The Greville Memoirs/ A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria 1837-1852 [2, 1]

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imoOJYJ) PAIIT)

A JOTIllNAI. ()!_.’ TUB BEIQN Olf

UEEN

VIOTOEI

FROM 1837 TO 1852

BX TUB

CHARLES C.

'F.

;

G-REVXLLE, Esq.

or.ifiitK OF 'I’jiE Council

All rights

r^l'r

reserved

M‘L V,lU(ill t;

l-;e stnctly belonged to neitber of then,, and waa wholly indifierent to mere party interests. Mr. Greville himself, in communicating a portion, of

PREFACE.

XIU

Ivis manuscripts to one of liis friends, wrote of them in the following terms‘ You will find the greater part ‘ political, not often narrative; mostly allusions and ‘ comments on passing events, the details of which were ‘ not notorious and accessible; some miscellanea of a ‘ difiercnt description, personal, social, official; you will ‘ find piddic cluiracters freely, flippantly perhaps, and ‘ frequently very severely dealt with ; in some cases ‘ you will be sur])rised to see my opinions of certain ‘ men, some of whom, in many respects, I may perhaps ‘ think differently of now.

Gibbon said of certain

‘ Fagan philosophers, tliat “ their lives were spent in ‘ the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue.”

I

‘ cannot boast of having passed my life in the prac‘ tice of virtue, but I may venture to say that I have ‘ always pursued truth ; and you will see evidence of ‘ tlie efforts I have made to get at it, and to sum up ‘ c-oriflicting statements of facts with a sort of judicial ‘ impartiality.’ Fut altliougli I am of opinion Iffiat the time has arrived wlien a fiirtlicr portion of these Journals may witliout im[)i-oi)riely b('. published, yet I am sensible llia(. :i,s tlu^ ii;iri-a.!.ivc; draws nearer to the present time, and toiic.lies events ocmirring during the reign of the Hovc'nhgn wlio si,ill l.ia,|)pily occupies the throne, much more,! i-ctic.ene,(‘ is I'CHiuinal of an Editor than he felt in s]>(ia,king of the two last reigns, which belong altogether to pa,st history,

dlieia^ were in the records of those

reigns (opics of scandal a,nd topics of ridicule, already

XIT

PREFACE.

familiar to the world, which cast a shadow ovoi' (host' pages, and the more so as they were true.

In ii;u'r;vliiig

the earlier passages of the reign of Queen Vitd.ori.-i, no such incidents occur. The Court was pure ; tlic. persons of the Sovereign and her Consort profoundly respected. The monarchy itself has been strengthened in tin; l;ist forty-eight years by a strict adherence to tluj prin¬ ciples of moral dignity and constitutional governiiuuit. Nothing is to be found in any part of these JonniaJs to impugn that salutary impression ; and they will adbi-d to future generations no unworthy picture, of tlio,s(! who have played the most conspicuous pari, in tlie last half century. Nevertheless, the delicacy and caution which, (night to ^be observed in recording the language and 'tin* actions of eminent persons, some of wliom a,re .still ahve, appear to me to prescribe the oiuission, a,t the present time, of some passages that may mon* fitly be published hereafter. 0

Accordingly, I luive (axereise,'l

some extent the discretionary powcr.s vui.nMcd

to me by^the Author with these mauusa-ripts; and I have withheld from publication details which ap peared to be of a strictly confidential character,'or which related the conversations of living p,,>r,soiis.

I„

t IS respect I have again followed the example set by the Illustrious precedents to which I have already belhoB, Bishop Burnet’s ‘History of His Own Time’ e Due de Samt-Simon’s ‘Memoirs,’ were a,II firsl

PBEFACE. -iV V

publislied with large omissions from the text ■ and it IS

only in our own

rg,o-„ne

or two oentnries after

the death ol the writors-tliat these works have been made known to the world in tl.eir Integrity front the original mainiseniits.

