The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 8, 1864.

prayer was offered up by the Rev. W. Fowle, M.A.,
and the Hallelujah chorus sung by the choir.
Mr GLADSTONE then rose and was greeted with
loud and continued cheers. He said :—" Ladies
and Gentlemen,—lt may be said with great reason
that the series of proceedings be onging to this
exhibition is now completed. We have gathered
together within this spacious hall the productions of
the skill and industry of the working men of
northern London. To this demonstration and to the
beautiful spectacle thus offered the feeling of the
public has answered, and the numerous total of
spectators who have hastened from all parts of the
metropolis, as we have been informed toenight, to
satisfy their curiosity and to improve their minds,
has crowned the labours of the exhibitors with the
most complete success. (Hear.) It is, perhaps, a
vulgar, but yet it is an important consideration,
that in a pecuniary as in every other point of view
the proceedings of this exhibition have reached the
consummation which all its friends Ihave desired,
and your Minister of Finance—(laughter)—what-
ever may happen to other Ministers of Finance—
appears before you to-night with the glory of a
surplus in hand—(hear, and a laugh)—and in that
surplus we are to recognise not only a memorial of
past prudence but likewise a promise for the future,
for the way has fairly been opened to show what
things can be done through the medium of these
exhibitions. (Hear, hear.) But not the least inte-
resting feature in this series of proceedings has
been the tone and temper in which it has been con•
ducted, the humble sense of dependence upon Divine
favour, the acknowledgment that whatever gifts
any of us may possess we owe them entirely to a
heavenly source. (Cheers.) And in the proceed•
ings of to-night'you have, by your crowded atten-
dance, borne witness to your emphatic desire that
at the close, as well as in the course of all these
proceedings, honour should be rendered to Him
from whom all honour comes. (Cheers.) Well,
then, ladies and gentlemen, it may be said if these
acts have attained to such completeness, that I as-
sume a function which is officious at the best, in
addressing you after what has taken place. But I
address you at the request of those who have been
your leaders in this important enterprise, and I will
attempt no more in such observations as it may be
in my power to address to you than to give you a
faithful record of the impression which the spectacle
we witness to-night has produced upon the mind
of one who views it from without. Ladies and
gentlemen, it is very easy to find a name for an ex-
hibition like this and for an occasion like this. It
is emphatically the festival and the triumph of
labour. (Lout cheers.) I do not use that word
to draw any invidious distinction between class
and class. Labour is the universal lot of man,
and those who endeavour to escape from labour,
and to convert into a period of mere enjoy..
ment that term of existence which has
been given us for exertion and for; dis-
cipline, are recreants to their own destiny and
to the law under which they live. (Cheers.) There
is no honourable, no useful place on this busy teem-
ing earth for the idle man, be his station or his con-
dition what it may ; and I am sure that those who
belong to the labouring classes, properly so called,
will admit that in this happy country it is easy to
point out not only tens and hundreds, but thous
sands among the very highest in the land, who vie
in their character as labouring men with those who
earn their bread by their daily wages. But it is
with the large and important class comprising the
mass of society that we have especially to do upon
the present occasion, It is to them I refer when I
say that this occasion, this exhibition, has been the
festival and the triumph of labour ? Why has it
been the triumph of labour P It has been the
triumph of labour for reasons which, in my judg-
ment, it will behove us to ponder. I do not, indeed,
think that we have as yet reached a period at which
any of us can fully comprehend the entire signifi-
cance of exhibitions such as this. They are toe
new, they are yet in their infancy. (Hear.) We
must wait awhile. It will be for us in later years,
or it will be for those who come after us, to form a
just and competent estimate of their social even
more and much more than their economical effects.
But even now we may see the immense importance
