({[nrttcU Uniueratty IQihrarg atliata, ^tm Inrk BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 The date shows when this volume was taken. To renew this book copy the call No. and give to the librarian. HOME USE RULES ^^^^^^^m^'^B^ v_^ W.U.. All Books subject to Recall All borrowers must regis- ter in the library to borrow books for home use. All books must be re- turned at end of college year for inspection and repairs. Limited books must be re- turned within the four week limit and not renewed. Students must return all books before leaving town. Officers should arrange for the return of books wanted during their absence from .^../..^//id. '°wn. Volumes of periodicals - and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as — possible. For special pur- poses they are given out for a limited time. Borrowers should not use their library privileges for the benefit of other persons. Books of special value — "." ^^^ g-£^ books, when the giver wishes it. are not allowed to circulate. Readers are asked to re- port all cases of books marked or mutilated. ■'' Do not deface books by marks and writing. _ Cornell University Library DA 565.M868H68 Life of Samuel Morley 3 1924 028 344 210 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028344210 THE LIFE SAMUEL MORLEY. BY EDWIN HODDEE, AUTHOK OF " THE LIFE AND WOKK OF THE SEVENTH EAKL OF SHAPTESBUEY, K.G.' B'lTH ErCEBD PORTRAIT BY MANESSE. ®£fa fork: A. D. F. EANDOLPH AND CO., 38, WEST 23ED STREET. MDCCCLXXXVm. [All rights reserved.] 3 IVl (\. ^ItS-iU DNWIH BKOTHEES, THE GBBSHAM PKESS, CHILWOSTH AND LONDON. PEEFACE, Eaely in the present year I was honoured by the family of the late Mr. Samuel Morley with the request that I would undertake the responsible task •of preparing an account of his life for publication. Having consented, I was entrusted, on the 8th of February, when on a visit to Hall Place, with a mass of correspondence — ^the accumulation of a life- time. Large as the amount of material was, there was comparatively little of the kind that a biographer most prizes. There were no journals or diaries, save a very brief record of some of his early travels, and note-books of engagements. He was not a voluminous correspondent, and there was scarcely a document that gave a glimpse into his inner life and thoughts. I found that his name was not indissolubly linked with any great historic movement ; that in his private life there were no striking incidents or sur- prises ; and that some of the elements generally deemed essential in biography were almost, if not altogether, wanting. iv PBEFACE. My task was, therefore, one of unusual difficulty. Nevertheless, there was an open course before me. Mr. Morley occupied a unique position as a man of business, as an organizer and leader in religious and philanthropic movements, and as a politician, who exercised an altogether exceptional influence upon public opinion, especially in Nonconformist circles. Although his life does not present any strongly- marked divisions, I have endeavoured to foUow it on the Hnes I have indicated. My single aim has been to present a faithful portrait of the man as he was, and, without varnish or exaggeration, to show the place he occupied and the power he melded. I have preferred to illustrate by extract, whenever this was possible, rather than by analysis. I have aequaiated myself with all the accessible details of his life, and no restraint has been laid upon me as to the use I have made of the information I have been able to obtain. To all the members of Mr. Morley's family I am under the deepest obhgation for placing in my hands unreservedly whatever material they considered would be of help to me. To his son, Mr. Arnold Morley, M.P., however, my thanks are more espe- cially due, as from the first he has assisted me with information, supplying the defects of my own know- ledge, and has rendered invaluable aid in reading and revising the manuscript and proofs. In order to make the record of Mr. Morley's life as complete as possible, I put myself in communication PBEFACE. V with his personal friends, his co-workers, his business associates, the Secretaries of Societies with which he was connected, and many others, all of whom have rendered me most willing and efficient serAdce. In some instances I have quoted their contributions in extenso ; in others, when they went over ground already trodden, I have given extracts only ; in a few cases, where I may seem not to have availed myself of their help, I have equally valued their kindness. My special thanks are due to Mr. Henry Eichard, M.P., the Eevs. J. C. Harrison, Dr. J. H. Wilson, Dr. J. B. Paton, Dr. Stoughton, Canon Brereton, H. E. CoUum, and Joseph Hargrove ; Mr. J. E. Eobinson, Mr. Sawell, Miss Cons, and Mr. J. W. Graham, Mr. Morley's private secretary. EDWIN HODDEE. 21, CeAVEN PaEK, WllLESDEN, N.W. November 1st, 1887. " A machine in the hand of a single individual can often do a hundred- fold more work than an individual can do hy the direct application of his own hands. He who makes the machine, then, is more productively employed than he who, without it, engages immediately in the work. To produce a steam-engine that sets a hundred looms agoing, is a far larger contribution to the goods of the country than to work at a single loom. This principle, obvious enough in manufactures, is sadly overlooked in the business of human society. The man who spends so much tinae in the services of a philanthropic institution is not so productively employed as he who excites the principle which prompts those services in the breasts- of a hundred men. He who does the work is not so productively em- ployed as he who multiplies the doers." — Life of Dr. Chalmers. CONTENTS. CHAPTEB I. 1809—1825. PAGE Sneinton — The Hermitage — Three Graves — The Morley Family — "I. and E. Morley " — Character of Richard Morley of Nottingham — Trade History of Nottingham — Stocking Making — John Derrick — The End of a Family — John Morley in London — Russia Bow and Wood Street — Early Successes — Homerton — Hackney as it Was and Is — Well Street — The Family of John Morley — Samuel goes to School at Melbourn — Mr. Carver and his Son — Mr. Bnller's School, Southamp- ton — School Life and Character — Holidays at Home — A Model Mother — Home Influences .1 CHAPTER II. 1825—1832. Ooes to Business — Wood Street — " Poor Susan " — Home Attractions — Mr. John Morley, Senior — A Nonconformist and a Liberal — Musical Evenings — Early Habits — Dr. John Pye Smith — Rev. John Clayton — Dr. Burder — ^Rev. James Parsons — A Memorable Sunday . . .18 CHAPTEE III. 1832—1835. In the Counting-house — Joshua Harrison — ^Business Characteristics — Early Habits — Principles in Business — Work and Rest — A Summer Tour — In Edinburgh — From Oban to Mull — St. Eilda — Stafta and lona — A Sunday in Glasgow — In the Trossaohs — Sir Walter Scott — "One Maonab " — A Scotch Fast — Abbotsford and Dry burgh Abbey . . 32 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. EELIGIOUS STATE OF THE TIMES. 1800—1835. PAGE Hackney, a Centre of Nouoonformity — The First Quarter of the Century — The Toleration Act— Church and Dissent— Evangelicals— A Transition Period — Dawn of the Oxford Movement — Independency — Church Bates — The King's Weigh House — The Rev. Thomas Binney . • 50 CHAPTEE V. 1835—1843. A Continental Tour — Imprisonment for Conscience Sake — Lord John Kussell and National Education — Mr. Morley, sen., retires from Busi- ness — The Wilsons of Highbury — The Hopes of Liverpool — Marriage — Bride and Bridegroom — Kev. William Jay, of Bath — A Quaint Text — Five Houses, Lower Clapton — The Firstborn — Nonconformist News- paper — Anti-Corn Law League — A City Election — The Disruption in Scotland — Sir James Graham's Factories Education BiU — The "British Anti-State Church Association " Founded — Dissenting Colleges . . 65' CHAPTEE VI. 1844—1846. A Driving Tour in Scotland — Sunday Habits — Friendships — Dr. Pye Smith's Second Marriage — Melbourn — Mr. Binney in America — Chastisement — An Idea of Life — Paternal Tenderness — The Office of Deacon — Correspondence with Mr. Binney thereon — An Urgent Appeal — Office of Deacon declined — Living too Fast — Mr. Benjamin Morley . . 81 CHAPTEE VII. 1846—1847. A Mass of Correspondence — The Eev. Richard Knill — Germs of Future Things — Magazine Literature — Unsatisfactory PoKtioal Position of Dissenters — Lord John Eussell's Education Scheme — Dissenters' Par- liamentary Committee — ^Nonconformist Members of Parliament^An Appeal — Leading Dissenters — General Election — Address to Noncon- formist Electors — ^Results 94 CONTENTS. xi CHAPTEE VIII. 1847—1855. PAGE- Increasing Eesponsibilities — Chartism — Death of Mr. John Morley, Sen. — The Ancient Merchants' Lecture — Testimonials — Public Discussion. Christianity versus Secularism — Fair Play — Mr. G. J. Holyoake and Bev. Brewin Grant — Craven Lodge, Stamford Hill — Mr. John Morley retires from Business 107 OHAPTEB IX. 1855—1857. Mismanagement in the Crimea — Administrative Eeform Association — Letter from Mr. S. Laing, M.P. — A Possible Contingency — The Civil Service Commission — Great Meeting in Drury Lane Theatre — A Multitude of Cares — Missionary Organizations — The Congregational Home Mis- sionary Society — The Bev. J. H. Wilson — Visits to County Associa- tions — How to raise Money — Congregational Colleges — Eev. John Angell James and Spring Hill College — The " Drink Evil" — Becomes a Total Abstainer 121 CHAPTEE X. 1857—1863. Mr. Bichard Cobden — Lord John Eussell — Correspondence — Special Eeli- gious Services in Theatres — Mr. Charles Sawell — Overwork — Mr. Locke King and County Franchise — Mr. Edward Baines and Borough Fran- chise — The Bank Act and Currency Eeform Committee — At Eichard Cobden's Funeral — A Tribute to his Memory — The Drinking Usages of the Commercial Boom — The Bicentenary of Nonconformity — Memorial Fund — Chapel Building — The Theological Institute, Nottingham — A Lay Minister — A Widening Sphere 141 CHAPTEE XI. HOME LIFE. Primary Claims — Family — Letters to his Children — Fatherly Advice — Con- fidences — Sympathy with Young Life — Eecollections of Boyhood — Garibaldi — Thoroughness — A Birthday Letter — Works of Fiction — No Sportsman — Dancing and Dancing Parties — Not Easily Disturbed — Fire in Wood Street — Idleness — The Black Bag — Travels — A Shooting Lodge — Visitors — The Study — Music — An Ideal Home . . . 164 CONTENTS. CHAPTEE XII. IN BUSINESS. FAQE !8, Wood street— Nottingham — Framework Knitters— Annuities — The Factories— Mr. Arthur Morley— Mr. Thomas Hill— A Disastrous Fire- Capital and Labour — Sternness — Impatience — General Characteristics — A Training Schoof for Business Men — An Opening Career — The Household Arrangements — Holidays — Young Men's Missionary Associa- tion — Braoldey Street Hall — Influence 186 CHAPTER XIII. 1865— 186G. Consents to stand for Nottingham — The Election Fight — A Eeign of Terror —Letter from Eev. W. Brock—" The Church in Danger " — Political Creed — Eeturned Head. of the Poll — Enters Parliament — Maiden Speech — Church Rates Abolition Bill — Letter from Bev. Newman Hall — Tests Abolition Bill — Unseated on Petition — Letter from Mr. Gladstone — Letter to Nottingham Electors — A Sorrow and its Lessons — The Women of Fletcher Gate — At Cambridge with his Sons — The Eev. Joseph Hargrove 208 CHAPTEE XIV. 1864—1868. Correspondence with Lord Shaftesbury — Mr. Spurgeon — The Formularies of the Church of England — The Free Church of Scotland — Letter from Dr. Guthrie — Bunhill Fields Burial Ground — The Education Question — The Morning Star and the Daily News — A Narrow Escape — Allegiance to Mr. Gladstone — Eailway Companies and Nonconformists — Mr. Ernest Jones — Capital and Labour — Itetter to the Pall Mall Gazette . 234 CHAPTEE XV. 1868. Nottingham and Bristol — Consents to stand for Bristol — Goes to South of France — A Wail from Nottingham — ^Address to Electors — The Bristol Operatives' Liberal Association — A Telling Speech — Defeated at the Election — Hope revives in Nottingham — A Final Decision — Mr. Miles Unseated — Unfair Proceedings — Mr. Goldwin Smith — Aid to Liberal Candidates — The Eeform League — Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister — The General Election— Again Contests Bristol — An American CONTENTS. xiii PAGE View of Nomination Day — Returned M.P. for Bristol — Congratulations — " Mr. Morley's Defection " — Correspondence with Canon Girdlestone — Correspondence with the Liberation Society — Letter to Mr. Arnold Morley 252 CHAPTBE XVI. THE BUSINESS OP PHILANTHROPY. Wealth — Supposed Effects of Business on Character — Particular Providence — Eev. W. Pennefather — Miss Marsh — Sympathy — Catholicity — The Hartog Scholarship — Wales — Mr. Henry Eichard, M.P. — Education Agitation in Wales — University College, Aberystwith — Encroachment of the English Language — South Wales English Congregational Society — Memorial College, Brecon — Welsh Political Obligations — South Wales Registration Society — Evictions — Congregational College, Bala — Occasional Magnificent Donations — Scarcity of Givers — Humility — The Title of " Founder " — Financial Reform Association — Inspiring Others to Give — ^Refusals — Beggars — Defaulters — Poor Literary Men — George Cruikshank — Poor Ministers — " Nameless Unremembered Acts " . 28& CHAPTER XVII. 1869—1871. The Irish Church Question — Bankruptcy BiU — Speech thereon — The Need of the Trading Classes — Debts to Landlords — Overtrading — Settle- ments — Customs and Inland Revenue Bill — National Education — Change of Attitude — A Review of Voluntaryism — British Schools — National Schools — Mr. Forster's Elementary Education Bill — Speech thereon — The " Religious DiiBculty " — The Metropolitan School Board — The "Compromise" — Bible Revision — Alleged Employment of Foreigners — Parliamentary Session of 1871 — Seconds Address to the Crown — America — University Tests — Licensing Laws — Parliamentary Waste of Time 324 CHAPTBE XVIII. 1871—1876. Trade Questions — Mat-making in Prisons — Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister — University Tests Bill — Burials Bill — Letter from Archdeacon Allen — Strikes and Lock-outs — The National Agricultural Labourers' Union — The Lock-out in Lincolnshire — Farmers' Defence Association — The Agricultural Labourer "a Commodity " — Letter to the Daily News — Boards of Conciliation — Cottage' Accommodation — Letters from Sir xiv CONTENTS. PAOE W. V. Hareourt, the Bishop of Manchester, and Lord Shaftesbury — Death of Dr.Binney — Funeral — Letter to his Second Daughter — Com- pletion of the Memorial Hall in Farringdon Street — Presentation of Portrait — ^The Holyoake Testimonial Fund — " Tory Calumniators " — Warnings and Encouragements — Betires from London School Board . 348 CHAPTEB XIX. AT HALL PLACE. 1870—1886. Hall Place — The Village of Leigh — Improvements — Temporal and Spiritual Wants — An " Undenominational Chapel " — Plymouth Brethrenism — " Think and let Think "—The Squire of the Parish— The Eev. Hugh Collum — School Committees — Benevolent Projects — Bible Society Meetings — A New Vicarage House — Lectures — The Clergy — Church and Dissent — A Christian Man — Marriage of Miss Morley — Her Early Death— Duties at Leigh— The Eev. Dr. Moffat 372 CHAPTEB XX. ^ 1871—1881. The Artizans', Labourers', and General Dwellings Company — A Timely Interposition — James Parsons, of York — Eetirement from Bristol con- templated — The Secret of Strength — The Paris Exhibition — Trades Unions — Mistaken Identity — Curious Appeals — Home Eule — Middle Class Education — Cavendish CoUege — Letter from Eev. Canon Breretou — Attachment to Mr. Gladstone — Letter from Mr. Gladstone — Letter from Earl Granville — Seventieth Birthday — The "Hasty Telegram " — Mr. Bradlaugh and Northampton — A Great Sorrow — International Conference of Young Men's Christian Associations — Delegates at Hall Place — A Tour in America — Notes thereon ...... ^91 CHAPTEB XXI. 1881—1884. Accumulation of Letters — The Bankruptcy Laws — Payment of Wages in Public-houses — Mr. Bradlaugh — Mr. Gladstone's Ecclesiastical Appoint- ments — National Liberal Club — ^Dons the Blue Eibbon — Temperance Legislation — Licensing Laws — Eoyal Commissions — Pocket-book Entries — Threatened Eetirement from Parliament — Visitors at Wood Street — A Serious Warning — At Cannes — Letters to Mr. Arnold Morley -Franchise and Eedistribution Bills- Ideas of Eecreation — The Eoyal Victoria Hall— Miss Cons— Working Men's Clubs— Christmas and the ^°°'^ 415 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XXII. NOTES OF SPEECHES. PASE The Art of Speaking — Voice — Manner — Methods — Sir James Graham's " Bevolvers "■ — Dr. Arnold — Half-sheets of Paper — Political Subjects — The House of Commons and the House of Lords — Quotations — Parlia- mentary Waste of Time — Mr. Gladstone — Education — A Word to Boys — Thrift — Sunday Labour — England's Greatness — " Texts "for Speeches — Temperance — Speeches on Eeligious Questions — Congregationalism — Church and State — Missionary Work — To Young Men — Apt Illustra- tions — Allusions and Quotations — Foreign Missions — The Bible — Eeligious Difficulties 439 CHAPTER XXIII. 1885—1886. Failing Health — Correspondence -with Lady Spenoer^Offer of the Peerage — Declined — The Criminal Law Amendment Bill — Letter to Miss Marsh — Death of the Earl of Shaftesbury — A Farewell Letter — Resigns his Seat for Bristol — The General Election of 1885 — Anxiety — Letter to Eev. J. C. Harrison — Last Visit to Nottingham — Mr. Arnold Morley ap- pointed Patronage Secretary — Correspondence with Mr. Gladstone — Unwonted Tenderness — Letter from Mr. MundeUa — Young Men's Christian Association — Last Public Meetings — Illness — Home Rule — Hopes and Fears — Last Days — Death — At Abney Park — "A Servant of Jesus Christ " — Conolttsion 460 APPENDIX 499 INDEX . 503 CHAPTEE I. 1809—1825. Sneinton — The Hermitage — Three Graves — The Morley Family — " I. and R. Morley " — Character of Eichard Morley of Nottingham — Trade History of Nottingham — Stocking Making — John Derrick — The End of a Family — John Morley in London — Eussia Eow and Wood Street — Early Successes — Homerton — Hackney as it Was and Is — Well Street — The Family of John Morley— Samuel goes to School at Melbourn — Mr. Carver and his Son — Mr. Buller's School, Southampton — School Life and Character — Holidays at Home — A Model Mother — Home Influences. In Thoroton's History of Nottingham, "repub- lished by Mr. John Throsby in 1797," Sneinton, at that time a suburb of Nottingham, is thus quaintly described : — " The rock "which constitutes the hamlet, or rather its site, is congenial with that of Notting- ham, a soft sandy stone which extends in a line nearly parallel with the Trent, several miles, as you pass towards Gedling. Some of the inhabitants here dwell, as it were, in dens and caves of the earth called the Hermitage. This romantic scene, if it lay in regions seldom explored, would afford a wonder- ful scope for fanciful relation." * Since Thoroton's History was written, Sneinton has undergone many changes. Incorporated in 1877 with the Municipal and Parliamentary borough, it * Vol. ii. p. 101. 2 2 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. I. HOW forms, by the operation of the Borough Boundaries Act, an important parish of Nottingham. But the Hermitage, a range of perpendicular rocks, with houses built in the craggy front of the caves, still remains. These rock-hewn dwellings are supposed to be the vestiges of an ancient British settlement, and Sneinton, or Snottengaton as it was once called, is claimed by some as the original Nottingham (or Snotingeham, according to the Saxon name, meaning " a dweUing among the rocks "). Two centuries ago it was a pretty rural village, with a church and vicarage, a manor house (the home of the Morleys), a few scattered farms and dwellings, and the curious line of habitations known as the Her- mitage. Besides the Morleys of the Manor House, there were three other famiKes of the same name, but in no way related to the ancestors of the subject of this biography. In the churchyard at Sneinton there are three graves side by side, and on the slabs of slate covering them are inscriptions in memory of — Samuel Morley, who died November 21, 1760, aged 73 years. Also Ann, his wife, who died October 8, 1792, aged 83 years. Samuel Morley, who died January 6, 1776, aged 46 years. Also Mary, his wife, died March 3, 1798, aged 65 years, Samuel Morley, son of Samuel and Mary Morley, who departed this life July 21, 1797, aged 88 years. These were the ancestors of the Samuel Morley with 1809—1825.] THE MOBLET FAMILY. 3 whom we are concerned in these pages. They were members of an old Nottingham family, simple, sub- stantial, Grod-fearing people, themselves descended from a stock of traders of whom no memorials are left. The Samuel Morley who died in 1776, at the com- paratively early age of forty-six years, was the father of three sons, Samuel, John, and Richard. They were bom at the Manor House (the property of Earl Manvers), which is still standing — a rambling, red-brick, gabled house, of the old style, with pleasant gardens and grounds, and a large farm attached. There they led an easy life in the quiet household, and in course of time won for themselves a good name wherever they were known, but espe- cially in the town of Nottingham, where two of them were in business. In 1797, one of the brothers, Samuel, died at the age of thirty- three. In March of the following year, the mother died, and a few months later, namely, on the 18th of October, 1798, John Morley was married to Sarah Poulton, of Maidenhead. John and Richard Morley were both of them shrewd men of business, as well as men of consider- able capacity in other respects. Hitherto they had carried on the farm at Sneinton, and at the same time had been engaged in hosiery business in Nottingham. But with the changes that had come over their family life, there came changes also in their business relations. To meet the requirements 4 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. I. of an increasing trade, it was mutually resolved that John should leave the old associations at Sneinton and Nottingham, and found a business in London ; while Eichard should carry on the farm, and at the same time extend the manufacturing business. The arrangement was, that while the London and Not- tingham branches should be quite distinct as regarded the management, all accounts should be dealt with in London, and in both places the style and title of the firm should be " I. and E. Morley." Before we follow the fortunes of John Morley,. with whom we are more particularly concerned, we must linger awhile with Eichard. in Nottingham.. He was a plain, straightforward, reliable man, every inch an Englishman, without a particle of pride, but with plenty of honest ambition — a man of simple tastes and habits, honoured and respected by all wha knew him. He came of a good old Puritan stock,, and kept up the family traditions in his life and character. But, although a staunch, he was not a. narrow, Nonconformist, and was often to be found in. the Morley pew in the old parish church. He took a keen interest in the town of NottinghanL and in the development of its trade. The town is beautiful for situation, and has a history reaching; back to a period long prior to the Norman Conquest.. The castle was visited by Eichard I., and was one of the strongholds of King John ; it was the prison of David IL of Scotland, and of Owen Glendower,. and it witnessed the beginning of the long struggle 1809-1825.] NOTTINGHAM TRADE. 5 between King and Parliament when, on the eve of the Civil War, Charles I. set up his standard there. In addition to its historical interest, Nottingham has for many centuries been famous as a manufac- turing town. There, by a Parliament held in the reign of Edward III., a law was passed for "prohibiting the exportation of English wool, and for encouraging foreign manufacturers to settle in the Kingdom." There, the once celebrated Lincoln-green cloth was manufactured, and there, from time to time, various industries — the making of implements of husbandry, saddlery, and numerous articles in leather — have successively found a home. From the middle of the sixteenth century, however, Nottingham has been principally known in connection with the manufacture of lace and hosiery. Up to the present time the original stocking-frame — one of the oldest machines in existence applicable to textile fabrics — is still in use, but is being replaced by machinery worked by steam power. The opposition of the knitters to the introduction of the new machinery need not be dwelt upon here. Hitherto, with the old frame, only one stocking could be made at a time by a single workman, while with the new machinery twelve stockings, or more, could be made at once, under the superintendence of only one man and a boy. There was great distress throughout the manufac- turing population in the early part of the century, and the workmen, believing that it arose from the 6 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Ohap. I. introduction of the new machinery, grew riotous. In 1811-12, there were serious disturbances provoked by the Luddites, when much damage was done to property ; and later riots, originating with the frame- work knitters, occasioned the passing of the Act of the 57th of Greo.'III. on the subject. In this contest the sympathies of Eichard Morley were enHsted on the conservative side, and he did his utmost in defence of the old hand-frames by producing on them work of a quality far superior to anything that the new machinery could effect. In the meantime, John had gone to London, and the business of the firm had greatly increased in consequence. To assist in the Nottingham branch, Eichard took into partnership Mr. William Wilson, who soon entered into a closer connection with the brothers by marrying one of their sisters. At first, the firm only dealt in goods of their own making, and those chiefly stockings. It was their pride to produce the best that could be made, and to ensure this result was the special work of Eichard. An excellent judge of work and of material, of texture, quahty, and every technical detail, he was eminently suited for this department, and he made it a point- to examine personally every article that was received into the warehouse. He liked his work, and never spared himself in its performance, plodding on not unfrequently from eight in the morning until ten at. night. As a result of the assiduous toU of the brothers. 1809—1825.] FBAMEWOBK KNITTERS. 1 the fame of Morley's stockings spread far and wide over the country, and at length over the world. It was a matter of principle with " I. and E. Morley " that their customers should be able to obtain exactly the same class and quality of goods at any time, and that there should never be the slightest ground for complaint of any deterioration or alteration in any respect. The skill and vigilance of Richard Morley enabled them to ensure this, and, it may be observed here, the early traditions have been perpetuated to the present day. It is a curious fact that it is possible to obtain the identical kind of article made and sold fifty years ago, thread for thread. There is at the present time in the employ of the Nottingham house an old man named John Derrick, a silk framework knitter, who made the Queen's stock- ings for her Coronation, and, at the age of eighty-four, made stockings of an absolutely identical description for her Jubilee. During the whole of that long interval an order for the Queen has always been on the books of the establishment. Incidentally, this shows that the work of silk framework knitters is very healthy, even when that work, as in the instance quoted, is of the very finest description ; and it is proverbial that workers in this branch of industry are unusually long-lived. There is, however, a comparatively small trade done now in hand-made goods, every year developing the capability of machinery to supersede it. 8 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. I. In the course of this narrative we shall have to refer on many occasions to Mr. Eiohard Morley and his family, and also to the Nottingham branch of the business ; but, in this place, we will anticipate the history. In 1835, on the occasion of the first elec- tion under the Municipal Corporation Act, Mr. Eichard Morley was elected a member of the Town Council for St. Mary's Ward ; in 1836, he was made a magistrate, and in that same year, and again in 1841, he held the office of Mayor, He died in 1856, in the eightieth year of his age, and three years after the death of his wife. He left five sons, three of whom, Benjamin, James, and Arthur, took their share in their father's business, but within five years of his death two of them had passed away. Now the Eichard Morley family, at one time the most influential in Sneinton, and one of the best known in Nottingham, has become extinct, no son or grandson being left to perpetuate it. The Morley pew remains in the restored parish church ; the Morley graves exist in the churchyard ; but the old Manor House is in the possession of strangers, and the Morley name a memory. When John Morley left Sneinton and came to London to found a business, leaving his brother Eichard in charge at Nottingham, he was by no means a wealthy man. But he had a strong consti- tution, an unsullied character, a good reputation, a cultivated mind, and withal that peculiar faculty which marks a man out as "a splendid man of 1809—1825.] "I. AND B. MOBLET." 9 business." Prudence led him to take one step at a time in commencing his new enterprise, and each step was a wise one. Content with small beginnings, he engaged part of a house in Eussia ' Eow, Milk Street, Cheapside, immediately opposite to the spot where, until quite recently, stood the City of London School. Instead of setting up a large domestic establishment in the suburbs, as many would have done, he lived on the premises ; and when, in course of time, business increased, he moved to larger and better quarters in Wood Street. There was never a time in the history of the firm of I. and B. Morley when the business was not pro- gressive. With the untiring diligence of Eichard Morley in Nottingham in selecting the right kind of material to send to London, and the shrewd common sense and tact of John Morley in introducing it to notice, it was soon evident that the two brothers would command an increasing trade. From the earliest days, hardly a month ever passed that did not see an extension in the business, and conse- quently in the premises, the staff, and the stock. When it was demonstrated to a moral certainty that success was ensured, and not till then, John Morley took a house in Homerton, where most of his children were born ; and when, in the course of a few years, the continued prosperity of the busi- ness justified the step, he removed to^ a much larger house in Well Street, Hackney, where he lived till the end of his long life. 10 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. I. It was in the house in Homertpn that, on Octo- ber 15, 1809, Samuel Morley was born, the last of a. family of six children, consisting of three girls and three boys. At the commencement of the present century. Hackney — or Hacquenye as it was once styled — was a large village consisting chiefly of four streets — Church Street, Mare (or Meare) Street, Grove Street, and Well Street. These were surrounded by shady roads, nursery grounds, and .market gardens, with here and there churches and chapels, hand- some mansions and public phUanfchropic institu- tions. "In former times," says Dr. Eobinson in his "History and Antiquities of Hackney," "many noblemen, gentlemen, and others of the first rank and consequence, had their country seats in this village on account of its pleasant and healthy situa- tion ; " and the " Ambulator," in 1774, describes the village as large and populous, and adds, "it is in- habited by such numbers of merchants and wealthy persons that it is said there are near a hundred coaches kept." Although there is still an old-fashioned air about some parts of Hackney, so rapid has been its growth, and so vast its increase of population, that it is difficult to realize the transformation it has under- gone since Mr. John Morley took up his abode there. The house in which he lived still stands. It is a pleasant detached mansion about half-way down Well Street, with two eagles graven in stone on the 1809—1825.] WELL STBEET, HACKNEY. U- pilasters of the gateway, from wMch the house now takes its name of " The Eagles." * As seen from the road, it is a plain, substantial old mansion of twenty rooms ; essentially a cosy, homely house, and its arrangements suggest comfortable- family hfe. Entering the hall, the dining-room is to the left and the drawing-room to the right ; while beyond the latter, and overlooking the garden, is a dehghtful little breakfast-room. It was here that John Morley received the visits of all the leading- Nonconformists, who were accustomed to discuss with him the movements of the day. The glory of the Well Street house was its garden^ occupying nearly three acres of ground. There were noble old trees, and here and there, standing out in relief, a drooping ash or a weeping wych-elm ; and in a shady corner, an old summer-house, thatched with reeds and decorated with devices in hazel wood. A thicket of trees, with winding, shady paths, entirely hid the kitchen garden, and led to, what was a curio- sity in that day, a Dutch garden, where, in the early spring, there was always a bright show of crocuses and snowdrops, tuhps and hyacinths. On a level with the house stood the conservatory, which in Mr. Morley's time was well filled with camellias- — one of his favourite flowers. Although shops and houses, streets and terraces^ tramways and omnibus routes now environ what was * The house is, at the time of goirg to press, in process of reconstruction, for the " Hackney Beform Club." 12 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. I. once the country house of John Morley, the garden is still beautiful and secluded. Blackbirds and thrushes build in the trees and sing among the branches, and are as tame as the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco at Venice. When Samuel was a boy, the business had reached an established position, and his parents were in possession of a comparatively good fortune. So that, from his earliest years, he was familiar with the associations of wealth. He had three sisters, Sarah, Mary, and Elizabeth, and two brothers, John and William, with little disparity between their ages, the whole family of six having been born within the years 1802 and 1809. No childhood could have been happier than his. His mother — a daughter of Mr. E. Poulton, of Maidenhead — was a woman of character, of sweet and tender disposition, of intense affection, and of beautiful, unpretentious piety. His father was a man universally beloved, whose name stood well in the city, who was respected in a wide circle of religious and philanthropic workers ; in London, one of the best-known Nonconformist laymen, and in his own home, always bright and genial. When Samuel was about seven years of age he was sent, with his brother WilHam, to a boarding- school at Melbourn, in Cambridgeshire, where their brother John was already a pupil. It was a Noncon- formist school, conducted by Mr. Carver, a Congre- gational minister, who preached in the village chapel, 1809—1825.] SCHOOL LIFE. IS where tlie attendance of his pupils was compulsory. Many sons of well-known Nonconformists were among the ninety scholars whom Samuel found there ; and whenever any well-known minister — such as the Eev. John Clayton, of the Poultry Chapel — visited the school, he would be acquainted with the families of half Mr. Carver's boys. It was an excellent school in every respect ; the best of its kind in the country. Mr. Carver prided himself upon being able to turn out gentlemen as well as scholars, and spared no pains to train the boys in good and useful habits ; while his son, Mr. William Carver, who assisted him, was a successful classical tutor. There are not many incidents to relate of Samuel's school life. He was a bright, lively boy, full of fun, and on good terms with everybody, especially with one of the masters, who took a great fancy to him, and treated him with exceptional kind- ness. It is the testimony of all who knew him in his. young days, that while he was light-hearted and high-spirited as a boy could be, with a keen relish for a little harmless mischief or a practical joke, he was. singularly straightforward, honest, and truthful ; and that, without being in the least degree priggish, he was always to be found on the side of the pure and the good — which is more than can be said for the majority of schoolboys. On leaving Melbourn, Samuel was sent to Mr. Buller's school at Southampton, where he made fair 14 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. I. progress, was a great favourite with Ms masters, and gained the honourable distinction of being an orderly and well-conducted scholar, who conformed to the rules and customs of the school, and never ^.inched from work. It is on record that his masters predicted " he would either be a minister of the gospel or a Member of Parhament ! " As a matter of fact he became both, although never an " ordained " minister. Samuel was by no means a "serious" boy: he had no precocious piety. But he had a high sense of what was a boy's duty; he was never known "to be idle ; what he did he did thoroughly ; and, a,ware that as soon as he left school he would have to go into the business at Wood Street, as Ms brother John had done before him, and that there would be few chances then of continuing his studies, he applied himself to his school work reso- lutely, and made the best use of his opportunities. At the same time he was every inch a boy, and threw himself heart and soul into all wholesome sports. He could handle a bat, throw a ball, run, jump, wrestle, or hold his own at football or in a bolster fight with any boy in the school. In many things the boy was father to the man. JSe was earnest in what he did. If he raced, he j-aced as for his life ; and if he took his place in a tug of war, he pulled as if success or failure depended .upon himself alone. His holidays were always spent at Hackney, except 1809—1825.] HOME INFLUENCES. 15 when an occasional visit was made with Ms family to the seaside. And happy holidays they were. There was the grand old garden, and the large paddock with a pony to ride, and the companionship of brothers and sisters, and every encouragement from his parents to indulge in all healthy and manly recreation. Samuel loved his father and mother passionately, loved the home influences, and never associated the least notion of constraint with the family roof. It would be hard to say which exercised the greater influence over him, his father or his mother. In after life he used often to say, " I am what my m.other made me ; " at the same time his father's influence was a most important factor in the forma- tion of his character ; and no one who knew him can forget his constant reference to his father's opinions and sayings in such words as these, with which he would often commence or finish a sentence: "As my dear father used to say." The Rev. Thomas Binney — of whom we shall have more to tell hereafter — once said (and it is more than probable that he had Samuel Morley's mother in his mind's eye when he said it, for she was one of his ^' ideal women") : " It is of vast advantage to be born of healthy and virtuous parents ; it is a further advan- tage to be the children of those whose intellect has been thoroughly disciplined and developed ; and further still to be surrounded in infancy and early childhood with such guiding and elevating home influences as tend to inspire pure tastes and high 16 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. T. aspirations, and to create or strengthen repugnance to whatever is low, sensual, or false ; and, last of all, it is a blessing and an advantage, utterly incalculable, to have for a mother a woman of sense, superiority, and goodness, with force of character, with talents and cleverness ; of soHd information, with tact, temper, patience, and skill, fitted to train and mould the mind, to implant principles and awaken a lofty and laudable ambition : and all this presided over and purified by rehgious faith, deep piety, and earnest devotion. These are the mothers that the church and the world alike want." Such a mother had Samuel Morley; and as was the mother, so was the father. He was, as we have seen, a man of unblemished character, of culti- vated mind, intensely in sympathy with everything- that interested his children, and never weary in his endeavours to make home the most attractive place in the world to them. The foundation of the home was laid in love — love to God, love to man, and love to one another. The infiuence of the parents was all-prevailing. They instilled into the minds of their children high prin- ciples ; they set before them, in all things, good examples, and they directed their studies, their amusements, and their very thoughts. One whO' knew what that home was like * writes : "I always, love what is said about his (Samuel Morley's) early home, and thank God that I remember it — before the * Mrs. Kalley, daughter of Samuel Morley's eldest sister, Mrs. Wilson. 1809—1825.] GOES TO BUSINESS. 17 old house at Hackney was altered, and while all lived together there. Though it is a child's memory, it is very sweet. Surely there never were such roses as in the 'long walk' of the old garden — nor such an atmosphere of warm genial love as in the old home where father and mother were really and manifestly the enthroned king and queen." The piety of the home was very heautiful. In the creed of the parents there was none of the cold, hard, dry theology which was u^nfortunately so rife in those days. The children were taught to look upon God as their heavenly Father, in whose love they might rest with perfect confidence. God was " speaking unto them as unto children." Thus they grew up into the belief that He was in their home as really as their earthly father was, and so it came to pass that very early in life their hearts inclined towards Him. At the age of sixteen, Samuel Morley, having made satisfactory progress in his studies, and given promise of distinction in private life, left school and went straight into his father's business in Wood Street. ' CHAPTEE II. 1825—1832. Goes to Business— Wood Street — " Poor Susan " — Home Attractions — Mr. John Morley, Senior — A Nonconformist and a Liberal — Musical Evenings — Early Habits — Dr. Jobn Pye Smith — Eev. John Clayton — Dr. Burder — Bev. James Parsons — A Memorable Sunday. There was nothing more natural than that Samuel Morley should wish to follow in his father's prosperous footsteps. At a very early age he had shown husiness capacity, and, as Mr. John Morley thought that young men not designed for professions had better finish their education in the school of experience, Samuel, soon after he had turned sixteen, made his start in Wood Street. Everybody who knows the City of London knows "Wood Street. At the Cheapside end of it, there stands a venerable and beautiful plane-tree, marking the site of the Church of St. Peter in Chepe, de- stroyed in the great fire of 1666. The houses adjacent are only two storeys high, the terms of their leases forbidding the erection of an additional storey, lest injury should be done to the tree. When Samuel first went to Wood Street there were rooks in its branches, and as late as 1846 they built 1825—1832.] WOOD STBEET. 19 two fresh nests, one of which remained for a long time after the birds had retired from city life, and resigned their vested interests in the tree to pert sparrows. Not long before Samuel Morley went there, Wordsworth had immortahzed Wood Street and its famous tree in his charming little poem, " The Heverie of Poor Susan." It runs thus : — At the corner of Wood Street, when dayhght appears, There's a thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years ; Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard In the sUenoe of morning the song of the bird. 'Tis a note of enchantment ; what ails her ? She sees A mountain ascending, a vision of trees ; Bright volumes of vapour through Lothbury ghde. And a river flows on through the vale of Oheapside. Oreen pastures she views in the midst of the dale Down which she so often has tripped with her pail ; And a single small cottage, a nest like a dove's, The only one dwelhng on earth that she loves. She looks, and her heart is in heaven ; but they fade, The mist and the river, the hUl and the shade ; The stream will not flow, and the hill will not rise, And the colours have all passed away from her eyes. Had Samuel been a youth of a less practical turn of mind there were plenty of associations in Wood Street to have fired his fancy. Traditions gather round it thick as blackberries : one tells of the head of James lY. of Scotland, who fell at Flodden, having been buried in the Church of St. Michael, 20 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. II. which was rebuilt by Wren after the fire ; and another, that Athelstane, the victorious Saxon king, had his palace at the end of the street. But Samuel was not imaginative, and when he took his seat at a desk on the first floor of the limited Wood Street prernises, opposite to his brother John,, who had already been some years in the business, he only saw the work immediately before him, and at once addressed himself to its performance. He went straight into the counting-house, and in the counting- house he remained for seven years. We do not propose, in this place, to follow minutely the daily routine of those seven years, but rather to trace such other influences as, at this important period of his life, were tending to the formation of his character. After Samuel had started in business life, he did not continue his studies systematically. There was not much opportunity for that. He was in the habit of walking with his father from Hackney, and arriving at Wood Street soon after nine, In a very short time he made himself so useful that his services were required until seven o'clock in the evening or later, according to circumstances. He and his brother dined with their father on the premises, and, when the day's work was done, they would make their way, as fast as they could, back to their rural home. This home, as we know, had for all of them the greatest possible attractions ; none of the family ever 1825—1832.] BOME LIFE AND OPINION. 21 cared to seek their amusements or their society elsewhere. There was a spirit of playfulness and cheerfulness in their own circle that was especially refreshing to those who had been engaged all day in business. Mr. Morley shared in the amusements of his chil- dren, and never felt it to be beneath his dignity to romp with them, if romping happened to be the mood of the hour. His strongest role, however, was that of president of the tea-table, when his conversa- tional powers, which were great, showed to the best advantage. There was much to exercise them, for he took a deep interest in the times in which he lived — and stirring times they were. He was a keen poli- tician, and a great friend of Joseph Hume ; he worked hard for the return of Liberal Members for the City of London and Nottingham, and was Chairman and Manager of the London Committee of the Notting- ham Liberal Association. He was also actively engaged in much religious and philanthropic work, in which the sympathies of his children were heartily enlisted. There was a manliness in his speech and action, as well as great sweetness of disposition, that won the admiration of all with whom he was asso- ciated ; and, although at the tpa-table conferences he always expressed his own opinions with great explicit- ness, he was never dogmatic. A thoroughgoing Liberal and an out-and-out Non- conformist, he never urged the adoption of his own views by his children. On the contrary, he would 22 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. II. often say to them : "I will tell you why I am a Nonconformist and why I am a Liberal, and, if you think I am right, you can be as I am and do as I do, but you are perfectly free to form your own conclu- sions." With tljis spirit prevalent, it was possible to discuss freely the poHtical and religious questions of the day, and many an evening in Well Street was thus enlivened. From his boyhood, Samuel had a taste for music, and there was nothing that made him hasten home from business more quietly than the prospect of getting a good long evening for practice. He, with his brothers and two sisters, used to sing quartettes and glees, and, his sisters being proficient at the piano, he loved to hear them play. But the "maintop gallant glory " — as Tom Hood used to call a crowning pleasure — of those musical evenings was when he, on the violin, and his two brothers on the flute, would discourse sweet music to the accompaniment of the piano. The music at those chamber concerts was not perhaps of the highest type. It culminated in " Home, Sweet Home " and the National Anthem, with, occasionally, the introduction of variations that did not appear in the score, and were never contem- plated by the composers; but those evenings were very pleasant, and they helped to form a taste which, in the pressure of Samuel Morley's later years, often beguiled him into rest, and caused him to speak with much feeling of what he owed to his sisters* sympathy in his love of music. 1825—1832.] EABLY HABITS. 23 Even in these days of his youth, Samuel had de- veloped some of those characteristics which were to distinguish him in after life. He was very methodical in his habits, and " had a place for everything, and everything in its place." He recognized the value of time, and every hour had its prearranged occupation. If he had made an appointment, he would keep it as the clock struck the hour, and he was inclined to be a Httle severe upon those who were slothful or neglectful of the ordinary engagements and duties of hfe. He gives a ghmpse into this phase of his character in a letter he wrote to a friend in 1882: "I was accustomed when a boy," he says (and no doubt the narration was intended to convey a hint to his correspondent), " to paste into my books a paper on which were the words you will find on the other side." The words were those time-honoured lines with which the grandfathers of this generation were familiar : — This book belongs to Samuel Morley. If thou art borrowed by a friend, Eight welcome shall he be To read, to study, not to lend, But to return to me ; Not that imparted knowledge doth Diminish learning's store, But books, I find, if often lent, Keturn to me no more. Bead slowly, pause frequently, return duly, with the corners of the leaves not turned down. But if Samuel developed these minor characteristics 24 SAMUEL M0BLE7. [Chap. II. in early life, much more did he also exhibit those higher traits which marked his future career. There was never a time in his life when he did not take a profound interest in rehgious and philanthropic subjects. The ;gure bracing atmosphere of healthy- piety in his home had its effect. He had drunk in good impressions and moral influences with every breath, and his intellectual and spiritual life grew as steadily and as surely as his physical hfe. In describing the house in Well Street, we have stated that there was one room where " the leaders of Nonconformity were wont to meet." Mr. and Mrs. Morley were celebrated for their hospitality, and among their visitors were all the prominent men of the day belonging to Nonconformist circles, where Mr. Morley exercised, perhaps, a greater influence than any other layman of his time. It is difficult to know where to begin in an attempt to enumerate these visitors, and it will be safest, perhaps, to confine ourselves to the most intimate, whose society, in greater or less degree, assisted in moulding Samuel's character. The ministry of the learned Dr. John Pye Smith, the pastor of a church at the Gravel Pits, between Hackney and Homerton, was the first which Samuel Morley attended. Dr. Pye Smith was classical tutor at the Homerton Theological Academy, and after- wards divinity tutor in the same Institution. He was eminent as a Hebrew and Greek scholar, and was familiar with every branch of German theological 1825—1832.] THE CLAYTONS. 25 literature ; he was a devotee of science, especially of geology ; and, at a time when it was considered heterodox to question the length of the days of creation and the universality of the flood, he fear- lessly expressed his views in a work on " The Mosaic Account of the Creation and the Deluge," and another on the " Eelation between the Holy Scriptures and some parts of Geological Science." He did not con- fine his literary labours to scientific matters, however, and his great works were on theological subjects, especially " The Scripture Testimony to the Messiah," a work of great erudition, from which Dr. Liddon has largely quoted in his Bampton Lectures. Mr. Morley was treasurer of Homerton College, where Dr. Pye Smith was tutor, and he was also a member of Dr. Pye Smith's church — and these cir- cumstances, apart from other considerations, formed a bond of intimacy. Another frequent visitor at Well Street was the Eev. John Clayton the elder, for many years the pastor at the King's Weigh House, in Bastcheap, whose ministry Mr. Morley occasionally attended. Old John Clayton was an influential man in his day, and so were his sons John and Greorge, who both took a leading position as Independent ministers, one in the Poultry, and the other in Walworth — of whom the sire was wont quaintly to say that " one had the best stock of goods, and thq other the best shop window." Samuel Morley's sister Sarah, of whom he some- 26 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. II. times spoke as "his wonderful sister," inasmucli as she had the art of endearing herseK to everybody^ and of being ahnost ubiquitous in her errands of kind- ness and affection to all who had need, was a member of old John Clayton's church, and was so great a favourite with him that it was understood in the household that, although his visits were ostensibly to Mr. Morley, they were really paid to her. Never- theless, all felt it was good to be brought into contact with such a man — a model of gentlemanly deport- ment, a master of ornate sentences, and a pattern of conventional propriety. At the time that Mr. and Mrs. Morley used to attend his ministry, there was an apprentice in the Wood Street business who also joined the church at the Weigh House, and was in the habit of accompanying them to the services. That young man was Henry Forster Burder (son of the Eev. Greorge Burder, author of the once well-known " Village Sermons "), who, after leaving Wood Street, became a student at Hoxton College, took his degree of M.A., became one of the tutors at Wymondley, and eventually succeeded the Eev. Samuel Palmer in the pastorate of St. Thomas's Square Chapel, Hackney. It was then that Mr. Morley left Dr. Pye Smith's chapel, and not only attended the ministry of his former apprentice, but became one of his deacons. In a short time. Dr. Burder raised his congregation from insignificance until it became one of the largest and most influential in the north of London. 1825—1832.] JAMMS PAB80NS, OF YOBK. 27 Samuel Morley became a constant attendant, and interested himself in many matters connected with the church. But, although Dr. Burder was a very refined as well as a scholarly man, and although Samuel Morley enjoyed his society as a frequent visitor at Well Street, he could not hut regard him as a very dry preacher, and longed for the time when he might find a man after his own heart. That time soon came. There was one visitor to Mr. Morley's house whose arrival was always greeted by every member of the family with delight, and by none more than by Samuel — the Eev. James Parsons, of York. He was the most popular preacher of the day, and was regarded as the " chief representative of the oratory of Independency. ' ' There was a constant demand for his services in London, and whenever he visited the metropolis he always made the Well Street house his home. Samuel loved to be in the company of this celebrated preacher, who carried sunshine with him wherever he went, and would never miss an hour of his society, if he could help it, while he was in the house. And not then only ; he would accompany .him to the Surrey Chapel, the King's Weigh House, the old Tabernacle in Moorfields, Tottenham Court Eoad Chapel, or wherever he was about to preach, and would listen spell-bound to his powerful appeals. The popularity of Mr. Parsons was extraordinary: "About the year 1828, congrega- tions wilhngly waited for an hour beforehand to hear the tall, slim preacher open his Hps. By sounds 28 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. II. which at first scarcely rose above a whisper, he caught attention and inspired curiosity, his audience being convinced that something would presently come worth hearing : people would sit in breathless silence, panting for the end of sentences, which they caught gradually with more and more distinctness, until a pause in the shrill, clear voice gave them an opportunity to relieve themselves by a slight cough or a change of posture. Then, by a fresh effort, every face would be turned towards him, and, with a hand behind the ear, many a one would drink in the inspiration of his arguments and appeals. Over and above the interest of the truths he uttered, the force of his imagination, and the felicity of his dic- tion, there went forth from him a sort of mesmeric influence — a kind of electric shock, which, as an old friend told me, made him feel as if he must grasp the pew with all his might to prevent being carried away by such a storm of eloquence. The earnestness of his appeals was such as to make one think them irresistible, only that ' the great refusal ' — if I may use Dante's words in reference to another subject — is f3o common amongst men when they hear Heaven's message of mercy. His exquisite facetiousness led captive many a company, and one wondered some- times how he could pass as he did from grave to gay: yet, looking into the depths of human nature, we see how opposite qualities are connected, how indeed one involves another." * * " Beligion in England." By Dr. Stoughton. 