Foreign Office, Nov. 30, 1870.
The French are unwisely playing the same game as they did under Gramont about the Belgian Treaty. In each case, Bismarck had the sense to do at once what was to be done.
It is an enormous step for the Provisional Government to be recognized by Prussia, Austria, Turkey, Italy, and England as capable of attending a Conference, and it will be very foolish of them to lose the opportunity and remain out in the cold.
As London is the place, it would be my duty to issue the formal invitations; at least I suppose so. Do your best to persuade them.
The Government here wish to hold their own, but are most desirous of a prompt and peaceable solution of this 'Circular' question.
We shall adhere to anything we say, but you will observe that we are not rash.
Turkey, Austria and Italy are not pleasant reeds to rest on.
If we go to war, we shall be very like the man with a pistol before a crowd, after he has fired it off. Do not let a pacific word, however, escape your lips.
These two letters are a sufficiently clear indication of the highly uncomfortable position in which H.M. Government found itself involved, and of the urgent necessity of discovering some face-saving formula. France being incapacitated, it could hardly be supposed that Austria and Italy would go to war with Russia on account of a question whether Russia should or should not maintain a fleet in the Black Sea, and England with her ludicrous military establishments would therefore have been left to undertake the contest single-handed, or, at most, with the assistance of Turkey.
Ultimately, of course, a Black Sea Conference met in London, and a French representative, the Duc de Broglie, put in an appearance just as it was terminating, after ineffectual efforts had been made to secure the presence of M. Jules Favre. Lord Fitzmaurice, in his 'Life of Lord Granville,' has elaborately endeavoured to show that the Conference resulted in a triumph for British diplomacy. If the acceptance of a particular form of words (of which, by the way, no notice was taken by Count Aehrenthal when he annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in defiance of the Treaty of Berlin), constitutes a success, then Mr. Gladstone's Government were entitled to congratulate themselves; but as the Russians got their way and established their right to maintain a fleet in the Black Sea, they could legitimately claim that for all practical purposes the triumph was theirs.
In the course of his interviews with Thiers, Bismarck had denounced England, and before the end of 1870 the feeling between England and Prussia was anything but friendly. At the outbreak of hostilities British sympathy had been almost universally on the side of Prussia, but as the war progressed, public opinion began to veer round. The change in opinion was due partly to sympathy with a losing cause, partly to an impression that the Prussians were inclined to put forward unjust and exaggerated demands, partly to the violent abuse which appeared in the press of both countries, as well as to a variety of other causes. A letter from Mr. Henry Wodehouse, one of the secretaries at the Paris Embassy, shows that the Crown Prince of Prussia, whose Anglophil sympathies were well known, deplored the tone of the German papers, and alludes at the same time to a domestic squabble in high German circles, thus showing that the Prussian Government as well as the French was not entirely exempt from internal dissensions.
Mr. Wodehouse to Lord Lyons.
Rouen, Nov. 16, 1870.
On Monday morning, before leaving Versailles, I had an interview with the Crown Prince of Prussia at H.R.H.'s desire.
H.R.H. informed me that, at the last moment, when it was thought that all was arranged for the Union of South Germany with the North German Confederation, the Würtemberg Minister, instigated, it was believed, by the Bavarian Government, had asked for a delay in order to consult the other members of the Würtemberg Government, and had started for Stuttgardt with this object. This sudden decision had caused the King of Prussia and his Government very great annoyance.
H.R.H. spoke of the hostile tone lately adopted towards England by the German press, which he assured me, was quite contrary to the wishes of the Prussian Government, and that he himself much regretted it, as he feared it would give rise to a spirit of animosity between Prussia and England.
H.R.H. desired me to report this conversation to Lord Granville on my arrival in England.
As was shown in the case of the American Civil War, it is extremely difficult for a neutral to keep on good terms with both parties, however much it may be desired to preserve an absolutely impartial attitude. The French blamed us because they considered that we had not rendered them the kind of assistance which they thought was due to them. The Prussians, on the other hand, were always discovering grievances which betrayed our partiality. Upon the whole it is not surprising that our attitude provoked excessive irritation on their part, for we were continually harping on and deploring the iniquities of war, while perfectly ready to make a handsome profit out of it by selling anything to the belligerents. The late Sir Robert Morier admirably described the British attitude as it appeared to German eyes. "We sit by like a bloated Quaker, too holy to fight, but rubbing our hands at the roaring trade we are driving in cartridges and ammunition. We are heaping up to ourselves the undying hatred of this German race, that will henceforth rule the world, because we cannot muster up courage to prevent a few Brummagem manufacturers from driving their unholy trade."[24] It is only fair to add, however, that German censure was confined to England; the Americans, who exported arms in just the same way, were never denounced, but possibly this was due to the fact that they assumed a less self-righteous attitude.
Whatever may have been Bismarck's private sentiments with regard to England, he was not unconciliatory in public, and the various difficulties which arose were settled satisfactorily. One of the last unpleasant episodes was the sinking of several British merchant vessels in the Seine by the Prussian artillery towards the close of the year, for which compensation was demanded, and a passage in Busch's 'Bismarck' shows his method of dealing with such matters. 'When the Germans, a short time before the conclusion of the Preliminary Peace at Versailles, sank some English coal ships on the Lower Seine and the English made a row on the subject, the chief asked me (Lothar Bucher), What can we say in reply? Well, I had brought with me some old fogies on the Law of Nations and such matters. I hunted up what the old writers called the Jus Angariæ, that is to say, the right to destroy the property of neutrals on payment of full compensation, and showed it to the chief. He sent me with it to Russell, who showed himself to be convinced by this "good authority." Shortly afterwards the whole affair with the Jus Angariæ appeared in the Times. We wrote in the same sense to London, and the matter was settled.'
Mr. Odo Russell, whose presence at Versailles had been utilized to ascertain what terms of peace were likely to be granted, wrote before the middle of December that he was convinced that Bismarck would refuse to treat except upon the basis of unconditional surrender, and the failure of the sorties from Paris and of the operations near Orleans caused Thiers to lose heart, although Gambetta was as determined as ever to continue the struggle and to postpone the convocation of a National Assembly for as long as possible. Thiers indeed went so far as to declare in private to the Ambassador that further resistance was useless, and that it was a crime as well as a folly to continue it. The last disasters of the French, which were partly due to two shocking pieces of bad luck—the balloon which should have brought Trochu's plan for combined action with the Army of the Loire having been blown off to Christiania, and a sudden rise of the Marne having rendered co-operation with General Vinoy impossible—forced the Tours Government and the Diplomatists to migrate to Bordeaux. An offer on the part of the Foreign Office to send a warship to that port for the benefit of the Ambassador and his staff was declined with thanks: 'Under ordinary circumstances, I think I am better without one, and indeed personally I should be much less afraid of the Prussians than of the Bay of Biscay.'
It used to be a tradition in after years that the sole perceptible effect of the Franco-German War upon the British Embassy was that Lord Lyons's footmen ceased temporarily to powder their hair, but to judge by a letter to Hammond, Ambassadors suffered inconveniences as well as humbler people.
It is probable too that the social disorganization produced by the war provided distinguished diplomatists, who are necessarily amongst the most ceremonious of mankind, with some novel sensations. Upon one occasion, when Lord Lyons had occasion to call upon Gambetta, the Dictator was too busy to see him for some minutes, and deputed a subordinate to make his excuses. The latter began his conversation with the remark: 'Allons boire un bock!' a hospitable invitation hardly in accordance with the traditions of conventional diplomacy.
Lord Lyons to Mr. Hammond.
Bordeaux, Dec. 12, 1870.
Many thanks for the Bradshaw and the Times, and very many more for your letter of the 7th, which has just arrived by messenger.
Not having the archives here, I cannot look up the regulations about the expenses of an Embassy on its travels, as this is now. What I am anxious about is that some compensation should be made to the junior members who are with me, for the additional expense they are put to by their migration. I am willing to do anything I can for them, but there are of course limits to what I can afford, and it would be utterly repugnant to all my feelings and principles, for me to have an allowance for entertaining them. In old times, when manners and feelings were different, this might do; but in the present day the position of an hotel keeper for his subordinates is destructive of discipline and comfortable relations between a chief and the members of his Embassy.
The difficulty of finding lodgings and the prices are much greater than they were at Paris. I have nothing but one room for study, drawing-room, bedroom and all; and have just been asked six hundred pounds a month for one floor of a moderate sized house.
The junior members alluded to included Malet and Sheffield. It had, of course, been necessary to leave some of the staff at Paris.
In spite of Thiers's failure to obtain an armistice, the French Government still made strenuous efforts in the same direction and even succeeded in pressing the Pope into their service. The latter broached the subject to Count Arnim, the Prussian Minister at Rome, proposing that the revictualling of Paris should be accepted as a basis, and received a severe snub for his pains. He was informed, 'in very harsh terms,' that the proposal could not be considered, and further, that it was impossible to negotiate with a nation whose bad faith was scandalously exhibited by the daily appearance in arms of French officers who had given their word of honour not to serve again during the war. After much haggling, the French proposals resolved themselves into three alternatives, each of which was categorically rejected by Bismarck.
Lord Lyons to Mr. Layard.[25]
Bordeaux, Dec. 20, 1870.
The difficulty of communication is between this place and England, and arises from the utter irregularity of all trains, caused by the movements of the troops. St. Malo has become the usual port of embarkation and disembarkation for our messengers.
Things are at present at a deadlock. The French want: either a peace without cession of territory; or an armistice with the revictualling of Paris for the number of days it lasts; or a European Congress to settle the terms of peace between France and Germany. Bismarck peremptorily rejects all three proposals, and does not say precisely what his conditions of peace are. I suppose the King of Prussia holds to taking Paris as a satisfaction to military vanity, and that if the military situation continues favourable to Germany, he will accept nothing much short of unconditional surrender, while Paris resists. Of course, unless, by a miracle, Paris is relieved, its surrender is a question of time—but of how much time? They declare here that it can hold out without any very material suffering until the middle of January, and for many weeks longer, if the population will be content to live on bread and wine. But, supposing Paris to fall, will peace be made? Here it is declared that the South will still continue the war, and at any rate there seems to be every probability that the violent party will not surrender its power without a struggle. Then the financial question must soon become a difficulty. I am told that since the investment of Paris began three months ago, not less than thirty-two millions sterling have been spent. It is however idle to speculate when events march so fast. I can tell you little of the present state of the armies. Bourbaki is, I believe, at Bourges, and Chanzy at Le Mans. I have a military attaché,[26] Fielding, who has been with Chanzy's army during all the affairs near Orleans and since, and who has the highest opinion of his military talents.
The acceptance, pure and simple, of the Conference on the Russian question arrived from Paris the day before yesterday.
Towards the close of December the remarkable elasticity of the French character was manifested in a recovery from the depression which had been produced by the failure of the sorties from Paris and the recapture of Orleans by the Germans. The overpowering energy of Gambetta was chiefly responsible for the creation of new armies, and the moment again appeared unfavourable for peaceful counsels. Thiers and his party considered that the Government was only pushing the country on to more complete ruin, and were urgent in their call for a National Assembly. The majority of the great towns of the South, Bordeaux included, were against an Assembly or any interference with the existing Government, and Gambetta and his adherents were determined to go on with the war and keep themselves in power by all means available. Gambetta was the only member of the Government outside Paris who counted for anything, and the moderates were placed at a considerable disadvantage owing to Jules Favre being detained there.
