1859
_Queen Victoria to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _7th January 1859_.
The Queen returns Mr Gladstone's letters, and gladly accepts his
patriotic offer.[1] He will have difficulty in solving a delicate
question, affecting national feeling, against time, but his offer
comes most opportunely.
[Footnote 1: See _ante_, 1st November, 1858. Mr Gladstone
had been sent to enquire into the causes of the
dissatisfaction of the inhabitants of the Ionian Islands
with their High Commissioner, Sir John Young. He now
offered to act himself for a limited time as High
Commissioner, should it be decided to recall Sir John.
He was succeeded in February by Sir Henry Storks.]
[Pageheading: NATIONAL DEFENCES]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _13th January 1859_.
As the Cabinet are now meeting, and will probably come to a decision
about the estimates for the year, the Queen thinks it her duty to
urge upon them in the strongest manner her conviction that, under the
present aspect of political affairs in Europe, there will be no safety
to the honour, power, and peace of this country except in Naval and
Military strength. The extraordinary exertions which France is making
in her Naval Department oblige us to exercise the utmost vigour to
keep up a superiority at sea, upon which our very existence may be
said to depend, and which would be already lost at any moment that
France were to be joined by any other country possessing a Navy.[2]
The war in India has drained us of every available Battalion. We
possess at this moment only fourteen old Battalions of the Line within
the three kingdoms, and twelve Second Battalions newly raised, whilst
our Mediterranean possessions are under-garrisoned, and Alderney has
not as yet any garrison at all. Under these circumstances the
Queen has heard it rumoured that the Government intend to propose a
reduction on the estimates of 9,000 men for this year. She trusts that
such an idea, if ever entertained, will upon reflection be given up
as inconsistent with the duty which the Government owe to the country.
Even if it were said that these 9,000 men have only existed on paper,
and have not yet been raised, such an act at this moment would be
indefensible; for it would require a proof that circumstances have
arisen which make it desirable to ask for fewer troops than were
considered requisite when the last estimates were passed, which really
cannot be said to be the case! To be able to raise at any time an
additional 9,000 men (in political danger) without having to go to
Parliament for a supplementary vote and spreading alarm thereby, must
be of the utmost value to the Government, and if not wanted, the vote
will entail no additional expense.
England will not be listened to in Europe, and be powerless for the
preservation of the general peace, which must be her first object
under the present circumstances, if she is known to be despicably
weak in her military resources, and no statesman will, the Queen
apprehends, maintain that if a European war were to break out she
could hope to remain long out of it. For peace and for war, therefore,
an available Army is a necessity to her.
The Queen wishes Lord Derby to communicate this letter to the Cabinet.
[Footnote 2: The French Emperor had signalised the opening of
a new year by an ominous speech. To M. Huebner, the Austrian
Ambassador at Paris, who had attended, with the other foreign
representatives, to offer the usual congratulations on the 1st
of January, he observed: "I regret that the relations between
our two Governments are not more satisfactory; but I beg
you to assure the Emperor that they in no respect alter my
feelings of friendship to himself."]
[Pageheading: THE POPE]
[Pageheading: THE POPE AND LORD PALMERSTON]
_Mr Odo Russell[3] to Mr Corbett._[4]
(_Submitted to Queen Victoria_.)
ROME, _14th January 1859_.
SIR,--I had the honour of being received by the Pope at a private
audience this morning at the Vatican. No one else was present.
His Holiness, whose manner towards me was most kind and benevolent,
said: "You are appointed to succeed a very good man,[5] for whom I
felt great affection, and I regret that he has left Rome. You may be
as good as he was, and we shall become friends, but I do not know you
yet, and Mr Lyons I had known for many years; he is going to America,
I hear, and he will find the Americans far more difficult to deal with
than with us.
"I am much gratified to hear that the Prince of Wales is likely to
visit Rome, and Her Majesty, I feel sure, has done well to allow him
to prosecute his studies here. It will be an honour to me to receive
him at the Vatican, and I beg that you will confer with Cardinal
Antonelli[6] as to the best means of making the Prince's visit here
useful and pleasant. We are anxious that all his wishes should be
attended to, that he may preserve a pleasant recollection of Rome
in the future. Alas! so many erroneous impressions exist about this
country that I hope you will not judge of us too rashly. We are
advised to make reforms, and it is not understood that those very
reforms, which would consist in giving this country a Government of
laymen, would make it cease to exist. It is called 'States of the
Church' (_Etats de l' Eglise_), and that is what it must remain. It
is true I have lately appointed a layman to a post formerly held by an
ecclesiastic, and I may do so again occasionally; but, however small
we may be, we cannot yield to outer pressure, and this country must
be administered by men of the Church. For my part, I shall fulfil my
duties according to my conscience, and should Governments and events
turn against me they cannot make me yield. I shall go with the
faithful to the Catacombs, as did the Christians of the early
centuries, and there await the will of the Supreme Being, for I dread
no human Power upon earth and fear nothing but God."
"But, Holy Father," I said, "you speak as if some great danger
threatened Rome--is there any [real?] cause for apprehension?"
"Have you not heard," His Holiness answered, "that great excitement
prevails throughout Italy?--the state of Lombardy is deplorable; evil
spirits are at work even in my dominions, and the late speech of
the King of Sardinia is calculated to inflame the minds of all
the revolutionary men of Italy. It is true he says he will observe
existing Treaties, but that will scarcely counter-balance the effect
produced by other portions of his speech. News has also reached me of
an extensive amnesty granted by the King of Naples--he did not yield
to outer pressure, and he was right--but now, on the occasion of the
marriage of his son, an act of clemency on his part is well advised."
"Is it true," I said, "that political prisoners are included in that
Amnesty?"
"Yes," His Holiness answered; "I saw the name of Settembrini, and
I think also of that other man in whom your Government took so much
interest--his name begins with a 'P' if I remember rightly----"
"Poerio," I suggested.
"That is the name," the Pope continued; "and I fancy that all the
other political prisoners will be released; they are to be sent to
Cadiz at the expense of the King, they are to be clothed and receive
some money, I believe, and after that arrangements have been made
with the Minister of the United States to have them conveyed to that
country; they are to be exiled for life. I hope this event may
have the effect of making your Government and that of France renew
diplomatic relations with Naples; I always regretted that rupture, but
the King was right not to yield to outer pressure.
"It is lucky," the Pope ended with a smile, "that Lord Palmerston
is not in office; he was too fond of interfering in the concerns of
foreign countries, and the present crisis would just have suited
him. _Addio, caro_," the Pope then said, and dismissed me with his
blessing.
I then, according to usage, called on Cardinal Antonelli, and
recounted to him what had passed. He confirmed all the Pope had
said, but denied that there was any very serious cause for immediate
apprehension of any general disturbance of the peace of Italy. I have,
etc.,
ODO RUSSELL.
[Footnote 3: Secretary of Legation at Florence, resident in
Rome, afterwards Lord Ampthill.]
[Footnote 4: Secretary of Legation at Florence, afterwards
successively Minister at Rio Janeiro and Stockholm.]
[Footnote 5: Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, who had just been
transferred from Rome to Washington. He had recently succeeded
his father, the Admiral, in the Barony of Lyons, and was
himself subsequently promoted to an Earldom.]
[Footnote 6: Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Papal
States.]
_The Earl of Malmesbury to Queen Victoria._
LONDON, _18th January 1859_.
The Earl of Malmesbury presents his humble duty to the Queen, and
has the honour to inform your Majesty that he has seen the French
Ambassador to-day, who came of his own accord to say that we need be
in no apprehension, of a war _at present_, as the public opinion in
France, especially in the large towns, had been so strongly pronounced
against a war that it was impossible. Lord Malmesbury is also glad to
inform your Majesty that the Cabinet has agreed to-day to make a great
addition to the effective force of your Majesty's Navy.
Your Majesty's commands are obeyed respecting the telegram to Berlin.
_The Earl of Malmesbury to Queen Victoria._
LONDON, 25th _January 1859_.
The Earl of Malmesbury presents his humble duty to the Queen, and
regrets to say that he shares your Majesty's apprehensions. The
Emperor is extremely irritated at our not concurring in his views on
Italy, and Lord Malmesbury believes that nothing will restrain him but
the public opinion expressed against them, in France.[7] Austria
has, against all our advice and common prudence, made a false move by
sending troops into the Papal States _against_ the wish of _the Pope_,
and is now obliged to recall them. The speech of your Majesty is to
be discussed in Cabinet to-day. Lord Derby intended to introduce a
paragraph stating that your Majesty's Alliance with France remained
"unimpaired," but it now appears to us that such a statement might
provoke a question "_why_" it should be made a special one. Lord
Malmesbury entirely agrees with your Majesty as to an allusion to
Treaties.
[Footnote 7: Yet the Emperor had just written to Queen
Victoria on 20th January: "Le corps legislatif va bientot
s'ouvrir, presque en meme temps que le parlement; je tacherai
d'exprimer dans mon discours tout le desir que j'ai de vivre
toujours en bonne et sincere intelligence avec votre Majeste
et son gouvernement." Early in February the pamphlet _Napoleon
et l'Italie_, nominally written by M. de la Gueronniere, but
inspired by the Emperor, foreshadowed the war in Italy, and
attempted to justify it.]
[Pageheading: LORD CANNING]
_Queen Victoria to Lord Stanley._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _25th January 1859_.
The Queen thinks that the time is come when the bestowal of some
honour or reward on Lord Canning ought no longer to be delayed. He has
now nearly arrived at the end of his tremendous task of quelling the
Rebellion, and has triumphed over all his many difficulties. If any
man deserves an acknowledgment of his services at the hands of the
Crown, it is surely he, and the Queen would be sorry that the grace
of it should be taken away from her by questions being asked in
Parliament when it is assembled again, which will now be the case very
soon.
