The Express.
London, England, 1864-10-14 00:00:00

NuTAM!U.

TEN WINK THE MOIIIEITB DTING CHILD. Kra B.
Lane.— Simla, by Madame neon and Laub Llodisy.—And
TOM OF TADCAS TAIL —Commence at hall-put O.

HMI WATER AF LONDON-BRIDGE.

T DAT Yarning, O. 40nr....Atternoon, lk. 3m.
TOYOYZOW blaming, lb. 26ra....ifterskoon, lb. 481 n.

LONDON, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14.

A UNITY of purpose as close as that of a classic
trilogy—or, since that number has now been ex-
ceeded, as that of the orthodox five acts of a mo-
dern play—binds in one the speeches Mr. G LAD-
sroxis has been delivering in the north. It is so
consistent that it cannot have been accidental, for
it runs through the treatment of every variety of
theme, and every topic of domestic or foreign con-
cern. The underlying principle which thus re-
conciles all the subjects on which the orator
touches consists in the consideration of the moral
effect wrought by our recent changes in legislation.
As a nation, Mr. GLADSTOICE tells us we are greater
and richer than we were;but, above all, we are better.
Classes once fiercely divergent are now reconciled ;
interests once supposed to be hostile ars now
found to be mutually supporting. But while these
happy results add to our wealth and peace, whrt is
their influence on the individual men by whom the
wealth is made? Mr. GLAnsroNE will have none
of the jargon of the " masses," from whose brute
force Mr. HENLEY expects to see his "ugly rush."
He looks into their individual faces, though they
stand 30,000 before him ; be sees in each sepa-
rate face the lineaments of a man, born like his
brother men above or below him, and he asks whether
these men are better or worse, purer or more de-
graded, for the work of the last quarter of a cen-
tury. This is not exactly the way in which Lord
PALMER.STON is in the habit of winning his Cus-
tomary applause. But the CILANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUEIC3 method goes to the heart of
his audiences, and strikes a chord which will
vibrate long after the sound of their cheers has
faded away. For it is an appeal to all that is
highest in our nature ; it sweeps away all the ob-
scuring dust of prejudice or selfishness, and brings
us face to face with the ultimate object to which
all human endeavours must tend, and by its suc-
cess in reaching which all human exertion must at
last be measured.

Nor need we, as the orator has happily been
able to show, shrink from trial by even so
high a standard as this. Looking back, at his
bidding, to the period of the Reform Bill, we have a
moral growth to note far more remarkable than
even our wonderful material growth. We in
England were then two races, separated, not by
distinction of blood, but by possession of wealth.
The rich, as a rule (doubtless with many noble ex-
ceptions), were careless of all but enjoyment. They
were startled almost into expatriation by the pros-
pect of sharing power with the middle classes, and
were horrified by the proposition that "property
"has its duties as well's its rights." They not only
felt no call to aid in elevating their humbler
brethren, but were furiously opposed to I
the idea. Men only now in middle life
can easily remember the denunciations they
have heard of education of the poor as a thing
not merely useless but hurtful, and still more, as
being positively and actually danycn,us. Since
that date, recent as it is, these classes have un-
doubtedly made progress. Amid many blunders,
many shortcomings, we have at least come to the
stage when education is no longer denounced by
any one as dangerous, and when it is urged almost
without exception, not only as a business of the
State, but as a private duty, incumbent on all in-
dividuals to aid in. Nor is it only out of wealth
that aid is given. It is the new feature of the
times that personal exertion is contributed; that in
almost every family, however rich or highly placed,
there are found some who sacrifice more or
leas of pleasure to •!harity, and who withdraw
at least occasionally from mingling in the
vanities of station to go about doing good in
humble cotto;es or in frowzy courts, among
ragged schools or night refuges. But if these
classes have made progress in the knowledge of
duty, those to whom they minister have made no
less. We have still much to work for and much
to hope for, but nevertheless a wonderful and
real advance has been made. For the
frenzied prey of demagogues, we have now
intelligent, orderly, and loyal subjects ; for
angry and savage mobs, whom only the cry,
" The soldiers are coming," could disperse, we
have now battalions of volunteers, in which the
mechanic stands in arms side by aide with his
employer, both sworn to defend their common
government and country. The family affections
are restored ; the gentle and humanising tastes are
cultivated ; church, chapel, and school are filled ;
and a happy population accepts with sympathetic
and not servile gratitude such noble gifts as that
which Mr. 1.1..r.55.s has just bestowed on his con-
stituents, in whose enjoyment healthy vigour of
body and mind will be secured to this and future
generations.

In such a retrospect we may well rejoice. We
have passed through a dark and dismal time; •
time so dismal that even the most hopeful scarcely
could let themselves hope--so dark, that scarce
wo could tell which way to turn for help or
guidance. We stand now in the light of day, not
unchequered by clouds, yet never so obscured that
we cannot see where the path of duty lies, by