The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-29 00:00:00

PHYSICIANS

J. T. Conquest, F.L.S. I Thomas Hodgkin, M.D.
BA:Namts.-31essrs. Brown, Janson, and Co., and Bank of

England.
SoLicrron.—Septimus Davidson, Esq.
CONSULTING ACTUARY.—CharIes Ansell, Esq., F.ILS.
On the 20th of November last the total number of policies
Issued was 20,626.
The annual income arising from premiums, after
deducting- £33,348 17s. 2d. for abatement on
premiums, was £211,405 7 8
From interest on capital

Total income Z 275,331 17 0
Amount of capital £1,500,367 17 11
1/4 Amount paid for claims arising from death, and
bonuses accrued thereon £100,,Th.24 17 11
The Directors, in their report to the annual meeting on the
22d December last, referred to the progress the Actuary had
made in the investigation of the assets and liabilities of the
.institution up, to the 20th November last ; they have now the
pleasure of stating the amount of profit accrued, as under:
Computed value of assurances in Class IX. .. £1,190,000 16 6
Assets in this class £1,345,034 3 11

Difference, being surplus or profit £345,034 3 11
Of which the sum of £305,030 Ils. 7d. is now in course of
appropriation among the members, either by a reduction of
premium for the next five years, or by apportioning a bonus
to the sum assured, as they may have elected ; the remaining
£40,003 12s. 4d. being held in reserve to the next division.
Members whose premiums fall due on the Ist October are
reminded that the same must be paid within 30 days from
that date.
The new Prospectus, with illustrations of the profits for the
fiveyears ending the 20th November last, may be had on
application, by which it will be seen that the reductions on
thepremiums range from 11 per cent. to 98 per cent., and
tin one instance the premium is extinct. Instances of
the bonuses are also shown.
JOSEPH MARSH, Secretary.

September, 1858.

ALBERT ' LIFE ASSURANCE AND
GUARANTEE COMPANY.

N ()established 1838.)
P •
rblelpal Office, ii, Waterloo-place, Pall Mall, London, S.W.
City Branch, 63, Moorgate-street, B.C.

'William Beattie, Escl•' DIRECTORS.
M.D. George Goldsmith Kirby,
at. the Hon. S. T. Carnegie, Esq.
LiRC.B. James Nichols, Esq.
44eut.-Col., James Croudace, Rear-Adm. the Right Hon.
S Lord George Paulet, C.B.
,Qvln •
fen Jervis, Esq. Capt. Thos. Porter, R.N.
'vl 'lain Ring, Esq. George Raymond, Esq.
.Assurances, Annuities, and Endowments granted, and every
other mode of provision for Families arranged.
iuHalf the Annual Premiums for the first five years may re-
teatia on credit for any period until death, on Payment of In-
est at five per cent. per annum.
Parties allowed to go to, or reside in, most parts of the
'world, without extra Premium.
Naval and Military Lives, not in active Service, assured at
the ordinary rate.
Policies forfeited by non-payment of Premium, revivable at
any time within Six Months, on satisfactory proof of health,
and the payment of a trifling fine.
No charge for Policy Stamps.
Reversionary Interests in every description of real or per-
sonal property purchased.
Security to Employers, Guarantee for Fidelity in situations
Of trust.
Forms of Proposal, with every information, ma be ob-
tained at the Office of the Compaj"ty, or by letter, addressed
to HENRY WILLIAM SMITH,
Actuary and Secretary.

TNTERNATIONAL LIFE ASSURANCE
SOCIETY, 142, Strand, London, W.C., Feb. 25, 1858.
Established 1837.—Payment of Premium within Days of
Grace.—lt always has been, and still is, the practice of this
Society to pay claims under policies of assurance, notwith-
standing the death of the assured occurring within the 30 days
of grace, and before payment of the annual premium, provided
payment thereof be made, or notice of the death be given to
the
office before the expiration of such days of grace.

For the Court of Directors,
E. S. SYMES, Chairman.

THE INTERNATIONAL LIFE
ASSURANCE. SOCIETY.
142, Strand, London.
Empowered by Act of Parliament, for LIFE ASSURANCE,
sußvivonsuirs, ANNUITIES, ENDOWMENTS, &c.
DIRECTORS.
EDMOND SHEPPARD SYMES, M.D., Chairman.
W. Renworthy Browne, Esq. Henry J. Hodgson, Esq.
Samuel King-Church. Esq. f Johd Moss, Esq.
John Elliotson,M.D.,Cantab.,John Symes, Esq.
I
P.n.s, Joseph Thompson, Esq.
SECRETARY TO THE BOARD.
Alexander Richardson, Esq.
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.
Augustus Blondel, Esq.
AUDITORS.
Professor Wheatstone, F.R.S., and Professor J. Radford
Young.
MEDICAL REFEREE GENERAL.
J. Elliotson, M.D., Cantab., F.R.S., 37, Condnit-street.
ACTUARY.
W. S. B. Woolhouse, Esq., F.R.A.S., F.S.S., &C.
ASSISTANT ACTUARY.
Barker Woolhouse, Esq.
BANKERS.
Messrs. Glyn, Mills, and Co., 67, Lombard-street.
Ilessrs. SOLICITORS.
Gregory, Gregory, Skirrow, and Rowcliffe, Bedford-
row.

an y
The next Quinquennial Division of Profits will be declared
Ma, 1 - - -- -

Examples of Bonus up to May, 1855 :

rolicy Bonus in Permanent
taken
Age. Assured.
Cash
Sum addition Bonus in Reduction
out in to Sum ' of Annual
Assured. Premiums.
--...
IIR £ £s. d. £a. d. £s. d.
it' :,-- 55 3,000 867 17 7 428 1 4 56 3 8
iju'rzt 48 4,000 749 4 0 325 16 0 32 0 4
i—RfQ si) 2,000 232 18 0 156 15 0 16 6 0
ißt—", 60 2,000 154 2 8 103 16 8 10 15 2
--1 55 2,800 120 17 0 72 14 6 67 7

•
The following are amongst the advantages offered by the
International
Life Assurance Society:—
4;4e was established 8.
xwo-thirdsSociety of the profits arein divilB.3ded amongst the assured
"err five years.
Its übscribed capital is five hundred thonsand pounds.
aniitB investments, at the date of the last annual report
-.°llnted to one hundred and seventy-one thousand pounds.
Its annual income is ninety thousand pounds.
The number of policies now in force exceed six thousand.
About one thousand new policies are added every year.
iirrirlee its commencement the Society has paid in claims
Ivards of three hundred and twenty thousand pounds.
' nui
or
prospectuses and every other information, apply to the
rnan, 142, Strand

142, EDMOND S. SYMES, Chairman.
Strand, London, W.C.

