Maxims And Opinions Of Field Marshal His Grace The Duke Of Wellington, Selected From His Writings And Speeches During A Public Life Of More Than Half A Century by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

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* * * * *

_Irish Absenteeism deprecated._

I can assure your Lordships that there is not any man, either there or
here, who is more aware of the poverty of Ireland, and the dangers to
the empire from the state of the lower orders, than he who has now the
honour of addressing you. But I would have noble Lords to observe that
it is not by coming here to talk of the poverty of that country that we
can remove it. If noble Lords will endeavour to tranquilize the country,
and persuade those who have the means to buy estates and settle there;
by holding out to them a picture of industry and tranquility with its
other advantages, they will soon find the country change its aspect, and
complaints of the dangers arising from its poverty will no longer be
heard. The influence of the presence and fortunes of the proprietors of
land in Ireland spent in that country, would do more to serve it than
any legislative enactment parliament have it in their power to pass.

_November 2, 1830._

_Repeal averted by Emancipation._

The repeal of the union is opposed by the noble Duke opposite (the Duke
of Leinster) and all his friends in Ireland: it is opposed by all the
proprietors in Ireland, by the great majority of the Roman Catholics, by
nearly all the Protestants of Ireland, and with one exception by the
unanimous voice of the other House of Parliament.

Such is the present state of this question, but how would it have stood
had not that other to which he alluded been carried two years ago? And
how did that one then stand? Why, the noble Duke and all his friends,
and a large proportion of the Irish people, were anxious that that
question should be carried. Such, also, do we know to a certainty was
the desire of the majority of the other House of Parliament, whilst at
the same time there was in this House a minority in its favour, daily
acquiring greater strength; and at present, I presume, no one will deny
that a large body of the best informed people of this country were also
decidedly for conceding this point. We do not now stand on worse ground
on the question of the repeal of the union than we should have done had
not the Catholic question been carried. I do not see the advantage,
therefore, of repeating reproaches against me for having given way on
that occasion from fear. I gave way because I conceived the interests of
the country would be best answered by doing so; I gave way on the
grounds of policy and expediency, and upon those grounds I am at this
moment ready to justify what I did. The noble Lord must forgive me for
saying that the state of irritation which has continued to exist in
Ireland since that question was carried must not be attributed to the
King's Ministers: they have done every thing in their power to
conciliate, and heal the divisions which distracted that country for so
many years previously to the settlement of that question. It is not my
duty, any more than my inclination, to cast imputation on any man; but
this I will say, that if the King's Ministers had been supported as
strongly as they have been opposed in their endeavours to heal those
divisions, Ireland would have been in a very different state from what
it now is.

_November 2, 1830._

* * * * *

_Magistrates should be appointed by Lords Lieutenant._

Lords Lieutenant of counties are generally chosen in consequence of
their possessing large properties, and from their weight and
consideration in the counties over which they preside. They must,
therefore, be the most highly interested in selecting proper persons,
and a proper number of persons, whom they know will do their duty well
as magistrates.

In choosing magistrates, in my opinion, it is essentially necessary that
local knowledge should operate. Before any man should venture to
recommend another to be appointed to the commission, he should have
knowledge of his character, and of other circumstances, which can only
be discerned by local knowledge.

_Nov. 29, 1830._

_The Agrarian Outrages of 1830._

It appears to me that the outrages which have taken place in the country
are of two descriptions--the first is that open description of outrage,
which there is no doubt, may be got the better of by the operation of
the ordinary process of law; the second is that description of
crime--the destruction of property by fire,--of the perpetrators of
which Government have not hitherto been able to discover any trace
whatever. I do not know what information the Noble Earl may have
received on the subject within the last week, but up to that period we
had discovered no traces whatever of these incendiaries.

It is supposed by some noble Lords, that the perpetrators of the second
description of crime--the destruction of property by fire--are
foreigners, and that they are following the example set in another
country. I believe, however, there is no evidence whatever that
foreigners have been engaged in the perpetration of those crimes. It is
certain that they have been effected by a conspiracy of some kind or
other; but whether the conspirators are foreigners or Englishmen, I
believe that no man can at this moment possibly say. As to foreigners
being in gaols, I can only say, that with reference to one county--the
county of Hants--in which outrages of the most flagrant kind have
occurred, there is not one foreigner among the persons with whom
Winchester gaol is filled.

