The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-04 00:00:00

THE DANO-GERMAN QUESTION,

Lord PALMERSTON said that ho had received a
communication from the Prussian Ambassador to the effect
that the correspondence which was published in the papers
on this subject was a pure invention. (Hear, hear, and
laughter.) Under the circumstances, he had no statement
to make to the house at present.
Mr DISRAELI, who was received with loud cheers, rose
to move the following :—That an humble address be pre-
sented to her Majesty for directing the correspondence on
Denmark and Germany, meld the protocols of the Confer-
ence recently held in London, to be laid before Parliament;
to assure her Majesty that we have heard with
,deep con-
cern that the sittings of that Conference have been brought
to a close without accomplishing the important purposes
for which it was convened; to express to her Majesty our
great regret that, while the course pursued by her Majesty's
Government has failed to maintain their avowed policy of
upholding the integrity and independence of Denmark, it
has lowered the just influence of this country in the coun-
sels of Europe, and thereby diminished the securities for
peace. The right hon. gentleman drew the attention of the
house to the circumstances under which the treaty of 1852
was executed, and contended that the action of the Govern-
ment was not of a nature calculated to effect a pacific
solution of the difficulties which had arisen on the Conti-
nent in regard to the Danish question. The policy that
was exhibited in regard to Denmark was of the same cha-
racter that was developed in regard to other portions of
Europe, and was of a vacillating nature, sometimes
encouraging, and sometimes depressing the efforts of
the Danish nation, in her efforts to assert her
nationality. With regard to Denmark, viewed from a
certain point, she had violated her engagements, bat that
was not a consideration in ,the present discussion. The
right hon. gentleman entered into a historical statement
relative to the respective position of the Germanic States
in regard to Denmark of a most comprehensive character,
and which were of that vivid description which are visible
in the literary productions of this versatile and powerful
statesman. Ho denied that in bringing forward this mo-
tion he was actuated by any personal or party feelling,
but only by a strong desire to vindicate the
honour and dignity of this great country. Leaving the
question of Denmark, the right hon. gentleman assailed the
policy of the Government in reference to Poland, which
the Government, he said, had encouraged into rebellion,
and when blood began to flow that unfortunate country Was
left to struggle through difficulties and disasters which. the
policy of the Government was instrumental in creating'
He denounced in terms of that searing sarcsn
which he is such a perfect master, the conduct of Earl
to a an
Russell in regard to the foreign policy genrally
contended that it was calculated to lower thepo Weal eaffud-
ence of the country. He said that in refeence to
foreign political matters the conduct of the Foreign
Office towards the Emperor e.of the French.
That potentate had made ffere relative
Con-
ference, which, according to his opinion, were en-
titled to reception favourably ,
by this country, and these
offers were made by the Earl Russell in a most
but a friendly spirit to this country,
and who was
noffevenersisvheowspnirainLy anything
Emperor of the French, who had
placed under peculiar circumstances, was
insulted by the treatment he received from the Foreign
Office. He went into a detail of the correspondence that took
place relative to the matter.
(Ltrr SPEAKING.)

A letter from St. Iktersburg of the 24th ult. says
—Yesterday were launched from the naval building yard
near Cronstadt the ironclad floating battery Ne trone roenia
(Touch me not), and the ironclad gunboat with two towers
the Smartch. The tenth and last =niter with one tower
will be shortly launched. The Russian squadron of iron-
clads will be this year compoeed of two floating batteries
and eleven monitors with towers, on the system of Ericcson
and K•ilz.

