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to prevent any forcible interference by any other Power in the affairs of Italy.

Of course, it was more than probable that Austria would not dare to face such a coalition; on the other hand, the promise of strict neutrality made at the Willis's Rooms meeting had been thrown to the winds, and it was fortunate that these councils did not prevail on the Cabinet. For when Lord Palmerston penned the memorandum, the Congress had been foredoomed by the agreement of the French Emperor to the proposal of the English Government that the duchies should be allowed to vote their own destinies, and Napoleon soon afterwards gave the project its death-blow by his famous pamphlet Le Pape et le Congres. Indeed, the rumours that the Emperor was now determined to insist on the cession of Nice and Savoy to France, according to the original terms of the compact of Plombières, should have convinced the English Cabinet that a common line of action with France on the Italian question was no longer possible; and on the 5th of February, Lord Cowley's letter to Lord John Russell placed the intention of the French monarch to set himself right in the eyes of his subjects by extending France" to her natural frontiers" beyond any farther doubt.

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That Lord Palmerston should have been indignant. at the tricky conduct of Napoleon, who had completely blinded the English Cabinet by his assertions that the Italian war was "for an idea," and that France sought in it no selfish aggrandisement, was but natural. the same time, he was too experienced to attempt a protest against the annexation, when the Northern Powers showed no disposition to stir in the matter, and when Cavour, who, despite his theatrical Après avoir donné

la fille, on pouvait bien donner le berceau, was well content to have gained Central Italy at the price of the cession of the French-speaking districts of Nice and Savoy, showed no disposition to draw back from the bargain. Still, though it was impossible any longer to co-operate with France, in the cause of Italian unity, Lord Palmerston did not cease to help the peninsula as best he could single-handed. When Garibaldi, having freed Sicily, was about to cross over to Naples, the Emperor of the French wished to prevent him; but his request for the co-operation of the English fleet was met with a curt refusal. And when Garibaldi's romantic campaign was over, and he had handed over the two Sicilies to Victor Emmanuel, the English Government, alone in Europe, hastened to recognise the new kingdom of Italy.

The Italian revolution [wrote Lord John Russell to Sir James Hudson on October 27th, 1860] has been conducted with singular temper and forbearance. The subversion of existing power has not been followed, as is too often the case, by an outburst of popular vengeance. The venerated forms of constitutional monarchy have been associated with the name of a prince who represents an ancient and glorious dynasty. . . . Her Majesty's Government can see no sufficient ground for the severe censure with which Austria, France, Prussia, and Russia have visited the acts of the King of Sardinia [by withdrawing. their ministers from Turin]. Her Majesty's Government will turn their eyes rather to the gratifying prospect of a people building up the edifices of their liberties amid the sympathies and good wishes of Europe.

The Emperor of the French also was warned that the Savoy coup must not be repeated; and that the British fleet would at once be sent to the scene of action, if the Emperor attempted to compensate France for the creation of a powerful kingdom on her borders by the annexation of Genoa or Sardinia. The expediency of withdrawing the army of occupation from Rome was

urged by him upon the Emperor again and again; but without effect, since Napoleon did not dare to affront French clericalism. Lord Palmerston even entertained the idea, and urged it more than once on the Italian Cabinet, that Venetia should be acquired by purchase from Austria. But the proposal was rejected as impracticable, and another war with Austria had to be undergone before Italy could recover Venetia.

The death of Count Cavour gave Lord Palmerston an opportunity of paying a fine tribute to his memory, and of placing thereby on record his own generous sympathies with the cause of Italian unity. In a speech in the House of Commons on June 6th, 1861, he said that of Count Cavour "it might truly be said that he had left a name 'to point a moral and adorn a tale.”

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The moral is this-that a man of transcendant talents, of indomitable energy, and of inextinguishable patriotism, may, by the impulses which his own mind may give his countrymen, aiding a righteous cause and seizing favourable opportunities, notwithstanding difficulties that appear at first sight insurmountable, confer on his country great and most inestimable benefits. . . . The tale with which Count Cavour's memory will be associated is one of the most extraordinary -I may say one of the most romantic in the history of the world. Under his influence, we have seen a people who were supposed to have become torpid in the enjoyment of luxury, to have been enervated by the pursuit of pleasure, and to have had no knowledge or feeling in politics except what may have been derived from the traditions of their history and the jealousies of rival states—we have seen that people, under his guidance and at his call, rising from the slumber of ages, breaking that spell with which they had so long been bound, and displaying on just occasions the courage of heroes, the sagacity of statesthe wisdom of philosophers, and obtaining for themselves that unity of political existence which for centuries has been denied them. I say, these are great events in history, and that the man whose name will go down in connection with them to posterity, whatever may have been the period of his death, however premature it may have been for the hopes of his countrymen, cannot be said to have died too soon for his glory and fame.

men,

CHAPTER XIII.

HOME AFFAIRS.

1859-1865.

Lord Palmerston's Second Cabinet-His relations with the Radicals and the Opposition—The Reform Bill—Lord Palmerston and Mr. Gladstone-The Paper Duties Bill-His views on the National Defences-The Fortifications Bill-Legislation and Appointments -The Charges commonly brought against Lord Palmerston's Government-His Irish Policy.

THE administration formed by Lord Palmerston in June 1859 was, in point of ability, perhaps the strongest that had been entrusted with the affairs of the nation since the famous ministry "of All the Talents' collected under the leadership of Grenville and Fox in 1806.* Lord John Russell's fixed determination to

* Lord Palmerston's second Cabinet was composed as follows:-
:-
First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Palmerston.
Lord Chancellor, Lord Campbell.

President of the Council, Earl Granville.
Lord Privy Seal, The Duke of Argyll.
Home Secretary, Sir G. Cornewall Lewis.
Foreign Secretary, Lord John Russell.
Colonial Secretary, The Duke of Newcastle.
Secretary for War, Mr. Sidney Herbert.
Secretary for India, Sir Charles Wood.

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have the Foreign Office and nothing else, was the cause of the exclusion of Lord Clarendon, a loss, perhaps, less to be regretted than it would otherwise have been, because of the Italian complication. Sir James Graham, during the brief remainder of his life, played the congenial part of the candid friend of Liberalism. Mr. Cobden refused to listen to the voice of the siren, and declined the presidency of the Board of Trade. Otherwise, the Ministry was composed of the flower of the Peelites, Whigs, and Radicals, as a glance at the list below will show. But though an extremely able administration, it was composed of the most discordant elements, and was in fact, far more of a coalition than Lord Aberdeen's government. Its three most important members, the Prime Minister, Lord John Russell, and Mr. Gladstone, were, as we have said in the previous chapter, in thorough accord on the Italian question, and it is pleasant to see the cordiality with which the two veterans, after years of tit-for-tat and paying one another out," worked together in the shaping of our relations with the continental powers in the autumn of their days. But Lord John and Lord

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Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone.

First Lord of the Admiralty, The Duke of Somerset.
President of the Board of Trade, Mr. Milner Gibson.
Postmaster-General, Lord Elgin.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Sir George Grey.

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Chief Commissioner of the Poor Law Board, The Hon. Charles
Villiers.

Chief Secretary for Ireland, Mr. Cardwell.

Lord Carlisle was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; Mr. James Wilson Vice-President of the Board of Trade and Paymaster of the Forces ; Mr. Lowe, Vice-President of the Council; Sir Richard Bethell (Lord Westbury), Attorney-General, and, on the death of Lord Campbell in 1861, Lord Chancellor.

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