The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING. 'APRIL 18, 1861.

a general disturbance. Happily these desires of
the corps ckplomatigue are in conformity with their
endeavours. Confiding in the wisdom of the Go-
vernments, and relying upon the aid of your Mini-
sters, whose constant efforts are all directed towards
that grand object, we confidently hope that we
shall soon see dissipated those murky clouds
which now obscure the political horizon ; that we
shall emerge from our difficulties without any real
danger; and that Divine Providence, always pro-
pitious towards those who entertain loyal inten-
tions, will aid us in securing the accomplishment of
the wish which is generally entertained amongst
us. (Cheers.)
The LORD MAYOR—The city of London is this
evening honoured by the presence of several mem-
bers of the House of Lords. We in the city of
London who cling to our ancient institutions rejoice
in preserving without any great disturbance the
important elements of the Government of our
country. lam happy to believe, and I have no
doubt•my fellow-citizens concur with me in think-
ing, that the House of Lords is one of the great
bulwarks of the liberties of our country. (Cheers.)
We feel that we Englishmen may boast of the
happy balancing elements of our constitution, and
among those great balancing elements we trust the
House of Lords will ever be, as it always has been,
occasionally the support of the Crown, if that sup-
port should ever be necessary—occasionally the
support of the people, if it should so happen that
the other two branches of the Legislature meditate
any aggression. In these days, however, we have
no aggression to apprehend. We may congratulate
ourselves that in consequence of what has taken
place in past times we are in a condition of internal
peace and tranquillity, and in order that this tran-
quillity and peace may never he disturbed, we
sinCercir Lora that each of the three great branches
of the Legislature will always continue to hula that
place which our constitution has assigned to them.
(Cheers.) We have several eminent peers present
with us to-night. Among them we have one of the
most distinguished of men—the Lord Chancellor—
(cheers)—whom I am happy to see in good health,
which I hope he may long continue to enjoy. I
propose " the health of the Lord Chancellor and the
House of Lords." (Loud cheers.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR said,— My Lord Mayor,
Ladies and Gentleman,—Rather unexpectedly I
am called upon to aoknowledge this toast, but I
must confess that it gives me great pleasure to find
that in the city of London you do not yet wish to
get rid of the House of Lords; and I must say that
I believe that, without a second branch of. the
Legislature occassionally to moderate the effer-
vescence of the Commons, there might be a little
danger to your tranquillity and to your liberty.
(Cheers.) Gentlemen, the House of Lords, with all
its faults, I believe deserves the eulogy pronounced
upon it by the Lord Mayor. It has frequently stood
up in defence of the liberties of the country, and
never will be wanting to do so when the occasion
may require. (Cheers.) There have been pro-
posals for reforming the House of Lords. Some
would have Peers for life, some would get rid of
the Bishops, and some would get rid of the Law
Lords—(a laugh)—but upon the whole I believe
that we tolerably fulfil the purpose which the con-
stitution intended for us. I believe there may be
some advantage in a general representation of the
nation without a local constituency, and that there
shoull be a rallying place for enlightened public
opinion when the fervour of particular bodies might
lead the nation astray. (Cheers.) We have in this
country no such odious division as that into noble
and roturier. The Peerage is recruited from the
middle ranks of the people, of which I am myself
an example (cheers), and the grandson of a duke
without degradation becomes plain Mr. Howard.
(Cheers.) I hope we deserve the approbation of
our fellow citizens. You may at times lament that
we do not entirely agree with the sentiments you
entertain. lam myself, although presiding on the
woolsack, sometimes snubbed. (A laugh.) I have
now under my charge a great measure in which
you, the commercial citizens of London, take -a
lively interest, and on which your illustrious repre-
sentative, Lord John. Russell, has bestowed great
care and pains. That measure is now in a critical
situation; I hope it is in no real peril, and I do
trust that, seeing that that measure has the
approbation of the City of London and the
approval of the Lower House of Parliament, it
will receive the sanction of the House of Lords, and
before long become the law of the land. (Cheers.)
The LORD MAYOR begged to propose the health
of the "House of Commons." (Cheers.) They
were honoured that evening with the presence of
one of the most distinguished gentlemen of whom
that council was composed, and he should associate
his name with the toast, " The House of Commons
and the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer." (Great applause.) Whatever could be said
on this subject would be said so well by the right
hon. gentleman that he (the Lord Mayor) felt he
could not better discharge the duty devolving on
him than by simply offering for their hearty recep-
tion " The House of Commons and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer." (Cheers.)

