The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-06 00:00:00

shrieks which rung from the dying and the doomed
around them ; such a tragedy might well annihilate ad
angry recollections, and we should not be Englishmen,
we should not be men, if we did not now feel a melan-
choly desire to prove our sympathy with the survivors by
some few words of kindness and just praise in honour of
the dead. In the little I have to add, lam sure, Mr.
Chairman, your impartiality and the generous temper of
his opponents will bear with me. Mr. Halsey was not
a man of showy talents or of profound learning, but
neither did he affect it. His information was, upon the
whole, more considerable than those may be aware who
did not know him well. It was an information above
the average of young men born, like himself, to large
fortunes, and who are too often disposed to treat life as
a lholiday, and to seek only effeminate pleasures. In
him, at least, there was nothing effeminate. He was
thoroughly English and manly, and whenever he was
called on to speak or to act he could speak his senti-
ments with English firmness and act with English
promptitude. There are none of you will think the
worse of him that he had a strong sense of party, a
strong sense of his own political opinions, and for
the men who shared them. But there are men who
have an equal warmth for party objects, but who, never-
theless, connect them with some party purposes or some
desire of personal aggrandisement. From all such self-
seeking he was totally free. No desire for place cemented
his attachment to his party. His utmost ambition
your favour permitted him to realise—to be a member
for this county and to obtain the esteem of his consti-
tuents. That was all he asked, and such an ambition
is equally dear to every public man. There are some
who are equally fervid politicians, but who nevertheless
envy some superior celebrity among their own friends.
Others there are who are disposed to tyrannise over de-
pendents who differ from them ; and there are those who
are mean and tricky in promoting their own views or
creeping into popular favour. No such fault could be
laid to his charge. I never met a man more free from
envy, less disposed to tyrannise over others, or more
thoroughly incapable of fawning, subterfuge, or dissimu-
lation. His whole character and life were in harmony
with his frank countenance and manly bearing. His
faults were those of which Englishmen are always in-
dulgent, and his qualities were those which Englishmen
may most respect. (Cheers.) My younger colleague
in the representation of the county (Mr. Smith) is here,
and will doubtless speak for himself. He has youth on
his side, with all its healthy vigour and generous ardour
for whatever position to which he may aspire ; and he
only wants practice to make you familiar not only
with his sentiments, but with all those generous
qualities which are identified with his paternal name.
(Cheers.) I certainly will not deprive him of any op-
portunity for that practice ; but, on behalf of Sir Henry
Meux and myself, allow me to return you thanks for the
compliment you have paid us. I fear it is a melancholy
truth that we cannot please all parties ; and if we at-
tempted to do so we should succeed in being trusted by
none. But upon all those questions on which our party
opinions may have been plainly stated, and can be fairly
advocated, I trust you will have no cause to complain of
our sincerity and good faith ; and although still greater
questions may arise from time to time, without any pre-
vious concert with party—questions in which some un-
seen danger may affect our common country, or in which
there may be some occasion to defend just principles or
human rights—l trust we shall rise superior to all other
considerations, and over party itself ; and without one
single care what faction may be or may not be in power,
that we shall think and vote as becomes the representa-
tives of this great people. (Cheers.) It is to this English
House of Commons that all nations now hesitating be-
tween despotic control and popular government must
turn their eyes ; and if they desire to see how sacred a
thing is liberty, provided only it be accompanied with
a rational care to preserve alike from the mould of
decay and the viclence of incautious acts, they must
look to the original framework of those institutions
which contain the title-deeds to the happiness we pos-
sess. (Loud and prolonged cheers.)
Mr. A. SMITH, M.P., also briefly responded to the
toast, as one of the members for the county.
Sir E. B. LYTTON, at a later period of the evening, in
proposing the toast of " the Agricultural Labourers,"
said he could not doubt that such a toast would be wel-
come to all present. At the late hour, however, to
which their proceedings had extended he could not hope
to do justice to it. The toast had reference to a class
not only interesting in itself, but one with which he had
as familiar an acquaintance as he had with any other.
But at the present moment he could not see the neces-
sity of saying anything in praise of the agricultural la-
bourers. To them those present owed whatever wealth
they possessed. Their labour was the origin of capital.
They owed to the labourer something more valuable ;
for they owed to them in a great degree the defense of
their country. It was from the agricultural labourers
that those armies were chiefly recruited which had
just added fresh laurels to the fame of England on
the Alma and at Sebastopol, and which were sus-
taining her name and prestige in other parts of the
world. The same class which triumphed at Water.
100 wore now engaged in conflict with the legions
of Russia, and he only hoped they would be as trium-
phant with the sword as they had been with the plough-
share. (Cheers.)
Mr. Puller, Mr. Roberts, and several other gentle-
men spoke in the course of the evening, but the topics
on which they discoursed were for the greater part of
purely local interest, and do not justify a report beyond
the immediate neighbourhood.
The meeting separated between 9 and 10 o'clock.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

MUSIC .IND DANCING LICRNSES.