Thiers, who had never joined the Government, prognosticated that it would immediately come to an end upon the fall of Paris, and that a moderate (honnête) republic would be established in the greater part of the country, while Lyons, Marseilles, Toulon and other places in the south would set up a socialistic form of government, and do an enormous amount of harm before suppression. In the opinion of competent judges, if the country could have been fairly polled at this particular period, the majority (consisting of course mainly of the peasants) would have been found to be Bonapartist, in spite of all that had taken place. The bourgeoisie and inhabitants of the smaller towns would have shown themselves to be in favour of quiet and security of property, and would therefore have probably voted for the Orleanists, as the best representatives of those principles; and the masses in the large towns would have turned out to be republican and socialist. A genuinely free expression of opinion would, however, have been difficult to secure, for Gambetta's prefects were, if anything, more unscrupulous than the Emperor's and, under existing circumstances, had greater means of downright intimidation.
In the closing days of 1870 fresh efforts were made by H.M. Government to start the Black Sea Conference as soon as possible, and to persuade the French to send a representative without delay. Under the circumstances, it might have been supposed that they would have named their Ambassador in London, but for some obscure reason, it was decided that Jules Favre was the only possible man, and as he was shut up in Paris it was necessary to obtain a safe conduct for him from the Germans. The following letter is of interest as an impartial appreciation of Jules Favre, and as containing some sage opinions upon the question of the Black Sea and the Dardanelles.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Bordeaux, Dec. 26, 1870.
I did all I could in favour of Tissot. He would have been a much more convenient plenipotentiary than Jules Favre and have facilitated the business of the Conference and the speedy termination of it. Jules Favre is, I believe an honest and really patriotic man—by which I mean a man who will sacrifice his own position and interests to what he believes to be the real good of his country. But he has not hitherto shown himself to be a good diplomatist or a skilful negotiator, and is too much led away by his feelings to be a good practical man of business. He will at all events go to London with a real knowledge of the state of things in Paris, and if he thinks the convocation of a National Assembly feasible and advisable, will have more means than any one else of bringing it about in spite of Gambetta. It will be good too that he should see for himself what the real feelings and intentions of the English Government are. He is a man, who would, I should think, be touched by real kindness and consideration for his country and himself in these times, and sensitive in case anything like a slight was put upon him or them—and particularly if the situation of France were not taken very seriously by all who approach him. He was a fierce and even truculent orator in the Chamber, but in private life is mild and agreeable. His power of speaking may be an inconvenience in the Diplomatic Conference, and I fancy he is led away by his 'verve' when he does get into a speech, and says sometimes things more forcible than judicious. I should think he would never himself sign a peace by which territory was yielded, but I conceive him to be a man who would make room for others to do so, and help them, if he was really convinced that it was necessary for France.
I suppose the Germans will make no difficulty about the safe conduct: it is for their interest to have some influential member of the Government who might enable peace to be made in an emergency, in which Gambetta might, if unchecked, have recourse to desperate measures.
At this moment I think the French have recovered their hope of making a successful resistance to the Dismemberment of the country. I am not very sanguine after all that has occurred, but I do think the military prospects less gloomy than they have been since Sèdan, or at all events, since Metz. You will, I conclude, soon have a really trustworthy account of things in Paris from Claremont.
The Conference, I suppose, must end in Russia carrying her main point practically, and therefore it only remains to make it as much as possible an antidote to the scheme of raising her prestige in Turkey, by the form she adopted, of setting the other parties to the Treaty at defiance. I am afraid not much can be done towards this. I should suggest a very careful consideration of the meaning of the restoration to the Sultan of the right to open the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus at pleasure, and a very cautious wording of the article establishing it. Otherwise, considering the weakness of the Porte, I am afraid the new right might become a snare and a danger rather than a safeguard. It was so much easier for the Porte to say: 'I cannot' in answer to inconvenient importunity, than it will in future be to say: 'I will not.' Even under the Treaty prohibition the Turks had not the firmness they might have had in resisting demands for vessels to pass. I can conceive circumstances under which it might suit them to let a Russian fleet through into the Mediterranean, if only to be rid of it for the time in the Black Sea.
In Busch's 'Bismarck' there are many references to Jules Favre's emotional disposition. At the first interview which took place, a French peasant was told to keep watch outside the house where the Chancellor and Favre were negotiating, and the latter was unable to resist the temptation of making a speech to his fellow-countryman. 'Favre, who had gone into the house with the Chancellor, came out and addressed his countryman in a speech full of pathos and noble sentiments. Disorderly attacks had been made, which, he said, must be stopped. He, Favre, was not a spy, but, on the contrary, a member of the new Government, which had undertaken to defend the interests of the country, and which represented its dignity. In the name of International Law and of the honour of France, he called upon him to keep watch, and to see that the place was held sacred. That was imperatively demanded by his, the statesman's, honour, as well as by that of the peasant, and so forth. The honest rustic looked particularly silly as he listened open-mouthed to all this high falutin, which he evidently understood as little as if it were so much Greek.' Bismarck entertained a well-founded contempt for rhetoric, and Jules Favre's eloquent verbosity was to him only an instance of the way in which Frenchmen could be successfully duped. 'You can give a Frenchman twenty-five lashes, and if you only make a fine speech to him about the freedom and dignity of man of which those lashes are the expression, and at the same time strike a fitting attitude, he will persuade himself that he is not being thrashed.' It is probable too that Jules Favre's inability to appreciate Bismarck's undisguised cynicism contributed to the disfavour with which he was regarded as compared with the other negotiator, Thiers. When during one stage of the negotiations, Jules Favre complained that his position in Paris was very critical, Bismarck proposed to him that he should organize a rising so as to be able to suppress it whilst he still had an army at his disposal: 'he looked at me quite terror-stricken, as if he wished to say, "How bloodthirsty you are!" I explained to him, however, that that was the only right way to manage the mob.'
Whatever the merits or demerits of Jules Favre, a disagreeable surprise was inflicted upon both the British Government and the Government of National Defence by a refusal on the part of Bismarck to give him a safe conduct through the German lines. At first, difficulties were raised in connection with alleged violations of flags of truce; but upon the issue of a proclamation by Jules Favre, Bismarck took advantage of the opportunity in order to prevent his departure for London on the ground that it would imply an official recognition of the Government of National Defence.
At all events, he made such stipulations about the way in which the safe conduct should be applied for, that Jules Favre with his strong sentimental character found it impossible to comply with them, and he was also honourably reluctant to leave Paris just before the bombardment was about to begin. Bismarck, it is clear, was determined that he should not go to London if he could prevent it. The meeting of the Conference was postponed and by the time the final arrangements in connection with it had been made, negotiations for peace had begun and it became necessary for Favre to remain in Paris.
At the close of 1870, the bombardment of Paris had not yet begun: the French hopes of military success were based upon Generals Chanzy and Bourbaki; the German terms of peace were still unknown, and there was every sign that the extreme Republicans were disposed to break with Favre and Trochu and to perpetuate their power by war à outrance and a loi des suspects, or reign of terror. The most surprising feature in the situation was that Russia, who had been in fact an active ally of Prussia, by undertaking to watch Austria, and had obtained nothing whatever for France, was in much higher favour than the other blameless neutrals, it being fondly imagined that the Emperor Alexander's influence would be successful in obtaining favourable peace terms; and so adroitly did the Russians play their cards, that they persuaded Moltke that the 'malevolent neutrality' of England was the sole cause of the continuance of the war. Such at least was the purport of a communication which the latter made to Mr. Odo Russell at Versailles.
Bordeaux, Jan. 7, 1871.
The French claim a success at Bapaume, but prudent people are already speculating on what the consequences of the fall of Paris will be. It is very generally thought that Gambetta will place himself at the head of the ultra-Republicans, throw himself into Lyons, or some other southern town, and proclaim war and democracy à outrance. But what will Bismarck do at Paris? Will he try to obtain a government with whom he may make a reasonable peace, or will he promote war and anarchy with a view to ruin France utterly, and induce her to accept a monarch from his hand? In the former case he will perhaps either summon the old Legislative Body, or get together some meeting of Notables, who might appoint a provisional government to sanction a National Constituent Assembly as soon as possible, and in the meantime to treat upon the preliminaries of peace. The Moderates and chiefs of the old parties (except the ultra-Republican) might be not unwilling either to attend a summons of the old Corps Législatif, or to some other temporary body; for they are excessively dissatisfied with their present position, and think they see symptoms of the approach of the reign of terror and of a violent socialistic government.
As for Bismarck's notion of bringing back the Emperor at the head of the captive army, it is, I suppose, very doubtful whether the Emperor would give in to it, still more doubtful whether the released army would, and quite certain that the country would loathe a sovereign thus imposed upon it. If however Bismarck is bent upon it, it must be supposed that he intends to make some concessions to the Emperor to make his return to France palatable to the nation. If so, Belgium will be in danger, and Holland also, and Bismarck may return to one of his former projects of coming to an understanding with France, through the Emperor, and dealing with the small states just as he pleases. I suppose Russia will look after Denmark as well as she can. These dangers may seem visionary but I don't think they are so visionary as to make it superfluous to consider how they may be guarded against. Hateful as it would be to the towns and the educated classes, to have a sovereign imposed upon them by Prussia, it must not be forgotten that the peasants are still Bonapartists, and that a plébiscite in favour of the Empire might be managed.
I think I have made them feel here that you have been very friendly and considerate about Jules Favre.
At the opening of the year 1871, the hope of relieving Paris depended upon the three armies which the energy of Gambetta and the Government of National Defence had created in the North, Centre, and West, and on paper the prospects of the French were far from hopeless, for their forces in numbers far exceeded those of the Germans. In Paris alone there were supposed to be something like half a million fighting men, and the three armies above mentioned amounted to between four and five hundred thousand men. The Germans had 220,000 men in position round Paris, their forces in the provinces were numerically inferior to the French armies opposed to them, and the strain upon them must undoubtedly have been severe. The quality of Gambetta's levies, however, was unequal to the task, and as each of the French armies succumbed in turn, the fall of Paris became inevitable. The bombardment, which had been postponed as long as possible, in the hope that internal disorders would precipitate the capitulation, began in January.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Bordeaux, January 12, 1871.
If the telegraphic intelligence which is published as having come by this balloon is to be depended upon, the Prussians have begun the actual bombardment of the town of Paris itself, without giving Diplomatists, Neutrals, or any other non-combatants a chance of withdrawing. To say nothing of other feelings, this makes me very uneasy about the English left in the place. Most of them have perhaps only themselves to blame for staying in despite of warning but there must be many who had valid reasons, or were without the means to come away.
People are very much alarmed as to what may happen inside the town for the last two or three days, if a surrender become inevitable. There are two or three hundred thousand people (workmen and their families) who have a positive interest in the continuance of the siege, during which they are supported by the Government without being called upon to expose themselves, or at all events without in fact exposing themselves to much danger.
The intention of not listening to terms of peace, including any cession of territory, whether Paris be taken or not, is as loudly and as positively proclaimed here as ever. I am afraid Bismarck, who certainly does not at all understand the French character, and who does not appear to have a very delicate consideration for anybody's feelings, may add to the difficulties of peace by the manner in which his conditions are propounded, as well as by the substance of them.
