The Express.
London, England, 1858-03-11 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 11, 1858.

THE ROYAL LITERARY FUND.

The annual general meeting of the members wee
held yesterday afternoon at the Chambers of the Corporation,
73, Great Ruseell•stnet ; Bari Iniontor s in the chair.
The usual formalities having been disposed of,
The Cx•tar•e, in opening the proceedinc said be
thought the most convenient course would be the se*
lag tint to receive three reports—the regletrare rarer!,
the treasurers' report, and the auditors' report—after whin
It would be open to every member to propose any motion or
amendment, or to raise any discussion, that ha might thid
desirable. It would be his own object to obtain for every
rearan attentive and impartial leering. He hoped that
dimardon would be carried on with es much good in-
mon axed courtesy se panne, and, as many parsons might
be Mired of addressing the meeting
as he trial.=
Wall! would adhere to the question, and far es
avoid all sznissons matter.
The reports seined to ware than sootemeively preowned.
From the regbend report it appeared that the number el
m ate mph le the old class of person he eligible within t
woe 66, and the amount dirtributed 1,7801.,
edditair to whieb 7701. had been granted to a new ehn ft
!driest& In the Unscrew' report it wee stated that dying
Use
then produc yen 30ed 6631. 01. had been Wed to the peromest fund, whin
awn, and that kw ressipts
sit sources to 3,1801.
Seam
The Castasente than moved a vele of dunks to the
regimes, the temusene, and the andbers.

