The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-02 00:00:00

PRTJSSIA

BERLIN, Nov. 29.
OPENING OF THE CAMERS,
This morning, at a quarter H
to 182 o'clock, the
King opened the session of the two Houses of the
Prussian Diet by a speech from the throne in the

0 C
'T v-Epk- L,

TUESDA

White Saloon of the Palace.- -This -ceremony,- which
took place in the usual manner, and which. I have
on various occasions already described, was pre-
ceded by Divine service, celebrated at the Cathe,L
dral for the attendance of the members of the
Evangelical or Protestant 'Church, and at the
Hedwigskirche for those attached to the Romish
Church. All the Ministers, without any exception,
belong to the Protestant confession. The various
members of the two Houses had already
assembled in considerable numbers when the
.Ministers appeared in full official costume,
and took, up their places to the left
of the throne. After the lapse of some time,
and the period fixed for the opening speech
having passed fully a quarter of an hour, the King
appeared from the side of the Picture Gallery,
preceded by the various officers of the Court, and
'followed by alt the Princes of the Royal Family
how in Berlin. He was received with one of
those sounds that occupy the same place in public
business as cheering in England, and consists of
Es lebe der Honig," uttered in a hurried indistinct
piping tone, which becomes shrid with the eon
eluding word hoch, and while he took his place on
the throne the Royal Princes ranged themselves
at his right hand in. order of precedenCe. The
King then seated himself, and having received
the speech 'from the Minister President read as
follows :

Illustrious, Noble, and dear Sirs of both Houses of the

It is matter of great gratification to me to be able at this
re-assembling of the two Houses of the Diet to pronounce
the state of the country to be highly satisfactory. By the
bounty of Divine Providence all the provinces of the
Monarchp have been blessed with an ample harvest, and an
alleviation of the privations that have been caused by
continued scarcity for several years past may be hoped and
looked forward to with confidence.

In every branch of productive industry, in agriculture,
in mining, in manufactures, and in commerce rapid progress
makes itself clearly visible. Tbb; spirit of enterprise with
us has not, it is true, entirely avoided those extrava.
gancies which,. as the experience of other countries
shows, always and of. necessity lead to deplorable reaction.
In spite of. this, however, the present sta'e of industrial
activity with us must be looked on as the result of
wholesome development. The attention and endeavours
of my Governmenment have been directed to assist and
strengthen this most gratifying prosperity by the further
development of the public means of communication and
traffic. In the last few months very important lines of
railroad, both in the east and the west of the kingdom, have
been opened for traffic, and the network of railways spread
overthe country has thus obtained a most desirable extension.
My Government has concluded several treaties with foreign
States, which will contribute to the promotion of mutual
trade and commerce.

The various authorities throughout the country have had
their attention specially engrossed by the carrying out of
the laws I late►y sanctioned for the government of the
civic and rural communes in Westphalia and the Rhenish
Provinces, for the constitution of the rural communes and
the local governments in the eastern provinces of my
kingdom, and there are good grounds for looking forward to
a satisfactory development of communal life on these bases.
An active good-will is manifesting itself to improve, or to
found useful institutions in the communes; and this ten-
dency is meeting with ample support in the constantly ex-
tending efficiency of the E‘tates of Circles. The Provincial
and Commercial Diets that have sat during the last few
months, have likewise promote 1 the interests they advocated
in most gratifying harmony with the Estates. In the
province of jurisprudence, there will be certain drafts of
bills submitted to you for the determination of various pro-
vincial laws; and further, in conformity with the former
promise of my Gavernmeut, a bill also for the amendment,
which has been recognised as so urgently necessary, of the
law affecting divorce, as at present contained in the Ganeral
Code (Allgemeinet Landrecht.)
The budget for the next year will produce in you the
conviction that the productiveness of the resources of the
country is on the increase. At the same time there are
various important and urgent claims on them that have
bitherto been put off, and cannot any longer be left
unattended to. An increase in the public income of the
country is therefore indispensable. I commend to your
careful examination • the financial bills which my Gilvern-
meat will bring before you to this end. A statement will
be submitted to you by my Government with reference to
the manner in which the military authorities have availed
themselves of the extraordinary credit voted them, together
with a proposal for the application of the balance still
remaining of the loan of 30,000,000 thalers. A portion of
it is destined to cover the excess of expenditure over the
estimates, which has been caused by the return to thb
triennial period of military service, as required by the law
of Sept. 3, 1814, and which has been called for by urgent
considerations.

Gentlemen,—At the close of your last session the re-
storation of peace to Europe gave me occasion to invoke
your gratitude-to'the Almighty I hope and trust that the
blessings of peace will still continue to be preserved to our
quarter of the globe, and specially to our country. As a
party to the European treaties, I shall hold fast by the
fulfilment on all sides of the obligations solemnly entered
into therein.

