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The Indian mail is seasoned with a stinging letter from Sir Charles Napier , calling upon the subalterns of the Indian armies to pay their debts : no man libels the Indian armies with so much gusto as the departing Commander-in-Chief . The law has half satisfied justi ce in $$ Sloane case , which illustrates the Chinese practice oj our law-men , to seek their object 1 $ a circumbendibus . Instead of setting forth the jcgse according to the facts , the lawyers tried tq set it forth had
according to the precedents ; a prevwup case failed because the lawyers opnittefl to put into the indictment the words , " tender years ; " so they were put into this indictment to eke out the charge of withholding food , without regard to the fact that Jane Will ) red was no longer a child . The law will not recognise the voluntary submission of an adult to the process of starving . This part of the case failed ; but the two prisoners pleaded guilty to the " counts " charging them with assault , and they were sentenced to two years' imprisonment .
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The opening of Parliament took place on Tuesday with the usual ceremony . The day was beautiful , and tVie concourse of persons attracted to St . James ' s and Whitehall was very large . Soon after twelve o'clock the House of Lords began to fill with , ladies , who kept crowding in up to two o ' clock , by which time nearly a thousand were said to be present . . Tnst as thfi hour struck the boom of cannon
announced that tne Queen had entered the Royal Palace of Westminster . In a few minutes later her Majesty , led by Prince Albeit , and attended by her great officers of state , entered the House , and took her seat upon the throne . Having commanded the attendance of her " faithful Commons , " and that disorderly crowd having presented themselves in their usual tumultuous manner , the Queen read the royal speech , of which the following is a copy : —
THE QUEEN'S SPEECH . " My Lords and Gentlemen , " It is with great satisfaction that I again meet my Parliament , and resort to your advice and assistance In the consideration of measures which affect the welfare of our Qpufitry . " I continue to maintain the relations of peace and amity with Foreign Powers . It has been my endeavour to induce the States of Germany to carry into full effect the provisions of the treaty with Denmark , which was
concluded at Berlin in the month of July of last year . I am much gratified at being able to inform you that the German Confederation and the Government of Denmark are now engaged in fulfilling the stipulations of t |> aj ; Treaty , and thereby putting an end to hostilities which at one time appeared full of danger to the peace of Europe . " I trust that the affairs of Germany may be arranged by mutual agreement , in such a manner as % o preserve the strength of the Confederation and to maintain the freedom of its separate States .
41 I have concluded with the King of Sardinia articles additional to the treaty of September , 1841 , and I have directed that those articles shall be laid before you . " The Government of Brazil has taken new , and I hope efficient , measures for the suppression of the atrocious trallic in slaves . " Gentlemen of the House of Commons , " I have directed the Estimates of the year to be prepared and laid before you without delay . They have been framed with a . due regard to economy , and to the ! necessities of the Public Service . " My Ijords and Gentlemen , " Notwithstanding the largo reductions of taxation which have been elleoted in late years the receipts of the Revenue have been . satisfactory .
'Ihe state of tup r . om-neree and manufactures of the United Kingdom has been hucU as to afford general employment to the labouring classes . 44 I have to lament , however , the difficulties which are Htill felt by that important body among my people who are owners and occupiers of land . 44 But it is my confident hope that the prosperous condition of other « : 1 ; imk < -s of my tuihjoctH will have a favourable effect , in diiniiiinliing those difficulties , and promoting the interests of agriculture .
The recent . asHunipt ion of certain Ecclesiastical titles conferred by a foreign Power ban excite d strong feelings in thin country , and largo bodies o ( my su bjects havo presented addresses to me , expreHsing attachment to ' tho Throne , and pruying that Kuch assumptions should be rcHiHtrd . [ have aHHUrcd them of my resolution to maintain the ri ^ ht . H of my Crown , and the independence of the . nation , ii ^ ainHt all encroachment , from whatever quarter it . may proceed . I have , at . the name time , expreHHed my earnest , desire and firm determination , under God ' n blessing , to maintain unimpaired the Religious Liberty which is mo justly prized by the people of thin country .
