Thus, by cleverly securing the aid of the soldiery, through sharpening their feelings of irritation against the civilians, a small band of conspirators were enabled to seize and keep the government of the greatest nation on the Continent, to extinguish all its organs of public ⚫pinion, and to imprison and transport all its greatest statesmen, generals, and citizens. Such was the coup d'état of the 2nd December, 1851. On the public mind in England, as the facts were made known through correspondence, the effect produced was a general feeling of execration. But it had political consequences of a serious nature, for it caused the fall of the Russell Administration. It appeared that Lord Palmerston, as Foreign Secretary, was in the habit of acting very much on his own responsibility in his department, and that this gave dissatisfaction to the Queen, which led to the following communication: "The Queen requires, first, that Lord Palmerston will distinctly state what he proposes in a given case, in order that the Queen may know as distinctly to what she has given her royal sanction; secondly, having once given her sanction to a measure, that it be not arbitrarily altered or modified by the Minister. Such an act she must consider as failing in sincerity towards the Crown, and justly to be visited by the exercise of her constitutional right of dismissing that Minister. She expects to be kept informed of what passes between him and the foreign ministers before important decisions are taken based upon that intercourse; to receive the foreign despatches in good time; and to have the drafts for her approval sent to her in sufficient time to make herself acquainted with their contents before they must be sent off. The Queen thinks it best that Lord John Russell should show this letter to Lord Palmerston." to the policy which the Government had hitherto pursued. Under these circumstances Lord John said he had no other alternative but to declare, that while he was prime minister, Lord Palmerston could not hold the seals of office. The noble Foreign Secretary had been accordingly dismissed. Lord Palmerston then rose to explain his conduct. He stated that the French Ambassador had given a highly-coloured version of a long conversation, to the effect that he had entirely approved of what had been done, and thought the President of the French fully justified. Lord Normanby wrote for authority to contradict that statement. Lord Palmerston repeated, however, his opinion that it was better the President should prevail than the Assembly, because the Assembly had nothing to offer as a substitution for the President, unless an alternative obviously ending in civil war or anarchy; whereas the President, on the other hand, had to offer unity of purpose and unity of authority, and if he were inclined to do so he might give to France internal tranquillity, with good and permanent government. Lord Palmerston retaliated on Lord John Russell, by stating that both he and other members of the Cabinet had also expressed opinions, in conversation with the French Ambassador, not very different from his own. Lord Palmerston had been succeeded as Foreign Secretary by Earl Granville; but the noble lord soon had his revenge on the Prime Minister. Feelings of anxiety prevailed at this time with regard to the national defences, and it was thought necessary to organise a large militia force, which would constitute a powerful reserve in case of war with any foreign country. Lord John Russell therefore brought in a bill on the subject, on the 16th of February. Lord Palmerston suggested that the word "local" should be left out of the bill, and stated that it was susceptible of other improvements. He accordingly moved amendments in committee. Upon this Lord John Russell stated that if the House decided to leave out the word "local," the chairman of the com This was sent to Lord Palmerston by Lord John Russell, and it was acknowledged by Lord Palmerston as follows:-"I have taken a copy of this memorandum of the Queen's, and will not fail to attend to the directions which it contains." This occurred in August, 1850, more than twelve months before the occurrence of the coup d'état in Paris-a very important event, which cer-mittee and Lord Palmerston must bring in the bill. tainly required deliberation and consultation in the Cabinet before our Sovereign was committed to a recognition of the usurper. Our am Soon after the opening of Parliament in 1852, Lord John Russell related to the House what had happened in connection with this matter. bassador in France had been instructed to abstain from all interference with the internal affairs of that country. Lord Palmerston was alleged to have held a conversation with the French Ambassador inconsistent with those instructions. The Premier wrote to him on the subject, but his inquiries had for some days been met with a disdainful silence; Lord Palmerston having meanwhile, without the knowledge of his colleagues, written a despatch, containing instructions to Lord Normanby, which Lord John Russell