DISCORD IN THE CABINET. 183 his absence, and he fretted at the incompetency of Castlereagh as War Secretary. The discord in the Cabinet was so great that it was only the King's support and influence which held it together. "Each of the Ministers," says a shrewd observer, "begins to extend the circle of his confidential communications, which are full of compaints of each other, and which announce, beyond all disguise, the bad opinion they entertain of their own permanence." Their majorities, however, remained unaffected; and the Opposition made no serious efforts to expel them from office, because convinced that, if successful, the Court would immediately intrigue to deprive them of the fruit of their success. "I am satisfied these people, or any people, may command under the King's influence a majority in Parliament; and it would have the appearance of a struggle for power, at a time when a man must indeed be of a most depraved ambition, to wish for the appearance and responsibility of governing the country, with the certainty that a Court intrigue would be incessantly at work, with ample means of depriving him of all power to be of real use." Clouds, nevertheless, were gathering thickly round the Ministry. The first which broke concerned the Throne rather than the Treasury Bench. It was the charge which Colonel Wardle preferred against the Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief, of being involved in the corrupt sale of commissions by the Duke's former mistress, a Mrs. Clarke. The Ministry acted with curious indecision in this wretched business. At first they allowed, or promoted, a public inquiry. Then, at the 184 CHARGE AGAINST THE DUKE OF YORK. King's instigation, they undertook the Duke's defence; and by a vigorous use of Court influence succeeded in carrying a resolution which exculpated him from any guilty knowledge of Mrs. Clarke's transactions. Public opinion went strongly against the Duke, and though it did not counteract, it certainly diminished the influence of the Court. The minority, therefore, was so large that the Duke felt himself compelled to resign his office; in which he was succeeded by Sir David Dundas. "The conduct of the House in general," writes Mr. Horner,* "has been much more patriotic, and the vote of the minority has been much more effective, than I expected at the outset of this important inquiry, that either would be found to be. The practical measure has been obtained; and it can neither be denied, nor fail to be attended with a benefical impression among all intelligent men, that this practical result had been accomplished by the united force of public opinion and of the respectable minority in the House. Had that minority been less, the Duke would not have resigned." Horner adds :-"The stories which are mentioned of the King's behaviour, under these distressing and embarrassing circumstances, are very natural, and likely to be true. The Duke of York went to Windsor after Wardle's original motion, and stated his case to the King; that is, stated the same lies to him which he has been repeating to the very last to his defenders in the House. The King said, the charge might be untrue, but the slur cast upon him would never be removed, and it *Life of Francis Horner,' i. 485, 486. THE WALCHEREN EXPEDITION. 185 was a greater injury to the family than they had ever suffered since they came to the Throne. The poor old man, who is too blind to read, makes the newspapers be read to him by three different persons, that nothing may be concealed from him." The second cloud burst some months later, and was more serious in its consequences. To relieve Austria, which was pressed by Napoleon, in the summer of 1809, and finally, by the Battle of Wagram, reduced to a prostrate condition, the British Government, at the instigation (it is said) of the King, determined on sending a grand naval and military expedition to the Scheldt, with instructions to destroy the French naval arsenals at Antwerp and Flushing. Unfortunately, Lord Castlereagh permitted the appointment of a general of notorious feebleness and incompetency, the Earl of Chatham; and the expedition proved a disastrous failure. It accomplished not one of its objects; and after losing a considerable portion of his army, Chatham returned to England early in September, covered with disgrace. He left a detachment in the island of Walcheren, which, however, on account of its pestilential climate, was abandoned before the end of the year. The calamity was so great in itself, and in its consequences, that the nation was moved with a paroxysm of anger, shame, and sorrow. It called forth a flood of caricatures, epigrams, and pasquinades. One of these is well known: "Great Chatham's son, with his sword drawn, Was waiting for Sir Richard Strachan ; And Strachan, as eager to get at 'em, Was waiting for the Earl of Chatham." 186 QUARREL OF CASTLEREAGH AND CANNING. Sir Richard Strachan was in command of the fleet. Less generally known is the following: "Friend. When sent fresh wreaths on Flushing's shores to reap, What didst thou do, illustrious Chatham? Chatham. Friend. To men fatigued with war repose is sweet, Sleep! Chatham. Eat!" Canning, who for some time had exercised a paramount influence in the Cabinet, and had long complained of the inefficiency of Castlereagh, now resolved on his dismissal. As early as April he had communicated his views to the Duke of Portland, suggesting that Lord Wellesley should be substituted for Lord Castlereagh as War Minister; and under a threat of resignation, he obtained a promise to this effect from the Duke and the King. The latter instructed Lord Camden, who was connected with Lord Castlereagh by marriage, to inform him of the new arrangement proposed for the War Department; but Lord Camden contrived to delay the fulfilment of a mission which he doubtlessly felt to be unpleasant.* The failure of the Scheldt expedition led Canning to require of the Duke of Portland the immediate conclusion of the bargain between them; but the Duke informed him that no communication had been made to Castlereagh, and that he himself, broken down by his infirmities, was on the point of retiring. For some time it had been evident that the Duke was unfit to rule a Ministry; and Canning now aspired to be his * It should be stated that the Duke had restricted him from informing Lord Castlereagh until the 28th of June. THEIR RESIGNATION. 187 successor. Accordingly he intimated to Perceval that the Prime Minister ought to be in the House of Commons, thus limiting the choice to Perceval and himself; and he added that "he could not think of Perceval's being Minister," thus inferring that he himself must be the new Premier.* He appears to have intended for Perceval the Lord Chancellorship. The "high Tories" of the Government were not disposed, however, to acquiesce in Canning's elevation, and he thereupon resigned (September 9th). Lord Camden then found himself compelled to acquaint Lord Castlereagh with the change in his department that had been in contemplation; and Castlereagh, considering that his colleagues had behaved unfairly towards him, followed Canning's example (September 9th).† Two days afterwards, accusing Canning of dishonourable conduct in concealing the promise * Phipps, 'Memoir of Mr. Plumer Ward,' i. 229. "Lord Castlereagh joined to great boldness in action, great calm and courtesy of manner, long habits of business, and a considerable acquaintance with men collectively and individually. He lived in the world, and was essentially a man of the world; but, on the other hand, he was singularly deficient in literary accomplishments, and also in that concentration of purpose which forms a policy and gives daily consistency and vigour to general plans. His language-ungrammatical, diffuse, and mingling every variety of metaphorical expression-was the ridicule of the scholar; but the great air with which he rose from the Treasury Bench, threw back his blue coat, and showed his broad chest and white waistcoat, looking defiance on the ranks of the Opposition, won him the hearts of the rank and file of the Government adherents. In affairs, he got through the details of office so as to satisfy the scrupulousness of journalists, but did not put his heart and soul into those details, so as to give them an universal vitality. It was difficult to detect any particular error in his conduct, bnt the general result was unsatisfactory."-LORD DALLING, Historical Characters,' ii. 260, 261. |