The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-06 00:00:00

gen• APRIL 6, 1848.

proved in 1846, when Captain Lawrence, at the head of
80,000 Seikh soldiers, advanced to take possession of
Cashmere, and though that duty could not be an agree-
able one to them, still they fulfilled every article of the
treaty. Cashmere was surrendered to us, and the Seikhs
did not hesitate to go with us to render what was our
due. Therefore, if tranquillity was disturbed he was
confident that the Seikh troops might be relied upon
to preserve the peace. And if they did not, we had
50,000 troops on the frontier, with 129 pieces of cannon,
who would be ready and able, at a moment's notice,
to meet the whole of the Seikh troops.—(Cheers.)
Therefore, whether they looked at the influence of
might
theb e know
officers power, or the' justice of the internal Government,
his friend Captain Lowrance would be equally sure
to maintain the British rule. If Honourable Gentle-
men
accomplished
y
werechearatsn w l
whom
illustration
thesmt rat that
aoatnd advantages t ac servicegaepst
Captain
ionf
the East India military service, and what could be
thleatiim civilng a(L
pneoaredd me Hardinge)
l b iautratdrit3 n.hge y e)
pro-
duced,
Lawrence, who had obtained power solely by his own
merits, and who for his merits alone had been selected
by hsht had
d bee
enabled
naa tb
enhd de headitah,oGovernment
1 ofsa tdhtrhe e ems
uitcloi
men.—(Cheers.)
services
lion of subjects, or to superintend an army of 30,000
After eulogising the efficiency both of
cesses of the army had not only secured the legitimate
objects of war, which were to secure an honourable and
a
remonstrate against the rites of infanticide and suttee;
and only two years ago a native state, with a population
of twenty millions, voluntarily renounced these horrid
practices.--(Cheers.) This was in a great measure
owing to the success with which the question was grap-
pled with twenty years ago by the late Lord William
Bentinck, and it afforded him the assurance that the
East India Company rested the basis of its power, not
upon its strength alone, nor upon its army, but upon the
nobler objects of advancing the work of humanity and
civilisation.—(Cheers.) To the latest hour of his life he
should feel deeply interested in the welfare of the em
pire, which was now so ably presided over by his Noble
Friend Lord Dalhousie. He was confident that the
East India Company were desirous of setting
an example of a just and beneficent rule, and
that their subjects would appreciate their exer-
tions, and would resist every attraction that was
held out to them to withdraw from their rule. He
would not detain the assembly any lenger with any tie_
and containing a
population of 100,000 souls—he wou
only conclude by
flattering honour they had
again acknowledging the
count of their magnificent empire, containing as it did
last year 12,000 miles of frontier,
done him
conferred' and thanking them for the honour they had
upon him.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then proposed "The Church and the
Archbishop of
ArchbishopCanterbury."—(Cheers.)
The of CANTERBURY returned thanks for
the honour which had been conferred upon him in
in-
viting him to the meeting, and for the distinguished
manner in which they had received the toast proposed
by the Chairman. He rejoiced in being allowed this
opportunity of bearing his testimony to the Christian
character of the distinguished nobleman whom they had
met to honour. He did not merely allude to the fact
which his dispatches showed, that in the hour of
trial he knew where renown was to be obtained,
and that in the hour of victory he had ascribed
the success to the God of battles, for it was no new thing,
he was glad to say, that the same pious feeling should
be shown in the records of our victories, both by sea and
land ; but he alluded to the circumstances that the Noble
Viscount had shown what was the true object of war
when conducted by a Christian nation—the security of
the empire and the advancement of civilisation, and that,
these objects being gained, he preferred the solid honour
of an empire saved to the uncertain honour of an empire
gained.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The Navy," for which
Earl SPENCER returned thanks.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The Duke of Wel-
lington and the Army."
The Duke of WELLINGTON rose amidst loud cheers.
He said—l beg leave to return thanks for the honour you
have done me in drinking my health, and for coupling
the army with my name. I beg to return thanks on behalf
of the army, and I hope you will do us the justice to believe
that we feel the strongest interest in the honour of Lord
Hardinge. We are proud that a man who has performed
such services as to deserve the panegyrics which have
been pronounced upon him this evening, was educated
in our ranks.—(Cheers.) When I had the honour of
tetending here some years ago on the day when my
liable Friend was nomiratted to be Goverdor-Ueneral of
IN‘hought, and Relieve I stated:, that in the
difficult circumatanc' s which then surrounded (India a
more desirable choice could not be made than my Noble
Friend. The result has more than fulfilled the expecta-
tion I had formed.—(Cheers.) I have been connected
with my Foble Friend in the service of the country for
many years. I was fully sensible of his ability, his zeal,
his talents, his patience, his fortitude. I was not unac-
quainted with the difficulties of the station he was about
to fill—l was aware that there were great difficulties in
the war then impending over the country which he was
sent to govern, for I have had the honour to serve
in the East Indies myself.—(Cheers.) I had gone to
that country after I had some little experience
in warlike operations, and had, therefore, some means of
acquiring a knowledge of the difficulties attending all
operations of war in that country. But I had great
confidence that my Noble Friend would overcome
them all.—(Cheers.) And he has overcome them all.
—(Continued cheering.) He had difficulties to contend
with—aggravated difficulties—in consequence of the
policy which he considered it his duty—a well- under-
stood and well considered duty—to adopt and to perse-
vere in. It was his policy and his duty to stand upon
the defensive till the last moment ; he persevered in
doing so, and he, therefore, felt all the disadvantages
which that policy entailed in impeding his military ope-
rations, and for which he, as Governor-General in
Council, had to make provision. These were the ag-
gravated difficulties over which my Noble Friend got the
better, and he brought into the field an army capable not
only of engaging in the contest, but of bringing the war
to a speedy and successful termination.—(Cheers.) Yet
I do not think I ought to limit my observations to this
part of the conduct of my Noble Friend. When my
Noble Friend, in his situation of Governor General, left
Bengal, and went up the country to superintend
the operations of the army, as it was his duty to
do, and to promote its efficacy by every means in his
power, he found the Noble Lord at the head of the army,
however able, however talented, however experienced,
enableFw
ras
Friend,
nd
hh
iti
smh
oh touagn carrythough
s ,he
lea
iwod na
as s
Gihise oe
vOperatihisons
n eowrf
ai tIGh,
still wanted the assistance of a second in command, to
k
vantages which an army ought to have. My Noble
the whole civil and military government of the country
Governor-Ge-
neral, nt othhre-o Guagedh-
neral, and volunteered to serve in the rank of Lieu-
tenant-General of the army.—(Loud cheers.) 1 believe
my Noble Friend is a singular instance ef such conduct;
but I hope we shall never want officers ready to follow
his example, and set aside their rank, if the same cir-
cumstances should ever again occur. I could not avoid
mentioning this circumstance on the present occasion,
which does my Noble Friend so much honour, in ad-
dition to those which the Chairman has mentioned,
because it happened to come more immediately in my
province to notice this conduct on the part of my
Noble Friend. I say, then, the army may well be proud
that such a man was educated in their ranks, and there
is no part of my Noble Friend's conduct throughout his
service—of the whole of which I highly approve—there
is no part of it which is more highly to his honour than
that when he laid aside his rank and served in the army,
when circumstances rendered it necessary.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The Marquis of
Lansdowne and her Majesty's Ministers."
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE shortly returned thanks,
apologising for the absence of Lord John Russell.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The President of the
Board of Control."

