The Press. — London, England, 1855-10-13 00:00:00

OCTOBER 13, 1855. VISIT OF THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE TO LIVERPOOL. THE events of Monday and Tuesday last will long live in the recollection of the people of Liverpool, and will certainly not easily be forgotten by the illustrious duke in whose honour the festivities took place. His Royal Highness arrived on Monday at Knows ley, the seat of the Earl of Derby, and on the fol lowing morning, attended by Colonel Tyrwhitt and accompanied by the Earl of Derby, drove over to Liverpool. Ehe Royal Duke was received upon his arrival at the Town-hall by the Mayor and Corporation, and the ceremony of presenting ad dresses shortly took place. The Mayor first read a brief, clear address, expressive of the satisfaction felt by the half million inhabitants of Liverpool at the opportunity afforded them of welcoming " one of that band of heroes who fought at Alma and Inker mann," and the recorder then read the address of the Corporation, to which his Royal Highness returned a brief hut modest reply, thanking the Mayor and Corporation for the honour they had done him. After this ceremony bad been concluded, the Duke, accompanied by the Mayor and the Earl of Derby in their state carriages, and a numerous suite, made the tour of the city, to inspect the public buildings and institutions. The vast crowds which had assembled in the streets through which the pro cession passed cheered the Royal Duke upon his progress with the most enthusiastic vigour. All Liverpool and half the county were there to welcome him—business was suspended, shops were closed, and the whole day was devoted to festivity. A most striking spectacle it was, and one only to be met with in England—those thousands of human beings con gregated in one living mass. Men of all shades of life, character, and opinions, yet uniting in one com mon desire to show honour to him of whose gallant deeds they had read, and of whose kindness of heart and touching sympathy with the wounded and dying soldiers many a one in that orowd had learnt from father, brother, or son, now no more. The streets presented the most brilliant appear ance—scarce a window that was not decorated with flag or transparency, and some of the principal tho roughfares were literally canopied with the colours of the allied powers. The enthusiastic reception which his Royal Highness met with from that vast assemblage must have been most gratifying to his feelings, and must have amply compensated for the hardships and trials which he bore with so much courage during the campaign of last autumn. It is seldom that an ovation lasts so long, but on this oc casion the people seemed as enthusiastic at the close of the day as at the commencement; during the seven hours that the Duke was visiting the different objects of interest, at no time did the enthusiasm flag. After a complete tour through the city, the cortege returned to the Town hall, where the banquet which had been prepared took place. About fifty guests had been invited to meet his Royal Highness, and among them were the Bishop of Chester, the Earl of Derby, the Eatl of Hardwicke, Right Hon. S. Walpole, M.P., General Sir Harry Smith, G.C.8., &u. After proposing the health of the Queen, the Mayor, in a short speech alluding to the sentiment of re spect felt by both nations, and the heartfelt enthu siasm which had greeted the Queen upon her visit to Paris, proposed the health of the French Emperor, which was responded to by the consul. The health of the Sultan and King of Sardinia was then drunk, and the health of the Royal Family and that of the in pro- Duke of Cambridge proposed. The Mayor, in pro- posing this toast, said f need not allude to those personal qualities which have erdeared the Duke of Cambridge to the army and have rendered hint so justly popular in this country. The people o' England rejoiced to see one so nearly allied to our be- bved Sovereign gladly sharing with his soldiers all the Nardships of the campaign. At Alma, at Balaklava, and at Inkermann ( where your horse was shot under you), your gallantry was alike conspicuous ; but the greatest trial of all was when your health obliged you to leave your gallant comrades. I venture to say that no man ever took a deeper interest in his regiment than you have done. No one was more looked up to as the soldier's friend than you are. (Loud cheers.) And I may further add, that the exertions which you made in order to ameliorate the condition of the hospitals in the East have been rewarded by the blessing of many a poor sick and wounded soldier. I am not here to speak in mere terms of adulation, but to speak what I conscientiously believe to be true, and as the exponent of what I believe to be the sentiments of the people at large. (Cheers.) The toast was drunk amid the most enthusiastic cheers. His ROYAL HIGHNESS begged to thank his Worship and the company, on the part of his Royal Highness Prince Albert and the rest of the Royal Family, for the manner in which the toast had been received, and for the demonstration of loyalty of which the town had that day been the scene ;-- THE PRESS. He could not but feel most grateful to the inhabitants of Liverpool for the gratifying reception which had been given to him ; nor could he fail to express the delight with which he had that day inspected the great establishments and public and charitable institutions which reflected so much credit upon that great commercial town. Nothing could be more gratifying to any one than to be the object of so many marks of respect, a portion of which no doubt was intended for himself