TR°
articleiotflß LEY'S
FOOD FOR CATTLE.-
its celebrisatVY a short time since this singularly efficacious
iynal diet first made its appearance ; and already
and has Y world-wide. It has been a subject of wonder,
bro 01,t13izzled many a brain to explain how this has lren
about. Yet when we are acquainted with a few facts
—"Accruing the food, our wonder will cease. A few days since,
tit gentleman wrote, stating- that he had a horse which was a
;,,Perfect bag, of bones." Tie tried all kinds of things to get
„7.a,ra,nlmal into condition, but in vain. lie then bought some
norley's food ; and he says the effect was wonderful. The
cult
rapidly grew fat, and in the course of a few weeks had
^ained no less than 12 stones. Again we find at the late agri-
cultural shows at Birmingham, Cardiff, &c., the animals which
janrried off the hilliest prizes had been partly fed with Thor-
'Y', fond for cattle. Such facts speak for themselves, and we
are forced to the conclusion that its celebrity arises solely
from its own intrinsic merits, and the great demand for it can
Proceed alone from the good opinion and testimony of those
Who have tried it. All parties interested in horses and cattle
Will do well to apply to 77, Newgate-street, London, for a
Pamphlet which is sent post-free.

NEW AND IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN THE
SCIENCE O 1 MEDICINE.
Patent 'Office Seal of Great Britain. Diplome d'Ecole de
Illarmacie Pharmacien de Paris. Imperial College of Me-
dicine. Vicuna.
TRIESEMAR Nos. 1,2, and 3, prepared in the form of a
lozenge, devoid of taste or smell, and can be carried in the
Nyalstcoat pocket. Sold in tin cases, divided into separate,
doses, as administ,ered by Valpeau, Lallemand, Roux, Ricord,
c., adapted for both sexes.
lIRIESEIVIAR No. 1 is a Remedy for RELAXA-
TION, SPER3IATORRHCEA, and all the distressing
consequences arising from early abuse, indiscriminate excesses,
or too long residence in hot climates. It has restored bodily
and sexual strength and vigour to thousands of debilitated
individuals who are now in the enjoyment of health and the
DinscQtuloAnsLolfr yeaAnhToiodow:
Sanfdor w3hLakt-rtvßelrAniGly, bt
1 e tyh ae rce
aenffs e ce tfuor.
ally subdued by this Wonderful Discovery.TßlESEßAlt NO. I
effectually, in the short space of three days,
entirely eradicates all traces of Gonorrhoea, both
and
and aggravated forms, Gleeta, Strictures:l,lrgahtiinnitspiild
Bladder, Non-retention of Urine, Pains of the Poi o the
d
Kidneys, and those disorders which Copaivi and Cdoebnashaanl e
so long been thought an antidote for, to the ruin of the health
of a vast portion of the population.
TRIESEMAR NO. 111.
Is the great Continental Remedy for Syphilis and Secon-
dary Symptoms. It also constitutes a certain cure for Scurvy,
Scrofula, and all Cutaneous Eruptions, removing and expelling
in its course all corruptions and impurities from the vital
Stream, as altogether to eradicate the virus of disease, and
expel it with the insensible perspiration, through the medium
of the pores of the skin and urine, and is a never-failing
remedy for that class of disorders which unfortunately the
English Physician treats with Mercury, to the inevitable de-
struction of the patient's constitution, and which all the sar-
saparilla in the world cannot restore. Pricers.,free by post,
18. Bd.extra to any part of the kingdom; or four cases in one
for 335., by post 3s. 2d. extra, which saves 115., and in £.5 cases,
whereby there is a saying of £1 12s. Sold by Daniel Church,
78, Gracechurch-street, City; Bartlett Hooper, 43, King Wil-
liam-street (four doors from London-bridge); Watts, 17,
Strand ; •Pront, 229, Strand ; Hannay, 63, Oxford-street;
Sanger, 150, Oxford-street; Butler, 4, Cheapside; Edwards,
St. Paul's Churchyard.

HUMAN FRAILTY ; a Medical Work, price ls.
Post tree, illustrated with 100 en,gravings, containing the
°Pinions of Valpeau, Laliemand, Roux, Ricord, &c. It gives
instructions for the perfect restoration of those who are pre-
vented by impediments from entering into the married state,
also shoiYing the dreadtul results from early abuse, gonorrhoea
and syphilii, and the benefits arising from the chemical tests
and the examination of .the spermatoza by the newly-con-
structed microscope, with powerful lenses. The Author may
be consulted daily according to the rules in the Book.
Sold by J. Allen, 20, Warwick-lane, Paternoster-rOWI sun
from all agents for the sale of "Triesemar."

ivr JULLIEN'S CONCERTS.-ROYAL
LYCEUM THEATRE.
M. JULLIEN'S "•CONCERTS D'ADlEU."—Twentieth
and LAST ANNUAL SETITERVIII commence on MONDAY
NEXT, Nov. Ist. The celebrated Violinist WIENIAWSKI,
will make his FIRST APPEARANCE ' on MONDAY,
November Ist. Promenade, One Shilling ; Reserved
Seats, 2s. 6d. Private Boxes may be obtained at Jullien and
Co.'s, 214, Regent-street ; Mr. Hammond ; and from Mr:
Chatterton, Box-office of the Theatre.

PROFESSOR WILJALBA FRIKELL.-
POSITIVELY THE LAST NIGHT BUT SEVEN.
—To-Night and every evening at 8 ; Saturday afternoons at 3.
NEW TRICKS.—POLYGRAPHIC HALL, King William-
street, Charing-cross.—TWO HOURS OF. ILLUSIONS.
Private boxes, £1 ls. ; box stalls, ss. ; orchestra stalls, 35. ;
area, 2s. ; amphitheatre, is.—Places may be secured at the
Polygraphic-hall, and at Mr. Mitchell's Royal Library, 33,
Old Bond-street.

ARGYLL ROOMS, Windmill-street, Hay-
market—Licensed and Re-opened.—Selections from
11 Trovatore, La Traviata, and Rigoletto, every evening, by
the original band. Conductor, 3lons. Lamotte ; principal
cornet-a-piston, M. Boulcourt ; leader, Charles Hall. Doors
open at half-past 8, commence at 9. Admission, ls.

Dlt. KAHN'S ANATOMICAL MUSEUM,
3, TICHBOURNE-STREET (Opposite the Hay-
market).
Open daily (for Gentlemen only).
LECTURES by Dr. SEXTON at Four and Eight o'clock, on
important and interesting topics in connection with ANA-
TOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, and PATHOLOGY (vide Pro-
grammes)

Admission ONE SHILLING,

DR. KAHN'S NINE CECTURES ON THE PHILO-
SOPHY OF MARRIAGE, &e., sent post free, direct from the
Author,•on the receipt of twelve stamps.

