[1] [Upon the death of Lord Raglan General Simpson, an officer of whom little was known, succeeded, as senior in rank, to the command of the army. He retained the command but a short time, General Codrington having been appointed by the Government to succeed him.]
London, August 14th.—Since my last date I have been to Goodwood, and since then here, having had nothing to note beyond what has appeared in all the newspapers. Parliament was prorogued yesterday, after a session of average duration, but marked by a great many incidents of a disagreeable character, and exhibiting a downward tendency as regards the future tranquillity and prosperity of the country. The last few days were marked by an angry contest provoked by Lord Grey in the Lords, not altogether without cause: the Limited Liability Bill came up so late that, according to the Standing Order, it could not be considered. Government moved the suspension of the Order, which was carried, but there was no time to discuss properly the provisions of the bill, and it was hurried through the House by force, probably in an incomplete form. Grey was very angry, and fought it tooth and nail, declaring his opposition to a Government which had, he insisted, behaved so ill. Mr. Monsell was made a Privy Councillor, the oath having been altered to meet his scruples, in spite of all the remonstrances I could offer against such an unworthy compliance as this appears to me.
[CHAPTER X.]
The Queen's Visit to France—Sir George C. Lewis on the War—Inefficiency of Lord Panmure—The Queen and the Emperor—Lord John Russell's Estrangement from his Friends—The Fall of Sebastopol—The Queen on the Orleans Confiscation—The Prince Regent's Letter on the Holy Alliance—Ferment in Italy—The Failure at the Redan—Lord John's Defence—General Windham—Lord John Russell's Retirement—Death of Sir Robert Adair—Adieu to the Turf—Progress of the War—Colonial Office proposed to Lord Stanley—Lord John Russell's Position—Relations with Mr. Disraeli—Mr. Labouchere Colonial Secretary—Negotiations for Peace—The Terms proposed to Russia—The King of Sardinia and M. de Cavour at Windsor—The Demands of the King of Sardinia—Lord Palmerston presses for War—Lord Macaulay's History of England—An Ultimatum to Russia—Death of the Poet Rogers—French Ministers—The Emperor's Diplomacy—Sir George C. Lewis's Aversion to the War—Quarrels of Walewski and Persigny—Austria presents the Terms to Russia—Baron Seebach mediates—The Emperor's Difficulties and Doubts.
London, August 21st.—The Queen as usual has had magnificent weather for her Paris visit, and all has gone well there except that unluckily she arrived after her time at Boulogne and still more at Paris, consequently the Emperor was kept waiting at Boulogne, and the whole population of Paris, which turned out and waited for hours under a broiling sun, was disappointed, for they arrived when it was growing dark. However, in spite of this, the scene appears to have been very fine and animated. Clarendon, who is not apt to be enthusiastic, writes so to Palmerston, and tells him that Marshal Magnan said he had known Paris for fifty years, and had never seen such a scene as this, nor even when Napoleon returned from Austerlitz.
George Lewis called on me yesterday. I have hardly seen him during the session, and, having advised him to take his present office, I was glad to be able to congratulate him on his success. He was very natural about it, and owned that he had every reason to be satisfied with his reception both by the House of Commons and the City. I found that his sentiments about war and peace were identical with my own. He had been all along against the war, and thought it ought to have been prevented, and might have been in the outset, and that peace ought to have been made the other day; but, as he was in no way responsible for the war, he had nothing to do but to submit to the fait accompli and to do his best to raise the necessary supplies in the most advantageous manner. It is evident that, if there could have been a potential peace party in the Cabinet, he would have been one of them, but as it is he kept his real sentiments to himself and subscribed to the decision of the majority. We talked of the session and its incidents. He said history recorded nothing like the profusion with which the present House of Commons was inclined to spend money. It was impossible to ask for too much; their only fear seemed to be lest the war should not be conducted with sufficient vigour, and to accomplish this they were ready to vote any amount of money. Lewis thinks the rage for war as violent as ever, and the zeal of the country not at all diminished, he sees no symptoms of it. The wealth and resources which the crisis has developed are most curious; thus, he reduced the interest on Exchequer Bills not long ago—an operation he believes never before attempted in time of war. War has had little or no effect on trade, which is steady and flourishing; but he thinks, unless some great successes infuse fresh animation into the public mind, that before long they will begin to tire of the contest, and to reflect that it is being carried on at an enormous cost for no rational object whatever, and merely from motives of pride and vanity and a false notion of honour. Charles Villiers thinks differently, and that there is already a manifest change of opinion, and that opposition to the war has already begun. I wish I could see some symptoms of it, but, though there may be some, I think they are slight. Lewis thinks John Russell has completely done for himself by his last speech. He was recovering from the effects of his first; there was a reaction in his favour; his friends were anxious to be reconciled to him and to renew their support and confidence, when he played into the hands of his enemies and made his own position worse than it was before.
Lewis told me that he was much struck with the mediocrity of Panmure, who was one of the dullest men he ever knew, and that he was by far the least able man in the Cabinet, and as bad as possible as Minister of War—prejudiced, slow, and routinier. It is evident that Newcastle was a much abler man, and if he had happened to have come after Panmure, he would have been as much belauded as he has been abused.
BATTLE OF THE TCHERNAYA.