IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 436, 13 July 1850, Page 79

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

Parliament was opened on Thursday, the 31st January, by commission. The Lords Commissioners were — the Lord Chancellor, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl of Minto, the Earl of Breadalbane, and the Bishop of London. There were but few peers present. The body of the house was occupied by ladies, most of whom were in fall dress. The strangers' gallery was tolerably well filled, and considerable anxiety was manifested to witness the ceremony of the opening of Parliament, although divested of the regal splendour of such a scene when her Majesty in person presides over the august assembly. The Usher of the Black Rod having summoned the Commons, the Speaker, accompanied by an unusual number of members, appeared at the bar, when the Lord Chancellor read the royal speech, as follows : —

" My Lord* and Gentlemen—

We are comannded by her Malesty to assure you that her Majesty has great satisfaction in again having recourse to the advice and assistance of her Parliament.

The decease of her Msjesty Queen Adelaide has caused her Majesty deep afflction. The extensive charity svnd exemplary virtues of her late Majesty will always render her memory dear to the nation.

Her Majesty happily continues in peace and amity with foreign powers. In the course of the {autumn, differences of a serious character arose between the Governments of Austria and Russia on the one hand, and the Sublime Porte on the other, in regard to the treatment of a considerable number of persons who, after the termination of the civil war in Hungary, bad taken refuge in tbe Turkish territory. Explanations which took place between the Turkish and Imperial Governments have fortunately removed any danger to the peace of Europe which might have arisen out of these differences. Her Majesty having been appealed to on this occasion by the Sultan, united her efforts with those of tbe government of France, to which a similar appeal has been made, in order to assist by the employment of her good offices in effecting an amicable settlement of those differences ia s, manner consistent wiih tbe dignity and independence of tbe Porte. Her Majesty has been engaged in communications with foreign States upon the measures which might be rendered necessary by the relaxation of the restrictions formerly imposed by the navigation laws ia this country. The Governments of the United States of America and Sweden have promptly taken steps to secure to British ships in the ports of their respective countries advantages similar to those which their own ships now enjoy in British ports. With regard to those foreign States whose navigation laws have hitherto been of a restrictive character, her Majesty has received from nearly all of them assurances which induce her to hope that our example will speedily lead to a great and general diminution of those obstacles which previously existed to a free intercourse by sea between the nations of the world.

In the summer and autumn of last year the United Kingdom was again visited by the ravages of tbe cholera, but Almighty God, in His mercy, was pleased to arrest the progress of mortality, and to stay this fearful pestilence. Her Majesty is persuaded that we shall best evince our gratitude by vigilant precautions against tbe more obvious causes of sickness, and an enlightened consideration for those who are more exposed to its attacks. \T

Her Majesty, in her late visit to Ireland, derived the highest gratification from the loyalty and attachment manifested by all classes of her subjects. Although the effects of former years of scarcity are painfully felt in that part of the United Kingdom, they are mitigated by the present abundance of food, and the tranquillity which prevails. Her Majesty has great satisfaction in congratulating you on the improved condition of commerce and manufactures.

It is with great regret that her Majesty has observered the complaints which in many parts of the kingdom have proceeded from the owners and occupiers of land. Her Majesty greatly laments that any portion of her subjects should be suffering distress. But it is a source of sincere gratification to Her Majesty to witness the increased enjoyment of the necessaries and comforts of life which cheapness and plenty have bestowed upon the great body of her people.

Gentlemen o/Houte qfthe Comrnont— Her Majesty has directed the estimates for the year to be laid before you. They have been framed with a strict regard to economy, while tbe efficiency of the various branches of the public service has not been neglected. Her Majesty has seen with satisfaction the present state of the revenue.

My Lord* and Gentlemen--'

Some of the measures which were postponed at the end of the last session, for want of time for their consideration, will be again laid before you. Among the most important of these is one for the better government of the Australian colonies. Her Majesty has directed various measures to be prepared for the improvement of the condition of Ireland. The mischiefs arising from party procession; the defects of the laws regulating the relations of landlord and tenant; the imperfect state of the grand jury acts; and the diminished number of electors for members to serve in parliament ; will, together with other matters of serious consequence, form the subjects of measures to be submitted for your consideration. Her Majesty has learnt with satisfaction that the measures which have been already passed for the promotion of tbe public health are ia a course of gradual adoption; and her Majesty trusts that both in the metropolis, and in various parts of the United Kingdom, you will be enabled to make further progress in the removal of evils which affect the health and well-being of her subjects.

The favour of Divine Providence has hitherto preserved this Kingdom from the wars and convulsions which, during the last tiro years, have shaken so many of tbe states of the continent of Europe. It is her Majesty's hope and belief that by combining liberty with order, by preserving what is valuable, and amending what it defective, you will sustain the fabric of our institutions, as the abode and the shelter of a free and happy poople.

Psnnt Banks.— Some time ago a society was formed in Greenock under the title of the "Penny Bank." The object of this institution was "to create and foster habits of regularity and frugal economy,"' among the working claues, by affording an opportunity for the weekly and daily deposits of the smallest sums of money, repayable at the end of every year. The bank at Greenock is open every evening for the reception of sums from Id. to Is., and the money is daily deposited in the Savings' Bank in the name of five responsible trustees. During the first half year of its existence, no leu a sum than £1,106, 17s. 4d. was collected from 5,000 depositors in a population of 40,000 people, and since then the deposit* have continued to increase. At Hull a similar institution has been set on foot. ,