The Express.
London, England, 1848-07-15 00:00:00

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF
ENGLAND.
THE PAVILION DINNER took place on Thursday
afternoon, in the great pavilion erected in St. Geores-fielde,
York, and was attended by a company numbering 1,200.
Every seat was occupied, and the demand for tickets was far
greater than could be supplied. The Earl of Yarborough,
the president of the society, eccupied the chair, and the
Earl of Chichester, the president elect, the vice chair.
Prince Albert and the other distinguished guests were wel-
comed with applause on their entrance. The pavilion, like
the buildiogs at the showyard, was erected at a contract price
of about 3,0001. The roof of the building was supported by
iron-work, and covered with floor cloth, completely imper-
vious to the weather, and the brill aecy and variety of the
colours imparted a pleasing aspect to the interior, which
was still further improved by the introduction of Inn huge
stained glue windows, behind the chairman and vice-
chairman.
After dinner " The health of the Queen" was drunk moat
enthusiastically.
The CitAtiomeN next proposed "The Queen Dowager,
Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge,
and the rest of the royal family." He said Prince Albert
visited the show-yard shortly after his arrival in York. He
examined minutely the stock exhibited, and so anxious was
he to see what had been done by this society in the I
way of improvement, that he again visited the show-
field next morning at six o'clock. (Cheers.) He
was engaged for two hours in inspeciag the implements,
and lie was also pleased, as a Rommer of this society, to
show that re has come here, not merely to lee the show,
but to evince the deep interest he takes iu this meeting
by again attending the ground when it was most thronged
with the inemeers; and therefore his royal highness,
although he must have felt somewhat fatigued, was pleased !
to pay a second visit to the yard, in order that he might
gratify the members afterwards present. (Cheers.) And I
need not remind you that one of the great objects of this
society has been to lead the country to know that it is nut
merely for the benefit of the farmer that it bolds these
meetiugs, but that it wishes sincerely that the condition of
the labourers may be bettered. I cannot remind you of that
without asking you if you do not believe with me that the
country was perfectly electrified with the speech which was
made Wan by bin royal highness when he was advocating
the Maims of the labourer? (Loud eheoring.)—The tout
was honoured amid loud cheers.
Prince ALBERT rose to acknowledge the toast. He said—
Gentlemen, I have been most de, ply touched to witness the
expressions of your loyalty to the Queen, and to the mem-
bers of the royal family generally. I beg to return you my
best thanks for having received the toast of my health with
so much cordiality. (Cheer.) It has been a great aitisfac
tion to me to have been enabled thie year to pay you an old
debt in thus coming amongst you, and attending at this most
useful and interesting meeting. All I have wen to-day and
yestereay exhibits a bright picture of the progress of
British agriculture, and for much of that progress the coun-
try is, I firmly believe, indebted to this society. Agricul-
ture, which was once the main pursuit of this like every
other nation, holds even now, notwithstanding the de-
velopment of commerce and of manufactures, a funda-
mental position in the realin. And, although time has
changed the position which was once held by the landed
proprietor with his feudal dependents, yet the country
gentleman with his wife, and the country clergyma , the
farmer, and the :labourer, form still one great, and I hope
united, fanny —(cheers)—one united family in which we
gladly recognise the foundation of our social state. Steens,
and mechanical improvements have changed the mere prac-
tice of cultivating the soil in these days into an industrial
pursuit, requiring capital, machineezi skill, lied perseverance,
in the struggle of competition. e must consider this a
great program, as it demands higher energies and higher
intelligence. Conscious of these changes, we agricultu-
rists of England --(tremendous cheering)—collect in these
meetings--the meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society of
England—in order to communicate to each other the result of
our various experience, and the progress that some may have
made in the application of science, in the improvement and
ingenuity of machinery, or in the breeding and rearing of
cattle. Feelinsr, as I do, a high and lively interest in these
noble pursuits, and having myself in a small way—(renewed
cheering and laughter)—experienced all the pleasures and
little pangs, and knowing its raramount importance to the
country, I feel highly gratified that the president of the
satiety should have entrusted to me to propose to you the tract
elf ie day, winch is, "Success to the Royal Agricultural
Society of England." I trust you will respond to it with
enthusiastic cheers. Gentlemen, " The Royal Agricultural
Society of England, and summit to it." The toast was re-
sponded to with loud cheers.
Esrl Firewtemem said—l look upon the representatives
of foreign nations in a very different light-1 look upon them
not as a means by which foreign nations are to act as spies
on the conduct of their neighbours, but by which they are
to strengthen and cement the friendship of each other. I
look upon the ministers of foreign states as golden licks in
that great net work of society amongst a great and civilised
nation—cot the great nut work of European society merely,
for I am reminded by the neer presence of my honourabie
friend Mr. Bancroft (the American minister), that civilised
society is no longer confined to Europe, but that it embraces
the largest portion of the world. I think it a proud cir-
cumstance that we are honoured by the presence of the
representatives of three great foreign powers. (Cheers.)
