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before us . Former ages hare raised palaces enough , and many of them of surpassing magnificence . We have all read of the hanging gardens of Babylon , the colossal palace temples of Egypt , and the gorgeous structures of Nineveh and Persepolis . Many of us have seen the scattered fragments of Nero ' s Golden Palace in the Palatine-hill , ana the vast ruins which still speak so magnificently of the grandeur of Imperial Rome . But what were all these palaces , and how were they constructed ? They were raised by the spoils of captive nations , and the forced
labour' of myriads of slaves , to gratify the caprice or vanity of some solitary despot . ( Hear , hear . ) To our own age has been reserved- the privilege of raising a palace for the people . ( Loud cheers . ) Yes , the structure of which the first column has just raised its head into the air , is emphatically and distinctly the possession of the British people , as it is the production of their own unaided and independent enterprise . ( Hear , hear . ) On us , to whom circumstances have intrusted the direction of this
great popular undertaking , devolves the duty of seeing that it is carried out in a manner worthy of the public spirit of the age in which we live , and of the magnitude of our high mission . I assure you we all feel very deeply the responsibility of our position ; and although , for the reasons to which I have already adverted , we have judged it premature and unseemly to make any formal religious ceremonial on tbe present occasion , we feel not the less Erofoundlv that in carrying out this undertaking , as we ope to do , ' to a successful issue , we are but acting as the instruments of that beneficent and overruling Providence which is guiding our great British race along the paths of peaceful progress . ( Hear , hear . ) I trust that the
assurance that we are all deeply and intimately impressed with what I may almost venture to call a religious feeling of our duties and responsibilities , will be accepted as a guarantee that to the best of our judgment and ability this great undertaking shall be constructed in a proper spirit and with a view to noble and elevating objects . ( Hear , hear . ) As regards the material portions of the enterprise , words are but feeble instruments in which to paint the triumphs of art and the beauties of nature . It is better to ask you to look around you and say for yourselves whether the site is not worthy of the People ' s Palace and of the People ' s Park . ( Cheers . ) Figure to yourselves the surrounding area which is now defined by a circle of beauty aloft
( eheers ) , converted into a crystal dome , arid raised under the blue vault of Heaven , and you will form some indistinct image of the new central transept as it exists in the genius of a Paxton , and as it will shortly exist as a tangible reality for the wonder and admiration of millions . ( Cheers . ) But I will not detain you longer by attempting to describe that which no words can adequately represent , and I will conclude by the expression of another sentiment , to which I am sure you will heartily respond . In looking so peculiarly and emphatically on the fact that this is to be the palace of the people , the time was when I should have risked calling forth some antagonistic feeling , as if the cause of the people were placed in invidious
contradistinction to that of the Crown and the aristocracy . Thank heaven the time when such distinctions can bo drawn in England has disappeared . ( Hear , hear . ) It is the grand characteristic of the reign of our present gracious Sovereign to have witnessed the most rapid progress in the material , moral , and intellectual improvement of the mass of the population ; and , as a consequence , a corresponding increase in their social importance and political power , not only without any outbreak of democratic passions , but , on the contrary , with an equally marked increase in the attachment of those very classes to the institutions of their country , and to the person of their Sovereign . ( Loud and continued cheering . )
At the conclusion of the address several loud and hearty cheers were given , anil the company then proceeded to avail themselves of the hospitality of Sir 0 . Fox , Henderson , and Co ., who had provided a sumptuous and liberal breakfast in a spacious and elegantly fitted tent .
Among the 1 company present at the break / list wo observed Lord Stratford de Redclifle , Lord Ernest Bnin , Lord F . Hallyburtoii , Mr . Low , M . I * ., Mr . Monckton Milne * , M . P ., Mr . Pellatfc , M . P ., Mr . G . C . Lewis and Lady Theresa Lewis , Sir James iiuke , Mr . Menial Osborne , M . P . ; ' Professors Ansted , Forbes , Solly , and Wheutstone ; Drs . Faraday , Latham , Forbes ltoyle , Lindley , Marshall Hall , and Playfair , (! . B . ; Sir John Lulthoek , Mr . Charles Knight , Mr . Water house , Mr . Ghiisher , Mr . Fairbairn , Sir Charles Harry , R . A ., Sir Chatties Lyell , Mr . Dyce , R . A ., Mr . Stanlield , It . A ., Mr . TJreswick , R . A ., Mr . CruiekHhank , Mr . II . Weigall , Mr . Douglas . Jerrold , Mr . Peter Cunningham , Mr . Collurd , Mr . Delarue , Mr . Nicolay , Mr . Osier , Mr . Garrurd , the Messrs . Clowes , Mr . Uoskell , Mr . Thackeray .
