THE FIELD OF BATTLE is in sight at last! The St. Marylebone Mental Light
Columns, escorted by Troops of Progress in bright armour, with
Advancement in Knowledge Rifle Corps, fair women, and brave men, are in
marching order, and eager for the fray with the Mental Darkness Brigade,
the cruel and relentless enemies of Improvement. The Obstructive Forces
for the defence of IGNORANCE, with a great flourish of trumpets,
proclaiming themselves friends of the poor par excellence, are marching
in defile, and scenting the battle afar off.
These bitter and unscrupulous foes, who care as much for the Poor, as
their pretended and hollow friend, Judas Iscariot, who when he cried
aloud for the public, meant only himself, of whom it was said, “not that
he cared for the poor, but because he carried the bag,” who murmured at
the waste of costly ointment of spikenard with which Mary had anointed
the feet of JESUS, and treacherously asked “why was not this ointment
sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?”
These determined opponents of Progress—Parish Magnates—who dread the
light of intelligence, and whose excessive desire to guard the
ratepayers’ pockets is suspicious, and reminds me of Judas’ anxiety to
trade on the distress of the poor. This Ignorant Phalanx, officered by
pompous little great men, or loud little foolish men,—small vanities and
pomposities, whose cry is “more taxation,” and who seem to say, “I am the
Parish,” and “when I speak let no dog bark;” all these small politicians
and miserable DO-NOTHINGS are making ready for the field.
A motley group are these specious Antagonists! Frantic about the Ballot,
clinging to some Utopian impracticable reform, these sciolists and
pedagogues presume to snarl at the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
denounce him as a financial jobber, wishing to float every stranding
newspaper with public money, and who speak of our foremost Statesman and
his Bill for the repeal of the Paper Duty, “as a sop to that _Cerberus_,
the Press, to get the support of the newspapers of the country.” What
skimbleskamble stuff! Consistent only in its inconsistency, true to its
base, diabolical instincts, the _Times_ with the malice of Disraeli, and
the hypocrisy of the Tempter, so far from supporting, positively revels
in slandering this CONSCIENTIOUS Minister. Yes, the veering, versatile,
infamous _Times_ faithful to one principle only—unprincipled wickedness
exerts every nerve to retain this obnoxious tax. It has assailed the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and vilified his policy with a
vindictiveness which _Shylock_ might have envied, and which even cheap
journalism disdained. Parish officials who ought to know better, prose
about the danger of innovation. Not too fast. Slow and sure. No
complaints; no mischief has yet taken place; stay till it has taken
place! _Wait a little this is not the time_! With pretended friends of
Progress the right time will never arrive;—_to-day_ is the plea,
_exclusion_ the object. I admit your “Poor rate is enormous,” but I rest
my case on this fact, as a strong argument for adopting this humanizing
Act of Parliament.
All these insidious foes either ignore or misrepresent the objects and
purposes of the PUBLIC LIBRARIES’ ACT. Miserable economists in the guise
of friends of poor-rate defaulters, (whose talk about the Lisson Grove
Sunday nuisance is vain and hypocritical, while opposing Lord
Chelmsford’s Bill, who have not the courage to say, “We don’t believe in
the education of those who have to work,”) make use of the ratepayers to
pare down necessary Parochial expenditure, and to cry down the wisest
outlay of the Public money, in order to place themselves in office, and
who on the utterly fallacious plea that a half-penny Library Rate is a
compulsory and oppressive tax, would artfully dissuade you from
supporting the News Rooms Act on its own merits. Know Nothings, and
Dreamers, whose emblem is,
“Man never IS, but always TO BE, blest.”
“candid friends,” coarse but not witty, seeking in every possible way to
disparage this beneficent project, in short, PRETENDED AND HOLLOW friends
of the poor, who, like the arch traitor in the text CARE NOT ONE STRAW
FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE, are going on to meet the armed men, the
soldiers of victory, thrice armed as having their cause, or _casus belli_
just.
