The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-06-28 00:00:00

GENERAL WILLIAMS AT HIRROW

Thursday having been fixed for tho delivery of the Harrow
.peecliess the opportunity was embraced of inviting General
Sir William Fenwick Williams, of Kars, to perform the

interesting ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the
chapel of Harrow School, which is intended as a memorial to
the Harrovians who fell in the late war. General Williams
arrived from his hotel in town in an open barouche, with
postilions, accompanied by Colonel Lake, Captain Teesdale,
aide—de-camp to the general, and Mr. Churchill, his secretary.
The scene on the entry of the gallant defender of Kars was

one of the greatest enthusiasm, the roads being lined with the
inhabitants of Harrow and tha surrounding neighbourhood,

.eral places triumphal arches of evergreens, laurels,

&e., were erected.
The Rev. Dr. Vaughan, the head master, took the chair in
the speech room shortly after twelve o'clock, when the large
room was croc,-ded to excess, chiefly by elegantly dressed ladies,
the learned masters immediate supporters including Gener:l
Williams, Lord Palmerston, Lord John Russell, Lady
Rus=ell, Madame Jenny Lind Goldschmidt, &re.
After some slight preliminaries, the speeches were delivered
and prizes awarded. The company then proceeded to the

ground where the foundation stone was to be laid

The proceedings commenced with am appropriate prayer,
offered up by Dr. Vaughan, after which 'Sir W. Williams
notified that the mortar was properly spread. The storm was
then lowered, and the usual tests having been ap2lied, Gem.
Williams declared the stone to be duly laid, amidst reiterated
applause. _ _

•
general Sir William 'Williams then came forward, and was
received with great applause. rte said—My lords, ladies, and
gentlemen, Dr. Vaughan asked me to come down here to hear
the speeches delivered, and .1 accepted the invitation, feeling
great pleasure in doing so. I subsequently received another
communication from Dr. Vaughan, requesting me, to lay this
the foundation stone of the chapel, as a memorial to those
Harrovians who fell in fighting for their country during the
late war. I wrote back, accepting the invitation, and
saying that I hoped I should not be doin7 wrong in bringing
with me some of the men of Kars. (Cheers). In the first
place, here is Colonel Lake, a Harrow man—(cheers)
an officer who did his duty day and night—working by day and
watching by night. (Applause.) Again, hero is Captain
Te,sdale, my aide-de-camp, who distinguished himself in
every instance during the siege, and on the memorable 14th of
September he kept the key of tho position far fourteen hours.
(Applause.) And then here is my secretary, Mr. Churchill
—and, laying his hands on thai gentleman's shoulder, the
gallant general said, " Come forward, Churchill," and

drew him forward, he himself appearing much affected.
Mr. Churchill has (continued General Williams) though a
civilian, done great good in the service of his country.
(Applause.) I have addressed you col'ectively, but now I
will say a word or two to the Harrow boys I see around
me. It is strange that we all try to bo thought well of
after death, and the more we progress the moro the feeling
will be spread. Now of the list of names of those Har-
rovians who fell in the war, it was my honour to know
two or three of them well. Among others,-there is Major-
General Estcourt, whom I always knew to be one of the best
officers ; then there was Captain Pechell, who had title and

