The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-05 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Diaries and Correspondence of the Right Ron,
George Rose. Edited by the Rev. L. Vernon
Harcourt. Two vols. Bentley.
These volumes furnish a very valuable addition
to our national literature. Without belonging to
the direct annals of events or biographies of dis-
tinguished men, they pertain to that class of works
which shows us the undercurrents of their time, the
secret workings of personal prejudice and party
manoeuvres, and the difficulties against which the
statesmen of the day had to contend both abroad
and at home. Such works throw considerable light
on the vexed questions of bygone times. They admit
us, as it were, behind the scenes, and very often
prove the judgment of contemporaries to have been
erroneous. Our standard histories owe much of
their authenticity and many of their views to the
facts gathered from ambassadors' notes or secre-
taries journals ; and it is generally from such
sources that those minor incidents and details are
gathered, which enable us to realise the events of the
past, and which give vitality to the misty shadows
of a distant era. The epoch brought before us is the
latter portion of the eventful reign of George 111.,
the age of Pitt and Fox, of the European War and
all its attendant evils 'Abroad, with the • king
vacillating on the verge of insanity, and dis-
content fermenting among the masses of the
people at home. Mr. Rose, though never in
eminent,office himself, was personally mixed up in
all the exciting events of, the day. He filled a suc-
cession of subordinate posts, and appears to have
been well cared for by those in authority, after a
fashion very general with persons so well connected
and befriended. His chief distinction, however,
arose from his being the intimate friend and confi-
dant of the first statesman of his day. The numer-
ous letters contained in these volumes, addressed to
him by Pitt, prove the high estimation in which he
was held. From their first acquaintance it appears
that Mr. Rose entertained the highest esteem and
admiration foe Mr. Pitt—a feeling which never
abated. After the Minister's death he retired from
the political world. Only on two occasions, he
tells us in his notes, did he differ seriously from his
leader, and on both of these occasions we suspect
that Mr. Pitt, though unable to carry either point,
will have the sympathy of modern readers.
These two questions were the introduction of a
Reform Bill and the Abolition of the Slave Trade

With respect to the Catholic Disabilities, which
were the occasion of a change of Ministry in 1801,
Mr. Rose does not state his own opinion very de-
cidedly. He appears to have been a man of sense,
perception, and good principles, without any
striking abilities or much liberality of feeling;
seeming to have shared the wholesome
horror with which most Tories of that
day regarded the slightest innovation or
reform, and not wholly uninfluenced by a sense of
of what he might lose were modern improvements
carried too far. At the same time, looking back on

that stormy period, we can make some allowance
even for obstinate prejudice, when we find the
principles of liberty and toleration carrying their
advocates so far as to induce the great leader of the
Opposition to observe in his correspondence—" The
truth is, I am gone something farther in hate to the
English Government thon perhaps you and the
rest of my friends are, and certainly further than
can with prudence be avowed. The triumph of
the French Government over the English does in
fact afford .me a degree of pleasure which it is
very difficult to disguise." With regard to the
vexed question of. the opening of hostilities with
France, Mr. Rose strongly supports the policy of
his chief, reiterating his assertion that Pitt was
really anxious for peace, but that war was forced
upon him by the necessities of the time, and that,
having been driven to commence it, ho was deter-
mined to carry it through boldly. With regard to
this subject, there will probably always exist
great difference of opinion, but some of the details
given by Mr. Rose are not unimportant.

" On the 31st of December, the very day on which Lard
Grenville signed his note stating the terms on which a rup-
ture might be avoided, Monge, the Minister of War, in a
circular letter to the seaport towns, said :---‘ We will make
a descent on that island ; we will hurl hither 50,000 caps
of liberty; we will plant there the sacred tree, and stretch
out our arms to our brother republicans. The tyranny of
their Government shall soon be destroyed.' Equally
violent and hostile language was used by other
members of the Convention ; but if such a dispatch had been
issued by Count Walewski or any other Minister of Na-
poleon 111., at the present time, tho most factious Radical
in the House of Commons would have been clamorous for

war. ChausBard, who was sent by the Council to execute
their decrees in the Austrian Netherlands, about the same
time announced their object in these unequivocal terms :
"A war, ad itattruccionein, is declared against all monar-
chies."

