The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-16 00:00:00

PRINCE ALBERT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMAS.
Sir,—Some member of the Carlton Club has put
forth a laboured argument to prove that his Royal
Highness Prince Albert is legaLly incapable of being
eems to lay some
a Privy Councillor, and he further 0
stress on the fact that the Prince was never sworn.
As I happen to know something of these matters,
I wish to prevent any misconception, on tiffs' point
at least, from taking root in the public mind. An
attentive examination of the quotations from dif-
ferent statutes brought forward by the Carltoniant
critic will satisfy any one that they prove the case
against himself. I will endeavour, nevertheless, to
make it still more clear. The acts for naturalising
Prince Albert were copied word for word from those.
for naturalising Prince Leopold when he married
the late Princess Charlotte, in virtue of which he
was made a Privy Councillor on the Ist of July,.
1816, with the sanction of Lord Eldon, then Lord
Chancellor. By the Ist George I. it is directed
that no person shall be naturalised unless in the
bill for that purpose a clause is inserted declaring
that such peon shall not thereby be enabled to be
of the Privy Council, &c. In the case of Prince
Leopold and Prince Albert, respectively, bills were
first brought in, enacting that acts for their natu-
ralization, without the clause or particular words
directed by the statute of George I. to be inserted,.
might be exhibited and brought into Parliament.
The way being thus cleared, subsequent acts were
passed in the case of each Prince, enacting that he
should " to all intents and purposes whatever be
deemed, taken, and esteemed to be a natural born
subject of this kingdom, as if he had been born
within the realm, any law, statute, matter, or
thing to the contrary notwithstanding." The
question then reduces itself to this,—whether a
person born out of the realm may be made a Privy
Councillor In the case of Prince Leopold, Eldon
was Chancellor, and Garrow and Shepherd, Attor-
ney and Solicitor General ; in that of Prince
Albert, Lord Cottenham was Chancellor, Lord
Campbell, Attorney, Lord Truro, Solicitor Gene-
ral. The opinions of the whole Carlton
Club would hardly prevail against such a
legal array as I have quoted ; and those
who might question the authority of the great
Whig lawyers will hardly refuse to defer to that of
Lord Eldon. With regard to Prince Albert not
having been sworn, the person who made the remark
is no doubt ignorant. that members of the royal
family are introduced into the council, and are not
sworn. I have some doubt whether such has been.
the usage with regard to every member of the royal
family, but it certainly has been as to the sons of
the sovereign, and to her consort, when a queen
has been on the throne. The precedents of Prince
Leopold (though the Princess Charlotte was only
presumptive heiress), and of Prince George of Den-
mark were followed in the case of Prince Albert,
both of whom were introduced, and took no oaths.
The late Duke of Sussex, whom I consulted (in refe-
rence to Prince Albert's being made a privy coun-
cillor), informed me that the usage_ was to consider
the King's sons as being Privy Councillors from
their birth, to be introduced into the Council when
the King thought fit, and that they were never
sworn ; but that more remote relations were sworn
like other Privy Councillors, and that he was him-
self introduced in his father's lifetime, and took no
oath , but subsequently, on the accession of his bro-
thers, George IV. and William IV. (when the whole
Privy Council was re-appointed), he had taken the
usual oaths. I myself administered the oaths to
him and the Duke of Cumberland on the accession
of Queen Victoria, but I am not satisfied that I was
right, according to use, in so doing.
I am, Sir, yours obediently,
C. C. GREVILLE.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

(Front the Press of Saturday.)

