The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-06 00:00:00

PREMIER'S ACADEMY SPECII.

[As the dinner at the Royal Academy does not take place this
year, we have much pleasure in giving publicity to the
adtireis which it had been the intention of the noble head of
the Government to deliver upon that interesting occtsion,
We have introduced the cheers and other drmonstralons
which we are sure the speech would have elicited.]
Mr PreSident; my Lords, end Gentlemen.—The living
and the dead are bnt as pictures, and it is the eye of child-
hood- that fears a painted devil—two. remarks which I
believe I have read in ono of Shakepearc's plays. We
find ourselves surrounded by pictures, and the quotation
is therefore perfectly applicable ; and as it is a difficult
thing t) say anything new where people have met - for
so many years for the purpose of cemplimenting one auo_.
there one is grateful for a citation that launches one at
once in medias res. As fcr a painted devil. I. ought to
add that I do not ai this moment see one, and I am rather,
glad of it, for the irVividu-11 referred to is one whom I
have always been desirous to—to---disfranchise, if my
noble friend the member for London will allow me to
make use of the word. (Laughter.) Still, I am quite
,•11Ya that if it had beer, necessary for any of the accom-
idipl?sel waists whprml.,s,ee,around me to
,pujnt,,that—
thai they would have succeeded in tLe effort;
anti I am su,e, s impartial and right minded man, would
of have painted him blacker than he is, (Applause.) Mr.
President and gentlemen, I profess myself without affecta-
tion to be a great admirer of the noble art to whose inte-
rests dies.- dinners are devoted. It' I might say so, lam
a hind of dabbler in it myself. I recently had to sketch
a view of operations in China, and, although it certainly
was objected that I had rather brought the background
into the foreground, and introduced in some false lights—
(hear, boar)—there was no denying, I believe, the strength
of my treatment or the brilliancy of my colouring. So that
I may call myself an artist—in fact, if you will allow me to
say so, I am a wholesale artist, for I made an exhibition
of myself. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I was detained so long at
my office—l won't say whether I was engaged in the details
of a reform bill or not, because I think with so many good
pictures around melt would be an insult to hint at amended
representation— (loud cheers) —but I was detained so long
that I have not had an opportunity of locking round
the rooms. But if your canvass has been as lucky
as mine, you will have no cause to grumble. (Hear, hear.)
I don't see a picture of my noble friend the member for
London. There was one a year or two ago, which was
exactly like Mr. Charles Kean. I think you ought to have
one of me, this year, that should also be like Mr. Charles
Kean, because he has been playing with great eclat my
character of Richard 11., which you know I took at the time
of the Sebastopol rebellion. (Great laughter.) I think you
should paint my noble friend as Bolingbroke, because people
say t hat he would like to dethrone me, poor Richard. (Roars
of laughter, in which Lord John Russell joined.) When I
say "poor Richard," it reminds me of proverbs, of which
you known I am rather fond, and there is a proverb that
occurs to me when I think of ray noble friend the member for
London— namely, that you shouldn't sell the bear's skin
before you have killed him However, a truce to politics,
which, indeed, I should not have introduced at all, but
that my noble friend keeps glancing so continually at that
picture of King John putting his name to a little matter,
and I can't help thinking that my noble friend will have
something to say about that parchment the King is signing.
(Laughter.) I am very glad to see that you, Mc. Presi-
dent, have invited several other friends of mine. I seamy
friend the Chance hr of the Exchequer, and I am pleased
to behold him taking a little pleasure, for his work is cut
eut, I can tell him. To adopt an artistic phrase, " with
figures, and a storm coming on"—that describes where my
friend will be. (Laughter.) Ah ! be won't laugh, and you
may paint him, if you like, as "Ulysses opening the bud-
gets, and raising the wind." (Laughter.) By the way, it
was not Ulysses but his men, and as my classical friend
is particular about Greek matters, I correct myself. I
observe, too, that you have got my friend the Lord
Chancellor, and 1 wish that some of the sculptors would
take him in hand, and make him their apprentice,
because then, perhap., he would learn to cut a prettier
figure than at prese et. (Applause.) However, he means
to be a good boy this half, and to do away wall the
scandal that says that in his place in the Lords he resem-
bles the proportions in Falstatl's tavern bill—a halfp'orth
of law to an enormous lot of sack. Who else do I see ?
My friend the Whip, who made the blunder on Thursday,
and appointed the wrong time for the meet. He has got
bard work before him, too, for lie has to learn the names
and . ways of a low? of men whom he never saw or heard
of before, and he has to convince every one of them that
he is the finest fellow in the world, and destined fur
office, if he will only take care to vote right and regularly.
l'ie'd make a good study for Noah, dritiag the queer
beasts two and two into the ark—(laughter)—if any of
you are in that line of art. Well, Mr. President, we
have IL.d a remarkably good dinner, for which we are
very much your debtors, and I notice the delicate
attention of patting a willow pattern plate before me. It
reminds me, as it was intended to e:o, of my dear f,iends the
Chinese, but for whom I might have been hanging my harp
upon a willow of my own. They are a very delightful
nation, but you must observe that they do not under-
stand perspective ; and I am quite sure that, as artists,
you must all feel that it is our duty as a civilir ed people
to give them that knowledge in common with other
blessings, and therefore that you will all sympathise in
Dr. Bowrieg's war. I will only add that if I can pro-
mote the prosperity of art in any way clueing the coining
session it will give me very sincere pleasure to do so ;
and, though I can't supply you with any lay-figures, I'll
make as many bishops as I can for you, and you know
'Tis from high life high characters are drawn,
A saint in crape is twice a saint in lawn.
(Applause.) Mr. President, my lords and gentlemen, I
beg to return you my best thanks, and to express in all
seriousness my hope for the prosperity of the Royal
Academy, whose works no good Judge can condemn
though they ought all to be hung as soon as possible.
(Long and rapturous cheers, especially from the Lord
Chancellor, who has comprehended this last joke.)—Press.