The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-18 00:00:00

approval of practical wisdom. It is in this spirit
—thus led by the hand, with an honest desire of
keeping pace with the progress of enlightened
opinion—that I have advocated, and still advise,
the formation of a department of jurisprudence,
like that of education.

" Learn to be just, just through impartial law,
Far as ye may, erect and equalise -
And what ye cannot reach by statute, draw
Each from his fountain of self-sacrifice."
This is the work of social science—a work emi-
nently Christian. The Divine founder of our pure
and practical religion, the greatest yet the lowliest
of beings, was the gentlest, and the kindest, and
the best, and they who would follow Him need not
turn from the path which leads to the social wel-
fare of others, nor reject the agencies which we
here seek to invigorate and improve. This co-
operation in duty may help to soften the severity,
to subdue the pride of opinion, and nourish the
spirit which should ever urge us to love our neigh-
bour as ourself. In this season of prosperity, in
this time of peace, how thankful am I to have the
privilege of uniting with the elevated peer, the en-
lightened commoner, the sagacious statesman, and
the thoughtful scholar, upon common ground for
the common weal, under the blessing of God, pub-
licly, and solemnly invoked. The future of Eng-
land, which Niebuhr rather supposed than pre-
dicted, was this : no longer to try to domineer over
the continent of Europe, but to busy herself with
the nobler work of social reformation. One of her
own great poets has assigned to her the lofty
mission to teach iik3 nations how to live. Another
—the purest, most thoughtful and tender-hearted
—has recorded the triumphs of her social industry
in words which are associated with all that sur-
rounds us in this great community :

" At social industry's command

How quick, how vast an inCrease! From the germ
Of some poor hamlet, rapidly produced,
Here a huge town continuous and compact,
Hiding the fa& of earth for leagues—
" Hence is the wide sea peopled ; hence the shore
Of Britain is resorted to by ships
Freighted from every climate of the world
With the world's choicest produce. Hence that sum
Of keels that rest within her crowded ports,
Or ride at anchor in her sounds and bays ;
That animating spectacle of sails,
That through her inland regions to and fro
Pass with the respirations of the tide
Perpetual, multitudinous I Finally,
Hence a dread arm of floating power—a voice
Of thunder, daunting those who would approach
With hostile purposes the blessed Isle;
Truth's consecrated residence—the seat
Impregnable of Liberty and Peace."

