The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume Ii Part 89

TO CHAPTER XXI

Early in 1852, the Whig Government, impaired in public credit by the removal of Lord Palmerston, attempted once more a coalition with the Peelites, office being offered to Sir James Graham; the overtures failed, and soon, after the meeting of Parliament, the ex-Foreign Secretary, whose version of the cause of his dismissal failed to satisfy the House of Commons, succeeded in defeating the Government on their Militia Bill, affairs in France having caused anxiety as to the national defences. The Government Bill was for the creation of a local Militia, Lord Palmerston preferring the consolidation of the regular Militia. A Ministry was formed by Lord Derby (formerly Lord Stanley) from the Protectionist Party, but no definite statement could be elicited as to their intention, or the reverse, to re-impose a duty on foreign corn. Mr Disraeli, who became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and was the mainspring of the Government policy, showed great dexterity in his management of the House of Commons without a majority, and carried a Militia Bill in the teeth of Lord John Russell; but a plan of partial redistribution failed. The elections held in the summer did not materially improve the Ministerial position, and, on the meeting of Parliament in the autumn, the Fiscal Question had to be squarely faced. After much wrangling, Protection was finally abandoned, and the Government saved for the moment, but on their House-tax proposals they were defeated, after an impa.s.sioned debate, by a coalition of Whigs, Peelites, and Radicals, from whom Lord Lansdowne and Lord Aberdeen (and finally the latter alone) were called upon to construct a strong representative Government. The Duke of Wellington had died in September, and his funeral was the signal for an outburst of national feeling. During the year the Houses of Parliament designed by Sir Charles Barry, though not absolutely completed, were formally opened by the Queen; the new House of Lords had already been in use.

In France, the first result of the _coup d'etat_ was Louis Bonaparte's election as President for ten years by an immense majority; late in the year he a.s.sumed the Imperial t.i.tle as Napoleon III., and the Empire was formally recognised by the majority of the Powers; the Emperor designed to add to his prestige by contracting a matrimonial alliance with Princess Adelaide of Hohenlohe. In the East of Europe a dispute had commenced between France and Russia about the Holy Places in Palestine. Simultaneously with the death of the Duke of Wellington, the era of European peace was destined to come to an end, and Nicholas, encouraged by the advent to power of Aberdeen (whom he had met in 1844, and with whom he had frankly discussed European politics), was hoping for the consummation of his scheme for the part.i.tion of Turkey.

To Great Britain the year was a memorable one, in consequence of the granting of a Const.i.tution to New Zealand.

CHAPTER XXI

1852

[Pageheading: ENGLAND AND DENMARK]

_Queen Victoria to the King of Denmark._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _4th January 1852._

SIR, MY BROTHER,--I received the letter which your Majesty addressed to me on the 24th of August last, and in which, after referring to the necessity for establishing some definite arrangement with regard to the eventual succession to the Crown of Denmark, your Majesty is pleased to acquaint me that, in your opinion, such an arrangement might advantageously be made in favour of your Majesty's cousin, His Highness the Prince Christian of Glucksburg,[1] and the issue of his marriage with the Princess Louisa of Hesse, in favour of whom the nearer claimants have renounced their rights and t.i.tles.

I trust I need not a.s.sure your Majesty of the sincere friendship which I entertain for you, and of the deep interest which I feel in the welfare of the Danish Monarchy. It was in accordance with those sentiments that I accepted the office of mediator between your Majesty and the States of the German Confederation, and it afforded me the sincerest pleasure to have been thus instrumental in re-establishing the relations of peace between your Majesty and those States.

With regard to the question of the eventual succession to both the Danish and Ducal Crowns, I have to state to your Majesty that although I declined to take any part in the settlement of that combination, it will be a source of great satisfaction to me to learn that an arrangement has been definitely determined upon equally satisfactory to your Majesty and to the Germanic Confederation; and whenever it shall have been notified to me that such an arrangement has been arrived at, I shall then be ready, in accordance with what was stated in the Protocol of the 2nd of August 1850, to consider, in concert with my Allies, the expediency of giving the sanction of an European acknowledgment to the arrangement which may thus have been made.

I avail myself with great pleasure of this opportunity to renew to your Majesty the expression of the invariable attachment and high esteem with which I am, Sir, my Brother, your Majesty's good Sister,

VICTORIA R.

[Footnote 1: Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg was named successor to Frederick VII., King of Denmark by a Treaty signed in London on the 8th of May 1852; and by the Danish law of succession (of the 31st of July 1853), he ascended the throne under the style of Christian IX., on the 15th of November, 1863. He was the father of His Majesty Frederick VIII., the present King of Denmark, and of Her Majesty Queen Alexandra of England; King Christian died in 1906, Queen Louise having predeceased him in 1898.]

_Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _15th January 1852._

The Queen has received Lord John Russell's letter last night, and wishes now shortly to repeat what she desired through the Prince, Sir Charles Wood to explain to Lord John.[2]

The Queen hopes that the Cabinet will fully consider what their object is before the proposed negotiation with Sir James Graham be opened.

Is it to strengthen their _case_ in Parliament by proving that no means have been left untried to strengthen the Government? or really to effect a junction with the Peelites?

If the first is aimed at, the Cabinet will hardly reap any of the desired advantages from the negotiation, for, shrewd as Sir James Graham is, he will immediately see that the negotiation has been begun without a desire that it should succeed, and this will soon become generally known.

If the latter, the Queen must observe that there are two kinds of junctions--one, _a fusion_ of Parties; the other, _the absorption_ of one Party by the other. For a _fusion_, the Queen thinks the Peelites to be quite ready; then, however, they must be treated as a political Party, and no _exclusion_ should be p.r.o.nounced against particular members of it, nor should it be insisted upon that the new Government and Party is still emphatically the _Whig_ party.

An _absorption_ of the most liberal talents amongst the Peelites into the Whig Government, the Queen considers unlikely to succeed, and she can fully understand that reasons of honour and public and private engagement must make it difficult to members of a political Party to go over to another in order to receive office.

Having stated thus much, the Queen gives Lord John full permission to negotiate with Sir James Graham.

[Footnote 2: Lord John Russell having vainly attempted to secure the co-operation of the Duke of Newcastle, announced the wish of the Cabinet to make overtures to Sir J. Graham.]

[Pageheading: LOUIS NAPOLEON]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _20th January 1852._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--Your kind letter of the 16th I received on the 17th, with the newspaper, for which I return my best thanks. The papers which Stockmar communicated to us are most interesting, and do the writer the greatest credit. Watchful we certainly shall and must be. We shall try and keep on the best of terms with the President, who is extremely sensitive and susceptible, but for whom, I must say, I have never had any _personal_ hostility; on the contrary, I thought that during 1849 and 1850 we owed him all a good deal, as he certainly raised the French Government _de la boue_. But I grieve over the tyranny and oppression practised since the _coup d'etat_, and it makes everything very uncertain, for though I believe it in every way his wish and his policy not to go to war, still, _il peut y etre entraine_.

Your position is a peculiarly delicate one, but still, as I again repeat, I think there is no reason to be alarmed; particularly, I would _never_ show it.

The poor Nemours were here from Sat.u.r.day till yesterday evening with their dear nice boys, and I think it always does them good. They feel again as if they were in their own position, and they are diverted from the melancholy reality and the great sameness of their existence at Claremont. I found him very quiet and really _not_ bitter, and disposed to be very prudent,--but seriously alarmed at the possibility of losing their property, which would be _too_ dreadful and monstrous.

I fear that the candidature and poor Helene's imprudence in talking are the cause of this cruel persecution. The poor Orleans have really (and you should write them that) no _truer_ and more faithful friends than we are--and it is for this reason that I urge and entreat them to be entirely pa.s.sive; for _their day_ will come, I feel convinced!

Now good-bye, my dearest, kindest Uncle. Ever your truly devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

_Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _27th January 1852._

The Queen has received Lord John Russell's letter of yesterday with the draft of Bills, and likewise that of to-day enclosing a Memorandum on the probable effects of the proposed Measure.[3] She has perused these papers with great attention, but feels that any opinion upon the future results of the Measure must rest on surmises; she has that confidence, however, in Lord John's experience and judgment in these matters, and so strong a conviction that he will have spared no pains in forming as correct an opinion as may be formed on so problematical a matter, that she is prepared to come to the decision of approving the Measure on the strength of Lord John's opinion. She only hopes that the future may bear it out, and that the character of the House of Commons may not be impaired. Should this prove the case, the extension of the privilege of voting for Members will strengthen our Inst.i.tutions. The Queen is glad that the clause abolishing the necessity for every Member of the Government to vacate his seat upon his appointment[4] should have been maintained. She hopes that the schedules showing which towns are to be added to existing boroughs will be drawn up with the greatest care and impartiality, and will soon be submitted to her. The Queen would be glad if the plan once proposed of giving to the Queen's University in Ireland the vacant seat for Sudbury were still carried out, as she feels sure that not only would it be a great thing for the University and the Colleges, but a most useful and influential Irish Member would be gained for the House.

The Queen takes it for granted that the Bill as approved by her will be stood by in Parliament, and that Lord John will not allow himself to be drawn on to further concessions to Democracy in the course of the debate, and that the introduction of the ballot will be vigorously opposed by the Government.

[Footnote 3: The Ministerial Reform Bill.]

[Footnote 4: The Act of Settlement excluded (as from the accession of the House of Hanover) the Ministers of State from the House of Commons; but the 6 Anne, c. 7, modified this, and made them re-eligible on appointment.]

[Pageheading: DRAFT OF THE SPEECH]