The Letters of Queen Victoria, Volume 1 (of 3), 1837 to 1843)

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[Pageheading: CANADA]

_Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria._

_14th January 1838._

Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and has the
honour of acknowledging your Majesty's gracious communication, which
he received this evening. Lord Melbourne has this morning seen Lord
Durham upon the subject of his assuming the Government of Canada,[1]
and has had a long conversation with him. Lord Melbourne is to receive
his final answer before the Cabinet to-morrow, which meets at ten
o'clock. Lord Durham is anxious that your Majesty should express to
him your wish, or rather, as he phrased it, lay upon him your commands
that he should undertake this duty, and also that, as his absence will
be but temporary, that Lady Durham[2] should retain her situation in
your Majesty's household. Lord Melbourne thinks that your Majesty may
properly gratify him in both these points. Lord Durham made some other
stipulations, which Lord Melbourne will explain to your Majesty, but,
upon the whole, Lord Melbourne feels little doubt that he will accept.

Lord Glenelg[3] is on Monday to make a statement to the House of Lords
upon the subject of Canada, on which a debate may not improbably arise
by which Lord Melbourne may be detained. On Wednesday there is neither
House of Lords nor Cabinet dinner. Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday will
therefore be festive days, on which Lord Melbourne will have great
pleasure in obeying your Majesty's commands and also on Monday, if he
should not be kept in the House of Lords.

Lord Melbourne thinks it was prudent in your Majesty not to expose
yourself to the cold of the Chapel. He is himself better, but has
still much cough, though he has kept himself very quiet and been very
careful of his diet since he has been in London.

[Footnote 1: In the room of Lord Gosford. See _ante_, p. 102. Ch. VII,
(Introductory Note to Ch. VII)]

[Footnote 2: Daughter of Earl Grey.]

[Footnote 3: Colonial Secretary.]

_Queen Victoria to Viscount Melbourne._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _15th January 1838._ (_Half-past nine o'clock._)

The Queen has written _approved_ on Lord Melbourne's letter as
he desired; but adds a line to express her _satisfaction_ at Lord
Durham's having accepted the office of Governor-General of Canada.

The Queen will be very happy to see Lord Melbourne at half-past three.

[Pageheading: INFLUENCE OF THE CROWN]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

BRUSSELS, _16th January 1838._

MY DEARLY BELOVED CHILD,--... I am very grateful for Lord Melbourne's
kind recollection of me. I have a sincere regard for him, and I think
that our intercourse has satisfied him of one thing, that I have
nothing so much at heart than your welfare, and what is for the good
of your Empire. I wish very much that you would speak with him on
the subject of what ought to be done to keep for the Crown the little
influence it still may possess. His views on this important subject
are the more trustworthy as he always has belonged to the moderate
Liberals, and therefore has had the means of judging the matter
with great impartiality. Monarchy to be carried on requires certain
elements, and the occupation of the Sovereign must be constantly to
_preserve these elements_, or should they have been too much weakened
by untoward circumstances, to contrive by every means to _strengthen
them again_. You are too clever not to know, that it is _not_ the
being _called_ Queen or King, which can be of the _least consequence_,
when to the title there is not also annexed the power indispensable
for the exercise of those functions. All trades must be learned, and
nowadays the trade of a _constitutional Sovereign, to do it well, is a
very difficult one_.

... I must end, and remain ever, most affectionately, my dear Child,
your devoted Uncle,

LEOPOLD R.

_Queen Adelaide to Queen Victoria._

_24th January 1838._

MY DEAREST NIECE,--Having just been informed of your gracious
consideration of, and your generosity towards, the dear King's
children,[4] I must express to you how deeply I feel this kind proof
of your attachment to the late King, whose memory you respect by the
generous continuance of their former allowances from the Privy Purse.
Nothing could have given me more real satisfaction, and I trust and
hope that they will prove their gratitude and entire devotion to you
by their future conduct. Let me thank you, dearest Victoria, from the
bottom of my heart, and be assured that the heavenly blessing of our
beloved King will be upon you for your generous kindness to those he
loved so much in this world.

