Volume II Part 27 (1/2)

Wyndham is every way advantageous.

GEORGE R.

It is hardly necessary to observe that Mr. Wyndham was sent upon his mission; and that the Duke of York, having met some further reverses, which almost incapacitated the troops from acting even on the defensive, shortly afterwards returned to England.

LORD GRENVILLE TO MR. THOMAS GRENVILLE.

(Private.) St. James's Square, Aug. 29th, 1794.

MY DEAREST BROTHER,

The despatch which you will receive by this messenger, and the letter which Wyndham has promised to write to you from the British head-quarters, will explain to you the whole of the system which we have adopted, as affording the only hope of vigorous or successful exertion. The Austrian Government is already prepared for your proposal, respecting the giving to Lord Cornwallis the command of the whole combined force, as Count Starhemberg is apprized of it, having, indeed, himself in a great degree suggested the measure, on some general hints which I threw out to him, in order to try the ground. For the moment, the great point seems to be to bring them to acquiesce in the virtual command which his rank of Field-Marshal will give him over Clairfayt, and to send positive orders to the latter to that effect; and if there should be any difficulty in Clairfayt's submitting to this, then to let Clairfayt absent himself for the moment, and leave the Austrian troops under the command of some officer whose standing will occasion no difficulty in this respect. You will observe that, by virtual command, we mean precisely the same deference as the Duke of York has shown to the Prince of Coburg, not extending to any of the points of military etiquette by which command is usually rendered ostensible, but going to the effect of complying with his suggestions respecting the mode of executing the operations agreed upon in concert, when the instructions of his Court do not interfere with such suggestions. Before you receive this letter, Lord Cornwallis will probably be on the spot; and it is therefore urgent, to prevent the first beginnings of dissension, that no time should be lost in making the Austrians give their orders to Clairfayt. Knowing the delay of that Government, and the difficulty of getting them to adopt any decided line of conduct, we have thought it best to do the thing first, and afterwards to try to obtain their consent to it. If you succeed, or, indeed, in any case, it will be useful that you should write directly to Lord C. upon the subject, as that may save a week, at a time when a week's delay might be of the utmost importance.

With respect to the Duke of York, Wyndham will probably tell you in confidence how he succeeds in his negotiation. It certainly is a pretty strong instance of zeal and desire to facilitate whatever can promote the cause, when he undertakes a task of no less difficulty than the reconciling the mind of a young Prince to a supercession in his military command, and that too at the precise moment of moving forwards, after so mortifying a retreat. I am, however, not without hopes of his success; and, at all events, the moment was too critical to suffer any consideration to interfere with the only means of salvation that appeared practicable.

With respect to the languor of the Austrian Government, and the doubt whether even money will obtain from them decisive efforts, we have strongly felt the force of all that you have stated on that head. But we are inclined to flatter ourselves, that if we once obtain so large a force as is mentioned in my despatch, and can put that force, in addition to our own, under the absolute and supreme direction of such a man as Lord Cornwallis, we shall at least be able to say to ourselves, whatever be the result, that we have done everything that it was possible to do; and without trying this measure, I confess for one that I should not have that sentiment in my mind. I lament that we have thought ourselves obliged to bring forward the discussion of a precise barrier, and yet I do not see how it could be avoided. But the impression may be very bad on their minds, if we appear to be narrowing the benefits which they are to derive from exertion, instead of animating them by the hope of increased advantage. I have not dwelt on this point in my despatch, as you mention that you intended to write further upon it.

When the idea of transferring the subsidy was opened to me by Starhemberg, from Merey's instructions it was expressly stated, as a part of the plan, that the empire could be made to subsidize the Prussian troops; and this agrees with every information we receive on the subject, all which concur in stating the efforts of the empire, particularly in money, as being very far below what they could be brought to make by the joint exertions of Austria and Prussia. But on my pressing Starhemberg for further detail on this point, he has always avoided it, a.s.suring me, whether truly or not, that he found no particulars respecting it among Merey's papers.

