The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-17 00:00:00

(laughter)—in that sense, I hope I know how to pay a been found than in the neighbouring great city of Alan- ,
debt of gratitude which I owe, and which I feel to such cheater. There you have a free library within the same
an audience as this upon such an occasion. (Hear.) walls, and occupying the sun • rooms, which were
Gentlemen
founded and built for a Socialist hall. That which was
heard by all, or even by a majority of those whom I now I could at no time hope to make myself
debasing, that which contained within itself the 'temente
address, for at the present time I have rather parted of everything mischievous and destructive, has been, by
oompany with my
the liberality of the citizens of Manchester, converted
.--I have lost it
into a fountain from which the blessings of knowledge 1
i n cheering your townsman and my voice—l have lost it in a good cause
neighbour, Mr. Brown. Gentlemen, it is with more and enlightenment are flowing largelyatnong the people.
than common pleasure that I rise upon such an occasion Here, in Liverpool, you will enjoy those blessings under
circumstances no less remarkable, no less startling.
to respond to such a toast. Between the family which
I stand here to represent and the town whose guest I Here you will enjoy them from the princely liberality of
have the honour to be, there has existed for several cen-
one of your most respected citizens. (Cheers.) We hear
furies an intimate and unbroken connexion. (Hear.)
much, gentlemen, on the subject of education—much of
If we are to go back to those old times—l believe ie is the voluntary principle. Never has England yet had
now something more than 500 years ago—nearly one- such a noble instance of toe voluntary principle—(loud
twelfth of the whole recorded annals of the human race— l cheers)—as Mr. Brown has this day afforded us. But I
since an ancestor of mine obtained a licence from the ' fear that fall who have the means have not equally the
Crown to embattle and fortify a house, the site of which will, and in many places we find neither the means nor
lies somewhere, I know not exactly where, buried among the will. Other means must be resorted to if you wish
the crowded streets and buildings of this vast commer-
to educate the people ; and here again I find that in the
cial capital. There may be some vacity in such rerni. town of Liverpool you have a splendid illustration of
niscences of past times ; but, standing here, I may be that agency by which the voluntary principle may be
permitted to say that none can more rejoice, none can , assisted. I find that you have schools in which are
more exult in the present greatness and the glory of the educated many thousands of children, and which are
town ef Liverpool than those to whose forefathers were supported bye rate levied upon the people, and paid out
committed the charge of watching over its earlier and
of your town-dues. Here you have, in my humble epi-
nion, in your own town a solution of the difficulties of
still undeveloped infancy. Gentlemen, we are told that
"
society in the present day has changed, and in some re-
this question. (" Hear, hear, and cheers.) You have
speeds it is so. (Hear, bear.) Our improved means of a noble instance of the voluntary principle ; you have
communication everywhere, the rapidity with which the deficiency of that principle made up by the taxation
of the people, which they willingly submit to. (Hear,
transit is effected from one part of the country to an•
other, have done much to dispel local prejudices and to hear.) This is not an occasion on which it would be
destroy provincial peculiarities. But, though they may
becemiog in me to dwell further upon the details awl
have destroyed prejudice, and though they may have de- difficulties of this great and interesting question. I
stroyed provincial peculiarities, though they may have have adverted simply to the fact that I think in this
fused as it were the various elements of these pecu-
locality we do find an example which other Englishmen
liarities, into one similar whole, I do not believe
may well follow. (Cheers.) I will not detain you longer
that those characteristics of the present time have than once more to offer to my hon, friend my heartfelt
destroyed it—l do not believe that they have mate-
congratulation upon the scene which I now see before
daily weakened those ties of local attachment and
me. I never witnessed so striking an example of the
local sympathy which are founded upon common great principle of "honour to whom honour is due."
interests with the present—upon common reini. (Cheers.) But certain do I feel that, although my friend,
Mr. Brown, must appreciate the manner in which you
niscences of the past—when a mutual repository of
friendship and good offices plays so important and vain-
have this day recognised his noble act, through those
able a part in our social system. (Cheers.) At least I
