A grand Banquet was given to his Lordship in the evening, at which the Marquis of Clanricarde presided. To the toast,

"Our distinguished guest, Lord Morpeth,"

the Noble Lord replied as follows:

"MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,-I think that I may easily gain credit when I assure you that all the circumstances attending the present meeting and the present spectacle-all that has been done or has been said upon this occasion— or, to sum all up at once, that this present moment must to me, as I now stand here, wear a character and produce an effect altogether overwhelming. At such a time it could not fail to recall vividly to my memory-even if you, my Lord, had not reminded me of it, being, as you were yourself, a gracious witness on both occasions-that at the interval of thirteen years ago, it was my lot-an Englishman, and a stranger--to be received in the same city to an entertainment of more slender dimensions indeed, but somewhat partaking of the same character and description as the present. An Englishman I still remain; but it is, perhaps, the most gratifying portion of the honours which have this day been poured so thickly around me, that as a stranger I appear before you no longer. At the period to which I have adverted, comparatively unknown and inexperienced, I must have been indebted for the distinction then accorded to me wholly to the persuasion that I shared in the sentiments upon the great subject of civil and national rights which you yourselves considered as peculiarly consecrated; and that I was disposed, in any sphere that might be open to me, to act honestly on all occasions. But I am here to-night, Gentlemen, having filled for a longer period than any of my predecessors the office of Chief Secretary for Ireland; and-knowing, by my personal experience, the responsible and difficult nature of the delicate duties which it involves, and remembering the feelings of anxiety, and even of misgiving, with which I first entered on their discharge, and conscious, above all, of the many errors and imperfections which a retrospect of the whole intervening period affords, and which I cannot fail to conjure up before my memory-I own I cannot wholly suppress the thrill of pleasure and exultation with which I look at this brilliant scene before me as the rich reward of all my exertions.

It has been my especial pleasure and pride to act here in Ireland under an Administration headed by the gallant and chivalrous bearing of the Marquis of Normanby-by the steady and deep-seated patriotism of Earl Fortescue. I will not descant here-because the list would be too long-the matter would be too copious-on the eminent conduct and services of the successive advisers with whom it has been the good fortune of the Government within the period

b

of my experience to be connected, and who have brought to their services the most distinguished natural endowments and professional attainments, as well as that keen sense of justice and that high thirst for truth which have outshone even these. There are, Gentlemen, recollections of services and attachments, not yielding to any of these, which, amidst each good and flattering accompaniment, would be too painful and too tender to dwell on. But as the mage of the absent Brutus impressed itself most prominently on the minds of the spectators at the pageant of the living Emperor, you would have sensibly felt the void if I had altogether withheld the allusion. Gentlemen, that which has been the main support and strength of the Ministry-which has given them confidence in the struggle, and served as a rallying point amidst discouragements, and has given animation to the victory-has been the generous and unswerving fidelity of the Irish people. I have the gratification of seeing around this board many of Ireland's most ancient nobility. I also see many of her popular representatives, many of whose voices have been lent to give utterance to the feelings of their constituency in our support, and all of whose votes have been given in defence of those just and legitimate principles which are held by the people. The support which the Government has received from them has been an honourable and an availing one, because it has been responsive to the popular feelings, and true to the popular cause. Gentlemen, I must not forget that I come before you here to-night as a member, not of a standing or existing, but of a beaten Ministry; and, though I have happily proved to-day that I am not yet excluded from your streets-from your places of public concourse-from your halls of pleasure-from the warm grasp and the friendly greeting-from the social board and the flowing wine-cup-yet into the guarded precincts of the Castle of Dublin I am no longer privileged to enter. Into the general causes of the defeat and downfall of the Government to which my colleague and I belonged, I do not think this would be an appropriate time for me to enter. It is gratifying to me to reflect that, whatever may have been the other contributing causes, the immediate occasion of that overthrow has been an endeavour to do what we conceived was justice— perhaps against prejudices, and certainly in despite of partial and particular interests to the struggles of industry in all its branches--to the wants of the entire people. If we have judged and acted wrongly, we have probably sealed our own doom; but if otherwise, I most firmly believe that time will work our vindication, and that, too, in as full a measure as the utmost ardour of party could desire. In this place, before the present auditory, and on this precise occasion, I feel that what further remarks I have to offer ought to have reference to the connexion of passing events with the fortunes of Ireland; and, Gentlemen, on this subject I hope you will bear with me, or rather that you will take the blame to yourselves, if I form a less modest estimate than I

ought of past transactions. Now that our day of office is closed, and that we have to transfer the reins of Government into other hands, I have no hesitation to come forward and say that, backed and supported as I have described ourselves to have been by the Irish representatives and Irish people, our time of stewardship has not been unfaithfully or unprofitably spent. We come not empty-handed to the reckoning, and some of our sheaves are with us.