_Nov. 29, 1830._

_Our Portuguese Relations affected by the State of Ireland._

In reference to Ireland, it is of great importance that we should be on
good terms with Portugal. Unfortunately, the great measure which I had
the honour to prepare three years ago, has not answered so as to
produce--I will not say all the advantages I expected from it, as I was
never sanguine in my expectations, but the amount of advantage which
some of your Lordships and part of the public expected. To use a vulgar
expression, a new hare has started, and we must probably look to a
length of time ere the agitation excited in Ireland by the new question
shall have subsided. Now, I want to know, whether Portugal will not be
as important to us during the agitation of that question as it has been
previously? Will not our reception in the Tagus, and friendly occupation
of it, be as important to England now, as it has been heretofore? I do
not now wish to discuss the claims of Don Miguel and Donna Maria--this
is not the occasion for it--I only mean to convey my decided opinion,
that the friendship of Portugal is necessary to this country. If we
deprive Portugal of the advantages of this wine trade for a revenue of
100,000 l., putting political economy and commerce out of the question,
we shall make the greatest political blunder that has been seen for a
long time past.

_Feb. 21, 1831._

_How is the Government to be carried on after the Reform Bill?_

With respect to another subject (Reform) which must occasion discussion,
I quite agree in the determination which has been adopted of postponing
all discussions upon it till a future period; but when that period shall
arrive, I hope that his Majesty's ministers, who, upon their own
responsibility, have brought the question under discussion, will be so
kind as to explain to the House in what manner, and by what influence,
they propose that the Government of this country--the Monarchical
Government of this country--shall be carried on, according to the
principles and practice established at the Revolution.

_March 3, 1831._

* * * * *

_The Downfall of the Constitution predicted as the Consequence of the
Reform Bill._

It is far from my wish to impute to the noble Earl (Grey) or his
colleagues any desire to introduce revolutionary measures into
Parliament; but, I must say this, that having looked at the measure
which has been brought into the other House of Parliament under their
auspices, I cannot but consider that it alters every interest existing
in the country,--that in consequence of its operation, no interest will
remain on the footing on which it now stands, and that this alteration
must lead to a total alteration of men--of men intrusted with the
confidence of Parliament. I am of opinion that this alteration must have
a serious effect on the public interests,--an effect which, I confess, I
cannot look at without the most serious apprehension. I do not charge
the noble Earl and his colleagues with a desire to overturn the
institutions of the country, but I cannot look at the alterations
proposed by the bill without seeing that those alterations must be
followed by a total change of men, and likewise by a total change of the
whole system of Government. Why, I ask--for what reason--is all this to
be done? I will not now enter into the question of what is the opinion
of the other House of Parliament--but I will say again, as I have said
before, in the presence of your Lordships, that I see no reason whatever
for altering the constitution of Parliament.

It is my opinion that parliament has well served the country, and that
it deserves the thanks of the country for a variety of measures which it
has proposed, particularly of late years. I see no reason for the
measure now proposed, except that stated by the noble Earl--namely, his
desire to gratify certain individuals in the country. It is possible
that a large number, nay, even a majority of individuals, in this
country may be desirous of this change, but I see no reason, excepting
that, for this measure being introduced or adopted.

Whilst I thus declare my sentiments, I beg your Lordships to believe
that I feel no interest in this question, excepting that which I have in
common with every individual in the country. I possess no influence or
interest of the description which will be betrayed by the measure now
proposed. I am an individual who has served his Majesty for now, I am
sorry to say, nearly half a century; I have been in his Majesty's
service for forty-five years--for thirty eventful years of that period I
have served his Majesty in situations of trust and confidence, in the
command of his armies, in embassies, and in his councils; and the
experience which I have acquired in the situations in which I have
served his Majesty, enables me, and imposes upon me the duty, to say,
that I cannot look at this measure without the most serious
apprehensions, that from the period of its adoption, we shall date the
downfall of the constitution.

