IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) W 5? / fe t^'^ Ux f/^ 1.0 I.I n^ II 2.2 liS III 2.0 III 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -• 6 - ► pm <9^ % r <§ V Ph()iogrcii)hic Sc:ienc:es Corjxinition 4^ 1. "^ «- #N V \^ '^>i J3 WIST WiBSTf I 716 MAIN STRfET R N Y I4SS0 $77 4J03 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Ins te for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques I. (6)1987 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliogr?phiques The Institu-e has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy vvhich may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are chocked below. L'Irstitut a microfilme le meilleur exempl^ire qu'il lui a ete possible de se procurer. Les details de CGt exemplaire qui sont peut-^tre uniques du point de vu( biblioqraphique. qui peuvent modifier une image f produite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modiflcatioi dans Ij m^thode normale de filmage sont indiqu 5 ci-dessous. □ D D □ □ n Coloured covers/ Couverture de coulaur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagee Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurAe et/ou pelliculAe Cover titl« missing/ Le titre de couvorture marque Coloured maps/ Cartes gAographiques en couleur Coloured ink li e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur lie. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustr.Larquis of Lorne, M.P. Henry Lowe. High ^L\CKARLANE. Charles AL\ckav, LL.D. H. Denistown Mackay. T. G. Mackay. T. ^L Mackay. C. L. ^L\DSON. CaPF. L. B. MACKINNON, R.N., M.V. Robt.Mallet,F.R.S.,M.LC.E. Theodore >L\rtin. Q)L. Martixdale. Sir John Heron Maxwell, Bart. Mr. Sheriff McArthur. Justin McCarthy. J. R. McClfvn, CE. Alexander McEwen. R. McEwEN Donald McIntyre. George McMixn. Adm. Archibald McMurdo. Capt.W. R. Mends, R.N.,C.B. W.M. Paul Metchim. Wm. Paul Metchim, Jun. Charles Hexry Mills. \'icE - Admiral Sir Alex- ANiMK Milne, K.C.B. \'iscount Milton, M.l'. Clement Milward. Junius Spencer Morgan. Capf. Moriarty, R.N,, C.B. John Morison. The Earl of Morley. Charles Morrison. W. Morrison, M.P. The Hon. Freeman H.Morse. Levi P. Morton. Benj. Moran. J, Pierrepoint Morgan. Edward Moseley. . Thomas Moseley. Alexander Mosses. J. MUIR. Sir Roderick J. Murchison, Bart., K.B. Col. Murray, R.E. Col. D. D. Muter. Capt. Gerard Napier, R.N. William Np:wmarch, F.R.S. Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart. The Rt. Hon. Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart., M.P. A. H. Novell!. Joshua Nunn, D.C, U.S.A. Henry O'Neil, R.A. Victor Oppenheim. Capt. Orlep.ar, R.N. Capt. Sherard Osborn, R.N., C.B. The Rt. Hon. Sir John Pakington, IJart., M.P. John Palmer. |. C. Parkinson. Mr. Serjeant Parry. James Pagan. William Pati:rs()N. John Paitekson. 9 Henry Pawle. Charles Lennox Peel. John Pender. John Penn, F.R.S. Henry Davis Pochin. G. V. Poore, M.D. T. B. Potter, M.P. Capt. Preedy, R.N., C.B. R. QUAIN. The Rt. Hon. Earl Russell, K.G., F.R.S. W. Prayer Ral. Lachlan Mackintosh Rate. Wm. Rathbone. C. E. Rawlins, Jun. Philip Rawson. J. C. Rees. G. J. Graystone Reid. John Reid. Peter Reid. Dr. Russell Reynolds. Julius Reuter. Capt. H. G. Richards, R.N., F.R.S. J. E. Ritchie. C. F. Rogers, j. r. rolinson. The Hon. John Rose. Philip Rose C. S. R(jundell, F.R.G.S. Martin D. Rucker. Wm. Ruikie. W. H. Russell, LL.D. Earl of Shaftesiurv, K.G. Col. Henry Salwey. Colonel Sanson. F. G. .Sar(;ooi). Clement Satterthwaite. E. F. .SATTFk7HWAITE. VVALI FR SaVILL. GfoR(;f S award. Henry .Sawle. E. \V. Schenley. William Freer Scholfield. R. T. C. Scott, M.D. W. Shuter. Sir James K. Shuttleworth, Bart., F.R G.S. A. J. Kay Shuttleworth. C. W. Siemens. S. W. Silver. Charles B. Skinner. H. M. Simons. G. W. Smalley. GoLDwiN Smith, M.A. H. Lee Smith. J. B. Smith, M.P. James E. Smith. John Smith. William H. Smith. W^illoughby Smtth. Henry Spencer Smytk. Thos. Sopwith, F.R.S. Markham Spofforth. TheHon.E.Lyulph Stanley James Stansfeld, M.P. Thomas Stephens, Junr. William Alfred Stephens. Sir R. Macdonald Stephen- son, F.R.G.S. James Stern. Mr. Steppin. Henry Stevens, G.M.B., F.S.A., F.R.G.S. William Strang. Charles W. Stronge. Chas. Stuart. Richard Stuart. Thomas Sutherland. Baron Herman de Stern. John Taylor. A. M . Tapp. 10 p. A. Tavi.ok, M.P. James Tkmi i.k. VV. Thomson. Sir Henry Tiiompson. William Thewsin. C. J. TllRUPP. Alexander Tod. Gen. Sir H. Tombs. W. T. McCullagh Torrens, M.P. J. HERI'.ERT Tritton. EdwlvT. Truman, M.R.C.S. Hon. Chas. •^lpper, C.B. W. H. Trounson. J. H. Turner. JOK'N TV.NDALL, LL.D., F.R.bi. N. R. Vail. Cromwell F. Vari.ev, C.J:., M.R.I. John "A'alter. J. B. Walter. Capt. Walker. E. W. Waikin, .M.P. Frank Wakekiej.d. Ur. Ward. Charles F. Walker. H. Weaver. E. B. WEiin, C.E. Lewis Wells. Thomas H. Wells. Thomas Westall. Proeessor Sir Charles Wheatstone. LL.I). E. O. W. Whitehouse. Henrv Wickoee. John Wicke.ns. CiiLiiERT Wilkes. John Wilkes. •\. C. Wilson. Riuhaki) Wiihers. James Woi.ee. Pamcn Wri(;ht. (^.EOKCI WviHES. Mr. WvAir. Capt. Ali r\ Young., R.N.R. JAS. A. VuLL. }":XECUTI\I': COMMITTEE. ClIAKl ES Bl KT. KoLlkr |)( Dl W. J. W Br^HiiV. Capiain Shikxkd o.miorn, I". \\ . Chi sxtN. R.N.. C.B. W. I'oiiiERGiLL CooKi:. I'liiiip Ko-r. Capi. I)oui;las (i \Lii)\, C.l!., Till Hon. i:.\.\ i i in Si \\i i v R.E. SIR JA.ME.S .\M)i: K.S(;.\, J /on. Siif,/,uj\ BANQUET TO CYRUS W. FIELD, Esq. A grand banquet was given on Wednesday, ist of July, 1868, at Willis's Rooms, St. James's, London, to Cyrus W. Field, Esq., of New York, '• as an acknowledgment of the eminent ser\-ices he has reiideretl to the Nlw and Old World by his devotion to the interests of Atlantic Telegraphy, through circumstances of i)rotracted difficulty and doubt." His C.nicc the Duke of Arcvij,, K T., presided. Upwanls of throe hundred of the gendemen whose names appear in the Committee of Invitation sat down to dinner. The pro- ceedings were also graced 1)\ c presence of the following ladies:— Mrs. Cyrus W. Field, Miss Fanny (1. Field, and Miss Jeanic L. Field (lie wife, daughter, and niece respec- tively of the distinguished guest), Lady Charlotte Lo< ker, Lady Anderson, Lac.y (Ilass, Lady Milne, Mrs. Jacob Bright, Mrs. J. Humfreys Parry, Mrs. J. L.O. Sullivan, Miss Sullivan, Mrs. J. H. Lloyd, Mrs !••. H. Morse, Miss Clara Francis Morse. Mrs. Sdioltield, Mrs. Satterthwaite, Mrs. Fuller, I^Irs. Newnuudi, Miss Newniarc h. Mrs. Robert Dudley, Miss Is.il)el!i .Ma(k,iv. .Miss Jennie M.u kay, Mis-, Cillon, Mr. R.ilpli i;iliot. Miss I.Knd. Mrs. Win. i.v.ms, Mrs. Albert liiei-t.idt, Mrs. Stebbms. Mrs. I . Muter. Miss(;rant, Mis-, Hip|iis!(y. .Miss Jeauio .Andeison. Owuig to the 12 numbers jjrc ;ont many of ffie guests were at commodated in an adjoining apartment. The baiK^ueting hall was tastefully decorated with the rational flags of England and the United States. The band of the Coldstream Guards, under the direction of Mr. Frederick Godfrey, the bandmaster, i)layed during the evening an appropriate selection of English and American music. A telegraphic apparatus, in direct communication with Valentia, and supplied with one of Siemens' ink writers, was fitted up under tb.e orchestra. It was well remarked that messages i)assed to and from London and New York and other p.irts of the American continent with more fiicility than Sir Staftbrd Northcote, sitting on tlie right hand of the Chairman, could ..ave communicated with Mr. IJright seated at the Chairman's left. Grace was said by the Rev. Newman Hall, LL.B., and the noble Chairman informed the company that during dinner messages woald be transmitted to several of the rejiresentative men of the New \\'„rld. Dinner being over, — The C:hairman said: In proposing the first toast of the evening, I shall only say tins, that I believe it to be a toast tliat would be received with equal cordiality on liotli sides of the Atlantic, and that toast is, "The health of Her Majesty the (Jueen." (Cherrs.) ■|1ie toast was drunk with great enthusiasm. riu' (11 \iK\i AN said: My I.onls and Geiitlrnu n, 'I'hc ne\t toast is. "I'iie Prince and I'liiKi'ssoj' W.iles, the I )iike ol iMiuibiirL;li, and tiie other Members cit" tiie Roval I,riiil\." I 13 (Cheers.) I - eed not remind you of the extreme affection, the more than cordial feeling— the affectionate feeling— which was shown by the great American people when His Royal Hif^hness visited that country. And I feel quite certain that if he should ever visit it in company with the Princess of Wales his reception will be more cordial still. I give you— The Prince and Princess of Wales, and other Members of the Royal Family. (Cheers.) The toast was drunk with much cheering. The Chairman : My Lords and Gentlemen,— Th- next toast which I have to propose in the order of to-night's proceedings is, " The President of the United States." (Loud and prolonged cheering.) I need hardly say that there is this difference between the position of the Chief Magistrate of that great Republic and the Sovereign of our country : that whilst our Sovereign is placed entiiely above the level of all political and party disputes, this is not the position which, according to the Constitution of the l-nited States, the President is placed in. He is responsible for his pohtical opinions, and he takes part in the political controversies «'f his time and countr>. But it is not as persons who take any part m American politics that we give this toast to-night. (Cheers.) We give his health simply as the Chief Magistiate of that great p- )i)le— who repre- bcnts then power and character tc us amongst the other nations of the world. This only I may venture to say, that whilst leaving in perfe< t ( onfidence to the American pcopl to their wisdom and to their decision— the painful I'^sue otall those treineniKnis (questions with which ihcy have 14 lately had to contend, I trust it is the wish, and I believe it is the wish and the desire of every Englishman, first, that the normal condition of the Constitution of that country should as speedily as possible be restored ; and secondly, that such restoration should not take place until perfect equality of all races shall have baen established before the law. (L.oud cheecs.) I give you, "The President of the United States." The toast was drunk with long continued applause. The Chairman : My Lords and Gentlemen, — The next toast is, " TheMilitary and Naval Services of the two countries, Great IJritain and America." My Lords and Gentlemen, I hope the American people will believe, and I think they do believe, that all Englishmen almost ow deplore the causes which ever led the two countries into collision. They dei)Iore them the more, as I think the conviction i<; now fastened on the minds of all of us that in these jntests, from beginning to end, F.ngland was in the WTong. (Cheers.) She was in the vrong in our (luarrcls with the colonists, and was hardh vcr in the right in regard to belligerent warfare. But however that may be, 1 am sure we all concur in this hope.that theServices of these two greatconntriessiiouldnever again be hronglit into liostile (•()iifli( t ; but that they sliould be united in tliose W(,rks in whi( h I rejoice to say they were united in regard to tliis Ele( trie Telegrapli. I believe the co-operation of tiie Aineri(an \:i\y was one of the great steps towards tlie work wlii( li has been |)r(jin''ted by our illustriou.. guest of lliis evening ; and I trust that in otiier works for the service of the same great cause tnose two 15 forces may be again united. It is, indeed, hardly possible that the land forces of the two countries can be united in similar services. But the two navies may, I hope, be often united m such works as this. I beg to give you, "The Military and Naval Services of the two cour.tries," coupled mth the names of Sir John Pakington and Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne. (Loud cheers.) SPEECH OF THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN PAKINGTON, BART., M.P. Secretary of State for War. My Lord Duke, my Lords, and Gentlemen,— The toast to which your Grace has done me the honour to call upon me to respond is of so unusual a character, combining as it does the Armies of two great p.nd independent Empires, that I think its peculiarity must have some special meaning, and I believe I am not wrong when I say that that meaning is Peace and (Goodwill between the United States and England. (Loud cheery.) Long may it be before the armies of those two ( ountries regard each other with any other feeling than mutual respect. (Cheers.) Both of those armies have given recent proof of their prowess and their valour. The manner and extent to which the United States i)ut forth their military power du.ing that great civil war by which they were for years (onvulsed excited the adnrratiun of ihe world ; and, .1 portion of tlie British army has just returned from a duty, small, indeiil. in com|)arative duration, and in the numbers of llie fon-e engaged, but wliiil, has reflected credit ujumi I'oili llu' army and their gallant Commander, not exceeded l>y mv liimni.li ni the annals of our ' ountrv. (Cheers.) We h.ue ,ill read latch of a stniKKic in the Upited States as to J II 16 who should have the honour of being the Minister of War, and perhaps the day may not be distant when a similar ques- tion ma^- be n-ised in England . (Loud cheers and laughter.) But, whichever party may prevail, whoever may be War Minister, either at Washington or in London, long may it be before any Minister of either country has to devote his energies to preparing armaments and forces for carrying on hostile operation, between the two countries. (Loud cheers.) There are few men who, more than myself, have in their own personal experience been struck by the greatness of the event which we are now assembled to celebrate. 