Chapter 64
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: To a Higher Place (2)
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The riots that erupted across Ireland were quelled before they ever truly took hold, ending as little more than a brief disturbance.
That much had gone according to the original plan, but everything changed when O'Brien was arrested instead of Daniel O'Connell, the intended culprit.
Indiscriminate riots, timed for the election period.
This malicious force, a threat to the sanctity of parliamentary politics, was revealed to be a radical faction within the Repeal Association known as Young Ireland.
The few extremists who had actually conspired with O'Brien were arrested one after another, while others scrambled to issue statements.
“No to violence! Uphold peace!”
“Violence is wrong!”
“The Young Ireland faction? I don't know anyone like that.”
From the beginning, not everyone in the Young Ireland faction had advocated for violence as O'Brien did.
They had merely opposed O'Connell's stance that violence should be avoided under all circumstances.
Their position was simply that violence should be considered as a last resort; those who insisted on its unconditional use were, in fact, a minority.
Moreover, when it was revealed that O'Brien had planned to frame O'Connell as the mastermind behind the riots to oust him, the Young Ireland faction simply disintegrated.
Anyone suspected of being associated with O'Brien would be beaten to death by an angry mob long before the Irish police could arrest them.
Thomas Osborne and John Mitchel.
Even those who, alongside O'Brien, were considered leaders of the Young Ireland faction were no exception.
“Punish O'Brien!”
“The only path for Ireland is peace!”
Thus, the extremist faction that had questioned Daniel O'Connell's methods and was building its own power base vanished completely before the election schedule even concluded.
Reaffirming that Daniel O'Connell was the only one fit to lead the Repeal Association, the 1837 general election, which had swept through Ireland, somehow came to a close amidst the chaos.
And on the very day the election schedule ended, Daniel O'Connell came to see me before anyone else.
“Killian, was this all your doing?”
“What do you mean by ‘this’?”
“Don’t play dumb. You asked me about O’Brien before. Hadn't you already predicted something like this would happen back then?”
“You’re as sharp as ever. You are correct. The reason I didn't tell you, Mr. O'Connell, is simple. If you had reacted in any way, O'Brien might have changed his plans. This was to prevent that.”
O'Connell stared at me in silence for a moment before sighing and sitting down.
“First, tell me what happened from start to finish. I know O'Brien well. I don't believe he orchestrated this merely to push me aside and take control of the Repeal Association. There must have been another reason, and I suspect you know what it is.”
“Very well. I was planning to contact you myself, so this works out.”
I hadn't told Robert Peel the full story, but O'Connell was someone who still had much to do for me.
Knowing the details would make his future actions easier.
I told him everything—O'Brien's true objective and the fact that the Whig Party had likely planned to cast him aside once he'd served his purpose.
As expected, I could see the muscles in O'Connell's face tighten as the story unfolded.
“...So that was it. His goal wasn't just to oust me, but to pin it on the Tory Party and incite a nationwide riot. He was plotting something truly terrifying...”
“Now you understand why I went to such lengths, don't you? There's a vast difference between making radical claims and attempting to put them into action. He crossed a line that could not be ignored.”
“...I understand. So you had O’Brien imprisoned and used the opportunity to clean out the entire Young Ireland faction, which had been spouting radical rhetoric?”
“Given your disposition, Mr. O'Connell, it would have been difficult for you to deal with them. But as we saw with O'Brien, leaving such young men unchecked will inevitably lead to trouble. The weed had to be pulled out by the roots when the opportunity arose.”
This was a matter concerning not only O'Connell's safety but my own as well.
Since O'Brien never actually carried out his plan, it ended as a mere incident.
But was O'Brien truly the only one in the Young Ireland faction who wanted to get rid of me?
The more I succeeded and made my way into the House of Lords, the more radicals would emerge who resented my rise.
So, to prevent any future trouble, I had to dismantle them completely at this juncture.
“But wasn't it the Whig Party that instigated this? Why did you let them be until the election ended? If you had used this opportunity wisely, you could have finished them for good.”
“Finished them? Why would I do that?”
“Even if O'Brien is an extremist, this would never have happened without those bastards egging him on. They are clearly the ones who caused this, so they must pay the price... No, wait, would that be a long-term loss for our side...? Don't tell me that's why you did it?”
His decades of political experience weren't for show.
He could figure it out on his own with just a few hints.
“I will send a warning to the Whigs not to act rashly, as their interference would only complicate matters. That should make them realize someone has them on a leash.”
“Publicly, the Tories will still have to keep the massive opposition party of over 200 seats in check. Which means our importance remains as high as ever.”
“Furthermore, all those who questioned your methods have been swept away. The remaining radicals have changed their tune and are now clinging to your coattails, so there will be no internal dissent, at least until the next election.”
“...It seems I am indebted to you once again. So, what would you have me do from now on?”