I have alluded to my honourable friend Mr. Bancroft,
who, in illustrating the history of his own country, bee
added so largely to the literature of the world, and obtained
for himself a distinguished niche in the temple of British
literature. I may also refer to the minister of the Belgian moo-
arch, by whew presence we are also honoured on this occasion.
And then, gentlemen, when I have passed to the other side
of the chair, 1 return again to this aide of it, and see also
near me my excellent friend Chevalier Bunsen—(loud cheers)
—whose nun recalls to every man who has the slightest
knowledge of English, I should rather say of European
literature, as connected with these bright names the names!
of Niebuhr and ol Arnold. I say, gentlemen, whether we
look at the feet of these three persons being the represents.
tires of foreign nations with whom we are connected, or
whether we look to the individuals themselves, we may well
rejoice at being honoured by their presence, and it will ill
become us not to pay them the tribute of wishing them health
and prosperity. (Cheers.) I now call upon you, and lam
aura you will respond to me, to drink the realth of the'
foreign ministers who have graced this meeting with their
Faience. (Cheers.)
His Excellency M. VAN ne. WEYER, the Belgian
Minister, responded. lie said: Belgium has an old debt to
pay to England. There is no country where our practical
efforts in agriculture have been exposed in more scientific,
clear, and able treatises than in England. It is now two
hundred years since an English ambassador wrote
and published a tract which, translated into Flemish and
French, is still a sort of manual in oar country. I wish
could return the compliment to the ambassador, and expose
to my own country the wonders of which I have been a
witness this day. The links which united Belgium to this I
country have been interrupted by long and disastrous were,
We have had foreign conquerors and foreign armies that
have overrun our country ; bat even under the yoke—
under the domination of foreign countries the re was something
that kept hope at home and respect abroad. We kept, gentle.
men, those two arts—the one which sustains life, the other
which embellishes it, which represent the Flemish husbandry
and Flemish art. As soon as national independence was ac-
quired again by the instrumentality of those hands which held
the plough, we returned again, and we locked up to England
for experience. We found
bettat practical agriculture is a
good thing, but could not separated from scientific ogre.
culture, and we thus immediately borrowed from England
every improvement that had been made successful in this
country. I very well remember the first English bulls
that landed on our shores from England. It was not the
particular entererise of individuals who began it. It was
the government—the King—who, having a personal know-
ledge of what he had seen in England, brought us to intro-
duce these improvement iota our country. The arrival of
these bull was a sort of public fete which was announced in
the public gazette—the Brussels Gazette. There is another in-
stitution which I am happy to say we have adopted and imi-
tated from you, which is this very society, upon whose rules
the identical society has been established in Belgium. After
having been a witness of the advantages of this society,
which unites in its members the Royal Prince, the landlord,
and the tenant—when we we them communicate their ideas,
improve their minds, and warm their hearts together, it is
impossible for a practical people, and allow me to add a loyal
people (loud and continued cheering), not to follow such an
example. I have the satisfaction to announce that within
six weeks we shall have in Brussels the first meeting of the
agriculturists of Belgium. I hope, gentlemen, that we shall
soon have international meetings—and that all the nations of I
Europe shall be for once convinced that it is much more ad-
vantageous for them and for the progress of civilisation to
compete in cattle than in battle, and that in showing to one
another our fields we shall be proud. to show not the number
of men that C3ll be killed and slain upon thole, but the
number and the quantity of buihels of wheat that can be
raised upon them. (Continued applause.) We, gentlemen,
as diplomatists, are not perhaps useless implements to achieve
this. It was a .id formerly that an ambassador was sent to
lie abroad for the good of his country. We have now gen-
tlemen a better and more noble task to fulfil. We are sent
to cultivate friendship and amicable relations—to sow the
seeds of good feeling, so that nations may reap the harvest of
peace with security. (Cheers.) I did not intend to make
anything like a speech, but you have cheered me on, and we
all know the influence of cheers upon the lopuunisness of
n.
ma I find, however, it I
should return our meet sincere
thanks for the honour you have conferred upon us.
Chevalier BUNSEN also responded to the toast. He said :
It gives me the greatest gratification to be able to
my that the common fatherland of Germany. appreciates
equally with yourselves the importance of agriculture—its
fundamental importance in the present position of the world
in particular. Allow me to introduce a living example as
to our own agricultural meetings. During the last seven
or eight years there have been in many parts partial agri-
cultural societies, which had not exclusively the progress
of agriculture for their object. Last year, however,
a great society was established for that purpose, and
men from all parts went in order. to meet each other
to accomplish the object in view. That meeting
was held in Austria, and who was president on the
.occasion
but a prince ? who, not being satisfied with the political state
of his country at that time, retired, and applied himself to
the study of agriculture, and was chosen as the president of
that local assembly of farmers ? And who was that prince
but the same man who has now been called by 43,000,000 of
Germans to be teemed of that empire? If we wish to be
second to none in this respect,we must wish also to be second
to none in our love for peace, for it is only in peace that agri-
culture ran flourish. (Cheers.)
Lord FOKTESCEE proposed the toast Agriculture, ma-
nufactures, and commerce."
Several complimentary toasts followed.
Lord WIILUNCLIFFE, in proposing "The Labouring
Classes," said, there was not a man present but would heel