The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-03
W..

The first incident in the reign OF Queen
Victoria which may be said 70 belong to
the constitutional history OF England was
the so-calIed "bedchamber plot" In April.
1899. the Melbourne Ministry resigned
and Sir Robert Peel was sent for. but a
difficulty as to the ladies' OF the household
compelled him to u the task OF
forming a Cabinet. and the Wings resumed
once. In a lister announcing his deter
minatIOn 10 resign Lord Melbourne advised
the Queen to send for the Duke OF Yelling
ton. She had, he thought. no alternative.
-The Radicals have neither ability, honesty
nor numbers. They have no leaders Of
any calibre. Lord Durham was raised.
one hardly knows how. into something
of a Fictitious Importance by his own ex-
treme opinions. by the p~anegyrics OF those
who thought he would serve them as an
instrument and by the management OF
the press. but any little public reputation
which he might once have acquired has
been entirely dissipated and destroyed
by the continued folly OF his conduct in
his Canadian Government" Under the
circumstance Lord Melbourne thought
that there is no party in the State to which
your Majesty can now resort except that
great party which calls itself Conservative,
and Of that party his rank, station, reputa-
ton and experience point u the Duke
Of Wellington as the person on whom your
Majesty should rely" Lord Melbourne
foresaw that the Duke might wish to de-
volve the task Of forming a government
upon Sir Robert Peel. In which event the
Queen was advised to accede to the sugges-
ton but to insist upon Peel having the
active cooperation in Office Of the Duke
OF Wellington. Her Majesty was also
counselled to require of her new Minister
that appointments OF physicians n chap
iains e. her Majesty should be made by the
Queen herself on consultation with her
Prime Minister.
According to Melbourne. sthe physicians
Of the late King William wi we're many
OF them men Of little eminence, and the
chaplains arc q sorry set Upon this
point the Queen would doubtless have
yielded. but she insisted upon retaining
all the ladies' OF her household. though
when this was formed Lord Melbourne
had naturally recommended Indies who
were related to himself and his Wing COL
leagues. The editors OF this correspond
ence think that he ought to have had suf-
icient prescience to see that the Queen
would probably form strong attachments
70 the ladies' who first served her; and
that even IL the appointments had not In
the first instance a political complexion.
yet the Wing tendencies which these ladies
represented were likely TO affect the Queen
In the direction Of allying her closely with
a particular party in the State. Sir Robert
Peel and his colleagues agreed that IL all
the ladies Of tho Queens household were
retained they could not 20 on. so the Mel
bourne Ministry returned to Office. Sixty
years later the Queen said, after eulogizing
Sir Robert Peel:
Il was very young then and perhaps I
should act differently II IL was all TO be
done again" 0rsville In his journal"
asserts that the plan adopted by the OUT
going Cabinet Of meeting n suggesting
the letter In which the Queen announced
10 Peel her refusal 70 assent to the dis
mlssaI Of her ladies' was utterly anomalous
and unprecedented and a course as danger
GUS as unconstitutional. They ought to
have explained TO her that until Sir Robert
Peel had formally and finally resigned his
commission into her hands they could
| tender no advice" As a matter OF fact
the Cabinet OF Lord Melbourne discussed
the proposals Of Sir Robert Peel and they
dictated TO the Queen the reply In which
she refused to accept tho advice rendered
TO her by the man who was at that moment
her constitutional adviser: The Queen.
having considered the proposal made to her
yesterday by Sir Robert Peel to remove the
ladies of her b~edchamber, cannot consent
to adopt the course which she c%onceives To
be contrary to usage and which Is repug-
nant TO her feelings.'
The King Of the Belgians, TO whom Queen
Victoria had recounted the affair. replied
that in his opinion her conduct had done
her great credit. Il approve very highly
Of the whole mode In which you proceeded
you acted With great good faith and fair