The Diplomatists of Europe

by M. Capefigue

The ministry of Lord Grey, and Grenville, only lasted for a few months after the death of Fox, for the continental questions began to assume so serious an aspect that it was not possible for the Whigs to direct them. Fox had been desirous of a peace with France—one of those bastard truces attempted by Addington at the peace of Amiens; but how was it possible there should be peace between two such proud and powerful authorities as Napoleon and the English aristocracy? the irrevocable fall of one or other of the parties was inevitable. Austerlitz had given birth to Fox's ministry, and the awaking of Prussia from the torpor in which she had been plunged brought about the fall of the Whigs. The Duke of Portland, belonging to the moderate Tory party, undertook the difficult and painful task of directing the affairs of Great Britain, and the two most determined and unvarying opponents of the former administration were naturally included in the present ministry: as I have before observed, they were men of perfectly different characters. Castlereagh returned to the War Office, with the detail of which he was perfectly well acquainted; and Canning was appointed minister for foreign affairs, as being the favourite pupil of Pitt and the inheritor of his doctrines.

From this time a peace with France was no longer thought of; that idea gave place to the determination to engage in a fierce and implacable war against Napoleon, who had now reached the apogée of his glory, and on this point the opinion of Lord Castlereagh was firm and unvarying. His great object was to find the leaven of war, on that continent now humbled under the sword of the Emperor; and, by means of secret springs, to arouse the governments and people, crushed beneath his gigantic power. The influence of France extended from Cadiz to Hamburg, from Antwerp to Trieste; Austria had made peace with her after the sad defeat at Austerlitz; and Prussia, after appearing for a moment as if roused to resistance, had again bowed beneath the yoke. Germany was subject to the Confederation of the Rhine; Switzerland to the predominant mediation of the French empire; Italy was in a state of vassalage under the Iron crown; at Tilsit a friendship had been formed between Russia and France, and the two emperors were about to meet again at Erfurt, to cement the alliance projected at Tilsit, and divide the world between them.

England, therefore, stood alone in the struggle now fiercely undertaken against Napoleon. Castlereagh, who held the same opinions that Mr. Pitt had done, resolutely rejected every attempt at peace with a power whose principle had hitherto been to grasp at every thing, and which appeared resolved it should continue so to be. The Duke of Portland had a degree of rashness, and something chivalrous, in his disposition, which led him to engage boldly in the struggle; and the new connexion between Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington gave him a sort of pre-eminence in the cabinet, which offended the vanity of Canning. Like all political speakers, the minister for foreign affairs aimed at power, and, because he possessed a happy facility in quoting some classical verses acquired at the University, he considered himself fitted to occupy a higher situation than Castlereagh, whose speech was slow and embarrassed. This jealousy increased after the brilliant expedition to Copenhagen, in which the minister of war had displayed very great ability, and the arrangements of which were so perfectly successful that the Danish fleet remained in the power of the English. The opposition in vain declared it was an iniquitous action, contrary to all the principles of the law of nations: but necessity has no law; and was it not absolutely necessary that Great Britain should prevent the coalition of the Danish squadron and the fleet of Antwerp? The lukewarm neutrality of Denmark was not a sufficient guarantee to England, and it was indispensable either to force that government to declare itself, or to destroy a fleet which lay too near the formidable arsenal of Napoleon. Mr. Canning was very jealous of his ministerial colleague; he had always considered himself to hold the first place since the death of Mr. Pitt, and he could not bear that another should share in this renown: this enmity soon burst forth in a striking manner.

The active diplomatic proceedings of England on the Continent had excited the fears of Austria, as to the probable results of a war; the interview at Erfurt determined the cabinet of Vienna to take arms against Napoleon, and England immediately contracted a league of offence and defence with Austria, based upon subsidies which she agreed to furnish.