1 am one of the few- -and they ar-^ quickly becoming fewer-who made a tour in the United States, not only before Electric Tele-^aphs were thought of, but before even steamboats had cross'ed the Atlantic. I went to America in the quickest way it was then possibU to go, in one of the celebrated American Liners, but it so happened that the wind was in the west, a. n generally is-(a laugh)-and I was exactly six we.^ks from s' ore to shore. My next personal commum- citiou with America was just ten years ago. It then became my dutv, on account of the office I held, to attend the Queen, u,.on the occasion of her visit to the Emperor of the Frenrli .il Cherbourg; on- of those interchanges of courtesy vhi.b. huvc ing and compli- mentary manner in which he has proposed the toast of the miUtary and naval services of both countries. To me it is a source of personal gratification that as a British Admiral I am called upon to respond to the toast of the navy of a foreign power, in amity, and we hope long to continue in amity and friendship, with this country. The gratifying manner in which you have received this toast will, I am sure, be appreciated by the officerr of the navy of the United States— (cheers)— and it convinces me that you are not insensible of the great trials that service had to endure during the last few years. It would have been a source of gratification to those now preseni as well as myself had there been some officer of the United States Navy i)resent who could on this auspicious occasion return thanks to tliis distinguished company. I much regret that such is nul the case, and that that distinguished officer, Admiral Farragut (—loud cheers)— who is now in England, is not here this evening that he might witness the manner in which the toast of tlie United States Navy and Army has been received. I trust I may be permitted to say that the ofticers of the British Na^y fully a])preciate the gallantry and great achievements of that service, than which no nation has ever afforded greater examples of bravery and courage. Having been employed during an important period on the Americai^ coast — when that country was passing through so severe a trial of internal war— it was 19 my lot to have had communication with many American officers, and I have grer.t satisfaction in saying that c^urmg the whole of that period there was an interchange of friendly feeling between the respective navies, which I feel assured was of advantage to the interests of both countries. (Loud cheers). SPEECH OF THE DUKE OF ARGVLL. The Chairmax: My Lords and (;entlemen,-It now becomes my duty to propose that which is pre-eminently the toast of the evening_(cheers)-and to ask you to return to our distinguished guest our warm and hearty acknowledge- ments of the great service he has rendered to England, to America, and to the world by his exertions in promoting the success of the Atlantic Telegraph_(cheers)-an enterprise which IS the culminating triumph of a long series of dis- coveries prosecuted by many generations of men. It is not easy to apportion with exactitude the merits which may belong to those who have been engaged in it ; but I much mistake the character of our distinguished guest-an.l I have now known him for severa' years, and have had much com- mun.cat.on with him-I .u.ch mistake his character if he desires to displace for a single moment any of those who have preceded him in the history of electrical discoveiy This great triumph maybe looked at from various points of view, and in the first place I think I am safe in sa) ing that we all k-el ,t to be a triumph of pure science. (Cheers.) I say of pure science-of the i,ure desire and love of knowledg i 20 believe T have the honour of speaking to many distinguished scientific men, and I think they will bear me out when I say that if there is one question which they hear with the utmost indignation and contempt addressed to them when they are in the course of their investigations it is the qi'»stion— what is the use of their discoveries. (Cheers.) 'Fhe answer which the man of science returns to this question, as to what is the use of his discovery, is, " 1 only tell you what is the interest of that discovery, that interest which compels and impels me to go on in the path of investigation." (Cheers ^ It is knowledge —mere knowledge of the facts and laws of nature— that the scimitific mind seeks to gain. Nevertheless, I think it is a great comfort to scieitifi^ men to be sure that even those discoveries which for years, and even for cen- turies, remain apparently entirely useless, may at any time and at any moment become serviceable in the highest degree to the human flimily. (Cheers.) And surely there never was a case in which this has been so signally displayed. From the days of (kdvani, when he first noticed the twitches in lIic leg of a frog, to the days of Faraday and Wheatstone and Morse, those inventions have been conducted by men of science in the pure si)irit of scientific investigation, and it is only very gradually that it has been perceived that this wonderfiil discovery of galvanic electricity may be i)ressed into the service an done ! Close wedded by that mystic cord, Her continents are one. " And one in heart, as one in blood, Shall all her peoples be ; The hands of human brotherhood Shall clasp beneath the sea. " Through Orient seas, o'er Afric's plain, And Asia's mountains borne. The vigour of the northern biain Shall nerve the world outworn. " From clime to clime, from shore to shore, Shall thrill the magic thread; The new Prometheus steals once more, The fire that wakes the dead ! " Earth, grey with age, shall hear the strain Which o'er her childhood rolled ; For Hlt the morning stars again Shall bing their song of old. " For lo ! the fall of ocean's wall. Space mocked, and time outrun I— And round the world the thought of all Is as the thought of one." 24 Oh, reverently and thankfully The rnij^^hty wonder own I The deaf may hear, the blind may see, The work is God's alone. Throb on, strong pulse of thunder ! beat From answering beach to beaeh 1 Fuse nations in thy kindly heat. And melt the ehains of each 1 Wild terror of the sky above, Glide tarn and dumb below. Bear gently, ocean's carrier dove, Thy errands to and fri) I Weave on, swift shuttle of the Lord, Beneath tlie deep so far, rhe bridal robe of Karlhs accord. The funeral shroud of War! The poles unite, the zones agree. The tongues of striving cease ; As, cm the Sea of (ialilee, Tlie Christ is whis|)(.ring "Peace I" (Cheers.) I 'I'liese are very noble lines, and all lliat I can say is this, that aith()iiL;!i i (\o not ni\scif heiieve that comnKTcial eiiter- l)rise will ever secure a miileniuni in the w( ikl — tliough I l)elie\e that the time is not yet ( onie, and never will come MiUil better iiilluences are at work tli.in even this wlien men «.in lii\it tli'ir swords into iiloui;lish ires and their sjiears into iirunivj^-hooks — yet 1 do Ijeliive tli;it cerv step we take m the progress of the inteK onnnuiiif ation between the nations, prejndices ami jiissions will ( eii.unU be removed, >m{i there will be a tendeiu) to a (omnioii brotheriujotl, because till ) uill l>^.■ Iniked b\ ltio-,L (ommeiiial mterests 25 which are very strong guarantees indeed in the interests of peace. (Hear, liear.) Now I must say this, that of all commercial enter])rises which have ever been undertaken, this one on tlie part of Mr. Cyrus Field represents the noblest and i)urest motive^ by whi. h commercial enterprise can ever be inspired. (Cheers.) I believe it was the very greatness of the project— the great results which were cer- tain to issue -I relieve it was this, and this alone, which supi)orted him with that confidence and decision which, tlirough many difficulties and many disappointments, has carried him at last to the triumphant conclusion of this great project. (Cheers.) And, gentlemen, I rejoice to say that whilst as a commercial enterprise it has come from the other side of the .Vtlantic, it has been well secon.led and sui)ported by tile capitalists not only of America but of England. And surely this is another link of friendly iiucrcour.>e between the people of the two countries. Now, 'ct me also say this —and this is a point which I have ascertained from other s(mrccs — I beheve so great was the confulLiice of Mr. Field in the triumph of this great undertaking, that lie risked eveiy firthmgof Ills own private tortune in promoting its .success. On these grounds, i.idics and geiitlenien. I ask you to drink hi> hcaltli. Put 0:1 (.i!c other gnmiid aNo I a^k you to drink it, and that is this that he is personally one of the most geiual ,ind kindly iKirted of men. (Civat cheering.) At .1 .Pue when his . oimtiy u , . in great difficult), and when many Anuri. ,ms tl„„mlit ,u l,,,,i tin > had sonietlnng to <""'l'''iiii "I Ml the lone of luiglisl; so. ielv. I w.is in the erfett working order across tlu most stormy oi ran in the world, a disiaiue of nearly J, GOO miles, .norr ihiii iwo-liunls ol whuli is o\er two nnles \\\ (K|ith. an I thai mcssaj^es are passnig wuh 28 ligliti i,:g speed from continent to continent. (Loud cheers.) That tiio enterprise has also been a pecuniary success is best prow! by tlie foct that on this very day the holders of ever\ description of Atlantic Telegraph stock have re- < eive 1 I dividend. (Laughter and ajjplause.) The living are too numerous to partic ularise, and tiie t';un>- of many of them has not yet reached its climax ; but I may be excused if I jiay my reverent ribute of gratitutle to tiie .iiemones of those Mho have de[)arted from .tmongst us, but who live, and will ever live, in their works. In tloing so, I gratefully record the honoured names of Faraday, Stephenson, Brunei, IJrett, Statham, Woodhouse, Brown, Stewart, Bache, BerrjTiian, White, and Hudson, who laboured so zealously, anil who, it living, woukl have rejoi( ed to bewilh us to-night. (Cheers.) But the i)ast is matter of histo'-y. Let us do all we can in the future to make the fruits of our experience beneficial to the world. Do not, my friends, be content with having roMiK'ited 'airopeand America together by the electric cord, but remember that Lidia, Australia — (hear, hear) — China and Japan, Si)uth America, and the isles of the sea, both in the ea^t and in the we^t, have yet to be bronghi into instant iommuni( ation with Ln-Iaiid and .\meiica. (Hear, hear.) I most ferventi) thank Cod tha,t I have been permitted to li\r to see this enteriirise, whiili binds sour (ountr)- to mine, completed; and that I am privileged tlii. night, with >ome inembrrs ol my fnnil\. to meet onr l''.i;^li>!i friend^, and with them to rejoice over Us su( ( e>s (Cheers.) I rejoice, because the ( .ible brings into closer union the two gre.it Anglo-S.i\o!i na oii^, of the world, v.hic h ha.e ,i ■ unimon origin, mhent the same glorious tiadilion., an])lause.) And do not all tiue Englishmen glory in the foct that the small expedi- tions which sailed from these shores some 250 years a«^o, and settled at Plymouth and on the banks of the James River, were so multiplied and replenished that at the time of the Declaration of Independence the original handful had mcreased to 3,000,000 of people; while, in less than a century the 3,000,000 have grown into a nation of 35,000,000, and now, thank God, not one slave among them; with a territory extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the St. Law- rence and the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. There are, undoubtedly, many now within hearing of my voice who will live to see within the limits of the existing United States 1 00 millions of people all speaking the English tongue. While, when I think of the greatness of England, I alway.