The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-14 00:00:00

DUTCH AND BELGIAN MAIL.

THE HAGUE, MAY IL—To-day, in a sitting of the
two Chambers united, the Minister of the Interior, in
his Majesty's name, closed the session with the follow-
ing speech:—
" Noble and mighty Lords, at the beginning of your
session, now about to close, the Government, to pro-
mote, with your co-operation, whatever may tend to
the completion of our institutions and legislation, pro-
posed to your High Mightinesses important measures
relative to the internal administration, and afterwards
various projects of law respecting the first book of the
penal code.
"Circumstances, independent of the Government and
of you, have made it necessary to defer the settlement
of the first to a following session, and our hopes were
disappointed, that the establishment of the proposed
general enactment of the Netherlards penal code
would have paved the way to the completion
of the nation's legislation. The Government how-
ever trust that the time and pains bestowed by your
High Mightinesses on the examination of those proposals
will not be lost, but tend to facilitate the examination of
the important measures proposed.
" The precautions taken, with your co-operation, to
promote the importation of provisions, have, by God's
blessing, answered our expectation, so that large sup-
plies have dispelled the fears of an extraordinary
scarcity of the chief necessaries of life, and the gloomy
prospects of the approaching winter at the beginning of
your session have not been realized.
" The adoption of the law for regulating the pensions
of civil officers, is a measure that has long been desired.
" The Government congratulates itself on your co-
opperation on this measure to promote commerce and
navigation, and on the favourable regulations with re-
spect to the French and Russian flags. The liberal
principles which the King and the nation wish to pre-
vail in all commercial intercourse with other nations.
The measures confirmed by you for a temporary de-
crease of the import and export duties have led to a
negotiation with Belgium, from which a happy result
is expected. Your Mightinesses have likewise agreed to
several financial measures, among which the improve-
ment of the excise on sugar, which promises an increase
of the public revenue, that for completing the ways and
means of 1844 and 1845, and several for regulating the
expenditure, which proves more and more that order
and regularity prevails in national finances, that the
expenditure may be covered by the revenue and confirm
the confidence in the national credit. This confidence
must be confirmed by the extraordinary disbursements
approved by your High Mightinesses for improving the
causeway from Bois le Due and Corlemburg, for indem-
nifying the sufferers by the military inundations in
some provinces, for the works for completing the De•
demsvaart, and for an extraordinary grant to the
Charitable Society, which will be provided for out of
the disposable funds without any burden on the people.
" The measure approved by you for calling in and ex.
changing the old current cents. is begun, and will be ac-
tively continued.
" The temporary modification of the law in the fishe-
ries, as you doubtless wish, with the Government, will
tend to promote the interests of this important branch
of our assembly.
" That the Government has seen its endeavours to
promote the welfare of the country supported by your
zealous co-operation. In the name of the King, I de-
clare this ordinary session of the Sates-General to be
closed."

The assembly then broke up.
BRUSSELS, MAY 11.—The Chamber resumed and
terminated the discussion on the programme of the Mi-
nistry of M. de Thum. after four days' debate, without
coming to any vote. The assembly merely proceeded to
the order of the day, when the list of speakers was ex-
hausted.

At the commencement of the sitting, the Senate
agreed to the project of law for granting a provisional
credit of five millions of francs to the war department,
by a msjority of 29 to 1.