The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-06 00:00:00

ER 1N 110 NO 1110F,SIR C. A'APIER.
,(...brorn tbeißoznixty Gazetie exeriazei
The dinners' prenomesi in-honour bf.s
"r, !etc Comma:l:ler:4l4lller in India,
rqthe"off;:t 01u4- en the even:..; of Friday, the
sulte; tee Hoe. Sir William Yardley, ono of the
dips .4af. her Majesty's Supreme Cour:, in the chair.
U7` entlernen sat down to dinaor.
Ohairmun was supported .en the right by
Sir Charles N aup,iiepe r.
of
fn
tthheesluedftdcr A
by.
ohnVi arden, Esq.,
I
t als'thewcals proposed
owaoss
e-dby the
removedat ten o'clock, and the first
terms:—" Brigadier Wyllie, Chairman
brumanperin
the s
ta , please, to the health of her Majesty the Queen."
toast,
followingi f
you
Drunk with the- usual honours.
Air—" God save the Queen."
The CHAIRMAN next proposed " His Royal Highness
Prince Albert, Albert Prince of Wales and the rest of
the Royal Family." ,
Air—" Prince Albert's March."
In rising the third time, Sir WILLIAM YARDLET pro-
posed the toast of the evening.
Sir CHARLES NAPIER, whose rising was the signal for
loud and long-continued applause, as soon as he could
be heard, spoke nearly as follows:—Gentlemen—It is
with some difficulty that I, a traveller at the present
moment, rise to thank you for the compliment you have
paid me, and for the kindness you have shown me; after
hearing myself praised in one of the most eloquent
speeches I have ever heard, I, a poor soldier, cannot
reply to such eloquence. Passing through Bombay, and
without preparation, I am only able to thank you for
all the honours heaped upon me by the army, as well as
by the civilians of Bombay; and, when I say civilians,
I mean all who do not wear the blue and red coat. I
know I am supposed in Bombay to be an enemy to
civilians, but this is quite erroneous—(Cheers)—I am
no enemy to civilians; it is false to say that I am, and
it is a falsehood which is so absurd that I have never
taken the trouble to refute it. You must allow me great
latitude in replying to the eloquent speech we have just
heard, for, so help me God, I trusted to a soldier's heart
to find words to address to you Oil the inspiration of
the moment. lam afraid that my friend the chairman
has gone far beyond my merits—(Cries of " No, no")—
and I cannot altogether admit his praise; his kindness
has exaggerated my qualities, except in one thing where
he has spoken the truth. Ile has correctly said that I
would be the first to feel pain at the detraction of Lord
Gough in order to increase my praise. Lord Gough is
a glorious old soldier, and a good man, possessing one of
the noblest hearts that ever beat, and I love him well.
I have to say to Sir William Yardley, in return for his
kind eulogium, that I must share it with the bravearmy;
for without them I could have done nothing—Whithe,
Leason, Wyllie, now before me at this table, and I could
point out a dozen gallant others, without whose courage
and assistance I could have done nothing. I must not
forget the Bengal 19th Regiment of cavalry, who were
equal to their neghbours, nor the small band of Madras
Sappers, who also behaved well. I cannot pass over any
man that has done his duty. I love all the three armies of
India, but I,,,must confess that I am prejudiced in favour of
the Bombay army. lam saying nothing that can hurt a
Bengal officer, for I have found as good officers and men
in the Bengal army as I did in Bombay; but I com-
menced my Indian career with the Bombay army, and
although I have fought with the Bengal army, and com-
manded them for two years, yet I am prejudiced in favour
of the Bombay army and of low caste. Gentlemen, I
have the honour to sit with a glorious soldier at this
table. He rose from the ranks; he had a noble origin.
