The Diplomatists of Europe

by M. Capefigue

This agitated situation lasted nearly five years; the counties were in a blaze; and at last the Queen's trial became the pretext for fresh disorders. No one could take any interest in a queen who, in the decline of life, had carried on her intrigues in Syria, in Greece, and in Italy, with true English disregard of public opinion, which is in itself an eccentricity. Every one was aware of the irregularities of the Princess of Wales, now queen by the death of George III., and retaining in her service the witness and partaker of her excesses, her chamberlain, Bergami. But the Radical party did not look so closely at the affair; all they wanted was a pretext to excite the public mind, and they had recourse to the queen's trial as a means of occasioning riot and disorder. The Tories, deeply sensible of the embarrassed state of the country, and desirous, if possible, of avoiding a scandalous trial, proposed a middle course to the princess. Her name was not to be mentioned in the Liturgy, but she would still be queen, only she would be required to remain abroad, constantly travelling about, and a large pecuniary allowance would be made to her; but upon the Radical party being consulted, the old queen refused all the offers, and a long and disgraceful trial was obliged to take place. Lord Castlereagh determined upon the measure with firm and respectful energy; the more unwilling he had been to resort to this mode of proceeding, the more vigorously he was resolved to carry it through. When we contemplate the angelic figure of Anne Boleyn, beside the gross and sensual Henry VIII., every one feels a strong and lively interest in the unfortunate victim; but who could have the slightest feeling for a queen grown old with the most degrading passions?

The minister here again was opposed by his old adversary Canning, who was then aiming at extreme popularity. He had constituted himself the Queen's champion, not because he esteemed her, but because this course furnished him with the means of the most violent opposition to the ministry over which Castlereagh presided. The trial began, and was followed by debates, and the disgraceful and disgusting revelations are too well known. The oratorical fame of Brougham and Canning was greatly augmented by these proceedings; their popularity became immense, and their opponents were visited with a degree of reprobation to which men of distinguished capacity must accustom themselves in the course of their painful and wearisome task.

All these domestic events occurred at a period when Europe, still full of agitation, was constantly holding congresses, in order to declare her principles, or to decide upon general arrangements. Since the declaration of Alexander, bearing the title of the Holy Alliance, England had taken up a separate position; her statesmen, more especially Lord Castlereagh, had declared the principles of that convention to be too vague to allow the English ministers to admit them, under their legal responsibility. From this first separation of interests from the rest of Europe, two political systems resulted: the one Russian, whose ascendency over the congress was almost absolute; the other English, which opposed any general deliberation upon interests now divided.

Lord Castlereagh assumed this position when he attended the congresses of Troppau and Laybach; he signed the protocols without adopting the ideas of the Holy Alliance, but simply as the consequence of the treaties of 1815 and the articles of the congress of Vienna. In his conversations with Metternich he advanced this principle, that, although Europe might enter into an agreement to repress disturbances affecting the security of crowned heads, she neither could, nor ought to interfere with any modifications which a people might freely and spontaneously choose to make in their respective governments. This declaration referred to several very important questions that had lately arisen: first, the separation of the Spanish colonies from the mother-country; secondly, the disturbances in Greece; and, thirdly, the revolution in Spain. The emancipation of the Spanish colonies of an ancient date originated in the commercial interests of England, which constantly require to be satisfied; the markets opened by peace must replace those of war, and a new world was requisite for the overflow of her manufactures; under this point of view, therefore, the emancipation of the Spanish colonies secured a market to England, she henceforth became favourable to their independence, and her consuls resided with their exequatur in these colonies. Lord Castlereagh's position at this juncture was rather delicate; for with one hand he favoured the sedition of the colonies, and with the other he severely repressed the riots in the English counties.

Being a partisan of the emancipation of the colonies, he naturally felt no repugnance towards the government of the Cortes at Madrid. What is considered of importance in England, is not the form of government adopted by a power, but its tendency with regard to herself and her interests. She seldom breaks a lance for a mere chivalrous idea. Both Whigs and Tories are equally actuated by the same spirit of national selfishness, which is, in fact, patriotism; and, while holding this doctrine, that England is not to meddle with the internal form of government, the path remains open, so that they can decide according as interest advises. With regard to the emancipation of the Greeks, Lord Castlereagh viewed it in its true light, without weakness, and without sentimental feelings, allowing the question to rest on the ground of Russia and Turkey: thus, to emancipate the Greeks would be to aggrandise Russia, open to her the gates of the Bosphorus, and drive the Turks into Asia, and this policy would be unfaithful and puerile as far as the interests of England were concerned; it was, on the contrary, most advantageous to her to protect the Ottoman empire by the British flag, to develope her strength, and create in that country a commercial alliance for herself. Thus at the same time to give a new world to industry, by the emancipation of the Spanish colonies, to take no heed of the revolutions at Naples and in Spain, but watch Russia and restrain any ambitious projects she might have formed, by supporting the Porte: such were the politics of Lord Castlereagh in the first five years that succeeded his vigorous contest with Napoleon.