LHAMB RA PALACE, Leicester-square.
Lessees, Messrs. Howes and Cushing.
LAST WEEK OF WALLETT'S GREAT EQUESTRIAN

COMPANY.
Senora DELAVANTI in her terrific Ascent on the Atlantic
Tele.T„ aph Wire—Miss Rosalie, Mr. Samwells, Cook, the
wonderful Delavanti Family, Herr Footit, Harry Croueste,
the Clown, &c., appear at each Exhibition. After which the
Palace will be closed one week to decorate the interior, and
prepare for the Great United States Circus.
TWO PERFORMANCES EACH DAY,
Commencing at Half-past Two and Half-past Seven
o'clock, p.m.
_ .

Private boxes, £1 10s. to £2los. each ; stalls, 5s ; reserved
seats, 3s. ; boxes, 2s. ; pit, ls. ; gallery, 6d. Children
under 9, half-price.

BOARD AND RESIDENCE. A Superior
Home is offered to a Gentleman of steady habits, en-
d during;.,ora young the ?,nbcy,-0
ma
itnitomolyLroenspoinnli.onrege
first mßegent's-
Park.et
this would be found a desirable residence. Terms moderate.
References to be exchanged. Address, J. P., Wright's
Dairy, Granby-street, Hampstead-road, N.W.

THE SECRET INFIRMITIES OF YOUTH AND
MATURITY.
Just published, price ls., post free, in an Envelope, for 13

stamps,
SELF-PRESERVATION.—A Medical Treatise
on the Functions and Diiorders of the Generative System,
and on the cure of Nervous and Physical Debility, resulting
from vicious habits acquired during the critical passage from
youth to Manhood, with practical observations on the Phy-
siology of Marriage in its social, moral, and physical rela-
tions. To which are added remarks on the wonders of the
Microscope in revealing the hidden mysteries "of Life with!n
Life," and its advantages in detecting, by urinary examina-
tion, the cause and effect of everyvaricty of these complaints,
with numerous engravings and cases.
BY SAMUEL LA'MERT, M.D.,
37, BEDFORD SQUARE, LONDON,
Matriculated Member of the University of Edinburgh, Hono-
rary Member of the London Hospital Medical Society, Li-
centiate of Apothecaries' Hall, London, &c., &c.
The essential object of this treatise is to point out the fear-
ful consequences resulting from certain habits, irregularities,
and excesses, which have produced more misery in Youth,
degradation in Manhood, and premature decay at all stages
of life, than, perhaps, any other class of disease known to
modern pathologists. Its perusal is particularly recommended
to persons entertaining, secret doubts of their physical condi-
tion, and who are conscious of having hazarded the health,
happiness, and privileges to which every human being is en-

it is absolutely necessary that all men should know that
there are principles of personal management which cannot be
violated without incurring grievous penalties, and when
wisdom and regret succeed the heyday of inconsiderate self-
indulgence, how those penalties may be mitigated, how the
sting of their bitterness may be removed, and how the evil
andits consequences may be avoided, and, above all, that
there is scarcely any degree of physical infirmity or functional
derangement to which the timely aid of science cannot apply
a cure. . _

lished by J. Allen, 20, Warwick-lane, Paternoster-row,
and may be had of Mann, 39, Cornhill ; Horne, 19, Leicester-
square ; Gordon, 146, Leadenhall-street ; or from the Author,
who may be consulted daily, from 11 till 2, and from 6 till 8,
at his residence, 37, Bedford-square, London.
The work may be had in India, of Mr. Von Litzky, Loll
Bazaar; Calcutta—Messrs. C. and J. Hormusj ee, Apollo- street ;
Bombay—Circulator Office ; Madras—Mofussilite Office, Agra ;
Dodsworth, Colombo, Ceylon; and of all Booksellers through-
out the Colonies

FIFTY THOUSAND CURES
cave been effected without Medicine, inconvenience or expense,
of Indigestion (dyspepsia), Constipation, Flatulency, Phlegm,
Nervousness, Biliousness, Liver Complaints, Hysteria,
Neuralgia, Sleeplessness, Acidity, Palpitation, Heartburn,
Eruptions, Impurities, Irritability, Low Spirits, Diarrhoea,
Dysentery, Hemorrhoids, Headache, Noises in the Head
and Ears, Debility, Despondency, Cramps, Spasms, Nausea,
and Sickness (during pregnancy or at sea), Sinking Fits,
Cough, Asthma, Bronchitis, Consumption, also Children's
Complaints, are effectually removed by

DU BARRY'S delicious Health-Restoring
REVALENTA ARARICA FOOD, which saves fifty
times its cost in other remedies, and is, moreover, the best
food for infants and invalids generally, as it never turns acid
on the weakest stomach, nor interferes with a good liberal diet,
but imparts a healthy relish for lunch and dinner, and restores
the faculty of digestion, and nervous and muscular energy to
the most enfeebled. _

