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to the Gendlemen of de Houze of Gommons." The happy phrase of George III. has been ascribed to the influence of his early friend and adviser, the Scottish John Stuart, third Earl of Bute, which it is said explains the appearance in it of "Briton" instead of "Englishman." But the King always insisted that the inspiration of the sentence as well as its composition was entirely his own. A story is told which curiously lends confirmation to his claim. Notwithstanding the birth and training in which he gloried, he wrote English ungrammatically and always spelt badly; and if we are to believe John Wilkes "Briton" in the famous sentence was mis-spelt "Britain."

It is unlikely that there have been cases of dispute between the Sovereign and his Ministers, in recent years, at least, as to either the measures set out in the Speech or the phraseology of its sentences. At any rate only one instance during the long reign of Queen Victoria has come to light. In 1864 Denmark and Germany went to war over their contending claims to the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. The naturally bellicose Palmerston was Prime Minister; and if ever there was an occasion which justified a display of his fighting disposition it was this. for England was a party to the Treaty of 1852 guaranteeing the maintenance of the Danish Monarchy, and moreover public feeling was on the side of Denmark, if for no other reason than that it was weak and was being bullied by big Germany. Accordingly. the Speech from the Throne. with which the Session of 1864 was to be opened, contained a paragraph plainly. if not menacingly, expressing the sympathy of England with Denmark in the struggle. To this Queen Victoria strongly objected. In her opinion the best policy for this country was to stand neutral. and though the stub

born Premier was as usual disposed to show fight, she finally had her way. The paragraph of the Speech as read in the House of Lords was as follows:

Her Majesty, actuated by the same desire to preserve the peace of Europe, which was one of the declared objects of all the Powers who were parties to that Treaty, has been unremitting in her endeavors to bring about a peaceful settlement of the differences which on this matter have arisen between Germany and Denmark, and to ward off the dangers which might follow from a beginning of warfare in the North of Europe, and Her Majesty will continue her efforts in the interest of peace.

But it is not sufficient for the King formally to express approval of the draft of the Speech submitted to him by his chief adviser. He must sign the Speech in the presence of the Ministers, thus giving them a guarantee of the very words he will deliver to the two Houses of Parliament. Consequently, at a meeting of the "King in Council," or in other words, the Most Honorable Privy Council, at which, however, only Cabinet Ministers are present, the King endorses the Speech with his signature.

The speech is always written in a prescribed form. Each one bears the closest resemblance outwardly to its predecessors. It is always divided into three sections. The first section, addressed generally to "My Lords and Gentlemen," and meant for the Members of both Houses, deals exclusively with foreign affairs; then there is a brief paragraph referring to the Estimates, which specially concerns the "Gentlemen of the House of Commons." as the sole custodians and guardians of the public purse; and the third section, which opens with "My Lords and Gentlemen," contains some general remarks on home affairs, and sets out the legislative programme of

the Session. "I pray," the Speech usually concludes, "that Almighty God may continue to guide you in the conduct of your deliberations, and bless them with success."

These Speeches possess a double interest, as the literary compositions and the political manifestoes of the most eminent statesmen of the Nation. To me it has been a pleasant occupation dipping into them, here and there, in the volumes of "Hansard," and extracting a few notes personal to the Sovereign, or references to some of the great political issues of the latter half of the nineteenth century and the opening years of the twentieth. There is a popular supposition that "the King's Speeches" are the worst possible models of "the King's English." That is, indeed, too sweeping a condemnation. Unquestionably there are Speeches with sentences doubtful in grammar, as well as feeble and pointless. The writing of most of them, however, is pure and concise. It is possible to trace in them the characteristic styles and different moods of mind of the Prime Ministers who were their authors. Disraeli's stand out as the most ornate. He used more rhetoric than other Premiers deemed to be necessary or desirable. In one of his "Speeches." there is a picture of "the elephants of Asia carrying the artillery of Europe over the mountains of Rasselas"; in another the founding of British Columbia calls up a vision of her Majesty's dominions in North America. "peopled by an unbroken chain. from the Atlantic to the Pacific. of a loyal and industrious population of subjects of the British Crown." Nothing could be more effective from an elocutionary point of view. The "Speeches" of Lord Melbourne trembled at times on the verge of puerility. Palmerston's waved the Union Jack on foreign affairs, and his offhand "Ha, ba" was heard in their refer

ences to things domestic. Gladstone and Salisbury drafted "Speeches" equally noted for freshness and strength.

The early age at which I am called to the sovereignty of this Kingdom renders it a more imperative duty that under Divine Providence I should place my reliance upon your cordial co-operation, and upon the loyal affection of all my people. I ascend the Throne with a deep sense of the responsibility which is imposed upon me; but I am supported by the consciousness of my own right intentions, and by my dependence upon the protection of Almighty God.