I thought he might feel some displeasure at me having acted behind his back, but thankfully, he showed no signs of it.
Then again, though he was a moderate, Daniel O'Connell was a tenacious survivor who had weathered decades in the political arena of the 19th century.
He must have intuitively grasped how beneficial this was for him without needing a lengthy explanation.
“For now, please refrain from pressuring the Whigs directly. Just act in a way that makes them wonder, ‘Does he know everything?’ That will be enough.”
“And you?”
“I am scheduled to enter the House of Lords next year, so I will do my best for Ireland from there.”
“You mean the Tories have allowed you to enter the House of Lords? Then I will be active in the House of Commons, and you in the House of Lords. Hahaha, that is welcome news indeed.”
O'Connell's expression, which had been grim just moments ago, brightened considerably.
No matter how hard one fought in the House of Commons, the influence of the House of Lords in the British Empire was still immense.
Though the frequency of their outright use of the veto had decreased, they could still demand amendments to legislation at any time.
On top of that, it also functioned as the de facto Supreme Court.
Thus, the perception that the upper house was superior to the lower house was still strong.
The mood would shift by the latter half of the 19th century, but that was the current state of the British Empire.
This meant that even if I expanded my influence in the House of Commons through O'Connell, my progress would be halted if the House of Lords was not under control.
“The House of Commons has its share of them, but the House of Lords must be filled with people who are incomparably full of entitlement. I plan to observe the atmosphere for a while at the beginning.”
“Indeed. There will be those who look down on you for your Irish heritage, so you must lie low at first. If you need anything, let me know. I will help in any way I can from the Commons. And though I don't need to say it, you know this well, but try your best to speak with the Irish representative peers who have been granted seats in the House of Lords.”
In principle, the British House of Lords only accepted peers from England and Wales, but it couldn't completely ignore the nobility of Scotland and Ireland.
Thus, 16 Scottish peers and 28 Irish peers were chosen as representatives to sit in the House of Lords, holding their seats for life.
However, when a representative died, the seat was not passed down to their child but was given to a newly chosen representative family.
The only way for a family to secure a permanent seat in the House of Lords was to be granted a new peerage in England, just as the Tories had promised me.
“I hope they will look upon me favorably.”
“...Given your age, I can't guarantee that. But what does it matter if they don't? It's not as if you'd act timidly just to please them.”
After knowing me for a few years, he knew me too well.
Frankly, less than half of them would accept and support me from the start.
How could they possibly look favorably upon a young man who, upon coming of age, had secured a permanent seat with an English title, unlike them, whose positions were temporary?
The probability was near 100 percent that they would find subtle ways to nitpick, claiming it was "a bit inconvenient," or try to control me under the pretext of my lack of experience.
There was perhaps a one percent chance my prediction was wrong, but unfortunately, uneasy feelings usually become reality.
In that case, what choice would I have?
If they found looking at me so very, very inconvenient, I would have no choice but to help them adjust their posture.
***
August 1837.
The long journey of 798,000 voters choosing their representatives came to an end, once again dividing the political parties between joy and sorrow.
[Election Pattern Repeats, No Party Secures Majority]
[Repeal Association to Ally with the Tories Again?]
[Repeal Association Leader Daniel O'Connell's Cryptic Remark: "Everyone knows what will happen from now on."]
John Russell kept his head bowed, stealing glances at Viscount Melbourne's miserably contorted face.
Tory Party: 310 seats
Whig Party: 292 seats
Finally, Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Association held 56 seats.
Far from winning a majority, they had even fallen behind the Tories in a head-to-head count.
What's more, this election had been held in the shadow of a recent economic crisis.
It was an election that should have been overwhelmingly favorable for the opposition party. Even if they couldn't secure a majority, they should not have lost to the Tories.
And yet, they had been defeated.
“...Russell. I won't demand to know how this happened. But we must accurately assess our current situation, mustn't we? Have you figured out why we got these results?”
“My apologies. I have a rough idea, but I have not yet fully ascertained the details.”
Russell felt wronged.
No matter how many times he replayed it in his mind, their plan had been flawless.
They had prepared meticulously and even executed a perfect feint to deceive the Tories.
Indeed, the Tories had remained oblivious to their moves until the very end and seemed genuinely bewildered when things finally erupted.
The problem was that he couldn't figure out why it had all gone so wrong.
“First of all, there is no evidence of a leak on our side. It seems more likely that O'Brien foolishly botched the job...”
“That is not the important issue. O'Brien won't go down alone; he will try to take us with him. What do we do if it's revealed that we were behind this?”
“That won't be a concern. It seems he spent the entire election period claiming he was framed and that it was at the instigation of the Whig Party, but he was unable to produce any evidence.”
“Isn't that strange as well? Unless the man is a complete fool, he would have secured some circumstantial evidence of our party's involvement, even if not mine or yours.”
