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cated to Mr. Sidney Herbert, and, at Lord John's request, tc the Duke of Newcastle. But neither conference nor consideration commended it to his judgment. He admitted, indeed, that the Secretaryship at War could not be maintained. But he did not see why a Privy Councillor's office should not be constituted charged with all the financial concerns of the army. Such an office would avoid the necessity of affirming the objectionable' principle that the Secretary of State should always be in the House of Commons, and avoid such 'a dislocation of the Government' as that suggested by Lord John. Moreover

Palmerston, within a few months, is as old as I am; and, without disparaging his inherent vigour of mind, he possesses no immunity from the effects of age. When I look at the laborious and responsible duties discharged by the Duke of Newcastle and Herbert, I fear that I could not honestly advise the Queen to entrust Palmerston or any other man with so great a responsibility.

Naturally enough Lord John was not satisfied with this refusal. The people, outside the Cabinet, were clamouring for a more efficient conduct of the war; the Duke of Newcastle had hardly the strength of will which is requisite in a War Minister; and his difficult task was the harder from the fact that he had no undivided control over the military departments. Returning to the subject a week later, Lord John recapitulated his old arguments, combated Lord Aberdeen's objections, and concluded

What you want, therefore, I must repeat, is a Minister of War of vigour and authority. As the welfare of the empire and the success of our present conflict are concerned, I have no scruple in saying so.

Keep up, if you Secretary at War.

think right, as a temporary arrangement, a Make it clear that it is temporary; that is to say, only to last till more complete consolidation can take place. But let Parliament and the country be assured that you have placed the conduct of the war in the hands of the fittest man who can be found for that duty.

Lord Aberdeen, however, was not shaken. Writing on November 30 he concluded a long letter

On the whole, believing that any change like that proposed would be a doubtful advantage to the public; feeling very strongly that it would be an act of unfairness and injustice towards a colleague ; and thinking, also, that all such changes, unless absolutely necessary, only tend to weaken a Government, I must repeat that I could not honestly recommend it to the Queen.

Lord John replied more concisely :

PEMBROKE LODGE: December 3, 1854.

After your last letter, I have no hesitation in saying that I revert to my original opinion, and must propose to the Cabinet that the office of Minister of War should absorb that of Secretary at War; and that the office should, for the present at least, be held by a member of the House of Commons.

Lord John at once forwarded the whole of this correspondence to Lord Palmerston. The latter, however, replying in a long letter on the same day, told Lord John that he doubted the expediency of abolishing the office of Secretary at War; that he thought that 'no broad and distinct grounds' could be alleged for desiring the removal of the Duke of Newcastle from the War Office; and that at any rate it would not be right to break up the Government for this reason, it being 'easier to break up a Government than to make a better and a stronger one.' Lord Palmerston's opinion, of course, made it impossible for Lord John to insist on the alteration which he desired; and, when the Cabinet met on December 6, instead of demanding a change in the machinery, he contented himself with dwelling in general terms on the absence of vigour in the prosecution of the war. He formally declared that, though he was ready to continue in office during the short session which it was found necessary to hold before Christmas, and defend all that had been done, he was determined to retire after Christmas. And, when it was objected that it would be unconstitutional to go into Parliament with such a determination, he replied that, if such were the opinion, he would request Lord Aberdeen to convey his resignation on the following morning to the Queen, which at all events would be perfectly constitutional. The other Ministers were naturally concerned

at the increasing tension between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House of Commons; and Lord Lansdowne, whose long friendship with Lord John and whose influence with Lord Aberdeen fitted him for the duty, endeavoured to mediate between the two.1

CHESHAM PLACE: December 9, 1854.

MY DEAR LANDSDOWNE,—You made a very fair remark the other day when you said that I ought to bring some definite proposition before the Cabinet. I was only deterred from doing so by the consideration that Aberdeen had declared that he could not honestly advise the Queen to adopt the course which I consider to be required by the public interest.

However, I believe you are right, and I therefore think it due to you to inform you beforehand what are the propositions I have to make.

I. I should propose that the Secretary of State for the War Department should have all the more important functions hitherto exercised by the Secretary at War.

