The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume Ii Part 76

FRIDAY, _28th February 1851._

Lord Lansdowne, who arrived at twelve o'clock, was asked by the Queen what advice he could offer her in the present complication. His answer was: "I wish indeed I had any good advice to offer to your Majesty."

He expressed his delight at the Queen having sent for the Duke of Wellington. We talked generally of the state of affairs; he agreed in a remark of mine, that I thought the Queen should be entirely guided in her choice of the person to construct a Government, by the consideration which Party would now appear to be the strongest in the House of Commons. On my asking, however, whether he knew if, on the failure of Lord Stanley to form a Government, part of his followers would now give up Protection as past hope, and be prepared in future to support the Peelite section of the Conservative Party, Lord Lansdowne said he had heard nothing on the subject, nor could he give us more information on the chance of the Radicals and Irish members now being more willing to support Lord John Russell in future. He liked Lord Stanley's plan of dealing with the Papal Question, of which the Queen communicated to him the outlines, was afraid of Sir J. Graham's excessive leaning towards economy, shook his head at Lord John Russell's letter to the Bishop of Durham[10] which had been instrumental in bringing on the present crisis, and confessed that he had been amongst those in the Cabinet who had prevented the bringing forward of a measure of reform in the present Session. He offered to do whatever might be most conducive to the Queen's comfort--stay out of office, or come into office--as might be thought the most useful.

ALBERT.

[Footnote 10: See _ante_, p. 273 note 1.]

[Pageheading: FURTHER DIFFICULTIES]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _1st March 1851._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--I did not write to you yesterday, thinking I could perhaps give you some more positive news to-day, but I _cannot_. I am still without a Government, and I am still trying to hear and pause before I actually call to Lord John to undertake to form, or rather more to continue, the Government. We have pa.s.sed an anxious, exciting week, and the difficulties are very peculiar; there are so many conflicting circ.u.mstances which render coalition between those who agree in almost everything, and in particular on _Free Trade_, impossible, but the "Papal Question" is the real and almost insuperable difficulty.

Lord Lansdowne is waiting to see me, and I must go, and with many thanks for your two kind letters, ever your devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

[Pageheading: LORD JOHN RUSSELL]

_Memorandum by the Prince Albert._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _2nd March 1851._ (_Sunday._)

Lord Lansdowne, who arrived after church, had seen Lord John Russell and discussed with him the Memorandum which we left with him yesterday. He had since drawn up a Memorandum himself which embodied his views, and which he had not yet communicated to any one. He was very apprehensive lest to begin a new Government with an open question would produce the greatest prejudice against it in the public; he was still inclined therefore to recommend the continuance of the present Government avowedly for the purpose of pa.s.sing the Papal Bill, after which the Coalition might take place, which, however, should be agreed upon and settled at this time. As the Duke of Wellington has not yet sent his promised Memorandum, and Lord Lansdowne was anxious to hear his opinion, the Queen commissioned him to appoint Lord John Russell to come at three o'clock, and to go himself to the Duke of Wellington.

Lord John Russell, who arrived at the appointed time, and had not seen Lord Lansdowne's Memorandum yet, read it over, and expressed great misgivings about the execution of the proposal. He said he saw in fact, like Sir J. Graham, nothing but difficulties. He had ascertained that his Party by no means liked the idea of a fusion, and had been much relieved when the attempt to form a Coalition Ministry had failed. He was afraid that in the interval between their resuming office and giving it up again every possible surmise would be current who were the Ministers to be displaced, and every possible intrigue would spring up for and against particular members of the Cabinet. He would prefer not to make any arrangements for the Coalition now, but merely to engage to resign again after having carried the Papal Bill, when the Queen could try the Coalition, and that failing, could entrust Lord Aberdeen and Sir J. Graham with the carrying on of the Government, whose chief difficulty would then be removed. I objected to this--that his Party might feel justly aggrieved if after their having carried him through the difficulty of the Papal Measure, he were to throw them over and resign, and asked him whether his Cabinet would not repent in the meantime and wish to stay in.

He answered that it would be entirely in his and Lord Lansdowne's hands to carry out the proposed arrangements.

We asked him whether it would strengthen his hands if, instead of his only _accepting_ the task of continuing the Government till the Papal Measure had been pa.s.sed, the Queen were to make it a _condition_ in _giving_ him the Commission, that it should terminate then. He replied, "Certainly." He begged, however, to be understood not to have given a decided opinion that the plan of "the open Question" proposed in our Memorandum was not preferable, although he saw great objections to that also, particularly as Sir J. Graham had reserved the statement of his princ.i.p.al objections to the Papal Bill for the second reading.

He promised to draw up a Memorandum, which he would bring to-morrow at twelve o'clock, after having consulted some of his colleagues, and begged that it might not be considered that he had accepted the Government till then.

One of the difficulties which we likewise discussed was the position of the financial measures which required almost immediate attention, and still ought to be left open for the consideration of the future Government.

