On this page
-
Text (4)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
Lord M « nver » took the chair at a meeting held at "Willis ' * R ° om 8 » on Wednesday , to provide funds for th «> tablishment ot a " Royal Medical Benevolent College , " an asylum for the distressed members of the medical ofettsion , and their widows , and a school for their sons . The West London Freehold Land Society met on "Wednesday , at the Belgrave Hotel , Pimlico , for the purpose of forwarding the objects of the association .
Untitled Article
GREA . T PUBLIC MEETING AT THE NATIONAL . HALL . Qn Wednesday evening a public meeting was held in the N ational Hall , High Hoiborn , to petition Parliament to inquire into the treatment of Mr , Ernest Jones , wb . ie in Tothill * fields Prison . An unusual thing in the hot weather that now prevails , the Hall ¦ was crowded in ev « ry part—people even sat over the door-way of the gallery . Mr . Thomas Wakley , M P . for Fmsbury , presided , and opened the business by a pointed exhortation to the people , to put an end to the political persecution winch had become a disgrace to the State , and inimical to free discu > sion .
Mr . Gt J . Holyoake moved the first resolutio -r pointing out the mannerancl the cases in which political imprisonment had increased in rigour of late years ; how untenable were the arguments by which that rigour is endeavoured to be justified both on the bench and in Parliament-maintaining that prosecutions for sedition were the weapons by which one party in the State struck down- their opponents whom they failed to * meet in the rostrum with argument , and that if this were allowed to continue , political controversy must become a feud in which the people * instead of struggling for the truth , would have to struggle for power in order to effect the
destruction of those who sought not to convince them but to wound body , spirit , and character , and even to endanger life . After various modes of enforcement Mr . Holyoake proposed this resolution , that" This meeting , observes with regret that of late years there has been manifested in the official proceedings on the part of the Crown , a growing tendency in judicial sentences to confuse differencs of political opinion with crimes , and to punish those differences with the same or even greater severity than the crimes—a practice , in the opinion of this meeting , disgraceful in a civilized country , aud calculated to infuse into political contests antagonisms dangerous to free discussion , and
to the welfare of society ; and believing that the case of Mr . B . mest Char lea Jones is an instance of this moral confusion of politics and felony—untenable in theory and reprehensible in practice , —this meeting resolves to petition the House of Commons to grant an inquiry into the treatment of Mr . Jones during his two years' incarceiation in Tothill-fields Prison [ and , at the suggestion of Mr . Wakley , these words were added ]; and if the House of Commons refuse , this meeting resolves further to apply to the House of Lords . " Mr . Thornton Hunt seconded the resolution . He said , that the question before them was , to
determine whether progress in this country should go on peaceably , or by other means ; and he proceeded to show the manner in which the treatment revealed in cases like that of Mr . Jones created just alarm , and called for public interference . By cogent illustrations drawn from our Colonial government , the speaker showed that Lord John Russell had done his best to show the people of this country that why t ' . ey did not succeed on the 10 th of April was , that they did not rebel enough ; and he traced the primary example of sedition in this country to the Government themselves .
Mr . Robert Le Blond , in a speech of much character , supported the resolution . He produced a copy of the prison rules , pointing out how the goveinor in Mr . Jones's case had broken them ; read from Mr . H . Dixon ' s Prisons of London an extraordinury account of Mr . Ernest Jones , the comment upon which was very effective . Mr . Le Blond presented the documents to Mr . Jones , and promised him assistance if he would bring an action against the governor . Air . limest Jones gave an animated statement of the rigours to which he had been exposed , which frequently excited exclamations of abhorrence on the part of the meeting .
Mr . Wakley put the resolution in a very forcible and emphatic manner , which wus carried without one dissentient . Mr . Holyoake ( as Mr . Wakley had at this hour to retire ) rose and said , that whenever the cause of the people needed a manly , able , and prompt advocate , they always found one in Thomas Wukley ; and hud not Mr . Wakley desired him not to delay the progress Of the meeting by voting him their thanks , he should have asked them formally to give them , —( all by acclamation expressed them ) . Ho moved that Mr . Thornton Hunt occupy the chair of Mr . Wakley ; ¦ which being carried uimnimously , Mr .-Bezer moved and Ms . O'Brien becoiided , the udoption of the petition .
Untitled Article
THE GREAT FIRE IN SOUTHWARK . When jou have panned over JLondon-biMge from tho City , a block of buildings rites on your right hand , culled Hilurnin Chamber *; und at right angles Up the iiv « r front Hibtrnia \ Vhurf . A little beyond lh « chambers ¦ tands St ttaviour ' a Chui ch , fronting tfc * « miL but xunttiag Mm * dut * ac « bwokw « s 4 . JM « h
tween these buildings is Montague close , in the centre of which there are four warehouses occupied by wholesale merchants , and stored with various commodities—among others cheese and old rags but chiefly hops . The whole belongs to Mr . Alderman Humphery , M . P . These warehouses are severally lettered A , B , C , and D . From the floor of one of them , A , in which a quantity of old rags wf restored , by Messrs . Hollinssworth , of Maidntone , a fire suddenly burst out on Monday , about three in the afternoon , and in less than twenty minutes it had extended to the whole of the building .
