those difficulties. He did not obtain the £1,000 from Mr. Welch; but Mr. Harding applied for his third. The application was repudiated by Mr. Welch altogether. Mr. Harding then sent down another clergyman to Leeds to get the money. This journey was in vain. Mr. Harding then employed his solicitor; and intimated that the payment of the money would screen Mr. Welch from an exposure of the facts. He worked on the latter gentleman's fears, and succeeded in getting his claim satisfactorily settled. It was in evidence, that his clerical friend kept out of the way, to avoid being served with the Speaker's warrant. He had an interview with Mr. New, a respectable solicitor, who had put to him this practical question. Mr. New asked him if he had mentioned the matter to others. Mr. Harding said he had not. Then, said Mr. New, he knew from whom the anonymous letters he had received had proceeded; because nobody would have written them who did not know of the transaction. On this matter the committee reported as follows:-"Your committee have given the more prominent features and statements on this matter: for minute details they refer to the evidence of parties concerned. The statement of Mr. Harding is irreconcilable with those of Mr. Bethell and Mr. Welch. Mr. Harding's statement, if true, discloses a corrupt bargain between the three parties. If false, it is a gross attempt at extortion. One or other of these conclusions would be established by judicial investigation of the facts of the case; but as each of them involves the liability to a charge of a highly penal nature, your committee, not having the opportunity of examining witnesses upon oath, or of bringing the parties inculpated to a formal trial, purposely abstain from expressing an opinion as to which of the two views above. mentioned should be adopted. They consider it their duty to observe, that the indisputable facts are such as to render it essential to the public interest, that the case should, as soon as possible, be made the subject of legal investigation." But, after all, no further steps were taken. On July 5th, after the royal assent had been given by commission to 212 bills, the Lord Chancellor gave an explanation of his resignation; glanced at the measures of law reform he had introduced; and thanked the House for the kindness uniformly displayed towards himself. His bitterest opponents could have felt no resentment then. We are all poorer for the loss of great reputations, or when dishonour is done to a noble name. Happily for,us the spectacle is as rare as it is sad. In public life seldom is any scandal able to sully the ermine of our great men. Lord Palmerston must have felt the shame and humiliation deeply. As Sir R. Bethell, the Lord Chancellor had lent him most efficient aid. He himself, in the matter of patronage, had been remarkably exempt from blame. Sorrowful, indeed, must his lordship have been as the Lord Chancellor, in his old age, resigned his stately office, and sailed away to bury his resentment and grief in a foreign land. But the time was fast arriving when the Premier was to have done with such vexations and disappointments. On the 6th of July, the Commons were summoned, and the queen's speech was read by commission. It thanked the Houses for several of the measures they had passed, for the supplies voted, and for their attention to the business of the country. It congratulated them on the general prosperity, the beneficial results from remission of taxation, and the financial arrangements. It announced the friendly relations existing with all the European powers, and the cessation of the war in America. Finally, it announced the immediate dissolution of the House of Commons, and the issue of writs for a new election. Little thought M.P.'s, as they hastened home thus unusually early in the year-some to recruit in their pleasant houses, others to plunge into the turmoil of a contested election; almost all of them to swear that they would give to Lord Palmerston a cordial support-that never again should they look upon his face, or listen to his words; that, when next they met, he would no longer be their leader; that all of him which would remain to them then, would be the memory of his name and fame. Our poet-laureate makes King Arthur say "The sequel of to-day unsoldiers all The goodliest fellowship of famous knights Such a sleep They sleep-the men I loved. I think that we Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds, Of Camelot." It may be that some such thought may have passed through the Premier's brain as, for the last time, he caught the Speaker's eye; or listened, for the last time, to the door-keeper's exclamation, "Who goes home?" CHAPTER XXII. FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND THE COLONIES. SIDNEY SMITH, in one of his letters, complained terribly of the way in which Lord Melbourne suffered Lord Palmerston to do as he pleased; and intimated that, under Lord Grey, such license would not have been allowed. Earl Russell, we may imagine, as Lord Palmerston's Foreign Secretary, would, in his way, attempt to be as independent as Lord Palmerston. We cannot conceive, however, of the latter completely abandoning his favourite occupation of putting the continent to rights. The noble viscount's knowledge and experience, besides, must have been of great assistance to the earl, who understood reform questions better than those relating to foreign affairs. We may, therefore, presume that the policy pursued and recommended by Earl Russell was that of his chief, who would control and guide, especially in difficult and delicate matters, and would take care that the earl did not make the mistakes of which he was guilty when he went to Vienna. At the same time it must be confessed that the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston's later years was not that of his youth; that he had become far more peaceable and forbearing; that he had changed somewhat from what he was, when he had drank "Delight of battle with his peers, Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy." It is difficult to write about foreign policy, which is always more or less contradictory and unintelligible; arising from the fact that, while from the nature of our parliamentary government it is too democratic for foreign princes, it is, from the same cause, too autocratic