Читать книгу Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of Elgin - Earl of James Bruce Elgin - Страница 24

[Sidenote: Birth and parentage.]

James, eighth Earl of Elgin and twelfth Earl of Kincardine, was born in London on July 20, 1811. His father, whose career as Ambassador at Constantinople is so well known in connection with the 'Elgin Marbles,' was the chief and representative of the ancient Norman house, whose hero was 'Robert the Bruce.' From him, it may be said that he inherited the genial and playful spirit which gave such a charm to his social and parental relations, and which helped him to elicit from others the knowledge of which he made so much use in the many diverse situations of his after-life. His mother, Lord Elgin's second wife, was a daughter of Mr. Oswald, of Dunnikier, in Fifeshire. Her deep piety, united with wide reach of mind and varied culture, made her admirably qualified to be the depositary of the ardent thoughts and aspirations of his boyhood; and, as he grew up, he found a second mother in his elder sister, Matilda, who became the wife of Sir John Maxwell, of Pollok. To the influence of such a mother and such a sister he probably owed the pliancy and power of sympathy with others for which he was remarkable, and which is not often found in characters of so tough a fibre. To them, from his earliest years, he confided the outpourings of his deeper religious feelings. One expression of such feeling, dated June 1821, may be worth recording as an example of that strong sense of duty and affection towards his brothers, which, beginning at that early age, marked his whole subsequent career. 'Be with me this week, in my studies, my amusements, in everything. When at my lessons, may I think only of them; playing when I play: when dressing, may I be quick, and never put off time, and never amuse myself but in playhours. Oh! may I set a good example to nay brothers. Let me not teach them anything that is bad, and may they not learn wickedness from seeing me. May I command my temper and passions, and give me a better heart for their good.'

[Sidenote: School and college.]

He learned the rudiments of Latin and Greek under the careful teaching of a resident tutor, Mr. Fergus Jardine. At the age of fourteen he went to Eton, and thence, in due time, to Christ Church, Oxford, where he found him self among a group of young men destined to distinction in after-life—Lord Canning, James Ramsay (afterwards Lord Dalhousie), the late Duke of Newcastle, Sidney Herbert, and Mr. Gladstone.

There is little to record respecting this period of his life; but a touching interest attaches to the following extracts from a letter written by his brother, Sir Frederick Bruce, in November, 1865.

'My recollections of Elgin's early life are, owing to circumstances, almost nothing. In the year 1820 he went abroad with my father and mother, and was away for two years. From that time I recollect nothing until he went to Eton; and his holidays were then divided between Torquay, where my eldest brother was, and Broomhall;[1] and of them my memory has retained nothing but the assistance in his later holidays he used to give me in classical studies.

We were together for about a year and a half at Oxford. But he was so far advanced in his studies, that we had very little in common to bring us together; and I hardly remember any striking fact connected with him, except one or two speeches at the Union Club, when in eloquence and originality he far outshone his competitors.[2]

'I do not know whether Mr. Welland is still alive: he probably, better than anyone, could give some sketch of his intellectual growth, and of that beautiful trait in his character, the devotion and abnegation he showed o poor Bruce[3] in his long and painful illness.

'He was always reserved about his own feelings and aspirations. Owing to the shortness of his stay at Oxford, he had to work very hard; and his friends, like Newcastle and Hamilton, were men who sought him for the soundness of his judgment, which led them to seek his advice in all matters. He always stood to them in the relation of a much older man. He had none of the frailties of youth, and, though very capable of enjoying its diversions, life with him from a very early date was "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought." Its practical aspect to him was one of anxiety and difficulty, while his intellect was attracted to high and abstract speculation, and took little interest in the every-day routine which is sufficient occupation for ordinary minds. Like all men of original mind, he lived a life apart from his fellows.

'He looked upon the family estate rather as a trust than as an inheritance—as far more valuable than money on account of the family traditions, and the position which in our state of society is given to a family connected historically with the country. Elgin felt this deeply, and he clung to it in spite of difficulties which would have deterred a man of more purely selfish views.'

'It is melancholy to reflect,' adds Sir F. Bruce, 'how those have disappeared who could have filled up this gap in his history.' It is a reflection even more melancholy, that the loved and trusted brother, who shared so many of his labours and his aspirations, no longer lives to write that history, and to illustrate in his own person the spirit by which it was animated.

