Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the First Session Thirty-ninth Congress
Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward
Sir: I transmit herewith a copy of the London Times, of this morning, containing a report of the speeches made by Earl Russell and Mr. Gladstone at the Lord Mayor’s dinner at Guildhall.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
Lord Mayor’s day, November 9.–Speech of Earl Russell.
My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen: Allow me to return thanks, in the name of my colleagues and my own, for the honor that you have done us in drinking our healths. I expected, my Lord Mayor, that in giving the toast of “her Majesty’s ministers” you would recall to mind the loss—the great loss—which the country has sustained by the death of Lord Palmerston. It is a great loss indeed, because he was a man qualified to conduct the country successfully through all the vicissitudes of war and peace. Having attained the office of prime minister while the country was involved in war, and conducting its affairs for a long time during peace, he had the resolution, the resource, the promptitude, the vigor, which befitted war; and when peace arrived he showed that he could maintain internal tranquillity; and, by extending commercial relations, he gave to the country the whole fruits of the blessings of peace. [Cheers.] And, my Lord Mayor, the reason why he was able to do this is equally plain; it is this: that his heart always beat for the honor of England, [cheers,] and his mind comprehended, his experience embraced, the whole field of the interests of the country, and he was, therefore, capable of applying that knowledge to the consideration of those interests whatever emergencies might arise. [Cheers.] But if that loss has been one grievous to the country, to none has it been more grievous than to those— I speak for all my colleagues and for myself—who were accustomed, day by day, to consult him on all the affairs of the country, and to be guided by the light which he could throw upon every subject in which the interests of the country were engaged. My Lord Mayor, upon the melancholy intelligence of the decease of Lord Palmerston her Majesty was pleased to call upon me to. fulfil the functions of first lord of the treasury, and to carry on the government of the country. It was her Majesty’s undoubted prerogative so to call upon me; and, in my opinion, I should have been a craven coward if I had not answered that call. [Cheers.] What was necessary, however, in the first place, was that I should obtain the assurance of the support and confidence of my colleagues, and that, I am proud to say, I at once obtained, accompanied with circumstances which I cannot mention at this time, but which, if I could mention, would show you the disinterested spirit in which men in their high situations looked at their duties to the country. [Cheers.] Well, it is happily at this time we take the guidance of public affairs, during a period of peace. This very month it is now fifty years since the treaty of peace was signed with France. That peace has been fruitful in benefits, but in none more than in the last few years have our relations with France been so extended and strengthened; so that we may hope and trust that for another fifty years these two nations, having learnt to esteem one another’s great qualities in war, will proceed together in peace, always becoming more friendly, more united, than they have hitherto been. [Cheers.] For the last few years, on occasions like the present, we have had to lament the civil war which devastated the United States of America. That war is happily now at an end; and that great republic, having freed herself from the guilt and stain of slavery, I trust will now continue in freedom and prosperity for years and centuries to come. [Cheers.] Such, at least, I believe is the wish of Englishmen. [Cheers.] I believe there are none but friendly feelings entertained towards that mighty republic. [Cheers.] But, my Lord Mayor and gentlemen, reverting to the situation of her Majesty’s government, while it is far from my wish to call for any premature expression of confidence, I trust I may appeal against premature declarations of want of confidence. [Cheers.] I think that behooves the justice and the generosity of Englishmen, and that justice I expect from them; [cheers;] that placed in an arduous position, with the loss of a great statesman to deplore, they will allow us at least to consider ofthe course we should take and of the measures we should pursue before they express any opinion of our conduct. [Cheers.] With regard to principles, I can only say, my Lord Mayor, that, for myself, I cannot abandon those principles which for twenty years, come weal, come woe, recommended me to the confidence of the citizens of this great metropolis. I shall always reflect with pride on the connexion that existed between us. I shall not, for my part, forget the old acquaintances which I then made, nor shall I forget the principles I then declared to the people of this great city, and which they sanctioned with their approbation. [Cheers.] But, my lord and gentlemen, that is another part of practical politics. Besides the principles that are to be adopted, there is the application of those principles, which is a question always of events and circumstances, of time and of opportunity. It would be rash and unwarrantable in me were I now to enter upon any question as to the measures which the government may think proper to introduce. I will only say this—that they must be measures not of yesterday, but of today; that each year has its own wants; the country has, from time to time, its own wishes; and it is the duty of the government of the country to consider those wants and those wishes in the measures that they may bring forward for the consideration of Parliament. [Cheers.] With these observations I have only to say further that, devoting ourselves to the consideration of the course we shall pursue, we shall be content to abide by the verdict of the country. If our measures are wise and calculated to promote the interests of the country, we shall be proud to receive its confidence; but if they are found not so calculated, we shall bow to the judgment of the country with respect. [Cheers.] I have only further to say that I rejoice, my Lord Mayor, to see you in the distinguished position which you have attained by the [Page 655] zealous exertion of your abilities. I am happy to congratulate you upon the rank you have achieved in presiding over this great city as Lord Mayor, and I confidently call on this company to join with me in proposing ‘the health of the right honorable the Lord Mayor.” [Loud cheers.]
