The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-17 00:00:00

LIOE_VSED TICTUAbLMRS' SCHOOLS.

BANQUET AT THE ASHBURNHAM PAVILION,
CREHORNE GARDENS.
Yesterday thEi anniversary festival of the Licensed
Victuallers. Schools, it being also the jubilee of the in-
stitution, was held at Ashburnhans-park grounds, ad-
j doing Cremorne-gardens. The preparations for the ac•
commodation of an assemblage of persons who were to
be numbered, not by hundreds but by thousands, all of
whom expected to dine, and who did dine, and dine well,
was a notable proof of the capabilities of the establish-
ment of which Ashburnham-park forms a part. The
dinner was laid out in the vast and tasteful marquee in
which the American flower show was recently held, and
its arrangements and decorations partook of the charac-
ter of that exhibition. Flags and flowers, in festoons,
groups, and in hanging baskets, being disposed in all
parts of the tent in profusion, which, added to the band
some manner in which the table • were spread, formed
altogether one of the prettiest, indeed most elegant,
spectacles we have seen for some time. A dais, with a
canopied seat for the chairman, ran along one side of the
marquee, beneath which, in serried rows, were tables
affording accommodation to no less than 2,300 persons.
When it is added that there was an elevated orchestra,
in which the Cremorne brass band played daring dinner,
and three galleries capable of holding 500 ladies, some
idea may be formed of the extraordinary gathering which
was amply provided for under one roof. Nothing could
be better than the vi,inds and wines, which 'reflected
very great credit upon Mr. Simpson's judgment
and liberality, as well as upon the skill of
chef de cuisne, Mr. Johns ; and the service
was performed with perfect regularity. John Walker,
Esq., of the firm of Taylor, Walker, and Co., took the
chair, anti he did his best to carry on the proceedings of
the evening with due effect ; but owing to the hilarity
of the company, whidh commenced at a very early pe-
riod of the dinner, the speeches were mostly delivered
in "inexplicable dumb show," and so much of them as
reached the reporters was conveyed to them second
hand through the able and energetic medium of Mr.
Harker, the toastmaster, who acted the part of a kind of
interpreter between the speakers and the recorders of
the speeches. The usual loyal toasts having been given,
"Prosperity to the Licensed Victuallers' Schools" was
proposed by the chairman; after which the children of
the school, 134 in number, marched in procession round
the dais on which the chairman and his friends, and the
officers of the institution, were seate I. The two senior
boys, in succession, recited some verses appropriate to
the occasion—the jubilee of the charity—and the chil-
dren generally sung a hymn. The healthy of the choir-
man, the different officers of the institution, the press,
the officials of the other charities of the trade, and the
ladies, were given in succession, and before daylight
had quite departed ther majority of the company betook
themselves to the neighbouring gardens of Cremorne,
the amusements of which were held out as a portion of
the festivities of the day. A sum of above 1,400/. was
collected, towards which the chairman contributed 50
guineas, Messrs. Taylor and Walker 100 guineas and 20
guineas annually, in addition to which various sums
were subscribed by the friends of the firtn, many of
whom were present, making an aggregate of 3751. ob-
tained by means of Messrs. Taylor and Walker, by far
the largest amount which has been received through
the instrumentality of any chairman of the festivals of
the institution for the last 13 years. An efficient musical
corps, under the directiOn of Mr. George, was in requi-
sition, and Mr. Harker performed the singularly arduous
duties of toastmaster on this occasion.