The disturbances in England had begun to subside, when the ancient civil war was again renewed in Ireland between the Orangemen and the Catholics; it was a constantly recurring quarrel, as between two races who entertained the greatest detestation for each other. All the people who thought seriously on the subject felt that something must be done for the Catholics; the reason for the former oppression having ceased to exist, Ireland could not always remain in a state of slavery. Lord Castlereagh was well acquainted with this country, where his youth had been passed, and, whenever business left him leisure, was accustomed to visit the ancient towers of Londonderry, the beautiful lakes, and the old fishermen, whom his munificence assisted in rebuilding their villages and their boats, portioning their daughters, or increasing their own comforts. The bill for the admission of the Catholic lords into parliament was then in debate; it was opposed by the Orange party in Ireland, and, after passing the House of Commons, was thrown out by the Lords; and this was the cause of the sanguinary troubles which again threw Ireland into the most fearful state of disorder. The ministry shewed no indulgence, for the country was deluged with blood; and Lord Wellesley, then lord-lieutenant, declared at last that, if they were desirous of saving that country, more agitated than the ocean, it must be placed under a most vigorous system of legislative exception.[52] The old laws of the conquest were put in force against the parties of Whiteboys who ravaged the country, but by degrees these demonstrations gave way before the severe measures used to repress them.

As soon as order was restored, it was necessary the ministry should take measures to relieve the sufferings of the three kingdoms, and they devoted themselves with the greatest attention to their difficult task. It is a historical truth worthy of the remembrance of agitators, that they occasion the slavery of all for the sake of the vain pleasure they derive from some ovations to themselves. Despotism is the successor of disorder, and there is more influence in reason and resignation than in the noisy acclamations of the public streets. O'Connell appears to me, to be just the man destined to bring about the complete subjection of Ireland; he will be the destroyer of his country for the sake of a little personal vanity, for the applause of 100,000 men, collected round the hustings. The Tories did every thing that was possible for Ireland when it was quiet: the emancipation of the Catholics was promoted by the Wellesleys, nor did they stop there.

Lord Castlereagh, deeply sensible that there was real suffering among all classes of the people, now unfolded his vast plan of economy, with all the logic of Pitt in his admirable budget of 1798. Taking his ground on the existence of much distress in the agricultural districts, and in the principles of credit, he proceeded at once to retrenchments. The expenses of the army and navy were reduced by two millions sterling a-year; the interest of the public debt was reduced from 5 to 4 per cent; and the sinking fund was considerably increased.[53] These measures permitted the decrease of imposts, the suppression of all additional taxes, and a system of loans to agriculture by means of the bank, the grand instrument he always had recourse to, in order to make advances to parishes, and more especially to the producers of corn, so as always to keep down the price. It was an earnest undertaking, and the last he had to carry on during this session. In the meanwhile he could not fail to observe that the renown of his old adversary, Canning, was marvellously increasing; he was becoming a popular character, he was the favourite of the mob, while the firm and persevering minister who had aroused the world, and saved England, was branded with reprobation by the populace, who broke the panels of his carriage. Ought he to allow himself—he, so proud and haughty, to be drawn into the wake of Canning, on the boundless waste of revolutionary ideas? Partially reconciled to his adversary on the Catholic question, his lordship took only a secondary part in the debate; and he was stung by the conviction, that, while in foreign relations his influence was overpowered by the Holy Alliance, at home Canning was the person considered most necessary to the administration, because he was better suited to the new liberal situation in which they were becoming entangled; and he repeatedly expressed his grief and vexation at this circumstance. In England, where public questions are adopted like a mission, and the feelings of statesmen on the subject are deep and interwoven in their whole being, the destruction of a system involves that of the man. Mr. Pitt was killed by the battle of Austerlitz, and Lord Castlereagh belonged to that noble school. He whose life had commenced in so poetical a manner, who had feared neither single combat, nor the dangers of the raging waves in his shipwreck on the Isle of Man, could not be afraid of death; but as his hour drew near, his disposition became extremely irritable, and he expressed himself in parliament with a degree of bitterness and sullen haughtiness: I should almost say he looked with pity and contempt upon the opposition of the Whigs, who were advancing towards fresh storms and disturbances. There are times when people wish to have done with a situation which oppresses them, and with adversaries of whom they are weary; they utter their last words to their face, and after that they die without regret.

Lord Castlereagh announced his intention of visiting the Continent, with the intention, if not of being present at the congress of Verona, at least of meeting the assembled sovereigns there; and Canning was in hopes that, when his colleague had once left England, he would send in his resignation, and consequently leave him at the head of affairs. But matters were more rapidly drawing to a close: Lord Castlereagh had been unwell for several days, and there was every appearance of extreme nervous irritability about him; some expressions that fell from his lips shewed that he had some sinister ideas in his head, and when he went to take leave of the king, the state of his mind did not escape the monarch, who had a great esteem for him. From that time he constantly complained of a feeling of oppression in his head, and his physician, Dr. Bankhead, reported that when he visited him he was calm, though there were symptoms of impatience and caprice in his manner, and a few short and hurried words were all that he could draw from him; he let fall some observations on the troubles of life which raised apprehensions of suicide, and he was watched: but on Monday, the 12th of August, 1822, just as his physician entered his dressing-room, Lord Castlereagh uttered these few words: "Doctor, let me fall on your arm; it is all over!" and fell with the heaviness of a corpse. The blood was flowing in torrents, from a deep wound which he had inflicted in the carotid artery, with a small penknife he had concealed in a letter-case. Such was the end of the man, who had conducted the affairs of England with so much firmness and consistency for the last ten years!