The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-08 00:00:00

the secret assassin, wh .o desecrates her

name. The sympathies en every honest heart
revolt from such compau'icnship ; and. the blow
which these misguided fano tics destine for another
only recoils upon their own heads, and weakens
their own cause.

It is always a gratifying thing when those we
are accustomed to Pee taking a foremost part in the
exciting arena of politics, and mixing in its angry
strife, come forward to assist in more peaceful un-
dertakings, and lend their aid and influence to in-
augurate intellectual works and further the inte-
rests of societies for the benefit of the lower classes.
Mr. GLADSTONE has always something to say on
every subject ; whether he is right or wrong in his
arguments, it is all the same. He can flourish
away with his logic, startle with his rhetoric, and
dazzle with his brilliancy. Still it is a pleasing
tack to follow the right hon. gentleman through
the course of such an address as that he delivered
in Flintshire. The subject was very suggestive,
and of course in such hands it was appropriately

treated and made the most of. Another attraction
of the affair was that it was the opening of a new
reading-room; hence there was ample ground for
speculation, and plenty of opportunity for prophecy
as regarded the future fortunes of the undertaking.
The impressive allusion made by Mr. GLADSTONE
as to the increased responsibility that fell upon
those whose gifts and advantages were augmented
was very opportune, as sad would be the state of
society if men only cared to increase their worldly
stores, and left unheeded and uncared for those
mental qualities which can never be neglected with
impunity. The right hon. gentleman also declared
that the time had gone by when it was incumbent
on any one in his position then to say much in
favour of such institutions, for the common opinion
of England had decided in their favour. This is a
great point gained, and perhaps one of our surest
grounds of hope that an extended power and in-
fluence will not tend to a speedy deterioration.
There is no better safeguard against the effemi-
nancy of luxury in the upper classes and the ten-
dency to grovelling pursuits in the lower ranks
than the sedulous cultivation of the intellect. Those
who can only turn to these elevating and refining
pursuits occasionally will yet find the benefit derived
from them incalculable. There is no greater mis-
take than for persons to imagine that because
they have not devoted any particular time to
study in youth, and do not possess any
shining talents and striking abilities it is use-
less and unavailing for them to try to gain know-
ledge or seek culture. The fact is that all are the
better for some such engagement, and no class can
claim exemption from the solemn trust and sacred
duty which they owe to their MAKER, their country,
and themselves to improve, cultivate, and extend
their faculties to the fullest extent. Mr. GLAD-
STONE spoke very earnestly on this point. He said
that GOD had laid upon the labouring class the law
of labour, but at the same time He had given them
powers of thought, reflection, and inquiry. These
institutions, then, had for end and object to endea-
vour to present to them the means of using those
powers and improving them to the uttermost. After
analysing to some degree the peculiarities of these
societies, and enumerating the special advantages
which a reading-room would impart, Mr. GLAD-
STONE took a practical view of the question, by
drawing the attention of his hearers to the subject
of savings. He introduced his remarks in a very
ingenious fashion, of course, but nevertheless con-
trived to bring his meaning home, by stating that
in many instances the English were not so thrifty
as they might be. This was a case in point on
which to found his strictures, because the very exis-
tence of such an institution would depend on the
contributions of its members. Certainly it would
be an inducement for the working classes to
exercise care, thought, and self-denial in the outlay
of their incomes, if they found that by so doing
they could increase their enjoyments of the most
solid and satisfying advantages that money can
procure. "My mind to me a kingdom is," is a fine
thought, and there is no reason why the son of toil
should not in his degree share the treasures of
knowledge, and taste of its unqualified delights.
" Digging there for richer gems
Than the spoils of diadems."
At first sight it may appear strange to some to
see the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who deals
in calculations of millions, and rules and regulates
the destinies of the country in regard to its fiscal
arrangements, throwing these aside to dwell upon
the scanty sums of a working man's earnings.
Yet, rightly regarded, such a study is
not incongruous, and much may be learned
from the right hon. gentleman's eloquent
and earnest address, if those to whom it was
addressed and their equals in condition will take it
to heart and give it that attention and considera-
tion which it especially deserves and particularly
merits. The habit of putting money in savings-
banks is an aimirable one, and can hardly be too
much recommended ; but at the same time, as is
here mentioned, how rarely is the practice put in
force. Mr. GLADSTONE gave a minute account of
the working of the Post-office savings-banks, and
certainly there is sufficient strength in his argn •
ments to convince all but the very wilful or totally
reckless of the advantages they possess and the
services they may render. Nothing can make a
man useful or happy in his vocation if he is a
spendthrift. All gains are to him losses, and his
improvident habits render him a prey to the worst
temptations, bring suffering on his family, and
cause a succession of irremediable ills, while they
pervert and destroy the good gifts of Providence.
There is the other extreme of parsimony, which is
foreign to the subject here touched upon, but that
does not produce such serious consequences to society
as reckless waste. Without the extreme being
touched upon, a thriftless style of carrying on the
business of life will occasion serious trouble and
heavy burdens to the working man. Mr. GLAD•
STONE could not have given his friends better ad-
vice; and it is to be trusted that all who heard will
heed, and those who read the discourse may profit
by it, for they can bat derive benefit from its sound
sense, practical illustrations, and earnest exhorta-
tions. Statesmen can never employ their energies
to better purpose than by endeavouring to bring
their intelligence to bear upon the subjects that
intimately affect and immediately concern the great
body of the people. The welfare of the masses,
their social position, their intellectual elevation,
and their status as regards political economy,
can never be too fully entered upon or
too extensively taken up. The concluding
passage of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's
eloquent address is well worthy of notice, as it brings
before the mind the high and holy mission which
the meanest among us has to fulfil, and urges on-
ward in the great race of life those classes that toil,
encumbered and poverty-stricken though they may
be, are important and influential members of the
community, who sow that others may reap, and do
their best to promote the welfare and prosperity of
their country. The inculcation of provident habits
can never be too earnestly advocated ; they are use-
ful in the day of prosperity, and real blessings in
the time of trouble. Mr. GL kDSTONE thus closed
his speech, which, for foresight and right spirit, is
one of the best which he has addressed to the work-

