Volume III Part 24 (1/2)
Emperor Nicholas's Speech at Warsaw--His respect for opinion in England--Burdett proposes the expulsion of O'Connell frorave Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershi+re--Dispute between France and Aation of a Patent--Should Dr Arnold be made a Bishop?-- Frederic Elliot--O'Connell's mischievous influence--Bretby-- Chesterfield MSS--The Portfolio--Lord Cottenha of Parliament--The Judicial Committee-- Poulett Thomson at the Board of Trade--Mr Perceval's intervieith the Ministers--Prospects of the Tories--Lord Stanley's relations to them--Holland House Anecdotes-- Mischievous Effects of the division on his Address--The youth of Macaulay--Brougham and Macaulay--Lord William Bentinck-- Review of Sir R Peel's conduct--Dr Haes
November 17th, 1835 {p319}
Since I have been in London, onto note The O'Connell and Raphael wrangle goes on, and will probably coreater sensation at Paris than here; there, however, all other sensations are absorbed in that which the Emperor of Russia's speech at Warsaw has produced, and which indicates an excitement, or ferocity, very like insanity[1]
Melbourne mentioned at dinner on Sunday that it was not only quite correctly reported--rather _under_stated--but that after he had so delivered hilish Consul in the street, took hied him not to be _too hard_ upon him in his report to his Government I was not present, but Henry de Ros ho told it me I a curiosity of the anecdote, evincing on the part of the autocrat, in the midst of the insolence of unbridled power, a sort of consciousness of responsibility to European opinion, and a deferential dread of that of England in particular
[1] [This was the first time the Emperor Nicholas had visited Poland since the Revolution of 1830, and he took the opportunity to express hie of excessive severity to theto lay the city in ruins if the Poles rebelled again]
Novey showed ton to the Duke of cu, but in which there was this which struck lish who had been to the reviews at Kalisch had been very ill received, and that even those to whoiven letters of introduction had experienced nothing but incivility, and that he regretted having had the presuine that any recons or their Ministers--a curious exhibition of pique, for what I believe to be an i that he is very sensitive, and yet has no strong feelings; but this is after all only one of the fore Head: SOCIAL LAW]
Burdett has written a letter to the ers of Brooks's, to propose the expulsion of O'Connell It will do no good; these abortive atte hiives hireat deal of very proper indignation was throay, and O'Connell had the satisfaction of baffling his antagonists, and obtaining a sort of recognition of his assuood argument either way On the one side is the perilous exanizance of acts of its members, private or political, which do not concern the club, or have no local reference to it--a principle, if once adulate and control the application, and probably be productive of greater evils than those it would be intended to reether peculiar; it is such a one as can hardly ever occur again, and thereforean exception from ordinary rules, because it not only cannot be drawn into a precedent, but the very circu so treated must prevent the possibility of its recurrence There exists a code of social lahich is universally subscribed to, as necessary and indispensable for the preservation of social hariven public notice that he is self-ees none of the restraints, and will submit to none of the penalties, by which the intercourse of society is regulated and kept in order; and having thus surrounded himself with all the ier he is bold, out of the reach of sha that he is specially bound to guard his language with the iously froions of scurrility and abuse inaccessible to all other men, and he riots in invective and insult with a scornful and ostentatious exhibition of his invulnerability, which renders him an object of execration to all those who cherish the principles and the feelings of honour
Novelooe Villiers at Madrid; he attributes the Spanish difficultieselse, who, he says, is playing false diabolically Mendizabal is very able, but ill surrounded; no other public man of any merit Parties are violent and individuals foolish, norant--out of such eleood can come? His letters (to his , very ritten, clever, lively; he seems a little carried away by the vanity and the excitement of the part he plays, and I observe a want of steadiness in his opinions and a disposition to waver in his views from day to day; whereas it does not appear to me as if the state of Spain depended upon diurnal circureat causes interwoven with, and deeply seated in, the _positive_ state of society and the moral and political condition of the nation
December 4th, 1835 {p322}