" The first overtures for peace from the British Govern-
ment were made through Mr. Wickham, in Switzerland, in
1796, but failed, because France insisted on keeping all the
conquered territories which had been annexed to it by a
decree of its own looi slature—Savoy, Flanders, both
Dutch and Austrian, °Sce. The second attempt was
made by overtures from Great Britain in the same year,
through the Danish Ambassador; but they wore flatly
refused by France, on the ground of their not being
made by a direct communication to the Directory ; al-
though Lord Grenville's note requested a passport for an
ambassador, to go to Paris to negociate. A third attempt
was made in z-eptember of the same year, by a direct
application, and at the end of October Lord Malmesbury
went to aris ; but the terms were refused by France,
without any counterproject being offered, and he was
ordered to quit Paris. The terms were, that Great Britain

should resign all her conquests ; France to restore the
Netherlands, to evacuate Italy, and to maks peace with
Germany. Lastly, another attempt at negociation was
made in June, 1797, in consequence of the preliminaries
being signed at Leoben between France and the Emperor,
and the plenipotentiaries met at Lisle. The terms offered on
our side were most liberal ;—to surrender all our conquests
from France, and to claim nothing In return ; but France
required the cession of all that we had conquered from Spaia
and Holland besides ; and, by insisting upon this as a pre-
liminary, the treaty was broken off. And who was it in
England that opposed this peace ? Who was it that put
forth arguments as incentives for war ? It was Mr. Fox who
objected to the Ministers getting out of a contest, which, at
the same time he styles most unjust and most impolitic, by
a peace queleonque ; and would not acquiesce in their mak-
ing such a peace as could be justified only upon the consi-
deration of the condition in which they had brought us."
" If further proof be required of Mr. Pitt's devotion to
pacific policy, as soon as a diminution of danger appeared
to warrant a hope of success, we have it in the despatch of
Lord Grenville, declaring the minister's anxiety to make it
evident to the world that the negotiation in 1796 failed from
the hostile determination of those who governed France,
and from their resolution to admit of no terms of peace
consistent with the safety, interests, and honour of the
other powers of Europe. And again in the following year,
when Lord Malmesbury Was sent to Lisle to renew the ne-
gotiation, Lord Grenville was decidedly opposed to this
step,' and long argued it with Pitt ; but the latter remained
firm,repeatedly declaring that it was his duty as an English
Minister and a Christian, to use every effort to stop so bloody
and wasting a war. He said he would stifle every feeling of
pride to the utmost to produce the desired result. Why,
then, was this result not obtained ? Because, as we learn from
the negotiator, " there was a fixed determination on the part
of the French Government to continue the war with Eng-
land." Of the five Directors then ruling in France, two,
Barthelemi, and Carnet, were moderate men, who would
probably have listened to reason, and on that account ob-
noxious to the other three, who were violent haters of Eng-
land, and who succeeded in turning their colleagues out of
office. The just conclusion, from all the correspondence is
that Pitt was not only sincere in his overtures for peace,
but anxiously eager to obtain it on almost any conditions,
short of dishonour. Even this exception scents scarcely to
have had due weight with the Minister in the estimate of
his royal master as appears from a conversation between
the King and Mr.. George Rose, mentioned by the latter in
a letter to his father."

The Administration of Mr. Addington met with
little favour from so warm a supporter of his
predecessor. Mr. Rose looked on with suspicion,
while Pitt was assisting Ministers with his advice
and nominal support. His opinion of the relative
positions of the parties may be gathered from tho
following passage :
" Mr. Pitt feels it quite impossible to avoid the interview
with Mr. Addington, under so decisive a request, and I can
say nothing against it. Feeling, however, very consider-
able" apprehensions that at the meeting, the low cunning
and artful management of the one, opposed to the candid
and generous nature of the other, may lead the latter to a
disclosure, not only of all his opinions, and a detail of the
gross blunders committed by the former in France; but
also to give him his advice on every point of
importance—l thought it my duty to say everything I
could to put Mr. Pitt on his guard ; which I did with
the utmost earnestness, and supported by every argument
that occurred to me ; under a strong conviction that if Mr.
Addington's ignorance and incapacity is not detected and
made manifest now, he will acquire such a character with
the King and the public, as may be likely to fix him in his
situation for such a period as will ensure the destruction of
the country, by the tame and pusillanimous conduct of the
present Government. The concessions that have already
been made, must impress the French with a persuasion that
there is nothing they will not bear ; and, of course the First
Consul will go on from one aggravation to another, till the
country will be so goaded, as to drive the Government into
a war, whether they are willing or not."

