Volume III Part 14 (1/2)

Decee Head: STATE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

My brother Henry cao to take the place of _precis_ writer in the Foreign Office Just before he started old Pozzo gave hi that he would give the world for an hour's conversation with him These communications were evidently enerally congenial

He said that the affairs of Belgiurown insolent, andtheir portion of the debt and to keep the disputed Duchies, and that _unfortunately_ the conduct of the King of Holland had not been such as to entitle hiood and tranquillity prevailed; in Spain nothing could be worse, and he told the Duke to be on his guard against what Alava should say to him, 'qui n'avait pas le sens coht _endoctriner_ hiave it to the Duke; but however disposed he may be to enter into Pozzo's views, he will probably soon be obliged to take a tone very unpleasant to Russia, for I find that the affairs of Turkey are in such a state that they are to be brought under the ireat object of the late Governet the Porte out of the clutches of Russia The Sultan is a hout his do of hatred against Russia prevails Our policy has been to induce the Sultan to throw off the yoke--by promises of assistance on one hand, and ainst him Hitherto, however, the Sultan has never been induced to bestir himself It is evident that if this matter is taken up seriously, and with a resolution to curb the power of Russia in the East, the greatest diploment and fir; and how under these circumstances the Duke can send Londonderry, and how Peel can have consented to his nomination, I am at a loss to conceive It appears just worse than what Palmerston did, which was to send nobody at all In all this complication of interests in the East, France is ready to act with us if ill let her, and Austria lies like a great log, favouring Russia and opposing her inertlike _mouvement_, no matter hat object or in what quarter

1835

January 1st, 1835 {p183}

Parliament dissolved at last, and all speculation about the elections will soon be settled in certainty It is remarkable what confidence is expressed by both sides Three Tories stand for the City; but Ward told me they rather expected to run their opponents hard than to coth would be iton is so well aware of the obstacle that he is to Stanley's joining the Governinally, and he is nowhis retreat, in order to open the way for Stanley It cannot be denied that he has acted very nobly throughout this business, and upon nothing but a sense of duty, without regard for himself Some doubts have occurred toso entirely without a party proves that he is not held in very high estilad to see a better set of names in the various offices (which are for the ether like to see the Duke of Wellington retire out of deference to such men as the four ould succeed him, and those ould have to retire with hi the other day He wrote to the Duke about so--no matter what, but I believe some appoints to call the attention of the Duke to the _theoretical_ state of Persia' The Duke replied that he are of the importance of Persia, but submitted that it was a e Head: STATE OF THE CONStitUENCIES]

Yesterday I dined with Robarts, and after dinner he gave h (Maidstone), and as it is a tolerably fair saenerality of boroughs, and of the principles and disposition of their constituencies, I will put it down There are 1,200 voters; the Dissenters are very nuinable sect and persuasion He has been member seventeen years; the place very corrupt Formerly (before the Reform Bill), when the constituency was less numerous, the matter was easily and siularly fixed as the price of bread--so le vote and so much for a plumper, and this he had to pay

After the Reform Bill he resolved to pay no more money, as corruption was to cease The consequence was that during his canvass none of the people who had formerly voted for him would promise him their votes They all sulked and hesitated, and, in short, waited to see ould be offered them I asked him ere the new constituencies 'If possible worse than the old' The people are generally alive to public affairs--look into the votes and speeches of ive their opinions--but are universally corrupt They have a sour feeling against what are nicknaainst _sinnicures_, as they call thes while they are forced to work all day long and their fa object a the whole coh he says there are some exceptions, they are very few indeed Robarts too is a Refor Governments; but he does so (like many others) from fear What he most dreads is collision, and most desires is quiet, and he thinks non-resistance the best way There is no reason to believe that other constituencies materially differ from this; what therefore is the result? Power has been transferred to a low class of persons; so low as to be dissatisfied and h to be half-instructed; so poor that money is an object to theetting it in any way they can: they may, on the whole, be considered as disaffected towards existing institutions, for when they contrast their own life of labour and privation with the wealth and splendour which they see around the the is in the nature of the institutions theeneral considerations make thes, and strive to introduce changes; but as their ienerally at the disposal of the highest bidder, whatever his politics may be

