The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-10 00:00:00

and in particular a collection of fishes, birds, and animals
had been brought from the Holy Land. He believed the
house would not object to the proposed vote, tho ugh perhaps
it might be said that in the absence of increas,il:; ccommo-
dation, tho 'trustees ought not to have made a' y addition to
the collection. Had they acted upon that 1 rinciple, they
wouldhave been guilty of neglect of duty in failing to secure
valuable specimens when the opportunity offered. The trus-
tees were at the present time considering the plans of the
Government for affording increased accommodation, and he
hoped that next session a satisfactory proposition on the sub-
ject would be made to Parliament.
Mr. AYRTON was satisfied with the care and discrimi-
nation exercised by the trustees in expending the public
money in the purchase of additions to the collections; but
he urged upon them the expediencyof opening the Museum
during those hours of the day when the working classes of
London were most at leisure. He also wished to know
whether any steps had been taken to acquire the ground sur-
rounding the institution with a view of extending the ac-
commodation on the present site.
Mr. GREGORY inquired if it was intended by the Go-
vernment to adopt any measures for transferring the natu-
ral history collection from Bloomsbury to some other place.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER admitted
that a great portion of the working classes were practically
excluded from the Museum in consequence of the hours at
which it was opened ; but he objected to throwing so much
responsibility upon the trustees as would be involved by
opening the building at night. As to purchase of the pro-
perty abutting on the Museum, independently of the cost,
£50,000 an acre, which that would entail, he doubted whe-
ther the retention of the several collections on one site was
best as a matter of convenience to the inhabitants of the
metropolis. On the contrary, he thought the principle of
diffusion, reasonably applied within certain and well-con-
sidered limits, would be preferable to an indefinite exten-
sion of the institution upon one spot from generation to
generation. He could hold out no expectation that the
Government would be able to introduce any proposal for
enlarging the accommodation during the present year.
Mr. WALPOLE suggested that, with a view to meeting
the convenience of the working classes, special provision
might be made for their admission on Saturday afternoons
and Mondays.
The vote was then agreed to, as were also the remaining
votes for the Customs, Inland Revenue, and Post-office
departments, and the non-effective civil service. Whilst
discussing the grant for the Post-office packet service, the
house was counted out at a quarter to 9 o'clock.

Mr. Roebuck at Sheffield.