Mr. Rote's contemptuous opinion of the Ministry
seems, however, to have been by no means restricted
to himself. The Russian Ambassador Extraordinary
appears to have fully shared his sentiments.

" Count Woronzow having had information, on which he
could most confidently rely, of a Frenchman, of an infamous
character, and an agent of M. Talleyrand's, unquestionably
employed by him as a spy, ho gave intelligence of the cir-
cumstance himself to Lord Hawkesbury ; and, after having
repeatedly urged him on the subject, his Lordship at length
told him the suspected person was found to be a vory dan-
gerous man, and that his papers were therefore seized, and
he sent out of the country; on which the Count ex-
pressed some curiosity to know what was discovered from
his papers, or if anything important respecting his employ-
ment here had been brought to light by the seizure of
them. To which Lord Hawkeslmry replied, let really
did not know, as that was in the department of the
Alien Office ! ! I A Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
had no desire to be informed of the contents of the papers
of a spy, but left the examination of them to a clerk in the
Alien Office, who was himself a foreigner (M. Dulls) ' • and
had not even the curiosity to inquire what they were I !"
" The Count added, it would be endless to attempt to
enumerate all the instances which had come to his knew-

ledge ofYthe imbecility and gross neglect of his lorship, lie
mentioned, however, malty others in the course of varicus
conversation."

We meet with many passages painfully reminding
us we are in the reign of the Georges. Thus
we find a modest request from a country gentle-

man that his son, five years old, may be appointed
to a vacant sinecure ; while the demands en Par-
liament for the payment of the heir-apparent's
debts would somewhat startle our modern reformers.
Mr. Rose's chief forte was the financial department,
and ho appears to have been very useful in clearing
up accounts, cutting dowi salaries (his own in-
cluded), and generally supervising the expenses of
the civil service, which at that time were exorbi-
tant. In all matters affecting taxation, revenue,
and currency, he took a deep interest, and shared
his leader's financial views. We are told it was he
who first conceived the idea of puttin!, down smug-
gling, and improving the income of state by
decreasing the amount of duties exacted at the
Custom-house. The king's hostility to the Opposition,
more especially to its distinguished leader, is often
referred to. In 1804, when a new Administration
was in coarse of formation, it was proposed to unite
the two parties for the sake of obtaining a strong
Government. The King, however, was immovable
on the subject of Fox's admission to the Cabinet. It
was therefore proposed that sonic of his immediate
supporters should be admitted in waiting for the
King to yield the point. But the Opposition
stood firm, encl:refused to take any office whatever
unless their leader should be admitted into the
Cabinet without delay, On this occasion Mr.
Rose writes as follows :
" May Bth.—Found the Bishop of Lincoln with Mr. Pitt,
and in talking over occurrences and probable events, Mr.
Pitt seemed in the highest spirits possible ; neither he, the
Bishop, or myself knowing anything then of the resolutions
or procee4ings of the meetings at.Camelford House or Carl-
ton House; but an impression on.the minds of each of us
that so fair an opening presented itself for Fox, as to afford
a reasonable certainty that he would not allow it to escape
him ; which we had the stronger confidence in, as Mr. Pitt
had resolved to meet Mr. Fox at Lord Strafford's as soon
as the Liskeard Committee should break up, on which Mr.
Fox was nominee, and to discuss all matters with him in
the most cordially open manner possible, waiting only to
know when he could see him. All our hopes and expecta-
tions were, however, soon destroyed by Mr. Canning com-
ing in to announce to him the resolutions of the preceding
evening, and to say, that in consequence of these Mr. Fox
declined a meeting with Mr. Pitt as useless. I have no
hesitation in owning that in the whole course of my political
life no one event ever gave me so sensible a shock ; no one
that I believe I shall feel the effects of so long or so severely.
I looked to the unions of talents and property projected, as
the most probable means of extricating the country, giving
procuringour to our exertions at home, and us respect
Aroad ; of enabling strong measures to be taken when
necessary, either of finance or police, and keeping down, in
the most effectual manner, all, dangerous or factious at-
tempts, and all stirring of delicate questions. On this sub-
ject a thousand things crowd into my mind to make me
deeply, very deeply indeed lament the disappointment.
It is, lam sure, most strongly to be regretted that Mr.
Pitt and Mr. Fox did not meet, as I am firmly persuaded
that if they did, there woull have been at least a proba-
bility of matters being set right."