January 3rd, 1835 {p185}

They can find nobody to go to India Lord Ellenborough (by Peel's desire) wrote to the Duke and asked his advice, at the sa Sir Jaht it better not to have anything to do with that party at present; that the best o, or such a man as Lord Fitzroy So known to him, and had served under himself, but because he was a very able man, and the best man of business he was acquainted with Keh said that the more he looked into Indian affairs, thea Governor-General Whether by this he means to imply that Lord William Bentinck has done ill, I know not; but he is always said to have done ad, not long ago, he told hin policy of the Govern the confidence of his underlings, and of the crowd of fools and females who follow the camp, it is clear that the Duke and Peel are both sensible of the danger of their situation

January 4th, 1835 {p186}

There is every prospect of a miserable defeat of the Conservatives in the City, which will be doubly disastrous, first as to the election, which is an io far to neutralise the effect of the faeent; then they did a very foolish thing in ousting Pattison from Harwich to make room for Bonham; if they had left Pattison alone (which Harris had, I believe, pledged himself should be done), Lyall would have come in for the City, and perhaps Ward too; but when the electioneering affairs are left to William Peel, Ross, and Granville Somerset, no wonder there is not much dexterity and finesse displayed I have published a pamphlet to help them; but as I never put my name to my pamphlets, of course nobody reads thee Head: ST AULAIRE AND PRINCESS METTERNICH]

Sebastiani is coes his mind and pleads ill-health The French Govern our consent, and when the Duke stated it to the Cabinet, objections werethat the Cabinet thought the appointment objectionable, and that there would be difficulties in transacting business with him The French Government expressed surprise, and rather insist upon their appointment, and as ours does not think it worth while to have a dispute about it, he is to come; but we think they have behaved very ill, for the Duke never proposed the Paris Embassy to Lord Cowley till he had communicated with France, and ascertained that the no

It was expected that St Aulaire or Latour-Maubourg would have come here It is of Madame de St Aulaire that Talleyrand said, 'Elle cherche l'esprit que son mari trouve' (This anecdote I suspect not to be true, or not true of Madareeable woman, more lively and with more _finesse d'esprit_ than her husband)

St Aulaire is Ambassador at Vienna, and, however clever, he either wants presence ofanecdote shows Madaht up, impertinent, _insouciante_, and _assez bourrue_--_au reste_, quick and a She went to a ball at St Aulaire's with a fine coronet of diamonds on, and when he came to receive her he said, 'Mon dieu, madame, quelle belle couronne vous avez sur la tete!' 'Au moins,' said she, 'ce n'est par une couronne que j'ai volee'

Instead of turning it into a joke, he made a serious affair of it, and went the next day to Metternich with a formal complaint; but Metternich said, 'Mais mon cher, que voulez-vous? Vous voyez que j'ai epouse une femme sans education; je ne puis pas l'empecher de dire de pareilles sottises, mais vous sentez bien que ce serait fort inconvenant pour moi de m'en meler Allons! il n'y faut plus penser,' and so turned it off, and turned hi a joke of the affair, as St Aulaire had better have done at first

January 7th, 1835 {p187}

Just as ht have been expected, the Conservative candidates in the City are defeated by an enormous majority Pattison, the Governor of the Bank, the Liberal candidate who ca been proposed by Jones Loyd,[2] the richest banker in the City, and perhaps the richest man in Europe[3]

Such outward demonstrations as these unquestionably afford a very plausible answer to the opposite cry, and the victory on the Radical side is great and important Ward told me they should at least run therievous; still it is asserted that the greatest part of the wealth of the City will be found in the columns of the address--but then the votes are in the other scale The elections, as far as they have gone, are rather against the Govern any material difference in numbers--sufficient, however, to prove that, in point of fact, Peel's declarations have produced little or no effect, and that the various considerations that have been urged on the country and the appeals to its reason have been all alike throay

[2] [Mr Jones Loyd, afterwards created Lord Overstone]

[3] [The four City members were: Matthew Wood, Jae Grote]

I saw a letter which Barnes wrote to Henry de Ros yesterday, in which he speaks with horror and alar spirit