The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-15 00:00:00

QUEEN'S COLLEGE, LIVERPOOL.

On Wednesday evening the first anniversary
meeting of this college (which was inaugurated
by Lord Brougham last year) was held in the lec-
ture-hall of the Institute, Mount-street.
Lord BROUGHAM, having taken the chair, said
after some introductory allusions--Now, one word
as to the course in which society is moving forward
at the present day. Ido not say that it is moving too
quick—Heaven forbid ; that is not my opinion ; but
I say that there are some persons—worthy and ex-
cellent persons—zealous, some of them even over-
zealous, some whose zeal is greater than their know-
ledge—who arc apt to be impatient, and to say
that we are not going fast enough. And they 6o a
step further—these over-zealous and impatient
though worthy and enlightened individuals often-
times go a step further, and not only consider that
we are moving too slow, but sometimes consider
that we are stopping altogether ; nay, I have heard
some say, by way of complaint—and if it were well
founded a most, just complaint it would be, and a
most grievous thing, too—that we are going back-
wards. Now, I could not help thinking of that as
I was coming along the other day on my way to this
town. I happened to pass, in another part of the
county, an old acquaintance of mine, the river
Lune, which I have known ever since I knew Lan-
cashire, and that is many years ago since I went
the Northern Circuit. I was passing in the railway
train, and the Lune was passing at its ordinary
pace, and upon looking out I saw this delusion,
which I cannot help thinking a little parallel to the
kind of other delusions to which I have adverted ;
the Lune seemed to be moving backwards—(laugh-
ter)—but immediately I saw hOw it was, and that
it could not very easily move up a hill. It was
moving at a very fair and rapid pace, but certainly
not moving backwards ; and what inide me think

.....
it was moving backwards was the 'rapid pace at
which I was going in the train. And so it is with
those whose complaints I have been commenting.
Now, this no doubt is wrong—this is to be lamented,
because it is discouraging in every way. It dis-
courages their hdpes who make these complaints ;
it has a tendency to relax their exertions ; it makes
them think things are desperate when they are in a
prosperous state; and it is very unfair to those,
whether of the Government or of the legislature,
or of any other part of the constituted
authorities that take part in directing the
progress of society, by the best means in their
power, and as they believe in the safest
and most practical way, because it has a tendency
to paralyse and discourage their exertions. ( Cheers.)
Who can doubt that everything depends upon the
culture which we and such as we are giving to the
best faculties of the mind ? Ay, and with those
faculties to the unfolding and the cherishing of the
best feelings of the heart. (Hear, and cheers.) We
may well say with a great poet
4' The godlike form of man bespeaks control,
And borrows all its grandeur from the soul;
Hers is the splendour, state, and hers the throne,
The intellectual kingdom all her own."

(Cheers.)
Lord JOIIN RUSSELL—After what your chair-
man has said, it will be unnecessary for me to oc-
cupy your time—he has so well informed you of
what has taken place with regard to this institu-
tion. He took so large and so useful a part in
its foundation that he is better qualified than any
other man to speak of its merits. If I were to
make any remark at all it should be rather to this
effect—that I cannot but see in the success of this
institution, in its growing qualification for the
wants of education, not only that education is de-
sired, because upon that nearly all men are now
agreed—not only that education is generally
making progress in the country, but that this in-
stitution has been so framed and has been so modi-
fied and so improved by those who are charged
with its conduct, that it does meet the wants
of the community. (Hear, hear.) Now, with re-
gard to the old systems of education. There were
too many of them, like that old house which is de-
scribed in poetry, with windows to shut out the