§ His Majesty went this day to the House of Peers in the usual state, and opened the Parliament by the following Speech:—
§ "My Lords and Gentlemen,
§ "In calling you again together for the discharge of your high duties, I rely with entire confidence on your zeal and diligence, on your sincere devotion to the public interests, and on your firmness in supporting, on its ancient foundations, and in the just distribution of its powers, the established Constitution of the State.
§ "These qualities eminently distinguished your labours during the last session, in which more numerous and more important questions were brought under the consideration of Parliament, than during any former period of similar duration.
§ "Of the measures which have in consequence received the sanction of the Legislature, one of the most difficult and important was the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery. The manner in which that 2 beneficent measure has been received throughout the British Colonies, and the progress already made in carrying it into execution by the Legislature of the Island of Jamaica, afford just grounds for anticipating the happiest results.
§ "Many other important subjects will still call for your most attentive consideration. The reports which I will order to be laid before you from the Commissions appointed to inquire into the State of the Municipal Corporations, into the administration and effect of the Poor Laws, and into Ecclesiastical Revenues and Patronage in England and Wales, cannot fail to afford you much useful information, by which you will be enabled to judge of the nature and extent of any existing defects and abuses, and in what manner the necessary corrections may, in due season, be safely and beneficially applied.
§ "It has been the constant aim of my policy to secure to my people the uninterrupted enjoyment of the blessings of peace. In this I have been much assisted by the good understanding which has been so happily established between my Government and that of France; and 3 the assurances which I receive of the friendly disposition of the other Powers of the Continent give me confidence in the continued success of my endeavours.
§ "I have, however, to regret that a final settlement between Holland and Belgium has not yet been effected, and that the civil war in Portugal still continues. You may be assured that I shall be careful and anxious to avail myself of any opportunity which may afford me the means of assisting the establishment of a state of security and peace in countries the interests of which are so intimately connected with those of my dominions.
§ "Upon the death of the late King of Spain, I did not hesitate to recognize the succession of his Infant Daughter; and I shall watch with the greatest solicitude the progress of events which may affect a Government the peaceable settlement of which is of the first importance to this country, as well as to the general tranquillity of Europe.
§ "The peace of Turkey, since the settlement that was made with Mehemet Ali, has not been interrupted; and will not, I trust, be threatened with any new danger. It will be my object to prevent any change in the relations of that empire with other Powers, which might affect its future stability and independence.
§ "Gentlemen of the House of Commons,
§ "I have directed the Estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before you.
§ "They have been framed with a view to the strictest economy and to such reductions as may not be injurious to the public service.
§ "I am confident that I may rely on your enlightened patriotism, and on the cheerful acquiescence of my people for supplying the means which may be required to uphold the honour of my Crown and the interest of my dominions.
§ "The accounts which will be laid before you of the state of the Revenue, as compared with the Expenditure, will be found most satisfactory.
4§ "My Lords and Gentlemen,
§ "I have to lament the continuance of distress amongst the proprietors and occupiers of land; though, in other respects, the state of the country, both as regards its internal tranquillity and its commerce and manufactures, affords the most encouraging prospects of progressive improvement.
§ "The Acts passed in the last Session for carrying into effect various salutary and remedial measures in Ireland are now in operation, and further improvements may be expected to result from the commissions which have been issued for other important objects of inquiry.
§ "I recommend to you the early consideration of such a final adjustment of the tithes in that part of the United Kingdom as may extinguish all just causes of complaint, without injury to the rights and property of any class of my subjects, or to any institution in Church or State.
§ "The public tranquillity has been generally preserved, and the state of all the provinces of Ireland presents, upon the whole, a much more favourable appearance than at any period during the last year.
§ "But I have seen with feelings of deep regret and just indignation, the continuance of attempts to excite the people of that country to demand a Repeal of the Legislative Union. This bond of our national strength and safety I have already declared my fixed and unalterable resolution, under the blessing of Divine Providence, to maintain inviolate by all the means in my power. In support of this determination, cannot doubt the zealous and effectual co-operation of my Parliament and my people.
§ "To the practices which have been used to produce disaffection to the State, and mutual distrust and animosity between the people of the two countries, is chiefly to be attributed the spirit of insubordination, which, though for the present in a great degree controlled by 5 the power of the law, has been but too perceptible in many instances.
§ "To none more than to the deluded instruments of the agitation thus perniciously excited, is the continuance of such a spirit productive of the most ruinous consequences; and the united and vigorous exertions of the loyal and well-affected, in aid of the Government, are imperiously required to put an end to a system of excitement and violence, which, while it continues, is destructive of the peace of society, and, if successful, must inevitably prove fatal to the power and safety of the United Kingdom."