The Diplomatists here are beginning to talk hypothetically of what they should do if one or more Governments should be set up in France on the fall of Paris. I do not think much good comes of giving opinions beforehand on supposed cases. It is of course clear that the Diplomatic Body cannot go wandering about France in the suite of any set of men, who are not beyond dispute the de facto Government of the country. And I suppose, caeteris paribus, if there be a Government in the Capital that must be taken to be the Government for the time being. It is so impossible to foresee what will happen, that I do not ask you for instructions.
Chaudordy on the other hand, continues to press for the immediate recognition of the Government of National Defence by England—saying that they do not want any fresh letters of credence to be presented, but would be quite satisfied with a simple note declaring that Her Majesty's Government entered into official relations with the existing Government in France. I conclude that Gambetta urges him to do this, with a view to strengthen the position of the National Defence Government or of what remains of it, if Paris falls; and on the other hand Chaudordy himself would be very glad to have obtained some decided result during his Administration of the extra muros foreign Department. He has certainly on the whole acted with skill in a very difficult position, and France and the Government ought to congratulate themselves on having him to act for them. I don't think that Jules Favre or any member of the Government would have done anything like as well. But in France more even than in other countries a little éclat is more appreciated than years of useful unobtrusive labour.
Thiers has told me in the strictest confidence that when he was at Versailles Bismarck offered to make peace on the basis of a pecuniary indemnity, the retention of Strasburg and Alsace, and the restoration to France of Metz and Lorraine. They seem to have brought the matter sufficiently into shape to be submitted to the Government at Paris. Thiers wanted Trochu, Picard and Jules Favre to come to him to the outposts, but, as you may recollect, only Favre came. Thiers offered to take upon himself the responsibility and odium of signing a treaty on this basis, if the Government would make him its plenipotentiary, but Favre declared that it would be impossible even to mention any cession of territory even to the people of Paris.
The most astonishing thing to me perhaps is the buoyancy of the French finances. I understand that the Government have by strong persuasion obtained from the Banque de France a new loan (it is said of upwards of twenty millions sterling) and this will keep them going for the present. There is already however, some difficulty in circulating the 'bons du Trésor' even at a discount.
I had observed the advertisements in the second columns of the Times and thought of trying to get the paper occasionally into Paris. In fact however the advertisers have exactly the same means of sending letters and telegrams to Paris that I have. I will nevertheless try. No special help can be expected from the Government. It is only by using the thinnest paper and reducing the despatches by means of photography that they can bring them within the weight which pigeons or secret messengers are able to carry.
There is no reason for doubting the correctness of this important statement made by Thiers, and it only shows how much more competent he was to conduct the negotiations than Jules Favre, and what a much better judge he was of the real situation than Gambetta. It would indeed be one of the ironies of history if the failure of Picard and Trochu to meet him at the outposts on that eventful day in November was the cause of the loss of a province to France, and of a vast addition to the war indemnity.
It was not long before a succession of hideous disasters demonstrated the hopelessness of the French situation. General Chanzy, in command of the army of the West, although in superior force, was completely defeated at Le Mans on January 12th. On the 19th, the Northern army under Faidherbe was defeated at St. Quentin and ceased practically to take any further part in the war. On the same date a sortie from Paris on a large scale was repulsed with heavy loss, and produced amongst other results the resignation of Trochu, a sanguinary riot in the town, and the liberation from prison of Flourens and other revolutionaries. The crowning misfortune was the memorable débâcle of Bourbaki, one of the most tragic episodes in modern warfare. It was evident that further resistance was useless, and the fictions which had so long sustained the spirits of the defenders of Paris were finally destroyed. On January 23, the unfortunate Jules Favre presented himself at Versailles and as there was no further question of 'pas une pierre de nos forteresses etc.,' an armistice was finally agreed to on the 28th. Under the provisions of the armistice it was arranged that elections should be held as soon as possible for a National Assembly in order that the question of the continuance of the war, and upon what conditions peace should be made, might be decided. Jules Favre, unlucky to the last, stipulated that the National Guards should be permitted to retain their arms, a concession which he had cause bitterly to regret before long.
The news of the armistice was received at Bordeaux with rather less indignation than had been expected, but Jules Favre was loudly denounced for not having included in it Bourbaki's army, the fact being that Bismarck, who was well aware of the ruin which threatened the force, had expressly refused to do so. Gambetta, while not actually repudiating the armistice, issued violent proclamations, loudly denouncing its authors, declaring that his policy as Minister of War remained unchanged, and urging that the period of the armistice should be employed in organizing the forces which were destined to free France from the invaders. These proclamations were followed by a decree in which the liberty-loving democrat enacted that no person should be eligible for the new Assembly who was connected with the royal families which had hitherto reigned in France, or any one who had served in any capacity as an official under the Empire. This outrageous proceeding produced a protest from Bismarck on the ground that it was a violation of the freedom of election stipulated in the armistice, and as Gambetta continued recalcitrant, the Paris section of the Government of National Defence, which included, amongst others, Favre, Trochu, and Jules Ferry, issued another decree on February 4, annulling that of Gambetta. Representatives of the National Defence Government from Paris arrived at Bordeaux on February 6, and upon that day Gambetta resigned the office of Minister of War, and Emmanuel Arago was appointed in his place. As Paris was now again in communication with the outside world, the opportunity was taken, not only of cancelling Gambetta's decrees, but of getting rid of the Delegation Government, of which he had been the virtual dictator.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Bordeaux, Feb. 7, 1871.
So far as we can judge here (and we have not very good means of judging) the moderate Conservative 'Ticket' is likely to be carried in most of the Elections. The result would be an assembly composed of men who in their own hearts will wish for peace, and whose Constituents will heartily wish for it. But there is always fear of each individually thinking it necessary to express for himself in public heroic sentiments, and of no one being willing to bell the cat and sign or even vote for ratifying the Treaty. Much of course will depend upon the terms. The cession of Alsace might possibly be submitted to, if it were distinctly apparent that it was the only means of saving Lorraine. The terms of the Armistice would make one hope that Bismarck is at least willing to avoid propounding conditions unnecessarily irritating.
Probably the most prudent thing for France to do would be to accept anything like reasonable terms of peace at once—for every day's delay in the departure of the German troops from the country, retards most seriously the beginning of the recovery from the misfortunes military, political, and financial, which are exhausting the springs of life. It is nevertheless very probable that th>e Assembly, or the Government it appoints, will make a solemn official appeal to Europe for its mediation. They may also ground a special appeal to Europe on the plea that the people of the Provinces to be ceded, ought to have a voice in the matter. In fact they have much to say to Europe, to which it will be difficult to make an answer. Bismarck, however, seems to be ready to snap his fingers at Europe.
Chaudordy naturally declines as far as possible the responsibility of talking or taking any measures, as he is now the servant of a Government, whose existence will probably end in a few days. Privately he urges strongly, with a view to public opinion in France, that England should be very prompt in recognizing officially the Government appointed by the Assembly. In this I think he is right.
Prudent men (Thiers included) appear to think that at all events as a temporary measure, a moderate republic, as the form of Government least likely to produce dissension should be adopted. Indeed, of the various pretenders, no one I suppose would wish to be in any way responsible for such a peace as must be concluded. Some people indeed apprehend that the Assembly may be too conservative, or as it is called, reactionary, but I don't think this need give any one but the Rouges the least uneasiness.
The appearance now is that Gambetta will not go beyond legal opposition, and that he will content himself with putting himself at the head of the ultra-democratic and 'guerre-à-outrance' party in the Assembly. In fact there is no symptom that an attempt to set himself up, by the aid of the mob in the great towns, in opposition to the Assembly would have any success. He is not himself by character inclined to such courses, but he has people about him who are.
Jules Favre is fiercely attacked first for having concluded an armistice which did not comprehend the Army of the East, and secondly for not having mentioned this exception when he announced the armistice to the Delegation here. This last proceeding (which I attribute to his want of business-like habits), is of course utterly indefensible. It may however have been rather convenient than otherwise to Gambetta, as it enables him to attribute to this cause the flight into Switzerland, which I suppose, the Army of the East must at all events have been driven to. The attack against him for not surrendering Paris at discretion, and stipulating nothing for the Provinces, seems to me to be more unfair—for what would the Provinces have said if he had let loose upon them the forces, which after the occupation of the forts might have been spared from the German Army round Paris.
Barring accidents, there seems reason to hope that we shall tide over the time to the meeting of the Assembly next week, pretty quietly.
At all events the suspension of the bloodshed and other horrors is a relief which I feel every moment. Four Prussian shells fell into the small convent near the Val de Grace at Paris in which I have a niece—but providentially neither she nor any of her fellow nuns were hurt.
The elections to the new National Assembly took place on February 8, all political groups participating, and resulted more or less in accordance with general expectation. In Paris, where there were many abstentions, extreme men like Louis Blanc, Victor Hugo, Gambetta and Rochefort were returned, and the example of Paris was to some extent followed by the big towns, but the general tone of the Assembly proved to be conservative, and almost reactionary, the sole question submitted to the candidates having been that of Peace or War. In effect, the feeling apparently predominant in the minds of the majority of the electors was aversion from the Government of National Defence, a feeling naturally accentuated by the recent crushing disasters, and the result was to throw discredit upon the Republican system of Government with which the Ministers were identified. But although the Assembly was in reality anti-Republican it was not the opinion of experienced politicians that it would be advisable to proclaim a monarchy; still less, that any one of the rival dynasties should be called immediately to the throne. On the contrary, they considered that a republic, moderate in its principles, and perhaps tacitly understood to be only temporary, would best promote union for the present, and that under such a form of Government it might be easier to obtain a ratification of such a peace as appeared to be possible, and to carry the painful measures necessary to give effect to it. It was also thought that if a monarchy were to be established it would have a better chance of enduring if the dynasty postponed its accession until the wounds from which the country was suffering should begin to heal, and that the all-important choice of a sovereign should be postponed to a calmer period. So far as could be judged, if a dynasty were decided upon at all, the chances appeared to be in favour of the House of Orleans, but there were nevertheless, amongst the members returned, between one hundred and fifty to two hundred Legitimist supporters of the Comte de Chambord, and not a few Bonapartists.
As for the all-important question of peace or war which the Assembly was to be called upon to decide, it was evident that the majority of the electors, in voting against the existing Government, intended to vote at the same time for peace, and therefore the majority of the members entered it with pacific intentions; but they were not prepared to vote for peace at any price, and although conditions which would have been scouted two months earlier were now considered to be worthy of discussion, the exaction of immoderate and humiliating demands might again arouse the spirit of desperate resistance, especially when argued under the excitement produced by heated parliamentary debates.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Bordeaux, Feb. 10, 1871.
Thiers, Dufaure, and Grévy are likely, so far as one can judge, without knowing the result of the Paris elections, to take the lead in the National Assembly. Grévy is avowedly a moderate Republican, and the two others are for a moderate Republic, as a transitional government to prepare the way for a Constitutional Monarchy. Such, at least, are certainly Thiers's views, but I am speaking rather without book about Dufaure.
