CHAP. 1814. the Ionian Islands by Great Britain as a means of furXIV. nishing the desired compensation, how inadequate soever.* Although the British had for several years during the war occupied the Ionian Islands, yet they had never been considered as part of the British dominions, and Lord Castlereagh was rather inclined to cede them to the King of Sicily if Murat retained Naples, or to Austria if he was restored to his Continental dominions. The great object was to prevent their falling into the hands of Russia, in whose possession it would have become a mere outpost for intrigues in Greece and Turkey. The destiny of Naples, however, still hung in suspense from the uncertainty of Murat as to what he was to do, and of the xviii. 607- Allies what course they were to pursue regarding him, Cor. x. 225. when they were relieved of their embarrassment, as will immediately appear,1 by a rash step on his part in favour 1 Thiers, 609; Cast. * "We have hitherto never laid claim to retain the Ionian Islands as a British possession. On the contrary, at Chatillon and Paris, there was a sort of understanding that they were to be given to the King of Sicily as a part of his indemnity. So long as he is excluded from Naples, to this appropriation, if not declined by him, I think we might hold, to the exclusion of any other project; and so long as Ferdinand IV. does not occupy the continent of Italy, Austria will not object to his having the Ionian Islands; but she would object, and justly, to both shores of the entrance to the Adriatic being in the hands of the same Power. The events that have passed since the peace of Paris, and especially the conduct of Russia with respect to the Grand-duchy of Warsaw, might afford some ground for a new claim on our part to further advantages. But if our policy is to try the chance of peace, I doubt the prudence of directly hazarding a new demand of this description on our own part. "In disposing of these islands there are, as it appears to me, two paramount objects to be attended to: the one to provide adequately for the protection of the people who have so long confided themselves to our care; the other, not to suffer Russia to acquire any establishment in those islands, to the hazard of the internal tranquillity both of Greece and Hungary, which latter kingdom is full of Greeks. With respect to the first of these objects, it might be secured by some arrangement like that lately framed for Genoa; but, in order to steer clear of the old republican form of government, which might afford a pretext for the renewal of Russian protection, it appears to me desirable to give a direct sovereignty over these islands, under whatever conditions may be thought right, to some acknowledged European Power; and if this Power cannot be Great Britain, in order to exclude Russia, we may insist that the sovereign authority shall belong to a local power—that is, to the King of Sicily, or to the Emperor of Austria, according as the kingdom of Naples may remain with Murat, or return under the dominion of the ancient family. In the latter case, the sovereignty to belong to Austria."--LORD CASTLEREAGH to LORD LIVERPOOL Vienna, December 24, 1814; Castlereagh Correspondence, x. 224, 225. of Napoleon, which at once determined the course to be CHAP. pursued regarding him. land. XIV. 1814. 65. In the general arrangement of the affairs of Europe, with a view to forming an effective barrier at every point Affairs of against the ambition of France, it was early felt as indis- Switzerpensable that great attention should be paid to the affairs of Switzerland. The world had not forgotten that it was from the summit of the maritime Alps that the torrent first descended, which, after spreading over Lombardy, ere long swept in devastating floods over the whole of Europe. For the interests of peace and general independence, it was indispensable that a strong frontier should be provided in these lofty mountains, capable of opposing an effectual barrier in that direction against the enterprises of French ambition. The affairs of Switzerland were referred, accordingly, to a separate commission, in which the representatives of Russia, Austria, and France bore the principal parts. Some difficulty was at first experienced in consequence of the opposition of the cantons of Berne, Uri, Lucerne, Schwytz, and Unterwalden, which were ruling cantons, to the admission of Vaud, Argovia, St Gall, and the Ticino, which were subject cantons, to a participation of their own sovereign powers. It was obviously unjust, and contrary to the spirit of the age, to continue so absurd a dominion as that of one petty state over another state; and, fortunately, by the moderation and persuasive influence of the Duc de Dalberg, the French representative in the commission, and Sir Charles Stewart, on the part of England, and Baron Humboldt, on the part of Prussia, the matter was ami- 1 Thiers, cably adjusted. The principle of equal rights and privi- c06; Conleges in all the cantons was admitted as the basis of the grès de Vienne, ii. confederacy, and the objections of the canton of Berne 337, 341; were removed by the grant of the district of Porentruy, Generale and the ancient bishopric of Bâle, beyond the Jura, which Protocols, lay beyond the frontier of old France, and was at the ibid. disposal of the Allies. It was further agreed that Geneva, xviii. 