A step in the Peerage and the G.C.B. appear to the Queen an
appropriate reward. Perhaps a pension should be awarded to him? Lord
Elphinstone also ought not to be left unrewarded, and a step in the
Peerage with the G.C.B. does not appear too high an honour for him,
for he also has greatly contributed to the saving to the Indian
Empire.[8]
[Footnote 8: Lord Canning was made an Earl and Lord
Elphinstone (who had been Governor of Bombay during the
Mutiny) a Peer of the United Kingdom, and both received the
G.C.B.]
[Pageheading: THE QUEEN'S FIRST GRANDCHILD]
_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _2nd February 1859_.
MY DEAREST, KINDEST UNCLE,--Accept my warmest thanks for your most
kind letter of the 28th. I know how pleased you would be at the
safety of our dear Vicky, and at the birth of our first grandson![9]
Everything goes on so beautifully, Vicky recovering as fast and well
as I did, and the dear little boy improving so much and thriving in
every way.... The joy and interest taken _here_ is as great almost as
in Prussia, which is _very_ gratifying.
I _think_ that _the Speech_ will do good, but it has not been easy
to frame it, as the feeling _against_ the _Emperor here_ is _very
strong_. I think _yet_ that if _Austria_ is _strong_ and _well
prepared,_ and _Germany strong_ and _well inclined_ towards _us_ (as
_Prussia certainly_ is), France will _not_ be so eager to attempt
what I _firmly_ believe would _end_ in the _Emperor's_ downfall! Old
Malakhoff _himself_ said to the Duchess of Wellington that if the
French had the _slightest defeat ce serait fini avec la Dynastie!_ A
pretty speech for an Ambassador, but a _very true one!_
Pray say everything most kind to your dear children and believe me
ever, your devoted Niece,
VICTORIA R.
We are just arrived here, and go back to Windsor to-morrow
_afternoon_.
[Footnote 9: Frederick William Victor Albert, now German
Emperor, born on the 27th of January.]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _3rd February 1859_.
The Queen has this moment received Lord Malmesbury's letter. As she
has not yet written (only telegraphed) to announce to the Emperor the
birth of our grandson (we being in the habit since we know the Emperor
and Empress personally to communicate to one another _reciprocally
family events_), the Queen has an opportunity or a pretext for writing
to the Emperor, and is therefore prepared to do so _to-morrow_. But
as the terms to be used are of the most _vital_ importance, she would
wish Lord Malmesbury to consult forthwith with Lord Derby, and to let
her have "the matter" to be put into the letter _before_ the Queen
_leaves town_, which we do at half-past four this afternoon.
[Pageheading: LETTER TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
ST JAMES'S SQUARE, _3rd February 1859_.
(_Thursday_,1 P.M.)
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, and in obedience to your Majesty's
commands, received within this half hour through Lord Malmesbury,
submits the accompanying very hastily drawn sketch of the language
which, in his humble opinion, your Majesty might hold in a private and
confidential letter to the Emperor of the French. Lord Derby is not
sure that it is what your Majesty desired that he should submit;
but he trusts that your Majesty will be pleased to receive it as an
attempt to obey your Majesty's commands, and will excuse its many
imperfections on account of the extreme haste in which it has
unavoidably been written.
"I cannot refrain from taking this opportunity of expressing
confidentially to your Imperial Majesty my deep anxiety for the
preservation of the peace of Europe, nor can I conceal from myself how
essentially that great object must depend upon the course which your
Imperial Majesty may be advised to take. Your Majesty has now the
opportunity, either by listening to the dictates of humanity and
justice, and by demonstrating unmistakably your intention to adhere
strictly to the faithful observance of Treaties, of calming the
apprehensions of Europe, and restoring her confidence in your
Majesty's pacific policy; or, by permitting yourself to be influenced
by the ambitious or interested designs of others, of involving Europe
in a war, the extent and termination of which can hardly be foreseen,
and which, whatever glory it may add to the arms of France, cannot
but interfere materially with her internal prosperity and financial
credit. I am sure that your Majesty will not doubt the sincerity of
the friendship which alone induces me to write thus unreservedly to
your Majesty, and if anything could add to the sorrow with which I
should view the renewal of war in Europe, it would be to see your
Majesty entering upon a course with which it would be impossible for
England to associate herself."[10]
[Footnote 10: The Queen accordingly wrote a letter, which
is printed in the _Life of the Prince Consort_, assuring the
Emperor that rarely had any man had such an opportunity as was
now his for exercising a personal influence for the peace
of Europe, and that, by faithful observance of Treaty
obligations, he might calm international anxieties.]
_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._
LAEKEN, _4th February 1859_.
MY DEAREST VICTORIA,--... Heaven knows what dance our Emperor
_Napoleon Troisieme de nom_ will lead us. In a few days he will have
to make his speech. I fear he is determined on that Italian War. The
discussions in Parliament may influence him; I fear party spirit in
lieu of a good and right sense of what is the interest of Europe. It
was praiseworthy that you said in your Speech that _treaties_ must be
respected, else indeed we return to the old _Faustrecht_ we have been
striving to get rid of. It is curious that your speech has made the
funds fall again: I presume they hoped at Paris that you would have
been able to say that you congratulated Parliament on the prospect
of peace being preserved. For us poor people who find ourselves _aux
premieres loges_, these uncertainties are most unsatisfactory. Your
devoted Uncle,
LEOPOLD R.
[Pageheading: THE INDIAN ARMY]
[Pageheading: THE QUEEN AND LORD STANLEY]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
WINDSOR CASTLE. _5th February 1859_.
With regard to a decision which will have to be taken when the report
of the Indian Army Commission shall have been received, the Queen
thinks it incumbent upon her not to leave Lord Derby in ignorance of
her firm determination not to sanction, under any form, the creation
of a British Army, distinct from that known at present as the Army of
the Crown.
She would consider it dangerous to the maintenance of India, to the
dependence of the Indian Empire on the mother country, and to her
Throne in these realms.
Such an Army would be freed from the proper control of the
constitutional monarchy. It would be removed from the direct command
of the Crown, and entirely independent of Parliament. It would throw
an unconstitutional amount of power and patronage into the hands of
the Indian Council and Government; it would be raised and maintained
in antagonism to the Regular Army of the Crown; and professional
jealousy, and personal and private interests, would needs drive it
into a position of permanent hostility towards that Army.
This hostility has been already strongly marked in the proceedings of
the Commission itself.
Its detrimental effects would not be confined to India alone, but
would form a most dangerous obstacle to the maintenance of the
government of the Regular Army by the Queen. Already, during
the Crimean War, most of the blows levelled at the Army and the
prerogative of the Crown were directed by Indian officers, of whom,
in future, a vast number would be at home, without employment or
recognised position, in compact organisation, and moved by a unity of
feeling.
There may be points of detail, admitting differences of opinion as to
the relative advantages of a purely local or general Military Force
for India; but these are mere trifles, which sink into insignificance
in the Queen's estimation, when she has to consider the duty which she
owes to her Crown and her Country.
The Queen hopes Lord Derby will not consider that she intends, by this
letter, unduly to influence his free consideration and decision as
to the advice he may think it his duty to offer, but merely to guard
against his being taken by surprise, and to prevent, if possible, an
unseemly public difference between herself and Lord Stanley. She is
impelled to the apprehension that such may arise from the manner in
which, since the first transfer of the Indian Government to the Crown,
every act of Lord Stanley has uniformly tended to place the Queen in a
position which would render her helpless and powerless in resisting a
scheme which certain persons, imbued with the old Indian traditions,
would appear to wish to force upon the Crown.
The Queen does not expect an answer to this letter from Lord Derby,
and asks him to treat it as strictly confidential.
The Queen sees that Lord Stanley means to make a statement on Monday
on the Indian Finances. She trusts that there will be nothing said in
that statement to prejudge the Army Question.
_Decipher from Lord Cowley._
PARIS, _6th February 1859_.
(1 A.M. _Received_ 4 A.M.)
A great change for the better. The Queen's letter has produced an
excellent effect, as also the Debates in Parliament.[11] The Emperor
has expressed himself ready to subscribe to every word of Lord Derby's
speech.
[Footnote 11: Parliament was opened by the Queen in person on
the 3rd; the ensuing debates, and especially the speeches of
the Liberal leaders, showed that, however much the English
nation, as a whole, might sympathise with Italian aspirations
for the expulsion of the Austrians from Lombardy, they would
regard unfavourably a war commenced in defiance of Treaty
obligations.]
[Pageheading: THE INDIAN ARMY]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
ST JAMES'S SQUARE, _6th February 1859_.
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, submits to your Majesty his
respectful acknowledgment of the explicitness with which the letter he
had the honour of receiving last night conveys to him the intimation
of your Majesty's views upon the important subject of the Indian Army.