Sir JOHN 110BHOUSE shortly replied, and proposed
" The health of the Chairman."

The CHAIRMAN leplied:and then proposed " The
health of Sir Robert Peel."

Sir ROBERT PEEL—I return you my cordial thanks
for the compliment which you have been pleased to pay
me—a compliment which I had no right to expect, seeing
that I occupy only a private station, and have not the
honour to stand in any official relation either to the
Crown or to the East India Company. I will not misap-
prehend the motives on which a compliment so peculiar
has been paid me. I do not forget that four years since,
with the full approbation of all my colleagues then in
the Government—with the consent of my Noble Friend
particularly, who was then President of the Board of
Control, and'of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the
East India Company, I made an arrangement which se-
cured to India the inestimable advantage of the services
of my Noble Friend. We could give no deeper proof of
the interest we took in the welfare of India than to con-
sent to. forego the services of my Noble Friend at home.
—(Loud cheers.) We felt warmly attached to him as
a personal friend—we knew the valuable services
which he had rendered, and which he could render,
at home, in the service of his country. But we felt
deeply convinced that a wider sphere was due to my
Noble Friend to enable him to develop his faculties, so
that they should redound more to his own honour and to
the advantages of his country than he had yet enjoyed.
It was not for the retrospective glories of his military
career, nor yet for the high estimation in which we held
his military character, that we consented to part with his
services at home, but because we believed that he pos-
sessed qualities which were suited to the circumstances
of India more than any other man that could have been
selected at that time, whether with reference to the mil-
lions he was called on to govern, to the importance of
the functions he was to discharge, or to the absence, or,
at least, the remoteness of all control. At the same
time, I do not undervalue the military qualities of my
Noble Friend. It was my gratifying duty to propose
the thanks of the House of Commons to him for the
glorious services he rendered; it was my fortunate lot to
describe his conduct at the battle of Subraon— it was
my fortunate lot to describe his conduct on that eventful•
night which intervened between the commencement and
the close of the battle of Ferozeshah, I had to describe
him as walking on that night from watch to watch, and
from tent to tent—
" And forth be goes and visits all the posts,
Bids them good morrow with a cheerful smile,
And calls them brothers, friends, and countrymen."
—(Loud cheers.) They felt the touch of Harry on that