_March 24, 1831._

* * * * *

_Under the Reformed System, how is the King's Government to be carried
on?_

I have, myself, examined the bill, with reference to its effects on the
county of Southampton. In that county there are several
towns--Winchester, Christchurch, Portsmouth, Southampton, and the
borough of Lymington. Several boroughs in that county are struck out of
the representation by the bill, and there are, besides, a vast number of
considerable towns left unrepresented, but the voters of these places
are to come into the county constituency. According to the old system,
the voters of the towns had votes for the county; now, copyholders and
50l. householders are to vote for the county. In the towns, these two
classes are, for the most part, shopkeepers.

I am convinced that there are no less than 4000 or 5000 such inhabitants
of towns in Hampshire, who will have votes for the county, as well as
the freeholders. Now, of whom does this class of electors consist? As I
before stated, they are shopkeepers--respectable shopkeepers--in the
towns. I beg to ask, are they fit persons to be the only electors to
return county members to a Parliament, which Parliament is to govern the
affairs of this great nation, consisting of 100,000,000 of subjects, and
so many various relations, foreign, domestic, colonial, commercial, and
manufacturing? Men of the description I have mentioned, with their
prejudices and peculiar interests, however respectable as a body, cannot
be fit to be the only electors of members of the House of Commons. But,
I beg to say that, however respectable this, or any other class of
electors may be, there is a strong reason against any uniformity of
system in the representation of the country. I have heard already of the
establishment, in this town, of a committee formed for the purpose of
recommending candidates for the representation to the different towns
throughout the country. I confess, I do not believe that this committee
has been established more than a few days; but I beg to say that, taking
into consideration the means of combinations, and the facilities of
communications in the country, such a body is dangerous. I know that
such committees, in other countries, have been found to be effectual in
putting down the Government. And I ask whether you should allow such a
uniform system of election--it matters not in whose hands it is
placed--that a committee, sitting in London, shall have the power to
dictate what members shall be returned for Leeds, or for Manchester, for
instance? I wish to know what security noble Lords have for their seats
in this House, if such a committee as this should exist at the first
general election of a reformed Parliament? But, my Lords, these are not
all the objections which I entertain to this measure; I have others,
founded upon facts, which I know to have existed in other countries. I
was in France when the law of election was passed, in the year 1817; and
this circumstance deserves your Lordships' attention, because the
situation of the two countries is not dissimilar. At that period there
were, in each department 300 persons, who, paying the highest amount of
taxes, were chosen to manage the representation. The King and Government
altered this, and gave the power of choosing representatives to persons
paying taxes to the amount of 300 francs. Two years afterwards, they
were obliged to alter the law again, and form two classes of electors.
Since then, there have been two general elections, one more unfavourable
than the other to the Government; and the matter ended in the formation
of a Parliament, the spirit of which rendered it impossible for a
Government to act.

My Lords, I do not mean here to justify the Government of Charles X.;
and I trust the noble and learned Lord (Lord Brougham) will allow me, on
this occasion, to declare that I never wrote to Prince Polignac in my
life (much as I have been accused of encouraging the proceedings of that
person), and I have never written to Charles X. from the time that
monarch lost his son, and his grandson was born. In fact, I have never
corresponded with any French minister without the knowledge of my
colleagues. The noble and learned Lord on the woolsack may rely on it,
that I had no more knowledge of Prince Polignac's proceedings, than the
noble and learned Lord himself; or, most probably, still less. I am not
the apologist of Prince Polignac; but, I say, that things had been
brought to that state in France, that it was impossible but there should
be a revolution.

When I see a similar mode of election established in this country--when
I see the adoption of a uniform system of election--when I see the
election placed in the hands of shopkeepers in boroughs all over the
country--I think that we incur considerable danger, and put the country
in such a situation as that no minister can be certain that any one
measure which he brings forward will succeed, or that he will he enabled
to carry on the Government. The circumstances of France and England are,
in many particulars, alike, and we ought to take warning by the dangers
of the neighbouring country.

