had the peace been confirmed, I might then 
 have irresistibly pressed my proposed retirement in his favour ; 
 or if the peace had been censured, the Government would at 
 least have fallen in a cause of which I should have felt proud 
 to the end of my days. Instead of this euthanasia^ however, I 
 was ignominiously overthrown in consequence of Lord John's 
 decision. 
 
 Although I do not deny that I may have felt some reason 
 to complain, this step was much more warmly resented by my 
 friends than by myself, for in truth it made little or no change 
 in my feelings towards Lord John. Knowing what he did, it 
 seemed to me not unnatural that he might think me too slow 
 and undecided in giving effect to my intentions ; for I will not 
 do him the injustice of supposing that he ever for a moment 
 doubted my sincerity. It is possible, too, that, although I am 
 convinced he entered into the Government from the most 
 generous and high-minded motives, he may have found him- 
 self in a somewhat false position, and that he may have mis- 
 calculated his powers of enduring this position with equanimity 
 for any length of time. 
 
 But, however this step may have been regarded by my 
 friends at the moment, I trust that, seeing how Httle I have felt 
 it myself, and looking to subsequent events, all asperity of feeling 
 is now entirely at an end. 
 
 It gives me the greatest satisfaction to be informed by you 
 of the good opinion and friendly feelings of Lord John. I can 
 truly say that my conscience tells me that I have done my best 
 to deserve them. I know that he has sometimes complained of 
 my want of confidence in him ; but for this there never was any 
 real foundation. Any appearance of the kind was entirely the 
 effect of accident, and never of intention. I may perhaps 
 myself have thought Lord John over-sensitive, or sometimes 
 rash or impracticable. But these are trifles. We parted with 
 expressions of mutual regard, which on my side were perfectly 
 sincere, as I have no doubt they were on his. These expressions 
 I am happy in having this opportunity to renew ; as well as, 
 with my admiration of his great powers and noble impulses, to 
 assure you that I shall always feel a warm interest in his reputa- 
 tion and honour. 
 
 I have written this chapter with reluctance, and not 
 without pain. The characters of our great men are 
 national possessions, and the exhibition of their weak- 
 nesses and failings, even when it is necessary, is to be 
 deplored. Lord John Russell's character, as a whole 
 
286 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 stands too high to be greatly injured by the temporary 
 waywardness and impatience which under trying circum- 
 stances he displayed. But truth, if told at all, must be told 
 plainly; and justice to Lord Aberdeen, whose exemplary 
 patience was never more severely tried than during these 
 two years, requires that it should be so. That Lord John 
 should have found it difficult to sustain the position he 
 himself of his own choice assumed is not surprising ; that 
 he should have been eager to direct the war, and think 
 he could do so better than anyone else, is in keeping 
 with his character ; that, so thinking, he should have 
 been impatient to realise what he thought for the public 
 advantage, is pardonable. But Lord Aberdeen felt that 
 his own desire to arrive at the end which Lord John 
 sought should have been more fully trusted. He had 
 spontaneously expressed his wish to see Lord John in his 
 place, and his determination to effect the change when 
 possible. He was sure that Lord John knew him to be 
 sincere, and thought that not only Lord John's personal 
 dignity, but his interests also, would have been better 
 consulted by a generous confidence, than by a continual 
 display of restless dissatisfaction. In the attitude which he 
 assumed, Lord John could hardly expect to receive from 
 Lord Aberdeen such cordial confidence as that reposed in 
 Lord Clarendon and Sir James Graham. But it is emi- 
 nently characteristic of Lord Aberdeen that, in spite of 
 provocation, he steadily maintained that Lord John was 
 the proper head of the Liberal party, and never ceased to 
 desire that he should succeed him as Prime Minister. 
 
28; 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 CLOSING YEARS : 1855-1860 
 
 Lord Aberdeen assists in the Formation of Lord Palmerston s Govern- 
 ment—Letter to Sidney Herbert — Is made a Knight of the Garter — 
 Letter from the Queen — Letter from Mr. Gladstone — Lord John 
 and the Vienna Negotiations — Domestic Life — Visit from the 
 Queen — Illness and Death — Mr. Gladstone's Estimate of Lord 
 Aberdeen— General Sketch of Character. 
 
 On Lord Aberdeen's resignation, Lord Derby, whose ad- 
 herents formed the bulk of the majority by which Mr. 
 Roebuck's motion had been adopted, was sent for by the 
 Queen. He failed to form an Administration, as did also 
 Lord Lansdowne, who was next asked to undertake the 
 task. Then at length Lord John Russell, of whose friends, 
 next to those of Lord Derby, the majority was most largely 
 composed, received that summons which for the past two 
 years he had so anxiously desired. He accepted with 
 alacrity Her Majesty's commission. Lord Palmerston ex- 
 pressed willingness to serve under him, as he already had, 
 on certain conditions, to serve under Lord Derby or Lord 
 Lansdowne. It may without want of charity be assumed 
 that in so doing Lord Palmerston foresaw, that in neither 
 case was the attempt to form a Government likely to succeed, 
 and that his own succession would not be imperilled by his 
 facility. But, with this exception. Lord John found, doubt- 
 less to his great surprise, that not one of his colleagues in 
 the late Administration would join him. That the Peelite 
 
288 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 members of the Government should refuse to do so may 
 have been anticipated, and by Lord John's entourage^ if not 
 by Lord John himself, was not regretted ; but the replies 
 he received from other quarters were as unexpected by him 
 as they were unwelcome. Lord Clarendon refused to give 
 any answer ' till he had consulted the head of the Govern- 
 ment of which he was lately a member.' The Duke of Argyll 
 bluntly declined Lord John's invitation to call on him. 
 Lord Lansdowne gravely regretted that it was impossible to 
 assist him. Above all, that his old and tried friend Sir 
 George Grey should refuse to serve under him, avowedly 
 because he disapproved of his late conduct, must have been 
 felt as a heavy blow. Lord Panmure and Mr. Vernon 
 Smith were indeed ready and eager to join him, but Lord 
 John no doubt knew that a Cabinet in which they filled 
 the leading parts could hardly at such a time anticipate 
 success. After forty-eight hours of humiliation, than which 
 those who felt his recent action most keenly could hardly 
 have desired for him a severer punishment, he resigned the 
 attempt to construct a Government, nor did he ever again, 
 except for a few months, more than ten years later, fill the 
 post that he had coveted. It was on Lord Palmerston that 
 the formation of a Government now devolved. The popular 
 voice had from the first called for his selection, and after the 
 failure of Lord Derby, Lord Lansdowne, and Lord John 
 Russell, no other arrangement appeared practicable. Lord 
 Aberdeen therefore exerted himself to ensure its success. 
 Notwithstanding his strongly-expressed advice, however, his 
 immediate friends resolved to decline Lord Palmerston's 
 overtures. One of their number, Mr. Sidney Herbert, 
 though he would not separate himself from those with whom 
 he had always acted, acquiesced but reluctantly in this 
 decision. He wrote to Lord Aberdeen the same evening, 
 
LETTER TO SIDNEY HERBERT 289 
 
 to express his doubts whether the refusal was, on pubHc 
 
 grounds, justifiable, and begged that Lord Aberdeen would 
 
 himself join the new Government, which would enable his 
 
 friends to do so with security. Lord Aberdeen replied as 
 
 follows : 
 
 Argyll House : Fehrtiary 6, 1855. 
 
 My dear Herbert, — I received your letter too late to answer 
 it last night. In fact, I had gone to bed. 
 
 You say you are in a great difficulty as to the course you 
 ought to take. I am in none whatever. 
 
 I gave you my decided opinion yesterday that you ought to 
 continue in Palmerston's Administration ; and I endeavoured 
 to support this opinion by the very arguments which you 
 repeat in your letter to me. Surely this letter ought to have 
 been addressed to Gladstone and Graham, and not to me. I 
 fully concur in thinking that you came to a wrong decision 
 yesterday, and I would fain hope that it might still be reversed. 
 When you sent to me yesterday to attend your meeting, I 
 certainly hoped it was with the intention of following my 
 advice. 
 
 Your reluctance to continue in Palmerston's Cabinet is 
 mainly founded on the apprehension that he would pursue a 
 warlike policy beyond reasonable bounds. I have already told 
 you that I have had some explanation with him on the terms 
 of peace, with which I am satisfied. But whatever may be his 
 inclinations, you ought to rely on the weight of your own 
 character and opinions in the Cabinet. I am persuaded that 
 the sentiments of the great majority of the members of the 
 Cabinet are similar to your own, and that you may fairly 
 expect reason and sound policy to prevail in the question of 
 peace and war. But, above all, I have recently had some very 
 full conversations with Clarendon on this subject, and I am 
 entirely satisfied with his disposition and intentions. I am 
 sanguine in the belief that he will give effect to his present 
 views. 
 
 A perseverance in the refusal to join Palmerston v/ill 
 produce very serious effects, and will never be attributed to its 
 true cause. The public feeling will be strongly pronounced 
 against you, and you will greatly suffer in reputation if you 
 persevere, at such a moment as this, in refusing to continue in 
 the Cabinet. In addition to the public necessity, I think you 
 owe much to our late Whig colleagues, who behaved so nobly 
 and generously towards us after Lord John's resignation. They 
 have some right to expect this sacrifice. 
 
 Although your arguments do not apply to me, for I yester- 
 day adopted them all, you conclude your letter by pressing me 
 
290 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 to enter the Cabinet. Now there is really no sense in this ; 
 and I cannot imagine how you could seriously propose it. You 
 would expose me to gratuitous indignity, to which no one 
 ought to expect me to submit. I say gratuitous ; for I could 
 not be of the shghtest use in such a situation for the purpose 
 you require. I can retire with perfect equanimity from the 
 Government in consequence of the vote of the House of 
 Commons ; but to be stigmatised as the head, and tolerated as 
 a subordinate member, I cannot endure. If at any future time 
 my presence should ever be required in a Cabinet, I should feel 
 no objection to accept any office, or to enter it without an ofiice. 
 But to be the head of a Cabinet to-day, and become a sub- 
 ordinate member of the very same Cabinet to-morrow, would 
 be a degradation to which I could never submit. I tell you 
 plainly that I would rather die than do so ; and, indeed, the 
 sense of it would go far to kill me. 
 
 If you tell me that your retaining your present offices, 
 without the slightest sacrifice, but, on the contrary, with the 
 approbation of all, is in any degree to depend on my taking 
 such a course, I can only say that, as friends, I cannot believe 
 it possible that you should be guilty of such mere wanton 
 cruelty without any rational object. 
 
 I must then earnestly exhort you to reconsider the decision 
 of yesterday, and to continue to form part of the Government. 
 I will do anything in my power to facilitate this. If you 
 like, I will go to Palmerston, and promote any explanation 
 between him and Gladstone on the subject of peace and 
 war. Or I will tell him that you have yielded to my strong 
 recommendation. In short, I am ready to do anything in my 
 power. 
 
 I wish you to show this letter to Gladstone and to Graham, 
 to whom, as you will see, it is addressed as much as to your- 
 self. 
 
 Thanks to his disinterested efforts, which were most 
 warmly and handsomely acknowledged by Lord Palmerston, 
 the reluctance of Lord Aberdeen's friends to serve under 
 Lord Palmerston was overcome, and the new Administra- 
 tion formed. 
 
 At the time of the opening of the short session of Parlia- 
 ment in December, the Queen had, in the most gracious 
 manner, and as a mark of her especial favour and support, 
 conferred on Lord Aberdeen the vacant ribbon of the 
 Garter. By a strange coincideace his installation as a 
 
THE QUEEN'S FAREWELL 291 
 
 knight was fixed for the day on which Lord Palmerston's 
 
 writ was moved for in the House of Commons, on his 
 
 acceptance of the office of First Lord of the Treasury. In 
 
 writing to Lady Haddo from Windsor that evening, Lord 
 
 Aberdeen, after mentioning that the Queen had expressed 
 
 to him her thankfulness for what he had done in promoting 
 
 the formation of the new Cabinet, said : 
 
 A little thing showed me her feelings to-day. I am come 
 down here to be invested as a Knight of the Garter, and at a 
 part of the ceremony it is necessary to kiss the Queen's hand. 
 This, I need not say, is held out in a lifeless manner for the 
 purpose. To my surprise, when I took hold of it to lift it to 
 my lips, she squeezed my hand with a strong and significant 
 pressure. The Queen has also desired that I should keep the 
 Green Ribbon, for which she finds there have been two pre- 
 cedents in the last hundred and fifty years. These are empty 
 honours, but they are proofs of real regard. 
 
 Nor was it only in dumb show that Her Majesty's feelings 
 were expressed. On Lord Aberdeen's arrival at the Castle 
 he had found this letter awaiting him. 
 
 Windsor Castle : February 7, 1855. 
 
