REIGN OF ROTHSCHILDS - 5. Rothschilds' Peace Efforts in Crisis of 1840: How Rothschilds Kept the Peace and Saved Europe in 1840 - SECRETS OF POWER: Masters of Politics, Strategy & War

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter five, the Rothchild's peace efforts in the Crisis of
eighteen forty. In the midst of their activities in high politics,
the brothers Rothschild on the continent continued to engage in
great industrial and transport undertakings. They were inevitably driven to
do so by the funds that kept accumulating in their coffers.
After railways, they turned their attention to steamships, and here

(00:23):
again Solomon Rothschild profited by what could be learnt in
England and by the British example, calling into being in
other countries such as Austria, the concerns that he found
flourishing in Great Britain. This was indicated by the very
name of the big Austrian steamship Jane, in which Solomon
interested himself financially. Lloyd was the name given to the

(00:44):
shipping company by the ship owners and insurers of men
and merchandise who met and did business in the London
coffee house owned by mister Lloyd. The new Austrian undertaking,
which came into being in eighteen thirty five, largely with
the assistance of Rothchild Capital, was given the same name.
At that time, the possibilities of steamships were hardly understood,

(01:04):
and they were used only for passenger traffic. One of
the first memorandas sent in by the Austrian Lloyd to
the government, contained the words steamers never can and never
will become freight ships, and this view was at that
time also shared by Solomon Rothchild. Every new undertaking of
importance in which Solomon's money was a factor served to

(01:24):
consolidate his position in Vienna, even though he might be
far away. As at the time of the cholera epidemic,
Solomon contributed largely to the hospitals and to organizations for
fighting the disease, and thereby, although personally out of danger,
he won favor with the Austrian officials. There was scarcely

(01:45):
any undertaking of importance in the monarchy in which the
Rothchilds were not financially interested. The Vienna authorities wishing to
commemorate through some permanent memorial the new emperor's accession to
the throne hit upon the idea of constructing a large
equity from the Danube to the upper suburbs of Vienna.
As the very dry summer had occasioned a great shortage

(02:05):
of water, Rothchild and Sena were asked to help with
this scheme too, the former contributing an amount of twenty
five thousand florins. As time passed, the Rothchild's wealth became
positively fabulous, and Vienna society, otherwise exclusive, was so dazzled
by it that it began to fate Solomon and admit
him to its circles. Metternich and the next most powerful

(02:28):
man in Austria, Count Colrat, were often to be seen
dining with the banker. Quebec relates that many people were
annoyed with him on that account, and notes the following
incident in his diary. A few days ago, Count Colerat
was dining with Rothschild, the banker. Some people of his
own position in society told him that this was giving offense.

(02:50):
What would you have had me do? He said, Rothschild
attached such enormous importance to my coming that I had
to sacrifice myself in the interests of the service as
the state needs him. Moreover, I have profited by so
doing in getting Rothschild to make a donation of one
thousand florins convention currency to the poor. That jew agreeing

(03:10):
to this when I asked him out of sheer pleasure
at my having come. The actual facts are as follows.
When the Champagne was going round for the toast, Rothchild
rose to make a speech to Count Colrad, in which
he said, your excellency has given me as much pleasure
to day as if I had been given a thousand
florins c se or given them to a poor man.

(03:30):
Thereupon Count Colrat replied, very well, give me the thousand
florins for a poor man who needs help and has
applied to me. Rothchild promised to do so, and after dinner,
Count Colrad was given the thousand florins. An extract from
the diary of Metternik's wife also gives some idea of
the impression which the Rothchild wealth made everywhere. I was

(03:53):
dining at five o'clock with our friend Solomon Rothschild, Count
and Countess Saint Hilaire, the malts On woman, the old
Princess Marie Estrahazi, the Princess Madame Kerensky and Madame Seedlnitsky.
Clemmens and I were at the dinner, which was excellent.
Rothchild has a famous French cook, and he of course

(04:13):
had his own special dishes his home in the Romish
Kaiser is very pleasant and attractive. Wertheimstein and Goldschmidt helped
in doing the honors. Rothchild has a magnificent collection of antiques,
which he showed us, and which he means to leave
to his son. We also saw Roth's child safe, which
is undoubtedly the most beautiful part of the house. It

(04:36):
contains twelve lovely millions. It made me feel quite melancholy
how much good one could do with a quarter of
this sum. The Princess Melanie was constantly in need of
Paris frocks and such things, and got Petty Rothschild in
Paris and Karl's wife at Naples to buy these things
for her, naturally paying for them herself. They were then

(04:59):
sent to Vien by special courier. On such occasions both
ladies would send little presents as a mark of friendship.
The packages gradually grew so bulky that the courier sometimes
refused to take them. The Rothschilds had the very greatest
interest in retaining the friendship of the Metternichs, for they
were constantly having to come to the Chancellor on all

(05:20):
kinds of matters. At one time he would be asked
to bring diplomatic pressure to bear upon the State of
Naples in connection with a financial claim of Karl rothschilds
on Sicily at another to appoint members of the Rothschild
family as Austrian Consul's General. Long before the death of
his brother Nathan, Solomon wanted to obtain some official position

(05:40):
for his son, Anselm, who lived at Frankfort, and his
idea was that Austria should create a Consulate general at Frankfort,
where none as yet existed. Solomon approached Mederinich on the matter,
emphasizing that the office would be unpaid, naturally an important consideration.
Medinich inquired of Baron Vaughan Handel, the minace to resident

(06:00):
at Frankfort, whether it was desirable to create a Consulate
General there and whether in that case Solomon's son would
be a suitable person for the office. Handel answered both
questions in the affirmative. With regard to the candidate, he wrote,
Baron Anselm Vaughan Rothschild combines with the riches, credit, and

(06:20):
influence of the house to which he belongs, all the
moral and intellectual qualities that make him a suitable person
for filling this office. I venture to guarantee that no
objection to such an appointment will be raised by the
Senate of the Free City of Frankfort, especially since Baron
Carl Vaughan Rothschild, Anselm's uncle, has been appointed his Sicilian
Majesty's Consul General. Here he added that only such a

(06:44):
person could be appointed to the position as possessed the
intellectual qualities and the necessary means to carry out the
office with due dignity, there being no emoluments of any
kind connected with it. And in view of this consideration,
Anselm was duly appointed. The Senate of the Free e
City of Frankfort, on being officially informed of the appointment,
expressed themselves satisfied with it, subject to the following limitations.

(07:09):
The Israelite citizen, Baron Anselm, Solomon Vaughan Rothschild, is hereby
recognized as Imperial and Royal Austrian Consul General, subject to
the reservation that this in no way affects his position
as an Israelite citizen of this free city, and that
he will continue to be in the future as he
has been in the past, subject to the laws and
jurisdiction of this Free City and to the authorities here

(07:32):
Anselm wrote to Metternich in terms of most respectful gratitude,
stating that he was well aware that he owed the
appointment entirely to Mednick's gracious support and to his powerful influence.
Matters did not proceed so smoothly with regard to the
appointment of Lionel in London, about which Nathan had expressed
such heartfelt wishes on his deathbat During the latter part

(07:53):
of Nathan's period of office, various complaints have been received,
more especially from the mercantile authorities at Trieste, accusing him
of indifference in the performance of his duties and suggesting
that Baron Rothschild finds it impossible to transact the business
of the Austrian Consulate in addition to his other affairs,
or else finds such business exceedingly irksome. Such objections were

(08:15):
already being made when Nathan's death made the problem of
the Austrian Consulate General a very real one. Solomon's pathetic request,
sent from his brother's death bed, had left Medinich comparatively cold,
for the Chancellor had several grievances against Lionel Rothschild. It
had been he who, acting under his father's instructions had

(08:36):
remained at Madrid to carry through financial transactions with the
Queen Regent, of whom Medinich so greatly disapproved, and he
who had indeed been the active agent of the policy
of the House of Rothchild in Spain, where they supported
the Liberal Christinos instead of supporting Medinich's protegee, Don Carlos.
Medinich therefore delayed the appointment and asked for information regarding

(08:57):
the personal qualities of the said Lionel as to his age,
his knowledge, his capacity, his morals, his position in the
London branch of the Rothschild Bank, and his future prospects.
All that Metternich really wanted to do, however, was to
cause Lionel a certain amount of uneasiness, and he had
made up his mind to give the Department concerned, which

(09:18):
was considering the appointment of another person, instructions to favor
Lionel in view of the important position his note to
the Department ran which the House of Rothschild holds in
the financial scheme of the civilized world. The application in
question certainly seems to deserve favorable consideration, as otherwise that
House might become indifferent or even hostile to Austria's interests. Meanwhile,

(09:42):
the report asked for from the London Embassy arrived, having
again been drafted by her von Hemlauer, who was so
ill disposed to the Rothschild family. The said Baron Lionel
Nathan Vaughan Rothschild. The report rare seems to me to
be rather old at thirty, he was actually twenty eight.
Nothing has ever come to my knowledge reflecting in any

(10:02):
way upon his private character, as to the question who
shall actually carry on the bank's business. This point had
apparently not been settled when I left London at the
end of August. Such capacities as he may develop in
the conduct of his firm's business, may, in the natural
course of things, be expected to be determined by the
school in which he has grown up. His business training

(10:25):
has been such as is acquired through operating on the
stock exchange, and the transactions of real international trade are
therefore as foreign to him as they were to his
late father. His connections will also be such as he
has formed on the stock exchange. These general considerations, which
I have already ventured to Adam Bright in previous reports,

(10:45):
tend to the conclusion that an Austrian Consulate General in London,
in the hands of the House of Rothschild, or of
any other firm of a similar nature, could never adequately
carry out the requirements of Austrian trade interests. The sons
of the late Baron Vaughan rothchae Child never held individual
positions in the commercial world here during his lifetime. They

(11:05):
shared in the respect which their father enjoyed on account
of his riches, without however, having yet given rise to
the belief that they would also inherit his industry and ability.
With regard to the delay and negligence which has repeatedly
given our coasting trade authorities caused for complaint, such complaints
would speedily cease if the Consul General were to devote
to these matters the attention which is due to them.