The sense of the difficulties above referred to strongly impressed his mind even before he went to Oxford, and laid the foundation of that habit of self-denial in all personal matters, which enabled him through life to retain a feeling of independence, and at the same time to give effect to the promptings of a generous nature. 'You tell me,' he writes to his father from college, 'I coin money. I uncoined your last order by putting it into the fire, having already supplied myself.'

About the middle of his Oxford career, a studentship fell vacant, which, according to the strange system then prevalent, was in the gift of Dr. Bull, one of the Canons of Christ Church. Instead of bestowing it, as was too commonly done, on grounds of private interest, Dr. Bull placed the valuable prize at the disposal of the Dean and Censors, to be conferred on the most worthy of the undergraduates. Their choice fell on James Bruce. In announcing this to a member of the Bruce family, Dr. Bull wrote: 'Dr. Smith, no less than the present college officers, assures me that there is no young man, of whatever rank, who could be more acceptable to the society, and none whose appointment as the reward of excellent deportment, diligence, and right-mindedness, would do more good among the young men.'

A letter written about this time to his father shows that the young student, with a sagacity beyond his years, discerned the germs of an evil which has since grown to a great height, and now lies at the root of some of the most troublesome questions connected with University Education.

In my own mind I confess I am much of opinion, that college is put off in general till too late;[4] and the gaining of honours therefore, becomes too severe to be useful to men who are to enter into professions. It was certainly originally intended that the degrees which require only a knowledge of the classics should be taken at an earlier age, in order to admit of a residence after they were taken, during which the student might devote himself to science or composition, and those habits of reflection by which the mind might be formed, and a practical advantage drawn from the stores of knowledge already acquired. By putting them off to so late an age, the consequence has been, that it has been necessary proportionably to increase the difficulty of their attainment, and to mix up in college examinations (which were supposed to depend upon study alone) essays in many cases of a nature that demands the most prolonged and deep reflection. The effect of this is evident. Those who, from circumstances, have neither opportunity nor leisure thus to reflect, must, in order to secure their success, acquire that kind of superficial information which may enable them to draw sufficiently plausible conclusions, upon very slight grounds; and [of] many who have this form of knowledge, most will eventually be proved (if this system is carried to an excess) to have but little of the substance of it.

He had meant to read for double honours, but illness, brought on by over- work, obliged him to confine himself to classics. All who know Oxford are aware, that the term 'Classics,' as there used, embraces not only Greek and Latin scholarship, but also Ancient History and Philosophy. In these latter studies the natural taste and previous education of James Bruce led him to take a special interest, and he threw himself into the work in no niggard spirit.[5] At the Michaelmas Examination of 1832, he was placed in the first class in classics, and common report spoke of him as 'the best first of his 'year.' Not long afterwards he was elected Fellow of Merton. He appears to have been a candidate also for the Eldon Scholarship, but without success. In a contest for a legal prize it was no discredit to be defeated by Roundell Palmer.

[Sidenote: Taste for philosophy.]

Some of his contemporaries have a lively remembrance of the eagerness with which, while still a student, he travelled into fields at that period beyond the somewhat narrow range of academic study. Professor Maurice at one time, Dr. Pusey at another, were his delighted companions in exploring the dialogues of Plato. Mr. Gladstone 'remembers his speaking of Milton's prose works with great fervour when they were at Eton together;' and adds the confession—interesting alike as regards both the young students—'I think it was from his mouth I first learned that Milton had written any prose,' This affection for those soul-stirring treatises of the great advocate of free speech and inquiry he always retained: they formed his constant companions wherever he travelled; and there are many occasions in which their influence may be traced on his thought and language. 'I would rather swallow a bushel of chaff than lose the precious grains of truth which may somewhere or other be scattered in it,' was a sentiment which, though expressed in much later life, was characteristic of his whole career. In this spirit he listened with deep interest to the roll of theological controversy then raging at Oxford, though he was never carried away by its violence.