personally, but the greater part of which he regarded as intended as a testimony of the ap• preciation in which our army in the East was regarded by the inhabitants of that important and influential commu nity. Such a testimony could not fail to be most highly valued by our soldiers, and to have the best effects upon them. He concurzed with the Mayor in thinking that the calamities of the present war had brought with them one compensation, in having strengthened our alliance with France. During the late campaign the best possible feel ing had existed between the armies. He once possessed the friendship of the late lamented Marshal St. Arnaud, and now possessed the friendship of Marshal Caurobett ; and be should ever reflect with pleasure upon the kind feel. ing which the French army had ever manifested towards us —a feeling which he hoped and believed had been entirely and warmly reciprocated on our side. A great deal had been written upon the shortcomings and defects in our arrange ments for the comfort and efficiency of the army, but the fault was not so much in individuals as in the system, and still more in the state in which our establishments had been left by a forty years' peace. It might be said that the French had enjoyed aforty years' peace as well as ourselves, but it should be remembered that the breaking out of the war had found them much better prepared than ourselves. The French had for many years carried on war in Algeria, and their transport and commissariat departments were therefore in a state of efficiency. When 'the war broke out we had no land transport corps at all, and no ambu lance, and we landed in a country where no horses or forage could be procured. The commissariat was a de partment of the Treasury, and the officers arrived in the Crimea with little or no experience of the work they had to perform. They were willing to learn, anxious to do their duty, and desirous to receive suggestions. But, under all the circumstances, it was not to be wondered at that deficiencies manifested themselves which made every one impatient. Officers were impatient., men were im- patient, and (said his Royal Highness) " 1 was impatient." But he saw around him many eminent merchants having establishments in every part of the globe, and he would ask them whether a space of three, four, or five months would enable them to form those establishments and make those ramifications in every part of the globe which were essential to the success of their undertakings, and the harmony and efficiency of their action? (Cheers.) Time must be given for establishing the necessary organisa tion, and our establishments were now fast attaining an efficiency worthy of this great country, (Hear, hear.) The lesson to be learnt from these events—and he trusted it would not be forgotten after the peace—was not to starve our establishments during a time of peace, or to maintain them in such a low state of efficiency as if we thought that war was impossible. Four years ago, he admitted, he did not believe we were about to enter upon a state of war. No one then believed war to be possible. But when the present war should be happily terminated, he trusted that we should not neglect the efficiency of our establishments from any belief that we were about to enter upon another forty years' peace—( Hear, hear)—although no one would rejoice more than himself if such a blessing were in store for us. Every one who had witnessed, as he had, the actual miseries of war, would rejoice at the return of peace, and would cherish a state of peace as one of the greatest blessings a nation could enjoy. He had been much gratified at one passage in the speech of his worthy friend the Mayor at the Town-hall that morning, when his Worship had stated that, although the great commercial town of Liverpool was deeply interested in a return of peace, one sentiment alone pervaded the whole com munity—namely, a determination to persevere in the war in which the country was engaged, at all hazards and at every sacrifice, until its object was attained. ( Cheers.) In that sentiment he entirely coincided, and he had a strong opinion that a peace concluded at the pre sent moment would not be an honourable, durable, and lasting peace. Until suTh a peace could be concluded, ho was foe carrying on the war with all possible vigour and de termination, and he was gratified to find that this also was the opinion of the inhabitants of Liverpool. (Cheers.) He had seen a great deal written upon the relations be tween the officers and men of the British army. He thought that in raising the standard of the officers you raised also the standard of the men. Too much justice could not be given to the officers for their conduct in the late cam paign, and their care and devotion for the comfort of the men. This care and devotion on the part of the officers was highly appreciated by the men, who liked to be com manded by gentlemen, while they often felt irritated under the command of men of their own station. ( Hear, hear.) One of the proudest positions that could be filled by any man was to command a body of English soldiers going into action, because he knew he could rely upon his men to go anywhere, and the men felt confident that their officers would be found at their head when the moment for action arrived. He had been compelled, to his great re gret, t 3 leave the army in the East in consequence of the state of his health ; but now, thank God, his health was restored, and nothing would give him greater pleasure than to rejoin the army in the Crimea. His . Royal Highness concluded by again thanking the Mayor and the inhabitants of