The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-05 00:00:00

OPENING

PARLIAMENT.

(YESTERDAY.)

riage their enthusiasm knew no bounds. They
tried t.) give vent to it through a con-
tinuous thundering cheer, which was immediately
snatched up, and re-echoed along the line of procession
as far as ltichmond-terrace, while the windows of the
different mansions in Palace-yard itself and the leads
of the temporary buildings surrounding the New House
of Commons displayed a forest of snow white band-

kerchief's which fluttered in the breeze, and told at once
the feeling of delight that animated those who waved
them. Indeed her Majesty's reception was most
cordial and enthusiastic throughout the entire
route. The cheering never ceased from one end
to the other. Cries of "No Popery !" " Down with
the Pope and Cardinal!" were mixed with the acclama-
tions of the crowd on sill points of the line, and this
anti-Papal expression of feeling was not partial, but
universal and unanimous. The royal state carriage
waa preceded by six of the royal carriages, containing
the usual officers of state. As we before observed, her
Majesty looked extremely well, and seemed much pleased
with the cordial reception which met her.

After the proceedings in the House and the reading
of the Royal Speech, which occupied some quarter of an
hour, her Majesty left the Muse and re-entered the

royal carriage. The cortege then reformed, and re-
turned to Buckingham Palace in the same order in which

it had arrived. The same manifestations of loyalty and
enthusiasm marked her return. We may say that the

only drawback to the thorough enjoyment of the day
was the dirty state of the streets, which in some places
were anclo deep in filth.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

The much •looked-to session of 1851 was opened yester-
day by her Majesty in person. The doors of the House
of Lords were opened at twelve o'clock for the admis-
sion of those who had been fortunate enough
to obtain the passport of the Lord Great Chamberlain.
Shortly after that hour the Peeresses and ladies of dis-
tinction continued to arrive in rapid succession, and
the body and galleries of the House in a short time pre-
sented an array of beauty, and a diversity and
elegance of dress, which could only be outvied
at her Majesty's Drawing-rooms. We were happy
to see the inconvenient and annoying feather
head-dress almost wholly abandoned, the ladies appa-
rently being determined to act upon the old adage, that
" beauty when unadorned is adorned the most."
Among the earliest arrivals of the Foreign Ambas-
sadors was Mr. Lawrence, the American Minister, and
the Peers, Lord Camoys and Lord Poltimore. The
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, dressed in his red
robes, and decorated with his collar of golden SS, ar-
rived shortly before one o'clock.
The Bishops of Hereford and Worcester were among
the earliest arrivali of the bishops.
The Duke of Wellington arrived shortly after one
r'clock. His Grace appeared in excellent health, and
entered into a sprightly conversation with the Peers and
Peeresses around him.
Among the Peers present we noticed the Duke of
Wellington, the Earl of Bandon, the Duke of Argyle,
Lord Campbell, Lord Camoys, Lord Monteagle, Lord
Vane of Harrowden, Lord Cranworth, the Earl of
Devon, the Earl of Cawdor, the Marquis of Clanricarde,
Earl Grey, the Duke of Devonshire, Earl Talbot, the
Earl of Roden, Viscount Strangford, the Earl of Car-
lisle, and the Earl of Denbigh.
Among the Archbishops and Bishops we noticed the
Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of
Winchester, Hereford, St. David's, and Rochester.
Among the Judges were the Lord Chief Baron, Mr.
Justice Parke, Mr. Justice Patteson, Mr. Justice
Wightman, Mr. Justice Erle, Mr. Baron Martin, and
the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
That portion of the House wliich is apportioned to
the Foreign Ministers was crowded, the repesentatives
of almost all the states of Europe being present.
Shortly after two o'clock the booming of cannon was
throne.
shery and
before a
heard outside the walls of the House, and the babel of
theeChancellortoards the
n.
e
tongues, which for the last hour had been resounding
within it,ceased,t
all
l this
eyesw
r e
Lord turned w
tered the House and took his seat on the Woolsack.
The Duko of Wellington wore a field-marshal's uni-
form, over which were his ducal robes.
The attendance of Peers was far more numerous than
usual, and the greatest merriment and laughter was ee-
caqoned in consequence of the rush among those Peers
who could not find seats to obtain them, when additional
benches were brought in.

