The Letters of Queen Victoria
Chapter 216 : _Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell._ WINDSOR CASTLE, _20th December 1851._ The Queen

_Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _20th December 1851._

The Queen found on her arrival here Lord John Russell's letter, enclosing his correspondence with Lord Palmerston, which she has perused with that care and attention which the importance and gravity of the subject of it demanded. The Queen has now to express to Lord John Russell her readiness to follow his advice, and her acceptance of the resignation of Lord Palmerston. She will be prepared to see Lord John after the Cabinet on Monday, as he proposes.

_Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _20th December 1851._

With respect to a successor to Lord Palmerston, the Queen must state, that after the sad experience which she has just had of the difficulties, annoyances, and dangers to which the Sovereign may be exposed by the personal character and qualities of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, she must reserve to herself the unfettered right to approve or disapprove the choice of a Minister for this Office.

Lord Granville, whom Lord John Russell designates as the person best calculated for that post, would meet with her entire approval. The possible opinion of the Cabinet that more experience was required does not weigh much with the Queen. From her knowledge of Lord Granville's character, she is inclined to see no such disadvantage in the circ.u.mstance that he has not yet had practice in managing Foreign Affairs, as he will be the more ready to lean upon the advice and judgment of the Prime Minister where he may have diffidence in his own, and thereby will add strength to the Cabinet by maintaining unity in thought and action. The Queen hopes Lord John Russell will not omit to let her have copies of his correspondence with Lord Palmerston, as he has promised her.[38]

[Footnote 38: On the same day the Prince wrote to the Premier that the Queen was much relieved. She had contemplated dismissing Lord Palmerston herself, but naturally shrank from using the power of the Crown, as her action would have been criticised without the possibility of making a public defence; in his view the Cabinet was rather strengthened than otherwise by Palmerston's departure, and public sympathy would not be with him. The rest of the letter is published in _The Life of the Prince Consort_.]

_Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _21st December 1851._

The Queen has received Lord John Russell's letter of to-day. She is not the least afraid of Lord Granville's not possessing sufficient public confidence for him to undertake the Foreign Affairs. He is very popular with the House of Lords, with the Free Traders, and the Peace party, and all that the Continent knows of him is in his favour; he had great success at Paris last summer, and his never having had an opportunity of damaging his character by having been mixed up in diplomatic intrigues is an immense advantage to him in obtaining the confidence of those with whom he is to negotiate.

[Pageheading: THE QUEEN AND PALMERSTON]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _23rd December 1851._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--I have the greatest pleasure in announcing to you a piece of news which I know will give you as much satisfaction and relief as it does to us, and will do to the _whole_ of the world.

_Lord Palmerston_ is _no longer Foreign Secretary_--and Lord Granville is already named his successor!! He had become of late really quite reckless, and in spite of the serious admonition and caution he received only on the 29th of November, and again at the beginning of December, he _tells_ Walewski that _he entirely_ approves Louis Napoleon's _coup d'etat_, when he had written to Lord Normanby by my and the Cabinet's desire that he (Lord Normanby) was to continue his diplomatic intercourse with the French Government, but to _remain_ perfectly pa.s.sive and give _no_ opinion. Walewski wrote Palmerston's opinion (entirely contrary to what the Government had ordered) to M.

Turgot, and when Normanby came with his instructions, Turgot told him what Palmerston had said. Upon this Lord John asked Palmerston to give an explanation--which, after the delay of a week, he answered in such an unsatisfactory way that Lord John wrote to him that _he could no longer remain Foreign Secretary_, for that perpetual misunderstanding and breaches of decorum were taking place which endangered the country. Lord Palmerston answered instantly that he would give up the Seals the moment his successor was named! Certain as we all felt that he could not have continued long in his place, we were quite taken by surprise when we learnt of the _denouement_.... Lord Granville will, I think, do extremely well, and his extreme honesty and trustworthiness will make him _invaluable_ to us, and to the Government and to Europe.

I send some prints, etc., for the children for Christmas. Ever your devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

[Pageheading: MEETING OF THE CABINET]

[Pageheading: LORD CLARENDON]

_Memorandum by the Prince Albert._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _23rd December 1851._

Lord John Russell arrived here at six o'clock yesterday evening immediately from the Cabinet, and reported that the Cabinet had, without a dissenting voice, condemned Lord Palmerston's conduct, and approved of the steps taken by Lord John Russell, which was a great relief to him. Lord Lansdowne, to whom he had first written on the subject, had frightened him by answering that it was not possible to avoid the rupture with Lord Palmerston, but that he thought the Government would after this not be able to go on. When, however, this question was discussed in Cabinet, and Lord John had stated that he thought the Office could be well filled, they all agreed in the propriety of going on. The Members of the Cabinet were so unable to understand Lord Palmerston's motives for his conduct during these last months, that Mr. Fox Maule started an idea which once occurred to Lord John himself (as he said), viz. that he must have had the design to bring on a rupture! Lord Minto, who was absent from the Cabinet, expressed himself in a letter to Lord John very strongly about Lord Palmerston's _reckless conduct_, which would yet undo the country.

