The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-30 00:00:00

Guido" has for the time quite superseded that for the Drill
1 •ok.

Euryalus sails for Palermo on the 2d of January, and
Gannet for Athens.

Captain Vaughan, R.M., her Majesty's ship Euryalus,
proceeds to England by this mail, and the two French ad-
mirals from China to France.

Prince Victor of Hohenlohe, having been posted out of
her Majesty's ship Scourge, proceeds to Trieste by liest
mail.

THE PAKINGTON TESTIItONL-IL.

After the despatch of our parcel from Worcester
on Monday evening, with a preliminary notice of
the intended presentation of a noble shield to Sir J.
Pakington, in recognition of his services for 24
years as Chairman of the Worcestershire Quarter
Sessions, the presentation was completed, the pro-
ceedings occupying until about half-past 9 o'clock.
As stated in yesterday's Sun, the chair at the public
dinner was taken by Lord Lyttelton, who, having
given the usual loyal toasts, proposed " The Army
and Navy."
Earl BEAucriamP, in reply, said they had the
authority of the Prime Minister that the army
had never been in a more effective condition
than it was at present. That important movement
—the rifle corps—was exercising a, beneficial effect
not only in this country, but also on the Conti-
nent. (Hear, hear.) He felt it would be wrong
for him to detain them from proceeding with the
principal business of the meeting, but it would be
equally so if he abstained from mentioning that he
had been acquainted with the right hon. baronet
for a quarter of a century, and, having watched
carefully all his steps, had found-that he had ever
followed a straightforward lino of conduct, not only,
in his performance of the duties of the chairman-
ship of quarter sessions, but also in tho discharge
of the two important public offices with which he
had been honoured by his Sovereign.
Admiral HASTINGS, replying for the navy, said
it was now well known that the navy had not been
formerly so attended to as it ought to have been,
and the right hon. baronet by the attention he had
paid to it had done much good. (Cheers,) The
building of ships was now actively going on; but
in the period previous to that at which the right
hon. baronet took office the state of the navy was
anything but satisfactory. It was .then that for the
first time in line-of-battle ships the navy of Eng-
land was found to be inferior to that of France.
This was now altered, and he hoped the country
would soon be in a perfect state of defence.
The noble CHAIRMAN then proposed the toast of
the evening in a speech of some length, in which he
commented upon the services which Sir J. Peking
ton had rendered to the country in his capacity of
Colonial Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty,
and as the promoter of national education. A more
loyal, consistent, or openly attached party man
than Sir I. Pakington did not exist ; but in his ad-
ministration of the two offices with which he was
intrusted by the Crown he never allowed the
slightest trace of party spirit to manifest itself.
Lord Lyttelton, referring to what had been doze
by Sir J. Pakington during the time he held office
under Lord Derby as Colonial Secretary and First
Lord of the Admiralty, said, with reference to the
colonies, that having been iu office only 10 months,
it was impossible for him to carry through any
number of important measures. Oa a Colonial
Minister entering newly into office he had to
carry on a correspondence with many distant
colonies, and this Sir John had to do, and to
some of these answers had not been received un-
til after he had left office • but he (Lord Lyttelton)
would repeat what he had said in Parliament on
the oceasion of the passing of the great constitu-
tional Act which Sir John Pakington had matured
—the Constitutional Act of New Zealand—he would
repeat that he believed in respect of those great
principles of colonial freedom, by allowing our colo-
nies o great share of self-government, that that
great measure was by far the most important that
had passed on colonial subjects for a very long time.
(Hear, hear.) Then the subject of the disposal of
land in the Australian colonies had to be settled,
and, although Sir John Pakington
.was unable to
mature these matters and to carry through the
measure necessary for their accomplishment, it was
he who promoted the inquiries and corresponded
with the colonies of Australia on the subject, and
laid down the broad principles upon which the
Australian Constitutional Acts had heen regulated
from that time. (Hear, hear.) With regard to
Sir Joha's administration of the navy, without at-
tempting to go into details, and without dwelling
upon past shortcomings or defects of others, he
would say that Sir John Pakington had done a
great deal—more than was ever done by any First
Lord since the Reform Act—for the improvement
and consolidation of our great naval resources.
(Cheers.) The third public service to which Sir
John Pakington had devoted much of his attention
was the great and intricate subject of the elemen-
tary education of the children of the poor, the end-
less ramifications of which had to do with almost
every other interest of the country. It was a happy
thing for the promotion of the question that Sir
John took it in hand at the time he did; equally
true was it as regarded all three of these subjects
—our colonies, our navy, and education—that mere
party politics had little to do with them. But
nevertheless the question of the education of the
children of the poor was one of those insoluble pro-
blems of human nature towards whose solution we
should never get nearer than an approximation.
But considerable approach towards the reconcilement
of differences had been made, and they were indebted
to Sir John as much as to most men for the clear re-
cognition of the two great principles of toleration in
education, and local encouragement and support to
schools. Lord John Russell, too, had been an un-
questionable witness in favour of the importance
and excellence of the efforts of Sir John on this sub-
ject. After alluding to his local claims on the pub-
lic, the noble lord gave the toast, which was most
cordially received.
The formal presentation of the shield was them
made.

