The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-01 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS--(YESTERDAY.)
The ceremony which takes place in the House
of Lords when her Majesty opens Parliament in
person has been so often described that to give
again a detailed account of it will almost be con-
sidered needless repetition. Yet the occurrences
during the recess, and the fact that it constitutes
the initiative to those deliberations which may re-
sult in important legislative measures, always lend
to the event an interest which requires some de-
tailed reference. On the present occasion, how-
ever, Parliament assembled under circumstances
of more than usual gravity—the country being
almost on the eve of war with one of the greatest
and most powerful of European monarchs, and the
Government being pledged to a measure which is
to effect an extensive reform in our representative
system. A few descriptive words, therefore, upon
what transpired in this magnificent chamber to-
day, notwithstanding the want of novelty, may
not be altogether out of place.
The doors were opened for the admission of com-
pany at 12 o'clock, and the arrivals were continuous
until very shortly before the entrance of the
Queen. As usual, the majority present consisted
of ladies—peeresses and their daughters, and other
female members of the aristocracy and hant ton—
whose many-coloured and gay dresses, sparkling
with jewels, thrown out in bold relief by th richr
and sombre robes of the peers, added gy
to the brilliancy of the scene. Towards one o'clock,
some 20 peers had arrived, the most prominent
being the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop
of London, Lord Redesdale, and the Earl
_of _ Del wore,,_ There._ _ was also, a sprinkling
of ambassadors among a group of peers near the
throne. The muster of judges was rather large.
The Marquis of Lansdowne and the Duke of
Argyll were the Ministers first in attendance.
At a quarter to two the whole of the benches
set aside for the peers were filled, so were also
those appropriated to the corps diplontatique. The
Ambassadors of France, Austria, Turkey, and
Prussia, were objects of particular attention. We
did not observe the Russian Ambassador (Baron
Brunow), but there was a report that he was
present. The Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of
Aberdeen, and the Duke of Newcastle, were the
next important personages in the order of arrival.
Along the route taken by the cortege this morn-
ing, the people throughout cheered to the very echo
his Excellency the Turkish Ambassador. At one
point, three good English cheers were called for,
and given heartily to the Representative of the
Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid.
It was just a quarter after two when her Majesty
entered the house, leaning on the arm of Prince
Albert, and preceded and followed by the different
officers of state. The Earl of Aberdeen held the
Sword of State, the Crown was borne by the
Marquis of Lansdowne, and the Cap of Mainten-
ance was carried by the Earl of Zetland.
Her Majesty read the following Royal Speech,
with much clearness and emphasis
HER MAJESTY'S SPEECH.
"MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
" I am always happy to meet you in Parliament ;
and on the present occasion it is with peculiar sa-
tisfaction that I recur to your assistance and advice.
" The hopes which I expressed at the close of the
last session that a speedy settlement wculd be ef-
fected of the differences existing between Russia
and the Ottoman Porte, have not been realised,
and I regret to say that a state of warfare has
ensued.
" I have continued to act in cordial co-operation
with the Emperor of the French, and my endea-
vours, in conjunction with my Allies, to preserve
and to restore peace between the contending parties
although hitherto unsuccessful, have been unremit-
ting. I will not fail to persevere in these endeavours,
but as the continuance of the war may
deeply affect the interests of this country
and of Europe, I think it requisite to make
a further augmentation of my naval and
military forces, with the view of supporting my re-
presentations, and of more effectually contributing
to the restoration of peace.
" I have directed that the papers explanatory of
the negotiations which have taken place upon this
subject shall be communicated to you without
delay.

GENTLEMMT OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
" The estimates for the year will be laid before
you, and. I trust you will find that, consistently
with the exigencies of the public service at this
juncture, they have been framed with a due regard
to economy.

My LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
"In the year which has just terminated, the
blessing of an abundant harvest has not been.
Vouchsafed to us. By this dispensation of Provi-
dence the price of provisions has been enhanced,
and the privations of the poor have been increased;
but their patience has been exemplary ; and the
care of the Legislature evinced by the reduction of
taxes affecting the necessaries of life, has greatly
tended to preserve a spirit of contentment.
