cession of Queens Consort. It seems to have been overlooked that the circumstances of the present case were not quite parallel to these. The Civil List had been readjusted at the beginning of the Queen's reign, not in the direction of increasing it, but on a scale that was believed not only to be ample, but to allow an ample margin for all contingencies; in Prince Albert's case no separate establishment would be needed, and only a very moderate household. Moreover, even if no account were taken of the exceptional commercial distress prevailing at the time,[1] the Ministry would have done well to realize that the time had gone by when the passing of huge sums for the Royal Family would go through as a matter of course. But the Government did not take heed of any of these things, nor did they take the precaution of consulting the leaders of opposition as to their view on the matter; on the contrary, Lord John Russell insisted on going on even when he knew he would be beaten, and irritated the Tory party by taunting them with disloyalty. When the vote of £50,000 was proposed, Mr. Hume moved to reduce to £21,000. This was negatived, but an amendment by Colonel Sibthorpe to reduce the vote to £30,000 was supported by Sir Robert Peel and other leading members of the Tory party, and carried by 262 to 158. It was not a strictly party division, for the majority was composed in part of Whigs and Radicals, as well as Tories. Still it was anticipated that the division would set the Prince against the Tory party. This, however, was not the case. His vexation on hearing of the vote was based on the fear that it indicated that his marriage with the Queen was unpopular in England, and when he
- ↑ In 1840 wheat was 81s. a quarter; wages were low, and trade depressed; the revenue was steadily falling; deficits were chronic; and Chartist riots were common occurrences.
