The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-01 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 1, 1866.

half of last year, payable on the 15th of November,
carrying forward a balance of £1,124, which the
directors proposed to apply to the partial liquidation
of the debt due for carriages and trucks, amounting
to £1,305. Since the last meeting the directors had
paid £2,053, being the balance on the account due
for locomotives. The directors had signed on the
25th of October a provisional convention with the
French Government for the extension of the line
from Poperinghe over the French frontier to Haze-
brouck. The capital account to 30th of June last
showed that £599,566 had been expended.

NEWMARKET FARMERS' CLUB.

NEWM &MET, Wednesday.
The eighth anniversary meeting of this agricul-
tural society was held yesterday, and the dinner took
place as usual at the Golden Lion Hotel, under the
presidency of the Duke of Rutland.
" The Members for Suffolk and Cambridgeshire"
having been proposed by Mr. E. Frost and drunk
with much cordiality,

Lord GEORGE MANNERS, M.P., in responding, oll►
served that he thought there was scarcely any class
of men more in want of the sympathy of their fellows
than were members of Parliament. Were it not for
their favour one would no longer be a member of
Parliament, and it was only by one's conduct show-
ing that one was in harmony with one's constituents
that one could be returned to the proud position in
which he was placed. He was not one of those
who considered that the position of a member of
Parliament was that of a bed of roses, or one that
it was desirable to strive to attain at all hazards,
and it was only by the honest and sincere sympathy
and respect of his constituents that he should wish
to remain in that position. (Applause.) Therefore,
he felt most deeply that it was a high compliment
to have the opportunity of returning thanks to an
assembly such as that for his health being drunk as
a member of that important county. Having said
that much he scarcely knew that he had much more
to say, for when he came to gatherings of that sort
he rather expected to be enlightened than to en-
lighten ; and he was always reminded that nature
had provided men with two ears while they had only
one tongue, in order that they might hear much and
speak little. (A laugh.) They would, however,
pardon him if he proceeded to make one or two re-
marks. In the first place, he thought he might
fairly congratulate them upon having passed some-
what successfully through a very trying period.
They all knew what a trying period the whole of
last winter was, owing to that dreadful scourge
among cattle which broke out in the country ; and
though parts of that county had been severely af-
fected by it, that immediate neighbourhood, he was
happy to say, had to a great extent escaped. He
hoped he was now justified in assuming that if due
ordinary care were still exercised for a few weeks,
or perhaps months, they would be entirely rid of
that dreadful scourge, which, on the occasion of a
former visitation, dwelt among them for 12 years.
Therefore he thought it behoved every man to use
every possible exertion to prevent the possibility of
spreading infection in any way. (Hear, hear.)
Then they knew that the greater part of England
had been affected by a most trying harvest time. He
hoped he was not' wrong in assuming that those in
that neighbourhood had weathered their troubles
successfully, and, that being the case, there was
every probability that their return would be equal
to their exertions. (Cheers.) There was only
one other subject to which he wished to draw
their attention, and that was the position of the
agricultural labourer. (Hear, hear.) He felt strongly
that one of the great difficulties farmers would
have to contend with in future years would be an
inadequate supply of labour. He thought that they
would very shortly find that the army would come
into competition with them for labour, as it was
abundantly clear that if their army was to exist
(and exist it must) the Government must offer much
higher inducements to men to enlist than they were
doing at present, and that must necessarily compete
with the farmers in the labour market. They might
ask how they were to improve the position of the
agricultural labourer. That, he owned, was almost
more than he was in a position to state ; but he should
say that a cordial sympathy between the different
classes was one great inducement to influence men
to remain as agricultural labourers. He thought
they should endeavour in every why to look after
the young fellows and see that they were properly
cared for ; and they, finding their homes in their
native villages suited to their tastes, would be less
inclined to quit them. There was akuggestion'(which
he merely threw out as a wild notion, in order that
some gentleman present might take it up and put it
into some sort of shape), and that was whether what
had been called the " co-operative" system was at
all applicable to agriculture. If he were asked to
expli.in what he meant he should say—Suppose at
a harvest supper an employer were to say to his
men, " Now, my lads, I have a certain capital in-
vested in this business—say £3,000. The profit
upon that is the fund out of which I am to pay you
wages. It is my great desire, as far as in me lies,
to improve your position, and to give you an oppor-
tunity, if possible, of rising in the world. Now;
this is what I propose to you. As l said before, my

capital invested iu my business is £3,000, and I ex-
pect, as my undoubted right, to make upon that at
least 10 per cent. If, by your increased industry,
by your increased thrift, and the greater care you
take of my property, I find that my profits go
beyond that point, I will divide the remainder
amongst us—you and I will share together. He
(Lord G. Manners) believed that to be simply
the co-operative system. The labourer would then be
as sure of his wages as he was now ; but, in addi-

tion to that, he would have the great spur and incen-
tive of seeing the possibility of sharing in the pro-
fits of his employer ; and, beyond that, he would
have the additional spur of seeing that every man
did his proper share of the work, that there was no
pilfering, and that proper thrift was exercised in all
the affairs connected with the farm ; in fact, he
would then be, as it were, a junior partner in the
concern ; and he (Lord G. Manners) was not with-
out the expectation that, some day or other—it
might be many years off—that would be the condi-
tion of the country. He was quite aware that he
had introduced very heretical matter into that
room, but as there was nothing political in it he
trusted he might have the pardon of the chair, and
also of all the company present. (Cheers.)

