which the Lords had just rejected. It was possible that they might consider something very different in kind to be equally efficient in its results; but to the ears of their supporters this language must have meant, that the same quantity of actual innovation was still to be enforced; and if so, then it was not easy to see how a different result could be anticipated in the House of Peers. The political unions, therefore, the reforming clubs, and the reforming Journals, pressed upon the ministry, day and night, the necessity of constraining the king to create such a number of reforming peers, as would render futile all opposition in the upper house; and lord Grey was told, that if he hesitated to take this step, he would be regarded and treated as a betrayer of that cause which alone had given him power, and had enabled him to retain it. It was taken for granted that the king, who was himself held forth as the great patron of the bill, was ready to secure its success by making the peers bend to the prerogative; or, if he should be reluctant, then, it was plainly announced, the people would find means to bring both his Majesty and the peers into a fitting temper of concession.

On the 6th of December, the king opened the session in person with the following speech:

My Lords and Gentlemen, "I have called you together that you may resume, without further delay, the important duties to which the circumstances of the times require your immediate attention; and I sincerely regret the inconvenience which I am well aware you must experience from so early a renewal of your labours, after the short interval allowed you

for repose from the fatigues of the last session.

"I feel it to be my duty, in the first place, to recommend to your most careful consideration the measures which will be proposed to you for a reform in the Commous' House of Parliament: a speedy and satisfactory settlement of this question becomes daily of more pressing importance to the security of the state, and to the contentment and welfare of my people.

"I deeply lament the distress which still prevails in many parts of my dominions, and for which the preservation of peace both at home and abroad will, under the blessing of Divine Providence, afford the best and most effectual remedy. I feel assured of your disposition to adopt any practicable measures, which you will always find me ready and anxious to assist, both for removing the causes and mitigating the effects of the want of employment, which the embarrassments of commerce and the consequent interruption of the pursuits of industry have occasioned.

"It is with great regret that I have observed the existence of a disease at Sunderland, similar in its appearance and character to that which has existed in many parts of Europe. Whether it is indigenous, or has been imported from abroad, is a question involved in much uncertainty; but its progress has neither been so extensive nor so fatal as on the continent. It is not, however, the less necessary to use every precaution against the further extension of this malady; and the measures recommended by those who have had the best opportunities of observing it, as most effectual for this purpose, have been adopted.

"In parts of Ireland a systematic

opposition has been made to the payment of tithes, attended, in some instances, with afflicting results; and it will be one of your first duties to inquire whether it may not be possible to effect improvements in the laws respecting this subject, which may afford the necessary protection to the established church, and at the same time remove the present causes of complaint.

"But in this and in every other question affecting Ireland, it is, above all things, necessary to look to the best means of securing internal peace and order; which alone seem wanting to raise a country, blessed by Providence with so many natural advantages, to a state of the greatest prosperity.

« The conduct of the Portuguese government, and the repeated injuries to which my subjects have been exposed, have prevented a renewal of my diplomatic relations with that kingdom. The state of a country, so long united with this by the ties of the most intimate alliance, must necessarily be to me an object of the deepest interest. The return to Europe of the elder branch of the illustrious house of Braganza, and the dangers of a disputed succession, will require my most vigilant attention to events, by which not only the safety of Portugal, but the general interests of Europe, may be affected. "The arrangement which I announced to you at the close of the last Session, for the separation of the states of Holland and Belgium, has been followed by a treaty between the five Powers and the king of the Belgians, which I have directed to be laid before you as soon as the ratifications shall have been exchanged.

"A similar treaty has not yet been agreed to by the king of the Netherlands; but I trust the period is not distant when that sovereign will see the necessity of acceding to an arrangement, in which the plenipotentiaries of the five Powers have unanimously concurred, and which has been framed with the most careful and impartial attention to all the interests concerned.

"I have the satisfaction to inform you that I have concluded with the king of the French a convention, which I have directed to be laid before you, the object of which is the effectual suppression of the African slave trade. This convention, having for its basis the concession of reciprocal rights, to be mutually exercised in specified latitudes and places, will, I trust, enable the naval forces of the two countries, by their combined efforts, to accomplish an object which is felt by both to be so important to the interests of humanity.

"Regarding the state of Europe generally, the friendly assurances which I receive from foreign Powers, and the union which subsists between me and my Allies, inspire me with a confident hope that peace will not be interrupted.

" Gentlemen of the House of Commons,

"I have directed the estimates for the ensuing year to be prepared, and they will, in due time, be laid before you. I will take care that they shall be formed with the strictest regard to economy; and I trust to your wisdom and patriotism to make such provision as may be required for the public service.

My Lords and Gentlemen, "The scenes of violence and outrage which have occurred in the city of Bristol, and in some

other places, have caused me the deepest affliction.

