The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-27 00:00:00

Esq., Under Sheriff, the present Gol ernor of the Licensed
Victuallers' Corporation, and several members of that Corpo-
ration.

The vessel was, before we left, hauled to off the Dockyard.
where she is to remain till Tuesday, when she will be towed
up the river to the East India Docks to be finished, and have
her engines fitted up. The engines are furnished by Messrs.
Miller and Ravenhill.

The whole proceeding reflected the greatest credit upon all
on whom the direction depended, and more especially upon
Mr. Griffith Taylor, on whose skill and coolness so much de-
pended.

COMMERCIAL STEAM-PACKET

COMPANY.

Last night s very numerous company of Shareholders in,
and friends of, the Commercial Steam-packet Company
dined at the London Tavern. The large room was crowded.
The LORD MAYOR was in the Chair.
At the upper table there were, on the right of the Lord
Mayor, the Mayor of Boulogne, and several distinguished
merchants and individuals, also residents of that place. The
dinner was a most excellent one. During its progress, the
Lord Mayor challenged the room to take Champagne with
him ; and after the next course, the Mayor of Boulogne chal-
lenged to have the happiness of having Champagne with them.
s" The cloth having been removed, the first toast given was.—
" Her Majesty the Queen." It was honoured with three
times three, followed by tremendously loud applause, suc-
ceeded by rounds of huzzas.
The MAYOR of BOULOGNE, in good choice English, after-
wards said he should be happy to hear sung " God save the
Queen" an intimation that was greeted with loud enthusiasm.
The anthem was admirably performed by the vocal corps—
Messrs. Jolley, Robinson, Atkins, King, and Hudson, in the
chorus to which the company most cordially, efficiently, and
enthusiastically joined.
" The Queen Dowager, with the rest of the Roy al Fa,
mily," followed.—( It was greeted with three times three, fed
lowed by loud applause.)
Glee, by Messrs. Jolly, &c., " Good night, good night)
Its very tasteful execution was justly greeted with very warm
applause.
The CnAIRMAN said that he had next to propose a toast
which he thought appropriately followed the toast already
gives, especially in a company so deeply interested in pro-
moting the intercourse between the two countries--it was,
" His Majesty the King of the French. "_.(lt, was received
with loud, long-continued, and most markedly enthusiastic
cheers.)
Glee—." Vive le Roi," which was most spiritedly performed.
The Mayor of BOULOGNE begged to return acknowledg-
ments. He hoped there would be lasting peace between the
two countries; and he begged to add that one of the best
ways to secure it would be to diminish the duties and to in-
crease the means of intercourse between the two countries.—
(Loud applause.) In return, for the honour done him, he
begged to propose " The Health of the Lord Mayor of Lon-
don."---( Loud applause.)
The LORD MAYOR returned his acknowledgments. He
felt particularly grateful for the honour done him, which had
increased value on account of the quarter from which it came.
The compliment was highly increased in value from the cir-
cumstance that it came from those who he must consider on
the present occasion, represented the French nation. The
few months during which he had occupied the civic chair had
been full of interest to the commercial world ; arid among
other pleasing duties that had devolved on him he had re-
ceived various deputations, particularly one from Cologne,
accompanied with circumstances highly complimentary to him-
self. That delegation sought arrangements that would be
beneficial, not only to this country, but to the Commercial
Company. He viewed this Company as of peculiarly ad-
vantageous tendency, inasmuch as it was calculated to
promote that intercourse between the two countries which it
was truly held was calculated to cement and perpetuate the
peaceful intercourse between the two countries.—(Hear.)
He trusted that the events of that day would be hereafter the
objects of increased commemoration, and ho doubted not
that such would be the fact when he observed near him, not
only the Mayor of Boulogne, but nine or ten distinguished
inhabitants of that place—gentlernen who had attended there
purposely to acknowledge the honour and compliment con-
ferred in naming the Company's new vessel in honour of
" Boulogne." The high compliment that had been paid to
him by the toast, he begged most gratefully to acknow-
ledge; the more particularly in consequence of the parties
who had proposed it.—( Cheers.) He proposed the health
of the Mayor of Boulogne, and the friends by whom he was
accompanied.
The MAYOR of Bouramest returned thanks.
Song, by Mr. Jolley—" The Four-leafed Shamrock."
" The Army and Navy" followed.
Sir A. GREEN returned acknowledgments, and begged to
repeat the wish of the Mayor of Boulogne, that there might
be everlasting peace between England and France.—(Loud
cheers.)
Mr. BLEADEN said that he now had the distinguished honour
to propose the health of the Lady Mayoress, who had left her
home and fire-side comforts to do them the honour of naming
their new vessel. He was quite assured that they were all
fully aware of the high compliment that had been paid to
them by the proceeding. He was sure that they all felt most
grateful for the kindness thereby evinced by the Lady
Mayoress. He therefore, with great pleasure, gave " The
health of the Lady Mayoress."—(Loud applause.)
The LORD MAYOR returned acknowledgments. He ob-
served that he was quite sure the Lady Mayoress felt highly
complimented in having the opportunity in being thus far
useful to promote the interests of the Company.—( Applause.)
She had felt honoured in having the opportunity to perform
such an agreeable duty, instead of considering that she was
