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Leader (1850-1860), 16th October 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1084

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      and that they lia . veentered upon "that most serious task with the single and earnest endeavour so to mend the representation of the people in Parliament as to secure the best electoral body and the best representative body which can be obtained for the people of . this country . " It needs no ghost to tell us that ( he bill must be a comprehensive one , the time having long gone by for ofl ' crs of petty and time-seeking compromise . Even our youngest colonies arc pushing us on by the force of example .

      The present mail from Australia brings the news that the Legislature of New-South "Wales has established a manhood suffrage and the . Da-Hot . ' Another recent act of tire Legislature gives strong proof cf the vigour and growing enlightenment , of our colonies : the sum of 712 , 000 / . has been voted for railway extension , and the Parliament has determined upon conveying immigrants , into the interior of the country at the public expense—a measure of true political economy .

      The details of the horrible catastrophe of the burning of tlio Austria are coming to'light little by little . The rapidity of her destruction is an awful characteristic of the story ; every circumstance that could tell against the . chance of saving Tier , or even of retarding the progress of the flames , seemed to weigh dead against the unhappy souls on board . The boats are alleged to have been numerous and in good condition ^ but the old fate awaited them—swamped and crushed one after the other as

      they were got over the ship ' s side . According to the statement of three of the officers who have just reached England , there was a regular fire-roll organised , and also a boat-roll , every man and officer having his appointed boat in case of accident . But there is one other arrangement that ought to be made on board of passenger ships ; it is a boat-roll of the passengers , who ought to bc-practiscd tssro or three times a week in taking their places about the boats , so that in the event of accident there

      might be at least one more chance of saving life by avoiding that most fatal impediment in such cases , confusion and overcrowding of the boats . We cannot conceive that any passenger—not even the most delicate lady—would object to assist , in a practice so manifestly desirable for the safety of all . Scarcely have we taken breath after the late colliery catastrophe , when we have the news of another horror of the like kind . This time it is an

      explosion of fire-damp , and fourteen persons have been killed . Only the bare fact of the fri g htful occurrence is at present known , and therefore- comment is out of the question ; but it is really time that the dangers of labouring amid the easily controlled works and gases of the mine should uo reduced to a much lower standard , and in any case of manifest neglect on the part of those whose duty it should be to devise safe means of working mines , we would press for a signal punishment wherever decided neglect can be brought positively " and definitely home to any man .

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      Oa Tuesday , Lord Brougham traced the progress of periodicaljitemture from the " Penny Magazine " of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge , which was addressed to that class who have but little spare time for reading , with a view to prevent a less profitable employment of their leisure . lie referred to the paper duty as a great obstacle to the progress of popular education , but recommended the working man to mitigate the evil by reducing his consumption of tormented liquors , thus making the practice of temperancu lead to the acquisition of knowledge , and placing him in a position to shame a short-sighted and inconsistent Legislature by the wisdom and consistency , of their own conduct . To the newspaper press he brielly atlmled ,

      observing that , generally speaking , the traffic in slander had ceased ; but while making this statement , ho must except certain papers calling themselves religious , which . still want purification from outrages against decorum , truth , and Christian charity . His Lordship also s-ai . l : — " It appears that for the treatment of every subject , and to suit the condition , the' capacity , and the ta * te of every class , there is ample provision made in the popular literature of the age ; that the means are aft ' ordol of encouraging those to read who would else devote their hours of rest to mere listless vacancy of-thought , or to tlissipated courses '; that the opportunity of fuller iiir struction is . given-to those who are desirous and capable or receiving it , that , while all are thus greatly improved , some are made fit to improve others ; that the instruct of curiosity- effectually prevents all risks , converting ,

      when desirable , superficial into . solid information , but having even partial acquirement to do substantial good ; and there is thus , the clearest proof afforded of the people ' s instructors working out the ends of Providence by the employment of- the means bountifully placed within their reach , improving the mass of their fellowcreatures through the intelligence bestowed and the instincts implanted by the Heavenly Father , who dusiroth not that his children should perish in the darkne . ^ of ignorance , but rather that they should learn an ! lire . But it would be a great mistake to suppose that the benefits of the popular press are negative only . The tales composed for the working men ' s hours of relaxation are of a kind that address themselves both to the umliTstnudiug and the heart ; at once giving lesson 5 of instruction and fostering the kiudlv affections . "

      Mr . Cowper and the Karl of Carlisle addressed the meeting on the proceedings of the second department ( education ) and the third ( prevention of crime ) . The Karl of Shaftosbury made a long and interesting speech upon the subject of public health . Tuesday ' s proceedings were diversified by a vi .-it of the members to the Akbar reformatory frigate . In the evening the Liverpool Academy and the Philharmonic Society ' s concert were opened to members and associates , and ut eight o ' clock a coirveraazkme took place in the fSt . George ' s Hall .

