The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1573: Chapter 12: World Peace Ambassador Palmerston (Part 2)

To help Arthur conduct himself wisely, Palmerston began to chat with him about the story behind the Catholic Emancipation Act.

“Arthur, did you know? Actually, compared to Earl Dalmo and Lord Brougham, our personalities and temperaments are more alike. We both have an infinite passion for our work, preferring to work diligently rather than being all talk. But because of our personalities, we are often misunderstood by the outside world.”

Arthur couldn’t understand what nerve Palmerston had struck today; first, he spoke to him in a sarcastic tone, and now he started to build connections with him.

However, as long as things aren’t as bad as privately described by the Duke of Wellington and Sir Peel, Arthur wouldn’t mind playing along with this Foreign Secretary, as David Eckett’s “Divine Inspiration” wasn’t part of his plan, and he wasn’t ready to overturn the table so quickly with Palmerston yet.

Especially considering the possibility of this fellow becoming Prime Minister in the future, it would indeed be unwise to escalate the situation beyond control.

But, given Palmerston’s previous attacks, Arthur didn’t forget to remind him with a sarcastic jab: “Perhaps the outside world does misunderstand me, but I have nothing to complain about. After all, it was I who ordered the gunfire under the Tower of London. But as Sir Peel said, if someone must make a mistake, then I’d rather it be me than Britain. And having the police intervene is better than directly deploying the Army’s cavalry.”

Palmerston certainly knew what Arthur referred to, as he was the Minister of War who signed the order to deploy the cavalry to suppress the 60,000-strong assembly in Manchester, which led to the Peterloo Massacre.

It’s just due to having Home Secretary Viscount Sidmouth draw the fire in front, many people forgot to ponder how the Home Secretary managed to deploy the cavalry.

Palmerston didn’t know whether he felt guiltless or simply didn’t want to revisit the dark past; he lightly brushed over this chapter.

“Arthur, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Many people don’t know why I transformed from a Tory into a Whig, and some even question if I were just a simple turncoat. But if we were to elaborate, this matter might have something to do with you.”

“Related to me?” Arthur said with an unchanged expression: “Perhaps you flatter me too much. At the time, I was either still studying at university or struggling in the mud pits of Greenwich. Are you saying I sent a Devil to confuse your mind?”

“Certainly not.”

Palmerston began: “In January 1828, when the Duke of Wellington ascended as Prime Minister, the next day he summoned me for a meeting, hoping I would become a member of his Cabinet. However, before giving the Duke my final answer, I made two requests of him. First, I hoped every Cabinet member could freely propose suggestions in the Cabinet or Parliament based on their judgment. In any situation, the Government, when distributing power or exerting influence regarding issues related to Catholicism, must maintain a strictly neutral stance. Especially when supporting candidates, they shouldn’t differentiate based on their views on this issue.

Secondly, I hoped both parties could reach a consensus that the positions of Governor of Ireland and Governor of Ireland should be immediately replaced with candidates who hold a less hostile stance on Catholicism, as I believe this condition is crucial for peace and stability in Ireland. But the Duke was more skilled at setting conditions than accepting restrictions, showing reluctance to make specific promises, instead shrugging off the issue. He said the key to the first question lies in whether he’s an honest man, and the second in whether he’s mad. Having governed Ireland himself, he deeply understood the chaos that sending someone like I described would cause in Ireland; hence, he completely refused to do so.

I stated that given the first point, I had no doubts about him and Peel. But upon observing that Bathurst held a high position in the Government, while Goulburn was in the Treasury, and given the facts I’ve personally witnessed several times before, I couldn’t consider this consensus as self-evident. He replied, well, then I’ll submit your name. I said I seemed to care about these issues more than he did, thus I must take some time for deep contemplation. As I left, the Duke said he would wait for my answer. But, well…”

Arthur once imagined what issue caused Palmerston to break with the Tory Party, but he never thought the reason would be the Catholic Emancipation issue.

Palmerston continued: “Of course, I must admit, Peel was quite an outstanding person, during that time Peel exhibited extreme enlightenment on all issues except Catholic Emancipation. This included establishing Scotland Yard and abolishing the Bloody Act. As for his hesitation on Catholic Emancipation, I can only speculate that it was primarily because he was bound by previous election promises. His constituency then was at Oxford University, and this constituency would never relent on the issue of Catholic Emancipation.”

Palmerston walked, lamenting Arthur’s good fortune: “Arthur, I must say, you have quite a bit of good luck. Without Catholic Emancipation, you wouldn’t have reached your current position. If our King were still George IV, and you were a Catholic, you wouldn’t possibly become a Junior Knight. You must know, when our King William was still the Duke of Clarence, he was also a supporter of Catholicism; for this, he even argued with his brothers. Having enjoyed the benefits of freedom and progress, you should correct your attitude, not be planning to obstruct freedom and progress.”