it would seem to follow from the views expressed in the preceding chaptet, that in communities professing a belief in our lord, the jewish race ought not to be subject to any legislative dishonour or disqualification. these views, however, were not those which influenced lord george bentinck in forming his opinion that the civil disabilities of those subjects of her majesty who profess that limited belief in divine revelation which is commonly called the jewish religion should be removed. he had supported a measure to this effect in the year 1833, guided in that conduct by his devoted attachment to the equivocal principle of religious liberty, the unqualified application of which principle seems hardly consistent with that recognition of religious truth by the state to which we yet adhere, and without which it is highly probable that the northern and western races, after a disturbing and rapidly degrading period of atheistic anarchy, may fatally recur to their old national idolatries, modified and mythically dressed up according to the spirit of the age. it may be observed that the decline and disasters of modern communities have generally been relative to their degree of sedition against the semitic principle. since the great revolt of the celts against the first and second testament, at the close of the last century, france has been alternately in a state of collapse or convulsion. throughout the awful trials of the last sixty years, england, notwithstanding her deficient and meagre theology, has always remembered sion. the great transatlantic republic is intensely semitic, and has prospered accordingly. this sacred principle alone has consolidated the mighty empire of all the russias. how omnipotent it is cannot be more clearly shown than by the instance of rome, where it appears in its most corrupt form. an old man on a semitic throne baffles the modern attilas, and the recent invasion of the barbarians, under the form of red republicans, socialists, communists, all different phases which describe the relapse of the once converted races into their primitive condition of savagery. austria would long ago have dissolved but for the semitic principle, and if the north of germany has never succeeded in attaining that imperial position which seemed its natural destiny, it is that the north of germany has never at any time been thoroughly converted. some perhaps may point to spain as a remarkable instance of decline in a country where the semitic principle has exercised great influence. but the fall of spain was occasioned by the expulsion of her semitic population: a million families of jews and saracens, the most distinguished of her citizens for their industry and their intelligence, their learning and their wealth.
it appears that lord george bentinck had offended some of his followers by an opinion expressed in his address to his constituency in ‘47, that in accordance with the suggestion of mr. pitt, some provision should be made for the roman catholic priesthood of ireland out of the land. although this opinion might offend the religious sentiments of some, and might be justly looked upon by others as a scheme ill-suited to the character of an age adverse to any further religious endowments, it must be acknowledged that no member of the protectionist party had any just cause of complaint against lord george for the expression of an opinion which he had always upheld, and of his constancy to which he had fairly given his friends notice. this was so generally felt that the repining died away. the jewish question, as it was called, revived these religious emotions. these feelings, as springing from the highest sentiment of our nature, and founded, however mistaken in their application, on religious truth, are entitled to deep respect and tenderness; but no one can indulge them by the compromise of the highest principles, or by sanctioning a course which he really believes to be destructive of the very object which their votaries wish to cherish.
as there are very few englishmen of what is commonly called the jewish faith, and as therefore it was supposed that political considerations could not enter into the question, it was hoped by many of the followers of lord george bentinck that he would not separate himself from his party on this subject, and very earnest requests and representations were made to him with that view. he was not insensible to them; he gave them prolonged and painful consideration; they greatly disquieted him. in his confidential correspondence he often recurs to the distress and anxiety which this question and its consequences as regarded his position with those friends to whom he was much attached occasioned him. it must not, therefore, be supposed that, in the line he ultimately took with reference to this question, he was influenced, as some have unkindly and unwarrantably fancied, by a self-willed, inexorable, and imperious spirit. he was no doubt, by nature, a proud man, inclined even to arrogance, and naturally impatient of contradiction; but two severe campaigns in the house of commons had already mitigated these characteristics: he understood human nature, he was fond of his party, and, irrespective of other considerations, it pained his ardent and generous heart to mortify his comrades. it was therefore not in any degree from temper, but from principle,—from as pure, as high, and as noble a sense of duty as ever actuated a man in public life,—that lord george bentinck ultimately resolved that it was impossible for him to refuse to vote for the removal of what are commonly called jewish disabilities. he had voted in this particular cause shortly after his entrance into public life; it was in accordance with that general principle of religious liberty to which he was an uncompromising adherent; it was in complete agreement with the understanding which subsisted between himself and the protectionist party, when at their urgent request he unwillingly assumed the helm. he was entreated not to vote at all; to stay away, which the severe indisposition under which he was then labouring warranted. he did not rudely repulse these latter representations, as has been circulated. on the contrary, he listened to them with kindness, and was not uninfluenced by them. enfeebled by illness, he had nearly brought himself to a compliance with a request urged with affectionate importunity, but from which his reason and sense of duty held him aloof. after long and deep and painful pondering, when the hour arrived, he rose from his bed of sickness, walked into the house of commons, and not only voted, but spoke in favour of his convictions. his speech remains, one of the best ever delivered on the subject, not only full of weighty argument, but touched with a high and even tender vein of sentiment.