But unlike other encounters, in this Engagement there will be no
gathering tears and tremblings of distress. The heroic women of St.
Marylebone especially, will take comfort in the thought that fortune
favours the brave, and that although the race is not always to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong, they have, come what may, _deserved_
success, for they have done what they could to win the battle.
Clad in the armour of Righteousness you will know no fear; you will mock
at fear and not be affrighted; you will meet the treacherous foe with
self-approving smiles; Conscience will whisper in your ears the memorable
words of the SAVIOUR to Mary, “SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD” to secure
the victory.
I have said this Public Library movement—this precious boon of Reading
for All is especially a WOMAN’S QUESTION, and I hope the Meeting will be
graced by many Ladies to attest its truth and do honour to this great
occasion. With such powerful allies I for one have no fear of the
result.
“From woman’s eyes this doctrine I derive,
They sparkle still the true Promethean fire;
They are the books, the arts, the academies
That show, contain and nourish all the world.”
I have briefly alluded to the economic aspect of this question, and shewn
how pauperism would be diminished by the advance of the people in
Knowledge. You may depend upon it nothing is so expensive to this
Parish, so burdensome on the rates as IGNORANCE and INEBRIETY. I have
designated the Public Libraries Act as a scheme for reducing the rates by
improving the condition of the people. Let me for one moment turn from
the £ _s._ _d._ point of view, to the social. What power in BOOKS! What
various knowledge in those great Public Instructors, NEWSPAPERS! GOD be
thanked for Books!
No matter how poor I am, no matter if the rich will not enter my obscure
dwelling. If the oldest and most precious of all books, the BIBLE, with
its unparalleled wisdom, with its unrivalled English, and its unequalled
and incomparable Poetry is my companion and familiar friend,—if
SHAKESPEARE, the first of uninspired writers, still enchants me with his
presence, and the witty SYDNEY SMITH, (whom bigots, with their little
learning but enormous arrogance, stigmatize “irreligious”) preaches to me
with his practical wisdom; though languid perhaps with toil I shall not
pine for want of intellectual associates, and I may become lettered,
though entirely excluded from other companionship. What humanizing
tendencies in Books, and how imperceptibly they influence the habits and
tastes of the Public! Do what you can then to satisfy this increasing
thirst for intelligence, and the cultivation of the intellect, and you
will enlarge the field of remunerative employment, you will open up the
avenues to honourable and congenial occupation to young women, whom the
narrow existing labour market fails to find bread, let alone the means of
support. But, remember it will be an uphill fight, for there must be two
to one in favour of this _permissive_, and not compulsory Act, and no
poll can be demanded.
To the best of my ability I have set it forward; and to you I now remit
this WOMAN’S question, believing as I do that despite conventional frowns
or sneers, you will, like the youthful David, valorously shoot down this
giant ignorance that is desolating our land, and that with the shield of
BELLEW, TOUT D’EN HAUT (All from on High, from Above, from the Father of
Lights,) you will triumph in a cause second to none in its economic and
social bearings.
I use no unmeaning phrase when I again assure the Ladies of St.
