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

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 28, 1859.

• India Office, 25th March, 1859.
THE SECRETARY of STATE for INDIA, in
COUNCIL, HEREBY GIVES NOTICE, That 'on and
after the Ist May next, Promissory Notes of the Indian
Loans, which have been enfaced for payment of interest in
London, by drafts on India, may be registered in Books to be
opened in this Office, so as to admit of the sale and transfetsof
the whole, or any portion of such property, in even hundreds
of rupees. When holders may desire again to receive their
interest in India, a certificate of the amount standing in such
register will be given to them, to be exchanged in Calcutta
for promissory notes as before.
This notification is not intended in any way to interfere
with the essential conditions of the several loans.
J. COSMO MELVILL.

STEAM COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
IRELAND AND AMERICA.
The Liverpool, New York, and Philadelphia Steam-ship
Company's steam-ship "CITY OF MANCHESTER," 2,109
tons, Captain J. KENNEDY, will sail from BELFAST for
NEW YORK, on WEDNESDAY, 6th April next, calling at
CORk (Queenstown), which Port she will leave for NEW
YORK direct, on FRIDAY, Btli April.
Freight on Fine Goods £3 per ton of 40 cubic feet; Coarse
Goods by agreement.
Passage Money—Cabin l5 Guineas. •
Steerage 6 Guineas.
Further salings ;rill appear in a future advertisement,
For further particulars apply in Belfast to John Isl`Kee,
103, Victoria-street ; in Queenstown, to C. and W. D. Sey-
mour and Co. ; in Liverpool, to William Inman, 62 and 63,
Tower-bUildings South, 22, Water-street; and in London, to
Fives and Macey, 61, King William-street, London-Bridge,
E.C.
GUARDIAN FIRE A
COM

iD LIFE ASSURANCE
ANY,
treet, London, E.C.
!TORS.
LENS, Esq., Chairman.
Esq., Deputy-Chairman.'
John Martin, Esq., M.P.
Rowland Mitchell, Esq.
James Morris, Esq.
Henry Norman, Esq.
Henry R. Reynolds, Esq.
Sir Godfrey J. Thomas, Bart.
John Thornton, Esq.
James Tulloch, Esq.
Henry Yigne, Esq,

• No. 11, Lombard-st
DIREC'
HENRY HULSE BE]
JOHN G. HUBBARD,
John Dixon, Esq.
Francis Hart Dyke, Esq.
Sir W. M. T. Farquhar, Bart.,

M.P.
Sir Walter R. Farquhar, Bart.
Thomson Hankey, Esq., M.P.
John Harvey, Esq.
John Labouchere, Esq. •
John Loch, Esq.
Stewart Marjoribanks, Esq.

AUDITORS.

Lewis Loyd, Esq. 1 Henry Sykes Thornton, Esq.
John Henry Smith, Esq.
Thomas Tallemach, Esq., Secretary.—Samuel Brown, Esq.,

Actuary.

LIFE DEPARTMENT.—UNDER THE PROVISIONE OF AN
ACT OF PARLIAMENT, this Company now offers to future In-
surers Four-fifths of the Profits, with Quinquennial Division,
or a Low Rate of Premium without participation of Profits.
The next division of Profits will be declared in June, 1860,
when all Participating" Policies which shall have subsisted at
least one year at Christmas, 1859, will be allowed to share in
the Profits.
At the Five Divisions of Profits made by this Company, the
total Reversionary Bonuses added to the Policies have
exceeded £913,000.
At the last valuation, at Christmas, 1854, the Assurances in
force amounted to upwards of £4,240,000, the Income from the
Life Branch in 1854 was mire than £200,000, and the Life As-
surance Fund (independent of the Guarantee Capital) exceeded
£1,700,000.
FOREIGN RISKS.—The Extra Premiums required for the
East and West Indies, the British Colonies, and the northern
parts of the United States of America, have been materially
reduced.