1825—1832.] A PBINOE OF TALKEBS. 29 It was not in the pulpit only that the power of James Parsons was felt. He was a prince of talkers, with a fund of sparkling wit and humour that burst forth in the most unexpected ways and places ; and many a time the house in Well Street has rung with laughter as he has related, with exquisite drollery, anecdotes in connection with his own experiences. This genial pleasantry, which shone through all his conversation in social life, was only one side of the man, but it was a side that was especially attractive to Samuel Morley, who, from boyhood to old age, heartily enjoyed a good, humorous, laughter-moving story. This was not, however, the tie that bound him to James Parsons ; he loved the character of the man ; he saw in him one who, whatever he took in hand, grasped it ; he saw a man who was not a mere pro- fessional preacher, but intensely in earnest, to whom religion was a reality, absorbing his whole heart and his whole mind; a pioneer of a better order of things than the dull, cold, respectable formahsm which was sapping the life out of so many of the churches. One Sunday morning, Mr. Parsons was preaching in the old Weigh House Chapel, and young Morley, as usual, was among his hearers. What the particular subject of his discourse was there is no record, but that it was upon something essentially practical is certain, for it made an impression on Samuel's mind which was never effaced. There was borne in upon him the thought that if the hfe he was to lead was to 30 SAMUEL MOBLBT. [Chap. II. answer its true end, it could only be by the surrender of himself, without reservation, to the pursuit of those things which should bring glory to G-od, good to man, and real abiding happiness to himself. It was characteristic of him, then and always, to act with promptness; and he said to .himself, "If this is to be done, it should be done at once." And, from that day forth, he had a definite plan and purpose in life. Eeferring to this critical period in the life of Samuel Morley, the Eev. J. C. Harrison, his intimate friend, says : — In the case of Mr. Morley there was no sudden or abrupt transition from a life of thoughtlessness and worldly pleasure to one of religious decision. He was, as a young man, fond of his home, devoted to his father and mother, whom he both reverenced and loved, and bent on keeping to the path in which they were anxious to lead him. When I first knew him, though he had not taken his stand as a professedly Christian man, he was evidently swayed by Christian principle, and had great tenderness of conscience — a strong conviction that he ought to be wholly on the Lord's side. As to the gaieties of society, or fashionable amuse- ments, such as races, theatres, balls, &c., he was either persuaded that they were wrong, and therefore wouM. have nothing to do with them, or he had no taste for them. At any rate, he kept quite aloof from them. He was most regular in his attendance on Divine worship, and listened to the sermons which he heard with interest and discrimination. I believe it was during the first years of my intimacy with him that the ripening process was in a good measure completed, and that he felt constrained to take his place among those who ' wholly followed the Lord.' In writing of the ministrations of the Eev. James Parsons, Mr. Harrison continues : — 1825—1832.] A MEMOBABLE SUNDAY. 31 Again and again did my friend and myself talk over what we had heard on such occasions. His heart was sometimes full even to over- flowing, and he would express his wonder that any could resist the truth when presented with such power and intensity. He would take up certain arguments and appeals and repeat them in his own words, as they affected his own mind, and say, ' Oh, Harrison, we ought to yield ourselves more fully to such thoughts as these. We ought to be not almost, but altogether Christians.' It was mainly through Mr. Parsons' influence that he was brought to the open avowal and confession of his faith as a Christian man, though I cannot recall the exact year. I have httle doubt that the intensity with which Mr. Parsons pressed home the very sentiments that he had been taught by his parents, burnt them into his heart, and caused him to hold with the utmost tenacity, even to the end, aU the leading doctrines of the Evangelical faith. They were in very deed the life of his life. From that memorable Sunday morning to which we have referred, Samuel Morley's life received a fresh impetus and took a more definite shape ; he became fixed and happy in the persuasion that his enjoyment of the Divine favour was a real and last- ing possession ; and, as long as he lived, he looked back to the helpful ministrations of James Parsons, of York, with gratitude and affection. •CHAPTEE III. 1832—1835. In the Counting-liouse — Joshua Harrison — ^Business Characteristics — Early Habits — Principles in Business — Work and Best — A Summer Tour — ^la Edinburgh — From Oban to MuU — St. Kilda — Staffa and lona — A Sunday in Glasgow — ^In the Trossachs — Sir Walter Scott — " One Maonab " — ^A Scotch Fast — Abbotsford and Dryburgh Abbey. When Samuel Morley went into the business he took up his position, as we have said, in the counting- house, and there he remained for seven years, his brother John working during the same period in the warehouse, and Wilham finding employment in various departments. In 1831, there entered the business a young man, the son of an Independent minister at Wooburn, in Buckinghamshire, who gave great promise of making his mark. Within a few weeks of his joining, he was called to pass through the bitterest experience that can befaU a young man just starting in life — he lost both his father and mother within a fortnight of each other. Mr. and Mrs. Morley showed him almost parental kindness, the three brothers gave him the warmest and profoundest sympathy, and there grew up between them the closest intimacy. To Samuel especially his heart went out ; their 1832—1835.] CHARAGTEBISTICS. 33 friendship ripened into affection, and they became almost as brothers. That yonng man was Joshua Clarkson Harrison, whose praise is in all the churches. In response to a request from the present writer for some account of Samuel Morley on his introduc- tion to the business in Wood Street, and of his own connection with him there, the Eev. J. C. Harrison writes : — I cannot say exactly at what age he entered the warehouse. I joined him in 1831, when he was nearly twenty-two. He had by that time mastered all the details of the business, and had become a proficient in every department. At that time he was lithe and active in body, quick in his perceptions, and in his movements too, kind and genial in his spirit towards all who were under him, and courteous and gentlemanly in his bearing to the outside world. He had a pleasant face, though not so handsome as it became in after life, when his mind and character were more matured. He was a great favourite with both his employes and his customers, for he was singulai-ly frank and open, cordial and even affectionate ; no one suspected him of being insincere, or of keeping back anything which, if revealed, would give a different tone or meaning to what he said. Nevertheless, he was firm in maintaining discipline, very decided in keeping every one he dealt with up to the mark. He would tolerate no irregularities, and quickly closed the aoeount of those who appeared to him to be untrustworthy. Trickery of aU kinds he abhorred, and took the earliest opportunity of shaking off those whom he found to be guilty of it. At the time I entered the establishment it was flourishing, and steadily increasing. Still it was small compared with what it after- wards became. Mr. Morley, his father, the senior partner, was there every day, and, though he took small part in the routine work, was in- valuable as a counsellor, in consequence of the soundness of his judgment, and a remarkable sweetness of disposition which composed all differences. His three sons, John, William, and Samuel, were at their posts with un- varying regularity. They worked with as much diUgenoe as any of their yonng men, and thereby kept every one up to his duty. In spite of 4 34 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. III. passing breezes short and swift, the brothers were the best of friends, and always acted in concert. I was thrown much more with Samuel than with the other two, partly because I was in the same department as himself — finance — and partly because, as my handwriting and style of expression at that time closely resembled his own, I wrote a great number of letters for him which he merely signed. Beside managing the finances, he had his own depart- ment in the warehouse, and with all that belonged to it he was intimately acquainted. But though he held himself in a very special degree responsible for his own department, he kept his eye on every department, and knew the real state of each. Indeed, as it rested with him to be prepared for all pay- ments when they became due, he was obliged to keep himself well informed as to what was doing, and what was needed in every part of the concern. This led him, as years went on and the business rapidly grew, to drop the special superintendence of one particular branch, and to give his strength to the general oversight. I think, indeed, he prided himself on his great skiU in finance. He knew how to turn the capital of the firm to the best account, never keeping larger balances than were absolutely needful lying idle, and taking advantage of every favourable change in the money market to gain by his discounts. His father, who was old-fashioned in his notions, and would rather have a quite unnecessary sum lying at rest than be in the least ' short ' on settling days, used at first to beg him to be cautious ; but he soon found that his son knew exactly what he was doing, and was certain not to endanger the credit of the house. Besides these more general statements, I may add the following particular remarks : — He was remarkable for his diligence. As soon as he arrived in the morning, he was at work, and never flagged tiU he had finished what he had to do. He was a very rapid, and at the same time a very careful worker, and therefore got through a great deal in the day, with singular accuracy. In every kind of work he was proficient. He wrote a clear and beautiful hand ; he was remarkably quick in calculations, he could tie up goods and parcels with any one, and was never above lending a hand if, in any case, additional help was needed. He knew in a moment if a man was bunghng at his work, and would tell him how to do it as it ought to be done. This alone gave him great power ; he was a thorough master of business, and all in the house saw it. Then he would have everything done in the very best style. He 1832—1835.] EVEB LEARNING. 35 ■would not tolerate second-elass work. The ledgers, as soon as he ruled in the counting-house, became pictures of neatness and beauty of pen- manship. Even now I can remember the dismay he felt when, on opening a ledger, he found that his dear father had, during an hour in which all the clerks chanced to be absent, taken his well-used quill pen and posted up several items from the cash book, in a rough-and-ready manner, with a coarse line above and below the results, and a large £ before the pounds. The page was hopelessly disfigured, but I must own that, whenever I happened upon it, I felt a pleasant amusement at the contrast between the old style and the new. The old style closed for ever with those entries. Another thing I noticed in him — he was quick to see any weak point in the estabUshment, and equally ready to discover any error or mistake which the assistants might make. It was quite a saying among them, ' nothing escapes him,' and with him to see was to rectify. I need not add that I am referring now to the early days when I knew the house, and cannot say to what extent it held good in later years. Further : he was ever learning. If he passed through the streets, or -called at any other large house, or conversed with men of business, he kept his eyes and ears open. Should he hear of any plans which were in advance of his own, he studied them, and as soon as he had satisfied himself that they were sound, he adopted them. He never was content as long as anything better could be attained. He wished his house, in ^tyle and naode of transacting business, to be second to none. I believe that he introduced new kinds of goods and created new departments because he saw that the new would feed and strengthen the ■old ; and that if he did not save his customers the trouble of going else- where for these, they would go elsewhere for the old also ; and thus he would begin to lose ground which he had abeady won. Still, when a man has great capacity he is seldom without a large measure of ambition, and, as long as greater success seems possible, he cannot rest till this is attained. I do not suppose for a moment that Samuel Morley was an ■exception to this rule. He was naturally generous and open-hearted, and Christian principle made him still more so. He was indeed a strict disciplinarian, and I have heard of some who complained that for only once violating a particular law, they were summarily dismissed ; but, as nothing of this kind occurred when I was in the house, I can imagine that the one offence was only an instance of generally unsatisfactory conduct, and was not the whole reason for the dismissal. 36 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. III. When I was in the house there was a great deal of esprit de corps^ We coiild not bear the thought of being left behind in the race. We com- pared the weekly sales with those of corresponding weeks in the preceding year, and when they were largely in excess we were fuU of exultation. We never grudged work, or complained if a rush of business kept us far beyond the usual hour of closing. We did not take as our motto, ' As little toil and as much pleasure as possible,' for we felt the greatest; pleasure in our toil. I fancy that loyalty to our chiefs had very much to- do with this enthusiasm, as well as with the desire to equal or outstrip- ' any other house in the street. Had you asked me for reminiscences of ' the house' rather than of Mr. Samuel Morley, I should have referred to the judgment and high character and assiduous labours of his elder brother, Mr. John Morley, whose- counsels and co-operation were main elements in the success of the business. At the expiration of the seven years, that is to- say, in the year 1832, a flannel department, undei' Samuel's management, was added to the business,, which had hitherto consisted of hosiery only. But after a comparatively short experience, it was found that his special aptitude for business could not find its scope in buying, half so well as in managing the- accounts, and therefore he returned to the counting- house, where his services were invaluable to hi& father. The sagacity and enterprise of John and Kichard Morley, and the zeal and activity of their sons, were year by year bearing fruit. The business grew and spread itself in aU directions ; opportunities arose ta take advantage of the changed and more favourable conditions of commerce, and the " House of Morley "" was fast becoming one of the best-known and most respected in the trade. 1832—1835.] THE MOBLETS IN BUSINESS. 37 The prosperity of the firm was due to the principles upon which the business was conducted. Of Mr. Bichard Morley's painstaking conscientiousness we, have already spoken, and when his sons joined him in the manufacturing branch at Nottingham, they accepted the traditions of the house, and continued what their father had begun. So also in the London house, the three sons, John, William, and Samuel, were in complete and thorough harmony with the views of their father and of each other, and im- pressed the stamp of their own characters upon the business. They were all men of high principle and inflexible integrity, and those with whom they dealt soon found that no mean or disingenuous action, no trick or a,rtifice, would be tolerated by them. Their word was as good as their bond, and on their credit the whole trade could invariably place unhmited con- jfidence. Moreover, men knew that Mr. Morley was a " God- fearing " man, and that his sons were like unto him, •and, whatever some men may say to the contrary, when this fact is known, and it is known also that practice and profession are equal, it commands re- spect. Men knew that amid all the fluctuations of trade, amid its ever-varying temptations to falsify goods, to make the worse appear the better article, they would hold fast their integrity. No one ever heard in any trade transaction an untrue word from a Morley ; no one ever feared that an undue ad- 38 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. III. vantage would be taken of him in any mercantile arrangement ; no one ever doubted, when he pur- chased from that house, either that he had exactly the quality of article it professed to be, or that it was the best of its kind, or that it was value for money. Although they were men of consequence in busi- ness, and were making money fast, they did not relax their efforts or relegate to others anything they could do themselves, but worked hard from morning till night. There were periods of relaxation, however,, especially for Samuel, who assisted his father in various political and philanthropic matters, to which we shall refer more particularly later on, and when work was slack in the counting-house, he would slip out to put in an appearance at a meeting, either accompanying or representing his father. But the great relaxation of the year was the annual summer hoHday, when John and Samuel used often to take long walking tours together. Often in after life Samuel would refer to what he gained by these active expeditions as contrasted with the more ener- vating influences of a seaside resort, where most of his friends were then accustomed to take their holi- days. Character comes out in travel more than in any- thing else, and in this aspect of him we can let Samuel Morley be his own biographer. He was; never in the habit of writing much ; he never kept a. diary, and never took notes of passing events, or attempted to pose as an essayist — or, if he did, na 1832—1835.] A TOUR IN SCOTLAND. 3!> record of his efforts have heen preserved. But on his tours he did, on one or two occasions, jot down what he had seen and done — rarely what he had thought or heard — in the course of each day. These matter-of-fact journals are highly characteristic, and, without note or comment, we append extracts from one, narrating his experiences during a tour made in the year 1835 : — Memoranda op a Todb to the Highlands and Western Islands of Scotland, taken in July, 1835. At about half-past nine in the evening of the 1st July, I left Hackney- to go to Blaokwall to take my berth on board the Monarch steamship, which was intending to leave very early the following morning for Edinburgh. WUliam,* accompanied by Harrison, f met me on board from Wood Street, in order to see the vessel and bid me good-bye. . . . July 2nd. — . . . Nothing of any moment occurred until we reached the Fearn Islands, when a very thick Scotch mist came on, and we got aground in passing through two ledges of rock, and were obliged, as the captain was ignorant of our exact position, to send two men in a boat to find a buoy which the captain knew was somewhere near us. After some delay this was discovered, and we proceeded slowly till we had passed Holy Island, which is the most difficult part of the whole passage. I was much pleased with the Bass Rock, a large, picturesque rock-island situated near the entrance of the Firth of Forth. It is inhabited only by solan-geese, with which it is nearly covered. The sail up the Firth of Forth, containing as it does several islands, very much interested me, but my attention was soon arrested and engrossed by the appearance of Edinburgh standing on its two or three hills. Its appearance is truly striking. ... At Edinburgh I took up my quarters at the Black Bull, where I found Mr. Walter Langton, with whom I had arranged to take this trip into Scotland. . . . July 4th, Saturday. — . . . We went to the Parliament House, and * His brother. f Now the Rev. Joshua Harrison. 40 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. III. found all the courts of law open; in the large hall I saw Lord* Jeffery, who is now one of the judges, formerly Lord-Advocate, and a distinguished critic and writer in the Edinburgh Beview.. We then went to the University, which we were surprised to find contains more than 1,700 students. Ascended Calton HUl, and were again delighted with the splendid view. We next proceeded by the High School to the Palace of Holyrood. . '. . The inspection of Queen Mary's apartments very much pleased us. There are so many articles, both of furniture and ornament, which without doubt belonged to that unfortunate queen. We returned from Holytood Palace through the Cannon Grate, a street con- nected with much of the olden time. One of the houses in this street is distinguished as having been the residence of John Knox, and is orna- mented, in one corner of the house, with a representation of the great Beformer in a pulpit. . . . July 5th, Glasgow. — I went in the morning, according to instructions received from C. Trueman, to St. George's Church, where I heard a capital sermon from Dr. Smith ; went again to church in afternoon, where I heard and still more admired Dr. Smith. After church I went in Mr. W. Houldsworth's carriage to Belvedere, his residence, about two miles from Glasgow ; and a very charming place it is, delightfully situated on the banks of the Clyde. ... I dined with them at half-past five — much too late, as I thought, for comfort or convenience. . . . July 6th, Monday. — Proceeded down the Clyde to Greenock, . . . then to Campbeltown, in Cantire (a peninsula forming part of Argyle- shire) ; . . . then our course lay across to Lame, in Ireland. . . . July 7th. — We arrived at Oban at about four o'clock. Here we landed, and were allowed half an hour, which we occupied in going to see the ruins of Dunolly Castle, which are situated on a commanding eminence on the north side of the bay, and we found ourselves amply repaid by the prospect it afforded. I had by this time become in some degree acquainted with my fellow-passengers, and found them, almost without exception, very pleasant and very respectable. This opinion was con- firmed by the increased acquaintance of six days. ... At Oban we received a pleasing addition to our party in the persons of Mark Stewart, Esq., his wife, and Mrs. Stewart's two sisters. His estate is in Dumfries- shire, but he has taken, for the summer, a place called Oakfield, delightfully « The courtesy title of Scotch judges. He had been appointed to his judgeship in the previous year. 1832—1835.] AT SEA. 41 situated at Lochgilphead. . . . We had previously had only four ladies ; the present addition to the number was therefore peculiarly agreeable. After leaving Oban, we proceeded by the Island of Lismore, and through the Sound of Mull, to Tobermory, in the Isle of Mull. The scenery from Oban to Mull is extremely fine, and I was much delighted to trace the accuracy of Sir Walter Scott's description of this scenery in his ' Lord of the Isles,' one or two scenes in which poem are laid at Ardtornish Castle, in the district called Morvern, opposite Mull. . . . When we awoke on the morning of July 8th, found that we were rapidly approach- ing the Sound of Harris, the navigation of which is extremely dangerous, owing to the number of rocks. It is necessary to take a pilot, which we did when we reached the Island of Harris. . . . We soon became familiar with the names of most of the islands, so that we recognized them on our return. This was a day long to be remembered. When we had passed thi-ough the Sound of Harris, we found ourselves in the wide Atlantic, without an island to break the force of the waves, which came rolling on in fearful rapidity and overwhelming force. To add to our diffi- culty, the wind set in dead against us, which impeded our progress so much that we made only six knots per hour. I certainly never saw such a sea. It is needless to say it soon made me feel rather queer, and ultimately, for the space of half an hour, caused me to. remain quite in the vicinity of the side of the vessel. This mortified me a great deal, as I had fancied before this that I was somewhat of a sailor. However, there were probably not more than half a dozen of the passengers who were not similarly affected. In consequence of the opposition of the wind, we did not reach St. Kilda till half-past eight o'clock at night, instead of eleven o'clock in the morning, as was expected. . . . The passengers soon began to distribute various articles which they had brought with them — children's clothing, &c., &c. The language of the natives (Gaehc) was, of course, quite unintelligible to me, but I was sorry to see how avariciously they looked for money or presents, and in the sale of sundry brooches, &c., which they had about them, they made every attempt to get as high a price as possible. They hve in miserable mud huts, surrounded by every kind of filth. They seem to have no idea of cleanliness. I must say I was much pleased to have had an opportunity of witnessing the mode of life of this half-savage people, and I left the island astonished at the devotion to a good work which could enable Mr. Mackenzie, the minister, to make the sacrifice he does, and I trust also with a feeUng of gratitude that my lot is not the same as theirs. ... 42 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. III. July 9th, Thursday. — In consequence of the winds and waves being against us, . . . it was determined that we should make for the Island of Canna, a small island which lies about fifteen miles to the south-west of Skye. It contains a capital harbour, and it was thought advisable that we should lie by for the night and proceed next morning. At Canna, . . . perambulated the island, and found the inhabitants much mora eivUized than those of St. Kilda. They Kve in somewhat similar houses, but they are much cleaner and better arranged, and we were, on th& whole, much pleased with their behaviour, forming quite a contrast to the: others. We saw here also Mr. Maclean, Laird of Canna, who to great poverty adds all the pride of a lord. . . . Just before our return to the- boat, two or three of us witnessed some of the natives dancing, in which amusement we also joined with them. . . . July 10th, Friday. — We were called at half-past four, having arrived at the Cuchnllin Hills in Skye. We were soon ready to land, and, although a considerable quantity of rain fell while we were on shore, still tha ladies of our party did not flinch in the least, but were equal to the best of us. It is quite impossible to do justice to this truly magnificent scenery. For my own part, instead of the two hoiurs we were allowed, I should hava been glad to have roamed about these hills for two days. We next pro- ceeded to Loch StafSn, in which is situated the Spar Cave. . . . Wa found the landing difficult, and were obliged to be carried ashore, which occasioned a good deal of merriment. We were amused, though annoyed at the time, by the attempt at extortion made by the boatmen who- came to land us. . . . The walls of the cavern are covered with tha most elegant incrustations, and its roof with sparry icicles. There is a. large basin of water at the bottom. The scenery in the neighbour- hood of this cave is in the highest degree sublime. . . . Arrived at Staffa, we walked round to the far-famed Fingal's Cave. It far sur- passed any idea I had ever formed of it. . . . At lona, distant about six miles, we were unable, in consequence of the crowd and the chattering of two troublesome, empty - headed guides, to. enjoy the scene so much as we should alone and with plenty of time. . . . Thus closed one of the most interesting days in my life, a day ia which the weather had been very fine, the company well pleased with each other and with all they saw, and such an impression was made oa my mind as I think wiU never be effaced. On leaving lona, we pro- ceeded along the east coast of Colonsay, through the Sound of Islay to the Giant's Causeway. ... 1832—1835.] A SCOTCH FAST. 4S. July 11th, Saturday. — On leaving Glenarm we proceeded direct to Campbeltown, in Cantire. . . . The harbour is capital, but I saw nothing- in the town to interest me except a stone cross from lona, in a state= of excellent preservation. On leaving Campbeltown, it was proposed and. carried that, as on the first day of our excursion we had dined together, so on this the last day we should do so also. This was accordingly done, and much we all enjoyed it. There seemed to be but one feeling of regret, that we should be obliged to part so soon, just as we were beginning to know, and I may say to like, each other. I am sure I had met two or three, in intercourse with whom I had experienced very much pleasure- Three had given me their cards, making me promise to call on them in Glasgow on my return from the north, and another, Mr. Paul Baillie, of Glasgow, gave me his card in order that I might enjoy a day's shooting or fishing at the house of his brother-in-law in the Braes of Balquhidder,. between Killin and Loch Earnhead. The reflection coiild not but force itself on the minds of aU, and indeed was given utterance to, that the- same party could hardly ever hope to meet again in this world, and it. seemed to throw an additional degree of warmth into the last hour of our social and friendly intercourse. "We proceeded from Campbeltown,, through the beautiful Kyles of Bute, to Eothsay, where we lost several- passengers, and amongst them the three ladies of Mr. Stewart's party^ and we then proceeded direct to Greenock. July 12th, Sunday, Glasgow. — . . . Took a walk to the cathedral, whicb is a fine large building in which there are two services performed at the- same time. Formerly there were three services performed at the same- time,, but one has been discontinued since the building of a new church in the neighbourhood. We then strolled for half an hour in the new cemetery, which has been very tastefully laid out on a hill near the= cathedral, on the top of which is a monument to John Knox, the great. Scotch Eeformer. . . . We went in the afternoon to hear Dr. Wardlaw,. the subject of whose sermon was the fast day appointed by the Church of" Scotland, and was appointed to be held on Thursday, July 80th, on account of the depressed state of the church. The doctor was strongly- opposed to the observance of a fast appointed by a church from which he. conscientiously dissented, and, while he expressed a strong desire that, all his congregation should take the same view of the question as him- self, he -wished it to be the result of their own deliberate consideration of the subject, and he particularly impressed on his hearers the extreme- desirableness and importance, provided they were of the same opinion as- 44 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. III. liimself, of guarding against the doing anything which might have the appearance of a marked objection to the observance of the day. I was much pleased with the sermon, and must confess I quite acquiesced in all the objections stated by the learned doctor. . . . From Glasgow, the traveller proceeded to Loch Ijomond "with aU its immense assemblage of magnificent mountains," and expressed himself as •" perfectly enchanted — and that nothing he had seen in Scotland or in England surpassed it." At Tarbet Jie again fell in with companions. July 14th, Tuesday. — A gentleman, who proved to be a Cambridge man studying for the church, who was travelling with his sister, and who had determined, as I had done yesterday, to defer his trip to Loch Katrine "till to-day, proposed that I should join them, and that we should all go together, to which proposition I most cheerfully assented, and found them very agreeable companions. . . . We went to Eob Eoy's Cave, a dismal place, the retreat of the notorious outlaw, and the hiding-place of the illustrious Bruce after a battle in which he suffered defeat. . . . Beached Loch Katrine and engaged a boat for ten shillings to take us to the Trossachs. I was now approaching the classic ground of the ' Lady ■of the Lake,' and was quite prepared, both by the glowing descriptions I had heard of this scenery from other travellers, and also by the interest •excited by the poem above referred to, to be much pleased. My expecta- tions were, perhaps, more raised respecting the Trossachs than any other part of Scotland. I must, however, confess that my feeling, when for the £rst time I beheld the lake, and indeed till we had proceeded about five miles, was one of decided disappointment — disappointment that was the greater in proportion as my expectations had been the more raised. But when I approached the western end of the lake and first saw Ellen's Isle, with the Trossachs as a background, and the mountains Ben A'an and Ben Venue, one on each side, I was quite enraptured. There is a •danger, in writing a journal, of speaking too strongly. One is often led into exaggeration by a fear of not expressing with sufacient force the mpression produced by a particular scene. I can, however, say with perfect truth that, though I have, during the five or six days that have 1832—1835.] IN THE TB0S8ACHS. 45- elapsed between seeing this faiiy scene and writing this account of it^ enjoyed some of the finest views of which Scotland can boast, I have- seen nothing which, within the same space, exhibits so much of grandeur and real beauty. After admiring for some time the lovely scene by whiclx we were surrounded, we landed at the island called, in compliment to- Sir Walter Scott, Ellen's Isle. On this island, which appearsUke a lovely- grove. Lord Willoughby D'Eresby had erected a rustic grotto, in which was a collection of ancient armour, skins of wild animals, elk horns, &c. This grotto, which was dehghtfully situated on the highest point of the island, was much frequented by parties from the Trossachs, who often dined there. It, however, unfortunately happened that the evening- before we visited it, a party had dined there, and the guide omitted to- extinguish the fire, and in consequence of the dryness of the wood, and probably the escape of some sparks, the whole fabric was burnt to the ground. It was smoking when we were there. . . . We nest proceeded to Coir-nan-Uriskin, or the Goblin's Cave, which is a vast circular hollow in the mountain Ben Venue. It is enclosed on all sides by steep rooks,, and is difficult of access from the immense masses of stone which have- fallen from the cliffs. This scene is thought by some to surpass the Trossachs, but I must confess I differ in opinion. It is in this cave that Walter Scott makes Douglas conceal his daughter, when he removed her- from Eoderio Dhu's Island. I was much amused with the aptness with which our boatman referred to the tale of the 'Lady of the Lake." 'There, sir,' said one of them, pointing to a gloomy ravine, 'is where Eitz-James lost his gallant steed, sir, and that is the bough,' pointing to an old tree on the island, ' where EUen fastened her boat.' They also professed to be well acquainted with the spot where Fitz- James had his first interview with Ellen. In the Trossaclis, Samuel Morley parted with his two companions and proceeded to the picturesque Loch Ard, where the following incident occurred : — I found a very small inn called the Macnab Inn, kept by one Macnab. It was nine o'clock, and I was very tired, and therefore had no option but to stop, though the appearance of the house was anything but pre- possessing. I remembered when I saw the house that it was of this inn I had received anything but a flattering account. I ordered tea when I 46 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. HI. -went in, and was much amused by old Macnab, who came up scratching his head to say that as they only received bread once a week from Stirling, and did not have visitors very often, they had no bread in the house, but they had plenty of oat cakes. Having a good appetite, I managed to make a hearty meal of boiled eggs and fresh milk. When I proposed to Macnab that he should be my guide up Ben Lomond at five o'clock next morning, he said, as he had no watch perhaps I would lend him mine. I must confess I looked narrowly at the man when he made the request, but I could see nothing but downright honesty in his coun- tenance, and willingly handed my watch over to him. He left me with the understanding that he should have some light refreshment ready for me at the time named, and at an early hour I retired to rest ; but when I woke at half-past four on the morning of Wednesday, July 15th, I found it raining hard, and, of course, turned myself round and had another snooze. ... At half-past ten, the rain had quite ceased, but the mountains were so completely enveloped in mist, and so much rain had fallen in the night, which would render walking bad, that it ^vas judged quite unadvisable to attempt the intended ascent. Having, therefore, laid in some provisions, we started on our way. ... In consequence of the swollen state of the mountain streams, I found it advisable to be carried across three of them on the back of old Macnab, for he said, ' I am sure to be wet, and it vrill not be any better for me that you should be wet too.' After putting me on the road from Loch Katrine to Inversnaid, Macnab bade me good-bye, and I cordially shook hands with one who had proved himself a • very agreeable com- panion. The journey was continued by Inverary to Oban, Port Augustus, and the Falls of Foyers, where he picked up the following anecdote : — Before the present bridge at the upper cataract was built, the only passage over the torrent was by an old crazy bridge, made of loose sticks, covered with turf. A story is told of a neighbouring farmer, who, liaving spent the evening with some friends at the ' General's Hut ' (a email inn, so called from its having been the abode of General Wade, when he was superintending the making of the military road from Fort Augustus to Fort George), during a heavy fall of snow determined op 1832—1835.] NATURE AND ABT. 47 returning home before the storm had subsided. He had frequently passed the bridge on foot, and he now actually spurred his horse across it. Having some faint recollection next morning of his daring adventure, tut suspecting it to be a dream, he went to the spot to convince himself, and when he perceived the tracks of his horse's feet in the snow, he suddenly fell ill from fright, and died in consequence. The narrative runs pleasantly on, with descriptions of Inverness, Blair Athole, Killiecrankie, and the Palls of the Braan, as seen through the mirrors in Ossian's Hall, concerning which our traveller says : ■" The fall is very good, but I do not think that the beauties of Nature ever owe much additional beauty to the assistance of art." At the inn at Aberfeldy, he was " much amused with the landlord, a good Whig and a staunch supporter of Fox Maule * at the last election." At Stirling he makes the following entry in his note-book : — July 23rd, Thursday. — Tliis was the day appointed by the General Assembly for a fast, and I was much amused at the answers I received from several of whom I asked the reason why the fast was appointed. The only reason I could get from the majority was, ' that they did not rightly ken, but it was ordered by the General Assembly.' Thus are they priest-ridden even in Scotland, where it was clear, after a little investiga- tion, that the cause was the spread of Dissent, or, as they {i.e., the General Assembly) chose to express it, ' the prevalence of infidehty and dis- affection to the Church.' I can only say that, so far from its being a fast day to me, or what I suppose is meant by the term, a day of penance, this was one of the brightest days I enjoyed in Scotland. . . . Proceeding by way of Dundee, where he parted with Mr. Langton, his travelling companion, he journeyed on to Melrose and Dryburgh Abbey, where, * Afterwards Lord Panmure. 48 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. Ill- three years before (September 21, 1832), Sir Waltei^ Scott had been buried. July 26tli, Sunday. — Arrived at Melrose in time to have my breakfast and hear a sermon at the Secession Chapel, vpith which I cannot say I was much pleased. On leaving the chapel, after service, I proceeded to the kirk, and found a wry great number assembled,' it beiag the day for the sacrament, which is only administered here twice a year. I must confess I was much struck with the mode of conducting the service- There were two very long tables, from the pulpit to the door, each capable of seating about eighty persons. To this number the sacrament was administered, and when it was concluded they moved out at one- end, and their seats were taken by the same number, who entered at the other end. The greatest inconvenience would arise from the- clergyman having to repeat the service so many times. I was told he- would be so occupied till four o'clock. The town was quite in a bustle, and there were a great many carriages at the inn, many persons having come a great distance. ... In the evening I walked over to Abbotsford, the residence of the late Sir Walter Scott. It is beautifully situated in the midst of most extensive plantations, the walks through which ar& very pleasing. . . . The entrance hall is filled with armour of all descrip- tions, and there is another room also filled with firearms, to each of which a ticket is attached conveying some anecdote or information of interest. The library is a fine large room, containing 20,000 volumes, some of them very rare and valuable. Beyond is the ' Sanctum Sanctorum,' fiUed with relics of all sorts, some of his choicest books, &o. In this room were written most of those works which command the admiration of man- kind. I sat on the old easy-chair in which he sat, and lingered through the rooms, in which everything is left precisely as he left them, with feelings I shall never forget. In a small closet or room in this inner apartment, there were hung the clothes he last wore before he died. Every article of his dress was there, and I was surprised to observe how very much thicker the heel of one shoe was than the other, owing to tli& greater length of one leg than the other. In the kitchen I was struck by observing the words, ' Waste not, want not,' carved in large letters on the stone, just over the fire. I was delightfully engaged in wandering- through this interesting house more than three hours, and could have remained much longer, but I was reminded by the closing of the evening that I had four miles to walk. I called to mind the anecdote I once. 1832—1835.] SIB WALTER SCOTT. 49 heard of Sir Walter, and coiild not help wishing that I had been so favoured. A gentleman and his lady having reached Melrose, were anxious to visit Abbotsford, and to have an interview with its illustrious owner. He accordingly wrote a note to the following purport: — 'Mr. and Mrs. present their oomphments to Sir Walter Scott, and being anxious to see the great Lion of the North, request the honour of an interview.' To which Sir Walter returned the following answer : — ' Sir Walter Scott presents his compliments to Mr. and Mrs. ■, and as the Lion is seen to most advantage at feeding hours, requests the pleasure of their company at dinner.' July 27th, Monday. — I left Melrose with a sigh, not, however, before I had taken a farewell of the splendid Abbey, and had purchased some correct engravings from the old man who has the keys of the Abbey, and who was a great favourite vrith Sir Walter Scott. CHAPTEE IV. EELIGIOUS STATE OF THE TIMES. 1800—1835. Hackney, a Centre of Nonconformity — The First Quarter of the Century — The Toleration Act — Church and Dissent — Evangelicals — A Transition Period — Dawn of the Oxford Movement — Independency — Church Bates — The King's Weigh House — The Eev. Thomas Binney. Samuel Moelby's early manhood was passed in times whicli were full of incident, and it was his delight to take a part, however humble, in public moyements. He was born and bred a Liberal, and his convictions and sympathies lay entirely in that direction. Of his own choice, too, he had cast in his lot with the Nonconformists, and his first pubHc labours were in Liberal and Nonconformist fields. At a comparatively early age, he was in the habit of attending public meetings on political, social, and religious subjects, and not unfrequently he would be called upon to take the chair, or to address the meeting. In those days he was not a remarkably good speaker ; he had a pleasant, gentlemanly manner, his name was a " tower of strength," but his utterances were not 1800—1835.] NONCONFOBMIST HACKNEY. 51 strong, and were delivered with some hesitancy and lack of style, and it was only by dint o£ unflagging perseverance that he overcame these difficulties. What he lacked in this respect, however, was more than compensated for, by the energy with which he threw himself into any cause that he espoused, and the heartiness with which he carried it to a successful issue. Hackney was in those days renowned as a centre ■of Nonconformity. Its traditions went back to such men as Dr. Bates, Matthew Henry, and Eobert Fleming among its earlier preachers ; the fame of its present ministers was in all the churches ; its college, in Well Street, founded in 1803, and its college at' Homerton, were training young men for the Dissenting ministry ; and many of its wealthiest inhabitants took a prominent part in movements specially interesting to Nonconformists. It is difficult for the new generation to realize what was the religious state of the country in the first quarter of this century. A rapid glance at ■certain aspects of it may help to explain some of the movements which had a special interest for Samuel Morley, whose first public efforts were made in the stormy times which preceded the passing of the Eeform Bill of 1832 — times, too, when the religious life of the people was entering upon as distinctly a fresh stage as was its political life. When the century dawned, it dawned upon a sleep- ing Church. There was little or no enthusiasm 52 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IV, anywhere, and co-operation for great and good ends was only just beginning. Between the Church of England and the Dissenters a great guK was too often fixed : the former was commonly associated with all that -vyas high and dry, cold and orthodox ; the latter with vulgarity and ignorance. On the one hand, it " was deemed a meritorious thing to hate Dissenters ; " on the other, it was usual to vindicate Nonconformity, and to criticize the Estabhshment with a vehemence unknown to the Henrys, the. Owens, and the Howes. No olie will gainsay the fact that a deep sleep had fallen upon the clergy and laity, the ministers and people of England. The cathedrals were little better than show places, in which perfunctory services were performed before scant congregations; Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's were never thronged with eager listeners to stirring appeals. None of the great religious edifices of the land were filled, except on the occasion of some great funeral or other public func- tion. The old parish churches were frequently not much better. Too many of them were cold and cheerless, and the gospel proclaimed from the desk but seldom found a Venn, a Berridge, a Eletcher, a Romaine, or a Newton to echo it from the pulpit. There was a corresponding torpor among the Dis- senters, exemplified by the fact that, almost without exception, the Presbyterian congregations of England had all lapsed into the most frigid Arianism. " None of the men of might had found their hands." 1800—1835.] HOSTILITY AND PERSECUTION. 53 The spiritual life of England was only just beginning to awaken from nearly a century of sleep. Teaching and preaching the gospel by laymen was undreamed of, except among the followers of Wesley. Until the year 1812, Dissenters were obhged, for their own protection, to take certain prescribed ■oaths under the Toleration Act, as it was styled, to enable them to carry on their agencies with safety. In many parishes there was bitter hostility between church and chapel, and it is impossible to take up a book deahng with these times, and written from a Nonconformist point of view, without coming across passages of which the following may be taken as a specimen : — " Those Nonconformist ministers who began their work early in this century, had to struggle against hostility and persecutions of which we know nothing. When they went out into country villages to preach the gospel, they were not unfrequently assaulted by brutal mobs, who knew that the clergy and the magistrates were looking on with scarcely concealed delight, and that the Methodist would appeal for protection in vain to the local preservers of the peace. From the very tower of the church, stones and rotten eggs were sometimes hurled on the itinerant evangelist as he passed beneath it to the village chapel. Among the clergy there were very many whose immoralities made the church an object of disgust and abhorrence to their parishioners ; and the earnest and devout, instead of being numbered 54 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IV. by thousands, as now, were bright and rare exceptions to a prevaiHng indolence and worldliness."* In proportion as Dissent asserted itself, hostility increased. In 1811, the formation of the Protestant Society for the Protection of Eeligious Liberty, and for " endeavouring to obtain the repeal of every law which prevented the complete enjoyment of religious liberty," was the signal for the renewal of controversy. The Test and Corporation Acts was another bone of contention, until, in 1828, the speeches of Lord John Eussell in Parliament, and of the Duke of Sussex in public assemblies, succeeded in obtaining their repeal. Many other ecclesiastical movements, with some of which Samuel Morley was, later on, immediately con- nected, took their rise at this time, but will be referred to hereafter. It must, however, be borne in mind that throughout this period the ecclesiastical strife was embittered by habitual political antagonism. During that long struggle for the extension of political freedom, which triumphed in 1832, the vast majority of the Dissenters were the eager friends of Reform,, while the clergy were its most uncompromising and formidable opponents. Through all these storm-clouds, however, there were streaks of light. The Evangelical section of the Church of England was an immense and increas- ing power for good. In the last year of the eighteenth century, the Eeligious Tract Society was founded;. '"' "Life and Letters of the Bev. John Angell James." By Rev. B. W. Dale. 1800—1835.] T^E OXFOBD MOVEMENT. 55 Evangelical Churchmen and Dissenters were united in the movement, and cheap religious literature was put into circulation. Auxiliary Societies were formed, col- porteurs were employed, and tract distribution became one of the means of reviving rehgious activity. In 1804, on a still broader foundation, the British and Foreign Bible Society was established ; in 1812, the Sunday School Union came into being, and, step by step, aggressive religious movements were maugu- rated. In process of time the clergy, as a body, began to awaken from their sleep. Many important changes took place. Churches were cleaned, renovated, re- stored, and, between the years 1801 and 1831, but more particularly during the latter portion of that period, five hundred churches were built at an expense of three millions of money. * Preaching revived ; music, which had been grievously neglected, was gradually becoming an attractive feature in the Church Service, and, in divers other ways, improvements were effected, though in some instances the revulsion from indif- ference assumed an anti - Protestant aspect. All classes and conditions of men being thus stirred, in 1827, Keble published his " Christian Year." In 1829, Eichard Hurrell Froude, his pupil, was openly professing his admiration of the Church of Eome, his abhorrence of the Eeformers, and his belief that " tradition was the main instrument of religious teaching." In 1830, John Henry Newman threw off * " May's Parliamentary History," vol. iii. p. 215. 56 SAMUBL MOBLEY. [Chap. IV. the Evangelical influences in whicli he had been trained, proclaimed his devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and recorded his belief in the Eeal Presence. It was when this new order of things was coming into existence, that Samuel Morley began to take a share ia public affairs. Great changes were taking place in the religious denomination to which he belonged. Independents were beginning to be styled Congregationalists, which was in itself significant. Morning and evening, instead of morning and after- noon, services were becoming general ; the long prayers, which must have taxed the patience of the most devout, were giving place to prayers of reason- able length, and the dry doctrinal sermons, with their " fourthly, fifthly, lastly, finally, and a few words in conclusion," were being superseded by discourses of a more practical nature and a more cultivated style. Sunday-schools were being organized throughout the land, and, although few churches had proper accom- modation, and the teaching was far below its later standards, the prospects of good being done were to be observed on every hand. Missionary zeal was awakening, and in every family circle connected with the Independents, reports of the exploits of Morrison in China, and the stirring adventures of John Williams in Polynesia, were read and discussed with intense interest. The distinctive feature in Independency — a feature which claimed the advocacy of Samuel Morley throughout his life — has been thus described: — 1800—1835.] OONQBEGATIONALISM. ' 57 " In connection with a fervent love for evangelical doctrines, ecclesiastical conservatism, in many in- stances, developed itself in strong attachment to the following principles : that a complete power of government and action exists in every Congregational Church, and that the pastor, the deacons, and the private memhers make up a corporate ecclesiastical body, not only capable of entirely managing its own affairs, but hound to watch against whatever might imperil its integrity. This policy was not maintained on grounds of expediency, it was not based chiefly on a principle of freedom, but a jus divinum, a Divine right, was claimed for this constitution of social spiritual life. No admission was made to the effect that the New Testament leaves Church polity an open question ; on the contrary, the contention was that Christ and His apostles laid down principles and supplied precedents from which may be satisfac- torily drawn an outline of discipline and worship. No bishop could be more decided in maintaining the Divine origin of Episcopacy ; no Presbyterian, of Commonwealth times, could be more sure of the Divine origin of ruhng synods, than were these Non- conformist fathers in reference to the Divine origin of their Independency." * While quite a young man, Samuel Moiiey held very decided views on ecclesiastical matters, and, although Independency did not at that time assert itself on questions of popular rights, nor identify itself with * " The Chiirch of the Nineteenth Centm-y." By Dr. Stoughton. 58 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IV. Liberalism, or form itself into a political as well as a religious power to the extent it has since done, he was in advance of his time, and took a special interest in that aspect of Dissent with which his name, in later years, was closely identified. Everything that affected religioiis freedom had a claim upon him.* Eegarding the Holy Scriptures as the only authorita- tive rule of faith, he felt it to be the inalienable right of every one to worship God according to his indi- vidual conviction of what was the Divine will, as expressed in that Book. He felt it to be an injustice that any one should be compelled to support religious rites, of which he disapproved, or ministers from whose principles and practices he dissented, and it followed, therefore, that he could not look with com- placency upon a State Establishment, selected as the object of political favour and patronage, and having its clergy invested with exclusive rights and secular pre-eminence. One of the collateral subjects in which he took a special interest, was the payment of Church rates ; and when, in 1834, a Church Eate Abolition Bill was introduced into the House of Commons, there were few young men of his time who exerted themselves more than he did, to excite public feeling in its favour. The Bill was withdrawn on the assurance being given by Lord John Eussell that' the matter would be taken * One oJ Mr. Morley's most treasured possessions in after years was a medal, struck in 1828, in commemoration of the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. 1800— 1835.J THE KING'S WEIGH HOUSE. 