Star.
London, England, 1822-08-30 00:00:00

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diarnnutiAniir to the public principles
w sitt . 7 professed, or the smalls,*
IreelhaiNia oNn vn
sutaport of them. When called to-
office in 1816, I was called to a depat tment perfectly
alien from my official habits, and with the busjoess
of which I had no previous acquaintance; but, in
.. the course of nearly five years diligent administra-
tion of that department, it has so happened that I
am supposed, by those in Wham the law has vested
the power of appointing to the Government of India,
to have qualified myself for the more immediate
direction of that Government, over the concerns of
which it has been my duty to exercise a distant super-
intendence. Many obvious circumstances, undoubt-
edly, would have made it more agreeable to mto
have remained iit this country —(Loud heers).—e I see
around me more than one hundred and sixty motives
for having so wi,hed to remain —(Renewed cheers).
But, Greilemen, I hold that a public man is, unless
he can H cause of honour or duty to the contrary,
bound to accept a trust which he is selected as com-
petent to administer for the public interest. Gentle-
men, those in whom the law, as I have said, vests
the power of appointment (subject to the approbation
of the Crown), have done me the honour to think,
that I may be the humble instrument of conferring
some benefit *a the population of an extensive Em-
pire. I fear they overrate my capacity for the task
which they impose upon me, as your kindness has
overrated my services to you— (Cries of " No, no").—
But I have not felt myself at liberty to decline a task
at once so difficult and so honourable; I must exe-
cute it to the best of my ability. Gentlemen, in
leaving your service, it is my pride to carry with me
such testimonies of your satisfaction. 1 hope I may,
without indecent vanity, add, that •in quitting the
House of Commons, it is a consolation to me to quit
it not defeated nor disgraced. If, Gentlemen, you
and I are separated by space, let us, then, continue
united b) sentiment and by kindness. I leave here
.
in your keeping, a name, insignificant as it be-
longs to an individual, but consecrated by the prin-
ciples of which you have made it the symbol.—
Guard it, not for its own sake, but for the sake of
those its accompaniments. While it may be my lot
to administer a Government, of necessity in a great
measure discretionary, I shall reflect that there is, in
my own country, a community in which my name is
cherished, as associated with rational liberty, with the
principles of a free Government, and with the institu-
tions of a free people. Guard you my memory, and
I shall cherish your's. Removed from you by thou-
sands of miles, it will be a pleasure to me to think
that I aai occasionally remembered by you;
.and be
assured, that in whatever part of the world I may be
stationed, the members of this Society will have a
place in my remembrance and regard. Gentlemen,
permit me to conclude with proposing, with a slight
variation, your usual standing toast—" Permanency
and Prosperity to this Club."
The speech was received throughout with loud
applause, and the Right Hon. Gentleman resumed
his seat amidst the cheering of the company.
There were various other toasts given, and speeches
in rejoinder.
'At a late hour Mr.Catesmos again rose and said—
Gentlemen, permit me to take leave of you for the
night,with renewed acknowledgmentsfor the kindness
with which you have received me. These acknowledg-
ments I cannot better express than in one of the toasts
which I find upon your paper, embodying as it does
the sentiments which I entertain towards you and
towards the community of which you are a part, and
of which I have been now nearly ten years a faithful,
I hope, and, I am sure, a favoured Representative.
It has been held, Gentlemen, by writers and speakers
upon public subjects, that however commerce may
enrich a State, it has drawbacks which more than
balance its advantages, in debasement of principle,
and in the lowering of high-minded feeling. If this
was ever true of any State, it is not true of Eng-
land ; if it was ever true of any town, it is not
true of Liverpool. In proposing to you therefore,
Gentlemen, your accustomed toast—" The good
old Town of Liverpool, and the Trade thersnf,"
I express, in homely language—of which, however,
every word has its value—your cultivation of " good"
principles; your attachment to the " old" institu-
tions of England ; and the combination of those prin-
ciples and those attachments with a flourishing
" trade," which, so far from debasing the community
which it ens iches, has, with expanding wealth, brought
proportionate expansion of intellect ; and, with
increasing prosperity, has increased your devotion
and attachment to the Constitution of your country,
as the source from which national prosperity springs.
The toast was drank with thunders of applause.
Conviviality and harmony reigned till a late hour;
and the company separated highly delighted with
the intellectual enjoynient, as well as the festivities
of the evening.