House had come on the Protection of Life Bill, by which it had refused to grant to Ministers those powers which they deemed necessary for the repression of outrage and for the protection of life in Ireland, Her Majesty's servants had deemed it their duty to tender their resignation to their Sovereign. If he had had any complaint to make respecting the course taken by the House, the present was not an occasion for making it; and he should therefore abstain from uttering a single syllable which might provoke either irritation or controversy. Such a controversy would be at once unsuited to the magnitude of the occasion, and at variance with the feelings which animated him towards those gentlemen on his own side of the House, who had given him on all occasions a cordial and generous support, and towards those gentlemen on the opposite benches who had also actively co-operated with him in forwarding measures which they both deemed for the interest of the country. Hoping, therefore, that no expression would escape from him calculated to provoke that controversy which he deprecated, he informed the House that Her Majesty had accepted the tender of resignation made by her Ministers, and that his colleagues and himself only held office until their successors were appointed. He assured them that he had not proposed the measures connected with our commercial policy without foreseeing the probability that, whether they were made law or not, they would cause the dissolution of Government. He, therefore, rather rejoiced that Government had been relieved from any doubt upon the point, by the early decision of the House as to the

course which Ministers ought to pursue, for he would not, even if the vote of Thursday night had been in his favour, have consented to hold office by sufferance, or by the evasion of any great and important public question. It was not for the public interest that any Government should remain in power which was not able to carry into effect the measures which it deemed necessary for the public welfare; and in the position of the present Government, by the withdrawal the natural withdrawal, perhaps of those who had here-tofore supported it, he did not think it probable that they could have been enabled, with credit to themselves and advantage to the country, to continue in the administration of public affairs. He had therefore advised Her Majesty to accept the resignation of their services, without having recourse to the exercise of the prerogative possessed by the Crown to dissolve the Parliament. Speaking with a frankness which ought to offend no one, he did not hesitate to declare that if Her Majesty's Government had failed to carry in all their integrity the measures of commercial policy which they had recommended, there was no exertion which he would not have made to insure for them ultimately the most complete success. In such a case he should have advised the dissolution of Parliament by the Crown for the continuance of doubt on such a subject, he should have deemed a greater evil than the recurrence to a dissolution. Those measures, however, had now become the law of the land; and he therefore could not consent to advise for the mere existence of the Government the exercise of that royal prerogative.

He thought that he ought not to recommend a dissolution, unless he could reckon upon having in the next Parliament the support of a powerful party, united to him by a general concurrence of views on all great questions; and, after the present division of parties, he did not imagine that he could obtain such a result. Besides, after all the excitement and after all the stagnation of trade consequent on their recent discussions, he considered the country to stand in need of repose. He then proceeded to notice the defeat which the Government had received on a question connected with Ireland. He should lament that defeat indeed, if it could be thought that the measure which his Government had proposed was an indication that it held different opinions as to the policy to be pursued towards Ireland from those which he had disclosed at the close of last Session. To the opinions which he then professed, and to which practical effect had been given by the passing of the Charitable Trusts Act, and of the Irish Colleges Bill, he now, on leaving office, most cordially subscribed. He had brought forward the Protection of Life Bill, not under the idea that it was a measure calculated to improve the permanent condition of Ireland, but because he thought that the vigorous repression of crime was necessary to give effect to the useful legislation of the House on other subjects connected with that country. It would be unjust to infer from that Bill that his policy with respect to Ireland had undergone any change. He still contended that there ought to be established a complete equality of civil, municipal, and political rights between Great Britain and

Ireland; so that no one, on comparing Ireland and its franchises with Great Britain and its franchises, should be at liberty to say that a different rule was established in the two countries. Then, with regard to the Executive Administration in Ireland, he thought that the favour of the Crown should be bestowed without reference to religious distinctions; and he assured those who were about to succeed him, that if they acted upon that principle they should hear no complaints from him. Then, with respect to the spirit in which legislation should be conducted, he was prepared, retaining all the opinions which he had expressed on Irish policy, to co-operate with those who felt that the tenure of land and the relation of landlord and tenant in Ireland required immediate consideration. He had reason to believe that Lord John Russell had been commanded to repair to Her Majesty's presence, in order to render assistance in the formation of a new Government. He had no doubt that the general principles of that Government, so far as the commercial policy of the country was concerned, would be developed in the continued application of those principles which would give us a more free commercial intercourse with other countries. If such should be the policy of the new Government, he should feel it to be his duty to give to that Government, in the pursuit of that policy, his most cordial support. If other countries chose to buy in the dearest market, that ought not to be a discouragement to us to buy in the cheapest; and he therefore hoped that the new Government would not haggle with foreign countries about commer

cial advantages, but would manfully pursue that course which was most conducive to British interests. He admitted that the surplus of the revenue for the coming year was less than he could have wished it to be; and therefore, while he recommended to his successors the application of the principles of commercial policy adopted during the present Session, he would not urge them to that simultaneous adoption of them which would either be injurious to interests which had long been accustomed to protection, or would create a derangement in either the revenue or currency of the country. He was now speaking of his own intentions rather than of the intentions of others; but he could not doubt that those who had supported him would give the same support to similar measures proposed by others. He did not think it necessary that he should make any other observations; but he could not surrender the power, which he had now wielded during five years, without expressing a hope that, during that time, neither the interests nor the honour of the country had been compromised. He thought that he could say, with truth, that in that time the burdens of taxation had been equalized; that many restrictions on commerce affecting trade injuriously had been removed; and that, without interfering at all with legitimate speculation, stability had been given to our monetary system by measures passed for the regulation of the Bank of England, the joint-stock banks, and the private banks of the country-measures which had met the general support of all parties. He trusted, also, that the stability of our Indian empire