In after life he had little leisure to pursue the philosophic studies commenced at Oxford; but they took deep and permanent hold on his mind, and formed in fact the groundwork of his great practical ability. This is well stated by Sir Frederick Bruce:—

In Elgin (to use the distinctions of Coleridge, whose philosophy he had thoroughly mastered) the Reason and Understanding were both largely developed, and both admirably balanced. And in this combination lay the secret of his success in so many spheres of action, so different in their characteristics, so alike in their difficulties. The process he went through was always the same. He set himself to work to form in his own mind a clear idea of each of the constituent parts of the problem with which he had to deal. This he effected partly by reading, but still more by conversation with special men, and by that extraordinary logical power of mind and penetration which not only enabled him to get out of every man all he had in him, but which revealed to those men themselves a knowledge of their own imperfect and crude conceptions, and made them constantly unwilling witnesses or reluctant adherents to views which originally they were prepared to oppose. To test the accuracy of their statements and observations, and to discriminate between what was fact and what was prejudice or misconception, he made use of the higher faculty of cultivated Reason, which enabled him, by his deep insight into the universal principles of human nature, of forms of government, &c., to bring to the consideration of particular facts the light of an a priori knowledge of what was to be expected under particular circumstances. The result was, that in an incredibly short time, and with little apparent study or effort, he attained an accurate and clear conception of the essential facts before him, and was thus enabled to strike out a course which he could consistently pursue amidst all difficulties, because it was in harmony with the actual facts and the permanent conditions of the problem he had to solve.

[Sidenote: Training for public life.]

The years which followed the completion of his academical studies—those golden years which generally determine the complexion of a man's future life—were not devoted in his case to any definite pursuit; for though he entered himself of Lincoln's Inn in June, 1835, he does not appear to have ever embarked in the professional study of law.

The scanty notices which remain of this period show him chiefly residing at Broomhall, where, in his father's absence, he takes his place in the affairs of the county of Fife; commands his troop of yeomanry; now presides at a farmers' dinner, for which be has written an appropriate song; now, at the request of Dr. Chalmers, speaks at a public meeting in favour of church extension. At one time we hear of long solitary rides over field and fell, during which the thoughts and feelings that stirred in him would take the shape of a sonnet or a poem, to be confided to one of his sisters; at another time he is keeping up a regular correspondence on abstruse questions of philosophy with his brother Frederick, still at Oxford.

In these pursuits, as well as in the somewhat harassing occupation of disentangling the family property from its embarrassments, be was preparing himself for future usefulness by the exercise of the same industry and patience, the same grasp both of details and of general purpose, which be showed in the political career gradually dawning upon him. It was observed that, whatsoever his hand found to do, he did it with all his might, as well as with a judgment and discretion beyond his years, and a tact akin to genius. He was undergoing, perhaps, the best training for the varied duties to which he was to be called—that peculiarly British 'discipline of mind, body, and heart' to which observers like Bunsen attribute the effectiveness of England's public men.

As early as 1834, when he had barely completed his twenty-third year, he published a Letter to the Electors of Great Britain, with the view of vindicating the policy and the position of the Tory leaders, more especially of the Duke of Wellington. A similar motive, the desire of protesting against a monopoly of liberal sentiments by the Whigs, and showing in his own person that a Tory was not necessarily a narrow bigot, impelled him to offer himself as a candidate at the election of 1837, on the occurrence of an unexpected vacancy in the representation of Fifeshire. But, coming forward at a moment's warning, he never had any chance of success, and was defeated by a large majority.

[Sidenote: M.P. for Southampton.]

In the year 1840, George, Lord Bruce, the eldest son of Lord Elgin by his first wife, died, unmarried, and James became heir to the earldom. On April 22, 1841, he married Elizabeth Mary, daughter of Mr. C.L. Cumming Bruce. At the general election in July of the same year he stood for the borough of Southampton, and was returned at the head of the poll. His political views at this time were very much those which have since been called 'Liberal Conservative.' Speaking at a great banquet at Southampton he said—

I am a Conservative, not upon principles of exclusionism—not from narrowness of view, or illiberality of sentiment—but because I believe that our admirable Constitution, on principles more exalted and under sanctions more holy than those which Owenism or Socialism can boast, proclaims between men of all classes and degrees in the body politic a sacred bond of brotherhood in the recognition of a common warfare here, and a common hope hereafter. I am a Conservative, not because I am adverse to improvement, not because I am unwilling to repair what is wasted, or to supply what is defective in the political fabric, but because I am satisfied that, in order to improve effectually, you must be resolved most religiously to preserve. I am a Conservative, because I believe that the institutions of our country, religious as well as civil, are wisely adapted, when duly and faithfully administered, to promote, not the interest of any class or classes exclusively, but the happiness and welfare of the great body of the people; and because I feel that, on the maintenance of these institutions, not only the economical prosperity of England, but, what is yet more important, the virtues that distinguish and adorn the English character, under God, mainly depend.

