The Sun. — London, England, 1859-01-27 00:00:00

TILE BURNS CENTENARY FESTIVAL On Tuesday last, the hundredth anniversary of the birth of our national poet, Robert Burns, was celebrated with great rejoicing throughout Glas gow, as indeed it was all through the country. Several banquets, soirees, and private parties, in honour of the Centenary of the Bard, were given last night, and during the daytime popular enthu siasm ran so high as to induce a numerous display of flags and banners. So great was the furore for dinner parties on the part of clubs and convivial societies, that no less than 30 applications, we are informed, for dinners and suppers were on Tuesday refused at the Tontine Hotel ; and the other large hotels of the city were actually crammed with the celebrants of the festivity. The Grand National Festival in the City Hall, Glasgow, was, we believe, the first projected on this side the Atlantic. The City Hall on this occasion was very beautifully decorated. Behind the plat form, and in front of the organ, was a magnificent allegorical painting, got up under the superinten dence of Mr. Bowie. It representedthe various monu ments erected to the memory of Burns, the Auld Brig of Doon, Alloway's Auld Haunted Kirk, and in the centre a full-length portrait of the bard, in -tended to represent what sort of a monument Glas gow should raise to the poet's genius. This paint ing was flanked by the flags and banners of our native land. The hail was chastely decorated with wreaths of holly between the pillars, and medal lions hanging from the front of the gallery, inscri bed with mottoes and sentiments from the writings of the bard. Around the ladies' galleries were busts and statues a the most illustrious men of the age. Prom the platform the coup d'ceil was splen did in the extreme, a more brilliant assembly never having before been brought together in the city under any circumstances. Covers were laid for 620 gentlemen, and fruit, cakes, and wine were provided for 300 ladies in the gallery. Every seat was occupied. The company began to assemble at a quarter past four o'clock. While they were taking their seats, Mr. Lambeth, the city organist, played some beautiful and appro priate overtures on the grand organ. Precisely at five o'clock the chairman and committee, accom panied by their guests, entered the hall. The com pany received them standing, and while the plat form was being filled up, the entire audience joined in the chorus of the noble strain of " Scots wha ha'e wi' Wallace bled," Mr. Fulcher singing the solo part. Sir Archibald Alison, the historian of Europe,' occupied the chair ; and the croupiers were r. Robert Dalglish, M.P. ; Mr. Peter Cunningham, son of Allan Cunningham, the biographer of Burns; Mr. Alex. Baillie Cochrane, Lamington ; Mr. Henry Glassford Bell, advocate ; and Mr. Walter Buchanan, M.P. The gentlemen took their places on the platform in the following order :—Sir Archibald Alison, Bart., chairman—supported on the right by Col. Burns, Sir David Brewster, Samuel Lover, Sheriff Trotter, and Principal Barclay; and on the left by the Lord Provost, Judge Haliburton, R. M. Milnes, M.P., R. Monteath of Carstairs, and Dr. Norman Macleod. The CHAlRMAN—Gentlemen, before we com mence the regular business of our convivial meet ing, allow me to remind you that though it is customary to drink the memory of dead persons in solemn silence, yet, as the memory of Burns will never be dead, we shall, on this occasion, drink the toast with all the honours, and in a flowing bumper of champagne. Sir ARCHD. AusoN proposed the health of the Queen in a complimentary speech. The CHAIRMAN then gave " The Prince Consort, and the rest of the Royal Family," and " Her Ma jesty's Ministers," both of which were duly honoured. The CHAIRMAN then gave the toast " The Navy and Army of Great Britain." The toast was drunk with great enthusiam. Col. MELLISH, of the Royal Sherwood Foresters, replied. The CHAIRMAN then rose, amid tremendous cheering, and said—l have now to propose to you a toast which I know will be received with enthusiasm, the toast of the evening—" The immor tal Memory of Robert Burns." (Tremendous cheer ing continued for several minutes.) In approaching this great subject, I know not whether to feel most impressed with the lowliness of the origin from which our great national poet sprung, or the colos sal magnitude of the fame which he has since at tained. (Hear, hear.) On this day one hundred years—January 25, 1.759—a child was born in a cottage near the now classic Kirk of Alloway, in Ayrshire, intended apparently for a humble lot, and to be gathered at length to his fathers unknown, unsung, in this simple churchyard, where " his rude forefathers of the hamlet slept." (Loud cheers.) But this child was destined to immortality—(con tinned cheering)—nature had given him the patent of true nobility, the passport of eternal fame; and while all, or nearly all, contempora7 reputations have already passed away, his alone is hourly on the increase, and now shines like the fixed stars with imperishable lustre. (Loud cheers.) It has come to embrace not only his own countrymen, but all who can admire genius and venerate lofty feel ings in every country of the civilised'globe. In every city and village in Scotland, in not a few in Eng land and Ireland, multitudes are now assembled to celebrate his genius, and wherever the English lan guage is spoken, in Europe, Asia, or America, one universal chorus of admiration is resounding in honour of our peasant son. (Cheers.) His fame has been like the swelling eddy, which rises round a pebble thrown by a child—the child of Nature — into a stream, but that stream has descended into the ocean and become a mighty wave, which has rolled across the Atlantic and broke on the Ameri can and Australian shores. (Hear, hear.) Vast as is this assembly which I now address , it is but the relfresentative of millions in the east and in the west, in the north and in the south, who are now found together in the expression of common feel ing ; and pulse which now throbs so violently at the very name of Burns under this roof is beat ing also at the same moment in the extremities of the earth afar off in Australia and Transatlantic wilds. Whence is this moral prodigy - in which we all participate, yet at which we are still surprised ? It is to few men only, and those in ages far distant from each other, that Nature has given the passport to immortality, and when sho has done it, is is not on the great or the affluent that she in general has bestowed the gift, but on the most humble and suffering of the human race. (Ap plause.) She gave it to the Bard of Chios, as a blind and needy suppliant he wandered through the Isles of Greece. She gave it to him of the Mantuan lake as he mourned the loss of his little freehold under the shadow of the wide-spread beech trees. She gave it to the exile of Florence as by the waters of the Po he sat down and wept. She gave it to the prisoner of Ferrar a as i n th e gloom of his dungeon he mourned a hopeless love. She gave it to the Republican of England, after he had, poor and unbefriended, " - dazzled by excess of light, Closed his eyes in endless night," But where was she to find a worthy recipient for such a gift among the aged civilisation and na tional jealousies and political passions of Europe in the close of the eighteenth century. She looked for him in the halls of princes, but she found him not there. She looked for him in the senates of nobles, but she found him not there. She looked for him in the forums of commerce, but she found him not there. She looked for him in the solitude of nature, and she found him beside the plough, with his eye fixed on the mountain daisy, which spread its humble beauties beneath his feet. (Loud cheers.) It was in this very circumstance—the low liness of his origin—that the secret of his ultimate 4, re atness is to be found. (Hear, hear.) The child ''of Nature, he told us, like Homer, or the Hebrew poet in the book of Job, what he saw and what he felt, uninfluenced by 'the greatness unbought by the wealth, undeterred b y the criticisms of the world. Mr. Pitt said atLohrdtL,i,vseirnpcoeolt'hs e ta t b im le e , shortly after Burns' death, t a of Shakspere poetry had never c ome so sweetly r l id from the hand of Nature as in his rhyme ; because that was literally true, and true Nature had been his only teacher. juSsetlf taught, untutored, he poured forth in unpremeditated lays ,‘ the short and simple annals of the poor ; " but in their short and simple annals he found eans to descend to the inmost depths of the human heart, to ascend to the loftiest height s of human