The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-20 00:00:00

SIR CHARLES FOX AT DERBY.

On Tuesday a public dinner was given at Derby,
in honour of Mr. Douglas Fox, who has thrice filled the
office of mayor for that town. The principal inhabitants of
the town and neighbourhood were present, as also was Sir''
Charles Fox, who, in returning thanks for his health hav-
ing been drunk, said—Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,—lt is
difficult to find words which can adequately express my
feelings upon an occasion like the present, when my friend.
'and fellow-townsmen have men together for the purpose
• paying a tribute of respect to my dear bro.her, and of
wearing hint of the satisfaction they have felt in the
gnawer in which he has, through a long series of years,
informed his private and public duties in this our native
town. (Hear, hear.) Were other evidence wanting
of the estimation in which you hold him,sthe fact that
wit are now met together on the close of the third
year during which, by your choice, he has had the honour
to act as your chief magistrate, would surely suffice ; but I
know well the feelings of affection which exist towards him
in this town, and while the inhabitants of Derby rejoice in
having such a townsman, I am, indeed, proud ill possessitig
such • brother. To his good example during the long and
last illness of my beloved father, and to his instruction,
more particularly of a scientific character, I owe much of
my success as an engineer. When I. was a boy he was
always ready to explain any point of difficulty to me, and
during the five yearn it was my good fortune to serve him
as an apprentice (preparing for the medical profession), I
hail an opportunity of beholding and appreciating those
sterling qualities of character which must always meet with
the admiration of those who witness them. It will be In
the remembrance of many of you that, during the last few
years of my residence in Derby, my brothers Francis and
Douglas delivered, at the Mechanics' Institution, seve-
ral comas of lectures on scientific subjects, such as
chemistry, gas lighting, the laws of mechanical forces,
&c. In the preparation of the philosophical apparatus,
and the numerous diagrams used on those occasions,
I was constantly employed, and to this valuable opportunity
of sei log physical science brought to the test of direct
experiment, I am mainly indebted for the knowledge of
those subjects which have guided me in the execution of the
many engineering works I have carried out, and which have
paved the way to the construction of the Crystal Niece.
Fur the kind and enthusiastic response to the toast of my
health, so handsomely proposed by the Rev. W. E. Wilkin-
son, I beg most cordially to thank you. Your warm ex-
pressions of approval of the part I have taken in the Great
Exhibition of 1831, arc especially gratifying to me, and are
second only to the satisfaction I feel in having been selected
by our beloved Queen, as one upon whom she has been gra-
ciously pleased to confer an honourable mark of distinction,
rehtlered the more pleasing by being associated with two een-
[lawn, who of alluthers connected with the great building,
were most deserving of Royal favour—Sir Joseph Paxton for
his magnificent design, su well fitted to meet all the require-
ments of the world's great fair, vied Sir Win. Cubitt for the
attention, judgment, and great practical knowledge which
he manifested during every period of the great undertaking.
Mr. Henderson end I entered upon the work when it was
surrounded by great difficulties; we proceeded in the face
of the most discouraging prophecies of every conceivable
calamity, and completed the building in time fur the opening
on the Ist May, but with the knowledge that, from the im-
possibility of controlling the cost of labour under the pressing
circumstances of want of time, the expenditure would very
far exceed the amount which the commi,siuners were Sound
to pay. Much of this loss arose from the fact that, as soon as
exhibitors felt that a building would be ready for the reception
of their goods, their applications fur space were greatly
augmented, rendering it necessary fur the commissioners to
call upon us to execute a very much larger amount of
work than was originally consemplated, although it was
by them considered verry•. doubtful whether it was possible
to finish the work comprised in the first order by the Ist of
May. The additions thus rendered necessary increased the
contract, use and waste, value of the work from about
80,0001. to 130,0001., but without the possibility, as in other
extra work, of giving more time fur its execution. We were
thus left in great measure at the mercy of the workmen
who, knowing the pressing nature of the case, generally YOdl.
care to profit by our difficult position, taking the high( st rate
of wages and giving as small a quantity of work in return foe
it as possible. To try to restrain this outlay would probably
have led to a misunderstanding with our men, which might
have seriously retarded the progress of the work ; and to have
represented our difficulties to the commissioners, would have
divested our attention and occupied time which it was impos-
sible to spare. Any delay would have postponed the opening
of the Exhibition, and thereby have damaged even the cre-
dit of England. tte, therefore, determined to run the risk,
to finish our work in time, to do all in our power to make the
Exhibition as attractive and convenable as possible, and
when all was triumphantly over, and the commissioner. were
fairly landed upon the golden shore of a large surplus, we
laid before them a statement of the circumstances, showing
that we had incurred a loss of upwardsof 50,0001., and with-
out making any claim, requested their consideration of our
case ; and I ant sure you will be interested in knowing that
the Royal Commissioners, with our illustrious Prince Con-
sort as their president, determined to Place us beyond the
poseibillity of loss, and promptly. paid us on account
of our dehcit and pending the examination of our accounts)
the large sum of 35,000/, Before I sit down allow me to
mention one or two curious coincidences. We fixed the
first column on the 16th Sept., 1850, without knowing it to
be the anniversary of the birth-day of our much respected
chairman, Sir William Cubitt. We received notice to take
down the building on the 26th Sept., 1831, exactly one year
afterwards. Our contract with the commissioners was
signed on the 31st Oct , WO, and the 3,5,0001. beyond our
legal claim was paid to us on the 31st Oct., 1831. Apolo-
gising for having trespassed so long on your attention, and
with best wishes for the prosperity of the town of Derby,
which has ever been ready to take the lead in the great
march of improvement which is now forcing its way all
ova r the world, allow me to conclude by agaie thanking you
for this renewed proof of your kindness and by wishing you
all long life, health, and happiness." (Loud cheers.)
Among other toasts proposed was " Sir Joseph „Pexton."--
Derby Mercury.

