The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-04 00:00:00

At the dessert the Prefect of the Seine rose, and
after giving the health of the President of the Re-
public, which was drunk with loud applause, he pro-
posed the following toast :
" Gentlemen,—l give a toast to the noble guests
of the city of Paris ; to the Commission charged by
the Queen of England to organize the universal Ex-
hibition ; to Prince Albert, its illustrious President ;
to the Executive Commission ; and to the interna-
tional Jury, whose enlightened labours have given
so much éclat to this imposing solemnity. Honour
to the fruitful idea which has assembled together in
one palace the marvels of human intelligezice ! In
this industrial congress, the true congress of peace,
the people in thus coming together forget ancient
enmities, and in presence of the chefs d'ceucre of all,
wish only to form one great family. The city of
Paris inscribes with pride the date of the 2d August,
1851, among its municipal files ; it is for it a memo-
rable day, of which its magistrates will retain a long
remembrance. Thanks, therefore, to our guests for
coming to take a place at our banquet ; the Hotel de
Ville is proud at receiving them ; I drink to the il-
lustrious representatives of the industrial genius of
all nations ; to the Royal Commission of London,
and to the international Jury." These words were
received with loud and prolonged applause.
Lord GRANVILLE, Vice-President of the Royal
Committee of the Exhibition, then rose, and in the
midst of the most profound silence returned thanks
as follows :—Monsieur le Prefect and gentlemen,
—Allow me, in very bad French, though with the
greatest sincerity, to thank you, in the name of Prince
Albert and of the Royal Commission for the honour
which you have just done them. For my own part,
gentlemen, the impressions of my youth, the bonds
which I have since contracted, the souvenir whic h
you have preserved of him whose name I bear—
(Loud applause)—and who devoted so many years to
cement the union between England and your fine
France, which he had learned to love and to respect
like as second country—(Renewed cheers)—all,
gentlemen, makes me feel both pride and embarrass-
ment in having the honour so little merited by me
of being the organ of the Commission at this brilliant
assembly, at a fete the magnificence of which is only
equalled by the cordiality of your reception.—
(Applause). The desire was felt in England
of trying one of those grand national exhibitions
which had so well succeeded in France, and which
had been found to be productive of so much advantage.
Prince Albert thought that the idea might be still
further enlarged, and its advantages extended, if, at
one time, all countries, brought together by the pro-
gress of science, and by the diffusion of education,
could be invited to exhibit their varied productions.
It appeared to him that such :an exhibition would
serve to show the progress of actual civilization ; and
that while it taught us to return thanks to the
Creator of all things for the blessings he has heaped
upon us, it would also teach us how much might be
added to the common happiness by the union not only
of individuals, but of nations.—(Loud cheers.) lam
specially charged by Prince Albert, as well as by my
colleagues of the Commission, to thank Prince
Louis Napoleon and his Government for their
zealous co-operation, for the enlightened mea-
sures which they have taken to dissipate any
prejudices which might still exist, and for the
choice of the persons who have co-operated in the
execution with so much ability and conciliation.—
(Bravo, bravo.) We had no pretension to make an
English exhibition of the industry of the world—we
regarded it as a great honour to be able to offer to the
other nations the means of making their own exhibi•
tions as integral parts of this great work.—(Re-
newed approbation.) Gentlemen, we also thank the
French exhibitors for the elegance and splendour
which they have given to the Fxhibition by their pro-
ductions. They have more than confirmed their
long-established reputation for the invention and
good taste which prevails in the execution of their
manufactures. I hope that the sacrifice of time and
money which they have made will not be all lost
for them, even in a commercial point of view. I
also hope that they will feel no jealousy if we,
on our parts, should profit a little by the lessons
which they have given us.—(Loud and continued
applause.) Our thanks are particularly due to those
men, distinguished in sciences, arts, and industry,
whom France has sent to us as jurymen. Our orga-
nisation as a voluntary association has made us estab-
lish rules which were contrary to their old experience.
As French jurymen they have not ceased for a mo-
ment to fulfil their laborious duties. No opinion was
rejected—everything was freely discussed and voted.