I love that man, for he first planted the British colours
on the breach of Moultan.—(Cheers.) He has been
justly rewarded with a commission; but, gentlemen, I
am steering among rocks, but I am a pilot and will go
on—notwithstanding he has been so promoted, yet there
is a regulation in force amongst you which prevents hint
from enjoying all the advantages of his present position,
and I consider it a most inconsistent regulation by which
he is prevented from joining the military fund, and
making the same provision as yourselves for his widow
and offsprings. lam now speaking to your best feel-
ings, and I say that this regulation ought to be broken;
for although that soldier rote from the ranks, he rose
from -a glorious foundation.---(Sir Charles here alluded
to kessign Bennett.) This is a wandering wild speech,
siatit as the thoughts come uppermost so the old soldier
must speak. In what Sir Wiliam Yardley said, while
again repeat that he praised me too highly, yet, I be-
lieve that he only spoke what he felt to be the truth
from his heart. But I like to come to parti-
cular points. In the wars of Sinde there were some
officers who did more for me than I did for them. The
first I shall mention is Captain Brown, of the Bengal
army, who is now dead. A braver or a better soldier
never lived. Of the second I shall not say anything, as
;Ale is a relative of mine—l mean Major M`Murdo ; but
the third, of whom I shall and will speak, is my Moon-
shee, Ali Akbar. This man stood by me in the day of
battle; he was of the greatest assistance to me through-
out the campaign in Sinde; he was my tongue; and I now
find him in disgrace. lam not aware upon what infor-
mation the Government has acted. I charge no man
with injustice, but I have a right to say that Ali Akbar
did more for the conquest of Sinde than a thousand sol-
diers could have done. I will never abandon a brave
soldier, and after all that Ali Akbar has done, I find him
here in disgrace; and gentlemen (said the General, with
emphasis, and striking the table with his hand), I say
he has had no trial.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") I
charge to man or the Government with injustice, but I
will trot abandon Ali Akbar. I will now speak of the
day of peace, and tell you of the men who assisted me,
besides the commanders of corps. Next to them were
the collectors of Sindo ; there were three of them, but
I shall only mention two, for they did preserve the
honour of England—l mean Major Goldney, of the
Bengal army, and Captain Rathborne, of the Bombay
army. .These two men did more for me than anybody,
else in time of peace—they upheld the honour of Eng-
land. Those gentlemen made our rule loved; and I will
not take the credit of what they are justly entitled to.
No man surpasses me in zeal and devotion to the army,
and to the true interests of the East India Company. I
am not an enemy,:as has been said, to the Court of Direc-
tors—God forbid that I should be any man's enemy, but
I will not submit to be ill-treated; this is not enmity,
but an independent spirit, which I glory in, and which,
old as I am, I shall carry with me to the grave.—(Rap-
turous applause.) It is this that makes me feel so aeeply
the kindness of the present company. This day 57 years
ago, gentleman, I received my first commission as an
ensign, and girded on this sword, which has remained by
my side ever since. I received that commission, as a
boy, rejoicing; your kindness makes me rejoice in finish-
ing that career as a man.—(Cheers.) Let me now speak
of some matters connected with the interests of the city
of Bombay, of which I have always thought with
great intensity. The Country of the Five Rivera has
been conquered, and I rods throughout it all the other day,
and never saw a richer or a more flourishing country. I
do not know much of such things, but I tell you what I
saw—oceans of grain, and there are coals for your
steamers, and you will find sulphur, shall I say for your
Scotchmen (aside laughingly)—(Cheers)—but no matter
for whom. Steamers can go everywhere and bring these
products to tho port of' Bombay, the trade of which
would soon be considerably enlarged. I met an Arme-
nian of the name of Arathoon, the other day, in the
Punjaub, a man of great energy and enterprise, and who
largely assisted our armies in Affghanistan in procuring
supplies—who told me that he had felled an enormous
quantity of timber, which was now lying on the banks
of the Cheenab, as he could not bring it down to Bom-
bay, Lord Dalhousie having refused him the protection
of Government, unless he could prove that he had the
means of carrying out his enterprise. It is true that
I had only this Arathoos's own story, and he was an
interested party; but I believed what he told me. Now
I do not know much of such things, and lam speaking
in the presence of those who do, but I should say that
CGeonavemrnermeeenrtehgaudirea to n
nothing
you this Ido not wish to say anything against Lord
g nursed to
d lot k e a with
child. a
m a
n isn means.
