The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-02 00:00:00

that event our first trust must be in our wooden
walls, or rather in our iron walls. Happen what
might, therefore, let them rely upon their navy,
and trust to the certainty that should an enemy set
his foot on the sacred territory of this country, that
foot should remain, and that enemy should never
take it back again. (Tremendous and enthusiastic
cheering.) Much depended upon war ; much upon
the skill with which our iron walls were drawn
around us, and much upon the great artillery with
which they would be made to bristle, but he had
every confidence in the resisting power of an armed
nation—of a nation capable of sending forth a large
body of men armed with rifles or armed with mus-
kets, as occasion might require, and which, as the
last six weeks had shown, could be brought into an
excellent state of discipline, which military men
would admit and even admire. These were thz) ab-
solute and sure defences of this country; for they
not only rendered an invasion difficult to be at-
tempted, but impossible of success even should the
attempt be made. Having made these observations
which had naturally occurred to him on the occasidia
of his noble and gallant friend's presence among
them, he had now to apologise for having, as he
thought, almost forgotten the duty he had risen to
perform, which was to thank them most heartily
, for the kind reception they had bestowed upon the
mention of his name. The occasion was altogether
one for the most sincere congratulation, for it was
the anniversary of three remarkable events, every
one of which had been productive of good results. ,
The first was the battle of the Nile ; the second the
accession of the House of Brunswick, to which we
are indebted for the blessings of civil liberty ; and
the third the emancipation of the slaves of the West
Indian Islands, begun in 1833, and finally com-
pleted in 1838. Heartily congratulating them,
therefore, on the happy auspices under which they
had met, he begged once more to thank them for
the kind feeling with which they had drank the
toast just proposed to them. (Cheers)
[During the delivery of several portions of the
noble and learned lord's speech Lord Clyde was
evidently much moved, and appeared to feel deeply
the warm terms of encomium in which he referred
to his distinguished services.]

The next toast was" The Houses of Parliament,"
for which respectively Lord Cranworth and Mr. T.
Hankey returned thanks.:
Lord BROUGHAM then gave the " Health of the
Prime Warden," recalling in fervent terms his long
acquaintance with, and recollections of, the Wood
family. His lordship had, be said, almost during
his whole public life known the late Sir Matthew
Wood; he was most intimate with Sir Page Wood,
and he was also proud to acknowledge amongst his
most intimate friends the Prime Warden of the
Fishmongers' Company.
The PRIME WARDEN briefly returned thanks ;
and the remaining toasts having been disposed of,
the company separated.
In the course of the evening the winners of Dog-
gett's coat and badge, which had been rowed for
during the day, were called to the head of the
table, and handed the prizes by the Prime Warden,
with the usual formalities.

The dinner was furnished, as usual, by Messrs.
Ring and Brymer, and Mr, Harker was the toast-
master.

FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

The Emperor of the French appeared before us
yesterday in a new and by no means ungraceful
character. We know him well as an accomplished
orator, as the writer of soul-stirring proclamations,

and as the inspirer of pamphlets announcing

changes at which monarchs tremble on their thrones.
But he comes before us now in another character—

as afrank and familiar correspondent. The Emperor.
has written a letter to the British nation, through

the transparent medium of his Ambassador, very
mach as one private gentleman might confide his
sentiments and opinions to another. If this be dip-
lomacy, it is diplomacy stripped of all its pomps
and trappings, without its cane and its snuffbox,
its star, its diamond-hilted sword, and its cocked
hat—diplomacy in its plainest garb and in its least
reserved humour. Mankind have hitherto 1-)eti dis-

posed to consider that great affairs must have L.
language of their own. In our old plays the Kings

and nobles talk blank verse, while the servants, sol-

diers, pages, and executioners are content with
home-spun prose. The Emperor of the French has
shown us that he can give an account of the re-
sources of a great nation and unfold the springs of
a deep and hidden policy in precisely the same
terms, and with as much ease and simplicity as if
he were writing of the management of a private
estate, or giving an account of his intentions with
regard to the abandonment of a troublesome law-
suit. The Emperor of the French has lived long
among the people of this country, and has profited
by his experience. He evidently understands that
the shortest way to our hearts is by openness and
plain dealing, and that he is more likely to obtain
the object he seeks by a studied artlessness and
careful simplicity than were he to bestow upon us
all those figures of rhetoric over which the great
founder of his family possessed almost as entire
a control as over the movements of his troops
on a day of battle. We have, indeed, every right
to be flattered, for the great Emperor of the
French, the arbiter of the destinies of Europe,
has taken the poorest and meanest among us
into a confidence which he is far indeed from
extending to the great majority of his subjects.
When we are assured that nothing is kept back, that
the Emperor has told us all he thinks, without dis-
guising or admitting anything, we have not the
slightest right to dispute the truth of the asser-
tion. It would be difficult to suggest any topic

with regard to the foreign policy-of France inte-
resting to the people of this country on which there
is not the fullest and most reassuring explanation.
The letter, tco, is interlarded with admissions such
as men make in the confidence of intimate friend-
ship, but do not usually offer to the eye of an in-
different, perhaps of an unfriendly, reader. Thus,
we are told in the first sentence that affairs are
complicated, thanks to the mistrust excited every-
' where since the war in Italy. There is nothing
here about the machinations of ancient parties,
about delusions, prejudices, and rivalries ; the effect
is attributed at once to the true cause, and the case
admitted with a frankness which leaves nothing to
be desired. The Emperor wishes to live on the
best terms with all his neighbours; he had re-
nounced Savoy and Nice, and was only prevailed
upon to think of them by the extraordinary terri-
torial acquisitions of Piedmont, His army is not
too large for his requirements when the deductions
for foreign service are made. His navy is not on a
scale commensurate with that established under
Louis Philippe. His regiments are on a smaller
effective standing than those of former times. If
other people have seen the bright side of the late
war, the Emperor, who was on the spot, has seen
the defects, and is only anxious to remedy them.
In the East he wishes only for the status quo, and
that Turkey should live as long as possible. He
was transported with indignation at the Syrian
outrage; but he remembers what Algeria has cost,
and desires no acquisition there. His conquests
must be made at home. He is willing to act with
England in Southern Italy, as to which he is bound
by no treaty obligations. He desires to quit Rome
when he can do so without compromising the
safety of the Pope. He seeks no new acquisitions
abroad, and wishes the frankest interchange of
opinion between himself and the eminent men who
are at the head of affairs in England.
We believe that the people of this country are
disposed to receive this latter in the spirit in which
it has been written—in a spirit of fair and honour-
able consideration. So far from looking on its
author with hostility, they will not willingly look
upon his advances in a spirit of suspicion ; they are
only too willing to believe that the mighty Power
that they find in such close proximity to themselves
cherishes no other feelings towards them than those
which befit a good friend and. neighbour. A great
part of the professions of this letter,—those parti-
cularly which refer to Southern Italy, to Turkey,
and to Syria,—admit of being brought to an imme-
diate practical test, and we rejoice sincerely to find
that the Emperor of the French is
.so reasonable
and so moderate with regard to Syria, and so fair
and liberal with respect to Naples. W e receive the
assurance with the utmost satisfaction, and hope
sincerely that our foreign policy will be conducted
so as to fill up the outline which thist that
maswteerlyshhoauniad
has traced. But it is quite right
meet the frankness of the Emperor of the French
with corresponding frankness. Without the least
calling in question the sincerity o. f the Emperor of
the French, and while admitting in the fullest man-
letter forms a valuable programme, the ner that his