The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-02 00:00:00

MINIS TERIAL BANQUET AT THE

MANSION-HOUSE.

Last evening Lord Derby, as First Lord of the
Treasury, and the rest of her Majesty's Ministers,
dined with the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. It
is a time-honoured custom in the City of London
for the Chief Magistrate to entertain the members
of the Government for the time being, during his
year of office, regardless of all party or political con-
siderations ; and the honour devolved upon the Lord
Mayor last evening of offering to the Ministers of
the Crown the hospitalities of the Mansion-house.
The invited guests were about 200 in number, and
included not only the Cabinet Ministers, but all the
rest of the more conspicuous members of the Con-
servative party in both Houses of Parliament.
There were.present, besides the Earl and Countess
of Derby, the Lord Chancellor and Lady Chelms-
ford, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Mrs.
Disraeli, the Danish Minister and Madame de
Bulow, General Negrete, Minister from the Re-
public of Salvador ; Lord Stanley, General and
Lady Alice Peel, Viscount and Viscountess Cran-
borne, Sir John Pakington, the Duke and Duchess
of Buckingham and Chandos, the Earl of Malmes-
bury, the Earl of Devon and the Lady Agnes Courte-
nay, Lord and Lady John Manners, Mr. and Mrs.
Gathorne Hardy, Sir Stafford Northcote, &c.
On the removal of the cloth grace was sung, and
the Lord Mayor drank to the company in a loving
cup.
When the loving cup had gone round,

TheLoRD MAYOR rose and said—My lords, ladies,
and gentlemen, I give you the health of " Her Ma-
jesty the Queen." It is the good fortune of the
people of this country to .be governed by a Sove-
reign whose devotion for her subjects, whose love
for the principles of the Constitution, and whose
attachment to those principles, whose many virtues
and noble qualities have rendered her beloved by
her subjects, and made her a bright example, en-
deared by her people by the tenderest ties of loyalty
and affection. (Cheers.)

The LORD MAYOR--I have now the honour to
propose the health of the Prince of Wales. His
Royal Highness, by the suavity of his manner, by
his devotion to the best interests of the people, by
his attachment to our institutions, has won the de-
votion of his country. My lords, ladies, and gen-
tlemen, I have great pleasure in proposing " The
health of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
the Princess of Wales, and the other members of
the Royal family."
The LORD MAYoft—l have now to ask you to
drink the toast of " The Navy, the Army, and the
Volunteers." In common with my countrymen, I
do sincerely and earnestlyhope that we are approach-
ing a time when the peace of Europe will be esta-
blished upon a solid and a lasting basis. (Hear.)
We are not, strictly speaking, a military nation,
but, addressing this assembly in the presence of the
Minister of War and the Minister of Marine, I hope
I may be permitted to express what I believe to be
the sentiment and the feeling of the people of Eng-
land, that these two glorious branches of our service
may be maintained in an entire state of efficiency.
(Cheers.) We present this singular anomaly, that,
while science and peace are struggling how to de-
vise means to prolong life, the science of war is
endeavouring to invent the most deadly machines by
which to destroy life. I have great pleasure in pro-
posing the " Health of the Navy, Army, and Vo-
lunteers," coupling with the toast the names of Gen.
Peel, Sir John Pakington, and Lord Colville.
(Cheers.)

General PEEL—Having been called upon, as Se-
cretary for War, to return thanks for the army, I
have the greatest pleasure in doing so, although in
the presence of many hon. and gallant gentlemen,
whose distinguished services fully entitle them to all
the compliments you have just paid to them. I
beg also to return thanks on the part of the Royal
Militia, a service the sterling qualities and merits of
which I am sure you will duly appreciate, and who
in this country, and in this country alone, voluntarily
discharge those duties which do so much credit to
themselves, and, I believe, obtain for them the ap-
probation of their fellow citizens. A very short
time ago it was matter for speculation whether
those great armies which had been gathered to-
gether in different parts of the European continent
would or would not come into collision. It was
impossible to foresee the great events which have
since astonished the world, and to predict that that
which I trust will be the greatest campaign of mo-
dern times should have ended in so short a space.
Surely, however, there is something to be learnt
from what has taken place. These great victories
have been obtained not by any superiority in point

