The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 8, 1860.

many in this room observations which must be very gratify-
ing to those who have come forward at their own risk to pro-
tect the lives and liberties of their fellow-countrymen. It is
a great gratification to me to know that I have in my hum-
ble way been enabled in a measure to promot- that move-
ment which has met with the approbation of all, from the
Queen to her humblest subject. (Cheers.) Meeting, as I do
to-day, many of the Volunteers of the West Riding, I take
this opportunity of thanking them for the good appearance
which they have already made, and I trust that before this
month will be closed the Volunteers of the three Ridings of
Yorkshire will make such an appearance under the old walls
of the city of York as shall show them to be worthy compeers
of their brethren in arms who have so lately been reviewed
at London, Edinburgh, and Knowsley. (Cheers.) I will not
detain you longer than once more to tender you nay best
thanks for the kindness which I have received as a neigh-
bour from the inhabitants of Sheffield, and I will endeavour
so to perform my duties through life as win the esteem and
affection of my fellow-men. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. T. JESSOP gave "Lord Whamcliffe and the House
of Wortley." (Loud cheers.)
Lord WHA.RNCLIFFE was received with loud cheers and
waving of handkerchiefs. He said there is a common way
of beginning to speak on occasions of this kind, and that is
by saying, "unaccustomed as I am to public speaking."
(Laughter.) That was never more true than it is on the
present occasion, for since I had the pleasure of meeting
you on a similar occasion two or three years ago I do not
think I have had to speak in public, and I have grown rusty
in consequence. (Laughter.) I cannot attribute your kind •
ness to anything which I have done, but-rather to the merits
of my predecessors. But 1 will not give way to any 15n e
here in the real interest I feel in all that concerns the town
of Sheffield. (Cheers.) It is not in my power to do much,
but I always endeavour to do what I can. Nothing has
given me greater satisfaction than to see the hard •working
operatives of Sheffield coming up to the crags and enjoying
themselves there. (Cheers.) Ido not mention this in any
spirit of self-laudation, but the way in which the noble
duke who has thrown open his mansion of Haddon to the
public, and other noblemen have admitted their fellow-
countrymen, shows that there is not such a strong class
feeling among us as is sometimes supposed. I feel that the
greatest privilege attached to our possessions is that they
may be enjoyed by our poorer countrymen. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. Alderman BROWN gave "The Health of Lord Den-
man." (Cheers.)
Lord DE:cmax—(cheers) —I beg to thank you most
heartily for the honour you have done me. I cannot ex-
press sufficiently my gratitude to the gentleman who pro-
posed it. lam sure that all classes benefit by the industry
and uniform good conduct of their neighbours. I have
always received the greatest kindness from all persons with
whom I have been brought into contact in this neighbour-
hood, and such kindness renders a far greater benefit to
the class to which I belong than we can ever return. I
cannot help alluding to the remark of the Master Cutler,
in which he ascribed the honour of his present position to
his father and predecessors. if it were not for the name I
bear, earned for me not by my own exertions, I should not
have been received in the manner I have been ; and I am
sure nothing can be a greater stimulus to exertion than the
many instances we have of men who have risen to distinc-
tion by their ability and their labours. (Cheers.) The
manner in which I have ever been received by the members
of the bar, because of the name which I bear, has ever been
a great incentive to me to do my duty and not to tarnish
that noble name. (Cheers.)
The Mayor of SHEFFIELD said—l have the honour to pro-
pose to you, "the members for the West Riding." (Cheers.)
It is a matter of regret that they are not present. We
know their untiring zeal in the service of the public. We
owe those men thanks, our best thanks, who leave their
homes and devote a great portion of their time in endea-
vouring to promote the interests of the community in which
they live. (Cheers.)
Mr. EDWARD BRA.MLEY—(cheers)—said—l have very
great pleasure in proposing " the health of the borough
Members." (Cheers.) I am sure you will receive the toast
cordially. Those gentlemen are so well lmown, and have
been so frequently among us that it seems almost a work of
supererogation for me to say anything about them. Every-
body knows Mr. Roebuck—(cheers)—as one of the most in-
telligent, patriotic, fearless, and independent members of
the House of Commons—(renewed cheers)—a man of whom
the country may well be proud. With regard to Mr. Had-
field, I can say with perfect truth that a more consistent,
liberal, and upright representative does not exist. (Cheers.)
He takes an interest in everything connected with the
borough, and never seems so happy as when he is doing
something for Sheffield. (Cheers.) I hope our members
will long continue to represent us, for the benefit of the
borough, and that they will be among us on many future
occasions. (Loud cheers, and three times three.)
Mr. ROEBUCK, M.P.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. Master Cutler,
I have to return thanks to you, sir, and to Mr. Bramley in
particular, for the very kind and eulogistic manner in which
he has mentioned the names of myself and my learned eol•
league, Mr. Hadfield. We, sir, owe—at least I do, and I
think my colleague will join with me in saying it—we owe
a great debt of gratitude to the people of Sheffield. (Mr.
Hadfield—" Hear.") I will tell you why. They have al-
lowed us, as independent members, to pursue our course in