I believe on this subject I may say, without the imputation of boasting, that we leave the administration of justice in Ireland without leaving on it the slightest stain of partiality to creed or party, but leaving respect and confidence in it more deeply seated in the breasts of the people than we found it. And I may here be allowed to notice, perhaps, one of the most important improvements of all other in this country-I allude to our giving, by every means that in us lay, our utmost development to a system, the best we could devise, of National Education. On this point, notwithstanding my conviction of its superior importance over many other measures brought into operation in this country, I shall not dilate further, because I should shrink from giving to it any party complexion, and because that much of the principles upon which it is founded, and by which it is regulated, are attributable to Lord Stanley; and, as I before coupled that nobleman's name with an unpopular measure, I now accede the more willingly to him, that that system introduced into this country by the Noble Lord, has effected the most important good; and I fondly cherish the hope that it will continue to be encouraged by the Noble Lord by whom it was founded, and by his colleagues. I say this, feeling fully convinced that, no matter from what quarter a blow to injure that institution might be aimed, it would render the author of such liable to a responsibility the most serious that could possibly occur. We now come to the period when we had to transfer the power we held into other hands; and I am entitled to say to our successors-Improve upon the errors of which we may have been guilty in our management; correct the abuses which we may have left unremoved, and carry the fortunes of the Irish people further and higher than we have been able to do; but, above all, do not suffer the sacred deposit which has been intrusted to you to be tarnished in your hands. But I say to you, above all, keep clear-knowing, as I do, some of the companionship with which you are connected-I say keep clear of the blighting breath of bigotry--foster the seeds of religious peace and good feeling which have been generally disseminated throughout the land, and which, with prudent and careful culture, may fill the furrows of the country with plenty, and its heights with verdure, and make this great people happy and united. I consider that it would be going beyond the sphere of my province for me to venture to offer to the representatives of the Irish people in Parliament any advice or suggestion with respect to the course which it is right for

them to pursue on important political questions; and that it would be as presumptuous in me, as it would be unnecessary, to remind them of the necessity of a strict adherence to legal and constitutional means, and to the plain and obvious dictates of social duty. Such a course would in me be impertinent, as well as superfluous; but, in the midst of all the elements of dissension and disunion which are thrown amongst the people, I place my reliance for perseverance in good in their own good feelings, and in the great and manifest advances in moral improvement which they have exhibited. Yes, and when I look to the mighty and most striking development of the progress of moral improvement— and I do not here refer to anything arising from the ordinary measures of politicsI recall to mind that it was my lot, my good fortune, to have, in my place in the House of Commons, to bear testimony to the wondrous and astounding effects which have been attendant on the efforts of that great and good man, the Rev. Mr. Mathew. Although I fear that the present assembly bears too convivial an aspect to meet the entire approval of that good man, yet I am glad to take the opportunity to speak of the singular merits of his labours in the presence of so many gentlemen who can confirm, by their own testimony, the marvels of his glorious mission in extending the blessings of temperance through the land. He needs not--as he looks not for--our praise or approbation-he has higher motives to actuate him in his labours; but this I will say, that, when I examine this mighty reformation, I feel there is nothing too great to hope for-nothing too brilliant to expect to see realized in Ireland. These are the themes the contemplation of which fills me with hope that good will yet come to Ireland, and that the interests of this much-injured country will ultimately prevail. When I look back on the past history of this country, and her present capabilitieson all she has suffered, on all she may be destined to become when I perceive how much she has contributed in some ways to the weakness, in other ways to the strength of England-how she has shed on every page of their blended history the traces of her power and her intellect-the light that still flashes from the sword of Wellington, and plays around the lyre of Moore-when, I say, I recollect these things, I can form no wish but that two nations so circumstanced should enter into mutual participation of every civil right, and every national privilege. They should flourish from the same sources of prosperity, and more and more encourage each other to essay the task of honour, and the way of greatness. Gentlemen, whatever may have been the object, and wheresoever the spot where the energies of the empire may have been called into action-whether men were called to place the standard of the British arms on Candahar, or above the ruins of Acre-whether it was necessary to open the Euphrates and the Niger to our missionaries and our merchants, or to disseminate amid the four southern seas the light of Christianity, Ireland has ever stood foremost in every high achievement, and let her blood flow freely on the crest of the billow and the bayonet of the foeman. And as she has shared

in the suffering, so, I trust, she will participate for many an age in those triumphs which will establish in the abode of the Heathen the religion of the Cross, and impart the blessings of civilization to distant nations. And now, Gentlemen, having been led to say thus much by the occasion, in taking leave of those with whom I have been associated, and by whom I have been supported, I can express my unshaken reliance on the main links which cemented our sympathies. I believe these may be resolved into ardent attachment to civil and religious freedom-not in the cold letter, but in the living spirit—not in the formal language of the lips, but in the deep devotion of the heart. Such is our cause, grounded on immortal principles; and you may rest assured that it will bring its adherents no shame. As for myself, individually, it is a painful, yet a grateful office to bid farewell to those associates whose prompt and active zeal has lightened the load of business and soothed the responsibilities of office to friends whose steady and assiduous kindness has gladdened my hours of recreation, and furnished me with stores of pleasurable recollections-and to the Irish people, who must ever command my respect, affection, sympathy and gratitude, whenever I have the means of serving them, and as long as I have the power of remembering them."

THE VICEROYALTY OF THE LATE EARL OF CARLISLE.

The appointment of the Earl of Carlisle as Viceroy of Ireland was hailed with delight. His immense popularity insured him a warm welcome from the Irish people, who received him with unbounded acclamation. His courteous disposition, his genial good nature, and sense of justice, inspired hope and a firm faith in the just administration of the law; and the Roman Catholic portion of the people, who had just emerged from religious proscription, revered him for the sincerity and earnestness of his efforts in regard to Catholic Emancipation. They admired his unswerving principles in favour of religious equality and constitutional liberty, and his firmness in denouncing bigotry and intolerance, and believed in their hearts that a new era had arrived for the prosperity of the country, and the perfect equality of all, without religious distinction, and for the redress of many administrative evils which still continued to exist. How the Earl of Carlisle fulfilled these anticipations, and by his impartial, firm, and conciliatory administration, gained the good will and esteem of all, and left his memory hallowed in the minds of the people, requires no comment. The