courage or of physical power, but entirely, as I
believe, by the superior organisation and equipment
and the superior arms possessed by one of the bel-
ligerents. (Hear.) The result has only confirmed
an opinion which I have always entertained, and
have often expressed in the House of Commons,
that it is the duty of this country in times of the
profoundest peace, and indeed for the purpose of
maintaining peace—for which nobody can be more
anxious than I am—to maintain our army and
navy, and our defences generally, in a state of the
greatest efficiency. (Hear.) Now, in consequence
of the exertions of my predecessors in office, and in
consequence also of the exertions of his Royal
Highness Field-Marshal the Duke of Cambridge, I
have reason to believe that when the British troops
are armed with the breech-loader, which is now
being prepared for them, they will be equal in
equipment and in arms to any troops in the world.
(Cheers.) I found that belief upon reports received
from those military officers who are officially at-
tached to the armies which have been engaged in
the late war. As we all know, in point of discip-
line and courage, the British soldier is at present
inferior to none, and I think I may congratulate
this assembly that in equipment he will soon be
not inferior either. (Cheers.)
Sir J. PAKINGTON, in responding
to the toast of
the navy, said he had entered so recently upon the
duties of the high office which he had the honour to
fill, that it would be presumption on his part to at-
tempt to speak with authority ; but he might
be allowed to express his deep anxiety that
in filling that difficult and arduous post
no part of the efficiency of that great
service with which it was connected might be
impaired, so long as he had the honour to occupy his
present position. The public had been told that
there had been great extravagance on the part of the
Admiralty, and that much of the money so liberally
voted by Parliament bad been wastefully expended.
Ile expressed no opinion, he should not be justified
in expressing any, upon the truth or otherwise of that
allegation ; but for his part, he would take care, as
far as in him lay, that the sums so liberally voted by
Parliament were laid out with the greatest economy.
If those allegations were made, the truth of them must
be investigated. (Hear.) The necessity for economy
was the more imperative, seeing that otherwise it was
absolutely impossible for England to maintain her re-
nown as the greatest maritime Power in the civilised
world. Sincehe
had last the honour of acknowledging
the toast of the navy in that hall seven years had
passed away. During thatled
time the science of war, as
it had been called had
,
to great and extensive
changesnot only in the h
constructiont of ships but even
more in the construction of
car-
ried. He hoped the anticipatioens gunsf which they
othe Lord Mayor
would prove correct, that, having regard to the pre-
sent state of Europe, we might lo
ward to a state
of peace ; but it should never be forgotten that Eng-
land had to protect an extended empire anda vast
commerce; and so long as the creation of our D avy was
confined within the limits of prudence and good judg_
ment he did not believe that Parliament or the people
would be unwilling to contribute whatever sums
might be necessary for that purpose. (llear, hear.)
Lord Co Lvf LLE, of Culross, returned thanks for
the Volunteers.
The LORD MAYOR— My lords, ladies, and gentle-
men,—Among the time-honoured customs of this an-
cient municipality it is one of the happy privileges of
the Chief Magistrate to receive as his guests eminent
statesmen, representatives of art, science, and litera-
ture, and other distinguished personages, who, by their
learning, their talents, and their genius shed a lustre
on the history of our country. We are honoured to-
night bythe presence of a body of noblemen and gen-
tlemen to whom we owe scarcely less fealty than to the