Commerce tellinge ans.
Dalhousie, although lam not an admirer of his Lord-
ship,werl d tt,ri
ford II a
End o
awarenot e rten a
t tthoughthere
tahraet
ggeon
tfloermt he
nt oe
et hne.
' nected with the press here present. Some people in
Bombay say and think that I hate the public press. Far
from it, I do not hate the press, although I have a great
antipathy to some individuals connected with it ; and I
own I have sometimes wished for a broomstick, and to
be near the editor of the Bombay Times.—(A laugh.)
But in justice to Lord Dalhouse, I must tell you again that
I got this story from Mr. Arathoon himself, an interested
man, who told we that the timber would be ravaged by
the rajas without he had the protection of Government,
which Lord Dalhousie refused
the purpose whether Lord Dalhousie is right or wrong,
to know that thia Ara.
but it is to the purpose for you
thoon complains that he has a great abundance of tim-
ber,hinLehei
bringmg_E
with
nearer to these rich
to be borne to Bombay ; and Government will
the produce of the countries
thatoftht
,bring it
here. Is it not a pity that such opportunities should be
not give him the fair protection he requires to '
Indian provinces? with proper arrangements I say
that Bombay will, soon be the great rendezvous for
all things both from England and
neglected for
the Punjaub. Cal-
cutta will not lose her grandeur, but she cannot rival
pctiisn
januobth:nregadtoy
Bombay or Kurrachee as mercantile ports.
Eight years
ago Kurrachee had a population of only
whereas, now, as I found passing men;
through it the other
day, it numbers 25,000 men, and it
crease and prosper, while B mutt continue to in-
grand mart of India.— Bombay must become the
oud applause.)
[AD

.ERTISEMENT.3—Ii II
painful n t an e otuos
eases of the Skin.—C oio
both obnoxious and
a superior Remedy for Scorbutic Affections and other Dis-
wy—'s Ointment snd Pills
tdhiosesease
,incatobseiiorg nature
anxiety of mind, heaviness, weariness, and dejection of twits.
To effect a cure of these dreadful maladies use Holloway's
Ointment and Pill
of the blood ever s.
dais arected
ler
The latter medicine is the finest puuari
to
discovered, and there is nothing eq 1
the Ointmeat for allaying the irritation of the parts affested.
By a steady perseverance in the use of these remedies the
most aggravated diseases of the skin can be cured, and the pa-
tient restored to the soundest health.—Sold by all Druggists
and at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand ,
London.
FRAUD oN A SEAMAN.—A sailor lately paid off
from her Majesty's ship Prince Regent, at Portsmouth, re-
ceived a remittance ticket amounting to 351., payable in Lon-
don, and presented it yesterday at the pay-office, Whitehall,
and received seven 5/. notes. On leaving the office he was
accosted by a gentlemanly-looking man, who asked the
sailor if he would show him the way to the London Docks;
when Jack proffered his assistance to show him the road,
and on reaching that locality the gentleman invited the
sailor to take some refreshment in a public-house. While
there they were joined by another person, who entered into
conversation, and described himself as being a gentleman of
fortune who had come up to London to receive some pro-
perty. They then asked to be shown to the Tunnel, and
afterwards entered another public-house on the Botherhithe
side, and there these kind friends
managed
to obtain posses-
sion of the Bank of England notes and substituted in their
stead, lash or " Bank of Elegance" notes. The poor sailor
ha, thus lost in one hour the whole fh. hard .
p Is earnings for
three years.