Vbr Ifirobintts.

The officers of the French squadron have been feted at Portsmouth. On Tuesday, they dined with Admiral Sir Charles Rowley ; on Wed- nesday, with Major-General Sir Hercules Pakenham ; a ball and supper at the Royal Naval College were to follow, on Friday, and then a public dinner today. On Thursday morning, a distinguished party, invited by Admiral La Susse and Captain Gouben, went on board the Gomer, to view it and partake of a dejeuner a la fourchette.

The hubbub at Oxford, about the election of a Vice-Chancellor of the University, has come to nothing. The election took place on Tuesday morning. On no occasion since the memorable defeat of Sir Ro- bert Peel in 1829 has such excitement prevailed among the electoral body of Alma Mater, and the attendance of members of Convocation was unprecedented. The proceedings in the Theatre commenced about half-past one o'clock : when the usual forms were gone through, and the Chancellor's letter, nominating Dr. Symons as Vice-Chancellor, was read. Upon the " assent" of the masters being demanded to the nomination, the cry of "Placet " was echoed by that of " Non-placet," and a scrutiny was demanded. The voting, owing to the immense numbers present, occupied a considerable time ; and at the end, it appeared that the num- bers stood thus—Placets, 882 ; Non-placets, 183. The retiring Vice- Chancellor, Dr. Wynter, and his successor, then addressed the Convoca- tion ; and Dr. Symons appointed the Rector of Lincoln, who had been passed over on former occasions, to be a Pro-Vice-Chancellor.

A "New Free Church in England" has just sprung np in Exeter. It is announced that it is an Episcopal establishment, which will, how- ever, allow of no Bishop to interfere in its concerns. The Reverend S. Shore and the Reverend H. B. Balteel, Church of England clergymen, are promoters of this new schism. Mr. Shore has had some disputes with the Bishop of Exeter, who wanted to prevent him from preaching in his church ; this church was not firmly attached to the Establish- ment, and thus Mr. Shore easily foiled the Bishop : he bad the church licensed as a Dissenting place of worship and himself as a Nonconform- ist preacher. These clergymen have issued an address in which they say- " It has long been felt by very many who are attached to the doctrines of the Protestant Church, as well as to Episcopal order scrupulously administered, that, for the preservation and increase of Evangelical religion, in these days of revived superstition and arrogant assumption, it is highly desirable to attempt the formation of an Episcopal Church, distinct from the Established Church, on a sufficiently comprehensive basis to effect the union of genuine believers in Christ, who may not object to Episcopal discipline, though otherwise differing in some unimportant points." [The assertion that no bishop is to interfere in this new Episcopal church is odd !

The South Beds and North Herts Agricultural Association met at Luton, on Friday ; the Marquis of Bute presiding. There was a fuller attendance than usual, especially of tenant-farmers. The toast of "Prosperity to Agriculture" was responded to by Mr. Charles Latti- more ; who made some sharp remarks on the share of landlords in pro- moting the said agricultural prosperity. He pointed out that the present price of corn, 45s. 11d., is less than the average price from 1756 to 1785, 46s. Id.; yet rents have risen. He asked if landlords would grant leases. Improvement, to which the farmers are exhorted, is doubtless desirable ; but will landlords abstain from taking advantage of im- provements ?

At the meeting of the Dorchester Agricultural Association, on Wed- nesday, Mr. Richard Brinsley Sheridan adverted to the miserable con- dition of many labourers. He was interrupted by cries for the name of the persons to whom he alluded, and such explanations ; but the Chair- man, Lord Stavordale, secured him a hearing. He went on to describe the state of George Strickland, living " year after year of his life in loathsome wretchedness ; his five sous and daughter sleeping in one bed, [there were but two beds in the house] ; and the whole family living like swine—eating, washing, and sleeping in one small room." Again there were calls for explanation ; and now Mr. Sheridan said- " You require to know upon whose property this man has been em- ployed : with shame and regret do I say that it is upon my property that George Strickland has been employed." He was not aware of it till he visited the cottage. It showed the necessity of landlords attend- ing to their own property, and leaving nothing to agents; and he ex- horted his bearers to sift the question thoroughly ; for he was not the only landowner unacquainted with the condition of the labourers on his property. He did not presume to suggest a remedy, but he suggested that a society should be formed to take the whole matter into cousidera- tMn. The Chairman, observing that some if not all of these painful remarks were true, proposed the health of Mr. Percher. Mr. Porcher said, that exaggerated statements had been made on the subject, and the denials also had been too strong. The practice of letting cottages on leases for lives had much to do with the evil, as the landlord could not interfere with those cottages. Here the matter dropped for the time.

At the meeting of the South-west Middlesex Agricultural Association, on Tuesday, Chief Baron Pollock, as Chairman, uttered "a few truths "- He would tell them they must meet things as they were. If rents were too high, they must come down ; if labour was not properly rewarded, it must have higher wages ; and if education was not general, the schoolmaster must go abroad. ("Hear, hear ! " and loud cheers.) He was sure it was not necessary to say to them, that it was not the mere institutions they possessed that had made this country so great, but the spirit with which those institutions were administered. (" Hear, hear ! ") There was no doubt that union was strength ; but sympathy was also confidence, and he trusted tbat that feeling would ultimately prevail through every part of the agricultural community. These feelings, be was sure, animated them in all they did. All they desired was a well-educated and well-organized community.

