The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-07 00:00:00

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,47
(Enthusiastic p.)
change and other pasts of the city.
TinlgTU a T
meetingloN. si •
,ite.
LORD PALME.RSTON AT THE MECHANICS' .
-
LI.
Mechanics' Institution was hold in
.the Free Trade Hall,
which was densely crowded.
On the platform we observed the Earl of Wilton, Sir B.
Heywood, Sir F. Armitage, the Mayor of Manchester, the
the Mayor of Salford, Mr.IV. Brown, M.P., Mr. Brother-
of
the Manchester AI
too, M.P., Rev. Di.. Vaughan, Professor A. Scott, Messrs.
At 8 o'clock in theleN veSn
T. Bagley, J. A. Turner) E. Watkin, J. Heron, W. Fair-
bairn, C.D., &c.
The chair was taken by the president, Mr. 0. Heywood,
who addressed the meeting at some length, and gave an
interesting sketch of the history of the institution.
Lord PA L MERSTON (who was received with great cheering)
then said,—Mr. Chairman and gentlemen—lt is impossible
for any Englishman to he present on this occasion, in this
magnificent building, and amid the vast assemblage that
have the honour to see around me, without feeling proud
.of the country to which he has the happiness to belong
—(cheers)--and if any Englishman must bo animated
with such feelings on an occasion like the present, how
much more gratifying must it be to one of those who
are charged with the conduct of the administration
of the country, and who cannot but feel yet deeper
satisfaction and additional pride in the contemplation of
that which is an indication not merely of the pro-
gressive wealth of the country, not merely of it., in
creasing intelligence, but which is also a proof of the
spread of those sentiments and sympathies between the
different classes of society which are the surest foun -
dation 'of the welfare and prosperity of an empire.?
We are assembled in a building which in its splendour
is worthy either of an emperor of the present day or of
one of those great commercial States which in the earlier
periods of history played so powerful and prominent a part
in the affairs of the world— (cheers)—but it is an edifice re-
markable not only for the magnificence of its structure, but
for the purpose to which it has been applied and for the
cordial support it has manifestly received from those wh •
are collected within its walls. There are two remarkable
circumstances peculiarly distinctive of the times in which
we live—the principle of co-operation for common objects
and the general diffusion of knowledge. In former times
there were many men eminent in all branches of human
learning, but, as regards the great masses of mankind, the
avenues of knowledge were to a certain degree closed, but
the arrangements of later periods, which aro improving
from day to day, tend to diffuse among the great masa. .ef
the community, or, at all events, among all who are will
to receive instruction, the results of the labours of science
and the finite
,of the investigations of the learned, and
for these purposes the institutions of which this is so dis-
tieguished a member are undoubtedly well deserving of
encouragement and support. The intellectual qualities
as well as the moral feelings of our nature are scattered
broadcast over the face of the earth. We find them
everywhere, in the lowest classes as in the highest. Their
development depends on the opportunities which are
offered for their culture, and it is to these institutions that
we are indebted for the faculties which are so advanta-
geously presented. In this country, fortunately, the road
to wealth and to honours is open to all. Some of those
among us who have filled the most distinguished situations
have sprung from the humblest position, and have raised
theniselves by their talent and good conduct. The great
merit of these institutions is, that, whereas the labouring
classes are unable by their own unaided exertions to obtain
access to those books and those means of instruction which
are necessary for the development of their intellects, and
whereas their hours of leisure are so few as to afford them
but little opportunity for mental culture, you open to
them the whole range of the treasure of science, and,
whatever line their genius may be best adapted to follow,
you furnish them with the means of cultivating their fa-
culties and thus increase their knowledge, and, through
their knowledge, their happiness. (Cheers.) Man is en-
dowed with a double nature—the moral and the intellec-
tual. Both contribute to his pleasure and happiness; his
moral enjoyments are independent of ex tern al support, they
begin with his home and coustitute his domestic attach.
ments ; extending a little further they assume the cha-
racter of friendship, in a wider range they become love
of country and patriotism, and with a still further develop- ,
went they take the shape of benevolence and phila.nthroplay.
Those pleasures aro within the reach of every man, and no
man needs assistance to enable him to enjoy that happiness
which consists in the exercise of his affections, but his intel-
lectual qualities require assistance for their development. It
is true that knowledge is power, but assuredly those who
afford the labouring classes the means of acquiring knowledge
contribute not merely to their advancement in life, but also
to their innocent and laudable-enjoyments. (Cheers.) Great
respect, no doubt, is due to axioms and old sayings, but, at
the same time, it must be adMitted that though they may be
generally correct they sometimes mislead the judgment
We have often heard the same quoted from the words of one
of our great poets, that
" A littlseleerning is a dangerous thing,
fL.Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring."
I hold that is a mistake, and much error has it produced.
