IRLF 
 
 SB 31k k?l 
 

 
MR. PEABODY'S 
 
 PARTING DINNER TO THE AMERICANS 
 
 CONNECTED WITH THE GREAT 
 
 EXHIBITION. 
 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT 
 THE DINNER GIVEN BY 
 
 TO THE AMERICANS CONNECTED WITH 
 
 THE GREAT EXHIBITION 
 AT THE LONDON COFFEE HOUSE 
 
 LUDGATE HILL 
 ON THE 27 OCTOBER 1851 
 
 WILLIAM PICKERING 
 
 M DCCC LI 
 
L.J -^ 
 
 PRINTED FOB, PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION. 
 
{us Wwk is inscrifieti 
 
 TO 
 
 THE NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN 
 
 PRESENT AT 
 
 MR. PEABODY'S DINNER, 
 
 AND TO ALL OTHER PROMOTERS OF INTERNATIONAL 
 
 COURTESY AND GOOD WILL 
 
 BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
The Loving Cup. 
 
I 
 
 HE Dinner reported in the follow- 
 ing pages was given by MR. PEA- 
 BODY with the double purpose of 
 manifesting his respect for the Gentlemen who 
 were his guests, and of fostering brotherly 
 love, and cementing yet closer the re-union, 
 between England and America. With this 
 view he selected, as the spot where it should 
 take place, the London Coffee House, Lud- 
 gate Hill, where more than three quarters of 
 a century ago FRANKLIN and his friend 
 STR AH AN used to meet and discuss in a friend- 
 ly way, over a chop, the affairs of the Colonies, 
 and devise means for reconciliation and friend- 
 ship between them and the Mother Country. 
 The Gentlemen, both Englishmen and 
 Americans who sat down to this Dinner, 
 among whom was one of the descendants of 
 FRANKLIN himself, all participated in the 
 feelings of MR. PEABODY, if we may judge by 
 the friendly sentiments expressed by all the 
 
speakers of that evening. The proceedings of 
 this international entertainment, though but 
 very imperfectly reported, were noticed and 
 favourably commented upon, by many of the 
 leading journals of the Metropolis. Consider- 
 ing therefore the importance which has thus 
 justly been given to the affair, many Gentle- 
 men, both of this Country and my own, have 
 thought it deserved a more permanent form 
 than the columns of a daily paper. I have 
 accordingly at their suggestion, and with the 
 permission of MR. PEABODY, undertaken to 
 prepare a full and corrected account of it ; 
 and in doing so have been kindly assisted 
 by the several Gentlemen who spoke at the 
 Dinner, and have been favoured with the 
 advice of others interested in it. 
 
 I venture to hope that this little book will, 
 in some degree, be instrumental in strength- 
 ening that bond of moral and friendly union 
 between England and America which it was 
 the wish of FRANKLIN'S heart to establish, 
 and is and ever will be MR. PEABODY'S aim 
 
 to perpetuate. 
 
 HENRY STEVENS, 
 
 of Vermont. 
 Morley's Hotel, London, 
 
 Nov. 20, 1851. 
 
NAMES OF THE PERSONS INVITED TO 
 MR. PEABODY'S DINNER. 
 
 THE EIGHT HONORABLE EARL GRANVILLE, CHAIRMAN OF 
 
 THE ROYAL COMMISSION. 
 HIS EXCELLENCY ABBOTT LAWRENCE, MINISTER OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES AT LONDON. 
 HIS EXCELLENCY SIR HENRY LYTTON BULWER, HER 
 
 MAJESTY'S MINISTER AT WASHINGTON. 
 HON. ROBERT J. WALKER, LATE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 MR. THOMSON HANKEY, JUN. GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 SIR JOSEPH PAXTON, CHATSWORTH. 
 SIR CHARLES FOX, LONDON. 
 MR. JOSHUA BATES, LONDON. 
 
 COL. THOMAS ASPINWALL, UNITED STATES CONSUL, LONDON. 
 MR. E. ASHCROFT, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 MR. GEORGE ATKINSON, LONDON. 
 MR. W. C. BAKER, PHILADELPHIA. 
 MR. THOMAS BARING, M.P. ROYAL COMMISSIONER. 
 MR. BATEMAN, BALTIMORE. 
 MR. EDWARD B. BIGELOW, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 MR. E. IRVING BIGELOW, BOSTON. 
 MR. GEORGE W. BILLINGS, ILLINOIS. 
 DR. J. R. BLACK, KENTUCKY. 
 DR. FRANCIS BOOTT, LONDON. 
 MR. PETER BORTHWICK, LONDON. 
 MR. EDMUND T. BRIDGE, NEW YORK. 
 DR. C. S. BREWSTER, PARIS. 
 MR. H. POMEROY BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 MR. JOHN CARTER BROWN, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND. 
 MR. NICHOLAS BROWN, NEW YORK. 
 MR. SAMUEL CABOT, BOSTON. 
 
10 
 
 MR. WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, U. S. CONSUL, ROTTERDAM. 
 
 MR. J. CHICKERING, BOSTON. 
 
 MR. C. F. CHICKERING, BOSTON. 
 
 COL. SAMUEL COLT, CONNECTICUT. 
 
 MR. FRANCIS P. CORBIN, VIRGINIA. 
 
 MR. T. B. COSTER, ALABAMA. 
 
 MR. ELIOT CRESSON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 MR. J. C. BANCROFT DAVIS, or MASSACHUSETTS, SECRETARY 
 
 OF THE LEGATION OP THE UNITED STATES, LONDON. 
 MR. CHARLES F. DENNET, BOSTON. 
 MR. DAVID DICK, NEW YORK. 
 MR. R. DICKINSON. 
 MR. N. S. DODGE, MASSACHUSETTS, SECRETARY TO THE AMERICAN 
 
 COMMISSION. 
 MR. J. B. DUFF. 
 MR. E. DUNN. 
 MR. JAMES EIVES, LONDON. 
 SIR HENRY ELLIS, LONDON. 
 MR. G. B. FARIBAULT, QUEBEC. 
 MR. OSGOOD FIELD, NEW YORK. 
 MR. THOMAS FISHER, PHILADELPHIA. 
 MAJOR GENERAL C. R. FOX, LONDON. 
 MR. C. E. FULLER, LONDON. 
 DON PASCUAL DE GAYANGOS, MADRID. 
 MR. WILLIAM GILES, NEW YORK. 
 MR. L. GODDARD, LONDON. 
 MR. ROBERT HOWE GOULD, CONNECTICUT. 
 MAJOR JOSEPH GRAFTON, BOSTON. 
 MR.. J. STUART GWYNNE, NEW YORK. 
 MR. SAMUEL CARTER HALL, ADDLESTONE, SURREY. 
 MR. WILLIAM HANCE. 
 MR. ALFRED C. HOBBS, BOSTON. 
 MR. DAVID HOFFMAN, BALTIMORE. 
 MR. FRANK HOLLINS, BALTIMORE. 
 MR. HOLLOWAY. 
 MR. G. W. HOPKINS. 
 CAPT. HOVEY, SHIP DEVONSHIRE. 
 MR. O. HUSSEY, BALTIMORE. 
 MR. HENRY INSKIPP, LONDON. 
 MR. W. A. JACKSON, VIRGINIA. 
 MR. JENNINGS. 
 
11 
 
 MR. JOSHUA W. JONES, NEW YORK. 
 
 MR. JOHN LAMSON, BOSTON. 
 
 MR. CURTIS M. LAMPSON, LONDON. 
 
 MR. GEORGE C. LAMPSON, LONDON. 
 
 COL. T. BIGELOW LAWRENCE, BOSTON, ATTACHED TO THK 
 
 LEGATION or THE UNITED STATES, LONDON. 
 MR. CHARLES A. LESLIE, LONDON. 
 COL. J. A. LLOYD, LONDON. 
 MR. LLOYD, LONDON. 
 REV. SAMUEL K. LOTHROP, BOSTON. 
 MR. S. E. LOW, LONDON. 
 MR. A. MACNAMARA, LONDON. 
 MR. M'CARTY. 
 
 MR. O. M'DANIEL, NEW JERSEY. 
 MR. M'DERMOT, LONDON. 
 MR. MCDONALD. 
 MR. J. M'FARLANE, NEW YORK. 
 
 GEN. W. GIBBS M'NEILL, RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 MR. H. W. T. MALI. 
 
 MR. MALLALIEU, LONDON. 
 
 MR. RALPH MARSH. 
 
 MR. JONATHAN MASON, BOSTON. 
 
 MR. ARTHUR MASON, BOSTON. 
 
 MR. PLINY MILES, NEW YORK. 
 
 MR. ARTHUR MOORE. 
 
 MR. CHARLES MOREY, BOSTON. 
 
 CAPT. J. T. NEWTON, UNITED STATES NAVY. 
 
 MR. DAVID A. NEAL, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 MR. E. G. OELRICKS. 
 
 MR. J. J. OSBORN. 
 
 MR. W. GORE OUSLEY, LONDON. 
 
 MR. E. G. OUSLEY, LONDON. 
 
 MR. B. F. PALMER, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 MR. JOHN W. PARKER, JUN. LONDON. 
 
 MR. HENRY H. PAUL, LONDON. 
 
 MR. ARTHUR L. PAYSON, BOSTON. 
 
 MR. CHARLES H. PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 REV. EDWARD W. PEET, NEW JERSEY. 
 
 MR. JOHN C. PICKERSGILL, LONDON. 
 
 DR. LYON PLAYFAIR, LONDON. 
 MR. ROBERTS. 
 
12 
 
 MR. EDWARD RIDDLE, BOSTON, UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER. 
 
 COL. BENJAMIN S. ROTCH, BOSTON. 
 
 MR. JOHN RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY. 
 
 MR, M. B. SAMPSON, LONDON. 
 
 MR. W. F. SHATTUCK, VERMONT. 
 
 MR. LE GRAND SMITH, NEW YORK. 
 
 MR. E. R. SMITH, VIRGINIA. 
 
 MR. HORATIO G. SOMERBY, BOSTON. 
 
 MR. JAMES T. SOUTTER, NEW YORK. 
 
 MR. CHARLES F. STANSBURY, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES 
 
 COMMISSIONER. 
 
 MR, J. STANSBURY, LONDON. 
 MR. HENRY STEVENS, VERMONT. 
 MR. JOHN R. ST. JOHN, BUFFALO. 
 MR. RUSSELL STURGIS, LONDON. 
 MR. JAMES STURGIS, BOSTON. 
 MR. GEORGE SUMNER, BOSTON. 
 GENERAL JOSEPH G. SWIFT, NEW YORK. 
 MR. W. M'REE SWIFT. 
 MR. EDWARD H. THOMSON, MICHIGAN. 
 MR. PISHEY THOMPSON, LONDON. 
 MR. EDWARD G. TUCKERMAN, NEW YORK. 
 MR. W. J. VALENTINE. 
 MR. PETTY VAUGHAN, LONDON. 
 BARON DE VIDEL, PARIS. 
 GEN. HIRAM WALBRIDGE, NEW YORK. 
 MR. MARCUS WALKER, BOSTON. 
 MR. HORATIO WARD, LONDON. 
 MR. J. WATSON. 
 
 MR. DANIEL WELLS, JUN. WISCONSIN. 
 MR. ARTHUR WESTMACOTT, LONDON. 
 MR. WETHERED, BALTIMORE. 
 MR. MARSHALL WOODS, PROVIDENCE. 
 MR. EDWARD J. WOOLSEY, NEW YORK. 
 MR. HENRY WIKOFF, NEW YORK. 
 MR. G. W. YAPP, LONDON. 
 
ACCOUNT. 
 
 N the twenty-seventh of October, 
 1851, MR. GEORGE PEABODY of 
 London gave a parting dinner at 
 the London Coffee House to the 
 American Gentlemen connect- 
 ed with the Exhibition. The 
 Guests, whose names have been already given in 
 these pages, consisted of the Americans known to 
 be in London, and also of many English gentle- 
 men. 
 
 The Hall was appropriately and beautifully 
 decorated under the direction of MR. STEVENS 
 and MR. SOMERBY. Behind the chair was placed 
 HAYTER'S full length portrait of HER MAJESTY: 
 on the one side of which was STUART'S WASHING- 
 TON, and on the other PATTEN'S portrait of H. R. 
 H. PRINCE ALBERT, each the size of life. The 
 National Ensigns of Great Britain and the United 
 States, appropriately united by a wreath of laurel, 
 were draped about these paintings, and pennants, 
 
14 
 
 kindly furnished by the Admiralty for the occa- 
 sion, completed the effect. 
 
 The chair was taken by MR. PEABODY at seven 
 o'clock. MR. DAVIS officiated as first Vice Chair- 
 man ; and the side tables were presided over by 
 MR. STEVENS and COL. LAWRENCE respectively 
 as second and third Vice Chairmen. 
 
 The elegant and sumptuous dinner fully sus- 
 tained the high reputation of MR. LOVEGROVE'S 
 house. 
 
 After the cloth was removed, and grace said, 
 MR. HARKER, the toast master, announced the 
 Loving Cup * in the following words : 
 
 * The Loving Cup which went round the tables was one which 
 Mr. Peabody had just received from America. Its shape may 
 be seen in the wood-cut fronting the title. It is made of oak 
 from the homestead of Mr. Peabody 's ancestors, who on emi- 
 grating from England, settled at Danvers, near Salem, Massa- 
 chusetts. It is richly inlaid with silver, and bears the Family 
 arms, and the following inscription : FRANCIS PEABODY OF 
 SALEM TO GEORGE PEABODY OF LONDON, 1851. 
 
 The origin and use of the loving cup is explained in the fol- 
 lowing note : 
 
 MY DEAR STEVENS, The old English drinking customs 
 about which you inquire, and of which " the Loving Cup " is 
 one, are of much interest and antiquity. The custom of pledg- 
 ing your neighbour at table, and inscribing festive legends on 
 capacious drinking vessels, may be traced to the time when the 
 Romans were lords of Britain. Of such a kind was the Roman 
 Cup found at the Station at Chesterfield, Essex, inscribed, Ex 
 Hoc Amid Bibunt, while the well-known tale of Vortigern and 
 Rowena testifies to the custom of health-drinking among the 
 Saxons. On public occasions in the middle ages, particularly 
 in communities whether clerical or lay, a capacious cup was filled 
 for circulation among the guests at table. This Poculum Cha- 
 
15 
 
 " The Right Honorable Earl Granville, His 
 " Excellency The American Minister, His Ex- 
 " cellency Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, The Hon. 
 " Robert J. Walker, The Governor of the Bank 
 " of England, Sir Joseph Paxton, Sir Charles 
 
 ritatis was always placed on the Abbot's table in the Refectory. 
 At the Colleges it did active duty under the name of the Grace 
 Cup. In the Guilds or trading fraternities it was passed from 
 hand to hand as the Loving Cup. Oxford and Cambridge can 
 both show interesting examples of Antique Cups bequeathed for 
 their use; and so can many of our London City Companies, 
 rich members of these bodies delighting in bequeathing to their 
 fellows such jovial mementoes of their good fellowship. The 
 example was followed by Royalty, and the Barber-Surgeons still 
 possess a Loving Cup presented to them by Charles the Second, 
 the entire cup being a model of the " Royal Oak" in which he 
 was concealed at Boscobel, the roots forming the stand, the trunk 
 the stem, the leaves and branches the cup, from which hang 
 little bells formed like acorns that ring as the cup passes. 
 
 The Chairman having pledged the Company assembled, 
 drinks, and passes the Cup, of which all present partake. It is 
 the custom for the person who pledges with the Loving Cup to 
 stand up and bow to his neighbour, who also standing, removes 
 the cover with his right hand, and holds it while the other 
 drinks, a custom said to have originated in the precaution to 
 keep the right or " dagger-hand" employed, that the person 
 who drinks may be assured of no treachery like that practised 
 by Elfrida on the unsuspecting King Edward the Martyr at 
 Corfe Castle, who was slain while drinking. Thus you see why 
 hitherto the Loving Cup has possessed a cover, but as there is 
 now happily no longer a " dagger-hand " between the United 
 States and England, the cover on Mr. Peabodys new Ameri- 
 can Loving Cup seems to be appropriately dispensed with. I 
 believe the present to be the first instance of an international 
 Loving Cup. May the cover never be misse4 by you or 
 
 Yours, &c. F. W. FAIRHOLT. 
 Nov. 18, 1851. 
 
16 
 
 " Fox, and Gentlemen all, Mr. Peabody drinks 
 " to you in a loving cup and bids you all a 
 " hearty welcome ! " 
 
 The loving cup was then passed round in the 
 usual manner, and due honor done to this ancient 
 custom. 
 
 The dessert having been served, MR. PEA- 
 
 BODY rose and said, 
 
 My Lord, your Excellencies, and Gentlemen, The 
 toast that I am about to propose to you, and 
 which I feel peculiar satisfaction in proposing on 
 such an occasion and before such an assembly, is 
 one, the purport of which you will already have 
 anticipated as it rightfully takes precedence of all 
 others, in all assemblages of British subjects ; and 
 although a large proportion of my guests are not 
 British subjects, I am persuaded that they vie 
 with those who are so, in respect and affection for 
 the Queen of these Realms. I am sure, that all 
 my American friends who are here, will join most 
 cordially in this toast, for I have never known an 
 American who did not participate in the Eng- 
 lishman's love for his Sovereign ; and I am con- 
 fident that I never shall, so long as the Queen of 
 Great Britain continues to reign, as she now reigns, 
 in the hearts of all who desire the welfare of the 
 whole human family. I give you, " The QUEEN, 
 God bless her" 
 
 The toast was received with the utmost enthu- 
 siasm, and greeted with more than the usual 
 
17 
 
 honors ; the band playing God save the Queen, 
 while the company remained standing. 
 
 MR. PEABODY then said, 
 
 Gentlemen, I am sure that I have obeyed no less 
 the dictates of an unanimous feeling, than the 
 rules of courtesy and propriety, in giving prece- 
 dence, on this occasion, to the head of the nation, 
 upon whose soil we are now assembled, and whose 
 hospitalities have been so freely extended to us. 
 While, therefore, I do not ask you to respond 
 with greater warmth to the toast that I am about 
 to give, than to that which has already been 
 given, I do ask you to give it an equal warmth 
 of welcome. 
 