The first meeting of the Witham Labourer's Friend Society, as an in- dependent body, was held on Tuesday ; Lord Rayleigh in the chair. Formerly the society was supported by the funds of the Chelmsford So- ciety, but henceforward it is to be self-supporting. Mr. Round, M.P., insisted on the importance of such societies— Those who supported such societies were the labourer's best friends, by proving to him that he was considered of great importance, and thus creating in him self-respect. Let no man say that it was an attempt to bribe the la- bourers : on the contrary, it was an honour to every person to take part in such societies. He could hardly conceive that the attempt to appeal to the vanity of those who had received rewards that day would be unsuccessful. Their age and general character were a sufficient proof of the contrary. Mr. H. Martin, who attended from the London Society for the Im- provement of the Condition of the Working Classes, dilated on the ad- vantages of the allotment system both in benefiting the labourers and in relieving rate-payers ; of which he had had the most convincing proofs in his journeys throughout the country. Some farmers related the re- sults of practical experiments in methods of cultivation ; and some raised another question, that of tenures. Mr. Dixon began— It was a very important question, how came it that they saw so much bad farming ? Let them go to the right or to the left, they saw good farmers only as exceptions. He had no doubt but that, if the land were properly cultivated, there would be plenty of employment for all the labourers; and instead of talk- ing of a redundancy of labour there would be found that a deficiency existed. He would ask, how could there be a redundancy of labour, whilst the land was but half cultivated ? It was perfectly clear to him, that with their increased knowledge they ought to apply more capital to the land: and with the tenant that became a question of a lease ; for no man would undertake so serious an outlay unless be were protected in the enjoyment of the benefit of it ; which benefit would not be confined to himself alone, but would extend to the country at large, and employ a great number of labourers. It was, therefore, incum- bent upon the landlords to see that the land was properly cultivated and occu- pied. In that room he saw some gentlemen who had since last year spent large sums upon their farms. Mr. Batley had deep-drained in a very substantial and expensive way, and he hoped to get a good return for it ; but in the end the landlord would come in for the lion's share.

Lord Rayleigh made a remark which, as reported, is not very clear— Re felt that the observations of Mr. Dixon were worthy of attention. Such

improvements as he had mentioned, if done at all, must exist for a length of time beyond the lease. Money was at that time very cheap: if the landlord bad not the money himself, he could borrow it at 3 per cent ; when, after what they had seen and heard, the tenants would be glad to pay 5 per cent for it. He would propose a toast, " Liberal landlords and spirited tenants."

Mr. Halley, a farmer who holds upwards of 1,550 acres, and who has laid out 2,060/. on elaborate improvements in 160 acres, also touched upon the subject of leases— No tenant could farm well without a lease. A tenant-at-will had his energies crippled, and could not exert himself either for his own benefit or that of his labourers. He considered it the duty of every tenant-farmer to impress upon bis landlord the benefits that would accrue to all parties from granting leases—leases that would permit the tenants to remove the pollards and tim- ber. The landlords ought to know that land would not grow timber and corn too. It had been proposed at the Farmers Club that they should offer 2s. per acre more for land without timber than with it. It was the most unpro- fitable crop that could encumber the land. A foot of elm, that was worth only Is., cost the tenant 7s. He was sorry, as lie looked around the neighbourhood, to see many tenants without leases and with plenty of timber. What was the result ? They had little or no money in their pockets, and empty cupboards. His advice to them was, get leases, and get rid of timber.

In our account of the meeting of the Labourer's Friend Society at Chipping Ongar, last week, we were unable to make any extract from the speeches of Mr. Raikes Currie. We also omitted to mention among the prizes, that Mr. Currie presented a silver cup to the renting-farmer who had expended the greatest sum on agricultural labour in proportion to the size of his holding. Before distributing the prizes, Mr. Currie addressed the body of labourers, among whom appear to have been women and children. He pointed out how the skill and good conduct of the labourers not only served themselves, but, by a beautiful principle in the works of Providence, men cannot do good to themselves without doing good to others ; and thus all classes derived benefit from such societies. The promotion of those qualities, however, was not all-

