The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 12, 1864.

. •
among these present was that she was not present to corn- of Londonderry were most prosperous. (Cheers.) The;
pleto what he might designate a happy and very numerous were blessed with a good landlady—(hear, hear)—greatly
family. (Jheers.) He dwelt on the necessity there was ' superior to others of their classes in Ireland that he could
for the existence of good feeling between landlord and tenant, name. Mr. Wilson, their agent, was pre-eminently a man
and eloquently pointed to the result of that, as it operated of his word, and while he watched with peculiar care over
among the vast body of tenants composed of those he saw the interests of his employer, he had at the same time an
before him, and those they represented. (Prolonged ear ready to hear and a heart and hand ready to redress a
cheering.) grievance that even the humblest tenant on the estate
Mr. PATRICK O'NEIL, a tenant farmer, rose and asked might labour under. (Hear, hear, and applause.) The
permission to propose a toast—" The health of the Mar- rev. gentleman concluded by proposing the health of the
chioness of Londonderry." (Cheers.) He said—l have chairman.
taken the liberty of giving this health, and there is not on The toast was drunk in bumper glasses.
the estate a single tenant who would not receive it with the The CHAIRMAN thanked the proposer of the toast and
enthusiasm which it has evoked in this crowded hall. the company f;r the very cordial m?nner in which his
(Cheers.) We have in this country many noble and very health had been received. He proposed The Visitors who
fair-dealing landowners, and yet I have no hesitation in say- have honoured us with their presence." (Cheers.)
ing that but few of them could be compared with our own Capt \\TETHERED returned thanks, and in doing so said
lady of the soil, and certainly not one of them could excel —I feel not as a visitor at all at these proceedings. I am
her as regards the many virtues which go to make up a good inclined to regard this festivity with more of homely feel-
landlord or a good landlady. (Cheers.) In this assuredly it ings. So happy do all the tenants appear to be, that I con-
seems superfluous that I should attempt to enumerate her fess I feel a sort of desire to be living among you.
good qualities. I will merely say that she is kind, good, A Voicn—There is not a doubt but that we are con-
and most warmly devoted to the welfare of her tenantry. tented. (Loud cheers.)
She is always accessible to our wants and our wishes, and Capt. WETHERED—I believe so most positively. There
although she does not live amongst us, her best wishes are men who assert that it is impossible for the pea-
and unceasing exertions for goad are directed to this sentry to be contented and happy in our country under
estate. (Cheers.) believe that she feels deeply sorry existing circumstances. (No, no.) It such persons would
at being unable to make her usual visit this season ; and visit this part of the country, they would soon ascertain that
I am sure we will all most heartily join in the prayer the contrary was the fact—(applause)—and that a state of
that the cause of her absence may be removed. (Applause.) things exists which is alike creditable to the landowner and
I now give you "The health of our noble and illustrious the tenants. (Hear, hear.) I see you all here comfortable
Landlady—may she live long to continue her good course, and merry. I have no occasion to ask the question whether
and shed a lustre on the circle of society in which she you are prosperous or not. I might contrast this scene with
moves." (Tremendous cheering.) I others that I have witnessed in the South of this country.
The CHAIRMAN said—On behalf of the Marchioness of From what I know, I would say that the people of the
Londonderry, I have to return my sincere thanks to my North are more energetic, more go-a-head, more progres-
friend, Mr. O'Neil, the proposer, and to you, my friends, sive, more easily induced to put desirable inventions and
for the enthusiastic manner in which you have:received the discoveries to important uses—in short, they are more ready
health of her ladyship. I shall not fail to convey to her to take advantage of what is for their own interests than are
lad) ship the expression of feeling the toast has called the people of the South. (Hear.) Here you can introduce im-
forth, which, lam sure, will be appreciated as the gene• provements among farmers with comparative ease. And
roue and warm-hearted response of an attached, a brave, here I wish to say that I don't agree with those who laud
industrious, and loyal tenantry. (Applause.) 1 have lately one landlord or one agent to the depreciation of others.
received a letter from her, which I shall now read. The (Hear, hear.) There are many difficulties that both land-
speaker then read as follows : lords and agents have to encounter, which are happily un-
known perhaps in the North, and instead of which are to be
found blessings which you cannot fully comprehend. In some
places the facts are vastly different. I have lived a good deal
in the South. The people there are of a class different from
those found in the North. They are very difficult to deal
with. (Hear.) They have, comparatively speaking, no de-
sire to improve; they will not enter upon any new line of
improvement, I will give you an instance. I remember,
on one occasion during the famine, when the people had no
employment of their own, and no potatoes, nor was the seed
attainable, I was passing a hut, in the roof of which there
was a great hole. This was in a Southern district. There
was some straw lying about the place, and there was a little
garden greatly neglected, which was connected with the
house. Well, I was struck with the utterly neglected ap-
pearance of the place and the number of facilities that were
at hand for improving it; and I asked the man who was
standing at the door, with a great big " lump of a son," as
the people there would have said, doing nothing, " Why
don't you do something to improve the condition of the
ground and the hut for your family ? NB'77 that you are
receiving relief without payment, yon should do some-
thing." Oh, bedad, Sir, what would you have me to do
he asked in reply. I told him. He refused to dig his
garden because the potatoes were gone; he refused to plant
anything eke, because nothing but potatoes would do for
Ireland ; and he refused to mend his hut because, as he
said, that his father and grandfather lived in it, and he did ;
not want to have a better house than they had. (Hear, and
laughter.) After referring to several kindred matters, the
speaker concluded amid applause.
" The Ladies " succeeded on the list of toasts.
Dr. CASSIDY responded to the toast in a humorous
speech, which elicited much applause and laughter.
The company separated, cheering for their munificent
landlady.

