The Press.
London, England, 1856-11-15 00:00:00

THE LORD MAYOR'S DAY.

ALDERMAN FINNIS inaugurated his mayoralty on
Monday with a show of more than usual " glory and
magnificence." Ancient customs were revived,—
knights and banners, watermen and warders, wor-
shipful companies, emblematic. figures, trumpeters
and sheriffs, and troops of dragoons and horse artil-
lery, abounded; while gaudy liveries, big bouquets, pink
silk stockings, and pretty pages surrounded the City's
Anointed : but the feature of the show was the agricul-
tural portion. Mr. Boydell's immense traction engine
and endless railway looked an unwieldy affair, and
its merits not being sell apparent at a harried glance
the magnificent grey plough-horses harnessed to it
engrossed the largest share of attention. The
apparatus appeared to be in motion, and was worked
by three or four attendants who looked unmistake-
able Cockneys. The endless railway was succeeded by
a gigantic car, drawn by four splendid horses, tower-
ing high over even the heads of the mounted police,
and decorated with agricultural produce from the
celebrated Tiptree-hall farm. This produce con-
sisted of sheaves of rich-looking wheat, trusses of
hay, huge turnips, carrots, potatoes, and mangold-
wurzal. The approach of this remarkable combina-
tion of nature's products and man's ingenuity was
hailed with shouts of applause and expressions of
wonder. The car contained also one of Burgess and
Key's patent reaping machines ; but the ingenuity
and utility displayed in this meritorious object were
lost in the general admiration of the turnips and
mangold-wurzel. The steam plough of Mr. Fowler,
drawn by two horses, completed the part allotted to
agriculture in the proceedings of the day.
_ _

The streets were crowded. The route from Guild-
hall was up Cornhill, along Leadenhall - street,
Aldgate, Minories, Postern sow, and thence by Tower-
hill into the Lord Mayor's own ward, where he was
loudly cheered from nearly every house. The pro-
cession then moved along Eastcheap to London-
bridge, and thence by water to Westminster.
On arriving at Westminster-bridge a salute was
fired, and the Lord Mayor and the civic dignitaries
having landed, proceeded to the Court of Exchequer,
where they were received by the Chief Baron and
other learned judges.
The Recorder, upon presenting the new Lord
Mayor, then addressed the court :
It was the pride of Alderman Finnis that he was one of
the first to lead the way to establish commerce on the
banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris: and there now
existed in the city of Bagdad a commercial house of which
Alderman Finnis was at once the founder and the head.
Thus be had given encouragement not only to commerce
but to science, for he had been mainly instrumental in
advancing those great discoveries which were associated
with the name of Nineveh. As regarded the descent of
Alderman ',lnnis, he might remind his lordship that he
was descended from those who held a respevtable but
modest station amongst the gentry of the county of Kent,
and that amongst his ancestors he reckoned the names of
those who had filled the office of chief magistrates of the
Cinque Ports. Early in life he had been anxious to devote
himself to the navy, but two of his elder brothers having
died—one, who was in the navy, having fallen during the
war, and the other, who was in the army, having died in
India—his friends were induced to select for him the more
peaceful pursuits of commeroe. For forty-two or forty.
three years Alderman Finnis had pursued his business on
the same premises which were now identified with the
name of the firm of which he was the head. It was not
likely that such a man should not attract the notice of his
fellow•citizens, anti accordingly he was elected a councillor
of the Tower War.]. In the course of a few years, during
which he gave many proofs of signal usefulness, he, on the
death of Alderman Limas, the alderman of the same ward,
succeeded to the magistracy and the gown. lie (the
Recorder) could state from his own experience that a more
able, a more intelligent, or a more impartial magistrate
did not exist in this metropolis. He felt that when the
time came when they would have to look back to Alderman
Finnis's career as Lord Mayor, it would be seen that he
had fulfilled all the expectations so justly entertained of
him by his fellow-citizens. He believed Alderman Finnis
was. besides, a man of a liberal mind and expanded under-
standing, which would assist all corporate measures fur
amelioration and improvement on which that body was
earnestly bent.

