,,bygones ,,worth ,,remembering ,by ,george ,jacob ,holyoake ,the best prophet of the future is the past4 ,lord ,byron ,volume ,i4 ,new ,york ,e4 ,p4 ,dutton ,and ,company #ca ,west ,twenty-,third ,street #aije ,illustration3 ,holyoake ,,preface ,if the preface of a book be a plea to the reader1 its force must lie in the aims of the author4 ,in the following pages his main aim has been to be of service to somebody4 ,that is a principle1 which1 amid the ravelment1 perplexity1 and entanglements of the world1 always finds a pathway open4 ,such a principle is as an ,all-,seeing ,eye1 to which he who acknowledges it1 is amenable1 since it makes plain to him the devious1 time-serving byways he should avoid4 ,the writer has no interest1 no taste1 no trust1 save in definite1 verifiable ideas4 ,his aim has been to keep clear of the ,sin of ,pretension1 which consists in declaring1 or assuming to be true1 that which the writer or speaker does not know to be true4 ,what errors negligence of this rule has bred6 ,what misdirection it has perpetuated6 ,into how many labyrinths1 where truth was not to be found1 has it led men6 ,what can be more useful1 or holier1 than inciting the reader to beware of pretension in speech1 in morals1 in politics1 and in piety8 ,to keep as clear as possible of this universal sin may serve many and mislead none4 ,professor ,jowett has told us that where ,inquiry is denied at the door1 ,doubt gets in at the window4 ,this is the way it came to the writer of this preface1 and accounts for a certain liberty of expression the reader may meet with1 if he ventures further into these pages4 ,a sentence of ,mr4 ,allen ,upward will sufficiently describe the spirit of this book3 ,let us try to tolerate each other instead of trying to convert each other4 ,the author disclaims belonging to that class who have great expectations1 which are as vain in literature as in life4 ,the utmost the author looks forward to is that semi-friendly applause which is accorded to a platform speaker1 not so much for any merit in his oration as for his unexpected consideration for the audience by concluding4 ,g4 ,j4 ,,holyoake4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,concerning ,,bygones ,,prefatory ,it was a saying of ,dryden that ,anything1 though ever so little1 which a man speaks of himself1 in my opinion1 is still too much4 ,this depends upon what a writer says4 ,no man is required to give an opinion of himself4 ,others will do that much better1 if he will wait ,but if a man may not speak of himself at all--reports of adventure1 of personal endeavour1 or of service1 will be largely impossible4 ,to relate is not to praise4 ,the two things are quite distinct4 ,othello's imperishable narrative of his love of ,desdemona contained no eulogy of himself4 ,a story of observation1 of experience1 or of effort1 or estimate of men or of opinions1 ,i may venture upon--is written for the reader alone4 ,the writer will be an entirely negligible quantity4 ,lord ,rosebery1 who can make proverbs as well as cite them1 lately recalled one which has had great vogue in its day1 namely1 ,let bygones be bygones4 ,life would be impossible or very unpleasant if every one persisted in remembering what had better be forgotten4 ,proverbs are like plants3 they have a soil and climate under which alone they flourish4 ,noble maxims have their limitations4 ,few have universal applicability4 ,if1 for instance1 the advice to let bygones be bygones be taken as universally true1 strange questions arise4 ,are mistakes never more to teach us what to avoid8 ,are the errors of others no more to be a warning to us8 ,is the ,book of ,experience to be closed8 ,is no more history to be written8 ,if so philosophy could no longer teach wisdom by examples1 for there would no longer be any examples to go upon4 ,if all the mistakes of mankind and all the miscalculations of circumstance be forgotten1 the warnings of the sages will die with them4 ,he who has debts1 or loans not repaid1 or promises not kept1 or contracts unfulfilled in his memory1 had better keep them there until he has made what reparation he can4 ,the ,bygone proverb does not apply to him4 ,there are other derelictions of greater gravity than fall under the head of intellectual petty larceny1 such as the conscious abandonment of principle1 or desertion of a just cause1 which had better be kept in mind for rectification4 ,if an admiral wrecked his ships1 or a general lost his army1 or a statesman ruined his country1 by flagrant want of judgment--ever so conscientiously--it is well such things should be borne in mind by those who may renew1 by fresh appointment1 these opportunities of calamity4 ,it would be to encourage incapacity were such bygones consigned to oblivion4 ,it may be useless to dwell upon spilt milk1 but further employment of the spiller may not be prudent4 ,slaves of the saying1 ,let bygones perish1 would construct mere political man-traps1 which never act when depredators are about4 ,in human affairs bygones have occurred worth remembering as guides for the future4 ,it is said that greatness is thrust upon a man--what is meant is a position of greatness4 ,greatness lies in the quality of the individual1 and cannot be thrust on any man4 ,it is true that intrinsic greatness is often left unrecognised4 ,it would be a crime against progress were these cases1 when known1 consigned to forgetfulness4 ,noble thoughts as well as noble acts are worth bearing in mind1 however long ago they may have occurred4 ,my friend ,joseph ,cowen1 who from his youth had regarded me as a chartered disturber of the unreasoning torpidity of the public conscience1 described me as an agitator4 ,all the while ,i never was a ,pedlar of ,opinions4 ,i never asked people to adopt mine1 but to reason out their own4 ,i merely explained the nature of what ,i took to be erroneous in theological and public affairs4 ,neither did ,i find fault with prevailing ideas1 save where ,i could1 or thought ,i could1 suggest other principles of action more conducive to the welfare of all who dwell in cottages or lodgings--for whom ,i mainly care4 ,i was for equal opportunities for all men1 guaranteed by law1 and for equitable participation in profit among all who1 by toil of hand or brain1 contributed to the wealth of the ,state4 ,yet1 though ,i never obtruded my convictions1 neither did ,i conceal them4 ,no public questioner ever went empty away1--if his inquiry was relevant and ,i had the knowledge he sought ,sometimes1 as at ,cheltenham 7in #ahdb71 when an inquiry was malicious and the reply penal1 the questioner got his answer4 ,my maxim was that of ,professor ,blackie3-- ,wear thy heart not on thy sleeve1 ,but on just occasion ,let men know what you believe1 ,with breezy ventilation4 ,thus1 without intending it1 ,i came to be counted an agitator4 ,as to the matter of the following pages1 they relate1 as all autobiographical reminiscences do1 to events that are past4 ,but whether they relate to acts1 or events1 or opinions1 to tragedy or gaiety1 they are all meant to fulfil one condition--that of having instruction or guidance of some kind in them--which bring them within the class of bygones worth remembering4 ,one day as ,i was walking briskly along ,fleet ,street1 a person in greater haste than myself running down ,johnson's ,court collided with me1 and both of us fell to the ground4 ,on rising1 ,i said1 ,if you knocked me down1 never mind2 if ,i knocked you down1 ,i beg your pardon4 ,he did not reciprocate my forgiveness1 thinking ,i had run against him intentionally4 ,nevertheless1 ,i say to any resenting reader who does me mischief1 never mind4 ,if ,i have done him any harm it has been unwittingly1 and ,i tender him real apologies4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,personal ,,incidents ,these pages being autobiographic in their nature1 something must be said under this head4 ,i was born ,april #ac1 #ahag1 which readers complained ,i omitted to state in a former work99 of a similar kind to this1 probably thinking it a ,bygone of no importance4 99 ,sixty ,years #ja an ,agitator's ,life1 afterwards referred to as ,sixty ,years4 9999999999 ,it was in #ahag that ,robert ,owen informed mankind that all the religions in the world were in error1 which was taken to mean that they were wrong throughout2 whereas all the ,prophet of the ,city of ,london ,tavern sought to prove was that all faiths were in error so far as they rested on the dogma that men can believe if they will--irrespective of evidence whatever may be the force of it before them4 ,mr4 ,owen's now truistical statement set the dry sticks of every church aflame for seventy years4 ,in many places the ashes smoulder still4 ,by blending ,theology with ,sociology1 the ,churches mixed two things better kept apart ,confusion raged for years on a thousand platforms and pulpits4 ,i mention this matter because it was destined to colour and occupy a large portion of my life4 9999999999 ,the habit of my thoughts is to run into speeches1 as the thoughts of a poet run into verse2 but if there be a more intrinsic characteristic of my mind it is accurately described in the words of ,coleridge3-- ,i am by the law of my nature a ,reasoner4 ,a person who should suppose ,i meant by that word1 an arguer1 would not only not understand me1 but would understand the contrary of my meaning4 ,i can take no interest whatever in hearing or saying anything merely as a fact--merely as having happened4 ,i must refer to something within me before ,i can regard it with any curiosity or care4 ,i require in everything a reason why the thing is at all1 and why it is there or then rather than elsewhere or at another time4 ,this may be why ,i entitled the first periodical edited in my name1 ,the ,reasoner4 9999999999 ,my firstborn child1 ,madeline1 perished while ,i was in ,gloucester ,prison499 ,there is no other word which described what happened in #ahdb4 99 ,see ,last ,trial for ,atheism4 ,in #ahie 7as ,i had always intended71 ,i had a brass tablet cast bearing the simple inscription-- ,near this spot was buried ,,madeline1 ,daughter of ,george ,jacob and ,eleanor ,holyoake1 ,,who ,,perished ,october6 #ahdb4 ,this tablet ,i had placed on the wall over the grave where the poor child lay4 ,the grave is close to the wall4 ,the cemetery authorities had objections to the word ,perished4 ,when ,i explained to them the circumstances of ,madeline's death1 they permitted its erection1 on my paying a cemetery fee of two guineas4 ,the tablet will endure as long as the cemetery wall lasts4 ,the tablet is on the left side of the main entrance to the cemetery1 somewhat obscured by trees now4 9999999999 ,dr4 ,samuel ,smiles published a book on ,self-,help in #ahei4 ,in #aheg1 two years earlier1 ,i had used the same title ,self-,help by the ,people4 ,in a later work1 ,self-,help1 a ,hundred ,years ,ago1 the title was continued4 ,i had introduced it into ,co-operation1 where it became a watchword4 ,i have wondered whether ,dr4 ,smiles borrowed the name from me4 ,he knew me in #ahda1 when he was editing the ,leeds ,times to which ,i was a contributor4 ,he must have seen in ,mill's ,principles of ,political ,economy1 ,self-,help by the ,people--,history of ,co-operation in ,rochdale1 quoted in ,mill's book 7book iv4 chap4 viii474 9999999999 ,the phrase ,science is the ,providence of ,life was an expression ,i had used in drawing up a statement of ,secular ,principles twenty-four years before ,i found it in the poem of ,akenside's4 9999999999 ,two things of the past ,i may name as they indicate the age of opinions1 by many supposed to be recent4 ,co-operators are considered as intending the abolition of competition1 but as what we call nature--human1 animal1 and insect--is founded upon competition1 nobody has the means of abolishing it4 ,in the first number of the ,reasoner1 ,june #c1 #ahdf1 in the first article1 ,i stated that ,mr4 ,owen and his friends proclaimed co-operation as the ,corrector of the excesses of competition in social life--a much more modest undertaking than superseding it4 9999999999 ,the second thing ,i name that ,i wrote in the same number of the ,reasoner is a short paper on ,moral ,mathematics1 setting forth that there is a mathematics of morality as well as of lines and angles4 ,there are problems in morality1 the right solution of which contributes as much to mental discipline as any to be found in ,euclid4 ,these ,i thus set forth-- ,problem #a4 ,given--an angry man to answer without being angry yourself4 ,problem #b4 ,given--an opponent full of bitterness and unjust insinuations to reply to without asperity or stooping to counter insinuations4 ,problem #c4 ,given--your own favourite truths to state without dogmatism1 and to praise without pride1 adducing with fairness the objections to them without disparaging the judgment of those who hold the objections4 ,problem #d4 ,given--an inconsistent and abusive opponent4 ,it is required to reply to him by argument1 convincing rather than retorting4 ,all opportunities of thrashing him are to be passed by1 all pain to be saved him as far as possible1 and no word set down whose object is not the opponent's improvement4 ,problem #e4 ,given--the error of an adversary to annihilate with the same vigour with which you could annihilate him4 ,problem #f4 ,required--out of the usual materials to construct a public body1 who shall tolerate just censure and despise extravagant praise4 9999999999 ,one day ,i found a piece of twisted paper which ,i picked up thinking ,i had dropped it myself4 ,i found in it a gold ring with a snake's head4 ,it was so modest and curious that ,i wore it4 ,four years after1 on a visit to ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,duignan1 at ,rushall ,hall1 on the border of ,cannock ,chase1 ,i lost it4 ,four days later ,i arrived by train at ,rugby ,station with five heavy-footed countrymen4 ,i went to the refreshment room4 ,on my return only one man was in the carriage4 ,the sun was shining brightly on the carriage floor1 and there in the middle1 lay1 all glittering and conspicuous1 my lost ring unseen and untrodden4 ,i picked it up with incredulity and astonishment4 ,how it came there or could come there1 or being there1 how it could escape the heavy feet of the passengers who went out1 or the eyes of the one remaining1 ,i cannot to this day conceive4 ,after ,i had lost it1 ,i had walked through ,kidderminster1 ,dudley ,castle1 and ,birmingham1 and searched for it several times4 ,i had dressed and undressed four times4 ,i lost it finally during ,lord ,beaconsfield's last ,government1 at the great ,drill ,hall meeting at ,blackheath199 in a ,jingo crush made to prevent ,mr4 ,gladstone entering to speak there on the ,eastern policy of that day4 ,in future times should the ground be excavated1 the spot where ,i stood will be marked with gold--the only place so marked by me in this world4 99 ,november #cj1 #ahgh4 9999999999 ,it is probably vanity--though ,i disguise it under the name of pride--that induces me to insert here certain incidents4 ,nevertheless pride is the major motive4 ,when ,i have been near unto death1 and have asked myself what has been the consolation of this life1 ,i found it in cherished memories of illustrious persons of thought and action1 whose friendship ,i had shared4 ,there are other incidents--as ,harriet ,martineau's ,letter to ,lloyd ,garrison1 ,tyndall's testimony1 elsewhere quoted--which will never pass from my memory4 9999999999 ,the first dedication to me was that of a poem by ,allen ,davenport1 #ahdc--;an ardent ,whitechapel artisan4 ,the tribute had value in my eyes1 coming from one of the toiling class--and being a recognition on the part of working men of ,london1 that ,i was one of their way of thinking and could be trusted to defend the interests of industry4 9999999999 ,the next came from the theological world--a quite unexpected incident in those days4 ,the ,rev4 ,henry ,crosskey dedicated his ,defence of ,religion to me4 ,he was of the priestly profession1 but had a secular heart1 and on questions of freedom at home and abroad he could be counted upon1 as though he was merely human4 ,the dedication brought ,mr4 ,crosskey into trouble with ,dr4 ,martineau4 ,unitarians were personally courteous to heretics in private1 but they made no secret that they were disinclined to recognise them in public4 ,dr4 ,martineau shared that reservation4 ,letter from ,dr4 ,james ,martineau to ,rev4 ,w4 ,h4 ,crosskey3-- ,it is very difficult to say precisely how far our respect for honest conviction1 and indignation at a persecuting temper1 should carry us in our demonstrations towards men unjustly denounced4 ,i do confess that1 while ,i would stoutly resist any ill-usage of such a man as ,holyoake1 or any attempt to gag him1 ,i could hardly dedicate a book to him3 this act seeming to imply a special sympathy and admiration directed upon that which distinctively characterises the man4 ,negative defence from injury is very different from positive homage4 ,after all1 ,holyoake's principles are undeniably more subversive of the greatest truths and genuine basis of human life than the most unrelenting orthodoxy4 ,however1 it is a generous impulse to appear as the advocate of a man whom intolerance unjustly reviles499 99 ,from ,life of ,w4 ,h4 ,crosskey1 p4 #ij4 ,thus he gave the young minister to understand--that while there was nothing wrong in his having respect for me1 he need not have made it public4 ,at that time it was chivalry in ,mr4 ,crosskey to do what he did1 for which ,i respected him all his days4 9999999999 ,a third dedication ,i thought more of1 and still value1 came from the political world1 and was the first literary testimony of my interest in it4 ,it came from ,mark ,rutherford 7,william ,hale ,white71 who knew everything ,i knew1 and a good deal more4 ,he inscribed to me1 #ahff1 a remarkable ,argument for the ,extension of the ,franchise1 which had all the characteristics of statement1 which have brought him renown in later years4 ,he said in his prefatory letter to me3 ,if my argument does any service for ,reform1 ,reformers will have to thank you for it1 as they have to thank you for a good many other things4 ,they were words to prize4 9999999999 ,recently a letter came from ,professor ,goldwin ,smith1 who was ,cobden's admiration and envy1 as he once told me1 for the power of expressing an argument or a career in a sentence4 ,his letter to me was as follows3-- ,you and ,i have lived together through many eventful and changeful years4 ,the world in these years has1 ,i hope and believe1 grown better than it was when we came into it4 ,in respect of freedom of opinion and industrial justice1 the two objects to which your life has been most devoted1 real progress has certainly been made4 ,the main objects of my life are here distinguished and expressed in six words4 9999999999 ,reviewers of the autobiographic volumes preceding these1 complained that they contained too little about myself4 ,if they read the last four paragraphs given here they will be of opinion that ,i have said enough now4 9999999999 ,at the ,co-operative ,congress held in ,gloucester1 #ahgi1 a number of delegates went down to see the gaol4 ,when they arrived before it1 ,mr4 ,abraham ,greenwood1 of ,rochdale1 exclaimed1 ,take off your hats1 lads6 ,that's where ,holyoake was imprisoned4 ,they did so4 ,that incident--when it was related to me--impressed me more than anything else connected with ,co-operation4 ,i did not suppose those tragical six months in that gaol were in the minds of co-operators1 or that any one had respect for them4 9999999999 ,the chapter1 ,things which went as they ,would1 shows that serving co-operators had its inconveniences1 but there were compensatory incidents which ,i recount with pleasure4 ,one was their contribution to the ,annuity of #ahgf1 which ,mr4 ,hughes himself commended to them at the ,london ,congress4 ,it was owing to ,major ,evans ,bell and ,mr4 ,walter ,morrison that the project was successful4 9999999999 ,the other occurred at the ,doncaster ,congress1 #aijc4 ,in my absence a resolution had been passed thanking me for services ,i had rendered in ,ten ,letters in ,defence of ,co-operation4 ,when ,i rose to make acknowledgment1 all the large audience stood up4 ,it was the first time ,i had ever been so received anywhere1 showing that services which seemed un-noted at the time1 lived in remembrance4 9999999999 ,here ,i may cite a letter from ,wendell ,phillips4 ,of the great ,american ,abolitionists1 ,phillips1 with his fine presence and intrepid eloquence1 was regarded as the noblest ,roman of them all4 ,theodore ,parker1 he described to me as the ,jupiter of the pulpit2 and ,russell ,lowell has drawn ,lloyd ,garrison1 in the famous verse-- ,in a dark room1 unfriended and unseen1 ,toiled o'er his types1 a poor unlearn'd young man4 ,the place was low1 unfurnitured and mean1 ,but there the freedom of a race began4 ,i corresponded with them in their heroic days4 ,it is one of the letters of ,phillips to me ,i quote here3-- ,boston1 ,july #bb1 #ahgd4 ,my dear ,sir1--,i ought long ago to have thanked you for sending me copies of your pamphlets on ,john ,stuart ,mill and the ,rochdale ,pioneers--and with so kind and partial a recognition of my co-operation with you in your great cause4 ,that on ,mill was due certainly to a just estimate of him1 but how sad that human jackals should make it necessary4 ,that on ,co-operation ,i read and read again1 welcoming the light you throw on it1 for it is one of my most hopeful stepping-stones to a higher future4 ,thank you for the lesson--it cleared one or two dark places--not the first by any means--for ,i've read everything of yours ,i could lay my hands on4 ,there was one small volume on ,rhetoric--',public ,speaking and ,debate1' methods of address1 hints towards effective speech1 etc4--which ,i studied faithfully1 until some one to whom ,i had praised and lent it1 acting probably on something like ,coleridge's rule1 that books belong to those who most need them--never returned me my well-thumbed essay1 to my keen regret4 ,probably you never knew that we had printed your book4 ,this was an ,american reprint--wholly exhausted--proof that it did good service4 ,we reprinted1 some ten years ago1 one of your wisest tracts1 the ',difficulties that obstruct ,co-operation4' ,it did us yeoman service4 ,but enough1 ,i shall beg you to accept a volume of old speeches printed long ago1 because it includes my only attempt to criticise you--which you probably never saw4 ,in it ,i will put1 when ,i mail it1 the last and best photograph of ,sumner1 and if you'll exchange1 ,i'll add one of ,yours faithfully1 and ever1 ,wendell ,phillips4 ,mr4 ,g4,j4 ,holyoake4 9999999999 ,with ,mr4 ,charles ,bradlaugh ,i had personal relations all his life4 ,i took the chair for him at the first public lecture he delivered4 ,i gave him ready applause and support4 ,at the time of what was called his ,parliamentary struggle1 ,i was entirely with him and ready to help him4 ,it was with great reluctance and only in defence of principle1 to which ,i had long been committed1 that ,i appeared as opposed to him4 ,he claimed to represent ,free ,thought1 with which ,i had been identified long before his day4 ,my conviction was that a ,free ,thinker should have as much courage1 consistency1 and self-respect as any ,apostle1 or ,jew1 or ,catholic1 or ,quaker4 ,all had in turn refused to make a profession of opinion they did not hold1 at the peril of death1 or1 as in the case of ,o',connell and the ,jews1 at the certainty of exclusion from ,parliament4 ,they had only to take an oath1 to the terms of which they could not honestly subscribe4 ,mr4 ,bradlaugh had no scruple about doing this4 ,in the ,house of ,commons he openly kissed the ,bible1 in which he did not believe--a token of reverence he did not feel4 ,he even administered to himself the oath1 which was contrary to his professed convictions4 ,this seemed to be a reflection upon the honour of ,free ,thought4 ,had ,i not dissented from it1 ,i should have been a sharer in the scandal1 and ,free ,thought--so far as ,i represented it--would have been regarded as below the ,christian or ,pagan level4 ,the key to ,mr4 ,bradlaugh's character1 which unlocks the treasure-house of his excellences and defects1 and enables the reader to estimate him justly1 is the perception that his one over-riding motive and ceaseless aim was the ascendancy of the right through him4 ,it was this passion which inspired his best efforts1 and also led to certain aberration of action4 ,but what we have to remember now1 and permanently1 is that it was ascendancy of the right in political and theological affairs that he mainly sought for1 fought for1 and vindicated4 ,it is this which will long cause his memory to be cherished4 ,at the time of his death ,i wrote honouring notices of his career in the ,bradford ,observer and elsewhere1 which were reproduced in other papers4 ,otherwise1 ,i found opportunity on platforms of showing my estimate of his character and public services4 ,i had never forgotten an act of kindness he had1 in an interval of goodwill1 done me4 ,when disablement and blindness came in #ahgf1 he collected from the readers of his journal ,l#agj towards a proposed annuity for me4 ,it was a great pleasure to me to repay that kindness by devising means 7which others neither thought of nor believed in7 of adding thrice that sum to the provision being made for his survivors4 ,it was a merit in him that devotion to pursuits of public usefulness did not1 in his opinion1 absolve him from keeping a financial promise1 as ,i knew1 and have heard friends who aided him testify--a virtue not universal among propagandists4 ,no wonder the coarse environments of his early life lent imperiousness to his manners4 ,in later years1 when he was in the society of equals1 where masterfulness was less possible and less necessary1 he acquired courtesy and a certain dignity--the attribute of conscious power4 ,he was the greatest agitator1 within the limits of law1 who appeared in my time among the working people4 ,of his own initiative he incurred no legal danger1 and those who followed him were not led into it4 ,he was a daring defender of public right1 and not without genius in discovering methods for its attainment4 ,one form of genius lies in discovering developments of a principle which no one else sees4 ,had he lived in the first ,french ,revolution1 he had ranked with ,mirabeau and ,danton4 ,had he been with ,paine in ,america1 he had spoken ,common ,sense on platforms4 ,he died before being able to show in ,parliament the best that was in him4 ,though he had no ,college training like ,professor ,fawcett1 ,indian lawyers found that ,mr4 ,bradlaugh had a quicker and greater grasp of ,indian questions than the ,professor4 ,it was no mean distinction--it was1 indeed1 a distinction any man might be proud to have won--that ,john ,stuart ,mill should have left on record1 in one of his latest works1 his testimony to ,mr4 ,bradlaugh's capacity1 which he discerned when others did not4 ,like ,cobbett1 the soldiers' barracks did not repress ,bradlaugh's invincible passion for the distinction of a political career4 ,in the ,house of ,commons he took1 both in argument and debate1 a high rank1 and surpassed compeers there of a thousand times his advantages of birth and education4 ,that from so low a station he should have risen so high1 and1 after reaching the very platform of his splendid ambition1 he should die in the hour of his opportunity of triumph1 was one of the tragedies of public life1 which touched the heart of the nation1 in whose eyes ,mr4 ,bradlaugh had become a commanding figure4 9999999999 ,it was in connection with the controversy concerning the ,oath that ,i received a letter from ,john ,stuart ,mill1 which when published in the ,daily ,news1 excited much surprise4 ,mr4 ,mill was of opinion1 that the oath1 being made the condition of obtaining justice1 ordinary persons might take it4 ,but one who was known to disbelieve the terms of it1 and had for years publicly written and spoken to that effect1 had better not take it4 ,this was the well-known ,utilitarian doctrine that the consequences of an act are the justification of it4 ,francis ,place had explained to me that ,bentham's doctrine was that the sacrifice of liberty or life was justifiable only on the ground that the public gained by it4 ,a disciple should have very strong convictions who differs from his master1 and ,i differ with diffidence from ,mr4 ,mill as to the propriety of carrying the ,utilitarian doctrine into the domain of morals4 ,truth is higher than utility1 and goes before it4 ,truth is a measure of utility1 and not utility the measure of truth4 ,conscience is higher than consequence4 ,we are bound first to consider what is right4 ,there may be in some cases1 reasons which justify departure from the right4 ,but these are exceptions4 ,the general rule is--,truth has the first claim upon us4 ,to take an oath when you do not believe in an avenging ,deity who will enforce it1 is to lie and know that you lie4 ,this surely requires exceptional justification4 ,it is nothing to the purpose to allege that the oath is binding upon you4 ,the security of that are the terms of the oath4 ,the law knows no other4 ,to admit the terms to be unnecessary is to abolish the oath4 9999999999 ,when a youth1 attending lectures at the ,mechanics' ,institution1 ,i soon discerned that the more eminent speakers were the clearer4 ,they knew their subjects1 were masters of the outlines1 which by making bold and plain1 we were instructed4 ,outline is the beginning of art and the charm of knowledge4 ,remembering this1 ,i found no difficulty in teaching very little children to write in a week4 ,it is a great advantage to children to take care that their first notions are true4 ,the primary element of truth is simplicity--with children it is their first fascination4 ,i had only to show them that the alphabet meant no more than a line and a circle4 ,a little child can make a straight stroke and a round ,o4 ,the alphabet is made up of fifteen straight line and dozen curved line letters4 ,the root of the fifteen straight line letters is ,j placed in various ways4 ,the root of the eleven curved line letters is ,o or parts of ,o and ,i joined together4 ,a is made by two straight lines leaning against each other at the top1 and a line across the middle4 ,h is made of two upright lines with a straight line between them4 ,v is made of two straight lines meeting at the bottom4 ,if two upright lines are added to the ,v it becomes ,m4 ,two ,v's put together make ,w4 ,the letters ,l and ,t and ,x and ,z make themselves1 so easy is it to place the straight lines which compose them4 ,o makes itself4 ,a short line makes it into ,q4 ,if the side of ,o be left open it is a ,c4 ,if two half ,o's are joined together they make ,s4 ,half ,o and an upright line make ,d4 ,an upright line and a half ,o make ,p4 ,another half added and ,b is made4 ,after a second or third time a child will understand the whole alphabet4 ,such is the innate faculty of imitation and construction in children that they will put the letters together themselves when the method is made plain to them1 and within a week will compose their own name and their mother's4 ,at the same time they learn to read as well as to write4 ,what they are told they are apt to forget1 what they write they remember4 ,reason is the faculty of seeing what follows as a consequence from what is1 but to define distinction well is a divine gift4 ,my one aim was to make things clear4 9999999999 ,one of my suggestions to the young preachers1 who had two sermons on ,sunday to prepare1 was that they should give all their strength to the evening discourse and arrange with their congregation to deliver the other from one of the old divines of ,english or ,continental renown1 which would inform as well as delight hearers4 ,it would be an attraction to the outside public4 ,few congregations know anything of the eloquence1 the happy and splendid illustrations and passages of thought to be found in the fathers of the ,church of every denomination4 ,professor ,francis ,william ,newman1 whose wide knowledge and fertility of thought had few equals in his day1 told me that he should shrink from the responsibility of having to deliver a proficient and worthy discourse fifty-two times a year4 ,anyhow1 for the average preacher1 better one bright ruddy discourse1 than two pale-faced sermons every ,sunday4 9999999999 ,those who remained true to ,chartism till the end of it are recorded in the following paragraph under the title of the ,national ,charter ,association1 which appeared in ,reynolds's ,newspaper1 ,january #d1 #aheb3-- ,on ,wednesday evening last1 the scrutineers appointed by the metropolitan localities attended at the office1 #ad1 ,southampton ,street1 ,strand1 and having inspected the votes received1 gave the following as the result1 in favour of the following nine3-- ,ernest ,jones 7who received #ijj votes71 ,feargus ,o',connor1 ,john ,arnott1 ,t4 ,m4 ,wheeler1 ,james ,grassby1 ,john ,shaw1 ,w4 ,j4 ,linton1 ,j4 ,j4 ,bezer1 ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake4 ,messrs4 ,j4 ,b4 ,o',brien1 ,gerald ,massey1 and ,arthur ,trevelyan having declined to serve1 the votes received on their behalf have not been recognised4 ,we1 the undersigned1 hereby declare the nine persons first named to be duly elected to form the ,executive ,committee for the ensuing year4 ,john ,washington1 ,city ,locality4 ,edwd4 ,john ,loomes1 ,finsbury ,locality4 ,december #ca1 #ahea4 9999999999 ,after ,i became an octogenarian1 ,i was asked whether my years might be ascribed to my habits4 ,i could only explain what my habits were4 ,in the first half of my life ,i ate whatever came to hand1 and as not enough came ,i easily observed moderation4 ,but then ,i was disposed to be moderate on principle1 having read in the ,penny ,magazine1 about #ahcj1 that ,dr4 ,abernethy told a lady she might eat anything eatable in moderation4 ,in the second and later half of my life ,i gave heed to ,carnaro1 and sought to limit each meal to the least quantity necessary for health4 ,the limitation of quantity included liquids as well as solids1 decreasing the amount of both in relation to age and activity1 as ,sir ,henry ,thompson advised4 ,not thinking much of meat1 ,i limited that to a small amount1 and cereals to those that grow above ground4 ,a tepid bath for the eye 7on the recommendation of the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,molesworth1 of ,rochdale7 and a soap bath for the body every morning ends the catalogue of my habits4 ,my general mode of mind has been to avoid excess in food1 in pleasure1 in work1 and in expectation4 ,by not expecting much1 ,i have been saved from worry if nothing came4 ,when anything desirable did arrive1 ,i had the double delight of satisfaction and surprise4 ,shakespeare's counsel-- ,be not troubled with the tide which bears ,o'er thy contents its strong necessities1 ,but let determined things to destiny ,hold1 unbewailed their way-- ought to be part of every code of health4 ,the conduciveness of my habits to longevity may be seen in this4 ,more than forty of my colleagues1 all far more likely to live than myself1 have long been dead4 ,had ,i been as strong as they1 ,i also should have died as they did4 ,lacking their power of hastening to the end1 ,i have lingered behind4 9999999999 ,for the rest-- ,from my window is a glimpse of sea ,enough for me1 ,and every evening through the window bars ,peer in the friendly stars4 ,the principles and aims of earlier years are confirmed by experience at #hh4 ,principles are like plants and flowers4 ,they suit only those whom they nourish4 ,nothing is adapted to everybody4 9999999999 ,goethe said3 ,when ,i was a youth ,i planted a cherry-tree1 and watched its growth with delight4 ,spring frost killed the blossoms1 and ,i had to wait another year before the cherries were ripe--then the birds ate them--another year the caterpillars ate them--another year a greedy neighbour stole them--another year the blight withered them4 ,nevertheless1 when ,i have a garden again1 ,i shall plant another cherry-tree4 ,my years now are dwindling to their shortest span 2 if ,i should have my days over again1 ,i shall plant my trees again--certain that if they do grow they will yield verdure and fruit in some of the barren places of this world4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,other ,,instances ,my first public discussion in ,london was with ,mr4 ,passmore ,edwards--personally1 the handsomest adversary ,i ever met4 ,a mass of wavy black hair and pleasant expression made him picturesque4 ,he was slim1 alert1 and fervid4 ,the subject of debate was the famous delineation of the ,bottle1 by ,george ,cruikshank1 which ,i regarded as a libel on the wholesome virtue of ,temperance4 ,exaggerations which inform and do not deceive1 as ,american humour1 or ,swift's ,lilliputians1 ,aztecs1 and giants of ,brobdingnag1 have instruction and amusement4 ,the exaggeration intended to deride and intimidate those who observe moderation is a hurtful and misleading extreme4 ,mr4 ,edwards took the opposite view4 ,cruikshank could not be moderate1 and he did right to adopt the rule of absolute abstinence4 ,it was his only salvation4 ,to every man or woman of the ,cruikshank tendency ,i would preach the same doctrine4 ,to all others ,i1 as fervently1 commend the habit of use without abuse4 ,without that power no man would live a month4 ,had ,mr4 ,edwards been of this way of thinking1 there had been no debate between us4 ,mr4 ,edwards had much reason on his side4 ,mankind are historically regarded as possessing insufficiency of brains1 and it is bad economics to put an incorrigible thief into their mouths to steal away what brains they have4 ,i had respect for ,mr4 ,edwards' side of the argument4 ,for when a man makes a fool of himself1 or fails to keep an engagement1 or departs1 in his behaviour from his best manner--through drink--he should take the next train to the safe and serene land of ,abstinence4 ,the first person who mentioned to me the idea of a halfpenny newspaper was ,mr4 ,passmore ,edwards4 ,one night as we were walking down ,fleet ,street from ,temple ,bar1 when the ,bar stood where the ,griffin now stands1 ,mr4 ,edwards asked me1 as ,i had had experience in the publishing trade whether ,i thought a halfpenny newspaper would pay1 which evidently had for some time occupied his mind4 ,the chief difficulty ,i foresaw was1 would newsagents give it a chance8 ,it afterwards cost the house of ,cassells'--the first to make the experiment--many thousands4 ,the ,workman1 in which ,i had a department1 was intended1 ,i was told1 to be a forerunner of the halfpenny paper4 ,but that title would never do1 as ,i ventured to predict4 ,workmen1 as a rule with no partnership in profits1 had enough of work without buying a paper about it4 ,tradesmen1 middle-class and others1 did not want to be taken for workmen1 and the ,workman was discontinued4 ,but1 strange to say1 the same paper issued under the title of ,work became successful ,everybody was interested in work but not in being workmen4 ,such are the subtleties of titles6 ,their right choice--is it art or instinct8 ,the ,echo was the name fixed upon for the first halfpenny paper4 ,echo of what8 was not indicated4 ,it excluded expectations of originality4 ,probably curiosity was the charm4 ,it committed no one to any side4 ,there were always more noises about than any one could listen to1 and many were glad to hear the most articulate4 ,i wrote articles in the earliest numbers under the editorship of ,sir ,arthur ,arnold4 9999999999 ,the ,house of ,allsop1 as known to the world of progress in the last century1 is ended4 ,the first who gave it public interest was ,thomas ,a,ilsop1 who assisted ,robert ,owen in #ahcb in the ,gray's ,inn ,lane ,labour ,exchanges4 ,he was a watchful assistant of those who contributed to the public service without expecting or receiving requital4 ,his admiration of genius always took the form of a gift--a rare but encouraging form of applause4 ,serjeant ,talfourd somewhere bears testimony to the generous assistance ,mr4 ,a,ilsop rendered to ,hazlitt1 ,lamb1 and ,coleridge4 ,to ,lamb1 he continually sent gifts1 and ,coleridge dined at his table every ,sunday for nineteen years4 ,landor1 who had always nobility of character1 and was an impulsive writer--represented ,mr4 ,allsop's interest in ,european freedom as proceeding from vanity1 forgetful of his own letter to ,jessie ,meriton ,white1 offering ,l#ajj to any assassin of ,napoleon ,,iii42 and ,john ,forster preserves ,landor's remark upon ,mr4 ,allsop1 but does not1 so far as ,i remember1 give ,landor's ,assassin ,letter4 ,the fact was1 no man less sought publicity or disliked it more than ,mr4 ,allsop4 ,when ,feargus ,o',connor was elected member for ,nottingham1 ,mr4 ,allsop qualified him by conferring upon him lands bringing an income of ,l#cjj4 ,he divided his ,lincoln estate into allotments for working men1 but he never mentioned these things himself4 ,his son ,robert held his father's intellectual views4 ,his eldest son ,thomas1 who was class-mate with ,mr4 ,dixon ,galpin at ,queenwood1 a considerable landowner in ,british ,columbia1 was the philosopher of the family1 and like ,archbishop ,whately1 had a power of stating them with ever apt and ready illustrations4 ,they were like ,mr4 ,owen1 ,conservative in politics2 but in social and mental matters they were intrepid in welcoming new truth4 ,it was at ,thomas's suggestion that ,i omitted his father's name altogether in my chapter1 ,mr4 ,secretary ,walpole and the ,jacobin's ,friend499 ,landor was quite wrong1 there was no vanity in the ,allsop family4 ,were ,thomas ,allsop the younger now living ,i should not write these paragraphs4 ,as it is1 ,i may say that ,i owed to his generosity an annuity of ,l#ajj4 ,he commenced it by a subscription of ,l#bjj1 and by ,mr4 ,robert ,applegarth's friendly secretaryship1 which had devotion and inspiration in it1 a committee to which the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,joseph ,parker1 with his intrepid tolerance1 gave his name1 was formed1 and an annuity of ,l#ajj was purchased for me4 99 ,sixty ,years1 chap4 lxx4 p4 #gb4 ,illustration3 ,parker 9999999999 ,when the ,taxes on ,knowledge were repealed1 ,mr4 ,collet and ,i attempted to procure the repeal of the ,passenger ,tax on ,railways4 ,for forty years after the imposition of the tax of ,lord ,halford1 #ahcb1 the workman was taxed who went in search of an employer4 ,when a poor sailor1 arriving in ,london after a long voyage1 desired to visit his poor mother in ,glasgow1 the ,government added to his fare a tax of three shillings1 to encourage him in filial affection4 ,in the interests of locomotion and trade1 two or three associations had attempted to get this pernicious tax repealed1 without success4 ,it was remarked in ,parliament in #ahgg that no committee representing the working class asked for the repeal of this discreditable impost1 which most concerned them4 ,this was the reason of the formation of the ,travelling ,tax ,abolition ,committee1 of which ,mr4 ,collet became secretary and ,i the chairman4 ,we were assisted by an influential committee of civic and industrial leaders4 ,after six years' agitation we were mainly instrumental 7that was in ,mr4 ,gladstone's days7 in obtaining the repeal of the penny a mile tax on all third-class fares1 effected by ,mr4 ,childers in #ahhc1 which ever since has put into the pocket of working-class travellers ,l#djj1jjj a year1 besides the improved carriages and improved service the repeal has enabled railway companies to give4 ,we continued the committee many years longer in the hope of freeing the railways wholly from taxation1 which still hampers the directors and is obstructive of commerce4 ,i was chairman for twenty-four years1 during which time twenty-two of the committee died4 ,our memorials1 interviews with ministers1 correspondence with officials1 petitions to ,parliament1 public meetings and various publications1 involved a large and incessant amount of work without payment of any kind4 ,subsequently a committee of publicists1 journalists and members of ,parliament1 for whom ,mr4 ,applegarth was the secretary1 caused ,l#hj to be given to me1 in recognition of my services4 ,though it represented less than ,l#d a year as the salary of the chairman1 it was valuable in my eyes from the persons who gave it1 as they were not the persons much benefited by the work done1 and who really taxed themselves on behalf of others4 ,a subscription of a halfpenny each from the working-class travellers who had profited by the repeal would have amounted to a handsome acknowledgment4 ,but from them it was impossible to collect it4 ,testimonials1 ,i believe1 are often given by persons who generously subscribe for others upon whom the obligation of making it more properly rests4 9999999999 ,it would seem insensibility or ingratitude not to record1 that on my eightieth birthday--now eight years ago--,i was entertained at a numerously attended dinner party in the ,national ,liberal ,club1 at which to my gratification1 ,mr4 ,walter ,morrison presided4 ,the speakers1 and distinction of many in the assembly1 were a surprise1 transcending all ,i had foreseen4 ,the words of ,mr4 ,morrison's speech1 to use ,tennyson's words1 were like ,jewels ,that on the stretch'd forefinger of all time ,sparkle forever in my memory4 ,on my eighty-sixth birthday a reception was given me by the ,ethical ,society of ,south ,place ,chapel1 ,finsbury--the oldest ,free ,thought temple in ,london1 where the duty of free inquiry was first proclaimed by ,w4 ,j4 ,fox4 ,the place was filled with faces familiar and unfamiliar1 from near and far1 of artists1 poets1 publicists1 journalists1 philosophers1 as at the ,national ,liberal ,club1 but in greater numbers4 ,lady ,florence ,dixie purchased a large and costly oil painting199 and sent it for me to present to the ,library of the ,rationalist ,press ,association4 ,among the letters sent was one1 the last sent to a public meeting1 by ,herbert ,spencer4 ,the reader will pardon the pride ,i have in quoting it4 99 ,by my nephew1 ,roland ,holyoake4 ,writing from #e1 ,percival ,terrace1 ,brighton1 ,march #bh1 #aijc1 ,mr4 ,spencer said3 ,i have not been out of doors since last ,august1 and as ,mr4 ,holyoake knows1 it is impossible for me to join in the ,reception to be given to him on the occasion of his eighty-sixth birthday4 ,i can do nothing more than express my warm feeling of concurrence4 ,not dwelling upon his intellectual capacity1 which is high1 ,i would emphasise my appreciation of his courage1 sincerity1 truthfulness1 philanthropy1 and unwearied perseverance4 ,such a combination of these qualities1 it will1 ,i think1 be difficult to find4 9999999999 ,for a period ,i had the opportunity accorded me of editing a daily newspaper--,the ,sun4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,joseph ,parker had been my predecessor4 ,i was left at liberty to say whatever ,i pleased1 and ,i did4 ,in one week ,i wrote twenty-nine articles4 ,but opulent opportunity of working was afforded me4 ,as ,i was paid ten times as much as ,i had received before1 ,i thought myself in a paradise of journalism4 9999999999 ,in the correspondence of ,robert ,owen1 now in possession of the ,co-operative ,union ,memorial ,committee1 ,manchester1 is the following letter from his customary legal adviser1 who then resided at ,hornsey4 #f1 ,old ,jewry1 ,london1 ,february #ag1 #ahec4 ,r4 ,owen1 ,esq41 ,dear ,sir1--,i am glad to see your handwriting upon an envelope conveying to me a pamphlet of yours4 ,holyoake ,i expect will breakfast with me on ,sunday morning4 ,he comes down by the railway to ,hornsey1 which leaves ,london at nine o'clock precisely4 ,i am afraid it is too cold for you1 and that the walk from the railway to our house1 which is three quarters of a mile1 may not be agreeable4 ,yours truly1 ,w4 ,h4 ,ashurst4 ,h4 will return about #ab or #a4 ,after breakfast ,mr4 ,owen walked briskly with me into town4 ,he was then eighty-two4 ,on his way he explained to me that1 when walking as often had done from ,birmingham to ,worcester1 or from ,huddersfield to ,sheffield--to lecture1 ,i should find it an advantage to use the horse road1 as on the footpath there is more unevenness and necessity of deviation to allow persons to pass1 which increases the fatigue of a day on foot4 ,so thoughtful and practical was the reputed visionary4 9999999999 ,of letters on public affairs ,i confine myself to three instances4 ,when the ,south ,kensington ,exhibitions were in force1 more than twenty thousand visitors a day thronged the ,exhibition ,road4 ,mothers with their children had to cross the wide ,museum ,road1 where policemen1 stationed to protect the passengers1 had enough to do to keep their own toes on their feet1 in the undivided traffic of cabs4 ,i wrote to the ,times suggesting that a lamp should be erected in the middle of the wide road serving as a light1 a retreat1 and a division of traffic4 ,all the cabmen who could write protested against the danger1 or the necessity1 and possibility of the proposal4 ,but it was done1 to the great joy of mothers and advantage to the public4 9999999999 ,after the fall of the ,french ,assassin at ,sedan when ,marshal ,bazaine was hanging about ,europe in obscurity and ignominy1 ,mr4 ,arthur ,arnold proposed that he should be invited to a banquet in ,london4 ,seeing that the citizens of ,paris went out at night in bands of twenty or thirty heroically to help to raise the siege--on what ground could we offer to honour ,bazaine1 who with #aib1jjj soldiers under his command1 was afraid to attempt it8 ,i asked the question in the ,press1 and the proposal1 which had a sentiment of chivalry in it to a fallen general1 and was commanding some concurrence--went out--like the ,marshal--into outer darkness4 9999999999 ,when public opinion was in the balance respecting the ,south ,american ,war1 ,mr4 ,reverdy ,johnson and a ,copperhead colleague arrived in ,london and began to do a respectable business in public mystification4 ,from information supplied to me ,i wrote letters explaining the real nature of that sinister mission1 in consequence of which the two emissaries of slavery made tracks for ,new ,york4 ,but of instances1 as of other things1 there must be an end4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,first ,,steps ,,in ,,literature ,surely environment is the sister of heredity8 ,mr4 ,gladstone once said to me that ,the longer he lived the more he thought of heredity4 ,next to heredity is environment--the moulder of mankind4 ,my first passion was to be a prize-fighter4 ,nature1 however1 had not made me that way4 ,i had no animosity of mind1 and that form of contest was not to my taste4 ,but prize-fighting was part of the miasma the ,napoleonic war had diffused in ,england4 ,it was in the air2 it was the talk of the street ,hammer ,lane1 so called from the iron blow he could deliver1 was the local hero of the ,ring in the ,midlands in my youth4 ,he was a courtier of my eldest sister1 and created in me a craving for fistic prowess4 ,i fought one small battle1 but found that a lame wrist1 which has remained permanent1 cut me off from any prospect of renown in that pursuit ,next1 to be a circus jester seemed to me the very king of careers4 ,my idea was to leap into the arena exclaiming3-- ,well1 ,i never6 ,did you ever8 ,i never did4 ,never did what8 the clown was to ask me1 when my reply was to be3-- ,i could only disclose that before a ,royal ,commission--alluding to a political artifice then coming into vogue in ,parliament ,when a ,minister did not know what to say to a popular demand1 or found it inconvenient to say it if he did know1 he would suggest a ,commission to inquire into it1 as is done to this day4 ,then the clown would demand1 ,what is the good of a ,royal ,commission8 when the answer would be3 ,every good in the world to a ,ministry1 for before the ,commission agreed as to the answer to be given1 the public would forget what the question was4 ,under this diversion of the audience1 no one noticed that no answer was given to the original question put to the jester4 ,whether ,i could have succeeded in this walk was never decided4 ,it was found that ,i lacked the loud1 radiant1 explosive voice necessary for circus effects1 and ,i ceased to dream of distinction there4 ,i suppose1 like many others who could not well write anything1 ,i thought poetry might be my latent--very latent--faculty4 ,so ,i began4 ,for all ,i knew1 my genius1 if ,i had any1 might lie that way4 ,to body forth things unknown1 which ,i was told poets did1 must be delightful4 ,to build castles in the air--as my means did not enable me to pay ground rent--was at least an economical project4 ,so ,i began with a question1 as new ,members of ,parliament do1 until they discover something to say4 ,my first production1 which ,i hoped would be mistaken for a poem1 was in the form of a ,question to a ,pedestrian3-- ,saw you my ,lilian pass this way8 ,you would know her by the ray ,of light which doth attend her4 ,her eye such fire of passion hath1 ,that none who meet her ever pass1 ,but they some message send her4 ,the critics said to me1 as they said to ,keats1 to whom ,i bore no other resemblance1 ,this sort of thing will never do4 ,it is an imitation of ,shenstone1 or of one of the ,shepherd and ,shepherdess ,school of the ,elizabethan era--of whom ,i knew nothing4 ,so ,i was lost to the ,muses1 who1 however1 never missed me4 ,but my career was not ended4 ,i was told there might be an opening for me in criticism1 especially of poetry1 as there were many persons great in the critical line1 who could not write a verse themselves--and yet lived to become a terror to all who could4 ,my first effort in this direction was upon the book of a young poet whom ,i knew personally4 ,not venturing upon longer pieces at first1 ,i selected two sonnets--as the author1 ,emslie ,duncan1 called them4 ,the opening was very striking1 and was thus expressed3-- ,great ,god3 ,what is it that ,i see8 ,a figure shrimping in the sea4 ,how natural is the exclamation1 ,i began4 ,the poet invokes the ,deity on the threshold of a great surprise4 ,luther did the same in his famous hymn beginning-- ,great ,god6 ,what do mine eyes behold6 ,our sonneteer may be said to have borrowed the exclamation from ,luther499 ,but we have no doubt the exclamation of our poet is purely original4 ,he next demands an interpretation of his vision4 ,it is early morning1 though the poet does not mention it 7great poets are suggestive1 and stoop not to detail74 ,an evasive grey mist spreads everywhere1 like the new fiscal policy of the ,bentinckian type 7then in the air71 obscuring the landmarks of long-time safety4 ,still there is one object visible4 ,the poet's eye in fine frenzy rolling sees something4 ,he is not sure of the personality that confronts him1 and with agnostic precaution worthy of ,huxley1 he declines to say what it is--until he knows--and so contents himself with telling the reader it is a figure out shrimping4 ,the scene is most impressive4 ,as amateurs say1 when they do not understand a picture they are praising1 ,it grows upon you4 ,so this marvellous sonnet grows upon the 99 ,the opening of ,luther's fine hymn3-- ,great ,god6 ,what do mine eyes behold6 ,the end of things created-- which long imposed on my imagination and does so still4 reader4 ,if there be not imagination and profundity here1 we do not know where to look for it4 ,next our poet returns to town1 and in ,white-chapel meets with the statue of a lady attired only in a blouse4 ,notwithstanding his astonishment he varies his abjuration1 and exclaims-- ,judge ye gods1 of my surprise1 ,a lady naked in her chemise6 ,this is unquestionably very fine4 ,true1 there is some contradiction in nudity and attire2 but splendid contradiction is an eternal element of poetry4 ,what would ,milton's ,paradise ,lost be without it8 ,the reader cannot tell whether the surprise of the poet is at the lady or her drapery4 ,there is no use in asking a great poet what he meant in writing his brilliant lines4 ,if as candid as ,browning1 he would answer as ,browning did1 that he had not the slightest idea what he meant4 ,nothing remains for us but to congratulate the public on the advent of a new poet who is equally great on subjects of land or sea4 ,there is a good deal of reviewing done on this principle1 and reputations made by this sort of writing as fully without foundation1 and ,i looked forward to further employment4 ,the editor to whom ,i sent these primal specimens of my new vocation seemed undecided what to do with them--throw them into his waste-paper basket or submit them to his readers4 ,i assured him ,i had seen a number of criticisms less restrained than mine1 on performances quite as slender as the sonnets ,i had described4 ,with kindly consideration1 lest he might be repressing a rising genius in me1 he asked me to give my opinion upon a charming little poem by ,longfellow--to commend1 as he hoped ,i could1 as a new edition in which he was interested was about to be published4 ,the object of the poet1 ,i found1 was to awaken certain young ladies1 whose only fault consisted in getting up late in the morning4 ,the lines addressed to them1 if ,i rightly remember1 began thus3-- ,awake6 ,arise6 and greet the day4 ,angels are knocking at the door4 ,they are in haste and may not stay1 ,and once departed come no more4 ,this verse reminds the readers of ,omar ,khayyam4 ,two ideas in it are his1 and the terms used are his2 but ,i resisted this temptation to imitate those popular critics1 whose aim is not to discover the graces of a new poet1 but his plagiarisms1 and to show that everybody reproduces the ideas of everybody else1 and prove that-- ,nothing is1 and all things seem ,and we the shadows of a dream-- and of old1 antediluvian dreams4 ,disdaining this royal road to critical renown1 ,i commenced by praising the enchanting invocation of the poet1 who when the ladies heard it would leap out of bed and dress4 ,i observed that to the reader who did not look below the surface--did not read between the lines1 is the favourite phrase--the poem presented some mysteries of diction4 ,instead of appearing as the angel in ,leigh ,hunt's ,abou ,ben ,adhem did1 who diffused himself in the room like a vision1 these peripatetic visitants presented themselves like celestial postmen knocking at the door4 ,then why were they out so early themselves8 ,had they more calls to make than they could well accomplish in the time allowed them8 ,why were they in haste8 ,no wonder mankind lack repose if angels are in a hurry4 ,the ,kingdom of the ,blest is supposed to be the land of rest ,manifestly these morning angels had to be back by a stipulated time1 and like a tax-collector could make no second call4 ,apparently ,longfellow's angels are like ,mr4 ,stead's favourite spirit ,julia4 ,they are harassed with appointments1 commissions1 and cares4 ,it is of no use being a spirit if you cannot move about with regal leisureliness1 such as was displayed by the first ,shah of ,persia who visited us4 ,the writer has seen nothing like it in any ,european monarch4 ,while in the lines now in question supernatural misgivings of angelic perturbation are awakened4 ,but as an example of poetry1 irrespective of its meaning and suggestions1 every reader will covet a new edition of the ,american poet1 and no library could be complete without a copy upon its shelves4 ,i had visited the poet at his ,cambridge home1 and was proud of the opportunity of adding ever so small an addition to the pyramid of regard raised to his memory4 ,the editor looked dubious on reading this review1 and said the higher criticism might be entertaining in theology1 but the higher criticism of poetry1 which dealt with its meaning1 was a different thing and might not be well taken4 ,in vain ,i suggested that a poet ought to mean something1 as ,byron did1 whose fascination is still real1 and there was pathos and beauty1 tragedy1 tenderness and courtesy enough in the world to employ more poets than we have on hand4 ,i received no more commissions in the way of criticisms1 and had to think of some other vocation4 ,some of the happiest evenings of younger days were spent in the rooms of university students4 ,it was pleasant to be near persons who dwelt in the kingdom of knowledge1 who could wander at will on the mountain tops of science and literature1 and have glimpses of unknown lands of light which ,i might never see4 ,who has seen ,london under the reign of the sun1 after a sullen1 fitful season1 knows how wondrous is the transformation4 ,like the sheen of the gods the glittering rays descend1 dispelling and absorbing the sombre clouds4 ,a radiance rests on turret and roof4 ,then hidden creatures that crawl or fly come forth and put on golden tints4 ,the cheerless poor emerge from their fireless chambers with the grateful emotions of sun worshippers4 ,how like is all this to the change which comes over the realm of ignorance6 ,light does not change vegetation more than the light of knowledge changes the realm of the mind4 ,the thirsty crevices of thought drink in1 as it were1 the refreshing beams4 ,once conscious of the liberty and power which comes of knowing--ignorance itself becomes eager1 impatient--covetous of information4 ,faculties unsuspected disclose themselves4 ,qualities undreamed-of appear4 ,so it came to be my choice to enter the field of instruction4 ,it seemed to me a great thing to endow any1 however few1 in any way1 however humble1 with the cheeriness and strength of ideas4 ,true1 ,i began to teach what ,i did not know--or knew but partially--yet not without personal advantage1 since no one knows anything well until he has tried to teach it to another4 ,the dullest pupil will make his master sensible of defects in his own explanation4 ,formerly1 the dulness of a learner was supposed to discover the necessity of a cane1 whereas all it proved was incapacity or unwillingness to take trouble--on the part of the teacher4 ,the result was that ,i wrote several elementary books of instruction4 ,all owed their existence1 or whatever success attended them1 to the experience of the class-room4 ,all things have an end1 as many observant people know1 and before long ,i turned my attention to journalism4 ,i had read somewhere a saying of ,aristotle--,now ,i mean to speak conformably to the truth4 ,that seems every man's duty--if he speaks at all4 ,anyhow1 ,aristotle's words appeared to constitute a good rule for a journalist ,i had never heard or never heeded the injunction of ,byron3-- ,let him who speaks beware ,of whom1 of what1 and when1 and where4 ,the ,aristotelian rule ,i had adopted soon brought me into difficulties1 probably from want of skill in applying it4 ,it was in propagandist journalism that ,i had ventured1 which ,i mention for the purpose of saying that it is not1 as many suppose1 a profitable profession4 ,it is excellent discipline1 but it is not thought much of by your banker4 ,its securities are never saleable on the ,stock ,exchange4 ,nevertheless1 the ,press has its undying attraction4 ,it is the fame-maker4 ,without it noble words1 as well as noble deeds1 would die4 ,day by day there descend from the ,press ideas in fertilising showers1 falling on the parched and arid plains of life1 which in due season become verdant and variegated4 ,difficulties try men's souls1 but true ideas expand them4 ,and they have done so4 ,literature is a much brighter thing than it was when ,i first began to meddle or muddle in it1 as ,lord ,salisbury would say4 ,nothing was thought classical then that was not dull ,no definition of importance was found to be utterly unintelligible until a ,university man had explained it4 ,all is different now--let us hope4 ,instances of the progress of literary opinion are perhaps more instructive and better worth remembering4 ,in #ahej1 when ,george ,henry ,lewes and ,thornton ,hunt included my name in their published list of contributors to the ,leader1 it cost the proprietors1 ,i had reason to know1 ,l#b1jjj4 ,it set the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,jelf1 of ,king's ,college1 on fire1 and caused an orthodox spasm of a serious kind in ,charles ,kingsley and ,professor ,maurice1 as witness their letters of that day4 ,one journal projected by me in #ahej is still v issued--,public ,opinion4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,ashurst asked me to devise a paper ,i thought the most needed4 ,as ,peel had said1 ,england was governed by opinion1 ,i suggested that this opinion should be collected4 ,i wrote the prospectus of the new journal1 specifying that each article quoted should be prefixed by a few words1 within brackets1 setting forth what principles1 party1 or interest it represented--whether ,english or foreign4 ,mr4 ,ashurst put the prospectus into the hands of ,robert ,buchanan1 father of the late ,robert ,buchanan1 and the earlier issues followed the plan ,i had defined4 ,the object was to collect intelligent and responsible opinion4 ,in #ahff the ,contemporary ,review announced that it would represent the best minds of the time on all contemporary questions1 free from narrowness1 bigotry1 and sectarianism4 ,it professed to represent those who are not afraid of modern thought1 in its varied aspects and demands1 and scorn to defend their faith by mere reticence1 or by the artifices commonly acquiesced in4 ,this manifesto of #ahff far surpassed in liberality any profession then known in the evangelical world4 ,it was at the time a bold pronouncement4 ,when it is considered that ,samuel ,morley was the most influential of the supporters of the ,contemporary1 it shows that intellectual ,nonconformity was abreast of the age--as ,nonconformity never was before4 ,in #ahgg ,i was taken by ,thomas ,woolner1 the sculptor1 to dine at ,mr4 ,alfred ,tennyson's 7,lord ,tennyson later74 ,i believe my invitation was owing to ,mrs4 ,tennyson's desire to make inquiries of me concerning the advantages of ,co-operation in rural districts1 in which1 like the ,countess of ,warwick1 she was interested4 ,the ,poet ,laureate gave me a glass of sack1 the royal beverage of poets1 of more exquisite flavour than ,i had tasted before4 ,i did not wonder that it was conducive to noble verse--where the faculty of it was present ,mr4 ,knowles1 now ,sir ,james1 founder of the ,nineteenth ,century and ,after1 was of the party1 and the new review--then projected--being mentioned1 it came to pass that my name was put down among possible contributors4 ,the ,nineteenth ,century proposed to go further1 and include a still wider range of subjects1 with free discussion on personal responsibility4 ,its prospectus said it would go on lines absolutely impartial and unsectarian4 ,the ,prefatory ,poem1 written by ,tennyson twenty-seven years ago1 which may not be in the memory of many now1 was this3-- ,those that of late had fleeted far and fast1 ,to touch all shores1 now leaving to the skill ,of others their old craft1 seaworthy still1 ,have chartered this2 where1 mindful of the past1 ,our true co-mates regather round the mast2 ,of diverse tongues1 but with a common will1 ,here in this roaming moor of daffodil ,and crocus1 to put forth and brave the blast4 ,for some1 descending from the sacred peak ,of hoar1 high-templed ,faith1 have leagued again ,their lot with ours to rove the world about1 ,and some are wilder comrades1 sworn to seek ,if any golden harbour be for men ,in seas of ,death and sunless gulfs of ,doubt4 ,tennyson1 with all his genius1 never quite emerged from the theologic caves of the conventicle4 ,the sea of pure reason he took to be the sea of ,death4 ,doubt was a sunless gulf4 ,he did not know that ,doubt is a translucent valley1 where the light of ,truth first reveals the deformities of error--hidden by theological mists4 ,the line containing the words wilder comrades was understood to include me4 ,out of the ,one ,hundred ,contributors1 whose names were published in the ,athenaeum 7,february #aj1 #ahgg71 there were only-six3--,professor ,huxley1 ,professor ,tyndall1 ,professor ,clifford1 ,george ,henry ,lewes1 myself1 and possibly ,frederic ,harrison1 to whom the phrase could apply4 ,if the remaining ninety-four had any insurgency of opinion in them1 it was not then apparent to the public1 who are prone to prefer a vacuum to an insurgent idea4 ,new ideas of moment have always been on hand in the ,nineteenth if not of the wilder kind4 ,after issuing fifty volumes of the ,nineteenth ,century ,review1 the editor published a list of all his contributors1 with the titles of the articles written by them1 introduced by these brief but memorable words3-- ,more than a quarter of a century's experience has sufficiently tested the practical efficacy of the principle upon which the ,nineteenth ,century was founded1 of free public discussion by writers invariably signing their own names4 ,the success which has attended and continues to attend the faithful adherence to this principle1 proves that it is not only right but acceptable1 and warrants the hope that it may extend its influence over periodical literature1 until unsigned contributions become quite exceptional4 ,no man can make an anonymous speech with his tongue1 and no brave man should desire to make one with his pen1 but1 having the courage of his opinions1 should be ready to face personally all the consequences of all his utterances4 ,anonymous letters are everywhere justly discredited in private life1 and the tone of public life would be raised in proportion to the disappearance of their equivalent--anonymous articles--from public controversy4 ,than the foregoing1 ,i know of no more admirable argument against anonymity in literature4 ,there is nothing more unfair in controversy than permitting writers1 wearing a mask1 to attack or make replies to those who give their names--being thereby enabled to be accusative or imputative without responsibility4 ,there is1 of course another side to this question4 ,persons of superior and relevant information1 unwilling to appear personally1 are thereby excluded from a hearing--which is so far a public loss4 ,but this evil is small compared with the vividness and care which would be exercised if every writer felt that his reputation went with the work which bore his name4 ,besides1 how much slovenly thinking1 which is slovenly expressed--vexing the public ear and depraving the taste and understanding of the reader--would never appear if the writer had to append his signature to his production8 ,of course1 there is good writing done anonymously1 but power and originality1 if present1 are never rewarded by fame1 and no one knows who to thank for the light and pleasure nameless writers have given4 ,the example of the ,nineteenth ,century and ,after is a public advantage4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,george ,,eliot ,,and ,,george ,,henry ,,lewes ,illustration3 ,lewes ,more than acquaintanceship1 ,i had affectionate regard for ,george ,henry ,lewes and ,george ,eliot4 ,lewes included me in the public list of writers and contributors to the ,leader--the first recognition of the kind ,i received1 and being accorded when ,i had only an outcast name1 both in law and literature1 ,i have never ceased to prize it4 ,george ,eliot's friendship1 on other grounds ,i have had reason to value1 and when ,i found a vacant place at the head of their graves which lie side by side1 ,i bought it1 that my ashes should repose there1 should ,i die in ,england4 ,on occasions which arose1 ,i had vindicated both1 as ,i knew well the personal circumstances of their lives4 ,when in ,america ,i found statements made concerning them which no editor of honour should have published without knowledge of the facts upon which they purported to be founded1 nor should he have given publicity to dishonouring statements without the signature of a known and responsible person4 ,on the first opportunity ,i spoke with ,lewes's eldest son1 and asked authority to contradict them4 ,he thought the calumnies beneath contempt1 that they sprang up in theological soil and that they would wither of themselves1 if not fertilised by disturbance4 ,i know of no instance of purity and generosity greater than that displayed by ,george ,eliot in her relation with ,mr4 ,lewes4 ,edgar ,allan ,poe was subject to graver defamation1 widely believed for years1 which was afterwards shown to be entirely devoid of truth4 ,george ,eliot's personal reputation will hereafter be seen to be just and luminous4 ,for myself1 ,i never could see what conventional opinion had to do with a personal union founded in affection1 by which nobody was wronged1 nobody distressed1 and in which protection was accorded and generous provision made for the present and future interest of every one concerned4 ,conventional opinion1 not even in its ethical aspects1 could establish higher relations than existed in their case4 ,there are thousands of marriages tolerated conventionally and ecclesiastically approved1 in every way less estimable and less honourable than the distinguished union1 upon which society without justification affected to frown4 ,interest in social and political liberty was an abiding feature in ,george ,eliot's mind4 ,when ,garibaldi was at the ,crystal ,palace1 she asked me to sit by her and elucidate incidents which arose4 ,on the publication of my first volume of the ,history of ,co-operation1 ,i received the following letter from ,mr4 ,lewes3-- ,the ,elms1 ,rickmansworth1 ,aug4 #ae1 #ahge4 ,my dear ,holyoake1--,mrs4 ,lewes wishes me to thank you for sending her your book1 which she is reading aloud to me every evening1 much to our pleasure and profit4 ,the light firm touch and quiet epigram would make the dullest subject readable2 and this subject is not dull4 ,we only regret that you did not enter more fully into working details4 ,perhaps they will come in the next volume4 ,ever yours truly1 ,g4 ,h4 ,lewes4 ,the second volume of the work mentioned supplied to her the details she wished4 ,in #ahgg ,i visited ,new ,lanark and saw the stately rooms built by ,robert ,owen1 of which ,i sent an account to the ,times4 ,the most complete appliances of instruction known in ,europe down to #ahbj are all there1 as in ,mr4 ,owen's days4 ,a description of them may be read in the second volume of the ,history of ,co-operation referred to4 ,when ,george ,eliot saw the letter she said1 the thought of the ,ruins of ,education there described filled her with sadness4 ,i made an offer to buy the neglected and decaying relics1 which was declined4 ,i wrote to ,lord ,playfair1 whose influence might procure the purchase4 ,i endeavoured to induce the ,south ,kensington ,museum authorities to secure them for the benefit of educationists1 but they had no funds to use for that purpose4 ,some women1 not distinguished for personal beauty when young1 become handsome and queenly later in life4 ,this was so with ,harriet ,martineau4 ,george ,eliot did not come up to ,herbert ,spencer's conception of personal charm4 ,one day when she was living at ,godstone1 she drove to the station to meet ,mr4 ,lewes4 ,he and ,i were travelling together at the time1 and he caused the train to be delayed a few minutes that ,i might go down into the valley to meet his wife4 ,i had not seen ,george ,eliot for some years1 and was astonished at the stately grace she had acquired4 ,one who knew how to state a principle describes the characteristic conviction of ,george ,eliot1 from which she never departed1 and which had abiding interest for me4 ,she held as a solemn conviction--the result of a lifetime of observation--that in proportion as the thoughts of men and women are removed from the earth on which they live1 are diverted from their own mutual relations and responsibilities1 of which they alone know anything1 to an invisible world1 which can alone be apprehended by belief1 they are led to neglect their duty to each other1 to squander their strength in vain speculations1 which can result in no profit to themselves or their fellow-creatures1 which diminish their capacity for strenuous and worthy action during a span of life1 brief1 indeed1 but whose consequences will extend to remote posterity499 99 ,congregationalist ,april1 #ahha1 p4 #big4 ,bray's ,autobiography4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,when ,,birmingham ,,was ,a ,,town ,when ,birmingham was a town it had a national reputation for ,liberalism4 ,at present ,i prefer to call myself a townsman rather than a citizen4 ,the old pride of owning to being a ,birmingham man is merged into the admission of being born in ,warwickshire4 ,some of the political scenes in its town days may be instructive to its present-day citizens4 ,the famous ,birmingham ,political ,union of #ahcb was hung up like a clean gun on ,g4 ,f4 ,muntz's suggestion and never taken down4 ,many years later a new ,union was projected4 ,mr4 ,joseph ,chamberlain was in the chair4 ,i was on the platform1 and the only person present who was a member of the former ,union4 ,i had no opportunity of speaking--nor indeed had anybody1 save movers and seconders of motions4 ,there was nothing radical about the proceedings4 ,nobody's opinion was asked4 ,no opportunity of discussion was given4 ,the meeting was a mere instrument for registering the business of the chair4 ,the impression that afternoon made upon me has never left me4 ,nothing afterwards surprised me in the performances of the quick-change artiste of the ,parliamentary music-hall4 ,mr4 ,john ,morley wrote an article in the ,fortnightly on ,mr4 ,chamberlain1 which first gave him a position before the public4 ,not even in ,birmingham could any one see adequate justification for it4 ,but ,mr4 ,morley proved right1 and had discerned a capacity which had not then unfolded itself4 ,about that time ,mr4 ,chamberlain made some remark on ,mr4 ,disraeli in the ,birmingham ,town ,council1 which did not amount to much4 ,mr4 ,disraeli did the municipal speaker the honour to call him to account4 ,had any one in like case called ,mr4 ,disraeli to account he would have said in his airy and evasive way3 ,every public speaker is liable to the misconstruction of unheeding and ill-hearing reporters1 and he could not be expected to answer for them4 ,mr4 ,chamberlain gave no sign of any such adroitness which was ready to his hand1 but wrote what read like an abject apology4 ,he did not dare to say to ,mr4 ,disraeli ,what ,i have said ,i have said4 ,mr4 ,jesse ,collings was one of the minor merchants of ,birmingham4 ,he came originally from ,exeter1 and was held in great respect for his earnest ,liberalism1 and for promoting the education of the people--though he was himself a sectarian pure and simple1 with little1 if any1 secularity in him4 ,when he came to be ,mayor1 the ,tories of ,birmingham--who had not then and never had any man of mark or genius among them--were capable of outrage4 ,it was the only art they knew4 ,when ,mr4 ,collings presided one day at a public meeting in the town hall1 they drew an ass's head on a large sheet of pasteboard1 and hung it over the clock in front of the chair labelled--the ,portrait of the ,mayor4 ,for two hours they made all business impossible by shouting ,mr4 ,mayor1 look at your portrait4 ,at length the ,mayor took courage and ordered the ,chief ,constable--,major ,bond--to remove the picture placard and the ringleader of the disturbance4 ,this was construed as an insult1 which ,mr4 ,kynersley1 the principal ,tory magistrate1 supported4 ,i was one who urged ,mr4 ,collings to apply to the bench for a case1 that it might be determined in the higher courts whether a mayor had legal power to preserve order at a public meeting4 ,the case was refused by ,mr4 ,kynersley4 ,this was the treatment of the ,right ,honourable ,jesse ,collings for being a ,liberal4 ,is there a stranger sight in ,england than seeing this ,liberal mayor dressed in ,tory livery1 fetching and carrying in ,parliament for the intolerant party which treated him with such ostentatious indignity8 ,what must be his sense of humiliation under his new convictions8 ,equally tragic and unforeseen must be the humiliation of the ,tory party in ,parliament who used to boast of their pride1 their dignity1 and self-respect at having to accept as a leader the great caucus-monger1 as they called ,mr4 ,chamberlain1 who was the object of their epithets and hatred during so many sessions4 ,the tragedy of political convictions can no further go4 ,far be it from me to deny that ,mr4 ,collings and ,mr4 ,chamberlain have not honest reasons for their strange professions1 though ,i do not understand them4 ,like gravitation1 ,i admit the fact1 though its cause is inscrutable4 ,in politics motives are as though they were not4 ,they cannot be taken into account4 ,if alleged1 they admit of no proof4 ,resentment rages among the partisans of the accused and the tendency of their principles1 which it is alone instructive to discuss1 is lost sight of4 ,it is common for partisans to disparage those who have left their ranks--forgetting that conviction depends upon evidence4 ,those who leave a party may be as honest as those who remain4 ,whoever has rendered aid to liberty and gone over to the other side should be honoured for what he has done4 ,he who has once stood upon the side of humanity deserves more respectful treatment than he who never took the part of the right4 ,mr4 ,collings and ,mr4 ,chamberlain rendered important service to the cause of public progress1 and their abandonment of it was a loss4 ,for the rest1 the career of ,joseph ,chamberlain1 like that of ,joseph ,cowen1 has its explanation in the passion for paramountcy4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,tenth ,,of ,,april1 #ahdh--;,,its ,,incredibilities ,it is not easy to determine which of many historic incidents of interest should take precedence4 ,the #ajth of ,april1 known as the day of ,chartist ,terror--still spoken of in hysterical accents--will do1 as it shows the wild way with which sober1 staid men can write history4 ,i was out that day with the ,chartists1 and well know how different the facts were from what is believed to be the peril of the metropolis on that day4 ,i have long regarded it as one of the bygones having instruction in them4 ,the ,french have their #ith ,thermidor 7,july #bg1 #agid71 when the ,reign of ,terror ended1 and their #ahth ,brumaire 7,november #i1 #agii71 when the ,napoleonic ,terror began1 and the ,english have their #ajth of ,april1 #ahdh1 when a million special constables were out staff in hand1 to prevent a ,national ,petition of the people being presented to the ,house of ,commons4 ,yet no conspiracy existed--nor even had the police fabricated a plot 7as they often did in those days7--no disorder had been threatened1 not a man was armed2 the only imaginable enemy was the ,chartist ,convention of less than two hundred persons4 ,the most distinguished of the ,special ,constables was ,louis ,napoleon1 who four years later became known as the assassin of ,french liberty1 and whose career is one of the infamies of ,imperialism4 ,the #ajth of ,april1 #ahdh1 has for more than half a century held a place in public memory4 ,the extraordinary hallucination concerning it has become historic1 and passes as authentic4 ,canon ,charles ,kingsley was the chief illusionist in this matter4 ,he wrote3 ,on the #ajth of ,april1 the ,government had to fill ,london with troops1 and put the ,duke of ,wellington in command1 who barricaded the bridges and ,downing ,street1 and other public buildings499 ,nobody had to do what ,kings-ley relates4 ,nine years had elapsed since any one had taken the field against the ,government1 and that was in a ,welsh town #adg miles away4 ,john ,frost and his tiny band of followers were the insurgents4 ,all were put down in twenty minutes by a few soldiers4 ,frost came to ,london in #ahci to consult ,james ,watson1 ,henry ,hetherington1 ,richard ,moore1 ,william ,lovett1 and other responsible ,chartists1 whom he most trusted4 ,they besought ,frost to abandon his idea of an attack upon ,newport1 as no one would support him4 ,there were no arms in ,london on ,april1 #ahdh1 no persons were drilled1 no war organisation existed1 and no intention of rising anywhere4 ,the ,government knew it1 for they had spies everywhere4 ,they knew it as well or better in #ahdh than in #ahci4 ,for nine years ,john ,frost had then been in penal servitude1 and no one had attempted to imitate him4 ,nor had he any followers in ,london in #ahdh4 ,at his trial no noblemen1 no aristocratic ladies1 crowded the court to cheer him by their sympathy1 or mitigate his sentence by their influence--as they did when ,dr4 ,jameson and others were on trial for their wanton and murderous raid on the ,government of ,south ,africa4 ,such is the difference between the insurgency of poverty seeking redress1 and the insurgency of wealthy insolence seeking its further aggrandisement ,there was absolutely nothing in the field against the ,duke of ,wellington in ,london but a waggon1 on which a monster petition was piled4 99 ,introduction to ,alton ,locke1 by ,thomas ,hughes4 ,politically speaking1 ,london has seen no tamer day than the #ajth of ,april1 #ahdh4 ,there was less ground for alarm than when a ,lord ,mayor s procession passes through the city4 ,the procession of actual ,chartists1 able to leave their work to join it1 could never have amounted to four thousand4 ,there was not a single weapon among them1 nor any intention of using it had they possessed it4 ,there was only one weapon known to be in ,london1 in the hands of the ,chartists1 and that was a ,colonel ,macerone's spear1 fabricated in #ahcj1 to assist in carrying the first ,reform ,bill4 ,that was hidden up a chimney in #c1 ,queen's ,head ,passage1 ,paternoster ,row4 ,it came into my possession1 and ,i have often shown it to members of the ,government to convince them what risks ,society ran in ,wellington's days--and are exposed to still4 ,the ,chartists had held a ,convention in ,london the week before the #ajth1 and were unable to obtain any place of meeting except a small social institution in ,john ,street1 ,tottenham ,court ,road1 which could not seat #aej persons at the ,convention table4 ,the hall was lent to them by the most pacific body of politicians in ,london--the followers of ,robert ,owen4 ,yet ,mr4 ,thomas ,hughes adopted and authenticated ,kingsley's incredible belief1 that the country was in danger of these earnest but entirely impotent ,chartist petitioners2 and ,mr4 ,hughes actually quotes believingly in his introduction to ,alton ,locke a statement that3 ,the ,duke of ,wellington declared in the ,house of ,lords that no great society had ever suffered as ,london had during the proceeding1 while the ,home ,secretary telegraphed to all the chief magistrates of the kingdom the joyful news that the peace had been kept in ,london499 99 ,prefatory ,memoir of ,kingsley's ,works1 by ,thomas ,hughes1 p4 #ac4 ,never did the craziest despotic ,government in ,europe engage in such a political imposture4 ,it was pitiable that the ,duke of ,wellington should have had no more self-respect than to compromise his great career by fortifying ,london against an imaginary enemy4 ,the ,government had plentiful information and must have known the truth--the contrary of what they alleged4 ,it may be said in extenuation of these affected ,ministerial terrors1 that the ,parisian revolution of that year had communicated unrest to the people of ,england4 ,it had inspired them with pleasure1 but not with insurgency1 for which they were as uninclined as they were unprepared1 and none knew this better than the ,duke of ,wellington4 ,the ,parisian population had seen military service4 ,they understood the use of arms1 had them1 and knew how to settle their differences at the barricade4 ,london had never seen a barricade4 ,the people were all unused to arms1 and were without the means or the knowledge to storm a police station4 ,yet1 according to ,canon ,kingsley1 ,wellington told the ,government that no capital had gone through such days as ,england had on the #ajth of ,april1 when no man was struck--no man was killed--no riot took place anywhere4 ,it would seem that ignorance1 rashness1 wildness1 and irresponsible language are by no means peculiar to the working classes4 ,we must cease to wonder at the ,duke of ,wellington when an accredited publicist like ,judge ,thomas ,hughes1 who was educated at ,rugby1 could tell the world himself that ,it is only by an effort that one can realise the strain to which the nation was subjected4 ,on that awful day1 nobody was reported as found looking into a shop window with a predatory glare in his eyes1 and no account came up from the provinces that a single ,chartist was observed to peep over a hedge in a menacing manner4 ,i was out on the #ajth of ,april4 ,on ,sunday1 the night before1 ,i was the lecturer at ,john ,street ,the audience was composed largely of delegates to the dreadful ,convention that so perturbed the ,iron ,duke4 ,my advice to them1 published at the time1 was to ,beware of the police1 and not to strike again if they were struck4 ,many of them1 ,i knew1 were willing to die for their country1 if that would save it4 ,they would serve it much better by dying without resistance1 than dying with it4 ,if any were killed whilst walking in the procession their comrades should move quietly on4 ,nothing would tell more strongly on public opinion than such heroic observance of order4 ,hetherington1 one of the bravest who walked in the ranks1 told me he would do it4 ,the ,government1 by their ostentatious provocation1 in garrisoning the ,bank with soldiers1 crowding ,somerset ,house with them1 parading troops on ,clerkenwell ,green1 had brought1 it is computed1 more than two millions of persons into the streets4 ,the conclusion to which the ,chartist leaders came1 was that the ,government wanted to create a conflict1 shoot down a number of the people1 and then proclaim to ,europe that they had saved ,society1 by murder1 as one of their chief special constables did soon after in ,paris4 ,as ,i had been personally associated with all the chief ,chartists1 in prison and out1 from the beginning of the movement1 ,i can speak with some knowledge of them on that day4 ,on the morning of the #ajth of ,april1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,d4 ,collet1 the well-informed ,secretary of the ,people's ,charter ,union1 myself1 ,richard ,moore1 and others1 organised a band of forty persons1 who were to distribute themselves over ,london1 note-book and pencil in hand1 in the character of reporters4 ,the police took kindly to us1 and gave us good positions of advantage1 where we could see everything that took place thereabouts1 and even protected us from being incommoded4 ,we were there to watch the police1 not the people1 as the disorder1 if there were any1 would come from them4 ,my station was in ,bridge ,street1 ,blackfriars1 where a row of constables was drawn up4 ,i found a coarse1 plethoric alderman1 going from man to man1 saying only three words3 ,strike hard to-day4 ,the people behaved admirably4 ,not a blow was struck which gave a colourable ground for outrage on the part of the police4 ,in justice to the police1 it ought to be said1 neither did they incite disorder4 ,at night the ,home ,secretary spent the money of the ,state1 in telegraphing to all the mayors in the land the day had passed off quietly1 thus creating a false terror everywhere that ,london had been in danger--danger of the ,government's creating4 ,the ,bull ,ring ,riots in ,birmingham in #ahci1 when ,i was resident there1 were created entirely by the magistrates1 who introduced a hundred ,london policemen into the town1 which led to the loss of life and property4 ,i and others on the deputation to ,mr4 ,walpole told him at the time1 when the railings were broken down in ,hyde ,park1 that if he made a show of soldiers and policemen1 people were sure to be killed4 ,at the peril of his own reputation1 he kept them out of sight1 and no disorder took place1 though violent members of the ,government tried to destroy ,mr4 ,walpole for his wise and noble forbearance4 ,dean ,stubbs1 in his interesting book on ,charles ,kingsley1 says 7p4 #ig73 ,on the #ajth of ,april1 #ahdh1 a revolution was threatened in ,england4 ,one hundred thousand armed men were to meet on ,kennington ,common and thence to march on ,westminster1 and there to compel1 by physical force1 if necessary1 the acceptance of the ,people's ,charter by the ,houses of ,parliament4 ,could such a lunatical statement be written by any one1 and his friends not procure a magistrate's order for his removal to the nearest asylum8 ,how were the hundred thousand to get the arms into ,london--if they had them4 ,whence were they to procure them8 ,where could they store them1 seeing that at that time there was not a single place of ,chartist meeting that was not known to be in debt1 unless its rent was paid by the charity of some well-to-do sympathiser8 ,what were muskets or pikes to do against the stone walls of the ,houses of ,parliament or the ,bank8 ,how were cannon to be drawn from the centre of ,london to ,kennington ,common with ample service of powder and shot8 ,marvellous is the history which ,churchmen can write6 ,the utterly groundless and incredible representations of the #ajth ,april1 which ,charles ,kingsley and ,thomas ,hughes published1 as we have seen1 were to my amazement resuscitated as late as #aijb for the historic instruction of the students of the ,working ,mens ,college in ,great ,ormond ,street1 ,london1 by ,mr4 ,r4 ,p4 ,lichfield1 vice-principal of the college1 who for forty-seven years has rendered it important service1 for which all friends of education for workmen are grateful4 ,yet in his address to the students 7,october #a1 #aijb71 he tells them that in #ahdh the wave of democracy which swept over ,europe gave fresh impetus to the ,chartist agitation4 ,on the memorable #ajth of ,april it looked as if we were to have a revolutionary outbreak on the ,parisian pattern4 ,this we were saved from1 partly by an army of volunteers1 special constables1 partly by the ,duke of ,wellington's discreet placing of his troops4444 ,the attempt to overawe ,parliament by a 'physical force' demonstration was a fiasco4 ,the world knows a good deal of historians who draw upon their imagination for their facts1 but here is a responsible teacher1 drawing upon his terrors of fifty years ago1 for statements which nobody believes now or believed then1 who knew the facts4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington's great name in war imposed upon amateur politicians4 ,the ,duke--contrary to his reputation for military veracity--readily lent himself to the ,government of that day1 that they might figure before the country as the deliverers of ,england1 from the nation-shaking assault of a miscellaneous crowd of penniless and unarmed combatants1 who had neither cannon nor commissariat4 ,everybody was aware that the knowledge of the ,iron ,duke1 outside war1 was very limited1 and his political credulity was unbounded4 ,at the end of the ,peninsular ,war he wrote to the ,government of that day1 informing them the bankers of ,paris were furnishing large sums to ,revolutionists in ,england4 ,only old residents in ,bedlam would believe that4 ,there were no leaders of ,revolutionists in ,england1 to whom the money could be assigned or consigned1 and bankers were the last persons in the world to subscribe money for a wild1 speculative1 and uncertain enterprise4 ,no spy of ,pitt1 or ,sid-mouth1 would have sent home so insane a report1 from fear of instant dismissal from their sinister employment4 ,this is but a sample of the airy1 false1 and fictionary foundation on which the ,legend of the ,tenth of ,april was built4 ,these incidents of historic perversion1 though bygones of half a century ago1 are worth remembering4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,chartists ,,of ,,fiction ,the ,chartists have made as much noise in the world as they knew how--yet to the generation of to-day they are ambiguous4 ,they have had no historian4 ,carlyle went to look at them in prison1 and defamed them with that bitterness and contempt he had for partisans who lacked the sense of submission to the dictates of those superior persons who knew what was best for everybody1 of whose aspirations they knew nothing1 and for whose needs they had no sympathy4 ,chartism1 however1 has won conspicuous treatment in fiction4 ,what it was in fact1 is a very different thing4 ,there is the ,church ,chartist by ,canon ,kingsley1 and the ,positivist ,chartist by ,george ,eliot1 drawn by two famous artists4 ,the pictures are hung upon the line in the great gallery of literature4 ,so brilliant is the work of ,kingsley that it has imposed on so accomplished a connoisseur as ,dean ,stubbs1 who1 in his life of the fervid ,rector of ,eversley1 has taken it for a painting from real life4 ,i present the ,church ,chartist first4 ,in my time ,i have seen much good done by ,christians with a view to extend their faith4 ,some few1 like ,samuel ,morley1 who excelled all lay ,dissenters ,i have known in the manly sense of the dignity and independence of ,nonconformity1 would do generous things from the humaneness of their own minds alone4 ,some ,quakers and ,unitarians have had this quality4 ,others1 ,churchmen1 ,roman ,catholics1 and orthodox ,christians1 ,i have known to mitigate privation for the ,lord's sake1 not for humanity's sake4 ,this was to some extent the case of the ,rev4 ,frederick ,denison ,maurice1 ,canon ,kingsley1 and their noble colleagues1 ,edward ,vansittart ,neale1 ,judge ,thomas ,hughes1 and ,j4 ,m4 ,ludlow4 ,they became ,christian ,socialists not so much because they cared for ,socialism1 as ,maurice owned his object was not to ,socialise society1 but to ,christianise ,socialism4 ,startled by the dislike and even resentment against ,christianity expressed by men of poverty and intelligence at being asked to adopt a belief which brought them no relief1 ,maurice1 ,kingsley1 and their associates concluded that privation was the cause of alienation from the ,church4 ,in like manner ,dissenters thought that it was the bad condition of industrial life which kept working people from chapel4 ,none realised that alienation from ,christianity had its seat in the understanding--in intellectual dissatisfaction with the tenets of ,theology4 ,the absentees from church and chapel alleged that no relief came of belief1 and never had since the days when manna fell in the ,jewish wilderness1 and loaves and fishes were miraculously plentiful on the hills of ,galilee4 ,there was no sense or profit in adopting a faith which had been unproductive for nearly #b1jjj years4 ,it had taken the slave1 the serf1 and the hired worker a long time to see this4 ,but at last experience had told upon the thoughtful4 ,but the theologians neither in the dominant1 nor dominated camps perceived it4 ,very generous is ,kingsley's sympathy1 in ,alton ,locke1 with the lot of working people1 but he believed that when the rebellious shoemaker fully realises that good priests would mitigate the lot of those who labour in workshops or in fields and mines1 he will become reconciled to the ,thirty-nine ,articles4 ,alton ,locke is a ,church ,chartist--not one of the ,chartists of real life whom ,i knew1 who were current in ,kingsley's days1 who signed the famous document which ,place drew and ,roebuck revised4 ,they had principles4 ,they did not seek paternal government of friendly ,churchmen1 nor of ,positivists1 nor that nobly organised kind of passive competence which ,mr4 ,ruskin meditated for the people4 ,the real ,chartists--like the ,co-operators--sought self-government for the people by the people4 ,the alienation of the people from church and chapel was not founded on lack of spiritual patronage1 or thirst for it1 but from intellectual dissatisfaction with theological tenets4 ,christians1 from the ,vatican to the ,primitive ,methodist conventicle1 are all so persuaded of the infallibility of their interpretation of the ,scriptures1 and are so convinced of the perfect sufficiency of their tenets for the needs of all the world1 that they regard difference of opinion as springing from wilful misunderstanding1 or from the evil heart at enmity with ,god--a mad doctrine beneath the notice of the average lunatic4 ,natural variety of intellect1 the infinite hosts of personal views1 and the infinitude of individual experience--which silently create new convictions--are not taken into account1 and conscientious dissent seems to the antediluvian theologian an impossibility4 ,even the most liberal of eminent ,unitarians in ,england1 ,w4 ,j4 ,fox1 regarded1 what we now know as the ,agnostic--hesitation to declare as true that which the declarer does not know to be so--as a species of mental disease4 ,that ,kingsley lived in a refracting medium1 in which the straightest facts appeared bent when placed in it1 was evident when he wrote3 ,heaven defend us from the ,manchester ,school1 for of all narrow1 conceited1 hypocritical1 and atheistic schemes of the universe the ,cobden and ,bright one is exactly the worst4 ,there was no reason why ,kingsley should be a ,chartist1 since he had all he wanted secured1 and had contempt in his heart for ,chartist tenets4 ,he wrote3 ,the ,bible gives the dawn of the glorious future1 such as no universal suffrage1 free trade1 communism1 organisation of labour1 or any other ,morrison pill measure can give4 ,he exulted in the existence of the forces which made against the people4 ,he exclaimed3 ,as long as the ,throne1 the ,house of ,lords1 and the ,press are what ,i thank ,god they are6 he was grateful4 ,the state of things which existed1 it was the object of ,chartism to change4 ,these rampant ideas of ,kingsley were far from being ,chartist sentiments4 ,at a meeting in ,castle ,street1 ,london1 the ,rev4 ,charles ,kingsley and ,mr4 ,thomas ,hughes were present1 working men comprising the audience1 an old grey-headed ,chartist1 of a ,republican way of thinking1 whose experience of monarchy was limited to his share of taxation for its support1 hissed at the introduction of the ,queen's name4 ,mr4 ,hughes1 then a young athlete1 turned upon the old ,six ,points politician and said3 ,any one who hissed at the ,queen's name would have to reckon with him--meaning that he would knock him down1 or put him out of the meeting4 ,if1 at a ,chartist meeting1 one athletic leader had similarly threatened an old grey-headed ,royalist who hissed some ,republican name1 it would have been described1 in all respectable papers1 as a ruffianly proceeding4 ,the ,hughes incident showed ,christian ,socialist sympathy with ,chartism was not of an enthusiastic character4 ,at other times ,mr4 ,hughes had nobler moods1 but he1 like ,kingsley1 had few qualifications for delineating ,chartists4 ,judge ,hughes1 like ,canon ,kingsley and his ,christian ,socialist colleagues1 saw everything in the light of ,theology4 ,he saw nothing else by itself4 ,he relates the appearance of a little grey1 shrivelled man at the grave of ,mr4 ,maurice at the cemetery at ,hampstead1 one of the staff of the leading ,chartist newspaper1 as a proof of his conversion4 ,this was gratitude1 not conversion4 ,had ,i not been at the ,bolton ,co-operative ,congress at the time1 ,i should have been at the same grave4 ,when the news came of ,maurice's death1 it did not occur to his friend1 ,mr4 ,neale1 that the ,congress would pass a resolution in honour of ,maurice4 ,i suggested it to him1 and he said to me1 ,you had better draw up the resolution1 which ,i did1 and moved it4 ,it was unanimously and gratefully passed4 ,though ,i was foremost to express the respect of working men1 and the sense of obligation they were under1 for ,maurice's great services to ,co-operation1 and his establishment of the ,working ,men's ,college1 it did not imply that ,i had come to accept the ,thirty-nine ,articles4 ,relevant appreciation1 real gratitude1 and admiration1 do not imply coincidence of opinion on other and alien questions4 ,how little the creator of ,alton ,locke was a ,chartist1 or a sympathiser with ,chartism1 was seen when he described ,mr4 ,julian ,harney and ,feargus ,o',connor and the rest of the smoke of the pit4 ,kingsley said his only quarrel with the ,charter was that it did not go far enough4 ,all his meaning was that it should have comprised social1 instead of political reform1 which was what all who were opposed to political freedom said4 ,this only meant that he wanted ,chartists to take up social1 and drop political reform4 ,this appears in the passage in which he said1 ,the ,charter disappointed me bitterly when ,i read it4 ,it seemed a harmless cry enough1 but a poor1 bald1 constitution-mongering cry as ever ,i heard4 ,the ,french cry of organisation of labour is worth a thousand of it499 ,organisation of labour is a great thing1 but it is not political equality or liberty4 ,kingsley's ,chartist had no political soul4 ,there is noble sympathy with labour1 and there are passages which should always be read with honour in ,alton ,locke4 ,but the book is written in derision of ,chartism and ,liberal politics4 ,alton ,locke himself was like his creator4 ,kingsley's acts were the acts of a friend1 his arguments the arguments of an enemy2 and ,alton ,locke1 despite the noble personal qualities with which he is endowed1 was a confused political traitor1 who bartered the ,kingdom of ,man for the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 when he might have stood by both4 99 ,prefatory ,memoir1 by ,t4 ,hughes1 p4 #af4 ,so much for the ,church ,chartist4 ,now turn to the ,positivist ,chartist1 and see whether there be any backbone of political emancipation in him1 or whether his vertebra is of jelly1 like ,alton ,locke's4 ,to the ,positivist ,chartist is given the stronger name of ,radical4 ,one of the remarkable volumes ,george ,eliot gave to the world bears the name of ,felix ,holt1 the ,radical4 ,but when she comes to delineate the ,radical1 he turns out to be a ,positivist--of good quality of his kind1 but still not a ,radical4 ,as ,canon ,kingsley drew the ,church ,chartist1 so ,george ,eliot drew the ,positivist ,radical4 ,neither drew the selected hero as he was1 but as each thought he ought to be4 ,a ,radical is one who goes to the root of things4 ,he deals with evils having a political origin1 which he intends to remove by political means4 ,radicals were far older than the ,chartists4 ,radicalism was a force in reform before ,chartism began4 ,the ,radical more or less evolves his creed by observation of the condition of things surrounding him2 the ,chartist had his creed ready made for him4 ,the ,chartist may be said to begin with political effects1 the ,radical with political causes4 ,anyhow1 the ,radical was always supposed to know what he was1 and why he was what he was4 ,felix ,holt was not built that way4 ,george ,eliot had greater power of penetrating into character than ,kingsley1 but she made the same mistake in ,felix ,holt that ,kingsley made in ,alton ,locke4 ,felix ,holt is a revolutionist from indignation4 ,his social insurgency is based on resentment at injustice4 ,very noble is that form of dissatisfaction1 but political independence is not his inspiration4 ,freedom1 equality of public rights1 are not in his mind4 ,his disquiet is not owing to the political inability of his fellows to control their own fortunes4 ,content comes to ,felix when the compassion of others ameliorates or extinguishes the social evils from which his fellows suffer4 ,he is the ,chartist of ,positivism without a throb of indignation at political subjection4 ,that may be ,positivism1 but it is not ,radicalism4 ,felix ,holt discloses his character in his remark that the ,radical question was how to give every man a man's share in life4 ,but ,i think that is to expect voting to do more towards it than ,i do4 ,a man's share in life was the ,baboeuf doctrine of ,communism1 which ,english ,radicals never had4 ,holt's depreciation of the power of voting was the argument of the benevolent but beguiling ,tory4 ,it was part of the ,carlylean contempt of a ten-thousandth part of a voice in the national palava4 ,this meant distrust1 not only of the suffrage1 but of ,parliament itself4 ,when both are gone1 despotism becomes supreme4 ,when ,felix ,holt talked so1 he had ceased to be a ,radical--if he ever was one4 ,the power of voting has changed the status and dignity of working men--not much yet1 but more will come4 ,hampered and incomplete as the suffrage is1 it has put the workers on the way to obtain what they want1 though they are a little puzzled which turning to take now they are on the road4 ,felix ,holt continues3 ,i want the working men to have power4444 and ,i can see plainly enough that our all having power will do little towards it at present4444 ,if we have false expectations about men's characters1 we are very much like the idiot who thinks he can carry milk in a can without a bottom4 ,in my opinion the notions about what mere voting will do1 are very much that sort ,felix declares that all the scheme about voting and districts and annual parliaments all points of the ,charter will not give working men what they want499 99 ,see ,felix ,holt1 the ,radical1 vol i4 pp4 #bfe-bff1 ,blackwood's edition of ,george ,eliot ,felix has much more to say in disparagement of political aspiration which is like reading one of ,lord ,salisbury's speeches when he was ,lord ,cranborne1 but without the bitterness and contempt by which we knew the genuine ,salisbury mind4 ,the ,eliot spirit is better--the argument more sympathetic1 but the purport is the same4 ,it means3 ,leave politics alone4 ,you will find all the redress that is good for you elsewhere4 ,this1 if true1 is not ,radicalism which sought to help itself1 and not rise by compassion4 ,radicals may have expected too much from political reform--they may have thought political power to be an end instead of a means whereby better public conditions can be obtained1 by which social effort could better be compassed1 and its projects carried out4 ,it is true that social condition can be improved by men of purpose and character under despotism1 but this does not prove that despotism is desirable1 since it can make itself at will an effectual obstacle to progress1 and as a rule does so4 ,the policy of seeking the best political condition in which social progress can be made1 is ,radicalism4 ,the policy of contentment with things as they are1 seeking social condition apart from politics1 is ,socialism1 as it has been understood in ,england4 ,felix ,holt1 like ,alton ,locke1 abounds in noble sentiments1 exalts the character of working men1 vindicates their social claims with eloquence4 ,but ,felix ,holt was no more a ,radical than ,alton ,locke was a ,chartist4 ,alton ,locke is against ,chartism4 ,felix ,holt is against ,radicalism4 ,sir ,leslie ,stephen has written the most fascinating estimate of the writings and genius of ,george ,eliot that has been produced4 ,he has interesting things to say of ,felix ,holt1 but it does not occur to him to say what he was so well able to say1 whether he was a ,radical or not--or if one1 of what species4 ,therefore it has been necessary to place before the reader the evidence which will enable him to decide the question for himself4 ,in reference to this chapter1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,m4 ,ludlow wrote to me1 saying3 ,that you above all men should find fault with ,kingsley or any one else for setting social above political reform1 ,i own1 amazes me4 ,but it is not true in any sense of the words that ,kingsley wanted ,chartists to 'take up social and drop political reform4' ,in his first letter to ,thomas ,cooper 7,life1 vol4 i4 p4 #ahb71 he expressly says3 ',i would shed the last drop of my blood for the social and political emancipation of the people4' ,the italics are mine4 ,again1 you misquote ,general ,maurice's 7not ,mr4 ,maurice's7 words1 when you say that ',maurice owned that his object was not to socialise society1 but to ,christianise ,socialism4' ,general ,maurice's words are3 ',beyond all doubt he dreaded becoming the head of a party of ,christian ,socialists4 ,his great wish was to ,christianise ,socialism1 not to ,christian-socialise the universe' 7,life1 vol4 ii4 p4 #dg74 ,your story about the 'old grey-headed ,chartist' and ,t4 ,hughes does not tally altogether with the statement in ,mr4 ,maurice's ,life 7vol4 ii4 p4 #ac71 but as ,i do not recollect being present 7nor1 ,i believe1 were you7 on the occasion1 ,i cannot say which is right4 ,i should have thought that an 'old greyheaded ,chartist' would have had more courtesy as well as more sense than to hiss the ,queen4 ,mr4 ,ludlow's letter throws a flood of light on the mistakes of ,canon ,kingsley and his colleagues4 ,mr4 ,ludlow is amazed that ,i above all men should blame any man for setting social above political reform4 ,it is now some fifty years since ,mr4 ,ludlow first did me the honour to notice what ,i wrote or said4 ,yet ,i think he never knew me to subordinate political to social reform4 ,i always thought it base to teach men to barter political freedom for social benefits4 ,the leaders of early co-operation in the days before ,mr4 ,ludlow knew it--being like ,robert ,owen1 mostly of a ,tory way of thinking--deprecated political reform1 and thought its pursuit unnecessary1 as their social remedy would do everything for the people4 ,i always dissented from this doctrine and resented it1 as the politician1 if you do not watch him1 will come some day and throw the savings of a century into a sea of imperial blood4 ,mr4 ,ludlow quotes a letter from ,kingsley to ,thomas ,cooper1 in which he says he would shed the last drop of his blood for the social and political emancipation of the people4 ,what6 for the smoke of the pit8 as he described the agitation for the ,charter4 ,what6 shed his blood for a ,morrison pill measure--shed the last drop of his blood for a poor1 bald1 constitution-mongering cry as ever he heard8 ,i agree that this is extraordinary political enthusiasm4 ,still it was no proof that ,kingsley was a ,chartist1 and that was my point4 ,general ,maurice's version of his father's saying that his object was not to socialise society1 shows that ,maurice cared no more for ,socialism 7which at that time meant co-operative communism7 than ,kingsley cared for ,chartism4 ,both meant well to the people in a theological--not a political way4 ,the old grey-headed ,chartist hissed the ,queen's office1 not herself4 ,republicans ever made that distinction4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,old ,,postillion ,besides ,church ,chartists and ,positivist ,chartists1 there were ,tory ,chartists1 of whom ,i add an account1 and a list of those among them who were paid in the days of their hired activity4 ,but the business of this chapter is with the ,old ,postillion1 the founder of the real ,chartists1 who taught them and who knew them all4 ,of course ,i mean ,francis ,place1 who was always ready to mount and drive the coach of the leaders of the people4 ,though he took that modest and useful position1 it was he who determined the route1 made the map of the country1 and fixed the destination of the journey4 ,joseph ,parkes himself1 known as ,the ,people's ,attorney-,general1 first addressed ,place as the ,old ,postillion499 ,james ,watson1 a working-class politician 7whom ,place could always trust71 wrote of him at his death as the ,english ,franklin19999 a very good title1 having regard to the strength of the common-sense characteristics of ,place4 99,wallas's ,life of ,place1 p4 #cdf4 ,longmans1 ,green ,co41 #ahih4 9999,reasoner1 ,no4 #dji1 vol4 xvi41 ,march #bh #ahed4 ,one advantage 7there were not many7 of my imprisonment which ,i have never ceased to value1 was that it led to my acquaintance with ,place4 ,from him ,i learned many things of great use to me in after life4 ,one thing he said to me was3 ,a man who is always running after his character seldom has a character worth the chase4 ,some far-seeing qualification was generally present in what he said4 ,for a man who is always vindicating himself becomes tiresome and ineffectual4 ,yet now and then1 sooner or later1 and often better later then sooner1 a personal explanation may be useful4 ,printed actionable imputations were made against ,cobbett of which no notice was taken--so far as ,i knew--which created in many minds an ineffaceable personal prejudice against him4 ,once imputations were published concerning me which justified contradiction4 ,it came to pass that they were certified as true by a person of mark4 ,then ,i proposed to show that the allegations were untrue4 ,whereupon ,i was assured it would be to my disadvantage with many with whom ,i stood well1 which meant that should ,i prove ,i was not a rascal ,i should lose many of my best friends1 which shows the curious perplexities of personal explanation4 ,nevertheless1 ,i made it499 ,mr4 ,place told me that in the course of his career as defender of the people1 he had been charged with every crime known to the ,newgate ,calendar save wilful murder4 ,a needless reservation1 for that would have been believed4 ,he let them pass1 merely keeping a record of the accusations to see if their variety included any originality4 ,there was one charge brought against him which to this day prejudices many against him4 ,the one thought to be most overwhelming was that he was a tailor at ,charing ,cross4 ,after that1 argument against the principles he maintained was deemed superfluous2 as though following a trade of utility disqualified a man's opinions on public affairs2 while one who did nothing1 and whose life and ideas were useless to mankind1 might be listened to with deference4 99,warpath of ,opinion4 ,in #ahdi ,chambers's ,journal published an article on the ,reaction of ,philanthropy1 against which ,i made vehement objection in an article in the ,spirit of the ,age1 of which ,chambers's ,journal took1 for them1 the unusual course of replying4 ,the ,spirit of the ,age coming under ,place's notice1 he sent me the following letter1 which ,i cite exactly as it was expressed1 in his quaint1 vigorous and candid way3-- ,brompton ,square1 ,march #c1 #ahdi4 ,master ,holyoake1--,i have read your paper of observations on a paper written by ,chambers1 and dislike it very much4 ,you assume an evil disposition in ,chambers1 and have laid yourself open to the same imputation4 ,this dispute now consists of three of us1 you and ,i and ,chambers--all three of us1 in vulgar parlance1 being philanthropists4 ,i have not read ,chambers1 but expect to find1 from what you have said and quoted1 that he1 like yourself1 has been led by his feelings1 and not by his understanding1 and has therefore written a mischievous paper4 ,i will read this paper and decide for myself4 ,knowledge is not wisdom4 ,the most conspicuous proof of this is the conduct of ,lord ,brougham4 ,he knows many things1 more1 indeed1 than most men1 but is altogether incapable of combining all that relates to any one case1 i4e41 understanding it thoroughly1 and he therefore never exhausts any subject1 as a man of a more enlarged understanding would do4 ,this1 too1 is your case4 ,i think ,i may say that not any one of your reasonings is as perfect as it ought to be1 and if ,i were in a condition to do so1 ,i would make this quite plain to you by carrying out your defective notions--reasonings1 if you like the term better4 ,it will1 ,i am sure1 be admitted1 at least as far as your thinking can go1 that neither yourself1 nor ,chambers1 nor myself1 would intentionally write a word for the purpose of misleading1 much less injuring the working people2 yet your paper must1 as far as it may be known to them1 not only have that tendency1 but a much worse one2 that of depraving them1 by teaching them1 in their public capacity1 to seek revenge1 to an extent which1 could it pervade the whole mass1 must lead to slaughter among the human race--the beasts of prey called mankind2 for such they have ever been since they have had existence1 and such as they must remain for an indefinite time1 if not for ever4 ,their ever being anything else is with me a forlorn hope1 while yet1 as ,i can do no better1 ,i continue in my course of life to act as if ,i really had a strong hope of immense improvement for the good of all4--,yours1 really and truly1 ,francis ,place4 ,there was value in ,mr4 ,place's friendship4 ,he was able to measure the minds of those with whom he came in contact1 and for those for whom he cared he would do the service of showing to them the limits within which they were working4 ,it was thus he took trouble to be useful to those who could never requite him1 by putting strong1 wise thoughts before them4 ,elsewhere99 ,i have related how ,place on one occasion--when all ,london was excited1 and the ,duke of ,wellington indignant and repellant--went on a deputation to him1 and was dismissed with the ominous words3 99,sixty ,years1 vol4 i4 chap4 #dj4 ,you seem to have heads on your shoulders2 take care you keep them there4 ,the courage of seeking this interview1 at which ,place was the chief speaker1 is well shown in the experience of ,george ,petrie1 who was known to ,place4 ,petrie was an intelligent soldier1 who served under ,wellington in the ,peninsular ,war1 and was wounded in several engagements4 ,it often happened that the commissary was in arrears to the troops with their rations1 but when the supply arrived the arrears were faithfully served out to the soldiers4 ,on one of these occasions1 when some days' rations were due1 ,corporal ,petrie was absent on duty when the rations were served out1 and on his return he found himself without his arrears4 ,to a half-starved soldier this was a serious disappointment1 and ,petrie applied to the quartermaster1 to the adjutant1 and to the captain of his company1 but without effect1 until he arrived at the commanding officer of his regiment ,being as unsuccessful as he had been with the other officers1 and becoming hungrier by delay1 he requested permission to make his complaint to the ,commander-in-,chief 7,lord ,wellington71 which was granted4 ,upon being introduced he found his lordship seated at a table perusing some documents4 ,well1 said the ,commander1 without raising his eyes from the papers before him1 what does this man want8 ,he is come to appeal to your lordship about his rations1 replied the officer in attendance2 whereupon the ,commander-in-,chief1 without asking or permitting a single word of explanation from the injured soldier1 without discovering 7as he ought in common justice to have done7 whether the soldier had a real grievance for the redress of which he had sought the protection of the head of the army1 ,wellington hurriedly exclaimed1 ,take the fellow away and give him a d----d good flogging6 ,petrie1 naturally indignant and a determined man1 lay in wait two nights to shoot ,wellington1 who escaped by taking one night a different route1 and on another being closely accompanied by his staff4 ,the facts were published in #ahcf4 ,petrie's appeal shows that the ,duke was not a pleasant person for ,mr4 ,place to call upon4 ,no biography or book about ,wellington has anything to say of his sympathy with men who died in making his fame4 ,he took the same care of his men1 and no more1 that he did of his muskets1 which it must be owned is more than many employers do1 who take more care of their machinery than of the workers4 ,wellington kept his men dry1 but he had no more feeling for them than he had for their carbines4 ,petrie's story will be instructive to men who shout for war without knowing what the soldier's fate is4 ,they were told by ,tennyson not to ask the reason why4 ,their business is to die without inquiring whether they are murderers or patriots1 or what treatment will befall them in the ranks4 ,if they do they may expect some form of the ,petrie treatment4 ,to ,place1 the experience of social reformers was as valuable as that of politicians4 ,social life gives its character to public life1 and the politician is most to be valued whose measures tend to exalt the daily life of the people4 ,near the end of his days ,place addressed the following 7his last7 letter to ,robert ,owen1 with whom he had been acquainted since #ahac3-- #ba1 ,brompton ,square1 ,march #bf1 #ahdg4 ,dear ,owen1--,it is some years since you and ,i had a conversation1 and it is time we had one4 ,will you call upon me1 or shall ,i call upon you8 ,i go out but little1 having an asthmatic complaint1 which at times treats me sadly1 and from which ,i am never wholly free4 ,worst of all1 ,i have an affection of the brain1 which will not permit me either to read or write1 and when these two complaints co-operate ,i am something worse than good for nothing4 ,you are1 ,i conclude1 in a much better state than ,i am1 although you are not much younger1 yet the doctors tell me that after having lived through seventy years without illness1 ,i have nothing to complain of in the usual circumstances of old age now that ,i approximate to eighty4-- ,yours truly1 ,francis ,place4 ,from a condition of absolute penuriousness1 he raised himself to the position of master tailor1 from which1 at the age of forty-five1 he was able to retire upon an income of ,l#a1ajjj4 ,shrewd1 hard-headed1 painstaking1 vigilant and prudent as he was1 he found1 when more than sixty1 that ,l#fej of his income was irrevocably lost ,he had put a large part of his capital into house property1 and left the investment of it to an incompetent or dishonest solicitor499 ,the fate befel him which afterwards befel ,cobden1 ,thomas ,bayley ,potter1 and some others4 ,why did ,place let his prudence sleep8 ,why1 in his walks with ,jeremy ,bentham19999 did he not turn his steps to the sites of his investments1 and judge for himself their value8 ,his absorbed interest in public affairs is the only explanation4 ,yet he had often warned others that such engrossment1 however honourable1 should be limited1 and not suffered to endanger necessary personal security4 ,on the death of ,place in #ahed1 at the age of eighty-two1 the ,spectator and the ,reasoner expressed a hope that a life of ,place would be written as one of supreme utility to the great class which he had served so conspicuously4 ,happily this was done1 forty-four years after1 in #ahih1999999 by ,mr4 ,graham ,wallas4 ,when he mentioned to me his intention of writing a biography of ,place1 ,i told him where1 in the ,manuscript ,department of the ,british ,museum1 he would find virgin material in ,place's own compact and clear hand4 ,by research there and elsewhere1 ,mr4 ,wallas has produced a valuable and remarkable book1 of which there is no similar one so instructive to a working-class politician4 99 ,see ,wallas's ,life of ,place1 p4 #cbi4 9999 ,see ,sixty ,years1 vol4 i4 p4 #bae4 999999 ,life of ,francis ,place1 by ,graham ,wallas1 ,m4,a4 ,longmans1 ,green ,co4 ,the most notable of all the insurgent publicists ,place inspired and counselled1 ,richard ,carlile1 an impassable defender of a ,free ,press1 whom pitiless power in the darkest days of its supremacy could not subdue1 thus wrote of ,place3 ,though by circumstances 7meaning those of nine years' imprisonment7 separated from the immediate acquaintance of ,mr4 ,place for several years past1 ,i can1 by experience of eighteen and the well-founded report of forty years1 pronounce him a prodigy of useful1 resolute1 consistent political exertion and indefatigable labour1 which evidently continues unabated to this day4444 ,francis ,place1 by his assistant labours and advice given to the members of the ,house of ,commons1 has produced more effect in that ,house than any man who was ever a member499 99 ,see article on the ,real ,nobility of the ,human ,character1 by ,a4 ,p4 7i4e41 ,richard ,carlile7 in the ,monthly ,magazine1 ,may #ahce4 p4 #ded4 ,this testimony from one who bore the heat and burden of the day with ,place1 agrees with all recorded of him4 ,carlile wrote in #ahce1 and the public work ,place was engaged in then he continued until his death in #ahed1 at which time he was chairman of the ,committee for ,repealing ,taxes on ,knowledge4 ,the ,old ,postillion was on the saddle to the last4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,meeting ,,breakers--,,list ,,of ,,those ,,paid ,,for ,,doing ,,it ,the enfranchisement of the working class1 for which ,place worked so unceasingly1 could not come--in the ordinary course of things ,english--until the middle class had succeeded in their contest with their feudal masters4 ,by the possession of the vote in #ahcb1 the middle class became a rival power to the aristocracy2 and that power would be greatly augmented if the middle class should favour the extension of the franchise to the working class1 as many of them were naturally inclined to do4 ,the ,tory policy then was to sow animosity between the middle and the working classes1 which might prevent them acting together4 ,their method was to suggest that the middle class1 having obtained what they wanted1 cared nothing for the people1 notwithstanding that ,hume1 ,leader1 ,roebuck1 ,grote1 ,mill1 ,cobden1 and ,bright1 were the great champions of the franchise for the people1 who incurred labour1 peril1 and obloquy for them4 ,temple ,leader said3 ,do not be too sure workmen will not turn against you1 do what you may for them4 ,if sheep had votes they would give them all to the butcher--as we have seen them do in this generation4 ,the ,tories had spite against the ,whigs1 who gave the people the first ,reform ,bill4 ,disraeli began to denounce the ,whigs1 and he soon found ostensible leaders of the people to help4 ,chartist speakers were bribed to take up the cry4 ,the ,irish in ,england1 who thought their chances lay in ,english difficulty1 willingly preached distrust of the middle class1 and their eloquent tongues gave them ascendency among the ,chartists1 many of whom honestly believed that spite was a mode of progress1 and under the impression that passion was patriotism1 they took money to express it4 ,the ,liberal portion of the middle class had long contributed to the support of workmen's political societies4 ,but when they found their own meetings broken up by ,chartists1 and their ,tory adversaries aided at elections1 their subscriptions decreased1 and a new charge of hostility to the working class was founded on that4 ,this chapter is a statement1 not a plea4 ,considering the superior information and means of the middle class1 they have not shown themselves so solicitous for the political claims of ,labour as they ought--having regard to their own interests alone4 ,nor have the ,labour class shown that regard for the rights of the middle class1 by which ,labour could have furthered its own advantages4 ,friendliness between them is the interest of both4 ,who would have thought that if you scratched a ,chartist you would find a ,tory agent under his skin8 ,yet so it proved with many of them4 ,george ,julian ,harney was a ,republican4 ,in early ,chartist days he wore on ,winlaton platforms a ,red ,cap of ,liberty1 after the manner of ,marat1 and called himself ,l',ami du ,peuple1 after ,marat's famous ,journal of ,blood4 ,yet he was not the ,friend of the ,people1 in the sense we all thought4 ,he went to ,america with the reputation of a fiery patriot4 ,it procured for him a welcome from the ,liberals of ,boston1 and he was given a clerkship in the ,state ,house soon after his arrival4 ,he might have grown grey in ,england before a place would have been given him in any ,government department here499 ,to my astonishment ,harney soon began to write home disparagements of the ,american people and their ,government1 such as we were familiar with from aristocratic pens4 ,when the ,bulgarian massacres were stirring the indignation of ,english ,liberals1 he sent me a pamphlet he had written1 in the spirit of ,disraeli's ,coffee ,house ,babble speech4 ,i wrote to him1 saying it read like the production of a full-blown ,tory4 ,he resented the imputation--when all the time it was true4 ,he had cast off his ,liberal garments1 and was naked1 and ashamed4 ,afterwards he cast off the shame4 ,when ,i was in ,boston1 in #ahgi1 ,american ,liberals expressed to me their disappointment that ,mr4 ,harney neither associated with them nor lent them any assistance in their societies1 such as they had expected when they welcomed him to their shores4 ,yet to the end of his days ,i remained his personal friend1 in consideration of services in agitations in which we had worked together4 ,i had helped him when he issued ,the ,republic and had written words in honour of his first wife1 a ,mauchline beauty of the ,amazon type1 whose heroism was notable4 ,in times of danger she would say to her husband1 ,do what you think to be your duty1 and never mind me4 99 ,sam ,bamford1 who wrote the ,pass of ,death1 when ,canning died1 was old before we accorded him a seat in a cellar in ,somerset ,house1 copying papers at a few shillings a week4 ,it was all his ,parliamentary friends could procure for him4 ,i first knew ,harney at the time of the ,bull ,ring ,riots in ,birmingham in #ahci4 ,he was wanted by the authorities4 ,i alone knew where he lodged4 ,he knew he was safe in my hands1 and we never ceased to trust each other4 ,i never change my friendship for a colleague because he changes his opinions2 but ,i never carry my friendship so far as to change my convictions for his4 ,happily it is now thought a scandal to say that ,chartist politicians took money from ,tories to break up ,liberal meetings4 ,this shows there is a feeling against it4 ,but they did take it ,thomas ,cooper1 as well as ,ernest ,jones1 the two poets of ,chartism1 were themselves in this disastrous business4 ,when ,thomas ,cooper came to ,london he went1 as most ,chartists of note did1 to see ,francis ,place4 ,after some conversation ,place asked1 ,why did you take money to prevent ,liberal meetings being held8 ,cooper vehemently denied it4 ,place then showed him a cheque which ,sir ,thomas ,easthope1 the banker1 had cashed for him4 ,place said1 ,you had ,l#aji1 so much in gold1 so much in silver1 and so much in copper1 for the convenience of paying minor patriots4 ,years after ,cooper in his ,life expressed regret that he had denied receiving ,tory money4 ,mr4 ,bright1 in the ,house of ,commons1 ,june #eth1 #ahdf1 told the honourable member1 ,mr4 ,thomas ,slingsby ,duncombe1 that those parties with whom he was found at public meetings out of doors had been the greatest enemies of the repeal of the ,corn ,laws4 7,cries of ,name67 ,in answer to the cries of ,name 7says a leading article of the ,league newspaper71 we will mention a few only of the most prominent and active of these3--,feargus ,o',connor1 ,leach1 ,mc,dowall1 ,pitkeithly1 ,nightingale1 ,o',brien1 ,marsden1 ,bairstow1 ,cooper1 ,harney--some of whom1 to our knowledge1 and as we are ready to prove1 were well paid for their opposition to the ,free ,traders4 ,nor would it be difficult to show where the money came from4 ,let one fact suffice4 ,in ,june1 #ahda1 on the occasion of a great open-air ,anti-,corn ,law meeting being held in ,stevenson ,square1 ,manchester 7in answer to the taunt of the ,duke of ,richmond that no public meeting could be held against the ,corn ,laws71 the monopolists made a great effort to upset the meeting4 ,every ,chartist leader of any notoriety was brought to ,manchester from places as distant as ,leicester and ,sunderland4 ,the most prominent leader and fugleman of the opposition was ,mr4 ,charles ,wilkins1 ,dr4 ,sleigh and he moving and seconding the amendment to the ,free ,trade resolution4 ,on that very morning ,mr4 ,wilkins cashed a cheque for ,l#aej1 drawn by the ,duke of ,buckingham at ,jones and ,lloyd's ,bank4 ,at that meeting of #aj1jjj working men the ,chartists were driven off the ground4 ,blows being exchanged and blood spilt in the fray1 the aim of the ,chartist party to create confusion was so far gained2 and the moral effect of the demonstration was effectually marred4 ,for more than three years at the beginning of the agitation every public meeting called by the ,free ,traders was subjected to outrages of a similar kind by the followers of ,o',connor499 99 ,the ,league newspaper1 ,no4 #adb1 vol4 iii4 p4 #fbe4 ,a short time ago ,mr4 ,chamberlain made a point of declaring that the working classes were against ,free ,trade in ,cobden's days4 ,the only portion of the working class known to oppose ,free ,trade were the ,chartists4 ,why they did so1 ,mr4 ,chamberlain ought to know4 ,if he does not1 he may learn the reason in these pages4 ,the list of the payments made to them was published1 when it could have been contradicted if untrue4 ,but no disproof was ever attempted4 ,even ,honest ,tom ,duncombe1 as the ,chartists affectionately called him1 was known to be in the pay of the ,french ,emperor1 of sinister renown1 as documents found in the ,tuileries showed4 ,the ,chartists1 who became the hired agents of ,tory hostility1 did more to delay and discredit the ,charter and to create distrust of the cause of ,labour than all outside enemies put together4 ,those who censure the middle class for indifference to the ,parliamentary claims of ,labour1 should bear in mind the provocation they received4 ,their meetings were frustrated for years after the ,anti-,corn ,law agitation was ended4 ,in the light of what we know it seems hypocrisy in the ,tories to speak of ,chartists with the horror and disdain which they displayed1 when all the while the ,chartists were doing their work4 ,it seems also ingratitude that when questions were raised in ,parliament of mitigating the condition of ,chartist prisoners1 the ,tories never raised a single voice in their favour4 ,we know there were ,tory ,chartists1 because they took money from the ,tories to promote their interests4 ,we know it also by the sign that while they denounced the ,whigs they were always silent about the ,tories4 ,now the ,whigs are practically dropped and ,liberals are denounced1 there is the same tell-tale silence as to the ,tories4 ,now we see a party arise so virtuous1 philosophic and impartial that no party suits their fastidious taste1 and they will have nothing to do with ,liberals or ,tories4 ,when they speak1 ,liberals are referred to as very unsatisfactory persons1 but no objections are made to ,tories4 ,the reticence is still instructive4 ,so be it4 ,in art1 every man to his taste2 in politics1 every man according to his conscience4 ,i only describe species4 ,there is a science of political horticulture1 and it is only by knowing the nature of the plant that any one can tell what flower or fruit to expect4 ,yet there are politicians who go mooning about looking for nectarines on crab-apple trees4 ,the ,old ,postillion made no such