Parliament, unpestered by the suggestions or observations
of our constituents.!(Cheers.)lThey have thought us honest.
They have believed that they have elected us to be their
representatives. They have known that we were upon the
very theatre upon which political affairs were being wrought
' out, and they believed that we knew as much of them as
they did themselves. I may say for myself that my course
has been entirely unprejudiced and undirected almost by
any observations on the part of my constituents. For this I
thank them, and I think they have shown therein their full
conception of what a representative ought to be. If he does
wrong, the time will came round whets you have the power
of telling him you think he has done wrong ; but, while he
is acting for them, any pestering, any suggesting, any call
of interest, or telling him that his constituents think this,
that, or the other, is foreign to the representative system.
And I say, sir—and I think my learned colleague will say
—that we thank you heartily that you have allowed us to
be, as we call ourselves, the independent representatives of
the people of Sheffield. Now, sir, I am a mere politician.
Other gentlemen around this table have broad acres to
represent. They can confer benefits upon the people of
Sheffield. I can confer none excepting as their repre-
sentative. (Hear, hear.) As their representative I think
this a great occasion upon which I may say one or two
words upon what has been passing since I last met you. I
have no doubt that in this I shall contravene some of your
rules. But, sir, were lin your house, sitting at your hos-
pitable board, I should say nothing offensive to anybody
around that board, and I hope I may touch upon political
matters without giving offence to aay human being who
now hears me. (Cheers.) I shall speak out openly the
feelings of my heart—the wishes, the views, and the fOpira-
hens which I entertain—and, so doing, I shall throw myself
upon the kindness and generosity of the gentlemen around
me. (Cheers.) Now, sir, I belong to an assembly, as also
does my learned colleague, who are twitted with having
done nothing during the past six months of their existence.
(Hear.) I have worked very hard, and I know my learned
colleague has worked very hard, and I believe the best thing
that could result is that we have done nothing. (Cheers and
laughter.) Now, that may appear a paradox ; but if you
will lend me your attention for a very few minutes I think
you will see and understand what I mean. The people of
England are peculiar for being only able and willing to un-
dertake one thing at one time, and the leading, the absorb-
ing thing which has occupied every man's mind during the
last six months has been the foreign relations of this coun-
try. (Hear.) During this time it was totally impossible
to produce any effect on the internal matters of the com-
munity. And, sir, I know enough, and seeing around me
gentlemen belonging to the aristocracy, I am sure they will
not misunderstand me when I say I know enough of the
relations of this country to know that any attempt to reform
the Parliament of this country without being backed with
the strong voice of the country will be utterly nugatory.
(Cheers.) Sir, I said coma two years ago—and for that I
was twitted—that you would never get a reform out of the
present Administration. I said so, and I acted upon it. I
thereby incurred the feeling of some sort of reprehension
on the part of some of my friends. But has not the result
proved that I was right ? It has proved that I was right,
because the people out of doors did not raise a voice suffi-
cient to bear down all opposition. I was a young man, but
I was a politician during the year 1830. Then the reform
of Parliament came in, and I recollect the uprising of the
people of England. They bore down all opposition. They
put an end to every sort of opposition, both in the Com-
mons and the Lords. Well, Sir, compare 1860 with 1830,
1831, and 1832. One was a violent gale, an uprising of the
popular storm, but in 1860 there was not a whisper to be
heard. (Cheers.) You sent us to Parliament to do certain
things. We could not do them without your aid, and you
did not assist us. Whose fault was it, then, that the thing
was not done? Not ours, but yours—not the fault of the
House of Commons, but of the people of England. I tell
you, and I tell you fearlessly and frankly—and I hope with
the entire concurrence of my learned colleague—that we
intended to carry the Reform Bill ; but the opposition was
too strong for us—(cheers)—and the people of England did
not support their representatives. (Renewed cheering.)
But there was another thing. Every mention of the volun-
teers this evening has been received with a boisterous up-
raising of the popular voice. And why ? Because your
minds are fixed upon the foreign relations of this country.
(Hear, hear.) England stands aloof from all the world of
Europe. She alone is free. She alone has popular institu-
tions which are worthy of the name. Against her every
despotic view is directed. For years we have been remain-
ing in the hope that we were so protected by our former
renown that no one would dare to attack us. I was one of
the first to raise my feeble voice to warn my countrymen
that danger was at hand. (Hear, hear.) For that, like
every other man who throws himself against the popular
current, and wishes to do a popular good, I incurred great
reprehension. Where is now my justification but in the
Volunteers of Great Britain ? (Cheers.) Why are they en-
rolled, and why did the noble duke thank them ? There
was something behind. You do not want a volunteer
merely to look at him in the dress of my friends down there
below. (Cheers.) You want him for some purpose.
What was the purpose which the noble duke pointed out ?
It was to prevent the possibility of invasion. (Hear,
hear.) Where was invasion to come from ? I pointed that
out many year, ago. I mentioned the name of a great

