The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-24 00:00:00

/12J

~~
~

- - -

~G! G!

The Nubia, which arrived at Southampton yester-
day
_ with the Indian mail, will leave again on Satur-
day morning for Toulon, to convey out French troops
to the Crimea.
MAtuimE TUSSAMYS EXHIBITION.—On• of the most
extraordinary relics of the first French Revolution has
lately been purchased by the Messrs. Tussaud•
original knife and lunette, the identical instrumen An t that
decapitates the unfortunate Louis XVI., Marie toi-
nette, Machine Elizabeth, and thousands of the innocent
and guilty subjects of that monarch.
lotilt was
and named
invented
by a French physician, Mons. Guile,
after him. The Messrs. Tussaud introduce it to the
notice of the public because the guillotine enters se
largely into the history of the first Fret."Ch

of society. literary tastes should bo universal. They
•celrtairely are not so iri-- thet wealthiet clasps 'and 's
we lave no right' to expect. that it sh tuld be' in
any others. But thate-there: more - fact of a man
labouring day by' day. 'for daily or Weekly' wages
is not an impediment to his -acquiring, a high
develoymeet of intellectual culture.; it a fact of which in
.our earn history we liti+e abundant proof. (Hear.). I
dO not pretend to give a catalogue'of those who, belong- Ting to the:working class, have achieVed intellectual emi-
nence.
Put men distinguished in literature like -Gifford
aid Holereft ; in science, like liiitton' .of :Birmingham,
o Brintiley,el
• e engineer—'then brouglll.upnot :only as
'il
/
embert otthe working classes, but under circumstances
o .greet poverty and destitution ; Franklin; the Atneri-
-e n philosopher and statesman, who in his youth worked '
.great
a journeyman printer for a bare subiistence ; alellow '
t asman of your own, who has dope more for the cotton -
tr de and consequently for the prosperity of Lancashire'
t n probablY any other raan-e-i mean Richard Ark-
sy ight, who was brought up in extreme poverty, and in
h early days followed the trade of a barber=-all those
,I.
mien whO had no advantages of world' er of lei:-ure, /lad -
who nevertheless accomplished. high intellectual distiuc-
tion. (Hear.) And if I were to mention men of the
present day who are following, at least so far as indes-
try and energy goes, in the step's of those whont I have
named, I believe I might allude to at least one indivi-
dual, an inhabitant of this town—a man who long was, .
and I believe is, a member of this institution—a man
who has obtained from the books of this institution the
greater part of the knowledge which he at present pos.
seeses—l will not name him, because I believe his mo-
desty is equal to his acquirements ; but I may mentiaa
that he is now at the University, is expected to take a
very high degree, and will probably, in methernatical
science, accomplish' no iuconsidera'ele reputation.
The person to whom I allude—and many of y9ll
ow him—was, I believe, a labourer, working 111)"
s tall weekly wages, and nt this moment' he has a. wife
iissi ho
ewisehnagag t
is etc in o
the
ett
time
ore
which
hlatea foapeetraortiesivei,na trnheisrittboeraino.
f
ttie working class, can corautand ?-.. There are Mg hours
ite a week. Something more than ore-third of the time
iii taken up by, daily.laeour—eie hours, I believe, in -the
!teak. ; aemetleieg Lee; than one-third is occupied by the
ekeeeeeieles of rest.. Not much more, at the utmost, thast '
f m 56 "to 56 hours, remain 'to 'Mai for exercise,,' Jet.'
eesure, for' domestic enjoyment,e for anyeshare of the
dinaryoceupations of lithe (independent of ' hi•svebels),-
, I.,eer intellectual improeement. .-Still, iii that time
t ire is an ample and available margin, it he would only
Io
e it. Ide net -of course suppose thet a -twin who '
‘' orks ten hours a-day is likely to undertake any comae
fa.
study with unimpaired energy after leis day's work is
or.• Five days are fully, or almost fully occupied.
turday ii a half holiday e and twelve out of his avail- •
le fifty-six hours beton,* to the Sunday. Now I men-
on thaetbecauee I think there is upon this subject a '
