,transcribed from the #ahec ,john ,snow 
edition by ,david ,price1 email         
ccx#jgdpglaf4org                        
,picture3 ,book cover                   
,a ,,letter                             
,,to                             ,,the  
,,right ,,honourable                    
,,the ,,earl ,,of ,,derby1              
,,on                   ,,the ,,cruelty  
,,and ,,injustice ,,of ,,opening ,,the  
,,crystal ,,palace ,,on ,,the ,,sabbath4
          8,remember the ,day of ,rest  
to keep it holy40--,fourth ,commandment4
        8,thou shalt love thy neighbour 
as thyself40--,the ,gospels4            
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,by                             ,,the  
,,rev4 ,b4 ,,parsons1                   
,,of ,,ebley2     ,,author ,,of         
8,,anti-,,bacchus20 8,,the ,,mental     
,,and ,,moral ,,dignity ,,of ,,woman20  
8,,edu-       ,,cation ,,the ,,natural  
,,want ,,of ,,every ,,human ,,being20   
8,,the ,,greatness ,,of        ,,the    
,,british ,,empire ,,traced ,,to ,,its  

,,principal ,,sources20 ,,etc4 ,,etc4   
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                       ,,john  
,,snow1 #ce1 ,,paternoster ,,row2       
,,bucknall  ,,harmer1 ,,stroud2 ,,and   
,,all ,,booksellers4                    
#ahec4                                  
,price ,one ,shilling4          ,a      
,,letter1 c4 c4      ,,my ,,lord1       
,divided as the country is in its       
political and religious sentiments1     
there is one subject on which there is a
 very great unanimity3 and ,i may  add  
also that this union of opinion exists  
among the most moral of your            
countrymen2 the most loyal supporters of
 the throne and the constitution2  the  
most enlightened members of the         
community2 and the most benevolent  and 
philanthropic individuals in the empire4
  ,i need not say that the  point on    
which all these persons are agreed is   
8,,the ,,observance ,,of  ,,sabbath40   
,here1 my ,lord1 you have thousands or  
rather millions of  citizens who never  

trouble the realm in any way by their   
vices or  disorderly conduct2 who are   
never brought before magistrates or     
judges  for their offences2 and who     
require no soldiers or police to watch  
over  them and keep them from disturbing
 the commonwealth4    ,it is a matter of
 surprise to all sober and reflecting   
minds that you1 my  ,lord1 should wish  
to set yourself in an attitude of       
antagonism towards  all these peaceful  
and religious men and women2 and        
especially that you  should do this most
 gratuitously and in defiance of your   
own creed4    ,in proposing to have the 
,pleasure ,grounds of the new ,crystal  
,palace  thrown open during one half of 
the ,lord's-day1 you involved yourself  
in a  responsibility which no one called
 upon you to incur1 except a small body 
of railway speculators1 and a few       
theoretic and practical rejectors of    
the commandments of the ,most ,high4    
,your coadjutors and instigators are    
those who never allow a word of         

,scripture to stand in the way of their 
views1 their pleasures1 their           
prejudices1 or their love of gain4  ,it 
has  become popular of late years for   
prime ministers 8to do evil that good   
may come40  ,the ,maynooth grant was    
asked for by few4  ,the ,catholics      
themselves did not want it4  ,there has 
rarely been a measure which met  with   
such unanimous opposition2 but still it 
was carried--most  tyrannically         
carried--in defiance of the voice of the
 nation3 and1 how  has it worked8  ,the 
believers in ,roman ,catholicism knew   
that it was  intended as a bribe1 and   
therefore an insult2 and have resolved  
that they  will not be converted into   
spiritual chattels1 or have their zeal  
quenched or consciences silenced by     
,government pay4  ,the money was taken  
from our pockets to purchase state      
patronage for the premier and his       
partisans1 but the artifice has proved a
 perfect failure1 for the  followers of 
,pio ,nono have shown that they are not 

to be bought4  ,your  measure1 my ,lord1
 concerning the ,sabbath is as perfectly
 gratuitous as  the ,maynooth scheme4   
,i4  ,in wishing to grant a charter for 
the violation of the ,lord's-day1  you1 
my ,lord1 tried to play the same game as
 your predecessors4  ,the  profit of a  
small company of railway kings was the  
chief thing sought2  and to obtain their
 smile1 you were willing to risk the    
favour of the  ,king of ,kings1 to      
endanger the morals of the country1 and 
consequently  the ,throne1 the          
,constitution1 and the ,church2 and you 
were also setting  yourself in an       
attitude of defiance against the best   
and most patriotic  of your countrymen4 
,there might1 my ,lord1 have been       
boldness in this  effort of yours to    
undermine the ,sabbath and trample upon 
the consciences  of the majority of the 
nation1 but the infatuation was equal to
 the  courage4  ,you have long been     
ambitious of power4  ,the deep and      
settled  opinion in your own mind for a 

long time has been1 that both as a      
profoundly wise and apostolically       
religious man1 you1 my ,lord1 and you   
alone1 were the only person in the realm
 qualified to guide the affairs  of this
 great empire4  ,your ,lordship has for 
some years put yourself  forward as the 
bulwark of the ,church and of pure      
,christianity4  ,all  persons who       
differed from you have been viewed as   
heretics and sinners  exceedingly2 and  
you are1 according to your own showing1 
a model saint1  the moral hero and      
spiritual ,wellington of religion and   
the ,bible2 and  yet1 after all these   
high pretensions1 no sooner were you in 
power than  your first effort on behalf 
of ,christianity was to announce to the 
country that you were about to set the  
authority of your royal mistress        
against the command of the ,king of     
,heaven2 and1 in doing so1 you          
alienated from yourself and your        
administration the minds of the majority
  of the religious people whom you      

promised to serve if you could only     
obtain the reins of government4    ,by  
many of the most devout members of your 
,church1 your premiership was  hailed as
 the advent of another ,luther or       
,wickliffe1 and you covered all  these  
with chagrin and shame by your          
gratuitous violation of the law of  the 
,most ,high4  ,there never was a        
specimen of greater infatuation in a    
statesman who aimed at popularity and   
almost vaunted of preeminence in        
religious zeal4  ,you1 my ,lord1 great  
as your power may have been1 were       
hardly high enough to despise the favour
 or indignation of the ,ruler of  the   
,universe4  ,read history1 my ,lord1 and
 you cannot find a single  ,sabbath     
breaking nation but has paid dearly for 
its ungodliness4  ,the  ,lord's-day1    
scripturally observed1 would have saved 
,france from the  convulsions and       
bloodshed which have made it a warning  
to the world4  ,sabbath breaking sent   
the ,jews to ,babylon1 and gave them    

seventy years of  captivity that 8the   
land might enjoy her ,sabbath10 and that
 all ages  might learn that the         
,almighty will not have ,his commands   
set at nought  with impunity4    ,but   
supposing you had possessed such power  
that you could have said1 8,i  fear not 
,god10 yet sound policy might have      
suggested that it would be  well to have
 some 8regard to man40  ,you really were
 not quite secure in  your post as prime
 minister4  ,a few votes of the senate  
deprived you in  an instant of all your 
authority2 and you fell because you     
rendered  yourself unpopular in the     
estimation of the nation4  ,you ought   
also to  know that religion is a sacred 
thing in the eyes of all1 whether       
,pagans1  ,jews1 ,mahommedans1 or       
,christians4  ,to touch the ark has     
brought  destruction upon many an       
8,uzzah0 without any special            
intervention of  heaven2 and you1 my    
,lord1 are not too high for their doom4 
,the majority  which sustained you in   

office was very small and doubtful2 and 
nothing  sunk you so low in the         
estimation of thousands as this ,sabbath
  desecration1 which you proposed to    
establish by a royal charter66  ,by     
many you were looked upon as the bulwark
 of the ,church and religion2 and  by   
your own speeches you wished to make the
 country believe that you were  a very  
godly man2 and yet without the least    
substantial reason you  blasted all     
their hopes1 and1 in their estimation1  
you have denied the  faith1 and become  
worse than an infidel--because an       
unbeliever has no  reverence1 and can   
have no reverence for the ,word of ,god2
 but you profess  to believe in its     
divine origin1 and to be guided by its  
sacred  injunctions1 and thus sinned    
with your eyes open3 you have therefore 
foolishly1 most gratuitously1 alienated 
your friends1 and hastened your  own    
downfal1 and all to please the avarice  
and fill the coffers of a  small clique 
of gentlemen who prefer 8gain to        

godliness40                             
99 99 99 99 99    ,,ii4  ,you have not  
only been guilty of the most gratuitous 
presumption and  rashness1 but you have 
also acted in defiance of your own      
creed4  ,you1 my  ,lord1 according to   
your own showing1 are a very religious1 
indeed1 an  apostolically religious1    
man--a believer in the ,church          
,catechism1 and in  the doctrine of     
confirmation4  ,doubtless your ,lordship
 has been  confirmed2 and ,i may presume
 that you go to church as often as the  
majority of your order2 and1 when there1
 you listen very attentively to  the    
reading of the decalogue1 and after each
 precept you most devoutly  and         
sincerely repeat the prayer1 8,lord have
 mercy upon us1 and incline  our hearts 
to keep this law60  ,at the end of the  
tenth command you vary  the words1 and  
say1 8,lord have mercy upon us1 ,,and   
,,write ,,all ,,these ,,thy  ,,laws ,,in
 ,,our ,,hearts1 ,,we ,,beseech ,,thee40
    ,in the ,communion ,service of the  

,prayer ,book1 ,i read the following    
words3--8,then shall the priest1 turning
 to the people1 rehearse distinctly     
,,all ,,the ,,ten commandments2 and the 
people1 still kneeling1 shall after     
every commandment ask mercy for their   
transgression thereof1 and  grace to    
keep the same for time to come40  ,in   
accordance with this  direction the     
clergyman in a solemn voice commences   
with ,exodus xx4 #a3  8,,god ,,spake    
,,these ,,words ,,and ,,said20 and thus 
wishes to impress upon the  devout and  
kneeling audience before him1 that the  
laws which he is about  to rehearse are 
the identical laws which were once      
proclaimed by ,jehovah  himself1 and    
that they have now all the majesty and  
authority of the  ,divine ,legislator   
which they have ever had4  ,when he     
comes to the  fourth1 he reads1         
8,remember that thou keep holy the      
,sabbath-day4  ,six  days shalt thou    
labour1 and do all that thou hast to do2
 but the  seventh day is the ,sabbath of

 the ,lord thy ,god4  ,in it thou shalt 
do no  manner of work1 thou1 and thy    
son1 and thy daughter1 thy man servant1 
and thy maid servant1 thy cattle1 and   
the stranger that is within thy  gates4 
,for in six days the ,lord made heaven  
and earth1 the sea1 and all  that in    
them is1 and rested the seventh day3    
wherefore the ,lord blessed  the seventh
 day1 and hallowed it40  ,no sooner are 
these words ended1 than  you1 my ,lord1 
and all true ,churchmen1 all newspaper  
editors and railway  directors1 who go  
to church on ,sunday mornings1 repeat   
the solemn prayer  given above4  ,in the
 sentence1 8,lord have mercy upon us10  
you confess  that you have broken the   
commandment1 and pray the ,god of       
,heaven to grant  you 8mercy0 for the   
past2 and in the following words1       
8,incline our  hearts to keep this law10
 you entreat ,jehovah to renew your     
hearts1 and  give you an inclination to 
obey the 8,fourth ,commandment0 in      
future4  ,are you1 my ,lord1 sincere in 

this prayer and supplication8  ,are your
  ,church friends among the nobility1   
railway companies1 and newspaper        
editors1 who use this form of devotion1 
sincere8  ,the ,son of ,god tests  our  
love by our obedience4  8,if ye love me1
 keep my commandments10 are  his sacred 
injunctions1 plainly teaching us that if
 we violate his  commands we give a     
public demonstration that we do not love
 him4  ,now1 to  keep the ,sabbath one  
half of the day and violate it the      
other1 is to  furnish but a very poor   
proof that we feel any deference for the
 ,fourth  ,commandment4    ,my ,lord1   
would you be satisfied that your        
commands to your servants  should be    
half broken and half kept8  ,are you    
pleased with your  coachman if he drives
 you half way to church on the ,sabbath 
when your  command is to be driven all  
the way8  ,do you like to have your will
 in  any other particular but half done8
  ,would you be pleased to have your    
hunters and racehorses but half fed and 

half groomed1 or your food  but half    
cooked8  ,yet we may ask1 ,who is the   
,earl of ,derby1 that his  commands     
should be perfectly obeyed to the very  
letter1 while the ,god  of ,heaven1 at  
the instance of this same ,earl of      
,derby1 is to be satisfied  with only a 
moiety of that obedience which he has   
enjoined in the  ,scripture8    ,what1  
my ,lord1 if you comprehended all your  
own wishes in 8,ten  ,commands10 and    
summoned all your servants into your    
presence once a week  and directed your 
chief steward to read in their ears your
 injunctions1  commencing with the      
sentence1 8,the ,earl of ,derby spake   
these words and  said02 and what if all 
your attendants fell on their knees     
before you1  and1 in the most pitiful   
language1 confessed that they had       
rebelled  against your precepts2        
implored mercy for their transgressions2
 earnestly  entreated you to assist them
 in their future efforts to do your     
pleasure2  and1 having satisfied        

themselves that you had pardoned them1  
immediately  rose from the ground and   
resolved in future to be more guilty    
than ever  by neglecting your commands  
altogether1 or by only attending to half
  their import6  ,could you put up1 my  
,lord1 with this farce week after week  
and year after year8  ,would it require 
fifty-two repetitions of such  insolence
 to exhaust your patience8  ,would the  
,earl of ,derby allow  himself to be    
thus insulted even a second time8       
,would you not denounce  these impudent 
menials as a set of mocking hypocrites8 
,but is it a  matter of more importance 
that the ,earl of ,derby should not be  
mocked  than that the ,god of ,heaven   
should be worshipped in sincerity and in
  truth8  ,let me then entreat your     
,lordship1 as you value your present    
consistency and future happiness1 either
 to reverence the ,fourth  ,commandment1
 or else cease to use the prayer        
attached to it in the  ,liturgy4    ,but
 perhaps you may say1 8that you neither 

