The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-01-08
The History Of Member Of Parliament.


AN MTEREs TING AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Mr.. Jackson, one of the members of Parlia-
ment for North Derbyshire, England, recently
made 81 eech at a soiree of the Drondeld Ne
chanics' Institution, in the course OF which he
gave his history, ior the sake, as he said OF in
citing and squirting on many in the room, who
had as great a chance before them as he had
when he fret started in life. His father, a medi-
cal man, left his mother with eleven children,
himself the seventh son. To some OF her sons
she gave college education, to others a high
education; but what with the placing OF them
out and the cost OF education, her means we're
diminished, and when II came to poor him
less was granted, and he had to rely on himself.
Forty-elght years ago last 9th of April, when
under twelve years of age, he was beckoned out
OF school and was put to hard work at q ships
side, from o'clock in the morning till at
night, with half an hour for breakfast, and three
quarters of an hour for dinner, and he remained
in that position nine months, when his master
was taken i'll, and he was put in the office. This
gave him an opportunity OF studying, and he
read the Encyclopedias Britannica" from A TO
lit was his education. After that he never
lost an hour. He had hung lamp over his bed
at night, when he had gone to bed at 10, after
working till 8, and read a part of the night, for
he found that if he had TO rely on himself he
must practise selfdenial. He afterwards put
himself to a trade, and his subsequent career
had been one OF uninterrupted success. But he
wondered where he should have been If he ha6
not read the Encyclopedias Britannica Not
in that room rs their county member, for if ever
he wanted information in ony of his pursuits in
llte great OF small, he only had occasion to look
at that book. and he found the genius, the mind,
and the application of those who preceded him
recorded in letters unmistakable, and it had
formed his character as IL now existed.
In the last tOrty-eight years he had been in the
four quarters of the globe, and there was scarcely
a port to which ship could go that he had not
ounp % yUif 10 frat
the West Coast of Africa, and his ships were
found from Sierra Leone to the Cape of Good
Hope, nearly two thousand miles, trading with
the natives. Where did he get his information
regarding each tribe From the Encyclopaedia"
AS the divine read the Bible to enable him to
preach, so did he (Alr. Jackson) read the "Ency-
ciop@dia" that he might be ''posted up" as the
Americans SAID, wherever he had transactions
and whether it was the Indies or the Cape of
Good Hope, Hottentots, Beers, Dutchmen, or
English, Mussulmans, or Hindoos, he found the
information he wanted regarding the manners
and customs of the people. And when Australia
began to be peopled, he found information of
that new country almost unknown in his
younger days. Take the western coast of Ame-
rlca--Peru and Chill; he found the history OF
those countries before they were captured, so to
speak, by the Europeans. He traded as far as
California, buying raw hides and carrying salt
from the Cape Verd Islands to pay for them,
before an ounce of gold was found there. He
had also had whaIers in the North, and he had
always looked at the Encyclopaedia" ," and found
the information he desired
He said to those who did not read Tread,
instead of smoking your pipe and drinking beer
in public house; get that book, and you will
find art, science, language, something to enter
tain, support, and instruct you" He attributed
his great success in life to the fortunate crcum-
stance of his master being ill, and his being
obliged to be in the office from morning till
night, and there having the opportunity of in
himself. Twenty-seven years ago he
was obliged to go to Pisa lor his health, and in
to learn the Italian grammar he
found that so many years of hard work had
caused him to forget grammar altogether, and
he was Obliged to begin de nOuo. He spoke of
the great advantage that his knowledge of
Italian, then gained, had been to him in his COM
meIcial relations with that country, which was
so rapidly developing, and touched upon the
presentation made to him in acknowledgment of
his services in the late events In Italy. He men.
toned this to show what man could do 3, be
oEst1a pe selEreliant and deny htn.seii luxuries
which were not luxunes cfter all. If he had
spent his time in the publc:house, and Joined
himself with the young and dissolute men at
Liverpool, he should never have been what he
was. No matter from what position q man
started, he could attain any position by good
conduct and the talents which the Almighty
had given him. Mr. Jackson instanced the cases
OF Benjamin Franklin and William Cobbett in
proof of what he said.
He then spoke at some length on the import
ance OF the study of the modern languages, par
ticularly French and German, since we had
already a commercial treaty with France, and
should have one with Austria; and if Austria
made such a treaty all Germany must follow.
He dwelt upon the Importance of the knowledge
of such languages to a manufacturing commu-
nifty. If, he said he knew French, German, and
Italian fuently he would give all he possessed
for he should be confident of soon making it up
and even doubling it.