The Sun.
London, England, 1827-10-06 00:00:00

DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S VISIT TO TII4

'CITY OF DURHAM.

DURHAM, SEPT. 4.

Wednesday last being the day appointed for the
visit of his Grace the Duke of Wellington to the
city of Durham, preparatio`ns for his reception began
early to be made, and' in the course of the forenoon
various flags were hung out in the streets through
which 'his Grace was to pass, bearing appropriate
inscriptions, and across Silver-street a triumphal
arch was erected, bearing the inscription " Welling-
ton, the hero of Waterloo," surmounted by a small
flag, and 'profusely decorated with evergreens,
flowers, '&c. Crimson and yellow favours (the
colours of the Marquis of Londonderry), were also
displayed from several windows. On the front of
"the Advertiser Office" was a shield, encircled with
evergreens, on the upper part of which was in-
scribed " Wellington and Victory." In a compart-
ment underneath were the lines;
" Victor of Assaye's eastern plain,
" Victor of all the fields of Spain,
" Victor o'er France's despot reign,
" immortal Wellington !"

On each side were smaller shields, bearing the
words " Wellington,lhhe pride of England," and
" the Liberator of Europe. In the front of the
Town-hall, in the ,Market-place, a spacious platform
was erected for the reception of his Grace by the
Mayor, Aldermen;&c. immediately on his entering
the city; the front of the half was also decorated wish
flags, inscriptions, &c.
At twelve o'clock a Meeting of the Magistracy, Gentry.,
&c. of the County, was held in the Grand. Jury-room at
the County Courts, to consider of the" best means" to be
adopted by which to express their respect for his Grace's
character, and their gratitude for his military services.
Amongst the gentlemen present we observed the Hon. Wm.
Keppel Barrington, of Sedgefield; General Aylmer, of
Walworth Castle ; General Seddon, of Hartlepool ; Mr.
W. H. Lambton, of Biddick Hall; Mr. Shipperdson, of
Durham ; Mr. Burdon, of Castle Eden ; Mr. Puce
Cumby, of Heighington; the Rev. Mr. Gilly, of Durham ;
Mr. Hutchinson, of Eggleston Hall ; Rev. Dr. Phillpotts,
of Stanhope; Mr. Wright, of Sands ; 'Mr. Wilkinson, of
Coxhoe ; Colonel Tower, of Elemo:•e ; Mr. Lamb, of
Ryton ; Mr. Hopper, of Durham ; Mr. Hopper, of Silks-
worth ; Colonel Shadforth,• of 'Witton-le-Wear ; Mr.
Greenwell, and Mr. J. Greenwell, of Ford ; Mr. Will
kinsou, of Durham; Mr. Johnson, of Aycliffe Heads;
Mr. Walton, of Dryburn ; Mr. Walton, of Staindrop ;
Mr. Dale, of Cleadon ; Mr. Allan, of Blackwell ; Colonel
Light, of 'Durham ; Dr. Cooke, of Durham ; Colonel
Gray, of Norton ; Mr. Bowes, of Durham: Mr. Green-
well, of Durham ; Colonel and Captain Mills, of Willing:4-
ton ; Rev. C. Thorp, Ryton ; Rev. T. Baker, o,l*
Whitburn ; Rev. Dr' Wellesley, of Durham (hardier of
the Duke) ; Mr. Flounders, of Yarm ; Dr. Trotter,
Durham ; Rev. L. Davison, of Durham; Mr. Surtees, of
Redworth ; Rev. H. Liddell, of Boldon ; Mr. Macdonald,
of Durham; Mr. Robinson, of Hendon; Rev. J. Col-
linson, of Gateshead ; Mr. Marshall Robinson, of Yarm ;
Sir C. Sharp; of Sunderland; Mr. A. Fenwick.and Mr.
R. Fenwick, of Bishopwearmouth ; Rev. G Townsend,
of Durham ; Mr. Abbs, of Cleadon ; Mr. Shaw, of Us-
worth, &c. &c.

