The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-12 00:00:00

'ARCH 12, 1855.

have very inadequately expressed the feeling :a which ani-
mate me on this occasion ; but I trust as a tic ddier, that
my deeds may prove better than my speech( Is. (Cheers.)
The CLIAIRMAN--I have now to propose you "The
health of her Majesty's Ministers," and I f tei proud in
coupling with that toast the name of a no' ale lord, emi-
nent not only from his position as the be ul of the Go-
vernment, but as bei perhaps, the mist popular
ststesman in this count (Cheers.) He Li as taken the
helm at a time when the two foremost nat it as of West-
ern Europe have united their forces with :those of the
Ottoman Porte in order to carry on an at #uous conflict
in defence of justice and of civilisation ; a ra let us hope
that, after a gkricus war, his Ministry 4 ,ay secure to
Europe and the world the blessings of a sting and an
honourable peace. I give you "Lord Pis nerston and
her Majesty's Ministers."
The toast was drunk with loud applausvt.

Lord PALMERSTON-Mr. Chairtnn and Gentlemen,
fur myself and fur my colleagues I beg yoUc' to accept our
most sincere thanks fur the honour you 'ayes --e done us in
drinking our health, and I can assure y sou that we are
fully sensible not only of the honour be tt f .Iso the kind-
ne=s shown to us in our being invited to "be present on
this most interesting occasion. It is t. rue, as you, Mr.
Chairman, have been pleased to say, tb..tt those who
have had the charge of the Governmei It GS this country
Cave been compelled to engage in a gr eat and arduous
contest with one of the first military po , Wars of the world
for the maintenance of principles which s .re dear to the

heart of every Englishman, and in def an, cc of interests
of the most vital importance to the counitr y to which we
belong. (Cheers.) W e engaged in the 'N ar with reluc-
tance and hesitation. Those who ha. 11 the manage-
ment of the negotiations which prec ei ed this con-
test were accused of delay, of wea nees„ and of
hesitation in embarking in a just conflict un-
worthy the character of this great untry. It is
true that we exhausted every endeavour to. avert a war
of which we foresaw the magnitude and. •the difficulty,
but which we were determined to fact: if it should
ho impossible for us to avoid it by pee .Ceful means.
(Cheers) Our efforts at negotiation heeViteee, however,
failed, we drew the sword, and I trust wetjelliall not re-
turn it to its. scehbard until we have obt getetl honour-
ewe -fera-conclusive terms. (freer, hot z•-) We have
been invited this day to the festive board of what I may,
without compliment or exaggeration, say is one of the
great Powers of the world—to the board 1 of those who
have been delegated by the Sovereign ; sred the Parlia-
ment of this country to administer LI se affairs of a
vast territory— to watch over the wel fare and pro-
mote the happiness of, I believe, 200, 000,000 of our
fellow creatures, and who have perfot in-ed the high
functions with which they have been charged in a
manner which entitles them to universe/ admiration,
and which has enabled them to confe r inestimable
b:essings on the dominions and the rac, es which they
govern. (Loud cheers.) The course of events has fre;
quently compelled these rulers to wage w: tr —they have
in many instances achieved conquests, bu e unlike those
co iquerors whose footsteps arc marked by desolation
and whose career is followed by misery, th. ty have subju-
gated only to emancipate, and added to t heir subjects
only by increasing the number of happy a nd free men.
(Cheers.) But, gentlemen, these wars h are raised up
many a hero and many a brave and skiff al soldier. I
have now the happiness to see aiany here whose breasts
are adorned with the honourable rewards of well-fought
fields. I see around me many who Lave distinguished
themselves in those contests in which in the perform-
ance of their duty and in the service of t' he East India
Company they have been called to engag e. They are
now going to a different scene of action, and, having
hitherto contributed to the glory of their c ountry in the
eastern hemisphere, they are now about to. maintain the
cause of justice and of right in the west, and to fight
for the honour and dignity of this empire in the re-
gions of Europe. lam persuaded that they vial discharge
their duties in the one quarter of the globe ", as nobly as
they have done it in the other. They will leave to corn-
macd the contingent to be raised by our all y the Sultan
of Turkey, and those officers (many of whom I have
myself seen) who have witnessed the achievements of
the brave and gallant Turks, have invariably testified
that they are the materials out of which the best pos-
sible troops may be formed, provided only that they are
placed under good and capable leaders. (Cheors.) There
can be no doubt that a contingent composed of such
men, and led by such officers as those whom we have

