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be wished for through a divorce, might be gotten by more gentle and less hazardous means.

Acting upon these principles, the only decided step which they took was, the omission of her name in the Liturgy; and this was a necessary result of the line of policy which they had adopted. Though they did not mean to bring her to open trial, yet neither was it their intention to treat her as queen. They therefore could not yield to her any of those honours, which the law did not imperatively attribute to her. If it depends upon the king to determine, who shall or shall not be named in the public prayers of the church, he could not have introduced her by her royal style into the Liturgy, without impliedly binding himself to act towards her in every other respect, as any queen of the most spotless reputation ever had been treated. Mr. Brougham, we have already seen, did not remonstrate against the omission; on the contrary, he spoke of it as a trifle " light as air;" and from his speeches, when Mr. Hume endeavoured to drag the business into the discussions of parliament in the month of February, it is evident, that he thought that matters might be amicably arranged between her majesty and the government. The fact is, that in that month, some negotiations between Mr. Brougham and lord Liverpool took place. In the course of these no intimation was given by Mr. Brougham, that the change in the situation of his royal client, by the demise of the late king, was likely to create any material obstacle to the completion of an amicable arrangement,

founded on the basis of his original proposal. With respect to the alteration in the Liturgy, he expressly stated, that by the manner of arranging the new form of prayer-omitting the name of the heir presumptive as well as the queen-it seemed to him, that any inference unfavourable to her majesty, which must have arisen, if the name of the duke of York had been inserted, while that of the queen was omitted, had been happily obviated. He therefore thought, that no difficulty could arise upon this point, and avowed his readiness, not merely to submit to her majesty a proposal formed upon the basis which he had before suggested, but to recommend it to her acceptance.

Accordingly, a memorandum was drawn up, containing the terms which the government were willing to offer to her majesty, and which were the same with those which Mr. Brougham had formerly mentioned, except that, instead of 35,000!. a year, as suggested by him, it was proposed to fix her annual allowance at 50,0001. This memorandum was, on the 15th of April, transmitted by lord Liverpool to Mr. Brougham, to be by him communicated and recommended to her majesty. It was as follows:

"15th April, 1820.

"The act of the 54th Geo. III., cap. 160, recognized the separation of the prince regent from the princess of Wales, and allotted a separate provision for the princess. This provision was to continue during the life of his late majesty, and to determine at his demise. In consequence of that event, it has altogether ceased, and no provision can be made for her

until it shall please his majesty to recommend to parliament an arrangement for that purpose." "The king is willing to recommend to parliament to enable his majesty to settle an annuity of 50,000l. a-year upon the queen, to be enjoyed by her during her natural life, and in lieu of any claim in the nature of jointure or otherwise, provided she will engage not to come into any part of the British dominions, and provided she engages to take some other name or title than that of queen; and not to exercise any of the rights or privileges of queen, other than with respect to the appointment of law-officers, or to any proceedings in courts of justice. The annuity to cease upon the violation of these engagements, viz. upon her coming into any part of the British dominions, or her assuming the title of queen, or her exercising any of the rights or privileges of queen, other than above except ed, after the annuity shall have been settled upon her.

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"On her consent to an engagement upon the above conditions, Mr. Brougham is desired to obtain a declaration to this effect, signed by herself; and at the same time a full authority to conclude with such person as his majesty may appoint, a formal engagement upon these principles."

The conduct of Mr. Brougham, after receiving this important memorandum, is not easily explained. He kept it by him without either communicating or transmitting it to her majesty on the one hand, or, on the other, giving the king's ministers the least reason to apprehend, that any circumstance had occurred to render it less fit for her majesty's ac