(11:28):
Whether this is to be expected of a young person
for whom the Consulate General is only a side issue,
a matter of personal vanity, and also, to a certain extent,
a means of demonstrating to the public that his firm's
influence with the Eye and our Court has continued unimpaired,
is difficult to state with any certainty. If, however, the
Eye and it State departments should be disposed to consider

(11:52):
the application favorably. It seems to me that the only
way of securing greater diligence in dealing with official correspondence
would be to appoint her kirchnery salaried vice consul or
consular agent. I feel that it would be necessary to
make him a salaried official in order to give him
an official position, not only with reference to the outside world,
but more particularly in his relations with his young principle.

(12:15):
I am convinced that the chief motive for the application
which has been put forward by the House of Rothschild
is the one which I have mentioned last in the
preceding paragraph. The House must be particularly concerned to convince
the public that even its defection to the ranks of
the Revolutionary Party has not been able to damage its
position with regard to the Eye and our government. The

(12:35):
surest means for doing so would be to secure again
the office of Consul General for a member of the family,
and would doubtless be regarded by every member of the
public as a complete proof of what they wished to demonstrate.
When m. Mendisibal went to Madrid last year, the House
of Rothschild sent Baron Lionel and Vaughan Rothschild to that city,
and he resided there for a considerable time as a

(12:57):
go between for carrying out that system of deception to
which his house and the Spanish government had pledged themselves.
I am far from wishing to impute any personal blame
to him in this matter. He was carrying out the
instructions of his chief and was not a free agent. Nevertheless,
this fact stands against him and his house in the
inevitable course of their development. The affairs of the Peninsula

(13:20):
have reached a point where the state is on the
verge of bankruptcy. Your Highness is aware of the speed
with which Spanish and Portuguese public securities have been falling.
Within the last few weeks. Mendizibal has just formed a
ministry to make one last infamous effort, which will certainly
be fruitless. We are approaching the point when, through the

(13:40):
fall in the public debt created by the combined intrigues
of the English ministry and m. Mendizibal and Rothschild, thousands
of families in England and on the continent will find
themselves plunged into poverty. The English cabinet and m. Mendisibal
must undoubtedly bear the responsibility for originating the general scheme,
but the fact that it was possible to carry it
into practice is attributable entirely to the House of Rothchild,

(14:04):
to whose name therefore the deserved reproach will attach. Things
were not to turn out as badly as all that,
Humlawer had merely taken another opportunity of giving free vent
to his rage and indignation against the House of Rothchild.
If the appointment were to go through, After all, Kirchner,
the watchdog at the Consulate, should have a better position,

(14:25):
lest the House of Rothchild should induce him to give
up his role of reporter on Rothschild activities through being
drawn into their service by a better offer. Humlawer therefore
proposed that this man should be permanently secured to Austria's interests.
A little later, Humlawer sent in an addendum to his
philippics against the Rothschilds. He had been making inquiries amongst

(14:48):
several business men about Nathan's sons, and naturally did not
get a particularly good account of the Rothschilds from their rivals.
He now hastened to transmit these reports to Vienna. The
young people conduct, he wrote, is such that Nathan's heirs
have created an exceedingly unfavorable impression. They are so blatantly

(15:08):
purse proud as to have offended the old business friends
of their father by their rudeness, and I have heard
many of them express themselves very strongly on this matter.
The reputation of these young people in commercial circles here
is therefore just now very much to their disadvantage. Humlauer
therefore proposed that if it was desired to appoint a

(15:29):
Rothschild as consul general in London, another consulate should be
created at Liverpool, to be independent of London British commercial circles.
The charged affair, stated, would regard the London consulate as
a matter of form, and thus the unfavorable impression which
would undoubtedly be created through conferring the consulate on one
of the rothschild sons, would be modified. This caused the

(15:51):
authorities at Vienna to defer the appointment, and the departments
consulted as to what should be done. The position was
rendered more difficult by the fact that Merinich had often
encouraged Solomon Rothschild to believe that Lionel would be appointed.
When time passed and nothing was done, Wertheimstein wrote to
Medinich on Solomon's behalf, reminding him of his promise and

(16:12):
suggesting that all that was necessary was to appoint a
consular official to assist the consul Baron Lionel. Vaughan Rothschild,
Solomon's secretary, wrote, would be delighted to pay such a
clerk and annual allowance suitable to the higher cost of
living in London, thereby proving the value which he attaches
to inheriting the confidence which the Austrian government showed in

(16:32):
his late father, and which was always a source of
pride to the Rothchild family. The matter was finally dealt
with by a compromise. Lionel was appointed acting unpaid Consul
General after he had given a verbal assurance to the
charged affair in London that he would use his best
endeavors to support the consular official who was appointed simultaneously.

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For the Rothchilds, the important thing was that, from the
point of view of the public, dissolution conveyed the impression
that their BANKSI still enjoyed the confidence of Austria. The
Rothchilds were just at this time endeavoring to improve the
position of Jews in general, and therefore of themselves in particular.
In eighteen thirty three, the Jews had, at the suggestion

(17:14):
of the House of Rothschild, sent in another petition asking
for the free right of domicile and to be allowed
to engage in the sciences, arts and trades, as well
as to acquire an own real property. As the years
passed without anything being done, a petition was sent to
Metternick on the July seventeenth, eighteen thirty five, asking him

(17:34):
to use his influence in favor of this petition. The
Rothchilds felt they must assist in the endeavor to secure
this general extension of Jewish rights, as special exceptions to
the laws had often been made in their favor. Thus,
they had received a special mining concession for the coal
mines in Dalmatia and Istria, as well as for the
history and quicksilver mines, although for nearly three hundred years

(17:56):
Jews had been excluded from such activities. The authorities continued
to delay taking any action to alleviate the lot of
the Jews, and Solomon Rothschild accordingly sent Medonic a further
emphatic request for assistance, Your Highness, he wrote from Paris
on the January ninth, eighteen thirty seven, will forgive my
taking the liberty of making a special appeal to you

(18:18):
on a matter which is of the very deepest concern
to me. This matter, my Dear Prince, is one that
concerns the destiny of my coreligionists. It concerns the hopes
of so many fathers of families, and the highest aspirations
of thousands of human beings. I would commend it with
all my heart, in complete trust and confidence, to the

(18:39):
favorable consideration of my most gracious Prince. I cherish no
more sacred desire than to sec the destiny of my
coreligionists improved. I shall not weary your Highness with many words,
and rely confidently on the gracious assurances that your Highness
has so often given, that you wish to be a
benevolent protector and a kind helper to my or religionists.

(19:02):
Knowing your Highness as wise and paternal sentiments, I hope
with full confidence that all our wishes will be granted
by a Prince to whom the welfare of all classes
of humanity is sacred, and to whom the helpless have
never appealed in Vain. On receipt of this letter, Metonik
arranged for a conference of ministers to be summoned to
discuss the Jewish problem. The conference registered the following opinion.

