New-York tribune., 1879-11-27
A GRAND BANQUET TO Mr.. sALA.

BRILLIANT COMPAN1-fACEILENI cfLLOHHN
Mr.. sALA SPEAKS OF HIS LABoRs AND RE-
WARDS.
[FRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRIBUSE.l
LONDON, Nov. IL" For five aud twenty years,
said he &" have been reviied-until week before
last-by The Saturday Rcrier. For five and twenty
years have been ignored-until week before last
by The IimesD The speaker was Mr. George Angus
tns Sala. The occasion was a farewell dinner given
Mr.. Sala by u number of friends the eve OF his
departure for that Winter visit 20 the United states
which men ntiOned to you IN previous letter.
shall ven uro 10 suppose that yOu VIII think none
the worse of Mir. >aa for having been revied by
the first-namcd periodical. 1t is fate which beiel
him in common with most of those among
our own ginning with Abraham
LincOn-whOm We hold in most honor, and
with a very large number, indeed. OF those
EnglIshmen for whom we have the highest respect
and regard. A for the neglect of The Times. that Is
expicable on several grounds one OF which NAV be
the curious disposition of that journal TO ignore the
existence OF all other journals; andby inference. OF
those who contribute 10 them. As no such jealousy
exists IN America. where every newspaper makes
point of exnting It's rivals have the less hesitation
in saving that this particular motive If il did really
exist, for turning the cold shoulder 90 Mr. SalJ,
seems to NE a very unworthy one. Putting all
speculations OF that sort aside. there can be no
doubt that the sudden outhurst of applause be-
slowed on Paris Herself Again which Mir. sala
puts with MS wOnted point. does symbolic
change OF opinion about hun in more quarters
than one. 1t would be nonsense 20 say
that he has not been known and much admired for
a long tme past. But II Is also true thar Of late
years Mr. Sala's extraordinary gifts and the unqne
merit of much of his work, have won recognition
from a much wider audience than formerly The
strictly anonymous character Of his services to the
journal he is identified with has been rgidly kept
up by the propretors of that journal. But II has
gradually become known TO steadily increasing
circle of readers that the contributions they most
cared tor IN The Daily Telegraph the contribu-
tons of lir. sala
So that il the dinner o. last night had been in any
sense a public dinner. don't doubt there would
have been a great eagcrness TO attend he part
Of many persons ~ whom Mr.. Sala personally is
known. The gentlemen who arranged IT, following
Mr.. Sal's wishes. gave it a strictly private char
actcr and believe nobody present who was
not his personal acquaintance; IN most cases his
friend OF long standing. Even with this limitation,
the LIST of fifty names as originally proposed
sweled 10 near eighty. and the demonstration be-
came TO a great extent "a representative one. Per
haps the majority OF the men best known in Lon
don journalism were present No report was per
mtted; none appears IN the English papers but
there Is a difference between report and account.
and 1 obtained leave to say what l thought proper
about the proceedings. Ny account Will not remind
you the least of the description of that gorgeous
feast at the Guildhall on Monday, where scores Of
great peTsonages with ancient titles sparkled down
the page. NJ. Sala is sufficiently at home IN thai
gltterng world, would be if he cared for il, but
the men whom he preferred To see around him were
mostly of his own profession and way OF lie.
The peerage had. 10 be sure, delegate, IN a colat
eral way In the person of Lord Alfred Payet and
sir GeorSe Elliott. the well-knOwn baronet and NJ
z. of Durham County. was there. In the same
category might be named the bon. Frank Lawley,
whose aIlstocratic lineage makes him none the less
one of the gifted journalists OF the day. But
in no respect did TINS dinner differ from ordinary
dinners at WIliss except in the serene indifference
shown TO mere rank and title. Rank did not shut a
man out but neither was 1t claim tn admission.
The chairman Of the evening was of
MIR. Saa's Oldest friends Mr.. Edmund Yates. There
was no attempt TO marshal the company. People
SAT down with such neghbors they liked. OF as
chance ordained. | had on one side DR.. Mackelar
a surgeon whose ambulance work in the Russo
Turkish war gave him a name and on the other,
Mr.. George Lewis, the most celebrated Of London
solicitors, a man whose professional gifts and
pos ton are alike of the rarcst. Opposite sat Mr..
Archibald Forbes of whom not word need be sad.
and next him Mr. Henty. one of the best among his
colleagues in the field. As you looked round the
table You saw everywhere men who are ornaments
of journalism. and only less known to the world
outside of IL because they content to put their
knowledge abilities, industry aud exceptional capac-
ity OF all kinds at the of the public with
ont thought OF public gratitude. / need not go over
the catalogue. Many of the names would be to You
names merely. But il may be said that # any mis-
chance had befallen that assemblage. London jour
nallsm would have cut a singular figure for some
time 10 come. The public which takes IL all
much a. a matter of course, would have found that
the articles winch they read with snch polite ndf-
ference as TO their authorship do not exactly write
themselves.
Between this and tine usual public dinner there
wss another and even more striking point of differ
ence The speaking was excellent. / don't know
when have heard so many good cOnviyIal speeches
IN a single evening. III several evenings. Mr.
Edmund Yates has long been known as "A good
speaker and here be IN his element. Mr. Forbes
was not less In his IN discussing war correspon-
dence and denounclng the rules by which Indian
uthoIities have lately nsulted all correspondents
in the field. II Mr.. Forbes right. the Horse
Guards mean to apply similar rules TO all British
forces; knowing they rules to which no man
with any self-respect will submit. speech by Mr
Comyns Carr on Art Criticism. and another by Mr.
LabOuchere IN proposing the chairman's health,
were alike remarkable for wit and aptness and tine
ease Of manner ana tone OF good fellowship with
ont which the most eloquent harangue goes for
nothing on such an occasion. Mr.. sam Ward said
few pleasant words III his pleasant way in behalf
of foreign journalism.
Mr. Saia himself ranks among the very first after
dinner speakers in England. l should put him
quite on a level with the late MT. Dickens who. IN
his time. reckoned perhaps the best, with whom
Mr. Saia has other fine traits IN common. lie gave
rs last night brief retrospect of his own career,
winch was simply masterpiece of biography