XLVI. 1846. 1 Parl. Deb. xi. 91. CHAP. he maintained was, that the Treaty of Utrecht forbade any prince of the house of Orléans to acquire the Spanish crown by marriage or otherwise. But this was a vain conceit; there was not a word in the Treaty of Utrecht excluding the house of Orléans from the Spanish throne, if they chose to relinquish the French crown, or their right of succession to it. The union of the two crowns on one head was forbidden by the Treaty of Utrecht, but not the acquisition of the two crowns by brothers of the same family,-the danger which, by the consequences of Lord Palmerston's own act in placing the Queen on the throne, was now impending. Besides, even if the marriage had been contrary to the Treaty of Utrecht, he could not refer to it as founding an objection to its violation; for, having himself set the example of violating the treaty by setting aside the male line, he could not rest upon it as conferring any other right. As little was he entitled to object to the incorporation of Cracow as being contrary to the Treaty of Vienna, for he himself had been the first to break through that treaty by partitioning the kingdom of the Netherlands, which it guaranteed; and the Northern powers might, by a mere variaD'Haus- tion of names, retort on him his own words: "It will 182, 183; not escape the loyalty of the Court of London, that if sonville, ii. Regnault, iii. 166,167. the Treaty of Vienna is not good on the Rhine or the Po, neither is it on the Vistula.”2* The full extent of the disastrous effects thus introduced fringement of the Treaty of Utrecht had taken place, or that any danger to the balance of power had been incurred. Nay, Louis XV. was publicly, and with the knowledge of all Europe, affianced, early in life, to the Infanta of Spain. She was brought to Paris, and lived long at Versailles, in order to be initiated into the customs of the French court; and the marriage was at length broken off, not from any objection on the part of the English ambassador, or the diplomatic body in Europe, but because, the princess being only thirteen and the king nineteen, the marriage could not take place so soon as the impatience of his subjects required, and the match was in consequence broken off, and he married Maria Leckzinski, daughter of the King of Poland.-See DE TOCQUEVILLE'S Histoire de Louis XV., i. 172. * "Il n'échappera pas à la loyauté des Cours du Nord, que si les Traités de Vienne ne sont pas bons sur la Vistule, ils ne sont pas meilleurs sur le Rhin et sur le Po."-D'HAUSSONVILLE, Politique Extérieure de la France, ii. 182. XLVI. 54. of France land before marriages. into the diplomacy of Europe by the divisions of the CHAP. Western powers, will not be duly appreciated unless the cordial terms on which they were, previous to the 1846. affair of the Spanish marriages, is taken into considera- Cordiality tion. It is thus set forth by the chosen historian of the and EngFrench diplomacy under the reign of Louis Philippe: the affair of "Unmistakable symptoms proved to entire Europe the the Spanish fortunate changes which had taken place in the relations of France and England. Queen Victoria, disembarked at Treport, suddenly appeared at the Château d'Eu. The most cordial intimacy, arising naturally from the circumstances, and favoured by the hundred facilities of country life, sprang up between the two chiefs of the great constitutional monarchies. Shortly after, during the visit at Windsor, the King of the French received the most convincing proof of the profound impression which these moments, passed in the bosom of the royal family, had left in the breast of the Queen of England. Not content with surrounding her royal guest with the most delicate attentions, and bestowing on him the proofs of the most affectionate respect, desirous to join to the manifestation of her personal regard a further proof of her royal inclination as sovereign, Queen Victoria invested him with the dignities most coveted by foreign monarchs. In their turn, the English people, desirous to associate themselves with the feelings of their young Queen, bestowed on the representative of the French nation an honour which no crowned head had ever received. Louis Philippe, being unable to accept the magnificent hospitality which the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London proposed to have offered to him at Guildhall, that great corporation, the representative of the rich and intelligent classes of the metropolis, did not hesitate to pass the gates of the City, and to offer him at Windsor an address of respectful felicitation. Such an 1 D'Hausunusual step was intended to honour France itself, not ii. 68, 69. less than its King.1 France did not misunderstand it ; sonville, XLVI. CHAP. and these shining marks of regard were the more acceptable, that they could be accepted with pride from a nation whom they were then in the happy course of emulating only in peace, prosperity, and grandeur." 1846. 