The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-16 00:00:00

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SO-
CIETY OF ENGLAND.

BRISTOL, Jute 14.—The great dinner of the members
and friends of this Society took place this afternoon at four
o'clock. it was given in a pavilion expressly erected for
the purpose, immediately in the rear of the Victoria-rooms.
The assemblage was immense. Upwards of 2,000 per.
sons were present. The apsearanee of the pavilion (than
which no building in the world was ever better constructed
for the purpose- for which it was designed) was very im-
posing. It was filled in every part; but crowded no-
where. All the arrangements for the accommodation, as
well as few the ingress and egress of so great a multitude,
were perfect. The convenience of every one appeared to
have been consulted—every one was at his ease, every one
in the right place, every one pleased. A long and deep
gallery at •the back of the principal table afforded accommo-
dation to a host of ladies, who seemed throughout the even-
ing to enter into the spirit of the proceedings with true
feminine earnestness. It was impossible to ascertain the names
of a tenth-part of the eminent and distinguished persons who
were present. A few of them, it is true, were conspicuous at
the chief table; but the great bulk of them, Dukes and Lords,
and Members of Parliament, were scattered indiscriminately
amongst the mass of yeomanry. Where so many were unre-
cognised, it may be hardly judicious to name any ; yet it may
be said that there were present the Duke of Cambridge, the
Duke of Beaufort, the Duke of Richmond, Earl Spencer, Earl
Somers, the Earl of Ducie, Earl Fortescue, the Earl of Zet-
land, the Hon. Henry Everett ( American Minister), the Mar-
quis of Dawnshire, the Marquts of Worcester, Baron Knese-
beck, Lord Ebrineton, Mr. Wm. Miles, 31.13., Sir Thos. D.
Arland, al. P., Mr. Benett, M.P., Mr. Pendarves, M.P., and
Mr. G. Berkeley, 31. P.
Henry Handley, Esq., the President of the Society, officiated
as t hen man ; Mr. Miles, M.P., acted as Vice-Chairman.
'I he dinner dispatched, the fir-t toast was " The Queen."
It was received and responded to with the liveliest enthusiasm.
The CHAIRMAN then in a short speech proposed the
" Members ot the Royal Family," arid paid a high compliment
to tire Duke of Cambridge.
'1 he. Duke of CAMBRIDGE returned thanks for the honour
which had been done to him and to the Royal Family ' • and in
expressing an earrest wish for the prosperity of the Society,
begged to thank the company for the. honour they hid done
him.—( Cheers. )
The CBAIRMAN—The next toast I have to propose to you
is the health of the Foreign _Ministers present. I am aware
that in strict diplomatic language the name " Foreign Minister'?
must be applied to his Excellency on my right, the Minister of
the United States of America; but in the reception you will
give him lam sure you will show you do not forget that his
ancestors are ours—that we are united by the ties of one corn-
man
language and of blood—(Cheers)—that itovas from these '
shores those enterprising men embarked, who in a wild, deso-
late waste, have in a comparatively brief period, raised up a
mighty nation.—(Cheers.) In a word, to use the language
peculiar 'to our class, it is the children of Old England who
have taken the occupation of the western continent under a
lease which I trust they will. dud both advantageous and inter-
minabie;—(Great cheering.) I am sure you will allow me
to request his Excellency, when he communicates with our
distant relatives on the other side of the Atlantic, to
assure them how welcome they will always be to the
shores of the mother country—( Continued cheering)—
to remind them that our affections at least are based on peace—
(Checrs)—and that we earnestly pray they may long continue
to be united with us in the bonds of goodwill and mutual ad-
vantage.—( Loud cheers.) I propose " the health of the Hon.
Henry Everett, the Minister of the United States."—( Loud
and long continued cheering.)
Mr. EVERETT, on rising, was hailed with a tumult of ap-
plause. He said, I beg you to believe me duly sensible of the
kind feelings which you have been pleased to express towards
me and my country.—(Applause.) I assure you, without
affectation, that I want words to do justice to my emotions.
To be received with su much kindness so far from my home,
by such a company as this, I confess almost overpowers me.
