Among my London acquaintances was Mr. Edward Ellis, a member
of Parliament himself, and, I think, with one or two sons also in that body. He
was a friend and adherent of Palmerston, and, having a pecuniary interest in
land on this side, was supposed to be very well posted about American affairs.
It was just at the time the controversy was going on about the letter-bag of a
steamer; it had been seized with the vessel, carrying a cargo of munitions of
war, nominally to Mexico, but undoubtedly intended for the Texan rebels. The
bag must have contained proof of this, but, being under the seals of the
British post-office, was claimed by the British minister as sacred, and the
dispute was going on as to what should be done with it; the condemnation of the
vessel and cargo, amounting to a very large sum, depending a great deal upon
the result. I was dining at Mr. Ellis's, and while we were standing before the
fire, waiting for dinner to be announced, two or three of the younger members
of Parliament came in and announced the “good news” that the letter-bags had
been given up without being opened, which removed the danger of a rupture in
the friendly relations between the United States and Great Britain. This was
all very polite, Mr. Adams being present, and, as usual, silent. I could not
help, however, saying a word to this effect: “I am very glad you like the news;
but I hope you will remember one thing, that you are making a precedent which,
in the long future, we intend to follow. You are now ready to introduce all
possible privileges for neutrals in the carrying trade, but in the long run
Great Britain is at war ten years while we are likely to be one; and whatever
precedent you set now, we shall hold you to.”
*~*~*~*
Among the notable men that I met was an Hon. Mr. Berkeley, a
queer little old man, who was known in Parliament as “single speech Berkeley,”
and who every year brought up some radical proposition which was good-naturedly
received and passed over, out of regard for his aristocratic connections and
influence. I sat next him at a dinner given me by Captain Blakely, the
gunmaker, and, with the usual reserve which I had to maintain in that hostile
atmosphere, I said very little except upon general subjects; but as we were
putting on our coats before going off, little Mr. Berkeley shook hands with me
very warmly and said, “I hope you understand that I am entirely with you in
your fight to put down the slaveholders.”
*~*~*~*
General Forbes was a very good-looking, middle-aged man at
that time, and was very polite to me, taking me down to Aldershot to see a
review of the British volunteers. We lunched with the mess, and then went to
the field, where there was a great display of troops, and where I saw many
celebrities of the Crimean war and the Indian mutiny. The review wound up with
a sham fight, in the midst of which I had to start by cab to catch the train
back to London to keep an engagement in the evening. The cabman at first
refused to cross the field of battle, but under bribe or threat I managed to
get him down to run the gauntlet of the advancing line, going between them and
their objective point with the horse on the jump and the whole line apparently
firing at us. It had all the effect of a real battle, — except the lead.
*~*~*~*
One project which we thought of at this time might have
turned into great results if the Mexicans had had any minister or recognized
agent in London. They were at open war with France, and it occurred to us that,
if they would do towards France exactly what the rebel cruisers were doing against
us, we should bring the European powers to a realizing sense of their misdeeds
towards us. We discussed the question, and thought of lending to Mexico a few
thousand dollars out of our resources to enable them to fit out cruisers in
English ports to go into the Channel and destroy French ships, and to return to
British ports to coal and recruit and get ready for other depredations; in fact
repeating what was being done in British neutral ports against the United
States. If some morning a Mexican cruiser had put into Plymouth after
destroying a lot of French ships, the replies of the British Foreign Secretary
to a powerful, warlike nation like France would have been very different from
what they were saying to us, hampered as we were with our internal war; and, if
they had treated France as they did us, war would have been the consequence in
about twenty-four hours. But there was no Mexican minister or agent, and we
could do nothing.
