The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-07 00:00:00

THE DINNER OF THE CLUB.

The usual annual dinner of the members and friends
of the club took place yesterday evening at the Free-
masons' Hall, Great Queen-street---his Grace the Duke
of Richmond, president of the club, occupying the chair.
Among the company present we noticed Lord Berners,
Mr. William Miles, M.P., Colonel Sibthorp, M.P., Sir
John Shelley, M.P., Mr. Sheriff Muggeridge, Mr. Ray-
mond Parker, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, Mr. Druce, Mr.
Jonas Webb, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Dr. Air, Mr. C.
Barnett, Mr. R. Millward, Mr. Hudson, Professor
Symonds, and others.
The healths of her Majesty and of Prince Albert hav-
ing been drank,
The noble CHAIRMAN proposed that the company
should depart from its ordinary rule upon that occasion,
and drink " The Health of Lord Raglan and the Army
and Navy." The army in the Crimea (said the noble
duke) had undergone privations of po ordinary character.
Sent out some months ago to Bulgaria, the cholera had
committed the greatest ravages among their ranks.
When landed in the Crimea, the troops were compelled
to carry the stupendous heights of Alma by sheer Bri-
tish pluck. Having the advantage of an old soldier at
their head, the troops had most judiciously turned the
flank of the army of the Emperor of Russia, and estab-
lished the base of their operations at Balaklava ; and
since that time the British army had fought the bloody
fight on the heights of Inkerman. As an old soldier he
had no hesitation in saying that few armies had ever
been called upon, in so short a time, to evince so
much devotion to their country's cause. (Cheers.)
Nobly had they performed their duty, and may Pro-
` vidence grant us ultimate success. (Cheers.) If we
had men enough, and were supported by our French
allies, he had no fear for the result, for he knew well
that the British soldier could not be beaten. (Cheers.)
He only expressed the feeling of every agriculturist in
the country when he wished our noble army well ; and,
although we did not like to pay heavy taxes, yet if the
taxes were called for either to save the lives or to add
to the comforts of these brave men, who have devoted
themselves to their country's cause, there would not be
a farmer in England who would grudge the payment of
his portion. (Cheers.)
"The health of Lord Raglan and the At my and Navy"
was drank with the greatest enthusiasm.
The next toast proposed was that of " Success to the
Smithfield Club Cattle Show." In proposing this toast,
his Grace referred to the great advantages which had
arisen from the formation of the club as well as to the
farmer as to the consumer of meat. Many of the cattle
now brought to the country markets were much better
than they had been in former years • indeed, so greatly
were they improved that had they been sent to some of
the earlier shows of the club they would, in all proba-
bility, have then gained prizes. No man could be a
proper judge of his own animals until he saw them in
competition with those of other farmers and breeders ;
and these annual shows afforded a most favourable op-
portunity of making these useful comparisons. The
present show had been considerably above the average
of former years. (Cheers.) He would not be tempted
to enter into questions of agriculture and farming ; but
expressed his most cordial wish that the tenant-farmers
throughout the country would be more generally de-
sirous of obtaining leases from their landlords, for he did
not think that any man of prudence ought to rest satis-
fied with investing his capital on the property of his
landlord without some security for his future tenure.
(Cheers.)
The list of prizes having been read, the prizes awarded,
and the healths of the successful candidates read,
Lord BERNERS proposed " The health of the noble
Chairman," a nobleman eminent, not alone as an agri-
culturist, but as an old and successful soldier, and one
who in every situation had nobly and conscientiously
done his duty to the utmost of his ability.
The CHAIRMAN, in reply to the toast, said that he
looked with feelings of the highest gratification to times
long since gone by, when he had the power of being
of some slight use to his country by participating in
the privations and undergoing the dangers of the
British soldier in those countries where duty called
them. (Cheers.) He deeply regretted that his
present state of health had prevented him going out to
the Crimea. (Cheers.) Much as he liked dining at agri-
cultural meetings, he would still infinitely rather have
been at the battle of Inkerman, leading a regiment
into action, than receiving the compliments which the
company had just paid him. (Renewed cheers.) As he
was not able to go on foreign service, he was at all
events able to do his best to promote the agricultural
prosperity of the country ; for he believed that on the
welfare and prosperity of the agricultural interest de-
pended the welfare of all other classes, and if good farm-
ing would not pay the heavy taxes to which the country
was about to be subjected he was quite sure that bad
- farming would not. (Cheers.)
The healths of Alderman and Sheriff Muggeridge,
Sir John Shelley, and the successful candidates, the
judges, stewards, and of Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, the secre-
tary of the club, were subsequently drank, and the
company separated.