" Seahaw, Dec. 29, 1863.
"My dear Mr. Wilson, —I have requested you to give
the dinner, that you may have an opportunity of meeting
the tenantry, and assuring them of my unfailing interest

in their welfare. •
"It has been a source of great disappointment and regret
to me that my health prevented my visiting Ireland this
year, and I trust and hope that I may be permitted to do so
in 1864. But on this my friends may rely that, whether I
am absent or with them in the Green Isle, the warm corner
they occupy in my heart is ever the same, and will remain
unchanged while life lasts.
"After this assurance I must say a word or two on busi-
ness, and, in the first place, observe that it is a source of
congratulation that, after three successive bad seasons, the
injury to the grain consequent on the very wet season has
been c )mparatively small, and the return is likely to be an

average one.
" The increase in the cultivation of flax is also satisfac-
tory, having risen since 1859 from 76 to 240 acres. But it
it is to be regretted that in several instances a:proper system
of cultivation has notbeen observed ; and I cannot comment
too severely on the pernicious habit adopted of taking not
only two, but in some cases three successive craps, thereby
exhausting the soil, which in the end must prove ruinous
to the tenant.
" I would strongly advise the tenantry to study the in-
structions issued by the North-East Agricultural Society
for the cultivation of this crop and the preparation of it for
the market. A copy of this work will be supplied to each
tenant on application, and from a perusal of it much valu-
able information will be derived.
"I abandoned the giving premiums from finding it did
not stimulate the mass of the tenantry to improve, and that 1
they were year after year awarded to nearly the same per-
sons • but as I am desirous of encouraging merit, 1 may ,
mention that the names of Joseph M'Cullen, of Stoney-hill,
and Francis Carlisle, of Ballyvaddy, have been brought be-
fore me, the former as an instance of what good cultivation
can do, and the second as having made wonderful exertions
in improving his hause:and farm during the present year.
" Several alterations are made, and are still in progress.
in the sale or giving up of farms, and I think it would be
well that the tenantry should understand that in every case
where it is practicable, and the adjoining tenant has the
means to purchase, such tenant shall have the preference of
becoming the purchaser, and adding said farm to his original

SHAKSPEARE CELEBRATION,

holding.
"I also observe with regret a diminution'in the quantity
of stock on the estate, which should be avoided if passible,
more particularly by those who have a portion ,tt mountain
land attached to their farms, where stock can bd raised with
little expense or trouble.
"I ant glad to hear the schools are tolerably well-attended
and in a fair state of efficiency, with the exception of the
one at Garron Tower; and I wish to impress upon the
parents the loss their children would sustain it the Nal
tonal
Board withdrew the grant or reduced the salary of the
master, as is now threatened, unless the average atten-
dance be increased.
'• I cannot conclude without grateful words to yourself
and Mrs. Wilson, expressing my sense of your kind feelings
to the tenantry and your sterling devotion to me; and
under all the regrets caused by my forced absence, I have
the consolation of knowing that my tenantry cannot be bet-
ter cared for than under your fostering supervision, of
which they, like me, have had the experience of 12 or 11