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      The association reassembled on Wednesday inonnn 0 for the purpose of hearing the Kight Hon . Sir Juiiios Stephen deliver his address as president of tlio " Social Economy" section , Ho remarked on the inline "" which the British inlands and the British colonies reciprocally exercise on the social condition of cachetner , and especially on tho manner in which they nw wi " affected by that tide of emigration which is con tin" illy ( lowing or ebbing between thorn . It was said by Areiiof colonisation

      biohop Whately that wo have lost tho art . Since tho peace of 1815 wo have sent from our sUorcs upwards of five millions of emigrants , of whom niwui two millions have reached Australia and Canada ; »» " * these , if the archbishop bo right , must have bocomo not well settled colonists , but uo many aimUws vngnooiuis . In answer to Dr . Whatoly , ho glanced nt tlio I £ , 'f of our colonies , especially tho province of < - uniiuii . When Dr . Whatoly entered this world there were iioi noarly 100 , 000 Ouuadians on it . Now there nro mom than 2 , 000 , 000 , and they tho constituents of a , letfi- « - IokwJiu

      turo unrivalled In dignity or power by any ' [ on earth except tho Parliament of this kingdom mm >" Congress of tho United Stntoq . Therefore , tho faunicommentator on Lord Bacon ! s " Essay on Coloni « n" | ' » Is in error ; that it ia an art which thin ago has not " ¦ ' but discovered ; and that , though it bo nn "K « «> l «" marvole , 16 has prpducod nothing rhoro truly mnrvonou than tho recent growth of our colonial ompm > . In tho department of Jurisprudence and «' 111 P ' 1 (| I , . )' of tho law , Mr . O . W . 1-Jn « llnga mude a rup'f ' , ' tho Special Committee on Bankruptcy and 1 | W"I )/ 1 Y Tho committee met to dinars tho improvement oi

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      1084 THE LEADE R . [ No . 447 , October 16 , 185 &

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      Chinamks ax tiib DiqGtNas . — A Sydney paper says that the Celestials are daily mustering stronger and stronger on all parts of tho Meroo , and aro a constant source of annoyance to tho European diggers Their protended limited knowledge of the English language is peculiarly advantageous to them , especially when thoy liavo encroached upon other people ' s cluirns or aro otherwise working where thoy have no right . In Such eases tnllungis useless ; they shako their heads and proceed with their work ; consequently thoy aro either allowed to go on , or else have to bo driven away . Last week some ilfty were busily , and wo expect , successfully working , on Mr . Spicer's private land . When told to

      desist , thoy artfully pretended not to understand what was said , so another plan was adopted ; one or two of their cradles wore dostroyed ; this seemed to convince them that something was wrong , and thoy began to move , but it vr « s only for a short time , for later on In the day they nil returned , when * they woifo again driven away . TJiia Muf " prove a clangorous expedient should thoy go on iuorenaing in the same ratio as thoy have done lately . There is no doubt that , they aro groat cowards , a resolute Englishman being a match for some dozen of them . Ilia prowosn , however , would bo sovoroly tested if prosaod single-handed by some thirty or forty of auoh perfidious barbarians .

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      NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE . Tiik opening of the Social Science Conference took place at Liverpool . The inauguration meeting was held in St . George ' s Hall * winch was entirely incapable of accommodating the numbers who were . anxious to obtain admission . The opening speech was delivered by Lord J . Kussell , who having briefly alluded to certain amendments in the Bankruptcy Law " which he thought desirable , then advocated the consolidation of our laws , and for an illusto the

      tration of what he meant he referred especially Code Napoleon . The splendid victories of Napoleon , the rush of armies , the masterly decision , the instant obedience have passed away . The pride of empire , the kincs waiting in the antechamber—the sway of a mighty will from Rome to Hamburg , from the Manzanare-s to the Kibe—has vanished as the baseless fabric of a vision . But tlie transactions between man and man , the trial of the offender , the adjudication of property throughout tho French Empire , are still regulated , and probably will long be regulated by the statutes of the innnort . il-legislator . He ventured to say , that if