Sir JOHN PAKINGTON, on rising to return thanks,
was received with protracted and unbounded cheer-
ing. On its subsidence the right hon. gentleman
said—My Lord Lyttelton and gentlemen—if any-
thing could have added to the difficulty of the task
which now devolves upon me, it would arise. from
the eloquent, the too flattering, the kind and feeling
terms, in which my noble friend in the chair has
done me the honour of submitting to you this toast.
I now rise to attempt the difficult, I may say the
impossible task of giving expression in language to
those deep feelings of respectful gratitude with
which my heart is filled. I have to thank you, not
only for the magnificent gift which has just been
presented to me, but, for all that kindness, confi-
dence, and support which, throughout a long series
of years, has enabled me to perform my publicduties in this county. The highest, reward which
can attend the labours of a public man is to be
assured of the approbation and support of those
amongst whom his duties have been discharged ;
and that feeling acquires tenfold force when appro-
bation is entertained and kindness is expressed, not
only by those, as is my own case, amongst whom I
have laboured, but by those in the locality in which
I was born, and to which I am attached by every
tie that can strengthen the sentiment of local at-
tachment—by those in the midst of whom I have
lived from boyhood to advanced life, and who are
acquainted both with my publi career and my pri-
vate character. (Cheers.) Th re are two circum-
stances connected with the ceremony of this evening
to which I must beg for a moment to advert,because
they give me peculiar pleasure, and make this cere-
mony as gratifying to M 3 as it could possibly be
made. The first of these circumstances is, that this
beautiful present which I have now the honour to
receive from the county and city of Worcester, has
been presented to me by the hands of my noble
friend the lord lieutenant. (Cheers.) My noble
friend has told you that my chairmanship of quar-
ter sessions commenced at a period when his re-
spected father was lord lieutenant of this county,
and I well recollect the kindness which I always
received from that noble lord, and the respect with
which I ever regarded him ; but my noble friend
who presides over this great meeting, and who has
just presented to me this splendid proof of your
good opinion, has occupied the high place of lord
lieutenant during the great majority of the years
that I had the honour of being chairman of the
sessions. We have constantly had the most cordial
intercourse. We have communicated upon the most
friendly terms throughout a long period of years
with regard to the affairs of the county. I enter-
tain for aim those feelings of public respect and
private friendship, I may say of affection, with
which he is regarded by all who know him ; anti it
is to me a great addition to the pleasure which the'
proceedings of this day cannot but give me, that
my noble friend should have been called upon to
discharge the duty which he has so kindly and ably
fulfilled. (Hear, hear.) The other circumstance to
which I would allude, is that I see around this
table—and I view it with unqualified satisfaction
—abundant proof that, as my chairmanship com-
menced so does it now conclude under circumstances
which prove that no political or party spirit has

