The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-25 00:00:00

The Right Hon, Sir E. B. Lytton at Hitchin.

IIITCHIN, Thursday.
The annual meeting of the Hertfordshire Agri-
cultural Association was held at the Corn Ex-
change, in this town, to-day.
The Right Hon. Sir E. B. Lytton, Bart., presided
at the dinner, and was supported by the Marquis of
Salisbury, Mr. G. A. Puller, M.P., Mr. A. Smith,
M.P., Mr. Ames, the Rev. G. B. Blomfield, the
Rev. C. Pearson, the Rev. L. Hensley, the Rev. E.
Prodgers, Mr. S. H. Smith, Mr. W. Baker, &c.
On the removal of the cloth, the health of her
Majesty having been given and duly honoured,
The CHAIRMAN said—lf the sins of the parents
are visited on the children, so, on the other hand,
in the virtues of the parents the children often find
a priceless inheritance of affection and esteem. In
the joy of the nation at the nuptials of the heir
apparent, in the welcome which was so enthusi-
astically accorded to the bride, no doubt there was
an unconscious tribute to the virtues of his royal
parents, and the Prince may be said to have en-
tered on the duties of life in the lustre reflected
from his mother's reign. (Hear, hear.) But all
that we know or can know of his royal highness and
his august bride tends to confirm and to justify
the loyal affection that was willing to take upon
trust the virtues not yet put upon their trial.
It is not the least happy sign of the strong
sense and the general temper of his Royal High-
ness that we see him so readily and so graciously
seeking to associate himself with the various callings
and classes of his future subjects. In enrolling in
the guilds and fraternities of British commerce, at-
tending the meetings and interested in the objects
of British art, endeavouring also to acquire a prac-
tical acquaintance with the hardy pursuits of rural
life, h country gentleman in his Norfolk manor-
house, a keen sportsman, and one of the boldest
riders in the hunting field, he is acquiring that
knowledge of mankind which is among the rare
accomplishments of princes, and acquainting him-
self with those subdivisions 'which make up the
national character, and sum up the total of what is
public opinion. (Cheers.) As for her royal high-
ness the Princess, she needs no words of encomiun.
of mine, for she has only to appear in order to charm
all eyes and to win all hearts. I give you the health
of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the rest of
the Royal family.
The toast was drunk with all honours.
The next toast was " The army, navy, volunteers,
and militia," which was responded t..) by W. Baker,
jun., Eeq.
W. BAKER, Esq., proposed "The bishop and
clergy of the diocese," which was responded to by
the Rev. L. Her.sley.
" The health of the Lord-Lieutenant of the
county " (the Earl of Verulam) was proposed by C.
G. Thornton, Esq., and received with great enthu-
siasm.

The Rev. C. B. PEARSON proposed " The two
Houses of Parliament."
The Marquis of SALISBURY briefly responded on
behalf of the House of Lords, and expressed a hope
that as his order never had disgraced their name
they never would disgrace it, and would always so
discharge their duties as to merit the esteem of the
country. (Cheers.)
The CHAlRMAN—Gentlemen, I now rise to
propose what on these occasions is generally
considered the toast of the evening, but one
which it has become very difficult to say anything
new upon to an agricultural audience so practical
and intelligent as that which I have now the hon-
our to address. When these exhibitions were first
instituted much might be usefully urged upon the
advantage of securing particular occasions for the
competition of skill end the interchange of ideas.
.J3ut that time has passed away. These exhibitions
have now established a firm hold on all parts of the
country ; they have acquired a little more even than
a purely agricultural interest, and there are few
newspaper readers who do not honour with some
kindly attention the reports of their proceedings.
(Cheers.) With respect to the present show, I have
heard from competent judges that it is one of which
we need not be ashamed. It is not one which shows
anything of retrogression. I am told that the
ploughing has been excellent, and that it has not
been surpassed on former occasions. I have been
informed that the implements are exceedingly good,
and that Hertfordshire ought to be proud of them,
because to the greater part, if not the whole of
them, we are indebted to the public spirit of Mr.
Garwood, of Hitchin. I am told that the quality
of the stock is not had—that the sheep and lambs
are good, but that the quantity is deficient. This
is not a sign of retrogression. It would be so if the
quality were bad, but so long as the deficiency is
only in quantity, it shows a certain want of energy
and a degree of supineness which we must endea-
vour to correct on some future occasion. (Hear,
hear.) Gentlemen, Providence has blessed us
this year with an abundant harvest, and in that
blessing to the farmer it is perhaps net suffi•
ciently considered how great is the benefit be-
stowed upon the other sources of national wealth
which give life and activity to other branches of
our national industry ; for although a nation in its
domestic relations and interchanges is divided into
various classes, pursuing various callings and occu-
pations, yet in its dealings with the foreigner a
nation must be considered as a single customer,
and in those circumstances in which we produce
the main staple of food for our population so abun-
dantly as to COMO a sensible diminution in the out-
lay of money devoted to the purchase of foreign
corn, it is clear that there must bo a correspondent
saving—that is to say, a correspondent gain to the
national moneyed capital, which again seeks for
reproductive channels in stimulating the industry
of the manufacturer, the merchant, and the trader,
so that the whole community participate in the
richness of the harvest es hieh rewards the labours
of the farmer. (Hear, hear.) Now it is a very
cheering cign for our future prospects that the
abundant yield of the corn crops this year is not
owing exclusively or solely to the favourable aeason,
because we find that on looking back to any former
year in which the weather and the season were
equally propitious, still the result of this year ex-
ceeds the produce of any former years under cir-
cumstances equally favourable. (Hear, heal.) And
we ace assured by statistical calculations that, on
any average of previous years, taking good and bad
seasons, impartially, the fields are now yielding
many more bushels of corr.i per ecre than they have
done xvrhin any cernparaMely rec.-mt. period. (Hear,