tribe fit cteop oils.

The dinner to Mr. 13yug in 1)rury Lane Theatre was a splendid spectacle, in its way. On Wednesday evening, a multitude, including more than 150 Members of Parliament, assembled to do honour to the representative of Middlesex tor half a century. 'Ile pit of the theatre was hoarded over level with the stage ; and on this immense area the banquet-tables were spread. The boxes were filled with ladies, many of them displaying Mx. 13yng's eleetioneering colours ; the music, under

the direction cif the Gresham Professor, was .excellent ; the dinner of unusually good quality ; the theatre elegantly decorated ; every seat occupied ; and the party in excellent humour.

Soon after six o'clock, Mr. 13saig entered, leaning on the arm of the Chairman, Lord James Fox Russell and followed by the Duke of Bedford, Lord Holland, Lord Albemarle, and Mr. (S'avemlish. Among the other persons of distinction or notoriety, were the Earls of Rose- berry, Zetland, and Erroll, Lords Stideley, ("annoys, Shelburne, llowick, John Russell, Worsley, and Godolphin, Sirs Hussey Vivian, John Seale, Lytton Ilulwer, B. Hall, J. Guest, 'P. Troubridge, and De Lacy Evans, Messrs. Ellice, Shell, Millie, Duncombe, Gisborne, Banner- man, Thornely, Ewart, Collins, Strutt, Waklev,

The loyal toasts having been drunk, Lord Marcus lull read a letter from the Duke of Sussex, written by his Royal Highness's own hand, notwithstanding his difficulty of eyesight.

" Kensilestou Palace, Wedne:ilay. March 11, 1840. " My dear I,ord—Most willingly would. 1 iteceile ?o the wishes of the stewards who are charged with conductittg the clitiner proposed to be given this tlay to my old friend Byttg, as communicated h■ you to me, were I abh. " The uninterropted public ;col prison. sr % ices that honor:rabic gentleman Itas retith.red to this coatitry ity a fa:tidal di.char4e or hi •daty for the county of Middlesex doting the period of hall a ,ettlary, 1.,,r i,reniunstration of gratitude

not only Irmo Ids e■ndintelit- bot iikew nom ev,o yii.t Ie,!otit, and most par-

ticularly nolo e‘ er■ adl,,,,ate o!'uv ., l'he i,ianly and lemon! nanisite; ma,iter w has stood forth not tmly to ustistsoi nieee prineiples in time. of difficulty aud of 1,, rAttial danger, but also to summit other ellampim.: of the uf their country fluting the struggle, demand She approbotiolt i t•st'ly leate.t man. " Long may he live to t f, soil (Abut of those 11. noars whielt, no doubt, will be showered Neal him this day. They will prove not ie r,,ti Mg to his friends and

admirers than to himself.

" To have contributed by hi: own vote and personal excltions towards the repeal of

the Test and Corpor;ithin Acts; to Noe tvi.d.,teist in expunging front the statute.book the penal laws tometed ;I:tain:t her Nlaiesty's yttl Boman (little,tie subjects; to have :tilled ia carrying out the Retinal, Bill, r,'i 1,151; the rcpreseumti-51 ii, atliatnent ; to have voted for the abolition of the East bath ii.; oils t note ;1 have stippura41 the act for emancipating the black population of om ii 1,551's; and 'l■ ill gut Mg his UM; and personal +Mead:owe to countenance every plan tool propos.11 lit ing tor its object the Deneral and gradual ham..s cobtl`r■ and the eon' email y ;t1. ;urge. besides his eon:dant and nominee:it emthileatioasit, ut uf every ch,rdaltie and benevolent in. stitution not mil) in th..•coatity.•r:MbhIlc,..ex bet threugheat laud. ,hiehropo,e,, to relieve the pum. and the anbeted. as Vases, Ise luadvaure the intelligence, to encourage the moral habits, and to printed.. the industrious exertions or the lower orders of society; these are 1,1,till:r 1.1sligationi which Mr. ltsng has conferred upon the British tuition, and for which shot 1/Ptel" repay hint. " When toy 'honourable friend lo, ks beck upon these eventful and interesting occur- lenees, which I site e thus hasti'y traced, he will has e the satisfaction to fluid and to know that his time has been well .1.■od. Ilat he will leave in gruel [suite behind him, espc,ted isis,, sittuons and g.ad ssh ill bold 11:11111! of Ityng to his (Whiten as a bri4Itt example or a true patriot kr them mot poderit> to imitate. " All this I 'sunlit have :40.11 :nal nowt, IsIs,' it. rs• 1 present, 'Is I lose, respect, and admire the 0111 English gentietoan. th.• 1.If his public as itch his private character; but tinfortimatcly, at 11.1, ■ ear, I am forced to avoid exposing myselito the ea,terly %%Iticli ■...!.y prc.iinroial to my lo,itidt. Under these ciretint,tances, theretore, you will tin.. Itt:. dear bud, b■ iniiiIIlig toy apology to the t...!,,ards, while ex1.:aittio4 the of lay ab-ence. mat Is:, es pr,ssing likewise tiny rust to Mr. it or Slit, e ting 'ay old friend's welcome. m.companied sill, that dole 'id tati,41 of Inv.', gi al i I side, and esteem, valid; lay so richt!. 11,,P111..S, :11111 tt 111,11, 141,114, ht. will revoke nom the noble and highly•respvetal,:e compaity con4rei4ateil Olt 1110 ots.,1011. " Pray assure him ot all this, is lihow1, iii friends:a-1mi! ell to the lestival, that I am 'mart and :,,,t11 sill, 111,11i ilt thy 1,1.1.0. they are b■ cids.:u ate.