I hope that you have not suffered at all from the severity of the
weather, and are as well as all your subjects can wish you to be,
amongst whom there is none more anxiously praying for your welfare
and happiness than, my dear Niece, your most devoted and affectionate
Aunt,

ADELAIDE.

[Footnote 4: The eldest of the five illegitimate sons of
William IV. and Mrs. Jordan had been created Earl of Munster,
and his sisters and brothers had been given the precedence
of the daughters and younger sons of a Marquis. The Queen now
continued the same allowances as they had received from the
late King.]

[Pageheading: DANIEL O'CONNELL]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _22nd February 1838._

MY DEAR UNCLE,--... I had a very brilliant Levee again yesterday, at
which O'Connell and all his sons, son-in-law, nephew, etc., appeared.
I received him, as you may imagine, with a very smiling face; he has
been behaving very well this year.[5] It was quite a treat for me to
see him, as I had for long wished it.

We are going on most prosperously here, which will, I am sure, give
you as much pleasure as it does me. We have no fear for any of the
questions. Lord John Russell is much pleased with the temper of the
House of Commons, which he says is remarkably good, and the Duke of
Wellington is behaving uncommonly well, going _with Ministers_, and
behaving like an honest man _should_ do....

[Footnote 5: Ever since the Accession, O'Connell's speeches
had been full of expressions of loyalty, and he had been
acting in concert with the Whigs.]

[Pageheading: DEPARTMENTS OF STATE]

[Pageheading: BUREAUCRACY]

_Viscount Palmerston to Queen Victoria._

STANHOPE STREET, _25th February 1838._

Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and with
reference to your Majesty's question upon the subjects to which Lord
William Russell's recent despatch relates, he has the honour to state:
that in the Governments of the Continent, and more especially in those
which have no representative Assemblies, the second class of persons
in the public offices possess and exercise much more power and
influence than the corresponding class of persons do in this
country. In England the Ministers who are at the head of the several
departments of the State, are liable any day and every day to defend
themselves in Parliament; in order to do this, they must be minutely
acquainted with all the details of the business of their offices, and
the only way of being constantly armed with such information is to
conduct and direct those details themselves.

On the Continent, where Ministers of State are not liable so to be
called to account for their conduct, the Ministers are tempted
to leave the details of their business much more to their
Under-Secretaries and to their chief clerks. Thus it happens that
all the routine of business is generally managed by these subordinate
agents; and to such an extent is this carried, that Viscount
Palmerston believes that the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, in France,
Austria, Prussia, and Russia, seldom take the trouble of writing
their own despatches, except, perhaps, upon some very particular and
important occasion.

Your Majesty will easily see how greatly such a system must place in
the hands of the subordinate members of the public departments the
power of directing the policy and the measures of the Government;
because the value and tendency, and the consequences of a measure,
frequently depend as much upon the manner in which that measure
is worked out, as upon the intention and spirit with which it was
planned.

Another circumstance tends also to give great power to these
second-class men, and that is their permanence in office.

In England when, in consequence of some great political change, the
Heads of Departments go out, the greater part of the Under-Secretaries
go out also; thus the Under-Secretary (with two or three exceptions)
having come in with his Chief, has probably no more experience than
his Chief, and can seldom set up his own knowledge to overrule the
opinion, or to guide the judgment, of his superior.

But on the Continent, changes of Ministers are oftener changes of
individual men from personal causes, than changes of parties from
political convulsions; and therefore when the Chief retires, the
Under-Secretary remains. There are consequently in all the public
offices abroad a number of men who have spent the greater part of
their lives in their respective departments, and who by their long
experience are full of knowledge of what has been done in former
times, and of the most convenient and easy manner of doing what may be
required in the time present. This affords to the Chiefs an additional
motive for leaning upon their subordinates, and gives to those
subordinates still more real influence.

This class of subordinate men has, from the fact of its being
possessed of so much power, been invested by the jargon of the day
with the title of "Bureaucratic"--a name fabricated in imitation of
the words "aristocratic" and "democratic," each being compounded of
the word "cratic," which is a corruption from the Greek word "kratos,"
which means power; and the prefix, denoting the particular class of
society whose power is meant to be expressed. Thus "_aristo_-cratic"
is the power of the upper, or, as in Greek it is called, the "aristos"
class of society; "_demo_-cratic" is the power of the people, which in
Greek is called the "demos"; and "_bureau_-cratic" is the power of the
public offices or "bureaus," for which latter the French name has been
taken instead of a Greek word.