What I am most afraid of is that Bismarck's conditions may be so hard as to turn the really pacific Assembly into a war à outrance one. The war could not in all probability go on long, but it might give us three months more of bloodshed, destruction and misery, and add to the difficulty of establishing eventually a good government here. An Assembly elected two months ago would have been very different from the present one, supposing one could have been elected at all; but, two months ago, Gambetta would have been strong enough to reject the armistice and refuse to convoke the Assembly. His entourage had even now prepared warrants for arrest of his colleagues, with a view to his assuming the Dictatorship and going on with the war without an Assembly, but he is wiser and less wicked than they. He will probably make a vigorous leader of the violent Republican opposition in the Assembly.
Of course under present circumstances I have nothing to do but to stay here, as it will be for the present the seat of government. It will be a comfort to have a whole real government, and not half a one, to deal with.
Chaudordy has at last come round to the opinion that a plenipotentiary should be named to the Conference, simply to speak for France on the Black Sea question, without any arrière pensée about bringing in other matters. He said he would telegraph as well as he could en clair to let Jules Favre know this. Bismarck will not let telegrams in cypher through, and there are no more pigeons.
What the French are craving for is some open, patent sympathy and support from us. They would give us comparatively little thanks for taking unostentatious steps in their favour with the Germans, though such steps were much better calculated to obtain something for them.
The extreme desirability of showing some evident sign of sympathy with France was impressed upon Her Majesty's Government who were urged to lose no time in doing so, with a view to the future relations between the two countries. The French, who certainty are not less prone than other nations in seeking to attribute a large share of their misfortunes to the shortcomings of other people, were inclined to put the blame of their calamities and disasters as much as possible, upon the Neutral Powers, who had not interfered actively in their defence; and England, who had certainly exerted herself more than any other Power in seeking practical means for making peace attainable, was very unjustly singled out for peculiar obloquy. This feeling had arisen partly because the long alliance between the two countries had made the French expect more from England than from others; partly because other Powers had ingeniously represented that their own inertness had been caused by the unwillingness of England to come forward, and had also, on various occasions, put England forward as the leading Power among the Neutrals, in order to give her the greatest share of the unpopularity which accompanies neutrality. French feeling was, therefore, at the time highly irritable on the subject of England, and it was suggested that a good impression would be created if Her Majesty's Government would be very prompt in recognizing whatever Government were adopted by the new Assembly, even if it did not assume a permanent character. Another suggestion was, that if the terms offered by the Germans appeared unendurably hard, the French might make an appeal to the rest of Europe; that appeal would probably take the form of a request for the mediation of the Great Neutral Powers, or for the assembling of an European Congress, and an immediate compliance on the part of England with either of these requests would go far towards re-establishing good feeling. Even if Germany rejected all intervention, this would not affect the impression made by the action of England in responding to the appeal of France, and although more could probably be obtained by the exercise of quiet and unostentatious influence upon Germany, yet nothing that might be obtained in that way would have anything like the same value in the eyes of France as an open declaration of sympathy with her and an avowed advocacy of her cause, even if no practical result followed. In short, what was required, at that particular moment, was a policy of sympathetic gush.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Bordeaux, Feb. 16, 1870.
Your telegrams announcing that you have adjourned the Conference, and that I may recognize the new Government immediately have been a great satisfaction to me. I hope we shall bring French feeling round to its old cordial state, if we can give them a little patent sympathy in their misfortunes. The Commercial Treaty will be a trouble hereafter, but it was in great danger even before the fall of the Empire, and I hope will be let remain quiet until the time approaches for giving the notice next February.
I had a confidential conversation with Thiers last night. He seems to have taken already de facto the direction of affairs, and will probably be given it de jure by the Assembly to-morrow. He is very anxious to keep the three fractions of the Chamber who are for order at home and for a reasonable policy about peace together, in order to resist the Reds. He means therefore to take moderate Republicans, Legitimists and Orleanists into his Ministry. Jules Favre is to be his Minister for Foreign Affairs, and there will of course be moderate Orleanists and Legitimists. If Thiers can succeed in getting the united support of Orleanists, Legitimists, and moderate Republicans, he expects to have a working majority of nearly three-quarters of the Assembly. I suppose his difficulty will arise from the impatience of the Orleanists, who are believed to have nearly half the seats in the Assembly, and who are impatient and hungry after their long deprivation of the sweets of power.
Thiers told me that he should take great pains to select men of station and ability for his diplomatic appointments. In furtherance of his policy of conciliating all parties, he supports M. Grévy, a moderate Republican, for the Presidency of the Assembly.
I like Jules Favre and have a good opinion of his character, but I don't think that he has hitherto shown himself to be skilful as a diplomatist or a negotiator. Thiers says however that he now gets on extremely well with Bismarck. There is however a very general opinion that Thiers means to go himself to Versailles to negotiate the Peace. He did not give me to understand that he intended to do so, and there are serious inconveniences in the head of the Government's being away from the Assembly and the centre of affairs, to say nothing of the ordinary objections to the chief of a Government conducting negotiations in his own person.
The feeling in the Assembly yesterday when Alsace and Lorraine were mentioned was strong and universal, and gives reason to doubt whether they will even now be brought to vote a cession of territory. In that case I suppose the only remedy would be a plébiscite, if a cession of territory is absolutely insisted upon. The Assembly might refer the question to the people, and I suppose that, in their present mood, the great majority of the population voting secretly, would vote Peace and not War, and that the vote might be taken in a very short time. I don't know however what the Germans would say to the notion, and I don't think such a plan of throwing off the responsibility worthy of the Assembly, or a happy precedent for Parliamentary Government.
Of what Thiers means to do respecting the definitive government of the country, he gave me no hint. His present policy is to try and get France out of her present straits by the united help of all the reasonable parties, and not to give any indication as to the future which might have the effect of alienating any of them.
As had been expected, Thiers proceeded himself to Versailles to negotiate the Peace preliminaries. He was obviously the person best fitted to do so, for he was at once the most moderate and capable amongst Frenchmen, the least unwilling to make terms in conformity with the exigencies of the situation, and the only man in a position to carry his way in the Assembly.
On February 26, the preliminaries of Peace were signed and contained even harsher conditions than had been anticipated, but the military position of France was so absolutely hopeless that resistance to them was impracticable. The war indemnity was reduced from six milliards to five, but this constituted the sole success of the French negotiators, unless the formal entry of the German troops into Paris might be taken as a somewhat barren substitute for the restoration of Belfort; certain matters of detail, chiefly connected with finance, were postponed for future consideration at Frankfort.
In view of what has already been written respecting the secret negotiations which took place during the campaign, it is impossible not to be struck with the heroic folly displayed by the French in the latter stages of the war. If it is true that their gallant struggle under the stimulus of Gambetta and the Government of National Defence inspired the admiration of the world, it is equally obvious that human life and treasure were ruthlessly wasted in a hopeless cause. Bismarck, it is well known, was strongly opposed to any accession of territory, beyond what was absolutely necessary, and would have much preferred a pecuniary compensation. If, instead of following the lead of Gambetta, the counsels of Thiers had been adopted, peace would have been made long before the fall of Paris became imminent; millions of money would have been saved, thousands of lives would not have been uselessly sacrificed, and Lorraine would have remained French instead of becoming the chief contributory cause towards undying hatred of the German people.
Thiers returned to Bordeaux upon the accomplishment of his melancholy mission, and a debate took place in the Assembly on the question of the ratification of the Peace preliminaries. The discussion gave opportunity for much recrimination and for much display of emotion, especially on the part of Victor Hugo, but Thiers's success was a foregone conclusion and the Peace preliminaries were accepted by 546 votes to 107.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Bordeaux, March 2, 1871.
I suppose we may say peace at last. I hear that the discoveries made by the Committees on the Military Forces and on the Finances were so overwhelming, as to convince every member that defence was absolutely impossible. This reduced the debate yesterday to mere idle vapouring on the part of the Opposition. One speech was simply absurd—that of Victor Hugo. The rest were perhaps fair speeches, but there was no eloquence worthy of the occasion, and there was an evident unreality about the Opposition. The majority had determined not to speak. Thiers's few words were very telling; no one but Thiers could have got so many to vote; the fear was that a great number would abstain from voting, and so the Ratification would either not be carried at all, or be carried by too small a majority to pledge the country.
Chaudordy did not vote, he hankered to the last after an appeal to the Neutral Powers. Even supposing the Germans would have given time by prolonging the Armistice, which they certainly would not, I don't think France would have gained anything by the appeal. Either Bismarck would have peremptorily refused to let the Neutrals have anything to say; or, if, par impossible, he had made some concessions, he would in return of course have required them to acquiesce explicitly in his other terms; and this, I think, would have been as bad for France, and worse for the dignity of the Neutrals themselves, than the present state of things. At least we are free from any sort of sign of approval of the monstrous conditions Prussia has imposed by sheer force.
How France is to be governed, and how the milliards are to be paid, are hard questions. The majority of the Assembly, which is decidedly anti-republican, hardly expects to establish a Government to its taste, without some actual fighting with the Reds in Paris and other large towns. It therefore does not at all like the idea of moving the Assembly to Paris. Thiers, I think, wishes to go to Paris, or at least to move the Assembly to some place near enough to enable the Executive Government to be carried on in Paris. The inconveniences of the present roving system are manifold; and I cannot help thinking that the sooner the Government settles in the Capital, and has its fight (if fight there really must be) with the Mob over, the better.
As to what the New Government is to be, there would, with the present Assembly in its present mood, be, one would think, little difficulty in getting a large majority for a Monarchy, if the fusion between the Legitimists and the Orleanists were once decidedly and irrevocably made, and I suppose the Moderate Republicans would not hold aloof from such a Government, provided it was bonâ fide parliamentary. Thiers, I believe, still thinks that for the present a Moderate Republic is the best compromise between all opinions, and the form of Government which least disunites Frenchmen. He has now immense influence, but the claimants of the throne and their supporters in the Assembly seem to be already impatient; and Thiers will have nothing but painful measures to bring forward, and will be accused of desiring to perpetuate his own power.
I am afraid our Commercial Treaty is in the greatest danger. With Thiers as head of the Government and as Minister of Finance, and the popular feeling hostile to free trade and not in good humour with England, it will be strange if we hold our own about the Treaty, or a liberal tariff in France. It was indeed very doubtful whether the Treaty could be maintained even under the Constitutional Empire.
Grant's Message has for the moment turned the wrath of the French from the Neutrals to the Americans. It is strange that the Americans, who are so abominably thin skinned themselves, never show the least consideration for the national feelings of other Peoples. The French are, of course, peculiarly sensitive at this moment, and prone to resent anything like a demonstration of disregard for them. I am truly thankful that you stopped Walker's entering Paris with the Germans.
I have not been able to speak to Thiers since he came back, but I am going to present my letters of Credence to him this evening.
The harshness of the peace conditions shocked Lord Granville, who thought them not only intolerable to France, but a dangerous menace to the sacred idol of free trade.
Lord Granville to Lord Lyons.
Foreign Office, March 1, 1871.
Vae Victis indeed! How hard the conquerors have been, and what a mistake in a great country like Germany to give up all direction of its affairs to one bold unscrupulous man!
We do not believe in France being able to bear the burden which has been put upon her.
I presume one of the results will be to put protectionist duties on all imported articles. I do not think we should complain much. We shall lose to a certain degree, but infinitesimally as compared with France. You had better, in conversation with Thiers, and others, say that you shall regret it on French account. They want money, which is to be chiefly got in England. Here, rightly or wrongly, we believe that protective duties are most injurious to the revenue to which money-lenders look for their interest. If it is known that Thiers means to go in for large armaments and for protection, self-interest will shut up the hoards here.
