rford, Westmorland, are familiar instances.

Lord John Russell has drawn up a paper respecting the Irish elections,
on which the Prince wished to have his remarks. The subject is a dark
and a dreary one....

Changes of Ministry may occur, but it is to be hoped that your Majesty
may be enabled to keep the present Parliament for five or six years.
For nothing tends so much to favour such reformations, to impede
sober improvements, and to make members stand in servile awe of their
constituents, as frequent General Elections.

Lord John Russell is happy to see in the newspapers the successful
progress of your Majesty's journey. It has occurred to Lord John
Russell that as the harvest is very promising, and the election heats
will have subsided, it may be desirable that your Majesty should go
for three days to Ireland on your Majesty's return. The want of notice
might in some respects be favourable, and would be an excuse to many
Irish peers, who might otherwise complete their ruin in preparations.

_Queen Victoria to Earl Fitzwilliam._

_3rd September 1847._

The Queen has received Lord Fitzwilliam's letter of the 31st.[8] As
she sees Lord Strafford's elevation to an Earldom already announced in
the _Gazette_ of the same day, it will be impossible for the Queen to
have the question of Lord Fitzwilliam's adverse claim reconsidered.
She thinks it right, however, to say, that, knowing that the Wentworth
property came to Lord Fitzwilliam, it was only after the Heralds
College had proved that Lord Strafford was the representative of the
Earl of Strafford of the Second Creation, whilst Lord Fitzwilliam
was not properly considered the representative of the first, that the
Queen approved the selection of the title of Earl of Strafford for the
present Lord. The Queen is very sorry to find that this step should
have been annoying to Lord Fitzwilliam, for whom she has ever
entertained a sincere regard. She has sent his letter on to Lord John
Russell.

[Footnote 8: On John, Baron Strafford, who as Sir John Byng
had been distinguished in the Peninsula and at Waterloo,
receiving the Earldom of Strafford, Lord Fitzwilliam had
written: "Your Majesty has, undoubtedly, the power of
conferring this, or any other titular dignity, according to
your good pleasure, but I venture to hope that, if it be your
Majesty's pleasure to revive the Earldom of Strafford, it will
not be bestowed upon any other p