I know not if these

Journals

are

destined to so long a life i they eertaiiily do not lay nloof Wellington’s Moderation-Marshal Soult nrrive.M--I'reiun'at.iona Id,the CoroMbou of Queen ATctoria-The WeUinglon Statue .The (lore-. nation-Coleridg-e and John Sterling-Lord Durham’s Mis.sion In (tmada -Lord Brougham conti-asted with the Duke-Macaulay on his return

of Sus.sex Si‘,;:inii.iiu.l of Mr. Bradshaw and Mr. Horsinan—Lord J^yiidlmrats I'l.uv of A irai.v —Prince Albert’s Household—The Privilege (^ue.sliou Prlmv A llii'i-c'. Allowance—Precedence of Prince Albert-Lord .) oie that a mighty fuss is made about .DiniiaiM wiihoiri, a.iyy sufficient reason, that his political iullueiK^o is sma.)!, Iiis power less, and that it is a matter oi: gn'at whether lie is in office or out. July 9th.—Yesterday I went to tin‘ hi,to Kiisg's riiiuu’ah who was buried with just the same conjmoniaJ as his decessor this time seven years. It is a wndiitlnMl iiior'kor)* after all, andif I were king, the first thing ,1, wouhl Ptnusions ilu^ otlun* night Whittle Harvey outdid himstdf; by all a-e-counls il- was inimitable, dramatic to the greatest d(‘gr(H\ a,nea.red to derive from writing his journal, and 1 a,m (a,ml (.bis in (lui principal cause) struck with the importa,ni, use (,o which (be habit may be turned. The habit of recording is (Insl, (*f a.ll likely to generate a desire to have something of soim^ ini,er('Ht to record; it will lead to habits of refhixiou :i,ud (,o (,r!i,ins of thought, the pursuit of which may be pleasing ami p.-olltable; It will exercise the memory and sharpem tlu( nmU>r-

1838]

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AT BUELEIGH.

37

standing generally; and thougli the thoughts may not be Tery profound, nor the remarks very lively or ingenious, nor the narrative of exceeding interest, still the exercise is, I think, calculated to make the writer wiser, and perhaps better. If I do this I shall read over all I write long before anyone else will have an opportunity of doing so, and I am not likely to be over-indulgent if I find myself a bore. Yesterday morning I left town, slept at Newmarket, saw the horses, I’ode out on the Warren Hill, and came here to dinner, where I find twenty-two people—-the Duke of Wel¬ lington and Lord Aberdeen, the Salisburys, Wiltons, and a mob of fine people; very miserable representatives of old Lord Burleigh, the two insignificant-looking Marquesses, who are his lineal descendants, and who display no moi*e of his brains than they do of his beard. The Duke of Wellington is in great force, talked last night of Canada, and said he thought the first operations had been a failure, and he judged so because the troops could neither take the rebel chief, nor hold their ground, nor return by any other road than that by which they came ; that if Colborne could hold Montreal during the winter it would do very well, but he was not sure that he would be able to do so; that the Government ought to exhibit to the world their determina¬ tion to put this revolt down, and that to do so they must seal the St. Lawrence' so as to prevent the ingress of foreigners, who would flock to Canada for employment against us; that the Queen could not blockade her own ports, so that they must apply to Parliament for power to effect this, and they ought to bring in a Bill forthwith for the purpose. This luomiug luj got a letter (from a, man he did not know) enclosing' tlu' la.test luiws, which luj thought very good, and XnonuHing Ixdf.er and more d(K!isivo results. After breakfast they went Hhooting. 1 walked out and joined the Duke, who talked to me for I dare say an hour and a half about his Spanish campaigns, and most interesting it was. I told him that the other day * The Diilni (cciiroHmxl no such opinion in eitlier of Ins speeckes on Canada (Fcbniary-1 til).

EEIG-N OF QUEEN VIOTOltl'A.

I'Oii/ii-. 1.

