The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-18 00:00:00

in trtt 13bition

SUN OFFICE. Semi u' Clock.

RAILWAY COMMITTEES.

(THIS DAY.)

GROUP 11.
Cllr. Blackstone in the chair.)
MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD AND LINCOLN-

SHIRE.

The Committee were occupied all day with the oppo-
sition of the town-council and corporation of Hull, who
contend that the terries at Hull and New Holland
would destroy the navigation of the Humber.

GlioUP IV.

OXFORD, WORCESTER, AND WOLVERHAMP-
TON RAILWAY.

The Committee passed the above company's Bill for
deviating their line, and enabling the Shrewsbury and
Birmingham and another company to subscribe to their
capital.

GROUP V.
(Sir Robert Prel in the chair )
LONDON AND SOUTH WESTERN AND LON-
DON AND BRIGHTON EXTENSION.

The Bill of these Junipaniee, for amending their
original Acts making extensions and deviations and
entering upon new works in connexion with the Lam-
beth Extension, was further procevded with.

GROUP VI.
(Mr. Walpole in the chair.)
GREAT WESTERN.

Th• case for the Great Western Company branch
from Windsor to Slough was opened, and evidence taken
in its favour. It is opposed by the Windsor, Staines,
and South-Western Company, who have a Bill in the
same Committee for extending their narrow gauge line
from Windsor to Slough.

GROUP IX.
(Lord Villiers in the chair.)
MIDLAND GREAT WESTERN OF IRELAND.
The case of the above company, for making a deviation
line from Mullingar to Athlone, was brought to a close,
bat the Committee adjourned their decision.

GROUP XIL
(Mr. Fitzroy in the chair.)
GLASGOW, AIRDRIE, AND MONKLAND.
Evidence was adduced in support of this company's
scheme for carrying a line across the Clyde to unite the
railways on either side of that river.

GROUP XIV.
(Mr. Eliot Yorke in the chair.)
BRISTOL AND EXETER.
The whole of the day was taken up with Mr. Hill's
address, is opposition to the above company's scheme for
making a line from Somerton to Castle Cary. At the
close of the Learned Gentleman's speech the room was
cleared, and the Committee, after deliberating for up-
wards of an hour, deferred their decision till to-morrow.

ELECTION COMMITTEES.
(THIS DAY.)
LANCASTER.
The Lancaster Election Committee met again this
morning; Lord Courtensty in the chair.
Mr. Ilisaawwritza intimated that the agents of the
two parties had met and arranged the lists of objection-
able votes.
The case of scrutiny was than proceeded with,
and
several votes were struck off on the ground that the
electors were in the receipt of parochial relief at the
time of the last election, and reducing Mr. Armstrong's
majority from 17 to 5.
The Committee then adjourned.