night.—(Continued cheers;) . But it was not his mili-
tary qualities which induced our selection. We knew
that he was calculated to leave the impression of his
mind on India, not merely in convincing them' of the su-
perior power of his country, but in leaving t•tehind him
a milder, bolder, and more amiable influence—a, convic-
tion of the justice of the British u ule, and that under no
form of GovernMent could the rights and liberties and
welfare of India be betfer secured than by the rule of
Great Britain.—(Obeers.) I own that, considering _ the
ardent attachment which I entertain for my. Noble
Friend, and the long, unrestrained. unahat, d, and uninter-
mitting cordiality with which I have acted wi h him,
it is most gratifying to me to see him return from India,
and not only bearing away with him the affections, the
respect, the regret of India, but in his being welcomed
home by the confidence, the appia.u.,_6, and the admi-
ration of the country, which gave him birth.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The Earl of Dal-
housie and the Government of India."

Lord HARDINGE proposed " The health of Lord
Gough, and the Army in India."
The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The health of the
Civil Service," and coupled with the toast the name of
Mr. Macaulay.
Mr. MACAULAY said—l am sincerely grateful for the
honour you have done me, though I fear I have scarcely
any claim to my name being associated with that service
with which you, Sir, have thought fit to connect me. I have
several times partaken of the splendid hospitality of the
East India Company, but never under circumstances so
gratifying to my own feelings. On other occasions I have
been your guest when we have been sending out men
whose success was yet matter of question, to govern dis-
tant and important colonies. We have sent them out
with our best wishes—often with high expectations—
but always with some degree of doubt. But on this
occasion we have met with unmixed satisfaction, for at
this meeting our Noble Friend has come among us,
having done his work, and done it well. He has gone
through his trials—trials as severe as a statesman and a
soldier can be subjected to, and he has not been found
wanting.—(Cheers.) I do not know that I can add
anything to the testimony which has been borne to his
merits by the first of living Generals, by the great Com-
pany which he has served, by his Sovereign, by the
House of Commons, by the House of Lords, by the
gallant army which he led to victory, by the great pro-
vince which he protected from barbarian rapacity, and
bythecounvtrnyinew.._{hichLohuads weleomed him back with one
ploits Isaicdanansdayb
unanimous
But this cheers.) Of his military ex•
nothing which has not already been
their splendourl
better
otherl sources of
military
higher autho-
rity.wi l say of his military exploits, that
wrluld have conveyed to me little
were employed to
satisfaction, ifbelieveduphold
that all this valour and skill
the interests of mankind, _(Cheers.) a Government pernicious to
for rejoicing in these victories —(Cheers.) My chief reason
con-
vinced our Government na that lam deeply
me right to
to
nia a blessing to the
the English human race, and an honour
speaktw on this suttject,
name.—
(Cheers.) I have so
because I have been connected in
that great country. I have been a meeoibecraserictihteießs Board
for the office of Control, I have also been acunraveainJ,ofhthe
Company, and all I have seen in both
satisfied me that no Government could exist, undcesr the
s
circumstances, purer—that no Government on the whole
could more extend the blessings of civilization, or pro-
mote the happiness of the people under its rule. As to
the particular service which the Chairman has coupled
with my name, I know something of it. I have had op-
portunities of observing it, and I will say that I do not
think there is any portion of the public service in this
country which I contemplate with more unmixed delight.
I institute no comparison between the civil and military
service—both I believe to be excellent, and on their ge-
nerous emulation depends the security of our Indian
empire, and the happiness of her people. But there is
no class of men containing a greater amount of ability,
of information, of rectitude, tried under strong tempta-
tions and never found wanting; and I believe that if
these services continue to discharge their functions as
they have done hitherto, the empire will be impregnable
from all attacks. After the experience we have had of
these splendid achiavemertts, which add to the national
pride while they have done such gsod service to our
Indian empire, I hope none'of us would be disposed to
hail our :political friends sent to India more cordially
than we should our political opponents. lam sure that
we are all knit in the firmest and closest union ou all
points where the national honour—the greatness and
prosperity of England—is copcerned; and in that view I
firmly end proudly believe that, amidst the commotions
which everywhere surround us—amidst the crash of
fo-
reign thrones—the constitution of England will remain
immoveable on its basis.—(Loud cheers.)
After one or two other general toasts, the meeting se-
parated.