It was well known that, ever since the commencement of the war in Spain, great dissatisfaction had existed in the French empire against the insatiable ambition of Buonaparte; and several ministers, as for instance Talleyrand and Fouché, had begun to look forward to the possibility of the death or downfall of the Emperor. When generals like Bernadotte were out of favour, one might easily imagine that, in case of the death of Napoleon, or of a military insurrection, the vast empire raised by one man would fall into complete decay and dissolution. This was, from henceforward, the groundwork of the plans of England. It was intended an English army should land in Holland, at the same time that Austria should open the war by an immense military demonstration, and thus effect a rapid popular insurrection. The thing Lord Castlereagh considered of the most importance was the destruction of the fleet and arsenal of Antwerp, in the same manner as the capture of the Danish fleet had formerly been effected; he therefore, as minister of war, made immense preparations for the Walcheren expedition; but,—must it be said?—here commenced the treachery of Mr. Canning towards his country and his colleague. It is incontestable that Mr. Canning furnished information to Fouché, to let him know the intentions of Lord Castlereagh;[51] for when jealousy has taken possession of the heart it listens to nothing. As to his conduct towards his colleague, Canning persuaded the Duke of Portland to get rid of Lord Castlereagh, as a man of a harsh and inflexible disposition, incapable of conducting the war department, or of directing or supporting a debate. In parliament, Mr. Canning wanted to rule over the Tory party, and Lord Castlereagh was an obstacle to his ambitious designs.

The Walcheren expedition failed, and explanations naturally took place between the colleagues. Unfortunate catastrophes are always followed by harsh and bitter words, because no one is willing to stand by the consequences. A feeling was raised against Lord Castlereagh, who was denounced by the Whigs as unfit for his situation. "How had it happened," said they, "that a fine English army had been thus plunged into sickness and misery?" Lord Castlereagh was obliged to defend himself, and the storm which was growling around him rendered it impossible for him to retain his situation; but he wrote a sharp and angry letter, openly accusing Canning, if not of actual treason, at least of underhand practices, which had occasioned all these disasters. Canning replied in a confused manner, by details on the delays that had taken place in the departure of troops, and the wrong address of the despatches; he was only ardent and cutting when he came to personal recriminations against Castlereagh, who, deeply offended, sent a challenge to his adversary. He was thus returning to the early and poetic part of his existence, to the reminiscences of the eccentric youth on the shores of Lough Foyle, where he had fought a duel in the Scandinavian fashion; and now, when he was a serious and reflecting statesman, he considered that in personal questions the only means of terminating a quarrel was by a personal encounter. Canning and Castlereagh fought with pistols: in England people are ready to lay down their lives for an idea or a system; both were brave men, and would not draw back, but Castlereagh was the most fortunate, for Canning was severely wounded. The resignation of the minister of war was nevertheless accepted, while Canning continued in office, and the Duke of Portland pursued the middle course which had occasioned the rupture between his two colleagues.

The situation of parties and of affairs is sometimes such, that a man is possessed of more influence when out of the cabinet than when he actually forms one of the ministry; and the firm and inflexible attitude of Lord Castlereagh, and his implacable hatred towards France, secured him a degree of ascendancy among the Tories, which Canning had striven for in vain. The Wellesleys, then rendered so powerful by the successes of the Duke of Wellington, shared their credit with the ex-minister; and he followed in parliament the energetic political system which infallibly leads to the downfall of all feeble or temporising measures. The ministry of the Duke of Portland and Mr. Canning had already taken some steps towards peace with Buonaparte, but Castlereagh was constantly opposed to it; he agreed with the ministers whenever repressive measures, or any plan favourable to Conservative ideas was in debate, but opposed them when they were inclined to make any concessions to Whiggism, or the idea of peace. By this skilful conduct he gradually rose in public estimation, and when the unfortunate death of Mr. Perceval occasioned the dissolution of the ministry, the Tories proposed Lord Castlereagh as minister for foreign affairs in the room of Mr. Canning.