" Any one who thinks that to accomplish this, and to distribute a considerable sum of money among a number of deserving persons, are the highest objects of our Society, takes a very imperfect measure of the good which it is calculated to effect, if rightly understood, and carried out in its proper spirit. I own it seems to me that far more important benefits will accrue from this Society, if it be made, as I am sure that it may be made, the beginning of a more free and friendly intercourse between the different classes of the community. We want more knowledge of, more sympathy with, each other ; more knowledge of and more sympathy with each other's wants and wishes, hopes and fears, joys and sorrows. Honour to those wise and loving spirits who, in different parts of England, are labouring to promote this better feeling, not only by such societies as this, but where the noble and the rich are bringing back old English sports or establishing the village cricket-ground, and joining heartily like men in the games and pastime of their sturdy labourers and countrypeople! This more free and friendly intercourse of which I speak seems alluded to in that verse of Proverbs which h:s been taken as the motto of this Society—' The rich and the poor meet together.' The rich and the poor do indeed meet together daily and hourly in the intercourse of life, merely as rich and poor, as masters and servants, as employers and employed ; considering each other, perhaps, in that relation only, which, taken by itself, and unsoftened by any kindlier feeling, does not tend to promote brotherly kindness and Christian love. ' The rich and the poor meet together '—but the text goes on to say, ' for the Lord is the Father of them all.' I trust that we meet this day to remember and to act upon this great truth—that we meet not only as friends, but as brothers—eons of the same Almighty Father, seeking to be made better by the same good spirit, hoping to be redeemed by the same sacrifice. It is indeed a good and wholesome thing for the rich and the poor to meet in this spirit—to remember that, however widely we may differ in outward circumstances, we are all equal in the sight of God. • • * • My friends, I do not think that these considerations are at all foreign to the business in which we are engaged ; I think some such thoughts are necessary to bring us to it in a proper frame of mind. It is with these feelings that I wish to enter on the task allotted me; for in one man receiving and another distributing certain sums of money there is little to excite sympathy or grati- tude or lasting satisfaction—there might even seem something humbling to the receiver, and not beneficial to the giver : but I stand here today the organ and instrument of our Society, not for this, but to thank and honour, in the distri- bution of these rewards, those honest and industrious men, women, and chil- dren who deserve to be held in honour, to testify to them the respect of the district and neighbourhood in which they live. These are not mere words : for myself I can sincerely say, that when on this day, as the representative of this Society, I offer to you, my friends, these tokens of our approbation and esteem,— when I see you one by one approach—the skilful, industrious labourer,—the aged, faithful servant, who has clung to the same family and the same home- stead—the neat, cleanly, well-conducted village maiden, who has done her duty amid difficulties and temptations of which the wealthy and the great know nothing—the steady, provident man or boy, who by self-denial, that element of all virtue, has saved something from his hard earnings which bids fair to make him independent; and when I place your prizes in the hands of these, and such as these, I feel that respect and esteem for each of you which I should never feel for any wealth or any rank or station unaccompanied and unadorned by usefulness and goodness. Yes, there is something in the breast of every one of us, which tells us (unless we refuse to listen) that there is a claim on our regard and our affections in every act of moral worth—a claim far higher than and of a different nature from any which can be ever made by those out- ward advantages before which the world bow down." Afterwards, at the dinner of landowners and farmers, Mr. Currie re- marked that their district was free from the frightful crime of in- eendiarism ; and he called upon them to support societies for improving the condition of the labourer— That was the best moral assurance against such misfortunes. What were the rick-burnings, after all ? By whom were these crimes perpetrated ? Generally by half-witted persons and children, who did not appear to know what they were doing. At the same time, they must not forget that these and other outbreaks with which this country had been visited of late years were but the inevitable expression of that dumb voice which had no recognized organ with which to make known its grievances and its wants—the voice of the labouring population of this country. He believed, wherever there were many of those incendiary fires, there was something rotten in the constitution of the Contiguous society. Meetings and associations for the improvement of the agricultural poor were now become general throughout the country, and the public press had of late teemed with many strictures apon them ; and he was free to confess that in almost all cases those strictures were just. Those stric- tures related principally to the spirit of glorification assumed by the parties by whom they were established, and the mode they adopted of lecturing those who were the objects of their care. It was the custom, he was sorry to observe, not in that district, but in many other parts of the country, when distributing their annual rewards, instead of meeting them openly, as had been done that day, to call them singly into a room before the magistrates and farmers, who were the donors of the prizes. It was of the highest importance to make these meetings popular with the labourers ; for if not, they would be deprived of half the good effects ; and to make them popular, they must stamp them with the character of the poor man's holyday—a day in which he should know and feel that he was made the first object of attention and care.

We recur to the meeting at the 3lanchester Athenaeum, last week, in order to give some account of the speeches, which we were obliged to omit in our very brief notice of it. We should also state, that earlier in the day, before the festive soiree, a meeting was held to report the state of the institution, and to receive reports from kindred institutions of the district : this meeting was attended by most of the principal guests of the soiree, and by deputations from the Mechanics Institutions of Ash- ton, Blackburn, Bolton, Bury, Chorley, Lancaster, Leigh, Liverpool, Manchester, Miles Platting, Oldham, Salford, Staleybridge, Stockport, Warrington, Wigan, Wilmslow, the Dukinfield Village Library, and Rochdale Literary and Philosophical Institution. Upon the whole, the reports were prosperous. Lord John Manners remarked, in a short speech, that the Ancoats Institution consisted almost entirely of work- ing-men ; and he insisted that, however advisable it was that the gentry should support such institutions, it was also important that the working- classes should join in their management. A committee was appointed to negotiate and arrange a permanent union of the literary and scientific institutions of Lancashire and Cheshire, through systematic correspond- ence and periodical meetings on a large scale.