After a few words in praise of Aldarman Salomons,
the Lord Chief Baron replied in the usual oongratu-

SATURDAY,

latory speech, the oaths were administered, the in-
vitation to dinner given, and the ceremony concluded.
The procession then re-formed, returned to the
barges, and was rowed back to Blacktliars-bridge,
where a disembarkation took place, and the proces-
sion, augmented by the ambassadors, her Majesty's
Ministers of State, the nobility, judges, members of
Parliament, and other persons of distinction invited
to the banquet. passed through New Bridge-street,
Ludgate-hill, Ludgate-street, St. Paul's-churchyard,
Cheapside, and King street, to Guildhall.
The streets leading in and out of the City were
throughout the morning the scene of great bustle
and excitement. Scarcely a thoroughfare was with-
out its band of music, or of strolling " Nigger "
minstrels and acrobats. But greatest of all were
the indefatigable " patterers," who are never at a
loss to attune music and poetry to the events of the
day. The songs found not only an audience, but
ready purchasers. In one of them was the fol-
lowing lament .
Away they go, the high and low,
Such gtor►ous sights was neverseen,
But still the London Lord Mayor's Show
Is not as it has former been ;
When old I)ick Whittington was Mayor,
And our forefathers used to go,
They had not got no peelers there,
To guard great London Lord Mayor's show.
In another verse a description is given of the night's
banquet, and we are told of the talk, and the feast,
and the fashion :
They will talk of Russia, France, and that,
And mention how the money goes ;
Each man will eat a peck of sprats,
That's the fashion at the Lord Mayor's shows.
THE BANQUET.

The usual banquet was given in the evening. The
Guildhall presented a very brilliant and beautiful
appearance. The decorations were this year Entirely
peaceful—figures of plenty, and paintings and
transparencies of peace and the arts and sciences.
The brilliant illuminations of the hall, the elegantly-
dressed ladies who participated in the banquet, the
military, naval, and diplomatic costumes which gave
variety to the scene, the scarlet robes of the judges,
sergeants-et-law, and aldermen, the flowers and ever-
greens liberally distributed upon the walls, and the
numerous large mirrors, made up together a coup-
d'cail of remarkable beauty and splendour. Among
the earlier arrivals was his Royal Highness the
Duke of Cambridge, who was loudly cheered on
entering the hall. Lord Palmerston also met with
a warm reception. The diplomatic corps was repre-
sented by the Minister of Brazil and the Minister of
the King of Hayti.
The company were received in the Council
Chamber, and upwards of 1,300 sat down to dinner.
After the usual loyal toasts, the LORD MAYOR pro-
posed the health of his Royal Highness the Duke of
Cambridge :

His Royal Highness had nobly fought the battles of bia
country in the late war, and he now held the high and re-
sponsible post of commander•in•chief of the army. He
had great pleasure in welcoming his Royal Highness to the
City of London, and proposing the toast of his health.

The Duke of CAMBRIDGE, who was very warmly
received, in the course of his reply, said

This is the first time that I have had the honour of
addressing my fellow-citizens since my appointment to a
higher and more important public position than that
which I have hitherto held. lam aware, in having under-
taken the discharge of those duties, much is naturally and
fully expected of me; but I hope you will believe in my
sincerity when I assure you that it is at all times my
earnest and anxious endeavour to perform my duty by my
country ; and 1 trust when at some subsequent period it
may be my lot to resign or to retire from the office which
I now hold, I may be able to do so with the consciousness
that I have performed my duty. If in an doing I base
obtained the good opinion and won the kindly feelings of
my fellow-countrymen, I shall have gained that which is
the proudest and most satisfactory recompense to which a
public man can aspire. I had expected that probably the
Lord Mayor would have honoured me by coupling my
name with that of the toast of the at my. He has done
me, no doubt, a great honour by proposing it alone; hut
perhaps you will allow me to say that which 1 would have
done had the opportunity been afforded m--namely, to
express, on behalf of the army, their sense of the distin-
guished et- ention which has been paid to th urn since their
return from the seat of war. Perh Tit yo-i vill allow me
to say that nothing can be more gratifyln to the army
than to meet with the grateful wi 'come old reception
which it has experienied in every cc toniuniti, in which it
has mixed since the restoration of lifter. 0I no occasion
has that kindness been more cordially exhibited than in
this great city, and to none more is it indebted than to
my excellent friend the late Lord Mayor, who presided at
the banquet given to the Guards on a recent occasion. I
thank my friend the late Lord Mayor and the city of
London for that handsome compliment paid to the army,
and I am sure that, whether in the capital city of the
United Kingdom, or in Edinburgh, they were equally
gratified by the cordial and handsome welcome given to
them by those great communities. The best reward
which the soldier hopes to gain is the esteem and approba-
tion of his fellow-countrymen. Englishmen have ever
shown that feeling for their army, and I, as the representa-
tive of the army, feel deeply grateful for the compliment
which you have paid them in my person. (Loud cheers.)