of such exhibitions. Can there be a more interesting
fact than this, that of those beautiful objects which
crowd the walls and the fliers of this spacious hall
a very large part—l am told by much the largest
part—are produced not by persons given to that
special kind of production as a means of subsistence
but in the paiient development of some other gift
which they pursue and cultivate in their hours of
recreation ? (Cheers.) Now is it not a consoling
truth that even the humblest of our society are not
so absolutely bowed down ill this probationary state
to mere mechanical exercise tnat it is beyond the
power of a man to look outside the narrow career
which he traces in his daily tea from morning to
evening, and then from morning to evening again,
—that there is in all classes of society a diversity
and variety of gifts; that human nature, if it
be well used, is a richer and a nobler thing
thrn many of us take it to be ; that few indeed
are those to whom the path of excellence is not
open in one direction or another, provided only their
be the diligence and determination which is neces-
sary to pursue it with effect ? (Cheers.) Now,
ladies and gentlemen, one word as to the amuse-
ment which belongs to these exhibitions. Thevery
production of these works has been in most cases
the amusement of their producers, showing un-
doubtedly a true nobleness of mind, for it is only a
mind which draws its fire from heaven which would
find amusement in productions of such a nature
after the exhausting effects of daily toil. But yet
it is true, and it is another consoling truth, if you
consider that much of our best relaxations, much of
the most effective and most salutary amusement is
derived, not from a simple abnegation and abandon-
ment of toil, but comes from a judicious change of
one employment for another. (Cheers.) But if
there has been healthful and laudable amusement
from the producers of these works in the act of pro-
ducing them, what has been the effect upon those
who beheld them ? Let the exhibitors take this
comfort to themselves. They have not only by their
contributions given a satisfactory and healthy bent
to their own energies, they have not only gained
that credit and applause of their fellows which are
among the most gratifying consolations and com-
forts of life, but they have likewise afforded an ex-
ample and encouragement to others, and many a
man, many a woman, many a young child, many a
one who has not heretofore done aught to distils.
guish himself in bettering his condition, in improv-
ing his mind, by developing his gifts by exertions
such as these—depend upon it many such one will
receive the first suggestion, will derive the first in-
fection of such a desire from what they have seen
within these walls upon this occasion. (Cheers.)
Well, again, of the good effected and displayed by
this Exhibition, we have had satisfactory proof.
Thank God, it has not been the first, and I am sure
it will not be the last, although amongst the most
remarkable instances, that it is possible in this
happy country for a vast mass of the population
to meet together, aye, and to meet together
for purposes connected with their recrea-
tion, and at the same time not to need
the control or the coercion of the law, but, and I am
sure I may apply without irreverence the sacred
words, "tobe a law to themselves." (Cheers.) In
the hurried circuit which I have made round this
hall we were accompanied by a force of I think
some four or five policemen, and I learn from those
who had had the management of this Exhibition
that that moderate detachment positively comprised
the entire representation of that most useful force
which has been employed for the purpose of keep.
ing in order the 200,000 who, we are told, have
visited the Exhibition. (Cheers.) Well, ladies
and gentlemen, it is a great and a real and true
signo["cial
progress—it is much to distinguish
between
true aigna of social progress and false signs
—but I say
it is a true sign of social progress
when it can be recorded, as was recorded by your
esteemed and able secretary to-night, that this Ex-
hibition has been conducted, with admission given
at so low a cast to the humb!eat classes of the com-
munity, without one single attempt at anything
like wilful damage to any object. (Cheers.) Bat,
ladies and gentlemen, it is not only with reference
to amusement of the best and highest kinds that
such occasions as this should be considered. Im-