A secret negotiation carried on at Constantinople be-
tween Lord Stratford, her Britannic Majesty's Ambas-
sador, and Redschid Pacha, while the public negotia-
tions were conducted, at the same time, by the ambas-
sadors of the Four Great Powers with the Porte, ter-
minated in a surrender, on the part of the Sultan, of
all those points which the Divan, by a large majority,
had previously decided to maintain. The instant tins
news of this surrender transpired, Mehemet Ali, the
brother-in-law of the Sultan, and the head of the Pa-
triotic party, a man of honour and energy, violently
protested against the course, as he affirmed, thus surrep-
titiously obtained. The popular indignation was con-
siderable. The students, the most numerous and
powrerful body in the city, moved ; Redschid Pacha
was ch,,,rged by Mehemet Ali with having been
previously convicted of taking bribes from Russia ;
the people were reminded that Prince Menschi-
koff had insisted, in March, on the dismissal of the
then Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that, at the dicta-
tion of the Russian Envoy, Redschid Pacha, had been
appointed in his stead. The excitement became great.
Redschid Pacha, panic-struck, resigned, and fled for
refuge to a palace of the Sultan on the Bosphorus.
Tranquillity was ultimately only restored by the menaces
of the English and French admirals, who thus, instead
of defending the Sultan from the Russians, discovered
that their real mission was to defend his Highness from
his own subjects. Much of what occurred on this occa-
sion has been concealed and suppressed, but our readers
may rely upon this statement. The whole facts are
before us ; but the intimation that we are now permitted
to give will throw light upon late events otherwise very
obscure.
Notwithstanding this outbreak, and the exertions of
Mehemet Ali, the conditions thus obtained from Turkey
by the British Ambassador through his influence with,.
Redschid Pacha became and continue the basi
as of th
preotperosbsituirogns since They
hey
faorrewna re/ thhraosu Deer: Vi e
erroneously,nn to S t
Petersburg.
though authoritatively, stated, an Ultimatum. They
therefore admit of negotiation ; and, with only a mo-
derate allowance for the modifications which under sucit.
circumstances occur, the arrangement, even if accepted
by the Czar, will resolve itself virtually into an adop—
tion by the Porte of the spirit of the Mensehikoff treaty.
Peace may thus he preserved by the subjugation of
Turkey being postponed. The ancient treaties are to
employed
prelneyewededw;iath
and, as the provinces, the language
m
respect to their evacuation is merely
the language already gratuitously used by the Czar him-
self.

The circumstances above detailed are the circum-
stances referred to by anticipation in our leading article-.
of the 17th of December, when we warned our readers
ithat "an enormous diplomatic conspiracy was hatch.
ng," a warning followed up by some details then for
the first time mentioned, and to which we must again

refer.
Notwithstanding this desperate resource on the part of
England, the enterprise may yet fail ; for our perplexed
and, as it will ultimately prove, ever-blundering Govern-
ment, while a promising negotiation was on foot, and
before they could receive the answer of the Court
of St. Petersburg to the Turkish propositions, which
had been prepared in deference to the feelings and
private intimations of Russia, though fit, in consequence
of the affair of Sinope, to order the entrance of the
fleets into the Black Sea. To change the circumstances
while a negotiation was proceeding which you wishedo
t
succeed is a capital error. It will allow the Czar, if he
wishes, to take new ground.
Lord Aberdeen mutters " War," in case the: Turkish
propositions are not accepted. One almost- begins to
fancy Lord Aberdeen has been maligned. It really
would seem that be did not understand St. Petersburg,
The propositions will not meet with such a fate from
Russian diplomacy. They will be considered, and we
p Turkey!
shall commence the new year with door phase of liege.
tiations. In the meantime, alas !

Friday information was for-
coroner for the
m i
county of
waSrudPedPo to SUPPOSED
uciSo!
CD E.
Lewis,- O a
Essex, of the discovery of the body of a
Ivan n the river
Lea, near Ships Hole, Westharn. The deceased is
described by Sergeant Grant, of the K division, as being
about 26 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, with long
dark hair. His attire consisted of a pair of Witney
trousers, blue cotton waistcoat, a blue striped shirt, and
-a black silk neckerchief. The body (which was in a
most decomposed state) was conveyed to the Union
4reria, Westkam, to await sa inquest,