Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-23 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES, .SATURDAY, APRIL 23 1859

tutional propriety; in the speech proroguing Parlia-
ment, delivered in her Majesty's name, of the
General Election being "an appeal which she is
about to make to her people ;" and that "it has been
rendered necessary by the difficulties experienced in
carrying on the public business of the country, as
indicated by the fact, that within little more than a
year two successive Administrations have failed to
retain the confidence of the House of Commons." It
must be remembered that both prorogations and
dissolutions of Parliament are invariably done in the
Sovereign's name,—that it is, in fact, the sole pre-
rogative of the Sovereign so to do. It is, and ever
has been, a principle of the British Constitution,
that the calling and the dismissing of Parliaments
belong entirely to the Crown. The Ministers advise ;
and they are responsible for what they advise. The
Speech from the Throne is always strictly in accord-
ance with the counsel of the Cabinet. And so it was
on this occasion. Still, constitutionally, it was her
Majesty addressing her Parliament. And when she
declares its dissolution has been rendered necessary
in the way described, it is but tile enunciation of an
experienced and an acknowledged fact. To complain,
therefore, as we see some of the liberal journals are
doing, that .such a course is to " detract from the
dignity of the Throne, and employ the mon-
archical institution for the promotion of narrow
and selfish ends," is evidently most un-
founded, and most unreasonable. " For," it is
observed, " the Queen is hereby represented as
informing the country, not that Ministers were
defeated upon a particular motion, or that the great
question of Parliamentary Reform remains for
settlement ; but that the dissolution is rendered
necessary by difficulties experienced in carrying on
the public business, seeing that two Administrations
have fallen within one year ; and the Divine name
is uttered,_in order that the electors may be enabled
to establish a strong Government, that is to say, that
they may give ' Lord DERBY so much power and
authority that he may carry any Reform Bill he
likes, or take care that the subject is not made a
matter of legislation at all," This, we say, is an
untenable political position to take up. The' fact, let
it be repeated, is indisputable, that the conduct of the
late House of Commons was such as to throw very
great difficulties in the way of carrying on the
Government of the country. Two Administrations
-have, within two years, experienced this. And the
Queen herself has experienced it. The " great
question of Parliamentary Reform" is not necessarily
involved in the case, as it now stands. It was but
accidental that it happened to be the question on
which a majority of the House of Commons showed
its hostility to her Majesty's present Ministers ; as a
majority of the same House had shown its hostility,

though upon another question, to her Majesty's
former Ministers. The Queen, no doubt, finds the
inconvenience herself of these frequent changes of
her Ministers, and sees the disadvantage of it to the
country. But it does not follow, t!iat in wishing the
Electors may be enabled to establish a strong
Government, such a Government is of necessity to
consist, or that her Majesty herself would
necessarily wish it to consist, of the present
members. Sir JAMES GRAHAM correctly stated
the case, no doubt, when, as we showed
a few days since, he described her Majesty
as saying, " I have no predilections for party men,
but to principles, the principles of the Constitution,
I will adhere." This is what the Sovereign has a
right to require,—nay it is a bounden duty so to do.

Nothing could be more natural, nothing, at the
same time, more constitutional, than that her
Majesty should pray, as in the speech proroguing
Parliament she does, " that, under the blessing of
Divine Providence, the step which she is about to
take may have the effect of facilitating the discharge
of her high functions, and of enabling her to cond,,^s
the government of the country ner Parlia-
Ministry .1.,„„--..„Ac. It were surely a very pious,
..,uu a very patriotic prayer ; and all honour, say we,
to the Sovereign who from the heart can utter it.
Would not every loyal subject wish to see his
Sovereign so assisted, so supported, in the discharge
of her high functions ? Is it not for the public
good that it should be so ? The perfection of
constitutional rule and governance, according to our
ideas of it, is that of the Sovereign being enabled to
" conduct the government of the country under the
advice of a Ministry possessed of the confidence of
her Parliament and her people." And it is to be
enabled so to do that her Majesty appeals to the
country. It is, for this very reason, therefore, her
own appeal. She has not lately been in any such
case

The Ministry under whose advice she has had
to endeavour to conduct the government of the
country, has not, it has just been proved, possessed
the confidence of her Parliament ; and she now is
about to ascertain if they have the confidence of her
people. If the result of the appeal shows that they
have not that confidence, then of necessity her
Majesty must have recourse to other counsellors, who
have. It is the object of her Majesty's appeal to test
this very question. To state it, as our liberal con-
temporary whom we have quoted above has done, as
being to " give Lord DERBY so much power and
authority that he may carry any Reform Bill he
likes, or take care that the subject is not matter of
legislation at all," is very preposterous. Such a
thing could not be. No " working majority " of
Parliament would ever place Lord DERBY, or any
other Minister, in such a position. Should he have
a majority of any kind, it will be one pledged to
Reform as decidly as the rest of the House will be,—
differing only in the degree of it. The great concern,
therefore, must be, as to the character of the next
House of Commons ; and this is just what the
country has now in its own hands. Upon the issue
of the General Election the complexion of the future
Administration entirely depends. If it be adverse
to Lord DERBY and his colleagues, as we have
no doubt it will be, they must, without delay,
give place to other and more popular men. No
royal wishes can prevent that consummation.
Her Majesty, it is proclaimed in her own
royal name, wants a Ministry " possessed of the
confidence of her Parliament and her people." She
makes this appeal to the country in order to obtain
such a Ministry. It is for the country to answer
the appeal as it may deem best.