 Though the Queen hopes to see Lord Aberdeen in a short 
 while, she seizes the opportunity of approving the appointment 
 of the Hon. and Revd. Arthur Douglas to the living of St. 
 Olave's, Southwark, to say what she hardly trusts herself to do 
 verbally, without giving way to her feelings. She wishes to 
 say what a pang it is for her to separate from so kind, and 
 dear, and valued a friend as Lord Aberdeen has ever been to 
 her since she has known him. The day he became her Prime 
 Minister was a very happy one for her ; and throughout his 
 ministry he has ever been the kindest and wisest adviser, one 
 to whom she could apply for advice on all and trifling 
 occasions even. This she is sure he will still ever be— but 
 the losing him as her first adviser in her Government is very 
 painful. The pain has been to a certain extent lessened by 
 the knowledge of all he has done to further the formation of 
 this Government in so loyal, noble, and disinterested a manner, 
 and by his friends retaining their posts, which is a great 
 security against any possible dangers. 
 
 The Queen is sure that the Prince and herself may ever 
 rely on his valuable support and advice in all times of difficulty, 
 and she now concludes with the expression of her warmest 
 
292 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 thanks for all his kindness and devotion, as well as of her 
 inalterable friendship and esteem for him, and with every wish 
 for his health and happiness. 
 
 The letters of farewell which he received from nearly all 
 his late colleagues were equally gratifying ; but their feelings 
 towards Lord Aberdeen were perhaps best expressed by 
 that of Mr. Gladstone, from which I am permitted to make 
 the following extract. 
 
 February lo, 1855.— Warned without ceasing, during" the late 
 proceedings, not to allow the remembrance of persons to weigh 
 with me, I was but too well schooled into forgetting them ; and 
 it was not until I turned my back to cjuit your room, next door, 
 on Tuesday, that I recollected it was for the last time, and be- 
 came keenly sensible that a chapter of my life, in which arduous 
 duty and pleasure had been the most closely blended, was 
 brought at once and very painfully to an end. Since then I 
 have wished to write to you, but have shrunk from the task. I 
 feel as if a dear friend were dead ; and I abhor the manner in 
 which the end has been accomplished. Even the unbounded 
 kindness of your letter cannot overpower the revulsion with 
 which I look back on the past fortnight, and I have used the 
 poor and feeble expedient of trying to shut my eyes upon the 
 fact I loathed. 
 
 I am thankful, however, that you have roused me. When 
 I try to measure our respective shares of the last disaster, I 
 am glad to believe they are not so unequal as they seem. We, 
 who remain in the Government, set out anew, clothed in tinsel 
 of which we shall soon be stripped. My loss, indeed, already 
 suffered, is peculiar, and scarcely to be told. But while we 
 lose, you will gain from day to day. When, to use the beau- 
 tiful expression of the Psalms, ' this tyranny shall be overpast,' 
 and the popular mind, recovering jts balance, shall have re- 
 turned to justice, then many a longing eye, of those now averse, 
 will follow you wherever you may be. I dearly prize your fame 
 and honour ; so much of it as I can promote or injure is to me 
 a sacred trust ; and with this thought full before me, I am 
 unable to regret the day when I entreated you not to turn away 
 from the seat of power, to which you had the paramount claim 
 conferred by superior wisdom and virtue. 
 
 You have now been Minister of England ; you are one of a 
 lofty line ; but I reflect with joy and comfort on the comparison 
 your name will bear with those who have preceded and with 
 those who may follow you. I do not agree in your estimate 
 of your services. I forbear to cite the Queen against you, 
 because you may ascribe her admirable letter to the emotions 
 
PEELITE SECESSION 293 
 
 of so womanly a heart ; but I believe the country is even now 
 far more just towards you than you are yourself. And I have 
 some further satisfaction in the thought, that those who have 
 long acted with you were called by a sense of public duty to 
 gather themselves round you at the last, and to add, whatever 
 their faithful and declared adherence could add, to the dignity 
 and lustre of your conduct. 
 
 You make far too much of any service I have rendered to 
 your Government. I wish it were in my power to do justice, 
 in return, to the benefits I have received from you. Your whole 
 demeanour has been a living lesson to me ; and I have never 
 gone, with my vulnerable temper and impetuous moods, into 
 your presence, without feeling the strong influence of your calm 
 and settled spirit. 
 
 For a short time Lord Aberdeen remained nearly as 
 much occupied with public affairs as when Prime Minister. 
 Lord Clarendon wrote to him almost every day, and the 
 discussions of the Cabinet were freely confided to him, 
 as well as the letters and despatches received from the 
 Continent. But before many days, the Peelite members 
 of the Government, who had with difficulty been persuaded 
 to remain in it, resigned. Lord Palmerston, as might from 
 the first have been easily foreseen, found himself unable 
 to procure from the House of Commons a reversal of the 
 vote appointing the Committee of Inquiry ; and Sir James 
 Graham, Mr. Gladstone, and Sidney Herbert found them- 
 selves unable to agree with Lord Palmerston in accepting 
 a situation which was in fact inevitable. Lord Aberdeen 
 thought them wrung, and told them so ; but he was not in- 
 clined to make their remaining in Lord Palmerston's Govern- 
 ment a matter of personal entreaty on his part for a second 
 time ; and though he disagreed from them, and approved 
 of the Duke of Argyll remaining in the Cabinet, and of Lord 
 Canning joining it, and would have wished Mr. Cardwell 
 to do the same, he did not censure his other friends for 
 forming an opinion different to his own. The removal of 
 most of his more immediate friends from the Cabinet of 
 
294 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 course made some difference in the intimacy of his relations 
 with its remaining members ; but his intercourse with Lord 
 Clarendon continued to be close and confidential, until after 
 the rupture of the negotiations for peace which were carried 
 on by Lord John Russell at Vienna. 
 
 As is now known, peace might have been then made. 
 Terms were suggested by Austria, of which Prince Gort- 
 chakoff was prej^ared to recommend the acceptance to his 
 Government, and which M. Drouyn de I'Huys and Lord 
 John Russell thought should be accepted. But peace on 
 such terms would have been unpalatable in England, and 
 they were rejected by the Government. 
 
 Lord John had, on the retirement of the Peelites, been 
 offered and had accepted the Colonial Secretaryship. On 
 his return from Vienna he found himself in a position which, 
 in some respects, was even more irksome to him than that 
 which he had occupied in Lord Aberdeen's Government. 
 In that Cabinet he had been leader of the House of 
 Commons, and possessed an influence which, if less way- 
 wardly exercised, would have been all but unbounded. In 
 Lord Palmerston's Government he had ceased to lead in 
 Parliament, he had little influence, his recommendation of 
 the Vienna terms had been set aside almost contemptuously, 
 and he had in fact become little more than a mere depart- 
 mental minister. The only advantage he had gained was a 
 respite from the impoitunities of his own friends, who were 
 now provided with offices. He was consequently as dis- 
 satisfied with Lord Palmerston's Government as he had 
 been with that of Lord Aberdeen, and, untaught by ex- 
 perience, was inclined to play in it the same part which he 
 had taken in that by which it had been preceded. About 
 a month after his return from Vienna he, with apparent 
 insouciame^ paid a visit to Lord Aberdeen, whom he had 
 
LORD JOHN AT VIENNA 295 
 
 not seen since his resignation in January, and poured out 
 to him (as Lord Aberdeen wrote), * with some bitterness,' his 
 complaints against Lord Palmerston and Lord Clarendon, 
 who had, he said, rejected terms of peace which he himself 
 thought acceptable. With many professions of friendship, 
 he sought to enlist Lord Aberdeen's aid in placing himself 
 in a position to give effect to the peaceful policy of which 
 he declared himself the friend, though not as yet openly the 
 advocate. Lord Aberdeen's strong sense of humour was 
 too much touched by the absurdity of the situation to fee 
 resentment, which many men in such a position would 
 have testified, at being so approached by the main instru- 
 ment of his own overthrow, and he was too desirous to see 
 peace restored to allow any personal feeling to stand in its 
 way. He received Lord John's advances good-humouredly, 
 and told him he should look to him as * the man of peace ' 
 in the Cabinet^ but gave no encouragement to ideas of re- 
 forming its composition. Lord Aberdeen sent an account 
 of this interview to Sir James Graham, whose comment on 
 it was : 
 
 Lord John is indeed unfathomable. I know not which most 
 to admire : his pacific language, or his attempt to maintain 
 friendly relations with you. He might have made peace at 
 Vienna ; he was bound in honour to defend your Government, 
 of which he remained a member till the eve of an attack, when 
 he ran away leaving the door open for a triumphant entry of 
 the enemy into the fortress. To talk of peace now^ and to 
 profess friendship and concert, is absurd ; but his present posi- 
 tion is punishment as severe as an implacable adversary could 
 desire. 
 
 Lord John repeated the visit a few days later, and was 
 equally bitter against his colleagues ; but it was only in 
 consequence of a direct question in the House of Commons 
 from Sir John Walsh that he publicly avowed his approval 
 of the Austrian proposals. Lord Aberdeen wrote to Mr. 
 Gladstone the next day : 
 
296 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 I think you will read Lord John's speech with some surprise. 
 Although fully aware of his opinions myself, I never expected 
 that he would have the courage to communicate them to the 
 House of Commons, and to the whole world, as he did yester- 
 day. He has done many wonderful things ; but I think the 
 most wonderful of all is the course which he proposes to pursue, 
 retaining the opinions he has expressed on the subject of peace 
 and the Austrian proposal. I presume, however, that this is 
 scarcely possible, and that the matter cannot remain as it is at 
 present. I felt this so strongly, that I had some thoughts of 
 going to him to-day, and of telling him that he ought not to 
 remain another hour a member of the Government. I should 
 have done this in return for the very frank and open manner in 
 which he had volunteered recently to communicate to me his 
 own views and opinions on the transactions at Vienna. But 
 after all, I am not his ' keeper ; ' and I do not know that there is 
 anything in our antecedents which could call for such an act of 
 friendship on my part. He must act for himself; but to this 
 conclusion I think he must inevitably come at last. 
 
 Had Lord John continued, as he intended, a member 
 of the Government, Sir E. L. Bulwer's motion of censure 
 would unquestionably have been carried ; but on the eve 
 of its being brought forward he found it impossible to 
 resist the plainly expressed opinion of the public that he 
 should resign. 
 
 The resignation of the Peelites had again formed them 
 into a party, though a small one, and of this party Lord 
 Aberdeen was the recognised head. But to its continued 
 existence he was strongly opposed. He urged that it had 
 in fact become merged in the body of the Liberal party, and 
 that the sooner this was recognised the better. After the 
 General Election of 1857, at which the greater part of the 
 so-called Peelites lost their seats, this recognition appeared 
 to him more than ever desirable. He wrote to Mr. Glad- 
 stone that : 
 
 We must accustom ourselves to the conviction that there is 
 no such thing as a distinctive Peelite party in existence. . . . 
 After Lord Derby's overthrow by a junction with the Liberal 
 party, and the formation of a Government which recognised 
 Parliamentary Reform as one of its fundamental measures, the 
 
LETTERS TO MR. GLADSTONE 297 
 
 whole relation of parties was changed, and I consider the 
 amalgamation of Peel's friends with the Liberal party to have 
 practically taken place. 
 
 Lord John's personal ambition and the discontent of the 
 House of Commons at the conduct of the war, led to the over- 
 throw of my Government, and to the exclusion of myself and 
 the Duke of Newcastle, as well as of Lord John himself. But 
 the Government remained for the most part composed of the 
 same individuals ; and although circumstances induced some 
 of Peel's friends (whether wisely or not) to leave it, I do not 
 see that they were thereby thrown any nearer to Lord Derby 
 and his party, or necessarily released from the Liberal policy 
 to which they had recently adhered. They had simply regained 
 their independence. . . . For my own part, I am little more 
 than a spectator ; but I adhere to the declarations made on 
 my assuming the Government. ... I believe, too, that in this 
 age of progress the Liberal party must ultimately govern the 
 country ; and I only hope that their supremacy may be esta- 
 blished without mischief or confusion. 
 
 The proposition that the Peelites had virtually joined 
 the Liberal party was stoutly contested by Mr. Gladstone, 
 who maintained that, if it were true, he had been guilty of 
 deceiving the world and his own constituency, and had 
 indeed deceived himself. But Lord Aberdeen adhered to 
 his position : 
 
 I think you will admit, on reflection (he wrote), that I am 
 right in saying that, when my Governm.ent was formed, an 
 amalgamation of Peel's friends with the Liberal party took 
 place. This is so true that, although frequently tormented by 
 the personal waywardness of Lord John, the amalgamation was 
 complete so long as the Government lasted. 
 
 You joined Palmerston's Government with reluctance ; but 
 you left it with Graham and Herbert on a ground entirely 
 unconnected with Peelism, and on which any other three 
 members of the Cabinet might with equal consistency have 
 seceded. You remained on the Liberal side of the House, 
 and did not declare any general hostility to the Government. 
 
 Now has anything happened essentially to alter your 
 position ? It is true that the House and the public determine 
 to call you Peelites ; and certainly I am the last man in the 
 world to reject on your account the honour and advantage of 
 being friends of Sir Robert Peel ; but your differences with the 
 Government have no necessary connection with him or with 
 his memory. You have opposed the Government, and may 
 
298 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 probably do so again, in the exercise of the freedom you have 
 acquired ; but it is as a Liberal ; and I think something much 
 more important must take place to justify crossing the House 
 and entering the opposite camp. 
 
