RELATIONS WITH CONTINENTAL EUROPE.
France.—The year 1846 was one of much discussion between England and France. Louis Philippe proved himself as insincere and selfish as the Bourbons always were, to whatever branch of that faithless family belonging. M. Guizot, the chief minister of the king, was as little candid as his master. The same treachery which sullied the reminiscences of Ghent, characterised the procedure of the minister towards England in 1846. There were various subjects of difference between the two countries; but that which most occupied the attention of Europe was the Spanish marriages. Louis Philippe had a numerous family, was avaricious to the last degree, and allowed avarice and nepotism to govern his policy, rather than the honour and interests of the great kingdom over which he presided. He was desirous that one of his sons should marry the Queen of Spain, and that another should be united to her sister. The queen-mother favoured this idea, as did also the chief minister, Narvaez. On the other hand, it was alleged that the English government was intriguing for a prince of the house of Cobourg. This was not the case—at all events, when the Whigs came into power. Lord Palmerston, on behalf of his court and government, disclaimed it, and demanded that the royal family of Spain should be left free to follow their own inclinations, excepting only as regarded members of the royal family of France, against a union with which the English whig foreign minister protested, as a breach of the treaty of Utrecht. Mr. Disraeli, and others of the conservative party, were of opinion with M. Guizot, that such marriages as the French ministry contemplated would not infringe that treaty, which guaranteed that the throne of France and Spain should not be filled by the same person, but made no provision against marriages upon which such an event might appear to be contingent. The British government was firm in regarding the proceedings of Louis Philippe as directed by an unprincipled ambition, in defiance of treaties, and of the alliance between Great Britain and France then subsisting. The English government did not encourage a member of the house of Cobourg, but advocated the pretensions to her majesty’s hand of a Spanish prince, Don Enrique, the Queen of Spain’s own cousin. To this the French government was opposed, because Don Enrique was of liberal political opinions, and it was the policy of Louis Philippe and his alter ego, M. Guizot, to keep down liberal aspirations in Spain. The reaction policy of the French king and his minister was now in full operation, and this was, unfortunately, more felt at Madrid than at Paris. The King of the French wished, he alleged, to see the choice of the Spanish princess fall within the Bourbon circle; but a ban was laid on Don Enrique, because of his constitutionalism, or, as Guizot was pleased to designate it, his revolutionary opinions. The intrigue of the French government was successful, so far that the Queen of Spain was married to a Spanish Bourbon, brother to Don Enrique, a man whom the queen personally hated, a bigoted devotee and reactionary, whose fanaticism against liberty was morbid, and who was an avowed Carlist, openly denying the right of the Queen of Spain to the throne. Whatever could be supposed as likely to influence the fortunes of the young queen and of the Spanish nation, unfavourably, in connection with a royal marriage, was associated with this; but Louis Philippe and M. Guizot cared for none of these things, so as their own project was accomplished. At the same time the sister of the queen was married to the Duc de Montpensier, a son of Louis Philippe. The two marriages were celebrated together with great pomp and ceremony. The Spanish government did not much care whether the royal lady married an Orleans or a Cobourg, so as France or England were engaged on its side against the apprehension of a republican or Carlist revolt; and, on the whole, France was supposed more likely to interfere for such a purpose than Great Britain.
The singular dishonesty of M. Guizot and his master startled the politicians of Europe. The French government had pledged itself to the English not to take any step to secure the hand of either of the royal ladies of Spain for a French prince. M. Guizot afterwards justified his conduct by alleging that the English government was secretly abetting the interests of a Cobourg. He admitted that he could not prove this, but justified his acting upon such a strong suspicion as he entertained. When, in 1847, M. Thiers brought on certain stormy discussions in the French chambers on this subject, the admission was wrung from the French foreign minister that the conduct of England had been loyal and honourable—that no efforts had been made to press a Cobourg upon the attention of the Spanish court; this too celebrated person thus convicting himself of premeditated bad faith, and of resorting to accusations and falsehood to vindicate a policy which he had falsely and wilfully initiated, or, at all events, pursued, when initiated by his royal master.
One feature of the infidelity of the French court and minister to their engagements excited the indignation of all honourable minds acquainted with it. When the English government detected the intention of Louis Philippe to break his engagements and to prosecute the Montpensier marriage, that government urged that, at all events, it was desirable, if the treaty of Utrecht was to be observed, that the Queen of Spain should have an heir to the throne before the marriage of her sister took place. The French minister promised that the marriages should not take place at the same time. When the English government remonstrated upon the disregard of this engagement, shown in the actual fact that the two marriages had their celebration together, M. Guizot justified himself by alleging that, inasmuch as the queen was married first, although her sister was married immediately after, the ceremonial was not celebrated at the same time! This audacious departure from every decent observance of truth and honesty was perpetrated by a man who is lauded by the savons of France to this day as one of their illustrious number. His Memoir of Sir Robert Peel is popular in England, and he has since been received with favour in London! The whole administration of M. Guizot, foreign and domestic, was a dishonour and a curse to France, and supplies one of the dark pages of her history.
It was on the 10th of October that Louis Philippe and M. Guizot consummated their treachery to England, and their selfish policy towards Spain, and laid the foundation for an alienation between the French and English governments, which continued until the hypocrite king was hurled from the throne of France.
Spain.—The policy of the King of the French to Spain was not regarded with any interest by the mass of the Spanish people. The English government and citizens supposed that the Spanish marriages would bring about a revolution, but the people looked coldly on. The French king understood the Spanish nation better than it was understood in England. There was, however, a large party in Spain which regarded the designs of the French king with an enlightened and politic alarm. Thus, when the Spanish government selected him as mediator with the pope, to effect a reconciliation between the courts of Rome and Madrid, the language of suspicion uttered by Senor Leijas Lozano expressed the real views of most men of cultivated minds in Spain:—“For my part, I admit that I had much suspicion, mingled with fear, when it was determined to select France as our mediator with Rome, and these fears I have not yet got rid of. The question is, are the offers of service made by France to the Spanish government sufficiently frank?—are they sincere? I fear they are not. Her interests are not identified with ours. I may be mistaken, but my firm belief is that it is the interests of France that we shall remain as isolated as possible until the great events she desires be effected.”