feeling. " The Cottar's Saturday Night" is the most perfect picture that ever was drawn, not merely of individual life,but of the race of man, inferior to none in the world in virtue and firmness --the peasantry of ou r l an d. (Ch e ers.) " Auld Lang Sync" inv.' become the national air of Scotland—the expression of the love of home and of the scenes of infanqr to the entire civilised world. " Scots wha lia'e Wl ' Wallace bled" is already the war song of the bold and the patriotic of every country of the earth—(hear, hear)—and the passion of love in its purest form was never so finely expressed as in his immortal lines to Highland " ...Lary in Heaven :" " That sacred hour can I forget? Can I forget the hallowed grove, Where on Ayr's winding banks we met, To live one day of parting love ? " Ayr, gurgling, kissed her pebbly shore, Beneath the wild wood arching green, Where fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar Twined amorous on th' enraptured scene. " The flowers sprang wanton to be prest, Tho birds sang love on every spray, Till too, too soon the glowing west Proclaimed the speed of winged day. " Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes, And fondly broods with miser care, Time but the impression deeper makes, As streams their channel deeper wear." (Loud cheering.) All the world has joined in admi ration of these exquisite lines ; but our wonder at them becomes greater when we recollect that they were written by the poet on the anniversary of Mary's death, after he had concluded the labours of the harvest field, when resting on some corn sheaves, with his eye fixed on the evening staor, whose growing light " pr oclaimed the speed .f winged day." (Cheers.) To us, and to Scotchmen the every part of the world w ho can appreciate reca fidelity of his pictures, the po ems of Burns possess, a peculiar and indescrib able charm ; they s cenes of early youth, long n hours the beautiful gotten, and realise in w g akiunseen, b u t still unfor w o l r fi ds ew o t f o t t h h e e pploeeatsmint tfiheledsStraoldiveeresesd D so r o e ft ani “ , goats bleating aloft, In life's morning march , when my bosom was young; I hAneardd knew my the sweetowanuntlstrains which the corn-reapers sung." (Cheers.) But the universal admiration with which the poems of Burns have been hailed, not merely in his own country, but over the whole civilised world, prove that, great as his graphic powers were they were the least of his varied gifts. (Cheers.) It was the depth of his feeling, his warm expansive love for all mankind, the touching pathos which shone forth in his pieces, which everywhere went to the heart. His tenderness extended even to inani mate objects. The hare, the field mouse, the moun tain daisy, have been celebrated in his songs. Above all, he possessed in the highest degree that great qua lity without which, in the trial of time, all others ' are but as tinkling brass—a due appreciation of the dignity of human nature, and a determination to assert it. (Loud cheers.) To him we owe those noble lines now become as household words in every land of freedom : ! " The rank is but the guinea stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that." (Ch e ers.) To this quality also he owed many of the misfortunes with which his life was embittered. Had he condescended to flatter the great, to conci liate the affluent, to fawn upon the multitude, might have earned ease and comfort in life ; but he disdained to do arm of the three. Therefore he was neglected by his cotemporaries—therefore we are now raising statues to his memory. (Cheers.) Gentlemen—lt is said that Burns was a Radical. I know he was; but I do not respect him the less on that account. (Cheers.) I wish we had more Radicals like Burns. (Continued cheering.) Most _men of his ardent and poetic tempernment are in dined to those opinions, and were so especially in his day. They see in others the generous feelings of which they are conscious in themselves. It is well they are so ; they would miss their miosion if they were not. Genius is the moving power of the moral world. Experience is the fly-wheel which regulates the movements of the mighty machine ; without the first it would stand still ; without the second it would be torn in pieces. It is by the counteracting influence of the two, as by the antagonistic action of fire and water in the material world that the equilibrium of nature is preserved; and thus is secured at once the life, the progress, and the stability of nations. (Hear.) But if Burns was a Radical he was not less a patriot. He was no advocate for domestic broils or foreign interference, for what said he to the Dumfries Volunteers, of whom he was a member ? " Be Britons still to Britons true, Amang yourselves united ; For never but by British hands Maim British wrangs be righted." (Cheers.) A more serious charge brought against Burns is that his life was sometimes irregular. some of his poems effusions which, however, admired at the moment, his warmest friends must now lament. Gentlemen, in reference to this charge I will not repeat the common excuse that his frailties were those to which men of an ardent and poetic mind have in all ages been most subject. I disdain any such apology. I recognise no exemption from moral responsibility in the sons of genius. I know rather that from him to whom much is given much also will be expected. But I say he was a son of Adam. Let him that is without sin among you throw the first stone. (Cheers.) I would answer in the words of Bolingbroke, when reminded of the faults of his great political antagonist, Marlborough—" Yes, I know he had faults • but he was so great a man that I have forgot what they were." (Loud cheers.) And I would recommend his detractors to imitate his example—to expiate passing faults by lasting benefits to his species, and like him to cause the spots on the sun to be forgotten in the lustro of his rays. (Cheers.) But one great moral truth I extract from the fate of Burns, and that is, that no lasting fame is to be acquired , even by the brightest genius save that which is devoted to the purposes of virtue, for the few poems of Burns which we now lament have long . since passed into oblivion, and those on which his immortal fame is restedare as pure as the driven snow. And, as such, they will form an unseen bond which will for ever unite Britons and their children in every part of the world -- a bond white will survive the maturity of colonies, the severance of empires; and " Auld Lang syne" will hold together the wide-spread descendants of the British empire when grown into independent States— " Tho seas atween them since hae Gentlemen, I have detained you too long, and I conclude in the words of the poet— " A last request permit me here, When yearly ye assemble a', One round, I ask it with a tear, To him, the Bard that's far awa." The learned chairman then resumed his seat amidst tremendous cheering, and the toast was drunk with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of delight. Colonel BURNS, who on rising to reply, was received with great applause and waving of hand kerchiefs, said—Sir Archibald Alison, ladies and gentlemen, I heartily thank God that he has prolonged my life to see such a glorious day—a day on which so many thousands are assembled in every quarter of the globe to do honour to the memory of the bard. I remember my mother telling Mr. M‘Diarmid of Dumfries that my father once said to her, " Jean, they will ken me better a hundred years after this than they do now." (Loud cheers.) I heartily thank you that you have given me the occasion of being present to join in this glorious meeting—presided over, as it is, by the celebrated historian of Europe—supported by such a galaxy of talent as is here in the persons of Judge Hali burton, Principal Barclay, Mr. Monckton Milnes, Mr. Glassford Bell, and many others. (Cheers.) In no part of the world will this occasion be more celebrated with enthusiasm than in the far East, where I have come from, and where I have spent so many years of my life. And here I may appro priately quote the lines of Col. George Anderson Veitch, the author of many " Burns' Birthday Odes," from his " Exile in India" :- 1 k " The music of Scotland is sweet mid the scene, But, ah I could you hear it when seas roll between 'Tis then, and then only, the soul can divine The rapture that dwells in the songs of langsyne." (Cheers.) Ladies and gentlemen, I have joined, as a leal Scot, as a warm admirer of the bard. in doing honour to his memory ; and permit me, as his son, to thank you for the enthusiasm with which you have responded to the toast. Mr. Stombridge Ray sang, with much