The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-14 00:00:00

CONDITION OF Til E WORKING CLASSES

On Saturday, pursuant to previous public notice, a
meeting was held at Willis's rooms, St. James's, of a
Society "for the Improvement of the Condition of the
Labouring Classes." There was a very large attendance
of highly respectable persons, including a considerable
proportion of ladies. Among the gentlemen on the plat-
form were Lord Ashley, the Bishop of Salisbury, Viscount
Chelsea, Rev. R. Burgess, Sir George Rose, Rev. H.
M'Neile, the Rev. Mr. Bull, Mr. Colquhoun, &e.
Lord ASHLEY took the chair, and opened the proceed-
ings by an appropriate speech.
The Rev. HUGH M`NEILE, after some introductory
observations with reference to himself rind the circum-
stances which required his almost immediate departure
for Liverpool, said, with reference to the object which had
brought the meeting together, that the poor had feelings
as well as wants, and this lay at the root of their real
work, if they would accomplish any real benefit. They
were eneaged in forming a society for the improvement of
the condition-of the labouring classes—a noble project,
but attended with serious difficulties. It required no
more than a common christian benevolence to aim at and
desire the accomplishment of such an object; but it re-
quired much more to aim at with precision, and to carry
our the desire with effect. It required wisdom—he
scrupled not to say worldly wisdom—a quality which was
not always found combined with piety and benevolence.
In the prospectus which had been printed preparatory to
the formation of this society there were three objects dis-
tinctly laid down. His lordship had already enumerated
them ; they referred to the dwellings of the poor, field
gardens or the allotment system, and friendly loan societies.
He apprehended the last would be found the easiest to be
carried into effect, because they would not be embarrassed
here by any consideration of property, which would
.meet them in both the other instances. It might, per-
haps, sound strange if he referred to come places in Ire-
land as models for friendly loan societies; nevertheless,
he did so, and he ventured to say that inquiry concerning
the operation of friendly loan societies in some districts,
especially of the north of Ireland, would be attended with
an amount of information, both as to the details of the
working of those societies and the rules by which they
were to be set ageing, which could not fail to be highly
beneficial. On the other points they would at once meet
with the difficulty arising from property. He presumed
it was not the design of this society to confer upon land-
lords any increased rental. Yet the condition of the poor
man relatively with his landlord must be taken into ac-
count before they could wisely proceed to make any im-
provement in his dwelling; for, how could they prevent
the landlord from demanding more rent than was formerly
paid if be found his tenant dwelling in a better house
than he formerly inhabited ? They might not increase
the generosity of the landlord. The landlord who would
stand by and allow them to make improvements on his
property, rather than make these improvements himself,
would, he thought, not improbably avail himself of the
improvements effected; and thus, although the poor
man might have a better dwelling, he would never-
theless be compelled to pay a higher rent for it. This
must also be considered in the allotment system. It
struck him that, before any plan such as was sketched
in the prospectus of a model for imitation by the country
could be carried into effect, the society should pur-
chase an estate ; they must become themselves the
landlords, This would be an excellent made of com-
mencing ; an estate should be purchased, its present cir-
cumstances accurately noted—the number of acres, of
dwellings, of population, and rent should all be clearly
stated and published ; then the new system should be
in•roduced, and after it had had fair operation another
statement should be published, showing the increase of
cultivation, the increase of population, the increase of
rent, the increase of happiness, the increase of all the ele-
ments of present prosperity and future happiness to the
people of the country. (Cheers.) Yet even here the
manner of proceeding demanded great care, for, as he said
before, they must iemember that the poor had feelings as
well as wants, and all their efforts to relieve the physical
wants of the poor would prove in vain unless they were
administered with an enlightened regard to their moral
feelings. (Cheers.) Bounty would be misunderstood and
abused if it were administered without sympathy. In
vain would they improve the cottage garden or the small
farm,—in vain would they improve the arrangements
and drainage of the dwelling, thereby increasing its con-
venience and salubrity, unless at the same time they
made personal friends of the inmates. (Cheers.) The
enemies of good order were perniciously active in poison-
ing the fountains of moral feeling, especially with reference
to the bounty of the rich, in the bosoms of the poor; and
there was too much truth in the caustic definition of in-
gratitude which was given by that noble philosopher, Lord
Bacon :—" Ingratitude is a keen insight into the motives
of benevolence." A still higher authority had said that
" He who would have friends must show himself friendly."
This was the point—the poor must be made friends.
(Cheers.) They could not improve them as they im-
proved machinery—an outl iy of money was but part of
what they required—there must be an outlay of care, of
kind attention, of brotherly feeling, a manifestation of
regard for them as fellow-creatures, for whom Christ
died. (Cheers.) If noble 1 irds, and right hon. and hon.
gentlemen, the proprietors of land and the proprietors of
factories, would give themselves the trouble to make
themselves personally acquainted with the poor under
their cearge—if they would spend hour after hour amongst
their lab iuring poor—not grudging the interruption in
the labourer's time necessary to make a friend of the la-
bourer himself (cheers)—if they would go from farm
to farm on their estates, and from room to room
in their tacturies, manifesting an interest and culti-
vating a confidence, the best results might confidently
be anticipated. (Cheers.) It was only in this way
the thing could be done. He was bold to say that
the greatest outlay of money without the outlay of sympa-
thy and personal kindness would never attain the object
they had in view. (Cheers.) How was this to be at-
tained? It was easy to sign a check for a subscription to
a society for the benefit of the poor, and think no more
about the poor for whom that money is to be expended;
but that would never do. There must be a manifestation
of kindly feeling, and in order to this there must be an
appreciation of the poor man's character. The poor, he
repeated, had tel ngs as well as wants. He claimed res-
pect for the poor man's eh 'rioter as we'l as pity for the
poor man's condition. (Cheers.) All squilid as he
looked, bowed down under toil, what was he? He was a
man ; and what had he ? all reined and penniless as he
appeared, he h.d reason, conscience, immortality. Com-
pared w.th these, what were mines and lands? what were
stately mansions and gorgeous furniture? what the luxu-
ries of tee palace? what the rivalries of the Senate-house?
whit the digniiies of the Cabinet ? what all the conten-
tions and cold-brooded theories of an abstract philosophy ?
(Loud ceeers.) Behold the labouring man—his brow
was furrowed, yet he seemed not careworn—there was an
air of serenity about him. His eye was sunk—perhaps
his nourishment had not been sufficient—perhaps his
home had been a home of sorrow—yet he did not seem
discontented. Teen; was an expression of satisfaction
about hint. He had not only reason, conscience, and im-
mortality, but all these were sanctified—he was a
Christian. God the Holy Ghost dwelt in him as in a tem-
ple—God the Sun deigned to call him brother—God the
Father had adopted him as a child. These composed
the true dignity of man—these would stand and shine in
everlasting glory, when stars and honours among men, if
dissociated trout piety, would shriek int ) everlasting con.
tempt. (Loud cheers.) But he was obliged to toil, he
was obliged to labour for his bread—lie was so, but did
this make him less respectable? His object was to ele-
vate the poor man's character in their estimation ; they
must have a good opinion of his character—an opinion not
based upon the repiesentations that were made continu-
ally of the wretchedness inseparable from his present con-
dition, and tee crimes which perhaps were inseparable
nom that wretchedness—an opinion not gathered fi om
the statistical returns which represented the poor in a
disgusting point of view, but derived from their own
sense of what they owed to their fellow-creatures—to
those whom God delighted to honour, for he called the
pour of this world, " rich in faith, and heirs of the king-
dom ;" and one of the peculiar characteristics of the ever-
lasting Gospel, the basis of all our happiness was, that it
was preached to the poor. (Cheers.) He must toil—be
it so ; did that diiniiiish his respectability? There had
gone abroad a most unaccountable infatuation, that the
necessity of constant labour was an evil ; and that they
wee the favoured sons of Providence who were not under
any necessity to toil for their liselihood. There could
not be a greater mistake ; for industry, independent of
the blessed results that arose from it, was in itself most
sweet and satisfactory. Industry relieved the mind from
that distraction and that want of point and object which
rendered the slothful man's path a hedge of thorns. In-
dustry was the guard of innocence; it was the dally check
against those tendencies to vice which would otherwise
manifest themselves to our fallen nature. And who was
he teat looked down on the man of toil? Who despised
the man who was obliged to labour for his bread ? Who
was lie who, traversing the wide domains of his own
estate, it might be, and looking from hill to hill, exulting
in the pride of his possessions—
" Views the simple rustic hind,
" Whose toils uphold the glittering show,

