The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-30 00:00:00

BIR JOHN PAKINGTON ON 771 E POLICY
OF NON-INTERVENTION.

. .
The anniversary of the Worcestershire Society
was celebrated on Saturday last at the Albion
Hotel, Aldersgate-street, on which occasion some
important political speeches were delivered by Sir
John Pakington, Lord Lyttelton, and Viscount
Elmley, M.P. Mr. J. C. Dent presided, and was
supported by the Right Hon. Sir J. Pakington,
M.P., First Lord of the Admiralty ; Lord Lyttel-
ton, Earl Beauchamp, Viscount Elmley, M.P., Mr.
J. H. Foley, M.P., the Hon. and Rev. T. Coventry,
Messrs. R. P. Amphlett, R. L. Jones, J. Capel, J.
D., Allcroft, &c.
The usual loyal toasts having been drunk,
The CHAIRMAN gave " The Army and the Navy."
He said, they were extremely fortunate in having
among their guests a noble lord (Earl Beauchamp),
who worthily represented the army, and the right
hon. Sir I. Pakington, upon whom perhaps more
than any other man depended the efficiency of the
other branch of the service. In the. present state
of the Continent he was sure he only spoke the
sentiments of the country generally when he said
that the army and the navy of England should be
maintained in the most effective condition, ready
for any emergency which might arise. (Cheers,)
It was all very well to talk of neutrality, but in his
opinion we ought to be able to go in at any time
we liked and thrash either side. (Laughter and
cheers.)
Earl BEAUCHAMP responded on behalf of the
army. As neutrality was the order of the day, he
hoped we should be enabled to adhere to the policy
of non-intervention, but while maintaining neutra-
lity we ought to be armed and ready for war.
(Cheers.) In Italy at the present time there could
not be less than half a million of men, within a small
compass, engaged in war, and it was scarcely pos.
sible to imagine the amount of wasted devasta-
tion that must be occasioned by the- conflict. Not-
withstanding his great desire for the neutrality of
England he hoped that if any insult were offered to
our honour or our trade we should be prepared to
enter into the contest with cordiality and unani-
mity. (Cheers.)
Sir J. PAKINGTON, in returning thanks for the
navy, observed that he was much gratified in wit-
nessing the enthusiastic manner in which the
British public always received the toast of the
navy, which was regarded as our pride, our boast,
and our best defence. (Cheers,) The moment he
ventured, in the performance of what he esteemed
his political duty, to take charge of the British
navy, his principle of action had been to devote
all his best energies to the restoration and mainte-
nance of the naval power and naval supremacy of
this country. (Cheers.) He entirely concurred in
the opinion which had been expressed by the chair-
man, that we ought to be able to go in and thrash
any number of our opponents, whoever they night
be. (Hear, and laughter.) Ho did not think that
any one occupying the high and honourable posi-
tion in her Majesty's councils of First Lord of the
Adlniralty would do his duty who should for a mo-
ment tolerate the idea that any single Power or
combination of Powers would be able to dispute ti.le
supremacy of England on the sea. (Great chef:L.4lg.
With regard to the present aspect of affairs, it)
might and probably would be very difficult, if the
war which had unhappily broken out in Europe
should be long protracted, for England to preserve
her neutrality. He could, however, assure them
that the policy of her Majesty's present Govern-
ment was really and truly neutrality. (Cheers.)
Nor did he know of the slighest reason at the pre-
sent moment why that neutrality should not be
preserved. (Cheers.) He was sure that it was the
interest of England to remain at peace, and he most
earnestly hoped that her Majesty's Government
would be able so to conduct the business of the
nation as to allow England to continue in that
peaceful condition in which all true lovers of their
country desired it to remain. (Hear.) They had
nothing whatever to do with the
cilw.:Tels of the
Continental Powers. (Hear, hear.,) It was a most
unhappy quarrel, and had led. to a state of cireure,_
stances which was already most disastrous to
con-
template. It was shocking to reflect upon the con-
dition of affairs in the North of Italy,a.';liere at that
very moment hundreds of thousand!, of armed men
were gathered together for the purpose of imbruing
their hands in blood, for the destruction of human
life, and who would spread desolation, wretched-
ness, and barrenness over some of the most fertile
plains in the whole world. (Hear.) He believed it
would puzzle any man's brain at this moment to
say why all this misery was occasioned. (Hear.)