In fact, O'Brien's accusations had played a small part in the Whigs losing even more seats than in the last election.
It was fortunate that O'Brien couldn't produce any concrete evidence. Otherwise, the Whig Party would have suffered a catastrophic defeat.
“According to O'Brien's claims, the place where he had gathered evidence was completely ransacked by someone.”
“Ransacked by someone? It wasn't you, was it?”
“Of course not. It must have been someone who caught wind of O'Brien's plan and acted first.”
“I cannot understand it. Who could it be? Is it the work of the one who sent this warning letter?”
Russell bit his lip, staring at the anonymous letter Viscount Melbourne had placed on the table.
This was the reason they hadn't been able to respond properly when O'Brien started implicating them.
By not issuing a strong denial from the start, they had attracted suspicion that they had something to hide, which cost them nearly 30 seats compared to the last election.
The content of the warning was not grand.
-If you don't want the whole truth to be exposed, do nothing and stay quiet.
John Russell and Viscount Melbourne had fallen into a momentary panic upon receiving the letter, which had arrived just as O'Brien was arrested.
At first, they suspected it was a simple bluff, but the unfolding situation suggested otherwise.
“It's clear. The one who sent this warning is the one who ruined our plan. And given the current situation, it's highly likely this person has evidence of our connection to O'Brien.”
“Then it wouldn't be someone from the Tory Party. If it were the Tories, they would have exposed this long ago and buried us.”
“I agree. If they had used this against us during the election, we would have struggled to hold even 100 seats, let alone 200. Perhaps even fewer. The Tories would never miss such a golden opportunity.”
To be blunt, the fact that the Whigs had incited O'Brien to take down O'Connell would not have been a fatal blow in itself.
It would have caused a huge uproar in Ireland, but in mainland Britain, it was something that could be forgotten in a few years after a few bows and apologies.
The real problem was that they had colluded with O'Brien, dangling the prospect of Irish independence to entice him.
This was an act that ran completely counter to the national interest, and if it became a major issue, they would have no defense against accusations of treason.
Of course, they had no intention of granting Ireland independence and had planned to discard O'Brien after using him.
But no matter how much they tried to explain, if clear evidence was presented, they would be finished.
Claiming they had planned to cast him aside later would be nothing more than empty words.
“If not the Tories, then who? The only one who comes to mind is O'Connell. Did he get the better of us again?”
“...It is true that besides O'Connell, no one else comes to mind.”
If O'Connell was behind it, it would make sense why he was holding onto the evidence without releasing it.
If the Whig Party completely collapsed, the Repeal Association would lose its position as the casting vote.
From their perspective, the ideal situation was for the Whig Party to remain a sizable force, but one that fell short of a majority.
“Just look at his recent newspaper interview. He's openly hinting that he knows something. Is this also a form of warning to us? To stay quiet and not make a fuss if we don't want to get hurt?”
“I got that impression as soon as I read the article.”
“Hah... Then we are cornered on all sides. The House of Lords is already dominated by the Tories, so we have little power there. But even in the Commons, if the Repeal Association sides with the Tories, we can do nothing. And now, with the Repeal Association holding our weakness, we have no choice but to cooperate if they demand it...”
“I apologize. I should have been more careful with Daniel O'Connell.”
He had pushed the plan with confidence, but instead of achieving results, he had brought about the worst possible outcome. He had no excuses.
Despite this, Viscount Melbourne did not blame Russell.
“I was the one who accepted your proposal, so if anyone is to take responsibility, it is I. Perhaps this is all karma for trying to win through schemes rather than straightforward politics.”
“...No, sir. If I had planned more thoroughly...”
“What's past is past. How about we think about what we must do from now on?”
“For now, we have no choice but to watch the situation. We must be extremely careful to prevent this matter from reaching the ears of the Tories. If Daniel O'Connell is indeed behind this, we must first find out exactly what he wants.”
Judging by the sequence of events, it was true that no one other than Daniel O'Connell could be imagined as the mastermind.
But for some reason, Russell couldn't shake a nagging feeling of unease.
He had met and spoken with Daniel O'Connell many times.
He was certainly a capable and astute politician, but was he a strategist of such caliber that he could turn their own plan against them and tie their hands completely?
If the man he had met before had been an act... no, that couldn't be.
And yet, by all accounts, the person who had gained the most from this affair was Daniel O'Connell, and his interviews made it clear he knew something.
It was certain that either Daniel O'Connell himself or someone by his side was the mastermind who orchestrated this entire scheme.
And this unknown figure possessed a weapon that could destroy them at any moment.
Feeling a chilling sense of crisis he had never experienced since entering politics.
John Russell stared at the hastily scrawled handwriting on the warning letter and asked.
“...Who in the world are you?”
Naturally, there was no reply.