2. That for the present he should have a seat in the House of Commons.

You may communicate this letter to Lord Aberdeen if you think tit. He has lately shown such a disposition to pass me over, and to transfer to others that confidence which a leader of the House of Commons ought to have, that I have some difficulty in writing to him or speaking to him upon any matter.—I remain, yours truly, J. RUSSELL.

Lord Lansdowne replied—

Private]

LANSDOWNE HOUSE: Sunday afternoon. MY DEAR J. RUSSELL,-I am much obliged to you for having in your letter of yesterday so frankly and distinctly stated your views . . . and fully appreciate the motives which have led you to come to a determination on these matters without consulting with any of your colleagues.

I have, according to your permission, communicated your letter to Lord Aberdeen.

1 Sir C. Wood, who was more closely connected with Lord John than any other member of the Ministry except Lord Lansdowne, also wrote strong and long letters to him on December 7 and 9, to dissuade him from breaking up the Government.

I ought to add that Lord Aberdeen, in reading the passage in your letter relative to him, emphatically disclaimed any intention of showing you want of confidence as leader of the House of Commons, and expressed his readiness to show the contrary.

I am sure I feel as much as any one that the Government was formed on an abnegation principle. So let it continue to be, above all at a crisis which calls for it more than ever; and I should not have dwelt upon the Duke of Newcastle's hard position if I had not at the same time felt that a condemnation of a great department of the Government by the Government itself would deeply affect its power of serving the public. But I will say no more, and ought perhaps not to have said so much, for I understand your letter as rather intended to communicate than to invite opinions. Otherwise I should have called instead of writing. Yours sincerely, LANSDOWNE.

I will take care of your letter in case you wish to have it returned to be copied.

Lord John seems to have had some subsequent conversation with Lord Lansdowne and his other colleagues, and, a few days later, thus announced his decision:

CHESHAM PLACE: December 15, 1854. MY DEAR LANSDOWNE,-I send you back my letter, not that you may make any further use of it, but that you may put it in the fire.

I believe that my proposition respecting the War Office, if accepted by Lord Aberdeen, would have produced greater vigour and efficiency in carrying on the war, but I do not feel myself justified in taking upon myself to retire from the Government on that account at this moment.

Notwithstanding Lord Aberdeen's denial, I still maintain that he does not treat me with the confidence which can alone enable a leader of the House of Commons to carry on business with satisfaction-as Lord Grey treated Lord Althorp, and Lord Melbourne treated me. Of course, on my side, I am absolved from the duty of defending acts and appointments upon which I have not been consulted. I remain, yours truly, J. RUSSELL.

But, though Lord John consented to remain in office, he was painfully conscious of the defects in the military arrangements of the Government; and on December 30 he drew up

the following memorandum in order that the Cabinet might have specifically before it the various points which required immediate attention:

MEMORANDUM.

In order to find a remedy for the wants and evils under which our Crimean army is suffering, it is necessary to enumerate some of the principal of those wants and evils.

1. The soldiers are one night in the trenches out of two; sometimes it is said two out of three.

2. When they return from the trenches they are in wet clothes, boots, and stockings, and have no change; so that their clothes dry on them.

3. Horses and mules are dying for want of provender-hay and chopped straw especially.

4. In consequence of the want of horses and mules, the soldiers have been kept on half and sometimes quarter rations for days together.

5. No huts have been provided for the soldiers, and wood is very scarce.

6. The sick have not been moved in time, and are miserably cared for in camp.

Taking these as the principal wants and evils, it is necessary in the next place to point out the causes and the remedies.

1. When the allied armies took up their position in front of Sebastopol, they were nearly equal in number; but the British had in the Crimea the whole of their force in the East immediately disposable, and the French had only a part of theirs.

The consequence has been that, while the English have been overworked, and their numbers scarcely increased by reinforcements, the French army has doubled its strength, and can afford to guard the trenches with one-third or one-fourth of its force.

As the British army cannot be greatly increased, and the number of young soldiers must become proportionately greater than it has been, the most obvious remedy appears to be to concentrate the British force, and ask the French to occupy part of the line now in the hands of their allies.

2. There must have been great mismanagement to cause the want of clothes for officers and soldiers.

From September 28 to November 12, all kinds of supplies might have been landed at Balaclava, and had only to be carried seven or eight miles to reach the most distant division.

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