prosperous and happy years which are still in store for
know this, that in that political arena—the House of him, he will find his best reward in the reflection of his
Commons—where my lot is chiefly cast, we who come own mind. (Cheer.) I feel that this noble hall, the
from Lancashire, notwithstanding many diversities of pride of Liverpool and one of the ornaments of England,
public opinion and conduct—whatever may be the poll-
never has been used in a nobler cause ; and I believe
that every one who now fills this hall, every breast here,
tical ranks in which we serve—are apt to bok upon one
another with!feelings of mutal friendship and goodwill, must be animated by the earnest hope, the anxious
(Hear, and cheers.) We are proud, and justly proud, prayer to which I hope you will allow me now to give
of the intelligence and activity of that section of the utterance, that the events of to-day, that the ceremony
of to-day, may be blessed with the largest measure of
population among which we are called ; we are proud,
and we may well be proud, of the vast influence which success which the generous founder himself could
this county ex Ircises over the counsels of the State— desire ; and that the institution which this day has
(cheers)—we are proud, and it is a reasonable pride, of been inaugurated may through many coming gene-
the more than common proportion of eminent men rations diffuse among the population of this town
whom Lancashire in the present century has contributed those blessings of useful knowledge, of intellectual
to the national service. (Hear, hear.) SAnd, gentlemen, enjoyment, and religious instruction—blessings which
Ittleink the ceremony which we have witnessed to-day will be among the greatest and most enduring that can
shows us that we have !something die of which we may be enjoyed by the inhabitants of a great and prosperous
be proud. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, with what we see town. (Loud and continued cheering.)
and know before us, it would be not merely an injustice, The Rev. Rector CAMPBELL proposed "The health of
it would be not merely a calumny, it would be ao ab-
Mr. Wm. Ewart, the member for Dumfries." (Cheers.)
surdity, and a contradiction to palpable fact, were any Mr. W. EWART, M.P., in rising to respond, was vehe-
one to assert that the great maritime and mercantile in-
merit), applauded. He said—My lords and gentlemen,
terests of England are less patriotic or less interested in at this period of the entertainment I shall not feel my-
national affairs than any other class in this or any other self justified in detaining you long ; but I cannot but
country. (Cheers.) They have borne ungrudgingly feel my long and early connexion with this great, intheir share, and something more than their share, of the creasing, and magnificent town. I boast of my con-
public burdens. (Cheers.) They have never hesitated,
nexion with it—with its ancient industry, with the opu-
when, on such questions as peace and war, which some-
lance of its commerce, with its past, its present, and I
times arise—they have never hesitated, when occasion
hope, to a certain extent, with its future. Yet, I should
called for it, to sacrifice their private interests to the ill express my feelings if I did not say that I thought
general advantageof thecountry ; and they have not only that the end of our commerce was something more than
not shrunk from taking upon themselves the burdens and mere commerce itself. In vain, gentlemen, do you ex-
the responsibilities of property, but they have gone out of tend your docks to the ocean—in vain have you a forest
their way to bear burdens which no other person could of innumerable masts, unless you have some ulterior
have laid upon them, and to undertake responsibilities object, and that ulterior object is the elevation of your
which they might fairly and honestly decline to assume, fellow-townsmen and countrymen. (Applause.) This
(Cheers.) There are, gentlemen, I hope and believe, great town I hope is destined at some time or other to
achieve something of the intellectual fame of Athena,
many proprietors of wealth—perhaps I should say most
of the proprietors of wealth—who regard that wealth as while it will infinitely surpass the commercial fame of
a trust, and who are willing, more or less, to use it for. Carthage and of Tyre. Gentlemen, my right hon. friend
the public service ; but it is a peculiar advantage of Sir J. Pakington, and my rev. friend who had done me
those whose property is of their own creating that they the great honour of proposing my health, have eluded
are enabled, being comparatively free from the claims to some exertions of my own in this very cause of pro-
which custom and society impose in the case of heredi- rooting free libraries. for the benefit of the people of this
tary fortune—being more, in fact, the masters of what country. I confess, as my right hon. friend has pro-
they possess, they are enabled, if such be their pleasure, bably experienced it in the cause of education, it is some-
