The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-29 00:00:00

Banquet at the Mansion-house,

The annual Easter entertainment was given by the L Ord
Mayor and La.,y Mayoress at the Mansion House Dot
evening, to an absetubly of between twu and three !waded

pbrsous.
At the banquet the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress well
supported by the Marquis of Salisbury and Lord and Livii
Malden on their right, and by his Royal Highness the Du.o
of Cambridgb, Lord Stratford de Redcliffs, and Sir Jo
and Lady Dalrymple Hay on the left.
Grace after meat having been said by the Lord Mayarl
chaplain, the Loving Cup was quaffed.
The LORD MAYOR rose, and said, in giving the introdtte
tory toast, the health of the Sovereign of these realms, it ¶0
a toast that came home to the hearts of Englishmen rn
whatever quarter of the globe they might be sojourninS:
and in the city of London it was always received with tll°
enthusiasm which it deserved, (Hear, hear.) Ho gai,t;
them, then, " The Health of her Majesty the Queen.,
(The toast was drunk with three times three and lout'

cheers.)
The LORD MAYon. next proposed t‘ The Health of t 136
Prince and Princess of Wales." (Cheers.)
The next toast from the chair was " The Army, NW/
and Volunteers," coupled wiih the names of his itoy°
Highness the Duke of Cambridge and Admiral Walcott'

(Loud cheers.)
The Duke of CAMBRIDGE returned thanks for the aria
and volunteers. The army, he observed, must be gratified
by any mark of favour and affection which was shown t°
them by any portion of their countrymen, and more opal'
ally when the compliment came from the city of Londe
fly
which had never been backward in showing its conficloo
in and approval of that portion of her Majesty's foreeB'
(Rear, hear.) At the present moment the bulk of the arra
was not actively employed, although we had on our hand°•
small wi.r in New Zealand, where, however, he was WO:
to think our troops, under the able command of Sir Duncl""
Cameron, had achieved such results that we might soon ha°
to hear of the conclusion of hostilities. It was true, ali°'
that some of our troops had been actively engaged on the
frontiers of India; but there, again, tha British soldier, i°
conjunction with the native, had evinced a gallantry and
spirit, determination, courage, and fortitude which had d°°'
them the greatest honour. (Cheers.) We were living ill
time of peace; nevertheless, the British soldier required w
our sympathy and support ; for there was no army in th
world that was so scattered and so constantly employed i"
every portion of the globe of the British army ; and he vt_.4°
sure that it would be understood by all that the ardtiewd
service and the battling with climate which theßritisb 80'
was called upon to endure were far more serious than
honourable career of active service. (Hear, hear.) WIL--
regard to existing circumstances, we were, it was true, ii
ing in a time of peace; and as a soldier he fully shared!
the sentiments expressed in the wish that that state of thia
might long continue. Still he could not disguise from hil33,'
selt the fact that, whether we looked to Europe or to Auletivit
there were very important transactions going on in V,
hemispheres—in fact, he feared he must say that both //ern(
in a state of war. Hitherto we had had the advantage
keeping clear of these contests, and so far as he was
cerned he could only say thatif in an honourable way weeo;o
continue to do so he sincerely trusted we should. Ile
also convinced of this, that the present was not the raonie"3
when we could play tricks with our establishments, g'llef
that, therefore, it was of all things necessary that, whetil.,-01
it were our army or our navy, both those establishroe'r•
should be kept up in the most complete and efficient nasall6lo
tor though this country was determined by every honoursld
means in its power to keep out of the wars that were flowed,
on, he was sure it would never submit to humiliation or cope
tempt. (Cheers.) In a state of things such as that co
believed that those who were now most anxious for Pei
would be the first to desire war; for in these circumstal3,lo
alone war was justifiable, and upon that great princifo
alone had this great empire ever engaged in any concltlear
(Hear, hear.) With respect to the volunteers, be en 1'
tamed the firm conviction that if at any moment diflV"io
ties should arise that force would be found as official:to
reality as it was now powerful on paper. According to
returns the number of volunteers amountedto 150,600 toe,
but if only 10,000 could be brought into the field as Oil;
plementary force to the regular army, the value of 80400
auxiliary must be admitted by every one. (Cheers.) o,
was delighted to taint.: that there as that day'a large °;,jo
centration of volunteer troops in the neighbournood of fo
metropolis, because he thought those cancentratione
of immense importance and advantage. Indeed, a voltll3o
force could only be maintained by being brought togeio,
now and then, in order to show their merits and datiefeefl
Ha believed, however, that the merits of our voluottol
greatly surpasses their demerits; and he was certain jips
on the morrow they would have the opportunity of re 4
in the various newspapers that the proceedings of the l,
had passed off in a satisfactory manner. (Cheers.) On I:,
of the army and the volunteers, then, he had great ple
in thansing them for the honour they had conferred:,
those branches of the military force in drinking their
ii
(Loud cheers.) ode
the WALCOTT, in replying for the navy, said t
the senior naval officer present he could not hut expre.io d
sorrow with which ho saw the glorious wooden ,44"t0
Old England passing away. Henceforward they weteolie;
cased in iron, but he was happy to know that in De
Void 0111
respect would any transformation be effected. o°o'ollll
tars, those gallant and generous hearted men, w°llei
be true to their flag, and would never be found Wattool",
a period of emergency. Mere wooden walls 00'
no longer form a defence against the ponderott°oofl
of Armstrong and Whitworth ; in future wars, So
tore, it would require nerves of steel and hearts t'ls4ls
as ships of iron to contend with such ponderous We !,,`6o‘,
but he believed that qualification would never_ be iri`7,ool;
and that the occasion would call forth the same irrelj'a tP"
courage and professional skill that had always adorn°
Ato
naval history of our country. (Cheers.) 80
The LORD MAYOR proposed " The House of Peer'
the Health of the Marquis of Salisbury." (Cheers.).
The Marquis of SALISBURY responded to the tosstof fir
The LORD MAYOR next proposed "The Hea1t4,..3 00:0
House of Commons," which was responded to by' tt` too'
Mr. Denman, Q.C., who gracefully referred to the if° C°l;
connection of his father in former times withlt A
poration of city of London, an allusion which ov
,4 v I
loudly cheered. It was only for a short period PreA,
held a seat in that house; and there were others Pepe,
who had enjoyed that honour for a much long!! Dotor!,
but he believed he might say on no occasion in
he
4 tre,,s
of this country had the singular and interesting J.,e's ttel;'ip
presented
sotomthuechc
honour,
wt
iht eh
so
as eucohf
such thoroughly English spirit—in this both 6r.,eratso
agree—as by one who was not only the leader bu
eu!_forei
of that house. (Loud cheers.) He would not thlicr„,,too,';,
misunderstood when he said that, so tar as thfir r 14
viegOmu*scloi(oilef
00
and determinations were concerned, the how
out
rests of the country were sale white the House
was led b its resent leader. (Loud cheers.)
Several other toasts were Men drunk, aitcr
company gepAntoci,