n between her
and Lord Derby; the latter only keeps in view the effect which certain
words will have in Parliament and upon the country, whilst she looks
to the effect they will produce upon the European conflict. If
the Queen were not obliged to speak, both positions might be well
reconciled; but if what she is going to declare from the Throne is
to allay suspicions purposely raised by the Opposition against the
Government that they intended to take part at some moment or other in
the war, and is to give absolute security to the country against this
contingency, this will be the very thing France would wish to bring
about in order to ensure to her the fullest liberty in prosecuting her
schemes for disturbing and altering the territorial state of Europe.
How is this impression to be avoided? Lord Derby thinks that the
expression of "hope" to be able to preserve peace to this country is
a sufficient indication that this country reserves to herself still
a certain liberty of action; but the Queen would have interpreted
it rather as the expression of a hope, that we may not be attacked,
particularly when followed by the sentence in which all intention of
aggression is disclaimed, and that our armaments are merely meant for
defence. The sense would then appear as this: "As the belligerents
separately assure me of their friendship, I am determined to maintain
a strict neutrality between them, and hope they may not change their
minds, and attack me; I arm, but merely to defend myself if attacked."
This would abdicate on the part of this country her position as one
of the arbiters of Europe, declare her indifference to treaties or the
balance of power (which are, in fact, of the greatest value to her),
and would preclude her from any action to preserve them. The Queen
fully enters into the Parliamentary difficulty, and would deprecate
nothing more than to expose the Government to a defeat on an Amendment
which would lead to the formation of a new Government on the principle
of neutrality _a tout prix_ imposed by Parliament on the Crown.

It will be for Lord Derby and his colleagues to consider how far they
may be able to avoid this danger without exposing themselves to that
pointed out by the Queen. She puts herself entirely in his hands, and
had suggested the verbal amendments merely with a view to indicate the
nature of the difficulty which had struck her. Whatever decision Lord
Derby may on further reflection come to, the Q