And let me say that there is no part of tbis,great and
prosperous country where such a reception could be more,
~welcome to me than it is here.—(Cheers.) It is a singe-;
lar circumstance that the history of North America runs;
back to this very point. Its very first chapter was written'
in the chamber of the merchant adventurers of Bristol.—
(Great cheering.) lam not now alluding to the little!
coincidence which I mentioned the other day—that Co-.
lumbus himself was once a resident here. That was•
a mere casual circumstance. I refer now to the more striks!
ing fact that Sebastian Cabot, the great discoverer of Northl
America, who, in 1497, sailed forth from these waters, dis-;
covered Newfoundland, and ran down the coast of North
America to the Gulf of Florida, was a native of Bristol)
fitted out on his venturous voyage by the enterprise of Bristol.
merchants.—( Great cheering.) You all know that it wasi
under the auspices of the Plymouth Company that the settles;
merit of my native New England began, and that the rock Upon,
which the fathers of New England first set foot was from that
circumstance called, and is to this day called, the Plymouth
rock.—(Loud cheers.) The father of William Penn, the!
great founder of Pennsylvania, lies buried in the vaults of St.,
Mary, Redcliffe, and although William Penn was not him.
self a native of Bristol, I have no doubt that in his youth'
he was accustoind to hear the stories of the navigators of,
this port on coming back from their adventures in the wes-
tern world, and that it was thus that his thoughts were
first directed to a settlement in those distant regions.—
( Cheers.) It seems to be the purpose of the merchant ad-
venturers of Bristol at this day to keep up the communi-
cation, which they were the first to establish between the
two countries. At an early hour this morning I went up to
the tower of Blaize Castle—a lofty point, commanding a pano-
rama, than which one more beautiful my eye never rested upon.
—( Chem.) In that exquisite panorama there was one object,
apart from all the beauties of nature, which particularly excited
toy attention. I could scarcely discern it; but yet, in the dis-
tance, I did distinguish the masts of the Great Western steam-
ship—(Cheers)—which the day after to-morrow is going again
to launch upon the deep.—(Cheers.) Your Chairman has
requested me, in my next communication with home, to let the
people of North America know the kind feelings expressed to-
wards them at this table. Why, in 14 days from the time that
vessel sails, she will carry the tidings, and almost before their
cordial cheers have died away here, they will be re-echoed from
. beyond the waves of the Atlantic.—(Great cheering.) I assure
you that this communion between us, resting upon common
descent, cemented by common language, strengthened by kin-
dred feelings, is not confined to speculations of business or
considerations of commercial advantage.—(Cheers.) Nu;
that is. the least important part of it. This com-
mon origin, this kindred blood, this revered and com-
mon ancestry makes us one people—(Great cheering)—one
people for every purpose but that of political jurisdiction—
( Cheers ) for every purpose social, literary, moral, intellectual.
—( Loud cheering.) Everything that emanates from your press
is imuicdiately received and welcomed by the reading public
in our country, and most happy am I to learn, as I do, that our
authors are received with favour here.—( Applause.) We have
kci-t our eye particularly upon what has been doing in this
country for the improvement of agriculture. The climate of
the New England States, although more severe than that of
England—running into either extreme to a greater extent—
is yet on the whole not greatly dissimilar; we are consequently
enabled to derive instruction from all the works that issue from
the British press relating to agriculture. None are i cad by us
with greater avidity.—( Cheers. ) I wish the intelligent agri-
culturists of England to understand that the seeds of instruc-
tion which they scatter here are actually sown broad cast it
North America.—(Great cheering.) You cannot, by your
improvements, lessen the bone of a pig, or straighten
the back of a cow, or render finer the fleece of a sheep,
, but in due time the advantage is -felt across the Atlantic.
—( Loud cheers.) I am glad that the prosecutidn of this
most peaceful of pursuits has an effect far beyond the ma-
terial interest or material advantage. I believe that
people and nations must be good friends with each other
who are engaged together in the advancement of such pur-
suits ; and whilst Mr. Smith is teaching us his system of
thorough draining, I believe it will, at the same time, aid in
drawing off the bitter waters of international jealousy.—(Great
cheering.) I most cordially respond to the wish you have ex-
pressed for the perpetuation of peace betweea the two coun-
ties.—(Cheers.) I wish, from the bottom of my heart, for
nothing else but the speedy and honourable adjustment of all
the questions in discussion between us, and most happy am I to
say, that from all the means of information at my command,
such an effect is likely to take place.—(Loud and long-con-
tistued cheering.) These little clouds once blown over, I wish
I our two nations to engage, heart and hand together, in the pur-
suit of all the great objects which improve the condition and
ennoble the character of man ; and England and America, once
united, I believe, if necessary, they might bid defiance to the
world in arms.—(Enthusiastic cheering.) I will add nothing
nothing more than to renew my heartfelt thanks for this most
unexpectedly kind and cordial reception from this great and
respectable company.