(19:24):
Under the prevailing conditions of the time, it is undoubtedly
in the interests of the government that the Jews should
be accorded some improvement in their condition and some extension
of their rights. But we feel that it is absolutely
essential that due regard should be had to the general
circumstances of the present day, and even for prevailing prejudices,
so that the public may not suddenly draw the conclusion

(19:45):
that full emancipation of the Jews is contemplated, and that
the government intends to put them on an equality with Christians.
It was accordingly decided that the toleration tax should be maintained,
but that the Emperor should have discretion to grant Jews
permission to own houses in Vienna, but that this discretion
should apply to houses only, and not to any other
kind of real property. Thus, the Rothschilds, who were still

(20:09):
living as tenants in the hotel Zoom Ramishan Kaiser, were
enabled to acquire a house of their own, but Solomon
also used his influence with the Chancellor to secure better
conditions for the Jews outside the boundaries of Austria, more
particularly in Italy, where Metternich was powerful. Medina was a
case in point where the Duke had, on the March

(20:29):
twenty second, eighteen thirty one, in consequence of certain disturbances
that had occurred, imposed upon the Jews a contribution of
six hundred thousand lire and restrictions on their liberty. Solomon's manager, Goldschmidt,
took advantage of one of the Duke's visits to Vienna
to ask him, on behalf of Solomon, to rescind these
oppressive and unjust decrees. Even in the year eighteen thirty three,

(20:53):
the Papal States again attempted to apply the idea of
completely shutting off the Jews from the Christian inhabitants in cities.
They were again to live within walls separated from other inhabitants.
At Solomon's request. Metternich intervened in this connection, and it
was due to him that this humiliating regulation, as Solomon
called it, was not generally applied. Thousands whom you have

(21:15):
thereby made happier Solomon wrote to Metternich, are praying to
Heaven to bless you for your action. In eighteen thirty eight,
Solomon again heard from Jewish firms in Ferrara that further
measures of oppression had been planned there. The lament that
has gone up from those who are threatened by such
a regulation, Solomon wrote to Metternich, and my natural sympathy

(21:35):
for the oppressed, especially when they are my helpless correligionists,
has led me, on this occasion again to venture most
urgently to appeal to Your Highness's clemency and magnanimity, that
you may be graciously pleased, as you were in eighteen
thirty three, to use your powerful influence through the Austrian
embassy at Rome, to induce the Holy Father to countermanda

(21:56):
publication of this threatened decree against my unfortunate courts religionists,
and induce the Papal government to adopt a milder and
more tolerant attitude. I hope that I may succeed with
my weak words in touching the heart of Your Highness,
which is so sensitive to the welfare of humanity. Such
requests were particularly difficult to refuse when Solomon had just

(22:17):
spent large sums on public and beneficent objects. And this
was the case now, for in March eighteen thirty eight,
the towns of Offen and Pest had been visited by
a terrible flood. On that occasion, Solomon Rothschild wrote as follows,
actuated by human and I would venture to say entirely
patriotic feelings for Austria. I offer to place the services

(22:39):
of my house absolutely at your disposal, in case your
Majesty should be pleased to command that somewhat more extensive
financial measures should be taken to ameliorate the lot of
the victims. In his petition to the Emperor, Solomon asked
him to accept his loyal offer as bearing some slight
testimony to the unshakable loyalty and unchangeable devotion which I
am and all my house feel for the sacred person

(23:02):
of your Majesty and the whole of the Imperial family.
Amskill Meyer at Frankfort also arranged a concert in favor
of the victims at Solomon's suggestion, at which solos were
sung by Karl Rothschild's brilliant and charming wife, as well
as by the Countess Rossi. The position of the Rothchilds
and the countries of their adoption was by now such

(23:22):
that they were absolutely bound up with each country's will
or woe. Their political influence was greater in France even
than in Austria. The result of this was naturally that
they made enemies. Amongst their foes in Paris was that
archspy Klindworth, who sent Count A Poni I regular reports
regarding the situation in Paris, in return for which he

(23:43):
duly received regular payment. A proof this man reported on
the January twentieth, eighteen thirty eight of the extent to
which the Rothschild influence in this country goes may be
found in the fact that last week, when one of
my French friends went to Rothschild's office, he found General
Rumigny there, the King's adjutant in matters to do with
the Boorse. Rothschild has his own system, lacking intelligence and

(24:08):
understanding of a Hair's. He uses the compelling power of
money in all the ministries and in all the departments.
He has his creatures of all ranks to bring him
every kind of information. Klindworth denied that James had any
political judgment, and expressed the opinion that he was very
friendly to Austria, but very unfriendly to Prussia. In contrast

(24:30):
to his position in Paris, he had never shown in
Berlin society, while some of the members of his family
had actually been insulted there. We know today that these
opinions were frequently erroneous, and like thousands of later reports
from the same man, they showed how little credit is
to be given to such venal informers. Nevertheless, this man's

(24:50):
reports were enthusiastically accepted at the time, and until late
in the seventies, a high price was paid for them,
and they were often believed. Klindworth, who was very avaricious,
may have been ill disposed to the Rothchilds through having
had a request refused, or they may have failed to
invite him to their magnificent parties. Invitations to the hotel

(25:11):
and the rule of fit were eagerly sought after, where
everything was done on a scale of unparalleled magnificence, which
was intended to make up for any lack of birth
and breeding after the death of Nathan, to whom great
display was not congenial. These magnificent parties became usual with
the London Rothschilds too. They were given in the beautiful
park at Gunnersbury, and over five hundred invitations would be issued.

(25:35):
The Duke of Sussex, Prince George of Cambridge, the Duke
of Somerset Wellington, foreign princes and diplomats, and the most
exclusive members of London society were to be found there.
The most famous artistes, such as the opera singer Jula
Grisi and the world famous basses Antonio Tamburini and Lablacha

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would sing, and Rossini often came over from Paris to
give excerpts from his opera, as he did at James's
house in Paris. Supper would be laid out in special
tents in the huge park, illuminated by about six thousand
multicolored lamps, where the choicest dishes from all over the
world were served. The Sons were cast in a different
mold from the serious and calculating Nathan, who thought of

(26:18):
nothing but his business, which he extended with such far
seeing genius. Nathan had attached no value to externals and
had never during his life used the title conferred on
him by the Emperor, since it was a foreign one. Lionel,
on the other hand, immediately took steps to obtain the
King's permission to use the title, which permission he received

(26:39):
in June eighteen thirty eight. Moreover, times had changed, and
the advertisement which the House of Rothschild had shunned in
the past, was now very useful. The banquets et cetera
had their value from this point of view, and in addition, illustrations,
propaganda articles, et cetera were brought into play. One of

(27:00):
the cleverest ideas was a handkerchief manufactured in enormous numbers
with Nathan's portrait printed in colors and bearing the following
inscription in four languages. He was distinguished both for his
business capacity and enterprise, and also for his generosity and
love of humanity. On the handkerchief were also set out
the loans made by the House of Rothschild to the

(27:22):
various states, giving the amount in each case. The handkerchiefs
were made by a manufacturing firm in London and sent
to the Vienna wholesale merchants Joseph Bosohan, who applied to
the Chancellery and to Solomon for permission to sell them
in Austria. In the midst of their commercial and social activities,
the Rothchilds did not forget to direct their particular attention

(27:44):
to the advances in applied science. The exploitation of new
discoveries before they were generally known gave opportunities for profit
quite as important as in the case of loans and
of financial transactions. There was, for instance, A M. Forneyran,
discoverer of the turbine, a hydraulic machine, who succeeded in
getting James interested in his invention. James not only supported

(28:08):
the inventor in France, but also gave him a letter
of commendation to his brother Solomon in Vienna, who succeeded
in interesting Prince Metternich James, having written to him that
the machine in question could be most usefully employed in
foundries and factories of all kinds. Nathan's sons in England
also observed the development of steam traffic with the closest attention.

(28:30):
The steamship Lionel wrote on the May thirty first, eighteen
thirty eight, will be of enormous advantage to the commerce
between this country and the United States of America. Two
attempts have already been made to cross the Atlantic Ocean
in steamboats, namely the Serious and Great Western of London
and Bristol. These attempts have proved so successful that any

(28:50):
doubts which may have been entertained as to the possibility
of a regular service between here and New York have
been dissipated. The Serious met bad weather and contray winds
on her voyage, but in spite of this, only took
nineteen days from Cork to New York. The journey is
three thousand, eight hundred miles and was accomplished at an
average speed of eight and a half miles an hour.

(29:13):
The Serious carries seven hundred tons and her engines have
a horse power of three hundred twenty. Four hundred and
twenty one tons of coal and forty three barrels of
tar were consumed on the journey. The Great Western took
fifteen days and five hours from Bristol to New York,
covering a distance of three thousand, two hundred and twenty miles,
thus accomplishing the journey at an average speed of about

(29:34):
nine miles an hour. The latter vessel carries one thousand,
three hundred and forty tons, and her engines developed four
hundred and fifty horse power. Four hundred and fifty tons
of coal were consumed on the voyage. The success of
these experiments has led to the idea of establishing a
regular steamboat service between England and America, and the same

(29:55):
company that sent out the Serious has lifted out an
extraordinarily big ship called the British Queen, with a tonnage
of one thousand, eight hundred forty in a horse power
of five hundred, with a view to her making a
similar voyage. Quite A new company has also been formed
with the object of building six to eight large steamers
for this service. Undoubtedly, within a very short time the

(30:17):
principal traffic between America and England will be carried out
entirely by steamers, and sailing boats will certainly be gradually superseded.
Lionel followed with equal interest the enormous development of railways,
which at the time were already beginning to carry mails,
as he reported with enthusiasm. Since the Liverpool Manchester Railway
was opened in September eighteen thirty, he added in his report,

(30:42):
up to December eighteen thirty seven, forty eight thousand, seven
hundred and sixteen journeys have been made and about three
million passengers have been carried, there having been only two
fatal accidents. The engineer of the Birmingham Railway is of
the opinion that most railways will yield a profit of
eight to ten percent per annum. This last consideration was

