The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-07 00:00:00

imagination, I look forward with confident hope to the
daywhen the English language, which is the language
of Christian, civil, and political freedom, will be the lan-
guage of the larger portion of the habitable globe. No
people speaking this language can ever become th e wil-
ling instruments of despotic power. These great results,
in the destiny of the future, are to be peacefully ac-
complished by the energy, enterprise, and indomi table
perseverance of the British and American races. Ido
not confine myself to the Anglo-Saxon race alone, be-
cause a large, respectable, and useful portion of the
population of my country have sprung from the Irish,
the German, and other European stocks. lam myself
whatever may be my merits or my faults, the son of a
native-born Irishman, and I am proud of my des cent.
With your indulgent patience, I shall advert to one
other topic before I take my seat. I cannot suffer
this occasion to pass, without expressing my gratifica-
tion with her Majesty's wise and liberal declaration in
favour of neutral commercial rights, during the existing
war. It was worthy of the civilisation of the nineteenth
century, and worthy of the best constitutional sovereign
who has ever sat upon the proud and powerful throne
of Great Britain. The time will arrive when war against
private property upon :the ocean will be entirely pro-
scribed by all civilised nations, as it has already been
upon the land, and when the gallant commanders of the
navies of the world will esteem it as great a disgrace to
rob a peaceful merchant vessel upon the seas, as the ge-
neral of an army would now do to plunder the private
house of an unoffending citizen. (Loud cheers.)
The Earl of HARROWBY had been requested to pro-
pose what, on some occasions, might have given rise
to a splendid address ; but, under present circumstances,
the whole spirit was to be allowed to evaporate, inasmuch
as he was asked to propose the health of her Majesty's
Ministers, and not to touch upon politics. (Laughter.)
Had he been allowed to touch upon politics, he could
have said something for them, and between the two he
might have said a great deal. (Laughter.) lie, how-
ever, could propose his toast without touching upon po-
litics, because lie felt that they were met to do honour
to a man who had been trying a great experiment by
giving liberty and independence to the colonies without
loosening the ties between Canada and the mother
country. The noble lord accepted the principle of self-
government without trying to connect it with any domi-
nant party. He believed the problem of good govern-
ment would be equally well solved throughout the whole
world if Sovereigns would adopt the same noble and
single-minded principle upon which the noble earl had
always acted. (Cheers.) He had been asked to connect
with this toast the name of the Duke of Newcastle,
and he had great pleasure in doing so, feeling sure
that a greater and more sincere friend to the cause of in-
dependence in the colonies had never existed. The noble
duke most worthily filled the office with which he had
been entrusted by her Majesty, and wishing the noble
duke the utmost health and happiness, he begged to pro-
pose to them "her Majesty's Ministers and the Duke
of Newcastle." (Cheers.)
The Duke of NEWCASTLE said if his noble friend in
proposing the toast had felt some difficulty on account of
the neutrality in which it had to be brought forward, he
felt the difficulty much snore in replying to the toast, in-
asmuch as it was the only one on which neutrality
could exist, as everything connected with doing honour
to the noble earl, whom they had met that evening as
their guest, must be of a positive character. Her Ma-
jesty's Ministers fully felt the difficult position in which
they were placed by recent events, and were not un-
mindful of the great obligations devolving upon them
in the present emergency. He could not help in acknow-
ledging the compliment of his health in connection with
the Ministry, recollecting that be was the representa-
tive of a long line of colonial secretaries whom he
saw present, including SirJ. Pakington,tEarlGrey, Lord
J. Russell, and the oldest of them all—Lord Monteagle,
and he felt assured they all felt the greatest interest in
the prosperity of the colonies and the success of the Go-
vernment of his noble friend Lord Elgin. There he stood
to return thanks for the representatives of colonial go-
vernment, and to de honour to the merits of the Earl of
Elgin. He and his noble friend stood in the position of a
colonial coalition Government—(laughter)—the whole of
the members of which felt the deepest interest in the
prosperity of the colonists, and all of whom were happy
in uniting to do honour to the Earl of Elgin. They were
assembled, however, not only to do honour to the noble
earl, but to express a sincere regard for the colony over
which he presided. He had the honour of knowing his
noble friend for very many years, he was almost afraid to
say how many. (Laughter.) His noble friend in the chair
had spoken of Lord Elgin in the highest terms of esti-
mation, and the hon. gentleman who represented the
distinguished republic of the United States bad also
spoken of him in terms of friendship and interest, in
which he cordially sympathised. Some of those present
had known the noble earl on the banks of the St. Law-
rence, but he had known him before that time on the
banks of the Thames in a public school, and had always
highly appreciated and admired his talents and his vir-
tues. The honourable gentleman who represented the
United States had spoken of the inhabitants of that coun-
try being descendants of the British—he would not say
Anglo-Saxon—and he was sure they would do all honour
to the country from which they were descended. His
noble friend had spoken of the war in which England was
now engaged. How had the despot against whom they
were opposed commenced that war ? Why, by declar-
ing his distant provinces under martial law, whilst in
England they had appealed to the country for sup-
port—an appeal which had been responded to through-
out the land—and sure he was, if required, not only
would the colonists call upon them to draw the troops
from the colonies, but would offer contingents in sup-
port of this noble—this righteous war. He had great
pleasure in greeting his noble friend (Lord Elgin) on
the present occasion, and he trusted that this country
would long go on in the utmost prosperity, aided and
supported by that noble colony with which Lord Elgin's
name would, ho rejoiced to say, for ever be connected.
