In the new English penal colony of Van Diemen's Land in Australia, the Tasmania of latter days, the self-assertive and domineering traits of the Anglo-Saxon race were no less apparent among the convicts than among the few free settlers. A few years before this the colonists had proclaimed Van Diemen's Land themselves independent of New South Wales and established a separate government. The Van Diemen's Land Company received a grant of twenty-five thousand acres; white population increased; religious, educational and commercial institutions were founded. The natives were all but exterminated. During this year Governor Arthur made an extraordinary attempt to settle the native problem. His idea was to catch all the aborigines of the island and pen them up on the narrow neck of land known as Tasman's Peninsula. Upward of three thousand five hundred white persons, including three hundred soldiers, turned out for the exciting operation of clearing Van Diemen's Land by means of a cordon across the island. All seemed to be going well until the line of beaters contracted, when it was Extermination of natives found that the natives were in the rear, instead of in the front. The attempt proved a total failure; only two natives were captured. The total cost of the expedition amounted to £35,000. The individual measures of the settlers against the despised natives proved more efficacious. Within a few years, when the last of the Tasmanian aborigines were transferred from the mainland to Flinder's Island, by the instrumentality of George Augustus Robinson, it was found that but three hundred were left. The white population—largely of convict antecedents—by this time numbered more than 15,000 persons.
In North America the doctrine of nullification, newly put forth, emphasized North American dissensions the growing differences between the Northern and Southern States. The great debate between Hayne and Webster came about casually in the course of a discussion of the sale of public lands. The topic of nullification was dragged in by Southern speakers. Webster felt called upon to uphold the Nullification debate cause of the Northern States. Smarting under some of his animadversions of Southern sloth, Hayne made a two-day speech in which he inveighed against the spirit of the New Englanders. His own State, South Carolina, and her sister States in the South, he declared, would defend their sovereign rights, or "perish in the last ditch." Webster's reply to those prophetic Webster's declaration words was the grandest oratorical effort of his life. He declared for the continued union of all the States in all their strength: "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Jackson's progressive foreign policy poured oil on the troubled waters. His repeal of the shipping acts of 1818 and 1823 brought about a resumption of direct trade with the West Indies. On October 5, Jackson was able to issue a proclamation announcing the opening of permanent trade with all ports of the West Indies, Bermudas, Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico and South America.
Anglo-American treaty This friendly treaty with America was the last satisfactory measure passed by Wellington's Ministry in England. As elsewhere in Europe the success of the sudden revolution in Paris created a great stir, and was brought home to Englishmen all the more forcibly by the deposed king's flight to English O'Connell's State trial shores. In Ireland, matters were stirred up by Daniel O'Connell, who now commenced an agitation for the repeal of the union with England. His prosecution for treason became a State trial. O'Connell's ultimate conviction once more alienated the powerful Catholic Association of Ireland. The Duke of Wellington became so prejudiced against reform that he declared in Parliament: "I am not only averse to bringing forward any Anti-reform utterances measure of this nature, but I will at once declare, so far as I am concerned, so long as I hold any station in the government of the country, I shall always feel it my duty to resist such a measure when proposed by others." After this declaration the fall of the Ministry was assured. Stocks fell in London from 84 to 77 points. Abuse and obloquy were heaped upon the Ministers from every quarter. Caricatures of them were stamped even on handkerchiefs and calico aprons. The Duke was mostly represented in the livery of an old hackney coachman, while Sir Robert Peel figured as a Wellington unpopular rat catcher. The King no longer concealed his dislike of Wellington, who in former days had mortally offended him by his support of Admiral Cockburn, resulting in the resignation of the Prince as Lord High Admiral of England. As soon as Parliament was reopened late in the year, a significant rebuff was administered to the Ministry by the Crown. The King preferred to deliver his speech in person. In the face of the Prime Minister's Fall of Ministry declaration against reform, Sir Harry Parnell, even before the delivery of the King's speech, announced a bill for the revision of the civil list. Parnell's motion was carried. Brougham followed this up with a motion for a reform of the rotten borough system. Rather than submit to another inevitable defeat Wellington's Ministry resigned. Earl Grey, leader of the Earl Grey, Prime Minister Whig opposition, was made Prime Minister. Brougham was raised to the peerage, and accepted the post of Lord Chancellor. Palmerston was reappointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Lord Grey's appointment of six or seven of his relatives to administrative posts weakened his Ministry from the outset.