 This may happen, and it is even probable that it may do 
 so. I think it seems clear that the Government will bring 
 forward a great measure of Reform. Then you will be found 
 to differ from Graham and Herbert, and here would be a case 
 to authorise a permanent change of position in the House. 
 
 My strong recommendation is to await some such cause 
 of change. You will probably act together in many questions 
 connected with foreign policy, economy, and retrenchment. 
 If any great difference should occur, let it be declared in the 
 face of the House, and let it lead to its natural result. I am 
 sure this would be more honourable to yourself and more 
 satisfactory to all concerned. 
 
 It is probably not too much to say, that it was Lord 
 Aberdeen's influence which restrained Mr. Gladstone on 
 more than one occasion from following the bent of his 
 inclination, and throwing himself into the ranks of the 
 Conservative party. A few months before the General 
 Election of 1857, an interview oetween Lord Derby and 
 Mr. Gladstone, for the purpose of establishing a concert of 
 action on the meeting of Parliament which could only have 
 led to one result, had been all but arranged. On that 
 occasion Lord Aberdeen had written : 
 
 December 5, 1856. — I have told Graham that I thought 
 he was too hasty in imagining that you had actually made up 
 your mind, and that you Avould be found, at the opening of the 
 Session, seated on the front bench of the Opposition. I added, 
 however, that I thought it probable this step would not be 
 long delayed ; although it was clear that much prudence and 
 circumspection would be required on your part before you 
 arrived at such a decision. 
 
 As you agreed to join Palmerston after I had left the 
 Government, I think it will never do to attempt his overthrow 
 without some specific and assignable cause. Strong appre- 
 hensions of a mischievous policy, and general disapprobation 
 and distrust, will not be sufficient. 
 
 There is nothing to prevent Lord Derby from approaching 
 you if he is desirous of doing so ; but any intimation from you 
 of your readiness to communicate with him would be in reality 
 
LETTERS TO MR. GLADSTONE 299 
 
 to take the initiative, and if it had any result would lead to the 
 establishment of such a compact as, I think at this moment, 
 would scarcely be justifiable. My advice, therefore, would be 
 to remain perfectly passive for the present. 
 
 I confess that I have little skill in political combinations, 
 and do not know what the exigencies of party may require 
 or may render necessary ; but I hope you feel that my sole 
 object is to protect your reputation, and to promote your future 
 efficiency. 
 
 Your position in the House of Commons is veiy peculiar. 
 With an admitted superiority of character, and of intellectual 
 power, above any other member, I fear that you do not really 
 possess the sympathy of the House at large, while you have 
 incurred the strong dislike of a considerable portion of Lord 
 Derby's followers. Your recent conduct in Parliament has not 
 been fully understood, but it has been very unpopular, and 
 any new course which is not perfectly intelligible and clearly 
 justified by the necessity of the case will only add to this 
 unpopularity. I care little for the Government, and entertain 
 the greatest apprehension of Palmerston's foreign policy. I 
 have the highest admiration of Lord Derby's talents ; but I 
 see very much to lament in him, and still more in his friends. 
 You are the person to whose future I look forward with hope 
 and confidence ; and with so much to command ultimate suc- 
 cess, it cannot very long be delayed. I am only anxious that 
 these prospects should not be injured by any premature or 
 ill-considered decision. 
 
 The contemplated meeting did not take place. 
 
 Notwithstanding all that happened during the two years 
 for which they were colleagues, and in spite of the cata- 
 strophe with which their association closed. Lord Aberdeen 
 continued to think Lord John Russell the fittest head of 
 the Liberal party ; and, except perhaps for the first few 
 weeks after Lord John had ' tripped up his heels,' during 
 which he considered that Lord John's conduct deserved 
 some retribution, he remained steadily disposed to assist 
 him in obtaining the Premiership. Lord John's errors were, 
 he thought, sufiQciently atoned for by the humiliation he had 
 undergone in 1855, and the isolated and powerless posi- 
 tion to which he had been reduced ; while to the higher 
 and nobler qualities of his character Lord Aberdeen never 
 
300 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 failed to do the fullest justice. When, towards the close of 
 1856, the Duke of Bedford made inquiries of Lord Aber- 
 deen as to the exact nature of the communications which 
 had passed between him and Lord John as to the succes- 
 sion of the latter to the first place in the Government, he 
 replied in the letter which has been quoted in a previous 
 chapter. It cost Lord Aberdeen no effort to write this 
 letter, which was the simple expression of his thoughts. 
 But it would be difficult to find among his contemporaries 
 in public life another equally free from harbouring even a 
 trace of resentment for grave injury sustained. Lord 
 Aberdeen sent a copy of the Duke's letter, and of his own 
 reply, to Sir James Graham, who, in returning them, wrote 
 thus ; 
 
 December 2^^ 1856. — I must begin by the expression of my 
 feelings on reading your answer to the Duke of Bedford. I 
 observe that it is dated on Christmas Day. It is well worthy of 
 a Christian. If I could envy you anything, it would be the 
 frame of mind which prompted that answer. I know few men 
 who could have written it. To return good for evil ; to love 
 our enemies ; to bless even those who despitefully use us ; are 
 the hard proofs of an honest endeavour 'to be perfect, as 
 our Father in heaven is perfect.' Yet this is the spirit which 
 dictated your answer. It might have been more cold and 
 more guarded ; but I would rather have written it than any- 
 thing which I have read for many a day. I doubt not it will 
 have its reward. The facts I believe are stated by you with 
 perfect accuracy. The intentions, the reflections, the feelings, 
 are your own. No one can gainsay them ; all good men must 
 admire them. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen continued, so long as he took any part 
 at all in public affairs, to regard Lord John's accession 
 to power as desirable, and acted in concert with him in 
 regard to the India Bills of 1858. But Lord Aberdeen 
 had now ceased to occupy himself actively in political 
 contests. His position had become that of a referee and 
 confidant, whose advice was sought and listened to, who 
 
LORD ABERDEEN AT HADDO 3OI 
 
 Still took a lively interest in public affairs of real import- 
 ance, but who was no longer concerned in party or per- 
 sonal conflicts. His influence, however, was perhaps greater 
 now than at any time. It was known that, if the Derby 
 Government were driven from office in 1858, it was Lord 
 Aberdeen who would be sent for by the Queen. As it 
 was equally well known that, though he might consent to 
 form a Cabinet, he would never again consent to head one 
 (which, indeed, his declining strength forbade), it was felt 
 that the decision between the rival claims to supremacy 
 which agitated the Liberal party would probably devolve on 
 him. The Government of Lord Derby, however, continued 
 to struggle on through another year of existence. 
 
 But honourable and influential as was the position he 
 occupied in the world, it was on his home that his thoughts 
 and afTections were daily more and more centred. Ex- 
 cept for a few days in 1854, he had been absent from 
 Haddo for three years, when he returned there in the 
 summer of 1855. His enjoyment of his stay there in that 
 and the following years was profound. All his old habits 
 were revived and old pursuits resumed, and the days were 
 passed much in the manner which I have before described. 
 But the formality was less formal, the stiffness less rigid. 
 There was greater softness in his manner. Less restraint 
 was imposed on the manifestation of his affections, and the 
 benevolence of his spirit was less disguised by external 
 severity. 
 
 Many years before, on Christmas Day, 1844, Lord 
 Aberdeen, then staying at Windsor Castle, came over for a 
 few hours in the afternoon to St. Leonard's Vale, a house 
 then occupied by Lord and Lady Haddo. All his children, 
 the writer among them, were assembled there. As he rose 
 to go, on his return to the Castle, he reminded us that we 
 
302 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 had all been there on the previous Christmas Day. He had 
 not then expected, he said, that we should all meet again on 
 that day, but, as we had done so, he would preach to us a 
 sermon — a very short one, which would be text and sermon 
 both — but one which he hoped we should all remember as 
 long as we lived ; ' Love one another.' He then left the 
 room. It was the spirit of this sermon which breathed in 
 all his later life at Haddo— a spirit by which he had been 
 always ruled, but the influence of which was more per- 
 ceptible as the work of the outer world exercised a less 
 peremptory claim on his time and thoughts. 
 
 Almost the only reflection which troubled the tranquil 
 enjoyment of this period of repose was the apprehension 
 that he had not struggled with sufficient earnestness in the 
 cause of peace in 1853. To Hudson Gurney he wrote 
 in 1857 : 
 
 You are quite right in supposing that I look back with 
 satisfaction to the efforts made by me to preserve peace. My 
 only cause of regret is that when I found this to be impos- 
 sible I did not at once retire, instead of allowing myself to be 
 dragged into a war which, although strictly justifiable in itself, 
 was most unwise and unnecessary. All this will be acknow- 
 ledged some day, but the worst of it is that it will require fifty 
 years before men's eyes are opened to the truth. 
 
 One fact may be mentioned, which shows how deeply 
 his share of responsibility for the Russian war weighed 
 upon Lord Aberdeen's heart and conscience. Many new 
 churches, manses, and schools had been built by Lord 
 Aberdeen. The manse of Methlick was about this time 
 rebuilt on a new site and in a better manner, but Lord 
 Aberdeen declined to rebuild the parish church, though 
 the structure was dilapidated, ugly, and inconvenient. ' I 
 leave that for George,' he said. His reasons for this, in him, 
 very unusual conduct were never suspected, even by those 
 most nearly in his confidence, until after his death ; when 
 
NOTE ON THE CRIMEAN WAR 303 
 
 the following text was found written by him more than once, 
 
 and at different times, on various scraps of paper : 
 
 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my 
 mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God : 
 but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed 
 blood abundantly, and hast made great wars : thou shalt not 
 build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much 
 blood upon the earth in my sight (i Chronicles xxii. 7, 8). 
 
 During the winter of 1855 Lord Aberdeen had written 
 
 the following note upon the war, which then still pursued 
 
 its course. 
 
 I have never entertained the least doubt of the justice of the 
 war in which we are at present engaged. It is unquestionably 
 just, and it is also strongly marked by a character of disin- 
 terestedness. But although just and disinterested, the policy 
 and the necessity of this war may perhaps be less certain. It 
 is possible that our posterity may form a different estimate on 
 this head from that at which we have arrived. 
 
 The policy, or necessity, of any war must always be, more 
 or less, the subject of doubt, and must vary according to a 
 change of circumstances. This is not matter of immutable 
 principle, but may be affected by an infinite variety of con- 
 siderations. It is true that every necessary war must also 
 really be a just war ; but it does not absolutely follow that 
 every just war must also be a necessary war. 
 
 Be this as it may. it is perfectly clear that a vast majority 
 of the people of this country entertain no doubt on the subject, 
 but are thoroughly convinced that the war is both just and 
 necessary, and, as such, are prepared to give it their cordial 
 support. 
 
 Now, with the existence of so strong and general a feeling, 
 it seems almost to partake of arrogance to demur in any degree 
 to these conclusions, and to resist the weight of the popular 
 voice. 
 
 But a reference to history may prevent us from subscribing 
 imphcitly to such demonstrations of opinion. It is enough to 
 recall to recollection that, when Sir Robert Walpole was re- 
 luctantly drawn into his Spanish war, the country was quite as 
 unanimous as — perhaps more so than — at the present moment. 
 Yet, in spite of such unanimity, there is no man who would now 
 hesitate to declare that the war in question was both unjust and 
 unnecessary. 
 
 The national feeling at that period was excited under circum- 
 stances in some degree similar to the present. At that period 
 a peace of thirty years had rendered the minds of men more 
 
304 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 easy to be roused by appeals which had all the character of 
 novelty ; and at the present day I believe that our forty years' 
 peace has rendered the nation more ready to receive the ex- 
 citement and to encounter the unknown evils of a state of 
 war. I am very far from meaning to assert that the people 
 did not entertain a strong feeling of indignation against injustice 
 and of sympathy for the oppressed. Their natural feelings are 
 always generous ; but I doubt if this impulse would have led 
 to the same results if it had been called into action at an earlier 
 period after the conclusion of the late war. Indeed, I have 
 had personal experience of the truth of this opinion ; for in the 
 war which Russia declared against Turkey in the year 1828, 
 although equally unjust and unprovoked, the people of this 
 country saw the Russian troops advance almost to the gates of 
 Constantinople with comparative indifference ; and the Govern- 
 ment of the Duke of Wellington, who wished to uphold the 
 interests of the Porte, met with no response from Parliament 
 or the people, but were thought to espouse the cause of tyranny, 
 ignorance, and barbarism. 
 
 We hear great apprehensions expressed on all sides lest 
 this war should be terminated by an ignominious peace. But 
 although we should share in the feeling, it may not be so easy 
 to avoid the imputation of such a result. For in every contest 
 in which this country has been engaged during the last century 
 we may presume that it has been the determination of each 
 succeeding Government, loudly declared, to obtain the conditions 
 of a just and honourable peace. It is remarkable, however, 
 that, with a single exception, every treaty concluded at the 
 termination of our great wars has been stigmatised as humili- 
 ating and degrading, ignominious, hollow, and unsafe. 
 
