The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-29 00:00:00

ied this day by her Majesty in person

At aquarterpast_tWo o'clock her

:led by the

neat officers of state,entered the how(

and remaining standing until
aced. Her Majesty directed

the Usher of the is
mon the House of Commons to t
ness Prince Al

Rod; Sir Aug

ho wore a

tus Clifford, to sum-
. His Royal High-

-Mitrstial's uniform

entered with the royal procession, and took his seat in the
chair of state prepared for him on the left of the throne.—
The Speaker, in-his state robes, attended by an immense

, body of members, having appeared at the bar, the Lord
Chancellor, on his knee, banded the speech to the Queen,
which her Majesty read iu her usual clear and distinct man-

THE SPEECH

111 k Lords and Gentlemen

" I have the satisfaction to receive from foreign powers

assurances of their friendly disposition, and of their earnest

desire to maintain pea

The position of affairs in the Levant had long been a

cause of uneasiness and a source of danger to the general
tranquillity.—With a view to avert the evils which a cdntinu-

auce of that state of things was calculated to occasion, I con-

Chided with the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, the

Emperor of Russia, and the Sultan, a convention intended to

cification of the Levant ; to maintain the integ-
rity and independance of the Ottoman Empire ; and thereby

to afford additional security to the peace of Europe

I have given directions that this convention should be

laid before you

I rejoice to be able to inform you that the measures

which have been adopted in execution of these engagements
have been attended with signal success ; and I trust that the

)bjects which the contracting parties had in view are on the

eve of being completely accomplished

" In the course of these transactions my-naval forces have
co-operated with those of the Emperor of Austria, and with

land and sea forces of the Sultan, and have displayed upon
illantry and skill.

sions their accustomed g

" Having deemed it necessary to send to the coast of
China a naval and military force, to demand reparation and

redress for injuries inflicted upon some of my subjects by
_ . .

the officers of the Emperor, of China,. and of indignities of-
fered to an agent of my crown, I at the same time appointed

plenipotentiaries to treat upon these matters with the Chi-

nese governtnc

last accounts, in

negotiation

Emperor of China

,nd it will be a

atification to me, if that government shall

be induce

1, by its own sense of justice. to bring these mat-

ters to a speedy settlement by an amicable arrangement.

Serious differences have arisen between Spain and Por-
'•out the execution of a treaty concluded by those
poweri in 1835, for regulating the navigation of the Douro ;
but both parties have accepted my mediation, and I hope to
be able to effect a reconciliation between them upon terms
honourable to both.

I have concluded with the Argentine Republic and with
the Republic of Hayti treaties for the suppression of the

trade, which I have directed to be laid before you
' Gentlemen of the House of Commons,

I have directed the estimates for the year to be laid be-

rer sensible of the importance of adhering to the
A economy, I feel it my duty to recommend that

sion be made for the exigencies of the public

dequate prc

31y Lords and'Gentlemen

Measures will be submitted to you without delay, which

have for their object the more speedy and effectual adminis-
tration of justice. The vital importance of this subject is

to ensure for it your early and most serious consi-

deration

" The powers of the Commissioners appointed under the
Act for the amendment of the laws relating to the Poor, ex-
pire at the termination of the present year. I feel assured
that you will earnestly direct your attention to enactments

ply concern the interests of the community

. .
It is always with entire confidence that I recur to the
and assistance of my Parliament. I place my reliance
our wisdom, loyalty, and patriotism, and I humbly
implore of Divine Providence, that all your councils may be
so directed as to advance the great interests of morality and
religion, to preserve peace, and to promote, by enlightened
legislation, the welfare and happiness of all classes of my