mistake4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,trouble ,,with ,,her ,,majesty ,i4 ,references are continually made in the ,press to certain events recorded in this chapter founded upon statements made by myself1 but lacking details and without the official substantiating documents4 ,the original summonses and other legal instruments were preserved1 and copies of them are given herein4 ,reports only would be incredible to the new generation1 and it is necessary to publish them to give authenticity to the narrative of what really took place4 ,it seems better to say ,trouble with ,her ,majesty than ,trouble with the ,queen1 ,majesty being more official than personal4 ,the three indictments to be recorded in this narrative all took place in the ,victorian reign4 ,it seems a disadvantage of the monarchical system that the name of the head of the reigning ,house should be attached to all proceedings1 great or petty1 noble or mean1 honourable or infamous4 ,it assumes the personal cognisance and interference in everything by the occupant of the ,throne4 ,it is the same in the theological system1 where the ,deity is assumed to personally cause or permit whatever takes place in this inexplicable universe4 ,if the glory of the mountain be his1 the devastation of the inhabitants of the valley by a volcano is also his act4 ,the ,church is beginning1 not too soon1 to discourage this theory4 ,the curate rescued from a wreck who reported to ,archbishop ,whately that he had been providentially saved1 was asked by the logical prelate1 ,do you intend to say that the lost have been 'providentially' drowned8 ,thus blasphemy is made one of the wings of religion--just as sedition becomes a wing of loyalty1 when discreditable incidents are represented as the personal acts of the ,crown4 ,lawyers know that the ,king or ,queen is not directly answerable1 but by acute legal fiction1 odious responsibility is transferred to others4 ,but the people always think that he or she1 in whose name a thing is done1 is answerable for it1 and theologians all teach that everything1 even rascality1 occurs by the will of ,god4 ,references to my indebtedness to the ,exchequer of ,l#fjj1jjj of fines incurred by publishing unstamped newspapers1 seem to readers of to-day a factless tradition4 ,this is not so1 as will appear from the warrants and notices of prosecution which follow1 copied from the original documents in my possession1 which have never until now been published4 ,early in #ahee1 ,i received the following message from ,her ,majesty1 in the #ahth year of her reign3-- ,victoria1 by the ,grace of ,god1 of the ,united ,kingdom of ,great ,britain and ,ireland ,queen1 ,defender of the ,faith1 to ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1 greeting4 ,we command and strictly injoin you that 7all excuses apart7 you appear before the ,barons of our ,exchequer at ,westminster1 on the thirty-first day of ,january instant1 ,to answer us concerning certain ,articles then and there on our behalf to be objected against you4 ,and this in no wise omit under the penalty of ,one ,hundred ,pounds1 which we shall cause to be levied to our use upon your ,goods and ,chattels1 ,lands and ,tenements1 if you neglect this our present command4 ,witness1 ,sir ,frederick ,pollock1 ,knight1 at ,westminster1 the eleventh day of ,january1 in the eighteenth ,year of our ,reign4 ,by the ,barons4 ,h4 ,w4 ,vincent1 ,q4,r4 ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1--,you are served with this ,process to the intent that you may by your ,attorney1 according to the practice of the ,court1 appear in ,her ,majesty's ,court of ,exchequer1 at the return thereof in order to your defence in this prosecution4 ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake4 ,at the suit of ,her ,majesty's ,attorney-,general1 ,by ,information4 ,folio #i--ahee4 ,joseph ,timm1 ,solicitor of the ,inland ,revenue1 ,somerset ,house1 ,london4 ,folio #i--ee- ,inland ,revenue1 ,somerset ,house4 ,solicitors' ,department4 ,the ,attorney-,general against ,george ,jacob ,holyoake4 ,the penalties sought to be recovered by this prosecution are several of ,l#bj each1 which the defendant has incurred by publishing certain newspapers called ,war ,chronicle and ,the ,war ,fly ,sheet on unstamped paper4 ,as ,i had published #cj1jjj copies1 the penalties incurred were ,l#fjj1jjj4 ,these alarming documents were accompanied by intimation as to the question at issue1 and the penalties to be recovered4 ,my solicitors1 ,messrs4 ,ashurst1 ,waller and ,morris1 ,no4 #f1 ,old ,jewry1 put in an appearance for me1 but on the repeal of the duty shortly after1 a hearing was never entered upon1 and the penalties have not been collected4 ,how they came to be incurred in respect of the ,war ,chronicles the reader may see in ,sixty ,years1 vol4 i4 p4 #bhg4 ,no intimation was ever given to me--there is no courtesy1 ,i believe1 in law--that these intimidating summonses were withdrawn4 ,i had no defence against the charge4 ,i could not deny1 nor did ,i intend to deny1 that ,i had knowingly and wilfully published the said papers4 ,in justification ,i could only allege that ,i had acted1 as ,i believed1 in the public interest1 which1 ,i was told1 was no legal answer4 ,the law1 which ought to be clear and plain1 was1 ,i knew1 full of quirks and surprises2 and1 for all ,i knew1 or know to this day1 the payment of the fines incurred might be demanded of me4 ,it was communicated to the then ,chancellor of the ,exchequer 7,mr4 ,gladstone7 that in case of the full demand being made upon me1 ,i should be under the necessity of asking him to take it in weekly instalments1 as ,i had not the whole amount by me4 ,the position of an unstamped debtor was not1 in those days1 a light one4 ,my house in ,fleet ,street could be entered by officers of the ,inland ,revenue2 every person in it1 printers1 assistants in the shop1 and any one found upon the premises could be arrested4 ,the stock of books could be seized1 and blacksmiths set to break up all presses and destroy all type1 as was done to ,henry ,hetherington2 and for many weeks ,i made daily preparations for arrest4 ,the ,st4 ,james's ,gazette 7,april #ac1 #aija7 referred to the fines of ,l#fjj1jjj incurred by me4 ,what ,i really owed was a much larger sum1 had the ,government been exacting4 ,previously to the ,war ,chronicle liability1 ,i had published the ,reasoner twelve years1 of which the average number issued may have exceeded #b1jjj weekly1 or #ajd1jjj a year--every copy of which1 containing news and being unstamped1 rendered me liable to a fine of ,l#bj each copy4 ,now #ajd1jjj x #ab x ,l#bj exceeded more millions of indebtedness than ,i like to set down4 ,any arithmetical reader can ascertain the amount for himself4 ,a friend in the ,inland ,revenue ,office first made the calculation for me1 which astonished me very much1 as it did him4 ,had the whole sum been recoverable it might have saved the ,budget of a ,chancellor of the ,exchequer struggling with a deficit4 ,the ,government were frequently asked to prosecute me4 ,it was not from any tenderness to me that they did not4 ,it was their reluctance to give publicity to the ,reasoner that caused them to refrain4 ,it was the advocacy of unusual opinion which gave me this immunity4 ,the ,st4 ,james's ,gazette asked me3 ,is it justifiable for a good citizen to break a law because he believes it to be wrong8 ,i answered ,no6 unless the public good seems to require it1 and that he who breaks the law is prepared to take the consequences4 ,i never evaded the consequences1 nor complained of them when they came4 ,if every one who breaks a law first satisfies himself that public interest justifies it1 and he is ready to meet the penalty1 only bad laws would be broken4 ,it is also the duty of a citizen to find out whether there is any practical way open for procuring the repeal of a bad law before breaking it4 ,respect for law1 under representative government1 in which the law-breaker has a share1 is a cardinal duty of a citizen4 ,on my violation of the law in the matter of the ,war ,chronicles ,mr4 ,gladstone 7the ,chancellor of the ,exchequer7 said to a deputation1 that he knew my object was not to break the law1 but to try the law4 ,the impulsive and the ambitious of repute may overlook this consideration1 but as ,i sought neither distinction nor martyrdom1 ,i acted as ,i did because no other course was open1 and no other person would take this4 ,,ii4 ,in the year following the prosecution in the ,court of ,exchequer1 ,her ,majesty gave me further trouble in discharge of the odious duty imposed upon her as collector of debts for the ,church4 ,as few know to-day how hateful this impost was1 it will be informing to see how the clerical case was officially stated to me4 ,it began as follows3-- ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1--,take ,notice that in and by certain ,rates or ,assessments made by virtue of and for the purposes mentioned in the ,act of ,parliament passed in the #dth ,year of the ,reign of her late ,majesty ,queen ,ann1 ,cap4 #bg1 intituled1 ',an ,act for settling the ,impropriate ,tythes of the ,parish of ,saint ,bridgett1 alias ,bride's1 ,london1' ,you are assessed in respect of the ,houses1 ,shops1 ,warehouses1 ,cellars1 ,stables1 ,tofts1 ,grounds1 or other ,tenements or ,hereditaments1 within the said ,parish occupied by you1 in four several ,sums amounting to ,one pound four shillings and eightpence for four several ,quarters of a ,year commencing at the ,feast of ,the ,birth of our ,lord ,christ1 #ahed1 and ending at the same ,feast in the ,year #ahee1 and that such assessments are made on a ,rental of ,l#gd4 ,dated this #bbnd day of ,may1 #ahef4 ,john ,william ,thomas1 ,collector of the said ,rates4 ,these ecclesiastical cormorants took a hungry survey of every place containing property on which they could lay hands4 ,after the ,rathcormac massacre1 where two sons of the widow ,ryan were shot by the soldiers1 employed by the ,church in collecting its rates--how appropriate and consoling it must be to a bereaved mother to read that the rates commenced to be due at ,the ,feast of the ,birth of our ,lord ,christ6 ,yet there are people who go about promoting prosecutions for blasphemy1 and with a holy partiality leave untouched outrages like these4 ,the summons sent to me speaks of the late ,queen ,ann1 who had been dead #adj years4 ,her name being spelt ,ann shows that she had been dead long enough to lose the final e of her name4 ,the rent of the ,fleet ,street house was ,l#gd1 ,l#djj having been paid for the lease4 ,each time there came on the scene the local agent of the ,church1 who delivered an interesting intimation as follows3-- ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1--,i do hereby demand payment of ,one pound four shillings and eightpence1 due from you for ,rates made in pursuance of the ,act of ,parliament passed in the #dth ,year of the ,reign of her late ,majesty ,queen ,ann1 ,cap4 #ag1 intituled1 ',an ,act for settling the ,impropriate ,tythes of the ,parish of ,saint ,bridgett1 alias ,brides1 ,london4' ,and take notice that unless the same be paid to me within ,four ,days next after the demand thereof hereby made1 ,i shall ,distrain your ,goods and ,chattels1 and sell and dispose thereof1 and out of the ,monies arising thereby pay the said ,sum of ,money1 and the ,costs allowed by the ,acts of ,parliament in that case made and provided4 ,dated this #bbnd day of ,may1 #ahef4 ,john ,william ,thomas1 ,collector of the said ,rates4 ,the predatory ,vicar of ,st4 ,bride's1 for whose advantage the contemplated seizure was being made1 remained in the background1 praying for my soul while he picked my pocket1 as ,i regarded his action4 ,after two or three seizures of property1 ,i sent to the vicar payment in kind--the form in which the payment of tithe was originally contributed4 ,the chief produce of my farm in ,fleet ,street consisted in volumes of the ,reasoner4 ,i sent the vicar three volumes1 which exceeded in value his demand4 ,he troubled me no more4 ,the last citation relates to a trial in which ,lord ,chief ,justice ,coleridge was concerned1 and ,henry ,thomas ,buckle made a splendid defence of a poor well-sinker who was afraid of killing the world4 ,,iii4 ,in a ,cornish village in #aheg small patch advertisements broke out like small-pox1 of which the following is a copy3-- ,,blasphemy4 ,any person who has seen a man writing ,blasphemous sentences on ,gates or other places in the neighbourhood of ,liskeard1 is requested to communicate immediately with ,messrs4 ,pedler and ,grylls1 ,liskeard1 or with the ,rev4 ,r4 ,hobhouse1 ,st4 ,ive ,rectory4 ,whether the perturbed ,rector of ,st ,ive found out anything1 or whether ashamed1 as he might well be1 at being mixed up in so miserable a business1 he retired from it1 and the ,rev4 ,paul ,bush appeared in his place as a spiritual detective on the pounce1 and a poor1 eccentric well-sinker1 one ,thomas ,pooley1 was accused of writing in chalk incoherent words in a hand only intelligible to the all-construing eyes of the policeman of the ,church1 who caused to be issued the following ponderous summons in her ,majesty's name3-- ,to ,thomas ,pooley1 of the ,borough of ,liskeard in the ,county of ,cornwall1 ,labourer4 ,cornwall to wit1 ,whereas ,information and ,complaint 7a7 hath this day been laid before the undersigned1 one of ,her ,majesty's ,justices of the ,peace in and 7b7 for the said ,county of ,cornwall by ,the ,reverend ,paul ,bush of the ,parish of ,duloe1 in the said ,county1 for that you the said ,thomas ,pooley on the twenty-second of ,may last at the ,parish of ,duloe1 in the said ,county1 did unlawfully and wilfully compose1 write and publish a certain scandalous1 impious1 blasphemous and profane ,libel of and concerning the ,holy ,scriptures and the ,christian ,religion1 and for having blasphemously spoken against ,god and profanely scoffed at the ,holy ,scripture1 and exposed it to contempt and ridicule1 and also for having spoken against ,christianity and the established religion4 ,these are therefore to command you in ,her ,majesty's name1 to be and appear on ,wednesday the #ast day of ,july next at #aj o'clock in the ,forenoon1 at ,treean ,gate in the ,parish of ,lanewath in the said ,county1 before such said ,justices of the ,peace for the ,county as may then be there1 to answer to the said ,information and ,complaint1 and to be further dealt with according to ,law4 ,given under my hand and ,seal this #bgth day of ,june1 in the year of our ,lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven1 at ,liskeard in the ,county aforesaid4 ,james ,glencross4 ,notes on the summons were3--7a7 ,if upon ,oath insert ',on ,oath4' 7b7 ,erase the words in italic when summons is issued by ,justice acting out of jurisdiction in which he resides4 ,there is more untruth and holy malevolence in this summons than ,pooley was ever known to be guilty of in all his life4 ,mr4 ,bush charges ,mr4 ,pooley with wilfully composing the words complained of4 ,everybody in the parish knew that he had not the mental coherence to compose anything4 ,he had neither spoken against ,god--for he was a believer in ,him--nor was he a preacher either in pulpit or on street corner4 ,nor did he speak about ,god1 except when he was being stripped in gaol4 ,his scoffing against the ,holy ,scriptures merely meant that he was incensed against priests4 ,the charge that he had published a scandalous1 impious1 blasphemous1 and profane libel was simply the reckless1 false1 professional language of the clergyman and lawyer who drew up the summons1 which would be counted unscrupulous and venomous in other persons4 ,in this summons we have the same profanation of the ,queen's name as we have already seen4 ,how can a monarch expect his office or character to be held in esteem who permits his or her name to be cited for the purposes of any bigot who has spite in his heart and falsehood on his lips8 ,people cease to respect a monarch who has no respect for himself4 ,there was more of the evil spirit of untruth in the charges in the summons than in all ,mr4 ,pooley's vague and honest anger4 ,i went down to ,duloe to see ,mr4 ,bush1 and found him residing in a spacious house1 with a pleasant outlook of roads and fields before it1 while poor ,pooley lived in wells4 ,why should one so well-placed as the ,rev4 ,paul ,bush conspire to procure twenty-one months' imprisonment for this friendless1 half-demented parishioner8 ,very likely ,mr4 ,bush was by nature a kind-hearted clergyman in whom theology generated-- ,words1 ,which turned the milk of kindness into curds4 ,at the trial ,pooley1 who was entirely undefended received a sentence of twenty-one months' imprisonment4 ,the son of the judge1 ,sir ,john ,duke ,coleridge1 who prosecuted1 said1 ,it was not the prosecution of opinion in any sense1 but society was to be protected from outrage and indecency4 ,if so1 six weeks' imprisonment was more than sufficient in a case in which there was no wantonness and only half-insane conviction in it ,mr4 ,thomas ,henry ,buckle1 the famous historian of ,civilisation1 wrote in ,fraser an indignant and generous denunciation of the sentence1 and those concerned in it4 ,it was the last great letter of a philosopher in defence of the mental liberty of a poor man1 and no equal to it appeared in the century4 ,i published an account of ,pooley's case1 which ,buckle saw4 ,sir ,john ,duke 7who afterwards became ,lord ,chief ,justice ,coleridge7 had behaved1 as prosecuting counsel1 better than ,i knew1 as ,i admitted when ,i did know it4 ,still1 the sentence 7twenty-one months' imprisonment7 will always stand on record as atrocious1 apart from the irresponsible condition of the offender4 ,the words said to be spoken1 and which were made a count in his indictment1 were mere exclamations1 provoked by the irritation of gaolers1 which the prisoner had neither means nor intent of publishing4 ,a barrister in court was struck by the signs of insanity in ,pooley1 unnoticed by the preoccupied eyes of the judge and his son4 ,pooley1 as we have said1 was a well-sinker1 a tall1 strongly-built man of honest aspect and of good courage and fidelity1 who had descended into a deep well and rescued his master from death4 ,though not a philosopher1 ,pooley1 like some who were1 was a wild sort of ,pantheist4 ,he thought this world to be an organism1 and believed it to be alive2 and such was the tenderness and reverence of his devotion that nothing could persuade him to dig a well beyond a certain depth1 lest he should wound the heart of the world4 ,some years later ,lord ,coleridge informed me that he did not press the case against ,pooley1 and that he had no idea he was of uncertain mind1 nor did his father suspect it4 ,i thought it was impossible they could be unaware of it1 as it was well known to all ,liskeard4 ,in justice to ,lord ,coleridge's father1 ,i ought to say1 that when he subsequently became aware of ,pooley's condition of mind1 he at once consented to his liberation1 and ,pooley was taken home1 after four months' imprisonment1 in the carriage of the governor of the gaol1 who had sympathy for him4 ,sir ,william ,molesworth and ,sir ,erskine ,perry were1 after ,mr4 ,buckle1 the chief instruments of his liberation4 ,the facts ,i have related of the ,coleridges were not known to me when ,i first saw ,mr4 ,buckle1 who wrote upon the information ,i gave him4 ,pooley was a resolute man1 who had self-respect and would not wear the prison dress4 ,when it was put upon him he tore it to shreds1 and he was left naked in the dark cell in which he was confined4 ,he would have been made quite mad had he not been released when he was4 ,,iv4 ,the last case in which ,i supply documentary evidence is that concerning the limelight placed on the ,clock ,tower at ,westminster4 ,no member of ,parliament had thought of it1 nor should ,i1 had ,i not needed it for my own convenience4 ,i was then secretary to ,mr4 7afterwards ,sir7 ,joseph ,cowen4 ,when he wished to take part in a division he would ask me to ascertain whether the ,house was sitting4 ,in those days there were two lamp-posts in ,palace ,yard with three lights each1 which were kept in while the ,house was sitting1 but when the ,house was up two of the lights were extinguished4 ,there was no other sign1 and ,i had often to ride from ,redcliffe ,square1 ,brompton1 to ,palace ,yard before the signal-light could be seen4 ,the limelight had just been perfected1 and it occurred to me that if an effective light was placed on the ,clock ,tower it would be conspicuous for miles around1 and members of ,parliament1 dining in the suburbs1 could learn by that sign when the ,house was sitting and its absence would indicate that the ,house was up4 ,i wrote to ,lord ,john ,manners1 giving reasons of ,parliamentary convenience for the institution of such a light ,lord ,john was then ,first ,commissioner of ,works4 ,the following is a copy of the letter directed to be sent to me3-- ,office of ,works1 #ab1 ,whitehall ,place1 ,s4,w4 ,it is requested that any answer to this letter may be directed to ,the ,private ,secretary to the ,first ,commissioner of ,h4,m4 ,works4 #h--a--fh4 ,sir1--,i am desired by ,lord ,john ,manners to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your letter1 and suggestions4 ,your faithful servant1 ,h4 ,stuart ,wortlev4 ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake1 ,esq4 ,nothing was done during ,lord ,john ,manners' reign as ,commissioner of ,works1 but when ,mr4 ,a4 ,s4 ,ayrton became ,commissioner of the ,board1 he found the letter in the archives of the office1 and had the light erected4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,unforeseen ,,qualities ,,in ,,public ,,men ,i4 ,without noticing unexpected qualities now and then1 and remembering them1 many are needlessly discouraged in purposes of improvement4 ,the two ,bramwells1 the judge and his brother ,frederick1 were both men of great parts4 ,this narrative relates to the ,judge1 who could do mischief at will--and did it4 ,it was ,baron ,bramwell who protected the bribers of ,berwick4 ,it is to judges of his political proclivities1 to whom bribers look still for countenance4 ,young men of to-day enjoy advantages unknown to their forefathers1 and the new generation are mostly ignorant how their good fortune1 which ,liberalism brought them1 came to them--and they make no inquiry4 ,not only have they no pride in sustaining the political traditions of their family1 but their base ambition is to give the influence of the position they have attained to that party who put every impediment in the way of their ever emerging from social and industrial obscurity--a condition from which they did not deserve to be rescued4 ,political reformers used to complain of bribery at elections1 by which a few wealthy political adventurers tempted the baser sort of citizens to sell the liberties of the nation to them4 ,tories1 by the law of their being1 seek authority by which the majority of them intend the control of public affairs for their own advantage4 ,they supply money for corruption1 intending to refund themselves by place and profit when the resources of the ,state come under their manipulation4 ,even judges of their party accord them legal security in their political nefariousness4 ,when the ,liberals of ,newcastle-on-,tyne claimed that ,parliament should terminate electoral bribery1 ,lord ,john ,russell said the law was already against it1 and that the ,newcastle applicants to the ,house of ,commons should put bribery down at their own door1 meaning in ,berwick-on-,tweed1 notorious for it ,lord ,john had never tried to do this1 or he would not have advised the attempt ,his counsel at the time seemed reasonable1 and what came of it was shown in a petition from the ,northern ,reform ,union1 sent to ,parliament 7#ahei71 which set forth as follows3-- ,that the petitioners were members of a society named ,the ,northern ,reform ,union1 which was instituted for the purpose of obtaining a further ,reform of the ,representation of the ,people of these ,realms in ,parliament1 and for the purpose of vindicating that purity and freedom of election which is essential to a true representative system4 ,amongst other steps with a view to these purposes1 the said petitioners were induced to institute inquiries into certain corrupt practices1 alleged to have taken place in the election of a member for the town of ,berwick-upon-,tweed4 ,the result of these inquiries was1 that the petitioners were induced1 as a matter of public duty1 to prosecute certain electors of the town of ,berwick-upon-,tweed for the offence of offering bribes at the election aforesaid4 ,the prosecution was instituted under the provision of the ,act of #ahed1 known as ,the ,corrupt ,practices ,prevention ,act1 when one or more of the persons upon whom writs were served in accordance with the provisions of the ,act1 made affidavit that to the best of their belief1 ,mr4 ,richard ,bagnall ,reed1 the secretary of the ,northern ,reform ,union and the nominal prosecutor in these cases1 was not of ability to pay the costs of suit in case of nonsuit1 and applied through their counsel to ,sir ,g4 ,w4 ,bramwell1 one of the ,barons of ,her ,majesty's ,court of ,exchequer1 to make order that security should be lodged for payment of the costs in these actions if proceeded with4 ,a report of the particulars of this application was published in a newspaper printed at ,newcasde under the title of the ,northern ,daily ,express1 which report is verbatim1 as follows3-- ,london1 ,december #af1 #ahei4 ,actions have been commenced1 at the suit of ,mr4 ,r4 ,b4 ,reed1 the secretary of the ,northern ,reform ,union1 against several persons suspected of bribery at the last ,berwick election4 ,the actions are founded on the #eth ,section of ',the ,corrupt ,practices ,prevention ,act1 #ahed1' which provides that 'any one who shall be guilty of using any undue influence at any ,parliamentary election shall not only be guilty of a misdemeanour1 but shall also be liable to forfeit the sum of fifty pounds to any person who shall sue for the same1 together with full costs of suit4' ,an application was made at chambers before the ,hon4 ,mr4 ,baron ,b ram well1 on the part of the defendants in the above actions1 for an order that the plaintiff should give security for costs4 ,mr4 ,chitty appeared in support of the application4 ,mr4 ,rutherford appeared on behalf of the secretary of the ,northern ,reform ,union to oppose the granting of the order4 ,mr4 ,chitty founded his application on an affidavit1 which stated that ,mr4 ,reed was not the real plaintiff in the action2 he was only instigated by the ,northern ,reform ,union1 who were the real plaintiffs4 ,a copy of the ,northern ,daily ,express was annexed as an exhibit to the affidavit1 and a passage was read from it relating to the proceedings of the ,northern ,reform ,union4 ,mr4 ,chitty cited cases to prove that where a plaintiff in an action was for the benefit of third parties1 he is bound to give security for costs2 and he endeavoured to show that in the event of the action being decided in the defendant's favour1 it would be in vain to look to the plaintiff for costs4 ,mr4 ,baron ,bramwell hereupon made the following extraordinary remark3 ',this ,northern ,reform ,union is a purity society4 ,it consists of patriots1 and surely these gentlemen will only be too eager to give any security that may be desired1 if it were merely to show their high-mindedness and integrity4' ,mr4 ,rutherford said that his ,lordship1 on looking into the case1 would find that the application now made was a vexatious proceeding to throw obstacles in the way of the plaintiff4 ,mr4 ,reed was the secretary of the ,union1 and the proper person to sue4 ,the ,union must sue in the name of some one1 and who so proper as their secretary8 ,the authorities that had been cited on the other side did not touch the case1 because the plaintiff was suing for penalties1 which1 if recovered1 would be for his own benefit4 ,it mattered not at whose instigation he was suing4 ,he was suing for a penalty1 which the ,act of ,parliament gave him the right to sue for4 ,mr4 ,baron ,bramwell3 ',what is the plaintiffs position8 ,is he a man of substance8' ,mr4 ,rutherford3 ',he is1 ,i am told1 a gentleman of a respectable position4 ,but that is not the question2 it appears clearly from the authorities that in penal actions the courts have refused to order security1 even in cases where the common informer was a person of great poverty4 ,in one case ,mr4 ,justice ,bayley says1 ,many qui tam actions have been brought by men who were worth nothing1 but there is no instance of their being compelled to give security for costs4 ,it might happen that the penalties had been incurred1 but their recovery would be defeated by requiring such a security4' ,mr4 ,baron ,bramwell here observed3 ',there is great force in that ,men of property are not likely to trouble themselves about such things4 ,i think ,i cannot make the order4 ,cannot some agreement be come to between the parties8 ,mr4 ,chitty1 will you name any other member of the ,union to be substituted as plaintiff instead of ,mr4 ,reed8 ,some one must be plaintiff2 and the same argument you have used against ,mr4 ,reed would apply to any one else4' ,a long discussion here ensued4 ,mr4 ,rutherford said he could not1 without the consent of his clients1 agree to substitute another person as plaintiff4 ,the ,act would become a dead letter if the judges allowed obstacles to be thrown in the way of carrying it out4 ,there was no ground at all for this application1 and if his ,lordship granted it1 it was impossible to conceive under what circumstances a similar application would be refused4 ,mr4 ,chitty insisted that his clients would not be able to recover their costs if the action were decided in their favour4 ,it was a very hard thing to be compelled to defend an action at the suit of invisible personages4 ,his ,lordship had said that 'purity principles were all very fine4' ,mr4 ,baron ,bramwell3 ',no doubt they are4 ,it is very easy to go about professing integrity4 ,to commence actions against people for penalties when the plaintiff cannot pay the costs1 is a cheap way of becoming a patriot--cheap and1 ,i think1 nasty4 ,i find that the ,act gives me a discretion4 ,the affidavits made by the defendants have not been answered4 ,i shall make the order4' ,the order was made accordingly4 ,the petitioners were informed and believed that the report quoted was substantially and literally correct4 ,it was reprinted and commented upon by various other journals1 and no attempt to question its accuracy was made1 either on the part of the learned judge or of any other person4 ,the petitioners were persuaded that the language asserted to have been used by the learned judge on this occasion cannot be deemed by1 nor appear to ,parliament either befitting the station of him who used it1 or just towards the suitors in this prosecution1 who were taking legal steps1 under a sense of public duty1 to put a stop to practices which tend to corrupt the source of all law4 ,the petitioners submitted that the order made on this occasion is contrary to all precedent1 and inconsistent with the intention and enactments of the said ,corrupt ,practices ,act1 which by ,section #ac expressly limits the obligation on the plaintiff to find security for costs to those cases only where he may seek to recover1 by order of the judge1 the costs of prosecution for offences against the ,act4 ,the petitioners urged that they did not deserve to have their motives and characters thus questioned and sneered away1 nor did they think that such language as that imputed to ,baron ,bramwell can tend to add to that respect for the law and those who administer it which the petitioners trusted may never be lost amongst ,englishmen4 ,on the contrary1 such language appeared to the petitioners calculated to cause the people to believe that a complicity with such practices exists amongst the administrators of the law2 subversive at once of justice and of the representative portion of the ,legislature4 ,the petitioners1 therefore1 prayed the honourable ,house of ,commons to take such steps as might appear to it most fitting1 to bring the matter under the notice of ,her ,majesty and her advisers in such a mode as may prevent a repetition of the same4 ,this remarkable petition1 which may be read in the records of the ,house1 bore the signatures of the following persons3-- ,thomas ,doubleday1 ,james ,eadie1 ,james ,watson1 ,james ,hay1 ,jos4 ,cowen1 jun41 ,robert ,sutherland1 ,thomas ,gregson1 ,thomas ,allen1 ,jos4 ,barlow1 ,thomas ,spotswood1 jun41 ,john ,emerson1 ,robert ,ramsay1 ,william ,douglas1 ,james ,reed1 and thirty-three others4 ,the character of ,baron ,bramwells remarks--the impediments he must well know he was putting in the way of any prosecution for bribery in ,berwick2 the words by which he sought to intimidate the prosecutors by holding them up to public ridicule--the language of the petition appropriately characterised4 ,baron ,bramwell could not be ignorant of the great expense which had been incurred in taking legal proceedings against the persons accused of bribery and in collecting evidence long after the time when the acts of bribery occurred4 ,such evidence is expensive to collect at the time1 and much costlier at a later stage4 ,after obtaining witnesses it was necessary to protect them from being spirited away at the time of the trial--no uncommon occurrence in these cases4 ,many hundreds of pounds must have been spent before the case reached the stage when ,baron ,bramwell was appealed to by the accused to put obstacles in the way of the charges against them being tried4 ,the penalties recoverable under the ,act would not have covered a tenth part of these costs4 ,those who appealed to ,baron ,bramwell for protection knew perfectly well1 as all ,durham and ,northumberland knew1 that any costs they might be able to claim against ,mr4 ,reed would be met4 ,baron ,bramwell1 by the remarks he uttered and the order he made1 aided and abetted the bribery1 and protected those who committed it4 ,the ,baron's observation that men of property would not be likely to trouble themselves to put the ,act in force against electoral corruption1 was true and significant4 ,the men of property were they who profited by it2 and if any man of property had justice and patriotic spirit sufficient to prosecute bribers1 he was certain to incur annoyance and loss1 and subject himself to offensive comments such as ,baron ,bramwell made4 ,it was the duty of a judge1 to whom the ,act gave discretion1 to use it in favour of public purity1 and not to favour public corruption4 ,though no other judge behaved so flagrantly ill as ,baron ,bramwell1 there were few who could be trusted to render justice to ,reformers4 ,the ,tory judge1 ,baron ,bramwell1 sneered away all chance of a just verdict1 and ,mr4 ,joseph ,cowens noble effort to vindicate electoral purity cost him ,l#b1jjj and whatever obloquy and derision the venomous tongue of the judge could heap upon him4 ,let men beware of principles which render corruption congenial--and let them honour the memory of those who made heroic sacrifices for electoral integrity4 9999999999 ,it is happily exceptional when political partisanship perverts the sense of justice in a judge4 ,sometimes the sense of truth1 characteristic of ,liberalism 7for it is not worth while being a ,liberal unless it implies the ascendency of truth7 is perverted by political exigency or obscured by excitement4 ,an instance of this occurred where it was little expected4 ,,ii4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,humffreys ,parry drew up the legal part of my defence at ,gloucester in #ahdb4 ,he was then a young law student1 living in lodgings at 7what was then7 ,no4 #e1 ,gray's ,inn ,road1 near ,theobalds' ,road4 ,his grandfather was editor of the ,cambro-,briton1 and one of the founders1 in #ahbj1 of the ,cymmrodorion ,society4 ,but we knew nothing of this4 ,we only knew young ,humffreys as a stalwart1 energetic platform speaker4 ,radical1 bold1 and impetuous1 but so manifestly sincere1 that it atoned for his somewhat gaseous style of speaking4 ,like ,o',connell1 he acquired eventually two styles4 ,parry's legal style became ,demosthenic in its terseness4 ,for the research and care he took to prepare my legal defences1 he ought1 even at that stage of his career1 to have received twenty guineas1 but for it he received nothing1 nor asked for anything4 ,when he became ,mr4 ,serjeant ,parry he abandoned his platform style altogether1 for one of uncoloured vigour1 which gave him ascendency at the ,bar4 ,had he lived a few years longer than he did he would have become one of our judges4 ,his son--known as ,judge ,parry--was shot by a suitor1 while presiding at a ,manchester court1 but not shot fatally4 ,he is still known with distinction as a judge1 as an author1 and dramatic critic4 ,thus three generations of ,parrys have been notable4 ,years ago propagandists of new opinion were often assisted by ,mr4 ,robert ,mackay1 author of a powerful work on the ,progress of the ,intellect4 ,a silent1 unobtrusive man1 ,mr4 ,mackay would be seen at times at meetings or lectures1 but never taking any public part ,he seemed to shrink back when addressed1 and was as reserved as an affrighted man4 ,in his quiet way1 of his own initiative1 he took much trouble to promote the opening of the ,national ,gallery on ,sundays1 and went personally to men of note in law1 science1 and art1 to solicit their signatures to a memorial in favour of opening public treasures on ,sundays for the refinement of the poor1 that being the only day when they had a leisure hour to see them4 ,among others1 ,mr4 ,mackay called on ,mr4 ,serjeant ,parry1 who signed the memorial4 ,later the ,serjeant was a ,parliamentary candidate for ,finsbury4 ,some super-fervid free ,sunday advocate went to electoral meetings1 asking ,mr4 ,parry whether he would vote for the opening of the ,national ,gallery4 ,there are always fool-friends of progress1 who are ever ready to ruin it by their ,pauline zeal of doing things in season and out of season4 ,it was well known to all concerned that he would vote for an ,open ,door of art4 ,but if the constituency knew it1 it would cost him the votes of most of the ,puritan portion of the electors4 ,forgetful1 at the moment1 of the incident that he had signed the memorial1 the candidate denied that he had4 ,one morning when due in court1 he had hurriedly signed his name to some documents brought before him1 among them the memorial sent in by ,mr4 ,mackay4 ,whereupon this modest1 retiring1 shrinking1 impalpable gentleman went into turbulent meetings1 vindictively parading the actual memorial to confront the candidate4 ,this proceeding cost ,mr4 ,parry his election4 ,it was a warning to public men against signing a liberal document which might be needlessly obtruded against them at a critical conjuncture4 ,thus the ,sunday ,league lost a ,parliamentary defender1 who1 from persuasion of the righteousness and rightfulness of its objects1 would have stood by it ,the word of ,mr4 ,mackay would have been quite sufficient to vindicate the honour of the ,league1 had he waited till the election was over4 ,but the unexpected thing was to see ,mr4 ,mackay--who had never spoken at a meeting before--appearing at crowded and tumultuous assemblies1 where a strong and resolute man might have hesitated to present himself4 ,the answer of ,mr4 ,serjeant ,parry in question was given without premeditation2 it was evident to the audience that it was made under the inspiration of an after-dinner speech1 when robust barristers1 in those days1 were liable to airiness or eccentricity of statement4 ,being pursued vindictively1 he became too indignant to give the obvious explanation of the inadvertency of his denial of his signature4 ,,iii4 ,there are saints of the ,church and saints of humanity2 ,lord ,shaftesbury was a saint of both churches4 ,there are two kinds of ,conservatives1 as ,i have elsewhere said499 ,one class seek power for personal aggrandisement2 another1 and better class1 covet it as a means of doing good4 ,lord ,shaftesbury belonged to this class4 ,through not making this distinction1 the whole ,conservative body are made answerable for the actions of a part ,discrimination is as just in politics as in morals4 99 ,life of ,joseph ,rayner ,stephens1 ,preacher and ,political ,orator4 ,lord ,shaftesbury was a nobleman of two natures4 ,in politics he would withhold power from workmen4 ,in humanity he would withhold nothing from them which could do them good4 ,in theology he knew no measure4 ,of ,professor ,seeley's book1 ,ecce ,homo1 he said it was vomited from the mouth of hell4 ,surely something ought to be pardoned to a writer who made ,satan sick4 ,at an earlier day such language had handed the luckless ,professor over to ,torquemada4 ,yet ,lord ,shaftesbury was so courteous1 tender1 and friendly to ,nonconformists1 that he laid more foundation stones of ,dissenting chapels than any other peer or patron4 ,should ,england one day be counted among extinct civilisations1 and some explorers arrive to excavate its ruins1 they will come upon so many stones deposited by ,lord ,shaftesbury and bearing his name1 that report will be made of the discovery of the king of the last dynasty4 ,whatever contradictions biographers may have to record of the character of ,lord ,shaftesbury1 everything will be forgiven him in consideration of his noble exertions on behalf of factory children4 ,he sought to improve the condition of women in mines and collieries4 ,public health1 emigration1 ragged-schools1 penny banks1 drinking-fountains1 and model lodging-houses were subjects of his generous solicitude4 ,lord ,shaftesbury was one of the earliest of slum visitors4 ,he was essentially and exclusively a social reformer4 ,he took no part in political amelioration4 ,he believed that working people only clamoured for political enfranchisement because they were ill-used and uncomfortable4 ,he saw no further4 ,their desire for independence never occurred to him4 ,his sympathy with co-operators was on moral grounds4 ,it was quite unforeseen by any1 and had little acceptance in his day1 that he should advise1 that the agencies for planting ,christianity among heathen nations should include the secular missionary1 who must precede the ,christian teacher to prepare the soil of the soul by social amelioration before the seeds of ,christianity could take root ,like ,faraday1 ,lord ,shaftesbury had a dual mind4 ,faraday reasoned like a ,sandemanian on questions of faith and like a philosopher on questions of science4 ,in like manner ,lord ,shaftesbury was a sectarian in piety and a latitudinarian in humanity4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,cobden ,,school ,illustration3 ,cobden ,there never was a ,manchester ,school1 though a volume has been published upon it4 ,it never had professor nor special tenets4 ,manchester stands for ,free ,trade and nothing more4 ,its three great leaders--,thomas ,thomasson1 ,richard ,cobden1 and ,john ,bright--were also for ,peace1 ,retrenchment1 and ,reform1 for the extension of the suffrage1 and the repeal of the taxes upon knowledge1 because they were essential to the popularity and maintenance of ,free ,trade4 ,but ,manchester took no special interest1 save in ,free ,trade1 which was a local manufacturing necessity1 as well as a national one4 ,mr4 ,john ,morley uses the term ,manchester ,school1 as embodying the personal convictions of the great ,free ,trade leaders4 ,manchester did a great thing in adopting1 adhering to1 and enforcing ,free ,trade4 ,that itself is a noble distinction4 ,the advocacy of ,thomasson1 ,cobden1 and ,bright included principles loftier and wider than ,manchester4 ,the ,manchester ,school is but a term of courtesy used for convenience of reference1 far less definite than the ,school of ,bentham4 ,the ,school of ,cobden is intelligible1 as covering a larger area of thought than ,manchester4 ,as to ,cobden1 no one can presume to give any new estimate of him1 after ,john ,morley has written his ,life4 ,therefore ,i confine myself to such personal incidents as came under my own observation4 ,once1 when ,i had the pleasure to be a guest of ,mr4 ,joseph ,chamberlain at ,highbury1 ,mr4 ,john ,morley was present ,conversation in the library turning upon ,cobden1 ,i remarked that he had introduced more immorality into politics than any other public man in my time4 ,how8 asked ,mr4 ,morley1 with a quick1 questioning look4 ,i answered1 ,by advising electors to vote for any candidate1 irrespective of his politics1 who would vote for the repeal of the ,corn ,laws4 ,this was in effect saying1 ,vote for the devil1 provided the devil will vote for you1 who1 even if he keeps faith with you1 is a dangerous ally to put in power4 ,in a speech to the council of the ,anti-,corn ,law ,league in ,manchester in ,september1 #ahdb1 ,mr4 ,cobden said3 ,we are no political body4 ,we have refused to be bought by the ,tories299 we have kept aloof from the ,whigs1 and we will not join partnership with either ,radicals or ,chartists29999 but we hold out our hand1 ready to give it to all who are ready to advocate the total repeal of the ,corn and ,provision ,laws4 99 ,would the ,tories have bought them8 ,what could they have done with them8 99 ,neither ,radicals nor ,chartists asked them4 ,both parties conditionally opposed the ,corn ,law ,repealers4 ,thomasson held that the repeal of the ,corn ,laws could precede the ,charter4 ,the ,chartists contended that the ,corn ,laws could not be repealed until the people had universal suffrage4 ,thomasson was right4 ,this doctrine1 sanctioned by ,cobden's illustrious name1 has demoralised politics and placed every ,prime ,minister at the mercy of every conscientious party strong enough to defeat him by an unscrupulous conspiracy in ,caves1 or at the poll4 ,the ,independent ,labour ,party founded their ,ishmaelitish policy 7of more than aloofness7 upon this contagious ,manchester speech--leaving out the friendly condition of readiness to give their hands to any who advocate the interests of ,labour1 which is their professed reason of being4 ,women who seek the political emancipation of their sex adopt the policy of voting for ,tories1 and ,mr4 ,woodall1 in their name1 risked the wrecking of a ,liberal ,government if it did not accede to their claim4 ,mr4 ,cobden1 in inviting electors to vote for ,conservatives who were against the ,corn ,laws1 would have established ,tory ascendancy in the land4 ,considering that the stricken condition of the people was through their food being taxed1 ,toryism might be a lesser evil than the denial of ,free ,trade4 ,cobden might reasonably be of opinion that no party can do so much harm as starvation1 and therefore felt justified in possibly destroying the ,liberal party to save the people4 ,but he should have qualified his policy by restricting it to extreme cases1 where the arrest of a progressive ,government is a lesser peril than refusing a particular and paramount claim4 ,without such qualification ,cobden's precedent proclaimed a policy of selfishness which fights for its own hand against the general interest of the ,state4 ,this is the charge which ,liberals bring against the aristocracy4 ,it is the policy of ,self which makes the multiplication of parties a public danger4 ,such unqualified advocacy of reforms carries with it an element of national hostility4 ,justifying himself by the example of ,cobden1 we have seen the publican going for the bung1 and the teetotaler for the teapot ,the anti-vaccinator will risk poisoning the nation by ,toryism in order to arrest the lancet2 as certain workmen will destroy ,liberalism in the interest of ,labour4 ,thus1 generally speaking1 every party is for its own hand and none for the ,state4 ,the great ,french ,revolution1 which promised the emancipation of ,europe1 was destroyed by the determination of each party to obtain the ascendancy of its own theories1 at the peril of the ,republic4 ,the ,society for ,repealing the ,taxes upon ,knowledge met in many places4 ,when ,francis ,place was chairman we met in ,essex ,street4 ,at one time we met in the rooms of the secretary1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,d4 ,collet1 in ,great ,coram ,street1 within a door or two of the house where a girl was killed1 for which a ,dutch clergyman was arrested1 and falsely and ignominiously imprisoned for a time4 ,bright and ,cobden attended committee meetings in ,great ,coram ,street4 ,one day when ,cobden came1 he walked to the ,house of ,commons after the meeting1 through falling snow1 in the quiet1 meditative way peculiar to him4 ,as ,i had some duties in the ,house of ,commons in those days1 ,i followed him1 curious to see what streets he would go through1 wondering as ,i went along1 at the disinterested and unnoted services so great a man1 of ,european fame1 rendered to the interests of the working people4 ,mistaken ,chartists were denouncing ,cobden1 ,bright1 and ,milner-,gibson as ,whigs--as mere middle-class advocates--these libelled leaders were generously and disinterestedly labouring to confer upon the working class the enfranchisement of the ,press--although they knew full well it would put larger means of assailing them into the hands of their defamers4 ,why should ,mr4 ,cobden walk through the snow to put new power in their hands--save from nobleness of nature1 which helped others1 irrespective of any advantage to himself--irrespective even of their goodwill8 ,he not only personally attended committees1 as ,bright and ,gibson also did1 but often sent us letters explaining principle or policy which implied constant thought upon the movement as well as labour for it4 ,the pale-faced manufacturer was a champion of the industrial classes1 which he foresaw would come into the field1 which were thought then good enough for paying taxes1 but who were to be kept out of the pale of the governing classes4 ,thus ,i conceived and retained a personal affection for ,cobden1 notwithstanding his aversion for some views he supposed me to hold4 ,when it was advised that ,i should appear at the ,london ,tavern to oppose ,mr4 ,peter ,borthwick's design of setting up a separate society for the repeal of the paper duty1 which would divide the forces for the repeal of the whole of the taxes upon knowledge1 ,bright hesitated as to the propriety of sending me on that mission4 ,what ,i am thinking of1 said ,bright1 is whether we shall not be taken as seeking the repeal of the ,thirty-nine ,articles instead of the taxes on knowledge4 ,cobden was more fearless in things intellectual4 ,i was deputed to speak at the ,borthwick meeting4 ,though ,cobden's mind was engrossed in public affairs1 public affairs were never master of him4 ,he always possessed himself4 ,sir ,alexander ,burne's despatches were long withheld1 and when produced1 at ,mr4 ,blight's instigation1 they were found to be so mutilated that they were spoken of as the forged despatches4 ,it was of that transaction that ,cobden said1 ,palmerston was so impartial1 that he had no bias1 not even towards the truth1 showing that he could speak epigrams that cut into a reputation4 ,one night ,mr4 ,cobden brought to me in the ,bill ,room of the ,house of ,commons a blind young man1 whom he said he wished to introduce to me4 ,it was ,mr4 ,henry ,fawcett1 of whom he said great things might be expected in the future4 ,mr4 ,cobden had procured for ,mr4 ,fawcett an order for the ,speaker's ,gallery4 ,he was waiting for admission1 as the doorkeeper told him there was no room4 ,amid all the chatter and bustle of the ,lobby1 ,mr4 ,fawcett's ears were up that staircase1 and he said1 ,i hear footsteps coming down1 which meant there was a vacant seat1 and ,mr4 ,fawcett was admitted4 ,no one else had heard the descending feet4 ,it was that night that ,mr4 ,cobden told me1 in answer to a question put to him1 that he believed1 had it not been for the occurrence of the ,irish famine1 all the vast educative efforts of the ,anti-,corn ,law ,league would not have effected the repeal of the ,corn ,laws at that time4 ,nevertheless1 the great propagandist activity of the ,league was the main element of success4 ,the ,anti-,corn ,law agitation of the ,league was a triumph of argument aided by calamity4 ,subsequendy ,mr4 ,fawcett became a professor1 and an authority on political economy4 ,at ,social ,science meetings1 wherever or whenever ,i asked him to aid the ,co-operative question of ,co-partnership--by defining it in debate1 as public ideas were confused about it--he would always find or make occasion to do so4 ,in order that ,co-operation should be represented at his funeral1 ,i travelled across country through the early morning fog1 from ,leicester to ,trumpington1 where he was buried4 ,i found in the churchyard my early friend1 ,sir ,michael ,foster1 who had like regard for the dead ,postmaster-,general4 ,i was the only person known to be connected with the ,co-operative movement who was present at his grave that day4 ,how well ,cobden could take care of himself appeared in a matter in which my friend1 ,thornton ,hunt1 to my great regret1 was in the wrong4 ,the ,times had published defamatory imputations on ,mr4 ,cobden1 who took the editor1 ,mr4 ,delane1 by the throat and held him with a grasp of such vigour that when he died the marks of ,cobdens fingers were upon the neck of his reputation4 ,the ,daily ,telegraph1 of which ,mr4 ,thornton ,hunt was consulting editor1 published comments in defence of the ,times on ,cobdens letter to ,delane1 but refused to insert ,cobden's letter of self defence4 ,mr4 ,hunt1 who had real regard for ,cobden1 wrote to assure him of it1 and gave as the reason for declining to insert his letter1 his fear lest it should damage his reputation4 ,it was the same as saying to ,cobden1 ,our readers have a great regard for you1 but if you should prove you are not a knave1 you will sink in their estimation4 ,the ineffable meanness and audacity of this inspired ,mr4 ,cobden with a contemptuous indignation1 and he told ,mr4 ,hunt there was only one favour he could do him1 and that was not to take his reputation under his repellent patronage4 ,apart from instances such as the perfidy to ,cobden1 ,mr4 ,delane was a great editor1 determining the fluctuating policy of the ,times 7the policy of the ascendancy of prevailing opinion1 right or wrong71 selecting leading articles and defining the lines to be taken by the writers4 ,robert ,lowe 7afterwards ,lord ,sherbrooke7 received directions which might themselves be printed as leaders in brief4 ,as it was ,mr4 ,lowe's custom to throw ,mr4 ,delane's letters into his paper basket1 they came into the hands of his butterman1 who1 having practical curiosity1 took them to ,mr4 ,james ,beal1 who1 upon the advice of ,mr4 ,bright1 sent them back to ,mr4 ,lowe4 ,all who saw the letters were surprised at the fidelity of the articles as they appeared in the ,times to ,mr4 ,delane's preconceived comprehensive1 explicit1 and well-defined tenor4 ,it was a favourite story told against ,cobden by his adversaries1 that when he visited the ,central ,illinois ,railway1 the company gave free tickets to residents near each station1 that the seeming crowd of travellers might impose on ,cobden to report well on its prospects4 ,it is what sharp business ,americans might be supposed to do4 ,but it did not impose on the popular traveller1 whom many naturally strove to see4 ,the chief of the company was candid to him99 ,mr4 ,morley has made clear that what did influence ,cobden was the prospect of advancing the welfare of emigrants abroad4 ,at the ,great ,exhibition of #ahea a belief arose that international commerce would increase4 ,a friend of mine1 ,mr4 ,allsop1 like ,cobden1 lost a large fortune by premature enthusiasm4 ,mr4 ,cobden's was a like error1 but a generous one4 ,on the night of ,cobden's last speech in ,rochdale1 ,i was one of the audience in the great ,mill ,room in which he spoke4 ,he sent to me a note from the platform4 ,it was the last ,i received from him4 ,i was that night more conscious than ever before of his wonderful self-possession in speaking4 ,he held up as it were1 in the air1 a chief sentence as he spoke it1 and supplied1 before he left it1 the qualification he saw it needed1 or the amplification he saw it required1 so that malignity could not pervert it1 nor ignorance misunderstand it4 ,after making the longest speech of his life to the largest audience he had ever met in one room1 he was taken to the house of a friend1 where he was kept standing on the cold marble hearth in a fireless room1 while his friends greeted him until late that ,november night4 ,to a man of ,cobden's temperament standing is painful after mental exhaustion4 ,a cold followed the fireless reception4 ,i knew in ,birmingham a speaker of great promise1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,chamberlain 7unrelated to ,mr4 ,joseph ,chamberlain7 who was surrounded by his friends after a long and brilliant lecture1 and when at last he sat down1 he died4 ,i was in ,lavington ,churchyard when ,cobden was buried4 ,on our walk from the station there1 ,mr4 ,gladstone1 who was before me1 turned round to shake hands with a friend4 ,i saw at once that he was a ,lancashire man1 which had never struck me before4 ,he shook hands from the shoulder1 which ,i had observed ,lancashire men did4 ,in the churchyard ,i lingered behind1 and stood within a clump of trees overlooking the grave4 ,when ,mr4 ,bright1 who had left the other mourners1 came there himself1 ,i moved noiselessly away4 ,he remained alone1 looking down on the last resting-place of his star-bright colleague in counsel and in fight4 ,cobden excelled among politicians of the people in enthusiasm of the intellect4 ,he regarded strong1 lucid argument as the omnipotent force of progress4 ,when one morning the news came1 ,cobden is dead it was felt in every workshop in the land that a great power for peace and industry was lost to the nation4 ,his disciples have grown with succeeding years1 and if he be regarded as the founder of a school1 no nobler one exists among politicians4 ,he laid the foundations of ,free ,trade1 not only for ,manchester1 but for the world4 ,as ,mr4 ,morley tells us in his great ,life1 ,mr4 ,gladstone ranked the introduction of cheap postage for letters1 documents1 patterns1 and printed matter1 and the abolition of all taxes on printed matter as in the catalogue of ,free ,trade legislation4 ,these great measures1 says ,mr4 ,morley1 may well take their place beside the abolition of prohibitions and protective duties1 the simplifying of revenue laws1 and the repeal of the ,navigation ,act ,these were all ,cobden's ideals4 ,most of them he called into being1 and he was the principal enchanter who gave them a local habitation and a name4 ,as with the ,manchester ,school1 so with the term ,manchester men1 it is used with a geographical indefiniteness2 as when we speak of any one belonging to a shire instead of a town4 ,hence ,cobden1 who was a ,midhurst man1 and ,bright1 who was a ,rochdale man1 are taken as typical ,manchester men4 ,as few readers have any definite idea of what a ,manchester man of the nobler sort individually is1 ,i give a brief biography of one of the most influential of them1 who might be regarded as the founder of the ,cobden ,school4 ,thomas ,thomasson #ahjh-ahgf1 manufacturer and political economist1 born at ,turton1 near ,bolton1 ,december #f1 #ahjh1 came of a ,quaker family settled in ,westmoreland 7#afgb74 ,his grandfather came from ,edgeworth1 near ,bolton1 about the middle of the seventeenth century1 where he owned a small landed estate1 and built a house known as ,thomasson's ,fold4 ,he gave the site for the ,friends' ,meeting ,house and burial ground at ,edgeworth4 ,mr4 ,thomasson's father1 ,john1 was born in #aggf4 ,he was manager of the ,old ,mill1 ,eagley ,bridge1 ,bolton1 having also a share in the business1 and subsequently became a cotton spinner on his own account4 ,his son1 ,thomas ,thomasson1 the subject of this notice1 erected ,no4 #a ,mill in ,bolton in #ahda1 at a time of great depression in trade1 and great distress in the town--a fact which was mentioned by the ,prime ,minister 7,sir ,r4 ,peel7 in the ,house of ,commons as evidence that persons did not hesitate to employ their capital in the further extension of the cotton trade1 notwithstanding its condition4 ,thomas ,thomasson married a daughter of ,john ,pennington1 of ,hindley1 a ,liverpool merchant4 ,though brought up a member of the ,society of ,friends1 ,thomasson attended the ,bolton ,parish ,church1 his wife being a ,churchwoman4 ,but in #ahee he heard the clergyman preach on the propriety of the ,crimean ,war1 which he thought so un-,christian that he never went to church again4 ,by his vigorous speeches he gave the impression that he knew more of the political economy of trade and commerce than any other manufacturer of his time4 ,mr4 ,bright and ,mr4 ,cobden may be said to have learned from him4 ,when ,mr4 ,bright went out to deliver his first speech at a public meeting1 he went to ,mr4 ,thomasson on his way to take his opinion upon what he had in his mind to say4 ,at ,thomasson's decease ,mr4 ,bright bore testimony to his remarkable capacity as a man of business1 saying1 ,he will be greatly missed by many who have been accustomed to apply to him for advice and help4 ,he was not merely an eminent manufacturer1 he was distinguished for his interest in public affairs4 ,he assisted by money1 counsel1 and personal exertions in securing the incorporation of ,bolton4 ,he consented to join the first ,council and was at the head of the poll1 considering it his duty to take part in promoting the improvements he had advocated4 ,he remained a member of the ,council over eighteen years4 ,under the old government it was usual to call out armed police1 or the military1 for comparatively trifling disturbances1 which greatly excited ,thomasson's indignation4 ,he was a vigorous advocate for the town being supplied with cheap gas and cheap water1 which involved watchfulness and advocacy extending over several years4 ,he was foremost in insisting on the sanitary improvements of the town1 and that the inspector should proceed against those who suffered nuisances on their premises4 ,he gave the instance of a family living in a cellar1 outside of which there was a cesspool1 the contents of which oozed through the walls and collected under the bed4 ,l#cjj being left towards the formation of an industrial school1 ,thomasson gave ,l#bjj more that it might be put into operation4 ,on one occasion1 when he was much opposed to the views of the ,council1 he resigned rather than frustrate a compromise in which he could not concur1 but which others thought beneficial4 ,he promoted petitions in favour of ,decimal ,coinage1 and refused to join in a petition against the ,income ,tax1 deeming direct taxation the best4 ,for some time he was a member of the ,board of ,guardians1 but resigned because he could not sit and see men slaughtered by a stroke of the pen1 alluding to what he considered the illiberal manner in which relief was dispensed4 ,he promoted the establishment of a library and museum1 and gave ,l#ajj towards establishing a school on the plan of the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society4 ,when new premises were required for a ,mechanics' ,institution1 he gave ,l#ejj towards that project4 ,he subscribed fifty guineas towards a memorial statue of ,crompton1 the inventor1 and proposed that something should be given to his descendants1 saying3 ,if ,crompton had been a great general and had killed thousands of people1 the ,government would have provided him with a small county1 and given him a peerage2 but as he had given livelihood to thousands of mule spinners1 it was left to the people to provide for his distressed descendants4 ,the town would have given ,thomasson any office in its power1 but he would neither be ,alderman1 ,mayor1 nor ,member of ,parliament4 ,he declined testimonials or statue4 ,he sought no distinction for himself and accepted none2 he cared alone for the welfare of the nation and the town1 and the working people in it4 ,at a time when the votes of workpeople were generally regarded as the property of employers1 ,thomasson said3 ,if the men in his employ were ,tories and voted so--which meant voting for the ,corn ,laws1 to which he was most opposed-- they would remain perfectly undisturbed by him--their public opinion and conduct were free4 ,he was distinguished beyond any ,quaker of his day for political sympathy and tolerance4 ,his principle was to extend to every man1 rich or poor1 whatever privilege1 political or mental1 he claimed for himself4 ,at a memorable occasion in the ,bolton ,theatre1 when the ,corn ,law question was contested1 he may be said to have called ,mr4 ,paulton into public life1 by sending him on to the platform to defend the cause of repeal4 ,mr4 ,paulton became the first effective platform advocate of that movement ,thomasson was the chief promoter of the ,anti-,corn ,law agitation1 and the greatest subscriber to its funds4 ,when the great subscription was raised in #ahde1 he was the first to put down ,l#a1jjj4 ,when it was proposed to make some national gift to ,mr4 ,cobden1 ,thomasson gave ,l#e1jjj4 ,he subsequently gave1,l#e1jjj to the second ,cobden subscription4 ,this is not all that he did4 ,mr4 ,john ,morley relates1 in his ,life of ,cobden1 that ,thomasson1 learning that ,cobden was embarrassed by outstanding loans1 raised to pay for his ,illinois shares1 amounting to several thousand pounds1 ,thomasson released the shares1 and sent them to ,cobden1 with a request that he would do him the favour to accept that freedom at his hands in acknowledgment of his vast services to his country and mankind4 ,on a later occasion1 when aid was needed1 ,mr4 ,thomasson went down to ,midhurst and insisted that ,cobden should accept a still larger sum1 refusing a formal acknowledgment and handing it over in such a form that the transaction was not known to any one but ,cobden and himself4 ,after ,mr4 ,thomasson's death there was found among his private papers a little memorandum of these advances containing the magnanimous words3 ,i lament that the greatest benefactor of mankind since the invention of printing was placed in a position where his public usefulness was com-promised and impeded by sordid personal cares1 but ,i have done something as my share of what is due to him from his countrymen to set him free for further efforts in the cause of human progress4 ,in the repeal of the ,corn ,laws he always had in mind the welfare of his own townsmen1 who1 he said1 were paying in #ahda ,l#aej1jjj more for food than they did in #ahce1 and every town in the country in a similar proportion4 ,he constantly sought opportunities of generosity which could never be requited1 nor even acknowledged1 as he left no clue to the giver4 ,when in ,london1 he would1 two or three years in succession1 call in ,fleet ,street at my publishing house--then aiding in the repeal of the taxes on knowledge and defending the freedom of reasoned opinion--and leave ,l#aj1 bearing the simple inscription1 ,from ,t4,t4 ,several years elapsed before it was known whose name the initials represented4 ,all this was so unlike the popular conception of a political economist1 that such incidents deserve to be recorded4 ,workmen whose views he did not share would invite lecturers to the town1 whom he would sometimes entertain1 and judging that their remuneration would be scant1 he would add ,l#e on their departure to cover their expenses4 ,thinking that ,huxley might need rest which his means might not allow1 ,thomasson offered to defray the cost of six months' travel abroad with his family4 ,it was not convenient to the ,professor to act upon the offer4 ,at ,thomasson's death a note was found among his papers1 saying1 ,send ,huxley ,l#a1jjj1 which his son1 afterwards member for ,bolton1 did in his father's name4 ,thomasson was not one of those who strongly wish improvement1 but feebly will it4 ,he willed what he wished1 and gave his voice and fortune to advance it4 ,he was not a foolish philanthropist1 with emotion without wisdom2 his aid was never aimless1 but given discerningly to reward or aid others who rendered public service4 ,his merit was like circumstantial evidence--if special acts did not exceed those of some other men1 the accumulated instances made a record which few have excelled4 ,that was the character of a real ,manchester man--on whom ,charles ,kingsley poured out the vitriolic vials of his holy wrath4 ,yet ,kingsley had noble qualities--far above those with which the country clergyman is usually credited4 ,it requires discrimination to speak of men of the ,manchester ,school as persons-- ,who have only to close their eyes1 ,be selfish1 cold1 and wise1 ,and they never need to know ,how the workers' children grow1 ,and live out only half their time4 ,thomasson did know this--wished to know this--took trouble to know it--and gave both thought and fortune to make their lot better4 ,thomas ,bayley ,potter was of that class1 which includes ,manchester careers worth remembering4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,harriet ,,martineau1 ,,the ,,deaf ,,girl ,,of ,,norwich ,illustration3 ,martineau ,there is a romance in the title of this chapter1 should some one arise to write it ,it was ,lord ,brougham who first spoke of ,harriet ,martineau as the deaf girl of ,norwich1 which does more than any other words written about her to suggest a great disadvantage under which she accomplished more than any other woman ever attempted4 ,the phrase quoted occurs in one of those letters which show that kindly feeling and genuine interest in progress was natural to ,lord ,brougham1 though obscured by the turbulence of his later life4 ,he first brought ,miss ,martineau into notice4 ,he wrote3 ,there is at ,norwich a deaf girl1 who is doing more good than any man in the country4 ,last year she 7,harriet ,martineau7 called upon me several times1 and ,i was struck with such marks of energy and resolution in her1 which ,i thought must command success in some line or other of life4 ,if the reader can realise what deafness means1 he will know how great was her disablement ,asking questions is the surest way of acquiring knowledge1 or verifying it4 ,harriet ,martineau was discouraged in asking questions1 because she could not hear the answers1 unless given through a speaking-tube1 which imposed efforts on her friends she was loath to subject them to4 ,she could hear no great singer1 actor1 or orator4 ,these noble sources of pleasure and ideas were denied to her4 ,she could take no part in public meetings or conferences1 save those of which the business was foreknown to her4 ,then she was dependent upon some friend who indicated to her the time when she might intervene4 ,not hearing conversation1 she could only learn indirectly what had gone before4 ,nor was it always possible to hear accurately1 or interpret what was told to her4 ,how1 under these disadvantages1 she acquired her large knowledge1 her wonderful judgment of character1 her unrivalled mastery of political questions of the day--which made her the greatest political woman in ,english history--proves the possibility of seemingly impossible things4 ,she wrote some twenty small volumes of ,tales of ,political ,economy1 which were as eagerly looked forward to as the small volumes in which ,sterne's ,tristram ,shandy appeared1 or ,dickens's ,pickwick ,papers4 ,james ,mill and ,charles ,buller told her it was impossible to make the ,dismal ,science entertaining1 but she did it1 and she was the first who did it4 ,she translated ,comte's ,positive ,philosophy so well that ,comte had it retranslated from ,english into ,french1 as being better than his own work4 ,in #aheb-c ,harriet ,martineau invited me to visit her at ,ambleside1 saying1 ,i should like a good long conversation with you on the ,abolitionists and ,american slavery1 and also on the intolerable iniquities of the ,leader8 ,what they were ,i do not recall--probably ,copperheadism99 in one of the editors1 which she could sharply detect4 99 ,copperhead was the name of a venomous ,american snake1 which gave no warning of its approach4 ,the slavery ,copperhead during the ,civil ,war proclaimed his attachment to the ,union1 and argued against it4 ,there are ,copperheads in every movement4 ,on ,sunday1 the day after my arrival1 she drove me to ,wordsworth's house and other places of interest4 ,at my request she extended the drive to ,coniston ,water1 some miles away1 and on to ,brantwood1 the place ,mr4 ,ruskin afterwards bought of ,mr4 ,joseph ,cowen1 who held a mortgage of ,l#g1jjj upon it4 ,brantwood was then the residence of ,w4 ,j4 ,linton1 and ,col4 ,stolzman and his wife were inmates4 ,the ,colonel was an old ,polish officer1 who1 when a young man1 was present at ,fontainebleau1 when ,napoleon took leave of his ,old ,guard4 ,miss ,martineau's quick eye took in at a glance the surroundings of the dwelling1 and she explained to ,mrs4 ,linton1 who looked delicate1 what should be done to render the house healthier1 as the rains falling on the hill behind made the undrained foundation damp4 ,miss ,martineau had an instinct of domesticity4 ,i never knew a more womanly woman4 ,her life was an answer to those who think that active interest in public affairs is incompatible with household affection4 ,after my return home she wrote3 ,i enjoyed your visit very much2 and ,i hope you will come as often as you conveniently can4 ,it will be a great benefit1 as well as pleasure to me4 ,my good girls1 ,caroline and ,elizabeth1 send you respectful thanks for your remembrance of them4 ,i1 too1 am obliged by your thoughtfulness of them4 ,but let this be once for all4 ,you will come again1 ,i hope2 and my girls will enjoy being hospitable1 in their own way1 to one whom ,i had led them to respect as they do you--mentionable as showing the tact1 judgment1 independence1 and friendliness of the hostess to visitors and those of her household4 ,she aided the diffusion of opinions she thought ought to have a hearing without altogether coinciding with them4 ,she sent ,l#aj towards the establishment of the ,fleet ,street ,house4 ,she took in the ,reasoned sending a double subscription4 ,many editors will appreciate so excellent an example4 ,her interest in the ,reasoner was less in the subjects discussed1 than in its endeavour to maintain in controversy that fairness to adversaries1 which we should have wished 7but did not even expect7 to be shown towards ourselves4 ,of the ,l#ejj given by ,mr4 ,loombs in aid of her translation of ,comte's great work1 she arranged to reserve ,l#aej for ,comte1 whose rights1 as author1 she considered ought to be respected4 ,many unrequited authors would be glad if all translators held the same opinion4 ,in #ahed-e she was told by her physicians that she had heart disease1 which might end her life any day4 ,i mentioned to ,professor ,francis ,william ,newman the jeopardy she was said to be in4 ,at times restoratives had to be administered before she could be brought down to dinner4 ,mr4 ,newman desired me to tell her that he had had1 some years previously1 heart trouble4 ,all at once a shock came as though a pistol had been discharged in his brain1 and he expected fatal results4 ,yet he recovered his usual health and lived to a great age4 ,harriet ,martineau lived twenty-two years after her friends were instructed to expect her death daily4 ,fearless and indifferent when the end might come1 she was saved from the apprehensiveness by which the timid invite what they dread4 ,it was during this--the period when her physicians apprehended her early death--that ,i one day 7,february #e1 #ahee7 received the following note at #adg1 ,fleet ,street3-- ,miss ,h4 ,martineau presents her compliments to ,mr4 ,holyoake1 and is happy to find that she may hope to see him this week1 and to thank him for his kindness in sending her some interesting papers by post4 ,miss ,h4 ,martineau will be happy to see ,mr4 ,holyoake at tea on ,wednesday evening next1 if he can favour her with his company at seven o'clock4 #ee1 ,devonshire ,street1 ,portland ,place4 ,in accordance with this note ,i took tea with her4 ,she conversed in her accustomed unperturbed way1 and said1 ,i sent for you that you may bear witness that ,i die on your side4 ,an attempt will be made to represent that my opinions have vacillated4 ,whereas ,i have gone right on1 as1 ,i believe1 from truth to truth4 ,my views may not1 however1 have been those of progress4 ,i remarked that ,i had bought her earlier works to satisfy myself of the successiveness of her convictions1 as expressed in her writings1 and thought she rightly described them as being intrinsically progressive4 ,yes1 she added1 my views from time to time were at successive stages1 as they are now1 clear and decided4 ,certainly ,i was never happier in my life than at the present time4 ,christians1 if they think it worth while to attempt it1 will not be able to make a ',death ,bed' out of me4 ,i wish you to know my opinions at this time4 ,we have to vindicate the truth as well as to teach it499 99 ,i put these words down the same night2 thus ,i am able to quote them4 ,for myself1 ,i was neither priest nor confessor4 ,had ,i been1 ,i should have felt it presumption to attempt to confirm one better able to teach me than ,i was to teach her4 ,all ,i said was3 ,it is certainly a moral relief not to hold the cardinal ,christian tenets of faith1 as so many preachers speaking1 as they assume to do1 in the name of ,god1 explain them4 ,to act according to conscience and speak according to knowledge1 never ceasing to consider what we can do for the service of others1 is the one duty which a future life1 if it comes1 will not contradict4 ,though no one was so well able as herself to write her biography1 it was not in her mind to do it1 and she wrote to me to give her the names of persons ,i thought might undertake it4 ,i named three3 ,charles ,knight1 who knew more of her life than any one else1 eligible to write it2 next ,francis ,william ,newman1 who1 being a many-sided thinker1 and largely coinciding with her views1 could justly estimate her earlier and later convictions4 ,the third was ,mr4 ,h4 ,g4 ,atkinson1 who was entirely conversant with her convictions and career1 but who declined with expressions of diffidence1 though ,i urged him to undertake the work4 ,at length she did it herself1 in a way which showed no one else could have done it so well4 ,she left instructions in her will that ,i should receive a copy of her ,autobiography1 which appeared in three volumes1 and came to me 7,february #bh1 #ahgg7 from ,mr4 ,thomas ,martineau1 one of her executors4 ,no autobiography produced in its day a greater impression4 ,the treatment ,miss ,martineau had received from eminent adversaries astonished a generation in which greater controversial fairness had come to prevail4 ,the friends of those who had assailed her felt some consternation at the imperishable descriptions of their conduct1 which would never cease to be associated with their names1 and they made public attempts to explain the facts away4 ,her mind was photographic in other respects4 ,she saw social facts and their influences1 their nature and sequences1 with a vividness no other writer of her day did4 ,her charming romance1 the ,feats of the ,fiord impressed ,norwegians with the belief that she was personally familiar with the country1 where she had never been4 ,there was caller air in the pages which made the reader hungry4 ,the autobiography contains a small gallery of statues of contemporaries1 of note in their time1 sculptured from life1 as perfect in their way as ,grecian statues4 ,their excellencies are generously portrayed for admiration1 and their defects described for the guidance of survivors4 ,not like the false eulogies of the dead1 which1 by pretending perfection1 lie to the living1 where silence on errors or deficiencies are of the nature of deceit1 and sure to be resented when the truth comes to be known4 ,only that admiration is lasting which is fully informed4 ,no character of ,lord ,brougham so striking and true as hers1 has ever been drawn4 ,eminent biographers and critics1 including ,carlyle1 have delineated him1 but her portrait--drawn twenty years before theirs appeared--,professor ,masson assured me her character of ,brougham was the most perfect of all4 ,her two-sided estimate gave discomfort to those content with obliqueness in knowledge1 but those who have the impartial instinct seek reality1 by which no one is deceived4 ,the light and shade of character1 like the light and shade of a painting1 alone give distinctiveness and truth4 ,but whoever delineates so must suffer no distorting tints of pique1 or spite1 or prejudice on his palate4 ,miss ,martineau entered into a correspondence on ,man's ,nature and ,development1 with ,mr4 ,henry ,g4 ,atkinson1 which1 when published1 was reviewed by her brother1 ,dr4 ,james ,martineau1 in the ,prospective ,review ,no4 xxvi41 ,art #d1 for which he selected the offensive and ignorant title of ,mesmeric ,atheism4 ,it was misleading1 because mesmerism has no theology4 ,it was ignorant1 because neither ,mr4 ,atkinson nor ,dr4 ,martineau's sister were ,atheists4 ,their disavowal of ,atheism was in the book before him4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,harriet ,,martin ,,eau--,,further ,,incidents ,,in ,,her ,,singular ,,career ,if the reader is curious to know what really were the opinions of these two distinguished offenders 7,h4 ,martineau and ,h4 ,g4 ,atkinson71 ,i recite them4 ,in the book ,dr4 ,martineau reviewed1 ,mr4 ,atkinson said3-- ,i am far from being an ,atheist ,i do not say there is no ,god1 but that it is extravagant and irreverent to imagine that cause a ,person4 ,miss ,martineau herself writes in the same series of letters3-- ,there is no theory of a ,god1 of an author of ,nature1 of an origin of the universe1 which is not utterly repugnant to my faculties2 which is not 7to my feelings7 so irreverent as to make me blush2 so misleading as to make me mourn4 ,yet ,dr4 ,martineau wrote of his sister and her friend in terms which seemed1 to the public1 of studied insult and disparagement1 which1 in educated society1 would be called brutal4 ,it was merely spiritual malignity1 of which ,i had in former years sufficient experience to render me a connoisseur in it4 ,all the while ,dr4 ,martineau had heresies of his own to answer for1 yet he wrote words of his sister which no woman of self-respect could condone1 unless withdrawn4 ,during her long illness of twenty years ,dr4 ,martineau1 her brother1 never wrote to her nor addressed one word of sympathy to one who had loved him so well4 ,he had told the world that the subtle1 all-penetrating spirit of ,christ has an inspiring nobleness philosophy cannot reach1 nor science1 nor nature impart4 ,then how came ,dr4 ,martineau to miss it8 ,the nobleness of mind of his illustrious sister all the world knew--before the world knew him--and ,mr4 ,atkinson was a gentleman of as pure a life and of as good a position in society as ,dr4 ,martineau himself4 ,o ,theology1 into what crookedness dost thou twist the straightest minds6 ,i have seen in a ,life of ,dr4 ,martineau that ,professor ,newman assented to what ,dr4 ,martineau wrote of his sister4 ,this fact ,i ought not to withhold from the reader4 ,but ,mr4 ,newman only knew what ,dr4 ,martineau told him4 ,mr4 ,atkinson was the son of a ,london architect who left him an income which enabled him to devote himself to philosophy1 which was his taste4 ,he was personally conversant1 as visitor or guest1 with a wide range of distinguished thinkers and writers of his time4 ,he was full of curious knowledge and notable sayings gathered in that opportune intercourse4 ,with a mind devoid of prejudice1 he looked on scientific discoveries as a veteran and seasoned spectator4 ,no new idea surprised him1 no expression of thoughtful opinion awakened in him resentment4 ,he cared only for truth1 in whatever form or quarter it appeared4 ,he had none of the indifference of the arm-chair philosopher1 but aided struggling opinion to assert itself4 ,once ,i was his guest in ,boulogne4 ,to my surprise ,i was the only passenger in the packet boat ,the quay of ,boulogne was deserted4 ,at ,hughes's ,hotel ,i was the only guest in the dining-room4 ,on inquiring the reason1 ,i learned that ,gilbert a',beckett had died a few days before of diphtheria1 and that ,douglas ,jerrold had left for ,england since4 ,mr4 ,atkinson1 not expecting me1 had gone for a day's sea trip to ,calais4 ,on his return we spent pleasant hours at a cafe4 ,he had no idea of leaving the hotel where he had rooms4 ,some years later ,mr4 ,atkinson died in ,boulogne1 where he had resided many years4 ,personally he was tall1 of good presence and refined manners4 ,he was clean shaven1 and might be taken for an ,evangelical ,bishop4 ,save a mobile expression1 his face was as shadowless as one of ,holbein's portraits4 ,the object of his letters to ,miss ,martineau was to ascertain if there could be found a real basis of a science of mind4 ,the common idea in those days was that mind was a vital spark which shone at will--originating without conditions--acting of its own caprice and obeying no law4 ,only the theological spirit could see harm in this investigation4 ,not only fidelity1 but chivalry towards her friends was a characteristic of ,miss ,martineau4 ,when ,w4 ,j4 ,linton1 for whom ,i had great regard1 as appears in what ,i have written of him in the ,warpath of ,opinion1 had become vindictive--because ,i had obtained #i1jjj shillings for ,european ,freedom from readers of the ,reasoner at the request of ,mazzini1 ,mr4 ,linton--equally desirous and equally devoted1 had not succeeded--wrote to the ,liberator of ,new ,york1 edited by ,lloyd ,garrison1 assailing me politically and personally1 whereupon ,miss ,martineau sent to the ,liberator the following generous letter--which1 though it be counted egotism in me to cite1 ,i accept the risk1 since such friendship was without parallel in my experience3-- ,dear ,sir1--,i see with much surprise and more concern an attack in your paper upon the character of ,mr4 ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake1 signed by ,mr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,linton4 ,i could have wished1 with others of your readers1 that you had waited for some evidence1 or other testimony1 before committing your most respected paper to an attack on such a man from such a quarter4 ,of ,mr4 ,linton it is not necessary for me to say anything1 because what ,i say of ,mr4 ,holyoake will sufficiently show what ,i think of his testimony4 ,i wish ,i could give you an idea of the absurdity that it appears to us in this country to charge ,mr4 ,holyoake with sneaking1 with desiring to conceal his opinions1 and get rid of the word ',atheism4' ,his whole life1 since he grew up1 has been one of public advocacy of the principles he holds1 of weekly publication of them under his own signature1 and of constant lecturing in public places4 ,one would think that a man who has been tried and imprisoned for ,atheism1 and has ever since continued to publish the opinions which brought him into that position1 might be secure1 if any man might1 from the charge of sneaking4 ,the adoption of the term ,secularism is justified by its including a large number of persons who are not ,atheists1 and uniting them for action which has ,secularism for its object1 and not ,atheism4 ,on this ground1 and because by the adoption of a new term a vast amount of impediment from prejudice is got rid of1 the use of the name ,secularism is found advantageous2 but it in no way interferes with ,mr4 ,holyoake's profession of his own unaltered views on the subject of a ,first ,cause4 ,as ,i am writing this letter1 ,i may just say for myself that ,i constantly and eagerly read ,mr4 ,holyoake's writings1 though many of them are on subjects--or occupied with stages of subjects--that would not otherwise detain me1 because ,i find myself always morally the better for the influence of the noble spirit of the man1 for the calm courage1 the composed temper1 the genuine liberality1 and unintermitting justice with which he treats all manner of persons1 incidents1 and topics4 ,i certainly consider the conspicuous example of ,mr4 ,holyoake's kind of heroism to be one of our popular educational advantages at this time4 ,you have printed ,mr4 ,linton's account of ,mr4 ,holyoake4 ,i request you to print mine4 ,i send it simply as an act of justice4 ,my own acquaintance with ,mr4 ,holyoake is on the ground of his public usefulness1 based on his private virtues2 and ,i can have no other reason for vindicating him than a desire that a cruel wrong should be as far as possible undone4 ,and ,i do it myself because ,i am known to your readers as an ,abolitionist of sufficiently long standing not to be likely to be deceived in regard to the conduct and character of any one who speaks on the subject1 ,i am1 yours very respectfully1 ,harriet ,martineau4 ,london1 ,november #a1 #ahee4 ,born ,june #ab1 #ahjb1 at ,norwich1 she died ,june #bg1 #ahgf1 at ,ambleside4 ,in #ahcb1 when she was twenty-eight1 ,lucy ,atkin wrote to tell ,dr4 ,channing that a great light had arisen among women1 which shone for forty-four years4 ,when she was a young woman1 ,lord ,melbourne offered her a pension1 which she declined on the ground that a ,government which did not represent the people had no right to give away their money--an act of integrity so infrequent as to be always fresh4 ,in her case it explains a career4 ,two of the greatest women in ,europe1 ,george ,sand and ,harriet ,martineau1 of nearly equal age1 died within a few weeks of each other4 ,passed away is the phrase now employed1 as though the writer knew that a journey was intended1 and was in progress1 whereas as ,barry ,cornwall wrote3-- ,a flower above and a mould below ,is all the mourners ever know4 ,mrs4 ,fenwick ,miller relates that ,miss ,martineau began writing for the ,press1 like the famous novelist mentioned1 under a man's name1 ,deciphalus4 ,once when at ,mr4 ,w4 ,e4 ,forster's1 at ,burley1 it fell to me to take ,mrs4 ,forster down to dinner4 ,being in doubt as to what was etiquette in such cases1 preferring to be thought uncouth than familiar1 ,i did not offer my hostess my arm4 ,afterwards ,i asked ,miss ,martineau what ,i might have done4 ,she answered that a guest was an equal1 and any act of courtesy permissible in him was permissible in me1 but in better terms than ,i can invent4 ,recurring to the subject at another time1 she said1 ,i was well pleased at your consulting me as you did4 ,it would save a world of trouble and doubt and energy1 if we all asked one another what the other is qualified to tell4 ,i1 who have to be economical of energy and time1 always do it4 ,i ask1 point blank1 what it is important for me to know1 from any one who can best tell me1 and ,i like to be inquired of in the same way4 ,i hope no guest will feel puzzled in my house1 but ask1 and what ,i can answer ,i will4 ,the readiness with which she placed her wisdom at the service of her friends might have given ,matthew ,arnold 7as she was a frequent visitor at ,fox ,howe7 his idea of ,sweetness and ,light4 ,greater than the difficulty of deafness was the fact that ,miss ,martineau wrote on the side of ,liberalism4 ,tory writers dipped their pens in the best preparation of venom sold by ,conservative chemists4 ,the ,church and ,king party1 which burnt down ,dr4 ,priestley's house1 soon discovered that ,miss ,martineau was guilty of the further crime of being a ,unitarian4 ,nevertheless1 she abandoned no principle1 nor apologised for maintaining what she believed to be true4 ,spinoza1 as ,renan has told us1 gave great offence to his adversaries by the integrity of his life1 as it did not give them a fair opportunity of attacking him1 for the enormity of his conduct in believing less than they believed4 ,this was the case with ,harriet ,martineau1 who had said in one of her books1 ,a parent has a considerable influence over the subsistence fund of his family1 and an absolute control over the numbers to be supported by that fund4 ,the ,quarterly ,review1 written by gentlemen for gentlemen1 added1 ,we venture to ask this maiden sage the meaning of this passage4 ,why not ask the ,rev4 ,thomas ,maithus1 whose words ,miss ,martineau merely repeated8 ,all that was meant was deferred marriages4 ,the reviewer put an obscene construction upon it1 and