Lord BROUGHAM—Though it is not usual to come I
to any resolution on the reading of an address, I
think on account of the abserice of my noble and
learned friend, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, we
ought to break through that rule in this instance
in order to testify the geat gratification we have
all of us, I am sure, derived, from the reading of
this address, in which it is difficult to say whether
we most admire the great eloquence of the execu-
tion or the true, sound, enlightened, and learned
views ofthe writer. I hardly remember anything
proceeding from any branch of the profession, and
more especially from the highest seat of justice—
the woolsack itself—which has struck me with more
admiration or impressed upon me a deeper debt of
gratitude to the author ; and therefore I beg to
propose a resolution testifying our regret at his
absence—a regret rather increased than diminished
by the admirable and useful paper he has contri-
buted, because it shows how much valuable assis-
tance we have lost by my learned friend's absence
in the business of the section over which he was to
have presided.
Mr. CooKsoN seconded the motion, and bore testi-
mony to the valuable aid the Lord Chancellor of Ire-
land had rendered as a member of the commission
on the sale and transfer of land in Ireland, upon
which he (Mr. Cookson) had acted with him.
Mr. G. W. HASTINGS read the report of the
council of the results of the Congress, which had
been agreed to at their meeting that morning.
On the motion of Mr. W. COWPER, seconded by
Dr. FARR, the report was adopted.
Lord BROUGHAM referred to the great services
rendered by the officers of the association, and
especially 'by Mr. Hastings, their very able,
talented, and energetic secretary. He (Lord
Brougham) had been referred to as the founder of
the association, but he believed that it was in the
mind of Mr. Hastings that the felicitous idea first
originated. When that gentleman called upon him
first upon the subject he had great doubts of the
success of the project, but those doubts were alto-
gether removed when he considered the matter
further, and he had consented to be its president—
a position which he had been desirous of abdicating;
and though they would not allow him to do so now,
he hoped they would allow him, before another
year came round, to abdicate in favour of his noble
friend the chairman. Amongst the many advan-
tages the National Association was calculated to
• confer, not the least was the communication it
established between the upper and the working
classes. This had commenced auspiciously at the
present meeting in Liverpool, and he hoped it
would be continued by the working men forming
from amongst themselves a social science committee.
The noble lord also observed that the association
were deeply, indebted to the press, 'especially that
part of it, viz., the cheap press of Liverpool, which
was more directly the means of conveying a record
of their proceedings to the working men, for the
accuracy and fullness with which the proceedings
had been reported, and included that body in the
vote of thanks.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY seconded the motion,
and, in reference to the second part of the noble and
learned lord's proposition, observed that during his
life he had been brought, very much into contact
with the members of the press—with those who
filled the high offices of editors and managers, and
also those who discharged the responsible and one-
rous duties of reporters ; and he could bear testi-
mony to their activity, intelligence, and faithful-
ness. The skill, the readiness of apprehension they
evinced, the way in which they caught the slightest
expression and transfused into their columns not
only the words, but the very spirit of the speech
or the debate, must rank amongst the greatest
efforts of the human intellect. (Cheers.) But, great
as was their ability, they were still more to be
praised for their fidelity. (Hear.) Take every
public meeting, take the debates in the two houses
of parliament—and the speeches made on great
public occasions elsewhere—how often did it occur
that a single mistake was made ? ( Hear.) And
how much less often did it occur that a mistake was
wilfully made ? He would venture to say that,
taking the whole year through, thew were not two
wilful mistakes to be found—so great was the in-
, telligence and so great was the fidelity evinced. In
a mixed constitution such as ours we were all deeply
indebted to the press for it was of the utmost im-
portance that faithful should be transmitted
through the press to the public. By means of that
agency what was spoken from the public platform
was in effect spoken to millions of people, and if he
might be excused for doing so, he would remind
the editors and conductors, the great giants of the
press, that they had the greatest engine in their
hands ever wielded by man since the creation—
they had in their hands the greatest power of doing
evil. They had, consequently, resting upon
them the greatest responsibility, and he knew
no one single thing of a subordinate character
for which as Christian men they ought more
to pray day and night than that the conduc-
tors of the press might be animated by a true,
a high, a holy spirit, and governed by a desire to
advance the temporal, the moral, and the spiritual
welfare of all their fellow-creatures. (Cheers.)
That being the case, a free press, instead of proving
in the least degree a vexation and an annoyance,
was, without exception, the greatest blessing that
' could be conferred on any'people, without which
there could not be a free people, and with which, if
allowed to spread itself far and wide, in the course
of a short time there would not be an enslaved
people on the face of the earth. (Cheers.)
Lord J. RUSSELL, in putting the resolution
(which was unanimously carried), bore testimony
to the very valuable services of Mr. Hastings, and
expressed his entire concurrence with what had
been said with regard to the press.
Mr. HASTINGS acknowledged the resolution in an
appropriate speech, in which he referred to the
valuable aid he had received from Mr. Melley, the
indefatigable local secretary, and the other local
officers, but for whom the meeting at Liverpool
could not have taken place.
Thanks were afterwards voted to Mr. George
Melley and the local officers, to the'Mayor and Cor-
poration of Liverpool for the use of the hall, to the
inhabitants of Liverpool generally for their assist-
ance, to the several presidents of departments, and
to Lord John Russell, as the chairman of the
meeting.
In acknowledging the compliment paid to him,
the noble lord said it was extremely gratifying to
him—when some people seemed to think that from
his great age he was altogether worn out and in-
capable of exertion—to find himself complimented
upon his energy by a still hale and energetic noble
friend (Lord Brougham) near him, who said he had
known him from a boy, and by another learned
friend (Professor Pillans) who stated that he re-
membered when he (Lord John) first entered the
university—that was when he was about 17 Year°
of age. (Cheers and laughter.)

In the evening St. George's Hall was converted
into a banquet room—and a more magnificent
dining hall there is not in the:kingdom—perhaps
in the world. Its noble and lofty proportions,
its highly-enriched and ornate style of architec-
ture, its warm colouring heightened by the beauti-
fully polished granite columns which support the