The Express.
London, England, 1858-01-14 00:00:00

OPENING OF THE CHAMBERS.

On Tuesday the Prussian Chambers were opened
by commission, M. Manteuffel, President of the
Council of Ministers, delivering the following royal
speech
" Illustrious, noble, and honoured members of the
two Chambers of the Diet,—Since the closing of
your last session the whole country has been deeply
and sorely afflicted by the serious illness of his Ma-
jesty, our dear King and master. We return thanks
to God for granting our prayers, and removing the
danger which threatened the august invalid, and for
giving us the confident hope of his Majesty's early
convalesence. In the meantime the superior
direction of the affairs of the government has been
confided, in virtue of a delegation, with full powers,
renewed within the last few days by his Majesty
the King—to his Royal Highness the Prince of
Prussia.

" The approaching marriage of a royal prince,
closely related to the throne, with a princess, the issue
of a powerful royal house, of kindred origin, will be
hailed by all Prussian subjects with joy. May God
bless the royal house and the country, in granting
fulfdment to the brilliant hopes excited by this
alliance.

" No interruption has taken place in our peaceful
relations with foreign powers.
" The royal government, conjointly with the
Imperial Austrian Cabinet, has communicated to

the Assembly of the German Diet a report of the
negotiations entered into in the interest of Germany
with the government of his Majesty the Ring of
Denmark, Duke of Holstein and Lauenboarg. We
are resolved, in common with all the other govern-
ments of the German Confederation, to persist in
defending German rights and interests in this
important matter. Some treaties of commerce,
which will be submitted to your constitutional

sanction, have been concluded with various states.

The last harvest has given a more abundant pro-
duct of most cereals than we could at first hope
for. In consequence of this providential abun-
dance, a true blessing to the country, the prices
of most of the necessaries of life have been succes-
sively lowered, although for some articles equally
indispensable, the price, which had reached an ex-
traordinary height, has not yet descended to a reason-
able tariff. The last vintage has been peculiarly
favourable; the parts of the country more especi-
ally engaged in the cultivation of the vine will find
in it a compensation for the disappointed expecta-
tions of preceding years.
"By the completion of the bridges over the Vis-
tula! and the Nogat, and the opening of several new
lines of railway, our means of communication have
obtained a highly important and continually increas-
ing development. Commerce and industry have
equally flourished during the past year under the in-
fluence of peace. On the other hand, a derange-
ment of credit, spreading within the last few months
from Northern America to the commercial centres
of Europe, has seriously injured, by an inevitable re-
bound, the industrial activity of our country, espe-
cially in some of the manufacturing districts. To
mitigate as much as possible the consequent prewrure,
without too gravely encroaching upon existing laws,
the government of his Majesty the King has decided
to suspend for three months the restrictions affecting
the rate of interest. This measure will be shortly
submitted to your constitutional approval. In addi-
tion,
the government will submit to you the project
of law, suspended since the last session, relative to
the closing of the Banquet de Bootee ; also the im-
portant measure relating to the colonisation of the
eastern provinces of the monarchy.
" Yon will see with satisfaction, gentlemen, by
the estimates for the current year, now ready for
your immediate consideration, that our finanoes
are in good order, and that the receipts of the state
have increased in a satisfactory manner. It has thus be-
come possible, not only toprovide forsome supplemen-
tary expenses which have become important,bntalso
for the improvement, likewise urgent, of the salaries
of the state fanctionaries ; or, at least, for those of
them who are the least remunerated. Nevertheless
in this, as in many others, it will be impossible for
us to assuage all wants and satisfy every desire.
" The government of his Majesty the King be-
lieves, gentlemen, that, in difficult and trying cir-
cumstances, it may confidently rely upon your con-
scientious concurrence in the efforts it may make in

the interest of the country. In this confident hope,
I now declare, in virtue of the powers conferred
upon me, th►t the session of the Chambers is
opened."