i. 1,.

...-- .
Potentate, and the newspapers of Trance and the servile
newspapers of England threw all sorts of abuse upon me
for so doing. Bub what do you do now ? Don't you
fear that man ? (Protracted cries of " No, no.") I used
the wrong word. I ackn.owledge it. A public speaker often
uses the wrong word. You don't fear him. (No, no, and
cheers.) And God be thanked that the Volunteers of Eng-
land show that there is a feeling in the people of England
that if a foreign invader put his foot upon our shore he will
never take it off again I (Loud cheers) Therefore I say I
used the wrong word. Fear does not enter into our feelings
upon the present occasion. But we protect ourselves. We
put ourselves into such an attitude that we don't fear any-
body. (Cheers.) On this call some of the peaceful inhabi-
tants of Sheffield have left their peaceful counters and their
desks, and put themselves into the tented field. When I
walked up the stairs to-day and saw around me what I con •
ceived to be a body of gallant soldiers, and was told that
all of them were men of Sheffield, did not my heart warm
to them—did not I feel that England was safe—did I not

know that no grasping hand of ambition, no restless foot of
despotic adventure, would ever dare to touch anything be-
longing to this country? (Cheers.) Our minds are occupied
with these things, so occupied that we have not time or at-
tention for anything else. And when the next session
comes, if something has not happened within that time to
have insured peace to Europe without all this martial array,
depend upon it that the next session will be as fruitless as
the past with everything connected with the internal regu-
lation. But don't blame us ; don't blame the House of Com-
mons for this. The House of Commons is Engl and. If
England had been upon the spot she would have done pre-
cisely the same. Sir, I.knove it is easy to sit at one's desk
and write articles against the House of Commons, but I
have never seen a man come into that house yet, whatever
his reputation outside, who has not been totally inefficient
to alter the course of that legislation. And why ? Because
we are the voice—the living voice of the people of England.
(Hear, hear.) We may be very often in the wrong. Talk,
talk, is the curse of that house. I fear you may think
it is the curse of this room. (Cheers end laughter.) But,
sir, I still maintain that the House of Commons has
done much good during the past session. Spite of the
Times, spite of the penny press, spite of the gentlemen who
abuse us, we have done much good by doing nothing.
(Cheers and laughter.) You do not suffer by our late sit-
tings, but my hon. and learned friend and I suffer. I have
sat up more nights this session than during any preceding
session. I have gone to bed at three o'clock in the morning,
thinking I had been dieing my duty ; but next morning out
came an article blowing hot and furious against the House
of Commons for misusing its time. That is all very well,
but what harm have we done ? (Cheers and laughter.)
I say we have done much goad. No other people in the
world have spoken out as we have done. Our voice has gone
across every sea, has resounded over ()Very mountain, in
favour of liberty, justice, and truth—(cheers)—and the
House of Commons, by the mere fact that it is an out-
spoken place, is the very heart of the liberty of the world.
Then, I say, you didn't ought to abuse your representa-
tives, but set them a good example. I have a great deal
more to say, but I will not occupy your time. (" Go on:")
There is, however, one thing to which I wish to allude before
I sit down, and that is almost of a personal character. I was
introduced to Sheffield by the efforts of a friend of mine who
is now no more; I mean Sir H. G. Ward. I recollect his
writing to me to say that he was about to retire from the re •
presentation of Sheffield, and he thought the people of Shef-
field and I would very well agree. He was a good prophet
on that occasion. He went into another sphere of life, in
which he showed great ability—great consideration for the
people of England, and for England's interest. Now, at the
very acme—the very pinnacle of his fame, when he was about
to do greater good still to his country, Providence has
thought fit to remove him from this earth. We cannot help
remembering his worth. We cannot help remembering all
the good he has done, and mourn for the lose of him, not
merely as a friend, but as one who would hate done much
more good had he been permitted to remain amongst us.
Sir, I could not help thus giving vent to a tribute of my
humble praise to the memory of one who is now no more.
I hope you will forgive this outburst of feeling on my part.
I beg to return you my thanks, and my friend, Mr. Had-
field begs, through my voice, weak and humble though it
may be, to return you his best thanks, for the honour you
have done us. On my own pari;, I shall content myself with
saying I am very much obliged to you and to this company,
not only for listening so patiently to what I have said, but
also for the cordial manner in which you have received the
mention of my name. (Cheers.)
Mr. HADFIELD, M.P., on rising, was received with
cheers. He said—l should be very unhappy to mitigate
in the slightest degree the effect of the eloquent and powerful
address which you have heard from my hon. and learned
colleague. Perhaps my department, as your representa-
tive, is somewhat distinct from that of my hon. colleague.
I have endeavoured, during the whole of the session, and
indeed during the whole time I have had the honour of re-
presenting this borough, to promote, to the best of my
ability, the commercial interests of your town. (Cheers.)
I have not been indifferent to the welfare and interests of
the country ; I have been particularly anxious to see com-
mercial enterprise successful in Sheffield. I have not lost
any opportunity that has presented itself of taking advan-
