The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-09 00:00:00

BANQUET TO 7H :L.' EARL OF ELGIN
AT THE 111ANS1ON-110USE.

Last evening the Mansion-house was the scene of
another of those really sumptuous entertainments
which have been dispensed with such lavish gene-
rosity and luxurious magnificence since the Chief
Magistrate of the present year entered upon ,he
duties of his civic office. The Lord Mayor and Lady
Mayoress entertained in the Egyptian-hall the
Right Hon. the Earl of Elgin, as a mark of appre-
ciation of the wisdom, firmness, and decision dis-
played by the noble earl in successfully securing
the termination of the war with China.
The distinguished company present on this bril-
liant occasion comprised several military and naval
officers of high rank, who took part in the Chinese
expedition, a large number of the elite of fashion-
able society, and many eminent members of the
commercial world.

The Earl of Elgin conducted the Lady Mayoress
to her seat on the left of the Lord Mayor. His
Lordship was supported on the right by the Earl
and Countess of Elgin, Duke of Somerset, Marquis
of Tweeddale, Lady Mary Fielding, Earl of Den-
bigh, Earl and Countess of Courtown, Earl and
Countess of Kintore, Lord and Lady Churchill,
Lord and Lady H. Vane, Lord Wodehouse' 'Coun-
tess of Rothes, Hon. G. Waldegrave; Hon. Dudley
and Lady Camilla Fortescue, Lady Eleanor Bruce,
Major Cumming and Lady Bruce, Major-Gen. Sir
J. Yorke Scarlett, and Sir C. and Lady Trevelyan.
On the left of the Lord Mayor sat the Duke of
Argyll, Earl and Countess of Minto, Lady Caroline
Charteris, Earl and Countess of Durham, Lord H.
Lennox, Lady Charles Wellesley, Sir Cusack Roney,
Lord Ernest Bruce, M.P., Lady Charlotte Locker,
Lord Thurlow, and Lieut.-General Sir Hope and
Lady Grant.
The Six-Feet Volunteer Guards, of which the
Hon. H. Bruce, the Earl of Elgin's next brother, is
colonel, furnished a guard of honour, consisting of
70 men, under the command of Lieut. Thomson.
Grace was said by the Rev. Mr. Davis, and after
the banquet, Miss Poole and Mr. J. L. Hatton
chaunted in an effective manner " For Thee and all
Thy Mercies."
The LORD MAYOR having drunk, according to
usual custom, in the loving cup, to " The Knights,
Esquires, Ladies, Nobles, and Gentlemen all," pro-
posed in brief but appropriate terms the health of
" The Queen."

