The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-29 00:00:00

THEE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 29, 1861.

THE BANQUET.

The banquet was held in the Maison Dieu, which
has been recently restored and decorated. The
building, which was formerly a religious house of
the order of the Templars, is now used as a Town-
hall. It is the very edifice in which, according to
local tradition, the recreant King John delivered his
kingdom to the Papal Legate Pandulf, and under-
took to do homage for it as a vassal of the Pope,
paying 1,000 marks as annual tribute. The company
arrived about 6 o'clock, and the Lord Warden, who
had been escorted to the entrance by an enthusi-
astic multitude all the way from the lower end of
the town, was again received with vehement and
continued cheers. When the guests had all assem-
bled, many of them appearing in full costume, or in
brilliant military uniforms, the spectacle presented
was one of the most animated and dazzling descrip-
tion.

The hall is embellished with two painted windows,
one erected (out of funds left for that purpose by Mr.
Bass, the late town clerk of Dover), to the memory
of Captain Allen, a native, and one of the original
adventurers in the Burra Burra, the richest cop-
per mine in the world. The subject of this win-
dow is the embarkation of Henry VIII. from
Dover for the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The
other window is a memorial of Mr. Thompson, the
late coroner for Dover, and a lieutenant in the Ar-
tillery Volunteers, who lost his life in the fatal
gun explosion there about a year since. The sub-
jectis the landing of Charles 11. at Dover in 1660."
Both windows, which are much admired for their
artistic excellence, are the work of Mr. W. Wailes,
of Newcastle-on-Tyne, from designs by Mr. Ed-
ward Poynter. On the north wall of the hall
hangs a full-length portrait of the Duke of Wel-
lington, by Lilley, which appropriately reminds
the spectators of the greatest of the long line of
Lord Wardens of whom the barons of the Cinque
Ports are justly proud. On the walls, between
the windows and the pictures, are grouped speci-
mens (from the Tower) of the arms and equip-
ments of arquebusiers and curassiers, chiefly of the
period of the 16th century. At the east end, above
an equestrian statue of George IV. and groups of
armour, are three shields, emblazoned in proper
heraldic colours. The central shield is composed
of demi-lions and ships, the arms of the Cinque
Ports, and those on the right and left the armorial
insignia of Dover, the devices from its common
seal, one representing St. Martin (the patron saint
of the town) dividing his cloak, and the other the
ancient gallery of the Ports. All round the hall,,

at equal distances, are ranged the emblazoned coats
of arms of former Wardens of the Cinque Ports.
The hall was lighted by means of elegant brass gas
chandeliers, and the coup d'wil was unusually bril-
liant and imposing.

The Mayor of Dover presided. On his worship's
right sat the Lord Warden, the Hon. W. Cowper,
and Lord Eleho ; on his left Sir J. Burgoyne, In-
spector-General of Fortifications, Lord Clarence
Paget, M.P. for Sandwich, and the Hon. Captain
Waldegrave.
Among the other guests were Mr. Nicol, M.P. for
Dover, Brigadier Garvoch, commandant of the garri-
son, Col. Cuppage, commandant of artillery, Mr.
Steriker Finnis, W. H. Bodkin, recorder for Dover
and assistant-judge of Middlesex Sessions, Dr. It.
I. Phillimore, judge of the Cinque Ports Admiralty
Court, all the officers of the Port of Shipway, and
the representatives of the Ports present at the
morning's ceremony. About 350 gentlemen in all
sat down to dinner.

Lady Palmerston and many other ladies occupied
seats in the gallery.
The cloth having been removed,
The CHAIRMAN gave " The Health of the Queen,',
who reigned in the hearts of all her subjects. If
anything could increase the loyalty of the people
of the Cinque Ports it would be the choice which
her Majesty had made of the distinguished noble-
man who had that day been inducted into the Lord
Wardenship. (Loud cheers.)
" The Health of the Prince Consort, Albert
Prince of Wales, and the rest of the Roy al Family"
having been duly honoured,

The CHAIRMAN next proposed " The Army,
Navy, and Volunteers," briefly recounting their re-
cent heroic services in the Crimea, India, and China.
The toast having been cordially received,
Sir J. BURGOYNE responded for the army. He
said that their distinguished guest had a strong
claim to the homage of that service. No Minister
had shown so much justice and firmness in the con-
sideration of military affairs as the noble lord, par-
ticularly in regard to the branch of the service to
which he had the honour to belong. He could not
help thinking cf what an able general the country
had lost through the noble lord not having been
brought up as a soldier. (Laughter.) The Cinque
Ports in bygone times had been always regarded as
standing in the forefront of our national defences.
He did not know how long they would continue to
be so; but should the contingency of war befal us,
he felt sure that in their present Lord Warden they
would have a tower of strength far surpassing the
towers of masonry which lined their coast, however
valuable they might have been.

