The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-06-12 00:00:00

LORD GEORGE HAMILTON, M.P., ON
THE BLIND.

In London, on Monday, the anniversary meeting of the
London Society for Teaching the Blind to read and for train-
ing them in industrial occupations was held at St. George's
Hall, Longhorn-place, there being a large attendance.

Lord George Hamilton, M.P., who presided, said
that he had been requested to say a few words upon
behalf of this institution, but, at the same time, he felt
that nothing he could say could so eloquently or so effec-
tively plead the cause of this charity than the perform-
ance of the pupils themselves. The beneficent object
of this . society was admitted by all, but what they
were met there that day for was to ascertain how far
it had succesfully fulfilled the work which it had
undertaken.. The last annual report gave a most
flourishing account of the condition of the institution,
showing there was a steady and continuous improve-
ment in all the subjects taught. The longer they
lived the more they came to the conclusion that the
good things of the world were not evenly dis-
tributed amongst them. In the race of life, where
a man was in possession of all his faculties, there
was not much handicapping; but amongst them were
a number of persons who had not the full use of all
their senses—and of this class there were none to
whom they ought to render their assistance more than
those who had not the full advantage or use of their
eyes, because there was this distinction between this
class and the rest of them that although, after a suc-
cessful course of instruction, a blind person might be
able to succeed in whatever occupation he had em-
barked, yet it was absolutely essential, in order to
attain that success, that he should have gone through
some particular or peculiar kind of instruction. (Hear,
hear.) This society was one of the few which offered
that instruction. They could not hope to restore sight
to blind, but with the advancement of science and
civilisation, and with improved knowledge, every year
it was becoming more and more possible to teach those
who were blind and to give them such instruction as
might enable them successfully to compete with others
in the walk of life in which they were engaged. If any
of his young blind friends whom he saw on the plat-
form should ever become afflicted with a feeling of de-
spondency, he would remind them of the latest and
most conspicuous instance in which a blind man, by
perseverance and ability, had overcome almost super-
human difficulties. He alluded to the recent political
success of a personal friend of his, Mr. Fawcett, the
Postmaster-General. (Cheers.) That success was of
a very extraordinary character, because if there was
any one particular branch of life in which one
would have thought that without sight a person
could not succeed it was in politics, it being impos-
sible for a speaker to tell, if he were deprived of
his sight, of the impression he made from time to
time on his audience. Mr. Fawcett had not only
overcome that—not only had he achieved a very re-
markable position in the House of Commons, but the
subjects in which he had especially succeeded were
those very subjects to master which one would have
thought was beyond the possibility of a blind man,
because Mr. Fawcett excelled not as a superficial
debater who made showy, rhetorical speeches. (Hear,
hear). On the contrary, his great merit was that he
was an eminent political economist, and that he had
succeeded simply by the exertion of memory in
acquiring a most fitting knowledge of figures and
statistics such as few men with a good use of their
eyes had hitherto attained. (Hear, hear.) Such an
example ought to be an encouragement to any of the
blind who felt disposed to give way to despondency.
(Cheers.) In conclusion, his lordship made a strong
appeal on behalf of the funds of the charity, which, he
said, was doing a beneficent and useful work.