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, whose
rising was a signal for renewed cheers, said,—My
Lord Mayor, ladies, and gentlemen—l rise, by your
kind permission, to return thanks for that which,
after the speech of my noble and learned friend the
Lord Chancellor, I may, without impropriety, call
the effervescent part of the constitution. (Laughter.)
But there is no case, I believe, in which, upon the
whole, so remarkable a harmony has been main-
tained between what is the effervescent and what
is not the effervescent, as in the instance of the two
Houses of the British Parliament. Whatever be
their faults, and whatever be their merits, and I am
far from claiming for either of them absolute per-
fection, two things may at least be said of them,
that their reciprocal relations have been governed
with a singular felicity upon almost every occasion,
and that both of them have been eminently in har-
mery with the character of the nation to which

they belong. (Hear.) If any friendly rivalry sub-
sists between them, I do noCknow of which it may
be said, that it is not thoroughly and peculiarly
English. If, indeed, we look to the test of experi-
ence, perhaps it is true that to reproduce an insti-
tution like the House of Lords, in another country,

is more difficult than to imitate Ulu House of Cum •

mons. I apprehend that each civilised nation has
its own functions to fulfil, and that we who re-
joice in our national institutions may have much
to learn from others. But something has been
reserved for England to do on behalf of others ;
and I trust that in these days we may say that

England has done something for the world in
conferring upon it the pattern of a popular
Legislative Assembly. (Hear.) That problem,
which it has been so difficult in all times to solve
—the means of bringing a free representation of
the wishes and feelings of the community at large
into harmony with fixed laws, and with ancient
and monarchical institutions—has, I trust, reached
its solution among us. Never, I think, was there
a time when, old as the British Constitution is, it
might truly be said that it possessed more of the
strength and vigour of youth. It is with no slight
satisfaction that we feel that other nations, as they
enter upon the path of freedom, seem to make it
the first condition of progress in that career that
they should attempt to create for themselves what
resembles the House of Commons. (Hear, hear.)
And, my lord, among the distinguished men who
sit at this table, and who act at the Court of the
Queen as the reptcsentative of foreign Sovereigns,
I rejoice to think how many there are who repre-
sent countries in whicii, within our memory, insti-
tutions similar to our own Parliament have been
created for the purpose of meeting the popular
wants and Feelings, and in which free representa-
tion, instead of proving to be a source of danger to
permanent al id fixed authority, has been discovered
to be the v ery secret of national strength and
vigour. (Ch :'ers.) These are the truths which we
see acknowledged in the practice of nations whose
conduct I trust before many generations, per-

haps before ma:, y years have elapsed, be imitated
by the whole of t he civilised world. Under these
circumstances I I leartily rejoice, if indeed I may
venture to sag- sc ► without presumption, in appear-
ing to return tlbanks on the part of
.the House of
Commons here within this hall, before your lord-
ship, the 'Time* =Wive of the corporation of ron•

don, a body itself %raw•ing its existence from a
period when the House of Commons sprang into
existence—(hear, hear)—and a body which has
always acted in singular harmony with the po-
pular branch of the British Legislature. (Hear.)
Long may its strength continue, and long may the
House of Commons continue to represent, as it still
does, the character of the English people, answering
to its wishes and wants, and providing the means
of supplying them, exercising the first and greatest
among all the powers of the State, but still mind-
ful as it is, and ever has been mindful, that it exists
under the shadow of the Crown, an dthat it owes to
the prerogative of the Crown and the other branch
of the Legislature the very means and position by
which alone it can fulfil the purposes of its own
existence. (Cheers.)
Viscount PALMERSTON—My lords, ladies, and
gentlemen, I beg your permission to propose a
toast to which I am sure you will drink with great
satisfaction, although I must confess it will be for
the third time this evening that the toast will have
been proposed to you, I beg to propose the health
of our worthy chief magistrate the Lord Mayor.
(Cheers.) It will be for the third time that toast
has been proposed, because the Lord Mayor has
already in two toasts which have been proposed in-
cluded himself. (A laugh.) The Lord Mayor
began by proposing to you the navy. If lam not
much mistaken, the Lord Mayor in early life was
a member of that honourable profession. (Cheers.)
The Lord Mayor has just proposed the House of
Commons, of which he is a most worthy and useful
member; but I am persuaded that you will not the
less on that account join in drinking his health in-
dividually, and in his own person. (Cheers.) He
occupies a most distinguished post—a post of which
it may be said, as he said of oars, that it is one of
labour, of toil, and of an.&i.t.y. 1,,,nw how
well he discharges its important functions—(cheers)
—to the satisfaction of the city, and to his own
honour and credit. (Cheers.) I need not say that
we who are the guests at this splendid board must
feel peculiarly grateful to him for that which cer-
tainly never was exceeded, if ever it was equalled,
the cordiality and the splendour of the banquet.
(Loud cheers.) I beg therefore to propose to you
the health of the Lord Mayor, not as a member of
the navy, nor as a member of the House of Com-
mons, but as chief magistrate of the city of London.
(Loud cheers.)

