Chapter XXVI
, and Walpole's _History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815_, ch. xxvii., and authorities there referred to.]
[Pageheading: LORD CLARENDON'S INSTRUCTIONS]
_Queen Victoria to Viscount Palmerston._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, [_? March_] _1856_.
The Queen returns these letters to Lord Palmerston. She entirely concurs in Lord Palmerston's general views of the question, but at the same time she thinks--as circumstances, which are beyond our control, may so vary from day to day or even from hour to hour--that Lord Clarendon should receive full powers to act according to what may appear to him to be best and wisest at the time, even if it should not be in strict accordance with what we originally contemplated and must naturally wish. Such a power would certainly not be misplaced in Lord Clarendon's hands; his firmness, and his sense of what this country expects, are too well known to lead us to doubt of his permitting anything but what would _really_ be for the best of this country, and for the maintenance of the Alliance.
[Pageheading: THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS]
_Queen Victoria to Viscount Palmerston._
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _6th March 1856_.
With reference to Lord Clarendon's letter, the Queen must say that she, though _very reluctantly_, shares his opinion, that we have no choice _now_ but to accept the peace, even if it is not all we could desire, and if another campaign might have got us better terms. She feels certain that the bad accounts of the French Army in the Crimea, which appears to suffer _now_ all the misery which ours suffered last year at the worst time of the siege, will more than ever indispose the Emperor from risking a renewal of hostilities. It is affirmed that the French have beyond 20,000 men in hospital!
If we are to have this peace, however, the Queen must again agree with Lord Clarendon that we ought not _ourselves_ to depreciate it, as our Press has done the deeds of our Army.
With regard to the principalities, it is the Queen's opinion that nothing will oppose a barrier to Russia and her intrigues but the arrangement which will satisfy the people themselves, viz. an _hereditary monarchy_. The example of Egypt might perfectly well be followed in Wallachia and Moldavia.
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 gratitude 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 embarrassed 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