It was frequently French jurymen who were the first
to point out the merits of the exhibitors of other na-
tions. At the end of a labour of seven or eight hours
a day, during the space of two months, they sepa-
rated from their confreres in perfect harmony, and
have excited in England only sentiments of kindness
and respect. Permit me also, gentlemen, to say a
word of the visitors which France has sent to the Ex-
hibition. Among them were some of her most illus-
trious statesmen, literary men, and soldiers. There
were representatives of those renowned names which
since the middle ages have illustrated the history of
France and of Europe; there were citizens who
have advanced the prosperity of your nation ; and
there were intelligent working men and industrious
peasants. All, gentlemen, have shown, in different
degrees, that intelligent curiosity and that good
humour and courtesy which so much distinguish the
inhabitants of this country.—(Applause.) At the
end of thirty-six years of peace, the Exhibition has
given my countrymen of all classes an opportunity of
witnessing the intellectual and moral qualities which
render the French so distinguished in arts of peace.
For ages before they had only been able to know them
for their bravery and their military genius.—(Re-
newed applause.) An enormous and unexampled
step has been made this year towards the destruction
of national antipathies and prejudicies.—(Bravo.) I
beg pardon, gentlemen, for having so long trespassed
on your patience.—(No, no, and bravos.) I thank
you from the bottom of my heart for the obliging at-
tention you have given me, and I demand permission to
drink, in a glass of this wine, one of the most delicious
productions of your soil, 'To the political, social, and
commercial prosperity of the city of Paris.' " (Long
continued bravos.)
The speech of Earl Granville was received with
thunders of applause that lasted several minutes, and
it appeared that the audience scarcely knew how to
show how deeply they were penetrated with senti-
ments corresponding with those which his Lordship
had so well expressed. When silence was at last ob-

tained,
M. LANQUETIN, President of the Municipal Coun-
cil of Paris, rose to reply. He said that he ought,
perhaps, to leave them under the influence of the
charm of that eloquence which had marked the speech
of the Noble Lord, but that he felt himself compelled
in the name of the municipal body in Paris, to at-
tempt a reply, being impelled thereto also by the fact,
that the Lord Mayor of London was seated by his
side. He augured the happiest results from the
visit of the Lord Mayor, as he considered it
an event that went to tear up the last roots
of the prejudices that had been nourished by the
long wars and their effects that had hitherto
divided two nations formed to esteem each other.
He begged to propose a toast in honour of the Lord
Mayor.—" To the Lord Mayor, to the municipal ma-
gistrate who is so worthy, so revered, and so powerful
to do good; to the city of London, to the immense
and wealthy capital of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain ; to the worthy and noble rival of Paris—ho-
nour and gratitude !" " Honour (said ha) to her, for
she has been the first to realise the grand idea of the
Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations,
for she has thus made a great and noble emulation
triumph over every feeling of egotism ; honour and
gratitude, for she has shown herself great and gene-
rous in raising splendid arenas for the display of that
pacific struggle, and in offering the most distinguished
hospitality to the sages of industrial science, called
together to bestow the crown upon the most deserv-
ing." After some further complimentary expres-
sions that marked the strong desire he felt to do ho-
nour to their guests, he concluded, amid tremendous
applause, with proposing" Prosperity to the City and
Corporation of London.
The LORD MAYOR, then rose and addressed the
assembly in English. He expressed the highest gra-
tification at being the chief magistrate of London for
the year 1851, and in being the first individual who
in that capacity had had the honour of accepting an
invitation of the Prefect of the Seine. In the name
of all the municipal authorities, he assured them of
the satisfaction they had in co-operating with them
in the success of the Great Exhibition, which he
hoped would conduce to the happiness, peace, and
unity, not only of France and England, but of all the
countries of Europe. He concluded_ by thanking
them for the great honour they had conferred on him,
and proposed " The Health of the Prefect of the
Seine, and prosperity to the City of Paris."
Alderman SALOMONS, in the midst of the cheering
' the Lord Mayor resuming his seat, called out in
English, " For the City of Paris, Hurrah," which
was taken up and responded to in the true English
style by the British guests.
• After the banquet the guests were shown into that
magnificent room called formerly the wile du trone,
which was fitted up for a theatre, and in which was
gived Le Medecin max re lui, with great humour and
point by the artists of thegheatre Francais, including
Mdlle. Brehm and beldlle. Denain. While the guests