The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-22 00:00:00

LORD .P.ALMERSTONt AT ROME F.

ROMSEY, WEDNESDAY.
The Romsey Labourers' Encouragement Associa-
tion held its anniversary this afternoon, when prizes
were awarded for long servitude, ploughing, thatch-
ing, and almost every description of agricultural
employment. Lord Palmerston, the president of
the association, was present, and personally distri-
buted the 'prizes to the'successfal candidates in the
Town-hall. -
The awards having been made,
Lord PALMEILSTON addressed the labourers as fol-

lows :—My Friends,—Perhaps you will allow me to
address a few words, to you to express the great plea-
sure which Ilave derived from having to hand over
to so many deserving men and women in this neigh-
bourhood these prizes—prizes which are not in-
tended, I need hardly say, as rewards, but as tokens
and memorials of your good conduct in your several
vocations. I need harly say that they are not re-
wards, because no man is so foolish as to think that
these, tokens of good conduct which are given are in-
tended to be substantial rewards for the conduct on ac-
esunt of which they are bestowed. This is not the
principle upon which decorations and memorials and
tokens are given to mankind for their meritorious
conduct. - (Hear.) The soldier who hazards his life
upon the field of battle, and who has attracted the
attention of his superiors and of his comrades by dis-
tinguished and heroic bravery, is rewarded by a
cross, very insignificant in intrinsic value, but which
he wears on his breast as a token and a record of
that good conduct which has obtained for him that
which is a real reward—namely, the esteem and re-
spect of all around him. (Cheers.) In the same way
in other classes of life, men who perform distin-
.guished services to the State are rewarded by a little
riband which they wear in their button-hole or over
their shoulder, but nobody imagines that half a
yard or two yards of red or blue riband are in
themselves intrinsic rewards. They are tokens and
records of that good conduct in the life of those on
whom they are bestowed which testify to mankind
that they have deserved well of their country. There -
fore, my friends, I am delighted that so many of
you have have received these tokens of your good
conduct in your respective vocations, and I am glad
to say_that these rewards have been given for
almost every kind of service which an agricultural
labourer is capable of performing. We have had
prizes for ploughmen, for thatchers, for drill-men,
for team-men, for the culivation of gardens, for keep-
ing cottages neat, and for good service in the fami-
lies where labourers have been employed. And, my
friends, without saying anything to flatter you,
you may have the satisfaction of reflecting that you
belong to a class most deserving of the esteem and
respect of your fellow-countrymen, because the
labour in which you are employed is at the root and
foundation of the wealth and prosperity of a country.
(Cheers.) It would be a homely saying, to tell you a
truism—that men cannot work unless they are fed ;
and that is the last thing I should deem necessary to
inculcate in the state of the tables I now look
upon • but it is evident that unless tie soil, by
the labour of those employed upon it, shall pro-
duce wherewith to maintain those who are occupied

in other employments—manufactures, the mechani-
cal arts, the higher arts and professions,—that un-
less the soil produces an abundance, it would be in
vain that industry and ingenuity should combine to
increase the wealth and prosperity of the country.
(" Hear," and cheers.) Therefore, my friends, you
may walk among your fellow-countrymen with a
proud and satisfactory consciousness that you are
one of the most useful of the classes of the nation, and

that without you the superstructure would fall to the
ground. Now, my friends, it has pleased Providence
to instil into the minds of men a desire to contribute
to their temporal and future wellbeing, and there
are few feelings that are more useful than the love of
approbation and the fear of censure'. But that ap-
probation which men most value on the part of others
is the approbation of those who know them—of those
who have seen what they have done or are capable
of j udgine. of their merits, of men who come into daily
and constant contact with them, and yet testify by
their bearing the approbation which their conduct
has inspired. (Hear, hear.) Well, then, the prizes
which have been given to-day are not only a grati-
fying memorial to every man when he sees his card
stuck -ap over his cottage fireplace, but they are
tokens which show publicly ,to all his neighbour-
hood that he enjoys the esteem and respect of his
fellow-citizens. The fear of censure is also a deter-
ring action, and I am sure that those who are pro-
perly inspired with a due love of approbation will
never require to be guided in their conduct by the
fear of censure from their neighbours; but although
thete is great value attached to the approbation of
others, yet, believe me, there is no approbation
which a man who has a proper estimate of things
will more highly value than hie own approbation.
