The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-20 00:00:00

LONDON CYMREIGYDDION

SOVIET Y.

The forty-sixth anniversary of the London CytnreigYd-
inst., at Dolly's Chophouse,;
dion (Welsh Literary Society) was celebratedon the 16th
Mr. John Williams, of the
firm of Williams and. Hatton, Regent Circus, in the chair,
supported by upwards of one hundred Ancient Britons.
The objects of the Society being to perpetuate the An-
cient British tongue, arid the customs of Wales; the pecu-
liar mode of singing called "Pennillion," appeared ;to af-
ford great entertainment to the company; and im-
promptus of one of the bards (Sam o Von) after each
toast reminded one stror.gly of the effects stated to have
been produced in days of yore by the effusiods of :‘the
minstrels, when their countrymen congregate 4 to con-
tend for hearth and home. Had the' Baid:and Harper
been greybeards, instead of being in the ptime.of life, the
picture would have been perfect, and welnight.have fan-
cied ourselves spectators of scenes enacted a thousand
years since. _ _

After her Majesty's-health had been drunk with all
the honours, the CHAIRMAN observed, that as that was the
first meeting of Welshmen in the Metropolis since the
creation of the Prince of Wales, he had great pleasure in
proposing his health with nine times nine, but he (the
Chairman) could not help reiiarking that his education
would not be complete until he had kerne(' the language
of the place whence he derived his title. The sound of
it, at all events, he should hear, as, according to prece-
dent, when he arrives at a proper age, the address that
will be presented will be in that language, and the
Chairman hoped that there would be no necessity fOr. an
interpreter. In proposing the health of his Royal
Highness Prince Albert, the Princess Royal, the Duchess
of Kent, and the rest of the Royal Family, the Chairman
observed, that if the same care were taken in the
bringing up of the Heir Apparent as there had been in
the case of hor Majesty, we should have every reason to
be proud of our Prince.

Mr. HUGH WILLIAMS was 'Called:mon to,PF9pose the
.by
,-
next toast, which was, " Oea v i'r OYmraeg," the
age of the world to the Welsh language. ,The
sentiment
he had to propose, he would give inost.reprdially. The
Man who possessed no national feelings' was, in his
opinion, unworthy the name. Coniquete ad4l4lA gene-
rally.inerged into those of the: conquerors, .and at
the present day could not pronounce whether the Eng-
lish owed' most of their charaeteristici to. their British,
Belgic, Saxon, Danish, or Nornian 'iineesiors.; bitt the
Welsh have retained their language and habits amongst
their fastnesses, and it would be a hopeless task to, at-
tempt to eradicate the former, when it has now a press
enlisted in its aid, and a nation of literary rustics to
support it. Injuries have been, endured patiently, but
their countrymen now well knew their rights, and they
would assert them; more particularly when they were sup-
ported by such assemblages as he then saw before him:
Their countrymen would soon ha 4 an opportunity'of
worshipping God according to the forms of the Esta-
blished Church, in the accents first enunciated by them.
Mr. 0. W. THOMAS, in proposing the healths of his
Grace the Duke of Northumberland and the patrons of
the Society, stated, that though the Duke was not
a Welshman, yet. 'he was nearly allied to some of the
best families in Wales, and this Society was much in-
debted to him for his liberal support of their exertions
in promoting the literature of their country. The en-
thusiasm of the ordinary'Membera solely could not enable
them to carry out their intentions into full effect, one
means being the offering pecuniary rewards forthe best
literary productions -in the language of their forefathers,
and the publication of useful works, which was often at-
tended with considerable loss to the Society. Their ef-
forts were directed to the promotion of the best interests
of 'at least seven hundred thousand of her Majesty's
.sub-
jects, who wert,, unable to avail themselves of the stores
'of knowledge contained in the English language, and
to excith the genius of their countrymen by emulation,
and to diffuse the means of enlightenment generally.
They had been seconded in-particular by Dr.. Lewis, the
,Rev. Mr. Llewelyn, Mr. T. Edwards, and Mr. William
Morgan, the latter of whom was seldom absent from
their meetings ; and he regretted much that family
affliction had caused an exception- that night.
The CHAIRMAN proposed the health of the Hon. E.
M. GI. Mostyn (who, as usual, . had furnished a liberal
supply of venison for the occasion), and the Gentry of
Wales.

The VICE-CHAIRMAN proposed the health of the
Ladies Hall and Guest, and the Patronesses of the cus-
toms and literature of \Vales.