We extract a few out of the many thousand expressions of
gratitude from invalids thus cured :—Cure No. 71, of dyspep-
sia, from the Right Hon. the Lord Stuart de Decies—" Dro-
mans, Cappoquin, County Waterford.—l have derived con-
siderable benefit from Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food,
and consider it due to yourselves and the public to authorise
the publication of these lines. Stuart de Decies." Cure No.
f 9,832. " Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, ner-
vousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms,
sickness at the stomach, and vomiting, have been removed by
Du Barry's excellent Food. Maria Jolly, Wortham Ling, near
Piss, Norfolk." Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of
Nazing Vicarage, Waltham Cross, Herts, of extreme ner-
vousness, indigestion, gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fan-
cies. Cure No. 48,314. Miss Elizabeth Yeoman, Gateacre, near
Liverpool: of ten years' dyspepsia, and all the horrors
of nervous irritability. Cure No. 18.216. Dr. Andrew Ure, of con-
stipation, dyspepsia, nervous irritability. Curs No. 34,210.
Dr. Shorland, of dropsy and debility. Cure No. 36,212. Cap-
tain Allan, of epileptic fits. Cure No. 42,116. Major Edie, of
liver and kidney disease, and total prostration of strength.
Cure No. 36,418. ltev. Dr. Minster, of' cramps, spasms, and
daily vomitings. Cure No. 26,418. Dr. Harvey, of diarhoea
and debility. Cure No. 39,628. Dr. Wurtzer, of consumption.
Cure No. 32,880. Wm. Hunt, Esq., barrister, of paralysis.
Cure No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts,timber-merchant, of Prim-
ley, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver de-
rangement, partial deafness. Cure No. 180. "Twenty-five
years' nervousness, constipation, indigestion, and debility,
from which I have suffered great misery, and which n 9 me-
dicine could remove or relieve, have been effectually cured
by Du Barry's Food in a very short time. W. B. Reeves,lBl,
Fleet-street, London." Cure 4,208. "Eight years'
dyspepsia, nervousness, debility, with cramps, spasms, and
nausea, have been effectually cured by Du Barry's health-
restoring Food. Rev. John W. Flavell, Riddlington Rectory,
Norfolk." Cure No. 3,906. "Thirteen years'cough, indiges-
tion, and general debility have been removed by Du Barry's
excellent Food. James Porter, Athol-street, Perth."
Suitably packed for all climates, and with full insjructions.
In canisters, 11b., 2s. 9d. ; 21b., 4s. 6d. ; 51b., Ils. ; 121 b., 225.
Super refined quality. 101 b., 335. The 101 b. and 121 b. canis-
ters are forwarded carriage free, on receipt of Post-office
order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, London ; Fort-
num, Mason, and Co., 182 Piccadilly, and through all grocers
and chemists in town and country.
Dr. PALLACE'S PILLS and OINTMENT are prepared
upon scientific principles, without mercury, to prevent the
danger and injury resulting from quack preparations ; they
purify, regulate, and strengthen the system, and cure effec-
tually dyspepsia (bad digestion), bile, flatulency, constipation,
liver and stomach complaints and all internal disorders; and
the Ointment heals sores, wounds, ulcers, boils, burns, car-
buncles, chaps, pimples, diseases of the scalp, &c. Both pills
and ointment are carefully packed for all climates, at Is. lid.,
2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d. London agents : Hannay, 63, Oxford-st. ;
Saner, 153, Oxford-street, and may be ordered through all
medicine vendors.
DU BARRY'S PULMONTC COUGH BON BONS are a
excellence, th
a
and abffoexcet
si thefii .
,lu2sug,sd, a6ta a. n dj.osf
aunngr
ei vr,alllseod,
anisce,msafe, and effectual remedy for coughs, colds, hoarseness,
Oxford-street, London, and all Chemists.
DU BARRY'S
eANTI
English
- DI A R R
cholera,
never-falling dy formhoAleL BON BONS
ra,bowelcom areplai a
complaint,
s,
diarrhoea, dysentery,Sanger, 150, cJ.. &c. In boxes—is. lid., 2s. 9d., 4s. Gd.
DU BARRY'SOxford-street,FOOD FOR
London, and all Chemists.
AND INVALIDS, su INFANTS, CHILDREN,
persedes the dangers and expense of
wet nursing, as infants are easily reared with it, and it is the
best and most digestible Food
for the delicate
and invalids of
any age. In canisters, at 25., and 19Ib 21s The
canis-
tersr free of carr.iage. Barry u Barry, large
rrY, and Co., 77, Regent-
steet, London
Avoid Pills, and all other Medicine for Indigestion (dys-
pepsia), habitual Constipation, Flatulency, Acidity, Palpita-
tion of the Heart, Torpidity of the Liver, bilious Headaches,
Nervousness, Biliousness, General Debility, Diarrhoea, Cough
Asthma, Consumption, Despondency, Spleen, &c. Send 2d.
in stamps, and you will receive free by Post, a popular Trea-
tise, 64 pages :---"THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF
THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS." Without pills, purgatives,
or medicines of any kind, and without expense, by a simple,
pleasant, and infallible means which :saves 50 times its cost
in other remedies ; adapted to the general reader. London:
James Gilbert,.49, Paternoster-row, and through all book*.
seller..

Yesterday, at noon, a deputation from the Bir-
mingham Reformers' Union waited upon Mr. Bright,
at the residence of Mr. J. Sturge, the hon. gentle-
man's host during his stay in Birmingham, to pre-
sent the address adopted at the meeting of the Union
on Saturday evening, and which has been already
published in our columns. The deputation consisted
of Messrs. J. S. Wright, W. Morgan, Pickering,
Beddoes, Allbutt, and others.

The address having been read, Mr. BRIGHT said
he was very much obliged to the Reformers'
Union for the extremely kind expressions made use
of towards him personally in the address ; but he
was very sensible how very little he deserved or
held the sort of position in which they would
place him, and how very little it was possible for
any man to do with regard to the great objects the
Union had in view. In this country matters of Go-
vernment were disposed of very much by a class of
persons and families to which he did not belong,
and the utmost one could . hope to do would be to
cr•ite, as far as he held it himself, an intelligent
opinion on public matters, and to try to bring that
opinion into some shape whereby it could act upon
the Government. It was only by slow degrees and
difficult steps that anything could be accomplished;
. but on that account they Were not to be discouraged
from endeavouring to do their best in the time
they had and in the circumstances in wliich they.
were placed. With regard to the political views
which were expressed in the address, he bad given
his adhesion to them some time ago, and he thought
that if the measures there recommended were car-
ried out in the legislation of the country, they would
promote a very beneficent change in our govern-
ment, and in everything connected with the ad-
ministration of public affairs. It was perhaps not
necessary for him to give the gentlemen of the
Union pledges or assurances for the future, but as
he had honestly endeavoured in the past to abide
by what he thought was right and good for the
country in his political life, he hoped to be able to
do that in the future, and to make the advantage of
the country and the goodness of our legislation the
objects he should pursue in his political career. The
hon. gentleman concluded by saying that he felt
very much the kindness of the association in pre-
paring the address, and of the deputation in coming
there to present it ; and he should be glad to co-
operate with them and his constituents generally
in anything that could be of advantage to them
and the country at large.
A conversation with regard to the political ques-
tions of the day, and that of reform in particular,
ensued.