I have been most painfully affected by the recent events
in my Principality cf N'ufchatel, where the antagonism that
has existed ever since 1848 between my undoubted right and
the actual movement of public affairs, has brought loyal
men into the power of their adversaries. The moderation
with which, in the interest of the general peace, I have
treated the eisting 'gate of things in this Principality for
years past, has been duly appreciated and recogn'sed by the
Powers of Europe. It is my wish even after this last
deplorable conflict, and now that my indisputable right has
been recently corroborated by the unanimous resolution of
the German Federal Diet, to bring about a settlement in
harmony with the dignity of my Crown by means of
negotiations with the Earopean Powers ; at the same time
I must not and will not allow my long enduring patience to
be turned into a weapon against my rights. My people may
rest convinced that l shall make the serious and thorough
consideration of my own duties and of the state of things in
Europe the guide and criterion of my further steps in thia
matter, and I too entertain the aonficleat trust that,
whenever circumstances may call for it, my people will step
forward to vindicate the honour of my Crown with the
same energy, loyalty, and devotion they have ever shown.
Gentlemen,—l hope and trust that your' labours will
conduce to the welfare of the country, and I herewith bid
you welcome to their commencement.

It will be:noticed,that 'there is no mention made
here of the complication with Denmark, which I
account for by the circumstance that the Danish
answer to the last Prussian and Austrian notes has
.not yet arrived, but may almost be on the road, and
that it is an offal' in which Prussia is net solely
concerned as against Denmark. These considera:
tions will perhaps suffice to account for the silence
of the speech on the subject. The passage with
reference to Neufchatel you will find amply corro-
borative of the information I have forwarded to you
of late on- the subject. Although the Swiss Con-
federation has for the present refused the uncon-
ditional liberation of the prisoners as a preliminary
mesas impossible that it
to suspend the eitecutiou of
110.
tom any/ on tdi aitti temx,pietdiise
tabty
judgment on them when once they have been
tried; there will then be a better opportunity for
listening to the exhortations of the European and
German Powers, who, it is believed, will then
renew their mediator endeavours, and in case o,
non-successs,, will proceed to threaten SwitNer-
land with the withdrawal of the declaration of
neutrality under the protection of which Switzer-
land feels emboldened to affront the general voice
of Europe.

INDIA AND CHINA.

The Overland Mail has arrived, via Marseilles.
The dates are as follows :—Bombay, Nov. 3, Cal-
cutta, Oct. 22, Madras, Oct. 29, Hong Kong, Oct.
15, Canton, Oct. 13, and Shanghai, Oct. 8.
The chief item in the Indian intelligence is that
which relates to the Persian expedition. Gene-
ral y speaking the Indian provinces were tranquil,
and both food and employment was plentiful.
With respect to the Persian expedition, accord
ing to the Bombay Times, by this time, it should
have arrived off Bushire. The expedition was
conveyed in 20 sailing transports, or an aggregate
of 24,000. tons of three of the Peninsular and Ori-
ental. Company's steamers, the Chttsan, Singapore,
and Pottinger, beside three lesser vessels of the
Bombay Navigation Company, of an aggregate
burden in all of 30,000 tons, at a freightage chargo
of £l,OOO per day. The men.of-war were nine
first-class, the steam tender, Napier, and steam
yacht Goolmer, the sloops Elphinstone and Clive,
and the brigs Euphrates and Tigris, in all twelve
vessels, amounting to' forty sail. The fight-
ing men would amount to about 6,000,
with about double that number of camp fol-
lowers The command has been entrusted to

Sir Henry Leek. According to the Indian papers,
the thinking portion of the Indian community regard
the expedition as one of the most insane ever
propagated, whilst those oomposing it think it
piratical. The gallant admiral who commands the
fleet is said to be, not only over seventy years of
age, but quite inexperienced in sailing on the
waters of the east.

Regarding the siege of Herat, neither the Cal•
cutta nor Bombay papers appear able to give any
definite or late intelligence. According to all the
information which these papers possess, Herat
was not taken.

Intelligence had reached Calcutta that an
attempt had been made upon the life of the prin..
cipal King of Siam. It appears that the King of
Siam was invited, about two months ago, to an
entertainment by one of his richest subjects, on a
very grand scale. The King at once accepted,
though it was not in accordance with national
customs, for his Majesty of Bankok to accept hose
pitality at the hands of any subject ; yet the grand
scale of the preparations induced him to commit,.
on this occasion, a breach of royal etiquette Tho
King's. brother, however, had his suspicions about
this grand entertainment, and advised the King
not to go, feeling certain that it was intended to
do some grievous bodily harm to him. The King,
having accepted, did not like to betray symptoms
of distrust, perhaps without cause ; so resolved
on an expedient, which was, to send, dressed in
his usual royal attire, which may be presumed
as prescribed for such an occasion, would be so
bulky and extensive as to greatly conceal the
person, a courtier who very much resembled the
King in height, figure, and face. The hour fixed
for the King to go to the assembly was about
midnight; the pseudo King accordingly, followed
by the regal retainers and men of the Court, arrived
at that hour, and was at once conducted to a
throne prepared for his Majesty. No sooner had
he seated himself than the whole affair blew. up,
destroying this man who had been unfortunate
enough to be like the King, and seven other
persons who stood near the throne. Thus was
the King of Siam's life saved by the sagacity of
his brother ; and a valuable life his is, for he is a
very enlightened tnan for an Asiastic and can write
a letter himself in English. Whether this narrative,
which is believed to be strictly true, has appeared
in the Calcutta or other Indian papers, the writer
of these lines knoweth not.