Chapter 8: Moving on, Moving up, 1849-59

 

 

Item 85a
Return to Government, 1858: - I
Dep. Hughenden 109/2, fols. 159r-60r

Disraeli returned to office as Chancellor in Derby's second minority government of 1858-9. In the prevailing political climate, where coalition building was routine, the Conservatives tried to strengthen their leadership by enlisting heavyweights like Gladstone. In this letter written on the night of 21 February 1858, Lord Derby briefs Disraeli about the failure to recruit Gladstone (partly because Disraeli's overly-flattering letter backfired), which effectively ended the former's links with the Conservatives; and about the misgivings of his own son Stanley trying to form a government without a coalition partner (he later overcame these to join as Colonial Secretary). Overleaf Derby lists those who had accepted and records Queen Victoria's express wish that the 5th Duke of Richmond (1791-1860) should run the War Office. As Derby anticipated, Richmond refused.