bestowing any favour in that agreeable act.—( Loud Applause. )
Song—" fys friend and Pitcher," which was sweetly and
tastefully sung by Mr. Robinson, and loudly applauded.
Mr. WAYLEY proposed " Success and prosperity to the
Commercial Steam-packet Company."—(Loud applause.)
It was but a young establishment—it had existed but about
three years ; and though it began with two or three steamers
on the Thames, it bad now extended its powers until it pos-
sessed a fleet of packets.—( Applause.)
Mr. BLEADEN returned thanks. He should have been ex-
ceedingly ungrateful if he did not return them his acknow-
ledgments, bing placed in the high and distinguished situa-
tion of the head of the Company, for the manner in which
the toast had been proposed. He returned Mr. Wayley also
his thanks for the kind and cordial manner in which he bad
alluded to himself personally. It might not be out of the way
to say to those who did not yet belong to the Company, that
they should all be exceedingly happy to bid a cordial welcome
to those gentlemen who were disposed to join them. He
hoped there was not a gentleman present who would not, be.
fore he left the room, become a shareholder, and thus lend a
helping hand to the proud undertaking that was to waft the
commerce of the land to every port that would be open to re-
ceive their vessels, and to bring wealth, and the comforts of
life from them in return to their native home.—( Cheering.)
It was from small beginnings, if conducted with honesty
and zeal and determinntion, that they had seen the blessings
of prosperity descend from above. Mr. Wayley had justly
observed that much had been effected by them in the short
period of three years; but if he (Mr. Bleaden) were to tell
them the demand that existed for steam navigation now-a- days,
they would feel quite satisfied that there would be ample em-
ployment for capital to an almost unlimited extent.—(Hear,
hear.) They, however, were not permitted to go beyond the
limits chalked out for them by the Company--they sought no
monopoly, for their motto had always been, " Live, and let
live."—( Applause.) They desired nothing but an honourable
rivalry, and so far as he and his brother Directors were autho-
rized by them to go, they would endeavour to administer the
funds of the Company with honesty and integrity, and to
procure for the proprietors the fair return they were entitled
to for the capital they had embarked in an honest, and, he
would add, a successful enterprise. The chain had gone on
link after link, till, he confessed, it had extended much further
than he had ever expected to see it ; but if they pleased it
might be still further lengthened, until at last they *lade it
like eternity, and all those who were anxious to be united with
them in the bonds of social intercourse might come and enjoy
themselves within its circle..—(Great cheering.) The Di-
rectors had always, at the bidding of the proprietor., gone for-
ward and taken a letter of credit, confidently relying upon the
support they intended to give, and their expectations had never
been disappointed. The vessel that had that day been
launched was an es idence of what bad been done in that way,
as soon as it had been announced to them that the city which
was represented by the distinguished foreigners on his right
and his left required an additional vessel.—( Hear.) At their
call the Company had built a vessel peculiarly suited to their
port, and she was so constructed and would carry such a cargo
as would give the proprietors an ample return for the capital
they had embarked. —( Vehement cheering.) He trusted that every Hon. Gentleman in that room, after the example that
had been set them by the Lady Mayoress, would make his
wife and daughter shareholders.—( Great laughter.) If they
did not seize. the present opportunity, in a few days there
would be no shares to: dispose of —( Much laughter, and
cheering.) Their money could not be laid out to better ad-
vantage, and the fairer portion of the community would bless
the day when they had spared their fathers and husbands from
their homes to be present at that convivial meeting, inasmuch
as they had then become shareholders, by which every year
an ample supply of gold would be poured into their laps.—
(Great cheering and laughter.) In this free country it was
extraordinary what great things had been achieved, and what
success had been attained, from small beginnings, where
there was an honest intention, guided by integrity and
determination of purpose.--( Hear, hoar.) The Direc-
tors had always conducted the affairs of that Company
as if it had been the private property of each irdividual.—
(Great cheering.) He again hoped that no gentleman would
leave the room before he became part and parcel of the Com-
pany, and the Stewards, he was sure, would be extremely
happy to appropriate the few shares yet remaining. On be-
half of the Proprietors he returned them his cordial thanks for
the manner in which their healths had been drank—for the
good'humour they had evinced—and by the alacrity with which
so many had announced their determination to join them, and
by which they would be enabled to carry out the undertaking
to a still greater extent than they had originally coetemplated.
Me. Bleaden then resumed his seat amidst long-continued
cheering and acclamations.
The Mama of 13oreooNe said that, obeying the hint just
given, he begged to put down the name of his lady for a num-
ber of shares.
Mr. Beeeete then gave the Lord Mayor, as the first ma-
gistrate of London, and other Magistrates, now present.
Mr. CARPENTER, a county magistrate, returned thanks, at d
ecnclissled with giving the health of the Chairman of the COW.
mercial Steam-packet Company.
Mr. BLEADEN retuned thanks.
The Lord Mayor afterwards left the Char; Mr. Bl:a 'en
theteupigt took it,

