d not
think for a moment of resuming office and either expel Lord Palmerston
or quarrel with him. He (Lord John) was in fact the weakness and Lord
Palmerston the strength of the Government from his popularity with the
Radicals.... He said he was very anxious that he and Lord Lansdowne
should bear the responsibility of removing Lord Palmerston from the
Foreign Office and not the Queen; her refusal now could only go to the
country as a personal objection on her part, and the country would be
left without a Government in consequence. On the Queen's reiterating
that she wanted to keep Lord John and get rid of Lord Palmerston, and
that it was too painful to her to be put into the situation of having
actually to _wish_ the fall of her own Government, Lord John promised
to move Lord Palmerston in the Easter recess, or to resign then
himself if he should meet with difficulties; in the meantime he must
apprise Lord Palmerston of this intention, which he could explain to
him as a wish to make a general modification of his Government. He
would offer him the Lieutenancy of Ireland or the Presidency or lead
in the House of Lords, which Lord Lansdowne would be ready to resign.
He might at that period perhaps get some of the Radicals into office
or some Peelites. The Queen finally entrusted Lord John with the
Government on these conditions.

ALBERT.

[Footnote 11: _See_ next page.]

[Pageheading: LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S ADVICE]

[Pageheading: ECCLESIASTICAL TITLES BILL]

_Memorandum by Lord John Russell._

_3rd March 1851._

Her Majesty having tried in vain the formation of a Government--first,
by Lord Stanley; second, by Lord John Russell, Lord Aberdeen, and
Sir James Graham; third, by Lord Aberdeen; fourth, by Lord Stanley
a second time--had recourse to the advice and opinion of the Duke of
Wellington. The Duke, admitting the great qualifications for office
of the adherents of the late Sir Robert Peel, yet advises the Queen to
restore her former Ministers to office.

But supposing Her Majesty to follow that advice, a further question
naturally arises: the late Government having fallen from want of
Parliamentary support, can they upon their return be in any way
strengthened, and be enabled to carry on the public business with more
power and efficiency?

This might be done in three ways: first, by a Coalition sooner or
later with the Peel Party; secondly, by admitting to office some of
their own Radical supporters