The Express.
London, England, 1860-09-26 00:00:00

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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 26.

Tn.! Association for the Promotion of Social
Science has assembled this year under peculiarly
favourable auspices, and its fourth annual meeting
promises to be the most useful and important in
its history. It meets in the commercial and manu-
facturing capital of Scotland, and receives there,
for the first time, delegates from a branch Asso-
ciation formed at Edinburgh during the present
year. Scotland, indeed, has taken up the move-
ment with characteristic energy ; a local Associa-
tion having recently been formed at Aberdeen as
well as in the southern metropolis. A similar
branch Associations on the point of being formed
at Liverpool, where the National Association has
had a strong hold from the first. These are en-
couraging signs of real progress. The fact that
the Association is steadily gaining ground in the
commercial and manufacturing centres of the em•
pire, and enlisting the active support of their ablest
men, is a sufficient reply to the old objection that
its aims are vague and visionary. It is a good
omen, too, for the future, being in itself a
guarantee that the labours of our social reformers,
instead of being confined to mere dictation, how-
ever useful, will annually be more and more
directed towards the solution of pressing social
problems. This practical character of the Associa-
tion is redacted in the business of the present
meeting, two of the main subjects of inquiry—the
Report on Trade Societies and Strikes, ani a
scheme of International General Average--being
of direct interest to the merchants and manufac-
turers of Glasgow.

The meeting on Monday was as usual opened by
Lord EROCOHIIII, the President of the Association,
in an inaugural address, however, of even more
than usual breadth and vigour. Of late years
wo h..ve been so often called to wonder at
the noble lord's freshness and vigour, that the
marvel has become commonplace, and any oratori-
cal effort he may make ceases to excite surprise.
Otherwise it would be impossible to think without
astonialusient of a speaker past the patriarchal
age of fourscore addressing a crowded audience
for three hours, and ketping up the interest to the
end by his rapid but skilful review of the foremost
social and political questions of the day. This is,
however, the feat that Lord Swoon/as accom-
plished at Glasgow on Monday evening, for the
delivery of the address, an abstract of which ap-
peared in our columns yesterday, occupied at least
thrcehours. Thislatest effort is mroarkable,however,

not only for its length and general rigour, but for
the extraordinary number and range of topics it
embraces. It seam, indeed, at the first glance to
realise as nearly as possible the latitude of diocur-
Aire talk expressed in the familiar phrase, de
omaibiu rebus et quibeeless ci/iie. But, on mein
perusal, the Glasgow address soon falls into some
of those main lines of thought and exposition
which the readers of Lord Bauuilassi'e speeches
will at once recognise as customary and
characteristic. No man, however versatile,
can jump from his own shadow, and the
noble lord's inaugural addresses generally contain
a kind of historical sketch of one or more of
the public enterprises in which the speaker, from
the outset of his career, has taken an active part.
The noble lord laboured incessantly in the people's
cause for more than half a century both with his
tongue and his pen, and was during that period
highly successful as a popular writer, and even more
successful still as a public speaker and parliamentary
debater. His name is inseparably associated with
early struggles on behalf of useful popular know-
ledge and political progress, and his inaugural ad-
dresses generally trace the progress and sum up
the results of one or more of these successful
efforts. This is quite natural to the speaker, and
perfectly harmonises with the duties of his office
as President of such an Association. Social Science
is, no doubt, the offspring of our literary and poli-
tical progress during the last half ceutury, sad no
man is better fitted to trace this connexion than
Lord BILOCOHAN. Two years ago, as our readers
will remember, the noble President sketched
the rise of the new science on the literary
aide, showing that popular literature had been
amongst the most powerful and direct instruments
of social reform. The inaugural address of Mon-
day last traces its gradual growth on the other side,
showing at considerable length how the gradual
progress of political reform prepared the way
for the discussion of social questions, until
at length they have become of such importance
as to form in the aggregate an object of special
inquiry—a new science. This historical summary
extends from the middle of the last century, and its
general results are thus summed up Thus
" gradual and slow has been the course by which
" we have arrived at social science, unconnected
" with faction and class interest. First, there
" was the reign of patty and personal views,
" without even the presence of any principles or
" opinions ; next came the time when opinions
" were professed, but in subordination to party
" and personal views ; then arose the day of
" opinions to which these views were subservient ;
" at length came the age of principles and opinions
" wholly apart from party schemes and personal
" interests. The progress has been gradual but
" sure ; and 'social science has run the course
" of all other science, it being the growth of ages,
" making its advances safely by sky degrees."
The second part of the noble lord's address is
—by a rather liberal construction of what comes
within the Society's range—a.cupied in a discus-
sion ou the legislative machinery of the country,
and a review of the recent Parliamentary session.
The plea for the introduction of this discussion
is that though Social Science is happily removed
from the induences of party as a disturbing force,
still this infinence must to some extent interfere
with the adoidion of the practical measures the
A taociation may recommend. Hence, as the noble
lord sugge'tl, the conduct of the Government and.