In the Belgian Camber of Doputies, two days
back, before resuming the discussion on the Budget
of Public Works, M. Orts, a member of the Left, brought
forward a motion for adding to the number of deputies in
the Chambers, The constitution fixes a representative for
every forty thousand inhabitants, according to which
calculation there is at present a deficiency of six de-
puties and three senators. The motion was accepted
by all the Opposition members, and a considerable
portion of the Ministerial supporters, and referred to a com-
mittee. Should the proposition be definitively agreed to,
as appears prol,able, Antwerp, Charlerzyy, Warennne, And
Philip/juin° will each gain one deputy, and Bruesels two.
The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs has re-
ceived from M. Max, Consul of Belgium at Athens, an
account of the progress of the cultivation of cotton in
Greece, from which it appears that this year's crop will
amount to between 11 and 16 millions of kaogratianies,

iyal Banque l, at the Trinity-House.
--

Oa Saturday evening Viscount Palmerston, as
Master of the Corporation of Trinity-house, the
Deputy Master, Captain Pigott, and the Elder
Brethren, entertained his Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales and a most distinguished company
at dinner in their stately hall, on Tower-hill, which
was served with befittieg splendour. The Duke of
Cambridge was a guest on the occasion, as were
also the whole of the Cabinet Ministers, with
scarcely as exception, and some of the more pro-
minent members of the Conservative party, the
banquet not being in any sense political. The
Earl of Derby had the honour to receive an invitee
tion, but was unavoidably prevented being present.
The memory of the Prince Consort, who held the
rffice of Master of the Corporation for some years
(socoseding in that respect the Duke of Welling-
ton), is cherished with the most profound venera-
tion by every member of it, and this being the first
visit of the Prince of Wales the occasion was one of
great interest, as well on that account as of its
bringing together under one roof so large an assem-
blage of eminent persons, The company was about
100 in number, and there were present, besides their
Royal Highnesses, The Lord Chancellor, the Duke
of Somerset, the Duke of Argyll, the Earl of Shaftes-
bury, Earl Spencer, the Marquis Townshend, the
Marquis Camden, Earl de Grey and Ripon, Lord
Taunton, Lord de Ros, Mr Gladstone, Sir George
Grey, Mr Milner Gibson, Mr Cardwell, Sir Charles
Wood, Mr Cowper, Lord Justice Cockburn, Sir
Robert Peel, Mr F. Peel, Lord Redesdale, Lord C.
Paget, Sir John Pakington, Mr Hutt, Mr Childers,
M.P., Sir J. Elphinstone, General Knollys, Sir
E. Ryan, Sir J. Burgoyne, Sir W. Dunbar, Sir F.
Grey, Sir J. H. Maxwell, Sir J. E. Tennent, the
Hon. E. Ashley, the Hon, J. R. Drummond, Cape
tain Grey, Mr K.D. Hodgson, M.P., Mr Hugessen,
,P., Mr Somes, M.P., Mr Grenfell, M.P., Mr T.
Baring, M.P., Colonel White, M.P., Lord A.
Hervey, M.P., Admiral Fitzroy, Admiral Frederick,
Admiral Robinson, the Rev. T. J. Rowsell, the
Rev. A. Povah, Dr Lushiegton, Professor Faraday,
Professor Airy, Captain Bedford, Colonel Clifton,
Admiral Eden, Mr Hankey, Mr Holland, Mr At-
kinson, Mr Barrington, Mr Booth, Mr Camp-
bell, Captain Drew, Mr Dawes, Captain Fen.
wick, Mr Green, Mr Gordon, Mr Goulburn, Mr
Hadow, Mr Harrison, Mr King, Mr Milne, Mr
Pixley, Capt, Richards, Mr Rothery, Mr Sim, Mr
Sandilands, Mr Smith, Mr Spender, Mr Thorp, Mr
Urmston, Capt. Walker, Mr Williams, Mr Wigram,
and Mr Berthon. The Lord Mayor had also the
honour of being invited, but could not attend,