" I have the satisfaction of announcing to you
that the commerce of the country is still pros-
perous ; that trade, both of export and import,
has been largely on the increase ; and that the re-
venue of the past year has been more than adequate
to the demands of the public service.
" I recommend to your consideration a Bill
which I have ordered to be framed for opening the
coasting-trade of the United Kingdom to the ships
of all friendly nations ; and I look forward with
satisfaction to the removal of the last legislative
restriction upon the use of foreign shipping for the
benefit of my people.
" Communications have been addressed by my
command to the Universities of Oxford and Cam-
bridge, with reference to the improvements which
it may he desirable to effect in their institutions.
These communications will be laid before you, and
measures will be proposed for your consideration,
with the view of giving effect to such improve-
ments.
" The establishments requisite for the conduct
of the Civil Service, and the arrangements bearing
upon its condition, have recently been under re-
view ; and I shall direct a plan to be' laid before
you which will have for its object to improve the
system of admission, and thereby to increase the
efficiency of the service.
"The recent measures of legal reform have
proved highly beneficial, and the success which
has attended them may well encourage you to
proceed with further amendments. Bills will be
submitted to you for transferring from the Eccle-
siastical to the Civil Courts the cognisance of
testamentary and of matrimonial causes, and for
giving increased efficiency to the superior courts of
common law.
" The laws relating to the relief of the poor have
of late undergone much salutary amendment ;
but there is one branch to which I earnestly direct
your attention. The law of settlement impedes
the freedom of labour ; and if this restraint can
with safety be relaxed, the workman may be ena-
bled to increase the fruits of his industry, and the
interests of capital and of labour will be more firmly
united.
" Measures willbe submitted to you for the amend-
ment of the laws relating to the representation of
the Commons in Parliament.
" Recent experience has shown that it is neces-
sary to take more effectual precautions against the
evils of bribery, and of corrupt practices at elec-
tions. It will also be your duty to consider
whether more complete effect may not be
given to the principles of the Act of the list
reign, whereby reforms were made in the repre-
sentation of the people in Parliament. In
recommending this subject to your considera-
tion, my desire is to remove every cause of just
complaint, to increase general confidence in the
Legislature, and to give additional stability to the
settled institutions of the State.
" I submit to your wisdom the consideration of
these important subjects ; and I pray God to pros-
per your counsels, and to guide your decisions."
The delivery of the Speech did not occupy many
minutes, and on its conclusion her Majesty retired
in the same order in which she had entered. She
was attired in a splendid dress of silver tissue,
over which was a robe of crimson velvet,
ornamented with gold lace and ermine, and she
, wore a brilliant tiara of pearls and diamonds. The
company then separated.
Their lordships adjourned to 5 o'clock, the usual
hour fOr the assembling of the house for business.
toot and

THE ADDRESS.
The LORD CHANCELLOR having read the royal
speech, and it having again been read by the Clerk at
the table,
The Earl of CARNARVON, in moving the address
in answer to he: Majesty's most gracious speech, alluded
to the difficulties which beset our foreign relations, and
said that, though they might give rise to much appre-
hension, it was a gratifying circumstance that the past
year presented a prospect of national prosperity and
social improvement. After nearly forty years of peace
and prosperity, they were now threatened with war,
but we might console ourselves with the reflection that
it came to us an unbidden and unwelcome guest, and
that every effort had been made to avert its approach,
until forbearance was no longer a virtue ; and if our for-
bearance was unprecedented, it should be recollected that
unprecedented were the resources with which we were
able to meet such a calamity. Our only reluctance to enter
into a sanguinary and bloody contest with a great coun-
try was a thorough conviction of our own strength ;
and though we might not have a Duke of Welling-
ton or a Beresford among us, the example which they
had set had not been lost, and he believed, if we
entered into hostilities, we should find able generals
who would lead our armies to victory. But if we bad
to deplore the impending evil of war, there was one ad
vantage we had gained since affairs had assumed a serious
appearance, viz., that the Governments of England
and France were never more cordially united than they
were at the present moment. After briefly referring to
the different topics mentioned in the Royal Speech—
the noble earl concluded by moving the address.