You will see that in the despatch we make the whole dependent on a complete and _bona fide_ execution of this point, and my language to him has always been of the same nature. But I confess that it is on this point that I feel the strongest apprehensions, and I much fear that Austria will both be disposed to evade it, and, in truth, unable to accomplish it. Should this be the case, the whole plan must be abandoned; and we should, I believe, in that event, be disposed to turn our subsidy to the object of raising other force, of whatever nature, so as, if possible, to form a separate British and Dutch army, destined to act under Lord Cornwallis, without the pretence or show of concert with either of the German Powers.

With respect to your remaining at Vienna, you will easily conceive, that having a project of this nature to propose, none of us thought we should give it its fair chance if we put it into other hands than those in which the business now is. We allow for your natural desire of quitting a scene which, G.o.d knows, must be mortifying enough to men who feel how much of the safety of Europe depends on the conduct of the Austrian Government, and who see how unfit that Government is to be trusted with the interests of the smallest corporation. But we are confident that as long as there may remain the hope of doing so much good as would, we trust, be done by the complete success of the present plan, you will not be unwilling to give your a.s.sistance to it.

With respect to what you mention about yourself, you know my wishes on the subject, but I certainly will not urge them beyond what you are disposed to do. The proposal Lord Fitzwilliam makes to you is, I fairly own, in my apprehension, one less eligible than that of Vienna; but I fear a nearer view of that Court has rather strengthened than diminished your indisposition to that situation.

You know, as well as I do, all the _desagremens_ belonging to the post of Irish Secretary; but it is certainly an important and honourable one, and such as to afford you ample room for showing yourself such as you are: more, perhaps, than many others which commonly rank higher in public estimation. My objection to it is the banishment, which obtains as much as in the foreign missions, and certainly to the most disagreeable of all countries. I do not know well how to make myself quite a disinterested adviser; but if I was to give you fairly the result of my thoughts upon it, I should still beg you to look at the foreign line, and if that must not be, I should then say _yes_ to the question of Ireland.

Supposing that _yes_ were decided, let me ask you whether your remaining some time longer at Vienna, so as finally to conclude, not the leading points only, but all the details of the arrangement now in question, and of the preparations for the active scene of next year, is wholly out of the question? It seems very clear that no arrangement will happen before that time which can change the Irish Government, and in the meanwhile you would be honourably and _most usefully_ employed. I have, however, not hinted this idea to any individual, nor will I. If all this is wholly out of the question, I conclude that my reply to your answer to these despatches, will bring to Lord Spencer and you the King's permission to return to England.

It would be very satisfactory to you to see how well things are going on here, and how completely our hopes have been realized on the subject which employed so much of our time and thoughts this summer.

G.o.d bless you, my dearest brother.

At this time, the new changes in the Administration, already alluded to, were under discussion in the Cabinet; and, amongst the rest, it was proposed that the government of Ireland should be offered to Lord Fitzwilliam. As soon as this appointment was suggested, his Lords.h.i.+p wrote to Mr. Thomas Grenville to offer him the office of Secretary.

MR. THOMAS GRENVILLE TO EARL FITZWILLIAM.

(Private.) Vienna, Aug. 30th, 1794, DEAR LORD FITZWILLIAM,

You will already have heard enough of our proceedings here to give you no considerable expectations of any great good to be done here; and if you happen to have been in London, and to have read a very tedious and long letter which I wrote on the 24th to the Duke of Portland, you will have seen there, more at large than it is necessary to repeat, the general view and impression of our minds as to the business with which we are charged; and the little ground which there appears to us for hoping that even by satisfying their pecuniary demands, we could depend upon such exertions being made in consequence, as the country would expect in return for expense of so great and heavy a scale. It is very true, to be sure, that in this as well as in many other cases, the difficulties present themselves something more readily than the remedies to them, yet upon the question of the subsidy, if we are right in our conception that it would not probably produce, either in degree or in shape, that energy and cordial co-operation which we are looking for, perhaps no difficulty could be much more serious than that of engaging ourselves at home in an expense, the disappointment of which might produce in the minds of the public an effect, both with respect to the war itself and with respect to the Government which supports it, of the most perilous description. It is very true that great objects must sometimes be pursued at great hazards, and n.o.body is more ready than I to acknowledge that a greater object cannot be found than the successful prosecution of this war; but the peculiar question of subsidy seems to me to apply chiefly to the mode of carrying on the war, and, I would hope, not to the entire decision of pursuing or abandoning it.