55. Affairs of Greece, and The ill effects of the disaccord of France and England were not confined to Poland. They appeared in an disaccord of equally striking manner in Greece, Italy, and SwitzerFrance and land. The constitutional system, established in the first garding it. of these countries by the Governments of the three England re countries which had established the infant State, having been found, as might have been expected, entirely at variance with the habits and temper of at least the whole continental portion of Greece, had gradually gone into desuetude; and in 1835, Lord Palmerston, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, had made it a formal ground of complaint against the French Government, that they had endeavoured to establish in Greece a system altogether at variance with the habits and wishes of the inhabitants. No overt act, however, followed this expres- · sion of opinion, and King Otho practically ruled the country with despotic authority for eight years afterwards. This mode of administration, however, although suitable to the clannish habits and ideas of the mountaineers in continental Greece, was little calculated to meet the wishes of the mercantile islanders and the constitutional party, who had been mainly instrumental in establishing the independence of the country. These discontents at length acquired such strength that they ended in a revolution, which altered the form of the government. On the 15th September 1843, a general movement took place, headed by a powerful party styled the "Philorthodox," secretly supported by the Russian ministers and the Court of St Petersburg. The insur1 D'Haus rection was so generally supported that it had the whole 79, 83; Ann. features of a national movement.1 Without Without any resistance on the part of the Government, which was taken completely by surprise, a constitutional monarchy was sonville, ii. Hist. xxvi. 312, 319. XLVI. proclaimed ; a new ministry, with M. Metaxas at its head, CHAP. established; and a committee appointed to arrange the details of a constitution. 1846. 56. first sup then dis The object of Russia in supporting this change was to supplant the influence of the German sovereign in the gov- Which is at ernment of the country; it was an anti-Bavarian, not a Lib- ported, and eral movement. It was no part of the policy of the Court owned, by of St Petersburg to establish constitutional monarchies in Russia. the East, or to surround itself with a zone of free institutions; it desired to render its own authority paramount, and nothing more. The revolution of 3d September had passed their intentions; it had become constitutional, when they only desired it to be dynastic. They lost no time, therefore, in recalling their minister, M. Kataensy, and in ordering M. Calerji, the brother of the chief leader in the revolution, to quit their service. As a natural consequence, the chief direction of the country, during the formation of its constitution, devolved on France and England, the natural guardians of a State Lord which aspired to be free while maturing its institutions, Aberdeen and the most perfect accordance of views prevailed for long Lyons, between the ministers of the two nations on the subject. 1843; M. SIR EDMUND LYONS, the English, and M. Piscatory, the Piscatory, French Minister, went hand in hand in all measures connected with the formation of the constitution, as did D'HausLord Aberdeen and M. Guizot, as long as the former 84, 85. remained at the head of foreign affairs in England.1 * * "Il n'y a qu'une bonne politique, celle que font ensemble la France et l'Angleterre. C'est vrai partout; c'est vrai surtout en Grèce. Vous et moi, MM. Mavrocordato et Colletti voulant les mêmes choix, tendant au même but, par les mêmes moyens, la partie monarchique et constitutionnelle est gagnée en Grèce."M. PISCATORY à M. GUIZOT, 30th October 1843. "Quant à l'entente avec mon collègue d'Angleterre, Sir E. Lyons, elle est complète. Le Pape la désire et en prend grande confiance."-M. PISCATORY à M. GUIZOT, 30th September 1843; D'HAUSSONVILLE, Politique Extérieure de la France, ii. 87. "Tous les hommes disent, Si M. Colletti et M. Mavrocordato, le ministre d'Angleterre et le ministre de France, continuent à s'entendre, comme ils font aujourd'hui, la cause est gagnée.""-M. PISCATORY à M. GUIZOT, 10th November 1843; Ibid. ii. 88. to Sir E. Sept. 27, Guizot à M. Sept. 27, 1843; sonville, ii. XLVI. 1846. CHAP. These cordial dispositions on both sides were in the highest degree agreeable to Louis Philippe and M. Guizot, and they continued for a considerable time to animate the two cabinets in this particular, as well as their respective ministers. 57. ment of a coldness, proaches to 1844. Aug. 18, 1844. The first interruption to these feelings took place in Commence- 1844, when it became necessary to appoint a new ministry in consequence of M. Metaxas and his colleagues, which ap who first held the helm after the revolution, having rea rupture. signed. M. Mavrocordato, who had resided long in London, was supported by the English cabinet; M. Colletti, who had done the same at Paris, and had numerous political connections there, by the French. The April 11, former was selected by King Otho to form a cabinet, but it was still supported by M. Colletti, and Piscatory, on the part of France, lent it for some time a generous and disinterested aid. By degrees, however, the jealousy which was naturally to be looked for in such circumstances, made its appearance, and Mavrocordato's ministry having been displaced by a vote of the Chambers, a new ministry was formed, composed of M. Colletti, M. Metaxas, and their respective friends. This ministerial change was the commencement of the misunderstanding of France and England on the affairs of Greece. The coldness continued through the whole of 1845, during which Colletti really rested on the support of France, and Mavrocordato as plainly on that of England. Appearances, however, were still kept up, and there was no ostensible divergence between the embassies of the rival powers as long as Lord Aberdeen remained at the Foreign Office in London. But when Lord Palmerston succeeded, and the affairs of the Spanish marriages had embittered the feelings of the two Cabinets, the division became open and serious. In August 1847, Lord Palmerston endeavoured to displace the Colletti ministry, and insisted peremptorily for the immediate payment of the arrears of interest which had been accumulating for some |