considered was putting himself in the place of the Crown and passing by the Crown; while he gave the moral approbation of England to the acts of the President of the Republic, in direct opposition Upon a division, however, the word was left out by a majority of eleven. Lord John Russell then said that he must now decline the responsibility of the measure. Lord Palmerston expressed his extreme surprise at this abandonment by the Government of their functions in that House. Lord John replied that he was stopped at the threshold, and told by the division that the House had no confidence in the Government. The cheers with which this statement was received confirmed its truth. The Ministry therefore resigned. The fact was announced in the Upper House by Lord Lansdowne, who intimated that it was the last time, in all probability, that ever he should address them from the Treasury Bench. The parting speech of the noble Marquis was frequently interrupted by cordial cheers, and although from that time forward he did not take the same prominent part in the Legislature that he had done hitherto, still, upon occasions of trouble and difficulty, he was ever ready to give his sage counsel and and glorious career at Walmer Castle, on the 14th of September, 1852, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. No Englishman ever received so many honours from his country. In 1809 he was raised to the peerage, and Parliament voted him a pension of £2,000 a year, for two generations, to sustain his dignity. In 1812 he became a marquis, and the sum of £100,000 was voted to purchase him an estate. In 1814 he became a duke. After the battle of Waterloo an additional grant of £200,000 was made, to purchase him a mansion and an estate. Foreign princes united with the Sovereign, and Parliament, and citizens of his own country, to honour and reward the hero, whom Talleyrand once called "the most capable advice; and when his long and distinguished career often mentioned in this history, terminated his long was some years later brought to a close, Her Majesty lost one of her most faithful advisers. The Queen sent for Lord Derby, who succeeded in forming a Cabinet, which consisted of the following members:-Prime Minister, Lord Derby; Chancellor, Lord St. Leonards; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Disraeli; President of the Council, Lord Lonsdale; Privy Seal, Marquis of Salisbury; Home Secretary, Mr. Walpole; Foreign Secretary, Lord Malmesbury; Colonial Secretary, Sir John Pakington; Admiralty, Duke of Northumberland; Board of Control, Mr. Herries; PostmasterGeneral, Lord Hardwicke; Board of Trade, Mr. Henley; Public Works, Lord J. Manners. In Scotland, the Lord Advocate was Mr. A. Anderson; and the Solicitor-man in England," and whom Mr. Disraeli, as leader of General, Mr. J. Inglis. In Ireland, the Earl of Eglintoun was Lord Lieutenant; Mr. Blackburne, Lord Chancellor; Lord Naas, Chief Secretary; Mr. Napier, Attorney-General; and Mr. Whiteside, Solicitor-General. The new Ministry carried through the Militia Bill, which passed the House of Commons by large majorities. In the Lords, the second reading was moved on the 15th of June. It passed through all its stages without difficulty, and received the royal assent in due course. A considerable number of useful measures were passed during the session of 1852, among which may be mentioned the Militia Act, the New Zealand Constitution Act, several measures of Law Reform, including the procedure in the Court of Chancery, and an extension of the jurisdiction of the County Courts. Lord Lyndhurst, reviewing the session, said that, during the four months that had elapsed since Lord Derby came into office, bills of greater importance had passed than in any session since the commencement of the present Parliament." On the 1st of July the Queen prorogued Parliament in person, and delivered a speech, in which she expressed her satisfaction at the "final settlement of the affairs of Holstein and Schleswig." The order for the dissolution of Parliament appeared next day in the Gazette. The general election, which took place in due course, left the state of parties very much as it had found it. The new Parliament assembled on the 4th of November. Mr. Charles Shaw Lefevre was re-elected to the Speaker's chair without opposition. The Royal speech was delivered by the Queen in person on the 11th, when Her Majesty announced the existence of the most amicable relations with all foreign powers. The session was occupied principally with commercial matters and financial questions, with regard to which the majority of the House were at issue with the Government. This fact was brought to the test by a division, after a long debate, on the 10th of December, when the Government was defeated by 305 to 286. This led to the resignation of the Derby Cabinet. A coalition between the Whigs and the Peclites was next tried, with Lord Aberdeen as Prime Minister; after which the House adjourned to the 10th of February. The Duke of Wellington, whose name has been so the House of