 The illustrious personage who now fills the 
 highest office within the gift of the people of 
 the United States, has, in his official capacity, 
 been recently placed in a most painful and em- 
 barrassing position toward some of our citizens, 
 as well as towards a foreign Power ; but a strict 
 adherence to the principles of the Constitution, and 
 the precepts and example of WASHINGTON, has 
 enabled THE PRESIDENT to surmount the obstacles 
 which impeded his path, and sustain both his 
 own position and the honour and integrity of his 
 country. So fully has this been the case, that 
 his conduct has received the unanimous approval 
 of the whole people of the United States ; a great 
 and remarkable compliment, in a country so di- 
 vided in feeling on certain questions, and so replete 
 with local and conflicting interests ; but so entire 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 and general was this approval and concurrence, 
 that his reception, on a recent tour through vari- 
 ous parts of the Union, loses nothing by compa- 
 rison with the warm and enthusiastic welcome, 
 which greeted the recent northern tour of Her 
 Majesty the Queen. I give you, Gentlemen, 
 " The PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES, God 
 bless him'' 
 
 This toast was received with similar honors to 
 the preceding ; the whole company standing while 
 the band played Hail Columbia. 
 Silence having been restored, 
 
 MR. PEA BODY again rose, and said, 
 The next toast which I have to propose, although 
 always familiar and welcome in this country, 
 has been rendered peculiarly so to citizens of 
 every country, by the great event which is to 
 render the year 1851 remarkable in the history 
 of the World. I have to offer you the health of a 
 PRINCE, who has extended his efforts and sympa- 
 thies beyond the mere routine of his exalted 
 station, and given the first impulse to that great 
 undertaking, in consequence of which, and in 
 commemoration of which, we are here assem- 
 bled. While cheerfully according the respect 
 which belongs to his high rank and pre-eminent 
 social position, it is no disparagement to PRINCE 
 ALBERT, to say, that his personal virtues and en- 
 larged views command for the man, an even greater 
 and more enduring respect than we should have 
 for the Prince merely. He may have the proud 
 
19 
 
 satisfaction, of knowing, that to the remotest dis- 
 tricts of the world, and to the most distant period 
 of Time, his fame will extend, and his name be 
 everywhere inseparably identified with the gran- 
 deur and the originality of the Great Exhibition 
 of 1851. I give you, " The health of his Royal 
 Highness PRINCE ALBERT, ALBERT PRINCE of 
 WALES, and the rest of the ROYAL FAMILY." 
 
 This toast was also greeted with the greatest 
 cordiality, and with the customary honors. 
 
 MR. F. P. CORBIN, of Virginia, then rose, 
 
 and said, 
 
 Gentlemen, at the flattering request of my excel- 
 lent friend, your hospitable Amphitryon, I will now 
 avail myself of the privilege, which his too partial 
 favour has conferred upon me ; that of proposing 
 the health of one of his distinguished guests. But 
 while it is most grateful to my feelings to profit 
 by that honour, I cannot choose but confess, that 
 among his American friends here this evening, at 
 his festive board, there are many, upon whom it 
 might have been more fitly bestowed, because of 
 their greater practice, tact, and ability, in express- 
 ing themselves on such occasions. I have said, 
 however, that the office assigned me is an agree- 
 able one, and I will, in as few words as possible, 
 endeavour to acquit myself of it. The last few 
 months have been signalised, in this great capital, 
 which is, in so many senses, the centre and the 
 eye of the world, by an enterprise, as grand in 
 
20 
 
 its conception, as it has been successful in its ex- 
 ecution and results. I refer, of course, to the 
 brilliant international " encounter of wits," that 
 all of us have witnessed, and which has just been 
 terminated. If, gentlemen, that encounter has 
 been somewhat keen in its conduct, it has been 
 productive of none but honourable and reciprocal 
 triumphs triumphs which, it is devoutly to be 
 hoped, have left no disappointments, or heart- 
 burnings, in any American bosom ; but which, let 
 us fervently trust, will tend powerfully to secure 
 the paramount object aimed at that of promoting 
 good-will among men, and a more enlarged and 
 peaceful intercourse among nations. In aid of 
 this goodly work, and prompted by an elevated 
 pride of country, our liberal and sagacious Repre- 
 sentative at this Court laboured from its outset, 
 most earnestly, ardently, and efficiently. He early 
 saw, that in such a tourney of intellect, of talent, 
 and of experience, young America would necessa- 
 rily enter the lists with immense odds against her : 
 That to " try conclusions " with the Old World, 
 upon ground which it had so long occupied, as to 
 all the branches of Art, Science, and Industry, was 
 a tempting but bold experiment ; and that she 
 must " put on manly readiness." He appealed 
 to her patriotism ; and despite of manifold diffi- 
 culties, without any specific national appropri- 
 ation of means for the end in view, his efforts 
 were generously seconded by his countrymen, 
 many of whom I have the pleasure to see here as 
 
21 
 
 recent competitors for the honours of the occasion. 
 
 As, gentlemen, our holiday rhetoric at home is 
 sometimes, and perhaps justly, accused of being 
 a little too boastful and flashy, I will not commit 
 the sin here, of indulging in any unbecoming 
 felicitations, upon our achievements in and out of 
 the magnificent arena, erected with such magical 
 promptitude, for the World's conquests in this 
 peaceful rivalry. But I may be permitted to say, 
 that most of them have been useful, many of them 
 unrivalled for their ingenious simplicity ; and all 
 of them calculated to produce beneficial results 
 more or less immediate. 
 
 But I am rambling very far from my purpose ; 
 and perhaps disregarding that pithy Irish proverb, 
 which insinuates that " talking spoils conversa- 
 tion." My special object in calling your attention 
 to myself, was to ask you to unite with me in thank- 
 ing our patriotic Envoy here, most gratefully, for 
 the untiring efforts he has made during his resi- 
 dence in this country, to remove the prejudices, 
 and to overcome the repugnance, which certain 
 self-seeking party tacticians on both sides of the 
 Atlantic, have so long and so unwisely sought to 
 keep alive and embitter, between the British isles 
 and our beloved country. Why, gentlemen, time 
 was, within my own recollection, when in our 
 streets, honest John Bull (for such I must call 
 him), was looked upon, not only as an arrogant 
 and encroaching, but, in Gallic phrase, a " per- 
 fidious" animal. And I remember, too, that 
 
22 
 
 some of our pseudo-patriots and political pre- 
 ceptors taught us to turn away from him ; in- 
 sinuating, in no bated breath, "ille habetfcenum 
 in cornu hunc, tu caveto, Romane." Even the 
 old women were afraid of his intrusive horns, and 
 thought it a burning shame that he should be 
 suffered to go abroad. Such was some of the hot 
 wrath, the fiery hatred, of a not very distant epoch 
 in our relations with him. But we have changed 
 all that ; and if we cannot tread out every scat- 
 tered ember of ancient animosities, let us endea- 
 vour to " pale their ineffectual fire," and kindle 
 a brighter and a purer flame upon the altar of 
 Peace. Thanks to the sagacity and sound affec- 
 tions of the great body of the American People, 
 the mystifications of the demagogue cannot long 
 delude them. Thanks, too, to the purified un- 
 derstandings of the most able and distinguished 
 representatives of both parties in the councils of 
 the country, backed by the manly sentiments and 
 captivating eloquence of Her Majesty's able and 
 experienced Envoy at Washington, (whom I have 
 now the pleasure to see here,) all outstanding dif- 
 ferences of a political kind, have been, I believe, 
 fully, fairly, and finally adjusted. In bringing 
 about this happy consummation, that distinguished 
 diplomatist has used no arts after the old fashion 
 of his craft ; he has devised no subtle traps, spread 
 no lurking snares for our astute people ; but he 
 has addressed himself to their understandings and 
 to their hearts. " Hce tibi erunt artes," &c. 
 
23 
 
 But while I am uttering these just congratula- 
 tions, a compatriot near me, whispers in my ear, 
 that there are some " balances" of another nature, 
 remaining unsettled, by two or three of the younger 
 States of the confederacy. All these, however, 
 whether resting upon the point of honour, or upon 
 legal enactment, will, if I do not grievously mis- 
 take the lofty spirit of my countrymen, be fully dis- 
 charged ; and, I trust, at no distant day. Coming 
 from one of the oldest States of the American 
 Union, whose good faith has always been intact, 
 and, like Caesar's wife, above suspicion, I may, 
 peradventure, be pardoned, for this passing refer- 
 ence to the temporary lapses of those inexperi- 
 enced members of the federal sisterhood. Let 
 us, then, for the present, 
 
 " Be to their faults a little blind, 
 And to their virtues very kind." 
 
 In conclusion, and in making the proposal to you 
 with which I am charged, let me remind you, 
 that, since my friend MR. LAWRENCE has held his 
 post here, an unusual number of his fellow-citizens 
 have visited this capital that they have come 
 from all parts of our vast territory from Cali- 
 fornia to Cape Charles ; and from the St. Law- 
 rence to our " farthest Thule" in the South ; 
 that though some of them differ widely from him 
 upon one or two capital questions of domestic po- 
 licy, he has received them all, without regard to 
 party aims and interests; that he has eagerly 
 
24 
 
 tendered them his official aid and influence, when- 
 ever he could do so with propriety and effect ; and, 
 if I may venture to intrude upon such delicate 
 ground, that he has offered them, in private, that 
 prompt and genial hospitality, for which he was 
 so much famed at home. I, therefore, confidently 
 predict, that although he is not unaccustomed to 
 warm receptions on this side of the Atlantic, yet, 
 return when he may to his father-land, he will be 
 still more kindly greeted there, by " troops of 
 friends," with extended hands and expanded 
 hearts. I give you, gentlemen, " The health of 
 THE AMERICAN MINISTER, and all the members of 
 his amiable and accomplished family " 
 
 This speech was received most cordially, and 
 frequently interrupted by cheers during its pro- 
 gress. At its close, the band struck-up " Yan- 
 kee-Doodle," which was hailed with trans- At- 
 lantic enthusiasm. 
 
 His Excellency MR. LAWRENCE, on rising to 
 reply, was welcomed with unbounded en- 
 thusiasm. He said, 
 
 I feel, as you may well suppose, with deep sensi- 
 bility, the flattering testimony just extended tome. 
 I am not able, for I have not words, to express 
 the obligations I feel, not only to my friend on 
 my right, but to you, my countrymen, whom I see 
 around me. 
 
 The invitation I received, was to attend " a 
 parting dinner, to the American gentlemen who 
 
25 
 
 have been connected with the Exhibition." I 
 am happy to find, that our hospitable host, cha- 
 racterised with his usual good taste, has not con- 
 fined this invitation to those of us who are native- 
 born Americans, but that he has brought to us 
 those, who, although not of our nation are of our 
 kindred. We are all of the same origin, and 
 speak the same language ; we have the same lite- 
 rature, the same religion, and the same of every- 
 thing that makes the man. (Loud applause.) 
 
 Besides, there was a peculiar propriety in 
 bringing to us the Alpha and the Omega of the 
 Great Exhibition. We have here with us to- 
 night, the man, who had the genius to plan a 
 building, such as the World never saw before, 
 and such perhaps as we may never see again. 
 (Hear, hear.) We have also here to-night the 
 man who had the courage to undertake and the 
 skill and enterprise to execute that plan. (Cheers.) 
 
 Our munificent host has also brought to us 
 that illustrious Nobleman, whose high position 
 indeed claims our respect, but whose many virtues 
 command our admiration and our love ; a Noble- 
 man whose executive talent and power of com- 
 bination, enabled him, with his colleagues, to 
 unfold before us, in perfect order, the products 
 of the labour of all the World. I allude, gentle- 
 men, to the Right Honourable The EARL GRAN- 
 VILLE. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 And here, my Countrymen, I must make my 
 acknowledgments, and present my thanks, as your 
 
26 
 
 Minister in England, to the Royal Commissioners, 
 for the ability, urbanity, skill and judgment, with 
 which they executed their trust. (Hear, hear.) 
 I know something of the history of this Exhibi- 
 tion. I remember the day it was opened. I was 
 present when it was closed. I watched it from 
 its inception to its completion, from its completion 
 to its dissolution ; and I must be permitted to say, 
 that the order, the exactness, and the perfection, 
 with which every department was managed, has 
 never been excelled, and perhaps rarely equalled, 
 whether in the marshalling of armies or fleets, 
 the construction of buildings, or the arrangement 
 of men. More than six millions of human beings 
 entered and came out of the Crystal Palace, 
 without the occurrence of any serious accident ; 
 and I am sure you will agree with me, when I say, 
 that, from the Prince himself down to the police- 
 man, no one received aught but civility and 
 kindness. 
 
 I cannot omit to congratulate you, MR. PEABODY, 
 and our countrymen present, upon the gratification 
 we experience, in having here, to-night, our ex- 
 cellent friend, Her Majesty's Envoy to the United 
 States, SIR HENRY LYTTON BULWER ; whose Mis- 
 sion has tended so much to produce harmony 
 and concord between the two Nations. (Hear 
 hear.) Long may he continue to represent this 
 great Country in the United States, long may he 
 continue to promote those feelings of amity and 
 good will, which he has been so successful in en- 
 couraging. (Loud applause.) 
 
27 
 
 And now, I hope I may be pardoned, if I allude 
 to the peculiar circumstances under which we 
 entered the Exhibition. Invitations were sent to 
 the world at large. The Nations of Europe 
 made provisions for defraying the expenses of 
 their contributors. They sent here, also, those 
 men, who, in their respective countries, were 
 eminent in science and skill, that they might 
 observe and learn whatever might be beneficial 
 to their countrymen : and the expenses of these 
 men were defrayed by their respective govern- 
 ments. 
 
 But, gentlemen, every man from America, came 
 here on his individual account and risk ; he paid 
 his own expenses, and often paid for the trans- 
 portation of his contributions ; and then freely 
 gave his time, in attending to the exhibition of 
 his products. It is due to you, that the world 
 should know under what circumstances you were 
 here. 
 
 And yet gentlemen, while I think we have 
 come out of the Exhibition vastly better than we 
 went into it, I cannot but have, after all, a feeling 
 of regret at what we have done or rather at 
 what we have left undone. I cannot but feel a 
 regret, when I think, that, having accomplished 
 so much with the small means employed, what 
 could we not have done, if the People of the 
 United States, in the majesty of their strength, 
 had put forth all their power ! (Hear, Hear.) I 
 have said that we came out of the Exhibition 
 better than was at first anticipated. At the same 
 
28 
 
 time, I cannot but state, for the information of 
 those who never were in the United States, that 
 our contributions to the Exhibition gave but an 
 imperfect idea of the progress that has been made 
 in the arts, and in the application of the sciences 
 to the useful arts, in the United States. I have 
 often attended the State Exhibitions at Philadel- 
 phia, New York and Boston ; and I hesitate not to 
 say, that I have seen, at those places, contributions, 
 far superior to those which we have had here from 
 the United States. But after all, I am convinced 
 that the Exhibition will be productive of great 
 good to our country. The social intercourse which 
 you have had with the world generally, and with 
 the people of the United Kingdom particularly; 
 the opportunities you have enjoyed of a widely ex- 
 tended observation of the actual condition of the 
 sciences and mechanical arts of the whole world 
 these advantages are worth ten-fold the trouble 
 and expense and time, which you have so freely 
 bestowed upon this Great Exhibition. 
 
 If some are, perchance, disappointed in the dis- 
 tribution of medals, and are disposed, for the 
 moment, to forget how arduous were the labors 
 of the Jury, to such, if any there be, I would 
 say ; Gentlemen, you and many others can well 
 afford to be without the Council-medals, since you 
 are left in possession of your invaluable inven- 
 tions. Of what consequence is it to MR. HOBBS, 
 that he should have a Council-medal for a lock, 
 which after a thorough trial was returned to him 
 
29 
 
 unpicked, while it is well known that every other 
 lock that has been offered to him has yielded to 
 his instruments ? Is it of material consequence 
 to COLONEL COLT, that he should have a Council- 
 medal for a firearm, whose name and fame have 
 already reached the uttermost parts of the earth, 
 and which is acknowledged, I believe, to be the 
 best peace maker yet presented to mankind ? 
 Would MR. ST. JOHN'S regulator of the compass 
 come more surely into notice or general use, if a 
 Council-medal had been awarded to it ? or would 
 MR. THOMPSON'S soap, which washes as well in 
 salt as in fresh water which will wash out tar 
 and all other stains except moral stains would 
 this soap be more valuable, if it had received a 
 first medal ? Nor do I deem it of material conse- 
 quence to MR. ERICKSON, and to others whom I 
 might mention if time permitted, whether he or 
 they obtained the Council's medal for their con- 
 tributions to science. The world will adopt every 
 thing that is of real value. 
 
 I am sure, Gentlemen, that you will take leave 
 of this country you, who are to depart to-mor- 
 row, as well as those, who are soon to follow, -r- 
 impressed with the high value of the Exhibition 
 to our country, and in the full belief that you 
 have received every consideration that could 
 have been expected, under the circumstances in 
 which we have been placed. I must say, that I 
 think we should all feel under the deepest obliga- 
 tion to His Royal Highness PRTNCE ALBERT, and 
 
30 
 
 to all who promoted the ohjects of the Exhibition, 
 as well as to the great body of the British people, 
 for their uniform courtesy and kindness, during 
 our sojourn in their land. 
 
 Another great advantage arising from the Ex- 
 hibition, to which I must allude, is, that it has 
 exhibited to the world the encouraging prospect, 
 that the time has come when labor, dignified 
 labor, must be respected; that the time has come, 
 when there must be a just appreciation of those, 
 who are the creators of wealth; and that it is to 
 the efforts of the labourer, that every country 
 must be mainly indebted for its glory and its 
 power. 
 
 But, gentlemen, there are two kinds of labor, 
 intelligent and unintelligent labor ; the former, is 
 that which gives character to a nation, and in 
 giving character gives wealth and power also. 
 Hence, I say, encourage the education of all the 
 people ; for, by so doing, you will promote the ele- 
 vation of the character, and give that dignity to 
 the founders of wealth, which is so justly their 
 due. (Loud applause.) 
 