VIENCONIMMIIMINEMEMIAINIM=
ever marred the transaction of public business in this
county. (Cheers.) One of those who were the first
in the year 1834 to request that I would fill the then
vacant chair was the late Sir Thomas.Wirinington.
Knowing my desire, at that moment particularly,
when I was myself fresh from party contests for the
representation of the county, that if in deference to
the wishes of the county I undertook the duties of
the chair, no party spirit on my part should mingle
with the attempt, Sir Thomas Winnington, with
a kindness which I highly appreciated, did me
the honour to propose me on that occasion. (Cheers.)
Time has passed away ; many of the friends who
then encouraged me' are now, alas, no more ; and
Sir Thomas Winnington is one of them. But upon.
this occasion, when you are assembled to do honour
to the close of my chairmanship, I see another Sir
'lhomes Winnington sitting near me. (Cheers.)
From the present Sir Thomas Winnington, as from
his father, it has been my misfortune to differ upon
principles of public policy ; but for the private vir-
tues of Sir Thomas Winnington I entertain those
sentiments of esteem and respect which are justly
and generally entertained. (Cheers.) I see around
this table also abundant proof, in the presence of
other gentlenien, that no party feeling mixes here;
and I hope I may infer from this gratifying fact'
that you believe that, in the discharge of my local
duties, being as I am of necessity a member of a
political party, and one who has acted, and long
acted and held office with a political party, I have
never carried party feeling beyond its proper limits
nor allowed it to be mixed up in business with
which, it has no legitimate' connection. (Loud
cheers.) It is true that between the two periods
to which I have thus adverted nearly a .quarter of
a century has passed away ; it is true that during
the 24 years I held the office of chairman I did en-
de;,vour to discharge its duties to the best of my
ability; I did endeavour to deserve the confidence
with which I was honoured, and to conduct the
aflUirs of this county for the public interest. (Hear,
hear.) And if I were enabled so to do, let me once
more acknowledge, as I have before acknowledged
over and over again, that for that result lam
mainly indebted to the constant support which
received from my brother magistrates, and to the
able, courteous, and intelligent assistance which the
learned gentlemen wijo have successively consti•
tuted the bar of the quarter sessions have never
failed to give me. Let me now say that whatever
may have been my humble services as chairman of
this county, they have been generously, nay, pro-
fusely rewarded; for let me remind you that this
is no less than the fourth occasion upon which I
have received a public recognition of those services,
whatever their value may have been. It is now 10
years since my brother magistrates were kind enough
to enter into a subscription to place my portrait in
the County-hall. That portrait was hung in its po-
sition on a day when an unusual number of county
magistrates assembled, under the presidency of my
venerable and lamented friend the late Mr. Pearson;
and I can never cease to entertain the most grate-
ful recollection of the kindness which was shown
to me upon that, to me, memorable occasion. The
next instance in which a public recognition of my
services in the chair was made has been already ad-
verted to by my noble friend. In the year 1854,
having then occupied the chair of the quarter ses-
sions for 20 years, and finding that its duties were
really incompatible with the duties which arose
from my Parliamentary position, I requested' leave
to resign the office in order that it might be placed
in other hands. Upon that occasion I received an
address, couched in the kindest and most flattering
language, and signed by 125 of the magistrates of
this county, begging me to resume the duties which
I intended to resign, upon the clear understanding
that I was to be at liberty to absent myself from
the sessions whenever my other duties required it,
and intimating that my valued friend, Mr. Curtler,
was willing to be a party of the arrangement, and
to take the chair whenever I was unable to attend.
Gentlemen, I could not refuse a request so preferred,
and I resumed the duties of the chair accordingly;
but in the spring of 1858, when I was called upon
to take the arduous position of First Lord of the
Admiralty, I felt that the time had come when it
was impossible for me longer to perform the services
to the county which I had been willing previously
to perform, and I then again requested that I might
be allowed to resign the chair which I had so long
filled. The request was acceded to. It was allowed
to be reasonable; and that. resignation on my, part
was followed by the presentation to me of an address
to which "I attach a degree of value that it is quite
impossible for me to express. That address is one of
the most touching and beautiful papers of its kind
that it ever fell to my lot to read. It bears the
signature of nearly 200 of the nobility and gentry
of this county in the commission of the peace. It
hangs upon the walls of my house as one of its most
valued ornaments, and I trust it will remain there
long after I have passed away. (Cheers.) I own
that the last thing I expected, after receiving these
repeated proofs of kindness, was that I should re-
ceive in any other manner a tribute from the
county for those services. I had scarcely received
that address, when I was told that a subscription had
been entered into, intentionally limited in amount,
and the result of that subscription has been the
splendid present you have given me to-night. The
distinction between this proof of your kindness,
and thos3 to which I have before referred is this—
that whilst they proceeded only from the magi-
stracy of the county this has been subscribed for by
my neighbours and friends of all classes in this
county and city. (Cheers.) Can you wonder, then,
that I should feel overwhelmed by those reiterated
instances of favour and goad-Will towards me in my
own neighbourhood, or that I should feel it to be
impossible adequately to express the sentiments by
which lam at this moment influenced? (Loud
cheers.) I am the more sensible of the value of
these compliments, because, as a matter of strong
opinion, I must distinctly disclaim the idea that j
any man who performs the local duties which have
devolved upon him has thereby established any
right or claim to those rewards. The chair of the
quarter sessions of a great English county is in
itself a high honour—is in itself its own reward.
(Leal cheers.) I hold that the chair of the quarter
sessions of an English county is one of those posi-
tisas of gratuitous duty which every Englishman
is proud to occupy. Notwithstanding what we
have read from the pens of certain newspaper
writers, whose ideas of quarter session's affairs are
limited, I believe, in most cases, to what they can
pick up in the streets of London, I hold that the
chair of the quarter sessions is one of the most
honourable posts to which an English gentleman
can aspire. My noble friend has alluded, in terms
in which I entirely Concur, to the principle which
regulates this part of the administration of our in-
ternal affairs. Under that system of self-govern-
ment to which we Englishmen are so much at-
tached, qne of the most peculiar, but in my opinion
one of the most valuable of our institutions is that
under which our laws are administered and our

