The Express.
London, England, 1853-05-25 00:00:00

THE OLIVE LEAF MISSION SOIREE.

A conrersazione of persons interested in the peace,
anti-slavery, and ocean penny postage movement, was held
last evening, at the Bridge-hone Hotel. The attendance
was exceedingly numerous, a vast proportion of the com-
pany being members of the Society of Friends. There
were also several coloured foreigners of distinction present.
After tea, Mr. Cami Les Chun,: was called to the chair,
and, with • warm panegyric upon the unpaid services of
Mr. Elam Burritt, he introduced that gentleman to the
meeting.
Mr. Bunarrr said that the movement bad originally been
organised as the League of Brotherhood, and had consisted
of about 100 associations, which had first directed their
attention to the procuring of signatures to their pledge of
universal amity. In the course of two years no fewer than
16,000 persons had signed that doeeceeetin this country,
and there was about as many more in America. In 1848
the first Peace Congress was held at Brussels, and since
then the League of Brotherhood had been absorbed in the
congress movement. To supply its place the 011ie Leaf
Mission was set on foot, in 1848. at Southampton, where
three ladies belonging to one family united for the purpose of
raising funds by the produce of their needles for dissemina-
ting the doctrines of universal and permanent peace. That
family circle soon became a considerable society, and since
then about 160 kindred associations had sprung up in dif-
ferent parts of the conntsy. Their operatiois were at
first confined to the city of Paris, where they distributed
monthly, and especially amongst the working classes, •
little sheet filled with short articles upon the brotherhood of
man, called" An Olive Leaf for the People." Their In-
bun met with considerable success ; but in August, 1850,
• new law was passed, imposing a tax of a halfpenny upon
every tt Olive Lea," the cost of which to the Society had
previously been scarcely half a farthing. This at first
threatened to interrupt their proceedings, but they suc-
ceeded in making an arrangement with one of the most
extensively circulated newspapers in France, by which they
were enabled to reach an immense circle of readers et a
third of the cost under the old system. Encouraged by
this, they had now formed a similar connexion with 20 of
the most influential journals in France, Germany, Den-
mark, and other countries en the continent ; and th had
also circulated at home a vast number of cheap periodicals,
envelopes with peace mottoes, and the like. With respect
to the ocean penny postage, they bad held no fewer than
sixty meetings in the different large towns of Great Bri-
tain, and the ladies who formed the Olive Leaf societies
had procured the signatures of no fewer than
60,000 women to an address to the Queen in
favour of that great means of promoting a
feeling of universal brotherhood. The fraternal ad-
dresses from towns in England to towns in France, which
bad been called forth by the "invasion panic," had also
been got up through the instrumentality of the Olive Leaf
Mission. They had been 50 in number, of which he had
I himself presented 25 to the mains of the respective muni-
icipalities to which they were directed. Nothing could ex-
ceed the cordiality of their reception. The authorities of
Lille had actually canted the address of the people of Leeds
to be afficAi all over their town, in order that the inhabit-
ants might read the epistle of their English brethren to
I them. Three-fourths of the newspapers of France bad
more or less favonraNy noticed this interesting mission ;
and the example of the Olive Leaf Association had been fol-
lowed by 4.000 of the most eminent conservative and pru-
dent of the merchant. of Landon, whose address to the
Emperor was as earnest, as full, and as outspoken se any
which had emanated from the association. The efforts of
the mission had produced a most remarkable effect upon
the newspapers of France, which before had re-
girded the Times as the tree exponent of the sen-
timents of Englishmen, and important contributions
to peace literature bad been made by professors
at lthe Swedish and Danish universities, and even
by the editors of newspapers in Spain. For the cause
of ocean penny-postage the ladies of the Olive Leaf Mission
had held • bazaar at Birmingham which bad yielded
• net sum of 7401. ; and to their exertions must
be attributed the formation of the Colonial and Foreign
Cheap Postage Association. They had also taken up the
anti-slavery cause with great vigour, and the secretary had I
opened a store for the sale only of free-grown articles, an
be
example that would doubtless followed in the 150 towns
in which associations had been formed, and that could not
fail to strike an effectual blow at the greatest outrage on
the common Fatherhood of God and the common brother-
hood of man, which the world had ever witnessed. (Hear,
hear.) The funds necessary for all these operations had
been provided solely by the ladies, with the exception of
301. (Cheers.)
At the close of Mr. Burritt's somewhat lengthy speech,
the chairman excited some amusement by reading a request
which had been forwarded to him during its continuance,
namely, that the ladies should be permitted to converse.
The hint, however, was taken ; and after short speeches
from Mr. J. Bell, M.P., Mr. Jonah Sturge, and one or
two other gentlemen, the proceedings were brought to a
close.

Mr. Sturge dated that Mrs. 8 owe had given in her full
adhesion to tho principle of totally abstaining from slave-
grown produce, in which he (freetrader as he was) entirely
agreed, for commerce in such articles was no better than
tradifig in stolen articles. (Cheers.) He and Professor
Stowe had waited upon one of the leading freetraders,
whom they had also so far converted as to have extracted a
promise from him that he would never oppose the principle
of total abstinence again.

-The fortifications for some time

past in progress at Dever are in an advanced state towards
completion. Guilford Battery, near the sea at East cliff, is
now ready for the reception of the six guns intended for it,
which are to be of a larger calibre than the four 32-
pounders formerly mounted there. Most likely the new
pattern eight or ten-inch win will be brought into requisi-
tion. This will be a formidable battery, and, should it ever
be required, would prove a teaser to the aggressor ; but the
artillerymen have some hard work to do in mounting such
heavy metal before it will be a terror lo any nation. The
works in the Shoulder of Mutton Field and on the Western
Heights will, in a few weeks, be ready for their guns ; but
we surmise it will be very long ere the fortifications gene-
rally can be said to be what they ought to be, or what they
formerly were on this very important point of the English
cout.—Eothesier Gazette.