 And now r , gentlemen, I come to the very agree- 
 able duty assigned to me ; and that is, to propose 
 the health of a Nobleman, who has devoted his 
 time, for many months, to the promotion of the 
 objects of the Great Exhibition. I know of no one 
 who has done more, and few who have done so 
 much. I believe, in a word, that LORD GRAN- 
 VILLE has done his whole duty. (Cheers and ap- 
 
31 
 
 plause.) He has occupied a most difficult position ; 
 but his patience, his perseverance, and his uniform 
 courtesy, have enabled him to reconcile differing 
 interests ; and, in pursuing his straight-forward, 
 manly course, my Right Honorable friend has 
 generally been able to have his own way ; and 
 that way, I am happy to say, is always the right 
 way. I give you, gentlemen, with all my heart, 
 " THE ROYAL COMMISSIONERS," connecting with 
 the toast the name of " The Right Honorable 
 The EARL GRANVILLE." 
 
 EARL GRANVILLE in rising was received with 
 loud cheers. When quiet was restored 
 he said, 
 
 MR. PEABODY, I trust that the company will not 
 consider me as having been blinded by the com- 
 pliments paid to me, when I state that I have 
 listened with the greatest possible pleasure to the 
 eloquent address of his Excellency the American 
 Minister. Although I feel it a great honour, to 
 be present as the guest of MR. PEABODY, at a 
 parting dinner given by an American to his fel- 
 low-countrymen, yet I feel that I should entirely 
 misunderstand my position, and also what is due 
 to the character of the meeting, if I were to 
 endeavour to make a formal speech on this occa- 
 sion. I consider that the Commissioners were as 
 much indebted to the Americans for sending over 
 their goods, as the Americans were to the Com- 
 missioners for finding a place for their reception. 
 (Hear.) 
 
32 
 
 It is exceedingly gratifying, to see sitting by 
 the side of each other the Minister of the United 
 States to this country, and the Minister for this 
 country to the United States. (Cheers.) In the 
 case of both these gentlemen, I believe they have 
 made it their business to become acquainted not 
 only with the respective countries to which they 
 are accredited, but also with all classes of the 
 inhabitants of the country ; and in making that 
 acquaintance, I believe that they have gained 
 for themselves the esteem and respect of all whom 
 they have met. (Cheers.) 
 
 With reference to the Exhibition itself, I was 
 almost inclined to suppose, from the speech of 
 MR. CORBIN, that the inhabitants of the United 
 States had something to be ashamed of. I am 
 not, however, of that opinion. In the first place, 
 a considerable portion of the Exhibition was 
 occupied with the American goods. I believe 
 that collection might have been still further in- 
 creased, by the addition of many useful articles in 
 common use in the United States, were it not that 
 they were considered by their owners too common 
 to send over to the Exhibition. (Cheers.) 
 
 To remove any doubt upon the subject of what 
 the Americans might have done, MR. BROWN, of 
 Liverpool, who may be considered as one of the 
 living links between the two countries, took a 
 large party to look over that magnificent steam- 
 ship the Atlantic, which was built and completed 
 in all its details in the United States. (Cheers.) 
 
33 
 
 MR. HOBBS has also succeeded in picking our best 
 locks ; and two other American gentlemen are at 
 this moment teaching us how to cut our corn, an 
 art which we have been practising for some hun- 
 dreds of years in this Island, but of which it ap- 
 pears we are ignorant of the first principles ; and 
 last of all, they have sent us a specimen of their 
 shipping to Cowes, the centre of our yachting 
 glories, and they have given us the most unde- 
 niable beating that we have had for years. (Cheers 
 and laughter.) 
 
 Now what are the results of all this ? I have 
 within the last few days read in the newspapers 
 one of the most graceful and touching tributes, 
 paid by Commodore STEVENS, to the manner in 
 which the people of this country, who had been so 
 utterly defeated, had received and treated him. 
 (Cheers.) The results of the Exhibition are such 
 as it is highly pleasing to contemplate. God for- 
 bid that we should ever see feelings of rivalry 
 generous rivalry ceasing to exist between the 
 two nations. (Cheers.) I do not think that the 
 result of the Exhibition will be entirely to prevent 
 some of our tourists making disagreeable remarks 
 upon American matters, or some of the Ameri- 
 can journalists perpetrating some rather severe 
 jokes upon us. (Laughter.) But neither country 
 will suffer much from this. What, however, I do 
 think the Exhibition will accomplish, will be the 
 production of feelings, never to be effaced, of re- 
 spect and regard for one another ; to induce the 
 
 c 
 
34 
 
 feeling that we all belong to the same blood, all 
 speak the same language, and, though differing 
 in some minor details, still that we both fully and 
 equally prize and value the love of liberty and 
 the progress of the human kind. 
 
 The noble Earl resumed his seat amid loud 
 cheers. 
 
 The Honorable ROBERT J. WALKER, late 
 Secretary of the Treasury of the United 
 States, then spoke as follows : 
 The agreeable office is assigned to me, by our ex- 
 cellent host, of offering a toast in honour of Her 
 Majesty's Envoy to the United States, SIR HENRY 
 LYTTON BITLWER. This is a pleasing duty ; know- 
 ing, as I do so well, this most worthy and distin- 
 guished gentleman, appreciating his eminent ta- 
 lents and high character, and fully conscious how 
 much he has contributed to promote the friendly 
 feelings of the Governments and People of Eng- 
 land and America. Whilst, in his diplomatic ca- 
 reer, he has performed his duty to his Sovereign, 
 with talent and fidelity, his mission to America 
 has furnished a bright example of noble and suc- 
 cessful efforts to reach the hearts of the people, 
 to whose government he was accredited. (Cheers.) 
 I know of none of the many occasions, at our 
 social board, or elsewhere, when he has been called 
 upon to make public addresses, that he has failed 
 to appeal to our pride and affection, and the many 
 remembrances of kindred glory which unite our 
 
35 
 
 countries. In his bright and graphic sketches of 
 the character, mission, and destiny of my Country, 
 he touched a chord, which vibrated throughout 
 the heart of the Nation, and called forth from it a 
 warm response of gratitude and praise. And here, 
 permit me to say, in this period of friendly rivalry 
 between the two countries, that there is one point, 
 in which we of America must yield the palm to 
 Sir Henry. It is in our addresses at the social 
 board. In this field, we were vain enough to sup- 
 pose, that some of our Statesmen and Orators were 
 unsurpassed ; but here Sir Henry has fairly taken 
 the wind out of our sails, and beaten us upon our 
 own soil, at our own board, and in one of our 
 own favourite vocations. Who will deny that this 
 was a great and noble achievement, in which the 
 victor in oratory crowned with his own laurels 
 the brows of the vanquished, and filled their hearts 
 with friendship and affection for himself and for 
 his country. (Cheers). It is a fact, which I am 
 sure will be acknowledged by all my country- 
 men, that the published addresses of Sir Henry 
 at our public festivities, and on all other fitting 
 occasions, were as much admired in America for 
 their artistic skill and eloquence, and their valua- 
 ble facts and deductions, as they were applauded 
 for those still higher qualities, which made them 
 so potent in warming our hearts for his country. 
 I might here allude to the able efforts of Sir Henry 
 to augment the reciprocal trade and intercourse 
 of the two nations ; but tempusfugit, and I shall 
 
36 
 
 therefore conclude by offering the following sen- 
 timent, " Her Majesty's eloquent and distinguish- 
 ed Envoy to the United States, SIR HENRY 
 LYTTON BULWER; may he long live to witness 
 the results of his noble efforts, in re-uniting the 
 hearts and hands of ENGLAND and AMERICA." 
 
 The toast was received with much cheering, 
 which was renewed when Sir H. L. Bulwer rose 
 to reply, and continued for some time. 
 
 SIR HENRY LYTTON BULWER said, 
 Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, I quite agree with 
 my noble friend, LORD GRANVILLE, who lately ad- 
 dressed you, that this is not an occasion on which 
 it is necessary to make you a long and formal 
 speech ; and indeed, if I had been that way in- 
 clined, after all that has been said by my honour- 
 able friend (MR. WALKER) who has just sat down, 
 I should be afraid to utter more than a very few 
 words, lest I should endanger his character for 
 veracity, and lose altogether that which he has 
 given me for eloquence. (Cheers.) But this I 
 must say, that I could not help being struck 
 first, as the turtle soup went round, then as the 
 champagne was circulated, then as the loving cup 
 passed from mouth to mouth, and finally as I lis- 
 tened to the excellent and eloquent speeches that 
 were subsequently delivered at the singular 
 practical ignorance that was displayed by an ho- 
 nourable friend of mine, when, during the sittincr 
 
 7 ' O o 
 
 of the diplomatic committee last session, he asked 
 
37 
 
 my noble friend the Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Affairs, whether he saw any possible connexion 
 between diplomacy and dining. (Laughter, and 
 cheers.) I cannot help thinking that, if my ho- 
 nourable friend were now here, we should be able 
 to give him what the Yankees would call correct 
 notions as to this matter. (Laughter, and cheers.) 
 But since he is not here, I will myself undertake 
 to assure you, Mr. Chairman, that by this and 
 similar acts of hospitality, you have in no slight 
 degree macadamised the road, which my honour- 
 able friend MR. LAWRENCE is going a-head upon, 
 so much to his own credit, and also so much to 
 the advantage of his country. For myself, sir, I 
 am particularly indebted to you; for you have 
 given me this evening the opportunity of greeting 
 your countrymen on this side of the Atlantic, with 
 the same heart-felt cordiality, the same never-to- 
 be-forgotten kindness, with which they received 
 me on the other. Welcome, then, gentlemen, to 
 this land, which is dear to me as my home, and 
 which possesses a sort of kindred right to your 
 affection as the home of your fathers. Here, 
 you will have found those ancient edifices, which, 
 whether as monuments of power or as works of 
 art, are noble records of our common race ; here 
 repose the ashes of those great writers of the past, 
 in whose fame we have a joint inheritance ; here 
 grew up, in wisdom and renown, those learned 
 and just legislators, those profound statesmen, 
 from whom we have derived our common notions 
 
38 
 
 of polity and law ; here ruled and dazzled those 
 mighty and valiant princes, beneath whose victo- 
 rious banners your ancestors, side by side with 
 mine, rushed from the heights of Cressy, or 
 charged on the plains of Agincourt. (Great cheer- 
 ing.) But well I know, gentlemen, it is not merely 
 the solemn cathedral, or the stately tower, nor 
 even the venerated tomb of the noble and the 
 great, which, as you wander through this island, 
 will stay your steps. I see you there, in the quiet 
 village, the country churchyard, pondering over 
 some half- effaced epitaph, tracing on some moss- 
 covered monument, the names and lineage of your 
 English forefathers, whose dust co-mingling with 
 old England's soil, gives me, my dear sir, (turning 
 to MR. LAWRENCE and taking his hand) the right, 
 whilst I clasp your hand as that of a friend, to 
 claim it as that of a brother. (Great cheering.) 
 Welcome, I say, gentlemen, to this land ; and 
 when you depart from it, may you carry away 
 with you as kindly impressions as those which you 
 will leave behind you. At this time, we are es- 
 pecially indebted for your visit to that great spec- 
 tacle, of which I can say no more and no less, than 
 that it surpassed the expectations of those who 
 were most sanguine as to its success. (Cheers.) 
 The idea of this Great Exhibition, an idea for 
 which we are indebted to that eminent and illus- 
 trious Prince, who adds to his many other merits 
 that of understanding the epoch in which he lives 
 and the country with which he is connected : 
 
39 
 
 the idea of this Great Exhibition, I say, was not, 
 if I understand it rightly, merely that of bringing 
 together the chairs and tables, the tapestry and 
 jewellery, the works of art, and the machinery ; 
 but to collect, as it were, in one focus, the mind 
 of the whole world, so that each nation might learn 
 and appreciate the character and intelligence of 
 the other ; and, if this be so, what is the place that 
 men will assign, after inspecting your productions, 
 to the character and intelligence that is to say, 
 to the mind of America ? Why, gentlemen, they 
 will say, that for all manly and practical purposes, 
 its place is about the head of the poll ! (Cheers.) 
 Where, out of America, shall we get a pistol like 
 Mr. Colt's, to kill our eight enemies in a second ? 
 or a reaping machine like Mr. M'Cormick's, to 
 clear our twenty acres of wheat in a day ? or locks, 
 like those of Mr. Hobbs, which appear, after all, 
 the only ones to which we can safely confide our 
 secrets or our treasures ? Nor is this all, gen- 
 tlemen. Go a little farther, and we shall find a 
 graceful and melancholy figure, which, while it 
 fitly represents the charms and misfortunes of 
 ancient Greece, exhibits at the same time the 
 pre-eminent powers of sculpture and the pre- 
 eminent genius of Powers. (Great cheering.) 
 And, gentlemen, whilst we are thus passing in re- 
 view the evidences of your genius which are to be 
 found in Hyde Park, what is that small bark which 
 I see lightly skimming along the sea ? I think I 
 recognise an old acquaintance ; and sure enough, 
 
40 
 
 on the very day that I land at Liverpool, I learn 
 that that little vessel, which I had seen but lately 
 sleeping quietly in the waters of New York, has, 
 after gallantly crossing the great Atlantic, given 
 the go-by to the whole of our yacht squadron; 
 and this, too, before the very eyes of the Sovereign, 
 whom we are sometimes proud enough to call the 
 Queen of the Ocean. (Loud cheers.) However, 
 gentlemen, you know I always speak my mind ; 
 and therefore I tell you, that here, if you gave us 
 one lesson we also gave you another. I remember 
 a story of Mr. Fox, who, when asked, it is said, one 
 day, what he thought of a young man who had just 
 made a capital first speech, replied, " I don't like 
 to judge any one after a success, I like to see 
 what a man is after a failure." Now I say, gen- 
 tlemen, that, on the occasion to which I am allud- 
 ing, we should decidedly have satisfied Mr. Fox ; 
 and I beg you to remember, that if you then showed 
 us how to win a race, we showed you how to bear 
 the loss of one. (Laughter, and cheers.) 
 
 But I should be very ungrateful, if I further de- 
 layed returning my thanks, to my honorable friend 
 who so handsomely proposed my health ; and who 
 passed so many more compliments on me than I 
 can possibly deserve. Gentlemen, I value those 
 compliments, because I value the person from whom 
 they come, and who, as you know, enjoys so high 
 a reputation, both as a gentleman and a statesman, 
 in his native land : and if anything could render 
 such compliments more precious to me, it is that 
 
41 
 
 they should have received the sanction of the No- 
 ble Lord (Lord Granville) who is sitting by the 
 side of our Chairman ; and who, whilst he bears a 
 name which must ever be entitled to my most affec- 
 tionate respect, has, if possible, given to that name 
 an additional lustre, by his own worth, ability, and 
 acquirements. But if it be true, that I have been 
 so fortunate, as to contribute in any way to the 
 friendly relations which at present exist between 
 the two countries, it is simply because I have 
 taken a plain downright course, for effecting this 
 object. (Hear, hear.) The fact of it is, gentlemen, 
 that, according to old customs, when any causes 
 for difference, however slight, existed between our 
 two governments, down sat Her Majesty's Repre- 
 sentative at his desk, and down sat the United 
 States Secretary of State at his desk, and each 
 penned to the other very pithy and pertinent de- 
 spatches, showing the great motives for grievance 
 there were on both sides, and then those de- 
 spatches were carefully circulated throughout 
 both countries ; but when there were only causes 
 for mutual good-will and satisfaction, no one 
 thought it worth while to take notice of so simple 
 a fact, nor to state to the English and American 
 public, what strong reasons, both in sentiment 
 and interest, there existed, for their maintaining 
 the closest and most friendly relations with each 
 other. (Hear, hear). This was the old school of 
 diplomacy, gentlemen ; but I am of the new 
 school (laughter and cheers) and my theory 
 
42 
 
 and practice are just the reverse of what I have 
 been describing. I am for keeping as quiet as 
 possible, all those small differences, which must 
 occasionally take place between any two great 
 States, having vast and complicated interests ; but 
 which differences are always easy of adjustment, 
 when they are not aggravated by unfriendly and 
 untimely discussion. (Hear, hear.) And I am for 
 making as public as possible, on all occasions, those 
 great points of union, that must connect two na- 
 tions, which not only, as my Honorable friend MR. 
 LAWRENCE has said, have one origin, and speak 
 one language, but which also transact their great- 
 est amount of business with each other. (Cheers.) 
 Why, gentlemen, in what possible manner, can 
 difficulties of a serious character arise, between 
 two nations thus situated, except through mutual 
 prejudices, which, having been suffered to grow 
 up, will be apt, until eradicated, to create a wrong 
 impression as to the real policy and feelings of 
 the one and the other ? (Hear, hear.) My en- 
 deavours, then, gentlemen, have been to remove 
 all such prejudices ; ay, and to replace them by 
 sympathies. (Cheers.) For this purpose, as my 
 friend MR. WALKER justly said, I have addressed 
 myself not merely to the American mind, but to 
 the American heart. (Hear, hear.) For this 
 purpose, I have thought it essential, not merely to 
 correspond formally with your State department, 
 but also to have frank and free communication 
 with your noble and intelligent people. (Loud 
 
43 
 
 cheers.) For this purpose, I have mixed with 
 your public men, studied your institutions, taken 
 an interest in your affairs, partaken of your fes- 
 tivities, conformed to your habits, and always 
 been willing, not only to eat a good dinner with 
 you, but to make you a bad speech after one. 
 (Great laughter, and cheers.) Gentlemen, I 
 should be quite satisfied, to take, as my reward for 
 these efforts, the eloquent and far more than de- 
 served encomium, which has been passed upon me, 
 by the distinguished gentleman who proposed the 
 toast I am responding to. But my mission had 
 also another reward another result which, if I 
 am not wearying you (no, no,) I will state ; as 
 being not only interesting to our two communi- 
 ties, but to the World at large ; I mean a treaty 
 by which Great Britain and the United States, 
 without infringing on the rights of the humblest 
 individual or the smallest State, have agreed, on 
 one condition, to protect the construction, and 
 guarantee the security when constructed, of any 
 canal or railway, which may open a passage across 
 Central America, between the Atlantic and Pa- 
 cific Oceans. (Great cheers.) And what was 
 that one condition, on which our two governments 
 thus insisted ? Why, that they should not, either 
 separately or conjointly, possess one single privi- 
 lege or advantage, with respect to such canal or 
 railway, which should not be offered, on equal 
 terms, to every other nation on the face of the 
 globe. (Great cheering.) Gentlemen, I do con- 
 
44 
 
 fess, that I am proud, that such a treaty as this 
 should have been entered into by the United 
 States and Great Britain; and I will also add, 
 that I have a humble pride, in stating that one 
 of the signatures attached to that convention, is 
 the name of the individual who has now the 
 honour of addressing you. (Loud and prolonged 
 cheering.) Gentlemen, I lay a great stress upon 
 this fact, because I felt when I signed that instru- 
 ment to which I am referring, that I laid the 
 foundation stone of a great and equitable alliance 
 between our two countries ; (hear, hear) an al- 
 liance which should not have for its object the 
 wronging or despoiling, but the benefitting and 
 protecting the rest of mankind ; and surely, gen- 
 tlemen, if such an union were ever required, it is 
 at this moment; for at this moment, the world is, 
 as it were, violently vibrating between two ex- 
 tremes, and appears of necessity to demand some 
 regulating influence, to moderate and steady its 
 oscillations; (hear, hear) and where, gentle- 
 men, can such an influence be better found, than 
 in the cordial union of Great Britain and the 
 United States? (Great cheering.) It is true that 
 you live under a Republic, and we under a Mo- 
 narchy ; but what of that ? (Cheers.) The foun- 
 dations of both societies are law and religion : 
 The purpose of both governments is liberty and 
 order. (Cheers.) The more you love your Re- 
 public, gentlemen, the more you detest those 
 principles of confusion and division, which would 
 
45 
 
 destroy it. The more we love our Monarchy, the 
 more we cherish and cling to those principles of 
 equity and freedom which preserve it. (Hear, 
 hear, hear.) In this, indeed, lies the great moral 
 strength of our close connexion. Hand in hand, 
 we can stand together, alike opposed to the anar- 
 chist, who calls himself the friend of the People, 
 and to the absolutist, who calls himself the friend 
 of the Throne. (Loud cheers.) Long then, gen- 
 tlemen, let us thus stand together, the champions 
 of peace between nations, of conciliation between 
 opinions (cheers) ; and if, notwithstanding our 
 example and our efforts, the trumpet of war should 
 sound, and that war to which it calls us should be 
 a war of opinion, why, still let us stand together. 
 (Loud and long cheering.) Our friends, in that 
 day of conflict, shall be chosen from the most 
 wise, the most moderate, and the most just ; nor, 
 whilst we plant the red-Cross of England by the 
 side of the stars and stripes of America, do I for 
 one instant doubt, but that we shall leave recol- 
 lections to our posterity, worthy of those which 
 we have inherited from our ancestors. 
 