The toast was drunk with all the honours, fol-
lowed by the National Anthem.
The LORD MAYOR gave " The health of the Navy,
the Army, and the Volunteers." With the navy he
felt it an honour to associate the name of the Duke
of Somerset, First Lord of the Admiralty ; with
the army he joined the name of a gallant general,
Sir Hope Grant, whose achievements had mainly
constituted to their being assembled together on
that occasion—(cheers)—and with the volun-
teers he coupled the name of Colonel Hicks, a
gentleman who was deservedly popular in the City,
and who had greatly exerted himself in the forma-
tion of the City of London Volunteer Corps.
The Duke of SOMERSET said he had much plea-
sure in responding on behalf of the navy, and on
that occasion it was only right that the navy should
be remembered, for in the operations which had
taken place in China they contributed in no small
degree to the success which happily attended Lord
Elgin's negotiations. It was therefore only an act
of justice that the navy should enjoy a share of the
thanks of that distinguished company. (Hear.)
Though the navy had not had an opportunity on
the occasion of the last Chinese expedition of win-
ning those great honours which undoubtedly they
would have won had an opportunity been afforded
them, yet they did exert themselves on every pos-
sible occasion ; and their efforts were most toilsome,
tedious, constant, and unceasing in bringing troops
to China, and forming the basis of those operations
which were so successfully carried on. (Hear, hear.)
The ambassador selected by the Government was
most fitted for carrying out the negotiations en-
trusted to his care. Th general who commanded
was most capable of executing the operations on
land, and they had an admiral—he regretted that
the gallant officer was not present to offer thanks
for the navy instead of himself—who well deserved
to be noticed for the labour, assiduity, and energy
with which he prepared the operations within his
department, and so successfully carried them out.
(Cheers.) With such means it would have been
strange indeed if the Chinese expedition had not
succeeded. Apart from the toast of " The Navy,"
which he felt such pride and satisfaction in acknow-
ledging, he desired to state, speaking as a Minister
of the Crown, that when, in the winter of 1859,
and at the commencement of 1860, her Majesty's
Government experienced doubts and difficulties as
to the negotiations which were necessary for con-
cluding peace with China, Lord Elgin at once came
forward and of his own accord gave up the official
position he then held in connection with the Go-
vernment in order that he might devote himself to
the service of his country in a distant part of the
world, regardless of fatigue, and indifferent to the
great public and private sacrifices which he made.
(Cheers.) Under such auspices, with such an ambas-
sador to conduct their diplomatic negotiations—
with such a general for their operations on land,
and such an admiral for their operations at sea—
it would be, as he before remarked, strange if they
did not succeed—(hear)—and succeed they did.
(Hear.) Let them now only hope that the result
of that success might lead to the extension of their
trade and commerce with China, to the establish-
ment of good feeling between the East and the
West, and to the progress of civilisation and charity
throughout all that portion of the land. (Cheers.)
Gen. Sir H. GRANT, responding for the army,
took occasion to refer to the services which Lord
Clyde, though at a distance from the seat of hostili-
ties, had rendered the authorities by despatching
troops from India to aid in enforcing the terms of
the treaty of Pekin. The army which he had the
honour to have under his command in China was
most admirably. disciplined, and their exertions
were ably and vigorously seconded both by Lord
Herbert and Lord Canning, To Lord Elgin, how-
ever, was mainly due the successful termination of
the campaign in China. (Cheers.)
Lieut.-Col. HICKS returned thanks in suitable
terms for the Volunteers.

The LORD MAYOR—I have the greatest possible
pleasure and satisfaction in proposing what may be
properly denominated as the toast of the evening.
The noble earl, in whose honour this banquet has
been given, and whom this distinguished company
has assembled to greet with plaudits of approbation,
is indeed worthy of every demonstration of gratitude
from the English people, and not only from the
English people, but from the whole world, for the
services which he has achieved will shed a benefi-
cial influence throughout the entire universe, and in
no small degree among the hundreds of millions of
that vast empire whose ohief city has been the scene
of his splendid diplomacy. (Cheers.) Never was so
much accomplished in so short a time. It hardly
seems possible to recognise the reality of the fact
that within the brief period of 12 months Lord Elgin
left these shores, traversed one-third of the globe,
penetrated to the heart of the empire, and wrung
from the Chinese Government a treaty which, while
it establishes the vindication of the honour and the
prowess of this country and of our ally, confers a
boon on countless myriads throughout China, where
after-generations may bless the negotiations of our
noble guest. (Cheers.) His lordship's appearance
this evening indicates that the mission to China has
not affected his health nor impaired the efficiency of
his services ; and while I wish for him a continuance
of that health and physical energy and activity which
he now enjoys, and while we thank him for what he
has done, let me entertain the hope that his splendid
talents may long be available for the good of our
country ; and whether he shall be called upon to
take part in the councils of the Government at
home, or to represent and administer the functions
of the Sovereign elsewhere, we may rest assured
that his vast abilities will be so applied as to ad-
minister largely to the benefit of mankind, and to
enhance the character of our country i❑ the eyes
of all nations. (Cheers.) I give you, my lords,
ladies, and gentlemen, "The Health of the Right
Hon. the Earl of Elgin."
The toast was received with every demonstration
of enthusiastic applause.
The Earl of ELGIN, en presenting himself to re-
spond, was loudly cheered. He said that at any time,
and under any circumstances, such a reception as that
with which the distinguished company had honoured
him that evening, could not fail to awaken feelings
of the liveliest satisfaction and gratitude in his
heart; but at the present moment, and under exist-
ing circumstances, such a reception as they had
accorded him in that place had a significance which
imparted to it a double value in his eyes. Little
more than a year had elapsed since he received an
invitation to be present at the Council Chamber of
Guildhall, in order that he might accept at the hands
of the civic authorities the high and honourable dis-
tinction of the freedom of the City. He would oon-
fess that when the invitation reached him, his first
impression was that of painful embarrassment, for
at that time he was under a cloud. The Chinese
Government had manifested a determination to resist
by force the execution of the rights and Privileges