[Sidenote: Speech on the Address.]

Parliament met on August 19, and, on the 24th, the new member seconded the amendment on the Address, in a speech, of great promise. In the course of it he professed himself a friend to Free Trade, but Free Trade as explained and vindicated by Mr. Huskisson:—

He should at all times be prepared to vote for a free trade on principles of reciprocity, due regard being had to the interests which had grown up under our present commercial system, without which, as he conceived, the rights of the labouring classes could not be protected. Much had been on various occasions said about the interests of the capitalists and the landlords, but unless the measures of a Government were directed equally to secure the rights of the working classes, they never should be supported by a vote of his. It was true that the landlord might derive some increased value to his property from the increase of factories and other buildings upon it, and that the capitalist might more advantageously invest his capital, or he might withdraw it from a sinking concern; but the only capital of the labourer was his skill in his own particular walk, and it was a mockery to tell him that he could find a satisfactory compensation elsewhere.

But the most characteristic part of his speech was that in which he commented on the 'harsh, severe, and unjust terms' in which it had been the fashion to designate those who had taken an opposite view on these questions to that taken by Her Majesty's Government:—

In a day (he said) when all monopolies are denounced, I must he permitted to say that, to my mind, the monopoly which is the most intolerable and odious is the pretension to the monopoly of public virtue.

The amendment was carried by a large majority. Lord Melbourne resigned, and Sir Robert Peel became Prime Minister. About the same time, by the death of his father and his own succession to the peerage, the young Lord's brief career in the House of Commons was closed for ever; no Scottish peer being eligible, according to the commonly received opinion, to sit in the Lower House. He appears, indeed, to have had at one time an idea of pressing the question; but he abandoned this intention on finding that it had been entertained twenty-five years before by Lord Aberdeen, and given up by him on the ground, that the majority of the Scottish Peers looked upon the proposal as lowering to their body, and as implying inferiority on their part to the English Peers.

[Sidenote: Governor of Jamaica.]

At this time it seemed as if the fair promise of eloquence and statesmanship had been shown to public life only to be withdrawn from it; but a path was about to be opened, leading to a new field of action, distant, indeed, and often thankless, but giving scope for the exercise of gifts, both of mind and character, which can rarely be exhibited in a Parliamentary career. In March 1842, at the early age of thirty, he was selected by Lord Stanley, who was then Secretary for the Colonies, for the important post of Governor of Jamaica.

[1] The family seat In Fifeshire.

[2] The most distinguished of all those competitors has borne his testimony to the truth of this expression. 'I well remember,' Mr. Gladstone wrote after his death, placing him as to the natural gift of eloquence at the head of all those I knew either at Eton or at the University.'

[3] His elder brother.

[4] 'We are disposed, in fact, to regard the question, of University extension, in this sense, as depending entirely on the possibility of reducing the time required for a University degree, and we should like to see more attention paid to this point. … The opinion is strongly and widely entertained, that students now stay too long at the Public Schools and Universities, and that voting men ought not to be engaged in the mere preparatory studies of their life up to the age of twenty-three or twenty-four.'—Times, May 22, 1869.

[5] There remains a memorandum in his handwriting of a systematic course of study to be pursued for his degree, in which two points are remarkable—1st, the broad and liberal spirit in which it is conceived; 2ndly, that the whole is based on the Bible. Ancient History, together with Aristotle's Politics and the ancient orators, are to be read 'in connection with the Bible History,' with the view of seeing 'how all hang upon each other, and develops the leading schemes of Providence.' The various branches of mental and moral science he proposes, in like manner, 'to hinge upon the New Testament, as constituting, in another line, the history of moral and intellectual development.'