We agreed that the pressing on the Papal Measure was the chief point, and that it ought to be altered to meet the objections (as far as they are reasonable) of its opponents, strengthening the declaratory part, however, to please Lord Stanley; and the Queen promised to call upon Lord Stanley to give this so modified Bill the support of himself and his Party, which we thought she could in fairness claim after all that had happened.

The Queen reiterated her objections to Lord Palmerston, and received the renewed promise that her wishes should be attended to.

ALBERT.

[Pageheading: A COALITION IMPOSSIBLE]

_Memorandum by the Prince Albert._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _3rd March 1851._

Lord John Russell arrived at the hour appointed (twelve o'clock), and was sorry to inform the Queen that all hope of a Coalition must be given up. He had found that his Party was very much averse to it. On proposing to his former colleagues the plan of keeping Office now, and vacating it after the Aggression Bill had pa.s.sed, many of them, amongst which were Lord Grey, Sir Charles Wood, Sir Francis Baring, declared they would not be _warming-pans_ (an expression used at the time of the Grey-Grenville Coalition), and would resign at once. The Duke of Wellington, whose opinion the Queen had asked, had recommended the return of the old Cabinet to power. He (Lord John) could therefore only advise that course, although he was conscious that it would be a very weak Government, and one not likely to last any length of time.

He then read the Memorandum which he had drawn up and which follows here.[11]

The Queen now asked whether Lord John proposed a modification of his own Cabinet, to which Lord John replied, None, except perhaps an exchange of Office between Sir C. Wood and Sir F. Baring, if Sir Charles were to refuse bringing in a different budget from the one he had already propounded; he was for maintaining the Income Tax, whilst Sir Francis was for repealing it by degrees. The Queen then reminded Lord John of her objections to Lord Palmerston, and his promise that Lord Palmerston should not again be thrust upon her as Foreign Secretary. Lord John admitted to the promise, but said he could not think for a moment of resuming office and either expel Lord Palmerston or quarrel with him. He (Lord John) was in fact the weakness and Lord Palmerston the strength of the Government from his popularity with the Radicals.... He said he was very anxious that he and Lord Lansdowne should bear the responsibility of removing Lord Palmerston from the Foreign Office and not the Queen; her refusal now could only go to the country as a personal objection on her part, and the country would be left without a Government in consequence. On the Queen's reiterating that she wanted to keep Lord John and get rid of Lord Palmerston, and that it was too painful to her to be put into the situation of having actually to _wish_ the fall of her own Government, Lord John promised to move Lord Palmerston in the Easter recess, or to resign then himself if he should meet with difficulties; in the meantime he must apprise Lord Palmerston of this intention, which he could explain to him as a wish to make a general modification of his Government. He would offer him the Lieutenancy of Ireland or the Presidency or lead in the House of Lords, which Lord Lansdowne would be ready to resign.

He might at that period perhaps get some of the Radicals into office or some Peelites. The Queen finally entrusted Lord John with the Government on these conditions.

ALBERT.

[Footnote 11: _See_ next page.]

[Pageheading: LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S ADVICE]

[Pageheading: ECCLESIASTICAL t.i.tLES BILL]

_Memorandum by Lord John Russell._

_3rd March 1851._

Her Majesty having tried in vain the formation of a Government--first, by Lord Stanley; second, by Lord John Russell, Lord Aberdeen, and Sir James Graham; third, by Lord Aberdeen; fourth, by Lord Stanley a second time--had recourse to the advice and opinion of the Duke of Wellington. The Duke, admitting the great qualifications for office of the adherents of the late Sir Robert Peel, yet advises the Queen to restore her former Ministers to office.

But supposing Her Majesty to follow that advice, a further question naturally arises: the late Government having fallen from want of Parliamentary support, can they upon their return be in any way strengthened, and be enabled to carry on the public business with more power and efficiency?

This might be done in three ways: first, by a Coalition sooner or later with the Peel Party; secondly, by admitting to office some of their own Radical supporters; thirdly, by seeking aid from the Party which has followed Lord Stanley.

The first of these courses appears the most natural. The present Ministers are agreed with the adherents of Sir Robert Peel on Free Trade, and on the policy which has regulated our finances of late years. The difference between them is of a temporary nature. But it may be doubted whether any strength would be gained by an immediate junction with that Party.

If such junction took place now, the Ministers coming in must oppose their colleagues on the Ecclesiastical t.i.tles Bill--an unseemly spectacle, a source of weakness, and probably the beginning of strife, which would not end with the Bill in question.

If, on the other hand, the junction were delayed till the Ecclesiastical t.i.tles Bill is disposed of, the existing Ministry would be divided into two portions, one of which would have only a temporary tenure of office. Rumours, cabals, and intrigues would have ample room to spread their mischief in such a state of things.

But finally the Whig Party in the House of Commons would not be cordial supporters of the junction; jealousy and discontent would soon break up the Ministry.