A little knowledge is better than no knowledge at all. The
mere knowledge a man has the better, but if his time and
the means at his disposal do not permit of his acquiring deep
and accurate knowledge, let him have has much as he can,
and depend upon it, he will be all the better for it ; and al-
though he may not be able to drink deeply of that spring, if
his lips have once tasted of it he will go back to the sane de-
licious waters whenever' he has an opportunity, and his
draughts, be they great or small, will refresh his fancy, invi-
gorate his intellect, raise him in the scale of civilisation, con-
tribute to his individual happiness, and make him a more use -
ful and honourable member of society. The first object of in-
struction ought to be that which we have been told is the mean-
ing of education—to teach a man how to live, and to teach a
man how to live, his attention ought first to be directed to that
pursuit
to which he means to devote himself through life ;
there, indeed, he should drink deeply, and there he should
endeavour to perfect his knowledge, but should he on that
account Dot endeavour to enlarge his mind, to extend his
views, and obtain information on other matters not connected
with the business of his profession ? Then we may be told
that we will make him a mere smatterer in knowledge, to
which I reply that it is better for a man to be a smatterer
than to be ignorant and uninstructed. There are many lines
of information which it is most essential for a working man
to pursue, but from' which, were it not for institutions such
as this, he would be hopelessly excluded. In the first place,
there are certain laws of nature of which some regulate the
trade in which he is employed, some govern and control his
industry, and on others depend the wellbeing of his existence,
and yet those laws are not to be known bythc simple-minded
man. They are the result of deep reflection and long experi-
ence, and can only be ascertained by consulting the works of
those who have minutely investigated and carefully explained
them. If a man were to enter a town of some foreign coun-
try, where there were laws the violation of which was
attended with pain, imprisonment, or it may be, with death,
would lie not be deemed mad if he did not take the earliest
opportunity
to make himself acquainted with those enact-
that he might avoid the pesalties attached to their
limits, so
infringement
Yet there are laws of nature applicable to the
daily pursuits
of men which, if not attended to, inflict bodily
pain in the form of disease, imprisonment in the shape of the
loss of corporeal
powers, and even death, through the ne-
glect of those sanitary conditions on which life depends. How
important, then, it is that the working classes should be
made aware
of those natural laws and regulations which are
indispensable to their own welfare and to that of their fami-
lies. And why should not a life of labour be now and then
cheered by the cultivation of the imaginative faculties ?
(Cheers.) Why should not a day of fatigue be relieved in the
evening by the occasional indulgence in the pleasure of poe-
try, and in that delightful enjoyment which the best works
of fiction impart I Such occasional recreations, though they
ought not to be the sole object of reading, are nevertheless
useful, by giving buoyancy to the intellect and inspiring the
mind with noble sentiments and feelings which deserve to. be
cultivated. You cannot expect that a working man having
but a small portion of time to devote to pursuits of this de-
scription should become an historian, but why should he
not, by the aid of books well adapted for the purpose, gain
a general knowledge of the history of this country, learn
something of the rise, decay, and fall of empires, and judge
of the causes which contribute to national prosperity and to
national ruin ? Your institution furnishes the means where-
by the working man may inform himself on these great mat-
ters, and obtain clear ideas on many other subjects of impor-
tance ; why should he not have some knowledge of the
constitution of the universe? I may be asked whether I
would make him an astronomer, or expect him to calculate
IZelipseg, describe the orbits of comets, or examine the course
of the planets. By no means ; but of all sciences the
mecha-
nism
of the universe is that of which a man who
b 3
by
slittle
leisure at big disposal may most easily obtain an
insight
the knowledge of those facts which are the result of deep
study and careful calculation. Au ignorant
man believes
this planet is
his country is the only one in tie world, that
the only great portion of creation, that the sun is placed in the
light him home,
firmament merely to warm ling, the moon tobut when he is
and the stars- to amuse him on the journey ;
the contemplation
led into the secrets of that vast
universe,
his views become liberal
of which fills the mind with :rs'ee,
1 in
the ordinary gro-
and enlightened, his mind is rsiset. above
sela
au
f perior being te
veiling ideas of life, and he finds' hIT.
) It is clear, there-
what lekhad been before. (Loud cheers.
te much desirable objects are
fore, that institutions which promoo,
the
people; they are pe-
eminently deserving of the support
the` British nation, and they
congenial to the habits of t
t of the British con-
are singularly in accordance
,ether the different classes of so-
atitution. They tend to bring
h
bonds of g pod fellowship, allaying
ciety, combining them in t
g their asperit des, and causing them to'
theirdeeleneies, mitigating
action for the general benefit
work together in hahrino
(Cheers.)
I beg to congratulate the
of the. commonwealth,
r, therefore, on the noble institution of
people
Manch-e-stheo creation. I felicitate them on having
yelLich this hall,
f is
sther institutions of a similar nature, and I
rt of led tile 1"3
a system which is supported by so vast and
augur w' assemblage as I have now the honour to ad-
influential an
,„T it that, much as the fame and reputation of
dress. Rely „„
this great city may depend cm its commercial •
prosperity its
and its vast mercantile • • •
intercourse with
annulated wealth,
ace f the earth,'
there • is' nothing that will
the remotest regions .0
more conduce to „vour honour—nothing on which you will
reflect with greater r satisfaction—nothing by which you will
be greater contribut ore to the happiness of your country,
than the efforts you as .e now snaking to educate those who of
themselves have not t ho means of acquiring that knowledge
which it is fitting that they should possess. Be assured that
as long as you go on in \hat course you will have no reason to
regret any time or troni 'lle it may entail on you. Yeti
have the satisfaction of , feeling that you are raising inlthill
e
social scale those who are • dependent upon you, andhru
be rewarded not only by 'the grateful emotions which your
will
benefits will evoke, but by Owevoke, knowledge that
you
race of men
see
rising annually under your- parental culture a "
in of
more and more intelligent, n sore and more
dandy coug aucithe
ng
fostering care that you bests w upon theme,ry
, and to the
more and more to the honour of their
country,
live.
power and prosperity of the ha. ad which
(Enthu-
siastic applause,) hen addressed the meeting
Professor Scott and Dr. Vans' 'lll terminated at ten o'clock.
at nme length,o4
and the procee 1