The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-05 00:00:00

OPENING

PARLIAMENT.

HER MAJESTY'S SPEECH.

MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,

In again recurring to your advice and assistance,
I am happy to inform you that my relations with
Foreign Powers are on a friendly and satisfactory
footing.
I hope that the termination of the War in which
Prussia, Austria, and Italy have been engaged,
may lead to the establishment of a durable peace
in Europe.
I have suggested to the Government of the
United States a mode by which questions pending
between the two countries, arising out of the civil
war, may receive an amicable solution, and which if
met; as I trust it will be, in a corresponding spirit,
will remove all grounds of possible misunderstand-
ing, and promote relations. of cordial friendship.
The war between Spain and the republics of Chili
and Peru still continues, the good offices of my
Government, in conjunction with that of the Em-
peror of the French having failed to effect a recon-
ciliation. If either by agreement between the par-
ties themselves, or by the mediation of any other
friendly Power, peace shall be restored, the object
which I have had iu view will be equally attained.
Discontent prevailing in some provinces of the
Turkish Empire, has broken out in actual insurrec-
tion in Crete. In common with my Allies, the
Emperor of the French and the Emperor of
Russia, I have abstained from any active inter-
ference in these internal disturbances, but our
joint efforts have been directed to bringing
about improved relations between the Porte and its
Christian subjects, not inconsistent with the sove-
reign rights of the Sultan.
The protracted negotiations which arose out of
the acceptance, by Prince Charles of Hohenzollen, of
the Government of the Danubian Principalities have
been happily terminated by an arrangement to which
the Porte has given its ready adhesion, and which
has been sanctioned by the concurrence of all the
Powers, signataries of the Treaty of 1856.
Resolutions in favour of a more intimate union
of the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick, have been passed by the several Legis-
latures, and Delegates duly authorised, and repre-
senting all classes of Colonial Party and Opinion,
have concurred in the conditions upon which such an
union may be best effected. In accordance with
their wishes a Bill will be submitted to you which,
by the consolidation of Colonial interest and re-
sources, will give strength to the several Provinces
as members of the same Empire, and animated by
feelings of loyalty to the same Sovereign.
I have heard with deep sorrow that the calamity
of famine has pressed heavily on my subjects in
some parts of India. Instructions were issued to my
Government in that country to make the utmost ex-
ertions to mitigate the distress which prevailed
during the autumn of last year. The blessing of an
abundant harvest has since that time materially
improved the condition of the suffering districts.
The persevering efforts and unscrupulous asser-
tions of treasonable conspirators abroad have, dur-
ing the last autumn, excited the hopes of some dis-
affected persons in Ireland, and the apprehensions
of the loyal population ; but the firm, yet tempe-
rate exercise of the powers entrusted to the Execu-
tive, and the hostility manifested against the con-
spiracy by men of all classes and creeds, have greatly
tended to restore public confidence, and have ren-
dered hopeless any attempt to disturb the general
tranquillity. I trust that you may consequently be
enabled to dispense with the continuance of any
exceptional legislation for that part of my domi-
nions.

I acknowledge, with deep thankfulness to Al-
mighty God, the great decrease which has taken
place in the Cholera, and in the Pestilence which
has attacked our cattle ; but the continued preva-
lence of the latter in some foreign countries, and
its occasional re-appearanc in this, will still render,
necessary some special measures of precaution ; and
I trust that the visitation of the former will
lead to increased attention to those sani-
tary measures which experience has shown to
be the best preventive.

Estimating as of the highest importance an ade-
quate supply of pure and wholesome water, I have
directed the issue of a commission to inquire into
the best means of permanently securing such a sup-
ply for the metropolis, and for the principal towns
in densely peopled districts of the kingdom.
GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,

I have directed the Estimates for the ensuing
year to be laid before you. They have been pre-
pared with a due regard to economy, and to the re-
quirements of the public service.
You will, I am assured, give your ready assent
to a moderate expenditure calculated to improve the
condition of my soldiers, and to lay the foundation
of an efficient army of reserve.

My Lords and Gentlemen,—Your attention will
again be called to the state of the representation of
the people in Parliament ; and I trust that your
deliberations, conducted in a spirit of moderation
and mutual forbearance, may lead to the adoption
of measures which, without unduly disturbing the
balance of political power, shall freely extend the
Elective Franchise.

The frequent occurrence of disagreements between
employers of labour and their workmen, causing
much private suffering and public loss, and occa-
sionally leading, as is alleged, to acts of outrage
and violence, has induced me to issue a Commission
to inquire into, and report upon, the Organization
of Trades' Unions, and other associations, whether
of workmen or employers, with power to suggest
any improuement of the law for their mutual benefit.
Application will be made to you for Parliamentary
powers, which will be necesarry to make this inquiry
effective.