INVALID LIVES. -Persons who are not in such sound
health as would enable them to insure their Lives at the Tabular
Premiums, may have their Lives insured at Extra Premiums.
LOANS granted on Life Policies to the extent of their
values, provided such Policies shall have been effected a suffi-
cient time to have attained in each case a value not under £.50.
ASSIGNMENTS OF POLICIES.—Written Notices of re-
ceived and registered.
MEDICA,L FEES paid by the Company, and no charge
will be made for Policy Stamps.
Notice is Hereby Given, That Fire Policies which expire at
Lady Day must be renewed within fifteen days at this Office,
or with Mr. SAMS, No. 1, St. James's-street, corner of Pall-
Mall, or with the Company's Agents throughout the King-
dom, otherwise they become void.
Losses caused by Explosion of Gas are admitted by this
Company.

LONDON CRYSTAL PALACE, REGENT-
CIRCUS, OXFORD-STREET and GREAT PORT-
LAND-STREET.

This-nragnifieent building is NOW OPENto the public, for
the SALE of all kinds of USEFUL and FANCY ARTICLES.

The Photographic Establishment, Aviary, Conservatory,
General Refreshment Room, and Ladies' Private Refresh-
ment Room, with Retiring Room attached, are replete in their
several departments.
ADMISSION FREE.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ROOMS, High
Holborn, formerly Casino de Venise.—This establish-
ment, pre-eminently distinguished for the elegance and
matchless beauty of its decorations, combined with the per-
fection of its management, is OPEN every EVENING.
The celebrated band, under the direction of Mr. W. M. Packer,
plays a nightly varied selection of the most approved classical
and modern music. Doors open at half-past 8 ; overture at
9 ; closing at 12 punctually. Admission ls. N.B.—Mr. W
M. Packer's grand Annual Benefit Bal Masque is fixed for
Thursday, 17th March.

ARGYLL-ROOMS, Windmill-street, Piccadilly.
These popular and celebrated rooms are open every
evening, with R. R. Bignell's Grand Orchestra, conducted by
that great composer, Mons. Antony Lamotte, of Paris.
Leader, Charles Hall. Mons. Boulcourt, the celebrated cornet-
a-piston player, performs nightly, with other talented
artistes. Selections from Rigoletto, liTrovatore, La Traviata,
Huguenots, Robert le Diable, and the new opera Martha.
Manager, R. R. Bignell. Doors open at half-past 8, close
ten minutes before 12. Admission, is. to Promenade.
N.8.--All applications for the above band for Concerts and
Balls, to be made to Mr. William Price, treasurer, at the
Rooms.

ALHAMBRA PALACE-A BULL FIGHT=
A SPANISH BULL FIGHT.
This gorgeous pageant, so long in preparation by Messrs.
HOWES and CUSHING, will be produced on MONDAY,
March 28th, and continue during the WEEK, and ending
their SEASON in LONDON. The Californian performers
havinc, acted as principals in a Bull-fight in America for up-
wards of 100 nights, will undertake the same exploits in Lon-
don. Not the slightest danger or annoyance need be appre-
hended by the audience, as the same admirable order and
caution will be preserved by the proprietors, which has dis-
tinguished all their undertakings, and made their establish-
ment so popular in England. The regular Equestrian per-
formances, the same as last week, will be produced in addition
to the Bull-fight, which takes place Morning and Evening.
Two Performances Daily at two and quarter before:Eight
p.m.

Pit, ls.; Boxes, 2s. ; Reserved Seats, 39.; Stalls, 55.; Private
Boxes, £2 2s. Children under Nine years of age, half-price.
Gallery, 6d.

VINEGAR. Patronised by her Majesty's
Government.—CONDY'S PATENT PURE CONCEN-
TRATED MALT VINEGAR.--Families, by using this de-
licious Vinegar, insure purity, and effect a saving of 50 per
cent. See Report of Dr. Letheby, City Officer of Health ;Dr
Hassall, of the • Lancet" Commission, and others. Sold by
the Trade, in bottles labelled and ca ruled. Whalesale, 63,
King William-street, London-bridge, E.C.—Six Quart Sample
sent free to any Railway for 3s. 6d.