Immediately afterwards her Majesty quitted the house, and
the royal procession returned in the same state to Bucking-

ham PalaCe.
Their lordships adjourned, but reassembled at five o'clock,
when the Lord Chancellor took his seat on the woolsack.
Lord BEAUMONT (late Mr. Myles Stapleton who has
made good his claim to the dormant peerage of Beaumont)
took the oaths and his seat.
Viscount MELBOURNE laid the convention entered into
between her Majesty and the Emperor of Austria, the Em-
peror of Russia, the King of Prussia, and the Sultan, for the
pacification of Turkey, on the table.
The LORD CLIANtELLOR then read her most gracious Ma-
jesty's speech, during the reading of which Lord Brougham
entered the house, and, walking up to the conservative side,
shook hands with the Duke of Wellington, and then took his
seat in his usual place.
Lord DUCIE, in moving the address, touched upon the
various points of the speech. Dear and necessary as peace
must be admitted to be, be was satisfied that their lordships
would be the last persons in the world to wish that England
should lose that high position among nations, which she must
necessarily lose if she should be guilty of any culpable ne-
glect of interfering in a case in which her interference would
become necessary, more especially in such a case as that
which had recently occurred. He believed that the country
owed a deep debt of gratitude to the heads which had planned,
and to the hands which had so nobly executed, that series of
of operations which had ended so satisfactorily. With re-
gard to the expedition to China, he was glad to learn, from
the speech, that there was every probability of our differences
with that country being brought to a speedy termination.
Their lordships should, however, recollect the dilatory nature
of our Chinese friends. The occupation of Chusan was, he
thought, an event very much calculated to hasten their di-
plomacy. Events had taken place in India since they last
met, which were calculated to forward the prosperity of this
country, and to secure peace in that quarter of the globe.
With regard to the legislative measures recommended in the
speech from the throne, it would be useless for him to dilate
upon them at any length, because they had both of them, he
believed, in principle, received the sanction of their lordships'
house. (Hear, hear.) Canada was no longer disturbed, and
it was satisfactory to know that the Canadians seemed fully
satisfied with the working of their new constitution.' With
regard to our domestic affairs, we were at present in the en-
joyment of quiet. Agriculture was in the most prosperous
state, and manufactures were rising from the depressed state
in which they had been of late, into that limited and uncer-
tain state of prosperity beyond which they could never rise
so long as duties of a restrictive nature were continued, which
rendered it impossible for any human foresight or precaution
to prevent a recurrence of famine prices in articles of sub-
sistence. (Hear, hear.) _ _

