| Collection | Victorian Papers, Main Series |
| Description | Queen Victoria is pleased at the handsome subscriptions from the City for the relief of both the Irish and the Scots, and gladly sanctions the issue of a Queen's Letter for further collections in the Churches. She wishes to see Lord John Russsell at Claremont on Saturday so that he can explain to her the reasons for proposing a suspension of the Corn Duties, and the plan of the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the admission of sugar into breweries and distilleries. The Queen believes the likely turn in Portuguese affairs to be very satisfactory, and is sure that the Portuguese Court will not allow violent measures of revenge to be taken against the vanquished party, or an overthrow of Constitutional Government; but the Queen of Portugal will have to punish those who broke their oath of allegiance, and those who would certainly plunge the country into horrors again should be exiled. Queen Victoria believes that a further injection of democracy into the Charter just now would be a mistake; but the Queen of Portugal should take the opportunity to establish a legal and secure state by compelling any new Ministry to lay the accounts before the Cortes on an annual basis (which has not been done for the last ten years), by establishing irremovable Judges and appointing incorruptible people, by fairly distributing patronage in the Army, apart from party (this will be possible because the King now has the command himself), and by adopting such internal improvements as to promote material welfare for the Portuguese people. Queen Victoria wishes her representative to urge these principles on the Portuguese Court and Government. The tone and bearing of Mr. [Henry] Southern [Chargé d'Affaires] are more like those of a Portuguese demagogue than those of an English representative. |