GREY HAIR RESTORED TO ITS
NATURAL COLOUR. Neuralgia, Nervous
Headache Rheumatism, and Stiff joints Cured by F. M.
HERRING'S PATENT MAGNETIC BRUSHES, 10s. and
15s. Grey Hair and Baldness PREVENTED by F. M. H.'s
Patent Preventive Brush. Price 4s. and ss. Offices, 32,
Basinghall-street, London, where may be had, gratis, the
Illustrated Pamphlet, "Why Hair becomes Grey, and its
Remedy." Sold by all Chemists and Perfumers of repute.

GLENFIELD PATENT STARCH,
USED IN THE ROYAL LAUNDRY,
AND PRONOUNCED BY HER MAJESTY'S LAUNDRESS to be
THE FINEST STARCH SHE EVER USED.
WHEN YOU ASK FOR
GLENFIELD PATENT STARCH,
SEE THAT YOU GET IT,
As inferior kinds are often substituted.
Sold by all Chandlers, Grocers, &c., &o.
WOTHERSPOON & CO., GLASGOW AND LONDON.

BLAIR'S GOUT AND RHEUMATIC PILLS.
Price ls. lid. and 2s. 9d. per box.
This preparation is one of the benefits which the science of
modern chemistry has conferred upon mankind ; for, during
the first twenty years of the present century to speak of a
cure for the Gout was considered a romance; but now the
efficacy and safety of this medicine is so fully demonstrated,
by unsolicited testimonials from persons in every rank of life,
that public opinion proclaims this as one of the most im-
portant discoveries of the present age.
These Pills require no restraint of diet or confinement
during their use, and are certain to prevent the disease
attacking any vital part.
Sold by all medicine vendors. Observe " Thomas Prout,
229, Strand, London," on the Government stamp.

RUPTURE S. - WHITE'S MOO-MAIN
PATENT LEVER TRUSS is allowed by upwards of
200 professional gentlemen to be thebest for Hernia. It con-
sists of a small and elastic pad, to which a lever is attached,
and (instead of the usual steel spring) a soft bandege, fitting
so closely as to avoid detection. A descriptive circular may
be had, and the truss forwarded by post, on the circumference
of the body, two inches below the hips, being sent to the
manufacturer, Mr. John White, 228, Piccadilly.
JDoohunbliive dhiittteo,,
P3loss.t
ce42,s swan ddis2lisy.. 6dm.—areorsto-foPffiE
Iceas
Single Truss, 165., 215., 265. 6d., and 31s. 6d. Postage, is
Otierdsetrocs
kto.
ings, Knee-caps, &c.

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ARTICLE EVER KNOWN
in the GROWTH and IMPROVEMENT of the HUMAN
HAIR is

OWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL, proved
LIU beyond question by its successful results for more than
half a century past, and when other specifics have failed. It
prevents hair from falling off or turning grey,. strengthens
weak hair, cleanses it from scurf or dandriff, and makes it
beautifully soft, pliable, and glossy. For children it is espe-
cially recommended as forming_the basis of a beautiful head
of hair. _ _

Its invaluable properties have obtained the patronage of
royalty, the nobility, and the aristocracy throughout Europe,
while its introduction into the nursery of royalty, and the
high esteem in which it is universally held, with numerous
testimonials constantly received of its efficacy, afford the
best and surest proofs of its merits. Price 3s. 6d. and 7s. ;
family bottles (equal to four small), 10s. 6d. ; and double that
size, 21s.
CAUTION.—See on the wrapper the words "Rowlands'
Macassar Oil," &c., and their signature, "A Rowland and
SW," in red bk. Sold by all chemists and perfumers.