Allen* had asked me to find somebody, ii. nviliiiii.ry iii;i,ti, to reyiew the Wellington Despatchos in tin' ‘ lildiubui-gh, EeTiew,’ and that he had suggested Sir Mnrrii,v as the fittest person if he would nndei’t!ilc(^ it; thiit I had accordingly spoken to Mtzroy Somorstvt, who ha.d a.giaa'd to apply to Murray; and, if Murray woidd riol, do i!., 1 hi'jjg'od him to turn in his mind what olficer could be found ('i(nal to such a task, and I then asked tlio Dnkx^ if be Iviunv oi‘ anybody. He seemed amazingly plca,s('d a.t tlie idea,, Ha,id he knew nobody, but Muri'a,y was the littost nia,n. tVoiii this he began to talk, and told me a, graa.t thud ol’ va,i'ious matters, which I wish I could have ta,ken down a,a il, Cell from his lips. I was amused at the simplieity with whiidi he talked of the great interest of these 1 )es[ia.t('hes, just as he might have done if they had beiui. the work of a,ny other man; said he had read them hiinaeir wil.h (•onsipose all great generals have neces¬ sarily some qualities in coniinon ; even Venddme^ an indo¬ lent uuid beastly glutton and voluptuary, was capable of prodigious exertions and of activity not to be surpassed. There is a great deal in the character of Hannibal (as drawn by Livy) which would apply to the Duke of Wellington; only, instead of being stained with the vices which are .ascribed to the Darthaginiaii general, the Duke is distin¬ guished for the very opposite virtues. ‘^Hunquam ingeuium idem acl res diversissimas, 1. pamiduni atque imperanAum^ habiliiis fuit, itaque hand facile discerneres, iitrum imperatori, an exercitui, carior esset: 2. Heque Hasdrubal aliuiii quemquam pra3ficere nialle, nbi ■quid fortiter ac streiiue agendum esset, iieque milites alio diice plus confidere aut audere. S. Plurimum audacim ad periciila capesseiida, pduriniuin consilii inter ipsa pericula erat: 4. Hullo labore aut corpus fatigari aut animus vinci i;)oterat: caloris ac frigoris patientia par: cibi potionisque desid(3rio naturaJi, non voluptate, modus iinitus: vigiliariim soninique nec die nec iiocte discriminata tempora. Id, quod gereiidis rebus superesset, qnieti datum: ea neque molli strato neque silcjitio areessita. 5. Multi, smpe militari sagulo opertiini, hximi jacenteni inter custodias, stationesque .iiiilitum conspexeriuit. 6. Vestitus nihil inter mqnales ex■cellens: anna atque equi eonspiciebantur. Equitum pedi-, tumque idem longc primus erat: princeps in proelium ibat,:, iiltiimis conserto, proelio excedebat. 7. Has tantas. , viri ^ ,[Mt. Miicvey Napier was at this time editor, of the ^Edinburgh Eeview.’]

58

EEIGK OF QUEEN VICTORIA*

virtutes ingentia vitia seqiiaiTbant; iiilmniaiia cnulrlilijis, perfidia pins qiiam Puiiica, nihil veri^ nihil sancrtii, imlliiB Dehni inetns, milium jnsjiiraiidinn^ iiiilla rcligi.’’ . * • 1. iSTothing is more remarkable in th.(^ j)ukdit and is considered the artificer more than ho who la,ys tln^ foundations, so Peel would obtain all the (audit of moimuros which would in fact have been rendered (iasy or pra.otioa,hhi by the long-continued toils and persev(ira,ma' of oiln.a's. 11 is interest therefore (and consequently I HU])poH{i his di’sigai) is to restrain the impatience of his followta-s; to lol, tlui

1838]

POLICY OF SIR ROBERT PEEL.

