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

Banquet at the Mansion-house,

The annual Easter entertainment was given by the Lord
Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Mansion House last
evening, to an assembly of between two and three hundred

persons.

At the banquet the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress were
supported by the Marquis of Salisbury and Lord and Lady
Maiden on their right, and by his Royal Highness the Duke
of Cambridge, Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, and Sir John
and Lady Dalrymple Hay on the left.
Grace after meat having been said by the Lord Mayor's
chaplain, the Loving Cup was quaffed.

The LORD MAYOR rose, and said, in giving the introduc-
tory toast, the health of the Sovereign of these realms, it was
a toast that came home to the hearts of Englishmen in
whatever quarter of the globe they might be sojourning ;
and in the city of London it was always received with the
enthusiasm which it deserved, (Hear, hear.) He gave
them, then, " The Health of her Majesty the Queen,"
(The toast was drunk with three times three and loud
cheers.)

The LORD MAYOR next proposed " The Health of the
Prince and Princess of Wales," (Cheers.)
The next toast from the chair was " The Army, Navy,
and Volunteers," coupled with the names of his Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge and Admiral Walcott.
(Loud cheers.)
The Duke of CAMBRIDGE returned thanks for the army
and volunteers. The army, he observed, must be gratified
by any mark of favour and affection which was shown to
them by any portion of their countrymen, and more esceci-
ally when the compliment came from the city of London,
which had never been backward in showing its confidence
in and approval of that portion of her Majesty's forces.
(Hear, hear.) At the present moment the bulk of the army
was not actively employed, although we had on our hands a
small wear in New Zealand, where, however, he was happy
to think our troops, under the able command of Sir Duncan
Cameron, had achieved such results that we might soon hope
to hear of the conclusion of hostilities. It was true, also,
that some of our troops had been actively engaged on the
frontiers of India; but there, again, the British soldier, in
conjunction with the native, had evinced a gallantry and
spirit, determination, courage, and fortitude which had done
them the greatest honour. (Cheers.) We were living in a
timed peace; nevertheless, the British soldier required all
our sympathy and support ; for there was no army in the
world that was so scattered and so constantly employed in
every portion of the globe'of the British army ; and he was
sure that it would be understood by all that the arduous
service and the battling with climate which theßritieb soldier
was called upon to endure were far more serious than the
honourable career of active service. (Hear, hear.) With
regard to existing circumstances, we were, it was true, liv-
ing in a time of peace; and as a soldier he fully shared in
the sentiments expressed in the wish that that state of things
might long continue. Still he could not disguise from him-
self the fact that, whether we looked to Europe or to America,
there were very important transactions going on in both
hemispheres—in fact, he feared he must say that both were
in a state of war. Hitherto we had had the advantage of
keeping clear of these contests, and so far as he was con-
cerned he could only say theta in an honourable way wecould
continue to do so he sincerely trusted we should. He was
also convinced of this, that the present was not the moment
when we could play tricks with our establishments, and
that, therefore, it was of all things necessary that, whether
it were our army or our navy, both those establishments
should be kept up in the most complete and efficient manner ;
for though this country was determined by every honourable
means in its power to keep out of the wars that were now going
on, he was sure it would never submit to humiliation or cote-
tempt. (Cheers.) In a state of things such as that he
believed that those who were now moat anxious for peace
would be the first to desire war; for in these circumstanoes
alone war was justifiable, and upon that great principle
alone had this great empire ever engaged in any conquer t.
(Hear, hear.) With respect to the volunteers, he enter-
tained the firm conviction that if at any moment difficul-
ties should arise that force would be found as efficient in
reality as it was now powerful on paper. According to the
returns the number of volunteers amounted to 150,000 men;
but if only 160,000 could be brought into the field as a sup-
plementary force to the regular army, the value of such. an
auxiliary must be admitted by every one. (Cheers.) lie
was delighted to think that there was that day a large con-
centration of volunteer troops in the neighbourhood of this
metropolis, because he thought those concentrations were
of immense importance and advantage. Indeed, a volunte sr
force could only be maintained by being brought toget her
now and then, in order to show their merits and demez its.
He believed, however, that the merits of our volunt. ters
greatly surpassei their demerits; and he was certain t .hat
on the morrow they would have the opportunity of read tag
in the various newspapers that the proceedings of that day
had passed off in a satisfactory manner. (Cheers.) On behalf
of the army and the volunteers, then, he had great pleast xe
in thanaing them for the honour they had conferred up on
those branches of the military force in drinking their healith.
(Loud cheers.)
Admiral WALCOTT, in replying for the navy, said that so
the senior naval officer present he could not but express t
he
sorrow with which he saw the glorious wooden walls of
Old England passing away. Henceforward they were to be
cased in iron, but he was happy to know that in no other
respect would any transformation be effected. Our j6ll/
tars, those gallant and generous hearted men, would still
be true to their flag, and would never be found wanting at
a period of emergency. Mere wooden walls would
no longer form a defence against the ponderous guns
of Armstrong and Whitworth ; in future wars, there"
fore, it would require nerves of steel and hearts as wolf
as ships of iron to contend with such ponderous weapon °
but he believed that qualification would never be wanting,
and that the occasion would call forth the same irresistible
c,.;urage and profess !:onal skill that had always adorned the
naval history of our e, ountry. (Cheers.)
The LORD MAYOR p, oposed " The House of Peers, and
the Health of the hlarqui, of Salisbury." (Cheers.)
The Marquis of SAhisnee'lli responded to the toast.
The LORD MAYOR next proposed "The Health of the
House of Commons," which wael reeponeed to by the Ilen•
Mr. Denman, Q.C., who gracefully e eferred to the intimate
connection of his father in former times with- the Cor-
poration of city of London, alosion which wasl,
loudly cheered. It was only for a shot period he
nut
held a seat in that house;
who had enjoyed that honour for a much longer
history
and there were others
Period,pre
but he believed he might say on no occasion in the
of this country had the singular and interesting fact been
',resented to the country of toe House of Commons D
...13
led with so much honour, with so much vigour, and w,.
such thoroughly Englishepirit—in this both sides father
woer
agree—as by one who was not only the leader but the
of that house. (Loud cheers.) He would not thereforeers
misunderstood when he said that, so tar as their mai
and determinations were ooncerned, the hou,•ur;ntucliTla's
rests of the country were sate whiui the House 01
was led by its present leader- (Loud, uheera.) which the
Several other testae were then trunk, after
company separated.