Lord C. PAGET, on behalf of the navy, said he had
a double duty to perform not only being connected
with the Admiralty, but also having the honour to
be a" Baron" of the Cinque Ports. He might state
with confidence that never was there a navy of En g-
land in a more satisfactory state than at present.
God grant that it might never be called on to
meet the foe, but it certainly had never been more
prepared than it now was to do so. The vast sums
cheerfully voted for the support of the navy were,
he believed, now being judiciously expended; and
a proof that the Government had not been neglect-
ful in providing for the defence of the country
would be witnessed ten days hence, when a magni-
ficent iron-cased ship would pass Dover Bay.
(Cheers.) As regarded sailors, he could also assure
them that the Admiralty were in a satisfactory
position; they were complete in their numbers, and
had no difficulty in manning our fleets. (Cheers.) If
he had been Secretary to the Admiralty 300 years
ago, he would have had some scruple in alluding
there to the vast sums required for our naval arma-
ments, because the whole cost was then borne by
the Cinque Ports—(a laugb)—whereas their inha-
bitants now contributed in the same proportion as
the rest of the country. He could not agree with
Sir J. Burgoyne that their excellent Premier ought
to have been brought up a soldier, but thought that,
judging from the great knowledge and experience
which the noble lord displayed in all discussions on
naval matters, he would have made a first-rate
sailor. (Cheers and laughter.)

Colonel M‘MuuDo returned thanks for the Vo-
lunteers, and bore testimony to the admirable man-
ner in which the different corps of the Cinque
Ports had acquitted themselves that day. They
consisted of scattered corps which had never been
brought together before, but their performances
had illustrated the principle which he had con-
stantly enunciated, namely, that when company
drill had been attended to there was no fear but
that when brought together in battalions and bri-
gades they would work well. In Great Britain
there were now 347 batteries of Volunteer Artillery,
such as those he had seen that day, representing a
total force of 22,550 artillerymen ; in addition to
which we had 148,000 Volunteer Riflemen. The
latter body comprised 211 battalions—that was to
say, consolidated battalions in the large towns,
under the command of field officers with their staff,
and what were called administrative battalions,
consisting of scattered corps in the different counties,
yet also under the command of field officers with
their staff. Only the other day he had inspected
20 companies of these scattered corps, forming two
battalions in Worcester, and they went through
all the manoeuvres required of infantry on a field
day with great credit to themselves. The main
stay of the movement was the love of the people for
firearms, which was being gradually developed by
the Central Association, under the auspices of Lord
Elcho, and altogether the Volunteer force through-
out the country was in a very progressive state of
efficiency. A general order had recently been
issued, in accordance with the wishes of the Go-
vernment, for the instruction of the different corps,
each of which, he was glad to say, would now have
besides a field officer and adjutant, permanent
sergeants attached. Our Volunteers would not be
above taking a lesson from what had happened in
America, and perhaps our general officers might
advantageously do the same, General M'Clel-
lan's first general order referred to that prime
essential to an army in the field, the pro-
per sanitary condition of the camps. Besides
organizing his army, General M'Clellan was also
judiciously organising that great vehicle of intelli-
gence, the public press. Instead of chasing away
its correspondents and representatives from his
head-quarters, he had laid down a code of rules for
their guidance, and appealed to their patriotism to
follow it. The weak point of our volunteer system
was said to be the officers. No doubt those gentle-
men required time to attain proficiency, but he be-
lieved they would not undertake their important
duties unless they really intended to qualify them-
selves for their proper fulfilment. (Hear, hear.)
In conclusion, the gallant colonel said that, as pre-
ceding speakers had claimed their Lord Warden for
the navy and the regular army, he must also put in
a claim to rank the noble lord among the volun-
teers, among whom indeed he might now be consi-
dered to be enrolled. (Laughter and cheers.)

Dr. PHILLIMORE had now to withdraw their
minds from the thoughts inspired by some previous
toasts and speeches. He had not to speak to them
of martial deeds by sea and land, or of the triumphs
of civil statesmanship, but to propose a toast which
related to a body of men who by their simple piety
and pure doctrine, he believed in his conscience, had
done as much or even more than any other class or
profession in this kingdom for its general welfare.
The learned doctor concluded by proposing " His
Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Clergy
of the Diocess." (Cheers.)
The Rev. C. CoLuxs, vicar of Faversham, ac-
knowledged the toast.
The CHAIRMAN then rose to introduce the toast
of the evening. Having referred to the ancient
glories of the Ports, and eulogised the character
and merits of their distinguishel guest, his worship
gave the health of Viscount Palmerston, their new
Lord Warden.

The toast was received with vehement and pro-
longed cheering.

Lord PALMERSTON then rose and said,—•Mr.
Mayor and gentlemen,—It is really not one of those
commonplace expressions which are usual on these
occasions, if I say that no words can adequately
express the smellest portion of the gratitude which
I feel for the kind, the warm, the cordial reception
which I haye met with, not only in this hall, but in
every part of the precincts of Dover through which
I have passed during the proceedings of to-day. It