He cannot, however, disguise from your Majesty the deep pain which
that communication has occasioned him; first, that your Majesty should
think that Lord Stanley has so far mistaken his duty as systematically
to place your Majesty in a false position; and next because unless
Lord Derby misconceives the purport of your Majesty's letter, he fears
that it may leave him no alternative but that of humbly entreating to
be relieved from a responsibility which nothing should have induced
him to undertake but a sense of duty to your Majesty, and the
conviction that he might rely with confidence upon your Majesty's
continued support. It would ill become Lord Derby to attempt to
argue a question on which your Majesty has expressed so strong a
determination; he has studiously avoided taking any step which might
prejudge a question so important as the organisation of your Majesty's
Forces in India. He has awaited the report of the Commission appointed
to enquire into the subject, and though aware of the wide difference
of opinion which prevailed, has desired impartially to weigh and
examine the arguments adduced on both sides, and he has in the
meantime refused to give his sanction to a proposition, earnestly
pressed upon the Government by Lord Canning, for immediately raising
additional regiments for Indian Service. But the announcement of
your Majesty's determination (if he rightly understands it), under no
circumstances to continue an European Army in India, under terms of
service different from those of the Line, paid out of Indian Revenues,
and officered by men educated for that especial service, and looking
to India for their whole career, places Lord Derby in a position of no
little embarrassment; for notwithstanding the gracious intimation that
your Majesty does not desire unduly to influence his judgment as to
the advice which he may tender, it amounts to a distinct warning
that if tendered in a particular direction it has no chance of being
accepted by your Majesty. Nor, with that knowledge on his part not
shared by his colleagues, can he freely discuss with them the course
which they may consider it their duty to pursue.
Lord Derby humbly trusts, therefore, that your Majesty will be
graciously pleased, so far as the members of the Government are
concerned, to absolve him from the obligation of secrecy, and to allow
him to place before them a state of things which may lead to the most
serious results, so far as their power of serving your Majesty is
concerned.
Lord Derby will give Lord Stanley a caution not to say anything in
his statement of Indian Finance which may prejudge the question of a
single or separate armies; but he hardly thinks the caution necessary,
as European troops, whether in one Service or in two, will equally be
chargeable to the revenues of India, which will only be affected by
the proportion which the whole of the European may bear to the whole
of the native forces.
Lord Derby hopes that he may be permitted to offer his humble
congratulations to your Majesty on the very favourable reports
received from Paris by telegraph, and upon the highly satisfactory
effects produced by your Majesty's private letter to the Emperor.
The above is humbly submitted by your Majesty's most dutiful Servant
and Subject,
DERBY.
[Pageheading: INDIVISIBILITY OF ARMY]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _7th February 1859_.
The Queen is very sorry to learn from Lord Derby's letter, received
last evening, that her communication to him on the Indian Army
question had caused him deep pain. She had long hesitated whether
she should write it, from a fear that its purport and motive might
possibly be misunderstood; but feeling that there ought to exist
nothing but the most unreserved and entire confidence between herself
and her Prime Minister, she thought it incumbent upon her to let Lord
Derby see exactly what was passing in her mind.
If, notwithstanding the Queen's expressed hope that Lord Derby might
not consider the communication as intended unduly to influence his
free consideration of the important subject, he should feel that
its possession, without being at liberty to communicate it to his
colleagues, does so in effect, she would ask him to return it to her,
and to consider it as not having been written. If he should think,
however, that a communication of the Queen's views to the Cabinet is
due to them, she is quite prepared to make one. In that case it would
naturally have to be differently worded, would omit every reference to
Lord Stanley, and might go more into detail.
The Queen cannot close this letter without correcting some
misapprehensions into which Lord Derby seems to have fallen. It was
not the Queen's intention to impute any motives of systematic action
to Lord Stanley; she referred simply to facts and steps, known as well
to Lord Derby as to herself, which "uniformly tended" to place her in
a powerless position with regard to the Army question.
The Queen protested against "the _creation_ of a British Army distinct
(in its existence and constitutional position) from that of the
Crown," and not against the "_continuance_ of an European Army, under
terms of service different from the Line, paid out of Indian Revenues,
and officered by men educated for that special service, and looking to
India for their whole career." In fact, she does not understand what
meaning Lord Derby attaches to the words "terms of service." Every
force kept in India, however constituted, would be paid out of Indian
Revenues. _This_ would therefore not form the distinction, and Lord
Derby cannot intend to convey that on these revenues one set of
Englishmen can have a greater claim than another; nor does she see
why English officers, commanding English soldiers and charged with
the maintenance of _their_ discipline and efficiency, should for
that object require to be specially and differently educated, and be
restricted to look to India for their whole career. Officers attached
to native troops are in a different position.
[Pageheading: MISAPPREHENSION REMOVED]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
ST JAMES'S SQUARE, _7th February 1859_.
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, submits to your Majesty his grateful
acknowledgments for your Majesty's most gracious note received this
evening, the contents, and still more the tenor of which have relieved
him from the painful apprehension that he might be called upon to
choose between a strong sense of public duty, and, on the other side,
his deep devotion to your Majesty's service, and his gratitude for the
favourable consideration which his imperfect attempts to discharge
his public duty had always received at your Majesty's hand. The
explanation, with which he has now been honoured, of your Majesty's
views has entirely dispelled those apprehensions, and he feels that
he has only to thank your Majesty for the gracious explanation, with
which he has been honoured, of your Majesty's motives in addressing to
him the letter which certainly caused him "deep pain."...[12]
[Footnote 12: Lord Derby then proceeded to deal at some length
with the status of the troops in India, concluding with the
opinion that the local forces in India should never exceed
those sent from home as part of the Regular Army, subject to
the ordinary routine of service.]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _8th February 1859_.
The Queen has received Lord Derby's letter of yesterday, and is
pleased to find that he now appreciates the motives which dictated her
first letter. It needs no assurance on her side that she never doubted
those which actuate Lord Derby. The Queen will, in compliance with
his request, defer any further notice of the subject until the
Commissioners shall have made their report; it would not be fair,
however, to Lord Derby, not to add that she fears from his explanation
that he has not now correctly estimated the nature of the Queen's
objection, which is not to a variety of forces, terms of service,
local or general employment, etc., etc., etc., established in one
Army, but to the principle of _two_ British Armies.
[Pageheading: THE EMPEROR'S SPEECH]
_Queen Victoria to General Peel._[13]
_13th February 1859_.
The Queen relies with confidence that when the question of the Indian
Army comes before the Cabinet, General Peel will stoutly defend the
interests of the Crown and the British Army. On the opinion which he
will give and maintain much of their decision must depend, and unless
he speaks out boldly the Indian Secretary will have it all his own
way.
[Footnote 13: General Jonathan Peel, brother of Sir Robert
Peel (the Premier), and Secretary of State for War.]
_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _15th February 1859_.
MY DEAREST UNCLE,--We came here to _settle_ yesterday--and also here
Spring seems _wonderfully forward!_ It can't last--and frost is _sure_
to _follow_ and cut off everything. At Windsor and Frogmore everything
is budding--willow I see is green--rose-leaves _out_, and birds
singing like in May!
Accept my warmest thanks for your kind letter of the 11th. I _still_
hope that matters _will cool_ down--the Emperor _personally_ expressed
regret to Huebner for his words, disclaiming the construction put upon
them, and saying that _no one could dispute_ the right of Austria to
her Italian possessions.[14] He has not written to me lately, but I
wrote him ten days ago a long friendly letter, speaking out _plainly_
our fears for the future, and urging him to aid us in averting the
calamity of _War_....
Our Parliament is as quiet as possible as _yet_, but it will soon have
more cause for _action_ and excitement....
Bertie's interview with the Pope went off extremely well. He was
extremely kind and gracious, and Colonel Bruce was present; it would
never have done to have let Bertie go alone, as they might hereafter
have pretended, God knows! what Bertie had said.... With Albert's
love, ever your devoted Niece,
VICTORIA R.
[Footnote 14: See _ante_, 13th January, 1859, note 2.]
[Pageheading: THE EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
DOWNING STREET, _21st February 1859_.
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, and in obedience to the commands
which he had the honour of receiving from your Majesty last night,
submits the following suggestions, as embodying the substance of what,
in his humble judgment your Majesty might address with advantage in a
private letter to the Emperor of Austria.
Your Majesty might say, that deeply penetrated with the conviction
of the duty imposed upon your Majesty of acting on the principles
enunciated in the speech from the Throne, of exercising whatever
influence your Majesty could employ for the preservation of
the general peace, your Majesty had looked with anxiety to the
circumstances which threatened its continued existence. That your
Majesty was unable to see in those circumstances, any which were
beyond the reach of diplomatic skill, if there were only a mutual
desire, on the part of the Chief Powers concerned, to give fair play
to its exercise. That the only source of substantial danger was the
present state of Italy; and that even in that there would be little
danger of interruption to the general tranquillity, were it not for
the antagonism excited by interests and engagements, real or supposed,
of France and Austria.
That your Majesty believed that the supposed divergence of these
interests and engagements might be capable of reconciliation if
entered into with mutual frankness, and with a mutual disposition to
avoid the calamities of war; but that, as it appeared to your Majesty,
neither party would be willing to invite the other to a friendly
discussion of the points of difference between them.
That in this state of affairs your Majesty, as a mutual friend of both
Sovereigns, and having no individual interests to serve, entertained
the hope that by the spontaneous offer of good offices, your Majesty
might be the means of establishing certain bases, on which the Powers
mainly interested might subsequently enter into amicable negotiations
with regard to the questions chiefly in dispute, or threatening
serious results.
Of these, the most pressing are those which relate to the Italian
Peninsula.
That your Majesty, anxiously revolving in your mind the question how
your Majesty's influence could best be brought to bear, had come to
the conclusion that your Majesty's Ambassador at Paris, having
the fullest knowledge of the views entertained by that Court, and
possessing your Majesty's entire confidence, might usefully be
intrusted with a highly confidential, but wholly unofficial mission,
for the purpose of ascertaining whether there were any possibility
consistently with the views of the two Courts of offering such
suggestions as might be mutually acceptable as the basis of future
arrangements; and, if such should happily be found to be the case, of
offering them simultaneously to the two parties, as the suggestions of
a mutual friend.