portant as it is in itself, it is probably yet more
important as an indication of something beyond
itself, as an indication of things which are, and yet
more of things which are to be. (Hear, hear.) No

person can, even as a contemporary observer.,

reflect upon the recent history of this country
without perceiving that it is fraught with the pro-

mise of most important results, not only to the

community as a community, but particularly to the
labovring classes ; the greatest lesson which our

recent history ought to teach those classes—the
great lesson which I will presume to say has taught
them, and is teaching them, after a dependence and
thankfulness to the Almighty for the gifts and op.

portunities they enjoy, is the lesson of self-reliance.
Now, I believe it is not possible in a well-organ'
ized society that any one class should make essen.

tial progress in any way except through its own
exertio:s. (Cheers.) I know—l trust Ido not
forget—that there are duties of class towards class,
as there are duties of the individual man towards

his fellowman. Bat the duty performed by one
class towards another, and especially by the higher
towards the humbler classes, will be found gene•
rally to consist in the mitigation, possibly the re-
moval, but more frequently the mitigation, of evils

and abuses of a gross and galling nature. But the
mere mitigation of abuses will never give energy
and dignity of character to a class, and especially to
the great labouring classes of the community. It is
upon themselves they must depend in order to ex-
hibit in the face of their fellow•countrymen those

characteristics which constitute the true basis of
greatness. I know that it is too true that the ad-

vance of civilisation and the improvements which

have been made in our laws and institutions do not

and cannot be said as yet to have touched the entire
mass of the community. There are still those who
are said to belong to the "dangerous classes."
There are still those who, in much larger numbers,
are said, and with truth are said to belong to the
helpless classes ; those upon whom illness and be-
reavements fall, and not only such, but even whole
classes of persons, particularly unmarried females,
who, under the conditions of modern society, are in
a social position still beset with difficulties. The
bulk of the labouring population in the great towns
of this country, and particularly in this vast me-
tropolis, consists of those who being dependent

upon their own labour have the means of making I
their labour as a general rule Effective for their
subsistence, even for their comfort, and the comfort
of their wives and families. Now, much has been
done by good, honest, and wise legislation towards
setting free the industry of the labouring man and
enabling him to carry that best and almost the only
commodity which he can possess to the best market
it can command. (Cheers.) lam far from thinking
that Parliament has as yet done all in that respect
which we may reasonably hope for; but perhaps it
would be true—l believe it would be—to say we

cannot look again for such vast and wholesale im-
provements of the law, for such large and beneficial
revolutions in the condition of the labouring classes

of this country at any future time as has Lee❑

brought about within the last 20 or 25 years, partly
by the progress of new gigantic and most useful in.
ventions, and partly by a wise legislation in Par•
liament. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, and you,
my friends, whom I address in such numbers of the
working classes, bear with me when I say that it is
upon yourselves you must depend. If you are look-
ing for improvement in your state, if you are look-
ing for a larger admission to the direct rights of
citizenship—(loud cheers), if you are looking foe the
increase of the comforts of life, if you are looking for
a provision for the education of your children, if ycu
are looking to the making provision for the contin-
gency of your sudden removal—for each and for all
those things, depend upon it that, under the favour
of Almighty God, it is upon yourself you must
rely. (Cheers.) And, therefore, ladies and gentle•
men, it is that I cordially and sincerely congratu-
late you upon an Exhibition such as that we have
witnessed here. A sentiment of admiration not un-
mingled with surprise will, I think, possess the
mind of the impartial observer when he comes
within these walls and sees, or has seen, the nature
of the works they contain. We see hero an evidence
of the growth of the labouring class. I must say
that in one point of view an interest attaches to
what we see within this Agricultural Hall, such as
never attached to the more gorgeous Exhibitions of
1851 and 1862. Tho,3e great Exhibitions and their
promoters will have reason to reckon among the
many beneficial results of these Exhibitions the fact
that without doubt they gave the first suggestion
for the creation of a spsc:acle such as we now bee
hold. But in those great Exhibitions we saw what the
wealth of the world could do, ve saw what were the
resources of skill and industry aided by the profuse
employment of capital. But here we have drawn
upon no such resources of capital. We see here as it
were in its first formation the cfforts of British labour
and we have reason to congratulate the country first
of all for the possession of such skill as is here dis-
played ; and, secondly, upon the disposition to use
for such healthful and beneficial purposes the scanty
leisure afforded after the hours of toil and the rea
maining energies which the beneficial exercise of
labour has left unexhausted. Ladies and gentle-
men, as I have said, it is the property of these exe
hibitions to open before us a long vista in the future,
as well as to supply us with most interesting sug-
gestions for the present. But I see also in them a
manifestation of the desire of the labouring classes
to play out honestly and in the most conciliatory
spirit the game of life. The labouring class, like
every other class, has had its lessons to learn. It
has had to learn how to bear the reverses of fortune,
and how that lesson has been learnt the recent his-
tory of Lancashire will tell to our posterity. (Loud
cheers.) But the labouring class has also had to
learn a lesson—l venture to say a still more difficult
one to learn—the lesson of respecting, under
whatever pressure, the rights, the indepene
deuce, and freedom of choice of a minority of
their own body. But that is a lesson with
regard to which I ardently hope—nay, I confi-
dently believe—great progress has been made. Sure
I am that if the minds of the operative class be set
upon a permanent improvement in the condition of
its members, speaking from what I see within this
hall, I say they are walking in the right path. Let
them show before their fellow-countrymen the gifts
which they possess; let them continue to exhibit in
every relation of life that obedience to law, nay,
that love of law which they have shown within these
walls; let them carry home more and more to the
minds of every class of the community the convic-
tion that we of this country are all one in heart, one
in hope, one in desire, one in interest. (Cheers.)
Let them take for their motto the union and har-
mony of all classes one with another, and I am con&
dent they will find that whatever improvements they
may think they have a right to expect at the hands of
those who are invested with the privilege of govern.
ing them, they may rest confident in the belief that
such improvements will never be long or unduly
delayed. (Cheers.) Ladies and gentlemen, it is
with an earnest mind and heart 1 express to you a
fervent desire that this exhibition and all that has
belonged to this exhibition may be productive of
happy results, not only in the present but also in
fature years. My concluding duty is to declare to
you that this exhibition is closed, but when I say
that it is closed I do not speak of it as of a Thing dead
and departed. If it be closed, it is closed like the
year, which, when it dies away, by the very process
of its dying makes preparation for another spring.
(Cheers.) It is closed like the corn which we drop
into the earth, and which is placed there in order
that its death may be the precursor of renovated life
and of renewed fertility. That, happily, is not mere
anticipation. Already there are indications upon
every side that the example which you have set
is a fruitful example. The example which was
set to you some six months ago has been fruit-
ful in the production of your exhibition, and the
example you have set has already led to such results
that I could give you a list of towns and places in
which it is contemplated to hold similar exhibitions.
(Cheers,) Let us not, therefore, in speaking of this
exhibition as having reached its natural termination
in the sense that the doors of the hall will be closed,
and the objects here collected will be dispersed—let
us not forget that it still retains its moral force, and
still promises to be, as we hope it will be, the happy
parent of many children—of scenes like this, and,
if possible, exceeding this. It will help to confirm