Crown itself—(cheers)—and every true-born, ear-
nest-thinking Englishman must feel that the Govern-
ment of his country demands the utmost c deration
and respect. (Cheers.) Anima.ted by these sentiments,
it iemy duty to offer to her Majesty's Ministers that
cordial and respectful welcome which the Govern-
ment for the time being have been accustomed to
receive within these walls. My lords, it is impossible
to approach the noble lord at the head of her Ma-
jesty's Government—(loud cheers)—without feeling
that no ordinary representative man graces our
board to-night. (Cheers.) The noble earl is dis-
tinguished by many and varied attainments of the
highest order. During a long Parliamentary and
political career he has charmed his hearers, inte-
rested and instructed his countrymen by the powers
of his most remarkable and felicitous eloquence—.
(cheers)—and I cannot omit to mention on this
occasion that when a dire calamity befel his country
—(hear, hear)—more especially his county, some
time since, with what promptitude, earnestness, and
success he placed himself at the head of a committee,
and by his generosity, his counsel, and his unwearied
attention how greatly he contributed to alleviate the
miseries of those unhappy operatives on whom fell
with such severity the stroke of this affliction. (Loud
cheers.) Nor can we forget with what admiration
and gratitude the public welcomed from the pen of
the noble lord that brilliant translation of the poem
of the ancient bard which has added one of the noblest
and purest works to the literature of our times.
(Cheers.) My lords, ladies, and gentlemen, the
ancient philosophers held that there were four car-
dinal virtues which made up the character of the
perfectly virtuous man—wisdom, temperance, justice
and fortitude. I may say that I think the noble
earl may fairly claim a large share of each of them.
(Hear, hear.) May he be long spared to exercise
those virtues, to be the centre of his home, his
family, and his friends, and may health and happi-
ness sustain him. (Cheers.) My lords and gentle-
men, I invite you to drink to the healths of her
Majesty's Ministers, to Lord Derby, and in the
language of the noble earl's favourite poet I ask you
now to listen to—
" The smooth-tongued chief (a laugh),
From whose persuasive lips,
Sweeter than honey, flow'd
The stream of speech." (Loud cheers.)
The Earl of DERBY (who was enthusiastically
received) said—l rise for the purpose of expressing,
however feebly, on the part of myself and my col-
leagues, the sentiments of deep gratitude which we
entertain for the honour you have paid us by your
invitation to this splendid banquet, for the flattering
language in which you, my lord, have proposed our
healths, and for the gratifying manner in which that
health has been received by this distinguished as-
sembly. I rose to thank you on behalf of my col-
leagues. But it is impossible for me to pass over
the personal allusion which has been made by you
to the humble part which I have taken in the per-
sonal service of my fellow-countrymen, and also to
those claims which you have been pleased to say I
possess to a place in the field of literature. In re-
gard to the first of those subjects, I can only say
that it was impossible for any one having the ordi-
nary feelings of humanity to see without the deepest
interest the unmerited and well-born sufferings of
his fellow-countrymen. And, although I did for a
certain time give my attention, or rather my attend-
ance, to the committee which was enlisted in this
charitable work, much more merit has been claimed
for me and attributed to me than I have any title to,
because mine was merely a personal attendance for
a short period in each week, whereas there are many
who, unnoticed and unremarked, have given their
time, their money, and their labour, which they
could ill afford to bestow, upon the very same ser-
vice in which I was perhaps a prominent, but by no
means the hardest worker. Upon the literary ques-
tion to which your lordship has referred I will not
venture to say anything, except that the compliment
you have paid to me as " the smooth-tongued chief"
is to a certain degree qualified by that which is the
reverse of a compliment, but which I cannot with
truth deny, namely, that I am approaching the age
of Nestor. (Laughter.) I have not yet, it is true,
seen three generations of men ; at the same time, if
I am not " the smooth-tongued chief,"l am address-
ing you here as the venerable Signor. (Laughter.)