tage, to the utmost of my power, of the commercial openings
that have offered themselves. ' We have present Dr. Forbes
Watson, from the India-house, who will to-morrow explain
the openings which present themselves for commerce in
India. I have received communications from Mr. Cobden,
which give me a lively hope that great good will result
from the opening of our trade in that important empire. I
make bold to mention the high sense he entertains of the
services of the gentlemen you deputed to attend the con-
ference at Paris with regard to the new tariff. (Cheers.)
In his private communications, both to me and to others,
he speaks in the highest terms of the services of those gentle-
men. I feel myself bound to report the high opinion he
entertains of the assistance they rendered, and his high ex-
pectation that, when the details of the treaty come to be
understood by the public, though the first impression may
not have been favourable, it will be seen that the treaty
must ultimately produce great good to this country.
(Cheers.) I trust we shall shortly receive information in
reference thereto which will interest you all. Gentlemen,
I should have preferred to have been entirely silent after
the eloquent and learned address of my colleague, but I
could not neglect this opportunity of reporting to you the
commercial advantages which I hope in a few years will
result to this important borough from the French treaty.
(Cheers.)
Mr. R. JACKSON--(cheers)—would not detain the com-
pany with any lengthened remarks at that late hour of the
evening. That was the first occasion they had been hon-
oured with the presence of Dr. Forbes -Watson, the reporter
of products to the Indian Board. A few years ago the
attention of all classes in this country was painfully directed
to the events that were then passing in India. That time
had passed by, and they heard nothing of those horrible
tales which then so deeply affected us. He trusted that a
new era was opening upon us, and that before long we
should be able to govern India in a way which would be
beneficial, not only to this country, but to the natives them-
selves. The fact of the Indian Government having sent
Dr. Watson with these samples to Sheffield was a proof of
the great interest they felt in the development of the trade
and commerce between this country and India. (Cheers.)
He would not detain them longer than to ask them to join
him in drinking the health of Dr..F. Watson. (Cheers.)
Dr. Fonnas WATSON—Mr. Master-Cutler, my lords,
and gentlemen, I am extremely obliged for the kind re-
ception you have given me, and for the manner in which
my health has been proposed and received. I am aware that
this reception has been accorded to me on account of the
character in which I appear among you. lam compara-
tively new in office, and cannot, therefore, attribute to my
own merits the kindness you have shown me ; but this I
can say, that all the energy I possess shall be used to turn
that office to account for your advantage. (Cheers.) Mr.
Jackson has alluded to the newborn interest that has sprung
up in that great country—the greatest dependency, the
brightest gem in England's crown. I will not dwell upon
the origin of that interest, or remark upon the-tainfal cir-
cumstances that have been required to rouse us to a sense
of our duty to our Indian empire. lam here for a practi-
cal purpose ; chiefly to lay before you samples of the various
hardware products of that country, in order to sect whether
you can benefit the people of India by turning out cheaper
articles than they can make themselves. (Cheers.) The
natives of India, gentlemen, do not use knives and forks,
which is unfortunate for the cutlers ; but they do use other
articles of the same class, though not exactly of the same
kind, as you can and are constantly manufacturing. By the
application of machinery and enterprise we might produce
the tools required for use in India much more cheaply than
they aro now made, and thereby benefit both ourselves and
the people of India. Ido not mean to say that the day will
not come when, by the aid of similar machinery, these tools
will be manufactured in India ; but that day will not arrive
yet, and before it does come we may make a very good
thing out of the trade. lam not present to give a lecture
on the products of India, but this I must be permitted to
say, that what is chiefly required in India in English enter-
prise directed to the development of her resources in the va-
rious raw products required in England. I congratulete the
people of this country on having effected the removal of one
of the two great difficulties which beset us as a nation. The
various speakers to-night have alluded in most eloquent
terms to that great movement which has rendered us safe
egainst oppression from abroad. One of our great weak-
nesses has been thus removed, but the other still remains. I
refer to a product upon which the masses are almost es de-
pendent as upon bread itself. When I tell you that an enor-
mous product is involved in the working of that product,
that probably 4,000,000—0ne-fourth of the entire popula-
tien of England—are dependent upon its production for
support, and that it yields £12,000,000 to the Exchequer,
I have said sufficient to convince you that the failure of the
supply of that product would not only be universally inju-
rious to the manufacturers of it, but that the general inte-
rests of the kingdom would be most materially damaged.
(Hear.) I refer to cotton. Without entering into details, I
may say that we are very much dependent upon one source
of supply for that great staple—upon America; but with
proper encouragement and attention India is capable of fur-
nishing us with such ample supplies of this most important
material as completely to remove the great danger which
now stares us in the face. I have lately been in Manchester,
and I cannot refrain from expressing my heartfelt satisfac-
tion that on the 14th of this month there is to be a great

