The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-16 00:00:00

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and I',-therefore,
feel incliinctio -ocio, bAre you
like-arr insolvent,' and claimMo benefit of the act.
(I.,qughtier and applauSej -Nly-retiOn for not de-
clining to. Caine. as "I might have naturally wished,
and, to adopt exPrOsions : natural to the place
where. Istand, to have made my exit rather than
my entranCe-L-r(langliter)--was my wish to show
the real respect.lfeet for the body of the working
classes of:the land. - I' think -it would be a great
flattery to any class or any state of men to assign
to them-an ex-ehtsive-shafe-Of Those-a—fic and quali-
ties whiclr togetheil make up the itaplgof our Eng-
lish greatness.- ' (Hear.) WC have a generous and
a manly gentry—(hear, hear)—we have liberal and
:_riruale:afiulol poets princely merchants—we . have. ,a distin-
guished 'literature, deep thinkers, sparkling writers,
;- We have eminent men in the learned
proresSicifig; and we haYe the bravest of soldiers
the large; deep (hear, hear)—but still I think it is
foundation of the working classes
which is ever supplying the raw material of this
costly fabric of our wealth, our enterprise, and our
fame—which is all the time feeding all the other
classes, and sending out its shoots and suckers
among them. (Hear, and applause.) -And so,
whatever may be the lustre of our arms, whatever
may be the brilliancy of our genius, whatever may
be the enterprise of our capitalists, whatever may
be the wealth of our nobles, whatever, may be the
reverence that . surrounds_u.ll._ our institutions, and
crowds our throne, yet I-should not feel easy as to
their -safety and their permanence'if I did not think
that there was at the sane time beneath them,
around them, a kotind, well-disposed, order-loving,
working population. But, gentlethen, if it be true
'that the working ;classes hold so important a place
let them bear in mind .that their duties are on a
'corresponding scale- (Hear, hear.) I have told
you sincerely my wish to honour those who uphold
our frame of society, and secure to me, amongst
others, the mans' advantages which it gives me.
But, while I honour them, let them prove them-
selves worthy of that honour. -(Hear, hear.) The
poet _well says—
Honour and shame" from no condition rise;
and he adds truly— .
Act well your part, 'tis there true honour lies.
-(Applause.) Now every class and every man in this
country has his part which he may act well and
gain honour by so doing. You have already heard
many to-night,- and there are others around me,
_both among-your visitors and 3-our townsmen, qua-
lified. to give-you both advice, on platforms, in pul-
pits, in lecture-rooms, from daily converse and
intercourse, by their wise precepts, by their bright
example. Still, feel more than anything that the
chief part•to be played in building up your own
• character, and making out your own destinies, rests
with yourselVes. (" Hear, hear," and applause.) I
agree with my noble friend, that what I should be
inclined to say was the besettinr, fault or crime of
the nation is drunkenness, and what I feel to be
the main source of the diScomfort and the unhappi-
ness to us all as men is the want of contentment
with what we have and what we are. (Heaf.)
Therefore, if I were addressing any large body of
my countrymen, I would say—" As you value your
body's health, and your mind's peace, and your
soul's good, be sober." (" Hear, hear," and cheers.)
But if I was speaking to any one of you as man to
man, I should be tempted to say--" I do not sus-
pect you, my honest friend, of any such de-
grading and besotting taste as the love of drink,
but while you do your best to earn your bread and
to improve your mind, and to raise yourself in the
scale of life—for these, as my noble friend has told
you, ara proper and legitimate aims for every one
—cast out at once • and for ever from your breast
the gnawings of envy and the restlessness of dis-
content." Few of us, I believe, have any notion
how much happier we should all be if we would
only let ourselves be so. (Hear.) The mind, the
imperial mind of man makes its own atmosphere ;
and life, that great responsible gift of our Creator,
decides its own history. (Applause.) As I have
referred you to the many living oracles of advice
open for your benefit, I will only in conclusion cite
one dead oracle, one great moralist, Dr. Johnson,
who has said in noble lines, which always seemed
to me to comprise all philosophy, all morality, all
religion-- -
"Pour forth thy fervors for a healthful mind—
Obedient passions, and a will resigned—
For love, that scarcecollective man can fill—
For patience, sovereign o'er transmuted ill—
For faith, that panting for a happier seat,
Counts Death kind nature's signal for retreat.
These goods he grants, who nothing grants in vain—
These goods he grants who grants the power to gain—
With these celestial wisdom
.calms the mind,
And makes the happiness she does not find."
(Loud cheers)—amid which the noble earl resumed
his seat.