_
the pleasure of seeing among us, will march. to victory ;
will cover themselves with glery on the field of battle,
and will contribute—should the efforts now being made
to negotiate unhappily fail—to gain for us by the power
of the sward, that future security for the peace of Europe
which will then have been denied to persuasion and
amicable endeavours. Gentlemen, I again return-you
thanks on my own behalf and on iat of my colleagues,
and I trust that before this day twelvemonth we shall
be able to congratulate you on the glorious distinction
that will have been won by the gallant men with whom
we are now sharing your hospitality. (Loud cheers.)
The CR/MILAN next proposed the health of Mr. Ver-
non Smith, the President of the Board of Control,
taking occasion to assure the right hon. gentleman that
he might rely upon the ready co-operation of the Court
of Directors in all measures which they might ratituptly
dq to ba for the benefit. Dr -
The toast was drunk amid loud applause,.

Mr. VERNON SMITH, in acknowledging the compli-
meat that had been paid te him, adverted to the recent
date of his appointment to the administration of Indian
affairs, asserting that he yielded to no man in the great
and engrossing interest he took in the welfare of the
millions intrusted to his care, and that he would devote
his best abilities to promote their happinessand improve-
ment. Turning to the more immediate object of that
assemblage, he said it was impossible to overestimate
the benefits which would be derived from engaging the
services of officers •f the Indian army in the present
war, and be trusted that those who had hitherto shared

the same glory would hereafter obtain the same high
honours as the officers of her Majesty's troops. Those
who had fought under the banners of Plassy and Assay,
of Sobraon and Chillianwallah, would not prove them-
selves unworthy of fighting side by side with the heroes
of Alma and Inkerman. (Cheers.)

The CHAIRMAN then gave " Success to the Allied
armies in the Crimea," associating with the toast the
name of Lord Panmure, and expressing his confidence
that the War Minister would use his best exertions to
place the British army in that state of efficiency which
would enable it eventually to destroy the predominance
exercised by Russia in the Black Sea, the continuance
of which was incompatible with the peace of Europe.
(Drunk with applause.)
.i,Lord PAN/JURE—I certainly did not anticpate that I I
should have been called upon to say one word upon the I
present occasion ; but, sir, you have been pleased to
connect my name with the army of Great Britain now
in the Crimea. In so doing, you have... perhaps unwit-
tingly—conferred upon me the highest honour which it
is possible that I could receive. To have my name as-
sociated with that gallant army is to have it associated
with all that is remarkable for valour, distinguished for
discipline, and celebrated, as it ever must be, for the
patient endurance of suffering. (Cheers.) The services
of that army to its country have been rendered with a
fidelity, a loyalty, and a patriotic spirit that will cause
the names of who belong to it to be handed down to the
unfading remembrance and grateful affection of the
latest posterity. (Cheers. No one can forget the man-
ner in which that army left this country. After a pe-
riod of forty years of peace, we were called upon sud-
denly to send into the field an army exceeding in
numbers any that ever at any one time before left
the shores of Britain. The flower of our people went
forth
theyund landed uponnation'sertheth
be my s
banner, and from the mo-
ment soil up
to the
present hour not a single reverse has ever attended them
glory
time to a
yrst in the dust.
in the face of the foe. They have invariably set their
nneecwk,aram,
ndyteraxmpopsleedd hisfor
theg
l
winter campaign, they have endured all its hardships,
feet upon
hisA
and carried on the war under its severity in a manner
which has excited the admiration of one of the oldest and
most distinguished veterans of Europe--I mean Marshal
Radetzky. I only learnt this day that, on bein—
g asked
his opinion as to the mode in which our army. had passed
the winter in the Crimea, that eminent general expressed
no surprise at the sufferings it bad had to undergo; and
his laconic reply was, " Remember, it is a new army,
and it has gone through a winter campaign." (Cheers.)
No doubt there has been much suffering during the
rigours of such a campaign ; no doubt there were many
omissions which future experience may correct ; but I
have every reason to believe—and I may say it with
confidence before this company and also before the Bri-
tish people—that the corner is now turned ; that the
sun is again shining upon us ; that, with returning
spring, the health, the spirits, and the energies of our
troops are returning likewise, and that we may hope, ere
long, when the decisive moment comes, that our gallant
army in the East will again add fresh laurels to those
that they have already gathered ; that they will again
call forth the raced of their country's praise ; that they
will again be seen fighting, and fighting with success, in
the cause of justice and of truth—in the cause of liberty
against despotism—a cause which I hope will ever be
dear to the people of England, and in which, I trust,
they will ever encourage their fleets and their armies to
fight. (Loud cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN next proposed " The health of Lord
Dalhousie, Governor-General of India," observing that
it afforded him great pleasure to express, on behalf
of the Court of Directors, the high opinion they
entertained of the successful administration of that
noble lord. The health of Lord Dalhousie was
not, he was sorry to say, so good as could be
wished, and his lordship had been obliged to seek
change of air in the Madras Presidency. He was sure;
therefore, that they would all unite in drinking to
Lord Dalhousie's speedy restoration to his wonted lA-
goer. (Drunk amid loud cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then gave "The health of his Grace
the Duke of Argyll, and the guests who had honoured•
the company with their presence." (Cheers.)
The Duke of ARGYLL, in responding, said it had beew
usual to speak of the last 40 years as a period of peace ;
yet during that time many most important victories
had been won by the valour of our armies in the East.
It was only a short time since every heart in England
hung with breathless suspense upon the arrival of the
Indian mail, and all felt that our interests and honour
depended upon the gallantry and skill displayed on the
banks of the Sutlej and the Indus by our Indiaa officers.