Commons, designated "the greatest man of a great nation-a general who had fought fifteen pitched battles, captured 3,000 cannon from the enemy, and never lost a single gun." And he truly added, he was not only the greatest and most successful warrior of his time, but his protracted civil career was scarcely less splendid and successful; and when he died, "he died at the head of that army to which he had left the tradition of his fame." The Queen was at Balmoral at the time of his death, and she immediately conveyed her wishes to the Government that his remains should be honoured with a public funeral. On the 15th of November Lord Derby proposed a resolution in reply to Her Majesty's message, which was unanimously adopted; and a select committee was appointed to consider the mode in which the House might best assist at the ceremony. A similar course was adopted in the Commons. The public obsequies commenced when the remains were committed to the officers of the Lord Chamberlain, to bo conveyed to the hall of Chelsea Hospital, there to lie in state. The hall was arranged in the most appropriate manner, and everything was in keeping with the object. Black draperies, escutcheons, tattered and faded banners, the spoils of many victories, hung round the hall, which was lighted by wax tapers, in gigantic candelabra, while motionless Grenadiers, standing as mutes, marked the entrance to the chapel. Beneath an elegant canopy, upon a dais covered by a carpet of cloth of gold, stood the bier, and on this rested the gilt and crimson coffin which contained the remains of the hero. The pall was ornamented with escutcheons, and at the foot was a display of the insignia of the orders of knighthood, more numerous than any individual had ever before borne in England. The bier was surrounded by a magnificent silver balustrade, adorned with heraldic devices, and with the Field Marshal's batons of eight kingdoms. The remains were deposited in the Hospital on the 10th. On the 11th, the Queen, the Prince Consort, and the Royal children privately visited the lying in state. The pensioners, the Life Guards, and Grenadiers were then admitted. On the next day, the nobility and gentry who had Lord Chamberlain's A.D. 1852.] FUNERAL OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 129 Not the least impressive circumstance connected with this national homage to departed merit crowned with glorious success, was the conduct of the people of the great metropolis, of which the Earl of Derby, then Prime Minister, expressed his admiration in cloquent terms. tickets only were admitted, to the number of 10,800; Prince Albert was deeply moved, and the aged Marquis but many thousands of ladies and gentlemen, who had of Anglesey, the octogenarian companion in arms of the been waiting in their carriages for hours on a wet and deceased, by an irresistible impulse, stepped forward, stormy day, were grievously disappointed. The arrange-placed his hand on the sinking coffin that contained the ments for the admission of the public were not satisfac- remains of his chief in many battles, and burst into tory, and the consequence was dreadful confusion and tears." crushing, attended in some cases with fatal consequences. At a very early hour in the morning, an enormous crowd pressed for admission. When the gates were opened, the tide of people rushed in like an inundation. Then followed scenes of the most fearful kind: "struggles for bare life, frightful shrieks, and screams of agony, such as will never be forgotten by those present. Women were knocked down, or fainted away; children were held aloft to escape suffocation; fathers and mothers strove in vain to recover those who had been torn away from them in the crowd; the multitude actually smoked like a heated hay-stack, from the pressure and strain upon individuals." Order was ultimately restored, and it was calculated that from 50,000 to 65,000 people passed daily through the hall. Three persons, two women and one man, lost their lives by the crushing on Saturday. "Justice must be done," he said, "to another class-I mean the admirable temper, patience, forbearance, and good conduct which were manifested by the whole of these incredible masses. When we consider how largo a proportion of the population of these United Kingdoms was for that single day crowded together in the streets of the metropolis-when you remember, as those at least remember to whose lot it fell to take part in the procession, and who saw it throughout its wholo length and breadth when you remember that on a line of route three miles in length, extending from Grosvenor Late on the night of Wednesday the corpse was Place to St. Paul's Cathedral, there was not a single conveyed to the Horse Guards, escorted by a squadron unoccupied foot of ground, and that you passed through of cavalry. The funeral procession took place next a living sea of faces, all turned to look upon that great day. First appeared the infantry, six battalions, spectacle-when you saw every house, every window, then the artillery, next the cavalry, five