Clarendon was much pleased with his visit to the Emperor, who talked to him very frankly and unreservedly about everything. They lit their cigars and sat and talked with the greatest ease. He said the Emperor spoke to him about the English press, and all he said was sensible and true; that he was aware that a free press was a necessity in England, and as indispensable as the Constitution itself, and that he had hitherto believed that the editors of the principal newspapers had the good of their country at heart, and always acted from conscientious motives; but that he could no longer entertain that opinion. The press during the past months, and the 'Times' particularly, had done an incalculable amount of mischief to England and to the alliance between us. The effect produced by their language in Germany was most injurious, and of service only to Russia. When the English papers talked of their own country in the way they did, of its degradation and disgrace, its maladministration, the ruin of its military power, and the loss of all that makes a nation great and powerful, though he (the Emperor) knew what all this meant, and how much or how little of truth there was in such exaggerated statements, yet in France they were generally believed, and it became very difficult for him to reconcile the nation to an alliance for which he was reproached with making sacrifices and shaping his policy in accordance with our's, when it was evident from our own showing that our alliance was not worth having, and our impotence was so exposed that, whenever peace should put an end to the necessity of the alliance, we should be entirely at their mercy; and while such was the feeling in France, in Germany it was still stronger, and there the 'Times' had succeeded in creating a universal conviction that we are in the lowest condition of weakness and inefficiency: at all of which he expressed the greatest regret. I was surprised to hear Clarendon say that he did not believe the resources of Russia to carry on the contest to be in any sensible degree exhausted, that her commerce had not suffered at all, and as to her finances she could go on for a good while with her paper money and the gold which, in a certain quantity, she drew from the Ural Mountains.[1]
[1] [In justice to the conductors of the 'Times' it must be said that although the language of the paper was violent and extremely annoying to the Government and its Allies, yet it was by the power and enterprise of the press that the deplorable state of the army was brought to the knowledge of the public and even of Ministers themselves; and it was by the 'Times' that the first steps were taken to supply the deficiencies of the Administration. The fund raised by voluntary contributions for this purpose amounted to 25,000l. and competent persons were sent out to apply it to the most pressing wants of the army.]
[CHAPTER IX.]
The Vienna Conference—Literary Occupations—A Roman Catholic Privy Councillor—Negotiations at Vienna—The Emperor Napoleon in London—The Emperor's brilliant Reception—Russia refuses the Terms offered—The Sebastopol Committee—Debate on the War—Visit to Paris—Resignation of M. Drouyn de Lhuys—The Emperor's Journey to the Crimea—The Repulse at the Redan—Visit to Thiers—A Dinner at the Tuileries—Conversation with the Emperor—M. Guizot on the War—Death of Lord Raglan—A Dinner at Princess Lieven's—The Palace of Versailles—Revelations of Lord John Russell's Mission—Dinner with the Emperor at Villeneuve l'?tang—Lord John Russell's Conduct at Vienna—Excitement in London—Lord John's Resignation—Lord John's Conduct explained—'Whom shall we Hang?'—Prorogation of Parliament.
March 31st, 1855.—Three weeks have passed away and I have had nothing to say; nor indeed have I anything now of the least importance, and can only glance at the general aspect of affairs. The Government, on the whole, seems in a somewhat better condition. They say Palmerston speaks better than he did, and his good humour and civility please. At last the offices, except the Under-Secretaryship to the Colonies, are filled up. Lord Elgin and Lord Seymour successively refused the Duchy of Lancaster, and after going a begging for many weeks Lord Harrowby has taken it. Laing and Wilson, and I think somebody else, declined the Vice Presidency of the Board of Trade, and they have got Bouverie.
Within these few days the hopes of peace have waxed faint. The fatal third point is an insurmountable obstacle, and it seems likely that we shall be condemned to fight it out more fiercely than ever, and without Austria, who, as I all along expected, will not join us in forcing hard conditions on Russia. It remains to be seen whether we or Austria are in fault, assuming the rupture of the negotiations to be inevitable. If Austria recedes from what she had already agreed to, she is; if we require anything more, we are. Drouyn de Lhuys has been here for twenty-four hours, and goes on to Vienna directly to bring things to a conclusion one way or another. Clarendon is pleased with him. The Emperor is to be here in three weeks.
Having no public events nor any secret information to record, I must put down my own private concerns, uninteresting as they are. I am busy on the task of editing a volume of Moore's correspondence left to me by John Russell, and finishing the second article upon King Joseph's Memoirs.[1] These small literary occupations interest and amuse me, and, being quite out of the way of politics, and seeing nobody, except Clarendon at rare intervals, who can or will tell me anything, it is well I can amuse myself with them; and now that I am growing old (for I shall be sixty-one the day after to-morrow) it is my aim to cultivate these pleasures more and more, and make them my refuge against the infirmities which beset me, and the loss of youth. My great fear is lest my eyesight should fail, and I earnestly hope I may die before such a calamity should befall me.
The war goes languidly on, and I hear Raglan and Canrobert are squabbling instead of acting, and that it seems to be more the fault of Canrobert; but the melancholy truth is that there are two incompetent generals in command, who have no skill or enterprise, and are letting the opportunity for attacking the enemy slip away. A divided command and two independent armies are in themselves an immense drawback, but when they begin to disagree it becomes fatal. We have now an enormous force there, and yet they seem incapable of doing anything and of striking any great and serious blow.