§ This being the day appointed for the Prorogation of the Parliament by THE QUEEN in Person, HER MAJESTY entered the House soon after Two o'clock, accompanied by the Prince Albert, and attended by the Great Officers of State.
§ THE QUEEN, being seated on the Throne, and the Commons (who were sent for) being come, with their Speaker,
§ "MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,
§ "We, Your Majesty's faithful Commons, attend Your Majesty at the close of a laborious Session; and, in tendering to Your Majesty our last Bill of Supply for the Service of the Year, we have the satisfaction of stating to Your Majesty, that owing to the continued blessings of peace which Providence has vouchsafed to us, and the commercial and manufacturing prosperity of the country, the revenue has 1957 so far improved as to enable us to make a considerable reduction in the public burdens. We have substituted a moderate duty on houses for the tax hitherto levied on windows, and we have thus carried into still further effect the work of sanitary reform, which has distinguished the legislation of former Sessions. Our attention has also been directed to various measures for the improved administration of justice. We have modified the law of evidence so as to secure a more complete and satisfactory investigation of truth; we have simplified many of the details both of criminal and civil procedure; and we confidently hope that the important addition we have made to the judicial establishment will so far facilitate the appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery, as also the Judicial Committee of Your Majesty's Privy Council, that the expenses and delays which have hitherto been inseparable from their proceedings, will, for the future, be materially diminished. The assumption of certain ecclesiastical titles conferred by a foreign Power has been to us a subject of much anxious and patient deliberation. We approached this difficult and delicate question in the spirit in which Your Majesty was graciously pleased to recommend it to our attention; and we trust that the measure which we have passed may be found effectual to prevent any further attempt to encroach on Your Majesty's supremacy, without in any degree infringing on the great principle of religious liberty. It is unnecessary for me to advert to other measures of minor importance, but exerting a material influence on the condition of the industrious classes, which have been matured during the present Session. When carefully reviewed, they will manifest our earnest desire to preserve the prerogatives of the Crown, and at the same time to promote the social improvement as well as the moral and physical welfare of all classes of Your Majesty's subjects. I have now humbly to pray Your Majesty's Royal Assent to the Bill entitled 'An Act to apply a Sum out of the Consolidated 1958 Fund to the Service of the Year,' and to appropriate the supplies we have granted in the present Session of Parliament."
§ And Mr. SPEAKER delivered the Money Bill to the clerk. The Royal Assent was then pronounced to several Bills.
HER MAJESTYwas then pleased to make a most Gracious Speech to both Houses of Parliament, as follows:—
§ "My Lords, and Gentlemen,
§ "I AM glad to be able to release you from your Attendance in Parliament, and I thank you for the Diligence with which you have performed your laborious Duties.
§ "I CONTINUE to maintain the most friendly Relations with Foreign Powers.
§ "I AM happy to be able to congratulate you on the very considerable Diminution which has taken place in the African and Brazilian Slave Trade. The Exertions of My Squadrons on the Coasts of Africa and Brazil, assisted by the Vigilance of the Cruizers of France and of the United States, and aided by the Co-operation of the Brazilian Government, have mainly contributed to this Result.
§ "Gentlemen of the House of Commons,
§ "I THANK you for the Readiness with which you have granted the Supplies necessary for the Service of the Year.
§ "My Lords, and Gentlemen,
§ "IT is satisfactory to observe, that, notwithstanding very large Reductions of Taxes the Revenue for the past Year considerably exceeded the Public Expenditure for the same Period.
§ "I AM rejoiced to find that you have thereby been enabled to relieve My People from an Impost which restricted the Enjoyment of Light and 1959 Air in their Dwellings. I trust that this Enactment, with others to which your Attention has been and will be directed, will contribute to the Health and Comfort of My Subjects.
§ "I THANK you for the Assiduity with which you have applied yourselves to the Consideration of a Measure framed for the Purpose of checking the undue Assumption of Ecclesiastical Titles conferred by a Foreign Power.
§ "IT gives Me the highest Satisfaction to find that, while repelling unfounded Claims, you have maintained inviolate the great Principles of Religious Liberty so happily established among us.
§ "THE Attention you have bestowed on the Administration of Justice in the Courts of Law and Equity will, I trust, prove beneficial, and lead to further Improvements.
§ "I HAVE willingly given My Consent to a Bill relating to the Administration of the Land Revenues of the Crown, which will, I hope, conduce to the better Management of that Department, and at the same Time tend to the Promotion of Works of Public Utility.
§ "IT has been very gratifying to Me, on an Occasion which has brought many Foreigners to this Country, to observe the Spirit of Kindness and Goodwill which so generally prevailed.
§ "IT is My anxious Desire to promote among Nations the Cultivation of all those Arts which are fostered by Peace, and which in their Turn contribute to maintain the Peace of the World.
§ "IN closing the present Session it is with Feelings of Gratitude to Almighty God that I acknowledge the general Spirit of Loyalty and willing 1960 Obedience to the Law which animates My People. Such a Spirit is the best Security at once for the Progress and the Stability of our free and happy Institutions."
§ Then the LORD CHANCELLOR, by Her Majesty's Command, said—
§ "My Lords, and Gentlemen,
§ "It is Her Majesty's Royal Will and Pleasure, that this Parliament be prorogued to Thursday the 4th day of September next, to be then here holden; and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Thursday the 4th day of September next."
HER MAJESTYand Prince Albert, attended by the Officers of State, as before, then retired, and the rest of the assembly immediately dispersed.