The Sun.
London, England, 1836-10-17 00:00:00

mertl iitter4ion or respect, and no one that enjoys a higher
reputation (Of hutt?ur, honesty, and integrity, than your
worthy Represente.!re, Captain Wemyss.—(Cheers.) Gen.
ticmen, I beg leave again :::)st pineerely to thank you for
the kiltedpess experienced at your hari;li. pod to propose as
a toast " trlt gekrmers of Fife."—(Cheers.)
Lord Melbourne and Mg. ii,4ajiestYx Ministers."—(Crteers.)
The CHattitihr.---:-ANe next toast I have to (rive is
And in giving the toast I beg it to be understood that this
is not an expression of my individual opinion as to any
course which the Ministers have taken its time past, or any
which they may take its the next Session of Parliament—
but this I will say, that no Prime Minister that has ever
conducted the Government deserves more of the thought,
regard, and sympathy of his fellow-countrymen than Lord
Melbourne.—(Cheers.) My Lord Melbourne has suffered
reverses from the highest quarter in the State—(Hear)—
and from another quarter, perhaps little inferior to it—
(Laughter)--but if he has not had nine lives, like a cat—
(continued laughter)—he has had two—(Laughter)—and
I trust sincerely, and I believe honestly, that if, to use a
seaman's phrase, Lord Melbourne will shake out a reef or
two, he will receive the support of the people of this
country, let happen what may.—(The toast was received
with enthusiasm.)
The CHAIRMAN said—Gentlemen, the next toast in the
list that falls to the chair is an easy matter. It is the health
of a Noble Lord who fills the situation of Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland with the approbation of the people of that coun-
try.—{Hear, hear.) Since I had the honour of entering
into public life two or three years after the peace of 1814,
he is the only person I know that has done so.—(Cheers.)
Mr. FERGUSON of Raith—Gentlemen, we never can for-
get the enthusiasm that the country felt from one end to
the other on the passing of the Parliamentary Reform Bill.
—(Cheers.) Scotland never can forget that great boon—
that great era when she was emancipeted from her long po-
litical bondage.—(Cheers.) And Scotsmen will never, with-
out a sense of the deepeet obligation, name Earl Grey, who,
through a long patriotic struggle, at last gained this great
object. And, Gentlemen, the Grey Festival of Edinburgh,
never to be forgotten, did then represent strongly, and does
so now, our feelings and our gratitude.—(Cheers.) But,
Gentlemen, I cannot help saying what we must all feel, that
this Parliamentary Reform Bill has not worked up to our
full expectations.—(Hear.) The framers of if, and those
who supported it throughout the country, thought it a suffi-
cient and mighty engine, which should have a powerful in-
fluence in the correction of all blemishes in our institutions ;
and I may venture to say, that all felt that it was a much
stronger measure than we had almost reason to expect. The
framers of the Bill, I am delighted to say, were our own
Attorney-General, Lord Durham, Lord John Russell, and
Earl Grey ; but are these men who afterwards passed the
Bill, with the assistance of the electors, to blame if the
machine was a little clogged ? Now, Gentlemen, let us ask
where the mischief lies ? Where is the cloggings of the
machine ? Why, I have no hesitation in saying that the
Tories have caused the whole of the mischief, by being
enabled by trickery to counteract the good effects of the
measure.—(Hear, hear.) The Tories appear to me like
large rats, who find out holes in every corner for depre-
dation. They have found out a loophole in regard to the
working of the measure in Scotland, by which they have
endeavoured to swamp the effects of the expression of
public opinion in our counties by insufferable fictitious
votes.—(Groans.) But, Gentlemen, thank God, this
country is safe from their attempts—this country holds out
a bar and hindrance which the Tories will never be able to
touch. Our gallant captain has long beat them with con-
fidence and spirit. I may venture to say that I believe
the constituency of the county which I have the honour of
representing, will not allow strangers and fictitious voters
ever to deprive them of the independence for which they
so nobly fought.—(Cheers.) This mischief must be cor-
rected, and it can only be corrected by the force of public
opinion and energy on the part of the people.—(Hear.)
And I have no hesitation in now stating that, though I
have felt some dislike at some of the features of the ballot,
I now see its necessity.—(Great cheering.) It strikes me
we are come to this, that the ballot is the best means of
correcting these evils—(cheers)—and, although I never
gave a pledge, and never will give one, yet I am strongly
disposed to support the ballot.—(Continued cheering.) I
am sure, when I meet with such a general and universal
accordance in the feelings to which I have expression, that
you will drink an overflowing bumper to " Earl Grey, the
Father of the Reform Bill."—(Tremendous cheering.)
Mr. ELLICE, jun.—ln returning thanks for the honour
done my noble relative, Lord Grey, I can only express my
deep conviction that among the numerous marks of appro-
bation and attachment he has received in no slight degree
from the people of Scotland, the tribute of the Reformers
of Fifeshire will not be the least engraven on his heart. To
the Reformers of Scotland Lord Grey owes a deep debt of
gratitude. To them, perhaps, more than to any other,
must he attribute the great success which in the end at-
tended his long Parliamentary labours. To none more did
he look for support in times of difficulty and anxiety, than
to the people of Scotland, and to their exertions, and de-
termination plainly shown, was in a great measure to be
attributed his being able to pass the great charter of the
liberties of Scotland—the Reform Bill. 'Whatever may
have been the difficulties—whatever may have been the
labours of a life which, even in returning thanks, I may
be allowed to name as a life a singular patriotism and po-
litical consistency—whatever may have been tho; labours
and temporary disappointments of that life, his exertions
must now be amply rewarded in his retirement into pri-
vate life by the testimonies of esteem and approbation that
flow from his fellow-subjects.—(Loud cheers.) I have
been entrusted with a toast particularly appropriate to the
present occasion. " The People," Gentlemen, were the
best friends of Earl Grey—(Hear, hear)—for he and the
people went hand in hand during the long period of his
political life—and after he entered the Legislature, the
good fellowship continued to exist between them, and the
result showed that the union was productive of an object
long anxiously desired.—(Cheers.) Let us hope, gentle-
men, that as my Hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian
said there are many clogs on the Reform Bill, that these
may be speedily removed.—(Cheers.) In my owu mind I
have ever considered the Reform Bill as a beginning, and
not as an end—(Cheers) ;—but, gentlemen, if you wish to
forward those measures for which the Reform Bill was a
means—a Liberal Government must have power, and that
power must proceed from the people.—(Loud cheers.) Let
us hope, therefore, gentlemen, that in whatever ultimate
measures the Government may engage in for the benefit of
the country—that they will follow Earl Grey's example, and
if they find themselves opposed in these measures by the
intrigues of the needy and hungry courtiers that infest the
Throne, or if they find themselves thwarted and shackled
by an incurable cabal in a separate branch of the Legis-
lature, they will throw themselves into the hands of the
people, and as they behave honestly and fairly by the peo-
ple, so will the people honestly and amply support them.
Gentlemen, I heg leave to give " The People—the source
of all true legitimate power."--(Great cheering, which
continued for some time.)
The Rev. Mr. JOHNSTON, of Leslie, in a very quaint, hu-
mourous, and satirical speech, proposed " Lord Holland,
and the liberal and independent Peerage, and a speedy
amendment to the other members of that branch of Legis-

