Part 12

But it has been said that the sending of this fleet was a threat against Russia and Austria. I utterly deny that the sending of the fleet was a threat against either one or the other. A fleet at the Dardanelles was not a threat against Austria. If it had been in the Adriatic, it might have been so regarded. A fleet in the Mediterranean was not a threat against Russia. Had it forced its way through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, and had gone up to the Black Sea, and had anchored off Sebastopol, it might have been so considered. But a fleet at the mouth of the Dardanelles could be a threat against nobody; it must be manifest to the world that it could only be a symbol and source of support to the Sultan. It was a measure purely of defence and not a measure of offence.

But then we are told that our fleet by anchoring within the outer and inner castles of the Dardanelles, violated, not the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, as was said by mistake, but the Treaty of London, concluded in July, 1841, between the five Powers and Turkey, with respect to the passage of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. The British Government are accused of violating that treaty by ordering Sir W. Parker to enter the Dardanelles.

Now, by the Treaty of 1809, between England and Turkey, England bound herself to respect the rule of the Turkish Empire, by which, while Turkey is at peace, the Straits of Dardanelles and of the Bosphorus are closed against the ships of war of foreign Powers. But it was not till the Treaty of 1841 that the same engagement was also taken by all the other four Powers. I concur entirely with the Right Honorable Baronet, the Member for Ripon, in thinking that this was a wise and politic arrangement, eminently advantageous to Turkey, and conducive to the peace of Europe. Because when it is considered how easy it would be, if these narrow straits were open to the armed ships of other countries in times of peace, for any maritime Power when she had a discussion of any kind with the Turkish Government, to support the friendly representations of her Minister at Constantinople by the of course, accidental visit of a large fleet off the Seraglio Point--whether the fleet came from the Black Sea or the Mediterranean, it appears essential for the maintenance of the independence of the Porte, that no armed vessel of other Powers should, when the Porte is at peace, be allowed to enter either of those straits.

By the Treaty of July, 1841, Austria, France, Great Britain, Russia, and Prussia, all bound themselves to respect that regulation of the Porte. It so happens, however, that that treaty did not specify precisely what those straits are, whether they comprise the whole distance between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Marmora, and the whole distance between the Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea, or whether they consist only of such portion of those channels as are technically called the Straits of Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. At the entrance of the Dardanelles from the Mediterranean, there is a broad bay between the outer and the inner castles, and it is from the inner castles to the Sea of Marmora that the channel continues narrow. At the inner castles reside the Consuls; and it is there that tolls are taken from vessels passing; and there the firmans are delivered to allow vessels to pass up. In regulations established by the Porte in 1843, it was stated in general terms, that foreign ships of war and merchantmen should be admitted to this bay, between the outer and inner castles, for safe anchorage, and to wait there to know whether they would be allowed to go further. When the fleet under Sir W. Parker arrived at Besica Bay, which is on the coast of Asia Minor, the Turkish Government, who expressed great gratitude to Sir Stratford Canning for the arrival of our fleet, stated an apprehension that the anchorage in Besica Bay in certain states of wind and weather was not safe for large ships and they offered to send an authority to admit the fleet under Sir W. Parker, and not only it, but the French fleet also, into the outer anchorage of the Dardanelles, at times when it would be dangerous for them to remain at Besica Bay. That was communicated to the British Consul at the Dardanelles, and to the Turkish Pasha in command there.

A week or ten days after Sir W. Parker had arrived at Besica Bay, the wind coming on to blow from the quarter from which it made that open anchorage insecure, Sir W. Parker went with his squadron to Barber’s Bay, the outer anchorage of the Dardanelles. But I had written to Sir Stratford Canning specially to desire that in order to avoid all cavil and discussions, the fleet should not enter into the Dardanelles, unless wanted at Constantinople for the purposes for which it was sent. Sir Stratford Canning accordingly communicated with Sir W. Parker, and after the squadron had remained a week or ten days in Barber’s Bay to refit, it left that anchorage and returned to Besica Bay with the understanding that if stress of weather should again drive it thence, it should not return to Barber’s Bay, but should seek shelter elsewhere.

The Russian and Austrian Governments afterwards made representations both to the Porte and to her Majesty’s Government on this matter; stating that they considered the entrance of the British fleet into Barber’s Bay as a contravention of the Treaty of July, 1841. It might have been contended that the presence of the British fleet in the outer bay was not a violation of what was intended by the treaty; because the treaty bound the five Powers to conform to the regulations of the Porte in regard to the two Straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles; and the standing regulations of the Porte admitted ships of war, as well as merchantmen, to enter into and remain in Barber’s Bay, and to wait there for a decision whether they could be allowed to go farther up or not. But the Government did not think it wise, right, or proper to take their stand on so narrow a ground. Having desired that the Treaty of July, 1841, should be concluded, they thought it better to adopt the strictest interpretation of that treaty, the interpretation put upon it by Russia, that the Straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles should be held to mean the whole distance between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora on the one side, and between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Marmora on the other; so that if British ships of war should not enter the bay between the inner and outer castles of the Dardanelles on the one side, Russian ships of war should not on the other hand be allowed to anchor at Buyukdere in the Bosphorus, where merchant ships from the Black Sea are in the custom of stopping. It is needless to mention that this prohibition does not apply to light ships, such as corvettes and steamers, employed for the missions at Constantinople; the firman of the Porte being first obtained for their passing.