ceptance, or the prospect of that acceptance more doubtful, than he conceived it to have been, when he first undertook the negotiation. When pressed in parliament for an explanation of the course of proceeding which he followed, his defence has always been vague and obscure. He has contented himself with stating, that he could not be absent from the House for more than six or seven days; that consequently he could not go to the other side of the Alps; and, if dispatch was absolutely necessary, that lord Liverpool might have chosen some other channel of communication. It is, however, self-evident, that it was most desirable, if not necessary, that the proposal should be transmitted through her majesty's attorney-general. He had originally suggested the terms of it: he had approved of it; and he had engaged to recommend to his royal client to accede to it. In con veying it through him to the party principally concerned, ministers were not so much commencing a negotiation as following up that which he had begun, and they were availing themselves of the channel, through which it was most likely to meet with a favourable reception. The same offer, conveyed to her majesty by a stranger, would have had a very different aspect, and a very different chance of ultimately ter minating in an amicable arrange. ment. It is absurd, therefore, to ask, why did not lord Liverpool select a different channel of communication? He chose the best and the most authorized: Mr. Brougham undertook to make the communication, and he neither made it, nor does it appear that he informed the government of his

neglect. But we are told, that his parliamentary attendance put it out of his power to go to meet the queen, while she was beyond the Alps? He has, on other occasions, suffered his parliamentary duties to give way to his professional avocations, for a longer time than a journey to Geneva would have required; and we can conceive no professional employment more important than this. If, however, his personal attendance on his mistress was impossible, he might, at least, have transmitted the memorandum to her, and he might, by writing, have advised her acceptance of it, and obtained from her the powers necessary for coming to a final agreement.

As little has Mr. Brougham ever been able to reconcile the act of first suggesting negotiation to the government, and of afterwards undertaking the conduct of it, with the charges, which he, at a subsequent period, joined with others, in bringing against ministers, on account of their behaviour to her majesty in this early stage of the affair. Could it be harsh to offer to her majesty better terms, than her own legal adviser had demanded for her? He has, indeed, said, that when the proposition came from him in June, 1819, the demise of the crown was not then contemplated; and that between covenanting not to take up a future and contingent dignity, and renouncing one which had fallen actually into possession, the difference was very wide. The first part of this defence is altogether inconsistent with fact; for so far is it from being true, that the demise of the crown was not contemplated, that one of the terms of his proposal referred specifieally to that event, by providing

that the then princess of Wales should not take the title of Queen. As to the latter part of the apology, we admit the distinction between present and future, contingent and vested; but here the difference can have no practical application. If it would have been advisable and prudent in the princess of Wales, to have agreed never to assume the royal title, there could be nothing unreasonable in proposing to her, after the crown had descended to her husband, that she should abstain from using the style of Queen.

At all events, it is of importance to keep in mind, that on the 15th April, Mr. Brougham received the memorandum, containing the terms that were offered to her majesty. They did not appear to him, at that time, insulting, harsh, or extravagant; they excited in him neither indignation nor contempt. He thought, that they were not only such as might with propriety be laid before his royal client, but such as she would do well to accede to. In short, he received the propositions; he kept the memorandum of them; he undertook to communicate them to the queen; it was even understood, that he was to recommend them to her acceptance. They were, therefore, sanctioned by his deliberate approval; and if ministers are liable to any blame, for not having conceded to the queen the full enjoyment of all the privileges, legal and honorary, attached to her rank, Mr. Brougham must bear the burden along with them. For up to the 15th of April, he approved of their proceedings-we might even say, up to the moment when he left England, with lord Liver

pool's memorandum in his pocket, to meet her majesty at St. Omer. It is true, that the day before his departure for the continent, he wrote to lord Liverpool a letter, stating, that he could give no opinion on the proposals transmitted through him, till he had seen her majesty; and that he could not pledge himself, that, after knowing her case, he would not advise her to come home immediately. This letter cannot overthrow the facts which preceded: indeed, it is in itself a fresh proof, that he looked upon himself as the organ of negotiation with the queen, and that so far as he was then acquainted with her situation, the terms offered her, were not objectionable.

In the mean time, her majesty continued in Italy, without showing any intention of returning to England. After spending more than three months in France, where she complained of meeting with very disrespectful treatment from the authorities, she returned in the beginning of February to Tuscany. No information was sent to her of the demise of George III.; and it was only from the newspapers, that she gained the knowledge of the occurrence of an event, in which she was so deeply interested. It was in the same way that she learned, that her name had been omitted in the liturgy.