T HE LONDON.—The attention of Clergymen,
Officers, and Professional Gentlemen, is especially
drawn to the advantages offered in these elegant and spa-
cious Saloons,' which fulfil all the requirements of a West-
end club of the most aristocratic and exclusive character.
F. SAWYER, Proprietor, 191, Fleet-street.

THE ,LONDON.—S AW Y E R'S famoua
LONDON DINNER, consisting of two soups, two
fish, two entr6es,joints, two sweets, cheese, and salad, at a
fixed charge of 2s. 6d. (attendance, 3d.), is served from Two
till Eight in the spacious Saloon.
In the Coffee-room, Dinners from the joint, with vegetables,
cheese, and salad, ls. 6d.„ (attendance 3d.), and soup, fish, en-
trées, &c., a la carte, are served from One till Nine o'clock.
Ladies' Private Rooms and Dining Saloons. Spacious and
well-ventilated Wine, Coffee, and Smoking Saloon.
An extensive and Carefully selected stock of Rhenish, Mo-
selle, and other Wines, imported expressly for the London
Dinner. Open on Sundays from Four till Nine.
F. SAWYER, Proprietor, 191, Fleet-street.

TE PATRICIAN.:— This Establishment is
now Open for the PATRICIAN DINNER, at 2s. 6d.,
consisting of Soups, Fish, Entrees; Joints, Pastry, &c. In
the Private Apartments, at ss. Dinner from Joint, is. ;
Ditto with Soup, Fish, or Pastry, is. 6d. 'ln the Refresh-
ment Department, ground floor, Soups, Entrées, Cutlets,
Coffee, &c., a la carte. •
Orders, addressed S. Holmes and Co., THE PATRICIAN,
New Coventry-street, will have the best attention.

OINOPOLION. TAVERN AND HOTEL
FOR GENTLEMEN,
Nes. 1, and 2, Brownlow-street, High-Holborn.
The Best Served Dinner in London for ls. 6d.
A Succession of Joints, Ste., from One till Seven o'Clock.
Henekeys, Abbott, and Co.'s Wines and Spirits.
Private and Smoking Rooms.

JUNIOR UNITED SERVICE CLUB, London,
Secretary's Office, 21st Jan., 1859.—5ir,---After a long
courze of experiments with your PATENT ECONOMIZING
GAS BURNERS, the result of which is highly satisfactory,
the Committee have decided on-their adoption throughout
the Club, and I herewith enclose order-rot same.—flubert G.
de Carteret, Secretary. Mr. HrW, HART, economizing gas
burner depot, 69, Fleet-street:

EPPS'S COCOA.—Epps, homoeopathic chemist,
London.—This excellent preparation, originally pro-
duced specially for the use of homoeopathic patients, having
been adopted by the general public, can now be had of the
principal grocers. Each packet is labelled James Epps,
homoeopathic chemist, London.

ORNAMENTS for the Drawing-room, Library,
. and Dining-room, consistin„o• of a new and elegant
assortment of VASES, Figures, Groups, Candlesticks, Obe-
lisks, Inkstands, beautiful inlaid Tables, Paperweights, &c.,
in Italian Alabaster, Marble, Bronze, Derbyshire §par, &c.
Imported and manufactured by JAMES TENNAN , Mine-
ralogist to her Majesty, 149, Strand, London, W.C.
Mr. Tennant arranges elementary collections of SHELLS,
MINERALS, and FOSSILS, which will greatly facilitate the
interesting study of MINERALOGY, CONCHOLOGY, and
GEOLOGY, at 2,5, 10, 20, 50, to 100 guineas each.
PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION in GEOLOGY and MINE-
RALOGY is given by Mr. 'TENNANT, at 149, Strand.