63

Government lose ground in puWic estimation gently and considerately, not violently and rancorously; to assist in putting them in a contemptible or inefficient point of view; to render their places as uneasy as possible; and to give them time to crumble to pieces, so that his return to power may be more in appearance the act of the Whig Ministry than any act of his own. Then he may demand, and would probably obtain, as the condition of his acceptance of office, the support of a large proportion of the moderate of the Whig party, and the necessity of conciliating such men and of acquiring their support could afford him an excuse for adopting those Liberal maxims which, though far from palatable to the Conservatives, would be indispensable to the foi’mation of a strong Government, as without their adoption no Whig could with honour and consistency sup¬ port him. I care not who is Minister, but I want to see a strong Government, one which ma,y have a power of free action and not be obliged to pick its steps through doubt¬ ful divisions, living from day to day, and compelled to an incessant calculation as to the probable success of every measure, whether of principle or detail, on which it ventures 0 Commons. JLhin^s are not yet ripe for such a consummation, and before the fresh fusion of parties takes place which is necessary to bring it about, it must be made manifest that there is no other alternative, for there is always a considerable amount of party violence and selfish interest which reluctantly sacrifice themselves, no matter how desperate the position they hold or how great the good which may ensue. Though the adherents of Government put on as bold a front as they can, there is a very consider¬ able impression that the days of the Whig Cabinet are numbered; however, I don’t think they will go just yet. February 2Qth.—I made no allusion to the death of Creevey at the time it took place, about a fortnight ago, having said something about him elsewhere. Since that period he had got into a more settled way of life. He was appointed to one of the Ordnance offices by Lord Grey, and subsequently by Lord Melbourne to the Treasurership of

1838]

ME. CEEEVEY’S PAPEES.

65

feelings of tliose who might he affected bj the conents of the papers. Here is a strange situation in which to find a rectitude of conduct, a moral sentiment, a grateful and dis¬ interested liberality which would do honour to the highest birth, the most careful cultivation, and the strictest principle. It would be a hundred to one against any individual in the ordinary rank of society and of average good char¬ acter acting with such entire absence of selfishness, and I camiot help being struck with the contrast between the motives and disposition of those who want to get hold of these jiapers, and of this poor woman who is ready to give them up. They, well knowing that, in the present thirst for the sort of information Creevey’s jouimals and correspondence contain, a very large sum might be obtained for them, are endeavouring to drive the best bargain they can with her for their own particular ends, while she puts her whole con¬ fidence in them, and only wants to do what they tell her she ought to do under the circumstances of the case. General Evans’s appointment as K.O.B. has made a great stir at the United Service Club, and is blamed or ridiculed by everybody. It is difficult to conceive why the Govern- ‘ ment gave it him, and if he had not been a vain coxcomb he would not have wished for it; but they say he fancies himself a great general, and that he has done wonders in We have had Brougliain every day at the Council Office, more busy writing a review of Lady Charlotte Biiry’s book than with the matter before the Judicial Committee. He writes this with inconceivable rapidity, seldom corrects, and never reads over what he has written, but packs it up and despatches it rough from his pen to Macvey Hapier. He is in exuberant spirits and full of talk, and certainly mar¬ vellously agieeable. His talk (for conversation is not the ' [Sir .I>i> Lacy EvaiiH pmliably did l Bishops, except Llaiidaff, stayed awsiy, io mark iJnhr dis¬ approbation of his agitation on the subject. Nobody knows what the Tories are goiiaj-i,’ to do on Molesworth’s motion on Tuesdayih(\y luua^ k(‘|>(. an omi¬ nous silence, and it is believed that tlu^ great body

tlnnn

are eagerly pressing fora division aga.inst Ihn Cov- had held the office of Secretary of State for theOoloniea since the formation of Lord Melhonme’s second Administration in 18.85. He -was succeeded in the Colonial Office hy the Marquis of Normanhy, who Lad filled up to tliis time the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.]

EEIGrN OF QXJEBN VICTOEIA.

162

[Chap. IV.

the pill he ™ ashed to swallow ae to disgoiso its tatteroess aod make it tolerahl, palatable, foe ia whatever pohte periphrasis it might be involved, the plain English ot the commnmeation was, that he was incompetent to ndmmister Colonial affairs. By ventnring npon tffese changes the Goyernmeixt evi¬ dently think they can scramble on, and on the whole it is probable that they may, though never did a Government hold office by so frail and uncertain a tenure, and upon such strange terms.

A pretty correct analysis of the House of

Commons presents the following result: 267 Government people, including the Irish tail; 66 Radicals, 5 doubtful, and 316 Conservatives; 4 vacant seats, and the Speaker.