Now, however, when pea,- reigned from the Himalaya
t' Cape Comorin, those ,•''-ir!ers nobly came forwar I to
offer their services to Weir country in the war now
raging in the Crimea, where he believed they would add
fresh lustre to the great renown thoy had already ac-
quired on the plains Qf India. (Cheers.)
The list of toasts having been concluded the company
then separated. The proceedings were enlivened by the
performances of a superior military band. Mr. Toole
ably officiated as toastmaster.

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

The fleet at Spithead was augmented yesterday by the,
arrival of the Duke of Wellington, on board which
Rear-Admiral the Hon. R. S. Dundas, C. 13,, is expected
to hoist his flag this morning a's Commander-in-Chief of
the Baltic fleet. There are now at Portsmouth the fol-
lowing ships and vessels :—The Duke of Wellington,
131, Captain Caldwell ; the Britannia, 120, Captain
Carter (to be put out of commission to-morrow) ; the St.
George, 120, Captain Ey res, C.B. ; the Neptune, ]2O,
Captain Hutton ; the Royal George, 102, Captain Cod-
rington, C.B. ; the St. Vincent, 102; Captain Elliott,
C.B. ; the Nile, 91, Captain Mundy ; the James Watt,
91, Captain Elliot (refittino ; the Calcutta, 84, Captain
J. J. Stopford ; the Cressy, 81, Captain R. L. Warren ;
the Hogue, 60, Captain Ramsay ; the Blenheim, GO,
Captain Hall ; the Ajax,' 60, Captain Warden ; the
Pembroke, 60, Captain G 11. Seymour ; the Hastings,
60, Captain Catlin ; the Edinburgh, 58, Captain Hew-
lett ; the Imperieuse, 51, Captain Watson, C.B. ; the
Euryalus, 61, Captain G. Ramsey ; the Arrogant, 46,
Captain Yelverton ; the Retribution, 28, Captain
Fisher ; the Esk, 20, Captain Birch ; the Penelope, 18,
Captain Sir W. Wiseman ; the Falcon, 17, Commander
Pullen ; the Ariel, 9, Commander Luce ; the Centaur,
6, Captain Clifford ; the Gorgon, 6, Commander R. P.
Crawford ; and Basilisk, 6, Commander Jenner. These,
are all effective sea-going ships. We have not mentioned
harbour guard and training ships, Royal acrd other
yachts, port tenders, tugs, and lighters. Each day will
add to this great force, and by the end of the present
week it is expected to be doubled- Thu effects of ha
felt On—TEFfocal markets. YeEttrday
the weather was very thick and intensely cold ; so there
was not much communication with the ships from the shore
where the snow lay several inches deep, having fallen
densely during the night. The clerks of the Pay-office went
of to the Penelope on Saturday to pay her ere w wages in ad-
vance prior to her sailing for Corkto embark Royal Alai!.
lery for the Cape of Good Hope. The Hogue hauled out of
the steam basin, after refit And receiving new bo lens, on
Saturday. The crew of the Britannia will be draughted
for other ships when their leave is up. The refit of the
ships forming the Baltic expedition progresses rapidly at
each of the outports, and there is no doubt that they
will all be in the Downs (if no further) by the end of the
month. The following was the position in which the
fleet at Spithead was moored yesterday :