 Such has been the sentence of the patriots of the day. It 
 was the case at the peace of Utrecht in 17 13, at the peace of 
 Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, at the peace of Paris in 1763, at the 
 peace of Versailles in 1783, and at the peace of Amiens in 
 1801. The single exception was the peace of Paris in 1814 ; 
 and, although severely criticised in other respects, it would 
 have been difficult in this case for patriotism or faction to have 
 discovered humiliation and disgrace in a treaty dictated at the 
 head of a victorious army in the capital of an enemy. 
 
 But although such has been the contemporaneous condem- 
 nation of our treaties of peace, I do not think that this severe 
 verdict has been ratified by a more impartial posterity. 
 
 The restoration of peace, it is needless to say, caused 
 him the liveliest pleasure ; but he saw little to commend in 
 the manner in which the foreign relations of the country 
 were subsequently conducted Like other men, he was 
 
VISIT OF THE QUEEN TO IIADDO 305 
 
 profoundly moved by the disasters which marked the com- 
 mencement of the Indian Mutiny ; but, unhke too many 
 other men in England, he never for an instant hesitated to 
 denounce the ' bloodthirsty spirit ' which took possession 
 of the press and of the people, and which he partly 
 attributed to the disappointment felt at the conclusion of 
 the war with Russia without any signal or specially glorious 
 triumph. He wrote more than once to Lord Canning, to 
 encourage him under the obloquy heaped on him for his 
 strict regard to justice. 
 
 During the annual stay of the Royal Family at Balmoral, 
 Lord Aberdeen's relations with the Queen and Prince 
 Consort were always pleasantly renewed, and in the autumn 
 of 1857 they paid him a visit at Haddo House. For more 
 than a mile along the approach, the road was lined with 
 tenants on horseback, who closed in after Her Majesty's 
 carriage, and escorted her to the house in a manner similar 
 to that in which they had accompanied Lord and Lady 
 Haddo home after their marriage. 
 
 The visit was a purely private one, only Lord Aber- 
 deen's children and grandchildren, with Lord and Lady 
 Abercorn and two of their daughters, being present ; but 
 an address was presented to the Queen by the tenantry, 
 thanking her for the honour which she had done their land- 
 lord.^ 
 
 Not long after the Queen's visit, Lord Aberdeen was 
 attacked by sudden illness, which for two or three days 
 threatened danger to life. Any cause for immediate appre- 
 hension soon passed away ; but he did not recover strength, 
 
 ' It may amuse some readers to know (as an example of the sim- 
 plicity of life mentioned at page 193) that the window- curtains, bed- 
 curtains, and other furniture of Her Majesty's room on this occasion, 
 consisted of white dimity lined with blue calico. 
 
306 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 and in compliance with medical advice returned to London 
 early in December. There his health gradually, though 
 very slowly, improved, and in the summer of 1858, though 
 not as strong as before, he resumed most of his former 
 habits, attending the House of Lords and even speaking 
 there. As an adviser, he took an important share in the 
 political movements of the year. The autumn was passed 
 pleasantly at Haddo, and cheered by visits from M. Guizot, 
 Sir James Graham, Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone, the Bishop of 
 Oxford, and other friends. 
 
 The improvement in Lord Aberdeen's health continued 
 through all the early part of 1859, and in the summer he 
 appeared to be restored to very nearly the same condition 
 as before his attack in 1857 ; but almost immediately 
 after returning to Haddo in August an apparently trivial 
 indisposition, which confined him to his room for a day or 
 two, was followed by a gradual decay of strength from which 
 he never rallied. He returned indeed to London for the 
 winter, and was well enough to go back as usual to Haddo 
 in the summer of i860 ; but slowly, and almost imperceptibly, 
 his strength continued to decline. He could no longer 
 walk more than a few steps unassisted. He could no 
 longer drive himself in his pony carriage ; and when, at the 
 end of October i860, he returned to London, it was evident 
 that his life was drawing towards a close. On December 14 
 he tranquilly expired, surrounded by his children and step- 
 children. Not all of them, however, were there. His 
 eldest son and his dearly beloved daughter-in-law were in 
 Egypt, where Lord Haddo, then suffering from the mortal 
 illness under which he sank less than four years after, had 
 gone for the sake of the climate. On December 21 he was 
 laid by the side of those he had best loved, in the ruins of 
 the old church at Stanmore. The funeral service was read 
 
LORD ABERDEEN'S FUNERAL 307 
 
 by Bishop Wilberforce, who in a letter to the writer thus 
 described the scene : 
 
 I am most thankful I was with you at Stanmore, not only 
 because I should ever after have so lamented my absence, but 
 also because I would not for anything have missed that last 
 and most impressive sight, which now is engraven in my 
 memory for ever : Graham's tall kingly figure, with the snow 
 falling on his bald head and his full countenance ; Gladstone, 
 with his face speaking ; Newcastle ; you ; and the light within 
 that vault, and all that belonged to its opening and its closing. 
 
 * AIKAIOTATOS ' is the epitaph inscribed on Lord Aber- 
 deen's monument in Westminster Abbey. The love of 
 justice was, no doubt, strong in him, but, like nearly all at- 
 tempts to describe a complex human character in a single 
 word, the title of ' most just ' conveys but a partial idea of 
 what manner of man Lord Aberdeen in truth was. Many 
 have equalled him, perhaps have surpassed him, in devotion 
 to exact justice, who have altogether failed to gain that deep 
 respect and confidence which were invariably given to 
 Lord Aberdeen by those who were brought into close asso- 
 ciation with him. Nor is the cause of this far to seek, for 
 the existence of a keen sense of justice is quite compatible 
 with the absence of other qualities which Lord Aberdeen 
 also possessed in no common measure ; and the possession 
 of which, even had that particular virtue been less strongly 
 developed in him, would have sufificiently accounted for the 
 influence over others which he obtained. The impression 
 produced on those who acted with him in public life, by 
 the unselfishness, toleration, unsuspiciousness, and calmness 
 of mind, which were as marked characteristics of Lord 
 Aberdeen as was his love of justice, has been described by 
 one of the most eminent among them, in a letter written a 
 few months after Lord Aberdeen's death, from which I am 
 oermitted to quote the following extracts : 
 
308 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 * Some of his [Lord Aberdeen's] great qualities,* wrote 
 Mr. Gladstone, ' adorned him in common with several, or 
 even with many, contemporary statesmen ; such as clearness 
 of view, strength of the deliberative faculty, strong sense of duty 
 to the Crown, and the most thorough and uncompromising 
 loyalty to his friends and colleagues. . . . But if I have said 
 that he had much in common with other distinguished men, 
 it has been by way of preface to what I have now to say, 
 namely, that what has ever struck me most in his character as 
 a whole was its distinctiveness. There were several mental 
 virtues that he possessed in a degree very peculiar; there were, 
 I think, one or two in which he stood almost alone. ... 1 will 
 name the following characteristics, one and all of which were 
 more prominent in him than in any public man I ever knew : 
 mental calmness ; the absence (if for want of better words I may 
 describe it by a negative) of all egotism ; the love of exact 
 justice ; a thorough tolerance of spirit ; and last, and most of 
 all, an entire absence of suspicion. There was something very 
 remarkable in the combination of these qualities as well as in 
 their separate possession. Most men who might be happy 
 enough to have one-half of his love of justice would be so 
 tossed with storms of indignation at injustice as to lose the 
 balance of their judgment. But he had, or seemed to have, all 
 the benefit, all the ennobling force of strong emotion, with a 
 complete exemption from its dangers. His mind seemed to 
 move in an atmosphere of chartered tranquillity, which allowed 
 him the view of every object, however blinding to others, in its 
 true position and proportion. ... I feel that I cannot by any 
 effort do justice to Vv^hat I have termed his finely shaded 
 character ; . . . but I cannot stop without saying a word on the 
 quality which I regard as beyond all others his own ; I mean 
 the absence from his nature of all tendency to suspicion. 
 Those who have read his State papers, and admired their 
 penetrating force and comprehensive scope, will not misunder- 
 stand me when I say that he was in this respect a little child, 
 not from defect of vision but from thorough nobleness of nature. 
 This entire immunity from suspicion, which makes our minds 
 in general like a haunted place, and the sense of the immunity 
 that he conveyed to his friends in all his dealings with them, 
 combined with the deep serenity of his mind, which ever 
 seemed to beguile and allay by some kindly process of nature 
 excitement in others, gave an indescribable charm to all inter- 
 course with him in critical and difficult circumstances. Hence 
 perhaps in great part, and not merely from his intellectual 
 gifts, was derived the remarkable power he seemed to me to 
 exercise in winning confidences without seeking to win them ; 
 and, on the whole, I believe that this quality, could we hold it 
 as it was held in him, would save us from ten erroneous 
 
LETTER FROM MR. GLADSTONE 309 
 
 judgments for one into which it might lead. For the grand 
 characteristic of suspicion after all, as of superstition, is to see 
 things as they are not. . . . Lord Aberdeen was not demon- 
 strative. He was unstudied in speech, and it is of interest to 
 inquire what it was that gave such extraordinary force and 
 impressiveness to his language. He did not deal in antithesis. 
 His sayings were not sharpened with gall. In short, one 
 might go on disclaiming for him all the accessories to which 
 most men who are impressive owe their impressiveness. Yet 
 I never knew anyone who was so impressive, in brief utter- 
 ances conveying the sum of the matter. ... It is no reproach 
 to other statesmen of this or of other periods to say that 
 scarcely any of them have had a celebrity so entirely unaided 
 by a transitory glare. But if this be so, it implies that while 
 they for the most part must relatively lose, he must relatively 
 and greatly gain. If they have had stage-lights, and he has 
 had none, it is the hour when those lights are extinguished that 
 will for the first time do that justice between them which he 
 was too noble, too far aloft in the tone of his mind, to desire to 
 anticipate. All the qualities and parts in which he was great 
 were those that are the very foundation-stones of our being ; as 
 foundation-stones they are deep, and as being deep they are 
 withdrawn from view; but time is their witness and their friend, 
 and in the final distribution of posthumous fame Lord Aberdeen 
 has nothing to forfeit, he has only to receive. I see, on perusing 
 what I have written, that in the endeavour to set forth the 
 virtues and great quahties of Lord Aberdeen, I seem more or 
 less to disparage other men, including Sir Robert Peel, whom 
 he so much esteemed and loved. I had no such intention, and 
 it is the fault of my hand, not of my will. He would not have 
 claimed, he would not have wished or borne, that others 
 should claim for him superiority, or even parity in all points 
 with all his contemporaries. But there was a certain region of 
 character that was, so to speak, all his own ; and there other 
 men do seem more or less dwarfed beside him. In the combi- 
 nation of profound feeling with a calmness of mind equally 
 profound, of thorough penetration with the largest charity, of 
 the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove, 
 in the total suppression and exclusion of self from his reckon- 
 ings and actions — in all this we may think him supreme, and 
 yet have a broad array of good and noble qualities in which he 
 may have shared variously with others. There are other 
 secrets of his character and inner life into which I do not 
 pretend to have penetrated. It always seemed to me that 
 there was a treasure-house within him, which he kept closed 
 against the eyes of men.' 
 
 The delineation of so 'finely shaded' a character (to 
 
3IO LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 use Mr. Gladstone's expression) would not, in any circum- 
 stances, be an easy task, but it is made more difficult by the 
 fact, that both the public and the private life of Lord Aber- 
 deen were, generally speaking, comparatively hidden. Of 
 those who have filled situations so prominent, few have 
 come less distinctly under public observation. 
 
 Lord Beaconsfield, in one of his novels — ' Sybil,' I think 
 — writes of Lord Shelburne as being among the 'suppressed' 
 characters of English history ; a phrase not perhaps alto- 
 gether happily chosen, but by which it is intended to 
 describe men of abilities and acquirements unsuspected by 
 the general public, who exercised in their lifetime an in- 
 fluence of which the world around them, even in their own 
 day, was but imperfectly aware, and of which, after their 
 death, and that of their contemporaries who had felt its 
 power, but few traces remained. Of such men Lord Aber- 
 deen was emphatically one. Kinglake, whose researches 
 among the papers of Lord Raglan, and acquaintance with 
 the oral traditions of the period of Lord Aberdeen's Govern- 
 ment, disclosed to him, as a fact, the position occupied by 
 Lord Aberdeen among his colleagues and contemporaries, 
 expresses in his 'History of the Crimean War' his inability to 
 understand that position, and rightly assumes that it must 
 be attributed to qualities undiscovered by the world, it not 
 being, in his opmion, justified by anything which Lord 
 Aberdeen ever did, or wrote, or spoke in public. And 
 this opinion, so far as any single act, or speech, or writing of 
 Lord Aberdeen's is concerned, is not altogether ill founded. 
 There is nothing in his career to dazzle the spectator, nothing 
 to command instant or excessive admiration. He performed 
 no act which powerfully strikes the fancy, he made no speech 
 which by its eloquence or wit imposes on the imagination. 
 Neither the powers of his mind nor the charm of his per 
 
LORD ABERDEEN'S CHARACTER 31I 
 
 sonal character can now be appreciated, except either by 
 those few yet remaining who hved in close personal inter- 
 course with him, or by those who have had opportunities of 
 studying, not merely a few chance specimens of his letters 
 or speeches, but the mass of his utterances and writings, 
 public and private. 
 
