AMUSING SPEECH BY THE DUKE OF SOMERSET.

Dunstan Times, Issue 656, 13 November 1874, Page 3

AMUSING SPEECH BY THE DUKE OF SOMERSET.

At the eleventh annual dinner of the Newspaper Press Fund, the Duke of Somerset, in proposing the toast of the evening, said ; My Lords and gentleman, 1 rise to propose prosperity to the Newspaper Press Fund. 1 have no claims specially to propose that toast excepting as representing one of the readers of the country. I read the tress, and i have derived much pleasure and amusement from the Press—(cheers) — and so far 1 felt it my duty when asked to undertake the task to propose this toast. (Cheers.) What I value in the Press is its independence and its variety of opinion. (Cheers.) I suppose that in this room wo differ perhaps as much upon many topics as so many people can possibly do. We have many sentiments quite opposed to each other, and perhaps even those principles whi'-h constitute the basis of our political aud social life are principles upon which we are not agreed. But yet upon one point we arc agreed, and that is that all opinions should have free course when they do not interfere with the decorum and' safety of society. (Cheers.) That I hold to be the great principle of liberal government, and I hold it to belong to England to have that principle in a special degree. ’ I would say, then, upon the subject of the Press, that 1 have known it for many years, and I may say, without flattery, that: the Press has greatly improved. It has improved in manliness of tone. It has improved by not touching those questions of private life in which ninety years ago it used frequently to indulge. I think that there is a great improvement in the Press. I confess that when I look at the machinery by which the Press is carried on in tins country I am astonished at the different aspects it pr-scnls. I am surprised at the foreign correspondent. I heard Colonel Testing refer to the foreign correspondent in Africa. (Hear, hear.) Well, f have observed that, whenever there is an uncomfortable place in tho world—(laughter)—if there is a town to be beseiged, if there is a battle to be fought, between two armies where there is a good chance of being killed, down directly comes the foreign correspondent. (Cheers and laughter.) Whether he is a special correspondent, or a regular correspondent, or an occasional correspondent, 1, for my part, never understood—(loud laughter)-but there he appears. “No dangers affright him, and no labors tin.’ He attends to the fighting all day, and he sits up all night writing an account of it. (Renewed laughter and cheers.) That Isa wonderful consideration. Now we come to another, and I think it really wonderful. I was reading the other day, in Lord Cockburn’s Memoirs, the account of a meeting in Edinburgh in 1834, when Lord Gray made a speech—a great speech. And is recorded as a remarkable fact that, after the speech had been made in the evening, the reporters set out for London as hard as they could, and by travelling by post horses they arrived in London, and the speech was published in the papers that w n re printed iu Loudon on the following Wednesday; and this we are told was a feat which could not be surpassed. (Laughter.) Well, to us, you know, that seems to be rather slow ; wc have got so much faster. (Renewed laughter. ) In fact, what Homer termed “ winged words ” are much too slow for us in these days—(cheers and laughter)—we move at so accelerated a rate. There is a reporter, who is supposed to give the speech that is spoken, but be very often assists in making the speeches. I have attended meetings in the country, and have heard a gentleman speak with great fluency, but I fouud there was neither head or tail to any ona of these sentences. (Laughter.) Next day, however, there camn out in bis name a neat and appropriate speech. It was so very excellently done that it would be just ns well if the reporters of obe two parties bad mot and settled a decent speech for each side, and given each to the public. In that way 1 think we might possibly got better speeches reported. Well, but then there is the House of Commons, where 1 have beard there is sometimes such a superabundance of eloquence that the whole business of the country is stopped. (Laughter.) I very often think that in our next effort at reform it should be provided that the Speaker should be at liberty to say to a member who is anxious to speak—“ Pray retire to a committee room with tho reporter.” If that wore done the House of Commons might be able to make intelligible—(renewed laughter)— Acts of Parliament. (Laughter.) You are aware at tho present moment the Judges have declared several times that the Acts of Parliament as they are now madr are perfectly unintelligible. (Renewed laughter.) Well, that will be a great advantage no doubt, and the speeches will come out just as well from the Committee Room as if they were delivered from tho H ruse, and the member will have the plea-sure-a great pleasure, lam sura it would hr—of seeing a column of his local pai o devoted to his speech. (Cheers and laughter.) I have alluded to two very wonderful persons, but there is another more wonderful still. 1 have often wondered how a newspaper is, so to say “managed” 1 have tried to imagine it, sitting in my manager’s room. 1 suppose I should have six or seven leading articles prepared and handed to me to choose from. In choosing, I should of course, go “from grave to gay, and from lively to severe.” I am afraid I should say to a gentleman who had written one leading article, “You must put a little more cayenne pepper into yonr leading article next time. I saw two old gentlemen reading yonr lart and they each went to sleep.” (Laughter.) Then, again, there is a tone in some articles which one does not like to get exactly. A gentleman asks his daughter to read to him an article on a sanitary matter, and she evidently thinks it ought to go into the slop-basin. (A laugh.) These things, I think, ought to go into the outer sheet. (Hear, hear.) They are art pleasant reading.”