CONSIDERATION OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF ENGLAND UNDER THE WHIG ADMINISTRATION.
There was no part of the conduct of the Whig administration which had been made the subject of more incessant attack than that which related to their foreign policy. This session the line of policy followed by Lord Palmerston in reference to Spain afforded a subject for declamation against him and his coadjutors in the government. At this time British soldiers were fighting in that country without the protection of the British flag, exposed to all the shame and hardships of a disastrous and disgraceful war. In the midst of the public anxiety on this subject, it was brought forward in the house of commons by Lord Mahon, who had been under-secretary for foreign affairs during Sir Robert Peel’s administration. His lordship began by expressing a want of confidence in government, and especially in Lord Palmerston: the country, he said, had too long reposed a confidence in his exertions, to which he was neither entitled by prudence nor success. He complained that the public had been kept in a state of ignorance as to whether they were in peace or at war: in his opinion it was a peace without tranquillity, and a war without honour. The object of the quadruple alliance had been to appease the civil dissensions in Portugal; not to sanction the intervention of France and England in Spain. He did not object to this, but he lamented the policy which led to the additional articles signed in 1834, which stipulated for a certain degree of interference. The Duke of Wellington, during the four months he had been in office, had acted up to the spirit of those articles, as he was bound to do; but Lord Palmerston had thought proper to proceed still further, in suspending the foreign enlistment act, and allowing twelve thousand Englishmen to enlist under the banners of the queen. Lord Mahon went on to contrast our position throughout the peninsular campaign. The great object had then been to drive the French out of the Peninsula, an object which had been sanctioned by all our greatest statesmen for more than a century and a half. Lord Palmerston had, however, departed from this line of policy. Count Mole, the prime minister of France, said in the chamber of deputies that “Lord Palmerston considered that circumstances justified the co-operation of France; and that in March, 1836, he notified to General Sebastiani, that it was his intention to land a certain force of marines on the coast of Spain, and invited France to join in that co-operation.” At the same time he had offered France the occupation of the port of Passages, and left to her own option the mode and extent of co-operation. M. Thiers had, however, declined the invitation. Next came the revolution of La Grunja, and soon after that event, an increased force was sent to relieve ‘Bilboa. More than £540,000 had already been expended in the war, and all the accounts were not as yet sent in. In Lord Mahon’s opinion, the influence of Great Britain in Spain had not been augmented by these measures; and in proof of it, he quoted a memorial presented by the British merchants of Alicant, complaining that their interests had been neglected; and that while England carried away three-fourths of the produce of Spain, that country took very little in return. To illustrate still further the decline of our influence with the court of Madrid, Lord Mali on alluded to a tax imposed on British subjects. “For the liberation of the king,” originally levied during the captivity of King Ferdinand. This impost had been kept up though the king was now dead. There were other grievances of a similar kind: the only one redressed was a tax on military quarters, which had been ceded to the English residents. Lord Mahon concluded by calling Lord Palmerston’s attention to the provinces of Biscay and Navarre, which had been deprived of their legal rights and privileges; and by stating that in bringing the subject forward, he was not actuated by any partiality for the character of Don Carlos, or any desire of advocating his claims on the crown of Spain. Mr. Cutlar Fergusson, while he admired the moderate and gentlemanly tone of Lord Mahon’s speech, yet differed from his views. He defended the alteration which Ferdinand had made in the succession, and which had been approved of by the Cortes, while they looked upon Don Carlos as a pretender. The question for the house was whether this country was not justified in abiding by the terms of the quadripartite treaty. We had done no more, he said, till Don Carlos had published the edict of Durango: after that infamous act an important article had been appended to the treaty, stipulating that arms and stores should be supplied for the maintenance of the