I wish the House to advert to what the business of the King's Government
in Parliament is. It is the duty of that Government to manage
everything. I heard the noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack, in a
speech of admirable eloquence and knowledge, propose a new judicial
system at the commencement of the Session; but I tell him, that it is
impossible for the Government ultimately to decide on that question; and
that if a Parliament be constructed on the new plan, it will be too
strong for Government on that question. So, also, in matters affecting
commerce and manufactures, Government would depend entirely upon
Parliament.

I want to hear how Government is to carry any measure, on the
appointment of a new Parliament? There is a great question now before
the House of Commons on the subject of tithes. How is any Government to
meet that question? A Government may submit to the will of a majority
opposed to its own view on other questions, but on the question of
tithes and the Church, the duty of any Government is clearly pointed
out--the King's Coronation Oath, and the Acts of Union with Scotland and
Ireland, guaranteeing the integrity of the Church Establishment, and the
protection of the estates and prosperity of the Church. But I want to
know how Government is to maintain the safety of the Established Church,
after placing Parliament on the footing proposed. I really do not wish
to carry this argument farther than it will go; but, looking round, and
considering the operation of the proposed measure in towns, as well as
in counties, and forming the best judgment I can on affairs so
complicated, I must infer, from every thing I see, that the
Constitution of the country cannot be carried on as hitherto, if this
plan be adopted. In such an event, you would alter your whole system of
Government. I do not say the Crown cannot last. You may still permit the
King's interference in the management of the army, the navy, and the
ordnance; and the rest of the Government may he carried on by the House
of Commons. Things may go on under such a system; but this will not be
the British Constitution. It will not be the same England, which has
been, for so many centuries, prosperous and glorious under our present
Constitution.

_March 28, 1831._

* * * * *

_The Unreformed House a complete Legislative Body._

As to the present House of Commons, I maintain that it is as complete a
legislative body as can be required; and that the House of Commons,
since the peace particularly, has shown itself to be the most efficient
legislative body that ever existed in any country in the world, not
excepting this. I say, that it has rendered more services than any
Legislature ever did in the same period--I say, it has continued those
great services up to the present moment, and that those services have
only been interrupted by the introduction of this discussion upon the
Reform Bill.

_March 28, 1831._

_Reasons why the Duke resigned Office in November, 1830._

It is quite true, that when the late Government brought forward the
Catholic question, they were supported by many noble Lords who were
usually opposed to the Government; but it is not correct that the
disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders was made a _sine qua
non_ to ensure the support of the noble Lords to the Relief Bill. I
certainly had the misfortune, on that occasion, to lose the support and
regard of a great number of friends, both here and in the other House of
Parliament--a misfortune I have never ceased to lament; yet I have the
consolation of knowing, that in what I then did, I did no more than what
my duty required of me; and I was not justified in relinquishing that
measure by any intimidation, or by any imaginary circumstance of
danger--which I had no right to apprehend. But I own that things were
going on in Ireland which induced me to think they might lead to a civil
war, in the event of our continuing to refuse the settlement of the
question; and I am satisfied that I should have been wanting in duty,
both as a man and a Minister, if I had hesitated to give up those
opinions which I had previously entertained with regard to that measure.
I afterwards had some difference with a noble Earl opposite (Earl Grey),
but notwithstanding I felt called upon to retain the position I held in
the Government as long as I enjoyed the approbation of my Sovereign, and
the confidence of the Legislature.

Then came the Revolution in France, followed by that of Belgium; and
like the former revolutions of Naples and of Spain, they naturally
excited a strong sensation here; that excitement, increased by speeches
made in various parts of the country, created a strong desire for
Parliamentary Reform. But I did not think then, any more than I think
now, that that desire was irresistible. If Parliament should see reason
to decide that the proposed alteration in the Constitution is not
necessary, and ought not to be made, I am confident the country will
acquiesce in that decision. I believe that the wish for reform is strong
and growing; but if the people see that the subject is fairly discussed,
and honestly determined here, I am sure they will submit without a
murmur. Already the sensation produced by the French and Belgian
Revolutions has subsided; the natives of the country have seen the
deplorable results by which those commotions have been followed, and are
wisely warned by the sufferings of their neighbours.