Mr . Laing , M . l \ , proceeded to give Hie toast of ( he evening . He said , that in proponing the toast of " Success to the Crystal Palace , " he should be obliged to trespass a litllo longer on their time than wits usual in occasions of that description . But ho did ho with a full conviction ( hat all who were assembled there felt a warm and deep in I * rest in the project , to imitate which they were thon assembled . That was no mere festive commemoration , in which all but complimentary remarks would be out of place , but a meetthe
ing for business as well as pleasure ; and one purl of business of the day was to explain jih shortly as lie could I ho objects which ho had already told them at the inauguration jho company had in oontemplotion . In llio firwt plueo , ho must tell them tjiat the company did not mean to ask for patronage until they were in a position to command it ; but at tho Hiuno timo it must be distinctly understood that the wiho and good of the realm hud not boon backward in their oxproHsions of sympathy and encouragement . ( Hoar , hoar . ) In proof of that lie might appeal to tho numerous lctlorg thoy hud roeoivod , among which ho might
mention there was one from the noble earl at the head of the Government , and another from the veteran reformer , Joseph Hume ( cheers ) , who had done such service in Parliament in regard to throwing open to the people Hampton Court and other palaces and parks . ( Renewed cheers . ) Lord Derby ' s private secretary had written to express his Lordship ' s great regret that he , from official engagements , and Lady 13 erby from being out of town , would be prevented from being present at the very interesting ceremony , of that day ( hear , hear ); and Mr . Hume , who was in Norfolk , wrote that he wished every possible success to the great undertaking , and hoped that he might have the satisfaction of witnessing the completion of the work , which he considered as a means of instructing and
elevating the people . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) Letters have been received from many other distinguished personages , who had expressed their hearty sympathy with the objects of this undertaking ; and the names proved that in the world of science and art the undertaking was regarded with no jealousy , but with the warmest approbation ( hear , hoar ) , and that men of all political opinions agreed with respect to it . ( Hear , hear . ) It would be proper briefly to advert to the principal objects proposed to be kept in view in the erection of this glorious building , surrounded by that enchanting park , which the same genius would call into existence . They might be comprised under the heads of recreation , instruction , and commercial utility ( hear , hear ) . What was wanting for the elevation of our working classes was that very description of refinement which it might be
hoped would be afforded by contemplating the marvels of nature and art in a palace like that about to be erected . ( Cheers . ) As the means of recreation the question turned upon the temptation that could be offered to them to visit a scene easy of access . Now the experience of the Great Exhibition of 1851 had fully confuted the notion that they were unworth y of a place of amusement—that they were so immersed in the fumes of tobacco and gin that it was useless to hold out to them any temptation to better things ; 6 , 000 , 000 of visitors in less than six months ( hear , hear ) , conducted themselves with a propriety which refuted that calumny and proved that , if the palace be made worthy of the people of England , the people of England would flock in millions to it . ( Hear , hear . ) But , further , it was
proposed to combine instruction with amusement . The tendency of the age was , not to appeals to the faculties by dry abstraction or words , but to appeals to the eye ; and the object would be to present , as in an illustrated edition , on a large scale , all the marvels of industry and art . ( Hear , hear . ) Take ethnology—take the science which classifies and arranges the various branches of the human family ; how delightful it would be to a young man , studying such works as Pritchard's , to 6 ee in this Crystal Palace classified specimens of the varieties of mankind , prepared by eminent artists , under the superintendence of the most eminent ethnologists of the age ! ^ Hear , hear . ) Or suppose any one taking a lively and intelligent interest in some of our great staple manufactures , which gave