" It will be for yinjto consider ifijeltpeasure which will be laid before you on | jbjs subject . " The administration of justice p the several departments of law and fguity will * " no doubt , receive the serious attention qf Parliament ; and I feel confident fh aj the measure ^ whjch may be su ^ mitjed , with a vjpw off improving J . hat administration , wjH be discussed with th&ttiiature d « ° p > eratt < p £ which injgprtant changes in the hi ^ y ^ t cou ri f of judicature in the ^ fpg dom imperatively demand . '•? A measure viijl be laid before you providing for tjje establishment of a system of Registratipji of Deeds and Instruments relating to the Transfer of Property . This
measure is the result of inquiries which I have caused to be made into the practicability of adopting a system of Registration calculated to give security to Titles , and to diminish the causes of Litigation to which they have hitherto been liable , and to reduce the cost of Transfers . " To combine the progress of improvement with the stability of our institutions will , I am confident , be your constant care . We may esteem ourselves fortunate that we can pursue , without disturbance , the course of calm and peaceable amelioration ; and we have every cause to be thankful to Almighty God for the measure of tranquillity and happiness which has been vouchsafed to us . "
The address in the House of Lords was moved by the Earl of Effingham , and seconded by Lord Cremorne ; in the House of Commons , by the Marquis of Kildare , seconded by Mr . Peto . All the four speeches were full of congratulations on 41 the healthy state of trade , " " the prosperous condition of the finances , " the " general employment of the people , " and the " increased consumption of taxed commodities , " as evincing a more comfortable state of things among the mass of the people . Lord Cremobne said that , " whether regarded in a national , commercial , or social point of view , there could be no doubt that
the nation never appeared in a more flourishing condition . " The Earl of Effingham did not go quite so far , but as it appeared that the value of our expbfts in 1849 was ten millions more than that of 1848 , and as last year showed a considerable increase of 1849 , " this he thought might be taken as a general indication that the whole of the population dependent upon manufactures was i ? 1 a state of remunerative employment . In Yorkshire trade was never better , nor more sound and prosperous than it lyas now . " Mr . Peto gave an elaborate picture of our general prosperity . He showed , fiom the Board of Trade returns , that our exports for the first eleven months of 1848 were £ 44 , 407 , 912 ; 1849 , £ 54 , 089 , 809 ; 1 8 50 , £ 60 , 400 , 525 , and that the increase consisted
principally of British manufactures—cottons , woollens , linens , silks , apd hardwares . The number of hands employed in factories last year was 50 , 0 . , more than was employed \ n 1847 . Had cotton been as cheap as it was then the additional number of hands would have been three times 50 , 000 . It was gratifying also to note the fact tbat this increase of persona employed in factories did riot consist of children . Since 1834 there has been a decrease of & ) per cent , in the number of children employed } n factories , and an increase of 81 per cent , in the number of adults . Our snipping trade algo , he contended , was in a hi g hly flourishing state . Ship-building on the Clyde , the Tyne , the Mersey , and Thames is fully equal in activity to any former period . And , as regards the condition of the masses , he adduced the fact that the
number of cattle slaughtered in Great Britain , last year , was G 0 . O 0 O more'than in the previous year . As regards Ireland , Lord Cbemoune , speaking from personal observation and experience , said there was ground for congratulation . The Encumbered Estates Bill had worked exceedingly well , and effected a great improvement in the condition of the people . So much pleased had he been with its results that , were a similer measure proposed for England , he would give it his warmest support . Mr . Peto also spoke of the cheering prospects of progression in Ireland , and affirmed that her comparative advance in industrial pursuits in the last sixteen years had been much greater than that of either England or Scotland .
The nature of tb ° intended Ministerial measure against the Papal aggrqssion was not indicated by any of the speakers . J [\\ of * them condemned "the attempt on the part of Home to interfere with our domestic concerns , " and expressed their belief that a legislative enactment to rcpbl the aggression is necessary . As to the proposed changes in the courts of equity and law , and the registration of decd . s relating to real property , as mentioned in the royal speech , t \ \ u various speakers alluded to the . subject in a very guarded manner , as if they did not know very well what to say .