The authority of the laws must be vindicated by the punishment of offences which have produced so extensive a destruction of property, and so melancholy a loss of life; but I think it right to direct your attention to the best means of improving the municipal police of the kingdom, for the more effectual protection of the public peace against the recurrence of similar commotions.

"Sincerely attached to our free constitution, I never can sanction any interference with the legitimate exercise of those rights which secure to my people the privilege of discussing and making known their grievances; but, in respecting these rights, it is also my duty to prevent combinations, under whatever pretext, which in their form and character are incompatible with all regular government, and are equally opposed to the spirit and to the provisions of the law; and I know that I shall not appeal in vain to my faithful subjects to second my determined resolution to repress all illegal proceedings, by which the peace and security of my dominions may be endangered." The Address, which was moved and seconded in the upper house by the earl of Camperdown and lord Dinorben, and in the lower by lord Cavendish and sir F. Vincent, did not produce any division. Both parties kept aloof from the reform question, as it was known that the new bill was to be immediately introduced. The principal matter of discussion in the House of Peers was found in those parts of the royal speech which regarded the foreign policy of the government. Lord Harrowby objected, that this passage of the address

"We beg to express to your Majesty our satisfaction that the arrangement which your Majesty announced to us at the close of the last Session, for the separation of the states of Holland and Belgium, has been followed by a treaty between the five Powers"-implied an approbation of a treaty which the House had never seen. Then the address made the House say, in the words of the Speech, "We trust that the period is not distant when the king of the Netherlands will see the necessity of acceding to an arrangement in which the plenipotentiaries of the five Powers," &c. This was liable to the same objection, as the House did not yet know what the arrangement was.

The address went on to state, following the speech, that the arrangement had been framed with the most careful and impartial attention to all the interests concerned. This was another matter which had not yet come within the knowledge of the House. As he was desirous that the address should be voted unanimously, and therefore did not wish to propose an amendment, he hoped that the mover himself would adopt the following altered reading of the passages in question :-"We beg to express our thanks to your Majesty for the information, that the arrangement which your Majesty announced to us at the close of the last session, for the separation of the states of Holland and Belgium, has been followed by a treaty between the five Powers and the king of the Belgians; and for the directions your Majesty has given that that treaty be laid before us as soon as the ratifications shall have been exchanged. We thank your Majesty for communicating to us, that a similar treaty

has not yet been agreed to by the king of the Netherlands; but that your Majesty trusts the period is not far distant when that sovereign will see the necessity of acceding to an arrangement in which the plenipotentiaries of the five Powers have unanimously concurred, and which we are assured by your Majesty has been framed with the most careful and impartial attention to all interests concerned." Earl Grey agreed that the proposed alteration was an improvement on the address, and that the address should have been so worded at first; for it certainly had never been intended to pledge their lordships to any opinion upon a treaty which had not yet come regularly before them. Lord Camperdown accordingly adopted the alteration as part of the original address.

In the Commons, sir Charles Wetherell brought particularly under the notice of the House, that part of the royal speech which related to the riots at Bristol. To enter into the details of those outrages, while inquiries into their causes were in progress, would, he said, be unseasonable; but in so far as he himself was connected with these events, he stood in a different situation. He had been directly charged by the daily press as being the author of the late events at Bristol. If any part of this accusation were true, he should feel it his duty to retire from the House; but the charge was false in all its parts, and known to be false by those who made it. These accusations against him had been promulgated in newspapers avowedly in connection with the government; these prints had charged him with going to Bristol to exercise the functions of his judicial office, against the remonstrances of

his Majesty's government, and of the magistrates of Bristol; yet every part of the statements so made, day after day, by papers in daily communication with the Treasury, was base, false, and slanderous. How stood the facts? A deputation from Bristol, consisting of the sheriff and one of the aldermen, had waited on him, and had stated, that the person of the recorder, who, in the exercise of his official duties, should make a public entry into the city, would not, under the circumstances of the period, be safe. A conversation then took place, in the course of which he inquired, whether the magistrates could not furnish a constabulary force adequate to the maintenance of the public peace. In the opinion of the deputation a sufficient constabulary force could not be furnished. In consequence of this he desired the deputation to wait on the secretary for the Home Department; and he had absented himself from the interview, in order that the noble secretary might put any inquiries without the restriction which his presence possibly might have imposed. The deputation accordingly waited on the noble secretary, and military assistance was furnished. The noble lord subsequently requested his attendance at the Home-office, and he did attend. Now, in the first instance, the information was conveyed to government that military assistance was requisite. On the second occasion, it was arranged that every thing should go on as usual; this was done in the presence of some members of the cabinet, amongst whom, however, neither the noble lord (Althorp), nor the right hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. Stanley), were numbered. Thus, if government thought that military co-ope