The Express.
London, England, 1863-10-05 00:00:00

THE REV. C. KINGSLEY AT A HABYEST HOME.

Professor Kingsley attended a harvest home held
tut week at Swallo "field (Berks), where he preached from
the five last verve of the 144th Psalm, the of the psalms of
the morning. He began by compariag the state of the
parish with that of its beginning, when the first West
Saxon settled in the field, or open lawn in the forest,
and tilled his " hide" of land with a wretched plough, with
the help of slaves, and fed his striae in the forest awl his
cattle in the marshes. Exposed to frost to foul diseases
from foul food, to famine, to war, to the desolations of
Dues and Normans, lie had struggled on with his sons who
cleared the forest with him, till the forest grew to •
village. The residents some fivejhundred yeaSs ago had built
that very church, because they dared Dot go to Shinfield
Chinch for fear of robbers. Amid all thevaiges had thriven.
always meudieg till now. What would the old forefathers
say if they could risefrozo their graves, and ems more wealth
is that oDe plinth than there had ones been in half of Berk-
shire ?—every available acre of land sown with crops, some
of them unknown to them, sad rich sad poor, ineterd of
standing aloof as tauter and slave, meeting together as
friends, to thank God fora harvest which would to the old
Weems men have seemed the work of magicieth. And how
bed the perish thus thrives? Because Englishmen had
always tried to obey the text, v. 11, and hated vanity, and
frivolity, and iniquity and injustice. They had not hese •
merry, hut an worth shoe, thinking deeply, sad trying to
do what they knew. They had been a just race, too ; making
just laws and obeying them. And thus English earnest-
ness and English *ties had made England What she was.
Not only so, they led felt that blamed was the people
who "Lad the Lord for their God," v. 17. They had
planted In every parish the church to be the centre
said heart of the pariah—a heart which should beat,
not with love of money, or love of glory, but with
love to God and man. The rev. gentlemen then bade his
bearers remember that they stood on the results of 1,200
yam of patient and honest labour,and thank God on such •
day as this for their forefathers, for every man who bed
ever tilled a fresh acre, or made a ring fume ; and above aft
for those as the Cominuaioci Service lade them), who hail
departed in the faith and fear of Christ, leaving children
Derry on the work of peagrsw, physical and spiritual. Most
of all, they were to Walk God—to thank Him (as the Gam-
mud°. Service also bide them) for Hie great glory ; in being
what He was, a good God—a Father and • giver. He bade
them remember that all they had, even the plough, the
living seed, the weather, the human intellect, were the
gifts of God. And he bade them show their gratitude far
that gift by remembering not only their forefathers but
their demendasta ; remembering that God willed their wee
gross and happiness determining to train up their lOW
upright as young plants, and their daughters pure ae the
polished marbles of the temple ; that so when they died,
their children might airy on the good work without=
or complaining is the streets ; and that so fairer
might be gathered is, when they were dead and gene, sad
their descendants meet is the old chareh with still gleam
consciences, and still happier" Harvest homes."
The rev. gentleman at the feast which was afterwards
held. Sir C. Russell in the chair, proposed the health of the
employers of labour. In the course of his remarks he said
be had bees in past years and still felt much interested in
all questions connected with the country, and especisily with
the labouring man, for whom he bed done all he could when
he considered him neglected or wronged in any way. It
was therefore • sincere pleuras to him to come into •
perish, where, if be was inclined to sniff and meat about
for something to God fault with, be could not discover it.
(Cheers.) 1 t was • great comfort to one who, though not
old, was old enough to recollect very deck times, especially
is the astern oceurties. He remembered the rick thro-
ngs sad the sky red with nightly fine, when no mss
knew what would happen next, and when • deep wall of
hatred and suspicion existed between the farmer and
the labourer, and the landlord, and both. No man seemed
to know what would be the end of that state of things.
He was speaking at thirty years ego, and what • comfort
it was to witness the change that had come over country
society is England lithe that period. He had always be-
lieved that matters would ultimately be right ; that John
BnU's heart was sound ; that when the distress arid suf-
fering which had arises from the French war had passed over,
then would be the rune fellow feeling between mak sad
rank, and the same belief in the old proverb, „A tan', a
wee for all that ;" and that, too, there would again exist
all that had made England prosperous and great for hun-
dreds of years. What he expected was right sad true, and
now after the sorrows and troubles which prevailed from
1810 tolB3o hid passed over, they found landlord sod faunae
mad labourer meeting under the woe test, without, he be-
lieved, • reel grudge, or a real complaint of either against
the other. if here might be personal complaints of this
private individual against that private individual, but as a
class agaiost a clam they did not complain of each other.
We had specimen, of each clue inferior to others, but the
majority were trying to do their date honestly and
faithfully by each other where God -had put them.
He was bon and bred among farmers end country
squires, and bad lived among them all his life, and
the more he lived among them the more he leaned to re.
then and hoover them, and to see what sterling qualities
were in them. Without our squires ad farmers he be-
lamed England would be quite a different place to what it
was sow. We had the best isobternas and minim clam in
Barope, for the simple reason that they had ell the *dean.
togas which birth, sad wealth, and rank ovoid give them,
while they were recruited from below, and had fresh blood
thrown into them by men who. by talent and integrity, rase
into the ranks of squires and owner of land, sod even
noblemen. So long es the English aristocracy embraced
these who rose from below they need not be afraid. In
oar farmers we had • edam of men that were to be found
in no other part of Europe—riven who kept their place, and
did not want to rise above it—who knew their places,
respected others. ad expected to be respected them-
selves. The independence and integrity of the British
farmer was that which struck foreigners with astonish-
ment ; and one of the most clever American writers had
remarked that os going into Oxford market he saw farmers
there who formed a clam such as did Dot exist in the United
States—a clans healthy. strong, and mlf.depethent, with a
perfect cootentedneer about them all, which made him fancy
they were a much finer clays then any agriculturists they
had in America. By some, however, it had been said that the
British farmer was a man of shallow intellect, who would
not move with the times, and did not nodentand pro-
gress. bet reyaired to be poked op behind with one of his
pitchf teri—uid made to go a little faster. The
gestlemes of • sertaln school who talked is that way
would have dose well to have sat down and spent a few
bows la getting up a history of British agriculture, and
thou they would see whether the British farmer was not
• go-ahead urea. Professor Knees* then dwelt upon the
great improvements which had bees made io the science of
agriculture, sad maintained also that farmers were excelled
by no dams 01 the 'community in their Chrietian feelings
towards those employed by them. (Loud cheers.)

Pa= PLOV6/11110.—In tho champion class at
the Woodotosk oaseitas last week three men competed, two
of thou tic* muck ploughmen of Howard's sad Baaeoaces
ass, a load ploaghtusa, =las Howard's plough. Exam's*
'rock wee dose by all, sad the prise as. awarded to Powell,
piewgkiesa to Haasoma dad alma