I believe I have now gone through all the heads of the charges which have been brought against me in this debate. I think I have shown that the foreign policy of the Government in all transactions with respect to which its conduct has been impugned, has throughout been guided by those principles which, according to the resolution of the honorable and learned gentleman, the Member for Sheffield, ought to regulate the conduct of the Government of England in the management of our foreign affairs. I believe that the principles on which we have acted are those which are held by the great mass of the people of this country. I am convinced that these principles are calculated, so far as the influence of England may be properly exercised with respect to the destinies of other countries, to conduce to the maintenance of peace, to the advancement of civilization, to the welfare and happiness of mankind.

I do not complain of the conduct of those who have made these matters the means of attack upon her Majesty’s Ministers. The Government of a great country like this is undoubtedly an object of fair and legitimate ambition to men of all shades of opinion. It is a noble thing to be allowed to guide the policy and to influence the destinies of such a country; and, if ever it was an object of honorable ambition, more than ever must it be so at the moment of which I am speaking. For while we have seen as stated by the Right Honorable Baronet, the Member for Ripon, the political earthquake rocking Europe from side to side--while we have seen thrones shaken, shattered, levelled; institutions overthrown and destroyed--while in almost every country of Europe the conflict of civil war has deluged the land with blood; from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean this country has presented a spectacle honorable to the people of England, and worthy of the admiration of mankind.

We have shown that liberty is compatible with order; that individual freedom is reconcilable with obedience to law; we have shown the example of a nation, in which every class of society accepts with cheerfulness the lot which Providence has assigned to it; while at the same time every individual of each class is constantly striving to raise himself in the social scale--not by injustice and wrong, not by violence and illegality--but by persevering good conduct, and by the steady and energetic exertion of the moral and intellectual faculties with which his Creator has endowed him. To govern such a people as this, is indeed an object worthy of the ambition of the noblest man who lives in the land; and therefore I find no fault with those who may think the opportunity a fair one, for endeavoring to place themselves in so distinguished and honorable a position. But I contend that we have not in our foreign policy done anything to forfeit the confidence of the country. We may not, perhaps, in this matter or in that, have acted precisely up to the opinion of one person or another--and hard indeed it is, as we all know by our individual and private experience, to find any number of men agreeing entirely in any matter, on which they may not be equally possessed of the details of the facts, and circumstances, and reasons, and conditions which led to action. But, making allowance for those differences of opinion which may fairly and honorably arise among those who concur in general views, I maintain that the principles which can be traced through all our foreign transactions, as the guiding rule and directing spirit of our proceedings, are such as deserve approbation. I therefore fearlessly challenge the verdict which this House, as representing a political, a commercial, a constitutional country, is to give on the question now brought before it: whether the principles on which the foreign policy of her Majesty’s Government has been conducted, and the sense of duty which has led us ourselves bound to afford protection to our fellow-subjects abroad, are proper and fitting guides for those who are charged with the Government of England; and whether, as the Roman, in days of old, held himself free from indignity, when he could say _Civis Romanus sum_; so also a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong.

ROBERT LOWE, VISCOUNT SHERBROOKE

Compared with the two men who have preceded him in this selection, the life and achievements of Robert Lowe (1811–1892) present a distinction with a difference. On any public question there could be little doubt where O’Connell would stand, or, for that matter, Lord Palmerston. But of Lowe, in some ways more individual than either, the exact position could hardly be predicated. In short, he was truer to himself than to any cause or party; and his chief title to fame he won as a recalcitrant Liberal.

He was an Oxford man, who took a B.A. in 1833 as a good classic, and thereupon became for a time an University coach. Meanwhile he studied law, and finding no field at home for his undoubted talents, went out to Australia, where he laid the foundation of his fortunes. He soon gained a seat in the Legislative Council for New South Wales, and having become generally prominent in colonial affairs, in 1850 judged that the time had come for his return to England. Almost immediately he was engaged as a writer of leading articles for the _Times_ newspaper. In 1852, as Member of Parliament for Kidderminster, he began his twenty years of public service. Particularly in connection with educational matters, Lowe was soon well known in the House, one of many useful but not distinguished public men.

It was in the year 1866 that Lord John Russell introduced a bill for the extension of the suffrage, a measure mild enough in view of more recent enactments, but a measure that aroused in Lowe all the opposition of his peculiar nature. For the moment he became more Tory than the Tories; and in the debates over the bill developed powers perhaps unsuspected by himself,--certainly so by his colleagues. The one voice that was heard above all others was that of Lowe, a voice emphatic, sincere, and, as the event proved, dominant. The bill was rejected.

The National Biographer says: “Lowe’s triumph at the time was complete.... He had the success which attends those who believe all they are saying. At no other time did he attain to such a high level of perfection in speaking.... Mr. Gladstone and he vied with each other in aptness of classical quotation, and the keenest partisan on the ministerial side could not fail to admire Lowe’s courage and sincerity of purpose.”