Her Majesty entered the House at twenty minutes
past two o'clock, accompanied by the Prince Consort,
her Officers of State, heralds, &c., and immediately took
her seat upon the throne. Her Majesty looked in excel-
lent health and spirits, and chatted familiarly to thos®
around her. Her Majesty was attended by the Duchess
of Sutherland and Lady Jocelyn. The Marquis of II
Lansdowne bore the crown, the Duke of Wellington the i

[The following appeared in a portion only of our
impression of yesterday.]
For some years past, whenever her Majesty has
opened Parliament in person, the atmosphere has been
fine and congenial, and it has therefore become a prover-
bial saying that she hardly ever appears in public
without the occasion being favoured with bright,
clear, sunshiny weather. Never before, however,
has she opened Parliament on so brilliant a day as the
present. It seems more like the middle of May than
the commencement of " February fillditch," as the
month was formerly described, and at the time these
lines are penned the air is soft and mild, while the sun
shines forth from his meridian height in glorious
splendour. No wonder, then, that the Park, and, in-
deed, the whole line of route from Buckingham
Palace to the House of Lords have been, or
rather are at this moment, thronged with a joyous-
looking multitude, decked out in holiday attire, and
eager to greet the beloved Sovereign of these mighty
realms with a universal cheer of welcome. Long ere the
hour arrived for her Majesty leaving the Palace floods
of people rushed from all quarters of this great
metropolis towards the scene of the pageant,
and every available spot from which a
bare glimpse of the state carriage could be ob-
tained was pounced upon at once and retained with ex-
emplary patience till the procession had not only passed,
but repassed too. Not a few either had devoted the
early part of the morning to visiting the wonderful
building for the great Exhibition, and Oxford-street,
Piccadilly, and Regent-street, presented throughout the
day as ;crowded and bustling an aspect as the
thoroughfares leading directly to Westminster.
Naturally enough vast numbers of persons were
encountered whose costume and language at once bespoke
them to be foreigners, and whose lively clatter and re-
freshing vivacity added vastly to the interest of the
scene, while the display of colours which made up the
attire of the fair sex, who never fail to muster in im-
mense force on these state exhibitions, gave a pleasing
variety to the thickly-packed multitude. Every window
and balcony down Parliament-street was tenanted,
nor was there any want of temporary platforms,
which were also speedily bought up, but the police
peremptorily forbade their erection in the park, which
was kept in excellent order, and everybody appearing
desirous to accommodate his neighbour, the procession,
as it moved slowly but majestically along, was seen from
all points with ease and advantage. Some time, how-
ever, before it reached the Horse-Guards, Charing-cross
and Parliament-street were in a state of indescribable
confusion, owing to the great quantity of vehicles, from
the emblazoned equipage of the patrician to the donkey-
truck of the costermonger,that would persist in going in the
direction of the New Houses of Parliament, and the con-
sequence was that carriages, cabs, gigs, dust-carts, and
brewers' drays, got jammed up together, to the great
injury of coach-pannels, the alarm of perfumed and
powdered footmen, and the annoyance of the police,
whose inventive faculties and industry were called into
active play to get the road clear by the period that the
state cortege was expected. Time and patience, however,
never fails in these disasters, and by dint of a good
deal of shouting, backing, kicking, and swearing.
which appeared vastly to amaze our continental
visitors, the street was got into something like order at
least half an hour before her Majesty's escort began to
emerge from the gateway at the Horse Guards. The
procession began to move from Buckingham Palace
about half-past one o'clock, and passed uninterruptedly
through St. James's-park, Whitehall, Parliament-street,
Palace-yard, to the royal entrance to the old House
of Lords, where her Majesty was received by the
great Officers of State amidst a flourish cf trumpets
and a salute of ordnance, and conducted to the robing
chamber. Her Majesty was accompanied by his Royal
Highness Prince Albert, the Duchess of Sutherland
(Mistress of the Robes), her two Maids of Honour, and
the great Officers of her Household. She looked ex-
tremely well, and was greeted on all sides with acclama-
tions of joy, which both her Majesty and the Prince
most graciously acknowledged.
In Palace-yard, and, indeed, from the very corner of
Westminster-bridge road to the Victoria Tower, aye,
beyond that even, the crowd was overwhelmingly tre
mendous, and as her Majesty descended from the car