The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume Iii Part 39

The Queen returns the Duke of Cambridge's and Lord Cowley's letters, which together with the account which Lord Clarendon gives of his interview with M. de Persigny causes the Queen no little anxiety. If negotiations on a vague basis are allowed to be begun, the Russian negotiator is sure to find out that the French are ready to grant anything....

However, whatever happens, one consolation the Queen ever will have, which is--that with the one exception of that failure on the _Redan_, her n.o.ble Army--in spite of every possible disadvantage which any army could labour under, _has_ invariably been victorious, and the Russians have always and everywhere been beaten excepting at Kars, where _famine_ alone enabled them to succeed.

Let us therefore not be (as alas! we have often been) its detractors by our croaking.

[Pageheading: POSITION OF THE EMPEROR]

_Viscount Palmerston to Queen Victoria._

PICCADILLY, _17th January 1856_.

Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and concludes that Lord Lansdowne informed your Majesty that the Cabinet, after hearing from Lord Clarendon a statement of the course of the recent negotiations as explained by the despatches which Lord Clarendon read, came to the decision that no further step should be taken, and no further communication should be made to the Government of France on the matters at issue, until the final decision of the Russian Government on the pure and simple adoption of the Austrian ultimatum[4] should be known. Viscount Palmerston begs to congratulate your Majesty upon the telegraphic message received this morning from Sir Hamilton Seymour, announcing that the Russian Government has adopted that Austrian ultimatum. So far so well, and the success which has attended firmness and steadiness of purpose in regard to those conditions may be looked upon as a tolerably sure indication that a perseverance in the same course will bring the Russian Government to consent to those remaining conditions which the Austrian Government has not yet (as it says) made known to the Cabinet of Petersburg.

With regard to the letter of the Emperor of the French to your Majesty, and the statements made to Lord Clarendon by the Count de Persigny as to the difficulties of the Emperor's internal position with respect to finance, and a general desire for peace throughout the Nation, Viscount Palmerston expressed his opinion to the Cabinet yesterday that all those representations were greatly exaggerated. He is convinced that the Emperor of the French is perfectly master of his own position, and that he can as to peace or war take the course which he may determine to adopt.

The cabal of stock-jobbing politicians, by whom he is surrounded, _must_ give way to him if he is firm. They have no standing place in the confidence and respect of their fellow-countrymen, they represent nothing but the Stock Exchange speculations in which they are engaged, and the Emperor's throne would probably be stronger, rather than weaker, if they were swept away, and better men put in their places.

And it is a very remarkable circ.u.mstance that at the very moment when your Majesty and your Majesty's Government were being told that the Emperor would be unable to go on with the war on account of the difficulty of finding money, the French Government was putting forth in the _Moniteur_ an official statement showing that they have a reserve surplus of twenty-one millions sterling for defraying the expenses of a campaign in the ensuing spring, without the necessity of raising any fresh loan.

Viscount Palmerston fully concurs in the sentiment of regret expressed by your Majesty to Lord Clarendon that the last action of the war in which your Majesty's troops have been engaged, should, if peace be now concluded, have been the repulse at the Redan; but however it may suit national jealousy, which will always be found to exist on the other side of the Channel, to dwell upon that check, yet your Majesty may rely upon it that the Alma and Inkerman have left recollections which will dwell in the memory of the living and not be forgotten in the page of history; and although it would no doubt have been gratifying to your Majesty and to the Nation that another summer should have witnessed the destruction of Cronstadt by your Majesty's gallant Navy, and the expulsion of the Russians from the countries south of the Caucasus by your Majesty's brave Army, yet if peace _can_ now be concluded on conditions honourable and secure, it would, as your Majesty justly observes, not be right to continue the war for the mere purpose of prospective victories. It will, however, be obviously necessary to continue active preparations for war up to the moment when a definite Treaty of Peace is signed, in order that the Russians may not find it for their interest to break off negotiations when the season for operations shall approach, emboldened by any relaxation on the part of the Allies induced by too ready confidence in the good faith of their adversary....

[Footnote 4: See _ante_, 19th November, 1855, note 91.]

[Pageheading: DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE AT PARIS]

_The Duke of Cambridge to Queen Victoria._

TUILERIES, _20th January 1856_.

MY DEAR COUSIN,--Your letters of the 14th and 18th have reached me, and I am happy to find by them that you approve in conjunction with the Government with what has been done by me and my colleagues whilst at Paris.[5] I have given all the messages and carried out all the instructions as contained in your letters, and I trust as far as possible I have been enabled to do some good. On the other hand, I cannot deny that the feelings universally expressed here as to the prospects of a speedy peace are so different from those felt in England, that it is extremely difficult to produce any impression in the sense that we could wish it. France wishes for peace more than anything else on earth, and this feeling does not confine itself to Walewski or the Ministers--it extends itself to all cla.s.ses. The Emperor alone is reasonable and sensible in this respect, but his position is a most painful one, and he feels it very much. The fact is that public opinion is much more felt and more loudly expressed in this country than anybody in England at all imagines. No doubt the Emperor can do much that he wishes, but still he cannot go altogether against a feeling which so loudly expresses itself on all occasions, without thereby injuring his own position most seriously. I have written to Clarendon very fully on this subject, and have explained to him my reasons for wis.h.i.+ng to return to England as soon as possible, now that our military mission is concluded. It is essential that I should see the members of the Government, and that I should communicate to them the exact state of feeling here and the views of the Emperor as to the mode of smoothing down all difficulties. This can only be done by a personal interview on the part of somebody thoroughly aware of the present position of affairs. Probably at this moment I am in a better position to do this than anybody else, from the peculiar circ.u.mstances in which I have been placed while here, and it is this feeling which makes me desirous to return to England with the least possible delay. It is my intention therefore to start with my colleagues to-morrow, Monday night, for England, to which arrangement the Emperor has given his sanction, and by which time he will be prepared to tell me what he thinks had best be done, from his view of the question. I think it my duty to communicate this to you, and hope that you will give my resolution your sanction. I beg to remain, my dear Cousin, your most dutiful Cousin,

GEORGE.