Peace having now at length been assured, there arose the question of where the new Assembly was to establish itself, and as there was an only too well-founded suspicion that Paris was no place for a conservative chamber with a hankering after a monarchy, Versailles was eventually selected.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Bordeaux, March 6, 1871.
Thiers asked me yesterday whether I thought it would be advisable for him to bring the state of affairs between France and Germany before the Conference in London.
I did not very well see what there was to submit to the Conference, as the preliminaries of peace were signed and could not be altered. I thought it however better to avoid any discussion on this point, and to say decidedly that in my opinion it would be very unadvisable to do anything of the kind. I told him that I thought it would be a particularly bad opportunity to take, if he wished to consult the European Powers; that the German Plenipotentiary would say, and say with reason, that his Government had entered into a Conference for a specific purpose and was not to be entrapped into an extraneous discussion, that in this view he would no doubt be strongly supported by the Russian, and that probably none of the Plenipotentiaries would approve of a proceeding, which would certainly retard the business for which the Conference had met, and might very likely break it off altogether.
I think Thiers rather asked my opinion pour 'l'acquit de sa conscience,' than from having himself any strong desire to attempt to bring his affairs before the Conference. At any rate he gave a very conclusive argument against doing so himself, for he said that it might have the effect of delaying the Prussian evacuation of the neighbourhood of Paris.
He hopes to get the half milliard necessary to get the Prussians out of the forts on the North side of the Seine, before the end of the month. He speaks altogether more hopefully of the financial prospects than any one else whom I have heard. He says Bismarck was extremely hard about the money, and that the negociation was nearly broken off altogether on the question of Belfort. On this question he believes Bismarck was with him, and had a tremendous fight to obtain leave from the Emperor and Moltke to make the concession. Strange as it may appear Thiers seems really to have a sort of liking for Bismarck personally, and to believe that if he had been let have his own way by the militaires, he would have been much kinder to France.
It has been generally supposed that the Assembly will adjourn to Versailles, and St. Germain has also been mentioned; but Thiers told me yesterday that he should himself propose Fontainebleau. He would like himself to take it to Paris, as soon as the Prussians are out of the forts, but the majority will not hear of putting themselves so near the Belleville mob. I think it will be a great mistake not to go to Paris, and I hope Thiers will pluck up a spirit, and carry his point. He said something about being glad to have me near him at Fontainebleau, but I do not know that it was more than a compliment. At any rate I am myself strongly of opinion that the best thing for me to do is to go to Paris as soon as possible, and re-establish the Embassy there on the normal footing. If there should be (which I doubt) any necessity for my going to Thiers or Fontainebleau or elsewhere for more than a few hours at a time I should still propose to have the headquarters of the Embassy in the Faubourg St. Honoré and to treat my own occasional absence as accidental. In fact to act as I did when invited to Compiègne in the Emperor's time. I hope to be in Paris by the end of this week, or at latest, the beginning of next.
The Ambassador and his staff returned to Paris on March 14, finding the Embassy quite uninjured, no traces of the siege in the neighbourhood, and the town merely looking a little duller than usual. They were enchanted to be back, and little suspected that in three or four days they would again be driven out.
Previous attempts on the part of the Red Republicans to overthrow the Government of National Defence during the siege had met with failure, but Favre's stipulation that the National Guards should be permitted to retain their arms gave the Revolutionary Party its opportunity. The new Government was obviously afraid to act, and matters came to a crisis when an ineffectual and half-hearted attempt was made to remove some guns which had been seized by National Guards. Regular troops brought up against the latter refused to fight and fraternized with their opponents; two generals were shot under circumstances of great brutality, a Revolutionary Central Committee took possession of the Hotel de Ville and proclaimed the Commune, and the Government withdrew such regular troops as remained faithful to Versailles. On March 18, the insurgents were completely masters of the right bank of the Seine, and on the following day an emissary from the French Foreign Office appeared at the Embassy with the information that the Government had been forced to retire to Versailles, and that as it was no longer able to protect the Diplomatic Body at Paris, it was hoped that the Representatives of Foreign Powers would also repair to Versailles with the least possible delay. Nearly all of these did so at once, but Lord Lyons with his pronounced sedentary tastes had had quite enough of moving about and decided to wait for instructions.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Paris, March 20, 1871.
We are in a strange state indeed. How it will end, who shall say. The Prussians may be glad of a chance to wipe away the absurdity of their three days' occupation by a more serious entrance, and it may suit their rulers to put down Belleville, with a view to checking the progress of Republicanism. I should think however it would be wiser of them with their hatred of France, to leave the Parisians to accomplish their own ruin.
A good many National Guards have gone out towards Versailles, whether with the view of making a serious attack on the Government and the Assembly remains to be seen. It seems to be doubtful whether there are any troops, except perhaps the Papal Zouaves on whom the Government can depend.
The proclamations of the Central Committee in the Journal Officiel, which I send you officially, are worth reading. They seem to me to be in form much more calm, dignified and sensible than the proclamations of the Government of National Defence used to be. In substance they are not specimens of political knowledge and wisdom.
It is to be hoped that the Assembly will not make matters worse by violent and ill-considered resolutions. I suppose it will be furious with Thiers for having brought it to Versailles, and it is on the cards that it may be really attacked there to-day by the Parisians. Any way, I should not be at all surprised if the Assembly transferred itself to some dismal French provincial town.
Instructions, however, were shortly received to proceed to Versailles, and he betook himself there on the 21st, taking with him Wodehouse and Sheffield, and leaving Malet, Colonel Claremont, Lascelles,[27] and Saumarez[28] at the Embassy.
At Versailles complete ignorance appeared to prevail as to the actual situation; Jules Favre knew nothing, and either the Government had no plan or was not prepared to disclose it; but, as, at all events, during the early stage of the conflict, railway communication with Versailles was not interrupted, it was possible to come up to Paris occasionally at the risk of being seized by the Communists as a spy, and see how matters were progressing.
Thiers, in the early days of the Civil War affected to believe that the revolt would speedily be brought to a satisfactory termination, and the knowledge that he personally was largely responsible for the existing situation doubtless prompted him to minimise the danger as much as possible. By withdrawing the regular troops to Versailles, he had left the well-disposed inhabitants of Paris at the mercy of an armed revolutionary mob, and if a renewed bombardment or fresh Prussian occupation of the town was the result, the fault would have been largely his. The Assembly too found itself in a ridiculous position; it had been brought to Versailles because it had been represented that the Administration could not be carried on away from the capital, and no sooner did it arrive at Versailles than the whole Government was driven out of Paris.
The optimism with which Thiers viewed the progress of events in Paris was not shared by onlookers at Versailles. They could not help seeing that the members of the Central Committee were continually gaining ground, and had now obtained control of the whole or very nearly the whole of the city: that the slaughter of the 'Men of Order' in the Rue de la Paix on March 22, had left the Red Republicans the masters of the day, and that the communal elections on March 26, had given a semblance of regular authority to the revolutionaries. Thiers, who had taken the whole management of the affair into his own hands, and was still unwilling to use force, now endeavoured to conciliate the Communists by a proclamation conceding complete recognition of the municipal franchise, the right to elect all officers of the National Guard, including the Commander-in-Chief; a modification of the law on the maturity of bills of exchange, and a prohibition to house owners and lodging-house keepers to give their lodgers notice to quit. These concessions to blackmail were, however, considered insufficient by the implacable revolutionary leaders, and negotiations broke down when it was demanded that the Communal Council should supersede the Assembly whenever the two bodies might come into collision, and that the control of finance should be vested in the former. It was evident that civil war could no longer be avoided, and in view of the doubts which existed respecting the reliability of the army at Versailles, the gravest apprehensions were felt as to the result of the struggle. Lord Granville was convinced that the Prussians would re-enter Paris and restore the Empire, although the Emperor, while praising the Prussians in the course of a conversation with the Duke of Cambridge, had recently stated that no one could remain in France who was brought there by the enemy.
On March 28, the Commune was proclaimed with much pomp and emblematic ceremony in which Phrygian caps were conspicuous, and a series of decrees appeared shortly in the Journal Officiel, which announced the abolition of conscription, but the compulsory enrolment of all able-bodied men in the National Guard; a remission of lodger's rents; the suspension of the sale of all articles deposited in pawn; and the supersession of the Government at Versailles. A vast number of persons quitted the city before the end of the month, and of those who remained, there were probably many, who, apart from their political sentiments, heartily welcomed so convenient a release from embarrassing liabilities.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Versailles, March 30, 1871.
The Commune are going ahead in Paris. The great comfort the Government and the Assembly here have, is that the similar movements in other great towns have failed, and that thus it is plainly Paris against all France. Their great hope appears to be that the members of the Commune will quarrel among themselves, and that their social measures may be so thoroughly socialist, as to rouse resistance among the Parisians. In the meantime however the delay seems dangerous; the working classes are said to be going over more and more completely to the Commune, and the effect of a completely successful revolution in Paris on the other towns may yet be serious. Bismarck is said to have given Thiers a limited time (a fortnight or three weeks) to set things straight, and to have declared that, when that time is up, the Germans must step in.
As a matter of fact, the conduct of the Germans does not seem to have left anything to be desired. They allowed the numbers of the French troops, which had been fixed under the armistice at 40,000, to be indefinitely increased: they gave facilities for the return of the prisoners in Germany, and even gave the French Government to understand that the assistance of German troops might be counted upon if necessary. Tact is not generally supposed to be a marked German characteristic, but Thiers admitted to Lord Lyons that the 'offer had been made with so much tact and delicacy, that, while of course it could not be accepted, the Government had been able to pass it by, without appearing to understand it.'
In the meanwhile, in spite of much dissatisfaction, Thiers was determined not to be hurried, and both he and Jules Favre declined to believe either that there was any danger of excesses being committed at Paris, or that the Commune was gaining strength in consequence of the delay. These opinions were not in the least shared by the public at large; the general impression being that each day's delay added to the strength of the Commune, discouraged the party of order and increased the exasperation of that party against the Government and the National Assembly; it was believed too that if excesses were committed they would inspire the well-disposed citizens with terror rather than with a spirit of resistance.
Fortunately for the cause of order, the Communists soon afforded an opportunity for testing the temper of the Versailles troops. On April 2, the National Guards came into collision with the regulars at Courbevoic, were heavily worsted, and such prisoners as were taken were summarily shot. The engagement showed that the army could be depended upon, and that there need be no further fears with regard to a policy of resolute repression; nevertheless there was little sign on the part of Thiers of following up the success that had been gained, and he made the remarkable excuse that the military ignorance of the insurgents and the eccentricity of their movements rendered military operations against them correspondingly difficult. Little progress had been made towards the end of April, although righteous retribution had overtaken Thiers in the invasion of his house in the Place St. Georges, and in the violation by National Guards of the sanctity of the apartment of his mother-in-law.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Versailles, April 21, 1871.
I suppose we shall get back to Paris, or to the ruins of it, some day; and certainly the affairs of the Commune are looking more gloomy than they did, but I must leave to Thiers the responsibility of the perpetually renewed declaration that we shall be there in a few days. The sooner it comes the better, for the delay is very dangerous for Thiers himself and for the country. The great towns in the south will hardly be kept under if Paris remains in rebellion much longer, and Thiers will find it very difficult to hold back the monarchical majority in the Assembly.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Versailles, April 25, 1871.