605, Rapport iii. 5; and 1, 2, 3. IT. CHAP Nextbhatel, and the Valais, which had formed part of the French empire, and were in like manner beyond the mits of the odd monarchy, should form three additional cantons, in addition to the nineteen formerly constituted, and that the whole should be put under the express and formal guarantee of the great Powers of Europe. This important safeguard reconciled all interests in Switzerland, the concerns of which were regulated by the Swiss committee with the most scrupulous regard to justice and impartiality. in his procure the There remained one other question far more exciting Duffelites and interesting to the British people than any of the important territorial settlements at stake in the Congress, Cash and that was the immediate and final abolition of the edura to slave trade. It has been already mentioned that the of anti-slavery party in Great Britain, of which Mr Wilberforce and Mr Clarkson were the heads, was thoroughly persuaded that Great Britain had only to insist on the instant and universal abolition of this traffic, by a unanimous declaration of the Congress that it was piracy, punishable with death by any captor, to effect its immediate and total abolition. They were equally persuaded that Lord Castlereagh had influence enough at the Congress to obtain such a declaration, and accordingly all their efforts were directed to create a pressure on him, sufficient to effect that object. The nation was worked up to a perfect phrenzy on this subject, and they were in an especial manner urgent to induce the British Government to give back some sugar island to France as an inducement to concur in the abolition.* "An opinion prevails here that if some colony or island were offered by Great Britain to France-say Tobago, St Lucia, or any other-the latter would give up the additional article in the treaty, and join in the immediate abolition of the slave trade. Without an exchange, it is said that the present Government of France dare not do it; for, without something to show, as gained on the one hand, by giving up on the other, the French people would think their monarch degraded, and at the command of England and her Allies; the consequences of which might be serious: but, if the French Government were to gain something in the manner spoken of, it is certainly believed here that England may have the abolition to-morrow."-THOMAS CLARKSON, ESQ. to LORD CASTLEREAGH, September 10, 1814; Castlereagh Correspondence, x. 117. XIV. 1814. They found in Lord Castlereagh an able, zealous, and CHAP. efficient advocate of their views, but they much overrated his ability to move the inert mass of the Congress, intent on other matters more immediately interesting to themselves, on the subject. The great Continental Powers having, with the exception of France, no colonial possessions, regarded the slave trade as a remote question with which they had little concern, and which it behoved the states more immediately interested to regulate for themselves. Unacquainted by their own experience with the tempests of passion which sometimes sweep over a free state, when the depths of religion or humanity are stirred, they could not comprehend the earnestness with which Lord Castlereagh pleaded the cause of the negro race; and accustomed to suspect an interested motive in every political change which is strenuously advocated, they settled into the belief that selfish objects were in reality at the bottom of this pretended zeal for the interests of humanity, and that the whole rested on a regard for their own interests. They thought 1 Lord Cas that the English, seeing they had injured their own colo-tlereagh to nies by the stoppage of the supply of slave labour, were pool, Dec. desirous of preventing any other nation from enjoying Ms. that advantage.1 Lord Liver 18, 1814. reagh's con on the sub Lord Castlereagh experienced the greatest difficulty 67. from these causes in his efforts to bring the Congress to Lord Castleany common measure or united action regarding the ference with slave trade. From France and Spain, who had valuable Talleyrand slave colonies, he experienced decided resistance; from ject. the other Powers indifference or lukewarm support. The former alleged that their colonies would be ruined if shut out from the ordinary supply of slave labour; the latter, that they did not understand the question, and felt averse to taking a decided line on a matter regarding which opinions were so much at variance, and which experience had not yet decided either way. Lord Castlereagh, however, was not discouraged. Fully convinced CHAP. XIV. 1814. himself of the political wisdom as well as moral justice of the course he was pursuing, he was indefatigable in his efforts to attain his object. What he did will be best judged of by the account of it given by M. Thiers, founded on the daily reports of M. de Talleyrand to the French Cabinet. "Lord Castlereagh," says he, "demanded, in the first instance, the absolute and unqualified abolition of the slave trade on the coasts of Africa. Nor was he contented with this. He contended, that to secure this object, all the Powers should mutually concede to each other the right of search, to see whether slaves were clandestinely conveyed, and it should be agreed to exclude absolutely the colonial produce of such countries as would not agree to such a convention. That was demanding a great deal, for it was well known that the right of search would be exercised by no Power but England, which alone was interested in putting down the slave trade. On principle, the negotiation on this point should have been confined to the maritime Powers; but Lord Castlereagh, finding that he stood alone among them, had suggested that the Continental Powers should take part in the conferences, and he had influence enough to obtain that object. He thus obtained a little more support. He endeavoured to persuade the French, Spanish, and Portuguese commissioners that it was dangerous to have colonies in which a multitude of blacks were alongside of a few whites, and that it would be far better to confine themselves to the negroes whom they already had, and the children whom they would certainly get if they were properly treated. To this it was replied that this was true, where, as in the British colonies, the blacks bore a vast proportion to the whites, but that in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies the number of the two colours was nearly equal; that the English, during the maritime war, had prepared their own colonies for the abolition of the slave trade, by storing them with blacks, but that they, having lost the command of the sea, had not had the means |