V. The Eastern Crisis of 1840. Extracts from the unpublished papers of Lord John Russell

Extract

The following letters (which are selected from the forthcoming Later Correspondence of Lord John Russell, and supplement the documents published by Spencer Walpole) take us behind the scenes of the Melbourne Cabinet during the anxious months of 1840, when the competition of Great Britain and France for hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean enlarged the struggle of Mehemet Ali and the Sultan from a local into a European problem, and brought the two countries within sight of war. The duel between Palmerston and Thiers was watched with an anxiety which was fully shared by the colleagues of the masterful Foreign Secretary. Lord Holland led the opposition within the Cabinet, and was vigorously supported by Lord Clarendon. Lord Spencer and Lord Lansdowne were also uneasy; and their apprehensions were shared by the Prime Minister who, however, was painfully aware that the resignation of Palmerston would destroy a ministry which had long outlived its popularity.