The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-25 00:00:00

AMUSEMENTS OF THE WORKLNO

CLASSES.
A meeting of the gentry, clergy, diuenting minis-
ters, and others, of Manchester, was held yesterdey morn-
ing, for the purpoes of establishing an association to be
called " The Manchester and Salford Association for securing
the better regulation of publle-hosses and other plates of
entertainment." Mr. &moat Ftwrcuatt, merchant, pm-
sided ; and a report wee reed showing the extent to which
public-houses, music saloons, casinos, &c., were t►e hot-
beds of crime and dissipation.

Mr. BAZLEY moved the first resolution' which wu for
the adoption of the report. He regretted that virtue, in-
Mad IN vice and crime, did not mingle more with the
ansnarments of the people, and said if anything could be
dm by seen an association to grapple with the evil and
sabetteabe tent innoeent means of pleasure than now
eshisd, M shoed be ready to give his best aid.
The Roy. H. 13 howx seconded the motion, and it was
'supported by the Rev. Mr. LAMB, and carried unani.

Yfr. W. PAIIIDATIIN mond ehe next »solution, and it
wasxeconded by the R. W. 111.1Cutitow.

The Earl of SHAFTESBURY then rose, at the @olio-
tation of the chairman, and said—lf I had not been espe-
cially desired, I should have hesitated to thrust myself on
your deliberations at a meeting like this. Not occupying
any position or status in Manchester, it would ill become on
to intrude on a meeting in Manchester; but having been
requested by some of my good friends here to he present
on this occasion, I feel it both an honour and • phonons to
be associated with you in objects so much akin to those
which, under God's blessing, brought me here. (" Hear,
hear," and applause.) I arrived hero somewhat too late to
hear the whole of the report which has been read, but cer-
taiuly I have heard enough to convince me that it
was written with sound sense, and evidently contain* a
great deal of useful information for the guidance
loe persons interested in the objects of this association. You
have undertaken a great wuk—• work becoming the vast
iutelligenee of the city of Manchester, and highly becoming-
the dignity and position of all those great men in your town
who hold in their hand • means of power and influence far
greater than was ever allotted to any body of men before,
and which, if directed to the discharge of their duties, will
produce such an effect, and will be of such service to society
as will go further towards establishing happiness in the
world than many pouts even, in these days have ventured
1 to predict. (*Applause.) It gave me satisfaction, and
more than satisfaction—a deep and heartfelt pleasure
which I have not words to exprcis—when I came down
to this great city on my recent visit, and going
among many of these great capitalists, and hearing from
them an expression of their sentiments, I saw the develop-
ment of a heartfelt desire to do good that really convinces
me we are entering on a new era, and that having incurred
a new responsibility, God has given us new facilities for
discharging it. (Hear, hear.) We are about to enter on a
now career, which shall throw far into the distance, I be-
lieve, every career which ever was run by any nation, and
mike us, under the blessing of God, a model nation for the
whole civilised world. (Applause.) Allow me to say that
this question before you, as far as I have heard from the
report, divides itself into two considerations—the mode in
which you shall put an end to this detestable system of
beer-houses and gin-shops, and how to impose a restriction
ou the amusements atfirded to the people of this
great city. With respect to the first, as to the
effects produced by habits of intoxication, I will
only just put before you the results of my own
experience. The results of that experience in
my department, and the results of the experience of others
in their departments, prove to me what appalling and de-
vastating misery this habit of intoxication is the cause of;
and it is made manifest, I think, to all reflecting minds,
that if we could limit this evil—if we cannot procure the
entire extinction of it—wo should go very far to advance
thephysical condition of ehis country; I believe to carry it
even beyond the physical condition of this United States.
At all events, I believe we should go very far towards ad-
vancing the physical condition of this country and the moral
dignity of the people. (Hear.) I,irst, look at the financial
results of these habits of intemperance. I don't know
whether you have seen a little treatise published some time
ago by my friend Mr. Porter, of tho Board of Trade,
called •• Self-imposed Taxation," in which he showed that
the working classes spend annually on beer, spiritA,
and tobacco—certainly the two last might he taken in
moderation, even if the other could not be dispensed
with—he shows that they expend annually on these three
articles alone no leas a sum than fifty millions sterling per
annum. Now only imagine if the half of this fifty millions
were impel by the working classes for the improvement of
their worldly condition, the improvement of their dwell-
ings, the education of their children, in elevating amuse-
ments, or in making a store against an evil day, would not
that go far to place the working classes in a position very
different in the social scale to that now occupied by that
body ? (Hear.) But not to dwell longer upon that, let
ma go to another point, however much I am inclined to
dwell on how it is the source of pauperism and misery,
how it presses on the riches and finances of the country,
or how • large portion of the puor's rates levied
in this country is traceable to those habits of
intoxication in which the people indulge. I speak
this of my own knowledge and experience, having acted as
a commissioner of lunacy for tho lust twenty years, and as
chairman of that commission fur sixteen years, and having
had therefore the whole of the business under my personal
observation and care—having made inquiries into the mat-
