shadow of britain

Chapter 698 Palmerston's Invitation

As we all know, two kinds of fruit cannot grow on the same tree. I hate Arthur Hastings as much as I hate Henry Brougham.

— Viscount Palmerston

Since he made up his mind to leave Russia, the balance in Arthur's heart has gradually shifted from the Whigs to the Tories.

The reason why he made such a decision was not only because he was "fleeing from the crime", but also because he wanted to stir up trouble.

Although the old cripple Talleyrand had a bad reputation, it must be said that he did teach Arthur a lot.

After Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, Talleyrand was appointed as the French representative to attend the Vienna Peace Conference.

Many people at that time avoided talking about Napoleon, fearing that talking too much would lead to mistakes, but Talleyrand secretly kept in touch with some Bonapartists who still had illusions about Napoleon.

Later, when Napoleon returned after the "Hundred Days", many people who had previously betrayed Napoleon vied to pledge their loyalty to the restored emperor, but Talleyrand sat firmly in Paris and watched the changes, with no intention of taking the initiative to join him.

It turned out that both choices made by the old cripple were examples of wisdom.

As he said: Don't give up on anyone too quickly, and don't trust anyone too quickly.

If this principle is applied to Arthur, it means: Don't give up on any political faction too quickly, and don't trust any political faction too quickly. Regime change is not a disaster, but an opportunity.

For him, the time of unemployment is not completely free of work. In fact, this time is more important than when he is in office.

Because only those who still have friends when they lose power can gain supporters when they return to power.

As for how to deal with an annoying guy like Ledley?
Well, in Arthur's opinion, unfaithful friends may be hateful, but they are still useful at the right time.

But at this moment, it is not just the Tories who have to burn, and it is not just disloyal friends like Ledley who have to be maintained.

Inside the carriage, Arthur unfolded a copy of the Times that had just been published this morning. On it was a striking headline: "Earl Grey submits his resignation, Viscount Melbourne takes over as Prime Minister."

People in the industry like Arthur would naturally not be surprised by this personnel change that caused a sensation in Britain, because they had already heard about it a week ago.

But there are still some subtle points in this article that Arthur finds subtle.

Firstly, as Viscount Melbourne took over as Prime Minister, the vacant position of Home Secretary was taken over by the former Secretary of War, Earl Carlisle.

The other two of the three cabinet seats, Viscount Althorp, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Viscount Palmerston, Foreign Secretary, were both able to retain their positions.

Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, resigned and Lord Grant, Chairman of the Indian Administration Council, was promoted to Secretary of State for the Colonial Office.

Sir James Graham, First Lord of the Admiralty, resigned and was succeeded by Lord Auckland, President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint.

Of course, what Arthur is most concerned about is the change in the Chief Justice.

Fortunately, this position has not changed.

The Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland continues to be the Rt Honourable Lord Brougham, Chairman of the Council of the University of London.

After hearing the news, Arthur's appetite improved a lot this morning. He ate a plate of bacon and two fried eggs for breakfast alone, and even accidentally drank an extra pot of black tea without sugar and milk.

While feeling happy, Arthur also understood the future policy direction of former Prime Minister Earl Grey and the Whig Party from this personnel change.

Those who were out of the new cabinet included the First Lord of the Admiralty Sir James Graham and the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Lord Stanley. If one paid close attention to the non-cabinet personnel changes in the London Gazette, one would also find that the Postmaster General, the Duke of Richmond, and the Lord Privy Seal, the Earl of Ripon, also resigned.

This group of Whig bosses, dubbed the "Derby Gang" by the Times, had one thing in common: they all believed that the Irish Church of Ireland Secular Affairs Bill threatened the established status of the Church of Ireland, was inconsistent with their political principles, and were strong opponents of Irish church reform.

The collective resignation of the Derby Gang also illustrates the current attitude of the Whig Party. Even if the former Prime Minister Earl Grey resigns, they will not waver in their determination to promote the Irish Church Secular Affairs Bill.

But Arthur always felt that the Whig group seemed to think the problem was too simple. Although the Derby Gang opposed the promotion of church reform in Ireland, many of them played a pioneering role in many reforms in recent years.