It was, however, the duty of her Majesty's Go-
vernment to take every possible precaution
which human wisdom could devise in order to pre-
vent Englandpart
oof
this
c o frompbecoming
would,
ouadd,
he
thisw was entangled
s mostfi
firmly
u ni nyt n
econ-
vinced,h
is
nicilosessstp unhappyand, heit
ry would
ry war. (Cheers.) Such a course of conduct on
t
other
n one that would. make us respected. by
every ation. Ho believed that he was susti-
fiedilk saying that other nations did resper-
arise.Eg
.
at the present time, and they
would `respect us
the more if they found that we were APtermned to
i
be prepared for any emergency that
might
—J
(Cheers.) It was far better for En6and to bear the
present cost of commissioning an r,l maintaining on a .
war footing a large number bf ships, and keep in
pay a considerable military and naval force, than
to incur the cost, and 'll7.ith it all the terrible results
which might be the consequence of our neglecting
all precautions ar.id becoming entangled in a great
European war at a time when we were not prepared
to take ay:" part in the struggle. (Hear, hear.) In
someT',;revious wars—that, for instance, which this
cov7atry, in conjunction with France, waged with
atussia—the principal share of the work, and of
course, of the glory of the dreadful struggle, fell to
the share of the army of England. Never did the
army of England better deserve homage than at Se-
bastopol ; never did British soldiers acquire greater
En
g•
honour than on the plains of India. In those great
struggles it was true that the principal honour and
glory fell to the army, but at the present moment
he thought the nation at large looked rather to the
navy than to the army, and probably the best mode
in which they could prepare themselves for coming
events—the best waS' in which the Government
could show that they were ready for whatever
might happen, was to take care that the fleets of
England were strong and ready to cope with any
force which might be brought against them. (Hear,
hear.) That, he assured the meeting, was the policy
of her Majesty's present Government. The pre-
paration of our fleets was a duty with which he
had been entrusted, and day by day, hour by hour,
he was exerting himself to make them worthy of
the confidence, and able to protect the interests and
vindicate the honour of the country. (The right
hon. baronet resumed his seat amid loud cheers.)
"The health ,of Lord Lyttelton," as Lord-Lieute-
nant of the county of Worcester, was next drunk.
Lord LYTTELTON, in responding, alluded to the
general establishment of rifle corps throughout the
country, and observed that, as Lord-Lieutenant of
Worcestershire he had been addressed by the Go-
vernment on the subject. Some remarks had been
made respecting the delay which had taken place
in the formation of a rifle corps for Worcestershire,
although steps had been taken to carry out the
object of the Government in other counties. He
wished now to state publicly his intentions with
respect to the county of Worcester. When the
subject was:first brought under his notice it oc-
curred to him that It would be possible to amalga-
mate a volunteer rifle corps with one of the existing
voluntary bodies of soldiers in that county. As
there was a considerable demand for the supply of
officers for the existing volunteers, there might be
some difficulty in maintaining a third and inde-
pendent force., It was, therefore, his intention to
call together the Deputy-Lieutenants, for the pur-
pose of aselrtaining what could be done to carry
out the views of the Government as expressed
in the circular which had been issued upon the
subject. He did not, however, propose to do
that immediately, and for this reason :—They
were now on the eve of the meeting of Par-
liament, and those who had observed the course of
public opinion and the remarks of the press upon
the subject felt some doubts as to whether the Go.
vernment proposition to call into existence and
maintain the proposed rifle corps in their full ei,fi
ciency would be sufficient. As far as he had seen
the opinions thus expressed he was not altogether
disposed to agree with them; still, as something
might be said in Parliament which might induce
the Government to modify their propositions, he
should defer holding a county meeting until a short
time after Parliament had met. He did not agree
in the strictures which had appeared in the news-
papers on the injustice of government requiring
members of volunteer rifle corps to pay their own
expenses. In his judgment that was a correct course.
He did not think that every man in the county
should be called upon to join those corps; but in his
opinion they ought to be composed of men competent
to meet the very moderate expense of providing their
own arms and accoutrements. Such:a course of pro-
ceeding was conformable to precedent, and would be
Satisfactory to the rifle corps therelves. There
would, however, be expenses connected with those
volunteer corps which might be trmed establish-