The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-12 00:00:00

ARRIVAL OF THE EARL OF ELGIN.

DOVER, THURSDAY EVENING.
To-day the citizens of Dover have been on the
qui vine, owing to the safe arrival on his native
shores of his Excellency the Earl of Elgin and
Kincardine, her Majesty's Plenipotentiary in the
recent successful operations in China. It was known
yesterday that his lordship was expected to arrive in
England by way of Dover, and the anticipated event
was the cause of no little excitement, the operations
in the Celestial Empire being sufficiently recent to
leave a still vivid impression on the public mind.
Early this morning it was stated his lordship had left
Paris, accompanied by Lady Elgin, and that a special
steam packet had been retained to make the passage
from Calais to Dover. Shortly after 2 o'clock, there-
fore, crowds of persons began to assemble on the Ad-
miralty Pier, which was completely lined by the
time the John Penn (Capt. Matthews), in which
Lord Elgin crossed, reached the landing stairs,
Every spot of vantage ground, including the blocks
of unused stone piled one above another at the side
of the pier, was occupied by spectators, whose
hearty plaudits as the noble earl passed from the
landing stairs to the Lord Warden Hotel, formed
one of the most gratifying receptions that could
possibly meet an Englishman on his return to his
native country after employing his best exertions
on her behalf.
As the John Penn drew near to the pier a salute
of ordnance was discharged from the Castle batte-
ries, and on his lordship stepping on shore a second
salute was fired from the new battery at the West-
ern Heights. Brigadier General Garvock, Colonel
Cuppage, R.A., Captain Triscott, R.N., and other
officers, proceeded on board to receive his lordship.
as did also the Mayor (J. Birmingham) and cor-
poration, preceded by the mace, and accompanied
by the Town Clerk (Mr. E. Knocker), and the
Rev. Palmer, in canonicals, who attended for
the chaplain (the Rev. J. Puckle). The Dover (Bth
Cinque Ports) Rifle Volunteers, under the com-
mand of Captain Church ward, formed the guard
of honour on the occasion.
On getting to the Lord Warden Hotel, the noble
earl, whose bronzed countenance exhibited much
gratification at the warmth and cordiality of his
reception, proceeded to the coffee-room, followed
by the Mayor and corporation, when the following
address was emphatically read by the Town Clerk,
Mr. E. Knocker :
" To the Right Hon. the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine
G C.B K.T., &c
_ _ .