Viscount Palmerston arrived at the hall shortly
after six o'clock, and went through the ceremony,
which is an annual one, of re-election to the dignity
of Master, at a Court which had been expressly
convened for the occasion. The Premier afterwards,
with the Deputy Master and the Eider Brethren,
received the guests in the court-room, a noble
apartment, adorned with full-length portraits
of distinguished past Masters of the cor-
poration, conspicuous among which are those
of the Duke of Wellington and the Prince
Consort. Tile Prince of Wales, attended by
General Knollyssarrived at a quarter past seven,
and was received with every mark of respect. Pre-
sently afterwards his Royal Highness was escorted
to the banqueting hall, followed by the rest of the
company in the order of their rank. The Royal
ensign floated over the hall on the occasion, and the
interior was very tastefully decorated with banners.
A fine collection of the ancient plate of the institu-
tion was displayed on a buffet at each end of the
apartment. During dinner, which was served by
the proprietors of the L')ndon Tavern, the band of
the Grenadier Guards played, and a corps of emi-
nent vocalists sang at intervals in the remainder of
the evening.
On the removal of the c:oth,

Viscount PALMERSTON rose and said,—Your
Royal Highnesses, my Lords, and Gentlemen, I beg
to propose to you that toast which is the first given
in all meetings of English gentlemen, and which
aptly represents and expresses those feelings which
are the most deeply seated_in the heart of every
Englishman—l mean the health of her Majesty the
Queen. (Cheers.) We have the happiness to be the
subjects of one of the most distinguished Sovereigns
that ever reigned in this or any other country, and
of whom it may truly be said that there never was
in a free country a Sovereign more deeply imbued
with the principles and more studious to practise
the principles of constitutional Government.
(Cheers.) It may be truly said of her Majesty that
she reigns by the grace of God. (Hear, hear.) Pro-
vidence has endowed her with all those qualities
which are best calculated to establish her Throne
upon a most permanent basis, on the esteem and
respect and the affection and attachment of her
loyal subjects. (Loud cheers.)
The toast was drunk with every mark of respect,
and the National Anthem was sung.
Viscount PALMERSTON—Your Royal Highnesses,
my Lords, and Gentlemen, I beg to propose the
next toast, one that is peculiarly appropriate to the
institution in whose hall we are now assembled,
" fhe Memory of the Prince Consort." It would
be presumption in me to think that anything that
I could say would in any degree add to the feelings
which must exist in the breast of every man with
regard to that memory, and I shall only beg that it
may be drunk with respectful silence.
The toast was received with profound veneration,
the company standing as they drank in
Viscount PALMERSTON--Your Royal Highnesses,
my Lords and Gentlemen, I have now to propose a
toast which I urn sure you will drink with the
greatest enthusiasm, " The Health of his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales—(cheers)--the Prin-
cess of Wales—(cheers)—and the other members of
the Royal Family." (Continued cheers.) 'W e have
this day the happiness and the honour of the pre.
sence of his Royal Highness at our convivial board.
His presence precludes me from saying many things
which I should be disposed to say and which would
meet with your entire concurrence if he were not
here. But 1 may be permitted to say that if we
rejoice in the Sovereign who now reigns happily
over us, we rejoice equally in the Heir Apparent
who is destined some day—and long may it be
before that day arrives—(cheers)—to ascend the
throne of this realm. (Renewed cheers.) His
Royal Highness inherits those great and admirable
qualities which belong to his illustrious parents. He
has had'—youth though he be—the good fortune
and advantage of having visited some of the most
interesting spots of each of the four quarters of the
globe, and his mind has been early opened and de-
veloped by studies of every description. His Royal
Highness takes a deep and lively interest in every-
thing that concerns the welfare and progress
of this realra__in the education of youth, in the
development of industry, of manhood, and in the
prosperity of the nation at large ; and I am
convinced that every day will more and more
connect the feelings
and attachment of the coun-
try with the progress
and daily habits of his
Royal Highness. (Cheers.) But he has been sin-
gularly fortunate in that which does not often fall
to the lot of persons in his exalted station, He has
had the good fortune to find a partner for
life--
(cheers)—in a, Princess with respeet to whom, if
'
we are to seek for a paragon, we must refer to the
description of those princesses of whom we read in
fairy tales, at whose birth ell the good fairies pre-
sided—(a laugh)—and endowed the infanta with
all those qualities of mind and person which were
best calculated to secure for them daring the whole
of their lives the attachment of all who knew
them and the respect and esteem of man-
kind. (Cheers.) The other branches of the Royal
Family have done credit to the care bestowed on
their education, and we are indeed happy in having
a family to whom the nation may look up with
pride and satisfaction as to the future events of the
kingdom. (Renewed cheers.)
His Royal Highness the Prince of WALES on
presenting himself to speak was hailed with enthu-
siastic cheers. He said,—Your Royal Highness,
my Lords, and Gentlemen, I indeed feel much gran
tified by the kind manner in which the Master has
proposed my health, and the way in which you have
drunk it, coupled with the name of the Princess of
Walee and the Royal Family. Every one here pre-
sent knows that it is always a pleasure to all mem-
bers of the Royal Family to contribute by their