If,

therefore, at any time, one half the Radicals should stay away (they need not vote against), when danger threatens the Government, it would he at an end; and if they do not do so, it is because most of them are still unconvinced that it ■would be better and more conducive to the ultimate success of their objects to let the Tories in, and not from any love to the present Ministers, whom, on the contrary, they hate a good deal and despise a little.

The Irish band appear to

be dependable, but there is no knowing what might be the consequence of a change, and the withdrawal of all the per¬ sonal influence which Normanby had obtained over them. It has often happened that a coalition of very opposite par¬ ties has turned a Government out -, but never before, that I remember, kept one in, and for such a length of time.

The

Conservatives are completely united, ably led, and count in their ranks the most powerful men in the House of Commons; they are by far the most numerous of any of the parties, one-third more than the Whigs (without the Irish), nearly five times more than the Radicals, and within twenty of all combined; and yet they are as effectually excluded as they were just after the passing of the Reform Bill, for ah that appears to the contrary. Lord Durham’s enormously long Report' appeared in the 1 [This -wras the celebrated Report on the Administration of Canada, which bore the name of Lord Durham, but was in fact written by Mr.

1839]

LOED DUEHAM’S EEPORT.

163

^ Times ’ on Friday last, before being laid on the tables of the two Houses, whereat he rose in his place and expressed much surprise and displeasure, all of which was very ridi¬ culous and superfluous, for he had two thousand copies of it printed, and distributed them to the right and left, to any¬ body who came to see him, to Foreign Ministers and others, so no wonder that the document found its way into the Times.’ ^ He sent a copy to Basthope, proprietor of the ‘^Morning Chronicle,’ but with an injunction not to publish it, and Basthope told him he wished he had tept his copy to him¬ self, for he could have obtained one elsewhere which he should have been at liberty to publish if he had not. accepted his with the prohibition. Fehfuary Lord Hormanby was not acquainted with the intention of dismissing Glenelg, nor was the thing settled when he was here; on the contrary, he had made every pre¬ paration for the Dublin season, and is put to serious incon¬ venience by being thus suddenly sent for. Glenelg continues to discharge the official duties, but he is deeply hurt at the treatment he has experienced. It is the more remarkable because at this moment his official correspondence with Oliarles Bullet, and emlDodied tlie opinions of Mr. Gitbon Wakefield and Sir William Moleswortli on Colonial policy. It is not too miicli to say tkat in tke course of tlie next twenty years this Eeport changed the Colonial policy of the Empire, and the principles laid down in it certainly converted Canada from a revolted colony into one of the most loyal dependencies of the British Crown. W^hat would have been the result if the Ministers of George III. had treated the complaints of the xAmerican colonies in 1774 with equal wisdom ?J 1 [The copy which appeared in the Twies was sent to that journal hy Mr. Hanson, who was one of the persons attached to Lord Durham’s mission. He afterwards became Sir Eicbard Davies Hanson, Chief Justice of South xAustralia. This gentleman gave the following account of the trans¬ action. The whole report was written by Charles Duller, with the excep¬ tion of two paragraphs on Church or Crown lands, which were composed by Gibbon Wakefield and Mr. Hanson. xAfter the Keport was presented to the Colonial Office, the Government wished these last two paragraphs to be modified. This Lord Durham was inclined to do. Wakefield resented this, and, in order to prevent any change, he got Hanson to send a copy of the Beport to the Times^ where it appeared the next day. These particulars have been communicated to me by a gentleman to whom Sir Diehard Hanson related them.]

[Chap.IV.

EEIGN OP QUEEN VICTOEIA.

164

Durham is published, in which he displays firmness, dignity, and sense, so that the world can discern no good cause why be should be so unceremoniously turned off.

Melbourne

nrced him to retire when his brother (Sir Eobert brant) died; but Glenelg thought this was from Imidness and con¬ sideration, and was so touched, that he deemed it the more incumbent on him to remain at his post.

Mormanby will

probably do much better, for though he has nothing like the natural abilities of his predecessor, he has the knack of succeedino- in whatever he undertakes; he has application, courage, and sense, and all this in spite of a frivolous exte¬ rior.

In Ireland, however obnoxious to the Orangemen, his