Earl GREY proposed "the health of the Hon. Mr.
Hincks, the Prime Minister of Canada." They were met
to do honour to his Excellency the Governor-General of'
Canada, and it was impossible for him to see so large a
company gathered for such a purpose without feeling gra-
tified that the difficulties which he (Earl Grey) had to en-
counter along with Mr. Hincks and the Governor-General
in 1849 had been successfully removed. The success of
the Earl of Elgin's administration was greatly owing to
the judgment and ability of Mr. Hincks. Canada now
enjoyed internal peace and prosperity, with party spirit
mitigated, and all classes uniting for the common good.
All that remained to hope for was, that as she had shown
patience in adversity, she would now exhibit moderation
suitable to her present good fortune.
Mr. HINCKS (who was received with loud applause)
said—My Lord John Russell, my lords and gentlemen,
believe me I feel deeply sensible of the high honour
which you have conferred upon me. It is a source of
much personal gratification that this toast should have
been proposed in such complimentary terms by a noble
earl with whom Ihave had the honour of holding official
intercourse, and who from his first entrance into public life
has devoted so much of his attention to colonial sub-
jects. I feel at the same time that the compliment is
not so much paid to the individual, or to any mewsure
of colonial policy of which I am the advocate, as to the
position which I have the honour to hold as an adviser
or the Crown in Canada. But, my lords and gentlemen,
much as I feel the honour which has been paid me per-
sonally, I feel in common with every Canadian in this
room, sentiments of the highest gratification at the
success of a demonstration, the importance of which
it is scarcely possible to over estimate. It is net in
Canada that I look for great results, though if time
permitted I might dwell on the satisfaction which will
be experienced there at the compliment paid to your
noble guest ; but it is in this country, it is in this great
metropolis, in every part of the United Kingdom, that
the success of the great demonstration will be felt.
When I look around this table, and see thedistinguished
statesmen who surround it, and including those who
during the last quarter of a century have directed the
colonial policy of the empire—when I see the eminent
capitalists, and the representatives of the great commer-
cial interests connected with Canada—l feel how impor-
tant is the sanction which you have given to those prin-
ciples
of Government under which, without the
slightest abatement of devoted loyalty to our Queen, or
of attachmeat to our mother country, we are enabled to
enjoy all the privileges of an independent state. As -
your distinguished guest has already stated, the people
of this country have little time to think about colonial
affairs, and the fact is that great changes which have been
made during the last ten or twelve years have hardly
been noticed by those not actively engaged in public
life. (Hear, hear.) Nothing has grieved me more
during my occasional visits to this country than to find
how lightly the severance of the connection between the
parent state and the colonies has been spoken of. There
is not, my lords and gentlemen, I venture to say, an in-
dividual in this room who does not share in the feelings
of indignation which pervaded the country when the
news was disseminated that a great northern potentate
had, under the plea that his neighbour and ally was
sick, and in imminent danger, been compassing in his
mind how the territory of that neighbourhood could be
parcelled out for his own advantage. And yet we have
had too many among ourselves who joined in the cry
that the colonies were sick even unto death, and who
were ready to abandon these immense territories to
whatever fate might happen to befall them. Most fortu-
nately, such sentiments prevailed but to a limited extent
in Parliament, and I entertain a strong hope that the
demonstration of this evening will entirely dissipate
them. The principle of governing your great dependen-
cies on those same constitutional principles on which
this country has been governed since the revolution of
1688, is no longer an experiment, for our meeting this
evening is a recognition of its entire success, and th.
happy consequence must be, that instead of being looked_
on as in a state of transition, we must be considered by
the world at large as having political institutions as
stable and as permanent as any independent power
either in Europe or America. The doubts which
have prevailed regarding the stability of our institu-
tions have done us incalculable injury. Like our neigh-
bours in the United States we have had extensive public
works to construct, and we have been, and must
continue to he, borrowers of money. I believe that no-
thing has tended so much to damage our credit as the
prevalence of the opin:ou that thereis evening waesnninogstwabilillibtye in
our institutions. The meeting this
great importance in removing such distrust. There is,
however, another circumstance to which, in the opinion
of some of those round this table even more importance
may attach. Last Saturday was the day on which the
first loan ever contracted for Canada fell due. I recol-
lect well the predictions made a few years ago that our
bonds could not be paid without our obtaining a fresh
loan. On that day, however, I am happy to say, these
bonds were paid out of a surplus revenue, and in an-
other year a similar amount will be paid from the same
source. This money was expended in the construction
of ship canals, which are the admiration of all who visit
them. They are now paying a considerable revenue -
but they have long since, by reduction of freights, and.
the 4AgrefllC4 valu: a property, paid for illopzoolTou