 What, then, were the causes which hindered Lord Aber- 
 deen from taking that leading part in public life which 
 might have been expected from such a man as he has been 
 described to be ? and why, if his influence was really great, 
 was it so little visible ? The latter question admits of easy 
 answer. His influence was exerted over those who were 
 themselves leaders of opinion and in direct relation with 
 the general public, to which he was himself almost a stranger. 
 But the reasons which led to his comparative abstention 
 from an active part in English poKtics are not so manifestly 
 apparent, and it will be necessary to dwell on them at 
 somewhat greater length, if Lord Aberdeen's character and 
 life are to be understood by the readers of this volume. 
 
 The exercise of power was not distasteful to Lord 
 Aberdeen, but it was impossible for him to be eager in its 
 pursuit or imperious in its possession. He estimated his 
 own abilities humbly, and shrank with diffidence from 
 pressing the adoption of his own views on others, even 
 when he had no distrust of their soundness. He disliked 
 and shunned publicity, and possessed no oratorical power. 
 These circumstances in themselves are sufficient to account 
 for his not taking a prominent share in the active struggles 
 of English political parties, but they were not the only 
 reasons which made it impossible that he should do so. 
 
 It is probable that the circumstances of his education 
 had in more than one direction an effect unfavourable to 
 his career. The ten years of his life from 1796 to 1806 — 
 
312 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 that is to say, from his twelfth to his twenty-second year — 
 were passed in the closest domestic intimacy with Mr. 
 Pitt, and under the commanding ascendency of that great 
 minister. Accustomed to look up to him on all occasions, 
 it became natural to Lord Aberdeen to recognise the guid- 
 
 <ance of external authority ; and through life he was more in- 
 clined to defer, in action, to the advice of others, confidently 
 given, than to rely on his own better judgment. It thus 
 happened that men of inferior powers of mind, but of 
 stronger will, not unfrequently imposed on him their views 
 in action, without convincing his understanding. Again, this 
 intimacy initiated him from his earliest years into the highest 
 regions of politics and the inner working of the Executive 
 Government, all the members of which were, in the familiar 
 unreserve of private life, subject to his close observation. 
 The natural result of such a training (as has been seen 
 in other cases) is to induce comparative indifference to the 
 lower walks and prizes of political life, and a habit of mind 
 slightly contemptuous as to the more busy partisans in 
 the rank and file of public men. 
 
 I am disposed to assign yet another cause for Lord 
 Aberdeen's quiescent attitude in domestic politics. It is 
 that with regard to them he was (though unconsciously) for 
 the greater part of his earlier life in an essentially false position. 
 Educated by Pitt and Dundas, married at twenty-one to a 
 daughter of the Marquess of Abercorn, Lord Aberdeen grew 
 \ up in the centre of the Tory party, and in habits of associa- 
 tion and friendship with the leading members of that party 
 and their families. He acquiesced in the main in their 
 guidance, from which it would have required a breach with 
 his closest personal friends to free himself ; but it is clear 
 that his allegiance was the result of habit, and something 
 like indolence of will rather than of strong personal 
 
HIS LIBERAL VIEWS 313 
 
 conviction ; nor did he shun association and friendship 
 with those of Liberal poHtics. He was one of the most 
 constant habitues of Holland House. He formed a part 
 of the intimate society which gathered round the Duke of 
 Devonshire, Lord Lansdowne, and other Whig magnates ; 
 and his correspondence shows that to some of his staunch 
 Tory friends, such as Lord Bathurst, Lord Westmorland, 
 Lord Castlereagh, and others, including even Sir Robert 
 Peel, the (in their eyes) unorthodox character of his political 
 opmions was a source of trouble and vexation ; while, on 
 the other hand. Liberals who associated with him on terms 
 of intimacy were astonished (like Sir Robert Wilson) by the 
 discovery that Lord Aberdeen was, all unconsciously, * a true 
 Liberal.' Of course, in estimating the Liberal tendencies of 
 any man of the Georgian era, the date at which he lived must 
 be taken into consideration. It would be as unreasonable 
 to test the opinions of a statesman of the earlier years of the 
 now expiring century by the political shibboleths of its last 
 decade as it would be to gauge the views of a public man 
 of Queen Elizabeth's day by the Revolution principles of 
 1688. 
 
 While the irresponsible political writer or speaker is 
 bound by no restraints save those of logic, the action of a 
 practical politician is limited by the prospect which exists 
 of giving effect to his views. Whatever their abstract 
 opinions, few men occupying high and responsible posi- 
 tions, or anticipating their occupation, advocate measures 
 of which they know the adoption to be impracticable ; for 
 they are aware that in so doing they but waste their time 
 and weaken their influence. Many of the reforms which 
 we have since seen easily accomplished were altogether un- 
 attainable in the first twenty years of the present century, 
 and there is no reason to suppose that they attracted any 
 
< 
 
 3^4 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 considerable share of Lord Aberdeen's attention. In some 
 respects, indeed, his views might seem inconsistent with 
 Liberal opinions. He had no idolatrous reverence for par- 
 liamentary institutions, as they exist, and still less for the 
 system of party government. He was keenly alive to their 
 weak points, regarding them as probably the best, but not 
 the only, forms under which a free people could conduct 
 its own affairs ; and he thought them likely to undergo grave 
 modification ; for he foresaw — which few of his contempo- 
 raries did — that the growth of democratic influences would, 
 in the end, destroy the independent power of the House of 
 Commons as effectually as that of the House of Lords, 
 though more slowly. Nor was he insensible to the dangers 
 attending changes which, on the whole, he regarded with 
 satisfaction. His faith in the wisdom of popular decisions 
 on subjects but imperfectly understood did not equal his 
 confidence in the soundness and honesty of the feelings 
 which prompted them. He was fond of saying that, while 
 the two most foolish measures of the first twenty years of 
 the present reign — the Ecclesiastical Titles Act and the 
 Crimean War — were precisely those which had been de- 
 manded with the most entire unanimity, the removal of the 
 Roman Catholic disabilities could not have been effected 
 had a previous appeal to a popular vote been requisite. 
 At the same time, even a slight glance at Lord Aberdeen's 
 career suffices to show how far removed he was from shar- 
 ing the narrow-minded views of the Tory party of his time. 
 
 He was, almost from the first, a steady advocate of 
 Roman Catholic Emancipation. The liberality of his views 
 on foreign politics scandalised his diplomatic colleagues on 
 the Continent, and those views were among the reasons 
 for his refusal of further diplomatic employment when 
 urged to take part in the Congress of Vienna. In 1 8 14 he 
 
POLITICAL PRESCIENCE 315 
 
 had pressed on Castlereagh the claims of Poland to inde- 
 pendence, and procured from Metternich the promise of the 
 retrocession of those provinces of the Republic which had 
 fallen to the share of Austria. In 1820 he was barely dis- 
 suaded from joining the Philhellenic Society, and was so dis- 
 suaded only by the knowledge that it would involve a breach 
 with friends among whom he habitually lived. He drew 
 from the Duke of Wellington a not very willing consent to 
 the immediate recognition of the French Revolution of 1830. 
 The 'Aberdeen Acts' of 1825 were the first blow struck 
 against the Scotch system of entails, and acquire by their 
 results a significance far from suspected by those who were 
 induced to pass them, but which, there is evidence to show, 
 was not altogether absent from the mind of their author. 
 He gave, it is true, a silent vote with his party against the 
 Reform Bill, but saw that its adoption was inevitable, and 
 saw it without alarm ; and at a later period, while Mr. 
 Gladstone was still opposed to any further reform in Parlia- 
 ment, Lord Aberdeen was prepared to welcome a large 
 extension of the franchise, and saw no serious objection to 
 the adoption of the Ballot. His conversion to the doctrines 
 of Free Trade probably preceded that of Sir Robert Peel ; 
 and his voice was the first, and, as it proved, almost the only 
 one, given in Cabinet in support of the abolition of the Corn 
 Laws when first proposed by Peel. So far back as 1844 
 he expressed opinions adverse to the continued existence ot 
 the Irish Church Establishment, and had shown marked 
 disapproval of the traditional policy of England towards 
 Ireland. 
 
 But there was a deeper cause for Lord Aberdeen's political 
 inactivity than the influences of constitutional temperament, 
 early education, and social environment. From an early 
 period of his life a sense (never altogether absent, though 
 
3l6 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 ; more or less strongly felt at different times) of the comparative 
 unimportance, in the great march of history, of those events 
 j which seemed to his contemporaries absorbing and all- 
 important, prevented his ever throwing himself into party 
 [contests with that earnestness and exaggeration of feeling 
 'which are probably essential to political success. He, of 
 course, recognised that there were now and again moments 
 of supreme importance, on the decisions of which the fate of 
 future generations might depend ; but he far more keenly 
 realised the truth that, speaking generally, the course of the 
 world is not substantially affected by the adoption or 
 rejection of particular legislative measures, or by the main- 
 tenance or abolition of such and such a part of the machin- 
 ery of government, however great the interest such questions 
 may momentarily excite. 
 
 Many prominent politicians (probably the great majority) 
 sincerely believe that the contests in which they take a part 
 really are (as they are often said to be) of ' unparalleled ' 
 importance, and that, while the party to which they belong 
 is uniformly right in its conclusions and actions, that to 
 which they are opposed is as invariably wrong. Even when 
 these sentiments are not sincerely felt, it seems essential for 
 party purposes to affect them. But to Lord Aberdeen it 
 was as impossible to affect sentiments he did not really feel 
 as it was to raise trifles of the horn to the level of events 
 of world-wide or even national importance. He found it 
 impossible to suppose that the parties of his own day were 
 divided by a more accurate balance of right and wrong than 
 those of other ages had been. He held, with the pro- 
 foundest conviction, that posterity would recognise in them 
 the same admixture of truth with error, the same blending 
 of honest conclusions and erroneous judgment, the same 
 alloy of selfishness and meanness, which have marked the 
 
ATTITUDE TO POLITICAL OPPONENTS 317 
 
 parties of the past, and will mark those of all future time 
 * No one is so good, and no one is so bad, as he seems, 
 was one of his favourite sayings. He was, in this spirit, 
 almost always ready to place the most favourable interpre- 
 tation on the acts and professions of political opponents 
 and personal antagonists. Indeed it cannot, I think, be 
 denied that he carried this disposition to excess, and that 
 his habitually indulgent judgment (or, at least, treatment) of 
 others was a weakness, sometimes attended with unfortunate 
 results ; while his tendency to minimise the importance of 
 any given course of action as of real moment may have 
 involved, on more than one occasion, mischief to the public 
 interests, and injury to his own fame. Nor can it be 
 doubted that the dominion of such sentiments not only 
 barred him from the eager pursuit of power, but when, with- 
 out seeking it, power fell into his hands, went far to render 
 its long retention by him impossible. 
 
 At the same time, this defect was nearly connected 
 with that perfect toleration which on all questions, whether 
 civil or religious, he both felt and practised. When, in 
 1850, Lord John Russell obeyed, and stimulated, the 
 popular demand for legislation inconsistent with the spirit 
 of the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act, Lord Aberdeen, 
 with a full knowledge of the unpopularity he incurred, and 
 m the firm belief that he was thereby excluding himself for 
 ever from official life, led the opposition to the Ecclesias- 
 tical Titles Bill, — a measure which its author himself lived 
 to regret, and to see repealed. His grounds for resentment 
 against the Scotch Free Church leaders were numerous, but 
 he busied himself to procure sites for their schools and 
 churches, when difficulties were interposed in the way of their 
 acquisition. His respect for opinions which he did not 
 share was sincere, and his forgiveness of political injuries 
 
3r8 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 was complete. In 1846 he exerted himself to make the 
 appointment of Lord Palmerston as Foreign Secretary ac- 
 ceptable at Continental courts, with an earnestness which 
 he himself doubted whether Palmerston would understand, 
 and which, in the like case, Palmerston probably would not 
 have shown. And when, in 1855, he was succeeded as 
 Prime Minister, as he had been at the Foreign Office, by 
 the same almost lifelong rival, he certainly took more 
 trouble to facilitate the accession of the latter to office than 
 he had ever taken to promote his own. Lord John Russell's 
 sudden desertion gave him good reason to complain, but 
 the complaint was never uttered. 
 
 In dwelling on the toleration shown by Lord Aberdeen 
 I have not only wandered from my immediate subject — 
 the causes of his obscurity before the public — but have been 
 led to touch on qualities which belong to personal character 
 rather than to public life. 
 
