THE

HE first Session of the year 1857 was opened on the 3rd of February, the Speech from the Throne being delivered by the Lord Chancellor, under a Royal Commission. The country was at this time in a prosperous and tranquil state; political agitation seemed to be dormant. Occasional rumours of a change in the composition of the Ministry, and of an impending junction between Mr. Gladstone and the leader of the Conservative party in the House of Commons, served to amuse the public mind in anticipation of the annual meeting of the Legislature. One question, indeed, excited real interest in the country, and formed the topic of earnest discussion at public meetings. This was the income tax, the amount of which having been largely increased, to meet the exigencies of the war with Russia, it was now hoped, on the return of peace, that it would be found possible to reduce it to its original rate of sevenpence in the pound. But whether the defensive establishments of the country could with safety be thus early reduced to such an extent as to admit of a great remission of taxation was a point of much uncertainty, and not likely to be cleared up till the actual state of the national finances had been laid before Parliament.

The Queen's Speech, on the opening of the Session, was delivered in the following terms :

My Lords and Gentlemen,"We are commanded to assure you that Her Majesty has great satisfaction in recurring again to

the advice and assistance of Her Parliament.

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'We are commanded by Her Majesty to inform you, that difficulties, which arose in regard to some of the provisions of the treaty of Paris, delayed the complete execution of the stipulations of that treaty. Those difficulties have been overcome in a satisfactory manner, and the intentions of the treaty have been fully maintained.

"An insurrectionary movement which took place in September last in the Swiss Canton of Neuchâtel, for the purpose of re-establishing in that Canton the authority of the King of Prussia, as Prince of Neuchâtel, led to serious differences between His Prussian Majesty and the Swiss Confederation, threatening at one time to disturb the general peace of Europe But Her Majesty commands us to inform you that, in concert with her august ally, the Emperor of the French, she is endeavouring to bring about an amicable settlement of the matters in dispute; and Her Majesty entertains a confident expectation that an honourable and satisfactory arrangement will be concluded.

"In consequence of certain discussions which took place during the Conferences at Paris, and which are recorded in the protocols that were laid before you, Her Majesty and the Emperor of the French caused communications to be made to the Government of the King of the Two Sicilies, for the purpose of inducing him to adopt a course of policy calculated to avert dangers which might disturb that

peace which had been so recently restored to Europe. Her Majesty commands us to inform you that the manner in which those friendly communications were received by His Sicilian Majesty was such as to lead Her Majesty and the Emperor of the French to discontinue their diplomatic relations with His Sicilian Majesty; and they have accordingly withdrawn their missions from the Court of Naples. Her Majesty has directed that papers relating to this subject shall be laid before you.

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Her Majesty commands us to inform you that she has been engaged in negotiations with the Government of the United States, and also with the Government of Honduras, which she trusts will be successful in removing all cause of misunderstanding with respect to Central America.

"Her Majesty has concluded a treaty of friendship and commerce with Siam, which will be laid before you.

"Her Majesty commands us to express to you her regret that the conduct of the Persian Govern

ment has led to hostilities between

Her Majesty and the Shah of Persia. The Persian Government, in defiance of repeated warnings, and in violation of its engagements, has besieged and captured the important city of Herat. We are commanded by Her Majesty to inform you that a British naval and military force despatched from Bombay has taken possession of the island of Karrak and of the town of Bushire, with a view to induce the Shah to accede to the just demands of Her Majesty's Government. Her Majesty has seen with satisfaction that the naval and military forces employed

on

this occasion have displayed

their acustomed gallantry and spirit.

"Her Majesty commands us to inform you that acts of violence, insults to the British flag, and infraction of treaty rights committed by the local Chinese authorities at Canton, and a pertinacious refusal of redress, have rendered it necessary for Her Majesty's officers in China to have recourse to measures of force to obtain satisfaction. Those measures had, up to the date of the last accounts, been taken with great forbearance, but with signal success as regards the conflicts to which they had led. We are commanded to inform you that Her Majesty trusts that the Government of Pekin will see the propriety of affording the satisfaction demanded, and of faithfully fulfilling its treaty-engagements.

"Gentlemen of the House of Commons,

"Her Majesty has directed the estimates for the ensuing year to been prepared with every attention be laid before you. They have to economy, and with a due regard to the efficient performance of the public service at home and abroad.

"My Lords and Gentlemen,—

"Her Majesty commands us to inform you that Bills will be submitted to your consideration for the consolidation and the amendment of important portions of the law; and Her Majesty doubts not that you will give your earnest attention to matters so deeply affecting the interests of all classes of her subjects.

"Her Majesty commands us to recommend to your consideration the expediency of renewing for a further period the privileges of the Bank of England, the conditions imposed on the issue of bank-notes

in the United Kingdom, and the state of the law relating to Jointstock Banks.

