Chapter IV, of Cassells Illustrated History of England, Volume 9 page 5

Archbishop Whately was one of the most remarkable men of the century. It was a name not quite unknown before to English history. The "painful preacher" of Banbury, in the seventeenth century, was of the name and family of the Archbishop; and one of his uncles was that Thomas Whately, Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, whose indiscreet correspondence with Hutchinson, the Governor of Massachusetts, being purloined from his office, conveyed to Dr. Franklin, and published in America, contributed not a little to widen the breach between Great Britain and the discontented New Englanders. Whately made himself felt at Oxford rather by his remarkable powers of argument, and the general impression of ability which he made on all who came in contact with him, than by brilliant success in the schools. He was for some years a Fellow of Oriel, under Provost Copleston. The long series of his published works commenced about this time, one of the earliest being "Historic Doubts respecting Napoleon Bonaparte," the object of which was to show, by resorting to an instance then patent and accessible to all men, the fallacy of the reasoning by which Hume endeavours to undermine the credibility of the miracles and other wonderful actions ascribed to Jesus Christ. By wit and argument, and that wealth of forcible, sometimes grotesque, illustration which he had ever at command, lie defended the cause of civil and religious liberty in the Oxford common-rooms at a period when Toryism reigned alike in the Church and in the University. He was a great reader and an ardent admirer of Adam Smith, and was occupying the chair of Political Economy at Oxford at the time when Lord Grey, desirous of sending to Dublin a Liberal successor to Archbishop Maghee, who should assist in introducing into Ireland the system of National Education which it had been resolved to establish there, pitched upon the eccentric Oxford professor as the likeliest man for his purpose. The result fully justified the choice. From 1832, for more than twenty years, Whately's presence in Dublin, through the cordial relations which he opened with Archbishop Murray, his Roman Catholic compeer, through his support of the measure- for reducing the number of Irish bishoprics, through the firm and kindly spirit in which he ruled his clergy - above all, through the zeal with which he threw himself into the work of defending and extending the system of National Education, was a tower of strength to the English Government. But soon after the appointment of Dr. Cullen in the place of Archbishop Murray there ensued a change. Gradually it became apparent that Whately's object in acting on and supporting the National Board had not been simply political, as was generally supposed; that is, that he had not been actuated simply by the desire of establishing harmony between the two confessions, and giving to the Irish the best secular education attainable, without ulterior views. His conversations with Mr. Senior, published since his death, show that Whately had also theological and religious objects - that he believed that the general use in the schools of a form of religious instruction, confined to those tenets and mysteries which both religions held in common, would ultimately tend to the detriment of what he deemed to be a corrupted and superstitious system, and to the spread of Protestantism, which he regarded as the simpler and purer faith. No blame whatever attaches to Whately for this arriéré pensée; he would have been a less sincere, less thorough, we may boldly say a less devout man, had it been otherwise - had he acted in the whole business merely as a politician. But, on the other hand, it may be argued that no blame could attach to Archbishop Cullen on his side, if, agreeing with Whately up to a certain point as to the possible ultimate results of common religious instruction, he set his face against it like a flint, and procured the expulsion from the list of National school-books of those volumes of " Scripture Extracts," and those " Easy Lessons on Scripture Evidences," on which Whately relied as the weapons and means which were to bring in, in the course of years, a pure, common, enlightened Christianity. When these books were expunged from the list, Whately resigned his place at the Board, and every one knows that the Irish National system since that time, though in outward form remaining much the same as at first, has become, in fact and in tendency, increasingly denominational. From the time of his resignation till his death Whately continued to govern his diocese, and to superintend the extensive province which was subject to his visitation since the suppression of the Archbishopric of Cashel, with the same generosity, justice, and ability by which his episcopal ride had been always characterised. He gave away large sums every year to relieve the necessities of distressed clergymen and their families, doing this with the utmost secrecy and in a manner betokening the most delicate consideration for the feelings of those whom he relieved. Yet, being eminently logical, and in nothing a creature of impulse, and having a theory that "whatever you pay a man to do, he will do; if you pay him to work, he will work; if you pay him to beg, he will beg," he was never known to give a farthing to a beggar in the street. In his later years he used to say, " I have given away forty thousand pounds since I came to the see, but, thank God!" I never gave a penny to a beggar." A note on the word "person," in his "Essay on Logic," caused him to be charged with Sabellianism; and it may be admitted that the apparent symmetry and rationality of that heresy had some attractions for his intellect; but it is certain that he never deliberately departed, in this direction, from the orthodox doctrine. On the doctrine of the Atonement he was much less in sympathy with the teaching of the Thirty-nine Articles; his mind seemed incapable of admitting the idea of vicarious suffering. His powers of talk were something marvellous; from hi-s lips there flowed a constant stream of racy, original^ strictly consecutive discourse, which, though not made beautiful with imagery, was lighted up perpetually by apt similitudes and novel illustrations. His mind seemed to be never at rest; whether he was working in his garden, or taking his daily ride, or driving to some meeting of high officials, his intellect was continually revolving some subject which for the moment engaged his attention, turning it over and over, comparing it with other subjects, or portions of truth which he had already analysed, noting the points of resemblance and difference, deducing inferences, theoretical and practical, raising difficulties and resolving them. The only defect that could be alleged against his manner of conversation was that it was a little too didactic; he loved monologue, but did not shine in dialogue; it was more like a professor lecturing his pupils than a philosopher comparing his stock of thoughts with that of other philosophers; and the consequence of all this was that Whately failed to appreciate, and did scant justice to, whatever, whether old or new, lay outside of his own track of. thought. Yet who ever knew him intimately, without feeling that, in spite of bluntness, oddity, and occasional roughness, in spite of the intellectual defect which made him prefer Crabbe to Wordsworth, it was unspeakably good to be in his company? Who did not feel that ho was in the.:: ennobling and elevating presence of a" truly good and truly great man?

