[Speech of Edward J. Phelps, Minister to England, on the occasion
of the farewell banquet given to him by the Lord Mayor of London,
James Whitehead, at the Mansion House, London, January 24, 1889.
The Lord Mayor, in proposing the toast of the evening, said, in the
course of his introductory remarks: "It now becomes my pride and
privilege to ask you to join with me in drinking the health of my
distinguished guest, Mr. Phelps. I have invited you here this
evening because I felt it was my duty as Chief Magistrate of the
City of London to take the initiative in giving you an opportunity
to testify to the very high esteem in which Mr. Phelps is held by
all classes of society. It is to me a very sincere satisfaction
that I am able to be the medium of conveying to him, on the eve of
his departure, the fact that his presence here in this country has
been appreciated by the whole British nation. If anything were
required to give force to what I have said, it is the fact that on
this occasion we are honored by the presence of members of
governments past and present, of statesmen without distinction of
party, of members of both Houses of Parliament, and of nearly all
the judges of the land. We have here also the highest
representatives of science, of art, of literature, and of the
press; and we are also honored with the presence of neighbors and
friends in some of the most eminent bankers and merchants of the
city. I am glad to add that all the distinguished Americans that I
know of at present visiting this city have come here to show their
esteem for their fellow-countryman. It may be said that this
remarkable gathering is a proof not only of the fact that our
distinguished guest is personally popular, but also that we are
satisfied that, so far as he could, he has endeavored to do his
duty faithfully and well between the country he represents and the
country to which he is delegated. Mr. Phelps in leaving our shores,
I think, will take with him a feeling that he has been received in
the most cordial spirit, in the most friendly manner in this
country. I think he will feel also--at any rate, I should like to
assure him so far as I am able to observe--that he has greatly
tended, by his manner and by his courteous bearing, to consolidate
those friendly relations which we desire should forever exist
between his country and our own. Those of us who have had the honor
from time to time to meet his Excellency, know what high and good
qualities he possesses, and we feel sure he will take with him to
the United States a not unfavorable impression of the old country,
and that so far as he can he will endeavor in the future, as I
believe he has done in the past, to promote those feelings of
peace, of amity between the two countries, the maintenance of which
is one of the objects to be most desired in the interests of the
world at large. I give you 'His Excellency, the American Minister,
Mr. Phelps,' and I ask you, if you please, to rise and give the
toast standing, in the usual manner."]
MY LORD MAYOR, MY LORDS, AND GENTLEMEN:--I am sure you will not be
surprised to be told that the poor words at my command do not enable me
to respond adequately to your most kind greeting, nor the too flattering
words which have fallen from my friend, the Lord Mayor, and from my
distinguished colleague, the Lord Chancellor. But you will do me the
justice to believe that my feelings are not the less sincere and hearty
if I cannot put them into language. I am under a very great obligation
to your Lordship not merely for the honor of meeting this evening an
assembly more distinguished I apprehend than it appears to me has often
assembled under one roof, but especially for the opportunity of meeting
under such pleasant circumstances so many of those to whom I have become
so warmly attached, and from whom I am so sorry to part. [Cheers.]
It is rather a pleasant coincidence to me that about the first
hospitality that was offered me after my arrival in England came from my
friend, the Lord Mayor, who was at the time one of the Sheriffs of
London. I hope it is no disparagement to my countrymen to say that under
existing circumstances the first place that I felt it my duty to visit
was the Old Bailey Criminal Court. [Laughter.] I had there the pleasure
of being entertained by my friend, the Lord Mayor. And it happens also
that it was in this room almost four years ago at a dinner given to Her
Majesty's Judges by my friend Sir Robert Fowler, then Lord Mayor, whose
genial face I see before me, that I appeared for the first time on any
public occasion in England and addressed my first words to an English
company. It seems to me a fortunate propriety that my last public words
should be spoken under the same hospitable roof, the home of the Chief
Magistrate of the city of London. ["Hear! Hear!"] Nor can I ever forget
the cordial and generous reception that was then accorded, not to myself
personally, for I was altogether a stranger, but to the representative
of my country. It struck what has proved the keynote of all my relations
here. It indicated to me at the outset how warm and hearty was the
feeling of Englishmen toward America. [Cheers.]