"May it please your Lordship,L-We, the Mayor, alder-
men, and burgesses of the port and borough of Dover, greet
your lordship's arrival op. our shores, upon your return
from the successful mission as her Majesty's plenipoten-
tiary to China, with mingled feelings of gratitude and pride.
Of gratitude, because to the high courage and consummate
ability displayed by your lordship in the conduct of the
very difficult and delicate mission entrusted to your charge
is to be attributed, by theblessing of God, the glorious issue
of an arduous campaign, and the averting of a protracted
and destructive war in an inhospitable country, with a
people yet unacquainted with those rules and principles
which govern civilised nations in unhappy strife. Of pride,
because we have the honour of being the first in the land
to publicly accord to your lordship an expression of the na-
tion's just tribute of praise. That your lordship was ably
supported in your efforts by the noble and gallant services
both of England and our allies does not detract from those
merits in their civil leader which the nation appreciates,
and for which the nation thanks you, recognising, as it does
in yo7loi d!hip, the oft-repeated and happily unfailing
exposition of the watchword of Britain's citizens, ' England
expects every man to do his duty.' That your lordship
may long wear your well-merited honours in peace and
happiness, in the favour of the crown, and in the bosom of
a grateful country, is our heartfelt prayer. Given under
our common seal, at Dover, this 11th day of April, 1861."
Tho address was then presented to his lordship
in due form by the Mayor.
Lord ELGIN, in reply, said—Mr. Mayor and gen-
tlemen of the corporation, I am truly sensible of the
very great honour you do me by coming forward
in this manner, on behalf of the ancient town and
port of Dover, to welcome me on my return home
after an absence—an anxious and protracted period
of absence—from England ; and allow :me to say
that I feel still more gratified at the assurance con-
tained in this address, that my conduct has been
such as to satisfy you that, while I was engaged in
the service of the crown in a distant part of the
world, I was not unmindful of that noble exhorta-
tion, " England expects that every man will do his
duty," by which so often, in critical moments and
in times of difficulty, the best and bravest of our
countrymen have been encouraged to deeds of hero-
ism and public virtue. (Applause.) The way to
Pekin was opened up to us on this occasion by the
valour of our troops, acting in conjunction with
those of France, and ably supported by the
fleet ; for, as an impartial witness of the ser-
vices rendered by both branches of our force,
I feel bound in justice to state—and I gladly avail
myself of this, the first opportunity of meeting a
body of my countrymen to make the avowal—that
although the services of the army naturally
attracted a greater measure o f public attention,
those of the navy were not inferior, whether as
respects the gallantry displayed by the actors or
the importance of the results achieved. The two
services, or rather both branches of our service, vied
with each other in devotion and zeal for their coun-
try. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, after the great
achievement of an advance on Pekin—an achieve-
ment which will occupy, I venture to say, a con-
spicuous place in the history of the world—
(applause)—after that achievment was accomplished
it became the duty and office of diplomacy to en-
deavour to turn to good account the advantage it
was calculated to ensure ; in the first place to
punish with necessary severity deeds of bad' faith
and cruelty, but above all to remember that we did
not go there for the purpose of making conquests,
but in order to establish relations of amity and
mutual benefit between our own country and the
most populous nation on the earth—a nation con-
taining 400,000;000 of souls, who, no doubt, still
labour under the disadvantages and exhibit the
defects which ignorance of the world and isolation

engender both in individuals and society—(hear)--
but who, nevertheless,
i are a people eminently in-
dustrious, peaceable, intelligent, and commercial,
and who are, therefore, calculated, when the shackles

and trammels which impede the true exercise of
their natural energies shall have been shaken off, to
contribute largely both as producers and consumers
to the sum of human prosperity and mutual well-
being. (Cheers.) The object I have had in view
in the provisions of both the treaty of Tien-tsin
and the treaty of Pekin has been to lay the founda-
..

tion of perm-anent peace and good understanding
with the empire of China; but it rests with her
Majesty's representative I have left in that country
to complete that important work. He will have

great difficulties to contend with, because the
habits of prepossession and prejudice in an
Oriental people are not to be removed in a day ; but
I am satisfied ho merits your confidence, and I
trust he will receive from"the people of this country
a large share of that indulgence and confidence so
liberally bestowed on myself, which your reception
of me to-day so significantly and gracefully mani-
fests. (Applause.) I wish to add that I feel espe-
cially gratified and flattered by the attendance of
the volunteers on this occasion. I wish it were in my
power to express to them individually my feelings ;
but I trust that his worship the mayor, or some
other gentleman, will supply what I am unable to do
personally. [Captain Churchward, the command-
ing
offi3er of the Bth Cinque Ports Rifles, was here
called forward and presented to his loviship, who
continued as follows ;] I wish to say to them, and
to the volunteers generally, that it was a great con-
solation to us, while defending and maintaining the
interests of our country in remote regions of the
earth, to know that thousands of gallant men were
enrolling themselves here, to protect the homes of
England from injury and insult should occasion for
their services arise. (Great applause.)
The Earl and Lady Elgin left for,London by the
3.45 mail train, being accompanied to the railway
station by the mayor and corporation, and lustily
cheered by a crowd which nearly filled the plat-
form.

THE BALLOT.—Mr. Berkeley's motion stands fir 3 t
in the notices of motions for Tuesday, 23d April, When we
trust the liberal members of the House of Commons will
give the member for Bristol their most earnest support, and
the friends of the ballot in the constituencies will no doubt
exert themselves to secure that they are represented by
their members in the division,