this vote and speech of lord george bentinck no doubt mortified at the moment a considerable portion of his followers, and occasioned great dissatisfaction among a very respectable though limited section of them. this latter body must either have forgotten or they must have been strangely unacquainted with the distinct understanding on which lord george had undertaken the lead of the party, or otherwise they could not have felt authorized in conveying to him their keen sense of disapprobation. unfortunately he received this when the house had adjourned for the holidays, and when mr. bankes, who had been the organ of communication with him in ‘46, was in the country, and when the party was of course generally dispersed. lord george did not take any pains to ascertain whether the representation which was made to him was that of the general feeling of a large party, or that only of a sincere, highly estimable, but limited section. he was enfeebled and exhausted by indisposition; he often felt, even when in health, that the toil of his life was beyond both his physical and moral energies; and though he was of that ardent and tenacious nature that he never would have complained, but have died at his post, the opportunity of release coming to him at a moment when he was physically prostrate was rather eagerly seized, and the world suddenly learnt at christmas, with great astonishment, that the renowned leader of the protectionist party had relinquished his trust.
the numerous communications which he received must have convinced him that the assumed circumstances under which he acted had not been accurately appreciated by him. he was implored to reconsider his course, as one very detrimental to the cause to which he was devoted, and which would probably tend to the triumph of those whose policy he had attempted to defeat, and whose personal conduct he had at least succeeded in punishing.
‘the prophesied time has come,’ he wrote to his friend mr. bankes, on the 23rd of december, 1847, ‘when i have ceased to be able to serve the party, the great cause of protection, or my country, by any longer retaining the commission bestowed on me in the spring of 1846. you will remember, however, that when unfeignedly and honestly, but in vain, trying to escape from being raised to a position which i foresaw i must fail to maintain with advantage to you or honour to myself, i at last gave my consent, i only did so on the express understanding that my advancement should be held to be merely a pro tempore appointment, waiting till the country should have the opportunity of sending to parliament other men better fitted to lead the country gentlemen of england. i have recalled these circumstances to your mind with no other purpose than that the party may feel how entirely free they are, without even the suspicion of doing an injustice to me or of showing me in this any disrespect, to remodel their arrangements, and to supersede my lieutenancy by the appointment of a superior and permanent commander.’
and again on christmas-day, to the same gentleman, in reply to an acknowledgment of the preceding, he says, while thanking mr. bankes ‘for his warm-hearted letter as very grateful to his feelings,’—’ confidentially i tell you, that far from feeling in the least annoyed, i shall feel greatly relieved by a restoration to privacy and freedom. i worked upon my spirit in ‘46 and ‘47; but i have learnt now that i have shaken my constitution to the foundation, and i seriously doubt my being able to work on much longer.’
he wrote on the 24th of december to one of his most intimate friends and warmest supporters, mr. christopher, the member for lincolnshire, who had remonstrated with him as to his decision: ‘it is not in my nature to retain a station one moment after i get a hint even that any portion of those who raised me to it are wearied of seeing me there. the old members of the party will all recollect how clearly i foresaw and foretold that i should be found a very inconvenient as well as a very inefficient leader, so soon as the great protection battle was brought to a close. i predicted all that has since occurred; and no one more cordially agrees than i do in the wisdom of the present decision, the spirit i presume of which is that no great party or large body of men can be successfully, or to any good purpose, led except by a man who heart and soul sympathizes with them in all their feelings, partialities, and prejudices. cold reason has a poor chance against such influences. there can be no esprit de corps and no zeal where there is not a union of prejudices as well as of commercial opinions. the election of a leader united with the great body of the party in these respects, will tend greatly to reunite its scattered particles, even on those questions where i shall be able to give my aid with all my wonted zeal, which will not be the less spirited because it will be free and independent.’