* * * * *

Upon the defeat on the Civil List, finding I had the misfortune no
longer to enjoy the confidence of the House of Commons, I thought proper
to resign the situation which I held in his Majesty's service. Upon that
occasion, the question of Parliamentary Reform had no more to do, as far
as I was concerned, with the resignation which I tendered to his Majesty
on the day following the defeat on the Civil List, than anything else
in the world. I admit I resigned next morning, because I did not wish to
expose his Majesty and the country to the consequences that might result
from the Government going out on the success of the question of
Parliamentary Reform. This is the truth; but, to say I resigned on
account of Parliamentary Reform, is wrong; I resigned upon the ground
before stated; and I resigned at that particular moment on the Tuesday,
because I did not choose to expose his Majesty and the country to the
consequences that might ensue from the occurrence of the case just
mentioned. This is the real fact of the story. But the noble and learned
Lord has said, that the late Ministry gave up the principle of
Parliamentary Reform by their resignation; no such thing--we resigned
because we did not possess the confidence of the House of Commons, and
we thought that the same majority which defeated us on Monday on the
Civil List, might defeat us Tuesday on Reform; and then we should have
sacrificed (as the noble Lord says), the principle of Parliamentary
Reform in the Commons. We did not think it worth while to make any
farther struggle in order to retain office a day or two longer.

_March 28, 1831._

* * * * *

_The Civil List principle, on what arranged._

My Lords, the principle on which I and my colleagues drew up the Civil
List, was always directed to enable the Sovereign, so far as was
practicable, to defray all the expenses necessary to be incurred in
supporting the dignity, splendour, and comforts of the Crown, without
mixing them up with the other expenses of the Government. For this
purpose, it was formerly the practice to grant a considerable sum for
those various, but necessary expenses. Certainly, the Crown enjoyed
great advantage in supporting its dignity, influence, and efficiency, as
long as the system of supporting itself on its hereditary revenues
remained in practice. That system, my Lords, was departed from at the
commencement of the reign of Geo. III.; and a further departure from it
has since taken place, into which I shall, with your Lordships'
permission, examine presently, and compare that departure with those
proposed by the late Government. From the accounts I have seen of the
hereditary revenues enjoyed by Geo. II., I have reason to believe that
were they now enjoyed by our Sovereign, and employed in defraying the
civil expenses of the Government, and sustaining the dignity and
splendour of the Crown, they would amount to a sum larger than would be
necessary to meet those expenses, notwithstanding the increase which has
been made in them by the increased salaries of the judges, the increased
number of the public officers, and the vast increase of the royal family
of England. I say, my Lords, that these hereditary revenues would be
more than adequate to defray all these charges. I believe that these
revenues, independent of droits and West Indian duties, amount, at the
present moment, to 850,000 l. a-year; and these revenues, my Lords, I
consider as much the King's property, as I hold the possessions of your
Lordships to be yours. I make this statement, because it is important
that your Lordships should recollect it, and the public should know that
notwithstanding the magnitude of the expenses of the Sovereign, the
Sovereign has as much right to the sum which I have mentioned, as any of
your Lordships to your own estates. The system of giving the Sovereign
the amount of certain taxes to defray the expenses of the civil
government, was first departed from at the commencement of the reign of
Geo. III., when a fixed sum was appointed, instead of that mode of
payment, for its support. In process of time the expenses of the civil
government increased, and the Civil List became a debt. The consequence
was, that in the year 1815, an inquiry was instituted into the
circumstances which had caused this increase of charges upon the Civil
List, up to the period of the Regency. What was the course then adopted
by Parliament? Why, it was to bring certain charges--as, for instance,
the charges for ambassadors and ministers abroad--under the annual vote
of Parliament; and the immediate object was to avoid thereby the fixing
of any fresh debt, for which no estimate could be previously made, upon
the Civil List. In 1820 it was determined that nothing whatever should
be brought before Parliament, in connexion with the Civil List, that was
a casual expense, or for which a regular vote could not be submitted.

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