But I would rather turn from personal compli-
ments to that which is of greater importance at
the present time—the compliment you have been
pleased to pay to the Government which I have been
charged with the duty of forming. 1 do not pretend
for a moment to assume that the honour you have
conferred upon us is an indication of political feel-
ing ; on the contrary, I contend that, upon occasions
like the present, the voice and the language of party
are and ought to be altogether silent. (Hear, hear.)
Nay, more, I say that gatherings of this kind have
their peculiar happiness in being the means of sooth-
ing and abating the acrimonious feelings of political
warfare. They are the means, the happy means, of
bringing together men in different stations of life,
occupying different political situations, and holding
varying political opinions ; and such men are led,
I hope, by the interchange of social amenities, to
entertain a more friendly and a more kindly opinion
of each other than can be nourished amid the acri-
monies of party warfare. It has been a time-hon-
oured custom with your predecessors to invite to
this hospitable board, whatever their own political
opinions might be, the members of her Majesty's
Government. And your lordship has only followed,
but that most ably, the steps of your predecessors in
welcoming here in cordial terms, which I shall ever
gratefully remember, members of an Administration
whose political opinions, I fear, are considerably at
variance with your own. What, then, is the object
of these meetings ? Why, it is this—that you, the
representatives of the greatest corporation in this
kingdom, you, the inhabitants of the greatest city
in the world, meet together, whatever your politics
may be, to express your sympathy with men who,
from a sense of public duty, who have taken upon
themselves an arduous and thankless office, to wel-
come them as fellow-labourers with yourselves in
the public service, and encourage them to prove
themselves worthy of the confidence which has been
placed in them by their Sovereign. (Cheers.) If any
Administration has cause to be gratified and encou-
raged by such a welcome—and every Administration
must—especially does this apply to a Government
which has taken office, or rather has had thrust upon
it the responsibilities of office, under circumstances
like those which brought my colleagues and
myself into power. We have been called upon to
undertake official duties at a period of the session
when we were naturally looking for the ordinary
retirement and relaxation from business—at a time
when we have no opportunity of showing by our
acts whether or no we deserve in our collective ca-
pacity the confidence and approval of the Sovereign.
(Hear, hear.) We have been called upon to under-
take a duty for which we were wholly unprepared,
and, moreover, at a time when the general course of
prosperity of this great country is subjected to no
inconsiderable drawbacks. At this moment we have
pressing upon us a heavy monetary difficulty which
weighs down the commercial classes. We have had,
and still have to a certain extent, though now in a
somewhat mitigated form, a pestilence among our
herds and flocks which h.assNiVeCtslghed wheavhiileyhuphoans
many of our agricultural ditr , and
produced an injurious effect upontheitchu beenonsume the
soef
meat in the increased prices of which
necessary consequence. We have also,st Ig
dangerousrieveto
say, unmistakable signs of that most
disease, the Asiatic cholera, which, after lingering
a considerable time abroad, and when we had hoped
it would abstain from approaching our shores, has
suddenly invaded us, and is calling for the most
vigilant and careful precautions. I do not wish to
draw a dark picture of the position of this country.
As against what I have said upon the monetary
pressure, I believe that our commerce is extending
itself rapidly
fedslayalnyd widely, and, what is of more con-
sequence,also—(hear, hear)—that it is find-
ing varied and multiplying channels for its develop-
ment, and is year by year extending itself and en-
larging the resources and increasing the opulence of
, this great town. (Hear.)
A
never was a time when labour reapedAga
in, I
abmelioervee
ample
e
reward, and when the working classes, with some
exceptions no doubt, obtained a larger and a fairer
remuneration in return for their toil than they do at
present. (Hear, hear.) We may also look forward,
under the blessing of Providence, to an early and an