war, and, if necessary, a naval force. Mr. Gaily Knight also dissented from Mr. Fergusson’s views; while Mr. Fenton expressed his disapprobation of Lord Palmerston’s policy. Lord Francis Egerton said that in his opinion we were not the proper judges of the value of those rights and privileges for which the Basques were contending; if they themselves held them dear, every Englishman must feel a sympathy in their cause. Mr. Fergusson had admitted, that could we have foreseen the failure of the Spanish generals, it would have altered the question as to the policy of suspending the foreign enlistment act: were not ministers culpable for such a want of foresight? Surely Lord Palmerston and his colleagues might have distinguished between Spain in the sixteenth century, when her troops were the first in Europe, and Spain during the peninsular war. Had not Lord Palmerston been in office during the war of independence? And had not its records taught him something of Spanish generals and Spanish promises? At any rate, a glance at the pages of a Napier, or a word from the Duke of Wellington would have enlightened him on the subject. Mr. Cutlar Fergusson explained, and Mr. Poulter protested against the doctrine which stigmatized the conduct of government as intervention. Mr. Grove Price defended the character of Don Carlos from the aspersions which had been cast upon it, but he did not attempt to contradict or justify the fact that the Don had issued the edict of Durango; and that, in virtue of the same, some English soldiers had already been executed. He concluded with a tribute to his virtue and magnanimity: so far was he from desiring to establish the Inquisition, that his prime-minister, the Bishop of Leon, had spent his whole life in writing against it, and had obtained a decree from his sovereign for its abolition. This was denied by Mr. O’Connell, whom Mr. Grove Price allowed to be a competent judge, because he was acquainted with the Bishop of Leon. He added, “If it were supposed that Don Carlos admitted Mr. O’Connell to his councils, then no English Protestant gentleman would for a moment countenance the pretensions of that sovereign.”
Lord Palmerston ably defended the policy of government. He added, if he could contribute to the establishment of the same happy things in Spain as existed in Belgium and Portugal, he should esteem it a proud satisfaction to the latest hour of his life. Sir Robert Peel complained of the line of argument which had been adopted by Lord Palmerston. He, for one, he said, openly disavowed all participation in the principles, or sympathy with the cause of Don Carlos. He would not say that the objects of British policy would be advanced by the success of that prince; and he begged most distinctly to state that he wished to see Spain in the settled enjoyment of a free and enlightened form of civil government. His belief was, however, that the course adopted by ministers was defeating its professed objects; it was obstructing the cause of improvement, and was calculated neither to raise our own character as a nation, nor to gain the affections of Spain. Mr. O’Connell spoke against Don Carlos, dwelling at length upon the atrocities which had been committed by his partisans.
Lord Mahon did not press any motion on the house, he being satisfied with the expression of opinion that had taken place. Within a fortnight after the debate the news of the defeat at Hernani arrived; and the political opponents of government eagerly embraced this opportunity of renewing the discussion. Immediately after the Easter recess, Sir Henry Hardinge gave notice of a motion on the subject, which motion he brought forward on the 18th of April. He moved an address to the king, “praying his majesty not to renew the order in council of the 10th of June, 1835, granting permission to British subjects to enlist in the service of the Queen of Spain, which order in council would expire on the 10th of June next following; and praying also that directions be given that his majesty’s marine forces shall not be employed in the civil contests now prevailing in Spain, otherwise than in that naval co-operation which his majesty has engaged to afford, if necessary, under the stipulations of the treaty.” The motion was seconded by Sir Stratford Canning, who argued that the terms of the quadruple treaty did not justify the interference which government had sanctioned. On the other hand Lord Leveson contended that government had gained great credit on the continent by the part they had taken in the affairs of the Peninsula. Mr. Charles Wood defended ministers: it was not uncommon, he said, for British officers to enter into the service of foreign powers. Mr. O’Connell remarked on the eagerness with which the recent disasters of the legion