The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-02 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

FIDUSE OF LORDS. (v.' —,_ESTERDAY.)
In mmsequence of the announcement that Lord
Derby would this evening make a statement to the
house i Illative to his future policy, the avenues leading
to the House of Lords were crowded at an early
hour, and this otherwise desolate part of the
gorgeous building presented signs of animation of
an no usual character. The vestibule leading to
the b use was densely crowded long before
4 o'clock: by persons anxiously waiting for admission to
the str angers' gallery—a small space, scarcely large
enough to hold 50 persons. A number of elegantly
dressed ladies, members of the families of di,tin-
guished. peers, tool: their seats in the ladies'
gallery long before 5 o'clock. The portions of the house
allotted to members of the lower house were crowded to
excess. 31r. Dallas, the American Minister, was present,
and occupied a seat in the ladies' gallery.
The apace in front of the throne was crowded by
members of the lower house, and some peers and their
friends.
Lord Chelmsford (Sir Faderic Thesiger) arrived
at a quarter to five o'clock, and took his seat
on the woolsack, when he received the cordial congra-
tulations of his friends on both sides of the house on his
elevation_ to the distinguished office of Lord Chancellor.
Among the earliest arrivals of peers on the Opposition
side of the house, wire Lord Granville, Lord Stanley of
Alderley, Marquis of Clanricarde, Earl Shaftesbury,
Lord Panmure, Marquis of Lansdowne, the Duke of
Newcastle, the Duke of A rgyll, Earl of Clarendon, and
Earl Grey.
Lord Wensleydale, Lord Redesdale, Lord Brougham,
and Lord Campbell also arrived at an
early-hour.
On the Ministerial side of the house, the Earl of
Hardwicke, Marquis Salisbury, and Lord Colchester
were amongst the earliest arrivals of those connected
with the new Government.
The attendance of peers, on the whole, was much
less than might hare been mpected.
Lord Darby entered the house at 10 minutes past 5
o'clock, carrying in his hand the official red box. He
took his seat in the centre of the Ministerial bench with-
out any manifestation of feeling. He was followed by
the Earl of Eilenborough, the Earl of Malmesbury, and
other members of his Cabinet.
Lord BROUGHAM addressed the house, observing
he should best consult the interest of the house by put-
tinge question to the noble lord the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs relative to the slave trade on the coast of Cuba. On
repeating his question, it was met with another
outburst of feeling, when his lordship, in the most
indignant manner, said that if it were repeated
a third time means would be taken to clear
the house of all but their lordships. He asked if the
annual returns about the slave trade would be ready
before Easter I
The Earl of MALMESBURY said he hoped they
would be ready by that time.
THE MANIFESTO OF THE NEW GOVERN.
MENT.

The Earl of DERBY then rose and said—l hope, my
ords, that in asking your permission on Friday evening
,o postpone until this day the statement which constitu-
,ional usage requires from those who fill the situation in
which I have now the honour to stand, I shall not have
been thought guilty of any disrespect to your lordships.
(Hear) On the contrary, considering that during the
whole of last week I was engaged day and night in mak-
ing those personal arrangements which are necessary on
the formation of a new Government—a task which I had
not previously the slightest idea of being called on to un-
dertake—and that consequently I had not a single mr-
went for reflection on any matter not immediately con-
nected with those perEenal arrangements; and consider-
log, too, the great importance of the subject, I thought
it was mere respectful to your lordships that, having
only just acceded to office, and having only departed
from the presence of her Majesty at half-past 4 o'clock,
I shouli not come down here at 5 o'clock to lay before
your lordships what must necessarily, under the circum-
stances, have been a crude and imperfect statement.
(Hear, hear.) Believe me, my lords—and I say it with all
sincerity—l address your lordships from this place on
the present occasion with no feeling of triumph or exul-
tation. lam overwhelmed with the sense of my own
incompetency to perform duly the arduous task which
lee before me. lam overwhelmed with the sense of the
magnitude of the difficulties which I must encounter,
and of the questions with which I have to deal; but my
satisfaction, my c nsolation, in feeling myself so unable
to deal adequately with those great questions is, that
indulgence will be extended by your lordships and by
the country to ono who, having been called suddenly to
office by the favour of his Sovereign, has certainly sought
for it by no unworthy means, and by no underhand
intrigues. (Loud cheers.) Befo e proceeding to enter
upon public questions, I behave it will be proper that
I should remind your lordships of the course of eventi
which have placed me in my present position.
Your lordships will all remember that last Friday
se'nnight a vote of the House of Commons taken in a full
House resulted in a majority of 19 against the then
Government upon a motion which, in point of fact, in •
volved a vote, if not of censure, at least of disapproval
of the course which had been pursued by the Govern-
ment upon a matter of great importance. Into the
substance of that rnoticn I will not at present enter,
though it will be my duty so to do before sitting down ;
but I rejoice to think, my lords, that, although that
majority was composed of parties certainly not usually
in the habit of acting together in concert, but entertain-
ing different opinions upon most subjects, I have not
heard from any quarter upon the present occasion any of
those taunts of combination and coalition which were so
freely poured forth upon e similar occasion last year.