- remember the words of the American orator who said that she " is a power to which Rome, in the height of her glory, is not to be compared; a ])ower whi( h h;is dotteil over the surface of the whole globe with her jiosscssions and inilitarv jiosts, whose morning drum beat, following the sun, and keenini'- ( ouipaii) with the hours, ( ir( les the earth in one ( ontiinious and liiibiokeii >traiii of the niaitial airs of i'lngjand." (Loud ( heers.) To tluN 1 vyould m\i\ the hope, tliat ere long e\ery one ol the ;Hnneroii> and mattered dependeiu ies ulii.h suggested to Daniel Webster the noble figure .\meii( a has enshrineil in lu i- < 'a^su s w ill be united to the moiiui (ouiUry bv the elet tiir bond, ,\\u\ that it nia\ be in the pouer of the I i 30 Sovereign nnd her Minister, or of the merrlmnt on 'Change,' to hold instantaneous converse with all or anv of the races, nations, and tribes which \ ield obedience to the mild sceptre of the good Queen Victoria. (Applause.) I pray that hereafter no jealousies may be allowed to create a wall of separation between England and America; that all the ill- feehng that has been engendered between the two countries may be buried so deep in the Atlantic that the ingenuity of Kian shall never nnent a g:api)le to ilrag it to the surface; and that the only rivalry bjtween them shall be the rivalry of co-worKers in etTorts to promote peace, industry, and commercial intercourse, and to extentl the blessi /igs of civil and religious liberty throughout the world. (Mr. Field resumed his seat amid enthusiastic p'audits.) SPEtXH OF THK RKJHT HON. SIR STAirORn NORTIIi;olK, liART. M.P., Si\rcta>y o/St.itc/or India. Sir S. NoRTHCori", in pro]>osing "Peace and Prosperity b'-V.vee'-' (Ireat liritain a^vd the United States," said: My Lord Duke, my Lords, and Cientlemcn, — If we understand anything in i-',ngland wl- understand the organisjiion of a public dinner .ind spee< lies afterwards. 1 bclic\e we have reiUKcd it iirclly wrll to a good >y^teni. Wr begin with those loyal and patriotii to.uts which appeal to the hearts of Knglishmen, and whi< h work us up to a jiroMrr frame of mind for reci.M\ing that w liii h tollows -the great to ist of the i\ e"ing ; .niu, a!!i,r \\ i ii.i\i. li.iu tne gr<.,'ii to.i-^l nt trie eViiiiiiL;, llieii it lall-. to iiie iot ot the nniior ^.peaker^ to deal with subie* ts 31 - appropriate to the occasion in respect to which the company may have met. Now, to-night we are met for the purpose of expressing our friendship, and doing honour, to a dis- tinguished guest, who has been long known among us, and whom we desire to congratulate upon the successful termination of an enterprise in whicj-. he has the largest share of honour, but in which we all, as a nation, arc half-workers, and in which we all have a deep interest. We celebrate the success of an enterprise which has brought Great Britain and the United States of America within a few minutes one of the other. Now it is not unnaturally suggested thac the one toast which should follow that toast of the evening should be a toast embodying an expression of hope that we may see peace and prosperity in Great Britain and in the United States. And I sh mid have felt no hesitation or difficulty in proposing that toast to your notice if it were not that in point of fact it so very closely connects itself with the toast which has gone before, and which it has been so ably done justice to in the remarks we have heard from our noble Pre- sident, that there is little or nothing left for me to do but to cJiime in with those remarks. At the same time allow me to say tnat we are but expressing the mind of the whole people of Kn.L,ri,n(l in declaring our confidence that this great work winch has been so nobly accomi)lished— this juiK lion of the two great countries— will strengthen the bonils of peace between the two countries. And I say so. althou,_;h 1 ai.i conscious that it by no means necessarily follows tliat I)y bringing two nations or two individuals intci close ]>ro\iniily you ])ronu).e peace between them. (Glieers.) We know there .ire ptMsoiis of 'vhoni it may be said thevare 32 better frienfls when distant from each other, and tliere are nations which are in ■:' similar position. But the reason why I sayiiiat the conjunction between these countries will be for the peace and prosperity of both is because I believe that the feel- ing of the two nations to each other is at bottom such that they will stand the test to which they are now about to be sub- jected. (Cheers.) Now, if you will look at this increased flicility of communication in one respect, it is a flict that it does not necessarily conduce to oeace. Because when difficulties and misunderstandings arise it is better that we should not be too rapid in solving those difficulties, but that we should allow a little time to elapse in order th^ a little diplomacy may bridge over the misunderstanding — (cheers) — so that the passions may have time to cool down, and we may learn to understand one another. But notwithstanding that I believe, for purposes of soothing down misunderstand- ings when they arise, that our comnumica'aons should not l)e .00 rapid, on the other hand, I believe that for nre- ventiiig such misunderstandings communication between England and America cannot be too rppid. (Cheers.) Be- cause, after all, peace between these great < ountries does not depend u])on any amount of dii)lomacy. (Hear, hear.) Peace is for the interest, and is welcome to the mind of the pojuilation of England and America ; and I am convinced the better wc know ea( h other, the more we li.ae to do with eat h other, that the better are the set urilies of peat e : and I believe if there e\er was a time when there has been a disturbance, or a rupture, or a mismider^tiindini; between us, !t has arisen from a wan! cf ^vnij.atliy iiid understanding between llie one and the other. 'I'liat time is. however. I ' 33 t iKissing away. So many of us have friends in America, aivl see friends from America, whom we know and value, that the way to get rid of those (Hfficulties is daily becoming more plain. And I believe that from year to year the sympathies of the t'.vo countries will grow heartier and more cordial, and from year to year the social and political as well as the commercial value of this communication .vill make itself more felt on both sides of the Atlantic. My Lords and Gendemen, I should not be justified, considering the terms of the toast, if I did not say a word upon the com- mercial prosperity which I hope this underta':ing may increase. But in point of^ct, I am disposed, in presenting the toast to your notice, to leave out the word 'commercial.' (Hear, hear.) I do not see why we shoulc! confine ourselves to the commercial point of view. I wish to promote not only the commercial but the social prosperity of these countries. At the same time we cai.not close our eyes to the fact that in its bearings on the social condit a r^{ both countries com- merce must take a prominent place. Now, while I believe that for diplomatic correspondence a little delay may not be a bad thing, there can be no doubt that in commerce it is the reverse. The a.inihilation of time is everything for commerce. I believe that in this case we Inive only lo try and learn to understand one another, and to understand the great imniiple of science ami political economy, to i)r(^'. With one heart and vo'ce, I p;..sume»we accept that sentiment — (great cheering) — and without any fear of con.radiction we assert that we are on that i)oint truly representative of the unanimous feeling of the three kingdoms. (Cheers.) There are those —1 meet them frequently, for there are cavillers and criiics everywhere— there are those who coiidemn the United States, and sometimes with something likj scorn and bitterness, because at thi. moment the people of the United States are bearing heavy taxation, and because thf have a ruinous tariff; bat if these critics were to look bi' k to our own position a few years ago they would see how much allowance is to be imde for others. (Cheers.) During the years which passed between 1790 and 1815, for nearly twenty-iive years, the Government and people of this country were waging a war of a terrific character with a neighbouring State. The result of that war was that which is, I believe, the result of every great war— enormous expenditure, great loans, heavy taxation, growing debt, and, of course, much suffering among the people who have to bear the load of those burdens. But after that war, during twenty-five years, from 1815 to 1841, there was scarcely anything done by the Government of this countiy to remedy the gross and scandalous inequalities of taxation, and to adopt a better system in apjiortioning the necessary burdens of the State apon the various classes of the people. But since 1841. 36 as we all know, wc have seen a revolution in this country in regard to taxation and finance, and I need not remind you that this has been mainly produced by the teaching of one .vho is not with us to-night, but who would ha'>-e rejoiced, as we now rejoice, Dver the great event wliich we arc here to celebrate, whose spirit and whose mind will, I believe, for generations yet to come stimulate and elevate the mJnds of multitudes of his countrymen. (Loud cheers.) But this revolution of which I speak is not confined to this country; for, notwithstanding what we now see in the United States, it may be affirmed positively that it is going on there, and that in the course of no remote \ eriod it will embrace in its world-blessing influence all the civilised nations of the globe. The United States have hr 1 four years of appalling struggle and disaster. It was nevertheless, in some soit, a time of unspeakable giandeur, and it has had this great result, that it has sustaineil the life of a great nation, and has given '•.■iiversal and permanent freedom over the whole continent of North America. (Loud cheers.) But, its was the case with our war, so with the American war ; it has been attended wit'^ enonnous cost, with great loans, with grievous taxation, and with a tariff which intelligent men will not long submit to ; but at this moment and for some time the strife has been ended, the wounds inflicted are healing, freedom is secured, and the restora- tion of the Union, surmounting the tlif^icuh-'es that have interposed, is being gradually and certaip.l; .:. ( omplished. (Cheers.) I conclude that such a nation as the United States, such a people, so free and so instructed, will not be twenty-five years b^^fore they remedy the evils and the 37 \ blunders ar '' the unequal burdens of their taxation and iheir tariff. (Hear, hear.) They will discover, in much less time than we discovered it, that a great nat'on is advanced by freedom of industry i.nd of commerce, and that without this freedom every ether kind of freedom is but a partial good. (Cheers.) This sentiment speaks also of un- broken friendship between the two countries. May I say now, in a moment of calm and of reason, that with regard to the United States both our rulers and our people, and especially the most influential classes of our peoi)le, have greatly erred ? Men here forget that, after all, we are but one nation having two Go^'ernments. We are of the same noble and heroic race. Half the English family is on this side the Atlantic in its ancient home, and the other half over the ocean (there being no room i« - them here) settled on the xVmerican continent. It is so with thousands of in<^:vidua'i families throughout this country. No member of my family has emigrated to America for forty years past, and yet I have far more blood relations in the United States than 1 have within the limits of the United Kingdom ; and that, I believe, is tMie of thousands in this country. And I assert this, that he is an enemy of our English race, and indeed an enemy of the human race, who creates any difficulty that shall interfere with the permanent peace and friendship of all t!ie members of our great luiglish-speaking family. (C.rcat a^jplause.) One other sentence upon that point. No man will dare to say tb.at the people of the I'nited States or the people of the United Kingdom are not in faxour of |)catc. Whence, then vdn there come the ( hance of war? 