Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-01-08
Mr.. Bright. the Agitation.

Perhaps the greatest and most successful ii re
magorue now living is Mr.. BEIGHT, not VI.
JESSE d. BRIGHT, ex-senator Of Indiana, but Mr..
Joux BEIaur, the English Rctormcr. We he
lieve that his natural impulses were good, and
that he commenced his career with sincere
humanitarian motives and desires. But it is
not all of life to begin well. 1t is more mpor-
tant To continue to act well, and to end we'll
MANY man commences life Alright, who ends
it in guilt and shame. Mr.. BsIGUr became in-
toxicated with his triumphs, aud selfish ambi-
ton and love of notoriety and popular APP
plause appear to have become his leading IN
centives to action. He is the foremost radical
of this age, and has a larger party in America
than in England. lie has taken all the Jewellers
in all countries under his expansive wings, and
this day his ipSe dirjt is the law to thousands.
His agitation will only end with his life.
Mr.. BRIGHT recently delivered one Of his
characteristic popular harangues at Birming
ham, England in which he drew this picture
of the English poor:
Let us now for moment said Mr.. Bright Gas; our
eve over this country after the many great nd use
ful changes that have been made during the last
thirty wears. There remain, as said. five millions
OF families who entirely unrcpre>entcd. Eonunc
your attention those families. There are olonsst
them one milliOn-cOnSiderably more than million,
| believe. in the United hlngdOm-Ot those who are
classed in the unfortunate list OF paUperS. There
are at least million who Just above the paupcrs
always in peril lest they themselves should become
paupers Their condition and their prospects are no
more favorable than that. Then. look At o. lguO-
rance of the lower strata Of this portion of the
ton look At their poverty, their suderngS their ut
ter hopeeSsneSs of good. Why, m the A neric1u
u
negro had an idea that there was day of jubilee
FOR him. Verify they used TO say, the L ord will
come and deliver US But in this class this lowest
strata Of the population of your country, venture
10 saw there is neither belief la anything b ,tter for
them nor scarcely is there any aspiration AFT er H.
lie then instanced the case Of JOIN CROSSE,
the Dorsetshire laborer, who received an eN-
celent character from his employer. under
whom he had worked for twenty-tour years, at
the rate oreight shillings week. Jon Crosse
had family of seven children. 4" To provide
fire in his howell SAYS MIR. Bright for his feeble
wife and infant child, he took-legally, be
Teve. he stole-a wooden hurdle of the value
of six pence, and for that hc was tried before
the magistrates and sentenced to wenty-One
DAYS, or a fortnight's Imprisonment lie says
there are thousands OF men like JouN Crosse.
the Dorsetshire laborer, who get only eight
shillings a week, and there are hundreds OF
thousands who get only ten shilIiug> wee X.
He then turns to the upper and eutrau-
chised classes who are oppressed 10y what
he calls the WEAKNESS OF safety" His rems-
dy is suffrage
From the exhibit made by Mr. BRIGHT, it
,vonld seem that his own country presents an
= annie and adequate field for the exercise Of al
his energies without crossing the Atlantic TO ia
tertere with our domestic affairs. &c PhySi
clan, heal myself" and "thou hyPocrite, cas-
out first the beam out Of thine own eye, an'
then shalt thou see clearly 10 pull out the mot
that is in thy brothers eye" are ScripturaI IN
functions that are not sufficiently needed b-
the English retormer. Under the teachings q
this man, and other Englishmen of his school
four millions of negro laborerS, who, beside
tsJoHN CROSSE, the DOrsetShire laborer,' and th'
hundreds of thousands Of other English labor
ers of whom he speaks, might be considered
opulent, have been thrown out OF employment
and have lost their homes. They had comfort
able houses, good clothing aud a plenty to eat
both for themselves and their families. Thei