A Political Diary 1828-1830, Volume II | Page 8

with the Duke of Wellington that, having
for my own amusement written an address for the Roman Catholics in
the event of their making any to the King, the first sentence I imagined
was this: 'The Roman Catholics of England approach your Majesty for
the last time as a body distinct from the rest of your Majesty's subjects.'
_April 25._
I had a good deal of conversation as to the next Director. There are
three city men candidates, but none are good--Lyall, Ellice, and
Douglas.
Of Ellice no one knows anything. He is brother to the Ellice who
married Lord Grey's sister. Lyall is, or was, Chairman of the
Committee of Shipowners. Douglas is brother to Lord Queensbury.
They say his is not a very good house.
_April 28._
Read the correspondence between the Duke and Lord Anglesey. Then
read a memorandum of the Duke's in reply to one of Hardinge's on the
subject of the discipline of the British army. Hardinge wished to
introduce the Prussian [Footnote: Which did not include capital
punishment. See Wellington Correspondence, vol. v. p. 932.] discipline
into ours. The Duke shows that with our discipline we have more men
fit for duty in proportion to our numbers than the Prussians in the
proportion of two to one. That in Prussia the army is everything. There
is no other profession. All are soldiers--the officer lives much with his
men--they are always in masses, always in fertile countries.
In our service the worst men in the community enter the army. The
officers are gentlemen. They cannot mix with the men. Without
discipline our army would be inferior to others. It is not even now the
favourite profession. There is much jealousy of it. It is not popular with
the common people. It is difficult to find recruits even in times of
distress.

I was in an army, the Duke concludes, which cannot be governed on the
Prussian principle. You cannot treat the English soldier as a man of
honour.
The Duke had been with the King, who was in very good humour. He
had not, however, got to close quarters with him as to the changes.
_April 29._
Cabinet at 12. A letter has been received from Lord Heytesbury, from
which it is clear that Russia will very soon resume altogether the
exercise of her belligerent rights in the Mediterranean.
Nesselrode communicated to him the blockade of Candia. Lord
Heytesbury only observed that 'it was a resumption of belligerent
rights.' This Count Nesselrode did not deny, and he said they could not
long remain in the false position in which they now were in the
Mediterranean.
Count Heyden at the end of January blockaded Candia on pretexts
arising out of the state of Greece. In three weeks from that time he
rested his interception of the Egyptian vessels near Candia on the
necessary exercise of his rights as a belligerent. Lièven, when first
spoken to, disavowed Heyden. He now changes his tone, and it is
evident that Russia now for the second time breaks her word. The
French do not behave much better. They have 6,000 men in the Morea,
and mean to keep them there notwithstanding their engagement to
withdraw their troops as soon as the Egyptians were embarked. To be
sure, they say if we insist upon it they will withdraw them.
I have always been for getting out of the treaty. We have been dragged
along very unwillingly--we have been subjected to much humiliation.
We seem to me to have gained nothing by all our compliances. We
have been led on from the violation of one principle to that of another.
Our position has discouraged Turkey. We have been made the tools of
Russia, and have been duped with our eyes open. I think the sooner we
get out of this false position the better, and there is no time so
favourable for us to hold strong language as this, when by the
settlement of the Catholic question we are really strengthened, and
when all foreign Powers believe we are yet more strengthened than we
are. The Duke is certainly for getting out. He has long wished it.
A paper of Peel's was read suggesting the difficulties in which we
should still be placed by our moral obligation towards the Greeks, and

by our reasonable fear that on the principles of the Greek Treaty, to
which we have unfortunately given our adhesion, Russia and France
may combine and make a partition treaty. My expectation is that Russia
and France would soon quarrel, and I think I could before now have
made them jealous of each other, but we have done nothing.
After much conversation, V. Fitzgerald agreeing with me and the others
saying nothing, it was determined to insist upon the freedom of
communication with