'I'he fact i>, in dealing bll^ 38 with nations M-edo not .leal on the basis of morals which sve apply to indivi.luals. One hundred years-two hundreci years ago-almost .very ^^entlenian weni d^out irmed with ^. ^"^'^''^ -''"^"- ^" those days there were duels and noluu .. ul fatal encounters constantly between men of our . > r V. ife. an.l if you turn to the newspapers and •naga/UK's of that •>,.-, od you will Hnd . onstant reference to calamitous events of that kmd. Xo.v nothing of that kind iKippens. excei,t by some lamentable accident. We haVe great fleets and great armies, as other nations have, and the "lon.ent anything happens to create the slightest dispute between ,i,)y two nations, instantly the question is. '• How '•IS the army? Hou is the navy? Have you ships? "Have yuu men? Have you armaments e.,ual to those "of your miagined opponent?" Instead of turnin- ,t the moment any little .li.pute arises ■ - the .jueslion oi sutl.,,en.y of annaments, if our dispoMuons are really tlH.se of pca"theli,..tilep. .ition out of whi. h war ahnost meviiably •spnngs. (Cheers.) I'-ut leaving for a nu.ment in fut, leaving altogethcr-tl,,. sentunent and the toast ulii, h have I'^vn Mibmltted to us, you uill punnl me to turn more "i'HKuiately to the purposes <.f this banquet only for a sen tencc or two. I rejoice very nni. I, at this ban-iuet. because wc are in. i to do honour to a man of rare .lualities, who has conferred upon us-arnl I believe upon m.mkind rare services. I have known Mr. I :. Id for .t goo,| n,an) ) ears, and although. 1 tlare say, to any sailor who nia> be here it is not t 39 f much, to me it seems a good deal, that Mr. Cynis Field, in the prosecution of this great work (not beii.p, a sailor, always bear that in mind) has crossed the Atlantic more than forty times — (cheers) ; and he has, as you know, bv an energy almost without example, by a courage nothing could daunt, by a faith that nothing could make to fliltcr, and by sacrifices beyond estimation — for there are sacrifices .that he has made I would ni^t in his presence relate to this meeting — aided by discovery and by science and by capital, he has accomplished the grandeat triumph which the science and the intellect of man have ever achieved. (Cheers.) Soon after the successful laying of the cable I had an opportunity of referring to it in a speech spoken in the north of Kngland, when I took the liberty of describing Mr. Cyrus Field as the Columbus of the 19th century — (cheers) —and may I not ask, when that cable was laid, "hen tlie iron hand grasped m tiie almost fatliomless recesses of the ocean the lost and broken cable, if it be given t<» the spirits of great men in the eternal world. 111 their et..rnal life, to behold the great ai lions of our lives, how must the spirit o\ that vj.md old Ceno '^e have rejoiced at ihe triumph of that hour, and at the new tie whii h boiuid the world he had discovered to the world to uhii h Iml lor liim il mi:;lu lia\e i)een for ages to foine iiiiknowu. (Cheers.) 1 join in the sentiments ot those lie.iutiliil verses read by our pre->ideiU. 1 lielieve no m.ni -not C'mu-. i'leid himself — has ever been able to comprehend the nt i-nitude of the great discovery- -ct the great blessing — to m.inlxincl whii :i ue \\a\c ik eived throiigli the instrumentalits ol Itun .mil his liu nds, the s( irntitu uku by whom he li.i.s been .isMsied. (Cheers.) I .s.i\ wuh the t 40 greatest sincerity, tliat my I-.eart is too full, when I look at this ([uestion. to permit me to speak of it in the manner in Avhich I feel that I should speak. We all know that there are in our lives joys, and there are sometimes sorrows that are too deep for utterance, and there are manifestations of the 0,00(1- ness, and the wisdom, and the greidness of the Supreme which our modes of sjjeech are utterly unable to describe. We can only stand, and look on, and wonder, and adore. (Cheers.) J5ut of the agency— the human agency— concerned, we may more freely speak. I honour the great -'nventors. In their hfetnne they seldom receive all t;ie consideration to which they are entitled. \n old and valued friend of mine i -ne of them, and of them not the least— I speak of William Fothergill Cooke. I do not see him hei ;, and he may not l)ei)resent. (A Voice : He is here.) He is here! hope to take .some consoLition for his long days of patinu investigation from the feeling which he has seen exhij.itul here to-night, and from the vast service whi, h has been conferred upon the world by the invention of whic h he certainly w,is one of the rhief discoverers. (.\pplause.) I honour, too. i>iofessor W lieat>tone and Professor .Morse, and all those men of s( ience who ha\e m.uK' this great m.n\el possible, and I !ionour the galLmt capt.iin of that gieat ship -(enthusi.istie < li.ering)— whose j.reciou , rargo not I.mded in any j.ort. but sunk in o. ean's solii.iry depths, has brought iiuMsureKss blessings to mankind; ,ind 1 honour hun. our dlsinigiiblud. may I not •■ i;. our illiistrioiis guest of to-night; for, .il'ler ,ill ihal < in be s,.,d of in\ention and of science and nf.jpu.d. it ie.|uned the umn.itt ucd ■ nergy and pei.se\eKiiue .Mid t.ntli otl\Mis Field to bniig to one grand 41 completion the mightiest achievement which the human intellect, in my opinion, has ever accomplished. (Loud and prolonged cheers.) SPEECH OK VISCOUNT STRATFORD DE REDCEIFFE, G.C.R. Vist:(»rNT SiRATEORi) iiF Rfdcliffe, in proposing "The Literature and Press of the two countries," said : — My Lord Duke, my Lords, and Gentlemen, you will give me credit for the unwillingness which I cannot but feel to address this great and intelligent assembly at so late an hour of the evening, and after the brilliant effusion of elocpience which we have just heard. lUit I must beg < you to measure tlic interest I take in this subjet t by the tnort I have n le to overcome my relu( tance, not in consenting to attenil this bamiuet, but in venturing to take jiart in the jiroceedings of the evening. I feel that my title to your attention is very sni.iii, and I < an only hope, therefore, tliat the interesting t(),i>l will' h I .-.hall ha\ e the pleasure of proposing to you will m some degree make uj) for the deficiencies of the proposer, and enable me for .i 1 w minutes to engage your attention. liio (xcasion onwliuhwe li.ne met i^ indeed one wlr.ch appr.ds to our strongest feelings, to our strongest symjta- tliies, not only to the s) niii.illucs of he.irt, but to those of uur iHtiitii ,il reKitii)ns, and of .ill those inteii^tsot conmierc c .111(1 siH i.il lite whi' 11 connei I us with the other side of the \il iiiti, -_\\,tli .1 n.itiui) wlii( h, ,1^ it sjifunL; from the loins o| f nations, and to the diftusion of conunerce ? Who, I say, could have imagined that the sea, instead cf being the hfdess wilderness ^ts fir^t apMearan.-e suggested, slmuld not only swarm with the means of living, but give passage to muhiludes emliarkc.l on its waves, and wab from sliore to shore the varud productions of the earth? Oik- of ihr tl mgs mo.t r,an,irk,iMe in the hi lory of the world is, th.ii wherever an interest exists- I do not nuau i private mler.st, but one whidi ( on. ern> more or less the many among nations- there \ou uill tuid .in intention lull of benevolenc e to pmiiiole the progress of ih.it intercut, and !,, work n out 111 MK h '•lanner th.il it slull (oikUkc t' the 43 1 general benefit of mankind. (Cheers.) The great cable has in an eminent degree this characteristic in common with al! other great enterprises. It tenas to advance the welfare and happiness of man — a providental forecast and intention. I say of man in gcncrrJ,, for the success of the first oceanic cable will lead to other similar successes, and the result must be the approximation of all countries to each other, and the development of nature's resources in boundless abundance. But cables are not the only instruments of communication on tlie largest scale ; we have literature, we have the press, and, what is more, in our intercourse with the United States, we have a language common to both nations. These powerful engines are, no doubt, less rap'd in operaticm than the electric cable, but the., effects are more impressive and more durable. The service cf the cable, innnense as its usefulness may be, is incidental and often momentary ; but the impression made by literature, or even by the daily ])ress. sinks clctp into the mind, and forms, in great me:'.sure. the policy of nations. The Atlantic Cable, wliicji has brought us {\\\> day together, unites for inunediate conununication the iiili ibitants of North America and those of the r>ritish Isles. 'I'hc (onvictions of great minds, tlic results of drip researt h. the inventions of art. the discoveries of science fill within the proxiiK e of literature, and the volumes built u]) for tluir rci i'|ition by men of genius or le.nning s])read truth lhrou;;hout the nations, cany improve- inuit from age to age, anil give to poor humanity a ( harac ter almost (liviu''. The dailv and periodn ,il jTrss may he said to o( ( up\' an nitennedi.ile place betui n hooks ami elet trie wires. ( I leai, lu.u.) \\ i all knov. with what power tli.it I il 44 eng;,K. worl., and wl,al amount of goo.! or of evil it i, capal,!. „ producing. ]„ propo.-tiu,, ,o its power is the -pons, ,l„y of ti,ose >v„o are engaged in ,ts service. «e n,,y find „„ . to approve and n„,cl, to a,ln,ire in •IH langttage of the Press. B„, there is also roon, for censure, .nd at times even for shame. ]f there is to 1.C an earnest competition boveen the Old an.l the New Countr,., let it shew itself in clearing away prej,„liccs n .;mg j„st,ce to each other's clain.s, and in .romorinl' a lo>c of peace and mmual goodwill. We, who take n to the „u,nl,er. If »e have our .Sco„s. our 1™, des .|..r.N-ca,„.,ys„„r^n,cwe,K. ■ IVunysons, ,,,„ hv: ,::,'":,'"•':'* ^-I'--. A ■ hs,, elhat' ■....e, ,„,,„ ,„e„.. we ,„„>, ,e,„c,„l,c, ,l,e sh„„„ess ol ,he,r 45 independent career, the interru,)tion of their literary leisure, and their comparative distance fron the old depositories of human knowledge. Whatever degree of blame may justly attach to that policy which roused the spirit of resistance in our American possessions, I cannot altogether assent to the censure expressed this evening on our conduct toward the United States when they declared war against us some fifty years ago — but let that pass. It was my lot in earlier life to visit the United States. I was British Minister at Washington during three years at a period when the remembrance of our previous quarrels was still frejh, and when the use of steam in navigation had not as yet shortened the extent and diminished the risks of an Atlantic voyage. Whatever were the drawbacks, I rejoiced in the opportunity of making acquaintance with a new state of society, of seeing with my own eyes the working and progress of a great people, and of studying the character of their expansive institutions. Brought thus into personal contact with the most instruc- tive part of the New World, I took a lively interest in all its concerns, and retain to this moment the impression which I derived from it. The time was one of peace ; but questions pregnant with future misunderstanding remained to be settled, and 1 now look bac k with pleasure on the etTorts I matie to bring the two (loveinments into negotiations for their settle- ment. 1 so \\\^ succeeded ihat a serious n«.goliation was set on fool, l)ut unU)\\;iiil ( in unisianc cs marred its progress, and its only bcnetit in the end was, thai it laiil the ground- work of ami(al)le arrangements at a later period. Hut, "enllcnien, 1 need not weary your attention with tliese personal rennniscences. If the share 1 had ui bygone ii 4G trnnsartions l)et\vei'n the two countries is indifferent to you, as it may easily be, you will feel, nevertheless, with me how r.aturally the Atlantic Cable, and all its prospective advan- tages, bring to mind that state of things which formerly estranged us from America, and threatened the interruption of those friendly relations which so many motives of interest and symjjathy concur in urging both i)arties to maintain and improve. Mr. Cynis Field has called forth our present expressive tribute to his character and merits by the signal exertion he made, at so much hazard and