That your Majesty trusted His R.I.A.[15] Majesty would look upon this
communication in the truly friendly light in which it was intended,
and that Lord Cowley, in his unofficial and confidential character,
might be permitted fully to develop the views which your Majesty
entertained, and to meet with the most favourable consideration of his
suggestions from His R.I.A. Majesty.
Lord Derby, before submitting the above to your Majesty, has thought
it right to communicate it to Lord Malmesbury and Lord Cowley, and he
is enabled to say that it meets with their entire concurrence.[16]
He will be highly gratified if he is permitted to know that it is
honoured by your Majesty's gracious approval. All which is humbly
submitted by your Majesty's most dutiful Servant and Subject,
DERBY.
[Footnote 15: Royal and Imperial Apostolic.]
[Footnote 16: The Queen acted on this advice, and wrote a
letter on the 22nd to the Emperor of Austria, on the lines of
Lord Derby's suggestions. The material parts of it are printed
in the _Life of the Prince Consort_, vol. iv. chap. 92.]
[Pageheading: CHURCH RATES]
_Mr Disraeli to Queen Victoria._
HOUSE OF COMMONS, _21st February 1859_.
(_Monday._)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, with his humble duty to your Majesty,
informs your Majesty that the Government measure on Church Rates was
introduced to-night, in a very full House, and was received with so
much favour that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has every belief that
it will pass. This is very unexpected, and the satisfactory settlement
of this long agitated and agitating question will be a great relief
to public life, and tend to restore and augment the good-humour of the
country.[17]
It is generally rumoured that, on Friday next, Lord Palmerston is to
move a vote of censure upon your Majesty's Government with respect to
their Foreign Policy. The Chancellor of the Exchequer scarcely credits
this, and would rather suppose that the formal censure will take the
shape of a rattling critique, preceding some Motion for papers.
[Footnote 17: Since the Braintree case in 1853, no rate could
legally be levied except by the majority of the rate-payers.
The present Bill was designed to exempt Dissenters from
payment, excluding them at the same time from voting on the
subject in the vestry meeting. Sir John Trelawney, the leader
of the Abolitionist party in the House, however, procured
the rejection of the proposed measure, and a solution was not
arrived at till 1868.]
[Pageheading: LORD COWLEY'S MISSION]
_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _1st March 1859_.
MY DEAREST UNCLE,--Many thanks for your kind letter of the 25th.
Matters remain much in the same state. Lord Cowley arrived on Sunday
at Vienna, but we know nothing positive yet. I much fear the obstinacy
of Austria.
It will indeed be a blessing if _we_ could do something not only to
avert the war for the present, but to prevent the _causes_ of it, for
the future. Nothing but improvement in the Italian Governments _can_
bring about a _better state_ of things. What is _really_ the matter
with the King of Naples[18]?
We found the poor Queen really very tolerably well at Claremont on
Saturday. She is decidedly better than when we saw her at the end
of November. Poor Joinville is suffering from an accident to his bad
knee.
Here our Reform Bill has been brought in yesterday.[19] It is
moderate, and ... [Lord John] has therefore allied himself with Mr
Bright and Mr Roebuck against it! He has _no_ other followers. The
Debate on Foreign Affairs on Friday was extremely moderate, and can
only have done good.[20]
It is rumoured that you are going to Berlin to the Christening, but
I doubt it! Oh! dearest Uncle, it _almost breaks_ my heart _not_ to
witness our _first grandchild_ christened! I don't think I _ever_ felt
so bitterly disappointed _about anything_ as about this! And then it
is an _occasion_ so gratifying to both _Nations_, which brings them
_so much_ together, that it is _most_ peculiarly mortifying! It is a
_stupid law_ in Prussia, I must say, to be so particular about having
the child christened so soon. However, it is now no use lamenting;
please God! we shall be more fortunate another time! With Albert's
affectionate love, ever your devoted Niece,
VICTORIA R.
Affectionate love to your children. When does Philip go to Italy?
[Footnote 18: Ferdinand II., known as Bomba, died on the 22nd
of May in the same year.]
[Footnote 19: See _ante_, Introductory Note to Chapter XXVIII.]
[Footnote 20: In this debate Lord Palmerston urged the
Ministry to mediate between Austria and France, in order
to obtain their simultaneous withdrawal from Rome, and Mr
Disraeli announced the confidential mission of Lord Cowley as
"one of peace and conciliation."]
[Pageheading: THE EMPEROR'S REPLY]
_The Emperor of Austria to Queen Victoria._
VIENNE, _le 8 Mars 1859_.
MADAME ET CHERE S[OE]UR,--J'ai recu des mains de Lord Cowley la lettre
que votre Majeste a bien voulu lui confier et dont le contenu m'a
offert un nouvel et precieux temoignage de l'amitie et de la confiance
qu'elle m'a vouees, ainsi que des vues elevees qui dirigent sa
politique. Lord Cowley a ete aupres de moi le digne interprete des
sentimens de votre Majeste, et je me plais a lui rendre la justice,
qu'il s'est acquitte avec le zele eclaire, dont il a deja fourni tant
de preuves, de la mission confidentielle dont il etait charge.
J'ai hautement apprecie les motifs qui vous ont inspire la pensee
de m'envoyer un organe de confiance pour echanger nos idees sur les
dangers de la situation. Je m'associe a tous les desirs, que forme
votre Majeste pour le maintien de la paix, et ce n'est pas sur moi que
pesera la responsabilite de ceux, qui evoquent des dangers de guerre
sans pouvoir articuler une seule cause de guerre.
Lord Cowley connait les points de vue auxquels j'envisage les
questions qui forment l'objet ou le pretexte des divergences d'opinion
qui subsistent entre nous et la France; il sait aussi que nous
sommes disposes a contribuer a leur solution dans l'esprit le plus
conciliant, en tant qu'on n'exige pas de nous des sacrifices que ne
saurait porter aucune Puissance qui se respecte. Je forme des
v[oe]ux pour que votre Majeste puisse tirer parti des elemens que Lui
apportera son Ambassadeur, dans l'interet du maintien de la paix que
nous avons egalement a c[oe]ur.
Mais quelles que soient les chances et les epreuves que l'avenir nous
reserve, j'aime a me livrer a l'espoir que rien ne portera atteinte
aux rapports d'amitie et d'union que je suis heureux de cultiver avec
votre Majeste, et que Ses sympathies seront acquises a la cause que je
soutiens et qui est celle de tous les Etats independans.
C'est dans ces sentimens que je renouvelle a votre Majeste l'assurance
de l'amitie sincere et de l'inalterable attachement avec lesquels
je suis, Madame et chere S[oe]ur, de votre Majeste, le bon et devoue
frere et ami,
FRANCOIS JOSEPH.
[Pageheading: A PROPOSED CONFERENCE]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
_20th March 1859._
The Queen has received Lord Malmesbury's letter[21] written before
the Cabinet yesterday. The Memorandum of Lord Cowley and the telegrams
from Vienna give better hopes of the idea of Congress or Conference
leading to a good result. Everything will now depend upon the Emperor
Napoleon's acceptance of the conditions on which Austria is willing
to agree to a Conference. The Queen would like to have a copy of Lord
Cowley's memorandum.[22]
[Footnote 21: Lord Cowley had returned from his mission to
Vienna, and was now again at Paris. The complexion of affairs
had been changed by a suggestion on the part of Russia (which
may or may not have been ultimately prompted from Paris) for
a Conference between England, France, Austria, Prussia and
Russia, to settle the Italian Question. Cavour pressed for the
admission of Piedmont to the Conference.]
[Footnote 22: Lord Malmesbury's letter to Lord Cowley, written
immediately after the Cabinet, enjoined him to impress upon
the Emperor that England would only address herself to the
four points--evacuation of the Roman States by foreign troops,
reform, security for Sardinia, and a substitute for the
treaties of 1847 between Austria and the Duchies.]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
OSBORNE, _22nd March 1859_.
The Queen thanks Lord Malmesbury for his communication of yesterday,
which she received this morning. She quite approves the steps taken
by the Government,[23] and concurs in Lord Malmesbury's views. If the
understanding about a Conference first of the five Powers, and then
of the Italian States with them, _could be_ so far come to that France
and Austria agree with us upon the conditions on which it is to take
place, we need not wait for Russia's proposing it. She is evidently
playing, as she always does, a double game, and from Sir John
Crampton's[24] letter it appears that she never meant to propose a
Congress, but merely to _accept_ one, for ulterior objects.
[Footnote 23: An attempt to obtain the disarmament of Austria
and Sardinia, and a proposal to obtain the co-operation of
France, in guaranteeing to defend Sardinia against invasion
by Austria for five years, unless Sardinia left her own
territory. On the 23rd, Lord Malmesbury wrote that all the
great Powers, except Austria, had agreed to a Congress upon
the conditions laid down by the British Government.]
[Footnote 24: English Ambassador at St Petersburg, formerly
Minister at Washington; see _ante_, 12th December, 1856,
note 61. He had succeeded to the baronetcy in 1858.]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
OSBORNE, _27th March 1859_.
The Queen trusts that Lord Malmesbury will act with the utmost
circumspection in answering the many telegrams crossing each other
from all directions respecting the proposed Congress. An understanding
with Austria on every point ought, if possible, to precede our giving
our opinion to France or Russia. If they can _once_ get the Powers
to agree upon a point upon which Austria disagrees, they have won the
game, and the Emperor can proceed to his war, having a declaration of
Europe against Austria as his basis.
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _12th April 1859_.
The Queen has marked a passage in this draft, which she thinks it
would be advisable to modify--so as not to _put_ upon _record_ (should
the Austrians refuse to give way on this point) that we consider their
conduct as "_reckless_." Should they persist, they would certainly not
meet with as much sympathy as they would do if they yielded, and
such a course on their part would be very much to be regretted, as
we consider every sacrifice small, in comparison to the blessings
of preserving peace; but still Austria would have a perfect right to
stand out--and we originally supported her in this demand.
