ueen has received Lord Aberdeen's letter of the 11th, and has
since seen Lord John Russell's letter. It shows that the practice
of the Queen's different Cabinet Ministers going to Paris, to have
personal explanations with the Emperor, besides being hardly a
constitutional practice, must lead to much misunderstanding. How is
the Emperor to distinguish between the views of the Queen's Government
and the private opinions of the different members of the Cabinet, all
more or less varying, particularly in a Coalition Government?

The Queen hopes therefore that this will be the last such visit. The
Ambassador is the official organ of communication, and the Foreign
Secretary is responsible for his doing his duty, and has the means of
controlling him by his instructions and the despatches he receives,
all of which are placed on record.[3]

[Footnote 3: The cause of Lord John's visit to Paris had been
the illness there of his sister-in-law, Lady Harriet Elliot;
but he took the opportunity of conferring both with
the Emperor and his Ministers on the conduct of the
war.--Walpole's _Life of Lord John Russell_, chap. XXV.]

[Pageheading: LETTER FROM LORD RAGLAN]

[Pageheading: THE COMMISSARIAT]

_Lord Raglan to Queen Victoria._

BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, _20th January 1855._

Lord Raglan presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and has the
honour to acknowledge with every sentiment of devotion and gratitude
your Majesty's most gracious letter of 1st January, and the kind
wishes which your Majesty and the Prince are pleased to unite in
offering to the Army and your Majesty's most humble servant on the
occasion of the New Year.

The deep concern and anxiety felt by your Majesty and the Prince for
the privations of the troops, their unceasing labours, their exposure
to bad weather, and the extensive sickness which prevails among them,
are invaluable proofs of the lively interest which your Majesty and
His Royal Highness take in the welfare of an Army which, under no
circumstances, will cease to revere the name, and apply all its best
energies to the service of your Majesty.

Lord Raglan can with truth assure your Majesty that his whole time
and all his thoughts are occupied in endeavouring to provide for the
various wants of your Majesty's troops. It has not been in his power
to lighten the burthen of their duties. Those exacted from them before
Sebastopol are for the preservation of the trenches and bat