ucured for her Majesty and her Majesty's subjects
by the treaty of 'Tien-tsin, and he felt that he could
hardly, without indecorum, consent to become the
recipient of such a signal favour while the work on
which he was engaged still remained disfigured by
marks of incompleteness and imperfection. If he
overcame his reluctance to present himself before
the authorities as he had done, it was because he
considered their invitation to be a command, and
because he hoped that during the ceremony of the
presentation of the freedom of the City, an oppor-
tunity might be freely afforded him of pledging
himself to increased exertions and renewed sacri-
fices, to justify their favour and confidence, and to
show that his ambition was to deserve that good
feeling of which they had so generously, and by way
01 anticipation, given him such gratifying proofs.
(Cheers.) He attached a special feeling to their re-
ception, because he trusted that in the judgment of
the Lord Mayor and the company he had not alto-
gether failed in his endeavours to redeem the
pledge to which he had referred. It was perfectly
impossible for him on the present occasion to
attempt to enter into any detailed explanation
vindicating or justifyinr, the policy which led
them that evening to thank Sir Hope Grant and
that distinguished Admiral to whom they were
so much indebted for bringing troops to the North
of China, and for his admirable organisation—it
was impossible to enter into any explanation of the
policy that led their army to Pekin, or to sketch
the vast results, whether affecting the interests of
commerce, civilisation, or reform, which might be
expected to ensue from that international compact
which would bring their merchants, manufacturers,
missionaries, and mariners into close relation with
the people, not only of China, but of Japan.. He
was anxious, however, to say a few words on those
points, in order that certain misapprehensions
might be removed. Referring to the Canton quarrel
of four years ago, in which the charge was made
that he had failed to discharge to the full extent
his duty, the noble earl reminded the company that
that quarrel was an event which produced feelings
of considerable anxiety and disquiet in the coun-
try. It affected the course of our domestic politics,
brought a powerful Administration into collision
with the House of Commons,•and placed the House
of Commons in apparent antagonism with the con-
stituencies of the country. With the heavy re-
sponsibility which devolved upon me I left Eng-
land for China, but before I had reached my
destination I was placed in the strangest dilemma
in which any public man ever found himself. I
had to choose between a course of proceeding which
would no doubt have seriously imperilled my own
success in China, and another course, which would
have deprived my friend Lord Canning of the mili-
tary aid which must have been most important to
him at the time of his greatest need in India ; but,
after mature and careful deliberation, I preferred
the former of those risks to the latter. I attach
greater value to contemporary verdicts than those
which have been delivered after the event, and the
most gratifying of these was contained in a letter
which I received from the late Sir Henry Ward,
then governor of Ceylon. I feel some scruple in
reading that letter, but I think it is important, as
the testimony of an able man to the propriety of the
course adopted. Sir Henry Ward says :—" You may
think me impertinent in volunteering an opinion
upon what, in the first instance, only concerns you
and the Queen and Lord Canning, but having seen
something of public life during a great part of my
own, which is now fast verging into the sere and
yellow leat'i I may venture to say that I never
knew a nobler thing than that which you have
done in preferring the safety cf India to the success
of your Chinese negotiations. HI know anything
of English public opinion, this simple act will place
you higher in English estimation as a statesman
than your whole past career, honourable and fortu-
nate as it has been ; for it is not every man who
would venture to alter the distribution of a force
upon the despatch of which a Parliament has been
dissolved and a general might have been super-
seded. It is not every man who would consign him-
self for many months to political inaction in order
simply to serve the interests of his country, Yon
have set a bright example at a moment of darkness
and calamity, and if India can be saved, it is to you
that we shall owe its redemption, for nothing' hort
of the Chinese expedition could have supplied the
means of holding our ground until further rein-
forcements arrived." (Cheers.) I think this is a
testimony, coming as it does from such a man, of
which any one may be proud. After this sacrifice
had been made I proceeded to China. The Canton
question had become already so complicated that it
was impossible to come to any terms of arrange-
ment with the local Government in that neighbour-
hood, and the capture of that city was a matter of
absolute necessity. But as soon as that capture was
effected—and I am very desirous to impress this on
your mind, because it is not sufficiently understood
in England—l deemed it my duty to take every
possible step in order to bring the war to a close,
and to arrange terms of peace and understanding
with the Chinese Government, With this view I
persuaded not only my excellent friend Baron Gros,
the French Ambassador, but also the admirals of the
United States and of Russia, to join me in a request
to the Court of Pekin that they should send a
plenipotentiary to meet us at Shanghai, in order
that we might arrange all differences between China
and the respective countries there represented.
Shanghai, though very distant from Pekin, was
then a port open to trade, and it was impossible to
have made a more salutary proposition to the
Chinese Government; but they not only rejected it
but they rejected it with contumely. It was not till
we reached Tien•tsin that we were able to find a
negotiator to treat with us. As soon as we found
him we made a peace, and concluded that peace in
the most solemn nv-nner. The Emperor of China,
influenced by the same evil counsel which had per-
suaded him not to send an ambassador to meet us at
Tien-tsin in the fall of the year, put obstacles in the
way of carrying out the treaty, and the consequence
was, that that great expedition was fitted out and
sent from this country, which has achieved such
wonderful success in so short a period of time, and
which has arranged all our difficulties with China
in the capital of that great empire. (Cheers.) Now,
I am quite aware that that narrative must be ra-
ther tedious to you, but lam anxious that it should
be understood in this country that we have not
acted harshly or ungenerously towards the Chinese
—(cheers)—that at every stage of our proceedings
we have offered reasonable terms and conditions,
and only resorted to force when the obstinate per-
versity of the Chinese drove us to that alternative.
But I know that another question lies behind which
will probably be more interesting to you than this
review of the past, namely, what are the advert-•
tages we are likely to derive from the new privi-
leges and rights we have obtained under the new
treaty with China. That question opens up a wide
field for speculation. If we can succeed in establish-
ing friendly relations not only with the Govern-
ment, but with the people of China—if we can per-
suade them to adopt some of our tastes and habits,
and though they are very averse to change, they
are not, like many other Oriental nations, cut off
from all communion with us by the inveterate pre-
judices of caste—if we can succeed in those objects
it is impossible to put a limit to the amount of trade
which is likely to grow up between two nations so
industrious and commercial. But there is one par-
ticular advantage which is likely to arise from
having an ambassador of the Queen at Pekin, and
it is remarkably illustrated by what has lately
occurred in Japan. A serious crime was perpe-
trated in this country. An European—not a British
subject—was murdered under circumstances which
showed culpable indifference on the part of the
Japanese Government. What followed ! Our
Minister, acting with excellent judgment, retired a
short distance from the capital. He did not threaten
war, but he threatened what we all understand in
Europe by the cessation of diplomatic relations.
(A laugh.) If our former experience in China is
any guide to us, we may conclude with absolute
certainty that if such a threat were made to a sub-
ordinate Chinese functionary it would be of no effect
whatever. That subordinate would report to his
superiors that he had kicked the barbarians out,
and would claim all manner of honours and rewards
for his services. But Mr. Alcock was reeident
remine
the capital of Japan, and in relation to thet
in SaPvern-
Government, and, seeing their danger, th ath
a few
ment took alarm at his menace, an dw
days they talked of his departure as one of the
1J
efa Jeddo.
greatest calamities which could possibyb
They implored our Minister to go back again, and
offered him any guarantee for the future
which he
- aware lam quite of the wide
chose to demand. and China, and that the
difference between Japan
advisers of the Emperor of China are not such in-
telligent people as those of the Emperor of Japan ;
but I feel confident that the
threat of suspension of
diplomatic relations will now have the same effect
in Pekin in the prevention of war and preservation
of peace as it has recently had at Jeddo. At the
same time, I must say that the misconduct of our
own ,countrymen in China is one of the greatest
difficulties with which a British representative
there has to deal. We send out honourable mer-
chants, devoted missionaries, who scatter benefits
in every Part of the country they vieit, And eleTittO

