32: George Henry Grey, afterwards Lieut.-Colonel
of the Northumberland Militia, and Captain in the Grenadier
Guards; father of the present Sir Edward Grey, M.P. He
predeceased his father in 1874.]

_Queen Victoria to Viscount Palmerston._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _7th February 1855_.

The Queen has just received Lord Palmerston's letter with the List of
the Government, which she approves. She entirely agrees with him in
the view he takes with respect to Lord Lansdowne's position in the
House of Lords, and will write to him on the subject. From what he
said, however, the Queen would hope that he would not be disinclined
to make the announcement of the Government as well as to take the lead
on all occasions of great importance.[33]

The Queen approves that the office of Secretary at War should remain
open at present; but as regards the question itself of these two
offices, she reserves her judgment till the subject is submitted to
her in a definite form.

[Footnote 33: Lord Lansdowne consented, on particular
occasions only, to represent the Government, but claimed to be
himself the judge of the expediency or necessity of his doing
so. The ministerial life of this _doyen_ of the Whig Party
spanned half a century, for he had, as Lord Henry Petty,
been Chancellor of the Exchequer in the ministry of "All the
Talents" in 1806-1807. Lord Granville now assumed the Liberal
leadership in the Lords, which, as Lord Fitzmaurice points
out, he held, with a brief exception of three years, till his
death in 1891].

[Pageheading: THE VIENNA CONFERENCE]

_The Earl of Clarendon to Queen Victoria._

_10th February 1855._

Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly
begs to say that, with the permission of Lord Palmerston, and at the
urgent recommendation of Lord Aberdeen and Lord Lansdowne, he has made
to Lord John Russell the proposal to act as our negotiator at Vienna,
which your Majesty was pleased to sanction on Wednesday night.[34]

Lord Clarendon thinks, that whether the negotiations end in peace or
are suddenly to be broken off, no man is so likely as Lord John to
be approved by the Country for whichever course of proceeding he may
adopt, and it will be a great advantage that the negotiator himself
should be able to vindicate his own conduct in Parliament.

Lord Clarendon has this evening received a very kind and friendly
answer from Lord