various quarters of the world had increased, and the redundant labour of the operatives was becoming absorbed in other channels, so that the great anxiety felt in preceding years on account of the distress in Lancashire was much diminished. The revenue of the country showed extraordinary elasticity, and the proved success of the financial policy recently pursued by the Government, whereby a reduction of taxes had coincided with an increased return of income, gave encouragement to a further progress in the same direction. These and the other favourable features in the condition of the nation had added strength to the Administration of Lord Palmerston, which, although resting on the support of a very narrow majority in the House of Commons, appeared to enjoy the confidence of the public in a greater degree than any Cabinet formed of other materials would have been likely to command. The spirit of party, indeed, appeared to have lost nearly all its acrimony, and even a large share of its vitality, both in Parliament and in the country at large; it seemed as if few questions remained to divide in any material degree the opinions of the different sections of politicians. Some of the prominent men on either side of the House of Commons did not hesitate openly to avow their indifference to party bonds and watchwords. What were the subjects which chiefly engaged the attention of Parliament, and in what temper they were regarded, both by the members of the Legislature and by the public whose opinions they reflected, will appear from the ensuing chapters. The two Houses were convoked this year at the date which has now become almost an established usage, the first week in February, the fourth of that month being the day appointed. Her Majesty, being, to the great regret of her subjects, still unequal to the effort of appearing on public occasions, the Royal Speech was delivered from the throne by the Lord Chancellor, and was 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. "Her Majesty is confident that you will share her feeling of gratitude to Almighty God on account of the Princess of Wales having given birth to a son, an event which has called forth from her faithful people renewed demonstrations of devoted loyalty and attachment to her person and family. "The state of affairs on the continent of Europe has been the cause of great anxiety to Her Majesty. The death of the late King of Denmark brought into immediate application the stipulations of the Treaty of May, 1852, concluded by Her Majesty, the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of the French, the King of Prussia, the Emperor of Russia, the King of Sweden, and the King of Denmark, and afterwards acceded to by the King of Hanover, the King of Saxony, the King of Würtemberg, the King of the Belgians, the King of the Netherlands, the Queen of Spain, the King of Portugal, and the King of Sardinia. "That Treaty declared that it is conducive to the preservation of the balance of power and of the peace of Europe that the integrity of the Danish Monarchy should be maintained, and that the several territories which have hitherto been under the sway of the King of Denmark should continue so to remain; and for this purpose it was agreed that in the event of the death of the late King and of his uncle, Prince Frederick, without issue, his present Majesty, King Christian IX., should be acknowledged as succeeding to all the dominions then united under the sceptre of His Majesty the King of Denmark. "Her Majesty, actuated by the same desire to preserve the peace of Europe, which was one of the declared objects of all the Powers who were parties to that Treaty, has been unremitting in her endeavours to bring about a peaceful settlement of the differences which on this matter have arisen between Germany and Denmark, and to ward off the dangers which might follow from a beginning of warfare in the north of Europe, and Her Majesty will continue her efforts in the interest of peace. "The barbarous murders and cruel assaults committed in Japan upon subjects of Her Majesty rendered it necessary that demands should be made upon the Japanese Government, and upon the Daimio, by whose retainers some of those outrages were committed. "The Government of the Tycoon complied with the demand made upon them by Her Majesty's Government, and full satisfaction having been made, the friendly relations between the two Governments have continued unbroken. But the Daimio Prince of Satsuma refused to comply with the just and moderate demands which were made upon him. His refusal rendered measures of coercion necessary, and Her Majesty regrets, that while those measures have brought this Daimio to an agreement for compliance, they led incidentally to the destruction of a considerable portion of the town of Kagosima. "Papers on this subject will be laid before you. "The insurrection which broke out last year among some portion of the native inhabitants of New Zealand still, unfortunately, continues, but there is reason to hope that it will before long be put down. "Her Majesty commands us to inform you that she has concluded a Treaty with the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of the French, the King of Prussia, and the Emperor of Russia, by which Her Majesty consents to give up the protectorate of the Ionian Islands, and also agrees to the annexation of those islands to the kingdom of Greece. This Treaty shall be laid before you. Her Majesty is also negotiating a Treaty with the King of the of Hellenes for regulating the arrangements connected with the union of the Ionian Islands with the kingdom of Greece. "GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, "Her Majesty has directed the Estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before you. They have been prepared with every attention to economy, and with a due regard to the efficiency of the public service. "MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, "Her Majesty commands us to inform you that the condition of the country is, on the whole satisfactory. The revenue has fully realized its expected amount; the commerce of the United Kingdom is increasing; and, while the distress in the manufacturing districts has been in some degree lessened, there is reason to look forward to an increased supply of cotton from various countries which have hitherto but scantily furnished our manufacturers with this material for their industry. "Her Majesty has directed that a Commission shall be issued for the purpose of revising the various forms of subscription and declaration required to be made by the clergy of the Established Church. A copy of that Commission will be laid before you. "Various measures of public usefulness will be submitted for your consideration. "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 in answer to the Royal Speech was moved the same evening in the House of Lords by the Marquis of Sligo, and was briefly seconded by Lord Abercrombie, after which, the Earl of Derby, as leader of the Opposition, entered into a lengthened review of the condition of the country, and the policy pursued, both at home and towards Foreign Powers, by Her Majesty's Government. Before