erby last. These reports reveal a state
of things of the greatest moment to this country. It will be the first
time in her history that she will find herself in an absolute minority
of ships on the sea! and this inferiority will be much greater
in reality than even apparent, as our fleet will have to defend
possessions and commerce all over the world, and has even in Europe
a strategical line to hold extending from Malta to Heligoland, whilst
France keeps her fleet together and occupies the centre of that line
in Europe.

The Queen thinks it irreconcilable with the duty which the Government
owes to the country to be aware of this state of things without
straining every nerve to remedy it. With regard to men in whom we
are also totally deficient in case of an emergency, a Commission of
Enquiry is sitting to devise a remedy; but with regard to our ships
and dockyards we require action, and immediate action. The plan
proposed by the Surveyor of the Navy appears to the Queen excessively
moderate and judicious, and she trusts that the Cabinet will not
hesitate to empower its execution, bearing in mind that L200,000
spent now will probably do more work during the six or nine months
for working before us, than L2,000,000 would if voted in next year's
estimate, letting our arrears in the dockyards, already admitted to
be very great, accumulate in the interval. Time is most precious under
these circumstances!

It is true that this sum of money would be in excess of the estimates
of last Session, but the Queen feels sure that on the faith of the
reports made by the Admiralty, the Government would find no difficulty
in convincing Parliament that they have been good stewards of
the public money, in taking courageously the responsibility upon
themselves to spend judiciously what is necessary, and that the
country will be deeply grateful for the honesty with which they will
have served her.

The Queen wishes Lord Derby to communicate this letter to the Cabinet.

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._

BABELSBERG, _15th August 1858_.

The Queen has asked Lord Malmesbury to explain in detail to Lord Derby
her objections to the draft of Proclamation for India. The Queen
would be glad if Lord Derby would write it himself in his excellent
language, bearing in mind that it is a female Sovereign who speaks
to more than 100,000,000 of Eastern people on assuming the direct
Government over them after a bloody civil war, giving th