NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE Parliamentary session has opened ; and the formidable omens of opposition to the Minister, so much magnified as the long vaca- tion advanced, have come to nothing. The great question of the Corn-laws, stirring as it has been out of doors, seems little felt within the walls of Parliament, and it is postponed sine die : the question of Ireland stands over until after the trials.
The Queen's Speech, a neat tissue of truisms and stale news as usual, was skilfully constructed to avoid discussion. It has the customary assurances of peace abroad—this time however, more substantial than they often are ; the good understanding with France, the successful diplomacy in China, the acquisition of Scinde. Improved trade is mentioned rejoicingly ; also that no- velty a balance of income over expenditure ; but a hint that the public credit must be maintained, if it means any thing particular, may be guessed to indicate that the Income-tax is not hastily to be taken off. The Bank charter is to be revised. A discreet re- serve is used in talking of Ireland, on account of the trials ; but some improvements are more or less obscurely alluded to, in- cluding, a new registration-law, with extension of the county franchise.'
There was nothing very difficult to deal with in this Speech ; and accordingly, the Lords passed their echoing Address with little troub:e,—only some grumbling by Lord NORMANDY and certain Iriak Peers, about Irish affairs; an amusing anecdote by Lord Th.ononars, touching Pennsylvanian Repudiation ; and the an- nouncement of a Government list of Law-reforms, dwindled down to two, an Ecclesiastical Courts Bill and a Small Debts Courts Bill. Indeed, the ingenuous mover of the Address, Lord anon, seemed to think that the Peers had only to shut their eyes and open their mouths, take the Speech the Queen vouchsafed, and perform her bidding with alacrity : "Tuns, 0 Regina, quid optes," he said, " ex- plorare labor : mihi jussa capessere fas est." He did not utter the reason avowed by .1Eolus for his unqualified submission—" Tu das epulis accumbere Divfim." Perhaps that is to come ; for we are not aware that Lord ELDON yet has a place.
The Commons were less unquestioning ; yet even with them op- position was unsubstantial. Mr. HOME had the honour first to mention the subject of Corn-laws in the House eke economy of expenditure, with other things pertaining to the penny-saving Member ; whose speech of an hour and a half's duration—equal to about four columns and a half of the Times, if reported pretty fully— really did contain matter enough for ten minutes, and was tagged with a long amendment, urging repeal of the Corn and Sugar duties, with sundry other matters of consequence. Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD followed with another amendment, foreshadowing his project of stopping the Supplies to extort redress of grievances ; which met with little encouragement. Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S workmanlike House of Commons oratory was felt as a relief after most of the speaking that had gone before. His party ob- jects were not obtruded offensively ; though he did contrive to insinuate that Sir ROBERT PEEL'S statesmanship had not answered very well, and that the Whigs would have done better had they been suffered to stay in office. There was no air of triumphant and hopeful assault about the Opposition-leader : on the contrary, he seemed to take his seat to the left hand of the Chair as his allotted place—to settle down into Opposition ; or if there was any thing of hope about him, so much like his rival did he show—so much in accord—as to suggest the notion of coalition rather than dispossession. Sir ROBERT PEEL appeared in a characteristic and not unfavourable light. He lectured Mr. Caawroan on the damage which his extravagant project was likely to do to popular privileges, of which it would be an abuse. He dilated on the advantages, mutual and general, of the good un- derstanding between France and England ; speaking with great cordiality, but skilfully restraining his language to measured terms,
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resting his confidence n peace on the solid interests of both coun- tries, not in paltry advantages to be filched by the diplomatic chi- canery of either. The hearty concurrence which he won from all sides, well expressed in Lord HOWICK'S short but effective speech, will not be lost on our sensitive neighbours. On the subject of the Corn-laws, the Premier did make a declaration—that he contemplated no change, and, as at present advised, would resist it ; but he would not say what was " possible." Mr. MILNER Ginsos, who acted as a creditable representative of the League, endeavoured to make out that the question was left open ; but Sir ROBERT PEEL protested against being so understood. It is apparently closed for this session ; but, as Lord Howicir showed, Sir ROBERT PEEL IS narrowing the ground, by making any fixed.duty compromise impossible. Besides these speakers, who kept more to the beaten track, there were hosts of others,—Mr. WARBURTON, with lukewarm and damaging sup- port of Mr. CaAwroan, but rather alarming the Standard, who foresees that the new Member for Kendal, "strong of constitution and most callous of temperament," may be troublesome for Ministers to deal with; Mr. VILLIERS, with a reassertion of the popular claim to relief from restrictions on food, and Sir ROBERT PEEL'S power to grant that relief; poor Lord PALMERSTON, out of place, with retrospective self-praise ; Sir Jonx HANMER, with mild Recipro- city Free-trade ; Mr. ROEBUCK, with protest against shuffling off the great questions of Ireland and Corn-laws, in compliment to an idle form of voting a meaningless address ; and other old familiar names. The desultory debate waxed as tedious as ever ; promising vast labour to "the public " this session in wading through reports. The Queen's yachting arrangements will be a beacon of hope for those who sigh for an early recess. But how much to be done in the interval—how much more to be said I