entering on these topics, however, he adverted, in very felicitous terms, to the event which formed the first subject in the Royal Speech, the birth of an heir to the Prince of Wales. "At this time last year," he said, "we offered our humble congratulations to Her Majesty, on the auspicious marriage of the heir to the Throne with a Princess every way qualified to share the high destiny reserved for him, and whose personal beauty and attractions, and the natural and unaffected charm of whose manner, secured for her from the first moment of her entrance into this kingdom, the admiration and, I may say, the affection of her adopted country. On this occasion we have to congratulate Her Majesty and the nation on the happy issue of that marriage, in the birth of an heir to the Throne in the second generation; and although, my lords, happily for this country, monarchical institu tions are so firmly established in the hearts and affections of the people, and their attachment to them has been so strengthened by the private virtues and personal qualities of the illustrious lady who occupies the throne, that it is not with us, as it might be with other countries, a subject of additional congratulation that we thereby obtain greater stability for the Throne or greater security for the dynasty, yet we may be permitted to rejoice at the prospect we have before us of a direct line of succession from the present illustrious wearer of the Crown and her immediate descendantsfrom a Sovereign who has done so much to cast a lustre upon that Crown, and also to strengthen the hold which monarchical institutions have upon this nation. My lords, it appears to me, that as we advance in life we look with a warmer and a kindlier sympathy upon the opening prospects of those who are entering upon that career, towards the close of which many of us are hurrying. But I am sure there is not one of your lordships who does not view with the deepest interest the happy career before that youthful pair, upon the birth of whose heir we are now congratulating the Sovereign. I am sure there is not one of your lordships who does not offer up a fervent prayer to the Throne of Grace, that that bright prospect may remain unclouded, and that, long after the youngest of your lordships has passed away from this scene, the throne of these realms may be occupied by the descendants of the illustrious Prince and of his new-born heir Et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis."" Lord Derby proceeded to comment upon the general condition of the country, which, notwithstanding the interruption caused by the civil war in America to the operations in the cotton districts, he considered to be satisfactory. He mentioned, as a remarkable fact within his own knowledge, that there were at that time no less than 110 new cotton mills, either recently erected or in course of erection, which would be opened on the revival of trade, and many of these were on a scale of unprecedented magnitude, one of them being built to accommodate no less than 500 looms. He hoped that the heaviest pressure of suffering was at an end, and stated the grounds on which he based his hopes of improvement. Passing to the other topics of Her Majesty's Speech, Lord Derby referred to the Commission to be appointed to inquire into the subject of subscription by the clergy of the Church of England. He feared that the result of such an inquiry would not be proportionate to the magnitude of the machinery employed in it. then called the attention of the House to the portion of the Speech relating to foreign affairs. Her Majesty's Government had, for two or three years past, mainly rested their claim to public confidence on their foreign policy. They had abandoned the question of Parliamentary Reform the moment it had served the purpose of placing them in office. The fulfilment of the promises they had made was defeated by Lord Russell, and when he was trans He ions of the thened by rious lady ht be with that security prospect present dants Don that institu that as mpathy that But view athful g the does that the the the ferred to the more serene atmosphere of the House of Lords, he pronounced the funeral oration of Reform. He had told them, in a speech which he had delivered during the recess, in Scotland, to rest and be thankful;" and from that time their foreign policy had been the groundwork of the claim of Her Majesty's Government to public confidence. "I think," proceeded Lord Derby, "that at the commencement, the foreign policy of the noble earl opposite, might be summed up in the affirmation of the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries, the extension of Liberal principles by the exercise of our moral interference, and, above all, the maintenance of uninterrupted and cordial relations with the Emperor of the French. We were told more than once, that the present Government was the only one to maintain a good understanding with the Emperor of the French, or, at least, that its predecessor could not possibly have done so, and that if the country desired to preserve cordial relations between itself and France, Her Majesty's present advisers, and especially the noble earl opposite, were the only persons qualified to secure that most desirable object. Now, my lords, as to nonintervention in the internal affairs of other countries, when I look around me I fail to see what country there is, in the internal affairs of which the noble earl has not interfered. "Nihil intactum reliquit, nihil tetigit quod,' I cannot say, 'non ornavit,' but non conturbavit.' The foreign policy of the noble earl, as far as the principle of non-intervention is concerned, may be summed up in two homely but expressive words-meddle and muddle.' During the whole course of his diplomatic correspondence, wherever he has interfered-and he has interfered every where he has been lecturing, scolding, blustering, and retreating. Seriously-for though there may be something ludicrous about it, the matter is of too great importance to be treated only in a light and jocular manner-I cannot but feel as an Englishman that I am lowered and humiliated in my own estimation and in that of other nations, by the result of the noble earl's administration of foreign affairs. Thanks to the noble earl and the present Government, we have at this moment not one single friend in Europe, and more than that, this country, the chief fault of which was that it went too direct and straightforward at what it aimed, which never gave a promise without the intention of performing, which never threatened without a full determination of striking, which never made a demand without being prepared to enforce it,-this country is now in such a position, that its menaces are disregarded, its magniloquent language is ridiculed, and its remonstrances are treated with contemptuous indifference, by the small as well as by great Powers of the Continent. With regard to the policy of keeping up a good understanding with France, there is hardly a single question on which Her Majesty's Ministers have not thwarted the policy of the Emperor." From the Mexican expedition England had withdrawn, and it had not supported the Emperor's the |