PEACE SOClETT.—Yesterday evening the first of a
series of lectures in connexion with the operations of the
Peace Society was delivered at the Hall of Commerce by
L. A. Chaniavouxow, Esq. The subject of the lecture was
The Law of Nations," and the lecturer urged that, al-
though this topic was not so calculated u many branches of
the great peace question" to appeal to the feelings of the
audience, yet it was most important that a knowledge of
the system of laws by which the relations of the various
political states of the world were governed should be more
generally diffused than it was at present, especially as, in
times of war and international disturbance, the prosperity
and happiness of the people was the most imperilled, and
therefore they should be made able to judge for the
future whether their rights were infringed upon by
foreign nations, or whether they were the victims of
the juggles of diplomacy. Was the law of nations
a tangible reality, or only a myth or political mystification?
At least the paraphernalia of truces, mediations, and mani-
festoes of secretaries at war and foreign affairs and ambas-
sadors, were realities. Although no code of international law,
based on the principlesof equity and justice, existed, yet there
MN a thing called dipbmacy ; and persons called diplomatists
asserted that the relations of the world were to be governed
by compacts and precedents which were by no means
founded on those principles of the "jus gentsum" which
were laid down by Vattel, Puffendorff, and Gratin,. It
was the duty of the people to protest against a law of na-
tions founded, not on principles, but on precedents, which,
being possibly not originally based oa equity, might be-
come the instruments of the grossest iniquity. After
tracing the progress of the law of nations from the re-
motest periods of antiquity and through the middle ages
down to the present time, the lecturer proceeded to contend
that modern diplomatists did not permit the laws of justice
and equity to be the guiding principle of the relations
between states, but chose for its first element that expe-
diency which would stigmatise as wrong to-day that which
it had asserted to be right yesterday. He then argued that
the law of nations should be regulated by the same prin-
ciple as those by which the conduct of individuals was to be
judged, and proceeded to expose the daring violations of
this principle by recent instances, concluding by asserting
the principle of arbitration, sometimes so much derided.
The PARISHIONERS of St. Michael, Cornhill, have
presented the Rev. Thomas Bennett, MA., a purse of 70
guineas, as a token of their esteem for the great increase
which has taken place in the congregation at St. Michael,
on a Sunday evening, since his appointment to the lecture II
-
' ship of the pariah.
THE ALLEGED HOMICIDE AT CAMBERWELL.—
On Tuesday afternoon an inquest was held at the Priam
II Albert public-house, Clarendon-street, Camberwell New-
road, before Mr. W. Carter, on view of the body of Mrs. I
Hariet Browne, aged dl, whose death was attributed to the
violins. of her own son, the unfortunate youth who bad
been brought before the Hon. O. C. Horton ou Saturday
night last, on the charge, and who is at present an inmate
of the musty lunatic asylum. The facts of this truly me-
limelsely IMO were given in the report which appeared in
the Ea•• of Meaday last, under the head of the Lam-
beds PWetswesmt. sad it was the general impression that
the dim* adds@ deemed was attributable to a kick given I
te bee by her awn Ise while struggling to getup, and while
sbe was emiesswemies W restrain him. The husband of the
siseemei and ease Massa were examined, but it Arleta,
kg hem the Matimeny of Mr. Flower, Ma medical gentle•
sea wise made the peel menses examination of the body,
that dank wee menemil_ by the reeeineetese of the principal
blood mash is the need Meier, mtessel a verdict to that
effect. Dlr. Plower admitted. in the minim of his examina-
tion, that then was a slight mink et diseoloration extern-
ally en the abdomen el the desenesil. bet this had nothing
to de with her iliwith; awl the besting ef the blood yard
in the
stazibnlied bead, whisk Mena reinsed dark he (Kr. Flower)
le Mein eintileMent.