squadrons, every house-top loaded with persons anxious to pay their and then in succession martial men on foot, pen- last tribute of respect to the memory of England's sioners, trumpets and kettle-drums, deputations from greatest son-when you saw those persons (those, at public bodies in carriages, persons connected with the least, within the streets) remaining with entire and unlate Duke's household, military dignitaries, judges, flinching patience, for many hours, in a position in ministers and officers of state, archbishops, the Prince which movement was hardly possible, and yet that Consort and Her Majesty's household, in three carriages scarce a single accident occurred to the most feeble drawn by six horses each, officers connected with foreign woman or child amid that vast mass-when, throughout armies, pall-bearers, the funeral car, which weighed the whole of that length, not only was a perfect decorum twelve tons, drawn by twelve horses, and decorated with preserved, and a perfect and ready assistance given to trophies and heraldic achievements, the hat and sword the efforts of the police and military, but there was no of the deceased being placed on the coffin. Then fol- unseemly desire to witness the magnificent spectacle, lowed the chief mourner, the Duke of Wellington, ac- no light and thoughtless applause at the splendour of companied by a long train of mourners. The Queen that spectacle, and that the people of England, in the beheld the procession from the windows of Buckingham awful silence of those vast crowds, testified in the most Palace, and again from St. James's Palace. The Lord emphatic manner the sense in which every man among Mayor and Corporation awaited the funeral procession at them felt the public loss which England had sustained Temple Bar, and then fell into the line, the Lord Mayor-I know not, my lords, how you may have looked upon taking precedence of the Archbishop of Canterbury this manifestation of public feeling, and good sense, and within the city. The coffin was borne into St. Paul's, where nearly 20,000 persons were assembled, including the peers and the members of the House of Commons, the Duchess of Kent, a great number of peeresses and other ladies. At the conclusion of the dirge the mortal remains were lowered into the crypt. "It is impossible," says the contemporary record, "to convey an idea of the singular solemnity of the spectacle. The organ, assisted by the wind instruments, breathed the intensely mournful passages of the Dead March in Saul, while the coffin with the coronet and baton slowly descended; and thus the great warrior departed from the sight of men. A sense of heavy depression came over the whole assembly. order; but I know this, that as I passed along those lines, it was with pride and satisfaction I felt that I was a countryman of those who knew so well how to regulate and control themselves; and I could not help entertaining a hope that those foreign visitors who have done us and themselves the honour of assisting at this great ceremonial, might upon this occasion, as upon the 1st of May, 1851, bear witness back to their own country how safely and to what extent a people might be relied upon, in whom the strongest hold of their Government was their own reverence and respect for the free institutions of their country, and the principles of popular self-government, controlled and modified by constitutional monarchy." CHAPTER XII. Origin of the Crimean War-President Prince Louis Napoleon (1850) raises the Eastern Question-State of Europe-New Element in the Balance of Power-France under the Prince-President-The Emperor Nicholas and the French President—French Agitation and Russian Ambition-The Eastern Question makes slow Progress-M. de Lavalette (1851-2) at Constantinople-His Violence-Nature of the Dispute about the Holy Places - Vacillation of the Porte-Its Evasions and Conflicting Pledges -Striking Spectacle of Jerusalem-Anger of Nicholas -Troops set in Motion-New Ministry in England-Its Trust in the Czar-Secret Overtures at St. Petersburg (1853)-The "Sick Man "-The Czar suggests a Partition of Turkey-The Word of a "Gentleman "-Lord Stratford sent to Constantinople-Russia preparing for a Grand CoupPrince Menschikoff at Constantinople-His rude Attitude-Colonel Rose sends for the British Fleet-Admiral Dundas will not move, Russian Demand for a Secret Treaty-British Government Incredulous -Lord Stratford arrives at the Porte-Interview with the Sultan-His Tactics-Separates Question of the Holy Places from the Ulterior Demands-Settles Question of the Holy Places-Prince Menschikoff becomes more violent-Sends in an Ultimatum-Lord Stratford's but French Fleet sails to Salamis-Anger of Russia-Rumours of a English people were engaged in preparing to entertain the world at a Carnival of Commerce, Art, and Invention; the brilliant summer of 1851 was regarded as the beginning of a new era; and the delusion was scarcely dispelled by the rude and sudden blows struck at the liberties of the French ere the year had closed, and by the appearance of a