disobey it1 nor teach others  to do so40
  ,i need not tell your ,lordship1 as a 
learned man1 and the  ,chancellor of one
 of the great seats of learning1 that   
the day mentioned  by ,moses1 and which 
you pray the ,almighty to give you grace
 to observe1  is ,,twenty-,,four ,,hours
 ,,long2 that during these twenty-four  
hours we are  commanded to abstain from 
all manner of work2 that we are 8to keep
 the  day holy to ,jehovah10 and        
consequently to observe it religiously  
by not  8doing our own ways1 finding our
 own pleasure1 or speaking our own      
words40  ,such is the command of the    
,king of ,kings4  ,how then can the     
half observance of the ,lord's-day be   
reconciled with the divine command  to  
keep the whole8  ,if the railway to     
,sydenham is to be worked on the        
,sabbath1 and the pleasure grounds      
thrown open1 you will of necessity doom 
a large number of clerks1 stokers1      
drivers1 porters1 waiters and others  to
 labour on that day on which ,jehovah   

has commanded that no work shall  be    
done4  ,the ,god of ,heaven says1 8,thou
 shalt do no manner of work02 but  the  
,earl of ,derby tells the people that   
they may work on the ,sabbath6  ,you    
thus set yourself in a position of      
antagonism against the ,creator of  the 
,universe4  ,the ,scriptures assert that
 8,the ,son of ,man is the ,lord of  the
 ,sabbath02 but you1 my ,lord1 intimate 
that the ,earl of ,derby is the  ,lord  
of the ,sabbath66  ,when 8,god spake10  
he solemnly commanded that the  whole   
day should be observed2 but when the    
,earl of ,derby spoke1 he said  8,let   
half the day be kept10 thus making      
himself not only equal but  superior to 
the ,almighty6    ,it is no use1 my     
,lord1 to plead that only a few hands   
comparatively will  be employed1 because
 you have no right to doom even one man 
to lose his  day of rest and sin against
 ,god1 for the gain and gratification of
  others4  ,one soul is of more value   
than the whole world2 and ,i query      

whether your ,lordship will be willing  
to stand at the bar of the ,eternal  in 
the stead of the poor labourers whom you
 condemned to toil on the  seventh day1 
and thus converted into ,sabbath        
breakers4  ,and it would not  be one1   
two1 or ten1 who would be robbed of the 
rest of the ,sabbath1 but  the opening  
the grounds at ,sydenham on ,sunday     
would be the condemnation  of hundreds  
of our countrymen to this seventh-day   
slavery4  ,why should  railway companies
 be permitted to exact ,sunday labour   
from their  servants1 and yet grocers1  
drapers1 tradesmen1 and manufacturers be
  prohibited from similar gains8  ,the  
age is passing away for legislative     
favouritism2 and if one company may have
 royal authority to work1 oppress  and  
destroy their vassals1 why should not   
all the shops be thrown open3  why      
should not the anvil1 the saw and the   
spade be used1 and all  apprentices and 
labourers be called upon to be ,sunday  
slaves8  ,such  labour will minister to 

the pleasure and profit of many4  ,it is
 rather  remarkable1 that almost the    
same day in which your good lady was    
announced1 in connection with the       
,duchess of ,sutherland and others1 as  
an  opponent to ,american slavery1 you1 
my ,lord1 proclaimed yourself as the    
patron of ,english slavery6 and might   
have founded your arguments on the  same
 principles as the ,transatlantic       
planters4  ,uncle ,tom was enslaved  for
 the profit and pleasure of his masters2
 and clerks1 drivers1 stokers1  c41 c41 
are to be enslaved on the ,sabbath to   
enrich their employers1  and to minister
 to the gratification of the irreligious
 portion of the  community who 8are     
lovers of pleasure more than lovers of  
,god40  ,indeed1  the ,american slave in
 many instances is allowed his full day 
of rest on  the ,sabbath2 but the white 
slave of the railway and of ,sydenham is
 to  know nothing of the repose of that 
day which ,jehovah has set apart for    
the benefit not only of the sons and    

daughters of toil1 but also of  animals1
 for it was one of ,god's commands to   
the ,jews that 8the ox and  the ass     
should rest40    ,of course1 my ,lord1  
if you persevere now you are out of     
office1 in this  wish to have the       
,sabbath desecrated1 you will also1 in  
accordance with  your public ,,dissent  
from the ,church of ,england1 demand    
that the ,prayer  ,book shall be        
altered4  ,you will for consistency sake
 request the  ,convocation1 to which you
 are said to be very favourable1 to     
immediately  set about the re-formation 
of the ,liturgy as their very first     
work4  ,by  all means let the ,fourth   
,commandment be omitted from the        
,catechism2 let  all reference to it be 
erased from the ,baptismal ,service2 let
 sponsors no  longer be called upon 8to 
promise and vow0 that their godchildren 
shall  8keep ,god's holy will and       
commandments and walk in the same all   
the days  of their life02 and1 in the   
service of ,confirmation1 let the       

candidates  be duly taught that in      
taking their vows upon them1 they are1  
on the  authority of the ,earl of       
,derby1 freed from the observance of the
 ,sabbath2  let the priests of the      
,church also be informed that to read   
the ,fourth  ,commandment is an         
absurdity now it is abolished2 and above
 all1 never  again let heaven be mocked1
 piety outraged1 and common sense       
insulted by  the repetition of the      
prayer1 8,lord have mercy upon us1 and  
incline our  hearts to keep this law40  
,why should not a second book of sports 
be read  from the pulpits of the        
,establishment1 and the people be duly  
apprised  that the words of the ,eternal
 respecting the seventh day1 8,in it    
thou  shalt do no manner of work1 thou1 
nor thy son1 nor thy daughter1  thy man 
servant1 thy maid servant1 thy cattle1  
and the stranger  within thy gates10 are
 now of no force1 for the ,earl of      
,derby has  proclaimed that railway     
speculators may compel their servants to

 work on  the seventh day1 and as a     
consequence that all other persons may  
8go and  do likewise08    ,you have1 my 
,lord1 by your changing1 often surprised
 your countrymen2 but  this wish to     
trample the ,prayer ,book in the dust1  
to set ,baptism1  ,catechism1           
,confirmation1 the ,communion ,service1 
and the ,word of ,god at  defiance1 is a
 revolution which none of your friends  
or foes were  prepared to expect1 and   
should you succeed will be attended with
 greater  evils to the masses and       
greater calamities to the nation than   
have ever  yet occurred4  ,england owes 
all to her ,bible and her ,sabbaths2 and
 ,i may  add1 that the ,scriptures would
 have been of little good without her   
,sabbaths4  ,abolish1 my ,lord1 the rest
 of the seventh day1 and you may  write 
8,ichabod0 on our walls4  ,the ,bible   
has been but partially studied  by those
 nations who reject the ,lord's-day1 and
 their history and present  condition   
show that they have paid very dearly for

 this neglect4    ,but1 my ,lord1 if you
 have power1 supposing you were prime   
minister1 to  annul the ,fourth         
,commandment1 then you have power to    
abolish all the  rest4  ,if you can     
command that the ,sabbath shall be half 
kept and can  give men a charter to     
break the other half1 you certainly have
 power to  allow them to break it       
altogether2 and if you can grant a royal
  commission to violate one precept of  
the decalogue1 you can license the      
people to break the whole4  ,and1 my    
,lord1 you must not stop1 for there  are
 persons to whom the ,sixth1 the        
,seventh and ,eighth ,commandments  are 
as great an obstruction to their profit 
or pleasure as the ,fourth  ,command is 
to the ,sydenham gentlemen4  ,how many  
thieves could enrich  themselves but for
 the ,eighth ,command2 and how many     
might relieve  themselves of the burden 
of dependents or jump into rich         
inheritances1 by  trampling the ,sixth  
in the dust6  ,yea1 my ,lord1 were they 

only allowed by  a royal charter to     
violate one half of these commandments1 
by half  starving1 half killing and half
 robbing their fellow creatures1 no one 
can tell the property that might be     
saved or gained4  ,here would be a      
8,,magna ,,charta0 with a vengeance1 and
 one1 my ,lord1 which would  immortalize
 your name to all eternity4  ,the dead1 
by the million1 would  proclaim your    
fame or your infamy4  ,and there can be 
no just reason given  why1 if you       
granted a charter to railway speculators
 to enable them to  rob their servants  
of the ,sabbath1 you should not give    
other worshippers  of ,mammon equal     
power to plunder and oppress2 for ,i    
shall presently have  to show that to   
deprive the physical frame of rest once 
in seven days is  both robbery and      
murder1 and therefore if you begin to   
charter these  outrages1 you will find  
it difficult to stop4  ,it will be only 
for any  company to make out a case and 
prove that pleasure and profit will be  

the result of oppression1 robbery and   
death1 and you1 to be consistent1  must 
advocate their cause4    ,the change in 
,the ,prayer ,book too must be greater  
than at first was  contemplated4        
,instead of praying 8,lord have mercy   
upon us1 and write ,,all  these ,,thy   
commandments in our hearts1 we beseech  
thee02 or1 when the  fourth is          
abolished1 8,lord have mercy upon us1   
and write ,,nine of these  ,,thy        
commandments in our hearts1 we beseech  
thee10 you will have to  obliterate them
 from the ,liturgy altogether4  ,and    
indeed wherever in the  prayers1        
thanksgivings1 or collects there is any 
reference to the  commandments of       
,jehovah1 the words must be omitted in  
the re-formed  ,prayer ,book4  ,of      
course1 my ,lord1 after this great and  
stupendous change1  we shall hear no    
more of the heresy of ,nonconformists1  
and the wonder of  modern times will be1
 not1 8,is ,saul among the prophets80   
but1 8,is the  ,earl of ,derby among    

dissenters80    ,other ,prayer ,book    
reforms1 my ,lord1 will have to follow4 
,to preserve  your consistency it will  
be needful to omit the ,lord's ,prayer4 
,five  times in the full morning service
 of your ,church the petition is        
offered1  8,lead us not into            
temptation10 and yet when your devotions
 are ended you  wish to proclaim by     
royal charter that the people shall be  
tempted to  break the ,sabbath4  ,i need
 not tell your ,lordship as a learned   
divine1  that 8temptation10 in the      
prayer alluded to1 means1 temptation 8to
  sin10 and that 8to sin0 is to violate 
the commandments of ,jehovah4  ,when    
therefore you pray not to be led 8into  
temptation10 you intimate  that your    
nature is weak1 and entreat our heavenly
 ,father to prevent your  being placed  
in any position in which your pious     
principles would be  likely to give way4
  ,how strange then that you1 who are so
 sensitive of  your own frailty1        
notwithstanding the robustness of your  

piety1 should  propose to have the      
young1 the morally feeble and undecided1
 tempted  every seventh day to trample  
the commandment of heaven in the dust6  
,surely1 my ,lord1 if it is of so much  
importance that yourself and all the    
railway directors and pious newspaper   
editors who go to church1 should be     
kept from temptation1 that you pray five
 times in the morning service  for      
divine protection1 then it is also      
necessary that the poor vulgar  herd of 
sinners1 who have so little of your     
apostolical godliness1 should  also be  
preserved from temptation4  ,it seems   
inexplicably marvellous that  you should
 exhibit so much care of your own piety 
and morality1 and yet  be so reckless   
about the virtue of your poorer         
neighbours as actually to  propose that 
other persons1 by royal charter1 should 
be led into that  very temptation to sin
 from which you five times on the       
,sabbath morning  entreat the ,almighty 
to enable you to escape4  ,either1 my   

,lord1 invite  the ,convocation to      
obliterate the ,lord's ,prayer as well  
as the ten  commandments from the       
,liturgy1 or else cease to instigate the
 nation to  rebel against the ,word of  
,god4  ,in fact1 if you continue to     
advocate  ,sabbath breaking1 you ought  
to leave the ,church and reject the     
,liturgy1  or to have the words         
8command0 and 8commandments0 expunged   
from every  prayer and collect in the   
,prayer ,book4    ,need ,i remind your  
,lordship1 that the words 8,thy kingdom 
come1 thy will  be done in earth as it  
is in heaven10 refer to the ten         
commandments8  ,the  kingdom of ,god    
will come when his commands are obeyed1 
just as the  kingdom of our ,queen      
extends wherever her laws are observed4 
,where the  laws of ,england are        
trampled in the dust1 there the sceptre 
of ,victoria  is set at nought2 and just
 in the same manner1 so long as the laws
 of the  decalogue are disregarded1 the 
kingdom of ,god cannot come4  8,the will

 of  ,god0 will 8be done in earth as it 
is in heaven10 when his laws are        
obeyed1 because his will is embodied in 
his commandments4  ,but if you  propose 
to grant the nation or a few of your    
favourites a royal charter  to break the
 divine commands1 doubtless you will    
also have the petitions  8,thy kingdom  
come1 thy will be done in earth as it is
 in heaven10  8deliver us from evil10   
c41 c41 erased from the ,lord's ,prayer 
and from  the ,prayer ,book4  ,indeed so
 few of the words of the ,saviour will  
remain1  when all reference to obedience
 to the laws of ,god is obliterated1    
that  for very shame the mutilated part 
must be abandoned4    ,i cannot imagine 
that after proposing this charter for   
,sabbath breaking1  you will ever repeat
 the words1 8,god be merciful unto us   
and bless us1  and show us the light of 
his countenance and be merciful unto us4
  ,that  thy way may be known upon      
earth1 thy saving health among all      
nations40  ,god's 8way0 is his          

commandments1 and there is no 8saving   
health0 except  in obeying them4  ,but  
to give a royal charter to set at nought
 the ,fourth  or any other ,command1 is 
to do what you can to prevent ,god's    
8way0 from  being 8known upon the       
earth10 and therefore of course you will
 have this  ,psalm expunged from evening
 service1 or else never unite in        
repeating or  chanting it4  ,your       
conduct1 my ,lord1 for the sake of      
consistency1 must  demand the most      
sweeping alterations in the ,prayer     
,book4    ,i have thus shown1 my ,lord1 
that you cannot be a true ,churchman1   
nor a  devout worshipper according to   
the forms of the ,liturgy1 if you       
advocate  ,sabbath desecration2 and     
hence your desire to make such an       
irreligious  use of your power has not  
only been gratuitous1 unwise1 and       
impolitic1  but also a most glaring     
contradiction of your own professed     
principles4  ,james speaks of 8the      
superfluity of naughtiness10 and you1 my