And it gave me to understand, what I was not slow to accept and believe,
that I was accredited not merely from one government to the other, but
from the people of America to the people of England--that the American
Minister was not expected to be merely a diplomatic functionary shrouded
in reticence and retirement, jealously watching over doubtful relations,
and carefully guarding against anticipated dangers; but that he was to
be the guest of his kinsmen--one of themselves--the messenger of the
sympathy and good-will, the mutual and warm regard and esteem that bind
together the two great nations of the same race, and make them one in
all the fair humanities of life. [Cheers.] The suggestion that met me at
the threshold has not proved to be mistaken. The promise then held out
has been generously fulfilled. Ever since and through all my intercourse
here I have received, in all quarters, from all classes with whom I have
come in contact, under all circumstances and in all vicissitudes, a
uniform and widely varied kindness, far beyond what I had personally the
least claim to. And I am glad of this public opportunity to acknowledge
it in the most emphatic manner.
My relations with the successive governments I have had to do with have
been at all times most fortunate and agreeable, and quite beyond those I
have been happy in feeling always that the English people had a claim
upon the American Minister for all kind and friendly offices in his
power, and upon his presence and voice on all occasions when they could
be thought to further any good work. [Cheers.]
And so I have gone in and out among you these four years and have come
to know you well. I have taken part in many gratifying public functions;
I have been the guest at many homes; and my heart has gone out with
yours in memorable jubilee of that Sovereign Lady whom all Englishmen
love and all Americans honor. I have stood with you by some unforgotten
graves; I have shared in many joys; and I have tried as well as I could
through it all, in my small way, to promote constantly a better
understanding, a fuller and more accurate knowledge, a more genuine
sympathy between the people of the two countries. [Cheers.]
And this leads me to say a word on the nature of these relations. The
moral intercourse between the governments is most important to be
maintained, and its value is not to be overlooked or disregarded. But
the real significance of the attitude of nations depends in these days
upon the feelings which the general intelligence of their inhabitants
entertains toward each other. The time has long passed when kings or
rulers can involve their nations in hostilities to gratify their own
ambition or caprice. There can be no war nowadays between civilized
nations, nor any peace that is not hollow and delusive, unless sustained
and backed up by the sentiment of the people who are parties to it.
[Cheers.] Before nations can quarrel, their inhabitants must first
become hostile. Then a cause of quarrel is not far to seek. The men of
our race are not likely to become hostile until they begin to
misunderstand each other. [Cheers.] There are no dragon's teeth so
prolific as mutual misunderstandings. It is in the great and constantly
increasing intercourse between England and America, in its
reciprocities, and its amenities, that the security against
misunderstanding must be found. While that continues, they cannot be
otherwise than friendly. Unlucky incidents may sometimes happen;
interests may conflict; mistakes may be made on one side or on the
other, and sharp words may occasionally be spoken by unguarded or
ignorant tongues. The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make
anything. [Cheers and laughter.] The nation that comes to be without
fault will have reached the millennium, and will have little further
concern with the storm-swept geography of this imperfect world. But
these things are all ephemeral; they do not touch the great heart of
either people; they float for a moment on the surface and in the wind,
and then they disappear and are gone--"in the deep bosom of the ocean
buried."
I do not know, sir, who may be my successor, but I venture to assure you
that he will be an American gentleman, fit by character and capacity to
be the medium of communication between our countries; and an American
gentleman, when you come to know him, generally turns out to be a not
very distant kinsman of an English gentleman. [Cheers.] I need not
bespeak for him a kindly reception. I know he will receive it for his
country's sake and his own. ["Hear! Hear!"]
"Farewell," sir, is a word often lightly uttered and readily forgotten.
But when it marks the rounding-off and completion of a chapter in life,
the severance of ties many and cherished, of the parting with many
friends at once--especially when it is spoken among the lengthening
shadows of the western light--it sticks somewhat in the throat. It
becomes, indeed, "the word that makes us linger." But it does not prompt
many other words. It is best expressed in few. What goes without saying
is better than what is said. Not much can be added to the old English
word "Good-by." You are not sending me away empty-handed or alone. I go
freighted and laden with happy memories--inexhaustible and unalloyed--of
England, its warm-hearted people, and their measureless kindness.
Spirits more than twain will cross with me, messengers of your
good-will. Happy the nation that can thus speed its parting guest!
Fortunate the guest who has found his welcome almost an adoption, and
whose farewell leaves half his heart behind! [Loud cheers.]