NOVEMBER 15, 1856.

Sir William Williams, Captain Milne, and the
Lord Chancellor respectively returned thanks for
their several professions. The LORD MAYOR then
plop 'sed her Majesty's Ministers :
We are honoured especially by the presence of the
Prime Minister, who has guitbld the councils of the State,
and who was called upon to give his valuable services to
the Sovereign when the country was in great need of them.
At that time we were engaged in a sauguinary war with a
powerful enemy ; but that war is now happily over, and I
have no doubt that the Prime Minister and his colleagues
in the Government will turn their attention to measures of
domestic legislation.

Lord PALMERSTON replied, thanking the Lord
Mayor for the honour. He then spoke of the foreign
policy of this country in allusion to the late war and
the peace :
At the commencement of this year this country pos.
sessed the finest army, the most magnificent fleet, that
ever stood forward for the defence of the honour and the
rights of England. The spirit of the people was roused
to as high a pitch as was ever witnessed in the former
annals of the country. We had every prospect that, if the
war had continued, future successes would have been
obtained, equal at all events to those which had crowned
the arms of the allies. But when we found that we could
obtain, by negotiation, terms of peace which would satisfy
our just demands, which would secure the future peace
and independence of Europe, we thought it our duty to
sheath the sword, and, in conjunction with our allies, to
put an end to the hostilities which at that time were going
on. We were convinced that the people of England would
willingly forego the prospect of future military and naval
glory when they felt that the objects of the war had been
substantially accomplished. It now remains that the condi-
tions of that peace should be faithfully executed—th
they ahould be faithfully executed and honourably observed
—and then I trust the peace of Europe will be placed
upon secure and permanent foundations. (Great cheer-
ing.)

The noble lord barely touched upon the question of
domestic policy :

Gentlemen, I can only wish that this great city, which
is, I may say, the centre of the commercial wealth and
enterprise of the world—which regulates the commercial
affairs of almost every country on the face of the earth—l
can only express my fervent wish that this great city may
continue for the future to flourish as it has done in the
past—that it may continue to be the heart, I may say, of
this great country, contributing not only to the wealth and
prosperity of England, but tending also to promote the
blessings of peace and civilisation in every country of the
habitable globe.

After the health s of the foreign Ministers, responded
to by the Minister of Brazil, had been drunk, the
LORD MAYOR proposed " The Commons and the
Chancellor of the Exchequer."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in his reply,
alluded to the charge of the " declining efficiency"
of Parliament:—

What are the charges which are now made against the
House of Commons? We are told that it has fallen into
a state of inefficiency. The complaints are not that it is
too active, but that it is too indolent. I think I may
appeal with safety to the conduct of the House of Com-
mons of late years, as a sufficient answer to those accusa-
tions. The House of Commons has nut merely the super-
intendence of the legislation of the country, but also
the supervision of its administrative affairs. During the
last two years that a great war has occupied the attention
of the community, the House of Commons was engaged
in the superintendence of the conduct of that war and in
voting supplies for its prosecution. Now, happily, a peace
has been concluded on honourable terms, and the House
of Commons can devote i•s entire energies to those sub-
jects to which the voice of the people directs its attention ;
and I doubt not that it will hereafter, as at all former
times, show that it deserves the confidence of the country,
and th4t it is the true representative of their wishes and
interests. (Cheers.)
A few more toasts concluded the entertainment,
when the company retired to the bail-room.

SOME INTERESTING RELICS OF THE STUARTS, con-
sisting of a collection of antique jewels and arms,
&c., which have belonged at different periods to
various members of the royal house of Stuart, have
just been purchased in Rome for L' rd John Scott,
from the late Cardinal York's gentilumno, to which
officer of his household his eminence bequeathed
these family relics. The collection, for which the
purchaser has paid about 1300/., comprises several
rings with family portraits in cameo. Amongst them
the ring worn by the Pretender on his marriage with
the Princess Clementine Sobieski, and the marriage
ring of his son, Prince Charles Edward, inclosing a
beautiful little miniature ; a gold ring with a white
r).e in enamel, worn by King James 11. and James
III.; a ring with a cameo portrait in ivory of James
It.; Charles Stnart's watch seal; seal, with the
m itto " Chacun a son tour;" Cardinal York's seal,
with the royal arms; an enamelled medallion of the
Order of St. George, formerly worn by King Charles
I.; the blade of John Sobieski's sword; a jasper-
handled dagger, taken by Sobieski Irom the tent of a
Turkish bey at the siege of Vienna; a pair of richly
ornamented pistols belonging to the Sobieski family;
a portrait of the Duchess of Albany's mother; a dial
and compass mounted in silver, formerly belonging
to Charles Stuart. These articles are now being
carefully packed to bo forwarded to England.

