The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-02 00:00:00

BANQUE? AT FISHMONGERS' HALL.

The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers gave
a banquet at their elegant hall last evening to the
lion. members ; Mr. F. B. Renshaw, prime warden,
in the chair. The company included Mr. Goschen,
M.P., Vice-Chancellor Sir W. Page Wood, Sir
Rowland Hill, General Sir F. Smith, Admiral Sir
W. 11. Hall, Sir Fowell Buxton, Bart., M.P., Sir
H. Hervey Bruce, Bart., M.P., Sir W. Ferguson,
Bart., Colonel Robertson Aikman, Mr. Alderman
'W. Lawrence, M.P., Mr. Thomas Chambers, M.P.,
Mr. Charles Gilpin, M.P., Mr. A. S. Ayrton, M.P.,
Mr. J. Abel Smith, M.P., Mr. Thomas Hankey,
A-1
the Governor of the Bank (Mr. Mr. J. Neale M`Kenna, Mr. J. Rem-
ington Hunt), the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the
East and West India Dock Company, the Masters
of the Mercers and Drapers' Companies, and the
Master and the Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths'
Company.
According to custom, the successful young water-
men, who during the day had contended for Dog-
gett's coat and badge, entered the hall after the
and re-
goifv'es on the
re-
ceived preliminary
bottlesto ast s
of bsiaidu
eb
the
he
en c
om disposedpany
occasion.

vvTh
eproposing
"The House
of m
incidentallyinremarked that in all pro-
bability the house would have to fight its reform
battles over again when the bill came back from
mPßolnlsl E,
"A np E
N'
the House of Lords. That being done, he hoped
legislative attention would be given to commercial
questions, particularly to railway affairs, in which at
least five hundred millions sterling were invested.

. _
The toast was acknowledged by Mr. GOSCHEN,
who said we were by recent events in St. Stephen's
being cast adrift upon a sea without a political
chart,
to a successful withoutbutnsontessfnl and
f
hopesa ofe
is
bringingsue.
our navi-
gation The outside
public had confidence in the people of this country,
and did not by any means share in the fears of
democracy which had been recently expressed in
certain parliamentary speeches. (Laughter.) The
public wished the IlOuse- of Commons to settle the
Reform question, believing in their hearts that what-
ever might be the future constitution of the coun-
trytheydepend upon the sound common
sense
o of
mightir
fellow-countrymen
—upon their love
of order, and upon their law-abiding qualities. He
. thanked the Conservatives for the franchise part of
the Reform Bill, and considered that although their
measure was but an experiment, it was
an experi-
ment justified by the character of the English
people. If he were asked how this bill would affect
the line that divided Liberals and Conservatives, he
would reply that it was foolish and shortsighted to
attempt to gauge the results of the bill now being
passed upon the future of any one set of men, or
of the triumph of any one set of politicians. It
was folly to talk of Conservatives or Liberals
gaining a seat here or there at a time when, for
all they knew, they were acting out the last
chapters of their history, and were about to give
way to new combinations based upon new
prin-
ciples and actuated by new motives. Consider-
ing, therefore, that when this bill became law the
world of poaics might be different to that of the
present moment, he could only say that the anxie-
ties of a dying miser with regard to the treasures
he could not take away were on a par with
the anxiety often expressed with regard to the gain
of a seat or two for parties that might Jae about to
be entirely transformed. The fature of course was
entirely unknown; but we might look with confi-
dence, not to the balance of political classes or
parties, and not to any of those securities which
some noble lords were attempting to introduce, but
to the general body of the English people. This was
not only the opinion of the "louse of Commons, but
of the present electors, and he trusted that the Con-
servative members were parties not only to the policy
but to the principle of the bill. (Cheers.) The
importance of the measure could not be over-esti-
mated; and low word would bo more momentous

than those which would be heard if the Queen, with
respect to the present Reform Bill, should utter the
old formula, "La Reine le Veut." (Cheers.)
Other toasts followed, the speakers being Vice-
Chancellor Wood, Mr. Chambers, M.P., Sir Row-
land Hill, Sir 11. Bruce, M.P., &c.