f cling which I am loth to call a prejudice or a superati-
t en, lint which I think is extremely hurtful to the inte-
nts of religion as wed as of moriVitys and which does
Materialieninterfere wish the intellectual culture, of the
taey, . toy-tasked working aian—l me:.) e feeling which -
A don't share, and which I believe the majority of an en-
-I.entenea public don't share, but which exists in some
places-e-thet it Ls wrong to devote to intellectual culture,
or to anyeetuly not distinctly theological, any portion of
hie Sunday. (Hear.) I think that is an error in any case;
41 the case of the -working man, overtasked as he is, I am
;re it is a fatal mistake. (Hear.) It is easy to say
at more holidays should be given, and the hours of
Iken- matte fewer, bat it must, be recollected that we
avc to oumpete, and compete under some disadvan-
ges, both in manufactures and agriculture, with the
• dustry ot the world, and we cannot afford to relax our
fforts in any way. It has been computed, and I be-
eve without exaggeration, that a national holiday--a
ingle day daring which, by common consent, all work
• suspendeda-a single holiday causes a loss to the corn-
unity of About a million sterling. It follows, there-
ire, that we cannot hope for much dimiqution in the
/a
ours of labour. Almost the Only available time for in-
ellectual cultivation which the working man can obtain
upon the day on which he rests iron' hit labour.
'ow, don't imagioe for a moment that I would suggest
nything that would interfere with the proper die-
barging of his religious duties. But we alt -ktiow that
ieligions duties being discharged as well -or better than '
iiany perform them, there still remains a very large
mount of time which by working men in general is
peed in idleness--by a go"od many in something worse.
believe the greatest educational reform which you
ould bring about would be to snake men understand .
hat intellectual culture is an object which may properly
1 e pursued Lyon that which our religion declares to be
day of rest. Knowledge is not profane, but sacred,
nd so far from such an application of a part of that day
sing contrary to, I !tensile it would simply be a carrying
ut of, the purposes for which that day itself was in-
tituted. (Applause.) One word I would say to those
ho feel—as perhaps most reflecting persons in this
ge do—who feel a deep interest in the progress of po-
ular education. I would tell them not to rely upon'any-
hing that the Legislature can do. The problem of a aye-
am of national instruction is not so simple as it seems.
any persons do not see their way through it •, some, per-
aps, will not see their way through it. In any case,
he best course, the wisest and safest course, is to rely
pen our own energies, is to promote education by such.
uch means as are in cur power—and among such means •
. rank as foremost institutions of this kind—is to place
• he means of knowledge, the means of instruction, in
he hands of the working man ; and when you have ,
••efiliene time; you may feet assured - you will -not find him
hither ungrateful for the privilege or incapable of using
fit. (The noble lord sat down amid hearty applause.)
Sir ROBERT PEEL, on risieg, was greeted with loud
nd prolonged plaudits. After acknowledging the flat-
ering welcome he had received, he remarked that
• ngland had made mere rapid progress than auy other
,Country in the world in what were called the arts of ma-
terial civilisation—that was to say, in the comforts and
conveniences of life. And what was this owing to ?
IWhy, it was industry carrying with it its own recotn-
pence. We all knew it was our industry and our liberties
!coupled together which had given us our greatness ;
,therefore ail classes should co-operate in endeavouring
ito extend am eegst the people industrial habits and edu-
jational pursuits, and then we should have no reason to
apprehend the diminution of this country's power, or .
the inroads and aggressions of Russian hostility. (Hear,
ear.) How, he would ask, was this institution keep-
fng pace with tie requirements of the age ? Were they
