The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-23 00:00:00

SALOMONS, Mayor.—A COMMON COUN-
-1,7 CIL, holden In the Chamber of the Guildhall of the City of
London, on Thursday, the 22d day of November, 1855 :
Resolved,—That the thanks of this Court be presented to the
Right Hon. Sir Francis Graham Moon. Bart., late Lord Mayor, for
the efficient manner In which he discharged the various important
duties of his office as Chief Magistrate of this City during the
past year ; for the impartiality with which he presided over the
deliberations of this Court ; and for his urbanity and kindness to
all persons upon every occasion ' • for his liberal patronage of the
arts ; for the support afforded lay him to various public charities ; for
the dignified manner in which he aided this Court in giving a recep-
tion to the Emperor and Empress of the French upon the occasion of
their visiting this City; for his reception of and hospitality to the
Prefect of the Seine, and the other distinguished persons by whom
the Prefect was accompanied ; and for his hospitality, displayed
without reference to religious or political opinions.

That this Court congratulate him upon the honour conferred upon
him by his Sovereign as a mark of her Majesty's favour and satis-
faction for the reception given by the citizens of London to her dis-
tinguished guests the Emperor and Empress of the French, a dis-
tinction which this Court hope he and his family may long enjoy
with honour to the City and credit to themselves.
MEREWETHER.

3, 1855.

P RINCE ALBERT AT BIRMINGHAM.

BIRMINGHAM, THURSDAY.
Prince Albert honoured this town by a visit today
for the purpose of laying the first stone of the Birming-
ham and Midland Institute. The Prince had twice pre-
viously visited the town ; in the year 1844, when her
Majesty `bas the guest of Sir Robert Peel (at that time
Prime 14ister), at Drayton Manor ; and again, exactly
six years ago, his Royal Highness came down for the
purpose of inspecting the Exhibition of Manufactures,
then opeO at Biegley Hall. To-day the Prince has
come amongst us to give eclat to the commencement of
a work Aich, when fully carried out, cannot fail to be
of the grciatest advantage to the town, and to the vast
industriab and mineral district surrounding it.

The w4nt of a Literary and Scientific Institution in
Birmingham, commensurate with the character and re-
quirements of a town where the occupations of the great
majority ! of its artisans demand a certain amount
of mechaaical, chemical, or artistic knowledge, induced
a numbed of gentlemen to endeavour to supply that de-
ficiency. Jan., 1853, they obtained the sanction of a
public meeting, presided over by the Mayor, to the
scheme of a Literary and Scientific Institute; in 1854
the Institute was incorporated by Act of Parliament,
and the Town Council granted a site adjoining the Town
Hall for the proposed buildings, on condition that
10,0001. ,was raised and available for theirerectiOn. The
-liberality of themobleinlicand gentlemen of the neigh-
bourhoo4, of the ironmasters of the district, and of the
inhabitants of Birmingham, has placed a considerable
portion 4f the required sum in the hands of the Council
of the Institute, and several friends to the undertaking
having entered into a personal guarantee for the balance
of the sqpnlated 10,0001., the Council are now in a posi-
tion to dominance the erection of the buildings. The full
develop4ent of the scheme of education will require at
least doable the amount of the funds now in hand.

A mote specific and detailed account of ihesOhense of
the Institute is contained in the address of the council
to Prinde Albert, which we give below.
A short time sinoe a dozen designs for the intended
building were sent in ; and from these the council se-
lected that of Mr. Edward Barry, whose father has al-
ready contributed to the architectural ornamentation of
the town, in his magnificent design for the school of
King Edward VI. The building now about to be erected
is in the modern Italian style—simple and extremely
elegant,; though almost devoid of ornamentation, if we
except the slight window dressings, mouldings, and rus-
ticwork, which, skilfully handled, render this style the
most pleasing as well as convenient for almost every
description of street architecture.

