The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-02-19 00:00:00

MR. THOMAS HUGHES, M.P., ON THE

INDUSTRIAL POSITION of ENGLAND.
Mr. Thomss Hughes, M.P., addressed a large meeting in
the Alechanice. Institute. Darlington, on Friday evening.
The meeting had been convened for the purpose oi enabling
certain speakers to lay before the inhabitants of the town
the object of the proposed Workmen's International Exhi-
bition. A resdution In favour of the scheme was proposed
by Mr. D Dale, seconded by Mr. Kane, and was supported
by Mr. Ilughes.
- -

After referring to the subject of the proposed exhibi-
tion, Mr. Hughes said he felt that a very glorious and
yet a very serious time was approaching, or rather he
might say was begun, for the working people of
England. They were all aware that we had just passed
through a great political crisis—the working people,
who composed nine-tenths of the whole population—
had attained their majority, and must now be taken
into partnership in the nation. The working men had
now come into their inheritance, and it remained for
them to show how they would exercise that great
power which had been placed in their hands. They
must remember that the future position of the country
would depend upon the way in which they would use
the power which had been placed in their hands by the
free gift of the Legislature and the rest of the people
of their own country. There were just a few words he
wished to say in continuance of that line of thought.
There was not the least doubt that there were
no better workmen in the world than Englishmen, when
they set their minds and hands earnestly to work upon
any industry, whatever it might be. Ile believed that
even in those matters in which it was said we were in-
ferior to other nations—in such artistic matters as
those in which the French and the Italians were sup-
posed far to exceed the skill of our workmen--he
believed that even in those matters the technical edu-
cation which was now being provided for the people by
the Goverrment and the Society of Arts, and which
would be available for all working men in any of the
great centres of this country, would enable the
English workman, even in artistic matters, to come up
to the high standard which hail been attained by the
workmen of other countries. But it was impossible
for those who watched political and social events in
this country not to feel that though the ability of our
people was oi, great; that though we had testimonials
of Americans, of Frenchmen, and of Germans. that
there was no workman who, combining skill and
strength, was so good and no reliable as the English
workman, when careful, and thrifty, and sober, yet
they must also confess this fact, that there had been,
and still was, an amount of unthrift, and drunkenness,
and carelessness; aiming our working people, which
had endangered, which was endangering, and
which, unless it were remedied, would not only
continue to endanger, but would render impossible,
our success in the future as an industrial people. It
was a painful subject, and one which he was sure they
must have all grieved over as much as he had done;
all at least who took an interest in their country
could not be otherwise than psined at witnessing the
great prevalence of the vice of drunkenness. In their
district—a district so full of energy and life—and upon
the energies and enterprise of which depended the
future of England perhaps more than upon any one
single element he could name—he believed that even
in their district the terrible vice of drunkenness pre
railed which had so much demoralized our people, and
which had allowed other nations to creep up, and so
nearly to rival us in so many of our great productive
ndustries„ That unfortunate habit was dragging
down a great many of our people, and he besought
them, the working class, as they valued the happinessa
of their own families, WI they valued the welfare and
honour of their country, to set their faces against that
vice which was sapping the very foundations of their
country's prosperity. He asked them to remember
this' that unless a nation were a thrifty nation it could
not be successful as an industrial nation. Without
thrift they could not have success, and they could not
hove thrift if the great bulk of the people were going