 ,lord1  have given to the nation a     
public commentary on the words1 and to  
do so  have deeply reflected on your own
 consistency4    ,,iii4  ,truth and     
humanity tell us1 my ,lord1 that your   
proposition is not  only inconsistent   
with your creed1 but also that it is    
very ,,cruel to a  large number of your 
fellow citizens4  ,the ,redeemer has    
said that 8,the  ,sabbath was made for  
man40  ,now man is a compound being1    
consisting of a  frail body and an      
immortal soul4  ,his body requires      
periodical rest2 his  soul stands in    
need of religious instruction2 and the  
,fourth ,command  contains two parts    
exactly corresponding with these two    
exigencies of  our race4  ,it demands   
8rest0 from labour for the body2 it     
enjoins  8holiness to the ,lord0 for the
 soul4  8,remember the ,sabbath-day to  
keep  it holy3 six days shalt thou      
labour and do all that thou hast to do10
  c41 c41 are words which embrace these 
two principles4  ,holiness is the  work 

of the soul4  ,you cannot make a body   
holy2 because holiness1 or  religion1 is
 an intellectual and spiritual business4
  ,it is true you may  employ the body  
in a holy or unholy manner1 but then the
 moral principle1  which sins or obeys1 
is in the soul1 and the bodily members  
are only the  instruments with which the
 heart accomplishes its good or wicked  
desires4  ,when therefore the           
,scriptures command us to hallow or     
consecrate one day  in seven1 they      
enjoin a duty which can only be         
performed by an  intelligent and        
voluntary being2 and consequently one   
with which human  legislation has       
nothing to do1 except to see that no one
 shall be robbed  of the liberty or     
power of attending to it4  ,there is no 
government1  prince1 monarch1 or emperor
 in the world that has a right to       
dictate to  mankind respecting the      
religious observance of the ,lord's-day4
  ,here  men must be left to persuasion1
 exhortation1 and the power of          

conscience4  ,and therefore1 my ,lord1  
you are not called upon to legislate on 
the  worship of the ,sabbath4  ,you must
 leave to others the same right which   
you claim for yourself4  ,doubtless you1
 my ,lord1 go to church1 or not1        
according to your inclination2 the rest 
of the nobility act in like  manner2    
some of them are said to be ,homopaths  
in ,sabbath worship2 and  you really    
must permit your countrymen and         
countrywomen to enjoy the same  freedom4
  ,the business of legislation is with  
man's mortal and corporeal  nature1 with
 his property and liberties4  ,you have 
to guard that he be  robbed of no right1
 that he receive no personal injury1    
that his life be  safe1 and his property
 secure2 and it is on these principles  
of physical1  civil1 and social         
legislation that we demand that one day 
in seven  shall be the possession of    
every ,british subject4    ,the ,fourth 
,commandment enjoins a day of rest for  
man's body4  ,jehovah1  who 8knoweth our

 frame10 who made us1 and fully         
understands the  capabilities of our    
brain1 nerves and muscles1 and who may  
with the  profoundest reverence be      
termed1 ,the ,great ,physiologist1 has  
set apart  one day in seven for bodily  
rest from labour4  ,the body of ,adam   
was  stronger than ours4  ,it knew no   
infirmity1 was enfeebled by no disease2 
the labour of ,paradise was             
comparatively light2 and yet to ,adam   
was given  the rest of the seventh day4 
,and to enforce this duty on our first  
parents1 our merciful ,creator not only 
sanctified the day1 or made it a  holy  
and sanctifying day for them1 but rested
 himself as our example4  ,there is no  
doubt that antediluvian believers kept  
the ,sabbath1 and they  were as strong  
as we4  ,we read of the observance of   
the ,sabbath in the  wilderness before  
the law was given on ,sinai1 and        
,jehovah worked  especial miracles on   
the manna to enable the children of     
,israel to rest  on this holy day2 for  

on the sixth he rained twice as much    
food from  heaven as on any other       
morning1 and on the seventh he preserved
 it from  putrefaction1 which always    
occurred on any other day1 except the   
,sabbath1  if the manna was kept until  
the morrow4  ,god also said to these    
,israelites in the wilderness1 before   
the law was given on ,sinai1 that the   
law of the ,sabbath was to be observed  
8as a ,,sign between himself0 and his   
worshippers4  ,we have reason to believe
 that these children of ,abraham  were  
quite as strong in nerve and muscle as  
we are1 and we know that  their labour  
was not very hard1 for they had during  
their wanderings in  the wilderness but 
few occupations1 and yet they were      
commanded to rest  on the seventh day4  
,some persons ask1 ,why did they rest on
 the seventh day1 and not on the  sixth1
 the eighth1 or the tenth8  ,our only   
answer to this question  is1 that ,god1 
8who knoweth our frame10 judged it to be
 best and ordained  that it should be   

so4  ,a man may ask me why the earth    
moves on her axis  from the west to the 
east1 and ,i confess that ,i cannot give
 any better  answer than that it is the 
will of the all-wise ,creator4  ,i      
cannot give a  reason why the centipede 
has so many feet4  ,if any person asked 
whether  eighty1 or one hundred and one 
would not have been as well1 ,i must    
leave  the matter in the hands of ,god4 
,i say1 8it is the will of ,god10 and   
8,god  is merciful40  ,ten thousand     
questions in physics might be put to me 
which  ,i could only answer by saying1  
8,god is wise10 8,god is powerful10     
8,god is  love10 8,god is merciful1 and 
has made the world and our corporeal    
frame  what they are40    ,but ,i may   
add one word respecting the rest of the 
seventh day4  ,the most  distinguished  
physiologists assure us that both men   
and cattle require to  be relieved from 
toil at the end of every six days4      
,gentlemen who have  had much to do with
 horses have assured me that it was     

always a dead loss  to rob those animals
 of the physical rest of the ,sabbath1  
and that horses  which are so worked    
invariably become diseased and die      
before their time4  ,before observation 
and physiology brought out these facts1 
the great and  merciful ,creator gave   
the command to ,moses that 8the ox and  
the ass  should rest0 on the seventh    
day4  ,in the evidence on 8,,sabbath    
,,observance0 which was given before the
 8,,parliamentary ,,committee10 and     
which1 as a ,government document1 your  
,lordship has doubtless read1 it is     
stated by several eminent physiologists1
 that man's corporeal frame  requires   
the rest of the ,sabbath1 and that to   
rob him of this is to  injure his health
 and shorten his days4  ,yea1 they show 
that tea gardens  and other places of   
excitement produce baneful effects upon 
the brain and  nerves1 and eventually   
lead to premature decay and dissolution4
  ,hence1  my ,lord1 physiology teaches 
that our merciful ,father1 the maker of 

our  frame1 was right and kind and      
compassionate in ordaining one day in   
seven as a rest from toil4  ,the        
refreshment of sleep teaches us that    
the body needs repose from continuous   
labour1 and the ,sabbath was  intended  
to be still more invigorating4    ,i    
must here remind your ,lordship that    
rest is the meaning of the word         
,sabbath4  ,a sage reviewer in one of   
our 8,quarterlies10 who has been        
pompously quoted by a literary brother  
of the 8,,daily0 press1 has told us     
with much learned navet1 that the word  
8,sabbath0 means 8seven066  ,doubtless  
we shall soon hear from the same        
philosophical philologer that  the moon 
is made out of gossamer4  ,the one will 
be as true and as  scientific as the    
other4  ,but we may leave these critics 
to the lexicons4  ,you1 my ,lord1 are   
distinguished as a scholar1 and         
therefore know full  well that our term 
8,sabbath0 is the very identical ,hebrew
 word for  8,rest10 and that a literal  

translation of the first words of the   
,fourth  ,commandment would be1         
8,remember the ,day of ,rest to keep it 
holy40  8,rest0 from labour1 then1 is   
the exact meaning of the word           
8,sabbath40  ,history and physiology    
show that man's corporeal frame requires
 rest from  toil every seventh day2 and 
the ,bible teaches that our heavenly    
,father1  who made us thus frail1 has1  
in pure love and mercy1 commanded that  
one  day in seven for the repose and    
consequent reinvigoration of the body   
shall be reserved from worldly          
occupations4  ,physical laws1 as well as
  revealed laws1 are the laws of ,god2  
and in the law of the ,sabbath we have  
both combined to preserve the health and
 life of man4  ,we have here a  sacred  
bulwark of philanthropy1 proving that   
the ,sabbath1 or ,rest-day1  was made   
for man4  ,the labourer1 therefore1 has 
a ,divine right to one  day in seven as 
his own property4  ,the charter or title
 deeds which give  him a claim to the   

full enjoyment of the ,sabbath for      
twenty-four hours1  were signed by the  
,king of ,kings and ,lord of ,lords4    
,the great seal of  heaven is upon them4
  ,they are inscribed on the bones1     
muscles1 nerves1  brain1 heart1 lungs1  
and digestive organs of the human       
constitution1 and  were solemnly        
proclaimed by ,jehovah himself amidst   
the thunders of ,sinai4  ,no work1      
except what can be shown to be          
absolutely necessary1 must be  done on  
the seventh day3 and he who deprives the
 servant1 operative1 or  labourer of    
this sacred claim to rest from toil1 is 
both a robber and  murderer1 and will be
 treated as such at the great day4      
,you1 my ,lord1 must enter eternity as a
 child of ,adam1 and not as a  nobleman2
 and you will be acquitted or condemned 
accordingly as you  observed or violated
 the ten commandments4  ,as a sinner you
 may trust in  the merits of ,christ1   
but at the bar of ,god your faith will  
be tested by  your observance of the    

decalogue4  8,faith without works is    
dead10 and  cannot justify the soul4    
,you will there have no ancestry to     
plead1 no  titles to wear1 and no wealth
 or influence to bribe4  ,death1 as to  
all  these advantages or disadvantages  
of your earthly existence1 will leave   
you as bare and naked as ,lazarus4  ,nor
 will forms and ceremonies be  admitted 
as a substitute for the 8weightier      
matters of the law40  ,baptismal        
regeneration1 sacramental grace1 the    
repetition of forms of  prayer1 going to
 church once a day1 the half observance 
of the ,sabbath1  and zeal for tithes   
and offerings1 will not stand in the    
place of  obedience to the law uttered  
on ,mount ,sinai4  ,you must obey1 or be
  excluded from ,paradise4  ,your       
obedience also must proceed from faith  
and  love2 not a deed must be done to   
merit the kingdom of heaven1 but every  
act of piety and devotion must proceed  
from pure gratitude to ,,him who  died  
to procure eternal life for all who     

believe with a practical faith4    ,you 
know1 my ,lord1 who has said1           
8,whosoever therefore shall break one of
  these least commandments1 and shall   
teach men so1 the same shall be  called 
least in the kingdom of heaven2 but     
whosoever shall do and teach  them1     
shall be called great in the kingdom of 
heaven40  ,i need not say  that the     
precepts here referred to are the ten   
commandments2 because  ,christ came to  
abolish the ceremonial law2 but to      
fulfil and establish  the laws of the   
decalogue4  ,of these 8one jot or tittle
 was not to be  abolished02 for 8on them
 hang all the law and the prophets40    
,the period  also in which they were to 
be observed and kept is the ,gospel     
dispensation1 here emphatically called  
8the kingdom of ,heaven40  ,the  kingdom
 of ,victoria is the kingdom where her  
laws are to be observed1 and  8the      
kingdom of ,heaven10 or 8kingdom of     
,god10 is the ,gospel kingdom in  which 
the laws of ,god are to be carefully    

taught and devoutly obeyed4  ,your      
,lordship will hardly assert that the   
divine law of the ,sabbath is  one of   
8the least of the commandments02 because
 an injunction which is  intended to    
preserve human life1 and give the soul  
leisure to prepare for  a better world1 
can scarcely be called little1 and      
certainly not the  8least02 but if it   
was 8the least10 yet even then the ,earl
 of ,derby1  if he broke it1 or taught  
men to break it1 or gave them a royal   
charter  to do so1 would incur the wrath
 of 8,the ,lord of the ,sabbath40    ,it
 would be easy to show that the ,fourth 
,commandment1 far from being the        
8least0 is one of the very 8greatest0 of
 the laws of the decalogue2  for without
 it the other precepts would be to a    
great extent unheeded2  man's life would
 be shortened1 and his soul lost4  ,many
 have separated  the ten commandments   
into two classes--the first four        
referring to  ,jehovah1 and the         
remaining six to our fellow man4  ,the  

,lord ,jesus  evidently sums up the     
whole under the two ideas of 8,love to  
,god10 and  8,love to our neighbour40   
,we have therefore the authority of the 
,divine  ,lawgiver himself for this     
twofold division2 and a very little     
reflection  will show us that the       
,fourth ,command is the bond or vinculum
 which  unites the two tables of the law
 together4  8,remember the day of rest  
to  keep it holy10 refers to the worship
 of ,god1 and consequently to the  first
 table4  8,in it thou shalt do no manner
 of work1 thou1 nor thy son1  thy       
daughter1 thy man servant1 thy maid     
servant1 thy cattle1 nor the  stranger  
that is within thy gates1 or            
jurisdiction10 embraces our  neighbour  
or universal man as far as our influence
 or legislative power  may extend2 for  
your ,lordship knows very well that the 
words1 8within  thy gates10 include     
political and magisterial dominion4     
,the ,fourth  ,commandment1 then1 is a  
,janus--it has two faces and looks both 

ways3 it  regards what is due to our    
heavenly ,father1 and what is due to our
  brethren and sisters4  ,it teaches the
 worship which must be paid to the      
former1 and the rest from labour which  
is needed by the latter4  ,abolish  this
 command1 and you do away with the      
public worship of ,jehovah2 and at  the 
same time rob the physical frame of your
 brother of that repose1 and  his mind  
of that edification1 which are          
absolutely necessary to his  corporeal1 
moral1 and eternal well being4          
,instead1 then1 of saying that the      
precept concerning the ,sabbath is a    
ritual1 ceremonial1 or positive law     
which is abolished1 we are fully        
warranted in asserting that it is one of
 the very 8greatest0 of the ,,moral     
commandments4  ,for if the worship of   
,jehovah is a moral duty of all  ages1  
times1 and dispensations--if to regard  
the health1 life1 rights1 and  universal
 welfare of our neighbour is also a     
moral obligation founded  in nature1 and

 therefore immutable as eternal         
justice--then the observance  of the    
,sabbath1 like the prohibition of       
idolatry1 murder1 and theft1 is  based  
in the natural and everlasting laws of  
rectitude1 which remain  unchanged from 
age to age4  ,if we 8love ,god with all 
our heart1 mind1  soul1 and strength10  
we shall hail the opportunity of ceasing
 from  worldly pursuits one day in      
seven1 that we may meditate upon him1   
worship  him1 and study his word        
8without distraction02 and if we 8love  
our  neighbour as we love ourselves10 we
 shall neither rob him of his day of    
rest1 nor hurry him to the grave by     
continuous labour4  ,you might1 my      
,lord1 as well strive to stay the       
planets in their flight1 as endeavour to
  be a ,christian while you encourage   
,sabbath labour4  ,the sum and substance
  of all law1 all justice1 all mercy1   
all worship1 is love4  ,the ,apostle    
says1 8,love is the fulfilling 71 the   
fulfilment1 the completion7  of         

