The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-28 00:00:00

HANWELL MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT

SOCIETY.

agtnetehie most praiseworthy attempts to supply it
At a large meeting recently held in the School-room of
t
Haswell College, to celebrate the fourth anniversary of this
excellent institution, a very able and interesting address,
great pleasure in transferring to our columns,
was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Emerton, the worthy and
desire
mt sodipwdel yenffnobelter:
like
Theevinced
usHeTeeandnetbhwreyee observationsilttis hroemnepuep ecrprinciples
panlrn fapfoyolfte
srhbhteei
ohs reverend
speechova
nce
which
cir ee
infosdwirtthghi
tieoechnnyhe-
tleman deserve attentive perusal, as they show how, even
improvements.
t
e
n
of the working classes by a few
stronglypimpressed on the minds of the public,
resent moment, when, notwithstanding
tboth(Cweilleildriaicac-coeiewrboal:eysPeneeletsdlorehateaif such institutions as this often turn out to be
ought be founded are not correctly underesvtoeorydt.
everything;
e;
allude to his declaration that these societies must be self-
supporting; that the elements of success are to be found
within their own body, and that too much dependence ought
not to be placed on extraneous aid ; that by the interchange
ccf knowledge a man loses nothing andgains
and that the humblest individual is capable, if so disposed,
of adding something to the general stock of information.
The institution is greatly indebted to Dr. Emerton for his
active and efficient support, and we cordially wish the
=ample he has set, no less by his determination to sink
all religious and political differences, than by his zeal to
promote its objects, may be followed by his brethren of
dafferent denominations throughout the country, for in all
educational movements of this description a great deal
rests with them. The same exertions with the same en-
lArged views have only to be made, and every town village
and hamlet in the three kingdoms might boast of its mu-
tual improvement society.
The rev. gentleman spoke as follows :—lt is with feelings
a the highest gratification that I see yon here this evening
sto
joint
ti i o inn wcommemorat
ing t
ht he efiforthrs u
tmo
ma ne nn it v
oe
fr yf
00, f.
ma
ant
ii n
on-
-Ihave ever been, that if its object could be properly carried
out, it would prove of the utmost importance in the pro-
x notion of the intellectual and moral, not to say the reli-
gious,
uradvange
numbers
tas oef Hontinanuwallel and its
y 1
inmasinnegig, hwbiohoc
thurthe ands
talent
Lion of gentlemen of science, and ladies of taste and intelli-
gence, who are from time to time joining u, our prospects
sire becoming daily more cheering, and-our anticipations,
rirdeut as they might have been, are already partly, if not
ontirely, realised. It will be for your secretary, in his re-
port, to enter into the details of that which the society has
offected during the past year ; and when you have heard it
IL feel assured that you will come to the conclusion, that
r&lthough your committee may not have accomplished great
things—for this may be impossible where the sphere is so
limited—if even they may not have done little things at
all times with a great mind, still they have done what
they have attempted to do, well ; and that they deserve
that which I am sure they will receive from you—the
warmest thanks for their exertions on our behalf. (Loud
Cheers.) This seems a proper occasion for us to look
back to the formation of the society, and to consider
how air we may have accomplished, and to consider how we

