The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-14 00:00:00

would have been greater loss of life, which hsr, is> common
with all the citizens, greatly deplored, (Hear.)
Lord A. PAGET—As my hon. friend has alluded to
me, and as I had the honour of taking part in the hoyal
procession, and of preceding OP carriage of the Princess
and Prince through the City, perhaps I may be allowed to
say a few Words. And, first of all, I should like to bear
witheas to the-perfeet behaviour and good humour• on the
part of the 'people on that day. (Cheers.) I
cannot conceive a mor e trying circumstance than
being in a vast crowd, with the pressure of the people be-
hind, and seeing in advance outriders, horses, equerries,and
cavalry come crushing on one's toes ; and I can safely say
that I never heard one angry word expressed. Of course
on such an occasion it was no use being ill-tempered. On
the contrary, when one saw fr.ra London-bridge a mass of
people in front, your plan was to get them to make way as
well as they could, as we were bound in fact for Windsor.
(Laughter.) lam bound to say that the people—l will not
call them a mob, for they were not a mob—the people ren-
dered every assistance, and cheered on all sides, and in fact
made way for us. With regard to the police, lam bound
to say that I think they were so few in number that they
were completely outnumbered, and that they in fact gave it
up as a bad job. (Laughter.) Moreover, from what I
could see of them, the great majority of them were anxious
to see our beautiful Princess. As to the scene at the Man-
sion•'house, there are enough witnesses to testify to it.
There is no doubt it was a very tremendous squash.
(Laughter.) I saw people actually get on the top of the
carriage, and I saw a great many running, not only under
the carriage, but between the leaders and the wheelers. I
certainly did appeal to several policemen,who were standing,
a row of them, around the Mansion-house. I said to them
" For God's sake Igo to the carriage, or we shall have them
upset." I took one fellow's number—(laughter)—No. 68,
because he refused to move. He said—" No, he would not
move," and I reported this circumstance to the head of the
police, and of course he was excessively annoyed at the cir-
cumstance. When we got through the city I can only de-
scribe it as something like what must happen to naviga-
tors who go into the Arctic regions, and after having
been for some time locked up in the icebergs see in the
distance clear water. That was the sensation I
felt when we got through Temple-bar. I certainly did
say, " Thank God, we have got through the worst of it."
(Laughter.) My hon, friend (the Lord Mayor), whom I
know very well, will bear me out when I say, that when I
ascertained that I was to have the honour of going with the
procession, I went to him—having had experience of seme
quarter of a century in processions—l went to my hon.
friend, and first of all he gave me a most excellent lun-
cheon. I then said, " Are you quite sure you have force
enough to keep this line, for I know that there will be an
immense concourse of people ?" He said he thought there
was sufficient force, but he would send to the head of the
police. I said, " Bear in mind I do not come to you as her
Majesty's Chief Equerry to the Lord Mayor of London,
because that is not within my province. I have nothing to
do with ordering anything. I have but to attend upon the
Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra. I, therefore,
Lord Alfred Paget, come to you. Mr. Rose, and I have
every reason to believe and know that if you want any as-
sistance you will get it ;" and I may have said " Not only
from the Horse Guards but from the metropolitan force."
Of course it was not my province to step out of my duty to
interfere in what did not concern me. I have the charge of
keeping the streets clear—it was merely a suggestion. Of
course I left it to my hon. friend to communicate whatever
he wished to the Horse Guards and the metropolitan police
force. I should have been very happy if he had authorised
me to carry any message to Sir Richard Mayne, but I
guarded myself particularly by saying that I came to him
as an old friend, and not as being authorised. (Laughter,)
Col. FRENCH protested against the censure cast upon
the Horse Artillery by the Lord Mayor.
The LORD MAYOR explained that his observations
were not against the conduct of the men, They did all
they do, but the trappings of the horses were not adapted
to the duty that body had to do.
Mr. AY RTON said that the amalgamation of the City
with the metropolitan police force was a very old question.
So long ago as 1854 a commission was appointed to inquire
into the subject, and that commission in their report re-
commended an amalgamation of the two forces. This ques-
tion involved various considerations, and ought to engage
the attention of the Government, because it was a most ex
traordinary thing that in the heart of the metropolis there
should be a separate jurisdiction which had a right to co-
operate or not with the police of other parts of the metro-
polis.