These are the concluding words of the Speech from the Throne read by Queen Victoria to her first Parliament, on November 20, 1839. It was a new Parliament, fresh from the country, after the General Election which, as the law then required, followed the demise of the Crown through the death of William IV. The scene on that historic occasion in the old House of Lords was most brilliant. To the right of the young Queen stood her mother, the Duchess of Kent. On her left was Viscount Melbourne, the Prime Minister. At the foot of the Throne were grouped other great officers of State. The benches were crowded with Peers in their robes-amongst whom Wellington, Brougham, Lyndhurst were distinguished figures-and with peeresses in Court plumes and diamonds. At the Bar were assembled the Commons, Mr. Speaker Abercromby at their head, and in the throng might be seen such eminent statesmen and notabilities of the Lower House as Lord John Russell. Sir Robert Peel, Lord Palmerston. Daniel O'Connell, Robert Stanley, and two young Members, Gladstone, who already had four years' experience of Parliament, and Disraeli, just returned at the General Election for Maidstone, who were destined to become the two greatest political pro

tagonists of the nineteenth century. Writing to his sister, on November 21, 1837, Disraeli thus comically describes how the Commons went to the House of Lords, and what they saw there:

The rush was terrific; Abercromby himself nearly thrown down and trampled upon, and his macebearer banging the members' heads with his gorgeous weapon and cracking skulls with impunity. I was fortunate enough to escape, however, and also to ensure an entry. It was a magnificent spectacle. The Queen looked admirable; no feathers but a diamond tiara. The peers in robes, the peeresses and the sumptuous groups of courtiers rendered the affair most glittering and imposing.

He

What a contrast between this splendid and joyful ceremony and the pathetic scene that was witnessed in the same Chamber, just a year earlier, when Parliament was opened by William IV. for the last time! The aged King, wrapped in his ample purple robes, and his gray locks surmounted by the Imperial Crown, stood on the Throne with the shadows of evening thickening in the Chamber, struggling with dim eyes to read the Speech prepared for him by Lord Melbourne. stammered slowly, and almost inaudibly, through the first few sentences, pausing now and then over a difficult word, and turning imploringly to the Prime Minister with the query "What is it, Melbourne?" loudly enough to be heard by the Assembly. At last, losing all patience, he angrily exclaimed, in the full-blooded language of the period, "Damn it, I can't see!" Candles were instantly brought in and placed beside the King. "My Lords and Gentlemen," said he, "I have hitherto not been able, for want of light, to read this Speech in a way its importance deserves; but as lights are now brought me, I will read it again from the commencement, and in a way which, I trust, will command your at

tention." Then in a pitiful effort to prove to Peers and Commons that his mental and physical powers were by no means failing, he commenced the Speech again and read it through in a fairly clear voice and with some emphasis.

It was at the opening of the third Session of the first Parliament of Queen Victoria, on January 16, 1840, Lord Melbourne being still Premier, that her Majesty read from her Speech the aunouncement of her approaching marriage in the following words:

My Lords and Gentlemen: Since you were last assembled I have declared my intention of allying myself in marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. I humbly implore that the Divine blessing may prosper this union, and render it conducive to the interests of my people, as well as to my own domestic happiness; and it will be to me a source of the most lively satisfaction to find the resolution I have taken approved by my Parliament. The constant proofs which I have received of your attachment to my person and family persuade me that you will enable me to provide for such an establishment as may appear suitable to the rank of the Prince and the dignity of the Crown.

On the next occasion her Majesty opened Parliament, February 3, 1842. Sir Robert Peel being Prime Minister. she announced in the Speech another joyful event in her domestic life, the birth of the Prince of Wales, which took place on November 9, 1841. Speech said:

The

My Lords and Gentlemen: I cannot meet you in Parliament assembled without making a public acknowledgment of my gratitude to Almighty God. on account of the birth of the Prince. my comson-an event which has pleted the measure of my domestic happiness, and has been hailed with every demonstration of affectionate attachment to my person and government by my faithful and loyal people.

The Prince Consort died on December 14, 1861, at the early age of fortytwo years. At the opening by Com

mission of the next Session of Parliament, Lord Palmerston being Prime Minister, this great domestic affliction of the Sovereign was thus announced in "the Queen's Speech":

My Lords and Gentlemen: We are commanded by Her Majesty to assure you that Her Majesty is persuaded that you will deeply participate in the affliction by which Her Majesty has been overwhelmed by the calamitous, untimely and irreparable loss of her beloved Consort, who has been her comfort and support. It has been, however, soothing to Her Majesty, while suffering most acutely under this awful dispensation of Providence, to receive from all classes of her subjects, the most cordial assurances of their sympathy with her sorrow, as well as their appreciation of the noble character of him, the greatness of whose loss to Her Majesty and to the nation is so justly and so universally felt and lamented.