internal affairs are regulated by the voluntary and
gratuitous exertions of the gentry of England, and
to be thought worthy by the gentry of England to
preside in our local courts, and to take the leading
part in the management of our internal affairs, has
long been, and long may it continue to be, an
object of honourable ambition with the noblest, the
wealthiest, and the most distinguished of our coun-
trymen. (Cheers.) I may find proofs of the
truth of this position here in our own county of
Worcester. Who were my immediate predecessors
in the Worcestershire chair! The late Sir Chris-
topher Smith, the second Earl Beauchamp, the
eldest brother of my noble friend sitting near me,
and the late lamented Earl Plymouth. By whom
have I been succeeded ? (Prolonged cheering.) By
a noble lord (Ward) of high position, of great
wealth, and of acknowledged talents. (Renewed
cheers.) And by the desire which my noble friend
entertained to be my successor in that chair he as
given practical proof that he recognises the truth
of that trite but great maxim of which we have
heard much of late, and which ought to dwell in
the heart of every right-minded Englishman—
that "Property has its duties as well as its rights."
(Great cheering.) But I can find a further illus-
tration of my position, if illustration were neces-
sary, in the fact that in successive administrations,
both of Whig and of Tory politics, no small por-
tion of those who have been entrusted with the
highest duties of the state are also those who have
devoted their years of comparative leisure to the
duties oP the chair of the quarter sessions in their
respective counties. (Hear, hear.) I might men-
tion many. • I will only mention one ; but that is
a remarkable instance. It is the name of a noble
lord who was decidedly one of the most able chair-
men of quarter sessions who ever presided over the
business of a county, and he was also one of the
most justly popular and respected of the ministers
during the period that the party of my friends near
me—though I do not know whether they willagree
with me—were unfortunately in the ascendant.
(Laughter.) The noble lord to whom I refer was
one of the most respected members of the Whig
administration : I allude tp the late Earl,Spencer,
better known, perhaps, in his public capacity as
Lord Althorp. (Hear.) I believe, then, I am jus-
tified in saying that the honour of filling the chair
at qua *ter sessions is an honour of which the most