abundant harvest. (Hear.) And, chief blessing of
all, we have by God's providence been exempted
from that great scourge of nations, the war which
for the last two months has been desolating the
fairest portion of Europe. (Hear, hear.) With re-
gard to that war I will say nothing more than this.
While we look with deep anxiety upon the changes
whicfi it may bring about in the state of Europe, I
believe that the course which the Government have
pursued will be generally approved by the country.
We have abstained from taking an active part in fa-
vour of or against any of the belligerents. If we saw
the slightest prospect of procuring by our mediation
and good offices the inestimable blessing of peace,
we might be tempted to intervene, if asked to do so.
But we have not thought that it was our duty to
obtrude our advice, our counsel, or our good offices,
and to interfere with matters which, although in their
ultimate results they may touch remotely the inte-
rests of this country, do not at the present moment
appear either to affect our honour or our interests.
(Hear.) It is with the greatest satisfaction we hear
that preliminaries have been already agreed upon be-
tween the belligerents which may have the effect of
restoring to Europe the peace of which it stands so
much in need ; and no country in Europe, no coun-
try in the world, will so much rejoice in the restoration
of peace as England, the primary object of whose
Ministers, to whatever party they belong, must be the
maintenance of the tranquillity which is essential to
the development of the extended trade of this great
commercial empire. (Cheers.) But, my lords, peace
has its triumphs as well as war, and no greater
triumph, I think, can have been achieved than that
which has been accomplished within the last few
days in the renewed success of the attempt to bind
by the electric telegraph the two great continents
of Europe and America, and more especially to
unite this country with the great Ame-
rican republic, with which we have so many ties in
common—community of language, community of
origin, and community, if not of institutions, at least
of the principles upon which those institutions are
founded. (Cheers.) Every reason of interest and
attachment leads us to desire that between ourselves
and America there should be an intimate and per-
manent union. Now, I received to-day at hall-past
1 o'clock a telegram dated from New York this morn-
ing, informing me, among other things, of the arri-
val of a British vessel at New York yesterday even-
ing. I ask those who are connected with the com-
merce of this country and with its great trading
interests whether, looking forward, they can imagine
or conceive the effect which may be accomplished by
this great undertaking when London and New
York are thus brought, not within weeks or days or
even hours, but almost within minutes of each other?
Is there any limit to the consequences which maybe
anticipated from so close a union of two such coun-
tries ? It is impossible that on such an occasion as
this I should not bear my testimony, and I am sure
the same will be borne by all present, to the energy,
and perseverance, and indomitable spirit shown,
amid thegreatest difficulties and dissouragements, by
those who have for a second time brought this en-
terprise to a satisfactory conclusion. (Cheers.) May.
God grant that this link, now safely established be-
tween this country and America, may long continue
to unite the two kindred peoples in a bond of har-
mony and of friendship. (Cheers.) My lords, I have
said that this was no occasion for entering upon any
political topics, and therefore I will abstain from
saying a single word, although I am returning
thanks for her Majesty's Ministers, as to the cir-
cumstances which have placed them in their present
position ; but this I will say with regard to reform
—and in this I am sure I shall have the concur-
rence of every man of right feeling attached to the
institutions of his country, be he Reformer or anti-
Reformer—the question is one which ought to be
approached with the greatest deliberation and
calmness, and treated in the most dispassionate and
impartial manner. Let me add, and here also I
believe I shall meet with general concurrence, that
no cause, however good and however much it may
commend itself to the reason of the country, is ever
otherwise than injured in public opinion and in the
opinion of the Legislature if attempted to be sup-
pressed by anything which bears the appearance of
intimidation or violence. (Loud cheers.) As I said,
we have been too short a time in office to vindicate
our claim by any measures of our own to the confi-
dence of the country. And the circumstances of
the present session, interrupting as they have done
the course of business, have, no doubt, impeded Par-
liament in the promotion of many useful and valu-
able measures. Nevertheless, although I do not
take any credit to the present Government for them,
there are two measures which I hope even during
the short space allotted to the term of the present
Parliament we may still be able to carry. They are
not of a brilliant, but they are of a most practical
and useful character. The one secures from fur-
ther pollution and improves the navigation of our
noble river, the Thames—a measure which comes
home to the feelings of every man who lives upon
the borders or is connected with the neighbourhood
of the river. The other is a measure relating to the
public health, which at the present moment is an
object of more than usual interest and importance.
I trust that during the short remainder of the ses-
sion we shall be able to pass a bill which will have
the best possible effect upon the sanitary condition
of the country, and which will enable and compel
the local authorities to apply the best means at
their disposal for the purpose of securing immunity
as far as possible from the scourge of that pestilen-
tial disease—the cholera. (Hear, hear.) Speaking
in this assembly, I do not doubt that the corpora-
tion of London will use all the power intrusted to
them for such a purpose. But Ido think it is im-
portant to impress upon all the local authorities
throughout this country how greatly the mortality or
health of the people depends upon the active and vigi-
lant exercise by them of the duties imposed upon
them by the Legislature. (Hear.) The remedies
are plain and simple ; the danger is imminent. You
cannot, perhaps, always obviate the difficulties which
arise from overcrowding ; but you can neutralise
them by enforcing strict attention, as far as you are
able, to personal and local cleanliness, and by giv-
ing to the medical officers the largest possible
powers, that they may use their best efforts for
the relief of those classes who are most exposed to
the dangers of the cholera, and who are least able,
and perhaps least willing, to provide against those
dangers. (Hem; hear.) I will not venture to tres-
pass upon the time of the assembly by dwelling upon
any other question which it may be the duty of the
Government to consider before the beginning of the
next session. There are many subjects closely and
intimately connected with the moral, the social, and
the physical condition of the people of this country
with the commercial, the labouring, and the artisan
classes—to all of which the attention of Parliament
may be wisely and usefully devoted. And when we
meet Parliament again, I trust we shall be able to
say that the recess has not been wasted, that we
have not been idling away our time, but have been
spending it in completing and maturing these mea-
sures which, at the opening of Parliament, we may
sateimzbtlo(yctfhhoeerectr
(Cheers.)
.ne)fi
patiencerrd ehna cneionf
Thanking your
Parliament
present as a testimony of the work w e have done,
andoa fn
dt the
icaso uaesnl
which lordshipayno and
have heard this somewhat lengthened address, I have
only to add_ an appeal, which I am sure I shall not
make in vain. Among the various institutions of
this country there arc none which • exercise so power-
ful an influence as our municipal bodies. They are
an institution almost peculiar to this country. They y.
have intrusted to them an enormous portion of the
administration of the country in local matters, and
they are schools in which the whole population is
trained to the system of local government. At the head
of these municipal institutionsstandsthe city of Lon-
don. I should be ungrateful for the cordial reception
we have had at the hands of the chief magistrate of
the largest and most important city in the civilised
world if I did not ask you to allow me to propose
his health. I have no doubt that the duties which
devolve upon the present Lord Mayor will be ably
discharged, and I may express an earnest belief that
he will retire from office not only with that which
is the highest reward any public man can obtain—
the approval of his own conscience—but also with
the unanimous approval of his fellow citizens.
(Cheers.)
The LORD MAYOR, in acknowledging the compli-
ment which had been paid him, jocosely alluded to