The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume Ii Part 74

_Lord John Russell to Queen Victoria._

CHESHAM PLACE, _25th February 1851._

Lord John Russell presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and has the honour to state that having seen the letter which Lord Stanley addressed to your Majesty, and feeling himself precluded from entering into any details, he announced to the House of Commons that Lord Stanley had in reply to your Majesty's offer declared "he was not _then_ prepared to form a Government."

Mr Disraeli disputed the accuracy of this statement.

Your Majesty's word cannot be called in question, but Lord John Russell now feels it due to his own honour humbly to ask your Majesty for a copy of Lord Stanley's letter. He does not propose to read the letter to the House of Commons, but to refer to it in the statement he is compelled to make.

Lord John Russell humbly requests that this representation may be shown to Lord Stanley. He will feel what is due to the honour of a public man.

[Pageheading: LORD STANLEY ARRIVES]

[Pageheading: MR DISRAELI]

[Pageheading: DISSOLUTION]

_Memorandum by the Prince Albert._

_25th February 1851._ (_Tuesday._)

Lord Stanley obeyed the Queen's summons at eleven o'clock, and seemed very much concerned when she informed him that Lord John Russell had given up his task, as differences of opinion, particularly on the Papal Bill, had prevented a junction between him, Lord Aberdeen, and Sir James Graham; that an appeal to Lord Aberdeen had been equally unsuccessful from the same cause, viz. their difficulty in dealing with the Papal Question; that consequently the contingency had arisen under which Lord Stanley had promised to undertake the formation of a Government.

Lord Stanley said his difficulties were immense, and he could not venture to approach them unless he was sure of every support on the part of the Crown; that he would have arrayed against him a formidable opposition of all the talent in the country.

The Queen a.s.sured him that he should have every Const.i.tutional support on her part, of which Lord Stanley repeated he had felt sure, although the total change must be very trying to the Queen.

On his question, whether there was any hope of Lord Aberdeen joining him and taking the Foreign Office, we had to tell him that he must quite discard that idea. He replied, with a sigh, that he would still try and see him; he had thought of the Duke of Wellington taking the Foreign Office _ad interim_, but felt that he could hardly propose that, considering the Duke's age and infirmity; he would make an attempt to see Lord Canning with the Queen's permission, and that failing, could only think of Sir Stratford Canning, now at Constantinople, which the Queen approved.

He still hoped he might get Mr Gladstone to take the lead in the House of Commons, without which a.s.sistance he must not conceal that it was almost impossible for him to go on. Mr Gladstone was on his way home from Paris, and he had written to him to see him as soon as he arrived; till then he could not promise that he would succeed to form an Administration, and he only undertook it for the good of his country, but was afraid of ruining his reputation.

To this I rejoined that who tried to do the best by his country need never be afraid for his reputation.

The Queen showed Lord Stanley Lord John Russell's letter respecting Mr Disraeli's denial of the truth of Lord John's statement in the House of Commons yesterday.

Lord Stanley said it had been a very unfortunate misunderstanding, that he had been sorry Lord John and Lord Lansdowne should have felt it necessary to say that "he had not _then_ been prepared to form a Government," as the knowledge of this fact, as long as there was a chance of his being called back, could not but act injuriously to him and dispirit those with whom he acted. He would explain all this on Friday in the House of Lords, and had no objection to sending Lord John a copy of his letter.

We now came to _Measures_. Lord Stanley hopes to obviate the Papal Question by a Parliamentary declaration and the appointment in both Houses of a Committee to enquire into the position of the Roman Catholic Church in this country; he would diminish the Income Tax by a million, and exempt temporary incomes; he would allow compounding for the Window Tax and levy a moderate duty on corn, which he called a Countervailing Duty, and tried to defend as good political economy, on the authority of Mr M'Culloch's last edition of "Ricardo." (I had some discussion with him, however, on that point.)

