The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-02 00:00:00

THE DINNER

of the members and friends of the association took place
' at three o'clock • Viscount Palmerston in the chair.
About eighty sat down to the entertainment, includinirg.
the mayor and other influential inhabitants.
After the usual loyal toasts had been given,
The Noble CHAIRMAN rose and said : I beg to give a
toast which at all times must be dear to the hearts of
Englishmen, but peculiarly so at the present moment—
I mean "The Army and Navy." (Great cheering.)
Many people thought that a long peace had unnerved
the arm of the country, and that we had forgotten the
arts of war by our long acquaintance with the arts of
peace. People, too, imagined that our soldiers, not
having had that exercise and hardy discipline which
are the necessary accompaniments of a long war, were
not equal to the more practised armies of other nations.
But we have recently lad experience to show that Eng-
lishmen are the same at all times and under all cir-
cumstances— (cheers)—whether by sea or land the sight
of an enemy is sufficient to inspire with courage the
British soldier, and that no resistance can withstand the
vigour of his onslaught, and whenever the enemy is
pointed out to him, that enemy is sure, in the shortest
possible space of time, to yield to his attack.
The toast was drunk with all the honours. After
some other healths had been drunk,
The MAYOR (Mr., Joseph George) proposed nor
Majesty's Ministers, and congratulated the meeting
upon having as president of that society, and having
among them that evening, one of the most Leportant
as well as the most talented of her Majesty'e cowl-
s ellors.
The toast was most enthusiastically received.
Lord PALMERSTON rose amid great cheering, and said
—ln the name and on behalf of my colleagues and my.
self, I be to return thanks to you, Mr. Mayor, for the
kind and iattering manner in which you have proposed
the toast, and to you, gentlemen, for the cordial manner
in which you have received it. I can assure you that
your worthy mayor has not in any degree whatever over-
rated the desire which animates her Majesty's Govern-
ment to promote to the utmost of their faculties
that system of progressive improvement in every
branch of our social system which it must be the object
of every enlightened
statesman to follow out, and
which it is so greatly for the interests of the country
should be fully developed.
however, I can i
(Cheers.) In that respect,
present Government for
take credit to her Majesty's
any zeal or success greater than
have attended the
for now more than efforts of successive Governments
a oltuarter of a century. For it is
a remarkable and most
circumstance in the
condition of the country, if},'a„.attifiihnegrean
previous times
the labours, and the time, nehietahe attention of states-
men and Parliament were y occupied in convul-
sive struggles for the reetennitiitoiaanel
power,
on the one hand, or the
obtaining on the ether, f p ow
eth for the last quar-
teres.tention of the
of a century, and somewhat more,
Government of the lay has been directed t
o Parliament social
and legislative improvement ; and, p
seconded their efforts, the greatest possible mprnoeTtfrellsasvilt
hasg
been made in everything that concerns the we
happiness of the nation. The result has been taiaret ,and
though we have, within no distant time, had to contend
with great privations from famine in one place, fro
m-
scarcity in another, and are now involved in a rwaTt.
which requires every effort the nation can make, the
greatest loyalty and contentment reign throughout the
length and breadth of the land—that we hear no more
•f conspiracies and insurrections, but that the nation
seems animated by one common feeling that Govern-
ment is carried on for the benefit of the whole, and not for
the partial interests of individuals and classes, and that
those who are charged with its administration devote
the best faculties of their nature and the most zealous
attention to do all that is possible to increase the
swank of Ca. pulls, And inure tha propority of

the nation. (Loud applause.) The present Go- '
vernment, however, has certainly upon its hands a
work of greater responsibility, a work of deeper im-
portance, a work of larger—l trust not insurmountable
—difficulty than has devolved upon any administration
since the closing of the last war. (Hear, hear.) On
this occasion there has been no difference between the
Executive Government and the country, except this—
that the government clung to the hopes of peace long
after the country had made up its mind that war was
inevitable--(cheers)—but in that respect I think the
country will not find fault with the Government, because
it was clearly the duty of those who were charged with
the fortunes and destinies of a great nation to postpone
to the latest period the dreadful alternative of war. The
country and the Government have both come to the
conviction that it was necessary to draw the sword for
the purpose of maintaining principles of the utmost im-
portance to the welfare of mankind—for the purpose of
not only supporting the weak against the strong, and
protecting the commercial and political interests of an
ally, but for supporting the sacred principles of inter-
national right, which, if violated in one case by a power-
ful Government against a weaker neighbour, would be
drawn into a precedent, and lead to a flood of injustice
which, sooner or later, would have come to our own
doors. (Cheers.) There never was in the history of the
world a more honourable spectacle than that which has
been exhibited by the British nation. We have em-
barked in a war, and are fighting side by side, in honour-
able ambition, with a Power that in former periods we
were only wont to meet hostilely in the field. (Cheers.)