ing classes :—" He was not about to set up the idea
of saving money, as if saving money was the pur-
pose for which man lived in this world. It was
not, however, his duty to lead them into the higher
regions of Christian doctrine. He came before them
as a member of the community, anxious to point cut
to them that which h© believed to be in itself valu-
able and useful. He was convinced that the fulfil-
ment of these lower duties was essentially associated
with the fulfilment of the highest. The privileges
of the man and the Christian were united and com•
bined together; and he did trust that by their con-
duct they would prove that they were resolved to
be good and faithful subjects and citizens both of
the kingdom of this world and the world to come.'

It is pleasant, amid the excitement of political
controversies and the jar of conflicting opinions, to
tarn to the record of assemblies, whose objects are
purely literary, and where the voice of opposition
or censure never makes itself heard. Such a gather-
ing took place a day or two back in the chief city
of the sister kingdom, when the principal digni-
taries of the country were present to do honour to
the memory of one whom not only Ireland, but the
civilised world holds in grateful and admiring re-
membrance. A statue in honour of OLIVER GOLD
SMITH is surely no uncalled-for or superfluous tri-
bute from his countrymen to the refined poet, the
genial creator of Dr. PRIMROSE, the pathetic
mourner over the desolation of Auburn. Some may
wonder how it is that such a movement has been so
long delayed, that no national memorial has hereto-
fore paid homage to one of Ireland's proudest
glories; but the neglect of such marks of recogni-
tion even among ourselves, is, unfortunately, too
common to be in any way remarkable. The omis-
sion, however, has now been rectified, and the figure
of OLIVER GOLDSMITH, wrought by the skilful
hand of one of his own gifted countrymen, stands
proudly in front of that great university of which
he was once a member. The project of such a
memorial owed its origin to one whose fine and
cultivated taste especially fits him for the apprecia-
tion of literary and poetical merit. Although not
himself an Irishman, the Earl of CARLISLE was no
unsuitable originator of a scheme which sought to
do honour to one of the standard ornaments of our
noble English literature. His high official position,
as well as his own personal reputation, invested the
suggestion with an importance which secured to it
the success it deserved. Some six years ago, accord-
ing to Lord CARLISLE'S own version, while engaged
in inaugurating the statue of another eminent Irish-
man—THOMAS MOORE—he first started the idea
that a statue of GOLDSMITH should be raised in the
position it now occupies. Six years have elapsed
since then, and by the approval and assistance of all
classes the work has been carried to completion.
The eminent sculptor, Mr. FOLEY, lent the aid of
his gifted chisel, the board of the college came for-
ward with large subscriptions, at length the work is
done, and royalty smiled on the project, and Irish-
men in the most distant lands sent substantial tokens
of their sympathy. The poor, thriftless, penniless
poet and man of genius looks down in marble from
the front of the college, of which he was for some time
a humble and by no means proficient scholar. In
regarding him, we contemplate, to use the words of
Lord CARLISLE, " a career not free from impru-
dence, from error, nor even from ridicule, but re-
deemed by the most guileless simplicity, by the
most romantic benevolence, by the most manly
independence. We contemplate a genius of which
no more pithy or accurate a summary can be given
than in the words of Dr. JOHNSON, inscribed
upon the stone which bears his name in West-
minster Abbey. " There was no style of composi-
tion which he did not essay, none he essayed
which he did not adorn." Great and various
as were his successes, however, the Lord Lieute-
