been established in various parts of the country, which has paralysed almost alike the exercise of private rights and the performance of civil duties. "In a state of things new in some important respects, and hence with little of available guidance from former precedent, I have deemed it right steadily to put in use the ordinary powers of the law before making any new demand. But a demonstration of their insufficiency, amply supplied by the present circumstances of the country, leads me now to apprise you that proposals will be immediately submitted to you for entrusting me with additional powers, necessary in my judgment not only for the vindication of order and public law, but likewise to secure, on behalf of my subjects, protection for life and property, and personal liberty of action. "Subject to the primary and imperious obligations to which I have just referred, I continue to desire not less than heretofore to prosecute the removal of grievance and the work of legislative improvement in Ireland as well as in Great Britain. "The Irish Land Act of 1870 has been productive of great benefits, and has much contributed to the security and comparative well-being of the occupiers of the soil, without diminishing the value or disturbing the foundations of property. In some respects, however, and more particularly under the strain of recent and calamitous years, the protection which it supplied has not been found sufficient, either in Ulster or the other provinces. "I recommend you to undertake the further development of its principles in a manner conformable to the special wants of Ireland, both as regards the relation of landlord and tenant, and with a view to effective efforts for giving to a larger portion of the people by purchase a permanent proprietary interest in the soil. This legislation will require the removal, for the purposes in view, of all obstacles arising out of limitations on the ownership of property, with a due provision for the security of the interests involved. "A measure will be submitted to you for the establishment of County Government in Ireland, founded upon representative principles, and framed with the double aim of confirming popular control over expenditure, and of supplying a yet more serious want by extending the formation of habits of local self-government. "Bills will be laid before you for the Abolition of Corporal Punishment in the Army and in the Navy. "You will be asked to consider measures for the further Reform of the Law of Bankruptcy; for the Conservancy of Rivers and the Prevention of Floods; for Revising the Constitution of Endowed Schools and Hospitals in Scotland; and for the renewal of the Act which established Secret Voting; and for Repressing the Corrupt Practices of which, in a limited number of towns, there were lamentable examples at the last General Election. "I trust that your labours, which will be even more than usually arduous, may be so guided by Divine Providence as to promote the happiness of my people." In the House of Lords the auares in rep was moved by Lord Carrington and seconded by the Ear. of Yarborough: the former of whom referred to the condition of Ireland, which county nad coercion written on almost every page of her story, whilst the Legislature had but too rarely interieret to rene u pater evir of the people. Lord Yarborough, after refermg to the progress of the settlement in South-Easter Europe, expressed the hop that the Bankruptcy Bill would have a more successiu io tuan so many of its predecessors, whet bat failed to become law, an would give greater satisfaction to the trading classes that the measures of Lords Broughan., Westbury and atheney. The Earl of Beaconsfield followed immediately, aut 11 a speed WIDEL showed that his powers of sarcastic criticism were IL 10 Wise IDpaired, attributed the gloomy condition of affairs in Ireland critical state of things in bout Africa, and the anxiety produ... by our foreign policy, to the compiett reversa by the Libera Government of all that had been done by ther predecessore. every manner, and on every occasion, it was announced that the change of Government meant a change, not merely in every part and portion of the Government, but that everyting wet we considered concluded was to be reopened, and everyting tua uad been consummated was to be reversed, and that of the most inportant questions, either our Foreign relations, our Colonial situa tion, and our domestic position with reference 10 Ireland-or al these questions the utmost change was to be immediately and rapidly accomplished. Perpetual and complete reversal of all that has occurred was the order that was given and the profession of faith that was announced" In Foreign affaire, although it was impossible to repudiate the Treaty of Berim, vet at the instigation of the Government a Conference had been neat in the same capital with the object of modifying, changing, and superseding the JABE lutions of the original Congress. The result of that Conference was that the war in the east of Europe and west of Asia was on the point of reviving, and that in that war England was to be a belligerent against her old ay; no one could say that the peace of Europe was even now insured, and there was no doubt that in the course of twenty years events might occur which would imperil the present settlement. On the question of Afghanistan Lord Beaconsfield touched but lightly, saying that if the country decided apa the withdrawal of its troops from that country, the step should ive been taken with greater prudence, and have been done gradually, whereas Her Majesty's Ministers had gone on the housetops and proclaimed their peril and their perplexity. Turning to the Irish Question, Lord Beaconsfield paid a tribute to the benefient rule of the Duke of Marlborough when Viceroy, and expressed Lis belief that under his administration, and by the aid of the Peace Preservation Act, it would have been possible to govern the country satisfactorily. The warnings contained in his letter of March 3, 1880 (on the occasion of the dissolution of Parliament), addressed to the Irish Viceroy, although scoffed at by Mr. Gladstone, had been abundantly verified; and the evil results of declining to renew the Peace Preservation Act-as the Conservatives would have done had they remained in power-were manifest in the lawlessness to which Ireland was at that moment a prey. "We know well what is the general condition of that country now. Europe knows it; Asia knows it. It is no longer, unhappily, a merely English question. The honour and perhaps the existence of England depend upon our rallying our forces, not only with regard to Ireland, but to the other scenes of disquiet and danger which have been created by what has occurred in Ireland." Instead, however, of proposing any amendment to the address, as under the circumstances would have been thoroughly justifiable, Lord Beaconsfield urged his colleagues not to place themselves at the head of the people in indignant remonstrance to the Minister, but to pause before taking any steps to weaken the movements of the Administration. He felt sure that the Bills proposed