(31:03):
naturally the most important. While the development of steamship traffic
in England was making the most prodigious strides, the Lloyd
Tristino the Austrian Company, was in great difficulties. The House
of Rothschild had invested large sums in this undertaking, and
they wanted to minimize their risk. Solomon accordingly endeavored to

(31:24):
induce the Austrian government to subsidize the undertaking, and addressed
a skillful letter to the Head of the Treasury on
this point. I have on several previous occasions, he wrote,
ventured to draw your Excellency's attention to this undertaking, which
may truly be called a national one. But in view
of the extent to which my house is interested in

(31:44):
the venture, I can readily believe that what I have
said may appear to have been prompted by self interest,
and I may therefore have failed to strike entirely the
right note. And perhaps my personal position made me an
unsuitable advocate. Since it is a well known fact that
it is in dealing with one's own affairs that one
often is least effective. Any weakness in my presentation of

(32:05):
the facts will, however, be more than compensated for by
the strength of the actual facts and figures themselves. The
present position of the Austrian Steamship Company is such that
there can be no doubt as to its future fate.
If the Lloyd is to continue on the path on
which it began so auspiciously, proving itself of real service
to the most varied interests. This will only be possible

(32:27):
if this institution is immediately granted the pecuniary, material and
moral support which the high authorities in the State have
been earnestly begged to render it. If such assistance should
not be forthcoming, or should be granted too late, the
failure of the Lloyd will be inevitable, and the public
auction of the ships will mark the sad finish of
an undertaking which the authorities in the state themselves desired,

(32:49):
and which would have certainly been an ornament to the
Austrian monarchy, and would have been a source of great
benefit to the state itself and to its commerce and industry.
Permit me to take this opportunity of reminding your Excellency
of the fact that, before my House became associated with
the undertaking, the government had indicated that they were favorably
considering the idea of themselves acquiring an interest in it

(33:10):
as shareholders. I may perhaps be allowed to confess to
Your Highness that it was especially the hope of their
so doing, which gave my House confidence in the venture
and led us to invest such considerable capital in it.
I would ask your Excellency to accede to that which
at that time you may have had the benevolent intention
of doing. For it is not possible that the Lloyd

(33:31):
should continue with private resources and unaided to accomplish all
that France has succeeded in achieving with an enormous expenditure
of state moneyes, and is concerned at considerable expenditure to
maintain the task is at any rate, during the early
period of development too difficult and honorous. But the undertaking
contains the most excellent promises of ultimate prosperity, if it

(33:53):
can be allowed the time necessary to bring them gradually
to fruition. His eye in our Majesty, was himself great
viciously pleased to state that the maintenance of the Lloyd
could not be a matter of indifference to the country.
Your Excellency has always been good enough to show the
greatest interest in it. For this reason I venture again
today to raise my voice in supplication on behalf of

(34:15):
this truly national undertaking. It is not in my own
personal interest that I am speaking. I assure your Excellency
that my mind is made up and the house is
reconciled to the loss that it may suffer if things
go amiss. But it cannot go any further than it
has done. For in this matter, as in all transactions,
the principles which it so consistently follows prescribe certain limits

(34:35):
that it may not pass. The fate of the undertaking
lies in your Excellency's hands. You are accustomed to look
at things not from the narrow and purely financial point
of view, but also as a statesman and minister, to
consider them in their higher significance, and with exceptional insight
to grasp their important relations to the life of the
country as a whole. I would most emphatically beg your

(34:58):
excellency quickly to pronounce your verdict upon the Lloyd. Its
days are numbered, and if the hoard of directors may
not hope that His Majesty, our most gracious Emperor will,
before he leaves Venice, deign to grant that financial support,
which is absolutely essential. The whole structure will inevitably collapse
after being maintained an enormous effort and sacrifice for the

(35:19):
few weeks during which we may be continuing to hope
for a favorable decision. At the same time, Solomon wrote
to Metternich in similar terms, Vaughan Rothschild proposed to advance
the Lloyd five hundred thousand florins on condition that the
state should guarantee this loan. Count Cholrad opposed this proposal
and made the following comment on the memorandum. Baron Vaughan

(35:42):
Rothschild's proposals are most skillfully drafted and capable of the
most varied interpretations. They are, in any case, calculated to
ensure that Baron Vaughan Rothschild shall be guaranteed against any
possibility of loss, and that this shall be transferred to
the state. The burden of raising the capital would fall
upon the treasury, as well as the invidious and tiresome

(36:03):
task of levying execution. If the company should be forced
to go into liquidation, whereas Baron Vaughan Rothschild would nominally
at any rate stand before the world as the disinterested
provider of the capital. The problem was finally solved by
granting the House of Rothschild a mortgage on the company's ships,
putting them in a prior position to all other creditors

(36:23):
in return for their granting the loan. The Lloyd survived
the crisis and became a great and prosperous company. While
they were acquiring all these interests in transport concerns, the
Rothchilds did not omit to cultivate their highly profitable loans
to governments, and they were more and more acquiring the
habit of attaching definite political conditions to such loans. The

(36:47):
self assurance with which the House of Rothchild laid down
its conditions, especially when dealing with the smaller states, was
particularly apparent just at this time. In the case of Belgium.
During the first years of his rule, King Leopold had
governed his country with intelligence and success. He recognized the
value of railways, which he decided to develop on a

(37:08):
large scale, and also brought the most varied undertakings into existence.
Although such undertakings were ultimately profitable, they required the investment
of great sums of money at the start, which Belgium
had to endeavor to obtain in the Paris market. This
was made difficult by the fact that the Belgo Dutch dispute,
arising out of the separation of the two countries, was

(37:29):
still not finally settled. The two provinces Luxembourg and Limburg,
which were meant to be partitioned between the two states,
remained during the whole eight years of the dispute under
Belgian administration. Their delegates came to Brussels, and whereas it
had formerly been the King of Holland who opposed the
decisions of the powers, it was now Belgium that refused

(37:50):
to accept a partition of the two provinces with Holland.
Feeling ran so high in Belgium that the question of
war with Holland was again on everybody's lips. James was
staying in Rome at the time, where, in connection with
alone granted to the Pope in eighteen thirty seven, he
was bringing his influence to bear in favor of his coreligionists,

(38:11):
while Solomon was representing him in Paris. At this time
the Belgian government approached the Paris House of Rothschild with
a request for an advance of four million francs on
the security of treasury bills. The money seemed to be
intended for use in Belgium's military adventure. The House of
Rothschild remained true to the policy which it had now

(38:31):
followed over a long period of years. There were a
thousand reasons why it had no use for war. It
perceived that as on the occasion of the separation of
Belgium from Holland, the danger of a world conflagration might arise,
and for this reason Solomon replied to Belgium with a
categorical refusal. This disappointment, Count of PONII reported has greatly

(38:53):
embarrassed the Belgium government by depriving it of the financial
resources which are essential if it wished to pursue its
provocative power. The representative of the House of Rothschild and
Brussels informed Solomon that the Belgian government was annoyed. We
do not in the least resent the fact. Solomon replied
that the government is somewhat angry at our refusal with
regard to the treasury bills. It is not at all

(39:17):
a bad thing that these gentlemen should realize that they
may count on us only as long as they mean
to follow a policy of wisdom and moderation. We have
certainly given sufficient proof of our intention to support and
help the Belgian government, but our good will necessarily stop
short of the point of providing the rod with which
we are to be beaten, that is to say, providing
the money wanted to make a war which would destroy

(39:39):
the credit that we are applying all our energies and
resources to maintain. You may tell these gentlemen what I
have written, freely and frankly, and without mincing words. Solomon
simultaneously sent a copy of the above extract from his
letter to Count Aponia, so that Medinich should see how
he had acted. For Medinich had always had a prejudice
against Belgium, and Solomon wished him to sec how strongly

(40:02):
he was supporting his policy. On this occasion, A pony
I speedily reported the whole affair to Metternich, inclosing the
extract and adding that the House of Rothschild had thereby
rendered a new and remarkable service to the cause of
peace and order, a service which he was pleased to
recognize and appreciate at its true value. Meanwhile, the Rothschild's agent,

(40:23):
who was called Richtenberger, was going from one minister to another.
He went first to the Finance Minister M. D c. Merod, who, however,
belonged to the War Party. He did not conceal from
the agent that the state was most urgently in need
of money, but he made it apparent that he too
did not approve of the partition of the provinces. Richtenburger

(40:45):
next went to seek Count Duthoux, Minister for Foreign Affairs,
who favored the Peace Party, and told him of his
conversation with the Finance Minister. Thereupon, d c Phil quite
definitely asked him not to give the Finance Minister any
money and just leave him in his difficulties, whereat his
warlike ardor and that of the Opposition Party would be

(41:05):
considerably damped. Towards the close of the conversation, death though,
added that the agent should ask his house for advance
authority immediately to provide cash if the Chamber should come
to terms and accept the twenty four articles of the
Conference of London and thereby agree to the partition of
the provinces. He said that he hoped to be able
to induce the Chamber to do this. The agent was

(41:27):
told by a friend of his who knew the position
that the Belgian treasury was, in point of fact, at
a very low ebb, indeed there being only about four
hundred thousand francs available. Solomon immediately sent a copy of
the letter containing this information to his house at Vienna.
I send you herewith he wrote, for Prince Medenik's information
the exact letter which I have received from my agent

(41:49):
in Brussels. It will show the Prince just what the
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Count Meroud think. They won't
get a farthing from me until they give way, and
before I go, I shall leave similar instructions for my brother, James.
Solomon wrote to his secretary and manager to the same effect.
I hope that Belgium will now sign the twenty four articles,

(42:11):
especially as they lack the nervous rerum. And as long
as the articles are not accepted, the Belgian government will
not get a hayphenny from us, although they have been
bogging for money for months. Difficult though I found it
to keep on refusing, I shall feasie compensated if Belgium
yields and peace is restored by the reflection that I
shall have done my best to contribute to such a result.

