The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-08 00:00:00

BIRTHS IN THE WEEK.

Males
Females

Total .........—....1,606

MR. ERNEST JONES. - A POLITICAL

SOIREE.

Yesterday evening a somewhat novel experiment was
made by Mr. Ernest Jones. By invitation and adver-
tisement, the public were summoned to St. Martin's-hall,
to assist at what was termed a "political soiree," and
the cards of admission, concluded with the words,
" music at 8 o'clock." At that hour about ZOO persons,
or perhaps more, assembled, hut the area of the ball
appeared somewhat empty. Mr. Ernest Jones shortly
afterwards appeared on the platform, accompanied by
seven or eight ladies and gentlemen, who turned out to
be singers and musicians. Mr. Jones then stated that
he was about, for the first time, to attempt to blend dry
political discussion with a musical entertainment, hoping
that by these means he should attract many persons on
whose minds he was desirous of engrafting essential
political knowledge. The programme of the evening
would be as follows :—There would be no chairman—
the musical entertainment would be divided into parts,
and he would himself deliver a lecture, also divided into
two parts. Being determined to endeavour to preach
political truth, be bad to announce that that ball was
engaged for a similar soiree on the first Tuesday in
November. The first part of a vocal concert was then
proceeded with, embracing several well-known songs,
glees, and madrigals, and among them the " Marseil-
laise," a hich, however, few, if any one, seemed to re-
cognise, as it did not create any enthusiasm, and was
not followed by the applause which greeted he
otheer
pieces, which were really very creditably
per ormmd
The programme included two "odes" written by r.,
zones. The first, the "Song of the 'AVM/ Classes,
was very cleverly written ; simple to the veryl utmost in
its language, it was yet rythinical, well ba anced, and
full of paints, and, being steal g,to3 a °plea/ air, it was
exceedingly effective. The ot l " APSong of the Times
of Cromwell," was more
.pretentious,less intelligible,
and consequently far less telling. Th first part of Mr.
lecture was devoted to the consideration of the
jarn
eloildateeis's omnpslboyeteseen labour and capital, between employer
ed. After stating that England was on the
brink of mighty social changes, and that the character of
those changes depended on what was done before the
crisis in the way of harmonising the interests of all classes,
on the basis of justice to all and wrong to none, in which
case he doubted not that things would go on in safe con-
stitutional progression ; and deprecating all desire of set-
ting class against class, he proceeded to point out what,
in his view, was the condition of the English labourer in
relation to capital. He urged that capital was nothing
but the surplus production of working men, either im-
mediately or remotely, and in very vigorous language
denounced capital, as at present distributed, as the curse
of the labourer, inasmuch as he, the producer, had no
share in that which he produced. He argued that in this
country poverty was treated as a crime and adduced a
very remarkable case at Halifax, in which the majority
of the board of guardians laid down dm principle, and
acted on it, that a destitute able-bodied man who applied
for parochial relief was guilty of the crime of vagrancy,
and punishable and punished by imprisonment with hard
labour. In the second part of his address, Mr. Jones dealt
with the question of the causes of poverty among the
working classes, with all its difficulties for Ike present and
its dangers for the future. He said that pauperism was
owing to the simple fact that there was not work enough
in England for the people, and that was entirely owing
to the undeveloped resources of the land and the ab-
sence of cultivation, stating that there were in this
country more than 28 millions of acres uncultivated,
besides a vast quantity of arable land, which had been
turned into grass land. He denounced the monopoly of
great landowners, whose policy it was to depopulate the
greater part of their estates ; and he entered into de-
tailed statistics to make out his case. Certainly as speci-
mens of oratory, and even of ratiocination, nothing could
be much better than Mr. Jones's addresses, and they
bore on them the impress of earnestness and sincerity,
which were not among the least of their'merits. Not-
withstanding a very stinging denunciation of the news-
paper press by Mr. Ernest Jones, should his addresses
not be given in all their fulness and elaboration in the
columns of the daily journals, we are obliged to content
ourselves with the above sketch of his " political soiree,"
which, both as regards the personal efforts of the origi-
nator, and the highly decorous and intelligent demeanour
of his audience, was deserving of every commendation.
—Morning Paper.

ANOTHER ALARMING ACCIDENT ON THE EAST LAN
CASHIRE RAlLWAY.—Yesterday (Monday) morning, as
the 9.10 express train from Blackburn to Liverpool was
passing at full speed between Blackburn and Bamber-
bridge, two wheels of a first.class carriage broke down,
the under-works of the carriage were at (rnce demolished,
and the carriage was embedded in the earth. Owing to
the patent break used by this company, by which the
train was instantly stopped, the passengers sustained no
injury. After a short delay the portion of the train in
front of the broken carriage proceeded to Liverpool. It
was stated by a passenger that some other of the car
riages appeared in a very rickety condition. This is the
third accident that has occurred on this line within
a short time, in one of which three lives were lost, and
therefore it behoves the directors immediately to invee.
tigate the matter.