•
THE SOCIETY FOR IMPROVING
THE CONDITION OF THE LABOURING
C ASSES.—( rEus DAY.)
The annual meeting of this society was held
this day in the large hall of the Freemasons'
Tavern. Long before the hour for which the meeting was
called (12 o'clock), the hall was crowded by a large
number of beautiful and elegantly dressed ladies, among
whom we noticed the Duchess of Sutherland and many
other ladies of high rank.
On the platform were Lord John Russell, the Duke
of Argyle, kiste Fortescne, the Merquis of Westminster,
Lord Ashley, Lord Ebringtun, the Bishops of London,
Oxtbrd, Salisbury, and St. David's; Dr. M‘Neile, of
Liverpool; Professor Whewell, Sir T. Acland, S. M.
PetorE•A , M.P., &c. &c. His Royal Highness Prince
Albert occupied the chair.
Prayers having been offered by the Bishop of London,
Prince ALBERT rose, and was received with loud
cheers. When they had subsided, he said—Ladies and
gentlemen, when four years since this Society for the
Improvement of the condition of the Labouring
Classes was first established on its present
tooting I accepted, with pleasure, the offer made
me of becoming its President.—(Loud cheers.) I
saw in this offer a proof of the appreciation the society
entertained of my feelings, my sympathy, and my in-
terest for that class of our community which has
most of the toil and least of the enjoyments
of the world.—(Hear, hear, and cheers) I conceived
that great advantage would accrue to it from the endea-
vours of influential people, who were wholly disintereste 1,
to act the part of frierds to those who required advice
and assistance, which only a friend could tender with
advantage.—(Loud cheers.) This society has always
held this object before its eyes, and has ever
been labeuring in that direction. Yeu are all aware
that it was established to erect model lodging-houses,
loan funds, ite.d the allotment of land in different parts
of the country; but it has been careful only to establish
examples and models, mindful that any real improvement
which was to take place must be the result of the exer-
tions of the working people themselves.—(Cheers) I
have just come from the model lodging-house, the open
ing of which we celebrate this day—(Cheers)—and I
feel convinced that its existence will, by degrees, lead
to the erection of others, and that it will lead to a
complete change in the domestic comforts of the work-
ing classes—(Cheers)—as it will exhibit to them. that
with real economy can be combined advantages and
comforts to which they have hitherto been strangers,
whilst it will, at the same time, show those. who
possess capital, which they are desirous to in-
vest, that they may do so in connexion with
this institution with great advantage and profit to
themselves, dispensing, at the same time, those comforts
which I have enumerated to their poorer brethren.--
(Cheers.) Depend upon it, it is to the interest of those
classes who are so often contrasted, but whose interests
are identical, to unite, and it is only ignorance which
prevents them uniting for each other's advantage. To
dispel that ignorance, and to show the means
how man can help man, no withstanding the compli-
cated state of civilized society, ought to be the aim of
every philanthropic person.—(Hear.) But it is most
peculiarly the duty of those who, under the blessing
of Divine Providence, enjoy station, wealth, arid
education.—(Cheers.) Let them be careful how
to avoid any dictatorial interference with labour
and employment, wheel frightens away capital, destroy,
that freedom of thought and independence of action
which must remain to every one 1 he is
to
work out his own happiness—(Loud
and to repose that confidence in cheers)—
each other, on which
alone the enjoymert and mutual a •
benefit of mankind
rests. God bas created man imperfect, and left him
with many wants, as it were to stimulatei each indi-
vidual to exertion, and to make them all feel that
it is only by united exertions a
action that those imperfections can b-:" combined
these wants satisfied—(Hear, hear)—selta-iPplied, and
confidence in each other. It is to show till:ance and
these individual exertions can be directed to the way
how
benefit, and to foster that confidence upon which
readiness to assist each other depends, that this secitel:''
considers as its most sacred aim.—(Hear.) There hfis ne;),,
no ostentatious display of charity or of its manifest,.
ttons, not a protevation to become the arbiter of the
fate of thousands, but to aid the working out of peas
teal schemes of public improvement which this
society, as I said before, has been estab-
lished, but it has only as yet ,established
examples for the country at large to follow. The report
of the society, descriptive of its proceedings during the
past peer, will be laid before you.—(Cheers.) I must
say, I hope I may say, that this society has proceeded
satisfactorily towards the accomplishment of its objects,
owing to the particularly kind feeling and great
endeavours, and the indefatigable Lill of Lord Ashley.
—(Loud cheers.) The next stage that we contem-
plate is, the erection of a model lodging-le use for
females.—(Cheers.) I hope this meeting will enable
ns to carry out that step, and ail engage to do the
utmost in their power to call the particular attention
of the public to the object which we have in view.
The Prince resumed his seat amid loud cheers.
Lord ASHLEY, who was received with loud cheers,
Proceeded .0 address the meeting. They had reason, he
said, to thank Gaul for the success the society had ob-
._ d• . it was founded in 1844, fur the purpose of
al2"orating the condition of the poor,—not to
gere teod- 1
hc ot es, or any mere eleemosynary
bete t
obtain sea to assist them in their efforts to
had three fundamental ine ependent position by labour.—(hear.) It
ioaging-house principles—the building of model
Although
allotment of plots of land, and a
loan-eune,
ugh they had not been enabled to
in
effect - much
peat
to the loan fund, they
• expected by the
ffoorrinthaetywnhaodnglteahenetieduabat. meeting to accomplish much,
..great dee' of more practical in-
Hear, hear)—but they had
allotted 117 acres ot
to
553 tenants. Alreadzi, in
ens eleven different parishes,
ythe aid of this and an-
other society—the Le
been made
Society, which
de:ceded this—allotments .had Juede in 2,000 pa-
rishes, and no tenant was in arrears his rent even to the
extent of one farthi(Cheers.
a-thre•spect to the
erection of lodging-hothes, teey)hadW
and were fully and
better story to
lel. for several had been erected
lamentable
constantly tenanted. It Was almost unnessary for him
to of the
dwellings raetropolise.
to tall them of the
the peer of this
dwellings of
loathsome in the highest a
They were egree and
nine-tenths of the crimes perpetrated were devise d
in these wretched haunts, and many of them pern.trate-d
within them. The N,,ble Lord then -"-
Proceeded
JeLeread a passage from the annual report, and
alb e th=eat upon it.
• 23 small houses, the rent
ee> vi varied from 3e. 6d. to 6s. a week had been
;re' erectied'in Bagniege,Wells fur the better class of ineeha..
flies,. at the same re .t paid for miserable single tene-
ments; also accommodation for poor widows from ls, to
is. 6d a week. A house had bean taken for the lodging