If something which _expressed_ the _above_ sentiments and opinions
could therefore be substituted for the present passage, the Queen
thinks it would be very desirable _for the future_, both as regards
Austria and England.
[Pageheading: ENGLAND AND AUSTRIA]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
DOWNING STREET, _21st April 1859_.
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, submits to your Majesty that it
has appeared to him, in consultation with his colleagues, with the
exception of Lord Hardwicke and Sir John Pakington, who are out of
Town, that the only step which can properly be taken at present is to
protest strongly against the course which Austria is now taking, and
to warn her that whatever may be the results to herself, she deprives
herself of all claim to the support or countenance of England.[25]
Your Majesty will see by another telegram, received a few minutes ago
from Lord Cowley, that Huebner!! advises that England should threaten
to come to the aid of Sardinia, if the contemplated invasion should
take place! Your Majesty's servants are not, however, prepared to take
so strong a step, which would commit them to measures to which they
might be unable at the moment to give due effect; and which, if
Austria were to disregard the measure, would involve them in War as
the Allies of France. They have therefore limited themselves to
a protest, the terms of which will require to be very carefully
considered before it is embodied in a despatch. Lord Malmesbury will
submit to your Majesty by this messenger the terms of his telegram....
To appeal at once to arms, when no question, except this of form,
remained unsettled as to the meeting of Congress, and the subjects
to be then discussed, had been unanimously agreed to, appears to Lord
Derby to indicate a reckless determination to go to war which it will
be very difficult to justify in the eyes of Europe.
_For the moment_ these events rather diminish than increase the
probability of a rupture with France, while they will task her means
to the uttermost, and not improbably overthrow her personal dynasty!
[Footnote 25: On the 19th, Count Buol despatched an emissary,
Baron Kellersberg, to Turin, with a summons to Sardinia to
disarm, under the threat of immediate hostilities if she
declined. Sardinia indignantly refused, whereupon the Austrian
troops crossed the Ticino.]
[Pageheading: WAR IMMINENT]
_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _26th April 1859_.
MY DEAREST UNCLE,--I hardly know _what_ to say, so confused and
bewildered are we by the reports which come in three or four times a
day! I have _no hope_ of peace _left_. Though it is _originally_ the
wicked folly of Russia and France that have brought about this fearful
crisis, it is the madness and blindness of Austria which have brought
on the war _now!_[26] It has put _them_ in the wrong, and entirely
changed the feeling here, which was all that one could desire, into
the most _vehement_ sympathy for _Sardinia_, though we hope now again
to be able to _throw_ the blame of the war on France, who _now_ won't
hear of mediation, while Austria is again inclined to do so!
It is a melancholy, sad Easter; but what grieves me the most (indeed,
distracts me)--for I have had nothing but disappointments in that
quarter since November--is that in all probability Vicky will be
unable to come in May! It quite _distracts me_. You also must be very
anxious about dear Charlotte; I hope she will not remain at Trieste,
but go to Vienna. Her being in Italy is really _not_ safe.... Now with
kind loves to your children, ever your affectionate and devoted Niece,
VICTORIA R.
[Footnote 26: Referring to an understanding reported to have
been arrived at between France and Russia, the suspicion
of which created great indignation in England. Prince
Gortschakoff and the French Emperor, in answer to enquiries,
gave conflicting explanations.]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
ROEHAMPTON, _27th April 1859_.
... Lord Derby has thought it necessary, in consequence of the
attitude assumed by Russia, notwithstanding her assurances that there
is nothing hostile to England in her secret treaty with France, to
call upon Sir J. Pakington to say what addition could be made to
the Channel Fleet within a period of two or three months, without
weakening that in the Mediterranean. He has the honour of enclosing
the answer, which he has just received by messenger. Lord Derby
proposes to go up to Town to confer with Sir J. Pakington on this
important subject to-morrow, and Lord Malmesbury has summoned a
Cabinet for Friday to consider the general state of affairs.
France having absolutely refused the proffered mediation of England,
and Austria having only accepted it under the condition of the
disarmament of Sardinia, every effort to preserve the peace has been
exhausted; and it only remains for this country to watch the course
of events, to protect her own interests, and to look out for any
opportunity which may offer to mediate between the contending parties.
This policy, announced by Lord Derby in the City on Monday,[27] was
received with unanimous approval. It will require a great deal to
induce the country to be drawn into a war under any circumstances, and
Lord Derby's anxious efforts will not be wanting to avoid it as long
as possible.
[Footnote 27: He had there described Austria's action as
hasty, precipitate, and (because involving warfare) criminal,
but the Government would still (he added) strive to avert war,
by urging Austria, under the Treaty of Paris, to invoke the
mediation of the Powers. The Derby Government, however, were
supposed to be giving encouragement to Austria. See Lord
Derby's letter of the 2nd of June, _post_.]
[Pageheading: LORD DERBY'S POLICY]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _29th April 1859_.
The Queen has read the last telegrams with much pain, as they show
that there is no chance left of stopping war. Indeed she thinks,
considering the progress of revolution in the Duchies, and the daily
increase of military strength of France and financial exhaustion of
Austria, that it would not be morally defensible to try to restrain
Austria from defending herself while she still can.
Count Buol's proposal to continue negotiations during the fight
sounds strange, but ought not to be altogether put aside. The King of
Sardinia's assumption of the Government of Tuscany[28] and military
occupation of Massa-Carrara form gross infractions of the Treaties of
1815 and international law, and can hardly be left without a protest
from us.
Has Lord Derby heard that a Russian Fleet is expected soon to appear
in the Black Sea? The Queen has just heard it from Berlin, where it is
supposed to be certain, and it would explain Lord Cowley's report
of (the Queen believes) Prince Napoleon's[29] account of the Russian
engagements, which are admitted to contemplate a junction of
the French and Russian Fleets to defend the Treaty closing the
Dardanelles.
[Footnote 28: See _ante_, Introductory Note to Chapter XXVIII.
The Duchy of Modena and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany were in
revolution, and the Duchy of Parma soon followed their example.]
[Footnote 29: See _post_, 1st May, 1859, note 30.]
[Pageheading: FRANCE AND RUSSIA]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
ROEHAMPTON, _1st May 1859_.
(_Sunday night_, 12 P.M.)
... Lord Derby entirely concurs in your Majesty's opinion that no
credit is to be attached to the denials of the French or Russian
Governments in regard to the engagements subsisting between them.[30]
It is very easy to convey denials in terms which are literally true,
but practically and in spirit false; and Lord Derby has no doubt but
that France is well assured that in any case she may rely upon the
tacit assistance, if not the active co-operation, of Russia; and that
both Powers are using their utmost endeavours to excite troubles
in the East, as well as in Italy, as the result of which France may
gratify her cherished designs of ambition in the latter, while Russia
carries on her projects of aggrandisement in the former. This is a
lamentable state of affairs; but it is Lord Derby's duty to assure
your Majesty that no Government which could be formed in this country
could hope to carry public opinion with it in taking an active part,
as matters now stand, in opposition to France and Russia, if in truth
they are acting in concert, as Lord Derby believes that they are. All
that can be done is to maintain the principle of strict neutrality
in regard to the affairs of Italy, and probably of Montenegro also,
though there is not sufficient evidence of facts in that case to
justify a positive conclusion. But in the meantime everything shows
more conclusively the absolute necessity for the increase of your
Majesty's Naval Force,[31] which was determined at the Council
yesterday, and respecting which it will be necessary, on the very
first day of the meeting of the new Parliament, to call for an
explicit expression of opinion.
Your Majesty enquires as to a supposed pledge given by the Emperor of
the French as to a denial of any Treaty with Sardinia. So far as
Lord Derby can recollect at this moment, there never was more than an
assurance that so long as Austria remained within her own limits, he
would not interfere; and that he would not support Sardinia, unless
she were herself invaded in any _unjustifiable_ attack on Austria;
and there was also a denial in the _Moniteur_, to which your Majesty
probably refers, of there having been any engagement entered into _as
a condition of the marriage_.[32] These are just the denials to
which Lord Derby has already adverted, which appear at first sight
satisfactory, but which may be afterwards explained away, so as to
escape the charge of absolute falsehood.
Lord Derby trusts that your Majesty will have understood, and excused,
his absence from the Council on Saturday, in consequence of the
misunderstanding as to the time appointed.
[Footnote 30: Lord Cowley, in a letter of the 29th of April
to Lord Malmesbury, described an interview with the Emperor of
the French, when the latter denied in terms the existence of
a signed Treaty between France and Russia. But, as Lord Cowley
added, there might be moral engagements which might easily
lead to a more specific alliance.]
[Footnote 31: The Emperor had interrogated Lord Cowley as to
this.]
[Footnote 32: In July 1858, the joint action of France and
Sardinia had been concerted at the confidential interview
at Plombieres, between the Emperor and Cavour, the former
undertaking to assist Sardinia, under certain contingencies,
against Austria. On the same occasion the marriage was
suggested of the Princess Clothilde of Sardinia to the Prince
Napoleon Joseph Paul, son of Prince Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte.
An interesting account of the events of this time, and of the
character and aims of Cavour, will be found in De la Gorce's
_Histoire du Second Empire_; see especially vol. ii. book 14.]
[Pageheading: THE POSITION OF FRANCE]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _3rd May 1859_.