Viscount RovsToN, M.P., also responded to the
toast. Having expressed his acknowledgments for
the compliment paid to him as one of the county
members, and the pleasure he felt in meeting his
constituents on that and all occasions, he went on
to observe that he cordially sympathised with the
remarks with which Lord G. Manners opened his
speech—viz., that it was a matter of considerable
satisfaction and pleasure when a member of Par-
liament could believe that he wasreturned by a con-
stituency of such calibre as that of that county, by
the ,free action of a free people, and not by those
farces which they had lately had brought promi-
nently before them by the inquiries of certain com-
missions, which had shown up to a disgraceful extent
the shameful proceedings which took place in this
free country with regard to returning members to
Parliament. (Cheers.) He could not say how he
congratulated himself upon the fact that his Par-
liamentary career had commenced, and he trusted
it would also finish, with the constituency of that
count y—but he supposed those gentlemen who
called themselves Liberals, and who were always
advocating those broad Liberal principles, would
say that Lord G. Manners and himself were returned
simply by the amount of property held by their re-
pective relatives. He distinctly denied that such was
the case ; and he only hoped that, in the continued
sympathy and attachment he trusted be might per-
sonally find amongst the constituency of that
county, he might have reason really to believe that
he was not returned upon the principle of property,
but upon the principle of fair agreement and true
feeling among the general constituency. (Cheers.)
And he believed that no Liberal reformer, and no
reform bill that ever could be passed by the Legis-
lature, would ever bring out such benefits for Eng-
land as the systematic agreement among the body
of the people who returned members to Parliament,
that these members should be men connected
with them by feelings of property, of education, and
those common ties which passed between man and
man ; or induce the people to believe that when,
having transported down to their cities gentlemen
connected with money, and ready to dispense it to
every person who would put it into his pocket, the
constituency or the country at large would be greatly
benefited thereby. His lordship then referred to the
trying period the country had passed through since
he addressed them last year, owing to the death of
Lord Palmerston, the ravages of the cattle plague,
and the trying weather which prevailed during har-
vest ; and then went on to observe that he did not
think it would be right for him to trouble them at