to contribute far more largely and more directly to the what of an arduous labour to force such a question
requirements of society and of the public. (Cheers.) through the Legislature of this country. And it may
That, gentlemen, is a great advantage, and nobly that be compared to that sort of labour which is described by
advantage has been used. (Cheers.) I will not weary one of our most eminent poets when he says—
you by repeating what, in one form or another, has been "As Sisyphus against the infernal steep
said a hundred times to-day ; I will only repeat in public Heaves the huge rock, whose motions no'er may sleep."
what I said just now to Mr. Brown on private, that I Such is the destiny of many a Fran who toils in the
envy him his feelings on this occasion. And I will only cause of education. Anil yet, gentlemen, I recollect that,
add, that though, as we all know, he is well acquainted
.in the committee over which I had the honour to
with the best modes of investing to capital advantage, I preside, there was one object over all others which they
believe he will find that this last investment is the best laid down asdesirable for the people of this country, and
he ever made. (Cheers.) The town of Liverpool may that was that they should have the power ef educating
thank him: for contributing what will be hereafter and in themselves. Gentlemen, lam almost afraid sometimes,
future always one of the principal ornaments of its in these days of public examinations, we may lay too
streets ; the friends of education may thank him for much stress upon mere educational examination. lam
having given an impulse to the cause which puts to for that sort of free scope being given to the line which
shame the compete. tive apathy both of individuals and may enable the people to form themselves by free and
of public bodies elsewhere—(cheers)—but public men indepeadent development, and not to impose upon them
may thank him, and England may thank him—and it to too great a degree the shackles of a sort of Govern.
is to this that I attach the greatest importance—for ment system of examination. (" Hear, hear," and ap-
giving to those who are not possessors of wealth—to the plause.) It has been truly said by Edward Gibbon, in
poor and to the labouring classes of this country—a sig. the acconnt.of his own life—" Society stimulates the in-
. nal proof that wealth is viewed by those who possess it, tellect, but solitude is the nurse of genius." And it is
not as a means of pleasure, not as an enjoyment of my belief that more will be done by this free and public
luxury, but as one means among many of obtaining the institution than by beaurocratic rules, borrowed from
respect and the gratitude of our fellow-citizens—(hear, foreign countries—although we may borrow something
bear, and cheers)—as one means among many of from them with great benefit and good effect. Another
alleviating those hard thoughts and that envy which, principle laid down by the Committee on Public Libra.
in a country of oceasional distress and unequal rice, 01 which I was chairman, was this, that the esta.
fortunes, will inevitably arise—as one means among blishment of such institutions would encourage the done-
many of doing good and permanent service to Eng-. tions of private individuals ; and here we see that prin.
land, and of promoting the progressive improvement ciple exemplified in the illustrious example of our illus.
of mankind. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, if a gift like trious townsman. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I can
that which we are this day celebrating bad been °bra conceive, as has been truly said by the noble lord who
ously dictated by any motives of ambition, you would has honoured us by his presence, and delighted us, as he
• accept it with thanks, but you would feel that the giyer always does, by his observations this day, that no situa- •
had bad his reward. (Hear, hear) If, also, it were a tion is more enviable to a citizen of this country than
posthumous benefaction, you would think the donor en- that of Mr. Brown at this moment. But, gentlemen,
titled to your thanks, but you would feel that the gift Mr. Brown stands not only before the present genera.
had been made at no sacrifice of. present enjoyment. tion—he stands also before posterity ; and he may enjoy
(Hear.) But, as it is, you are well aware that Mr. Brown the purest of all pleasures, the sense of feeling his good
can have no personal object or interest to serve, except, acts will be felt when he can no longer feel them. It is,
indeed, the wish that I apprehend is felt in all generous perhaps, a sort of divine pleasure to feel that when we
minds—the wish of honourably connecting his name with are gone, and are no longer sensible to what passes in
the history of the community among whom his life has this worm below, there are others on whom our deeds