I will not again go over the same detail which I pursued in my letter to the Duke of Portland, but satisfy myself with recalling to your observation, that the Government here, in speaking of the exertions which they should be driven to the necessity of making, if the French should threaten the German empire, plainly admitted that they do still possess resources capable of being applied to such critical exigencies, and in this confession show pretty plainly that nothing but the necessity of the case will drive them to the use of those means. Is it not then probable that a much greater exertion may be made by that necessity existing in our refusal of subsidy, than will be made by such pecuniary a.s.sistance being given, as may relieve them from the necessity of making any exertion of their own?

If the immediate alarm on the side of Holland seems to be a considerable inducement to the grant of the subsidy, in order to interest Austria in that very important defence of which the Netherlands make so essential a part, it should not, on the other hand, escape notice, that all our observation on their language and views would lead us very much to doubt how far they would cordially concur in the defence of the Netherlands, even though they might consent to do so in the words of their contract; whatever value they may or may not themselves put upon the possession of the Low Countries, they always argue and act under the manifest persuasion, that the Maritime Powers are alone interested enough in this point to secure its being ultimately carried, and they give it pretty plainly to be understood, that they mean to depend upon us for that object. Under this view, they seem to me always disposed to consider the operations of the Austrian army in another campaign as likely to be concentered for efforts from the German frontier, by which means they will have a more collected force more immediately applying to the Imperial dominions, and better suited to the jealousies which they entertain of the King of Prussia, but certainly not best adapted to the defence of Holland, and the recovery of Brabant.

Perhaps I may be considered as carrying these suspicions too far, but I own I cannot help fearing too, that the suggestion made by them of mortgaging the Low Countries to us, is not as security for the money in question in this and the next campaign, is not a _bona fide_ offer of their best security, but is considered by them as a fresh motive for interesting us in their possession of those territories, and as contributing the more to make that object our business, by either taking upon ourselves the whole defence of them, or, what they rather look to, by our purchasing the cession of them at the peace, by some of the acquisitions which Great Britain has made in the war: a measure which they may have the more hope for our concurrence in, if we have two millions lent out upon the security only of the Austrians regaining those territories at the peace.

Do not believe that these impressions are taken from any starving principle of economy, or from a too timid apprehension of the unpopularity of a subsidy in England; but be a.s.sured, that even if there should be no difficulty at home as to this demand being acquiesced in, I should retain the same doubts as to any expectation of proportionate advantages resulting from it, and should be inclined to believe that even if the whole amount of the subsidy was to be expended, it might be more advantageously used in the purchase of Hessians, Swiss, or any other such troops absolutely at our disposal, in addition to the Austrians, than in the proposed purchase of increased vigour and activity in the government and army of this country: you cannot buy what they have not to sell.

Sept. 14th, 1791.

The former part of this letter had already been written before I received yours of the 11th of August, which did not reach me till the 2nd instant. I am very sincerely rejoiced to find by it that you have made your decision for Ireland, because I believe that much good may be done there, by your taking that heavy load upon your shoulders; and although you are wanted enough both in London and Yorks.h.i.+re, I am persuaded that for public objects you are still most wanted at Dublin. I am not enough acquainted with the interior there, to judge how far the means (as Government now stands) are competent to the end, or to what degree you may be able to supply all those links of connection between the two countries, which have latterly appeared to be very much worn away and broken through. I presume that it will be found easy enough to continue the same negative course of administration, and that it will be a work of great difficulty and delicacy for you to do all that you will think should be done; I am, therefore, from a strong persuasion of the arduousness of the task, well pleased to know that it is in such good hands.