distinguished men may be proud. It is its own re-
war& Those who hold it can claim no other re-
ward, and I can only attribute the repeated proofs
of your kindness and those feelings of personal
good-will which you have displayed towards me ►o
the manner in which I have been able to fulfil the
local duties pertaining to that office. (Hear, hear.)
It is not without some degree of hesitation that
I now beg,your permission for one moment to touch
upon another subject. I cannot refrain from the
expression of my wish that this day, so gratifying to
myself and so memorable to those who are near and
dear to me should, if possible, be productive of some
benefit to others. (Hear.) lam one of thwie who
believe that we may always draw a moral lesson
from such proceedings as these. (hear, hear.)
There are not a few of those who now hear _me—
there are yet more of those who will read the report
of what has passed to-day, whose career in life is
still before them ; and I hope you will not consider
me guilty of presumption or egotism if I venture, in
this belief, to touch for a moment upon those prin-
ciples of action to which I mainly owe the honours
that upon this and other occasions-it has been my
fortune to receive. Have I obtained those honours
by the exercise of great and transcendent talents.?
Certainly not. Have I obtained them by the
aid of extensive and varied acquirements ? Cer-
tainly not. No. Gentlemen, if it has been my
good fortune to merit in any degree the favour which
I have received from my Most Gracioas Sovereign ;
if I have deserved any portion of the kindness which
I have so largely received in this my native coun-
ty ; if I have been enabled to administer those great
departments of the state which have been succes-
sively entrusted to me, and to which my noble
friend has alluded in such flattering terms to-night;
if, say, I-have been enabled to administer those
great departments without disadvantage to the
public service, and without discredit to myself, I
firmly believe that I am indebted to the exercise of
qualities and the adoption of rules which are equally
within the power and the compass of every man
who hears me,lund of every man elSewhere who
desires to take a part in the public affairs of his
country. (Loud cheers.) I believe that I am in-
debted for whatever measure of success I have at-
tained in public life to the combination, with mo-
derate abilities, of honesty of intention—(cheers)—
firmness of purpose, and steadiness of conduct.
(Renewed cheering.) If I were to offer advice to
any young man who is anxious to make himself use-
ful in public life, I would sum up the results of my
own experience in three short rules, so simple that
every man may understand them—L-so easy that
every man may act upon them. My first rule
would be, leave it to others to judge for what duties
and for what position you are best fitted, but never
refuse to give your services in whatever position it
may be the opinion of others who are competent to
judge that you can be useful either to your neigh-
bours or to your country. (Hear, hear.) My second
rule would be, when once you have undertaken
public duties, concentrate every energy and every
faculty you possess to the determination that you
will perform those duties well. (Cheers.) Lastly,
I would counsel, in deciding upon your line in public
affairs, to be guided by your opinion of that which,
after mature deliberation, you believe to be right,
and not by that which in the passing hour m.iy
happen to be fashionable or popular. (Cheers.)
Fashion has its uses, and it is all very well when
applied to light and trivial things—(a laugh)—but
fashion in public affairs is out of place. (Hear,
hear.) Popularity, in its lowest and commonest
sense, is not worth having. (Cheers.) Do your
duty to the best of yeur power; win the approba-
tion of your conscience, and popularity in its best
and highest sense is sure to follow. (Loud cheers.)
I would not exchange the recollections of this day
for all the acclamations that ever greeted the most
popular man in England. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I
cannot conclude these acknowledgments with-
out for a moment making special reference to the
part which the citizens of Worcester have done me
the honour to take in this demonstration. (Hear,
hear.) lam gratified by it in a very high degree.
I have the honour of seeing the Mayor of Worces-
ter occupying the vice chair on this occasion. I see
around this table some of the most respected citi-
zens of Worcester. Amongst others, I have the
honour of seeing one who has himself very lately
received a proof of the respect in which he is held
by his fellow citizens, and whose portrait now
hangs opposite to me; Alderman .Padmore.
(Cheers.) To what am I indebted, then, for this
manifestation of the good feeling of the citizens of
Worcester ? My position as chairman of the quar-
ter sessions for the county, whatever may have
been the value of my services, has had no relation to
the city. They have their own jurisdiction, and I
have not acted for them. Neither can the honour
which they have done me proceed from any
political connection between us. On the contrary,
as regards, I believe, both the gentlemen to whom
I have referred, and as regards many whom I see
around this table, undoubtedly there is between us
neither political connection nor even political sym-
pathy. I am, therefore, led to believe, and I hope I
am not mistaken, that those gentlemen have formed
the generous and, as I believe, the just opinion
that there are times and occasions when social and