I don't hear any guns, but I suppose after what Thiers said to me last night, that the grand attack upon Fort Issy is going on. I shall go or send to some safe point of view, as soon as I get the Messenger off.
It was high time to begin, for the apparent weakness of the Government is producing lamentable effects. Colonel Playfair's reports of the spread of a very serious insurrection in Algeria are confirmed by recent telegrams, and there is said to be rather an alarming movement in Savoy, not with a view to reunion with Italy, but rather to a junction with Switzerland.
I do not trouble you with any of the programmes for the attack on Paris which are in everybody's mouth here. The favourite notion is that, with or without getting their half milliard, the Germans are to give up the forts, or all of them except St. Denis, to the French; who are then either to attack Paris on the north, or to complete the investment of it. Military big-wigs say that Thiers has not men enough to carry out such a plan. Financial authorities say that he has no chance of obtaining the money till he is already master of Paris; and Jules Favre says positively that Paris will not be bombarded or blockaded. The value to be given to this affirmation of Jules Favre cannot go beyond there being no present intentions to make a regular general bombardment or to reduce the place by famine. I urge him and Thiers to give warning in time to enable foreigners to withdraw, but I doubt the foreigners getting any warning beyond that which Malet has given already, and I doubt the English being persuaded to go; but I shall do all I can about it.
The bombardment, in spite of Jules Favre's assurance, took place shortly, and did infinitely more harm than that of the Germans. Amongst other buildings which suffered was the Embassy, but until the closing days of the struggle in May, those members of the staff who had been left there, appear to have suffered no inconvenience; and the relations of Malet with the self-constituted officials of the Commune were perfectly amicable, as far as can be judged. Malet, whose management of a trying situation was marked by much good sense and tact, found no difficulty in getting on with Paschal Grousset, the Délègué aux Affaires Etrangères (also described by his adversaries as Etranger aux Affaires), and his relations with this important personage were no doubt greatly facilitated by a brother who acted as private secretary: 'a very pleasant little fellow, willing to put his brother's signature to anything.' Paschal Grousset had good reason to congratulate himself subsequently upon the pains which he had taken to ensure the safety of foreigners in Paris and for the friendly disposition which he had shown. When the Versailles troops obtained possession of the city, he was captured and would in all probability have been shot in company with other Communist leaders if unofficial representations in his favour had not been made by Lord Lyons. He was transported, but subsequently returned to Paris under an amnesty, and, years after, was the cause of a comic incident at the house of a lady formerly connected with the British Embassy. This lady, hearing a terrific uproar in her anteroom, came out to see what was the matter and found Paschal Grousset engaged in a violent altercation with her maître d'hôtel. It turned out that the latter, who was an ex-gendarme, had been in charge of Paschal Grousset when the latter was seized by the Versailles Government, and that he now strongly resented his former prisoner appearing in the character of an ordinary visitor.
One of the most abominable acts of the Commune had been the seizure of the Archbishop of Paris, together with a number of priests, and the holding of them as hostages for the good treatment of Communist prisoners. No secret was made of the fact that under certain circumstances they would be shot, and efforts were set on foot by various parties—the American Minister, the British Government, and the German authorities—to prevent so horrible a catastrophe. The intervention of the American Minister, Mr. Washburne, only caused irritation. 'They are very angry here with Mr. Washburne,' wrote Lord Lyons on April 28, 'for interfering about the Archbishop, and they are still more displeased with him for being so much in Paris. In fact, although he has a room here he is much more in Paris than at Versailles. Thiers observed to me last night that my American colleague had a conduite très singulière. They would not stand this in a European representative, but they allow a great latitude to the American, partly because he and his Government have nothing to say to European politics, and partly because they cannot well help it.' An attempt made by direction of Lord Granville met with no better success, for the Versailles Government firmly refused to make the exchange of the revolutionary leader Blanqui, asked for by the Commune, and would only go so far as to promise in private, that the latter's life should be spared under certain circumstances.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Versailles, May 16, 1871.
The poor Archbishop has been constantly in my thoughts, both before I received your letter of the 13th and since. The state of the case is simply this. The Commune will not release him on any other terms than the release of Blanqui; and the Government positively refuses to give up Blanqui. Every one agrees that intervention with the Commune is worse than useless; in fact does harm. You will see from my Confidential Despatch of to-day, that I have gone as far as possible with Thiers on the subject, but without success. I cannot hope that I have done any good, but I have certainly done no harm. Thiers spoke to me freely and confidentially, but absolutely refused (or rather said positively that it was impossible) to give up Blanqui. I perhaps went rather far in speaking to M. Thiers even in the way I did, but I think it will be a comfort to remember that we did all that could be done.
I understand that the Archbishop does not suffer any positive hardship or privation beyond being kept a close prisoner, but I fear his health is giving way in some degree under the pressure of anxiety and confinement.
Perhaps the most painful feature in the whole matter has been the conduct of the Vicar General, the Abbé Lagarde, who was sent to Versailles on parole to negociate the release of the Archbishop. Notwithstanding the entreaties of the Archbishop himself, and the exhortations of everyone here, he declined to redeem his promise and has thereby materially injured the Archbishop's position, and given force to the Communist pretext that no trust can be put in priests. I am afraid he is still out of Paris.
Jules Favre was also approached on the subject, but nothing could be got out of him, and the only chance of success seemed to depend upon a peremptory demand of the Germans for his release, the Commune being completely at their mercy. This action the German authorities found themselves unable to take, and in spite of the frequently expressed opinions of Thiers and others that the lives of the hostages were in no real danger, they were all massacred in cold blood during the final days of the street fighting.
By the middle of May, most people were of opinion that there was nothing to prevent the troops entering Paris whenever they pleased, and that the sooner they did so, the less resistance they would encounter. Thiers, however, still refused to run any risks, and it was not until nearly the close of the month that the insurrection was completely suppressed, amidst scenes almost unprecedented in modern times.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Versailles, May 26, 1871.
The state of Paris is heart-breaking. The night I spent there (24th) was calculated to give one an idea of the infernal regions. Fires in all directions, the air oppressive with smoke and unpleasant odours, the incessant roar of cannon and musketry and all kinds of strange sounds. For the 48 hours before my arrival, the members of the Embassy and all in the house were in imminent danger; a fire raging in the next street but one, shells falling on the roof which might set fire to the house at any moment, and shot flying so fast on both sides that escape in case of fire would have been hardly possible. It is a great satisfaction to me that every one in the house behaved well. Of the members of the Embassy I was quite sure, and all the men servants appeared to have shown pluck and alacrity in rushing to the places where the shells fell, in order to extinguish the fire in case of need. Malet has a first-rate head, and directed everything with his usual coolness and self-possession.
One bit of a shell is said to have fallen in the garden yesterday morning, but it certainly did no mischief, and there was no appearance of danger while I was there. I cannot, however, feel quite comfortable so long as the insurgents hold the Buttes de Chaumont. They must, I should hope, be on the point of being driven out at the moment I write. Little or no intelligence of what was going on in the town could be obtained. The least inconvenience on leaving one's own house was to be seized upon to form a chain to hand buckets. Sentries stopped our progress in almost every direction: arrests were frequent and summary executions the order of the day. I hope it will really all be over by to-night. Sad as it all is, I felt a satisfaction in finding myself in the old house again, and am impatient to return to it for good. I hope to do so directly I can without cutting myself off from uninterrupted communication with you.
The fate of the hostages is what makes me the most anxious now. All the accounts we do receive are hopeful, but we have no positive assurance of their being safe. The Nuncio came back from his expedition to the Crown Prince of Saxony much pleased with himself for having undertaken it, and very grateful to me for having suggested it. He was referred by the Crown Prince to General Fabrice, who told him, that by order of Prince Bismarck, he was doing all that could be done to save the Archbishop. He even hinted that he had tried offers of money.
Thiers is trying the patience of the Assembly by keeping in office Jules Favre, Picard and Jules Simon, who were members of the Government of National Defence and of the violent Republican opposition under the Empire. The contempt and disgust of the Parisians of every shade of opinion for the Government of National Defence appears unbounded. They consider it to have been a Government which had neither courage nor capacity, and was equally inefficient in defending the city against the enemy, and maintaining order and authority inside. By the country at large, and still more, by the monarchical representatives in the Assembly, the members of that Government, by their conduct before and after the 4th September are held to have been the cause of all the present horrors.
Notwithstanding all this, Thiers seems to rule the Assembly completely, however much the members may grumble in private. His troubles with them will begin when Paris is at last subdued.
I went to Favre with the offer of the firemen directly the telegram was decyphered. He took it up to Thiers who immediately accepted it.
The Commune, which terminated in an orgy of blood, flame, and insensate fury, had lasted for rather more than two months. Amongst those who originated the movement were some who honestly believed that they were merely advocating municipal freedom, and others who thought that the existence of the Republic was threatened by a reactionary Assembly; but the control eventually fell into the hands of revolutionaries whose aim it was to destroy the foundations of society. It showed human nature at its worst, and the ferocity of the reprisals on the part of the Government created almost as much repulsion as the outrages which had provoked them. Now, however, with the restoration of order, a new era was about to dawn; the ceaseless disasters which had overwhelmed the country since the end of July, 1870, had come to an end, and within an almost incredibly short period, France recovered that place amongst the great nations of the world, which seemed at one time to have been irretrievably lost.
END OF VOL. I.
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Mr. Edward Arnold's
AUTUMN
ANNOUNCEMENTS, 1913.
LORD LYONS.
A Record of British Diplomacy.
By the Right Hon. LORD NEWTON.
With Portraits. In Two Volumes. 30s. net.
The late Lord Lyons was not only the most prominent but the most trusted English diplomatist of his day, and so great was the confidence felt in his ability that he was paid the unique compliment of being offered the post of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Lord Newton, who has now undertaken the task of preparing a memoir of him, enjoys the advantage of having served under him for five years at the Paris Embassy. The interest of this work lies, however, less in the personality of the Ambassador than in the highly important events in which he played so prominent a part.
Lord Lyons was the British representative at Washington during the period of the Civil War; subsequently he was Ambassador at Constantinople for two years; and finally he spent twenty years—from 1867 to 1887—as Ambassador at Paris. During the whole of this eventful period his advice was constantly sought by the Home Government upon every foreign question of importance, and his correspondence throws fresh light upon obscure passages in diplomatic history.
In this book will be found hitherto unpublished information relating to such matters as the critical relations between England and the United States during the course of the Civil War; the political situation in France during the closing years of the Second Empire; the secret attempt made by the British Foreign Secretary to avert the Franco-German War, and the explanation of its failure; the internal and external policy of France during the early years of the Third Republic; the War Scare of 1875; the Congress of Berlin; the Egyptian Expedition; Anglo-French political relations, and many other matters of interest.
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THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERICK,
FOURTH EARL OF CLARENDON.
By the Right Hon. Sir HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart.
