Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-05
POLITICAL MACHINERY
Book Published on Lord Gran
ville's Life.

speciul Cablegram 10 Inc star.
LONDON, November 4-The book just
published by Messrs. Longmans, Green &
Co. on Lord Granviles life with interesting
letters from Queen Victoria, is one of the
quarries from which the builders of history
will extract some of their most precious ma
terial. 1t is questionable whether any pre-
vious work has thrown more light the
machinery of politics, both domestic and
foreign, but the latter more especially of
the Victorian era. The standard biogra-
plies of the British statesmen of the first
half of this epoch We're written too near
their own time for full revelation to be
possible without hurting many susceptible
tiles. Moreover during the life of Queen
Victoria many particulars of her majesty' S
relations with her ministers and of the ac-
tive part she played in the government of
the country could not for obvious reasons
be laid bare to the public eye. In the case
of Lord Edmond FitZmaurice's Life of
Granville George Leveson Cover, Second
Earl Granville, X. c." these restrictions
have for the most part been removed. The
greater value which will attach to the init
mate records of the. careers of Beaconsfield
and Salisbury is yet only prospective. There
remains Mr.. Morley's monumental Life of
Gladstone with which the present author
deprecateS comparison.
Perhaps the most interesting things are
the letters of Queen Victoria. On Janu-
airy u, 1864. her majesty wrote Lord Gran
Vile a letter which contained the following
paragraphs:
Lord Russell is evidently very uneasy
and very at the failure of all of the
endless proposals on the part of this coun-
try. We have done too much. been to ac-
tive and done ourselves no good We are,
alas detested by Germany.
The one really very serious feature in
the whole affair is that everywhere the
governments have been outvoted, and that
we. constitutional England are asking them
to act in unconstitutional way.
The queen asks, the cabinet to be firm
and support her Lord Russell is very fair,
but Lord Palmerston alarms him and over
rules him. The cabinet must also insist on
no violent declarations in the speech which
would force us to be partisans of one side
or of a determination to maintain the treaty
tof 1852 at all hazards. Lord Palmerston
should likewise be strongly urged to be
very cautious in Parliament for any en-
enlargement to Denmark would be fatal.
Lord Granville while not making of
this communication may use the queens
name whenever he thinks it may be useful.
II Lord Granville thinks it necessary the
queen is ready to write anything to the
above effect to Lord Russell
On February l. her majesty wrote from
Osborne in more decisive terms. The fol-
lowing is extracted from the letter:
She would feel II her duty in the inter-
ests of the country and of the peace of Eu
rope to resist any proposal for war. The
only chance of preserving peace for Eu-
rope is by not assisting Denmark, who has
brought this entirely herself. and who.
the queen believes, would even now resist
fulfilling her promises. Denmark is, after
all. of less vital Importance than the peace
of Europe, and 1t would be madness to set
the whole continent on fire for the imag-
iI.ary advantages of maintaining the in
tegrity of Denmark. Lord Palmerston and
the Emperor Nicholas are the cause of all
the present trouble by framing that wretch
ed treaty of 1852.
she suffers much and her nerves are
more and more shattered and her rest
broken.
IF Lord Granville only reflects he will
understand how terrible her position is.
But though all this anxiety is wearing her
cut it will not shake her in her firm pur-
pose of resisting any attempt to involve
this country in a mad and useless combat"