presence to the encourag, tnent of those societies
whose object is to promote the best interests of the
country. (Cheers.) Among those soci-• Es none
are more important or deserve more o cur grati-
tude than the Corporation of the Trinity House, for
we cannot but recognise how muc i Um safety and
welfare of our sailors and ships are owing to their
exertions. I need hardly, lam sure, recal to your
recollection the deep interest my beloved father
took in your Corporation and its success,
and how proud he felt in being your Master.
It is therefore doubly gratifying to me to be your
guest on this occasion. I once more heartily
thank you for your kind reception of this toast.
(Loud cheers.)
A glee, diversifying the entertainment, was then
sung to the words of Richard Brinsley Sheridan :-
4, Marked you her eye of heavenly blue ?
Marked you her cheek of roseate hue ?
That eye, in liquid circles moving ;
That cheek, abashed at man's approving. ;
The one, love's arrows darting round,
The other blushing at the wound ?"

Viscount PALMERSTON next rose and said, the
toast I have now to propose is one which concerns
the whole of the United Kingdom, and I may say,
through the United Kingdom, concerns the interests
of the world, because I hold that the prosperity, the
independence, and the civilisation of the United
Kingdom are matters of great moral and political
importance to all other nations. hear.) I
propose " The Army, the Navy, and the Volunteers,"
and I beg that you will drink in connexion with
that toast the healths of his Royal Highness the
Duke of Cambridge—(cheers)--his grace the Duke
of Somerset, and Lord de Grey and Ripon. To
dilate upon the merits and achievements of the
army and navy of Great Britain would only be to
recount some of the most interesting pages of the
history of the world. All that one can say is that
they are now upon that moderate footing which
befits the peace establishment of a free country and
an insular country, though we do not imitate those
gigantic establtshments which we see on the con-
tinent of Europe, which would draw large num-
bers of the community from the pursuits of industry,
which would impoverish the nation in which they
were maintained, which only tend to menace
neighbouring countries—(hear, hear)—and which
are maintained ostensibly for purposes of defence,
but really for purposes of aggression. (Cheers.)
Although, I say, we do not imitate that bad ex-
ample, we have an army and navy perfect in them-
selves so far as their extent and magnitude go,
capable of great and rapid development in case
necessity should require it; and, I believe, more
efficient in officers and men, and in respect to the
material of war, than at any period of our history.
We have also a new force, which not less commends
itself to the respect and good wishes and to the
support of the community than the army and navy,
I mean the Volunteers, an institution peculiarly
adapted to our country, because, I will venture to
say, there is no country governed by despotic au-
thority that would not feel alarmed at having
150,000 or 160,000 armed men, citizens, coming
forward at their own free will, subject only to the
laws of the country, and well aware of the moral
support which that obedience gives to its institu-
tions. It is a proud thing that the civil population
of the country should have turned out with such
zeal, should have made such rapid progress in the
science of arms and should show to any foreign
country that should think it prudent to dispute
with us that they would have to contend not only
with an army and navy, but with a people skilled
in the use of arms and the evolutions of war.
(Cheers.)

