NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE new Parliament assembled on Thursday, and at once entered upon the routine connected with the due attestation of its own composition. In the House of Commons, the first business was the election of Speaker ; Mr. Charles Shaw Lefevre being restored to his post in such easy courteous fashion as if his reelection had been only the crown and glory of the general hand-shaking. In the muster of legislators, some were noticed either for pre- sence or absence : the Duke of Wellington was there with cha- racteristic punctuality ; Sir Robert Peel did not hurry to his . seat,—waiting probably for the commencement of real business ; among old friends come back after long absence is Mr. Herries,— so that financial affairs are not yet irretrievable ; Mr. Feargus O'Connor also displayed his tremendous presence; Lord George Bentinck was there in prime condition, ostentatious of renewing his tenure as "leader of a party" by taking a share in back- ing Mr. Shaw Lefevre ; but Lord Stanley was kept away by gout. Mr. John Abel Smith adorned the complimentary forms of the Speaker's reglection by a remark touching the striking advance of representative institutions in Europe, and the necessity that the British House of Commons should keep up its character as a model. And with that excellent exhortation, we hope, a key- note is struck for the session.
Of course, no audible or tangible sign was given of the two stirring questions actually present—the Bank-note question, and Ireland. The Ministerial propositions—the main topics of the extraordinary session—are yet undivulged. " The Money-laws" will probably be relegated to a Select Committee for ventilation : a good method of finding certain Members in employment for several months, without interrupting business in the House—to the immense relief of the debates. And the construction of a vast blue book, under which even the herculean frame of a Muntz must totter, will be some solace to the pious aspirations of the gentle- men that ask to save their country—the trophy of their services, and the mausoleum of their fame.
Ireland has never come upon Parliament with a more foreboding aspect, but in some respects has never found Parliament better prepared to encounter it. Heretofore, Ireland has been made the battle-field of party politics; and every real evil of the unhappy country has been aggravated by the factious incitements of rival i statesmen in England. That is at an end. Party.is in abey- ance. Ireland is found to be the " difficulty " of Whig Minis- ters, no less than of Conservatives or Tories. The excess to which its miseries, its wants, and its bad influences have gone, will force upon the Legislature, in very shame, a more practical treatment