We now come to the speeches at the soiree, which took place in the Free Trade Hall; beginning with that of the Chairman, Mr. Disraeli. After describing the institution, its library, its lectures, its gymnasium, and its noble building, he touched upon the high purpose for which it was founded- " When we remember the class of your community fur which this institution was particularly adapted—when we conceive, difficult as it is, surrounded as we now arc with luxury and pleasure—when we attempt to picture to our imagina- tions what is the position of a youth, perhaps of very tender years, sent, as I am informed is very frequently the case, from a distant district, to form his fortunes in this great metropolis of labour and of science—when we think of that youth, tender in age, with no domestic hearth to sooth and stimulate, to counsel or control—when we picture him to ourselves after a day of indefati- gable toil, left to his lonely evenings and his meagre lodgings without a friend and without a counsellor, flying to dissipation from sheer want of distraction, and perhaps involved in vice before he is conscious of the very fatal net that has been surrounding him—what a contrast to his position does it offer when we picture him to ourselves, with a feeling of self-consciousness which supports and sustains him after his day of toil, entering a great establishment where everything that can satisfy curiosity, that can form taste, that can elevate the soul of man and lead to noble thoughts and honourable intentions, surrounds him ? When we think of the convenience and the comfort, the kindness and the sympathy which, with a due decorum of manners, he is sure to command, this youth, who but a few hours before was a stranger, viewing an institution like the present only in this limited aspect, one must regard it as a great har- bour of intellectual refuge and social propriety."

He asked why the institution, now so prosperous, had so recently seemed in the last stage of its fortunes?-

" I would say, in the first place, without imputing the slightest fault to the originators of this institution, wishing to be most distinctly understood as not only not imputing any fault to them, but most decidedly being of opinion that the fault does not lie at their door ; still I cannot shut my eyes to the fact that, in the origin of this institution, by circumstances not foreseen, and which cer- tainly were not intended, a party, a limited, and a sectarian feeling, in some degree pervaded its management. I confess, myself, that it appears to me that it would have been a marvel had it been otherwise. When we remember the great changes that bad then but very recently occurred in this country—when we recall to our mind not only the great changes that had occurred, but the still greater that were menaced and discussed—when we remember what an in- fluence is created when local jealousy blends with political passion—it is not difficult to imagine, because there are none of us present but in their sphere must have felt its influence—it is nut wonderful that men of different political opinions should look with extreme jealousy upon each other. A combination of peculiar circumstances that created a balanced state of parties in those places where the struggle for dominion and power takes place, very much assisted this feeling ; and that such a feeling existed throughout all England in a degree more intense and more virulent than has ever been equalled in the history of this country, I think no man will deny, and all must deplore. For my own part, I really believe, that had that party and sectarian feeling proceeded in the same power and virulence it has done for the last twelve or fourteen years, it must have exercised a barbarizing influence upon public sentiment and public manners. There are some among us now, I know, who believe that the period has arrived when a great effort must he made to emancipate this country from the degrading thraldom of faction—(Long and continued cheering)—to terminate, if possible, that extreme, that sectarian, and limited view, iu which all human conduct is examined, observed, and criticised—to put an end to exclusiveness, which, in its peculiar sphere, is equally deleterious as that aristocratical ex- clusiveness of manners which has produced so much evil : and, as far as I can form an opinion, these views have met with sympathy from every part of the country." Another cause that had blighted the earlier fortunes of the Athenaeum was the limited view of its real character taken even by those extremely friendly to it : it had been regarded as a recreation merely for prosperous times, so that, when all was sunshiny, a man might spend his leisure in something else than in brooding over the gloomy state of the country— might deign to cultivate his faculties, and to become acquainted with what Europe was conceiving or executing. He regarded it in a very different light—as part of that great educational movement which is the ennobling characteristic of the age- " Heretofore society was established necessarily on a very different principle to that which is now its basis. As civilization has gradually progressed it has equalized the physical qualities of man. Instead of the strong arm, it is the strong head that is now the moving principle of society. You have dis- enthroned force, and placed on her high seat intelligence ; and the necessary consequence of this great revolution is, that it has become the duty and the delight equally of every citizen to cultivate his faculties. The prince of all philosophy has told you, in an immortal apophthegm, so familiar to you all that it is written now in your halls and chambers, 'Knowledge is power.' If that memorable passage had been perused by the student who first announced this discovery of that great man to society, he would have found an oracle not less striking, and in my mind certainly not less true; for Lord Bacon has not only said that 'knowledge is power,' but, living one century after the discovery of the printing-press, he has also announced to the world that ' knowledge is pleasure.' Why, when the great body of mankind had become familiar with this great discovery—when they learned that a new source was opened to them of influence and enjoyment, is it wonderful that from that hour the heart of nations has palpitated with the desire of becoming acquainted with all that has

happened and with speculating on what may occur 2 It has indeed produced upon the popular intellect an influence almost as great—I might say analogous to the great change which was produced upon the old commercial world by the discovery of the Americans. A new standard of value was introduced; and after this, to to distinguished men must be intellectual. Nor, indeed, am I surprised that this feeling has so powerfully influenced our race: for the idea of human happiness is dependent on the cultivation of the mind and on the discovery of truth, which, next to the conviction of our immortality, is an idea

the most full of consolation to man; for the cultivation of the mind has no limits, and truth is the only thing that is eternal. Indeed, when you consider what a man is who knows only what is passing under his own eyes, and what the condition of the same man must be who belonged to an institution like the one which has assembled us together tonight, is it, ought it to be, a matter of surprise that from that moment to the present you Lave had a general feeling throughout the civilized world for the diffusion of knowledge ? A man who knows nothing but the history of the passing hour—who knows nothing of the history of the past, but that a certain person whose brain was as vacant as his own occupied the same 'mum as himself—who in a moment of despondency or of gloom has no hope in the morrow because he has read nothing that has taught him that the morrow has any changes—that man, compared with him who has read the most ordinary abridgment of history or the most common philosophical speculation, is as distinct and different an animal as if lie had fallen from some other planet, was influenced by a different organization, work- ing for a different end, and hoping for a different result. Ills knowledge that equalizes the social condition of man—that gives to all our political position, passions which are in common, and enjoyments which are universal. It is like the ladder in the patriarch's mystic dream : its base rests on the primeval earth—its crest is lost in the shadowy splendour of the empyrean; while the great authors that for traditionary ages have held the chain of science and philosophy, of poesy and erudition, arc like the angels ascending and descend- ing on the sacred scale, and maintaining, as it were, the communication between man and !leaven."