ature."

Mr. DEAS, Advocate, gave " Lord John Russell and the
majority of the House of Commons."
Sir R. C. FERGUSON—I beg leave, before saying a word
as to the subject of the toast I am about to propose, to re-
quest that you will fill a genuine bumper, because I pledge
myself that you will drink the toast with satisfaction. I
am happy that it has fallen to my lot to toast a gentleman
whom you all revere and respect ; and it would be folly in
me, after what you know of him, to detain you with a
lengthened speech upon the subject of the toast. I say
he is as honest a man, and as independent a Member
as ever entered the House of Commons—" Captain
Wemyss."—(Cheers.) I am now a very old Member of
Parliament. It is thirty years since I first obtained a
seat there ; but
of all the Members of that House,
during that long period, a more determined, strong.
steady Reformer, does not exist, nor ever has 'existed.
—(Continued cheering.) In our opinions, my Hon.
Friend and I generally coincide. We support Lord
Melbourne's Government, because we believe that its mea-
sures are for the good of the country—having no connexion
whatever with it. I say we support it, because we believe its
measures are for the public (rood, but the moment they
show a disposition to flinch from their duty
to the people
we leave them. Again, I say, excellent as Lord Mel-
bourne's Administration is, and I entertain all possible
respect for it, that Ministers would do well, to use the
phrase of our Gallant Chairman, did they shake a reef out
of their topsails.—(Cheers.) It is a matter of great satis•
faction to me to come into this room to-day, and look back
on how differently I have seen it filled in the olden times.—
Hear.) lam now an old Reformer, but I sincerely re-
joice that I have lived to see three great political objects,
on which I had set my mind, carried. The first was Par-
liamentary Reform, the second Catholic Emancipation, and
the third the removal of the Civil Disabilities which affected
the Dissenters. The Reform Bill, excellent though it be,
does not go far enough, but I hope 1 will yet be spared

