The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-21 00:00:00

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The following ode, commemorative of the achieve-
ments of the illustrious hero of Sinde, and composed
expressly for the occasion, was then sung with remarkably
good taste by Messrs. Smith, Geary, and Yoakley, the
music being the composition of Professor Smith:—
" Loud brays the shrill trumpet in Beloochistan,
And the Ameers have mustered their hosts to a man;
See their proud-crested pennons flout widely the sun,
As the flood-tide of battle rolls menacing on.
Like the stream of the Indus the torrent proceeds,
As majestic, as dark, but more deadly its deeds
Long years, mystic river, thou'st rushed to the
sea,
Bearing with thee the victims their blades have set free.
"Lo! he comes—with a handful of Britons behind,
And he leads them like flame in the teeth of the wind;
For there the proud Ameers their myriads lead on, ;
And range them for conflict 'gainst Liberty's Son
Nor, tho' wanting the valour that virtue would give,
Lack they daring—as reckless to die as to live;
But on rush the Britons, their brave Napier leads,
And confidence nerves them for valorous deeds.
"All—all have done nobly, but foremost he prest—
In the front of the battle see Napier's proud crest!
Long strove they, and boldly each Belooche bled—
Hark! Charge, 22d! '—who'll number the dead?
As the mist OR the mountain, 'neath Mithra's proud ray,
So 'neath Napier's keen falchions their boasts melt away.
Thus, planting his conquering standard, like Clive—
Unlike, he bade Sindians be freesiien and live."
Sir CHARLES NAPIER—I rise to propose the health
of a nobleman who is so well known to all here that very
few words will be sufficient in prefacing his health. lie
is a nobleman who executes his duty with calmness, with
fearlessness, with incessant activity and zeal towards his
country. He is a nobleman who has the fine patriotic
feeling that always seeks to cast oil upon the troubled
waters; he seeks not to agitate nor irritate the sufferings
of his country; he is devoted to that country, and pos-
sesses a cool head, which is directed by the impulses of
a noble and generous heart—that heart is Ireland's own.
—(Cheers.) I will now give you the health, not of an
absentee, but of a nobleman who never leaves Ireland
except to serve her in the sister kingdom—his Grace
the Duke of Leinster.—(Cheers.)
The Duke of LEINSTER said, in returning thanks, he
could assure the assembly he felt very deeply the kind
manner in which his relative had introduced his health,
and the very kind way in which they had received it.
He felt he did not merit all that he had said, but it was
his most anxious wish to do all the good he could. If he
failed in doing that, it arose from the weakness of man,
and not from any want of desire or activity upon his
part to do all he could to assist his native country.
Shortly afterwards
The Noble CHAIRMAN rose, and said that he had
great pleasure in proposing the next toast, " Sir Edward
Blakeney and the Army," but in the presence of that
gallant officer he was unwilling to dilate upon his merits.
He would only say, that from his long
continued
con-
nexion
the army in Ireland, and the mannerin
which he had conducted himself in the command of
that army, he had entitled himself to the honour that
night intended for him. Ile begged to propose his
health and that of the army under his command, with
three times three.—(Cheers.)
Sir EDWARD BLAYRNEY said he thanked them for
the high honour which had been conferred upon him
that night. lie was obliged for the good feeling evinced
towards himself, and he hoped all the company would
accept his warmest thanks for the honour which had
been paid him. Ile could assure them that the army
in Ireland, from the manner in which it bad conducted
itself, required little assistance from him, for it was
every day doing its duty faithfully and fully, and ho was
convinced that it would continue to do its duty in what-
ever country it was called upon to do so. Having
said thus much in reference to himself, he could not allow
the opportunity to pass without addressing himself to
the chief topic of that evening—the gallant guest whose
achievements they had met to celebrate.—(Cheers.)
From what he had said that evening, and from the man-
ner in
• which it was said, he could imagine him leading
his troops to the conflict, and could see his eagle eye
penetrating the ranks of the enemy, and discerning how
victory could be best obtained. He could imagine no-
thing less than victory following his footsteps; but hay-
ing defeated the foe, and dispersed the bands of robbers
that were scouring the country, he found him conduct-
ing those affairs in which his civic authority was brought
into action with that mildness, wisdom, management, and
attention to finance that almost enabled him to make
the country pay the expense of the war.—(Loud cheers.)
Ile injured no one; on the contrary, he attached every
one to the country for which he fought, and made him-
self the popular idol of even those whom he had van-
quished.—(Cheers.)
The Duke of LEINSTER then said that, although the
other branch of the service—the navy—had not been of
late years so much engaged as the army had been, they
should not neglect to do it that honour to which it was
entitled, and to drink its health with the enthusiasm
that became those who appreciated its high merits.
He, therefore, begged leave to propose " The Navy ;"
and to call upon Captain Daniel to respond to the toast.