This feeling was so universal, that there has been no combination of society in any age in which it has not developed itself- " I can recall—the name of the very institution that brings us together re- minds me of the circumstance—I can recall, and I think I see more than one gentleman around me who equally can recall the hours in which he wandered amid-

' Fields that coot Ilsssas laves.'

At least there is my heneurable friend the Member for Stockport, who, I am sure, has a lively recollection of that classic stream; for I remember one of the most effective allusions he made to it in one of the most admirable speeches I ever listened to. But, notwithstanding his allusion, I would still appeal to the poetry of his constitution—and 1 know it abounds in that quality. I ant sure that he could not have looked without emotion on that immortal scene. I still can remember that olive-crowned plain, that sunset crag, that citadel Pane of ineffable beauty. That was a brilliant civilization dsveloped by a gifted race more than two thousaad years ago ; at a time alien the ancestors of the manufacturers of Manchester, who now clothe the world, were themselves covered with skins, end tattoed like red men of the wilderness. But in- fluences more powerful even than the awful lapse of (line separate and dis- tinguish you from that race. They were the children of the Sun; you in a distant, a rugged, nod Northern clime. They bowed before different altars, they followed different customs, they were modified by different manners. Votaries of the beautiful, they sought in net the means of embodying their passionate conceptions: you have devoted your energies to utility, and by the means of a power almost unknown to antiquity—by its miraculous agencies you have applied its creative force to every combination of human circum- stances that could pr.xluee your objects. Yet, amid the toil and the triumphs of your scientific industry, upon you there comes the undefinable, the irre- sistible yearning for intellectual refinement : you build an edifice consecrated to those beautiful emotions and to those civilizing studies in which they ex- celled; and you impress upon its front a name taken from d • Where on /Evan shores a city rose, Built nobly; clear the air. and light the soil; Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence!'

What a beautiful triumph, I must say, to immortal genius! what a sublime incentive to eternal fame! Then, when the feeling is so universal—when it is one which modern civilization is nurturing and developing—who does not feel that it is not only tile most benevolent, but the most politic thing you can do, to avail yourselves cf its influence, and to direct in every way the formation of that character upon which intellect must necessarily now exercise an irre- sistible influence? We cannot shut our eyes any longer to the immense revo- lution. Knowledge is no longer a lonely eremite, afferding a chance and capti- vating hospitality to some lonely pilgrim ; knowledge is now found in the market-place, a citizen and a leader of citizens. The spirit has touched the multitude; it has impregnated the mass-

Totamque infusa per atlas

• Yens agitat molem, et magna se corpore miseet.' "

The youth of a nation are the trustees of prosperity, but the youth whom he addressed had duties peculiar to their position-

" They are the ruing generation of a society unprecedented in the history of the world, that is at mice powerful and new. In other parts of the kingdom the remains of an ancient civilization are prepared ever to guide, to cultivate, to influence the rising mind ; but they are born in a miraculous creation of novel powers, and it is rather a providential instinct that has developed the ne- cessary means of maintaining the order of your new civilization than the matured foresight of man. This is their inheritance. They will be called on to perform duties—great ditties. I for one wish, for their sakes and for the sake of my country, that they may he performed greatly. I give to them that counsel which I have ever given to south, and which I believe to he the wisest and the best—I tell them to aspire. 1 believe that the man who does not look up will look down ; and that the spirit that does not dare to soar is destined perhaps tu grovel. Every individual is entitled to aspire to that position which Ile believes his faculties (,ualify him to ououpy. 1 know there ate sonic who look with what I believe is short-ighted timidity and false prudence upon such views. They are apt to toll us, • Beware of filling the youthful mind with an impetuous tumult of turbulent fancies : teach Lim, rather, to be content with his position ; don't induce Lim to fancy that he is that which he is not, or to aspire to that which he cannot achieve.' In my mind, these are superficial de- lusions. He who enters the world finds his level. It is the solitary being, the isolated individual, alone in his solitude, who may be apt to miscalculate his powers and misunderstand his character. But action teaches him the truth, even if it he a stern one. Association affords him the best criticism in the world; and I will venture to say that if he belong to the Athenaeum, though when he enters it he may think himself a genius, if nature has not given him a creative and passionate soul, before a week has elapsed lie will become a very sober-minded individual. I wish to damp no youthful ardour. I can conceive what such an institution would have afforded to the suggestive mind of a youthful Arkwright. I can conceive what a nursing-mother such an institu- tion must have been to the brooding genius of your illustrious and venerated Dalton. It is the asylum of the self-formed, it is the counsellor of those who want counsel; but it is not a guide that will mislead, and it is the last place that will fill the mind of man with false ideas and false conceptions. He reads a newspaper, and his conceit come after reading a leadingarticle. He re- fers to the library, and the calm wisdom of centuries and sages moderates the rash impulse of juvenescence. He finds new truths in the lecture-room, and he goes home with a conviction that he is not so learned as he imagined. lit the discussion of a great question with his equals in station, perhaps be finds he has his superiors in intellect. These are the means by which the mind of man is brought to a healthy state—by which that self-knowledge that always has been lauded by sages may be most securely attained. It is a rule of universal virtue, and from the senate to the counting-house will be found of universal application. Then, to the youth of Manchester, representing now the civic youth of this great county and this great district, I now appeal. Let it never be said again that the fortunes of this institution were in danger. * When the torch is delivered to them, let them also lead the path of human progress to educated men." (The cheering, which had frequently responded to Mr. Disraeli, was prolonged for some minutes when he sat down.)