(42:33):
Even the King of Holland realized that the lengthy dispute
should be ended. He gave London to understand that he
was prepared to accept the twenty four articles. This time,
Palmerston's government in England and even King Leopold's father in
law in Paris, were determined to end the business and
no longer to encourage Belgium in her resistance. The Western

(42:54):
and Eastern powers were therefore in agreement, so that the
Belgian Chamber, after having delivered itself of passionate speeches, had
no option but to agree to the treaties with Holland
that had been settled in London. This constituted a complete
victory for the Rothchild policy. Peace had been maintained and
the way was now clear for safe financial transactions with Belgium.

(43:16):
King Leopold at once approached the Rothchilds for the considerable
loan of thirty seven million francs for the purpose of
railway construction on a large scale. This loan was granted
by the House of Rothchild, but as Rothschild told Count
Aponia subject to three remarkable conditions. In the event of
the outbreak of war, all further payments by the House

(43:37):
of Rothchild should cease, The Belgian government would undertake to
suppress possible revolutionary movement in Luxembourg. And the thirty seven
million advance should actually be spent on railway construction. The
House of Rothchild intended thereby to insure against a revival
of those ambitions which had just been renounced. Metternich was

(43:58):
kept fully informed of all these Belgian matters, not only
by the ambassador and the Minister concerned, but also by
amskill Meyer at Frankfort, who sent the Chancellor a copy
of any news he received at Frankfort. Metdinich had asked
him also to send copies to Vaughan Reeberg, the former
charged affair, who had been temporarily recalled from Brussels, so

(44:18):
that the latter might compare them with his own sources
of information and thus arrive at as accurate a picture
as possible of the position in Belgium. After the satisfactory
conclusion of the Belgian difficulties, the four brothers on the
continent and Nathan's eldest son met at Frankfort to discuss
the general situation, take stock of their present business transactions,

(44:38):
and consider their action with regard to the future. This
was in September eighteen thirty nine, just when Mederinich and
his wife, the Princess Melanie, were staying at Schloss Johannesburg.
Whence they paid a visit to Frankfort. The three brothers R. Solomon,
as Princess Melanie called him, Anselm and James immediately called

(44:59):
on them. The manager Goldschmidt accompanied the princess and helped
her with her shopping. Two of the rothschilds, Solomon and Karl,
also accompanied her, the latter having just arrived from Naples.
Mederinick invited Solomon and his wife to Johannesburg, and they
promptly accepted the invitation. All kinds of business was discussed

(45:22):
during the visit, Concessions were asked for, and the question
of intervention was sounded. Medinik promised, amongst other things, to
use his influence to secure rights of citizenship in Frankfort
for Solomon's manager, Morritz Goldschmidt. On his return, Solomon wrote
to thank the Prince, expressing his delight with their most
gracious reception at lovely Johannesburg. Meanwhile, the world's situation had

(45:45):
not become any rosier. No sooner had danger of war
been banished in the West than ominous signs of trouble
began to appear in the East. Mehemet Ali, the Sultan's
viceroy in Egypt, had usurped enormous power at the excs
spence of his sovereign. While still formally subject to the Sultan,
he paid little attention in practice to his authority. Being

(46:08):
at enmity with the Passia of Acin, he invaded Syria,
which had been allotted to his sphere of influence, in
May eighteen thirty three. Meli met Ali next turned his
attention to Arabia, but this did not please England at all.
Russia and Austria, in their endeavors to protect the legitimates principle,
had espoused the cause of the Sultan as against this

(46:28):
insubordinate viceroy. Their sympathies were therefore on the same side
as those of England. Encouraged by this fact, the Sultan
Mahmood endeavored in eighteen thirty nine to suppress the insubordinate
Meli met Ali, but the Sultan's troops were beaten by
the Egyptian France alone among the powers, viewing this victory

(46:48):
with satisfaction. For mahamet Ali was friendly to the French,
and as France was in possession of Algiers, it w
as to her interest to be on good terms with
the powerful Passion of Egypt. The other powers, however, England, Russia,
Austria and Prussia, wished to help the Sultan in his
difficulties and sign a treaty on the July fifteenth, eighteen ten,

(47:11):
the Quadruple Alliance, providing that the Sultan should be assisted
if necessary, but that mahamet Ali should be allowed to
keep Egypt in southern Syria only as a hereditary kingdom
under the overlordship of the Sultan. That being the position,
the alliance necessarily appeared in Paris to be directed against France,
who found herself isolated from the whole of the rest

(47:32):
of Europe. The chambers, the press, society, and the Palace
all felt keen indignation at this slight to France and
felt that her honor was at stake. Tierre, the Prime Minister,
breathed forth fire and slaughter in his newspapers against Palmerston,
the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and against

(47:53):
the treaty in general. He took up a particularly aggressive attitude.
But even Lewis Philippe, who in his heart wished to
maintain good rs relations with the Powers, was profoundly displeased
with the treaty, although at the same time he stated
that he would do everything possible to maintain peace. In
any case, intensive military preparations were decided upon a pony

(48:14):
I wrote an alarm that the treaty had been taken
very seriously in Paris, and that it was regarded as
a matter affecting the national honor. He said that the
King was sincerely anxious to maintain peace, but that the
heir to the throne, the Duke of Orleans, was enormously
excited and in favor of war, and that he would
support Pierre. The position is exceedingly serious, the ambassador reported.

(48:38):
If people will play with fire as it seems they
mean to do here, a general world conflagration may easily result.
The King of Belgium was also deeply concerned at the
state of affairs. He already had visions of his country,
which was achieving prosperity after much hard work, becoming a
theater of war over which French and Prussian armies would fight.

(48:59):
He is the more more alarmed a pony, I ironically reported,
since Baron Anselm Rothschild has informed him that the new loan,
which was just ready for signature, cannot be carried into effect.
His majesty intends to travel to England on the day
after tomorrow, where his presence, as he said to her
Vaughan Rothschild, will be of great service at the present time.

(49:20):
It was therefore to be expected that in this quarter
everything would be done to ensure the maintenance of peace,
and this had been what Anselm had wished to convey.
Anselm also wrote to his father, Solomon, who was staying
at Frankfort, saying, it is hoped that Prince Mednick will
modify the agreement of the July fifteenth in such a

(49:40):
way as to save the face of France. At that time, James,
who was still away, was being represented in Paris by Anselm,
and Solomon feared that his young son might not be
equal to a situation which was constantly growing more acute
and critical. He therefore urgently asked James to return, and
decided to go go to Paris himself and wait then

(50:02):
until James came back. Meanwhile, James had set out for
Paris post haste and arrived in the French capital on
the August third, eighteen forty. This made it unnecessary for
Solomon to make the journey, as James at once sent
him the following letter, my dear brother, I arrived safe
and well this morning, after spending some knights traveling, because

(50:24):
I did not wash to leave Anselm alone. I do
not believe there will be war, and am convinced that
Tierre merely wants to show how sensitive he is for
the honor of France in order to strengthen his position.
The public here are strongly in favor of war, and
the people will be perfectly content to fight. But it
is all only words. Although the alliance between England and France,

(50:47):
which has always existed, is finished, and I regard this
as a misfortune for the future. This communication revealed the calm,
business sense and strong character of James, who was not
to be affected by any panic. Anselm was also much
relieved that he had no longer to bear the whole
responsibility alone, Uncle James, he wrote home, arrived back here

(51:09):
safely this morning, the fall and securities having hastened his return.
He is, however, hale and hearty and looks very well.
Matters are, thank god, somewhat better. The tone of the
newspapers is more moderate. The English papers are indifferent, and
Tierre is trying to climb down. Meanwhile, the matter is

(51:31):
not at an end and may drag on for some time.
The next day he added, the liquidation is over, but
the brokers have been very much involved and have lost
a lot of money. Belgian securities were unsaleable. There is
little news, but people are less alarmed and believe that
peace will be maintained. Everything depends on Prince Metternich remaining calm.