self-sacrifice, to realize the grand conception of the Cable. He crovsed the Atlantic more than forty times in pursuit of that glorious object, and I, who have crossed it but twice, have learnt thereby to appreciate the results, as well as the perils of so immense an undertaking. (Hear, hear.) Eternal honour to him, .nd also to those of our countrymen who, in concert with him, have enabled the two worlds to converse with each other. Honour, at the same time, to those who stand in more immediate relation to the toast I am cliarged to propose, lliey have extended and exalted that body of literature which owes its existence to a language, fomiliar alike to the Briton and to tlie American. Their works, whether of research or of genius, can hardly fail to strengthen the sym])athies of a con.mon origin, and to perpetuate the triumphs of a ( oncurrent civiliza- tion. With respect to the daily and j periodical Press, which makes its intluence felt so ])owcrfully on both sides of the Ocean, 1 can only express, in conclusion, a fervent hope that t' ose who wield its gigantic eneriries may ever bear in mind the responsible nature of their duties, and 47 employ their multifarious talents in the service of i)eace, and in the cultivation of goodwill, good feeling, and good faith between the kindred children of the Atlantic. (Loud cheers.) The toast was drunk with much cheering. I SPEECH OF MR. PARKE GODWIN. Mr. Parke Godwin said : It is a striking evidence of the aptness of the toast which has just been drunk that this occasion, like many other occasions, would be almost sterile and unprofitable without the aid of that instrument the Press which it so justly compliments. This assembly, numerous and respectable as it is, would be but a little secluded conclave, its most pregnant sayings no more than a confidential whisper, its weightiest doings scarcely a public event, if the Press did not repeat and multiply the words of the eloquent lips we have heard, did not record the honour- able deed v:e do. But t^x it beyond these walls those lips would be mu'^e ; but for it beyond these walls our testimony to a noble and distinguished service tind no responsive eclioes. It is the Press that will multiply our proceedings for the minds of others, so that they shall be known and read of tlirough all the earth. Coeval with the birth of our modern civilization, it has become, through the progress of that civilization, " the fountain-light of all our day, the master-light of all our seeing." What the richest fancies of the poet but the silent, unfruitful broodings of his own mind ; what the discoveries of science but a worthless picking up of gems in a desert ; what of the debates of Senates more than the wrangling of choughs antl crows ; what even the richest deliveries of the historic muse more 48 than (lull monkish legends, without the mi-hty engine whi. h communicates them to the admiration, the sympathy, the memory of the world. (Loud cl^eers.) The printmg art has been well called the art-preservative of all other arts. The proudest monuments of architecture may crumble, the grandest pictures fade, the statues of bronze and marble in which we fondly seek to perpetuate the past, fall into " the portion of weeds and outworn faces," but the printed book, "the precious life-blood of the noblest spirit, is treasured up to a life beyond life." Paper, an em- blem of frugality, which an infant's hand may tear mto a thousand pieces, which an infant's breath may scatter to the winds, when passed through the transmutation of this weird instrument, taker on the hardness of adamant, acquires the durability of the poet's "perennial brass." A conservai ve of all that the human mind or the human heart has produced of the noblest, the press is no less the refomic of all that they have produced of basest and worst. I'he heroic and manly Luther, to whom the Germans have just raised a memorial which the English Queen so fitly and gracefully recognises, when he was struggling with the dark powers of evil, saw the Devil in person, and tlung an inkstand at his head, xvhich caused him to disappear. It was the symbolic act o'f the Reformation, and, 1 may add, of all reformations. (Hear, hear.) No exorcism of the foul shai)es of wrcMig more J)Owerful than the mystic scrawls of the printer's hand upon his broad white sheet. No batteries more eftective against the strongholds of error than the cylinders of Hoe, w^iich lling out rounci shot and lung shot, lo-poundcrs and 300-pounders, with a rapidity thai surpasses Snider or 49 Cliassepot, nnd with n sniitinc;, penetrating, smnshing force that puts Armstrong or Eoduian or Dahlgren to the blush ! No army, however eciuiijpe'! or caparisoned, ,o vital and incessant, so invincljle and overwhelming, a the innu- merous squadiuus oi the Press-gang, nor any which has "So far within old Darkness' hostile lines Advanced, and pitch 'd the shining tents of light." (Cheers.) Now, not to dwell further upon its effects, let us ask what is the secret of this power of the Press? The (jues- tion may be answered in a word. It is the utility which it has of bringing every though% aspiration, word, feeling deed of our common humanity, within the focus of uni^•ersal human consciousness, there to ex^->ose them, to sift them, to purity them, to dry up and wither what is nox" ■, in them, and to appropriate what is sweet, succulent, nutritious in them, for the general good, and for ever more ! From the blaze of that meridian beam all darkness flies, all vai)ours, miasms dissipate, all owls and bats and birds of ill-omen hie to their holes. And because this is the peculiar source of its power, you see in what way and how prodigiously the Telegraph is helj)ful to the efficacy of the Press. To its hundred Argus-eyes, to its hundred Briarean hands, which give it commantl of the earth, the Telegra,di has added the winged feet of Mercury, who traverses the : ir, and the swift motions of the water-sprites, who flash along the coral ridges of the ocean as the lightning flashes in the bosom of tlie summer cloud. How greatly, then, is the spiiere of the universal iiuman consciousness enlarged, and with it the universal sympathies of mankind ! Xo i( y i)aniers, no I) 50 stormy seas, longer divide the people. My rountrynian three thousand miles away lays his ear to the ground, and hears the pulse beat of this mighty British nation. Must not his own heart soon beat in unison 1 While I speak the wire is seiuling the sound of the voices that have sjjokcn befoie me over half P2ngland and over the continent of America I Must not the interest in a common cause beget common emotions, common convictions, common hoi)es, and common destinies? The spark that has burnt its way through the slime and rubbish of the ocean will no less burn its way through the slime and rubbish of prejudice, that arc so apt to incrust the souls of nations. The intercourse of intelligence, ow so fre([uent and instantaneous, will become more general still as tariffs are lowered and the circulation (luickens, until we shall scarcely know whether the original impulse comes from an American or an English heart. We shall be one, as we were in the beginning, and continue to be one in a higher and superior significui.vjn than we have ever been two nations. (Loud cheers.) srKr:cii of tuf. e.\rl of morlev. The Earl of Mori.f.v, in proi)osing the toast, " Success to Telegraphy," said : — My Lords and gentlemen, it is with feelii ^ J of great diffidence I venture to proj)ose the toast which stands next on the list. I say with great diftidence, after the eloquent speeches we have heard to-night, and also bcransc tint there must be many persons in this room who \\ouldbe much more cajjable ofgixing \ou valuable and 51 interesting information on this subject than I aw.. lUii Uiough I am perfectly unable to do justice to this importuU toast, I feel sure it will commo.Kl itself to you, not only from its own intrinsic imitonance, but al.Mj from the connection in which it stands \vith our guest of to-night, by means o*" whose exertions the ocean has become, instead of a separating barrier, a means of communication between its opposite shores, and a scientinc triumph achieve-' which not only England and America may join, but in which the whole world may take part. It is, moreover, a most remarkable fact, and one which gives us the surest hope of the universal exten£ on of Submarine Telegraphy, that the Atlantic Cable was laid under circumstances of i)erhaps the greatest con- ceivable difficulty. The science was still in its infancy, and its first essay was made in one of the deepest and most dangerous seas in the world. But owing to the perseverance, skill, and scientific knowledge of Mr. Cyrus Field and his associates, these difficulties, insuperable as at one time they apj)eared to b-, have all been overcome (Cheers.) JVIy Lords and Gentlemen, I look not merely to material and corximercial benefits which these lines of Telegrai)h will bring, but to the great moral and social effects whicii must inevitably follow. A nobler feeling of exertion than we Iku e hitherto felt must be induced, a broader spirit rill prevail, qjkI above all, the doctrines cf political freedom, which we hold so dear, will by means of 'I'elegraiihy become more wide-spread and better understood. My Lords anil Gentle- men, I will not detain you longer a*- this late hour. But I do hope, from what has been already said to-night, llmt a stimulus will be afforded to this branch of eliscovery and 52 cnterpii^c, which has for its object scientific iniindvement and tlie echi'ation of mankind. The toast was drunk enthusiastically. Sl'KECH OF M. I)K LESSEI'S. M. Ferdinand 1)e Lessees (who was received with loud cheers) said — Je vien d'etre charge dc vous entretenir des avantages du Telegrai'he electrique entre les diverses i)arties du nion^.ill.iiitii|ue. (Cheers.) llonneur a ses i impagnon- dc lia\ail el tie \ictoire. (bond cheers.) 53 SPEECH OF MR. J. H. LLOYD, Q.C. Mr. John Horatio Lloyd, in proposing " The Health of the Ladies," said :— I have been entrusted with the next toast, which it recjuires httle practice to recommend, " The Health of the Ladies." (Cheers.) But to-night this toast is a special toast, because of those ladies who adorn this room, and more especially as amongst them are the wife, the daughter, and the niece of our distinguished guest. (Loud cheers.) We can now flash across the Atlantic to the fair daughters of the West the greetings of the daughters of our own land. Those of us who have to fight the battle of life will be ready to bear testimony to how much we have been upheld by the smiles of woman. Milton says of Adam and Lve— " They hand in hand, Through Eden took their solitary way." And who can help feeling tiiat in tli.it tliere was a compen- sation for the Kden he was leaving, and that Paradise was not wholly lust. I give you "The Ladie.s." (Cheers.) I'he toast was drunk with all the honours SPEECH OE I.oiin WII.IIWI II \\. M.c. Lord Wii, MAM II.w, ,\LP.. proposed [\w lualih ui the C li.iuiiMi ; lie said :— .Mthou-h the hour is veu I, He. I ,un quite sure there is no one here wlio uii! not join u,;!, me in acknoAJedging (lie to.iM uhuli li.is been knidU enuu^.d to ni) .,iie. 1 am ^m^ .ill pie^enl will illo\\ i at anions the ^ 54 many eminent public men in tliis country tliere is not one who by his pubHc Hfc and character is more quahfied to preside on an occasion Hke the present than the distin- guished nobleman who now occupies the chair. For, whether you refer to the speeches which he has delivered, with a view to direct the mind of our time to subjects of scientific utility — or to his speeches on domestic politics — or to those which he has addressed to us this evening — I think you will allow that they are distinguished not only by perfect mastery of the subjects of which they treat, but also by a generous sympathy and a large-hearted regard for people of all classes, whether dwelling n-ithin or beyond the Ijorders of our own land. And, I may observe, this cosmopolitanism is a characteristic which has not always found favour in the eyes of everyone. It has been frecjuently urged against those who in the course of their public life have shown special good will for persons of all races, without reference to their creed or nationality, that this has been ilone at the ix]ic'nse of their own country. Now if it be true patriotism that a man is with blind i)rejudice to believe in the absolute perfc( tion of everything that belongs to his own country, then I Ixlieve there is some truth in the allegation. Hut a' true paliioti^in (im^i^ts in striving with all your mit^lit to render youv 1' ople ami your institutions as iierfec t .1. it is possible to in ike tlum, r.illuT than in believing tlie\ are already as peile( I as ihev 1 an l>e -tlien you would only Ii i\e to look to main gentlemen aioinid this table, and aliove all to the nol.li l)iiki' uho has presided over us this e\eiiiiiL;, (o Imd examples ol inhhiN to this hi^h (on(ni, without hitlher 65 ceremony, to drink the Health of the Duke of Argyll for his services this evening, and I hope you will respond to the toast in such a manner as will show an appreciation of his great (}ualities, and of the admirable manner in which he has discharged the dudes of president. (Cheers.) The toast having been drunk most cordially, The Duke of Argyll said : I hope you will allow me to return my very sincere thanks. 