Cieume Moine s said, in to the
=labia had beta made from 'bar, bbd el
of scant QM act only was be net gang to mho •
speed, Mt the emir which be weeine:
Mho weal
or Monet la
MM. TM appear at lbst sl •
brasiers. on part, hat be thew the eneetlng,
a tsw week, what • practical expeelatio• may was. On
axe ocemloss hn
the majority who bed supported the
committee and the continuance of the present state
of thioge—a majority of which the committee them-
' selves formed so inasential, so gelded, so laudatory,
and en Tory 'ergs • part—strongly objected to the drawing of
say comparison between that institution and any like institu-
tion in the known world. Now, no such comparison should
be heard from him that day. At previous meetings he had
observed that details and figures were extremely unpopular,
and ways certain to excite a considerable amount of resent-
...it Ha hoped that the abstinence which he had resolved
epos exhibiting himself on that occasion would be observed
by both partite He should not on any account venture to
eater into the details of the lest published accounts—so sen-
sible was he that it moot seem like the wanderings of •
lanallo—to show in detail how 41 charitable distributions had
cost, aa ths avenge, 131. each, that being absolutely more in
theme cease then the mum granted, and how upon those
41 eases there wee a met of mom than 46 per
pent , though only 16 of the mass were new ones, all the
alms being those of persons who had been relieved from one
to eight times. For these mama, and with • view to the
promotion of pars! good-will among them, he should con-
fine himself that day to the assertion of a principle : in the
fen of the public who se he had remarked on previous
oocesiona, must in the end be the real judges in this matter,
he wialted to tsetse upon bimetal and those who acted with
Mel in this matter, the distinct assertion of a plain principle ;
sad he wished to Whin upon the committee,
.and those who
them, the distinct assertion of • principle equally
supported them,
very moderate amendment which he bed to pro-
pose wet this That the accounts of the Literary Fund,
showiag • systematic expenditure of from 401. to 461. In the
giving away of every 1061. of grants, are not quite satisfac-
tory ; that such an appropriation of money, subw.ribed with
• &arly-deffned charitable object, is not quite right; that
its continuance as a distinctive feature of the Literary
Fund is not so consistent with the profeesions
the Literary Fund as to tend to uphold that institution in
general confidence ; that such contutuance, therefore, ought
not to be sanctioned from year tear, and is now protested
against." This resolution would,no doubt, be duly put
from the chair, and duly negati and he and his :made
would be contented with that result. It would then have
been distinctly proclaimed " that the accounts of the Lite
Fund, showing a systematic expenditure of from 401. to 461.
in the giving. away of every 1001. of grants" were " quite
satisfactory ; ' and, farther that the continuance of such an
appropriation of money subscribed with a clear' -defined
charitable object was quite right, and that it ought to be
sanctioned from year to year, and not protested against.
To the acceptance of his own responsibility,and to the throw-
ing their responsibility on the committee, he had steadily
resolved to confine himself that day. He was there wholly
and solely for that purpose, and no consideration whatever
should induce him to swerve from it. In conjunction with
two friends who were near him (Mr. Dilke, sen., sad Mr.
John Forster), he bad written, and caused to be circulated
among all the members of the society without any distinction
of opinion, • printed paper, in which they had set forrh what
appeared to them to be very grave self-evident objections to
its administration and Its expenditure. If any champion of
that administration and that expenditure should impugn any
one of their statements in print, they would answer him • but
be wished it to be distinctly understood that to skirmishing
4009011 from the one unqualified declaration that the present
grim MI right, and did not require alteration, he would not
Many way omWbute by his conduct. He would now give the
comforting assurance that, after the resolution which
be bed read had been put and disposed of, not
we word would be heard from his lips or from those
of Mr. Mike, or from those of Mr. Forster, until that time
next year. (Laughter.) They assumed, as they were
bound in courtesy to do, that their opponents had no more
I desire to shrink from the broad, open, end manly acceptance
of their responsibility than the had to shrink from theirs.
Here in this resolution, read ark rely and read nega-
tively, were the two responsibilities for and against. Let
each side accept lie own, and let both sides then go on their
wajjejoiaing• (Laughter.)
ear. J. FORA' seconded the resolution without making
any reenerk.
Ib. M. Maki rid—liad Mr. Dickens's argu-
ments beeneougaed to the oast miss, which he had jut de-
livered, he should not have felt it neomeary to reply ; but,
as he had circulated • pamphlet among all the members who
were living and some who were dead (laugh-
ter) he could not help taking some notice, as
a tuber of the committee, of a production which
had emanated from such high authority. He must Bret
observe with reference to the resolution that on a question of
principle there was no room for the use of the expreseion
• not quite." Either MY Dickens was right or the com-
mittee were right, and in either mite such a qualifying term
as ..F.t" was out of place. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Dickens
had his position on that occ as aion, indeed he always
did, the wittiest and most attractive form. He had told
them, in effect, that the question was whether they should
go on paying 40 or 46 per cent. for collection. Of course if
that were the sole question it would be like the wanderings
of • lunatic to argue it, but he contended that that sum-
mary mode of putting the question was unfair. It was
only by entering into details that the matter could be
properly understood. It appeared to him that the_gentlemen
who ohms forward as reformers of the Literary Fund wen
reformers in the same sense that the insurgent Sepoys were
reformers of the garrison at Lucknow. The Sepoys might
May. perhaps, that they only wished to appropriate the funds
which they mixed to bettor purposes than they had been
appropriated hitherto, and to destroy what ought to be de-
stroyed. In this literary siege daily injury waa being bp
tikted on the recipients of the fund. (Hear, hear.) If the
subscriptions to this fund had diminished, let it be dearly
understood by the public that the so-called reformers was
the cause of that diminution; and if, after the committee bed
administered the fund with unimpeached lemur, they were
almost accused of personal corruption, and if the public bemuse
dissatisfied in consequence and persons who had been dis-
posed to make bequests to: the society were diverted from
their p by Mess attacks—and he begged to say that he
hadheard of such cases—then curdy he had • right to say
that these gentlemen were not the reformers, but the de-
stroyers, of the moiety. (Hear, hear.) The committee had
never wished for • moment to place themselves in an anta-
gonistic position towards those gentlemen ; on the contrary,
they had sought their counsel and amistance, and bad aiked
them to allow themselves to be placed among the governing
body, in order that they might share in the administration of
the fund. As to the expenses of collection, it should be
recollected that the amount would be scarcely any
larger if the fund were double what it wag;
and he believed that had Mr. Dickens, Mr. Forster,
and Mr. Dilke spent half the time and labour in ad-
vancing the interests of the society that they bad done in
injuring them, the proportion of the expenses to the grants
would not he one-half what it was. The principal objection
on the ground of expense had ieference to the salary of the
secretary, Mr. Dickens contending that they ought not M
give NOI. while other societies gave only 601._ To that he
replied, that Mr. Blewitt was peculiarly adapted for the
dative of the office, and that his services in such a position
were, in fact, invaluable. The maintenance of the house wee
• fair subject fa consideration. Their opponents had not,
however, confined themselves to such objections. The
committee felt something like Indignation—he really
must use that word—at Boding imputations thrown
upon the general honesty and fairness of their con-
duct. Let it be observed where the opponents hid to
go for materials for their assertions against the committee.
In the pamphlet to which he had referred mention was made
of two eases in which the members of the committee granted
1001. each to the widows of two gentlemen who had belonged
to their body. Those cases occurred thirty yawn
(Hear, hem.) There was nothing in the pamphlet to pre-
vent people from believing that they occurred within the last
year ; and no allusion was made to the changes in the consti-
tution of the society which bad occurred Mare orto the fret chat
the husbands of the tidies hod rendered such service to the
fend that the money was voted with acclamation. (Hear,
hear.) He would not then enter into the difficult
bow assistance might be best afforded to literary men sir
Woe; but, having pondered the subject, he really did not
see bow the thing was to be done better than it was by that
missy. He friend Mr. Dickens had tried another way. The
thim was no secret.
Nr. Dichave hoped Mr. Milner would padre am no-

