The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-07-04
. SIR JOHN TENNIEL.
CHO1TE'S ENTER
 TANNING REMARKS
At the Banquet to Punch's Veteran
 CartOonist

s <AS sAAc ANhIAe1 eo
 Cartoonist.
 A public banquet was given June 18th at the Whitehall rooms, Hotel Metro pole, to Sir John Tenniel in recognition
 of his lifelong work as an artist and \ political cartoonist so widely and hon. orably known through the pages of Punch. The company present at the banquet, numbering about two hundred ' in all, included some of the most rep ( resentative and distinguished names in politics, literature, science and art. MT. Arthur Balfour, the first lord of the treasury, presided, and gave the health of the guest of the evening.
 The toast was drunk with enthusi- \ asm, and three cheers were given for z Sir John Tenniel.
 Sir John Tenniel, who was loudly cheered, in responding to the toast, said: ''If any answer were needed or { example, I should say, to prove the | truth of the old adage that some have greatness thrust upon them, none l think could be more convincing than that which my presence at this partic- ular time affords, and which the tre- WIItIlQOuS IeCCplI6lIl WHICH Has luSl ptCii Aaccorded me so unmistakably confirms. AWhat I have done that this amazing %honor should be thrust upon me, and Ehy I should be here at all, altogether Masses my feeble imagination to dis Mover. Unhappily I have no gift ot Ykords; have never addressed, or at x Empted to address, (At this point .aylir John Tenniel paused for few mo- rnents, exhibiting signs of strong emo < tion, and this little interval of silence was received with every mark of sym < pathy by his audience, who renewed the cheers with which they had greet ed his rising.) Resuming, he said: X s"Anything that might attempt to say X would not in the least degree express my feelings, and I am afraid l can only express my very heartfelt thanks \ The audience then rose, again gave I three enthusiastic cheers for their l guest, and sang For he's jolly good < fellow"
 MT. Choate proposed the toast of lssIiterature and Art" coupled with the names of Mr. Birrell and MT. Briton f2iyiere. He said that Sir John Ten nfel's modesty was only equaled by his ' IQoGlL, dI1Q lIt uilutlCle'A X which he had exhibited to them, he was sure, had appealed to their hearts much more effectively than if he could nave
 spoken at learned length and lumber
 Ng sound. He rose not to make
 eech. but to provoke speeches from
 10 other unfortunate gentlemen. The
 aasant duty had been intrusted to
 trn of proposing the toast of art and
 erature. at whose common shrine Sir
 hn Tenniel had spent the best ener-
 es of his life for the last fifty years,
 5 whose devotees were equally his
 airers the world over. The toast Of
 kerature', would be professed to by
 ASAugustine Birrell, who professed
 Ss3 xire that whatever he might say { Apass as mere obiter dicta, al-
 his judgments on literature
 we're always accepted as final. They owed a debt of gratitude to MT. Briton
 Riviere. the learned Academician who would respond for "Art," for consent ilil1g at the last moment to take the place of the distinguished president of lthe Royal Academy, Sir P. Poynter, who was detained by illness. Now he might sit down, but he was unwilling f 10 GO so, TOT le NlSllCtt to C<NPASNS iti NS flew words his admiration for the gen. lius of their distinguished guest, gen. ] 0ius which belonged to no single conti- nent, and could be appropriated by no { single nation. Wherever the English -1anguage was spoken, wherever men and women gathered together who were Interested, either as friends or foes, in what was going on In England and the British empire, the name of Sir John Tenniel was a household word and his work a cherished possession
 A No wonder that there were to be ,foundI on the committee the names of tea>yf1any of the leading gentlemen of 9England Especially it was not to be Wondered at that the statesmen bowed Tat his shrine. for had he not for the last Affty years been keeping a school for statesmen? It was a school of morals ' virtues, manners discipline, politics and principle. He had heard of distin- 4 cuished statesmen who never read the newspapers. (Mr. Balfour, amid laughter, expressed dissent.) Their learned chairman said that he had nev- CT heard of such a statesman. When \ he said that what tribute he paid to SA[HG RuGSI Ol lIlt CNChiiist %'AiN " IiiN
 ceelky journal in which his work had
 Agured for the last fifty years! For
 How they saw where one who never fead the daily journals gathered the in fspiration, the knowledge, the sympa- lthy. the information, and the princi- ples which enabled him not only to lead rthe House of Commons, but to lead vic- < toriously the public opinion of England
 No daily journal might cross his z Threshold, but they knew now why he had an electric light at the head of his bed. what was the paper by which he
 nut himself to sleep. He really < thought Sir John had not realized until he cylme there how much he had been 8 dofng for England down to that day.
 Let them think what he had done for the last fifty years. In those fifty vol s suYnes were contained the biography ot the famous men in the world. and it was Interesting to see how from decade to decade he had cultivated and devel- oped the statesmen whom he had taken fin hand in budding youth and led an to triumph and fame. It was said on good Biblical authority that the hairs of a statesmans head are all num- hered. Nobody knew it better than Sir Holm Tenniel, who took a blushing
 ,,<,s,, oboekad ambitions youth by the