POSTSCRIPT.
SATURDAY.
The festive gathering in the Guildhall last night to inaugurate the reign of Lord Mayor Salomons was attended by several Cabinet-Minis- ters, Diplomatic representatives—the AmeriCan Minister conspicuously absent—Members of Parliament, military men, and of course civic no- tables. The decorations of the ball were nearly all military,—portraits of the Allied Sovereigns, of the eminent soldiers and sailors who have taken a leading part in the war, the banners of the Allies, and trophies of aims. The Press was also distinguished: a transparency represented a figure, supposed to be Liberty or Truth, pointing to the printing-press, With the motto " Magna est veritas,' et praavidebit." Of the speeches after dinner, that of M. De Persigny on behalf of the- Emperor of the French, and that of-Lord Palmerston for himself and colleagues, were the'more remarkable. M. Be Persigny called to mind how, thirty-five years ago, Napoleon the First regretted that he could not vanquish the prejudices. of the two. peoples-
" What great things we could have done together !" Well; those great:: things are now in progress of accomplishment. The Queen of England has visited the tomb of Napoleon ; the two peoples are united the alliance, re- posing. on the interest of both, is beyond the reach of intrigues. And whew we think that this alliance of two countries.. the one especially maritime,. the other especially military, constitutes the greatest power that ever ex- isted, we can wait with perfect security the issue of the war. Lord -Palmerston's speech, after acknowledging the toast and its flatter- ing-reception, proceeded as follows-
" It must always be most gratifying to those who are honoured with the confidence of the Crown to be entertained at the-hospitable board of theChief Magistrate of this great-city. Those persons who are charged 'with the conk i duct of public affairs must indeed be inadequate to-the performance of the duties which devolve upon them, if they are insensible to the value of that - gteat principle of commercial enterprise which, I may say, is consecrated by those who sit within these walls. That commercial enterprise is one of they main foundations of the greatness and the power of nations. In peace the enterprise of commerce diffuses civilization ; it promotes the intercourse of nations; it throws down the barrierewhich separate.people:from people ; and tends to unite mankind in the bonds of common brotherhood. When war, unfortunately, happens—as in the course of humawevents we must expect that it sometimes will—commerce furnishes those means-by which war can be successfully carried on in such a manner as to insure a safe and liononrable-and lasting peace. It must, my Lord Mayor and gentlemen, be deemed at all times by lnghminded men one of the noblest positions to which an individual can-aspire to be charged with the conduct of the affairs of a great nation like this. But if ever there was a moment when those who are charged with such a duty may feel peculiarly proud of the honour conferred upon them, and also peculiarly sensitive as to the deep responsi- bility which that honourable charge imposes, the present moment is beyond- question the greatest that ever, perhaps, was in the memory of man ; for never did a nation present a nobler spectacle to the world than does the British nation at this time. We have entered into a great contest, not rashly, not hastily, not with levity, but upon full and-mature deliberation. We have entered into that contest because we felt that-the war was neces- sary as well as just; and this nation evinces, from one end of the country to the other, a steady, a calm, but a deliberate determination to submit to every sacrifice which the conduct of the war may entail, to show itself equal to every exertion which the prosecution of that war may require, to exhibit the utmost constancy in carrying on the struggle, and to continue its sacrifices and its exertions until peace shall be obtained on conditions such as we may he entitled to demand. (Loud cheers.) "We have _present upon this occasion, gentlemen, the representatives of those three allies with whom we are bound in the enterprise which we have undertaken. We have at this board the Ambassador of the Emperor of the. French,—that great ally, who,. I must do him the justice and honour to say, has, by the magnanimity of his mind, by his far-seeing perception; and by the honesty and single-mindedness of his 'policy, cemented a union between two nations which have too long been divided by jealousies and mistrust, but which, I hope, will from this period, in the-words of my noble friend the French Ambassador, for ever continue to be intimate and confiding friends. We have also at this board the representative of the Sultan, in whose cause we have thrown ourselves into this war, and whose subjects have nobly shown that they were worthy of the assistance which we have afforded them. We have, too, the representative of the King of Sardinia-- a Sovereign whose character and the-conduct of whose people excite the warmest sympathies throughout this country, and whose good faith inspires- our most implicit confidence. I trust that these representatives of our allies, let them go where they will through the length and breadth of the land, will see nothing and will hear nothing but what will enable them to report to their respective Sovereigns, that, while we place the utmost confidence and reliance upon the constancy with which they will support us in the war in which we are engaged, they may rely with equally implicit confidence upon the determination of the people of this great country : and no man can doubt that when these font 'Powers are earnest in a cause—When they have drawn:. the sword with a full determination not to sheath it until they have accom- plished their purpose—(Loud cheers)—no human efforts opposed to their will can be successful in marring their exertions." (Renewed cheers.) [The language of this speech did not strike us as very remarkable fro& Lord Palmerston ; but the Times says of it- " Yesterday's was literally a warlike demonstration. It was perfectly spontaneous; unofficial, and unprofessional. It was much more. It was by persons who will-themselves have to bear in a very onerous degree the costs of the war—whose trade it interrupts—whose income it diminishes—and who also know best how far the resources of the empire will stand the drain of a protracted and almost ubiquitous war. Yet these persons—many more than a thousand—thus deeply concerned, thus intelligent, thus abso- lutely independent, echoed to the roof about as uncompromising a speech as ever came from a British- Premier. The illustrious statesman who half a century ago was carrying on another war of European dimensions, and whose statue overlooked yesterday's festivities, never threw himself into the cause so absolutely, never appealed with so little reserve to the ardent patriot- ism of the country, as Lord Palmerston did last night."] Almost the last incident in the banquet-hall was uncourteous, but sig- nificant. When the Lord Mayor proposed " the House of Commons," be coupled with it the name of Lord John Russell ; but when Lord John rose to reply, the hisses so far overpowered the cheers, that what he-said' was inaudible except to the few near him.
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