been passed. (Cheers.) He will see, we trust, the comple. will confer benefits ; and that sort of superior and
tion of his own liberality. (Hear.) He will live to wit- almost divine pleasure may be shared by those who
teas the enjoyment which many thousands derive from do such deeds as this day have been done by
the gift which we are celebrating this day. (Cheers.) our honoured fellow-townsman, Mr. Brown. (Ap-
Gentlemen, some allusion has been made toan institution Pituse.) Gentlemen, I will detain you for one moment
with which a member of my family has some connection, 1 nger. There are others who have done good service
and which is called, I believe, the Derby Museum, lam in 1 s great local act. There are those in your Town-
afraid that is, in point of magnitude, very unworthy to ' council who hive formedeyour Free Library Committee.
be compared with the gift of Mr. Brown ; but I cannot Theh have toiled in silence, but they have toiled with
help expressing the gratification that I feel on bearing good effect ; and at the head of it, the chairman of the
that the two are to be coupled and connected together in committee, is a gentleman with whom I have had the
the annals of this year. (Hear.) Gentlemen, before I sit honour to consult on this important subject—l mean
down let me express to you in my father's name his re- Mr. Picton—(applause)—and I propose to you, gentle-
gret that it was impossible for him to be with you mday. men, the health of the promoter, the advocate, and the
(Hear.) The cause in which we have all been speaking friend of your local free library--" The Health of Mr,
is one to which no eloquence cm do more than justice; Picton." (Applause.)
and I can only express my sincere regret that you should The toast was responded to with enthusiasm.
not have been enabled to have his advocacy instead of Mr. PICTON then rose and said,— Mr. Chairman, I
mine. (Loud cheers.) feel it difficult, if not impossible, to express myself ade-
Mr. J. C. EWART, M.P., gave "The health of the quately on the present occasion.' To have had nay name
Right Hon. Sir John Pakington." (Loud cheers) taus publicly brought forward arid recognised in con-
Sir J. PAYINGTOM, on rising, was received with cheers. . nection with the proceedings
of this day—a day ever to
He said—Mr. Mayor, my lord., and gentlemen, I ambe honourably rem ernberedinthe annals of Liverpool—
deeply grateful for the kind and cordial reception which will be to the latest period of my life a subject of pleas-
you have done me the honour of extending to one who ing recollection. It is about seven years since the sub
personally is a stranger among you. I should be guiltyof jest of a free public library was first brought under the
affectation if I were to deny that lam both giatefut for notice of the Town-council of Liverpool. The want of
g
and gratified by the manner in which my hon. friend, such an institution had long been felt there needed but
the member for Liverpool, has so *kindly, and, I fear, 80 a voice to give utterance to the feeling. I only did what
partially, referred to roy exertions on that erect question, any one else might have done equally well or better
• the education of the people. But, gentlemen, deeply The result has been such as far to surpass the tthhnmmdost.
thankful as I feel for this kindness on your part, I feel sanguine expectations of all concerned. F
yet more grateful for the compliment wilier' has been begins a now phase in the history of the institution I
paid me in inviting me to attend here upon this occasion, fit local habitation is all that is wanted to elevate it to
and to be a witness of what I cannot but feel—with my its proper rank ; and this, thanks to the munificence of
our noble townsman, we shall soon peseta,. Permit rue
mind altogether free from local bias or local partietty-
one of the most striking, one of the most gratifying to say, in retiring, that no one can despair of the future
scenes which in my life it has ever been my lit ti wit- of England when we see the interest taken by the lead-
ness. (Load cheers.) Gentlemen, it is true that lam one log public men of all parties in institutions like these.
of those who think that the struggle between light and To see on one platform my Lord Stanley, with his
darkness, between ignorance and knowledge, is not yet expansive and generous sympathies with every move-
satisfactorily settled in this country. (Great cheering.) meet for the intellectual improvement of the masses •
Ie is true that I am one of those who do very deeply Sir John Pakington, who has nobly burst asunder'
feet that the condition of ignorance in which so large a the ties of party in his efforts for the education
portlan of the population of this country, both in oar of the people ; William Brown, our old friend
crowned towns and in our rural districts, yet remains and townsman, who, after a struggle of twenty
is not only, as my
hon. friend ba; said, a national die- years, has succeeded in .realising
a
of permanentararies and
