ill at this time her
Minister--and that the result of such refusal would be that the Queen
would take upon herself the act of dismissing Lord Derby from office,
instead of his resigning from being unable longer to carry on the
Government.

The Queen had during her reign, and throughout the numerous changes
of Government, maintained an unassailable position of constitutional
impartiality, and he had no hesitation in saying that he thought it
would be more right, and certainly more safe, for her to follow the
usual course, than to take this dangerous time for exercising an
unusual and, he believed he might say, an unprecedented, course,
though the power to exercise the authority was undoubted.

He said that he did not conceive that any reasons of expediency as
to public business, or the possible effects of frequent general
elections, would be sufficient grounds for refusing a Dissolution (and
reasons would have to be given by the new Minister in Parliament),
and, as he conceived, the only possible ground that could be
maintained as foundation for such an exercise of authority would be
the fearful danger to the existence of our power in India, which
might arise from the intemperate discussion upon every hustings of
the proceedings of the Government with respect to that country--as the
question proposed to the country would certainly be considered to be
severity or mercy to the people of India.

Upon the second point, as to a successor to Lord Derby in the event
of his resignation, he said that the Queen would, he thought, have no
alternative but to send for Lord Palmerston. The only other person who
could be suggested would be Lord John Russell, and he was neither
the mover of the Resolutions which displaced the Government, nor the
ostensible head of the Opposition, which the late meeting at Cambridge
House pointed out Lord Palmerston to be. That he was not very fond of
Lord Palmerston, though he had forgiven him all, and he had had _much_
to forgive; and that in the last few days it had appeared that he had
less following than Lord John; but the Queen could not act upon such
daily changing circumstances, and it was evident that Lord Palmerston
was the ostensible man for the Queen to send for.

Lord Aberdeen seemed very low upon the state of public affairs. He
said that the extreme Liberals were the only Party that appeared to
gain strength. Not only was the Whig Party divided within itself,
hated by the Radicals, and