DEKBY, EDWARD G. S. 



DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 221 



Lord George Bentinck and Mr. Disraeli dis- 

 charging a similar duty in the House of Com- 

 mons. In 1851, on the death of his father, he 

 succeeded to the earldom, and in 1852, on the 

 resignation of Lord John Russell as Premier, he 

 was called upon by the Queen, for the first 

 time, to form a government, which he did. 

 But he held the reins of power for only ten 

 months, having found it impossible, with a 

 Cabinet so intensely Conservative and Protec- 

 tionist as that he had constructed, to command 

 a majority in the House of Commons. During 

 this short term of office, however, he was in- 

 strumental in carrying those measuresof chan- 

 cery reform which have proved of such signal 

 benefit to the English people, and in forming 

 that alliance between England and France 

 from which such important results to both 

 countries have already flowed. On the fall 

 of the coalition ministry in January, 1855, 

 Lord Derby declined to undertake the duties 

 of Government, on the ground that the only 

 ministry he could have formed would have 

 been dependent for existence on the forbear- 

 ance of foes. In 1858, upon the resignation 

 of the Palmerston ministry, he again became 

 First Lord of the Treasury ; but his Govern- 

 ment having been beaten in the House of Com- 

 mons on a measure of parliamentary reform 

 brought forward by them, he dissolved Parlia- 

 ment, and appealed to the country, only to 

 find the new House more opposed to him than 

 the old one, leaving him no alternative but 

 resignation. As his overthrow in the first 

 instance was brought about principally through 

 his avowed determination to restore the Corn 

 Laws, so this time it was hastened by his ap- 

 parent sympathy with Austria on the Italian 

 question. Again, however, he signalized his 

 administration by achievements which will 

 live in English history, foremost of which was, 

 this time, the pacification of India after the 

 mutiny, and the reorganization of the govern- 

 ment of that vast dependency. After another 

 seven years' exclusion from office, Lord Derby, 

 for the third time, became Prime Minister in 

 June, 1866, after the fall of the Russell-Glad- 

 stone Ministry, retaining office till the new 

 Parliament, elected on the issue of the Irish 

 Church Disestablishment question by a deci- 

 sive majority, sealed the fate of his Govern- 

 ment at the commencement of the late session. 

 His third and last term of office will, like the 

 two preceding ones, be memorable for the ac- 

 complishment of a great work, destined to ex- 

 ercise a powerful influence on the national 

 fortunes. This time his Government carried 

 a measure establishing household suffrage ; 

 not, however, from any sincere desire to see 

 the area of popular rights extended, but in 

 order to prevent a revolution that would have 

 given a rude shock to the English throne. As 

 an orator and debater, Lord Derby stood in 

 the first rank. Lord Macaulay remarked that 

 his knowledge of the science of parliamentary 

 debate, at the very outset of hia career, re- 



sembled an instinct, and that it would be diffi- 

 cult to name any other debater who had not 

 made himself a master of his art at the expense 

 of his audience. He was of commanding pres- 

 ence and an ardent nature, rapid in speech 

 when excited, impetuous in attack, and with a 

 voice which, when elevated, rang out like the 

 tones of a trumpet. His remarkable classical 

 attainments, which won him such high honors 

 in his university course, were never suffered 

 to become rusty. Many of his most eloquent 

 speeches were garnished with appropriate and 

 beautiful classical allusions, and the great liter- 

 ary labor of his later years was a translation 

 of the " Iliad " in blank verse, published in 

 1865, and which is admitted by critics gener- 

 ally to be the finest English version of the 

 great epic. In 1852 he was elected Chancellor 

 of the University of Oxford, and devoted much 

 time and thought to the interests of that an- 

 cient seat of learning. In his private life the 

 Earl was genial upon occasion, witty and sar- 

 castic, and, though mindful of his aristocratic 

 birth and lineage, considerate and thoughtful 

 in his intercourse with those in inferior sta- 

 tion, a good and just landlord in general, 

 though sometimes inclined to be stubborn 

 where he deemed his rights concerned. He 

 was often imperious, sometimes high-handed 

 in his measures, but never mean. He was, in- 

 deed, the soul of honor in all the relations of 

 private life. 



DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE AND 

 FOREIGN RELATIONS. The correspond- 

 ence between the Department of State and 

 our representatives at foreign posts during the 

 year developed but little of general interest. 

 The rejection by the Senate of the text of the 

 treaty on the subject of the Alabama claims, 

 negotiated by Lord Clarendon and Mr. John- 

 son (see AMERICAN ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA for 

 1868, p. 216) led to further correspondence 

 between the representatives of the United 

 States and Great Britain without eliciting any 

 new points, or resulting in any definite arrange- 

 ment for the settlement of the questions in dis- 

 pute. 



The TJ. S. Government was frequently ap- 

 proached by agents or alleged ministers acting 

 in behalf of the Cubans, desiring the recog- 

 nition of belligerent rights; in other words, 

 that they be placed on the same national foot- 

 ing as Spain. The Government was also asked 

 to follow the example of Mexico and Peru, 

 and other South American Republics, and offi- 

 cially encourage the Cubans in their struggle 

 against Spain. The reasons for not acquiescing 

 in such appeals were stated to be based upon 

 the law of nations, the condition of the island 

 not justifying, in the opinion of the Adminis- 

 tration, the recognition of the Cuban flag ; and 

 no satisfactory evidence being produced to 

 show that there was a de facto government 

 of the Cubans possessing the powers essential 

 to its maintenance and character. 



The sympathy of the Government was al- 