meet's in . He must remind his hon. friend that
ie a ce between them on that subject he told
him that thing had never been tried, because the act of
pirliament would not allow it to be tried fur seven years.
Year, hear.)
Mr. Mite's continued—Well, it bad been tried so far as
the eolitionoa of money was concerned ; and he must say
that, considering the dthghtful way in which the appeal
it
meth to the public, he was astonished that a math largli
nue had not been obtained. (Hear.) Every possible means of
securing support was resorted to. That aristocratic pairmage
with which the committee of the Literary Fund were reproseled
was net aegleoted ; and, he max add, that the aseistenee
rendered to the caum by the late Duke of Devonshire, for
from having produced anything like ill-will in the minds of
the comneittes, enhanced their regard for him se • benefactor
of literature. (Hear, beer.) His only object is makies this
allusion was to illustrate the difficulties which attended the
mama of such an object. Hs trusted that this nesting
wadi teed, like that of last year, to show that this wee not a
ems la which one literary clique was apposing theffiter bit
• ease is whisk some half doyen of the most distlgnithell
thwery men in the usury bed, somehow cw other—be would
not smith of the weinthriap ofcould lunacy—
m_ laugh
the )—rjel
into their beads that they adinister
far better thee they were edminietered as preemd, and wee,
in consequence yese attar year parwaing • mums with&
tended to the dissolution of the society. (H' ear bear.) Let
him remind those gentlemen that they possessed great powers
for evil as well Ns good ; sad he must say that, if they were
soquabsted, as he was, with cases which had revelry been
relieved, sad had reed the letters which had bees written by
those oonceensd, the thought of having done anything to injure
the society ink estimation, would not, he believed, con-
duce to their t mind.
Dr. Wu.e.thia Burr' rid he should not have risen en the
white the
that • phlet had bean written
white the eemaninse were to answer, sad he regretted
to see the mass of gentlemen whom he respected, as be
did Mr. Dither, Mr. Dilke, and Mr. Foster attached to
what he mud cell an unworthy production—(hear, bear) ;
and be regretted, also, that they had tried to destroy a
society that wee meant rely to relieve the neesseitiss of
their suffering brethren. The committee were !always wili-
ng to promote refernis be the society, and he did not object
to their finding fault with the maaagenient of it but what
Mr. Miler had objected to, and what he also protested
agelnet, was the manner in which it had been does;
which had exhibited such • agirit that he was con-
vinoed they were not the friths of the society. With
regard to the charges that the committee had dealt out
the pittances of the society with • reluctant hand, he
denied that such wee the cans. He did not think that the
literary men should distribute the fends of the society. They
did not come out of their pockets; and he thought that if
they did have the management of them they would soma not
have any to manage.
Mr. Pewees Cooria asked if it was true that the expense
of distributing the funds of the society cost over 401. in the
1001. m had been stated ?
Mr. ROBBMT BELL Mid ha bad no knowledge of say ap-
plication having been made tor any portion dun funds to be
eppropnated to the purposes of say other moiety.
He believed that there was ao mode' on the part of Shoes
gentlemen who brought forward the amendment but to do
that which they believed to be strictly correct—(beer, hear)
—and he tore asked them to believe that the committee
wen acting entirely—believing that what they were
doing was done from the same hefts'. (Hear.)
He had examined everything concerning the soffiety most
I minutely, and from that examination he believed that
Mr. Dickens and his friends were wrong, and that the Om-
mitts. was right. (Hear, hear.) He aliened that List year
the expense of distribution was nearly half of what was
riven
away, for the distribution amounted to 1,2261., while
coll=was 5521., which included that of eseretary,
se
and distribution. It was not, however fair to
draw a comparison between the eases of the society
and the amount of relief awarded ; should take the
rots receipts, which were 2,6641., they would then
gad that the expenditure did not amount to more thin 20
per cent. ;is fact, it was lees. He then referred to several
✓tatements in the pamphlet already alluded to, and pointed
out several amnions in It that were incorrect. He then
said that the public receiving such statements as those were
likely to be deceived by them ; and it was therefore desirable
that they should be clearly =instead by the public. IS
the reforms,' thought the exposes of the society milk
too t why did they not come forwent with some pat-
tioalar resolution, and point out what they considered super-
fluous, so;that some practical result could be obtained ? With
respect to the question of residence it had been admitted
that there ought to be some place for the society to carry on
its bedtime, and that the secretary should reside on
the premise.. In 1838 Mr. Wks moved that • secretary
should be substituted for • clerk, sad la 1899 Mr. Blewitt
was elected. In 1841, on the mottos of Mr. Dints, the
gratuity to the secretary was increased by 401., making his
salary 1601., and in 1852 it was inereaset to 2001., end
from what he knew of the duties of that office he did not
think the salary too much. He was quite prepared to
justify the expenditure of the 5521. For the seventeen years
prior to Mr. Blewitt's connexion with the association the ex-
penditure had been 10,0431., and the receipts 28,7111., while
for the subsequent seventeen years the expenditure had been
13,0001„ and the income 39,0601., .bowleg an increase in
the expenditure of 2,9571., and in the income of 10,3491.
(Rem, hear.) In reference to the complaint that the council
had not been admitted to the proceedings of the committee,
he stated that the charter prevented them from allowing the
council to be present at the committee, and that opinion was
backed by the then Attorney-General. In conclusion, Mr.
Bell read a list of names of high literary celebrities who
supported the society, to show its position in the estimation
of the public.
The CHAIRMAN asked Mr. Dickens whether he had any
objection to putting the vote of thanks before his own reso-
Intion._