few years longer to see it so improved as to Bice 5
satisfaction.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN—Often as my health has le ten toasted
as the Representative of this county, I never felt more
flatterel than by the manner the talented and Gallant
General has introduced my name ; but I can say' no more
in reply than I have said fifty times before, that I am anxi-
ous to do my duty.
The Rev. Mr. Kinn, of Moonzie, gave the " Mt 'mory of
Dr. Campbell," and paid a high tribute to his wore) as a
man, and his piety and learning as a clergyman.
Sir GEORGr CAMPBELL, in name of himself and brother,
acknowledged the honour done his father's memory and
he said, if anything could add to the gratification it was to
know that the gentleman who had so spoken was one of his
flock—a co-presbyter, and one who enjoyed a large share
of his confidence and regard.
Professor GILLESPIE, in proposing the toast of " Mr.
Ferguson and the Liberal Members for Scotland," spoke
at some length, but from his rapidity of utterance we could
onay catch a few detached sentences of one of the best
speeches of the evening. He said there was a time when
the representatives of Scotland were no representatives at
all. He believed he had stumbled en the very threshold
of what lie meant to observe. They were sincere and vi-
gorous representatives of themselves, thei,- children, their
nephews, and other relatives, who were dispt;sed of in the
East and the West, the North and the South, and fed on
the vitals of the State. He spoke of times long gone by,
when they voted
" For Britain's guid I guid faith I doubt it !
Say, rather gaun as Premiers lead them.
And saying aye or no's they badu them."
That he believed to be the character of the representatives
of Scotland previous to the passing of the Reform Bill in
1832. He then referred particularly to the noble excep-
tion to this general rule, Mr. Ferguson, of Raith, and his
gallant brother presented. There was a time, he said,
when it was a maxim with the Premier that every man
had his price ; but who could purchase the vote of Robert
Ferguson ?—(Cheers.) In private life, his virtues were
conspicuous—in public life, his patriotism never had been
surpassed.—( Cheers.)
Mr. FERGUSON—I am certain the Liberal Members for '
Scotland must feel gratified by having their healths pro-
posed in such a manner, and drank with such enthusiasm in
such a company ; and I assure you I feel much pleasure in
having my name connected with them. My Reverend
Friend has gone considerably beyond in speaking of me,
still the kindness with which you received his remarks jus.
tify me in indulging in the hope that my political prior&
plea have been approved. I may venture to repeat what
has been said by the eloquent Professor—that I was born
a Liberal, and ever since I was able to form an opinion on
political subjects, I have been a strenuous supporter of Par-
liamentary Reform. Many years of my life have gone by
since the struggle began, and I have now the satisfaction of
seeing it accomplished, but I regard Parliamentary Reform
as a means not an end, and as has been well said by our gal-
lant Chairman, I warn you there is still much to struggle
against. The mass of Tory corruption is working strongly
against us ; but it must fall before the influence of public
opinion. The Tories tell us that by corruption and inti-
midation they will succeed in securing a majority in the
House of Commons ; but they dare not say that the voice
of the people is for them.
Mr. FERGUSON then proposed the health of Lady
Stratheden. I know, he said, that no one can feel more
deeply at the kind reception her husband has received.
We are all Fifers ; and I am proud to say Lady Strathe-
den is as sincerely attached to Fife as any one of us.
Sir JOHN CAMPBELL returned thanks. He said, had
the arrangements of the meeting permitted, Lady Strathe-
den would hare been present. I know that she feels most
deeply the honour conferred on the humble individual who
now addresses you. He gave the " Earl of Rothes, and
the Liberal Peers of Scotland."
The Earl of ROTHES returned thanks.
Sir RONALD FERGUSON—I rise to propose a toast, and
I can only wish that it had fallen into abler hands. The
toast which I have to propose is, " O'Connell, and Jus-
tice to Ireland."—(Great cheering.) In giving that toast
the name of Mr. O'Connell has been connected with

