On this page

• Text (2)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    tame and equivocal . There were occasionally some humorous calls which provoked laughter and smiles even with the potent , grave , and reverend seignors , Buch , for instance— " the chancellor's racing stud ; " " the ladies in white ; " " the gentlemen in black ; " " the gentlemen jammed in the area ; " " the gentlemen who tried for the Latin Terse ; " " Uncle Tom - , " the single ladies ; " " the married ladies ; " "the ladies who wish to he married ;" " the ladies who won ' t be married ; " " the ladies engaged ;" " the mammas ; " " the grandmammas ; " teetotallers and Bloomers were at a discount , and Protection , which was supposed to have been defunct , was resuscitated , and . linked

    with Disraeli ' s name , elicited immense cheering . " The Prizemen of the Year , " " the Examining Masters , " " the Brasenose Crew , " were honoured with great applause . As often as the Countess of Derby or Lord Stanley was mentioned , great cheering resounded from all sides . In the midst of these demonstrations , however , the wide portals of the theatre were thrown open , and a procession , in which bishops , statesmen , generals , divines , and civilians were Been , approached with measured steps , and no sooner was the chancellor caught sight of , than the whole assembly rose , and for several minutes the building resounded with notes of welcome and approbation , the ladies waving their handkerchiefs , and contributing in no small share to the

    excitement of the scene . The chancellor having reached his official seat , opened the Convocation , and read the names of those distinguished individuals upon whom it was proposed to confer the honorary degree of doctor of civil law . The mention of the names of the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Mecklenberg Strelitz was received with much cheering ; the same may be said of all the others ; but the most marked were Lord Stanley , Lord St . Leonards , and , above all , Mr . Disraeli , whose name was the signal for a renewal of that enthusiasm to which it gave rise at the commencement of the proceedings . The names of each candidate for honours were then read by the chancellor seriatim , and submitted to Convocation ; all

    were agreed , notwithstanding that a few courageous nonplacets determined , in one or two instances , on exercising their privilege . The bedels then returned to the divinity school , and shortly after entered the theatre , escorting the newly-made doctors , who were received with much cheering . Dr . Phillitnore then presented , in appropriate Latin addresses , the following noblemen and gentlemen : —The Marquis of Blandford , M . P . ; the Marquis of Chandos , M . P . ; the Earl of Eglinton and Winton ; the Earl of Hardwicke ; the Earl of Malmesbury ; Lord Stanley ; Lord Redesdale ; Lord Colchester ; Lord St . Leonards ; Thomas

    Babington Macaulay , M . P . ; the Lord Justice Turner ; Sir John S . Pakington , Bart ., M . P . ; Spencer Horatio Walpole , M . P . ; Benjamin Disraeli , M . P . ; Joseph Napier , M . P . ; Sir Edward Cust , K . CH , ; the Reverend Joseph Pulling , B . D ., Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge . As each doctor was admitted to his degree , he proceeded to the chancellor , who shook him by the hand , and assig ned him a place in the doctors' semicircle . Macaulay , Lord St . Leonards , Lord Stanley , and Disraeli—especially the two latter—were hailed with loud acclamations on proceeding to their places .

    Then followed various recitations in honour of the chancellor , the proceedings being brought to a close by another performance from the " gods /' In the afternoon there was a grand flower show in the pleasant gardens of Worcester College . In the evening , Worcester Hall was filled by a distinguished company , the guests of Dr . Cotton , the Vice-Chancollor . Lord Derby , of course , was the honoured guest of the ovening . He made u fluent speech after dinner , declaring his position in respect to University reform very guardedly , expressing a hope that they would reform themselves ; but also asserting that he will oppose any measure which does not meet with the approval of the University authorities . Mr . Ingersoll , the American ambassador , and the Persian ambassador , were present .

    On Wednosday there was a concert in the Thentro ; a dinner at Christ Church ; and a grand masonic ball in the Town Hall . The Christ Church dinner was the crowning event of the festivities that have attended the inauguration of the Chancellor . The Earl of Derby is himself a member of thnt collegiate body , and it was to bo expected that an institution so proud of its renown an the head of all the colleges of Oxford , would oiler a brilliant reception to one of its alumni . so highly distinguished . The old hall , raised by the munificence of Wolsey for tho adornment of his favourite college , was occupied by a distinguished aild select company of move than n hundred vittitors , consisting chiefly of mombers , besides tho personal friends of Lord Derby . It derived additional lustre from the presence of the Chancellor of