The situation of Europe at this time rendered it imperatively necessary that the conduct of England should be decided and full of energy. Though it can hardly be said that war was actually on the point of breaking out on the Continent, there were every where the elements of an universal conflagration: Spain had hoisted the signal of independence, and the English armies extended in the Peninsula, from Lisbon to Cadiz. Immediately after he had taken charge of the Foreign Office, Lord Castlereagh was called upon to explain himself concerning the question of peace or war with France. Buonaparte was then on the eve of undertaking the Russian campaign, and in order to give an undeniable proof of his pacific inclinations, and also as a lure to public opinion, he caused M. Maret to write to Lord Castlereagh, proposing peace upon what he termed easy and simple conditions, which reduced themselves to the following points. At Naples and at Madrid, the actual dynasty, and in Portugal and Sicily also the reigning dynasty (without any further explanation). The English minister, being closely connected with Russia, had little inclination to treat with Napoleon; and it was no doubt sarcastically that he proposed the following question to M. Maret,—"First of all, it is necessary to understand what dynasty you are speaking of; in Spain, is it Ferdinand VII. or Joseph Buonaparte? At Naples, is it the House of Bourbon or Murat, that is considered as the actual dynasty?" And when M. Maret replied that his majesty Don Joseph and his majesty Joachim were meant, Lord Castlereagh, with proper spirit, declared any further proceedings were out of the question, because he had nothing to do with these usurpers,—it was only with the legitimate sovereigns of Spain and Naples that England had any connexion. The accession of the leader of the active Tory party, therefore, caused the politics of England to assume a firmer attitude respecting all the affairs of Europe. When Buonaparte undertook his adventurous expedition against Russia, the English minister turned his closest and most careful attention upon Turkey and Sweden, both of which possessed powerful means of action. The negotiation feebly entered into by the agents of M. Maret, had been rendered abortive by the abrupt and imperative character of Buonaparte; and Lord Castlereagh, more fortunate and more adroit, went direct to his object with regard to Bernadotte and the Porte. He knew the Crown Prince was displeased with the haughtiness of Napoleon, and offered him subsidies if he would maintain a strict neutrality, reserving to himself the chance of future events. In his relations with Europe he was still more fortunate in bringing about the peace of Bucharest, which left the Czar master of all his forces. This plan of increasing the strength of the enemies of Buonaparte, and thus depriving him of the necessary alliances, was an admirable mode of attack. The peace of Bucharest enabled the Czar to advance with the army, which attacked Napoleon on the flank and encircled him in its vast coils; and the neutrality observed by Sweden permitted to Russia the disposition of her forces near Riga—a circumstance that did more towards causing the defection of Prussia than people are aware.

The active mind of Lord Castlereagh, and the determined energy which distinguished his character, were more especially manifested in the European movement which led to the fall of Napoleon. In 1813, the whole continent was full of English agents; they were everywhere—at Vienna, at Berlin, and at Stockholm, and even among the secret societies of Germany: for the Tories perceived that the time was come for them to act with vigour, and put an end to the power by which they had so long been threatened. Parliament never presented a more animated or truly national spectacle, or evinced a more unanimous devotion to the cause supported by the old English aristocracy; no sacrifice appeared too great, and subsidies were granted almost without limitation. The disasters of Moscow had inflamed all hearts, and with the assistance of one magic word, Liberation, the plans most hostile to Napoleon were realised. Treaties of alliance and subsidy were concluded by Lord Castlereagh with almost all the powers of Europe; and in order more completely to identify himself with his system, the minister appointed his brother, Sir Charles Stewart, to a special mission to the courts of Prussia and Sweden. This officer, now Marquis of Londonderry, was sent as commissioner with the English armies, and has himself published his despatches addressed to him whom he mentions as his illustrious brother. The English commissioners, who all received appointments both military and political, were at the same time soldiers, negotiating agents, and commandants of troops. We see in these despatches the painful efforts made by Sir Charles Stewart to produce some degree of unity in the coalesced camp. As England was paying armies to the right and left, with unheard-of liberality, she was desirous of retaining the political direction of events in her own hands, and as this supremacy encountered obstacles raised by the spirit of calculation and of self-love, it was necessary to be perpetually engaged in discussions with the generals-in-chief and the government. Sir Charles was at that time a young man, with a warm temper and some pride of birth; and Bernadotte, in spite of his doubtful position, preserved a certain degree of personal dignity: this led to perpetual differences of opinion, and even to quarrels, which required the skilful and moderate interference of the Russian commissioner, Count Pozzo di Borgo. Sir Charles having conceived a feeling of mistrust regarding Bernadotte, no doubt with reason, watched him closely, and his elevated position as brother to the Prime Minister of England invested him with an undoubted superiority in all negotiations. The attitude of England at that time was so proud! I am not acquainted with any period in the history of empires more magnificent, from the energy displayed, than that of England from the year 1792 to 1814; and this energy led to the general rising of Europe against Napoleon. Castlereagh was the soul of it, for the elements of which the English ministry were then composed were subject to his power; indeed when a character of great strength is anywhere met with, every thing gives way to his influence, for a superior mind never fails to be acknowledged. Lord Liverpool was no doubt a man of great consideration, and he held the first place officially in the cabinet; but when Europe began to rouse herself from her sleep, Castlereagh gave so powerful an impulse to the English diplomacy that it very soon ruled the world: let us now see what an immense task she had to perform.