Mr. BRIGIIT said there was great doubt as to the
course which the reform question would take.
There were those who thought it extremely doubt-
ful whether Government could manufacture a bill
at all, seeing that the " baker's dozen" of which
the Cabinet was composed must agree to what-
ever measure was proposed. They knew very
well that a bill which had not some show
of reality in it would only disgust Reformers, some
of whom would speedily find out its character and
expose it. The members of the Cabinet differ in
opinion as to what is possible in the measure itself,
and, besides this, they would have great doubts as
to their own supporters in the house. The sup-
porters might say, " It would have been better for
us to have kept our old friend Lord Palmerston in,
who could have bamboozled his supporters and the
country, rather than have a Government like this."
If the present Government, therefore, met Parlia-
ment with a good measure they would have to en-
counter the difficulty of disturbing their own party
—and if they-brought in a bill which was disgrace-
fully bad, they would have to contend with those
Reformers who wish something better. However,
this difficulty might be solved, the country should
be very watchful; and it might be advisable, when
Parliament meets, for the great towns to meet and
petition. Though this was a mode of agitation not
much resorted to for many years past, yet it was a
very useful one when a country was""considering
a great question like that of reform, as such an ex-
pression of opinion very much strengthened the
hands of those members who were in earnest—a
class usually but a small minority in the House of
Commons. If Manchester, Birmingham, and the
great towns sent up petitions signed by 30,000, or
40,000, or 50,000 names—which they could do on
questions like this—if such petitions were presented
night after night, members of the House of Com-
mons, however obtuse they were, and however un-
willing to submit, would be obliged to admit that
people think of these subjects more than they
thought they did, andwould. admit these petitions
as evidence of the feelings of the people supposed
to be represented in the House of Commons. This
was one of the modes in which all Reformers should
signify their opinion, to the House of Commons at
the opening of the. session. H e (Mr. Bright) did
not know the district around Birmingham so well
as that around Manchester, but from what he had
seen there were evidently
a great many populous
towns within a few miles, and if any organisation
was devised by which these towns could have a series
of meetings, agree upon a petition, and uni▪ te upon a
programme, the work would be proportionately effec-
tive. The work might be arduous and discouraging
for a time, but by and by the people would become
indoctrinated, the friction would produce warmth,
and the thing would go on faster than at first seemed
likely. They might not have, as in 1830, a French
Revolution to stir up the country but sti▪ ll all with
whom he (Mr.'Bright) talked were in favour of re-
form, and, an impetus once given, a good measure
might ere long be carried. It had been said by one
of the deputation that the reformers of Birmingham
were not unanimous, but it should be remembered
that in 1830 there was no union until a bill was
brought before the house. As he suggested at the
Town-hall on the previous evening, so he said now.
Let somebody in whom they had confidence prepare
a bill of a solid substantial character—a bill, if they
chose, adopting the principles embodied in the ad.-
dress just presented. If that bill were brought be-
fore Parliament, the country would have an oppor-
tunity of saying whether they should go for the
measure brought forward by those who had always
been reformers, or for those who had never been
reformers till now. If they had a dissolution of
Parliament upon the bill brought forward by the
present Government, which in all probability there
would be, then of course the people would have an
opportunity of supporting the other bill by sending
in
those who were m its favour. It was certainly
desirable that all classes should be united on this
question, but the existence of a want of unanimity,
as compared with that existing in the old Reform
andß theirm Birmingham g aN v and
as
Bill days, was not matter for surprise. In those
daysnsoucmhemtobwenrss,
as
Manchesterfelt by h
acrd
had
and low alike ; but. now the upper middle
classes were represented, and they were in that

comfortable condition, which made them
somewhat indifferent to the rights of the non-elec-
tors. tors. The Reformers' Union must try to get t
influential people of the town to go with them,
which, with their recent programme they might
fairly expect. If they went for manhood suffrage,
he was afraid they would not have that support,
either in Parliament or out. of doors. As to the pre-
paration of a bill, he advised them to leave this to
the conference which would meet next week in
London ; and this bill, when prepared, .might be
sent to every constituency, for the purpose of being
considered by such associations as the Reformers'

Union.
The conversation lasted nearly an hour, Messrs.
Wright, Pickering, and Morgan chiefly taking
part in it. A general hope was expressed that the
more influential classes of Birmingham, who on the
previous evening had joined with so much:apparent
cordiality in the principles then enunciated, would
give their support to any organisation which might
be formed in Birmingham, with the view of co-
operating with the Reformers in all parts of the
country for the purpose of procuring the passing of
a good and substantial measure of reform as soon
as it could be urged through Parliament.
After thanking Mr. Bright for the courtesy with
which- their hon. member had received them, the
deputation retired.

Mr. WARREN, the secretary, then, at the request
of the noble chairman, read a statement of the fin-
ancial position of the institution, after which
The Rightllon. S. HERBERT, M.P., rose to move
the first icsolution.. He said,—My Lord Bath,
ladiei, and gentlemen, I have had a resolution put

into my hands, which I have the greatest pleasure
• in moving. It is a resolution of thanks to those to
whom we are indebted for conceiving and carrying
out the idea of erecting this building in the town of
Warminster. Perhaps you will permit me to say
before I go further into the subject, that a contrast
between this meeting and the objects for which it
has been convened and a similar meetinc, which any
gentleman might have been present in an ad-
joining country she-ft at once the difference be-
tween our institutions and habits and those of our
French neighbours. If Warminster had been a coun-
try town in France, and you wished to have an insti-
tution of a scientfie and literary character, Mr. War-
ren would not have read to you that bill of costs, be-
cause the expense would not have been a matter in
which you would have had any concern. You would
have have had nothing to do with the Reparation,
nothing to do with the execution, and nothing
to do with the carrying on of the institution. The
application would have been made in the first in-
stance to the Government. A public grant might
probably, have been refused; but if not you would
have had the advantage of entering this room with-
out paying anything for admission, though your
entry would have been carefully watched by two
sentries at the door. (A laugh.) No landowner ful-
filling the duties of his station with liberality, and
making a warm display of public spirit, would have
presided, but you would have had the prefet of the
district in the chair, probably in full unform, with
a cocked hat; and throughout the existence of your
institution this wholesome fear would operate upon
you, that you must be careful what language you
hold and what topics you broach, or you might,
possibly, very unexpectedly and suddenly have the
opportunity of testing upon your constitutions the
effects of the warm climate of Cayenne. (Laughter.)
A very different state of affairs prevails in this
country ; we love to do all these things for our-
selves, and in my heart I believe that we do them
infinitely better. If it be a disadvantage to do them
out of our own pockets, from our own funds, it is,
on the other hand, an advantage to us, because it
teaches us a lesson of liberality and the responsibi-
lity of providing ourselves and our neighbours with
institutions of this kind. (Cheers.) Now, when I
am asked as I have been to speak ea you of the ad-
vantages of such institutions, I confess I am at a
loss what to say. During the last six weeks we hare
had this subject put before us in every possible light,
and argued in every possible manner, by the most
illustrious and able men whom the country has pro-
duced in the present day. Indeed we have had bold
people beginning to complain of such a dose of socio-
logy, if I might coin a word. (Laughter.) We have
had it in doses so copious that at last one is almost
afraid to approach the subject. At the same time we
have this consolation—ihe extent to which these
matters have.been discussed renders it impossible for
any man to say anything new. Everything has been
anticipated. Even the great enchantment of plea-
sure every man receives in a walk, how the beauties
of nature are developed and unfolded when know-
ledge enables him to appreciate them—somewhat
after Mrs. Trimmer's popular story of " Eyes and
No Eyes," as an illustration of the advantages of
learning, has been forestalled. Then again, the old
adage that " a little learning is a dangerous
thing," which made almost a stock in trade, so
well might it be combated in showing that if a
little learning be dangerous no learning at all is in-
finitely more dangerous, and that where all of us
have a little learning our object should be to aug-
ment the source of it so as to escape all danger—all
this has been forestalled. But looking at the dis-
cussions which have lately taken place, I think
they have enabled us to get at a far more correct
view of what the intentions and objects of 'these
institutions are, and what they are likely to accom-
plish, than we possessed before. We began, in my
opinion, with an impossible standard. We have
begun now to look at human beings as they are,
and to administer to them according to their real
capacities and likings. I recollect at one time that
the opinion very much taken up was, that these
institutions, by offering to all of us the means of
studying abstruse sciences, would have the advan-
tage of creating, at any raf e of increasing, the num-
ber of men eminent in literature and science ; that
they would, in point of fact ,be the nurseries of
men like Hugh Miller, Stephenson, or Dr. Living-
stone—men who struggled through every disadvan-
tage in their determination to encounter and
conquer learning. Now, I don't believe that
institutions of this kind have any such effect,
and I don't think it is right that they should have
any such effect. You ought to meet here for
purposes of intellectual recreation, and not neces-
sarily for laborious study. Stephenson, Hugh Mil-
ler, and such men, do not want opportunities'given
to them ; they make them. They are not the crea-
tures but the authors of opportunity. They had
artificial difficulties to contend with, and it was by
conquering those difficulties that they educated and
braced their minds to the performance of the great
deeds which afterwards rendered their names illus-
trious. (Cheers.) Now, we are apt, when we make
rules for others, to take a very high standard. We
are very virtuous when we make regulations to
affect the conduct of other people, and many of
these societies have begun by purgingtheir libraries
of books of amusement. Now, I am not against
offering abstruse books to those whose tastes would
lead there to study science, but what I say is, don't
restrict your library to such books. On the con-
trary, give the people wholesale intellectual amuse-
ment. Because we are virtuous I have no hesita-
tion in confessing that I am not virtuous on these
points myself—(laughter)—it is no reason why we
should forbid " the cakes and ale" to others. Who
is it that sits down after a hard day's work—l don't
care whether it be physical work or mental work—
anxious to refresh his mind, who would take up an
abstruse volume on conic sections—any learned
volumes of philosophical study? Do we ourselves
do it ? I say we do lot. We want something to be a
relief to the tension which the mind has lately been
undergoing, and I don't care what that relief may
be provided it be wholesome. That, in my opinion,
is the right course to pursue,because it is one which
Nature herself teaches us. (Hear.) I recollect read-
ing a very able address delivered two or three years
ago at a meeting of this description, in which it
was deplored that novels were read. But novels—
good ones I mean—are, in my mind, a. great school
of human nature. Look at the effect upon the lite-
rature, character, and associations of Scotland
which was produced by the novels of Sir Walter
Scott. So completely to human nature are they
that I have heard over and over again, when a
motive or an action has been said to be unnatural,
a character in one of Sir Walter Scott's - novels
quoted, in which one of the characters did a similar
thing, as a proof that the act was either correct or
otherwise, the person making the quotation looking
upon the character in the novel as though it were
a human being which had moved and acted. There
is another class of novels, novels of the domestic
class, which has also a great influence. I recollect
hearing a very eminent Frenchman, M. Guizot, say
that the literature of France would match—by,
which, of course, he meant would beat—all our lite-
rature, with- one exception, and that was our do-
mestic novels. lie said, " In science we match you ;
in poetry we match you (though in that he was
quite mistaken); in history we match you ; but we
have not got anything in "our literature like the
Heir of Redcliffe' and your domestic novels. All
books of that class are peculiarly English. They
are books describing a virtuous domestic life, books
describing a simple domestic life. They do not go
to the tragic or dramatic for interest, but they draw
it from the simple springs of natural life. This we
have not got in the literature of France." I believe
they have not got it because they have not-got in
France the same kind of domestic life. That which
is our representation of domestic life, and which,
according to M. Guizot, is wanting in the French
literature, has no existence in France. The French
have their description of domestic life, but it differs
very much from ours. There are many works—
such, for instance, as the works of Mr. Kingsley—