andgrace, but it is a national danger. (Cheers.) Acting upon stable foundation for the establishment
this conviction, it is true I have endeavoured to arouse museums. When I see these and men of kindred stamp
coming together to aid us in doing tumour to one of our
into the belief that the time had come w
the feeling of Parliament and the feelin
of the country
townsmen, who it may be truly Raid is one of those who
ghen prejuoices ''
should be banished, and when difficulties should be "Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame,"
trampled under foot ; and that thus, by the exertion of feel . I that there is hope.for our country, If England,
that strong, energetic will which Anglo-Saxons know comparatively uneducated, could achieve such wonders
well how to employ when fitting occasions call them in arts and sciences, what will she not accomplish when
forth, some scheme should be adopted
.t.. to bring a sound light and knowledge and wisdom are brought within the
education to every man's) door. (Cheers.) But, ve reach of all ?
....nd*men ,
I feel no less deeply that any exertions, any humble ex- Mr. MONCKTON MILNES, M.P., then rose and said—
onions, of mine in this direction, of or those who act Mr. Deputy Mayor and Gentlemen, it does not become
with me in this great cause, are really a
co- one who has been invited to this banquet to refuse any-
pared to that magnificent benevolence s nothing in
while and generosity, thing, otherwise, after the interesting and various die-
, thaf practical mode of giving,
woe are only strug. courses you have heard, I should have thought it hardly
gling to achieve what the generosity hon. friend became me to increase the number of your speeches. But
has given. (Cheers.) I am glad to find that you thus wel- , to any one wholebae been interested in any way with the
come a sentiment which I assure youcloafeldealwith true and literature of his country—to any one who has contributed
heartfelt sincerity ; and if anything have
as added to to that literatwre, in however slight a degree—to any
the satisfaction and pleasure with which I, one who has mixed in the political affairs of life, and
lisbman loving my country, bail an act w •
htch does hon. whose mixing in those political affairs has directed his
our to my country, it is to see, as I have seen this morn- attention towards the intellectual education of the com-
ing, the manner in which the people of Liverpool ap re- munity—to any one thus interested this meeting must
ciate that act. I believe that many of those around me be 'one of especial importance. It does not become me
must have felt as I myself did feel this morning such an audience as this, and to such a wan as you,
they walked in procession through your crowded Streets,l .•
it does not become me to speak of the advantages of
that of those thousands who w.varined around us °neve I education.sbio It does not become me to speak to you of
side rarity a man would live to bless this day—wourld souks--you, who know their value just as well as I do.
lire to feel that Mr. Brown's generosity had given to him, Iwould rather image to myself, Mr. Mayor, what would
have
the means of intellectual cultivation, and thus havebeen the feelings of a stranger coming into this city
saved him from the miseries of intoxication, if not from
tthiinsi/nio it possible
and witnessing this singular spectacle. I
the penalties of crime. (Cheers.) I believe, gentlemen, h
tof
f he might have said, when he raw the
that were any of your wealthy citizens disposed to act as busy mart
Liverpool suspended—your shops shut,
Mr. Brown has
acted—l believe that human sagacity your active population idling in the streeti—he might
could riot have devised a wiser or more benevolent exer- have said, hat is this for ?" And when he was told
cite of his liberality than by founding, as he has done, a it was to celebethe foundation of the library, he might
free library for this city, (Cheers.) We are indebted to have said, "What does Liverpool want with books ?
an bon. friend and schoolfellow ef mine, whom lam What does Liverpo01,
ofwose population has been quad-
happy to see at this; table—e teeact Mr. Ewart, the ment- rupled in the time
1 Brown, want with the re-
ber for Dumfries—we are indebted to my lion. friend for searches of hoary antiquityo What does Liverpool, which
au act of Parliament which enable populous localities to ;is making the history England, want with reading
adopt the advantage of a free librar
y ; and I think that history ? What has Liverpool to. do with geography, when
be who has studied the subject will aotee with me she can learn by sensliog herwe ups, her noble fleets, forth
that wherever the free library has been established it has to every sea on tho globe— hen she hears the various
proved a signal blessing to the people, and nowhere 11 languages in her streets and on the ships that crowd the
under more striking circumstances have its advantages' Mersey ?" But there have been among you persons who
, ..
. . . ~ . ..a