law10--of law1 r' --the fulfilling of   
all good1 sound1  healthy1 equitable    
law4  ,in connection with the words just
 quoted from  ,rom4 xiii41 the inspired 
writer1 after mentioning the prohibition
 of  8adultery1 murder1 theft1 false    
witness1 and avarice10 adds1 8and if    
there be any other law1 it is briefly   
comprehended in this saying1 #8,thou    
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself4'0  
,now the ,fourth ,commandment is        
especially comprehended in this love to 
our fellow man4    ,you1 my ,lord1 would
 not like to be robbed of the comforts  
of home on a  ,sabbath2 to have your    
health broken up by incessant labour2   
and1 if a  ,christian1 nothing would be 
more painful to you than to be deprived 
of  the rest and spiritual enjoyments of
 the ,lord's-day3 then how can you  wish
 stokers1 porters1 clerks1 and waiters  
to be thus injured8  ,you must1  my     
,lord1 you must 8love your neighbour as 
yourself10 or you cannot be a           
,christian2 and therefore you cannot be 

a ,christian if you encourage  ,sabbath 
labour4  ,and the railway speculators   
who wanted you by royal  charter to     
sacrifice the liberties1 comforts1      
health1 and lives of your  fellow       
citizens1 at once deprived themselves of
 all claim to ,christian1  humane1 or   
equitable principle4  ,to enrich        
themselves1 they were willing  to barter
 away all the dearest rights of their   
brethren and sisters by  robbing them of
 the rest of the ,sabbath2 and what is  
worse still1 they  tried to cover over  
all this wickedness with the pretence of
 having a  regard to the happiness of   
the working classes4  ,judas of old     
professed  to have very great sympathy  
for the poor2 but we are told that his  
seemingly pious considerations arose    
rather from avarice than  benevolence4  
8,this he said1 not that he cared for   
the poor1 but because  he was a thief   
and had the bag1 and bare what was put  
therein40  ,if the  ,sydenham           
philanthropists feel so much for the    

comforts of the poor1 let  them become  
clerks1 drivers1 and waiters themselves1
 and carry the people  for nothing3 or  
let them devote a week-day to the       
gratuitous conveyance  of the masses to 
the ,crystal ,palace1 and not a voice1  
even in obedience  to the sophistry of  
pseudo philanthropists1 will be raised  
to have the  building open on the       
,sabbath4    ,sabbath labour1 then1 my  
,lord1 is a gross violation of the law1 
8,thou  shalt love thy neighbour as     
thyself02 and ,i am persuaded that even 
the  misled ,spitalfields weavers1 and  
others1 when they understand the bearing
  of the whole subject1 have too much   
humanity and justice about them to  wish
 that workmen employed on the railway   
should be enslaved on the  ,sabbath to  
minister to their pleasure4  ,the       
operatives of our country  generally    
demand1 8,,justice ,,for ,,all1 ,,and   
,,favour ,,to ,,none10 and therefore    
will hardly desire that one portion of  
their brethren should be deprived  of   

the rest and comforts of home on the    
,sunday to enable another portion  to   
indulge in various amusements4  ,this   
would be to imitate the slave  owners1  
oppressors1 and tyrants whom they so    
loudly denounce1 and would  prove that1 
were they in power1 they would wield the
 iron rod of the  despot as cruelly as  
any ,pharaoh1 ,nero1 or ,russian ,czar4 
,the stoker1 the  clerk1 and the porter 
have bodies and souls4  ,six days' toil 
on a  railway1 over the same ground and 
subject to the same monotony of duties1 
is as fatiguing to them as driving the  
shuttle or superintending the  spindle4 
,there is generally no very great       
variety of scenery for the  clerk who   
gives out the tickets or the porters who
 traverse the platform4  ,i have known  
the poor railway clerk doomed to be at  
his post from eight  in the morning     
until eleven at night during all the    
seven days of the  week1 and all this   
for a very paltry remuneration4  ,while 
waiting for a  train1 some time ago1 ,i 

had the following dialogue with a young 
man who  filled the office of clerk and 
porter1 and attended to the telegraph3--
      ,myself4  ,are you the only person
 employed here8      ,clerk4  ,yes1     
,sir4      ,myself4  ,are you here many 
hours8      ,clerk4  ,i come before     
seven in the morning and leave about    
nine at    night4      ,myself4  ,then  
you have fourteen hours a day8          
,clerk4  ,i have two hours to spare in  
the middle of the day1 when ,i go       
home to dinner4      ,myself4  ,have you
 to be here the same time on ,sundays as
 weekdays8      ,clerk4  ,just the same4
      ,myself4  ,can you ever go to a   
place of worship8      ,clerk4  ,never1 
,sir4      ,myself4  ,how long have you 
been on the line8      ,clerk4  ,upwards
 of five years2 and have not had an     
opportunity of    going to a place of   
worship all that time4      ,myself4    
,did you ever attend church or chapel8  
,clerk4  ,i was brought up in a ,sunday 
,school1 my parents are members    of a 

,christian ,church1 and ,i always       
attended myself until ,i was    occupied
 on the railway4      ,myself4  ,what   
wages do you obtain8      ,clerk4  ,i am
 paid eighteen shillings a week4        
,here1 my ,lord1 are some facts worthy  
of your consideration4  ,you have  heard
 a great deal about ,millocracy and the 
cruelties practised in the              
manufacturing districts4  ,i live among 
factories and we have 8,a ,ten  ,hours  
,bill10 and our operatives leave work at
 four1 some at two1 o'clock  on         
,saturday1 and have the whole ,sabbath  
to themselves4  ,the wages on an        
average are quite equal to those of this
 railway clerk4  ,and yet we are  told  
that these masters are tyrants1         
oppressors1 and care nothing for  their 
workpeople4  ,but if so1 what shall we  
say of the 8,railocracy0  which is      
springing up among us8  ,the poor       
railway operative in a great  number of 
cases has no ,saturday afternoon to     
himself1 no ,good ,friday1 no           

,christmas-day1 no ,sunday1 no holiday  
throughout the year4  ,he must never    
attend a place of worship1 and in some  
instances he is prohibited from  reading
 during the hours that he is on the     
line4  ,such a monotonous life1  though 
spent on ,parnassus1 or in the pleasant 
vale of ,tempe1 would prove  fatal to   
all physical1 intellectual1 and moral   
health4  ,and when we  consider that    
some of the buildings and localities in 
which these poor  fellows are imprisoned
 are almost as comfortless as an ,irish 
cabin1 and  far worse than many gaols1  
we must blush for the system which thus 
violates all the dictates of humanity   
and religion4  ,we spend some  thousands
 a year to send missionaries to the     
heathen1 to teach barbarians  to keep   
the ,sabbath1 but how little do those   
simple hearted savages dream  that1 at  
home1 we doom our own ,christian        
brethren to break the ,sabbath  and     
become pagans in a land of ,bibles and  
,gospel light1 or that we have  ,lords  

who wish for royal charters to sanction 
this cruelty and  wickedness6    ,at the
 time that our peeresses and other      
ladies are bestirring themselves  to    
move the heart of woman in ,america to  
feel for her coloured brethren  and     
sisters in bondage1 we1 who boast of    
being quite free from all the           
prejudices of colour1 wish to doom our  
own fellow countrymen to the  slavery of
 the rail and ,crystal ,palace1 and then
 8thank ,god that we are  not as other  
men are10 nor even as those vile        
,americans66  ,is it any  wonder that   
,brother ,jonathan laughs at our        
philanthropy1 or tauntingly  retorts1   
8,physician1 heal thyself60  ,the most  
complete specimen of  religious grimace 
and morbid sentimentalism is to see an  
,englishman or  ,englishwoman           
alternately shedding tears1 or burning  
with indignation over  the fetters of a 
negro on the other side of the          
,atlantic1 and yet1 at the  same moment1
 condemning his own free born brethren  

and fellow citizens to  the murderous   
slavery of the rail1 because it will add
 to the pelf of  some and minister to   
the pleasure of others6  ,talk1 indeed1 
of ,judas  being dead2 why1 ,mr4        
,mayhew1 kissing the mob in order that  
he may induce  them first to doom their 
brethren and then themselves to all the 
fatal  consequences of ,sabbath labour  
and ,sabbath dissipation1 is a          
sufficient  proof that the spirit of the
 arch traitor is still living among us6 
,we have of late been very fond of      
commissions and commissioners4  ,it has 
been quite a money speculation4  ,we    
first create an evil and then employ    
men to inquire into the extent of the   
mischief4  ,we have sent into the       
factories1 the mines1 and the           
agricultural districts1 and children    
have  been expected to answer questions 
in religion which would have puzzled    
not a few of our ,lords temporal and    
spiritual2 but let our present  ,sabbath
 railway system continue1 let the       

,sydenham grounds be open1 and  other   
modes of ,sabbath slavery be adopted1   
and we shall soon want a  ,committee of 
the ,house of ,commons1 and a host of   
commissioners to inquire  into the      
disease1 insanity1 crime1 ignorance1    
premature deaths1 and  frequent         
accidents connected with railways4  ,it 
is well known that the  late catastrophe
 on the ,north-,western line near       
,oxford1 by which six  lives were       
sacrificed1 was mainly owing to the     
immoral character of the  driver4  ,this
 man1 with several other drivers and    
firemen1 was drinking  and carousing the
 night before4  ,his wife1 the ,daily   
,news tells us1 had  only the day       
preceding the fatal collision been      
obliged to flee and take  refuge in a   
neighbour's house from his violence2 and
 when he mounted the  engine1 with which
 he hurried himself so recklessly into  
destruction1 and  involved others in his
 ruin1 he had just come from a pothouse1
 and was  under the maddening influence 

of liquor4  ,it has been my lot1 when   
waiting for night trains1 to have to    
stay for a considerable time in  station
 houses and elsewhere1 and there listen 
to the conversation of  drivers1        
firemen1 porters1 and others2 and the   
profanity and obscenity  would hardly   
have been surpassed by pagans4  ,and is 
it any wonder1 seeing  ,sabbath         
breaking1 in many cases1 must be an     
essential trait in the  character of the
 servants of our different railway      
companies8    ,no man who reverences and
 worships ,god will break his           
commandments by  working on the         
,sabbath1 and therefore in a very little
 time no truly  religious person will   
have anything to do with railways2 and  
hence it  will come to this1 that the   
lives and property of millions of ,her  
,majesty's subjects will be entrusted to
 ,sabbath breakers who neither  8fear   
,god nor regard man40  ,formerly we were
 taught that ,sabbath  desecration led  
to every vice2 but now1 forsooth1 all   

kinds of good are  to flow from the     
transgression of the command of the     
,king of ,kings1 and  the whole         
community is to be placed1 to a great   
extent1 at the mercy of  those who are  
prohibited by their masters from having 
any mercy on  themselves4    ,volumes   
upon volumes of facts1 my ,lord1 might  
be written to show that  without a      
,sabbath you cannot have a healthy or   
moral population4  ,and  surely ,i need 
not spend any time to prove that health 
and morality  are essential to national 
prosperity and greatness4  ,people      
destitute of  health cannot be strong   
and enterprising2 and citizens without  
good  morals will bring themselves to   
ruin by their own vices4  ,hence the    
,sabbath was divinely instituted to     
preserve both4  ,the rest was intended  
for the invigoration of the body2 and   
the leisure for religious tuition1      
study1 and worship was ordained for the 
moral edification of the soul2  and     
therefore if you grant royal charters   

for ,sabbath labour1 you will  shorten  
the days of the workpeople1 and at the  
same time deprive their  minds of the   
means of religious improvement4  ,on    
,god's own day you lock  up or chain the
 man from the sanctuary1 and then on the
 week-day you lock  the sanctuary from  
the man6  ,for the sake of ,mammon and  
the ,moloch of  pleasure1 you slay men's
 bodies and ruin their souls4  ,whole   
hecatombs of  human victims are to be   
immolated for the purpose of increasing 
the  dividends of railway speculators1  
and gratifying those who delight in     
,sabbath desecration and in trampling   
the laws of ,god under their feet4      
,wealth is of course valuable1 and      
pleasure desirable1 but no one has a    
right to obtain either of these         
blessings at the expense of his brother 
man4  ,money gained at the risk of the  
health or life of but a single  servant 
or operative is the price of blood2 and 
that cup of pleasure will  end in the   
bitterest sorrow which was procured by  

violating the divine  injunction1 8,thou
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself40  
,you are therefore1 my ,lord1 on the    
plain principles of humanity1 called    
upon to use your influence that the     
grounds of the ,crystal ,palace shall   
not be opened on the ,sabbath4  ,though 
you rejected revelation2 though you     
supposed the moral law abolished2 though
 you believed that human senators  are  
prohibited from legislating on any      
subject on which ,jehovah has given  a  
law2 yet it would then be your duty to  
exert yourself to prevent ,sunday       
trading and labour4  ,all persons admit 
that life and property are proper       
objects for political laws4  ,hence you 
have various sanitary regulations4      
,there are laws respecting public       
nuisances1 drainage1 and common sewers3 
you have statutes prohibiting the       
keeping of pigs and other animals in    
cities and towns3 you have enactments   
concerning public houses1 gin  palaces1 
putrescent fish and vegetables3 you have

 penalties to protect  persons from     
dangerous footpaths1 machinery1 and     
poisonous gases2 murder  and theft are  
punishable by law2 and neither parents1 
masters1 nor  mistresses are allowed to 
maltreat their children1 servants1 or   
dependents4  ,if ,i mistake not1 ,i was 
in the ,house of ,commons1 when ,i      
heard your ,lordship advocate the       
,factory ,act2 and you have the ,ten    
,hours  ,bill and laws respecting the   
labour of women and children in mines   
and  factories3 the sale of intoxicating
 liquors in the ,crystal ,palace was    
forbidden2 and ale houses are closed    
until noon on the ,lord's-day2 and we   
have reason to believe that your        
,lordship approves of all these         
enactments4  ,and we presume that you do
 so because all of them1 either         
directly or indirectly1 involve the     
preservation of the health1 lives or    
property of ,her ,majesty's subjects4   
,and now1 my ,lord1 upon the very same  
grounds and reasons we call upon you to 

interfere in the case of the  ,sydenham 
,palace4  ,we know1 and you1 my ,lord1  
know full well1 that higher  motives    
might be urged2 but we now pass these   
by1 and simply plead1 that  the opening 
of the said pleasure gardens on the     
,lord's-day1 in  consequence of the     
,sabbath labour that would be attended  
therewith1 would  be an infraction of   
the natural rights of many of your      
neighbours and  fellow citizens1 and    
therefore ought to be prohibited by law4
    ,it is now demonstrated beyond all  
controversy that man's body wants rest  
at the end of every six days4  ,history 
and physiology1 independent of          
religion1 assure us of this fact4  ,if  
you deny to the horse1 the ox1 the  ass1
 or the man the rest of the ,sabbath1   
you kill him before his time2  and      
consequently on the same principle of   
humanity on which you passed  8,the ,ten
 ,hours ,bill10 and uphold laws against 
murder1 we call on you to  defend the   
clerks1 porters1 drivers1 and other     