The toast was drunk with all the honours.
The LORD MAYOR, returned thanks.

The remaining toasts were, The Members for
the City," (acknowledged by Mr. Crawford) ; "The
Lady Mayoress," proposed in a most graceful man-
ner by Lord Granville; " The Attorney-General
and the Bar of England," and "The Magistrates
of the City of London."
The company afterwards partook of tea and
coffee, and took their departure at half-past 11
o'clock.

seven boats, four of which arc fitted with Kynaston's 1
patent disengaging hooks. In addition to the com-
monly fittedships' pumps, she is also fitted with Win-
stanley and Kelly's patent syphon pumps, which,
by the aid of 10 men, easily discharge 12,000 gal-
lons of water in an hour. They can also be con-
verted either into a fire-engine, or, instead of
throwing water out of the ship, can throw it in
with equal rapidity. The main troop deck is
170 ft. long from the forecastle partition to its
after part ; 36ft. in width, and 7ft. in height
from the deck to the under part of the upper
deck beams. The women's quarters at the after part
of the deck contain sleeping accommodation for
41, and their admirable ventilation was warmly com-
mended by the inspecting officers. Indeed, perhaps
no ship ever presented a better specimen of a model
troop deck than does the main deck of the Henry
Fernie. The ventilation is admirable throughout.
Admiralty pattern windsails throw an immense
volume of air down the hatchways, while air shafts
and patent ventilators of all kinds keep her decks
swept by a constant current of fresh air, and to assist
even this amount of ventilation when necessary
patent ventilating machines for extracting the foul
air from between decks, and pumping down a supply
of fresh, are stationed down below. On the main
deck there are 44 messes, with berths for swinging
the hammocks of 437 men. The lower deck has a

less portion devoted to the use of the troops, owing
to the number she takes out being less than she
could accommodate. It is partitioned off at 90 feet
length, has 32 mess tables-30 for men of ten each,
and two for women of 10 each, and has the neces-
sary hammock accommodation for the men. This,
like the main deck, is well lighted, as well-venti-
lated, and of equal height from deck to beam. At
the close of the inspection of the fittings of the ship
the officers, medical and naval, who officially sur-
veyed her aeciarea LL.z. ort.t.., Ole was
the most perfect troopship that had, within their
knowledge, ever been surveyed at Portsmouth. The
ship was fitted out at Liverpool under the superinten-
dence of Commander Leycester, R.N., Admiralty
agent at that port. The ship will embark her troops
this morning, and will then proceed to Queenstown,
where she will take in the remainder before finally
sailing for New Zealand. A powerful steamtug, which
towed the ship to Portsmouth from Liverpool, is
detained by Mr. Fernie at the former port, and will
tow the ship to Queenstown should the winds prove
at all adverse. The following are the principal
dimensions of this fine vessel :—Length between
perpendiculars, 200 feet ; breadth to outside
plank, 39ft. lin. ; depth from tonnage deck to ceil-
ing at midships, 20ft. Sin. ; depth from upper deck
to ceiling at midships, 27ft. 9in. The Henry
Fernie, like most merchant clipper vessels, has not
an ounce of superfluous weight outside her stem,
and this with the bold spring of her decks forward
must render her a very easy ship in a seaway.
The Melbourne, screw, hospital ship, Captain
Henry B. Benson, landed her military invalids
alongside Portsmouth yard yesterday morning,
whence they were conveyed to the railway station
and left by train for Chatham at 9 a.m. The Mel-
bourne's antecedents as a steam transport have not
been of the highest quality, but her services in
Chins, her passage home, and the state in which
she arrived at Spithead, all reflect the highest
credit on her energetic commander. She was fitted
out in January, 1850, on the plan of Dr. Mapleton,
the Inspector-General of Hospitals. Since she was
opened as a hospital in the north of China, on the
20th of July last, she has had upwards of 400
patients on board. After the final attack on the
Peiho forts she received 60 sick and wounded on
board in one batch. The ship's main deck consti-
tuted the hospital, and presented a free communi-
cation fore and aft. The ventilation was spoken
of by the medical officers on board as being exceed-
ingly good, the side scuttles of the ship, as in the
Mauritius, greatly aiding the ventilation through
the hatchways and deck bonnets; The ship, from
the period of her departure from England until her
return, has been in medical charge of Staff-Surg.
H. C. Martin, of whose care and kindness the in-
valids who came home in her spoke in terms of
high praise. The ship returns fittings and stores,
and pays out of the service.
The Stork gunboat, tender to the Excellent gun-
nery ship, at Portsmouth, "yesterday gamed
out of harbour and practised with her heavy
breech-loading guns outside the Warner Light.
The old Excellent, Portsmouth gunnery ship, has
had her copper stripped off, and will be broken up
in No. 9 dock, at Portsmouth. This ship was built
at Portsmouth in 1810, after the Victory, and was
named the Boyne, which name was changed to Ex-
cellent on her being the gunnery ship, as has now
been done by the present gunnery ship—the late
Queen Charlotte.

