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.
BUREAUCRACY
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 Stanhope6 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 Minto8 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.