The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-20 00:00:00

Closing of the Prussian Chambers.

The following is the full text of the speech of lif•
de Bismark on the closing of the Session of the
Prussian Legislature :
" Gentlemen, Members of both Houses,—His Niftiest/
has deigned to charge me to close, in his name, the tW°
Houses of Parliament. The country is indebted to the
united efforts of the Parliament and of the Gov-ailment'
during the session which has just terminated, for the re-
newal of the Zollverein, the conclusion of treaties of corn"
merce with France, England, and Belgium, a new law °II
mines, the settlement of the land tax in Silesia, the lin;
provement of the condition of invalids, the construction 0'
various lines of railway, and many other useful laws.
But the united efforts of the representatives of the
country and of the Government could not achieve ally
de-
cisive and complete results unless the welfare of the Nun:
try, even amidst political differences, had been the Oa°.
point in view for all parties. It has not been so. The
tention clearly manifested by the majority of the lieu!? °,
Deputies to throw difficulties in the way of the councal°"f
of the Crown has led to the rejection of a law on banks°
a bill for the construction of railways in Eastern Prtvie'sl
and has, consequently,beon detrimental to the material prcr
sperity of the country.
"By the rejection of the Army Bill the new organis3til
of the army, which was introduced with the consent °
preceding Parliaments, and which showed its value in the
last campaign, has again been challenged to the detriment
of the external situation of the country.
" The House of Deputies has refused to allow the °el;
vernment to form a fleet in keeping with present tiraes 811,„
wants. It has refused the support which it asked for "'a
cull the fruits of the victories earned by the precious bl°o
shed lest year. It has even alienated itself from our 17'..
liant deeds of arms by refusing to vote the war expertses;
" The Budget, which must be established according„
Articles 62 and 99 of the Constitution, with the co-oPeret°l
in common of all bodies that participate in the framingl'o
laws, has failed this year on account of the refusal of t'l/
House of Deputies to vote the indispensable estimates.
"The House has rejected the demands which the Govern'
ment found it necessary to make. It has adopted resolw
tions which the Government cannot carry out. Instead Of
desirable harmony, the session closes again amid a reeiPt°.
cal coldness between parties which ought to act togetileo
The Government of his Majesty has only one object a
view—to shield the rights and the honour of the King an
of the country, such as they are laid down in the Constitw
tion, such as they may and ought to exist side by side.
"It cannot be of any service to the country that it'4
elected representatives should endeavour to seize tfl'att
rights which are denied to them by their legal position 1°
the constitutional path ; it is only by devoting that positi°
to co-operate in the work commenced by our Sovereigei
and continued by him up to this day—a work the object
which is to make Prussia great and happy under future
Princes—that they will fulfil the mission entrusted °
them by the King's subjects.
"The Government of his Majesty has exerted all itS
efforts to fulfil the mission given to it by his MajeetY:i
this sense, without allowing itself to be deterred by hos'iltes
and wanton attacks., in speech and writing. Strong lit
conscience of right and good intentions, the Governnit./i,
of his Majesty will maintain the regular march of pub
affairs, and will energetically represent the interests of t t
country at home as well as abroad. It is convinced °thud
the line of conduct it has hitherto followed is just 7,
salutary, and that the day cannot be far off when the nailo 01
as it has already done spontaneously by thousands
tam
voices, will address through the house of its represell'
I
tive its thanks to our august Sovereign.
.„0 of
" have yet to thank the House of Lords, in the nap"
the King, for its fidelity and devotion. to Ile
" In the name of his Majesty, I declare the Session
closed."

