The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-02 00:00:00

THE ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT AT GUILDHALL.

Deputy ELLIOTT, pursuant to notice, brought forward a
motion on a matter arising out of the Royal entertainment
at Guildhall. He said a certain kind of abuse had for many a
long year been practised in the corporation, which on a late
occasion he believed was wholly unparalleled in its magni-
tude, and a repetition of which it concerned the honour and
character of every member of the Common Council, if pos-
sible, to prevent. He had been asked by some members not
to proceed with the motion of which he had given notice ;
by others he had been urged to modify it in every possible
way, and by all means not to foul his own nest. His
t e ray
obnEd r .
answer to that advice was that the nest was already foul
ivor
enough—O. laugh)—and he wanted to cleanse it. To show
that he was not a cantankerous man, disposed to take ex-
ception on slight occasions, it was really necessary that they
should have some conception of the abuses of which he had
to celnOlain. On the recent Royal entertainment at Guild-
hall s large sum of money had been spent—the greater
part of it in a munificent and honourable manner—but
much of it in such a way as to warrant the extenuating
inference that the Entertainment Committee had been for
the time in a chronic state of intoxication, either from
losity or wine. (A. laugh.) Things were ordered
which it was almost an affront to the graceful and well-
bred guests who were invited to suppose that they could
have occasion to use in the few hours they spent at the en-
t
ico3ent. lie held in his hand a bill for perfumery sup-
plied the occasion, amounting to £lO9, including seven
brushes, £l2 10s. ; ten tortoiseshell dressing-
combs, £4 17s. ; and five dozen bottles of eau de Cologne,
£6 148. 6d. One would think that, instead of ladies of
princely rank, the leading personages in the company were
the Sing of Dahomey and his black negresses. (A laugh.)
«A dozen and a half of fancy powder boxes, ten rose-cut
bottles of perfumery, £5 6s. ; 117 soap tablets, £4 12s. 6d."
It seas sa insult, he repeated, to suppose that such things
could have been wanted at such a time. "Two patent hair
brushes, £3 16s. ; 4 ivory cloth-brushes, £6 ;" and, to make
Rork
wor of a
short " Engraving ivory hair-
brushes, £7." These were the purposes to which much of
the money of the corporation had been applied on the occa..
sion. It might as well have been thrown into the fire.