gathering, with a view to urging thoie mailuftEeturers- who,'

are interested in stimulating the production of cotton in
India to form a large company, and send out agents for the
purpose of forming a commercial communication with India.
If that object were carried out, as I believe the Lancashire
men are prepared to carry it out, it will render this country
more secure and independent than it has been for many
years past. If we continue dependent upon America, as at
present, the day may come when the supplies of that great
staple of our industry may fail us, and when, as a conse-
quence, almost national ruin will stare us in the face. It is
India, gentlemen, to which we must look to relieve• us

:'rom that great danger. Perhaps few of us ever realise

what that dependency is to us. Psrhaps not many of
us are aware that India is the only dependency which
has never cost us ono shilling, but has sent

large sums of money, which have been spent here, and
never returned again. India is emphatically the brightest
gem in the Crown of England. With our increased means
of communication, our 5,000 miles of railway stretching
through the length and breadth of the land, with its great
rivers opened, and with a Government who give every evi-
dence of being alive to the necessity of developing the re-
sources of the country, I am convinced that the day is not

far distant when India will send us in abundance every raw

product that we require for our manufactures, and I have
no doubt that the great movement to which I have referred
will have a most important influence in bringing about that

result. (Cheers.)
Mr. J. J. Smarr proposed " The Health of the Lord
Mayor of London, and the Mayors of Birmingham, Leeds,
Hull, and Staleybridge." (Cheers.) In reading the toast he
was struck with the fact that the Cutlers' Company being
an epitome of the age in which we live. In the early his-
tory of the Cutlers' Company the expenditure for feasts
amounted to the enormous sum of £3 or Ll, and the scope
of the speeches had reference merely to local circumstances,
and compliments were paid only to the public bodies and the
then comparatively unimportant civil powers of the town.
But the present company comprised members of the highest
rank •f nobility, the principal gentry and manufacturers of
the town, the representatives of the trade and commerce of
London, the manufacturing interests of Birmingham, Leeds,
and Staleybridge, and the shipping activity of Hull ; and
the speeches had reference, not to the interests of Sheffield
alone, but of the whole country, and of the world. (Cheers.)
He legged that they would heartily join him in drinking to
the health of the Lord Mayor of London and the Mayors of
Birmingham, Leeds, gull, and Staleybridge. (Cheers.)
The Loun MAYOR of LONDON—Mr. Master Cutler, my
lords, and gentlemen, when I did myself the honour of
accepting the polite invitation of the town of Sheffield, I
was quite prepared for the hearty welcome and generous
hospitality which characterise the inhabitants of your
ancient and highly respected town. But I must confess
that that feeling has been greatly enhanced within the last
24 hours that I have been in your town, by the very great
courtesy and kindness which your Mayor has been pleased
to exercise towards me. This is a tribute which I feel I owe
to the Mayor, and which he well deserves. I assure you,
gentlemen, my visit here, though the first I have made, has
been fraught with much important information. I feel no
longer that the town of Sheffield is an insignificant spot in
this great country ; on the contrary I feel that it is one likely
some day or other, if not at the present time, to throw forth
its branches to the extremities of the earth, and render
England still more important than even it is at the present
time. I speak advisedly, I speak thoughtfully, for I have
seen that to-day which convinces me that the majesty of
labour as existing in the town of Sheffield is of that extra-