Royal Highness having been examined on the previous day
by the Dean of Windsor, in the presence of Her Majesty
the Queen, his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, an his
Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Archbishop. of Canterbury, the Bishop of Oxford
(Lord High Almoner), the Bishop of Chester (Clerk of the
Closet), the Dean of Windsor (resident Chaplain to the
Queen), the Rev. Lord Wriothesley Russell (Chaplain to the
Prince Consort), and the Rev. H. J. Ellison took their seats
within the rails of the communion-table shortly before 12
o'clock, The ministers and other company invited to
witness the ceremony assembled in the Green Drawing-room
at a quarter before 12. The ladies and gentlemen in
waiting on the Queen and Loyal family assembled in the
corridor.

The company were them conducted to their seats in the

chapel.
At twelve o'clock, her Royal Highness the Princess Alice

entered the chapel with her father, the Prince Con Sort- and
stood in front of the. Cominunion-table.

Her Majesty the Queen and her Royal Highness the
Duchess of lent, his Royal Highness Prince Arthur, her
Royal Highness Princess Helena, her Royal Highness
Princess Louisa, his Royal Highness the Duke of Cam-
bridge, his Royal Highness the Duke of Saxe COburg; her
Royal Highness the Princess Mary of Cambridge, and his
Serene Highness the Prince of Leinengen also entered the
chapel. ._
The Queen and Prince Consort, with the members of the
Royal family, occupied chairs in the centre of the chapel ;
the great officers of State and the Ladies and. Gentlemen in
Waiting took their seats immediately behind the Royal
family; the remainder of the company were placed in pews
on either side of the chapel.

The Prince Consort, the Duke of Cambridge, and the
Duke of Saxe Coburg appeared in the Windsor uniform, and
each wore the riband,•badge, and star of the most noble
Order of the Garter.
The Gentlemen of the Queen's and Prince Consort's
household wore the Windsor uniform, the members of
orders of knighthood wearing their respective insignia.
The Gentlemen of St. George's choir attended, and per-
formed the following

CHORALE

Oh happy bond that seals my vows,
To Him whio claims our highest clove !
Let cheerful Anthems fill His house,
While to that sacred shrine I move.

'Tis done—the great engagement's done;
I am my Lord's, and He is mine ;
He draw me and I followed on,
Glad to confess the voice divine. •

High heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That VJW renewed shall daily hear.
Till in life's latest hour I bow,
And bless in death a bond so dear.
The Archbishop having performed the service, the follow-
ing anthem, composed for the occasion, was sung :
Psalm exvi., verses 12, 14, 16 ..W. G. Cusins.

I will receive the cup of salvation ; and call upon the name of the

Behold, 0 Lord, how that lam Thy servant ; lam Thy servant ;
Thou hast broken my bonds in sunder.

I will pay my vows unto the Lord, in the sight of all His people;
in the courts of the Lord's house, even in the midst of thee, 0
Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

