The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-16 00:00:00

SUPPLEMENT TO lit No. 85.—VoL. 11. DEBATES ON THE ADDRESS. In the House of Lords on Tuesday the Address was moved and seconded by the Duke of LEEDS and Lord AsitsunTox, whose orations on the occasion contained nothing beyond the usual allusions, couched in com plimentary language, to the subjects touched upon. in the successive paragraphs of her Majesty's Speech The Earl of DERBY said : My lords, her Majesty has called us together at this unusual period of the year to deliberate upon subjects of the highest and deepest importance, not to this country alone, but also to Europe and to the world at large ; and if, under these circumstances, it had been my duty to raise any objection or any cavil to the terms of the Speech from the Throne —if it had been my intention to propose any amend ment, or to enter into any controversy—l should un doubtedly have preferred that some of her Majesty's Ministers should have first had the opportunity of stating fully their views, and of explaining the con duct pursued by her Majesty's Government, in order that I might have had the advantage of referring to their statements. But, my lords, upon the present occasion, I have no such intention ; for, under exist ing circumstances, even were the Speech from the Throne open to greater objections than, I am happy to say, I consider it to be, I should think it my duty, as far as possible, to abstain from moving any amendment, or interrupting the general unanimity of the house. (" Hear," and cheers.) I have thought it more becoming and more convenient, honoured as I am by the confidence of a large number of mem bers of your lordships' house—(cheers from the Op position)—that I should take the earliest opportunity of declaring, on the part of the great Conservative body of this country, the view which they take, and the course which they are prepared to pursue at this momentous crisis. ("Hear," and cheers.) Both her Majesty, in her gracious speech, and my noble friend who has seconded the Address, have, so far as my friends are concerned, done us but scant justice in supposing the impossibility that, upon such an occasion as the present, there should be anything but unanimous agreement. (Hear, hear.) This is no time for considering whether the war might or might not have been avoided. This is no time for considering whether, by a different course of proceeding, her Majesty's Ministers might have effected the objects they had in view, without in volving the country in the dangers and calamities of war. In that war we are now, as a nation, fairly embarked ; in that war the nation, as one man, sym pathises with the Crown and with the Government; in the prosecution of that war the nation, as one man, is pressing forward with a unanimity of feeling and an abnegation of every selfish consideration which are almost unparalleled in the history of our coun try—(" Hear," and cheers)--end I may truly say, that, in the prosecution of this contest, it is not the Government who are appealing to the country, but it is the country that is urging upon the Government the prosecution of the war. (Renewed cheers.) My lords, I rejoice at the altered tone of the present Speech from the Throne as compared with the Speech of the last year. I rejoice that at last, circumstances, w hich have compelled the assent even of the noble lord at the head of the Government, have satisfied her Majesty's Ministers that there is no course to be taken but the most direct—the safest and the most honourable because the boldest—and Z tt,6 Alf). &Olt LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1854. the most consistent with the principles of justice. At the commencement of the last session of Par liament, I confess it was with surprise that I heard the speech which her Majesty had been advised by her present counsellors to deliver to Parliament. I regretted to see how little they anticipated the pro bable, nay almost the certain, war which was im pending, and how calmly and deliberately they talked about the various measures of internal improvement, or the various measures of internal innovation which were to be introduced and carried through both Houses of Parliament during the session. ("Hear, hear," from the Opposition.) I remember that at that time, the noble President of the Council, in speaking of one of the suggested measures, and one not the least important—a projected reform in the constitution of Parliament—stated that a war with Russia need be a matter of no such importance as to interfere with the ordinary deliberations of Par• liament. Nay more, the noble lord said that he thought the period at which we were entering upon war with Russia was the period of all others to select for the amendment of the constitution of Par liament—(" Hear," and a laugh)—and that it would be a splendid moral spectacle for Europe and the world to see that we considered a war with Russia as a matter of such trivial and unimportant concern that we hardly gave a side glance at the war, but turned our main attention to the arrangement of our own internal affairs, and, among others, to the revision of our parliamentary system. (" Hear,hear," from the Opposition.) Various other measures were at that time proposed or promised. Peace we were told to look forward to, and meanwhile the Government were drifting towards war. (" Hear," and laughter.) That, my lords, was the expression of a member of the Goverement ; but, while the Government was felt to be drifting