 At the close of the Right Honorable Gentle- 
 man's speech, the assembly rose en masse, and 
 indulged in the most vociferous cheering and 
 applause, which continued for several minutes. 
 
 MR. DAVIS then rose and said, 
 MR. PEABODY, you have kindly requested me as 
 the first Vice Chairman, to-night, to propose, 
 
46 
 
 what may perhaps be called THE toast of the 
 evening ; the health of the American gentlemen 
 connected with the Exhibition. (Cheers.) I do this 
 with pride, for they are my countrymen, and 
 with pleasure, for I number among them many 
 personal friends. If a sincere consciousness of 
 inability, increased by listening to the brilliant 
 speeches which have so delighted us, shall at all 
 diminish the pleasure that I should otherwise feel 
 in the performance of this duty, I rely on you to 
 make up the deficiency, by the heartiness with 
 which you will drink the toast. (Hear.) 
 
 I am spared the necessity of detaining you 
 long, by the fact that the reapers who have gone 
 before have gathered in all the grain, and have 
 not even " let fall some of the handfuls " for the 
 gleaners in their path. Perhaps, after all, it is no 
 subject for regret; for I need only ask you to 
 transfer yourselves in imagination to the eastern 
 end of the Crystal Palace, as it appeared a fort- 
 night since, and the story is told better than I 
 can tell it. (Hear.) If our show in the building 
 caused disappointment at first, a feeling in which 
 I confess I shared a little and if that disappoint- 
 ment found an exaggerated expression in unkind 
 and unjust censures, time and a better knowledge 
 of what there was in our department has quite 
 removed it ; and we are now rather in danger, 
 my friends, of being killed by kindness. 
 
 Let us never forget, gentlemen, that when the 
 most was said against us, our generous host came 
 
47 
 
 forward, and placed us in a position to appear 
 properly before the world. (Loud cheers.) For 
 this, as well as the position he justly occupies in 
 London, I name him first of "the Americans 
 connected with the Exhibition." 
 
 If I were free to do so, I should bear testimony, 
 also, to the great labors of MR. LAWRENCE, in 
 behalf of the Exhibition ; with which no man is 
 better acquainted than myself. Happily, I am 
 not restrained from speaking of the constant in- 
 terest which my friend COL. BIGELOW LAWRENCE 
 has felt in the success of our Exhibitors, and 
 the steadiness with which he has worked to that 
 end since he first landed in England. He will 
 be gratefully remembered by all Americans who 
 have visited London this year. 
 
 Neither should we forget the persevering indus- 
 try of MR. RIDDLE ; how when others faltered 
 he stood firm, and how constantly his time and 
 energies have been devoted to the development 
 and proper understanding of the American depart- 
 ment, even to the extent of a journey to America 
 to secure new contributions. 
 
 To MR. STANSBURY, also, we are greatly in- 
 debted, for his early and very efficient interest 
 in this matter; and I believe he will lay us 
 under still deeper obligations, when the Govern- 
 ment makes public the result of his summer's 
 labours. I am permitted also, to speak of the 
 fact, that he wrote the able and temperate article, 
 in the August number of the Art Journal, at the 
 
48 
 
 request of the accomplished Editor, MR. HALL, 
 whom I am proud to see here to-night (turning 
 to Mr. Hall, who sat at his right), and to thank, 
 for his constant interest in American science and 
 art. (Hear.) And I believe that an examination 
 of the Art Journal, for some years past, will 
 show that we owe the fact of the Exhibition itself, 
 quite as much to him as to any man. 
 
 The exertions also of MR. DODGE, of MR. 
 THOMSON, of MR. ST. JOHN, of MR. TUCKERMAN, 
 and many other exhibitors, whom I should be 
 glad to name if it were not so late in the even- 
 ing, and of DR. BLACK, and MR. LAMPSON, 
 and MR. STEVENS, and the other Jurors deserve 
 all praise. (Applause.) We may fairly claim, too, 
 to number the laurels of Commodore STEVENS 
 and MR. COLLINS (cheers) among our own ; and 
 we owe it to the united efforts of these gentle- 
 men, that, instead of leaving behind us the re- 
 putation of being a nation of braggadocios, we 
 take our full share in the triumphs of the year. 
 I will not detain you, however, by boasting. The 
 American Exhibition will speak for itself; and, 
 depend upon it, if there be any good in it, common 
 sense John Bull will find it out. 
 
 I had intended to say a word in addition, 
 upon the benefits we are to derive, in America, 
 from the Exhibition, but find myself entirely 
 forestalled. Numerous as they are, not the least 
 will be the influence on the two countries of 
 what has been said and done here to-night. I 
 
49 
 
 can say to you nothing, that has not been already 
 and better said, upon the knowledge of the Fine 
 Arts and the Beautiful, which the Exhibition has 
 given and is destined to give to America; no- 
 thing of the varied and valued information with 
 reference to the industrial arts, which it brought 
 together ; nothing of the many new means for the 
 employment of labour and capital, which it ex- 
 posed ; nothing of the many new markets for 
 produce and production which it developed. I 
 can say to you nothing new, of the advantages to 
 the world, of having thus practically exemplified 
 the common interests of all mankind, and the 
 necessity of peace and good understanding here- 
 after; nothing either of the benefit to our two 
 nations from the more intimate acquaintance of 
 each with the people, the laws, the customs, the 
 productions, the interests, and the tendencies of 
 the other, which this year's mingling has effected. 
 I therefore pass by all these topics, to say a single 
 word upon the fact that so many Americans have 
 this year visited Europe, which is destined to 
 effect important results at home. 
 
 I believe it to be a great misfortune to a na- 
 tion to be isolated from the world. The Eng- 
 lishman of 1815, pardon me for the illustration, 
 was a different man from the Englishman of to- 
 day, in the breadth of his ideas. It is only 
 by measuring ourselves with other nations, that 
 we learn our real strength, and learn, too, our 
 weak points, and how to correct them. The 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 United- States has been hitherto too much cut 
 off from the world; and the vast majority of its 
 inhabitants have measured its power, its social 
 condition, and its moral elements by the petty 
 States at its side. We have nothing to fear, 
 my friends, from a wider comparison. (Ap- 
 plause.) With land enough to make almshouses 
 unnecessary, except for European emigrants ; 
 with free schools for every child in the land 
 (hear) ; with a very general diffusion of Christian 
 teaching (hear) ; and with an equal administra- 
 tion of justice, founded, by the provisions of our 
 Constitution, on the English Common Law, we 
 may invite a rigid scrutiny without fear. (Ap- 
 plause.) But to estimate this properly, and 
 understand what is going on elsewhere in the 
 world, we should be acquainted with other social 
 organizations, and with other political institu- 
 tions. This year has done that for us. 
 
 Thousands of Americans have crossed the At- 
 lantic ; a majority, I should say, from the west of 
 the Alleghanies. They have been kindly and hos- 
 pitably received, in this country (the eloquent 
 welcome of SIR HENRY BULWER is not the first 
 language of kindness to which they have listened) 
 they have seen here property safe, liberty jea- 
 lously guarded by law, justice evenly adminis- 
 tered, labour employed, and all classes moving on 
 harmoniously together. (Applause.) They have 
 most of them visited the Continent, and each one 
 gathered his own ideas of the state of things 
 
51 
 
 there ; and they have returned, or are about to 
 return, to their homes, in the various parts of the 
 Union, to scatter about them the influence of 
 their experience : as Bacon says, " not to change 
 their country manners for those of foreign parts, 
 but to prick in some flowers of that they have 
 learned abroad, into the customs of their own 
 country." 
 
 But, Gentlemen, I must beg your pardon for 
 detaining you so long, against my promise and 
 intention when I rose. Of all the appetites, the 
 appetite for talking grows the most with that it 
 feeds on. I ask you to drink the health of the 
 gentlemen, who have been the most instrumental 
 in securing to our country the advantages at 
 which I have glanced, and the many more, which 
 I have left unnoticed : " The health of the 
 American gentlemen connected with the Exhi- 
 bition" and I am instructed to join with this 
 toast the names of " MR. RIDDLE and MR. 
 STANSBURV." 
 
 MR. RIDDLE, on rising to reply, was greeted 
 
 most cordially, and spoke as follows: 
 MR. PEABODY and Gentlemen, Were I to say 
 that I did not anticipate making a few remarks 
 this evening, I should speak an untruth. But I 
 have been so far carried away by the eloquence 
 of the distinguished gentlemen who have ad- 
 dressed us, that what little I had prepared in my 
 mind has vanished ; and for speech I am left de- 
 
52 
 
 fenceless. I cannot find words, which would con- 
 vey an adequate response to the very complimen- 
 tary toast just given ; and not being blessed with 
 that fluency of language which many have the 
 privilege of enjoying, I should but in a very un- 
 satisfactory manner express my sentiments, did I 
 allow myself to proceed. For me, the eloquence 
 of the heart must speak louder than the eloquence 
 of the mind ; and could you see my heart, Gentle- 
 men, at this moment, you would there read the 
 words to which I would now wish to give utter- 
 ance. 
 
 Whatever credit may be attached to the part 
 I have taken in the Great Exhibition, it may 
 be attributed to the valuable assistance I have 
 received from those who have been immediately 
 connected with me in the discharge of my official 
 duties, and to the advice of inestimable friends. 
 Our distinguished Minister has forestalled any 
 remarks I might have wished to make on our 
 Exhibition. But this much I will say ; if our dis- 
 play has been fraught with no other good, it has 
 been the welcome means of developing to Ame- 
 ricans the true character of GEORGE PEABODY. 
 The peaceful battles of 1851 have been fought, 
 and the illustrious leader may well congratulate 
 himself upon the victories he has achieved. The 
 great scene has closed upon us ; and with it, in 
 my humble opinion, should close all disappoint- 
 ment and lacerated feelings. 
 
 Before the lapse of many days a number of us 
 
53 
 
 will be on the broad ocean, bound for our happy 
 homes. For one, I shall always look back with 
 heartfelt gratification, upon the kindness, courtesy, 
 and honorable treatment which I have received 
 from our English friends. 
 
 MR. STANSBURY'S Remarks. 
 MR. PEABODY and Gentlemen, I beg to return 
 my sincere acknowledgments, for the kind way in 
 which MR. DAVIS has associated my name with 
 the toast that has just been given, and for the cor- 
 diality with which the company has been pleased 
 to receive it. My own connexion with the Exhi- 
 bition has been, since its opening, so humble and 
 unobtrusive ; so much more a connexion of obser- 
 vation and study than of active participation ; that 
 I scarcely had a right to expect to be noticed in 
 this very gratifying manner. I assure you that 
 I attribute it to the noble sentiment which ani- 
 mates this assembly, (and in which indeed it had 
 its origin), a desire that we should dissolve the 
 association of the past few months with feelings 
 of mutual and universal good will, rather than 
 to any services or merits of my own. 
 
 If the Great Exhibition, which has drawn so 
 many of us across the Atlantic, had been the 
 occasion of teaching us nothing more, it would be 
 much that we had learned, by our own agreeable 
 experience, that we have on these shores one Re- 
 presentative, in a high diplomatic position, whose 
 pride and pleasure it is to contribute to the en- 
 
54 
 
 joyment, as well as to protect the rights and pro- 
 mote the best interests of his countrymen ; and 
 another, in a mercantile capacity, whose unwea- 
 ried and graceful hospitalities constitute the least 
 part of his claim to our respect and gratitude ; 
 whose operations in another quarter, (I might say 
 at another board), have done so much to sustain 
 American credit, and to elevate our commercial 
 character in the eyes of this community. 
 
 But it has taught us other lessons. It has 
 shown us how thoroughly popular rights are un- 
 derstood and respected, and popular power ap- 
 preciated, on this side the water. It is enough to 
 say, that that gigantic enterprize, whose trium- 
 phant success we now celebrate, originated with, 
 and was carried out by, the unaided efforts of the 
 people of this country, to prove to what an un- 
 limited extent the combination of individuals is 
 permitted and sanctioned in this land ; the only 
 land, beside our own, where such an undertaking 
 could have been accomplished by such means. 
 The Government of Great Britain has shown, 
 that it is not afraid to allow the people to put their 
 heads and their purses together, for the accom- 
 plishment of important public designs, lest " se- 
 dition, privy conspiracy and rebellion," should 
 result from their combination. Safe in the con- 
 sciousness of the solid principles of constitutional 
 liberty on which it is based, it has no fears for 
 itself, and is willing to leave such great public en- 
 terprizes for the public good where they are ever 
 best left in the hands of the people. 
 
55 
 
 I feel, that the experience of the Exhibition 
 season has taught us, that there is among the 
 people of England an under current of substantial 
 respect and good feeling towards their American 
 brethren. I am glad to have a public opportunity 
 of acknowledging my own obligations, for the 
 liberality with which they have aided me in the 
 discharge of my duties. I have had occasion to 
 address thousands of individuals, in all grades and 
 conditions of life ; and I can truly say, and with 
 unfeigned gratification, that I have yet to receive 
 the first unkind or discourteous reply. Whatever 
 reason we may have had, in the beginning, to 
 complain of the somewhat inhospitable reception 
 of the press, I am sure that we shall all personally 
 carry back a warm remembrance of English hos- 
 pitality, and an unalterable conviction that two 
 people so entirely harmonious in sentiment, were 
 never meant to occupy a position of antagonism 
 to each other. United, their influence upon the 
 progress of mankind must be irresistible : their 
 division would prove a calamity to the human 
 family. God wither the hand that would inter- 
 pose an obstacle to the complete moral union of 
 the two people ! God palsy the tongue that would 
 give articulation to a single word, intended to 
 produce irritation or estrangement ! My humble 
 prayer is, that Heaven may bless both countries. 
 Long may they continue to march on together, 
 in the van of nations ; accomplishing the noble 
 career that is before them ; shoulder to shoulder 
 in the great work of human progress ; scattering 
 
56 
 
 around their path the blessings of peace, civiliza- 
 tion, Christianity and sound constitutional liberty, 
 until those priceless treasures have become the 
 common property of all mankind. 
 
 If the Exhibition should have taught us these 
 lessons, and imbued us with this spirit, we may 
 well afford to forget any petty personal disap- 
 pointment, which we may have experienced ; or 
 even those larger mortifications, which may have 
 touched us as a people. Nay, as associated with 
 such results, we may even cherish them among 
 our pleasures of memory ; 
 
 Et haec olim meminisse juvabit. 
 
 For myself, Gentlemen, I beg to say, in thank- 
 ing you again for your kind reception, that I 
 shall ever reckon it among the most pleasing re- 
 collections of my life, that I was permitted to lend 
 my humble efforts, however feebly, to aid in the 
 accomplishment of a design, which has resulted so 
 usefully for our race, so gloriously for its illus- 
 trious Patron, and which has given this great 
 people a new title to the respect, the gratitude, 
 and the admiration of the world. 
 
 During the delivery of this speech, MR. STANS- 
 BURY was frequently interrupted by expressions 
 of applause. 
 
 MR. BATES then said, 
 
 MR. PEABODY and Gentlemen. After the bril- 
 liant Speeches which have been delivered, I feel 
 
57 
 
 perfectly certain that nothing that I can say will 
 be worth your listening to. 
 
 Fortunately for me, the Gentleman whose 
 health I have to propose, and which I propose 
 with the greatest pleasure, requires no recom- 
 mendation, whether as a most amiable man or as 
 Governor of the Bank of England, an Institution 
 over which he presides with great honor to him- 
 self, and benefit to that vast commerce which 
 is now carried on between our two Countries. 
 Moreover, he is married to an American Lady. 
 I give you, Gentlemen, " MR. THOMSON HANKEY, 
 JUN. Governor of the Bank of England." 
 
