New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-11-18
BRITISH PUBLICATIONS.
LIFE OF THE PRINCE CoNsoRr.

or THE TugKs-coURT SECRETS DISCLOSED.
teen, AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRrBUSEl
IoSpoN. Oct. 1.-THE second volume oil MI lheo-
A. Martins life Of the Prince ConsOrt has been
ssned this week He promises to conclude MS iaoors
=. a. uext The present volume carries MS down to
.no crimean war and some of the later chapters in
h;cb the negotiations and the prelimnaries to the
cor are discussed are of good deal of interest at
the present moment. The Prince seems TO nave
tboroughly comprehended the difficulties and COM
pestions of the question, both present and future,
and. az was his custom, he set forth in KIND OF
iudicial summary, which he calls Memorandum
for the consideration Of the Cabinet" oil the tacOs
and bearings Of the question. In tins memorandum,
sfter stating the leading facts of the dispute OF
1858 and the reasons which had dictated the British
policy the Prince says:
In acting as auxiaries to the Turks ought TO he
auite srr that they have object In view foreign to cur
any mn1 % that they 40 not instead Of merely
sisg the attempt 81 Russia 90 Obtain pr0teetorae
ndepsndenee seek TO obtain themselves the power OF
imposing more oppressive rule OF two millions OF ran.
attic Mlnsufnalls over twelve millions OF Christians tnat
they do not .ry to turn the tables the weaker power
now that, backed 10y England and frauce they nave
doubt and il is very natural that the fanateal party
at Constsntnope should have such views o1t 20 GU
gage our fleet auxiliary force for snch purposes
would he fighting against our own Interests pohcy ana
n viii be said that England and Europe have strong
interest. setting all Turkish considerations aside ue
nso Se hands Of Russia and that they Should the last
extremity 40 Go war 20 pfrVent sncn on eVef.hw
S Ic inc wsr y he rH and wise But this would be
war not maintenance OF the integrity Of the Oto
nes powers of civilization 1t ought to be carried
unshackled by oSgsions to the Porte, and viii prooa
bly, lead the peace which must be the oslect o tAat
war TO the obtaining Of arrangements more consonant
with the welundcrstOod interests Of Europe, Of Chils
fiauy liberty, and civilization, than the TelHOsitfOh
Of the ignorant barbarian and despoue yoke oil tue Nus
suman the most fertile aud favored portion Of E
rope.
There are one or two points in these extracts
which it would seem might well be repeated to the
Cabinet of to-day, and might with great advantage
be taken 20 heart by them The Prince evidently
had not even then very high opinion OF the Otto
man rule. What ne would have sad had he hved
to pen a memorandum for the consideration OF Lord
Beaconsfield's Cabinet in view of the present cir
ouustanoes it is not very hard TO imagine. Ii we
take the last sentence of the extract have gwen
it, and apply it, not il intended, to the then
impending Crimean war; but to the now promised
Conference il is singularly apropos and could not
better express the existing feeling of the English
mind if it were written only yesterday instead of %
years ago.
The present volume contains much more interest
ing matter than is voucsafed in the first 1t touches
upon many personal matters with almost the felicity
and ease of the author of the Greyille Memoirs"
The dismissal of Lord PalmerstOn from the Foreign
Office in 1851 is very fully gone into, and an at
tempt made, which may be considered as more or
less successful to Justify that proceeding The feel
ing which gossip always during the lives of the par
ties declared 10 be existing between Prince Albert
and Pam is but thinly CLOSED over, aud but little II
any attempt is made to conceal il. memorandum
dated Aug. u, 1850, ostensibiy written by the
QueeA, but which bears evident traces OF the hand
of the Prince, sets forth the duties Of
Ministers to the Crown, with evident and special
reference to Lord Palmerston who even thus
early had shown disposition to I've fractions. 1t
would certainly surprise most people and possibly
crafty some others to know that the Foreign
Minister'S required to state distinctly what he pro
poses in given case, in order that the Queen may
know as distinctly to what she has given her royal
sanction and that having once given her sane
ton to measure that il be not arbitrarily altered
or modified by the Minister Mr.. Martin has, how
ever cleared the Princes memory OF any party leah
ngs and there is nowhere any trace OF disposition
to favor one political party at the expense OF the
other Indeed, it is made the groundwork OF the
quarrel which ended in Lord PaimerstOn's dismissal
that he did that which appeared TO commit England
to an approval of the prompt recognition Of the Sec
ond Empire of France against the express wishes
and instructions of the Queen.
Two other points purely p6rSohdl MAY pe Seie'Vct'
from among those with which the volume abounds.
1t seems that no man could have suffered more by
instrumentation and scandalous tatte. The Duke
of Wellington had proposed to the Prince that he
should succeed him as Commander-in-C Chief of the
Army and Mr.. Martin says the world of fashion and
popular opinion combined as usual to accuse the
Prince of intriguing for the post The letter which
tho Prince wrote to the Duke is given by Mr. Martin.
The Prince thinks be could not perform the duties
Of the post without interfering with those Of Consor
Of the Sovereign and he should not be content TO
take the pay and emoiumcnts of the office and leave
the performance Of its dutest TO Others he decided TO
refuse to entertain the proposal At the conclusion
Of the Exhibition of 1881 a proposition was made
TO erect statue 10 the Prince in Hyde Park, bnt,
SAYS Mr. Martin. from notorety of this kind the
Prince shrsnk with peculiar sensitiveness." In q
letter to Lord Granville in which he states his dis
approval of the project the Prince makes an obserya-
ton which, in view of the bride-eake ornament which
now does duty as the national memorial in Hyde
Park receives additional force:
] saw with perfect absence al hHInbuR, that l
world much rather not be made the PROMINENT feature
OF such a monument as II would disturb my quiet
rides IN Rotten Row my face staring Al me,
and, las is very key) 1t became all artistic mon
strOsty, like most Of monuments, II weud upset my
e4nanhniiy 10 be permanently r1ced ana iuShed ~ IN
sngy.