WEST-LOOKING EAST.
Royal George Duke of Wellington
Neptune Aj ix
Cressy Imperieuse Arrogant
St. George Penelope
Calcutta Esk Gorgon.
Nile Euryalus

EAST—LOOKING WEST.
The hired screw-steam stransport Imperial, aptain
Inman, No. 188, which left London Feb. 24, with medi-
cal stores for Constantinople, and put back to Plymouth
with machinery damaged on the 3d of March, having
had a new cylinder fitted, started again on Friday, when
the slide valves of the new cylinder gave way. New slide
valves were expected on board yesterday (Sunday), and
it was hoped that she would make a third attempt to-day
to prosecute her voyage.
The screw eteaaa•ship Saxon, Captain Barfield, which
took Government stores to Constantinople, and then
shipped frni t at Smyrna for London on mecrbants' account)
put into Plymouth short of fuel yesterday. She left
Gibraltar March Ist, spoke the schooner Tradesman
March 9th, five days out from London for Naples ; and
same day, in latitude 38 north, longitude 7 west, passed
a large quantity of square timber, part of which was in
a raft, supposed to be the deck load of some ship.
Shipwrights and other artisans employed at Devon-
port on the screw steam-ship Colossus, 81, and Cesar, 91,
have received orders to work from six in the morning till
seven o'clock in the evening, to make good defects with
all despatch, so as to prepare them immediately for sea.
The Co:orsus is expected to be taken out of dock on
Thursday, and to go out of harbour on Monday next.
The screw steam-vessels Cruizer, 17, Conflict, 8,
Rosamond, 6, Weazer, and Recruit, were taken out of
the basin dock at Keybam, Plymouth, on Saturday.
The three former vessels went to the coal depot to con►-
plete coaling, and it is expected that they, together
with the steam-vessels Magicienne, 16, Archer, 14, and
Vulture, 6, will be ready by to-morrow to proceed to
Spithead.

His Prussian Majesty's frigate Thetis, Captain sunder-
wauldt, at Plyriouth, is ready for sea, and will proceed
with the British dee% to the Baltic when the ice breaks
up ; she is bound to Dantzio. Her full complement is
about 400 men ; but she has nt present only 200, part
mse-Wlntini are engineers and stokererthe- whole having
formed the crews of the two gun.boate Nix and Sala-
mander. On Tuesday last, when they were exercising
aloft, an able seaman, David Schwartz, a native of
Pillau, fell from the maintopsailyard, across the comb-
ings of the main hatchway, and received such frightful
injuries that he died immediately.
On Saturday the High Court of Admiralty having
condemned the vessel Khssova Constantine, of which
Zillisimus Carronis was late the master, prize to her
Majesty's ship Retribution, and the Agos Isannes
4l'Bododo, of which Theofori 'Pokes was late the master,
prize to her Majesty's ship Highfiyer, decrees of sale
were issued. The vessels are lying at Malta, where
they will be sold, together with their cargoes, arms, and
amount realised paid into the Admiralty for the benefit
of the captors.

The North Star is loading bread, beef, and pork at
the Royal William Victualling-yard, Plymouth, for the
Crimea. The Wish, Captain Edwards, is loading bread
for Malta, and the Mute, of Portsmouth, is unloading
wheat from Shoreham. A cargo of biscuit is to be sent
to Haulbowiine in the transport Blue Jacket. Tenders
have been accepted at per ton for conveying hay to
the Crimea, per John Oldham. Orders have been re•
ceived to engage freights for conveying 500 tons of pro.
visions to Constantinople or the Crimea. There is in
store 39,8001 b. roasted coffee, and 180,000 lb. raw coffee,
which the kiln is working night and day to finish. The
coffee is packed id canisters of 141 b., 251 b., and 281 b.
each.