" Believe no., my deor Lord, Nt ith i:reot ,,itiverity, your truly attached, 8.:e.

" F. Atiousses."

Many speeches were delivered--most of them about Mr. Byng. We select a few passages front the best. Chairman acquitted himself extremely well. His compliments to the guest of the evening were w.:II-turned. For instance- om the " I wish now to give you an account of any stewardship; and, fr number of years in which its duties have been discharged by me, you expect expect a very long account ; but it shall, I promise you, gentlemen, be very short, because it has been consistent, and it has been faithful. The first nil of my principles after I had the honour of being elected by you, after

was occasioned by that stupendous, by that unexpected event, the French re. volution. That to me was a triumph of principle and of feeling. I was found engaged in it when very young. I was by its means separated from nine. tenths of my party ; I was separated from those wino a few years before acted t with me in all political meetings. I found that the gentleman who had pre. Posed me and the gentleman who had seconded me—that all my nearest and dearest friends—stood aloof; and the only man of weight and character who then stood by my side was one who bears the same name as our worthy ehas, man—it was Francis Duke of Bedford. When I acted with hum, I felt a per. feet confidence that I was right ; and not only that I was right, but that lwas standing on the true principles of the constitution. In the House of Cont. mons nine-tenths of our party left us; so much so, that I remember Mr. sneeringly telling us that we might all go home in two hackney-coachea (Laughter.) But, gentlemen, he did us an injustice, because we could have filled four hackney-coaches. (Laughter.) That, gentlemen, was an event which led to any inffinate and invariable attachment to Mr. Fox. Gentlemen I have lived very little in private society ; but this I can say, from my eepe: rienee through the whole of my life, that I ant convinced that of all the human beings that I ever had or I ever have known, thatFmoxan shitios Ilvo.avseda huisnifveellrBoawi creatures more than any other was Charles James love to all and for all ; no matter what might be their rank, or what their de. scription—black or white—he regarded aft- as his fellow creatures, and for all he felt most deeply interested. Therefore it is that, during the whole of my life, it was most gratifying to me to know how much I loved hhn; because I am certain that when I could think thus affectionately of him, I must at the same time feel convinced that I must have some good in me to have loved se good in man. After that great event had begun, and for many years afterwards, people were put into such alarm respecting it, that the very name of liberty ceased to be matter of regard in England, event if there was not open opposition to it. I found, indeed, int that time so much alarm amongst all, that they were taking shelter, some in office, some in governorships, und others in baroneteies. (Lavghter and cheers.) But other interesting events happened afterwards— namely, Parliamentmy Reform was brought forward by My friend Charles Grey ; and who, much to his honour, when he was in office, brought forward very nearly the same plan which Inc had proposed twenty-six years before. That plan of reform altered the constitution of this country ; but much still remains behind. We must amend that bill, particularly as regards the registra- tion, and other parts also. It is most necessary- that there should be an exten- sion of education to all sects indifferently; to all sects without distinction. 'With education we may certainly, and with the greatest propriety and safety, as well as with the greatest justice, extend the right of voting."

The Duke of Bedford, in proposing " The People, the source of le. gitimate power," said-

" 1 for one can never forget the impression of those early days, in which I ever found my honourable friend vindicating the cause of the people ; nor can I efface front my remembrance the many years I found hum in the House of Commons promoting the same principles which captivated me as ahoy. How- ever, gentlemen, our private feelings have little to do with the toast which I have the honour to propose, except that the man whom we have met to honour Inns ever supported faithfully, honestly, and vigilantly the freedom of the people, and the full and equal participation of civil rights. I now propose to you "The People :' and though such a meeting as this will ever manifest loyalty and attachment to the Throne, we can eever forget that it is equally our duty to reverence the libertiossof the people, who constitute the foundation of the greatness, the strength, and security ot the state."

Mr. Gisborne turned his back to the reporters, and was almoit inau- dible, when proposing the health of Ministers.