It was his _annus mirabilis_. It is whimsical now to read that contemporaries thought they saw in Lowe a superior to Gladstone; more whimsical to learn that the very next year the Conservatives, switched skilfully about by Disraeli, passed a much more sweeping extension of the franchise than the one Lowe had so successfully opposed. For the moment, however, his reputation was secure.

In 1868, he was chosen Chancellor of the Exchequer, apparently a step upward, in reality the beginning of his decline. For he soon became unpopular, personally by his brusque manner, officially because his conception of his duty would not allow him to apply the public moneys to such purposes as the purchase of Epping Forest for a public park, and the installation of gardens along the Thames Embankment. This office he eventually resigned. Although, in 1873, he was made Home Secretary, he had already passed not so much out of the public eye as out of the public mind. The next year, with the defeat of the Gladstone Ministry, he made his definitive departure from political life. The further honor of the peerage awaited Lowe,--from 1880 he was Viscount Sherbrooke,--but the last twenty years of his life were those of anti-climax and decay. The peculiar malignancy of fate that latterly seemed to pursue him was shown in the accidental publication in 1884 of the inconsiderable booklet, _Poems of a Life_, which he had privately printed for private circulation. He died in 1892, at the age of eighty-one. The world had almost forgotten him.

Such, briefly, are the facts of Lowe’s history, a record of honorable achievement surely, but not the record which others--and probably the man himself--had dreamed of. It may be asked how the career of a man who from modest beginnings attained cabinet rank could be in any sense a failure. But when the supreme episode of his life--the brief hour of glory, followed by the gradual reversal from almost universal laudation to wide-spread unpopularity--is remembered the question should be answered. The causes of Lowe’s failure to justify his own promise were perhaps largely personal. The temper of the man was brusque, independent, imperious. In his love for invective and satire as weapons of oratory, there was something Swiftian; Swiftian, too, was his general disregard for the feelings of others. This did not arise from any native insensibility--it is the sensitive who can inflict the keenest wounds--but from a pride of intellect that made him despise the slow-minded and the ill-informed. He was not so much tactless as disdaining tact. Some of the projects he favored were signally progressive: in 1856 he introduced an unsuccessful bill for the conversion of partnerships comprising more than twenty persons into incorporated companies; he was an advocate of public libraries, of undenominational education; as Chancellor he devised ingenious budgets and proposed a revenue stamp on match-boxes, a tax which had already been levied in America; and Mr. A. Patchett Martin claims for him the original project of Imperial Federation. He was also one of the earliest enthusiasts over the bicycle. On the other hand, he was personally opposed to the democratic idea, especially as represented by universal suffrage. He was never strictly a party man. It is a tribute to him that the Liberals, under whose banners he nominally fought, acquiesced in the free play that his erratic temperament demanded. Something of a cynic, he could laugh about himself or his own classical attainments; but it is agreed that, with all his satire and asperity, Lowe was free from that mean joy in another’s misfortunes--Aristotle’s ἐπιχαιρεκακία--that so often accompanies the masters of epigram and of scorn.

ROBERT LOWE, VISCOUNT SHERBROOKE

AGAINST THE REFORM ACT: HOUSE OF COMMONS, MAY 31, 1866.

The Reform Act of 1866, against which this speech was directed, was introduced by Mr. Gladstone on March 12th of that year. Among other provisions, it proposed to reduce the county franchise from fifty pounds to fourteen; the borough franchise from ten pounds to seven; and included a savings-bank franchise and a lodger franchise. These provisions were not so sweeping as they appeared. It is stated that the Bill would only have enfranchised a few hundreds of people. And among its supporters, Mr. Bright was thought to feel more enthusiasm for its sponsors, Mr. Gladstone and Lord John Russell, than for the measure itself; while Mr. Mill favored it largely because Mr. Bright did. Nevertheless, Mr. Gladstone, during the Easter holidays, stumped the country for it, and at Liverpool made a famous remark about the Government’s “burning bridges and crossing the Rubicon.” Mr. McCarthy pertinently says of this, that it was only true of the speaker; as for the Government, it had to get back over the river again. In his opposition to the Bill, Lowe was the spokesman of the reactionary tendencies of the time,--in which such events as trades unions, strikes, Irish mutterings, socialistic perorations in London, dislike of American principles, and genuine sorrow that the Republic had survived the Confederacy stung to bitter speech the conservatives and the haters of change. Thus Lowe stood for the Aristocratic Principle incarnate; he desired an oligarchy of the brightest and best. With Lowe there stood against this measure of reform not only the rank and file of the Conservative party, but a group of political independents like himself, men of various crotchets, united only in their aversion to change and the encroachments of universal suffrage. This element, which would now, perhaps, be called “mugwump,” was then wittily compared to the adherents who rallied to David in the cave Adullam (1 Samuel xxii., 2): “And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him.” And yet, by sheer force of eloquence, for the moment these had their way; and the Bill failed. As has been said, Lowe’s was the greatest share in the victory. His voice is the voice of Old England, eloquent with a haughty dignity against the incoming of the New.

MR. SPEAKER