for foreign people. But it is clear that we had got into a transition state; and that we were constantly bewildered by the contradiction between our former interference and our latter practice of giving no practical aid to our friends, but only advice gratis, in which Earl Russell's art was great. In October, 1862, there was a change in the government of Greece-King Otho was compelled to abdicate. Immediately afterwards Earl Russell communicated with the French and Russian governments, urging upon them that the protocols and treaties of 1829, 1830, and 1832, by which any member of the reigning families of the three powers was prohibited from occupying the throne of Greece, should be held binding. The Russian government agreed at once to this proposal; but the French government did so with a great deal of reserve. Lord Russell then wrote to our ambassador at Greece in these terms:-"Her majesty's government have no desire to influence the decision which the Greeks may come to as to the choice of their new sovereign, except to remind them that, by the agreements and engagements entered into between France and England, and Russia, no person connected with the royal and imperial family of either of the three powers can be placed upon the throne of Greece." As soon, however, as Lord Russell saw Russia hesitating as to whether Prince Leuchtenburg was excluded, the candidature of Prince Alfred assumed a new character. The Greeks became more and more enthusiastic on behalf of the prince; and Lord Russell did nothing till December, when Mr. Elliot was despatched to Athens on a special mission. On the 5th of February, 1863, Mr. Elliot made this speech to a Greek deputation which waited on him : "I am charged by my government to notify to the provisional government of Greece, that her majesty's government have, with the concurrence of the Emperor of the French, agreed to recommend the Prince Ernest, of Saxe-Coburg, as a suitable candidate for the throne of Greece. The emperor eagerly accepted this proposition made by England; and Prince Ernest accepts the throne that is offered him, on condition that he shall continue to hold, so long as he may consider it desirable to do so, his hereditary states. The prince, once proclaimed King of Greece, will propose to the national assembly, as his successor, one of the sons of his cousin Augustus and the Princess Clementine, daughter of Louis Philippe, late King of France. This prince is seventeen years of age, and will be educated in the faith of the orthodox Greek church." On the 4th, the national assembly of Greece declared the throne to be forfeited by King Otho and his family; and that Prince Alfred had been elected king of the Greeks by 230,000 votes. On the same day, it was stated in the Coburg Zeitung, that the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, who had been proposed, had finally declined its acceptance. In this dilemma England again commenced a search in favour of a suitable candidate. Nor was it long before one was found. Prince William George of Denmark was elected King of Greece by the national assembly, and on the 30th of March was, with the sanction of England and France, unanimously proclaimed as George I. On the 22nd of April, Prince Christian, of Denmark, announced that, the obstacles being removed, he accepted definitely the . throne of Greece for his son. We did all we could to make his new kingship comfortable, and handed over to him the Ionian Islands, which had been placed under our care by the treaty of Vienna. In September, the Ionian assembly declared in favour of uniting the islands to the kingdom of Greece; returned thanks to Great Britain and Queen Victoria for benefits received, and for the realisation of the wishes of the people for a restoration of their nationality; and to the other protecting powers for their ready concurrence in the measure. In the same month the King of Greece, after having visited the Courts of France and England, arrived at Athens, and was enthusiastically received. In October, 1861, without any expression of public opinion, we were all much surprised at learning that a convention had been signed at Lisbon, by the representatives of England, France, and Spain, for intervention in Mexico, to enforce certain pecuniary claims against the Mexican government. Our troops, as did those of Spain, soon came home again, when it was found that the aim of the French emperor was to establish a new form of government. Left to herself, France conquered Mexico, and placed an Austrian archduke, Maximilian-the only one of the archdukes at all popular, or who had shown any political ability on the throne of the new empire; which, however, had no vitality. It was maintained alone by the French arms; and, as they were withdrawn, it fell. We had, at this time, a little squabble with Brazil. The British legation at Rio Janeiro having demanded in vain an indemnity for the plunder of a British vessel wrecked on the coast, and also an apology for the imprisonment of some British naval officers, caused five merchant vessels to be seized. The vessels were given up on an undertaking to pay the indemnity, to be settled in London; the other question was referred to the arbitration of the King of the Belgians. As we were clearly in the wrong, that sagacious monarch was not long in making up his mind. In his award, made known on the 18th of June, 1863, he said-"That, in the mode in which the laws of Brazil have been applied towards the English officers, there was neither premeditation of offence, nor offence, to the British navy." In 1863, the aspect of the continent was unpleasant. Germany and Denmark were at loggerheads. Poland was in rebellion against Russia. Austria was, as usual, in financial and political difficulties. In short, there was every prospect of a European war. Under such circumstances, the Emperor of the French addressed the following letter to the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date, Paris, November 4th: "Madam, my Sister,-In face of the events which daily arise, and press themselves on my attention, I deem it indispensable to impart my whole thoughts to the sovereigns to whom the destiny of nations is confided. "On all occasions, when great convulsions have shaken the foundations and deranged the limits of states, solemn compacts have followed to reduce to