taste and feeling, " Highland Mary.' Band—" The Campbells are eomin'." Mr. DALGLISH, M.P., then gave " Lord Clyde and his Companions in Arms." He said that the toast fortunately did not require the eloquence of the talented chairman to make it come home to every heart. Sir A. Alison had told them that in addition to the title of Queen of England, her most gracious Majesty had added that of Empress of India. (Hear.) He thought it would be wrong in him to detain the assembly with any detailed state ment of the reasons why they should receive the toast, with all the honours, for it was enough to say that owing to the undaunted bravery of our soldiers and the skill of their commanders, a most treacherous retainedmutiny had b for England—(cheers)—but suppressed, a and India the present occasion he gthoughtan c therehe e was —ab claim n on them to drink th e toast n with redoubled enthu siasm, for the gallant y that fou h g y ht a m up a ( l ) .i n bo th rn e plains of Hindostan w as commanded in Glasgow. (Cheers.) They we re a l la organised, v aware with how h soon after his arrival in India heoi g great care, an army which had performed such in comparable services for the country. He n allude to Lord Cl y de's advance and su ccessfuele d no t move ments, or to his achievements at eawnpore or Luck now ; but there were other men connected with Glasgow who distinguished themselves to h great extent in India. Need he mention the name of the g allant colonel, the son of their illustrious chair re an—(cheers) —who, having lost an arm in the cause of his country, had since been more successful in another field (laughter) having gained the hand of one of their loveliest citizens ? (Loud cheers and laughter, in which Sir A. Alison heartily joined.) Neither would he allude to the gallant Col. Kerr, who, alone with h is unaided native troops, ha dC won such laurels on the field of battle ; and to the son of their own townsman, Mr. Macnee. (Cheers.) He therefore trusted that the toast which he proposed would be received with all the honours. (Cheers.) The toast was drunk with all the honours, the band pla ying, " See the conquering hero com es." The Rev. Principal BARCLAY proposed the next toast—" Both Houses of Parliament "—which, a though not immediately connected with the occa sion on - which they had met, was still a subject in which every individual in the British empire was more or less interested. (Hear, hear.) He, there- Refuses of Parliament. Cheers.). The toast h avin g been received wth great fore, had great pleasure in proposing the two applause, the name of the members of :Parliament who are Mr. BUCHANAN, in retufning thanks, said—in present, I beg to return thanko Principal for the toast which he has . proposed and to the Very Rev, also to this meeting for the manner been received. (Applause.) I regret tha..+. nowtmber In which it has of the House of Lords should be present ; 2I am sure that it does not arise fr om an y want of in!.'est in the commemoration wh ich we are now celebrating The muse of Burns has wide sympathisers, and h6' spoken to the heart of the peer as well as the pea sant. (Cheers.) The highest rank and the most cul tivated intellect alike confessed the power of his genius; and dull, indeed, must be the f eelin g s of the man who lusts not responded with patriotic emotion to " Scots wha ha'e wi' - Wallace bled"—(cheers — who has not warmed with firmer self-reliance to the stirring strain, " A man's a man for a' that," or been melted with the pathetic cadences of " Man was made to mourn." (Renewed cheers.) Of one thing, at all events, I am sure, there can be no true representative of the people, certainly none of the Scottish people, who has not felt in the depths of his soul a sympathy with the noble sentiments of our national bard. Long may therebe found in our representatives that genu ine independence, that co ntempt for affectation, prete nce, or hypocrisy, that high-souled scorn of whatever is mean or untruth ful, which emanated from the bard of Ayrshire. (Cheers.) To such men may safely be entrusted a nation's destinies. They will neither truckle to the great and powerful, nor court the voice of the crowd. (Hear, hear.) So long as a Bri Pa tish rlia-a ment shall maintain its independence, it will have the resepect of such meetings as this. (Cheers.) Mr. H. G. BELL said —Every one has felt that it is not always on those occasions when he is most anxious to say something worthy of being listened to, that he is best able to satisfy his own wishes. I confess that to-night I feel my mind almost over powered when I reflect on the grandeur of the de votion—not national only, but world-wide —that is being p a id to the memory of one man. I question whether such an amount of grateful and affec tionate remembrance was ever before concentrated and so extended. The question naturally occurs -Whence all this gratitude ?—honourable alike to him who occasions and him who cherishes it; surely no unworthy sentiment, since it ascends to the Creator through the person of one of his created. Whence this gratitude ? Simply because that Scottish peasant added more than most men to the stock of human happiness ; and he did so by throw ing wider open the gate of human knowledge. (Cheers.) The most valuable of all knowledge is knowledge of ourselves, and it is that the poet teaches. Great as the benefactor of his species is -zvho extends the confines of science, not less great i s hft whose finer eye looks with a clearer percep tion io.to all the subtle mechanism of the human heart. Cheers.) Robert Burns invented no steam engine, smiles ; he b u t. he knew the secret source of tears and called up thou u. iscovered no new planet, but he stars, for he touchetl i • as with a fierY thong: a. that twinkled in the soul like latent emotion until it . finger, every qtarted into light ; he made us no richer in worldly how divine a thing human 10" may wealth, but he taught us be ; he taught us the nobility of earnest patri . o tism and unflinch inc, manliness •, he taught us how t i l,ftndent with hese, or any of these, may make the darkest life resp a gleam of inward lustre. (Cheers.) HenZ'e comes it that thousands of his fellow-men, who neve:saw him in the flesh, have to-day met in every quartOr of the globe to do him honour i ; hence it comes that it the mght Of the whole world's good wishes with him goes ; Blessings and prayers, in nobler retinue In s Follow n this l wondrous l i p n o g t e s n ta te l' ' Than sceptred king or laurelled conqueror knows, intensified by the con sciousness that Burns was essentially, and, from his cradle to his grave, our countryman—a Caledonian. The country to which other great men' have be longed seems often to have been an accident of birth. There appears no reason why Shakspere might not have been born in Scotland, and Beattie or Campbell in England. But Burns never ! He was a concentration of the genius of Scotland. His patriotism was Scotch— Wha for Scotland's King and law, Freedom's sword will strongly draw, Freeman stand, or freeman fa', Let him on wi' me I" (Loud cheers.) His delight in the beauties of ex ternal nature was Scotch— " Their groves o' sweet myrtle let foreign lands reckon, Where bright beaming summers exalt the perfume ; Far dearer to me yon lone glen o' green breckan, Wi' the burn stealing under the lang yellow broom." His loves were Scotch, and the happiest moments with the objects of his love were in the midst of Scottish scenery— " Ye bank and braes and streams around The Castle o' Montgomery, Green be your woods and fair your flowers,. Your waters never drumlie ; There simmer first unfaulds her robe, An' there the langest tary ; For there I took the last fareweel 0' my sweet Highland Mary." (Applause.) His noble independence was Scotch— " Is there for honest poverty earliest l for ie a' t hat . Wha hangs his head and a' that, The coward slave we pass him by— (Loud We dare be s poorar st and that. " aspirations cheers.) Hi s were Scotch— " Even then a wish, I mind its power, A wish that to my latest hour Shall strongly heave my breast, That I for poor auld Scotland's sake Some useful plan or book could make, Or sing a sang at least." Shall Scotland not •be proud of her peasant poet— " Who murmur'd to the running brooks A music sweeter than their own I" (Cheers.) ' Show me a song-writer from the days , of Anacreon to the days of Beranger, who comes within a thousand miles of him. (Immense ap plause.) All social and friendly gatherings do good to the hearts of care-worn men ; but we have assembled here to-night with a nobler motive than to eat and drink •and be merry. We have assem bled to do justice to