Lord John, after having received the concurrence of the Cabinet on the question of Lord Palmerston's dismissal, stated that Lord Granville was the person whom he would like best to see fill his office, and he knew this to be the feeling of the Queen also. The Cabinet quite agreed in Lord Granville's fitness, but Sir George Grey stated it as his opinion that it ought first to be offered to Lord Clarendon, who has always been pointed out by the public as the proper person to succeed Lord Palmerston, and that, if he were pa.s.sed over, the whole matter would have the appearance of a Cabinet intrigue in favour of one colleague against another. The whole of the Cabinet sided with this opinion, and Lord John Russell now proposed to the Queen that an offer should in the first instance be made to Lord Clarendon.

The Queen protested against the Cabinet's taking upon itself the appointment of its own Members, which rested entirely with the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, under whose approval the former constructed his Government.... Lord John replied that he thought Lord Clarendon would not accept the offer, and therefore there would be little danger in satisfying the desires of the Cabinet. He had written to Lord Clarendon a cautioning letter from Woburn, apprising him of some serious crisis, of which he would soon hear, and speaking of his former wish to exchange the Lord-Lieutenancy for some other Office.

Lord Clarendon at once perceived the drift of the hint, and wrote to the Duke of Bedford what he said he did not wish to write to his brother John, that, if it was that Palmerston was going, and _he_ were thought of as a successor, nothing would be so disagreeable to him, as the whole change would be put down as an intrigue of his, whom Lord Palmerston had always accused of wis.h.i.+ng to supplant him; that if, however, the service of the country required it, he had the courage to face all personal obloquy....

Lord John owned that Sir George Grey's chief desire was to see Lord Clarendon removed from Ireland, having been there so long; the Cabinet would wish to see the Duke of Newcastle join the Government as Lord-Lieutenant, which he might be induced to do. The Queen having mentioned Lord Clarendon as most fit to succeed Lord Lansdowne one day as President of the Council and leader in the House of Lords, Lord John said that Lord Clarendon had particularly begged not to have the position offered him, for which he did not feel fit. Lord John would like him as Amba.s.sador at Paris, and thought Lord Clarendon would like this himself; but it was difficult to know what to do with Lord Normanby.

In the course of the conversation, Lord John congratulated the Queen upon the change having been accomplished without her personal intervention, which might have exposed her to the animosity of Lord Palmerston's admirers, whilst she would have been precluded from making any public defence. I reminded Lord John that, as such was the disadvantage of the regal position, it behoved the Queen doubly to watch, lest she be put into the same dilemma with a new Minister, whose conduct she could not approve of. Lord Clarendon's appointment would be doubly galling to Lord Palmerston, whom Lord John might not wish to irritate further, a consideration which Lord John said he had also pressed upon the Cabinet. Upon a remark from Lord John as to Lord Granville's youth, the Queen replied: "Lord Canning, whom Lord Stanley had intended to make his Foreign Secretary, was not older...."

The conference ended by Lord John's promise to write to Lord Clarendon as the Queen had desired ... but that he did not wish to make the offer to Lord Granville till he had Lord Clarendon's answer.

Lord Granville had been told not to attend the last Cabinet; Lord Palmerston had naturally stayed away.

I went up to Town at half-past seven to the Westminster Play, and took Lord John in my train to Richmond. We had some further conversation in the carriage, in which I asked Lord John whether it was true that Lord Palmerston had got us likewise into a quarrel with America by our s.h.i.+ps firing at Panama upon an American merchantman; he said neither he nor Sir Francis Baring had received any news, but Sir Francis had been quite relieved by Lord Palmerston's quitting, as he could not be sure a moment that his Fleets were not brought into some sc.r.a.pe!

On my expressing my conviction that Lord Palmerston could not be very formidable to the Government, Lord John said: "I hope it will not come true what Lord Derby (then Lord Stanley) said after the last Ministerial crisis, when Lord John quizzed him at not having been able to get a Foreign Secretary--'Next time I shall have Lord Palmerston.'!"

ALBERT.

[Pageheading: COUNT WALEWSKI]

_Lord John Russell to Queen Victoria._

DOWNING STREET, _23rd December 1851._

Lord John Russell presents his humble duty to your Majesty. He has just seen Count Walewski; he told him that he had an important piece of intelligence to give him; that your Majesty had been pleased to make a change in the Foreign Office, and to direct Lord Palmerston to give up the Seals.

He wished to give this intelligence that he might accompany it with an intimation that the policy towards France would continue to be of the most friendly character, and that there was nothing the Government more desired than to see a stable and settled Government in France; that they had every wish for the stability of the present French Government. Count Walewski said he had received various a.s.surances of opinion from Lord Palmerston, which he supposed were adopted by Lord John Russell, and subsisted in force.

Lord John Russell said: "Not exactly; it is a principle of the English Government not to interfere in any way with the internal affairs of other countries; whether France chooses to be a Republic or a Monarchy, provided it be not a Social Republic, we wish to express no opinion; we are what we call in England a sheet of white paper in this respect; all we desire is the happiness and welfare of France." Count Walewski said it was of importance to the stability of the President that he should have a large majority; he would then give a Const.i.tution.

Lord John Russell said each nation must suit itself in this respect; we have perhaps been in error in thinking our Const.i.tution could be generally adopted; some nations it may suit, others may find it unfitted for them.