SURE CURE.-LAMBERT'S ASTHMATIC
BALSAM, without confining the bowels or affecting the
head, truly efficacious and pleasant, is admitted to be the best
medicine for immediately relieving coughs, colds, confirmed
cases of asthma, and consumption. It frequent y cures per-
sons whom the faculty pronounce incurable, admirably allays
the tickling which provokes frequent coughing. In approach-
ing consumption its effects are truly beneficial. Persons de-
prived of sleep, or even lying down for fear of suffocation,
may depend on relief in a few minutes after taking it.—Pre-
pared only and sold by W. Lambert, chemist, 20, Jermyn-
street, Haymarket, and by all druggists, in bottles, 130.,
2s. 3d., and 4s. 6d. each. Be particular and ask for Lambert's
Asthmatic Balsam. The name and address is engraved on
the stamp.

THE COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO
BENJAMIN WEBSTER, ESQ.

(From the Era)

The cares and anxieties of management had need
to be occasionally relieved by some more agreeable
result of the heavy and harassing responsibilities
that attach themselves to the position of lessee of a
metropolitan theatre, and certainly one of the most
gratifying and encouraging testimonies ever
afforded to the well-directed zeal and enterprise of
a theatrical manager was that evinced on Wednes-
day last, when upwards of a hundred personal
friends of Mr. Benjamin Webster invited him to a
complimentary dinner at the Freemasons' Tavern,
to congratulate him on the successful opening of the
new Royal Adelphi, and to acknowledge, on the
part of the public, the vast improvements he had
effected in the arrangements for the accommodation
of the audience. It was a well-timed and a well-
developed expression of iithat feeling which has
been gradually strengthening amongst all those
who, since Christmas, have experienced and appre-
ciated the advantages to be enjoyed in the new
structure • and whilst the graceful manner in which
the compliment was convoyed, must to the re-
cipient have materially heightened its value, the
sentiments expressed on the occasion will be found
such as will be widely responded to by many who
could take no personal share in the proceedings.
The Hon. Francis Henry Fitzhardinge Ber-
keley, M.P., presided upon the occasion, with the
guest of the evening seated on his right hand, sup-
ported by Messrs. R. Bell, Boisselier, Consul Gene-
ral of France, H. Ingram, M.P., Dr. Rowe, Mark
Lemon, A. Arcedeckne, B. Billings, Thos. Land-
seer, T.. J. Jerwood, Frederic Ledger, Z. Watkins,
J. Reddish, Josh. Lavender, Charles Morgan, Paul
Bedford, W. Jerrold, P. Cunningham, H. Mayhew,
Hy. Bradbury, Pearpoint, Tom Brooke, T. B.
Simpson, A. Dickens, J. G. Moore, Fred. Dickens,
Floris, W. Stone, Hollingshead, Maddox, J.
Mitchell, Dr. Shorthouse, H. G. Day, T. M. Nel-
son, B. Childs, Bowring, H. G. Robinson, Wm.
S. Webster, A. Mellon, Cole, W. S. Burton, J.
L. Toole, J. Douglass, E. Yates, W. Harrington,
W. It. S. Markwell, G. White, Addison, M'Clean,
W. P. Sams, D. B. Raw, R. Churchill, Dr.
Fletcher, J. Defries, R. Wood, Stiff, W. S.
Johnson, Penticost, P. Egan, G. Boxall, C.
Liddle, C. H. Beckingham, J. Scott, R. Nicholson,
Ward, Thirlwall, G. R. Braid, W. Smith,
Byron, Thos. Bacon, Mitchell (of Bristol), W.
Webster (of Sheffield), Benj. Webster, jun., 8.A.,
J. Povev, &c.
The following were absent, through indisposi-
tion or professional engagements :—Mr. H. A.
Merewether, Q.C. ; Mr. Edwin James, Q.C. ;
Sheriff Gordon, of Edinburgh; Mr. Ballantine,
Q.C. •, Mr. H. Hawkins, Q.C. ; Rev. R Moore,
Mr. Charles Dickens, Mr. Theodore Martin, Mr.
C. Manby, Mr. Keeley, Mr. B. T. Smith, Mr.
Buckstone, Mr. Creswick, Mr. T. R. Chute (lessee
of Bath and Bristol), Mr. Simpson (Birmingham),
Mr. H. Wyatt, &c.
The magnificent banquet having been done full
justice to—the cloth removed—and grace most
beautifully chanted by the singers,
The CHAIRMAN (who was received with loud
applause) rose and said : Gentlemen, I need not tell
you what the first toast will be ; but it is the for-
tune of those who preside at dinners during this
reign to propose a toast which is universally popu-
lar. (Hear, hear.) When I look back, as lam
enabled to do, to two reigns, I can remember that
this toast would not be received in the way in
which I expect the toast I have to give will be re-
ceived. I remember in the reign of George the
Fourth to have seen turned-down glasses. I can
remember, in the reign of William the Fourth, to
have seen the toast " damned with faint applause."
But for the last 21 years I have never seen the
toast received except with enthusiasm. (Hear,
hear.) Englishmen know when they have a con•
stitutional monarch, and if they ever had a consti-
tutional monarch they are blessed with one in
Queen Victoria. (Applause.) I expect that the
toast I have to give will be received, more particu-
larly in this assembly, with favour, more so, per-
haps, than in almost any other assembly in which
it may be proposed—(hear, hear)—because you
have not only a constitutional monarch, but a
monarch inclined to the drama. (Applause.) Gen-
tlemen, there are circumstances which I could men-