59' up by the Grovernment, but many years were to elapse before the battle would be fairly fought and a decisive victory gained. It was at a critical period of his career, when great prosperity was crowning his labours in business, when his opinions on social, political, and religious ques- tions were settHng into - shape, that he was brought into contact with a man who exercised a marked influence over his future life. It sometimes happened that Samuel Morley had occasion to remain in town until Sunday morning, when he would avail himself of the opportunity of going to the King's Weigh House Chapel to hear the minister, the Eev. Thomas Binney, who was at that time beginning to become popular in London. The " King's Weigh House," in Cornhill, was originated for the purpose of preventing fraud by weighing merchandise from abroad upon the "king's beam." After the Great Fire of London, it was removed to Eastcheap. In a loft over the warehouses and offices was a chapel, in which a little company of Nonconformists met for worship, the first three pastors, Samuel Slater, Eichard Kentish, and John Knowles, being ejected ministers, beneficed clergymen of the Church of England. In course of time the Church threw off its connection with the Presby- terians and became a Congregational Church. During the pastorate of " old John Clayton," a new building was erected, still over the warehouses, and it was in this building that Thomas Binney first preached in ■60 SAMUEL MORLEY. [Chap. IV. London. It was unsuited to its purpose, and in 1833, at a cost of j616,000, a new building was erected — the King's Weigh House Chapel, on Fish Street Hill. In those days the city presented a totally different aspect to that which it presents to-day : there were no railways or omnibuses ; the suburbs, as we know them, had hardly come into existence as residences for the trading classes, and, within the city, there was a large resident population composed chiefly of the middle class — the backbone of Dissent — besides young men, clerks, assistants, and shopkeepers, who lived " on the premises " of their employers. Mr. Binney had a hold upon business men from the fact that in his earlier days he had himself been en- gaged in commerce, and had acquired a knowledge of the world which too many ministers lack. Por nine years he had worked at a bookseller's, his hours of labour never averaging less than twelve a day ; but from the time when, at a very early age, he left school, he had determined to improve himself, and, notwithstanding his cruel business hours, he did not shrink from the systematic study of Latin, Greek, and English composition, after the toils of the day were over. In 1823, at the age of twenty-five, he was ordained to the pastoral ofl&ce, and, after labouring in Bedford and in the Isle of Wight, was appointed to the Weigh House in 1829, in succession to the Eev. John Clayton. When the Weigh House Chapel, on Fish Street Hill, was opened in 1834, a career of prosperity, at that 1800—1835.] THOMAS BINNEY. 61 time almost unparalleled, commenced. Mr. Binney was the man of all men to win the sympathies of young men ; he knew how to fire their imaginations, to stir up their hest ambitions, to build them up in robust manly faith, and it soon followed that his con- gregation comprised more young men than probably any other congregation in London. They saw in him a man intensely in earnest, whose one object was to implant in them a zeal for truth, uprightness, and purity; a man deeply impressed with the sense of the boundless possibilities in every life ; a man too much in earnest in his mission to talk to them of dry theology, or to tickle their ears with fanciful essays, but who would reason with them of duty and of righteousness and of responsibility. He made religion attractive by revealing the beau- tiful and the natural, as well as the spiritual and practical, in it. His constant exhortation to young men was, to follow after whatsoever things are just, pure, true, honest, lovely, and of good report. He was wont to say that "innocence is better than repentance — an unsulhed life better than pardon;" and that " God's preventing goodness is greater than His pardoning mercy, for it is better not to sin than to be saved from sin." Moreover, he made the order of service in the Weigh House attractive. Instead of allowing the old monotonous psalmody to be droned by the congre- gation, as had been the case up to that time in nearly all Nonconformist places of worship, he introduced a 62 SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Chap. IV book of "Congregational Church Music"; he lectured upon the duty of rendering the " Service of Song in the House of the Lord " as effective as possible ; he organized classes, under professional instructors, for the study and practice of harmony, and, in course of time, the musical part of the service at the Weigh House was altogether exceptional in its excellence ; part-singing became general, Gregorian and other chants, anthems, and G-erman chorales were intro- duced into the ordinary services ; and the example thus set gave an impetus to reform in music in all Nonconformist congregations. Again, it was objected in that day, as it is in this, that the prayers in Dissenting chapels were only the utterances of the preacher. It may be hoped that the time is not far distant when Dissenters will recognize the suitability of adopting a liturgy which shall contain in it the inspiration and the aspiration of the generations which have passed away, instead of confining their public prayers to the chance in- spiration of an extempore speaker. Be this as it may, Mr. Binney was keenly alive to this point, and, although he did not introduce a liturgy, he invariably took as much pains with the devotional part of the service as he did with the didactic, introducing in each service appropriate supplications, intercessions, and thanksgivings, and concluding the worship, as in the Church of England, with the Benediction. Mr. Binney was, moreover, essentially a practical man, and believed in a practical Christianity. He 1800—1835.] INFLUENCE OF THOMAS BINNEY. 63 did not invariably take as his models men who had lived a millennium ago, if he could draw from a model in contemporaneous history ; he did not invariably go to Bible times for a text to warrant his assertion that Grod was guiding the destiny of men and of nations, if he could find that the Almighty was still acting in the world on identical principles. Many of his sermons, therefore, had reference to the times then present, and the lessons of current events were judiciously noticed and applied in his discourses. Although not what has since been termed a ^' poUtical dissenter," Mr. Binney never shunned a reference to great questions of national interest when, by so doing, he could enforce truths and principles which lie scattered throughout the Sacred Volume, and are as applicable to one age as to another. Such was the man, such the teaching, and such the Church, which were to exercise a most im- portant influence on the life of Samuel Morley. If he was spiritually the son of James Parsons, of York, he was mentally the son of Thomas Binney, of the Weigh House. His robust, manly Chris- tianity, his steadfast adherence to the principles of Dissent, his utter abhorrence of canting, pseudo- religiousness, his wiUingness to accept good, from whatever quarter it came, his dislike to conventional forms, his breadth and large-heartedness and his genial social qualities, all combined to win for him the ad- miration and allegiance of Samuel Morley. There 64 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IV. sprang up a strong personal friendship between the popular preacher and the popular young merchant, and, each in his sphere, was to be the helper of the other. We have dwelt at some length on the cha- racteristics of^Mr. Binney because they had an important influence in moulding the character and shaping the career of Samuel Morley. There were few men in the world whom he loved more than Mr. Parsons ; there was probably no man whom he admired more than Mr. Binney. Like seeks like, and the two men gravitated to- wards each other. In many points their characters were singularly alike, although in mental attainment they were wide apart. For instance, the Eev. Josiah Viney, a brother-in-law of Mr. Binney, wrote of him thus : "In the best sense, he was a man of the world ; looked beyond his study and his books to men and things ; had his eyes and ears open to what was transpiring around; felt himself a citizen of earth as well as of heaven, and endeavoured to utihze as well as to elevate life. Withal he was very manly ; meanness, littleness, double-dealing, untruth- fulness, prevarication, shuffling, trick, whether in business or Church life, he loathed and scorned, and would not hesitate to show it." These words were as apphcable to Samuel Morley as to Thomas Binney, and it may surely be said that what Samuel Morley was in his business in Wood Street, Thomas Binney was in his business in the Weigh House. CHAPTEE Y. 1835—1843. A Continental Tour — Imprisonment for Conscience Sake — Lord John Eussell and National Education — Mr. Morley, sen., retires from Business — -The Wilsons of Highbury— The Hopes of Liverpool — Marriage — Bride and Bridegroom — Eev. William Jay, of Bath — A Quaint Text — Five Houses, Lower Clapton — The Firstborn — Nonconformist Newspaper — -Anti-Corn Law League — A City Election — The Disruption in Scotland — Sir James Graham's Factories Education Bill — The "British Anti-State Church Association " Founded — Dissenting Colleges. In the manuscript book of travels from which we have already quoted, there are "Memoranda of a Tour, through Belgium and Switzerland (via the Ehine) in the Summer of 1836," giving an account of a pleasant journey taken by Samuel Morley in company with his brother John. He narrates the fact that at Ghent they " went to the convent of the Beguins to hear the vespers, and were very much delighted with the service " ; he attended a " splendid service " in the Church of St. Charles Borromeo, in Antwerp, and considered the scenic display at the Church of the Dominicans " a very interesting representation of Calvary." In visiting the citadel, he saw "the cell where G-eneral Chasse hid himself, secure from harm, while his soldiers were being killed by hundreds and the citadel destroyed, without the slightest chance of successfully holding out — a species of infamous 6 66 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. obstinacy falsely called courage." On the road to Cologne he dined, and "had an infinite variety of dishes and a bottle of wine for two francs." Under the date of Sunday, July 31st, he writes thus concerning Baden-Baden : — We had been much grieved on Saturday evening to witness the extent to which gaming is carried on, but we found a much larger party around the tables to-night. It was indeed a painful sight as we saw two or three instances in which either a wife was gently, but unsuccessfully, endeavour- ing to persuade her husband to leave the table, or, as in one painful instance, a wife successful in persuading her husband to part with his money that she might gratify her awful appetite for play. It was this scene that almost counteracted the pleasure we derived from our visit to Baden; and_ although the situation and the scenery around are all that is most lovely, yet, when we considered how so much loveliness is polluted by such practices (scenes) — and that, too, by so many of our own countrymen and countrywomen — it produced such an impression that I have never thought of Baden-Baden without a sigh. Like most travellers' diaries, the entries become fewer as the journey proceeds, until at last they are mere Hsts of the places visited. It is only by his words and actions in later years that any clue can be obtained to the current of his thoughts during the period now under consideration; hut, from that source, it is known that he watched with intense interest the movements of the times, and, as opportunity offered, took his share in ad- vancing those in which his sympathies were enlisted. The Church Bate question received an impetus frpm the fact that Mr. William Baines, weU known in aU Nonconformist circles, was a prisoner in Leicester 1835—1843.] COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON EDUCATION. 67 County Gaol for refusing, on conscientious grounds, to pay the rate ; and Samuel Morley took an active part in promoting resolutions at public meetings, which not only expressed sympathy and admiration, but appealed to all Dissenters to rouse themselves to action, and " put down for ever these vexatious and unjust imposts." The position of the Established Church seemed increasingly anomalous to all who watched public events from a Nonconformist point of view, and cir- cumstances were ripening which, in the near future, were to develope many kinds of united action on the part of Dissenters. One particular question demand- ing attention at this period, in which he was to take a more prominent part hereafter, was that of national education. In February, 1839, Lord John Bussell announced the intention of the Government "to constitute a Board of Education, consisting of five Privy Councillors, and to place at its disposal from £20,000 to £30,000 per annum for aid to schools." The scheme called forth the opposition of various religious bodies ; the old difficulty about teaching the Church of England catechism to the children of Dissenters was revived ; and, in addition, a " No popery" cry was raised, inasmuch as it was proposed that the grant, instead of being confined to Church of England or Protestant schools, should be extended to those in which the Eoman Catholic version of the Bible was read. This was denounced on Protestant platforms as "a State recognition of popery and 68 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. heresy." We do not propose to enter into the history of the movement which led to the appoint- ment of the Committee of Council on Education, by which our system of public instruction has ever since been managed, but simply to record the fact that, in his spare moments, Samuel Morley took his part in the controversy. In illustration of the variety of opinions that were entertained among Dissenters on the subject of the Government measure of 1839, the following letter may be cited : — Dr. J. Pye Smith to Mr. Sa/irmel Morley. HoMEBTON, June 7, 1839. My dear Sib, — What a distressing affair is the Education Bill ! Last Sunday morning I read to my congregation the draft of a petition in favour of the Government measure, and invited my friends to a. meeting for consultation before the prayer-meeting. But I found that the diffi- culties were very great. The meeting was adjourned, and the abandon- ment of the BUI has superseded the intended second meeting. My own opinion is decidedly in favour of a national measinre of purely secular education, which miUions would cry down as infidel and atheistic. But I am persuaded that it would draw after it religious exertions of a kind which would have holy life in them ; whereas those proposed in the BUI would, I fear, have turned out to be generally formal, pharisaical, anti- Christian, and ' having a name to hve, but being flead ' as to any truly spiritual and evangelical effect. Yours very truly, J. Pye Smith. The " spare moments " of Samuel Morley were few and far between. Business was all-absorbing, and every year saw advances which almost baffled calculation to provide for. As the years went on, 1835—1843] AN INTBODUCTION. 69 his father took a less active share in commerce, and a greater interest in rehgious and philanthropic movements; and thus the burden of the business was thrown more and more upon the brothers John and Samuel, who worked together harmoniously, and with an energy and enthusiasm that never flagged. The year 1840 was a memorable one in Samuel Morley's history. On the 29th of October, his beloved mother, for whom he had the most tender affection, died, in the seventy-first year of her age, and was laid to rest in the family grave at Bunhill Fields. In that same year, Mr. Morley, sen., virtually retired from the business, which then entered upon a new era of its existence, under the management of John and Samuel, to whose enterprise its marvellous success in subsequent years is to be attributed. Mr. William Morley retired in 1842. In addition to business, there were other matters of a still more absorbing nature that were pressing upon Samuel Morley. He had for some years assisted his father in philanthropic labours, especially in matters relating to Homerton College, of which Mr. Morley was treasurer. One day he desired his son to call upon Mr. Thomas Wilson, of Highbury, who was treasurer of Highbury College, and ask him for his subscription to Homerton. Mr. Wilson took a great fancy to the young man, and drew him out freely in conversation. When he rose to leave, Mr. Wilson said, " Before you go, I must introduce you to my two nieces, the Misses Hope, of Liverpool." 70 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. He was introduced ; the interview was long and de- lightful ; and, in 1841, one of those young ladies. Miss Eebekah Maria Hope, became Mrs. Samuel Morley. That visit won him not his wife only, but also one of his most intimate friends — Joshua Wilson, the son of Mr. Thomas Wilson. When it became known that Samuel Morley was engaged to be married, very hearty were the con- gratulations that poured in upon him from all quarters ; and one of the first to write to him was his friend and pastor, Thomas Binney : — I don't wonder at your feeling as if your heart had wings, and was as light as a bird. There is everything before you to make it so. You very naturally at present worship Hope — most young men do, though they have not got her so substantially embodied as you have. When the goddess changes her name, and becomes certainty, they are often dis- appointed — this, I feel coniident, wOl not be your case when your goddess changes hers. . . . May you live long, my dear friend, with the wife of your choice. May you ever fulfil the beautiful picture drawn by St. Peter: ' walking, as heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.' May you both find the anticipated association to be as pro- ductive, mutually, of spiritual advantage as it seems full of promise in every other respect ! Miss Hope was the daughter of Mr. Samuel Hope^ a banker in Liverpool, and a man universally beloved and respected. What manner of man he was, and what his home-life must have been, may be gathered from letters written by him in 1834 and 1836 (he died in 1837), in which he expressed what, in the event of his decease, were to be regarded as his last wishes. After referring to the provisions of his will. 1835— 1843.J MB. SAMUEL HOPE. 71 wtich he trusts his " dear wife will consider amply sufficient to render her comfortahle, and to enable her to maintain, without any difficulty or abridgment, the rank she now holds in society ; and that it will, further, afford her the means of gratifying, as I would recommend her to do, her naturally kind and benevo- lent disposition," — he calls upon his children, " on all occasions, to consult her wishes and act on them, so far as they may consist with their own deliberate judgment, recollecting that I have always found her advice marked by prudence, and by an affectionate desire to promote, to the utmost, the welfare both of myself and of my children. I wish to enjoin it upon my children, as they regard the blessing of a father who has loved them tenderly, to consult the wishes, and labour to promote the comfort and happiness, of their mother. Without this, they can never justly expect the blessing of the Most High God. I charge it "upon them, too, as they have any respect for the memory of their father, to seek each other's welfare ; to bear with each other's faihngs ; kindly and never hastily, to check each other's errors ; to aid each other diligently in beginning and carrying on business, and in the choice of prudent, amiable, and pious partners for hfe ; and, finally, to hve in love and in peace with each other especially, and with all around them, that the God of love and peace may be with them and may bless them." Mr. Hope was a wealthy man, and, in directing that a large sum of money should be set apart 72 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. " to works of beneficence and mercy," he wrote : " I have been greatly blessed as to my outward estate, and have often been of opinion that any material further increase of my property would be more hkely to be injurious ,to my children than otherwise, inas- much as the prospect of their inheriting an inde- pendent fortune most frequently engenders pride, vanity, and indolence." It was in the month of May, 1841, that Samuel Morley was married to Miss Hope, in Lady Grlen- orchy's Chapel, Matlock, not far from Middleton Hall, in Derbyshire, the residence of her grand- father, where she was staying at the time. The chapel is at the Cromford end of Matlock, in one of the loveliest situations of that lovely neighbour- hood. The river, the Derwent, runs through the valley a few yards off, and across the river the. sylvan slopes rise green, with here and there sheer precipices of limestone, made beautiful with ivy and yew; while, on the level, "lovers' walks" lead towards the High Tor and the Heights of Abraham, which dominate the gorge between Matlock and Cromford. The chapel — now under the ministerial care of the Eev. W. Bellamy — is altered and improved, but it is still the seKsame chapel, although there are now low- backed, sloping pews, with aisles on either side, and an open platform pulpit ; whereas, on Samuel Mor- ley's wedding day, the pews were high and straight- backed, and one broad aisle in the centre led to the 1835—1843.] MABBIAQE. 73 Communion table at the foot of the tall box which was then called a pulpit. There was not a happier man in England, on that bright May morning, than Samuel Morley — and well he might be. It was a love-match pure and simple, and it was love built upon the strongest foundation — mutual confidence and sympathy in heart and purpose. This was a step in hfe on which all his future depended, and it was a step well taken ; he had made choice of one who was to be his friend, companion, and helper in every part of his Hfe ; one, who, while he should be fighting battles abroad, would be able to bear rule at home, and whose zeal for the good of mankind would enable her to make sacrifices in the loss of his companionship ; one, who, in his public as well as his private life, would be able to render him important services. Those who knew her as a bride have recorded how she was endowed with singular personal beauty, and with great simplicity and charm of manner ; and one of the number, who loved her well, writing in 1886, describes her as "a lovely young wife — one of the sweetest pictures of my own young days." And Samuel Morley was as fine a specimen of true manhood as could be easily met with. A bright, sunny face, a clear complexion, a broad brow, bright blue eyes, erect carriage, a well-set head, a good figure — such was the outer man ; and countenance indexed character. He lacked, it may be, great 74 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. genius and creative imagination ; but he was a man of sterling common-sense, of vigorous understanding, firm of purpose, clear in head, large in heart, pure in habit, simple in taste, and withal full of tenderness and love. Never had a young couple better right to look forward to a future of material prosperity, home happiness, and useful service, than Samuel and Eebekah Morley. After the wedding, they spent some weeks in Devonshire, resting at Bude, Tintagel, and Clovelly. One little incident of the honeymoon must be recorded here. It was characteristic of the taste of both of them, that they had arranged to spend their first Sunday in Bath, for the express purpose of hearing the celebrated Eev. WilKam Jay preach in Argyle Chapel. Fifty years of preaching had not injured that wonderful voice of his — sonorous, but not loud, strong, yet soft, musical, and flexible — the very in- strument to convey the tender, pathetic, and solemn utterances which were eulogized by such men as Wilberforce, Beckford, Sir William Knighton, Eobert Hall, Chalmers, and Foster ; and, if tradition errs not, had drawn tears from the eyes of the Duke of Sussex. Wherever and whenever Mr. Jay preached, crowds flocked to hear him. Churchmen, Dissenters, the learned and the illiterate, the rich and the poor, the pious and the thoughtless, all joined in regarding him as a prince of preachers. 1835—1843.] BEV. WILLIAM JAY, OF BATH. 75 On the particular occasion to whicli we refer, Argyle Chapel was crowded, and Samuel and Eebekah. Morley, so recently "joined together," were some- what unceremoniously "put asunder," Samuel being placed in a pew in the rear of his wife — his where- abouts being unknown to her. Mr. Jay was remarkably ingenious in the selection of quaint texts and quaint subjects. On this day, he briefly announced that his discourse would be upon "The History of Isaac and Eebekah." When he came to the words in the narrative, " And they cahed Eebekah and said unto her. Wilt thou go with this man ? And she said, I will go," he remarked, " There is many a Eebekah who has said, too hastily, ' I will go with the man ! ' " Scarcely were the words spoken, than a hand was laid upon Mrs. Morley's shoulder, and she was aware of the proximity of her husband ! On their return to London, Samuel Morley and his young wife lived temporarily in Upper Bedford Place, where their first child, a daughter, was born. In 1842, they settled down in their new home in Lower Clapton, called Five Houses (although they really only occupied one). It was an old-fashioned, red-brick house, remarkable for its fine old oak stair- case, its quaint rooms, and its large garden, in which stood a grand old mulberry tree. In this house six of their eight children were born. Among those who congratulated Mr. Morley, in 1842, upon the birth of his first child, was Mr. Binney. 76 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. May this crowning mercy be accompanied with every circumstance that can render it a perpetual source of domestic joy ! It will increase your love to each other — if that could be increased — and if not, it will yet infuse a new element into it, that will give it a freshness, tenderness, and depth which you did not know before. . . . Your responsibilities are greatly enlarged, but the Divine promise always enlarges with human obligation. No duty can rest on us for which there does not exist a corresponding grace in God, ready to be bestowed. . . . The first few years of Samuel Morley's married life were crowded with occupation. The business in Wood Street demanded increased vigilance now that his father had virtually retired from it ; in the home circle, Five Houses was rapidly becoming what Well Street had been, a rendezvous for ministers, philan- thropists, and politicians ; while, in the world at large, the times were hastening on towards those changes and upheavals which marked the close of the first half of the century. We will only briefly indicate what some of these were, and confine our- selves to those which immediately affected Samuel Morley. In April, 1841, the first number of the Noncon- formist newspaper was published, under the editor- ship of Mr. Edward Miall, who boldly announced, in his introductory address, that the primary object of the paper was "to show that a National Establish- ment of religion is essentially vicious in its consti- tution, philosophically, politically, and religiously." It at once took up the subject of Church rates, and, week by week, drew attention to the case of Mr. William Baines, until his release from Leicester 1835—1843.] THE ANTI-COSN LAW LEAGUE. 77 Graol in June of that year. To the Anti-Corn Law movement, the Nonconformist lent its aid con- tinuously, and in this movement Mr. Samuel Morley took an important part. In 1843, a vacancy occurred in the representation of the City of London by the death of Sir M. Wood, and the Anti-Corn Law League worked with great earnestness to secure the return of Mr. Pattison, one of their own men, against Mr. F. T. Baring. It was a very exciting contest, and the tide in favour of the Anti-Corn Law candidate was turned by the adhesion of Mr. Samuel Jones Loyd to the League, both in its general capacity and as a great election agency. Mr. Pattison was returned by a good majority, and, flushed with victory, the Anti-Corn Law League commenced a course of agitation beyond all former precedent. Leading Nonconformists from all parts of the country wrote to Samuel Morley to urge him on in his laboiu's to secure Mr. Pattison's return. Thus Mr. George Hadfield, of Manchester, wrote : — I assure you that I deem the London election to be of most momentous importance. I cannot doubt that London will be London stUl, and strangle the accursed power of taxing, for the benefit of the rich and great, the bread of the widow and orphan. The eyes of the world are on you. Quit you like men ! I cheer you on, but I do not doubt you. When the victory was announced, Mr, Hadfield wrote a letter of congratulation, which we quote, as it shows how this question was looked at from a religious point of view : — 78 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. Mr. George Hadfield to Mr. Samuel Morley. Manohbstee, Oct. 23, 1843. My dbae Sir, — The triumph of London is truly the triumph of humanity : and London is London still. The blessings of the widow, the fatherless, and the friendless be on the 6,535 men of principle and intelligence who have prostrated the foul spirit that crushed them. Tou are right in saying that few of us, at a distance from the scene of conflict, can appreciate the agencies employed against you. I expected, from the priuts, that you would have had a majority of 1,000 ; but the more severe the strife, so much more is the gratification in the result. What a deliverance ! This, permit me to say, I can appreciate and understand, in a measure at least. Its influence will affect the world. A new spirit has now gone forth to bless and refresh the world. The spirit of the gospel is one of mutual intercourse and active good-will. The sublime philosophy of our Lord's doctrine is leading us in the right way, and I am full of hope that ' good-will to men ' and ' glory to God in the highest ' win be extended to the remotest corner of the earth. Men of the world may confine themselves to principles of poUtical economy, but let us look at these things in a Christian light, and we shall soon see who it is that sits at the helm, and is the great Governor over the hearts of men ; and who will, by His own power, bring to pass His own purposes. If we hve a little longer, we shall see greater things thaai even these. And I will venture to add that your next majority will be more than 201. It is singular enough that I should send you the odd one in such a very odd way ; and it is worthy of remark that your majority is about the same by which we first returned Poulett Thomson,* in a constituency of nearly the same amount, but which majority was afterwards increased to 1,800. You wiU now have time enough to present our kind regards to Mrs. Morley and your excellent father. - I remain, my dear Sir, Yours very truly, Geo. Hadfield. P.S. — It would be a very extraordinary thing if another vacancy should occur. Another contest would be easier, and another defeat of the Treasury would be tremendous. I hope, in case of need, you will be in. the field at once with a candidate. One hour's delay might ruin you. Afterwards Lord Sydenham. 1835—1843.] THE FACTORIES EDUCATION BILL. 79 The year 1843 brought more pubhc work to Samuel Morley than any previous year of his hfe. The secession of more than five hundred ministers of the Established Church of Scotland, under the leadership of Dr. Chalmers and Dr. Candlish, and the formation of the Free Church of Scotland, aroused the enthu- siasm of Dissenters, and gave an impetus to their activities, which was in nothing more displayed than the zeal with which they united to resist Sir James Graham's Factories Education Bill, designed to provide for the compulsory secular and religious education of all children employed in factories. Never was the spirit of Dissent more thoroughly roused; the Bill was denounced as " an attempt to create an educational estabhshment in which the State schoolmaster was to do the work which the State priest was unable to effect." Everywhere meetings were held, and petitions drawn up, con- demning the measure, and calling upon the Grovern- ment to abandon it. Upwards of 24,000 petitions, containing 4,000,000 signatures, were sent in, and victory was ensured — the Bill was abandoned. This was a triumph the Nonconformists were not slow to turn to account, and they determined hence- forth to continue a permanent aggressive warfare against the Established Church system. In April, 1844, a General Convention on the State Church question was held, the sittings extending over three days, and resulting in the establishment of " The British Anti-State Church Association," which, later 80 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. V. on (1853), became known as " The \ Liberation Society." The Association was based upon this principle : that in matters of rehgion man is responsible to God alone ; that all secular government in affairs of religion is an encroachment upon the rights of man, and an inyasion of the prerogative of G-od ; and that the application, by law, of the resources of the State to the maintenance of any form or forms of religious worship and instruction, is contrary to reason, hostile to liberty, and directly opposed to the genius of Christianity. One other important matter, in 1843, must be referred to, as it made heavy demands upon Samuel Morley's time. There were in existence, in com- paratively close proximity to one another, three Dissenting colleges, namely Coward, Homerton, and Highbury, each acting independently of the other, although all tending to the same end. A proposition was made that this waste of power and money should cease, and that the three colleges should be united. Many conferences were held, and Samuel Morley's father being at that time in somewhat feeble health, the burden of much of the work in connection with this matter, fell to his son, whose name was, even then, known and honoured by the whole Congrega- tional body. CHAPTEE VI. 1844—1846. A Driving Tour in Scotland — Sunday Habits — Friendships — Dr. Pye Smith's Second Marriage — Melbourn — Mr. Binney in America — Chastisement — An Idea of Life — Paternal Tenderness — The Office of Deacon — Correspondence with Mr. Binney thereon — An Urgent Appeal — Office of Deacon declined — Living too Fast — Mr. Benjamin Morley. In 1844, Mr. Morley took his young wife for a driving tour in Scotland to visit, witli her, some of the places that had charmed him in his youth. For the last time in his life he made notes of his journey, and those for the first half of his trip only, the remainder having been written by his wife. The Journal commences thus : — We (my own dear wife and I) left Clapton, aoeompanied by Augusta Hope, on the 1st of July. It cost us a pang, which we shall not soon forget, to leave our precious children; but our anxieties were very greatly lessened by the thought that our nurse is a person entitled to every confidence, and that our dear sister Mary has promised to see the sweet treasures every day. I trust we felt also conscious that we had com- mitted them to the guardian care of our Heavenly Father, who has hitherto blessed us, and them, in a nieasure that entitles TTini to oui everlasting gratitude, and will, I hope, lead us, with more determination than we have ever evinced, to consecrate ourselves to His service. Before commencing the Scotch tour, visits were made to Mr. Bateman at Middleton Hall — " to 82 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VI. wander through many scenes associated with a very important and happy period of our lives " — and to Mr. George Hadfield, in Manchester. The first Sunday in Scotland was spent in Inverary, and as the following extract gives an insight into the Sunday habits of the travellers, we quote it in extenso : — A lovely day the sun shining brightly, and everything around looking most peaceful. After breakfasting and reading a few chapters in the Bible, we set off to worship in the little Independent Chapel, first walking through a very beautiful avenue of fine old trees — where there is what is called the ' Marriage Tree,' from the circumstance of its trunk sepa- rating a few feet above the ground and again uniting twenty feet higher, and the union seems so complete, that it is impossible to say from which the minor branch has sprung, or which has made the advance, but the growing attachment gives strong signs of durability. We had a very good sermon from Dr. Eitchie, of Edinbro', and the little chapel was full, the congregation very attentive and respectable. We had wished to join in the service of the ' Free Church,' but found they were preaching (in a barn, the new place of worship not being quite completed) in Gaelic in the morning, and their afternoon service came so immediately after that in the former part of the day, — the one congregation making place for the second in the same building, — that we were obhged to give it up, and returned, after distributing a few tracts, to dine at our hotel. In the evening we attended the Established Church, where there were about twenty persons besides ourselves — a poor, cold sermon, and a heartless service indeed. We took a ramble up the Dahnally Eoad, giving away a few tracts which were thankfully received, and, after reading together a very interesting sermon by the Eev. James Hamilton, of London, we retired for the night, having passed our first sabbath in Scotland, and enjoyed a quiet and, I hope, a profitable day. One entry in the Journal is curious, as showing the ignorance of the times in relation to the treat- ment of lunatics. It is as follows : — 1844—1846.] FBIEND8. 83 Started for Loch Tay. About two miles from Tyndrum we passed, on the road, St. Pillan's Church. Here there is a turn in the river called St. Fillan's Pool, in which a considerable number of lunatics are annually immersed and then bound hand and foot, and laid all night in the churchyard in expectation of effecting a cure. The holiday in Scotland only lasted a month, and immediately upon its conclusion we find him again immersed in innumerable engagements. In addition to the public movements in which he was interested, and the absorbing claims of busi- ness (which still occupied him from nine in the morning until seven at night, with the exception of such odd moments as he could spare to " attend a meeting"), Samuel Morley's house was the centre of a very wide circle of influence and of innumerable visitors. He was one who had more friends than most people have acquaintances. It is no exaggeration to say that half the Congregational ministers of London knew him personally, and were entertained by him either at Wood Street or in his own house ; and it is no exaggeration to add that half the schemes of usefulness in which the denomination was engaged were discussed at those interviews. Not only did his friends frequently Adsit him, but they wrote to him— and letters to busy men are not always sources of comfort and gratification. A huge bundle of those letters lies before the present writer. Here is one from Josiah Conder, acknowledging a loan of £50. Here is one from 84 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VI. Dr. Pye Smith, written six months after his second marriage, testifying that he has found in his wife "the invaluable blessing of a bosom friend, so intellectual, accomplished, affectionate, and pious, that rarely have felicitations been so highly justi- fied." Here is'one from an old schoolfellow, telhng him news of the little town where their school-days were spent ; — " The deputation from the Borough Eoad went yesterday to the British School at Melbourn, and, to let you know what we are doing here, we held a meeting at Melbourn in the evening and appointed a deputation to London, to oppose the Maynooth Endowment ! " Here are letters from young men, who have since made their mark, acknowledging pecuniary assist- ance in their start in life ; and many others showing confidence in his ready sympathy. With Thomas Binney, his pastor, he conferred on almost every subject, either by word of mouth or by letter, and each felt sure of sympathy and help from the other. Mr. Binney lived his life at fuU tension, and, as action and reaction are equal, there were times when aU the machinery relaxed and he suffered from great mental exhaustion, nervous irritation, and de- pression of spirits. When this mood was upon him, it was impossible for him to continue his absorbing, duties, and he would seek retirement and change as far away from the scene of his labours as possible. 1844—1846.] MB. BINNEY IN AMEBIOA. 85 One of the darkest of these yisitations occurred in 1846, when he fled, overwrought with labour and excitement, to America. From thence he wrote frequently to Samuel Morley, who was one of the very few to whom he ever did write in the times of his depression. It was a comfort to him to open his heart wide to the confidence of his friend, to tell him everything that related to his own personal trouble, to his hopes and fears with regard to the future, and to his anxieties respecting the work of the congregation left behind. He could not write to the Church, so great was his depression, but he poured out his heart to his friend unreservedly. The following extracts from a long letter will indicate the style of the correspondence : — The Bev, Thomas Binney to Mr. Samuel Morley. Toronto, July 29, 1845. My dear Friend, — ... It is now twelve weeks since I parted with you at Liverpool ; two were spent at sea, three at Boston, one at New York, one at Niagara Falls, and five have been consumed in this province. I have not enjoyed, in any respect, this protracted experiment. Company, solitude, travelling, sights, scenery, and even of late, work and business, have all done nothing for me. I fear I must return just as I left — return however, I must, for it is no use remaining here, though I have had much to attempt in this region, and much yet remains to be accomplished for which many wish to protract my stay. . . . Though I have been much about, I have been obliged to avoid generally public duty, from a most oppressive and painful incapacity to attempt or discharge it. I have taken a service usually once a Sunday — that is, reading a sermon, for I feel as (if not more) unequal to the calm freedom of speech which preaching requires, as I experienced before I left home. ... How does the poor Weigh House look on a Sunday ? I try to fancy it, and wonder who may be in the pews and who in the pulpit. The 86 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VI. continued painful state of mind it has been my lot to experience, has robbed me of all power to address to the Church and congregation such a letter, or letters, as I had hoped and proposed to forward : I greatly lament this, but it has been inevitable. It is with the utmost labour I get through this, and such as tliis, miserable communication. ... I hope you and Mrs. Morley are well — ' walking together as heirs of the grace of life, nothing hinderiig your prayers,' and with hearts bent at once on your own mutual advancement in goodness, and the training of your children in the same'. Tou have the means of as much happiness about you as should fall to the lot of mortals — but the greatest element in it, and that which will purify and preserve everything else, is that disposi- tion of mind and heart which leads you to the culture of rehgion in yourselves and your offspring, and those pure habits of mind and behaviour in which you have both been trained and formed, and which, fixed and settled, render, by God's help and grace, goodness a recreation and a necessity. Train your children so that they may never need to be converted. I hope your father and sister are well. I must now begin another day of perplexing interviews and perplexing business. Very truly, my dear Sir, Yours, T. BlNNEY. Mr. Binney's robust views on theological and religious questions were helpful to Mr. Morley, not only at this period, but throughout his life. Who would have thought that Samuel Morley needed such pastoral advice as this ? — My dear friend, don't for a moment give way to that notion of yours abeut chastisement as a necessary proof of God's paternal regard. Of course it is, if you so sin as to deserve it ; but you would not beat your child without a cause. Now I think the Apostle means, that if a man sins and does not smart for it, he may conclude God does not care about him — just as you would pass a little reprobate in the streets and take no notice of him, though he might be saying or doing things which, if you saw or heard in your own child, would fill you with horror and arm you with the rod. 1844—1846.] PATERNAL TENDEBNESS. 87 Or, who would haye thought of Samuel Morley shrmking from suffering and trial, and dreading, in those early days, the inevitable troubles of family hfe, such as sickness and the loss of children ? Yet it was so, and the "pastor" applies balm to his heart in words which were singularly prophetic of the future career of his friend : — My own opinion strengthens every day that God's idea of our life is, that it should be calm and happy ; and that wisdom and virtue will generally make it so. Great suffering generally flows from folly and sin ; the well-trained, early decided, and uniformly consistent, upright, good and wise man — his course is like the light of the morning shiniag more and more unto the perfect day. The 128th Psalm is as true as the twelfth of Hebrews. Samuel Morley was tenderly solicitous for his children, and their little illnesses were to him great anxieties. His father, writing to him on one occasion (August 28, 1845), says : " You have proved your- self, if proof were wanting, that you are a first-rate nurse. Few mothers could do it better." He inherited his father's paternal tenderness. While he was pleased for his little ones to be much with their grandparents, their absence from the shelter of his own roof was always a source of uneasiness, if not of positive anxiety, to him. This was a feel- ing thoroughly understood by Mr. John Morley, who wrote constantly to his son concerning the welfare of the little ones, letters full of singular fatherliness and friendliness. The following extracts from one may be taken as a specimen : — 88 SAMUEL MORLEY. [Chap. VL 10, Augusta Place, Oct. 16, 1846. My deakest Samuel, — It -will give yourself and dear Eebekah pleasure to hear of the dear children being so well, and so very sweet ; nobody would think we had any child in the house except for a shout of joy now and then. Nothing can exceed their good behaviour and in- teresting prattle. Your son is at present without a fault ; we are upon the best and most intiniate terms ; little Bebekah often puts me in mind of your dear sisters, Sarah and Mary, when children. She is very affectionate and sensible. You have cause for gratitude that you have such children. I have no fear for them, but much grateful hope. I don't think you should indulge quite so much anxious care or fear about your children. I have no doubt that all proper means will be used, and a blessing from above attend those means, and then we should feel confidence in the superintendence of a gracious Providence. "While we love the dear treasures we must guard against unduly loving them, or feeling too much our own importance to them. I feel persuaded proper training wiU be owned and blessed by our, and their, Father in heaven. I am, my dear Son, Ever yours affectionately, John Mopxey. During the year 1846, there was almost constant correspondence between Mr. Binney, on his return from America, and Samuel Morley, relating, to a variety of topics in which they were mutually interested. There was one subject, however, which, more than any other, was dwelt upon by Mr. Binney. It was his earnest desire that Samuel Morley, one of the most influential members of his Church, and one of the most intimate of his friends, should allow himself to be proposed to fill a vacancy in the diaconate of the Weigh House. So strongly did Mr. Binney feel with regard to his acceptance, that he wrote : — 1844—1846.] THE OFFICE OF DEACON. 89 I should, I believe, feel once more hope and faith in myself and the future, take a fresh start, and expect and look for the Divine blessing upon us, to revive all that is ready to die, and refresh what has faded. Comparatively unimportant as the office of a deacon may be esteemed by those who are not familiar with the life of Nonconformist churches, to the initiated it means a great deal, and, while the question was pending, it was a time of great anxiety to Samuel Morley. It was the highest honour to which a lay- man could aspire, the highest office a Church could confer upon one of its lay members — and Mr. Binney's Church had among its members many of the leading Nonconformists of the day. From all quarters he was strongly urged to accept the office, and Mr. Binney was most urgent in his solicitations. I could not but feel happy and proud (in a good sense) in seeing and hearing you at the Congregational Union, and the wish strongly rose that you could see that your being a deacon with us would at once give some additional weight to you in such a body, and such a position as yours in it, and serve us by your representing us on such occasions. This would be your pubUo duty and service for the Church, and a great and good one, too, would it be. Then, your trying to get an hour with us now and then, and being with us as often as you could at our services, and the consciousness of your relationship to us, would, I am persuaded, be very salutary and useful, in the highest and best sense, to one hke yourself so full of business, and yet so sincerely wishing, as I am sure you do, to keep the heart right, in spite of, and in the midst of, the pressure and fever of the world. But Samuel Morley was obdurate ; he had made up his mind that he would never enter into engage- ments that he could not fulfil, and already he had 90 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VL undertaken more than it seemed prudent to attempt. Mr. Binney, on the other hand, was a man equally firm of purpose, and would not accept a refusal with- out a struggle. Accordingly, he wrote to his friend as follows : — The Bev. Thomas Binney to Mr. Samuel Morley. 71, MORNINGTON EOAD, Camden Town, April 15, 1846. My deae Friend, — Out of respect and delicacy to one like you, who, having once considered and resolved, is not easily to be moved to an opposite purpose, I abstained on Sunday, intentionally, from any length- ened allusion to the subject that had been put before you. Nor do I write now to persuade or remonstrate ; for, much as my heart has been set upon the matter, I should not deem it right to obtain your acquiescence (if it could be so obtained) by either overcoming your reluctance through the force of importunity, or on the ground of reasons personal to myself. Certainly there are grounds of the latter kind. I should like to have about me, to manage affairs, some of them dehcate as relates to me, men of gentlemanly feeling, liberal minds, with attachments towards myself personally, and, from intimacy and friendship, knowing and regarding the sort of nature deacons have to deal with in me ; I should like this, rather than to have the chance of being fixed with any narrow, vulgar soul or forward upstart : still, if I made that the one great consideration, it would be selfish and wicked, and I should expect 'the Master ' to punish me by suffering you to turn out less of a comfort than I had anticipated. I can truly say, therefore, that I look at the matter — I do not say not in the above light at all — but also, and much more strongly, in others, which have respect to the good of the Church, and your own duty and usefulness. Your natural talents and gifts are good; your strength, decision, and force of character eminent ; your influence and weight in the world, and, in consequence, in any society to which you belong, from your standing, the reputation of your firm and your father, and your known substance, I might say wealth, very great. Now, for aU this to be so placed that it shall be, in some degree, consecrated to Christ and His cause ; for it to be made to bear on the character and movements of a portion of His Church, and thus, while it adorns you as to the present 1844—1846.] C0BBE8P0NDENCE WITH MB. BINNEY. 91 world, benefits and blesses others in relation to the nest — I do think this is deserving of your serious consideration, and it is for you to be very clear, in declining it, that you are not putting away a call of God to great and honourable service. You ' have not all the quahfications you think necessary or wish you possessed ' — ^be it so ; all qualifications, I main- tain, are not necessai-y to meet in the person of each deacon, any more ihan that all ministerial qualifications should meet in every minister : you have some qualifications which others have not, and which may be of essential use : you can add to faith, force ; you have power ; you have strength of wiU. and character which might greatly affect a body of people — and your wealth gives you immense influence — and that influence should be used for Him who has ' given ' to you and your fathers ' the power to get wealth.' . . . Now, my dear friend, I could say much more than I have above, but I wiU not. Look at the subject again, consult your good wife, who is as much concerned for your usefulness and honour (and far more so) than for your worldly good, and, as you are something of a son to me in the faith, I will conclude by saying with Paul to Timothy : ' Consider what I say, and the Lord give you understanding in all things.' Your affectionate friend, T. BiNNEY. Samuel Morley knew, perhaps even better than Mr. Binney, what would be inyolved in accepting the office of deacon. His father had held that office in Dr. Burder's Church for many years, and it had been no sinecure. It was with no little regret, however, that he penned the following reply to the appeal of his pastor : — Mr. Samuel Morley to the Bev. Thomas Binney. Wood Street, April 17, 1846. My deae Friend, — I have read your kind letter very attentively, and I speak the truth when I assure you that I have tried hard to convince myself that it is my duty to accede to the proposal which has been made by yourself and the deacons. I should consider it a privilege and a 92 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VI. source of happiness to find myself in closer co-operation with you than I can possibly be as a mere member of the Church, in many matters that are, and ought to be, in operation with the view of increasing our strength and extending our influence. I subscribe fully to the opinions which you have so kindly but too partially put before me, and I feel that if I were differently circumstanced I should most readily join the band who are, I trust, for many years to be your more immediate coadjutors and helpers. But I cannot do this while I am in business. I am placed here in a very important position, a position the importance of which is estimated by the attention which it is supposed, more or less correctly, I pay to the various matters I have to attend to. This attention involves an immense amount of time, an amount which involves serious injustice to my family. (You will recollect my hour of returning home while you were with us.) Any modification I may be able to make (and I certainly shall be able to make more satisfactory arrangements shortly) wUl only be of such extent as to enable me to see a little more of my wife and children, but will not give me leisure for other engagements. Now it would be a fatal mistake for any one to enter on the engagement in question with the idea that it involves merely regular attendance on the Tuesday evenings, and meeting you at five o'clock on the evening of the Church meeting. I have a very different notion of the matter, that is, if you are to be sup- ported as you ought to be ; and therefore, while I shall consider it a duty and a pleasure to be in close and intimate connection with you whenever you may think I can be useful, in fact to he the thing without the name, I still retain the conviction that it is not my duty to accept the invitation which has been given to me. I will only add that every motive of a personal nature as regards yourself would have led to a different decision, and that I am, with sincere esteem, Yours very truly, S. MOELEY. Notwithstanding this refusal, at a special Church meeting, held soon afterwards, the congregation proceeded to unanimously elect Mr. Morley to the diaconate, whereupon a further correspondence arose, which need not he quoted. Suffice it to say, he re- mained firm to his resolution, and, until the end of 1844—1846.] LIFE AT HIGH PBESSUBE. 93 his life, he never "held office" in any church. It was a wise resolution ; a wider sphere of usefulness than his friends at the Weigh House foresaw, was opening up to him, and his efforts would have been cramped and trammelled by the acceptance of an office which any good man, with ordinary abilities, could have adorned. Life was being hved by Mr. Morley at very high pressure at this time, and there were occasional in- dications of failing health. There were not a few to whom this was a cause of considerable anxiety, and from time to time he received warning words from friends and relations. Thus his cousin, Mr. Benjamin Morley, who was engaged in the Nottingham branch of the business, wrote : — Tou have sometimes said that you think we Nottingham people take things too easily and quietly, and it has more than once struck us that you Londoners are living in a state of far too great excitement, either for your own personal good or that of the business. The daily excitement arising from so large a concern as ours is enough of itself; but think what you are adding to that by your engagements of other sorts. I am not going to say that you, or any one else, should live only for self, or for your own family even, but there is a limit to every man's powers of body and mind, and I do think, as I have said before, that you at this time are suffering from undue excitement. This may sound cold doctrine to you, but it may be quite true, for all that. •CHAPTEE VII. 1846—1847. A Mass of Correspondence — TheEev. Richard Knill — Germs of Future Things — Magazine Literature — Unsatisfactory Political Position of Dissenters — Lord John Russell's Education Scheme — Dissenters' Parliamentary Committee — Nonconformist Members of Parliament — An Appeal — Leading Dissenters — General Election — Address to Nonconformist Electors — Results. One of the greatest trials in the life of every popular man, is the mass of correspondence inflicted on him. Samuel Morley had to experience this. His large heart, his long purse, and his intense earnestness to do good, made it customary in certain circles, even in these comparatively early days of his public career, for any man consulted by another how to raise money, at once to answer, " Try Samuel Morley." There was not an appeal made to him that he did not carefully consider, and, if able to respond, he did so cheerfully and liberally. The replies were all in his own hand, he being, as yet, without the services of a secretary. Much of this correspondence, how- ever, was a source of lasting pleasure, as it brought him letters, which he never destroyed, from men who were doing good and honest work for the world's welfare. The Eev. Eichard Knill, one of the most useful 1846—1847.] BEV. BICHABD KNILL. 