in the minds of the labouring community the useful
lesson which they have already learnt, and will
likewise prove to be an effective means of leading
them onward in the path, not of illusory and unsub-
stantial, but of true and real progress and healthful
and Christian civilization. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. S. Morley proposed, and Mr. Kinnaird, M.P.,
seconded a vote of thanks to the chairman.

The resolution was.adopted by acclamation, three
cheers being given for the right hon. gentleman.
Mr. GLADSTONE, in reply, expressed his thanks
for the compliment, While he could not attribute
to himself all the merits which the mover and se-
conder of the vote had ascribed to him, he must say
that he felt confident in the future of England. He
was convinced that there never would be wanting
those who, under God, would be desirous of con-
ducting the affairs of this country for the honour
and profit of the whole nation, aided by the loyalty,
the intelligence, the indulgence, and the goodwill
of their fellow-countrymen. For himself, he could
only claim 9, sincere intention to apply himself to
the best of his humble abilitfes in the furtherance
of the public interests; and the mark of kindness
now bestowed upon him would, even if undeserved,
and perhaps even on that very account, be effective
as an encouragement to a faithful dis,;harge of his
duty. (Loud cheers.)
The National Anthem was then sung, and the
proceedings were brought to a close.

you. (Applause.) But, my friends, if it be other Wise—if
we suffer reverses, it is what is to be expected from the for-
tunes of war. It is the fact of all human designs. In that

event we shall have reason to anticipate from all brave men
a conduct becoming the occasion, and shall look to you to
redress your misfortunes, to rise in the face of disaster, and
resolve to succeed, determined that you will live or die
free. (Applause.) Your brave sons are battling for the