The person Arthur admired most was the former First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir James Graham, who was once considered an indispensable figure among the radical Whigs.

When the Duke of Wellington was in power a few years ago, Graham, who was in a weak position, did not shy away from making a high-profile statement of his political views in his campaign speeches: I am a Blue Party member, I was a Blue Party member in the past, I am a Blue Party member now, and I hope I will always be a Blue Party member in the future. I am not ashamed of this, and God bless the Blue Party to never be ashamed of me. The Tories are the "court party" and their goal is to expand the royal power. The Whigs, also known as the "gentry party", fight to protect the rights of the people, defend public opinion, and promote the happiness of the people.

What made Graham famous was his motion in the House of Commons to cut the salaries of civil servants and his criticism of the high salaries of Privy Council ministers.

After Earl Grey came to power, Graham not only participated in the drafting of the Parliamentary Reform Bill, but also promoted a number of arduous reforms within the Royal Navy as the Secretary of the Admiralty, including meritocracy (selecting and appointing Admiralty officials without party affiliation), improving the treatment of sailors and retirement benefits, and ordering the abolition of a number of military corporal punishments.

The only pity was that he ran into trouble with the Royal Navy's common practice of conscription (forced conscription system).

Although Graham kicked this system several times, he still failed to abolish this old tradition.

However, it is a pity that such a minister with outstanding political achievements resigned because of his differences with the Whig Party on the Irish issue.

Moreover, in Arthur's opinion, Graham's arguments against the Irish Church of Ireland Secular Affairs Bill did have some merit.

Graham believed that the foundation of the political union between Britain and Ireland was the church, and any interference in the church system could shake the foundation and eventually lead to the collapse of the union.

From a liberal perspective, Graham's views are obviously unacceptable.

However, from a realistic standpoint, in order to promote the union of Britain and Ireland, it is absolutely necessary to gradually assimilate Ireland with the Anglican Church. Even if this assimilation process is very slow and even suspected of infringing on basic human rights such as religious freedom, this work must be done even if it takes one or two hundred years.

The resignation of Graham and others was not just a simple loss of a few capable people for the Whig Party, as many of them had long served as the glue within the Whig Party.

A relatively pragmatic idealist like Graham could talk to the "overly opinionated" Lord Brougham and Earl Daramore within the Whig Party, and could also get along with the shrewd old hand like Viscount Palmerston who jumped between the Tories and the Whigs.

As for why Lord Brougham and Viscount Palmerston were specifically mentioned?
That's naturally because these two people don't get along very well.

The feud between Viscount Palmerston and Lord Brougham began even before Arthur was born.

The year was 1806, when Palmerston had just received his Master of Arts degree from St John's College, Cambridge University. Coincidentally, Prime Minister Pitt the Younger died of illness. Cambridge University had to reluctantly bid farewell to this outstanding alumnus who had served as prime minister twice and governed for 20 years, and re-elect a new MP to represent Cambridge University.

In Britain, the seats of parliament for Cambridge and Oxford have always been regarded as a supreme honor, and it was difficult for young Palmerston not to be tempted by it.

But unfortunately, he was not the only one who was interested in this position. Compared with the then unknown Palmerston, Lord Spencer, Lord Althorp and Lord Petty, who were equally young but looked more promising, were obviously more attractive.

Lord Brougham, who was then serving as Princess Caroline's personal legal adviser and had already gained considerable prestige in British politics, wrote to Lord Macaulay of Cambridge University, clearly expressing his support for Palmerston's rival, Lord Petty.

Lord Brougham could not hide his contempt for Palmerston in that letter: Palmerston, one of the candidates, is a young man who just graduated from college a month ago. He lacks all the qualities required for this position. I clearly remember meeting him in Edinburgh, where he had been studying for a few years and then transferred to Cambridge. It is precisely because of my understanding of his family and himself that I have a hundred times more hope that Petty can succeed in the Cambridge constituency. Palmerston's family is extremely opposed to abolitionism, and there are almost no rivals in this regard. And I think this young man is too self-centered. For this young man, the most important point for him to participate in the election is that among all the ambitious goals, the life of a courtier is the most glorious. As mentioned above, don't you think that friends have more reasons to do their best to support Petty to defeat Palmerston?