*ming that true currency of progress which alone was
early valuable ? Were the working classes of this
own, as they were at Sheffield and elsewhere, placing
!their institution upon a firm basis, rendering it as
Much as possible independent of extraneous aid
'mud of lukewarm friends ? Lectures and other sub.
ects had been referred to. Now he understood
;hey had it library, on the shelves of which' were nu-
serous entertaining works, calculated to induce in their . .
ainds a taste for reading. He would urge every one to
:ultivate that taste ; it was the most happy of all tastes...
Fenelon used to .say that if offered,the riches Of the In.
lies in place of • his taste for reading, he would spurn
tietn all. Observe what a taste for reading would do.
ft would net only place them out of the way of vicious
aabite and idle pureuits, but, With cheap -literature and
a free press, it at once placed, as it were, the cottage
on the same level with the castle or the palace: (Ap-
plause.) He was sorry that there was not more oC
the operatives of Preston present on that occasion.h H, a
Should have been glad to address a word or two tat e it,
or he was told by
hat about two-thirds of the operativ‘iesr.a:l.r,ehunorl;hr,tihtee.
ge of 20--between Id and 20;
elieved, stated the same thing..
his hospitehle friend,. A . Hollins,
p
and
lWhat a remarkable
Effect good
lesexsamploledaifneltheinydwusetrremonesglelicatbeidt:fwmhuastta have
upon that c , ,
field therer mustlio we
be for
oneor ignorance e
orf those who thoughtancoandintemper thancaet.
i (Hear, hear.) .
one of the greatest obstatles to the diffusion of know-
ledge amongst the people had been our existing taxes•
rupon knowledge. In illustration of his argument, the
'honourable baronet mentioned that Knight's " Penny
Cyclopsedia" was charged with paper duty to the amount'
of 32,0001., and that " Chambers 's Miscellany," an ad-
mirably edited publication, which had attained a circula-
tion of 80,000 per week, was stopped because of the ex-
cise duty of lid. per pound on paper. Whilst ho advo-
cated the abolition Of the- taxes on knowledge, be ad-
mitted that we enjoyed immense advantages over what
'our ancestors had. Some of those advantages were to
ao found in mechanics' institutions Ridinfree
libraries,
wit
which placed the best works on every subject hin
which
Ithe reach of all. Sir Robert described the success
end Liver-
had attended the free libraries in Manchester
pchoaoilr'manand
should be de.
of
t l(Sir Robert) thotight it
tthhaetnsoatulluedpeodr•ttiooothe
isettessgoensdiieoysli of the noble
voted to mental culture. .
would be absolutely
would have voted for the
tern. (Hear, hear.)introduce that sys-
opening of the CrystalinliE:iscollibleeontoSundays, but he felt.
it would be very
la
13 n d was, that the great employ.
difficultetoregulate the religious ques-
eine would not introduce (Hear.)
x days in a year to
ti o
Whate, and
h e twouldheref therefore e
ere of labour should
di
-
That was no nonsensical plan, but
nsinution of wages. devote say si
were set apart for the benefit
holidays for their woardkompetned— oinf
Governmentctohuersgereaaitthout
(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Now he
,hiwehhehraadcebretaenin
days
and though, as his
approved of that plan,
should gain- infi-
anto4 lo
I foffinl :heocrl
day by
which
the.
'iglfriend clerks.'l
had said, we might lose a million. sterling
hlaotaydweres and employed.
good feeling that
hYolidays, yet he thouygp
tbiseetwheaernmoLa
more
r e_c created
(Cheers.) He would suggest that some
employer its;
Widelyya
that town should set the example ; such a one would
deserve a recompence to which he (Sir Robert), for one..
should be glad handsomely to contribute. (Renewed
cheers.) Although there were few of the working.
classes at that meeting, he would appeal to them.,
through the press, to cultivate habits of frugstlitle Of
temperance, and ot industry ; and then, perhaps, some
portion of the 50,000,0001. annually extorted from the
people of this country for the purchase of
,tobaceo and
intoxicating liquors would gladden the prospects of.
many a home. (Loud applause.) •