The Express.
London, England, 1863-01-02 00:00:00

NEW YEARS DINNER To THE SALMI.;
SEWING SCHOOL GIRLS.

Yesterday the ladies' committee which had been
formed for the purpose of providing a Christmas dinner for
the women and girls employed in the Salford relief sewing
schools, gave • new year'. feast instead, the original in-
tention having been ►bandoned in consequence of the Lord
Mayor of London's generosity in providing • Christmas
dinner to the unemployed of Lancashire. In consequence
of an erroneous announcement that • monster plum pud-
ding, made by the Crated Cooks' Pension Society, of London,
for the Liumashire operatives, and presented to the Salford
New-year's dinner, would be on view at the town-hall,
yesterday, • vast number of people assembled during the
morning for the purpose of viewing the novel pudding.
Numbers of these persons b►d come from Rochdale, Bury,
Ashton, Oldham, Stockport, and surrounding town, and
deep was the disappointment at finding th►t their journeys
had been in vain, the doors of the town-hall being closed
against the anxious visitors. The large room in front of the
town-hall was appropriated for the dinner, as was also the
corridor separating the east and west wings, at the north
end of which the band of the Salford Volunteers was
and discoursed sweet mane at intervals. At the south sad
of the corridor gallery, opposite the entrance to the large
room, the monster plum pudding was placed, decorated with
evergreens, and bearing an inscription descriptive of it.
contents. The inscription abated that the pudding had
been made by the United Cooks' Pension Society, of London,
and that it had been boiled in • boiler belonging to the
Marylebone Union. The dimensions of the mould were 3ft.
2in. depth, 3ft. Sin. over top, and 2ft. gin. in bottom ; 10ft.
2in. in circumference in top, and tn. 4in. is circumf!srenceat

bottom. The ingredient' were 130Ib. of currants, 13016. of
sultanas, 2101 b. of dour, 1301 b. of suet, 8016. of candied peel,
80Ib. of sugar, 1,040 eggs, 8 gallons of ale, 416 of mixe
dd,
spice, 111 b. of ground ginger ; the gross weight, Unel.Lok
being 9001 b. The event of the New Year's dinner a
to have caused considerable excitement in Salford, t =re7i.
in front of the town-hall and the streets in the neighbour.
hood being crowded long before the hour (three o'clock)
appointed for the dinner. About the time named the
girls employed in the various schools began to arrive
in procession, each school enteriog the hall by doors
previously arranged, and taking their seats at tables /Mi.
cated by small printed cards. bearing the names of
the schools. The following were the schools represented,
and the numbers attending each eobool:—Christ Church, 48;
St. Stephen's, 216 ; Pendleton, 108 ; Hing-street, 40 ; Hope.
street, 14:1; St. John's, 118 ; Irwell-street, 66 ; Gravel-lane,
63 ; St. Peter's, 110; Ordeal's's*, 82 ; Mount-street, 106;
making a total of 1,100 women and girls. The dinner was
presided over by the Mayor W. Pennon. FAR., who, with
the assistance of Mr. Councillor Brown, found ample men.
potion in oaring roast beef for the numbers of keen appetites
which surrounded him. The arrangements were under the
superintendence of Mr. Dixon, of the Irwell Dining rooms,
New Bailey-street, who had contracted to supply the feast
with roast beef and plum pudding. The waitresses were se-
lected from various sewing schools, and their stations were
indicated by different coloured rosettes which they wore on
their breests. Everything was done in a very orderly and
efficient manner, and the women seemed most heartily to
enjoy the generous feutprovided for them by the thoughtful
ladies of Salford, many of whom were present to witness
the result of their labours.