ordinary character which is unrivalled on the face of the
earth. I have been at Liege and elsewhere on the conti-
nent, but nothing•there can possibly compete with the pro •
ducts of this celebrated town. Long may you hold this
superiority, long may you maintain that which is your
right, almost your birthright, being handed down from
father to son, by this company, which is so important that
I regret that we have nothing in London to enable those
who have the ability to produce an article superior to that
of others, to make that product their own, by fixing upon
it their own peculiar mark as you do. How are your marks
sustained ? How is the privilege conferred by the granting
of them sustained ? If I understand rightly, by the Cut-
lers' Company, by the Master Cutler, who has it in ,his
power to inflict severe fines and penalties upon any one
who dare presume to forge the peculiar trademark of any
other manufacturer in your town. (Cheers.) I assure you,
gentlemen, most unaffectedly, that this is a boon which, as
a man of business in London, my attention has been parti-
cularly directed to ; and that I should have great pleasure
in seeing some arrangement made for securing to a man
there the fruits of that superior ability which enables him
to produce a better article than his fellows, (Cheers.)
Such I understand to be the power possessed by the Master
Cutlers of Sheffield. Long may the Cutlers' Company have
the energy, the honesty, the honour, and the independence
b maintain intact the privileges which now belong to your
celebrated town. (Cheers.) I find my name associated with
those of gentlemen representing the corporations of various
towns. I unaffectedly assure them that lam delighted to
see them, and happy in the opportunity afforded me of
shaking hands with the Mayors of the various provincial
boroughs represented here. I believe I echo their senti-
ments when I say we are deeply obliged to you for the
very court eons and generous manner in which you have
received us. (Cheers.)
The Mayor• of Hum., iu briefly responding on behalf of
himself and other Mayors present, expressed their gratitude
for the attention that had been paid them, and for the op-
portunity they had had of enjoying the hospitality of the
Master Cutler and the Cutlers' Company. He was sure he
might say that the people of Hull felt deeply interested in
the welfare and prosperity of Sheffield, and would always
rejoice to hear of the prosperity of the Cutlers' Company.
(Cheers.)
Earl FrTzwiLLlAm—Gentlemen, I assure you I have
been called upon to propose a toast most unexpectedly, but
the pleasure is as great as the request was unexpected►
We have not, up to the present moment, drunk the health
of the ladies. lam sure you will all join with me in doing
them all those honours which are their due. Let me put at
the head of my toast the health of Mrs. Hunter, the wife of
your excellent Master Cutler. (Cheers.) I do not know
whether Mrs. Hunter may be present, but, if so, I am sure
she cannot but witness with gratification and pride the
feelings of respect which you have evinced towards her
husband. Gentlemen, I beg that you will drink, with three
times three, " The Healthof Mrs. Hunter and the Ladies."
(Cheers.)
The I\l ASTER CUTLEIL—I beg leave to return my sincere
thanks for the honour done to my wife. Those who know
her know that she deserves it. (Cheers.) If she has given
you satisfaction, I am sure she is well repaid (cheers), and
the greatest compliment you can now pay her is to go and
see whether her tea and coffee are as good as her dinner.
(Cheers.)
The Master Cutler and the principal guests then left the
room. The remaining toasts on the list were—" The Rev.
Dr. Sale, the Clergy, and the Ministers of other Denourina •
tions ;" "The West Riding and Borough Magistrates ;"
" The Mayor and Corporation ;" "The Rev. J. Aldous, the
Chaplain ;" " It. Jackson, Esq., and the Past Masters."
The Master Cutler left the table a little before 11 o'clock.