Mr. Wri. THOMAS, the Secretary, then observed that
it was with some degree of regret that he rose to inter-
rupt the hilarity of their proceedings, but the duty that
then devolved upon him had seldom if ever been ne-
glected in that Society. At their last, their forty-fifth
anniversary, their venerable founder was amongst them,
whom he often with a sigh designated his undutiful
children, but now his seat was vacant, and he was gone
to that bourne whence no traveller returns, and he
(the Secretary) could do no • less than add his name
to those whose memories they had been in the
habit of paying a mark of their respect to on former, oc-
casions. He would notdetain them by dilating upon the ob-
ligations laid upon Welshmen by those whom lie would
presently name. 'Suffice it for him to say, that as long
as their aspirations for ‘. Oes y byd i'r. Gyinraegi" were
not disappointed (if he might be allowed the expression),
so long would the fame of Owen Jones (Myfyr), Dr.
W. 0. Pughe, J. H. Parry, and, as the founder of, that
Society and contributor to Welsh literature, might be
added the name of: poor Thomas Roberts, of Llwynrhy-
dol, last. Even were the language itself dx..tinct, the
monuments raised by the. abours of those named would
be referred 'to `and admired so long as true learning ex-
isted in England.—(Drunk in solemn silence.)
_ .

1)r. LEwts, in proposing the health of the Bishop of
St. David's and the Welsh-clergy, observed, That they
had certainly
,been indebted to the dignitaries of the
Church for ,a translation of the Bible, but they were,
natives, and since that time he was sorry to observe his
countrymen had been laid under but few obligations to
the Established Church, and had been under the neces-
sityof providing %Church for themselves. A brighter
prospect, however, at the present time appeared before
them.. The Bishop of St. David's had enrolled himself
a member of that Society upwards of a twelvemonth
since, and it was admitted by all that he spoke their lan-
guage as well as Any native. They cared not where a
man was born, so long as he was competent to discharge
the duties of bis oliiice. Eternal rewards and punishment
had been, iii*lxed to his poor countrymen in a language
of which they understood not a single word, and though
there had been seldom occasion, some had been sen-
tenced to death by Judges who could not utter an ex-
preSsion that was intelligible to the criminal. The in-
defatigable exertions of that Society were producing a
better state of things, and they were anxious to do honour
to those who deserved it. , ,

Mr. G. THOMAS then P;Posed the health of the Rev.
Wm. Morgan, of*olyhea,thfand the Honorary Member,
in a highly cornplifilePßra' speech. Other toasts were
drank, amongst which wffff
at of the Chairman, most
enthusiastically, for his MNcalPut conduct in the chair, as
well as for his desire on 7. 11 - ~:eaccasions to promote the in-
terests of his fellow-country without regard to per-
sonal sacrifices.

WOOLWICH, DEC. 17.
ROYAL ARTILLERY.
Lieut.-General Lord Bloomfield, G.C.B. and G.C.IL,
has joined from leave, and assumed the command of the
garrison.

Upwards of forty non-commissioned officers and men
deemed unfit for further service, were brought before a
medical board, at the Ordnance Hospital, on Wednesday,
for examination relative to their state of health.
The Regiment still continues much below the esta-
blishment, notwithstanding that a considerable number
of recruits have joined during the\present month.
Captain Cuppage's company, 9th battalion, relieved the
detachments at the Tower, on Thursday. Capt. Bing-
ham, and Lieut. Graham, accompanied the detachment.
Major Rayne's company, 2d battalion, and Major
Vaughan's company, 6th battalion, were inspected at the
Hospital, preparatory to being completed for' field battery
service. The inspection of the former "took place on
Tuesday, and the latter on Wednesday last.„.`':
Lieutenant-Colonels Sinclair and Stopford, it is said,
contemplate retiring on full pay. ThiS will lead to the
vacancy of another Adjutancy, that .of the 3d battalion,
and it is expected Captain Mitchell will succeed to this
appointment. , • •
- Several proofs of ordnance have taken
,placp in the
Royal Arsenal during the week.
NAVAL INTELLIGENCE:
Captain Phipps Hornby, C. 8., Superintendent of het
Majesty's Dock-yard, Woolwich, has been appointed
Surveyor-General of the Coast Guard, vice Bowles, pro=,
motod to be a flag officer.
The Acheron steam-vessel, Lieutenant-Commander A.
Kennedy, recently returned from the Mediterranean, will
lie paid off at Woolwich on Thursday next.
The Devastation steam-frigate.—Commander Hastings
Reginald Henry has been completely restored to health,
and proceeded this morning for town, from whence he
will in a few days take his departure to join his vessel on
the Mediterranean station. _

The Growler steam-frigate is still at Limehouse, and
the following officers have been appointed to her:—Lieu-
tenant W. S. Sanders ; Mr. John Tucker, Master ; Mr.
J. Milner, Purser ; Mr. John Rose, Acting Gunner ; Mr.
J. Gouldsworthy, Acting Boatswain ; Mr. J. Tucker,
Acting Carpenter,
The Mastiff', 6, surveying vessel.—Assistant-Surgeon
J. Macbean has been promoted to be Surgeon, and re •
appointed to the Mastiff.
The Lightning steam-vessel, Mr. G. 11. T. Bower has
been appointed Second Mate, vice Tucker, promoted.