We trust that the new companionship, cemented by the
blood shed in action, and confirmed by those laurels
which will be intertwined in victory, will long endure,
and that the two great nations which are at the summit
of civilisation, not only in Europe, but of the whole
world—two nations most worthy of the esteem of each
other—will, as the result of the resolution of the Govern-
ment and the country to engage in this contest, be for
ever bound together in ties of friendship and affection.
(Tremendous cheering.) Anticipating that whatever may
be the difficulties and dangers of the conflict—whether
it may be long or whether it may be short—the result
can be one—that is, that the arms of England and
France, reared in combat for the cause of justice and
truth, for the cause of liberty and national independence,
not seeking conquests for selfish objects, but for those
of the most noble and generous character—l cannot but
feel confident that the result, come when it may, will
be such as will gloriously crown the efforts which the
nation has made, and will place the honour of this coun-
try, will place the character, dignity, and well-being of
this country upon a surer and firmer basis even than
that on which they have hitherto stood—(great applause)
—and when the people shall look back upon the sacri-
fices they have made, they will feel that the result has
fully justified the means that were used, and they will
feel that they have been rewarded by ample success for
all the exertions which the Government has called upon
them to make. I beg leave to return you my best thanks
for the honour you have done the Government, of which
lam a humble member. The noble chairman resumed
his seat amidst great cheering.
Lord PasssEnszoN again rose and said, you have been
kind enough to drink the toast of the Government of
the country, but we must not forget the government of the
town in which they had now assembled. I believe that
that government is as good a specimen of those munici-
pal institutions which fortunately have been developed
of late years in the different towns and cities as any that
can be named. lam quite sure, at all events, there is
❑o corporation in the kingdom that can boast of a better
mayor than the one we have the happiness to have as
the Mayor of Romsey. (Cheers.) You know him as
well as I do. I have the good fortune of having a good
number of years enjoyed his acquaintance. lam proud
to say his friendship. We are not far from each other
in point of standing—(laughter) and I hype we may
for many years enjoy your confidence. (Continued
laughter.) O❑ this festive and social occasion I need say
no more than that you know Mr. George--you love and es-
teem him as I do—and you will feel as much pleasure in
drinking his health, as I do in proposing it. The toast
was received with several rounds of cheering, and ac-
knowledged by
The Mayor of ROMSET, who said that it must be
granted that the local governments demanded, certainly
not to the same extent, but an essence of the same judg-
ment, the same activity, and the same probity which
was expected to mark Governments far more exten-
sive.

Mr. T. CHAMBERLAYNE, after alluding to Lord Pal-
merston as a neighbour, proposed " Long life, health,
and happiness to the noble President of the Labourers'
Encouragement Association."
The toast was duly honoured, and in responding,
Lord PALMERSTON said—l beg to return you my cor-
dial thanks for, I may say, the unexpected honour you
have done me, for I scarcely expected that having been
included in a larger toast, 1 should have had the honour
of being singled out for the personal compliment now
paid to me. I can assure you that it has afforded me
the greatest possible gratification to have been asked to
become president of this most useful institution, and it
is also a very sincere pleasure to me, consequent upon
the position in which I have been placed, to find myself
here associated with so many of my neighbours in this
part of the country. I feel particularly gratified in being
the president of this institution, for I think it is not only
one of the greatest usefulness and importance in itself,
but it is also remarkable as being in its nature a symp-
tom of the great progress of civilisation. In former, and
in less civilised times of the world, mankind were to be
governed entirely by punishment. The only idea that
man had, from the highest to the lowest, on general go-
vernment, or local or social order—the only idea men
had was to punish fcr offences. Good conduct was con-
sidered to be, like virtue, its own reward ; and the only
thing men had to study was to avoid coining under the
lash. Now, it is the greatest possible imprevement iu
political and moral science to find that, most especially
in this kingdom—more so than in any others —men
have turned their thoughts to a different method of
swaying human actions. It is a discovery, I may say,
of later times, that it is more easy to govern men by en-
couragement and reward than by fear and punishment ;
and that great principle of modern philosophy is the
foundation of the institution of which I have the honour
to be the president. I hail it not only from the advan-
tages locally sure to follow from it, but as one of the nu-
merous indications of the great march of human under-
standing, the great spread of practical philosophy, and
in one instance among many others that we are now,
from the diffusion of enlightenment through every class
of the country, hitting upon the true means of obtaining
an influence over the conduct of men, of touching the
heart, and of holding out inducements which kindness
and rewards offer, and instead of occupying ourselves as
our ancestors used to do, in driving, we are at last en•
deavouring to govern the people by leading. As I am
on my legs, and adverting to this institution, perhaps
you will allow nee to remark that no institution of any
sort or kind, no association, can do without a secretary.