because he is the most independent champion of his
country which can be found. He has many faults--
we have all our faults—but when the Tories accuse
him of using violent expressions against individuals, I
ask, where was that violence begun ? With the Tories.
—(Loud cheers.) I cannot avoid alluding to a speech
which was reported to have been spoken, and which
has been approved by the Tory Peers, by an individual
in the Upper House, denominating the Irish as aliens in
blood, aliens in language, and aliens in religion. Is it to
be tolerated that any man in that House should dare to
use such expressions, and that man an alien himself ?
(Loud cheers.) In every country there are men of des-
perate fortunes, who, having spent their own incomes, are
glad to stir up revolutions, in which they can lose nothing,
while they may gain every thing—l suppose you know
who I mean ?—(Laughter, and cheers.) Suppose the
same speech had been made in the Houso of Lords respect-
ing Scotland, anti that the same reason had been assigned
for oppressing Scotland as has been expressed with respect
to Ireland. We differ from our English brethren in blood,
in language, in religion ; but would not every man in this
room have been indignant if this language had been applied
to Scotland ; and can you be surprised if Mr. O'Connell
with that strong love of country which he possesses, uses
coarse and harsh expressions? For my part lam surprised
how he keeps his temper so well.--(Cheers.) Take up
the matter of Ireland in any shape you will—go to Joseph
Hume with his money calculations—how can you savo
money better than by reducing the army ? and it is well
known that at present the whole disposable force of the
army is sent to Ireland. I now hope you will all with
hand and heart, drink, " Mr. O'Connell and Justice to Ire-
land."—(Loud and long-continued cheering.)
Mr. FRASER proposed " The health of the Earl of Dur-
ham—the Peer of the people."
Mr. ELLICE—I think I may venture, without fear of
incurring censure, to return thanks for the health of Lord
Durham—the Peer of the People, as he has been so justly
styled. I deeply regret that Lord Durham, though he
was acting for the good of the country, at a distance, is
not actively engaged in carrying into effect the measures
which the present Government have brought forward. The
Earl of Durham I hope to see one day the Minister, or at
least taking a prominent part in the Ministry of this coun-
try. On his principles I take my stend ; and if lam in
future more nearly connected with you than at present, I
hope I shall ever be found acting on them.,--(Cheers.)
Several appropriate toasts in addition to the above were
drunk, and the company separated.

COUNTY RATES.—Sir Thomas Lethbridge, it is
said, is going to set an example to all England by submit-
ting- to the magistrates of the Taunton Quarter Sessions,

held this day, the propriety of petitioning Parliament
" to place the county rates under a Council and auditor in
the county, to be elected by the ratepayers under certain
qualifications."

THE VINTAGE IN FRANCE.—At Laon, under
date of the 7th inst.,- we learn that the weather continued
rainy, and the vintagers were in great despair for the crop s
of that province. The vintage at Bourges was nearly
terminated ; the crop was of bad quality ; the greater
part of the grapes were not ripe, and those which had
come to maturity were much rotted by the rains which
had fallen of Me ; and thus the hopes entertained of having
a good crop have been bl,•ghted. The vintagers have suf-
fered great misfortunes for the last two ,years : this year's
produce would not be better than that of 1835. Although
at Dijon on the Gth of October the vintage had been com-
menced on the 3d, nothing as yet worth mentioning had
been obtained from the vines, the late weather having been
so desolating,. The rains had rotted those which were ripe,
and the others remained shrivelled up, so that from these
circumstances there would be but little wine produced, and
that of an inferior description.

On Friday a ❑umerous meeting of the inhabitants of
Mile-end Old Town was convened at the Town House, to
hear the decision of the Commissioners of Bye-highways
respecting the right of the public to a footpath across a
field, which has been enclosed by Mr. Barber Beaumont,
and converted into a public cemetery. The subject had
been discussed at a.former meeting of the Hamlet, held on
the 22d ultimo, and referred to the Highway Board. After
evidence had been offered to the meeting, and a long and
very animated discussion had taken place between those
who appeared to consider of the. advantages of the improve-
ment to the hamlet alone, and rho. most strenuously con-
tended that not one farthing of the parochial funds was
available to establish the right,of the parish to the footway
in question, and those who maintained the importance of
keeping the path open ; a division took place, when the
amendment of Mr. Halls (to the effect that Mr. Beaumont
had a right to stop up the path) was carried by a majority
of 45 to 37. The matter, however, is not expected to rest
here, several very wealthy individuals in the hamlet having
intimated that they will try the right of the public to the
closed footway.

The City of London General Pension Society have
received intimation of a legacy' of 5001. The funds of the
parent society are rapidly increasing.
Several Englishmen have been for some time past at
Belgrade, who are making great efforts to obtain a lease of
the mountains of Servia, with a view of working the mines.
Prince Miksch has hitherto manifested little inclination to
agree to their wishes, but seems disposed to undertake the
work at his own risk. The successful experiments in Little
Wallachia are very encouraging.—German Paper.

A MIRACLE.--In the House of Correction at
Boston there arc 200 women in one room, who work indus-
triously, and never talk!—American Paper.