at a later period, acknowledging an address signed by the great body of the protectionist party, and presented to him by the present earl talbot, then a member of the house of commons, lord george wrote, ‘the considerations which obliged me to surrender a post of honour which every independent and high-minded english gentleman has at all times prized above the highest rewards in the gift of the crown, “the leadership of the country gentlemen of england,” will never influence me to swerve from any endeavours of which my poor abilities and bodily energies are capable in the promotion of the prosperity of all classes in the british empire at home and in the colonies, any more than they can ever make me forget the attachment, the friendship, and the enthusiastic support of those who stood by me to the end of the death struggle for british interests and for english good faith and political honour, and to whose continued friendship and constancy i know i am indebted for this graceful and grateful compliment.’
if lord george bentinck was inexorable to the entreaties of his friends, it must not be supposed that he was influenced in the course which he pursued, as was presumed by many at the time not acquainted with the circumstances, by any feeling of pique or brooding sullenness. no high-spirited man under vexatious and distressing circumstances ever behaved with more magnanimity. in this he was actuated in a great degree by a sense of duty, but still more by that peculiar want of selfishness which was one of the most beautiful traits of his character. the moment he had at all recovered from the severe attack by which, to use his own language, he had been ‘struck down in the first week of the session,’ and from the effects of which it may be doubted whether he ever entirely recovered, he laboured zealously to induce some competent person to undertake the office which he had thought it expedient to resign, offering in several instances to serve in the ranks, and to assist with his utmost energies, both in and out of the house, the individual who would undertake the responsible direction in the commons.
these efforts, though indefatigable, were not successful, for those who were competent to the office cared not to serve under any one except himself. about this time, a personage of great station, and who very much admired lord george bentinck, wrote to him, and recommended him not to trouble himself about the general discipline of the party, but to follow his own course, and lead that body of friends who under all circumstances would adhere to him, instancing the case of mr. canning, under circumstances not altogether dissimilar. lord george replied: ‘as for my rallying a personal party round myself, as mr. canning did, i have no pretension to anything of the kind; when mr. canning did that, the house of commons, and england too, acknowledged him to be the greatest orator who had survived pitt and fox; he had been secretary of state for foreign affairs, and had taken a conspicuous part in rousing the country to carry on the war against france.’
the nature of the subject, dealing as it necessarily does with so many personal details, renders it impossible to make public the correspondence in which lord george bentinck was engaged at this time in his attempts to place the protectionist party under the guidance of one who would unite all sympathies; but were that publication possible, it would place lord george bentinck in a very noble and amiable light, and prove a gentleness and softness in his nature for which those who were not very intimate with him did not give him credit. not that it must be for a moment supposed that he was insensible to what was occurring. he was the most sensitive as well as the proudest of men. when the writer called at harcourt house, to bid him farewell, before the christmas holidays, and, conversing very frankly on the course which he was then pursuing, inquired as to his future proceedings, lord george said with emotion: ‘in this cause i have shaken my constitution and shortened my days, and i will succeed or die.’ in the course of the year 1848, walking home, talking together, from the house of commons, he twice recurred to this terrible alternative.
but all considerations were merged at this moment in the predominant one which was to keep the party together. he wrote to a friend at the end of january, who urged him, as the hour of work approached and the injurious inconveniences of his abdication would be more felt, to confer with his former followers and reconsider his position, that no personal feeling prevented his taking that course, but that he felt any resumption of responsibility on his part would not be pleasing to a section of those who formerly served with him, and that there would be a ‘split’ in the ranks. ‘as far as i am personally concerned,’ he added, ‘i could submit to anything short of having my ears cut off and appearing as a “croppy,” to be free again. my pride cannot stand leading an unwilling party; i would just as soon thrust myself into a dinner-room where i was at once an uninvited and an unwelcome guest.’
in the meantime, according to his custom, the moment that he had sufficiently recovered from his illness, he prepared with the utmost zeal for the coming struggle respecting the fate of our sugar colonies, in which subject he was soon absorbed.