95 ministers of his day, was one of Mr. Morley's corre- spondents at this time. Mr. Knill's interpretation of the meaning of life was "usefulness"; and he exemplified it in his own career. His lahours in Bussia and in India, his missionary tours in Great Britain, his theatre-preaching, his unceasing activity, even to old age, all testified to his devotion and usefulness. In 1842, Mr. Knill commenced his ministry at Wotton-under-Bdge, and formed there a centre of spiritual influence.* His methods were those that Mr. Morley most cordially approved, especially as regarded the institution of a hand of rural evangelists to carry the gospel into places where its welcome sound was rarely heard. It was to ask for help in carrying on this work that in 1846 he thus wrote to Mr. Morley : — Earl Ducie gave us a piece of land last Thursday on which to buUd a chapel, also stones from one of his quarries, and will help with some money too. The cause began with one of the converts. He opened a Sunday-school ; then began to preach. Souls have already been con- verted. Congregation inside and outside. The house is too small. We hope to open the place for two hundred hearers in September. I wish, •dear friend, you would give us £5. Oh, do, for this village congregation * It was while Eiohard Knill was residing at Wotton-under-Edge that he visited the Eev. James Spurgeon, of Stambourne, Essex, and, walking in the garden with the grandson of his host, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a boy about ten years old, put his hands on his head and prayed for him. At the close, he told the lad he believed " he would love Jesus Christ, and preach His gospel in the largest chapel in the world ; " — a curious prediction, and one to which Mr. Spurgeon has often referred as having made a strong impression upon him. 96 SAMUEL MOBLEJ. [Chap. VII. and then, as soon as we begin another, I will ask you again to help your grateful EiCHAED Knill. By return of post, Mr. Morley sent him double the amount asked fqr, and its receipt was acknowledged in the following characteristic letter : — The Bev. Bichard Knill to Mr. Samuel Morley. Wotton-undee-Edge, May 19, 1846. Mr DEAR Sir, — . . . Your favour came this morning, enclosing iglO for the chapel at Charfield. I could have wept a tea-cup full of tears, not at the ^10, though I was grateful for that, but at the spirit which God has given you, and which is expressed in the letter. Oh, it does make my heart rejoice to see you, now in the very prime of life, with your head and heart and purse aU. working for God. I have many thoughts, and hopes, and wishes, and visions about it. I trust you are to be a mighty instrument in the hand of God for helping forward His work. What an honour ! what moral dignity ! what elevation ! to be a worker together with God ! And I am more and more persuaded that it is a special gift of God to have this feeling. Let only a score of our leading men, — men moving just in your own sphere, — feel as you do, and a new spirit wUl go forth in ovu: churches. Others will be awakened, as from a dream, to share the privileges, whUe some will be shamed out of their previous coldness. Dear sir, what a Master Christ is ! Oh, how richly He can reward service done for Him ! His smile on our own souls. His salvation given to our children, His converting power following our endeavours, and at last the ' Well done, good and faithful servant.' Why, there is heaven in the very thought of it. But ! But is it possible that our population increases 1,000 per diem, and Liverpool, and Manchester, and Ashton-under-Lyne, and Birmingham, and London, and Bath continue with the same num.ber of chapels ? Surely a spirit of slumber must have come over our popular ministers and our pious and opulent disciples ! ' Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heaven and come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence ! ' — ^Amen. Your very grateful servant, KicHA'RD Knill. 184G— 1847.] DISSENTEBS IN PARLIAMENT. 97 In the actions of Samuel Morley during the years 1846 and 1847, we may trace the germs of all his future career. His character was fixed and settled, his influence had taken root, his way in hfe lay open before him, and what he was then, he was till the end of the journey was reached. The generous action which called forth the gratitude of the "Apostolic Eichard Knill " was typical of ten thousand that were to follow ; and other matters in which he was concerned were all in the bent of his future labours. Thus, as early as 1846, his thoughts were running in the direction of influencing the world's opinion, and forming its tastes, by means of periodical literature. In that year he had in contemplation the establishment of a magazine and review for young men, which, without calling itself a reHgious periodi- cal, should uphold the cause of truth and holiness. It does not appear that the scheme was carried into effect, although some correspondence took place as to the choice of an editor. One of the principal subjects that engrossed his time and thought at this period was the inadequate representation of Dissenters in the House of Com- mons. When any question arose affecting their interests, they had not the satisfaction of seeing their parliamentary battles well fought. Few mem- bers had any knowledge of their " peculiar views," or sympathy with their feelings, while many set them down as narrow-minded and impracticable. Samuel Morley was desirous that Dissenters should now 8 98 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VII. "take their proper place," as composing a very large proportion of the electoral body, their ranks comprising, as they undoubtedly did, a considerable number of the best class of borough voters. How to effect this object, was the weighty problem that he sought to solve. It absorbed him night and day; it led him to seek counsel of all on whose judgment he could rely ; it involved him in enor- mous correspondence. At length he concluded that to concentrate effort on the return of some of the ablest and most reliable members of their own body, would be the best means of placing their sentiments before Parliament and the Government. The occasion for giving effect to this conviction soon arose. On the 19th of April, 1847, Lord John Eussell submitted to Parliament the details of his plan for the education of the people, based upon the grant of £100,000, to be asked for during the session. Eoman Catholics were to be excluded from the grant, but their case would be afterwards taken up separately. He expressed his opinion that the pro- posal for making the education given by the State purely secular, was opposed to the opinion of Parlia- ment. Amendments were proposed, but were nega- tived by large majorities. The proposals were viewed by certain sections of the Nonconformist body with great consternation, and there was much angry strife both in and out of Parliament. Mr. John Bright, in the adjourned debate, upheld the cause of the Dissenters, and 184(3—1847.] FBIMAlit EDUCATION. 99 commenced one of his most able speeches by saying that "he rose to defend principles that were not very pleasing in that assembly, but, nevertheless, being himself one of the Nonconformist body in this country, and being by birth, education, observation, conviction, and feeling estabHshed in the principles he held on the question, he felt bound, though in opposition to a Government sitting on the same side of the House as himself, to protest against the policy and principles which they were now offering for the adoption of Parhament." Out of doors, there was continued excitement. Long before Lord John's plan was actually sub- mitted, meetings had been held in all parts of the country to oppose the principle on which the scheme was based. The following extract from a letter written on the 10th of March to Mr. Joshua Wilson, one of Samuel Morley's most intimate friends and coadjutors, indicates his activity : — I hope the Plymouth Committee will meet after all. It is proposed that we assemble at Birmingham on Tuesday, the 23rd instant. I want to procure the opinion of a few men such as Drs. Bedford, Wardlaw, Alexander, &c., as to the best mode of dealing with the question of future operations, and I want you to help me. I am very anxious that we should not meet merely to look at each other and to discuss our own crude opinions on the subject, but should be thankful to have the views of some of our best men, who have been looking on at a distance, brought before us for discussion. Our interview with Lord John impressed us with the idea that the withdrawal of the education scheme will only be the result of a hard fight. Its enormity becomes more apparent with every fresh investi- gation > 100 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VII. Despite the efforts that were made, the new scheme of education was carried by a majority of 345', forty-seven only voting against it. At the outset of the movement an organization had been formed, called the " Dissenters' Parlia- mentary Committee," of which Mr. Samuel Morley was appointed chairman. Its object was two-fold : first, to oppose Lord John Eussell's education scheme ; and second, to promote the return of Nonconformists to Parliament. Having failed in the first object, it addressed itself vigorously to the accomplishment of the second. One step immediately taken was, to send to a certain number of gentlemen, whose names were carefully selected and considered by the Committee, a letter, of which the following is a copy : — London, May 25, 1847. To . Deak Sib, — A Committee of geiitlem.en, formed on the recommenda- tion of the conference convened at Crosby Hall, to oppose the Government scheme of education, are taking steps to promote the return to Parliament, at the approaching General Election, of as many representatives as possible, well acquainted with Nonconformist principles, and earnestly interested in their progress and success. In the prosecution of the undertaking entrusted to them, they venture to address you, dear sir, on a subject equally delicate and important. The most serious disadvantage under which the Dissenters suffer, in reference to the representation of their principles, is the extreme fewness of suitable candidates among themselves, disposed to take upon them the onerous duties of parliamentary service. The fact might perhaps be easily accounted for, but it is of far more importance, at the present moment, to aim at supplying the deficiency. This the Committee are attempting to do, and with this view they have unanimously agreed to request that 1846—47.] DISSENTERS' PABLIAMENTABY COMMITTEE. 101 you, with several other gentlemen, would permit your name to stand on the list of those to wliom they may look with hope, in case a favourable opportunity should ooeur, for contesting, on our principles, a seat in the House of Commons. The Committee are not insensible to the sacrifices of various kinds which compliance with such a request would necessarily involve ; nor can they venture to estimate them so accurately and fully as each individual whom they address will probably do for himself. But the arguments by which they have been emboldened to intrude upon you will not, they are persuaded, be less powerful in swaying your decision. It will probably strike you, dear sir, as it does the Committee, that one of the largest and noblest services which can be rendered to religion in the present day, would be to resist in the Legislature those insidious encroachments of the State, which, by degrading Christianity into a mere political element, destroy, to an alarming extent, its moral beauty and its spiritual power. It is the obvious design of all our leading statesmen, applauded therein by their- several parliamentary supporters, to subsidize the religious teachers of all sects, with a view to make the reUgious senti- ments of the people subserve the purposes of civil government. This design can be met and frustrated only by a firm enunciation of our principles in the House of Commons. The great battle of the age, in which the hopes of Christ's Church are involved, and with the issue of which, humanly speaking, its spirituahty and extension are identified, must be fought there. The question occurs, ' Who will consecrate them- selves to such an engagement ? ' Where Divine Providence has bestowed the requisite qualifications, do not love and duty demand that they shall not have been bestowed in vain ? Here is a great work to be done ! At present there is but an individual here and there capable of performing it. Ought they to refuse ? And would not the benefit which the Church of Christ would derive from their fidelity, their consciousness of serving the best of Masters in the highest of earthly spheres, and the manifest co-operation with them of His all-wise providence, be ample compensa- tion for the heavy sacrifices which such a course of duty would entail ? The times seem to demand from the class to which you belong, a Christian heroism worthy of former days, when senators, having made their wills and settled all their worldly affairs, calmly went up to the House of Commons to brave, for the gospel's sake, imprisonment and death. . . . [Then followed an appeal that the person addressed would allow him- 102 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. VII, self to become a candidate, if possible, at the next General Election, if a, suitable constituency could be found.] We are, dear Sir, Your obedient servants, S. MOELEY, Edw. Baines, Jun,, Thomas Bussell. This letter was lithographed from an original in Mr, Morley's handwriting, and bears evidence of his authorship — with additions from another hand. The replies were addressed, to him and were care- fully preserved, and in the bundle in which they were found after his decease, there is a paper, in his own handwriting, containing the names of those to whom the circular letter was sent. That list may now be regarded as an historical docu- ment of some value, as it contains the names of the men who were regarded by the leading Dissenters of London as being the best fitted in the whole country to represent in Parliament the views of the Noncon- formists. We therefore append it exactly as it was written, and it wiU be seen that many on the list subsequently became Members of Parliament : — Gr. W. Alexander, Lombard Street. Nathaniel Griffin. S. Bowley, Gloucester. E. MiaU. Alderman Kershaw, Manchester. Dr. Thomas Price. S. Morley, London. G. Harrison, Wakefield. E. Baines, Jun., Leeds. E. Dawson, Aldcliff Hall. Tice, Sopley, Christchurch. T. Thompson, Poundsford Park, S. M. Peto, Bussell Square. Taunton. James Cripps, Leicester. E. Peek, Hazelwood, Devon. J, E. Mills, Stanfiford Hil]. D, W. Wire, Londnn. 1846—1847.] LEADINa DI8SENTEB8. 103 George Leeman, York. C. Robertson, Liverpool. B. Boothby, 6, Sergeant's Inn, Fleet Street. C. Fox, Derby. 0. Gilpin, Bisbopsgate Street. Apsley Pellatt. George Thomas, Bristol. Ebenezer Clark, Walthamstow. Jos. Tritton, Lombard Street. Henry Kelsall, Eoobdale. G. Foster, Subden, near Black- burn. R. Foster, Cambridge. F. Schwann, Huddersfield. R. Milligan, Bradford. W. Ackroyd, Otley, near Bradford. Jacob Bright, Jun., Rochdale. Edw. Baxter, Dundee. John Hamilton, Glasgow. BaUlie James Anderson, Glasgow. Sir Culling Eardley Smith, Bedwell Park, Hatfield. John Stephens, Solicitor, Maidstone. R. Hardy, Worcester. G. Hadfield, Manchester. John Copland, Chelmsford. Lawrence Heyworth, Liverpool. Couzens Hardy, Leatheringsett, near Yarmouth. Robert Charlton, Bristol. John Barker, Wolverhampton. Sir John , Williams, Wem, Salop. Stamford Baffles, London. Henry Ashworth, Tenton, near Bolton. Edmund Ashworth, Tenton, near Bolton. R. D. Alexander, Ipswich, W. P. Paton, Glasgow. W. Burd, Jun., Manchester. Thomas Blackburn, Liverpool. In view of the approaching General Election, an appeal was sent forth in June by the Dissenters' Parliamentary Committee, signed by Samuel Morley as Chairman, addressed " To the Nonconformist Electors of Great Britain." It was circulated freely in every constituency throughout the country, and produced a storm of criticism. , The following extracts will give some idea of its general tenor : — Upon the Nonconformists of Great Britain — upon those of them especially who possess the elective franchise — the providence of God seems to devolve, at the present juncture, a peculiarly solemn responsibility. The vitality of Christian institutions is threatened. The principles of 104 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VII. State policy, repeatedly and recently avowed by our statesmen of all parties, and covertly sanctioned by the Minutes of Council on Education, will, if consistently carried out, degrade God's appointed instrumentality for the regeneration of the world, into a mere system of police. Religious sentiment, in all the outward forms it may assume, will be subordinate to the purposes of Civil Governors. * Eeferring to the " present professions of statesmen," the address continued : — The principles they enunciate, the arguments they use, the continental examples to which they refer with approbation, and the tentative plans which they have resolutely embodied in legislative acts, afford surer presages of what they will do, if permitted, than can any statement of their intentions wrung from them at the hustings. . . . With their policy set in the direction it has lately taken, they cannot be long before they arrive at the payment, by the State, of all religious teachers. Without attempting to prescribe the precise mode in which the protest was to be made, electors were urged to let it be thoroughly intelligible and to " bear upon its front the stamp of earnestness." The address concluded : — At present you may not have it in your power to send more than a very few Members into the House likely to give expression to your distinctive views — and wherever this can be done, we doubt not you will do it — but you can, if you will, convince the Legislature that there exists a large body of constituents, numerous 'enough to turn the balance of parties, with whose interests it is unsafe to tamper— who have sufficient self-respect to resent gratuitous insult ; attachment enough to their principles to stand by them against any and every political confederacy; and resolution enough to cast off allies who have thought fit to betray them. Accompanying this appeal was a printed letter referring to the address which Lord John Eussell had just issued, seeking re-election. It set forth the con- 1846—1847.] LOBB JOHN HUSSHLL. 105 viction that the principles of civil and religious liberty had grievously suffered at the hands of the noble lord, and urged that no support should be directly or indirectly afforded to him by Dissenters at the coming election, or to any candidate holding his views on ecclesiastical questions. It called upon all friends of religious liberty, in the event of no candidate coming forward prepared to adopt and carry out their principles, to withhold their votes altogether, and not in any way to interfere with the election, as Lord John could never be the representative of the Dissenters of London after the crowning proof he had given of "his readiness to sacrifice principles, which they held dear, upon the altar of supposed political expediency." Whether the methods pursued at this time were the most judicious that could have been adopted, is open to question. Those who were immediately concerned in promoting them had no doubt upon the subject, and worked vigorously and harmoniously together. The result of the election for the City of London was, that Lord John Eussell received the largest num- ber of votes, and was returned with two Liberals, Pattison and Eothschild,* and one Conservative, Masterman. The final result of the elections was a Ministerial majority of 25 to 30 in a fair party division. * The first Jew ever returned to the House of Commons. He was unable, however, to take his seat, the question of Jewish Disabilities not having then been settled. 106 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VII. Although the immediate results were contrary to the anticipations of some of the members of the Dissenters' Parliamentary Committee, their efforts did not end in failure. At the next G-eneral Election (1852), thirty-eight Protestant Free Churchmen of various denominations were returned, " representing constituencies comprising an electorate of 228,057, and a population of 4,290,905. The entire electorate of England, Wales, and Scotland was at that time somewhat over 1,000,000, and the population, in round numbers, 20,000,000. It was evident, there- fore, that in large and populous constituencies great progress had been made by the advocates of Free Church principles." * - " Life of Edward Miall," p. 181. CHAPTEE VIII. 1847—1855. Increasing Eesponsibilities — Chartism — Death of Mr. John Morloy, Sen. — ■ The Ancient Merchants' Lecture — Testimonials^Publio Discussion, Christianity versus Secularism — Pair Play — Mr. G. J. Holyoake and Eev. Brewin Grant— Craven Lodge, Stamford Hill — Mr. John Morley retires from Business. Me, Moeley's daily life exemplified the truth of the old axiom, " True greatness is shown by care for little things." Those who knew him best had con- tinued opportunity to observe not only the true generosity of character which others recognized in deeds of munificence, but, what is rarer and more beautiful, that which triumphs over the continual temptations to neglect minor moralities, common to all who are engrossed with great concerns. The increase of public business did not diminish his commercial activity, or cause him to abandon constant communication with his friends. But it led him to acquire the habit of working and thinking with greater rapidity, of economizing every moment, and of allowing himself less frequent leisure, rest, and recreation. Mr. Morley's family was? incj-easing rapidly, and ii) 108 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VIII. NoYember, 1847, he received many congratulations, Mr. Binney being among the first, upon the birth of his fifth child. He wrote : " When God sends mouths, He sends meat : this is the comfort of the poor. But how much jnore favoured those who feel that He sent the meat first ! A large family is a blessing. The fruitful vine and the olive plants (bless them both and all !), may they long flourish, and be to you an increasing joy ! " Not less affectionate were the greetings of Dr. Thomas Baffles, who, in the midst of " trying to collect my poor scattered, bewildered thoughts for one sermon to-morrow," could not withhold from his " dear friend a word of congratulation and a prayer that the mother might long be spared to bless her affectionate husband and rising family with her maternal tenderness and care." The year 1848 was one of the most memorable in the century. Wars and rumours of wars abroad, distress and disaffection at home, caused men's hearts to fail them for fear. Chartism threatened to bring the country to the verge of revolution, and all London was thrown into a panic by preparations for a " Monster Demonstration" on Kennington Common. A quarter of a million citizens were enrolled as special constables, and the Duke of Wellington assumed the military defence of the Metropolis. It ended in a fiasco, as far as the demonstration was concerned, but it bore fruit afterwards in a better understanding among all classes as regarded the 1847— 1855.J DEATH OF FATHER. 109 principal point in the People's Charter — the exten- sion of the suffrage. On the eve of the threatened riot (April 9th), Mr. Morley wrote to his friend Joshua Wilson as follows: — Do not be needlessly alarmed at the present aspect of events. While everything tending to a breach of the peace must be put down, and the violence of misguided men must be met by force, depend upon it the aristocracy will never give up the prey on which they have always been disposed to fatten, till their fears are excited. I am far removed from being a Chartist, but I have the deepest sympathy with the working classes, who are suffering an amount of misery which deserves more con- sideration than it has met with at the hands of the Government or the House of Commons. The early part of the year was not only full of trouble in the outer world, there was a special trouble in the home circle of Samuel Moiiey. His father, for whom he entertained the deepest possible affection, who had been to him companion and friend for so many years, upon whose life and character he sought to model his own, was called to his rest on the 10th of May, at the good old age of eighty. He was a man greatly beloved, and when he was laid to rest beside his wife in the Bunhill Fields burial-ground — the " Campo Santo of Nonconformity," where many who suffered for righteousness' sake, and who fought valiantly for civil and religious liberty, repose — there were not a few among the great crowd of mourners who felt that they, too, had lost a father. From pulpit and press the story of his life-work was told, and it was said of him, as was said of Jehoiada, no &AMUSL MOnLUf. [6hap. -ViiI. " He had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward his house." It was no little gratification to him in his last days to know that his mantle would fall upon his son Samuel, and that the good works he had begun woiild be faithfully continued. In his care for the Nonconformist colleges ; in his thought- ful regard, in their old age, for those who had been his father's friends; in his advocacy of those prin- ciples for whose extension his father had always been solicitous, Samuel Morley showed how deep- rooted was his love for the parent he had lost, and in how sacred a regard his memory was cherished. Many new engagements were undertaken by Mr. Morley about this period. One of them was the acceptance of the treasurership of the "Ancient Merchants' Lecture." In 1672, twelve years after the Eestoration, Independents and Presbyterians united in taking, advantage of the king's celebrated " Declaration of Indulgence," and, in order to diffuse the principles of the Keformation, founded in London a weekly lecture for business men. At first the meetings were held in the old Pinners Hall in Broad Street, and the list of early lecturers contains the honoured names of William Bates, Thomas Manton, John Owen, Eichard Baxter, William Jenkyn, John Collins, John Howe, and Daniel Williams, the munificent founder of the library which still bears his name. The Presbyterians withdrew towards the end of the seventeenth century, but the original lecture 1847—1855.] DB. JOHN FYE SMITH. Ill has continued to the present day. The head-roll of lecturers contains the names of all the leaders of Independency in London, among them being the Claytons, the Burders, John Pye Smith, Joseph Fletcher, Robert Vaughan, Samuel Martin, James Sherman, and Thomas Binney, who held the office for thirty-nine years. Mr. Samuel Moiiey became the treasurer in 1849 (at which time the lectures were delivered in the Poultry Chapel), and continued to fill that position for thirty years, namely, until 1879, when he resigned "in favour of younger men." But he still took a warm interest in the lecture, and, whenever he could, he took advantage of the object it promoted, namely, " a pause in the midst of busy avocations, in order to consecrate an hour to purposes of spiritual rest, refreshment, and instruction." Mr. Moiiey always remained true to his old friends, and never spared himself if he could render them a service. Thus, when Dr. John Pye Smith retired from Homerton College, after labouring there for half a century, Samuel Morley presided, in November, 1849, at a meeting to organize a public subscription, the interest of which should be available for Dr. Pye Smith's benefit during his lifetime, and at his death be appropriated to the foundation of Divinity Scholar- ships bearing his name, in the New College at St, John's Wood. When the subscription, amounting to ^£2,600, was raised, Mr. Morley also- presided at the pubHc presentation. The reply to the address 112 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VIII. delivered by the Eev. Joshua Harrison, was com- posed by Dr. Pye Smith, and read by his son. It contained the following passage, referring to an early decade of the century : — ft To you, my friend, Mr. Samuel Morley, then indeed an infant, I turn, as at that time the friendship of your honoured father, Mr. John Morley, fixed itself on me with an original sympathy of judgment upon all the practical questions of evangelical truth and national morality. He yielded, at great sacrifices, to the request of another memorable friend, whom declining health compelled to retire, and accepted the onerous ofSoB of Treasurer of the Homerton College Society. From the anxieties and labours inseparable from such a method as Mr. Hale and he pursued, in fulfilling the duties of the office, he did not shrink, but maintained the toil with ardour, till he had the happiness of transferring them into your hands. Then he had the rare satisfaction of seeing the evidences in his son, of maturity of judgment, decision of principle, and devotedness to the most enlarged application of Christian truth. In so many and so well- known lines of activity we have witnessed your pursuit of the best pubhc objects, that it would be superfluous and absurd in me to enlarge upon them. But to me personally, your father's and your own universal kind- ness and extraordinary liberality, through the long period of our connection, have been a testimony that gospel love never faileth. In services of this kind Mr. Morley was often engaged, but probably on few occasions with greater personal pleasure than when, in 1861, his old and valued friend, James Parsons, of York, fell ill, and the following communication was sent to him. The "copy" manuscript letter is in Mr. Morley's own handwriting, and it is characteristic of him that the sum, presented to Mr. Parsons to enable him to procure " entire relaxation and freedom from care," is left blank ; — • 1847—1855.] LMTTEB TO JAMES PARSONS. 113 To the Bev. James Parsons. YoEK, March 1, 1851. Deab and honoured Sir, — A few of your sincere friends, whose names are undersigned, feel anxious to express the deep concern and sorrow with which they learn that your serious illness still continues. We know, ■ indeed, that the Hand which has so long and severely afflicted you, is able to administer strength and comfort in the hours of weariness and depression, and we cannot doubt that the promises, of which you have reminded others, have recurred with peculiar force and sweetness to your own mind. Yet still the season of adversity is the season when the sympathies of friendship are most needed and welcome, and often enable the sufferer to ' thank God and take courage.' Although we are aware of the aversion you have always felt to any eulogium on your character and labours, we believe that you will not deem it unseasonable at the present moment to be assured that many hold you in affectionate remembrance, and ' esteem you very highly in love for your work's sake.' During a long course of almost unexampled popu- larity, we rejoice to think that you have been enabled to preserve that Christian simplicity and consistency which give weight and influence to ministerial character, and recommend the truths which are publicly preached. We have watched with deep interest and hearty appreciation the numerous and important services which you have rendered to the Churches of Christ, and the willingness with which you have devoted yourself to the advancement of every work which promised to strengthen the cause of education, humanity, and truth. Your occasional visits to the churches with which we are connected have been to many of us seasons never to be forgotten, nor can we fully describe the deep and hallowed im- pressions which those visits have left on our minds. And now that you are laid aside from your chosen employment, and are constrained for a time to retire into solitude, we desire to express our true sympathy with yourseK and your beloved family in your protracted trial, and to assure you of our earnest prayers that you may again be made strong for labour, and more than ever useftd in your great and holy work. For the attain- ment of complete recovery we are convinced that entire relaxation and freedom from care are absolutely needful ; and, therefore, at once to secure this perfect repose, and to prove our sincere affection and esteem, we feel great pleasure in placing at your disposal the enclosed sum of £ , which you will do us the favour to accept. 9 114 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VIII. Earnestly praying that your seclusion may be only temporary, that it may be a season of real profit to your family, your flock, and your own spirit, and that you may come forth from it purified, instructed, and strengthened, We are, dear and honoured Sir, Yours very faithfully, Thomas Barnes, Falmouth. James Kershaw, Manchester. James Carlton, Manchester. John Morley, London. John Orossley, Halifax. S. Morley, London. James Crossley, Halifax. W. W. Morley, London. P. Crossley, Halifax. T. Salt, Bradford. Boger CunUffe, Lojidon. Eccles Shorrock, Darwen. James Cunliffe, London. James Spicer, London. James East, London. W. D. WiUs, Bristol. W. Flanders, London. H. 0. WiUs, Bristol. Samuel Fletcher, Manchester. Joshua Wilson, London. Robert Forman, Derby. James Watts, Manchester. George Hadfield, Manchester. Between thirty and forty years ago, public plat- form discussions on Christianity versus Secularism were not uncommon. Whether that was a desirable mode of ventilating opinion is open to much question, but it must be remembered that, in those days, the press had not the power it now has ; periodical literature had not assumed anything like its present wide-reaching aspects, and the modern popular taste for religious controversy was yet in its infancy. On six successive Thursday evenings, commencing January 20th, and terminating February 24, 1853, a public discussion took place in the Koyal British Institution, Cowper Street, London, between the Eev. Brewin Grant, Editor of The Bible and the People, and Mr. George Jacob Holyoake, the Editor 1847—1855.] CHBISTIANITY v. 8ECULABI8M. 115 of the Beasoner, on the question — " What advan- tages would accrue to mankind generally, and the working classes in particular, by the removal of Christianity, and the substitution of Secularism in its place ? " The Eev. Ebenezer Syme acted as chairman for Mr. Holyoake, and Mr. Samuel Morley as chairman for Mr. Grant, the Eev. Howard Hinton being nomi- nated as umpire. In opening the proceedings, Mr. Syme expressed the hope that Mr. Grant would be as ready to see the truth there is in Secularism as he was sure Mr. Holyoake would be ready to see the truth there is in Christianity, and that both would bear in mind throughout, that they were " to bring their respective tenets before the audience on the ground of reason, and not to fall back upon authority." Just before Mr. Syme called upon Mr. Holyoake to commence, Mr. Morley rose and said : — Will you allow me for one moment, before Mr. Syme introduces Mr. Holyoake, to assure you that I have associated myself with Mr. Syme precisely in the spirit which he has indicated in the remarks he has made to you. I hope we are met to-night to listen to a straightforward, manly appeal to our reason. And, in connection with that, I have to make one request, both to the gentlemen who are about to address us, and to you who are the audience this evening. It is this — that the friends who are about to address us should abstain, as far as possible, from anything that can approach to personal feeling or reference, and that in any expression of coincidence of opinion, which it would be absurd to suppose you will not from time to time manifest, that also should be kept within the range of good feeling and good fellowship, in order to prevent irritation, and consequently, perhaps, loss of temper. I am sure you will excuse the suggestion, as I hope it will tend to promote the great object we have in view — the arrival at truth, and not at mere victory. 116 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VIII, It is not necessary to indicate the scope of the discussion, which occupies 264 closely-printed pages of a volume. One or two incidents may, however, be mentioned here. On the second Thursday some con- troversy arose as to the wording of the proposition, when Mr. Morley promptly rose and said : " I am anxious for one minute to set myself right with Mr. Holyoake. I was a party, as one of the chairmen last week, to the reading of the following sentence : ' What advantages would accrue to mankind gener- ally, and the working classes in particular, by the removal of Christianity, and the substitution of Secularism in its place ? ' Now, on my honour, I would be no party, if I knew it, to any proceeding in connection with this discussion that was not per- fectly fair and perfectly straightforward. I under- stand Mr. Holyoake to say that this sentence is Mr. G-rant's, and not his. Now I was present at a meeting at which Mr. Syme (Mr. Holyoake's chair- man) and Mr. Holyoake's brother were present, and I distinctly understood that the phrase, as it was read, was adopted by Mr. Holyoake. I wish to have that made perfectly straight and clear, otherwise I have been a party to misrepresentation. I beg to insist on an answer to this. Mr. Holyoake's brother will do me the justice to say whether I am right or wrong in what I have said." "It is my place to answer that question," replied Mr, Holyoake. " I accepted the proposition ; I said so in the words I used, I said : ' Why I accepted 1847—1855.] MB. (?. /. HOLYOAEB. 117 the proposition Mr. Grant drew up was, because he told me it meant, in other words, " Wherein consists the superiority of our gospel, or views, over the gospel of Jesus Christ ? " ' I thought it was in that sense he would use them, and that he would not make me responsible for the extravagant element in them — that of wishing to remove the whole of Christianity." To which Mr. Morley answered : "I am bound to say I recognize those words as having been used by Mr. Holyoake. I say it frankly." Mr. Morley's task as chairman on the successive evenings was not a very difficult one, for, with the exception of an occasional appeal to the audience to avoid the "senseless and irritating" forms of dis- approval in which they indulged, and especially "that contemptible sound, a hiss," he had nothing to say. But the discussion made a deep impression on his mind, and the respect that he had already for the personal character and ability of Mr. Holyoake was greatly strengthened ; nor did he ever hesitate to give it as his opinion that for " fairness in argu- ment, for courtesy in bearing, and for earnestness to arrive at truth rather than at mere victory, the balance was altogether in favour of the Secularist." In 1854, Mr. Morley left his home in Lower Clapton, and removed to Craven Lodge, on Stam- ford Hill, where he hved until 1870. The neigh- bourhood, when Mr. Morley first went to it, was stiU 118 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Ohap. VIII. unspoiled; handsome old mansions stood in the midst of spacious, pleasant gardens, and charming country spread itself around. Craven Lodge lay back from the road, and stood in about seventy^ acres of ground, singularly well- timbered, with distant views over Epping Forest and the river Lea. The mansion itself was comfortable as well as handsome. A special feature of it was a large room known as the Saloon, where, in addition to home gatherings, religious meetiogs and other assemblies were held. For a glimpse into the happy home life at Craven Lodge we shall reserve a special chapter. The re- moval to that house was an important event in the domestic life of Mr. Morley. A change of much greater importance, however, took place about this time in his business relations. In 1855, his brother, Mr. John Morley, retired from the firm of I. and E. Morley, after a connection with it of thirty-two years. For many years prior to the withdrawal of John Morley from the business, Samuel had confined his attention exclusively to the counting-house. He did not interfere with the conduct of the various departments. As a matter of fact his technical know- ledge of goods was not very extensive, and it was not necessary that it should be. Mr. John Morley was at the head of all the arrangements in the ware- house, and he had under him assistants who, in their particular departments, were specialists. 1847—1855.] MB. JOHN MOBLEY. 119 While the counting-house was, of course, the great engine whereby the whole concern was worked, and the daily returns from the several departments, both in London and Nottingham, the barometer indicating the rise and fall of sales, it was due to the fact that the warehouse was so admirably managed that there was so much work in the counting-house. Year by year there had been progress. Notwith- standing trade depressions, and other causes which would sometimes make the wheels of the vast machinery run slowly, there would come a ■' leap year," when, with a bound, the lessened rate of progress of past years would be more than counter- balanced, and the proceeds of the year of revival, spread over the preceding years, would bring up the average to show steady advance from the beginning. Then extra efforts would be made, fresh articles introduced, new modes and methods adopted, tJie shipping department developed, fresh travellers em- ployed, and the current of prosperity would again run on. Up to this point in the history of the business, its success was due to the efforts of John Morley quite as much as to those of Samuel. When the brothers came to it, they came to a business that had already made a name. From first to last they worked together harmoniously ; they equally felt the responsibility of their respective positions, and each had done his best to ensure success. Mr. John Morley had amassed a fortune, and, having no children, he felt there was no 120 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. VIII. longer any necessity for him to continue in business, while there were wide fields of Christian usefulness into which he longed for leisure to roam. His in- fluence over the young men in the house had always been very great, ^s the nature of his duties brought him immediately in contact with them, and through- out the establishment he was not only much respected, but, among the large majority, he was regarded with affection. But so it was; the partnership was dis- solved, and Samuel Morley was left sole head of the concern. CHAPTEE IX. 1855—1857. Mismanagement in the Crimea — Administrative Eeform Association — ^Letter from Mr. S. Laing, M.P. — A Possible Contingency — The Civil Service Com- mission — Great Meeting in Drury Lane Theatre — A Multitude of Cares — Missionary Organizations — The Congregational Home Missionary Society — The Eev. J. H. Wilson — Visits to County Associations — How to raise Money — Congregational Colleges — Eev. John Angell James and Spring Hill College — The " Drink Evil " — Becomes a Total Abstainer. In the winter of 1854, and the early part of 1855, the grievous calamities that befell our countrymen in the Crimea, owing to the malad- ministration of the Commissariat Department in particular, called forth expressions of indignation from all classes. " The noblest army England ever sent from these shores," said the Times, " has been sacrificed to the grossest mismanagement. In- competency, lethargy, aristocratic hauteur, oflQcial indifference, favour, ' routine, perverseness and stu- pidity, reign, revel, and riot in the camp before Sebastopol, in the harbour of Balaklava, in the hospitals of Scutari, and how much nearer home we do not venture to say." Day by day, the newspapers were full of harrowing details of our gallant soldiers perishing miserably of 122 SAMUEL MOtlLEY. [Chap. IX. disease, cold, and hunger, while plentiful supplies of medical stores, food, and clothing were close at hand, but unavailable. When Parliament re-assembled, after the Christmas recess, pubhc indignation in England was at fever heat. We do not propose to enter into the history of that troublous time, but rather to refer to a public move- ment which grew out of it, and in which Mr. Samuel Morley was largely concerned. The whole question of public appointments was under discussion, and it was deemed advisable to take steps towards obtaining a reform of the alleged abuses in connection with such appointments. To this end a meeting was held at the London Tavern on the 6th of May, under the presi- dency of Mr. Samuel Morley, when the " Administra- tive Eeform Association " was organized. It was a thoroughly representative and influential meeting of 1,500 persons, and the bases of the proposed opera- tions of the Association agreed upon were, " to secure unmistakable responsibility in every department of the State ; " "to shut all the back doors which lead to public employment ; " "to throw the public service open to all England ; " "to obtain the recognition of merit everywhere ; " "to put an- end to all kinds of promotion by favour or purchase." The matter became the subject of the day, and Mr. Layard at once gave notice of motion to bring it under the consideration of Parliament. Apropos of this, Mr. Morley received the following letter : — 1855— 1857.J ADMINISTRATIVE BEFOBM ASSOCIATION. 123 Mr. S. Laing, M.P., to Mr. Samuel Morley. House of Commons, May 19, 1855. ' Deak Sir, — The present position of public affairs makes it most desir- able that the friends of Administrative Eeform, both in and out of Parliament, should act in concert. I am induced, therefore, to address you, as Chairman of the City Committee, with a view to a thorough understanding of the course which it may be desirable to adopt with reference to Mr. Layard's motion. In common, I believe, with a majority of Independent Liberal Members of the House of Commons, I heartily concur in the poUcy to which his resolution gives expression. At the same time, Members of Parliament are bound to look at the practical conse- quences of every step they take, and not to give a vote on an important question without well weighing and dehberately accepting the responsi- bilities which it may involve. In the present case, it is evident that the practical result of a majority in favour of any resolution implying censure on the Government, must be its overthrow, in which case Lord Derby might not improbably be charged with the formation of a new Ministry. The evils of a prolonged Ministerial crisis, or of the formation of a weak and unpopular Government, are so obvious as to make it possible that, in such an event. Lord Derby might appeal to men of the different sections of opinion who had united in defeating Lord Palmerston's Government, to join him in constructing a new Government on principles satisfactory to the friends of Administrative Eeform. It is obvious that support could not be given, either in or out of of6.ce, to a Government formed by Lord Derby, by any Independent Liberals, without exposing their motives to great misconstruction. On the other hand, if they support a motion of censure on the present Administration without being prepared to accept the necessary results, they may find themselves in the position of making any vigorous and ef&cient Government, at a crisis of great national danger, well-nigh impossible. Feeling as I do very strongly the importance of preserving unanimity, if possible, among those who advocate the cause of Administrative Eeform, I am desirous, for the guidance of myself and my political friends, to ascertain, before coming to a final decision as to our course of action, the views of the City Committee on the following points : — First. Is it your opinion that any resolution asserting the principle of ' Administrative Eeform ' should be supported irrespective of its possible effect on the present Government ? Second. If so, are you prepared to accept the results of such a step, 124 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IX. although it should lead to the substitution of a ' Derbyite ' for a so-called ' Liberal ' Ministry ? Third. In the possible contingency of Lord Derby, on the one hand, offering to form his Government on the principle of a decided advance towards Administrative Reform, and, on the other hand, being unable to form any Government equal to the present crisis, without the support of a certain number of independent Members, are you of opinion that such support might be given with advantage to the common cause, and without exposing such members to the imputation of sacrificing their principles ? I beg you wUl understand these questions as being put to meet a pos- sible contingency, and not a state of things actually existing. No move- ment has yet been made in such a direction, but it is better to be prepared by frank explanations for any eventuahty, than to find ourselves obhged hastily to take important decisions without knowing the feelings of those with whom we should wish to co-operate. Believe me, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, S. Laing. The " possible contingency " foreshadowed by Mr. Laing did not, as we shall presently see, arise. But on the 21st of May, two days after his letter was written, or sixteen days after the Administrative Beform Association was organized, an Order in Council was issued appointing a Commission to examine candidates for the Civil Service. This did not satisfy the Administrative Eeformers, one of whom, Mr. W. S. Lindsay, M.P., in a letter to Mr. Morley, as Chairman of the Association, published as a pamphlet, wrote : — The Ministerial idea was, doubtless, that this appointment of Examiners would be eagerly hailed as an Administrative Eeform triumph, and trumpeted as a proof that Government were in earnest on this great question of the day. The Administrative Reformers, however, were quite 1855—1857.] A M0N8TEB MEETING. 125 silent about this mighty Board. It was too palpably a thrown bone ; for all the notice they took of it, it might as well never have been named. Administrative Beform required open and competitive examination. This was individual and private. Administrative Eeform held it essential that merit should lead to ap- pointment. This Board was to test the merit of those already appointed. Administrative Beform proclaimed an end to the corruptions of Par- liament by patronage. This Board was to pass to the service the nomi- nees of parliamentary patrons. Administrative Beform required Examiners responsible to the public. This Board must be responsible to the secret influences of the Treasury. Administrative Beform required a standard of examination, not in proof of ' cram ' or mere glibness in answering questions, but in proof of the solid points of knowledge — the capacity to supply information and acquire fitness. The Government Board — or there would be no use in the patronage, and it is clear Government intend to keep it for use if they can — must pass the favoured nominees at first, or teach them how to pass at last. In order to set these, and similar views, clearly before the public, and to obtain an unmistakable ex- pression of opinion, a monster meeting was held in Drury Lane Theatre on the 13th of June, with Mr. Morley in the chair. Admission was by ticket only, but shortly after the doors were open, every part of the house was "full to overflowing." Thirty- three Members of Parliament were present, besides many other distinguished and well-known men. In opening the proceedings, Mr. Morley said that the object of their meeting was to listen to addresses that would be delivered; but, as no resolutions would be put, no amendments could be moved, nor would there be any other speakers in addition to those whose names were advertised, as the meeting would close at ten o'clock. 126 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IX. Then, adverting to the subject that had brought them, together, he said it was in the power of the people to remedy the evils which distressed the nation. What the Administrative Eeform Association intended to do, was not to enter upon an elaborate agitation, but to expose abuses, to lay open to the public gaze every department of the State, to be the depository of all information, when if, having seen the evil pointed out, the people continued indifferent, the members of the Association would again retire into privacy. He said that the necessity for this Eeform existed long before the war began, and it would be as urgent after the war was over. In his opinion the only true theory of Reform was this — to seek to have less rather than more government, and, in dealing with departmental reform, to see how the departments could be lessened instead of increased. He desired to see the offices of the State thrown open to public competition, believing that every man possessed of talent was responsible for its employment for the benefit of his fellow-men, and any barrier placed in the way of his so doing, either by the Legislature or custom, was unnatural and impious. Eeferring, in his concluding remarks, to the House of Commons, he said it was a mere sham to call it the House of the People, as neither the independence, the wealth, nor the intelligence of the country were represented, and it was the. duty of every man to lend his assistance to this Society in order that a change might be effected. The other speakers were Mr. Layard, M.P., Mr. 1855—1857.] CHAELBS DICKENS. 127 Lindsay, M.P., Mr. Tite, M.P., Mr. Otway, and Sir C. Napier, Charles Dickens was to have taken a prominent part in the meeting, but a letter was read expressing his inability to be present, whereupon Thackeray, who was among the audience, sent up a note to Mr. Morley stating that he would be glad to have the op- portunity of speaking. Unfortunately the terms of the meeting, announced by the Chairman in his open- ing remarks, that " there would not be any other speakers in addition to those whose names were advertised," rendered this impossible. Although not present on this occasion, Charles Dickens rendered important service to the Associa- tion. To use his own words, he "flung himself rather hotly with the Administrative Eeformers," of whom and their work he wrote as follows : " I have hope of Mr. Morley, whom one cannot see with- out knowing to be a straightforward, earnest man. Travers, too, I think a man of the Anti-Corn Law League order. I also think Higgins will materially help them. Generally, I quite agree with you that they hardly know what to be at, but it is an im- mensely difficult subject to start, and they must have every allowance. At any rate, it is not by leaving them alone and giving them no help that they can be urged on to success." * He helped them a little later on, when, from the chair of the General Theatrical Fund, he gave es- * Forster's "Life of Dickens," vol. iii. p. 50. 128 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IX. pression to his political dissatisfaction, and, as he said, " the Grovernment hit book immensely." Two days after the Drury Lane meeting, Mr. Layard submitted his motion to the House of Commons in these words : " That this House views with deep and increasing concern the state of the nation, and is of opinion that the manner in which merit and efficiency have been sacrificed in public appointments to party and family influences, and to a blind adherence to routine, has given rise to great misfortunes, and threatens to bring discredit upon the national character, and to involve the country in grave disasters." The debate extended over two nights, many of the evils complained of were admitted, but, on a division, the resolution was negatived by a large majority. A few days later (June 22nd), Mr. Eoebuck gave notice of motion : " That this House, deeply lament- ing the sufferings of our army during the winter campaign in the Crimea, and coinciding with the resolution of their Committee that the conduct of the Administration was the first and chief cause of those misfortunes, hereby visits Avith its severe reprehension every member of the Cabinet whose counsels led to such disastrous results." Although this notice was given for the 3rd of July, the debate did not take place until the 17th. Meantime Sir B. B. Lytton had given notice of a motion : " That the conduct of the Minister charged with the negotiations at Vienna, and his continuance in office as a responsible Minister 1855—1857.] CIVIL 8EBVICE EXAMINATIONS. 