Lord LURGAN seconded the address, and deprecated the
charges made against the government of having neglected the
arsenals and shipping of the country—charges, he said, suf-
ficiently disproved by the recent events in Syria, and more
particularly before the bristling guns of Acre.
Lord BROUGHAM felt it necessary to guard himself and
the house against being supposed to sanction all that had
been done by the government, because they might support
address to her Majestry. He saw enough in the tone of
seech to fill his mind with the most gloomy apprehen-
', comparing the speech of this year from the throne
'Ast year, it would be found that the former did
t strong assurances of a desire on the
_...eign powers to maintain peace with this country
which were to he found in the latter, though no man would
be more glad than himself it' they could be still applied with
strict truth to our present position. It was true that our arms
had been, owing to British valour, triumphant ; and it was
possible that the wars we had engaged in were defensible;
but if defensible, it could only be on the strict ground of ab-
Ile could not concur in the opinion enter-
._ ay sonic people—that this country should, on no ac-
count interfere in continental politics ; but there was a great '
difference between keeping aloof altogether, and eternally in-
termeddling and keeping up a sort of übiquity, always acting,
negociating, and intermeddling everywhere as if each country
in Europe was part and parcel of Great Britain. The noble
lord then adverted to the singular policy pursued by this
country with the professed view of preserving the integrity of
lie Turkish empire. The power against whom it was neces-
ars, to guard by keeping this integrity was Russia, and yet
"as but a short time since the government had united with
'estroy the Turkish fleet; and why was this fleet
,yed ? Not for the purpose of securing the indepen-
_Ace of Greece, for that was already accomplished, but to
compel an inroad upon the integrity of the Turkish empire
by thrcing the Sultan to give a certain portion of Turkish
territory to Greece. The government was equally consistent
with IVleheinei Ali. At one time he was treated as a subject.
and at another as an absolute sovereign, just as it suited the
purpose of the moment. In 1839 he was offered Egypt in
hereditary absolute sovereignty, and again was he offered the
Pachalic of Acre without the fortresses—another inroad on
the integrity of the Turkish empire. In 1840 the offer was
repeated, with the addition of the fortresses; and yet, after
all this the government made the integrity of the Turkish em-
pire the ground for giving up our alliance with France,
in order to unite with the remains of the holy alliance,
thus sacrificing the true and solid basis of the peace of
Europe, and of the good understanding between France
and England. The noble lord next adverted to the fact that
the only power of whom there was any apprehension, as re-
garded Turkey, was Russia, and yet England united with
that very power to carry out the recent policy in the east ;
and he intimated that Russia was very unlikely to have en-
tered into any such scheme—a scheme apparently opposed
to her own interests and to her designs on Turkey, unless
she could perceive greater advantages in perspective, and
these advantages he thought her policy would foresee as an
inevitable result of a breach between France and England.
He thought also that if France had any real designs on
Egypt and the east, this country had more to fear from an
alliance between that country and Russia to carry out their
respective objects, than she could have to fear from either,
while the good understanding with France was preserved.
Viscount Melbourne anticipated a unanimous vote on the
address, arid was therefore unprepared to enterinto a defence
of the foreign policy of the government, more particularly
after the effects which it had produced. The address had
been framed with singular caution, in order that noble lords
:night vote for it without binding themselves to an opinion
upOn any one of the topics which were adverted to. He had
tio wish just then to call upon their lordships to approve of
a policy which, he admitted, was bold and hazardous ; nor
would lie until he had placed the necessary' documents before
He was prepared to make out a case for the wars
been undertaken, if not of necessity, at least of
I expediency, for the preservation of the peace of
, and be believed it would be found that the only
g 0 which could with justice be brought against the go-
vernment, was that of the delay and procrastination which
had taken place in order to procure the acquiescence of
Fiance in the course pursued.
The Duke of WELLINGTON said he had long looked at the
state of affairs in Syria as being hazardous to the peace of
Europe. Having seen this danger while in office, it was with
great satisfaction that he found the present government had,
taken the subject into its consideration. The phrase " al-.
Lance with France" had been much used, but he did not
know of any- other alliance except that of a mutual good un-
derstanding, which left either free to act separately, if ao in-
clined. He was himself an instance that nations might so
`et without giving offence to others ; for at the Congress of
Verona, previous to the invasion of Spain by France, he was

t of for

a the sa

.cessity

)licv and

ambassador from this country, and he was left alone by the
repres4ntatives of all the other powers ; but he never thought
that England had a right to look upon that as an offence.
We differed from the other powers as to that expedition to
Spain, but took no offence • and neither had France a right
to take offence because she differed from the other powers on
the eastern question. He could not admit that there had
been anything discourteous in the conduct pursued towards
.France, and he thought France had no more reason to com-
plain on this bead, than he had at being left alone at the
Congress of Verona. In justice to Russia, he must say that,
on a former occasion, no power could be more anxious than
she was to induce the maritime powers to prevent the inva-
sion of Syria by Mehemet Ali, in order to obviate the neces-
sity of her sending an army to Constantinople. He believed
that no person bad done more than himself, since he had the
honour of serving the crown in 1814,—nay, no one had done
half sQ much to preserve the peace of Europe, and to keep up
the best understanding between this country and France,
and to place France, as such a great nation ought to be, in
the councils of Europe ; feeling convinced that if France did
not hold her proper position in those councils, there would
be no.security for the peace of Europe, or ,fo r justice or
sound .decision upon any subject.

Lord BROUGHAM thought that, in drawing that last state-
ment from the noble duke. he had rendered most essential
service to the peace of Europe.
The address was then agreed to, and their lordships ad-
journed.