    the Exchequer , Mr . Gladstone , who is a Christ Church man , having come from London to attend the dinner . The banquet overflowed with good cheer and luxuries of all sorts , and the tables were docked with a sumptuous display of plate . Dr . Gitisford , Dean of Christ Church , presided . Tho speaking throughout was of a complimentary character , and marked by perfect taste and good feeling . Mr . Gladstone ' s health was drank with thu greatest enthusiasm , and in returning thanks ho adverted gracefully to tho fact of the choice of tho University having fallen on u Christ Church man , and to tho bonufita which might bo oxpooted to result from tho inquiries of the Royal ComiiiisHion , which had been iwmud by Government solely iu viow of tho advantages , that would reault , both to

    the cause of educational culture generally and to academic interests , from widening and purifying the channels of learning . A story ia told , illustrative of Mr . Disraeli ' s popularity : — . " The undergraduates had no share in the repast , _ but they assembled ^ the 'Tom Quadrangle'to meet'Dizzy ' ( as they called him ) on his departure , and conveyed him to the gate with such a spontaneous shout of enthusiasm

    that he expressed himself deeply moved at the unexpected honours thus lavished upon him . Some ascribe this violent predilection to admiration for the novelist , some to sympathy with the politician ; some think it a sign of bad taste that the honorary doctor is deemed an object of more interest than the august Chancellor ; but , however opinions may differ as to causes , or degrees of propriety , all are agreed that Mr . Disraeli ia here tho ' man of the people . ' " __

    The Masons did the thing admirably well . The Town Hall was decorated with the symbols of the order , and the arms of some of its membe rs , the ceiling being profusely adorned with rosettes of various colours . The dresses of the Masons were most mag nificent , some of the higher officers being almost enveloped in the peculiar jewels of the order , made of the most costly materials . The supper , too , was on a highly liberal scale , and , as the room was completely crowded and the evening was intensely hot , the consumption of ices and cool drinks was something wonderful . The Earl of Derby and most of the distinguished visitors of Oxford made a point of attending this grand festivity , and , in fact , he who missed it missed one of the most interesting scenes of the season .

    The Theatre was again crowded to suffocation on Thursday , but , although the proceedings there were rendered more amusing than on Tuesday "by the performance of the Installation Ode and the recitation of the Newdigate prize ^ poem , there was not the excitement of the first day . The ode is a bombastic performance by Mr . Claughton , the professor of poetry , and may be described as Oxford Toryism done into metre ; the Newdigate prize poem " On the Ruins of Egyptian Thebes , " is as good as those things usually are . Degrees were conferred

    on the following gentlemen : — Joseph Randolph Ingersoll , Minister of the United States ; the Right Rev . George Jehoshaphat Mountain , Bishop of Quebec ; the Right Rev . Charles Petit Mcllvaine , Bishop of Ohio ; the Right Ilev . Charles Wordsworth , Bishop of St . Andrews ; Sir John Yarde Buller , M . P . ; Sir Edward Eulwer Lytton , M . P . ; Sir Thomas Gladstone ; Sir Roderick Impey Murchison , F . R . S . ; Sir Archibald Alison ; Sir Charles Eastlake , President of tho Royal Academy ; Philip Pusey ; George Alexander Hamilton , M . P . ; Colonel Mure ; Charles Newdigate Newdegate , M . P . ; Lieutenant-General Reeve ; Sainuel Warren , Q . C . ; Richard Bright , M . D . ; Forbes Winslow , M . D . ; George Grote ; Professor James D . Forbes ; Professor W . h . Aytoun ; Joseph Henrv Green ; William Thomas Brande , Esq ., F . RS .

    A dinner at Pembroke College put the finish on these festivities : the " boys" went home ; the politicians returned to town ; the professional men to their avoentions ; and no doubt Mr . Samuel Warren , with " a Bee" in his bonnet , and a " Lily in his button hole /' went " the wing" somewhere " tho flesh , " while his heart remained at Oxford , and his legal lore , we charitably hope , at Hull . On the whole , the festal capers of our Great Charity School , and museum of opposite *—of deep learning and shallow ignorance—of fossil polities and mediasval fanaticism—of the noblest aspirations and the meanest —were really good specimens of what " Dons" can do when they set their liberated wits to work upon things temporal .