Marylebone that in inviting them to take part in this conflict, on the
issue of which so much depends, in asking them to come out and separate
themselves from the vain, and frivolous, and heartless, I invite them to
no unfeminine or unbecoming action. Believe me the time has come when
you must throw off indecorous reserve and squeamishness, that is if you
really desire to do good and raise yourselves on the social ladder, if
you really desire to be released from the terrible bondage of
GOVERNESSING, or the cruel servitude of DRESS MAKING. You are NOT called
upon to lead Troops, or to Preach, or to make public speeches about
Woman’s rights, but YOU ARE earnestly entreated to SAVE YOURSELVES, to
agitate this subject started by a distinguished political writer, viz.:
“WHAT WILL THE WOMEN DO NEXT?” Take fast hold then of this Public
Library question, agitate it with nothing but your humanities about you,
and the time is not distant when the field of profitable employment for
young women shall be considerably widened. That civilization must be
very imperfect, extremely smooth and artificial, which selfishly permits
and tyrannically decrees that the kitchen, and the nursery, the workroom
and the factory shall entirely absorb energies which might be much more
usefully directed. Mr. John Bennett, so honourably identified with the
cause of progress and social reform, urges the importance of National
Instruction as a _sine quâ non_, without which it is vain to expect
English women to compete with the Swiss in watchwork, and discloses the
humiliating fact that the number of uneducated women in England, as
ascertained by the signing of the marriage register was, one-third
greater than that of men, and that out of nearly 80,000 women who were
married, 68,175 _could not write their names_, but had to sign the
register thus, + “her cross.” Surely this is not a state of things to be
proud of, there is no ground here for boasting and glorification, and the
condition of England, as a _Nation_, wholly uneducated, is in strong
contrast to that of the Swiss population, where all the means and
appliances of education of the highest character are to be found even in
the remotest village.
When doctors disagree I will not presume to decide as to the necessity of
granting medical diplomas to women, but why not “Women and Watch-work?”
Is the Swiss girl more naturally artistic than the English? Is she more
capable? Certainly not. It is instruction alone which constitutes her
superiority. Let a woman be employed in that branch of industry for
which she is adapted. Why there are parts of a watch which a woman can
finish far better than the best workman. Talk of negro slavery, the
tyranny of the workshop is more odious, more hateful in every respect.
But I rejoice to perceive the dawn of a brighter day when a truer and
higher civilization will threw open the doors of _Watch Manufactories_
and _Printing Offices_ to English women.
Ladies of St. Marylebone, I invite you to attend the Public Library
Meeting at the Literary Institution, 17, Edwards Street, Portman Square,
at 12 o’clock at noon, on Monday 18th June, 1860.
On this vital question I counsel you to throw off the absurd trammels and
customs of fashion. The law allows you to vote for the Libraries Act,
and I warn you that if you persist in clinging to delusion, if you permit
yourselves to be overcome by indifference and listlessness,—if you “likes
to be despised,” and prefer being tied and bound by the chains of
fashion,—the day will come when you will bitterly repent such fastidious
and disdainful behaviour. Read ANNA JAMESON’S “Communion of Labour.”
Prisons, Reformatories, Schools, Hospitals, Workhouses, all engaged the
attention of this noble person. Like Florence Nightingale she was in
every sense a model woman. Yet those eyes, beaming with intelligence,
have now lost their lustre, and are for ever closed, and the hand that
wrote that admirable pamphlet is mouldering in its shroud. But though
dead, she still speaks to you in terms more eloquent than any I can use.
ANNA JAMESON would say to you, “Be true to yourselves and naught shall
make you rue.” Believe me the custom of confining women to mean, or
trifling pursuits is
“A custom
More honour’d in the breach, than the observance.”
You who may be so powerful in society, why should you remain powerless?
Why not _do what you can_ to slay this Demon Ignorance in St. Marylebone?
Why should Central Africa and other far off Missions engross your FIRST
attention? I exhort you to attend this Library Meeting, and _take your
part in this good work_.
Yes, vote for an Act which will bring silent, yet most interesting
companions, BOOKS to your Homes! But do not too curiously and haughtily
enquire, as is the wont of some, “Who is the chief Promoter of this
movement?” “NON QUO, SED QUO MODO, _Not who_, _but how_,” must be your
battle cry. Be swayed by _arguments_, rather than by authority.
Consider _what is said_, _not who says it_; never mind whether he has, or
has not a bank account.
“O what a world of vile ill-favour’d faults
Looks handsome in six hundred pounds a year!”
Yes, hold up your hands for the adoption of the Libraries Act, and in the
hour of death, when the world and its allurements are receding from your
view, when alone and deserted by your so-called friends, how it will
console you in that solemn moment to be sensible that you have obeyed the
voice of HIM who spake as never man spoke, that you gladly took the
advice of your ASCENDED LORD to “make to yourselves friends of the mammon
of unrighteousness.” Ah! think of eyes so young, obscured, and darkened
by tears, that you will thus make clear and glad! On your vote the
question may be determined, and the hour has struck when you should be
leaders, and not the slaves, of opinion.