1831
UNDER the leadership of Lord Palmerston, the Belgian Conference in London was conducted to a successful issue. Early in January the representatives of the Powers signed a protocol defining the limits of Belgium and Holland and apportioning to each country its share in the national debt. The problem of providing an acceptable government for Belgium still remained. The Belgians themselves would have welcomed incorporation into France. With Belgian conference this object in view they elected for their sovereign the Duc de Nemours, second son of Louis Philippe. When a proclamation to this effect was made on February 3, Louis Philippe, acting under Talleyrand's advice, withheld official sanction. Privately he had encouraged his son's candidacy, the more so as a Bonapartist rival, the son of Eugene Beauharnais, was in the field. The conference at London determined not to permit Belgium thus to become a dependency of France. The British Government decided that it would no longer discountenance armed intervention in Belgium against French schemes of aggrandizement. Talleyrand obtained the best terms open to his sovereign by insisting on the withdrawal of the Bonapartist pretender. Leopold, King of Belgium The selection of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who had just been disappointed in his aspirations for the empty throne of Greece, was encouraged by France on the understanding that Leopold, if elected King of Belgium, should marry a daughter of Louis Philippe. Leopold was elected on June 4, and accepted the crown only on the condition that the London Conference should modify Luxemburg question its territorial arrangements of January. This brought up the Luxemburg question. Since the Paris treaty of 1814, the formidable stronghold of Luxemburg, though under the sovereignty of the King of Holland, was maintained as the strongest border fortress of the German Confederation. Dutch invasion of Belgium Now, the Luxemburgers had made common cause with the Belgians. Leopold accordingly insisted that Luxemburg should be treated as an integral part of Belgium. The powers at London yielded to this demand sufficiently to annul the declarations of January, with the promise of a future settlement of the status of Luxemburg. On this repudiation of the recent international French counter-invasion declaration in favor of the Netherlands, the King of Holland took up arms. A Dutch army of 50,000 advanced into Belgium. Leopold at once appealed to France for assistance. A French army marched into Belgium from the other side. The powers at London made haste to intervene. A British fleet made a Foreign intervention demonstration before Antwerp. Under pressure Leopold signed an agreement to raze the fortifications on the Belgian frontier. Reluctantly the King of Holland recalled his army. Under the threat of another armed coalition against France, Louis Philippe withdrew his forces. Outward tranquillity was once more restored. No immediate settlement, however, was reached in regard to Luxemburg. The union of the Luxemburgers with the Belgians remained in effect, while on the other hand strong German garrisons continued to hold the fortifications. For years to come this remained a vexatious problem.
After the restriction of the Greek frontiers by the Powers, Capodistrias' government was appreciably weakened. As difficulties thickened about him, he resorted to the restrictive measures he had become accustomed to while Prime Minister of Russia. He felt that the cause of Greece would be Difficulties in Greece jeopardized unless order was maintained at any cost. When the old revolutionary leaders became turbulent, Capodistrias only put his government on a firmer basis. Mavrocordato, Konduriottes and Miaulis at this juncture waited upon the President as a committee from the opposition Holocaust of Greek fleet and demanded the withdrawal of the obnoxious measures. Capodistrias would not yield, and the popular leaders betook themselves to Hydra. Preparations for civil war were begun. The President sent out an expedition to suppress them. To prevent the fleet from falling into his hands at Paros, Miaulis set fire to the "Hellas," the American-built frigate, and that ship and twenty-eight others were burned to the water's edge. Among those that were Mavromichalis imprisoned imprisoned by Capodistrias was Petro Mavromichalis, the hero of the Morea. The Russian admiral sailed to Nauplia to intercede in his behalf, but in vain. Mavromichalis' brother and son, Constantine and George, appealed to the President in person, but were put under arrest themselves. On October Assassination of Capodistrias 9, Constantine and George Mavromichalis fell upon Capodistrias as he was going to church and shot him dead. One of the assassins was killed on the spot while the other was executed later. Capodistrias' brother, Augustine, assumed charge. His government was short-lived. After a few months he sailed away with his brother's body to Corfu.
Revolt in Bologna In the meantime another blow for national unity was struck in Italy. On the death of Pius VIII., late in 1830, Gregory XVI. was elected. He had scarcely been installed in the chair of St. Peter, when a report reached him that Bologna had revolted against papal rule. On February 3, Menotti Menotti raised the signal of revolt at Modena. He was lured into the power of the Grandduke of Modena, but the insurrection spread so rapidly throughout the north of Italy that the Grandduke had to fly to Austria. Menotti was carried to Austria and there put to death. It was about this time that Mazzini Mazzini made his first public appearance as a revolutionist and was imprisoned. Pope Gregory sent Cardinal Benvenuti to Bologna as a legate to treat with the rebels, but the legate was made a captive and the revolt Papal legate repudiated spread southward to the papal dominions. In his extremity the Pope called upon Austria for help.
Austria, whose own dominions in Italy were threatened, had every reason to grant this request. The only obstacle was the threatening attitude of France. Before sending out his troops, Metternich took pains to ascertain Austrian intervention invoked the immediate intentions of France. The official answer given to the inquiries of the Austrian Ambassador in Paris, was that Austrian intervention in favor of the sovereigns of Parma and Modena, who were related to the House of Hapsburg, might be tolerated. An extension of such intervention to the Papal States or to Piedmont would certainly constitute Attitude of France a casus belli. In token of this declaration, the French Ambassador at Constantinople was instructed to make overtures for an offensive and defensive alliance to the Sultan.
In this crisis Metternich put forth all the powers of statesmanship at his command. He declared that it was better for Austria, if necessary, to perish by war than by revolution. On the instant he assured to Russia the Metternich diplomacy support of Austria against the Poles, while he worked upon the fears of Louis Philippe by pointing to the presence of young Louis Bonaparte and his brother with the Italian insurgents. As a last resort he could always let loose upon France Napoleon's son, the Duke of Reichstadt, now growing to manhood at Vienna. In defiance of the French declaration, Austria advanced Papal dominions invaded a strong army through northern Italy into the papal dominion. The insurrection was ruthlessly stamped out. Louis Philippe did nothing. Lafayette resigned his Ministry in chagrin. He was succeeded by Casimir Périer, a constitutional statesman of modern mold. On behalf of France he put forward a double-edged demand that the Austrians should evacuate the papal dominions as soon as the papal government should reform its abuses. Casimir Périer's French policy For the first time in their history, Austria and the Papacy were made to declare for constitutional reforms. A conference at Rome agreed upon the schemes of reforms to be instituted by the Pope. Further pretext for revolution was thus removed. In July, the last Austrian forces were withdrawn from the Papal States.