The Sun.
London, England, 1838-10-27 00:00:00

PRICE sd.

Bunsen, Professor Lepsius, Dr. Pritchard, Mr. and Mrs.
Berrington, Miss Shirley, Mr. and Miss Porte, Miss Ar-
nold, Mr. Jones, Berkley, Esq., (High Sheriff of
Worcester), Charles Morgan, Esq., M.P., Ruperra, and
Lady ; Rev. Augustus Morgan, Rev. Mr. Ormerod, Miss
Bailey, Rev. Mr. Williams, Usk, and Lady ; Wm. Mor-
gan, Esq., Llanwenarth, and family ; W. Morgan, Esq.,
Pant-y-Goitre, and Miss Morgan ; Gott, Esq., and
Lady.
The CHAIRMAN having taken his seat, as soon as the
cheering had subsided, commenced the business of the day
by addressing them as follows :—Most noble and loyal
Cambrian friends ; I have often met you with pleasure and
joy on other occasions, but never did I feel so great a diffi-
culty in expressing my high sense of gratitude for the hon-
our you have conferred upon me—for the warm and gene-
rous reception you have this day given me ; a circumstance
which I trust will never be effaced from my memory. The
pleasure and gratification which I feel is greatly increased '
by another circumstance connected with this day's proceed-
ing, and that is by being able to inform you that the King
of French has sent over a deputation to us, which con-
sists of men of rank, of talent, and of research, to cement a
union between the two countries, which I trust will never
be broken again.—(Cheers.) I trust that the sons of Cam-
bria will meet the sons of Brittany with heart and hand. At
my time of life I feel that I am very incapable of filling the
honourable situation in which I am placed, but I trust
that my zeal and ardour in the cause of the Society will
fully compensate for any want<of ability.—(Loud cheers.)
When I see your Society flourishing, your funds so pros:-
perous, your energies so active, I cannot avoid being
convinced of my inability to discharge my duties as Chair-
man, but when I see so many heart-cheering friends
around me, I am sure that where my abilities fail your
assistance will not be wanting.—(Hear, hear.) We have
met together for the purpose of perpetuating the lan-
guage of our forefathers and the literature of our country,
by bringing forward manuscripts which will show the
genius and abilities of our ancestors, and which I trust,
will never be allowed to fall into oblivion.---(Great ap-
plause.) Our institution, though small at its commence-
ment, has now enrolled amongst its members, the greater
portion of the talent and abilities of the rank, wealth, and
fashion, of this and the adjoining counties. And last,
though not least, we have met to promote, perpetuate, and
encourage, the music of the harp, that instrument which
soothes the hours of affliction, tranquillizes in prosperity,
exhilarates moments of happiness, and promotes those
happy dispositions and unions of spirit which I now see
before me.—(Great applause.) I will not detain you any
longer, as there arc gentlemen present who are much more
able to elucidate the objects of the Society, and more com-
petent for the task, than myself. (The venerable Presi-
dent sat down amid great cheering.)
Sir BENJAMIN HALL, as soon as this burst of enthu-
siasm had subsided, rose to address the meeting :—lt
has always been usual at meetings similar to the pre-
sent, for those who take an interest in the proceedings of
the day, to come forward at an early hour to address the
meeting upon the objects of the Institution, its bearings
and its importance, as well as to state the interest they
feel in its success, and therefore, I take the earliest op-
portunity of so doing, not because I suppose myself
possessed of greater zeal or greater activity with respect
to these proceedings than any of the talented individuals
around me ; but because that at the last Anniversary I had
the honour of being your President ; and it would ill be-
come me if I delayed one single moment to come forward
and again thank you for the kind and cordial manner mani-
fested during the whole proceedings of that Anniversary
towards me.—(Applause.) It devolved upon me at that
time to select some person whom I thought would be fit
and proper to conduct the proceedings at the next Anni-
versary, and it was my desire to select one who would not
only do honour to the Institution which we are assembled
here to celebrate, but who I knew would take an interest
in the proceedings which might take place, and would also
feel himself honoured by being called forth by his fellow-
countrymen to fill the chair.—(Hear, hear.) I say he
might feel honoured, because standing in the position S:r
Charles Morgan is now standing, who having witnessed the
kindness and enthusiasm which were displayed this morning,
who having witnessed the crowds which met him—doing ho-
nour and homage to him—could feel himself otherwise than
gratified in the highest degree ?—(Loudcheers.) It afforded
me exceeding pleasure to witness the order and good feeling
which prevailed this morning, and the honours which have
been paid this day are justly due to the Hon. Baronet.—

