ld still fall into his hands.

The arrangements of the Offices as proposed would be that Lord
Palmerston would take the Home Office, and Sir George Grey the
Colonial Office, and Lord Grey vacate this office for the Privy
Seal. If Lord Minto, however, was not to have the Foreign Office, the
arrangement must be recast. Lord Clarendon would become Secretary
of State for Ireland, after the abolition of the Lord-Lieutenancy.
Possibly also Sir George Grey might take the office, and Lord
Clarendon take the Colonies, which Lord Grey would be glad to be rid
of. On my observing that I had thought the Colonies would have done
best for Lord Palmerston, leaving Sir George Grey at the Home Office,
Lord John acknowledged that he would likewise prefer this arrangement,
but considered it rendered impossible from its having been the very
thing Lord Grey had proposed in 1845, and upon which the attempt to
form a Whig Government at that time had broken down, Lord Palmerston
having refused to enter the Cabinet on those terms. Lord John ended
by saying that Lord Palmerston having agreed to the change, it was
intended that nothing should be done about it till after the close of
the Session, in order to avoid debates and questions on the subject;
moreover, Lord Lansdowne had agreed to continue still this Session his
labours as Leader in the House of Lords, and begged for the _utmost
secrecy_ at present.

ALBERT.

Lord John Russell already last year had spoken to me of his wish to
go to the House of Lords, finding the work in the House of Commons,
together with his other business, too much for him, and Lord Lansdowne
being desirous to be relieved from the lead in the Upper House.

ALBERT.

[Pageheading: THE QUEEN'S ULTIMATUM]

_Memorandum by Baron Stockmar._[6]

_12th March 1850._

The least the Queen has a right to require of her Minister is:--

1. That he will distinctly state what he proposes in a given case, in
order that the Queen may know as distinctly to what she has to give
her royal sanction.

2. Having given once her sanction to a measure, the Minister who,
in the execution of such measure alters or modifies it arbitrarily,
commits an act of dishonesty towards the Crown, which the Queen has
an undoubted constitutional right to visit with the dismissal of that
Minister.

STOCKMAR.

[Footnote 6: Compare this with the Memorandum ultimately drawn
up on the 12th of August.]

_Queen Victoria to the M