THE PRESS.

Curt ano lastion.

The Court continues at Windsor.
Their Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Brilliant took leave of her Majesty on Monday.
Prince Frederic William of Prussia is at present
on a visit to the Queen.

His Royal Highness Prince Leiningen, half-brother
to the Queen, is still seriously ill. Several Court
festivities have wen postponed in consequence.
His Royal Highness Prince Alfred is at present at
Coblentz.

The Marquis of Lansdowne arrived at Lansdowne-
house on Monday, from Bowood-park, Wills, in order
to attend the Cabinet Council.
Viscount and Viscountess Villiers have arrived at
Upton-hall, Warwickshire, from visiting the Earl
and Countess of Jersey, at Middleton-park, near
Bicester.

Sir Charles and Lady Mary Wood arrived at the
right hon. baronet's official residence at the Admi-
ralty on Monday night, from Hickleton-hall, York-
shire.

Volitttal.

CABINFT COUNCILS have been held on Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday this week. The Ministers
present were—Viscount Palmerston, the Lord Chan-
cellor, Earl Granville, the Marquis of Lansdowne,
the Earl of Harrowby, Sir George Grey, Earl of
Clarendon, Mr. Secretary Labouchere, Lord Pan-
mure, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Charles
Wood, the Right Hon. R. Vernon Smith, Lord
Stanley of Alderley, the Right Hon. M. T. Baines
and the Duke of Argyll.

PARLIAMENT was further prorogued on Thursday,
until the 16th day of December. The proceedings
were merely formal. The words •' then to meet
for the despatch of business " were not included in
the commission.

PRINCE Claus', the Neapolitan representative at
this Court, has received an intimation from her
Majesty's Government that his excellency's passports
are at his service.

SIR CHARLES NAPIER AND MR. APSLEY PELLATT
addressed their constituents at Southwark on Monday
evening. Mr. Pellatt first addressed the meeting.
The lion. member congratulated his constituents
upon the return of peace ; be congratulated them
also upon the prosperity of the country, and he con-
gratulated the country upon the state of its foreign
alliances. The French alliance was a new fact, and
our relations with America were most satisfactory.
With respect to our foreign policy, it should be one
of non-interference. Since Waterloo that had been
our policy, and that policy ought to be continued,
without any attempt to force constitutions upon
unread) or unwilling nations. As to King Bomba,
and such tyrants, let them be driven from their
thrones by the indignant uprisings of their subjects,
but without our interference. Alluding to home
matters, Mr. Pellatt reviewed the course of the last
parliamentary session, enumerating the number of
bills, private and public, which had been passed, and
glancing briefly at their leading characteristics. He
then advocated the principle of voluntarism in
religion, expressing his firm conviction that the
Church would do better without the aid of the State
than with it. He read quotations from the Times
and other newspapers, and one from Chambers's
Journal, alluding to himself and " men of that
stamp" as phantoms, who haunted the house after
midnight, as being full and sufficient proof of his
close attention to his parliamentary duties; and
alluded to his bill upon crossed cheques, his Dis
aentt.rs' Marriage Bill—which had become the law
of the land—and the Smoke Bill, which Lord Pal-
merston had placed in his charge, and which after
1858 would, as far as possible, do away with all un-
necessary smoke in the metropolis. Glancing at the
question of education, he opposed State interference,
and attributed the failure of Lord John Russell to
his introduction of a rating clause. The bill for the
abolition of imprisonment for debt it was his intention
to proceed with next session. The principle of his
bill was to give to the insclvent debtor, whose debt
had not been caused by any criminal act of his own,
the same protection which was at present given to
bankrupts. He was of opinion that the income tax
was not at present equally assessed on the agricul-
tural and manufacturing classes. The mode of
assessing farmers on their rentals gave them oppor-
tunities of evading the tax, and this ought to be set
right without delay. The hon. gentleman then
briefly expressed himself in favour of the new line of
communication between Southwark and Westminster,
and, after congratulating the meeting once more on
the superior position occupied by this country in
material resources, agricultural improvements, and

1087

';.