THE BIRMINGHAM CATTLE AND
POULTRY SHOW.

Following immediately after the show of the Smith•
field Club, the attention of the agricultural classes and
the general public will next week be drawn to the an-
nual display in Birmingham, where the breeders and
feeders of stock, in the midland counties especially,
usually put forth all their strength, and where there is
the additional attraction of a marvellous collection of
domestic poultry. The great competitions at this season
excite much interest, and hold out inducements for
bringing together the best specimens of cattle which are
to be found in the United Kingdom. They thus become
schools of comparison from which tolerable good opi-
nions may be formed as to the value of stock, while
these meetings are of national importance, as encouraging
that particular branch of agricultural enterprise which
has a relation to the supply of animal food. That these
contests have become highly useful in this respect will
be generally admitted, particularly now that the overfed
beasts which formerly disfigured the Smithfield exhibi-
tions have disappeared, and their places supplied by ani-
mals of a more useful and profitable character. This is
the object for which the Birmingham society was estab-
lished ; but hitherto some moral courage has been re-
quired in applying an effectual check to a practice which
found apologists in the most influential quarters, and
which it was easier to encourage than to put down.
The Birmingham society holds it sixth exhibition this
year, and a more convenient locality for meetings of this
description cannot be found. It receives the cordial sup-
port of the landowners and tenant-farmers of the mid-
land counties, while first-rate stock of all descriptions is
exhibited from every part of the United Kingdom. Sales
are encouraged as far as possible, and, without this, a
store-show is a comparatively useless spectacle.
A. second meeting in the course of the year has been
projected, but whether the management will carry this
intention into effect remains to be seen.

The Bingley-hall exhibition commences on Tuesday,
the 12th, and terminates on Friday, the 15th inst.

ALDERMAN SIDNEY AND THE COURT
OF TEE ALDERMEN AND LORD
ABERDEEN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE BUIL

Sir,—There is an unusually long notice of the pro-
ceedings in the Court of Aldermen in your journal of
this day, and to my surprise I find myself the chief ob-
ject of attack, for having at a former court given notice
of an address to the Crewn " for the removal from her
Majesty's councils of the Right Hon. the Earl of Aber-
deen."

I will not deny the perfect right of my brethren to
canvass the expediency of my motion, but surely any
British subject, whether a member of the Court of
Aldermen or not, is justified in making known his
opinions as to the amount of confidence either this or
any other administration is entitled to.
It is, however, rather too bad, that, being appealed to
by several aldermen to withdraw the notice, and in.
formed by another of their intention to prevent a legal
court being constituted, after a private meeting held at
the Mansion House on Saturday last, my motive in
withdrawing it should have been impugned and my ab-
sence from the court attributed to cowardice.
The Lord Mayor is reported to have expressed
his opinion that my present views are the reverse of
what I entertained when the news of the brilliant
victory of the Alma reached this country ; I ex-
pressed then what every Englishman must have
felt, that the immortal achievements of our army
were entitled to the warmest admiration and grati-
tude ; but there is a wide distinction between the heroic
bravery of our troop^. and the policy of dooming those
troops to perish on the inhospitable mountains of a foreign
pro-
vided shore ; in being ordered to undertake an Herculean
at so advanced a period of the season, insufficiently
with medical aid for the sick and wounded, badly
clothed, with the cold earth for their only bed, and the
heavens their only canopy, and reinforcements delayed
until their numbers became: so reduced as to make one
tremble at the bare thought that Bi,nootohebrraers-eistmaenicieshoofualnd
be compelled to conquer or die
enemy seven times their own strength.
If If it is impolitic to express such sentiments, that
t e throughcoun thecountry
h a supinenesssof Government in time of war
thensubjected to imminent peril, then
the press, both metropolitan and provincial, are equally
deserving the sarcasms of those who attribute unworthy
motives.

But it may be asked, why did I abandon my motion?
I reply, that since giving notice of it, Parliament has
been summoned to assemble at a very early day, and
every ono will prefer that the Minister should have the
fullest opportunity for explaining his conduct to the
country prior to a verdict being given.
I urged this in a letter to the Lord Mayor, and that
letter having been read to the aldermen assembled at the
Mansion House on Saturday, should, in common fair-
ness, have been communicated to the public yesterday.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
THOMAS SIDNEY.

Dec. G.