The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-05 00:00:00

THE OUTIZAM TESTIMONIAL.

Yesterday a deputation, headed by his Grace the
Duke of Argyll, waited upon Sir James Outram, at
his residence in Queen's Gate-gardens, to present
to him an address and a service of plate, being part
of a testimonial voted to him at public meetings
held in London and Calcutta on the lith and 6th of

March, 1861. The deputation consisted of the fol-

lowing noblemen and gentlemen, representing a
body of upwards of 1,800 subscribers :—The Lord
Harris, the Lord Keane, the Lord Lyveden, F. F.
Courtenay, Esq., Major-General D. Downing,
Captain W. J. Eastwick, Sir R. N. C. Hamilton,
Bart., K.C.B. ; Major-General H. Hancock,
Major-General Sir J. B. Hearsey, K.C.B. ;
Colonel J. Holland, J. W. Kaye, Esq., Captain
H. B. Lynch, C.B. ; the Right Hon. Sir John
J. L. M. Lawrence, Bart., G.C.8., N.S.T. ; Major-
General G. D. Malcolm, Colonel Sir T. W.
M'Mahon, Bart., C. 8.; Captain Sherard Osborn,
C. 8., R.N. ; Gen. Sir George Pollock, G.C.B. ;
Major-General Sir H. C. Rawlinson, K.C.B. ; Col.
W. H. Sykes, M.P., F.R.S. ; Major.• General Sir R.
J. H. Vivian, K.C.B. ; J. P. Willoughby, Esq.
The deputation having assembled at 12 o'clock,

the Duke of Argyll read the following address :
" Sir James Outram,—On behalf of those whose
names are inscribed upon the accompanying scroll
we request your acceptance of this service of plate,
forming part of a testimonial voted at public meet-
ings held in the capitals of England and of India to
commemorate your great and good deeds, and to do
honour to your worth. The names enrolled are
those of men of different classes and different coun-
tries, many of whom, knowing you only by the
achievements which you have bequeathed to history,
admire your heroism and chivalry from a distance ;
whilst others, who have enjoyed the privilege of
more intimate relations with you, and have closely
observed the simplicity, gentleness, and manliness
of your character, blend with a still higher admira-
tion the most affectionate feelings of personal regard.
Among the soldier-statesmen, reared and fostered
by the military system of the East India Company,
you will ever hold a conspicuous place. Successful
in war, you have been equally successful in peace;
you have conquered hostile races alike by the
vigour of your arms, and the civilising influences
of your humanity ; and you have taught the
strangers whom you have subdued, scarcely less
less than the comrades whom you have led to vic-
tory, to reverence and to love you as a father and a
friend.: By men of your stamp was our Indian em-
pire first won ; by men of your stamp has it now been
preserved. Earnestly hoping that, whether in the
front rank of the public service, or in the retire-
ment of private life, you may long enjoy the honours
you have so nobly won."
To which Sir JAMES OUTRAM replied—My Lord
Duke, Gentlemen—My Friends—l thank you from
the bottom of my heart—l thank all, whether pre-
sent or absent, in England or in India, who have
united to render me this great honour. I cannot
venture to think that I have done all that you say
of me; but I know that, with such powers as God
has given me, I have honestly tried to do it. I was
reared under a system which gave to every man an
equal chance of going to the front; and I owe it to
that system that I am now standing before you—
less, I cannot help thinking, on account of my in divi-
dual deserts, than as the representative of the great
service, now passed into a tradition, to which for
forty years I had the honour to belong. If to any-
thing in myself I owe such success as I may have
attained, it is mainly to this—that throughout my
career I have loved the people of India, regarded
their country as my home, and made their weal my
first object. And though my last service in the field
was against the comrades of my old associates, the
madness of a moment has not obliterated from my
mind the fidelity of a century, and I can still love
and still believe. I thank you again for your great
kindness. The memory of it will go with me to
my grave.
The service consists of ten pieces, viz., two
epergnes and eight dessert stands, of rich ornamen-
tation and Indian architecture. Upon the base of
each epergne are three figures surrounding the
stem ; the figures on one representing a soldier of
the 78th Highlanders, a Seikh chief, and a Bheel ;
those on the other an English general officer, a Per-
sian, and a Scindian. Plantain and palm trees are
introduced between the figures The stem, from the
centre, is surmounted by a perforated ornamental
basket, shaped so as to receive cut-glass dish. On
each of four of the dessert stands is a figure, that
on the first being a female, typical of India ;
those on the others representing the three
Presidencies—viz., a Mahomedan for Madras,
a Parsee for Bombay, and a Hindoo for Bengal.
Over the head of each figure rises a plantain tree, to
support- the glass. The four other dessert stands are
of the same style of ornamentation, but are without
figures. Each epergne bears the following inscrip-
tion—" Presented to Lieut.-General Sir James Out-
raw, Bart., G.C.8., K. 5.1., by his numerous friends
and admirers, in recognition of his eminent services,
and his public and private worth. July, 1862."