Lord John Russell, whom this toast called up, said he would not at- tempt to give an account of the principles of the Administration to which he belonged— In their daily battles they were obliged to expose their principles ; and they readily put them to the test of public opinion, because they believed them to be true. There were some things which arose in the daily conflict of public life which quickly vanished from the memory, but which were useful to recall, as they showed how past fears haul been dissipated and difficulties lessened for the future. They should recollect that when Mr. Grey brought forward his mea- sure for Parliamentary Reform, lie was answered that it would destroy the Monarchy; when Mr. Fox opposed the inroads on our constitution, it was said that the constitution of Parliament could not be preserved mdess measures were passed contrary to the spirit of that constitution; and when a proposi- tion was made for according freedom and justice to the Protestant Dissenters and Roman Catholics, it was declared to be hnpmcticable to bind such reli- gionists to the constitution. Let us recollect, too, that when an attempt WAS made to put an end to the dreadful cruelties of the Slave-trade, it was said that our Colonies could not otherwise be preserved; mid the trite argument urged against the mitigation, and ultimately the termination of slavery was, that the Black population was incapable of moral or religious culture. He alluded to these opinions not as those professed by the present company, but as advocated by men who would now be ashamed to acknowledge them. It had been the fate of Ministers, partly as members of the Government and partly as members of the Opposition, to see those principles for which Mr. Fox was the enlight- ened and determined advocate, accompanied by Lord Grey, and by none more steadily and consistently than Mr. Byng, carried into effect.

Mr. Sheil gave " Equal laws and equal justice through all parts of the British empire ;" which he considered most apposite to the present gathering of his fellow citizens round the " Nestor of Reform"— " For more than half a hundred years George Byng has of equal laws and equal justice throughout all parts of the British empire been the inflexdde

advocate. lie devoted himself to the accomplishment of that noble principle which regarded the British Constitution as one vast level, which denounced all sectarian and all provincial distinctions, and which has all the advantages of which British citizenship is susceptible, and which regards the profeasor of every creed, born in these our glorious islands, as equal and noble partici- pator. You have been told that he united himself, at a period now indeed remote, with that band of virtuous statesmen of whom Charles Fox was the lender—of those men who struggled with difficulties which noue but them- selves thought they could surmount, bqt who never &Item' in their devoted adherence to that principle which I adventure this night to proclaim to you, and which has been observed by your illustrious guest—the principle of ca. lightened freedom. In the truth of that principle they had an unshaken faith. They pursued it through the desert ; and though they did not themselves reach the land of promise, they beheld it front afar, and Ima the moral assurance that in the end that promised land would be reached by those who followed them, though they themselves should not be destined to attain it—a land to which they, through the dark and dreary path, had led the way. Fox, and Grattan, and Whitbread, and Romilly, are gone. They had not lived to see what they anticipated with so just a confidence, and what they so ardently desired ; but they left behind them one who participated in their liberality, and

who shared in their attachments. To survive the friends of youth and the companions of manhood—to walk in Westminster Abbey and see so many

graves, in awhich the dust of great and honoured associates of early life is gathered—Is accompanied with a mournfulness joined not unfittingly with a

sentiment of graceful consciousness, at having lived to see the day of realiza-

tion of those principles which their generous natures anticipated. Yes, old Ana venerable mail, at was worth while to live so long. It was worth while to see the victories of freedom' the triumph of sacred right, and above all the triumph of equal justice—that equal justice which has been conceded to those millions of my countrymen by whom I pledge myself the services of the honourable Member for Middlesex are justly appreciated."

He answered for the loyalty of Ireland—

Loyalty is fixed in our hearts, in which you will ever find a great moral fortress; and if the world should be rallied in arms against you, assisted bv it

you would be impregnable to all assaults. This great change, for change ii is, from a state of thraldom and dismay to peace, to equal justice and equal laws, you owe to the Government by whom you are now controlled, and to the Sove-

reign, who, young as she is, has grasped the sceptre with a firm and tolerating baud, and who has the wisdom to think, and the virtue to feel, that in equel laws and in justice the glory of her empire and the security of her throne are most deeply founded. To her is the loyalty of affection awarded ; nay, there

h not throughout my country a heart that would not throb in concurrence with my own in the aspiration, 'May God Almighty bless her!' (Much cheering.) May every happiness that can befall her as a Queen be hers. With

that happiness may there he associated the more tender felicity by which a wo- man and a wife can be blessed. And let me be permitted to add another prayer

_may we, before another year of her salutary and glorious reign shall elapse, behold her bright and beaming with maternal eestacy. ' (Prolonged cheering.) The other speakers were Mr. Warburton, Dr. Lushiugton, Lord Howick, and Mr. S. Whitbread.

The Chairman proposed "Mrs. Byng and the Ladies" after the other toasts had been exhausted. Mrs. Byng came forward, and bowed grace- fully from the stage-box. Mr. Byng soon afterwards departed, with Lord Holland ; and the company broke up.