Part 90

The Duke thinks that with every disposition to do mischief there is no conspiracy, or we should have heard of it.

November 1.

Cabinet at St. James's at one. The Lord-Lieutenant has prohibited, by Proclamation, the meeting of the Volunteer Society. Very properly and consistently. It was a much more dangerous society than the other. He is a firm man, not to be turned from the course he thinks right.

O'Connell has not been spoken to in the clubs he has entered. At Brookes's they turned their backs upon him.

There was no meeting at Maidstone. Probably they had intimation of the movements of troops. Lord Beresford told me there were 3,000 artillerymen at Woolwich, enough to serve guns for an army.

Went through the speech again. Aberdeen is the most obstinate man I ever saw, about the mere words of his part of the speech. We lost half an hour at least in talking about words to-day. Peel read his concluding sentence, which is very good. He laments the outrages, and the attempt to disturb the concord between portions of the empire whose union is essential to their mutual strength and happiness, declares the King's determination to exert the powers confided to him by the Law and the Constitution for the punishment of sedition, and ends by expressing a firm reliance on the loyalty of the great body of the people.

As far as I could judge by the King's countenance when the speech was read, he acquiesced, and thought it right, but was pained at being obliged to hold such language.

I had prepared a paragraph to be used in case it had been thought right to say anything about India. For my own part I thought it better not. We could not produce a measure this year, and it would hardly be fair by the Court to declare to Parliament that we thought the monopoly must be put an end to without having previously acquainted them with our determination. The Duke said he had seen nothing yet to satisfy him that the revenues of India could meet the expenditure without the China trade. I think his reluctance increases to put an end to the present system. My disposition to terminate the existence of the Company increases the more I see of them.

November 2

House at five. Lord Bute made a very long, heavy speech. Lord Monson a very little one, not bad. The stuff would do; but he has neither stature nor voice.

We then had Lord Winchilsea, Lord Camden, Duke of Leinster, and Lord Farnham. Lord Winchilsea right in tone, but desiring inquiry into agricultural distress. This, too, was the burden of a mouthy speech made by the Duke of Richmond, whom I had nearly forgotten. Lord Farnham spoke, as he always does, well. He deprecated the dissolution of the Union, but desired relief for Ireland. This, too, was desired by the Duke of Leinster, who spoke very firmly, as all did, against agitators.

Lord Grey said it was a moment of great danger and importance. Fortitude, caution, and wisdom were required. He spoke strongly against the dissolution of the Union, and against the disturbers of the public peace everywhere. He used the words of the speech, grief and indignation. He joined in the determination to put down sedition by law. Rejoiced no new laws were asked for. Approved of the prompt recognition of King Louis Philippe; lamented the necessity of the French Revolution. Said 'all Revolutions were in themselves evils,' although they might produce eventual good. Expressed his hope, for the honour of France and for the interests of Liberty, that they would not sully a Revolution hitherto unstained by a single act of vengeance. This part of his speech was very well worded and spoken. He objected to the terms in which the passage respecting the Netherlands was worded, as seeming to cast all the blame upon the Belgians, and so to make our mediation less effectual. He likewise objected to the making the Portuguese Amnesty a seeming condition of the recognition of Miguel. Of the recognition itself he did not complain, as he had so long been King de facto. These objections were fair.

Lord Farnham having suggested the necessity of preparing for war, Lord Grey said the preparation should be by gaining the hearts of our own people--and he advocated, but very temperately, Reform. He did not, however, allow that there was any abstract right to a particular mode of constituting a Legislature. The right of the people was to a good Government, and to whatever form of Legislative Assembly might seem best to secure that Government.

His speech was good, and temperate, as well as firm. The Duke of Wellington followed him. He declared his intention to oppose Reform. He said we were not bound to interfere for the maintenance of the Amnesty further than by advice and remonstrance, not by war.

I should mention that Lord Grey seemed pleased by the abandonment of the droits. He was not very well, and at times was almost unable to proceed.

Upon the whole the tone of the debate was very good, and will do good.

November 3.

Office at eleven to see Col. Houston.

Upon the whole the debate in the Commons was satisfactory. Peel was very much cheered. O'Connell spoke well, and was heard in perfect silence. Brougham made an ordinary speech; theme a bad one, violent.

There was much row in the streets yesterday; but all occasioned by attacks upon the police, and attempts to rescue pickpockets. The Guards were called out rather hastily. Colonel Rowan who commands the police has begged they may be left to themselves. They are quite strong enough.

Cabinet dinner at Lord Rosslyn's. No House of Commons people there. The Prince of Orange is come. He has written to the King, and is to see him to- morrow. It seems there are 7,500 men in the citadel of Antwerp, which can only hold 2,000, and has provisions only for two months. The forts of Lillo and Liefkenshoek are ill-garrisoned; so is Breda, and so is Bergen-op-zoom. The Dutch have not 4,000 men in the field near Breda. The question is, whether the evacuation of the citadel of Antwerp would not be advisable for the purpose of getting out the 7,500 men. It seems that if Flushing be held, the Scheld is of no use. The Conference respecting Belgian affairs meets to-morrow, Talleyrand being sole representative of France. The first object will be to establish an armistice.

After dinner we had some conversation respecting the debate in the Commons of last night. Peel is disgusted at not being supported by the three Cabinet Ministers present, who knew the whole subject which had been so often discussed in Cabinet--yet not one of them rose to answer Brougham. The Duke is very angry with them, and says he shall take an opportunity of advising Peel in their presence never to rise till Brougham has spoken, let others be abused as they may. If the three mutes will not speak, it is clear they will not remain in very long.

I consider a debate to be a battle, in which the chief should be able to put every man into the fight, as he would every battalion, with a view to the ultimate object; he himself being the reserve.

November 4.

It seems Sir G. Murray did speak last night, but he went further than he intended on Reform, and so rather damaged our position as a Government.

Office. Saw Mr. Sullivan. He seems a sensible, liberal man. His evidence would be a death-blow to the government of the Company. He says the cotton of Coimbatore is carried to Tinnevelly and thence to Madras by country boats, where it is taken up by the China ships. It might be sent directly to the sea on the Malabar coast, the distance being 300 miles. There is no obstruction to the cultivation. The country is under a Ryotwar settlement. The unequal demand of the Company is very injurious. Their great demand at some periods encourages cultivation and raises prices exorbitantly--the next year there is no demand at all. They now purchase by contract. The contracts are too large for the native merchants, and fall, as jobs, into the hands of Europeans. Sufficient notice is not given of the contract. The native merchants have from one lac to one and a half.

Great injury is sustained by the tobacco monopoly. The Company's officers sell it as retailers. The Government is, as I always thought, practically in the hands of the natives. They require European co-operation, but if they combine against their European superior he can do nothing. House at five. Lord Winchilsea made a violent tirade against the Administration, without any motion before the House. The Duke made a few observations on the point of order very quietly, and we rose.

November 5.