1846
Queen Victoria to Sir Robert Peel.
Buckingham Palace, 23rd January 1846.
The Queen must compliment Sir Robert Peel on his beautiful and indeed unanswerable speech of last night, which we have been reading with the greatest attention.1 The concluding part we also greatly admire. Sir R. Peel has made a very strong case. Surely the impression which it has made must have been a good one. Lord John's explanation is a fair one;2 the Queen has not a doubt that he will support Sir Robert Peel.
He has indeed pledged himself to it. He does not give a very satisfactory explanation of the causes of his failure, but perhaps he could not do so without exposing Lord Palmerston.
What does Sir Robert think of the temper of the House of Commons, and of the debate in the House of Lords? The debates not being adjourned is a good thing. The crowd was immense out-of-doors yesterday, and we were never better received.
Footnote 1: The Queen had opened Parliament in person; the Prime Minister took the unusual course of speaking immediately after the seconder of the Address, and in his peroration, after laying stress on the responsibilities he was incurring, proceeded: "I do not desire to be Minister of England; but while I am Minister of England I will hold office by no servile tenure; I will hold office unshackled by any other obligation than that of consulting the public interests and providing for the public safety."
Footnote 2: He explained that the attitude of Lord Grey made the difficulties attending the formation of a Whig Ministry insuperable.
Sir Henry Hardinge to Queen Victoria.3
EXTENSION OF INDIAN FRONTIER