Acting in some degree as intermediary and conciliator between these divergent interests stood Lord Granville, President of Council, then a "Conservative-Liberal," especially valuable to the Cabinet for the confidence reposed in him by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
In 1861 Palmerston was seventy-seven years old.

Long before this he had built his popularity upon a vigorous British "patriotism," assertive of England's honour and jealous for British advantage.

Now, however, as head of a Government requiring the most delicate handling to maintain itself, he devoted his energies to details of political management in which he had great skill.

His ambition was, primarily, to retain office, and in this purpose he was fortunate because, unknown to his ministerial colleagues, he had received an indirect pledge from Lord Derby, the Opposition leader, that there would be, for a time at least, no determined effort to unseat him so long as his Ministry brought forward no Bill for a further expansion of the franchise.

In the unwillingness to make any further adventure toward an expanded democracy Palmerston was wholly at one with Derby.