The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-20
OPENING OF
 PARLIAMENT No Surprises in Speech
 of the King.
REFERENCE TO IRELAND
Intimared That Some Measure is
 in Preparation.
Absence of Queen Alexandra and the Prince and Princess of Wales to a Degree Detracts From spIendor
 of Ceremony.

London. Feb. 1s.--King Edward open ed the second parliament of his reign this afternoon with the customary cere- monial The absence of Queen Alex andra, the Prince and Princess of Wales. and the Duke and Duchess of Con- naught and the mourning into which the court had been thrown on the death of King Christian, detrhcted somewhat from the briiliance of the pageant Otherwise the royal procession from Buckingham palace to the palace at Westminster and the proceedings in the House of Lords followed the well known lines of those of previous years. The weather was cloudy but rain held ou, and ali points of vantage along the troop-liEed route were well occupied by cheering crowds. The rich military and naval uniforms. the quaint garD of the yeomen and watermen and the giIded state coach with Its handsome caparisoned horses, all combined to form an effective picture.
 Within tho ''gilded chamber" bril- liant scene met the Kings gaze as he entered from the robtng room attend ed by all the high officers of the state bearing the various insignia Of the monarchy. The hall was crowded to its capacity. The mourning dresses of
  lest extent by magnificent displays Of tewelry, and contrnated with the brightness of the peer robes and the uniforms of tho distinguished diplo- mats and the soldiers and sailors who participated in the ceremony. For the first time since the death of the late Queen Victoria, only a single chair oc- cupied the dais in consequence of the absence from England of Queen Alex andra. The King, arrayed In robes Of crimson sllk and velvet, having seated himself on the throne comanded the presence of the Commons to hear hls speech. As soon as the Speaker and the Commons had arrived, the King took the document containing the text of his speech from the kneeling Lord Chancellor and read 1t.
 NO surpgiae In. Speech
 The speech contained no surprises The usual reference to the continuance of friendly relations with foreign pow CTS was followed by a paragraph re5oic- ing over the fact that the Russo-Japan- ese war has "been brought to an end by the satisfactory conclusion of ne- gotiations commenced in August and due to the initiative of the President of the United States, which had result ed in an honorable peace"
 Referring to the Moroccan confer ence, the King remarked:
 Ut is earnestly to be hoped that the result of these negotiations may be conducive to the maintenance of peace among all natlons.7
 CoIorless mention was made of the Anglo-Japanese treaty, the dissolution of the union of Norway and Sweden and the condition of Macedonia, which has continued to give cause for anx- iety."
 The speech announced that the idea z Hfs.ko "a at O sentative government for the Trans vaal had been abandoned and that new constitution would be drawn up as expeditiously as possible. adding that until the Transvaal assembly meets the importation of Chinese will be sus- pc lded.
 After announcing the postponement of the proposed coloniel conference early in 1907, the King congratulated the commons on the steady increase in imports and exports, indicating that the industries generally are in a sound and progressive condition, but immediately afterward the King invited the earnest attention of the legislat'@S~ to the ad- ditions made in recent years to the national expenditure and capital lia- bilities for the state. The speech clos ed with a mention of prospective legis- lation. An important paragraph de- voted to Ireland was as follows:
 My ministers have under considera- tion a plan for improving and effect ing economies fin the system of gov ernment for Ireland and for introduc- ing therlnto means for associating the people with the conduct of Irish af- fairs. It Is my desire that the Govern ment of the country, in reliance on the ordinary law should be carried on so far as existing circumstances permit in spirit regardful of the wishes and sentiments of the Irish people, and l trust that this may conduce to the maintenance of tranquility and good feeling between the different classes of the county"
 Immediately after reading the speech the King retired. put off his robes of state, the procession was reformed and he returned to Buckingham Palace. It was noticeable that the King Is still suffering from the injury to his knee sustained while out shooting November Is last He walked haltingly, aided by q stick. His speech was clearly au- dible everywhere in the hall. despite occasional huskiness.
 Ambassador Reid and Mrs. Reid and Secretary of the American Embassy and Mrs. Carter, were among thase present at the ceremony,
 In the House of Lords the Marquis of Northampton (liberaD moved the aQQEeSS III reply tO luG hlnE speech and Lord Herschell, Oiberan. second- ed the motion.
 Lord Lansdowne (unionistD the for mer foreign secretary replied After the usual courteous personal reference he said with regard to the Algeciras conference that he looked with suspicion on any attempt to correct bad administration by international control A single power was much more likely to succeed. Lord Lansdowne criticised the proposed legislation for South Afri- ca.
 He asked whether the Irish para graph in the Kings speech meant home rule by installments and predict ed that a change in the present method of governing Ireland would cause seri- ous alarm and uneasiness.
 Lords Ripon. Salisbury and Crow wound up the debate on the address which was agreed to and the House of Lords adjourned.
 The House of Commons was crowded when the business of the sesion began. The Kings speech having been for mally read by Speaker Lowther, o. w.