The Queen has carefully read the enclosed draft. She thinks that,
without saying anything offensive to France,[33] this important
document would not place matters before that Power in the world in
accordance with the facts, and would lead to erroneous inferences
if it left out altogether, as it does, any reference to the
responsibility which France has had in bringing about the present
state of affairs.... Austria and Sardinia are spoken of as the
offenders, and blamed, not without sufficient ground, for the parts
which they have respectively acted, and France is treated as if
standing on a line with us in fostering civilisation, liberty, and
peace. The inference would be that _we_ forsake her in her noble
course, and deserve again the name of "_perfide Albion_."
The Queen would ask Lord Malmesbury to consider this. For the sake of
showing how she thinks the omissions dangerous to our position might
be supplied, she has added some pencil remarks.
[Footnote 33: _I.e._, if the despatch were to abstain from
reprobating the French policy.]
[Pageheading: THE GENERAL ELECTION]
_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
WINDSOR CASTLE, _3rd May 1859_.
DEAREST UNCLE,--Many thanks for you dear, kind letter of the 30th. God
knows we _are_ in a sad mess. The rashness of the Austrians is indeed
a _great_ misfortune, for it has placed them in the wrong. Still there
is _one_ universal feeling of _anger_ at the conduct of France, and
of _great suspicion_. The Treaty with Russia is _denied_, but I am
perfectly certain that there _are engagements_....
Here the Elections are not as satisfactory as could be wished, but the
Government still think they will have a clear gain of 25 to 30 seats,
which will make a difference of 50 or 60 votes on a Division. It
gives unfortunately no majority; still, it must be remembered that the
Opposition are very much divided, and not at all a compact body, which
the supporters of the Government are.[34]
Lord John has been holding moderate and prudent language on Foreign
Affairs, whereas Lord Palmerston has made bad and mischievous
speeches, but _not_ at all in accordance with the feelings of
the country. The country wishes for strict neutrality, but strong
defences, and we are making our Navy as strong as we can.
You ask me if Louis Oporto[35] is grown? He is, and his figure much
improved. He is a good, kind, amiable boy whom one must like. He has
sailed this morning with the Bridegroom, and on the 16th or 17th we
may expect them back with the dear young Bride.
I venture to send you a letter I received some days ago from dear
Vicky, and the religious tone of which I think will please you. May I
beg you to return it me, as her letters are very valuable to me?...
We are well fagged and worked and worried; we return to Town to-morrow
afternoon.
With kindest love to your children, ever your devoted Niece,
VICTORIA R.
[Footnote 34: After their defeat on the 1st of April on the
proposed Reform Bill, the Ministry had dissolved Parliament,
and had gained in the elections twenty-five seats--not enough
to counterbalance the Palmerstonian triumph of 1857. If,
therefore, the various sections of the Liberal Party
could unite, the displacement of the Derby Government was
inevitable. Such a combination was, in fact, arranged at a
meeting at Willis's Rooms organised by Lord Palmerston, Lord
John Russell, Mr Bright and Mr Sidney Herbert.]
[Footnote 35: Brother and successor of King Pedro V. of
Portugal, and father of King Carlos. The King had married in
May 1858 the Duchess Stephanie (born 1837), daughter of Prince
Antoine of Hohenzollern.]
_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _9th May 1859_.
MY DEAREST UNCLE,--I write to-day instead of to-morrow to profit by
the return of your messenger. Many, many thanks for your dear letter
of the 6th. What _are_ the Austrians about? They would _not_ wait when
they ought to have done so, and _now_ that they should have long
ago made a rush and an attack with their overwhelming force, they
do _nothing!_ nothing since the 30th! leaving the French to become
stronger and more _fit_ for the struggle every day!! It is indeed
distracting, and most difficult to understand them or do anything for
them. The Emperor leaves Paris for Genoa to-morrow. It is _not_ true
that the Empress was so warlike; Lord Cowley says, on the contrary,
she is very unhappy about it, and that the Emperor himself is low and
altered. Old Vaillant goes with him as General-Major.... Ever your
devoted Niece,
VICTORIA R.
[Pageheading: POLICY OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON]
_The Earl of Malmesbury to Queen Victoria._
_15th May 1859._
The Earl of Malmesbury presents his humble duty to the Queen, and has
the honour to inform your Majesty that Count de Persigny[36] called on
him yesterday. He passed an hour in attempting to prove what it seems
he really believes himself--that the Emperor had no plan or even
intention to make war in Italy; that His Imperial Majesty was drawn
into it step by step by M. de Cavour, who finally menaced to publish
his most confidential correspondence, etc.; that his army was totally
unprepared, and is now in a very imperfect state, and that he himself
was overcome with surprise and fear when he learnt in the middle of
last month that the Austrians had 120,000 men on the Ticino.[37] The
Emperor, however, now believes that he will easily gain a _couple_
of victories, and that when he has _rejete les Autrichiens dans leur
taniere_ (by which he means their great fortresses), he will return
to govern at Paris, and leave a Marshal to carry on the sieges and the
war. M. de Persigny's letters of appointment are not yet signed, and
must go to Italy to be so. He stated that a week ago he was named
Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that Fould,[38] Walewski, and others
were to be dismissed, but that two days before the Emperor's departure
Madame Walewska[39] and the Empress had on their knees obtained a
reprieve, and that M. de Persigny was ordered to come here _sans
raisonner_...
[Footnote 36: Who had been re-appointed to London, where
Marshal Pelissier, Duc de Malakhoff, had replaced him in 1858.
See _ante_, 23rd March, 1858. Both Malakhoff and Walewski were
out of sympathy with the Emperor's present policy.]
[Footnote 37: Sir James Hudson, in a letter written at
Turin on the 28th of February, and shown to Queen Victoria,
described an interview with Cavour, who, in answer to the
direct question, "Do you mean to attack Austria?" replied
that the Italian question was becoming so complex that it was
impossible to say what might happen. Sir J. Hudson added that
he had learned confidentially that the understanding on the
same subject between Cavour and the Emperor Napoleon was
complete, and that it had been expressed thus: "Non seulement
nous prendrons la premiere occasion de faire la guerre a
l'Autriche, mais nous chercherons un pretexte."]
[Footnote 38: Achille Fould, a Jewish banker, was a
colleague of Walewski, though not a loyal one, in the French
Government.]
[Footnote 39: Madame Walewska was a Florentine by birth,
descended on her mother's side from the princely family of
Poniatowski.]
[Pageheader: ATTITUDE OF RUSSIA]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _20th May 1859_.
The Queen was much surprised to receive the enclosed telegram. An
alliance with Russia to _localise_ and _arrest_ the war by joint
interference, which is here proposed to Russia, is a policy to which
the Queen has not given her sanction, and which would require very
mature deliberation before it could ever be entertained. The Queen
is much afraid of these telegraphic short messages on principles of
policy, and would beg Lord Malmesbury to be most cautious as they
may lead us into difficulties without the possibility of previous
consideration. How can we propose to join Russia, whom we know to
be pledged to France? The Queen hopes Lord Malmesbury will stop the
communication of this message, to Prince Gortschakoff.[40]
[Footnote 40: A telegram had been received from St Petersburg,
saying that Prince Gortschakoff entirely coincided with
Lord Malmesbury's views as to localising the war; and Lord
Malmesbury had proposed to send a telegraphic reply containing
the words: "We are anxious to unite with Russia, not only in
localising the war, but in arresting it."]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
OSBORNE, _22nd May 1859_.
In answer to Lord Derby's letter of yesterday referring to the
importance of concerting with Russia the best modes of preventing the
extension of the war, the Queen wishes merely to observe: That Russia
has acknowledged her desire to see the Austrians defeated, and her
indifference to the maintenance of the Treaties of 1815; France
wages war to drive the Austrians out of Italy, wresting from them
the Italian provinces secured to them by those treaties; and that the
Queen has declared from the Throne her adhesion to these treaties
to which Parliament unanimously responded. France and Russia may
therefore have an interest, and indeed _must_ have one, in not being
disturbed in any way in the prosecution of their Italian scheme.
England can have no such interest. If France prove successful, the
territorial arrangements of Europe, in which England has found safety,
and which she helped to establish in order to obtain safety against
France after a war of twenty years' duration, will be subverted,
and she herself may some day (perhaps _soon_) have her own safety
imperilled. The Saxon provinces of Prussia will be in much greater
danger when France shall have destroyed Austria in Italy and ruined
her at home, than while the latter remains a powerful member of the
German Confederation. What the Queen is naturally anxious to guard
against is our being drawn by degrees into playing the game of those
who have produced the present disturbance, and whose ulterior views
are very naturally and very wisely by them concealed from us. The
Queen is glad to hear that the telegram in question was not sent,
having been alarmed by its being marked as having been despatched "at
noon" on the 20th. The Queen wishes Lord Derby to show this letter to
Lord Malmesbury.
[Pageheader: ILLNESS OF DUCHESS OF KENT]
_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
OSBORNE, _25th May 1859_.
DEAREST UNCLE,--Thousand thanks for your dear kind letter and good
wishes for my old birthday, and for your other dear letter of the
21st. Albert, who writes to you, will tell you how dreadfully our
_great, great_ happiness to have dearest Vicky, flourishing and so
well and gay with us, was on Monday and a good deal too yesterday,
clouded over and spoilt by the _dreadful_ anxiety we were in about
dearest Mamma. Thank God! to-day I feel another being--for we know she
is "in a satisfactory state," and improving in every respect, but I am
thoroughly shaken and upset by this _awful_ shock; for it came on
_so suddenly_--that it came like a thunderbolt upon us, and I think I
_never_ suffered as I did those four dreadful hours till we heard she
was better! I hardly myself _knew how_ I loved her, or how _my whole_
existence seems bound up with her--till I saw looming in the distance
the fearful possibility of _what_ I will _not_ mention. She was
actually packing up to start for here! _How_ I missed her yesterday
I cannot say, or how gloomy my poor birthday on first getting up
appeared I _cannot_ say. However, that is passed--and please God we
shall see her, with care, restored to her usual health ere long. I
trust, dearest Uncle, you are quite well now--and that affairs will
not prevent you from coming to see us next month?
