The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON;

which this country wishes to occupy among the
nations of the world ; that is the position which we I
are all endeavouring to acquire, and which I trust
and believe we may say we have to a great extent
attained. (Cheers.) But in addition to the reasons I
have given for believing that the service with which
I am connected is not altogether distasteful to those
who cultivate the arts of peace, I cannot help ob-
serving in the various rooms in this building that
the artist has largely laid that service under contri-
bution. (Cheers.) We see around us, both in the
shape of portraits and general pictures, many sub-
jects connected with the military profession ; and I
must say these subjects have been most agreeably
and satisfactorily treated. It would be very ill-timed
on my part, a mere ignoramus in such matters, to
attempt to express any artistic opinion as to the
merits of the pictures which decorate these walls;
but as a simple member of society I cannot but ex-
press my congratulations on what appears to me to
be a most successful exhibition—(cheers)—and even
in the presence of illustrious foreigners I must say
the representation of the arts of this country has
been most creditable in that Great International
Exhibition which was opened two days ago. I
cannot help thinking that our portion of the Ex-
hibition will hold its own with any other country.
(Cheers.) I cannot sit down without expressing my
strong approbation of the noble sentiments we have
just heard from the illustrious Prince on the other
side of the chairs (Cheers.) I believe I may say,
without the slightest flattery to my illustrious re-
lative, and that the sentiments he has expressed
have been most acceptable to this distinguished
company, and that they will be most cordially re-
ceived and echoed by this entire great country with
. which he is proud to be associated. (Loud cheers.)

The Duke of SOMERSET said—Sir Charles East-
lake, your Royal Highness, my Lords and Gentlemen,
I have great pleasure in thanking you in behalf of
the British navy, who will duly appreciate the hon-
our which has been paid to them by this distin-
guished assemby. It has been my fortunate lot
often to attend meetings annually here, and I must
say they are the pleasantest public meetings I have
attended in the course of the year. (Cheers.)
Knowing the number of toasts that have to be given,
and the speeches that have to be made in reply, I
think I shall best express to you my thanks by thus
briefly acknowledging the honour you have done to
the navy. I have observed in going round these
rooms that there are not many pictures relating to
the navy, and I believe that in future years it will
be found more difficult still to immortalise the deeds
of the British navy in pictures. (Cheers, and a laugh.)
How you are ever to produce pleasing pictures of
vessels with no masts and no sails, low hulls, creep-
ing along, mere black objects in the water, I know
not; but I have so doubt the skill of the Royal
Academy will get over that difficulty. I must say
I look forward with no little interest and pleasure
to seeing those pictures immortalised in future ex-
hibitions. (Cheers.) I beg again to thank you for
the honour you have done to the British navy.

Lord ELcuo also responded to the toast on be-
half of the Volunteer service.

The PRESIDENT proposed " The Health of the
Noblemen who this day honour the Academy with
their presence." (Cheers.) In proposing this toast
the president spoke of the encouragement given to
the fine arts in this country, and expressed his opi-
nion that it was likely to receive a still further im-
petus from the International Exhibition.

The toast was drunk with all the honours.

The LORD CHANCELLOR responded to the toast.
He concluded by proposing the health of the Presi-
dent and members of the Royal Academy.
The PRESIDENT respcnded and proposed the
health of her Majesty's Ministeis.
The toast was drunk with loud cheers.

Viscount PALMERSTON, who was received with
much cheering, said—Sir Charles Eastlake, your
Royal Highnesses, my lords, and gentlemen,—lt is
needless, I am sure, we should say her Majesty's
Ministers feel the deepest interest in the promotion
of the fine arts in this country. (Cheers.) It is no
merit on our parts to entertain that feeling, because
it is impossible that any public men charged with
the conduct of the affairs of a great country should.
be insensible to the advantage arising from the pro-
motion of the fine arts. It is a pursuit which dig-
nifies and ennobles both those who practise it and
those who admire the productions of those by whom
it is practised, (Cheers.) Like the quality of mercy,
it is doubly blessed—it is blessed in those who
themselves display the genius they possess, and it
enlarges the sphere of enjoyment on the part of the
public, who are taught to understand, to value, and
admire the works of genius. And lam sure we
must all of us feel highly gratified, not merely by
the display which these walls now afford of the
works of British genius, but by the records of the
same kind which are now exhibited in that larger
building larger certainly, and perhaps better
adapted for the purpose than that which we have
now the honour to assemble—an Exhibition in
which, as his Royal Highness the Duke of Cam-
bridge has well and in good English idiom expressed
it, the artists of England hold ther own. (Cheers.)
It is needless to say that the cultivation of the fine
arts is a kind of cosmopolitan freemasonry ; it
acts as a bond of union between different nations,
who are taught by rivalry in these arts a gene-
rous spirit of emulation, and also mutual and
reciprocal admiration. (Cheers.) I said that
her Majesty's Government must necessarily
entertain the strongest desire to encourage and pro-
mote the fine arts ; but I am aware that there is
one charge to which we are liable, though I think
there is a defence to be made against it. We may
be said in one respect to be enemies of the fine arts,
for it is well known that there are no subjects more
inspiring, none that give greater scope to the de-
velopment of creative genius than the events of war-
We have seen examples ; I need only remind you
of that magnificent work of Mr. Maclise which is
now adorning the walls of that building in which
the great issues of peace and war are perpetually
debated. (Cheers.) We are therefore so far, I
admit, apparently the enemies of the fine arts, be-
cause it is the study, the object, and the desire of
her Majesty's Government to avoid war and to
maintain peace, so far depriving the arts of some of
the best opportunities of illustration. But we trust
that past history will yet afford sufficient unex-
hausted subjects for the creative genius of all living
artists. It must be remembered that peace has
her victories as well as war, and that peace also
may afford subjects for the pencil and chisel of the
artist quite as inspiriting and ennobling as any of
the events that are recorded in the annals of hosti-
lity. I don't wont to detain you, but I must advert
to two circumstances which are peculiar to our pre-
sent meeting—one is the circumstance which has
been alluded to by the Duke of Cambridge—the
presence, namely, at our board of one of the most
distinguished princes that Europe can boast—a
prince happily connected with the royal family of
this country by a union which I trust will be pro-
ductive of happiness to all parties concerned—a
prince an illustrious and ennobled by the sentiments
you have heard from him as he is by the distin-
guished lineage from which he is sprung. There
is another circumstance marking this day, though
of a different character, which was adverted to by
Sir Charles Eastlake, the president, in one of the
toasts he had to propose. We have lost one of the
most distinguished patrons of the fine arts
in this country. That eye which was ac-
customed with discriminating power to perceive
merit where other parties would not have found it,
to follow out the workings of genius in all their de-
tails—that eye is now closed. Those lips, which
used with the utmost judgment to award praise to
the successful efforts of genius, to give encourage-
ment to struggling talent not yet brought into the
full blaze of fame—those lips are now closed for
ever ; and that hand which used to dispense largely
encouragement to art in all its branches is now life-
less and cold. That is a melancholy reflection which
it might not perhaps have been seemly for me to
introduce on the present occasion, but the manner in
which the president adverted to the loss sustained
makes me feel that that loss will be felt by the artists
of this country as deeply, permanently, and sincerely
as by any other class of her Majesty's subjects.
(Cheers.) I beg again, on the part of my colleagues
and myself, to return you our best thanks for the
honour you have done us, and to assure you that
we feel highly gratified for having been permitted
to assist on this occasion. (Cheers.)
The PRESIDENT proposed "Success to the Inter-