Returning to the offices to be filled, Lord Stanley said he should have to propose Mr Disraeli as one of the Secretaries of State. The Queen interrupted him by saying that she had not a very good opinion of Mr Disraeli on account of his conduct to poor Sir R. Peel, and what had just happened did not tend to diminish that feeling; but that she felt so much Lord Stanley's difficulties, that she would not aggravate them by pa.s.sing a sentence of exclusion on him. She must, however, make Lord Stanley responsible for his conduct, and should she have cause to be displeased with him when in office, she would remind Lord Stanley of what now pa.s.sed. Lord Stanley promised to be responsible, and excused his friend for his former bitterness by his desire to establish his reputation for cleverness and sharpness; n.o.body had gained so much by Parliamentary schooling, and he had of late quite changed his tone.

Mr Herries would make a good Chancellor of the Exchequer.

As to Ireland, he had thought of having a more ostensible Lord-Lieutenant, whilst the business should be done by the Secretary for Ireland. He asked the Queen whether the Duke of Cambridge might be offered that post, which she took _ad referendum_. The Duke of Northumberland, though not of his Party, he should like to offer the Admiralty to.

At the conclusion of the interview he broached the important question of Dissolution, and said that a Dissolution would anyhow become necessary; that, if it was thought that the Queen would withhold from him the privilege of dissolving, he would not have the slightest chance in the House of Commons; he would be opposed and beat, and then his adversaries would come in and dissolve. He avowed that it could not be said that the Queen had refused him the power of dissolving, but he required some a.s.surance.

On the Queen's objecting to giving him a contingent positive promise, but declaring her readiness fairly to discuss the question when the emergency arose, he contented himself with the permission to deny, if necessary, that she would _not_ consent to it, putting entire confidence in the Queen's intention to deal fairly by him.

I tried to convince Lord Stanley, and I hope not without effect, of the advantage, both to the Queen and Lord Stanley himself, that they should not be hampered by a positive engagement on that point, which might become very inconvenient if circ.u.mstances arose which made a Dissolution dangerous to the country.

ALBERT.

_Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _25th February 1851._

The Queen has seen Lord Stanley, who will let Lord John Russell have a copy of the letter. He wishes it not to be known or considered that he has formally undertaken to form a Government till to-morrow, on account of the House of Lords meeting to-day. He feels the difficulty of his position, and is not sure yet that he will be able to complete a Ministry. To-morrow he will give the Queen a positive answer.

_Queen Victoria to Lord Stanley._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _25th February 1851._

The Queen has just received Lord Stanley's letter. She had forgotten the Levee, and was just going to write to him to inform him that she wished to see him at eleven o'clock to-morrow.

The Queen cannot but regret that Lord Stanley should think Lord John Russell's explanation led to a wrong inference; for Lord Stanley will himself recollect that he stated his objections to her much more strongly in his first interview than he did in writing, and as Lord Stanley so strongly advised the Queen to try if no other arrangement could first be come to, she hardly knows how this could otherwise have been expressed than by the words used by Lord Lansdowne and Lord John Russell.

_Memorandum by Queen Victoria._

_26th February 1851._ (_Wednesday._)

Lord Stanley came again at eleven. The first part of the audience, which was not long, was occupied by Lord Stanley's trying to explain away Mr Disraeli's contradiction of Lord John Russell, though he termed it "very unfortunate," by saying that he wished Lord John had _not mentioned_ that _he_ (Lord Stanley) "was not _then_ prepared"

to form a Government, for that, though true in fact, he had _not_ absolutely _refused_, but had only advised me to _try_ and make other arrangements first. I said I thought the distinction "a very nice one," which he admitted. What pa.s.sed between us on the subject the correspondence between Albert and Lord John will best explain.

Lord Stanley then told us that he had seen the Duke of Northumberland, who wished for time to consider; that he was to see Lord Canning again to-day, but had no hopes of his accepting; and that he found so many people out of Town that he must ask for _forty-eight_ hours more before he could give me a positive answer, viz. till Friday. He added he "must not conceal" from me that he was "not very sanguine" of success; almost all depended on Mr Gladstone, who was expected to arrive to-day; but that it might _now_ be said (in answer to a question of Albert's "whether in these days of nice distinctions one _might_ say that he had _undertaken_ to form a Government"), that he had _attempted_ to _undertake_ to _form a Government_.

VICTORIA R.

[Pageheading: LORD STANLEY RESIGNS]

_Lord Stanley to Queen Victoria._