The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-12 00:00:00

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LITERARY FUND DINNER.

This excellent Society celebrated yesterday at the Free
masons' Hall its 53a anniversary. Great eclat was given tn.
the proceedings of the evening by the circumstance of his.
Royal Highness Prince Albert having honoured the Society-
by condescending to preside over its festivities. The Literary
und Society was established in 179 a, and
.in 1793 the first
anniversary dinner took place, since which period it has pur-
sued an uninterrupted career of usefulness.
At half-past six o'clock his Royal Highness, preceded by a
number of the stewards, entered the room. Immediately the
illustrious Prince was announced, the acclamations became loud
and general, and the beautiful band of the Coldstream Guards
played the National Anthem. The galleries were filled with a
number of elegantly-dressed ladies, who appeared to take an,
unusual interest in the proceedings.
About 360 sat don n to an excellent dinner.

On Prince Albert's right hand sat the Duke of Cleveland,
and on his left the Marquis of Lansdowne. Among the dis-
tinguished visitors present, we noticed the following noblemen
and gentlemen :—Lord Ashler, Lord Mahon. the Marquis of
Lansdowne, Lord Monteacle, Lord Jocelyn. the Prussian Am-
bassador, the Russian Ambassador, Sir R. Inglis, Mr. Serjeant
Talfourd, Mr. T. Moore, Mr. T. Camubell, Ms. G. Knight,
Mr. H. Hallam, Mr. Barham, Sir H. 'Ellis, Mr. 11 ashingt stn
Irving, and Vice-Chancellor K. Bruce.
Upon the cloth being removed,
His Royal Highness Prince ALBERT rose and said—Gentle-
men,—l propose " The Health of the Queen," who, I ern able
to tell you highly appreciates this excellent institution. I hese
her permission to say, that she is its sincere well-is isher, anti
feels much interest in its prosperity.—( Loud cheering.)
The Duke of CLEVELAND then proposed " The Prince of
Wales, the Queen Dowager,and the rest of the Royal Family."
l'he Noble Duke said, that he had been called upon unex-
pectedly to propose the second toast in the list. He had never
yet been esesent at any public meeting where the health of
the Prince of Wales was proposed. He considered it a fortu-
ne e coincidence that the first. time he should be called upon to
propose such a toast should be in the presence of the Prince
of Wales's illustrious parent.
Vice-Chancellor KNIGHT Bnece gave " The Army and
Navy."—(Loud cheers.)
Lord Coreereea returned thanks for the Army, and
Colonel Gunwoon briefly acknowledged the compliment
I aid to the Navy.
After which Mr. T. Campbell's well-known song—
" Ye mariners of England,
That guard our native seas,"
was sung amidst loud applause.
Prince A LBF.IIT then rose, and spoke as follows:—The toast
which I have now to propose is, " Prosperity to this Institu-
tion," an Institution which stands unrivalled in any country,
and which ought to Command our warmest sympathies, in pro-
viding for the exigencies of those who, feeling only the
promptings of genius, and forgetting every other consideration,
pursue the grand career of the cultivation of the human mind,
and the promotion of the arts and sciences.—( Cheers. ) It is
surely right gratefully to acknowledge the benefits we have de-
rived from the disinterested exertions of those great and good
men, and cheerfully to contribute to their wants and aid their
necessities.—(Cheers.) I conclude with a warm wish that
the object for the promotion of which we hare assembled this
day may be responded to in the most ample and eeneroua
manner. I propose " Success to the Literary Fund."—.(The
toast was drunk amidst great cheering.)
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE responded to the toast. He
begged in behalf of himself, and all those connected with the
Society, to express to his Royal Highness, and all the noble-
men and gentlemen present, his acknowledgement for the ho-
nour which had that day been conferred on the Institution. He
had resigned with much pleasure the chair into the hands
of the illustrious Prince who presided over the meeting. It
would ill become him, in the presence of his Royal High-
ness, to enumerate the many virtues and good qualities
which adorned his character.—(Loud cheers.) Ile was not
surprised to see the Prince among them that evening, when he
recollected that he was connected with an illustrious family
residing in a country which had always been the asylum of
men of genius and letters.—(Cheers.) In occupying the
Chair that day his Royal Highness was only discharging a
debt of gratitude clue to the Society. The father of her Ma-
jesty had honoured the Society once with his presence; and on
the last eccasioa previous to his lamented death that he had
consented to take the Chair, he was only prevented from doing
so by the birth of her present Majesty.—(Cheers.) The ob-
ject of the Literary Fund Society ties to relieve the distresses
and misfortunes of literary men. Surely such a Society re-