I have directed Bills to be laid before you for the
extension of the beneficial provisions of the Factory
Acts to other trades specially reported on by the
Royal Commission on the Employment of Chil-
dren ; and for the better regulation, according to
the principles of those Acts, of workshops where
women and children are largely employed.
The condition of the Mercantile Marine has at-
tracted my serious attention, Complaints are made
that the supply of seamen is deficient ; and the pro-
visions for their health and discipline on board ship
are imperfect. Measures will be submitted to you
with a view to increase the efficiency of this impor-
tant service.

I have observed with satisfaction the relaxations
recently introduced into the Navigation Laws of
France. I have expressed to the Emperor of the
French my readiness to submit to Parliament a pro-
posal for the extinction, on equitable terms, of the
exemptions from local charges on shipping, which
are still enjoyed by a limited nnmber of individuals
iu British ports ; and his Imperial Majesty has, in
anticipation of this step, already admitted British
ships to the advantage of the new law. A Bill upon
this subject will forthwith be laid before you.

A Bill will also be submitted to you for making
better provision for the arrangement of the affairs
of Railway Companies which are unable to meet
their engagements.
Measures will be submitted to you for improving
the management of Sick and other Poor in the
Metropolis, and for a redistribution of some of the
charges for relief therein.
Your attention will also be called to the amend-
ment of the Law of Bankruptcy; to the Con-
solidation of the Courts of Probate and Divorce and
Admiralty ; and to the means of disposing, with
greater dispatch and frequency, of the increasing
business in the Superior Courts of Common Law,
and at the Assizes.

The relations between Landlord and Tenant in
Ireland have engaged my anxious attention, and
a Bill will be laid before you which, without
interfering with the rights of property, will offer
direct enzouragement to occupiers of land to im-
prove their holdings, and provide a simple mode of

HER MAJESTY, &c•

-

WINDSOR CASTLE, Feb. 4.
The Queen, accompanied by Princess Louise,
Prince Arthur, and Princess Beatrice, left Osborne
to-day at half-past two o'clock, and arrived at
Windsor Castle at 6 p.m.

In attendance were Lady Waterpark, the Hon•
Emily Cathcart, Major-General Sir T. M. Bid-
dulph, Lord Charles Fitzroy, and Major Elphin-
stone.

Viscount Torrington, Major-Gen. F. Seymour,
C. 8., and Lieut.-Col. Hon. D. de Ros, have arrived
at the Castle as lord, groom, and equerry in waiting.
Sir James Clark has also arrived at the Castle.

Mr. Dickens's Reading at the Free-trade

Hall.

(From the Manchester Guardian.)
So many distinguished men, in their own estima-
tion, are distinguished precisely for those gifts for
which the world gives them least credit, that the
phenomenon of a great author who is also a great
actor deserves a universal and cordial recognition.
It has long been no secret that, unlike Shak-
spere, who, if tradition be no liar, acted badly
what he wrote divinely, and unlike Garrick, who
reversed his master's experience, Mr. Dickens pos'
sesses an almost equal genius for rendering and for
producing life-like creations of human character.
Of late he has offered the general public frequent
opportunities of judging of this fact for themselves;
and we permit ourselves to hope that not only the
numbers of his audience, but also the warmth of his
reception, at the Free-trade Hall on Saturday last,
may induce him to repeat more frequently in Man-
chester an experiment so certain of success. It maY
be assured that by this time the Smelfunguses who
at first loudly protested against the indignity of a
great author exhibiting himself before the public
have been effectually silenced. In these days of
photographs, it is indeed astonishing that anybody
should run to look upon a popular character in the
flesh, when a minute before a shop window will
serve his purpose equally well, and enable him if not
to see, at all events to say he has seen, the object of
his wonder. According to Sheridan's well-known
advice to his son the one is as good as the other for
all social and conversational purposes. But even
those (if there were any) who on Saturday night
came to stare must have remained to admire. It i 0
not every day that men have an opportunity of lis-
tening to a great writer's adequate interpretation of
his own creations—creations which have become e°
real to us that their very names have passed into
national proverbs. There is no phase of character
or life which is not clothed in flesh for us by the
genius of Mr. Dickens. The Times and the Satur-
day Review point their paragraphs with allusions to
the Circumlocution Office and Mr. Pecksniff ; Pick-
wick and David Copperfield enliven the daily asso-
ciations of city life ; and many a reputation for wit
has been sustained ou a happy faculty for recollect-
ing the sayings and doings of the thousand charac-
ters to whom the genius of one man has given a reality
and a being. The very Boy at Mugby achieved
immortality before he was a month old.