in
GREENWICH PENSIONERS.—When the Sylph
dp
Waterman, No. 1, takes you down the river' .
not imagine that the magnificent frontage of Greenll:o
Hospital—more worthy of the name of a palace than 11:v
buildings in England usually known by that desigoati°,4e
exhibits the windows of the old seamen's rocano. "tb
officials can tell you better than that. Bounded olit-rit!
west by the temple of whitebait called 00 $1
falgar, the facade is so managed that the ':o'
bits fall to the lot of those who, really or 19" f
fessedly, look after the old men. Passing a Pieefe;
garden ground, we come to the north-westernmost of
1-0,
clusters or quarters of building, named after four 6,°00.
reigns who mainly supplied the funds for erecting ":00f
This is King Charles's Quarter, the whole river front4%or
whichlook
—lucky fellows
giv en ur toTthheenGcoovmernes oarbeanadutLifiueui Lieutenant-fai
a:v:81113-0;
the view of which is bounded southward by the Nava'
and the Observatory. Then another cluster called
Q net
Anne's Quarter, the frontage of which is in like math of
given up wholly to officials. The south frontage 0f b° cLOf
these clusters tell the same story—official; while the li,tiriba
the old salts occupy the lateral portions. Then,
south, are the other two clusters known as King W
acted
and Queen Mary's Quarters; one containing the '`;
31c1•i;10.'
Hall, the other the Chapel, and each comprising,..°;oll'
apartments, pensioners' wards, a kitchen, and a dio'ff the
P
Then, round about in other places are the infirm' 0111)
helpless ward, the brewery, the bakery, the gasiOri:in 0,
other departments. And, as a background to the w:,-tioag,
the Royal Naval Schools, with the play and drill g':,, itoP'4'
O
the ship in which the boys play at shrouds and olo'
and the residences and pleasant gardens of the °qr..° til°,
View it whence we may—east, west, north, or son' ti told
'whole group is a noble one. Foreigners marvel 'Ole j3O
that we lodge our old seamen better than our Cloecl3l4 tl3°
do we ? It has been ascertained by actual measurenlen
not only do the officials take the best bits, but thoY
almost exactly one-half of all the cubical space of e
buildings—buildings which cover seven acres of gri
0
beside the open quadrangles and gardens. Ilere the e wife
in comfort with their wives and families; but o Fre
and families of the old pensioners—well, we shall' °e
sently.—Dickens's All the Year Round.
bav-
t
THE LAST WHIG APPOINTMANT.—We one
some time in expectation of seeing in sole of
other of our contemporary papers an enurneratioaeo sae"
numerous Government appointments which ha'Ojt
cessively lavished on the successful Whighog,
eiic
Wyndham West, a junior counsel on the northol; ouppati
and the present candidate for Ipswich. We tiralti
the void. Mr. West is junior counsel to the Au.— 61'0'
London, counsel to the Admiralty on the northeillooliciOd
attorney-general of the duchy of Lancaster, 10011
general of the county of Lancaster, attorney ge°°,.rat
palatine of Durham, Mint prosecutor at the Ilr„°50-ofic,
sessions, ditto Yorkshire, junior counsel for the Wei
in Lancashire, and ditto Yorkshire. Mr. West :sresige,/
recorder of the borough of Scarborough, but the ve:;;)
that post on being very recently appointed to r.
important and lucrative recordership of ManchosuLeot 1,10
do not go so far as to say that Mr. West basely oo tv
appointed to all the above Government posts so/
never co
ground of professional merit, but certainly
joyed practice at the bar except such as
his official appointments. The latest rumoar
o'otrechcio'
minster Hall (which we are not in a position to c
and
is that Mr. West hasbeen appointed to the vacant
rP
of Chester. That Lord Palmerston has the P°SraPl•
West the inclination we are perfectly aware.— 40 of the
THE EASTERN FISHERIES.—The prosPe.% tio loPveci,
mackerel fishery have materially improved d 4 e
few days, so far as the Great Yarmouth boats a. r. firs r cones
1:0
most of the boats engaged having sent in daily hat to'
arose lideire,ciitllle,oto,
ply of fine fish. Prices have varied for fre-12..7 per f
245. to 28s. and for over-day at from 225. to V'
°
dred. A report to hand from Lowestoft is 5
favourable a character.