She arrived towards the end of February at Rome, where she demanded a guard of honour, as queen of England. To this application, cardinal Gonsalvi replied, in a letter, bearing date the 24th of February [see Chronicle, page 90] that," as no communication had been made on the subject to the papal government by VOL. LXII.

the king of England and Hanover, or his ministers, his holiness did not know that the queen of England was in Rome, and, in consequence, could not grant her a guard of honour." This answer

seems to have incensed her exceedingly; and, shortly afterwards, she wrote the following letter, dated on the 16th of March, and which appeared about the middle of April, in all the English newspapers:

"During my residence at Milan, in consequence of the infamous behaviour of Mr. Ompteda (he having bribed my servants to become the traducers of my character), one of my English gentlemen challenged him; the Austrian government sent off Mr. Ompteda. I wrote myself to the emperor of Austria, requesting his protection against spies, who employed persons to introduce themselves into my house, and particularly into my kitchen, to poison the dishes prepared for my table. I never received any answer to this letter. After this I was obliged to go into Germany, to visit my relatives the Margravine of Baden, and the Margravine of Bareuth. The shortest road for my return to Italy was through Vienna; and I took that road, with the flattering hope, that the emperor would protect me. Arrived at Vienna, I demanded public satisfaction for the public insult I had experienced in Lombardy; this was refused me, and a new insult was offered. The emperor refused to meet me, or to accept my visit.

"Lord Stewart, the English ambassador, having received a letter froin me, informing him of my intention of returning by Vienna, and of taking possession of [K]

his house there (as it is the custom of foreign ambassadors to receive their princesses into their houses, when travelling), absolutely refused me his house, left the town, and retired into the country. Lord Stewart afterwards wrote a very impertinent letter to me, which is now in Mr. Canning's hands, as I sent it to England. Finding the Austrian government so much influenced by the English ministers, I sold my villa on the Lake of Como, and settled myself quietly in the Roman estates. I there inet with great civility for some time, and protection against the spy, Mr. Ompteda; but, from the moment I became queen of England, all civility ceased.

"Cardinal Gonsalvi has been much influenced since that period by the Baron de Rydan,* the Hanoverian minister, who succeeded Mr. Ompteda, deceased. The Baron de Rydan has taken an oath never to acknowledge me as queen of England, and persuades every person to call me Caroline of Brunswick. A guard has been refused me as queen, which was granted to me as princess of Wales, because no communication has been received from the British government, announcing me as queen. My messenger was refused a passport for England. I also experienced much insult from the court of Turin.

"Last year, in the month of September (I was then travelling incognito, under the name of the Countess Oldi), I went to the confines of the Austrian estates, to the first small town belonging to the king of Sardinia, on my way to meet Mr. Brougham at Lyons,

"Reden" is the true name of the

Hanoverian minister here complained of.

as the direct road lay through Turin. I wrote myself to the queen of Sardinia, informing her that I could not remain at Turin, being anxious to reach Lyons as soon as possible, and also that I was travelling incognito; I received no answer to this letter. The post-master at Bronio, the small post-town near the country villa where I then resided, absolutely refused me post-horses; in consequence of this refusal, I wrote to Mr. Hill, the English minister at Turin, demanding immediate satisfaction, and the reason for such an insult. Mr. Hill excused himself, upon the plea of its being a misunderstanding, and told me that post-horses would be in readiness whenever I should require them. I accordingly set out, and arranged to go through the town of Turin at night, and only to stop to change horses; but I received positive orders not to go through the town, but to proceed by a very circuitous road, which obliged me to travel almost the whole night, in very dangerous roads, and prevented me from reaching the post-town (where I should have passed the night) till five in the morning, when, by going through Turin, I might have reached it by ten at night.

"Finding so much difficulty attending my travelling, I thought the most proper mode for me to pursue would be, to acquaint the high personages of my intention of passing the winter at Lyons, or in the neighbourhood of Lyons, previous to my intended return to England in the Spring. I addressed a letter to the French minister for foreign affairs, informing him of my intentions, and also that I wished to preserve the strictest incognito. No notice was

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