The Government cannot do without a secretary—we
have now four Secretaries of State. (Laughter.) This
institution could not go on without a secretary, and we
have the good fortune of having a most excellent,
worthy, intelligent, and zealous secretary, in whose
hands 1 am sure all that detail of business which a secre-
tary has to transact will be most ably and zealously
conducted. I beg to propose "The health of Mr.
Lordan." (Cheers.)
r, C. L. LORDAN, in a neat speech, acknowledged
the compliment, and remarked that he had abundant
encouragement in the spectacle which they had that day
witnessed, and that he had a sanguine hope that much
good would be accomplished. He expressed his regret
that Sir John Barker Mill was prevented by illness from
being present amongst them, and after making some
appropriate observations relative to the state of aericul-
tore generally, thanked the merchants and traders of
Romsey, and the farmers in the district, who, with but
only one exception, had contributed towards the funds
of the association, which, if persevered in, would, he
felt satisfied, produce its own reward in the improved
minds and morals, the sharpened faculties, and the
strengthened attachment of the labourers who lived
about them. (Cheers.)
Lord PALMERSTON said—l wish to propose a toast
which was suggested naturally by those excellent ob-
servations which have fallen from the secretary, and
that is " Prosperity to Agriculture." (Cheers.) In
proposing that toast I need not remind you that agri-
culture has altogether altered of late years its essential
character. It used in former times to be a mere practice,
a sort of rule of thumb, and a man did what his father,
and grandfather, and great grandfather did before him.
Ask him why he did it, and he said his father did it. But
tell him it ruined his father, and he was a poor man all the
days of his life, and the answer was, "But he did it,
and Ido it," Question them about science, and they
knew no more of it than whether the moon was made of
green cheese. (Laughter.) Of late years agriculture
has, by the general diffusion of knowledge, been ele-
vated into a respectable science, and no man can be a
good farmer who is not to a considerable extent also a
good chemist—who does not know something of mecha-
owodhicfah
coemrse
farmers
nics, has not a great deal of general knowledge, and does
anrott. readsthhoous
led practical
presume
allworks
good
out
on
tt hh ee
Journal of the Royal Agricultural A •
Association, which
' contains the most valuable information as to x
made, results arrived at, methods to be
purseuepderimenits
ments to be used—all those matters which bring
°-
g about
the welfare and success of industry. Farmers have
t
learned that sand is not the better for being full of weeds ;
though it may please the eye, and although it may be
delightful and picturesque to view in the turnip•field a
mixture of yellow and green, it by no means tends to
011 the pockets of the farmer. (Cheers.) Though the
sportsmen revel in thick and green stubble, though it
affords a shelter for the partridge, it is not so productive
to the granary as if it had been kept clean. All these
things are now almost universally the study of intel-
ligent and enlightened farmers, and I trust that the
few exceptions one sees throughout the country to
this progressive advance
will every year diminish. Far-
mers will now from day to day more and more study
the science of their profession, will understand how dif-
ferent processes con
tribute to the successful pursuit
and will find that the soil,
in which they are engaged,
though it cannot be increased in quantity, because the
waves forbid an expansion of its territory, will increase
annually in the amount of its productions by the im•
proved methods of cultivation. (Cheers.) Nothing is
more demonstrable than that by attentive cultivation
and scientific processes—by draining and better manur-
ing—You may very much increase, and farmers have
very much increased, the amount of produce to be de-
rived from any given surface of soil. Therefore, anti-
mpatiug that agriculture is in a state of progression,
that the improvements
made will be surpassed from
year to year by improvements which are to come, I beg
to propose, as a matter of
" Succesw to A.gri I ' ,
ture• (Cheers.)
Dr. TATLOR proposed "The Health of Miss Nightin-
gale,"
a native of the neighbourhood
of Ponrey, who
hai gone out 3.4 at 11114 a,
4to tt4
_l_l4 the Ask and wounded