The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-28 00:00:00

drama. (Hear, hear.) He was the friend of a man
to whom Goldsmith dedicated one of his best come-
dies, and who, when Webster was a young, man,
took him by the hand and foretold his genius ; I
mean Mr. Craddock, to whom Goldsmith dedicated
a play, and whom Johnson recognised as a friend.
Then, our friend Mr. Webster has done what
nobody else connected with the stage has ever done
before. He offered a prize of £5OO for a comedy,
and paid his money, and lost by it. Served him
right. But he has done something more. If you
look through the history of the stage you will find
that men have burnt down theatres—(laughter)---
men had destroyed theatres in every way, but no
man ever pulled down a theatre and rebuilt a better
one. A great deal has been said about the decline
of the drama, but I am sure, from what is now
being done by many persons whom I could name,
we shall have a revival. (Hear, hear.) Gentle-
men, I beg, in conclusion, to give you " Success to
the Stage.
Mr. GODWIN—I am not about to detain you, gen-
tlemen, with a speech. We came here to-night to
speak of Mr. Webster, and to say how glad we were
o see him in his new house, to wish him " God
speed," and to hear him say in return that he was
very much obliged to us ; and he said that in a manly,
eloquent, and touching manner. That being done,
our business, in truth, is done, and anything Which
should efface the recollection of it would be an im-
pertinence. However, I have been asked to pro-
pose a toast, which I most gladly do, and which it
would be wrong, indeed, in such an assembly to
omit. It is " The Dramatic Authors of England."
The dramatic authors of England have scarcely, by
some means or other, had fair play. England, that
has produced so many' names, that has at this time
men who have written so many fine plays, would
have no occasion whatever to go abroad for plots, if I
circumstances occurred to induce them; and I
hope that managers, viewing circumstances diffe-
rently, may be enabled to offer such terms as shall
induce that talent which expends itself in novel
writing and other branches commanding the admi-
ration of the world, and obtaining translations in
other countries, to display itself upon our stage. I
cannot quite agree with our excellent chairman of
to-night in condemning altogether burlesques, or
what I would rather call extravaganzas. I would
myself point to one series of extravaganzas, those
by Mr. Planche, as showing the existence of a power
of originality in our writers which, turned in
another direction, would have produced plays of a
different sort. I say, the mere fact of the produc-
tion of " The Invisible Prince" at our friend's theatre
—commanding, after 10 or 12 years, the gratifica-
tion of audiences, proves the wisdom, the dramatic
construction, and the wit that are in them, quite
independently of the slang which has been adverted
to by the chairman, and which it is sometimes
thought necessary to interlard. But I must not de-
tain you, and I will confine myself to asking
you to drink health to those men who have
afforded us so much enjoyment. J hope to see
the fact recognised that there is, after all, but
one art, and that we shall see brought to
bear upon the drama the art of painting and all
other arts. (Hear, hear.) I beg to give you " The
Dramatic Authors, and Mr. Robert Bell.'
Mr. BELL returned thanks and concluded by
proposing " The Health of the House of Commons,
associating with it the name of Mr. Herbert In-
gram." (Cheers.)
Mr. INGRAM returned thanks.
Mr. ARcEDEcKNE—Gentlemen, I am sorry to
say it is very nearly eleven-o'clock, andthe fact that
I am called upon to give you a toast on the borders
of midnight will compel me to make it as short as
it can be made. You have heard a good deal of
what I may call "jaw ;" all talking is jawing ;
ergo, if I make a long speech I shall " jaw."
(Laughter.) I will come to the, point, therefore, at
once. There is one of the great institutions of this
country—l am not talking in a Parliamentary
point of view but one which a great many of you at
this table are concerned—l refer to the fourth
estate—the Press. I am not connected with the
Press, but I am glad to say that I number among
my best acquaintances some members of the Press.
I meet them on various occasions, I may say, at
dinners, at the Drama, and up and down the river.
(Cheers and laughter.) I know your time is
valuable ; you want to go and smoke cigars, which
I do also ; and to make the matter as short as ever
I can, I give you " The Press," and couple with it
the name of Mr. Yates. •
Loud calls were made for Mr. Yates and Mr.
Jerrold.
Mr. YATES, who on rising was received with loud
cheers and a few hisses, said : Mr. Chairman and
Gentlemen,—l really think that hiss which I have
heard reverberating through this room has been
most perfectly deserved. (No, no.) I have no
right to have my name coupled with " the Press,"
when I look around me and see gentlemen, who not
only by their exertions but by the name which they
inherit, have a far better right than I have to return
thanks for this toast. I see before me Mr. Blanchard
Jerrold and many others who might have risen to
respond, and had it not been for the well-known
urbanity and kindness of my friend Mr. Arcedeckne,
I should have imagined that the toast had been
dashed with a slight spice of sarcasm. My connec-
tion with the press has been a limited one—one of
the smallest kind—one upon which I do not pin any
hopes of advancement, but in which I simply en-
deavour to do my duty, so far as I can. All I have to
say is, that in what I do speak I endeavour to speak
the truth • I believe firmly in every word I write,
and on those words that I do write I am content to
pin my faith, and to be brought before any public
tribunal. I may have, however, some right to speak
on an occasion of this sort. Mr. Webster is here