have another feeling, and who have felt that Liverpool
could do good with books. And the stranger might have
told you he had been in various cities and lon historic
sites—he bad seen magnificent libraries lying together,
covered with dust, unread and unregarded ; and he might
have told you the costly libraries of Venice did not pre-
vent the decay of that great city, or many other of the
populous haunts of men. But he might have been
answered, as Mr. Brawn would have answered him, that
these cities fell because they did not know how to com-
bine the material and moral elements of mankind—be-
cause they did not know how to bring together the
activity of daily life and the intellectual interests which
hooks can furnish and intellectual means can supply.
(Applause.) And, gentlemen, the library which you are
about to establish will not be one of those which lie bid
in musty and unnoticed book-cases, but a library which
has a monetary circulation--which will be current among
the people. Your books will be bills of hand, passing
from band to hand, bearing interest wherever they go—
the best of interest. (Applause.) And if that stranger,
whom I was trying to bring before you, came from one
of those countries of the globe which does not enjoy, as
we do, the advantages of free institutions, ha might have
been astonished at the aspect of the celebration ; he
would have seen sour flags flying, your populace shout-
ing—all in honour of one of your private citizens. He
would have seen the most spontaneous effort of respect
and veneration which a free nation could show to a free
man. And when you heard the salute firing from your fort
in honour of the Princess born yesterday, you were glad
to combine those sounds with the shouts for the prince of
the people which you have heard to-day. (Applause.)
And, gen"emen, we must remember that this celebration
has a meaning. There is a large population far away over
the Atlantic—our brothers in another hemisphere. (Ap-
plause.) I would call Mr. Brown a citizen of both
worlds—(hear)—and in many a crowded city of our
brethren on the other side of the Atlantic will the cele-
bration of this day be read. It is be and suchras he who
have brought together Coe two great countries of Eng-
land aid America. It is he and such as he, before the
electric wire had been laid underneath the surface of the
great Atlantic, lying on a rock which Providence seems
to have raised for the special purpose of uniting the two
great empires—it is he and such as he who have brought
together these two nations by the electricity of common
interest and common sympathy and feeling. It is my
object to bring before you and to drink the health of a
citizen of the great republic of the United States. That
connexion which Mr. Brown has established between
the materiel interests of England and America Natha-
niel Hawthorne has done much to cement. (Applause.)
His " Scarlet Letter" has struck to the heart of every
man with whom it came into contact. He has built his
house of " Seven Gables" in every town in England,
and as for his " Twice-told Tales," we well wish they
had been told ten times. (Laughter and applause.)
Gentlemen, therefore, in giving you the health of that
distinguished citizen of the United States, and that dis-
tinguished citizen of the literature of the world, I be-
lieve you will join with me, and that you will feel you
are in no degree deviating for the special purpose for
which we have met together. (Applause.) And those
two great nations, speaking the same great speecli, car-
rying out in the main the same great institutions, are
the hope and the blessing of mankind—the hope of the
future world, and, under Providence, a blessing to. the
nations. I give you "The United States of America."
The toast was enthusiastically responded to.
Mr. N. HAWTHORN E, United States' Consul, said—Mr.
Mayor, my lords, and gentlemen, I appear in this hall
before you, not in any individual capacity of my own,
but as the representative of my country, and especially
of the literature of America ; and I heartily wish the li-
terary men of America bad a better representative—one
who has done more for the cause of literature than I
have done, and one who coul I have acknowledged
better than I possibly ran the honour that has been
conferred upon them. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman
who has alluded to sue has made allusions also to some
productions of my own. That praise, gentlemen, is the
more valuable, coming as it does from one who is so
eminently qualified to express an opinion when a thing
is will done. His praise is very gratifying, for there is
nothing in literary reputation so dear to an American as
a knowledge that he is considered worthy of commenda-
tion in the land of his ancestors. (Loud cheers.) But,
gentlemen, I must not forget that I.am not speaking
here in my own behalf, but on behalf of the literature of
my country, and on behalf of the literary men of America
—the poets, the historians, the novelists of America. I
thank you, for I have no right to decline any applause
which you may be pleased to award to them, how much
soever I might feel inclined to decline that honour to
myself individually. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) The
circumstances of our country have directed much cf our
attention to the rough side of life, instead of to those
softening kflatences which are favourable to literary pro-
ductions ; but it is something to me to think that we
have accomplished an act of gratitude—of heartfelt
gratitude—to England. It is something to my country.
men to know that they have yet maintained the old
Anglo-Saxon spirit, and that it has some hold upon them
now in their literary pursuits. It gives me happiness to
believe this, because the more we return to you for the
great measure of enjoyment that we have received from
you the more we shalt aid you in promoting peace and
goodwill, in which I hope the two nations will ever con-
tinue, because every American who has written books
which England is content to receive into her literature
has contributed something to that excellent result.
Having responded to the toast which has been proposed,
' I might sit down, but I cannot do so, and you will par-
' don me ; for, as has been justly observed, had the ties
been drawn but a little closer, America would have
called Mr. Brown her son. (Loud cheering.) At all
events, he has the connexion by blood, by friend.
ship, by affection, in all the interests of life, which
we shall certainly not forget, neither will he.
(Loud the-rs.) It is good for our country that there
should be such men—men connected with one country,
and with another, and yet not the less true to their own
beloved land. (Cheers.) It was proved, and not very
long ago either, that it was good for both countries that
he was here—(hear, hear)—that he grasped one in his
right hand and the other in his left. Sir, I assure him,
on behalf of my fellow-countrymen, that we are always
as proud of him as if be were one of us ; we are proud of
his good deeds, of his illustrious life, and of his great
acts of noble and enlightened beneficence. (Cheers.)
This last is the deed conceived in the very spirit and done
in the very spirit in which an enlightened benefactor
should seek to benefit his country—by considering the
means by which he might best promote human happiness
throughout the world. Gentlemen, I thank you.
(Cheers.) _ _