 The private life of Lord Aberdeen was hardly less 
 marked by reticence and silence than his public career. 
 The almost feminine tenderness of his disposition was 
 hidden under a cold and somewhat stern exterior. Even 
 among his own relations there were those who never 
 penetrated beneath the surface, and deemed him the 
 proud, impassive man the world supposed him to be. 
 He stood aside, perhaps too decidedly, from what appeared 
 to him unprofitable intercourse, and thereby naturally in- 
 curred misconstruction and resentment. He seemed de- 
 sirous of influencing only those who could understand him, 
 though, when he did exert himself to charm or persuade, 
 he was almost invariably successful. 
 
 Whatever may have been the case in earlier years, his 
 stores of various knowledge were in later life but seldom 
 voluntarily displayed, or his opinions on speculative subjects 
 
EXACTITUDE OF HIS LITERARY KNOWLEDGE 319 
 
 expressed unasked. No man had less the temper of a 
 proselytiser. The death of his idolised first wife — in his 
 eyes ' the most perfect creature ever formed by the power 
 and wisdom of God ' — followed as it was by that of all her 
 children, caused him grief never afterwards wholly absent, 
 which seemed to have imposed on him habitual silence, and 
 driven him to a life of habitual self-communion. His highly 
 cultivated taste could not, of course, be hidden. His fellow- 
 trustees of the National Gallery acknowledged in him one 
 of the first of connoisseurs. Among the trustees of the 
 British Museum, whose meetings he regularly attended, no 
 voice had greater weight. Rogers consulted him as to the 
 melody of his verses, Henry Taylor in the selection of the 
 subjects of his poems. Nothing could be more curious 
 than the way in which colleagues and friends, wnenever at a 
 loss, came to him for information on the most varied topics, 
 and rarely came in vain. But while ever ready, without 
 any apparent disinclination, to communicate to others the 
 knowledge he possessed, his habitual attitude was one of 
 reticence. He rarely spoke of classical or archaeological 
 subjects, though, if asked a question, he would with apparent 
 ease, and without reference to books, resolve at once the 
 most puzzling questions of ancient Greek currency or 
 geography, or explain differences in the nomenclature of 
 the inhabitants of the Demes of Attica. It was the same 
 with the annals of European States, the genealogy of illus- 
 trious houses, the growth of schools of painting, or of typo- 
 graphy ; with every topic, in short, connected with art or 
 history. His memory was a storehouse of the most varied 
 and accurate information in almost all branches of litera- 
 ture. Those immediately about him v/ere constantly 
 surprised by some new discovery. The visit to Haddo 
 of a friend of botanical tastes showed that the botanical 
 
320 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 facts around him had been closely watched, although 
 for years he had shown no evidence of such obser- 
 vation. He gathered for his visitor, as they walked along, 
 every rare and curious plant, however inconspicuous or 
 obscure, and knew exactly where every scarce moss or fern 
 or flower was likely to be found. Day after day his eye 
 must have noted, and his memory stored up these observa- 
 tions, of which he made no mention, even by a word, to the 
 wholly unbotanical circle around him. On another occasion 
 I remember my own surprise at hearing him quote, and dis- 
 cuss with Dean Milman, the later classical and Byzantine 
 authors, with the same intimate familiarity as if they had 
 belonged to the highest age of classical literature. Sir James 
 Lacaita expressed amazement, as Silvio Pellico had done 
 before him, at his unexpectedly thorough knowledge of 
 Italian poets ; and the casual remark of a French friend 
 brought to light his singular acquaintance with, as M. de 
 Barante phrased it, * every French author who wrote before 
 the Revolution.' It was not the possession of these stores 
 of information, in which (though equalled by but few so 
 busily engaged in public life) he was not singular, but their 
 hidden possession, which was so remarkable a feature in 
 him, and which must not be left unnoticed if he is to be 
 truly understood. 
 
 Occupied as his public life chiefly was by foreign politics 
 uninteresting to the mass of Englishmen, imperceptible to 
 the common eye as was his influence, unostentatious as he 
 was in the possession of his acquirements and in his mode 
 
 <of life, it is not surprising that Lord Aberdeen should have 
 been misunderstood, underrated, and comparatively over- 
 looked by the general public in his lifetime. Through life, 
 it was the greatest and the best of those who knew him who 
 esteemed him most highly. 'Lord Aberdeen is the most 
 
HIS LETTERS 321 
 
 entirely virtuous man I know — he has all virtues, I think/ 
 said the Prince Consort to Bishop Wilberforce. ' II est im- 
 possible/ wrote M. Guizot of him from Haddo, ' de laisser 
 percer plus d'esprit et de coeur a travers des formes lentes, 
 froides, et tantot un peu embarrassees, tantot un peu 
 ironiques. II a I'esprit aussi libre et aussi original que 
 sense. II pense et s'interesse a tout, sans avoir I'air d'y 
 toucher.' The Duke of Wellington, a man not given to 
 idle or insincere compliment, when urging him to undertake 
 important work for which Lord Aberdeen thought himself 
 unfitted, used the striking words, that he had shown that 
 whatever he undertook he could do better than others ; and 
 Lady Peel, only a few days after her husband's death, 
 wrote that Sir Robert Peel had ' always talked ' of Lord 
 Aberdeen to her ' as the friend for whom he had the sin- 
 cerest affection, and whom he estimated higher than any 
 other.' 
 
 Whether I shall have succeeded in giving to the readers 
 of this volume a juster notion of his career than that pre- 
 valent among the public in his own day is, I fear, more than 
 questionable. Confinement to the narrow limits of a ' short ' 
 biography is decidedly unfavourable to success in the attempt. 
 Such a character is not one of which a bold and striking 
 outline can be drawn in a few telling sentences. Its lights 
 and shadows can only be painted by a multitude of 
 delicate touches and the accumulation of many minute 
 details. Any such accumulation the space at my command 
 forbids. For example, those who read any small selection 
 only from Lord Aberdeen's letters will not obtain the least 
 insight into one of their most remarkable characteristics. 
 Those who look into them for the scandal of the day, 
 or for sharp criticism of his political opponents, will no 
 doubt at once find themselves disappointed ; but it is only 
 
 Y 
 
322 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 after reading, as I have done, many thousands of his 
 public and private letters that it becomes apparent that 
 they never contain any ill-natured remark about others, or 
 any story told to another's prejudice. I doubt whether 
 the same can be said of the correspondence of many other 
 men, of whose papers, public and private, so large a portion 
 has been preserved. I do not think this peculiarity was 
 due to any formed and conscious resolution ; it was the 
 natural result of his habit and tone of mind. Again, the 
 multitude of quarrels and differences, both among those 
 connected with him and among comparative strangers, 
 which he composed, cannot without tediousness, or indeed 
 without impropriety, be recorded. And yet it is hardly 
 possible to do justice to his love of peace, without some 
 knowledge of his unsparing efforts to promote peace 
 among others, and his own resolute avoidance of all strife 
 or quarrel, even when he felt most keenly that wrong had 
 been done him. 
 
 I have preferred, in what I have written, to use, 
 wherever it was possible, the language of others rather than 
 my own ; for of all the difficulties which beset my task 
 none are greater than those caused by the relation in which 
 I stand to Lord Aberdeen. It is true that the gradual open- 
 ing of my own mind, and the closeness of the intercourse 
 between us, imperceptibly dissolved the reverential and dis- 
 tant awe which, I confess, was the attitude of my child- 
 hood towards my father. With sensations of surprise I 
 continually discovered his possession of stores of know- 
 ledge previously unsuspected, and fresh beauties of cha- 
 racter, each forging a new link in the chain of affection, 
 till finally that perfect and rare mutual confidence was 
 established which existed between us for the last ten 
 or twelve years of his life, and which enables me to speak 
 
THE CLAIMS OF HISTORICAL TRUTH 323 
 
 with some decision both as to his acts and his opinions. 
 But while I admit that circumstances have given me some 
 special advantages for laying before the world a picture, 
 however imperfect, of what Lord Aberdeen was, rather 
 than a mere narrative of what he did, I trust that my 
 readers will not forget the restraints which those very cir- 
 cumstances themselves impose. He who undertakes to write 
 the life of a public man incurs obligations to historical 
 truth which are paramount, and must at any cost and any 
 risk be discharged. But the obligations of filial piety are 
 not less imperative ; and though in the delineation of 
 personal character, if attempted at all, affection must not be 
 allowed to conceal weakness, nor fear of the imputation 
 of bad taste allowed to obscure merit, yet it can never 
 be forgotten that censure or commendation of a father 
 by a son alike ^tremble on the verge of disrespect. 
 
INDEX 
 
 ABE 
 
 ASI 
 
 Abercorn, Lady, 284 
 
 Abercorn, Lord, 13, 66 ; death of, 67 ; 
 marriage of, 67, 107 
 
 Aberdeen, the first Earl of, 3 ; second 
 Earl, 4 ; third Earl, s, 7 
 
 Aberdeen, Lord, birth and childhood of, 
 4-6; at Harrow, 5, 6; guardians, 6 ; 
 at Cambridge, 6-9, 14 ; visits Paris 
 and Florence, 9 ; travels in the Levant, 
 9-11 ; at Haddo House, 11-13, 67, 
 68, 188-194, 293-295, 297; at Bent- 
 ley Priory, 13, 14 ; fondness for act- 
 ing, 14 ; marriage to Lady Catherine 
 Hamilton, 14, 15 ; death of Lady, 18, 
 19 ; extracts from — 's diary, 16, 17, 43; 
 proposes to stand for Cambridge Uni- 
 versity, 17 ; opening of public life, 18; 
 daughters of, 18, 69, 107, 108 ; and 
 events in Sicily, 19 ; accepts embassy 
 to Austria, 20 : instructions to, 21 ; 
 journey to Teplitz, 21-23 ; treaty with 
 Austria, 24-28 ; opinion of_ the Em- 
 peror Francis, 29 ; at Leipsic, 31-33 ; 
 and the horrors of war, 33, 34 ; peace 
 negotiations at Frankfort, 34-42, 48 ; 
 and Sir Robert Wilson, 42-46 ; opinion 
 as to the capitulation of Dresden, 46, 
 47 ; and character of Prince Metter- 
 nich, 47, 48 ; and Swiss neutrality, 
 50-52 ; the advance into France, 53, 
 54 ; at the congress of Chatillon, 55- 
 63 ; peace of Paris, 64, 65 ; second 
 marriage of, 66-69 : ^^^ Greek insur- 
 rection, 70-73 ; and Scotch entails, 73- 
 75 ; appointed Foreign Secretary, 75, 
 102, 106, no, 120; war between Russia 
 and Turkey, 76-85 ; the sovereignty 
 of Greece, 87-89 ; affairs of Portugal, 
 89-96 ; and the French expedition to 
 Algiers, 96-98 ; French revolution of 
 1830, 99-102 ; the Catholic question, 
 103 ; the Reform Bill, 104-106, 113 ; 
 family bereavements, 107-109 ; ap- 
 pointed Secretary for the Colonies, iio- 
 113; first meeting with Mr. Gladstone, 
 III ; Lord Grey and, 112 ; and Lord 
 Palmerston's foreign policy, 113, 114 ; 
 the Duke of WelUngton and, 114-116 ; 
 
 head of the Scotch Conservatives, 116, 
 117 ; sons of, 117 ; and foreign affairs, 
 118-120, 152-187 ; and Scotch Church 
 affairs, 121-151 ; and M. Guizot, 153- 
 158 ; and Greek revolution of 1843, 
 159-161 ; the Spanish marriages, 162- 
 173, 194-196 ; and France, 173-177, 
 196 ; and the United States, 178-184 ; 
 and Brazil, 185 ; the repeal of the 
 Corn Laws, 185 ; resignation of, 186, 
 187, 284-286 ; and death of Sir Robert 
 Peel, 197 ; the Ecclesiastical Titles 
 Bill, 197-202, 218 ; and the Neapolitan 
 letters, 203-205 ; and Lord John Rus- 
 sell, 206-215, 265-286; Prime Minister, 
 214 ; cabinet of, 215-217 ; session of 
 1853, 217, 218 ; the Crimean war, 
 219-264, 302-304 ; and the Duke of 
 Bedford, 284-285 ; assists Lord Palm- 
 erston, 288-290 ; the Queen and, 290- 
 292 ; Christmas Sermon, 301-302 : ill- 
 ness and death of, 305, 306 ; Mr. Glad- 
 stone's estimate of, 308-309 ; general 
 sketch of character, 309-322. See also 
 Bills, Essay, Letters, Speeches, 
 &c. 
 
