Fourth son of King George III., and father of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
But for some occult reason, the Federal cause was unpopular in this country from the beginning; the initial reverses sustained by the armies of the North were hailed with satisfaction in the English Press; and this, combined with a rash expression used in public by Lord Palmerston about the “unfortunate rapid movements” of Federal troops in the action at Bull’s Run, caused a very sore feeling against Great Britain among both leaders and people in the Northern States.
F. Winterhalter.] [From the Royal Collection.
H.R.H. VICTORIA MARIA LOUISA, DUCHESS OF KENT.
H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent was the daughter of H.S.H. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; married July 11, 1818, Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III., and was the mother of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Died March 16, 1861. Her Majesty, therefore, lost both mother and husband within nine months.
An unfortunate incident arose early in the war to intensify this feeling, and the corresponding unpopularity of the Federals in England. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, being anxious to obtain recognition by European Courts, sent two Envoys, Mr. Mason to represent him at the Court of St. James’s, and Mr. Slidell at the Court of the Tuileries. These two gentlemen, escaping by night from Charleston, then under blockade, embarked at Havana in the English mail steamer Trent. |The “Trent” Affair.| A Federal sloop-of-war was cruising about in search of the Confederate privateer Sumter, and her commander, Captain Wilkes, on hearing about the Confederate Envoys, resolved to get possession of them. Intercepting the Trent in the Bahama Channel, he hailed her to heave to, fired a couple of shots across her bows, boarded her, and carried off Messrs. Mason and Slidell. Of course this act was wholly unjustifiable by international law, and President Lincoln at once directed Mr. Seward to reply by complying with Earl Russell’s demand for the surrender of the Confederate Envoys. They were liberated accordingly on January 1, 1862, and sailed for Europe. But unluckily Lord Palmerston had no reason to calculate on this ready compliance with British demands. Captain Wilkes had received approval of his conduct from the Federal Secretary to the Navy, a vote of thanks to him had been passed by the Washington House of Representatives, and he had been fêted wherever he went. All this was taken as indicating President Lincoln’s intention to defend the action of his officer: indeed, but for what was going on in England, Lincoln’s best intentions might have been overborne by the tide of public opinion. Simultaneously with the despatch of Lord John Russell’s demand for the surrender of the prisoners, 8,000 troops were embarked in England for service in Canada, and every preparation was made for immediate war. This not only cost Great Britain about a million of money, but also deprived President Lincoln’s act of all grace in the eyes of English people.
SYDNEY TOWN AND HARBOUR, FROM PALACE GARDENS.
The colony of New South Wales, originally comprising the eastern half of the continent of Australia and the island of Tasmania, was formally founded by an expedition under the command of Capt. Arthur Phillip. The first landing was effected at Botany Bay, and the City of Sydney was founded on January 26, 1788. New South Wales became a self-governing colony in 1855. Population (1893), 1,277,870; imports (1895), £15,992,415; exports (1895), £21,934,785.