Mr. BROWN gave the "Health of the Deputy-Mayor,"
and that gentleman having responded the proceedings
terminated.

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL_I7, 18M7.

TRIAL OF MR. SMITH'S STEAM PLOUGH
AT WOOLSroN.

(From Bell: Weekly Messinger.)

illustrated in going over his crops, showing the cost
of cultivating by the ordinary plough and by his
system, it appears that the following results are ob-
taine'l

The application of steam to the cultivation of the
soil has at length received a solution which cannot
fail to have an important effect upon the farming
produce of the country, and upon the general condi-
tion of those who are immediately connected with
agricultural pursuits. This solution took place at
Woolston, on Thursday and Saturday last, when it
was proved to a great body of landowners and far-
mers that the power of steam is capable of still fur-
ther extension than it has hitherto received, and
that it is likely to become the most powerful and,
at the same time, the most economical agent that
the latter. can possibly employ. We need scarcely
remark that the inventor of this new agent of agri-
culture, Mr. Smith, has been some time known as a
successful cultivator of the soil, and that the state
of his farm, long before he thought of applying
steam to that purpose, was the admiration of his
neighbours, although he had great difficulties to
contend against in the generally cold and stubborn
nature of the soil. The opinion of Mr. Smith, there-
fore, as a practical farmer, is entitled to great
weight, and the problem which he has been some
time endeavouring to solve, with a rare energy,
which, though perhaps a little too unbridled, is
quite natural to original minds, is simply this—
whether cultivation by the steam-plough can be
brought up to the condition of spade husbandry ?
Mr. Smith insists that the most improved of our
common ploughs simply turn over the soil, placing
the former surface from four to six inches below,
and bringing up the smoothed surface of the under
soil to the top. By this process all the seeds, weeds,
and roots are deposited below the surface, and
being divided by the plough are indefinitely multi-
plied. After four or five years these pests of the
farmer become so much increased that he is ob-
liged to leave his land partially barren, for the pur-
pose of removing them, and as the common plough
fails him he is compelled to have recourse to the
scuffler or the cultivator. This is not all ; roots of
.the thistle kind spread horizontally just beneath
the part which is trodden down by the horses, and
require deep subsoiling to remove them. In spade
husbandry, moreover, the soil is not turned over to
anything like the extent that it is by the use of the
plough. The system consists mainly of a complete
breaking up of the soil, and of mixing the latter
with manure. There is a difference, also, in the depth
of the cultivation. From four to five inches is the
ordinary depth by the plough, and it is a question
whether it erould be generally advautageoua to go
deeper, if the subsoil were to be laid on the top. A
spade is from ten to twelve inches deep, and in
good husbandry it is ordinarily thrust to that depth;
when the leverage is supplied, it does not upturn
the whole of the spit, the lower part being shattered
by the violence that is given to it, while the upper
' part is all mixed together and broken. Again, in
spade husbandry, the soil is not compressed either
by the transit of a heavy implement, or by the pad-
I dlino.b of horses, both of which to a considerable ex-
I tentdiminish the success of agricultural operations;
the first, by rendering the percolation of the water,
and the action of the atmosphere, less free than they
I otherwise would be, and the second, by the tread-
ing on the lower surface, which bad been smoothed
over by the underside of the share, and thereby
forming a crust or pan which retains the water, and
which can only be removed by a good sub-soiling.
There is, therefore, in all our operations with the
plough, not only a great loss, but enormous waste
of power. The power which a horse exerts to carry
itself across a field is simply power lost, and the
weight arising from gravitation and non-effective
effort is not only wasted, but produces a compres-
sion of the soil, which previous to seed time is gene-
rally found to be injurious. In spade. husbandry,
too, the land is completely cultivated at once—the
breaking-up, the mixing of the soil, and the separa-
tion of the weeds, being performed at one and the
same time. This is a manifest advantage, as on
well-drained land the too frequent turning of the
soil causes the natural moisture to evaporate, which
retards in spring the germination of barley,
turnips, and other plants. We may safely infer,
then, that spade husbandry is superior to cultiva-
tion by the ordinary plough, not because it turns
over the soil more completely, but because it dis-
turbs it deeper, mixes it better, more effectually
removes noxious weeds and grasses, and more
freely admits the percolation of the water and the
action of the atmosphere. The application of steam
to prepare the land to receive the sc d is, therefore,
the nearest approximation to this mode of culture,
and, whether by its actual cost or production, is
much more economical than that which has hitherto
been produced by the common plough.

Steam.

Ordinary Plough.
Qrs. per acre.
Fallow
Wheat
Beans 4 Beans
Oats

14 Qrs. 24 Qrs.
Tons. Cwt. Tons. Cwt.
Clover 2 10 Clover 3 10
- -

It will be perceived that Mr. Smith discards the
necessity of follows upon his system of culture ;
while at the same time he insists that, upon 'cold
lands, under the ordinary plough system, they are
indispensable every four years. The fact is,• that
by simply shaking, and deeply loosening, the soil,
without turning it over, the weeds are kept upon
the surface and readily removed, while the soil is
easily kept clean and ready for seed.
The cost of steam-ploughing is about ss. 2d. per
acre, of subsoiling 3s. per acre, and of scuffrng 2s.
One example or so will since to show the practi,;al
results of this mode of culture :

d.
Land once steam-plqu4hed (per acre) 5 2
„ Twice subsoilcd, 33 6 0

11 2

Oats, 3 bushels, produced 9 qrs. 3 hush.
Land, twice stearn.ploughed, ss. 2d. 10 4
yy Once scuffled, 2i.