Other men may be mistaken ; they may unduly
appreciate conduct which, after all, when its motives
are known, may not deserve the approbation which
it has received. Men may unduly blame others, not
knowing exactly the truth of the conduct which
they blame; and not being aware of all the circum-
stances which might explain ' or excuse that
which they think fit to condemn ; but a man's
own conscience never misleads him. (Hear, hear,
and cheers.) He knows full well whether he de-
serve praise or censure ; and if he is conscious that
he is deserving of commendation and praise he may
bear with calmness the accents of praise from others;
and with composure the censure which he feels not
to have deserved. (Hear.) Now, my friends, it is
needless, - among so many who have distinguished
themselves in their different vocations, to give ad-
vice as to their future conduct. You have only to
continue to tread in the same path which has led
you to be prizemen upon this and upon former
occasions. I would, however, remind you that
there are perhaps functions of life and duties not
precisely connected with those kinds of conduct
which have distinguished you upon this occasion,
but which nevertheless are greatly conducive to
your well-being and to the respect which you would
wish to receive from others. I would particularly
impress upon you the great importance of attend-
ing to the manner in which you rear your children.
(Cheers.) Impressions made in early life we all
know' are lasting, and there are no impressions that
'go deeper into the mind of a child than those which
he received from his parents in his tender years.
(Hear, hear.) Bend the twig as you like, and so
the tree will grow. Probably those who are em-
ployed out of doors all day long have fewer oppor-
tunities than others of attending to the instruction
of their children, but you, all of you, have moments
which you can give to that purpose, and you should
not omit any opportunity which family intercourse
aftbrds you to impress strongly upon your children
the distinction between right and wrong. (Hear,
hear, and cheers.) You may be sure that if you
attend to the moral and religious instruction of
the family that surrounds you you will find them
grow up to be an honour to yourselves and a com-
fort to you to the latest days of your life. (Cheers.)
I am not aware, my friends, that I have anything
else to say to you. I am sure that those who
have earned these prizes to-day need no advice
from others as to the course which they ougbt to
pursue, because I am certain that men who are
so much masters of their conduct, of their pas-
sions, and of their inclinations as to have obtained,
by a strict attention to their agricultural duties, the
rewards which it has been my good fortune to dis-
tribute must also have those high feelings—that deep
sense of right and wrong—those high principles of
morality and religion which will lead them to attend
to the rearing of their families and to their inter-
course with their neighbours without any advice or
recommendation from anybody, save, perhaps, from
their religious pastor and preceptor. (Hear.) Again
I congratulate you upon the prizes you have obtained,
and I have no doubt that next year many who have
not been successful competitors to-day will put them-
selves upon the list of prizemen. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. GEORGE called upon the labourers for three
cheers for Lady Palmerston, which was cordially
responded to..
Lord PaLatERsToN, in acknowledging the compli-
ment, said—l beg do thank you sincerely for the
kind and hearty manner in which you have re-
sponded to the call just made upon you. I can assure
you that these opportunities of meeting familiarly
with those whom one does not meet every day in
the year are most gratifying to me, and must be to
eery rightminded man. The fabric of society is con-
structed by an infinite gradation of ranks and con-
ditions, and those who are, perhaps, separated from
each other, and have not often an occasion of meet-
ing, when the opportunities do occur should meet in
order that they may reciprocally understand each
other. I am sure that all classes of Englishmen if
thoy do understand each other will value and love
each other. I am not led away by any nationalvanity
in that opinion, but I have that conviction with re
gard to the character of my countrymen I am sure
the oftener the different classes of society meet to-
getherm orcontented,ee each
i theenliao
sr
strong
r\ tvohi
lc
will look
elwholerootki
jea-
lousy,
conviction
thatwithout suspicion,
there
are
• but that the interests of all are other h wille r wbieth andou
tth
letofiaitbahtreiioe of society will be
without enmity—with a
no antagonistic interests,.
hound up in one
general aggregate, which forms the interests of the.•
country at large: (Loud cheers.)
At a later period of the day the members of the
association dined together at the White horse Inn.