Mr. Cobden rose to express the thanks of the institution, of which he was one of the earliest members, to the gentlemen, distinguished for their genius, their rank, or their public fame, who had come to give their countenance and assistance. The society, he said, was self- supporting—the building, he believed, was a donation from the em- ployer to the employed, but in all other respects the society had from the first been self-supporting : yet they could not overlook the advan- tages which they derived from such visits as the present, and as those of Mr. Dickens and other friends of literature last year-

" Not the least, not the most unimportant of those advantages, is the fact, that from the mixed political character of the gentlemen who surround me, our

institution is now, at least, rescued from the charge—for I will not admit that

the charge was ever deserved—but it is rescued now from the charge of having at all events a political party object in view; and I am sure that I speak the language and feeling of every member of the Athenaeum here present, when I say, I should regard that man as the greatest enemy to his town, and as the greatest enemy to his kind, who should ever frame or convert this institution to any party or political feeling. (Cheers.) I could not help congratulating my- self, as Mr. Disraeli was speaking, upon the position 1 fill on this bench ; for with my Lord John Manners on one side, and the Honourable Mr. Smythe on the other, I think such a conjunction as that will at least prevent the possi- bility of the Athenaeum being considered a party institution. (Laughter and cheers.) We thank them, brother members of the Athenaeum, fiur coming among us here, and for producing so desirable a result as this. And, taking this vantage-ground—having a full reliance upon the cordial support of every. party, every Peet and class in this community—I will ask, what may not this

Athenaeum become in the course of a few years, under these favourable aus- pices? I remember, 'in that most delightful work with which the genius of our Chairman has earned for himself a lasting literary fame,—(and, by the way,

I would observe, that lie is the first man of distinguished genius who, in a work

of the imagination, has assigned to a man of my order something like an ho- nourable status in his pages)-1 remember his Millbank, and I thank him for it. I remember his Miss Millbank too. By the way, I rather think the ori- ginal of Coningsby is here. I believe he is not married, ladies; and probably Miss Millbank may he here. (Laughter.) But I was going to observe, that in that delightful work of Mr. Disraeli's, he says, when speaking of Manches- ter—' It is the philosopher only who can understand and predict the future destiny of Manchester.' I will venture to say, the that philosopher will at all events have but one test for the future greatness of Manchester ; that will be a mental test, and not a material test ; that our destiny will be decided not by the expanse of bricks and mortar, not by the multiplication of steam-engines, not by the accumulation of wealth, but just in proportion as mental develop- ment goes forward, and in an appropriate ratio with the development of wealth end material resources, just in proportion will our destiny be dignified and exalted or the very reverse. Manchester, then, standing upon an eminence, we are not in a position in which this county can shrink from the test which will be applied to us. We are increasing in numbers, we are accumulating wealth; and therefore, unless we make progress at the same time in this moral and in-

tellectual development to which I have referred, the extent of the houses and mills in Manchester will be an odium rather than an honour to Manchester—

and I speak not merely of Manchester, but of the surrounding district. Man- chester has its satellites—towns each of them as large as ancient cities. Those ancient cities became celebrated in the world's history. How ? why ?—Not for

the wealth of those cities; not for the mere increase of numbers, but because those ancient cities have left traces of art and of literature which have immor- talized their men of genius when the population of those cities has decayed and

their wealth has passed into other channels or become altogether obliterated.

Such will be our fate. And as to those surrounding towns, I would call upon them immediately—I would call upon Stockport, Blackburn, Oldham, and the rest—since we have this starting-point, that we are no longer suspected of being of any political party, to make this the beginning of an effort to establish in each of those towns an Athenaeum of itself; for every town in this vicinity ought to support an Athenaeum, worthy of the wealth and material resources we have in Manchester."

