⁶¹⁸ Carnarvon told Disraeli earlier in the day, ‘I think it will be of some advantage to my successor to talk to me. I can tell him many things in conversation which may be of value and which it is not easy to express in writing’ (Carnarvon to Disraeli, 31 January 1878: Hughenden Papers, dep. 100/1).

⁶¹⁹ Sir Arthur Purves Phayre (1812–1895), Governor of Mauritius (1874–1878), was succeeded by Sir George Ferguson Bowen (1821–1899), who had been Governor of Victoria since 1873.

⁶²⁰ Charles Philip Yorke (1836–1897), 5th Earl of Hardwicke (1873), known as ‘Champagne Charlie’. Con. MP for Cambridgeshire (1865–1873), Master of the Buckhounds (1874–1880), declared bankrupt (1881).

⁶²¹ William Fenwick Williams (1800–1883), Baronet (1856), Lib. MP for Calne (1856–1859), Commander-in-Chief, Canada (1859–1865), Governor of Nova Scotia (1865–1867), Governor of Gibraltar (1871–1876).

⁶²² Capt. Arthur Balfour Haig (1840–1925), Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh (1864–1880).

⁶²³ Revd Henry White (1830–1890), Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the Queen (1870–1873).

⁶²⁴ William Benedict Scarisbrick (1828–1898), Bishop of Mauritius (1872–1887).

⁶²⁵ One of Gordon's tasks as Governor, ordered by Carnarvon, was to settle the many outstanding land claims. Gordon's enlightened policy towards the native Fijians caused much worry. See Chapman, J.K., The Career of Arthur Hamilton Gordon, First Lord Stanmore (Toronto, 1964), pp. 205–208CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁶²⁶ Sir John Pope-Hennessy (1834–1891), Governor of Hong Kong (1877–1882).

⁶²⁷ William Cleaver Robinson (1834–1897), Governor of the Straits Settlements (1877–1879).

⁶²⁸ The British Fleet had been ordered through the Dardanelles for a third time in three weeks. Derby gloomily wrote, ‘There must be an end to the imbroglio within the next few months; if not, it will make an end of me’ (Millman, Britain and the Eastern Question, p. 389). Carnarvon informed Bath, ‘I hear that after the last Cabinet Derby said, “Things are looking graver than ever.” This for what it is worth’ (Carnarvon to Bath, 11 February 1878: Longleat Papers).

⁶²⁹ Sir Francis Sandford (1824–1893), Assistant Under-Secretary at the Colonial Office (1868–1870).

⁶³⁰ Sir John Pender (1815–1896), pioneer of submarine telegraphy and Lib. MP for Wick district, Linlithgowshire (1872–1885).

⁶³¹ The financial and administrative obstacles to the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway had caused much friction between the government and the Columbians. It was not until 1881 that the contract was finally sanctioned, and a further seven years before the line to Vancouver City was opened.

⁶³² The Eastern Question. Movements of the Fleet. Conference. Questions: Hansard, CCXXXVIII, 21 February 1878, cols 43–45, Derby, cols 44–45.

⁶³³ At the Cabinet meeting on 21 February, Layard's telegram was received, reporting a Russian demand that the Turks should surrender their fleet. In the event of this not being carried out, Russia would occupy Constantinople. The Royal Navy was put on high alert.

⁶³⁴ In a leader headed ‘Russo-Turkish War’, the newspaper encouraged the Government to ‘take every precaution’ to discourage the serious encroachment of the treaties of 1856 and 1871: Daily Telegraph, 26 February 1878, p. 4.

⁶³⁵ Carnarvon commented afterwards, ‘I do not know that it came to much. What he mainly wanted to hear was as to the course to be pursued by Disraeli and perhaps I was useful to him’ (Carnarvon to Bath, 1 March 1878: Longleat Papers).

⁶³⁶ A view not shared by several members of the Cabinet: ‘all our eight heads of hair stood upright on reading the account of Derby's conversation with Shuvalov on the subject of the possible seizure of a Turkish island’ (Northcote to Disraeli, 27 February 1878: Hughenden Papers, dep. 107/1).

⁶³⁷ Gen. Robert Cornelis Napier (1810–1890), 1st Baron Napier of Magdala (1868), distinguished soldier in Indian, Abyssinian, and Chinese campaigns. Commander-in-Chief, India (1870–1876), Governor of Gibraltar (1876–1882).

⁶³⁸ On 3 January, Disraeli sent a telegram at 2.20 p.m. that day to the Queen, ‘I have brought the Speech of the Colonial Secretary before the Cabinet today. He has departed for Osborne much excited’ (Royal Archives, H18/T6).

⁶³⁹ Carnarvon, after his resignation on 24 January, had offered to attend for an interview with the Queen. She informed Ponsonby, ‘The Queen does certainly not wish to see Ld Carnarvon, who finds sympathy with no one for his selfish conduct – leaving his Post at such a moment’ (Queen Victoria to Ponsonby, 17 January 1878: Royal Archives, L14/30).