servants of the ,sydenham  speculators  
from the evils of ,sabbath occupation4  
,it is said by some  that we are a      
godless age2 and by others that we are a
 most enlightened  and religious        
generation2 and somehow or other both   
these classes  coalesce to crush the    
poor labourer and shorten his life by   
robbing him  of his ,sunday4  ,the      
godless people beg us not to be so      
fanatical as to  make any law on any    
subject on which ,jehovah has           
legislated2 and the  enlightened and    
hyper-religious entreat us not to       
sanction any statute  respecting the    
right of the labourer to rest from toil 
on the seventh  day1 because it is a    
religious question66  ,you may make a   
8,ten ,hours  ,bill0 because it is not  
mentioned in the ,bible2 you may even   
enact a law  against murder and theft1  
although both are mentioned in the ,word
 of ,god2  but alas6 alas6 to make a law
 to save the poor tired1 worn out1      
weary1  oppressed operative or clerk    

from being injured by ,sabbath labour1  
would  be to un-,protestant yourself and
 prove that you do not understand       
religious liberty66  ,as if religious   
liberty consisted in the liberty to     
kill our brethren and sisters by        
continuous labour66  ,if there had been 
no ,fourth ,commandment1 given by ,god  
himself1 we should have heard nothing   
about this matter4  ,there was no       
,fourth ,command about the 8,ten ,hours 
,bill0 and therefore it passed2 but now 
our poor operatives and peasants  are to
 be robbed of their rights and burdened 
with over work1 because  their heavenly 
,father has said1 8,remember the        
rest-day to keep it holy4  ,six days    
shalt thou labour and do all thy work2  
but the seventh is the  ,sabbath of the 
,lord thy ,god3 in it thou shalt do no  
manner of work10 c4  ,therefore1 as     
,jehovah has said we shall do 8no manner
 of work10 you1 my  ,lord1 propose that 
a royal charter shall be given to       
railway directors to  enable them to    

exact labour from their servants on the 
8,lord's-day40  ,who  can after this    
doubt our piety1 our enlightenment1 our 
staunch  ,protestantism1 or our love to 
religious liberty8    ,these are some of
 the blessings which we are told belong 
to ,christian  freedom1 and the ,gospel 
dispensation6  ,if our overworked       
mechanics1  operatives1 and labourers   
lived under the darkness and bondage of 
the  ,mosaic law1 then1 poor souls6 they
 might have a good week's wages for  six
 days' work1 and have one day in seven  
to rest1 recruit their  strength1 enjoy 
their homes1 bless their families1 and  
improve their  minds and morals2 but    
seeing they live in an age of ,gospel   
light1 they  are to be blessed with     
seven days' hard work1 no rest from     
toil1 no  leisure day to taste the      
sweetness of home and train themselves  
and their  families for this world and  
that to come6  ,it will require no      
common  sophistry to persuade the simple
 minds of the masses that it is an      

overwhelming privilege1 to work seven   
days instead of six1 and often  without 
any increase of wages6  ,many of them   
will wish they were ,jews1  and that the
 law of ,moses was still in force1 that 
they might rest one  day in seven1 and  
enjoy the sweets of home and the        
blessings of religious  worship and     
instruction4    ,then how absurd to     
suppose that we must not legislate      
concerning the  ,sabbath1 because       
,jehovah has legislated on it6  ,and yet
 we legislate on  murder1 theft1 c41    
although both these crimes are forbidden
 in the  decalogue4  ,is this because   
there are no ,sydenham speculators in   
the way  of observing these commands8   
,but if we legislate concerning the     
right of  the labourer to rest on the   
,sabbath1 we shall prevent certain      
gentlemen  from robbing the poor to     
enrich themselves1 and from shortening  
the lives  of one body of citizens to   
increase the profits of another4  ,of   
course it  would be vastly inconvenient 

to give every one license to rob1 steal1
 and  take away life2 but forsooth1 the 
case is much changed when1 instead of   
licensing all to plunder and destroy1   
you make a monopoly of the  business1   
and grant to ,crystal ,palace           
adventurers the privilege of  defrauding
 their servants of one day in seven1 of 
corrupting the morals  of their fellow  
citizens1 and shortening their days by  
oppressive toil4  ,there is a tribunal  
before which ,lords and ,commons1       
employers and  employed must appear1 and
 before which a director has lately been
  suddenly summoned4  ,there1 my ,lord1 
the highwayman who robbed with the      
pistol1 and the noble or squire who more
 genteelly1 with an ,act of             
,parliament1 or royal charter1 plundered
 the labourer of one day in seven1  will
 be placed in the same company and      
indicted for the same offence2 and      
where also those who destroyed their    
brethren more speedily by prussic  acid2
 and those who did it more slowly1 but  

not less cruelly1 by hard and           
continuous labour1 will be ranked with  
,cain and his fraternity4  ,nor will  it
 be any mitigation of their crime to    
plead that they would have granted  8,a 
,,seventh ,,day ,,bill0 as well as 8,a  
,,ten ,,hours ,,bill10 if it had not    
been  that the ,bible forbad ,sabbath   
labour4  ,but as the ,universal ,father 
out of  pure love to his children       
commanded that labour should not be     
exacted on  the seventh day1 therefore  
it behoved human legislators to         
countenance  ,sunday occupations1 lest  
by following the dictates of heaven1 of 
justice  and humanity1 they should      
violate the principles of religious     
liberty666    ,how many persons will be 
employed every ,sabbath on the ,sydenham
 ,railway  and in the gardens we cannot 
tell1 nor need we trouble to inquire1   
because it is too much to sacrifice the 
liberties1 rights1 health and  life of  
but ,,one ,,individual4  ,were the      
,french1 the ,russians1 or the ,turks   

wantonly to kill but one ,englishman1 we
 should demand satisfaction4  ,and shall
 we allow ourselves to plunder and      
destroy our poor brethren  because we   
hope to enrich a few speculators        
thereby8  ,granted that the  pleasure of
 a thousand1 or of a hundred thousand   
may be obtained by such  cruelty1 yet   
the amusement and recreation of millions
 is but as the small  dust of the       
balance when weighed against the rights 
and the life of but  ,,one labourer or  
operative4  ,but1 my ,lord1 the mischief
 will not be  confined to one1 or two4  
,we are told that the working of the    
,sunday  train from ,edinburgh to       
,glasgow compels at least one hundred   
persons to  break the ,sabbath4         
,probably quite as many will be required
 for the  ,sydenham business2 and       
therefore the sacrifice of human        
comfort1 rights1  health and life will  
be very great4    ,and it must be       
remembered that but few of the men and  
women employed will  have time to enter 

a place of worship on the former part of
 the  ,lord's-day4  ,granted that the   
visitors to the grounds may very        
devoutly  go to church and pay their    
devotions to the ,eternal before they   
hasten to  break his ,sabbath66 yet     
firemen1 porters1 waiters1 c41 will     
hardly have  time to repair to the      
sanctuary before they put the engines1  
c41 in  readiness for their masters'    
customers2 so that the majority of these
  railway servants will be deprived of  
the opportunity of worshipping ,god  and
 learning their duty4  ,here then1 my   
,lord1 will be robbery and cruelty  of  
the worst kind1 and therefore we call on
 you as a man to interfere  between the 
oppressor and the oppressed4  ,if you   
never went to church1  and prayed that  
,god would have mercy upon you and      
8incline your heart to  keep the ,fourth
 ,commandment02 if you disbelieved      
revelation altogether2  if you were a   
,jew1 ,turk1 infidel1 or the most ultra 
dissenter1 yet then  we would appeal to 

your humanity and entreat you to        
interpose the shield  of the law and    
protect the servants of the ,sydenham   
directors1 and indeed  all labourers1   
from being robbed and destroyed by      
,sabbath occupations4    ,the question  
then1 my ,lord1 is a physical one1 and  
just as much within  the range of       
parliamentary prohibition as any other  
which involves the  property and lives  
of ,her ,majesty's subjects4  ,there is 
not a law in the  statute book more just
 or humane than the enactments against  
,sabbath  labour4  ,the poor man has as 
equitable a claim to rest for           
twenty-four  hours1 every seventh day1  
as he has to sleep1 to food1 or         
protection from  the thief and the      
assassin4  ,sunday is his own property1 
and no other day  can now be substituted
 in its place4  ,his physical frame     
demands it1 and  must be injured if     
deprived of its refreshing repose2 and  
his family and  home must be rendered   
desolate if robbed of the presence and  

smile of its  husband1 father1          
instructor and companion4  ,we pity the 
orphan and the  widow1 but ,sunday      
labour deprives the mother and her      
children of their  best friend for      
months and years in succession4  ,it is 
true he may come  home every night1 but 
then it is generally when his little    
ones are in  bed1 and he leaves in the  
morning before they are up2 and should  
he visit  his house during the day1 in  
many cases they are at work1 or at      
school4  ,you cannot1 my ,lord1 give    
another day that will be a compensation 
for the  loss of the ,sunday4  ,should  
our railway directors resolve to grant  
their  servants a day every week as a   
substitute for the ,sabbath1 still the  
exchange would not be an equivalent4    
,on the ,sunday the whole family  rests 
from labour2 all the members are at     
home2 the house is nicely  cleaned2 wife
 and children are dressed in their best1
 and all their  resources of domestic   
happiness are at hand4  ,these blessings

 cannot be  had on the ,monday1         
,tuesday1 or any other day of the week4 
,on the ,sabbath  the labourer is as    
free from toil and care as the nobleman1
 the prince1  or the monarch2 and this  
weekly leisure and independence are     
enjoyed by  all his family4  ,the whole 
community also has an opportunity of    
participating in these comforts1 so that
 the people sympathize with each  other 
in their rest from work1 and the        
endearments of home which are thus      
elicited and cherished4  ,very great    
also are the intellectual1 moral1 and   
religious privileges of the ,sabbath4   
,but these physical1 social and         
spiritual advantages and pleasures      
cannot be shared on any other day4  ,all
 sorts of occupations will call the     
various members of the family from      
home2 instead of the neat and quiet     
,sabbath appearance of the house1  wife1
 children1 neighbours and friends1 all  
will be bustle and confusion1  and      
everything will wear the aspect of      

business1 labour and toil4  ,no one     
will sympathize with the week-day rest  
of the railway operative4  ,his  wife is
 in her every day garb1 and perhaps     
obliged to leave home to  follow her    
calling4  ,did he rest on the ordinary  
,sabbath1 he would enjoy  it along with 
others2 but by the unjust arrangement   
which makes his  ,sunday a week-day1 and
 his week-day a ,sunday1 he has to work 
when others  are free from toil2 and    
when he has a period of repose1 others  
are at  work2 and the noise and labour  
with which he is surrounded prevent him 
from having that rest and social        
enjoyment which he might share with his 
friends and relatives on the general    
,sabbath4  ,and then most of the        
sanctuaries are closed1 and thus he is  
as much shut up from the means of       
salvation as if he were transported to  
some heathen land4    ,you are          
therefore1 my ,lord1 about to inflict   
incalculable evils and  injuries upon a 
large portion of the most valuable of   

your fellow  citizens4  ,the working    
classes are very important members of   
the  commonwealth4  ,we cannot all be   
kings and queens2 and trade1 commerce1  
agriculture1 manufactures1 railways and 
domestic life1 would be in a very       
pitiable condition if all were lords1   
squires1 great capitalists1 and         
,crystal ,palace speculators4  ,our     
clerks1 operatives1 peasants1 hard      
handed fustain jackets1 smock frocks1   
c41 make the wealth and the  comforts of
 the nation4        8,princes and peers 
may flourish or may fade--      ,a      
breath can make them1 as a breath has   
made2      ,but a bold peasantry1 their 
country's pride1      ,if once          
destroyed1 can never be supplied40      
,thanks to our ,sabbaths1 ,sabbath      
,schools1 ,bibles1 and ,gospel          
,ministry1 we  have in this favoured    
land of ours1 the most industrious1     
upright1  contented1 and moral          
population under heaven4  ,it may suit  
speculators in  ,state ,education to    

malign the working classes1 and to      
exaggerate the  ignorance and vice that 
may exist among us1 but still after     
making every  just allowance for our    
intellectual and moral defects1 we are  
prepared to  prove1 that there is no    
country on the globe which can boast of 
a race of  operatives and peasants equal
 to the ,english4  ,and are these the   
men and  women who are to be robbed of  
their ,sabbaths and the comforts of     
home8  ,is this the return which lords  
and gentlemen are about to make for     
their  large revenues and peaceful      
mansions8  ,it is no use1 my ,lord1 to  
say that  you only propose to injure1   
corrupt1 and destroy a few1 for the     
benefit  of the many1 because the       
country may have all necessary amusement
 without  ,sabbath desecration and      
without inflicting an evil on anyone2   
but if it  could not1 you have no right 
to rob even ,,one man of his day of     
rest1 his  health and his home1 to      
increase the wealth or minister to the  

recreation  of others2 and therefore1   
instead of sanctioning this injustice1  
it is  the solemn duty of the           
,government to enact such laws as shall 
secure to  the labourer full exemption  
from toil on every seventh day4  ,works 
of  absolute necessity and deeds of     
charity and mercy may be attended to4   
,all requisite domestic duties may be   
performed3 the sick and the young  may  
be nursed3 the ox and the ass may be led
 away to watering3 or if  either fall   
into a pit1 it may be helped out2 but   
then these occupations  and occurrences 
will interfere very little with the rest
 of the ,sabbath1  and therefore can    
bear no comparison with continuous      
employment on that  sacred day during   
the whole year4    ,should your         
,lordship1 or any of my readers1 be     
doubtful respecting the  physical evils 
arising from ,sabbath labour1 ,i may    
again refer to the ,blue  ,book1        
containing the ,parliamentary ,evidence 
respecting ,sabbath  occupations4  ,the 