A great portion of the first volume is occupied
with an interesting correspondence with ;Nelson,
and after his death with Lady Hamilton, respecting
a pension for her. Mr. Rose was a personal friend
of the hero of Trafalgar, 'and on the death of Mr.
Pitt, which so quickly followed on that of Nelson,
he wrote the following compaiison of their cha-
racters :

" This afflicting stroke follows closely on the loss of
Lord Nelson for whom I had also a cordial love and affec-
tion; and it leads me to reflect on the uncommon simila-
rity of their characters—gentleness of mind ; sweetness of
disposition, accompanied by the most determined resolu-
tion; quickness of conception, and promptitude of decision ;
ardent zeal for the welfare of their country, rendering it
most signal and important services ; wisdom in concerting
plans, and firmness in executing them, undismayed' by any
hazards of the severest responsibility. In all these they
resembled each other with a degree of exactness not to be
conceived by any one who did not know them as intimately
and.as entirely as I did. They differed only in one having
been educated as a man could be, and the other in having
been deprived of that advantage by being sent early to sea.
These two great mon died, as they lived, for their country.
Mr:Pitt sacrificed his life in its service as much as Lord
Nelson did. I foresaw what he would have to encounter
when he undertook the Goveinment in 1804 ; that the whole
weight of it falling, as it inevitably would do, upon him,
would be too much for his health and strength to stand. He
bore u p, however, under all the incredible fatigue that he
underwent in the conduct of his own department, and of
the War and Foreign departments, occasionally assisting in
those of the Commander-in-Chief and the Admiralty, be-
yond my utmost hopes."

After attending -the funeral of his friend, he
writes the following sketch of him :

" His talents ; the quickness of his perception, almost in-
tuitive ; his discerning judgment; the firmness of his mind,
which secured to him the fullest advantage of that discern-
ment, in cases of the extremest public dangers and calami-
ties, such as indeed had never occurred since the revolution
—namely, the democratical exertions, prepared to be sup-
ported by an immense armed force, influenced by meetings,
public and private, of those of the most dangerous prin-
ciples and active minds, as well as by libels of a treasonable
nature ; the mutiny of the fleet ; the stoppage of the banks;
famine in the country; invasion threatened by an immense
force of the enemy, brought down to their coast, opposite to
ours, with ships collected sufficient to transport them. In
short, no danger (however groat) ever dismayed him, or
deprived him of the advantages resulting from the quick-
ness of his conception. . . . . . His
most uncommon share of good-nature occasioned his
giving way sometimes to solicitations he should have re-
sisted, especially with regard to Peerages, of which he was
liberal to a most unfortunate extent ; but so far from gain-
ing political strength thereby, I am perfectly sure he suf-
fered by them ' • for it frequently happened that an enemy
was created in the room of the newly-created Peer. In the
administration of finances, and in the management of the
public purse, it is not possible any ono could be more en-
tirely pure and disinterested. He abolished all contracts
whatever, all purchase by eommission, all private distri-
butions of Loan, and every other specie of money influence ;
—which was in truth at my solicitation. He abolished
also the sinecure employment in the Customs, numerous
and valuable."

After Mr. Pitt's death, Mr. Rose still took a
deep interest in public affairs, and corresponded
with most of the eminent men of his own party. He
lived until 1818, and, therefore, a busy and interest-
ing period is included in his notes. The work has,

been edited with care, though the editor has occa-
sionally indulged too •liberally in the expression of
his own opinions: We commend this interesting
and valuable work to all who desire to become

acquainted with the political history of their coun-
try, as whatever may be the writer's prejudice or
party feeling, he enables us to see the stirring
events of that day from a contemporaneous point of
view, and to appreciate the difficulties and dangers
with which the statesmen and politicians of his
time had to deal.