Dear Vicky is now a most dear, charming companion--and so _embellie!_
I must end, having so much to write. Ever your devoted Niece,
VICTORIA R.
I shall write again to-morrow or next day how dear Mamma is.
[Pageheader: THE QUEEN'S SPEECH]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _1st June 1859_.
The Queen takes objection to the wording of the two paragraphs[41]
about the war and our armaments. As it stands, it conveys the
impression of a determination on the Queen's part of maintaining a
neutrality--_a tout prix_--whatever circumstances may arise, which
would do harm abroad, and be inconvenient at home.[42] What the
Queen may express is her wish to remain neutral, and her hope that
circumstances will allow her to do so. The paragraph about the
Navy[43] as it stands makes our position still more humble, as it
contains a public apology for arming, and yet betrays fear of our
being attacked by France.
The Queen suggests two amended forms for these passages, in which she
has taken pains to preserve Lord Derby's words as far as is possible,
with an avoidance of the objections before stated.
"Those endeavours have unhappily failed, and war has been declared
between France and Sardinia on one side, and Austria on the other.
I continue to receive at the same time assurances of friendship from
both contending parties. It being my anxious desire to preserve to
my people the blessing of uninterrupted peace, I trust in God's
assistance to enable me to maintain a strict and impartial
neutrality."
"Considering, however, the present state of Europe, and the
complications which a war, carried on by some of its great Powers, may
produce, I have deemed it necessary, for the security of my dominions
and the honour of my Crown, to increase my Naval Forces to an amount
exceeding that which has been sanctioned by Parliament."
[Footnote 41: In the Speech to be delivered by the Queen at
the opening of Parliament on the 7th of June.]
[Footnote 42: The passage originally ran: "Receiving
assurances of friendship from both the contending parties, I
intend to maintain a strict and impartial neutrality, and
I hope, with God's assistance, to preserve to my people the
blessing of continued peace."]
[Footnote 43: The passage originally ran: "I have, however,
deemed it necessary, in the present state of Europe, with no
object of aggression, but for the security of my dominions,
and for the honour of my Crown, to increase my Naval Forces
to an amount exceeding that which has been sanctioned by
Parliament."]
[Pageheader: THE QUESTION OF NEUTRALITY]
[Pageheader: THE NAVY]
[Pageheading: LORD DERBY'S CRITICISMS]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
DOWNING STREET, _2nd June 1859_.
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, submits to your Majesty that he has
most anxiously, and with every desire to meet your Majesty's wishes,
reflected upon the effect of the alterations suggested by your
Majesty in the proposed Speech from the Throne. He has considered
the consequences involved so serious that he has thought it right
to confer upon the subject with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as
Leader of the House of Commons; and it is a duty which he owes to your
Majesty not to withhold the expression of their clear and unhesitating
conviction. Lord Derby trusts that your Majesty will forgive the
frankness with which, in the accompanying observations, he feels it
necessary to submit to your Majesty the grounds for the view which
they are compelled to take.
The first paragraph to which your Majesty takes exception is that
which intimates your Majesty's "intention" to maintain a strict and
impartial neutrality, and "hope" to be enabled to preserve peace. Your
Majesty apprehends that this may be interpreted into a determination
to preserve neutrality _a tout prix_; but Lord Derby would venture to
observe that such an inference is negatived by the subsequent words,
which only imply a "hope" of preserving peace. With the cessation
of that hope, neutrality would necessarily terminate. But as matters
stand at present, Lord Derby is warranted in assuring your Majesty
that if there is one subject on which more than another the mind of
the country is unanimous, it is that of an entire abstinence from
participation in the struggle now going on in Italy. He collects this
from the language of politicians of almost every class, from all the
public papers, from Addresses and Memorials which he receives every
day--some urging, and some congratulating him upon the adoption of a
perfectly neutral policy. The sympathies of the country are neither
with France nor with Austria, but were it not for the intervention of
France, they would be general in favour of Italy. The charge now
made against your Majesty's servants, by the opposition Press, as the
_Morning Post_ and _Daily News_, is that their neutrality covers
such wishes and designs in favour of Austria; and any word in your
Majesty's Speech which should imply a doubt of the continuance of
strict impartiality, would, undoubtedly, provoke a hostile Amendment,
which might very possibly be carried in the Sardinian sense, and
which, if so carried, would place your Majesty in the painful position
of having to select an Administration, pledged against the interests
of Austria and of Germany. Lord Derby says nothing of the personal
results to your Majesty's present servants, because, in such cases,
personal considerations ought not to be allowed to prevail; and it is
in the interest of the country only, and even of the very cause which
your Majesty desires to uphold, that he earnestly trusts that your
Majesty will not require any alteration in this part of the Speech.
There is, at this moment, in the country, a great jealousy and
suspicion of France, and of her ulterior designs--as indicated by
the demand of means of defence, the formation of Volunteer Corps,
etc.--but it is neutralised, partly by sympathy for Italy, partly by
suspicions, industriously circulated, of the pro-Austrian tendencies
of the present Government. It is very important that the language of
the Speech should be so decided as to negative this impression, and
Lord Derby cannot but feel that if neutrality be spoken of not as a
thing decided upon, but which, it is hoped, may be maintained, such
language will be taken to intimate the expectation of the Government
that it may, at no distant time, be departed from. In Lord Derby's
humble opinion Peace should be spoken of as subject to doubt, because,
out of the present struggle, complications may arise which may
necessarily involve us in war; but neutrality, as between the present
belligerents, should be a matter open to no doubt or question. If
there be no attempt made to run counter to public opinion, and Austria
should sustain serious reverses, the jealousy of France will increase,
and the feeling of the country will support your Majesty in a war,
should such arise, against her aggression; but if the slightest
pretext be afforded for doubting the _bona fide_ character of British
neutrality, or the firm determination to maintain it, an anti-German
feeling will be excited, which will be fatal to the Administration,
and seriously embarrassing to your Majesty.
The same observations apply, with hardly less force, to part of the
Amendment suggested by your Majesty to the paragraph regarding the
Navy. With submission to your Majesty, Lord Derby can hardly look upon
it as humiliating to a great country, in announcing a large increase
of its Naval Force, to disclaim any object of aggression. These words,
however, might, if your Majesty were so pleased, be omitted, though
Lord Derby cannot go so far as to say that in his humble judgment the
omission would be an improvement; but he trusts that your Majesty will
be satisfied with a general reference to the "state of Europe" without
speaking of the "complications which a war carried on by some of the
Great Powers may produce." These words would infallibly lead to a
demand for explanation, and for a statement of the nature of the
"complications" which the Government foresaw as likely to lead to war.
In humbly tendering to your Majesty his most earnest advice that
your Majesty will not insist on the proposed Amendments in his
Draft Speech, he believes that he may assure your Majesty that he
is expressing the unanimous opinion of his Colleagues. Of their
sentiments your Majesty may judge by the fact that in the original
draft he had spoken of your Majesty's "intention" to preserve peace
"as long as it might be possible"; but by universal concurrence these
latter words were struck out, and the "hope" was, instead of them,
substituted for the "intention." Should your Majesty, however, be
pleased so to order, Lord Derby will immediately submit the question
to the consideration of his Colleagues, in order that your Majesty may
be put, in the most authentic form, in possession of their views.
He assures your Majesty that nothing can be more repugnant to his
feelings than to appear to offer objections to any suggestions
emanating from your Majesty; and he has only been induced to do so
upon the present occasion by the deep conviction which he entertains
of the danger attending the course proposed, and the serious
embarrassments which it would cause your Majesty. He regrets more
especially having been compelled to take this step at a moment when
your Majesty's thoughts are very differently engaged, and when it may
be doubly irksome to have matters of public business pressed upon your
Majesty's consideration.
The above is humbly submitted by your Majesty's most dutiful Servant
and Subject,
DERBY.
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _3rd June 1859_.
The Queen has received Lord Derby's answer to her observations on the
proposed Speech. There is in fact no difference of opinion between her
and Lord Derby; the latter only keeps in view the effect which certain
words will have in Parliament and upon the country, whilst she looks
to the effect they will produce upon the European conflict. If
the Queen were not obliged to speak, both positions might be well
reconciled; but if what she is going to declare from the Throne is
to allay suspicions purposely raised by the Opposition against the
Government that they intended to take part at some moment or other in
the war, and is to give absolute security to the country against this
contingency, this will be the very thing France would wish to bring
about in order to ensure to her the fullest liberty in prosecuting her
schemes for disturbing and altering the territorial state of Europe.
How is this impression to be avoided? Lord Derby thinks that the
expression of "hope" to be able to preserve peace to this country is
a sufficient indication that this country reserves to herself still
a certain liberty of action; but the Queen would have interpreted
it rather as the expression of a hope, that we may not be attacked,
particularly when followed by the sentence in which all intention of
aggression is disclaimed, and that our armaments are merely meant for
defence. The sense would then appear as this: "As the belligerents
separately assure me of their friendship, I am determined to maintain
a strict neutrality between them, and hope they may not change their
minds, and attack me; I arm, but merely to defend myself if attacked."
This would abdicate on the part of this country her position as one
of the arbiters of Europe, declare her indifference to treaties or the
balance of power (which are, in fact, of the greatest value to her),
and would preclude her from any action to preserve them. The Queen
fully enters into the Parliamentary difficulty, and would deprecate
nothing more than to expose the Government to a defeat on an Amendment
which would lead to the formation of a new Government on the principle
of neutrality _a tout prix_ imposed by Parliament on the Crown.