129 of the Crown, have shaken the confidence which the country should place in those to whom the adminis- tration of public affairs is entrusted." Escape from parliamentary censure appearing to be impossible, Lord John Russell, on the 16th of July, gave in his resignation, and SirE. B. Lytton's motion was with- drawn. On the 17th, the debate on Mr. Roebuck's resolution commenced, and, after extending over two nights, the " previous question " was carried by 289 to 182 votes. Throughout this period of agitation and excite- ment, the strain upon Mr. Morley, as leader of the Administrative Reform Association, was very severe, but he did not for a moment flinch from his task. Although there was little fruit to be seen as an immediate result — although, for example, fifteen years were to pass before the Order in Council was issued directing the principle of open competition to be apphed to appointments in the Civil Service, and one year more before the Royal Warrant was issued embodying the new regulations respecting promotion and appointments in the army, rendered necessary by the abolition of purchase — a stone was set roUing which was to strike down and sweep away a long line of old systems, and it was the hand of Samuel Morley that materially assisted in setting that stone in motion. It is a peculiarity of all great workers that the more they have to do, the more they are able to ac- complish. The sole responsibility of the enormous 10 130 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IX. business in Wood Street was now resting on the shoulders of Mr. Morley; political affairs, as we have seen, were absorbing time and thought ; engage- ments in connection with religious movements were multiplying daily ; home was setting up more attrac- tive claims than ever, as his children were growing companionable; wealth was increasing rapidly, and with it the "business of philanthropy." Notwith- standing this, we find him not only continuing his connection with all the old movements to which he had pledged himself, but constantly allying himself with fresh ones, to some of which we shall now refer. One result of the religious awakening in the early part of the present century, was the establishment of great missionary organizations to extend the knowledge of the gospel at home and abroad. In 1819, the Congregational Home Missionary Society was founded, on the simple basis of " leaving the ' stated ' labourer to guard his own sheep in the fold, and seek out the perishing wanderers in the wilder- ness." Mr. Thomas Thompson, one of the original members of the Sunday School Union, a man of simple, earnest piety, was the prime mover in the formation of the Society, and he became its first treasurer — an office he retained for nearly forty years. The object of the Society was to strengthen district and county associations and Sunday School unions, and, where necessary, to employ its own lay agents for the " evangelization of the country," and in other ways to "promote the spread of Divine truth," 1855—1857.] HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY. ' 181 and awaken the intellectual and moral life of the people. Great success attended the operations of this Society in its early years ; it was well supported hy the leading Congregational ministers ; its annual meetings in May, when its claims were ably advocated, were largely attended; its income rose from ^2,000 in its second year, to £6,600 in its fourth, and new centres of labour were constantly beiag added. In course of time the Home Missionary Magazine was published, and a fresh interest was thereby created : new methods of action were introduced, and clothing clubs, widows' funds, and other auxiliaries were organized. Notwithstanding various fluctua- tions, OAwing to trade depressions and other causes, the Society made steady progress, and when the twenty-first annual report was published it showed an income of £8,063, with £1,000 balance in hand, a staff of 120 missionaries, and a constituency of 60,000 hearers. In 1832, the Congregational Union was founded, and in 1839, the Home Missionary Society became affihated with the Union. The connection ceased, however, in 1857. It was in 1858, at a somewhat critical period in the history of the Society, that Mr. Morley accepted the oflQce of treasurer. There could not have been a better man for the work, and there could not have been any work more thoroughly congenial to the man. He was intensely interested in any efforts 132 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IX. tending to elevate the character and improve the circumstances of the working classes, and he had no doubt whatever that the best means to ensure this, was to imbue them with the grand but simple prac- tical truths of th^ gospel. He knew very well that it was no sinecure office he was accepting. He had long felt that the opera- tions of the Society needed revival and extension, and these were the objects at which he aimed. Some time previously he had received a visit from the Rev. J. H. Wilson, who was zealously working the Albion Street Mission in Aberdeen, and who applied to him for a subscription. Mr. Morley was interested in Mr. Wilson and his work, and invited him to spend an evening at Craven Lodge. A census had recently been taken, and the startling figures and statements made in Mr. Horace Mann's report, as to the spiritual destitution of London, being the subject uppermost in Mr. Morley's mind, he at once suggested to Mr. Wilson whether some aggressive work could not be set on foot to reclaim the lapsed masses. He spoke of Dr. Chalmers' work in Glasgow, and his "territorial mission" in Edinburgh, and of various agencies in existence in London, and eventually de- clared his intention to call together a few earnest mioisters and laymen to consider what could best be done. "The remedy lies here," he said to Mr. Wilson, " we must go to the people." The- conference was held, and Mr. Morley strongly urged that what was most wanted was to get every Church awakened 1855—1857.] A BOUND OF CONFERENCES. 133 to a proper sense of its duty, to hold itself responsible for the evangelization of its own neighbourhood, and of all who were within reach of its iniluence. " This view prevailed," sajs Mr. Wilson ia a newspaper article ; " district conferences were called, most of which he attended, and being held under the auspices of the Christian Instruction Society, with the late Eev. Eobert Ashton as secretary, Baptists and Inde- pendents were conjoined in the work ; and this may be said to have been the beginning of a new era in the history of home evangelization, the outcome of which is seen in the aggressive work of every denomination in London." It was at the instigation of Mr. Morley that the services of the Eev. J. H. Wilson were secured as secretary to the Home Missionary Society. He was just the man for the post, able and energetic, and thoroughly in sympathy with Mr. Morley on more points than those which had immediately brought them together, for he had been associated with Cobden and Bright in the great free-trade struggle, and with the benevolent activities of Joseph Sturge. Having obtained accurate information respecting the work of the Society, and being under the con- viction that it should work through the county asso- ciations, and not independently of them, and that the sphere of its operations should be widened, Mr. Morley determined to visit, in company with Mr. Wilson, the various stations ; hold conferences with the county unions, and, generally, endeavour to 134 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Ghap. IX. infuse into the Society a more zealous spirit. It was a difficult and delicate undertaking, and, seeing that Mr. Morley already had more claims upon his time and thought than at any previous period of his life, it was to a certain extent perilous. But it was his nature never to shrink from a duty when once he was clearly convinced that it was his duty, and therefore he went. He visited most of the counties in England and Wales ; night after night he held conferences and meetings, and everywhere introduced his favourite order of agency- — lay evangelists and colporteurs — to visit the poor and the sick, to hold cottage meetings, to promote the sale of "good and healthy literature, and generally to ascertain, and minister to, the wants and needs of those who were uncared for. Wherever he went, by acting upon this principle, and offering substantial encouragement, he greatly stimulated the county associations, and effected an immense good, which increased as the years went on. At the con- ferences he was in the habit of challenging the audience to more hberal giving on behalf of the cause, by offering to supplement the additional contribixtions of individuals and of the unions, by subscriptions extending over a few years ; and in this way he did much to improve the funds. In illustration of the manner in which he went to work, it may be stated that when a conference was to be held at Worcester he asked the minister of the chapel in which they were to meet, whether he thought 1856—1857.] BSV. J. H. WILSON. 135 that five gentlemen in the neighbourhood could be induced to give £100 each for lay evangelical work. The minister thought it was wholly improbable. Not so did Mr. Morley ; he spent the best part of the day in privately canvassing those who would be present, and could, if they would, afford to subscribe liberally, and the result was that he laid on the table a list of subscriptions amounting to £1,850 from nine persons! Referring to his connection with Mr. Morley at this time, Dr. Wilson says : — " As a rule, Mr. Morley gave help according to the merits of the case ; but when he had reason to believe that a challenge would stimulate latent thought and feeHng, he was always ready with it, and never once failed in the results. In this way the Society became a central power of great influence, and the united incomes for home mission work rose from £1 0,000 in 1860, to £18,000 in 1870, and £25,000 in 1878, when the new organization was estabhshed,* the income of which is now £37,000." Dr. Wilson, who was associated with Mr. Morley in Christian work for thirty years, and in labours for the Home Missionary Society for nineteen years, haa given, in a letter to the present writer, some interest- ing reminiscences of Mr. Morley with regard to the latter work. He says : — In attending all these meetings Mr. Morley not only paid his Own expenses, but the expenses of many ministers and delegates, who, but for * The Church Aid and Home Missionary Society. l36 SAMUEL MOBLEt. [Chap. IX. his considerate liberality, would not have been able to attend the con- ferences, or even the annual meetings of the Association, which he also generally attended. He was also careful to note the circnmstances in which many of the poorer ministers were placed, and in the most unob- trusive way would send them help. As valuable adjuncts to these meetings, Mr. Morley usually invited ministers and delegates to breakfast with him in his hotel, and then such free and fuU discussions of points and subjects took place as would have been somewhat irrelevant at the public meetings which followed. There was one subject he was very desirous to see discussed — that of life insurance for ministers and evangelists. He had many con- sultations with able actuaries on this question, and spent a good deal of money in formulating schemes, but with one exception (that of the ' Pro- testant Union,' which is a valuable institution in the interest of pastors), he did not succeed in accomplishing the extent of his hopes and expecta- tions. The work done at the public meetings afforded but little indication of the extent of Mr. Morley's labours for the Home Mission enterprise. Night after night have we sat together, reading letters, projecting schemes, and special prayer was often offered up for Divine direction. His life was a practical commentary on the Scripture : ' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works,' and yet no man could say that he sought ostentation. In the course of our visits, some incidents occurred worth reproducing. One day, for example, we were walking with an able and learned minister, who complained of being rather annoyed by the Primitive Methodists in his neighbourhood. ' In what way ? ' inquired Mr. Morley. ' They are so rough and irreverent,' he rephed. ' Did you ever hear any of their preachers ? ' 'I did,' he said ; ' I heard one preaching in the open air, at one of these villages, from the text, " I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh to the Father but by me." ' ' How did he handle that ? ' 'In this way : " Brothers, attention. I am going to speak to you about the way to heaven, and will speak about the length on't, the breadth on'i, the strength on't, and how to walk on't. First, the length on't. Top in heaven, bottom on earth, Jacob's ladder, rungs all the way up : Jesus Christ brings heaven to man. Second, the breadth on't. So broad would take on aU the world, but there's a wicket to get through, the strait gate, and there we must wriggle through— -the hardest work of the way. Third, the strength on't. So strong would take on all the world. Millions have gone over it, and it never once bent; let alone breaking. Don't be afeared. 1855—1857.] CONGEEGATIONAL COLLEGES. 131 brothers, it will take you all. And, lastly, as to how to walk on't. I say to those who are climbing, Go ahead, make room for others ; those who are not on it, wriggle through the wipket and get on the first rung directly. Amen." Did you ever hear such stuff? ' Mr. Morley replied, ' Stuff! it's the gospel put in a way which these people can understand, and, crude though the analogy be, it will do its work.' In nothing were the Congregationalists more active about the middle of the century, than in the improve- ment of their colleges, and in almost every fresh de- velopment Mr. Morley took an important share. In 1861, the New College in St. John's Wood was opened. Dr. Harris, previously of Cheshunt CoUege, was selected as Principal, and, contrary to all former usage, the students were non-resident, certified board- ing-houses being secured for their accommodation. In 1866, Spring Hill College, at Moseley, near Bir- mingham, was opened, mainly owing to the exertions of the Rev. John Angell James, the well-known minister of the Carr's Lane Chapel, who acknow- ledged his indebtedness to Mr. Morley in the following letter : — The Bev. J. A. James to Mr. Samuel Morley. Edgbaston, Oct. 21, 1855. My dkak Sie, — I should indeed be ungrateful for your munificent promise to the building fund of Spring Hill College, and for the truly kind and com'teous terms in which it is expressed in your note, if I did not take a very early opportunity to acknowledge it. Many words of thankfulness would but offend a mind which seeks its best reward in its own con- sciousness of doing right by serving God and His cause, and I shall therefore simply say we are your debtors, and debtors also to Him who has bestowed this grace upon you. God has set you in the slippery places of distinction by wealth, influence, and gifts for pubhc usefulness, 138 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IX. and it is the joy and thanksgiving of many, that He makes His grace so to abound toward you, that you walk steadily and uprightly before the church and the world. May He preserve you ia all honour to the end of a long and eminently serviceable life ! I have suflScient acquaintance vrith Mrs. Morley to authorize me to present my Christian compliments. Yours faithfully, J. A. James. The efforts for college improvements did not cease with the two instances we have mentioned. In 1861 , a new college for the West of England was opened at Plymouth ; Cheshmit College was considerably enlarged in 1871, and Lancashire College in 1876 ; new colleges were reared at Eotherham and Airedale in 1876 and 1877 respectively, and two institutes for training young men devoted to home missionary work were estabhshed, one at Nottingham and the other at Bristol, in all of which Mr. Morley's assist- ance was more or less given. His opinion of the value of work of this kind is expressed in the following letter :— Mr. Swmuel Morley to Mr. Joshua Wilson. London, Sept. 14, 1857. My Dbae Friend, — We need ^6600 to put us right at Homerton College. WhUe fully agreeing with you that it is only by a combination of agencies that we can hope to produce those great moral results which intelligent people generally are, I think, more anxious to promote at the present day than at any former period in the history of this century, I yet believe that the training of efficient religious teachers will be found amongst the most valuable. This work we have been doing with great success, and it is for it, in common with chapel building, &c., &c., &c., that we every now and then specially plead, with this aggravation of om- difficulty, that all our friends are not, as we think they should be, sufficiently impressed with 1855—1857.] THE '' DJRINK EVIL." 139 its importance. I merely add, that some few of our number are about to repeat our former donations, and we sball be very much obliged by help from yourself. Your offer to us was iElOO if we succeeded in clearing away our debt. I may say that that will be done before Christmas, and at any time we shall be gratified by your assistance. What is to be done with the drink evil ? It is the monster grievance of the present day. It seems to me something like infatuation to be building and supporting, at great cost, reformatories and other institutions, while this huge cancer remains unremoved. Let us think and pray and strive against it. I shall be delighted to talk with you on the subject. With kindest regards to Mrs. Wilson, Believe me, Yours most truly, S. MOKLEY. The reference in the above letter to the " drink evil " is the first on that subject in all the correspondence found among Mr. Morley's papers after his decease. It was henceforth to claim his most zealous advocacy. It is not to be understood that up to this period he had not been alive to the importance of the question; on the contrary, he had always regarded intemper- ance as an unmitigated evil, and, from his youth up, had never lost an opportunity of recommending not only temperance, but total abstinence, especially to working men. About this time, however, he was brought face to face with a practical point which tended to give him a largely increased interest in the whole question. He was addressing a large meeting of working men, and was pressing upon them the importance of being total abstainers, when a labouring man rose up, and, interrupting him in his speech, said, " Do you go with- out yourself? I dare say, if the truth's known, you 140 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. IX. take your glass or two of wine after dinner and think no harm of it. Now, sir, do you go without your- self? " " This rather shut me up for an instant," said Mr. Morley, when telling the story, " but when I looked round at those poor fellows whom I had been asking to give up what they regarded — no matter how erroneously — as their only luxury, I had my answer ready pretty quickly. ' No,' I said, ' but I will go without from this hour.' " And he did. From that time forth he never touched wine or any other in- toxicating beverage again, except for a short period after an illness, and under imperative orders from his physician. As a matter of fact, Mr. Morley had never been in the habit of taking " his glass or two of wine after dinner," but an occasional glass with his meals he enjoyed, and was under the impression that it did him good. He, was rejoiced at the step he had taken, not because of its self-denial, but because of the immense power it would give him henceforth in speaking to others and influencing them. He was surprised that he had never seen it in that light before, and, with his simple straightforwardness, he set to work at once to try and open the eyes of others. CHAPTEE X. 1857—1863. Mr. Eiohard Cobden — Lord John Buasell — Corregpondence — Special Eeligioas Services in Theatres — Mr. Charles Sawell — Overwork— Mr. Locke Eng and County Franchise — Mr. Edward Baiues and Borough Franchise — The Bank Act and Currency Reform Committee — At Eichard Cobden's Funeral — A Tribute to his Memory — The Drinking Usages of the Commercial Eoom — The Bicentenary of Nonconformity — Memorial Fund — Chapel Building — The Theological Institute, Nottingham — A Lay Minister — A Widening Sphere. On the 31st of March, 1857, Mr. Eichard Cobden defeated the Government on questions relating to Chinese affairs. Lord Palmerston determined to dissolve Parliament, and, before the end of the month, the country was in the heat and turmoil of a Greneral Election. Mr. Morley was urged by many to go into Parliament, and by none more per- sistently than by his friend, Mr. Eichard Cobden. For the present, however, Mr. Morley felt that he could do better work as an outsider, and, having arrived at that decision, those who knew him best felt that it was useless to urge him further. Without entering into the history of the parlia- mentary struggle, we insert here two letters received by him during that eventful month, principally to show the unique position he had made for himself, 142 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. X. and the estimation in wMch lie was held by two of the leading men of the day: — Biohard Cobden to Samuel Morley. 38, Grosvenop Street, March 7, 1857. My dear Sir,— Although you cannot be induced to go to Pariiament, surely you will do something to prevent those who are to be returned at the election from being surrounded with a greater number of shams, impostors, and runaways in the next House than even in the last. What is wanted is a large public meeting in London, at which you your- self should take the lead, to call upon the country to return earnest men who can be relied on to fulfil their pledges. Unless something of this sort be done, the ground is left whoUy to the Reform Club runners, and the London press, which is to a la/rge extent under the management of Palmerston. I could tell you a good deal about this, which must be soon made a matter of public exposure and discussion. Now, I don't ask you to call a meeting to denounce Palmerston or his Government, or to take any part upon the subject of the Chinese war, but your position as the head at once of the Administrative Eeformers and the Dissenting politicians, places you in the front rank on the present occasion whether you will or no, and, if you do not move, nobody else can. You would be well sup- ported, I am sure, in the MetropoKs at such a meeting, and it would give the tone, and afford support, to the honest Liberals throughout the whole country. Unless something be done, and that right early, the next House will be worse than the present. Believe me. Very truly yours, BiCHARD COBDEN. P.S. — There is no other way of reaching the pubhc ear but through a large pubhc meeting, for, owing to the state of the newspaper press, the people can have no other unbiassed expression of opinion. I know there is a smouldering feeUng of discontent in the Metropohs at the present state of the political world. I attended a meeting at the King's Arms, Palace Yard, a few days ago, to receive a deputation from Scotland upon the forty shilling freehold movement. There were some speakers on that occasion from Marylebone, and elsewhere in the Metropohs, who could hardly be kept to the question by the Chairman, they were so eager 1837—1863.] COBDEN AND BUSSELL. 143 to denounce the present state of the Liberal party, or ' imposture,' as it was called. Mr. Cobden was beaten in the election, and so also was Mr. Bright, who wrote to him : "In the sudden break-up of the ' School,' of which we have been the chief professors, we m'ay learn how far we have been, and are, ahead of the public opinion of our time. We propose not to make a trade of politics, and not to use, as may best suit us, the ignorance and the prejudices of our countrymen for our own advantage, but rather to try to square the poHcy of the country with the maxims of common sense and of a plain morality. The country is not yet ripe for this." * The second letter was from Lord John Eussell, whose attitude towards the party, represented by Mr. Morley, had materially altered, and who had supported Mr. Cobden's motion condemning Lord Palmerston's Government on account of the hostile proceedings in Canton. Lord John Bussell to Mr. Samuel Morley. House of Commons, March 17, 1857. Sir, — It is of the utmost importance that some one should take the chair at the meeting which I have advertised for Thursday who would have sufficient influence and authority to maintain order and regularity in the proceedings. Hearing of the able speech you made to-day in favoiir of my re-election, and knowing your high character, I venture to ask you to take the chair on Thursday at the meeting I have summoned, and hope to have a favourable answer. I remain. Your faithful servant, J. Russell. * " Life of Bichard Cobden," vol. ii. p. 194. By John Morley. 144 SAMUEL M0BLE7. [Chap. X. Lord John was again returned for London, this time in company with three other Liberals, Baron Eothschild, Sir James Duke, and Mr. E. W. Crawford. However much* Mr. Morley may have desired to originate and carry through ' some great political or philanthropic work, to do so himself would have been impossible. Letters, similar to those we have quoted, were perpetually pouring in, asking his aid on every conceivable subject. The result was, that his time was completely broken up in furthering the labours of others. To some of his minor efforts we shall now refer, before passing on to the consideration of those which constituted the great work of his life. In 1859, the religious condition of the working classes in London engaged his serious attention, and he took an active part in organizing, for their benefit, special religious services in theatres. This was no new idea to him. In 1836 and 1852, Mr. Eichard Knill had been engaged in theatre-preaching, and Mr. Morley had assisted him with funds. The origin of the later movement is communicated to us by Mr. Charles M. Sawell, one of the District Secretaries of the London City Mission, from whose letter we make the following extracts : — How to assemble the poor in any building during the winter months and preach Christ to them, was the problem before the Christian Church. ' The church,' or ' the chapel,' was the regular orthodox building for saving ' the people,' and, if they would not attend these, and, of course, 1857—1863.] THEATRE 8EBVICES. 145 be content with ' corners ' and ' back seats,' they must be left to perish ! The clergy, and Nonconformist ministers also, to a large extent, at that period regarded 'lay preaching' with suspicion and jealousy, and the opening of St. James's Hall, Eegent Street, for Sunday afternoon and evening services for the people, ooeasioned great excitement. Under the influence of views which had settled down into convictions, Mr. Morley headed the noble band of Christian ministers and laymen, now mostly gone to their rest, who gave a shock, which has happily ended in a fall, to many 'pious opinions,' by this opening of St. James's Hall for the preaching of the gospel. From that day there has been a movement forward aU along the ecclesiastical hne. The Exeter Hall Sunday evening services soon followed those at St. James's Hall. But what were two halls for a population of three millions ? They were like the two small fishes to feed the multitude. That the people could be met with on the Sunday had been fully proved. If in a hall, why not in a theatre, where the poor were still more wont to assemble ? With such thoughts revolving in my mind I went to Mr. Morley in Wood Street. His past endeavours appeared to justify my expectations of sympathy. After unfolding my plan of caUing a conference on the question of opening as many theatres on the Sunday as could be obtained, and inviting clergymen and Nonconformist ministers to unite in preaching Christ to the people, what was my sm-prise to find that his own mind had been moving on similar fines, and that already some steps had been taken. ^' He recommended my proceeding with my idea of calling a conference. Out of the meeting a united committee of Churchmen and Nonconformists was formed, which, after several meetings and various inquiries as to the possibihty of getting less ' wicked places than theatres,' at last mustered courage to authorize me to engage some four or five of the people's theatres. It would take too long to state Mr. Morley's reasons for eventually forming his own committee to do the same kind of work. He certainly was in advance of many members of our committee in securing the help of such laymen as Mr. Brownlow North, and others, to aid him in the work of preaching the gospel to the people. Subsequently the two committees became one, and I may * Three or four years previously Mr. Morley had startled and shocked a meeting of the Congregational Union by expressing the hope that he might five to see the day when there would be preaching on Sundays in the theatres of London. 11 146 SAMUEL UOBLBY. [Chap. X. briefly sum up by saying that I always regarded Mr. Morley as a father in Israel, and that I somehow ever felt that if by wise or unwise zeal I got into financial or other trouble, he was the man to give me his sympathy and to open his purse. "I believe," said Mr. Morley on one occasion, referring to this work, "in the use of any building. My own notion of consecration means the work done in the building, and whether it be a theatre, a garret, a cellar, or anywhere, if you can get the people to come, there, I say, earnest Christian people should be found trying with five, fifty, or five hundred, as the case may be, to lift them up to the higher life." In applying to his ever-willing friend, Joshua Wilson, to aid him in this new undertaking, he wrote : — I think you said you would give £25 towards the Special Services for the working classes. We shall want, this winter, i£l,000 or more if we are to carry out our plans. I refer now to what I suiDpose I must call the ' Dissenting ' movement, which has originated preaching in St. James's Hall and the Britannia Theatre. Both are most successful, and we should at once open a second theatre ; but a committee has been formed, with Mr. Bevan and Kinnaird at the head, and they are engaging so many theatres at once as (I fear) to imperil the whole movement. Our course seems to me to be clear — namely, to go on quietly working with our best men as suitable openings present themselves. I cannot help hoping that there is a deepening impression for the need for aggression on the part of individuals and churches. One evil effect of this movement, as regarded Mr. Morley individually, was, that he threw himself with so much interest into the Special Sunday Services, that he frequently came to town to take 1857—1863.] EEFOEM. 147 part in them as a visitor, and this broke into the quiet of his Sunday rest. Early in 1860, he wrote to Joshua Wilson : — I am more busy than ever, aad'seem little able to lessen the pressure of engagements. I really hope soon to secure a secretary — a help I greatly need, though I do not know how it will work. There is so much one does not like to delegate to another, that I have misgivings about it. However, it is so physically impossible to do all I have to do, that I am driven to try the experiment. Two months later, he wrote to a friend : — • My now constitutional tendency to postpone, led me to delay calling upon you till I found you were gone. ... I have lately been obliged to consult Dr. Kidd, who urges me to do less, and I mean really to act on his aiivice. Excellent as were Mr. Morley's intentions, "cir- cumstances over which he had no control" urged him on, and the correspondence relating to this period does not show any diminution of labour. Any honest attempt to promote reform in the franchise was sure to meet with sympathy and encouragement from him. Early in 1861, two measures were before Parliament — one introduced by Mr. Locke King, for lowering the County Fran- chise to a £10 quahfication, and another, promoted by Mr. Edward Baines, to reduce the Borough Franchise to £6. To the latter Mr. Morley gave warm support, not merely because Mr. Baines was his personal friend, but because he had come to the 148 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap.X. conclusion that, in the absence of any great and comprehensive scheme, Eeform must be carried, point by point, and Mr. Baines stood pledged to confine himself to the single issue of a £6 quali- fication. The request contained in the following letter seems little, but it meant much :— Mr. E&wa/rd Bmnes, M.P., to Mr. Samuel Morley. 32, St. Maey's Road, Canonbuky, Feb. 25, 1861. My dear Me. Morley, — I cannot but think that you would render important service to the Eeform cause in its present position, by sending a letter to your Liberal correspondents in various parts of the country (lithographed, not printed), strongly urging them to support my Borough Franchise Bill and Mr. Locke King's County Franchise BUI, by meetings, petitions, and letters to their Members. If you would prepare such a letter, declaring your belief that the cause is in honest hands vifhich v?ill not flinch, and recommending the people to back us up; and if you would bring it to the House this evening (when you would hear another debate on the Bankruptcy Bill), you might easily obtain (in addition to your own) the signatures of several M.P.'s, if you wished. The people of Leeds are responding beyond my expectation. . . . The altered circumstances of trade, the provoking abandonment of the cause by Ministers, and the simple, practical, and safe forms in which the two great branches of suffrage extension are now put, may rouse the dormant feeUng and allay the scruples of reformers. At all events, it seems clearly our duty to do what we can to this end. I wUl do my best to make out a full vindication for our move before the House of Commons. Yours very truly, Edwaed Baines. Mr. Morley had at his command "machinery" which he could at once put into action to obtain petitions, to stir up the towns, to rally the disunited, and to place himself in correspondence with the 1857—1863.] THE CUBBENCY QUESTION. 149 country. This machinery was vigorously employed ; hut the time for Eeform was not yet, although the action taken on this occasion hrought it nearer. Mr. Locke King's motion was defeated, on the 13th oi March, by a majority of 248 to 229 ; and, on the 10th of April, Mr. Baines' proposal was negatived by a majority voting for " the previous question." In the same year (1861), Mr. Morley was engaged in the discussion of questions relating to the national currency. The constantly recurring alterations in the rate of discount, the consequent injury inflicted on .trade, the feverish anxiety of bank directors whenever a foreign demand set in for gold, the possibility that such a demand might be used as a political weapon to the injury of the country ; these, and many allied questions, were forced upon the public notice, and a number of commercial men thereupon took up the subject warmly, formed them- selves into " The Bank Act and Currency Eeform Committee," and unanimously elected Mr. Morley as their permanent chairman. Ever since the passing of the Bank Charter Act, in 1844, he had closely studied the matters under discussion; he had, up to this period, witnessed the agony of uncertainty through which traders had passed on the occasion of three historical panics ; and, believing that the financial crises an,d monetary panics which, at pro- gressively shorter intervals, were aflflicting trade and spreading distress and ruin among all classes of the people were attributable, in a material degree, to a 150 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. X, vicious state of the national currency, he used every effort in his power to bring about its thorough re- vision. One of his principal contentions was, that the regulations which.suited a comparatively small range of operations in 1844, when the bankers' and dis- count brokers' balances, or deposits, were about j6160,000,000, could not be applicable, or adequate, when those operations reached, as they did then, £850,000,000. He maintained that a currency margin, sufficient for the mercantile movement represented by the first figures, was altogether too narrow for that represented by the latter, especially when so unelastic as it was made by the Act. He illustrated his position by describing the mis- chief involved in the withdrawal of a few millions of gold, doubhng the trading price of all those hundreds of millions of trading capital, thus : " We do not see, and we cannot discover, whjs'the demand for .five or even ten milhons of gold for Germany, should double the value (or interest rate) of the £850,000,000 of loanable capital on which the com- merce of this country depends. We think ' our system ' ought to enable us to meet any such demand without interfering at all, or at all events without interfering to such an extent, with the value or price of the money ; and we think that any system must be defective which exposes the commerce of the whole country, involving hundreds of millions, to crises and panics, because of demands for other 1857—1863.] LETTEB FBOM RICHABD COBDEN. 151 countries of such insignificant sums as five or ten millions of gold." The subject is an extremely difficult one, and, even if made clear, would not interest the general reader. It is enough for our present purpose to say that, for many years, it involved Mr. Morley in a great deal of correspondence with Chambers of Commerce at home and abroad ; it necessitated his attendance at many meetings, and it landed him in that most trying of all positions — newspaper controversy. In the midst of his difficulties, he wrote to Eichard Cobden, from whom he received the following reply : — Bichard Cobden to Samuel Morley. MiDHUBST, Nov. 8, 1861. My dbab Sir, — It will give me great pleasure to meet you. But I will not say so much of the topic which you propose to discuss. I have a vow against discussing the Currency Question, if by the words be meant the abstract theories about money. My faith in such matters is so very simple that I do not want five minutes to express it. And if I decline discussing other people's theories any more, it is not that I am afraid of novelties, but because there is j-eaUy notliing afloat on the subject that I have not entertained and, to the best of my poor abilities, examined twenty-five years ago. If, however, the question relates to the law regu- lating the Bank of England, it is a fair subject for politicians. But I do not think it the question of the moment so much as another to which, when we meet, I shall call your attention. I think the time very oppor- tune for fixing the attention of country and Parliament on the barbarous International Code, more suited to the Middle Ages than these free-trade times, by which, in time of war, between two beUigerents, the commerce of the world is to be deranged by blockades and the capture of private property at sea. It requires but the assent of our Government to put an end to this state of things, and the time is now at hand when I think, with a judicious effort, we may compel our feudal rulers to take one 152 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. X. more Btep in the path of rational progress. I shall have more to sfty to you about this when we meet. I hope to be able to come to London soon. I have had an increase to my family. It is odd, in one's old age, to be surrounded again with baby-linen and cradles. I am happy to say that my wife and child are doing well. * Believe me. Yours truly, KiCHAED COBDBN. That was the last long letter from Eichard Cobden, found among Mr. Morley's papers. A few years later (April, 1866), Mr. Morley took part in that wonderful procession to West Lavington Church, when all that was mortal of Cobden was carried to its final resting- place. Mr. Grladstone and Mr. Bright were among the pall-bearers, and leaders of every movement for which "the people" cared, were there as mourners. Some years afterwards, at an anniversary gathering to do honour to his memory, Mr. Morley said : — I regard it as among some of the brightest memories of the past, in connection with public work, that I was occasionally brought into asso- ciation with him, and above all that- 1 enjoyed, in some degree, the friendship of that distinguished man. He possessed, in a high degree, qualities of character which Englishmen admire. He was so simple, so truthful, so devoid of trick or finesse. He was eminently straightforward — I never knew a man who could more successfully appeal for service, either pecuniary or personal; there was no resisting him. Many here who knew him more intimately than I did, will, I am sure, confirm my conviction that those of us who have sat at his feet, in close personal intercourse, have been, and are, the stronger for that intercourse. But the" great points of his character are brought out if we consider the political morahty of the present day. Political hfe is being treated as a game in which one move is as good as another, provided only it succeeds. There is great danger of mere cleverness being made an idol, with 1857—1863.] BIOHABD COBDEN. 153 indifference as to whether success has been won by honourable and consistent, or by doubtful or tricky, ooitrses. In all this, Cobden presented a perfect contrast ; he never valued success for its own sake. He never made principle the football of circumstances. 'His most striking teaching was not in the exciting public meeting, or even in Parliament, but in the privacy of almost domestic Hfe. It is right once a year to recall the lessons his life taught us. Simple-hearted as Samuel Morley was, it never crossed his mind that, in depicting the character of Richard Cobden, he had accurately described his own. Wide apart as their spheres of action were, the two men were essentially alike. It was said, in eulogy of Cobden, " He cared for principle, not to serve his own ends, but the ends of the people. A cause might be despised, obscure, or poor; he not only helped it all the same, he helped it all the more." That was equally true of Samuel Morley. For many years a bronze statuette of Eichard Cobden stood upon the mantelshelf in Mr. Morley's library. It was there up to the time of his death, and it remains there now. Often, when a visitor referred to the man it represented, Mr. Morley would say, " He was as pure, unselfish, patriotic, and incor- ruptible as any being that ever lived." Cobden was a strictly temperate man, and believed, as Mr. Morley did, at the time of which we write, " that the Temperance cause lay at the root of all social and political progress in this country." Every year saw Mr. Morley taking an increasingly active part as a Temperance reformer, and one of his first notable e&rts in this direction was, to read a paper 154 SAMUEL MOSLEY. [Chap. X. at a Temperance Conference, held in Exeter Hall on the 6th of August, 1862. His subject was, " The Drinking Usages of the Commercial Eoom." Many of those usages have now, happily, been abandoned. Mr. Morley oit^d facts that had come under his own observation in confirmation of his statements, and appealed to commercial men to free themselves from the tyranny of custom ; to tradesmen, to re- frain from expecting and accepting hospitality from travellers in the form of wines and spirits ; and to employers, to sustain the credit of their houses by encouraging arrangements which would leave their travellers free to maintain and practise habits of sobriety. The remedy for the existing practices would be found in the creation and maintenance of a healthy and vigilant public opinion which should effectually discourage and forbid them. He concluded thus : — Pablio opinion on this subject, if it can be fairly aroused, will, we are oonviaced, require the readjustment of the tariff of the commercial room, and the advocates of Temperance will gladly welcome arrangements which do not make the profits of the landlord dependent on the intoxicating drinks which are consumed, but on the cleanliness, comfort, order, and accommodation furnished by his house. The year 1862 is memorable in the annals of Non- conformity. It was determined, after much considera- tion, to form a Committee consisting of Independents, Baptists, and Presbyterians, to make arrangements for celebrating the Bicentenary of Nonconformity. Two hundred years had passed since the ejectment from the Church of England of the two thousand 1857—1863,] BICENTENABY OF NONCONFOBMITT. 155 clergymen, who, for conscience' sake, declined to accept the provisions of the Act of Uniformity — that con- spicuous example of the bad faith of Charles II. It is hardly necessary to refer at length to the history of those troublous times. How, by the famous declaration given at Breda in 1660, the Puritans were buoyed up by the hope that they were free to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences, seeing that the royal declaration ran thus : " We do declare a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall be disquieted, or called in question, who does' not disturb the peace of the kingdom ; and that we shall be ready to consent to such an Act of Parlia- ment as, upon mature deliberation, shall be offered to us for the full granting that indulgence ; " or how this promise was violated by the passing of the Act of Uniformity, involving the expulsion of the Puritan clergy, and then by the Conventicle and Five Mile Acts. Whether it was wise to recall this tyranny and per- secution, was a subject of great discussion when the Bicentenary commemoration was in contemplation. There were many who said, " Let bygones be by- gones," but there were more who said, " Nay, but let the story be told everywhere, that it may inspire like fidelity to conscience ; " and this was the counsel that prevailed. From the first, Mr. Morley gave the movement his cordial support. He was a sturdy Nonconformist, who reverenced historic Nonconformity, and had no sym- 136 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. X. pathy with those who would seek to hide its hght under a bushel. It was, in his opinion, an oppor- tunity for making known the principles for which Nonconformists were contending ; an opportunity for doing honour to the heroes who had suffered for what they held to he the truth ; and an opportunity to define, more clearly than had ever been done before, the present attitude of Dissenters towards the Estab- lished Church. Among the first efforts was the issue of almost innumerable books, pamphlets, tracts, newspaper and magazine articles, bearing upon the subject generally, and setting forth the fundamental truths of English Protestant Nonconformity particularly. This pro- duced a storm of controversy — not always carried on in the kindly spirit that the promoters of the move- ment would have wished. Then followed essays, lectures, sermons, and, on August 24th — St. Bartho- lomew's Day — a great celebration of the Bicentenary was held throughout the country and the Colonies. In the establishment of the " Bicentenary Memorial Fund " Mr. Morley took a very active part. Writing to his friend, Joshua Wilson, he said : — I am very anxious that such measures should be adopted as will leave us, as a denomination, stronger for our great work at the end of the year or two during which we shall he specially engaged, not pnly in spreading information, hut in wisely expending money which will, I trust, be raised as an expression of gratitude for the service rendered by the heroes of 16G2 to the cause of freedom of thought. I therefore rejoice that each is to be at liberty to direct the appropriation of his own money. One district will feel that new chapels are their great want, another that some 1857—1863.] THE MEMOBlAL BALL. 157 largely increased agency in connection with their churches, is their special need. I anticipate great results from the effort. Dr. Vaughan is pre- paring an address to be sent by the Bicentenary Committee to the churches of our faith and order throughout the land. Results followed. A great impetus was given to Dissent, chapel-building went forward apace, new organizations of various kinds were originated, a valuable literature sprang up, men were better able to give a reasonable explanation of the grounds of their convictions ; and, in course of time, the Memorial Hall in Farringdon Street was erected, " to commemorate the fidelity to conscience shown by the two thousand ejected miuisters in 1662." Towards the erection of the Memorial Hall, Mr. Morley contributed no less a sum than ^£6,000, but this was the least part of his contribution, for he gave the Committee the benefit of his business experience, and when delays and obstacles arose with regard to a site — the one selected being required for the Metro- politan District Eailway Company — his shrewdness turned the seeming misfortune into success. Not only was a better site secured — that of the old Fleet Prison, where many of the early Nonconformists had to suffer the loss of all things — but the " compensa- tion " aided the funds very substantially. It was not till 1875 that the Memorial Hall was opened, and we shall refer to it again. Meanwhile, a succession of kindred enterprises were pressing their claims upon Mr. Morley. For a long while he had been dissatisfied with the iS8 Samuel mohlHy. [chap. x. state of chapei accommodation in the Metropolis. He wanted to see more sightly, substantial, com- modious, and cheerful edifices springing up in the new centres of population, and, especially, chapels for the working classes. Dr. J. H. Wilson — with whom he was still asso- ciated in the Home Mission work — was consulted, and he has given the following account of what was done : — In keeping with all his labours and zeal in the Master's work, was the way in which he brought the week's labours to a close. At the time we were most closely associated, he lived at Craven Lodge, Stamford Hill, and as we resided close by, Saturday evenings were spent reviewing the work done, the work doing, and considering the work yet to do. Here, for instance, one evening, when thinking of the subject of chapel building, and regretting that so much money was sometimes spent, as he thought, on useless ornament, he said, ' I should Kke to see a cheaper order of chapels built, and would give a challenge to encourage our friends to build them if I knew how to make it teU. Try and launch it.' I did so at our annual meeting of the Chapel Building Society. His offer of five hundred pounds for each new chapel, provided in each case the necessary amount was raised, was accepted, and twenty-four, at an average cost of between four and five thousand pounds, were ultimately built, where new churches have been gathered, and are all self-sustaining. He had great faith in chapel building, both in town and country, but his constant plea was for more spiritual life in the churches, ever and anon contending that this was the greatest want of the day. During the six years from 1864 to 1870, Mr. Morley contributed in this direction alone no less a sum than dei4,400 ! Although he expended so much time and money in endeavouring to sustain the "regular ministry" of 1857—1863.] LAY AGENCY. 139 the churches, he did not for a moment relax his energies in sending forth the new order of agency, consisting of evangeHsts and colporteurs, laymen, or local preachers, who should be able to fulfil duties which would not interfere with the work of the stated ministers. In order that the lay agency might be the best pro- curable, a Theological Institute was founded at Not- tingham, in 1863, for the purpose of training young men for the work of Home Missionaries and Evange- lists, a class of men greatly needed. Apropos of the opening of the Theological Institute, he wrote to Joshua Wilson, to whom he confided his views on almost every religious movement in which he was engaged : — Nov. 23, 1863. — I liave been two or three days of this week at Not- tingham, attending the very interesting meetings connected with the opening of the Theological Institute, respecting which I feel very hopeful indeed. I very much incline to hope that it is one of the best under- takings we have ever entered upon. I hope Mr. Paton will prove the right man. He is very earnest about it at present, and has doubtless much of the power so peculiarly needed for such an enterprise. An incident occurred about this time, which enables us to give precisely Mr. Morley's views as to what constituted a " miriister." In a certain village a good man, A. B., had been working for twenty- three years among the poor, and when, at the end of that time, Bufiicient money had been raised to build a chapel, the people unanimously invited him to become their 160 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. X. minister, and he accepted the office without fee or reward. A neighbouring minister, duly ordained and styled "Eeverend," himself drew up the handbill announcing the opening service, in which it was stated : "In the afternoon a service will be held to recognize the election of Mr. A. B. as the lay-minister of the Church. The Eev. C. D." (the ordained neigh- bouring minister) "to preside." A. B. did not like this, and in a very modest but earnest letter, he asked Mr. Morley " whether he considered that this distinction was warranted by Grod's Word," and begged him, if he could, to be present at the service. Mr. Morley replied as follows : — My dear Sir, — I am sorry that my numerous responsibilities here will not permit me to comply with your wish that I should be present at your service. I am very much of your opinion that the bill, as drawn up by Mr. C. D., ' makes a distinction which God's Word does not support.' In the New Testament there are mentioned officers who are chosen to preside and teach, and the brethren, the general body of believers ; but there is no particular class of men, separate, as a caste, from others, who are to be considered as ministers. As I understand, the congregation to whom you have been preaching have invited you to become their pastor. The invitation of the Church, accepted by you, makes you a minister, and you are thereby as real a minister, in the Bible sense, as any pastor of an In- dependent congregation, or as the Archbishop of Canterbury. What is meant by a ' lay minister,' as applied to one who becomes pastor of a congregation, I am quite at a loss to conceive. I should advise you to ask Mr. C. D. to leave out the word ' lay.' If the ministers of the neigh- bouring churches wiU not come to the meeting, do all you can to over- come their reluctance ; but if they persist in refusing, you must go on in a meek and quiet spirit without them., Do not let the meeting be an occasion of offence to .any. You can easily make it a meeting for prayer 1857—1863.] THE AMERICAN WAR. ' 161 along with your own people. Do all the good you can, and I hope you wiU find, in the blessing that comes, the best assurance of your ordination. I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, S. MOELEY. In 1863, the British and Foreign Anti- Slavery- Society, at an important crisis of the American Civil War, arranged to hold a meeting at the London Tavern, to "reiterate and to vindicate the great principle of the Anti- Slavery movement, and to adopt a resolution expressing satisfaction at the prospective extinction of slavery in the United States." Mr. Morley was invited to co-operate, but he declined upon the grounds shown in the following letter : — To Mr. L. A. Cha/merovzow, Secretary of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. 18, Wood Street, E.G., Jan. 22, 1863. Dear Sir, — I am duly in receipt of your letter, and regret that the views which I entertain on the subject of the American war, will not allow me to co-operate with the committee of the Anti-Slavery Society in the meeting which it is proposed to hold at the London Tavern on February 10th. In the papers which you have been good enough to send me, there is a tone of partizanship with the North with which I do not sympathize ; while the rebuke administered to those who are engaged in this fratricidal war, is far too mild to suit my taste and judgment. I regard the whole system of slavery with detestation, and while the South disgusts me by its shameless advocacy of its ' peculiar institution ' as ' the corner-stone ' of its government, I cannot sympathize with the North, for it is, I fear, abolitionist in policy — only through force of circum- stances — and not from any conviction of the inherent immorahty in slavery, or humane consideration for the welfare of the slaves. 12 162 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. X. I have never committed myself to the extreme principle which would condemn every kind of war as unjustifiable, but I am at a loss to perceive bow an armed intervention in favour of slave emancipation, adopted as an extreme military expedient in a crisis of international strife, is an event to call forth the loud and cordial congratulations of philan- thropists. The motives of such a proceeding are so complicated, and the issues of it are so uncertain, and fraught with so many dangers, that I confess it fails to stir my heart with any lively emotions of joy. Amidst the varied features and perplexities of this American struggle, I am most deeply affected by the terrific expenditure of human blood and treasure in the endeavour which the North is making to retain undivided dominion over a people who prefer an independent Government. Admitting the North to have been constitutionally in the right at the commencement of the strife, I think she would have done wisely to have permitted the South to secede, with the burden and sin of slavery resting on her, rather than to have sought to compel her continuance in the Union by force of arms. Subsequent events convince me that the cost, by which alone the conquest of the South can possibly be achieved and maintained, is so great, that the North should at once be vrilling to recognize the inde- pendence of the South. We, as EngHshmen, it appears to me, must act with strict neutrality towards the beUigerents ; and, notwithstanding our abhorrence of slavery, we should not encourage the North to prolong the contest, but, in the name of our common humanity and religion, earnestly appeal to both parties that the war may be stayed. How far my difference of opinion with the committee may lead me in the course I should take at a meeting convened to express an opinion from the city, I cannot at present determine, but it is in vain for your committee to look to me for co-operation. I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, S. MOELEV. Such are brief specimens of the pubhc work that was occupying the time and thought of Samuel Morley in these years. But a wider and more in- 1857—1863.] A WIDENING SPEEBE. 