It was soon evident that the proposal to abolish the Paper Duty was unpopular in Parliament, and when it passed the third reading by a majority of nine only, Lord Palmerston warned the Queen, who was on the side of the minority on this occasion, that the House of Lords would probably reject it. The Cabinet was not united on the subject, for Lord Malmesbury states that he was deputed to tell Lady Palmerston that the Opposition meant to reject it, “for which she thanked us.” Nay, he was deputed to go further, and promise her their support in the event of Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Milner Gibson and Lord John Russell resigning either over the failure of the Paper Duty scheme, or over the withdrawal of the Reform Bill. When both events became inevitable, the Cabinet was severely shaken, and all through the early days of June it was expected that it would be broken up. When the Lords rejected the Paper Duty Bill, Mr. Gladstone threatened to resign unless the Government and the House of Commons censured them for meddling with a Bill relating to taxation. The Peers, however, though they have not the right to initiate Bills dealing with taxation, have always claimed the right of rejecting them, and the Commons’ Privilege Committee in their Report of the 29th of June admitted this right. However, to pacify Mr. Gladstone and the Radicals, Lord Palmerston introduced a series of Resolutions on the 6th of July in a speech which Lord Derby said was “the best tight-rope dancing he ever saw.”[77] These Resolutions affirmed once more the exclusive right of the House of Commons to impose and remit taxes, and to frame Bills of Supply, but did not challenge the claim of the Peers to reject them--and they were carried by a vote of 177 to 138. [Illustration: THE VOLUNTEER CAMP, WIMBLEDON.] The feeling of mistrust against France had given a strong impetus to the Volunteer movement in the country, and in 1860 this found vent in the great review of the citizen army in Hyde Park, and the formation of the National Rifle Association at Wimbledon. The review was held on the 23rd of June, and 20,000 men from all parts of the country attended. The Queen appeared on the ground at four o’clock in the afternoon with the King of the Belgians, the Princess Alice, and Prince Arthur, the Prince Consort riding beside her carriage. In two hours it was over--belying the Duke of Wellington’s historic doubt whether we had a general who could get so many men into Hyde Park and out again without “clubbing” and confusion. Lord Malmesbury says, “I went to Mr. Disraeli’s house in Grosvenor Gate to see the sight, which was very fine. The enthusiasm of the men and spectators exceeded all description. There were 20,000 Volunteers, all young men between eighteen and thirty. [Illustration: THE QUEEN AT WIMBLEDON.]