A letter I wrote the other day about O'Connell appeared on Tuesday in the 'Ti (Tory) papers all copied it, and I heard it was talked of Yesterday there appeared an answer of O'Connell's to Burdett's letter--very short, but very clever; and those who know Burdett say, well calculated to mortify and annoy hiht the Raphael case ought to and would beRice, whoht it a clear case of bribery Lord Segrave has got the Gloucestershi+re Lieutenancy, and this appointraceful in itself, exhibits all thesysteood Lord-Lieutenant) He was in London as soon as the breath was out of the Duke of Beaufort's body, went to Melbourne, and clai three land now returned 'My brothers,' he said, 'the electors do not know by sight; it is my influence which returns them' The appeal was irresistible, and 'We are three' was as imperative with Melbourne as 'We are seven' ith the Duke of Newcastle The scarcity of the commodity enhances its value, and now that nominations are swept away, the feho are still fortunate enough to possess sorave's three brothers, thrown (as they would without scruple have been) into the opposite scale, would have nearly turned it There is a very respectable Whig (Lord Ducie) in the county, whom everybody pointed out as the fittest successor to the late Duke; but he has not three members, and if he had, he would not shake them _in terrorem_ over Melbourne's head
Decee Head: AMERICA AND FRANCE]
Our Governreat alarm lest this dispute between the French and Americans should produce a war, and the way in which we should be affected by it is this:[2]--Our i population is dependent upon America for a supply of cotton, and in case of any obstruction to that supply, multitudes would be thrown out of employment, and incalculable distress would follow
They think that the French would blockade the American ports, and then such obstruction would be inevitable A system like ours, which resembles a vast piece of er to the whole, must be always liable to interruption or injury froersystem to the prejudice of other interests; so that in case of a stoppage or serious interruption to the current in which it flows the consequences would be appalling; nor is there in all probability a nation on the Continent (our good ally Louis Philippe included) that would not gladly contribute to the humiliation of the power and diminution of the wealth of this country
[2] [This dispute arose from the detention of American shi+ps by the Emperor Napoleon under the Continental systeotiation lasted twenty years At length General Jackson, the American President, insisted on payment, and the French Government settled the matter for twenty-five e in the French Ministry]
December 16th, 1835 {p323}
Dined with Sefton the day before yesterday to meet the Hollands; sat between Allen and Luttrell Melbourne was there in roaring spirits; met me very cordially, and after dinner said, 'Well, how are you? I had a great deal to say to you, but I forget what it was now' To which I replied, 'Oh, never mind noe are here to as' I could not have _settled_ anything with hi; and this put hiht of ering him aboutto what they are, and not to what they ought to be; and the great art of life is to find out what they are, and act with thely
[3] [This referred to some private affairs of Mr
Greville's which were then under discussion, and on which Lord Melbourne's influence was important]
Allen talked of Mackintosh, and of his declaration of religious belief on his deathbed, when he had never believed at all during his life He said that Mackintosh was not very deeply read in theology Melbourne, on the contrary, is, and being a very good Greek scholar (which Mackintosh was not), has coical works with the writings of the Fathers He did not believe that Melbourne entertained _any doubts_, or that hisandon the subject, but that his studies and reflections have led hiht if Mackintosh had lived much with Christians he would have been one too We talked of Middleton, and Allen said that he believed he really died a Christian, but that he was rapidly ceasing to be one, and if he had lived would probably have continued the argued me to read Lardner; said he had never read Paley nor the more recent Evidences, the materials of all of which are, however, taken froers--the poetry of the former so licentious, that of the latter so pure;so carefully weeded of everything approaching to indelicacy; and the contrast between the _lives_ and the _works_ of the two ularity, the latter of all the reatest sensualist
[4] [John Allen was himself so fierce an unbeliever, and so bitter an eneion, that he was very fond of asserting that other men believed as little as hiious turn to the conversation at Holland House when these subjects were discussed there]