A strong conviction was entertained by many eminent men in Spain, that Sir Robert Peel and the Earl of Aberdeen had complicated the question of the Spanish marriages; that, although the Whigs repudiated with sincerity all interference, these two statesmen had coquetted with the question of a Cobourg alliance for the Spanish queen, and that in doing so they were only carrying out the wishes of the English court; that the knowledge obtained of these facts by the secret agents of the French king, and of the queen-mother of Spain, made both less scrupulous, and hastened the perfection of a plot which, but for such discoveries, the royal intriguants would not have had the boldness to prosecute.
Ministerial changes were frequent in Spain throughout the year. The Narvaez ministry was broken up, and that of Senor Isturitz followed; that too was destroyed. Narvaez was successful in his intrigues, supported by the queen-mother and the King of the French. England looked on with jealousy; and it was supposed in Spain that, but for the disasters and conflicts which occurred within the bounds of her own empire, she would have interfered in a more tangible manner. French gold was freely spent in Spain to facilitate French policy; and so corrupt were the public men of that country, that, as Louis Philippe well knew, money, applied skilfully, could change ministers and effect revolutions with a facility unknown to any other country in the world.
Portugal.—The Portuguese government gave satisfactory assurances, in answer to the demands of England, that the anti-slavery stipulations between the two countries should be carried into effect more efficaciously than heretofore; the intercourse between the two nations was therefore peaceful and satisfactory. The intrigues of the French court were, however, extended to that part of the Iberian peninsula also. The court of Portugal was invited to reactionary measures by the French minister, and French political agents were busy in Lisbon, Oporto, Coimbra, and elsewhere. The Cabrai government became unpopular; Castro Cabrai was supposed to exercise an undue influence; and José Cabrai, his brother, the minister of justice, was unpopular everywhere, but especially at Oporto, from which city he had to flee for his life. The Cabrai government was ultimately driven from office and from the capital: these events occurred in May. The queen now committed affairs to the Marquis de Palmella, and issued proclamations restoring liberty of the press, and remitting the exorbitant burial fees demanded by the priests, which had been enforced by the government: these measures restored peace. The French court incessantly intrigued against this government also, and in four months after its formation it was abruptly dismissed; the result was civil war. Two distinct insurrections went on together—a republican or radical one in the south, and a Miguellite revolt in the north. It was generally supposed by the Portuguese that the faction of the court was in favour with the court of England, as Colonel Wylde, equerry to Prince Albert, attended the camp of the royal commander-inchief. The colonel, however, acted as commissioner of the British government, which felt a deep interest in the distresses of Portugal—peculiar treaties binding the two countries. The year 1846 closed over the Iberian peninsula in discord, turbulence, and woe.
The Papal States.—According to the constitution, England held no diplomatic connection with the court of Rome. The proceedings of that court, however, had an important influence upon the British empire, as four-fifths of the Irish population were Roman Catholics, and in Eastern Canada, Newfoundland, and other British colonies or dependencies, many of the people were of the same religion. The events of the year at Rome were the death of Pope Gregory XVI., and the election of Cardinal Mastei to the pontifical chair, who assumed the title of Pius IX. One of his first acts was to publish an amnesty for political offenders, which gave great satisfaction to the inhabitants of the Roman States. This was speedily followed by a tariff reform, based upon sound views of the interests of the Roman people. Throughout the year, his civil and sacerdotal administration were alike popular within the states, throughout Italy, and all over Europe. The French, Austrian, Neapolitan, Spanish, and Portuguese governments were all, however, incensed at the liberal tendencies of the new pope. The Roman Catholic subjects of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland received the announcements of the pontifical liberality with favour; it was thought that by these means the objections of Protestants would be softened, and a way opened for the reconciliation of many, especially liberal churchmen, to Rome.
Poland.—The sympathies of England were aroused by events in Poland, which extinguished the last spark of Polish liberty. Throughout all the provinces, a desire existed to make one effort more for freedom. The hope of disenthralling their native land animated every heart. An ill-concerted insurrection, was the inevitable consequence of this strong feeling; and as Cracow was a free city, under the guarantee of the treaty of Vienna, the insurgents believed that they could use it as a point d’appui. In the month of February, the circle of Tarnow rose in arms. The peasantry of Silesia, armed with scythes, attacked the Austrian troops under General Collin, and drove them out of Cracow. A provisional government was instituted there; Poland was called upon to rise at once; and all nations, especially France and England, were appealed to in passionate terms for aid. After various successes by the revolters, they were at last encountered by superior forces, and repeatedly defeated: Cracow was taken by the Austrians, and its independence extinguished. The English and French ministers protested against this as a violation of the treaty of Vienna. Russia and Prussia supported the policy of Austria, who replied to the Western diplomatists that the proceedings of the Poles was a violation of the treaty of Vienna, and that it was necessary to the integrity and peace of the Austrian empire that Cracow should be no longer a focus of rebellion. The Western governments satisfied themselves with protests, and the last green spot of Polish independence had its life stamped out by the foot of Austrian despotism.
Such were the general relations of England during the year 1846. Colonial revolt was suppressed; a powerful invader was driven back from her oriental territory; and she maintained with honour her European policy, and peace with neighbouring nations, under circumstances of great provocation; her star shone with more lustre in the eyes of foreign nations when the year terminated than when it opened.