(Rear.) For myself, I must confess that I never was
taken more by surprise than by the vote of Friday week,
and for those with whom I have the honour of acting I
can only say that there was net the smallest step taken
for the purpose even of securing attendance, or for
inviting a single member to remain in his place. (Hear.)
Tee Government having been thus placed in a minority
of 19 acted in accordance with constimtional usages in
at once tendering their resignations to her Majesty, and
her Majesty, as I understand, at once accepted those
resignations. I believe that the noble viscount lately at
the head of the Government was with ker Majesty at 5
o'clock on the Saturday, and in the course of that
evening her Majesty did me the honour cf summoning
me to her presence. With her Majesty's gracious p:r-
mission I will venture to state what took place during
that interview. Her Majesty having been pleased to
infcrm me that she had accepted the resignation of her
late servants called upon me for my advice as
to the course which she ought to pursue, and asked
me whether, looking to the circumstances of the
case, I was willing to undertake the responsibility of
forming an Administration. In reply to that gracious
intimation, I took the liberty of requesting her Majesty
not to press for an answer to her question on that
day, and I then proceeded to lay before her Majesty as
fully and clearly as I could, without partiality and with-
out any bias, what I conceived to be the state of political
parties in the House of Commons—an element in the
question which I thought her Majesty ought to have
clearly presented to her. I entreated her Majesty t 3
take till the following day to consider whether she would
think it expedient to call me to her councils, and I stated
that if upon reflection ate should st It continue of that
i
opinion my sense of public duty would render it impera-
tive on me to attempt to execute the task which she was
pleased to intrust to me. (Cheers.) But at the same
time I felt bound to add, that if upon full consideration
her Majesty should he of opinion that any other person
would be better qualified to form a sound and stable
Government for the country, she should not for a single
moment consider my position, feelings, or interest, but
tides the course which upon reflectionf she should deem
most advantageous for the country. (Cheers.) On the
following morning I had the honour of receiving a note
from her Majesty, informing tee that further reflection
bad fully confirmed her in wishing me to accept office,
and I felt then that I had no course to pursue but hum-
bly to submit myself to her Majesty's pleasure. (Hear,
hear.) It may be said that in taking that course I acted
with precipitation and rashness, but I venture humbly
to think that I was called on to act as I did by every
sentiment of loyalty and public duty. (Cheers.) Having
taken upon myself the responsibility of forming an Admi-
nistration, my next care was to endeavour so to form it
as to secure the largest portion of Parliamentary support.
My lords, I do not share in the opinion which was
expressed some three years ago by a noble earltnown
his place, that the state of parties in this country
such that any combination might reasonably
parties
be expected
and that the leaders of all the great political
et. I
do
pryect wasi
ed
might sit harmoniously in the same Cabin
not go as far as that, but it is undoubtedly truehis
that, as compared with former periodpsarotifes
our
the-
tory, the line of separation between
drawn than
State is much less sharply al 1.2 d edniittairecetipYu bl i op i ion,
Par
it used to be. (Hear.) i
formerlyvi d e d b y
which Parliament represents,
the broad lines of demarreeatl toa arerDw
hni h o longer
gewerer d
separated by vast numbers of
accustomed, bukthheyha
it is scarcely possible strictly to
dsmefittelle.gradPeartsioonnaswcallethemselves nowadays by so many
different names--Tories,Conservatives, Liberal-Con-
Li
xervatives, Whigs, berals, and Radicals ; and such
are the niceties of
distinction between some of these
names that I believe there are no inconsiderable number
of members in the House Commons,ofofind
it difficult to say
and perhaps in
your lordships' house too, who
W the closest
with which of all these they havesympathy.
(A laugh.) The state of parties is very like the distinc-
tions of the various grades of rank in society at large.
There ais • broad interval between the highest and the
lowest, but the gradation by which one melts into the
other is so imperceptible that it is difficult with regard
to social rank and to political parties in the State to say
precisely where one commences and another ends. But
I did think that, desiring to form a Government upon a
basis which should be Conservative in the truest sense
of the word, but at the same time not indisposed to
measures of progressive improvement, I might hope to
obtain the assistance of those eminent persons who, not
belonging to the Government which we have succeeded,
shared to such a degree the opinions of the Conservative
party that they might not be deemed guilty of any in-
consistency in associating themselves with me in the
difficult task which I had undertaken. Thus thinking,
I applied to a right hon. gentleman and to two noble
lords, members of your lordships' house, who I conceived
might not be indisposed to render me their assistance.e
in framing such a Government as I have described.
They did not, however, deem it ecincsaientne:tt, with
of course,
position to afford me such aid. I
their decision, but
find the smallest fault with.,,,
r. 07.1 &bat have
although I =wit luldQubw"