The Duke of CAMBRIDGE, in responding to the
toast on behalf of the army, said he need not re-
mind the company that the army was scattered
over every part of the world, that its duties even in
times of peace were very onerous, and that it was
exposed to the vicissitudes of climate, which were
sometimes hardly less deadly than actual service in
the field. The same amount of courage and force
was required to resist these vicissitudes and the
knowledge that the services of the army were always
appreciated by their countrymen at home was grati-
fying to the heart of every British soldier. Their
noble chairman had rightly stated that the army was
at this moment on a footing of peace. We were
essentially a commercial country, and as such it
became us not to be aggressive. At the same time
the present condition of the army, thanks to the
liberality of Parliament, to the manner in which it
had teen supported by successive Governments, and
to the enlightened views of successive Secretaries of
Sate was such that if at any time its service should
be required in the defence of the country it would
not be found wanting. Wo, lived in times of pro-
gress in the arts of peace as well as in the art of
war, and with respect to the twin services, it was
difficult to decide what improvements to adopt and
what to reject. It had been often their lot to be
blamed for not going ahead fast enough. That was
a natural ground for complaint, but one against
which they were able to defend themselves. Al-
though they ought not to stand still, they might go
ahead a little too fast. He hoped that, acting in
conjunction with the present Secretary of State, and
his predecessors, they had gone just the right pace
—(a laugh)—and that the efficiency of the service
was now such as to satisfy the country. His royal
highness concluded his observations by thanking
that ancient Corporation for affording him the op.
portunity of being present on so interesting an oc-
casion, and resumed his seat amid cheers.

The Duke of SOMERSET thanked the company for
the honour they had conferred on her Majesty's
navy, an honour, he said, they were accustomed to
receive, but which they had Lever received in a more
distinguiahcd society. It was quite unnecessary,
speaking in that hall, to say anything as to the ser-
vices of the navy; so intimately connected was it with
the Trinity House. , He might say, indeed, that the
Admiralty and the Trinity House were cousins,
united together in many ways, and now more closely
connected than ever by means of the Royal Naval
Reserve. (Hear.) He might also speak of the dif-
ficulties with which the Admiralty had to contend
in reference to suggestions made from time to time
for the improvement of the navy. Some time ago
they were warned that the Monitor which the
Americans built would show them the way. She
did, indeed, show them the way, but it was to the
bottom of the sea (a laugh)—an example which they
wisely avoided, but by which they were admonished
at the same time not to advance too fast in the
career of progress. (Hear, hear.)
Earl DE GREY and RIPON, in responding for the
Volunteers, argued that the position of that force
after an interval of five years was such as to negative
the assertion made by some at the commencement
of the movement that it was the result of temporary
effervescence and excitement, and would never be
permanently established. Its numbers, he said, were
now as high as at any period of its progress; tie
liberality of Parliament had placed it on a suitable
footing, and, as far as he could judge, it had entered
on a career of permanent utility. (Hear, hear.)
The Prince of WALES,—Your Roy al Highness,
my Lords, and gentlemen, a duty now devolves upon
me which is happily a very easy one to perform.
It is to propose a toast which cannot fail to give
pleasure to every one present. Let us drink " The
Health of the Master of the Trinity-house, Viscount
Palmerston." (Enthusiastic cheers.) It would be
superfluous in me to recount the long and valuable
services which your lordship has rendered to your
Sovereign and country. (Renewed cheers.) Among
those services, though, perhaps, less prominent than
some others, those connected with the Trinity-house
are by no means to be accounted less important.
The work performed by this corporation speaks for
itself, but additional lustre has been conferred upon
it by the eminent men who from time to time have
filled the office of its Master. That in Lord Pal-
merston the dignity of this ancient corporation is
worthily represented every one of whatever shade
of politics will, ara sure, acknowledge. (Cheers.)
Lord PALMERSTON said he begged to return his
Royal Highness his moat cordial thanks for the'kind
and flattering manner in which he had been pleased to
propose the toast, and his thanks, also, to the gen-
tlemen present for the way in which they had
received it. He felt great pride and much gratifica-
tion in filling an office in virtue of which he bad
had the honour of having his health proposed by
his Royal Highness. The institution of the Trinity
House was one of the. greatest interest, and when