(51:53):
The London Rothschilds were also on their guard. They reported
that prices there were fairly firm, but that little business
was being done as everybody was anxiously awaiting news. London
was talking of a resolution o be moved in the
House of Commons that the Navy and Army should be strengthened.
Lionel had immediately gone to Lord Clarendon, Lord Privy Seal,

(52:16):
who told him that he did not believe it, as
England saw no reason why there should be war. When
James's reassuring news reached London, his nephews realized with satisfaction
that the wave of war fever in Paris had somewhat abetted.
The British public, they reported, has no fear at all
of a war, as is very clearly shown by the
heavy purchases of securities that are being made by private persons.

(52:41):
The atmosphere in Paris, however, was far from being as
peaceful and quiet as might have been expected in view
of this news. When news was received on the August
fifth that Prussia and Austria had just ratified the hateful
treaty on the July fifteenth, national sentiment was again aroused.
Our poor rant ENSI ELLM reported have again shown a

(53:01):
marked decline. Today there is panic on the burse news
having been received that Prussia's and Austria's ratifications of the
treaty have been sent in. I believe, however, that it
will all come right, for I can assure you that
the government here is no longer so aggressive and has
decided for the present to cease military preparations. Reports from

(53:21):
London are also much more pacific. Uncle James is going
to see the King this evening. The King did in
fact receive James on the evening of the August fifth,
in an audience which lasted more than two hours. He
complained bitterly of the powers, saying that not only he
but his son too, the Duke of Orleans, had been

(53:42):
much irritated. Austria should not join with Russia. Why should
everything be done to irritate France. He still hoped that
in the end Austria will deal with this complication as
the dev's ex machina, and through the wisdom and influence
of Prince von Metternich. Not merely will peace be maintained,
but France will be placed in a position in which

(54:04):
she can come out of the affair with honor, whatever
may now happen. James concluded his report on the audience,
I do not believe there will be war. This strange
situation was still further complicated by a perfectly unexpected event.
Lewis Napoleon, the eternal pretender to the throne of France,
had embarked with fifty five followers in a boat from

(54:26):
England and had landed on the night of the August sixth,
in the neighborhood of Boulogne, where a few of his
supporters were awaiting him. He had no doubt imagined that,
as when his great uncle returned to France from Elba,
so the King's troops would go over to his side
now and bring him in triumph to the capital. However,
nothing of the kind occurred. The King's troops marched against him.

(54:50):
The occasional cries of vival Emperor were soon heard no more.
The prince and his trusty followers were forced to take
to the sea, where after a short swim they were
all captured. The tragy comic adventure was over in a
few hours, but it served to increase the general nervous
tension in France. Nathan's sons in London strongly condemned this attempt.

(55:13):
The affair of Lewis Buonaparte's landing, they wrote, is regarded
here with general disgust as being a senseless and rather
distasteful adventure. It is said to have been a stock
exchange plot, and that there were brokers on board the steamer.
The London Rothschilds had received the latest news from Paris
before this event, and they reported that the stock exchange

(55:34):
atmosphere was quite uncanny, since those who had a carrier
pigeon service and thereby received early news of Paris quotations
had spread all sorts of bad rumors. They said that
Palmerston had just delivered a moderate speech on the foreign situation,
and Lionel observed that Lord Palmerston's quiet and emphatic speech
had dissipated any idea of war in London, and that

(55:55):
he hoped it would show to the French public the
game that m M. Tierre and Guizeau had been playing. Every
word that any of the Rothschilds wrote revealed how anxiously
they were constantly endeavoring to do everything possible to maintain peace,
as they were always anxious about their great undertakings and
financial commitments. They watched the political situation as they would

(56:16):
a barometer, reporting to one another every oscillation of the needle.
Palmerston's speech was followed by a speech from the throne
by Queen Victoria, which, as Lionel reported, was entirely typical
of such speeches, that is, had not much in it. Nevertheless,
Lionel and his brothers found that their friends, as they

(56:36):
called the ministers and persons who had influenced were somewhat worried,
as everybody was wondering how it would be possible to
allay French passion after the French had been so terribly
excited by Tierre and the public press over the Eastern question.
The Queen's speech, as James reported, caused great dissatisfaction in
Paris as it made no reference to France. Everyone here,

(56:58):
he wrote, is very indignant and in a most belligerent mood,
so that rod have fallen to eighty point two zero.
This has frightened people, and we must hope that tomorrow
they will be in a quieter frame of mind. James
did not fail to frequent the salons and audience chambers
of influential and high personages. Having heard that the Duke

(57:19):
of Orleans was so strongly in favor of war, he
obtained an audience of him with a view to bringing
him to his own political point of view. The Duke
actually said to him, we do not want a war,
but if others aim at undermining the King's honor and
popularity and weakening him at home, then James saw to
it that Mederinick heard all this at once and he

(57:41):
was careful so to phrase his letters to Solomon, knowing
they would be shown to Metternich in such a way
that the Chancellor would be influenced to adopt the Rothchild
point of view. The Duke also told James that new
proposals for the solution of the Eastern crisis had been
sent to England, the King of Belgium acting as mediator.
Both James and Nathaniel, Nathan's third son, who was still

(58:04):
in Paris, had in their letters to Solomon of late,
been constantly lamenting the fact that Prince Esterhazy was not
in London, since his representative, the charge to Fair Vaughan
Newman was a regular warmonger. Nathaniel actually wrote to his
uncle saying, I hear that Baron Newman is in a
great state of excitement and preaching war. Solomon saw to

(58:24):
it that such statements were not omitted from the copies
of letters that he laid before Metternich. The guiding principle
of the Rothschilds at critical times such as these was
to go about as much as possible in society, and
to seek out every opportunity of meeting leading statesmen, royalties
and influential society women, never missing a chance of collecting news.

(58:45):
This is characteristically shown in a letter from Lionel to
his uncle James and his brother Nathaniel. We had the
pleasure yesterday, he wrote, on the August twenty second, eighteen forty,
of getting your mail, and we are very grateful to
you for it, since, as I can assure you, we
were distinctly uneasy. Consols opened at eighty nine and three eighths.

(59:06):
It is said that the owners of carrier pigeons were buying.
They closed at eighty nine and a half. We saw
all our friends to get news and heard that everybody
was particularly pleased with King Leopold, who had contributed a
great deal to reconciling England and France. He then spoke
to another person of importance, and she told us that

(59:28):
everything was completely changed, including France's tone, which was quite
different from what it had been. Every One is of
opinion that mahamet Ali, if he does not completely give way,
will at any rate make fresh proposals. Duloh and all
the others are dining with us tomorrow, and we mean
to go to Windsor too and try to see King

(59:48):
Leopold if there is anything of interest to report, we
shall send you a courier tomorrow night. We have heard
that m. Guizeau, the French ambassador in London, dined alone
with Lord Palmerston and Princess Levin yesterday. Newman was there
and says that Guiseau was exceedingly cheerful. And this is
a much better sign, especially as we were told that

(01:00:09):
Guiseaux and Lord Palmerston were so furious with one another
when they met at Windsor that they would scarcely speak.
King Louis Philippe was at that time undergoing a sharp
mental conflict. On the one hand, it was obvious to
him that he could not fight for mahamet Ali against
the whole of Europe. Such action would have been fraught
with disaster for himself and his dynasty. On the other hand,

(01:00:32):
he did not wish to offend his proud and sensitive people,
or to make himself unpopular by a public humiliation. On
one occasion, he gave free reign to his feelings to
the Austrian ambassador, fulminating against the powers who had placed
him in such an awkward position. Count of Ponia was
quite affected by the rage with which the King spoke

(01:00:53):
He reported that he had never seen him so violent
or resentful, and that he was particularly incensed against the Czar.
The Czar Nicholas, he had exclaimed, has always aimed at
destroying the Franco British alliance, and at last he has
succeeded in doing so. All the rest of you crawl
and shiver before him. I am, I must admit deeply

(01:01:14):
hurt to be left out in a cold, to be
treated as a pariah and a revolutionary king as you
all treat me. Can I be expected to bear chat?
Do you think that I have no blood in my veins?
You have upset the whole of Europe and spoilt the
whole position which I have finally managed to achieve after
ten years of extraordinary effort. The King went on to

(01:01:37):
say that to have isolated France through the new Quadruple
Alliance was an act of unparalleled frivolity from the point
of view of maintaining peace. He then endeavored to persuade
a pony I to urge Biss Prince to get rid
of the unfurl innate Treaty of Loath July. When the
ambassador declared that he could not possibly take action The King,

(01:01:58):
having calmed down somewhat, assured him that he would do
everything to maintain peace as long as peace was consonant
with the dignity of France. The monarch pointed out, however,
that circumstances might occur in which he would be forced,
even against his will, to go to war. This display
of feeling by the King was no doubt not entirely unpremeditated,

(01:02:19):
as he hoped there might be a chance of breaking
up the Quadruple Alliance. At the same time, he exploited
the prevailing militaristic spirit materially to strengthen his neglected army,
which it may well have seemed highly desirable for him
to do quite apart from the danger of war. Fundamentally, however,
he was really anxious to maintain peace, and in this

(01:02:40):
desire he was entirely at one with James Rothschild. During
this critical period, the monarch relied a great deal on
the wise old financier. He looked to James for sound
advice and relief on him as an intermediary and a
person who could skillfully bring the right influences into play,
and as their Aames were identical, the monarch and the

(01:03:02):
Jewish banker were often in one another's company. Their conversations
were immediately reported to the brothers in the other capitals,
who would do their best to turn them to go deaccount,
both politically and financially. Yesterday evening, Nathaniel reported from Paris.
On the September sixth, eighteen forty, Uncle James was with
the King, who, as usual, was exceedingly cordial to him,

(01:03:25):
and said that he felt so friendly towards him that
he would warn him to be on his guard, as
Ibrahim Pasha would very probably march across the Taurus, which
would produce such complications that it would be impossible to
say how the matter would end. It seems, my dear uncle,
that matters are now coming to a head, and although
it is certain that there won't be a war, we shall,

(01:03:46):
as an important person in the British embassy here said,
get so near to war that the world will be
terrified and securities will of course fall. Rondt closed Dull
at seventy nine point one zero, there being very little business.
The next day the outlook was still worse. Rot have
fallen to seventy point two zero. Nathaniel wrote that day

(01:04:08):
there having been an immute here in Paris, in the
foborest he Antoine, where there are a mass of working
people and ten times as many troops. There will probably
be a little fighting, but it is generally believed that
the affair will soon be over. The immite is unfortunately
not the principal cause of the fallen rant, the political
news being very bad. Fighting has begun in the east.

