as to the measures and events which the new session was to disclose, less concern and solicitude on either side in the struggles and contentions of the rival parties. This might, no doubt, in great part, be ascribed to the circumstance, that at the time of which we speak, so many of the principal questions which in former years had violently divided the two great parties in the state, had been adjusted or laid to rest. The hopes or apprehensions of the public were no longer excited by the prospect of any further extension of political rights; the outcry for the ballot, or an enlargement of the suffrage, had almost ceased. The established church seemed to be reposing in tranquillity after the storm excited by the assaults of the dissenters; and although the condition of Ireland, that inexhaustible source of controversy and discussion, still presented, in the unsettled question of registration, the materials for renewed party-warfare, the continued and monotonous repetition of Irish topics, which had consumed so large a portion of preceding sessions, had naturally created a weariness and distaste of the subject in the public mind, and had worn out the interest once so keenly felt in the affairs of the sister country.

In the absence of domestic topics of more exciting interest, the important events which had recently taken place on the theatre of the East, and the brilliant success of the British armament on the coast of Syria, formed the chief topics of general discussion and attention; and the unanimity of feeling on events of so much national interest as these signal achievements of the British arms, naturally tended to absorb for a time the narrower impulses of party attachments. The

influence of these prosperous events, and the credit generally attributed by candid men of all parties, to the policy and address with which our foreign relations had been conducted to this issue, naturally tended, as far as they went, to strengthen the hands of the party in possession of power, and to introduce, under more favourable auspices, the measures with which they might be prepared to meet parliament. It was evident, nevertheless, that the peculiar situation of parties in the house of commons, which every new election that occurred was bringing to a still nearer equipoise, could not in the nature of things be of long continuance. The bare majority by which, in the preceding session, by continual concession and compromise, and not without the forbearance of their opponents, the whig ministry had managed to carry on the government, had decreased by the casualties of the recess, and was threatened with still further diminution; and unless reinforced by some unexpected accession of strength, or some lucky contingency yet to arise in the chapter of accidents, it was manifest that the transfer of power to the hands of the conservatives, whose strength and confidence had been steadily on the increase, was an event of which the exact period only was matter of uncertainty. And yet so often before had the whig government been apparently on the verge of dissolution, so many times had it weathered the storms which threatened it with destruction, and so great was the influence imputed to the sovereign's reputed predilection for her present advisers, that men were slow to give credit even to the surest prognostications of their approaching displacement, and

regarded the chances of the game as still rather in favour of the party in possession. Neither the hopes nor fears of the community, therefore, were much on the alert when parliament met; party-spirit had perhaps never been less keen, nor speculation less active, in any year that had elapsed since the passing of the reform act.

On the 26th of January the session was opened by her majesty in person, who delivered on the occasion the following speech :

"My Lords and Gentlemen, "I have the satisfaction to rereceive from foreign powers assurances of their friendly dispositions, and of their earnest desire to maintain peace.

"The posture of affairs in the Levant had long been a cause of uneasiness and a source of danger to the general tranquillity. With view to avert the evils which a continuance of that state of things was calculated to occasion, I concluded with the emperor of Austria, the king of Prussia, the em peror of Russia, and the sultan, a convention intended to effect a pacification of the Levant, to maintain the integrity and independence of the Ottoman empire, and thereby to afford additional security to the peace of Europe, I have given directions that this convention shall 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 objects 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 the land and sea forces of the sultan, and have displayed upon all occasions their accustomed gallantry and skill. 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 for indignities offered to an agent of my crown, I at the same time appointed plenipotentiaries to treat upon these matters with the Chinese government.

;

"These plenipotentiaries were, by the last accounts, in negotiation with the government of China and it will be a source of much gratification to me if that government shall be induced, by its own sense of justice, to bring these matters to a speedy settlement by an amicable arrangement.

"Serious differences have arisen between Spain and Portugal about the execution of a treaty concluded by those powers 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 slave-trade, which I have directed to be laid before you.

"Gentlemen of the House of Commons,

"I have directed the estimates of the year to be laid before you. However sensible of the importance of adhering to the principles of economy, I feel it to be my duty to recommend that adequate provision be made for the exigencies of the public service.

My Lords and Gentlemen, "Measures will be submitted to you without delay, which have for their object the more speedy and effectual administration of justice. The vital importance of this subject is sufficient to ensure for it your early and most serious consideration. The powers of the commissioners appointed under the act for the amendment of the laws relating to the poor expire at the termination of the present year. I feel assured that you will earnestly direct your attention to enactments which so deeply concern the interest of the community.

"It is always with entire confidence that I recur to the advice and assistance of my parliament. I place my reliance upon your wisdom, loyalty, and patriotism, and I humbly implore of Divine Providence, that all your counsels 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 subjects.'

"

The address to the throne was moved in the house of Lords by earl Ducie. The noble lord commenced by saying that he was most gratified to find that her majesty had received from foreign powers assurances of their desire to maintain peace. But dear and valuable as peace might be, he was the last person to desire that England should lose her position among nations by a culpable inactivity where her active interference was necessary. Such was the case which had lately arisen in the East, and, in his opinion, we owed a debt of gratitude to the head that planned and to the arms that executed the capture of Acre. He had every reason to believe and hope that our differences

with China would be speedily brought to a conclusion. Canada no longer exhibited symptoms of disturbance, but, on the contrary, presented grounds for much satisfaction with reference to the new constitution for the two provinces. With regard to domestic politics, the country was in the enjoyment of quiet. Our agriculture was in a state of the greatest prosperity; our manufactures had recovered from that depressed state in which they had for some time been, and had quite resumed that state of limited and uncertain prosperity beyond which they could not go, so long as there existed restrictive duties of such a nature as rendered it impossible for any foresight and caution to prevent the recurrence of famine prices and their consequences. He did not believe, that, in the history of this country, a better opportunity had ever been offered to the spirit and enterprise of our merchants. The noble lord then referred at some length to the state of our commercial affairs, with the view of showing that the principal causes which had hitherto pressed upon those interests were either removed or in the course of removal. Before concluding, he could not but draw the attention of the house to the uniform success which had attended the policy of her majesty's ministers. He had heard these happy results attributed to good fortune. He was of a different opinion. He referred to the prevalence of domestic quiet, to the firm administration of the laws; and the prospects of peace and extended commerce, he thought, were due to the manly and straightforward course taken by the noble lord the secretary for foreign affairs. There was one other point to which he must call their lord,