The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume I Part 85

The Duke of Wellington's comments have reference to these observations of Sir Robert Peel. Your Majesty will nevertheless perceive that the Duke considers, upon the whole, "that Lord Ellenborough is better qualified than any man in England for the office of Governor-General."

[Footnote 122: He was Joint Chief Clerk of the Pleas in the Queen's Bench, a sinecure conferred on him by his father, who was Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 1802-1818.]

[Pageheading: AFFAIRS IN SPAIN]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _12th October 1841._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--- ... Respecting the Spanish affairs,[123] I can give you perfectly satisfactory intelligence concerning the Infants'

return. Espartero sees them return with the greatest regret, but said he felt he could not prevent them from doing so. If, however, they should be found to intrigue at all, they will not be allowed to remain. Respecting a marriage with the eldest son of Dona Carlotta, I know _positively_ that Espartero _never_ would _hear_ of it; but, on the other hand, he is equally strongly opposed to poor little Isabel marrying any French Prince, and I must add that _we_ could _never allow that_. You will see that I have given you a frank and fair account....

[Footnote 123: The Queen-mother, who was living in Paris, had been deprived by a vote of the Cortes of the guardians.h.i.+p of the young Queen, Isabella II., and risings in her interest now took place at Pampeluna and Vittoria. On the 7th October, a bold attempt was made at Madrid to storm the Palace and get possession of the person of the young Queen. Queen Christina denied complicity, but the Regent, Espartero, suspended her pension on the ground that she had encouraged the conspirators.]

_Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria._

SOUTH STREET, _12th October 1841._

Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and returns many thanks for the letter received yesterday informing Lord Melbourne of the time of your Majesty's coming to London. Lord Melbourne earnestly hopes that your Majesty continues well.

Lord Melbourne is very glad to hear of the appointment of Lord Ellenborough. The reasons which your Majesty gives are sound and just, and it is of great importance that a man not only of great ability but of high station, and perfectly in the confidence of the Government at home, should be named to this important post. Lord Ellenborough is a man of great abilities, of much knowledge of India, of great industry and of very accurate habits of business, and Lord Melbourne knows of no objection to his appointment, except the loss of him here, where, whether in or out of office, he has always been of great service.

He has. .h.i.therto been an unpopular man and his manners have been considered contemptuous and overbearing, but he is evidently much softened and amended in this respect, as most men are by time, experience, and observation. Lord Fitzgerald[124] is a very able public man, Lord Melbourne would say one of the most able, if not the most able they have; but Lord Melbourne is told by others, who know Lord Fitzgerald better, that Lord Melbourne overrates him. He is a very good speaker, he has not naturally much industry, and his health is bad, which will probably disable him from a very close and a.s.siduous attention to business. It is, however, upon the whole an adequate appointment, and he is perhaps more likely to go on smoothly with the Court of Directors, which is a great matter, than Lord Ellenborough.

[Footnote 124: On Lord Ellenborough becoming Governor-General, Lord Fitzgerald and Vesci, an ex-M.P., and former Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, succeeded him at the Board of Control.]

[Pageheading: FRANCE AND SPAIN]

_The Earl of Aberdeen to Queen Victoria._

FOREIGN OFFICE, _16th October 1841._

Lord Aberdeen, with his most humble duty, begs to lay before your Majesty a private letter from M. Guizot, which has just been communicated to him by M. de Ste-Aulaire, on the recent attempt in favour of Queen Christina in Spain. Your Majesty will see that although M. Guizot denies, with every appearance of sincerity, all partic.i.p.ation of the French Government in this attempt, he does not conceal that it has their cordial good wishes for its success. These feelings, on the part of such a Government as that of France, will probably be connected with practical a.s.sistance of some kind, although M. Guizot's declarations may perhaps be literally true.

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Aberdeen._

The Queen must say that she fears the French are at the bottom of it, for their jealousy of our influence in Spain is such, that the Queen fears they would not be indisposed to see civil war to a certain degree restored rather than that Spain should go on quietly supported by us.[125] The Queen, however, hopes that, as far as it is possible, the English Government will support the present Regent, who is thoroughly attached to England, and who, from all that the Queen hears of him, is the fittest man they have in Spain for the post he occupies; and indeed matters till now had gone on much more quietly than they had for some time previous, since Espartero is at the head of the Government. The French intrigues should really be frustrated.

The Queen certainly thinks that M. Guizot's veracity is generally not to be doubted, but the conduct of France regarding Spain has always been very equivocal.

[Footnote 125: See _post_, p. 349. (Ch. X, 17th October, 1841)]

[Pageheading: MASTERs.h.i.+P OF TRINITY]

_Sir Robert Peel to Queen Victoria._

_16th October 1841._

Sir Robert Peel, with his humble duty to your Majesty, begs leave to acquaint your Majesty that the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, has formally signified his wish to retire from the duties of that important trust.

Sir Robert Peel has reason to believe that it would be advantageous that the selection of a successor to Dr. Wordsworth should be made from members of Trinity College who are or have been fellows of the College. Of these, the most eminent in respect to the qualifications required in the office of Master, and to academical distinction, are:--

Professor Whewell.[126]

The Rev. Mr Martin,[127] Bursar of the College.

The Rev. Dr Wordsworth,[128] Head Master of Harrow School, and son of the present Master of Trinity.

The latter is a highly distinguished scholar, but his success as Head Master of Harrow has not been such as to overcome the objection which applies on general grounds to the succession of a father by a son in an office of this description.

Professor Whewell is a member of Trinity College of the highest scientific attainments. His name is probably familiar to your Majesty as the author of one of the Bridgewater Treatises,[129] and of other works which have attracted considerable notice.

He is a general favourite among all who have had intercourse with him from his good temper and easy and conciliatory manners. Though not _peculiarly_ eminent as a divine (less so at least than a writer on scientific and philosophical subjects), his works manifest a deep sense of the importance of religion and sound religious views. The Archbishop of Canterbury[130] and the Bishop of London[131] (himself of Trinity College) incline to think that the most satisfactory appointment upon the whole would be that of Professor Whewell.

Sir Robert Peel, after making every enquiry into the subject, and with a deep conviction of the importance of the appointment, has arrived at the same conclusion, and humbly therefore recommends to your Majesty that Professor Whewell should succeed Dr Wordsworth as Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.

[Footnote 126: Then Knightsbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy.]

[Footnote 127: Francis Martin, afterwards Vice-Master, died 1868.]

[Footnote 128: Christopher Wordsworth, afterwards Bishop of Lincoln.]

[Footnote 129: By the will (dated 1825) of the eighth Earl of Bridgewater--who must not be confounded with the third and last Duke, projector of inland navigation--8,000 was left for the best work on the "Goodness of G.o.d as manifested in the Creation." The money was divided amongst eight persons, including Whewell, who wrote on Astronomy considered in reference to Natural Theology.]

[Footnote 130: William Howley.]

[Footnote 131: O. J. Blomfield.]

[Pageheading: QUEEN ISABELLA]

[Pageheading: THE SPANISH MARRIAGE]