It will be for Lord Derby and his colleagues to consider how far they
may be able to avoid this danger without exposing themselves to that
pointed out by the Queen. She puts herself entirely in his hands, and
had suggested the verbal amendments merely with a view to indicate the
nature of the difficulty which had struck her. Whatever decision Lord
Derby may on further reflection come to, the Queen is prepared to
accept.[44]
[Footnote 44: Ultimately the Cabinet recommended the
modification of the declaration of neutrality by the insertion
of the words "between them"; so as to run: "I intend to
maintain _between them_ a strict and impartial neutrality,"
etc.; and in the second paragraph proposed to omit the words
"with no object of aggression, but"--and adopting the form
of the Queen's paragraph, but omitting the words referring
to possible complications, to leave it thus: "Considering,
however, the present state of Europe, I have deemed it
necessary for the security of my Dominions," etc.]
[Pageheading: NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIA]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _5th June 1859_.
The Queen has read Lord Cowley's letter with regret. Nothing could
be more dangerous and unwise than at this moment to enter into
negotiations with Russia on the best manner of disposing of the
Emperor of Austria's dominions. The Queen cannot understand how Lord
Cowley can propose anything so indefensible in a moral point of view.
[Pageheading: DEBATE ON THE ADDRESS]
_Mr Disraeli to Queen Victoria._
HOUSE OF COMMONS [? _7th June 1859_.]
(_Tuesday, quarter-past eight o'clock._)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer with his humble duty to your Majesty.
Lord Hartington[45] spoke like a gentleman; was badly seconded.
Chancellor of Exchequer rose immediately at six o'clock, and is just
down. The House very full, and very enthusiastic.
The Chancellor of Exchequer presumes to say he thinks he satisfied his
friends.[46]
[Footnote 45: Lord Hartington, afterwards eighth Duke of
Devonshire, moved an Amendment to the Address, expressing a
want of confidence in the Ministry.]
[Footnote 46: He flung his taunts right and left at the now
united Opposition, and was especially bitter against Sir
James Graham. Referring to the Liberal meeting on the 6th,
Mr Disraeli reminded the House that Willis's Rooms had, as
Almack's, formerly been maintained by fashionable patronesses.
"The distinguished assemblies that met within those walls
were controlled by a due admixture of dowagers and youthful
beauties--young reputations and worn celebrities--and it was
the object of all social ambition to enter there. Now Willis's
Rooms are under the direction of patrons, and there are two of
these patrons below the gangway" (indicating Lord John Russell
and Mr Sidney Herbert). In regard to its Foreign Policy, he
said the Government should not be condemned without direct
documentary evidence. Lord Malmesbury has since deplored
Mr Disraeli's neglect to produce the Blue Book with the
correspondence relating to the affairs of Italy and Austria,
and stated that, had he laid it on the table, the debate would
have ended differently (_Memoirs of an Ex-Minister_, vol. ii.
p. 188).]
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
ST JAMES'S SQUARE, _10th June 1859_.
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, submits to your Majesty that the
tone of the Government Agents in the House of Commons is less sanguine
to-day than it was yesterday with regard to the issue of the Debate
to-night. There are no actual changes announced of votes, but the tone
of the Opposition is more confident; and when an opinion begins to
prevail that the Government are likely to be in a minority, it often
realises itself by the effect which it produces on waverers and
lukewarm supporters. The Division will certainly take place to-night;
and, without absolutely anticipating failure, Lord Derby cannot
conceal from your Majesty that he considers the situation very
critical. Mr Gladstone expressed privately his opinion last night
that, even if successful on the present occasion, the Government could
not possibly go on, which does not look like an intention, on the
part of the Liberal Party, of considering the present division as
decisive.[47]...
[Footnote 47: The rest of the letter relates to the
distribution of honours to the outgoing Ministers.]
_Mr Disraeli to Queen Victoria._
HOUSE OF COMMONS, _11th June 1859_.
(_Saturday morning, half-past two o'clock._)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer with his humble duty to your Majesty:
For the Amendment 323
For the Address 310
---
Majority against your Majesty's servants 13
---
[Pageheading: THE MINISTRY DEFEATED]
_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _11th June 1859_.
The Queen was very much grieved to receive Mr Disraeli's report of the
division of yesterday, although she was fully prepared for this event.
She did not answer Lord Derby's letter of yesterday in order not to
anticipate it. Now that the fate of the Government is decided, she
is prepared to grant those favours and acknowledgments of service for
which Lord Derby asked in his letter. The Queen _could_ not reconcile
it with her own feelings, however, were she to omit this opportunity,
when Lord Derby for the second time resigns the post of her Prime
Minister, of giving to him personally a public mark of her approbation
of his services. The Queen therefore asks him to accept the Garter
from her hands.
As the Queen holds a Drawing-room to-day, and receives the City
Address after it, Lord Derby will be aware how little time she has
this morning (being naturally anxious to have some conversation with
him with as little delay as possible); she would ask him to come here
either at half-past eleven or half-past twelve o'clock.
_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._
ST JAMES'S SQUARE, _11th June 1859_.
Lord Derby, with his humble duty, submits to your Majesty the
expression of his deep gratitude for your Majesty's most gracious note
this moment received, and for the terms in which your Majesty has been
pleased to speak of his very imperfect services. He gratefully accepts
the honour which your Majesty has been pleased to confer upon him as a
mark of your Majesty's personal favour. As a Minister, he could never
have advised your Majesty to bestow it upon him, and he could not have
accepted it on the recommendation of any Government to which he was
politically opposed; but as a spontaneous act of your Majesty, it
acquires in his eyes a value which nothing else could have given to
it. Lord Derby is this moment going down to the Cabinet, as a matter
of form, and will obey your Majesty's commands as soon as possible
after half-past eleven, when he will have an opportunity of expressing
in person his deep sense of your Majesty's goodness, and his entire
devotedness, in whatever situation he may be placed, to your Majesty's
service.
[Pageheading: LORD GRANVILLE SUMMONED]
_Memorandum by Earl Granville._
[_Undated. 11th June 1859._]
I waited at four o'clock this afternoon[48] upon the Queen by Her
Majesty's gracious commands. The Queen was pleased to remark upon the
importance of the present crisis. Her Majesty informed me that Lord
Derby had resigned, and that she had sent for me to desire that I
should attempt to form another Administration, which Her Majesty
wished should be strong and comprehensive. I respectfully assured the
Queen that Her Majesty's commands came upon me by surprise; that at
any time I felt my own insufficiency for such a post, and that at this
time there were special difficulties; that I believed the only two
persons who could form a strong Liberal Government were either Lord
Palmerston or Lord John Russell; and that, although it had sometimes
happened that two statesmen of equal pretensions preferred having a
nominal chief to serving under one another, I did not believe that
this was the case now. I said that I had reason to believe that Lords
Palmerston and John Russell were ready to co-operate with one another,
while I doubted whether either would consent to serve under a younger
man of such small pretensions as myself.
The Queen in reply informed me that her first thoughts had been turned
to Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell, that they had both served
her long and faithfully, and that Her Majesty felt it to be an
invidious task to select one of the two. Her Majesty was also of
opinion that as different sections of the Liberal Party were more or
less represented by each, it might be more easy for the Party to act
together under a third person. Her Majesty added that she had selected
me as the Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords, and a
person in whom both Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell had been in
the habit of placing confidence, and she expressed her confident
hope that their attachment to herself would induce them to yield that
assistance without which it would be difficult to form a strong and
comprehensive Government.
I proceeded to state some of the most salient difficulties of the
task, and asked Her Majesty's permission to ascertain by negotiation
what it would be possible to do.
Her Majesty informed me that Her Majesty's experience of former
changes of administration had taught her that the construction of an
administration had failed when the person entrusted with the task had
acted merely as a negotiator, and that the success of other attempts
had been owing to the acceptance of the charge by the person for whom
she had sent. Her Majesty laid Her Majesty's commands upon me to make
the attempt, and I had the honour of conveying two letters from Her
Majesty to Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell, stating that Her
Majesty relied upon their assistance.
[Footnote 48: The 11th of June.]
[Pageheading: THE RIVAL LEADERS]
_Queen Victoria to_ {_Viscount Palmerston._
{_Lord John Russell._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _11th June 1859_.
The Queen gives these lines to Lord Granville, whom she has entrusted
with the task of forming an administration on the resignation of Lord
Derby. She has selected him as the Leader of the Liberal Party in the
House of Lords. She feels that it is of the greatest importance that
both Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell should lend their services
to the Crown and country in the present anxious circumstances, and
thought at the same time that they might do so most agreeably to their
own feelings by acting under a third person. They having both served
the Queen long and faithfully as her First Minister, she must not
conceal from Lord Palmerston (John Russell) that it is a great relief
to her feelings not to have to make the choice of one of them, and
she trusts that they will feel no difficulty to co-operate with one in
whom they have both been in the habit of placing confidence. From
the long experience the Queen has had of Lord Palmerston's (John
Russell's) loyal attachment to her and the service of the Crown, she
feels confident she may rely on Lord Palmerston's (John Russell's)
hearty assistance.[49]
[Footnote 49: In reply, Lord Palmerston (in a letter printed
in Ashley's _Life of Lord Palmerston_, vol. ii. p. 155)
accepted his responsibility for uniting with others to
overthrow the Derby Ministry, and undertook to serve under
either Lord John Russell or Lord Granville, but stipulated
that any Government he joined must be an efficient and
representative one.]