 The Governor on rising to reply was loudly 
 
 cheered, and spoke as follows : 
 I trust that I may not be misunderstood, if, in 
 rising to thank you, Sir, and your friends whom 
 you have assembled together in this very hospita- 
 ble manner, I venture to say, that I am not sur- 
 prised that one of your guests should have pro- 
 posed to you a toast connected with that Institu- 
 tion of which, at the present moment, I have 
 the honour to be the representative. I am sa- 
 tisfied that there is no American present, who 
 does not feel a deep interest in the prosperity of 
 every institution in Great Britain which has 
 for its object the promotion of the mercantile 
 and banking interests of this Country ; and which 
 may have been successful in affording those bank- 
 ing aids which are so eminently serviceable in fa- 
 
58 
 
 cilitating the mutual interchange of the com- 
 merce of Great Britain with every other com- 
 munity throughout the world. 
 
 When I remember that the commercial inter- 
 change of commodities between the United States 
 and this country, exceeds annually an amount of 
 sixty million Pounds sterling ; and when I re- 
 member that each country exports to the other 
 more than either country exports to all the rest 
 of the world besides, I cannot but feel convinced 
 that we must have a mutual interest in the 
 prosperity of each other, to a degree that can 
 hardly indeed be exceeded by the interest we may 
 each feel in the prosperity of our respective father- 
 land. How indeed can it be otherwise ? 
 
 Whatever changes may have been effected in 
 freeing this country from any of the shackles which 
 have been imposed on it by our ancestors, for the 
 supposed protection of our manufactures, and by 
 which our people may now be enabled to buy to 
 greater advantage the raw materials, which were 
 absolutely essential to their very existence, or by 
 cheapening the article of food, thereby enabling 
 our manufacturing population to turn their labour 
 to more profitable account, and at the same time 
 enabling them to enjoy more both of the necessa- 
 ries and even luxuries of life ; I say, to whatever 
 extent this has been done in this country, by 
 which our manufacturers have extended their 
 operations and thereby have exported more, with- 
 out consuming less, they must have been ena- 
 
59 
 
 bled to buy more of the manufactures of other 
 countries. This I am satisfied has been the case, 
 and will be the case to a still greater degree when 
 the principles are still better understood that the 
 greater freedom from commercial tariffs we can 
 give in our own country, the greater will, and must 
 be the benefit which we confer, not only on our- 
 selves but on every other country with whom we 
 interchange such commodities as one country may 
 be able, from its local or other advantages, to grow, 
 or to manufacture cheaper than the other. Fol- 
 lowing up these views, is it unnatural that /should 
 feel a strong desire to see a sort of " Zolverein" 
 established between the United States and my 
 own country ? by which either of us may feel that 
 we have but one common interest in promoting 
 the success of trade and commerce between its 
 former self and its present rival : but I will not 
 weary you by pursuing this subject further. 
 
 Allusion has been made to rival feelings, and 
 may I not give a strong proof that none such exist 
 in this city, excepting in that generous rivalry, 
 which is the truest stimulus to exertion, when I 
 remind you that the Gentleman who has done me 
 the honor to propose my health, and who, I am 
 sure, will allow me to call him my friend, is an 
 American, though standing at the head of one of 
 the largest and most widely known English firms ? 
 The House of Baring is known not only in Europe 
 and America, but in every part of the globe, and 
 MR. BATES, the present acting head of that well 
 
60 
 
 known and respected House, is, as I have before 
 said, an American. He has alluded to my con- 
 nexion with America, a connexion which I ever 
 regard with feelings of the greatest satisfaction ; 
 for I have been thereby frequently thrown into 
 communication with Americans, and I have never 
 received from them any thing but friendship and 
 kindness. 
 
 I have twice visited, and travelled in, the United 
 States. On the last occasion, in 1834, I met a 
 Gentleman on board the sailing packet, with whom 
 I made acquaintance, and whose acquaintance I 
 have kept up to this day : that Gentleman was 
 MR. PEABODY, who has been kind enough to invite 
 me to witness his reception of his countrymen in 
 this very interesting and in this truly hospitable 
 manner. I am proud to consider him as a Col- 
 league and Brother Merchant of London : and I 
 am not the less proud of it when I hear from the 
 lips of so many of his own countrymen, as I have 
 done on this day, that they consider his high and 
 unimpeachable character, his abilities, his integ- 
 rity and his industry, as great an ornament to 
 their country, as we are glad to consider him to 
 ours. Long may he enjoy the fruits of his well 
 earned independence, and long may he continue 
 equally respected on both sides of the Atlantic. 
 
 The Speaker sat down amid prolonged cheer- 
 ing. 
 
 LORD GRANVILLE then rose again, and stated 
 
61 
 
 that he had obtained permission to say a few 
 words more, and that he should make the oppor- 
 tunity available for proposing a toast, the pro- 
 priety of which all would recognise, and which 
 he was assured would be welcomed with un- 
 equalled enthusiasm. His lordship concluded a 
 very truthful and graceful tribute to MR. PEA- 
 BODY, by alluding to the prominent and disin- 
 terested part which that gentleman had taken 
 in advancing the interests of the Exhibition, and 
 to the still more prominent position which he 
 had achieved for himself by his unwearied efforts 
 to promote the happiness of Americans in this 
 country, and to foster kind and brotherly feeling 
 between Englishmen and Americans. His lord- 
 ship also alluded particularly to the regret which 
 he had experienced at having been unable to 
 attend the superb fete given by MR. PEABODY on 
 the last anniversary of American Independence, 
 and characterised th&tjete as marking an auspi- 
 cious epoch in the history of international feeling 
 as between England and America. In conclu- 
 sion, he proposed " The health of MR. PEA- 
 
 BODY." 
 
 After the prolonged and reiterated cheering 
 with which this sentiment was received had sub- 
 sided, 
 
 Mr. PEABODY rose and said, 
 My Lord and Gentlemen, I may most sincerely 
 assure you, that my feeling, at the present moment 
 
62 
 
 is one of profound humility. Gratifying as is 
 this spontaneous expression of your approbation 
 and regard, and grateful as I am to the Noble 
 Lord, and to you all, for your undeserved kind- 
 ness, I feel sensible of my entire inability to 
 convey to you, in suitable language, the acknow- 
 ledgments which I would wish to make ; and I feel 
 this humility and my inability the more strongly, 
 after listening to the eloquent speeches which 
 have been made this evening. 
 
 Gentlemen, I have lived a great many years in 
 this country without weakening my attachment to 
 my own land, but at the same time too long not to 
 respect and honour the institutions and the people 
 of Great Britain ; it has, therefore, been my con- 
 stant desire, while showing such attentions as 
 were in my power to my own countrymen, to 
 promote to the very utmost, kind and brotherly 
 feelings between Englishmen and Americans. 
 (Cheers.) 
 
 The origin of this meeting was my desire to pay 
 respect to those of my countrymen who have been 
 connected with the Great Exhibition of 1851, 
 and to pay a parting tribute to their skill, inge- 
 nuity, and originality, before their departure for 
 the United States ; and I cannot but feel that I 
 have been extremely fortunate in bringing toge- 
 ther so large a number of our countrymen on the 
 occasion. You will understand also, that I feel 
 extreme gratification at the presence of our kind 
 hearted Minister, and of those English gentlemen, 
 
63 
 
 whose social and official rank, no less than their 
 connexion either with our country, or with the 
 Exhibition, renders them fitting representatives 
 of national feeling, and entitles them to our re- 
 spect, and to my most grateful acknowledgments. 
 (Hear.) 
 
 The importance of maintaining kindly feelings 
 between the people of our respective countries, 
 has been the principal theme of the eloquent 
 speeches which we have heard this evening, and 
 particularly that of SIR HENRY LYTTON BULWER ; 
 but, although in some measure a repetition of 
 what has been so much better said by him, I can- 
 not forbear making a few remarks on the same 
 subject. There has recently been much ex- 
 citement in America, in reference to the main- 
 tenance of the Union of the States ; an excitement 
 that has placed the Union on a firmer basis than 
 ever. I have felt, that, important to us as is 
 that bond of union, there is another, which is no 
 less important to the whole civilised world ; I 
 refer to the moral and friendly union between 
 Great Britain and the United States. (Loud 
 cheers.) May both these unions still continue, 
 and gather strength with their gathering years. 
 
 Gentlemen, many of you whom I see here to- 
 night will soon be on the Ocean, homeward- 
 bound, and there are many whom I may not 
 again have the pleasure of meeting before their 
 departure ; but if I do not meet you all again 
 on this side the Atlantic, I trust that I may do 
 
64 
 
 so at some future day on the other side. After 
 such gratifying proofs of your friendly feeling 
 towards me, I am persuaded that your kindness 
 will induce you to give me, in my native land, a 
 warmer, but not more sincere, welcome, than it 
 has been in my power to give to you here. I 
 conclude by again offering you my warmest 
 thanks. 
 
 This speech was received with inexpressible 
 cordiality; and at its close, the company rose 
 and greeted MR. PEABODY with " three times 
 three" cheers, and " one more," with a heartiness 
 not to be surpassed. 
 
 MR. E. H. THOMSON being called upon, 
 
 arose and said, 
 
 My Lord and Gentlemen, I feel wholly inade- 
 quate to the task of addressing you at any great 
 length, since the hours of the evening are so far 
 advanced ; and I only rise for the purpose of pro- 
 posing the health of a distinguished gentleman, 
 who contributes to this night's good-fellowship, 
 by being personally among us, that pleasing duty 
 having been entrusted to me by the kindness of 
 our honoured host. 
 
 His name is "as familiar in our mouths as house- 
 hold words ;" and in our own country, from the 
 granite-hills of New Hampshire to the ever-glades 
 of Florida; from the shores of the Atlantic to 
 those of the Pacific, it is known and appreciated ; 
 while in Europe, from the headlands of the 
 
65 
 
 North Cape, to sunny Italy and the Isles of 
 Greece; from the land of Charlemagne and the 
 Alhambra, to that of Russian sway on the distant 
 banks of the Don and the Volga, the " INDUS- 
 TRIAL EXHIBITION OF ALL NATIONS" has given it 
 a character to be remembered while any thing 
 connected with the great enterprise which has so 
 much engrossed our undivided attention, for the 
 last six months, remains upon the page of his- 
 tory. 
 
 Need I say, gentlemen, that I refer to the AR- 
 CHITECT of the CRYSTAL PALACE ? who has by 
 his genius given to the world an edifice which 
 has none like it, and is like none other. It has 
 been in truth " the glass of fashion," the resort 
 of men of genius, and the observed of more than 
 six millions of the human family. He has given 
 to mankind an edifice so simple in its detail, that 
 a single section of its parts represents the whole ; 
 and it is only by a multiplication of these parts, 
 that the vast building has been constructed, and 
 if required could have been extended " from the 
 Land's End to John o'Groat's." 
 
 Within its magic walls the nations of the earth 
 have been gathered together for the first time ; 
 both hemispheres have pronounced its excellence ; 
 and it has shown that 
 
 " . Peace hath her victories 
 
 Not less renowned than War." 
 
 In this bee-hive, have been represented the in- 
 
66 
 
 ventive genius of man, his rise and progress in 
 the industrial pursuits, and all that makes him 
 and ennobles him. Nations have made their en- 
 trances and their exits ; individually they have 
 been present, from the infant, in its mother's arms, 
 to the whining school-boy, the lover, the soldier, 
 the justice, old age, in the slippered pantaloon ; 
 nay, second childishness, and worse than mere 
 oblivion, 
 
 " Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing." 
 
 I propose, Gentlemen, with your kind permis- 
 sion, " The health of SIR JOSEPH PAXTON the 
 designer and architect of the CRYSTAL PA- 
 
 LACE." 
 
 SIR JOSEPH PAXTON, amid loud and pro- 
 longed cheers, then rose and said, 
 Gentlemen, At this late hour of the night, I will 
 not attempt to detain you, with the delivery of 
 a speech, but will at once proceed to thank you 
 as I do most heartily and sincerely, for the very 
 kind reception you have given me on the present 
 occasion. I appreciate highly the thanks of those 
 who are present from America. I hope you will 
 excuse me from going into any detailed account 
 of the Crystal Palace. That has been often 
 given * by me, and I have received honors from 
 
 * Sir Joseph Paxton probably refers to his speech at Derby 
 on the sixth of August, 1851, which will be found at length in 
 the Appendix, page 101. 
 
67 
 
 rny Queen and country in connexion therewith. 
 I cannot, however, omit frankly to confess how 
 proud I am of my connexion with the Crystal 
 Palace, since it has been the means of bringing 
 together so often during the Summer that has 
 gone, the distinguished of different nations, who 
 I am sure have learned to know each other better, 
 and love each other more. But I have no hesi- 
 tation in saying, that without the assistance of 
 MESSRS. Fox, HENDERSON, and Co. you would 
 never have had the Crystal Palace opened, in 
 time for the Exhibition in May. (Hear, Hear.) 
 
 I am sure, that the sentiments expressed by this 
 country, and by the noble Lord (LORD GRAN- 
 VILLE), who represents the Royal Commission, 
 and by the citizens of the United States, are the 
 sentiments entertained by the various nations of 
 the earth, in reference to the Exhibition. Im- 
 pressed with that belief, and with the kind friend- 
 ship towards myself, which you have been pleased 
 to express, I again thank you most heartily for 
 the kindness done me in drinking my health. 
 (Cheers.) 
 
 MR. DAVIS then said, 
 
 MR. PEABODY, We have just given expression to 
 our sincere respect and hearty good wishes for 
 him, whose genius conceived that beautiful struc- 
 ture which was perhaps the most wonderful of 
 the many wonders of the Exhibition. I now ask 
 you to drink to him, without whose executive skill 
 
68 
 
 and pecuniary strength, the genius of a Paxton 
 would have been of no avail. Jointly, they have 
 realized the dream of Chaucer, in creating 
 
 " a temple ymade of glas, 
 In which there were mo images 
 Of gold, standing in sundry stages, 
 In mo rich tabernacles, 
 And with perrie mo pinnacles, 
 And mo curious portraitures, 
 And queint manner of figures 
 Of gold worke, than I saw euer." 
 
 It will prove for them a real " House of Fame," 
 wherein their names will be preserved with 
 
 " names 
 
 Of folke that had afore great fames 
 Of old time." 
 
 I give you as a toast " The health of SIR CHARLES 
 Fox." 
 
 This toast was drunk with enthusiasm. 
 
 SIR CHARLES Fox then rose and said, 
 MR. PEA BODY and Gentlemen, It is difficult to 
 find words which fully express my feelings on this 
 interesting occasion, or adequately to thank you 
 for your hospitality, and for the very kind and 
 flattering manner in which you have done me the 
 honour to drink my health, as proposed by my 
 friend MR. DAVIS. 
 
 I assure you, Sir, that I consider it a great privi- 
 lege to be present this evening ; and I embrace the 
 opportunity of expressing to my American friends 
 
69 
 
 the high estimate I have formed of them, as a great 
 people, well versed in intellectual attainments as 
 well as in those of a more commercial character ; 
 and of expressing a confident hope, that, having 
 formed a more intimate acquaintance during the 
 Exhibition of 1851, a permanent sense of respect 
 and good feeling will arise between us, leading to a 
 national interchange of confidence in, and mutual 
 support of, one another, which will be alike bene- 
 ficial to both, and will go a long way, by our 
 combined power and good example, to establish 
 peace among the civilized nations of the world. 
 
 In early life, I was led to consider Americans 
 as enemies of England, and therefore to dislike 
 them ; and I regret that much has been said, from 
 time to time, to keep alive that feeling ; but since 
 I have enjoyed the privilege of personal acquaint- 
 ance, my feelings have changed into those of re- 
 spect and admiration ; and gratified as I am, by 
 what has been so warmly expressed by my Ameri- 
 can friends, this evening, in praise of Englishmen, 
 I am sure there is not one here, who is not proud 
 of the relationship which exists between us. 
 
 Educated to feel jealous of one another, we have 
 avoided the expression of that natural affection, 
 which, as descendants of the same parents, we 
 silently cherish in our hearts, but which would 
 audibly manifest itself the moment a third party 
 should attempt to call in question the character, 
 of either. 
 
 Be this as it may, I am sure, Sir, that we ought 
 
70 
 
 to love one another ; and if strife must exist be- 
 tween us, let it be a strife in which we shall vie 
 with one another in the attainment of commercial 
 excellence, and what is still more estimable, of 
 moral worth. 
 
 This speech was received with great applause, 
 both during the delivery and at the close. 
 
 His Excellency MR. LAWRENCE then, in a few 
 eloquent remarks, expressed his gratification at 
 the cordial good feeling that had marked the 
 proceedings of the evening, and proposed, as the 
 night was far advanced, that they should adjourn 
 to the drawing room. Before complying with this 
 suggestion however, MR. PEA BODY proposed as a 
 toast " THE LADIES OF THE OLD WORLD AND 
 THE NEW;" which was drunk with due honors. 
 About one o'clock the company separated ; and 
 thus terminated a meeting, characterized by un- 
 disturbed good feeling and kindness. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 From the Morning Post, Nov. 1. 
 
 ;MONGST the many festivities, which, 
 as directly resulting from its exist- 
 ence, have accompanied or followed 
 the Great Exhibition, there has been 
 none avowing a nobler object, and none more 
 likely to accomplish the object which it avows, 
 than the banquet, given on Monday last, by MR. 
 PEABODY, to his countrymen, who had contributed 
 to the vast collection of the world's wonders of 
 industry and art. MR. PEABODY is well known 
 in the commercial world, as an American mer- 
 chant and banker of great eminence. He is not 
 less distinguished in political society, for the un- 
 ostentatious but successful zeal, with which he has 
 laboured to establish and extend a cordial inter- 
 course between the citizens of America and those 
 of Great Britain. In carrying out this great 
 
74 
 
 purpose, MR. PEABODY has not omitted the col- 
 lateral and important endeavour, of impressing on 
 those States of the Union which stood in need of 
 such counsel, the necessity of discovering, and of 
 employing, the means best calculated to raise 
 their commercial credit to that high standard, 
 which so justly characterises America as a mem- 
 ber of the great family of civilised nations. The 
 views which he has brought to bear upon this 
 subject, have recommended themselves to the cor- 
 dial approbation of all parties interested, on both 
 sides of the Atlantic and have proved how much 
 more potent an instrument of conviction, is friend- 
 ly and sensible advice, than bitter and ignorant 
 invective. The political and the commercial 
 worlds are both, therefore, largely indebted to the 
 disinterested, and, we believe we may add, the 
 self-sacrificing, patriotism and philanthropy, by 
 which this gentleman has so honorably laboured, 
 not to build up a name for himself, but to achieve 
 a benefit for his race. 
 