he reflected on the number of great and eminent
men who had filled the office of Master before him,
it was a subject of pride and satisfaction to him that
he had been thought worthy of having his name
added to the list. He now begged to propose a toNat
which might savour a little of egotism, for it implied
a demand on the gratitude of the invited guests for
the hospitality afforded them. He proposed "The
Deputy Master, and Prosperity to the Corporation
of Trinity-house." (Cheers.) The Deputy• Master
was a most active and valuable member of the in-
stitution, and rendered many very important ser-
vices to the public. (Hear.) With regard to the in-
stitution itself, it belonged to the civilisation of the
age and was connected with some of the most im-
portant interests of the country. In former times the
inhabitants of this country were stigmatised and re-
presented as being divided physically and morally
from the rest of the world. (A laugh.) Nature, for-
tunately for us, had separated these islands, and,
luckily, the physical division still continued. (A
laugh.) Bat the moral division had ceased, thanks
to the progress of science, the development of the
arts, and the ingenuity of man—as shown in the
steamboat, in railways, electric telegraphs, and
various other contrivances. These islands were now
the centre whence the holy flame of social, civil,
and religious liberty is spread throughout every
country in the world. But we were not only accused
of being entirely divided from the rest of the world,
but we were described as very cruel to those who
came to visit us. (A laugh.) Thanks, however,
to the exertions of this institution, that report
could no longer be made. These islands were no
longer in the condition described by the poet, when
he said—

" - Benighted travellers, their journey o'er,
Curse the saved canc:le and unopened door."
_

The benighted mariner who approaches our shores
finds now a series of splendid illuminations and
other appliances to guide him through the dangers
which beset the narrow seas and lead him to that
harbour which opened wide its arms to receive him.
Happily, he brings commodities from every part of
the globe to a country where he finds good markets
and willing purchasers. (Hear, hear.) He had
heard it said that the dangers of a voyage from the
East Indies were nothing in comparison with those
which environed the chops of the Channel. The
lights established by the corporation of the Trinity-
house enabled voyagers to avoid those perils, and
the institution was therefore entitled to the grati.
trade of the public. (Hear, hear.)
The DEPUTY MASTER briefly responded to the
compliment.