(Hear, hear.) I believe there are some persons who
are sceptical, with regard to the proceedings of this So-
ciety, and ask of what use or benefit this Institution can
be ? I believe that one result of our labours will be to
throw a light upon the now dark pages of literature, and
clear up many doubtful points in the history of our ances-
tors, for it was from these meetings that the first attempt
to form a Welsh Manuscript Society emanated. I would
ask them if there is no utility--if there is no advantage in
bringing forward records, which I trust to see republished
in books—if the energies of the Society aro not well di-
rected in rescuing the language of our forefathers from the
gloom, which for ages has shrouded it in oblivion and placed
the history of our country in obscurity ?—(Loud cheers.)
If there is no other advantage, there is at least this good
arising out of it—the satisfaction of bringing together in
harmony and good fellowship all the talent, wealth, and
beauty of our country, thereby causing them to unite in
ohe bond of friendship—one patriotic cause—which I am
sure would of itself be sufficient to secure continued
support.—(Cheers.) The Hon. Baronet has stated that
our meetings are always graced with the wealth and
beauty of the Principality, but in our prosperity we
must not forget to whom our institution owes its origin.—
(Hear, hear.) It is true we now view it under the most
favourable auspices, but its origin was first brought about
by those who were least able to support such an undertak-
ing ; it emanated, I believe, from those generally termed
the poorer classes and had its origin in only fourteen mem-
bers.—(Hear.) In this country it always was the case,
that by whatever class an institution was originally started,
let that class be rich or poor, if it had merit, if it had talent,
or if its purposes were good, all classes of society united to
support it. Each succeeding meeting brings with it the
co-operation of the wealthier classes of society, and all
men of talent are warmly pressing forward to its support.
However you might have cause to be gratified with the re-
sult of the last Anniversary, I feel quite aura that if we
could have another under the auspices of my honourable
friend beside me, it would go off with much greater eclat,
and it was with that view that I asked Sir Charles Morgan
to take the Chair. I have come forward to address these
few observations to the meeting, in compliance with a pre-
vailing custom, in order that it should not be lost sight of ;
had it not been for this, I should not have trespassed so
long upon your time, knowing as 1 do, that there are men
in the room much more eloquent and able to address you
than I am. I shall now, therefore, sit down by returning
you my sincere thanks for the kindness I received at our last
anniversary, and by most heartily congratulating you on the
increasing prosperity of -our Society.—(lmmense cheering.)
Rev. T. PRICE (Carnhuanawc), of Crickhowell, next
addressed the meeting.
Monsieur Rio subsequently addressed the meeting.
Englynion, composed expressly for the occasion, were
next recited by Mr. T. Williams (Cynydr) of Crickhowell.
The Dadgeiniaid, Messrs. Thomas and Morgan, of Mer-
thyr, assisted by three female performers, and accompanied
by the harp, sung Pennillion, after the manner of Gwent
and Morganwg, and Gwynedd and Powys.
A harp duet was next performed by Mr. Jones, of Clifton,
and Mr. Griffiths, of Tredegar ; after which,
Monsieur JACQUELOT advanced to the front of the plat-
form, and delivered an address in French.
The PRESIDENT next proceeded to award the prizes to
the successful competitors.
Five Essays had been received for competition, four of
them written in English, and one in French. Awarded to
" Rhianon," John Dorney Hardinge, Esq., Doctors' Com-
mons, London, and Glanogvvr, Glamorganshire.
The decision of Mr. Hallam was heard with extraor-
dinary interest, and when it was announced that the suc-
cessful competitor was a native of the principality, the
applause became absolutely deafening.
The several other prizes were then awarded.
SECOND-DAY--, THURSDAY.
Long before the appointed hour of meeting, the Hall of
the Society was crowded by a most respectable assembly,
anxiously awaiting the resumption of the proceedings.
Shortly after eleven o'clock the harps struck up the air of
" Triban Morganwg," which announced the approach of the
President. In a few minutes Sir Charles Morgan entered
the hall, supporting Lady Hall on his arm, accompanied by
the Comte de la Ville Marque, and the French deputation,
and followed by several ladies and gentleman, who took
their places upon the platform, amidst the loud and enthu-
siastic plaudits of the assembly.
Sir CHARLES MORGAN opened the proceedings, by a
short introductory address, after which Sir Benjamin Hall
presented himself to the meeting, and was received with much
cheering. He said, that before the meeting had separated
last evening, he told them that it was intended to present to
the noble stranger who sat on the left of the Chairman, a