 At the banquet of Monday, the proceedings at 
 which were fully reported in our number of Wed- 
 nesday last, Mr. PEABODY thus spoke : 
 
 " There has recently been a great excitement 
 " in America in reference to the maintenance of 
 " the union of the States, an excitement that has 
 " placed the union on a firmer basis than ever. 
 " And I have felt that, important to us as is that 
 " bond of union, there is another which is no less 
 
75 
 
 " important to the whole civilized world I refer 
 " to the moral and friendly union between Great 
 " Britain and the United States ; and, with the full 
 " reliance that both these unions will continue, and 
 " will gather strength with their gathering years, 
 " I conclude, by again offering you my warmest 
 " thanks." 
 
 The thanks, refer to the eloquent proposal of 
 MR. PEABODY'S health, by LORD GRANVILLE, and 
 the enthusiastic fervour with which the toast had 
 been received by the company. But the theme 
 of that eloquence, and the cause of that enthusi- 
 asm, were not limited even to the high merits and 
 acknowledged excellence of the generous host as a 
 private gentleman : they embraced, besides these, 
 the large and lofty purpose, to which he has de- 
 voted so much of his ample means and of his great 
 ability. Nor was it merely as having promoted 
 so liberally and efficiently the interests of the 
 Great Exhibition, that LORD GRANVILLE urged 
 MR. PEABODY'S claims on our gratitude. This was 
 but the well-chosen means to a still more impor- 
 tant end. The cementing more closely the union 
 between England and America, the fostering 
 kindly and brotherly feelings between Englishmen 
 and Americans, are objects which tend to promote 
 human advancement, and to secure universal 
 peace. 
 
 And, if the meeting under our consideration 
 had done no more than elicit the speeches of his 
 
76 
 
 Excellency the AMERICAN MINISTER, of EARL 
 GRANVILLE, and of SIR HENRY LYTTONBULWER, 
 it would not fail to be regarded as an event of vast 
 and lasting importance. MR. LAWRENCE showed, 
 with an ability which was enhanced by the kindly 
 humour that accompanied and illustrated it, how 
 much of the world's best fortunes depended on 
 the maintenance and consolidation of friendly re- 
 lations between this country and her mighty child 
 on the other side of the Atlantic. And it is im- 
 possible to mark the tone of his observations, with- 
 out feeling that he was speaking with a full con- 
 sciousness of the support of the great people whom 
 he so worthily represents. 
 
 Sir HENRY LYTTON BULWER nobly responded 
 to the sentiments expressed by the American 
 Minister. In a speech which bore the highest 
 characteristics of oratory, His Excellency defined 
 the nature of our relations with America, and the 
 character of the diplomacy which is best calcu- 
 lated to ensure their continuance. He reminded 
 his American auditory of their English origin, in 
 terms of equal feeling and taste. 
 
 " Welcome," he said, " again to this land, which 
 " is dear to me as my home, and which possesses 
 " a sort of kindred right to your affection as the 
 " home of your fathers. Here you will have found 
 " those ancient edifices, which, whether as monu- 
 " ments of power or as works of art, are noble re- 
 " cords of our common race ; here repose the 
 " ashes of those great writers of the past, in whose 
 
77 
 
 " fame we have a joint inheritance ; here grew 
 " up, in wisdom and renown, those learned and 
 " just legislators, those profound statesmen, from 
 " whom we have derived our common notions of 
 " polity and law ; here ruled and dazzled those 
 " mighty and valiant princes, beneath whose vic- 
 " torious banners your ancestors, side by side with 
 " mine, rushed from the heights of Cressy, or 
 " charged on the plains of Agincourt. But well 
 " I know, gentlemen, it is not merely the solemn 
 " cathedral, or the stately tower, nor even the ven- 
 " erated tomb of the noble and the great, which, as 
 " you wander through this island, will stay your 
 " steps. I see you there, in the quiet village, the 
 " country churchyard, pondering over some half- 
 " effaced epitaph, tracing on some moss -covered 
 " monument the names and lineage of your Eng- 
 " lish forefathers, whose dust, co-mingling with 
 " old England's soil, gives me, my dear sir, (turn- 
 " ing to MR. LAWRENCE and taking his hand) 
 " the right whilst I clasp your hand as that of a 
 " friend, to claim it as that of a brother." 
 
 What follows, is of still greater importance; and 
 is well worthy of the consideration as well of Eng- 
 lish as of American citizens. The new school of 
 diplomacy, to which SIR H. BULWER refers, and 
 which he as truly as humorously contrasts with 
 the old, is one, the doctrines of which have secured 
 for the Foreign-office, under the guidance of its 
 present distinguished Chief, the affectionate re- 
 spect and sincere admiration, of all who prefer 
 
78 
 
 the dignity of truth to the sophistries of equivo- 
 cation : 
 
 " But, if it be true that I have been so fortu- 
 " nate as to contribute in any way to the friendly 
 " relations which at present exist between the 
 " two countries, it is simply because I have taken 
 " a plain, downright course, for effecting this ob- 
 " ject. The fact of it is, gentlemen, that, accord- 
 " ing to old customs, when any causes for differ- 
 " ence, however slight, existed between our two 
 " governments, down sat Her Majesty's Represen- 
 " tative at his desk, and down sat the United 
 " States Secretary of State at his desk, and each 
 " penned to the other very pithy and pertinent 
 " despatches, showing the great motives for griev- 
 " ance there were on both sides ; and then those 
 " despatches were carefully circulated throughout 
 " both countries ; but when there were only causes 
 " for mutual good- will and satisfaction, no one 
 " thought it worth while to take notice of so sim- 
 " pie a fact, nor to state to the English and Ame- 
 " rican public, what strong reasons, both in senti- 
 " ment and interest, there existed, for their main- 
 " taming the closest and most friendly relations 
 " with each other. This was the old school of 
 " diplomacy, gentlemen ; but I am of the new 
 " school, and my theory and practice were and 
 " are just the reverse of what I have been describ- 
 " ing. I am for keeping as quiet as possible, all 
 " those small differences, which must occasionally 
 " take place between any two great states, having 
 
19 
 
 11 vast and complicated interests : but which dif- 
 " ferences are always easy of adjustment, when 
 " they are not aggravated by unfriendly and un- 
 " timely discussion. And I am for making as 
 " public as possible, on all occasions, those great 
 " points of union, that must connect those two na- 
 " tions, which not only, as my Honorable friend 
 " MR. LAWRENCE has said, have one origin, and 
 " speak one language, but which also transact their 
 " greatest amount of business with each other. 
 " Why, gentlemen, in what possible manner can 
 " difficulties of a serious character arise, between 
 " two nations thus situated, except through mu- 
 " tual prejudices, which, having been suffered to 
 " grow up, will be apt, until eradicated, to create 
 " a wrong impression as to the real policy and 
 " feelings of the one and the other ? My endea- 
 " vours, then, gentlemen, have been to remove 
 " all such prejudices ; ay, and to replace them 
 " by sympathies. For this purpose, as my friend 
 " MR. WALKER justly said, I have addressed my- 
 " self not merely to the American mind, but to 
 " the American heart. For this purpose I have 
 " thought it essential, not merely to correspond 
 " formally with your State Department, but also 
 " to have frank and free communication with 
 " your noble and intelligent people." 
 
 Honest and honorable intentions need only be 
 frankly stated, to be duly appreciated, between 
 honest and honorable States. And where mis- 
 understandings do arise, this diplomacy cannot 
 
80 
 
 fail, either to dispel them, or to show clearly to 
 the world which party is in the wrong. It were 
 well, that it could be understood and reciprocated 
 everywhere, as fully as it happily now is between 
 England and the United States. 
 
 No. II. 
 From The Sun. Oct. 28. 
 
 To none more than to City men, have the advan- 
 tages of the Great Exhibition been perceptible. 
 The extraordinary increase in the number of 
 private and business friends, who have visited 
 England, is, of itself, calculated to foster inven- 
 tion, promote improvements, and extend inter- 
 national trade. Whatever might have been the 
 misgivings entertained in the outset, and fully 
 participated in by the Americans themselves, it 
 is certain that they are precisely the persons from 
 whom we have learnt, and to whom we have 
 taught most. An opportunity, if any were needed, 
 of amply testing this feeling, was afforded, appa- 
 rently, by the proceedings last evening, at a fare- 
 well entertainment to the American exhibitors, 
 by their estimable, liberal, and wealthy country- 
 man, MR. GEORGE PEABODY. Nor is this the first 
 occasion, embraced by that gentleman, in endea- 
 vouring to promote kindly feelings between the 
 citizens of the great nations on either side of the 
 Atlantic. Gratifying it must be, amidst the 
 
81 
 
 expressions of dissatisfaction inseparable from the 
 adjudication of awards, to have heard from the 
 lips of the American Minister on this occasion, 
 that whatever others might feel, whatever others 
 might state, he, on behalf of his countrymen, 
 had nothing but gratitude to express, nothing but 
 kindness to acknowledge. His Excellency drew 
 attention to the fact, that the American exhibitors 
 had done every thing at their own cost, and that 
 at local fairs, Baltimore for instance, he had wit- 
 nessed a display of products that would more 
 fully have represented the industry of the United 
 States. SIR HENRY BULWER seemed to confirm 
 this view ; and while giving his opinion that the 
 subsequent exertions made, and the success of the 
 grain-cutting machine, the lock-picking, and the 
 yacht-sailing, left no cause for regret, he de- 
 clared also, of his own knowledge, that a vast 
 number of articles, new to Europe, were not sent, 
 simply because they were so commonly used in 
 America as to be considered no novelty. LORD 
 GRANVJLLE avowed, that the Royal Commissioners 
 owed a debt of gratitude to the American exhi^ 
 bitors, for coming so far ; and the American gen- 
 tlemen present, as we understand, admitted that 
 their views of the English character were greatly 
 and favourably changed by their visit. It has 
 come to pass now, as MR. THOMSON HANKEY 
 stated, that even the policy and right working of 
 the Bank of England, is an object of great im- 
 portance to the merchants of America ; and that 
 
82 
 
 free trade, a trade represented by sixty millions 
 sterling annually, between that country and Eng- 
 land, is knitting firmer and firmer their social, 
 and political, and industrial interests. 
 
 No. III. 
 From The Globe. Oct. 29. 
 
 THE speeches of the representative of the United 
 States in England, and of the representative of 
 England in the United States, at MR. PEABODY'S 
 parting dinner on Monday to the American con- 
 tributors to our Great Exhibition, inaugurate a 
 new era, in the relations between the two great 
 constitutional and commercial communities. But, 
 if we may be pardoned something like a bull, 
 those new relations are old ones the natural 
 relations between parent and progeny. We find, 
 in ancient history, Italian daughter-states going 
 into public and solemn mourning for the fall of 
 Ionian mother-states ; and we trust we shall find 
 (should occasion arise) fulfilled in modern times 
 SIR HENRY BULWER'S anticipation, which was wel- 
 comed with the enthusiastic applauses of an Ame- 
 rican audience : 
 
 " Hand in hand we can stand together, alike 
 " opposed to the anarchist, who calls himself the 
 " friend of the people, and to the absolutist, who 
 " calls himself the friend of the throne. (Loud 
 " cheers.) Long, then, gentlemen, let us thus 
 
83 
 
 " stand together, the champions of peace be- 
 " tween nations, of conciliation between opinions 
 " (cheers) ; and if, notwithstanding our example 
 " and our efforts, the trumpet of war should sound, 
 " and that war to which it calls us should be a war 
 " of opinion, why, still let us stand together. (Loud 
 " and long continued cheering.) Our friends, in 
 " that day of conflict, shall be chosen from the 
 " most wise, the most moderate, and the most just ; 
 " nor whilst we plant the red cross of England 
 " by the side of the stars and stripes of America, 
 " do I for one instant doubt, but that we shall 
 " leave recollections to our posterity, worthy of 
 " those which we have inherited from our ances- 
 " tors." 
 
 MR. ABBOT LAWRENCE'S testimony to the whole 
 conduct of this last six months' spectacle colos- 
 sal in itself, in all its accessaries, and in the 
 universal concourse to it deserves placing upon 
 prominent record, as the unbiassed verdict of 
 " contemporary posterity." 
 
 " I know something of the history of this Ex- 
 " hibition. I remember the day it was opened. 
 " I watched it from its inception to its completion, 
 " and from its completion to its close ; and I beg 
 " to say, that the order, the exactness, and the 
 " perfection with which everything has been done, 
 " has never, in my judgment, been equalled, 
 "whether in the marshalling of armies or fleets, 
 " the construction of buildings, or the arrange- 
 " ment of men. Six MILLIONS OF MEN OF 
 
84 
 
 " OF IT, WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS ACCIDENT HAVING 
 
 " OCCURRED ; and in the carrying out of the plans, 
 " you will all agree with me, when I say, that 
 " from the Prince himself down to the lowest 
 " class of policeman, nothing was received by any 
 " individual, but kindness and urbanity." 
 
 MR. LAWRENCE assigned, as a reason for the 
 comparatively scanty contributions of his country 
 to the Exhibition, the fact, that " every man from 
 " America came here on his own account, paid 
 " his own expenses, and paid the freight for his 
 " own products." But the truth is, no apology 
 was necessary. The United States are neither 
 Asiatic, nor old-European, in their stage of na- 
 tional culture. Nobody expected an Indian Tent 
 at their hands, nor a Medieval Room, nor a 
 Sevres Court. Nor, we may add, did the Old 
 World either expect or wish them to rival Lyons, 
 Manchester, or Sheffield in the finer and costlier 
 branches of their staple products. The great 
 staples of a mighty and half- subdued Nature, 
 like that of the American continent, are naturally 
 agricultural, connected with agriculture and ma- 
 ritime intercourse. Hcec tibi erunt artes, till 
 your people are closer packed together, and com- 
 bination of skilled labour in all departments be- 
 comes a growth more natural, of an age more 
 advanced. Meanwhile, the representative pro- 
 ducts of the United States are, the best imple- 
 ment of economical agriculture, the best weapon of 
 
85 
 
 individual self-defence, and the fastest yacht the 
 Solent has seen on her waters. America and 
 The America have, after all, taken their true 
 place in the industrial tourney of 1851. 
 
 SIR HENRY BULWER'S account of his own system 
 of diplomacy, conveys an admirable lesson to all 
 official representatives of free countries in free 
 countries. SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE, long ago, had 
 discovered, that the way to get the better of courts 
 and councils conversant with nothing but lies, 
 was to tell the truth. SIR HENRY BULWER may be 
 congratulated on the farther discovery, of the sort 
 of truths that should be kept in the foreground, 
 between the representatives of nations governed 
 by opinion, and connected by interest viz., those 
 truths which may be termed positive the posi- 
 tive, perpetual, and substantial reciprocal reasons 
 why brethren should remain at amity rather 
 than those truths which may be termed negative 
 - viz., the formal negations, which must, of 
 course, necessarily pass, from time to time, be- 
 tween the representatives of one Power and the 
 other of one or another claim or pretension on 
 either part of probably little real importance, but 
 which Secretaries and Ambassadors would not 
 think they earned their salaries if they failed duly 
 to protocolise. SIR HENRY BULWER said 
 
 " If it be true, that I have been so fortunate, as 
 " to contribute in any way to the friendly rela- 
 " tions which at present exist between the two 
 " countries, it is simply because I have taken a 
 
86 
 
 " plain downright course, for effecting this object. 
 " (Hear, hear.) The fact of it is, gentlemen, 
 " that, according to old customs, when any causes 
 " for difference, however slight, existed, between 
 " our two governments^ down sat Her Majesty's 
 " Representative at his desk, and down sat the 
 " United States Secretary of State at his desk, 
 " and each penned to the other very pithy and 
 " pertinent despatches, showing the great motives 
 " for grievance there were on both sides, and 
 " then those despatches were carefully circulated 
 " throughout both countries ; but when there were 
 " only causes for mutual good- will and satisfac- 
 " tion, no one thought it worth while to take 
 " notice of so simple a fact, nor to state to the 
 " English and American public what strong rea- 
 " sons, both in sentiment and interest, there ex- 
 " isted, for their maintaining the closest and most 
 " friendly relations with each other (hear, hear). 
 " This was the old school of diplomacy, gentle- 
 " men ; but I am of the new school (laughter 
 " and cheers) and my theory and practice were 
 " and are just the reverse of what I have been 
 " describing. I am for keeping as quiet as pos- 
 " sible, all those small differences, which must oc- 
 " casionally take place, between any two great 
 " states, having vast and complicated interests ; 
 " but which differences are always easy of adjust- 
 " ment, when they are not aggravated by un- 
 " friendly and untimely discussion (hear, hear). 
 " And I am for making as public as possible, on 
 
87 
 
 " all occasions, those great points of union that 
 " must connect those two nations, which, not only, 
 " as my honorable friend MR. LAWRENCE has 
 " said, have one origin, and speak one language, 
 " but which also transact their greatest amount of 
 " business with each other (cheers)." 
 
 Every one's recollection supplies pregnant illus- 
 trations, of the great wisdom of the course above 
 indicated, and the great folly of confining diplo- 
 matic activity to sterile controversy on contested 
 punctilios. The differences between England 
 and America, these thirty-six years, have resem- 
 bled nothing so much as the lawsuit between 
 Dandie Dinmont and Jock O'Dawston in Guy 
 Mannering. They have been on points of no 
 more real and vital international import than that 
 celebrated suit, concerning a strip of land which 
 " might feed ane sheep in the year, or aiblins 
 two,." 
 
 No. IV. 
 From The Leader -, Nov. 1. 
 
 INTERNATIONAL DINNERS. ENGLAND 
 AND " THE STATES." 
 