Mr. FONTAINE, a Councillor of Boulogne. proposed the
" Liberty of Commerce," which was very warmly greeted.
Mr. BLEADEN said it was true the steam-engine was a
powerful engine, but there was another engine still more power-
ful—he alluded to the Press, which was conducted by gen.
tlemen of the greatest talent and ability, and of the most ex-
alted acquirement and learning, who, while individuals were
sleeping on their pillows, laboured to convey useful informa-
tion from nation to nation, from country to country. The)
ought, indeed, to bless that Providence which had permitted
them to live in such an age as the present when intellectual
enjoyment had arrived at such a pitch as our forefathers never
dreamt of. Many gentlemen were present Oh that occasion who
were ornaments to the learning of their country—ornaments to
the liberty of the press. They were exceedingly proud to sec
them. Men of title, men of wealth, men of great acquire-
ments, were present, but those who gave the right bias, the
right turn to all things were those who properly directed their
minds, tempered their violence, or at times awakened their
lethargy.—( Cheers.) He did not know whether Mr. Taylor
was there in conjunction with their distinguished friend Me.
Young, and though last not by any means least, Mr. Anderson ;
but he begged to give as a toast, " The British Press," and
their gratitude for its support and assistance.—( Cheers.)
The toast was drank with great enthusiasm.
Mr. ANDERSON, in returning thanks, said he felt highly
honoured by his name having been associated with the British
Press, which was one of the greatest, if not the greatest organ
of national and commercial prosperity that existed. —( Cheers.)
He felt most sincerely the compliment that had been paid
him by the worthy Chairman, and which had been responded
to whir such cheerfulness by all present. He owned, never-
theless, that he felt considerably embarrassed for two reasons__
first, that their worthy Chairman had bestowed so many eulo-
giums on the British Press that it was impossible for him to
find language so as to make a suitable return ; and next be-
cause a Gentleman—a brother in profession—was present, who
could have done more ample justice in returning thanks
if his modesty had permitted him. The worthy Chairman had
nicely excluded from his speech everything bordering on po-
litics.—( Hear, hear.) This was one of those meetings from
which politics ought to be excluded, because no doubt many
persons were present who entertained different opinions, and
however they might war in politics, they warred honestly. With
regard to the press as an organ of commercial communication,
he was pleased to find from daily experience, that instead of their
columns being loaded with political party squibs and attacks,
that the object of the 'press during many years past had been
to convey useful knowledge to the public—( Hear, hear)—and
to promote undertakings which were calculated to benefit all
parties, without injuring any.—( Cheers. ) Among those un-
dertakings were railroas and steam navigation. The first,
he believed, was advocated with as much zeal, talent, and ca-
pacity by his excellent Friend the proprietor and editor of The
Sun as any gentleman in existence at the present moment
who was connected either with the Press of this or any other
country.—( Cheers.) The second of these undertakings
had become an object of equal attraction to him, and
to both he was bound to say the Press had endea-
voured to do the most ample justice.—. Hear, hear.)
It would be unfair in him (Mr. Anderson) not to acknow-
ledge that if he had been in any respect useful to that Com-
pany (the Commercial Steam) it had been owing to the exer-
tions which from day, from week to week, and from year to
year, he had seen manifested by the newspaper The Sun,
that belonged to his excellent friend Mr. Young, for the pro-
motion of all these objects.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. Young was
the first gentleman who had induced him to take an interest
in this undertaking.—( Cheers.) If he bad been the means
of doing anything to benefit the public by the undertaking,
or to remunerate its proprietors, the greater portion of
the merit belonged to his worthy friend, who would unques-
tionably do himself the honour of replying to the compliment
that had been paid to him. With regard to the Commercial
Steam Packet Company, he would say then, as he had said
from the beginning, that witk the talent and ability possessed
by their worthy and excellent Chairman, it was utterly impos-
sible the undertaking could fail in the end.—(Cheers.) It
