The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-13 00:00:00

iVATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE
PROMOTION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE.

BRADFORD, WEDNESDAY,

The attendance at St. George's Hall to-day, when
Mr. Adderley, M.P., delivered an address on edu-
cation, was not so numerous as yesterday, but on
the platform there was a large muster of the friends
of education.
Yesterday there was an excursion to Saltaire, to
visit the extensive works of Mr. T. Salt, M.P., and
to-day there was another excursion to the same
place, besides a party who had gone to inspect the
great ironworks at Low Moor. These excursions
are attractive to the ladies and to a considerable
number of visitors who do not choose to undergo
the suffocating atmosphere of the section rooms.
In the communication of yesterday it 'was stated
that Vice-Chancellor Sir W. P. Wood had delivered
a statement on Jurisprudence, which was followed
by the meetings of the departments. A brief notice
of these is here inserted.
Vice-Chancellor Sir W. P. Wool), in his address
yesterday on Jurisprudence, observed that he took
A for granted that the principles of morals, of right
and wrong, had been in these days ascertained and
established so far as human infirmity was able to
do so. Taking this for granted, the science of
jurisprudence might be described as that which de-
liberated on those portions of right and duty with
reference to the social position of man which it was
requisite to protect by legislation. The questisim
was, where was the proper line of separation which
distinguished between what was moral and indivi-
dual duty, and whai they were called on to enforce
by law ? This was the great difficulty of the ques-
tion, and could only be well discussed by taking up
the past history of our jurisprudence. He combated
the popular idea that lawyers were, as a body, op-
posed to the reform of the law, and contended that '
from the earliest times the judges of the land had
been ahead of the public at large in their efforts to
remedy the defects of our jurisprudence. The feudal
law respecting the tenure of land had been reformed
chiefly by the efforts of the judges, and it was
through Lord Mansfield that our mercantile law
had been improved, in opposition to the opinions of
the people themselves. After referring to the cele-
brated speech of Lord Brougham on law reform,
more than 30 years ago, and the vast improvements
which had taken place since that period, the learned
Vice-Chancellor next took up the subject of inter-
nationallaw, which was intimately, connected, he
said, with the civilisation of mankind. Our com-
mercial and international relations embraced a wide
field—the question of decimal coins, weights and
measures, a uniform copyright, the delivering up of
criminals, and the respect dip to the religious opi-
nions of foreign countries, besides the great and
important questions relating to the rights of neu-
trals in time of war. Next came our national and
domestic legislation. He would not touch Parlia-
mentary Reform, as he thought they should adhere
closely to their plan as a scientific institution, and
not introduce subjects on which party passion and
feelings were likely to be brought to bear ; other-
wise the society would be shipwrecked. He de-
fended the Statute Law Commissioners, and ob-
served that that learned body could not be expected
to do more than indicate a course to be pursued,
not to complete a work. They had, however, made
a digest of all the statutes from 1760 downward,
pointing out which of them had been repealed or
altered, a labour of very great importance indeed
in connection with the consolidation of the law.
He next pointed out the necessity that exists for
reforms in reference to private bill legislation. After
referring to various law reforms that had taken
place of late years, the learned Vice-Chancellor
spoke of that portion of the law which affects our
rights and duties as citizens. This part of the sub-
ject included corporations, and he reminded his
audience that had such institutions existed in France

or Russia, those sweeping changes which had taken
place without a single public meeting of the people
taking place, could not have occurred in the way
they had done, The next point was the private
rights and duties of citizeus ; and under this head
he dwelt on the important relations of husband and
wife, guardian and child, &c., and observed that
the association would do well to turn its attention
to imprcivements of the law in these respects, espe-
cially to the condition of wards in Chancery. Then-
there was the law affecting real property, which
was in a very complicatd state, and requiring
much change. He specified the law affecting
the property of bankrupts, and pressed on the
association the propriety of agitating for a
measure to legalise the registration of land,
so as to facilitate its transfer. This would
open the way for working men to invest their
savings in small plots of land, and thus greatly
conduce to the stability and welfare of the nation ;
while it would be highly advantageous to the pre-
sent landowners. The learned judge pointed out
some of the late improvements in the Court of
Chancery, as well as in the Common Law Courts,
and enforced the propriety of a change in the law
affecting bankruptcy and insolvency. He also
spOke of the importance of establishing a Depart-
ment of Justice, recommending the appointment of
a board similar to those now existing on trade and
education, to be presided over by the Lord Chan-
cellor, with a vice-president having a seat in the
House of Commons. A higher standard of legal