THE ACCIDENT ON TIE COL-DU-

GEANT.

A writer in a contemporary gives the following
remarks on the recent fatal occurrence on the Col-
du-Geant

On the 18th of August, while staying with a
friend at Breuil, rumours of the disaster reached us ;
but the accounts at first were so contradictory as to
inspire the hope that they might be altogether false.
Clearer intelligence, however, soon arrived, and
before I quitted Breuil it was perfectly certain that
three Englishmen, named Fuller, Rochester, and
Vavasour, with a guide named Tairraz, had perished
on the Col. On the 21st I saw the brother of
Tairraz at Aosta, and learned from him all he knew
of the occurrence. The more I heard of it, however,

the stronger became my desire to visit the scene of
the catastrophe myself, and obtain through actual
contact with the facts information more reliable

than could possibly be conveyed to me by descrip-
tion. On the afternoon of the 22d I accordingly
reached Cormayeur, and, being informed that M.
Curie, the resident French pastor, had visited the

place and made an accurate sketch of it, I at once
called upon him. With the most obliging prompt-
ness he placed his sketches in my hands, furnished
me with an account of the occurrence drawn up by
himself, and volunteered to accompany me to the
spot, so that we might inspect it together. I gladly
accepted this offer, and early on the morning of
Thursday, the 24th of August, we reached the
Pavilion, which it had been the aim of the travellers
to reach on the day of their death. Wishing to make
myself acquainted with every inch of the ground
over which, from the commencement of theirglissade,
the unfortunate men had passed, I walked straight
up from the Pavilion to the base of the rocky
couloir along which they had been precipitated.
This couloir was described as being so dangerous
that a chamois hunter had declined ascending
it some days before ; but through the kindness
of M. Curie I secured at Cormayeur the services
of an intrepid man, named Baireux, who had
once made the ascent, and whom it was now my in-
tention to follow. We commenced our climb at the
very bottom of the rocks, while the pastor made a
detour and joined us on the spot where the body of
the guide Tairraz had been found, and where some
fragments of his skull—an exceedingly thick one—
still furnished sad evidence of his fate. From this
point upwards M. Curie shared the dangers of the
ascent—strongly, I confess, against my will—until
we reached the place where the rocks ended, and
the fatal snow slope commenced. Here we parted
company, he deeming it more prudent to resort to
a stony arete to the right, than to trust himself
upon the snow. I was urged ,by M. Curie to con-
tent myself with an inspection of the place, but no
inspection, however, close, could have given me the
information I desired. I asked my guide whether
he feared the slope, and, his reply being negative,
we entered upon the snow, and ascended italong
the course of the fatal glissade, the traces-of which
had not been entirely obliterated. Among the rocks
below we had frequent and often melancholy occa-
sion to assure ourselves that we were on the proper
track, being guided by pieces of broken bottles, of
wood, inciter matches, fragments of leather, of crania
and other objects not necessary to mention. We
also found a penknife and a small magnetic compass,
but the most important discovery was made upon
the snow, being that of a fine new ice-axe, the pro-
perty of one of the guides, who had relinquished it
in his descent. This implement accompanied me
yesterday across the Channel, and the discovery of
it helps to throw a most needful light upon the dis-
aster. Thus, then, from the beginning to the end
of this fatal track I made myself acquainted with its
true character, and as I stood upon the summit of
the incline and scanned the ground over which I had
passed a feeling of augmented sadness took possession
of me. There was no sufficient reason for this ter-
rible catastrophe. With ordinary precaution the
glissade might, in the first instance, have been
avoided, and with average capacity to cope with
such an accident the motion might, I am persuaded,
have been arrested after it commenced.
Bounding the snow slope to the left, looking
downwards, is a stony arets which forms the track
by which travellers to Cormayeur usually descend.
It is rough, but absolutely without danger. Any
lady of ordinary walking powers might be con-
ducted down it with perfect safety. But the men
were tired when they reached this place, and to
avoid the roughness of the arete they betook them-
selves to the snow. In connection with their first
I entrance upon the snow a statement has been made
which needs correction. On the morning of the
fatal day a party, including two ladies, had actu-
ally descended the Col to Cormayeur, and M.
Curie was one of this party. They also had trod-
den upon the snow, and it is alleged that their
trace was followed by the party which attempted
to descend in the evening. This is not true. NI.
Curie's party kept close to the arete, whereas the
others were several yards to the right of it. The
traces of both parties were perfectly plain on the
day of my visit. An instrument for measuring the
inclination of the snow was not, I am sorry to say,
in my possession, but I should estimate its upper
portion as forming an angle of 30 degrees, or there-
abouts, with the horizon. It steepened consider-
ably lower down, but its steepest portion I should
estimate at less than 45 degrees of inclination. At
all events, practised mountaineers are accustomed
to trust themselves on steeper slopes without fear,
and many of them, I imagine, might be found who
would suffer themselves to be tossed from a carpet
on the slope in question, with perfect reliance on
their power to arrest their downward motion.
There are two other points which must be dis-