imputed to her his own malignant inference4 ,this was a common rascality of logic alike in theology and politics in those days4 ,the intrepid authoress happened to believe there was some truth in mesmerism4 ,dr4 ,elliotson1 who thought so too1 told me that his temerity that way cost him ,l#g1jjj a year in fees4 ,this mesmeric episode brought the doctors upon the poor lady1 who never forgave her being alive when they said she ought to be dead4 ,eminent physicians predicted that she would sink down in six months4 ,when1 instead of sinking down1 she rode on a camel to ,mount ,sinai and ,petra1 and on horseback to ,damascus1 they said she had never been ill6 ,she had the unusual capacity which the gods only are said to give--that of seeing herself as others saw her4 ,she saw her own life and intellectual power in its strength and in its limitation1 as though she stood away from them and looked at them2 she saw them1 as it were1 palpable and apart from herself4 ,of imagination1 which sheds sunshine over style1 she had little4 ,her pictures were etchings rather than paintings4 ,her strength lay in directness of expression and practical thought ,she saw social facts and their influences1 their nature and sequences1 with a vividness no other writer of her day did4 ,when she had completed the translation of ,comte's ,positive ,philosophy1 she placed at my disposal twenty-five copies to give to persons unable to buy them1 but able to profit by them2 and to extend the knowledge of its principles4 ,she offered me the publication of an edition of ,household ,education4 ,no book like it had been written before1 and none since4 ,four hundred copies were sold by my arrangement4 ,the book was mainly intended for women4 ,the review of it for the ,reasoner99 was written by my wife1 as ,i advocated that women should take their own affairs in the press into their own hands1 and give their own opinion on what concerned them4 ,miss ,martineau's object in writing ,household ,education was1 she told me1 to indicate that1 in her opinion1 education should be on a philosophical basis1 adding3 ,i should see the great point of it is ignoring rank in so important a matter as the development of human beings4 ,it was written for ,buckingham ,palace and the humblest cottage where life is decently conducted4 ,miss ,martineau lived twenty-two years after receiving prognostications of early decease4 ,had she not been a woman of courage she would have died1 as was suggested to her4 ,she understood that she must accept new conditions of life4 ,she had a bed made in a railway carriage1 and went down with her maids to ,ambleside1 and never left her house except to take air and get the relief which the smoking of a cigarette gave her1 as she sat on summer evenings just outside the open windows of her sitting-room4 ,she might have given herself greater liberty1 for she did not die of heart ailment after all4 99 ,reasoner1 vol4 vi4 pp4 #cgh-i and #cij4 ,as ,i have seen in women of thought1 ,harriet ,martineau1 like ,george ,eliot1 grew handsomer as she grew older1 and acquired that queenly dignity1 such as is seen in ,george ,richmond's painting of ,miss ,martineau in mature years4 ,she devoted all her diversified genius to inspire public affairs with loftier aims and persistent purpose4 ,she was one of those ,christians mentioned by ,shakespeare who mean to be saved by believing rightly499 ,harriet ,martineau did1 and these words of ,flavius might be her epitaph4 99 ,twelfth ,night1 act iii41 scene #b4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,three ,,newmans ,illustration3 ,newman ,in one of the last conversations ,i had the pleasure to hold with ,mr4 ,gladstone1 ,i referred to the three ,newmans and their divergent careers4 ,he said he never knew there were three4 ,he knew ,john ,henry1 the ,cardinal 7as he afterwards became71 at ,oxford4 ,he knew ,francis ,william there1 who had repute for great attainments1 retirement of manner1 and high character2 but had never heard there was a third brother1 and was much interested in what ,i had to tell him4 ,the articles of ,charles ,newman ,i published in the ,reasoner1 and their republication by the late ,j4 ,w4 ,wheeler1 were little known to the general public1 who will probably hear of them now for the first time4 ,though ,i name three ,newmans1 this chapter relates chiefly to the one ,i best knew1 ,francis ,william1 known as ,professor ,newman4 ,the eldest of the three was ,john ,henry1 the famous ,cardinal4 ,the third brother1 ,charles1 was a propagandist of insurgent opinion4 ,francis was a pure ,theist1 ,john was a ,roman ,catholic1 and ,charles a ,naturist1 and nothing besides2 he would be classed as an ,agnostic now4 ,francis ,william was the handsomest ,he had classical features1 a placid1 clear1 and confident voice1 and an impressive smile which lighted up all his face4 ,john ,henry manifested in his youth the dominancy of the ecclesiastic1 and lived in a priestly world of his own creation1 in which this life was overshadowed by the terrors of another unknown4 ,francis believed in one sole ,god--not the head of a firm4 ,his ,theism was of such intense1 unquestioning devotion1 of such passionate confidence1 as was seen in ,mazzini and ,theodore ,parker1 of ,america4 ,voltaire and ,thomas ,paine were not more determined ,theists4 ,in all else1 ,francis was human4 ,charles believed in ,nature and nothing more4 ,in sending me papers to print in the ,reasoner on ,causation in the ,universe1 he would at times say1 ,my mind is leaving me1 and when it returns a few months hence1 ,i will send you a further paper4 ,like ,charles ,lamb's poor sister1 ,mary1 who used to put her strait waistcoat in her basket and go herself to the asylum1 when she knew the days of her aberration were approaching1 ,charles ,newman had premonition of a like kind4 ,he had the thoroughness of thought of his family4 ,the two brothers--the ,cardinal and the ,professor--united to supply ,charles with an income sufficient for his needs4 ,the ,cardinal1 though he knew ,charles' opinions1 readily joined4 ,when some questioning remark on ,professor ,newman was made incidentally in the ,house of ,commons1 in consequence of his uncompromising views1 the ,cardinal wrote saying that for his brother's purity he would die1 which1 considering their extreme divergence of opinion1 was very noble in the ,cardinal4 ,professor ,newman1 ,i believe1 wrote more books1 having regard to their variety and quality1 than any other scholar of his time4 ,science1 history1 poetry1 theology1 political economy1 mathematics1 travel1 translations--the ,iliad of ,homer--among them a ,sanscrit dictionary4 ,he wrote many pamphlets and spoke for the humblest societies1 regardless of the amazement of his eminent contemporaries and associates4 ,on questions relating to marital morality1 he did not hesitate to publish leaflets4 ,i published a series of letters for him in the ,reasoner--now some fifty years ago1 so we were long acquainted4 ,these earlier communications came to me at a time when the authorities of ,university ,college in ,london1 where he was ,professor of ,latin1 were being called upon to consider whether his intellectual ,liberalism might deter parents from sending their sons there4 ,but it was bravely held that the ,university had no cognisance of the personal opinions of any professor4 ,like ,professor ,key1 ,mr4 ,newman took an open interest in public affairs4 ,though variedly learned1 ,professor ,newman's style of speech1 to whomever addressed by tongue or pen1 was fresh1 direct1 precise1 and lucid4 ,mr4 ,newman's quarto volume on ,theism1 written in metre1 is the greatest compendium of ,theistical argument published in my time1 and until ,darwin wrote1 no entirely conclusive answer was possible4 ,francis ,newman had a travelling mind4 ,from the time when ,i published his ,personal ,narrative of his early missionary experience at ,aleppo1 he grew1 year by year1 more rationalistic in his religious judgment4 ,in one of his papers1 written in the year of his death1 he said3 ,it may be asked1 ',is ,mr4 ,newman a disciple of ,jesus8' ,i answer1 ',of all nations that ,i know1 that have a religion established by law1 ,i have never seen the equal to what is attributed to ,jesus himself4 ,but much is attributed to ,him--,i disapprove of4' ,on the whole1 if ,i am asked1 ',do you call yourself a ,christian8' ,i say1 in contrast to other religions1 ',yes6 ,i do1' and so far ,i must call myself a ,christian4 ,but if you put upon me the words ,disciple of ,jesus1 meaning the believing all ,jesus teaches to be light and truth ,i cannot say it1 and ,i think ,his words variously unprovable4 ,now all disciples1 when they come to full age1 ought to seek to surpass their masters4 ,therefore1 if ,jesus had faults1 we1 after more than two thousand years' experience1 ought to expect to surpass ,him1 especially when an immense routine of science has been elaborately built up1 with a thousand confirmations all beyond the thought of ,jesus4 ,what a progressive order of thought would exist now in the ,christian world had ,mr4 ,newman's conception of discipleship prevailed in the ,churches6 ,mr4 ,newman's words about myself1 occurring in his work on ,the ,soul1 ,i remember with pride4 ,they were written at a time when ,i had an ominous reputation among theologians4 ,when residing at ,clifton as a professor1 ,mr4 ,newman came down to ,broadmead ,rooms at ,bristol1 and took the chair at one of my lectures1 and spoke words on my behalf which only he could frame4 ,but he was as fearless in his friendship as he was intrepid in his faith4 ,he wrote to me1 ,april #cj1 #ahig1 saying3 ,i appeal to your compassion when ,i say1 that the mere change of opinion on a doubtful fact has perhaps cost me the regard of all who do not know me intimately4 ,the fact related to the probability of annihilation at death4 ,he regretted the loss of friendship1 but never varied in his lofty fidelity to conscience4 ,whatever might be his interest in a future life1 if it were the will of ,god not to concede it1 he held it to be the duty of one who placed his trust in ,him to acquiesce4 ,the spirit of piety never seemed to me nobler1 than in this unusual expression of unmurmuring1 unpresuming resignation4 ,his first wife1 who was of the persuasion of the ,plymouth ,brethren1 had little sympathy with his boldness and fecundity of thought4 ,once1 when he lived at ,park ,village1 ,regent's ,park1 his friend1 ,dr4 ,james ,martineau1 came into the room2 she opened the window and stepped out on to the lawn1 rather than meet him4 ,mr4 ,newman was very tender as to her scruples1 but stood by his own4 ,when ,i visited him1 he asked me1 from regard to her1 to give the name of ,mr4 ,jacobs--the name ,i used when a teacher in ,worcester in #ahdj1 where ,i lectured under my own name and taught under another4 ,on ,february #ab1 #ahig1 ,mr4 ,newman wrote3--,mv dear ,holyoake1--,i am not coming round to you1 though many will think ,i am4 ,on the contrary1 ,i hope you are half coming round to me1 but ,i have no time to talk on these matters4 ,he then asked my advice as to his rights over his own publications1 then in the hands of ,mr4 ,frowde1 printer1 of ,oxford2 but with such care for the rights of others1 such faultless circumspection as to the consequences to others in all he wished done1 as to cause me agreeable surprise at the unfailing perspicacity of his mind1 his unchanging1 scrupulous1 and instinctive sense of justice4 ,he regarded death with the calmness of a philosopher4 ,he wrote to me ,april #cj1 #ahig3 ,only those near me know how ,i daily realise the near approach of my own death 7he was then ninety-three74 ,i grudge every day wasted by things unfinished which remain for me to do4 ,no apprehension1 no fear1 and he wished ,i could appear before him1 with a document drawn up1 by which he could consign to me the custody of all the works under his control4 ,at the time1 as he said1 he might easily be in his grave before ,i could accomplish his wishes4 ,he says in another letter that his wife1 like himself1 abhorred indebtedness4 ,he provided for the probable cost of everything he wished done4 ,his sense of honour remained as keen as his sense of faith4 ,he was a gentleman first and a ,christian afterwards4 ,mr4 ,gladstone told me he was under the impression that he had1 in some way unknown to himself1 lost the friendship of ,mr4 ,newman1 from whom he had not heard for several years2 and ,mr4 ,newman was under an impression that ,mr4 ,gladstone's silence was occasioned by disapproval of his published views of the ,errors of ,jesus--an error of assumption respecting ,mr4 ,gladstone into which ,mr4 ,newman might naturally1 but not excusably1 fall2 for ,mr4 ,newman should have known that ,mr4 ,gladstone had a noble tolerance equal to his own1 or should personally have tested it1 by letter or otherwise1 before nurturing an adverse conjecture4 ,i mentioned the matter to ,mr4 ,gladstone1 and found ,mr4 ,newman's surmise groundless4 ,at the same time ,i gave him a copy of ,mr4 ,francis ,newman's ,secret ,songs 7as one copy given to me was called7 which revealed to ,mr4 ,gladstone a devotional spirit he did not1 as he said1 imagine could co-exist in one whose faith was so divergent to his own4 ,the following letter1 which has autobiographical value1 may interest the reader3-- ,norwood ,villa1 #ae1 ,arundel ,crescent1 ,weston-super-,mare4 ,march #bb1 #ahic4 ,dear ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1--,i had no idea of writing to ,mr4 ,gladstone1 yet am glad to hear that you gave him my ',secret ,hymns4' ,probably my contrast to my brother1 the late ,cardinal1 always puzzled him4 ,that we were in painful opposition ever since #ahbj had never entered his mind1 much less that this opposition made it impossible to me to endure living in ,oxford1 which also would have been my obvious course4 ,i did send my ',paul of ,tarsus' to ,mr4 ,gladstone1 which partially opened his eyes4 ,for my brother's first pretentious religious book was against the ,arians1 which ,i think ,i read at latest in #ahcb4 ,mr4 ,gladstone has written that my brother's secession to ,rome was the greatest loss that the ,english ,church ever suffered4 ,of what kind was the loss my little book on ',paul' indirectly states1 in pointing out that1 as our ,english ,new ,testament shows1 ,paul in his own episode plainly originated the doctrine1 three centuries later called ,arianism1 and held by all the ,western ,church until young ,athanasius introduced his new and therefore 'false' doctrine4 ,my brother1 with ,paul's epistle open before him1 condemned the doctrine of ,arian1 and did not know that it was the invention of ,paul1 and thereby prevailed in the whole ,western ,church4 ,moreover1 ,i read what ,i cannot imagine met ,mr4 ,gladstone's eyes1 that ',it is not safe to quote any ,pre-,athanasian doctrines concerning the ,trinity1 since the ,church had not yet taught them how to express themselves4' ,after this1 could ,mr4 ,gladstone1 as a decent scholar1 mourn over my brother's loss to the ,church8 ,i hope ,mr4 ,gladstone can now afford time to read something of the really early ,christianity4 ,he will find the ,jerusalem ,christianity perishing after the ,roman revolt1 and supplanted by ,pauline fancies 7not ,christian at all7 and by ,pauline morality1 often better than ,christian4 ,to me our modern problem is to eschew ,pauline fancies and further to improve on ,pauline wisdom4 ,but since ,i have reached the point of being unable to take ,human ,immortality as a ,church axiom1 ,i cannot believe that the problem is above fully stated1 or that ,christianity deserves to become coetaneous with man's body4 ,perhaps ,i ought to thank you more1 yet ,i may have said too much4--,yours truly1 ,f4 ,w4 ,newman4 ,one day as ,mr4 ,newman was leaving my room in ,woburn ,buildings1 he looked round and said3 ,i did not think there were rooms so large in this place2 and then descending the stairs1 as though the familiarity of the remark was more than an impulse1 he said3 ,do you think you could join with me in teaching the great truth of ,theism8 ,alas6 ,i had to express my regret that my belief did not lie that way4 ,highly as ,i should think1 and much as ,i should value public association with ,mr4 ,newman1 ,i had to decline the opportunity4 ,if the will could create conviction1 ,i should also have accepted ,mazzini's invitation--elsewhere referred to--for ,theism never seemed so enchanting in my eyes as it appeared in the lives of those two distinguished thinkers who were inspired by it4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,mazzini ,,in ,,england-,,incidents ,,in ,,his ,,career ,illustration3 ,mazzini ,giuseppe ,mazzini1 whom ,englishmen know as ,joseph ,mazzini1 was born in ,genoa1 ,june #bb1 #ahje1 and died in ,pisa1 ,march #aj1 #ahgb4 ,he spent the greater part of forty years of his marvellous life in ,london4 99 ,some incidents of his ,english career1 known to me1 may increase or confirm the public impression of him4 99 ,first in ,devonshire ,street1 ,queen ,square2 in ,chelsea2 in ,brompton2 in earlier years in penury4 ,where he had command of a sitting-room1 birds were flying about4 ,uncaged freedom was to ,mazzini the emblem of ,liberty4 ,never strong from youth1 abstemious1 oft from privation1 and always from principle1 he was as thin as ,dumas describes ,richelieu4 ,arbitrary imprisonment1 which twice befel him1 and many years of voluntary confinement1 imposed upon himself by necessity of concealment--living and working in a small room1 whence it was dangerous for him to emerge by day or by night--were inevitably enervating4 ,when he first came to ,london in #ahcg1 he brought with him three exiles1 who depended upon his earnings for subsistence4 ,the slender income supplied him by his mother might have sufficed for his few wants199 but aid for others and the ceaseless cost of the propaganda of ,italian independence1 to which he devoted himself1 had to be provided by writing for reviews4 ,at times cherished souvenirs had to be pledged1 and visits to money-lenders had to be made4 99 ,of ,mazzini's great abstemiousness it was written later in life3 ,a cheaper world no one can know1 ,where he who laughs grows fat2 ,man wants but little here below-- ,mazzini less than that4 ,it was the knowledge all his countrymen had that he sought nothing for himself1 never spared himself in toil or peril1 that was the source of his influence4 ,he wrote3 ,we follow a path strewn with sacrifices and with sorrows4 ,but all the tragedies of his experience we never knew until years after his death1 when his incomparable ,love ,letters were published in the ,nineteenth ,century1 ,no4 #bai1 ,may1 #ahie4 ,he appeared to others to have the complexion of a student1 the air of one who waited and listened4 ,as ,meredith said1 it was not until you meet his large1 penetrating1 dark eyes1 that you were drawn suddenly among a thousand whirring wheels of a capacious1 keen1 and vigorous intellect4 ,mr4 ,bolton ,king has published a notable book on the great ,italian1 containing more incidents in his career than any other ,english writer has collected4 ,i confine myself mainly to those within my knowledge4 ,when anything had to be done1 in my power to do1 ,i was at his command4 ,i had numerous letters from him4 ,his errorless manuscript had the appearance of ,greek writing4 ,two letters t and s1 such as no other man formed1 were the signs of his hand and interpreters of his words4 ,of all the communications ,i ever received from him or saw1 none had date or address1 save one letter which had both4 ,many sought for conversation1 if by chance they were near him1 or by letter1 or interview--for ends of their own4 ,but no one elicited any information he did not intend to give4 ,his mind was a fortress into which no man could enter1 unless he opened the door4 ,kossuth astonished us by his knowledge of ,english1 but he knew little of the ,english people4 ,louis ,blanc knew much2 but ,mazzini knew more than any foreigner ,i have conversed with4 ,mazzini made no mistake about us4 ,he understood the ,english better than they understood themselves--their frankness1 truth1 courage1 impulse1 pride1 passions1 prejudice1 inconsistency1 and limitation of view4 ,mazzini knew them all4 ,his address to the ,republicans of the ,united ,states 7,november1 #ahee7 is an example of his knowledge of nations1 whose characteristics were as familiar to him as those of individuals are to their associates1 or as parties are known to politicians in their own country4 ,there may be seen his wise way of looking all round an argument in stating it4 ,no man of a nature so intense had so vigilant an outside mind4 ,he knew theories as he knew men1 and he saw the theories as they would be in action4 ,there was no analysis so masterly of the popular schools--political and socialist--as that which ,mazzini contributed to the ,people's ,journal1 ,his criticisms of the writings of ,carlyle1 published in the ,westminster ,review1 explained the excellencies and the pernicious tendencies--political and moral--of ,carlyle's writing1 which no other critic ever did4 ,but ,mazzini wrote upon art1 music1 literature1 poetry1 and the drama4 ,to this day the public think of him merely as a political writer--a sort of ,italian ,cobbett with a genius for conspiracy4 ,the list of his works fills nearly ten pages of the catalogue of the ,british ,museum4 ,under other circumstances his pen would have brought him ample subsistence1 if not affluence4 ,much was written without payment1 as a means of obtaining attention to ,italy4 ,it was thus he won his first friends in ,england4 ,no one could say of ,mazzini that he was a foreigner and did not understand us1 or that the case he put was defective through not understanding our language4 ,the ,saturday ,review1 which agreed with nobody1 said1 on reading ,mazzini's ,letter to ,louis ,napoleon1 which was written in ,english1 ,the man can write4 ,the finest ,state papers seen in ,europe for generations were those which ,mazzini1 when a ,triumvir in ,rome1 wrote--notably those to ,de ,tocqueville4 ,de ,tocqueville had a great name for political literature1 but his icy mystifications melted away under ,mazzini's fiery pen of principle1 passion1 and truth4 ,this wandering1 homeless1 penniless1 obscure refugee was a match for kings4 ,some day a publisher of insight will bring out a cheap edition of the five volumes of his works1 issued by ,s4 ,king and ,co41 #ahfg1 and dedicated to the working classes by ,p4 ,a4 ,taylor1 which cost him ,l#ejj1 few then caring for them4 ,mrs4 ,emilie ,ashurst ,venturi was the translator of the five volumes1 which were all revised by ,mazzini4 ,the reader therefore can trust the text4 ,mazzini did me the honour of presenting to me his volume on the ,duties of ,man1 with this inscription of reserve3 ,to my friend1 ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake1 with a very faint hope4 ,words delicate1 self-respecting and suggestive4 ,it was hard for me1 with my convictions1 to accept his great formula1 ,god and the ,people4 ,it was a great regret to me that ,i could not use the words4 ,they were honest on the lips of ,mazzini4 ,but ,i had seen that in human danger ,providence procrastinates4 ,no peril stirs it1 no prayer quickens its action4 ,men perish as they supplicate4 ,in danger the people must trust in themselves4 ,thinking as ,i did1 ,i could not say or pretend otherwise4 ,mazzini one day said to me1 ,a public man is often bound by his past4 ,his repute for opinions he has maintained act as a restraint upon avowing others of a converse nature4 ,this feeling never had influence over me4 ,any one who has convictions ought to maintain a consistency between what he believes1 and what he says and does4 ,but to maintain to-day the opinions of former years1 when you have ceased to feel them true1 is a false1 foolish1 even a criminal consistency4 ,to conceal the change1 if it concerns others to know it1 is dishonest if it is misleading any persons you may have influenced4 ,the test1 to me1 of the truth of any view ,i hold1 is that1 ,i can state it and dare the judgment of others to confute it4 ,had ,i new views--theistical or otherwise--that ,i could avow with this confidence1 ,i should have the same pleasure in stating them as ,i ever had in stating my former ones4 ,when ,i look back upon opinions ,i published long years ago1 ,i am surprised at the continuity of conviction which1 without care or thought on my part1 has remained with me4 ,in stating my opinions ,i have made many changes4 ,schiller truly says that ,toleration is only possible to men of large information4 ,as ,i came to know more ,i have been more considerate towards the views1 or errors1 or mistakes of others1 and have striven to be more accurate in my own statement of them1 and more fair towards adversaries4 ,that is all4 ,mazzini understood this1 and did not regard as perversity the prohibition of conscience4 ,in his letter to ,daniel ,manin1 which ,i published in #ahef1 ,mazzini described as a quibble the use of the word unification instead of unity4 ,unification is not a bad thing in itself1 though very different from unity4 ,to put forth unification as a substitute for unity was forsaking unity4 ,it was a change of front1 but not quibbling4 ,the ,government of ,italy were advised to contrive local amelioration1 as a means of impeding1 if not undermining1 claims for national freedom4 ,mazzini condemned ,manin for concurring in this4 ,all ,english insurgent parties have shown similar animosity against amelioration of evil1 lest it diverted attention from absolute redress4 ,yet it is a great responsibility to continue the full evil in all its sharpness and obstructiveness1 on the grounds that its abatement is an impediment to larger relief4 ,every argument for amelioration is a confession that those who object to injustice are right ,what is to prevent reformers continuing their demand for all that is necessary1 when some of the evil is admitted and abated8 ,paramount among agitators as ,i think ,mazzini1 it is a duty to admit that he was not errorless4 ,high example renders an error serious4 ,the press being free in ,england1 there needed no conspiracy here4 ,an engraved card1 still hanging in a little frame in many a weaver's and miner's house in the ,north of ,england1 was issued at a shilling each on behalf of funds for ,european freedom1 signed by ,mazzini for ,italy1 ,kossuth for ,hungary1 and ,worcell for ,poland4 ,when editing the ,reasoner ,i received one morning a letter from ,mazzini1 dated #ae1 ,radnor ,street1 ,king's ,road1 ,chelsea1 ,june #ab1 #aheb4 ,this was the only one of ,mazzini's letters bearing an address and date ,i ever saw1 as ,i have said4 ,it began3-- ,my dear ,sir1--,you have once1 for the ,taxes on ,knowledge question1 collected a very large sum by dint of sixpences4 ,could you not do the same1 if your conscience approved the scheme1 for the ,shilling ,subscription then proposed for ,european freedom8 ,i have never made any appeal for material help to the ,english public1 but once the scheme is started1 ,i cannot conceal that ,i feel a great interest in its success4 ,a supreme struggle will take place between ,right and ,might1 and any additional strength imparted to militant ,democracy at this time is not to be despised4 ,still1 the moral motive is even more powerful with me4 ,the scheme is known in ,italy1 and will be known in ,hungary1 and it would be extremely important for me to be able to tell my countrymen that it has not proved a failure4 ,ever faithfully yours1 ,joseph ,mazzini4 ,i explained to the readers of the ,reasoner the great service they might render to ,european freedom at that time by a shilling subscription from each4 ,very soon we received #d1jjj shillings4 ,later 7,august #c1 #aheb7 ,mazzini1 writing from ,chelsea1 said3-- ,my dear ,sir1--,i have still to thank you for the noble appeal you have inserted in the ,reasoner in favour of the ,shilling ,subscription in aid of ,european freedom4 ,my friend ,giovanni ,peggotti1 fearing that physical and moral torture might weaken his determination and extort from him some revelations1 has hung himself in his dungeon at ,milan1 with his own cravat4 ,state trials are about being initiated by military commissions1 and ,general ,benedek1 the man who directed the wholesale ,gallician butcheries1 is to preside over them4 ,at ,forli1 under ,popish rule1 enforced by ,austrian bayonets1 four working men have been shot as guilty of having defended themselves against the aggression of some ,government agents4 ,the town was fined in a heavy sum1 because on that mournful day many of the inhabitants left it1 and the theatres were empty in the evening4 ,faithfully yours1 ,joseph ,mazzini4 ,people of ,england have mostly forgotten now what ,italians had to suffer when their necks were under the ferocious heel of ,austria4 ,in a short time ,i collected a further #e1jjj shillings1 making #i1jjj in all1 and ,i had the pleasure of sending to ,mazzini a cheque for ,l#dej499 99 ,the expenses of collection ,i defrayed myself4 ,a shilling subscription had been previously proposed mainly at the instigation of ,w4 ,j4 ,linton1 which bore the names of ,joseph ,cowen1 ,george ,dawson1 ,dr4 ,frederic ,lees1 ,george ,serle ,phillips1 ,c4 ,d4 ,collet1 ,t4 ,s4 ,duncombe1 ,m4,p41 ,viscount ,goderich1 ,m4,p4 7now ,marquis of ,ripon71 ,s4 ,m4 ,hawks1 ,austin ,holyoake1 ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake1 ,thornton ,hunt1 ,douglas ,jerrold1 ,david ,masson1 ,edward ,miall1 ,m4,p41 ,professor ,newman1 ,james ,stansfeld1 ,m4,p4 ,some of these names are interesting to recall now4 ,but it was not until ,mazzini asked me to make an appeal in the ,reasoner that response came4 ,its success then was owing to the influence of ,mazzini's great name4 ,workmen in mill and mine gave because he wished it4 ,i published ,weill's ,great ,war of the ,peasants1 the first and only ,english translation1 in aid of the war in ,italy4 ,the object was to create confidence in the struggle of the ,italian peasantry to free their country1 and to give reasons for subscriptions from ,english working men to aid their ,italian brethren4 ,madame ,venturi made the translation1 on ,mazzini's suggestion1 for the ,secular ,world1 in which ,i published it4 ,in #ahee wishing to publish certain papers of 'azzini s1 ,i wrote asking him to permit me to do so1 when he replied in the most remarkable letter ,i received from him3 ,dear ,sir1--,you are welcome to any writing or fragment of mine which you may wish to reprint in the ,reasoner4 ,thought1 according to me1 is1 as soon as publicly uttered1 the property of all1 not an individual one4 ,in this special case1 it is with true pleasure that ,i give the consentment you ask for4 ,the deep esteem ,i entertain for your personal character1 for your sincere love of truth1 perseverance1 and nobly tolerant habits1 makes me wish to do more2 and time and events allowing1 ,i shall4 ,we pursue the same end--progressive improvement1 association1 transformation of the corrupted medium in which we are now living1 overthrow of all idolatries1 shams1 lies1 and conventionalities4 ,we both want man to be not the poor1 passive1 cowardly1 phantasmagoric unreality of the actual time1 thinking in one way and acting in another2 bending to power which he hates and despises1 carrying empty ,popish1 or thirty-nine article formulas on his brow and none within2 but a fragment of the living truth1 a real individual being linked to collective humanity1 the bold seeker of things to come2 the gentle1 mild1 loving1 yet firm1 uncompromising1 inexorable apostle of all that is just and heroic--the ,priest1 the ,poet1 and the ,prophet4 ,we widely differ as to the how and why4 ,i do dimly believe that all we are now struggling1 hoping1 discussing1 and fighting for1 is a religious question4 ,we want a new intellect of life2 we long to tear off one more veil from the ideal1 and to realise as much as we can of it2 we thirst after a deeper knowledge of what we are and of the why we are4 ,we want a new heaven and a new earth4 ,we may not all be now conscious of this1 but the whole history of mankind bears witness to the inseparable union of these terms4 ,the clouds which are now floating between our heads and ,god's sky will soon vanish and a bright sun shine on high4 ,we may have to pull down the despot1 the arbitrary dispenser of grace and damnation1 but it will only be to make room for the ,father and ,educator4 ,ever faithfully yours1 ,joseph ,mazzini4 ,another incident has instruction in it1 still necessary and worth remembering in the political world4 ,in #ahgb ,i found in the ,boston ,globe1 then edited by ,edin ,ballou1 a circumstantial story by the ,constitutional of that day1 setting forth that ,sir ,james ,hudson1 our ,minister at ,turin1 begged ,cavour to accord an interview to an ,english gentleman4 ,when ,cavour received him1 he was surprised by the boldness1 lucidity1 depth1 and perspicacity of his ,english visitor1 and told him that if he 7,cavour7 had a countryman of like quality1 he would resign the ,presidency of the ,council in favour of him1 whereupon the ,englishman handed ,cavour his card bearing the name of ,joseph ,mazzini1 much to his astonishment4 ,there are seven things fatal to the truth of this story received and circulated throughout ,europe without question3-- #a4 ,sir ,james ,hudson could never have introduced to the ,italian ,minister a person as an ,englishman1 whom ,sir ,james knew to be an ,italian4 #b4 ,nor was ,mazzini a man who would be a party to such an artifice4 #c4 ,cavour would have known ,mazzini the moment he saw him4 #d4 ,mazzini's ,italian was such as only an ,italian could speak1 and ,cavour would know it4 #e4 ,mazzini's ,republican and ,propagandist plans were as well known to ,cavour as ,cobden's were to ,peel2 and ,mazzini's strategy of conspiracy was so repugnant to ,cavour1 that he must have considered his visitor a wild idealist1 and must have become mad himself to be willing to resign his position in ,mazzini's favour4 #f4 ,cavour could not have procured his visitor's appointment in his place if he had resigned4 #g4 ,mazzini could not have offered ,cavour his card1 for the reason that he never carried one4 ,as in ,turin he would be in hourly danger of arrest1 he was not likely to carry about with him an engraved identification of himself4 ,nevertheless1 the ,pall ,mall ,gazette of that day 7in whose hands it was then ,i forget7 published this crass fiction without questioning it4 ,the reader will rightly think that these are the incredible fictions of a bygone time1 but he will conclude wrongly if he thinks they have ceased4 ,lately1 not a nameless but a known and responsible person1 one ,sir ,edward ,hertslet1 ,k4,c4,b41 a ,foreign ,office official1 published a volume in which he related that in #ahdh 7the #ajth of ,april year1 when no political historian was sane7 a stranger called at the ,foreign ,office to inquire for letters for him from abroad4 ,a colleague of ,sir ,edward's suggested that he should inquire at the ,home ,office4 ,the strange gentleman replied indignantly1 ,i will not go to the ,home ,office4 ,my name is ,mazzini4 ,this answer ,sir ,edward put in quotation marks1 as though it was really said4 ,sir ,edward has been in the ,diplomatic service4 ,he has been a ,foreign ,office librarian1 and is a ,k4,c4,b41 yet for more than fifty years he has kept this astounding story by him1 reserved it1 cherished it1 never suspected it1 nor inquired into its truth4 ,mazzini was not a man to give his name to a youth 7as ,sir ,edward was then7 at the ,foreign ,office4 ,he never went there4 ,it is doubtful whether any letter ever came to ,england bearing his name4 ,he was known among his friends as ,mr4 ,flower or ,mr4 ,silva4 ,when the late ,william ,rathbone ,greg wished to see him1 he neither knew his name nor where he resided1 and his son ,percy--who was then writing for a journal of which ,i was editor--was asked to obtain from me an introduction1 and it was only to oblige me that ,mazzini consented to see ,mr4 ,w4 ,r4 ,greg4 ,sir ,james ,graham never opened any letter addressed to ,mazzini1 for none ever came4 ,he opened letters of other persons1 as every ,foreign ,secretary before him and since has done1 in which might be enclosed a communication for ,mazzini4 ,was it conceivable that the ,foreign ,office1 then known to secretly open ,mazzini's letters1 would be chosen by the ,italian exile as a receiving house for his letters1 and have communications sent to its care1 and addressed in his name8 ,was it conceivable that ,mazzini would go there and announce himself when the ,foreign ,office was acting as a spy upon his proceedings in the interest of foreign ,governments8 ,this authenticated ,foreign ,office story would be too extravagant for a penny dreadful1 yet not too extravagant1 in ,sir ,edward ,hertslet's mind1 to be believable by the official world now1 and was sent or found its way to ,foreign ,embassies and ,legations for their delectation and information4 ,yet ,sir ,edward was not known as a writer of romance1 or novels1 or theological works1 nor a poet1 or other dealer in imaginary matters4 ,his book was widely reviewed in ,england1 and nowhere questioned save in the ,sun during my term of editorship in #aijb4 ,mazzini preached the doctrine of ,association in ,england when it had no other teacher4 ,much more may be said of him--but ,sir ,james ,stansfeld is dead1 and ,madame ,venturi and ,peter ,alfred ,taylor4 ,only ,jessie ,white ,mario and ,professor ,masson remain who knew ,mazzini well4 ,but this chapter may give the public a better conception than has prevailed of ,mazzini's career in ,england4 ,illustration3 ,mario ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,mazzini ,,the ,,conspirator ,there have been many conspirators1 but ,mazzini appears to have been the greatest of them all4 ,in one sense1 every leader of a forlorn hope is a conspirator4 ,prevision1 calculation of resources1 plans of campaign--mostly of an underground kind--are necessary to conspiracy4 ,the struggles of ,garrison and ,wendell ,phillips for the rescue and sustentation of fugitive slaves are well-known instances of underground conspiracy4 ,there the violence of the slave-owner made conspiracy inevitable4 ,in despotic countries1 without a free platform and a free press1 the choice lies between secret conspiracy and slavery4 ,when ,mazzini began to seek the deliverance of ,italy he had to confront #fjj1jjj ,austrian bayonets4 ,how else could he do it than by conspiracy8 ,those are very much mistaken who think that the occupation of promoting or taking part in a forlorn hope is a pastime to which persons disinclined to business or honest industry1 betake themselves4 ,the spy1 for instance1 who is a well-known instrument in war1 takes the heroism out of it4 ,the sinister activity of the spy turns the soldier into a sneak4 ,honourable men do1 indeed1 persuade themselves that if by deceit they can obtain knowledge of facts which may save the lives of many on their own side1 it is right4 ,at the same time they also betray to death many on the other side1 including some who have trusted the spy in his disguise4 ,but whatever success may attend the deceit of the spy1 he can never divest himself of the character of being a fraud2 and a fraud in war is only a little less base than a fraud in business4 ,but it is the perils of even the patriotic spy1 which are so often under-estimated4 ,if discovered by the enemy1 he is sure to be shot2 and he runs the risk of being killed on suspicion by friends on his own side--too indignant to inquire into the nature of the suspicions they entertain4 ,the spy dare not communicate the business he is upon to his friends4 ,somehow it would get out2 then the spy would surely walk the plank1 or hang from the gallows as ,andre did4 ,the spy's own friends being ignorant of the secret duty he has undertaken1 observe him making the acquaintance of the enemy--hear of him being seen in communication with them--and he becomes distrusted and disowned by those whom he perils his life to serve4 ,mazzini detested the ,cabinets1 or the ,generals1 who employed spies4 ,he made war by secrecy--open war being impossible to him--but never by treachery4 ,some who had suffered and were incensed by personal outrage or maddening oppression1 would act as spies in revenge4 ,because these were done on the side of ,italian independence1 ,mazzini was accused of inspiring them and employing them4 ,mazzini had another difficulty4 ,like ,cromwell1 he sought his combatants among men of faith4 ,mazzini was1 as has been said1 a ,theist1 like ,thomas ,paine1 or ,theodore ,parker1 or ,francis ,william ,newman1 he was that and nothing more2 and1 as with them1 his belief was passionate4 ,he did not believe that political enthusiasm could be created or sustained without belief in ,god4 ,he seemed unable to conceive that a sense of duty could exist separately from that belief4 ,hence his motto always was ,god and the ,people1 which limited his adherents largely to ,theists1 and implied a propaganda to convert persons to a belief in ,deity1 before they could1 in his opinion1 be counted upon to fight for ,italian independence4 ,yet there were contradictions2 but contradictions seldom disturb passionate convictions1 and ,mazzini himself could not deny that he had often been faithfully served by men who were not at all sure that ,god would fight on their side1 if disaster overtook them4 ,one night at a crowded ,fulham party ,mazzini was contending1 as was his wont1 that an ,atheist could not have a sense of duty4 ,garibaldi1 who was present1 at once asked1 ,what do you say to me8 ,i am an ,atheist4 ,do ,i lack the sense of duty8 ,ah1 said ,mazzini1 playfully1 you imbibed duty with your mother's milk--which was not an answer1 but a good-natured evasion4 ,garibaldi was not a philosophical ,atheist1 but he was a fierce sentimental one1 from resentment at the cruelties and tyrannies of priests who professed to represent ,god4 ,to disbelieve unwillingly from lack of evidence1 and to disbelieve from natural indignation is a very different thing4 ,all the many years ,mazzini was in ,london1 ,madame ,venturi was constantly in communication with him1 and was present at more conversations than any one else4 ,had she possessed the genius of ,boswell1 and put down day by day criticisms she heard expressed1 the narratives of his extraordinary adventures1 and such as came to her knowledge from correspondence1 now no longer recoverable1 we might have had as wonderful a volume of political and ethical judgment as was ,boswell's ,johnson4 ,sometimes ,i expressed a hope that she was doing this4 ,nevertheless1 we are indebted to her for the best biography of him that appeared in her time4 ,i add a few sayings of his which show the quality of his table talk3-- ,falsehood is the art of cowards4 ,credulity without examination is the practice of idiots4 ,any order of things established through violence1 even though in itself superior to the old1 is still a tyranny4 ,blind distrust1 like blind confidence1 is death to all great enterprises4 ,in morals1 thought and action should be inseparable4 ,thought without action is selfishness2 action without thought is rashness4 ,the curse of ,cain is upon him who does not regard himself as the guardian of his brother4 ,education is the bread of the soul4 ,art does not imitate1 it interprets4 ,only those who were in the agitation for ,italian freedom can understand the exhausting amount of labour performed by those who were adherents or sympathisers4 ,how much greater was the labour of the commander of the movement1 who had to create the departments he administered1 to provide the funds for them1 to win and inspire its adherents1 and correspond incessantly with agents scattered over ,europe and ,america1 and to vindicate himself against false accusations rained upon him by a hostile1 ubiquitous ,european press4 ,orsini was a man of invincible courage1 and could be trusted to execute any commission given him4 ,no danger deterred him1 but in enterprises requiring prevision of contingencies1 he was inadequate4 ,mazzini thought so2 and ,orsini secretly contrived to plot against the ,french usurper1 to extort from ,mazzini the confession that he 7,orsini7 could carry out an independent enterprise4 ,all the same1 the adversaries of ,italian freedom made ,mazzini responsible for it4 ,a writer in the press1 who did not give his name 7and when a writer does not do that1 he can say anything71 published1 in editorial type1 this passage3 ,by the way1 ,i remember that ,orsini1 the day before he left ,england to make his attempt upon the life of ,napoleon ,,iii41 had a solemn discussion with ,joseph ,cowen and ,mazzini1 as to the justice of tyrannicide4 ,mazzini being then dead1 ,i sent the paragraph to ,mr4 ,cowen and asked him if there was any truth in it1 who replied3-- ,blaydon-on-,tyne1 ,march #b1 #ahia4 ,my dear ,holyoake1--,i have no idea where the writer of the enclosed paragraph gets his information4 ,i cannot speak as to ,orsini having a conversation with ,mazzini1 but ,i should think it is in the highest sense improbable1 because long before ,orsini went to ,france1 ,mazzini and he had not been in friendly intercourse4 ,there was a difference between them which kept them apart4 ,i had repeated conversations with ,orsini about tyrannicide--a matter in which he seemed interested--but ,i did not see him for some weeks before he went to ,france4 ,yours truly1 ,joseph ,cowen4 ,mazzini always repudiated the dagger as a political weapon4 ,it answered the purpose of his adversaries in his day and since1 to accuse him of advocating it4 ,he pointed out that calumny was a dagger used to assassinate character1 but to that form of assassination few politicians made objection4 ,sometimes partisans of ,mazzini would supply a colourable presumption of the truth of this accusation4 ,a circumstantial story appeared in the ,life of ,charles ,bradlaugh 7vol4 i4 p4 #fi71 signed ,w4 ,e4 ,adams1 as follows3-- ,the year #aheh was the year of ,felice ,orsinis attempt on the life of ,louis ,napoleon4 ,i was at that time1 and had been for years previously1 a member of the ,republican ,association1 which was formed to propagate the principles of ,mazzini4 ,when the press1 from one end of the country