The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-24 00:00:00

THE BANQUET.

The annual dinner of the society took place at Willis's
Room, St. James's, in the evening. Sir R. Murchison again
presided, and was supported by Lord Houghton, Lord
Strangford, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord A.
Churchill, Sir C. Eastlake, Sir T. Fremantle, Sir H. Raw-
linson, General Stanhope, Baron Von Der Decken, Sir S.
Donaldson, Captain Grant, Admiral Kellett, Count Stre-
lecki, Sir C. Nicholson, Admiral Hall, the Hon. Mr. Petre,
Dr. Percy, Mr. Bracebridge, Professor Tyndal, Professor
Hoffman, Professor Masson, Mutu Coomain Swainy, &c.
About 150 guests sat down to dinner.
The PRESIDENT gave " The Queen, the Patron of the
Society," which was drunk with enthusiasm. In proposing
the next toast, "The Prince and Princess of Wales, and the
rest of the Royal Family," Sir Roderick remarked that the
Prince of Wales was the greatest traveller of any heir ap-
parent to the English throne in modern times. From the
eloquent words which the Prince had spoken at the Lite-
rary Fund dinner, he felt sure that if his Royal Highness
took an interest in any of the sciences, and he hoped he
would take an interest in many, he would evince a special
attachment to geography, in which, as so great a traveller,
he was well fitted to become distinguished. Though the
Prince had seen many laids, he doubted not that, like a
true Englishman, the place dearest of all to him, particu-
larly now that he was united to a charming Danish Prin-
cess, was " sweet home." (Hear, hear,)

The toast was received with the usual honours; and was
followed by " The Army, Navy, and Volunteers."

General STANHOPE returned thanks on behalf of the
army, which, he said, was now in as fit a state to go any.
where and to render any service on which her Majesty's
Government might choose to employ it as in the best days
of " the Iron Duke." (Hear, hear.)
Admiral COLLINSON briefly responded on behalf of the
navy.

Professor Bassox, in returning thanks for the Volun-
teers, and particularly for the London Scottish, with which
his name had been associated, said, that according to an
ordinary Jest, Scotland was so horrible a country in itself,
and so awful a place to reside in, that its inhabitants were
more fitted by nature than any other race to become ex-
plorers of other countries. (Laughter and cheers.) It was
an old saying of an English satirist, that had Cain been a
Scotchman God would have reversed his doom, and, in-
stead of making him a wanderer, would have compelled
him to stay at home. (Laughter.) But Scotchman were
naturally explorers; though some of them had not gone
farther than Engknd or London—which, however, to say
the truth, they had found to be so much of a land flowing
with milk and honey, that they had made up their minds to
remain there. (Renewed laughter.) As to the London Scot-
tish, that corps, they might be cure, would always do its
duty, for its members had such an interest in England that
they would suffer no other invaders to set foot in it. (Cheers
end laughter.)
The PHESIDENT said the period had now arrived when it
was usual to propose the toast of the eveniug, " Prosperity
to the Royal Geographical Society," but ho would on that
occasion deviate from the established custom. At the same
time he would express his belief that the gratuitous labours
of that society had yielded fruits of great national import-
ance. The institution had in its earlier days to struggle
with considerable difficulties. At one period they had no
place of meeting, no receptacle for their books or maps.
For a series of years he had striven with the concurrence of
the Council to persuade the Government that for a very
small sum of money, not exceeding the remuneration given
to a first clerk in some of our public departments, that
society could provide itself with a local habitation, feeling
satisfied that that desideratum once gained they would be
able to secure for it a more extended fame and usefulness.
As a Scotchman himself, he must say he first enlisted in the
cause of geography a Scotchman whose came would live as
long as England endured—ho meant the late Joseph Hume
—(hear) —who, on condition that their collection of maps
and books was thrown open to the community, consented to
support a grant of public money for the diffusion of geogra-
phical knowledge. Through the kindness of Lord Aber-
deen, then Prime Minister, the object was at length ob-
tained, and thus was perpetrated a Seotch job—(a laugh)—
but a job which redounded to the honour of the British Go-
vernment and Legislature. Many important distant ad-
ventures had solely originated in the labours of that society.
Its members had been pioneers in the opening up of coun-
tries which were destined indefinitely to increase the wealth
and give a new impulse to the manufacturing industry of
England. In conclusion, he begged to propose that they
should drink to the successive Governments and Parlia-
ments which had countenaced and encouraged the Royal
Geographical Society, coupling with that toast the name of
their distinguished guest, Mr Gladstone. (Cheers.)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, who was received

with cheers, satd—Sir Roderick Murchison, I am very glad
that by the deviation which you have ventured upon from
the ordinary course of your speeches and toasts on this occa-

sion yon have at any rats enabled me to discharge a duty of
the most pleasing character. It is very delightful to find
that without any reproach from any quarter relations have
been established between this saciety and the Government,
on a footing, I must say, most modest as far as regards your
demands on the public purse, and I believe also most bene-
ficial as regards the public at large. Sir R. Murchison has
told us, gentlemen, the history of the Geographical Society

with respect to the effect produced on its fortunes by acquir-
ing a local habitation, and I was not aware until this even-
ing that this had been a point of so critical a nature in its
career. To ju3go from the speech of the President, the con-
dition of the members of the Geographical Society before
that happy era arrived must have been not, perhaps, pre-
cisely the same, but not very different from that of parish
vagrants. (A laugh.) The society would appear to have
been in the condition of being owned by nobody, somewhat
in the manner in which ancient fable tells us the island of
Delos was, and I refer to this as a geographical illustration.
(" Hear, hear," and a laugh.) Delos, it is said, was in the
habit of navigating about the Archipelago, coming into con-
stant conflict with one island or another; and it never ac-
quired any distinct site of its own until Latona took it one
day into her head to be breught to bed there under a palm-
tree, and I have no doubt in a delightful atmosphere.
(Laughter and cheers) From that moment Delos struck
root at the bottom of the sea, and, just as the Geographical
Society did the moment it got a local habitation, became
famous and flourishing, with a name celebrated throughout
the world. (Cheers.) But there is much more which
associates itself with the toast that you have given us than
any reference to the efforts produced by a small grant from 1
the Government. What is remarkable is that so long a
time elapsed before a society of this description came to be
appreciated by the British public; because, without re-
proach or disparagement to any other institution, there
is no other institution which can claim to be more truly
national than that whose festival we are now celebrat-
ing. I do not say that simply because it happne, as if
by a matter of accident, that so many distinguished
Englishmen and Ecotchnien have been travellers, and,
among the boldest and most effective explorers of the un-
known regions of the earth. But I think that if we look
a little further into the subject we shall find that phe-
nomenon itself has a cause, and that cause Has deep in the
national character. It is the love of adventure, it is the
boldness in facing danger, it is the strong self-reliance, it
is the ready presence of mind, it is all that constitutes that
powerful individuality which lies at the root of the whole
greatness of this country, and which likewise has lain at the
root of the greatness and of the performances of the Geo-
graphical Society. (Cheers.) The very same causes which
have made you distinguished as a body aro those which have
made England distinguished among the nations of the
world. (Hear.) Mr. President, there is nothing to do
now but to congratulate you on your proud position and
L express a confident hope that you will go on as you have