The English squadron in Japan, under Admiral Kuper, was under the necessity, this year, of resorting to measures of coercion against one of the Daimios, or half independent princes, of Japan, which involved the loss of many lives. The Prince of Satsuma was the ruler of a large and fertile territory in Kiusiu, the southernmost of the islands of Japan, and it was at a place within his jurisdiction that an Englishman, Mr. Richardson, was murdered, and a murderous assault committed on an English lady and two gentlemen who were riding with him, in September, 1862. The English Government, when the news of this outrage was received, directed Colonel Neale, our charge d'affaires in Japan, to demand ample compensation for the murder, both from the Tycoon, the temporal sovereign of Japan, and from the Prince of Satsuma. The former was required to pay the sum of £100,000 as an indemnity, the latter £25,000. After much parleying, the Tycoon agreed to pay the sum demanded, which was accordingly brought to Yokohama, in June, 1863, and counted out in the presence of Colonel Neale. The Japanese officials who had charge of the money tried hard to induce Colonel Neale to receive it quietly and unostentatiously, and under cover of night; but the Colonel, well versed in the Asiatic character, refused to receive the indemnity except amid circumstances of the greatest publicity. This was accordingly done; but the ingenious Japanese revenged themselves a few days afterwards, when a large party of our sailors, accompanied by their band and some mountain guns, marched through the town and drew up in front of the Japanese Governor's house. This imposing visit to the (governor, said the cunning natives, is for the express purpose of acknowledging the condescension of the Japanese Government in paying the compensation money!

