The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-17 00:00:00

(Loud applause) Eminent as he has been 'aria iner -
chant, with transactions which have partaken rat'ier of
a national than of a local character, he stands out in boll
relief among those eminent merchants—among he
galaxy of commercial men of whom Liverpool may in-
deed be proud ; and, thank God, we have had numbers
of men of that character, of that teleet, And of tliiiit
benevolence, who, by their enterprise, have Sent Shefe.
ships to penetrate icto .every sea—their sails latve
whitened every shore ; they have been themeans of c )n.
netting is with distant lands—they have been theopeans
of giving employment to our manufacturers, by their
enterprise in exporting the manufactures of Englishmen
to other countries, and importing those raw materials
which cause the chimneys of Manchester to smoke, and
give employment to the porters on our quays.' It is such
men who have raised this port from being merelyia fish-
ing village to the greatest commercial emporiumin the
world. (Applause.) Unassuming; as my friend here is in
private life, he has yet been selected to represent 'the
great, commercial and manufacturing district of Lime*.
shire in the Imperial Parliament, and faithfully and hon-
ourably has he performed the duty imposed upon him.
(Applause.) Of his princely munificence you have today
had a striking' ex:maple, and therefore you are judges
quite as well as I am. But just as that princely
merchant, Guy, has connected his name with Loii-
don by the hospital ho founded, and just as George
Heriot has connected his name with the • mag-
nificent educational institution of modern Athens,-
se will the name of Mr. Brown—(applause)—be for
ever connected with Liverpool; and future. generations
will point to the magnificent establishment at. which this
day the first. stone was laid with cheering,. And will re-
member the none of the beneficent founder, and bless
him fer hit benevolence. (Applause.) Gentlemen, it
needs no words—it needs no graceful terms, to tell yOu
the estimation in which he is held by his fellow-towns-
men. The assemblage which I see before me, 'which has
been brought together for the purpose of doing Lim
honour, is far inure eloqumt than the most burning
words or the most thrilling thoughts. And, gentlemen,
we are able to present to that institution a portrait of my
excellent friend by Sir John Watson Gordon ; and there
is a well-known sculptor (MSDowell), present at this
moment, who will be much more familiar with the linea-
ments of my friend's face than even I myself am before
long. (Applause.) ;The portrait is to hang in the
building of which he is the donor. His statue is to stand
among the distinguished men whom I see in some of
the niches of this magnificent hall—(loud applause and
cheers)—a tribute of respkt from the corporation and
from the town. But although we shall poitfaldis that
portrait as a memorial of him, and though his statue will
stand in one of those niches to convey to future genera-
tions the lineaments of him whom we have assembled to
honour, I trust it will be long before we part 'with 'the
original, and that it may please God in His bounty long
to spare him, that he may still employ his great wealth
in blessing others, with a full knowledge that those
blessings wid fall upon hie own head a hundredfold.
Gentlemen, I know that my excellent friend loves not the
language of eulogy, but still the proceedings of this day
canape! me to use it. I, however, will say no more than
this, that I call upon you with one heart and one voice
to do justice to our eminent townsman. I simply,
therefore, propose to you the health of William Brown,
and I call upon you to do justice to it standing, and to
drink it in three times three. (Immense cheering.)
Air:—" The Fine Old English Gentleman."
Mr. BROWN then arose, amid great cheering, and
said—Mr. Mayor, ladies, my lords, and gentlemen,—lt
is impossible for me to be otherwise than embarrassed
and nervous to find myself thus unexpectedly. honoured
in being asked to this magnificent banquet bymylellow.
townsmen, to mark nod commemorate the occasion
which has brought us together, and still more so froin
the very flattering manner in which you, Mr. Mayor,
have been pleased to mention my name. lam not vain
enough to suppose that I deserve a tithe of what You
have said. Laying the foundation stone of a Free Lib-
rary naturally turns our attention to its educational ad-
vantages ; and I trust all those who are desirous, of im-
proving their minds, and who in our prosperous town I
hope are not few, and attend there, as knowledge is of
the first and last importance to make useful and respec-
table members of society. Nothing contributes more to
a man's happiness than to endeavour to make himself
master of his respective calling, and to cultivate a taste
for scientific and literary pursuits. When we look
round us, and see the advantages that arise from them,
it is the duty of us all in our respective walks of life to
aid them as far as lies in our power. No age of the
world has been more productive than the last 100 years
of that talent and that genius which have conferred the
most important benefits en mankind. Taking into view
our commercial advantages arising from our mineral
wealth, a climate most favourable to continuous labour,
and our perfect freedom of action under a constitutional
Government, I see no end to our onward progress if we
avail ourselves of the advantages we possess. The more
we advance the greater field we find for further advance-
meat. The more we know the better we see our way to
obtain further knowledge. I have no pretensions to be
a man of science or a man of letters, but I hold in the
highest estimation men who employ those talents with
which they are blessed for the benefit of their fellowmen.