163 fluential sphere of usefulness was opening tip to him. For a long time he had been urged by a large circle of friends to allow himself to be proposed as a candi- date for Parliament, and arguments, similar to those which Mr. Morley had himself employed when call- ing upon certain leading Nonconformists to do the same, were pressed upon him. On the other hand, certain of his friends, as well as of his own house- hold, maintained that he could only enter Parliament at an enormous sacrifice of time and strength, and the surrender of the paramount service he was ren- dering, in divers ways, to the world and the church ; and as for honour, they contended that to be at the head of the whole body of Nonconformist laymen, was honour enough to satisfy the ambition of any Christian patriot. It was not a question of honour or expediency, of like or of dishke, with Samuel Morley. "Necessity was laid upon him " by the dictates of his own con- science, and he consented to stand for Nottingham, the old town of his ancestors. Before we follow him in his parliamentary career, we must pause to see him in his home at Craven Lodge, and in his business in Wood Street. CHAPTEE XI. HOME LIFE. Primary Claims — Family — Letters to his Children — Fatherly Advice — Con- fidences — Sympathy with Young Lite — Eecollections of Boyhood — Garibaldi — ^Thoroughness — A Birthday Letter — Works of Fiction — No Sportsman — Dancing and Dancing Parties — Not Easily Disturbed — Fire in Wood Street — Idleness — The Black Bag — Travels — A Shooting-Lodge — — Visitors — The Study — Music — An Ideal Home. Feom what has been said in the preceding chapters, of the manifold labours in which Mr. Morley was engaged in addition to the pressing claims of busi- ness, it may be thought that he would have little time to devote to the pleasures of home hfe. Such, however, was not the case. He was a strictly con- scientious man, and as he would never have made use of money belonging to others, neither would he make use of time on which others had a just claim. He never allowed any public duties to come between himself and his family. For him, indeed, there was a time for everything, but that time was regulated by the claims of home. It was this that kept him back from taking his place in the political life of the country, to which he had been so often solicited ; it was this, as a leading motive, that made him decline many honours, civic and otherwise, that would have FAMILY LIFE. 165 been conferred upon him. He was an intense lover of home, and, while his children were of an age to require his immediate help and guidance, he felt that his chief duty was with them. Thus it was, that not until comparatively late in life did he come before the general public in a prominent position. We have seen how anxiously solicitous he was for the welfare of his children in their infancy — drawing upon himself the rebuke of his father and his friend Thomas Binney in consequence. But they utterly failed to cure him ; on the contrary, as the children grew, his carefulness for them grew also. He was an anxious father, who hardly ad- mitted to himself his anxiety, although it was patent to everybody else in the carefulness with which he watched the studies of his children, pondered their doings and their goings, and sought to mould their characters. His family of eight children — consisting of five sons, Samuel Hope, Howard, Charles, Arnold, and Henry, and three daughters, Kebekah, Augusta, and Mary — were all brought up, as he had been, in a religious atmosphere, and according to the usages of Nonconformists. Each was baptized in the drawing- room of the house by Mr. Binney — who shone in such family gatherings as much as he did in the pulpit — and each, as he grew up, was taught his individual responsibility to hve in accordance with the dictates of the Holy Scriptures and of his own conscience. 166 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XI. Whenever any of his children were away from home, Mr. Morley would frequently write to them simple letters, " easily understanded " and full of yearning anxiety for their highest welfare. As illustration is clearer than analysis, and as a few lines written by an individual generally reveal more than pages of description, we shall insert here some passages from his correspondence with his children. The following are selected from a large bundle of letters to his second daughter. They show what, for want of a better expression, we may describe as a loving intimacy, which was very striking, and was maintained to the end of his life : — July 14, 1856. It is a pleasure to me to tell you how very dear you are to me, how sincerely I wish for you the best of blessings, how I desire that you may constantly seek for the guidance of our loving Father in heaven in every step of life, and that you may feel how much there is you can do as an example to those dear ones at home who are younger than you are, and who are keen observers of all that is going on around them. Written at Folkestone, just before going on board the boat, to start upon a foreign tour : — May 31, 1858. Dear love to all the dear ones we have left behind. We pray that God will bless and preserve you while we are absent ; that you may be happy and loving among yourselves. Eemember, dear, the responsible position you occupy amongst those who are younger than you are, and do what you can, dear, to set an example, and to promote love one towards another. LETTEB8 TO HIS GHILDBEN. 167 From Craven Lodge, when left there alone, he writes : — • Sept. 9, 1859. I am very lonely here with all absent, and am surprised to see how indifferent one may become to even the beauties of a place in the absence of those with whom one is accustomed to share them . The following was written in prospect of Christmas, the great home festival of the year : — Craven Lodge, Dec. 18, 1860. I do trust we shall spend a very happy hohday. Let us each try to make it so. I should be very glad if we could hit upon some plan which should pleasantly and profitably occupy some portion of the time. I never wish to forget that we naturally look for hohday time to be a time of enjoyment and pleasure, but that pleasure is always, in the long run, greater, when there is combined with it some attention to what is elevating and improving. The next extract relates to Mr. Morley's eldest daughter, who, at a very early period in her life, was led to consecrate herself in a remarkable manner to religious duties : — Give my dear love to Eebekah, and teU her I am thinking a good deal about her. I am sure she is feeling, too, the great change which is just taking place. I pray that the dear girl may be guided and guarded in her future course, that she may come home fully impressed with the convic- tion that she has a work to do, a life of holy, consistent conduct to hve, and that she may be led constantly to Uve in the spirit of that sermon I heard by Dr. Guthrie, a copy of which, I think, I sent her, the text of which was, ' Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ? ' March 20, 1861. 1 pray, dear Gussie, that you may be led to look constantly and in- creasingly to that only source of guidance and strength which is open 168 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XI. and free to all for counsel and support in the little or great difiB.culties which wiU cross the path of all. Nov. 27, 1861. I fancy we are looking forward to the holidays as much as our chil- dren. . . . All matters at home are progressing in the usual orderly way. April 19, 1863. You must not forget, dear, that you are an invalid, and pray do not attempt too much. Pleasant, gentle exercise and no exposure to evening air should be the rule. How pleasant and happy it is to think that we can trust each other to the care of Him who has, during these many years, so cared for us ! Oh that we were living more constantly under a sense of His claim to our best affections and service ! If it were so really, what a different aspect the world would wear, and how much more anxious we should feel, to be and do just what He would have us be and do ! There is great tenderness in some of Mr. Morley's letters to his children when they were very young. The following is a specimen of many : — Nov. 26, 1851. My very dear Charlie, — And so your birthday is come at last, and you are really four years old. I am sorry, dear boy, that I shall not be at home in the morning to tell you how dearly I love you, and how I wish that you may have many happy returns of the day, and that each re- turning birthday may find you not only a stronger, taller boy, but a oetter, and therefore a happier boy. Dear Charlie knows how often all are tempted to be naughty, and I hope my dear little son will try very hard dm-ing all next year to be very good. I would have him determine to-morroiu that every day next year, till he is five years old, he will try very hard not to be naughty onoe. And then you know, dear, that Jesus Christ, who loves httle children, wiU help you to be good, if you really wish to be so and pray to Him. I quite hope to see you to-morrow after- noon, so that I may be able to tell you how glad I am that God has spared your life, and that He has given you dear brothers and sisters who love you, and whom you love. Oh that you would all recollect those beautiful CONFIDENCES. 169 words which dear Howie repeats every morniag : ' We will love one another, for love is of God ' ! Then how happy we should all be ! Good-bye, dear boy. Give a very hearty kiss to dear mamma, Missie, Gussie, Hope, and the rest. I am, your affectionate Papa, S. MOKLBY. Mr. Morley preserved all the letters that were written to him by his children, even from their earliest days. In glancing through them, it is interesting to observe the absolute confidence they all had in his judgment, and the unreservedness with which they told him everything, feeling sure that in him they would find the sympathy and help they needed. They told of their failures no less than of their successes ; their play as well as their work. One tells him with glee of having been elected into the "first eleven," while other letters record the accumulation of 240 marbles in combination with another boy ; of the " sad fate " of two pups ; and so on. In all the letters there is to be discovered the " perfect love that casteth out fear." There is no hesitation on the part of the boys in telling their father freely of any little matter in which they may have made mistakes, of the subjects in which they were deficient no less than of those in which they were well up, and they state their opinions of their schools and schoolmasters, as on all other topics, with perfect candour. Thus his son Howard, pining for release from "tutor guardianship," and wishing to be sent to 170 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XI. school, writes : " Please, dear papa, think how you would like to be here, if you were a boy, that loved life and animation and larks, and everything else of that sort. Please don't say anything about what I tell you in this letter to anybody." Again, lonely and away from home, Howard writes to his father : " It is my only comfort writing to you. Please keep this letter very private, and don't show it, and write me a sympathizing one in return very soon." In Mr. Morley's letters to his sons there are many interesting little touches which show how thoroughly he was in sympathy with young life. He refers fre- quently to their sports, asks who is to be "hare" in the paper chase, and, characteristically — for he abhorred waste in anything — finds fault with some one whose track he had crossed, and who " spilt a great deal of paper more than was necessary." He notes that "the Southgate Eleven were beaten last Saturday by the Mill Hill Eleven. Howard scored 29." He sends word that " when the stack was being thrashed, 170 rats were killed. None escaped." In telling of liis own movements, he frequently recalls to their memory, places that they have visited with him ; while, in writing of what immediately concerns them, there are pleasant references to "gingerbread," and the hope is expressed that " a cake will not be un- acceptable." He was interested in all that interested them, and encloses stamps " as a small contribution to the forthcoming supper," which he hopes will be LETTERS TO HIS SON ABNOLD. 171 " sober and simple " ; and forwards from time to time crests and postage stamps for their collections. We append some extracts from Mr. Morley's letters to his son Arnold, which may be taken as specimens of the style of his communications to his children generally. In the following letter, written just after his son had, for the first time, left home for school, the reader will not fail to observe how the moral of the lesson is enforced, not in Mr. Morley's own words, but in those of another of his sons. This was a peculiar trait in Mr. Morley's dealings with his children, and is worthy of all imitation ; the art of seeing the good in each, and holding it up in a strong light for the admiration and help of all : — Stamford Hill, Sept. 17, 1860. My deae Boy, — . . . I do not wonder at your feeling the change from home to school. All boys do, especially when they have a happy home such as you have, where all love you and desire to see you happy ; but you wiU soon, I hope, become accustomed to the change. When I was a school- boy, I found at the end of the first week I began to know the boys, and to join in their games, and, while I did not forget home, I did not think so much about it, and the unhappiness wore away. I wish you would try, whenever you feel dull, to remember that you are sent to school for a great and good purpose, namely, to prepare for the future, that by educa- tion and discipline you may be enabled to do your duty in future life, and it will be your duty now to bear the httle troubles which will always come in a schoolboy's Hfe; but cheer up under them, and do your best to bear them manfully. Eemember dear Howard's letter to Charhe which I read to you, and try, dear boy, to act on the advice he gives. This is an extract : ' You wUl be liked better by the boys and masters if you show that you are to be trusted;' and then he says, 'While I hope you will play well in play-hours, let there be no idhng iji school, nor laughing, talking, throwing bits of paper, and cheating.' He says, ' If you avoid aU these things from the first, boys will see that you are 172 SAMVEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XI. not to be led astray; mind, begin from the first.' I copy this because it is excellent advice, and I hope my dear Arnold will try very hard to follow it. Remember you are now laying the foundation of your future character. God bless you, my boy, and I pray that He wiU preserve you from evil, and make you an honourable, upright boy and man. Ever your dear Papa, • S. MOELEY. Oct. 18, 1862. I attended a meeting yesterday about Garibaldi, to express sympathy with him, and the hope that he wiU soon recover. Opinions differ about him, but I believe most thinking men believe, as I do, that he is a truly noble man, and that his great wish is to see his fellow-countrymen free and happy. ... I am glad to hear that you are working hard — this is good news, and wiU make us, I am sure, enjoy the Christmas hoHdays when we meet. You know my anxiety for my boys that they should be thoroughly well- educated men, and, in order to that, they must be hard workers at school. Dec. 6, 1862. I wish you to remember that I do not expect impossibilities at the exams., therefore do not attempt them. What I do wish, is that my boys should fairly keep their proper places. I therefore shall be glad to know the ages of the boys in the various divisions or classes in the exams., so that we may just compare notes together. June 13, 1863. I enclose you a report of a game in which a club, in which I feel some interest, occupies a good position.* I hope you are doing your duty, dear Arnold. I remember your telling me that it is difficult to read in play-hours because the boys will laugh at you. Now I want you all to feel that you have your own duty to perform, whatever others may do, and I very much wish you to show the moral courage which will lead you to do what is right, and let who will laugh. Think of this, dear boys. I want you to care nothing about any one laughing or jeering, if only you feel sure what you do is right. * The allusion is to a cricket club in which some of Mr. Morley's other sons were distinguishing themselves. LETTEBS TO HIS SON ABNOLD. 173 Sept. 19, 1863. My letter would have been sent earlier, but I was in the city only for a short time this morning, as I came home to dine with Hope and young Colquhoun, who rode over from Southgate. Hope seems to be very happy, and to have the prospect of plenty of work. Mr. Bradley seems to be cheerful and strict. I think I told Charlie in my letter that I was going to Brighton. Well, I went on Thursday, travelhng with Mr. and Mrs. Binney ; the former preached at the opening of a new chapel, and I pre- sided at a meeting in the evening. I saw a good deal of Henry, who spent Thursday and Friday with me. I hope you are working well, dear Arnold. Eemember what I said about doing your best. Whatever may be your position at the examinations, I hope you wiU aim to deserve a good place. Be on your guard too, dear boy, in reference to any intimacies with boys about whom you may have a doubtful opinion. It is often dif&cult to iree yourself from such an intimacy when it has reached a certain point. Feb. 14, 1863. We were much pleased with our visit to the Fishmongers' Hall, and especially with the Prince of Wales. He behaved admirably. He did, what I wish my boys would do, read very distinctly. Feb. 6, 1864. I rather incline to send a promised plum cake if it is ready. I requested Mr. Blest to order it yesterday. I hope it will be acceptable. How are you going on, dear Arnold ? Are you in earnest, determined to do every- thing you do, thoroughly ? And are you constantly remembering your responsibility to God as weU. as man ? This is a solemn question, dear boy. Eemember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. How much you owe to Him 1 Life, health, friends, a thousand comforts and enjoy- ments surround you every day, and the return which is due to Him is to strive to live in hourly obedience to His laws, praying that He would strengthen you in the effort to avoid whatever He hates, and to do what would be pleasing in His sight. Never forget, my son, to ask that loving Father every day to be near you, and to care for you. Dear love to CharHe from his and your loving father. Feb. 17, 1864. Many happy returns to you. May each day find you growing in favour with God and man I It is well that on our birthdays each one should ask 174 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. XI. himself, How am I getting on ? Am I trying manfully to do what I know to be my duty, working, as well as playing, well, and, above all, endeavouring to avoid that which is ' evil,' and striving earnestly to do that which is right and pure and true ? Oh, my son, I wish very sincerely that my boys may be real, true men, not shams in any respect. But I will not enlarge on this. You will understand what your father means. I will only assure you tiiat I h^ve observed with pleasure, evidence of serious thought, and what I hope is a desire on your part to get on in your studies, and generally to do your duty. Go on, and may our Heavenly Father vouchsafe His blessing 1 April 9, 1S64. I am going on Tuesday to CarUsle, returning on Thursday. I shall thus lose the pleasure of raeeting Garibaldi at the Duke of Sutherland's on Wednesday, which I much regret. Eemember my motto, 'Look up,' keep your head (that is, your understanding and your mind) above every- thing that conscience says is wrong. Dec. 6, 1864, I expect to travel by a train which stops at the Wimbledon station at 4.5 to-morrow afternoon. Now, if there is no match, or other engagement on, I should not much mind shaking hands with two dear fellows of mine ; but do not disappoint any one by running away from duty. Dear love to old CharUe. Nov. 4, 1865. What books are you reading, Arnold ? I do hope you wiU not be satisfied with merely reading what is called light literature. It is, much of it, very light, and will he of little service when you come to take your part in the future battle of life. I do not object to a little of it, but it should only be regarded as relaxation, and not as the stamina with which the mind is to be stored. Although, in his letters to his sons, he makes con- stant reference to their sports, he very rarely took any part in them. In one of Howard's letters, written in very early days, his son says, with ju§t a tinge of reproachfulness, " My dearest father, I would just AN EXCELLENT WHIP. 175 add that I should so like for you to take an interest in the noble game of cricket ! " But it was not in the nature of Mr. Morley to take an interest in any game, however " noble." He never had any amusement as a "hobby" in the whole course of his life ; there was no gun, rod, bat, or boat that he looked upon with affection ; he did not excel, because he never attempted to excel, in any sports of any kind, if driving be excepted. He was an excellent whip, and he could drive his phaeton skilfully, with a steady hand and a quick eye, through the crowded streets of London no less than in the quiet lanes of the country, " I suppose," said a reviewer, in an article on Mr. Morley, written many years later than the time of which we now write, " the only human weakness of which Mr. Morley was ever guilty, was the very harmless love of horseflesh. Standing in Palace Yard between half-past three and half-past four, when the House is sitting, you see a curious assortment of vehicles dashing over the stones to the Members' entrance ; but you would never see a more perfect turn-out than the mail phaeton which Mr. Morley himself drove, and drove well." Although not addicted to any particular form of amusement himself, he gave plenty of scope to his children. But he " drew the line " at certain things. For example, he had a strong objection to dancing. It had been altogethei? discountenanced and disapproved in the home circle of bis younger 176 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XL days, and he kept up tlie traditions of his family. But some of the young people of his household, living in a different and a less strict generation, could not see " eye to eye " with him in his objec- tion, and would urge him to let them indulge in this form of amusement. He was no lover of hard and fast Hnes, or of dogmatic refusals. He preferred that, if they abstained from dancing as a pastime, they should do so on intelligible grounds and as the result of their own choosing — and therefore he took pains to explain to them his views on the subject. They were expressed so exactly in a letter written by Mr. Stevenson Blackwood,* to a friend of his, Mr. E. Howard, that Mr. Morley was in the habit of quoting it whenever the discussion of the question arose ; and he would generally conclude by saying, " There, that tells you what I think and feel about the matter, and you know what my wishes are." Opinion has changed much in the last twenty years on the whole question of amusements, and Mr. Morley modified his considerably in later life. It may interest some to know what were then regarded as reasonable objections to dancing : — . . . "Of course dancing, per se," wrote Mr. Blackwood, " is as unobjectionable as walking or jumping, and I have great pleasure in having a hearty dance with our little ones by way of a romp ; but against ' dances ' and * dancing,' as * Now Sir Arthur Blackwood. " WOBLDLY AMUSEMENTS." 177 one generally understands the words, I have the strongest objection. I do not know of a place where the ' lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life ' have more complete sway than in a ball-room. ... I cannot remember one of which one would not be obliged to say, ' This is not of the Father, but is of the world.' The whole tone of the thing — the extravagance, and often the indecency, of dress, the vanity and envy it fosters, the senseless gossiping and idle talking, the late hours, the intense excitement, the unfitness for everything serious or sacred afterwards, stamps it, to my mind, as an unprofitable and dangerous thing." A little incident may be recorded here, as it brings out Mr. Morley's views on " worldly amusements in Christian households," and shows how zealously affected he was in all that concerned the spiritual welfare of his children. They had been invited to a party at the house of a neighbouring minister, where charades and dancing were the order of the evening, and, instead of returning home at the time they were expected (there were orthodox hours for evening parties in orthodox Clapton), they did not return until one or two in the morning. On hearing a report of the proceedings, which Mr. Morley considered were inconsistent in the house of a minister, whatever they might have been else- where, he expressed himself to his reverend friend in these terms :— 13 178 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XI. You and I, I have no doubt, are agreed that the precepts of the New Testament prescribe- a behaviour for the followers of Jesus Christ which distinguishes them from the general mass of society. Their expenditure of time and property is to be regulated by the highest principles of their calling, and forms a branch of that consecration to the service of God which is to extend over all that a man has and is. There is a position, it appears to me, to be sustained between a rigid asceticism and morose- ness on the one hand, and laxity and negligence on the other; but, without going into details, I am sure that at the present time, and especially in the suburbs of London, the danger lies in the direction of the forgetfulness of this ruling principle of consecration, and consequently of undue approach to worldly maxims and ways. It was, therefore, with regret that I received a report of what tran- spired on the occasion to which your letter refers, because I thought tlie inevitable tendency of such proceedings would be to make it more difficult for some of us to keep back our children from ways and habits of life which, I am convinced, are injurious to their bodily and spiritual health. I do not condemn recreation, it is needful for us all ; but late hours, dancing, theatricals, entertainments in which families vie with each other in luxury and expenditure, are not to my taste, and I am very anxious that they should not be promoted and multipUed by your influence as a Christian minister among us. It is not without reason, I think, that we look to you to check, rather than to stimulate, such tendencies in our circle. . . . Within certain limits, as we have said, he gave his children plenty of scope. There might be as much fun and nonsense, as much romping and mirth, as they pleased, and if, as happens in such cases, any little accident or misadventure occurred, it did not affect him. He was not easily disturbed, even about great things. On one occasion (December, 1863) a messenger came, late at night, with the startling intelligence that the premises in Wood Street were on fire. Mr. Morley quietly waited for Ai' Some. itQ furttier information, and having in course of time learnt that the fire was being rapidly subdued, and that no life had been injured, with a "thank God," turned over on his pillow and slept again ! A day or two afterwards he wrote to Mr. Joshua Wilson : — Dec. 28, 1863. . The fire, though very near us, was not permitted to touch our main buQdings. It consumed a warehouse occupied by us in an adjoining court, which was, however, fully insured. It is not to be inferred that because Mr. Morley was not easily disturbed, he was indifferent ; or that, if anything went wrong in the household, he would let it pass without observation. He was far too simple and single-eyed to affect a blindness to any- thing, but he always looked upon the best side of a case, and dealt with it in a kindly and good- natured fashion. There was no divided rule in the household; he always acted in conjunction with Mrs. Morley, supporting her administration in every- thing, and always following out the principle laid down in a letter to one of his daughters : " The public opinion of Craven Lodge has long since settled the question that ' Mamma knows best.' " Mr. Morley was not one man in business and another at home. He was one and indivisible, and the characteristics exhibited in Wood Street were exhibited at Craven Lodge. Thus, he could not tolerate idleness in anybody, and it is no exaggeration to say that few things worried him more than to find any one of his household listlessly wondering what 180 SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Chap. XI. to do. And not only would he insist that no time should be wasted, but that everything done should be done well, and not merely well, as far as it went, but well and thoroughly throughout. And he practised what he preached. Although essentially a lover of home, he had no distinctively home - occupations or interests, but always brought political and philanthropic cares and work with him, which he never really laid aside. It was his habit to take with him, wherever he went, a black morocco leather bag, in which he would carry bundles of unanswered letters, notes of speeches, cuttings from newspapers, pamphlets, until it was full to overflowing, and then its contents would be lessened by the removal to one of the cupboards of the library of letters and papers for future use, to be sorted and arranged in the leisure which never came. The black bag was a standing joke in the household ; it was ever with him, at home and abroad, and there was always in it more than enough to occupy him in the evening at home, while his children pursued their occupations. Mr. Morley often took opportunities to travel with his family, sometimes short journeys, with "meetings" and "chairs" in view; sometimes longer ones, for rest and recreation. Here is an epitome of one of the latter journeys, given in a letter to Joshua Wilson : — Sept., 1866. We have had a very pleasant journey, vifith six of our children, through some of the most striking scenery in Scotland — visiting our two elder THE BLACK BAG. 181 sons, who were reading with some college friends near Inverness. Thus our entire family (ten in number) spent an evening together nearly six hundred miles from London. We spent ten days with the greatest enjoyment at Braemar, in the midst of the finest mountain scenery. In the shorter journeys to which we have referred, he would often he accompanied by his sons. Excel- lent as Mr. Morley's company was, he was apt at times to be a little impatient. Active and energetic himself, he could not brook delay. If the train chanced to be five minutes behind time, he would, if he were within earshot of the guard, put his head out of the carriage window, and freely expostulate with him, sometimes to the annoyance of his travelling companions. FaiUng this, he would communicate with him at the next halting-place. Arrived at their destination, the " boys " could go where they pleased, but he must set to work. While dinner was getting ready, he would turn up the corner of the cloth, spread out some of the contents of the black bag, and commence his correspondence. His first visit, at every place he went to, was the post-office, and so extremely particular was he with regard to the instructions he gave as to his letters that, throughout the long years of his active Hfe, his arrangements for receiving them were never known to fail. In the evening, whether at home or travelling, he would still be writing or reading, while the buzz of conversation was going on, looking up every 182 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XI. now and then to throw in his observations on the topic under discussion. It was with a humorous reference to these habits that one of his daughters, when staying with one of her brothers at a shooting-lodge which he had taken in the neighbourhood of Pitlochrie, in Scotland, urged him to join them there : "I feel sure you would like the place, it is so essentially Scotch^ in every respect — but the Lodge is so comfortable ; you would have your writing-table all to yourself — plenty of room for papers ! — the Times and Daily Neivs by the middle of the next day, and posts going out and coming in with the greatest regularity. What greater charm could I suggest for a shooting- lodge?!!" Mr. Morley was a kind and genial host. His attraction, however, was rather to his study than to the drawing-room, especially when his guest happened to be a man — like Dr. Wilson, to wit — who could set before him, in a clear and practical fashion, some new scheme of public usefulness. He was not very social in the ordinary sense of the word. He very often asked people to " have a chop with him" in Wood Street at one o'clock; but, in the days prior to his entry into Parliament, he rarely gave dinner-parties at home. The " pleasures of the table" had no charms for him. He was simple in his tastes, never seemed to care for what is called "good living," and scrupulously avoided all habits of self-indulgence. He was, through life, exceedingly BOOKSHELVES. 183 moderate in his food; when he took wine he only took it in very small quantities, and for some years before the time of which we are now writing, he had abstained from it, as we have seen, altogether. It is hardly necessary to say that, although not caring for these things himself, he did not force his opinions on others. Eeferring to those who were in the habit of joining his family circle, one of his daughters wrote : " To his friends he often used to speak of his family as ' a republic,' to which we, as children, were inclined to add, sotto voce, ' with a dictator at the head.' " Although Mr. Morley had a good library, his shelves were filled with such a curiously miscel- laneous collection of books, that no one could have formed any estimate, either of the collector or his tastes, by the contents of the shelves. He might have been a theologian, a lawyer, a political agitator, or all combined, judging from his books. But he had no pronounced literary tastes ; in fact, his time was so much occupied with practical work that he rarely found leisure to read a book through. One who knew him well * writes : — He was not, indeed, a great reader. In the days wlien I first knew him, he set himself to become a proficient in husiness, and, there- fore, had no time for any systematic course of study. He acquired knowledge with unusual rapidity, took in the main points of any subject at a glance, and, had he pleased, could have shone in the fields of scholar- ship. But he chose another path, and therefore was obliged to gain the * Bev. J, C. Harrison. 184 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XI. information whiela he needed, at various times, from conversation, or brief treatises, or any source which might be accessible to him. On most public questions he was a well-informed man, but he never was a student. The same may be said as to his theological opinions. He did not master the standard works of the greatest authors. He was content with what he gained from the Bible and his own private thinking, from the perusal of the besi condensed compendiums, from the expositions of the pulpit, and the conversations of thoughtful men. Whatever he saw, indeed, he saw clearly, and held tenaciously, but he never professed to be a divine. One of the greatest of Mr. Morley's home pleasures was music. He never wearied in hearing his children play and sing, and he dearly loved to sing duets with his eldest daughter. He sang well, in a clear, mellow voice, and he kept up his singing until quite late in life. While neither understanding nor caring much for classical music, he greatly enjoyed a good ballad concert ; hut he would compare Braham and Clara Novello with the singers of the present day, rather to the detriment of the latter. We have only glanced at some of the elements in the beautiful home-life of Samuel Morley. That which welded all into harmony cannot be described here — the affectionate reverence in which both mother and father were held, their undeviating consistency, their cheerful and lovable piety, and their utter confidence in one another. Nor can we speak of the sons and daughters with their diverse characters and attainments, each seeking to promote •'AN IDEAL HOME." 185 the happiness of the others, and all reserving their best for the hours when they would share each other's company. Not to its inmates only, hut to many whose privilege it was to be visitors, Samuel Morley's was regarded as "an ideal home." CHAPTBE XII. IN BUSINESS. 18, Wood Street — Nottingham — Framework Knitters — Annuities — The Factories — Mr. Arthur Morley — Mr. Thomas Hill — A Disastrous Fire — Capital and Labour — Sternness — Impatience — General Characteristics — A Training School for Business Men — An Opening Career — The Household Arrange- ments — Holidays — Youpg Men's Missionary Association — Brackley Street Hall — Influence. The prosperity of the business, whioh had been con- tinuous up to the time when Mr. Morley became sole head of the firm, had, since that time, been more prosperous than ever, and that growing prosperity continued to the end. We have seen Samuel Morley as a young man and a partner in the house in Wood Street ; we shall now see him with the burden of the whole concern upon his shoulders. From time to time there had been alterations and enlargements of the premises in Wood Street, and these continued at intervals, until, in 1847, the present solid block forming No. 18 was reared — one of the best of the structures in this quarter of the City devoted to the interests of the textile industry. The block occupies an important position at the THE PAC TOBIES. 187 corner of Wood Street and Gresham Street, and extends for some distance in each direction. There is nothing remarkable in the architecture of the building, nor as a visitor, uninitiated in the mysteries of the trade, wanders among the endless lines of goods, and travels on and on among busy and bustling men, does he gain any very distinct im- pression except that it is a vast concern, devoted almost exclusively to one branch of trade, the only exception to the hosiery business being adjuncts proper thereto. But it must be remembered that Wood Street alone conveys no idea of the business of " I. and E. Morley." He who would estimate its extent must go to Nottingham, and the towns and villages round about, and see the factories there ; and then, to estimate what manner of man Mr. Samuel Morley was in business enterprise, he must bear in mind that the whole of the series of gigantic factories were established when he was sole head of the firm. In the early days, nearly all the work now done in the factories was done in the houses of the people. One man might employ ten to twenty or fifty frames, and a "middle man" would bring the produce to "I. and R. Morley." So long as the firm remained conservative in business principles, this system was perpetuated, and Mr. John Morley always opposed the introduction of cheap goods, however excellent they might be for their price. Mr. Samuel Morley not only lived abreast of the times, but in advance of them ; his views were broad and liberal, and so it was 188 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XII. that, under his management, the old order changed. But he still continued to employ a considerable number of framework knitters, and thus kept alive a venerable handicraft. " At Selston, in Nottingham- shire, and other villages round about, the long shrill whirr of the stocking frame may still be heard from morning to night, and the good ' stockin'ers ' contrive to make a decent livelihood by their industry. In other parts of the district, however, signs of the decadence of the craft are visible everywhere. Almost every household has a frame-shed belonging to it, but it is only in isolated instances that it is used for the purpose for which it was built." For the benefit of the workpeople, a most bene- ficent system of annuities was instituted. It is an open secret that Mr. Morley's treatment of old and faithful employes, in the way of pension and allow- ance, was altogether unprecedented in the annals of commercial houses, and these dispossessed hand- knitters were the people who had the first con- sideration as annuitants. The pension scheme was suggested by Mr. Samuel Morley, and for many years he went down and paid the first instalments of gifts and pensions to the old hands. The cost of this was borne by the firm, and the amount paid in any one year was never less than £2,000. The system still remains in force. There are seven factories in the Midland counties belonging to the firm of "I. and E. Morley." They are situated at Manvers Street and Handel Street, UK THOMAS HILL. 189 Nottingham ; Loughborough and Leicester ; Heanor, in Derbyshire; Daybrook, and Sutton-in-Ashfield, the last two being in the centre of the old hand-wrought work. With the exception of the Leicester factory, which is in direct communication with Wood Street, all these factories send their goods to the large central warehouse in Fletcher Gate, Nottingham, for dis- tribution. The number of hands directly employed in these factories by " I. and E. Morley," is about three thou- sand, but a far greater number is indirectly employed. For example, a man makes the hose, his wife sews it, and the children have a share in minor branches of the work. Thus, although only the man would be recognized as an employe of the firm, each member of his family would be exclusively engaged upon the work, "and it is estimated that not fewer than eight thousand persons are so employed. On the 7th of January, 1860, Mr. Arthur Morley, the last son of old Mr. Eichard Morley who had any connection with the business, died, beloved and re- spected by rich and poor. Mr. Morley then became sole head of the Nottingham business, as he was of that in London. He went down at once to decide how, in the future, the concern should be conducted, and it was determined that Mr. Thomas Hill, who knew every detail connected with the manufactory, and had the unlimited confidence of all connected with the house, should be appointed manager. In 1870, Mr. Hill was taken into partnership. 190 SAMVEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XU. ' Mr. Morley never kiterfered in any way with the details of management at Nottingham. He received day by day an exact statement of accounts, and this was enough. Although he was frequently at Fletcher Gate, he rarely went into particulars regarding in- ternal arrangements, but confined his inquiries almost exclusively to the welfare of the people employed, the state of their health, and so forth. There was only one occurrence to break the mono- tony of success at Nottingham. The first factory estabhshed was in Manvers Street ; it had cost £27,000. Here, in August, 1874, occurred the most disastrous fire ever known in Nottingham. In the short space of three hours seventy-six new machines, each costing between £300 and £400, were totally de- stroyed, as well as an almost fabulous amount of stock, the fire having happened at a time when they had on hand about double the quantity usually re- tained ; and the insurance was altogether inadequate to cover the loss. Mr. Morley was abroad when the news of the calamity reached him. He hastened at once to Nottingham, and his first words were, " HUl, we ought to have been better insured ! " Happily no lives were lost, no damage was done to any save to the firm, and Mr. Morley was not the man to weep over spoiled machinery. With his usual promptitude he saw that it was the occasion to introduce still newer and more effective machinery, to rebuild upon Hues that should be more advantageous to the hands, and at once he cheerfully set to work. One charac- WOBKMEN AND WAGeS. 191 teristic incident occurred. A circular was immedi- ately prepared by Mr. Hill, to the effect that " all orders would be executed and business carried on as usual." This was contrary to Mr. Morley's judgment, and he deprecated it strongly, but it was too late to recall it. He did not think it was possible to perform the promise, and he said, "I would rather have a dozen fires, than make a pledge and not fulfil it to the letter." But the pledge was fulfilled, and the London house never suffered in the least degree. " Morley's factories" were the best in the North Midlands ; special attention was given to cleanliness, light, and ventilation ; and, above all, the fullest and freest fraternity was established between capital and labour, between master and workmen, merchant and clerks. He always sought to make the interest of his work- people identical with his own. He paid the " top price " for labour, and on all articles was invariably the first to give an advance and the last to take it off. In addition, the workmen were paid in current coin of the realm, and not, as was the case in so many factories, on the truck system. Of course it would happen that charges would now and then be brought against him of dealing unjustly with his workpeople. This was especially the case during the election in 1865, when he stood for Nottingham. A particular charge, which may be taken as a fair specimen of all, was investigated by the general secretary to the trade, who wrote : "I 192 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XII. can only say that Mr. Morley has more than four hundred workmen in the district of Sutton-in- Ash- field, who have received sixpence a dozen more for their work than the majority of manufacturers were paying for the same kinds of work. These four hundred men make, on an average, one thousand dozen of hose a week, and during the last four years Mr. Morley might thus, had he been so inclined, have put the sum of ,£5,200 in his pocket ; but instead of that he came over to Sutton during the distress to sympathize with us; and not only that, he left us £100 to be given to the poor of the place." We need not concern ourselves further with the factories ; our object is to see what manner of man Mr. Morley was in the midst of the business generally. He stood at the head of the greatest concern of its class in the United Kingdom. His position in con- tinental and home opinion was defined in a saying by M. Taine, " Nothing can shake the house of Morley." His influence was such as to raise the whole moral tone of commercial life in the city; his wealth was that of a king among merchant princes. Shrewd, sagacious, acute, he understood the art of utilizing all the resources at his command, and fitting every part of the machinery to work towards one common end. He knew the stern conditions under which alone success was possible, and he compelled others, as well as himself, to conform to them. He would not tolerate bad work, or indifferent work, or BUSINESS CHABAGTEEISTICS. 193 half-hearted service ; he would have no waste any- where or in anything; he would have around him competent men, and only competent men ; he would have everything fair and square, and every trans- action clear as noontide. It was almost a necessary consequence that the man who could and would ensure all this must be a thorough, and a somewhat stern, disciplinarian. Mr. Morley was undoubtedly stern, bat it was the stern- ness that belongs to all despotic government, the sternness that is essential to all military discipHne. When he gave the word of command he gave it in the tone of command ; when he said a certain course should be pursued, woe to the man who said to him " Nay." It was perhaps inevitable that Mr. Morley should be sometimes domineering, and often impatient. Naturally quick and keen himself, he could not brook hesitancy or bungling in others ; prompt to decide and rapid in seeing things, he did not make allow- ances for men who were dull and slow. It happened, therefore, that irritability, accompanied occasionally by Httle explosions of temper, were not altogether unknown to him, although anger had no abiding-place in his bosom. He could forgive generously, without parade, manifesting in manner rather than in his speech that he had done so. On one occasion, when he had given way to strong and hasty words to one with whom he was associated in business, and, on reflection, had satisfied himself U 194 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XII. that the expressions he had used were uncalled for, he adopted the simple expedient of sending forthwith an envelope addressed to the man he had wronged, with the simple words, written in the flap, " With kind regards." That was all, but Samuel Morley was not the man to send kind regards unless he felt them, and his correspondent understood what he meant as well as if he had written half a dozen sides of note- paper. Every man has his faults, and it would be absurd to claim for Mr. Morley a total exemption. His best friends acknowledge that he carried imperious- ness to a fault ; and Mr. Morley himself averred that "he had been all his life trying to conquer his besetting sin of impatience." We may sum up in a paragraph those business characteristics which have not already been men- tioned. He was no speculator, no adventurer, but there was no one who ever felt a keener delight in a bargain, or was quicker to perceive a business oppor- tunity than he, and naturally he appreciated these qualities in others. He was, as Mr. Euskin said of his own father, " an entirely honest merchant." No man ever doubted his absolute integrity in everything. Therefore it was that his opinion on any trade question was highly esteemed throughout the country, and that city men confided to him their most secret and varied business troubles, convinced that he would not take advantage of any revelation, but would give honest, truthful, and practical advice. He never entrusted to COBBESPONDENCE. 195 other hands the work that could be done by himself. Although, by a system of junior partnerships, he had gathered immediately around him the most zealous and faithful of his employes, and given them a share in the success to which they contributed — a share of honour as well as of gain — Mr. Morley was always "the firm," it was his hand that guided and con- trolled everything, his eye that watched day by day the progress, or otherwise, of each department. The correspondence of the firm was enormous. At one time the average number of letters received in Wood Street by the first post was 2,000 per diem, and from 60 to 100 by every succeeding post throughout the day — the largest number of letters, according to the statement of the Post OfBce authorities, received by any private firm in London, and second only to the number received by| the Prudential Assurance Company. Mr. Morley's private correspondence was altogether exceptional, and, as he invariably gave to it his per- sonal attention, he could never, as the Scotch say, " overtake it." It happened, therefore, that his work was never done ; wherever he went his work went with him. " Every day, when we were out together on Home Missionary work," wrote Dr. Wilson^ " he received a statement of what was done in Wood Street, answered letters, and sometimes showed me how, by system, and through the heads of de- partments, he could tell the exact position of affairs, ' I have never had much difficulty in 196 .SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XII. making money,' he once said to me, ' but have often been at a loss to know how best to spend it.' Every night, also, he would bring out his hand- bag, so full of letters at times that I often wondered how he could get through them ; but, after consulta- tion about some of them, he put aside for immediate reply the most pressing, and seldom failed to make the work keep pace with the duties of the day. Towards the end of our engagements in this kind of Christian service, he was greatly relieved by an able secretary, and as his three sons, now in the business, came to take an active part, he found his cares lessening. All through hfe he was a practical embodiment of the Scripture, ' Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.' " The "house of Morley" was a training-school for high-class business men, and those who were in earnest never spoke a word against the rigid discipline, but regarded it as a wise form of commercial train- ing. They knew that there would be a generous recognition of all efficient service, and this created an esprit de corps among all those who really co- operated with him. By many thoughtful arrange- ments he proved, what he was always ready to acknow- ledge by word of mouth, that he regarded his own interests and those of his employes as one, and that his responsibility to them did not cease when he had paid them their salaries. " To get into Mr. Morley's house " was the aspira- tion of thousands of young men, but none stood a YOUNa MEN AT M0BLEY8. 197 better chance than~those who had poverty in their homes. Many struggling widows, many " decayed gentlemen," many poor ministers, found the door opened to their sons which was closed to others ; the only conditions in every case being good capacity and good character in the son. Many an anxious mother mentioned 18, Wood Street, in her prayers, dreamed of Wood Street in her dreams, and saw Wood Street in her visions of the future ; and when a short note was received—" Dear Madam, — If your son will call upon me here on Wednesday next I shall be glad to see him. Yours truly, S. Moeley " — she has read the words through tears of joy, and has felt it to be God's answer to her petitions. Many instances might be quoted in proof of this. Let one suffice. The following letter is in reply to a much longer epistle than the one quoted above : — Dear Me. Moeley,— Accept my most cordial thanks for your very kind note. It was peculiarly precious to me from the state of feeling which it met, and which compelled me to receive it as from a higher source, as well as from your kind and considerate pen. I quite agree with you that many a blessing is lost, many a prayer hindered, because it reaches heaven with the wrong stamp, ' doubt ' instead of loving, con- fident 'trust.' My boy comes to you encased in a mother's prayers, which have been commenced in babyhood and deeply breathed to the present hour, and I believe they will be answered. No very decided Christian profession or expression has been'given as yet — that is to say, not in the mode which some think so much of, but which I am not at all anxious about ; but all the indications of character and feeling are in the right direction, and, as yet, I believe him to be as pure as boy can be. I feel that I am now launching him on a great unknown sea, where rocks and quicksands and pirates abound, but I wiU trust, as you say, and 198 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XII. aot fear ; there is also many a lighthouse, and he is not without chart or hehn. I hope I am not making too free by writing thus at length to you. I did not intend it, but your fatherly heart will make some allowance when I tell you that parting with this boy is a conflict I was not prepared for ; it is a terrible wrench at the last. But we are all most thankful for this opening in God's providence, and your great kindness. Our son comes to you with bright hopes and with full purpose to do his very best, and all will be well, I feel sure. He leaves by nine o'clock train to-morrow morning, and will be in Wood Street about twelve. When you have had time to form some opinion of him, I need not say a single hne from your pen, just once, will be a great favour. I am. Ever most gratefully yours, Mr. Morley watched over the lives entrusted to his care with great faithfulness. If he saw aptitude combined with integrity, he would find occasion to give a word of praise and encouragement, and it would be couched in terms that would fasten themselves on the memory. In like manner, if he found a man idle, shifty, or half-hearted, he would administer a reproof which would never be forgotten. The current of one life was turned by these words : " I have lost faith in your ability to carry out a pur- pose resolutely." The effect of training in Wood Street was soon shown. Let us, for example, see the effect on one individual, the same one from whose mother we have just quoted. She shall be again the narrator : — Dbab Mr. Mokley,— . . . Many thanks for this little hohday to my son ; it is a mutual gratification to us to meet. He seems to have adopted Wood Street heart and soul ; it is quite amusing to see his CABE FOB EMPLOYES. 