The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-06 00:00:00

Maury Testimonial.

Yesterday evening about 130 gentlemen as-
sembled at Willis's Rooms, on the occasion of a
banquet and testimonial to Captain Maury, for-
merly of the United States navy, the object of this
tribute being to make a suitable public recognition
of the brilliant services conferred by that officer •on
the cause of maritime science. Sir John Pakington
presided, and among those present were :—His Ex-
cellency the Mexican Minister, his Excellency the
Danish Minister, his Excellency Don Herberto de la
Riestra, the Minister Plenipotentiary from the Ar-
gentine Confederation, Admiral Sir John Hay,
F.R.S., General Lefroy, F.R.S., the
Bart., M.P.,
Right Hon. Earl Nelson, Colonel Sir Henry James,
R.E., F.R.S., Commodore Jansen, L.8.G., of the
Royal Dutch Navy, Professor Tyndal, F.R.S., the
Right Hon. Lord Richard Grosvenor, M.P., Admi-
ral Boutakov, of the Russian Imperial Navy ; Ad-
miral Young, R.N., Mr. Charles Babbage,
F. 8.5., Hydrographer of the Admiralty, Professor
Wheatstone, F.R.S., the Deputy-Master of the
Trinity-house, Captain Cowper Coles, R.N., Gen.
Walker, Mr. A. J. Beresford Hope, M.P., F.R.S.,
Admiral Halstead, R.N., Mr. W. Fairbairn, F.R.S.,
Mr. Whitworth, F.R.S., Mr. T. B. Horsfal], M.P.,
Capt. Klerker, Royal Swedish Navy, Attache to
the Swedish and Norwegian Legation, Mr. J. Laird,
M.P., the Hon. J. B. Vivian, R.N., Admiral Anson,
R.N., Mr. James Spence, the Rev. F. W. Tremlett,
M.A., LL.D., &c.
It was the declaration of Humboldt, that to Cap-
tain Maury belonged the distinguished honour of
having founded a new department of human know-
ledge, viz., the "Physical Geography of the Sea ;"
and the motive which actuated the promoters of last
night's testimonial appears to have been a desire that
the United Kingdom should no longer be the only
maritime power in Europe that had not publicly and

officially recognised the eminent services of this dis

tinguished nautical geographer. The conception of
floating observatories, and the conversion of "a legion
of ships into a legion of such observatories," was
Capt. Maury's ; as was also the celebrated Brussels
Conference, held in 1853. At that Conference
England, France, Russia, Portugal, Belgium, Hol-
land, Denmark, Norway and, Sweden were repre-
sented, and one of its most eminent and practical
results was the establishment in London, by the
advice of the Royal Society, of the Meteorological
Department of the Board of Trade. It was esti-
mated by the late Dr. Buist, in speaking before the
British Association, that charts and sailing directions
for the Eastern seas, such as Capt. Maury had at
that time [prepared for the Atlantic Ocean, would
produce a saving to British commerce of from a
quarter to half a million sterling. Since that time
Capt. Maury has investigated and mapped out the
prevailing winds and currents, not only of the Eastern
seas, but of all the great oceans, and the result has
been what Dr. Buist predicted. The sailing voyage
to India and China has been shortened 15 days, to
the Equator 10 days, to California 50 days, to Aus-
tralia and back 50 days, and to other countries pro-
portionately. Maury's charts and sailing directions
which described these routes and effected this sav-
ing were published not for sale, but for distribution,
free of cost, to vessels of all nations.
After the usual loyal toasts, followed by that of
" The Diplomatic Corps,"
The CHAIRMAN proceeded to present the testi-
monial. In doing so, addressing the gallant captain
personally, he congratulated him on having devoted
his noble intellect to a purpose which had in the
result conduced so greatly to the lasting benefit of
mankind. He then traced the history of his scientific
discoveries, and referred to the practical advantages
which the public were now deriving from them. In
the voyage of a ship from England to India or China
there was, he observed, a saving of £250. What,
then, must be the annual aggregate saving on the
voyages of all the ships of this country ? It was
when Capt. Maury's fame was at its height that
there broke out the unfortunate civil war between
the North and the South—a war in which, being a
Southerner by birth, he took the part worthy of
his character and his career. (Loud cheers.)
He then adverted to the fact, that after the war had
terminated the gallant captain was invited by the
Grand Duke Constantine to take up his abode in
Russia, and by Prince Napoleon to accept a home in
France. The testimonial now to be presented com-
menced about a year ago. Holland subscribed
about £l,lOO ; Russia sent £l,OOO ; and a large
amount was also collected in this country. And he
now, in the name of England, of Europe, and of the
civilised world, had to request Captain Maury to
accept a testimonial, considerably exceeding in
amount 3,000 guineas, a recognition of esteem,
admiration, and gratitude. (Great cheering.) He
concluded by reading an address expressive of the
money
object
to
thethe
guesto presentation,ftheevaenndinhgaivn aing handed the
silver casket
he proposed his health, which was drunk with three
times three, amid much enthusiasm.

Captain MAURY commenced by repudiating the
notion that he was deserving such an acknowledg-
ment. Forty
yteyr neoars ago, he said, it was his good
fortune to
a field of discovery in which the
harvest was ready to hand. Very soon a fleet scat-
tered all over the world was engaged in observing
certain phenomena of the sea and the air ; and at a
very small cost ships of all nations were converted
into
The necessity of
combination templesmade led to the con-
ference at Brussels, and now he saw a brilliant
assemblage met to celebrate the results which had
since been achieved. In conclusion, the gallant
of
science.
the researches
(Cheers.)
captain declared his utter inability to acknowledge
in appropriate terms the handsome testimonial just
presented, and said he must therefore express it
with sealed lips and the eloquence of silence.
(Loud cheers.) _

Among the remaining toasts was ,g Our Foreign
Visitors," proposed by Lord Richard Grosvenor,
M.P., which was responded to by Commodore
Jansen, of the Royal Dutch Navy, and General
Beauregard, of the late Confederate States of
America, the latter of is horn was greeted with
special cordiality.