y similar
circumstances forty years ago; and the poor Duchess was the niece of
Princess Charlotte's husband.

[Footnote 51: Havelock, in consequence of the strength of the
rebels in Oudh, had been unable to march to the assistance of
Lucknow immediately after the relief of Cawnpore. He joined
hands with Outram on the 10th of September, and reinforced the
Lucknow garrison on the 25th.]

[Footnote 52: In a pathetic letter, just received, the Duc de
Nemours (second son of Louis Philippe) had announced the death
of his wife, Queen Victoria's beloved cousin and friend. She
was only thirty-five years of age, and had been married at
eighteen. She had seemed to make a good recovery after the
birth of a child on the 28th of October, but died quite
suddenly on the 10th of November, while at her toilette.]

[Pageheading: CRISIS IN THE CITY]

[Pageheading: SUSPENSION OF BANK CHARTER ACT]

_Viscount Palmerston to Queen Victoria._

DOWNING STREET, _12th November 1857_.

Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and begs
to state that the condition of financial affairs became worse to-day
than it was yesterday.[53] The Governor of the bank represented that
almost all private firms have ceased to discount bills, and that the
Reserve Fund of the Bank of England, out of which discounts are made
and liabilities satisfied, had been reduced last night to L1,400,000,
and that if that fund should become exhausted the bank would have
to suspend its operations. Under these circumstances it appeared to
Viscount Palmerston, and to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that a
case had arisen for doing the same thing which was done under somewhat
similar circumstances in 1847--that is to say, that a letter should
be written by the first Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer to the Governor of the Bank of England, saying that if under
the pressure of the emergency the bank should deem it necessary to
issue more notes than the amount to which they are at present confined
by law, the Government would apply to Parliament to grant them an
indemnity.

This Measure, in 1847, had the effect of stopping the then existing
panic, and the necessity for making such an issue did not arise; on
the present occasion this announcement will, no doubt, have a salutary
effect in allaying the present panic, but as the bank had to discount
to-day bills to the amount of L2