Mr. J. A. Roebuck, M.P., and Mr. G. Hadfield,
M.P., addressed an open-air meeting of their con-
stituents yesterday in Paradise-square. The capa-
cious square was crowded, there being upwards of
10,000 persons present. The Mayor (Mr. Jessop)
presided. At present there are no opposition can-
didates in the field. Mr. John Brown, the cele-
brated armour-plate manufacturer, received a numer-
ously signed requisition to become a candidate, but
has declined on the ground of the unsatisfactory
state of his health. Mr. Roebuck has, however,
given offence to small sections of his constituents
by his opposition to the Permissive Bill, by refrain-
ing from opposition to the bill of the Sheffield
Water Company applying for power to increase
their charges by 25 per cent. in consequence of the
inundation, &c.
Mr. ROEBUCK, on coming forward, was received
with great and protracted cheering. He said,—
Gentlemen, very lately I wrote to a friend of mine
in this town that I knew how to deal with my fel-
low-countrymen in public meeting assembled. I
will tell you my secret, as I am going to employ the
means to-day. (Hear, hear.) The first thing is to
tell what you believe to be the truth—(hear,hear)—
to be bold, fearless, true. (Renewed cheers.) That
is my secret ; that is my way of dealing with my
fellow-countrymen in public meeting assembled.
(Cheers, cries of " No, no," and counter cries of
" Yes, yes," followed by more cheering.) I insist
upon order—(hear, hear, and cheers)—and if any-
body does not keep it I will have him turned out.
(Renewed cheers, and a voice, " Can't you stand a
fresh shot ?" addressed to the opposition party, with
another voice, " It's only a bellows mender," and
laughter.) Never mind, he will burst himself then.
(Renewed laughter.) Now, gentlemen, I have no-
thing to retract. (Cries of " Shame," and " More
shame for you.") Never mind, wait and hear me.
(Hear, hear.) I have much to explain. Now, in
the complex system under which we live, the
time comes for the people to exercise their
functions in the business of government. In a
country like England it would be totally
impossible to place the government of the
country in any but a very small number of hands,
but modern ingenuity has discovered a means of
exercising power over those who hold the power of
government, and that is by returning men to repre-
sent them, to watch over their interests. I have now
for 33 years been a representative of the people of
England ; for 15 of those I have served you. (A
Voice—" Sixteen.") Fifteen at least. For fifteen
years I have served you. It is now your turn to tell
me whether I have forfeited your confidence.
(" Yes, yes," followed by counter-cries of " No, no,"
and cheers.) Wait until I have done, and then you
will be called upon by your vote to say whether I
have forfeited your confidence. The mere talk of a
handful of men is not an answer to me. (Loud
cheers.) Now, gentlemen,when I began life I deter-
mined early, if I could, to be a representative of the
people, and as I had no means' of wealth at my com-
mand, as I was not related to noble families, I had
to depend only on myself, and in that dependence I
rested. On this condition, then, I prepared myself
for the great duties that my ambition taught me to
seek. I studied carefully ; I learned to think, to
speak, to act, and having so learnt, by the favour
and affection, I may say, of an old friend of mine,
and a friend of the people of England too—l mean
Joseph Hume—l was introduced at Bath at the early
age (for a statesman) of 30. The people of Bath
carried me. (Hear, hear, and a voice, " They
turned you out, though.") They did, I know, and
they suffered for it. (That's the past.) Wait a
moment ; I'll come to that directly. I went into
Parliament with the Reformed Parliament, and in
every step of that Reformed Parliament taken in
favour of the people I have been one of the foremost.
(No, no.) You cannot put your finger on a single
act of mine which has not been in the advance of
that great Parliament. (Somewater was here offered
to Mr. Roebuck. He caused some laughter by re-
marking, " I can't drink water, I'm not a teetotal-
ler.") He resumed—Now what'have I done—be-
cause I ask you to listen to me. You are about to
judge of me in my capacity as public servant, and I
ask you to judge me not by one single 'act, but by
my general character. (Cheers.) I know that a long
life of virtue may be at once dispelled by one great
act of iniquity. A man may murder another; he
may commit a theft ; and no matter how virtuous
his former life may have been he ceases to be a vir-
tuous man. But in the ordinary run of things the
way you have to judge of a man is by his general
character and by his general acts. I am going to
unroll my life, but rapidly, before you. My life is
in reality the life of the Reformed Parliament.
(Hear, hear.) I aided in the better goverment of
Ireland ; I aided in the better government of our
colonies ; I aided in giving municipal corporations
to towns like this ; I aided in obtaining free trade ;
I aided in taking away the corn law. (Cheers.)
Now then, such having been my life, what are the
charges brought against me ? (Hear, hear.) I told
you I would shirk nothing. The charges which I
shall specially deal with are these :—The first one
relating to the local interests of this town ; the next,
to the government of our country ; the third, to the
government of our colonies; and fourth, to our
foreign policy. Now, the first is that relating to
the town, in which it is said I have ,done so much
wrong. A great calamity happened. Dale Dyke
burst, 200 lives were lost, an immense quantity of
property was destroyed. What was Itodo ? The
first thing was to relieve the sufferers, the next to
provide a tribunal by which claims upon the com-
pany could be established, and the third was to pro-
vide for the due supply of the town with water.
Now, first I used my very humble endeavours, and
I got a number of great people to subscribe to your
fund. I went—or, at least, I respectfully wrote—
to her Majesty's secretary, I think I ought to call
him, and I got from her an immediate answer and
and immediate subscription for the town. (Hear,
hear.) I went myself to the Prince of Wales, and
he gave me an immediate. answer and subscription.
(Hear, hear.) I called on Lord Palmerston, and he
did the same ; on the Earl de Grey and Ripon, and
he did the same. (Hear, hear.) That was the
way I acted as regards the relief of the suf-
ferers. But what did I next do ? I put my name
on the back of a bill—(a voice----,‘ Yes, that's it")--