Six years elapsed before Queen Victoria was seen again at St. Stephen's. She opened the Conservative Parliament which assembled on February 10, 1866. The ceremony, by her command, was plain and simple. She declined to wear the purple robe of State, directing that it should be placed over the Chair of the Throne. Her attire consisted of a black dress and a widow's white cap, the only touch of bright color being the blue sash of the Garter across her breast. For the first time also she did not read the Speech from the Throne. It was read by Lord Chancellor Cranworth. The Speech announced the termination of the long and bloody Civil War in America. "The abolition of slavery," it added, "is an event calling forth the cordial sympathies and congratulations of this country, which has always been foremost in showing its abhorrence for 1827

LIVING AGE.

VOL. XXXV.

an institution repugnant to every feeling of justice and humanity."

Queen Victoria opened in person the first Session of the Liberal Parliament on February 11, 1869, in which Gladstone for the first time was Prime Minister. The great measure of that Session was the Act for the disestablishment and disendowment of the Church in Ireland. "The ecclesiastical arrangements of Ireland," said the Queen's Speech, "will be brought under your consideration at a very early date." It went on to say:

I am persuaded that in the prosecution of the work you will bear careful regard to every legitimate interest which it may involve, and that you will be governed by the constant aim to promote the welfare of religion through the principles of equal justice, to secure the action of the individual feeling and opinion of Ireland on the side of, loyalty and law, to efface the memory of former contentions and to cherish the sympathies of an affectionate people.

As the time approached for the meeting of Parliament in the following year, 1870, Gladstone was most anxious that it should be opened by the Queen. The chief business was to be a Bill dealing with the Irish land question. Gladstone said to Lord Granville, "It would be almost a crime in a Minister to omit anything that might serve to mark and bring home to the minds of men the gravity of the occasion." "Moreover," he added, "I am persuaded that the Queen's own sympathies would benot as last year-in the same current as ours." This shows how important, in the opinion of Gladstone, it was for the success of the Government's legislative programme that Parliament should be opened with the éclat which attends the ceremony when it is performed by the Sovereign in person. He urged the matter on the considera

It

tion of the Queen, but her Majesty was unable, or disinclined, to comply with his request. The opening passage of the Speech from the Throne is significant, in the light of what happened, as we now know, behind the scenes. runs: "We have it in command from her Majesty again to invite you to resume your arduous duties, and to express the regret of her Majesty that recent indisposition has prevented her from meeting you in person as had been her intention at a period of remarkable public interest."

It is interesting to note that until 1873 the Speech from the Throne, when Parliament was opened, not by the Sovereign in person but by Royal Commission, was always written in the third person. It commenced with some such formula as: "We have her Majesty's commands to declare that her Majesty," &c. But Gladstone, in 1873, introduced the innovation of always writing the Speech in the first person, with a liberal use of the pronoun "I," even when the Sovereign was unable to be present, and since then this precedent has been invariably followed by all Prime Ministers.

The last time that Queen Victoria lent the importance of her presence to the opening of the Legislature was on January 21, 1886, at the assembling of a new Parliament, with the Conservatives in office but not in power. The "Queen's Speech" which was read on that occasion was perhaps-having regard to what occurred subsequently in Parliament-the most remarkable of Victoria's long reign. The Home Rule Session of 1886 was opened with a Speech from the Throne, in which any disturbance of the Legislative Union was strongly reprobated.

The events which led up to this extraordinary Constitutional situation may be briefly related. In June 1885. the Gladstone administration, defeated on an amendment to their Budget con

demning the increases proposed in the beer and spirit duties, resigned, and they were succeeded by a Conservative Government, with Lord Salisbury as Prime Minister for the first time. There was a General Election in November, and the Liberals came back from the polls in triumph. The Government, although in a minority, did not resign. They decided to meet Parliament, not to put their fortune to the test, for they knew that was hopeless, but in order to have a Speech from the Throne in which there should be an emphatic declaration against any attempt to disturb the legislative relations between Great Britain and Ireland; and the Session was opened in person by Queen Victoria to show her sympathy with Lord Salisbury.

The Speech from the Throne, as in every instance of the opening of Parliament by the Queen since the death of the Prince Consort, was read by the Lord Chancellor. The state of Ireland was the subject of its principal passage, which was as follows:

I have seen with deep sorrow the renewal since I last addressed you, of the attempt to excite the people of Ireland to hostility against the Legislative Union between that country and Great Britain. I am resolutely opposed to any disturbance of that fundamental law, and in resisting it I am convinced that I shall be supported by my Parliament and my people.

It was known, of course, at the time that Gladstone was committed to Home Rule, and it was hoped by the Conservatives that this declaration in favor of the maintenance of the Union would prove embarrassing to the Liberal leader. Five days later the Government were defeated on an amendment to the Address in reply to the Speech in favor of small allotments for agricultural laborers. Gladstone once again returned to office. The new Liberal Government accepted the Ad

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