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Born in the year 1800 and dying in 1870, Lord Clarendon lived through a period of social, political, and economic change more rapid probably than had been witnessed in any similar space of time in the previous history of mankind. It was his lot, moreover, to wield considerable influence over the course of affairs, inasmuch as his public service, extending over fifty years, caused him to be employed in a succession of highly responsible, and even critical, situations. British Minister at Madrid at the outbreak and during the course of the Carlist Civil War from 1833 to 1839, he was admitted into Lord Melbourne's Cabinet immediately upon returning to England in the latter year. He was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland throughout the memorable famine years, 1847-1852. Relieved of that arduous post, Lord Clarendon entered Lord Aberdeen's government in 1852 as Foreign Secretary, which office he retained through the Crimean War, and became responsible for the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1856. On Lord Palmerston's death in 1865, he returned to the Foreign Office, and had to deal with the settlement of the "Alabama" claims.
The annals of the first half of Queen Victoria's reign having been pretty thoroughly explored and dealt with by many competent writers, the chief interest in these pages will be found in Lord Clarendon's private correspondence, which has been well preserved, and has been entrusted to Sir Herbert Maxwell for the purpose of this memoir. Lord Clarendon was a fluent and diligent correspondent; Charles Greville and others among his contemporaries frequently expressed a hope that his letters should some day find their way into literature. Sir Arthur Helps, for instance, wrote as follows in Macmillan's Magazine: "Lord Clarendon was a man who indulged, notwithstanding his public labours, in an immense private correspondence. There were some persons to whom, I believe, he wrote daily, and perhaps in after years we shall be favoured—those of us who live to see it—with a correspondence which will enlighten us as to many of the principal topics of our own period." It is upon this correspondence that Sir Herbert Maxwell has chiefly relied in tracing the motives, principles, and conduct of one of the last Whig statesmen. Among the letters dealt with, and now published for the first time, are those from Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Lord Aberdeen, Lord Derby, M. Thiers, M. Guizot, the Emperor Louis Napoleon, etc., and many ladies.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, DUKE OF CUMBERLAND,
HIS EARLY LIFE AND TIMES, 1721-1748.
By the Hon. EVAN CHARTERIS,
Author of "Affairs of Scotland, 1744-1746."
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Mr. Charteris has a good subject in "Butcher" Cumberland, not only on account of the historical and romantic interest of his background, but also by reason of the Duke's baneful reputation.
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The stupendous natural surroundings amidst which they dwell have inspired sojourners in Kashmir and other Himalayan countries to produce some of the finest books of travel to be found. Among them will have to be included in future this book of Dr. Arthur Neve's, so effectively does the author reveal the wonders of the land of towering peaks and huge glaciers where he has made his home for the last thirty years.
Going out to Kashmir in 1882 under the auspices of the Church Missionary Society, Dr. Neve took over the charge of the Kashmir Mission Hospital at Srinagur from Dr. Edmund Downes, who was retiring, and has stayed there ever since. In his earlier chapters he gives some account of the Punjab and Kashmir in the eighties, and also of the work of the mission. He then gets to the principal motif of the book—the exploring tours and mountaineering expeditions to which he has devoted his spare time. Nanga Parbat, Nun Kun, and many other Himalayan giants, are within hail of Srinagur, and before he has finished with the book the reader will find he has acquired the next best thing to a first-hand knowledge of this magnificent country. Dr. Neve has also a great deal that is interesting to tell about the people of various races and religions who inhabit the valleys, and from whom his medical help gained him a warm welcome at all times.
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SPORT AND FOLK-LORE IN THE
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(36th Sikhs.)
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Captain Haughton has written a book which should prove a welcome addition to the library of every sportsman, as well as being of supreme interest to the naturalist and the student of folk-lore. On the subject of sport the author writes with that thorough insight and sympathy which are the fruits of many years' practical experience with rod and rifle, in the jungle, on river-bank or mountain-side. In his agreeable society the reader may stalk the markhor or the ibex, lightly throw his "Sir Richard" across some Kashmiri trout-stream, or lie in wait for the Himalayan black bear on its way to feed; and if the author's description of his many amusing and exciting adventures and experiences is eminently readable, the value of his work is still further enhanced by his intimate knowledge of natural history, and by the introduction of many of those old Indian legendary tales that he has culled from the lips of native Shikaris round the camp-fire at night. The book is illustrated throughout with a series of remarkably interesting photographs taken by the author in the course of his many sporting expeditions.
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The late Lieut.-Colonel Joseph Anderson was born in 1790, and from the age of fifteen, when he received a commission as Ensign in the 78th Regiment, to within a few years of his death in 1877, his career was almost continuously as adventurous as it was distinguished. In 1806 he saw active service for the first time, when he took part in the expedition to Calabria; in the following year he served in the Egyptian Campaign of that date; and during the Peninsular War he fought at the battles of Maida, Busaco, Fuentes d'Onoro, was wounded at Talavera, and accompanied Wellington on the retreat to the lines of Torres Vedras. A few years later Captain Anderson, now a Captain in the York Chasseurs, was sent with his regiment to Barbadoes, and was present at the capture of Guadeloupe in 1815. He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Penal Settlement at Norfolk Island in 1834, where his humane endeavours to reform the prevailing penal system, and his efforts to quell mutinous convicts, met with marked success. Nine years later Colonel Anderson went to India to take part in the Mahratta Campaign, and at the Battle of Punniar (where he commanded a Brigade) was severely wounded when charging the enemy's guns. After retiring from the Service, Colonel Anderson settled down in Australia, and it was at his home near Melbourne that these memories were compiled, during the later years of a strenuous and active life, for the edification of his family. They are written in a simple, unaffected style, which renders them peculiarly readable, and form a most instructive record of the manners and customs, of the mode of warfare, and the military and social life of a past age, and a bygone generation.
By Major-General Sir H. M. BENGOUGH, K.C.B.
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Major-General Sir H. M. Bengough joined the army in 1855, and retired in 1898, after more than forty years of distinguished service in all quarters of the Empire. His first experience of active warfare dates from the Crimea; later on he took the field in the Zulu War and the Burma Expedition of 1885. In days of peace he held various high commands in India, South Africa, and Jamaica, and finally commanded a brigade of infantry at Aldershot. In this volume of personal recollections the author narrates the many varied incidents and experiences of a long military career and vividly describes the campaigns in which he took part. He also gives an interesting account of his adventures in the realm of sport—pig-sticking, tiger-shooting, and pursuing other forms of game in India and elsewhere; subjects upon which a long experience enables him to write with expert knowledge. It will be strange indeed if so interesting an autobiographical volume from the pen of a deservedly popular soldier and sportsman fails to appeal to a wide public.
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In this volume Zachary Stoyanoff gives us the narrative of his personal experiences during the Bulgarian outbreaks of 1875 and 1876. Almost by accident he became an "apostle" of rebellion, and was sent out forthwith to range the country, stirring up the villagers and forming local committees. It is an amazing story. With unsurpassable candour he portrays for us the leaders, their enthusiasm, their incredible shortsightedness, and the pitiful inadequacy of their preparations. The bubble burst, and after a miserable attempt at flight, Stoyanoff was taken prisoner and sent to Philippopolis for trial. There is no attempt at heroics. With the same Boswellian simplicity he reveals his fears, his cringing, his mendacity, and incidentally gives us a graphic picture, not wholly black, of the conquering Turk. The narrative ends abruptly while he is still in peril of his life. One is glad to know that, somehow, he escaped. A very human document, and a remarkable contrast to the startling exhibition of efficiency given to the world by the Bulgarians in their latest struggle with the Turks.
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Author of "A Group of Scottish Women," "The Mother of Parliaments," etc.
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It is perhaps unlikely that any two individuals will agree as to the proper definition of the term "A Splendid Failure"—a phrase of which the origin would appear to be obscure. It may, however, be roughly stated that the "Splendid Failures" of the past divide themselves naturally into three classes: those whom their contemporaries invested with a fictitious or exaggerated splendour which posterity is quite unable to comprehend or appreciate; those whom the modern world regards with admiration—but who signally failed in impressing the men of their own generation; and those who, gifted with genius and inspired with lofty ideals, never justified the world's high opinion of their talents or fulfilled the promise of their early days. In this volume of biographical essays, the author of "A Group of Scottish Women" and other popular works has dealt with a selection of "splendid failures" of whose personal history the public knows but little, though well acquainted with their names. Wolfe Tone, "the first of the Fenians"; Benjamin Haydon, the "Cockney Raphael"; Toussaint L'Ouverture, the "Napoleon of San Domingo"; William Betty, the "Infant Roscius"; and "Champagne" Townshend, the politician of Pitt's day, may be included under this category. The reader cannot fail to be interested in that account which the author gives of the ill-fated Archduke Maximilian's attempt to found a Mexican monarchy; in his careful review of the work and character of Hartley Coleridge; and in his biographical study of George Smythe, that friend of Disraeli whom the statesman-novelist took as his model for the hero of "Coningsby." This book, which should appeal strongly to all readers of literary essays, is illustrated with eight excellent portraits.
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This new handbook covers the sport of yachting in all its branches. The writer, who has had many years' experience of cruising and racing in yachts and boats of all types, has treated the subject in a thoroughly practical manner. The book is divided into six parts.
In Part I., which deals with the selection of a yacht, the various types and rigs suitable for Corinthian yachting are discussed. The designing and building of new craft are also dealt with at some length, and designs and descriptions of a number of up-to-date small cruisers are given.
In Part II. some hints are given as to where to station the yacht. All available headquarters within easy reach of London are described, and the advantages and disadvantages of each pointed out.
Part III. is devoted to the equipment of yachts, and contains a wealth of information as to the internal arrangement, rigging, and fittings of small cruisers.
Part IV. treats of the maintenance of small cruising vessels, with notes on the cost of upkeep, fitting out and laying up. Other matters dealt with in this section are the preservation of sails and gear, and insurance.
Part V., on seamanship, covers the handling of fore-and-aft vessels under all conditions of weather, and upon every point of sailing.
Part VI. covers the racing side of the sport in a comprehensive manner. An exhaustive exposition of the International Sailing Rules is followed by hints on racing tactics. The appendix contains, inter alia, an illustrated description of the British Buoyage System.
Mr. Cooke's well-known handbooks have come to be regarded by yachtsmen as standard works, and a new and more ambitious work from his pen can hardly fail to interest them.
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This volume is a political-historical study of the great change which took place in British commercial and financial policy mainly between the years 1840 and 1850. The writer examines the state of things in these respects which existed before this revolution, and describes the previous protective system, navigation system, and colonial system. He then narrates the process by which those systems were overthrown, devoting special attention to the character, career, and changes in opinion of Sir Robert Peel, and to the attitude and action of the Tory, Whig, and Radical parties, and of their leading men, especially Mr. Disraeli, Lord John Russell, and Mr. Cobden. He analyses with care the arguments used on all sides in these controversies, especially with regard to the Repeal of the Corn Laws, and he shows the extent to which questions of imperial preference and the relations between the United Kingdom and the Colonies entered into the issues. One chapter is devoted to the Bank Act of 1844, and to the consideration of its causes and results. The author concludes by tracing very briefly the chain of events which connect the period in question with our own day, in respect of commercial and fiscal policy, and expresses his own views as to existing tendencies and future developments.