12 4

In illustration of these remarks, Mr. Smith, on
taking his visitors over the farm, the crops of which
were in a most promising condition, and the soil,
although a heavy and gravelly clay, in excellent
tilth, stated that he had avoided, as far as he could
consistently, the use of horses for some years from
turning over the soil ; that the principal imple-
ments he used were the subsoil plough and the cul-
tivator, and that this mode of cultivation hal been
attended with the most beneficial resulis. He had
an average return last year of 46i bushels of wheat
per acre, while the produce of the rest of the laud,
where the plough had been used in the ordinary
manure, was so much less that it reduced the
total average, over 90 acres, to 424 bushels.
IThis shows that the turning
_over of the soil is
not a matter of necessity, and that as good,
and, indeed, a better crop can be secured by
well mixing the soils, as there can be by turning
them over. As regards the relative advantages of
the locomotive and traction plans, be gives the pre-
ferenee to the latter, from the circumstance that the
loss of power even of a team of horses (from 2 to
3 tons), in carrying themselves across a field, as
well as the waste of power in counteracting their
own exertions, by consolidating that which they
are employed to render porous, is enormous, while'
that of a locomotive engine weighing probably from
' 7 to 9 tons, would he still greater, when it was
moving itself across a ploughed field, or up even
a slight acclivity. By adopting the traction system,
the power Jot would be only that which .was re-
quired to overcome the weight of the ropes and the
friction over the soil, which would be much less
than that required to carry the locomotive, and
little or no power would be wasted in counteract-
ing its own efforts. Bethides there would be a
great advantage in using an engine which could be
applied to many other agricultural purposes, such
as thrashing, grinding, caff-cutting, d:c.
There were upwards of 300 of the gentry and
farmers of Buckinghamshire and the adjacent coun-
ties to witness the trial, and several from the ex-
treme north and west of England were attracted
for the same purpose.

Peas, seed 3 bushels, produced 5 qrs. 1 bush.
The saving iu horses is also considerable. Mr.
Smith showed clearly enough that he could dis-
pense with three horses, which he valued at 301.
each, to say nothing of the;r keep. The cost of the
whole plant for steam cultivation, including en-
gine, windlasses, ropes, anchors, pulleys, ploughs,
cultivators, &c., would amount to about 400'. ;
but for those who were already in possession of an
engine the difference in saving between horse-
power and steam-power would be sensibly felt,
even in the first year, work measured against work,
produce against produce.

The first experiment was trenching the land.
The implement was drawn by means of a metal
rope, which, being coiled and uncoiled upon a drum,
put in motion by a steam-engine, stationed in a
corner of the field, passed rouni three windlasses,
the latter being moved as the new ground required
ploughing. The engine was seven-horse power,
and the rope was three-quarter inch, of four strand.
The entire operation required seven men ; one at
the engine, one at the drum to put in and out of
gear, one to hold the implements, and the others
to keep the rope on the windlasses. The imple-
ment was turned at each end of the laud in the
simplest manner possible, and worked throughout
with the nicest precision over the whole surface of
the soil. The depth requited can be easily regu-
lated by lowering or elevating Vl* shares, and as
de,:p as 19 inches, if requisite, can be thoroughly
penetrated. The work was admirably done, and
had the soil been a little drier, the effect of tho-
roughly shaking and pulverising it would have been
more visible; as it was, there was scarcely a dis-
senting voice as to its general excellence. The
implements in general use may, by their ad-
justment, be said to comprise four. No. lis
a combination of shares, subsoilers, and claw
wheels, which is used to break up, trench, and
pulverise the soil. By removing the claw
wheels and shares, and inserting another subsoiler,
a powerful and effective plough is formed, which
may be called No. 2. No. 3is also a modification
of No. 1, and can be used on light soils, where its
wider sweep will enable it to pulverise seven acres
a day. These implements are most effective on
heavy lands ' • immediately after harvest the white
stubbles can be readily broken up at the rate of 4
to 5 acres per day, and if clean, immediately drilled
with vetches, or if foul, crossed with No. 4, the cul-
tivator, drawn by horses, at the rate of 6 acres per
day. Bean and pea stubbles can be treated in the
same way for sowing wheat. After wheat sowing is
completed, all the manure that is ready may be
drawn out and spread over the land ; the trenching
and subsoiling plough may then be most efficiently
applied, as the soil will be all broken up, the ma-
nure well covered, and the land trenched up and
exposed to the action of the weather during the whole
of the winter. In early spring beans may be at once
planted on the sides of these trenches, when the
rows will be about 16 inches apart ' • if any portion
of this land is not required for beans, it can be
crossed with the cultivator, and reduced to a fine
tilth ready for turnips, or any other crop thought
de,drable. After a crop of turnips, the cultivator,
if worked by steam, can break up seven acres a day,
and leave it ready either to receive the seed of bar 7
ley or of oats. The ease with which the cultivator
travelled over the land, and the effective way in
which it broke up its surface, was the theme of uni-
versal praise; upon this point there were no two
opinions, and for breaking up stubble immediately
after harvest, all agreed tbat it excelled anything
that bad yet been seen in the cultivation of the soil.
From a tabular statement, which Mr. Smith