Bonaparte, emerging from the ruins, clothed in the imperial robes, and animated by the traditions, of the First Napoleon. There were men, indeed, who saw, and more who felt, that Europe had come under new conditions of existence. They saw and felt that to a new empire, based on Napoleonic ideas, glory of some kind was essential, and that, for good or evil, France would, in future, take a more active, a more imperative, perhaps an aggressive, part in public affairs. The nation desired peace, and the Emperor understood the desire of his subjects, as well as Exertions-Ultimatum Rejected-The Prince quits Constantinople of Europe, when he said the empire was peace. But, (May 22, 1853). EUROPE was allowed scant breathing-time after the wars which sprang from the political movements of 1848 had come to an end. An old danger, one which at intervals, sometimes as a grim shadow, sometimes as a near reality, had threatened the general peace, appeared once more. In 1852 it became known that the Emperors of France and Russia were, in the names of their respective churches, wrangling over the Holy Places. The Prince-President of the French Republic had raised the demon of the Eastern Question, and the policy which Prince Louis Napoleon initiated as President he pursued with fresh vigour when he became Emperor. That policy was one of the causes which led directly to those great events which we know under the collective name of the Crimean War. Europe was far from dreaming that she stood on the verge of a great convulsion. The waves of the continental revolutions had not, it is true, wholly subsided, but the military monarchies, though triumphant, seemed exhausted by the efforts they had made to quench domestic conflagrations. France appeared to be wholly engrossed in her own affairs; in the re-organisation of her somewhat shattered public forces; in the improvement of her finances; in the settlement of knotty questions between her parliament and her executive. Germany was prostrate beneath the armies of Austria and Prussia. In the dominions of the Emperor of Austria a rigorous system of despotism was enforced, and Italy and Hungary were ground down by an exacting and vexatious tyranny. Russia had gained in prestige by her expedition into Hungary, but though she had expended men and treasure, still the formidable military machine constructed by the Emperor Nicholas remained practically whole. Yet men hardly looked at that epoch for an aggressive policy at the hands of Russia. England, too, was thriving and pacific. Her dreams were wholly of peace. Her people had begun to imagine that war was a thing of the past, that the nations would be rivals no more, except in the fields of commerce, and that thenceforth there would be peace in Europe, if not good-will among men. In 1850 the more than peace, Frenchmen desired glory, and glory of that kind which springs from an incessant participation in the affairs of other nations. The problem which the Emperor had to solve was, how to create material prosperity at home and satisfy the national craving for conspicuous action abroad. These signs were not hidden from the meditative few. They saw the new force which had thrust itself into that combination of forces called the European equilibrium. They dreaded it the more because the multitude, absorbed in pressing struggles, thought of it lightly, and because a sovereign like the Emperor Nicholas treated it with studied contempt. To keen eyes there was ambitious Russia, proud of her strength, and smiling over the supposed paralysis of France; and there was ambitious France, in the hands of a man of unknown gifts, and eager to force from the world respect and fear; and between these two was Germany, vast, but disjointed, and incapable of concerted action. Turkey was looked upon by most men as sick unto death; and England, half-disarmed, irresolute of purpose, was busied in securing free trade, and just awakening from dreams of perpetual peace. There was a vague, but not general presentiment, that tempests were at hand, but none foresaw that, when the clouds broke over us, France would be our ally and Russia our foe. Yet towards that consummation events were rapidly tending. It so chanced that the Emperor Napoleon owed his election, in great part, to the strenuous exertions of the French clergy. It also happened that the French clergy writhed under the humiliation implied in the superior privileges enjoyed by the orthodox Greek Church in Jerusalem. Now it was one of the conditions of his tenure of power that the Emperor should "restore France to her rank in Europe," as it was called; that is, should not only aggrandise her influence, and make her feared and respected, but should bring her vast power to bear, visibly and emphatically, upon the affairs of Europe, and assume somewhat of the position of an arbiter of her destiny. It is a settled maxim that a usurper looks to foreign wars for the consolidation of his power, and strives to hide the dark past in the blaze of new-won glories. The Emperor Napoleon comprehended fully |