January 9th, 1857.—The old year ended and the new year began strangely. After three years of expensive war the balance-sheet exhibited such a state of wealth and prosperity as may well make us 'the envy of surrounding nations;' but while we have recovered the great blessing of peace, we have to look back upon a year stained beyond all precedent with frightful crimes of every sort and kind: horrible murders, enormous frauds, and scandalous robberies and defalcations. The whole attention of the country is now drawn to the social questions which press upon us with appalling urgency, and the next session of Parliament, which is rapidly advancing, must be principally engaged in the endeavour to find remedies for the evils and dangers incident to our corrupted population, and our erroneous and inadequate penal system, the evils and dangers of which threaten to become greater and more difficult to remedy every day. From this question it is impossible to dissever that of education, for at least we ought to make the experiment whether the diffusion of education will or will not be conducive to the diminution of crime, and we shall see whether the sectarian prejudices, the strength and obstinacy of which have hitherto erected impassable barriers to the progress of educating the people, will retain all their obstinacy in the face of the existing evil, or whether the bodily fear and the universal persuasion of the magnitude and imminence of the danger will not operate upon bigotry itself and render the masses more reasonable. Besides these important questions the new year opens with a most unpleasant prospect abroad, where everything seems to go wrong and our foreign relations, be the cause what, or the fault whose it may, to be in a very unhappy state.
PRUSSIA AND NEUFCHATEL.
The quarrel between Prussia and Switzerland[1] is one in which we appear to have no immediate interest, except that it is always our interest to prevent any infraction of the general peace, but of course we could not think of not interfering in some way or other in the matter. The King of Prussia has behaved as ill and as foolishly as possible, and our Government entirely disapprove of his conduct and have given the Swiss to understand that all our sympathies are with them, and that we think they have right on their side. If France and England were now on really good terms, and would act together with cordiality and authority, nothing would be so easy as to put a prompt extinguisher on the Swiss affair; but as we cannot agree upon a common course of action, there is danger of the dispute drifting into a war, though it is evidently so much the interest and the desire of the Emperor Napoleon to allow no shots to be fired, that I still expect, even at this almost the eleventh hour, to be in a complete fix. The Swiss will not release the prisoners unless the King will at the same time abandon his claims on Neufch�tel, or unless England and France will guarantee that he will do so. The King will do nothing and agree to nothing unless the Swiss will previously and unconditionally release the prisoners, and moreover he repudiates our intervention, as he thinks us unfairly disposed to himself. The simplest course would be for England and France to declare that a Prussian invasion of Switzerland should be a casus belli, and I think we should have no objection to this, but France won't go along with us. Then if the Swiss should deliver over the prisoners to France, and she would accept the dep�t, all might be settled. As it is, we have backed up Switzerland to resist, and if war ensues we shall leave her to her fate—a very inglorious course to pursue; and although I have a horror of war, and am alive to the policy of keeping well with France, I am inclined to think that having encouraged the Swiss to a certain point it would better become us to take our own independent line and to threaten Prussia with war if she does not leave Switzerland alone, than to sit tamely by and see her, unimpeded, execute her threats. The Government are evidently much embarrassed by this question, which is still further complicated by the matrimonial engagement between the two Royal families.
[1] [The Prussian Crown retained, by the Treaty of Vienna, rights of sovereignty over the Swiss Canton of Neufch�tel, and appointed a Governor there. In other respects the Neufch�telese enjoyed all the rights and liberties of Swiss citizens. This anomalous state of things naturally gave rise to friction. The King of Prussia derived no sort of advantage from his nominal sovereignty; but as a matter of dignity he declined to renounce it, and even threatened a military occupation of the Canton, which the Swiss Confederation would have resisted.]
January 13th.—The Swiss affair seems settled, so far at least that there will be no war. The prisoners will be released, but I dare say the King of Prussia will chicaner about the abdication of his rights over Neufch�tel. All the world is occupied with Sir Robert Peel's speech, or lecture as he terms it, at Birmingham, where he gave an account, meant to be witty, of his s�jour in Russia and its incidents. It was received with shouts of applause by a congenial Brummagem audience, and by deep disapprobation in every decent society and by all reasonable people.
January 14th.—I met Clarendon last night, who told me the Swiss question was still in doubt, for the King was shuffling and would probably play them a trick, and though he knew the prisoners were going to be liberated, he would not engage positively to give up his claim. The Emperor Napoleon has behaved very ill and ungratefully to the Swiss, who in consequence were more irritated against him than against the King of Prussia himself. Nothing could equal the fawning flattery and servility of the King to the Emperor, who was at the same time tickled by it and disgusted.
LORD ABERDEEN AND LORD JOHN RUSSELL.
January 20th.—At Woburn for two days. I found the Duke entirely occupied with a question (on which he had of course a various correspondence), whether when Aberdeen's Government was formed, Aberdeen had at the time imparted to John Russell his wish and intention to retire as soon as possible, so that John might take his place as Premier. To ascertain this fact, he had applied to Lord John and Aberdeen, to Lansdowne and to Clarendon, all of whom he invited to send him their recollections and impressions, which they did. The matter now is not of much importance, but is worth noticing from the evidence it affords of the difficulty of arriving at truth, and therefore of the fallibility of all history. Though this circumstance is so recent, and at the time was so important, not one of the parties, neither Lord John nor Aberdeen nor the other two, can recollect what did pass, but as they all concur in their impressions that no such engagement was given when the Government was formed, it may safely be concluded that this is the truth. I know I heard all that passed, and certainly I never heard of any such intention, though I did hear some time afterwards that such had been Aberdeen's expressed wish and Lord John's expectation. I read Aberdeen's letters, in which he entered into other matters connected with his Government, and I must say more creditable, gentlemanlike, and amiable letters I never read.
January 28th.—At Stoke from Saturday to Monday. On returning to town, we heard that the Persian war was over, Palmerston's usual luck bringing a settlement of the only question that could be embarrassing on the eve of the meeting of Parliament. But the news only comes telegraphically, so unless confirmed must be doubtful, and cannot be named in the Speech.[1]
[1] [Differences had arisen in the spring of 1856 between Great Britain and the Court of Persia, in consequence of which the British Minister was withdrawn from Teheran. In October 1856 Herat was attacked and taken by the Persians, which led to war. A detachment of British troops under General Outram landed at Bushire on January 27, 1857, and the Persians were defeated at Kooshab on February 8. Peace was signed in Paris between Her Majesty and the Shah on March 4, the Persians engaging to abstain from all interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, and to respect the independence of Herat. If these dates are correct, as given in Irving's Annals of our Time, the intelligence of the peace cannot have reached London so soon as Mr. Greville supposed, and rumour anticipated the event.]