employment to our millions and made the wealth of our empirecotton for instance . A man might confuse his brain by reading books about spinning-jennies , and then have to go down to Manchester , and endeavour to understand the different processes by looking on amid the whirl , and confusion , and dust of a mill in actual work ; how much better if he could coipe to this Palace , as he could to the Great Exhibition , and trace tho cotton from the berry on the plant to the garment which decorated the ladies who stood by him ! ( Cheers . ) To turn to another feature in tho present day ; what was it that stared us in the face every morning when we took up our doublo supplement of the Times ( hear , hear ) , and which jostled us in the streets at every corner in the shape of some Brobdignag van or
other ? Advertising . ( Hear , hear . ) It was , after all , the plain , vulgar , mercantile principle , of advertising , that studded tho great Exhibition with the wonders which adorned it . ( Hear , hear . ) A place like this Crystal Palace , which would bo frequented by tho persons that advertisers most Bought to attract , would be the best and hugest advertising van that ever was net going . ( Laughter and cheers . ) In the same way , it would go to supply the want ; often felt of a great national bazaar . In the earlier ages of commerce large fairs were- the legitimate scenes of commerce ; in modern times , improvements in individual establishments had , to a certain extent , superseded their necessity ; Imt tho Exhibition of 18 f > l showed that a world ' s fair was still a'
commercial necessity of tho age ( hear , hear ) , and that our own producers and manufacturers had everything to gain from the friendly and honourable rivalry which took place on that , occasion . ( lleuv , hear . ) What a new development it , would give to a matter , often perhaps not regarded as no important , nH its influence and bearing upon our domestic relations entitled it , to be—tho subject of ( chopping . ( Hear , hear , and a laugh . ) Speaking in the presence oi" so many of ( he fair hcx , he should not be wanting in sincerity if ho did not say that the practice of shopping , as conducted by ladies in the present day , was anything but an agreeable or elevating process to the lords of the creation . ( Laughter and cheers . ) If , by bringing together tho choicest productions of art , tho ( inest products of human industry , so
that principles of taste might bo formed , the products of one country and one manufacturer compared with those of another , we could instil into the female half of creation sound uwthotieal principles in relation to dress and household furniture , we should be conferring a great benefit upon them and their husbands . ( Laughter ami cheers . ) it would no longer be a reproach to us ( hat we had to cross tho Channel and go to Paris for the fashions of our ladies' dresses . ( Hear , hoar . ) The women of England , as by instinct , fastened upon that which was correct in taste , and Holocted proper objects of admiration , and they only wanted opportunities of cultivation to carry them to quito as high a pitch of refinement as any ladies upon tho face of the earth . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Laing then , after expressing his confidence that tho class of exhibitors b y wIioho energies Mm Great Inhibition was supported would not bo wanting now , concluded with calling upon the ladies
and gentlemen present to drink " Success to the Palaca n f the People . " ^ . so The toast was drunk amid enthusiastic cheers . Mr . Scott Russell , in proposing " The Health of tho Visitors , " whose presence , he said , he regarded as an earned of their beginning faith in the undertaking , observed that all that baa been done had been supposed to be impossible It was said to be impossible that the Crysta l Palace could be perpetuated—that money could be got to birf it . But 10 Englishmen , believing in each other , and in the Dennlo oi jngiana ot wnota passed
_ , o , uuu , uuu nas so many hapW hours and improving days in the Crystal Palace ( hear ) and believing that it ought not to pass away ( hear hear ) tabled the money and bought the palace . ( Hear' heat ) The directors believed in the character and taste of the millions whose shillings were to support the undertaking and therefore they held themselves to be merely guardians of public property , and would devote the money ( after a very moderate return for their outlay ) to the improvement of this great school of national art and industry ( Cheers . ) . .