' ter, and having fortified them by inquiries in America,
which have confirmed those I made in this country, the re-
suit is that fully six-tenths of all the cases of insanity to be
found in these realms and in America arise from no other
cause than the habits of intemperance in which the people
have indulged. (Hear, hear.) Only, by God's blessing,
make them an orderly, sober, and moderate people
in their indulgences, and depend upon it you would
see the number of cases of insanity reduced by one half.
I talk not of the saving to the public financially, but I ask
if it would not be a great blessing to remove from the eye
of the world these spectacles of suffering and misery which
are caused by these habits of extreme indulgence ? Con-
nected with the speech of the reverend gentleman who
spoke last (Rev. W. M'Kerrow), I will mention only one
fact, because that also comes within the range of objects at
present under your consideration. I allude to the efforts
made for the restriction of Sunday trading. He stated that
many of those whom ho met and spoke to on the subject
acid that they would be happy to tease from Sunday trail-
ing, could their neighbours be induced to do the same.
Now I know there are many persons who differ as to the
propriety of introducing legislative interference in this
question. I am not going to say whether I think it ad-
visable or not. I enly with to mention this fact, to show
the great result welch would ensue could we by some
means or other induce the better observance of the Sabbath
—make it, as it ought to be, a day of repose of body and
soul. This is a fact stated to me by a near and intimate
friend of mine, a clergyman living in one of the great
parishes within three miles of Loudon. He had in his
narish a gentleman who was the proprietor of a vast num-
ber of omnibuses, which invariably ran on • Sunday, and
neither he nor his family ever attended • place of worship;
but, by the exercise of his influence, my friend the clergy-
man persuaded him to attend • place of worship.
and to make the experiment and see the result of
stopping the runnis; of his omnibuses and the con-
stant employment of his men on the Lord's Day. At
the end of the year he came to my friend ; he had been
daring that tune regular in his habit of attending church ;
and he said " the experintat has answered so well that I
will continue it to the end of my days. So far from suf-
fering by the experiment in • financial point of view, I am
a better man by several pounds this year ; in the first piece,
my horses, by having one day's complete rest in seven, are
better able to do their work during. the week, and are not
so subject to accidents; sat the principal point is that I
receive more money than I used to do, and I trace it to
this—it is not that the receipts are actually larger, but
that the men having a better moral example set
them, and having a day of repose which they devote to
bemen, sober, and religions purposes, and being
tathat improved in more condition, they do that
they never have done before, faithfully bring
mme every farthing which they earn." (" Hear, hear.,"
end applause.) I state this to show what resultsmay MSS
Moo endeavours to ameliorate the social condition of the
Pliellis- If I may venture to say so, I would say to this
neweistion, "Go and do thou likewise." (Hear, hear.)
The next division is the amusements of the people. I think
the report stated that the act for the regulation of public
amusement, in London had sot been productive of so much
benefit as was expected, and that persons consequently
asked, " Why seek a legislative measure, when you
find that notwithstanding it then are still houses
of great disorder and dissipation in London ? "
The truth is thi--tleat until very lately indeed,
though the act had boat previously in execution,. licensee
had been olgto sod left, without any discrimination
whatever eineellsed. Licenses have been granted
without the reseed to the perm who made the
apple. tre Is the obsonotomos 'lgor which he re-
etiala
quailed the bum Doi boor Ile is ogoll, that in all cases
of this dondordos yea mist look, not to the positive and
actual malts only, which can be stated on paper, but you
mast take a wider view, and regard the thing negatively.
Yoe mast not eel •eessider what actual good has been done,
but take into deerivil which has been prevented,
and let your misulatiens joie& not only what the state
of things is. bat what it would have been if a spirit of
opposeion to the spirit of nil WA not, by God's blessing,
arisen. (Hear, hear.) Dowd upon it, if that act had
not existed in London, and bad not been put in operatloa
there, the state of things wadi have been such that the
whole of the metropolitan feline stations would have been 1
more a nursery of children thaw they are. To show what
the evil is that wises from this state of things, I can only
state the results of my own minute and personal inquiries
from Madre& and hundreds of ragged school children in
Landon, who are open and caodid, and will tell you any
one Aegis thing you want to know. I am sure I am
spseldeig within due limits when I 'say that seven-
tenths of these children have been first tempted to
crime by stealing half-peace from their mothers and
friends for the purpose of going to penny theatres.
You may trace to them a very Lugo portion of the crime
that desolates society. There is no argument why you may
not very fairly ask that there should be a limitation of the
hones daring which these places of amusement are to be
open._ You have • right to demand that they should be
closed at • very early period of the evening. A great por-
tion of the extrema of the mischief—l do not mean that ge-
neral corruption and unsettlement of men's minds, which is
bad enough by itself—but the great mass of the actual and
positive mischief arises in the late hours of these places of
amusement. If you could obtain an enactment that every
place of amusement of this description should be closed at
nine o'clock, you would go very far indeed to bring the
whole thing under managab!e control. You haves perfect