Therefore, if we count the grudges between the two, they have actually been going on for almost thirty years.

In 1809, at the age of 25, Palmerston was appointed by Prime Minister Percival as Secretary of State for War, responsible for supervising and directing all accounts of the army, militia and volunteers, and he served in this position for 19 years. If Arthur and Palmerston's personal grudges are left aside, Arthur must be fair and say that Palmerston actually did a pretty good job in this position.

During his tenure, Palmerston was committed to improving the efficiency of the army, and judging from Britain's performance in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Army rarely had problems with logistics. However, due to his long tenure in the War Department, Palmerston naturally developed a political style that was keen on supporting national power and military strength.

And from then on, his autocratic temper had begun to show. Although he was only in his twenties or thirties at the time, he was never willing to give in in the struggle with two British Army commanders-in-chief, Sir David Dundas and the Duke of York.

The British War Department at that time was far from being as prominent as the Ministries of Defense of various countries today. Many old-school officers believed that the War Department was a subsidiary department established purely to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. However, Palmerston stubbornly refused to view his department in this way. In order to confirm the authority of the War Department, the young Palmerston often quarreled with Sir David Dundas and the Duke of York, and even went to the King's presence.

After the War Department achieved certain achievements, Palmerston planned to play a greater role in Parliament.

However, just as he had this idea, he ran into an old rival, Lord Brougham, who had been criticizing him in parliament.

In Palmerston's own words: "I could not, of course, refute the accusations levelled against me by this respectable and learned official, for he seldom interferes with the business of the House with his opinions, and in all matters is prudent, unwilling to engage in argument, or to make long speeches on the Constitution. So I resolved to confine myself to the business at hand, and to the budget for the army this year."

In other words, in the face of the "heavy artillery" displayed by Lord Brougham, Palmerston made a simple calculation based on the common sense of military economics and found that it would take a lot of time and energy to win this verbal battle, so he took the initiative to retreat.

He was unwilling to give in to the two army commanders-in-chief, but he backed down when facing Lord Brougham in Parliament.

In this respect alone, Palmerston was by no means the guy who only knew how to pick on the weak as the opposition said. It was just that he was too pragmatic, so in the eyes of others, he seemed to be always picking on the weak.

After all, in most cases, picking on the weak is definitely the most economical option. But if he has to take on the strong, Palmerston will definitely not hesitate.

And today, he obviously intends to pinch a tough guy who looks like a soft persimmon.

The carriage stopped in front of 15 Downing Street.

Compared to two years ago, London's industrialization level has increased significantly. Correspondingly, the toxic smog mixed with industrial dust has also become thicker.

Before getting out of the car, Arthur couldn't help but gently brush the coal dust off his cuffs with his fingers. He deliberately wore that gray-blue double-breasted jacket today. Although it looked inconspicuous, it was at least resistant to dirt.

Downing Street was still the silent street. The guards responsible for security had been replaced by a new batch. Looking around, there were few familiar faces.

Fortunately, his name still worked well. Arthur handed the invitation to the door. The young guard in dark blue uniform immediately recognized his name and welcomed him into the inner hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Walking through the corridor, he saw a familiar figure already waiting for him there.

"Arthur, my old friend!" Mr. August Schneider, Assistant Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stepped forward and shook his hand, with a polite smile unique to diplomats on his face: "You are finally here. Viscount Palmerston...he is in a pretty good mood today."

"What do you mean by 'not bad'?" Arthur asked as he walked. He didn't really care how Palmerston felt. If he had to maintain basic decency, he wouldn't even bother to come to the Foreign Office. "You mean, he thinks I'm doing a good job in Russia?"

"That's not the case." Schneider responded with a look: "I mean, at least he hasn't decided to send you to the tower yet."

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle, "Does he already know all about Urquhart and I's arrangements in the Caucasus?"

"Yes," Schneider replied quickly. "To be precise, he knows more than you think. I guess someone sent a copy of the 'confidential memorandum' between you and Urquhart to Whitehall 'anonymously'."

Arthur frowned slightly and remained silent.

