| Collection | Victorian Papers, Main Series |
| Description | Queen Victoria regrets the position in which the Government have been placed by Stanley's (Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) motion in the Lords (concerning the coercive measures against the commerce and people of Greece). Queen Victoria has read Lord John Russell's speech in the Commons. She foresees trouble, and the defeat of the Government would be most inconvenient. The Quuen has approved the Government policy to let Despotism and Democracy fight out their battles. But Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, has taken the side of Democracy. This may be confounded with the general principle of our Foreign Policy. Queen Victoria fears that the discussion will place despotic and democratic principles against each other in this country, while the original question turns only on the justice of Don Pacifico's claims [In 1847 the house of Jewish British subject and former Portuguese consul-general to Greece, David Pacifico, better known as "Don Pacifico" – who had been dismissed from his consulship for exceeding his authority repeatedly during 1842, but who continued to reside in Athens – was attacked and vandalised by a mob that included the sons of a government minister, while police, according to Pacifico's claims, watched and neglected to intervene]. |