the better parts of our nature, by declaring our veneration for a true bard who died in poverty, but who has made us heirs to the priceless riches of his own effulgent mind. I leave the theme with reluctance, but it has already been descanted on with an eloquence that has charmed us all with a copious grace and beauty peculiar to the rich, genial, and refined mind of an Alison. (Applause.) The toast I have the honour to propose is " The Poets of England." I do not know whether it is meant to be limited to the living poets ; if so, their number, I fear, is small, taking the word poet in its true and proper sense. But I think it may be understood to comprehend all those poets who shed, about twenty-five years ago, so brilliant a light over the literary horizon. Their bodily presence has been taken from us, and it is a somewhat sad thought for those who, like myself, have been privileged to look upon their fine and thoughtful foreheads, and to hear their living voices, that nothing now remains of a Byron, a Coleridge, a Wordsworth, a Southey, a Shelley, a Rogers, a Hemans, and a Landon, but the moulder ing dust in their graves. Yet, though dead, they still speak to us solmenly and sweetly—none with more sweetness than Wordsworth, because none with a truer and purer human love and under standing. The sacred key was intrusted to the keeping of them all, by which the deeper heart of man is unlocked ; and the electric thrill emanating from them diffuses itself through all lands— " One touch of nature makes the whole world kin I" (Applause.) Of living poets I shall not pretend to speak ; but, as Wordsworth in his beautiful sonnets on personal feeling says, he will mention two female portraitures " pre-eminently dear"— "The gentle lady, wedded to the Moor, And heavenly Una with her milk-white lamb—" so I shall venture to name two poets as standing conspicuously out among all our living minstrels, and sending abroad from their resounding lyres richer and nobler melodies than any of their com peers. You will not doubt that r mean Alfred Tennyson, and the high-minded lady Mrs. Barret Browning. (Cheers.) Their styles are altogether different, eaoh marked by its own originality ; but in the works of both there is a repertory of dig nified and graceful thoughts, of deep , glowing feel• ings, of suggestive and lofty imaginings, which have worthily won for them a place far up the sacred mount. Of them, and of all who labour at the same delightful tasks, we say with universal voice— " Blessings with them, and eternal praise, Who gave us nobler loves, and nobler cares ; The poets who on earth have made us heirs Of Truth, and pure delight, by heavenly lays ?" (Loud applause.) Permit me to couple with my toast the health of an English poet now present, whose English heart is not the less sound that it has in it some Scotch affections, which inspired him with a poet's yearning to do honour with us to Scotia's bard. Mr. Moiackton Milnes—(applause) --so well known for his more recent exertions in the canse of legislative and. social improvement, has written, among other effusions of great energy and beauty," Memories of many Scenes." I hope that to-night will enable him to add to them a fresh memory which he may deem worthy of cherishing, and that he will at least believe that " poor auld Scotland," whilst it remembers departed, welcomes living genius. (Prolonged applause.) Mr. MONCKTON MILNES, in acknowledging the toast, said—l have been labouring under some in disposition, and am particularly unfitted to address you upon this great occasion. But, nurtured as I have been in the love and admiration of Robert Be irns, and accidentally connected with the fortunes of his family, I gladly acceptedthe proposal to act a e t rop s ioon on oo e fs of the arbiters of the merits of the poems b ed ein in g y his ou h r on gu our est , and for myself t o h f youedistwinicll have seen the poem to which the prize has been ad judged, and have, I hope,not considered 't th unwor y of the occasion; but it becomes me here to say a word respecting the unsuccessful candidates for the crown, many of whom have produced works of deep feeling and noble expression, and all of them ap peared impressed with the real greatness of the character it was proposed to them to celebrate. (Cheers.) In the phrase of one, they all recognised "The glorious and poetic peasant Driving his laurelled plough." In the words' of another, they appreciated the character of the people, who read by turns "The Psalms of David and the Songs of Burns." (Cheers.) Two impressions, indeed, which seem to me altogether erroneous, prevailed in many of the poems—the neglect of the poet by his contempora ries, and the connection between his poetic gifts and the sorrows and discomforts of his life. Now, I believe that the worth of a great poetnever received a more rapid acknowledgment from a nation than Scotland has given to Burns, from the first letter of Dr. Blacklock to the celebration of this hundredth anniversary. lam equally convinced that the poetry of Burns was the joy and sustenance of an exist tenee not otherwise favoured by fortune. True, the lights of the poetic temperament cast their shadows, as they will always do ; true, there was in him that earnest melancholy, which is ever the reverse of the true metal of genuine humour. But without his poetryßurns must have been as much an exile from his native land as Dante, whereas, with it, the inci dents of his common and private life have become the events of a century; the songs composed for the merriment of an obscure tavern club have set millions of tables ringing with delight; the natu ral outpourings of his affections have become the stimulus and the interpreter of youthful passion in ten thousand breasts ; and the religious bickerings of a remote province have been made vocal with the most stirring trumpet tones of civil and religious liberty. I remember being in Prussia some 14 years ago, when the Censor of the Press condemned a spirited translation of " A man's a man for a' that" as hostile to the order of society, and calculated to set class against class. I should be very glad to have that censor here to-night, and to ask him whe ther this, and the thousand other festivities now taking place, exhibited hostility and ill-will to man kind ? (Cheers.) You have done me the honour of connecting my health with the poets of England. When Burns was writing the poetry of England was mainly represented by the languid grace of Cowper, and the wit of Peter Pindar, and I do not know how much of the great revival which followed may be attributed to the influence of your bard. I wish I could anticipate any such phenomena in our days. We have, indeed, a }aureate whom we can boldly match with any of his predecessors, yet I am conscious that the tendency of the time is rather to enjoy and rest upon the poetry that has gone before it than to add to the imaginative store of the world. Perchance it must be so. Our thoughts have not already been expressed in as good music as words can supply, and our business is rather to ap preciate and apply , them—just as Burns took up the screed of some old ballad that touch his fancy, and transformed it into a poem for his own and for all time. Those, indeed, who desire to combine the plea sures of the composition of verse with the duties of active life will rejoice to remember that Burnsmade an excellent and diligent exciseman, as Wordsworth an accurate stamp distributor; and instead of amenting that such men were so employed, they w i t . ? delight in every combination of rare talents and ha: TA toil. Who shall say whether, if the ums t a nces of the life of Burns been an d repose, his wonderful powers o tinib u o t g w she a to ril o c et i o r beenhafvoei.4.., ' obscured and contracted ? But be this as it may, I am sure that the passionate a dmiration which brings together the multitudes of this evening would not have been excited. The sorrows of the great have ever been the aliment of the veneration of mankind : and the victims of mis fortune in high places have even attained super natural powers, without any very close scrutiny into their character and conduct. But the time comes when even the sad stories of the deaths of kings" fail to move the popular imagination ; and yet, even then, the heart of a nation is stirred to its depths by the recollection of suffering genius, and something of a sacred halo surrounds the poet who has endured and striven like a man. (Great applause.) " John Anderson, my Jo." Song by Mr. Robson , Mr. A. DENNIST ON, writer, Greenock, then gave the next toast—" The Peasantry of Scotland." The toast was drunk with great