posed of if we would have an unclouded view of
this deplorable occurrence. It is alleged that
when the party was approaching the summit of the
Col on the Chamounix side, the guides proposed to
return, but the Englishmen persisted in going for-
ward. One condition of things alone could justify
the proposition of the guides, namely, a fog so thick
as to prevent them from reaching the summit of
the Col at the proper point, and to render it neces-
sary to return by the tracts they had already
stamped in the snow. The only portion of the Col
hitherto regarded as dangerous had been passed,
' and hence, unless in the case assumed, it would have
been simply absurd to propose recrossing the really
perilous pertion of the glacier, instead of proceeding
to Cormayeur. Such a fog, the guides affirm, did
exist, but they, nevertheless, reached the summit of
the Col, and the weather cleared after the summit
had been attained. The subsequent portion of the
journey must be discussed purely on its own merits,
and whether the Englishmen refused to return or
' not upon the Mantanvert side ought in no way
to influence our judgment of what occurred on the
Cormayeur side. Indeed, the alleged refusal seems
to be justified by the facts; the guides acted upon
it, the Col was surmounted, the descent at the other
side was commenced, and here the weather, which
prompted the proposal to go back, ceased to be
blameable. The second point to which I would re-
fer is this :—A statement is current which conveys
the impression that the unfortunate men were car-
ried down by an avalanche. In connection with this
point M. Curie writes to me thus :—" Il parait qu'
Chamounix on repand le bruit que c'est une ava-
lanche qui a fait perir les voyageurs. C'est la une
faussete que le premier vous saurez dementir sur les
lieux." I have no hesitation in subscribing to this
opinion of M. Curie. That a considerable quantity
of snow was brought down during the glissade is
exceedingly probable; but an avalanche, properly
so called, there was not, and it simply leads to mis-
conception to introduce the term "avalanche" at all.
We are now prepared to discuss the descent. The
travellers, it is alleged, reached the summit of the
Col in a state of great exhaustion ; and this I can
readily believe. It is also certain that such a condi-
tion would deprive them, to a great extent, of that
firmness of tread which is necessary in perilous
places. But every guide and every experienced tra-
veller is acquainted with this effect of fatigue, and
this knowledge ought, one would think, to prevent
them from entering upon the snow slope at all,
when the rocky arete was at hand. Still I would
excuse them here ; for who would anticipate seri-
ous danger on a slope of 30 degrees ? We are in-
formed, however, that even on this slope the foot-
ing of one of the men repeatedly gave way, and
that it was necessary continually to exhort him to
fix his heels in the snow. Thus warned, why did
the guides not quit the snow and resort to the arete?
They must have had full confidence Ar their
power to arrest the glissade, which seemed so immi-
nent, or else they were perfectly reckless of the
lives committed to their charge. We must assume
the former, though, unfortunately, when this confi-
dence was put to the test it proved delusive. At
some distance down the slope the heaviest of the
three gentlemen slipped, and was shot downwards;
he jerked his next neighbour off his feet, he again
the next, until, finally, the whole of the men were
in swift motion. What efforts were made to check
this fearful descent we know not. At what point of
the glissade the two guides relinquished the rope we
are not accurately informed ; which of them gave
way first we do not know. though all this might be
and ought to be known. All that we really know
is, that the foremost and the hindmost guides did
let go the rope, and escaped, while the three
Englishmen and Tairraz went to destruction ; and,
like Englishmen, they met their doom without a
word of exclamation. At the bottom of the slope a
ridge of rocks rose slightly above the level of the
snow, thus forming a little barrier of which prac-
tised men might possibly have availed themselves
at the last moment ; as it was, however, all four
were tilted over this barrier, and immediately after-
wards descended a precipice, at the base of which
they certainly were placed beyond all feeling, Ido
not think a single second's suffering c .ruld have been
endured. During the wild rush downwards the men
were too bewildered to experience even fear, and at