⁶⁴⁰ According to Hardinge, II, p. 339, on 10 March, Carnarvon was asked by the Government ‘to undertake a mission to Canada’. Lady Derby had previously written to Carnarvon, ‘ I thought the offer of Canada had been made and almost accepted. Stanley certainly understood so’ (Lady Derby to Carnarvon, 10 March 1878: CP, BL 60765, fo. 171).

⁶⁴¹ Algernon Borthwick (1830–1908), proprietor of the Morning Post since 1876.

⁶⁴² Frances Elizabeth, Countess Waldegrave (1821–1879), whose fourth husband was Lord Carlingford, a leading Liberal politician. A great society hostess, she was on very friendly terms with Shuvalov. See Hewett, O.W., Strawberry Fair: a biography of Frances, Countess Waldegrave, 1821–1879 (London, 1956), p. 256Google Scholar.

⁶⁴³ Sir Joseph William Trutch (1826–1904), Surveyor-General of British Columbia (1864), Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia (1871–1876).

⁶⁴⁴ Russia had agreed to hold a Conference of the Great Powers in Berlin to reconsider the Treaty of San Stefano signed in March, which ended the Russo-Turkish war.

⁶⁴⁵ ‘The treaty from an English point of view’, Pall Mall Gazette, 23 March 1877, p. 1: ‘Is it possible an English Government can formally allow to Russia, along with the Armenian territory which the treaty gives her possession this fatal right of protectorate over the rest? We say that to do so may be possible, but that it would be a blunder absolutely criminal.’

⁶⁴⁶ George Henry Cadogan (1840–1915), 5th Earl Cadogan (1873), Under-Secretary of State for War (1875–1878) and for the Colonies (1878–1880), Lord Privy Seal (1886–1892), Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1895–1902).

⁶⁴⁷ The Cabinet changes, following Derby's resignation on 27 March, were announced on 2 April.

⁶⁴⁸ Charles Malcolm Bylandt (1818–1893), Dutch diplomat.

⁶⁴⁹ Derby reported, ‘Carnarvon [. . .] low in spirits [. . .]. He does not understand the complete change of opinion on Salisbury's part within a year; nor do I, except through female influence. Lady Salisbury has always, since Constantinople, desired to be at the F.O. and has not concealed the wish’ (Vincent, Derby, IV, p. 2).

⁶⁵⁰ Hansard, CCXXXIX, 8 April 1878, Derby, cols 789–801.

⁶⁵¹ Frederick Stanley had been appointed Secretary of State for War on 2 April, the same day that Salisbury was appointed Foreign Secretary.

⁶⁵² Port, formerly named Alexandretta, in North Syria. For details of the proposed operation, see J. Headlam-Morley, Studies in Diplomatic History (London, 1930), pp. 203–204.

⁶⁵³ Derby wrote in his Diary on 15 May, ‘In afternoon, talk with M. as to whether any overture should be made to C.S. [Constance, Frederick Stanley's wife] of whose unfriendly language and conduct we have more evidence than enough’ (Vincent, Derby, IV, p. 15).

⁶⁵⁴ Sir Robert William Duff Abercromby (1835–1895), Commander, RN (1865), Lib. MP for Banffshire (1861–1893), Lib. Whip (1882–1885), Governor of New South Wales (1893–1895), and his wife, Louisa.

⁶⁵⁵ Gladstone had a conversation with Carnarvon the previous day and made a note of the latter's observations: ‘It has happened repeatedly that Cabinet Ministers have been sent to her to receive “wiggings” from the Queen which as he [Carnarvon] said is their affair and fault, if they allow it to impair their independence, but communications have from time to time been received by the Cabinet warning it off from certain subjects and saying she could not agree to this and not agree to that’ (Gladstone, Memorandum marked ‘Secret’, 26 May 1878: BL, Gladstone Papers 44763, fo. 130).

⁶⁵⁶ Sir Theodore Martin (1816–1909), who prepared The Life of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, 5 vols (London, 1874–1880), for Queen Victoria. See St Aubyn, Queen Victoria, p. 250.

⁶⁵⁷ The text of the Anglo-Russian Convention dealing with Bulgaria and Batoum, largely the work of Salisbury and Shuvalov at the Congress of Berlin, was leaked by Charles Marvin, a clerk at the Foreign Office, to the Globe. It appeared in the newspaper on 14 June. See Marvin, C., Our Public Offices (London, 1879), p. 203Google Scholar.

⁶⁵⁸ The Eastern Question. The Congress – Alleged Agreement between Russia and England: Hansard, 17 June 1878, CCXL, Richmond, cols 1569–1572.

⁶⁵⁹ Thomas Hay Sweet Escott (1844–1924), journalist, editor of the Fortnightly Review (1882–1886).

⁶⁶⁰ Edmund Yates (1831–1894), editor of The World from 1874.

⁶⁶¹ Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914), Lib. MP for Birmingham (1876–1886), Lib. Unionist MP for Birmingham West (1886–1914), President of the Board of Trade (1880–1885), President of the Local Government Board (1886), Secretary of State for the Colonies (1895–1903).