Then there were a pair of Sevres vases, £32, and a costly
porcelain tray, £lO I7e. Now, if such things had after-
wards found their wey to the Kensington Museum or the
manFion.house to be treasured up as beautiful specimens of
the ceramic art at the present time, he should have held his
tongue; but not so. On the contrary, they had since die-
m', as chymists would say, been " sublimed."
appeared,
(Laughter) Then he held in his hand a bill, amounting
altogether to £644, for porcelain articles supplied on the oc-
casion by Alderman Copeland—(hear, hear)—thraigh it was
a standing order of that Court that no member of it was to
goods to the corporation. That account in-
sell or furnish
eluded £9O for dessert plates. Those, he ought to say, were
honest])
bought after the entertainment by some of the un-
members of the Common Council, who wished
privileged
to have mementoes of the occasion and to pay for them. (A
Then there was a fine porcelain tea service, £lB
llasusg.,h;)hich, 00 far as he knew to the contrary, had also dis-
appeared.
.M2a-ron, interposing
The LORD , said that was now part
of the permanent property of the Mansion-house.
Deputy ELLIOTT was delighted to hear that it wae. There
was a toilet service, £52 lOs ; and ho should be glad to hear
that that also formed part of the property of the Mansion-
house. There were two other similar services, costing £lB
and £ll.
These, as far as he could make out, had all dis-
appeared. They certainly el ere not in the sale of remanets
whichthey, the unprivileged members of the Court, bought
He might go over an enormous list of articles
and paid for.
which had all disappeared. They ought not to have been
ordered, for they were never wanted by the distinguished
persons who attended the ball only for a few hours. The
answer,
ho apprehended, would be that the members
of the
Entertainment Committee, who gave gra-
tuitous and laborious services on the occasion, were entitled
to a few souvenirs in the shape of waifs and strays. But the
total cost of all that flotsam and jetsam amounted to no less
than £soo—( laugh)—and the whole adornments of the
Princess's boudoir had
disappeared. Besides, the ,com-
mittee were precluded from setting up that excuse, seeing
that during five or six weeks' work they spent £2OO in
£l5O in a breaking up treat—(a
laugh)—and,
dinners and luncheons—
not satisfied with all that, they expended
;£l5O more for articles of personal decoration used by them-
selves. Was not that payment twice over for six weeks'
work in getting up
entertainment whieh every true-
hearted citizen of London would have been delighted to do
for nothing on
80
.e auspicious and joyous occasion? Now,
he thought he had made out a case for putting a stop to an
abuse of public funds which had grown up from small de-
grees until it had culminated in this great scandal. N o
single member of that Court, whatever his office, ought to
take away from Guildhall property worth—he was ashamed
to say how much, but he believed £2OO. It concerned the
honour of the corporation to put a stop to such reckless
abuse. As it was, it would be nuts to their opponents, and
Sir Geo. Grey, who signally failed in harming them when
they had a just quarrel,
might now prepare himself for
another attack on their corporate privileges, assailing them
in a vulnerable point; or the Metropolitan Board of
Works might say, " Are these the men to be entrusted
with the execution
who spend their of great works of public utility and
time,necessity, and, what is worse. the
public money, on such gewgaws r, lie ought to say
there was a retrieving circumstance connected with the
subject ho had brought under their consideration.
Two very beautiful chairs of state used on the occa-
sion, he had been told, were by an immense effort saved
by the vigorous exertions of one member—(a laugh)—
and taken to the Mansion-house, where they remained as
interesting memorials of an interesting event. With the
exception, however, of the things that were sold—and there
was some little trouble to save even them—a very large num-
ber of valuable articles had been taken away, how and by
whom remained to be seen. There was but one thing for the
parties concerned to do, but he should not say what it was.
(A laugh.) Let bygones be bygones, but at the same time
let the Court come to a manly and dignified resolution which
would show to the world that the great majority of the tin
r-
poration had clean hands in the matter, and had no pa
" That
such a scandal. (Cheers.) He concluded by moving
it be referred to the law officers to consider and report whe-
ther it was competent for any member of that corporation,e
whatever official position he might hold, to accept or take
into his own possession any chattels or other property of the
corporation other than by a vote of the Common Council."
The motion was seconded by Mr. WEBBER.
Mr. TRUSCOTT, chairman of the Royal Entertainment
Committee, said ho was prepared to give a satisfactory an.
swer to the charges which had been made against the com-
mittee, and to contend that what they had done on the oc-
casion redounded to their credit and to the renown of the
corporation.
He preferred, however, to make that answer
in a full court, and with that view he moved the adjourn-
ment of the debate.

Mr. RICHARDSON declared that ho laboured four or five
weeks on the Reception Committee, and had not even a
glass of wine in that time; but it was well known in the
corporation that on these occasions everything in the way of
refreshment depended on the presiding genius, (Laughter.)
Mr. LAWLEY expressed his great regret that this matter
had been mooted before the report of tho Entertainment
Committee had been presented.
Mr. KELDAY complained of the vague manner in which
the charges had been made, and that Deputy Elliott had
not been manly enough to prefer a specific charge against
some individual or individuals, if ho had any to make.
The debate was then adjourned, and the Court broke up
in the state of excitement which it produced.

According to the Critic for October (just pub-
lished), Messrs. Longman and Co. have suspended
the publication of Mr. D. D. Home's "incidents of My
Life," in consequence of Sir David Brewster threatening
legal proceedings on account of some statements contained
in the book relating to spiritual manifestations said to have
Neu wittlegeed by him at Z4ing.