present as the proprietor and manager of the new
Adelphi Theatre, and I feel gratified, I confess, at
being allowed to say a few words on the occasion,
when I recollect the name I bear, and the fact that
my father was one of the first managers of the old
Adelphi. lam perfectly certain that I speak as the
ghost of my father might speak, when I say that he
could not have possibly desired a more -worthy Suc-
cessor that Mr. Benjamin Webster. All his efforts,
I may say his life blood itself, was expended in en-
deavouring to make that theatre what it was.
What it was.and what it will be are two very differ-
ent things. It was an old, awkward, wretched, in-
convenient hole. In that condition it was honoured
by the first patronage of the land ; by the general
recognition of the public it was borne forwards,
and has left an honoured name—a name that I
never hear without tears in my eyes and honour in
my heart. I am certain the manner in which
Mr. Webster has begun, and in which his whole
life has been conducted, will render that name far
more illustrious than it could have been rendered
in olden times. In returning thanks for the Press,
most unworthily I bow before my brethren who
are here, and who are much more worthy to fulfil
this task than myself ; but at the same time I am
glad to have had this opportunity of having my
name connected with the inauguration of the new
Adelphi.

Mi. JERROLD also returned thanks in a neat
speech. _

Mr. MARK LEMON—Mr. Chairman and Gentle-
man,—l came here this evening to testify my great
friendship and affection for Mr: Benjamin Webster.
I can do that from the bottom of my heart ; but I
a
did not expect to make speech, which I can do
very badly. I had certainlyconnected for
some time with the old Adclphi been
Theatre—with the
unsoaped and unwashed audiences of the old time ;
and I sincerely trust whatever may be produced in
the new thratre will be as successful to I r. Web-
ster as some of the old pieces were, it is said, to his
predecessors. I think we shall live long before we I
see some of the old dramas excelled.am requested
to propose a toast which my gallantry will not
allow me to refuse to do. It will require no speech
from me, for long tradition tells us that the subject
of it can speak for themselves. I beg to give you
" The Ladies." (Cheers.)
The assembly shortly afterwards broke up, highly
pleased with the interesting proceedings.
The singing by Miss Rebecca Isaacs, Miss Rans-
ford, Miss Roden, Miss Evans, and Miss Cole.; Mr.
T. Williams, Mr. Lawler, and Mr. Winn, gave
more than usual delight, and the musical arrange-
ments were admirably carried out by Mr. George
Genge, Mr. Calcott presiding at the pianoforte. Mr.
Toole was the toastmaster.

It would. be an unjust omission to suffer the ad-
mirable arrangements of the proprietors of the
Freemasons' Tavern to pass unobserved. The ex-
cellence of the viands, and the superior quality of
the wines they supplied materially enhanced the
pleasure of this genial festival, whilst the constant
and vigilant attention to the requirements of the
guests enabled the enjoyment of the choice product
from the cuisine and the calar to be accompanied by an
amount of comfort, not always to be found, united
with a fauitleis banquet. The manner in which
everything was conducted elicited the most general
and deserved praise, and we are only embodying
the opinion of all present when we record that a
more perfect " dinner" was never served within
even these walls of famous memory.

„
THE SUSPECTED MURDER. IN LINCOLN.—The
coroner's investigation into the circumstances attending the
death of Charles B. Evans, lately a cooper on board her
Majesty's ship Sanspareil, was resumed at Lincoln on Satur-
day. The particulars alreldy brought to light appeared in
The Sun of Wednesday-last Several other winesses
were examined, and the deposiddis having been completed,
the coroner summed up the ae at considerable length,
directing the jury that, considering the very unsatisfactory
nature of the evidence, it would fie best to return an open
verdict.—The jury then refill-fled "that the deceased's
death was caused by violence, but how, when, where, or by
whom committed, they had no evidence to show.” The
case has created very great excitement in the city, and
public opinion attaches very strong strong suspicion to the
two men in custody.