An adjourned meeting of the Shakspeare com-
mittee was held in the itooms of the SJciety of
Arts, Adelphi, yesterday afternoon. Mr. George
Godwin was unanimously requested to take the
chair. _ _ _

Mr. HEPWORTH DIX )N, hon. tec., read the mi-
nutes of the last meeting, which ware confirmed.
Mr. THEODORE MARTIN complained of the pub-
lication of the report in the newFpapers, and of its
being put forward es the act of the committee,
although an opinion was expressed at the last meet-
ing that such a document ought not to go forth to
the public. It was gene:ally zuderstood that they
were to adjourn till today for the purpose of consi-

dering whether they should adopt it or not. How-

years.
" With all best wishes for your health and happiness,
and trusting to your continued future improvements and
advancements, I remain, dear Mr. Wilson, yours truly,
" FRANCES ANNE VANE LONDONDERRY."
[The reading of the foregoing letter was frequently inter-
rupted by the most enthusiastic applauie. Several times
the whole assembly rose to their feet simu:laneously and

ever, to his surprise, and he believed to the surprise

of most others, it appeared in the papers with the

names of the secretaries attached. (Hear.) Such
a proceeding was an outrage upon all propriety, and
was a breach of trust of the most serious kind oa
the part of their representatives—or, rather, mis-
representatives. He did not know whether it had
the sanction of the executive committee. It also
appeared not as the draft report, but as the report
of the committee. It was an outrageous act, and
contrary to all precedent. It was a matter which
affected the whole corporation, and it was for the
general committee to say whether they would allow
such things to go on. As he came there to advance
and not retard matters, he begged to ask by whose
authority the report was published.
Mr. H. DIXON said that the report was read at
the last meeting, and circulated for information.
Mr. Martin must recollect that the reporters were
present at the last meeting, and were able to take
the report verbatim. Two of the reporters asked
him for a copy, to save themselves the trouble of
writing it out.
Mr. MARTIN was not satisfied with the explana-

cheered right lustily.]
The CHAIRMAN continued—Such is the letter I have
received from your landlady, which, as regards Mrs. \V son
and myself, however much we appreciate her ladyship....'
good opinion, I fear we do not merit such distinction. I

- . .
have endeavoured to act fairly towards her and her tenantry

—(cheers)---and in doing so I have merely done my duty.
The letter breathes much warmth of feeling towards you,

and contains sound and practical advice, particularly as to
the education of your children, the necessity and propriety
of which no person in the present day will deny ; and I am
sure it will be received by you in the same spirit in which
it is given, as you cannot for a moment doubt the sincerity
of the source from which it comes. (Cheers.) lam aware
the district around Garronpoint school is thinly populated ;
but I am of opinion a much better attendance could be kept
up if parents would make the education of their children o

paramount importance, instead of a secondary consideration.
With respect to the remarks her ladyship has made as to

flax cultivation there can be no question. In the directions
given by the North-East Agricultural Society alluded to
(copies of which I shall supply on application), it is ex-
pressly stated that "flax on no account should be grown
oftener than once in five years, and ones in seven or ten
years is considered safer ;" and recollect this is the matured
opinion of practical men who have made the flax crop their
study in all its branches. (Hear, hear.) To many of you
these observations are unnecessary, as there are several
places on the estate where the cultivation of this crop could
not be excelled; but now that flax has become such an im-
portant article of consumption, some few practical hints
may be of service to the generality of the tenants. I again
thank you for the enthusiastic manner in which you have
received this toast, and I now call upon you for one cheer
more for that landlady whose most anxious wish is to hand
down unsullied to posterity that banner on which is in-
scribed the feeling and charitable inscription of " Live and
let live." •