199 evident interest in his work, and while enjoying home and the country this day or two, not one word of dishke to London or hard work escapes him— he rather seems to glory in the press of business, &c. Besides the good that he will in time, we hope, gain from you, I do hope and believe you will find a faithfal servant in him. You would be amused at the way in which he shows his interest in ' our house.' I am so glad to see his whole heart wedded to his daily work, it is the secret of all success. The way in which your name has grown into him from childhood as a household word is a great security for an abiding iaterest, and I earnestly hope and beUeve that he will do his very very best to serve you. He will return to-morrow more ready for work for this timely and pleasant little change. . . . I am, dear Mr. Morley, Yours ever gratefully, There were few, if any, business houses in the City of London where the employes were so well cared for in every respect as in Morley's. In the domestic arrangements every provision was made for comfort and rational enjoyment, while the resources of the house for intellectual and moral improvement were not only ample, but unexampled in the privileges they offered. The chiefs of the household arrangements, under whose supervision the ■ young men lived in Wood Street, were persons of decidedly Christian cha- racter ; and business aptitude, apart from this higher qualification, was not allowed to weigh in their selec- tion. In taking young men into his house, the chief inquiries made were, whether they were men of sterHng moral character as well as of business 200 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XII. qualifications. There was no question raised as to whether they made profession of Christianity — the only question ever put was to ascertain whether they were Protestant, as Mr. Morley would not, for the sake of the others, allow a Eoman Cathohc to come amongst them lest he should — as in duty, bound — seek to propagate the tenets of his Church. Neither did Mr. Morley make teetotalism a test of any kind — on the contrary, there was provided for those who were not of his way of thinking, the best beer that could be obtained. In short, they were treated in every particular with respect and con- sideration. Many a man who has done, and is doing, good work in Christian enterprise, and many who are now masters in large concerns of their own, attribute all their success in life, and all the force of their cha- racters, to the training they received in Mr. Morley's house. " I have heard hard-ground strivers in other great houses declare," said the Eev. Arthur Mursell, in a paper written in 1886, " that a berth in Morley's meant self-respect, honour, and emolument, such as no other place in England gave to faithful service." He narrates a personal incident which may be recorded here : — - " Early in life, while a burden on my father's hands, I almost became one of Mr. Morley's appren- tices. I remember, as if it were the other day, being taken to his room, and, when the errand was BEV. ABTHUB MUB8BLL. 201 explained, he asked to see my writing, which was an awful ' fist ' of twisted illegibility. How I blushed when the cobweb of spider-legs, which I was pleased to call my ' handwriting,' was handed to him ! He was not a man of humour, so he only smiled, and did not laugh outright ; he was not a man of banter, so he did not ' chaff' me. But the prospect of having his book defaced by such a clerk caused him to say, with a reassuring smile, that I should have a private set of books to practise on till I got more master of my pen. I forget why the negotiations fell through, but I know it was from no fault of his ; and I some- times wish I had spun yarns in Samuel Morley's service, rather than lost my way among the pulpit yarns with which, for so many years, I have bewildered both my neighbour and myself! " Although there was in Mr. Morley's manner a certain amount of austerity, and there were times when an act of carelessness or wrong-doing would draw from him a flash of indignation which the delinquent would remember as long as he lived, there were few in the house who did not know that beneath the somewhat stern exterior there dwelt a generously kind and loving heart. If any man in the house were in trouble, he could go and tell it to Mr. Morley, feeling perfectly confident that he would receive kind and even fatherly treatment ; if altera- tions or improvements suggested themselves, either as regarded matters connected with the business itself, or of the home-life of the young men who 202 SAMUML MOBLMY. [Chap. XII. lived on the premises, no one who really knew Mr. Morley would refrain from laying the matter before him, or doubt for a moment that his request, if really feasible, would meet with his approval and support ; and, no one ever had to complain of not receiving from him the most just treatment. Even those who did not love Mr. Morley, admired and respected him for his extraordinary practical ability, for the purity of his principles, and for the apphcation of those principles to the every-day routine of business life. If they had not personally received special favours at his hands, the warehouse was full of witnesses who had, and no man in Wood Street dared to say a word against their chief ; it would have been high treason, and would have been treated as such. At the same time, they all knew exactly the position in which they stood in that house ; they knew, as we have said, that falsehood, misrepresenta- tion, dishonesty, idleness, or inefficiency, would bring upon them the most condign punishment; they knew that, if no employes were to be discharged during the time when trade was slack, they must be prepared to work late in the busy seasons and in times of exceptional pressure, with this advantage — that, in the winter months, they would be able to leave the warehouse, month after month, at not later than five o'clock ; they knew, in short, the exact con- ditions of their service, and that those conditions were equally binding on employer and employed. But employment in the house of Morley was a YOUNG MEN'S MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 203 great deal more than a mere matter of contract. Holidays were liberal ; the arrangements of the " household," with its library and reading-room, parlours and dining-room, combined many of the conveniences of a club-house with the comfort of home. Moreover, for those who, by failure of health, or accident, were incapacitated, there was a system of pensions, not for warehousemen and clerks only, but for the porters also. For many years, in fact until about 1865, Mr. Morley was in the habit of paying the salaries to his young men, thus giving himself an opportunity of being brought into personal contact with each, and of hearing from them any matters that they might wish to bring before him. Those matters would relate to an infinite variety of interests, apart from those of business. There were at 18, Wood Street, several flourishing institu- tions, in whose prosperity master and men were equally concerned. For example, in 1854 a meeting was held in one of the rooms, to take into con- sideration the best means of increasing and sustain- ing a missionary spirit in the estabHshment, and the result of that meeting was the formation of a Young Men's Missionary Association. It started with the laudable resolve to divide its funds among the various Nonconformist societies, unless any member should prefer to give his subscription to any other society, in which case it would be appro- priated as desired. 204 SAMUEL MOBLEt. [Chap. XII. Permission was given by the firm to hold the quarterly meetings on the premises, and to invite ministers and others to address the members of the association on these occasions. A considerable amount of interest was excited in this way, and at » the first annual meeting there were seventy members present. The Association grew, and the interest was well sustained; nor could it be otherwise, seeing that it was taken up with so much spirit, and was well supported by Mr. Samuel Morley, who, after the first year, almost invariably presided at the annual meet- ings, at which many of the leading ministers of the day took part. Among them, either as speakers or lecturers, were the Eev. W. Arthur, Dr. Binney, the Hon. and Eev. Baptist Noel, the Revs. F. Greeves, William Brock, Samuel Martin, J. C. Harrison, Eobert Maguire, Alexander Ealeigh, Morley Pun- shon, Charles Stovel, Luke Wiseman, and many others. In 1866, a fresh impetus was given to the Young Men's Missionary Association by the issue of tickets of admission to friends ; and at the twelfth annual meeting, a hundred and fifty strangers were present, in addition to the members. On that occasion the Eev. C. H. Spurgeon was the principal speaker, and he chose for his theme the ad- vantage and importance of work near home. Two months later, a lecture was dehvered by the Eev. G. W. McCree, on "Day and Night in St. Giles's; " and. BBACELEY STEEET HALL. 205 at the conclusion of the lecture, it was stated that several of the young men had expressed a strong feeling that some Home Mission work of a definite kind might be done by the house, and that a favour- able opening for commencing it presented itself in the district around Golden Lane, Barbican. A meeting was held forthwith to discuss the matter, a committee was formed, and in a short time a Mission Hall was hired in Brackley Street, Golden Lane ; a missionary was selected and appointed at a salary of £120 per annum, and preparations were made for a start. Success attended the effort, and in a short time arrangements were made for penny readings, penny banks, temperance meetings, evening classes, sale of cheap and pure literature, and a day-school, besides the formation of various committees for the distribution of old clothes, for visiting the sick, and for many other good and useful purposes. All these arrangements were made by the young men themselves, and then, when everything was in working order, Mr. Morley was invited to take the chair at a general meeting of subscribers. The whole report of the proceedings met with his cordial appro- bation, and in an earnest and impressive speech he dwelt upon the responsibility the young men had taken upon themselves in having committed the house to such a great and important work, and urged them to do their utmost to make the mission a success, at the same time promising to help in every way in his power. 206 SAMUEL MOBLEY. LChap. XII. Steady progress was made, good men of all de- nominations rallied round the movement, and fresh organizations were from time to time inaugurated. Mr. Morley purchased the Brackley Street Hall, placed it at the disposal of the association rent free, and, year by year, liberally contributed to the funds of the mission. Till the time of his death, he took an unabated pleasure in watching the progress of the Young Men's Missionary Society ; and it was no small reward to him, for his share in the movement, to know that it was not only accomplishing a vast amount of good among the suffering poor, but that it was the means of training young men for work in that vast harvest-field where still, in comparison with the need, the "labourers are few." The influence of Mr. Morley as a man of business was felt, not only throughout the city, but throughout the country. His immovable integrity, his great capacity and clear-headedness, his absolute sincerity, his gift of seeing into men and things, his enormous success, and, above all, the high tone of his prin- ciples, made him stand out in all commercial circles as the typical man of business. The late Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton once said : " The longer I live, the more I am certain that the great difference between men, between the feeble and the powerful, the great and the insignificant, is energy — invincible determination, a purpose once fixed, and then, death or victory. That quality will COMMERCIAL MORALITY. 207 do anything that can be done in this world ; and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities, will make a two-legged creature a Man without it." That quality, guided and governed by Christian principle, had made Mr. Morley what he was. He stood in the most dangerous and trying position in which any man could stand ; he had protested against every form of commercial immorality, and had proved the possibility of carrying on business to an unprece- dented success, in accordance with the letter, as well as the spirit, of the Gospel. JOHAPTEE XIII. 1865—1866. Consents to stand for Nottingham — The Election Fight — A Eeign of Terror — Letter from Eev. W. Brock — " The Church in Danger " — Political Creed — Eeturned Head of the Poll — Enters Parliament — Maiden Speech — Church Rates Abolition Bill — Letter from Eev. Newman Hall — Tests Abolition Bill — Unseated on Petition — Letter from Mr. Gladstone — Letter to Nottingham Electors — A Sorrow and its Lessons — The Women of Fletcher Gate — At Cambridge with his Sons — The Eev. Joseph Hargrove. " We must have a firm enunciation of our principles in the House of Commons. The great battle of the age, in which the hopes of Christ's Church are in- volved, and with the issue of which, humanly speak- ing, its spirituality and extension are identified, must be fought there. The question is — 'Who will con- secrate themselves to such an engagement ? ' Where Divine Providence has bestowed the requisite quali- fications, do not love and duty demand that they shall not have been bestowed in vain ? Ought they to refuse? And would not the benefit which the Church of Christ would derive from their fidelity, their consciousness of serving the best of Masters in the highest of earthly spheres, and the manifest co- operation with them of His all-wise providence, be ample compensation for the heavy sacrifices which such a course of duty would entail ? " 1865—1866.] STANDS FOB, NOTTINbtHAM. 209 Such, it will be remembered, were the words that Samuel Morley, as Chairman of the Dissenters' Par- liamentary Committee, wrote in 1847 to leading Nonconformists throughout the country. Constantly he had been urged to come forward and represent his principles in Parliament, but, from motives to which allusion has been made, "he had been let hitherto." Now, many of the difficulties that had stood in his way were removed, and at the earnest solicitations of a wide circle of friends he allowed himself, at the General Election of 1865, to be nominated as a candidate for the representation of Nottingham, the old town that was endeared to him by countless memories. He was brought forward by the Liberal party as a colleague to Mr. Charles Paget, a personal hiend, for whom he had a very high esteem. Mr. Paget had in this year nominated Mr. Morley as a member of the Eeform Club, and in writing to him upon the subject, he said : " It will be a very interesting Session. I hope that Gladstone's responsibility will call up corresponding discretion ; he is a man in whose honesty I have always had the utmost confidence ; perhaps we may watch his course together!" The two Liberal candidates were opposed by Sir Eobert Clifton, who came before the electors as an Independent, and by Mr. A. G. Martin, a Conser- vative of the orthodox type. The election fight was the most sharp and bitter of any throughout the 15 210 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. XIII. country. The Nottingham " lambs " rallied round Sir Robert Clifton, who had acquired among them a local popularity, and they hooted and assaulted the advocates of a wider extension of the franchise. The borough had a dire notoriety in former times for lawlessness, and during this election the old spirit broke out afresh. There were riots of a very serious character; the town seemed given over to the mob, and the mob seemed given over to Sir Eobert Clifton. On one occasion the magistrates sat, as though paralysed, in the Exchange Buildings, with the entire body of the borough police gathered round them to shelter their retreat, and a reserve body from Derby shut up in another building, while, under their eyes, the yelling crowd was engaged in its infuriate play, with stones and bludgeons and fagots. The crowd pressed on to the hotel where Mr. Morley was staying, and so fierce was the shower of stones assailing him, that he and his secretary, Mr. E. S. Pryce, had to remain hidden until the storm swept by. As the Saturday Bevieiv observed, in its own style, " The faith in universal suffrage which survives a shower of brickbats must be very tenacious ! " One of those who induced Mr. Morley to contest Nottingham, was his friend Mr. A. J. Mundella, who, writing to him in the following year to express his " shame and grief that a good man should have been dragged into such a wretched contest, and into such loathsome contact," said : " During your election I 1865—1866.] ELECTION BIOTS. 2ll spoke three times only to our own meetings, when our own Mends were admitted by ticket ; but it cost me weeks of the most shameful persecution. My liberties, and those of your friends, were circum- scribed and invaded in a manner that I should have believed impossible in the Queen's dominions. The Committee can never know, and never believe, half the wickedness and barbarity of our opponents. It would be dangerous to tell it, for it would be simply incredible that such things should have occurred in England ; and it would be dangerous in another sense, as it would direct the thoughts of the poor misguided people to crimes which, happily, have not yet been perpetrated. Besides an attack on my house at mid- night, which placed in jeopardy the lives of those dearest to me on earth, I was warned that my property was in danger of being fired. I had to employ men nightly to guard it. I increased in- surances enormously. Many of your friends, I believe, have done the same." Throughout the election, terrorism triumphed. Old inhabitants of Nottingham expressed the hope that they might be deprived, for a time, of the rights of representation, and declared that " everything may be bought too dearly, and the sacrifice an honest elector is called upon to make is altogether too great for the privilege enjoyed." How anxiously the contest was watched by " the churches," may be gathered from the following letter: — 212 BAMVEL MORLBY. [Chap. XIII. The Bev. WilUam Brock to Mr. Samuel Morley. 24, GowEE Stkbbt, W.O., July 9, 1865. My dear Mb. Morley, — I was moved this morning to make mention of the claim which such men as yourself have upon us just now. At our Lord's Supper service — weekly with us at Bloomsbury — I referred to yourself expressly, and eolicited the prayers of the Brotherhood on your behalf. I prayed for you by name, and all the people responded by an 'Amen ' that would have sent gladness into your heart. To have you sheltered under the shadow of the Divine wing now ; to have you kept in perfect peace now ; to have you circumspect now ; to have you with a conscience void of offence, both toward God and toward man, now, will be more than thousands of gold and silver. Assure your- self of the Christian sympathy of one body of Christian brethren. Your anxieties are ours, and your responsibilities are ours. We bid you God speed. Accept the pledge of unfeigned fraternal fellowship under your present trial. Yours most truly, William Brock. The time-honoured cry of " The Church in danger ! " was raised on the hustings and in the tavern-hars by the rabble that ralHed round the Conservative party. It had its influence, as it has had before and since. No doubt the placards that adorned the walls of Nottingham — "' Mr. Morley wants to pull down the Church! " — filled the hearts of some poor waverers with terror and remorse. Not a few, it is said, inter- preted the placard literally, and kept anxious eyes on that solid ecclesiastical structure on the High Pave- ment, and on the stalwart man who was cheered and hooted wherever he went. Mr. Morley's trumpet gave no uncertain sound as to the course he should pursue in relation to matters 1865—1866.] " THE GHUBCH IN DANGER ! " 213 of religious freedom and equality, in the event of his being returned to Parliament. In his speeches and in the press he gave his creed, in respect of the Church of England, in terms plain and unmistakable. Briefly they may be summed up as follows : (1) That those who enjoy the use of parish churches for reli- gious worship should pay for the necessary repairs and requisites of worship of those churches, but that Nonconformists, who pay for the erection and repair of their own churches, and the requisites of their worship, should not, in addition, be taxed to assist wealthier Churchmen to provide for themselves these religious privileges. (2) That no Nonconformist youth should, because of his religious conscien- tiousness, be debarred from the Universities of the country, and suffer the loss of University culture and honours. Eeligion should entail no loss of position or character on any man in free England, (3) That, so long as he was held by law to be a member of the Church of England, he would en- deavour to secure a fairer distribution of the revenues of that Church, so that the working clergy should not be starving upon miserable pittances. (4) That every endowment and bequest to the Protestant Episcopal Church of these realms should be re- ligiously and inviolably secured to that Church. (5) That the Church of England be restored to its proper integrity and independence, and exercise free action within itself in the election of its own officers, and the determination of its own formularies. 214 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIII. (6) That, as the ground on which the civil power based its right to elect the officers and frame the doctrine and ritual of the Church, lay in the national property it had given to the Church, it were better for the Church to. dispense with this State subsidy, and trust to the willing service of its own members. He would never consent to the secularization of this national property, but would urge that it should be devoted to the highest interests of the national civilization in some form that should not cramp the free thought of England by State interference. If no other way could be found to give freedom and independence to the Church, he would consent to the unconditional surrender to it of all the endowments then held by the Church.* With regard to political reform, the fundamental principle affirmed by Mr. Morley was, that in our representative system, electoral rights should be based, not upon property, but upon manhood. He did not by this say, or intend to say, that he would advocate what is termed "manhood suffrage," but that the principle of the suffrage should be manhood and not property. It might be guarded by any qualifications — as, for example, manhood and citizenship, as ad- vocated by Frederick Maurice — but it should be granted in some form so as to bring at once a million more persons within the pale of the electoral con- stituency of the country. There was nothing extreme in these views. Many f- " The Patriot," 1865—1866.] BETURNED HEAD OF TEE POLL. 215 Churchmen would have gone as far, and some, had they dared, would have gone farther ; but the ex- pression of these sentiments stirred up the wrath of the Tories of Nottingham. A candid and an honest friend of Mr. Morley's, a man of high position and influence, wrote to him, apropos of this, and said, " What is the key to all this ? In the main I believe it is the intense hatred that the Tories entertain of you personally. If you had possessed less character, less influence, and less sincerity, they would have been more easily reconciled. But your known energy, your position, and your frankly avowed principles, have elicited their utmost hate. I have heard brother Churchmen, who go to the same communion table, avow (with shame I say it) they would ' vote for the Devil to keep out Morley,' and this is their real and genuine feeling." The election resulted in the return of Mr. Morley at the head of the poll, with Sir Eobert Clifton as his colleague ! The poll was as follows : — Morley, 2,393. Clifton, 2,352. Paget, 2,327. Martin, 2,242. Shortly afterwards, he wrote to his second daughter: — Ceaven Lodge, Aug. 3, 1865. . . . You cannot think what a painful recollection I have of the events of the late election, for though I am thaniful to feel quite sure that not an act that was either illegal or dishonourable was committed to secure my election, there was so much personality and violence that the pleasure is lessened one-half, especially as I am not associated with Mr. Paget. 216 SAMUEL M0BLE7. [Chap. XIII. On the 1st of February, 1866, the new Parliament commenced its labours by electing Mr. Evelyn Deni- son to the office of Speaker, and by " swearing in " the new Members, two hundred of whom had never before eat in the.House. On the 6th of that month. Parliament was formally opened by the Queen herself, coming forth from a long sorrow to take part, for the first time since she had been a widow, in the great Constitutional ceremonial. It will help to fix the position of certain aspects of public affairs, if we record here that the address was agreed to without a division in the House of Lords, but that when The O'Donoghue sought, in the House of Commons, to insert a para- graph calling upon Ministers to examine into and remove the disaffection in Ireland, it was defeated on a division, by 346 to 25 votes. Mr. Morley's early impressions of Parliament were not very favourable. His consolation was that he hoped to find a way of doing good, and, like Joseph Hume, who said that " it was his knowledge of the fact that when he spoke in the House, even to all but empty benches, he was speaking to millions outside through the press," he was content to make sacrifices for the sake of the publicity that would be given to the principles he had entered that House expressly to advocate. Mr. Morley made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on the 7th of March, the occasion being the second reading of the Church Bates Abolition Bill. It was a memorable night. The new Parlia- 1865—1866.] MAIDEN SPEECH IN HOUSE OE COMMONS. 217 ment was more favourable than any whicli had ever met, to the principle of religious equality ; the most strenuous exertions had been made on both sides of the House to bring up Members to take part in the division. Mr. Gladstone was, for the iirst tilne, to vote in support of the measure. The debate was fiiU of interest from beginning to end ; the scene was brilliant, the strangers' and speakers' galleries were filled with eager faces, and under the gallery, in the places generally allotted to visitors, were several lead- ing Nonconformists. The second reading was moved by Mr. Hardcastle and seconded by Mr. Gilpin ; the opposition was led by Mr. Walpole, who contended that, although the religious objection to Church rates should be respected, the opposition to the rates was mainly a political one, and he made a strong point of the answers given by Mr. Morley before the Com- mittee of the House of Lords in 1859. When the motion and amendment were formally stated by the Speaker, a dozen Members started to their feet ; but all gave way to Mr. Gladstone, who, in a brief but powerful speech, removed the question out of the arena of mere party politics and set it in the straight path for settlement. The debate was continued by Mr. Beresford Hope, Mr. Bright, and Mr. Gathorne Hardy, and then the House began to get impatient. When Sir Thomas Lloyd attempted to speak, every word he uttered was drowned in shouts of " Divide ! Divide ! " It was at this apparently inauspicious moment 218 SAMUEL MORLEY. [Chap. XITI. that Mr. Morley rose. He was not a man to be shouted down ; he stood calm and unmoved in the midst of the uproar, and had not uttered half a dozen words before the House quietly settled down to listen. After explaining the circumstances, so often alluded to in the debate, under which he had given the evidence before the House of Lords (when the Bishop of London had cross-examined him about a matter quite foreign to the purpose of the Committee, namely, the aims of the Liberation Society), he continued : — A great number of the Dissenters of this country regard, as I do, the property of the Church as the property of the nation — property with which the House is entitled to deal ; but I do not believe that one Dissenter in a thousand desires to touch a shilling of the Church property. The question that not only Dissenters are asking, but others too, with an emphasis which cannot long remain unanswered, is, How, with a Church confessedly the richest in the world, millions of our population are living beyond the inflaenoe of religion ? I am glad to acknowledge that at no former period in the history of the English Church had she among her clergy so many true-hearted and earnest men as are now preaching her doctrines and ministering to the spiritual and religious welfare of the people. But such men, for the most part, know little, and care less, about Church rates ; they are men who love the flock more than the fleece, whose sole aim is to preach the gospel and attend to the religious instruction and guidance of the people, and who, in furtherance of that object, have, by invoking the co-operation of the laity, resorted to organizations which may almost be regarded as non-ecclesiastical. Dissenters would be de- lighted to see the Established Church taking the lead in efforts for pro- moting the spiritual good of the people. Eeligion has been marred in this country by the interference of the civil power, and it is a great question that is being discussed by the public, whether the Church is to continue her work through organizations, the outgrowth of her own religious life, or through organizations provided for her by the civil power. 1865—1866.] LETTER FROM REV. NEWMAN HALL. 219 The House grew noisy again, and Mr. Morley, expressing the hope that the ohve-branch held out might be accepted, and his conviction that Noncon- formists throughout the country would hail with pleasure such a settlement as that proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gladstone), sat down amid warm applause. The impression produced by Mr. Morley' s first speech in the House is well told in the following letter from a personal friend who was present : — Bev. Newmnn Hall to Mr. Morley. 28, New Finchley Road, Hampstead, N.W., March 7, 1866. My dear Mr. Morley, — I cannot let the day pass without expressing my delight.and thankfulness at the most successful effort you made to-day. Though you are a Member, and I am not, I, perhaps, have had more ex- perience of what the House of Commons is, and I think no one could have risen to speak under more unfavourable circumstances. The House was impatient for the division. The preceding speaker had been shouted down. When I saw you rise, I trembled for the result. The attempt to stop you at first might have unnerved almost any one. But with great calmness yet earnestness you put the case firmly yet courteously, and so that the bitterest foes must feel that you, and those you represent, have a deep religious consideration in what they do. What you said was most apposite and good. But more than this, I value the evident effect and impression produced as regards yourself, so that there is no doubt you wiU always obtain a hearing in future. I hope you know I could not flatter you. I respect both myself and yourself too much, but I do thank God that you were enabled, in such a manner, to advocate a cause so dear to my heart, and that you have won audience for yourself in future before the most influential assembly of the world. Believe me. Very faithfully yours, Newman Hall. 220 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIII. A fortnight later (March 21st), Mr. Morley spoke agaur in the House on the Tests Ahohtion Bill, He said : — The question had been treated as though the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were originally instituted in direct connection with the Established Church, whereas most of the colleges were founded before the Reformation. No declaration of beUef was required before that period, and the institutions were in the highest and strictest sense national establishments. This was not simply a Dissenter's question, as large bodies of Churchmen called for the reHef prayed for. , , . He asked the House to deal with this question in a generous spirit. It was to the interest of the country that the question should be settled in a broad and generous spirit, and he hoped that, after the second reading of the Bill, means might be found for meeting some of the difficulties which had been referred to by the opponents of the measure, and that a way would be found for meeting the views of all parties. That was the last speech Mr. Morley made in the House as Member for Nottingham. In the following month he was unseated on petition. It was a blow that, for a time, sorely wounded him ; it was the greatest grief and trouble he had ever known in his public and political life. The measure of his offence was that he had not been suificiently suspicious of his friends. On himself no shadow of a stain, no word of reproach, rested. For resist- ing the terrorism and violence of the election, and for securing the safety of their supporters in going to the poUingrbooths, Mr. Morley, and his colleague Mr. Paget, had sanctioned the employment of paid non-electors ; but some few of the agents took ad- vantage of this and gave colourable employment to a 1865—1866.] UNSEATED ON PETITION. 221 number of voters who neither did, nor were capable of doing, any important service to their party except the service of voting. For the indiscretion of these agents Mr. Morley had to pay the severest penalty — the loss of his seat, and all the distress, disappointment, and mortification it involved. There was one thing that made the position bearable to him — his own conscious integrity. He stated, in regard to the election, that " he never said a word he wished unsaid, or did a deed he wished undone." One great alleviation of the trouble was the wealth of genuine hearty sympathy that was poured upon him. There lie before the present writer a mass of letters all breathing the warmest regard and the utmost astonishment at the result of the petition. Very touching are some of these, especially from his own kith and kin, from his old friends, such as Parsons and Binney, from his comrades in many a battle for religious liberty, such as Miall, Baines, Charles Eeed, and Henry Eichard, and from his own warehousemen, clerks, and porters. Not less interest- ing are others from Members of Parliament, of all shades of opinion ; from clergymen and ministers, from rich and poor. The burden of these letters was to urge him not to be discouraged by his un- pleasant experience, but, in the interests of reform, peace, temperance, human progress generally, to again offer himself as a candidate for Parlia- ment. One of the first to write to him after the decision 222 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIII. of the Election Committee was made known, was Mr. Gladstone : — The Bight Hon. W. E. Gladstone to Mr. Samuel Morley. 11, Caelton House Terrace, April 21, 1866. Dear Me. Moeley,^! cannot refrain from writing to you a line to express the unfeigned and deep concern with which I learn that you have ceased, for the moment, to be a Member of the House of Commons. I might sufficiently found this assurance on the personal respect and regard which I share with all who know you. But it has a wider scope. The questions relating to what we term religious liberty, still open to contest among us, are questions requiring not only firm, but conciliatory treatment ; and that spirit of candid con- sideration for antagonists, which is now, perhaps, the very first of all requisites for their solution, is a spirit of which, during the few weeks of the session, you have already given the most striking and conclusive marks. Such marks, when conjoined with your well-known possession of the fullest confidence of a very large and powerful body of your fellow- countrymen, had made me more sanguine, than at any former period, of our speedily achieving some further progress. Great, then, on public as well as on private grounds, is the disappointment. But I earnestly hope that it will not discourage you from a painful but most useful purpose, and that we may soon, very soon, again see you on our benches. Believe me, dear Mr. Morley, Sincerely yours, W. E. Gladstone. It was not by private letter only that Mr. Glad- stone bore testimony to the man whom he delighted to honour. On the 8th of May, in the course of a speech on the Church Bates Bill, he said : — I communicated with another hon. Member whose absence from the House I deplore alike on personal and on general grounds, Mr. Morley, in whose removal I think we have experienced a very seriovis loss, not only on account of the respect in which that gentleman was held for his talents and his intelligence, but on account of the singular manner in 1865—1866.] LETTER FROM MB. GLADSTONE. 223 which it was given to him to unite decided and pronounced opinions on those questions that most of all interest Dissenters, with a character and mode of treatment that was essentially conciliating, and a disposition never to come to issue, or to enter into controversy, except for some real and vital object. In thus speaking he carried the House with him. Many Members took up the same strain, both in and out of Parhament. Mr. Bright, who was not wont to deal in eulogies, bore a noble testimony to the "high qualities of Mr. Morley," considering " that a more upright, genial, and every way ad- mirable man, never entered the House of Commons." These kindly expressions, taken up and re-echoed throughout the newspaper press, irrespective of party or creed, greatly stimulated Mr. Morley, who wrote to Mr. Gladstone : — Mr. Samuel Morley to the Bight Hon. W. E. Gladstone. Ceaven Lodge, May 10, 1866. Deak Me. Gladstone, — I have been called lately to pass through a period of rather severe discipline, owing to circumstances with which, however properly held responsible for them, I had really nothing to do. My friends have manifested towards me an amount of sympathy which has both surprised and gratified me, but I trust I shall not be considered intrusive in saying that I never shall forget the few kind, generous words you uttered in the Church Rate debate on Tuesday evening last. If any- thing could do so, they will add to the pleasure I shall feel in finding myself once more among your hearty and earnest supporters. I am, dear Mr. Gladstone, Yours very faithfully, S. MOELEY, To the electors of the borough of Nottingham Mr. Morley wrote almost immediately after the 224 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIII. verdict of the Committee of Inquiry had been given : — London, April 24, 1866. Gentlemen, — The cleoision of a Committee of the House of Commons has deprived me of a seat in ParHament, and dissolved the connection between us. Conscious of a sincere de^re, throughout this struggle, that nothing dis- honourable should be done or said, by myself or my supporters, I forbear 'to reproach those, few in number, by whose weakness or fault m.y name has been associated with practices which I regard with the utmost detestation. It would ill become me, however, not cordially to acknowledge the many tokens of respect and kindness which I have received, notwith- standing all the bitterness of this contest, and the earnestness and devo- tion which have been shown on my behalf. In the honourable and consistent endeavours of my friends to maintain the cause of law and order, and of the liberty of English citizens, in the face of difBculties, which, I think, have not been fully appreciated, you have had my warmest sympathy, and will ever be entitled to my grateful remembrance. I venture, in bidding you farewell, to express the hope that our painful recollections of the past may, at no distant day, give place to congratula- tion that violence and corruption have ceased in Nottingham elections, and that the stream of legislation and freedom is no longer poisoned at the fountain head. This result alone can, in any measure, compensate for the toil, annoy- ance, and humiliation to which we have been subjected. I am, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, Samuel Moeley, Although the particular form of mental suffering that this Nottingham affair brought to Mr. Morley was about the most acute that a man, who had always borne the "white flower of a blameless life," could experience, there were compensations, as there are to all human sorrows. It checked for a moment 1865—1866.] THE WOMEN OF FLETCHER GATE. 225 that continuous flow of success that had hitherto attended him in everything ; it was a disciphne that was perhaps needed to prevent what is almost inevitable when prosperity has no hindrance — the thought that one's " own right hand hath gotten all these victories;" but, more than this, it altered his relations with the people. Hitherto he had been admired and respected, but now that a trouble had fallen upon him, exquisitely galling to a man of his temperament, the effect was to bring out the strongest expression of sympathy, and sympathy begat affection. Mr. Morley was never so much loved by the people as at this time. One little incident, which touched him deeply, may be recorded here. The women employed in the warehouse at Fletcher Gate, Nottingham, precluded from taking any public action, joined together in giving expression to their feelings. They subscribed for, and purchased, a handsome Bible ; worked a num- ber of book-marks, bearing upon them encouraging and stimulating passages from Holy Scripture, and sent them to Mr. Morley with the following note : — Pletohee Gate, April 27, 1866, Deak Sir, — The females in your employ would ask your acceptance of this present as a token of their great esteem. We deeply sympathize with you in the trouble, anxiety, and disappointment which it has been yours to endm-e. To show the great love and respect we feel towards you, we present you with a copy of the Holy Scriptures, which have been the comfort of many pilgrims while passing through this wilderness world ; the Book, which we believe you value as a pearl of great price, containing promises which have been your comfort, and precepts which have been 16 226 SAMUEL MORLEl. [Chap. XIIl. your guide. We trust you will kindly accept this Book as a faint expres- sion of what we feel. With our best wishes for your health and happiness, We remain, Yours sincerely. There were no signatures to the document. Mr. Morley rephed to it as follows : — My dkae Peiends, — It would be difficult for me to express to you in words the gratification and pleasure which I felt on the receipt of your beautiful and invaluable gift. The Book in itself, I, and I believe many of you, have long felt to be ' the Book of books,' and as such to stand far above any other in value. The binding, too, and the markers with their well-chosen mottoes, are most chaste and handsome. But that which has the highest value in my eyes, and which will make the Book a treasured remem.brance to myself, and an heirloom in my family, is the sympathy and interest on your part of which it speaks. I believe you used no mere words when you spoke of these, and be assured that, if anything could lessen the trial and annoyance of the past few weeks, the assurance of such feeling on your part, and that of others, would tend to do so. That it has been a time of trial, you are right in supposing, but seeing in it all the hand of our Father in heaven, I trust I can use the words of one of your mottoes, and say, ' None of these things move me.' Again thanking you most warmly for the sentiments you have expressed towards myself, as well as for your very beautiful gift, and wishing you all every spiritual and temporal blessing, I remain. Your faithful friend, S. MOELEY. In the home circle the chains of love were riveted more strongly than ever. Each member vied with the other to take Mr. Morley's thoughts away from the subjects which galled him, and to give him proofs of personal attachment. They knew, infinitely better 1865—1866.] AT CAMBBIDGE. 227 than those outside, the extent of the trouble, and they knew, better than any others, how to minister comfort. There was nothing that gave Mr. Morley greater satisfaction at this time, than to run down to Cam- bridge and visit his sons, Hope and Howard, who were at Trinity, where, in course of time, his two other sons, Charles and Arnold, followed. The soli- citude of Mr. Morley for his children ripened with their years. As they grew into manhood, those little confidences which he had been wont to repose in them as children, and they in him, instead of being dropped, as too often happens, widened and deepened. When they went on their Continental travels their letters are full of fresh, wholesome life, telling him, without a shadow of restraint, of all they saw, and heard, and did. And when he went to see his sons at Cambridge, he entered, heart and soul, into all that concerned them. Nothing pleased him better than to stroll round the colleges, exploring curious nooks and corners, and listening to quaint stories of old worthies, whose footfalls still echo in court or cloister. He loved to wander along the quiet glades and lawns of the "backs," or to pause while the deep-toned bell of Grreat St. Mary's broke the stUlness of the su.mmer evening with - its curfew toll, recalling laws and customs of ages long passed away. He was always ready to make one of a party for the Boat Eaces, and took as keen an interest in the probability of 228 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIII. First Trinity making a "bump," especially when, as was often the case, one of his sons was rowing in the boat, as if he were himself an old Trinity -man. College phrases and customs had a charm for him; he liked to be invited.to take another "inch of butter" at breakfast, and, staunch teetotaler as he was, he read with interest the story of aquatic or athletic triumphs blazoned on a "pewter," and appreciated the comradeship signified in the old custom of passing it round the table from hand to hand, though he liked far best to see it filled with home-brewed lemonade. But perhaps his greatest enjoyment was found in meeting a party of his sons' friends at their rooms, or entertaining a few of them at the "Bull," where he was a well-known visitor. He liked to hear the men expressing freely their aims and views, with assurance and confidence, such as young men often exhibit in perfection ; and his well-known toleration and charity never shone brighter than when he was listening to the crude opinions of undergraduates on various questions of the day, sometimes checking by a good-humoured protest or opportune suggestion, but content to hear what all had to say — Tories and Eadicals, Churchmen and Nonconformists— if only he believed that they were actuated by some earnest- ness of purpose. So often did he visit Cambridge during the time that his sons were at college, that their private tutor,* or " coach," once said to him, " Why, Mr. * The Bbv. Josepk Hargrove, who was at Clare. 1865—1866.] VISITS TO CAMBRIDGE. 229 Morley, if you could only keep one term more, we would get the Yice-Cliancellor to give you a degree!" — a joke which Mr. Morley greatly relished. The fact was that he greatly admired the University system, and had a very high opinion of the advantages of a college course ; and he liked to see men proud of their college, and making a good use of the unique and splendid opportunities which Alma Mater affords to her sons during their three years' sojourn under her fostering care. Sometimes, indeed, he would enter a humorous protest when men spoke of going "up" to Cambridge. " Come now, you must allow that London is a place of some little importance, what- ever you have got to say for Cambridge." But when he was told in reply : ' ' Oh, certainly, but you know Cambridge is the metropolis of learning," he was fain to give in, and would perhaps even be heard to use the phrase himself. It will not be supposed by any who knew his religious principles, that he admired or approved every part of the University system. He was, as we have seen, very strongly opposed to tests, which were then in force, and almost as much so to celibate fellowships, and some people wondered that, holding such views as he did, he should send his sons to Cambridge ; but these did not know him. One who did know him, and knew him well, for whom Mr. Morley had a very great regard, and with whom, moreover, he loved to indulge in pleasant, good- natured banter, was the Kev. Joseph Hargrove, 230 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIII. In a letter to the present writer, Mr. Hargrove gives some insight into Mr. Morley's character, and confirms, in a striking manner, the sentiments with regard to the Es'tablished Church he had expressed in his addresses to the electors of Nottingham, and in his speech on Churfch rates in the House of Commons. Mr. Hargrove says : — Among many noble features of character, none perhaps was more con- spicuous than his ready and ungrudging toleration of people and institu- tions widely differing from principles which he held sincerely, and consistently professed. The fact was that his natural generosity always led him to recognize whatever of good was to be found in any institution, while his hatred of anything liie corruption or indolence made him zealous for reform. An excellent example of this was his attitude towards the Church of England. ' These vicarages are a great ornament to our land,' he once said to me,- as we were approaching a clergyman's house, about to call there. So he loved to visit churches notable for their antiquity or architectm-al beauty. He was always ready to acknowledge the merits of the parochial system, while by no means blind to its defects, and he paid unstinted tribute of praise to the Church for her exertions in the work of education previous to Mr. Forster's Act. But the more good he saw, the more earnestly he desired and counselled reform. ' Why don't you get rid of these abuses ? ' he would say ; ' you would find that many who now keep separate from you would unite with you, if only you would reform abuses ; ' adding, with a smile, ' I am too old to be brought back, but others, younger than me, might be gained.' I jnay here quote some words from a letter of his, dated March 31, 1865 : — ' I met some distinguished men lately, and was amazed to hear one of them speak of the Church as part of the Civil Service. That was no other than Lord Houghton. I listened with the utmost surprise, and, having been taught by Mr. Stevens, in an article in Eraser, that every person in the oountiy belongs, whether he likes it or no, to the Church of England, I could not help thinking, as I Ustened, that I am a better Churchman, after all, than some of these professed sons of the Church.' Bnt while he freely criticized the Church, he gave most practical 1865—1866.] LETTER FROM REV. JOSEPH HARGROVE. 231 evidence of his admiration for, and sympathy with, good work, hy whom- soever done. One example of this was the parish of Gedling, near Not- tingham, of which Canon (now Lord) Forester became rector in 1867. He was an old friend of my father (the late Eev. Charles Hargrove), and he took an early opportunity of introducing him to Mr. Morley, and from that time he was always ready to help, with counsel, with money, or by his presence, in. the various good works which Canon Forester was con- stantly setting on foot. The parish had been much neglected in former years, but instead of lamenting or reproaching the sloth and indifference of former generations, he looked rather at the duty of the hour. Writing to me on June 6, 1872, in reply to some complaint as to the difficulty of the work (I was then curate of Gedhng), he says : ' Don't be discouraged, but fight on valiantly. The difficulty to which you refer is the result of the neglect of years — neglect of employers, clergymen, ministers, and Christians of all classes. When the rectory or vicarage is ready for you (wherever that may be), you will be all the fitter for the future conflict, owing to the present discipline, with all its pressure and disappointment.' The first necessary work was building a large school, to which he sub- scribed liberally ; not long after this, it was seen to be very important to make the parish church more comfortable and suitable for Divine service, and I was deputed to mention this to him. I well remember the smile and pretended remonstrance : ' You don't expect an old Dissenter like me to help to restore churches ! ' But his cheque soon came, and many more followed for other good works. The fact was, that he had intense sympathy with ' the people ' (a feeling which, indeed, he once told me, when I was speaking of ordination, he considered to be the true motive which should influence a man in entering the ministry), and when he saw any one, like Canon Forester, earnestly anxious to alleviate the condition of the poor, he was ready to help heartily, without staying to inquire too particularly into their methods, or expecting exact conformity with his own views. His sympathy was quickly roused, whenever he fancied there was wrong done of any kind, but it was also deep and lasting. He was, indeed, often apt to speak and act upon impulse, which laid him open to imposture, though it imparted a delightful freshness to his conversation, in bright contrast to some who are constant recipients of appeals for help, and seem to be always on their guard. I remember an amusing instance of this, which took place in my own rooms at Cambridge. We were discussing some religious or ecclesiastical question, when he took up a Prayer Book, and finding it open at the 282 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIII. 25th Article, he hegan reading at the top of the page : ' Those five com- monly called sacraments, that is to say. Confirmation, Penance ,' when, throwing down the book, he exclaimed : ' Why, Hargrove, what have you got to do with penance ? And where do you find five sacra- ments in the Bible ? ' ' Eead on a few words more, if you please,' I replied ; and so he did : ' Those five commonly called sacraments, that is to say. Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to he counted for sacraments of the Gospel,' when he again laid down the book, and joined in a hearty laugh at the hasty judgment which he had been about to pass upon the doctrine of the Church of England. This story was characteristic of him in more ways than one, for he always enjoyed a joke, and cared little whether the laugh was for or against himself and his friends. He could see the humorous side of questions on which he felt and spoke seriously, and was never averse to relieving weighty discussion by listening to a good story, or giving or receiving a thrust pointed with wit. Mr. Morley's humour exhibited itself in as great a variety of ways and on as unexpected occasions as would have satisfied the quaint old writer, Barrow, who says: " Sometimes it lieth in pat allusions to a well-known story, or in seasonable application of a trivial saying, or in forging an apposite tale ; some- times it playeth in words and phrases, taking advan- tage from the ambiguity of their sense, or the affinity of their sound; sometimes it is wrapped in a dress of humorous expression ; sometimes it lurketh under an odd similitude ; sometimes it is lodged in a sly question, in a smart answer, in a quirkish reason, in a shrewd imitation, in cunningly diverting, or cleverly retorting, an objection ; sometimes it is couched in a bold scheme of speech, in a startling metaphor, in a plausible reconciling of contradictions, or in acute nonsense ; and often it consisteth in one knows 1865—1866.] nUMOUB. 233 not what, and springeth up one can hardly tell how." An example of Mr. Morley's humour may be given here, although it relates to a later period. One of his sons having begun to drive four horses, Mr. Morley cut out of a newspaper an advertisement, and sent it in a letter as a playful remonstrance. The advertisement ran : — Coaching. — ^Wanted, a gentleman with a thousand at command for extension in a well-appointed, old-established four-horse Coaching Busi- ness in a healthy seaside town. Money secured in stock, &c. A good chance for a gentleman wishing to learn how to drive. Address The letter accompanying the above advertisement was as follows : — Hall Place, Tonbridge. Deak , You win, I am sure, believe in my sincere desire for* your success in any undertaking on which, in the exercise of a sound judg- ment, you may be disposed to enter. Without pronouncing a judgment on the ventm'e to which the enclosed advertisement refers, it has an attraction to certain minds, and certainly has an educational aspect which may be of value, and I have therefore thought it well to send it for your perusal, sincerely hoping that you may make a wise decision in reference to it. Your loving father, S. MOELEY. CHAPTER XIV. 1864—1868. Correspondence with Lord Shaftesbury — Mr. Spurgeon — The Formularies of the Church of England — The Free Church of Scotland— Letter from Dr. Guthrie — Bunhill Fields Burial Ground — The Education Question — The Moi-ning Star and the Daily News— A. Narrow Escape — Allegiance to Mr. Gladstone — Eailw?.y Companies and Nonconformists — Mr. Ernest Jones — Capital and Labour — Letter to the Pall Mall Gazette. Within the years 1864 and 1866, there was consider- able correspondence between Mr. Morley and the Earl of Shaftesbury upon a variety of subjects. These two men stood in the forefront of all the religious and philanthropic moyements of their times, and while each, politically, was the representative of a totally distinct set of issues from the other, the two were working together with mutual cordiality and esteem towards one common end — the welfare of man. What Lord Shaftesbury was among the Evangelicals of the Church of England, Mr.. Motley was among all the Evangelical Churches of the Nonconformists. Neither of them, however, was sectarian, and there were innumerable occasions when they worked together for the common good, without any reference to Church or Dissent. Each had profound respect for the other, and each was zealous to help the other in every good word and work. 1864—1868.] LOBD 8EAFTE8BUBY AND MB. SPUBGEON. 