The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-03 00:00:00

PARLIAMENT.

The opening of the session of Parliament to-day
by her most gracious Majesty in person, was evi-
dently regarded by the metropolitan community as
something more than a State formality. The pre-
♦ailing distress in the manufacturing districts, and
the state of commercial affairs in the city, tended
in a great measure to damp the ardour of the vast
concourse of people of every class who crowded the
line of procession, and this circumstance accounted
for the somewhat quiet manner, when compared
with other 'occasions, in which her Majesty and
the Prince Consort were received as they proceeded
from Buckingham Palace to Westminster. The
state of the weather was not at all calcula'ed to
exhilarate the spirits of the holiday makers, and
although the sun shone out at intervals, it was in
all respects a regular December day—dull, damp,
and cold.
As the carriages of the different Ambassadors
drove by the inmates were received with more or
less cordiality than usual. The Turkish, French,
and Sardinian Ambassadors were very formally re-
cognised, as was Mr. Dallas, the American Minis-
ter. A similar discrimination was exercised in re-
gard to the leading statesmen of the day. The
Marquis of Lansdowne and Lord Palmerston were
recognised and applauded, while some of the other
Ministers met with the same favourable reception.
Her Majesty entered the House of Lords about

2 o'clock.
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 priviliged to obtain seats
began to arrive. In the ante-chamber and corridors
through which the Royal procession was to pass
raised coats were provide 1, and a very large
number 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 Haytian and Portuguese Ministers,
the Turkish Ambassador, the Russian Ambassador,
the French Ambassador, and the Sardinian Am-
bassador. Tha members of the embassy from Siam
were also present, and the brilliancy of their
costume gave an additional grandeur to this usually
glittering group.
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., &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 :—His Royal Highness the Duke of
Cambridge, the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of
Argyll, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl of
Clarendon, Earl Granville, the Earl of Hat rowby,
the Marquis of Clanricarde, the Marquis of Towns-
shend, the Marquis of Anglesey, the Earl of Abing-
don, the Earl of Shaftesbury, the Earl of Essex, the
Earl of Shelburne, the Earl Spencer, Viscount Syd-
ney, Viscount Torrington, Lord Portman, Lord
Carew, Lord Byron, Lord Dufferin, Lord Foley,
Lord Camoys, Lord Stanley (of Alderley), Lord
Lilford, and Lord Ward. Several leading members
of the Opposition were also present.
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Cranworth), 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 win-
dows of the chamber.
A flourish of trumpets and the firing of a royal
salute announced that ber 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 Marquis of Lausdown ;
the Sword of State by Earl Granville.
His Royal Highness, the Prince Consort,
occupied the chair on the left of the throne, and
the Earl Granville, holding the State sword, took
his position between the Prince and her Majesty.
The Lord Chancellor stood upon the foitstep of
the throne ou the right of the Queen, and the
Duchess of Sutherland, Mistress of the Robes,
occupied her position on the right of the noble and
learned lord, and the noble Marquis who carried
the Crown, the Lord Privy Seal (the Earl of
Harrowby), and the Lady lir Waiting, formed the
remaining portion of the group round the throne.

Her Majesty, who loold. extremely well, was
attired in a white brocaded silk robe, richly
embroidered with gold. Her Majesty also wore a
robe and train of purple velvet, trimmed with
ermine and embroidered with gold fl )wars.

Her Majesty having intimated that the peers and
peeresses might resume their seats, the Speaker and
the members of the House of Commons were sum-
tmh
e
o tie l
Royalto the bar
ar of their lordships'
1n
to hear
An interval of three or four minu+es having
elapsed, the Commons, headed by the Speaker and
,and
accompanied
made their appearance.
by a
lcahrigeef
no
ufl ie
ac ebrasr ofof
int heemhboeur
as e,