Mr. Cobden read a letter from their old friend Mr. Thomas Hood, in answer to the invitation to be present that night-

" The truth is," Mr. Hood writes, "I am a confirmed invalid, and almost set in for still life; a condition irksome enough, and which would be intolerable but fur the comfort and consolation I derive from the diversions of authorship and the blessed springs of literature. Fortunately, the head that has a mind to it may travel without those pantings which beset spasmodic lungs ; the thoughts can expatiate without such palpitations as result from the excursions of the legs. Forbidden to walk, there is the run of the library : but 1 have already described the advantage of books and reading, by help of which even the bedridden may

enjoy a longer range than Captain Warner's. Suffice it that experience and

suffering have confirmed my former views, that if any thing could aggravate the evil of becoming what the Scotch call a puir silly body,' it must be a poor silly mind, incapable of wholesome exercise, without appetite for intellectual food or the power of digesting it. And as age and accidents to the human machinery will impair the strongest horse-power of health, whilst the fairest mercantile endeavours may fail to secure a fortune, 1 would earnestly forewarn all persons within reach of my counsel, especially the young, to provide against such contingencies, by the timely cultivation and enrichment of that divine allotment which it depends on ourselves to render a flower-garden or a dead waste—a pleasure ground visited by the graces and frequented by the fairies, or a wilderness haunted by satyrs."

Lord John Manners rejoiced at the meeting of politicians on a neutral field, and hoped that the meeting would result in affording increased

mental amusement and recreation to the toiling salesman and ap- prentice. He said " amusement and recreation," because he thought that the attempt to go beyond, and to arrogate to themselves the edit- ca:ion of the country, and fancy that they supplied it in a smattering of science and human philosophy, had injured such institutions-

" It was but the other day 1 had the pleasure of listening to a speech which would have graced any assembly, delivered by a young Birmingham artisan, in which be ascribed the decadence of all such institutions in his own town to their forgetting amusement in instruction, and acting on the assumption that a man, after working twelve, or fourteen, or perhaps fifteen hours a day, would or could

sit down to recreate his mind with a course of mathematics or a lecture on geology. It would be, indeed, most presumptuous in me, and most unnecessary,

to do more in Manchester than just allude to the fact that there are other steps

to be taken besides this one of providing intellectual recreation for the middle class. The magnificent example set by Manchester to all other large towns,

and with which all England is at this moment ringing—that great undertaking to provide parks and walks for all classes of the community, open alike to the highest and the lowest—shows how well that truth is understood in Manchester ; and I trust, before long, it will be followed by another step in the same di-

rection ; the opening of museums and collections of that nature to the people at large. Most encouraging, indeed, is it to witness the eagerness with which

the people everywhere avail themselves of every opportunity which is offered them to frequent exhibitions of art, places of innocent amusement—still more gratifying their demeanour while there."

At the meeting which he had attended that day, evidence had been borne to another remarkable fact-

" We were told that history was a favourite study : now, I think it a matter of congratulation, that contemporary with this increased demand for history do we find a satisfactory revolution in that department of literature. We see a

truth-seeking inquisition at work, which refuses to accept the low and party views of the historians of the last century: the data upon which history is

to he formed are carefully sought out, revolved from the obscurity in which they are shrouded, and from them independent conclusions are formed, often at vanance with received notions and opinions. The formation and success of societies like the Camden, the Roxburgh, the Archaeological, and others which are constantly bringing those data to light, are proofs of the zeal and earnest- ness with which the records of the mighty past are being ransacked, for the benefit, we may hope, of the future. In a social and political point of view— political, I mean, in its most legitimate and least party sense—Irate highly the good which may accrue to this country from having its past history not a mere record of the kings who reigned and the battles they fought, but the history of its inner life, the habits, thoughts, and tastes of its people, the real aims and objects of its governors laid faithfully before us, because I am every day more and more convinced that half the mischief which is done to a country like this by its legislators and rulers is done from a misunderstanding of its past history ; and it is to societies like these, and to meetings like these, that they who are thus pioneering the way to a faithful understanding of the past must look fur sup- port and encouragement against the obloquy and opposition which every one who disturbs the slumber of contented lethargy must encounter."

Mr. Milner Gibson enlarged upon the effect which public taste for literature has upon authors ; contrasting the seta ile dedications by which patronage was propitiated in Dryden's time with the way in which literary works are now launched upon the world, depending upon their own merits.

Mr. Smythe regarded the meeting as the exponent of an elevated principle—the resolve to do justice to literature in a land where litera- ture has too long been neglected-

" It seems to me that, with a spirit worthy of a younger and freer age, you have resolved to proffer to the author and the man of letters a reward of a simpler and less sordid character than the pay of this newspaper or the hire of that review. Or, with yet more profound and farsighted intentions, you may have resolved to redress the anomalies of a country, which is governed by its journals, but where the names of its journalists are never mentioned—of a country where, by the most unhappy of conversions, it is the inventions which make the fortune, and it is the inventors who starve—of a country where, if a man of science aspires to its highest honours, the suffrages of his fellow- citizens, that man of science will poll by units, where the mere politician polls by hundreds. And it seems especially meet and right and fitting that you the men of Manchester should correct these evils, because there is an old, an intimate and natural alliance, between literature and commerce. It is in virtue of this alliance that you cannot but regard with sympathy the homage which you see done by foreigners to letters. Why, the very Ambassadors whom they send to this Court are so many reproaches to our neglect of them. Who is the Ambassador from Prussia ?—a man who has risen by his pen. Who from Sweden ?—the historian of British India. Who from Prussia ?—a professor. Who from Belgium ?—a man who has risen by literature. Who from France ?—an author and an historian. Who from America?—an author and professor. But it requires no extraordinary spell of divination to pro- phesy to the literature which shall derive its impulse from such a meeting as the present—which shall result from such incentives—which shall be fostered and encouraged by such sympathy as yours—a destiny yet more lasting and auspicious; because, as it will not be patronized by mouarchs,nor fashioned by nobles, nor confined by prejudice, so it will be free, independent, universal, and above all, tolerant, as your own free, independent, universal, and tolerant commerce."

