670 Mr. Walter Freicen Lord [March 11, 



he cliose to join issue over was the occupation of Tuscany. Murat 

 was in possession ; Bentinck said that Murat ought to withdraw his 

 army and hand over the country to England. Bellegarde said that, 

 as a middle course, the best thing to do would be to summon the 

 destined occupant of the Tuscan throne — the Grand Duke of 

 Wiirzburg — so that neither English nor ^Neapolitans should occupy 

 the country. 



Murat offered to share Tuscany with Bentinck, or to allow him 

 to occupy Via Reggio and Lucca Genoa and Pisa, thus commanding 

 all the military roads, or (if Bentinck would sign the treaty) to 

 evacuate Tuscany altogether. A more conciliatory temper it would 

 be impossible to hhow. 



Tiie utter futility of the whole squabble is not realised unless 

 we keep clearly in our minds that the object of the alliance was for 

 both armies to get out of Tuscany as soon as possible and cross tiie 

 frontier into France. But Bentinck only wanted to pick a quarrel, 

 and he did it this time most effectually. I wish that I could read 

 you his iustructions to Sir Robert Wilson. They would show, better 

 than any words of mine could do, that he intended the negotiat on to 

 fail. I will quote, however, tv\o or three sentences of his secret 

 instructions to Wilson. " I will not hear of any interference." 

 Inteiference ! between allies in a common cause. "An immediate 

 decision must be the sine qua non of my remaining with the British 

 expedition." This, after three months' delay for which he alone was 

 responsible! 



With these instructions, Sir Robert Wilson interviewed the Due 

 de Gallo, the Foreign Minister of Tsaples. Gallo made the offers 

 that I have already mentioned, and then introduced Wilson to a 

 private audience with the King. In the midst of the interview Gallo 

 entered with — I was going to say -a letter, but a communication 

 from Lord William Bentinck to the King. It was written in the 

 third person, severely lecturing the King, and couched in the most 

 arrogant language. The King read it silently until he came to the 

 word "disloyal," when he laid the letter down, stared at Wilson 

 repeating the word, and then taking the letter up read it through to 

 the end, read it a second time, handed it silently to Gallo, and signified 

 that the audience was at an end. 



The next day the Due de Gallo sent a line to Lord William 

 Bentinck, simj)ly infiaming him that his language and bearing was 

 not in accordance with Lord Castlereagh's instructions, and declining 

 to hold any further communications with him. For the future, the 

 Duke said, the Neapolitan court would communicate direct with the 

 British cabinet. On the 2nd of Aj)ril, Bentinck rej^orted the inter- 

 view to Lord Castlereagh, adding " 1 have resolved to be no party to 

 a system of weak and timid policy, which, in my judgment, promises 

 no material present advantage, and certainly none to counterbalance 

 the dangerous effects of Murat's power and ambition." And Bentinck 

 was drawing pay to the amount of 14,000/. a year for the express 



