eath their property to the
Church on the deathbed, etc., etc.; he knew that the Roman Catholic
laity felt severely the oppression which the Priests exercised over
them, and would be willing to give evidence.

Lord Stanley asked whether it could be of use if he were to state all
this in his explanation to-day, which the Queen strongly affirmed. I
added that I hoped he would explain what he was prepared to do on all
the subjects in dispute--the Commercial and Financial Policy as well.
He promised to do so, and entered into his views on the Income Tax,
which he called a War Tax, which had been imposed for temporary
purposes only in 1842, and ought to be taken off again when
practicable in order to keep faith with the public; but if, as often
as there was a surplus, this was immediately absorbed by remission of
other burdens, this object could never be fulfilled. He would
propose that by degrees, as surpluses arose, the Income Tax should be
decreased, and so on to its final repeal.

I disputed with him for some time on the advantages of an Income Tax,
but without coming to any result.

On his enquiry whether there was anything else the Queen might wish
him to state--perhaps the rumour that he had been refused the power of
dissolving--we agreed that he should say the question had never been
seriously entertained, but that the Queen had been ready to give him
the same support and advantages which any other Government might have
enjoyed.[9]

ALBERT.

[Footnote 9: The Prince thereupon, at the Queen's request,
communicated with Lord John Russell, and after recounting
to him the various successive failures to form a Government,
wrote that the Queen must "pause before she again entrusts the
commission of forming an Administration to anybody, till
she has been able to see the result of to-morrow evening's
Debate." He added, "Do you see any Constitutional objection to
this course?"]

[Pageheading: THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON]

_The Prince Albert to the Duke of Wellington._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _28th February 1851._

MY DEAR DUKE,--Lord Stanley has likewise resigned his task, not being
able to gain over any of Sir R. Peel's friends, and being incapable of
forming a Government out of his Party alone.

So Lord John Russell has declared his inability to carry on the
Government. Lord Stanley has then declared his inability to form one
until every other combination should have failed. We hav