Liverpool for the kind and brilliant reception which they had given him, and resumed his seat amidst loud and hearty cheers. The tout of " The Army " wan responded to by Sir HARRY SMITH (who was received with load cheers) in a short, vigorous speech, exculpating the army from any blame for their late failure at the Redan, and concluding with an expression, which met with the heartiest cheers, that lie felt confident the English army would still continue to deserve the admiration and gratitude of their Queen and countr,,.. "The Navy " called forth from the Earl of HARI WICKE an expression that the present war was not a naval war, and that too much had been expected from steam-ships. The Earl of DERBY returned thanks for the Peers, and in the course of an allusion to a remark of the Mayor's that the doors of the House of Peers were open to all men " who could show themselves worthy of the honour," his lordship remarked : So ling as peerages were given only for distinguished services the recollection of the good qualities which pro- cured for their ancestors their patent of nobility would encourage them to follow in the same path. But heavy would be the responsibility of that Minister who should recommend his Sovereign to raise improper and unworthy objects to the dignity of the peerage. For himself, be could rot be charged with having made a lavish or indis criminate use of the privilege which office had given him to recommend her Majesty to confer peerages. During the time when he was First Minister of the Crown, he had only advised her Majesty to confer the dignity of the peerage upon three individuals—the distinguished diplo matist Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, the learned and emi nent Sir E. Sugden, and the late lamented Lord Ragls ; ( Cheers.) Posterity, he thought, would confirm the worth and suitableness of these three persons to the distinction, and he should always look back with pleasure upon the share he had had in opening to them the doors of the House of Lords. The Right Hon. S. WALPOLIS briefly acknowledged the toast of "The House of Commons," and the guests adjourned to the ballroom, where upwards of a thousand of the neigbouring gentry were assembled. The Duke of Cambridge opened the ball with the wife of the Mayor, and after the supper, accompanied by the Earl of Derby and Colonel Tyrwhitt, re turned for the night to Knowsley. During the evening the town was generally illuminated, all the public buildings presented brilliant and various devices, and even the private houses of the inhabi tants were not behind in their efforts to testify to their respect for the illustrious Duke. But if on Monday Liverpool gave to the royal visitor in its streets a hearty welcome, what is to be said of the scene which the River Mersey presented the following morning ? The Duke of Cambridge having expressed a wish to see Liverpool, Birken head, and the banks of the Mersey, the Earl of Ellesmere very kindly placed at the disposal of the Mayor a steam-yacht, and at eleven his Royal High. ness, attended by Colonel Tyrwhitt, and accompanied by the Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Henry Lennox, and Viscount Somerton, drove up to the Mansion house, where his Royal Highness was met by the Mayor and Mayoress, and the distinguished party forthwith proceeded to the quay, where the steamer was lying. Dense crowds again filled the streets and lined the quay, and his Royal Highness embarked amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the bystanders. The vessel, with the royal standard floating, then got under way, and steamed up, keeping close to the Cheshire coast for nearly ten miles, and returned on the Lancashire bank, thus affording the Royal Duke an excellent opportunity of viewing the im mense works constructed and still in progress. The day was fine, and it was a sight which no one can forget. The river was covered with vessels of all kinds, decorated with flags, and laden to the water's edge with crowds of people, who seemed not a little to enjoy the scene, and by their loud and constant cheering repeated their hearty welcome to the royal visit r N 1 111 stood during a greater part of the day on the paddle-box bridge. Certainly the loyalty and enthusiasm of the people would not have been les sened had they known that, at the express wish of the Duke of Cambridge, the vessel's speed was slackened, in order to give his Royal Highness an opportunity of bowing his thanks for their hearty welcome. In the evenii.g a grand concert was given at St. George's-hall, and the reception which the Duke met with from the vast au dience was enthusiastic in the extreme. The hall rung with cheers from some 2,600 voices, and the heartiest welcome with which the roof of St. George's hall will ever resound was given that night. The Duke wore the ribbon and star of the Garter, and also his Crimean medal. He was attended by the Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley, Lord Chesterfield, Lord Colville, Countess of Derby, Lady Emma Stanley, and several other fashionables. Immediately on his Royal Highness and the distin guished party by which he was accompanied having taken their places, Mr. Best struck the first bar of " God Save the Queen," when the whole audience rose, and Madame Clara Novelle) sang the solo por tion of the noble anthem, the choruses being taken up and sung by the choir. At the conclusion of the national anthem, " Partant pour la Syne" was given in fine style. His Royal Highness remained till the conclusion of the concert, and then returned to Knowsley, where, it is understood, he will remain till this day.