Speech of Mr. Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
My Lord Mayor, my Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen: I deem it a high honor to be called upon in any place, and especially before this great assembly, to return thanks for the House of Commons. At the present moment, indeed, it is not under the most favorable circumstances that anyone can speak for what the Lord Mayor has justly called that august assembly; for, recently chosen to the exercise of their duties, the members of that house have as yet had no opportunity of proving how far they are disposed, or how far they are able, to serve their country. And more than this, the losses that have been spoken of have fallen heavily upon the House of Commons. The archer Death, I may truly say, has stricken down the foremost deer of all the herd. [Cheers.] If Lord Palmerston is lamented in every corner of the land, in no place, probably, will his loss be so severely felt, in no place will it be so difficult, in no place must so long a time elapse before anyone can be found to emulate his remarkable qualities as within the walls of the House of Commons.[Cheers.] But, my lords, ladies, and gentlemen, notwithstanding that heavy loss, and notwithstanding the unproven state of the character of the House of Commons, I am sure, from the manner in which you have received the toast so kindly and flatteringly proposed, that you have faith in the destinies of that house.[Cheers.] The very name of the House of Commons is sufficient to draw forth expressions of enthusiastic approbation and confidence in all parts of this country, and certainly most of all in the city of London, which has ever sympathized with the House of Commons in its efforts to establish upon a secure basis the laws and liberties of the people, and which, perhaps, has been only second to that house as being itself the champion of their freedom and their rights.[Cheers.] My Lord Mayor, the House of Commons meets, indeed, sorely maimed as far as its personal composition and the conduct of affair by that house is concerned, but it meets in other respects with favorable prospects before it. My noble friend at the head of the government has alluded to those prospects, and they are such, I think, as to afford promise that, like its predecessors, this house may be able to establish, not a traditional only, but an actual title to your confidence and approbation. If we look abroad at this moment, whether it be to the west or whether to the east, we see countries for everyone of which we desire prosperity, strength, and happiness, with unmixed regard and friendship, and if it should chance, at any unfortunate period, that danger should arise to the peace of the world, at least we may feel a confident expectation of this—that from England it will not arise, because, happily, she has no separate object. She has no selfish interests to pursue. She has enough, and more than enough, to do in cultivating the provinces which the counsels of Providence have already assigned to her, and in discharging the cares of empire already incumbent upon her.[Cheers.] And if we look for a moment at home, the new House of Commons, in approaching its duties, will have every encouragement to their manful performance, for they will see around them a community increasingly united from year to year in sentiment and feeling throughout all its classes, ever ready to second the efforts of those who govern and those who represent it, never prone to exact too much at their hands, always making allowance for error and infirmity, always generous and indulgent in acknowledging service which has been done.[Cheers.] The House of Commons which has to meet, I have no doubt, will, like those that preceded it, be inspired by what I might almost call the sacred genius of the place itself.[Cheers.]It will be guided by the long-established traditions of Parliament. It will be influenced by the enlightened opinion of the country. It will proceed in a spirit of cheerfulness and in a spirit of justice to the discharge of its elevated duties; and well, my Lord Mayor, do I feel assured that when, in future years, your successors in that chair (and there will be none more worthy than yourself ) [cheers] shall again propose to the acceptance of the citizens of London the health of the present House of Commons, you will then be able to accordas a tribute of gratitude what to-day you have generously accorded as a tribute of hope; for that house will surely, like those that preceded it, have done something to carry forward the work of public progress and improvement, and establish itself in the affections by promoting the welfare of the country.[Loud cheers.]