Mr. W. G. Cusins presided at the organ

His Grace then delivered an exhorta-tion

The ceremony being ended, the Queen and Prince Consort,
with the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and
the Royal Family quitted the chapel, and entered the Green
Drawing-room, where her Majesty received the congratula-
tions of the company present.
The following were the royal and distinguished persons
present Majesty the Queen, His Royal Highness the
Prince Consort, their ROyal Highnesses the Duchess of
Kent, Prince Arthur, Princess Alice, Princess Helena,
' Princess Louisa, the Duke of Cambridge, Princess Mary of
Cambridge, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, his Serene
Highness the Prince of Leiningen, the Archhishop of Can-
terbury, the Earl of Derby, the First Lord of the Treasury ;
the Right Hon. Thomas Henry Sotheron Estcourt, the
Seecretary of State for the Home Department, Officers of
State and of the Royal Honseholds. The Marquis of
Exeter, K.G., the Lord Steward; Earl De la Warr, the
Lord Chamberlain; the Duke of Beaufort, the daster
of the Horse; the Duchess of Manchester, the Mistress
of the Robes; the Marquis of Abercorn, K.G., the
Groom of the- Stole to his Royal Highness the Prince
Consort ; the Bishop of Oxford, the Lord High
Almoner ; the Bishop of Chester, the Clerk of the
Closet ; the Hon. and Very Rev. Gerald V W-31
. ~._....ubrough, the
the Dean of Windsor and RaroisniEe4 Cavendish and the
Hon.
.Mrs.,Wllls,skterd, the Maids of Honour in Waiting ;
Wiraraine Barrington, the Lady Superintendent ; Vis-
count Strathallan, the Lord in Waiting; Lieutenant-General
Sir Frederic Stovin, K.C.8., the Groom in Waiting; Colonel
the Hon. A. Nelson Hood, the Equerry in Waiting ; Lady
Mary and Miss Hood ; Colonel the Hon. Sir Charles
Phipps, K.C.8., the Privy Purse ; Miss Phipps ; Colonel
Biddulph, the Master of the Household, and the Hon.
Mrs. Biddulph; Colonel Francis H. Seymour, Lady Emily
and Miss Seymour, Sir James Clark, Bart., Mr. Glover, the
Librarian ; Lord George Lennox, Lord of the Bedchamber
to his Royal Highness the Prince Consort; Major-General
the Hon. Charles Gray, Private Secretary to his Royal
Highness the Prince Consort, and the Hon. Mrs. Gray ;
Major-General Wylde, the Groom of the Bedchamber to
his Royal Highness the Prince Consort ;. Captain Charles
T. Du Plat, the Equerry in Waiting to his Royal Highness
the Prince Consort; the Rev. Lord Wiiothesley Russell,
the Chaplain to his Royal Highness the Prince Consort ;
Mr. Becker, the Librarian to his Royal Highness the-
Prince Consort; Lady Susan Leslie Melville, the Lady
in Waiting upon her Royal Highness the Duchess of
Kent ; Lady Augusta Cadogan, the lady in Waiting
upon her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge ;
Colonel Sir George Couper, Bart., C. 8., the Equerry in
Waiting upon her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent,
and Lady. Couper ; Lieutenant-Colonel Home Purves, the
Equerry in Waiting upon her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Cambridge; Colonel Charles Tyrwhitt, the Equerry in
Waiting upon his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge ;
Le Baron de Meycrn, Capitaine de Reuter, and Colonel F.
Seymour, C. 8., in waiting to his Royal Highness the Duke
of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ; Major Elphinstone, R.E.,
Tutor to his Royal Highness Prince Arthur ; and Miss
Hildyard, Madame Hocede and Mademoiselle Bauer,
Governesses to their Royal Highnesses the Princesses.
The Hanoverian Minister (His Majesty the late King of
Hanover having been Godfather to her Royal Highness
the Princess Alice), the Earl of Clarendon, K.G., G.C.8.,
the Dowager Lady Lyttlpton, Miss Victoria Wortley,
Lieutenant-General Sir George Bowles, K C. 8., the Vicar
of Windsor, the Rev. H. J. Ellison, and the Rev. W. R.
Jolley were also present.
Luncheon was served to the Royal Family in the White-
room, and to the general company in the dining-roam.
Their Royal Highnesses the Duke of Cambridge and
Princess Mary took leave of the Queen and left Windsor in
the afternoon. The Prince, of Leiningen also quitted the
Castle.

The Ministers of State and other visitors invited to at-
tend the ceremony took. their departnre.
DISTRIBUTION OF HER MAJESTY'S EASTER ALMS.—On
Thursday morning, in accordance with a very ancient cus-
tom, the royal charities incidental to Maunday Thursday
were distributed at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, to thirty-
nine aged men and a like number of aged women, the
numbers of each sex corresponding with the age' of her
Majesty the Queen. At the time appointed for the dis-
tribution, a procession, consistinc, of the yoemen of the
guard, a serjeant-major, and twelve yeomen, one of them
carrying the alms on a gold salver of the reign of
King William and Queen Mary, the Rev. Dr. Jelf,
Principal of King's College, the sub-almoner, Mr.
Joseph Hanby, Secretary and Yeoman of the Almonry
in Ordinary, and his assistant, accompanied _ by six
.children selected from the National Schools in Westminster,
in consideration of their good conduct, proceeded to the
Chapel Royal. The arrival of the procession having been
notified to the Rev. Dr. Wesley, the Sub-Dean of the Chapel
Royal, he, preceded by Mr. Lingard, the Sergeant of the
Chapel, met it at the entrance, and took his place with the
sub-almoner after the yeoman with the alms. The whole
procession advanced to the steps of the altar at the south
end of the chapel, and those composing it took their assigned
places on either side. A special service was performed,
with appropriate anthems, and the distribution of money,
shoes, and stockings, was proceeded with by the almoner.
A prayer for the Queen closed the ceremony, which attracted
a large number of persons by its novelty.
The Hon. John Kent, Commissioner of the Newfound-
land Fisheries, had an interview with the Earl of Malmes-
bug at the Foreign Office on Thursday _

The Earl of bonoughmore left London on Wednesday
night for Ireland.
A CABINET COUNCIL.—At the Cabinet Council held on
Thursday afternoon, at the official residence of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, in Downing-street, the Ministers present
were : The Earl of Derby, the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, the
Lord Chancellor, the Marquis of Salisbury, Mr. Secretary
Estcourt, the Earl of Malmesbury, cif eneral Feel, Lord
Stanley, and Lord John Illaunora,