had been seized upon by gentlemen on the opposite side. The actions in which they had clone honour to the British name were forgotten: nothing was said of their victories; but not a moment was lost in bringing forward their defeat. On the second night of the debate, Sir Robert Inglis adverted to the imputation which had been cast against his party—that they were the enemies of the church of Rome in their own country, but its friends in every other—from its association with despotism. He disclaimed any such feeling on their part. Mr. Ward considered that opposition tried this question merely by the test of success. Why did not Sir Henry Hardinge bring forward his motion soon after the victory at Bilboa? This was the first time that he had heard in the house of commons the misfortunes of an ally urged as a reason for abandoning him. No doubt the legion had suffered a defeat; but not such as to disable their continuance of the contest. General Evans had admitted his losses; yet it was at this moment that an old brother officer in arms had chosen to aggravate his difficulties, and to cast against him the weight of his authority in military matters. In reply to the imputation as to the motives in bringing forward the motion at this particular time, Lord Mahon contended that he and his friends had hitherto exercised the utmost forbearance on the subject. He contended, further, that the country had a right to know whether there was any limit to the expense which we might be called upon to incur: twenty millions might be required by Spain; and did the treaty oblige us to furnish that sum? Dr. Lushington followed, and endeavoured to show that the naval co-operation which we had afforded was precisely that contemplated by the treaty. It could not be supposed that the British fleet was to encounter that of Don Carlos, and drive it off the seas; the only object could be a naval warfare along the coast. He considered the existence of the present government depended on this motion: if the reformed parliament of Great Britain should now abandon those principles of liberty and independence which they had hitherto advocated, the news would be hailed at St. Petersburg by bonfires. Mr. Grove Price supported the motion, and Mr. Shiel opposed it. The latter argued that the government had put a right construction on the stipulations of the quadruple treaty; and he entered into a long apology for the ill success of General Evans, and for the excesses and insubordination of his troops. With respect to the naval co-operation of the mariners, he referred to their motto, Per mare ‘per terras, as of itself setting that question at rest. He continued:—“But it is alleged that the measures of the government have not produced any good result. I ask if those measures had not been adopted, what would have befallen the Spanish people? Would not Bilboa have been taken by assault, and the standard of Don Carlos at this moment have been floating from the castle of St Sebastian? Or try the allegation by another test. Let me suppose this motion carried. The courier that will convey the intelligence will carry tidings of great joy to St. Petersburg, to Vienna, to Berlin; and he will convey tidings of great dismay wherever men value the possession of liberty, or pant for its enjoyment. It will palsy the arm of freedom in Spain—a terrible revulsion will be produced: from Calpe to the Pyrenees the cry, ‘We are betrayed by England!’ will be heard; and over that nation which you indeed have betrayed, Don Carlos will march without an obstacle to Madrid.” In conclusion, Mr. Shiel said:—“I have heard it asked whether it be befitting that in Spain, the theatre of so many of their best exploits, British soldiers should give way before bands of mountain peasants? I feel the force of that question; but there is another which I venture to put to every man who hears me, and, above all, to the gallant officer by whom the motion has been brought forward: I invoke the same recollections; I appeal to the same glorious remembrances, and in the name of those scenes, of which he was not only an eye-witness, but a sharer, I ask, whether it be befitting that in that land, consecrated as it is in the annals of England’s glory, a terrible, remorseless, relentless despotism should be established; and that the throne which England saved should be filled by the tyrant by whom your own countrymen, after the heat of battle, have been savagely and deliberately murdered? Never! the people of this country are averse, indeed, to wanton and unnecessary war; but where the honour of England is at stake, there is no consequence which they are not prepared to meet—no hazard which they will not be prompt to encounter.” The debate was protracted by another adjournment to a third night.
