The dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway has been peacefully accomplished, and, in accordance with the declared desire of the Norwegian people, my son-in-law and daughter, the Prince and Princess Charles of Denmark, have ascended the Throne of Norway as King and Queen.

The insurrectionary movement in Crete has subsided, and the four Protecting Powers have appointed Commissioners with a view to the introduction of reforms in the island.

The condition of the Macedonian vilayets, though in some respects improved, continues to give cause for anxiety. The Sultan has agreed to the appointment of an International Financial Commission to supervise the financial administration of these provinces, and I trust that this may lead to the introduction of salutary reforms and the improvement of the condition of the population.

Papers will be laid before you respecting army administration

in India.

In order to establish Responsible Government in the Transvaal Colony, I have decided to recall the Letters Patent which provided for the intermediate stage of Representative Government, and to direct that the new Constitution be drawn up with as much expedition as is consistent with due care and deliberation in all particulars. The elections to the first Legislative Assembly, which had been expected in July, must accordingly be postponed, but it is not anticipated that the additional delay need extend beyond a few months.

The directions which have been given that no further licences should be issued for the importation of Chinese coolies will continue in force during that period.

A Constitution granting Responsible Government will also be framed for the Orange River Colony.

It is my earnest hope that in these Colonies, as elsewhere throughout my dominions, the grant of free institutions will be followed by an increase of prosperity and of loyalty to the Empire.

The Colonial Conference, which, in existing circumstances, cannot be held this year, has been postponed until the early part of next year, with the concurrence of the Colonial Governments concerned.

Gentlemen of the House of Commons,

I note with satisfaction that the imports and exports of the country continue to show a steady and accelerating increase, and, together with the growing activity of trade at home, indicate that the industries of my people are, in general, in a sound and progressive condition.

The additions which have been made in recent years to the national expenditure and to the capital liabilities of the State are matters to which I invite your earnest attention.

Imagine fie alle devoted to your ardu labous, and I pay for the resides may have the blessing Almighty God.

bud June, 190

We, Your Majesty's most dutid and loyal subjects t Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Irel in Parliament assembled, towards using the necessary sugg to defray Your Majesty's public expenses, and making an addit to the public revenue, have freely and voluntarily resolved to g and great to Your Majesty the several duties hereinaft mendioned; and do therefore most humbly beseech Your Majes that it may be exacted, and be it enacted by the King's mo Freellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of th Lords Biritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this presen Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, a follows:

1. In lieu of the duty of customs payable on tes importer into Great Britain or Ireland, there shall, as from the fourteent day of May nineteen hundred and six, until the fourteenth day o May nineteen hundred and seven, be charged, levied, and pai the following duty (that is to say):

8.(1) As from the first day of May nineteen hundred and six, one halfpenny per pound shall be substituted for threepence per pound as the increase of duty in the case of stripped tobacco under subsection (1) of section two of the Finance Act, 1904,* and the rebate under subsection (2) of that section shall cease as from the same day,

() As from the twenty-first day of May nineteen hundred and six, the table of rates of drawback set out in the First Schedule to this Act shall be substituted for the table of rates of drawback set out in the Schedule to the Finance Act, 1904.

(3) Subject to any regulations which the Commissioners of Customs may make, stalks, shorts, or other refuse of tobacco

The Estimates of charge which will be laid before you will be presented in as moderate a form as time and circumstances have allowed

My Lords and Gentlemen,

My Ministers have under consideration plans for improving and effecting economies in the system of government in Ireland and for introducing into it means for associating the people with the conduct of Irish affairs. It is my desire that the Government of the country, in reliance upon the ordinary law, should be carried on, so far as existing circumstances permit, in a spirit regardful of the wishes and sentiments of the Irish people; and I trust that this may conduce to the maintenance of tranquillity and of good feeling between different classes in the community.

The social and economic conditions of the rural districts in Great Britain require careful consideration. Inquiries are proceeding as to the means by which a larger number of the population may be attracted to and retained on the soil, and they will be completed at no distant date.

A Bill will be laid before you at the earliest possible moment for amending the existing Law with regard to Education in England and Wales.

Bills will also be submitted to you for dealing with the Law regulating Trade Disputes, and for amending the Workmen's Compensation Acts; for the further Equalization of Rates in the Metropolis, and for amending the Unemployed Workmen Act.

Your attention will also be called to measures dealing with the Merchant Shipping Law, for amending and extending the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, for amending the Labourers (Ireland) Act, for checking commercial corruption, for improving the Law regarding certain Colonial Marriages, for abolishing the property qualification required of County Justices in England, and for the prevention of plural voting in Parliamentary Elections.

Your labours upon these and upon all other matters I humbly commend to the blessing of Almighty God.

SPEECH of the King, on the Closing of the British Parliament.-Westminster, December 21, 1906.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

THE marriage of my niece to the King of Spain took place last June in Madrid, and the ceremony was attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Happily, their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain were mercifully preserved from being injured by the outrage committed against them.

(M 81)

B 2

The recent visit of the King of Norway with the Queen, my daughter, has given me sincere pleasure, and cannot fail to promote friendly relations between the two countries.

My relations with foreign Powers continue to be friendly.

The Conference which met at Algeciras, on the invitation of the Sultan, to consider the introduction of reforms into Morocco, concluded its labours by the signature of an International Act, which should be conducive to an improvement of the situation in Morocco.

There has been a distinct improvement in the condition of affairs in Crete, and the Powers are still giving close attention to the reforms which are being gradually introduced into the administration of the Macedonian vilayets.

My Government have concluded Agreements with the French and Italian Governments for the maintenance of the status quo in the dominions of the Emperor Menelek in Abyssinia, and for the regulation of the traffic in arms on the Somali Coast.

In conformity with the Declaration of the 8th April, 1904, concerning the New Hebrides, a Convention with France has been signed for the purpose of putting an end to the difficulties arising from the absence of jurisdiction over the natives, and of settling land disputes in those islands.

My Government have concluded satisfactory arrangements with the German Government in regard to our respective frontiers in the neighbourhood of Lake Tchad and Lake Victoria Nyanza, and with the Government of the French Republic respecting the Anglo-French boundary between Lake Tchad and the Niger.

The boundaries between the Anglo-Egyptian Soudan and the Congo State have been satisfactorily settled by an Agreement which has been signed with the Sovereign of the Congo State, and the eastern administrative boundary of Egypt has been delimited by a Joint Commission with the Government of Turkey.

A Conference, in which my Plenipotentiaries took part, was held at Brussels in October to revise the Regulations instituted under the Brussels Act for the restriction of the liquor traffic in Africa, and a Convention was signed, which will shortly be laid before you.

The visit of friendship which the Amir of Afghanistan will shortly pay to the Governor-General of India is a gratifying indication of the amicable relations that exist between the Amir and my Government.

In pursuance of the promise given in my Speech at the opening of Parliament, the arrangements for the establishment of Responsible Government in the Transvaal have now been completed, and I have caused Letters Patent to issue under the Great Seal. The Instruments providing for the grant of a similar Constitution to the Orange River Colony are in preparation.

I trus tthat during the coming year the new form of Government will come into full operation, and will exert a powerful influence