manufacturing intelligence in comparison with the
other nations of the world, resumed his seat. Sir
CHARLES NAPIER followed. The gallant admiral
explained his votes of last session. He had voted
against opening the British Museum on Sundays.
not because he thought there was any harm in the
proposal, and he had voted in favour of Mr. Spooner's
Maynooth motion, although he thought it very
unwise to attempt now to raise the question, but in
both cases he preferred to be guided by the opinion
of his constituents than to follow his own convictions ;
and although he had voted against the Maynooth
grant, he took care to vote against all other religious
grants, so as to do equal justice to all parties. He
was in favour of Lord Goderich's civil service motion,
and would support a similar motion for the army and
navy. He was in favour of secular education. With
respect to our foreign relations, he was not quite sure
whether the French alliance was good or not :

He hoped the French nation would always be with us
for good purposes, but it certainly gave him some mis-
givings to see a nation which was free fighting along-
side of a nation which was nut free. Louis Napo-
leon was a great man and a clever man, or he could not
have done all he had done. Had he not got rid of a
troublesome Parliament, for instance ? (Laughter.)
He thought Ministers' work would be much simpli-
fied if something of the same sort were to be done
in Engla'id. Parliament now was of no use except
to vote supplies :
Legislation seemed to be brought to a deadlock, and
unless some new arrangement were devised for the trans.
action of business it would be impossible to get on. The
house ought to be divided into large committees before
which different bills could be discussed in their details at
the same time, and the whole house might afterwards
have the opportunity of deciding on the merits of each.
In this way there would be a chance of doing something.
The gallant admiral then fell back upon that standard
work, " the Baltic campaign :''—

He would not now go into the question which had been
settled, as far as it could be settled at present, in the House
of Commons. lie had told there a plain, straightforward
story, every word of it true. though it could not be expec-
ted that he, who was unused to debating, could wake head
successfully againet Sir James Graham—a moat unscru-
pulous man—not to use a harsh word—(laughter)—who
could make black white and white black, at his pleasure.
(Laughter.) Since the conclusion of peace he had been
to Crunatadt, to satisfy himself whether he had done right
or wrong in not attacking it. He found the fortifications
stronger even, he confessed, than he had believed them to
be when he was there with the fleet. In fact they were
perfectly and entirely impregnable. The Grand Duke
Constantine hail granted him an interview, and had shown
him all his plans of defence, and, certainly, more judicious
and more proper plans never were conceived. He was a
man of great talent and ability, and had spoken to him in
a perfectly honest, plain, straightforward way. His remark
to me ( said the gallant admiral) was " If you had attempted
to come in there would have been nearly 1,0(5) guns
bearing on your fle±t, there was not water enough for your
large ships, the channel was narrow, and it was so thickly
filled with infernal machines that our own ships going in
and out were afraid of beng blown up." "Will you allow
me," said 1, "to speak plainly to you? Why did you not
come out to meet us at Kiel ? We were then badly manned
and badly disciplined. If you had come out I don't know
what the consequences might have been " " Ah," said the
Grand Duke, If I had had screws I should have come
out to meet you. 1 did not know you were so badly manned
until it was too late." And, 1 think (added the gallant
admiral), it was lucky he did'ot come. Not that there was
an Englishman there who would not have fought to the
last drop rather than retreat; but after all, ships without
disciplined men are no better than fortifications without
soldiers. People are fund of talking about the British
navy being unconquerable; but the British navy is men,
not ships.
The gallant admiral then proceeded to allude to the
late correspondence between himself and Sir R.
Peel. That, he said, was not yet concluded. H•
had written to Lord Palmerston, desiring him to lay
his case before the Cabinet, and, not having received
any answer to that letter, he had written a second
time; and, until he had received an answer from the
noble lord, it would only he right in him to maintain
a due reserve on the subject. He was not afraid of
having his conduct investigated. He had demanded
an investigation, and if the Government did not
grant it, it would go far to prove that they were afraid
that something would come out which would preju-
dice them in public opinion. The gallant admiral
then sat down amid loud cheers.

MR. HADFIELD AND Mn. ROEBUCK each addressed
their constituents on Wednesday at Sheffield. Mr.
Hadfield, in a speech of minute detail, explained
the nature and number of his votes last session,
with every particular relating to his attendance in
the house. The tax on life assurance and paper he
should endeavour to get repealed. He especially no-
ticed the education question, objecting to State control,
and supported the abolition of ecclesiastical courts, the
oath of abjuration, and church endowments. With
regard to the late war, he deplored the misery which
A
it had occasioned, and declared himself in favour of •
the policy of non-intervention ; he was utterly
averse to that secret system of meddling in Euro-