tion—l am not sure whether reporters are present—
that would not, perhaps, be very agreeable in certain
high quarters. I could refer to the beneficence which
marks her character, more especially as applied to
dramatic art. You have lately lost an old friend in poor
Harley. I do not know whether it is generally
known, but Harley's sister, after her brother's
death, was the recipient of great favours from the
monarch, who took care to provide for her. Let us,
then, drink the health of her Majesty, with those
honours which the toast so eminently deserves.
(Cheers.)
The toast having been drunk with befitting
enthusiasm, " God save the Queen" was sung by
Miss R. Isaacs, Miss Ransford, Miss Cole ; Messrs.
Genge, Winn, T. Williams, &c.
The CHAIRMAN—If you please, gentlemen, we
will drink " His Royal Highness the Prince
Consort, the Prince of Wales, and the rest of the
Royal family."
Glee by Miss Rebecca Isaacs, Miss Ransford, &c.
The CHAIRMAN—I have now the honour to pro-
pose to you our two glorious services, the Army and
Navy. (Cheers.) I am sure they require nothing
to be said from me. You have had the record of
their duties before you of late years so repeatedly
and so gloriously that not a word is required to
commend the toast. I give you " The Army and
Navy." I do not know whom I am to call upon in
connection with the toast. If Mr. Childs does not
respond, however, there is Mr. Arcedeckn e, the Com-
modore of the Yacht Club. (Cheers and laughter.)
The toast having been drunk,
Mr. BORLACE CHILDS, in responding, said—l feel
highly flattered, sir, that you have associated my
name with a toast which so well deserves the high
encomiums passed upon it, and also the response