nant expressed the general sentiments when he
referred to the " Deserted Village " and the "Vicar
of Wakefield" as the most striking of his works.
These two productions alone suffice to build up a
great and enduring reputation, to secure a place
in the hearts and memories of all who speak his
language so long as that language lasts. It was
truly said by Mr. WHITESIDE at the inaugura-
tion that the fame of GOLDSMITH is growing
rather than declining. Is is based on sure foun-
dations, which changes of fashion or canons of
taste cannot affect or weaken, and in spite of the
more dazzling attractions of the writers who have
succeeded him, in spite of the variations of opinion
and sentiment, the prevailing love of the startling
and the " sensational," the writings of GOLDSMITH
keep their hold on the nation, and he is not only
remembered but read. To deny the acquaintance
of Dr. PRIMROSE would be to argue yourself, in-
deed, unknown and uneducated ; to be ignorant of
the charms of the " loveliest village of the plain,"
and the sorrows of its mournful depopulation would
be to betray a want of reading which few would
care to own. Scenes from the quaint old parsonage
continually appear on the walls of oar exhibitions,
representatives of the fair and sprightly LETITIA
HARDCASTLE still tread our modern stage, while the
youthful student, seeking to acquaint himself with
the masterpieces of English literature, is never suf-
fered to pass by the " Traveller" and the "Deserted
Village." Even with her long list of men of genius,
Ireland cannot afford to slight OLIVER GOLDSMITH,
even though with his country's gifts he had his full
share of her characteristic failings. Irishmen have
now paid the debt due to two of their national
celebrities ; but a third remains whose place of
honour, as Lord CARLISLE pointed out, stands vacant
by the side of his friend and companion. " Let not
six years," said the Lord Lieutenant, "elapse before
we shall have added the statue of BURKE, be who
was proverbially the greatest intellect of Ireland,
the consummate orator, philosopher, and states-
man." Such a plan is already on foot, and we can
hardly doubt that it will be speedily carried to a
successful issue. Ireland, amidst all her misfor-
tunes, has ever had cause to be proud of the genius
of her children, and of their great and versatile
gifts these two eminent men are very fitting ex-
amples. We are glad to find the Earl of CARLISLE
marking his term of office with such a grateful
recollection, endearing himself to the people whom
he governs, by his ready sympathy with their feel-
ings and appreciation of their great men, while he
forwards works of national importance in a manner
befitting his own literary tastes and cultivated
mind.

PROGRESS OF THE MAIN DRAINAGE WORKS.—
Notwithstanding the shortness of the days in the
past month and the stoppage of the works in the Christ-
mas week, remarkable progress has been made in the exe-
cution of the main drainage works. Already nearly one-half
of the sewage is diverted by the' main drainage, awl can
only find egress into the river at Erith Creek, and by next
July it is confidently expected that the whole system of
main drainage will be completed, except the short length of
the low level sewer, and from that date all but about one-
tenth of the sewage will be swept off by the ebb tide below
Barking.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPLAINS.—At the Somer-
set Epiphany Quarter Sessions at Taunton, on Tuesday,
Mr. F. H. Dickenson moved that the visiting magistrates
for Taunton County Gaol and Shepton Mallet House of
Correction be requested to consider whether, in their opi-
nion, it would be desirable to adopt the provisions of the
Prison Ministers' Bill. Mr. King seconded the motion, but
on a division it was lost by 13 votes to 5.

THE HIGHWAY Act —At the Cornwall Qnarter
Sessions, on Tuesday last, it was resolved that petty ses-
sional divisions should be made the basis of the uew high-
way districts throughout the county.