N EW S PAP E
'
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AY,: ~- •,--g• ,
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" standard of civilisation, but nnfortu , = ~.-,=.;;; i
~ tit from among us dislionest trader. 7.1 :.4Friqc .y
who disgrace our name and set the feelings Althea 0
people against us. Public opinion in this country
kla
can do much to encourage the one class of persons
and to discourage the other, and I trust that the
• efforts of this great city will be directed to that
end. (Cheers.) When addressing the merchants -
at Shanghai I told them it was my intention to
obtain a treaty at Pekin, but that, when force and.
diplomacy had effected in China all that they could
legitimately effect, the work which we had to do
in that country would be only at its commence-
ment. That statement .I repeat now. Gen. Grant
:2,4„1
has returned his sword to his scabbard, and the
diplomatist has, so far as treaty making is con-
cerned, placed his pen on the shelf, but the work
1 of combination, of bringing China, with its exten-
sive territory, its fertile soil, and its industrious
population, into the community of nations, and
making it a fellow-labourer with ourselves in
diffusing over the world happiness and well-being
—that is a work which has still to be accomplished.
No persons are more entitled or fit fie take part in
that work than the merchants of this great city,
and from the bottom of my heart I pray that their
efforts may be attended with success. (Cheers.)
The company,
separated shorn). before midnight.
after partaking of tea and coffee,