1 confess I have been very much occujjied during the last few days. (Hear, hear.) I was able to make very little preparation, and I am conscious of many shortcomings in my appearance here on tliis occasion. (Cheers.) I am happy to say that what- ever was wanting in me was more than su[)i)lemented in the speech of my hon. friend Mr. Bright. (Cheers.) T hoi)e you will allow me to read to you another thanks which 1 have received, by telegraph, from Miss Field, New York. — " I thank you most sincerely for the kind words you have spoken of my father, causing me to feel that we are friends, altiiough our a((iuaintan(e is thus made acioss the sea and in a mouKiU of time." (Cheers.) The Company then separated. tp:le(;raphic messages sent and received DURING the banquet. The Duke of Argyll transmitted the following riessago to his Excellency Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, Washington : — " I am now surrounded by upwards of 300 gentlemen and many ladies, who have assembled to do honour to Mr. Cyrus Kick! for his acknowledged exertions in promotini; telegraphic communication between the New and Old World." It bids fair for the kindly influences of the Atlantic cable that its success should have brought together so friendly a gathering and in asking you to join our toast of 'Long life, healih, and happiness to your most worthy countryman,' let me add a Highlander's wish, that England and America may always be found in peace and in war ' Shoulder to shoulder.' " .At a later periotl of the evening an answer was returnetl by the Hon. Wni. H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washmgton, and read by the Duke of Argyll : — " Your salutations to the President from the banciueting-hall at Willis's Rooms have been received. The dinner-hour here has not arrived yet; it is only five o'clock; the sun is yet two hours hi^^h. When thi' dinner-hour arrives the I'lesident will accept y()ur |iKil^e of honour to our distinguished countryman, Cyrus W. lieKI,.inil will cordi.illy rts|)on(l to your 1 ligiil.iiul abpiialion for perpetual union between the two nations." (Cheers.) The I)iike of Argyll sciit the following message to his lAcilleiK y\is( oiinl Moiii k, ( '•o\ ei nor ( ieiier.il of CiiKida : — " 1 .1111 nowpresi.lmg over .1 baii-iuet of ujjwanls .if v>o g<-'"tle- en .iiul ui.iiiN l.ulieu, to do hoiioiii to Mi iMiih lield, otNeW 57 York, for his devotion to the interests of Atlantic telegraphy. It is a good orneii of the influence which the submarine cable between the Nevv and Old World can exercise in our offering this homage of respect to a most worthy American; and I shall be glad to find you reciprocate the sentiment from the table of the Governor of the Canadian Confederation." The Duke f Argyll read his Excellency's answer, which was received with applause : — " From Lord Monck, Quebec, July ist, to the Duke of Argyll, Chairman of the Dinner to Cyrus VV. Field, Esq., London. "In the name of the people in the dominion of Canada, I desire to express our hearty sympathy with the compliment which you are now paying to Mr. Cyrus W. Field. It is specially happy and appropriate that I am enabled to do so by means of that mighty instrument with which his name is inse;:arably connected, the success of which, and the consequent advantages to humanity and the progress of civilisation are mainly due to the self-reliance, enterprise, and energy of your distinguished guest." His Grace sent the following telegram to His Excellency the (iovernor-CJeneral of Cuba, Havana: — " As president of a banquet, attended by upwards of 300 gentlemen, to do honour to Mr. Cyrus Field, of New York, for his eminent services in assisting the promotion of the Atlantic Telegraph, I in\ite you to join in the com])IimrMt o ' red to him this (lay, and to ask )c)u, uliile drinking his hcaltl u happi- ness, to add the good old Spanish congratulation, ' May he live a thousand years I ' " 'I 'ic Citjvernor-deneral of Cui)a forwarded the following repl, to the Duke of .\rgyll: — " I 'no gasteso mi fclicitacion y mi voti) i I.i R liritacion v a brindis de v e pronum i.ulo en este nuuKnte en honor ile in.i C\rM> Iielil por r,us enienales sei vices prestados |)arael establici- ^ 58 mcnto del tclcgrafo Atlantico, y cl saludar a csa honorable con- currencia pido al ciclo que conserve a tanylustrc varon y que vipan V v muchos anos." (Translation.) " I am happy to add my good wishes to yours and to the health which you drink at this moment in honour of Mr. Cyrus W. Field, for his eminent services lent to the laying of' the Atlantic Telegraph. I present my respects to the distinguished company, and pray heaven to preserve this illustrious man, and to cause him to live 'nany years." The following was sent to the Governor of British Columbia : — "Willis's Rooms, London, "Wednesday Evening, July ist. " The Duke of Argyll to his Excellency the Governor of British Columbia. " I am president of a banquet of upwards of 300 English gentlemen, met to pay a homage of respect to Mr. Cyrus Field, of Now ^'ork, for his exertions in promoting the laying of the Atl.intic C.ible. Its success enables the Ul'd World now to talk to the New, and we shall be gratified to find that English colonists, divided from us by thousands of miles, are ready to join in so worthy a compliment to an American citizen, and ask you to drink his good health." His E.\cellcnry sent Ixuk this answer: — "From Frederick Seynuuir, (iovernor, V'ictona, \',-inrouver Island, 7'id \'alentia, to his Grace the Duke of / ■ ,yll. " Columbia joins lu.irtily in the cheers with which the toast ' Cyrus Field ' will be received. We owe much to the tvle}'.ra|)h ; three days' news from Engl.ind; inst.uitaneous conmuiiiK ation with golil mines six hundred iniirs dist.iiit: tiiii^ police Ntringlli virtu.diy doubled. Wc.illier tiuo lau- ; nnnrs ami t.uins tloui lulling; wauohigh; revenue improviiiij. Vour ;M.n, Lortl George, with us, and uiU." 59 This message was sent to the Governor of Newfound- land : — " Willis's Rooms, London, Wednesday F/ening, July i. " The Duke of Argyll to his Excellency the Governor of Newfoundland. " I am surrounded by upwards of 300 gentlemen and many ladies, to do honour to Mr, Cyrus Field, of New York, for his well-known services in promoting the Atlantic Telegraph. I ask you to join in drinking his hcaltli and happiness, and that every prosperity may attend him in all his important pursuits." His Excellency A. Musgrave telegraphed the following I eply to the Duke of Argyll : — " I join with pleasure in toasting my friend Mr. Field, whose name is so indissolubly associated with the great work which draws these provinces still more closely to (ireat Jkitain, and I sincerely wish him prosperity in all his undertakings." The following message was forwarded to Mr. Field's Daughter in New York : — " Willis's Rooms, London, Wednesday Evening, July i. " The Duke of Argyll to Miss Mary Grace Field and Brothers, New York. " I have upwards of 300 gentlemen round me to do honour to your worthy father for all his past labours in connection with tlie Atlantic Cable ; and in asking you to join us in drinking his health, let me offer you my congratulations in being blessed witli so excellent a father, and also to express the hope that his example may insi)irit all his children to follow in the good path he has hitherto led them." A very graceful answer w.is returned by Miss Field, which was greeted with loud < heers : — sincere eausin " New York. July 1st. the kiiul words \ ou ha\e I thank you most Muccrely lor the kiiul words \ou lia\e spoken ot nv fatln. 1, causing uie to teei that we are Irieniis, altliouj^h our acq.ianitanee is lluis made across the sea, and in a moment of tun .'' 60 This message was received : — " From Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, Poughkeepsic, New York, July I, to his Grace the Duke of Argyll, Willis's Rooms, London. " Greeting to all met to perform an act of national justice. May this divine attribute ever be the companion of tht. tele- graph in its true mission of binding the nations of the entire world in bonds of peace ! Special greeting to the guest, to Cooke and Whcatstone, to Sir Charles Bright, and to White- house."' A telegram was sent to New York, to which the annexed answer was returned : — "From Peter Cooper, President, New York; July ist. " The Duke of Argyll, Willis's Rooms, London, " The Directors of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company are rejoiced that the services of their associate, Mr. Cyrus W. Field, are recognised in England, as they have lung been recognised in America. They beg leave to join you in congratulating him, and they trust that his highest claims to the gratitude of the world will be found to consist in the communication which will bind together the nations of the world in perpetuid peace." (Cheers.) The following is a message from Alexandria addressed to Captain Sherard Osborn, R.N., C.B. : — "Wednesday, July ist, 6 P.M. " No news, political or commercial. Hale, American Consul^ General, and St.inley, correspondent of the AW) York Hitald, (loin Abyssinia, jiiiii me in greeting Cyrus Field from the banks of the Nile and the shadow of the Pyram'ds. A grand ceremony, ill which a Sheik on horseback rides over the bodies of hundreds of prostrate iMosleius, and the faithful are eating snakes and g' iss, and |)assing sharp instruments into their Ijodies, is taking place at Cairo, on the s;iie return of thr Mecca iMra\:iii, Cairo is li-hteil with gas from tlie mw uorksest.iblislu-d b> .m lai-lish CompauN. ' of electricity and the electric tele- graph. These have been the eyes of the great enterprise, and perhaps, like the eyes in the body, though they see for others they are comparatively un=een themselves. But that which occupies a large space in the world's eye generally more or less deserves it, and mere science, it should always be remembered, cannot achieve these great results. The practical genius, the administrative skill, the labour and patience which are necessary to translate science into fact are far greater than is generally appreciated. It is one thing to know that if a copper wire be stretched from England to America communications can be transmitted along it ; but it remains to lay the wire, and that is, perhaps, at least, half the whole achievement. It is some- times thought hard that those who accomplish the final step in these triumphs receive so large a portion of the glory, and eclipse the fame of others, who had dreamt of, and had even planned, the same result, and had all but reached it. But the truth is, that in such matters a thing half done, or all but done, remains not done at all, and tl' : man who supplies the last link needed, or who discerns the necessary combinations, or whose energy and faith animate the successful effort, deserves the credit of makin- .i reality out of a mere speculation. Many men, doubtless, hatl dre.imt of America before Columbus, but the energy which organised a voyage of discovery ami actually 04 found the new continent won and deserved the fnnie. Merc knowledge is itself a great possession ; but we want things done as well as known, and wc are impelled by an irresistible instinct to honour the men who actually do them, or get them done. This is Mr. Cyrus Field's distinction. By general confession it is «^^ him we owe it , at the science of men like Faraday and Wheatstone was utilized, and that philosophers and sailors and capitalists and Governments were all united to produce one great result. It is surprising even now to read his enumeration of the agencies which co-operated