Interest  abroad  was  almost  as  much  alive  as  the  interest  felt
in  England  itself.  We  have  already  seen  how  keenly  Cavour
followed  Mr.  Gladstone's  performances.  His  budget  speeches
were  circulated  by  foreign  ministers  among  deputies  and
editors.  Fould,  one  of  the  best  of  Napoleon's  finance  ministers,
kept  up  a  pretty  steady  correspondence  with  the  English  chan-
cellor :  appeals  to  him  as  to  the  sound  doctrine  on  sugar  draw-
backs ;  is  much  struck  by  his  proposals  on  Scotch  banks  ;  says
mournfully  to  him  (April  28,  1863),  in  a  sentence  that  is  a  whole
chapter  in  the  history  of  the  empire  : — 'You  are  very  fortunate
in  being  able  to  give  such  relief  to  the  taxpayers  ;  if  it  had  not
been  for  the  war  in  Mexico,  I  should  perhaps  have  been  able
to  do  something  of  the  same  sort,  and  that  would  have  been,
especially  in  view  of  the  elections,  very  favourable  to  the
government  of  the  Emperor.'

When  Mr.  Gladstone  came  to  leave  office  in  1866,  he  said  to
Fould  (July  11)  :— '  The  statesmen  of  to-day  have  a  new  mission
opened  to  them  :  the  mission  of  substituting  the  concert  of
nations  for  their  conflicts,  and  of  teaching  them  to  grow  great
in  common,  and  to  give  to  others  by  giving  to  themselves.  Of
this  beneflcent  work  a  good  share  has  fallen  to  the  depart-
ments with  which  we  have  respectively  been  connected.'  Fould
had  already  deplored  his  loss.  'I  counted,'  he  says,  'on  the
influence   of   your  wise   doctrines   in   flnance,  to   help   me  in


616  SPIRIT  OF  GLADSTOXIAN  FINANCE     book  v.  1859-66

maintaining  our  country  in  that  system  of  order  and  economy,
of  which  you  vreve  setting  the  example.'  A  his,  in  France  and
in  continental  Europe  generally  at  that  time,  selfish  material
interests  and  their  class  representatives  were  very  strong,
popular  power  was  weak  ;  in  most  of  them  the  soldier  was
the  master.  Happily  for  our  famous  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,
England  was  ditJ'erent.