It appears, then, to be the opinion of Lord William Russell, that this
second class of public men in Prussia are animated by a desire to
see the general policy of their country rendered more national and
independent than it has hitherto been; that for this purpose they were
desirous of urging on the Government to take its stand against foreign
influence upon some point or other, not much caring what that
point might be; that they thought it would be difficult to choose a
political question, because on such a question the King of Prussia
might be against them, and that consequently they chose a religious
question, on which they knew they should have the King with them;
and that accordingly they led the Government on to a quarrel with the
Court of Rome, and with the Catholic or Austrian party in Germany,
more with a view to place Prussia in an independent national position
than from any particular importance which they attached to the
question itself upon which the rupture was to be effected.

_Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria._

_21st March 1838._

Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty. The House
sate until half-past eleven last night. Lord Stanhope[6] made a long
declamatory speech, very violent, but having in it nothing defined
or specific, and was answered by Lord Brougham in a most able and
triumphant defence and maintenance of the late Act for Amending the
Laws for the Relief of the Poor.[7]

Lord Melbourne was very sorry to be prevented from waiting upon your
Majesty. He is very grateful for your Majesty's enquiries, and feels
very well this morning....

Lord Minto[8] told Lord Melbourne last night to acquaint your
Majesty that Lord Amelius Beauclerck,[9] your Majesty's first Naval
Aide-de-Camp, intended to ask an Audience to-day of your Majesty,
and that the object of it was to request that he and the other
Aides-de-Camp might wear sashes. This was always refused by the
late King as being absurd and ridiculous--as it is, particularly
considering Lord Amelius's figure--and your Majesty had perhaps better
say that you can make no change.

Lord Melbourne will be at St James's twenty minutes before ten.

[Footnote 6: Philip Henry, fourth Earl.]

[Footnote 7: Before 1834 a great source of public abuse was
the out-door relief given to able-bodied paupers, either in
kind or money. The Act of that year was based on the
principle that no one must perish through the want of the bare
necessities of life. Poor Law Commissioners were established,
England was divided into Districts, and the Districts into
Unions. Out-door relief was to be given, on the order of
two justices, to poor persons wholly unable, from age or
infirmity, to work. But there was much opposition to the
new law; it was considered a grievance that old couples were
refused relief at home, and that the sexes must be separated
at the workhouse, to which the name of "Bastille" began to be
attached. In Devonshire it was even believed that the bread
distributed by the relieving officers was mixed with poisonous
ingredients.]

[Footnote 8: The First Lord of the Admiralty.]

[Footnote 9: A son of the eighth Duke of St Albans.]

[Pageheading: PRESSURE OF BUSINESS]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _4th April 1838._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--_Vous ne m'en voudrez pas_, I sincerely hope, for
not having written to you sooner to thank you for your kind letter,
which I received last week, but I really could not do so. As _honesty
is the best policy_, I will tell you the simple fact. I have been out
riding every day for about three hours, which quite renovates me,
and when I come home I have consequently a good deal to do, what with
seeing people, reading despatches, writing, etc. You will, I trust,
now quite forgive your poor niece, whom you so often call "the little
Queen," which is, I fear, true; but her _feelings_ of affection are
not so small as her _body_ is, I can assure you.

The Prince de Ligne[10] will be received with every possible
attention, I can promise; it would have been so _without_ his being
recommended; his rank, and, above all, his being one of your subjects,
would of course entitle him to a good reception from me....

There is another _sujet_ which I wish to mention to you, _et que j'ai
bien a c[oe]ur_, which is, if you would consult Stockmar with respect
to the finishing of Albert's education; he knows best my feelings and
wishes on that subject....

[Footnote 10: He was appointed to attend the Coronation as
Minister Extraordinary from King Leopold.]

_Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria._

_5th April 1838._

Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and is much
distressed that, being in the House of Lords, he was unable to answer
your Majesty's letter as soon as he received it. Lord Melbourne went
to the Palace about half-past four, but learning from the porter at
the gate that your Majesty was not returned, went away thinking that
there was not left time to see your Majesty before the House of Lords.
Lord Melbourne is very much concerned that your Majesty should have
hastened at all, and most earnestly requests your Majesty never will
do so upon his account. Lord Melbourne hears with great pleasure
that your Majesty has had a pleasant ride, and likes your horse.
Lord Melbourne is very well himself, and will wait upon your Majesty
to-morrow morning about ten minutes before ten.

[Pageheading: FAVOURITE HORSES]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _10th April 1838._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--I received your kind letter of the 5th on Sunday,
and return you my best thanks for it. I shall, before I say another
word, answer your question about the horses which I ride, which I do
the more willingly as I have got two _darlings_, if I may use that
word. They are, both of them, _quite perfect_ in every sense of the
word; _very handsome_, full of _spirit_, delightful easy-goers, very
quiet, and _never_ shying at anything. Is not this perfection? The one
called _Tartar_ (which belonged to Lord Conyngham), an Irish horse,
is a very dark brown, a beautiful creature; the other, which Lord
Uxbridge[11] got for me, is called _Uxbridge_; he is smaller than
Tartar, and is a dark chestnut, with a beautiful little Arabian
head. I am afraid I shall have bored you with this long account of my
horses.

I am going to Windsor to-morrow afternoon, and have got a great deal
to do in consequence....

Poor dear Louie[12] _lingers_ on, but, alas! I can only say _lingers_;
she does not gain strength. I cannot say how it grieves me, I am so
sincerely attached to the good old soul, who has known me ever since
my birth. But I still entertain a hope that she may get over it.

We shall have a fortnight's respite from our Political Campaign. I
trust we shall do as well as we have done when Parliament meets again.
Believe me always, your devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

[Footnote 11: Henry, Earl of Uxbridge, afterwards
second Marquis of Anglesey (1797-1869).]

[Footnote 12: Louisa Louis was born at Erbach in 1771.
The Queen erected a tablet to her memory in St
Martin's-in-the-Fields, where she is described as "the
faithful and devoted friend of Princess Charlotte of Wales,
and from earliest infancy honoured by the affectionate
attachment of Her Majesty Queen Victoria." See Reminiscences,
_ante_, p. 10. (Ch. I, 'Early Reminiscences')]

[Pageheading: PRINCE ALBERT'S EDUCATION]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

_13th April 1838._

... Concerning the education of our friend Albert, it has been
the best plan you could have fixed upon, to name Stockmar your
commissary-general; it will give _unite d'action et de l'ensemble_,
which otherwise we should not have had. I have communicated to him
what your uncle and the young gentleman seem to wish, and what strikes
me as the best for the moment. Stockmar will make a regular report to
you on this subject. They will return to Bonn at the beginning of May,
and remain till the end of August.... I agree with this, as nothing
enlarges the mind so much as travelling. But Stockmar will best treat
this affair verbally with you. The young gentlemen wished to pay me
another visit at the beginning of May, prior to their return to Bonn.
Nothing definite is, however, as yet settled about it. On one thing
you can rely, that it is my _great anxiety_ to see Albert a _very
good_ and _distinguished young man_, and _no pains will be thought too
much_ on my part if this end can be attained....

_Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria._

(_Undated._)

Your Majesty will perceive by this box, which I received this morning
but had not time to open, that Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia,[13]
has been appointed Ambassador to the Coronation....

[Footnote 13: Soult entered the French army in 1785, and
became Marshal of France in 1804. After distinguishing himself
at Austerlitz in 1805, he was made Duke of Dalmatia in 1807.
Serving in the Peninsular War, he pursued Moore to Corunna,
and became Commander-in-Chief in Spain in 1809. Subsequently
he conducted the French retreat before Wellington in Southern
France, 1813-14; was banished, but recalled and created a
peer. He was Minister of War 1830-34.]