The court sat yesterday to hear applications for the
renewal of old, and the granting of new licenses for
music, and music and dancing, under the statute 25 Geo.
IL The list comprised 1.66 applications for the renewal
of licenses for music oily, 56 for licenses for music and
dancing, 53 new applications fur licenses for music only ;
and 6 for music and dancing.
All the old licenses were renewed, except in a few
cages where the parties had failed to send in their peti-
tions.

HIGHBURY BARN.
The application of Archibald Hinton for the renewal
of a music and dancing license for the Highbury Barn
Tavern was opposed.
Mr. Parry appeared in opposition ; Mr. Clarkson and
Mr. Sleigh in support of the application.
The petition presented against the application was
signed by the Rev. Mr. Collison, the incumbent of
Highbury, the churchwardens, and by 142 persons re-
sident at Highbury and the neighbourhood.
The learned counsel, in opening the case, said the com-
plaint against Mr. Hinton was that he had violated an en-
gagement he entered into when the court granted the
license, and those for whom he appeared to oppose the
renewal of the license asked the bench not to grant the
application unless Mr. Hinton gave a guarantee that he
would strictly adhere to and abide by his original engage-
ment. The parties who now opposed did not oppose the
original application, for this reason, that in his original
petition Mr. Hinton assured the bench that he did not
intend to use the license in any way that should be dis-
agreeable to the neighbourhood, or to produce disquie-
tude in the vicinity, or to convert Highbury Barn into
an ordinary dancing place ; but, on the contrary, that
he only wanted it to enable him to pro vide such enter-
tainment to those parties who regularly used his house,
such as friendly clubs and benefit societies, who had din-
ners, &c., there. Instead of carrying out this, however,
Mr. Hinton had converted Highbury Barn into dancing
gardens, and the town had been placarded with an-
nouncements that the admission to such entertainment
was at the rate of sixpence per head ; and there was re-
gularly a military band in attendance performing from
four in the afternoon until eleven at night. When the
parties who resorted to Highbury Barn left, as they
did at late hours, the whole neighbourhood was dis-
turbed—their conduct was disorderly and an annoyance
to the neighbourhood, and he was instructed to say that
instead of the establishment being conducted as Mr.
Hinton had represented to the bench that it should, it
had been a perfect and decided nuisance to the neigh-
bourhood. The opposition was not on general but par-
ticular grounds, and on the part of those by whom he
was instructed, he called upon the court to uphold its
own authority, and enforce the condition on which alone
the license was granted. He would admit that there
was nothing to complain of as to the conduct of the par-
ties in the gardens, but the result of the conditions on
which the license was granted not being adhered to, was
that a considerable nuisance had been created in the
neighbourhood.

Evidence in support of the petition was then gone
into at some length. It was complained that the con-
duet of persons leaving Hig,hbury Barn after dancing
had terminated had been riotous and indecorous ; that
women of loose character, who had been there, annoyed
gentlemen residing in the neighbourhood on their way
home by their solicitations ; and that the neighbourhood
was disturbed at night by the persons leaving Mr. Hin-
ton's establishment. A band of music was continually
playing from the afternoon until eleven at night, dancing
was going on, and 6d. was charged for admission. The
witnesses, however, could not speak of any formal
complaint having been made with reference to Mr. Hin-
ton's place of entertainment—all that was said against
it was that the neighbourhood was disturbed at night by
the conduct of the persons who frequented " the barn'
after they had left.
Mr. Clarkson then addressed the bench on behalf of
the applicant. He forcibly contended that there was
not a tittle of evidence given to warrant the bench in
refusing the license. Mr. Hinton had made an engage-
ment, and havinglmade it it would have been better if
he bad not broken it, but he was not to be held re-
sponsible for the conduct of persons not on his own pro-
perty , • they might have been elsewhere than at High-
bury. No complaint had been made as to the manner
in which the place was conducted, indeed he would
show that it had been well conducted, and most pro-
perly managed. The learned counsel urged the vast
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refusing the license on the grounds set up by the oppo-
sition. He did hope that the bench would grant the
license, and thus enable the public to have (at High-
bury) what they required, a means of innocent and legi-
timate enjoyment.
Evidence was then given in support of the applica-
tion. Mr. }Luton himself was examined. He stated
that he commenced giving these entertainments at 'Whit-
suntide in the present year, and he had the band of the
Grenadier Guards there. They performed from four till
six when there was a lapse of an hour, after which they
went on again till eleven. Shortly after thaf hour the
place was closed, except on special occasions when
private parties were there. He had police officers in
attendance whom he paid himself, and he used every
exert..i.t and endeavoured in every way to the utmost
- his ability to conduct his establishment respectably,
orderly, and with the only view of
preserving strict pro-
priety and decorum.

In;peotor Thatcher and two sergeants of the N diyi