Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/236

 20G THE COUNSELS OF THE ALLIES. CH A P. VI L Tendency of divided counsels to end in the rejection of vigorous measures. of tlicm was cau.scd Ly fuvgetting tlio effect of divided counsels. Independently of all the other evil tlicy breed, divided counsels have a peril- ous tendency to result in the adoption of the Negative; fur when each of two men is inde- ])endent of the other, any joint undertaking by the two must be founded, we know, upon con- cert ; whilst, in order for them both to remain in a state of inaction, or comparative inaction, no agreement at all may be needed. Therefore, when they differ, the stress of their mutual relations must tend to make them delay ; and when at last they force themselves to come to some kind of agreement, and to choose between two or more courses of action, they will incline to prefer the one which most nearly approaches to nothing. In other words, the least vigorous of any proposed plans will be the one chosen, not because it is the best, but because, as compared with the others, it has so much more of the negative character that its adoption involves a less ample surrender of opinion. Thus, supposing that Lord Raglan and General Canrobert (whilst resolved, for the sake of the alliance, to abstain from all separate courses of action) were each of them to cling to his opinion with an equal tenacity, it could not but be that Lord Raglan's desire to assault must be defeated by Canrobert's desire to do no such thing. The mere words which express the tenor of such a negotiation serve to show its inevitable result. 'I propose an assault' 'I decline the 'proposal' *I again propose an assault.' ' j[