It is meet and right that you should LEAD in a cause which promotes EARLY
CLOSING, and which would confer in other ways a real and enduring benefit
on your Parish. Hear the fine thoughts of Festus and treasure them in
your memories.
“Grant this we pray Thee, and that all who read,
Or utter noble thoughts may make them theirs,
And thank God for them, to the betterment
Of their succeeding life;—that all who lead
The general sense and taste, too apt, perchance,
To be led, keep in mind the mighty good
They may achieve, and are in conscience, bound,
And duty, to attempt unceasingly,
To compass. Grant us, all-maintaining Sire!
That all the great mechanic aids to toil
Man’s skill hath formed, found, rendered,—whether used
In multiplying works of mind, or aught
To obviate the thousand wants of life,
May much avail the human welfare now,
And in all ages henceforth, and for ever.
Let their effect be, Lord! to LIGHTEN LABOUR,
And give more room to mind, and leave the Poor
Some time for SELF-IMPROVEMENT. Let them not
Be forced to grind the bones out of their arms
For bread, but have some space to think and feel
Like moral and immortal creatures.
Look Thou with pity on all lesser crimes,
Thrust on men almost when devoured by want,
Wretchedness, ignorance and outcast life!
Have mercy on the rich, too, who pass by
The means they have at hand to fill their minds
With serviceable knowledge for themselves,
And fellows, and support not the good cause
Of the world’s better future!
May Peace, and Industry, and Commerce weld
Into one Land all Nations of the World,
Rewedding those the Deluge once divorced.
Oh! may all help each other in good things,
Mentally, morally, and bodily.
Vouchsafe, kind God! Thy blessing to this Isle,
Specially. May ENGLAND _ever lead_
THE WORLD, for She is worthiest; and may all
Profit by her example, and adopt
Her course, wherever great, or free, or just.”
My Lords and Gentlemen, I contend that it is a discredit, that, in the
largest and richest Parish in the Metropolis, and in the United Kingdom,
there is not only not a vestige of a free public News Room, but that St.
Marylebone lags behind the poor Parish of St. John’s Westminster, where
for upwards of three years, the NEWS ROOM has been a source of great
attraction. Should you visit this News Room, in Great Smith Street, the
silence, order, and evident interest of some two hundred readers, must
strike you. The conduct of the frequenters of this Reading Room is very
praiseworthy. I was told of one who came from Highgate, and open as it
is to all comers, in all grades of life, it is pleasant to notice the
influence of the judicious instruction to the librarian, which Mr. Stuart
Dalton first introduced at Liverpool, viz., “That all persons, however
ill-dressed or poor, who are cleanly, shall be treated as gentlemen.”
Yet the good ship “Westminster,” is in danger of being cast away, of
splitting on the dangerous rock, parsimony; she is on a lea-shore with
breakers ahead; signals of distress are flying, and St. Marylebone will
come to the rescue. Yes! this great and important parish will make an
effort to preserve so admirable a vessel. Let her not founder, when _you
could save_, let her not go down when you could prevent. I drop the
figure and tell you plainly, that the force of your example in adopting
Mr. Ewart’s Act, is _much needed_ by the Smith Street Institution, which
looks to you for encouragement and sympathy. And not only St. Margaret,
but other Metropolitan Parishes will follow the lead of St. Marylebone.
London, too, will wake from its long lethargic slumber, and, undismayed
by the defeat of 1855, will anxiously watch how you deal with this
question. Lord Mayor Carter will not imitate his predecessors in
frustrating the intentions of the Legislature; {11} and although an
enthusiast in Rifle Brigades will find time to summon a meeting as to the
policy of firing a shot at Ignorance, directly St. Marylebone carries the
Act, and affirms that