Yesterday, although the morning was gloomy and
towards rime o'clock the rain came down steadily, the
bustle of the inhabitants, engaged in daily decorating
their houses and the peals from the bells, commenced at
a very early hour. The Great Western Company's station
was decorated and smartened as much as circumstances
would admit of ; and up Livery-street, along Bull-street,
High-street, New-street, and Paradise-street (the line by
which it had been arranged the Prince should pass to
the Town Hall, and the site of the new building), from
every house there streamed handsome banners with va-
rious inscriptions, all expressive of loyal sentiment and
of hearty and kindly greeting. In all the streets skirt-
ing the route banners streamed from the houses far away
in the distance ; in front of King Edward's School the
governors had caused a platform to be erected for the
scholars of that truly royal foundation ; and everybody
who could contribute did contribute in every possible
way to give the Prince a thoroughly hearty English re-
ception : for his Royal Highness's encouragement of art
as applied to manufactures is nowhere more fully appre-
ciated or more highly valued than in Birmingham.
As 12 o'clock drew near, shortly after which it was.,
known the royal train would arrive, the streets became
densely thronged : a November rain and -fog did not
damp the ardour of the people who thronged the streets.
In Bulktreet the flags floated from the windows on either
side, and formed one vast triumphal arch. The front of
King Edward's School was decorated with evergreens
as well as flags; so were many other of the principal
houses, and through the fog and wet the gay colours
streamed gaily—the desperate effort of the weather to
be unpleasant scarcely to any extent marring the enthu-
siasm of the people. The police kept good order in the
streets ; and a troop of the 98th Regiment, with the 6th
Carabineers, were in attendance as the guard of honour.
The Great Western Station had, as we have said, been
tastefully fitted up. There was a reception room and a
retiring room for his Royal Highness. Both of these
were elegantly fitted up, under the auspices of Mr.
Smith, of the Hen and Chickens Hotel ; Messrs. Jetts
nens and Bettridge contributed a handsome suite of
papier inaeL6 furniture, and many pictures were lent
to adorn the walls ; in fact, altogether, the room pre-
sented a very elegant appearance. Mr. Andrews, Mr.
Hewitt, and other officers of the railway company, Fade
complete the arrangements at the station, the platform
of which was covered with crimson cloth. The members
of the Town Council arrived at the railway station at 12
o'clock. These took up a position on one side the line
of the platform at which the royal carriage was to draw
up ; the council of the institute, headed by Lord Cal-
thorpe and Capt. Tindal, on the opposite side. Exactly
at 30 minutes past 12 the cheers in the distance an
nounced that the train conveying his Royal Highness
was upon the viaduct by which the line enters the town.
In a minute or two the cheering became louder and more
distinct, and the royal train ran into the station. As it
did so the Mayor (T. R. T. Hodgson, Esq.) approached
the royal carriage, and the Prince followed his wor-
ship into the reception-room, in which were the Recorder
(al. D. Hill, Esq., Q C.), Mr. Edmonds, the clerk of
the peace ; Dr. B. Davies, the borough coroner ;
several of the borough magistrates ; Lieutenant-
General Sir Harry Smith, and his aide-de-camp, Colonel
Houlditch ; Colonel Slade,. commandant of the district ;
Colonel Gordon, Colonel Rainier, Lieut.-Colonel Bam-
ford, Major Wynward, Lieut. Cannon, &c.
Prince Albert reared for a few moments and then re-
turned to the reception room, where the members of the
Town C•iuncil were ; then the Prince took his station on
the Mayor's right hand, and the Recorder (in his official
robes), advanced and read the following address :---
To Field-Marshal his Royal Highness Prince Albert of
Saxe Coburg and Gotha, K.G., &c., &c.
May it please your Royal Highness,
We, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the borough
of Birmingham in council assembled, avail ourselves of the
suspicious event which has procured for us the honour and
the gratification of your presence among us to express our
deep sense of the manifold and important services which
you have rendered to the country of your adoption.
Manufactures, commerce, and agriculture, the three great
sources of British wealth, have each derived benefits from
your exertions, and for these benefits we respectfully offer
you our cordial thanks.
But, sir, we appreciate still more highly your unremit-
ting zeal for the advancement of religion and learning, of
the sciences and the arts, and for their widest diffusion
among all ranks of our fellow-subjects.
Permit us, also, to thank you for the earnest and abid-
ing interest which you manifest in every institution hav-
ing for its object to succour and instruct the destitute, to
reclaim the erring, and to restore both classes to society so
trained as to have become honest and industrious citizens,
fearing God and honouring the Queen.
Thus, sir, have you nobly employed the opportunities
afforded by your exalted station for aiding our revered So-
vereign in her labours to enhance the true splendour of her
crown by augmenting its utility to her people.
Nor amidst this multiplicity of your public avocations
have you neglected to cultivate thedomestic virtues which,
whether found in a palace or in a cottage, must constitute
its richest treasure.
With sedulous care do you minister to the happiness of
our beloved Queen, and united with her in fulfilling the
holiest of parental duties, anxiously do you watch over the
education of that Royal offspring in whom we confide to
prolong into a distant future the blessings of this most
beneficent reign.
That it may please the Supreme Ruler to preserve-for-
many years a life so precious to your consort, to your chil-
-1 dren, and to the nation, is our devout and humble prayer.
Given under the Corporate Common Seal of the Borough
of Birmingham, on the 22d day of November, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
(L S)
His ROYAL HIGHNESS replied as follows—Mr. Mayor
and Gentlemen—The cordial reception I have met with
from you demands my warmest acknowledgments. You
only do use justice in giving me credit for a deep interest
in whatever can tend to the advancement of either the
moral or material good of the people of this country.
But you allude in too flattering a manner, and attach
too high a value, to any services that it may have been
in my power to render in this cause. I feel it to be a
high privilege to be associated in any way with thorn who
are making such noble efforts—and nowhere with more
energy and perseverance than in the town of Birming-
ham—for the improvement of their fellow-countrymen ;
and to be allowed to witness the success of those efforts
will be more than a sufficient reward for any assistance
I may myself have been enabled to afford.
The Town Council then retired, and the members of
the Council of the Institute were introduced to his
Royal Highness by the Mayor, after which the proces-
sion was formed, and the Prince proceeded in the royal
carriage (which had arrived on the previous day), on his
way to the hall, his worship the Mayor and Lord Cal-
thorpe, as president of the Institute, being seated in the
carriage with his Royal Highness. To describe the
progress from the railway station to the Town-hall would
be to describe a continued ovation. Along the whole
line of the route the cheers never ceased. In front of
King Edward's School the royal cortege stopped; there
three addresses were presented to the Prince—one from
the governors, another from the masters, presented by
the Rev. Sydney Gedge, M.A. ; and a third from the
scholars, presented by the head boy, which, being clothed
in the Latin tongue, and very elegantly phrased, is
worthy a place here :
f u
uNdoasusd i c inpxui i
maximo
nanocholes
gas
ur cogs en
salvors te, Serenissime Princeps, jubemus; dig_neuiaml
Scholre discipulos vultu tug et beneficiis an
quantum in nobis est
nobis coli, qui non mode urbem nostram, d
ris. Qua) quum its sint, et quum nos,
nos gesserimus,
situm, maximo amore erga to -elapse
Eaddvveanrtdu°mS
a et tot et
sub-
versa tendem hostis urbe reuniturirp ,
s
reportatio vistoriis a fortimanus nostril nu
teuxutomejexussepnwn.omtmaneiteniass
sod
honohruajvue!
quum prmterea omnis natio laatitia. perfundatur