in the work. Scientific investigations above and beneath the sea, the survey of the Atlantic basin, the manufacture jf the cables, the mechanical appliances for laying them, the skilful seamanship, the great ship, the enterprises of capitalists, the ability of directors, the resources of Governments — " in a word, the unexampled combi- " nation of nautical, electrical, engineering, and executive re- " sources " — all these were necessary to stretch that piece of wire from continent to continent. We may imagine what cnergj', determination, and skill were needed to set all these agents at work and to maintain them in working order, in spite of disappointments, and it is as having been the principal cause of this perseverance and co operation that Mr. Field received so handsop- cknowledgment the other evening. The occasion aturally ompted an interchange of those mutual good ft^-iings whiv,n every one desires to cultivate between England and America, and which are, perhaps, best cultivated by comni' \ enterprises, such as the Atlantic Cable. Englishmen and Americans both shared in the work, but it would be out of place to apportion the fame, fnr, as Mr. P'ield happily observed, they are all of the English race. If there be a nation greater than ourselves at the other end of the Cable, and if, as he predicted, it will have increased to three times our number within our own generation, we may remember with 65 pride that it has sprung from our soil, and they, like Mr. Field, may be proud of their English ancestr>'. It is to be hoped, as the Duke of Argyll expressed it, that the two countries will always stand "shoulder to shoulder" as firmly as in this achievement, and the Cable will be one ol the most powerful mear.s for strengthening th-s useful friendship. But it may be remembered that with all the passion and the blindness of human nature to contend against, it will, after all, be as great a work to establish and maintain such a brotherhood as to lay Atlantic Cables. Orators like Mr. Bright may detect the electric current of affinity, and may discern, like him, noble visions in the distance of the blessi'^gs it will confer on the world; but to accomplish the resuii will still require the long and patient labour of statesmen. As Mr. Bright lamented, a general pacification is still a dream, because the practical means of settling national disputes without an appeal to the sword l-.s yet to be created. If England and America, working in har- mony, ca., discover that bond of union, they will have done a greater work for r ikind than by any of the triumphs of science. The Atlantic Cable is a great achievement ; but such a system of arbitration as Mr. Bright desired v.ould be infinitely greater, and the honours of Mr. Cyrus Field would be trivial compared with the blessings which the author of such a reform would receive from the world. The idea, it is true, now seems Quixotic; but so would the Atlantic Cable have bes.n thouglit fifty years ago. Will any one venture to say that as important discoveries may not be awa-ting us in the political as in the scientific world I The hope may be destined to disappointment, but few can bring themselves to discard it entirely. {From The Daily Telegraph.) Amongst the countless gatherings, political, social, or fashion- able, which have been held in Willis's Rooms few can have Gf) been more memorable in the occasion of iheir assenibbnj,' than that which took place last niglu. The company collected was no unworthy epitome of the rank, fortune, talent, and eneri^y which compose the world of London. All classes, all professions, all shades of politics, all b/anches of commercial enterprise were represented in the crowd which met to celebrate the most strikin;^ achievement of ( ar time. In the present day, we ^aow so rajiidly .iccustomed to anything which is once established that o.ir sense of wonder is marvellously shattered. It now scorns as natural and common-place an affaii lo send a message from London to New York in the space of a few minutes as it does to travel by train between Charing Cross and L-over. An ctTc.rt of the imagination is reciuired U) realise the f.ict, not that the tran>mission of news by telegraph Ixtween Engl.md and America has become possible, but that two years ago it was imi)ossible. It would be idle, thereiore, to recite the wonder and the greatness of an undertaking which, for all purposes of ccm.numicalion, has i^ractirally annihil.ited the ilistance 'n'weeu the < )ld World and the New. No amount of tire writing, no exercise of or..toric.d ability, can .uld anything to the magnitude of the fact whose accomplishment w, is, so ti> speak, the " tiist cause" of last night's demonbtration. ' M" the living masters of Lnglish elo(|Ucnce none stands hig'.u , ih, in John I'riglit ; and yet even the great i)Ojuil.u m.itdr fHihl ?.ay nniliing about the All.iiuic 'I'elrgia, 'i iiinre ti lliiig and iiKi'e w (nuk iiil tli.oi the (•nmm(.n-pl,ice fact tint .uiy pi i: tin nia\ v. ilk to-d.ix into a senie of ol'tice^ in Ldiidci" .aid ^iiul a nu -^age 'o the 1 ir Westerr. world, whose ^hores are seii.ir.Unl 1. un nui i.\mi by thuus.iiuls (it miles of desert ocean, and ni i\ reeeiv<- .1 rep!> m llie ( iiutse 111" ,ui iiiUiN.il nu,i-^uii.il li\ iniiKiti-. r.itlui th.in li\ hours. If there .ire sermons in stones, s'luly m .1 t.Kgr.im despatched frnni New York and puMi-.lud m our 1 oiulon papers on the same il.iy, there i^ .1 le^soll which nv d- no coin- 67 montary to point its mnral, no exposition to enforce its grandeur. It is characteristic of our English nauiro that two full years should have elapsed before any worthy public recognition was given to the authors and promoters of the enterprise. Even after the experiment had been proved possible, its practical success had to be established by the working of experience before the public opinio-^ of England could pronounce the fnial verdict i i approval. : over, abstract truths .,ced to be per- sonified before they co ..■ home t(< our Anglo-Saxon nature. It is not in us to get up a dcmonstra;i in fwo ir of an idea. Tiie rule of our public banquets ho'ds good witii reference to all manifestations of public enthusiasm, and with every sentiment there must necessariiv be associatetl the name of an intlividual. 'i lie name wliicli tiie grneral estimate of the jjubiic- an esti- mate selilom erroneous in such, matters -ha', associated uitli die idea of Transatlantic Telegr.ipiiv is that of .Mr. Cyrus I'UKI, the guest of la i nigh.s dinner. 'I'l.e credit of the unciertaking is far too vast to be monopolised by any single n iiue ; and common justice, as well as a regard for national honour, Ijids as n.-member that the maten.il resources of the enterprise were due in the main \i> Ilnglish energy, Enghsh wealth, a\v\ EnglisI perseve.Mnce. The organised power of an old country «-'s reijuired to accomplish an ntulertaking too imiiu ii^e to be sue ccssfully gras|)ed by the not i -s powerful, but k^s eoncentiati. d resouiees of a new conmiunit}. .Still, i the glory of tlio ultimate ailiievement rests with I .nglaiul, the credit of having conceived .iiid i'liti.ited the mleriirise must be .iseiibeii to Americ.i. .And, of the Aiui'iiein pioneer-, ut the uoik. there is none who h,,s labouuil so indefitig.djly as .Mr. L'\ius 'uld. The distinguished guest deserves to l)e nundieicd anion.,' the " representati\e men " o'" In - oun coui'lry. ll )ou want to under- stand how it is that Amerie.i h.is ;;rown to be what she is, \ou 68 must seek for an explanation in the fact that men f the Fi«.kl type a/c not only to be found among her citizens, ijut are able to develop their peculiar powers after .' fashion impossible in an old-fashioned country like our own. We Kn-lish do not lack men of genius, energy, and enter- prise; but with us such men are compelled, perforce, to labour each in his own groove, la the Old World, the battle of life is often too active, the strr.ggle for existence too keen, for a per- son to choose the .^'>:k which he shall set himself to do. Partly by chance, jiarlh by ijirlh, |)artly by inclination, each is guided to some ])ursuit, and each nuibt struggle on as best he may, knowing that if he turn out of the be.iten track he can scarcely hope to regain his place on the highway of life. lUit across the Atlantic, monilly as nc il as materially, there is more elbow- room, if \ou ^.tumble in the race you can pick yourself up again with scant los-. or injury. If \ou have got hokl of an idea, you cm follow it out l)ra.\cl\ without heeding nuich how much Us pursuits will in in with the regular business of your ilk', i'he dread of falling out of the r.u e. of being left straniled, which oi)erates so powerfully to kv p laiglislunen constant to their appointed labour, hardly intliiences Americans perceptibly. All pursuits are practically open to the inhabitants of that vast h.df-unoccui>ieil continent. Ifyoaf.iilas .i preacher, you m.iy liccome .1 cornftctor; if politics pl.iy )oii fdse, you can go in (or (111; it\(Pi. "eraek ii]) ' ni tiie l'..ist xou can start .dresh in the West ; .md so wluu men like Cyrus Field get hold ot an ide.i. they loU.iw It with a peitiiiaiit\ .ind disie^.ird (or < onse- (lueiucs searceK to be i).uall led in the uld mother country. I'robably m no ollui land is the ni'mliei ot jiatents amui.diy taken out so great, in iUKpnUKni to ilu miin''ei hnHnt. When even friendly critics began to dnul)t whether a cal^le coulil l)e laid down from shore to ihore. Cyrus Field, "faithful among the faithles-,,'" remained a very ,\bdiel of tele- graphy. For years he w.is always crossing the .Atlantic in the interests of the \.iri(ius sehenus designed to carry out tlie i)ro- jcet, and no small ))ortiiin of its success was due to the con- tiilence in its uliim.Uc triumph which he m.inaged tn imp.iti to all who c.nne w ithm ll.e langr iif his intluenrc His taitli h.is bern reu.inlrd. li'like mo-,t dcvot. cs ol an ulci, he li.is lived to SIT In. (Inam accomplislieHl, w liile he is still able lo fujoy tlu' |)iibiu' recognition of his services in the e.uisi- ot science and liiiiii.iii j)roj;ress. \\\11, iimKkI, lia-^ he nuntid the hoiioiii . p.nd I' liim List ni.;lit. Tail ol ,ill the tokens of resjiert uhhh iluie aii'i thru uur oii(U' occasion when so large and miscel- l.uieou-^ an iingli.li , .Miip.iU) was so sincere and so enthusiastic 111 p.i>iiig homage to a distinguished guest. 72 Much of the honour of course was entirely personal. It was tendered to Mr, Field becaus.- he individually had deserved it. Mr. Bright, in a few words, accurately described Mr. Field's position as regards the Atlantic Telegraph. Other men may have thought of the project ; other men may, for aught we know, have thought of it even before he did ; other men may have mentally planned it out, and proposed schemes for its realisation. Other men have actually contributed by their science, their skill, their patience, their capital, their genius to make the idea a success. The idea is not exclusively Mr. Field's ; nor is the success exclusively his. But, assuredly, his was the energy, the prodigious strength of will, the uncon- querable perseverance which forced the scheme upon the intel- lect, the .ictivity, and the inthience of England and America, and never desisted until the dream had become a reality. A slight and delicate allusion was made once or twice last night to the sacrifices Mr. Field had niade,the responsibilities he had incurred, the ribks he had run, to bring forward his darling scheme again and again after each new defeat and disaster. There are more men by far who could bear to make the sacrifices than men who could raise their heads as Mr. Field did, undismayed after every defeat, full of new ho;ie after each disaster. Certainly that glorious vit.ility of h()j)e is one of the r.uest as it is one of the gr.indest of human attributes. Mr. Field brought to the great project witii whicli his life will be identified more than the genius of a discoverer he ijrought the cour.ige, tin- energy, the iit.ut .111(1 iio|)e of .1 very conqiuKjr. Thertfnrc was hi ,hare in the work so uni(|ue; therefore did the (oinp.uiy ,it Willis's Rooms List night do him special honour. But m honouring iiim they ho- nourcdalsohis country, iieltcr words, holier mess. igc ofjicaceand brotherhood, were never smt along a wire th.mthose which thrill hI l.ist nigh! tiiiiiiigh ilu .li jitlis i>l tin- All.iiiiic, fioiu the Fnglibhniv'n .iruuiul Mr. f uld lo the lueth . m of their race in Ameiica. jik a 1 73 f^ (From