The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-13 00:00:00

THE EVFNING MEETING.

Lord Brougham entered the ball, which wag
densely crowded, at 8 o'clock. Re was accompanied
by the Mayor of Birmingham, Lord John Russell,
Lord Stanley, Lord Talbot, drc. The noble and
learned Lord was most enthusiastically received.
A minute or two after taking the chair Lord
BROUGMAM rose and spoke as follows :—lt would
be making a bad return ' for the honour which
his been conferred upon me of presiding over
_ _

the first meeting of this association should
I, by any exiv..ssion of personal feelings, delay,
for however short a time, 'entering upon the impor-
taut business which brings us together. But, as '
many aro here present besides the promoters of the
plan, it seems proper to set forth the views with
which it has been proposed, and the advantages
expected to result from its adoption. No one
more than myself can bring to this discussion a
mind free from all partiality or prtSjudice in favour
of the proceeding, for I had originally grave doubts
of its expediency, and when these were entirely re-
moved by a full consideration of the subject, I had
very much graver doubts if younger and abler men
should not fill the chair, and I named two, now at
the head of departments. A different view being
taken by them, it was my duty to submit. Let it
not be thought that your attention is called to posi-
tions too general or too elementary. If the di-
vision is meted of human knowledge into great
branches, the science which deals with abstract
truths, and the science which treats of real exis-
tences—matter aril mind, or natural or moral
science—of these the latter and most important
relates to man as an individual or as a member of
the community, and this or the political or the
social branch is most emiuent'y deserving of atten-
tive study. It is free from the doubts and conten-
tons arising upon metaphysical philosophy, because
it deals not with subjects whereof not a few are
placed beyond the reach of the human faculties,
but with mere practical subjects—the laws which
g.ivern mans' habits and the principles of human
nature upon which the structure of society and its
movements depend ; and respecfng these impor-
tant matters safe conclusions can within certain
limits be drawn. Then, it must be borne in mind
that, although vety few men are or can be students
of mental science, the bulk of mankind are and
must ever be political observers. The operations
of their own minds scarcely at any time engage their
attention ; but the actions of the Government, the
habits and proceedings of the people, the conduct
of other nations, their fortunes and their fate, form
the daily subject of reflection with persons of even
an ordinary degree cf intelligence in every civilised
country, and do not escape the observation of those
living under rulers who prohibit all open discus-
sion. For cultivating this branch of science, too,
there are manifest and peculiar facilities. The
f tets on which it rests are more plain and tangible
than those which form the ground of moral philo-
sophy in its other departments. They are more
obvious ; they are in most c tses perceptible to the
senses ; they are reducible to measure and calcu
lation. The accumulation and distribution of pub-
lic wealth ; the prosperity or suffe ings of the
people ; the quiet of the disturbed state of the
country ; the diffusion of knowledge by education ;
the moral improvement of different classes ; the
action of the law and its administration upon the
habits of the community ; the benefit which may
result from individual exertions unconnected with
the State • the increased efficiency of such exertions
when made by bodies of men ; the just limits of pub-
lic interference with private concerns whether for
encouragement or repression; the ditties of the State

in respeatoundertaiing worisbayond the power;oi 1
individual enterprise, and the limits of those duties;
the right and expediency of public interference wi; h
the authority or the conduct of parents—these are
matters of distinct observation, and connected with
facts so as for the most part to admit of exact cal-
culation. Then of the paramount importance of
i these subjects, and the nterects they are fitted to
create beyond the other heads of moral science,
there can be no doubt whatever. The intellectual
or moral habits of man apart from his conduct
form but a small, perhaps-not the most inter eating,
chapter in his history. But the story of national
affairs ; the events or the measures which change
the condition, which influence the fortunes of
the community in whole or in part ; the rise and
decay of institutions affecting the welfare of mil-
lions ; the course of a policy upon which depends
the happiness, perhaps the existence of a state ; the
changes in the structure of government or in its
functions as bearing upon the concerns of the com-
munity at large—these are subjects of the deepest
interest ever in contemplation, but pressing still
more upon our earnest attention because of
their practical relations, and the tendency of their
discussion to produce active exertions for the gene-
ral good in connection with them. Let it, moreover,
be remembered, that the facts to which those in-
quiries, and upon which our 'inferences must rest,
are necessarily of a public nature, and so much
within the knowledge of the world at large as to af-
ford a reasonable security for their being carefully
observed and truly recorded. History, statistics,
the contemporary narrative of public events, the
details of national affairs--.these are the sources
from which the political reasoner draws his mate-
rials. Established institutions, measures for adding
to their number or extending their scope, attempt':
to modify some or to alter, possibly even to dispense
with them ; monuments of legislative wisdom or
error ; enactments regarding crime and their pun-
;iaschet
tmi
soernt whicht
the
; measures of police, judicial proceedings,
estate ipnoelxitecicualtinregatshoenlearwgse—net
generalise?,
ea3r,
andetbe
on which he builds his system. When the para-
mount importance of moral and political science is