" A creature of another kind, -
" Some coarser substance unrefined,
" Placed for his lordly ease far, far below ?"
(Cheers.) Who was he? It might be the slothful man
—infected with the leprosy of wealth—the bane of those
who had no employment they must attend to, and had no
nobleness of mind to make an employment for them-
selves. Sloth was detes able, mischievous—worse than
useless. The slothful man was a disgrace to his species.
The powers of mind and body which might be used to
the glory of God and the good of our fellow-creatures
were frittered away, morning after morning, upon a pro-
longed toilet, which, when made, only made the wearer
of it ridiculous ;—(loud cheers)—and evening after even-
ing upon eating and drinking and pleasuring, which
served but to rivet on their votaries the chains of selfish-
ness and vanity. (Continued cheers.) The man of toil
was the man of the highest respectability. The man of
daily, diligent, industrious toil for his family, who, by
the sweat of his brow, under the solemn curse of our first
parent, continued to produce materials for the support of
himself and family—compare that man, returning with
his stained person and his weary sinews from his toil
to his home in the evening—compare him with the
youth of fashion returning from his idle lounging
ride or walk—which was the more respectable ? which
was more an object of affection—on which would
they lavish more attention—which would they have
more respect for? (Cheers.) He claimed respect
for his poor friends' character. He asked the affection of
their hearts for them ; and then they would set about im-
proving their dwellings and their condition, not with a
cold attention, but with a warm heart. (Loud cheers.)
It was in this way their object was to be gained, and in
this way alone. The poor must be visited, nut with the
ostentation of condescension, which would barely wait for
a reply to questions put with scarcely civility, and vi bich.
instead of good, inflicted a double evil—evil to those who