 Aberdeen, Lady (Lady Catherine Ham- 
 ilton), 14, 15 ; death of, 18, 19 
 
 Aberdeen, Lady (the second), 66-69, 118 ; 
 death of, 108 
 
 Aberdeen, the Countess Dowager, 193 
 
 Adelaide, Queen, at Bentley Prior, 67 
 
 Adrianople, treaty of, 77, 82-85 
 
 Albany, Countess of, at Florence, 9 
 
 Albert, Prince, and Lord Aberdeen, 185, 
 214, 305, 320 ; and the Spanish mar- 
 riages, 195 ; attacks on, 274 
 
 Alexander L, Emperor, 50, 51, 56-58 
 
 Alfieri, 9 
 
 Algiers, French expedition to, 96-98 
 
 Ali Pasha, of Janina, 11 
 
 Alma, victory of the, 252 
 
 America and England, 178-184 
 
 Amherst, Lord, 113 
 
 Argyll, Duke of, 147, 148, 202, 203, 288 
 293 
 
 Ashburton, Lord, 178-180 
 
 Asia Minor, travels in, 10 
 
326 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 ATH 
 
 Athens, Lord Aberdeen at, lo 
 
 Austria, Lord Aberdeen accepts embassy 
 
 to, 20 ; treaty with, 23-28, 48 ; and 
 
 the Russo-Turkish war 1829, 79, 80 ; 
 
 and the Crimean war, 246-247, 255, 
 
 294 
 
 Baird, Sir David, 4 
 
 Ball, Sir Alexander, 10 
 
 Baltic Sea, fleets in the, 252 
 
 Barante, M. de, 320 
 
 Barbacena, M. de, 91, 92 
 
 Bathurst, Lord, 72, 73, 87, 313 
 
 Bavaria, 26 
 
 Beaconsfield, Lord, see Disraeli, Mr. 
 
 Beauharnais, Eugene, 61 
 
 Beauvale, Lord, 14 
 
 Bedford, Duke of, 213, 214, 266, 284, 300 
 
 Belgium, insurrection in, lor, 102 
 
 Belfegarde, Marshal, 44, 46 
 
 Eentley Priory, 13, 14, 67, 108 
 
 Berlin, 22 
 
 Bernadotte, Prince Royal of Sweden, 27, 
 40, 57 
 
 Bernard, of Tuscany, Archduke, 88 
 
 Bills introduced by Lord Aberdeen, 
 Scotch entails, 73-75; Scotch Church, 
 137 ; Brazil Slave Trade, 187 
 
 Black Forest, the, 50 
 
 Black Sea, fleets in the, 244-250 
 
 Bonaparte, Napoleon, 9 ; and Germany, 
 20, 23, 25, 35-65 ; the Emperor of 
 Russia and, 27; and General Merfeldt, 
 32, 36, 37 
 
 Bonaparte, Prince Louis Napoleon, 184 
 
 Boundary question, United States and 
 British Provinces, 178-181 
 
 Bourbon restoration, the, 63, 64 
 
 Brazil, England and, 184, 185 
 
 Bresson, Count, 166-170 
 
 British Museum, 18, 310 
 
 Buccleuch, Duke of, 116 
 
 Buchan Ness, 192 
 
 Budberg, Baron, 230 
 
 Bulwer, Sir E. L., 296 
 
 Bulwer, Sir Henry, and the Spanish 
 marriages, 164-172 
 
 Burghersh, Lord, 43-45, see Westmor- 
 land. 
 
 Cambridge, Lord Haddo at, 6-g, 14; 
 proposes to stand for University, 17 
 
 Canada, measures for, 112, 113 ; re- 
 bellion of 1838, 178 
 
 Candlish, Dr., 202 
 
 Canning, Lord, 17, 75, 293, 305 
 
 Canterbury, Lord Aberdeen acts at, 14 
 
 Capod'Istrias, 88, 89 
 
 Cardwell, Mr,, 293 
 
 Castlereagh, Lord, 20, 25, 27, 28, 32, 39, 
 41, 42, 44-46, 49, 52, 54-64, 69-72,313, 
 315 ; suicide of, 73 
 
 Cathcart, Lord, 26, 36, 38, 39, 54, 65 
 
 Catholic question, the, 103, 314, 317; 
 Relief Bill, the, 201, 202 
 
 Caulaincourt, at the Chatillon congress, 
 56, 63 
 
 Chalmers, Dr., and the Church of Scot- 
 land, 123-128, 130-145 
 
 Charles, of Mecklenburg, Prince, 88 
 
 Charles X., King of France, 98-102 
 
 Chatillon, congress of, 55-63 
 
 Christina, Queen, 169 
 
 Church of Scotland, see Scotland 
 
 Civis Romanus, 197 
 
 ' Claim of Right,' the, 149-151 
 
 Clare election, the, 103 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, 223, 229, 234, 235, 
 246, 254, 263, 269-273, 277, 280, 288, 
 293 
 
 Clerk, Sir George, 139 
 
 Colonies, Lord Aberdeen appointed 
 Secretary for the, no, 112, 113 
 
 Congress of Chatillon, the, 55-63 
 
 Congress of Vienna, 69, 70 
 
 Consort, Prince, see Albert 
 
 Constantine, Grand Duke, 34, 35 
 
 Constantinople, Russia and, 219-246 
 
 Corn Laws, repeal of the, 185, 307 
 
 Correspondence of Lord Aberdeen, see 
 Letters 
 
 Cowley, Lord, 79 
 
 Crimean war, the, 216-264 
 
 Dalling, Lord, 170 
 
 Dardanelles, Russia and the, 78, 83, 
 
 220-246 
 Denmark, France and, 39, 40, 59 
 Derby, Lord, 206-209, 212, 215, 277, 
 
 283, 287, 298-299 
 Devonshire, Duke of, 313 
 Disraeli, Mr., 212, 283, 310 
 Don Pacifico, claims of, 196, 197 
 Dresden, capitulation of, 46, 47 
 Drummond, Henry, 9, 10 
 Dudley, Lord, 75 
 
 Dundas, Henry, see Melville, Lord 
 Dundas, Lady Jane, 5 
 
 Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, 197-202, 
 218, 266, 317 
 
 ' Edinburgh Review,' the state of Europe 
 in 1813, 41, 42 
 
 Education Bill, 282 
 
 Egypt, France and, 118, 119 
 
 Elbe fortresses, the, 36, 37 
 
 Ellenborough, Lord, 87, 183 
 
 Emillus, of Hesse, Prince, 88 
 
 England, and Austria in 1813, 24-27; 
 peace negotiations at Frankfort, 39 ; 
 the Chatillon congress, 55-63 ; and the 
 Russo-Turkish war, 76-85 ; and Por- 
 tugal, 89-96 ; Lord Aberdeen and the 
 influence of, 113, 114; and France, 
 153-158) 174-177 ; and the Spanish 
 marriages, 162-173 : United States and, 
 178-184; and Brazil, 184, 185 ; and the 
 Crimean war, 219-264 
 
 Ephesus, Lord Aberdeen at, 10 
 
INDEX 
 
 ESS 
 
 327 
 
 LAI 
 
 Essay on the principles of Grecian archi- 
 tecture, 73 
 Europe, state of, in 1813, 21-52 
 Everett, Mr., 181 
 
 Florence, Lord Aberdeen at, 9 
 Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen as, 
 
 75-102, 106, no, 152-187 
 Formaline, valley of, 190 
 Fouch6, 65 
 
 France, and Austria, 23-28 ; war with 
 Germany, 33-48 ; advance of the 
 allied armies into, 49-63 ; peace of 
 Paris, 64, 65 ; and Algiers, 96-98 ; 
 revolution of 1830, 99-102 : and 
 Egypt, 119; and Syria, 120; and 
 England, 153-158, 174-177 ; and the 
 Spanish marriages, 162-173, 195-196 ; 
 revolution of 1848, 196 ; and the 
 Crimean war, 219-264 
 Franchise in Scotland, 106 
 Francis, Emperor, 25, 29, 34, 57 
 Frankfort, peace negotiations, 34-39 
 Frederick of Orange, Prince, 87 
 Free Irade, 185, 212, 315 
 
 Galveston, p-^rt of, 182 
 
 George IV. at ICdinburgh, 73 
 
 German character, 49, 50 
 
 Germany in 1813, 20 ; war with France, 
 33-63 
 
 Gladstone, Mr. W. E., 207-209, 211, 268, 
 279,292-293,296-299 ; Lord Aberdeen's 
 first interview with, iii ; and Ecclesi- 
 astical Titles Bill, 198, 200; Neapolitan 
 letters, 203-205; letter to, 210; Budget 
 of, 216, 217 ; and the Crimean war, 
 232, 233, 238-240, 248 ; and Mr. 
 Kennedy, 279, 280; letter to Lord 
 Aberdeen, 292, 293 ; and Lord Aber- 
 deen's character, 308-309 
 
 Gordon family, the, i 
 
 Gordon, Duke of, death of, in 1836, 2 
 
 Gordon, Duchess of, 13 
 
 Gordon, Sir George (the first Earl of 
 Aberdeen), 2, 3 
 
 Gordon, Sir John, 2 
 
 Gordon, Sir R., 14, 82, 85-87 
 
 Gordon, Captain Wm., io6 
 
 Gordon, Lady Alice, 107 
 
 GortchakofT, Prince, 294 
 
 Goulburn, Mr., 87 
 
 Graham, Sir James, 41, 148, 150, 174, 
 175) 185, 195, 198, 200, 207-209, 211- 
 213, 216, 222, 251, 259, 269-272, 273, 
 280, 286, 293, 295, 300, 306 
 
 Granville, Lord, 218, 273 
 
 Greece, Lord Aberdeen's travels in, 10; 
 the sovereignty of, 86-89 ; revolution 
 of 1843, 159-161; Don Pacific© claims, 
 196, 197 
 
 Greek insurrection, the, 70-72, 76, 80, 84 
 
 Grey, Lord, 105, 106 : (Lord Howick), 
 112, 113, 186 
 
 Grey, Sir George, 267 
 
 Guizot, M., 119, 120, 154-158, 161, 177, 
 
 186-1S8, 195, 196, 312 ; visit to Haddo 
 
 House, 117, 298 ; and the Spanish 
 
 marriages, 162-173 
 Gurney, Hudson, 7-9, 12, 19, 75, no, 
 
 III, 302 
 
 Haddo, Lord George, see Aberdeen, 
 Lord 
 
 Haddo, Lord William, son of the first 
 Lord Aberdeen, 3, 4 
 
 Haddo, Lord, sonof Lord Aberdeen, 301, 
 304 : coming of age, 117; and Lady, 
 at Blackheath, 185 ; Lady , 291 
 
 Haddo, Lady,mother of Lord Aberdeen,4 
 
 Haddo House, 2, 11-13, 67, 68, 106, 109, 
 117, 26S ; life at, 188-194, 301-305, 
 319 ; Sunday at, 191, 192 ; visit of the 
 Queen to, 305 
 
 Hamilton, Lord, death of, 66 
 
 Hamilton, Lady Catherine (Lady Aber- 
 deen), 14, 15 ; death of, 18, 19 
 
 Hamilton, Lady Maria, see Letters to 
 death of, 66 
 
 Harrowby, Lord, 63, 66 
 
 Hayter, Mr., 2S2 
 
 Heligoland, no 
 
 Herbert, Sidney, 185, 198, 207, 208 293 ; 
 letters to, 289-290 
 
 Heytesbury, Lord, 78, 82 
 
 Holland, ii'jeration of, 39, 55 
 
 Holland, Lord, 85, 92 
 
 Holland House, 313 
 
 Hope, John, 74, 75 
 
 Howick, Lord, see Grey, Lord 
 
 Huntly, Marquess of, 2 
 
 Hu^kisson, iNIr., 75 
 
 India, Government of. Bill, 217, 300 
 
 Indian mutiny, the, 305 
 
 Ionian Islands, 61 
 
 Ireland, 218 ; Church Establishment, 
 
 315 
 Isabella II., Queen, 162-173 
 Italy, revolution in, 205, 207 
 
 Jackson, Sir George, 46 
 
 Jarnac, Count de, article in ' Revue des 
 
 Deux Mondes,' 188 
 John of Saxony, Prince, 88 
 Joseph, Emperor Francis, 247 
 
 Kellie Castle, 2 
 
 Kemble, Mr., 13 
 
 Kennedy, the Rt. Hon. P., 279 
 
 Kinglake and the Russo-Turkish war, 
 
 1829, 77 
 Kinglake ' History of the Crimean War, 
 
 -3JO 
 Knight, Payne, 13 
 
 Lacaita, Sir James, 320 
 Lairds of Haddo, 2 
 
328 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 LAM 
 
 PHI 
 
 Lamartine, M. de, 120 
 
 Lamb, Sir F., 90, gi 
 
 Lansdowne, Lord, 212, 213, 218, 287, 
 288, 313 
 
 La Rothiere, victory of, 57 
 
 Lawrence, Sir Thomas, at Bentley 
 Priory, 13, 14 
 
 Legend of the Gordon family, i 
 
 Leipsic, battle of, 31-33, 36, 37 
 
 Leopold, Prince, 88, 89 
 
 Leopold of Saxe Coburg, Prince, 164-173 
 
 L'Estocq, General, 22 
 
 Letters of Lord Aberdeen, 313 ; to Hud- 
 son Gurney, 7, 8, 12, 19, no, in, 302 ; 
 to Rev. G. Whittington, 16 ; to Lord 
 Abercorn, 20, 52, 64, 65 ; to Lady 
 Maria Hamilton, 21-23, 3i~34> 4S-50, 
 52, 53 ; to Lord Castlereagh, 27-29, 42, 
 44, 45, 47, 48, 55, 59-61 ; from Paris, 
 63, 64 ; on the Greek insurrection, 
 70-72 ; on the capitulation of Dresden, 
 46, 47 ; re Queen Adelaide's visit to 
 Bentley Priory, 67 ; to Lady Aberdeen, 
 66 ; to John Hope, 74, 75 ; to Lord 
 Heytesbury, 78, 82 ; to Lord Cowley, 
 79 ; to Sir R. Gordon, 85-87 ; re affairs 
 of Portugal, 91, 92, re Algiers, 97 ; to 
 Mme. de Lieven, no, 115, 116, 118-120 
 157) 158, 186, 187, 199, 200, 204 ; to the 
 Dean of Faculty, 125-128 ; to Dr. 
 Chalmers, 134, 135, 138 ; to Sir Robert 
 Peel, 159, 162, 163, 171, 174-177: to 
 Sir E. Lyons, 159- 161 ; to M. Guizot, 
 161, 169, 186, 187; to Sir Henry 
 Bulwer, 165 ; to Prince Albert, 195 ; 
 to youngest son, 200, 202 ; to Mr. 
 Gladstone, 210, 232-233, 238-240, 
 296-297 ; to the Duke of Newcastle, 
 210 ; to Sir Jas. Graham, 211, 222, 223, 
 269-270, 272 ; to Lord Clarendon, 
 223 ; to Lord Palmerston, 235-238, 240 ; 
 to Lord John Russell, 269, 270, 
 274, 275, 276 ; to the Duke of Bedford, 
 284, 285 ; to Sidney Herbert, 289-290 ; 
 to Lady Haddo, 291 
 