Mr. DiciaNs—Noris at all.
The vote of thanks to the registrars, treeaurers, and audi-
tors was then carried unanimously.
A show of hands wee siterwards taken on Mr. Dickens's
resolution, which was negatived by • majority of 70 to 14.
Mr. BURTON COOlfit was of opinion it would conduce to
the interest of the society If be now moved • resolution for
init7
with regard to the expenses. Though the statements
oßell were on the whole satisfactory, he thought there
should be en investigation, and that Mr. Dickens and his
Mends should take part in it. He would, therefore, move—
" That a sub-committee be appointed to inquire, before the
net, general meeting, whether it be possible to diminish the
annual expenses of the eociet: and if so in what respects,
without injury to its efficiency.
Mr. Tooia thought there could be no objection to • re-
commendation to the committee to consider the matter, and
report upon it to the next meeting.
The CHAIRMAN thought that Mr. Cooper's views would
be met by the appointment of a sub-committee of inquiry by
the general committee.
Mr. Coosa observed that • great deal would depend upon
the palms appointed. (Laughter.)
Mr. PotLoca regarded Mr. Cooper's proposal as an
attempt to reverse the vats of confidence already agreed to,
by peeing a vote of no coofidence. (" No no.")
kir. C. Dice axe hoped Mr. Cooper would press his motion.
Mr. M. Mtures opposed the motion, observing that he
had considered the question raised by it settled for twelve
months.

Mr. J. Foarransupported it, remarking that its adoption
would in his opinion afford a good chance of the termination
of these painful discumbu. He entreated the meeting not
hastily or toconaiderately to reject this proposal.
The motion, after being seconded, was submitted to a show
of handa, whoa the sambas were 18 for, and 88 soling It.
It was accordingly lost.
The committee and officers for the year were then elected,
after which the misting separated.

REFORM MEETING 47 HAMLET, 11T.417011D-
Mal.

On Tuesday evening last a public meeting was
held in the Town-hell, Hanley, on the station of parliamen-
tary reform, and also to listen to an exposition of his views
on the proutot crisis from Mr. J. L. RICARDO, M.P. for
the parhammitary borough of Stoke-upon-Trent. The
meeting had been called by the Mayor (Mr. J. Ridgway),
in pursuance of a requisition signed by 400 persons. The
hall wee crowded. The Mayor presided. The proceedings
were unanimous throughout, and the following resolution
was adopted by soclamadon:
" That any measure of parliamentary reform, to be accept-
able to the people, should at least enfranc.hise, in boroughs,
every person rated to the poor, end in counties every 101.
householder, should give to every voter the protection of the
ballot, should abolish the property qualification of members
of parliament, should as equitably as possible apportion re-
presentatives to population, and shorten the duration of par-
liaments to three years."
A separate resolution in favour of the ballot we. pseud,
declaring that "say measure of parliamentary reform which
did not give the voter its protection would be dimities's-
istmoris to the country and unacceptable to the people."
A petition toparliament in favour of the above programme
wee alai

COMITT VOTERS BY RIGHT OP PROPERTY
wrrieur Boaouous.—A return has just been issued of the
number of registered electors in England and Wales who are
entitled (by the provision of the Act 2 Will. IV , o. 46) to
Tots at elections for knights of the attire in respect of free-
hold or other property situated within the precincts of say
city or borough that returns $ member or members to
meat. The toil number of such electors leßaglsed matt-
is 95,471, end the total number of the merlons oast easelee
of which they form pert 604,061. The ineesetnumber of sash
relatively to the whole constituency le h where
they amount I. 6,043 out of s constithewey 14,672. The
greatest number, absolutely, no la South Leacedefre,
where 11,836 ens of this der, the number of the constituency
Wag 20,460. la the West Riding of Yorkshire the num-
tar is 9,288, the oceadtaermy being 37.613. Ia South
Ere: there ere I% meth voters in a constituency of 6,169 ;
End to Week 8u&lk, only 701 s aeosstitnescy of 4,083.