The fire brigades were instantly sent for ; but when they arrived the water supply was defr ient . Meantime the flames had burnt through into the next warehouse ; and the efforts of the firemen were directed to the preservation of the warehouses and adjacent buildings which had hitherto escaped . When the flames had been raging for five hours , and the whole of warehouse A was destroyed , and three floors of warehouse B entirely gutted , it was confidently hoped that th . 3 conflagration was effectually confined to those two buildings . But soon after eight o ' clock , to the surprise of all . in spite of the continuous play of the land and floating engines , flames were seen in the extreme warehouse D .
The si ^ ht which now presented itself was such as is , fortunately , seldom witnessed . The huge block of burning houses-red hot from the intensity of the fire , and shooting forth flame and sparks like a volcano -might be seen from any elevated spot in the City and on the bridges , which were crowded to the utmost . The Borough-market was so thronged as to be impassable , the people being in momentary expectation of seeing St . Saviour ' s Church ignite . The fire shone through the windows with such brilliancy as to give rise to several reports that the sacred edifice was on fire , and the sight of men actively passing buckets from hand to hand into the interior , Strengthened the supposition . Nothing could exceed the alarm which prevailed ; the safety of distant , as
well as proximate , buildings was threatened by the immense flakes driven off , while those whose goods were at aU exposed hastened to secure them from the risk of burning , or the scarcely less imminent risk of having them stolen by the gangs of thieves who are never idle on such occasions . Warehouse C several times caught fire , and was as often extinguished , and up to twelve o ' clock it withstood the flames around it . After that time it was gradually damaged by the intense heat communicated through the party-walls ; but the contents having been removed by eleven o ' clock , the fire found little or nothing to spread it further . The fire remained burning all night , and wa 9 easily visible from a distance . St . Saviour ' s Church , though somewhat damaged , has sustained no
s injury . The want of water was most severely felt during the evening , and Mr . Braidwood was heard to remark , " If we had had a sufficient supply of water , we should not have had half so bad a fire . " The Bridge-house Hotel was very much damaged , and the windows in St . Saviour ' s Church shattered by the intensity of the heat . The origin of the fire is unknown ; some speculating that it was caused by the spontaneous combustion of the old rags ; others coupling the second outbreaks in the extreme warehouse , D , with the first , think that both must have been set on fire . The supposition that the old rags ignited spontaneously is disputed , on the ground would not
that they were of such a quality as so ignite . There was only one accident . Edward Burch , the engineer of the Tooley-street brigade station , in his zeal to eheck the progress of the flames , got down the loophole , and directed water on the burning part , but being nearly overcome by the heat and smoke , he returned to the trap to escape , when the fittmes formed an eddy of fire round the hole , and completely enveloped the unfortunate man . He was in the act o » dropping , when some of his comrades dashed forward and dragged him up out of the hole . He was forthwith conveyed to Guy ' s Hospital , and the report of his condition on Tuesday evening was unfavourable .
As fur as tan bo ascertained , the offices interested in the losses are the follow ng , and to about the extent—Sun Fire-office , £ 50 , 000 ; Royal Exchani / e , £ 30 , 000 ; Guardian , £ 20 , 000 ; Union , £ 10 , 000 ; other offices , £ 10 , 000 . Some duya must necessarily transpire before the exact amount of losses can be accurately ascertained . According to the present estimates they can be little Bhort of £ 160 , 000 .
Untitled Article
THE CIIURCII AND THE PEOPLE . The daily journals have ' been reporting this week what they cull " Curious scene in a Church . " The eceno was certainly novel , highly interesting , and so far curious . We have one or two versions of the story . The fiiat in the common icport , which , as will ho seen , i » very inuccurute . We are told that the Reverend Charles KingHley , " the wtll-knowii author of Alton Locke , " delivered , lH « t Sunduy , one of u Bcri « a of discourses , addressed to the people from the puljpit , iu St . Jubn ' ft eburth , Upo « r CA »* rJU } tte- « tr « . « t ,
Fitzroy-square ; that the text of the sermon wai from the I 6 lh chapter of Luke , and that the title of the sermon was " The Message to the Poor . " The reporter we are citing , next tells us that Mr . Kingsley ' dwelt most emphatically upon the wrongs and miseries of the poorer classes , attributing their vices to their poverty and ignorance , and those again to the injustice they suffered at the hands of the rich ; while to the latter he assigned , by direct implication , the responsibility of all the social evil that prevailed to so lamentable an extent . The discourse was listened to with extreme surprise by a very crowded congregation . " Our authority goes on to say : —
" After the preacher had concluded , the Reverend Mr . Drew , the rector of the pariah , who had occupied a pew beneath the pulpit , rose in his seat and addressed the audience just as they were about to disperse . A most painful duty , he eaid , had devolved upon him , in having to condemn the discourse just delivered , and which he had never anticipated hearing from a pulpit . Mr . Drew then , with some emotion , proceeded to administer a brief but stern rebuke to Mr . KLingsley , whose sermon he declared contained malter that was questionable in doctrine , pernicious in tendency , and untrue in fact . He regretu d that exhortations of so dangerous a character should have been offered to the members of a Christian .