any length that evening, knowing, as he did, that
topics connected with politics were rather put aside
on these occasions, though be confessed he did not
see why at meetings like that it should be so, because
if there was an occasion on which a county member
had a better opportunity of meeting his constituents
than another, it was at meetings of that kind ; and
if anything was likely to subdue the bitter feeling
of political excitement it was partaking of such an
excellent repast as they had had. (Laughter.) After
dinner they all settled down into a good-natured
sort of conversation, in which, even if they were to
enter into an argument upon the new Reform Bill
which they had heard was to be introduced, he
doubted not that at that table they would be able to
manufacture a very pleasant one. (Laughter.) He
sincerely trusted that, if the Government did bring
in a Reform Bill, they would have the fair judgment
of the country, and not be treated as it was said the
ultra-Liberal party had some idea of treating them
—by having nothing at all to say to it. He did
not conceive that it was by any means impossible
that a Conservative Government should settle this
much- agitated question. Everybody would admit
that the various Governments which had attempted
the task had signally failed ; and if there was to be
any settlement of the question (which, he humbly
believed, was very doubtful), he did not think it was
a question which could be settled by one party or
another, but that the only way of settling it, giving
a fair'representation, and holding strongly,to those
ancient laws which had been laid down with regard
to the strength and welfare of the constitution of
the country, would be for the House of Commons
to resolve itself into a committee of the whole house
and make the best bill it could. That, he thought,
was about the only chance the country had of hav-
ing a Reform Bill. Parties were so divided upon it,
and the working of parties, when they took the line
they did upon matters of that sort, reduced the ques-
tion to a shifting of places, and then he saw but
little hope of the settlement of so important a ques-
tion. Anyhow he had no doubt that if Lord Derby's
Government took up the question of reform they
would take it up with a spirit of honesty, having
strongly at heart the welfare and prosperity of the
country. (Cheers.)
The Noble PRESIDENT, in proposing " Success to
the Newmarket Farmers' Club," said he cordially
concurred in the expression by his brother (Lord G.
Manners) of his gratitude that they had been allowed
to gather in their harvest better than some of their
neighbours. He feared that upon the whole the
harvest in England had not been a good one, and
that in many counties, especially in the north, a
great deal of good/corn had been entirely destroyed.
He thought, therefore, those who had been able to
gather their crops in good condition should feel
peculiarly grateful to Providence for having been
allowed to do so. (Applause.) When he last year
had the pleasure of addressing them in that room
the cattle plague had but recently broken out, and
be remembered he then stated that he was afraidthat
of all the many remedies that had been proposed to
counteract that fearful disease, none of them would
be of any real or permanent avail. He was
sorry to say that that prediction had been but too
truly verified, and he believed that, up to the pre-
sent time, no specific had been found that would
cure that fearful plague. But at the same time he
thought that something with respect to it had been
established, and, amongst other things, he thought
it had been established that it was contagious, that
it was imported from abroad, and that the only way
of getting rid of it was by stamping it out. That
had now been done for some time with good effect,
and he rejoiced to find that, according to the last re-
turn, there were only six cases during the week,
being five less than in the previous week. He hoped,
therefore, that the disease might soon disappear
altogether, and that, with the exercise of the care
referred to by his brother, it might not appear again,
Therewas one point that struck him as very remark-
able in the report of the commissioners upon this
subject, and that was that in no case had the disease
ever ascended to an altitude of above 1,000 feet.
Throughout the country all the highest parts of the
land had been entirely free ; there seemed to have
been hardly an exception. In Westmoreland, in
Cumberland, in Scotland and Wales, in the high
carts of Leicestershire, and in the high parts of that
unfortunately low county (Cambridgeshire), they
found there had been no cattle plague ; but when
they got to Cheshire and the fen districts there the
fearful disease seemed to rage with impunity. There
was another point alluded to by his brother which he
thought-of great importance at the presenttime, and
that was the prospect of a scarcity of labour. He
had observed that nearly all the meetings which had
taken place this year on the subject of agriculture
that question had been alluded to, and he was happy
to say he thought in almost all cases in the very best
spirit ; and he quite agreed with the remarks made
by almost every speaker on the subject, that if they
wished to retain the labourer on their farms it must
be by improving his condition, and by looking
after his wants and necessities. With respect to
the hint that had been thrown out by his brother
as to co-operation, that was certainly the
first time he had heard it suggested as ap-
plied to the agricultural labourer, and therefore
he could not give a very decided opinion as to its
practicability ; but of this he was quite sure—that
whatever increased the comfort and well-being of
the labourer not only conferred great benefit on the
labourer himself, but also upon all dependent upon
agriculture—upon the farmer as well as upon the
landlord; and he was convinced that nothing they
could do would so benefit agriculture and themselves
as to improve the labourer by all the means in their
power—by giving him better wages, improving his
cottage, and giving him increased comforts in every
way. He believed that nothing would so increase
their own prosperity as-increasing the prosperity of
the labourer. (Cheers.) He had great pleasure in
proposing the toast he had mentioned, because he
felt that that society was one that conferred great
benefits on agriculture ; but he thought they would
take a low and a small view of the benefits it con-
ferled if they confined their vision to the actual and
positive benefits derived from that club. He alluded
to the prizes that were given for ploughing, for roots,
for the best agricultural labourer, and for the increase
of agricultural produce. These conferred a direct
and evident benefit upon agriculture ; but if they
wished to estimate the full behefit that was derived
from that society they should look more to the effect
that it had upon agaiculture by bringing them toge-
gether as it had done that day, and by the good fel-
lowship and good feeling which he believed that in-
tercommunication of ideas would produce. (Cheers.)
At the present time, when there were those in this
country who were endeavouring to set class against
class, agriculturist against manufacturer, and
manufacturer against agriculturists, who were endea-
vouring to widen the gulf that already separated
riches from poverty, and doing all in their power to
create evil passions and excite animosities, instead of
endeavouring to heal and to calm the feeling that
might in some cases arise—he said that when there
were endeavours made to create dissensions and ill
feeling, he thought it was more necessary than ever
that they should unite together—(cheers)--•in feel-
ings of friendship and of loyalty, in feelings of
loyalty to the Queen, and of attachment to their
institutions, as giving them freedom and liberty,
and in feelings of true and lofty patriotism. (Cheers.)
He felt convinced that the time had not come when
they were prepared to risk all that they held most
dear in the hope of some unattainable good that
could never come. (Cheers.)
In the course of the subsequent proceedings, Mr.
Gardener referred to the suggestion of Lord G.
Manners as to the co-operative system, and said
that if the labourer got no share of the profits till
those of his master reached 10 per cent., he did not
see much of a prospect for the labourer upon that
system.

A New Zealand letter of September 8 says :-
4‘ In the yearly part of the present year Professor Owen
suggested that a feather or bone of some extraordinary
fossil bird or reptile discovered at Nelson should be for-
warded to him for examination. That fossil might have
been better described from its appearance as an enormous
brickbat. Mr. Dobson, who, in consequence of Professor
Owen's request inspected the supposed fossil, declared it to
be merely a mass of highly quartzose sandstone. But by
this mail a really interesting contribution to science is for-
warded to one of the London societies by Dr. Hector,
F.R.S., the Government geologist, in the shape of some
elaborate drawings, &c., of a portion of a moa'e egg, with
the bones of the chick in an advanced stage of incubation.
The egg was found at Otago and received here a few
weeks ago,"