was noteworthy for the appearance of
Mr Disraeli as leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, in
place of Lord George Bentinck, who had died suddenly in the recess;
the Peelites, though influential, were numerically few, and they
continued by their support to maintain the Whigs in office, the
principal measure of the session being the Act for the repeal of the
Navigation Laws, a natural corollary to Peel's free trade policy. A
Royal visit was paid to Ireland in August, and at Cork, Waterford,
Dublin, and Belfast, the Queen and Prince were received with great
enthusiasm.

Abroad, the cause of United Italy suffered a severe check. The
Sicilian revolt came to an end, and Austrian ascendency was
re-established in Northern Italy. King Charles Albert was defeated at
Novara, and abdicated in favour of his son, Victor Emmanuel. The Pope,
who had fled from Rome in disguise, in November 1848, and was living
at Gaeta, was now under the protection of Austria and France, and
General Oudinot occupied the Papal city on his behalf in June.
Austrian influence restored Tuscany, Parma, and Modena to their
rulers, and in Central Europe operated to prevent the acceptance by
the King of Prussia of the Imperial Crown of Germany. Hungary, in
consequence of the help rendered to the Viennese insurrectionists in
1848, was reduced to submission, but only with Russian co-operation.
Heavy retribution was inflicted on the Hungarians; Kossuth and other
revolutionaries fled to Turkey, the Russian and Austrian Governments
unsuccessfully demanding their extradition.

The British operations against the Sikhs were brought to a successful
termination; the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Gough, with inferior
numbers, had engaged the enemy at Chillianwalla, with indecisive and
virtually unfavourable results, and Sir Charles Napier was sent out
to supersede him. Mooltan, where the outrage of the previous year
had taken place, had been besieged, and fell on the 22nd of January.
Dalhousie had established himself at Ferozepore. A week or two later
the Sikhs and Afghans were overwhelmingly defeated at Gujerat, and on
the 29th of March the Punjab was incorporated in the British Empire;
the "Koh-i-noor" was, in token of submission, presented by the
Maharajah to the Queen. Lord Dalhousie received a Marquisate, and the
thanks of both Houses of Parliament were voted to all concerned.

CHAPTER XVIII

1849

_Memorandum on Matters connected with the Form o