applause. Mr. BLANCIIARD JERROLD gave " The Poets of Scotland, and my friend Mr. Peter Cunningham." Mr. RPE.TAEI IINp CllNH"'oGfriacaart s r ta ep ir lie s, d p . proposed "The ro City of Glasgow and its Civic Rulers." o U TEaT,. The LORD PROVOST replied. Mr. BAILLIE COCIIRANE, of Lamington—Ladies and gentlemen —As you have so cordially re sponded to the poets of England, and also to the poets of our own country, it is most suitable that on such an occasion we •should also toss off a bumper to the poets of Ireland ; and although assuredly I am not the person capable of doing justice to that toast, still, if Irish traditions be correct, this toast should at all times be pro posed by a. Scotchman, for I find that in various works I reland asserts that she not only bestowed sovereigns to the name of Scotia on our native land, but also that we are indebted to her for all our Highland airs. We are sold that when the inhabi tants of Munster and Leinster d the Brehons, or, as they were called , the legislative bards, from Ireland, they took shelter in the wilds and pastures of Scotland. A legislative bard is not a position well ascertained in our constitution. We possess poets, we possess legislators, and we posses s gentle men who are both poets and le g islators, like my gifted friend Mr. M. 7.llilnes ; but althoug h I have heard him make many excelleit speeches, I never heard them set to music, nor can believe he will move his important amendment on the Reform Bill in the Spenserian metre. But it does not require any assurance to conviice us of the extreme beauty of the Irish melodies. The lyrical power has not expired with Cormac and O'Carolan. The name of Sheridan and of Moore, and Sheridan's illustrious granddaughters , of Goldsmith , of Lever, of Morgan of the author of the" Angel's Whisper" and "Rory O'More," our honoured guest of this evening, Samuel Lover—all these testify that the cunning has not deserted the land, and that the fire of Irish talent still burns like the inextinguishable lamps of Kildare's shrine. But there is one bond of union between the minstrels of the two countries, that is, the feeling of independence and the love of country that each awakens. Moore and Lover are as dear to Ireland as Burns is to Scotland, and who shall say what an effect these great men may , have had on the destinies of their respective countries. Forinstance, there was a time a century ago when our nationality was endangered—when Scotlandhadbeen converted into that battlefield " where those who conquer do not win, and they must lose who gain." The nation felt that a stranger was in the land, and his cold hand was laid on iti.heart. Aye, at that time there was danger, not for our national, but our mental independence—for:a feeling was growing up in the south hostile to our progress ; but, in spite of all feelings of jealousy,. Scotland, after a pause, marched on England, not in military array, but in the less dazzling march of mind and intelligence and this march, the echo of which is still heard throughout the land—this march was preceded by Robert Burns. (Cheers.) Ay, and there is another point of sympathy between the lyrical poets of the two countries. In most cases we find that the bard is neglected during his lifetime. Mr. Lover has done a great and a good work for Ireland in collect ing those immortal lyrics, which , but for him m i g ht, in time, have been lost. What a long list of names is there of those who, like Carolan, died neglected; and what shall we say of the last days of Richard Brinsley Sheridan ; but all countries can testify— " How nations, slowly wise, and meanly just, To buried merit raise the tardy bust." Who erected a monument to Robert Ferguson, many years after his death ? Why, a brother poet, Robert Burns. The hand of genius possesses its noble army of martyrs. See Camoens dying in a garret—Tasso lying on straw in a madhouse—Milton in poverty —Otway choked with the food doled out in charity —Chatterton always the melancholy Chatterton, and most so in his death. Yes, and afterwards justice is done to departed genius—Tasso is crowned on his deathbed; Petrarch in the Capitol of Rome; and now the memory of Burns is crowned by the one unanimous cry of love and admiration, which echoes beyond the Indus and the Atlantic waves. When Mr. Lover returns to Ireland, if he is asked, as Macduff asks Ross, " Stands Scotland where she did ?" he will answer in his own nervous language —he will tell of the enthusiasm he has witnessed — he will testify that there is no danger of our nation ality being lost where its master-spirit is so honoured. " The friends we have tried Are by our side" this day, in the persons of the honoured sons of the immortal poet ; and when we behold citizens of all countries combining in this tribute to departed greatness, we may anticipate, as the poet antici pated, the day when. "Man to man the wide world o'er, shall brithera be." Mr. SAMUEL LOVER replied. The Hon. Judge HALIBURTON, on rising to pro pose the next toast, was received with immense cheering. He said, I accepted the invitation to appear here to-night with peculiar pleasure. 150 years have elapsed since my family left the borders America—(hear, hear) —and I am the first of that family that has ever made its appearance in its fatherland—(cheers)—and the reception that you have been so good as to accord to me to-night over powers me in a way that I cannot well express what I feel on the occasion. I have been honoured by being requested to propose a toast which, I am sure, every one who hears me will receive with a most cordial and affectionate response—" The Clergy of Scotland." When it was first proposed to me to give this toast, I confess that I was con siderably embarrassed. (Laughter.) It did not appear to me particularly appropriate that so vene rable, so pious, so zealous, and so learned a body as the Church of Scotland should be given to the humble author of Sam Slick. (Roars of laughter.) I thought, perhaps, that it might more appropri ately have been given by one nearer home, and one better able to do justice to such a subject; but a moment's reflection taught me that nothing was required of me but to propose it, for it was a toast that spoke for itself, as the clergy had their bond of union with the country in the feelings, in the sympathies, and in the hearts of the people. (Hear, and cheers.) Nothing, therefore, remained for me but to propose it, for, like the sublime inscription in St. Paul's Cathedral to the immortal architect-- "Si monumentum, quteris circumspice," their eulogium is to be found in the character of the people, in the institutions they have fostered, and in that comprehensive system of education which they encourage that has made Scotland pre-eminent among the nations. (Cheers.) Having said this much I should feel that I had done all that was required of me ; but the clergy of Scotland are not the whole Scottish Church, and there is a very large body of Scottish clergymen whom they have sent abroad as learned as those that are resident, as pious, as laborious, as self denying, and as useful, in British North America. (Cheers.) It is easy to talk of North America as a place that is brought to our borders by the advantage of steam ; but it is so large a country, and so widely spread, that it is impossible to estimate these venerable pioneers in the cause of civilisation without looking at the map—without recalling to mind that these vast possessions cover one-ninth part of the superficial surface of the whole ,globe. The hon. judge commented at some length on the labours of the Scottish clergy in that distant and wide-spread region, and the high estimation in which they were held by the people, characterising, them as a body of men distinguished for their reli gious integrity, frugality, industry, and general respectability . . He referred to the delusive pictures which were drawn in connexion with the subject of emigration to America; and, in regard to the object of their meeting, expressed his regard for the memory of Burns, remarking that he himself liked human nature, that he had studied it, and liked the simplicity with which Burns had written. Before concluding his observations, he alluded to the Rev. Dr. M'Leod, whom he had had the high honour and pleasure of making acquaintance with on the other side of the Atlantic, and remarked that the amenity of his manner and the eloquence of his pulpit ora tory would long be remembered by the populations through whom he had passed. (Cheers.) He was glad also to see that at the end of a century there had been time to weave that cloak of charity which covereth a multitude of sins. (Cheers.) If that