which are pregnant with instruction, and from
which every one who reads them derives pleasure
and information. Surely such a class of works is
not out of place in the library of a literary institu-
tion ? (Cheers.) Then, again, are newspapers things
to be read in these institutions ? Which of the gen-
tlemen who quarrel with reading-rooms and scien-
tific institutions for having the current news of the
day laid upon the table—which of them himself
abstains from reading the newspapers ? After all,
newspapers are contmporary history, not always
accurate you will say, but, I am afraid. not the less
history. We insist upon immediate, early, instan-
taneous news. We have no time to sift matters for
ourselves, and we look upon it as the business
of the newspapers to tell us the news. The occa-
sional inaccuracies of the newspapers are attribut-
able in a great measure to our craving for early in-
telligence. What is reported to us is not the thing
which is afterwards found to have happened, but
what is believed at the time to happened, and
therefore subsequent events frequently modify first
impressions. The inaccuracy therefore is in the
rapidity with which people insist upon being pro-
vided with news, and we have no right to complain.
(Hear, hea.) But newspapers do something be-
yond giving us news. They give to us the most
admirable discussions upon all the contemporaneous
questions the day. I do not think that any coun-
try has ever seen a literature so rapidly executed
in which there is so much profound thought.
(Hear.) There is no question, abroad or at home,
no question political, and very few scientific, which
is not admirably discussed in the newspaper press
of this country. The articles which appear in the
newspapers, compressed into a short space, are the
result of much reading and of much thought ; and
we who have not much time on our hands—we are
all in this age pressed !or time—get by that means
great results, and a vast amount of thought elabo-
rated into what the Lancashire manufacturers would
call the " finished article." (Hear, hear.) Depend
upon it, the man who shuts his eyes to the con-
temporaneous history of the newspapers is a man
unfit to deal with the practical wants of society.
(Cheers.) In speaking of newspapers, it has always
appeared to me that they might be much more use-
ful than they are, and I have strong belief that
ultimately we shall see in the newspapers a
change which will, I think, tend to make them
much safer instructors of the public, for this reason
—that the public would them more easily read and
accept what it now takes cum gram salis. At the
present moment newspaper writers are anonymous.
My belief is that for the mission of public instruc-
tion that is a great disadvantage. It puts on a par
in point of weight and authority the most scru-
pulous writer and the most unscrupulous writer,
the most exact and the most inexact. Mr: Canning
once held up two despatches written to him by two
most eminent diplomatists, one of whom resides in
this neighbourhood. Both were admirably written,
both showed great knowledge of the world and a
finished style of writing. Mr. Canning held them
in his hand, and said, " Here are two despatches
equally well written. I have not a fault to find
with either of them, but I attach great weight to
this one and none to that. I know the characters
of the two men who wrote them. One is a scrupu-
lous investigator of facts and the other is a writer
for effect. I shall, therefore, act on the one despatch
and put the other on the shelf." Now, in reading a
newspaper we want that source of confidence in
some writers and of caution in others. If we knew
who the writers were we should know iii the case
of a man whose character is established that every-
thing he says might be taken for gospel, while we
should also know in another case that the writer
was neither so accurate in his statements nor so
careful in sifting his facts. I think we should
derive great advantage from such a state of
things. Then, again, there is another matter con-
nected with the anonymous writing in news-
papers. A man knows that he cannot be an-
swered. As I see some members of the clerical pro-
fession before me, perhaps they will pardon me for
saying that if the congregation had the right to
answer the sermon would be sometimes different
from what it now is. (Laughter.) A man would
always be more careful in what he said when he
knew he would be liable to an answer. Even now
his writing is occasionally answered, and his facts
disputed, but he has not to go through the humilia-
tion of 'being proved to be wrong. He is a non-
entity himself. What he writes may be criticised,
but he is unknown. For this reason I think that
newspaper writers do not write with the same care
and caution which theY would otherwise exercise.
(Hear.) Then, again, there is somethingin the Eng-
lish character that dislikes secrecy. Men are
ashamed to a certain extent of writing anonymously
and if they do so they conceal it. I have known
many gentlemen take a leading part in public
writing, but I have always found them unwilling
to admit or to be known as writers of such and
such articles. They don't like the impression
which would be produced if they were known as
anonymous writers. In the House of Commons an
impression prevails that a man who can speak inhis
own name upon any question takes an unfair ad-
vantage if he says something under cover of an
anonymous article. There are some things which
people would not bring forward except anonymously,
and I have no doubt that in a few cases the public
morals gain from anonymous writing, but taking
the balance of the two sides of the question, I don't
say that our newspaper writing could be improved,
for it could not ; but the weight and influence of
the newspapers would be increased if anonymous
writing were diminished where it is for the public
good that it should be diminished. (Hear.) Upon
the subject of newspapers, which will in my opi-
nion mould more and more the opinion of the
people every day, I have thought it not out of place
to throw out these things for your consideration.
(Cheers.) As printing and book reading increases,
the gifts of public orators will become of little or
no value. Formerly the debates in the House of
Commons guided, strengthened, and ruled public
opinion. They do so no longer, because the speakers
are anticipated and the questions of the day better
and more completely treated in the articles con-
tained in the periodical literature of the day. It is
to the press that we must look for the formation of
the great mass of public opinion on political and
social questions, and it is of importance to watch
with the greatest care any defects capable of re-
medy.which diminish the good influence the press
exercises, and if any one can contribute to improve
the strength of the press for good, and to diminish
it when it tends towards evil, he can confer no
greater benefit upon the community at large. Now
I have said that m my opinion there is no harm in
having recourse after our toil, whether it be physi-
cal or mental toil—to what is called light and
amusing readin,g. A newspaper is not light read-
ing, but it is what is a great deal better—con-
densed reading. In novels we have great rules
of conduct laid down, excellent remarks on social
evils, and the best analysis we have almost of
human nature. Then, why should we forbid
men to have recourse to this kind of refreshment
after their toil ? As I said before, there is not
not one man in a thousand who will sit down
to study difficult and abstruse books after his day's
work. We are, nevertheless, told after great labour
and toil that we are bound to reject all the lighter
and the more amusing topics and go into the abstruse
speculations of metaphysicians and theologians, and
I for one say it is not true that man as a general
rule is eapa 31e of such things. We have some in-
stances recorded which I look upon as pure myths.
We read of Alfred's division of the day—eight hours
for study, eight for labour, and eight for rest—but
the conclusion I have arrived at is that there is not
one word of truth in it. No human being could
lead such a life even if he were of the most Hercu-
lean form. I am almost ashamed of standing up
here to ;try to answer fallacies which have long
since exploded, and to advocate a cause in which
every one believes. There are persons in this room
of all professions, of all political and religious
opinions, who have met together on common ground.
It would be absurd for me to tell you that you are
right in what you are doing, for no man would
venture to say that you are wrong. Therefore when
we endeavour to defend such institutions as this we
accuse ourselves in order to justify ourselves. At
the same time I have heard it said, especially
bwhen
the subject of competitive examinations has been
the
brought forward, " of what good to youh.i h
t oug
intellectual labour was infmation, an as
learning you obtain ?" justs if. the sole object ohf
the
eere ?
boy
the information acquired must be afterwards
practise
gymnastic
It
use-
less. Go into a courtyard where boys
d what
advantagedo that yousee
exercises, ipermanentses and a
should be able to stand on his feet with his head
risnnasottiocf
downwards, or be able to use the dumb-bells, but
it braces his body and fits him for the toil to come.
So it is with learning. The facts we learn are use-
less except for deduction. When we have got
the deduction it is probable enough that we forget
the facts, but we have got our minds into the
habit of acquiring, storing, and using know-
ledge. Then, again, there is the immense enjoy-
ment which attends the acquisition of know-
ledge. Who, looking back upon his life, woul I
throw out of it the hours spent in intellectual occu-
pation ? Many a man will tell you, " The hours I