tion.
Mr. TOMLINS said that the reporters could have
taken it if they wished.
Mr. MARTIN proposed, "That the report read at
the last meeting of the committee be rejected, and
that a special committee be appointed to prepare an
address to be issued to the public, stating the objects
contemplated by the committee, and therraeans by
which it is proposed to carry them out:'
The CHAIRMAN said that, in order to avoid dis-
eussion upon the question, and that they might
proceed to other business, he would, on behalf of
the executive committee, withdraw the report.
(Hear, and No.)
Mr. MARTIN replied that it must be publicly
known that the report was published without the
authority of the committee. A mere withdrawal
did not meet the case.
Mr. GRIJNEISEN thought it was a most irregular
document which was sent forth.
Mr. MARTIN was about to speak, when
The CHAIRMAN said that they were not prepared
to take any discussion upon the matter, as the re-
port had been withdrawn.
Mr. MARTIN, however, pressed the first part of
his motion, "That the report be rejected." If this
was painful to gentlemen who sent oat the report,
they had themselves to blame for it.
Mr. ROBERT BELL seconded the proposition.
Dr. WESTLAND MARSTON,' rose to order, as the
report had been withdrawn.
Mr. R. BELL said that the report not only did a
great many things which they ought not to do, but
left undone a good many things which they ought
to do. (Hear, hear.) It was requisite that some
steps should be taken to liberate them from such
mistakes in future. (Hear.) They must reorganise
the movement upon a totally different basis, or
abandon it altogether. (Hear, and No.)
Mr. DIXON pressed upon those present that there
was some important business to transact. The meet-
ing was technically adjourned for the consideration
of the report ; it was substantively adj aurned on the
general transactiocs of the day. It was therefore
extremely desirable that they should end the
discussion. The course token was for the best,
and he thought that it should be clearly un-
derstood that this movement was not at all hostile
to the one in Stratford. (Hear, hear.) On the
contrary, it was quite the reverse. He begged to
move, as an amendment to Mr. Martin's proposition,
that they pass on to the business of the day.
Mr. CHARLES READE seconded the amendment,
and in doing so said he for one did not think that
the document was to have been sent out to the world,
and it was unfortunate that it appeared in the
columns of the newspapers. (Hear, hear.) He
regretted that there had been imported into this

The response was deafening.
Dr. CASSIDY said—The toast which I have been re-
quested to propose is one that is sure of a cordial reception in
Ireland, where the tenant-farmers are not only the most
numerous class, but the chief source of the wealth and
strength of the country; and I am proud to find, in the
happy and contented faces of so many hero, that God speeds
the plough in this district. (Cheers.) lam sure, too, my
friends, that it gives you no small pleasure to find that the
noble lady and good woman—(loud cheers)—who is pro-
proprietor of this estate, has your welfare at heart, and
that, even when failing health prevents her attendance
in person among you, she is not unmindful of your in.
terests, and seeks to reach you with words of com.
fort, of hope, and of advice, such as we have heard this day.
(Cheers.) It is true that the ties which bind landlord to
tenant on this estate are of no ordinary kind, as, for three
centuries, you and your forefathers have been living under
Lady Londonderry and her ancestors. (Cheers.) Yet it is
not the less acceptable to find those ties distinctly recog-
nised, and a continuance of the personal good-feeling and
hospitality which were wont to characterise the relations
between landlord and tenant in the olden time. (Cheers.)
My friends, we have had a great deal to contend with during
a succession of seasons, by which, in the dispensation of
Providence, much individual suffering and a heavy drain
upon the resources of the country have been occasioned;
but it is a mistake to suppose that the pressure has of late
years been exclusively, or I might, perhaps, say chiefly
confined to the agricultural interest. You must have seen
the newspapers teeming with accounts of the difficulties
with which the manufacturing classes have had to contend
not only in England, but in this part of Ireland, a great
many of which, I regret to say, have fallen under my own
observation. However, the sun has shone out once more
during the early part of the past year, and trade has revived,
and, with the blessing of Providence, which in His mercy
generally sends a succession of good seasons after a succes-
sion of bad ones, we trust that comfort and plenty
will soon be diffused through the land. As men
of brave hearts and firmness of purpose, it be'
:heves us to look forward hopefully to the future, with
Full confidence that a blessing will attend the efforts of
lonest industry, and that they will not be left without
tleir reward. (Loud cheers.) Dr. Cassidy concluded by
ding the toast of "The Tenant Farmers."
',Lev. Mr. IV ADDELL replied to the toast, which was re-
ceiced with protracted cheering. He referred to the energy
andoerseverance of Irishmen, and remarked that there were
anotaliee existing between them and their landlords in
solneparts of Ireland, The tenantry under the Marchioness