The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 3, 1859.

OPENING

P A R IL I A _lf -E 1C T.

The opening of the session of Parliament to-clay,
by her most gracious Majesty in person, was evi-
dently regarded by the metropolitan community as
something more than a State formality, and the
brilliancy of the weather tended in a great degree
to increase the ardour of the vast concourse of
people of every class who crowded the line of pro-
cession. Her Majesty and the Prince Consort were
received as they proceeded from Buckingham
Palace to Westminster with every demonstration
of loyalty and respect.
As the carriages of the different Ambassadors
drove by the inmates were received with more or
less cordiality.
There was a very large attendance of peers and
peeresses in the house, and of persons entitled by
rank and privilege to be present at the ceremony.
The doors of the magnificent chamber in which
the lords spiritual and temporal hold their councils
were opened at twelve o'clock, and shortly after
that hour those who were privileged to obtain seats
began to arrive. In the ante-chambers and corridors
through which the Royal procession was to pass
raised seats were provided, and a very large num-
ber of persons were enabled in this manner to
witness the arrival and departure of her Majesty.
The attendance of the members of the corps
diplomatique was more than usually numerous, and
amongst the first arrivals were the Brazilian
Minister, the Ifaytian and Portuguese Ministers,
the Turkish Ambassador, the Russian Ambassador,
the- French Ambassador, and the Sardinian Am-
bassador.

A great number of the Judges attended, amongst,
whom were the Lord Chief Justice of England,
Lord Campbell ; the Lord Chief Justice of the
,Common Pleas, Sir Alexander Cockburn ; the Lord
Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Sir Frederick Pol-
lock, &c. -

The Episcopal bench, in front of those occupied
by the Foreign Ministers, was very fully attended.
Amongst the Peers connected with the Govern-
ment, in the house when her Majesty entered, were
the following :—Earl of Derby, First Lord of the
Treasury ; Lord Chelmsford, Lord High Chan-
cellor ; Marquis of Salisbury, Lord President of the
Council ; Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Privy Seal ;
Lord Stanley, Secretary for India; Earl of
Malmesbury, Foreign Secretary; Earl of Carnar-
von, Under Secretary for the Colonies; Lord W.
D'Eresby, Lord Great Chambeilain ; Marquis of
Exeter, Lord Steward ; Duke of Norfolk, Earl
Marshal ; Earl de la Warre, Lord Chamberlain ;
Lord Colchester, Postmaster-General; Duke of
Montrose, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ;
Duke of Beaufort, Master of the Horse; his Royal
Highness the Duke' of Cambridge, Commander of
the Forces ; Earl of Donoughmore, Paymaster-
General of the Forces, &c. Several leading members
of the Opposition were also present.
The Lord Chancellor, attended by his principal
officers bearing the mace and purse, arrived shortly
before two o'clock, and proceeded to the ante-room
to await the arrival of the Queen.
The appearance of the house, just previous to the
entry of her Majesty, was gorgeous in the extreme,
as the sun was just then pouring in a flood of golden
light through the magnificent stained windows of
the chamber.
A flourish of trumpets and the firing of a royal
salute announced that her Majesty had entered the
palace, and shortly afterwards the great officers of
State in procession entered the house, and her
Majesty, who leaned upon the arm of the Prince
Consort, was conducted to the Throne.

The Crown was carried on a velvet cushion
fringed with gold, by the Earl of Delawarr ; the
Sword of State by the Earl of Derby.
His Royal Highness, the Prince Consort, occu-

pied the chair on the left of the throne, and the
Earl of Derby, holding the State Sword,
took his position between the Prince and her Ma-
jesty-. The Lord Chancellor stood upon the foot-
step of the throne on the right of the Queen, and
the Duchess of Manchester, Mistress of the Robes,
occupied her position on the right of the noble and
learned lord, the Lord Privy Seal (the Earl of
Hardwicke), and the Lady in Waiting, formed the
remaining portion of the group round the throne.
Her Majesty, who looked extremely well, was
attired in a white brocaded silk robe, richly em-
broidered with gold.,ller Majesty also wore a robe
and train of purple velvet, trimmed with ermine
and embroidered with gold flowers.
Her Majesty having intimated that the peers
•nd peeresses might resume their seats, the Speaker
and the members of the House of Commons were
summoned to the bar of their lordships' house to
hear the Royal Speech.
An interval of three or four minutes having
elapsed, the Commons, headed by the Speaker and
chief officers of the house, and accompanied by a
large number of members, made their appearance.
Amongst the persons near the Speaker were
the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer ; Sir E. Buiwer Lytton, Colonial Secretary;
General Peel, Secretary for War Department; Sir
J. Pakington, First Lord of the Admiralty; Mr.
J. W. Henley, President of the Aoard of Trade ;
Lord J. Manners, Chief Commissioner of Works ;
Mr. G. Hardy and Mr. 11. Waddington; Under
Secretaries for Home Department; 3.1 r. IV. Fitz-
gerald, Under Secretary for Foreign Department ;
Sir F. Kelly, Attorney-General; Sir H. Mc Cairns,
Solicitor-General; Lord Naas, Chief Secretary
for Ireland ; Lord Palmerston, Lord J. Russell,
*the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, the Right Hon.
R. Vernon Smith, the Right Hon. Henry Labou-
chere, the Right Hon. Sir C. Wood, the Right
Hon. Sir B. Hall, the Right Hon. IV. Cowper, Sir
Richard Bethell, the Right Hon. M. T. Baines,
Hon. Henry Brand, Hon. C. P. Bouverie, lion. C.
P. Villiers, Sir Henry Keating, Mr. IVykenham
Martin, Mr. Akroyd, Mr. T. C. Baring, General
Buckley, Mr. Chichester Forteseue, Mr. J. D, Fitz-
gerald, Mr. R. IV. Grey, Mr. Massey, Mr. Bernal
Osborne, Mr. H. Danby Seymour, Mr. Henry Her-
bert, Mr. James Wilson, Hon. Gerald Ponsonby,
Mr. Charles Clifford, Mr. Barrington, &c., &c.

The Lord Chancellor then advanced to her Ma-
jesty, and on bended -knee presented a copy of the
Royal Speech. Her-Majesty, who remained sitting,
then. read in a clear, firm voice, the following
speech :

QTTEEN'S SPEECH.

" MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
" In recurring, at the usual season, to the advice

of my Parliament, I am happy to think that, in the
internal state of the country, there is nothing to
excite disquietude, and much to call for satisfaction
and thankfulness. Pauperism and crime have con-
siderably diminished during the past year; and a
spirit of general contentment prevails.
" The blessing of the Almighty on the valour
of my troops in India, and on the skill of their
Commanders, has enabled me to inflict signal
chastisement upon hose who are still in
arms against my authority, whenever they have
ventured to encounter my forces ; and I trust that,
at no distant period, I may be able to announce to
you the complete pacification of that great
Empire, and to devote my attention to the im-
provement of its condition, and to the obliteration
of all traces of the present unhappy conflict.
" On assuming, by your advice, the direct govern-
ment of that portion of my do-minions, I deemed it
proper to make known by Proclamation the prin-
ciples by which it was my intention to be guided,
and the clemency which I was disposed to show
towards those who might have been seduced into
revolt, but who might be willing to return to their
allegiance. I have directed that a copy of that
Proclamation should be laid before you.

" I receive from all Foreign Powers assurances
of their friendly feelings. To cultivate and con-
firm those feelings, to maintain inviolate the faith
of Public Treaties, and to contribute, as far as my
influence can extend, to the preservation of the