spent in intellectual exercises were not useless. The
hours I spent in reading, in thought, in making
my own impressions exact to my own mind by
writing them, have left me a better man, more fit
for any work I have to do, and I have the inex-
pressible consolation of having sharpened my facul-
ties for that time when the body shall fail, the
muscles shrink back, when the human form becomes
unfitted from age for exertion, and when the mind
alone is vigorous." There are many, reasons, apart
from these enjoyments, which make it at this mo-
ment, in my opinion, particularly necessary to study
well what is going on in the world or out of it.
Now, at meetings of this. kind we are justly for-
bidden to enter into the domain of politics, but I
have observed at public meetings when gentlemen
make that statement that they almost invariably
proceed to break the rule, and I am now going to
do so myself, (Laughter.) lam not, however, going
to allude to party politics, but the reverse. We live
in times when the circumstances of the political
world are very peculiar. When I first entered
Parliament the House of Commons was divided
into two camps. A leader guarded both—a leader
whom no man questioned, and whom every man on
his side followed. All the trouble was in his hands.
His party acquiesced in everything he thought
best, and five minutes after his decision was an-
nounced to them they were heart and soul engaged
in it, clamorous that it was the only one that
could be arrived at. (Laughter.) In the House
of Commons this was a great advantage in some
respects, for it saved a world of thought (Laugh-
ter.) But in the House of Commons of the present
day we have a different state of things. The
House of Commons is divided into many parties,
or, rather, no party, and why ? Because the coun-
try is divided into many parties, or no party.
(Hear, hoar.) A the time the House of Commons
was divided into two camps the country was
divided into two camps also. One man was blue,
another yellow. (Laughter.) Each had his own
lawyers, and there was the sharpest line of demar-
cation between the two. The mass of the people

