The Press.
London, England, 1856-07-12 00:00:00

ittropolitan.

LORD STANLEY, M.P., presided at a meeting of the
Early-Closing Association held on Thursday after-
noon at Willis's-rooms. There was a full attend.
ance of noblemen, gentlemen, and ladies. The pro-
ceedings opened by prayer, after which Lord Stanley
rose, and in a vigorous speech addressed himself at
once to the practical points of the question he advo-
cated, viz., that Saturday afternoons should be
secured as a holiday :

We appeal to public opinion only ; we appeal to the
public mind, not heated by declamation nor exasperated
by controversy ; we appeal to reason as much as to feeling ;
we seek not to stir men's sympathies, but to work upon
their deliberate and dispassionate conviction, to show what
is their interest as employers and men of business, and
that our object coincides with their duty as citizens.
The noble lord then entered into the details of the
plan proposed :
We want the Saturday half•holiday to be the rule, and
the reverse the exception. We wish to establish it in every
department of human labour where it can be established
without absolute and pressing inconvenience.

He insisted that the question of labour resolved itself
into two branches—production and distribution. With
the branch of production, the rule of closing at two
p.m. on Saturdays was already very generally fol-
lowed, and without complaint on the part of the em-
ployers ; and then, as regarded the case of distribu-
tion, in the wholesale business the half-holiday could
be given, while in the retail business, if customers
would refrain from making purchases late on Satur-
days, and employers pay wages on Friday nights,
it could also be given without inconvenience. There
were only two objections to the plan—abuse of
leisure, and loss of profit. The first was unworthy
of reply :

The truth is (continued Lord Stanley) that the amount
of labour we have is not only sufficient but excessive, and
if the want of leisure restrains men from evil on the one
hand, it debars them from opportunities of impiovement
on the other. The other difficulty is more serious in
appearance, but only in appearance. Taking the same
division of labour into production and distribution, it is
clear as to the last—that the amount of trade is not
lessened by reducing the hours of labour. What the
people want they will buy in five days and a hid as well
as in six. What they don't want, it is better for society,
since it is a waste and a loss, that they should not buy.
Nor is it proposed to close retail shops altogether, and
with these chiefly the public is concerned.

He did not wish to recommend idleness :

Don't let me be misunderstood. lam the last person
to recommend idleness to any man or class; on the con-
trary, I say from my heart that whoever lives without a
profession—that is, without regular work, being in
health—is and deserves to be miserable. I should regret
to see in Europe, especially in England, the Eastern idea
of "labour being a curse " realised; it is not a cut se but
a blessing, and a necessity as much as rest itself. But
what we ask is, that it shall not monopolise all human
life, that the working man shall not go down to his grave
a mere worn-out machine, with a mind undeveloped, life
unenjoyed, the wonders of nature and of intellect un-
known, and with no culture except that of the special
faculty exercised in his calling. We can do but little, but
we can do something, and this is a step in the right
direction.

The noble lord then concluded, asserting that in
greater energy, contentment, cheerfulness, and resit-

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larity of labour, employers would, by granting the
half-holiday, get back more than they would lose.
Several resolutions in accordance with the object of
the society were then moved and agreed to, and the
meeting terminated.

SIR WILLIAM WILLIAMS of Kars was entertained
by the Lord Mayor at a banquet at the Mansion-
house on Wednesday evening. His Royal Highness
the Duke of Cambridge, Lord Gough, Sir William
Napier, Sir Colin Campbell, Sir Harry Jones, Sir
John Burgoyne, the Duke of Newcastle, Lord John
Russell, Sir James Graham, and a distinguished
party of noblemen and gentlemen, were present on
the occasion. The Lord Mayor, on proposing the
health of the guest of the evening, alluding to his
distinguished services, said :