testimony of the medical men and        
especially of ,dr4 ,farr  on this point 
is particularly worthy of notice4  ,i   
may also quote the  following words of  
another well known ,london ,physician of
 long experience  and great practice4   
,the venerable ,dr4 ,conquest of        
,finsbury ,square1 in a  letter to the  
churchwardens of ,st4 ,luke's1 says1    
8,i regret my inability to be at the    
vestry this evening4  ,had it been      
in my power to be there1 ,i should have 
endeavoured to prove1 as a      medical 
man1 that it is absolutely necessary for
 the human      constitution to have one
 day in seven for rest1 because without 
it1 its powers become enfeebled and     
impaired4--,daily exertion      and     
excitement and fatigue during the week1 
without this one      day's rest1       
prematurely break down the strength and 
vigour of      the animal system1       
shorten life1 and deprive old age of    
that      energy and cheerfulness which 
usually attend it in those who      have

 rested from mental and bodily toil on  
the ,lord's-day40    ,there is not a    
physiologist or medical man in the      
country who understands  the physical   
and metaphysical nature of man1 but     
would subscribe to these  sentiments4   
,here then you are shown that health1   
corporeal1 mental and  moral energy1 and
 longevity1 depend upon the rest of the 
,sabbath1 and  consequently that disease
 and premature death will arise from    
,sunday  labour1 and yet we are told    
that we must not legislate on this      
subject  because it is a religious      
question4  ,we grant that it is a       
religious  question1 but then it is a   
physical and social question also4  ,are
 not  legislative enactments on murder1 
theft1 on the cholera1 factory labour   
and poisons1 physical and religious     
questions at the same time8  ,yea1 are  
they not religious because they are     
physical8  ,is it not a social1 a       
physical1 and a religious duty to       
preserve life and protect the rights of 

the labourer from the injustice of the  
oppressor8  ,no one has a greater  dread
 of over legislation1 or legislation    
where conscience is concerned1  than the
 writer of this ,letter1 but then who   
would say that legislating  against     
murder and robbery must be shunned out  
of deference to the  consciences of     
murderers and thieves2 or because the   
duty to avoid these  crimes is a        
religious duty2 and therefore in making 
any laws respecting  them we should     
violate the great principles of         
,religious ,liberty1 as  though it was a
 part of ,religious ,liberty to grant to
 all sorts of  assassins1 plunderers1   
and speculators1 the liberty to defraud 
and slay  their brethren and dependents8
  ,dr4 ,conquest1 ,dr4 ,farr1 and many  
other  skilful and experienced          
physiologists have proved1 and are      
prepared to  prove1 that ,sabbath labour
 shortens life1 and this fact alone     
renders  legislation on the subject the 
solemn duty of every humane government1 

whether that government consists of     
pagans1 ,jews1 ,turks1 infidels1 or     
,christians4    ,the remarks given above
 from ,dr4 ,conquest have been borne out
 by all  history and observation4  ,some
 years ago1 ,mr4 ,wilberforce           
endeavoured to  persuade certain lawyers
 and barristers that ,sunday occupations
 and  consultations would shorten their 
days4  ,they laughed at his fanaticism1 
sneered at him as a 8,saint10 and were  
quite ready to 8,charivari0 him2  but   
all these mockers died before their     
time4  ,some of them became  melancholy 
imbeciles1 and more than one committed  
suicide4  ,we cannot1 my  ,lord1 violate
 the laws of ,god1 whether written on   
the digestive organs1  muscles and      
brain1 or in the ,bible1 without having 
to pay the dire  penalty of rebellion   
against the benevolent regulations of   
our heavenly  ,father4    ,we have heard
 a great deal of late concerning the    
,anglo-,saxon race1 and  its native     
vigour1 enterprise1 intelligence1 c4    

,all our greatness has  been attributed 
to physical causes1 and these causes    
have been supposed  to originate in the 
purity of our race4  ,but the argument  
is absurd1  because we are the most     
mixed and mongrel people under heaven4  
,we have  all sorts of blood in our     
veins4  ,we are a compound of ,ancient  
,britons1  ,romans1 ,scots1 ,irish1     
,saxons1 ,danes1 ,normans1 ,french1     
,germans1  ,phenicians1 c41 c4  ,and yet
 we boast of being ,anglo-,saxons66     
,there is  more scepticism than science 
in this vaunting4  ,men are unwilling to
 do  homage to ,christianity1 and 8to   
render to ,god the things that are      
,god's40  ,we owe all to the ,bible and 
the ,sabbath4  ,the former1 by          
circulating  sound principles among us1 
has given us vigorous minds1 and the    
latter by  the repose of one day in     
seven1 has imparted to us healthy       
physical  constitutions4  ,the rest from
 toil and worldly anxiety2 the soothing 
associations of leisure1 home1 moral    

principle1 and religious hope1 have     
wrought wonders on our muscles1 nerves1 
brain1 and digestive organs1 and  thus  
have given us vigorous bodies2 intrepid1
 enterprising1 and  persevering minds2  
moral courage2 and honourable1 humane1  
and  philanthropic sentiments4  ,what   
made the sturdy men of the ,reformation 
and of the ,commonwealth1 but the ,bible
 and the ,sabbath8  ,and if             
,anglo-,saxon must be a synonym for     
physical vigour and moral courage1 then 
history1 science1 philosophy1 and       
religion allow us to say1 that the      
,bible and the ,sabbath would make      
,anglo-,saxons of the ,celts1 the       
,french1  the ,germans1 the ,chinese1   
and of all the world4  ,our venerable   
ancestors1  both ,episcopalians and     
,puritans1 who built up the ,british    
constitution  and rendered it the       
wonder1 the glory1 and terror of the    
world1 saw that  man must have a day of 
rest1 and therefore made it a statute of
 the realm  that labour should cease on 

the ,lord's-day2 and we owe our national
  preeminence to their wisdom and piety4
  ,you ought therefore1 my ,lord1 to    
hesitate before you remove those        
8ancient landmarks which your fathers   
set up02 for you may rest assured that  
as soon as you break up the good  old   
,sabbath observance habits of our       
forefathers1 and introduce1 in its      
stead1 ,sunday labour and dissipation1  
you will hear no more of the vigour  of 
the ,anglo-,saxon race2 for with a      
continental ,sabbath you will have      
continental frivolity1 effeminacy1      
fickleness1 and revolutions2 and it  may
 be well for your ,lordship to consider 
whether under such a change the         
nobility of ,england will share better  
than the clergy1 the gentry1 the  nobles
 and princes of ,france under the reign 
of terror4  ,the ,bible and  the        
,sabbath1 if duly studied and observed1 
would have saved that country  from all 
the melancholy and frightful calamities 
which it has had to  suffer during the  

last sixty or seventy years4            
,everyone1 my ,lord1 who advocates      
,sunday labour1 is not only an enemy to 
the working man1 but an adversary to the
 country at large4  ,it is  impossible  
for such a man to be a patriot1 because 
he endeavours to  undermine the physical
 and moral vigour of the empire4  ,it is
 no use to  say1 that in opening the    
,crystal ,palace on the ,sabbath1 you   
advocate the  amusement and not the     
labour of the masses2 because you are   
going to doom  one body of your         
countrymen to toil that they may enrich 
and please  others4  ,and depend upon   
it1 when it is generally understood that
 railway  directors can have seven days'
 labour for fifteen or twenty shillings 
a  week1 other masters will exact the   
same hard terms from their workpeople4  
,they will naturally ask1 ,who are we   
that we should pay as much for six      
days1 as the railway lords do for seven8
  ,the certain result to the  working   
classes will be increased labour and    

diminished wages2 and thus  under this  
pretence of giving ,sunday recreation to
 operatives and others1  one of the most
 deadly injuries will be inflicted upon 
them4  ,they have  often been duped by  
designing demagogues1 but now it seems  
,conservative  ,lords and ,radical      
,dissenters are to be their deceivers4  
,of old ,herod and  ,pontius ,pilate    
were made friends when the ,son of ,god 
was to be crucified2  and in our time1  
we have lords and plebeians1            
,conservatives1 ,whigs1  ,radicals1     
,chartists1 ,atheists1 debauchees1      
,episcopalians and                      
ultra-,dissenters--all leagued together 
to rob the poor brethren of ,jesus      
,christ1 of their day of rest1 and the  
ten thousand blessings connected        
therewith4  ,we congratulate you1 my    
,lord1 on your companions1 coadjutors1  
and fellow labourers3 though we know    
that you must not hope much from the    
certain result of your zeal4  ,it is    
often said that our ,norman nobility    

have never naturalized themselves in    
this foreign land1 and the present      
effort to destroy the physical and moral
 greatness of the nation by  ,sunday    
labour will go far to prove that they   
have not as yet become  ,english        
patriots4  ,sabbath amusement for one   
class will be ,sabbath  slavery to      
another2 and as this ,sabbath labour and
 desecration increases1  the nation will
 fall and will most certainly involve   
the nobility in its  ruin4    ,much is  
said of recreation and comfort for the  
working classes1 but we  must be just   
before we are generous1 and not forget  
the rights and  happiness of those who  
are to be worked4  ,i have before said  
that ,england  owes much to its domestic
 circles and its homes4  8,home6 sweet  
,home60 is  an air which charms everyone
 among us2 but do away with the         
,sabbath1 and  you destroy the ,english 
home4  8,mother10 said a child1 8you    
seem so happy  always on a ,sunday1 ,i  
wish it were ,sunday every day40  8,you 

are always  better on a ,sunday when    
father's at home10 said a little girl to
 her sick  mother4  ,another said1 8,oh1
 we are so uncomfortable to-day1 it     
don't seem  like ,sunday1 because father
 has been at work all day1 and has not  
cleaned  himself40  8,don't the sun     
always shine brighter on the ,sunday8   
and it is  never such nasty wet rain on 
a ,sunday as on other days10 exclaimed  
another group of children4  ,but the    
sick wife of the railway servant1 and   
the fond children1 are to know nothing  
of these ,sabbath endearments4  ,sunday 
suns and ,sunday rains will be week day 
suns and rains to them1 and  this will  
continue from year's end to year's end4 
,really1 my ,lord1 as a  religious      
individual1 and consequently a very     
feeling1 sympathetic1 and  humane man1  
you ought to hesitate before you resolve
 to destroy domestic  ties and          
affections to which your country owes so
 much of its happiness1  prosperity1 and
 greatness4  ,your good ,lady1 the      

,duchess of ,sutherland1  and others1   
are calling loudly upon the ,americans  
to pity the poor negro1  and we beg your
 ,lordship to have some compassion for  
these intended  ,crystal ,palace slaves1
 and not allow their homes to be broken 
up and  their wives to be as widows and 
their children orphans4    ,the idea1 my
 ,lord1 that large numbers of the masses
 will run down to the  ,crystal ,palace 
every ,sunday is an idle fancy4  ,what  
will it cost for a  man to take his wife
 and children to ,sydenham8  ,in many   
instances from  six to ten shillings    
will be needed6  ,will ,mr4 ,mayhew's   
,spitalfields  weavers be able to spare 
this sum8  ,how many times a year will  
they go8  ,how many of them will go8    
,for unless they go very often1 we are  
afraid  that their moral improvement    
will not be very great2 and1 during the 
,sabbaths that the people stay at home1 
there will be no very great  diminution 
of the crowds that occupy the filthy    
lanes and alleys of  ,london4  ,will    

enough on any one ,sunday leave their   
houses to cause any  visible decrease of
 the inhabitants8  ,will whole families 
go8 or will  there not be a separation  
of its members--some gone to the        
,crystal ,palace1  and coming home drunk
 or ruined1 while the poor wife and     
other portions  of the household will be
 left in solitude at home8  ,one would  
suppose1 to  hear some people talk1 that
 as soon as ,sydenham is opened1 all the
  miserable wretches in ,london1 all the
 ragged half starved creatures1 and     
especially all the poor operatives in   
,spitalfields1 will1 by some magic  or  
miracle1 be well clothed1 have plenty of
 cash in their pockets1 and  after going
 to church very devoutly one half of the
 ,sabbath1 hurry away  in full glee to  
the ,crystal ,palace on the other1 and  
thus their future  ,sundays all through 
the year will be passed between the     
celestial  paradise of the temple and   
the earthly ,elysium at ,sydenham66  ,no
 one  after this will laugh1 if a new   

body of speculators should arise and    
propose to take these said paupers and  
operatives to visit the moon and  all   
the planets every ,lord's-day4  ,and    
thus1 my ,lord1 for an imagined  good1  
which it would be the most arrant folly 
to anticipate1 you are  about to        
sacrifice the home comforts1 the health1
 the morals1 and the  lives of a large  
number of the most valuable of your     
countrymen4  ,the  same principle that  
led you to legislate respecting cruelty 
to animals1  and to the men1 women1 and 
children in factories and mines1 calls  
upon  you to interpose the authority of 
the law1 and say to the ,sydenham       
gentlemen1 8,there shall be no labour on
 the ,sabbath40    ,we are told that if 
the men hire themselves out to this     
drudgery it will  be a voluntary act of 
their own4  ,granted1 my ,lord2 but     
still when a  husband and father1 who   
has a wife and family crying for bread1 
is told  that he may have employment if 
he will break the ,sabbath1 but that    

famine  shall be the result of his      
resting on the ,lord's-day1 there is    
great  danger that many will prefer     
transgression to poverty and want4  ,all
  persecutors are perfect voluntaries4  
,it was quite optional for ,stephen  to 
be stoned2 for the disciples to be      
imprisoned2 for ,huss1 ,latimer1 and    
,hooper to be burnt2 for the pilgrim    
fathers to emigrate to ,america2 and    
for the ,madiai to go to gaol4          
,persecutors are among the fairest      
people  under heaven4  ,they generally  
set comfort and torture1 life and death1
  before their victims1 and give them a 
perfect choice of either4  ,formerly    
burning was fashionable2 but now        
starvation is nearly all the rage4  ,we 
do not burn people in this enlightened  
day4  ,we are too refined1 for we  live 
in the nineteenth century1 to be sure4  
,no persecution now1  forsooth1 we are  
too humane for that4  ,we only say to   
the famishing  operative or peasant1    
8,you must go to church1 or starve60    