Lord Palmerston presided, and was supported by
the Hon. R. Dutton, M.P., the Rev. C. A. Moore,
(vicar of Romsey), Mr. Eyre, Mr. Anderson, the
Mayor of Romsey, Mr. Lordan, the Revs. G. Mason,
T. H. Tragett, W. Bachelor, &c.
The usual loyal toasts having been given,
The CHAIRMAN said—We have already drunk
" The Ministers of Peace," but peace cannot be
reckoned upon for ever, and it is possible that it

may be 'succeeded in all countries by war. There-
fore I now propose to you the health and success of
those establishments which defend us in war and
enable us to regain the blessings of peace. I pro-
pose to you " The Army and Navy," and I am proud
to r,ay that I believe there never was a moment—a
moment of peace at least—in which both of those
service's were in a condition of greater efficiency
than they are at-the present time. (Loud cheers.)
I am sure that the country is deeply convinced that
the best method of preserving peace is to show that
you are capable of defending yourselves in the
event of being attacked. (Cheers.) I trust that there
is no likelihood in the present state of affairs that
our army and navy will have to perform with the
same distinction those duties which their prede-
cessors have already performed. The spirit which
tke country has recently shown by the immense
extent of volunteer organisation has produced a
great effect not only in this country, but all over
the world. (Loud cheers.) It has tended to inspire
that respect which all nations feel for a country
which, without any aggressive intentions, shows
that it is determined to hold its own, and to defend
itself against all corners. (Cheers.) Again I say
that I trust there is nothing in the present state
of things that betokens the likelihood of any
occasion for that martial spirit to be displayed
otherwise than by showing that we are ready
to defend our shores ; but it must be a great satis-
faction to all of us to know that the army and
navy are in a state of complete efficiency accord-
ing to the numbers to which in a time of peace
they can be carried, and that there are means
in the country by which—if unfortunately unfore-
seen events should render it necessary that we
should increase our armaments—those armaments
might be rapidly increased to whatever the exigen-
cies of the moment might require. I beg to give
you " The Army and Navy.' (Loud cheers.)
Mr. EYRE briefly responded.
The CHAIRMAN next gave " The health of the
Members for the County."
The Hon. RALPH DUTTON, M.P., in responding,
said that, after the able address which had been de-
livered by Lord Palmerston to the labourers, he
would confine his remarks to subjects affecting only
the employers of labour. The Romsey Association
had been before the public for some years. It had
been as it were on trial, and what good had it done
to benefit the condition of the labourer? For his
own part, he believed that it had accomplished a
vast amount of good—not so much directly as in-
directly, inasmuch as it had turned men's minds
into the right channel, and had induced them to
pay more attention than formerly to the condition
of those whom they employed as labourers. (Hear,
hear.) Now, he would ask, what was the condition
of the English labourer ? He was born to his work
like a horse, and the harder he worked the sooner
he was worn out. It was clearly, then, the duty of
those to whom the Almighty had given a higher
station to provide for the labourer in his lifetime,
and for his old age also. It could be accomplished
in a very simple manner—namely, by giving the
labourer good cottages, fair wages, and ensuring
him work throughout the winter. In that way
alone the employer could keep his staff of labourers
about him. (Hear, hear.) He knew he might be
met by the remark that the supply and demand
ought always to regulate each other, but they must
remember that that precious text of the political
economist almost deprived the farmers of labour
last harvest when they wanted it most. (Hear.)
He had himself seen many crops standing throughout
the hot weather, losing from 25 to 50 per cent. of
their value from want of labour to get them in, and
in his opinion it all arose, in a great measure, from
the evil of not employing a sufficient number of
labourers throughout the winter. He believed that
there was no outlay upon the land so judicious as
the employment of capital liberally. Cottages were
now being improved, the labourers were getting,
fair wages, and he had no doubt that this associa-
tion, by turning the minds of the employers of la-
bel" in that direction, had been the means of doing
much good. It would always give him great plea-
sure to give his humble assistance to that and simi-
lar institutions. He believed that the duty of a
county member was not merely to attend in his
placc. in Parliament and add his voice to the coun-
cils of the State, but to go among his constituents
to listen to the suggestions they might have to
make, and to encourage those societies which had
for their aim and end the social elevation of the
people. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN—I now rise to propose to you
Prosperity to the Romsey Association for the En-
couragement of Labourers." It would be a repeti-
tion of that which has already been so well said if
I were to expatiate on the advantages resulting
from associations of this kind, but I think that
those who even for the first time witnessed to-day
the ardent countenances of those who received the
prizes must see the effect which these rewards
must produce on the minds of the labouring classes.