ller Majesty's troopship Meg mra, Commander
Henderson, having again returned from Gibraltar
with the 2d division of the sth brigade, Garrison
Artillery, arrived at Woolwich yesterday at 2 p.m.,
from Plymouth.
The War Department transport Baltic arrived
alongside the gun wharf at Chatham yesterday, and
commenced unloading the shell and other Govern-
ment stores brought from Woolwich. During the
day she landed 800 of the elongated 40 pound shells
for the Armstrong guns, all of which arrived packed
in wooden cases, as well as a large number of car-
riages for the 68 pounder and other guns, from the
factory at Woolwich, together with other naval and
military stores.

Yesterday the steam floating battery Thunderbolt,
16, 200 horse power, fitting at Chatham, for the
Thames, commenced shipping her water tanks,
which arrived from Deptford in the Government
transport Elizabeth. The steam floating battery
Etna, 16, which is also fitting at Chatham for ser-
vice near the entrance to the Thames, had three
large anchors, each of 46 cwt., put on board yester-
day, together with other stores. As soon as the
large iron cables have been put on board from
Sheerness dockyard the Etna will be ready to pro-
ceed to her station in the Thames, but the Thunder-
bolt will not,be ready to steam o'it of Chatham har-
bour for several days. Both batteries have shipped
800 solid 68 pounder shot from the gun wharf, and
as soon as they are ready to leave the harbour they
will drop down to the magazine at Upper Castle,
where they will take in their live shells and powder.
The moorings for the two batteries are being laid
down in close proximity to the batteries at Coal-
house Point and Shornmeade, where they are to be
stationed during the time those forts are being re-
constructed.

The line-of-battle ship Bombay, 81, converting at
Chatham dockyard from a sailing vessel to a screw
steamer, and now nearly completed, is ordered to
be furnished with the following powerful arma-
ment, viz.:-14 68-pounders, each of 65 cwt.; 24
guns each of 56 cwt., and 9 feet in length ; 30 of
50 cwt. each, and 9 feet in length, 12 of 42 cwt.
each, and 8 feet in length, and 1 68-pounder swivel
gun of 95 cwt., and 10 feet in length.
The iron mail-clad steam frigate Resistance, 22,
recently constructed for the Government by Messrs.
Westwood, Bailie, and Campbell, is to have her
armament supplied frOm Chatham, consisting of
four of the 40-pounder Armstrong guns, and 18 68-
pounders each of 95 cwt., and 10 feet in length.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Adolphus Andrews, third-
class assistant-engineer to the Fisgard, as super-
numerary; Thomas Udall, third-class assistant-
engineer to the Wye; the Rev. Thomas Davis,
chaplain, to the Cornwallis; the Rev: David
Csrson, chaplain to the Pembroke; Charles G.
Burney, paymaster, advanced to second class;
John M. Sweetman, paymaster, advanced to third
class; W. E. Kelly, paymaster to the Royal Ade-
laide, in lieu of a clerk; Henry T. Reed, paymaster
to the Hornet; Thomas H. Stote, paymaster to the
Dauntless, in lieu of a clerk; John H. Mooney,
assistant-paymaster to the Ajax, an 4 John Hasler,
assistant-paymaster to the Impregnable.

[ADVERTISE]IENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills
Cure All.—No season tests human strength, to resist
disease, more than the spring, hence the many afflictions ;
oppressing whole families at this time. Everyone, what- ;
ever the condition of body, should always in the spring k
take some cooling and purifying medicine ; and all suffer-
ing from skin diseases will find this the most favourable
time for their cure. For external ailments nothing equals
Holloway's Ointment. The rough uneven skin, and the
deepest malignant looking ulcer, yield alike to its power of
always substituting wholesome for depraved blood. Hol-
loway's-purifying Pills by cleansing and stimulating exer-
cise, have the same beneficial action over every internal
organ. From the combined use of OiAtrneAt auti Pale the
Indy retahis to ,v uuct vigour,