for restoring peace and order in Ireland would be equal to the occasion, and trusted that they would be proceeded with de die in diem, and he concluded by saying that whilst the Opposition would be ready to consider all remedial measures relating to Ireland which the Government might bring before Parliament, yet it would be mere mockery to discuss any question until the reign of law was restored and the sovereignty of the Queen re-established. Earl Granville replied by remarking that on previous occasions he had been taunted with servilely following the policy of the late Government, and that he was therefore unable to understand the weight of the accusation that he had departed from its lines. The general elections, by an enormous majority, condemned the Conservative policy, so that it could hardly be expected that the present Ministry would feebly follow the example of their predecessors. The Conference of Berlin was a proposal from France, not a device of the English Cabinet. With regard to Ireland, the draft bill left by the late Ministry was merely a renewal of the Peace Preservation Act, which had altogether failed to keep agrarian crime in check. In reply to the question why Parliament was not assembled earlier, the duty of the Government, he contended, was to consider whether all the circumstances of the case were such as would justify a demand for coercive measures without any remedial proposals. The history of the present reign gave numerous precedents in England of dangerous agitation and violent class-revolts, but in each case the ordinary laws had been found sufficient to punish the law-breakers, and the wrongs against which they rose had been carefully examined, and, when recognised, were redressed. The Ministry, moreover, found justification for any hesitancy on their part in a saying of Sir Robert Peel, "There is great evil in coercive measures. You cannot rely on them for permanent embitter the feeling between the further defended the Govermek made against it of wishing gam it might bring in a more inste zase in stead of taking Lori Beamed Lord Granville expressed is they sought from Parliament, improving the relations berea and prosperity would be prefer of Marlborough, the late Lari Lemezam the increase of lawlesses was Lie To ment, and their disregatt de vining Ta and other officials as the materne Duke of Abercorn, who had vative administration, thamere om de more and Dunraven, concurret a lang he their inaction, which had lemcraet tenants, whilst the latter feciaret dat u tom t would quell an agitation of which the pai the Union. Earl Spencer and Lort Amierten Glen Viceroys, replied on behalf of the Laremment, de sorter downg that the Land League came nexence bring the administration, which had never temptet ʼn mettere via is acts or deliberations; whilst the larer annonneng The neaton † the Ministry to precede all remetta ersiaran or mica masures as were requisite for the protection of life and generat the belief that to refuse to consider and a retos de remplaints of a people was to play at the hands af endoplan to kno professional agitators. The motion for the altres vir del teet to without a division. In the House of Commons, the once if erence tot nut ma so smoothly. Immediately on its assemting. Kz kme ne notice that, on the following day, he should move for sare ti tring in a bill for the better protection of persons and property la Ireland; and another to amend the law relating to the carrying and possession of arms, and for the preservation of panile peace in that country. Mr. Parnell's notice of coposition to both meas.zes was drowned in cries of Order!" and Mr. Gladstone as occer se and gave notice of a motion which should confer precedence of all other business on Mr. Forster's bills. Some seventy or eighty potices of bills and motions from private members followed, and at length Mr. Stewart Rendel rose to move the Address in reply to the speech from the Throne, which was seconded by Mr. J. Slagg, both of whom expressed the repugnance of their party to coercive measures, and the belief that in a wide measure of justice would be found the best and surest means of restoring order and prosperity. Sir Stafford Northcote scarcely touched on foreign and colonial questions, because of the want of any official information thereon, but passed at once to the paragraph in the Royal Speech relating to Ireland. He traced the rise and progress of disorder to the action of the Land League, which had been allowed to assume the real government of Ireland. The League might have been broken up at the beginning, but it had coerced all classes of society into joining its ranks, and was now beyond the reach of suppression ; and the mischief it had caused would require many years of steady government to repair. The scarcely disguised objects of the League were proclaimed by Mr. Parnell, who, at a public meeting, had said: “I would not have taken off my coat and gone to this work if I had not known that we were laying the foundation in this movement of the regeneration of our legislative independence." After sketching the power and wide extension of the Land League, Sir Stafford Northcote concluded by promising that the Opposition would consider any rational measures for the relief of agricultural depression, if they were good in themselves, and not because they would give satisfaction to men who were openly defying the law, and subverting all principles of liberty and justice. Mr. Gladstone, rising immediately, expressed his surprise that any Member of the late Administration should complain of want of information as to the foreign and colonial policy of the Government, and suggested that the real desire was not to know what had happened in Montenegro, but what was going to take place with regard to Greece. He followed Sir Stafford Northcote's example of avoiding all comment on the Boer insurrection, but disclaimed all intention on the part of this country to mix itself up with the Basuto War, except so far as to seek for an opening for friendly action towards both belligerents. Turning to the Irish Question, he assured the House that the Government in no way regretted the course of their Irish policy, and had they to repeat it they would act as they had hitherto acted. With reference to the non-renewal of the Peace Preservation Act, which had been charged against him, he argued that the blame, if any, rested with the Opposition, who, by the selection of the time for the General Election, had rendered the passing of any measure impossible before the date of the expiry of the old Act, on June 1. The meetings of the Land League were not suppressed, because the law officers of the Crown advised that, unless attended by certain conditions, they were not illegal; but that wherever those conditions appeared the meetings had been and would be prohibited. Mr. Gladstone then recounted the history of the recess in Ireland, and the attempts of the Government to govern by means of the existing law. As regards the State trials, as far back as September 13 previous, the Government had inquired if the acts of certain leading agitators consti |