cloak had not been woven within that period, he for one should have thought little of the clergy or laymen of Scotland. He called upon them to give the " Clergy of Scotland—resident and absent— those here and in North America." (Applause.) Organ—" Luther's Hymn." Rev. Dr. M'LEoD, of the Barony, replied to the toast. Mr. S. F. TROTTER proposed the health of " Col. Burns and the other existing relatives of the poet," which was' warmly responded to. Colonel BURNS and Mr. ROBERT BURNS BEGG acknowledged the compliment. Mr. WM. BURNS proposed " The Centenary Celebrations all over the World." Mr. BUCHANANAN, M.P., proposed "Our Guests," coupled with the names of several of the gentlemen on the platform. The toast was drunk with all the honours. Bailie HOULDSWORTIT, proposed " The Festival Committee," which was received with loud applause. Mr. C. R. BROWN, in reply, said—Mr. Chairman, were I to use the ordinary stereotyped phraseology, and say that the committee never expected such a pleasing recognition of their services, I would sim ply be committing great injustice. I have been connected with many committes, but never expe• rienced such zealous and cordial co-operation. (Applause.) But, sir, had the toast been entirely overlooked in the programme, yet the glorious suc cess which has crowned our efforts would, of itself, have been esteemed a fitting reward. Being the first centenary festival, the correspondence may truly be characterised as immense.; yet, all through out, we indeed felt that "the labour we delight in physics pain." (Loud cheers.) In conclusion, sir, the committee, through me, would venture to ex press the hope that this great festival may not ter minate in a mere ovation to the memory of the mighty dead, but that, sooner or later, the embodi ment of some such monumental structure as is sha dowed forth in the tableaux to my right may soon grace the metropolis of western Scotland—a struc ture really worthy of Glasgow and of Scotland. Prolonged cheermg.) The Rev. CHAS. itOGERS, LL.D., proposed "The Press." Mr. LOWE (editor of the Critic) replied. Mr. SAM. LOVER proposed " The Lasses" in a humorous and happy speech. Mr. DAVID MARSHALL LANG gave " The Land of Burns and the Glasgow Ayrshire Society . " Mr. R. B. BEGG proposed " The Chair," which was received with great cordiality. The CHAIRMAN acknowledged the toast, and stated that the recollection of that night would never be effaced from his mind. Mr. M'CUBBIN proposed " The health of the Croupiers, coupled with that of Mr. Dalglish." Mr. DALGLISH, M.P., briefly replied. The proceedings were brought to a close about 20 minutes past 11, by the singing of " Auld Lang sync," accompanied by the band and organ, and the company joining in the chorus standing. NEW WAR SKIPS FOR RUSSIA. (From the San Francisco Times, Dec. 11.) Several weeks ago Capt. Davidoff, of the Russian Imperial Navy, arrived at this port from the Amoor river, with instructions from the Emperor to have a steam gun-boat constructed in California for the use of the Russian Government on the coast of Eastern Asia. The captain has since that time been engaged in making examinations of ithe different kinds of wood produced in this country, with the view of ascertaining whether that now used for shipbuilding purposes would answer the desired purpose. The oak and laurel, now principally adopted by ship builders, has answered very well for small vessels and inland steamboats, for which the usually small dimensions of the wood seemed to meet every re quirement, but whether that material would apply to as large a vessel as a gunboat, which is to be of the size of those used in the Sea of Azoff by the English in the late war, is another question. The Russian Government has ordered that the vessel shall be ready to leave California by July next, and to be in the Amoor River by August. This demands the utmost despatch ; and the difficulty of the task is shown by the fact that the timber for the vessel has yet to be cut from the woods. The chief trouble, however, is that the timber, after be ing cut and conveyed to the Navy-yard at Mare Island, requires to be seasoned before being put into the hull of the gunboat. - The question thus arises whether, in the stated period, any wood can be made ready for the pre scribed purpose, and whether, in fine, the two classes of timber now used—laurel and oak—can be sea soned in that space of time. Any old Californian who may be well-informed on these matters will confer a favour by addressing to this journal his views on the subject, as well as to what are the most durable woods used for mechanical purposes in this state. Captain Davidoff has, we believe, instructions to apply elsewhere to have the vessel built, in case California does not offer the requisite natural facilities. The mechanical portion, he thinks, could not be excelled anywhere in the world. As an officer of experience in naval con struction, he expresses the highest opinion of the work he has seen, net only at the Navy-yard at Mare Island, but at the private shipyards in San Francisco. At this time, when our own Government is hav ing a war steamer built at the public works, ite would be a double honour to the growing mechani cal genius of our young state of California if it could enjoy the honour of turning out the first vessel for foreign service on the Pacific. For this reason we believe that any person having reliable information on the subjects above referred to will not hesitate to communicate them. New York has just com pleted the largest wooden vessel in the world for the Russian Government—the Grand Admiral. Perhaps as that power increases her commercial operations in the Amoor country, she may often become a customer of our mechanical works. It is a matter of great importance to show, by incontestable evidence, that California has within herself not only the mechanical skill for the con struction of war ships, but the material of Which to build them. Eventually we must maintain a Pacific fleet for the protection of American com merce on this great ocean. Those ships should never leave the Pacific, and should be built in Cali fornia and of Californian material. THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 27, 1859., of Scotland to seek their fortunes in the wilds of CITY COMMISSION OF SEWERS. A court was held on Tuesday for the despatch of public business. Dr. LETHEBY'S annual report of the sanitary condition of the City was presented, from which it appeared, " That last year there were 3,184 births in the City, 2,883 deaths, and 1,689 marriages. All these numbers are below the average for the corres ponding. period of the last ten years. The falling off in the several numbers has been very general throughout all the districts of the City, but it has been most marked in the Central division, where from a slow but steady emigration of the wealthier classes, and the encroachments for public improve ments on the domiciles of the poorer, the fixed population has been greatly reduced. in the other districts, where these influences have not been so largely at work, the reduction of the death rate has no doubt been caused by the exercise of sanitary powers. Of the 3,184 children born in the course of the year,1,643 were males, and 1,51 females, propor tions which are as 1,066 males to 1,000 females. The 2,883 deaths in the City were distributed as follows —1,115 occurred in the Western Union, 703 in the Eastern, and 1,065 in the Central. These numbers are in proportion of 25 per 1,000 of the inhabi tants of the first named district, 24 per 1,000 of the second, and nearly 19 of the third, the general total being about 22 per 1,000 of the entire popu lation. 