The Earl of DUCIE, in seconding the motion trusted
that, in the event of war, Parliament would be unani-
mous in granting that assistance to her Majesty, which
was necessary to maintain the reputation of the country.
After a brief pause,
The Marquis of CLA.NRICA.RDE rose and said he
was glad to find that in the existing state of affairs in
Europe there was no intention to move an amendment
to the Address. (Hear, hear.) But, though he cor-
dially agreed with the scheme of domestic reforms con-
tained in the speech, he felt that he should not be doing
right in giving his tacit consent to the address. He
was sorry that he could not agree in the expressions
used in the speech with regard to the efforts of the Go-
vernment to preserve peace. Those efforts, it seemed
to him, had been so characterised by vacillation and in-
consistency that, in point of fact, neither Parliament nor
the world knew what the determination of the Govern-
ment really was. Warfare was talked of, but no one
knew with whom we were at war. Nay, no one could
say whether we' were at war or not. But, if public
rumour were true, we were at war, and, if so, why were
the Government afraid to state the fact ? Another point
of complaint was that no information on the Eastern ques-
tion had been afforded to the public, so that the inhabi-
tants of other and unconstitutional countries were in a
better position to form an opinion of the state of
affairs than the people of con stitutional England.
It was impossible to avoid coming to the conclusion
that all this uncertainty was owing to the diffeience
of opinion on the Eastern question which prevailed
in the Cabinet ; the result of which division was,
that every step taken in the matter bore evidence of a
compromise between the conflicting parties. Though
he had asked questions very sparingly last session, from
a wish not to embarrass the Government, he had said
enough to show that the opinions he had then formed,
and the anticipations he had then expressed, had been
justified by the course of events, and that Russia, whiad
ch
from the very first had shown the " cloven foot," h
only continued the same line of falsehood and duplicity.
The only way to deal with Russians, as he had found
from personal experience, was to put to them a plain,
straightforward question, and to insist on a straightfor-
ward answer. Had the Government done this, much
of the present complication might have been avoided.
In this respect, as compared with England, the conduct
of the French Government was worthy of the highest
praise, and he only hoped the relations now existing be-
tween the two nations would be maintained with unin-
terrupted cordiality. The noble marquis then passed in
review the various phases of the negotiations entered
into by the great Powers with respect to the Turkish
and Russian quarrel, and concluded as follows :
The massacre of Sinope is an eternal disgrace to this
country. I cannot, in my conscience, help saying that
grave responsibility for the blood that has been shed
rests upon the Ministers of this country. (Hear, hear.)
I want to know what your fleet want to the Dardanelles
for ? Why are they sent into the "tack Sea nowt They
have gone into the Black Sea for the purpose, I suppose,
for which they were originally sent out, as we are told,
to protect Turkish property and the Turkish empire. I
want to know what has occurred since the massacre at
Sinope to justify your sending your fleet into the Black
Sea, when they were in the Dardanelles ? I say you
have no justification. You may regard, and justly re-
gard, with abhorrence that massacre, as it is called, in
detail in that unfortunate town and in those ships, to-
tally contrary to our notions of civilised warfare, and
the practice of all civilised nations at war when a supe-
rior force meets an inferior one. But so far as the at-
tack on the Turkish ships goes, the Emperor of Russia
was perfectly justified. He was in a declared state
of war with Turkey ; he found the Turkish ships con-
voying the munitions of war and troops to Asia. I
have no doubt they were, or had been employed, in
conveying troops and the munitions of war to Batoum.
I ask if you sent ships up to Constantinople to pro-
tect the Turkish territory and Turkish property, why
did you not protect these ships ? It is no anwswer to
tell me you advised these ships not to go to sea. If a
people go to war, and you, proclaiming yourself their
allies, refuse to be their auxiliaries, it is a disgrace and
a discredit to your arms and your policy. (Hear, hear.)
