CONSERVATIVE OVERTURES
Broadlands, 1st January 1861.
Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and begs to be allowed to wish your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince Consort many prosperous returns of New Year's Day, with increasing happiness to your Majesty and the Royal Family, and progressive advantage to the Nation who have the good fortune to have your Majesty for their Sovereign; and to adopt the language of Pope, he would say,
"May day improve on day, and year on year,
Without a pain, a trouble, or a fear."
This Autumn and Winter, however, have been productive of events in three of the four quarters of the Globe, which future years are not likely to repeat. The capture of Pekin in Asia by British and French troops; the Union in Europe of nearly the whole of Italy into one Monarchy; and the approaching and virtually accomplished Dissolution in America of the great Northern Confederation, are events full of importance for the future, as well as being remarkable in time present.
Viscount Palmerston submits two letters which your Majesty may feel an interest in seeing. With regard to that from Lord John Russell stating a half-formed wish to go to the House of Lords, Viscount Palmerston does not expect that the desire will be repeated when the Session begins, although Lord John said last year that he felt attendance in the House of Commons in addition to the labour of his office, more than he could well get through. He would be a loss to Viscount Palmerston in the House of Commons, especially after the removal of Mr Sidney Herbert to the House of Lords;1 and speaking confidentially to your Majesty with regard to the future, Viscount Palmerston would think himself doing better service by recommending the House of Lords for Mr Gladstone, than for Lord John Russell.
Mr Herbert will take the title of Lord Herbert of Lea, the title of Herbert being that borne by his elder brother during the life of the late Lord Pembroke.
The other letter from Lord Malmesbury relates to a communication which he made to Viscount Palmerston last year from Lord Derby and Mr Disraeli at the beginning of the Session, to the effect that, if the Government were then to break up from internal dissensions, the Conservative Party would support during the then ensuing Session any administration which Viscount Palmerston might be able provisionally to make, to carry through the business of the Session.2 Viscount Palmerston is not aware of any circumstances which can have led to the expectation that the present administration is likely to be broken up by internal divisions in the course of this next Session. There are no questions ahead so likely to produce discord as the Reform Bill of last year, and the differences between the two Houses about the Paper Duties, about which it was very difficult to prevent Lord John and Mr Gladstone from flying off, or the Fortification Question, upon which Mr Gladstone announced to his colleagues, nearly a dozen times, that he was firmly resolved to resign. Viscount Palmerston has asked Lord Malmesbury to come over to him to Broadlands at any time before the 21st or 22nd of this month, which is the probable time at which the Cabinet will have to meet in London.
Viscount Palmerston finds he has not got Lord John Russell's letter at hand, but the only thing of any interest in it was the intimation which Viscount Palmerston quoted.