 MR. PEABODY, the gentleman who so magnifi- 
 cently kept the 4th of July, 1851, gave a farewell 
 entertainment to the American Exhibitors, at the 
 London Coffee-house, on Monday. Lord Grari- 
 ville, Mr. Abbott Lawrence, Sir Henry Bulwer, 
 
88 
 
 Sir Charles Fox, and Sir Joseph Paxton, were 
 the " notables" of the evening. But of all these 
 Sir Henry Bulwer occupied the floor to the great- 
 est advantage. He was warm and generous in his 
 praises of America. As to the part she played in 
 the Exhibition, all he had to ask was, What im- 
 pression had been made upon them with respect 
 to the mind and character of America ? 
 
 " In reply to such interrogatory he would state 
 " that, in all that pertains to the practical pur- 
 " poses of life and he might say of death too 
 " the United States certainly stood at the head 
 " of the poll. (Cheers.) Where should they find 
 " such pistols as Colt's, which would kill, he be- 
 " lieved, eight enemies in a second? a reaping 
 " machine, which would clear twenty acres of 
 " land in a day ? or where could they find locks 
 u superior to those of Mr. Hobbs ? To proceed 
 " a little further, there was that graceful and 
 " melancholy statue which well fitted the chains 
 " and misfortunes of ancient Greece, which also 
 " recalled the preeminent powers of sculpture, 
 " and, he might add, the preeminent genius of 
 " Powers. (Loud cheers.) But again, what was 
 " the small speck which they saw casting its 
 " shadow over the broad Atlantic ? That little 
 " vessel had given the i go by ' to all the yachts 
 " in our own waters, and that too under the very 
 " eyes of a Sovereign whom we are proud to call 
 " the ' Mistress of the Seas/ (Loud cheers.) But 
 u he always spoke his mind, and he thought that 
 
89 
 
 " if the Americans had given us a lesson in one 
 " way, we had also given them another. He had 
 " heard of a story of Fox, who, when asked one 
 " day what he thought of a young man who had 
 " made a capital first speech, replied that he did 
 " not like to judge a man after a success, he would 
 " like to see him after a failure. Now, they (the 
 " Americans) had taught us how to win the race, 
 " and we had taught them how to bear the loss 
 " of one. (Laughter and cheers.) 
 
 He described the modern principles which con- 
 trolled the diplomatic relations of the two states, 
 as consisting in a smoothing away of small and 
 irritating differences ; " whereas, all those great 
 " points of honour, sympathy, and ties which 
 " must ever connect two great nations which 
 " speak the same language, have the same origin, 
 " and which do the greatest amount of business 
 " with one another those great points of opinions 
 " and sympathies he was for making as much and 
 " as widely known as possible." (Cheers.) 
 
 The concluding passages of his speech are of 
 some importance to us. We must remember, 
 however, that they are uttered by a diplomatist. 
 
 When, the other day, he was signing the treaty 
 by which England and America reciprocally gua- 
 rantee the security of the means of transit, whether 
 railway or canal, which unites the Atlantic with 
 the Pacific, he felt that he was " assisting in lay- 
 " ing the foundation of an enduring alliance be- 
 " tween the two countries an alliance which, 
 
90 
 
 " unlike those of old, was formed, not for the 
 " purpose of securing advantage to one or other 
 " of the parties, but calculated to promote the in- 
 " terests of mankind. 
 
 " Feeling, as he did, such a deep interest in 
 " this alliance between the two countries, he could 
 " not help thinking that if ever there was a time 
 " when such a step was required, it was at the 
 " present time. Did they not see that the nations 
 " of the world were vibrating between two ex- 
 " tremes ? and was not some influence required 
 " which would moderate and regulate these mo- 
 " tions ? Where could such influences be found 
 " so safely and so securely, as in a heartfelt good 
 " understanding and cordial union between Great 
 " Britain and the United States. (Cheers.) He 
 " knew that the Americans were Republicans, 
 " but what of that ? (Cheers and laughter.) He 
 " had but small respect for names, and still less 
 " respect for that ' mock-turtle ' constitutional kind 
 " of liberty which he saw elsewhere. (Cheers and 
 " laughter.) He did not care what name it might 
 " be called, but it was evidently made by bad 
 " cooks from calves' heads. .(Renewed laughter.) 
 " The foundations of our society, in the United 
 " States and Great Britain, were religion and law; 
 " the purpose of both governments was liberty 
 " and order. (Cheers.) Inasmuch as the Ame- 
 " ricans loved their Republicanism, let them de- 
 " test all those principles of division and confu- 
 " sion which would destroy it ; and inasmuch as 
 
91 
 
 " Englishmen loved their Monarchy, let them 
 " prize and cherish all those principles which 
 " they know will preserve it from destruction. 
 " (Cheers.) A Socialist in the American Re- 
 " public, would be as popular as a favourer of the 
 " Divine right of kings in our own island. Hence 
 " it was, that he was happy to see standing toge- 
 " ther side by side the President of the United 
 " -States Republic and his Queen, Sovereign of 
 " these realms. (Cheers.) Standing, then, side 
 " by side, they also stood opposed to the anarchist 
 " who spoke as the ' friend of the People/ and 
 " the absolutist who spoke as the friend of the 
 " Crown. (Cheers.) Long, then, let us stand to- 
 " gether as the champions of peace, moderation, 
 " and patriotism, among the nations of the world. 
 " (Cheers.) And if it should unfortunately hap- 
 " pen that war ever should occur, and that war 
 " should be a war of opinion, let us still stand 
 " together the red cross of England and the 
 " stars and stripes of America side by side, and 
 " he had no doubt that they would be able to 
 " leave recollections to their posterity which 
 " would be worthy of those they had received 
 " from their ancestors. (Loud Cheers.) 
 
92 
 
 No. V. 
 
 From The Examiner, Nov. 1. 
 FRATERNIZATION WITH AMERICA. 
 
 A MORE graceful fraternization between the men 
 of two great nations, could not well be imagined, 
 than that which occurred on Monday last, when 
 MR. PEABODY, the wealthy American, gave a 
 " parting dinner to the American exhibitors." 
 And first of all let us remark, how gratifying it is 
 to observe the good humour and complacency 
 with which the Americans talk of the great Ex- 
 hibition. The French, who carried off from one- 
 third to one-half of the prizes, are grumbling, some 
 of them, at not having had all, and are thus liter- 
 ally spoiling a success. The Americans, on the 
 contrary, know how to improve a failure into a 
 triumph. And we English help them. We must 
 confess to have observed, with regret, that the 
 American samples of cotton prints, and other ar- 
 ticles of manufacture for the masses, were very 
 inferior, even to their reputation in such things. 
 MR. ABBOT LAWRENCE, however, declares that his 
 countrymen sent the worst samples, not the best, 
 and that the State Shows on the other side of the 
 Atlantic display better specimens. Be it so. Lord 
 Granville eked out the excuse more happily, by 
 saying that the American compartment would 
 " have been better filled, if the American people 
 
93 
 
 " did not think that some of the small things they 
 " produced were not of sufficient importance to 
 " be shown here." 
 
 Be this as it may, the American exhibitors go 
 as they came, contented; and no result of the 
 Great Exhibition appears more evident, than that 
 of its having improved friendly feelings between 
 English and American. There is more than after- 
 dinner compliment, in the warmly expressed sen- 
 timents which burst from MR. LAWRENCE, from 
 MR. PEABODY, and from the HON. MR. WALKER ; 
 sentiments which the latter had already expressed 
 in even warmer fashion at the great dinner given 
 to KOSSUTH at Southampton. 
 
 It was SIR HENRY BULWER, however, who was 
 enabled to adduce some of the strongest and most 
 practical proofs, of the good understanding be- 
 tween the countries. The greatest fact he brought 
 forward, was his own successful negotiation of a 
 treaty, to " protect the construction, and guaran- 
 " tee the security when constructed, of any canal 
 " or railway opening a passage across Central 
 " America between the Atlantic and Pacific 
 " oceans. It being stipulated that neither coun- 
 " try should, separately or conjointly, possess one 
 " single privilege or advantage with respect to 
 " such canal or railway, which should not be of- 
 " fered on equal terms to any other nation on the 
 " face of the globe." Perhaps, of all England's 
 objections to Anglo American progress or con- 
 quest Southward, the greatest has been, that by 
 
94 
 
 such conquests they might secure a monopoly of 
 whatever passage may be effected across the Isth- 
 mus. This treaty comes seasonably to allay such 
 apprehension ; and if a clause were inserted that 
 the guarantee and the security should be as valid 
 in war as in peace, thus rendering the passage 
 between the seas and the ports at either extremity 
 neutral, it would prove not only the completion 
 of a great work, but the establishment of a new 
 and a noble principle. 
 
 Sir Henry also struck the great chord, that in 
 the present oscillations of the political world be- 
 tween two extremes, nothing could have so great 
 a tendency to steady the movement as a cordial 
 union between Great Britain and the United 
 States. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I lay a great stress upon this 
 " fact, because I felt when I signed that instru- 
 " ment to which I have been alluding, that I laid 
 " the foundation stone of a great and equitable 
 " alliance between our two countries (hear, hear) 
 " an alliance which should not have for its ob- 
 " ject the wronging or despoiling, but the bene- 
 " fiting and protecting the rest of mankind ; and 
 " surely, gentlemen, if such an union were ever 
 " required, it is at this moment for at this mo- 
 " ment the world is, as it were, violently vibrating 
 " between two extremes, and appears of necessity 
 " to demand some regulating influence to mode- 
 " rate and steady its oscillations (hear, hear) 
 " and where, gentlemen, can such an influence be 
 
95 
 
 " better found than in the cordial union of Great 
 " Britain and the United States. (Great cheer- 
 " ing.) It is true that you live under a republic, 
 " and we under a monarchy, but what of that ? 
 " (Cheers.) The foundations of both societies are 
 " law and religion. The purpose of both go- 
 " vernments is liberty and order. (Cheers.) The 
 " more you love your republic, gentlemen, the 
 " more you detest those principles of confusion 
 " and division, which would destroy it. The 
 " more we love our monarchy the more we cherish 
 " and cling to those principles of equity and free- 
 " dom which preserve it. (Hear, hear, hear.) In 
 " this, indeed, lies the great moral strength of 
 " our close connexion. Hand in hand we can 
 " stand together, alike opposed to the anarchist, 
 " who calls himself the friend of the people, and 
 " to the absolutist, who calls himself the friend of 
 " the throne. (Loud cheers.) Long then, gen- 
 " tlemen, let us thus stand together, the cham- 
 " pions of peace between nations, of conciliation 
 " between opinions (cheers) ; and if, notwith- 
 " standing our example and our efforts, the 
 " trumpet of war should sound, and that war to 
 " which it calls us should be a war of opinion, 
 " why, still let us stand together. (Loud and 
 " long cheering.) Our friends, in that day of 
 " conflict, shall be chosen from the most wise, the 
 " most moderate, and the most just; nor whilst 
 " we plant the red cross of England by the side 
 " of the stars and stripes of America, do I for one 
 
96 
 
 " instant doubt, but that we shall leave recollec- 
 " tions to our posterity worthy of those which we 
 " have inherited from our ancestors." 
 
 Sir Henry Bulwer is fortunate, in the circum- 
 stance of this good understanding between Eng- 
 land and America having sprung up during the 
 period of his diplomatic service at Washington ; 
 many unpleasant causes of dispute, both with re- 
 spect to Canada and Cuba, having arisen during* 
 that time. His exertions and tact succeeded in 
 overcoming all ; and he could not more effectually 
 have answered the whole of the attacks and ca- 
 lumnies heaped upon him, for his previous breach 
 with the Spanish Government. 
 
 It will be recollected, that that breach arose 
 from his having, when envoy at Madrid, by order 
 of his Government, recommended to the Spanish 
 Ministers, after the events of the Spring of 1848, 
 a policy of conciliation rather than of rigour, and 
 of liberal constitutionalism rather than of mili- 
 tary and arbitrary rule. NARVAEZ despised that 
 advice, and picked an invidious quarrel with SIR 
 HENRY BULWER because of it. Yet NARVAEZ has 
 had to regret his own reactionary tendencies. 
 Having depended on the Court and on the army, 
 rather than on a constitutional party in the 
 Cortes, he has been tripped up by the Court and 
 forgotten by the army, whilst the liberal party 
 have risen rapidly in power, and form already 
 the only solid basis on which a minister can build 
 a policy. The exile Narvaez has accordingly 
 
97 
 
 shaken hands with the British envoy, who at the 
 critical moment gave him good but unwelcome 
 counsel ; a counsel now admitted to be the only 
 sage one. 
 
 We stated some weeks past, the fact of Narvaez 
 having given a dinner in Paris to Sir Henry, at 
 which the Spanish minister and a large number 
 of Spanish generals were present, when the full 
 and perfect reconcilement was sealed. The event 
 forms the fitting finale to our long and causeless 
 diplomatic quarrel with Spain. 
 
 No. VI. 
 From Bell's Life in London. Nov. 2, 1851. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE UNITED 
 STATES. 
 
 IT is one of the pleasantest of our duties, to record 
 the increase of a good understanding between 
 other nations and ourselves ; and it has been with 
 no little sorrow, that we have observed the journals 
 of some countries finding fault with the final re- 
 sults of our Great Exhibition, and attributing to 
 its English conductors motives which, we are 
 sure, never actuated them. On the part of our 
 neighbours on the other side of the Channel, this 
 was not so much to be wondered at. There is a, 
 party in France which maintains the traditionary 
 policy (?) of abusing the English. This is a mere 
 
 G 
 
98 
 
 matter of party tactics, and simply implies that, 
 at the particular moment, the abuse was deemed 
 capable of being turned to a party purpose. With 
 our brethren on the other side of the Atlantic, 
 we believe the case both is and will be different. 
 Fault may, indeed, be found with the adjudica- 
 tions of prizes, but bad national motives will not 
 be attributed to the adjudicators. The Ameri- 
 cans, at least, can appreciate that true English 
 love of fairness, which was so honourably dis- 
 played at Cowes, and which has been so honour- 
 ably and gracefully acknowledged at New York. 
 If the Great Exhibition year had done nothing 
 else that was good, it would have deserved honour- 
 able historic mention, for the friendly feelings 
 which it encouraged and increased, between the 
 two greatest and most free nations of the earth. 
 
 These friendly feelings were pleasantly mani- 
 fested, the other day, at a dinner, given by MR. 
 PEA BODY to the American exhibitors. There the 
 American Minister, MR. ABBOTT LAWRENCE, and 
 the late Secretary of the Treasury of the United 
 States, MR. WALKER, expressed in the kindest 
 manner the friendly feelings of their countrymen 
 towards England ; and with equal kindness of feel- 
 ing towards their country were they answered, by 
 LORD GRANVILLE and'SiR HENRY BULWER ; the 
 former a Cabinet Minister, the latter the British 
 Minister accredited to the United States. 
 
 It is curious enough, and not a little indicative 
 of the good habits of the two nations, that their 
 
99 
 
 accredited ministers should travel about the coun- 
 tries to which they are sent, learning the popular 
 thoughts, mixing in popular societies, and mak- 
 ing popular speeches. SIR H. BULWER did so in 
 the United States, and MR. ABBOTT LAWRENCE 
 has done so here. And the happy result is, that 
 both more completely respect and esteem the 
 countries to which they have been respectively 
 accredited; while, as LORD GRANVILLE gracefully 
 said, they, in their respective progresses, " had 
 gained for themselves the esteem and respect of 
 all whom they had met." SIR H. BULWER took 
 advantage of the opportunity afforded by his 
 health being drunk, to tell the world how much 
 these two great nations are united, and how 
 they had employed this unity of feeling, not in 
 securing to themselves any petty advantage, but 
 in binding themselves to afford to the rest of the 
 world all the benefits, which, in one great matter, 
 the ship passage between the Atlantic and the 
 Pacific, each might obtain for itself. SIR H. BUL- 
 WER justly prided himself, on being the Minister 
 who had signed the treaty, which not only ren- 
 dered England and the United States the pro- 
 tectors of this passage, but which assured, through 
 their protection, all the rest of the world the full- 
 est enjoyment of its advantages. In spite of the 
 party cavillings and petty-minded abuse of cer- 
 tain foreign journals, the greatness of England is* 
 shown in her repudiation of exclusiveness ; so 
 that in the Eastern hemisphere, she first sets the 
 
100 
 
 example of binding a vanquished enemy to allow 
 free trade with all other nations as well as with 
 herself; and then, in the Western World, joins 
 her great commercial rival in securing to all other 
 nations, all the commercial privileges, which they 
 propose to obtain for themselves. False, indeed, 
 was Goldsmith's poetic fancy, that 
 
 " Honour sinks where Commerce long prevails." 
 
 In truth, Commerce, to be great and successful, 
 must have honour for its basis ; and increasing ex- 
 perience has taught us, that it ought to have libe- 
 rality too. It is in military and priestly governed 
 countries, not in commercial nations, that " ho- 
 nour sinks," and that liberality and fairness are 
 unknown. 
 
 In truth, the honest spirit of the present English 
 diplomacy, where the Secretary for Foreign affairs 
 is " the servant of the English, not of a foreign 
 Crown," makes itself acknowledged at last, even 
 by those who have most abused it. Thus we find, 
 that in Greece itself, there is so strong an English, 
 that is a constitutional party, (notwithstanding 
 the Pacifico affair), that all sorts of intimidations 
 are necessary, to prevent its being triumphant in 
 the chambers ; while that, as to Spain, the Go- 
 vernment of that country has not only expressed 
 its regret for its treatment of SIR H. BULWER, but 
 Narvaez himself has personally done justice to 
 the character and conduct of that gentleman, 
 whom, under very sinister influence, he had ca- 
 
101 
 
 lumniated and ill-treated. SIR H. BULWER has 
 reason to be proud of this result ; and the attack 
 made through him on the character of English 
 diplomacy, is now confessed to have been in every 
 way unwarranted. 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 Speech of MR. PAXTON, at Derby, Aug. 6, 1851, 
 at a Dinner given to himself. 
 
 " MR. CHAIRMAN, my LORD DUKE, and Gentle- 
 men, If ever I laboured under a difficulty in my 
 life, or required of my friends more than an or- 
 dinary share of their kind indulgence, it is on the 
 present occasion. 
 
