The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-11 00:00:00

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Sir George Grey at Morpeth.

On Friday evening a public meeting:was held in the Cor-
poration Hall, Morpeth, in aid of the Morpeth Young Men's
Mutual Improvement Association, The Right Hon. Sir
G. Grey, M.P. for the borough, occupied the chair, and
there was a large attendance of the inhabitants of the town.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said he had
great pleasure in accepting the invitation he lately received
to be present on that occasion, and to take part in the pro-
ceedings of that evening's meeting. (Applause.) He was
sure the association on whose behalf they had met required
no arguments from him to recommend it to their encou-
ragement and support. He Lund that the association had
been two years in existence, and that during that period a
number of young men belonging to that town had enrolled
themselves as members. He found, also, that during that
time it had not only acquired, by purchase or by gift,
many useful and instructive books for the use of its mem-
bers, but that there had been, in addition, historical read-
ings, and lectures had been delivered by various gentle.
men, from time to time, on subjects of literary and general
interest, well calculated, as far as he could judge from
their subject-matter, aad from the character and names of
the gentlemen that had given them, to promote what he
found stated in the circular of the society to be its object,
viz., the intellectual, moral, and religious improvement of
those young men that enrolled themselves members of the
society. Such an institution, if young men availed them-
selves of it, would, besides their moral and religious im-
provement, tend to qualify them for the competitive exami-
nations which they all knew were the doors to almost all
employment in the civil service of the country, But they
would find that the objects those institutions had in view
were still higher than any considerations that might be at-
tached to such as aimed merely to prepare a young man for
these competitive examinations. They must consider that
they would encourage direct industry and talent in the ac-
quisition of knowledge by establishing a system which held
out to young men of talent and industry that reward which
was due to the exercise of their industry, and the posses-
sion and right use of those talents; but, at the same time,
there was something of a higher character aimed at—to give
solid and substantial knowledge and to tend to the forma-
tion of those habits and principles that would be useful to
the young men hereafter, when they entered upon the
duties and responsibilities of life. There was a mechanics'
institute and a reading-room in their town, in which many
gentlemen took a very warm and very laudable interest. It
was a valuable institution, which gave an opportunity of
profitable mutual intercourse, and gave also to its members
an opportunity of access to works of a standard character,
as well as the periodical literature of the day; but they
must all feel that it did not supply what was one of the ob-
jects of that institution to provide—namely, means of im-
provement, moral, intellectual, and re,igious, to young men
at that very important period of their lives, between the
time of their leaving school and their arrival at manhood,
and entering upon the ordinary duties, cares, and respon-
sibilities of life. The Mechanics' Institute would, there-
fore, be considered as a kindred, but not as a rival, institu-
tion ; for those young men that best appreciated the advan-
tages that institution held out to them would be best able
to appreciate the advantages of the Mechanics' Institute
hereafter- (Applause.) They had also in that town schools
which were, he had no doubt, well calculated to lay a solid
foundation of useful knowledge, and calculated, also, to
form sound principles in the minds of those boys instructed
in them. But in schools of that kind the learning was
mainly of an elementary character, for, considering the early
age at which boys generally left school, they must be consi-
dered as having only received the foundation of their future
education; and that future education must depend very
much upon the habits of young men on their emergence from
the schools. (Applause.) If any boy leaving the school at
the ordinary age when boys left it thought his education
finished, and that he need not exert himself to improve his
mind and acquire knowledge, he might be assured that in
after life he would have cause to regret his neglect, and find
that he had not secured many things conducive to his well-
being in life and his
position as a m
i ember of society. To
speak of education as distinct from instruction, which was
only given in the schools, and which, though most valu-
able in itself, must yet be considered as only the foundation
of education, and of the means of acquiring useful know-
ledge in after life, and of forming good habits and sound
principles, led him to quote from what struck him as a
most admirable discourse on education in its widest sense,
delivered lately in York, by the archbishop of that province.
In that discourse, he said—" Education is the training of
the whole mind for the world around it,for the duties it has
to discharge here, and the services it has to perform to its
God and Saviour—the mental, moral, and religious train-
ing of souls marked by God for His own." If he accepted
that as a definition of education in its widest sense he did
not think there was one amongst them that could say his
education was ended, for they might always be improving
themselves in the sense in which education was defined so

well and truly by the archbishop. But while education
might thus be going on through life it was important to
bear in mind that youth was the time most especially ap.
proximate for mental culture—to the acquisition of know-
ledge and formation of sound principles and habits
such as would be valuable to them as long as they lived. It
was the seed time of a rich harvest they were all to see
hereafter. But, unfortunately for many, they neglected it,
and wasted their youth, spending their time in sensual in-
dulgences. Re could not, therefore, impress too strongly
upon the minds of those present who had already availed
themselves of the advantages of that institution to improve
to the fullest extent their opportunities, being assured that
if they did so, they would meet with their reward, and never
have cause to repent devoting that which they could spare
from their ordinary work and their recreations—which he
for one would not wish to see them deprived of—to improv-
ing their mind, so as to profit by the advantages held out
to them by institutions like that. Ho found, however, in
the circular which had been read, that with reference to the
object for which that meeting had been held its usefulness
was limited for want of funds, and that "it is now proposed
by a public meeting to rake the institution more widely
known, and, by the aid of honorary members, to obtain a
more commodious apartment in which to hold the meetings
weekly, and purchase some works of reference, so that the
present members may have increased facilities for pursuing
the studies and amusements by which they have been bene-
fited, and that others may be induced to participate in their
advantages." He was quite sure there would be every dis.
position on the part of those placed in a position to do so to
support the existence of an institution like that; but with
relation to that one thing suggested itself to his mind, and
that was that they should not allow institutions of that kind
to depend too much on extraneous aid; for if they were to
produce the fruit they wished to see they must be main-
tained and managed chiefly by those for whose benefit they
were intended. In course of time their value would be
appreciated ; and if those for whose benefit they wero in-
tended were willing to make a sacrifice in order to maintain
their institutions and make them independent they would
succeed so much the better. It was quite right there should
be honorary members, because there were many who were
willing to assist those that wished to help themselves, and
who showed themselves capable of acting independently in
matters affecting their own interest. In referring to another
portion of the circular he found two objects pointed out
which he did not consider came within the class of ordinary
expenditure. These objects were said to be the promise of a
more spacious apartment and the purchase of works of re-
ference. These seemed to him to be legitimate objects for
which they might call in others to assist them. It was very
desirable that they should have a more commodious place
of meeting than the room at present appropriated to that
purpose; and he hoped that they would be successful in
obtaining that help which they sought. He had alluded a
short while ago to the Mechanics' Institute, and he wt.
bound to say that, useful as it might be, the room in which
its meetings were held was not worthy of the institution and
its objects—(applause)—and he hoped, for its own sake, and
for the reputation of Morpeth, it would soon have a better
place of meeting. (Applause.) He did not know whether
it yaw prootioublo M 414 but be Touturod to 'Jugged that it