His Excellency resumed his seat amidst the most rapturous
applause, the whole company rising and continuing to cheer
for several minutes. After the lapse of a short time,
Mr. EVERETT again rose and said—lt is unnecessary to
say,' Sir, that alter having so recently occupied the attention
of the company, I should not rise again except by your special
command. I have been honoured by your request to propose
to the meeting a toast which 1 am sure will be received with
the utmost enthusiasm, it is " Prosperity to the great Society
under whose auspices we are assembled this day."—( Cheers. )
Earl SPENCER proposed the next toast. He was greeted
with loud cheers. When silence was restored, he said, The
toast which I am commissioned to propose is, " Success to the
agriculture, manufactures, and commerce of this country."—
(Cheers.) It is the union of her agriculture, her manufac-
tures, and her commerce which renders this little island, which
ii' you look upon it in a map of the world is scarce a spot before
you, one of the moat powerful of the nations of the earth.—
( Great cheering.) It is by the united energy of her people—
by their exertions in these different branches of industry—by
the wealth that their exertions have produced and accumulated,
that England has become what she is, and what I hope in God
she may long continue to be.—(Cheers.) These three great
interests are intimately connected together, and depend upon it
if any one of them fail the others will soon fail also. This
being the case, although I know I might confidently ask you
to drink success to the other branches of industry besides that
in which you are yourselves particularly engaged—although I
know your good feeling to your fellow-countrymen would in-
duce you to do this, I feel that I may with the greater boldness
do so, because when 1 ask yoti to drink success to commerce
and manufactures, I am, in fact, only inviting you to drink
success to yourselves—success to the agricUlture in which you
are engaged.—(Cheers.) These three 'great branches of in-
dustry have run a race in thisnountry. With regard to agri-
culture, although we have not hitherto applied to it, as I hope
we shall, the advantage of scientific improvement, our practi-
cal knowledge has yet been such that I think at the present
moment I may confidently venture to assert that in agricul-
tural skill we stand among the highest, if indeed we be not.
the very highest amongst the nations of the world.—( Cheers. )
There is, however, one thing that we, as farmers, want—we
want the application of science to aid us in our practical skill.
—( Applause.) It is for that object that this Society has been
established—(Applause)—and I sincerely trust that, continu-
ing to pursue that object as we have hitherto pursued it, the
titue will not he distant when we shall succeed in giving to
agriculture and to the operations of the farmer the same ad-
vantages derived from science that manufactures have already
possessed themselves ot.—(Applause.) I feel confident that
this will be the result of our Society. I beg to propose "Suc-
cess t o Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce. "—( Cheers. )
'Elie Duke of Rico moon proposed the health of the " Agri •
cultural Labourers.''--(Cheers.) Interested as all classes ot
the community are in the welfare of each other, I know of no
body of men in this country who have stronger ties upon the
occupiers and owners of land than the class I am about to bring
under your notice.-0 beers. ) Without their aid and per-
solidi assistance, our lands could not he cultivated. We ail
know the advantage it is to us all to have skilful shepherds and
t herdsmen, clever shearers, good ploughmen, honest industriousloyal
Isboureis. We know them to be a peaceful, orderly, and,o3'"
cla s.— (Cheers. ) We cannot disguise from ourselves that
upon many occasions they exhibit the greatest patience under
privatton.—( Applause.) We knots' also—and I speak to you,
if )011 will permit me so to call myself, as an English country
' gentleman—we loony alto that they perform towards each
other those offices of kindness and of true charity, which, low-
, lag from the purest source, ennoble alike the possessor of the
proudest castle and the inmate
I trust I may,' without of the humbleset cotbtaugtea.
vei y few words upOn the subject of our be
reererntinttgeahtereSi. to-tin
meeting
ine-aeated and in -
I believe that its
creasing prosperity
• I -beg heartily to conoraPtruegulatern:otcui:uinitt:.
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ex-
ertions have been of"the -reatest benefits; and I
sive g
t continues to be supported assit
fordly anticipate that :f 2
intelligent.
. vor t:tdh.ics great
glaUtrY) it* tIa7444CW w lot 14A PiFt4o; 4teacdo.
hitherto ;has sw' by the practical fainters of -t.,,