s founded on that general
principle, and will exercise any influence he may possess to promote
their success.

Sir Robert Peel feels it to be his duty to add, that should your
Majesty's servants, after consideration of the heavy demands upon the
Army of this country for colonial service, of our relations with the
United States, and of the bearing which steam navigation may have upon
maritime warfare, and the defence of the country, deem it advisable
to propose an addition to the Army, and increased naval and military
estimates, Sir Robert Peel will support the proposal, will do all that
he can to prevent it from being considered as indicative of hostile
or altered feeling towards France, and will assume for the increase in
question any degree of responsibility present or retrospective which
can fairly attach to him.

ROBERT PEEL.

[Footnote 32: That paragraph urged that, with a revision
of taxation to make the arrangement more equitable, and the
safeguards suggested by caution and scrupulous forbearance,
restrictions on the admission of the main articles of food and
clothing used by the mass of the people should be removed.]

[Pageheading: LORD STANLEY RESIGNS]

_Lord Stanley to Queen Victoria._

ST JAMES'S SQUARE, _11th December 1845._

... Lord Stanley humbly hopes that he may be permitted to avail
himself of this opportunity to express to your Majesty the deep regret
and pain with which he has felt himself compelled to dissent from the
advice intended to have been tendered to your Majesty on the subject
of the Corn Laws. He begs to assure your Majesty that he would have
shrunk from making no personal sacrifice, short of that of principle,
for the purpose of avoiding the inconvenience to your Majesty and to
the country inseparable from any change of Administration; but being
unconvinced of the necessity of a change of policy involving an
abandonment of opinions formerly maintained, and expectations held
out to political supporters, he felt that the real interests of
your Majesty's service could not be promoted by the loss of personal
character which the sacrifice of his own convictions would necessarily
have involved; and that he might far more usefully serve your Majesty
and the country out of office, than as the official advocate of a
policy which he could not sincerely approve. Lord Stanley begs to
assure your Majesty that it will be his earnest endeavour to allay,
as far as ma