[Footnote 5: At the Council of War. See _ante_, 7th January, 1856, note 1.]

[Pageheading: ENGLAND AND FRANCE]

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Clarendon._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _28th January 1856_.

The Queen sends a letter which she wishes Lord Clarendon to give to General La Marmora.[6] We have been extremely pleased with him (indeed he is a universal favourite) and found him so sensible, mild, and right-minded, in all he says--and a valuable adviser to the King.

The Queen wishes _just_ to mention to Lord Clarendon that the Duke of Cambridge told her that the Emperor had spoken to _him_ about what the King of Sardinia had said relative to _Austria and France_, asking the Duke whether such a thing had been said.[7] The Duke seems to have answered as we could wish, and the Queen pretended _never_ to have _heard_ the report, merely saying that as the proposed ultimatum was then much talked of, it was very possible the King might unintentionally have mistaken the observations of the Ministers and ourselves as to our being _unable_ to _agree_, without great caution, to what appeared to be _agreed_ on beforehand between _France_ and _Austria_, and possibly _might_ have in his blunt way stated something which alarmed the Emperor--but that she could not imagine it could be anything else. There seems, however, really no _end_ to _cancans_ at _Paris_; for the Duke of Cambridge seems to have shared the same fate.

The two atmospheres of France and England, as well as the Society, are so different that people get to talk differently. It seems also that the King got frightened lest he should at Paris be thought too liberal in his _religious_ views (having been complimented for it) which he was very proud of--and thought it necessary to tell the _Emperor_ he was a _good Catholic_. This is not unnatural in his peculiar position.

When Lord Clarendon goes to Paris, he will be able to _silence_ any further allusion to these idle stories which only lead to mischief, and which even Lord Cowley seems to have made more of (as to his own feelings upon them) than was necessary, but that is equally natural.

Speaking of his King--General La Marmora said: "Il ne dira jamais ce qu'il ne pense pas, mais il dit quelquefois ce qui serait mieux qu'il ne dit pas." He more than any other regrets the King's not having seen more of the world, and says his journey had done him a _great_ deal of good.

[Footnote 6: The Sardinian Commander had been attending the Council of War at Paris.]

[Footnote 7: The King of Sardinia was reported to have told the Emperor that the latter's loyalty to the Alliance was questioned by Great Britain, and that it was conjectured in London that he was in favour of co-operation with Austria instead.]

[Pageheading: THE SPEECH FROM THE THRONE]

_Queen Victoria to Viscount Palmerston._

_28th January 1856._

The Queen returns to Lord Palmerston the draft of the speech, which she thinks _extremely well_ worded, and which she therefore trusts will be (with the exception of those pa.s.sages marked) as little altered as possible. Lord John Russell used to say that as soon as a speech was discussed in the Cabinet, it was so much _pruned_ and altered as to lose all its force. The Queen must own that she is _much_ alarmed at hearing that the _papers_ of the War Council were to be printed and circulated amongst the Cabinet, as she fears that the secrecy, which is so necessary, upon which the Emperor laid so _much stress_, will be very difficult to be maintained. The Emperor's opinion at least, the Queen hopes, will _not_ be printed or generally circulated?

The Queen must again press for a very early decision on the subject.

If this is allowed to _drag_, it will appear, particularly to the _Emperor_, as if we were not really in earnest, though we stickled so much for our additional conditions, which might lessen the hopes of peace. Of course the Government must not give any answer on this subject--should Parliament be so indiscreet as to ask _what_ the result of the deliberations of the Council of War has been.

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

Windsor Castle, _29th January 1856_.

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--You will kindly forgive my letter being short, but we are going to be present this morning at the wedding of Phipps's daughter[8] with that handsome lame young officer whom you remember at Osborne. It is quite an event at Windsor, and takes place in St George's Chapel, which is very seldom the case.

Many thanks for your kind letter of the 25th, by which I am glad to see that dear good Philip has arrived safe and well and brought back _de bons souvenirs_. We shall always be _happy_ to see him.

The _peace negotiations_ occupy every one; _if_ Russia is _sincere_, they will end most probably in peace; but _if_ she is _not_, the war will be _carried_ on with _renewed vigour_. The recollection of last year makes one _very distrustful_.

England's policy throughout has been the _same_, _singularly unselfish_, and _solely_ actuated by the _desire_ of _seeing Europe saved_ from the _arrogant_ and _dangerous pretensions_ of that _barbarous power_ Russia--and of having _such safeguards_ established for the _future_, which may ensure us against a _repet.i.tion_ of similar _untoward events_.

I repeat now, what we have said from the beginning, and what I have _repeated_ a _hundred_ times, _if Prussia_ and _Austria_ had held _strong and decided_ language to _Russia in_ '53, we should _never_ have had _this war!_

Now I must conclude. With Albert's best love, ever your devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

[Footnote 8: Maria Henrietta Sophia, daughter of Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps, K.C.B., Keeper of the Privy Purse, married Captain Frederick Sayer, 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers.]