, which it has met with. When I came here this
' evening I had no idea that I should have played so
conspicuous a part as I am playing at this moment;
but although I feel that the toast might fall into
safer hands, I certainly shall not flinch from the
duty which you have imposed upon me. Recent
events are so fresh in your memory that I feel
it would be a useless occupation of your time were
I to descant upon the noble deeds of our brave
army. I might allude to the noble ascent of the
Alma, and the dogged and determined resist-
ance ofi our glorious guards at Inkerman, and to the
brilliant but fatal charge of Balaclava. I might refer
you, gentlemen, to our noble little band in the East.
I say " little" because it is small compared with
the great mass of the population that it has had to
contend with. They are far from home, beneath
the burning sun, surrounded by the most desperate
fanaticism that can possibly exist. Our brave fel—
lows there have crushed and destroyed that which
threatened to be one of the most terrific and fright-
ful events which could disgrace' the annals of
humanity. We send our armies abroad to fight our
battles for us ; we send them to protect our foreign
and our colonial possessions. But we have also an
army at home, and I have no doubt it will• be at all
times prepared to defend our homes and our hearths,
our wives and our children, "from the attack of any
invading force that might have the temerity to
attempt a landing upon oar shores. To that con-
stitutional force of this country I am proud to say
I belong. Although lam not in the executive de-
partment, I am one of the concomitants of the
force, and we all know that the doctors on these
occasions fight in the rear ; at the same time their
services are always acceptable. And I say, on
these occasions, should it ever occur that you re-
quire the services of the force, you, will find, I
trust, that we are quite equal to the emergencies
that may arise. I have the honour of belonging to
a corps celebrated in history, which is regarded as
a remnant of the old train' bands of London. We
are indebted to those bands for the Commonwealth
in the time of Cromwell, and also for the Restora-
tion. We are also celebrated in. song as well as in
history. There is no gentlemen present who has
not heard of the celebrated John Gilpin and his
ride.

" A train-band captain eke was he,
Of famous London town."

(Applause.) On behalf of the army, and that branch
of
.it to which I belong, I beg to return you our
most sincere thanks.