But the Prince of Satsuma could in no way be brought to reason. His envoys, at a later period, represented on his behalf that it was no doubt very wrong to murder men, and that murderers ought to be brought to justice; but that the fault lay with the Tycoon, in not having told the English, though he had a treaty with them, that the Japanese law allowed no one to cross the path of a Daimio during a procession without being cut down. This plea was, of course, disregarded, and when the indemnity continued to be withheld, it was resolved to employ force, and the matter was placed in the hands of Admiral Kuper, commanding at Yokohama. Sailing thence with a squadron, consisting, besides his own ship, the JEJuryalus, of the Pearl, Coquette, Ar go, Perseus, Racehorse, and Havoc, Admiral Kuper made Cape Chichakoff, the extreme southern point of the Japanese Islands, on the 11th August. Thence he steered for Kagosima Bay, the waters of which had scarcely ever before been ploughed by an European keel. Kagosima is the capital of the Prince of Satsuma's dominions, and a town of about 40,000 inhabitants. Boats came off from the town, by which Colonel Neale sent back a despatch to the Prince, demanding the payment of the indemnity,-and allowing him twenty-four hours for a reply. In the interval, some officers of the fleet discovered three valuable steamers belonging to the Prince, lying in a secluded cove higher up the bay. The twenty- four hours having expired without a satisfactory answer having been received, Colonel Neale requested the Admiral to proceed to such measures of coercion as might be best calculated to awaken the Prince's mind to a sense of the serious nature of the resolves which had brought the British squadron to Kagosima. Admiral Kuper then sent a portion of his force to take possession of the three steamers, which were surrendered without resistance. They were to be held by way of reprisals, until the Prince should have paid the indemnity money. This was on the morning of the 15th August. About noon, as the vessels lay in line, anchored, with springs on their cables, at a distance of about 1,200 yards from the shore batteries, suddenly the whole of these batteries opened fire upon the Euryalus, the only ship within range. Just at this time the wind, which had been gradually growing stronger, with every symptom of heavy weather, rose to something like a hurricane or typhoon, and burst upon the squadron. Unable to bring the Euryalus broadside properly to bear while at anchor, the Admiral (who had fortunately before signalled all the ships to get up steam) signalled to the steamers that had charge of the prizes to set them on fire, and for the whole squadron to weigh and form line of battle. Taking the lead, the Euryalus steamed slowly past the batteries, engaging them with great effect; the other vessels, following in her wake, did the same. The batteries for a time kept up a heavy fire, in the heat of which Captain Josling and Commander Wilmot were killed by the same shot, while standing beside the Admiral on the bridge of the Euryalus. Having come abreast of the last battery, and the weather continuing boisterous, the Admiral signalled to discontinue the action, and to seek shelter for the ships. The gale continued all night, but the squadron rode it; out well. On the next day, the town having been set on fire and mostly burnt down the day before, the Prince's palace, or castle, was bombarded and destroyed. On the 17th, the squadron worked its way out of the bay and returned to Yokohama. The damage inflicted is thus summed up by the Admiral: "The disabling of many guns, explosion of magazines, and other serious damage to the principal batteries, the destruction by fire of the three steamers and five large junks before mentioned, the whole of the town of Kagosima, and the palace of the Prince, together with the large arsenal and gun factory and adjacent storehouses; added to which may be noticed the injury to many of the junks lying in the inner harbour, caused by explosion of shells which may have passed over the batteries." The loss to the squadron in killed and wounded was sixty-three.

Soon after the opening of Parliament next year, the bombardment of Kagosima was made the subject of an impassioned speech and a condemnatory motion on the part of Mr. Buxton, who insisted that the town was inhumanly and of set purpose set on fire, and that great numbers of innocent persons, including women and children, must have perished in the flames. The motion was rejected at the time, and a few weeks afterwards, a letter from Colonel Neale was read in the House, in which it was stated that all the inhabitants of Kagosima withdrew before the bombardment commenced, and returned after it was over, and that the town was speedily restored to nearly its original state. But there is reason to believe that this view of the matter was a little too rose- coloured. Some envoys from the Prince of Satsuma, who visited Yokohama, in December, 1863, made known there the real state of the case. The damage done to the town, they said, was considerable. Three miles of houses were burning at once. The loss on their side was about 1,500 men. These certainly may have been all soldiers engaged in the batteries, but the number seems larger than would have been likely to be struck while so employed.

However this may be, the denouement of the matter is exceedingly curious. The Prince of Satsuma had certainly suffered reprisals to an extent exceeding many times the amount of the indemnity demanded. His palace had been burnt - his steamers and his gun factory j destroyed - his capital city laid in ashes. Yet these very injuries - so strange is the working of the Asiatic mind - appear to have induced him to make friendly overtures, and to seek for peace. These were signs of overwhelming power, and power is almost the only thing which the Asiatic truly reverences. Certain it is that, before the close of the year, the Prince offered to pay, and actually paid, to the British chargé d'affaires at Yokohama, the £25,000 which had been originally demanded from him as compensation money for the murder of Mr. Richardson!