education was also called for, accompanied with
examinations in the Inns of Courts. The learned 1
judge concluded his address amid loud applause.
In the departments which met immediately after-
wards there were read a great variety of papers.
In the first section, that of Jurisprudence, presided
over by Sir W. P. 'Wood, the papers were of a very
technical nature.
In the department relating to Punishment and
Reformation there was a large attendance. A paper
by Mr. Dawson gave some interesting details as to
the state of crime in Liverpool, and took occasion
to point out the errors usua'ly committed in draw-
ing up statistical returns.
A paper was read in this section from the London
Temperance League on the causes and incentives to
crime. The document contained the usual state-
ments relative to the evils of intemperance and an
elaborate description of the state of things in the
metropolis with reference to drunkenness, A large
map of London was exhibited, on which were
marked the number and position of publichouses,
beershops, &c., in each district, giving also the po-
pulation, the schools, and other means of instruc-
tion in these districts. This, of course, brought out
a very lamentable state of things. The paper also
gave a full account of the various measures resorted
to by the Temperance League to abate the evil.
Two other papers were read on intemperance ;
one, by the Rev. Dr. Arnot, of Glasgow, was
chiefly directed to this point—that we should
punish people for the sin of drunkenness rather
than for the crimes which arise out of it. An
animated discussion took place on some of the facts
adduced.

In the department of Public Health, presided
over by the Hon. W. Cowper, a paper was read by
Mr. Hudson, the town-clerk of Bradford, on the
state of the general health of Bradford, and some
of the causes which have influenced its condition.
Mr. Hudson, by a series of statistics, showed that,
in spite of the deficient drainage of the town, Brad-
ford was mare healthy than many of the large towns
in the kingdom. The mortality of Bradford was
221 in 1,000, while in various other towns he men-
tioned it ranged as high as 25, 26, and 27 in 1,000.
A° described the mortality of children under five
years. Of age, however, as very great.
Two other papers were read, one by Alderman
Beaumont and. the other by Dr: Macturk. They
both related to the social condition of Bradford.
The latter gentleman's paper gave some interesting
information on the increase of epilepsy in Bradford.
He stated that epilepsy and St. Vitus's dance had
more than doubled during the last ten years.
In the section of Social Economy, presided over
by Sir J. l ay Shuttleworth, papers were read by
Mr. S. Cope, M.P. on the West India Labour
Question ; by Mr. H. Fawcett, on the Protection of
Labour against Immigration, the Chinese and
Coolie Traffic, &c. These papers gave rise to a
good deal of discussion.
In the evening there was a grand dress pro-
menade in the great hall, which was rather too
crowded for comfort; and in the adjacent rooms
were several meetings for social purposes. In the
Council-room Miss Carpenter called the attention of
a large audience to the difficulties that lay in the
way of carrying out the provisions of the Act on
reformatory schools. In the Ladies' Drawing-room
the subject of the occupation of women was talked
over, under the presidency of Lord Shaftesbury.
The conversation was desultory and informal, and
a good deal was said as to the propriety of paying
more attention to the education of females with a
view to useful employment in life.
A meeting took place in the Saloon on the subject
of financial reform, presided over ny Lord -Brougham;
and the papers and discussion introduced attracted
much attention. Mr. J. R. Jeffreys read a long and
elaborate report from the: Liverpool Financial Re-
form Association, in which all the arguments in
favour of direct taxation were set forth with great
force and clearness. This Was followed by- a paper
on direct taxation, read by Mr. Julius Partridge,
of Birmingham. The. writer dwelt much on the
inequalities and injustice of the income-tax, and-
recommended a tax fairly levied on wealth. The
effect of such a tax would; he contended, ensure fr
close supervision. of our expenditure on the part of
the influential clas'ses and Glleck etravagance.
Mr. JEFFREYS moved a resolution to the effect
that the prineFples laid down in the report he had
read were sound and ought to be adopted by the
Legislature at the earliest possible period.
This resolution, however, was declared informal