Amongst the persons near the Speaker were—
Viscount Palmerston, the Earl of Mulgrave, Vis-
count Castlerosse, Viscount MOnCk, Viscount
Duncan, Lord Ernest Bruce, Lord Alfred Paget,
the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, the Right Hon. R. Vernon
Smith, the Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, the
Right Hon. Sir C. Wood, the Right Hon. Sir B.
Hall, the Right Hon. H. Fitzroy, the Right Hon.
Robert Lowe, the Right Hon. W. Cowper, the
Right Hon. W. G. Hayter, Sir Richard Bethel],
the Right Hon. M. T. Baine;„ Hon. Henry Beand,
Hon. C. P. Bouvelie, Hon. C. P. Villiers, Sir
Henry Keating, Mr. Wykenham Martin, Mr.
Ackroyd, Mr. T. C. Baring, General Buckley, Mr.
Chichester Fortescue, Mr. J. D. Fitzgerald
(Solicitor-General for Ireland), Mr. R. W. Grey,
Mr. Massey, Mr. Bernal Osborne, Mr. H. Danby
Seymour, Mr. Henry Herbert, Mr. James Wilson,
Hon. Gerald Ponsonby, Mr. Charles Clifford, Mr.
Barrington, &c., ke.
The Lord Chancellor then advanced to her Ma-
jesty, and on bonded knee presented a copy of tho
Royal Speech. Her Majesty, who remained sitting,
then read in a clear, firm voice, the following
speech :

QUEEN'S SPEECH.

" MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,

"Circumstances have recently arisen, connected
with the commercial interests of the country, which
have induced me to call Parliament together before
the usual time.

" The failure of certain Joint-Stock Banks, and
of some mercantile firms produced such an extent
of distrust as led me to authorize my Ministers to
to recrAnmend to the Directors of the Bank of Eng-
land the adoption of a course of proceeding which
appeared necessary for allaying the pr.3valent alarm.
As that course has involved a departure
from the existing Law, a 13111 for indernni-
fying.those who advised and those who adopted Lit
will bl submitted for your consideration.
" I have observed, with great reg: of., that the
d;s' urbed state of commercial transaction 3 in gout r
has occasioned a diminution ofii
employ men , in the
manufacturing districts, Rhich I fear cannot fail
to be attended with mush local distress ; I trust,
however, that this evil may not be of long duration;
and the abundant harvest with which it has gra-
ciously pleased Divine Providence to bless this I
land, will, I hope, in some degree mitigate the auf- I

ferings which this state of things must unavoidably

produce.
" While I deeply deplore the severe suffering to
which many of my subjects in India have been ex-
posed, and while I grieve for the extensive bereave-
ments and sorrow which it has caused, I have
derived the greatest satisfaction from tho distin-
guished suece3ses which have attend° d the
heroic exertions of the comparatively small forces
which have born oppoied to greatly superior
numbers, without the ail of the 'powerful reinforce-
ments despatched from this coup try to their assist-
ance. The arrival of those rein forcements will, I
trust, speedily complete the suppression of this
widely-spread revolt.

" The gallan try of the troops employed against the
mutineers, their courage in action, their endurance
under privation, fatigue, and the effects of climate ;
the high spirit and self-devotion of the officers ; the
ability, skill, and persevering energy of the com-
manders, have excited my warmest admiration ;
and I have observed with equal gratification that
many civilians placed in extreme difficulty and
danger have displayed the highest qualities, includ-
ing, in some instances, those that would do honour
to veteran soldiers.

" It is satisfactory to know that the general mass
of the population of India have taken nopartin the
rebellion, while the most considerable of the native
Princes have acted in the most friendly manner,
and have rendered important services.
" I have given directions that papers relating to
these matters shall be laid before you.
" The affairs of my East Indian dominions will
require your serious consideration, and I recom-
mend them to your earnest attention.
" The nations of Europe are in the enjoyment of
the blessings of peace, which nothing seems likely
to disturb.

The stipulations of the Treaty which I concluded
with the Shah of Persia have been faithfully carried
into execution ; and the Persian forces have eva-
cuated the territory of Herat.