    Untitled Article

    A FEW GENII INK AMERICAN NOTES . [ Thk subjoined sketch of an American question in its most practical aspect i * sent to us by a correspondent , who has just returned from the United States , after a three ; yearn' residence . The information respecting Cuba is derived from a gentleman who bus also resided in that island . It will bo Been that our own view is corroborated by additional testimony from personal experience ; and if an eminent satirist , who bus recently returned from America , wore to give tho conclusions of bis own keen observation , truth would bo still further

    served . U " t wo believe that the grand delusion will 10 coive repealed and wholesome shocks , which will Iookoii ita too long possession of tho public mind in this country . It will bo seen that wo arc endangering our own bom ; interests , torturing thorn ) whom we profess to nerve , and injuring our best ally by oar ignorant agitation in another people ' s business , j Nulj—Having been from my boyhood " connected with tho pruas , " I congratulate you on having produced tho best nowspapor of tho first press in the world . With tho boat " gottiiur up , " tho writers of tho leading

    articles display ail intimate acquaintance with the subjects of which they treat . This is so much the case in the article on the " Debate on the surrender of Cuba , " that I solicit you to repeat the following sentence on American Slavery : ^—" That they perfectly understand the evil , we . know ; that their best intellects only await the opportunity of removing it , we also know ; that they are of a race to be compelled , nobody would believe ; that we , in this country , can understand their difficulties so well as themselves—that we can teach them their own busines . s—is a delusion to which we cannot lend the countenance of this journal . "

    The whole question in a nutshell ! How differently is it treated by other journalists ! Passing over the small fry , we find the Times pleading against the murder of " Uncle Tom , " by asking-, " If a costermonger became possessed of the winner of the Derby to-morrow , would he put him in his cart ? " Very likely not ; but as probably would the winner of the Derby come to the cart at last , as many of his progenitors have done before . And so sure as many Derby winners are done to death long before the natural termination of their existence , so sure are many Uncle Toms cruelly murdered by the infamous " peculiar institution . " At whose doors lie these murders ? At those of the

    British people , who , since the extinction or slavery in the West Indies , have been continually memorializing , persuading , taunting—ay , occasionally threateningthe Americans on the subject . I do not require here to cite facts and figures to prove that Abolition has not progressed in America ; this is admitted even by the Free-soilers ; and I defy any writer to show that it has arisen from any other cause than a determination , on the part of a high-spirited and peculiarly sensitive people , to oppose all attempts at " foreign interference . " I have lived in the Union for several years , have discussed the subject with Americans whenever an opportunity occurred , and unhesitatingly assert , that I never met an American citizen , unless he was a Free-soiler , who has not given me ample grounds for what I have written .

    To what else are we to attribute the increase of the slave-holding power in the Union ? Are Americans becoming more brutal , while the rest of mankind are becoming more benign ? Are Americans becoming hardened by the advance of civilization , while the owners of the fellahs of Egypt and the serfs of Russia are progressing in the exercise of charity ? Assuredly not ! The reply of Mrs . ex-President Tyler to the sisterly appeal from England proves that upon this subject of slavery America will receive neither remonstrance nor advice . So deeply did irritation obscure the intellect of Mrs . Tyler , that she said the women of England were urged on by their husbands ,

    who were envious of the progress of the United States , and feared their future greatness—while there are no two nations whose interests are more thoroughly identical . A failure in the crop of slave-grown cotton would entail more misery upon England than would a similar calamity to all the cereal crops in the United Kingdom . Millions in these realms would by a failure of the cotton crop in the Southern States , be reduced to abjoct want and misery , which the wide plains of India , Australia , Egypt , and Africa would do little to mitigate . The gold of England could extract corn from the furthest granaries of the earth , and render the loss of her home produce comparatively inappreciable .

    Notwithstanding iny admiration of the democratic address which appeared in the Leader i \ fortnight ago , I . question even its policy , our true course being succinctly indicated in the short extract 1 have given above from the Leader . The increasing importance of continuing a good understanding with our brethren on tho other . side of the Atlantic , anil sdso of becoming better versed in their real position , in indicated not only in the article which has superinduced theso remarks , but likewise in that which follows , " Loyal Irish Catholics made hostile , American IVotestants . " America toil I take Cuba ; and tlie Government and people of this country may as woll consider now whether they will permit that

    beautiful island—that " lono star " ' —to bo added to tins stars and stripes , and tnkon into the Union , which religiously observes treaties , ia our beat customer ; which would abolish the horrors of the middle passage , and theniby save this country an innm-mo annual expenditure of men and money ; or whether they will go to war with America for the aggrandisement of Christina , tho Queen-mother , and half-a-do' / . im aristocrats of Spain , who employ their ill-gotten wealth in continuing despotism in Europe . Tho Queen-mother is the largest slaveholder in Cuba ; and through her influence , not only arc tho treaties with this country systematically disregarded , but nho likewise imports a largo number of Chinamen , who uro , 1 believe , now working on her

    Untitled Article

    June 11 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 557

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 11, 1853, page 557, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1990/page/5/