personal considerations may be held paramount to
party obligations. (Cheers.) I believe that what-
ever political differences may separate us, they feel
that we have long lived near together. lam will-
ing to believe that they regard me with personal
good will—(cheers)—and view my course in public
life as one which, whatever may have been its
errors, has at least been dictated by honourable and
conscientous motives. (Cheers.) But, whatever may
have been the motives which have influenced them
in the kindness they have now shown me, let me
assure them—let me assure you all, that from my
heart I thank you. (Cheers.) When the feelings
are strong, I believe they are best expressed—if
they can be expressed at all—in simple phrases. I
will, therefore, only repeat that I accept at your
hands this splendid gift with a truly grateful
heart. (Loud shears.) So long as life is spared to
me I shall value and cherish that gift as a memento
of good intentions kindly appreciated, of honest
services nobly recompensed, of personal friendships
and attachments long cherished, and which can
only end with life itself. By my descendants I
hope, and I believe, that this present will be re-
garded as one of their proudest possessions; but I
hope that my descendants will also regard it as an
incentive to that honourable exertion which is the
best contribution that the citizen of a free state can
give to the welfare of his country, and the practical
acknowledgment that we can make to a bountiful
Providence for the blessings we are permitted to
enjoy. (The right hon. gentleman then resumed
his seat amidst several rounds of enthusiastic
cheering.)
The toasts of " The Lord Lieutenant" and "The
High Sheriff" having been given and responded to,
The noble CHAIRMAN proposed " The health of
Lord Ward," as the successor of Sir John Peking-
ton in the chair oZ the Worcestershire Court of
Quarter Sessions.

Lord WARD having replied,
The assembly shortly afterwards broke up:

THE FIRE IN WESTMINSTER.

Yesterday the inquest on the bodies of Henry
John Billson, Sarah Billson, Eliza Chapman, and
Clarissa Chapman, whose deaths were caused by
the fire which broke out on Friday morning last
at the'premises of Mr. A. C. Hook, in Little George-
street, was resumed by Mr. Bedford, Coroner, and
the jury empannelled for the occasion.
Henry Billson, the father of the two children who
were burnt to death, was called by the Coroner, who
expressed to him his sorrow that he should have oc-
casion to do so under such very painful circum-
stances. Mr. Billson said that he was a clerk to a
solicitor at 16, Chester-terrace, Eaton-square. He
left his house in Little George-street on Friday
morning, about five minutes to one. At that time
his children were in bed at the top of the house in
Little George-street, the servant was also a bed. The
family had been sitting in the kitchen parlour. He
went into the other kitchen about half.past 12
o'cLck when he noticed that the fire was nearly
out. There was some clothing hanging about the
room ; but nothing at the present moment occurred
to him by which he could account for the fire.
There had been no fire in the kitchen parlour. He
did not know Mr. Chapman, who died many years
ago ; he was a builder and plumber. Witness s wife
had assured him that she did not open the front
door to the policeman ; but witness believed that it
was Mrs. Chapman who moved aside the kitchen
window curtain when the policeman tried the door
on seeing the light going out, for she was the last
person down stairs.
Henry Fletcher, of 5, Little George-street, ware-
houseman, was awoke early on Friday morning,
and on coming down stairs he saw the kitchen of
No. 13A, on fire ; the flames were burning like gas.
He saw a woman on the landing over the door. She
had a baby in her arms, which she threw out of the
window, and witness caught it. The woman then
threw herself out sideways. Immediately after the
woman and child had been taken away, the fire-
escape arrived. Witness, assisted by some police-
men, raised the bar that crowed Little George-