The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume Ii Part 101

[Pageheading: INDIA AND THE DUKE]

_The Marquis of Dalhousie to Queen Victoria._

GOVERNMENT HOUSE, _23rd November 1852._

The Governor-General still retains some hope of seeing general peace restored in India before he quits it finally, as your Majesty's Ministers and the Court of Directors have some time since requested him not to retire from its administration in January next, as he had intended to do.

Many private considerations combined to draw him homewards, even though the honour and the advantages of retaining this Office were willingly recognised. But the gracious approbation with which his services here have been viewed was a sufficient motive for continuing them for some time longer, if they were thought profitable to the State.

Your Majesty has very recently been pleased to bestow upon him a still further distinction, which calls not merely for the expression of his deep and humble grat.i.tude to your Majesty, but for a further devotion to your Majesty's service of whatever power he may possess for promoting its interests.

That your Majesty should prefer him at all to an Office of such traditional distinction as the Wardenship was an honour to which the Governor-General would never at any time have dreamt of aspiring. But by conferring it upon him thus--during his absence--and above all, by conferring it upon him in immediate succession to one whom he must all his life regard with reverence, affection, and grat.i.tude--your Majesty has surrounded this honour with so much of honourable circ.u.mstance that the Governor-General is wholly unable to give full expression to the feelings with which he has received your Majesty's goodness.

The Governor-General is very sensible that in him, as Lord Warden, your Majesty will have but a sorry successor to the Duke of Wellington in every respect, save one. But in that one respect--namely in deep devotion to your Majesty's Crown, and to the true interests of your Empire--the Governor-General does not yield even to the Master he was long so proud to follow.

In every part of India the highest honours have been paid to the memory of the Duke of Wellington, which your Majesty's Empire in the East and its armies could bestow.

Even the Native Powers have joined in the homage to his fame. In the mountains of Nepaul the same sad tribute was rendered by the Maharajah as by ourselves, while in Mysore the Rajah not only fired minute guns in his honour, but even caused the Dusserah, the great Hindoo festival, to be stopped throughout the city, in token of his grief.

Excepting the usual disturbance from time to time among the still untamed mountain tribes upon our north-western border, there is entire tranquillity in India. The season has been good, and the revenue is improving.

Respectfully acknowledging the letter which he had lately the honour of receiving from your Majesty, and the gracious message it contained to Lady Dalhousie, who, though much improved in health, will be compelled to return to England in January, the Governor-General has the honour to subscribe himself with the utmost respect and grat.i.tude, your Majesty's most obedient, most humble, and devoted Subject and Servant,

DALHOUSIE.

[Pageheading: THE FUNERAL]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _23rd November 1852._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--What you say about Joinville has interested us very much, and we have confidentially communicated it to Lord Derby, who is never alarmed enough. There is, however, a belief that the Orleans family have been very imprudent, and that Louis Napoleon has heard things and expressions used which did a great deal of harm, and Lord Derby begged me to warn them very strongly and earnestly on this point; _I_ cannot do much, but I think _you_ might, for in fact they might _unintentionally compromise us seriously_. The Government are rather shaky; Disraeli has been imprudent and blundering, and has done himself harm by a Speech he made about the Duke of Wellington, which was borrowed from an _eloge_ by Thiers on a French Marshal!!![46]

You will have heard from your children and from Charles how very touching the ceremony both in and out of doors was on the 18th. The behaviour of the millions a.s.sembled has been the topic of general admiration, and the foreigners have all a.s.sured me that they never could have believed _such_ a number of people could have shown such feeling, such respect, for _not_ a sound was heard! I cannot say _what_ a deep and _wehmtuhige_ impression it made on me! It was a beautiful sight. In the Cathedral it was much more touching still! The dear old Duke! he is an irreparable loss!

We had a great dinner yesterday to all the Officers. There is but one feeling of indignation and surprise at the conduct of Austria [47]

in taking _this_ opportunity to slight England in return for what happened to _Haynau_[48] for _his own_ character. Ernest Hohenlohe was extremely anxious you should know the reason why he may _possibly_ appear one evening at the Elysee (they are gone for three or four days to Paris).

Louis Napoleon being excessively susceptible, and believing us to be inimical towards him, we and the Government thought it would not be wise or prudent for _my_ brother-in-law, just coming _from here_, purposely to avoid him and go out of his way, which Louis Napoleon would immediately say was _my doing_; and unnecessary offence we do not wish to give; the more so as Stockmar was presented to him at Strasburg, and received the _Legion d'honneur_. I promised to explain this to you, as Ernest was distressed lest he should appear to be _timeserving_, and I said I was sure you would understand it.

