e spoke in
concert with the foreign secretary, Earl Russell, with whom his
communications, agreeably to policy and to established usage,
were, I believe, large and constant. When the question was
eventually disposed of by the war which Prussia and Austria waged
against Denmark, there was much indignation felt against England
for the breach of her engagement to give support in the case of
war, to the small power so egregiously in need of it. And there
was no one to raise a voice in our favour.

As the year advanced (1863) and the prospect of war came nearer,
the subject was very properly brought before the cabinet. I
believe that at the time I was not even aware of Lord Palmerston's
declaration, which, owing to the exhausted period of the session,
had I believe attracted no great amount of attention in England.
Whether my colleagues generally were as little aware of what
happened as myself I do not know, but unquestionably we could not
all have missed learning it. However we did not as a body
recognise in any way the title of the prime minister to bind us to
go to war. We were, however, indignant at the conduct of the
German powers who, as we thought, were scheming piracy under cover
of pacific correspondence. And we agreed upon a very important
measure, in which Lord Palmerston acquiesced, when he had failed,
if I remember right, in inducing the cabinet to go farther. We
knew that France took the same view of the question as we did, and
we framed a communication to her to the following effect. We were
jointly to insist that the claim of the Duke of Augustenburg
should be peacefully settled on juridical grounds; and to announce
to Prussia and Austria that if they proceeded to prosecute it by
the use of force against Denmark, we would jointly resist them
with all our might.(89)

This communication was accordingly made to Louis Napoleon. He
declined the proposal. He said that the question was one of
immense importance to us, who had such vast interests involved,
and that the plan was reasonable from our point of view; but that
the matter was one of small moment for France, whom accordingly we
could not ask to join in it. The explanation of this answer, so
foolish in its terms, and so pregnant with consequences in this
matter, was, I believe, to be found in the pique of Louis