BANK RETURNS.

The Bankers' Magazine furnishes the returns of the cir-
culation of the Private and Joint-Stock Banks in England
and Wales for the four weeks ending April 6. These
returns, combined with the circulation of the Scotch and
Irish Banks for the same period, and the average eircula..
tion of the Bank of England for the four weeks ending the
3d of April (the nearest date furnished by their returns),
will give the following results of the circulation of notes in
the United Kingdom, when compared with the previous
month :

March
9,
A 1111. 6, }
1861. Increase. Decrease.
Bank of England 19,504,830 19,279,893 221,937
Private Banks 3.205,513) 3,256.601! 51,088
' " 0.41 2,987,604' 116,678
-----I----g-- ---
Total.
lir 1 54,171
Scotland ,,v,..,..,..,,,......r, ..... - ' 84,615
Ireland 6,682,07V 6,553,M! -4" 118 205
__l '

united Kingdom. i 36,197,315' 35,930,324'

266,991

And as compared with the month ending the 7th of April,
1860, the above returns show a decrease of £1,920,059
in the circulation of notes in England, and a decrease of
£2,491,633 in the circulation of the United Kingdom.
On comparing the above with the fixed issues of the seve-
ral banks the following is the state of the circulation :
Ile English private banks are below their fixed
issue

£1,136,478

The English joint-stock banks are below their
fixed issue 4y. £314,753

Total below fixed issue in England.... £1,451,231
The Scotch banks are above their fixed issue £1,103,083
The Irish banks are above their fixed issue .... £199,378
The average stock of bullion held by the Bank of Eng-
land in both departments during the month ending the 3cl
April was £12,721,538, being an increase of £788,265 as
compared with the previous month, and a decrease of
£2,486,350 when compared with the same period last year.
The following are the amounts of specie held by the Scotch
and Irish banks during the month ending the 6th April :
Gold and silver held tY the Scotch banks 12,619,966
Gold and silver held by the Irish banks 2,356,274

£4,976,240
Being an increase of £183,031, as compared with Ma
previous return, and a decrease of £226,164 when compared
with the corresponding period of last year.

THE MAILS.

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