"Her Majesty commands us to express the gratification which it affords her to witness the general well-being and contentment of her people; and to find that, notwithstanding the sacrifices unavoidably attendant upon such a war as that which has lately terminated, the resources of the country remain unimpaired, and its productive industry continues unchecked in its course of progressive development.

"Her Majesty commits with confidence the great interests of the country to your wisdom and care; and she fervently prays that the blessing of Almighty God may attend your deliberations, and prosper your councils for the advancement of the welfare and happiness of her loyal and faithful people."

The Address to the Throne, in answer to the Royal Speech, was moved in the House of Lords by the Earl of Cork. After briefly referring to the success which had attended the diplomatic efforts of Her Majesty's representatives at the Peace Conferences, and mentioning in terms of congratulation the failure of the attempt to disturb the peace of Europe by the Neuchâtel émeute, his Lordship proceeded to refer to the Persian war. That extreme step had been forced upon Her Majesty's Government, not only by Persia's systematic duplicity, but by the reckless spirit of aggression which had characterized that State's attack upon the city of Herat. The despatches which had recently arrived showed the vigour and success with which Her Majesty's Government had punished this unjust infraction of their international

treaties. To almost the same causes, and the exclusive spirit of the people, the disputes with the authorities of Canton might be traced. In spite of the heavy taxation which had pressed upon the resources of this kingdom, their Lordships must be glad to observe the general industrial prosperity which prevailed, and which was indicated by the export returns. He could speak more particularly with regard to the sister country, with which he was immediately connected, and which showed a greater diminution of the poor-rates than had existed for some time past.

The Address was seconded in brief terms by the Earl of Airlie.

The Earl of Derby regretted that he could not agree with the encomiums which had been lavished upon the Speech which Her Majesty's advisers had presented to Parliament. It was, in fact, most vague, shadowy, and unsubstantial. The reference to the other House of Parliament was meagre, and unsatisfactory in the last degree; in fact, they were merely requested to make the formal financial arrangements which might be necessary for the public service; but in making those arrangements he thought Parliament would be wanting in its duty if it did not demand the fulfilment of its solemn pledge, that the income tax should cease and determine in 1860, and on the faith of which the public had consented to its imposition. But, meagre as was the Speech, it did not contain that formerly wellknown paragraph in which the Sovereign congratulated the Parliament on the steady maintenance of peace. On the contrary, now, the only Sovereign so alluded to

was the King of Siam. The other parts of the Speech were almost equally unsatisfactory. It was mentioned with much satisfaction that, in concert with our august ally, we had put the Neuchâtel question in a fair way of being adjusted, whereas he quite believed that if we had not interfered with our august ally at all the whole matter would have been settled more speedily and amicably. But Lord Palmerston had such a peculiar skill in getting out of a difficulty that he seemed to seek such situations. Turning to another portion of the Speech which referred to our relations with Naples, did this country, he asked, always act uprightly? Did it never keep the "promise to the ear and break it to the hope?" Had we not played with the question of Italian liberty, while the principal result of the Paris Conferences was to make the Austrian rule in Italy more fixed and more permanent than ever? What was the object, and what result had been achieved by the Neapolitan difficulty, except that England and France had received at the hands of that petty State a deliberate and well-deserved affront? He certainly believed our policy of late had deprived this country of every friend in the world, except France. After dwelling at length upon each step which had produced the Persian war, he proceeded to comment upon the conduct of the Government in not calling Parliament together when that struggle became inevitable. It was useless to call it an Indian war; it was British, and as such should have been declared by the Sovereign of this country, with the consent and approbation of the Parliament. But such remarks

applied with still greater force to the proceedings in China, which had filled him with amazement. Was the bombardment of the great commercial city of Canton,

the indiscriminate slaughter of innocent and guilty in one common doom,-an act of forbearance, as it was termed in the Speech? He confessed he could not look upon the state of our foreign relations without distrust and misgiving. If he did not then move an amendment to the Address, it was in the hope that the opinions which he now undoubtedly entertained would be modified by reading the protocols, which the Government were of course prepared to lay before their Lordships.

The Earl of Clarendon was sorry that Lord Derby had not adhered to the usual practice, and refrained from any allusion to foreign topics until he was in possession of the full information which would be shortly laid before the House. Had he waited for these documents it would have saved him from the erroneous impression he appeared to entertain with regard to the Neuchâtel question. Neither the English nor French Government was concerned in any way with the resistance with which the Swiss Government had met the demands of Prussia. It was, indeed, true that Her Majesty's Ministers had taken advantage of the Paris Conferences to consider the question of the state of Italy; but the course which they had adopted, in conjunction with the Emperor of the French, had met with the cordial approval of the principal governments of Europe. With regard to the Persian war, it was very far from being the groundless quarrel which the public seemed quite to believe.