The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-18 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY).
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at
five o'clock, at which hour there was a very full attendance.
On the entrance of Lord Campbell several peers shook
hands with the noble and learned lord. Lord Derby entered
the house a few minutes after five, and immediately entered
into conversation with the Lord Chancellor on the wool-
sack. On perceiving Lord Campbell he took off his hat and
bowed to his lordship.

THE MINISTERIAL EXPLANATION.
The Earl of DERBY rose and said,—Perhaps, my lords
before proceeding to the little business which stands for
your lordships' consideration to-day, I may be indulged,
under the circumstances in which I am placed, with permis-
sion to address a few words—and they shall be very few—
to your lordships. It is hardly necessary for me to say that,
after the division which took place on Friday night last in
the House of Commons, no alternative was left to her
Majesty's Government except humbly tendering the re-
signation of their offices. It was impossible longer to hold
those offices with advantage to the, country after a vote of
want of confidence had been carried against them by a
majority in the House of Commons. The majority un-
doubtedly was not a very large one, but as it was a majority
in a house—(l believe the largest on record);—from which
very few members were absent, we felt bound to take it as the
deliberate expression of the opinion of the House of Com-
mons. At the same time, as that vote of want of confidence
was not founded upon a condemnation of any'apccific act of
policy, either foreign or domestic, but was treated as a party
question—looking to the general division supposed to exist
between public men, who are called Liberal on one side,
and Conservative on the other, and the simple declaration
in one po.ragraph of the Address, that the Government ought
not to be incrusted to her Majesty's present advisers, I am
relieved from the necessity to enter upon the vindication of
any part of the policy or conduct of her Majesty's Govern-
ment. lam satisfied, my lords, to leave that policy and
that conduct to be judged by the impartial decision of the
country, and, so far as it goes down to posterity, by poste-
rity. (Cheers.) I think it due, however, to my noble
friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to express
the conviction—which I believe is shared by every man who
has at all impartially considered the papers recently laid on
your lordships' table and on the table of the other House of
Parliament---I think it duo to him to express the convic-
tion, thai a perusal of those papers in a dispassionate spirit
will satisfy your lordships, and any one who reads them,
not only that the expression in her Majesty's Speech, " ear-
nest and unceasing have been her Majesty's endeavours to
preserve the peace of Europe," is fully borne out ; but also
that in the negotiations with foreign Powers my noble
friend has displayed every wish to do that which we pro--
fessed to do--namely, to "maintain a strict and impartial
neutrality between the contending parties." (Hear, hear.)
And if there have been—as there have been—some who
have lavishly and inconsiderately thrown out aspersions
and imputations that my noble friend unduly leant towards
refutedo ne par tayn, thosed dis p aspersionsdisproved
by
cohnshaarve
completelyebe a d
before us. (Cheers.) I will not enter into any vindica-
tion of our conduct, I will simply state that, after the vote
of the House of Commons, feeling it impossible that we
ythaelipaaptsuwtahtii
could conduct the business of the country with credit to
ourselves or adVantage to the Sovereign as long as that
vote was recorded against us, and feeling that we had
recently appealed to the country for its decision, the
only course which we could take was humbly to tender
the resignation of our offices. Her Majesty was pleased toc
ev e soswors
r o of shall
the
b eeappointed.
accept that resignation. Consequently we hold office at the
present moment only until
I rejoice to think that period is not likely to be long, be-
more unfortunate than that
ahould be suspended.
our
thes u
t
cause in the present state of Europe I can think nothing
(Cheers.) I therefore rejoice that,