The Daily News.) It is gratifying to witness the eagerness which is now mani- fested in this country to recognise the services of those among our American kmsmcn who have distinguished themselves either by their writings or their deeds. A year ago a brilhant company composed of men of every rank in Hfe and school of thought, assembled to honour the victorious abolitionists of America in die person of Mr. Lloyd Garrison, their heroic leader. At this moment controversies have been occasioned by the desire to pay merited respect by proffering choice hospitality to Mr. Long- fellow. The r>anquet just given to Mr. Cyrus Field is another mark of the same praiseworthy feeling. He is a type of the commercial spirit, rather than of the politics or the intellect of America. To his energy tlie successful laying of the Atlantic Cable is probably due. Others certainly furnished the scientific knt)wledge, and displayed the practical skill, without which no mechanical work can be prosecuted to a triumphant close; but to Mr. Field belongs the merit of stimulating those who were lukewarm, and communicating his own well-founded ciunictions in the feasibility of the enterprise to men whose f.uth had waxed cold aff.r repeated failures. The enli^rtamment at which he was the guest was a compliment of which he had good reason to be proud. There are W\\ occasions on which tile Duke of Argyll coukl count on the su|)port of Sir John I'akington and .Sir Stafford Northcote ; still nu)re exception.U is it for Mr. liriglit to respond to a toast proposed bv a Tory .Se* retary of St.ite. Mr. Field deserveil the jti-.tises he received; still wf may believe that not a htt'e of the lie.irtiness of kindly sentiment exhibited by all the spe.ikers was partly due to the fut of Ins n.Uion.ility. .Sir St.ilford Northcote pro|iose(i .is a to.ist. " 1 lie pe.uo ami commercial prosperit\ ol (ire.it Untain '• .uul the L'luteil Si.ites." .Ainu! Iie.utv .isseiiimg elieeis, .Mr. 74 Bright interpreted this to mean "that we are all in favour of a " growing and boundless trade with America, and, at the same " time, of an unbroken friendship with its people." We antici- pate that the country will fervently reciprocate this sentiment. On both sides of the Atlantic there is something to forgive and something to remember. Old enmities and prejudices have to be consigned to oblivion. Feelings of brotherhood, amity, and mutual respect have to be cherished. If this demonstration should t( id to undo what is reprehensible, and to cement a friendship at once noble and desirable, the Atlantic Cable, in addition to facilitating commercial intercourse, will prove a true link of unit)n between the Great American Republic and the British Empire. {From Thk Standard). The triumph of Ocean Telegraphy was complete at Willis's Rooms on Wednesday night, when Cyrus Field enjoyed an honorary banquet. On that very evening messages of mutual congratulation were exchanged between London, the United States, Canada, and Columbia. On that ver)^ day dividends had been paiil on every description of Atlantic Telegraph stock ; so that, mechanically and tinancially, the cables are working without a fault, and the expcctati(jn is that year by year, as their tariffs slacken, their value as properti(. s will be rnhanced. But there is an importance on this subject above lliat of shareholders, and even of politics or commerce. The great sti;..a of the world, at present, notwithstanding races and creeds, wars and temporary disruptions, is tow.iids an amalg.imation of intcriils through l.icilities of intcrcouise. Oin part of .N.iture, it would alivost seem, becoming inipatitiU nt lu i>clf. resdpts to anolliLi for ri-liif. 'I'he ni.ip gi\c^ u-1 isilimu'^es, n luntai, , channels, dee])-se> 75 the proposals for piercing the central joint of the American con- tinent ; the scheme of a direct overland communication between India and China, through Burmah and Thibet; the hundred projects for digging a way, under water, from Dover to Calais, all belong to the same category; and, in the end, this impatience of obstacles, this desire to economise time, and submit as little as possible to the exigencies of space, may safely be predicted to work one extraordinary revolution after another in our relations wi*h the physical world. It was not a new, and yet it was an astonishing circumstance, at that King Street dinner on Wednes- day, to have the chairman corresponding, each half-hour or so, with quarters of the globe which, in other ages, it was deemed heretical to believe in — with New York, Quebec, and Victoria. Still, the motive instinct of the whole discovery, with its results, enters into the most ancient history of men. It was represented by the classic beacon-fire, flashing from cape to cape; the modern courier, killing his horse rather than fail of time ; the post, the express, the steam-engine, the sea-signal, everything that could quicken the intelligence of one circle of community in reaching another. As, however, Sir John Pakington reminded the guests assembled in honour of Mr. Cyrus Field, it is not long since the Atlantic voyage was an affair of at least six weeks ; tiien the finest packets, impelled by the most powerful machinery known, could not reduce it to within less than ten or eleven days ; but now, l\Ir. Field, at dinner, sends greeting to his dauglitcr at New York, and his daughter, from New York, sends greetin.sT to him at dessert. Yet it is not to reiterate our self-congratulations, already familiar, over the victories of tlie electric wire, that we refer to the ceiel^ration of Wednesday evening. It is rather to follow the traii\ of suggestions ])ointed out Ijv tlie eminent Americ.ui gentienian wliose serxicrs in comKCtioii uilh the Atlantic i'ele- giaph weic llicu niobt justi\ culngihcd. The time has gone b> for 76 marvelling, as for doubting. "^Vc • v.v v iit an instrument is in our hands ; wc have cxhausiod ■; .n^.wison with the past; our question is henceforth of in.: future. This submarine agency is not merely for the promotion of trade, for explanations between Cabinets, for the enrichment of gossip, for the stimulating of table-talk, or, as some think, for the para'^^'ng of ?p:'cul:\tion. That cargo which, as Mr. Bright said, was not intended for any port, but to be sunk in solitary depths, brings in a thousand ways the two vast swarms of the Anglo-Saxon brood together, and with what purpose ? With a purpose precisely akin to that of the I'ost Office, of the Exchange, of the common promenade, of the friendly gathering, in all civilised countries. It has an immense social meaning. Mr. Field is right in recalling the difficulties that had to be encountered before he, or others who had gone before, or acted with him, could plan and carry out the full scheme of a cable between two distant continents, from its conception to its mechanism ; through the closet, the laboratory, the furnace, and the forge; througli the inevitable succession of blunders and the equally inevitable financial collapses, through the crisis of unj)aralleled feats in navigation, and under the eyes of that monstrous sceptic. Public Ignorance. But what is yet to come now that we have won the secret of success and wear its trophies ? We have to remember, says Mr. Field, India, Australia, China, Japan, .South America, and the Islands of the Sea, all of which have to be brought into instantaneous relation with Great Britain and the United States. That is the practical point. Having done so much, what more m.iy we expect to be done / Russia finds now that lier disp.itches tra\el slowly from circle to circle \\ithin her ever-expanding range of empire. We learned the same lesson in Hrilish Indi.i long ago. It has been taught, indeed, wherever civilisation — of that kind, at ie.ist, which the nineteenth century acknowledges- exists. I'o \iv without the Electric relegra|)h is, m tlie I'nited Kingdom, to be behind the age. We are actually looking for it as a machinery of daily domestic correspondence. How much greater its influence, however, when its light pierces amid the vast and dis- solute dominions, hitherto unconqucrcd and uncalmed, of Eastern Asia— is visible at Pekin, transmits news from the huge Oriental continent to the " still- vexed " islands of Japan, and even reaches the lonely groups of Polynesia. It is a proverb concerning projectors that they dream. Gal van i had a dream generations ago. Mr. Cyrus Field had a dream, when he was a young man, and has crossed the Atlantic forty times in order to help in fulfilling it, and he accepts his share of the glory with a generous desire that others should, as they deserve, amply and equally share it with him. However, we cherish his prophecy, for it is a practical one, that the Electric Telegraph, whether over land or under sea, has yet a splendid work to accomplish, and will accomplish it. no matter what may seem " insuperable," for the benefit of mankind. {From The Morning Post). The banquet given to Mr. Cyrus Field on Wednesday last was a tribute honestly and hardly ear ' oy that gentleman by the great services he has rendered in ..e establishment of a tele- graphic communication between the European and American continents. We get accustomed to cver\ liing very soon in these times, and the Atlantic Cable is already coming to be looked upon with as little concern as if it were a legacy from the ancient Prilons, but yet it does still awaken a little interest when we are told that a number of gentlemen, seated at dinner in London, have transmitted toasts to the other side of the globe and received answers lu them before rising from table. The Presi- dent of tlie United States, indeed, had to postpone his acceptance of the toast, for he n-mind' d those who asked him to drmk it that the telegraj)!! liad outrun the sun, and that "the dinner-hour 78 " hero is not nrrivcil yet ; it is only five o'clock ; the sun is yet " two hours high;'' and the whole series of mcssa;^cs which were sent over the continent of America, and answered in the space of a dinner time, were calculated to bring clearly before us the full magnitude of the work to which Mr. Cjrus Field has so largely contributed. The Duke of Argyll paid an appropriate tribute to the purely speculative philosophers who march in the van of all progress, and to the difficulties they have to encounter, when he remarked th.^t the most annoying question such men ever have put to them is, " What use are these discoveries V and suggested ihit the banquet at which he was then presiding should be enough to answer all such objections once and for ever. But the Atlantic Telegraph, as he also pointed out, is a triumph not only of pure, but also of applied science, involving as it has the greatest strain upon the engineering, mechanical, and nautical skill of the two nations which are foremost in the world in those matters. Furthermore, it is a great tj-iumph for what is called the " spirit of commercial enterprise," which is also in its way an applied science, and which has never before brought men to hazard more boldly, to persevere more courageously, or to succeed more triumphantly than in the case of the Atlantic Cable. The confidence of its promoters must have been great indeed, for no failures seemed to daunt them and Mr. Cyrus Field himself, as wc learn, was so certain that sooner or later, it must succeed, and so anxious that it should, that he not only gave up his time and talents to the enterprise, but " risked every farthing of his own private fortune in pro- moting its success." It is no empty phrase to call this " the mightiest achievement which human intellect, in our knowledge of llie world, has ever accomplished,'" anil it is no unmeaning compliment to describe Mr. Field, as Mr. Bright chjes, as " the Columbus of the 19th century," for what he has so greatly helped to bring about dues, mi fact, amount to nothing less than a new 79 discovery of A i^cnc , Mr. Field hiiiiself appears to bear his honours most g' , for he recalled the names of those who have prccedi .1 .ti. ink of tlie great nation which has gone forth from among us and lias pl.inted itself so firmly in the West. 'I'he feelings of oui two cdMntric s cannot fiil tn ueat in unison, our interests are identical, our objects not antagonistic, and both of us owe a debt of gratitude to those who. like Mr. Cyrus Field, ha\e worked out an entirjinse which nas do-'e much and will do more to cement the good (eeling between us. Mbtchim It Son, 20, P.u-lamciU Sircct, .'"..W . jml 31, ClememN I.aiic, EC.