It is important that we should make much of such a
man, because, who knows that there may not be persons
to whom his example may be of service when tney are
placed in a position of difficulty, and who may, by display
ing the same qualities, if not raise themselves to his
eminence, render to their country services of great value ?
I will not in an after-dinner speech enter into details which
must he known to most of you. I invited General Wil-
liams in order to introduce him to my fellow-citizens, to
enable them to become personally acquainted with him,
and to express our respect for his character and our appre-
ciation of the manner in which he has supported the honour
of our country. Besides, lie is the youngest burgess of this
great city. I have to congratulate my fellow-citizens on
his having just been made a free citizen of this great city.
He also appears before us as the youngest member of
Parliament. He has just been returned for the borough
of Caine, and, although I believe the House of Commons
does not want for many of the high qualities which he
possesses, yet I am sure that a man like him is no incon-
siderable acquisition even to that assembly.

Sir William Williams expressed his high sense of the
honour conferred upon him, and promised to make
every endeavour he could to keep up the efficiency of
that army just returned from the Crimea. Sir J.
Burgoyne, in returning thanks for the army, ex-
pressed his belief that the qualities which General
Williams had displayed were not exceptions to, but
examples of, qualities possessed by many officers in
her Majesty's service. The Duke of Newcastle and
Sir James Graham acknowledged " The Lords and
Commons," while Lord John Russell replied for the
City members.

THE COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL this week carried
by a majority of 54 to 18 a motion to introduce into
the House of Commons a bill to extend the franchise
for Ward elections. Mr. Deputy Hale, in moving
that the report of the committee be adopted, said
that the bill, if introduced, would receive the support
of Lord John Russell, and that after the prorogation of
Parliament the court would proceed to frame certain
measures to meet other public requirements.

PROFESSOR OWEN, F.R.S., who for nearly thirty
years has been connected with the Royal College of
Surgeons as Conservator of the Hunterian Museum
and Professor of Comparative Anatomy, has just re-
signed his appointments, and entered on a more ex-
tensive scene of usefulness at the British Museum,
as Superintendent of the Natural History Depart-
ment.

THE BOARD OF WORKS held a meeting on Wednes-
day to consider Sir Benjamin Hall's refusal of the
Plurnstead drainage plan. Mr. Bazalgette, the en-
gineer, proposed to extend the main outtall sewer
from Woolwich Arsenal to Halfway Reach, three-
quarters of a mile beyond the metropolitan area, and
three miles above Frith. The estimated cost of this
extension was 70,0001., and the increased annual cost
for pumping, 1,280/. After some discussion it was
determined, by a majority of 20 to 13, that the sub-
ject of the point of outfall should be adjourned
until the next meeting. Mr. Bazalgetto then pro-
duced a report on the subject of the embankment of
the river, in explanation of the paragraph on the
subject contained in his report of the 22nd May last.
The report having been received, the resolution that
a deputation wait upon Lord Palmerston was, after a
I,mg discussion, carried by 18 votes to 2, and the
board then adjourned.
A FESTIVAL, under the auspices of a committee
formed for the purpose of promoting a reduction of
the duties in foreign wines, and at the same time
advocating a mutually advantageous system of
tariffs between France and England, especially in
relation to the Potteries, was held at the Crystal
Palace on Wednesday. About 400 gentlemen sat
down to a banquet in an extempore dining-room in
the south wing of the building, under the presidency
of Mr. Oliveira. Several addresses were delis ered,
and at nine o'clock the proceedings terminated, and
the company returned, after spending a very agree-
able day of mixed business and pleasure.
A DEPUTATION OF THE EARLY-CLOSING ASSOCIA-
TION had an interview with the Lord Mayor, on
Monday, at the Mansion-house, with the view of ob-
taining from his lordship the closing of Guildhall
on Saturdays at two p.m. The Lord Mayor said he
was certainly favorable to the principle of early
closing, but he doubted whether two o'clock, or,
indeed, any other hour arbitrarily fixed upon, could

THE PRESS.

be adopted universally. He thought that whatever
was dune should be effected gradually and with
caution, and that earlier closing most, of course,
involve earlier openings. His lordship, however,
promised that the subject should receive his best
consideration, and suggested that in the case of the
Guildhall possibly three o'clock might prove to be
the more convenient hour.

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