The Letters of Queen Victoria
Chapter 291 : The subject of Poland would, in the Queen's opinion, be much better left unintrod

The subject of Poland would, in the Queen's opinion, be much better left unintroduced into the present negotiations; we have no claim arising out of this war to ask Russia to make concessions on that head, which, moreover, would be treated by her as an internal question not admitting of foreign interference.

The clause in the Treaty of Vienna about the Bonapartes is a dead letter, as this very Treaty, now to be signed, will prove, and the Emperor would act very unwisely to call for an alteration in which all Powers who signed the original Treaty would claim to be consulted. We have every interest not to bring about a European Congress _pour la Revision des Traites_, which many people suspect the Emperor wishes to turn the present Conference into.

The Queen wishes only to add that, should Prussia be asked to join in the final Treaty on the ground of her having been a party to the July Treaty, we should take care that it does not appear that this was an act of courtesy of all the other Powers towards Prussia except England, who need not be made to take additional unpopularity in Germany upon herself.

_The Earl of Clarendon to Queen Victoria._

PARIS, _18th March 1856._

Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly begs to say that the Emperor gave him to-day the most satisfactory report of the Empress and the young Prince.[17] There appears to be little or no fever now, and a great power of sleeping. The Emperor's eyes filled with tears when he described the tortures of the Empress and his own sensations. He said he hardly knew how to express his grat.i.tude for the interest which your Majesty had manifested for the Empress, and for the letters which he had received from your Majesty and the Prince.

The Prussian Plenipotentiaries[18] were admitted at the close of the Conference this afternoon--all important matters under negotiation having been concluded.

Count Walewski made an ineffectual attempt to make it appear by a doubtful form of expression that Prussia had taken part throughout in the negotiations. Lord Cowley and Lord Clarendon said that they wished to show all courtesy to Prussia, but could not consent to sign what was manifestly untrue....

[Footnote 17: The Prince Imperial, Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph, was born on the 16th of March.]

[Footnote 18: Baron Manteuffel and Count Hatzfeldt.]

[Pageheading: THE PRINCESS ROYAL]

_Extract of a Letter from Mr Cobden to a Friend._[19]

MIDHURST, _20th March 1856._

... It is generally thought that the young Prince Frederic William of Prussia is to be married to our Princess Royal. I was dining _tete-a-tete_ with Mr Buchanan, the American Minister, a few days ago, who had dined the day before at the Queen's table, and sat next to the Princess Royal. He was in raptures about her, and said she was the most charming girl he had ever met: "All life and spirit, full of frolic and fun, with an excellent head, and a _heart as big as a mountain_"--those were his words. Another friend of mine, Colonel Fitzmayer, dined with the Queen last week, and in writing to me a description of the company, he says, that when the Princess Royal smiles, "it makes one feel as if additional light were thrown upon the scene." So I should judge that this said Prince is a lucky fellow, and I trust he will make a good husband. If not, although a man of peace, I shall consider it a _casus belli_....

[Footnote 19: Submitted to the Queen.]

_The Earl of Clarendon to Queen Victoria._

PARIS, _29th March 1856._

Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly begs to say that the Emperor sent General Ney to him this morning to request that Lord Clarendon would convey the cordial thanks of the Emperor to your Majesty for the _feu de joie_ fired by your Majesty's troops in the Crimea upon the announcement of the birth of the Prince Imperial.

Lord Clarendon was much embarra.s.sed by a letter this morning from Lord Palmerston, desiring that the signature of the Treaty should be postponed till Monday, in case the Cabinet should have any amendments to propose; and Lord Clarendon humbly hopes that your Majesty may not be displeased at his not having acted upon this injunction, because he had promised to sign the Treaty to-morrow in accordance with the general wish of the Congress, notwithstanding that it was Sunday, and he could not therefore go back from his engagement--every preparation is made for illuminations, not alone at Paris, but throughout France, as all the Prefects have been informed of the signature--the odium that would have fallen [on] us all would have been extreme throughout Europe it may be said, and it would have been regarded as a last proof of our unwillingness to make peace. The friendly feeling of the Congress towards the English P.P.'s[20] would have changed, and they probably would have agreed to no amendments, requiring that all the seven copies of the Treaty should be recopied. In short, Lord Clarendon felt that he had no choice but to take upon himself the responsibility of signing to-morrow; but he has suggested that Lord Palmerston's private letter should be converted into a despatch, in order that the sole and entire blame should rest with Lord Clarendon....[21]

[Footnote 20: _I.e._, Plenipotentiaries.]

