No man more heartily deserved the tribute recently paid to his eminent services than Sir WILLIAM JOLLIFFE, M.P. Of high station, belonging to an old and distinguished family, and enjoying a large fortune, Sir WILLIAM JOLLIFFE, influenced solely by the desire to serve his party at a period of great difficulty and some danger, and at the sacrifice of all personal considerations, accepted a post usually occupied by a subordinate, but entailing, when conscientiously performed, the most serious responsibilities and the most arduous labours. No interested or selfish motives actuated Sir WILLIAM JOLLIFFE; and we need hardly say that in the conduct of the difficult and delicate duties of his post, the Member for Petersfield has proved himself incomparably one of the ablest among the many able men the Conservative party has had the good fortune to possess. With sound judgment, great political sagacity, and a fund of truthful tact, combined with peculiar singleness and honesty of purpose, Sir WILLIAM JOLLIFFE has not only obtained over his party an honourable and a legitimate influence, but he has won the respect and esteem of every Member in the House. The dinner given at the Carlton, on Saturday last, was no insignificant tribute to one so deservedly esteemed, for although only 190 Noblemen and Gentlemen honoured the occasion with their presence, as many were unavoidably compelled to absent themselves from want of room. But, to Sir W. JOLLIFFE, the most gratifying feature of the proceedings lay in the proof of the complete and perfect organisation of the Conservative party, as evidenced in the speeches delivered upon this memorable occasion. No public report of the proceedings has appeared in the papers, but we may state that, after the usual loyal and patriotic toasts, Field Marshal Viscount COMBERMERE and Admiral Sir THOMAS HERBERT responding severally for the Army and Navy, the health of Sir WILLIAM JOLLIFFE was proposed in an eloquent speech by the Earl of DERBY, whose health in turn was proposed by the Earl of MARCH. ‟The Duke of Richmond and the House of Peers,” proposed by Mr. WALPOLE. was followed by ‟The Right Hon. B. Disraeli and the House Commons,” proposed by the Earl of MALMESBURY. Sir JOHN PAKINGTON proposed ‟Sir Frederic Thesiger and the Conservative Bar,” and Sir EDWARD LYTTON proposed ‟The Conservative Constituencies” The Earl of DERBY then proposed ‟The New Members,” which was responded to by the Hon. F. LYGON, M.P. for Tewkesbury. ‟The Whips,” proposed by the Earl of EGLINTON, was acknowledged by Lord COLVILLE and Colonel TAYLOR. The health of ‟Philip Rose, Esq.,” was proposed by Sir WILLIAM JOLLIFEE, and ‟The Absent Members,” for whom no room could be found, was given as a parting toast by the Earl of HARDWICKE.
(See also
20-Jun-1857
15-Jun-1857)