A Political Diary, 1828-1830 Part 24

The King will, I dare say, make another plunge when he finds Claremont will not be at his personal disposal, as he seems to have imagined.

_January 19._

Read all day Sir Thomas Munro's Life, which contains a great deal of interesting and valuable information. He was a very great man.

Talked to Hardinge of various matters. He was at Stowe when Lord Chandos in the middle of the night received a note from his father, communicating one from Sir. W. Fremantle, which informed him that the King was going to turn us all to the right about. Lord Chandos said to Hardinge he would never belong to a Government of which the Duke of Wellington was not a member.

_January 19._

Read the rest of the 'Life of Sir Thomas Munro,' a most valuable book. I believe there are no books so really useful as the lives of great and good men.

On my arrival in town, found a note from Hardinge, who thinks the despatch as to watching the Russians and navigating the Indus quite perfect.

The Duke went to-day to Windsor. About eight he sent round a box containing a note, saying that the King consented to Prince Leopold's being King of Greece. So for the present, at least, we are safe again. I never had much apprehension.

_January 20._

Cabinet dinner. Lord Bathurst not there. We had very little talk upon public matters. The Duke had a bad cold. The opinion seemed to be that the press of the session would be upon domestic matters, for the reduction of establishments and taxation.

The King wrote to the Duke and _grumpily acceded_ to Leopold's appointment.

Leopold is very _uppish_ upon the subject. He was at Cobham to-day and yesterday.

I am to see Peel on Sunday at half-past one on Indian matters.

_January 22._

At one, Privy Council to consider the pet.i.tion of the E. I. C. for the recall of Sir J. P. Grant. The Lord President, Lord Chief Baron, and Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas present. The committee reported that they did not consider themselves warranted at present in advising Sir J. P. Grant's removal, but they thought it right he should be directed to proceed home that the several matters objected to him might be investigated.

I took the opportunity of the presence of two judges to get a legal opinion as to Sir J. Malcolm's conduct in resisting the service of the Habeas Corpus _ad testificandum_.

I took the opportunity likewise of laying before the two judges the change of circ.u.mstances since the inst.i.tution of the Supreme Court, and the present reasons for making their jurisdiction without the limits of the Presidency the exception and not the rule.

The judges seemed to enter into my view. The Lord Chief Baron suggested that there might be a previous enquiry before the Country Court, which might for that purpose be a sort of grand jury. [Footnote: _I.e._ when the case was to be transferred to the Supreme Court.]

Lord Hill showed me a letter from Sir F. Watson addressed to Sir B. Taylor, as the King's first aide-de-camp, and directing him as such, by the King's command, to intimate to Lord Hill the pleasure it would give His Majesty to know that Lord Hill had given Captain Scarlett, the son of the Attorney- General, an opportunity of purchasing a majority. Captain Scarlett is a very young captain--and Lord Hill feels the thing asked cannot be done. He was going to see the Duke of Wellington about it. Not very long ago the King gave away a regiment without asking Lord Hill--however, that was settled; but it is clear that, unless Lord Hill is allowed to exercise the fair patronage of his office, he will resign.

_January 26._

Cabinet. It seems the French have acceded to the proposals of the Pasha of Egypt, and finding 50,000 men would be required to take Algiers, prefer his operating with 40,000 of his own. He pretends to have made arrangements which will secure an easy conquest, and promises to place Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers under regular governments, nominally under the Sultan, whose consent he reckons upon, and capable of preserving the relations of peace with other Mediterranean Powers.

The Pasha's army is commanded by French officers, and the annexation of these States to Egypt would be their practical annexation to France. When his army is disseminated along the coast of Africa, I might realise my dream of taking Egypt from India.

We considered the proposed order in Council relative to the slave regulations of the King's own ceded colonies. The Duke was evidently not well, and he was rather out of humour. We were three hours and a half in Cabinet. He made various objections to the proposed regulations. He impressed upon us the danger of tampering with the rights of property. We were doing that with property of an _odious_ character, which we should not do in England. He pressed the effect in the West Indies and the example everywhere. He seemed to complain that the regulations were different from those agreed to in the summer. Sir G. Murray was very quiet. He is a very sensible man, but he is overawed by the Duke, having been under him so long.

