The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-19 00:00:00

DINNER TO SIR 11. POTTINGER
AT LIVERPOOL.

(Abridged from the ,Liverpool Courier.)

Sir lienry-Pottinger and Lady Pottinger, with
their son and two daughters. reached Liverpool on
Monday, and were, soon after their arrival, waited
upon by various deputations from public bodies and
merchants. Next day Sir henry visited the Ex-
change and the principal public buildings, where he
was welcomed with much enthusiasm. In the even-
ing a dinner took place in the large ball-room of the
To wn- hall.

The chair was occupied by the Mayor, James
Lawrence, Esq. On his right we noticed the dis-
tinguished guest of the evening, Sir henry Pottinger,
G.C.8., Lord Viscount Sandon, M.P., Wilson Patten,
Esq., M.P., Sir George Larpent, Lieutenant-Colonel
Malcolm, Major Pottinger, Major Axford, Captain
Ormsby, Gilbert Henderson, Esq., Recorder, Edward
Rushton, Esq., Dr. Whittaker, Mohun Lai, Esq., an
Indian Chief, E. Arnaud, Esq., the Collector, John
Wright, Esq., Thomas Sands, Esq., J. S. Leigh,
Esq., the Mayor of Wigan, Samuel Horrocks, Esq.,
Joseph Hornby, Esq., 'William Nicol, Esq. On his
left were Lord Stanley, the High Sheriff, William
Entwistle, Esq., -ALP., the Rev. Rector Brookes, Col.
Falconer, Sir George Monro, George Grant, Esq.,
Captain Bevis, R.N., Thomas Ilszley, Esq., Archibald
Hunter, Esq., J. S. Heywood, Esq., Dr. Brandreth,
Samuel Thompson, Esq., George Hall Lawrence,
Esq., Samuel Stainforth, Esq., Scott, Esq., London,
Alderman Hodgson, E. Zwilchenbart, Esq., G. E.
Arbuthnot, Esq., Rev. William Cleminson.
The dinner commenced at a quarter-past seven
o'clock, and the cloth was withdrawn about half-past
eight.

After the usual loyal toasts,
The MAYOR proposed " The Army and Navy." He
spoke of the eminent services which had been ren-
dered in China by both branches of the service, and
concluded by saying that they had done all that could
have been hoped fur from British soldiers and seamen,
and that more could not have been expected.
Colonel FALCONER briefly returned thanks on the
part of the army, and observed that the approbation of
their countrymen was the great stimulus and reward
of military men.—(Cheers.) He bore testimony, on
behalf of the army, to the great services rendered to
this country by their distinguished guest, and spoke
ith approval of the conduct of the British forces in
China.