*~*~*~*
We were surprised at the house by being decorated in most
wonderful crape round our hats, a heavy silk scarfs reaching almost to our
feet, which were put over us by one of the servants, as we were to play the
part of chief mourners. After the religious ceremonies at the house, we were
ushered into carriages decorated in the same wonderful manner, and slowly drove
through the streets, guarded by a lot of mutes in deep black, carrying halberds
or poles behind the hearse. It looked as if they were guarding us to prevent
our escape, as they walked along beside the carriage. After a dreary ride we
came to the suburban cemetery and then left the carriages and surveyed the
scene. The hearse was the principal object, being drawn by black horses and
having tall, black plumes on each side. As we were waiting for it to come up,
Mr. B., who was sincerely attached to his wife, but had a sense of humor, could
not forbear a sort of apology, saying that he had tried to have it as private
and inconspicuous as possible, but it was impossible to get away from the conventionality
and pomp of a London funeral: he wished that the hearse could be transported to
America and put at the head of the Union army; he was sure the rebels would be
routed at once by its appearance! After a short service at the grave, Mr.
Baring and I jumped into his cab, throwing off our insignia of mourning, which
must have formed a valuable perquisite, — there being silk enough to make a
cassock of, — and were soon driving rapidly to London.
*~*~*~*
During our stay in London we went to hear Mr. Cobden's great
speech in the Commons. The House of Commons is a very different affair from our
House of Representatives; indeed, it looks, at first sight, much more like one
of our large committee rooms at the Capitol, or perhaps like the senate chamber
there. Only a few strangers are admitted to what is called the speaker's
gallery, and then only by special ticket from the speaker. When Cobden's speech
was expected, considerable influence had to be used to get admittance. We
learned that the speaker had in this case, when applied to, expressed fears
that the two factions of Union and rebel (unrecognized) emissaries might be placed
too near each other, and so we found much diplomacy had been expended in
arranging seats to keep ourselves and Messrs. Mason and Slidell separated. The
occasion was certainly a very memorable one, for Cobden's speech rang through
Europe and America, and materially influenced the action of the English
government. His manner was cold and somewhat hesitating, but he spoke with
great force and sense, not mincing his phrases, against the backslidings of his
countrymen; and his speech was all the more effective from his taking the stand
for us, not (as Bright usually did) from an American point of view, but because
he saw England's honor and interest imperiled by the short-sighted policy of
Palmerston and Russell.
I think it was on the same night that Roebuck made a most
malignant attack upon what he called the barbarism of the Federals in their
cruel and atrocious proclamation of emancipation, “stimulating the subordinate
race to make war against their superiors, and putting a premium on murder,
rape, and robbery.” Monckton Milnes, the poet, whom I have since welcomed here
as Lord Houghton, made a very pithy and spirited rejoinder to this diatribe,
and quite won my heart.
*~*~*~*
We had come, also, prepared to do something in the way of
enlightening the British public as to the real strength of the North, and the
certainty of our ultimate success, but Mr. Adams thought it doubtful whether
such a course would be wise; for if successful in our argument it might show
the governing class in Europe that their only chance for breaking up the Union
was in active interference; so that he thought it safer for them to be kept
neutral by the belief that we were sure to break up.
*~*~*~*
I was requested to lead in to dinner his daughter-in-law,
the wife of Mr. Nassau John Senior, who was very pleasant; but, knowing nothing
about her, I refrained from talking upon any interesting subject, until she
happened to say that her brother had just returned from France, and that she
hoped I would see him. I then had to ask who her brother was, and found it was
Tom Hughes. “Why,” said I, “he is the one man I wanted to see; I thought he was
ill, and that I should go home without seeing him.” I was going to start in a
few days for Liverpool, and she very warmly insisted that I should see her
brother, and accordingly asked him for an appointment. When I called at his
office in Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, I found my good friend Tom Hughes, genial
and pleasant as he is to-day. I need hardly say that the remainder of my
evening with Mrs. Senior at the dinner party was very much more delightful than
at the beginning, as it was like finding a warm friend in the midst of an
enemy's camp.
SOURCE: Sarah Forbes Hughes, Letters and
Recollections of John Murray Forbes, Volume 2, p. 31-8
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