The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-10 00:00:00

assembly an occurrence of national importance.
Subjects are brought forward which at any other
time of the year would not be heard of beyond their
own immediate circle, and questions of vital inte-
rest to the general welfare are thus not unfrequently
brought into notice. The quantity of papers con-
tributed to each section increases year by year, a
fact which shows that the interest felt in the
labours of the Congress has grown rather than les-
sened. As most of these papers are written by
those who have had some personal knowledge. of
their topic, it is evident that the contributionscontain a mass of valuable matter,
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tainly the contact of quick minds and the compa•
rative results of extended experience bring to light
new aspects of a subject, show the opposite views
which may be held by thinking men, and enable
the public to judge more correctly of the matter as
a whole. It is, in fact, a social Parliament, only
unfortunately, with the restriction that they may
not legislate on the points discussed. In this re-
spect it bears perhaps more resemblance to a Par-
liamentary Committee, whose business it is to
collect evidence, to gather the opinions of those
best qualified to judge, and then to re-
port to the larger assembly the results
of their labours and the conclusions at which
they have arrived. The house to which this
sum total is made known is, in this case, the great
body of the public, who have an advantage over
their Parliamentary prototypes, in the fact that a
great part of the evidence upon which the conclu-
sion is founded is duly before them. In this manner
much that, if published in other forms, might have
been slighted or passed over, is brought promi-
nently forward, and thrust, as it were, upon public
attention. At the sitting of Thursday, for instance,
a paper was read on the causes of the excessive
mortality among the British troops in India. It
emanated from no less distinguished and able a
writer than Florence Nightingale, whose name
stands in honour, not only among her own country-
men and women, but throughout all Europe. Few
could speak with so much authority upon such a
subject as one to whom the soldier's risks, and perils,
and sufferings, have been the object of. anxious
thought and toilsome exertion during many years.
It was observed that Prince ALFRED, who was pre-
sent among the audience—a fitting representative
of the interest invariably taken by his lamented
father in all matters of social science—paid especial
attention to the paper by Miss NIGHTINGALE. We
can readily imagine with what deep sympathy and
heartfelt regret the soldier's friend must have learned
those terrible statistics, which startled even the
inert self-complacency of our India Office. The
suggestions in her paper, based upon a thorough
knowledge of the soldier's wants and requirements,
will probably do much practical good ; and number.
less other topics might be mentioned, on which we
shall be enabled, through the agency of this assem•
bly, to learn the views of those best qualified to
form a definite opinion on matters which closely
affect the interests of the great body of the
people. On points of science, too, we are
likely to gather much valuable information
from the eminent men who think it not
unworthy of them to unfold the treasures of
their knowledge and experience to the common
gaze. Although we have already in existence an
association professedly for the advancement of
scientific learning, and the assembly of the chiefs of
each branch of natural philosophy, there remain
many minor points which can be better dealt with
in a less strictly scientific assembly, and the scope
and importance of the subjects discussed by the
Congress annually increases. Year by year the
contributions accumulate, a more ready audience
gathers round the reader or the speaker, and every
annual meeting of this kind places the Congress
nore and more among the recognised and standard
institutions of the country. At first all was enthu-
siasm, but subsequently critics and censurers were
found to detect flaws in the conduct of the assem-
bly, and to decry its utility and practical good.
Such faultfinders forget the great principle of our
English life, the respect for free discussion which
has presided over the fortunes of the country, and
has proved a safeguard against dangers from within
and without. If every speech in our representative
Houses were measured by its direct value and prac-
tical importance, the general estimate of the Eng-
lish Parliament would, we fear, sink very low. It
is the principle which is of consequence—the fact
that every man in that assembly has a right to
raise his voice on every subject, no matter whom it
concerns, and so the influence exercised by the
Social Congress is unquestionably good and prac-
tical, although it may rest beyond the power of its
members to frame laws or to pass resolutions. The
gatherting together,year by year, of so many eminent
men is of itself an interesting end profitable spec-
tacle; more especially when they assemble as they
do under the presidency of ono whose career has
been one of our national boasts ; who, as the Lord
Advocate remarked, went forth sixty years agofrom
the very city in which he is now reaping such well
merited honours, to fight and to win those great
battles of life, in which he has proved himself so
able a warrior. Such a reception as was accorded
to the venerable statesman affords a gratifying
proof that public services are not always unrecog-
nised and unrewarded, even as his comprehensive
and luminous address bears unquestionable evi-
dence that the capacious and energetic mind which
has wrought so much good amongst us still retains
undimmed its old fervent interest in the social wel-
fare and progress of mankind.