I must end in a hurry, hoping to write again on Thursday or Friday.

Dear Stockmar is very well and most kind. He is much pleased at your children spending some time with him every day. Ever your devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

[Footnote 46: Marshal Gouvion de St Cyr.]

[Footnote 47: In sending no representative to the funeral of the Duke of Wellington.]

[Footnote 48: See _ante_, p. 267.]

[Pageheading: CONFUSION OF PARTIES]

_The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria._

DOWNING STREET, _25th November 1852._ (_Thursday, four_ P.M.)

Lord Derby, with his humble duty, in obedience to your Majesty's gracious commands of this morning, proceeds to report to your Majesty what he finds to have taken place and to be in contemplation; but the accounts of the latter are so conflicting and contradictory, that his report must be as unsatisfactory to your Majesty as the state of the case is unintelligible to himself.

On arriving in London, Lord Derby called on Mr Disraeli, and found that late last night he had had, by his own desire, a private interview with Lord Palmerston, who had come to his house with that object; that Lord Palmerston's language was perfectly friendly towards the Government; that he a.s.sured Mr Disraeli that his only object in offering his Amendment was to defeat Mr Villiers; that if that could be done, it was a matter of indifference to him which Amendment was adopted; and he concluded by declaring that though he sat by Mr Sidney Herbert in the House of Commons, and was an old personal friend, he did not act in concert with him or with Mr Gladstone; and that he did not see, on their part, any disposition to approach the Government!

After this declaration Mr Disraeli felt that it would be useless and unwise to sound him farther as to his own ulterior views, and the conversation led to nothing.

As Lord Derby was walking home, he was overtaken by Lord Jocelyn, who stated, in direct opposition to what had been said by Lord Palmerston, that he, and the other two gentlemen named, were consulted upon, and had concocted the proposed Amendment; and that they were decidedly acting together. He was present at a dinner of the Peelite Party yesterday at Mr Wortley's, when Speeches were made, and language held about the reunion of the Conservative Party, resulting, however, in a declaration that if your Majesty's servants did not accept Lord Palmerston's Amendment, they, as a body, would vote in favour of Mr Villiers. Lord Derby has been farther informed that they are willing to join the Government, but that one of their conditions would be that Lord Palmerston should lead the House of Commons, Mr Gladstone refusing to serve under Mr Disraeli. This, if true, does not look like an absence of all concert.

To complete the general confusion of Parties, the Duke of Bedford, who called on Lady Derby this morning, a.s.sures her that Lord John Russell does not desire the fall of your Majesty's present Government, and that in no case will he enter into any combination with the Radical Party, a declaration quite at variance with the course he has pursued since Parliament met.

Of course Lord Derby, in these circ.u.mstances, has not taken any step whatever towards exercising the discretion with which your Majesty was graciously pleased to entrust him this morning.[49] He much regrets having to send your Majesty so unsatisfactory a statement, and has desired to have the latest intelligence sent up to him of what may pa.s.s in the House of Commons, and he will endeavour to keep your Majesty informed of any new occurrence which any hour may produce.

_Half-past six._

Lord Derby has just heard from the House of Commons that Sir James Graham has given the history of the framing of the Amendment, and has expressed his intention, if Lord Palmerston's Amendment be accepted, to advise Mr Villiers to withdraw. Mr Gladstone has held the same language; there appears to be much difference of opinion, but Lord Derby would think that the probable result will be the adoption of Lord Palmerston's proposition. He fears this will lead to a good deal of discontent among the supporters of the Government; but a different course would run imminent risk of defeat.

[Footnote 49: The Queen had allowed him to enter into negotiations with the Peelites and Lord Palmerston on the distinct understanding that the latter could not receive the lead of the House of Commons.]

[Pageheading: LORD PALMERSTON]

_Mr Disraeli to Queen Victoria._

HOUSE OF COMMONS, _26th November 1852._ (_Half-past one o'clock_ A.M.)

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, with his humble duty to your Majesty, reports to your Majesty that the House of Commons has this moment divided on Mr Villiers' resolution, and in a House of nearly 600 members they have been rejected by a majority of 80.[50]

The debate was very animated and amusing, from the rival narratives of the princ.i.p.al projectors of the demonstration, who, having quarrelled among themselves, entered into secret and--in a Party sense--somewhat scandalous revelations, to the diversion and sometimes astonishment of the House.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer deeply regrets that, having been obliged to quit the House early yesterday, he was unable to forward a bulletin to your Majesty.