⁶⁶² Ralph Anstruther Earle (1835–1879), former private secretary to Disraeli (1858), Con. MP for Berwick (1859) and for Maldon (1865–1868), Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board (1866–1867).

⁶⁶³ See C. Howard and P. Gordon, The Cabinet Journal of Dudley Ryder, Viscount Sandon, Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, Special Supplement No. 10 (November 1974), pp. 25–33.

⁶⁶⁴ Meeting of the Anglo-Armenian Committee, where Carnarvon moved a resolution for the creation of a separate Armenian Province.

⁶⁶⁵ Salisbury and Disraeli had secretly negotiated with the Sultan the cession of Cyprus to Britain in return for a defensive alliance with Britain. It was signed on 4 June. Because of the publication of the Convention in the Daily Telegraph, the Cabinet decided to announce details of it in both Houses of Parliament (Johnson, p. 378). For the full text of the Cyprus Convention, see C.W.J. Orr, Cyprus under British Rule (London, 1918), pp. 35–41.

⁶⁶⁶ ‘England and Turkey: a defensive treaty’, Daily Telegraph, 8 July 1878, p. 5.

⁶⁶⁷ Carnarvon's subsequent disillusionment with the Convention is described in Lee, D.E., Great Britain and the Cyprus Convention Policy of 1878 (Cambridge, MA, 1934), p. 145Google Scholar.

⁶⁶⁸ Disraeli had signed the Treaty on 13 July. He arrived back in London three days later. See Buckle, Disraeli, VI, pp. 345–346.

⁶⁶⁹ See Vincent, Derby, IV, p. 31 for further details.

⁶⁷⁰ Archibald Philip Primrose (1847–1929), 5th Earl Rosebery (1868), Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office (1881), Lord Privy Seal (1885), Foreign Secretary (1886, 1892–1894), Leader of the Liberal Party (1894–1896), Prime Minister and Lord Privy Seal (1894–1895).

⁶⁷¹ Hansard, CCXLII, 26 July, 1878, cols 344–351.

⁶⁷² Ibid., Salisbury, cols 332–339.

⁶⁷³ Ibid., Carnarvon, cols 359–366.

⁶⁷⁴ Ibid., Bath, cols 371–381.

⁶⁷⁵ At the end of June, Carnarvon had been offered the chairmanship of the Middlesex Court of Quarter Sessions, a post previously held by Salisbury. On learning that ten magistrates had formed a committee to secure another candidate, Carnarvon immediately declined. See ‘Middlesex Sessions’, The Times, 26 July 1878, p. 10.

⁶⁷⁶ Not identified.

⁶⁷⁷ Possibly Frances G. C. Herbert (d. 1885), Carnarvon's cousin.

⁶⁷⁸ James Bryce (1838–1922), 1st Viscount Bryce (1914), lawyer, historian, and statesman. Professor of Civil Law, Oxford University (1870–1893), Lib. MP for Tower Hamlets division (1880–1885) and for Aberdeen South (1885–1906), Chancellor, Duchy of Lancaster (1892–1894), President of the Board of Trade (1894–1895).

⁶⁷⁹ Froude's wife had died in February 1874.

⁶⁸⁰ Published as Caesar: a sketch (London, 1879).

⁶⁸¹ On 3 August, the Cabinet had agreed that the Ameer of Afghanistan should accept a British mission to Kabul, and dismiss the Russian mission already there. On 8 September, Lytton sent troops under Gen. Sir Neville Chamberlain to enforce these demands but was halted at the Khyber Pass. Hardy, now Cranbrook, as War Minister, favoured Lytton's initiative. Salisbury had in fact earlier written to Cranbrook, requesting him to stop the mission. See M. Lutyens, The Lyttons in India: an account of Lord Lytton's Viceroyalty, 1876–1880 (London, 1979), p. 133. On 26 October, the Cabinet agreed to an ultimatum being given to the Ameer unless the British mission was accepted. As no reply was received, troops were ordered to advance on 20 November.

⁶⁸² Anthony John Mundella (1825–1897), Radical MP for Sheffield (1868–1885) and for Sheffield, Brightside division (1885–1897), Vice-President, Committee of Council on Education (1880–1885), President of the Board of Trade (1886, 1892–1894). Sharing Carnarvon's views on the Eastern Question, Mundella had regretted Carnarvon's resignation earlier in the year, calling him ‘our watchdog in the Cabinet’ (W.H.G. Armytage, A.J. Mundella: the Liberal background to the Labour movement (London, 1951), p. 182).

⁶⁸³ A vote of censure by the Opposition in both Houses on Government policy had been fixed for 9 December. The Liberals were confident of success, particularly in the Lords. Carnarvon was received ‘on the whole with less unfriendly exhibition than I expected’ (Diary, 9 December). The next day, the Government triumphed in the Lords by 210 to 65. A week later, Disraeli wrote whimsically to Lady Chesterfield, ‘The name of the new party: A.B.C.D. party, Aberdeen, Bath, Carnarvon and Derby!!!’ (Zetland, II, p. 198).