began with little or no resources, and in three yesrs it had
increased to an extent beyond which any Company could
boast of having attained with such limited advantages.—
( Loud and continued cheers.) The success that had
attended the Company was greater than was originally ex-
pected, and that it was not greater still was not the fault of
the Company, for from its beginning it had not had fair play.
Previously to the establishment of the Commercial Steam-
packet Company, another had been in existence by Act of
Parliament, the rights, privileges, and endowments of which
were so considerable as to have rendered it matter of doubt
whether any other Company could compete with it. The
competition had been entered into, and to a great extent
it had been successful ; and it was solely the fault of the
Government that the vessels of the Commercial Stearn-packet
Company, instead of being confined to the narrow sphere of
running to Gottenburg. Malaga, Lisbon, and Gibraltar, did
not now fairly compete for a proper share of the whole of the
Mediterranean trade, and not only that, but of that to the
East Indies. He did not, however, despair of the Govern-
ment ultimately doing them justice. It was not only its in-
terest as matter of revenue, but the interest of the country in
a commercial point of view, that it should possess the same
privileges and immunities as the General Steam Navigation
Company. This was all that was asked. They were opposed
to monopoly ; the Government also opposed it. They sought
no peculiar privilege—they merely desired to be placed on au
equality with other Companies. If they were not successful
it would be their own fault ; that they would be successful be
could not doubt. With regard to the toast, the British Press,
he felt that on peculiar ground ; but there was one near him,
Mr. Young, of The Sun, who was able to reply far more
effectively than he could hope to do. To The Sun they were
greatly indebted; it was The Sun that had been Vie first to
support rail-roads, steam communication, and every means of
facilitating the intercourse between different places and
countries.—( Cheers.)
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was quite true, as his Hon. Friend had said, that he was the
first person who had spoken or written in favour of rulways
and steam navigation.—( Cheers.) He had dune it from the
conviction which every commercial man would respond to
—that in proportion as distance was shortened time was en-
larged.—( Hear, hear.) Formerly it took twenty-four hours
to go from London to Liverpool—it could now bo done
in nearly half that time ; and every half day thus saved
was of incalculable advantage to the public.—(Loud cheers.)
Railroads had at present the advantage over steam-boats, that
the former could go thirty miles an hour while the latter could
hardly go fifteen. That was a disadvantage which science
and the progress of improvement would speedily overcome.
He felt satisfied that in a few years the great obstacles to long
voyages, the difficulty of stowing a sufficient quantity of fuel,
would be surmounted, and that the communication across th•
Atlantic by means of steam-vessels would be performed with
the greatest regularity and expedition.—( Hear, hear, and
cheers.) They had been indebted to accident for some of
their most important discoveries in science and the arts, and
it was probable that ere long some method would be disco-
vered of compressing the fuel into a much, smaller compass.
The present Company owed its success to the good management
and economy with which its affairs were conducted. The great
end of all communication was to spread the blessings of civili-
zation from pole to pole—to promote the interchange of social
intercourse—and thus the minds of men would be disabused
of the prejudices that at present existed, and rt 'rich had been
circulated and promoted by despicable and designing persons,
for their own private purposes. The result would be, that—
" Man to man the world all round,
Shall brothers be and a' that."
—(Great cheering.) lie should be at all times happy to
promote, by every means in his power, the success of under-
takings like the present, which combined so large an amount
of public benefit, with a fair remuneration to those whose
capital was embarked in it.—( Loud cheering.)
The CHAIRMAN afterwards proposed " The Proprietary."
Mr. Powree returned thanks.
Tho CHAIRMAN next proposed the health of " The Com-
mittee."

Mr. Under- Sheriff WINE returned thanks.
The health of the Secretary, and some other toasts followed ;
after which the company at a late hour separated.
It was stated that upwards of 700 shares were subscribed for
in the room.