Captain DANIEL said, in returning thanks, that if
there could be one thing more gratifying than another,
it was that the toast had been given in the presence of
that most distinguished member of the sister service
whom they had all met that night to honour, and who
wi_s so well worthy of the compliment paid him. There
was in Ireland but a small number of the naval force,
which accounted for the circumstance that but few of its
members wsro present upon that occasion but ho could

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which ‘i wrote to a near 141'46 or.MirTirit4r,.ol;taining
one of his greatest victories, a
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you that I never read. morefMin 20e;it.m. .tistion
epistle in the course 01%1y like—, e.;,:::: --t let-
ter Sir Charles lamented his li, vf.,-,..., .- . crap .
e d to
engage in those wars—that he c'•4lo*la .:.,, ilp it,
and that the loss of life which h.l-taka place was most
horrifying to his feelings.—(Cheers.) On this account
his victories must stand much higher in the estimation of
every right-minded pence. For my own part, I have
known him from his youth, and can testify that he is a
man who would always discharge his duty to his coun-
try, and that he would perform it with firmness and feel-
ing.—(Hear, hear.) During the late Irish famine he
had not forgot the country of his birth in the hour of
her distress, for he transmitted a sum of 2001. to be ex-
pended in sending practical instructors in husbandry
throughout the country, with a view to assist in amelio-
rating the condition of his countrymen.-.(Cheers.) I
beg to propose the health of Sir Charles Napier.—(Loud
and long-continued applause.)
The toast having been drunk with' the most marked
enthusiasm,
Sir CHARLES NAPIER rose to return thanks for the
honour conferred upon him. He said—My Lords and
Gentlemen, the praise which has been hes:owed upon me
by Prince George of Cambridge and by the Duke of
Leinster, and the very distinguished and flattering man-
lier in which you have received that praise, makes me
ask myself what I have done to deserve honour at the
hands of my countrymen ? And the answer is plain--I
have had the good fortune to command a brave army,
which won for me in the field the honours which I now
have received from you as its general and its represen-
tative.—(Applause.) Sinde was conquered by the
bravery and chivalry of that army, and it was annexed
to our possessions in the East Indies by Lord Ellen-
borough. The courage of our army was great in that
conquest—aid necessarily so ; for the Ameers of Sinde,
exulting in the massacre of our army in Affghanistan,
resolved also to massacre the troops in Sinde.
But they were overthrown in two pitched battles, and
their kingdom passed away from them. Lord Ellenbo-
rough's genius then seized the opportunity of annex-
ing Sinde to our dominions, with that decision, prompt-
ness, and prescience which distinguished his Lordship's
rule in India.—(Cheers.) When Lord Ellenborough
seized it he did an action of decision and forethought as
a statesman, and one of justice besides.—(Hear, hear.)
Gentlemen, I lay more force on this than I do on any-
thing—namely, that it was an act of justice. He snatched
Sinde from the Ameers, and it was one of those actions
which must be always attended with success.—(Hear,
hear.) Twice has success attended that act of Lord
Ellenborough. The first time was when Lord Hardinge
and Lord Gough warred on the banks of the Sutlej.—
(Hear, hear.) An army advanced from Sinde to their
assistance, and held in check the powerful chief oelitoUl-
tan ; and that chief sent to the commander of the forces
a deputation, proposing to submit himself to the orders
of Lord Hardinge. The second time in which Lord
Ellenborough's wise policy sucoeeded, is in reference to
those events which at present continue to occur, and of
which we have, as yet, but little knowledge. Again,
gentlemen, Snide marches ten thousand men to the as-
sistance of General Whish, before the town of Moultani
and if aught of disaster—which, God forbid—should
happen to General Whish, Sinde will open its arms to
receive him—to succour his wounded, and receive him-
self and his army, if needs be.—(Cheers.) These are the
advantages that have resulted from the conquest of
Sinde; and now, my Lords and Gentlemen, let us re-
verse this picture. I have pointed out the advantages
of Lord Ellenborough's policy, but let us reverse it. Had
that nobleman been guided by weak and foolish men,
who wanted to place the traitorous Ameers of Sinde—
men who had broken faith over and over again with the
British—upon a throne, the sovereign of which they had
murdered—(Hear, hear)—had he left these men on the
throne, at this moment they would have marched at the
head of 100,000 Belooch warriors, equipped with spear,
sword, and matchlock, and fallen on General NVhish's de-
voted army and destroyed it.—(Hear, hear.) That is
the reverse of the picture, gentlemen. Now, as I have
mentioned General Whish's army, and the check which
he received before Moulton, I wish particularly to say
here that I think it would be highly ungenerous, and
what is still more odious, very unjust, to General Whish,
to pronounce any opinion on his operations and conduct
before Moulton. There are not many people who have
a knowledge of that country, and how to make war in it,
more than I have—(hear, hear.) It has fallen to my lot
to make war in that country. I know it well; and I
know that General Whish had to deal with numerous
difficulties, which at this distance of time prevent us
judging of his conduct without first obtaining more spe-
cific information than we have yet received.—(Hear.)
We must wait, in justice to General Whish, until his
own dispatches arrive, and give us a correct account of
his operations. But, my Lords and Gentlemen, there is
one point which I think is matter for congratulation to us
all.—(llear, hear.) A mist has been cam over the bril-
liant arms of England for a moment, but through that
mist we see the fiery valour of our soldiers, both Sepoys
and Europeans, shining with unabated lustre—(Cheers)
—resolved to hold themselves in readiness and to fall
upon the—what shall I call him—the valiant assassin of
the Moultan.—(Loud cheers.) Efforts may check, but
nothing in the world can resist the glory and prowess of
the British army.—(Renewed applause.) And now, my
Lords and Gentlemen, let me once more thank you for
the honour you have done me. You have made me ex.
perience what were the feelings of the Roman Consuls
of old in their triumphs and their ovations; and all I can
say is, that I wish, like them, I had my companion in
arms in safety around me in Dublin, or that I was at
their bead once more, sharing their (Sanger at Moultan.
The Gallant General sat doan amid a storm of cheer;
which was again and again revived fur a considerable
time.