merston remained
silent upon the matter to the Queen, not even answering her upon her
letter expressing her wish to see Lord Westmorland[13] appointed. Lord
John must see the impropriety of this course, and if it were not for
the Queen's anxiety to smooth all difficulties, the Government might
be exposed to most awkward embarrassments. She expects, however,
and has the right to claim, equal consideration on the part of her
Ministers. She addresses herself in this matter to Lord John as the
head of the Government.

[Footnote 12: Lord Howden had been recently Minister at Rio
Janeiro.]

[Footnote 13: Minister at Berlin, 1841-51.]

_Lord John Russell to Queen Victoria._

PEMBROKE LODGE, _28th April 1850._

... Lord John Russell cannot but assent to your Majesty's right to
claim every consideration on the part of your Majesty's Ministers.
He will take care to attend to this subject, and is much concerned to
find that your Majesty has so frequently occasion to complain of Lord
Palmerston's want of attention.

[Pageheading: THE KOH-I-NOOR]

_The Marquis of Dalhousie to Queen Victoria._

SIMLA, _15th May 1850._

... When the Governor-General had the honour of addressing your
Majesty from Bombay, the arrangements for the transmission of the
Koh-i-noor were incomplete. He therefore did not then report to your
Majesty, as he now humbly begs leave to do, that he conveyed the
jewel himself from Lahore in his own charge, and deposited it in the
Treasury at Bombay. One of your Majesty's ships had been ordered to
Bombay to receive it, but had not then arrived, and did not arrive
till two months afterwards, thus causing delay. The _Medea_, however,
sailed on 6th April, and will, it is hoped, have a safe and speedy
passage to England.

By this mail the Governor-General transmits officially a record of all
that he has been able to trace of the vicissitudes through which the
Koh-i-noor has passed. The papers are accurate and curious.

In one of them it is narrated, on the authority of Fugueer-ood-deen,
who is now at Lahore, and who was himself the messenger, that Runjeet
Singh sent a message to Wufa Begum, the wife of Shah Sooja, from whom
he had taken the gem, to ask her its value. She replied, "If a strong
man were to throw four stones, one north, one south, one east, one
west, and a fifth stone up into the air, and if the space between
them were to be filled with gold, all would not equal the val