Church . This interposition caused much excitement among the congregation , and a large number remained round the doors of the chu'eh for some time after they were closed , exchanging comments upon the singular incident of the evening . " So far we learn how the " incident of the evening " ^ struck the reporter in question . A " Layman , " writing to the Morning Chronicle , gives us an account of a different kind . He says : — " The discourse was somewhat liberal , and treated much of the rights of the poor , and their equality in the sight of their Maker . At the conclusion of the sermon the Reverend Mr . Drew , the incumbent , entered the readingto
desk , and stated it was his painful duty to announce the congregation that what had been stated was untrue , and contrary to the spirit of the lectures intended to be given . Whether it was decorous to adopt such a course , after having brought a clergyman from the country to take part in the lectures , is a question for the reverend incumbent to ask himself . I must say that 1 felt quite hurt at his proceedings , as derogatory to the conduct of a clergyman . Had the reverend gentleman been dissatisfied at what he thought the heterodoxy of the discourse , he should have applied to his diocesan , and not so ungraciously have taken the matter in his own hands by pronouncing premature judgment . "
The Layman" incloses his " card to voucn for the accuracy of the above" report . The " incident" of the evening was destined to elicit a yet graver comment . The Daily Neios is the narrator and commentator : — " As is not unusual in this generation , when advertisements of great sermons to be preached have nearly shouldered out of newspapers advertisements of great plays to be acted , and when placards of services in churches adjoin on our walls invitations to dances at casinos , due notice was lately given of a series of Sunday district church of StJohnChar
evening lectures in the . , - lotte-street , whereof the Reverend G . J . Drew is incumbent , and the Reverend Thomas Dale patron . On Trinity Sunday , the 15 th instant , the Reverend F . Robertson , a popular preacher of Brighton , lectured in a strain in which democratic politics were queerly and unpleasantly intermingled with high church pretensions ; and on Sunday last the Reverend Charles Kingsley undertook the duty . On this occasion the reverend gentleman took for the subject of his discourse the whole of the 16 th chapter of St . Luke ' s Gospel ; and the burden of the lessons he extracted thence was ' Liberty ,
Equality , and Brotherhood ; ' that being the formula which he and his friends have adopted wherewith to enforce and expound the revolutionary nonsense which they term Christian Socialism ; and most vehemently and lengthily , it is stated , did this sufficiently ordained ecclesiastic enforce these vague , misty , absurd , and mischievous principles and schemes of Communism which he and Mr . Maurice , of King ' s College , and their weak and silly followers affect to discover in Revelation , aid seek to apply to existing society . An hour ' s explanation , of this new Christianity not only astonished , but wearied the congregation ; and , as the bleating ilrew on , the great majority were only too happy to be released from the paiutul and irreverent infliction . Ere , however , Mr . Kingsley had time to proceed so far , Mr . Drew ,
theiuctiiMiieiit , hastily and eagerly proceed * d from the communion-table to the reading-desk , an 4 'here lifted up his hands to arreat any benediction from the lecturer . Nor was he content with , this ; but , addieHsing tho congregation , told them that , as their minister , he wan bound to warn them that the Gospel hud not been preached in the discourse j'ist delivered ; that he protested against the nontinientH that had been uttered in his pulpit ; and warned them to dismiss the instruction and chartism they hud heard irom their n . ii » dH ; and then , the two regularly ordained clergymen having taken a defiant look at each other , one down rom the pulpit , the other up from the reading-desk , the congre atio » were , in di-gubt and amazement aent u » u , to their home . here to digeat what they had heard of the
* , Voice of tho Church to the Lubouiing Classes ; " that being the theme < m which Mr . Kingsloy us well aa Mr . Robertson had poured forth . " Whether these criticisms und this colouring of tho i , i , JCitiei ) t" are wine or unwise ia of no imporiunee to uh . 'i hey only tell us what we knew before , that tho " Manchester School" and Soeiulism , in any ahupc , ate incompatible . Wo hav « one mure uccpujut to jp&
Untitled Article
jpkb 38 , 1851 . ] aflp jugjru . . 601
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), June 28, 1851, page 601, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1889/page/5/
-