[Footnote 21: For the chief stipulations of the Treaty, see _ante_, Introductory Note to Chapter XXV. In addition to the actual Treaty, an important declaration was made as to the rules of international maritime law, to be binding only on the signatory powers, dealing with the following points:--

(_a_) Abolition of Privateering.

(_b_) Neutral flag to cover enemy's goods, other than contraband of war.

(_c_) Neutral goods, other than contraband of war, under enemy's flag, to be exempt from seizure.

(_d_) Blockades to be binding must be effective, _i.e._ maintained by adequate marine force.]

[Pageheading: TERMS ARRIVED AT]

_Viscount Palmerston to Queen Victoria._

PICCADILLY, _30th March 1856._

Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and in submitting the accompanying letter from Lord Clarendon, he begs to state that he informed Lord Clarendon by the messenger yesterday evening that all he had done and agreed to was approved, and that he might sign the Treaty to-day. It was to be signed at half-past twelve this day.

Viscount Palmerston begs to congratulate your Majesty upon an arrangement which effects a settlement that is satisfactory for the present, and which will probably last for many years to come, of questions full of danger to the best interests of Europe. Greater and more brilliant successes by land and sea might probably have been accomplished by the Allies if the war had continued, but any great and important additional security against future aggressions by Russia could only have been obtained by severing from Russia large portions of her frontier territory, such as Finland, Poland, and Georgia; and although by great military and financial efforts and sacrifices those territories might for a time have been occupied, Russia must have been reduced to the lowest state of internal distress, before her Emperor could have been brought to put his name to a Treaty of Peace finally surrendering his sovereignty over those extensive countries; and to have continued the war long enough for these purposes would have required greater endurance than was possessed by your Majesty's Allies, and might possibly have exhausted the good-will of your Majesty's own subjects....

[Pageheading: THE TREATY OF PARIS]

_The Earl of Clarendon to Queen Victoria._

PARIS, _30th March 1856._

Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly begs to congratulate your Majesty upon the signature of peace this afternoon. It is not to be doubted that another campaign must have brought glory to your Majesty's arms, and would have enabled England to impose different terms upon Russia, but setting aside the cost and the horrors of war, in themselves evils of the greatest magnitude, we cannot feel sure that victory might not have been purchased too dearly--a continuation of the war would hardly have been possible either with or without France--if we had dragged her on with us it would have been most reluctantly on her part, her finances would have suffered still more, she would have borne us ill-will, would have acted feebly with us, and would on the first favourable occasion have left us in the lurch. If we had continued the war single-handed, France would feel that she had behaved shabbily to us, and would _therefore_ have hated us all the more, and become our enemy sooner than under any other circ.u.mstances; a coalition of Europe might then have taken place against England, to which the United States would but too gladly have adhered, and the consequence might have been most serious.

Lord Clarendon would not make such an a.s.sertion lightly, but he feels convinced that your Majesty may feel satisfied with the position now occupied by England--six weeks ago it was a painful position here, everybody was against us, our motives were suspected, and our policy was denounced; but the universal feeling now is that we are the only country able and ready, and willing, if necessary, to continue the war; that we might have prevented peace, but that having announced our readiness to make peace on honourable terms we have honestly and unselfishly acted up to our word. It is well known, too, that the conditions on which peace is made would have been different if England had not been firm, and everybody is, of course, glad _even here_ that peace should not have brought dishonour to France.

Lord Clarendon, therefore, ventures to hope that the language in England with respect to the peace will not be apologetic or dissatisfied. It would be unwise and undignified, and would invite criticism if such language were held before the conditions are publicly known.

[Pageheading: END OF THE WAR]

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Clarendon._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _31st March 1856._

The Queen thanks Lord Clarendon much for his two letters of Sat.u.r.day and yesterday; and we congratulate _him_ on the success of his _efforts_ in obtaining the Peace, for to him _alone_ it is due, and also _to him alone_ is due the dignified position which the Queen's beloved country holds, and which she owes to a straightforward, steady, and unselfish policy throughout.

Much as the Queen disliked the idea of _Peace_, she has become reconciled to it, by the conviction that France would either not have continued the war, or continued it in such a manner that _no_ glory could have been hoped for for us.