(01:04:33):
A well informed friend has just been to Sissimi and
he said that they had had a male from Vienna yesterday,
from which it is clear that there is considerable indignation
against the French there. Tierre is also supposed to be
much excited, and God knows how it will all end.
The news from Spain also seems to be unsatisfactory. The

(01:04:53):
powers had indeed begun to take military action in the
east against mehemet Ali. Joint Anglo Turkish Austrian squadron had
been ordered to the coast of Syria. This caused great
excitement in Paris. The prospects on the Bourse here, Nathaniel
reported on the September ninth, are not at all good.

(01:05:15):
All securities have fallen very heavily, and Ront closed at
seventy three point six zero the five per cents at
one hundred five point six zero. We naturally don't believe
everything we hear, but there is considerable panic, for it
is a fact that Admiral Napier has taken several Egyptian
ships with troops and munitions on board. I have seen Tierre, who,

(01:05:37):
in spite of all this, speaks in a pacific tone,
and both he and the King hope that mahamet Ali
will have recourse to the French as mediators to settle
this question. T t seemed to be a favorable moment
for carrying out a plan which had long been cherished,
namely to fortify Paris. This was interpreted as indicating warlike intentions,

(01:05:58):
but the Rothchilds immediately learned that such a belief was unfounded.
My dear brothers, James wrote with his usual quiet confidence
with reference to the government's decision. Ront fell when the
Bourse opened, because it became known that the newspapers will
tomorrow publish the fact that Paris is to be fortified.
The idea of Forte's detaches has been under consideration for

(01:06:20):
several years, and the King is taking advantage of the
present situation to carry it into effect. As he regards
it as a most important measure, not only to insure
security against foreign enemies, but also to safeguard the position
at home. In point of fact, both the King and
Tierre are more pacifically inclined than ever. The former has

(01:06:40):
had a most friendly conversation with Count Aponia, in which
he told him that he should not be misled by
this measure, as they would have had to carry it
out in any case. Princess Levin has had letters from
England today that strike the same friendly note, and all
the ministers that I meet here are of the same mind.
The fall in ront has been caused by some some
wretched journalists who speculate on the Bourse, and the public

(01:07:03):
believe they are in the know. The London rothchilds kept
besieging the French ambassador Guiseaux and all the other representatives
of foreign powers in order to get news At parties.
They always tried to get into conversation with a cabinet minister.
One of them succeeded in discovering a friend who had
just spoken to an important personage who had returned from Syria,

(01:07:23):
having been sent there by Palmerston. They heard from a
reliable source that the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne and Palmerston
had had a quarrel and that relations between them were strained.
They also ascertained that everybody in London complained of the
way Lewis Philippe talked about English ministers, as he was
alleged to have stated on several occasions that Lord Palmerston

(01:07:44):
had received a large sum of money from Russia. Meanwhile,
the Syrian campaign proceeded, the position of Mahomet's stepson Ibraheim,
became more and more dangerous. The city and fortress of Bayrout,
which were still ill held by the Egyptian, were bombarded
by the Allied powers. Nerves in Paris became more and

(01:08:06):
more strained. It was now being definitely stated that Tierre
supported the dangerous war policy, that being so, he was
bound to forfeit completely the sympathy of the Rothschilds. Nathaniel,
who was by now also alarmed and angry with Tierre,
wrote on the September twenty second, eighteen forty, saying, the

(01:08:26):
position is still confused and uncertain. God knows how these
important questions will be solved and how m. Tierre will
get us out of the awkward situation. Into which his
irresponsibility and his nationalistic peasant obstinacy have brought us. Our
position is made worse by the fact that Tierre's political
standing rests upon such a complicated structure, built up of

(01:08:47):
so many various elements, that it is almost impossible, and
would indeed be dangerous and altogether unwise, to overthrow him.
So that we must look on quietly while this most
arrogant of all parvenus plunges this country more and more
deeply into difficulties, and us all with him through his
irresponsibility and pseudoliberalism. We must hope that things will happen otherwise,

(01:09:09):
and that we may look forward to a happier future.
The position grew more and more complicated, and even James,
who was generally so wise and calm, did not know
what to make of things. My dear brothers, he wrote
on the September twenty fifth, I really don't know what
to write without misleading you. I was with the King
yesterday evening and spoke to him for over two hours,

(01:09:32):
and you cannot imagine how excited the good man was.
He said to me, Prince Mednik acts slowly, but events
take their course, and in the end war will be inevitable.
The Prince is absolutely led by Russia and believes that
Russia will bring peace. But England and Russia are in agreement.
Palmerston wants to rob France of her honor and reduce

(01:09:55):
her to the status of a minor power. Meanwhile, we
are arming as intensive possible, and peace depends on that
country to which I am attached heart and soul, if
only mahamet Ali's last proposals would be accepted. In short,
I found that the King was as indignant as on
the previous occasion. Count a Pony, I, however, to whom

(01:10:16):
I always tell everything, still believes in peace and thinks
that the King is only play acting to frighten them. Meanwhile,
Rod have gone up because it is said that a
telegram has arrived reporting that mahamet Ali has yielded. I
really don't know what to think. Palmerston's private secretary has
just been here. He told me definitely that a conference

(01:10:38):
of all ministers would be held in London on Monday
to consider whether the proposals should be accepted. He said
that Palmerston was absolutely opposed to accepting them, but that
we should come as near to war as possible. I
am writing you all this in detail, my dear brothers,
that you may be in a position to judge the situation.
The King was very angry too, about a note from

(01:11:00):
England asking why he was having a chapel built at
tunis Rand closed At seventy three sixty. News came from
Syria that said had been taken by storm by the
Austrians and British on the September twenty sixth. This naturally
increased the indignation against England in Paris. As far as
this was possible, James became more and more uneasy, and

(01:11:24):
already believed that in the end war would be inevitable.
He wrote emphatically to his brother Solomon to say that
he should urge Metternich again to induce Austria to be
more moderate, and to use his influence with England in
the same direction. Do tell the Prince, my dear brother,
he wrote to him on the October fifth, not to
let Palmerston's hot temper run away with the situation. Newman

(01:11:46):
is not pacific, and although the Prince certainly only wishes peace,
we must be very careful, for public opinion here is
becoming so strongly in favor of war, that in the
end no king and no minister will be able to
control the situation. I beg you, my dear brother, to
bring these considerations home to the Prince. Resentment in Paris

(01:12:07):
became more and more passionate. The newspapers inflamed the passions
of the people, declaring that the national honor had been
gravely insulted. Tierre added fuel to the flames and advised
the King to take further military measures, to make a
demonstration at sea, and to other actions most dangerous in
their consequences. The heir to the throne, who was filled

(01:12:29):
with martial ardor urged his father in the same direction.
Tierre had for some time noted with displeasure the influence
which the House of Rothschild exercised upon the King. It
was difficult for him actively to oppose the bank because
he had debts, and according to Count a Ponie, he
owed the House of Rothchild too at least forty thousand francs.

