The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-25 00:00:00

an oPiPitiriartmrable to the claims of his Royal High-
ness. honour of stating this recently to him-
self, in coustquence of his Royal Highness having been
greatly misinformed on the subject.

ABERDEEN.

LORD RANELAGH TO LORD ABERDEEN.
Dec. 7, 1844.
My Lord,—l have had the honour to receive your
Lordship's letter of the 4th inst., and I observe, with
more regret than surprise, that it contains no answer to
the very simple inquiry to which it purports to be a reply,
In the year 1837, when I first heard of Lord Palmer-
ston's instructions, I received a letter, from which the
following is an extract. It was written by one, and sanc-
tioned by two others, of your Lordship's colleagues :
" What you have done is calculated to make you stand
well with the country generally. The petty spite of
Palmeston you may well afford to despise. These people
cannot always be in power, and you have gained a re-
putation that you have no reason to regret, however it
may vex Lord Palmerston. I think that being quoted
as you were by the Duke of Wellington, in the House of
Lords, is full of compensation for what Lord Palmerston
may say or do against you. Upon the whole, therefore,
I would advise you to remain quiet for the present, and
not suffer yourself to be annoyed by things which the
petty malice of temporary authority may attempt against
you.,
With these words before me, I did not think I could
be extravagant in expecting justice from your Lordship.
For this injustice Lord Palmerston might plead,
first, the insensible bias of party, and next, perhaps, an
erroneous report, which, had he been in office, he would
probably not have refused to correct. But what grounds
has your Lordship even to palliate, much less to justify,
this proceeding? I can imagine none, unless, indeed, I
am to understand by your concluding paragraph that I
have had the misfortune to offend your Lordship by the
mention of public principle.
My Lord, of the rights of Don Carlos to the throne of
Spain it is neither for your Lordship nor myself to de-
termine. It is a question for the Spanish nation.
I have a right to remind your Lordship that by main-
taining other and opposite doctrines, by advancing to
placee of trust and authority, as your Lordship has dose,
and is continuing to do, men whose chief distinction is
their advocacy of Radical opinions, you bring a reproach
infinitely more humiliating than honest failure upon
your cause, and upon those who have the misfortune to
trust in, or be associated with, your Lordship in office.
RANELAGH.

LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD RANELAGII.
Foreign-office, Dec. 10, 1844.
My Lord,—Having explained the true cause, as as-
sigued, of the prohibition referred to, I thought it right
entirely to disavow participation in principles which
your Lordship seemed disposed to impute to me, so far,
at least, as they related to the claims of Don Carlos to
the throne of Spain. Ido not presume to question the
perfect liberty of your Lordship to form your own opi-
nions upon this or any other subject ; at all events, I
have been equally consistent with your Lordship, for I
have never ceased, during the last ten years, to regard
Don Carlos as an usurper, against whose anarchical and
rebellious attempts my best wishes have been invariably
expressed for the cause of " legal order and constitu-
tional right."
But I readily adopt the 'criterion referred to by your
Lordship, and leave the pretensions of Don Carlos to be
dealt with by the Spanish people, who, indeed, I ima-
gine had long since pronounced their decision. I have
no wish to discuss the correctness of your Lordship's
convictions, or of my own—it is sufficient for me to esta-
blish the fact of this total divergency; and this difference
is not less with respect to the sentiments of my three un-
known col eagues, which your Lordship has quoted in
your letter.
I know nothing of the letters of Lord John Hay and
Mr. Charles Wood ; nor is it at all necessary that I
should do so. 'The word of an English gentleman, under
such circumstances, is quite sufficient for me ; and, if I
have interpreted your letter correctly, I shall, without
hesitation, and with pleasure, submit to her Majesty the
propriety of cancelling Lord Palmerston's dispatch of
January 31, 1837. ABERDEEN.