Our quays and our docks would cut a poor figure without
the aid of the botanist, the chemist, the mechanic, the en-
gineer, and many others w ho pursue useful and philosophi.
cal pursuits, which are every day making progress towards
greater perfection; and we must all feel greatly indebted
to those noblemen and gentlemen who areendeavouring to
reconcile those unfortunate and unhappy differences of
opinion among religious sects that have hitherto pre-
vented a harmonious union for the general education of
the people. Let us hope that those difficulties will soon
be surmounted. When we consider the intelligent
arrangements of our Transatlantic friends who have ac-
complished that end, acid the care taken by them for the
education of every class, it caa create no surprise, on
reading the reports of the Royal Commissioners who
were sent out to their Industrial Exhibition, to find the
progress they have made in the useful arts of life. We
must exert ourselves in this honourable competitions to
preserve our caste among the nations of the earth, by
having an equally well-educated people. Science hare
already done much for us. It has made that giant
power, steam, subservient to the use of man—l may say
to bridge the ocean, and to set at defiance both- the
winds and waves, and has furnished this little island
with a manufacturing power which could not be ac.
complished by the unaided manual labour of two
Chinese empires, or 600,000,000 people. But what are
we to say of a more recent application of a power which
can carry a message for us at the rate of 188,000 miles
in a minute ? It is not impossible that means may be
found to make it a still more powerful agent than steam.
I hope and expect, before the year is out, we shall be
able to send a message from the Old World to the New
as quick as thought. It is clear we live in an age of
progress. The Times announced the other day that it
is probable we shall not be dependent on raising silk-
worms for the production of that valuable raw material,
as it has been discovered that it is in the leaves of the
mulberry tree, and can by a chemical process be ob.
tained from them to any extent. If this discovery can
be carried out with economy, it may make a com-
plete revolution in the use of cotton by the substitu-
tion of silk ; and we may see our females clothed in
robes that added to the dignity of a Roman Empe-
ror. Discoveries of this kind fill es with wonder
and' amazement. 'They are due • to advetocing
science, and I think clearly point out that there is
yet an immense field of enterprise open to the world.._
The long peace we had from 1815 to the commencement
of the late Russian war was no doubt extremely faiour-
able to human progress. Let us hope that our difficulties
with China may be of short duration, and end in an hon-
ourable adjustment of our differences, and that peaceful
icommerce will continue to extend, and carry Cturistiaaity
and civilisation to every part of the habitable globe. We
cannot but feel ourselves in an enviable position that it
has been our good fortune and our destiny to•plant
.the
Saxon race, with our language, our laws, our literature,
and our religionein some of the most rsing countries in
the world, who feel an honest pride in acknowledging
our paternity, where family differences never should
arise to disturb that good understanding and harmony
which new happily everywhere exist, and which it is the
duty of all to cultivate and perpetuate. It is impossible
for me to sit down without again assuring you, collec-
tively and individually, that I duly appreciate the 'honour
you are conferring on me. So long as I live I shall over
look back on this day as one of the most happy
most pleasing of my life ; and I again beg to
oausthdruok Lancashirewiti
thank you. ,
it The Health of the Membersheetbaeafc: S
w
(Mr, Brown and Mr. J. c
three times three.
Mr. in responding, spoke in eulogistic
terms efe Mr.llE AgETßurow'n as a representative of the people,
and as a man who had extended his beneficence in the
manner they had witnessed that day. Ile who struck off
the fetters of the slave or enlarged liberty was a bene-
factor, but he was one of the greatest benefactors they
• could have who sought to elevate intellectually, morally,
and religiously his fellow-men. He congratulated Mr.
Brown, too, in being his own executor in this business,
and in thin showing a determination to perpetuate the
institution, delivering it from all future chanties of mis-
appropriation, by connecting it with the Corporation of
Liverpool. Being in their bands it could not, without
gross negligence in the citFzens themselves, be diverted
from its original object. (Cheers.)
"The Members for the Borough" was given from the
Chair, and received with applause.
Mr. HORSFALL and Mr. EWART having responded,
Mr. HORSFALL gave " The House of Stanley."—l am
sure, he said, that the toast will be received by every
one with that cordiality and witb that admiration of the
conduct of the Earl of Derby and of Lord Stanley. to
which they are so justly entitled. (Cheers.) This would
not be a fitting occasion on which to bring forward the
records of history, where the House of Stanley has stood
in an honourable and pre-eminent position for centuries d
past. It would still be a less fitting occasion to allude
to the political career of the Earl of Derby or of Lord
Stanley ; but I am quite sure that it is a fitting occasion
for Liverpool gracefully to say to the son that they
his illustrious
enter-
tain the highest respect and regard for illustrious
father —(loud cheers)—one who takes so deep an interest
in the welfare of Liverpool, and which has been shown
on no occasion more than a recent one when he pre-
seated to the inhabitants of this town a most magnificent
collection of natural history, now known as the Darby
Museum. (Cheers.) Sir, I will only venture to ex.
press one Hope—Use in which I am sure every individual
in this
join, and that is that the illustrious
heatdas uinbdtihdeinig well
lious heir of the house of Stanley may
long be spared, not, as mere hereditary ornaments, but
long be spared to add, as I am sure they
thatwill add, they
naY
wisdomi to our Legislature, and exert their best
energies for the prosperity of our country. (Cheers.) I
beg to propose to you " The House of Stanley. .
The toast was drunk with enthusiasm.
Lord STANLEY, in replying, said—My lords and gen:
tlemen, I am afraid that Mr. Honied might have found
the saute fault with me that the deputy-mayor has just
found with one of your borough members, (Laughter.)
But whether I have or have nut paid nay town duts—_.,