right to demand that. Just look at the efforts now being
made to establish in all the great towns of England a move-
ment towards what is called the early closing system. In
many establishments in Manchester this has been
carried into effect. You hate the limitation of the hours
of labour ; you have the Ten Hours' Bill, which closesthose
important places of industry at 6 o'clock every evening, sad
if from 8 o'clock, when the mills are closed, to 9 o'clock,
them plane of amusement are allowed to be open—thus
giving thenS asnm—it is quite as much as any reasonable
penmen sok be. (Hear.) I can only say, that from the bot-
tom army Wert I wish yes God speed. (Applause.) You
are empged k a great west, and it is a noble th'ng to see
peewee whe are mew& In beaten and trade, and whose
dailysssys mot be isoemoded to look after their own
affairs, themselves away to give themselves to
the beldam and interests of others. It is a noble
sight ; It is a sight which I am happy to see, that
which we are now exhibiting to all nations of the earth, and
which will do more good than you are aware of. They can
sea what a body of intelligent freemen can and will do
when they are roused to the sense of their duties. Yon will
find your account in this, for depend upon it you are en-
gaged in a great work, that, under God's blessing, will tend
to the sanctification—l use the word advisedly—of property,
to the welfare of the people, and to the security of a.l our
institutions. His lordship oat down amid much applause.
The Rev. J. J. T.,ylor, Mr. Edward Shawcross, Mr.
Malcolm Ross, and other gentlemen addressed the meeting,
and among the officers of the society were named the Bishop
of Manchester and the Rev. Dr. Vaughan, principal of the
Lancashire Independent College.