quired no recommendation. It spoke its own wants and its
own peculiar claims upon the sympathies of the kind and the
benevolent. He thought there could not be a more noble ob-
ject than to MC the human intellect in the greatness of its
strength towering above the 'difficulties which surrounded it,
and triumphing over all the impediments which impeded it in
its onward co rrse—(Cheers)—but how painful was it to con-
template genius weighed down by misfortunes. It was for the
benefit of this class that the Literary Fund Society was insti-
tuted. The Noble Lord concluded by proposing " The health
of his Royal Highness Prince Albert.."—(Great cheering.)
Prince ALBERT rose, and was received with long-continues-I
applause. He said, " Gentlemen, —I must return you my•
warmest thanks for the great kindness you have manifested
towards me in the manner in which you have received the toast
which has just been proposed for your adoption.—(Cheers.)
I beg to assure you that I shall always be most happy to pro-
mote the interest of all those excellent institutions which so
prominently (his Royal Highness laid a marked emphasis on
this word) distinguish this cauntry."—( Loud cheers.)
The SECRETARY then read the Report. an abstract of which
we have given. He also read a list of the subscripeions just
received. The Queen, 100 guineas—(Cheers)—Prince Al-
bert, 1001.—( Great. cheering)—the King. of Prussia, 1001.—
(Cheers)—the Duke of Somerset, 10 guineas annually; the
Marquis or Lansdocsn., .501. ; Lord F. Egerton, 101. ; Arch-
bishop of Dublin, a; er tentage on the profits of all his works ;
Lord Bexley, 1(11. ; Vice- Chancellor Bruce, 10 guineas.; Lord
Chief Justice Tindal, 10 guineas.
Prince ALBERT said—The toast now put into my hand is the
health of our worthy President, the Marquis of Lansdowne. It
would be impossible for me to enumerate his many merits ; his
contributions to art and science are so well known in this as-
sembly. that it will ne unnecessary for me to particularly allude
to them. I have the greatest satisfaction in expressing how
highly I cseem hm. Gentlemen, I beg leave to propose
" The health of the Marquis of Lansdowne."—Great cheering.)
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE returned thanks, and proposed
• " The health of His Majesty the King of Prussia."—( Cheers. )
The PRUSSIAN AMBASSADOR said, in returning thanks for
the cordial maener in which the health of his Royal muter, his
Majesty tire King of Prussia, had been drunk, he was unable
to express the feelings which animated his heart. He knew'
that his Royal master took a great interest in the prosperity or
the Literary Fund Society.—( Great cheering.)
Mr. I'. CAMPBELL rose, and was received with load cheers.
He said that at a meeting like the present, so full of the
friends of literature and science, it was a matter of congratu-
lation that the chair was filled by the representative of Bri-
tish Majesty, the Queen of queens, the Queen of hearts, their
own Queen of Victoria.—( Great cheering.) He thought that
the great condescension exhibited by the Illustrious Prince
could not fail to produce a feeling of strict amity between the
sceptic and the press of this country, an amity which could not.
fail to be productive to literature and to literary men. The
condescension on the part of his Royal Highness was as liberal
as it was generous.—(Cherry.) There was a natural sympathy
between wisdom and liberality ; " Verily," the prophet Isaiah
says, " the liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things
shall he stand."--e Cheers.) The Constitution, with all its
great blessings, was based upon public opinion, without any re-
ference to party. It was with much pleasure he proposed
" Henry flallam and the Historians."—( Cheers.)
The toast was drunk amidst great epplanse.
Mr. 11. II LI.AM, in returning !batiks, said that he had al-
ways taken a greet inter, st in the Institution.
Lord Menos proposed " Mr. T. Moore and the Poets."—
(Loud cheering.) ills Lordship said, that the poet whose
health he had th honour to propose was one who had shed an
undying lustre upon the English language and people.—
( Cheers.) He e (mid ask, who had not been delighted with
his writings? He felt assured that they were ready to pay
homage to his surpassing genius.—(Cheers.) He would say
of the illustrious pee:—
" To whom the lyre and laurels had been given,
With all the trophies of triumphant song,
He wore them well, and may he wear them long."
The toa-t was drunk amidst great acclamation.
Mr. 'l'. MoosE briefly returned thanks.
Mr. Moore's beautiful Irish melody—
" And sloth not a meeting like this make amends
For all the long years I've been wandering away ?"
was sung by Mr. Broadhurst with great pathos and effect.
Lord7:7OLBORNE proposed u Mr. James and the Novelists
(Drunk with applause. )
Mr. JAMES returned thanks
Mr. 11l elan-mote proposed" The Marquis of Northampton,
and the Scientific Literature of this Country."