 " Overpowered by your kind response to the 
 too flattering account of me by my friend Mr. 
 Gisborne, I ask you to forgive me if I fail to ex- 
 press to you as I ought, my most heartfelt grati- 
 tude and thanks for this most distinguished mark 
 
 o 
 
 of your public approbation. I am not so vain but 
 I know how much of the praise you are good 
 enough to award me is due to your own kindness ; 
 but it would be affectation more offensive than 
 vanity, if I did not frankly acknowledge that I am 
 proud of being connected with anything that has 
 this day brought together so large a number of 
 my friends. Were I to consult my own feelings, 
 I should, after offering my fervent thanks in, I 
 fear, most feeble words, resume my seat, and thus 
 
102 
 
 relieve myself of a rather onerous duty. But, 
 gentlemen, I feel that this is no ordinary occasion, 
 but one on which I shall be expected to do more 
 than to return you my thanks. When the Exhibi- 
 tion, the great event of our times, was first pro- 
 pounded, I hailed it with unmixed pleasure ; it 
 appeared to me like a beam of light of vast mag- 
 nitude, embracing a field of operation, the true 
 advantages of which could only be felt in after 
 times, when the great efforts made would unfold 
 themselves in a thousand different and unlooked- 
 for channels. This is the seed-time, the harvest 
 will assuredly follow. Not only will the mecha- 
 nical ingenuity of man find means for extended 
 improvement, but the social nature of man will 
 receive its rewards in the sweeping away of na- 
 tional prejudice, and establishing between nation 
 and nation, and man and man, a kinder appreci- 
 ation of each others' worth, and a more charitable 
 view of each others' frailties. The first great fruits 
 which the Exhibition has produced are now taking 
 place at Paris. Nothing could be more hearty 
 than the reception given to us everywhere from 
 Boulogne to Paris. All appeared to vie with 
 each other in giving us a cordial and hearty wel- 
 come. The magnificent reception given at the 
 Hotel de Ville might almost have shaken the pre- 
 judices even of Colonel Sibthorpe. We have no 
 place in England where such a dinner could be 
 given as that of the Hotel de Ville, and no place 
 where there could have been so magnificent a re- 
 
103 
 
 ception. What has long been desired among 
 nations, has been a more free and unrestrained 
 communion of their inhabitants with each other. 
 When this shall fully take place, it will not re- 
 quire the abstruse study which is now requisite 
 for a Foreign Secretary or Minister to conduct 
 the affairs of nations with satisfaction to all par- 
 ties. I believe England has added another wreath 
 to her Crown, in the glorious part she has taken in 
 first establishing an Exhibition of all Nations. It 
 is a rather curious fact that there never has been 
 a National Exhibition similar to that of many 
 other countries, and that we should then at once 
 enter upon so gigantic a task as an Exhibition of 
 All Nations before we had an Exhibition of our 
 own. To his Royal Highness Prince Albert the 
 world is mainly indebted for carrying out this 
 most wonderful undertaking; and to his Royal 
 Highness belongs the credit of having persevered 
 through most difficult and harassing circum- 
 stances to so happy a result. 
 
 " It was while this magnificent scheme was 
 passing over the shoals and quicksands that always 
 beset great undertakings, that my humble efforts 
 were called into request, and, at the risk of being 
 thought tedious, I will venture to give you a short 
 history of my connexion with it, and the reasons 
 which induced me to furnish a plan. 
 
 " You are aware that as soon as the Royal 
 Commission was formed, gentlemen were selected 
 as a Building Committee ; to this committee was 
 
104 
 
 deputed the onerous duty of devising a proper 
 building for the Exhibition. Their first public 
 act was to send out invitations for designs for a 
 suitable structure. About 240 designs were sent 
 in, but the committee not finding any of these 
 exactly in accordance with their views, set about 
 devising a plan of their own ; and, on this being 
 completed, they prepared detailed drawings and 
 specifications for the purpose of obtaining tenders. 
 The structure they proposed to erect was severely 
 commented upon in the public journals, on ac- 
 count of the vast amount of bricks that would be 
 used in its construction, and the permanent cha- 
 racter of the work. It was not until this war of 
 words was raging with great fierceness, that the 
 thought occurred to me of making a design which 
 would obviate all objections. Fortunately, at that 
 time I was erecting a house of peculiar construc- 
 tion, which I had designed for the growth of that 
 most remarkable plant, the Victoria Regia ; and 
 it is to this plant, and this circumstance, that the 
 Crystal Palace owes its direct origin. 
 
 " Being in London, and having to see Mr. 
 Ellis, the member for Leicester, on business con- 
 nected with the Midland Railway, I sought him 
 at the Houses of Parliament, and found him at a 
 morning sitting in the new House of Commons, 
 which was held there on that day, for the purpose 
 of testing its fitness for use. Sir Charles Wood was 
 addressing the House ; but not a word of what he 
 said could be distinctly heard in the Speaker's 
 
105 
 
 gallery ; upon which I observed to Mr. Ellis, that 
 I feared they would make a mistake in construct- 
 ing the Great Exhibition Building, and that I 
 had some thoughts of sending in a design that 
 would obviate the difficulties complained of. After 
 a little further conversation, Mr. Ellis went with 
 me to the Board of Trade to see Lord Granville. 
 We did not find his Lordship within; but Mr. 
 Henry Cole, one of the Executive Committee, 
 happened to be there. I went to No. 1, Old 
 Palace-yard, and after conversing for some time 
 with Mr. Cole, I found that the Building Com- 
 mittee had advertised that the plans and specifi- 
 cations for contractors to tender would be ready 
 in about a fortnight ; and I also heard that the 
 specifications would contain a clause by which 
 those who tendered might also tender for designs 
 differing from the plan of the Building Committee. 
 From this moment I decided that I would pre- 
 pare plans for a glass structure ; and the first 
 thing I actually did was to go to Hyde Park, and 
 step over the ground, to ascertain the extent in 
 length and breadth on which the Building was 
 to stand. 
 
 " Having made an engagement to be at the 
 floating of the third tube of the Britannia Bridge, 
 I could not commence the plans until after my 
 return; and it was at the Midland Station, in 
 this town, in one of the committee-rooms, that 
 the first mark on paper was made of the Crystal 
 Palace ; and the most remarkable fact connected 
 
106 
 
 with the Crystal Palace is, that the blotting-paper 
 sketch indicates the principal features of the build- 
 ing as it now stands, as much as the most finished 
 drawings that have been made since. In nine 
 days from the time of making the blotting-paper 
 sketch, I found myself again at Derby, with a 
 roll of plans under my arm, on my way to Lon- 
 don. These plans, five in number, had, with the 
 exception of one, been prepared by me at Chats- 
 worth ; the one not prepared there had been made 
 for me by Mr. Barlow, the eminent engineer of 
 the Midland Railway, who kindly gave me his 
 valuable assistance in calculating the strength of 
 the columns and girders. At the Midland Sta- 
 tion I had the good fortune to accidentally meet 
 with Mr. Robert Stephenson, who had come from 
 Newcastle by the same train in which I was going 
 to London. On our journey I showed the plans 
 to Mr. Stephenson, and got him to read the spe- 
 cification. He expressed his unbounded admira- 
 tion of the design, and promised to lay the plans 
 before the Royal Commission on the following 
 day, which promise he fulfilled. As Lord Broug- 
 ham had said so much in the House of Lords 
 against a brick building being erected in Hyde- 
 Park, I waited upon his Lordship and explained 
 to him the nature of my plans : from that day 
 Lord Brougham has never uttered a word against 
 the Exhibition building, but, on the contrary, his 
 Lordship became my warmest supporter. I also 
 showed the plans to Lord Granville before they 
 went before the Royal Commissioners ; and here 
 
107 
 
 I must remark, that to Lord Granville the country 
 owes much in respect to the success of the Exhi- 
 bition. The easy access and courtesy of manner 
 displayed by his Lordship to all who approach 
 him, added to most excellent business habits, have 
 removed many difficulties that would not other- 
 wise have been effected. 
 
 " After my design had been laid before the 
 Royal Commissioners, and had been investigated 
 by the Building Committee, and seen at Bucking- 
 ham Palace by her Majesty and Prince Albert, 
 I took the plans to New-street, Spring-gardens, 
 and had the good fortune to find Mr. Fox at his 
 office. Mr. Fox was much pleased with the de- 
 sign, and at once agreed to go heartily into it. 
 Mr. Henderson (Mr. Fox's partner) and Mr. 
 Robert Lucas Chance, the great glass-maker at 
 Birmingham, were telegraphed to be in London 
 early on Monday ; and after a long consultation, 
 my plans were sent to Birmingham for the pur- 
 pose of having detailed estimates and drawings 
 prepared. The Royal Commissioners were made 
 aware of the fact of Messrs. Fox and Henderson's 
 intention to tender for my design, and Mr. Cole 
 went to Birmingham to counsel Messrs. Fox and 
 Henderson to tender for covering the ground in 
 the exact roof as marked out by the ground-plan 
 prepared by the Building Committee. Mr. Bru- 
 nei also suggested that the interior columns should 
 be placed 24 feet apart, instead of 20, in order 
 to suit the Exhibition. 
 
 " During the preparation of these plans and 
 
108 
 
 estimates, Messrs. Fox and Henderson came to 
 Chats worth to settle with me some of the more 
 important details, and I went twice to Birming- 
 ham to see the progress of the plans and estimates. 
 During the preparation of these plans, Mr. Hen- 
 derson suggested the Transept. To this I at first 
 objected. I did so on these grounds ; namely, 
 that, as the Exhibition was to be a fair competi- 
 tion of skill for all nations, I held it to be fair 
 and right that each exhibitor should have an 
 equal advantage as regards position, which they 
 could not have with the introduction of the Tran- 
 sept : another objection I entertained was, that it 
 could not stand in the centre of the Building, as 
 the ground- plan was then arranged; but the 
 moment Mr. Henderson said it would impart 
 strength and solidity to the Building, I assented 
 to its introduction. 
 
 " At length the day for sending in the tender 
 came, but considerable delay took place before it 
 was finally accepted. I have before stated, that, 
 in order to get the tender in, it was necessary 
 the Building should cover the exact space marked 
 out by the Building Committee ; but, in con- 
 forming to this plan, the Transept was obliged 
 to be put into one side of the Building, for the 
 purpose of avoiding the great trees which now 
 stand within it, but which, according to the 
 tender sent in, were to be in an open court. At 
 one of the meetings with the Building Committee, 
 it was suggested by them that the Transept should 
 
109 
 
 include the great trees; but there appeared at 
 first sight a good deal of difficulty in accomplish- 
 ing this, as at that time all the roofing was de- 
 signed to be flat. We promised to see what could 
 be done before the next meeting of the committee. 
 I went direct with Mr. Fox to his office; and 
 while he arranged the ground-plan so as to bring 
 the trees into the centre of the Building, I was 
 contriving how they were to be covered. At 
 length I hit upon the plan of covering the Tran- 
 sept with a circular roof similar to that on the 
 great conservatory at Chatsworth, and made a 
 sketch of it, which was copied that night by one 
 of the draughtsmen, in order that I might have it 
 to show to Mr. Brunei, whom I had agreed to 
 meet on the ground the next day. Before nine 
 the next morning Mr. Brunei called at Devon- 
 shire House, and brought me the heights of all 
 of the great trees; in the note containing the 
 measurements Mr. Brunei wrote thus : < I mean 
 to try and win with our plan; but I have thought 
 it right to give your beautiful plan all the advan- 
 tages it is susceptible of.' I then showed Mr. 
 Brunei the plan I had made the night before, for 
 covering in the trees, with which he was much 
 pleased. I have been led into these minute de- 
 tails, first, to show that the circular roof of the 
 Transept was designed by myself, and net by 
 Mr. Barry, as currently reported; secondly, s to 
 show the kindness and liberality of Mr. Brunei. 
 At the time of the tender being accepted, the 
 
110 
 
 Building Committee asked me if I had any ob- 
 jection to my design being improved in some of 
 its details ; my reply was to the effect that I 
 should have great pleasure in agreeing to any- 
 thing that could be shown to be an improvement. 
 
 " I must here tell you how some alterations 
 had become necessary. When the gallery co- 
 lumns inside were changed from 20 to 24 feet 
 apart, it put the outer columns and outer sashes 
 quite out of proportion as to distance ; instead of 
 there being one intermediate column and sash 
 between the 20 feet opening, there were two in- 
 termediate columns and two sashes in the 24 
 feet : and the plan Mr. Barry made for improv- 
 ing this had my entire approval, because it 
 brought back the design to its original propor- 
 tions. 
 
 " As soon as my design had been accepted, it 
 was decided by the Royal Commissioners to en- 
 trust the superintendence of its erection to Mr. 
 Wm. Cubitt, the President of the Civil Engineers' 
 Institute ; and Messrs. Fox and Henderson had, 
 as contractors, to submit the detail drawings re- 
 specting the strength of the Building for his ap- 
 proval. 
 
 " Just after the contract had been accepted, I 
 was obliged to leave England for a month ; and, 
 at the last interview I had with Mr. Fox before 
 my departure, in the presence of Mr. Leech, he 
 promised that all should be carried out in accord- 
 ance with the design, and that no alteration should 
 
Ill 
 
 be made without my approval. When I first 
 thought of sending in a design, I had to consider, 
 not only what I knew well myself, but what would 
 be thought practicable by others ; besides, I had 
 to keep in view not only the probability of the 
 mechanical realisation of my design, but also the 
 possibility of its realisation within a given time. 
 That I did not err in this last respect, I owe to 
 ihe ability, energy, and transcendent skill of 
 Messrs. Fox and Henderson ; and if I had one 
 word more than another that would express my 
 approbation of their exertions, I should have in- 
 finite pleasure in using it. Not only did they 
 arrange all the details for carrying on the works 
 with great precision and speed, but they entered 
 into the project with hearty good will ; and there 
 is a great deal of credit due to them for having 
 taken up my design in the manner they did. 
 The structure was an entirely novel and new one 
 to them ; previously they had no experience in 
 the peculiar plan of roofing and drainage, which 
 was for the first time brought before them in my 
 plans for the roofing, and therefore they had to 
 rely entirely upon my experience in all these 
 matters. They ventured, however, to embark 
 their money and reputation upon plans and infor- 
 mation which no one had experience in except 
 myself. They fully relied upon me, and I must 
 say, they deserve immense credit for having thus 
 ventured their fortunes and reputation on the 
 faith of one man. 
 
112 
 
 " If there had been sufficient time given, there 
 would have been no difficulty in putting up the 
 Crystal Palace if a year had been afforded, in- 
 stead of a few months, the accomplishment would 
 have been comparatively easy, because the Build- 
 ing is composed of simple parts, and it only re- 
 quires favourable weather and a multiplicity of 
 hands to erect a building to any extent. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen, I wish to disclaim all part 
 in the Building that does not belong to me. It 
 has been said that ' it was a fortunate idea ; ' but 
 the idea, though fortunate, was not a fortuitous 
 one. It was the result of long study and long 
 labour, without which no really practical idea 
 can be worked out into a distinct and palpable 
 design. The great experience I had in the erec- 
 tion of glass structures and the invariable success 
 which had attended my exertions, emboldened me 
 to produce that design, because I had not a doubt 
 of its practicability, if properly carried out. I 
 had two objects in view in offering a design : the 
 first was, that my proposal would be exactly suit- 
 able for the exhibition ; and, next, it would meet 
 a long-cherished idea of mine for a National 
 Winter Garden ; so that, like Goldsmith's piece 
 of furniture, it was contrived 
 
 A double debt to pay 
 
 By nature dressed to-morrow, 
 
 As by art to-day. 
 
 " I have stated to you that the Victoria regia 
 
 S. 
 
113 
 
 was the immediate cause of my sending in a de- 
 sign for the Crystal Palace ; but the Crystal Pa- 
 lace does not derive its origin from the existence 
 of that noble plant. No ! It owes its erection to 
 a nobler work of nature the noble Duke whom 
 I have had the honour and the pleasure to serve 
 for more than a quarter of a century. It is to 
 his fostering hand I owe all I possess ; he took 
 me when quite a youth, and moulded me accord- 
 ing to his wants and wishes ; he has given me all 
 the advantages of extended travel with himself, 
 which could not fail to produce fruit in due sea- 
 son ; by his confidence and liberality I have had 
 placed before me ample means for various expe- 
 riments, and without which, depend upon it, there 
 never would have been a Crystal Palace ; and if 
 there is one thing more than another that would 
 enhance the pleasures of this day, it is that his 
 Grace has done me the honour to be present to 
 see the flattering tribute you have paid me. 
 
 " Gentlemen, one word more, and I have done. 
 You can readily believe how great the anxiety 
 and responsibility I imposed on myself when I 
 undertook the design for the Crystal Palace ; but 
 believing that I could remove the many serious 
 objections urged against the erection of a build- 
 ing composed of bricks and mortar, I considered 
 it a duty I owed to my Sovereign and my country 
 to waive all personal considerations, and do my 
 utmost to save so grand a project from failure. 
 From the day I sent in my design, to the time of 
 
 H 
 
114 
 
 the successful accomplishment of the Exhibition, 
 my anxieties have been almost overpowering. I 
 felt what must be my fate if by any accident my 
 design should not be successfully carried out, and 
 any failure would have reflected back upon me ; 
 but great as that anxiety has been, and laborious 
 as have been my duties even up to the present 
 time, this day's proceedings amply reward me, 
 and give a triumphant finish to the whole. 
 
 " It is now twenty-five years since I came into 
 this country a comparative stranger : you then 
 received me kindly that kindness has since 
 ripened into friendship, and it has, I am thankful 
 to say, been my happy lot to make * troops of 
 friends.' My public duties have been many and 
 onerous, but in the performance of them it is my 
 happiness to know that I have never lost a friend. 
 The marks of respect you have shown me to-day 
 will sink deep into my heart, and the recollection 
 of it will afford me delight for the remainder of 
 my days." 
 
PRINTED BY C. WHITTINGHAM. 
 1851. 
 
Wl/f*$ 
 
 14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, 
 or on the date to which renewed. Renewals only: 
 
 Tel. No. 642-3405 
 
 Renewals may be made 4 days prior to date due. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 I 
 
 til 
 
 tO 4PR_ 
 
 
 
 SEN ON ILL 
 
 OCT 1 2001 
 
 U. C. BERKELEY 
 
 LD21A-40m-8,'71 
 (P6572slO)476-A-32 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
yp