The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-06 00:00:00

WELCOME 70 THE FRENCH DELEGATES
OF LABOUR.

A tea meeting was held last evening, at the Free-
masons' Hall, for the purpose of welcoming the
French delegates who have been chosen to re pre-
and the different French workshops in this coultiptry,
and who have visited England tor thatrborpveose.:o;nod;
to see the International Exhibition.
the delegates attended, and were met by the com-
mittee, representing various sections of En lisp
workmen, and a large number of artificers and their friends. An exceedingly nice tea was provided,
after which the party adjourned to the great hall
where a public meeting was held ; Mr. Nicholay in,
the chair.
Letters of apology were read from several mem-
bers of parliament ; amongst them the following :
"694, Piccadilly, August 5, 1562.
" Sir,—l send you my promised contribution to your tea
party.
" I am glad that you are going to give a welcome to the
working men of France who have come to visit our Exhibi-
tion, and I hope you will explain to them that there ought
to be emulation but no jealousy between the productive in-
dustries of England and France.
" Each country produces things which the other country
wants, but neither country will make a free gift to the other
of things which it has cost labour and money to produce.
Therefore, when one country sends its productions to the
other the country which receives the importation must pay
for it by sending in return an equal value of the products
of its own industry. Consequently the more the commerce
between England and France increases the more enc urage-
ment and employment will be given to the productive
energies of the people of the two countries.
" This truth is well understood in England, but is not so
generally acknowledged in France.—l am, Sir, yours, &c,,
"111 r. G. E. Harris.
PALIVIERSTON."
The delegates on entering the room were heartily
cheered for several minutes. Order being restored,
the chairman briefly addressed the meeting, after
which an address from the English workmen was
presented to the French delegates by Mr. Harris on
behalf of the committee. The following is an outline
of the address :—The committee commences by
stating that the English workmen seized with glad-
ness the occasion of the presence in London of the
French workmen to tender them the hand of fellow-
ship, and to bid them a hearty welcome. The Ex-
hibition had brought them into friendly intercourse,
and they rejoiced that the age of ignorance and
darkness had passed away, that they met as chil-
dren of toil, and that the reign of brute force had
been replaced by that of moral force. They stated
that they feel that the time was not far distant
when they would be able to take their legitimate
places in the organisation of states and of societies,
and when men would understand that their interests
were identical. They deprecated selfishness as an-
tagonistic to co-operation amongst the working
classes, without which they believed there could be-
n() good understanding between employer and em-
ployed. They then pointed to the alteration in the
position of the working classes likely to be brought
about by the introduction of machinery, and in
solving the question of what was to become of the
unemployed occasioned by it they required the co-
operation of men of all grades, philosophers, states-
men, historians, employers, and working men of all
countries. They believed that by the exchange of
thought and observation between working men of
different nationalities they could get nearer to the
real secrets of the economical workings of society,
and they hoped that now they had grasped each
other's hands they would see that as citizens and
working men they had the same aspirations and
the same interests to defend. They expressed a
hope that future international means of communi-
cating their thoughts to one another would arise,
and that every day would witness some new link in
the chain of love which should bind the working
men of all countries together. They rejoiced that
they no more looked on foreigners as enemies. They
had felt the warmth of their hearts, and the loving
grasp of their hands, and called them brothers—and