Lord Stanjlky , as leader of Opposition in the House of Lords , said he was not satisfied with the speech but he would not move any amendment to the address ' . They were told Unit all classes were in a prosperous State , except tho landed interest , and yet , although there was a large surplus applicable to the reduction of taxation , there was no indication on the par ) , of ( Jovcrninen t flint any relief would bo afforded to tlie . agricultural interest . It was absurd ( . <> speak of the distress Ah ' only temporary . ' There would bo no
permanent increase of prices under the present system , and unlesp tjttgf ^ was an improvement the country could ngjt pew £ h ' e present load of taxation . He could noiagr . ee , wuh Lord Cremorne in the satisfaction he expressed wim the , working of the Encumb ered Estates Bill : — " " The act may haye worked satisfactorily to so me parties , but it VeuJJy-has operated most cruelly in many Chees . It has > pe $ fprmed , and is performing , will continue to perforftji fqat operation which the noble lord treats wftn mdifje . re . fl to , of , " rather , which he considers desirable . % } has" substituted a new set of proprietors for the ancient proprietors . ( Heat , hear . ) This might have been desirable in some cases where the proprietors
were merely nominal proprietors , and in those instances I have no doubt the transfer has been beneficial ; but as a general rule it is not desirable for the social interest of the country—it is not an object to be aimed at , to break up the old connection between landlord and tenant , and substitute a new class of proprietors for those who have occupied and owned the land for years and centuries . ( Cheers . ) I am desirous to maintain , if it be possible—I am desirous , at all events , of doing nothing to accelerate the fall of the ancient landed proprietors of the country . ( Cheers . ) I believe the tie which hinds them to the soil is one of the greatest securities for the stability of our institutions , and for the general contentment and happiness of fhe country . "
He warned Ministers a 3 to the course they ought to take on the Papal aggression question . They must not shut their eyes to the gravity of the question . Unless they had made up their minds to deal boldly with it they ought never to have meddled with it at all . Lord Stanley was followed by the Duke of Richmond , who grumbled in a very feeble ineffectual tone about the evils of free trade , and asked Government
to restore protection . . The Earl of Winchelsea , who viewed all other questions as 44 sinking into nothingness , " found fault with the speech for not speaking out on the Catholic question . Lord Camoys , although he was a Roman Catholic , disapproved of Lord John Russell ' s letter to the Bishop of Durham , On account Qf its injudicious tone , and declared his intentions tq support a measure to maintain the supremacy ofthe " Crown .
In the House of Commons Mr . Roebuck condemned the course which Ministers proposed to take on the Roman Catholic question ^ as the first backward step towards the reversal" of an obsolete intolerance . It was a rpistake to complain of Papal aggression as something new . It began long ago , and with the full sanc ^ jpn of the Premier . After permitting the universal reeojmrtiqn of the territorial titles of the Irish Catholip hierarchy , it was perfectly ridiculous to rriake so great an outcry about what had been recently done in England .
Mr . Chisiioljj Anstey , as q . member of the Church , though riot of the Court , ' of Rome , saw nothing in the proposed measure savouring of persecution . Mr . Pjlumptre was afraid that the measure would not be strong enough to satisfy the Protestants of England . The Earl of Arundel and Mr . Fagan expressed their determination to oppose any measure of an intolerant nature . Mr . Hume glanced briefly at the Anti-Papal agitatjor * as resting upon delusive grounds , and then condemned the royal speech for its sins of opiission . Not a word was said about financial , parliamentary , or colonial reform .
Colonel Sihthokp , Mr . Ctuantxey Berkeley , and Mr . B , a ? jkes all complained of the Ministerial coolness to agricultural distress . Colonel Sibthorp expressed a fervent hope that a rattling hailstorm would smash the crystal palace , and disappoint the mob ot pickpockets who hope to make a harvest by it . Lord John Uuhselx . characterized the present condition of tho landowners and farmers as u transition one — a transition from a rigorous monopoly to absolute Free Trade—unbroken by any Biich stepping-stone as the . moderate fixed duty which he had at one time proposed , and the temporary , but only the temporary , enactment of whjc i would possibly have rendered the present period a less severe one . Of the moral justice , however , •» wpll na the . nolittenl oxnnrlinncv of abeolutO 1 'rt /
trade , be saw nothing to shake $ ie conviction » nj be liad long enterMjfned , ' boV ^ vcf partially paini *" as in some respects might bo the process of carryi j , the system into effect . - He colild holdout no prospect of the imposition of a fixed duty of 5 s ., nnu . < rejoiced that such was the case , seldom n _ had tho working classes been in the receip t ot »« ' - wages , or more plentiful , and therefore cheaper , u * than they were now enjoying , How then , lie "J ^ J could any Government propose to tho " 1 I | K J i , . peonlo to go back to scarcity and < lei » r » eB » ? 'V * -lift " subject of Pupal aggression ho expressed ™ - . that the Court of R 6 mo had always been on thc *' ^ for opportunities of temporal W well as spir aggression , but he was Happy to believe that -h
lish Roman Catholics generally disapprove * : t ,, „ policy of Rome , and be thus hoped that vvhai » ^ should seem necessary in the mutter W () . ., L , tiult with their consent , as well i \ a that of thw i ro ^ ' i ( i _ fellow-subjects . lie would propose no me" ^ . compatible With thq religious liberties <> t tuo i * - . ^ and he believed fhffftyTootion ; of Parliament wqu ,
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PARLIAMENT OF THE WEEK .
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118 £ f ) e ! L £ atlC r * [ Saturday ,
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 8, 1851, page 118, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1869/page/2/
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