Mr. Burdon observed, that in the absence of the
High Sheriff of the county he should move that the
chair be taken by General Aylmer, the Chairman
of the county, as the fittest person to preside at this
meeting, which was seconded by Mr. Robinson, of
Sunderland. General Aylmer, on taking the chair,
said, he felt great pleasure in doing any thing in his
power to forward the object of the .nesting, which
had been called in consequence of the arrival amongst
them' of his Grace the Duke of Wellington. It
would be proper for him (the Chairman) to state,
that a meeting had been held previously to this, at,
which it was agreed, that as the Marquis of London-
derry, Lord Ravensworth, and other gentlemen, had
received the illustrious Duke, and as the Bishop of
Durham had kindly intimated his intention of giving
*--a"
him a dinner on this ay, there should be another
meeting for the purpose of conveying their senti-
ments to his Grace, the most convenient day for
which was that on which his Grace arrived; it
would be most convenient for the gentlemen, of the
county, and ensure a fuller meeting than they could
have otherwise anticipated. They were now
assembled, and be (the Chairman) thought that no
'Species of public entertainment given to his Grace
would be so good as a record of their sentiments of
gratitude for his important services. He hoped
that the address about to be submitted to their
consideration would meet with their unanimous ap-
probation. Every "gentleman with whom he had
consulted concurred in the propriety of confining the
adlress solely to the military character of his Grace.
—The Hon. W. Keppel Barrington said, he had
been requested to propose the first resolution—and
he thought no argument would be necessary to in-
duce the meeting to adopt it—which was, that an
address should be presented to his Grace, containing
a tribute of respect and gratitude to his exalted cha-
racter and eminent services.—Mr. Burdon seconded
the resolution, which was carried unanimously.—The
address (which is given below) was then read and
agreed to.—On the motion of Mr. Lambs it was re-
solved, that the Chairman should sign the address on
behalf of the meeting, and that the Hon. W. K. Bar-
rington should present it to his Grace. A conver-
sation then ensued, in which it was stated, that it
would be More consonant to- his Grace's feelings to
have the address presented in the open air, as had
been done at Stockton and Newcastle ; and it was
agreed that, should the weather permit, the address
from the county should be presented to his Grace on
the steps in front of the County Courts. Mr.,Bur-
don, in moving the thanks of the meeting to the
Chairman, regretted that the meeting had not been
one of more form. It was certainly a meeting for,
which there was no precedent; but it must be re-
collected that they had a man among them who was
without all precedent ! Men of , the first character
in the British army (which was the first army in
the world) were ready to acknowledge his superiori-
ty, and bend to his pre-eminent judgment and
genius. Happy would it be for the country if it had
a Wellington and a Nelson perpetually on the
stocks, ready for their country's- service.----
(Applause and laughter.) He concluded by
moving the thanks of the meeting to the
Chairman for the credit he had done them and him-
self by his conduct in the Chair, which were carried
by acclamation, and the meeting adjourned to half-
past three o'clock, to await the arrival of his Grace.
About three o'clock, the Marquis of Londonderry,
accompanied by the Marchioness and several persons
of distinction, proceeded in their carriages to meet
his Grace on the north road. About half a mile
from the town the Duka was met by a number of
persons, with pink ribbons on their hats, inscribed
Wellington for ever !" who took- the horses from
his Grace's carriage, and drew him into the city,
where lie arrived about half-past four, amid loud
cheers, the ringing of bells, and the firing of guns.
His. Grace was preceded 1?y a guard of the,nurham
Yeomanry, and its band playing " See the cionquer-
nig- hero comes!" after which about 21 banners,
bearing various inscriptions, one of which, surmount-
ed by a silver cup, was borne by three men, having
the inscription, " The conquering hero, Wellington
comes, God bless him P Grace was then.
drawn to the foot of the steps of the
platform, on
which were assembled the Mayor, Aldermen, and
Common Council of the City, the former wearing
their robes, and all having the Marquis of London-
derry's favours on their breasts. On the platform
wereal
soinwrecrowded
waiting,
ting b
, the
Rey
v.D
his accomplished daughter, &c. whilst the windows
of the Hall we
the ri.adWieesllaensdleyotahnedr
members ~of the city officers. 'His Grace then as-
cended the platform, accompanied by the Mar-
chioness of Londonderry, Bze •
• amid loud cheering,
which his Grace ucknohlcd
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