The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume Ii Part 10

[Footnote 20: Charles, second Earl Grey, had been Prime Minister, 1830-1834.]

[Pageheading: THE SOVEREIGN'S ABSENCE]

_Sir Robert Peel to Queen Victoria._

WHITEHALL, _6th August 1845._

Sir Robert Peel presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and begs leave to acquaint your Majesty that in the course of a long speech made by Lord John Russell last night, reviewing the policy of the Government and the proceedings of the Session, Lord John expressed himself strongly on the subject of your Majesty's absence from the country, without provision made for the exercise of the Royal authority by the appointment of Lords Justices.

Sir Robert Peel thinks it very probable that a motion will be made upon the subject in the course of the next Session--particularly in the event of any occurrence during your Majesty's absence, which might cause public inconvenience from the want of immediate access to the Royal authority, or compel any a.s.sumption of power on the part of your Majesty's servants of a questionable character.

The present Law Officers of the Crown were rather startled at the intention of departing from the precedent of George IV.'s reign, on seeing the legal opinions of their predecessors; they did not differ from the _legal_ doctrines laid down by them, but were not very well satisfied on the point of discretion and policy.

Sir Robert Peel feels it to be his duty to state to your Majesty what has pa.s.sed on this subject, and to apprize your Majesty of the possibility of a question being hereafter raised in Parliament upon it.

Sir Robert Peel thinks that in the case of a short absence, and a distance not precluding easy and rapid communication with your Majesty, the appointment of Lords Justices may be dispensed with; but he is humbly of opinion that were the distance greater or the period of absence longer than that contemplated by your Majesty, the reasons for the nomination of Lords Justices would preponderate.

Should the subject be again mentioned in Parliament and a direct question be put upon it, Sir Robert Peel will, of course, a.s.sume the entire responsibility for the non-appointment of Lords Justices; vindicating the departure from the precedent of George IV. on the ground of the shorter period of absence and the more easy means of communication.[21]...

[Footnote 21: The Queen was accompanied by a Secretary of State (Lord Aberdeen), so that an act of State could be performed as well abroad as at home; see _Life of the Prince Consort_, vol. i. p. 272.]

[Pageheading: VISIT TO THE CHaTEAU D'EU]

[Pageheading: THE SPANISH MARRIAGES]

_The Earl of Aberdeen to Sir Robert Peel._

CHaTEAU D'EU, _8th September 1845._

MY DEAR PEEL,--We left Antwerp very early yesterday morning, and anch.o.r.ed for a few hours off Flushing.[22] We pa.s.sing down the Channel during the night, and as the weather was perfectly bright and fine, found ourselves off Treport before nine o'clock this morning. The King came off to the yacht, and took the Queen in his barge to land. I need not say how joyfully she was received by all the Royal Family.

Although I shall have opportunities, both this evening and to-morrow morning, of speaking again with the King and Guizot, I have already discussed several subjects with each of them; and as the Queen particularly desires to send a messenger this evening, I will give you some notion of what has pa.s.sed between us.

I think the marriage of the Queen of Spain is the subject on which the greatest interest is felt at this moment. It was the first introduced, both by the King and Guizot, and treated by both in the same manner.

They said, that having promised to support the King of Naples, they were bound not to abandon the Count de Trapani, so long as there was a chance of his being successful in his suit. I said in answer to their desire, that we would a.s.sist this arrangement, that we had no objection to Count Trapani, and that we would take no part against him; but unless it should be the decided wish of the Spanish Government and people, we could give no support to the marriage, as we were honestly of opinion that it was not desired in Spain, and that we saw nothing in the proposal to call for our support under these circ.u.mstances. Both the King and Guizot said they had no objection to the Duke of Saville[23] (Don Enrique), and that if it should be found that Count Trapani was impossible, they would willingly support him.

With respect to the Infanta, they both declared in the most positive and explicit manner, that _until the Queen was married and had children_, they should consider the Infanta precisely as her sister, and that any marriage with a French Prince would be entirely out of the question. The King said he did not wish that his son should have the prospect of being on the throne of Spain; but that if the Queen had children, by whom the succession would be secured, he did not engage to preclude himself from the possibility of profiting by the great inheritance which the Infanta would bring his son. All this, however, was uncertain, and would require time at all events to accomplish; for I distinctly understood, that it was not only a marriage and a child, but _children, that were necessary to secure the succession_.

I thought this was as much as we could desire at present, and that the policy of a marriage with a French Prince might safely be left to be considered whenever the contingency contemplated should arrive. Many things may happen, both in France and Spain, in the course of a few years to affect this question in a manner not now apparent.

ABERDEEN.

[Footnote 22: Parliament was prorogued on the 9th of August, and the Queen and Prince sailed in the evening for Antwerp in the Royal yacht. Sir Theodore Martin gives a very full description of the visit to Coburg. The Queen was especially delighted with the Rosenau and Reinhardtsbrunn. On the morning of the 8th of September the yacht, which had left the Scheldt on the previous evening, arrived at Treport, and a second visit was paid to the King and Queen of the French at the Chateau d'Eu.]

[Footnote 23: Younger son of Don Francisco de Paula, and first cousin to Queen Isabella, both through his father and his mother.]

[Pageheading: CHURCH APPOINTMENTS]

_Sir Robert Peel to Queen Victoria._

OSBORNE, _15th September 1845._

Sir Robert Peel, with his humble duty to your Majesty, begs leave to acquaint your Majesty that there remains the sum of 700 to be applied in the current year to the grant of Civil List Pensions.

Sir Robert Peel humbly recommends to your Majesty that another sum of 200 should be offered to Mr Tennyson, a poet of whose powers of imagination and expression many competent judges think most highly.

He was brought under the notice of Sir Robert Peel by Mr Hallam. His pecuniary circ.u.mstances are far from being prosperous.

There is a vacancy in the Deanery of Lincoln, but the preferment is less eligible from there being no residence, and the necessity for building one at the immediate expense of the new Dean.

Sir Robert Peel is inclined to recommend to your Majesty that an offer of this preferment should be made to Mr Ward, the Rector of St James's.

Should Mr Ward decline, there is a clergyman of the name of Maurice,[24] of whom the Archbishop says: "Of unbeneficed London clergy there is no one, I believe, who is so much distinguished by his learning and literary talent as the Rev. Frederick Maurice, Chaplain of St Guy's Hospital. His private character is equally estimable."

Should Mr Ward decline[25] the Deanery it might, should your Majesty approve of it, be offered to Mr Maurice. The Archbishop says that the appointment of Mr Maurice would be very gratifying to the _King of Prussia_.

[Footnote 24: Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872), the friend of Kingsley, afterwards Chaplain of St. Peter's, Vere Street.]

[Footnote 25: Mr Ward accepted the Deanery.]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

ST CLOUD, _10th October 1845._

MY DEAREST VICTORIA,--... All you say about our dear Albert, whom I love like my own child, is perfectly true. The attacks, however unjust, have but one advantage, that of showing the points the enemy thinks _weakest_ and best calculated to hurt. This, being the case, Anson, without boring A. with _daily_ accounts which in the end become very irksome, should pay attention to these very points, and contribute to avoid what may be turned to account by the enemy.

To hope to _escape_ censure and calumny is next to impossible, but whatever is considered by the enemy as a fit subject for attack is better modified or avoided. The dealings with artists, for instance, require great prudence; they are acquainted with all cla.s.ses of society, and for that very reason dangerous; they are hardly _ever satisfied_, and when you have too much to do with them, you are sure to have _des ennuis_.... Your devoted Uncle,

LEOPOLD R.

[Pageheading: LORD METCALFE]