to the other1 joined in a chorus of condemnation of ,orsini1 ,i put down on paper some of the arguments and considerations which ,i thought told on ,orsini's side4 ,the essay thus was read at a meeting of one of our branches2 the members assembled earnestly urged me to get the piece printed4 ,it occurred to me also that the publication might be of service1 if only to show that there were two sides to the question of ',tyrannicide4' ,so ,i went to ,mr4 ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake1 then carrying on business as a publisher of advanced literature4 ,mr4 ,holyoake not being on the premises1 his brother1 ,austin1 asked me to leave my manuscript and call again4 ,when ,i called again ,mr4 ,holyoake returned me the paper1 giving1 among other reasons for declining to publish it1 that he was already in negotiation with ,mazzini for a pamphlet on the same subject4 ',very well1' said ,i1 'all ,i want is that something should be said on ,orsini's side4 ,if ,mazzini does this1 ,i shall be quite content to throw my production into the fire4' ,it is true that the pamphlet was brought to me by ,mr4 ,adams1 entitled1 ,tyrannicide3 ,a ,justification4 ,what really took place on my part1 as ,i distinctly remember1 was this4 ,i said3 ,i was unwilling to publish a pamphlet of that nature which did not bear the name of the writer1 which the ,,ms4 did not4 ,the author answered that a name added no force to an argument2 besides1 his name was unimportant1 if put on the tide-page1 which was reasonably and modestly said4 ,my reply was1 ,that in an affair of murder1 ',justification' was a recommendation1 and that any one acting on his perilous suggestion ought to know who was his authority4 ,nothing more was said by me4 ,the writer made no offer to add his name to his ,,ms41 nor to meet my objection by a less assertive title4 ,as any prosecution for publishing it would be against me1 and not against him1 ,i thought ,i had a right to an opinion as to the title and authorship of the work ,i might have to defend4 ,it was afterwards issued by ,mr4 ,truelove1 a bookseller of courage and public spirit1 but who suggested the very changes ,i had indicated to the author2 and by ,mr4 ,truelove's desire the author not only gave his name1 but changed the title into ,tyrannicide3 ,is it ,justifiable8 which was quite another matter4 ,it asked the question2 it no longer decided it4 ,as to ,mazzini1 it is impossible ,i could have said what is imputed to me4 ,i was not in negotiation with ,mazzini to write anything upon the ,orsini affair4 ,i knew he would not do so4 ,orsini1 as ,i have said1 concealed his plot from ,mazzini1 who never incited it1 never approved it1 never justified it--he deplored it4 ,only enemies of ,mazzini sought to connect him with it4 ,if ,i left this story uncontradicted1 it might creep into history that1 in spite of the disclaimers of ,mazzini's friends1 he actually entered into negotiation to write in defence of ,orsini's attempt1 which must imply concurrence with the deplorable method ,orsini unhappily took2 and1 moreover1 that a publisher1 regarded as being in ,mazzini's confidence1 had1 in an open1 unqualified way1 told a writer on assassination of it4 ,the publisher was speedily arrested on the issue of the pamphlet1 as ,i should have been1 but that would not have deterred me from publishing it in a reasonable and responsible form4 ,soon after ,i printed and published a worse pamphlet by ,felix ,pyat1 which was signed by ,a ,revolutionary ,committee4 ,the ,pyat pamphlet was under prosecution at the time ,i voluntarily published it4 ,as what ,i did ,i did openly--,i wrote to the ,government apprising them of what ,i was doing4 ,besides1 ,i commenced to issue serial ,tyrannicide ,literature1 commencing with pamphlets written by ,royalist advocates of assassination4 ,because ,i did not publish the ,adams ,tyrannicide pamphlet right off without inquiry or suggestion1 ,i was freely charged with refusing to do it from fear4 ,no one seems to have been informed of the reasons ,i gave for declining4 ,no one inquired into the facts4 ,adversaries of those days did not take the trouble4 ,but1 as ,i had to take the consequences of what ,i did1 ,i thought ,i had a right to take my own mode of incurring them4 ,on the last night of ,orsini's life1 ,mazzini and a small group of the friends both of ,orsini and himself1 of which ,i was one1 kept vigil until the morning1 at which hour the axe in ,la ,roquette would fall4 ,the favourite charge of the press against the great conspirator was that he advised others to incur danger1 and kept out of it himself4 ,this was entirely untrue--but it did not prevent it being said4 ,the principle these critics go upon is1 that whoever is capable of advising and directing others1 should do all he can to get himself shot--a doctrine which would rid the army of all its generals1 and the offices of all newspapers of their editors4 ,upon ,mazzini's life the success of twenty small cohorts of patriots depended1 ready to give their lives for ,italy4 ,mazzini was not only the commander of the army of ,liberation1 but1 as has been indicated1 the provider of its reserves1 its commissariat and recruits4 ,his life was also of priceless value to other struggling peoples4 ,he was the one statesman in ,europe who had a ,european mind--who knew the peoples of the ,continent1 whose knowledge was intimate1 and whose word could be trusted4 ,so far from avoiding danger1 he was never out of it4 ,with a price set upon his head in three countries1 hunted by seven ,governments1 with spies always following him and by assassins lying in ambush1 his life for forty years passed in more peril than any other public man of his time4 ,yet it was fashionable to charge him with want of courage whose whole life1 to use his own phrase1 was a battle and a march4 ,could there be a doubt of the intrepidity of a man who1 with the slender forces of insurgent patriots1 confronted ,austria with its #fjj1jjj bayonets4 ,no sooner was ,garibaldi in ,rome than ,mazzini was there in the streets inspiring its defenders4 ,what dangers he passed through to reach ,rome1 knowing well that his arrest meant death6 ,rome was not a safe place for ,mazzini1 neither was ,london4 ,his life was never safe4 ,i have been asked by his host to walk home with him at night from a ,london suburban villa where he dined1 because a ,royalist assassin was known to be in ,london waiting to kill him4 ,mazzini died at ,pisa1 ,march #aj1 #ahgb1 from chill by walking over the ,alps in inclement weather1 intending to visit his ,english friends once more4 ,a few of his ,english colleagues protested against his embalmment4 ,i was not one4 ,gorini1 the greatest of his profession1 undertook to transform the body into marble1 and for him ,mazzini had friendship4 ,dr4 ,bertani1 ,mazzini's favourite physician1 approved embalming4 ,it could not be done by more reverent hands4 ,how could ,england--who disembowelled ,nelson and sent his body home in a cask of rum2 who embalmed ,jeremy ,bentham1 and took out ,o',connell's heart1 sent it to one city1 and his mutilated remains to another--reproach ,italy for observing the national rites of their illustrious dead8 ,the personal character of ,mazzini never needed defence4 ,in private life and state affairs1 honour was to him an instinct4 ,he saw the path of right with clear eyes4 ,no advantage induced him to deviate from it4 ,no danger prevented his walking in it4 ,carlyle1 whom few satisfied1 said he found in him a man of clear intelligence and noble virtues4 ,true as steel1 the word1 the thought of him pure and limpid as water4 ,it may be by experience that a nation is governed1 but it is by rightness alone that it is kept noble4 ,it was to promote this that ,mazzini walked for forty years on the dreary highway between exile and the scaffold4 ,it was from belief in his heroic and unfaltering integrity that men went out at his word1 to encounter the dungeon1 torture1 and death1 and that families led all their days alarmed lives1 and gave up husbands and sons to enterprises in which they could only triumph by dying4 ,no one save ,byron has depicted the self-denial incidental to ,mazzini's career1 which involved the abnegation of all that makes life worth living to other men4 ,such ties are not ,for those who are called to the high destinies ,which purify corrupted commonwealths4 ,we must forget all feeling save the ,one ,we must resign all passions1 save our purpose4 ,we must behold no object1 save our country4 ,and only look on death as beautiful ,so that the sacrifice ascend to heaven1 ,and draw down freedom on her evermore499 99 ,marino ,faliero4 ,mazzini left a name which has become one of the landmarks1 or rather mindmarks1 of public thought1 and1 though a bygone name1 there is instruction and inspiration in it yet4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,garibaldi--,,the ,,soldier ,,of ,,liberty ,illustration3 ,garibaldi ,dining one day 7,june #bi1 #ahif7 at ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's1 thirty years after ,garibaldi left ,england1 ,professor ,masson1 who was a guest of ,mr4 ,spencer1 told me that ,garibaldi said to ,sir ,james ,stansfeld that the person whom he was most interested in seeing in ,england was myself4 ,this ,garibaldi said at a reception given by ,mr4 ,stansfeld to meet the ,general--as we had then begun to call him4 ,i was one of the party2 but ,mr4 ,stansfeld did not mention the remark to me1 and ,i never heard of it until ,professor ,masson told me4 ,of course ,i should have been gratified to know it ,we had met before1 but it was years earlier1 and ,garibaldi had forgotten it4 ,the vicissitudes and battles of his tumultuous career may well have effaced the circumstance from his mind4 ,the first occasion of my meeting ,garibaldi was at an evening party at the ,swan ,brewery1 ,fulham1 when ,i was asked to accompany him to ,regent ,street1 where he was then residing4 ,my name would be given to him at the time1 which he might not distinctly hear1 as is often the case when an unfamiliar name is heard by a foreign ear1 as occurs when a foreign name is mentioned to an ,english ear4 ,on our way he asked me how it was that the ,english people had accorded such enthusiastic receptions to ,kossuth1 and yet they appeared to have done nothing on behalf of ,hungary8 ,i explained to him that our ,foreign ,office was controlled by a few aristocratic families who had little sympathy with and less respect for the voteless voices of the splendid crowds who greeted ,kossuth with generous acclaim4 ,that was why large and enthusiastic concourses of people in the streets produced so little effect upon the ,english ,government ,the great ,nizzard insurgent had been mystified by the impotence of popular enthusiasm4 ,in such plain1 brief and abrupt sentences as ,i thought would be intelligible1 ,i explained that he must distinguish between popular sympathy and popular power4 ,he might find himself the subject of the generous enthusiasm of the streets1 but he must take it as the voice of the people1 not the voice of the ,government4 ,kossuth1 who had a better knowledge of ,english literature and the ,english press1 never made the distinction1 which led him into mistakes and caused him needlessly to suffer disappointments4 ,to this day the ,house of ,lords is an alien power in ,england4 ,it was at the party which we left that night that ,i was first struck with the natural intrepidity of ,garibaldi4 ,his square shoulders and tapering body ,i had somehow come to associate with military impassableness1 and the easy1 self-possessed way in which he moved through the crowd in the room confirmed my impression4 ,i was told afterwards by one of his fellow combatants that unconscious courage was his characteristic on the field4 ,calmness and imperturbable modesty were attributes of his mind1 as seen in his heroic acts1 deemed utterly impossible save in romance4 ,he had received the triumphal acclamation of people he freed1 whose forefathers had only dreamed of liberation4 ,since the time of that casual acquaintanceship1 ,garibaldi had heard of me from ,mazzini1 from ,mr4 ,cowen1 and as acting secretary of the ,committee who sent out the ,british ,legion to him4 ,we had collected a considerable sum of money for him1 which was lying in unfriendly hands1 but which his treasurer had been unable to obtain4 ,i had sent him other help1 when help was sorely needed by his troops4 ,besides1 ,i had defended him and his cause under the names of ,landor ,praed1 ,disque1 and my own name1 in the press4 ,garibaldi sent me one of the first photographs taken of himself after his victorious entry into ,naples1 on which he had written the words1 ,garibaldi1 to his friend1 ,j4 ,g4 ,holyoke4 ,he had got name and initials transposed in those eventful days4 ,after the affair of ,micheldever199 he charged his son ,menotti to show me personal and public attention on his visit to the ,house of ,commons4 ,to the end of his life he saw every visitor who came to him with a note from me4 99 ,see ,sixty ,years1 chap1 lxxix4 ,when ,menotti ,garibaldi died1 the family wished that the flag which the ,thousand carried when they made their celebrated invasion of the ,neapolitan kingdom1 should be borne at the funeral4 ,they therefore telegraphed to the mayor of ,marsala1 who was supposed to be the guardian of the relic4 ,the mayor replied that he had not got it1 but that it was at ,palermo2 so the mayor of ,palermo was telegraphed to4 ,he also replied that he had not got it1 and said it was in the possession of ,signor ,antonio ,pellegrini1 but that its authenticity was very doubtful4 ,general ,canzio1 one of the survivors of the expedition1 says that the flag possessed by ,signor ,pellegrini is nothing like the real one1 which was merely a tricolor of three pieces of cotton nailed to a staff4 ,at the battle of ,calatafimi the standard-bearer was shot and the flag lost4 ,it was said to have been captured by a ,neapolitan sub-lieutenant1 but all traces of it have now disappeared4 ,the wonder is not that the flag has disappeared1 but that so many official persons should declare it to exist elsewhere1 of which they had no knowledge4 ,the flag of the ,washington would have been lost had it not been taken possession of by ,de ,rohan4 ,the last flag carried by the ,mazzinians1 which was shot through1 would have been lost also had not ,mr4 ,j4 ,d4 ,hodge sought for it before it was too late4 ,both flags are in my possession4 ,walter ,savage ,landor sent me 7,august #bj1 #ahfj7 these fine lines on ,garibaldi's conquest of the ,sicilies3-- ,again her brow ,sicaria rears ,above the tombs--two thousand years1 ,have smitten sore her beauteous breast1 ,and war forbidden her to rest ,yet war at last becomes her friend1 ,and shouts aloud ,thy grief shall end4 ,sicaria6 hear me6 rise again6 ,a homeless hero breaks thy chain4 ,how often did ,i hear it said1 in his great days of action1 that had ,garibaldi known the perils he encountered in his enterprises1 he would never have attempted them4 ,no one seemed able to account for his success1 save by saying he was an inspired madman4 ,his heroism was not born of insanity1 but knowledge4 ,his wonderful march of conquest through ,italy was made possible by ,mazzini4 ,in every town there was a small band1 mostly of young heroic men1 who were inspired by ,mazzini's teaching1 who1 like the brothers ,bandiera1 led forlorn hopes1 or who were ready to act when occasion arose4 ,i well remember when seeking assistance for ,mazzini1 how friends declined to contribute lest they became accessory to the fruitless sacrifice of brave men4 ,there was no other way by which ,italy could be freed1 than by incurring this risk4 ,mazzini knew it1 and the men knew it1 as ,mazzini did not conceal it from those he inspired4 ,the following letter to me by one of the combatants was published at the time in the ,daily ,telegraph1 ,it is a forgotten vignette of the war1 drawn by a soldier on the battlefield who had been wounded five times before1 fighting under ,garibaldi3-- ,dear ,sir1--,just time to say that we are in full possession1 after streams of blood have flowed4 ,fights 'twixt brothers are deadly4 ,we want money2 we want1 as ,i told you1 a ,british steamer chartered1 with revolving rifles and pistols of ,colt's 7#ag1 ,pall ,mall71 also some cannon raye but for the sake of humanity and liberty do hurry up the subscriptions4 ,the sooner we are strong the less the chance of more fighting4 ,we muster now some #cj1jjj all told1 though not all armed4 ,we want arms and ammunition1 and caps--,minie rifles4 ,or the rifle corps pattern the ,general would as soon have4 ,he is well and radiant with joy and hope1 though sighing over the necessity to shed blood4 ,oh6 will the world never learn to value the really great men of the earth until the grave has closed over them8 ,garibaldi has written only one or two of all the things published over his name4 ,the rest are the inventions of enemies or over-zealous friends4 ,messina must capitulate4 ,if the ,king grant a constitution1 all will be lost4 ,the ,bourbons must be driven from ,italy1 for it will never be quiet without4 ,warn the papers against trusting the so-called letters1 etc41 from ,garibaldi4 ,he writes little or none1 and dislikes to be made prominent4 ,do try and urge on the subscriptions4 ,the ,english admiral here has behaved bravely1 and ,lord ,john ,russell's praises are in every one's mouth2 but he must not falter or hesitate4 ,the ,royal ,palace was burned down1 and the fighting was desperate indeed4 ,of all the defeats imputed to the 'insurgents' not one has really taken place4 ,the ,general was at times obliged to sacrifice some lives for strategical purposes4 ,now1 pray use your influence for ,england not to allow ,naples to patch up a peace1 for ,i tell you it is useless4 ,garibaldi and his friends will never consent to anything short of ',italy for the ,italians4' ,you may communicate this as 'official' if you wish to the ,times or ,news1 reserving my name1 ,yours truly1 in great haste1 ------------- ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake1 ,esq4 ,p4,s4--,i need hardly say this will have to take its chance of getting to you4 ,i trust it to a captain whom ,i have given the money to pay the postage in ,genoa1 where he is going4 ,will you let me hear from you8 ,he did hear from me4 ,whether it is good to die in vain1 as ,george ,eliot held1 ,i do not stay to determine4 ,certainly1 to die when you know it to be your duty1 whether in vain or not1 implies a high order of nature4 ,sir ,alfred ,lyall has sung the praise of those ,english soldiers captured in ,india1 who1 when offered their lives if they would merely pronounce the name of the ,prophet1 refused4 ,it was only a word they had to patter1 and ,sir ,alfred exclaims1 ,god ,almighty1 what could it matter8 ,but the brave ,englishmen died rather than be counted on the side of a faith they did not hold4 ,dying for honour is not dying in vain1 and ,i thought the ,italians entitled to help in their holy war for manhood and independence4 ,when ,garibaldi was at ,brooke ,house1 ,isle of ,wight1 ,i was deputed by the ,society of the ,friends of ,italy to accompany ,mazzini to meet ,garibaldi4 ,herzen1 the ,russian1 who kept the ,kolokol ringing in the dominions of the ,czar1 met us at ,southampton4 ,the meeting with ,garibaldi took place at the residence of ,madame ,nathan4 ,the two heroes had not met in ,london when the ,general was a guest of the ,duke of ,sutherland4 ,as soon as ,garibaldi saw ,mazzini1 he greeted him in the old patois of the lagoons of ,genoa4 ,it affected ,mazzini1 to whom it brought back scenes of their early career1 when the inspiration of ,italian freedom first began4 ,mrs4 ,nathan1 wife of the ,italian banker of ,cornhill1 was an intrepid lady1 true to the freedom of her country1 who had assisted ,garibaldi and ,mazzini in many a perilous enterprise4 ,after the interview at her house1 she had occasion to consult ,garibaldi on matters of moment4 ,misled or deterred by aspersion1 which every lady had to suffer1 suspected of patriotic complicity1 ,mrs4 ,nathan was not invited to ,brooke ,house4 ,under these circumstances she could not go alone to see the ,general1 and she asked me to take her4 ,offering her my arm1 we walked through the courtyard and along the corridors of the house to ,garibaldi's rooms4 ,going and returning from her interview1 ,i was much struck by the queenly grace and self-possession of ,mrs4 ,nathan's manner4 ,there was neither disquietude nor consciousness in her demeanour of the disrespect of not being invited to ,brooke ,house1 though her residence was known4 ,on the night of ,garibaldi's arrival at ,brooke ,house1 ,mr4 ,seely1 the honoured host of the ,general1 invited me to join the dinner party1 where ,i heard things said on some matters1 which the speakers could not possibly know to be true4 ,garibaldi showed no traces of excitement1 which had dazed so many at ,southampton that afternoon4 ,the vessel which brought him there was immediately boarded by a tumultuous crowd of visitors4 ,all the reporters of the ,london and provincial press were waiting for the vessel to be sighted1 and they were foremost in the throng on the ship4 ,before them all was ,mrs4 ,colonel ,chambers1 with her beseeching eyes1 large1 luminous and expressive1 and difficult to resist4 ,garibaldi gave instant audience to ,joseph ,cowen1 whose voice alone1 or chiefly1 influenced him4 ,years before1 when ,garibaldi was unknown1 friendless1 and penniless1 he turned his bark up the ,tyne to visit ,mr4 ,cowen1 the only ,englishman from whom he would ask help4 ,garibaldi's first day at ,southampton was more boisterous than a battle4 ,everybody wanted him to go everywhere4 ,houses where his name had never been heard were now open to him4 ,mr4 ,seely was known to be his friend4 ,the ,isle of ,wight was near4 ,brooke ,house lay out of the way of the madding crowd1 and there his friends would have time to arrange things for him4 ,the end of his visit to ,england was sudden1 unforeseen1 inexplicable both to friend and foe1 at the time and for long after4 ,he had accepted engagements to appear in various towns in ,england1 where people would as wildly greet him as the people of ,london had done4 ,when it was announced that he had left ,england1 it was believed that the ,emperor of the ,french had incited the ,government to prevail upon ,garibaldi to leave the country4 ,others conjectured that ,mr4 ,gladstone had whispered something to him which had caused the ,italian hero to depart4 ,i asked about it from one who knew everything that took place--,sir ,james ,stansfeld--and from him ,i learned that no foreign suggestion had been made1 that nothing whatever had been said to ,garibaldi4 ,his leaving was entirely his own act4 ,he had reason to believe that ,louis ,napoleon was capable of anything2 but with all his heroism1 ,garibaldi was imaginative and proud ,he fancied his presence in ,england was an embarrassment to the ,government4 ,he being the guest of the nation1 they would never own to it or say it4 ,but his departure might be a relief to them1 nevertheless4 ,and therefore he went4 ,his sensitiveness of honour shrank from his being a constructive inconvenience to a nation to whom he owed so much and for whom he cared so much4 ,it was an instance of the disappointment imagination may cause in politics499 99 ,some who read ,mr4 ,morley's account of ,garibaldi's ,departure in his ,life of ,gladstone will think that ,garibaldi did not require much imagination to see that he was not wanted to stay in ,england4 ,he heard1 even from ,mr4 ,gladstone1 words of solicitude for his health1 if he visited the many towns he had promised--and not one suggestion that he should limit the number1 which could do him no harm4 ,there could be but one inference from this and ,garibaldi drew it4 ,but ,garibaldi was a poet as well as a soldier4 ,like the author of the ,marseillaise1 ,korner and ,petofe1 he could write inspiring verse1 as witness his ,political ,poem in reply to one ,victor ,hugo wrote upon him1 which ,sir ,edwin ,arnold1 the ,oxford ,graduate of that day1 translated in #ahfh4 ,those do not understand ,garibaldi who fail to recognise that he had poetic as well as martial fire499 99 ,both poems1 the one by ,hugo and ,garibaldi's in reply1 were published with a preface by the present writer4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,british ,,legion--,,never ,,before ,,told ,general de ,lacy ,evans is no longer with us1 or he might give us an instructive account of the uncertainty and difficulty of discipline in a patriotic legion which volunteers its services without intelligently intending obedience4 ,when ,i became ,acting ,secretary for sending out the ,british ,legion to ,garibaldi1 ,i found no one with any relevant experience who knew what to expect or what to advise4 ,those likely to be in command were ready to exercise authority1 but those who were to serve under them expected to do it more or less in their own way4 ,the greatest merit in a volunteer legion is that they agree in the object of the war they engage in4 ,they do not blindly adopt the vocation of murder---for that is what military service means4 ,it means the undertaking to kill at the direction of others--without knowledge or conviction as to the right and justice of the conflict they take part in4 ,general ,de ,lacy ,evans being a military man of repute1 and marching with his ,spanish ,legion1 had disciplinary influence over them4 ,two of my colleagues in other enterprises of danger were among the ,spanish volunteers1 but they were not at hand--one being in ,america and the other in ,new ,zealand--otherwise ,i might have had the benefit of their experience4 ,the project of sending out to ,garibaldi a ,british ,legion came in the air4 ,it was probably a suggestion of ,de ,rohan's1 who had gathered in ,italy that ,british volunteers would influence ,italian opinion2 be an encouragement in the field2 and1 if sent out in time1 they might be of military service4 ,be this as it may1 the ,garibaldi ,committee found themselves1 without premeditation1 engaged in enlisting men1 at least by proxy4 ,it was a new business1 in which none of us were experts4 ,we knew that men of generous motive and enterprise would come forward4 ,at the same time1 we were opening a door to many of whom we could not know enough to refuse1 or to trust4 ,however1 the army of every country is largely recruited from the class of dubious persons1 over whom officers have the power to compel order--which we had not4 ,as ,i was the ,acting ,secretary1 my publishing house1 #adg1 ,fleet ,street1 was crowded with inquirers when the project of the ,legion became known4 ,many gave their names there4 ,for convenience of enrolment1 a house was taken at ,no4 #h1 ,salisbury ,street1 ,strand1 where the volunteers1 honest and otherwise1 soon appeared--the otherwise being more obtrusive and seemingly more zealous4 ,among them appeared a young man1 wearing the uniform of a ,garibaldian soldier1 of specious manners1 and who called himself ,captain ,styles--a harmless rustic name1 but he was not at all rustic in mind4 ,being early in the field1 volunteers who came later took it for granted he had an official position4 ,it was assumed that he had been in ,italy and in some army1 which was more than we knew4 ,his influence grew by not being questioned4 ,without our knowledge and without any authority1 he invented and secretly sold commissions1 retaining the proceeds for his own use4 ,to avoid obtruding our military objects on public attention1 ,i drew up a notice1 after the manner of ,dr4 ,lunn's tourist agency1 as follows3-- ,,excursion to ,,sicily and ,,naples4--,all persons 7particularly ,members of ,volunteer ,rifle ,corps7 desirous of visiting ,southern ,italy1 and of ,,aiding by their presence and influence the ,,cause of ,,garibaldi and ,,italy1 may learn how to proceed by applying to the ,garibaldi ,committee1 at the offices at ,no4 #h1 ,salisbury ,street1 ,strand1 ,london4 ,the ,committee caused1 on my suggestion1 applicants to receive notice of two things3-- 7#a7 ,that each man should remember that he goes out to represent the sacred cause of ,liberty1 and that the cause will be judged by his conduct4 ,his behaviour will be as important as his bravery4 7#b7 ,those in command will respect the high feeling by which the humblest man is animated--but no man must make his equal patriotism a pretext for refusing implicit obedience to orders1 upon which his safety and usefulness depend4 ,there no doubt will be precariousness and privation for a time1 which every man must be prepared to share and bear4 ,further1 ,i wrote an address to the ,excursionists and had a copy placed in the hands of every one of them4 ,it was to the following effect3-- ,before leaving ,faro1 ,garibaldi issued an address to his army1 in which he said3--,among the qualities which ought to predominate among the officers of an ,italian army1 besides bravery1 is the amiability which secures the affection of soldiers--discipline1 subordination1 and firmness necessary in long campaigns4 ,severe discipline may be obtained by harshness1 but it is better obtained by kindness4 ,this secret the numerous spies of the enemy will not discover4 ,it brought us from ,parco to ,gibil-,rosa1 and thence to ,palermo4 ,the honourable behaviour of our soldiery towards the inhabitants did the rest4 ,of bravery1 ,i am sure6 exclaims the ,general4 ,what ,i want is the discipline of ancient ,rome1 invariable harmony one with another--the due respect for property1 and above all for that of the poor1 who suffer so much to gain the scanty bread of their families4 ,by these means we shall lessen the sacrifice of blood and win the lasting independence of ,italy4 ,to this address was added the following paragraph3-- ,in these words the volunteer will learn the quality of companionship he will meet with in the field1 and the spirit which prevails among the soldiers of ,italian independence4 ,when we had collected the ,legion1 the thing was to get it out of the country--international law not being on the side of our proceedings4 ,as many as a thousand names99 were entered on the roll of ,british volunteers for ,italy4 ,the ,great ,eastern ,railway was very animated4 ,when they were about to set out at a late hour for ,harwich1 a ,private and ,confidential note was sent to each saying3-- ,as the arrangements for the departure of the detachment of ,excursionists are now complete1 ,i have to request your attendance at ,caldwell's ,assembly ,rooms1 ,dean ,street1 ,oxford ,street1 at three o'clock precisely1 on ,wednesday1 the #bfth instant 7,september1 #ahfj71 when you will receive information as to the time and place of departure1 which will be speedy4 7,signed7 ,e4 ,styles1 ,major4 99 ,i have preserved all letters of application for curiosity and conjecture4 ,they might be of interest in the future4 ,some joined personally4 ,by this times the ,captain had blossomed into a ,major4 ,owing to urgency the ,committee had to acquiesce in many things4 ,garibaldi being in the field1 and often no one knew where1 it was futile to ask questions and impossible to get them answered4 ,the ,government no doubt knew all about the expedition4 ,captain ,de ,rohan1 or1 as he styled himself1 ,admiral ,de ,rohan1 was in command of the ,excursionists4 ,he marched up and down the platform1 wearing a ponderous admiral's sword1 which was entirely indiscreet1 but he was proud of the parade4 ,by this time he had assumed the title of ,rear ,admiral4 ,de ,rohan was not his name1 but he was1 it was said1 paternally related1 in an unrecognised way1 to ,admiral ,dalgren1 of ,american fame4 ,of ,de ,rohan it ought to be said1 that though he had the ,american tendency to self-inflation1 he was a sincere friend of ,italy4 ,honest1 disinterested1 generous towards others--and the devoted and trusted agent of ,garibaldi1 ready to go to the ends of the earth in his service4 ,when the ,english ,committee finally closed1 and they had a balance of ,l#a1jjj left in their hands1 they were so sensible of the services and integrity of ,de ,rohan that they gave it to him1 and on my introduction he deposited it in the ,westminster ,bank4 ,he was one of those men for whom some permanent provision ought to be made1 as he took more delight in serving others than serving himself4 ,in after years1 vicissitude came to him1 in which ,i and members of the ,garibaldi ,committee befriended him4 ,as our ,legion was going out to make war on a ,power in friendly relation to ,great ,britain1 ,lord ,john ,russell was in a position to stop it4 ,the vessel 7the ,melazzo7 lay two days in the ,harwich waters before sailing4 ,there were not wanting persons who attempted to call ,lord ,john's attention to what was going on1 but happily without recognition of their efforts4 ,no one was better able than ,lord ,john to congeal illicit enthusiasm4 ,mr4 ,e4 ,h4 ,j4 ,craufurd1 ,m4,p41 chairman of the ,committee1 myself1 my brother ,austin1--who was unceasing in his service to the ,committee and the ,legion--,w4 ,j4 ,linton1 and other members of the ,committee1 travelled by night with the ,legion to ,harwich4 ,mr4 ,george ,francis ,train went down with us and explained to me vivaciously his theory1 that to obtain recognition by the world was to make a good recognition of yourself4 ,train did this1 but all it gave him was notoriety1 under which was hidden from public respect his great natural ability and personal kindness of heart4 ,when ,i last met him1 ,i found him--as was his custom--sitting on the public seat in a ,new ,york square1 interesting himself in children1 but ready to pour1 in an eloquent torrent1 the story of his projects into the ear of any passer-by who had time to listen to him4 ,it was early morning when we arrived at ,harwich4 ,as the ship lay some distance out1 it took some time to embark the men1 and it was the second day before she set sail4 ,to our disappointment ,de ,rohan did not go with the troops1 which we thought it was his duty to do1 but suddenly left1 saying he would meet them at ,palermo4 ,he alone had real influence over the men4 ,no one being in authority over them1 feuds and suspicions were added to their lack of discipline4 ,the vessel was well provisioned1 even to the pleasures of the table4 ,there was that satisfaction4 ,it may interest readers who have never sailed in a troopship to read the regulations enforced3-- #a4 ,the men will be allotted berths and divided into messes1 regularly by companies1 and their packs are to be hung up near their berths4 #b4 ,with a view to the general health and accommodation of the men1 they will be divided into three watches1 one of which is to be constantly on deck4 #c4 ,a guard1 the strength of which is to be regulated by the sentries required1 is to mount every morning at nine o'clock4 #d4 ,the men of each watch are to be appointed to stations4 #e4 ,the men not belonging to the watch are to be ordered below1 when required by the master of the ship1 in order that they may not impede the working of the vessel4 #f4 ,in fine weather every man is to be on deck the whole day4 #g4 ,the whole watch is to be constantly on deck1 except when the rain obliges them to go down for shelter4 #h4 ,great attention is to be paid to the cleanliness of the privies4 ,buckets of water are to be thrown down frequently4 #i4 ,the bedding is to be brought on deck every morning1 if the weather will permit1 by eight o'clock1 and to be well aired4 #aj4 ,the men are to wash1 comb1 and brush their heads every morning4 #aa4 ,at sunset the bedding is to be brought down1 and at any time during the day on the appearance of bad weather4 #ab4 ,at ten o'clock in the evening1 every man is to be in his berth1 except the men on guard and of the watch4 #ac4 ,the chief of the watch is to be careful that no man interferes with the windsails1 so as to prevent the air from being communicated4 #ad4 ,the men are strictly forbidden sleeping on deck1 which they are apt to do1 and which is generally productive of fevers and flushes4 ,with a view of preventing accidents from fire1 a sentry will be constantly placed at the cooking place or caboose1 or one on each side1 with orders not to allow fire of any kind to be taken without leave4 #a4 ,no lights are to be permitted amongst the men except in lanterns4 ,all are to be extinguished at ten o'clock at night1 except those over which there may be sentries4 #b4 ,no smoking on any account to be permitted1 except on upper deck4 #c4 ,no lucifer or patent matches to be allowed4 #d4 ,the officers are strictly charged to trace when going their rounds between decks1 and to report instantly any man who shall presume either to smoke there1 or to use any lights except in lanterns4 ,every possible precaution is to be taken to prevent liquor being brought on board ship4 ,regularity and decency of conduct are peculiarly required on board ship4 ,it is the duty of those in command to repress1 by the most decided and summary measures1 any tendency to insubordination1 to check every species of immorality and vice1 and to discountenance to the utmost of their power whatever may disturb the comfort of others1 or interrupt the harmony and good understanding which should subsist on board4 ,we had trouble in ,london4 ,one day at a ,committee1 held at my house1 an applicant1 who was contracting to supply #ijj rifles1 attended to show certificates of their efficiency4 ,the legal eye of the chairman 7,mr4 ,craufurd1 ,m4,p41 one of the prosecuting counsel of the ,mint71 detected them to be forgeries4 ,on his saying so1 the applicant snatched them from his hand4 ,the chairman at once seized the knave1 when a struggle ensued to obtain the false credentials4 ,as it was not prudent in us to prosecute the presenter and have our proceedings before a court1 we let him go4 ,there being no legal power to enforce order was the cardinal weakness of the ,british ,legion4 ,a competent commander should at least have been appointed1 and an agreement of honour entered into by each volunteer1 to obey his authority and that of those under him1 on penalty of dismissal1 and a certain forfeiture of money4 ,these conditions1 though not of legal force1 would be binding on men of honour1 and place the turbulent without honour at a disadvantage4 ,at the ,queenwood community1 in ,robert ,owen's day1 no contract of this kind was thought of1 and any one who declined to leave could defy the governor1 until he was ejected by force--a process which did not harmonise with ,harmony ,hall4 ,de ,rohan met the ,excursionists at ,palermo on their disembarkation4 ,captain ,styles was prudently absent1 and no more was heard of him4 ,the spurious commissions could not be recognised1 and commotion naturally arose among those who had been defrauded4 ,captain ,sarsfield1 ,colonel ,peard1 known as ,garibaldi's ,englishman1 ,de ,rohan1 ,captain ,scott1 and others on the spot1 with colourable pretensions to authority1 took different views of the situation4 ,appeals were made to the ,committee in ,london1 on whose minutes stormy telegrams are recorded4 ,mr4 ,craufurd1 though he had the prudent reticence of his race1 would sometimes fall into impetuous expressions4 ,yet the second statement of his first thought would be faultless4 ,this quality was so conspicuous that it interested me4 ,the first man of the ,legion killed was young ,mr4 ,bontems1 only son of a well-known tradesman in the ,city of ,london--a fine1 ingenuous fellow4 ,he was shot by the recklessness of a medical student of the ,london ,university1 as ,bontems stood in a mess-room at ,palermo4 ,it was said not to be the first death caused by the criminal thoughtlessness of the same person4 ,mr4 ,southall1 another ,london volunteer like young ,bontems1 was a man of genuine enthusiasm1 character1 and promise4 ,he became an orderly officer to ,garibaldi1 by whom he was trusted and to whom he gave the black silk cravat he wore on entering ,naples499 99 ,southall forwarded it to me4 ,a revolver and case was sent me by request of a soldier who died on the field4 ,when ,garibaldi retired to his island home1 he sent to ,england the following testimony of the services and character of the ,excursionists3-- ,caprera1 ,jan4 #bf1 #ahfa4 444 ,they the ,british ,legion came late4 ,but they made ample amends for this defect1 not their own1 by the brilliant courage they displayed in the slight engagements they shared with us near the ,volturno1 which enabled me to judge how precious an assistance they would have rendered us had the war of liberation remained longer in my hands4 ,in every way the ,english volunteers were a proof of the goodwill borne by your noble nation towards the liberty and independence of ,italy4 ,accept1 honoured ,mr4 ,ashurst1 the earnest assurance of my grateful friendship1 and always command yours1 ,g4 ,garibaldi4 ,allowing for ,garibaldi's generosity in estimating the services of the ,legion1 it remains true that the majority deserved this praise4 ,many were of fine character4 ,many were young men of ingenuousness and bright enthusiasm1 prompt to condone lack of military knowledge by noble intrepidity in the field4 ,the ,legion cost the ,italian ,government some expense4 ,claims were recognised liberally4 ,the men were sent back to ,england overland1 and each one had a provision order given him to present at every refreshment station at which the trains stopped4 ,count ,cavour was a better friend of ,italian freedom than even ,mazzini knew4 ,it was only known after ,cavour's death1 how he had secretly laboured to drag his country from under the heel of ,austria4 ,cavour had the friendly foresight to give orders that the members of the ,english ,legion were to be supplied on their journey home with double rations1 as ,englishmen ate more than ,italians4 ,the ,cavourian distinction was much appreciated4 ,the sums due to the men until their arrival in ,england were paid by the ,sardinian ,consul 7whose office was in the ,old ,jewry71 on a certificate from me that the applicant was one of the ,legion4 ,a request came to me from ,italy for a circumstantial history of the ,legion and such suggestions as experience had furnished4 ,the story made quite a book1 which ,i sent to ,dr4 ,bertani4 ,when after his death ,i was in ,milan1 ,i learned from a member of his family that no one knew what had become of it4 ,and so ,i briefly tell the story again1 as there is no one else to tell it ,bertani was the confidant and favourite physician of ,mazzini and ,garibaldi4 ,no one knew so well or so much as he who were the makers of ,italian ,unity4 ,what has become of his papers8 ,among friends of ,italy who appeared at our council in ,london was ,captain ,sarsfield1 the son of the ,duke of ,somerset4 ,pallid1 with an expression of restrained energy1 handsome beyond any face ,i had seen1 it might have been carved by a ,grecian sculptor4 ,his high breeding struck me before ,i knew who he was4 ,he took out for me an important letter to ,garibaldi1 who had then no postal address4 ,on ,sarsfield's return home1 he took1 as was his delight1 a furious ride in a high wind4 ,washington did the same1 and it killed him1 as it did ,captain ,sarsfield4 ,difficulty of breathing ensued1 and it was necessary that ,dr4 ,williams should be called in to perform an operation--all in vain4 ,the ,duchess of ,somerset lay all night on the carpet-floor by the dead body of her son1 for whom she grieved exceedingly4 ,in her distress she said ,dr4 ,williams had been wanting in promptness or in skill4 ,his great reputation could not be affected by an accusation made in agony1 and his own explanation would vindicate him4 ,but he took the brutal course of dragging the distressed and distracted mother into the law courts4 ,in consequence of remarks ,i published upon this unfeeling and egotistic outrage1 the ,duchess sent me a letter of thanks1 and requested me to call at her residence4 ,so much for the two men who mainly made ,italy a nation4 ,what ,castelar said to the ,italian patriots in general1 he might have addressed to ,garibaldi and ,mazzini individually3-- ,that which ,julius ,,ii4 could not effect with his cannon1 nor ,leo ,x4 with his arts1 that which ,savonarola could not make a reality by giving himself to ,god1 nor ,machiavelli by giving himself to the ,devil1 has been done by you4 ,you have made ,italy one1 you have made ,italy free1 you have made ,italy independent4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,john ,,stuart ,,mill1 ,,teacher ,,of ,,the ,,people ,illustration3 ,mill ,one reason for commencing with the remark that ,john ,stuart ,mill was born on ,may #bj1 #ahjf1 at ,no4 #ac1 ,rodney ,street1 ,islington1 ,london1 is to notify the coincidence that ,gladstone1 another man of contemporaneous distinction1 was born in ,rodney ,street1 ,liverpool1 three years later4 ,rodney ,street1 ,london1 where ,mill was born1 was a small1 narrow1 second-rate1 odd1 out-of-the-way suburban thoroughfare4 ,but in those days ,islington had the characteristics of a rural retreat ,a little above this ,rodney ,street1 in what is now known as the ,pentonville ,road1 stood the ,angel1 a favourite hostelry1 where ,thomas ,paine wrote part of one of his famous books1 near the period of ,mill's birth4 ,the familiar books concerning ,j4 ,s4 ,mill199 treat mainly of his eminence as a thinker4 99 ,notably those of ,professor ,a4 ,bain and ,mr4 ,courtney4 ,i concern myself with those personal characteristics which won for him the regard and honour of the insurgent industrial classes--insurgent1 not in the sense of physical rebellion against authority1 but of intellectual rebellion against error1 social inferiority and insufficiency of means4 ,mill regarded the press as the fortress of freedom4 ,all his life he gave money to establish such defences1 and left the copyright of his works to ,mr4 ,john ,morley1 to be applied in aid of publications open to the expression of all reasoned opinion1 having articles signed by the names of the writers4 ,mr4 ,mill was the first who made provision for the expression of unfriended truth4 ,it would be a surprising biography which recorded the causes he aided and the persons whom he helped4 ,he was not one of those philosophers1 selfish1 cold and wise1 who1 fortunate and satisfied with their own emancipation from error1 leave others to perish in their ignorance4 ,mill helped them199 as did ,place1 ,bentham1 ,grote1 ,roebuck1 ,molesworth1 and other leaders of the great ,utilitarian party4 ,for ten years ,i knew ,mr4 ,mill to receive and write letters of suggestion from the ,india ,house4 ,he would see any one1 at any hour1 interested in the progress of the people4 ,as ,mr4 ,john ,morley has said in the ,fortnightly ,review1 ,it was easier for a workman than for a princess to obtain access to him4 99 ,like ,samuel ,morley1 he took trouble to aid honest endeavour1 often irrespective of agreement with it4 ,a pamphlet by me on the ,liberal ,situation in #ahfe99 being sent to ,mr4 ,mill1 he wrote me the following letter3-- 99 ,it was in the form of a letter addressed to ,joseph ,cowen4 ,avignon1 ,april #bh1 #ahfe4 ,dear ,sir1--,i have received your pamphlet 7the ',liberal ,situation'7 which ,i think is one of the best of your writings1 and well calculated to stir up the thinking minds among the working classes to larger views of political questions4 ,so far as ,i am myself concerned ,i cannot but be pleased to find you in sympathy with some of the most generally unpopular of my political notions4 ,for my own part1 ,i attach for the present more importance to representation of minorities1 and especially to ,mr4 ,hares plan1 combined with opening the suffrage to women1 than to the plural voting which1 in the form proposed by ,mr4 ,buxton1 of attaching the plurality of votes directly to property1 ,i have always thoroughly repudiated4 ,but ,i think what you say of it likely to be very useful by impressing on the working people that it is no degradation to them to consider some people's votes of more value than others4 ,i would always 7as you do7 couple with the plurality the condition of its being accessible to any one1 however poor1 who proves that he can come up to a certain standard of knowledge4--,i am1 yours truly1 ,j4 ,s4 ,mill4 ,g4 ,j4 ,holyoake4 ,one night when a great ,reform ,league meeting was held in the ,agricultural ,hall1 ,islington1 ,i accompanied him from the ,house of ,commons to it4 ,there were rumours of danger in attending it4 ,this did not deter him4 ,the meeting itself was ill spoken of by the press--still he went4 ,the crowd about the place made it perilous for one so fragile-looking as he1 to force a way in4 ,he never hesitated to try it ,when we arrived on the thronged platform1 it was a struggle to get to the front4 ,the vast amphitheatre1 with its distant lights and dense crowds--the horsepit presenting a valley of faces1 the higher ground hills of men1 the iron rafters overhead were alive with hearers who had climbed there--was a strange ,miltonic scene4 ,no sooner did the stout voice of ,manton--which alone all could hear--announce the arrival of ,mr4 ,mill than every man was silent2 though few would catch the low1 wise1 brave words he uttered4 ,afterwards ,i returned to the ,house of ,commons with him1 he being interested in an expected division4 ,the ,islington meeting that night had been denounced as illegal4 ,he went to justify the right of public meeting by his presence1 and to share the responsibility of those who convened it4 ,what man eminent as a thinker1 save he1 or ,mr4 ,john ,morley1 would incur the odium1 peril1 and discomfort of attending1 for such a purpose1 a workman's meeting such as that8 ,the first time he made a speech at a public meeting was at the ,whittington ,club1 before a gathering of co-operators4 ,i asked him to address them4 ,i was as glad as surprised when he consented4 ,had it not been for the presence of women taking interest in co-operative economy1 he probably had not spoken then4 ,in a sentence he defined the higher co-operation4 ,he never spoke in vain4 ,when in business in ,fleet ,street ,i signed bills for the convenience of a city friend1 who1 like ,william ,ellis--,mill's early associate--was a munificent supporter of progressive endeavour4 ,by putting my name on his bills ,i incurred a liability beyond my means of meeting4 ,my more than imprudence was indefensible because it involved the business in which the money of others was invested4 ,learning that my resources fell short by ,l#gj of the amount for which ,i was answerable1 ,mr4 ,mill sent me the ,l#gj from himself and a friend4 ,when the bills were repaid me from the estate of him for whom ,i had signed them1 ,i sent the ,l#gj to ,mr4 ,mill1 who returned me half as a gift1 on the condition that ,i did not sign another bill1 which ,i never did1 unless ,i was able to pay it if my friend did not1 and ,i was willing to pay it if he could not4 ,mr4 ,mill had quoted portions of my ,history of the ,rochdale ,pioneers1 in his ,political ,economy1 which was a great advantage to a cause whose success ,i much desired4 ,in many ways ,i was much indebted to his friendship1 and have never changed in my regard for him4 ,yet this did not involve spontaneous acquiescence in all his views4 ,upon the ballot ,i dissented from him4 ,it seemed to me a just condition that the people should be1 for one minute in seven years1 free to vote for their political masters 7as members of ,parliament are7 without control1 intimidation1 or fear of resentment ,mr4 ,bright himself and ,mr4 ,berkeley were impressed by my view as stated to a meeting of the ,reform ,league4 ,mill thought it conduced to manliness that the elector should withstand adverse influences at whatever peril--which assumed the universal existence of a heroic spirit of self-sacrifice4 ,since the elector by his vote subjects his fellow-citizens1 it may be1 to perilous mastership1 ,mill inferred every man had a right to know from whose hand came the blessing or the blow4 ,there is still force in ,mill's view which commands respect4 ,on the other hand1 secret voting is not without its disadvantages4 ,the citizen may be surrounded by disguised adversaries4 ,the fair-seeming dissembler he trusts may stab him at the poll4 ,the independence given by the ballot may betray the ,state1 and the traitors be shielded from responsibility4 ,the secret vote also rests on a vast assumption--that of the universal paramountcy of conscience and honesty in electors--which paramountcy is as scarce as political heroism4 ,those who so trust the people incur the greater and ceaseless responsibility of educating them in political honour4 ,they who have shown their trust in the people1 alone have the right of claiming their fidelity4 ,mr4 ,mill was foremost in teaching the duty of independent thought1 and1 to do him justice1 my dissent from a principle he had come to hold strongly1 made no difference in his friendship4 ,he was once a believer in the ballot himself4 ,mr4 ,mill was an instance which shows that even the virtues of a philosopher need1 as in lesser men1 good sense to take care of them1 lest the operation of lofty qualities compromise others4 ,his unguarded intrepidity in defence of the right cost him his seat for ,westminster4 ,things were going well for him1 on his second candidature1 when one morning it appeared in the newspapers that he had sent ,l#aj to promote the election of ,mr4 ,bradlaugh4 ,that ,l#aj was worth ,l#aj1jjj to his ,tory opponent1 and cost ,mill's own committee the loss of ,l#c1jjj1 which was contributed to promote his election4 ,when ,i was a candidate in the ,tower ,hamlets1 ,mr4 ,mill sent a similar sum to promote my election2 but ,i prohibited the publication of an intrepid act of generosity1 which might prove costly to ,mr4 ,mill ,at his first election ,dean ,stanley nobly urged ,christian electors to vote for ,mr4 ,mill2 but at the second election1 when it became known that ,mr4 ,mill was subscribing to bring an ,atheist into ,parliament1 most ,christians were persuaded ,mr4 ,mill was himself an ,atheist1 and only the nobler sort would vote for him again4 ,it was right and honourable in ,mr4 ,mill to stand by his opinion1 that an ,atheist had as much right as a ,christian to be in ,parliament1 and that ecclesiastical heresy was no disqualification for public or ,parliamentary service4 ,to maintain your opinions at your own cost is one thing1 but to proclaim them at the cost of others1 without regard to time1 consent or circumstance1 is quite a different matter4 ,mr4 ,mill had refused on principle to contribute to the expense of his own election1 on the ground that a candidate should not be called upon to pay for his own election to a place of public service1 ,i though it was perfectly consistent that he should contribute to the election of others4 ,but his committee could not convert the electorate to this view4 ,there is nothing so difficult as the election of a philosopher4 ,mr4 ,mill was in favour of the civil equality of all opinions1 but it did not follow that he shared all opinions himself4 ,but the electors could not be made to see this after the ,l#aj sent to ,northampton became known1 and ,england saw the most famous borough in the land handed over for unknown years to a ,tory bookseller1 without personal distinction of his own1 and a book writer of the highest order rejected by the electors in favour of a mere bookseller4 ,mr4 ,mill's father1 openly advocating the limitation of families in the interest of the poor1 bequeathed to his son a heritage of disadvantage--of liability to frenzied imputation4 ,no man is to be held responsible save for what he himself says and what he himself does4 ,no man is answerable1 or ought to be held answerable1 for the construction others put upon his conduct1 or for their inference as to his opinions4 ,no writer ever guarded his words and conduct more assiduously than ,j4 ,s4 ,mill4 ,yet few have been more misrepresented by theological and ,conservative writers4 ,upon the question of limitation of families1 ,mr4 ,mill never wrote other or more than this3-- ,no prudent man contracts matrimony before he is in a condition which gives him an assured means of living1 and no married man has a greater number of children than he can properly bring up4 ,whenever this family has been formed1 justice and humanity require that he should impose on himself the same restraint which is submitted to by the unmarried499 99 ,principles of ,political ,economy1 ,book ii4 ,further instruction of the people upon this subject ,j4 ,s4 ,mill might not deprecate1 but he never gave it ,he never went so far as ,jowett1 who wrote3 ,that the most important influences on human life should be wholly left to chance1 or shrouded in mystery1 and instead of being disciplined or understood1 should be required to conform to an external standard of propriety1 cannot be regarded by the philosopher as a safe or satisfactory condition of human things499 99 ,dialogues of ,plato4 ,introduction to ,republic1 vol4 ii4 ,mill's views1 or supposed views1 naturally excited the attention of wits4 ,moore's amusing exaggeration1 which1 like ,american humour1 was devoid of truth1 yet had no malice in it1 was3-- ,there are two ,mr4 ,mills1 too1 whom those who like reading ,what's vastly unreadable1 call very clever2 ,and whereas ,mill senior makes war on good breeding1 ,mill junior makes war on all breeding whatever4 ,the way in which opinions were invented for ,mill is shown in the instance of the ,london ,debating ,club 7#ahbf-ahcj71 which was attended by a set of young men who professed ultra opinions4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,a4 ,roebuck was one4 ,it was rumoured that at a meeting at which ,mr4 ,mill was present1 a pamphlet was discussed entitled1 ,what is ,love8 attributed to a man of some note in his day1 and of unimpeachable character in private life4 ,mr4 ,mill might have been present without knowledge of the subject to be brought forward1 and may have been a listener without choice4 ,but in those days 7and down to a much later period7 the conventional fallacy was in full vogue--that civility to an opponent implied a secret similarity of opinion4 ,courtesy was regarded as complicity with the beliefs of those to whom it was shown4 ,he who was present at an unconventional assembly was held to assent to what took place there--though neither a member1 nor speaker1 nor partisan4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,john ,,stuart ,,mill1 ,,teacher ,,of ,,the ,,people 7continued7 ,mill was so entirely serious in his pursuit of truth1 and entirely convinced of the advantages of its publicity1 that he readily risked conventional consequences on that account4 ,he held it to be desirable that those who had important convictions1 should be free to make them known1 and even be encouraged to do so4 ,in thinking this he was in no way compromised by1 nor had he any complicity with1 the convictions of others4 ,but this did not prevent him being made answerable for them1 as in the case of the distribution of papers sent to him by friends in his company4 ,a copy of it came into my possession which assuredly he did not write1 and the terms of which he could never have approved1 had they been submitted to him4 ,on one occasion he sent to me a passionate repudiation of concurrence or recommendation in any form1 of methods imputed to him4 ,these eccentricities of imputation1 supposed to have died by time1 were found to be alive at ,mills death4 ,the chief resurrectionist was one ,abraham ,hay-ward1 known as a teller of salacious stories at the ,athenaeum4 ,he was a man of many gifts1 who wrote with a bright1 but by no means fastidious1 pen4 ,in some unexplained1 inconsistent1 and inexplicable way1 ,mr4 ,gladstone was on friendly terms with him4 ,no sooner was ,mill dead1 and illustrious appreciators of the great thinker were meditating some memorial to his honour1 than ,mr4 ,hayward sent an article to the ,times1 suggesting intrinsic immorality in his opinions4 ,he also sent out letters privately to deter eminent friends of ,mill from giving their names to the memorial committee4 ,he sent one to ,mr4 ,stopford ,brooke1 upon whom it had no influence4 ,he sent one to ,mr4 ,gladstone1 upon whom it had1 and who1 in consequence1 declined to join the committee4 ,hayward was1 in his day1 the ,iago of literature1 and abused the confiding nature of our noble ,moor499 ,yet1 when ,mr4 ,mill lost his seat for ,westminster1 ,mr4 ,gladstone had written these great words3 ,we all know ,mr4 ,mill's intellectual eminence before he entered ,parliament4 ,what his conduct principally disclosed to me was his singular moral elevation4 ,of all the motives1 stings and stimulants that reach men through their egotism in ,parliament1 no part could move or even touch him4 ,his conduct and his language were in this respect a sermon4 ,for the sake of the ,house of ,commons1 ,i rejoiced in his advent and deplored his disappearance4 ,he did us all good1 and in whatever party1 in whatever form of opinion1 ,i sorrowfully confess that such men are rare4 99 ,my little book1 ,john ,stuart ,mill1 as the ,working ,classes ,knew ,him1 was written to show ,mr4 ,gladstone the answer that could be given to ,hayward4 ,there was no tongue in the ,house of ,commons more bitter1 venomous1 or disparaging of the people than that of ,lord ,robert ,cecil1 afterwards ,lord ,salisbury2 yet ,i record to his honour he subscribed ,l#ej towards the memorial to ,mr4 ,mill4 ,one of the three first persons who gave ,l#ej was ,mr4 ,walter ,morrison4 ,the ,duke of ,argyll1 the ,earl of ,derby1 the ,duke of ,devonshire1 ,sir ,charles and ,lady ,dilke1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,p4 ,a4 ,taylor were also among the subscribers of ,l#ej each4 ,among those who gave large but lesser sums were ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 ,stopford ,brooke1 ,leonard ,h4 ,courtney1 ,frederic ,harrison1 ,g4 ,h4 ,lewes1 ,w4 ,e4 ,h4 ,lecky4 ,sir ,john ,lubbock1 ,g4 ,croome ,robertson1 ,lord ,rosebery1 ,earl ,russell1 ,professor ,tyndall1 and ,professor ,huxley4 ,so ,mr4 ,mill had his monument with honour4 ,it stands on the ,thames ,embankment1 and allures more pilgrims of thought than any other there4 ,purity and honour1 there is reason to believe1 were never absent from ,mill's mind or conduct2 but trusting to his own personal integrity1 he assumed others would recognise it ,his admiration of ,mrs4 ,taylor1 whom he frequently visited1 and subsequently married1 was misconstrued--though not by ,mr4 ,taylor1 who had full confidence in ,mr4 ,mill's honour4 ,no expression to the contrary on ,mr4 ,taylor's part ever transpired4 ,it might be due to society that ,mr4 ,mill should have been reserved in his regard4 ,but assured of his own rectitude1 he trusted to the proud resenting maxim1 ,evil be to him who evil thinks1 and he resented imputation--whether it came from his relatives or his friends4 ,any reflection upon him in this respect he treated as an affront to himself1 and an imputation upon ,mrs4 ,taylor1 which he never forgave4 ,a relative told me after his death1 that he never communicated with any of them again who made any remark which bore a sinister interpretation4 ,if ever there was a philosopher who should be counted stainless1 it was ,john ,stuart ,mill4 ,in the minds of the ,bentham ,school1 population was a province of politics4 ,it would seem incredible to another generation--as it seems to many in this--that a philosopher should incur odium for being of ,jowett's opinion1 that the most vital information upon the conduct of life should not be withheld from the people4 ,to give it is to incur conventional reprehension2 as though it were not a greater crime to be silent while a feeble1 half-fed1 and ignorant progeny infest the land1 to find their way to the hospital1 the poor house1 or the gaol1 than to protest against this recklessness1 which establishes penury and slavery in the workman's home4 ,yet a brutal delicacy and a criminal fastidiousness1 calling itself public propriety1 is far less reputable than the ethical preference for reasonable foresight and a manlier race4 ,mr4 ,mill's success in ,parliament was greater than that of any philosopher who has entered in our time4 ,unfortunately1 very few philosophers go there4 ,the author of ,mark ,rutherford 7,w4 ,hale ,white7 writing to me lately1 exclaimed3 ,oh for one session with ,mill and ,bright and ,cobden in the ,house6 ,what would you not give to hear ,mill's calm voice again8 ,what would you not give to see him apply the plummet of ,justice and ,reason to the crooked iniquities of the ,front ,benches8 ,he stands before me now1 just against the gangway on the ,opposition side1 hesitating1 pausing even for some seconds occasionally1 and yet holding everybody in the ,house with a kind of grip2 for even the most foolish understood more or less dimly that they were listening to something strange1 something exalted1 spoken from another sphere than that of the professional politician4 ,mr4 ,christie relates that in the ,london ,debating ,society1 of which ,mill was a member when a young man1 it used to be said of him in argument1 ,he passed over his adversary like a ploughshare over a mouse4 ,certainly many mice arguers heard in ,parliament1 who made the public think a mountain was in labour1 ended their existence with a squeak when ,mr4 ,mill took notice of them4 ,the operation of the suffrage and the ballot1 questions on which ,mill expressed judgment1 are in the minds of politicians to this day1 and many reformers who dissented from him do not conceal their misgivings as to the wisdom of their course4 ,misgivings is a word that may be taken to mean regret1 whereas it merely signifies occasion for consideration4 ,the extension of the franchise and the endowment of the ballot have caused misgivings in many who were foremost in demanding them4 ,the wider suffrage has not prevented an odious war in ,south ,africa1 and the ballot has sent to the ,house of ,commons a dangerous majority of retrograde members4 ,john ,bright distrusted the vote of the residuum4 ,john ,stuart ,mill equally dreaded the result of withdrawing the vote of the elector from public scrutiny4 ,i agreed with their apprehensions1 but it seemed to me a necessity of progress that the risk should be run4 ,while the ,ballot ,act was before the ,house of ,lords1 ,i wrote to the ,times and other papers1 as ,i have elsewhere related1 to say that the ,ballot ,act would probably give us a ,tory government for ten years--which it did4 ,i thought that the elector who had two hundred years of transmitted subjection or intimidation or bribery in his bones1 would for some time go on voting as he had done--for others1 not for the ,state4 ,he would not all at once understand that he was free and answerable to the ,state for his vote4 ,new electors1 who had never known the responsibility of voting1 would not soon acquire the sense of it ,mr4 ,mill thought it conduced to manliness for an elector to act in despite of his interest or resentment of his neighbours1 his employer1 his landlord1 or his priest1 when his vote became known4 ,at every election there were martyrs on both sides2 and it was too much to expect that a mass of voters1 politically ignorant1 and who had been kept in ignorance1 would generally manifest a high spirit1 which maintains independence in the face of social peril1 which philosophers are not always equal to4 ,no doubt the secrecy of the vote is an immunity to knaves1 but it is the sole chance of independence for the average honest man4 ,the danger of committing the fortune of the ,state to the unchecked votes of the unintelligent was an argument of great power against a secret suffrage4 ,lord ,macaulay1 though a ,whig of the ,whigs1 gave an effective answer when he brought forward his famous fool1 who declared he would never go into the water until he had learnt to swim4 ,the people must plunge into the sea of liberty before they can learn to swim in it4 ,they have now been in that sea many years1 and not many have learned the art yet4 ,then was found the truth of ,temple ,leader's words1 that if the sheep had votes1 they would give them all to the butcher4 ,then when reformers found that the new electors voted largely for those who had always refused them the franchise1 the advocates of it often expressed to me their misgivings as to its wisdom4 ,lord ,sherbrooke 7then ,robert ,lowe7 saw clearly that if liberty was to be maintained and extended1 the ,state must educate its masters4 ,but has this been done8 ,has not education been impeded8 ,have not electoral facilities been hampered8 ,has not the franchise been restricted by onerous conditions1 which keep great numbers from having any vote at all8 ,has not the dual vote been kept up1 which enables the wealthy to multiply their votes at will8 ,before reformers have misgivings concerning the extension of liberty to the masses1 they must see that the poor have the same opportunity of reaching the poll as the rich have4 ,george ,eliot1 who had the ,positivist reluctance to see the people act for themselves1 wrote3 ,ignorant power comes in the end to the same thing as wicked power499 ,but there is this difference in their nature4 ,ignorant power can be instructed1 and experience may teach it2 but wicked power has an evil purpose1 intelligently fixed and implacably determined4 99 ,felix ,holt1 p #bfe4 ,blackwood's stereotyped edition4 ,does any reflecting person suppose1 that when the vote was given to the mass of the people1 they would be at once transmuted into intelligent1 calculating1 and patient politicians--that their passions would be tamed1 and their vices extinguished--that they would forthwith act reasonably8 ,much of this was true of the thoughtful working men4 ,but for a long time the multitude must remain unchanged until intelligence extends4 ,we have had renewed experience that-- ,religion1 empire1 vengeance1 what you will1 ,a word's enough to rouse mankind to kill4 ,some cunning phrase by fiction caught and spread1 ,that guilt may reign1 and wolves and worms be fed4 ,but the reformer has one new advantage now4 ,he is no longer scandalised by the excesses of ignorance1 nor the perversities of selfishness4 ,giving the vote has1 if we may paraphrase the words of ,shakespeare1 put into ,every man's hands ,the means to cancel his captivity4 ,it is no mean thing to have done this4 ,there is no reason for misgiving here4 ,if the people misuse or neglect to use their power1 the fault is their own4 ,there is no one to reproach but themselves4 ,abolitionists of slavery may1 if supine1 feel misgivings at having liberated the negroes from their masters1 where they were certain of shelter1 subsistence1 and protection from assault of others1 and exposed them to the malice of their former owners1 to be maltreated1 murdered at will1 lynched with torture on imaginary or uninvestigated accusations4 ,those who aided the emancipation of the slaves are bound to ceaseless vigilance in defending them4 ,but despite the calamities of liberty1 freedom has added an elastic race 7who learn the arts of order and of wealth7 to the family of mankind1 and misgivings are obsolete among those who have achieved the triumphs and share the vigils and duties of progress4 ,mr4 ,mill was essentially a teacher of the people4 ,he wished them to think on their own account--for themselves1 and not as others directed them4 ,he did not wish them to disregard the thoughts of those wiser than themselves1 but to verify new ideas as far as they could1 before assenting to them4 ,he wished them not to take authority for truth1 but truth for authority4 ,to this end he taught the people principles which were pathways to the future4 ,he who kept on such paths knew where he was4 ,herbert ,spencer said he had no wrinkles on his brow because he had discovered the thoroughfares of nature1 and was never puzzled as to where they led4 ,mr4 ,mill was a chartmaker in logic1 in social economy1 and in politics4 ,none before him did what he did1 and no successor has exceeded him4 ,by his protest against the subjection of women1 he brought half the human race into the province of politics and progress4 ,they have not all appeared there as yet--but they are on the way4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,about ,,mr4 ,,gladstone ,mr4 ,gladstone's career will be the wonder of other generations1 as it has been the astonishment of this4 ,mr4 ,morley's monumental ,life of him will long be remembered as the greatest of all contributions to the education of the ,british politician4 ,it is a life of ,parliament as well as of a person4 ,those who remember how ,carpenter's ,political ,text ,book was welcomed will know how much more this will be valued4 ,never before was a biography founded on material so colossal4 ,only one man was thought capable of dealing with a subject so vast and complicated4 ,great expectations were entertained1 and were fulfilled in a measure which exceeded every anticipation4 ,the task demanded a vaster range of knowledge than was ever before required of a biographer4 ,classic passages1 not capable of being construed by the general reader1 are translated1 so that interest is never diverted nor baffled by flashes of learned darkness4 ,when cardinal and unusual terms are used1 which might be dubiously interpreted1 definitions are given which have both delight and instruction4 ,he who collects them from ,mr4 ,morley's pages would possess a little dictionary of priceless guidance4 ,a noble action or a just idea is recognised1 whoever may manifest it ,some persons1 as ,mr4 ,gladstone said of ,kinglake's famous book1 were too bad to live and too good to die4 ,nevertheless1 their excellence1 where discernible1 has its place in this biographical mosaic ,thus unexpected pieces of human thought emerge in the careers of the historic figures who pass before the reader1 by which he becomes richer as he proceeds from page to page4 ,illuminating similes abound which do not leave the memory--such fitness is there in them4 ,historic questions which interested those who lived through them1 are made clear1 by facts unknown or unregarded then4 ,men whom many readers detested in their day are discovered to have some noble feature of character1 unrevealed to the public before4 ,mr4 ,morley is a master of character--a creator of fame by his discernment1 discrimination1 impartiality1 and generosity to adversaries1 from which the reader learns charity and wisdom as he goes along4 ,knowledge of public life1 law1 and government1 come as part of the charm of the incidents related4 ,memorable phrases1 unexpected terms of expression1 like flashes of radium1 gleam in every chapter4 ,the narrative is as interesting as the adventures of ,gil ,bias--so full is it of wisdom1 wonder1 and variety4 ,from all the highways1 byways1 and broadways of the great subject1 the reader never loses sight of ,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,all paths lead to him4 ,like ,bunyan's ,pilgrim1 the biographer goes on his shining way1 guiding the reader to the shrine of the hero of the marvellous story4 ,mr4 ,gladstone moves through ,mr4 ,morley's pages as a king--as he did among men4 ,he sometimes fell into errors1 as noble men have done in every age1 but there was never any error in his purpose4 ,he always meant justly1 and did not hesitate to give us new and ennobling estimates of hated men4 ,his sense of justice diffused1 as it were1 a halo around him4 ,mr4 ,morley's pages give us the natural history of a political mind of unusual range and power which was without a compeer4 ,as ,mr4 ,gladstone began1 he advanced1 listening to everybody1 to use one of ,mr4 ,morley's commanding lines3 ,he was flexible1 persistent1 clear1 practical1 fervid1 unconquerable4 ,in ,vivian ,grey1 ,disraeli foreshadowed his bright and vengeful career4 ,in the same way1 ,mr4 ,gladstone wrote the whole spirit of his life in his first address to the electors of ,newark4 ,his career is in that manifesto1 which has never been reprinted4 ,the reader will be interested in seeing it ,here it is3-- ,to the ,worthy and ,independent ,electors of the ,borough of ,newark4 ,gentlemen1--,having now completed my canvass1 ,i think it my duty as well to remind you of the principles on which ,i have solicited your votes as freely to assure my friends that its result has placed my success beyond a doubt4 ,i have not requested your favour on the ground of adherence to the opinions of any man or party1 further than such adherence can be fairly understood from the conviction that ,i have not hesitated to avow that we must watch and resist that uninquiring and un-discriminating desire for change amongst us1 which threatens to produce1 along with partial good1 a melancholy preponderance of mischief1 which ,i am persuaded would aggravate beyond computation the deep-seated evils of our social state1 and the heavy burthens of our industrial classes2 which1 by disturbing our peace1 destroys confidence and strikes at the root of prosperity4 ,this it has done already1 and this we must1 therefore1 believe it will do4 ,for a mitigation of these evils we must1 ,i think1 look not only to particular measures1 but to the restoration of sounder general principles--,i mean especially that principle on which alone the incorporation of ,religion with the ,state in our constitution can be defended2 that the duties of governors are strictly and peculiarly religious1 and that legislatures1 like individuals1 are bound to carry throughout their acts the spirit of the high truths they have acknowledged4 ,principles are now arrayed against our institutions1 and not by truckling nor by temporising1 not by oppression nor corruption1 but by principles they must be met4 ,among their first results should be sedulous and especial attention to the interests of the poor1 founded upon the rule that those who are the least able to take care of themselves ought to be most regarded by others4 ,particularly it is a duty to endeavour by every means that labour may receive adequate remuneration1 which unhappily1 among several classes of our fellow-countrymen1 is not now the case4 ,whatever measures1 therefore1 whether by the correction of the ,poor ,laws1 allotment of cottage grounds1 or otherwise1 tend to promote this object1 ,i deem entitled to the warmest support1 with all such as are calculated to secure sound moral conduct in any class of society4 ,i proceed to the momentous question of slavery1 which ,i have found entertained among you in that candid and temperate spirit which alone befits its nature1 or promises to remove its difficulties4 ,if ,i have not recognised the right of an irresponsible ,society to interpose between me and the electors1 it has not been from any disrespect to its members1 nor from any unwillingness to answer their or any other questions on which the electors may desire to know my views4 ,to the esteemed secretary of the ,society ,i submitted my reasons for silence1 and ,i made a point of stating those views to him in his character of a voter4 ,as regards the abstract lawfulness of slavery1 ,i acknowledge it simply as importing the right of one man to the labour of another2 and ,i rest upon the fact that ,scripture--paramount authority on such a point--gives directions to persons standing in the relation of master to slave for their conduct in that relation2 whereas1 were the matter absolutely and necessarily sinful1 it would not regulate the manner4 ,assuming sin is the cause of degradation1 it strives1 and strives most effectually1 to cure the latter by extirpating the former4 ,we are agreed that both the physical and moral bondage of the slave are to be abolished4 ,the question is as to the order and the order only2 now ,scripture attacks the moral evil before the temporal one1 and the temporal through the moral one1 and ,i am content with the order which ,scripture has established4 ,to this end ,i desire to see immediately set on foot1 by impartial and sovereign authority1 an universal and efficient system of ,christian instruction1 not intended to resist designs of individual piety and wisdom for the religious improvement of the negroes1 but to do thoroughly what they can only do partially4 ,as regards immediate emancipation1 whether with or without compensation1 there are several minor reasons against it1 but that which weighs most with me is1 that it would1 ,i much fear1 exchange the evils now affecting the negro for others which are weightier--for a relapse into deeper debasement1 if not for bloodshed and internal war499 ,let fitness be made the condition of emancipation1 and let us strive to bring him to that fitness by the shortest possible course4 ,let him enjoy the means of earning his freedom through honest and industrious habits1 thus the same instruments which attain his liberty shall likewise render him competent to use it2 and thus1 ,i earnestly trust1 without risk of blood1 without violation of property1 with unimpaired benefit to the negro and with the utmost speed which prudence will admit1 we shall arrive at the exceedingly desirable consummation1 the utter extinction of slavery4 99 ,isaiah could not have prophesied more definitely4 ,friends of the slaves stoutly denied that the ,scriptures sanctioned their bondage4 ,they were afraid the fact would go against ,christianity4 ,it was true nevertheless1 and the ,american preachers pleaded this for their opposition and supineness towards abolition4 ,and now1 gentlemen1 as regards the enthusiasm with which you have rallied round your ancient flag1 and welcomed the humble representative of those principles whose emblem it is1 ,i trust that neither the lapse of time nor the seductions of prosperity can ever efface it from my memory4 ,to my opponents my acknowledgments are due for the good humour and kindness with which they have received me1 and while ,i would thank my friends for their zealous and unwearied exertions in my favour1 ,i briefly but emphatically assure them that if promises be an adequate foundation of confidence1 or experience a reasonable ground of calculation1 our victory is sure4 ,i have the honour to be1 gentlemen1 your obliged and obedient servant1 ,w4 ,e4 ,gladstone4 ,clinton ,arms1 ,newark1 ,tuesday1 ,oct1 #i1 #ahcb4 ,the sincerity1 the intrepidity1 the sympathy with those who labour1 the candour of statement1 the openness of mind1 the sentiments of piety and freedom 7so rarely combined7 of his life1 are all there4 ,his whole career is but a magnificent enlargement of that address4 ,i have lingered before the hotel in the market-place1 where he stayed and from which he made speeches to the electors4 ,there is no one living in ,newark now who heard them4 ,byron lived in the same hotel when he came to ,newark with his early poems1 which he had printed at a shop still standing in the market-place4 ,the township is enlarged1 but otherwise unchanged as the ,conservatism he then represented4 ,i have thrice walked through all the streets along which he passed1 for he visited the house of every elector4 ,what a splendid canvasser he must have been1 with his handsome face1 his courtesy1 his deference1 his charm of speech1 and infinite readiness of explanation6 ,i first saw him in the old ,house of ,commons in #ahdb4 ,mr4 ,roebuck had presented a petition from me that sitting1 and ,i remained to witness subsequent proceedings4 ,i only remember one figure1 seemingly a young-looking man1 tall1 pallid-faced1 with dark hair1 who stood well out in the mid-space between the ,ministerial benches and the table1 and spoke with the fluency and freedom of a master of his subject ,every one appeared to pay him attention4 ,i was told the speaker was ,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,when he visited the ,tyne in #ahfb1 ,i did not need to be told his name4 ,at that time ,i was connected with the ,newcastle ,chronicle1 and it fell to me to write the leaders on ,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,the miners were told1 when they came up from the pits on that day1 they would see a sight new in ,england1 which they might not soon see again--a ,chancellor of the ,exchequer who was known to have a conscience4 ,other holders of the same office may have had that commodity about them1 but not employing it in public affairs1 its existence had not been observed4 ,the penny paper which gave the miners that information1 we told them would not exist but for ,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,thousands of miners came up from the pits of ,durham and ,northumberland1 and great numbers succeeded in shaking hands with ,mr4 ,gladstone as he approached the ,harry ,clasper1 named after the well-known oarsman of the ,tyne1 who was on the river with ,bob ,chambers1 who had won a hundred contests4 ,clasper and ,chambers were always named together4 ,men swam before ,mr4 ,gladstone's vessel a considerable distance1 as though they were the water gods of the ,tyne1 preparing the way for their distinguished and unwonted visitor4 ,and what a journey it was6 ,twenty-two miles of banks1 counting both sides1 were lined with people4 ,the works upon the ,tyneside1 with their grim piles high in the air1 crowned with clouds of blackest smoke1 out of which forks of sulphurous flames darted1 revealing hundreds of persons surmounting roofs and pinnacles1 cheering in ringing tones1 above1 while cannon boomed at their feet below4 ,amid it all you could see everywhere women holding up their children to see the great ,chancellor of the ,exchequer go by4 ,the ,tyne has seen no other sight like this4 ,it was of this visit that ,i first wrote to ,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,the arrangements for his wonderful reception were the work of ,mr4 ,joseph ,cowen1 jun4 ,his father was ,chief ,commissioner for the ,tyne--in person taller than ,mr4 ,gladstone1 with a gift of speech which sincerity made eloquent4 ,his son1 who had organised the reception1 never came in sight of ,mr4 ,gladstone from first to last4 ,as ,i knew ,mr4 ,gladstone liked to know what was below the surface as well as upon it1 ,i sent him two informing notes4 ,going to and fro in the land --not with inquisitive malice as a certain sojourner mentioned in ,job is reputed to have done--on lecturing purpose bent1 sometimes on political missions1 ,i knew the state and nature of opinion in many places4 ,the soul and ,liberalism of the country was ,nonconformist and religious4 ,many in ,parliament thought that ,london newspapers1 published mainly for sale1 and which furnished ideas for music-hall politicians--represented ,english opinion at large4 ,at times ,i wrote to members of ,parliament that this was not so4 ,mr4 ,walter ,james 7since ,lord ,northbourne7 was one who showed my reports to ,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,one day in #ahgg ,mr4 ,gladstone sent me a postcard1 inviting me to breakfast with him4 ,he was as open in his friendship as in his politics4 ,in all things he was prepared to dare the judgment of adversaries4 ,incidentally ,i mentioned the invitation to two persons only1 but next day a passage appeared in a newspaper--much read in the ,house of ,commons at that time--to the effect that ,mr4 ,gladstone was inviting unusual persons to his house1 who might be useful to him in his campaign on the ,eastern question1 so anxious was he to obtain partisan support in the agitation in which he was engaged4 ,there was no truth whatever in this1 as ,mr4 ,gladstone never referred to the subject1 nor any of his guests4 ,but ,i took care at that time not to mention again an invitation lest it should occasion inconvenience to my host4 ,the visit to the ,tyne had some picturesque incidents4 ,by happy accident1 or it might be from thoughtful design1 ,mrs4 ,gladstone wore an ,indian shawl having a circle in the centre1 by which she was distinguishable4 ,every person whom thousands come out to see1 should have some individual mark of dress1 and should never be surrounded by friends1 when recognition is impossible and disappointing to the crowd4 ,at ,middlesboro'1 ,mrs4 ,gladstone was taken to see molten metal poured into moulds4 ,i knew the ways of a foundry1 and that if the mould happened to be damp1 a shower of the liquid iron would fall upon those near4 ,the gentlemen around her seemed to think it an act of freedom to warn her of her danger1 so ,i stepped up to her and told her of the risk she ran4 ,she said in after years1 that if ,i did not save her life1 ,i saved her from great possible discomfort4 ,middlesboro99 was then in a state of volcanic chaos4 ,mr4 ,gladstone predicted that it would become what it is now1 a splendid town4 ,it was in the grey of a murky evening1 when blast furnaces were flaming around him1 that ,mr4 ,gladstone began in a small office--the only place available--a wonderful comparison between ,oxford and the scene outside4 ,alas6 the dull-minded town clerk stopped him1 saying that they wished him to make his speech in the evening--not knowing that ,mr4 ,gladstone had twenty speeches in him at any time4 ,the evening came1 but the great inspiration returned no more4 ,the night before he had spoken in ,newcastle1 when he made the long-remembered declaration on the war then raging in ,america1 the reporter of the ,electric ,telegraph ,company had fallen ill1 and ,mr4 ,cowen asked me to take his place4 ,it is easier to report ,mr4 ,gladstone verbatim than to summarise his speech as he proceeded on his rapid1 animated1 and unhesitating way4 ,so ,i condensed the famous passage in these words3 ,jefferson ,davis had not only made a navy1 he had made a nation 7,sensation74 ,the word was too strong4 ,there was no sensation2 there was only a general movement as of unexpectedness1 and surprise would have been a more appropriate word2 but it did not come to me at the moment1 and there was no time to wait for it1 and the sensational sentence was all over ,london before the speech was ended4 ,the next night he recurred to the subject at ,middlesboro' with qualifications1 but the ,press took no notice of them4 ,the sensation appended to the sentence had set political commentators on fire4 ,a notable speech was made by the ,mayor of ,middlesboro'4 ,in presenting addresses to ,mr4 ,gladstone1 local magnates complimented him upon his distinction in ,greek1 which none of them were competent to appraise4 ,the ,mayor of ,middlesboro'1 an honest1 stalwart gentleman1 said simply1 ,mr4 ,gladstone1 if ,i could speak as well as you can speak1 ,i should be able to tell you how proud we are to have you among us4 ,no speech made to him was more effective or relevant1 or pleased him more4 ,by the courtesy of ,mr4 ,bright1 who procured me a seat in the ,speaker's gallery when there was only one to be had1 ,i heard ,mr4 ,gladstone deliver1 at midnight1 his famous peroration1 when1 with uplifted hand1 he said1 ,time is on our side4 ,i remember the night well4 ,the ,duke of ,argyll came into the gallery1 where he stood four or five hours4 ,i would gladly have given him my seat1 but if ,i did so ,i must relinquish hearing the debate1 as ,i must have left the gallery1 as no stranger is permitted to stand4 ,so ,i thought it prudent to respect the privileges of the peerage--and keep my seat4 ,in the years when ,i was constantly in the ,house of ,commons1 ,i was one day walking through the tunnel-like passage which leads from ,downing ,street into the ,park1 ,i saw a pair of gleaming eyes approaching me4 ,the passage was so dark ,i saw nothing else4 ,as the figure passed me ,i saw it was ,mr4 ,gladstone4 ,on returning to ,the ,house1 as ,parliament is familiarly called1 ,i mentioned what ,i had seen to ,mr4 ,vargus1 who had sat at the ,treasury door for fifty years4 ,yes1 he answered1 there have been no eyes enter this ,house like ,mr4 ,gladstone's since the days of ,canning4 ,yet those eyes of meteoric intensity so lacked quick perception that he would pass by members of his party in the ,lobby of ,parliament without accosting them1 fearing to do so when he desired it1 lest he should mistake their identity and set up party misconceptions4 ,mr4 ,gladstone ignored persons because he did not see them4 ,it should not have been left to ,sir ,e4 ,hamilton to make this known after ,mr4 ,gladstone's death4 ,the fact should have been disclosed fifty years before4 ,to disappointed members with whom ,i came in contact1 ,i used to explain that ,mr4 ,gladstones apparent slightingness was owing to preoccupation4 ,he would often enter the ,house absorbed by an impending speech--which was true--and thought more of serving his country than of conciliating partisans4 ,lord ,palmerston was wiser in his generation1 who knew his followers would forgive him betraying public interest1 if he paid attention to them4