Captain CRIIGIE, R.N., responded, on the part of
the naval force. He also alluded to the eminent ser-
vices of Sir H. Pottinger, and said that British
seamen ever looked forward to the approbation of
their country, and particularly of the mercantile
classes, who were the sheet anchor of the community,
as the great reward for all their toils.—(Cheers.)
The MAYOR then rose to propose the principal
toast of the evening. After the cheering had sub-
sided, his Worship said—My Lords and Gentlemen,
the toast which I am about to propose is one which,
I am quite sure, will meet with the most cordial re-
ception.— (Cheers.) I should have been glad if the
honour had fallen upon one more capable of doing
justice to its merits. —(No, no.) Fortunately, how-
ever, in a company such as that by which I am sur-
rounded it requires no advocacy, it appeals at once to
the affections and the gratitude of each individual
for valuable public services.—(Renewed cheers.)
Whether we contemplate the prejudices which had to
be overcome, the difficulties to be encountered, or the
great importance of the object to be achieved, we are
alike indebted to the ability, zeal, and indefatigability
by which they were overcome.—(Loud applause.)
There are few here, I am sure, who are not feelingly
alive to the great importance of the trade with
China.—(Loved cheers.) Many, to their cost, here,
have felt the difficulties and prejudices with which
that trade was for a long series of years surrounded,
and all will hail with gratitude the man who has so
greatly contributed to place it upon a firm and per-
manent basis.—(lmmense applause.) My Lords and
Gentlemen, none will receive queratnelranbuefnaecfit
efrrso from
willit
Ihar. 12,•\1151, merenait.
.i
feel its powerful stimulus. Tit. 4 anasau
his full share in its advantages.—(Hear, hear.) Its
effects will be felt through every portion of the em-
pire.—(Cheers.) And I trust that even the great
and moral people, who have been hitherto so adverse
to intercourse with strangers, will obtain their full
share in the benefits and blessings which are
likely to follow from the labours of our distinguished
guest.—(Tremendous cheers.) I therefore beg to
propose " The health of the Right Hon. Sir Henry
Pottinger"—(Cheers)—whose sagacious, enlightened,
and successful policy, has opened a new world to
British enterprise and capital.—(Cheers.)
Sir H. POTTINGER, in rising to acknowledge the
compliment, was greeted with renewed applause.
When silence had been obtained, he said—Mr. Mayor,
my Lords, and Gentlemen, in rising to offer my most
sincere thanks for the manner in which you have
been pleased to drink my health, it is with no affected
diffidence that I tell you that I am incapable of ex-
plaining how truly I appreciate your kindness. It is,
as his worship, the Mayor, has said, not kindness, but
affection towards me. The manner in which I have
been received in this great town to-day, and the
tokens of regard and approbation I have received, are
beyond all expression. There are some situations of
extreme pleasure, which, at the same time, have a
certain portion of unpleasantness about them. This
is exactly my position. I know not how to tell you
how thankful I em for the honour you have conferred
upon me. I have come among you, I will not say as
a stranger, but certainly as knowing very few of you
personally, and here I meet you all, I may say, as a
brother and a friend. In speaking of my position, I
must ask you all to recollect the circumstances in
which I stand among my countrymen throughout
England. I have been absent almost my whole life,
and now I am come back to be received with honour,
approbation, and applause. It is delightful to
me in one sense, and yet painful in another; delight-
ful, because what is more precious or dear to any
man's heart than the approbation of his fellow-coun-
trymen ?—(Hear.) Painful, I repeat, because I can-
not tell you how truly and how highly I appreciate
their kindness and approbation. With respect to my
measures in China, I have already had such oppor-
tunities of speaking in public, that I think I need
hardly trouble you regarding them.—(Yes, yes ; go
on.)—I will, however, say, that when I was graciously
selected by her Majesty to fulfil the duties of envoy
to China, I went out with the firm determination, not

of forcing any unpleasant treaty on the Chinese after
the great objects of the war were accomplished by
the force of her Majesty's arms, but rather to act as
an umpire between the two nations.—(Hear, and
cheers.) I had found those attached to the mission
who cordially entered into my views, and I had the
great happiness to meet with a corresponding feeling
in the High Commissioner he-ying, than whom a more
enlightened statesman I do not believe there is in any
country in the world. A man feelingly alive to all the
amenities of life, and more particularly so to that
high feeling which dictated his conduct throughout
this negotiation. I could, were it admissible in such
a society, tell you of such instances of Ke-ying's
high feeling and noble conduct as would, I dare say,
astonish you. I trust, at some future period, it will
please her Majesty's Government to do him and the
Chinese character generally justice, by making his
dispatches and letters public. It would not astonish
you only, but all the world, to find such sentiments
existing in what we have been in the habit of think-
ing a self-secluded Chinese mandarin. One great
point in the treaty I had the honour of concluding
was, that the trade with China should be thrown open
to all other nations. This, you must be aware, I
could not have succeeded in bringing about without
the cordial sanction and co-operation of the Chineie
authorities. But the moment I explained to the High
Commissioner the object I had in view, and pointed
out the advantages it offered, not only to China but to
all other nations, he most cordially acceded to it ; and
before I left he entreated nit, as the representative of
England, in case of any unforeseen difficulty arising,
to act as a mediator between China and any other
European nation.—(Hear' hear.) This is a strong
proof of the confidence I have won, and I trust I have
won it not by succumbing in any way to any unjust
demands (if such were made) of the Chinese, but by
letting the Chinese see that there was only one rule
for my conduct as an Englishman—true faith and
good honour.—(Loud applause.) I believe the treaty
so concluded to answer, as I had the pleasure of
stating to-day at the meeting in the Town-hall, all the
advantages that a treaty can possibly combine.—
(Hear.) It has this peculiarity, that anything that
benefits one nation with regard to it, must benefit the
other. Such is my interpretation of the Chinese
treaty. There are some trifling points, such, for in-
stance, as what I believe is called, in mercantile
pohnseology, the bonding system, for which,
1 confess, I was afraid to stipulate, be-
cause I did not like to propose anything
the Chinese would object to. I am happy to say,
however, that after I left they not only cordially ac-
ceded to, but proposed it—(llear)—and I have since
learned that it is included in an article inserted in
the treaty which I am also delighted to mention has