The following appointments and promotions have
taken place.
Lieutenants—John Palmer, from the St. Vincent, to
the Duke of Wellington, to serve as flag lieutenant to
Rear-Admiral the Hon. Richard Dundas, C.B. ; Chas.
A. P. V. Robinson, recently serving in the Sampson, to
the Hecate ; James A. R. Dunlop to the Hastings ; J.
H. \Vhitshed to the Amphion ; Charles G. G. Percival,
from the Majestic, to the Horatio ; James W. Arm-
strong, from the Duke of Wellington, to the Bulldog ;
C. Hobart, from the Bulldog to the Duke of Wellington.
Masters—Richard C. Dyer, to the Merton steam-
sloop ; Peter Wellington, to command the Tyne ; Win.
T. Mainwise to the Viotory.
Surgeon-Superintendents—Samuel Donnelly, serving
in theEuryalus, to the Adelaide convict ship ; Edward
Groves, M.D., from the Gorgon steam-sloop, to the
Earyalus, vice Donnelly ; Richard King to the Gorgon,
vice Groves ; James Whicher to the Bulldog ; J. J. D.
Burns, M.D., to the Hastings.
Assistant-Surgeons—John C. Messer, M.D., from
the Duke of Wellington, to the Centaur ; Simon A.
Willis, M.D., to the Calcutta.

Acting Assistant-Surgeon—George T. Keele to the
r ylades.
Clerk George M. Blyth to the Hawke.
Acting Clerk Alexander D. M'Arthur to the Majestic.
Second Masters Francis Taylor, serving in the Vul-
ture, and John Thompson, serving in the Sharpshooter,
have been promoted to be Masters.
Several promotions and appointments have been made
in the Royal Marine Corps. In consequence of its being
intended immediately to augment the Royal Marine
Corps by the addition of one company to each of the
four divisions, Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth, and
Woolwich, each company will have one captain and two
first lieutenants.
Orders have been received at the Barrack Master's
department, Plymouth citadel, to prepare for the recep-
tion of about 60 men of the 11th Hussars, expected ley
steam from Dublin, prior to embarkation at Plymouth
to join their regiment in the Crimea.
Reinforcements for the several regiments at the seat of
war are ordered to be held in readiness to proceed to the
Crimea forthwith. According to present arrangements,
the following are the numbers that are to be sent out—.
viz. :—Grenadier !Guards, 3d battalion, 200 men ; Ist
battalion Coldstreams, 150 men ; let battalion Scots
Fusilier Guards, 150 men ; and it is stated that each of
the following regiments of the line are to be increased by
two companies of 100 men each—vie. :-2d battalion of
the let Foot (Royal Scots), 3d ditto (Buffs), 4th ditto,
7th Royal Fusiliers, 17th Foot, 18th (Royal Irish),
19th Foot, 20th Foot, 21st (Royal North British
Fusiliers), 23d (Royal Welsh ditto), 28th Foot, 30th
ditto, 33d (Duke of 'Wellington's Own), 34th Foot,
38th ditto, 39th ditto, 42d (Royal Highlanders), 44th
Foot, 14611 ditto, 47th ditto, 48th ditto, 49th ditto,
50th ditto, 54th ditto, 55th ditto, 57th ditto, 62d ditto,
631 ditto, 6qth ditto, 68th (Durham Light Infantry),
let battalion 71st Highland Light Infantry, 77th Foot,
79th Highlanders, 82. d Foot, 88th (Connaught Rangers),
89th,Foot, 90th 44U:cit. 91st ditto, 92d ditt ~ 93d High-
landers, and 97th Foot. The Rifle Brigade is to be in-
oreas'ed by a battalion of ten companies consisting of 100
rooms each. The reinforcements for the cavalry will pro-
cec4 early in the ensuing month, when the horses for the
Yemetints will be sent-out with them ; but the draughts
4 for the Guards will proceed during the present week.
Captain Aaley, of 'the Scots Fusilier Guards, who
at wpuridelkja,thei meek while gallantly leading his
i•vtiv
men up the heights of Alma, has been beating up for
recruits for his regiment throughout the county of Sus-
sex. , The dreadful sufferings which our troops in the
Crimea have undergone have very much checked the
desire to enlist in all parts of the country.
Accounts from Cork, dated Friday evening, say :--
"At 3 o'clock yesterday the Great Britain arrived in
(Queenstown /rem Woolwich, and took up her station