CHAPTER XXIV

At the end of the year 1854, negotiations had been on foot with a view to terminating the war, on terms which were known as the "Four Points," the third of which was designed to extinguish Russian preponderance in the Black Sea; and a conference of the Powers ultimately assembled at Vienna for the purpose. Early in 1855, Sardinia, under the influence of Cavour, her Premier, joined the Western Alliance against Russia. On Parliament re-assembling in January, Mr Roebuck gave notice of a motion for the appointment of a Committee to enquire into the conduct of the war. Lord John Russell, finding himself unable to resist the motion, at once resigned, and the Ministry was overwhelmingly defeated by a majority of more than two to one. Lord Derby, as Leader of the Conservative Opposition, was summoned to form a Ministry, but failed to do so; the age of Lord Lansdowne prevented his accepting the Premiership; and Lord John Russell, whose action had largely contributed to the defeat of the coalition, then attempted the task, but found that he could not command the support even of his old Whig colleagues. The Queen accordingly desired Lord Palmerston, whom the voice of the country unmistakably indicated for the Premiership, to construct a Government; he was successful in the attempt, the Cabinet being a reconstruction of that of Lord Aberdeen, with Lord Panmure substituted for the Duke of Newcastle at the War Office, while Lord John Russell was appointed British Plenipotentiary at the Vienna Conference. The new Premier desired to prevent the actual appointment of the Committee which Mr Roebuck's motion demanded, the displacement of the late Ministry--the real objective of the attack--having been effected; but as the House of Commons manifested a determination to proceed with the appointment of the Committee, the Peelite section of the Cabinet (Sir James Graham, Mr Gladstone, and Mr Sidney Herbert) withdrew, and Lord John Russell, who was then on his way to Vienna, accepted the Secretaryship of the Colonies. Early in March, the Czar Nicholas died suddenly of pulmonary apoplexy, and the expectation of peace increased; shortly afterwards, the Emperor and Empress of the French paid a state visit to this country, and were received with much enthusiasm, the Emperor being made a Knight of the Garter.

In February, a determined attack by the Russians upon Eupatoria was repulsed by the Turks; the defenders of Sebastopol, however, succeeded in occupying and fortifying an important position, afterwards known as the "Mamelon." The bombardment was resumed by the Allies in April, and a successful attack made upon Kertsch, from which the supplies of Sebastopol were mainly drawn; while a squadron under Captain Lyons destroyed the Russian magazines and stores in the Sea of Azov. General Canrobert was succeeded in the French command by General Pelissier, and on the 7th of June the Mamelon was taken by the French. A desperate but, as it proved, unsuccessful assault was then made by the Allies on the Redan and Malakhoff batteries; at this juncture Lord Raglan died, and was succeeded in the command by General Simpson.

The Vienna Conference proved abortive, Russia refusing to accept the third point, and though a compromise was proposed by Austria, which was favoured by the British and French Plenipotentiaries, their respective Governments did not ratify their views. The negotiations accordingly broke down, and Lord John Russell, on his return, used language in Parliament quite inconsistent with the view which it afterwards appeared he had urged at Vienna. He was loudly denounced for this, and, to avoid Parliamentary censure, again resigned office.

Among the measures which became law during the session, were those for enabling companies to be formed with limited liability, and for granting self-government to some of the Australasian Colonies. The Committee appointed by the House of Commons held its meetings in public (after a proposal to keep its investigations secret had been rejected), and, by the casting vote of the Chairman, reported that the late Cabinet, when directing the expedition to the Crimea, had had no adequate information as to the force they would have to encounter there; but a motion to "visit with severe reprehension" every member of the Cabinet was parried by carrying the "previous question."

In August, the Queen and Prince Albert paid a return visit to the French Emperor, and were received with great magnificence in Paris, while later in the year King Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia visited this country, and was made a Knight of the Garter. On the 9th of August, Sweaborg was severely bombarded by the allied fleets in the Baltic, and a forlorn attempt to raise the siege of Sebastopol resulted in another decisive success at the Tchernaya, the Sardinian contingent fighting with great bravery. Sebastopol fell on the 8th of September, after a siege of three hundred and forty-nine days; the citadel of Kinburn was bombarded and surrendered in October, after which General Simpson retired, in favour of Sir William Codrington. On the other hand, the fortress of Kars in Armenia, which had been defended by General Fenwick Williams, had to surrender to the Russian General Mouravieff, in circumstances, however, so honourable, that the officers were allowed to retain their swords, and their General received a Baronetcy and a pension of L1000 a year.

##