The toast was received with much applause . The toast of " The Chairman and Directors of the Crystal Palace Company" followed . It was proposed by Mr Peto , M . P ., and was welcomed with cheer upon cheer . It was acknowledged by the Chairman . The toast of " The Ladies" was then given ; and with this it was intended to close the proceedings , but there were Such loud shouts of " Sir Joseph Paxton" that the chairman , amid much cheering , called upon the company to take one glass more , and drink to the health of Sir J . Paxton . Sir J . Paxton thanked the assembly for the kind reception which they had given to the mention of his name , and said he felt that before this great work was ended he should require all then : indulgence and good feeling . It was a
work of great magnitude , requiring thought and care and attention in its progress . Within a few fleeting months a very large extent of ground was to undergo an almost magical change . ( Hear , hear . ) But he was full of hope and of confidence that a good account would be rendered on the 1 st of May next . ( Cheers . ) He felt that he had to do with a very spirited body of directors , who had gone into the matter with a heartiness he had never seen ex * celled ( cheers ); and , furthermore , that he had for his coadjutors his old friends of the Crystal Palace—Messrs . Fox and Henderson , with their numerous staff—his excellent friend Mr . Owen Jones , and all the gentlemen
connected with the Exhibition , and all hearty and unanimous and determined to produce a palace worthy of the country . ( Cheers . ) He freely forgave Lord Camp - bell and all his other friends Avho thought Hyde Park was not a position for it ( laughter ) , and no doubt they would come to Sydenham , and smile and say , " This is a beautiful place ; what a service we did you and the country !" ( Laughter . ) But though he ( Sir J . Paxton ) was satisfied that this was a beautiful site ( hear , hear ) , he should always regret that the palace was ever removed from Hyde Park . ( Cries of " No , no !") Yes , yes ! ( Hear , hear . ) But it was decided otherwise . He must do Lord
Campbell and those gentlemen the justice to say that they treated him with nothing but kindness , though they opposed having the palace in Hyde Park . Here , lie was sorry to say , he met with a different reception . The wife of a gentleman , not a hundred miles from that spot , was in a great rage with him personally , and when he asked if he could see her , ho was told it would be impossible unless he went in the name of " Mr . Smith , " or " Mr . Brown . " ( Laughter . ) He did not like that , and he had not had tho pleasure of an introduction to her ; but he was
told she was present now . ( Cheers . ) As she of all persona in the world had the greatest cause to lament the palaco coming there , he was sure the company would join him in thanking her for her presence . ( Cheers . ) He would only add , that he believed the enterprise would bo successful in many ways—as a commercial speculation—ns a great national undertaking . He believed this to be tho beginning of great events . Whoever lived to ace the next 60 years would see a wonderful progress in tho arts and sciences . ( Hear , henr . ) Ho begged again to thank tho company for their kindness . ( Cheers . )
Sir C . Fox , who was also called for ( with Mr . Henderson ) , said that as ho and his partner had not yet done tho work committed lo them , he would beg to refrain from saying anything about it at present ( hoar , hear ) , except that he might state that ho had no doubt it would bo satisfactorily executed with the aid of such a body of directors , and of such men as Mr . O . Jones , Sir E . Paxton , Mr . Wyatt , and Mr . Wilde . ( Cheers . ) Mr . O . Jones , who was likewise called for , concurring in the remark that ( hey were at the beginning , and not tho end of their work , observed that it was wry rare to find gentlemen willing to layout such a vast sum , as tlioso directors were about ( o do , upon the nrt education oi the people- —what more properly belonged to ' a Government ; but he trusted the shareholders would find this a most profitable course , and that in spending thoir money with the intention of doing good , good wouM come to them . ( Cheers . )
Hero tho proceedings closed , except , that Mr . Coohrano and JVlr . Wyatt were obliged to nay a low words in acknowledgement of cheers given to theia as the assembly was breaking up .
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LKTTKRS FROM PAULS . [ KllOM OUlt OWN OoitltKSl'ONDBNT . ] Licttiok XXXII . Turin , Tuesday ISvnning , AuRUnt . ' » , IM ' i . Tun chief topic for ( his pustweek bus been the alleged treaty between the three great northern powers ngrtinst tho imperial designs of Bonaparte : hoiuo averting , ( I othern iih resolutely denying its authenticity . It iri " bo allowed , however , that public opinion lias , for tho
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744 THE LEADE B . [ Satiimay , { ¦ : ¦ l ' . . ¦ ' ' f ^ ^ ' *• ' ' ¦ " '
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 7, 1852, page 744, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1946/page/4/
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