In an instant, several names flashed through his mind, but the most suspicious one was his private secretary, Mr. Henry Blackwell.

"Don't worry." Schneider lowered his voice: "He didn't get angry. At least he didn't smash the teacup."

"Yes!" Arthur replied sarcastically, "The teacup was not smashed, which is a miracle in the history of British diplomacy. I thought I would be treated the same as General Codrington, and kicked out of the position of commander of the Mediterranean Fleet and sent to Portsmouth Naval Base. Does our Ministry of Foreign Affairs have a place of exile similar to Portsmouth Naval Base?"

Schneider coughed lightly, as if trying to hide his smile: "Of course there is, but our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is more polite and generally does not call it 'exile colony'. We call it: Liaison Office for Dutch Celebes Affairs."

"What the hell is that place?"

"In the Pacific, on an island off Borneo, it's hotter than Portsmouth Naval Station, has more diseases than India, but the good news is, there are no parliamentary inquiries and no Times columnists."

Arthur did not reveal that he had already submitted his written resignation to Palmerston, but pretended to laugh at himself and said: "Well...it does sound very suitable for someone like me now."

"Don't rush to categorize yourself." Schneider smiled and patted his shoulder. "I have never seen a true exile being invited into the office by a minister during a tea break in Whitehall."

The corridor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was too quiet. Occasionally, one or two figures walked by, and they seemed to deliberately lower their footsteps. This was the typical style of the department under Palmerston's leadership.

The walnut door of the minister's office, painted dark red with a gold frame, stood at the end of the corridor, looking particularly solemn and serious.

Schneider stopped and waited until he saw Arthur nod slightly, then he reached out and knocked on the door.

There were three knocks on the door, clear and rhythmic.

A slightly hoarse but steady male voice came from inside the door: "Come in."

The sun shone through the high windows onto the carpet. Viscount Palmerston, wearing a silver-gray vest, was sitting behind a heavy mahogany desk with a neatly folded topographic map spread out in front of him.

He did not look up immediately, but gently tapped a corner of the map with his right hand, as if confirming the location.

"Oh, it's Sir Arthur Hastings!" Palmerston looked up to confirm, then raised his hand and said, "Please take a seat."

Arthur sat down on the soft chair opposite him, deliberately slowing down his movements. He knew that he couldn't appear to be in a hurry to defend himself at this moment, otherwise he would lose.

Palmerston gently put the map down, stood up, opened the wine cabinet and took out a bottle of whiskey.

“I’ve read your report and I’ve read the memo,” he said. “You’re very courageous and very creative.”

"Unfortunately, that's against the rules," Arthur said.

"You are quite right," Palmerston said. "The diplomatic system exists precisely to prevent informal ideas from becoming a national disaster. In this respect, your approach and that of Sir David Urquhart are unsatisfactory."

Palmerston walked over to Arthur and put down his glass. "Do you think my criticism was too harsh?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not harsh. To be honest, sir, I have anticipated worse scenarios."

Palmerston laughed and filled Arthur's glass. "The diplomatic reports you sent back from Russia were quite well written. Not only are they valuable, but they are also very interesting to read. I thought the situation in Russia would be different from what I imagined, but it turns out that after twenty years, they are still the same."

Arthur frowned when he heard this: "Have you been to Russia before?"

"No," said Palmerston, taking a sip of whisky. "But I went to Paris in 1815 to attend a military parade, held by the anti-French coalition to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon. During the rehearsal of the parade, I found that the foreign troops' steps were smaller than ours and always looked clumsy. Because of this, the proud steps of our army shocked the Russian Tsar Alexander I, so he immediately ordered his army to adopt the British marching steps. As a result, it is not difficult to predict that the Russian soldiers were confused between the accustomed steps and the new steps ordered by the Tsar, and they were completely confused at the parade held in Mars Square. The Tsar was very annoyed and ordered the three colonels in charge of the parade formation to be arrested on the spot and thrown into the confinement cell. However, the Tsar's adjutant told me that these three colonels were very lucky. Because at least the Tsar did not order them to learn to dance like the ballet star Westris within 24 hours, otherwise they would be exiled to Siberia."

(End of this chapter)