8you must go to  chapel1 or starve60    
8you must spend your ,sabbaths on       
,sydenham ,railway1 or  starve60  ,now  
,i really think1 my ,lord1 if you had   
your choice1  notwithstanding all our   
boasting of religious liberty and       
charity1 that  you would as soon be     
burnt by ,bonner as starved to death1   
wife1 family  and all1 by these more    
refined modern persecutors4  ,for say   
what you  will1 ,sunday labour is not   
only inhuman and cruel1 but it is       
persecution1  and ought to be as much   
restrained by the hand of the law as any
 other  oppression which would prevent  
men from worshipping ,god4  ,i knew one 
of  the best of men in ,london leave his
 fatherland and become an emigrant      
because of the ,sunday labour at the    
,post ,office1 and thus the government  
lost a good servant by this persecution4
  ,and we shall soon have on a  large   
scale a new race of pilgrim fathers1 who
 will seek refuge in a  foreign land    
that they may enjoy the ,sabbath which  

they are refused in  their own          
,christian country4  ,to turn a man off 
from work because he  fears ,god and    
keeps the ,sabbath is persecution4  ,the
 civil government is  as much bound to  
protect the day for worship as the      
temple in which the  man worships4      
,again we repeat1 we desire no          
interference with the religious opinions
 of  anyone4  ,let men spend their      
,sabbath as they please1 provided they  
do not  compel others to any unnecessary
 work4  ,the laws respecting murder1    
theft1 cruelty to animals1 prisons1     
nuisances1 factory labour1 do not       
interfere with the religion of          
,catholic1 ,protestant1 ,episcopalian1  
or  ,dissenter4  ,they merely protect   
the health1 the bodies and rights of the
  people1 and on these principles we    
call on the legislature in the name of  
humanity1 of justice1 of health1 life1  
right1 and freedom1 to prohibit         
,sabbath labour4    ,drowning men catch 
at straws1 and you are in danger1 my    

,lord1 of being  seduced by certain     
individuals who call themselves liberal 
dissenters1  and profess to expound the 
sentiments of their brethren4  ,they    
will tell  you that you must not        
legislate to prevent the poor man from  
being robbed  and killed by ,sunday     
labour1 because it is a religious       
question66  ,but  you must beware of    
these gentlemen4  ,they have not the    
confidence of  their brethren1 nor do   
they represent their views4  ,their     
sentiments are  as outrageous as they   
are ultra4  ,to say that ,dissent allows
 the working  man to be robbed and slain
 by oppressive masters2 to be starved to
 death1  or persecuted into exile1 is   
one of the foulest libels that has ever 
been  uttered4  ,these men have not yet 
learnt the duties of civil legislation4 
,they have not distinguished between    
physical and religious--between bodily  
and spiritual matters2 they have not    
learnt that in some points human and    
divine legislation must go hand in hand2

 nor have they ascertained where  the   
one is to stop or where the two are to  
diverge4  ,a man who holds with  a 8,ten
 ,hours ,bill10 with laws to prevent    
cruelty to women1 children1 and         
animals2 with statutes to prevent       
murder1 theft1 and swindling1 and yet   
protests that you must not protect the  
bodies of men from ,sabbath labour1  is 
a novice in humanity1 and has yet to    
learn his political alphabet4  ,sabbath 
labour is inhuman2 ,sabbath labour is   
robbery2 ,sabbath labour is  cruelty2   
,sabbath labour is persecution2 ,sabbath
 labour is deadly2 and  therefore ought 
to be restrained by the authority of the
 law4    ,some of them become very      
religious and tell you that every day1  
under the  ,christian dispensation1 is  
to be a ,sabbath2 but they do not mean  
what  they say4  ,sabbath1 my ,lord1    
signifies ,,rest from labour2 and if    
every day  is to be a ,sabbath1 then we 
must rest from labour everyday1 and     
never do  any work at all6  ,jehovah has

 said1 8six days shalt thou labour and  
do  all that thou hast to do1 but the   
seventh is the ,,day ,,of ,,rest40      
,rest from  labour is one of the        
essential ideas included in the word    
,sabbath2 and  these pious people say   
that every day is to be a ,sabbath1 and 
therefore  a day of rest from toil2 for 
where there is no cessation from labour1
  there is no ,sabbath in the scriptural
 meaning of the term4  ,but so          
perverted are these reasoners1 that they
 tell us though ,sabbath means  rest    
from labour1 yet people are now at      
perfect liberty to work all the  day1   
and ,sydenham adventurers ought         
therefore to be allowed to rob1         
demoralize1 and kill a portion of the   
population by ,sunday toil66  ,the      
reasoning of these gentlemen is as      
logical as their legislation is  liberal
 and humane4    8,ah1 but0 they say1    
8,the ,sabbath is abolished60  ,but     
where1 my ,lord1 is  the repeal         
mentioned8  8,oh10 they gravely reply1  

8,the ,sabbath was made  for man40      
,that is1 it was benevolently instituted
 for the rest of his  physical frame and
 the edification of his soul4  ,ergo1 it
 is  abolished66  ,glorious reasoning1  
my ,lord6  ,but still they argue1 8,the 
,son  of ,man is ,lord of the ,sabbath40
  ,ergo1 the ,sabbath is abrogated1 and 
he  is the ,lord of a nonentity66       
8,no man is to judge us in respect of   
new moons and ,sabbaths40  ,,ergo1  the 
,lord is not to judge us1 although he   
has given us the ten  commandments1 and 
told us that they are not abolished1 and
 that the law  is not in any point made 
void by faith4    8,the day is changed  
from the seventh to the first4  ,ergo1  
it is  abolished660 ,change and         
abolition synonyms66  ,the ,apostles for
 a  while observed the seventh day that 
they might preach to the ,jews1 and  the
 first day that they might assemble as  
,christians1 and at length1 in          
obedience to their ,lord's will1 these  
inspired men dropped the seventh  and   

kept the first alone1 but retained the  
spirit of the law by  assembling every  
seventh day1 and therefore1 to be sure1 
broke up the  ,sabbath altogether66     
,whether these are 8sequiturs0 or 8non  
sequiturs10 ,i leave your ,lordship to  
judge4    ,but then we are so spiritual 
in these ,gospel days1 that we do not   
need a  ,sabbath4  ,,ergo1 we show our  
spirituality by secularizing the        
,sabbath66  ,of course we are more      
spiritual than the ,creator who         
consecrated one day  in seven2 more     
spiritual than ,adam in innocency2 than 
,moses1 ,samuel1  ,isaiah1 the          
,prophets1 our ,lord1 or the ,apostles2 
and therefore we can do  without such   
vulgar things as ,sabbaths or religious 
instruction4  ,doubtless the ,gospel has
 given us iron nerves and muscles to    
labour  incessantly2 and now forsooth we
 are all born with instinctive morality1
  theology1 and devotion1 and can do    
without such old fashioned1 obsolete    
lumber as religious edification6  ,and  

yet1 my ,lord1 we who thus boast are    
the most ,mammon worshipping1 worldly   
minded people under heaven4  ,we are  so
 spiritually minded that we wish the    
labourer to work seven days  instead of 
six2 that we open the ,crystal ,palace  
on ,sundays for the sole  purpose of    
getting money out of the pockets of the 
people6  ,we are so  spiritual that     
almost everything we do is contaminated 
with selfishness6  ,we are so           
evangelical and heavenly that we are    
robbing and killing our  fellow         
creatures by ,sunday labour1 and are    
agitating to increase these  hecatombs  
of human victims offered to avarice4    
8,the ,song of the ,shirt0  is no       
exaggeration1 and therefore what a      
spiritual and benevolent people  we must
 be6  ,what wicked fellows those        
infidels are who doubt the divine       
origin of this cruel caricature of      
,christianity which we give them in our 
deeds1 and how depraved they must be to 
say to such spiritually minded  souls1  

8,what do ye more than others80  ,what a
 blessed proof of heavenly  mindedness1 
that we can rob men of their ,sabbath   
and lives1 and then  thank ,god that we 
are not as other men are6    8,but the  
early ,christians did not legislate     
concerning the ,sabbath10 say  your new 
friends4  ,but then you know1 my ,lord1 
that they did not ask the  government to
 make any laws against murder or theft2 
they did not agitate  against slavery2  
for the franchise2 for corn-laws1 or    
their repeal2 for  the ,union1 or 8,the 
,separation of the ,church and ,state10 
c4 c42 and if  we imitate them1 we shall
 give up civil legislation altogether4  
,what  ,paul would have done1 if he had 
been a ,member of ,parliament1 we can   
hardly say2 still1 we may safely affirm 
that he would as soon have voted  to    
keep men from being robbed1 persecuted1 
and killed by ,sabbath labour1  as he   
would for a bill to prevent cruelty to  
men1 women1 children1 or  animals1 and  
would hardly have dreamt that in so     

doing he was violating  the great       
principles of religious liberty4        
,another favourite argument which some  
use and urge1 they tell us1 8with  tears
 in their eyes10 is that you will draw  
people from the gin palaces4  ,that is1 
my ,lord1 you are 8to do evil that good 
may come40  ,you have  committed ,,one  
great crime by licensing men to poison1 
corrupt1 and  destroy the population by 
strong drink2 and now you are to give a 
royal  charter for a second crime1 that 
you may counteract the first6  ,this is 
adding sin to sin4  ,why not shut up all
 public houses on the ,sabbath8  ,it  is
 as much our duty to do so as to        
legislate concerning the sale of        
stinking fish1 or to prevent any        
nuisance which endangers the health and 
rights of the people4  ,and then do you 
think1 my ,lord1 that these gin  palace 
visitors will go every ,sunday to       
,sydenham8  ,some of them now idle  away
 one1 two1 or three days a week in      
pothouses1 and spend money enough  to   

pay for sight seeing and a railway      
excursion every week4  ,will ,sabbath   
breaking and the ,crystal ,palace       
convert them into pious men and women8  
8,credat ,judus40    ,there are at      
present in ,london several parks1 which 
any of these persons  may visit for     
nothing1 and without enslaving any of   
their fellow citizens  to minister to   
their amusement2 and therefore it is    
perfectly superfluous  to open the      
,sydenham ,railway on the ,sabbath4     
,london1 for its wide  thoroughfares1   
fine buildings1 and extensive walks1 is 
one of the most  healthy and splendid   
cities in the world2 and is continually 
being made  more and more so4  ,why then
 wish to license by royal charter a     
system of  amusement which must be      
attended with ,sabbath desecration and  
the slavery  of the workmen employed in 
conducting it8  ,besides1 if there are  
not  walks enough1 let others be made1  
that the masses may have all the        
resources of health at command without  

injury to the domestic comforts1        
rights1 and liberties of any of their   
fellow citizens4  ,we do not want to    
shut every man1 woman1 and child up on a
 ,sabbath4  ,all that we desire is1     
that ,sunday labour shall be restrained 
by law2 and we demand this on the  same 
broad principle of justice that we ask  
for any regulation connected  with the  
civil rights of the country4    ,it is a
 fact that numbers of those who now keep
 public houses1 c41 would  be glad to   
have a general law passed to close them 
on the ,sabbath4  ,at a  public dinner  
of licensed victuallers and publicans in
 ,manchester last  ,october1 one of the 
speakers1 who had several houses and    
carried on a  large trade1 entreated his
 brethren to shut up on the ,sabbath2   
and  assured them that he always did so 
himself1 and had been a great gainer  in
 consequence of the improved character  
of his servants1 which arose  from their
 being allowed to rest on the ,sabbath1 
and attend to their  moral improvement4 

,our gin palaces might all be closed on 
the  ,lord's-day1 and then there would  
be no drunken population on the ,sunday1
  and no need of a ,sydenham claptrap to
 pretend to cure one crime by the       
committal of another4    ,most of our   
pseudo philanthropists who are agitating
 for ,sabbath  recreations1 are after   
all no real friends to the masses4      
,they seem to  take it for granted that 
operatives and labourers should never   
have any  time for amusement but on a   
,sunday2 and that nature intended them  
to be  8hewers of wood and drawers of   
water0 for twelve or fourteen hours     
during  every week-day4  ,but we protest
 against this cruel creed4  ,let taxes  
be  lowered1 national expenditure       
economised1 sinecures abolished1 peace  
and  free trade with all countries be   
cultivated2 let especially the taxes on 
knowledge be repealed1 and the lords and
 squires show that they are  patriots by
 giving up their pensions and refusing  
to receive such  enormous salaries2 let 

the wages of the labourer and mechanic  
be just and  equitable1 and let the     
nobility1 clergy1 gentry1 and religious 
people do  their duty by teaching and   
encouraging provident and moral habits2 
and  then the working men and women of  
,england will be able to enjoy week-day 
recreation much more frequently than    
they would go to the ,crystal ,palace   
on a ,sunday3 and thus they will be     
saved the moral deterioration which     
must invariably attend on ,sabbath      
desecration1 and will have no need to   
enslave any of their brethren to        
minister to their happiness4    ,it is  
said we are losing hold of the masses4  
,but1 my ,lord1 this is a  great        
delusion4  ,the fact is we have never as
 yet laid hold of them as a  body2 and  
we have not done so1 because we have    
never used the proper  means4  ,and yet1
 bad as things are1 ,i never walked     
through any of the  worst haunts of     
,london without being assured by persons
 of age and  experience1 that things are

 not half so bad as they were twenty or 
thirty  years ago4  ,and the improvement
 is going on4  ,there are more churches1
  chapels1 and schools than were in     
existence in former years1 and more     
persons attending them2 there never was 
in the whole history of the  country so 
many of the masses found in the house of
 ,god1 or under a  course of religious  
instruction2 and the only thing that can
 prevent this  reformation from going   
on1 is ,sabbath labour and the opening  
such places  as the ,crystal ,palace on 
the ,lord's-day4  ,i have1 ,sabbath     
after ,sabbath1  preached in ,sion      
,chapel1 ,whitechapel1 to between three 
and four thousand  persons1 most of them
 operatives from ,spitalfields and the  
neighbourhood1  and yet within a stone's
 throw the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,champneys had    
,whitechapel  ,church thronged2 and just
 at hand other churches and chapels were
 well  filled4  ,it is untrue to talk of
 our losing hold of the masses2 they    
never attended on the house of ,god in  

such numbers as now1 nor were they  ever
 in so favourable a condition to be won 
by ,christian exertion4  ,infidelity1   
trades unions1 socialism1 halls of      
sciences1 dissipation1  thieving1 c41   
c41 have all failed1 and they are now   
literally waiting  to be gathered to the
 fold of ,christ4  ,but if they were    
not1 the man who  would suppose1 that   
opening a ,crystal ,palace on ,sundays  
would supply  these poor souls with     
funds to go there1 and would catch them 
all and  make them first-water citizens 
and ,christians1 must be a wilder       
enthusiast than has ever yet entered the
 walls of ,bedlam or ,st4 ,luke's4  ,my 
,lord1 there never was a greater hoax   
than this ,sydenham speculation2  and   
the arguments used in its favour1 show  
us what sanctimonious fanatics  some men
 will stoop to be if gain can be won by 
pretended philanthropy  and godliness4  
,but it is added1 that we are to use    
moral means to win the masses2 and  we  
reply that we propose to employ no      

other4  ,we view the ,sabbath in its    
two aspects as a civil and a religious  
institution--as a physical and a        
spiritual boon to mankind2 and we do not
 wish that the legislature should  enact
 one law respecting the religious       
observance of the day2 we only ask  the 
,government to fulfil its political duty
 by securing to the labourer  that      
exemption from toil which would injure  
his health1 and of which  wicked men    
would rob him if the civil power did not
 interfere4  ,we are  not so foolish as 
to suppose that mere rest from labour is
 religion or  holiness to the ,lord2 but
 we do believe that the rest is         
necessary for  instruction in holiness2 
and therefore we say to the ,state1 ,you
 do your  duty and protect the labourer 
from toil1 and then let the ,church use 
all  proper moral means to influence him
 to spend his ,sabbath in such a manner 
as shall conduce to his intellectual1   
moral1 and eternal welfare4  ,but  our  
ultra liberals1 after becoming quite    

angry and calling us a number of  ugly  
names1 exclaim1 8,we depend on the      
omnipotence of moral means02 and  then  
turn around to a host of sharpers and   
say1 8,you may depend upon our  utmost  
aid in enabling you to keep these poor  
fellows from ever having  the least     
chance of coming within the reach of    
these moral means6  ,work  the slaves as
 much as you like1 work them seven days 
a week1 we will see  that no legislative
 enactment shall secure them from being 
slain by  labour1 or give them leisure  
to come to the house of ,god06  ,how    
infidels1  atheists1 the speculators in 
the nerves and muscles of their fellow  
man1  and all who view the operative as 
a mere beast of burden1 exult as they   
thus behold religious liberty           
voluntarily stooping to minister at the 
altar of ,mammon1 and victimize the     
working classes2 boasting of moral      
force1 and labouring hard to put the    
people beyond the reach of its  power6  
,it is said1 8,the rich break the       

