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BRITISH AND FOREIGN

State Papers.

SPEECH of the Lords Commissioners, on the Opening of the British Parliament.—Westminster, February 5, 1863,

My Lords and Gentlemen,

HER Majesty commands us to inform you that since you were last assembled she has declared her consent to a marriage between His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandra, daughter of Prince Christian of Denmark; and Her Majesty has concluded thereupon a Treaty with the King of Denmark, which will be laid before you.

The constant proofs which Her Majesty has received of your attachment to her person and family persuade her that you will participate in her sentiments on an event so interesting to Her Majesty, and which, with the blessing of God, will, she trusts, prove so conducive to the happiness of her family, and to the welfare of her people.

Her Majesty doubts not that you will enable her to make provision for such an establishment as you may think suitable to the rank and dignity of the heir apparent to the Crown of these realms.

A revolution having taken place in Greece, by which the throne of that kingdom has become vacant, the Greek nation have expressed the strongest desire that Her Majesty's son, Prince Alfred, should accept the Greek Crown. This unsolicited and spontaneous manifestation of goodwill towards Her Majesty and her family, and of a due appreciation of the benefits conferred by the principles and practice of the British Constitution, could not fail to be highly gratifying, and has been deeply felt by Her Majesty.

But the diplomatic engagements of Her Majesty's Crown, together with other weighty considerations, have prevented Her Majesty from yielding to this general wish of the Greek nation.

Her Majesty trusts, however, that the same principles of choice which led the Greek nation to direct their thoughts, in the first instance, towards His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, may guide them to the selection of a Sovereign under whose sway the Kingdom of Greece may enjoy the blessings of internal prosperity and of peaceful relations with other States; and if in such a state of things the Republic of the Seven Islands should declare a deliberate wish to be united to the Kingdom of Greece, Her Majesty would be pre[1862-63. LIII.]

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pared to take such steps as may be necessary for a revision of the Treaty of November, 1815, by which that Republic was reconstituted and was placed under the protection of the British Crown.

Her Majesty's relations with foreign Powers continue to be friendly and satisfactory.

Her Majesty has abstained from taking any step with a view to induce a cessation of the conflict between the contending parties in the North American States, because it has not yet seemed to Her Majesty that any such overtures could be attended with a probability of success.

Her Majesty has viewed with the deepest concern the desolating warfare which still rages in those regions; and she has witnessed with heartfelt grief the severe distress and suffering which that war has inflicted upon a large class of Her Majesty's subjects, but which have been borne by them with noble fortitude, and with exemplary resignation. It is some consolation to Her Majesty to be led to hope that this suffering and this distress are rather diminishing than increasing, and that some revival of employment is beginuing to take place in the manufacturing districts.

It has been most gratifying to Her Majesty to witness the abundant generosity with which all classes of her subjects in all parts of her empire have contributed to relieve the wants of their suffering fellow-countrymen; and the liberality with which Her Majesty's colonial subjects have on this occasion given their aid has proved that, although their dwelling-places are far away, their hearts are still warm with unabated affection for the land of their fathers.

The Relief Committees have superintended with constant and laborious attention the distribution of the funds intrusted to their charge.

Her Majesty commands us to inform you that she has concluded with the King of the Belgians a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, and a Convention respecting Joint Stock Companies. That Treaty and that Convention will be laid before you.

Her Majesty has likewise given directions that there shall be laid before you papers relating to the affairs of Italy, of Greece, and of Denmark, and that papers shall also be laid before you relating to occurrences which have lately taken place in Japan.

Gentlemen of the House of Commons,

Her Majesty has directed that the estimates for the ensuing year shall be laid before you. They have been prepared with a due regard to economy, and will provide for such reductions of expenditure as have appeared to be consistent with the proper efficiency of the public service.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

We are commanded by Her Majesty to inform you that, notwithstanding the continuance of the civil war in North America, the general commerce of the country during the past year has not sensibly diminished.

The Treaty of Commerce which Her Majesty concluded with the Emperor of the French has already been productive of results highly advantageous to both the nations to which it applies; and the general state of the revenue, notwithstanding many unfavourable circumstances, has not been unsatisfactory.

Her Majesty trusts that these results may be taken as proofs that the productive resources of the country are unimpaired.

It has been gratifying to Her Majesty to observe the spirit of order which happily prevails throughout her dominions, and which is so essential an element in the well-being and prosperity of nations.

Various measures of public usefulness and improvement will be submitted for your consideration; and Her Majesty fervently prays that in all your deliberations the blessing of Almighty God may guide your counsels to the promotion of the welfare and happiness of her people.

SPEECH of the Lords Commissioners, on the Closing of the British Parliament.-Westminster, July 28, 1863.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

WE are commanded by Her Majesty to release you from further attendance in Parliament, and at the same time to convey to you Her Majesty's acknowledgments for the zeal and assiduity with which you have applied yourselves to the performance of your duties during the session now brought to a close.

Her Majesty has seen with deep regret the present condition of Poland. Her Majesty has been engaged, in concert with the Emperor of the French and the Emperor of Austria, in negotiations, the object of which has been to obtain the fulfilment of the stipula tions of the Treaty of Vienna of 1815, on behalf of the Poles. Her Majesty trusts that those stipulations will be carried into execution, and that thus a conflict distressing to humanity and dangerous to the tranquillity of Europe may be brought to a close.

The civil war between the Northern and Southern States of the North American Union still, unfortunately, continues, and is necessarily attended with much evil, not only to the contending parties,

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