(01:12:50):
But the interference of the Rothchilds had now gone further
than he could stand. This German jew from Frankfort had
the effrontery to bamboozle the King into the belief that
the honor of France was really not involved in this
distant affair of mehemet Ali. Tierre expressed his irritation at
this state of affairs. Immediately, the rumor went round Paris

(01:13:11):
that Baron Rothschild and other rich bankers had threatened the
Ministry with formidable opposition if it pronounced in favor of war.
The Times commented on this in a Paris letter. The
matter was quite simple, it said, Rothschild was a financier
and therefore did not want war. So far, so good.
But Baron Rothschild was an Austrian subject, an Austria's consul

(01:13:34):
general in Paris, and a question affecting France's honor was
therefore of precious little concern to him. The Constitutional Tierre's
paper commented on this letter on the October twelfth, eighteen forty,
observing that the position was perfectly intelligible, but asking what
her Vaughan Rothschild, the financier, and her Vaughan Rothschild met

(01:13:55):
Ani's agent had to do with the French Chamber and
its majority. With what right, the paper asked, and under
what pretext does this King of Finance intermental with our affairs.
What concern of his are the decisions which France will take?
Is he the arbiter of our honour? Are his money
interests to be allowed to outweigh our national interests? The

(01:14:18):
Constitutional emphasized the fact that it was publishing these rumors
in order that, if they were true, the public might
frustrate these intrigues. If they were false, Rothchild would have
the opportunity of publicly denying them, and of letting the
country know that it was not his intention to dispose
of majorities and ministries. James replied on the October twelfth,

(01:14:38):
eighteen forty, Sir, in spite of my reluctance to bring
my name before the public, I cannot leave unanswered the
article in your current number, wherein my name figures in
a most unfavorable light. The nature of these attacks imposes
a duty on me to break that silence which I
am generally content to observe. How, Sir, should I proceed

(01:15:00):
to refute such aspersions? I can but wonder that men
who have serious matters to attend to will lend their
cars to such assertions. I have never, at any time
encouraged opposition to the government, for the simple reason that
I have never wished to play a political role. I am,
as you state, a financier. If I desire peace, TEA

(01:15:21):
desire it honorably, not only for France, but for the
whole of Europe, and in all circumstances, financiers have the
opportunity of rendering services to the country. And I think
I may say that in this respect I have never
been behindhand. If France is not my native country, it
is the country of my children. I have lived in

(01:15:42):
France for thirty years. My family, my friends and all
my interests are in that country. The Constitutional published this
reply and that ended the incident. Tierre, however, felt that
without having come forward himself, he had given an adequate
warning to Rothschild not to work up in opposition to
the policy of the ministry. Nevertheless, events were to show

(01:16:05):
that it was roth's Child's and not Tierre's point of
view that had come to be firmly adopted by the King.
In his heart, the king heartily disliked Tierre as a revolutionary.
Lewis Philippe withstood the warlike proposals of his son and
his minister. He also declared himself opposed to any naval demonstration.

(01:16:26):
The warlike minister and the peaceful King finally agreed upon
a kind of ultimatum to the powers, which was however,
essentially accommodating, as it gave up all claims to Syria
and only asked that the deposition of Mahomet Ali should
be revoked. England, too did not wish to accentuate the crisis,
and replied in a more conciliatory spirit. The popular feeling

(01:16:48):
which had been aroused by Tierre, was however, not to
be so quickly pacified, even if the minister had wished
to do so. An unsuccessful attempt on the King's life
suddenly brought home to him the day inuurs near at hand,
which would necessarily be much accentuated by extensive complications abroad.
Its effect upon the King was to attach him definitely

(01:17:09):
to the Conservative party, which favored peace. This party had
lately increased in numbers, especially amongst the property owning classes,
who feared for their lives and their possessions. The journal
the Debats, which was friendly to the Rothschilds, became more
emphatic in its warnings, but it was not so easy
for Tierre to reverse his policy. The speech from the

(01:17:32):
throne provided the occasion for clearing up the situation between
the King and his ministers. Tierre proposed that in his
speech he should condemn the Treaty of London and discuss
the deposition of Mahammet Ali and the calling up in
advance of the eighteen forty one recruits. Lewis Philippe refused
to make any references of this kind. I want peace,

(01:17:53):
he exclaimed, and not war. I want to promote tranquility
and not to provoke and excite the whole Europe. My
military measures are precautionary and not aggressive. In that case,
Tierre replied, we cannot possibly agree, and there is nothing
for me to do but to resign. Very well, replied

(01:18:14):
the monarch, I shall accept your resignation. Tierre acted in
accordance with this hint, and the King dismissed the ministry.
After this conversation, which took place on the October twentieth,
eighteen forty, he observed to count a Ponia with some relief.
I think I have taken quite the best moment to
rid myself of M. Tierre. It was a relief to

(01:18:35):
me that he himself gave me the opportunity of doing
so he was the only, or at any rate, the
principal obstacle in the way of the maintenance of peace.
Paris and the whole world regarded this change and the
appointment of the new ministry, which was nominally presided over
by Marshal Sult but in practice by the former ambassador
in London Guiseau, who became Minister for Foreign Affairs, as

(01:18:59):
a most fortunate In high enthusiasm. The Rothschilds reported from
Paris that as a result of the appointment of the
new ministry, and particularly of the confidence inspired on the
Bourse by the new finance minister, m human Rod had
appreciated considerably. It was high time for a change of policy.
For mahamet Ali's stepson had just lost the powerful Syrian

(01:19:21):
fortress Aka to the Allies, being forced to retire on
Suez after losing all his artillery. The English admiral appeared
with his fleet before Mahemet's residence at Alexandria. The admiral
and the Egyptian viceroy soon came to an understanding. The
whole of Syria was to be evacuated, but mahamet Ali's

(01:19:42):
position in Egypt was to be confirmed. Solomon, who received
the news at Frankfort, reported these satisfactory events with great
enthusiasm as indicating that the questions in dispute in the
East might be considered as settled. It says much for
Solomon's far seeing judgment that he immediately direct his efforts
to making the path for France, who had, after all,

(01:20:04):
already reversed her policy, as easy and honorable as possible.
It was still being stated that France was arming and
wanted to increase her military forces to five hundred thousand men.
Although I do not believe Solomon wrote to Vienna on
the December tenth, eighteen forty, that France has any desire
to bring war about through an emphatic demonstration of this

(01:20:25):
kind or being entirely opposed to her interests. Yet in
my humble opinion, I consider it to be highly desirable
by satisfying French national vanity to find some way of
persuading her cabinet to cease all further military preparations and
thus to bring the tension and differences with foreign governments
to a speedy conclusion. Would not such a solution be

(01:20:46):
found by inviting France to attend the conference in order
to settle the Eastern problem jointly with the other powers.
If France is an integral part of the conference, and
it seems to me that those in power in that
country are merely concerned to convince the no noisy element
that she has again been received with honor into the
European Comedy of Nations, all reasons for further military preparations

(01:21:07):
automatically cease, and general peace will be more lastingly and
firmly established. Have the Goodness Solomon Bade, Wertheimstein and Goldschmidt
in Vienna to give his Highness the Prince a hint
to this effect when an opportunity occurs. If he approves
my suggestion and is inclined to act on it, I
have no doubt that it will produce satisfactory results. The

(01:21:28):
advice was most timely for Prince Mederinich had just suggested
that France should be asked through diplomatic channels to reduce
her considerable armaments. James proceeded to advance arguments against so doing.
He wrote a letter, which, as usual, was meant for
Medernick's perusal, in which he endeavored cleverly to persuade him

(01:21:48):
out of his intention to demand a reduction in French armaments.
My dear brothers, he wrote, don't think there is any
question of a war. The Prince is too clever not
to understand the pace position here. If the Minister here
were to say anything about reducing the army of five
hundred thousand men, which is regarded as a peace army,
he would not remain in power for one moment. But

(01:22:12):
this will happen automatically as soon as the chambers begin
to discuss expenditure. Proof of this is to be found
in the fact that a considerable party is already being
formed in the chambers who are opposed to the fortifications,
and that the Ministry have to day decided not to
make this a government question and to let the matter drop.
People here do not want war, and they do not

(01:22:32):
want expenditure. But if Germany brings pressure to bear, the
populace here will regard it as intentional, and this would
make a bad impression. I am convinced that they will
demobilize a hundred thousand infantry, But this must not appear
to have been forced upon them, for after all that
has happened in the chamber, the ministry is as unable
as the King to send the army away at once,

(01:22:54):
as unable its they would have been to take part
in coercive measures against the Passia of Egypt. Be easy, therefore,
as to the position here, and assure the Prince that
I see too many people here to have occasion to
fear that anything should occur which I could not and
would not tell him of, as it is my duty
to do. As James and his brothers had hoped. No

(01:23:15):
further complications arose in the Eastern problem. The Sultan and
mahomet Ali were reconciled. The powers of the Quadruple Alliance
declared that the Treaty of the July fifteenth had expired,
having achieved the object for which it was formed, and
they made the way as smooth as possible for France
to take her place again amongst them. The previous ten

(01:23:37):
years had seen three highly critical problems arise, each of
which brought Europe to the verge of a devastating war.
On each occasion, the House of Rothschild had seen the
policy of peace triumph, that policy which was so absolutely
essential to the maintenance and preservation of their enormous wealth.
It was not surprising that their self confidence, as well

(01:23:58):
as their property, continued to in priest to a prodigious
degree

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REIGN OF ROTHSCHILDS - 5. Rothschilds' Peace Efforts in Crisis of 1840: How Rothschilds Kept the Peace and Saved Europe in 1840

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}REIGN OF ROTHSCHILDS - 5. Rothschilds' Peace Efforts in Crisis of 1840: How Rothschilds Kept the Peace and Saved Europe in 1840