order the new elements, and to recognise, while revising them, the changes that have been effected. "Such was the object of the treaty of Westphalia in the seventeenth century, and of the negotiations of Vienna, in 1815. It is on this last foundation that the political edifice of Europe now rests; and, nevertheless, your majesty is not ignorant that it is crumbling to pieces on all sides. "If one considers attentively the situation of the different countries, it is impossible not to admit that on almost all points the treaties of Vienna are destroyed, modified, disregarded, or menaced. Hence there are duties without rule, rights without title, pretensions without restraint-a peril the more formidable, since the improvements produced by civilisation, which has united peoples together by an identity of material interest, would render war still more destructive. "This is a matter for serious reflection. Let us not delay taking a decision until sudden and irresistible events disturb our judgment, and draw us, in spite of ourselves, in opposite directions. I now, therefore, propose to your majesty to regulate the present, and to secure the future by means of a congress. "Summoned to the throne by Providence and the will of the French people, but brought up in the school of adversity, it is, perhaps, less allowable for me than for others to ignore the rights of sovereigns and the legitimate aspirations of peoples. Thus I am ready, without any preconceived system, to bring to an international council a spirit of moderation and justice, the ordinary portion of those who have undergone so many different trials. "If I take the initiative in such an overture, I do not yield to an impulse of vanity, but because I am the sovereign to whom ambitious projects have mostly been attributed. I have it at heart to prove, by this frank and loyal overture, that my sole object is to arrive, without convulsion, at the pacification of Europe. If this proposal be agreed to, I beg your majesty to accept Paris as the place of meeting. "If the princes, allies and friends of France, should think fit to enhance by their presence the authority of the deliberations, I shall be proud to offer them cordial hospitality. Europe will, perhaps, see some advantage in the capital whence the signal of confusion has so often arisen, becoming the seat of conferences destined to lay the basis of a general pacification. "I take the opportunity of renewing to you the assurances of the high esteem and inviolable friendship with which I am, "Madam, my Sister, "Your Majesty's good Brother, After the receipt of this important epistle had been acknowledged, the following despatch, dated from the Foreign Office by Earl Russell, November 12th, was sent to Earl Cowley, as a reply : "My Lord,-Her majesty the queen having been pleased to refer to her confidential servants a letter of the Emperor Napoleon, addressed to her majesty on the subject of a congress, I proceed to inform you of the view which her majesty's government take of the proposal contained in it. "The letter invites her majesty to take part in a congress, to be held in Paris, on the affairs of Europe. "I am commanded, in the first place, to inform your excellency that her majesty's government see in this step a proof of the interest taken by his imperial majesty in the welfare of Europe. "I will now proceed to remark on the ground stated for this proposal, and then examine the proposal itself. "His imperial majesty observes, that on all occasions when great convulsions have shaken the foundations and deranged the limits of states, solemn compacts have been entered into, having for their object to reduce to order the new elements, and to recognise, while revising them, the changes that have been effected. Such was the object of the treaty of Westphalia, in the seventeenth century, and of the negotiations of Vienna in 1815. On this last foundation the political edifice of Europe now rests; and nevertheless, his imperial majesty observes, it is crumbling to pieces on all sides. "The emperor goes on to state that, if the situation of the different countries is attentively considered, it is impossible not to admit that, in almost all points, the treaties of Vienna are destroyed, modified, disregarded, or menaced. "When so important a proposal as that which the emperor has put forth is made to rest on certain grounds, it is our duty to examine carefully the grounds themselves. "Nearly half a century has elapsed since the treaties of 1815 were signed. The work was somewhat hurried by the necessity of giving repose to Europe after so many convulsions. Yet the changes made in this period of fifty years, have not been more than might have been expected from the lapse of time, the progress of opinion, the shifting policy of governments, and the varying exigencies of nations. If we take half a century from the peace of Westphalia to 1700, or a similar period from the peace of Utrecht to 1763, we shall find those periods marked by extensive changes, as well as the period which has elapsed between 1815 and 1863. "Yet it was not thought necessary at the epochs mentioned to proceed to a general revision either of the treaty of Westphalia or the treaty of Utrecht. "It is the conviction of her majesty's government, that the main provisions of the treaty of 1815 are in full force; that the greater number of these provisions have not been in any way disturbed; and that on these foundations rests the balance of power in Europe. "If, instead of saying that the treaty of Vienna has ceased to exist, or that it is destroyed, we inquire whether certain portions of it have been modified, disregarded, or menaced, other questions occur. Some of the modifications which have taken place have received the sanction of all the great powers, and now form part of the public law of Europe. "Is it proposed to give those changes a more general and solemn sanction? Is such a work necessary? Will it contribute to the peace of Europe? "Other portions of the treaty of Vienna have been disregarded or set aside, and the changes thus made de facto, have not been recognised de jure by all the powers of Europe. "Is it proposed to obtain from powers which have not hitherto joined in that recognition a sanction to those changes? 66 'Lastly come those parts of the treaty of Vienna which are menaced; and |