LORD ABERDEEN AND LORD PALMERSTON ON THIS QUESTION. - M. GUIZOT. ANNEXATION OF CRACOW.- DIS CONCURRENCE OF CUSSION IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. -PORTUGAL AND SWITZERLAND. - POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN ITALY. WHEN Sir Robert Peel's Government resigned in the December of 1845, and Lord John Russell attempted to construct a Whig Cabinet, the question of the Corn Laws was not, as the public soon learnt, the only difficulty which the new Prime Minister had to meet. It appeared that there was at least one hereditary Whig statesman who could not appreciate the value of Lord Palmerston's claims to be once more Foreign Secretary, and who set about resisting his pretensions. The son of the great prime minister of the great Reform Cabinet could not of course suppose that he would ever be excluded from a Liberal Ministry. It seemed impossible to do without Lord Grey; but very easy to do without Lord Palmerston. This singular delusion was persisted in, and Lord John Russell found himself obliged to relinquish the task which he had conscientiously undertaken. This failure, had it not been for the intrigue against one who had shown so much ability both in office and in opposition, and whose only crimes were his success and his patriotism, was not much to be regretted. It was better that Sir Robert Peel should again return to office and complete the work he had begun. But the effect of Lord Grey's opposition to Lord Palmerston's resumption of the duties of Foreign Minister did not end with the political abortion of December 1845. It was known abroad that it was on account of Lord Palmerston's sentiments and conduct with regard to France that one of the noblemen of the Whig party had thus questioned the propriety of the appointment. The King of the French and his ministers could not but agree with Lord Grey; thus when Lord Palmerston did again become Foreign Minister, some months later, notwithstanding that he had in the interval visited Paris, and done all he could to remove this unfavourable impression from the minds of the rulers of France, he found, from no fault of his own, his relations with that Government seri ously complicated. Experience alone could teach some great Whig politicians the value and the importance of the statesman who honoured them by adhering to their party, and throwing the weight of his ability and popularity into their political scale. They did not know that the people of England, when forming their judgment on foreign policy, are not partisans; that all they require is patriotism, courage, and sagacity; and that they will always stand by the minister who will stand by the country. When Lord Palmerston retired from office in 1841, France and England were vigorously engaged in thwarting each other in Spain. England indeed had no other object than the success of that constitutional system which she had so powerfully contributed to establish; and our minister therefore only supported that Spanish political party which he considered best able and most willing to carry out the principles of good government. The soundness of Lord Palmerston's views have been justified by time and experience. No person who knows anything of the Peninsula will now deny that the Progresista party is by far the purest and the most honest of the sections into which the Spanish nation is divided. The Moderados, who enjoyed the patronage of France, were in fact the mere instruments of the Queen Mother, Maria Christina; she was really the head of this faction, and by such a leader the followers may be judged. There were doubtless some men amongst them of virtue and talent; but for the most part they were a mere cabal of greedy, corrupt, and unprincipled politicians. As such they were the fittest for carrying out the schemes for the aggrandisement of his family, which, the longer the King of the French remained on the throne, he with miserly prudence the more restlessly pursued. While Espartero remained in power, the fear that England might carry off the prize he thought so captivating, and marry the young Queen of Spain and the Infanta to princes of her own choosing, rendered Louis Philippe anxious to consent to a compromise. At first M. Guizot assured Lord Aberdeen of the willingness of the French Government to co-operate with England to effect the two marriages. But one reservation was included in the offers which France made. So early as in 1842 she informed the Governments interested in this question, that she would not consent to any prince but one of the House of Bourbon marrying the Queen of Spain. This was a somewhat extraordinary position for a constitutional government, such as that The of the King of the French, to take on question relating to an independent kingdom. It was a revival of the doctrine of legitimacy, and a revival of the pretensions of the French Bourbons to control the affairs of Spain. To this principle, as an abstract proposition, no English minister could consent. French Government, to be sure, professed great respect for the independence of Spain, and for the free choice of the young Queen. But M. Guizot thought that they might be reconciled to such a limitation. What would be said in private life of the father of a large family, who should declare his great consideration for the personal independence of a young heiress, and yet insist on her marrying one of his family? It was never asserted, when the declaration was made, that the Queen of Spain had any peculiar predilection for the descendants of Philip the Fifth; and such a condition as that proposed by King Louis Philippe was absolutely unwarrantable. Yet as a fact indicative of the spirit in which these negotiations were conducted by the French Government, this imperious announcement deserves attention. It shows the dif ferent relations in which France and England stood, and accounts for much that subsequently occurred. |