I contend that the energy with which the French Go-
vernment wished to act for so long a time was checked
and damped by the English Govornment. That I have
not the least hesitation in saying. (Hear, hear.) But
it is said that there is a considerable unaninimity in the
feelings of the European Powers upon this question,
and I suppose I shall be told that we have Austria and
Prussia with us. Now, I deny that to be the case. I
say, if there is any reason that can justify your enter-
taining strong opinions upon an hypothesis, it is per-
fectly clear that Austria joined us when she was forced
to join us by the course of events, and that if we could
have gone on with a more weak policy she would not
have joined us. But if I am told that Austria and Prus-
sia have joined us—principally Austria, for that is the
power insisted upon—l ask what is the contingent
that Austria has engaged to furnish ? I should like
to know if it was upon the advice, or even with the
approval of Austria, that our ships have gone into
the Black Sea If it be not so, let me not be
told that Austria has joined us. Austria says
that she entertains the greatest respect for, and wishes
to support the integrity o respect Turkish empire. Why
Russia says she has great for the integrity of the
Turkish empire. But that is a general kind of assurance
that will not do for this country. No one can doubt
that if this conflict occurs, Austria must, more or less,
join England and France in this matter, or the Austrian
empire will in six months be at and. No one can look
at the state of South Germany and Italy—no man who
knows the composition of the Austrian empire, can sup-
pose that she can join Russia in a Turkish war. No
man can doubt that, by energy and speaking out, and
showing a determination, you would claim that alliance;
but you would not do so by hesitating and sending
notes, and making propositions which to no one could
be satisfactory. It was not by prolonging these matters,
but by using firm and energetic language that Austria
has been induced to join us as far as she has joined us,
but very wisely she is not mentioned in the same man-
ner as France, because I believe we cannot count on her
for any great military support. Well, what is the state
of affairs at the present moment? We have sent a pro-
position to St. Petersburg for the renewal of a conference.
I believe a favourable reply is not likely to be received ;
but at the same time I will say that, if the Emperor of
Russia does not send a favourably reply, he totally mis-
understands his own interest. You gave him up at once
all he professed to aim at. He said, " I only want to
stand upon the old treaties—I only want the proper re-
cognition of my rights of protectorate." And he will
go into that conference totally unpledged to anything
different from what Prince Menschikoff demanded five
months ago. But see what an advantage you have given
him if he refuses,
and you force him into war. God for-
bid this country should ever go into war without objec
so great as to make it, in the opinion of the Govern-
ts
ment and of Parliament, neaessary that we should adopt
that alternative. (Hear.) What as-e our objects if we
go to war now ? We are to go to war for the renewal
and re-imposition upan Turkeyof thosetreaties whichhave
led to constant contentions, and have now led to this
very war, and which, if renewed as they were before,
will be sure to generate another contest in a short time,
whenever Russia finds herself in a position to commence
one. You proclaim that to be your object. If that be
your object, and you are to do that, you had better at
once have taken the other course. It was open to this
country to have said, "We will have nothing to do with
these matters, which do not concern us—these matters
do not concern us, and we will not go to war to assist
you ; and if you, Turkey, get into war, upon your own
shoulders let the consequences rest." A great number
of persons have entertained that opinion. Now, I enter-
When the Lord Chancellor took his seat on the wool- taro a contrary opinion. I think that course would have
sack at five o'clock, there were about 40 peers present ; been attended with considerabledifficulties andunpleasay.t
but the numbers soon augmented, although the attend- consequences. I believe that in the course of a short time
ance was by no means unusually large. The only occu- it would have led to a general European war, into which
pants of the Ministerial bench at first were the Earl of we should soon have been forced, and in which we should I
Aberdeen and the Duke of Newcastle. The Marquis of have had to contend with a triple league, with every other
Lansdowne, the Earl of Clarendon, and the other mem- possible disadvantage, and it is not unlikely that such a war
begs of the Cabinet in the house, shortly afterwards might have led to the loss of our Indian empire. I be-
lieve that might have been the result of such a course of
entered.
The principal peers on the Opposition side were the proceeding. (Hear, hear.) But I say, if Russia isinad