Poor old Tierney is dead, for which I am very sorry. He was a very good friend of mine.

_January 27._

Cabinet at four. There can be no Council to-morrow, as Greville has the gout and Buller is in Cornwall.

There is to be an intimation sent to the Pasha to the effect that we _disapprove_ of the proposed attempt to conquer Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. France is to be told the same. I wished conditional orders to be given to the Fleet, and that the Pasha should be told orders had been given. It being doubtful whether French vessels might not convoy the Egyptian fleet and transports, I thought we had better now consider what we should do in that event; that we had better not threaten without determining to execute our threat, and that we should consider how we should deal with the French s.h.i.+ps if we stopped the Egyptian--in short not take a first step which might make a second necessary, without knowing in our own minds what that second step should be. The Duke thinks the French will back out when they know our _disapprobation_, and that at any rate the Pasha would. I rather doubt this of either of them.

The French say they have a sort of quarrel with Tripoli, but none with Tunis, and they enter into a scheme for conquering both as stepping-stones to Algiers. Tunis in their hands would be more dangerous than Algiers.

Hardinge told me he had had a long conversation with Peel the other day on the state of the country. He thought Peel seemed to have apprehensions, and to think that if the King, through some intrigue of the Brunswickers, got rid of the Duke, things would go very ill indeed; that the authority of the Duke alone kept things quiet. England is in a bad state, because the country gentlemen have ill-paid rents; but Scotland and Ireland do very well, and the trade of the country is not depressed.

Cabinet dinner at the Chancellor's. The Duke of Montrose there, as it was to have been a dinner for the sheriffs. I told the Duke of my notion of altering the law of succession to property in India, and enabling all existing proprietors to leave their estates as they please.

_January 28._

The 'Times' publishes my letter to Malcolm to-day, with comments.

Upon the whole I am glad the letter has been published. I think no one can read it without seeing I am actuated only by public views, and that I am determined to do my duty.

The editor of the 'Courier' called at the Indian Board and saw Bankes, and asked whether he should say anything. Bankes said he would see me before he gave an answer. I do not care about the publication, and the letter will defend itself.

_January 29._

Chairs have received very bad accounts of the temper of the Madras army, which has no cause of complaint. Lord W. Bentinck has been at last obliged to lay his hand upon the press, and, as might have been expected, is much more abused than if he had done so at first. The Radicals had begun to consider him one of themselves, and so think him a traitor when he refuses to go any further with them.

I went to the Duke and told him what they said. He is, as usual, sanguine, and thinks it will blow over.

I told the Duke I thought he had better look out for a Governor-General, for it might be necessary to recall Lord W. Bentinck. The objection to making Malcolm provisional successor is that he would stay till he died in order to be Governor-General one day. Otherwise his provisional appointment would strengthen the local Government very much.

At the Cabinet they had all read my letter in the 'Times,' except the Chancellor. I told him to read it.

Peel was indignant at the publication. Lord Rosslyn said Joseph Hume had had the letter some time in his possession, and must have sent it to the 'Times.'

Peel said it was a very good letter. I said I was not ashamed of it.

They all laughed very much at the simile of the elephants.

Cabinet. Much discussion as to the terms of the speech. Aberdeen's part was very ill done indeed. It underwent much alteration and was improved. That regarding distress and remedies was postponed. There is no remedy, and it is best to say so.

In the meantime the export of almost all manufactures is increased largely in quant.i.ty, but the value is diminished. Still this proves continued and increased employment, although at low wages. This is a state of things in which we cannot try to make corn dearer or wool either. Nothing but the extreme cheapness of our manufactures makes their export possible.

Aberdeen read his letter to Consul Barker respecting the. Pasha's designs.

The last paragraph, which intimated that the Pasha's persistence 'would too probably lead to our decided opposition,' was omitted. It was thought that the recommendation, 'to weigh well the serious consequences of a measure highly objectionable to us, and to which other Powers could not but be unfavourable,' was thought sufficient to stop the Pasha.

If the first words had stood, we must have used the same to France, and the threat might have led to collision. In any case the Pasha would have communicated the expressions to France.