,sabbath1 and that many professing      
,christians pay little attention to its 
sacred dictates02 ergo1 the poor  man   
must be robbed of his day of rest6      
,this1 my ,lord1 is the logic of  your  
friends1 as though doubling or trebling 
a crime could consecrate it4  ,every    
,sabbath breaker1 whether monarch1 lord1
 priest1 or pretended saint1  is really 
and truly a ,sabbath breaker1 and       
therefore is no ,christian2 and  as a   
thousand thefts or murders cannot       
sanctify one1 so thousands or  millions 
of acts of ,sabbath desecration cannot  
alter ,god's law or man's  physical     
constitution4  ,there stands the law    
engraved on man's muscles1  nerves1 and 
brain2 and written also by the same     
,divine ,physiologist and  ,lawgiver in 
the sacred volume3 8,remember the day of
 rest0--8in it thou  shalt do no manner 
of work10 c41 are the words2 and woe be 
to him who  dares break this            
8commandment1 or teach men to do so40   
,i was surprised to read in several     

newspapers the reasons which you1 my    
,lord1 assigned for granting a charter  
for this ,sabbath cruelty4  ,you  stated
 that you wished to open the ,palace for
 8the ,,health1 ,,comfort1 and  ,,morals
 of the people40  ,i confess that ,i    
hardly believed my own eyes1 and  ,i    
perused several reports of your speech  
before ,i gave them credit4  ,but  let  
us examine them a little4    ,i4        
,sabbath desecration for 8the health of 
the people03 that is1 you  propose to   
shorten the lives of one class of men1  
for the supposed health  of others6     
,this is not very humane4  ,and then1   
,sabbath desecration  injures rather    
than promotes health4  ,this was shown  
long since in the  ,parliamentary       
evidence on the observance of the       
,sabbath4  ,masters who  employ large   
bodies of men1 know full well how to    
distinguish the workman  who spends his 
,sabbath in a moral and religious       
manner1 from those who  pass it in tea  
gardens1 travelling1 and dissipation4   

,the latter are said  to be frequently  
8not worth their salt0 on a ,monday2    
while the former are  healthy1 strong1  
and vigorous for labour1 showing that   
the ,sabbath has  had its intended      
refreshing1 re-creating1 and quickening 
influence on  their bodies1 minds1 and  
morals4  ,there is plenty of ,sabbath   
amusement in  ,paris and on the         
,continent2 but then many of these poor 
creatures are  half dead on the morrow1 
and require a ,saint ,monday to restore 
them4  ,the  bills of mortality also of 
,london1 for many years past1 without a 
,crystal  ,palace1 will bear comparison 
with any of the great cities abroad4    
,and  if1 my ,lord1 you will obtain     
correct statistics of the health and    
longevity in the metropolis or the      
country of those who break and of  those
 who rigidly observe the ,sabbath1 you  
will never say another word  about      
,sabbath desecration as necessary to    
health4  ,i am quite willing to  stake  
the whole question on the health of the 

,sabbath ,school teachers of  ,london4  
,with all due deference1 you must allow 
us to believe that the  ,great          
,physiologist who made man's body and   
breathed into it an immortal  soul1 was 
not inattentive to our health and life1 
when he gave the ,fourth  ,commandment2 
and certainly viewed the human family   
with as much  tenderness as the ,earl of
 ,derby4    ,,ii4  ,sabbath desecration 
for 8the comfort of the people40  ,of   
course1  my ,lord1 you intended to omit 
the comfort of the men and their wives  
and  families who are to be employed in 
the ,sydenham speculation4  ,these poor 
creatures will have little comfort on   
the ,sabbath4  ,the father will be at   
work and the family will be at home     
bereft of its best friend4  ,and then   
as to the others1 who are to be amused  
and comforted1 ,i am prepared to  show  
that the families of those who keep the 
,sabbath are ten thousand  times more   
comfortable than of those who break it4 
,let the homes of the  working men in   

,england who observe the ,lord's-day1 be
 examined in  connection with the homes 
of labourers and artisans on the        
continent1 and  we do not fear what will
 be the result of such an investigation 
even in  this single matter of comfort4 
,yes1 and let ,spitalfields be          
scrutinized1  and a fair report be given
 of the condition of those who keep1 and
 of  those who break the ,sabbath1 and1 
my ,lord1 the comparison will most      
triumphantly prove that there can be a  
far higher degree of comfort  enjoyed   
from religion than any ,crystal ,palace 
can yield4  ,there are  hundreds of     
happy families in ,spitalfields and     
elsewhere1 who are happy  because they  
are pious and keep the ,lord's-day holy4
  ,to them the ,sabbath  is a foretaste 
and earnest of heaven4  ,when the       
morning of the day of  rest dawns1 they 
hail it with the words of ,newton1      
8,how welcome to the saint1 when pressed
      ,with six days' care and pain and 
toil1      ,is the reviving day of rest1

      ,which hides him from the world   
awhile60    ,or else they sing1 with    
,watts1        8,welcome1 sweet day of  
rest1      ,that saw the ,lord arise1   
,welcome to this reviving breast        
,and these rejoicing eyes0666    ,among 
these poor people you will find some of 
the happiest persons upon  the face of  
the globe1 and in their homes ten times 
more comfort than is  enjoyed by their  
,sabbath breaking neighbours who have   
better wages4  ,keeping the ,sabbath    
aright invariably leads to domestic     
comfort and  happiness2 while breaking  
it1 as certainly produces misery2 and   
therefore1 my ,lord1 it was bad         
domestic1 bad political economy2 bad    
physiology1 bad morality and divinity to
 talk of increasing the comforts  of the
 people by ,sabbath dissipation4  ,all  
history1 all statistics1 all            
observation1 all nations1 all ,scripture
 are against your proposition4    ,,iii4
  ,sabbath desecration for 8,the        
,morality of the ,people660  ,this1 my  

,lord1 is certainly the climax of all4  
,we used to be sent to the 8,newgate    
,calendar10 and were told that ,sabbath 
breaking led to all sorts of vice1  but 
now the tables are turned1 and working  
on the ,sabbath and the neglect  of     
divine worship and religious instruction
 are to bring the ,millennium6  ,you    
have been1 my ,lord1 in ,france and     
especially in ,paris on the ,sabbath4   
,there they have all sorts of pleasure  
gardens1 costly trees and shrubs1       
museums1 picture galleries1 crystal     
fountains1 c41 c41 open to all the      
public without a fee on the ,sabbath4   
,the ,palais ,royal2 the ,palace of     
,vendme2 the ,palace of the ,tuileries1 
and its gardens2 and the ,champs        
,elyses1 with its splendid walks1 will  
perhaps bear comparison with  anything  
we shall have at ,sydenham2 and ,i      
certainly never expect to see  any      
exhibition in this country that will vie
 with the palaces1  waterworks1 and     
illuminations at ,versailles and ,st4   

,cloud4  ,these1 my  ,lord1 have been   
for years thrown open to the people4    
,france from time  immemorial has been  
renowned for its popular amusements and 
,sunday sights  and recreations1 and yet
 these did not save the nation from     
8,sans  ,culottism10 8,the ,reign of    
,terror10 and all sorts of mad          
revolutions4  ,with all these grand     
sights and the morality of ,sabbath     
breaking1 the  ,french and the          
,continentals cannot be trusted with    
scarcely a particle of  liberty1 but    
must be kept in order with the bayonet2 
while your own  immoral countrymen1 who 
are in danger of becoming savages       
without a  ,crystal ,palace1 know so    
well how to take care of themselves that
 you  trusted the ,crystal ,palace in   
their hands without a single soldier to 
protect it4  ,with these facts before   
us1 it sounds rather strange to hear    
your ,lordship talk of improving the    
morality of the people by ,sabbath      
desecration1 when it is as clear as any 

fact of the present time that we  owe   
our morality1 our national contentment1 
security1 progress1 and  preeminence1 to
 our observance of the ,lord's-day4  ,do
 away with the  ,sabbath1 my ,lord1 and 
,sans ,culottism may yet reign in       
,england1 even  though the ,sydenham    
,palace may very far surpass ,versailles
 and ,st4 ,cloud4    ,but if ,crystal   
,palaces have such virtue that a visit  
once or twice a year  to its gardens    
will make the vilest of the people      
moral1 ,i am thinking1  my ,lord1 that  
some will begin to imagine that we may  
soon dispense with  archbishops1        
bishops1 deans1 and all the other       
expensive apparatus of a  ,state        
,establishment4  ,we may be sure that   
not one in ten of those who go  to      
,sydenham will think of going to church 
before they start on the  railway4      
,indeed1 many argue that the ,palace is 
to be opened to moralize  and           
spiritualize those who will not at the  
present time enter our  churches or     

chapels4  ,and this said ,sydenham is to
 perform such marvels  in virtue and    
piety as ,joanna ,southcott and         
,mormonites never ventured  even in     
their wildest flights to anticipate4    
,and if so1 why not plant  gardens1     
construct fountains1 and erect ,crystal 
,palaces generally8  ,many  of the      
clergy and dissenting ministers we are  
told have miserable  congregations at   
present3 why not make them porters and  
waiters at  ,sydenham1 seeing railway   
men1 it is supposed1 will produce more  
morality  in a few hours than some of   
your clergy and dissenting ministers can
 call  forth in many years8  ,and if the
 plan will work so well in the          
afternoon1  why not have it in the      
morning8 and then there will be no need 
of mocking  the ,almighty by praying for
 grace to keep the ,fourth ,commandment 
at the  moment that we intend to trample
 it under our feet4  ,depend upon it1 my
  ,lord1 there are not a few who will   
conclude that under such a moral and    

religious dispensation as that which the
 ,crystal ,palace adventurers have      
proposed to bring in1 the property of   
the ,church may go to pay off the       
national debt4    ,i may have seemed to 
treat this matter with levity1 but was  
it possible  to discuss such arguments  
with seriousness8 to talk of gardens1   
c41  producing morality1 when history   
shows us what architecture1 pleasure    
grounds1 and such like inventions did   
for ,egypt1 ,nineveh1 ,babylon1 ,rome1  
and other countries1 who with all these 
incentives to piety became the  victims 
of their own vices8  ,but ,i will not   
enlarge except to say that  you cannot1 
my ,lord1 follow a better guide than the
 ,bible1 nor confer a  greater boon on  
the nation than to preserve its         
,sabbaths from being  violated by       
labour4  ,i have now been nearly thirty 
years at ,ebley1 and  during that time  
have preached to a large congregation1  
most of them poor  people1 and have had 
ample opportunity of seeing the effects 

of ,sabbath  breaking and ,sabbath      
observance4  ,i am told that our chapel 
and schools1  as seen from the ,great   
,western ,railway1 look like a little   
paradise1 and  ,i could show your       
,lordship as many happy homes as perhaps
 any minister in  any agricultural and  
manufacturing district in the country4  
,i wish your  ,lordship would send a    
commissioner to look at us1 for we could
 then prove  by visible facts1 that     
8health10 8comfort10 8morality10        
intelligence and  pure religion flow1   
and flow alone1 from strict obedience to
 the ,fourth  ,commandment4  ,i had     
intended to say more to prove that the  
keeping of the  seventh day is as       
obligatory now as in the days of ,moses1
 but ,i will  reserve those arguments   
for a separate essay1 and in the        
meantime remain1  my ,lord1             
,your ,lordship's obedient ,servant1    
,b4 ,,parsons4    ,,ebley1 ,,stroud1    
,,gloucestershire1              ,march  
#ajth1 #ahec4    ,p4,s4--,i ought1 my   

,lord1 to have added above that some    
persons1 from this  expected rage of the
 poor people to go to the ,crystal      
,palace on ,sundays1  and its moralizing
 influence1 will draw an argument in    
favour of the  ,voluntary ,principle in 
religion which your ,lordship has so    
long  condemned4  ,for if these children
 of destitution will pay such large sums
  to be educated and moralized at       
,sydenham1 what need of ,state          
,education1  tithes1 or religious       
endowments8  ,i should not be surprised 
to hear it  proposed to have ,st4       
,paul's and ,westminster ,abbey turned  
into ,crystal  ,palaces4  ,in making    
these remarks ,i am only reasoning on   
the premises  laid down by your         
,lordship1 that the people would be     
rendered 8moral0  by going to the       
,crystal ,palace on ,sundays4  ,bishops1
 priests1 deacons1  and dissenting      
ministers1 it is presumed1 have failed2 
and now dram shops  are to be emptied1  
and ,spitalfields1 ,st4 ,giles1 and     

,rosemary ,lane  regenerated by the     
,sydenham grounds6  ,certainly1 my      
,lord1 before this new  experiment is   
tried1 it would be well to inquire1     
whether the ,bible1  ,christianity1 and 
,religious ,instruction are a failure8  
whether ,sabbath  breaking will be more 
moralizing than ,sabbath observance8    
whether the  poor people in ,london will
 have money enough to go in shoals to   
,sydenham8  and whether those who will  
really go will not be the persons who   
have  ample time and means to go on the 
week8                                   
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99               ,london3   
,printed for ,john ,snow1 #ce1          
,paternoster ,row4