Loud calls were then made for " the Commodore,"
to which, after some reluctance, Mr. Arcedeckne
yielded, and his rising was greeted with a great deal
of cheering. As soon as silence was restored, and
everybody had settled himself in his seat, in the
expectation of hearing one of the Commodore's
humorous and lively speeches, Mr. Arcedeckne, in
his quaint way, exclaimed, " It's all nonsense, you
know," and immediately resumed his seat. Im•
mense laughter ensued at this sudden and unex-
pected termination to the hopes of the company.
Song—" The Guard Ship," by Mr. Winn.
The CHAIRMAN then rose to propose the toast of
the evening, and as this seemed to be generally
known, his rising was the signal for a loud and pro-
longed round of applause. He said—Gentlemen, it
is very evident that my work in the next toast is
half done for me. I see the preparation for that
toast in the plaudits which even its approach meets
with. It is for me to announce, then, that the pre-
sent is what may be called the toast of the evening.
(Loud cheers.) The toast is " Benjamin Webster,
and Success to the New Adelphi." (Renewed ap-
plause.) Ido not think, gentlemen, I should be
much out of order if, in calling upon you to drink
this toast, I regard his merits, whether as an actor,
a manager, or a man. (Cheers.) I will not begin
after the manner of old Defoe in "Robinson Crusoe,"
and say that Webster was born in the city of York,
of poor but respectable parents. (Laughter and
cheers.) lam content that he was born. (Cheers.)
I am content to believe that so good a man had good
parents. (Cheers.) I proceed at once to speak of
him in the first of those characters to which I have
referred—as an actor. As an actor I think Mr.
Webster has trod in very diversified paths. I be-
lieve his practice has been in all branches of the
drama. In the country I have reason to think he
studied both the tragic and the comic muse. I have
no doubt he has been the Richard the Third, the
Hamlet, and the Macbeth of country places, much
to the edification of the inhabitants. . I have no
doubt in his early days he fougLt terrific broad-
sword combats, two up and two down—(laughter)
—thrust and parried in the cavern of horrors over
the dreadful abyss in the Castle of Bloodmansdoff.
(Laughter and cheers.) No doubt, there he
shocked the inhabitants of the country towns, and
probably at that time shocking himself. I find
Mr. Webster in London about the year 1818, if
my records are right, and I believe he disappeared
after a short visit to London. But I need not
dwell upon that ; suffice it to say that since he
took possession of the metropolitan boards his course
has been onwards and upwards. It has been stated
to me, which I might have mentioned, in addi-
tion to these various lines of business which I have
described, that he actually has performed the prin-
cipal parts in the harlequinade—Harlequin, Clown,
and Pantaloon ; and they say he has rather a lean-
ing to that kind of business, only that he has dis-
covered lately that much higher persons have taken
hold of that line of character, and, according to the
faithful chronicles of Punch, he cannot hope to
compete with John Bright—(laughter)—Lord John
Russell, and Lord Palmerston. (Cheers and laugh-
ter.) There is another and more potent reason I
am thinking why he should not try that line of
business at present, because if he did he might drive
the Rev. Dr. Close, of Carlisle, to fall down on his
knees, as he has lately described the effect produced
by the Pantomimes on that reverend gentleman.
A passing word to Dr. Close and his illiberality.
If he were driven upon his knees, to use his own
expression, by the account brought by the papers
of the performance of Pantomimes, query, when he
had got into that humble position whether it might
not be better to pray against the sins of hypocrisy.
(Hear.) However, gentlemen, Mr. Webster's course
has been onwards and upwards. Now, I would not
draw a comparison between Mr. Webster and other
actors ; I would spare his blushes on that head. But
while we continually go to the theatre to see our
favourities ; to see the man who in clubs would be
familiarly called Old Buck; to see little Keeley ; to
see Wright ; to see Compton ; and I might add the
name of an honourable friend of mine, a veteran
whom I see before me, Paul Bedford—(loud cheers,
which "little Paul" acknowledged by rising and
bowing); while we go to see these favourites—Buck-
stone, Wright, Bedford, Compton, and so forth,
when we go to see Webster it is not to see him, but
the character he performs. (Loud cheers.) The
others may be admirable ; we go to see them, and
we return with aching sides from the performance.
But to Mr. Webster is due, and the whole profession
will accord it, he has less individuality and more
versatility in his performance than any man
on the stage (Loud cheers.) I would say
more only that he sits here, and I shall pass from
the actor to the manager. Mr. Webster assumed
the sceptre at the Haymarket Theatre when her
Majesty assumed her sceptre to rule over these
realms, in 1837,1 think; and I find that Alr.Webster's
lesseeship of the Haymarket is the longest on re-
cord. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) The theatre never
could be kept open more than four months when
Mr. Webster took it, and he made long seasons.
Mr. Webster expended £60,000, I find, in rent,
while he was manager of the Haymarket Theatre,
and his expense in repairs could not have been less
than £13,000. But Mr. Webster did something
more to entitle him to your consideration as a ma-
nager. He expended £30,000 in paying dramatic
writers ; as I take it, the largest sum of money over
paid by one manager, and certainly exceeding all
the sums of money paid by his contemporaries.
After a certain period I find Mr. Webster manager
at the Adelphi, the old Adelphi, and there he took
the reins of government, certainly under disadvan-
tageous circumstances, for he had the prestige of
Kelly and Yates, to say nothing of the elder
Mathews, to succeed. Well, the Adelphi in
those days, with all their talent, was only kept
open six months. But what has been the case under
Mr. Webster's management ? We do not inquire
how long the Adelphi was to be kept open, the
astonishing thing was that it was never closed.
(Cheers.) And when you consider the incalculable
advantage that keeping a theatre open so many
months must be to the poorer portion of the profes-
sion, certainly the profession is indebted to Mr.
Webster for something. (Cheers.) Well, gentlemen,
after Mr. IN rebster had prosperously managed the
Adelphi a number of years, it seemed that the old
Adelphi was doomed to die, and under Mr. Web-
ster's management it died the death of the expiring
swan, for it went out in music. The last effort of
Mr. Webster was to produce actually at the Adelphi
a work of art by the celebrated writer Boildieu,
" Le Caliph de Bagdad." And witnessing the efforts
made by that company under their manager, it was
to me a source of astonishment that any company
could so work together, and produce a work such
as that of Boildieu, with the effect seen at the
Adelphi. Yet it was done, and I think I see, in this
room, the talented leader (Mr. Thirlwo.ll) whol