lay in time to come be able still more to'advauce the

cause in which every individual of this neighbourhood is
roost deeply interested ; for the object of the society is to
promote the intellectual and moral welfare of 4anwell and
its neighbourhood; and this no ono can doubt must bo of
importance to every one, from the highest to the lowest—
from the magistrates and the clergy to the poorest widow
rho may be looking to you for assistance, or the youngest
child whose education and training may be more or less
dependent on your bounty and exertion. The effect of a
society like this, consisting of one or more members of the
families of the village, must ever indirectly be very im-
portant; and we can none of us tell how much the moral
bearing, to say nothing of the intellectual advancement of
our neighbourhood, may depend upon the exertions that
we are from time to time enabled to make. In contem-
plating the advantages of the society, however, we must
not forget the peculiar principles on which it is formed,
that of mutual instruction and improvement. It is from
this circumstance, that we go upon the principle of helping
and assisting one another, that from the first, I have
augured so favourably of the ultimate progress of our
society. We have our strength in ourselves, a strength
continually increasing, too. Thus, if we are desirous of
i nformation on the structure of our frame, on the wonder-
lul mechanism of our bodies, we have no necessity to go
beyond our own society for improvement on this point.
liVe have a member of our society, Mr. Ashbrook, to whose
I(3ctures on the human frame you listened with so much
satisfaction and delight. (Hear, hear.) If we are desirous
of analysing the various bodies of nature which surround
us, of separating the drops of water, or weighing the air
iii a balance, of understanding the laws of nature, we
have two of our members, Mr. Quick and Mr. Ridge, who
sire ready again, as they have done before, to afford us instruc-
tion on these points. If wo are desirous of voyaging with
harry, Ross, and Franklin, into the Arctic regions, of
tasking an overland trip to India, or of visiting the plains
o.:f Wallachia, and bivouack with the brave Turk at
Kalafat or Oltenitza, here is our friend and brother
mprover, Mr. Stocqueler, whom the Times, has pro-
nounced the prince of lecturers, and the very Briareus of
literature, ready to convoy us there in the most easy and
delightful manner that can possibly be conceived. (Cheers.)
brhilst, if we wish in an evening of social enjoyment to
lucid the charms of music to our other recreations, we have
our kind friends here, Mrs. and Miss Sinclair and Mrs.
liVilliams—(cheers)—and other members of our society,
saways willing and ready to contribute to our gratification.
(Cheers.) And should, from any unexpected calamity, our
funds prove deficient, or our finances become disordered—
which, I am happy to say, is not at all likely whilst your
p resent committee and treasurer are in office—we have no
loss a person than the Comptroller of the National Debt
h imself—(loud cheers)—another member of our society,
ready, if necessary, to examine our accounts, and place us
on a right footing again, whose annual subscription I have
this evening the pleasure of being the medium of handing
to your treasurer. Thus, my friends, it is gratifying and
must be most satisfactory to you all to know that although
we are ready cordially to receive every one who may wish
for instruction, or willing to assist in the various objects
we have in view, still we can find all that we most want
in our own circle ; and whilst we are true to one another
we have no absolute necessity to seek aid from any
one beyond us. In this respect our motto may truly
be—God and ourselves. But let me not in this observation
be misunderstood. Ido not wish by these words to ex-
press either selfishness or foolish independence ; this would
he indeed sadly to misinterpret the objects of our society.
.3o far from our object being selfish, we are, as I said be-
fore, desirous of enrolling all around under our banners ;
and as for independence, it has always appeared to me that
any one who claims to be independent of those around him
nust be either an idiot or fully determined to act in oppo-
idtion to the dispensation of that Providence who has for
l fie own wise purposes brought us all into the same neigh-
bourhood—that he who does not, as far as in him lies,
promote the well-being of those around him in the manner
Ins conscience may tell him is best, is guilty of a moral
crime in the sight of God, and deserves, if he does not meet
'with, the disapprobation of every right-thinking and right-
feeling man. (Cheers.) We have different views of Church
government, we may have opposite opinions as respects po-
itical parties, but these distinctions, however natural they
may be in a general society, have no place hero. We ask
Sao one whether he is a Churchman or Dissenter, whether
he is a Whig or Tory. All we want to know is, whether
lee wants iruprovine, or is willing to improve, and thus
benefit others ; and we gladly avail ourselves of his ce-ope
ration, and willingly enrol him among the members of the
Ranwell Mutual Improvement Society. The importance
of a society like this for the young men of the village can
:scarcely bo calculated. There is perhaps no age which is
more difficult to manage than that between boys leave na-
tional and other schools and the time when they arrive at
maturity, and become, in some measure, amenable to rea-
son and a sense of their true interest. With passions
swaying them on one side, fancied independence on
another, let loose from the authority of a master,
not able to guide themselves, they are peculiarly
liable to fall into the snares which aro placed within
their path, and to follow the bent of their own head-
strong appetites and passions. Their greatest dan-
ger, however, arises from non-occupation. " Satan,"
says Dr. Watt, " finds some mischief still, for idle hands
to do," and with the hope of doing something for the wel-
fare of the young men of the place, your committee

have formed classes for drawing: and offered other at-
tractions of various kinds to induce them to improve.

In this object, we may fairly claim the good wishes and
the active co-operation of all. lam particularly anxious
to impress thil point upon all of you, whether actual
members of the society or not. I mean the vast im-
portance of taking care of those members of your families
which are just advancing into manhood ; and here, I
think, we may take a lesson, and a most important one,
from the course pursued by another member of our society
for whose co-operation we cannot be too grateful—l mean
Dr. Conolly—(cheers)—in the management of the excel-
lent and admirable institution, which, although not in the
parish of Hanwell, and, therefore, not really belonging to
us, has, from its vicinity, been named the Hanwell
Lunatic Asylum. Now what method did he adopt, and
those who preceded him, Sir William and Lady Ellis, in a
great degree, if not entirely, when they dispensed with
the strait-waistcoat and the other coercive methods which
increased a thousandfold the miseries of the poor creatures
whom the dispensation of Providence had placed in the
most distressing of all situations, by depriving them of
reason. What do we see as we walk around? The car-
penter of the Establishment aided by those whom formerly
the chains would have encompassed, and relieving their
distress whilst instructing and etnployial them in his
trade ; the garden full of labourers whom a skilful gar-
dener is superintending, giving each his occupation,
and instructing each in his various dutiesu.patio
You
move into the cattle yard, and see others employed
under an experienced and honest cowman, who in-
structs and emuloys them, and makes them happy by
their very occupation. Nor is this all you see them
engaged in various amusaments. Bowls in the open air,
chess and the bagatelle board, the piano and other
instruments within—each and all of immense impor-
tance to the comfort and well-being of -the occupants.
But, in addition to these, you see the well-selected library,
the monthly, weekly, or daily journal, for the improve-
ment and instruction of those able to avail themselves
thereof, whose minds, although infirm, are still capable of
appreciating those advantages, when out-door occupations
are not to be obtained; and what is the result ? The strait-
waistcoats are all destroyed, coercion is a thing almost, if
not entirely, unknown; the calamities of their state is in
an amazing degree relieved, and you walk amongst hun-
dreds of those who formerly were an object of so much
dread, with a secret satisfaction and inward thankfulness,
that God has raised up men, who, uniting intelligence with
humanity, have thus ameliorated the condition which was
formerly so hopeless ; but had these men, whilst they
withdrew the shackles, given no occupation for the mind,
but left it to corrupt in idleness, nay more, had they at
I each corner of their institution allowed the sale of stimu-