Mr. Bernard Holland is known as the author of the Life of the Duke of Devonshire, and of "Imperium et Libertas." In a sense the present volume is a continuation of the latter book, or rather is an attempt to deal more expansively and in detail with certain history and questions connected with the same theme, for the full treatment of which there was insufficient space in that book. Mr. Holland having acted for a number of years as Private Secretary to two successive Secretaries of State for the Colonies, has been brought into close touch in a practical way with colonial questions. This book, it is hoped, will be of some service both to students of economic history and to politicians in active life.
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Since the first edition of this book was published in 1907, much has happened, and a quantity of new material has been brought to light.
Interest in the subject has been immensely widened and strengthened. The museums of Europe and America are vying with each other to procure fine specimens of Chinese and Japanese art. The opening this autumn of a new museum at Cologne, exclusively devoted to the arts of Eastern Asia, is a symptom of the times. Collections, public and private, both European and American, have been greatly enriched; and the exhibition in 1910 at Shepherd's Bush, of treasured masterpieces lent from Japanese collections, has provided a standard for the student.
Six years ago, again, scarcely any of the voluminous literature of art existing in Chinese and Japanese had been translated. On this side, too, an added store of information has been made accessible, though still in great part scattered in the pages of learned periodicals. Above all, the marvellous discoveries made of recent years in China and Chinese Turkestan have substituted a mass of authentic material for groping conjectures in the study of the art of the early periods.
In preparing a new edition of this book and bringing it up to date, Mr. Binyon has therefore been able to utilize a variety of new sources of information. The estimates given of the art of some of the most famous of the older masters have been reconsidered. The sections dealing with the early art have been in great measure rewritten; and the book has been revised throughout. In the matter of illustrations it has been possible to draw on a wider range and make a fuller and more representative selection.
By ROBERT DOUGLAS NORTON,
Author of "The Choice."
Crown 8vo. 5s. net.
The art of painting, which in the days of Gothic church-building contributed so much both to the education and the pleasure of the community at large, has admittedly come to appeal to ever-narrowing circles, until to-day it cannot be said to play any part in popular life at all. This book seeks to discover the causes of its decline in influence. A brief review of the chief contemporary movements in painting gives point to a suggestion made by more than one thoughtful critic that the chief need of Western painting is spirituality. Since this is a quality which those competent to judge are at one in attributing to Eastern art, the author, in a chapter on Far Eastern Painting, sets forth the ideals underlying the great painting of China and Japan, and contrasts these ideals with those which have inspired painters and public in the West. This leads to an inquiry into the uses of imagination and suggestion in art, and to an attempt to find a broad enough definition for "spirituality" not to exclude many widely divergent achievements of Western painting. Finally, the possibility of training the sense of beauty is discussed in the light of successful instances.
Incidentally the book touches on many questions which, though of interest to picture-lovers, often remain unasked; such, for instance, as what we look for in a picture; how far subject is important; why it may happen that the interest of one picture, which pleases at first, soon wanes, while that of another grows steadily stronger; the value of technique, of different media of expression, of mere resemblance, etc.
Without going into the technicalities of æsthetics, the author aims at investigating certain first principles which are overlooked at times by possessors of even the widest knowledge of individual schools.
By CONSTANCE MAUD and MARY MAUD.
As You Like It—The Tempest—King Lear—Twelfth Night—The Merchant of Venice—A Midsummer Night's Dream—Macbeth—Hamlet—Romeo and Juliet.
With Illustrations from the famous Boydell prints. Crown 8vo.
5s. net.
Miss Constance Maud is the author of "Wagner's Heroes" and "Wagner's Heroines," two books on similar lines to these tales which have had a great vogue among young people of all ages. In the present volume she tells the charming stories of nine of the most famous of Shakespeare's Tragedies and Comedies in prose of delightful and unstudied simplicity. On occasion the actual text has been used for familiar passages and phrases. These great world-tales, regarded merely as tales, with the elemental motives and passions displayed in them, appeal strongly to the imagination, and when narrated by a competent pen there cannot be finer or more absorbing reading. In addition to this, he must be a dull reader in whom they do not awaken a desire to make a closer acquaintance with the plays themselves.
The book forms a companion volume to Sir A. T. Quiller-Couch's well-known "Historical Tales from Shakespeare."
By HARRY GRAHAM.
Author of "Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes," etc., etc.
With 24 Illustrations by Lewis Baumer.
Fcap. 4vo. 3s. 6d. net.
All lovers of humorous verse will welcome a fresh volume of lyrics by the author of "Deportmental Ditties," "Canned Classics," and other deservedly popular products of the Minor Muse. Readers of Captain Graham's new collection of light verse will agree with the Daily Chronicle in describing its author as "a godsend, a treasure trove, a messenger from Olympus; a man who really does see the ludicrous side of life, a man who is a genuine humorist." Once again the author of these amusing poems attempts to "shoot Folly as she flies," and genially satirizes the foibles of the age in a fashion that will certainly add to his reputation as a humorist; and his work is rendered still more delightful by the drawings of Mr. Lewis Baumer, the well-known Punch artist, with which it is lavishly illustrated. "It is a great and good thing," as the Pall Mall Gazette remarked with reference to another of Captain Graham's books, "to have a man among us who is witty all the time and lets himself go. We ought to be duly thankful. And we are!"
By DOUGLAS W. FRESHFIELD, M.A.,
Vice-President of the Royal Geographical Society; Treasurer of the Hellenic and Roman Societies; formerly President of the Alpine Club.
8vo. 5s. net.
In this little volume Mr. Freshfield has put into final shape the results of his study of the famous and still-debated question: "By which Pass did Hannibal cross the Alps?" The literature which has grown up round this intricate subject is surprisingly extensive, and various solutions have been propounded and upheld, with remarkable warmth and tenacity, by a host of scholars, historians, geographers, military men, and mountaineers. Mr. Freshfield has a solution of his own, which, however, he puts forward in no dogmatic spirit, but in such a fashion that his book is practically a lucid review of the whole matter in each of its many aspects. To an extensive acquaintance with ancient and modern geographical literature he unites a wide and varied experience as an alpine climber and a traveller, and a minute topographical knowledge of the regions under discussion; and these qualifications—in which many of his predecessors in the same field of inquiry have been conspicuously lacking—enable him to throw much new light on a perennially fascinating problem.
THE PASTORAL TEACHING OF ST. PAUL.
By the Rev. Canon H. L. GOUDGE,
Principal of the Theological College, Ely; Author of "The Mind of St. Paul," etc.
Crown 8vo. Cloth. 2s. 6d. net.
These lectures were delivered at the end of May, 1913, at the Palace, Gloucester, to the clergy of the diocese, and are now published in response to the request of those who heard them. They do not constitute a detailed commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, though a good deal of detailed exegesis necessarily finds a place in them. The writer's aim has been to collect and arrange St. Paul's teaching as to the work of the Christian pastor, and to point out its applicability to modern conditions and modern difficulties. The writer has often found, through his experience in conducting Retreats, that the Pastoral Teaching of St. Paul is of the greatest value to the clergy to-day, but that this teaching is often obscured by the unsystematic character of St. Paul's writing and by the passing controversies with which he has to deal. In these lectures the First Epistle to Timothy is used as the basis, but continually illustrated by passages from the other Pastoral Epistles, and from St. Paul's earlier writings. The first lecture deals with the pastor's aim, the second with the pastor's character, the third with the pastor's work, and the fourth with the adaptation of his message to men and to women, to old and to young, to rich and to poor. The ground already covered by the writer's earlier book, "The Mind of St. Paul," has been carefully avoided, but it is hoped that the one book may throw light upon the other. An index of texts has been added for those who may wish to use this second book, as far as that is possible, as a commentary.
NEW NOVELS
By MAXWELL GRAY,
Author of "The Silence of Dean Maitland," "The Great Refusal," etc.
Crown 8vo. Cloth. 6s.
The scene of Maxwell Gray's new story is laid in London and in Italy, where the gradual unfolding of an elaborate but absorbing plot holds the reader's attention until the very last page of the book. This is a tale of heroism, of self-sacrifice, of romance, full of incident and adventure, illumined by those tender and imaginative touches, that vivid portrayal of character, which the public has learnt to expect from the author of "The Silence of Dean Maitland." From these pages we may learn that there is "something afar from the sphere of our sorrow," the highest aspiration of the lover, the artist, the poet and the saint, which, beautiful beyond all that man's heart can divine, is yet within the reach of every one of us.
A Comedy of Middle Age.
By FORREST REID,
Author of "The Bracknells," "Following Darkness," etc.
Crown 8vo. 6s.
This extremely interesting story, of which the title gives a most apt description, is written in a lighter vein than the author's previous work. It is a love story, and while the tale itself is enthralling, it depends in great measure for its charm on the attractiveness of the characters who figure in the drama and who are all very pleasant company. The book is essentially human, the note is never forced, yet the interest goes on increasing right up to the end. It is actual life with its comedy and tragedy so closely intermingled that it is not always easy to distinguish one from the other. The scene is laid abroad, partly in Bruges, and partly in Italy, but the characters are, with one or two exceptions, natives of that part of Ireland with which the author is most familiar, and they lose none of their individuality by being transplanted to those beautiful old-world cities where we follow their varied fortunes. Mr. Reid's previous novels have already secured for his work the warm appreciation of some of the best judges of literary values, and the present novel may be confidently stated to exhibit his undoubted power as a writer of fiction in an advanced and progressive stage.
NEW SCIENTIFIC WORKS
From Fumes, Gases, and Poisons of Manufacturing Processes.
By Dr. J. RAMBOUSEK,
Professor of Factory Hygiene, and Chief State Health Officer, Prague
Translated and Edited by Dr. T. M. LEGGE,
H.M. Medical Inspector of Factories.
Fully Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net.
And Feigned Sickness.
By Sir JOHN COLLIE, M.D., J.P.,
Medical Examiner, London County Council; Chief Medical Officer, Metropolitan Water Board; Consulting Medical Examiner to the Shipping Federation; Medical Examiner to the Sun Insurance Office, Central Insurance Company, London, Liverpool, and Globe Insurance Company, and other Accident Offices; late Home Office Med. Ref. Workmen's Compensation Act.
Assisted by ARTHUR H. SPICER, M.B., B.S. (Lond.), D.P.H.
Illustrated, xii + 340 pp. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net.
In this work Sir John Collie, whose wide experience has eminently fitted him for the task, has given an interesting and lucid description of the methods and peculiarities of the malingerer. He describes fully and in detail the methods of examination for the detection of malingering and the diseases usually simulated, and discusses the attitude required by the medical attendant towards unduly prolonged illness.
Its Care and Treatment in Health and Disease.
By ROBERT SAUNDBY, M.D., F.R.C.P., L.L.D., J.P.,
Member General Medical Council: Ex-President British Medical Association; Professor of Medicine, University of Birmingham; Physician to the Birmingham General Hospital.
320 pp. 7s. 6d. net.
No English writer having recently dealt with this subject, it has been felt that there is room for a book which should bring together the various contributions made to it in modern times, including the results of the author's extensive experience during forty years of medical practice. The author discusses the principles of health, by due attention to which healthy old age may be attained. The diseases to which the aged are especially liable are fully described, their causes are clearly indicated, and the author shows in a practical way by what means they may be avoided and how they may be appropriately treated. Special attention is given to such important subjects as diet, exercise, etc. Suggestive dietary tables are given, both for use in health and in particular diseases, while the chapters devoted to methods of exercise most suitable in advanced age will also prove of value.
LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD, 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET, W.