towards war, there was no end to the promise of measures which were to be brought under the consideration of Parliament. (Hear, hear.) Now, my lords, I rejoice greatly in the altered tone of the present Speech from the Throne. The promises of last year failed. Those promises pro duced no fruit. Of all the great measures which were proposed, hardly one, if one, was eventually carried. The Government were compelled to aban don the whole of them in consequence of the univer sal conviction that the war with Russia—the proba bility and almost the certainty of which was denied by the Government—was the one event upon which the hearts, the minds, and the feelings of the whole country were set, and was the subject which alone deserved serious and important attention. Now, forgive me for saying that a tone more worthy of the occasion pervades the present Speech from the Throne. My lords, it recognises this as a great and important occasion. It recognises the war in which we are engaged as a great contest, calling for the united efforts of the whole country, and requiring that it should task its energies to the utmost. Her Majesty, devoting almost the whole of her Address to Parliament to that single and engrossing topic, expresses a confidence, which is not misplaced, that towards the vigorous and successful prosecution of the war no efforts on the part of the people, no energy on the part of Parliament, no sacrifice on the part of the country, will be felt too great in order to support her Majesty in the most just and honour able course which she is pursuing. (Cheers.) My lords, before I proceed to comment upon any portion of the Speech relative to that absorbing topic, I will, in a very few words, pass over the few other subjects to which the Speech refers. GRATIS. Of course it must be a matter of sincere rejoicing to all to be informed, upon the authority of the Speech from the Throne, that the state of the revenue is highly satisfactory, and that the general prosperity of the country is uninterrupted. Undoubtedly, so far as the agricultural interest is concerned, the blessing of Providence, which has given us a bountiful and superabundant harvest, combined—by a curious and unprecedented coincidence under such circumstances —with a range of prices higher than were ever known under any similar circumstances, has added to the means of those directly interested in the land, and has placed them in a position of very considerable prosperity. I hope, my lords, that the same may be the case with other branches of commerce, but I con fess that, unless I am mistaken, the present prosperity of some of the manufacturing districts is not such as to be made a subject of congratulation in the Speech from the Throne. It may be that there is a fair amount of business doing, and that a fair amount of profit is realised, but this I know, that in Manchester, and in some of the manufacturing dis tricts in that part of the country, a number of mills are working short time, and a considerable number have stopped altogether. There is at this period less demand than I ever recollect for land for bailding purposes, and certainly, though I do not pretend to say—for lam thankful that it is not the case—that any great:and extensive distress prevails, I should hardly have thought that our manufacturing pros perity at this moment was such as to demand pecu liar notice in the Royal Speech. I may add that, for the first time for a long period, considerable facilities have been afforded for recruiting her Miesty's mili tary forces in Manchester and the adjoining towns, arising partly from the general stimulus which has been given to the feelings of the country, but in some measure, doubtless, from a considerable number of hands being out of work. Her Majesty informs us that she has concluded a treaty with the United States of America, by which subjects of long and difficult discussion have beet equitably adjusted. It must, of course, be a matter of satisfaction to us to know that any subjects of difference—and especially of long-standing difference —with a community connected with us by the ties of blood, of language, and of laws, and with whom upon all occasions I trust it will be the desire, as I am sure it is the interest, of this country to keep up the most close and intimate connections, have been ad justed. That treaty will be laid before your lord ships, and until it is before us it would be improper for me to pronounce any opinion upon its merits, or as to how far it deserves the character given of it by the advisers of the Crown. My lords, the other subjects which are to occupy the attention of Parliament in the course of the pre sent session—the species of " et ecettra" which is substituted for the magniloquent promises held forth in former Speeches—(a laugh)—are included in a very modest paragraph, which expresses a hope that, amid the pressure of war, other matters of great in. Wrest and importance to the general welfare will not be neglected. We have not received, either from her Majesty's Government or from the mover or seconder of the Address, any intimation of the character of those various important measures, and their nature and character may possibly be hidden at present from the knowledge of the Cabinet itself. (A laugh.) For our part, we can safely join in the expression of her Majesty's hope that if various important mea sures should be laid before us they will not be neg lected. That is a sentiment upon which thee can be no difference of opinion. (Hear.) • ;i,