cause of the country everywhere; your Fort Sumter, where
was first given to the breeze the flag of the Confederacy,
still stands. The honour of the State has not been dimmed
in the struggle, and her soldiers will be sustained by the
thought that when they are no more South Carolina will
still retain that honour with which she commenced the
war, and have accumulated that greatness and glory which
will make her an exemplar of all that is chivalric and
manly in a nation struggling for existence. You who
have so long been the advocates of State rights have
never raised a clamour against the laws which seem to
invade them, and I think, for obvious reasons, yon are not
like those new-born lights who, perhaps• are just beginning
to appreciate the great principles of that creed. You saw
laws passed which were necessary to make those States
which are in co-operation effective for the good of the
whole. You understood the nature of the compact
entered into by the sovereign States, and you have not been
fearful that the agent created by yourself es was likely to
turn against that Government for which he and you had
been so long struggling. Understanding the means of pre-
serving your State Governments, you have not been fright-
ened by the clamour of those who do not breathe the pure
air of State sovereignty. Then you have had no difficulty in
the organisation of the three forces incident to military ser-
vice. You are in that condition in which your defence must
depend upon what does not belong to the active forces of
the country. Your battles are fought on other fields, You
have on the coast some necessity for what is termed an ac-
tive army, and should it be incumbent upon you to furnish
troops from your reserves, you have no constitutional
scruples, like Governor Strong, of Massachusetts, against
marching your militia from the borders of the State, to fight
the battles of the cause in which you are engaged. I hon-
our you for it. It is needless for me to argue questions here
which have been discussed elsewhere, for here I am among
the disciples of him from whom I learnt my lessons of State
rights, the great, the immortal John C. Calhoun. Among
those to whom we are indebted in South Carolina I have
not yet alluded to that peculiar claim of gratitude which is
due to the fair countrywomen of the Palmetto State, they
who have gone to the hospital to watch by the side of the
sick, those who throng your wayside homes, who have
nursed as if nursing was a profession, who have used their
needles with the industry of sea ing women, who have borne
privation without a murmur,and who have given up fathers,
sons, and husbands with more than Spartan virtue, because
they called no one to witness and record the deed. Silently,
with all the dignity and grandeur of patriotism, they have
made their sacrifices—sacrifices which, if written, would be
surpassed by nothing in history. If all the acts of heroism
and virtue of the women of the South could be transmitted
to the future it would present such a record as the world
has never seen. Their gallantry is only different from
that of her sons in this, that they deem it unfeminine
to strike ; and yet, such is the heroism they have dis-
played—such the noble demeanour they have exhibited—
that at the last moment, when trampled upon and it became
a necessity, they would not hesitate to strike the invader a
corpse at their feet. (Applause.) It is scarcely necessary for
me, at a time like this, to argue grave questions respecting
policy, past, present, or prospective. I only ask you to have
faith and confidence, and to believe that every faculty of my
head and my heart is devoted to your cause, and to that I
shall, if necessary, give my life. Let every one in his own
sphere, and according to his own capacity, devote himself
to the single purpose of filling up and sustaining our armies
in the field. If required to stay at home, let him devote him-
self not to the acquisition of wealth, but to the advance-
ment of the common cause. If there is to be any aristocracy
in the land after this war, I hope it will be an aristocracy of
those men who have become poor while bleeding to s•_cure
our liberty. If there are to be any peculiarly favoured by
public opinion hereafter, I trust it will be those men who
have longest borne a musket and oftenest bled on the battle
field. If there is to be any young man shunned by the
young ladies when he seeks their favour, I trust it will be
the man who has grown rich by skulking. And with all
sincerity I say to my young friends here, if you want the
right man for a husband, take him whose armless sleeve and
noble heart betoken the duties ho has rendered to his coun-
try, rather than he who has never shared the toils or borne
the dangers of the field. If there still be left any of those
military criers who have never spoken of our Generals but
to show how much better things could have been managed.
or of our Government but to find fault with it, because it
never took their advice, in mercy's name let these men go
to the front and aid us in achieving our independence.
With their wisdom and strength swelling our armies I
should have some hope that • I will not be a corpse before
our cause is secured, and that our flag would never trail in
dishonour, but would wave victoriously above the roar and
smoke of battle. I believe it is in the power of the men of
the Confederacy to plant our banners on the banks of the
Ohio, where we may say to the Yankee, Be gale'. or
we shall teach you another lesson.' Within the next 30
days much is to be done, for upon our success much de-
pends. Within the next 30 days, therefore, let all who are
absentees, or who ought to be in the army, go promptly to
their ranks. Let fresh victories crown our arms, and the
peace Fey, if there be such at the North, can elect its
candidate, But whether a peace candidate is elected or not,
Yankee instinct will teach him that it is better to end the
war, and leave us to the enjoyment of our own rights.
Prayerful for your welfare, confiding in the army of the
Confederate States to do that which soft words can never
achieve, and in the hope that God will preserve the little
ones of all brave men who are in the field, or who aro going
to it, and trusting that in the future, under brighter aus-
pices, it may be my fortune to meet the good people of
Columbia, I wish you all for the present farewell. (Ap-
Anise.)