fortune, was the only son, and yet he preferred honour and

glory to staying at home to enjoy that ; and after ho had many
times distinguished himself he was offered by his sovereign
to come anti join some regiment at home, very likely her
Majesty's Guards, where he might have enjoyed some rest,
but no, he preferred to stay where he had gained his laurels.
(C/her rs.) I therefore hope that these examples may be borne
in mind by the Harrow boys I am now addressing. (Loud
cheers ) That they aro honoured after death is not all,
but they are cared for during life--for does not their
sovereign ply visits and console the poor wounded
fellows when they are in hospital ? (Hear, hear.)
If they die, they die in glory ; if they live, they
live for honour and reward. (Cheers.) Then coming to
the question of education, I may, perhaps, he permitted
to say that I feel very glad to think that positions in the
army are to he thrown open to public -competition: Of that
I ate very glad, but I must observe that we have not the books
to teach those who are to become candidates. I hope the press
of this country will take the matter up, and have the best
works on the continent translated, for without proper
elementary instruction nothing can be done. I have one more
word to say to my young Harrow friends. There is such a
thing as death in glory, but the loss of position is oftentimes
felt more severely by the friends of the soldier. I wish to be.
properly understood, for it is a fact that an evil word or a
thoughtless axiom may cause the loss of a commission. If a
soldier dies fighting in his country's service, his end is glorious,
but if, through any misconduct on his part, ho loses his
position, then nothing but an ignominious fate is open to him.
The gallant general concluded his speech by thanking them for
the attention they had paid him, and the interest they had
evinced in his welf me.
Three cheers were then given for General Willams.
Captain Teesdale, Lord Palmerston, and Dr. Vaughan
respectively.
Lord Palmerston then said, as an old Harrovian, he
wished to say a few words. They were assembled to do
honour to the memory of those Harrow men who lost their
lives in their country's cause, the names of whom had
been read to the meeting. Many of them had been taken
away in the prime of life, but th-y had not lived in vain,
having -d in a good cause; and he might with fairness
and truth remark that there never was a more righteous
cause than that for which the Harrow men had laid down
their lives. (Hear, hear.) General Williams had modestly
referred to his comrades as the men of K ire ; but he
(Lord Palmerston) felt they were entitled to be deslie-
riated the heroes of Kars. (Hear, hear.) General Wil-
liams was not a Harrow man, but Colonel Lake was, and
his lordship trusted that the boys would always show
patience under emergency, which would, no doubt, earn
for them those laurels which the irroes of Kars had
rained for themselves. After some further observations
of a general character, the noble viscount concluded by
urging the Harrow boys to think well bf what General
Williams had said to them, and always endeavour to serve
their country to the utmost of their power. _ _

The whole of the company then proceeded to Dr.
Vaughan's residence, where a banquet was served, at the
conclusinn of which the numerous visitors separated.

Some American seamen lately deserted from ships in
the Tyne. The police could not legally interfere, as we
have no treaty with America for the extradition of seamen
who desert. But on "au authority " from the American
Vice-Consul at Newcastle, the polio arrested the seamen.
The police have now been warned by the town council
that they have acted illegally.
CRYSTAL PALACE COMPANY.—The following is a sum-
mary of the Fourth Annual Report of the Directors, to be
presented at the general meeting on Monday :—The
management of the exhibition department has been made
a part of the duties of the general manager; and by this
means, and by other modifications, the salaries and
expenses have been reduced by about .X 2,000 per annum
from their former amount. The directors have also
reduced the salaries of the secretary, the accountant and
treasurer, and the superintendents of the inter:or and
ex, erior gardens, by about one third of their previous
amounts, whereby a saving of about X7OO per annum has
been effected. By these and other arrangements, the
fixed working expenses of the establishment will in the
current year be reduced by about .E 5,009. The experience
of the later concerts has shown that the money paid for
admission at the doors is sufficient to pay the current
expenses of each concert. The capital account shows that
the ultimate expenditure will amount to £1,355.59 12; 21,
of which there has been raised and paid £1,225,181 85,
leaving to be provided £130.415 4s 2d; but on this the net
sum payable on land (X 39,039 19s 80) is deferred by the
existing arrangement until the year 1859. If this be
deducted, there will remain £91,375 4s 61 to be raised at
present, to meet with the existing borrowing powers of
the company are amply sufficient. These powers are as
follow :_Balance of debentures authorised, but not yet
issued, .X 73,761 ; further issue of debentures, for
which a resolution will be submitted to the meeting,
£33,333 6s 80, extending to the amount of e 107,000. The
directors do not recommend that any immediate formal
deelaration.of dividend on the.original capital should be
made, but that it should be left to the directors to declare
a dividend of 2; psr share on the original shares, as
soon as they can see their way to mee big its payment
from the above sources. The season tickets for the cur-
on • sold up to the present time, under
s, would be as follows :—Two-guinea
dmitting cn all 0cca5i0n5,..4,335 ;

the thrce c

in tickets

inea t ransferabls

except

tlextmzi, awn., .:,:.; ~, v.,,, vv.....,...,
666—in all 13,653, representing £25,572. The West End
Railway will open froin the Crystal Palace to Clapham
in the month of August, and the whole line,
I with the
Sloane-street station, will be completed next summer...=