The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-23 00:00:00

The Banquet to Mr. Eyre at Southampton.

The banquet took place at about half-past five
o'clock, in the Philharmonic Hall. The chair was
occupied by the Mayor; on his right sat Mr. Eyre ;
and among the principal guests were the Earl of
Hardwicke, Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, the
Earl of Cardigan, the Hon. W. Yorke, Professor
Kingsley, Sir W. Byam, Dr. Holden, &c. More
than a hundred gentlemen were present, consisting
of most of the principal persons in the town and
neighbourhood.
When the dinner was over the gallery that runs
round the hall was occupied by ladies ; for Mrs.
Eyre and some other ladies of the ex-governor's
family seats had been reserved, and the whole com-
pany rose and cheered enthusiastically when Mrs.
Eyre made her appearance.
The usual loyal toasts having been given,. "The
Army, Navy, and Volunteers," followed.
The Earl of CARDIGAN responded for the army.
He confessed that he felt rather abashed at having
to address so numerous an assembly, but he thanked
them most sincerely and heartily for the manner
in which they had proposed the health of the
army and of the other services, and for the
kind and flattering way in which they had
connected his name with the toast. The army
had a double duty to follow. The first duty of
the army was to fight the enemy in the field, and in
that duty he believed he need hardly say that the
British army was always victorious. The next duty
of the army was to take an active and vigorous part
in aid of suppressing anything like civil disturbances
or rebellions and insurrections—(cheers)—and he
believed that the combined services of the army and
the navy never did their duty better than on the oc-
casion of the late disturbances in the island of Ja-
maica. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Having connec-
tions and relatives in that colony he happened to
know something of the details of the unfortunate
circumstances which occurred there, and he believed
he could state that the army and the navy were
quite equal to the emergency. (Hear, hear.) It
was no part of his duty, speaking, as he did, in the
presence of his noble and gallant friend (the Earl
of Hardwicke), to return thanks on behalf of the
navy, but he could not deny himself the gratifica-
tion of stating his belief that in the insurrection at
Jamaica the services of the navy were eminently
conspicuous. He had good reason for being well
informed on what he said, and had it not been for
the services of the Wolverine great disasters might
have occurred in the island. According to the in-
formation which reached him, the officers and crew
displayed immense labour, zeal, and courage. They
exerted themselves, under the authority of the dis-
tinguished Governor whom they that evening hon-
oured as their guest—(hear, hear)—and they con-
ducted themselves unfalteringly, in the most credit-
able manner. What were the circumstances with
which the Governor had to contend at the opening
of this revolt? There had been at least 25 respect-
able gentlemen of all ranks, clergymen, lawyers,
and the established authorities of the country, mur-
dered by the rebels, and murdered, too, in the most
cruel manner. He understood—he had heard it
said at least—that some had their fingers cut off,
that others had their tongues cut out, and that
other cruelties of that nature, perfectly revolting,
were perpetrated. (Hear, hear.) It was for the re-
pression of such horrors that all the energies of the
country were brought into play—that the Gover-
nor distinguished himself in the most extraordinary
way by the labour and fatigue he underwent--and
that, following his example, the army and the navy
conducted themselves in the most creditable manner
possible. It was well understood what was the
alleged aggravation on the part of these rebels, and
it appeared to him most extraordinary that the ser-
vices of the late illustrious governor of Jamaica had
now been better appreciated. (Hear, hear, and
cheers). He recollected that in his time there had
been two insurrections in the colonies, and they were
accompanied with statements of cruelties. Amongst
others there was one which it was exceedingly diffi-
cult to understand until it was cleared up. It was
said that certain Catholic priests were flogged, and
afterwards hanged in their canonicals. What was
the result of that statement? The subject was
brought before Parliament. It was inquired into,
but the Prime Minister of those days stood by their
governors—(cheers)—and such Prime Ministers
were, he believed, men like Lord Palmerston, who
was well known in Southampton—(hear, hear)---
and his predecessor, Lord Melbourne. In those days
governors were sustained by their governments, and

whatever might be the cruelties, if they were
cruelties, which had been perpetrated in the protec-

tion of life and property, they were carried success-

fully through Parliament. In conclusion, the noble
lord said he felt that all the services, the army, the

navy, the militia, and the volunteers deserved well
of the country, and on behalf of the army he
cordially thanked the company for the kind manner
in which the toast had been received. (Cheers.)
The Earl of HARDWICKE, in responding on behalf
of the navy, said—l thank you for having given
me an opportunity of being present at this magni-
ficent banquet, and I am proud that I can identify
myself with the people of Southampton. I was
born within four miles of this city, and have resided
more or less upon a small property purchased by my
father and created by him out of the prize money
which he took from the French. (Laughter and
cheers.) With regard to the navy, I wish for a

moment to call attention to the transition which the
navy and the shipping of England are now under-
going. I trust that in the Government which is now
formed you will have, and will hear of, a system of

government and regulation for that profession which
you have not yet arrived at. We have during the

administration of the Duke of Somerset been under-

going what I may call the experimental period. We
have now arrived at a period in which, I trust, the
experiments may produce a formula that may regu-
late the construction and armament of our ships,
and may, at all events, tend to cheapen to the coun-
try that great service by bringing it under a system
of classification which, although of the utmost im-
portance, we do not at present possess. lam
my-
self a sailor of the old school, and I know perfectly
well that in my time ships were rated and classed
according to their size and power. All ships which
belonged to the same class had masts and yards and
sails not adapted to individual cases, but to the
whole class, and by that system you had a whole-
sale system of
_trade instead of one of retail, which
I consider the present system to be. At this mo-
ment you have no two ships and no two steam en-
gines alike, and you have no guns at all. In that
condition you have been for some years up to the
present time, and I pray that the present Govern-
ment may at all events be enabled to bring the ser-
vice into some better shape, so that we may again
have real first rates, second rates, and so on, with
regard to classification, and that we may have the
steam-engine fitted to the peculiar class, and not to
the individual ship. By that.ineans we shall be able I
to obtain better and more efficient vessels than we

can hope to have under any other system. (Cheers.)
Dr. LAWRENCE also responded for the militia,
and Capt. FREEMAN for the volunteers.
The Rev. Professor KINGSLEY, in proposing the
toad of " The Houses of Parliament," said he was
sorry that there was no member of the House of
Commons present to express the feelings of that
house in regard to the noble and distinguished
personage whom they were entertaining that even-
ing. Unfortunately the banquet was ten or
twelve days too late. The month of August was
sacredrather to grouse than to Politics, and he hoped
it would long remain so. But for that he was satis-
fied there would have been a member of the House
of Commons present to express, as he was sure the
whole of the borough and county members of Hamp-
shire would have done, their coincidence in the feel-
ings of the noblemen who had honoured the meeting
with their presence spontaneously to express what
the very highest class of English gentlemen thought
Whatever the House
of Governor Eyre. (Cheers.)

of Lords did or did not represent—whatever its

faults, which were considerable—and whatever its
virtues, and they were far more considerable—.
(cheers)—yet they would find that the longer they
studied the working of the House of Lords in this
old country the more they would be convinced that

it was an institution which was second in political
value only to the most sacred of all institutions—