But we arc here met as a body of employers, and I
hold that these associations affect the interests of
the employer quite as much as they do the interests
of those who are employed ; for it is manifest that
no agriculturist can pursue his avocation with ad-
vantage if he does not inspire in the minds of those
he eniploys.zeal in their calling, energy, industry,
and especially good conduct. Agriculture has un-
dergone a great change in the last few years. It
used to be a practice—it is now raised to the condi-
tion of a science, and no man can be a successful
agriculturist who does not raise his mind beyond
the mere traditions of those who went before him,
andwho does not study the principles on which
success in agriculture must mainly depend. A
farmer ought to know now something, and
perhaps not a little of chemistry. He ought
to know what are the ingredients of the
soil which different crops take out for their
nourishment. He ought to know how, by
various manures and by various processes, to restore
to the soil those ingredientS essential to the growth
of plants which former crops have taken out. He
ought also to a certain extent to know the funda-
mental principles of political economy, and to be
aware that he does not prosper by grinding down
those who labour on his farm—that it is no real
saving to give inadequate wages to those who work
for him ; that he gains nothing by avoiding to em-
ploy labour in the winter months ; and that, in fact,
there is no more advantageous and profitable invest-
ment in the cultivation of the land than labour.
(Cheers ) It is quite true that the ingenuity of
mechanics has of late years introduced a great
number of macliines, which to some extent are sub-
stitutes for the work of the hands; but a farmer
ought to know that the use of these machines is not
to supersede the employment of labour, but to
enable him to divert labour from those processes to
which machinery is applicable, and to employ it
profitably in other occupations. (Hear.) A great
improvement has been made in the intelligence of
the labouring classes. Some of us are old enough to
remember the time when threshing machines were
held in hatred by the labourer, when all sorts of
improvements in machinery were thought to be
means for taking bread out of the mouths of the
labourers. But they are now wise enough to know
that those processes and machines, instead of super-
seding labour, are simply an addition to labour.
We all know the story of the farmer who, on his
deathbed, told his two sons that he had a great
treasure buried in a certain field, and that if they
only dug over it they would find it. The sons did
dig for it. Money they found not, but money's
worth they did find, and the increased produce of
the field by the application of manual labour repaid
them amply for their exertion. That story is ap-
plicable to all farming occupations. I am sure
that I ani now addressineun enlightened audience,
most of you practical farmers, •who must have
discovered that it is no economy to spare labour
on your farms—that the more labour you
are able to employ the more advantage you will
derive from the crops ; but the labour cannot
be useful unless the labourer is well looked to, well
housed, well fed, and well cared for. (Cheers.)
When the employers of labour bestow 'proper at-
tention upon their labourers they engender a feel-
ing of reciprocal regard; and it is in human nature
that a man will work better for an employer he
loves, and who treats him well, than for a man who
is niggardly and churlish, who just 'pays him as
much as will keep body and soul together, and
neglects him in other respects; (Hear, hear.)
Mr. HENDERSON proposed "The Health of the
Chairman," and alluded to the effbrts the noble lord
had already made to improve the condition of his
tenantry and labourers.
Lord PALMERSTON responded. He said—l can
assure you from the bottom of my heart that I am
deeply grateful for the kindness with which this
toast has been proposed, and for the manner in
which it has been received. Nothing can he
more gratifying to a man than to hear these ex-
pressions of goodwill on the part of those among
whom he lives, who must know him sufficiently to
form an estimate of his character. I can assure
you that it affords me very sincere pleasure to
presidO at meetings of this kind; and I would just
briefly advert to one topic which has been alluded
to this afternoon—l mean the lodging of the labour-
ing classes. Now, it is quite true that Mr. Dutton
and myself have built some very good double cot-
tages for the labourers on our own respective pro-
perties, but I have heard it said by many f;at it is
all very well for us to do that, but that these build-
ingsptiao3n-,
taon
be
et lfioaut onded ther e n
ao p l e could
I
are altogether too expensive, that they do not
etifioerfiarsltabpoluacreerlohnoladftahramt olbdsoernvoat-
fundamentaln o t
ea
rffreoirlil to
werrhneect
them.ld Na
ocow;taing
expect it to pay in money. When I bui •ld a good
farm-house for a tenant I do not expect rent for
that house separate from the farm. Well, the cot-
tage for the labourer ought to be looked
upon as a