Osborne House, 16th July 1846.
The Queen has received Lord John Russell's communication of yesterday, and sincerely hopes that Lord John's sugar measure20 may be such that the Committee of the Cabinet, as well as the whole Cabinet and Parliament, may concur in it, which would save the country another struggle this year. The Queen trusts, moreover, that late experience and good sense may induce the West Indians to be moderate and accommodating. As Lord John touches in his letter on the possibility of a Dissolution, the Queen thinks it right to put Lord John in possession of her views upon this subject generally. She considers the power of dissolving Parliament a most valuable and powerful instrument in the hands of the Crown, but which ought not to be used except in extreme cases and with a certainty of success. To use this instrument and be defeated is a thing most lowering to the Crown and hurtful to the country. The Queen strongly feels that she made a mistake in allowing the Dissolution in 1841; the result has been a majority returned against her of nearly one hundred votes; but suppose the result to have been nearly an equality of votes between the two contending parties, the Queen would have thrown away her last remedy, and it would have been impossible for her to get any Government which could have carried on public business with a chance of success.
The Queen was glad therefore to see that Sir Robert Peel did not ask for a Dissolution, and she entirely concurs in the opinion expressed by him in his last speech in the House of Commons, when he said:
"I feel strongly this, that no Administration is justified in advising the exercise of that prerogative, unless there be a fair, reasonable presumption, even a strong moral conviction, that after a Dissolution they will be enabled to administer the affairs of this country through the support of a party sufficiently powerful to carry their measures. I do not think a Dissolution justifiable to strengthen a party. I think the power of Dissolution is a great instrument in the hands of the Crown, and that there is a tendency to blunt that instrument if it be resorted to without necessity.
"The only ground for Dissolution would have been a strong presumption that after a Dissolution we should have had a party powerful enough in this House to give effect practically to the measures which we might propose. I do not mean a support founded on a concurrence on one great question of domestic policy, however important that may be, not of those who differ from us on almost all questions of public policy, agreeing with us in one; but that we should have the support of a powerful party united by a general concurrence of political opinions."
The Queen is confident that these views will be in accordance with Lord John Russell's own sentiments and opinions upon this subject.
Footnote 20: In pursuance of the policy of free trade, the Ministry introduced and passed a Bill reducing the duties on foreign slave-grown sugar, with the ultimate intention of equalising them with those on Colonial produce.
Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria.
LORD MELBOURNE'S VIEWS
South Street, 21st July 1846.