The MASTER (Viscount Palmerston)—Your Royal
Highnesses, my lords, and gentlemen,—l now rise
to propose a toast in respect to which I stand be-
fore you in a double capacity, like a child with two
heads. (A laugh.) For the moment, however, I
only retain one of them, and, regarding myself
simply as Master of the Trinity-house, I propose
the toast of " Her Majesty's Ministers." (Cheers
and laughter.) Idosoin no other capacity, and in
that capacity I know full well that any toast pro-
posed here should be divested of all political im-
portance, because we meet here on neutral ground.
This corporation is no political body, and the noble-
men and gentlemen who assemble round this board
come without reference to politics or party. Well,
now, can a toast of " Her Majesty's Ministers" be
divested of political import ? (Laughter.) I think
it can. I don't ask you to drink political health to
her Majesty's Ministers. The health or the sick-
ness, the life or the death of her Majesty's Ministers
depends on the Sovereign and the Parliament—(a
laugb).—and not on after-dinner politics. But I
trust the gentlemen here will only drink to the
physical health of those who for the time being► are
engaged in the public service, because it is quite
clear that if they remain in the public service and
do not also remain in health the public service will
be very imperfectly managed, (Laughter.) Toere.
fore, gentlemen, in the interest of all, and I trust
in accordance with the feelings of all, I beg to pro.
pose the health of her Majesty's Ministers. (Cheers
and laughter.) lam persuaded the Lord Chancel•
lor, who has the custody of people of all states of
mind—(laughter)—both those who are in our
opinion sane, and those who in the opinion of our
political adversaries are not sane—wilt respond to
this toast—(laughter)—divesting big remarks as
much as possible of any political bias, and render.
ing them entirely in harmony with the feelings of
every gentleman present. The noble viscount re-
sumed his seat amid great laughter,
The LORD CHANCELLOR rose in the general mer-
riment, and briefly replied to the toast in a face-
tious speech.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCIIFQL'ER next pre.
rented himself to speak. He rose, he said, to ask
them to drink to "The maritime and commercial
interests of the country." That was a toast which
could not pass unnoticed within the walls of an
institution which was itself so nearly connected
with those interests, and for that very reason it was
not necessary that he should detain them on so fer-
tile a subject. He would only say, in the first
instance, that one of the most remarkable charac-
teristics of those interests was their elastic pro-
gression—a progression of such a character that it
might be, when :he illustrious Prince who row came
amorg them in ail the vigour of youth should be
descending into the vale of years, the men who
should then assemble at that board would look at the
trade and commerce of the present day as trifling in
comparison. That commerce was beneficent as re.
garded the people of this country, for it had done
much to raise the standard of comfort in the home
of the labouring man, to generate a sentiment of
cheerfulness and contentment, and to bind together
the -various classes of the community. (Cheers.) It
was beneficent as regarded mankind, for it was the
link of amity between the various nations of the
world. Lastly, it was free, for it did not owe its
strength to the agency of Parliaments or Govern-
ments, but to the inborn energy of Englishmen.
(Cneers.) Little was it iu comparison that Go-
vernments could do for its expansion, yet that little
might be well done or ill done. He had been asked
to couple with the toast the name of his right
hon. friend Mr. Milner Gibson, and he did so
with great satisfaction, because it was not easy to
find any man—certainly but very few men—who
had laboured with greater assiduity or with greater
effect to promote by the wisest and most judicious
means the expansion of the trade and commerce of
the country. (Cheers.)

Mr. M. GIBSON, in replying to the toast, said
Parliament had established relations between the
Board of Trade and the Trinity Corporation, which
were somewhat peculiar. Any one who took up
the Act of Parliament which had wedded the two
departments together would see that neither of
them had sufficient power to control the other, nor
to do anything official by itself. But whatever
might be said of theory in this country we cared not
if the results were good, and although there had
been predictions of the evils of divided respon
sibility and a double government he could bear wit-
ness to the harmonious action of the Board of Trade
and the Trinity Corporation, and to the most bene-
ficial results which had flowed from it. They had
been enabled to reduce the cost of lighting the
ports of the United Kingdom. Shipowners now
paid less on that account than they ever did before,
while at the same time the number and brilliantly
of the lights had been increased, and he could con-
fidently compare the way in which the coasts of
this country were litwith the lighting system of any
country in the world.
The DEPUTY-MASTER gave "The Honorary
Brethren," coupling with the toast the name of the
Duke of Argyll.
His GRACE, in responding, adverted to the pre-
sent high state of prosperity of the maritime com-
merce of the country, which he did, he said, not
merely on the strength of statistics, bat from what
he saw by residing a great part of the year on the
waters of the Ciyde. He referred more particularly
to the powerful class of steamers which had been
built there, though he was not sure that he could
exactly explain the destination of them all. (A
laugh.)

Mr. M. GIBSON next proposed "British Ships
and British Seamen," associating with the toast the
name of Dr. Lushington, Judge of the High Court
of Admiralty.
The toast of "The Distinguished Visitors" was
proposed by the MASTER in a short facetious speech,
and Lord SHAFTESBURY having acknowledged the
compliment, the company separated.