parliament reassembled on the 3rd of february, and on that night lord george bentinck brought forward his motion for ‘a select committee to inquire into the present condition and prospects of the interests connected with and dependent on sugar and coffee planting in her majesty’s east and west indian possessions and the mauritius, and to consider whether any and what measures can be adopted by parliament for their relief.’ when he entered the house, lord george walked up to the head of the second bench below the gangway, on the opposition side, and thus significantly announced that he was no longer the responsible leader of the protectionist party. it was the wish of the writer of these pages, who had resolved to stand or fall by him, to have followed his example and to have abdicated the prominent seat in which the writer had been unwillingly and fortuitously placed; but by the advice, or rather at the earnest request, of lord george bentinck, this course was relinquished as indicative of schism, which he wished to discourage; and the circumstance is only mentioned as showing that lord george was not less considerate at this moment of the interests of the protectionist party than when he led them with so much confidence and authority. the session, however, was to commence without a leader, without any recognized organ of communication between parties, or any responsible representative of opinion in debate. all again was chaos. there is, however, something so vital in the conservative party that it seems always to rally under every disadvantage.
lord george spoke well to his resolution: the house soon recognized he was master of his case, and though few foresaw at the moment the important consequences to which this motion would lead, the house was interested from the first; and though there was no division, the debate lasted two days, and was sustained on both sides with great animation.
the mover vindicated himself very successfully for only proposing a committee of inquiry. ‘it has been represented to me,’ he said, ‘by the colonies and by persons in this country who are interested in them, that the course which i am proposing is not consistent with the necessities of the case; that there is something pusillanimous in the motion which i am going to make; that in point of fact the interests connected with sugar and coffee planting are in extremis; and that while the question of their redress is being discussed in a committee above-stairs, these great interests will perish. they say to me that a committee of inquiry will be to them of the nature of that comfort which,
“like cordials after death, come late; ”
and that before the committee shall have reported, the west-indian interest will be altogether past recovery. but, sir, it is for me to consider what my power is to obtain any substantial relief by a direct vote of this house; and when i remember that in july, 1846, i moved a resolution the purport of which was, to maintain the protection for the west-indian and the east-indian free-labour colonies which they now seek, and that i had but one hundred and thirty gentlemen to support me, while two hundred and sixty-five votes were recorded in favour of the measure of the government admitting slave-labour sugar, i feel that it is hopeless for me to endeavour in this house, where i have no reason to suppose any addition has been made to the members acquiescing in my views, to convert that minority into a majority; and more especially when i recollect that on that occasion but five gentlemen connected with the west-indian and east-indian interests recorded their votes with me, i think the west-indian interest has not a good case against me when they blame me for not taking a more resolute step on this occasion.’
he was not, however, without hope from the course which he had decided to pursue. ‘looking, as i have done, at the deplorable state of the west indies, the east indies, and the mauritius, and holding, as i do, in my hand a list of forty-eight great houses in england—twenty-six of the first commercial houses in london, sixteen in liverpool, and six elsewhere—which have failed, and whose liabilities amount in the whole to ?￡6,300,000 and upwards, none of which i believe would have fallen had it not been for the ruin brought upon them by the change in the sugar duties and the consequent reduction in the price of their produce,—i do hope, through the intervention of a committee of this house, i may be able to prevail upon the house to change its policy with regard to this great question.’
lord george was supported in this debate by mr. thomas baring, in one of the best speeches ever made in the house of commons. few more combine mastery of the case with parliamentary point than this gentleman. it is not impossible to find a man capable of addressing the house of commons who understands the subject; it is not impossible to find a man who can convey his impressions on any subject to the house in a lively and captivating manner, though both instances are rarer than the world would imagine; but a man who at the same time understands a question and can handle it before a popular assembly in a popular style, who teaches without being pedantic, can convey an argument in an epigram, and instruct as the mexicans did by picture, possesses a talent for the exercise of which he is responsible to his sovereign and his country.
mr. baring said that he could not perfectly agree either with lord john russell or lord george bentinck, that protection or free trade must be in what they called a circle, round which in their legislation they must always move; that they must either give protection to everything or free trade to everything. he could not say that because sugar claimed protection, coals must have protection also. neither would he, on the other hand, apply free trade to every article. he acknowledged the advantage of competition as a stimulus: he thought that, placing things on equal grounds, competition was undoubtedly a great advantage. he could understand a competition to try the mutual speed of race-horses; but there could be no competition between a race-horse and a steam-engine, for the power of the animal could bear no comparison with that of the machine!
mr. baring could look back to no legislation more humiliating than the legislation regarding our colonies. no great interest was ever so much trifled with, so much sacrificed to the cry of the day; at one moment to no slavery and another to cheap sugar.
the committee was granted, and it was generally felt that the question was consequently quieted for the session.