It may seem presumptuous to quarrel with Mr.
Dickens for his choice of the subjects by which,
whatever they may be, he is sure to delight an appre"
dative audience. But " Doctor . Marigold's Pre-
scriptions" is, iu our.opinion, one of the least happy
of his creations. The Cheap Jack himself is
admirable, and was as irresistible as ever on Satur-
day. But the story is sickly, and the episode of the
deaf-and-dumb lover courting his deaf-and-dumb
mistress is simply painful, which no work of art
ought to be. Moreover, why should Mr. Dickens
not have omitted the somewhat clumsy machinery',
which was indeed admissible as an introduction to
the padding of a Christmas number, but which is
both dull and preposterous in a simple tale ? Sophy'S
library might have been safely eliminated, and for'
gotten with the ephemeral books of which it is Or
posed to have consisted. On the other hand, nothing
could surimss in true refinement Mr. Dickens's style
of rendering the story of the honest Cheap Jack and
his little daughter. It was dramatic in the sense
that every character was clearly marked and indivi-
dualised—not only the languid giant, but even s°
ordinary a figure as the proprietor of the asylum is
brought before us to the life ; and, again, the excel-
lent taste of the reader never allowed him to outsteP
tha limits of a reading. Everything is shade,d off
into a part of a connected and consistent whole'
the vulgarities are not too vulgar, the laughs whic_
are raised are not too loud, the emotions which ar:
stirred not too intense—at least if the spirit of 41
audience responds to that of the reading, and main"
tams itself in harmony with the genial character 01
this interpretation of a story in itself abrupt in its
changes and unequal in its execution.
As for the " Trial from Pickwick," Mr. Dickens
is not the only man who knows it by heart, but be
is the only man who can add to itsiufinite humour'
Talk to us of Garrick and his Protean powers !
Justice Stat eleigh and Mr. Serjeant Buzfuz, and Ml'
Nathaniel Winkle himself, all appeared in succession
0
in Mr. Dickens's face and voice, and, like the hot
of Mrs. Bardell's departed exciseman, will rem°
Weller
" stamped on" us for ever. If Mr. Samuel
failed to attain to a similarinearnation, it is 0n1Y13,6:,
cause, like his own personal illustrations, he already
has become to all of us a mythical personage ine3i;
pable of realisation in this imperfect world. Often as
we have heaed Mr. Dickens read this deathless seeuAci
we never knew him enter more heartily
thbroughly into its glorous fun than on Sattir":l;
night. One horrible suspicion alone marred °"
otherwise perfect enjoyment. Surely Mr. Dickens
has not been tampering with his text ? What are
the undergraduates at'Cabibridge who a few
YeArl
;„ tbe
ago passed so satisfactory an examination
" Pickwick Papers," what are the countless 03°00
sands who fondly imagine they could at any mow
stand a similar test, to think and to do if the anti:
himself introduces (as he thought in two eases ?
introduced on this occasion) variorum readitr.
" Pickwick" cannot be improved—even by
Dickens.

The Earl of Derby, First Lord of the TWO
gave a Parliamentary banquet at his official residence 1-
Downing-street last night.
The Chancellor of the Excheqner gave WS Ar'
liamentary dinner at Grosvenor-gate last night.
His Royal Highness the Frisco of
wales to
fixed Thursday, the 28th inst., at 2 o'clock, on whic7,l;fo-
- over the annual meeting of the Royal National '" of
boat Institution, It is to be held, through the coartesY
the Lord Mayor, in the Egyptian Hall, Xlausion-licalse,oo
THE GREAT WATERLOO C 0 URSING C ur.7,oi'
•ch
great national coursing meeting of the season, At
d to
the Waterloo Cup will be contended for, is now fix'7„.s.
come off on Wednesday, Feb. 20, and subsequent the
The locale for the coursing will be in Lancashire, over at
estate of the Earl of Sefton. There aro 64 sub
riberS
£25 each, and the value of the cup is £1,600. I:he Ced
hound kennels of Ireland and Scotland will be rep
and dogs from all English counties will contest the P. iS
Brigadier, the greyhound which won the cup last Ye3l'
a competitor for the cup of this season. Oa
ALLEGED STARVATION OF A CHILD' -
Saturday, at the East Riding magistrates' meeting,
itah
pot
and his wife, named Haldenby, were charged Nv__fricieate
supplying their male child, 8 years old, with "
food. The child was found in a most emaciated colt tjle
weighing only 361 b., and several of the neiglibuu_rsd beiei
prisoners deposed to it not getting enough food flue o,o'o
cruelly beaten by its mother. it appeared that th
tad,
life had Wen insured for £lO. The inquiry was adl°
the prisoners being admitted to bail.