That meeting was an earnest and a guarantee that the absurdities and barbarities of party warfare, which have had so many illustrious victims, shall cease-

" Remember the fate of our last great man. Remember how he was pro- scribed as an adventurer, because he was born to no hereditary fortune; and then, when the gentle-judging and the generous—when men with large thoughts and fine feelings—when the few rallied round him against the many—he was again branded and proscribed, because they were a few, as a caballer and intriguer. Remember how in high life his views were thwarted, his spirit cowed, his heart broken—how he was Misted to his grave; and then you will understand how, through calumny and misconstruction—through such men's envy, and the in- sults of men yet smaller—he must often have pined for some such neutral ground as this, to which his harassed spirit might have flown away and been at rest ; and how, in the prospect of a happier hour, of advancing toleration, such as this meeting affords—even with such eloquence as we have heard to- day—there are few among us, now that long years have passed over his grave, who will hesitate to exclaim with me, Oh for one hour of George Canning!'"

Thanks to Mr. Disraeli as Chairman were moved by Mr. Alexander Kay, the Mayor of Manchester, seconded by Mr. James Heywood, and carried by acclamation ; Mr. Cobden acting as fugleman while the entire assemblage rose and gave nine hearty rounds of applause.

Joseph Cappur, the well-known Chartist blacksmith, who has under- gone two years' imprisonment for his share its the riots of 1842, was li- berated from Stafford County Gaol on Monday. Mr. Arthur O'Neil, the Birmingham Chartist lecturer, who had been liberated a few weeks sooner, accompanied his brother Chartist home ; and they addressed meetings at Stoke and Tunstall. The Police kept a watch upon both these meetings.

Letters have been received at North Sunderland from Sir James Graham, expressing regret at the outrages committed on the property of James Cockburn Belaney, and offering 1001. reward for the appre- hension and conviction of the persons who set fire to his house on the 18th September. Informations have been laid against Mr. George Bell, a clerk, and three other men.

Eborn, a labourer of Oakley, in Buckinghamshire, has been sen- tenced to six weeks' imprisonment with hard labour for setting a snare for game ; and he is to be further imprisoned for six months, if on the ter- mination of the six weeks he do not enter into a ten-pound surety him- self, with two other sureties of five pounds each, for his good behaviour for twelve months I Pinching want made Eborn a poacher of fere nature—no man's beasts ; and punishment like this may make him something worse.

Incendiary fires, or what are assumed to be such, are again appearing in the country. Two are reported near Colchester, in Essex. On Monday, evening, a fire destroyed some valuable stabling and beasts belonging to Merstham House, the seat of Sir W. G. H. Joliffe, M.P. The farm-premises of Mr. Miller, of Harlton, Cambridgeshire, have also been burnt : the loss is estimated at a thousand pounds. On Wednesday night, farm-buildings and produce worth 2,0001. or more were destroyed by fire, at Perry Street, near Northfleet. At one time, it is calculated, the flames covered half an acre of surface ; and the fire was seen from London. On Thursday, there was an ex- tensive fire on a farm at Tottenham. Incendiarism increase in Suffolk. Four fires have occurred near Bury St. Edmund's since last Friday.

The inquest at the Haswell colliery was resumed on Wednesday, when a number of witnesses were examined : their testimony was to the same purport as that previously given. The inquest was adjourned till Friday ; Professor Faraday and Professor Lyell having been sent down by Government to inspect the mine, which they were to do on Thursday. They cross-examined some of the witnesses on Wednesday.

A very serious accident happened on the BrandlingJunction Railway, near Newcastle, on Tuesday. An engine should have been brought from Gateshead to Shields, very early on that niorniug, to take back a train ; but as it had not arrived, two carriages, filled with passengers, were sent on from Shields, at five o'clock in the morning, with another engine. When it had advanced two miles towards Newcastle, it met the engine from Gateshead ; which was coming along, too late to do its duty, at a tearing pace, on the wrong line. Both the engine-men reversed the machinery, and leaped off; the two engines came into collision ; the Shields train, impelled by the inverse power, started back to Shields, under no control, and gaining a fearful speed. Many passengers jumped out on the way, and were much hurt. Arrived at the station, the train dashed among some empty carriages, crushing the passenger- carriages. One man was killed ; two were hurt so badly that one sub- sequently died, and the other was not expected to recover ; and alto- gether eighteen others were more or less injured—many will be laid up for weeks. It might even have been worse ; for had not the empty carriages stood in the way, the train would have ran into a coal- depot twenty-five feet deep. An inquest on the body of the first sufferer commenced on Wednesday. Some passengers and one of the engine-drivers said, that if notice had been given of the true state of things immediately after the accident, the people in the carriages might have easily jumped out : they did not know what was the matter. A fireman stated that the passenger-trains and empty coal-waggons

always go up and down the same line from Brockley Whins to Shields, and the full coal-waggons down the other. The driver of the engine

from Gateshead averred that he was not told to proceed to South Shields to fetch the train till so late that it was not possible he could arrive there earlier than he did.