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The capture of the Florida by the We,
chusetts in Brezilian waters was reported by tele
graph from Lisbon some days ago, but it was no
until yesterday that the flagrantly lawless nature
of this proceeding could be appreciated. The story,
as it has now reached us from authentic sources,
beats those related of Faul Jones, and carries us back
to the time when the Spanish Main was made infa-
mous by the piratical deeds of civilised nations. The
Federal ship Wachusetts was lying in the inner
harbour of Bahia when the Florida anchored in the
outer harbour, on the 4th October, to ship coals and
stores, and to have a part of her machinery repaired.
The next morning she was bearded by an officer of
the Brazilian navy, and forbidden to communicate
with the shore until the Governor of the province
should have been consulted. The Governor invited
her commander, Captain Morris, to call upon him,
and the result of the interview was that the Florida
was allowed to remain 48 hours to get in supplies,
and to complete, if possible, the necessary repairs.
It seem that Mr Wilson, the United States' Consul,
had protested against any shelter being given her,
but had afterwards pledged his word of honour that
the Wachusetts would respect the rights of neutrals
within the port. Capt. Morris gave the same assur.
ante, and the Florida was thereupon brought into
the inner harbour and placed in a berth close under
the guns of a Brazilian fort, and with two Brazilian
vessels of war between her and the Wachusetts. A
number of the crew were allowed to go ashore on
leave, and the damaged machinery was put into the
hands of Brazilian engineers. Late on the same
evening, Oct. 5, a boat came alongside from the
Wachusetts, with the Federal Consul on board, but
as the letter which he sent up to Capt. Morria was
addressed " sloop Florida," the latter declined to
hold communication with him or the Wachusetts
until the public character of the Florida should be
recognised. On the next day, the 6th, a gentle•
man, named De Vidiky, presented himself as en-
voy from the Consul, and in that capacity read
out a note challenging the Florida to fight the
Wachusetts. Captain Morris declined to go
out of his way either to seek or to avoid his ad-
versary, and so the colloquy ended. In the middle
of the following night, Captain Morris and another
batch of men being on shore, the Wachusetts was
seen to leave her anchorage and steam towards the
Florida, running her down, and pouring in a volley
of musketry and canister shot. Lieutenant Porter,
the officer in command of the cruiser, thus taken
by surprise, beat to quarters and made the best
resistance ha could, but, with more than half his
crew on shore and nothing in readiness for such an
attack, he soon found that the odds were too great.
After some 10 or 12 had been killed, and many
more wounded, he surrendered, when a hawser
was forthwith passed from the bows of the Florida
to theWachusetts, and she was towed out to sea.
The two vessels were afterwards sighted off Per.
nambuco, Fifteen men had in the meantime jumped
overboard to escape being made prisoners, but nine
appear to have been picked off from the Wachu-
setts, and the details of the capture rest chiefly on
the testimony of the six survivors. There is a
slight discrepancy between the two accounts which
we published yesterday with respect to the part
taken by the Brazilian naval authorities; but no
doubt can exist that the aot was as entirely un-
foreseen by tL:,m as it has been vehemently re-
sented by the whole community at Bahia. The
Brazilian Admiral was present during Captain
Morris's interview with the Governor, and sug-
gested the position to be taken up by the Florida
in the harbour, near his own flagship, for greater
safety. While the firing was going on, according
to the narrative of our correspondent " Voyageur,"
the officer in command of the flagship sent off a
boat to require the combatants to desist. Accord-
ing to the narrative furnished by the paymaster of
the Florida to our Southampton correspondent, this
boat was not despatched until the Confederate ves-
sel was already being made fest to the Wachusette.
The two accounts, however, agree in the statement
that the captain of the Wachusetts promised com-
pliance, and yet proceeded to carry off his prize