had not been affected by the policy of the Government, and that the glory of the British arms, by sea and land, had been maintained in every part of the globe by the achievements of our soldiers and sailors. Although there had been great reductions in the public burdens, yet he had great satisfaction in saying that the national defences had been improved by sea and land, and that the army and the navy were now in a most efficient state. He hoped that he might congratulate the House upon the fact that the finances of the country were in a buoyant state, and that the return of the revenue, for the quarter ending on the 5th of next July, showing as it did an increased consumption of articles, had supplied the void occasioned by the remission of certain articles of taxation. He thought that he might also say, that without any harsh enforcement of the law, there had been as great obedience to it in Great Britain as

at any former period of our history-nay, more, that in consequence of the people having a greater command over the necessaries of life, there had been more of contentment and less of seditious crime during his Administration than at any previous time. After paying a just and well-deserved compliment to the Earl of Aberdeen, for his successful maintenance of a peaceful policy, he expressed a hope that he had left the foreign relations of the country in a satisfactory condition. Not only France, but all the other great powers of Europe, were desirious to co-operate with us in the maintenance of peace. Could he have entertained any private wish for the continuance of his own Go

vernment in office, he could have wished it to survive the day on which intelligence should be received from the United States as to the result of our last attempt to close the differences between Great Britain and the United States. He then recounted to the House how, within two days after the British Government had received from the President of the United States the notice that the existing convention about the Oregon territory was to terminate at the close of twelve months, accompanied with a declaration that the notice was given in the hope that it might lead to an amicable termination of all disputes, Her Majesty's Government had not hesitated, although its offer of arbitration had been refused, to specify frankly, and at once, the terms on which it would consent to the partition of that territory. The President of the United States, on receiving our terms, had referred them at once to the Senate; and the Senate, acting in the same spirit of patriotism as the President, immediately advised that they should be accepted. He then stated the two main articles in the convention to be, first, that the line of boundary between the British and American territory should be continued along the 49th parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly to the Pacific Ocean, off Fuca, south of that latitude, open to both parties; and secondly, that the navigation of the great northern branch of the Columbia should be free and open to all British subjects. That very day, on returning from the Isle of Wight, he had had

the satisfaction of receiving from Mr. Pakenham an official letter, dated Washington, the 13th June, informing him that the conditions offered by Her Majesty's Government had been accepted by the Government of the United States, without the addition or alteration of a single word. Thus the Governments of two great nations, both impelled by public opinion, had by their moderation and spirit of mutual conciliation averted a war, which was in danger of breaking out between them, in spite of their common blood and common language, and which, if it had broken out, would not have lasted long without involv ing Europe in its desolation. Mentioning, as he passed along, that the Earl of Aberdeen had intimated to the United States his desire of employing our good offices to mediate between them and Mexico, Sir Robert Peel concluded this part of his subject by expressing his gratification that, before he surrendered his power, he could assure the House that every chance of war with the United States was terminated with honour to this country.

Sir Robert Peel concluded his address in these words :

by no other desire than that of promoting the interests of the country. (Cheers.) (Cheers.) Our object was to avert dangers which we thought were imminent, and to avoid a conflict that we believed would soon place in hostile collision great and powerful classes in this country. The love of power was not the motive for the proposal of these measures; for, as I have said before, I had not a doubt that, whether those measures were accompanied with failure or with success, one event certainly must occur, and that was, the termination of the existence of this Government. ("Hear, hear!") I admit that the with drawal of the confidence of many of our friends was the natural result of the measures we proposed; and I do think, when proposals of such a nature are made, apparently at variance with the course which Ministers heretofore have pursued, and subjecting them to the charge or taunt of inconsistency-upon the whole, it is advantageous for the country, and for the general character of public men, that the proposal of measures of that kind under such circumstances should entail that which is supposed to be a fitting punishment namely, expulsion from office. I, therefore, do not complain of it anything is preferable to attempting to maintain ourselves in office without a full measure of the confidence of this House. (Cheers.) As I said before, Sir, in reference to our proposing these measures, I have no wish to rob any person of the credit which is justly due to him for them. But I may say, that neither the gentlemen sitting on the benches opposite, nor myself, nor the gentlemen sitting around

me-I say that neither of us are the parties who are strictly entitled to the merit. There has been a combination of parties, and that combination of parties, together with the influence of the Government, has led to the ultimate suc cess of the measures. But, Sir, there is a name which ought to be associated with the success of these measures: it is not the name of the noble lord the member for London, neither is it my name. Sir, the name which ought to be, and which will be associated with the success of these measures, is the name of a man who, acting, I believe, from pure and disinterested motives, has advocated their cause with unting energy, and by appeals to reason, enforced by an eloquence the more to be admired because it was unaffected and unadorned— the name which ought to be and which will be associated with the success of these measures is the name of Richard Cobden. (Loud cheers.) Without scruple, Sir, I attribute the success of these measures to him.

"Sir, I shall now close the address which it has been my duty to make, thanking the House sincerely for the favour with which it has listened to this my last address in my official capacity. Within a few hours, probably, that power which I have held for a period of five years will be surrendered into the hands of another; I say it without repining, and without complaint-with a more lively recollection of the support and confidence which I have received than of the opposition which, during a recent period, I have encountered. I shall, I fear, leave office with a name severely cen. sured by many honourable men who, on public principle, deeply