are now as sharp as those they return to represent
them, and the result is that, judging for them-
selves, they find some good on one side, some on
another, and they will not yield themselves blindly
to the lead of any one man or party in the State.
Now, there is great complaint of this throughout
the country. Men are disturbed and unsettled by
it, and they are devising means whereby the coun-
try and Parliament may again be divided into two
camps. But, instead of lamenting the existence of
such a state of things, and devising means to re-
store what I firmly believe will never be restored
again, I think we had better look our difficulties in
the face. I don't lament the change. Many of
the old public men in the House of Commons re-
gret it enormously ; they are bewildered by it, and
they are perhaps right in their regret as public
men, because it increases the trouble and difficulty
of public men. But all they have lost in comfort
the country, has gained in public good. The result
is this—that the impulsion comes from below, that
the country instead of being partisans, are now be-
come a calm, reasoning jury, and it is necessary now
that they are to constitute the jury that they should
be capable of deciding upon the arguments laid be-
fore them. At any rate, the country are gainers
by the change. The more great measures are
passed by consent and party bitterness becomes ex-
tinct the more necessary it becomes that we in the
country should understand the contemporaneous
political opinions we are called upon to decide, and
for that purpose we must study the principles of
political economy. (Hear.) There is, for instance,
the great question of India, which has just been in-
trusted to us. That is a question which has not
been discussed in England at all till within the
last few months. Even in the House of Commons
it was rot discussed, but it was held to be a ques-
tion which oitly those who had great local expe-
rience could understarid. But India is now made
over to the Queen, and making it over to the Queen
means making it over to the English people. There
are most delicate and difficult questions involved in
the treatment of that country. Rival candidates for
power will probably put forward theories of their
own. You must decide what is right, and therefore
on all the questions on which you are to be a calm
reasoning jury you must strengthen and fortify
your minds by political study, so that you may be
enabled to give a right decision upon the political
theories put forward by public men. (Hear.) Again
in this great confluence of opinion, when Liberals,
Radicals, and Conservatives as distinct parties are
almost extinct, we are all going tqdeal with an-
other great question—the extension of the suffrage.
You must bear in mind that in all these things I
have not said a word indicating a leaning, or have
attempted to gain favour for a particular class of
people. There seems to be a sort of universal con-
sent that the great question of the suffrage shall be
dealt with, and a tolerable consent as to the spirit
in which it is to be dealt with. If, then, a measure
founded on such principles be passed, we shall have
an enormous extension of that jury which is to de-
cide in a calm reasoning manner on the great ques-
tions of the day. Learning, then, must no longer be
a monopoly of those who have leisure and wealth
to obtain it, but it must go further, and for such a
purpose institutions such as this are invaluable. I
trust, with all my heart, that this institution will
be taken thorough advantage of—that while you
recreate and amuse yourselves in your intervals be-
tween day and day of toil, others will go deeper
ixto their studies, and that their influence and their
conversation will again act upon others. This is
the way that political and socialopiaions are formed
in this country. I have stated why I think at this
moment these institutions ought to find special fa-
vour among us. I have mentioned their great uti-
lity, the great duty there is in us to support and
take our share in them, and I have alluded to those
private reasons which sooner or later all of us will
feel. There is an old distich which says—

" The soul's dark cottage battered and decayed,
Lets in new light thro' chinks that time has made."
Now, though it is true that our intellectual facul-
ties are weakened by fatigue, they are not weakened
by age. When we feel the restlessness and activity
of youth passing, when we come to the sedate
period of manhood, when, still further, we are
looking to the closing evening of our days,
when possibly a long life of toil and business may
have diminished our zest for many of the occupa-
tions in which we have been engaged, we shall find
that if in the season of youth we have strengthened
our faculties, though age enfeebles us, 'we shall still
have an undiminished source of enjoyment by
having in our hands, though we ourselves may be
precluded from active participation in the contests
and anxieties of life, the means by the pen of in-
fluencing and benefiting not only the country to
which we belong,but the whole human race. (Loud
cheers.) I think, then, that we cannot do better
than express in the warmest manner our thanks to
the gentlemen who have promoted and who are the
authors and originators of this institution. I trust,
therefore, that you will agree with me in accepting
with warmth and cordiality the resolution which I
have now the honour to read to you—
" That the Warminster Athenaeum, being an institution
calculated to advance the moral, social, and intellectual pro-
gress of the town and neighbourhood, the cordial thanks of
the public are due to its promoters."
The right hon. gentleman then resumed his seat
amid loud cheers.
The Hon. and Rev. S. BEST, in seconding the re-
solution, said he dissented from the opinions which
Mr. S. Herbert had expressed. He toolleaasNoniciew-
what sterner, and perhaps not so
this. He
agreeable
admitted
of the duties of an institution
the social advantages to be ived from reading
good novels or newspapers,butthere were other
matters to be attended to in training the mind in
order to enable it to distinguish the force of truth.
(Hear.) Setting the highest possible value upon
newspapers, and entirelyassenting
c,
who t o the view Mr.
Herbert had taken of t e. importance of knowin
the writers of the i
different articles were, he
could not say that he could look to the press alone
as the means of carrying on the education of the
people. A man coming into a literary institu-
tion, fatigued in body and mind, might, per-
haps,
fly to the newspaper
of the day for
in-
struction,but how could a man so fatigued
read the different sides of a question so as to be
enabled to discriminate between truth and false-
hood ? With regard to the influence which educa-
tion had upon the morals of the people, returns and
statistics showed that educated criminals did not
form anything like one per cent. of the whole
criminality of the country. The great object of in-
stitutions such as this was, in his opinion, to take
the young when they left school, to educate them
Practically, and continue that education either by
means of mutual instruction or by means of ap-
pointed masters.
The resolution was then put by the chairman and
unanimously agreed to.
Mr. E. BAINES proposed the next resolution :
" That this institution recommends itself to the support-
of the friends of education as- designed to promote the self-
improvement of the young and the general diffusion of
Inlwledge apart from religious and political opinions."
He said, it had been his intention on entering the
room to say nothing whatever on any subject of
controversy, but to offer in the simplest form a few
facts ia reference to the value of these institutions.

. -
iad .... . , ~.i in the working of in-
stitutions of this kind—institutions for the intel-
lectual, moral, and social improvement of the hum-
bler classes. He agreed most cordially with what
had been said by the right hon. gentleman in re-
gard to the desirableness of not forbidding in these
institutions relaxation and intellectual amusement.
Very many years ago he had dissented from the
view taken of mechanics' institutions by their
founder, Dr. Birkbeck, and Lord Brougham, that
they should be entirely devoted to scientific study,
and he believed experience had proved that he was
right. At the same time he thought there was
somcthiwg higher to be gained from mechanics'
institutions than mere intellectual amusement. It
was said that the instruction which they imparted
tended to produce a mediocrity of talent, but if that
mediocrity was created by raising the low up to a
high level, it was an advantage, and he did not ob-
ject to it. He knew of many inAances in which
mechanics' institutions had enabled a man to deve-
lope his talent, but he knew of none in which they
had prevented its development. lie therefore did
look with much satisfaction upon the efforts which
had been made in the town of Warminster to ex-
tend their institution and render it more useful, and
he had great pleasure in proposing the resolution
which he had already read,
The Rev. A. FANE seconded the resolution, which
was unanimously agreed to.
Several other addresses having been delivered
the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks
to the Chairman. After the meeting a dinner took
place at the Town-hall, at which the Marquis of
Bath presided, and the festivities were concluded by
a soiree in the evening.