Tr.e Marquis of NORTHAMPTON responded to the toast.
Mr. G. KNIGHT proposed" Mr. Serjeant Talfourd, and the
Dramatists."—(Drunk with great cheering.)
Mr. Serjeant TA LFOURD, in an eloquent speech, acknow-
ledged the compliment. 0 ing to the late hour at which the
Serjeant addressed the meeting, it will be impossible for us to
attempt even to give an abstract of what he said.
Sir li. INGLIS prof os " Washington Irving and the Lite-
rature of the United Sta'es."—(Great
_cheering. )—(Drunk
with great enthusiasm. )
p Mr. WASIIINGTON IRVINE briefly acknowledged the com-
liment.
Lord ASHLEY proposed "the Vice-President of the So-
siety."
Sir R. Norms returned thankA. _ .

Prince ALBERT rose and said,—l suppose, Gentlemen, you
would not like to part without proposing the health of the ladies.
—( Loud cheering.) Gentlemen, " The Ladies."
Song—" Here's a health to all good lasses."
His Royal Highness left the chair a little before 12, the :uni-
tary band performing the National Anthem.

THE BRIGIITON ELECTION.—The result of the
Brighton election having long been foreseen by the more di, -
crimmating of the Liberal party in the Borough, it has not
been productive of disappointment to them, though it nem-
sarily gives rise to much vexation and chagrin. The occasion
which has -just passed away, might under more.favourable au-
spices, have been made to confirm what has already been sl
repeatedly and so conspicuously established,—that the political
feeling of the Borough is most decidedly Anti-Tory and Liberal ;
but the great reform party of the country failed to provide a
candidate equal to the occasion,—and instead of being, as it.
might have been, a contest of principle, it dwindled away at the
eleventh hour into a hopeless and most indiscreet atti nipt on
the part of a gentleman, known only to the electors by an un-
enviable political notoriety, and guided by a most presumptuou,,
ignorant, and insignificant clique, to supplant the son of a re-
spected and charitable nobleman who has for many years re-
sided in the Borough. The bringing forward such a candidate
as Mr. Ha:ford, alter Lord Alfred and his friends had fully and
deliberately canvassed the Borough, was repudiated by. the mese
influential Reformers of the Borough as highly injurious to the
Liberal interest ; and convinced that, under suth adverse cir-
cumstances, success was hopless, they very properly, in our
opinion, abstained from mixing up with a candidate, who, by
abandoning his seat in Parliament, had virtually pleaded guilty
to the charge of having obtained a temporary triumph in a
neighbouring Borough by very corrupt means. This was a
feeling in which we participated, and will explain the silence
we have studiously observed throughout the vain struggle.—
Brighton Guardian.
STATE OF BURNLEY AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.
is becoming daily more
hand-loom weavers very ieade-
-We regret to learn that the condition of the labouring popu-
quately employed and
the neighbourhood
deplorable.
t hoef
factories hare ceased working, and nearly the whole labouring
population is in a state approaching destitution. In some of
the country townships, too, where almost all the inhabitants are
poor, it is difficult, and indeed impossible, to collect a sufficient
amount of poOr rate to afford relief to the claimants upon the
paroobial funds ; and it is greatly to be feared that, unless
some assistance can be obtained from other quarters, the poor
will be left *about resource. We understand that strong re-
presentations on this subject have been made to Government
by a gentleman resident in the neighbourhood ; and it is not
improbable that thotse representations may have had consider-
able effect in causing the issue of the Queen's letter for making
collections throughout the country. Hitherto the people have
shown exemplary patience under their manifold privations.
Though large meetings 'have been held in different parts of
the districts, we do not learn that they have been marked by
any violence, even of language. But it is do be feared that this
patience will not be proof against a continuance—and espeei-
aßY against an aggravation—of the present state of distress.-
-I.whesiter .Paper.,