 Levant, travels in the, 9-11 
 
 Lewis, Sir G. C, on the state of Europe 
 in 1813, 41, 42 
 
 L'Huys, M. Drouyn de, 294 
 
 Lieven, Prince, 77, 78, 81 
 
 Lieven, Mme.de, 105, 106, 108,109, 115, 
 116, n8-i2o, 157, 158, 186, 187, 199, 
 200, 204 
 
 Liverpool, Lord, 41, 62 
 
 Lords, House -oi, and Reform Bill of 
 1832, 105, 106 ; and Bills passed by 
 the Commons, 115 
 
 Louis XVHL, 64 
 
 Lyndhurst, Lord, 259 
 
 Lyons, Sir E., and Greek revolution of 
 1843, 159-161 
 
 McLeod, acquittal of, U.S. and, 178 
 Malta, Lord Aberdeen at, 10 
 Maximilian, Archduke, 88 
 Mehemed Ali Pasha, 96 
 
 Melbourne, Lord, at Bentley Priory, 14 ; 
 government of, 114 ; and Scottish 
 Church Bill, 134, 141, 142, 144 ; 
 Ministry of, 152, 153 
 
 Melville, Lord, 5-7, 11, 13, 15-17, 304 
 
 jV) enschikoff, Prince, 219-222, 224, 236 
 
 Merfeldt, General Count, 30, 32, 36, 37 
 
 Metternich, Prince, 24-27, 30, 35-38, 40, 
 44, 51, 54, 79, 80, 90, 96, 315 ; charac- 
 terof, 47, 48 ; and the treaty of Adrian- 
 ople, 82, 83 
 
 Mexico and Texas, 181-184 
 
 Miguel, Dom, 90-96 
 
 Militia Bill, 206 
 
 Milman, Dean, 311 
 
 Montpensier, Duke of, 163-173, 19s 
 
 Muir, Dr., 137, 138 
 
 Murat, 21, 39, 40 
 
 Naples, prisoners at, 203-205 
 Napoleon, Louis and the Crimean war, 
 
 220-246 
 National Gallery, the, 310 
 Neapolitan letters, 203-205 
 Nesselrode, Count, 26, 27, 35-38, 54 
 
 220-222, 225, 226 
 Newcastle, Duke of, 198, 207-210, 218, 
 
 273, 278, 281-283 ; declines office, 199, 
 
 200 
 Newspaper correspondents in the 
 
 Crimean war, 261, 262 
 Nicholas, Emperor, 78, 80, 82, 224-264 
 Non-Intrusionists, the, Scottish Church, 
 
 122-126, 131-151 
 
 Olmutz, conference at, 231, 244 
 Omer Pasha, 240 
 Oregon treaty, 181-184 
 Osborne, Lord Aberdeen at, 213 
 Otho, Prince, of Bavaria, 89 
 
 Pakenham, Mr., 181 
 
 Palmerston, Lord J., 75, 77, 89, 113, 114, 
 154, 156, 168-171, 179, i8ij 186, 194, 
 198, 209, 218, 222, 309 ; policy of, 196, 
 197 ; dismissal of, 205, 206 ; and 
 Crimean war, 225, 227-264 ; and re- 
 form, 273 ; in office, 266, 283, 287-291, 
 295, 296 
 
 Panmure, Lord, 288 
 
 Papal aggression, 198 
 
 Paris, Lord Aberdeen at, 9, 63-65 
 
 Parliamentary representation, reform of, 
 104 
 
 Paul, Prince, of Wurtemberg, 88 
 
 Pedro, Dom, of Brazil, 89, 90 
 
 Peel, Sir Robert, 87, 103, 109, 115, 118, 
 141, 144, 148 152, 157, 159, 181, 183, 
 195, 196, 305, 312 ; and Corn Laws, 
 185; Administration of 1835, no; and 
 the Spanish marriages, 162-177 ; re- 
 signation of, i86 ; death of, 197 
 
 Philip of Hesse, Prince, 87, 83 
 
INDEX 
 
 329 
 
 PHI 
 
 Philippe, King Louis, 100-102, 154 ; and 
 
 the Spanish marriages, 162-173 
 Piscatory, M., and Greek revolution of 
 
 1843, 159-161 
 Pitt, Mr., Lord Haddo's guardian, 6, 7, 
 
 9-11, 13, 15, 312; death of, 16, 17; 
 
 and reform, 104 
 Pnyx, the, at Athens, 10 
 Poland, 315 
 
 Polignac, Prince, 81, 96-98 
 Polk, President, 180 
 Porte, Russia and the, 219-264 
 Portugal, affairs of, 89-96 
 Pozzo di Borgo, Count, 30, 48, 49 
 Prague, conferences at, 23 
 Presbyter^', the, in Scotland, 122-151 
 Pretender, the. Lord Haddo and, 4 
 Price, U., letter to Rogers, 107, 108 
 Pritchard, Mr., 157 
 Protection, 206, 207 
 Prussia, 40 ; Austria and, 24, 27, 247 
 ' Punch,' cartoon in, 242 
 
 'Quarterly Review' and Bentley 
 Priory, 13 ; and the Emperor Francis, 
 29 ; and the Spanish marriages, 196 
 
 Rae, Sir Wm., 147, 148 
 
 Redclifle, Lord Stratford de, 224, 231- 
 239, 271 
 
 Reform question, the, 104, 217 
 
 Reform Bill of 1832, 105 ; Lord J. Rus- 
 sell's, 274-275 
 
 Reshid Pasha, 235 
 
 Revolution in France, 1830, 98-102 ; in 
 1848, 196 
 
 Rhine, France and the frontier of the, 55 
 
 Richmond, Duke of, 2 
 
 Roebuck, Mr., 264, 281-283, 287 
 
 Rogers, 319 
 
 Roman Catholic Relief Bill, see Catholic 
 Question 
 
 Romilly, Colonel, 282 
 
 Rose, Colonel, 220, 222 
 
 Rothesay, Lord Stuart de, 97-99 
 
 Royston, Lord, 8 
 
 Russell, Lord John, 77, 142, 144 ; Re- 
 form Bill of 1832, 105, 106; government 
 of, 194 ; and Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, 
 197-202 ; and Lord Aberdeen, 205-215, 
 218, 266-286, 294, 299, 317, 318; and the 
 Crimean war, 227, 230, 234-264 ; and 
 the Vienna Note, 257-265 ; Reform Bill 
 of, 273, 275 ; and the War Office, 278 ; 
 resignation of, 281-284 
 
 Russell, Lady Louisa, 107 
 
 Russia, 42 ; the embassy to, 17 ; Austria 
 and, 24 ; Emperor of, and Bonaparte, 
 27 ; and Sweden, 40-57 : war with 
 Turkey, 76-85 ; and Crimean war, 
 216-264, 304-306 
 
 VIC 
 
 Schwarzenberg, Prince, 27, 42-47, 53, 
 
 204, 205 
 Scotch Conservatives, Lord Aberdeen 
 
 head of the, 116, 117 
 Scotch Entails Bill, 73-75, 306 
 Scotland, franchise in, 106 ; Church of, 
 
 iiS, 309 ; constitution of the Church of, 
 121-123 ; the Veto Act, 123-129 ; Lord 
 
 Aberdeen's Act, 123-151 
 Scott, Sir Walter, and Lord Abercom 
 
 at Bentley Priory, 13 
 Sebastopol, siege of, 252, 253 
 Selim, Sukan, 10 
 Seton, Alexander, 2 
 Seton-Gordon, family of, 2 
 Seville, Duke of, 168, 173 
 Sicily, the embassy to, 17; events in, 
 
 19, 41 
 Sinclair, Sir George, 147, 149 
 Sinope, battle of, 228, 242, 243, 273 
 Slave trade, abolition of, Caulaincourt 
 
 and, 59 ; suppression of, in the United 
 
 States, 178, 179 ; in Brazil, 184 
 Smith, Mr. Vernon, 282, 288 
 Spain, affairs in, 158 
 Spanish marriages of 1S46, 162-173, 1^4- 
 
 196 
 Speeches in the House of Lords : reply 
 
 to Lord Holland re Turkey, 85 ; re 
 
 Portugal, 92, 93 ; the Ecclesiastical 
 
 Titles Bill, 201 ; relations with Russia, 
 ^ 259, 277 
 Stael, Mme. de, 49 
 Stanhope, Lady Hester, 6 
 Stephen, Sir James, 110, 111 
 Stewart, Sir Charles, 36, 38, 39, 54 
 Sutherland, Duchess-Countess of, 189 
 Sweden, 40, 57 ; travelling in, in 1813, 
 
 21, 22 
 Switzerland, 39, 40, 51, 52 
 Syria, France and, 118, 120 
 
 Tahiti affair, the, 157 
 
 Talleyrand, 102 
 
 Taylor, Henry, 319 
 
 Teplitz, Lord Aberdeen at, 22-24, 26, 
 
 30, 31, 40, 42 
 Terceira Expedition, the, 93-95 
 Test and Corporation Acts, 103 
 Texas, Mexico and, 181-184 
 ' The Times ' and the Crimean war, 243 
 Thiers, M., 153, 156 ; on the Chatillon 
 
 congress, 56, 62, and Egypt, 119, 
 
 120 
 Trapani, Count of, 172, 173 
 Turkey, war with Russia, 1829, 76-87; 
 
 the Crimean war, 218-264 
 Turner, Dr., 17 
 
 United States and England, 178-184 ; 
 and Texas, 181-184 
 
 St. Aignan, Count de, 37, 38, 55 
 Ste. Aulaire, Count de, 164, i6fi 
 
 Veto Act, the, 123, 124, 129, 144-151 
 Vicenza, Duke of, 61 
 
330 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 VIC 
 
 woo 
 
 Victoria, Queen, visit to the Chateau 
 d'Eu, 162 ; and Lord Aberdeen, 185, 
 199, 200, 212-214, 283, 284 ; confers on 
 Lord Aberdeen the vacant Garter, 282, 
 283 ; visit to Haddo, 297 
 
 Vienna, Congress of, 69, 70 ; the Vienna 
 Note, 228-250, 269-271 
 
 Villiers, Mr. C, 282 
 
 Walker, Sir Baldwin, 222 
 
 Walpole's ' History of England since 
 
 1815,' 77, 173 
 Walpole's ' Life of Lord John Russell,' 
 
 207, 208, 228 
 Walsh, Sir John, 295 
 Wellington, Duke of. and Sir A. 
 
 Gordon, 5; at Vienna, 70; friendship 
 with Lord Aberdeen, 75 ; letter to 
 Lord Aberdeen, 80, 81, 109 ; and 
 Greece, 87 ; and France, 96, 100 ; and 
 defeat of Government, 102, 103, 106, 
 no; and Reform, 104 ; Lord Grey and, 
 112 ; and Lord Aberdeen, 114-117, 
 152, 174, 306 ; the Peninsulai war, 
 261 
 
 Westmorland, Lord, 43-45, 246 
 
 Whittington, Rev. G., 8, 16 
 
 Whyte, Rev. James, case of, 125-128 
 
 Wilberforce, Bishop, 307, 321 
 
 Wilson, Sir Robert, 32, 33, 42-46, 51, 
 305 
 
 Woburn Abbey, Lord Aberdeen at 212 
 
 Wood, Sir Charles, 272 
 
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