21 per cent. of all the deaths occurred in the summer quarter, 24 per cent. in the spring, 25 in the autumn, and 29 i n th e w i n t er . The high mortality of the last named season is due, not merely to the trying influences of the weather, but also to the circumstance that this is the season when there is always a large congregation of the poor in the City, and with it the evils of overcrowding. Besides which, the condition of the weather does not permit of those sanitary operations which are so largely employed in the summer and autumn_ The table of the principal causes of death showed. that the number of deaths from violence has risen from a general average of 130 per annum to 157 ; those. from nhthisis from 519 to 523 ; and those from - measles and the whooping.cough and croup from 192 to 277. These last, in fact, are the diseases which have been unusually prevalent during the year, and although they are not at all preventible to a like extent, yet there can be no doubt :that in every case their force can be lessened by the aid of sanitary science. The chief increase in the mortality from zymotic diseases has been notified in the East London Union, but phthisis has prevailed to the largest extent in the western districts. The mortality from other diseases has almost in every instance fallen below the average, for the deaths from fever were but 88 instead of 150; those from diarrhoea and dysentery among adults have fallen from 153 to 38 ; scarlet fever from 103 to 50 ; smallpox from 24 to 6 ; and erysipelas from 26 to 19. Altogether, indeed, as regards the deaths from zymotic diseases, excepting those from croup, measles, whooping-cough and diphtheria, which have so largely exceeded the average, there has been a falling off from an average of 456 to 201, or to less than half. This is a strong proof of the value of the sanitary measures adopted, for nothing speaks so forcibly of the general condi tion of a place as the death rate of these maladies. During the yettr 5,340 inspections of houses were made, and 2,446 visits to the common lodging-house's of the City. The number of orders issued for sexi tary improvement amounted to 1,721." Upon the motion of Mr. Ross, seconded by Mr. BARKLEY, the report was orderedto be printed and circulated among the members of the court. METROPOLITAN AND CITY IMPROVEMENTS. The CHAIRMAN having given a general statement of the financial business of the court for the paw year, Deputy HARRISON, a member of the Metropoli tan Board of Works, said he had endeavoured, although ineffectually, to prevail upon the board to carry out necessary improvements in Newgate street at their own expense, so that, as matters stood, if they were done at all, although they were mttropolitan improvements, they must be done at the expense of the City ratepayers, who, at the same time, had to bear one-tenth part of the ex pense of all improvements effected by the board in the metropolis generally, whether the City was benefited by them or not He moved, "that it be referred to the Improvement Committee to consider and report what further steps should be taken with respect to the future improvements which have been agreed to by thiscourt, and towards the costs of which it was expected the Metropolitan Board of Works would have contributed one-third of the amount, but which they have decided nut to do by their resolution dated the 21st of January." (Hear, hear.) Mr. Ross seconded the motion, which was sup ported by Mr. H. L. Taylor, and carried unani mously, it being understood that this important subject would be fully debated on the bringing up of the report. OMNIBUS SUBWAY COMPANY. The engineer brought up a report stating that this company proposed to construct a subway, starting at the Royal Exchange, passing through ' Cheapside, the north side of St. Paul's, Ludgate hill, Fleet-street, the Strand, Charing-cross, Parlia ment-street, to the Houses of Parliament, having stations at every quarter of a mile throughout its length. It was to be constructed at but a moderate depth beneath the streets, so as not to interfere with the gas and water pipes, and was to be in the centre of the roadway, to avoid interference with vaults and cellars. The width of the carriages would be only sufficient to carry two persons abreast in the first class and three abreast in the second class carriages, two lines of railway being laid. The project, if carried out, would involve the re-con struction of the whole of the sewers throughout the entire length of the subway within the City, as well as• that of many others in collateral streets, and would cause during its construction much temporary inconvenience. Th e sc h eme wo uld require the careful attention of the Commission before any decision could be safely given with respect to it. The report was adopted ; and after the transac tion of sonic routine business, the court adjourned. CURIOUS CASES OF INJURY TO TILE EYE. _ We extract the two following extrarordinary cases of serious injury sustained by the organs of Yision from the fourth number of Dr. Krau's Cli nique Europeene, specially destined to record the most remarkable clinical cases which have occurred in all the hospitals of Europe. The first case, ob served at Prague about a month ago, was that of a woman who, being engaged in splitting wood , was struck on the left eyebrow by a log which rebounded from the pavement. The blow caused a slight exco riation, which soon healed; but the eye, although not directly touched, offered growing symptoms of impaired vision in consequence of the violent con cussion it had sustained. The pupil was consider ably enlarged, and upon closer examination it was found that the crystalline lens had been depressed, and made to recline almost at right angles with its natural position, towards the bottom of the vitreous humour, just as if the operation for cataract by couching had been successfully performed. The patient was kept in observation at the hospital for some time, and, as she experienced RO further in convenience, she was provided with proper spec tacles, and sent home.—The second case is still more singular.—A day labourer, named Villeqdey, aged 31, and living in Paris, was, in August last, labouring under an attack of erysipelas, which producing delirium caused him to fall out of bed. In his fall his eye struck against a chair, he became insensible, and remained lying on the floor until his wife returned from market. She sent for the phy sician, who, finding the eye greatly swollen, or ' dered poultices and leeches. The tumour subsided, and eight days later the patient was sufficiently recovered (to be removed to the country, where another practitioner took him under his treatment. But, as the eye continued to give no signs of reco very, he, three month, later, applied for advice to Dr. Desmarres. The eye at that time appeared quite flat, the upper eyelid, which was split in two, banging down as if the socket was quite empty. On raising the eyelid a granulous mass without any distinct form was discovered. Dr. Desmarres, on introducing a probe, felt a hard substance, and to his astonishment soon extracted a piece of wood 5 centimetres in length and 51 in circumference , which turned out to have belonged to the chair on which the unfortunate man had fallen ! The ex traction, of course, produced an immediate cure, and the natural eye has been replaced by an arti ficial one. JEAN PAUL RlCHTER.—Essentially anti-French in his sympathies and thoughts, it was his mission to create a healthier and homelier tone i Ti erinan - literature than Kotzebue and his followers had left. The humour might be too ponderous for our tastes, as the language was too difficult for even many Germans to thoroughly understand ; but the human heart beneath was so noble, and the object was so true to the best interests of literature, that he soon and his words forced themselves a w ith time ; as truth gains always overbore channel which all e p p d o e s e i p t i e o n n s , strength and power with years. Richter now ranks as one of the first men in German literature ; he has had his critics, his commentators, imitators, his exponents. His rugged language is no longer a stumbling-block, for is there not a Richter glossary ? And in a day which runs more danger of failing through cant than by levity, Jean Paul with kis ardent religiousness of nature does not want admirers of all classes. Indeed, he has narrowly escaped the curse of be coming a " fashionable study." 'Carlyle has done much to make him known in England, we may say that he has dono all. He was the first to render into intelligible Saxon the deep Teutonic bass, which, until listened to attentively, sounds but ride and inarticulate murmurings, as the wind L through sea •side caves,—Literary Gazette, MEETING- OF TISH 111E111 A meeting of the Irish liberal representativ es took place on Tuesday evening at the residence of Mr. Cogan, M.P., 93, Stephen's•green, Dublin, at . which the following declaration was unanimously adopted and numerously signed : " A circular having lately issued convening . 