The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-02-16 00:00:00

Band—" The Old English Gentleman."

Mr. FARQUHARSON'S rising was the signal for a new
outburst of hearty applause. He said : My Lord Ashley
and gentlemen all : In the first place, in rising I
beg to express to your lordship the deep sense I
feel of the honour you have done to the meet-
ing and to myself by presiding on this occasion. I
have received the greatest kindness from your noble
father, and lam most happy and gratified to say that
he has instilled in you the same wish and kindness to-
wards me. (Cheers.) It has pleased a merciful and
all-gracious God to allow me to live to an advanced age,
and to have outlived many dear and valued friends of my
early days. Gentlemen, testimonials, however sine,
must always be a source of pleasure and satisfaction to
those who receive them; but when they are presents, as
on the present occasion, I may say scattered over and
embracing a period of so long a time as fifty years, and
of that magnificent scale which I now see here, it is
impossible to find language to express the feelings and
emotions which they must create. But, gentlemen,
it is not the splendour and the magnificence of these
testimonials—it is the spirit which has prompted the
presentation of them, and the grounds on which they
are offered, and on which I accept, that is, mainly as
a proof of your regard and esteem. (Applause.) Gen-
tlemen, in the year 1833 a similar honour was paid to
me, in the presentation of that beautiful vase which
stands now over my head, and a beautiful piece of work-
manship, I think, you will allow it to be. Gentlemen,
I see here a great many, I am happy to say, of those
gentlemen whose names are engraved upon that vase,
and I beg to say, to them I feel, on this occasion, a
double debt of gratitude. With respect to the candela-
bra which hive been presented to me before, and are
now before you, they are, certainly, as you see, of
beautiful design and excellent workmanship; and, as to
that picture, though, perhaps, I should not give an
opinion upon it, I do say that I think it does no discredit
to Mr. Grant, the artist, and, perhaps, I may say no
injustice to myself. (Cheers.) And now, gentlemen,
I come to that part of my :Teach which is more difficult
than any. (Mr. Farquharson here exhibited much
emotion, but was cheered on.) I cannot convey to you
any terms adequate for the expression of gratitude which
I feel to you ; indeed my heart is full. (Cheers.) To
you, my lord, who have so handsomely and so graciously
presented to me this testimonial—to you, gentlemen,
who have thus honoured me—let me say, no time, no
circumstances can erase from my mind the proud
position in which you have this day placed me. As
long as I live, I say it from my heart, I shall feel—
(The speaker again appeared to be overcome, and was
encouraged by sympathising cheers)—the deepest and
most unbounded gratitude to all for your kindness here
and everywhere, past and present, to the Old Squire.
(Vociferous applause.) Gentlemen, I will not touch
upon other matters that have been broached here to-
day, but I shall leave those for a future part of the
evening ; I shall then enter a little more into detail into
what has been mentioned by Mr. Start. But I must not
allow you for a moment to suppose that I am going to
alter my mind; pray do not let me disappoint you, as I
hope by and by to explain most fully to you the reasons
that have led me to this determination. Gentlemen, I
thank you most sincerely for the honour you have done
me in allowing me to appear here to-day in
the character in which I am placed, and I assure you
over and over again that this will be the proudest day
of my life. (Cheers.) I feel that when a man is going out
of the world, he does not always get that support which
a younger man might do; I have lived, as I have told
you, to an advanced age, and still I feel that I have not
lost one atom of your kindness. (Loud cheers.) I
' assure you I shall never look upon that picture but it
will bring to mind the many happy days I have spent
' in the county of Dorset—the friends that surrounded
me—and, above all, you and your kindness, as shown
not only in your liberality, but also in your friendship,
which is ten thousand times better than all. Gentle-
men. I thank you a thousand times for the patience you
have given me. You know that lam not a very good
speaker, and I assure you this occasion fairly overcomes
me. (Mr. Farquharson resumed his seat amidst loud
cheers,)
Mr. FARQUHARSON again rose and said he had to pro-
pose a toast, which he did with the utmost pleasure for
it was one all would gladly receive and honour. His
acquaintance with Lord Ashley had not been of long
duration, his lordship not having been much in this
country; but during the time he had been here he
(Mr. Farquharson) could truly say he had shown towards
everyone the greatest kindness, proving himself to be a
true Englishman. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Mr.
Farquharson concluded by proposing the health of the
noble Chairman. (The toast was heartily honoured.)
The CHAIRMAN briefly returned thanks. He deeply
felt the kind and affectionate manner in which Mr.
Farquharson had proposed his health. Truly had the
worthy Squire said their acquaintance had been of
short duration, but when they were friends years were
of little moment; and the greatest fortune he could
wish himself was that he should become an active pupil
of the worthy Squire. (Cries of "Bravo !" and cheers.)
"The Man in the Moon": song by Mr. Ford.

The CHAIRMAN said the next toast was the" Mayor
of Dorchester and the Corporation." (Applause.) Not
having been often in this neighbourhood he could not
be expected to know much about the persons named in
this toast; his lordship did, however, happen to know
something of the Mayor, something which was a great
recommendation and which would be highly appre-
ciated. Besides being Mayor of Dorchester, Mr. Man-
field was a thorough-good preserver of foxes. (Hear,
hear and applause.) He (the Chairman) had, therefore,
great pleasure in giving—the Mayor and Corporation of
Dorchester. (The toast was warmly drunk with "three
cheers for the Mayor.")
Band: Waltz.
_ .

Mr. MANFIELD (the Mayor) returned thanks for the
kind manner in which they had received the health of
the Mayorand Corporation. It was impossible not to ap-
preciate the high honour which in a company like the pres-
ent must be conferred on such a body. If the cor-
poration had done anything towards promoting the
peace and quiet of the town of Dorchester, it was some
satisfaction to find that they were duly appreciated.
The corporation certainly might say for themselves that
they had endeavoured to do their duty. The town was so
orderly that his worship need not issk gentlemen to
retire quietly to their homes (loud laughter) ; and they
would excuse him if he gave them warning that their
policemen were exceedingly active. (Continued laughter.)
However, having been formerly a sportsman end a pre-
server of foxes, all he had to say was that it had always
given him the greatest pleasure if he had the op-
portunity to show the hounds a fox, and he hoped still to
be able to do so. (Applause.) The contemplated re-
tirement of Mr. Farquharson would not affect him (the
Mayor) very much, because for some years he bad dis-
continued the pleasure he used to have of going to the
meet. The Mayor concluded by thanking the assembly
for the honour conferred upon himself and the corpora-
tion, and drank to the good health of the company.
(Cheers.) _ _ .