[Pageheading: OLD SERVANTS]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _17th April 1838._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--... You will by this time have learnt the _sad_
loss we have all sustained in the death of _dearest_, _faithful_,
_excellent_ Louie, who breathed her last, without a struggle or a
suffering, on Sunday night at nine o'clock. I don't think I have
_ever_ been so much overcome or distressed by anything, almost, as by
the death of this my earliest friend; it is the first link that has
been broken of my first and infantine affections. I always loved
Louie, and shall cherish her memory as that of the purest and best of
mortals as long as I live! I took leave of her before I left London on
Wednesday, and _never_, _never_ shall I forget the blessing she gave
me, and the grasp she gave my hand! I was quite upset by it! And I
feared and felt I should behold her on earth no more; it was, however,
a beautiful lesson of calmness and contentment and resignation to the
will of her God! Prepared as she was at every moment of her life to
meet her heavenly Father, she was full of hope of recovery, and quite
unconscious of her approaching end. You will, I am sure, dearest
Uncle, feel the loss of this excellent creature; I cannot restrain my
tears while writing this. One great consolation I have, which is, that
I have been the means of making her last days as happy as she could
wish to be, after having lost what she loved most!

... Poor _Mason_, our faithful coachman for so many years, is also
dead. These old servants cannot be replaced; and to see those whom one
has known from one's birth drop off, one by one, is melancholy! You
will think this letter a very sad one, but _I feel sad_....

_Queen Adelaide to Queen Victoria._

MARLBOROUGH HOUSE, _17th April 1838._

... I can well enter into all your feelings of regret at the death of
one so truly attached and so faithful as dear old Louie had been to
you from your infancy, and I quite understand your grief; yet I feel
sure that you will also rejoice for her, that she has been relieved
from her earthly sufferings. For _her_ the change of existence was a
happy one; good and pious as she was, we may trust that her state at
present is one of felicity and bliss through the redeeming grace of
our Saviour....

[Pageheading: THE CORONATION]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

_17th April 1838._

... The Parliamentary affairs will, please Heaven, continue to go on
well; I am more than ever bound to wish it, as I am not anxious to
exchange my clever and well-informed friend Palmerston, with Lord
Aberdeen, for instance, of whose sweetness the Greek negotiation[14]
has given me very fair means of judging. Now I will conclude by
touching on one subject which concerns your great goodness to us.
When we left England you expressed a wish to see us at the time of the
Coronation, which was then believed to take place at the end of May.
More mature reflection has made me think that a King and Queen at your
dear Coronation might perhaps be a _hors-d'[oe]uvre_, and I think, if
it meets with your approbation, that it may be better to pay you our
respects at some other period, which you might like to fix upon. I do
not deny that having been deprived by circumstances from the happiness
of wishing you joy at your birthday, since 1831, in person, I feel
strongly tempted to make a short apparition to see you, as seeing and
speaking is much pleasanter than ink and paper....

[Footnote 14: Referring to the offer of the throne of Greece
to King Leopold in 1830.]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _25th April 1838._

MY BELOVED UNCLE,--... With respect to the happiness of seeing you and
my dearest Aunt, I shall now respectfully state my feelings. It would
have made me very happy to see you both at the Coronation, but I think
upon the whole it is perhaps better you should not do so. Then, with
respect to your coming for my _old_ birthday, I must observe that I
could not enjoy you or my Aunt at all _a mon aise_. First of all, I
could not lodge you, and if one is not in the same house together,
there is _no real_ seeing one another; secondly, the town will be so
full of all sorts of foreigners that I should have _no peace_ to see
you and Aunt quietly. If therefore, dearest Uncle, it suits you and
Aunt Louise, would you come about the end of August, and stay with me
as long as you can? I trust, dearest Uncle, _que vous me comprendrez
bien_, and that you are assured of the great happiness it is for me to
see you at any time.

Since I have written to you we have received from Lord Granville the
news of Marshal Soult's appointment as Ambassador for the Coronation,
and of the Duc de Nemours' intention of coming here as a spectator.
You may be assured that I shall be delighted to see the Duke, as I
always am any of the dear French family. With regard to Soult, I
am sure you are aware that whoever the King chose to send would be
equally well received by me and the Government.

[Pageheading: THE TRAIN-BEARERS]

_Queen Victoria to Viscount Melbourne._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _5th May 1838._

The Queen sends the papers relating to the Coronation as Lord
Melbourne wished. The Queen also transmits the names of the young
ladies who she proposes should carry her train. If Lord Melbourne sees
any objection to any of these she hopes he will say so.