11 meeting of Irish landed proprietors, to be held rn Dublin on the 27th of January, for the purpose of ' expressing their sense of the impunity which has attended agrarian outrages, the insecurity of life and property in Ireland, and the necessity of senl e .' further measures for remedying such alleged evils, and a statement having been published by the honorary secretaries of the proposed meeting , assigning as reasons for not holding that meeting, that a deputation, consisting of themselves and of two other members of the committee, had had an interview with the Lord Lieutenant of a most sates' factory nature, and that the objects of the contem plated meeting had been attained,' we, the under' signed Irish members of Parliament, feel called upon publicly to express our dissent from th e opinions expressed by the promoters of the contem plated meeting, and our disapprobation of th e objects principally sought to be attained by it. WI believe that life and property are as secure, and that justice is as effectually administered in Ireland' as in any other part of the United Kingdom, an d we consider the statements to the contrary, Pu t v forward by the promoters of the contemplate d meeting, unfounded and calumnious. We therefore strongly deprecate and shall strenuously resist any attempt to introduce any measures of a coercive character. We consider secret and exclusive political societies, whatever names they may' bear' and of whatever class or creed they may be co l " posed, dangerous to the peace and injurious to the prosperity of Ireland, and we expect that the legi.s" lature will discourage and suppress all such nilr chievous organisations without distinction. lye also feel bound to express our conviction that the existing laws, regulating the relations of landlord and tenant in Ireland, are, in many respects, unin", and impolitic, and require immediate and materin a l• amendment; and we trust that the legislature speedily pass into a law some measure giving adequate security to the tenant that he shall no t , be deprived of the benefit of improvements effec ted by his industry and capital." On the motion of Mr. M'Carthy, seconded hi Mr. O'Brien, it was resolved that a copy of t he above declaration should be sent to each of the absent representatives for signatire. The meeting then separated. COUNTRY MARKETS. HULL—JAN. 26. We have to report a limited supply of wheat at marke t ' and prices at 18 reduction on last week, with very little business. Fine barley in fair inquiry, and is per qr dearer . Beans scarce and is up. Oats a small supply at about l ate rates. Wheat.... Old white per qr. 4os Od to 485 ocl„,, 1) Old red New white .. „ New red .... , Dantzic, Konb., &c. old white 50s Od to 53s n Dutch, Belgian, and French 4ss Od to 46s , r i Baltic and Hamburg, red ... 43s Od to 45s y,r, St. Petersburg and Riga, old.. 38s Od to 39s !),1 Barley.... English malting 33s Od to 370 n u. Grinding 2Bs Od to 30s ~"; Saal and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish 29s Od to 31s , A 7 Grindine , Oats English, ' old Archangel and Riga, per at Os 11d to 1 1 1,1 Friesland and Dutch Osllid to 15 ~ Swedish and Danish o Bl ld to o s ll,ll Beans ....English, old, per qr. 44s Od to 4 68 New pigeon 4 os Od to 420 „j New tick 39s Od to 40$ v, • Egyptian Peas Foreign breakers Grinding 5 Tares ....Winter Indian Corn 8 5 50 s a s s 0 0,0 d d Odd to t ttt 0 0 00 3 449 6 910 5 :0 C l ow i , , : u O d 30s Od to 32s O, Linseed, feeding crushing • 44s Od to 510 ° 0 Linseed cakes (Hull) £9 5 oto £9 1 0 0 Foreign 8 10. oto 81 5 0 Rape cakes . 610 oto 6 15 0 Bones - 512 6to 516 NEWARK—JAN. 26. At the market this morning there was a moderate surd ply of English wheat, for which the trade was slow, 83/ 0 is under last week's currencies Oats and barley equally dear as last week. Beans'only in moderate supply. „ N White wheat, new, 47s to 51s Barley, grinding .. 27s to ou., Red do. 4os to 453 Oats, old, . 23s to Old white —s to —a 'New do 26s to Red do. --s to --•-s I Beans.. 478 to S S, Barley, malting... ;36a to 42s • Peas . . .. ....... 55s to 0°- DUBLIN—JAN. 25. At this day's market there was only a moderate atteed.: ante of buyers, and the demand was quite on a real' scale. In Indian corn nothing doing. s. . s. d. s. d. 0 . el o d. Wheat, white.. 22 6t025 6 bo, new ll 6t013 0 Do., red 2l Gto 23 0 . Bere Do., new .... 21 6to 21.6 Rapeseed Barley Oats Do., black lO 6to 11 0 Indian corn .. 27 oto 30 BRISTOL SUGAR—JAN. 26. Owing•to the small quantity of West India in first ha 5 6 . 44 the sales this week have been unimportant, but still at ve.`,", full prices. The whole of the recent arrivals of rum /16' been taken by the trade at fully former rates. COAL MAR] (Prices of Coal per Ton at s. d. Wylam l4 9 Haswell Gas. l3 0 Tan&ld Moor Butes 12 3 Buddle's West Hartleyls 6 KET-JAN. 26. the close of the market.) IVals End. South Kelloe ll Hetton. lB Tees 18 Russell's Hetton Heugh Hall 17 Whitworth 14 Nixon's Durf r yn 2l Nixon's Merthyr .. . 2l P owe! s Duffryn Steam 2 1 23—Sold, 15. • Walls End. Kelloe l7 6 Riddell 16 3 Haswell • lB 6 Cassop ... l7. 6 Ships at market, LOCAL SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL—JAN. 26. The market was flat all day, with little business doia' —North British, 621.3—Y0rk and North Midland, 77 Eastern Counties, 12/ 9-16 Midland, 102 Che s . o and Holyheads, 481 I—Caledonians, 85 B.sl—Lancasn'L. and Yorkshire 971—London and North7Westerns, 0 6 / East Lancashire, 951 6—Dutch _Rhenish, 4/ 155 Grand Trunk of Canada, 8a 4 7 --Oreat Western, 55/ - Great Western of Canada, 161 14- 7 Dovers, 221 22 —Berwicks, 92 31 —Leeds Northern, 48i 9. MANCHESTER—JAN. 26. There was not much business doing, either for the Ili sent or next account but prices were steady. Matlocks, s —Leeds, 97k—Dovers, 22k—Eastern Counties, 121.—P ° Lancashire, 951 —Trunk Div. Debentures, 9s. BIRMINGHAM—JAN . . 26. 4 0 Business continues dull , and prices of railway shares ha a tendency downward. South Staffords 11 to 114 0 re Western Stour Valley Guaranteed, 54—Ditto Birtalk ham Guaranteed, 73 I — General Steam Navigation Co. , Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas, new, 191 pm. [ADVERTISEMENTI — HoIIoway's Pills and Ointment / 10 Weak or Sore Eyes.—ln infancy, from various causes , t foundation of this complaint is laid, which in maturer Yet o b ec omes a distressing defect, and at riper age impairs t o vision. However young the infant, on the first appear t , of sore eyes, the nurse should well rub Holloway's 0111 s, went thrice a day upon the issue and behind the e¢ id carefully washing the matter from the eyelids with tel l ,; / . milk and water. This treatment, properly applied, ne`, l , fails to cure the very worst cases of infantile ophtlialel; When the disease has been maltreated or neglected, o' a Pills and Ointment, together, will remedy the error II secure those important organs from chrome infianunati ° which blemishes beauty and injures sight. BIRTHS. CHICHESTER. —On the 22d inst., at Templemore, the Ac i ft 3 of Captain Chichester, 16th Regt., of a daughter. GREENHILL.—On the 24th inst., at 15, Queen-street, ger fair, the Hon. Mrs. Charles Greerbill, of a daughter. PEARSON.—On the 23d inst., at Stoke, near DevonP ° V the wire of Major Pearson , Gr enadier Guards, Major Brigade, of a son. O'DONOGHUE.—On the 16th inst., at 16, Lower Fit oc l; liam-street, Dublin, the wife of The O'Donoghue, of IP Glens, M.P., of a son and heir. READS: ---On the 24th inst., at 23, Wilton-place, Belgra lV square, the Lady Mary Reade, of a daughter. 4 4 1 0 W HI TBREAD. —On the 24th inst., at 22, E a ton-place, '- Lady Isabella Whitbread, of a daughter. WATIIRTIOUSE.—On the 26th inst., at 44, Russell-sq lls/11 the wife of Mr. Alfred Waterhouse, of a son. MARRIAGES, DICKER—CARTER.—On the 25th inst. at at Emmanuel D i nt ' trict Church, Streatham, Mr. Joh n 'Dicker, of Wat_fli7i, street, and Red-hill, to Elizabeth, on ly child of Mr. w Carter, of Ludgate-street, and Thornton-heath. .0 DUGDA.LE — GORDON.—On the 25th inst., at the VIVO church, Clifton, He nr y D ug d a l e , E sq ., ef Whiteknig,P•el Park, Reading, t o G race , younges t d aug hter of 1 1) °''' Gordon, Esq., of Clifton, and Tobago, West Indies. D ATHS. BAYTX.--On the 24th in E st., at 22, Albany-street, Rege: j it io t'. park, Sigismund G e o r ge Reginald, infant son of CO' Wentworth Bayly. COBEETT.—On the 24th inst. Frances, the wife of 1 13 . Cobbett, Esq., of Leystonstone, Essex, and 57, Fench lo- street. COOPER.—On the 25th inst., at 9, Nassau-place, Co ve cial-road east, Mr. R. Cooper, aged 80. LEFROY.-011 the 25th inst., at 54, Cambridge-teww , Hyde-park, Emily, wife of Colonel Lefroy, Royal Ar lery, aged 38. t cot , WALKER.—On the 23 d inst., at 10 , Southampton -$- ce d Covent-garden, suddenly, William Henry Walker, 64. ett LUS I IINGTON.—At 9, Mansfield-street, Evelyne, clang of Chas. M. Lushington, Esq. Of LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YO U of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, 1 0 '1 pi Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the coati Middlesex, Thursday, January 27, 1859. LIBERAL tar; L intell 810 to] SOp Autl ......_ Feb to for E Stoi an ( anc In- 11 Ear ) der cep aft, prc gai Li) lb ( ter on fro