Received from Sir J. Malcolm a letter with some enclosures about suttees. He has reluctantly and fearfully abolished suttee, making it culpable homicide to assist, and murder to force the victim. He has done it, I think, wisely by a repeal of a clause in one regulation and an amendment. Thus not putting it vainly forward as Lord William did in a pompous document.
He has abolished the Military Board, I believe, very wisely; but there may be a difficulty with the Duke, if I cannot do it without talking to him about it. I believe Sir J. Malcolm is quite right, and that there would have been no hope of preserving a system of real economy had the Military Board been permitted to remain.
I am curious to see his measure of checks on expenditure, that if it be good it may be adopted at the other Presidencies.
Received some letters from Lord W. Bentinck. Lord Dalhousie has been very ill, and the command of the army would fall, Lord William says, into the weakest hands, if anything happened to him.
The spirit of the army was becoming better, I gather from Lord William's letter, but it required much attention. I have been thinking all day of what measures may be adopted for improving it.
September 21.
Office. Read to Cabell my memorandum on the alterations which might be introduced into the army, which I wrote hurriedly this morning. He was long in the military department, and can be of much use. Cabinet room. I think the result of Lord Stuart's dispatches is that the moderate party are gaining strength. I should say the facts we see in the newspapers lead to a different conclusion.
The Ministers and the old leading members of the Chamber of Deputies act manfully against the crowd. Their declarations of intention are satisfactory. I really believe they mean to act honestly if they can.
Austria seems to have hesitated about the acknowledgment of the King of the French after the receipt of a dispatch from Petersburg, and Metternich, who seems to be growing weak, wavered after he had received General Belliard very cordially.
Prussia, that is the King, hesitated about signing the letter to Louis Philippe when he heard of the doubts of Austria. The result, however, is that all entrainés by us will acknowledge; the Emperor of Russia, who was the most reluctant, having determined to do so if the others did. I should say there is this satisfactory conclusion to be drawn from what we have seen, that if France showed a disposition to aggrandise herself all Europe would be against her.