The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-20 00:00:00

2 HE CHANCELLOR OF TEE EXCHEQUER
T HOM

Yesterday the parish of Hughenden, Bucks, of '
which the Chancellor of the Exchequer is " the
Squire," celebrated the completion of the harvest.
This is the third year in which the parish has had
its " Harvest Home," the initiation and increasing
success of the celebrations being due to the vicar,
the Rev. C. W. Clubbe, and the churchwardens,
Messrs. Thomas Coates and G. H. Hussey ; and
this year's is the second which Mr. Disraeli has
attended. Yesterday the farm labourers of the
parish, their employers, and the friends of both met
at half-past ten o'clock near the church, which
had been profusely decorated internally for
the occasion. By eleven o'clock the church was

filled, and the congregation included the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer and Mrs. Disraeli. The

vicar read the prayers, and the sermon was preached
by the Rev. C. Lloyd, the chaplain to the Bishop of
Oxford, from Job xix. 26, " In my flesh shall I see

God." The sermon, as will be seen below, was

highly eulogised by the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer. Service over, the villagers -went in some-
thing like procession, accompanied by a band of
music, to the manor grounds, where, close to " the
squire's" residence, spacious tents had been erected
—a long one for dinner and the others for subsidiary
purposes. When the villagers were seated the
Chancellor of the Exchequer entered and took the
chair. lie was accompanied by Mrs. Disraeli, Sir
C. Young, the clergyman named, and other friends.
A substantial meal was despatched, while the band

played outside, with a waggon for an orchestra.
For ventilation sake the tent was open at the side,
and there was revealed a vista of wooded slopes of
which Mr. Disraeli, familiar as he must be with the

scenery, could not help expressing his admiration

Dinner over,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose and
said—l have to propose a toast which you will
anticipate, but which you will none the less drink
with the utmost enthusiasm. It is " The Health

of the Queen," beloved by her subjects; and, consi-
dering her peculiar relations with the county of
Buckingham, and how she has patronised all our
institutions from the moment she ascended the

throne, it will be a health drunk to-day, I am sure
with feelings which cannot be exceeded in any par

of the kingdom. (Cheers.)
In proposing the next toast, " The Prince and
Princess of Wales," the CHANCELLOR of the Ex-
CHEQUER said—The Prince of Wales is well known
in this county, because he hunts in our fields, and
that like a gallant sportsman. her Royal Highness
i 3 now absent from England, with the hope of gain-
ing under a foreign sky that health in the restora-
tion of which we are all so deeply interested. I hope
she has found to-day at Wiesbaden as sunny an
atmosphere as we are now enjoying at Hughenden.

(Cheers.)
The next toast was "The Bishop and Clergy of
the Diocese," and in proposing it the CHANCELLOR
of the EXCHEQUER said—The bishop and clergy of
this diocese are much and deservedly beloved. This
parish possesses a vicar who, by the manner in which
he performs his duties, and his complete sympathy
with all classes, is endeared to every inhabitant.
There is also present to-day another member of that
reverend profession to whom we are also peculiarly
indebted, and that is the rector of Chalfont, who
has to-day favoured us with a sermon which I must
say was one of the most successful I ever listened to.
It was genial, it was adapted to the occasion, it was
original, and it was not too long. (Laughter and
cheers.) lam sure that you who listened to that
inspiriting exhortation must have felt after it that
you were better men, and more inclined to fulfil the
duties and enjoy the blessings of existence. I now
therefore propose to you a toast which will be, I am
sure, drunk not in form only, but with the sincerity
of real feeling. (Cheers.)
The Rev. C. LLOYD, in responding, said he greatly
approved such gatherings as these, and that they
were of inestimable ♦alue. Without deprecating
distinctions in rank, the due blending of which made
England what she was, he disliked that exaggera-
tion of distinction which prevented men gather-
ing together and sitting down to eat and drink
as God's creatures at the same table. He was proud

to propose the health of tne Chancellor of the Ex•

chequer, the Squire of Hughenden." Politics
being excluded from discussion at such gatherings,
he would only say that, when a statesman had taken
upon himself to extend the franchise, as the right
hon. gentleman had done, he further took a step in

the right direction by gathering together the people
of his parish in this way. Such gatherings were
calculated to furnish the best " safeguards" in the

extension of political power ; for through theif aris-
tocracy, gentry, farmers, and peasantry were biught
together, and, instead of finding that their interests
were antagonistic, they found that they were united
by common ties and sympathies, and that by co-
operation they would promote the common good.
This was the way to make men who were intrusted
with increased political power use it for the benefit
of the country as well as their own. Therefore
" harvest homes" might be included among the
" safeguards" of which we had recently heard so
much. In conclusion, he proposed " The Health of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer," which was drunk
with enthusiasm.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in respond-
ing, said—l am extremely sensible of your kindness
in drinking my health to-day, and of the manner in
which you have received it. lam not quite up to
politics in the month of September—(laughter)—
and therefore you will excuse me for dilating on the
theme which my excellent friend the rector of Chal-
font has so delicately alluded to. I have no doubt
his opinions are perfectly sound, but on the present
occasion I will merely say that ncthing gratifies me
more than presiding at the " harvest home" at Hugh-
enden. I am on the present occasion more gratified,
because I can congratulate all around me upon the
results of this harvest. There is at present, as there
always is at this period, very great controversy
going on as to the character and results of the gene-
ral harvest, not merely of England, not merely of
Europe, not merely of America, but of the world ;
and we hear contrary accounts and conflicting cal-
culations upon that all-important subject. On the
present occasion I am satisfied with the limited
horizon in which we live, and I think I can say this
without exaggeration, that when we met in church
this morning to return thanks to the Giver of All
Goodness we might sincerely return thanks for a
most satisfactory and plenteous harvest in the
parish of Hughenden. Whatever may be the
accounts which may reach us from other quarters,
whatever may be the conclusions arrived at and the
criticisms passed by others, I think there is no
doubt that in the parish of Hughenden we ought to
be content with the ingathering which we have just
accomplished. With regard to the wheat harvest, of
which in other places we have heard such contrary
accounts, we have realised an average. As regards
barley it has that brightness which brewers love.
(Laughter.) As for our oats, rarely have I seen
such a prolific and golden ingathering. These are
very great results under all circumstances, and
alone would constitute a good harvest. But when I
look around me I remember and observe that these
results have been obtained in these varieties of grain
in a district where the root crops are equally dis-
tinguished. Nor ought we to forget, my friends,
that this satisfactory and prolific season has afforded
one of the finest hay harvests that can be remem-
bered on the Chiltern hills—so great and plentiful
that even the after-math will exhibit almost as fertile
a condition as our pastures have had in the last few
years in the month of June. Well, then, I think we
have a right to be satisfied, and we ought to be
grateful for the harvest which we have just in-
gathered in this district and parish; and at the pre-
sent moment I am speaking only of this parish, with
whose interests I am so intimately connected, and
with whose feelings I so deeply sympathise. I think,
so far as I can take an impartial survey of our rural
world, there are other things in this parish, of no less
importance, upon which we may equally congratulate
ourselves. In the first place, I think it is a matter of
great satisfaction that at this moment there is no able-
bodied labourer who is not employed, and who also
is not employed at good wages. We are, no doubt,
in some degree indebted for this result to the happy
circumstance, of that rural manufacture, and the