Lord Palmerston, who had been repeatedly called upon in the course of the debates, at length arose to defend government from the imputations of their opponents. The manner, he said, in which the question had been dealt with by opposition was not fitted to impress other people with a notion that their own convictions were very strong in respect to it. Having made a few observations on the conduct of General Evans, on the sufferings of the British soldiers, and on the atrocities which had been committed, he came to the question of the quadruple treaty. Every one knew, he said, under what circumstances, and for what purpose it was concluded. The most superficial observer must have perceived that the change that had been made in the accession to the Spanish throne, though accompanied by every circumstance cf legality and regularity, yet laid the foundation for a great revolution in that country. It was not merely the substitution of an infant female for a grown man; out of that change must spring a great alteration in the internal constitutions of Spain, and a change too in the tendencies of its external policy. What happened on the death of Ferdinand? A Spanish minister came to London to request of the English government a force to assist in expelling Don Miguel from Portugal. This was refused; but we said:—“Though we will not give you an army, we will give you a treaty.” Accordingly, we joined with the three “great powers” of the west of Europe in one alliance. This was the quadruple treaty; and such was its effect, that even before the ratifications were exchanged, Don Miguel’s army of twelve thousand men laid down their arms, and the two pretenders abandoned Portugal. Then came the escape of Don Carlos, and his placing himself at the head of the insurgents in the Basque provinces. The four contracting parties considered the treaty to be fully in force, and that it was only necessary to prepare new articles in order to provide for the altered circumstances of the war, which articles, however, should be considered merely as complementary of the original treaty. The noble lord proceeded to defend the manner in which those articles had been carried into execution; and, in conclusion, he observed, that however skilfully the question before them might be disguised, it involved no less than, whether England should continue to fulfil her engagement with the Queen of Spain, or should disgracefully abandon an ally whom she had pledged herself to succour. But this was far short of the real and ultimate tendency of the motion. The contest now waging in Spain was but a portion of that great conflict which was going on elsewhere throughout the world. The house had to decide that night between two opposite systems of foreign policy. Even these were not isolated principles, which might be taken or neglected by themselves: they were intimately connected with, and affected also our domestic interests. The object of the one party was to support Don Carlos and despotism; the other to uphold Isabella and the constitution. Sir Robert Peel replied to Lord Palmerston, reproducing the arguments and facts already urged; and the discussion was closed by Lord John Russell, who defended the existing state of our foreign relations, by contrasting it with that in which they had been left by the right honourable baronet and his friends in 1830, when they quitted office. On a division Sir Henry Hardinge’s motion was rejected by two hundred and seventy-eight against two hundred and forty-two. The same subject was brought under the consideration of the lords, April 21st, by Lord Alvanley, in a motion for the dispatches of Lord John Hay relative to the affair at Hernani.
A circumstance occurred which brought the state of our relations with Russia under the attention of parliament. A mercantile house, Messrs. Bell, of London, had fitted out a vessel laden with goods for the coast of Circassia. On attempting to land her cargo she was seized by a Russian man-of-war and confiscated, first, on the ground of the violation of the blockade, to which the Russian government had subjected the whole of the Circassian coast; and, secondly, for an alleged violation of the custom-house regulations established by the same authority in the ports of that country. This proceeding of the Russian government was generally denounced as unjustifiable; and the subject was brought before parliament on the 17th of March by Mr. Roebuck, who moved for copies of all the correspondence which had taken place between the British and Russian government on this transaction. Lord Palmerston entered into a lengthy statement of the occurrence; but the papers were refused, on the ground that the question was still under negotiation. Mr. Roebuck repeated his inquiries on the subject, when Lord Palmerston stated that, upon a full consideration of all the circumstances of the case, the government had come to the conclusion that there was no room for making any further demand upon the Russian government. Another matter, in which our relations with Russia were concerned, was brought before the house of commons on the 22nd of March by Lord Dudley, who inquired of Lord Palmerston whether any consular agent had been appointed to the state of Cracow. Lord Dudley Stuart said, that in the preceding session a motion had been made by the member for Lancaster for an address to the king, praying that his majesty would appoint a consul to reside in that city; and that the noble secretary for foreign affairs had stated that it was the intention of government to make such appointment, on which the motion for an address was withdrawn. Lord Palmerston admitted the correctness of this statement. It had been his intention, he said, to send a consular agent to Cracow; but he had since been induced to depart from his purpose, finding that greater difficulties would attend it than he had anticipated. His lordship did not state what those difficulties were, and the house seems not to have thought it expedient to press the government further upon the subject.
A more important point of our foreign policy considered this session was the situation of the province of Texas. On the 9th of March, Mr. Barlow Hay moved for “copies of all correspondence which had taken place between our government and those of Mexico and of the United States on this subject;” stating at the same time his sense of its importance, and the suspicions he entertained of the ambitious project of the American government in respect to it. Lord Palmerston admitted the importance of the subject, and its claim on the anxious attention both of the government and the public; but he resisted the production of the papers moved for, and on a division the motion was rejected by a majority of forty-one to twenty-eight.