      in pursuit of distinction , or of comfort , or of happiness and enjoyment higher than comfort , there was but one road to the attainment of their wishes , and that ivaa hard work , sobriety , avoiding excesses of all sorts , even of hard work itself . The noble Lord expressed his "ratification at the great attendance on that occasion ^ arid observed that they were engaged in a work in which all parties , political and clerical , however much they mi- 'ht differ on . other matters , might cordially unite the improvement of the condition of the people . The Earl of Carlisle moved , and Sir J . K . Shuttle - worth seconded , a vote of thanks to Lord John IJussell which was acknowledged by the noble Lord , and the meeting then separated .

      four or live persons of competent qualification were appointed as commissioners , they would , in a few months , make an actual commencement , and in a few years present to Parliament a complete code , worthy of the country , simplifying and improving our laws , on principles lit to be adopted in an enlightened age , and founded on the solid masonry of our ancient legislation . Coming to the question of criminal reform , the noble Lord expressed his satisfaction with the results of the system introduced by Col . Jebb and Capt . Crofton , and quoted a number of facts and statistics on the subject of juvenile delinquency and reformation . He paid a glowing tribute to the value of education . It is education , he said , which enables the United States of America lo proceed in their wonderful

      career , upheld by the most popular institutions , without serious disturbance of law and order . It is education which in England has mainly prevented such tumults as forty years ago broke the peace and alarmed the minds of this country ; it is education which * has bound the mass of , the people to the Throne by the links . of an enlightened loyalty . The noble Lord concluded as follows : — "A few words , before I have done , on the general objects of our association . Our first meeting took place under the presidency of Lord Brougham , who unites in a singular decree the largest views of political and social science with the most laborious . practical- attention to all its details . We arejjot , like sonic philosophers of the last century , enamoured of an age of reason-which will never come to pass . Nor do we share in the dreams of the phifanined that if

      thropists who ten years ago imag property , and capital , and competition were put down by authority , the human race might sifi down in happiness and contentment . Our task is more humble , but , as we conceive , more in accordance , with the decrees of our Divine Creator . To mankind is allotted labour as its portion , and perpetual inheritance . If any think that he has nothing to do but to eat , drink , and be merry , in that very night as fearful a doom may fall upon him as it did upon the tyrant of old . If any suppose , like the masters of the Roman Empire , that the sword has done its work , and that nothing remains for them but luxurious enjoyment , that very luxury may revenge the conquered world . If any imagine that to them belongs dominion , and that they may indulge in contempt of the unlettered and ill-fed multitude , that very multitude

      may overwhelm them in bloody and merciless retribution . It is for us to work as truly as tho man who forges tho iron bar , or tho woman who works at the factory-loom . It is for ua to endeavour to improve the laws by which tho community is governed , It is for us tq show how education may bo extended and diffused . It is for us to examine and record w'lat has been dona for tho reformation and punishment of offenders . It is for us to confirm and animate tho efforts which are being made to sustain the public hoallh , and thereby preserve for this country her eminence as tho homo of a vigorous and independent race . It is for us to investigate tho conditions of tho groat problems of political economy , which may ofton admit of eruptions , but never of refutations . In so doing wo shall but consult the wolfaro of tho present and future generations 5 in so doing wo shall follow tho path traced out for us by Almighty

      Uoncvolenco and Almighty Wisdom . " At the conclusion of Lord John Iiussoll s address , tho Earl of Shaftosbury moved a voto of thanks to Lord Brougham for his services as President of tho Association . To that nobleman thoy wore iudobted for tho foundation of that society , for its good conduct , and for tho success which had marked its progress . Sir John Pakington seconded tho motion , and expressed his gratification that mon of difforont partlos could thus assomblo upon common ground , and not cordially together for tho public good . Uo trusted that tho effect of tha association would bo to aorvo tho interests and welfare of tho working clashes of tho country . Ho added that they had proof that tho groat Intellect of Henry Brougham was still bright and unclouded , and their hope was that it long might romain so .

      Lord Brougham said ho would offer one remark in Illustration of thp prlnclplo that people must themsolvoa work out their own Improvement . Whothor thoy woro

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 16, 1858, page 1084, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2264/page/4/