285 Both Samuel Morley and Lord Shaftesbury were friends and admirers of Mr. Spurgeon, and both watched his widening sphere of influence with eager- ness. Mr. Spurgeon had from his childhood known the merchant philanthropist, and loved him all through his life. When Mr. Spurgeon was a boy of ten, he competed for a prize to be given by Mr. Morley for the best essay " On Popery." He was not suc- cessful in the competition, but his essay was so good that Mr. Morley awarded him an " extra " prize of £3 — a little fortune in the estimation of the boy. Mr. Spurgeon's Protestantism came out strongly at the age of ten, but more strongly still, when, as a young man, he was sailing on the high tide of popularity. In those days, before experience had ripened his judgment and mellowed his views, he was apt some- times to deal hard blows at the Church of England. One attack of special violence called forth the follow- ing protest from Lord Shaftesbury : — Lord Shaftesbv/ry to Mr. Samuel Morley. Steesa, Lago Maggioke, Sept. 16, 1864. My dear Mk. Morley, — Is there no hope of staying — I do not say of reconciling — this sad controversy raised by Mr. Spurgeon ? I have been endeavouring, during a good part of my life, to bring on a friendly feeling and a spirit of co-operation between Nonconformists and the Established Church. But this unhappy outbreak will undo a large part of what has been done, and introduce bitterness and antagonism. For myself, I dislike the Popish doctrine as much as Mr. Spurgeon does, but I deny that it is taught by our Church. The one or two ambiguous expressions of the Prayer Book are explained by the othey 236 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIV. formularies ; and so is one text of Scripture by another ; and this is, in fairness, the only way of arriving at a true judgment. Surely enough has been said in attack and defence. Let the discussion cease, and the contending parties try to be in good humour again. I have been seeking health in a residence on the top of a mountain 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. It was wonderful to find an Itahan sky among the eagles aaad glaciers. Yet so it was ; and I hope to derive from it all the benefit the doctors promised me. I trust, God willing, to be in London very soon, and enter on a new campaign. It is terrible to see what is yet to be done. Yours truly, Shaftesbury. To this letter Mr. Morley sent the following reply, probably one of the longest private letters he ever wrote : — Mr. 8. Morley to Lord Shafteshury. London, Oct. 7, 1864. My dear Lord Shaftesbury, — I am glad to find that you have been recruiting your health and spirits in the high lands of Europe, and I sincerely hope that you wiU lay by strength for many a labour of love during the months to come. Your reference to Mr. Spurgeon, and his recent sturdy and rough assault on the Evangelical section of the Church of England, encourages me to try and place before you, in as brief a form as I can, a view of the position with which I, rather than your Lordship, may be supposed to be famihar. Prom the time of the Eeformation, and during the period that the formularies of the Church of England were in a transition state, there was a compromise going on in their construction between the Protestant and High Church, or Bomanizing parties, in this country, which terminated in the victory of the latter, and the ejectment fi-om the Church, of the Puritans, or thorough Protestants, by the cruel Act of Uniformity. By that Act the formularies were stereotyped in their present form, and the controversy still is carried on, both within and without the Establish- ment, as to whether Protestant or Eomanizing tendencies shall be upper- most in the realm of England. We have by no means arrived at the end of this controversy yet. Your Lordship, within the Church, sympa- 1864—1868.] LnXTEIi TO LORD SHAFTESBUBY. 237 thizes strongly with the Protestant party. I, who am without, sympathize with them also, but our respective positions, as within and without, are very different. To me it appears that the situation is more critical now than it has been for many years. There is a general awakening, throughout the land, of the spirit of religious inquiry : almost every opinion is examined, and laas its competent advocates. Within the Church, the Bomanizing party (with their astute and accomplished leader, the Bishop of Oxford) has gained strength — numerically, I fear, but certainly in intensity and development ; and without, the followers of the Pope are building, teaching, and preaching with no slight hopes of un- Protestantizing the nation. Now many of us believe that all this Romanizing movement finds its main support in, to say the least, the ambiguous language of the Church formularies, which sanction a Eomanist doctrine, and, by keeping the people in ignorance and superstition, prepare them for Eomanist teachers. We are concerned — I hope very seriously concerned — to know what is going on in the towns and villages of our country under the sanction and with the support of the State, that is, of us, the English people. We must speak, we must denounce the error, for we cannot bear that such things should be said and done rmder our sanction as citizens. How can we keep silence ? Again, my Lord, it seems to us that within the Church itself there is a deadly weakness both of judgment and practice which is most alarming. The Evangelical section of the Church, when I was a younger man, were kuown for their vigorous and united protest against Eomanist error, whether within or without the Church. Now, I fear, the effect of the judgments of the Courts, which af&rm that different doctrines may be held and taught in the same Church, has been to paralyze the Evangelical party. The men are silent and quiescent whose ecclesi- astical and spiritual fathers were most loud and earnest in the denun- ciation of these errors, and I am afraid that, having been frequently reminded of the formularies to which they have given assent and consent, they have felt bound to defend them, and have adopted the words until they have slid into a partial belief, at least, of the erroneous doctrines which these formularies ' grammatically and naturally ' express. You yourself, my Lord, I am sorry to find, do not feel the force of the objection to the words of the Prayer Book, and many others adopt your Lordship's views. The effect of all this is, that we have, in the maintenance and defence of Evangehcal truth, unbeUef, hesitancy, and all sorts of apologetic explanations within the 23B SAMXJiiL MOHLM^. [Chap. XIV. Church, which greatly perplex the common people, at a time when tlie need is greatest for a simple, vigorous, and distinct utterance ; and can you wonder that such a man as Mr. Spurgeon, seeing this thing from a point of view in which he is untrammelled by any Church ties and clerical subscriptions, should be ' zealously affected,' and even angry, at the magnitude of the evils to which he thinks it gives rise ? If your Lordship aslffi me what is to be done, I would answer, pray employ all the iniiuence you have in favour of a vigorous teaching, within the Church itself, of the doctrine of salvation by Christ alone, and not by sacraments and priestly power, and in favour of a Christian con- sistency and fearless truthfulness in this teaching, whatever becomes of the old formularies. And then, in reference to these formularies, let us all endeavour to sweep away from them everything that encourages Popery, and be wilhng to leave Christian men freer than they are now to serve Christ, and to teach the truth as they receive it from Him and His apostles. Do not let us be satisfied with the formularies as they are now. They are a dreadful snare and stumbling-block to many consciences. I am deeply concerned to find your Lordship regarding them as requiring no alterations. I fear your Lordship wUl think I have forwarded you a homily, but I hope you will excuse the length of this letter, and that out of this con- troversy in connection with Mr. Spurgeon's sermon, not evil but good may come. I am, my dear Lord Shaftesbury, Yours very sincerely, S. MOELEY. Lord Shaftesbury to Mr. Samuel Morlcy. St. Giles's House, Nov. 3, 1864. 1)eab Me. Mokley, — Pray be assured that your letter was a ' homily ' in a good and useful sense, and one which, if publicly delivered, might instruct some, and assuage the angry feeling of others. I did not condemn Mr. Spurgeon for his opinions, or for his expression of them. The right of private judgment, and the principle of religious liberty, allow, and almost call for, the utmost independence of thought and action. I blamed him, in my letter to you, for his coarse language, coarse imputation of the worst motives, and utter disregard of all justice and charity in refusing to admit that men of the present day might be as 1864—1868.] LETTER FROM LORD SHAFTESBURY. 239 true and conscientious in their interpretation of the formularies, as men of a former day, whose orthodoxy not even Mr. Spurgeon would call in question. I condemned all this in fear tliat much of the union, which for a long time has so beneficially existed among Churchmen and Noncon- formists, would be lost, and the progress of vital rehgion proportionately suffer. Of the peculiar and dangerous character of the times there can be little doubt. Perhaps a time of perilous activity is better than one of poisonous stagnation. But danger there is to the present generation, though it may, in God's mercy, be overruled to the benefit of the next. Neology and Traotarianism, apparently antagonistic, are, in fact, con- verging to the same end — ' the Eomish tyranny.' No one will, even- tually, gain from these terrible extremes but the Jesuits, and all the Church of Eohie, ' Omnes in servitium ruere,' as Tacitus said of the old fawners upon power. The Chm-ch of England, betrayed by its leaders, will sink the first, in the mire of division, Eitualism, sacramental systems, and sacerdotal assumptions. The Nonconformists will soon follow, caught in the very same snare, but by a different bait — the bait of nationalism and self-confidence. Surely all this is foretold, and is a sign of the ' latter days.' You will see how much I concur with a great deal that you have said. Do you think the Liturgical Beform would avert, or mitigate, the evU. ? I trow not. The truth is that the country — a few leaders of both kinds excluded — is not what it was in respect of Evangelical and Protestant teaching, of Evangelical and Protestant feeling. I am astonished and alarmed at the daily increase in the majority of educated lay people of the do-nothing, care-nothing spirit. The ' love of many is waxing cold,' and you see in this another proof of the latter days. But while there is language let us protest. While there is hfe let us work. While there, is a Bible let us proclaim it, and stick, by God's grace, more and more to the one simple thing needful, for Dives and Lazarus, for Solomon and the street-sweeper — ' Jesus Christ and Him CKUCIFIED.' May God prosper you ! Yours truly, Shaftesbury, Mr. Morley's catholicity was wider than most men 240 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIV. believed. Jn his own home there was the utmost freedom to each member to think and act in accor- dance with the dictates of his own conscience and his own tastes, and one of his daughters had already shown attachment to the Church of England by joining her communion. Every year his sympathy with other branches of the one Church broadened and deepened. In whatever way good could be done, Mr. Morley strove to further it, either by old methods or new. Thus, when he was about to give a sum of £5,000 to the establishment of new chapels, principally for Mission work, he was anxious to see whether the system in operation in the Free Church of Scotland could not be successfully applied to these new chapels. This brought him into much correspondence with Dr. Guthrie, with whom he was on the most cordial terms, and from one of whose letters we quote here : — Dr. Thos. Guthrie to Mr. Morley. Jan.. 26, 1866. My deae Me. Moeley, — I intended to have called on' you last time I was in London, but I made a mere run through it on my return from Southampton. I would like to have a craclc (apply to Mr. Wilson, if necessary, for an EngUsh translation) on the important matter you have in hand. . . . Our Free Church has enjoyed a great advantagi^ in possessing the order both of elders and deacons. The latter of&ce is a good training, in some respects, for the first. Some, who are admirably adapted for the first, would not accept the second, while some remain, and are exceed- ingly useful, in the office of deacon, who do not possess the higher qualifications necessary for the eldership. We used to have some thirty deacons and nearly the same number of elders in St. John's, and together 1864—1868.] BUNHILL FIELDS BUBIAL GROUND. 241 they formed a most efficient staff of field officers. In fact we would have been comparatively powerless without them. We had the city and its environs divided into a large number of districts, having one elder and one deacon at least in each, and these districts, each containing such a number connected with the congregation as made the elders' and deacons' duties rather a pleasure than in any shape a burden. In collecting sub- scriptions to our schemes, the deacons are in many instances assisted by lady collectors ; although we think it better when the deacon himself can afford time for the work. I should like to see us make a nearer approach to the class system of the Methodists ; this far at least, that the elder had stated meetings for religious exercises with those of the congregation who reside in his district. This keeps the fire burning bright. A Chm'oh with such machinery is best able, having selected a heathenish district, to summon to its aid the worth and wealth of a Christian congregation, and thereby, through its men and women of zeal and piety, set up a territorial Church. . . . I quite sympathize with you in your views dreading Rationalism much more than Puseyism. Whatever may be the case with the Church of England, the Nonconformist bodies have much more to fear from the first than the second. The presence of a common enemy will be attended with this good result at least — it wUl force the lovers of sound doctrine into closer contact, and promote ultimate union. The Lord hasten it in His own time. May the Lord yet more and more bless you and make you a blessing, and so answer the prayers of thousands ! With the highest esteem and affectionate regards, Yours ever, Thomas Guthrie. P.S. — I intended to have sent along with these an account of a Children's Church, but I find my daughter, who is a worker of that scheme, had sent it to you yesterday. In 1865, there was a great fear lest Bunhill Fields Burial Ground — one of the holiest shrines of the Nonconformists — should pass into the .hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Mr. Charles Eeed took up the question warmly, and Mr. Morley sup- ported his efforts in a variety of useful and influential 17 242 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIV. ways. It was when the controversy was in a some- what heated state that the following correspondence took place : — Lord Shaftesbury to Mr. Sa/muel Morley. St. Giles's House, Jan. 12, 1866. My dear Mr. Morley, — Can I, as a member of the Church of England, be of any service in asserting the rights of the Nonconformists to the preservation of Bunhill Fields ? I feel the matter very warmly. Yours truly, Shaftesbdey. Mr. Sanmel Morley to Lord Shaftesbury. LoNPON, Jan. 16, 1866. Dear Lord Shaftesbury, — I am much obliged by your letter and your kind offer of help. It is, I think, possible that we have misunderstood the intention of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, although a friend told me that he had seen a plan of the Bunhill Fields Ground which had been prepared for letting the land for buUding. The concession of the land, to be preserved in perpetuity as one of England's sacred enclosures, is the only settlement that can meet the pubhc feehng on the subject. There is still a considerable amount of excitement and anxiety as to the result, and if, through any member of the Commission, you can expedite a settlement, it will tend to allay uncomfortable controversy and irritation. It seems to me to afford a very suitable opportunity for the manifesta- tion of friendly consideration towards the Nonconformists, the issue of which may be most important in our national history. We ought not, and cannot afford, to be at strife. Believe me. Yours very faithfully, S. Morley. Eventually a short Act of Parliament was passed, and the ground was secured to the Nonconformists in perpetuity. 1864—1868.] TEE "MOBNING STAB." 248 It was, without doubt, a great disappointment to Mr. Morley to be out of Parliament in 1867, during the passing of the Keform Bill ; but, although overtures had been made to him from several con- stituencies, for the present he felt constrained to wait. Questions were arising upon a variety of subjects, which demanded all his spare time and thought ; the Education Question in particular was assuming new aspects, and he was here, there, and everywhere attending committees, conferences, and public meetings to discuss it; so that, as he said, "he had been nearly solving the problem of per- petual motion." Moreover, the party cries raised at the Nottingham election had had their effect, and Mr. Morley was engaged in much correspondence as to his exact attitude with regard to many ques- tions, especially those relating to Church and State. The time was at hand when, on all these matters, he would give explicit public statements, and we shall not, therefore, enter upon them here. Meanwhile, ■ there were still other matters of importance claiming his attention, and notably the necessity for a better channel than then existed, for the dissemination, by the press, of Liberal principles. The Morning Star had been started and carried on as the organ of the extreme Eadical party, represented by Cobden and Bright. The leading idea of the " Manchester School," as it was termed, was, or appeared to be, that in most foreign relations, England was in the wrong. The Star harped con- 244 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIV. stantly upon this string, and varied it only by the stoutest denunciations of Palmerston. The result was, that the readers grew weary of its monotony, and, although it had the advantage of the remission of the paper dui;y — which made penny papers possible — the circulation fell off, and the paper did not pay. There were able men in connection with it, however : Mr. John Morley (afterwards Chief Secretary for Ireland) was the editor, Mr. Justin McCarthy was on the staff, and Mr. Henry Eawson was the chief proprietor. Mr. Samuel Morley was only connected with it as a compara- tively small proprietor. The stock and plant were the property of Mr. Eawson. The Daily News was started in 1846, with Charles Dickens as its first editor, and Mr. Charles Went- worth Dilke, the grandfather of the late Member for Chelsea, as its manager. Among its early con- tributors were John Forster, Harriet Martineau, and McCullagh Torrens. Charles Dickens did not long remain editor, and the chair he vacated was filled by John Forster. Heavy losses resulted as the experience of the first few years, and successive experiments were tried to make it a commercial as well as a literary success ; but its continuous career of prosperity only began when Mr. Morley became one of the chief proprietors. On June 8, 1868, the price of the Daily Neios, which had hitherto been threepence, was, mainly owing to the exertions of Mr. Morley, reduced to 1864—1868.] THE "DAILY NEWS." 245 one penny. With this new departure, the sale of the Morning 8tar, already on the decline, went down rapidly. For the Daily News, though equally Badical in its politics, did not confine itself to those of the (now almost defunct) Manchester School, but worked upon broader lines. For example, the Star had distinguished itself by supporting the North in the American War ; so also did the Daily News, but in the former paper the readers were irritated by the incessant attacks upon our own Foreign Policy, whereas in the Daily News a fairer and more patriotic view was taken. With the exception of the Spectator, there was no other paper of influence in London that adopted this view. On July 20, 1868, Mr. Morley attended a meeting to discuss the position of affairs in relation to the two daily papers, and it was arranged that in September the Star should become the property of the proprietors of the Daily News. This was accordingly done ; the Star published a statement to the effect that as the price of the Daily News was now reduced to one penny, and was thus placed within the reach of the multitude, the issue of the Star would be stopped. Part of the contract was, that Mr. Eawson should influence all who had been associated with the Star, either as contributors or readers, to transfer their support in favour of the Daily Neius ; and the effect of this was that most of the readers of the Star were 246 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIV. brought over to the new penny paper, and the scheme received an impetus which was the beginning of its success. In September, 1868, the Morning Star ceased to exist. It should be stated, that under the editorship of Mr. John Morley the narrowness of the Star had not been so marked as formerly, but it was identi- fied with a style and with purposes which had ceased to command any sympathy ; and it is a curious fact in the history of English political journals that, when the Star died, it left no successor. The editor of the Daily News, Mr. Thomas Walker, was a man greatly respected by Mr. Samuel Morley, and although, in 1869, he left that paper on receiving from Mr. Gladstone an appointment as editor of the London Gazette, Mr. Morley never ceased to cherish a high regard for him, or failed to consult him on important occasions when his advice would be of special value. Mr. Walker was succeeded in the editorship by Mr. Hill, who retained the office until 1886. Throughout his long connection with the Daily News, Mr. Morley never swerved for a moment from his allegiance to Mr. Gladstone, and was equally loyal, whether the question of the day was the Bulgarian atrocities or any other. It is true that, at one period, Mr. Gladstone did not go far enough in his politics to suit Mr. Morley's taste ; but he was steadfast to him, " because he always looked at the moral side of things." It was a source of 1864—1868.] TEE "DAILY NEWS." 247 vexation to Mr. Morley when, on certain questions, the Daily Netus appeared to go in opposition to Mr. Gladstone. As, however, he took no part whatever in the literary department of the paper, he could not interfere in any controversy that might be in progress, but on more than one occasion he threatened, in the event of a line of opposition to Mr. Gladstone being persevered in, that he would discontinue his connection with the paper. At the quarterly meetings of the proprietors the accounts were examined and financial matters dis- cussed ; but Mr. Morley rarely attended these meetings. The profits on the concern were con- siderable, but he cared very little for that. On more than one occasion, when informed of excep- tionally large dividends, he has said, " I arh almost disappointed, I went into the Daily News not to make money, but to advocate principles," and it is no figure of speech to say that if the paper had only paid its expenses, he would not have been dissatisfied. It is not to be inferred that, because Mr. Morley did not attend many of the quarterly meetings of the proprietors, he neglected his busi- ness, for this would have been in opposition to the principles which regulated all his life. During the whole period of his connection with the paper, Mr. J. E. Eobinson was its able and indefatigable manager, and in his judgment and discretion Mr. Morley reposed the fullest confidence. Whenever, therefore, anything occurred which appeared to him '248 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIV. to require consideration, he would invite Mr. Eobinson to lunch with him at Wood Street to talk over affairs, and those who can remeniber what those little luncheons were, know how the business of half a dozen committee meetings could be com- pressed into an hour's pleasant chat. The last meeting of proprietors that Mr. Morley attended was on April 19, 1886. On October 18th, in that year, the following resolution was passed : — "At their first meeting after the decease of Mr. Samuel Morley, the proprietors of the Daily Neivs desire to express their warm sympathy with Mrs. Morley and the family, and to unite themselves with the great body of the community in witnessing to his manifold claims to esteem and respect. It was mainly through Mr. Morley's exertions that the arrangements were successfully carried out in 1868, which placed the Daily News before a larger con- stituency ; and his constant and kindly co-operation materially contributed to render the paper a powerful promotive of the Liberal cause." There was no man living who rendered so many and such important services to Nonconformity as Mr. Morley, or in such a variety of ways. He stood up for the rights of his co-religionists in things small as well as great ; it galled him to think that petty distinctions should be made which tended to embitter men one against the other. The following incident, trifling in itself, may be 1864—1868.] AN INVIDIOUS DISTINCTION. 249 taken as a type of many others, which it would be tedious to narrate in detail. In the course of a week, two meetings were held — one in Manchester, of the Church Congress, the other in Liverpool, of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, both of which were largely attended by gentlemen from all parts of the country. For the meeting of the Church Congress, the London and North- Western Railway Company and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Eailway Company issued return tickets at a single fare to all who attended the Congress, whereas, when application was made to these Companies for the same facilities to be offered to persons attending the meeting of the Congregational Union, the application was declined in both cases, without assigning any reason for the refusal. Mr. Morley immediately took the matter up, and wrote to the chairmen of the respective Companies, to ask if the contrast between the arrangements had been made inadvertently, or if it was " the deliberate decision of the directors not to offer equal facilities in travelling to gentlemen of all religious persua- sions." The result was that the obnoxious distinction was withdrawn, and equal facilities in travelling were afforded to Churchmen and Nonconformists. Mr. Morley not unfrequently laid himself open to criticism from friends and foes for the sake of the 250 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIV. "common people." Thus, in 1867, he presided at a lecture on Capital and Labour, given in St. James's Hall by the notorious Mr. Ernest Jones, of Chartist fame, who, . on a charge of ^edition, had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment after the Chartist fiasco of 1848. He was a man of high culture, and a poet of no mean order ; but he was a leper — socially, notwithstanding the fact that Mr. John Bright was an enthusiastic admirer of him as an orator. The Times, the Pall Mall Gazette, and other journals criticised, severely or facetiously according to their bent, the appearance of Mr. Morley on the platform of St. James's Hall in company with Mr. Ernest Jones. In reply to the Pall Mall Gazette, Mr. Morley wrote : — To the Editor of the 'Pall Mall Gazette: 18, Wood Street, E.G., Nov. 19, 1867. SiE, — Will you permit me, who, unintentionally on my part, occupied some space in your paper of Saturday last, briefly to state why I presided at Mr. Ernest Jones's lecture at St. James's Hall ? Mr. Jones is undoubtedly sincere and clever ; he is trusted and believed in by many thousands of his fellow-countrymen, who are desirous that bis opinions should receive attention. I am hrought into contact directly and indirectly with working men, have opportunities of observing the condition of the people, and am overwhelmed by a fear, not that com- munism will proceed to universal confiscation (I have no fear of this), but lest wealthy, and perhaps you will allow me to add educated, Englishmen may not promptly and faithfully devote themselves to solve the problem how the poverty, disease, and vice of so many of our own flesh and blood can be diminished and removed. It is my serious and 1864—1868.] MB. EBNJEST JONES. 251 imperative conviction that this can be best accomplished by improvement in our laws, which from then- continuous and universal influence form the character of the people. If we can succeed in maintaining legisla- tion on right principles, we shall, I believe, overtake, and in the end master and destroy, some of those enormous evils which are now only partially alleviated by public and private charity. As chairman of the meeting, I do not admit that I am responsible for the logical consistency of the lecturer. My province was to secure for him fair and orderly attention. In my judgment it is better that large employers of labour should be willing to hear all that can be said by the advocates of the working class, rather than, from over-sensitiveness as to their reputation or indifference as to the condition of the people, or even fear of ' un conscious irony,' shut themselves within their own circle. I do not deem it a part of my duty, then, publicly to weigh and measure the value of Mr. Jones's opinions, but to remit them to the judgment, among other tribunals, of the pubHc press ; and I have to thank the Pall Mall Gazette for having done its part in exposing some of the extravagancies of the lecturer. I am, Sir, Yours faithfully, S. MOELEY. .CHAPTEE XV. 1868. Nottingham and Bristol — Consents to stand for Bristol — 0oeB to South of Prance — A Wail from Nottingham — Address to Electors — The Bristol Opera- tives' Liberal Association — A Telling Speech — Defeated at the Election — Hope revives in Nottingham — A Final Decision — Mr. Miles Unseated — Un- fair Proceedings — Mr. Goldwiu Smith — Aid to Liberal Candidates — The Reform League — Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister — The General Election — Again Contests Bristol — An American View of Nomination Day — Returned M.P. for Bristol — Congratulations — " Mr. Morley's Defection " — Correspondence with Canon Girdlestone — Correspondence with the Libera- tion Society — Letter to Mr. Arnold Morley. Immediately after the unsuccessful issue of the Not- tingham election, there was a deep and general desire expressed, which formed itself, even then, into a purpose, to return Mr. Morley at the very first opportunity as one of the Members of Parliament for that borough. That sentiment became stronger and more manifest ; it was enthusiastically expressed from time to time at public meetings, until in March, 1868, it was officially announced to Mr. Morley that it was the desire of the Liberal party to unite at the next General Election in supporting him as one of the Liberal candidates, to undertake the whole expenses of his election, and to combine their best efforts to secure his return without soliciting his presence or aid. In this manner it was hoped that the borough 18C8.] BBISTOL. 253 would make some atonement to him for the past, and retrieve, as far as it was then possible, its own political reputation. Meanwhile a movement had been going forward in Bristol, which exercised a powerful influence upon Mr. Morley. Sir Morton Peto, one of the Members for that city, and a leading Nonconformist, was about to vacate his seat, on which the Liberals of Bristol had put themselves in communication with Mr. Morley, promising him their hearty support in the event of his being willing to contest the seat. He had no personal claims upon Bristol as he had upon Nottingham, but it was felt by Bristol Liberals that no man had better qualifications for representing their city than Mr. Samuel Morley. Bristol being a stronghold of Nonconformity, it seemed suitable that it should be represented in Parliament by one of the most prominent Dissenters of the time. Bristol was famous for its charitable and philanthropic institutions ; there was no one who would act in more thorough harmony with the tradi- tions of the past, and the wide-reaching liberality of the present, than the man who was recognized every- where as one of the greatest philanthropists of his time. Bristol was noted for its spirit of enterprise ; it was essential that its representative in Parliament should be an advocate of progress and reform. Bristol was a trading and commercial city ; its manu- factures for export trade, though limited, were making progress, and plans for ocean-dock accommodation 254 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. were then under consideration. It was advantageous, therefore, that one who stood at the head of one of the largest trading estabhshments in the metropohs, and whose connection with commerce was world-wide, should guard their interests in the national councils. An influential committee of the Liberals of Bristol, including Messrs. W. H. and H. 0. Wills, Mr. Handel Cossham, Mr. George Thomas, and many others, met early in the year (1868), and opened up negotia- tions with Mr. Morley, while many private friends urged him to comply. He hesitated for some time whether to accept the offer. His health was just then not good ; without parliamentary engagements he had more work than he knew how to get through ; some of his household were very averse to his enter- ing ParKament, and used every inducement to dis- suade him. Once or twice he declined, but finally he consented, on condition that the electors would wait until he had recruited his health. Immediately he had given his consent, he set off for the South of France for change of scene and rest. Ceaselessly, for many months, he had been working without allowing himself time for any leism-e or repose other than was barely sufficient to sustain energy ; the result was that the state of his health was such as to give great anxiety to his friends. In consideration of this state of things, the Execu- tive Committee agreed to delay the contest until after Easter, and to urge Sir Morton Peto not to vacate his seat until then. 1868.] STANDS FOB BRISTOL. 255 Mr. George Thomas, the chairman of Mr. Morley's committee, was a man who had all his life been a noble champion of every good cause, and was an experienced and veteran reformer. Associated with him were men, good and true, who would carefully guard Mr. Morley's character, and jealously protect him from everything which might give uneasiness in the retrospect. Throughout the whole of his candidature for Bristol (as,, indeed, for that of Nottingham also), Mr. Morley was greatly indebted to his private secretary, Mr. E. S. Pryce, for his indefatigable services, and for his skill and talent in acting for him during the whole time of his absence abroad, no less than when he was in the heat of the contest. Mr. Morley gave the most positive instructions to the committee as to expenditure, and stated that rather than spend one farthing in bribery of any sort, he would prefer to lose the election. He appointed a gentleman in whom he had confidence (Mr. W. Sommerville), a private friend, to remain at Bristol during the whole time the election was pending, in order to discountenance and prevent any action, on committees or elsewhere, that could by any possibility be regarded as unjustifiable, and, in the event of dis- covering anything of the kind, to report at once to Mr. Morley. Mr. Morley's address to the electors was written while he was at Nice, and was sent to Mr. Pryce to place in the hands of the committee when any sudden 256 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. or unlooked-for event should render its publication necessary. As soon as it became known that Mr. Morley had promised to stand for Bristol whenever a vacancy should occur, great regret was expressed by the Liberals of Nottingham, and every inducement was urged upon him to reverse his decision, or to serve only during the continuance of the Parliament then sitting, and to hold himself free to accept his return for Nottingham at the General Election. " We see, now that there is a possibility of losing you," wrote one, "that we have been too delicate; but we did not wish to say anything to you until we had won-the seat, and had the pride of offering it for your acceptance." Letters poured in upon him from old friends and from total strangers, some urging him to abandon all thought of Bristol, some pleading, for their own honour and the honour of their town, that he would still think favourably of Nottingham. Among his correspondents was Mr. Mundella, who wrote : — I must tell you — and I feel the deep responsibility of what I am saying — that I believe Nottingham would return you most honourably and triumphantly at the next General Election. I have never met with a single dissentient in the Liberal ranks to this opinion, and I believe some Conservatives will undoubtedly vote for you. That there is a general and enthusiastic desire in Nottingham to return you to Parliament, I can vouch without reserve or hesitation. Dr. Paton wrote 1868.] ADDRESS TO ELECTOBS. 257 This resolve is not the sentiment of the Eadioal section of the Liberal party, hut of the whole party. . . . There is a most earnest spirit at work amongst the people generally in this matter, a spontaneous enthusiasm breaking out on all sides. There is a chivalry in the feeling which is really noble. Meetings in the various wards have been, and are being, held, which wUl be speedily followed by a monster meeting in the Exhi- bition Building, in which the whole Liberal party will publicly pronounce and pledge itself. More practical work is being done. The new popular constituency is being canvassed. Working men are raising subscriptions among themselves to contribute to the expenses of your election, some giving threepence, and others sixpence a week. ... But it was impossible that Mr. Morley could retrace the steps he had taken, even had he wished to do so ; and, in the meantime, Bristol was preparing for the coming conflict. In his address to the electors, Mr. Morley ex- pressed his views clearly and emphatically on some of the great questions of the time. He said : — I accept the Keform Bill of 1867 as a wise concession of the franchise to large numbers of our fellow-countrymen, from whom it had been too long withheld, and I do not so distrust the character of Englishmen as to fear that they will employ their newly acquired privileges for selfish and unworthy purposes. I desire to abohsh the vexatious and useless rate- paying clauses, to obtain an enlarged scheme of redistribution of seats in correspondence with the just demands of our population ; and now, more than ever, to prevent the intimidation and corruption of the electors by the protection of the ballot. I am in favour of entire freedom in religious conviction and worship. I believe that dependence on the State is a source of weakness to religious men, and a hindrance and obstruction to their efforts for the good of others, which efforts, of whatever denomination, I would desire to see strengthened and largely increased. The abolition of compulsory Church rates, and the complete opening to the entire nation of all endowments, which can be proved to be national, in connection with our universities and public schools, are measures that I would heartily support. 18 258 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. On tlie subject of education, it appears necessary that our present system should be supplemented, especially in certain districts, by the establishment of schools, in which secular instruction should be given ; and, without resort to compulsion, increased facilities and inducements be presented for the education of the children of the poorest ajid neglected classes. I am deeply interested in the amendment of the laws of bankruptcy, in accordance with the recommendations of the Chambers of Commerce throughout the kingdom ; and to any legislation on this subject I would endeavour to bring the advantage of a long and extensive experience in commerce. On Tuesday, April 16th, Mr. Morley introduced himself to the electors, by attending the inaugural meeting of the Bristol Operatives' Liberal Associa- tion. A large deputation of the Liberal Association met him at the station, and, in an open carriage, escorted by an imposing procession of members of the twelve district branches of the Operatives' Association, mem- bers of trade societies, and others, and accompanied by bands of music, he proceeded, amid loud cheers all along the route, to Colston Hall, where between five and six thousand persons gave him an enthusiastic reception, renewed with tenfold vehemence when he rose to speak. He said that he stood there as the representative of active allegiance to Liberal principles ; that he had not the slightest personal ambition to become a Member of Parliament ; and that if there was in the mind of any one in the room the slightest con- ception that any other name than his own would more thoroughly unite them, he would just as gladly .1868.] A TELLING SPEECH. 259 to-morrow join their ranks. His ambition was to help them to defeat Toryism. He had been born and bred in the atmosphere of Liberal principles, and his conscience and his judgment had settled into deep convictions what were at iirst mere impressions. He midertook to prove, that during a period as long as the oldest man in the room could recollect, the Tory party had been the steady opponents of the rights of the people ; and he ran over a list of some of the great movements in support of his statement. He instanced particularly the Slave Trade Abolition, the Test and Corporation Acts, Jewish Disabilities, Eoman Catholic Disabilities, the Corn Laws, Penny Postage, the AboUtion of the Newspaper Stamp and the Paper Duty, all of which were persistently opposed by the Tories. In speaking of himself, he said : — I have been all my life connected witli trade. I was introduced at a very early period into tusiness, and I have, for the last thirty or thirty- five years, been, I may say without exaggeration, largely connected with the trade of this country. I hope I am not disposed unduly to magnify my of&oe, but I believe you will find in the perseverance, the industry, the intelligence, and, I add unhesitatingly, the integrity which, for the most part, distinguishes the trading and mercantile classes of England, not only the true secret of England's greatness, but the best guarantee for the security and extension of our liberties. Eeferring to the coming contest, he said his life had been essentially a domestic life, and it would be a great sacrifice to him to gain a seat in Parliament, though he would say with equal distinctness that he should consider it an honour and a privilege to be 260 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. sent to the House of Commons by the city of Bristol. He trusted that the contest would be one 'between what he held to be Liberal as opposed to Tory and Conservative principles, and that it would be a fair stand-up fight between the two. One part of his speech gave rise to a great deal of controversy afterwards, among certain of the Dis- senters. Eeferring to the position he held in connec- tion with the Liberation Society, he said " he believed he was charged with being an enemy to religion be- cause he happened to be a Nonconformist. He did not yield to any Churchman in Bristol in his desire to see the people religious. But he had no faith in attempting, by favour on the one hand, or by pains and penalties on the other, to force religion upon the people: So far from being an enemy to any organiza- tion that, in the sight of God and with a pure motive, was trying to lead the people up to a better life, there was not a man in Bristol more anxious, more ready, or more accustomed to render help, whatever the denomination was, than he. He did not mean ever to be sent into the House of Commons merely as a Dissenter. If he went, it would be as an English citizen who sympathized with every measure that would bear, not on the happiness of a class, but on the happiness and well-being of the people. It was an utter misrepresentation to suppose that, because- he had decided views as to the right province of the- civil government in matters of religion, that, therefore, he would lift up a finger to injure any institution that 18G8.J SIB MOBTON PETO. 261 was of right principles and had an earnest aim, and that proved itself to be a blessing to the people." In the course of his speech he made a graceful allusion to Sir Morton Peto. He expressed his deep regret at the necessity for the election, and added : " It was nothing but a testimony to the respect and affection which he felt for an old and valued friend, when he said he deeply regretted that England should lose such services as his." One who would have gladly taken a leading part in that day's proceedings, Mr. Henry 0. Wills, had just been stricken down witli sudden and alarming illness. In deploring his absence, Mr. Morley spoke of him as " a man whom he had known since he was a child ; a man whom he had honoured and loved for his sincerity, his true principles, and his unflinching integrity on all public matters." Loud and prolonged applause followed the conclu- sion of Mr. Morley' s speech. He had made an impression upon the Liberals of Bristol, and espe- cially upon the working men, that was to bear fruit. Perhaps there was never a more simple, honest, and straightforward speech made in all the annals of electioneering. He went straight to each point, and was earnest in all that he said, quite regardless of what effect his words might have. On the 21st of April, Sir Morton Peto resigned his seat by accepting the Stewardship of the Manor of Northstead, and a new writ was ordered in the House of Commons on the following evening. As 262 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. soon as the vacancy was actually announced, Bristol was thrown into a fever of excitement. The nomi- nation was fixed for the 28th, and the intervening days were full of labour. The candidates addressed their supporters in three or four different quarters of the city, in the' course of each day. The walls and hoardings were insufiicient to hold the posters that teemed from the press. The day of the nomination was one of unusual uproar and excitement. Early in the morning, the holders of tickets took their seats upon the "leads " of the Exchange, despite a drizzling rain, and when the doors were open, those on the leads cried, " Here comes Bristol ! " and in rushed a foaming, roaring, leaping torrent of humanity. When the candidates appeared on the hustings, the scene was indescribable. The nomination was carried out in dumb show, amid roaring and yelling, the reckless throwing of rotten eggs and oranges, and the scattering of coloured powders. The show of hands was declared in favour of Mr. Morley, whereupon a poll was demanded by Mr. Miles, his opponent, and on the following morning the polling commenced. Hour by horn-, from nine till four, the polling showed, according to Liberal as well as Conserva- tive statements, a majority for Mr. Miles, and, at the close of the poll, the numbers stood : For Mr. Miles, 5,173 ; for Mr. Morley, 4,977. Majority for Mr. Miles, 196. 1868.] A DISAPPOINTMENT. 263 It was a grievous disappointment, no less to the Liberals of Bristol than to Mr. Morley personally. Nevertheless, much had been gained. His frankness of speech, his absolute fearlessness, his upright and manly bearing throughout, had won for him not only the esteem of his party, but of many outside the Liberal constituency. From the mass of correspondence which followed the loss of the election, we append two brief extracts. Mr. David Thomas, of Gotham, wrote : — You can hardly be fully aware how bitterly we felt our disappointment, from personal feeling for you, as well as on political grounds. Iuliundred& of Christian homes in this city there was a grief felt as of bereavement. Dr. Gotch, on behalf of the Baptist ministers of Bristol, wrote : — June 2, 1868. One good result has been gained. . . . Improper expenditure of money has received a check ; and in that particular the whole Liberal party here is under great obligation to you. In thanking, by means of a lithographed letter, the 4,977 electors who had recorded their votes in his favour, Mr. Morley expressed the hope that the gross and illegal acts of his opponents might be exposed, in order that something might be done to check prac- tices utterly subversive of fair play, and which, if submitted to, would render all appeal to intelHgence, conviction, or political principle, utterly futile. He reminded them that the principles on behalf of which they had been banded together, were eternal. 264 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. and that the best reward for continued fidehty to them would be in their ultimate triumph, which he felt satisfied could not be long delayed. With the defeat at Bristol, the hopes of the electors at Nottingham revived, and on the 11th of May, a great meeting was held in the Exhibition Building, when it was resolved to nominate Mr. Samuel Morley as one of the candidates to represent Nottingham in Parliament at the next G-eneral Election. Thousands were present, and the meeting was unanimous with the exception of one voice. Meanwhile the hope that Mr. Morley had ex- pressed to the electors of Bristol, that "the gross and illegal acts of his opponents might be exposed," was in course of fulfilment. In June, Mr. Miles was unseated on petition, and Mr. Morley again appeared as a candidate for the suffrages of the men of Bristol. Immediately on the decision of the election com- mittee becoming known, the Liberals of Nottingham renewed their entreaties to Mr. Morley to stand for that town. His final decision was given in these words : — Mr. Samuel Morley to Mr. Thomas Worth. London, June 29, 1868. Dear Sie, — The time lias arrived wlien it seems absolutely necessary that I should communicate with you, as the chairman of the committee which has been formed to promote my return as a Member of Parliament for Nottingham. You are fully aware that this committee has originated without any suggestion, directly or indirectly, from myself, and I have abstained hitherto from any definite communication respecting it, from a desire not 1868.] DECLINES TO STAND FOB NOTTINGHAM. 265 prematurely, and, therefore, unnecessarily, to grieve the minds and dis- courage the political earnestness of those who were giving me such unmistakable tokens of their confidence and esteem. It would be wrong, however, for me longer to maintain a silence which is, in many ways, ■embarrassing and may prove detrimental to the success of Liberal prin- ciples. I am compelled, therefore, to say, distinctly and openly, what I have already intimated as probable to some private friends, that, while I shall always be bound by many ties of personal and commercial asso- ciation to the town of Nottingham, and shall ever take the hveliest interest in its prosperity, it is impossible that I could consent to repre- sent it in Parliament. My doing so would be certain to revive recollections, and would, in all probability, lead to a repetition of scenes through which I passed three years ago, which (while I am' conscious of my own integrity) are the most painful experiences of my political life ; and I desire to be fi-ee from the turbulent associations of party politics in my future intercourse with the good old town. As this is my final and absolute determination, and is not dependent ■on the result of the contest at Bristol, on which I am entering, I ask you ±0 communicate the contents of this letter to the members of the com- mittee and their supporters, and to beg of them to abstain from any further efforts on my behalf. It has cost me, I assure you, no little pain, and is the result of a long •conflict between feeling and judgment, to make this communication, from the sincere respect I entertain for those to whom it is made. I am, dear Sir, Yours very faithfully, Samuel Mokley. Mr. Morley's popularity in Bristol, especially among the working classes, was so extraordinary that it is ■charitable to assume it was misunderstood by his opponents. Whether this were so or not, they re- .sorted to measures which were highly discreditable in order to blast his fair fame and damage his per- sonal reputation. These efforts, instead of having the 266 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. effect they were designed to produce, acted altogether in the opposite direction. One incident may he recorded here : "In presenting himself to the electors, Mr. Morley, in the course of his speech, introduced the name of a well-known official of the opposite party in Bristol, and connected • it with a very ngly disclosure. The person men- tioned had written to Sir Kobert Clifton's agent at Nottingham asking, not what were the views of Mr. Morley, the policy he advocated, and so forth, in order that, as intelligent men, they might discuss them ; hut ' Can you tell me anything damaging to Morley' s character, that we may make use of at the approaching election ? ' This letter met the fate it merited. Disdaining to treat it as confidential, or in any way privileged, the gentleman to whom it was addressed took it straightway to Mr. Morley, politi- cally opposed though they were, and, having shown it to him, offered to go to Bristol and to tell the people there what was his answer. Mr. Morley assured the Nottingham agent that such trouble on his part would be unnecessary, and he therefore declined the offer with thanks ; but he mentioned the facts publicly, in order, as he said, ' to show the infamous method resorted to, to damage him in the estimation of the Bristol public.'" Mr. Morley's candidature was prematurely closed — partly in consequence of the intensely excited state of public feeling in Bristol, but more particularly owing to the fact that the rapidly expiring Parliament 1868.] LETTER FBOM MB. GOLDWIN SMITH. 267 would be followed by a G-eneral Election after the recess, and then, in conjunction with the veteran Member, the Hon. F. H. ¥. Berkeley, Mr. Morley determined to renew operations. In the meantime he was concerned, not so much about his own election, as in turning the recent ex- tension of the suffrage to good account throughoiit the country. He felt that " if only a dozen men, competent, and instructed in political thought, know- ing what it was that they wanted, and honestly believing every word they said, could be got into the House, it would improve its temper, and would increase, by far more than tenfold, its efiS.ciency as a criticizing and deliberative body." It was this that made him spare neither time nor money to promote the return of men in whom he had confidence. One instance of the way in which he went to work may be cited here : — Mr. Goldwin SmitJi to Mr. Baraii^el Morley. Eeabing, June 26, 1868. My DEAE Me. Moeley, — Since our last meeting I have been informed, through a channel which I have no doubt is authentic, that one object of your visit to Oxford was to ascertain, by inquiry among my friends there, whether the prospect of being returned to Parliament, without incurring the usual expenses, would induce me to remain in this country and be- come a candidate for a seat in the House of Commons ; and that, in that case, you declared yourself ready to afford assistance to a most munificent extent. This information at once explains, and is confirmed by, a passage in the letter which you wrote to Eogers,'" and which he handed on * Prof. J. E. Thorold Eogers, M.P. 268 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. to me, though the passage was couched in terms of such studious delicacy that I felt doubtful of your meaning at the time. You now know my position, and are aware that I should not feel at liberty to take advantage of your generosity. I am untrained, and, as I believe, unfitted for par- liamentary life ; I should be a mute in the House of Commons, and it would be wrong to allow a seat, at the command of the decided Liberal party, to be wasted on me at such a crisis as this. But your public spu-it demands, not only the tribute of my admiration and gratitude, but the best practical response which it is in my power to make. I propose, therefore, to defer my departure from this country till after the elections, which it now seems certain will take place before the end of this year, and, in the meantime, to lend the aid of my pen — the only aid which a mere student can lend— to you and the rest of my friends in preparing for the impending struggle. When that struggle is over, I shall feel at liberty to carry into effect my plan of going to America — a plan formed long ago, though academical and domestic ties have hitherto precluded its execution, and formed, I hope, not without reference to a student's duty. Believe me. Very sincerely and gratefully yours, GoLDWiN Smith. To many Liberal candidates, who could not other- wise have borne the cost of contested elections, Mr. Morley gave the most generous assistance. He was especially anxious to see a number of representative working men in Parliament, and in a great many instances he, at his own personal charges and by his own personal influence, enabled labour candidates to go to the poll. Moreover, he contributed largely to the Eeform League, and a receipt for j61,900 signed, in December, 1868, by Mr. George Howell, the able and zealous secretary, lies before the present writer as one of the witnesses to his liberality. He gave his money to the League, as he distinctly said, " specifi- 18G8.] A BAILWAY ACCIDENT. 269 cally to win a number of seats from the Tories ; " and it may be mentioned here that, partly as a result of the deputations of two each to eighty-five boroughs, covering England and Wales, of the constant service of twenty-seven lecturers and speakers, of the 240 public meetings held, and printed matter circu- lated, no fewer than thirty Conservatives were dis- lodged from their old strongholds at the General Election. In a journey to Scotland, in August of this year, Mr. Morley escaped a terrible accident. He thus refers to it in a letter to Dr. J. H. Wilson, written at Loch Inver, where three of his sons, with Mr. Hargrove, were with a vacation reading party. He says : — I had travelled to Chester on the Thursday, by the next train following the Irish mail on the day of the terrible accident. I had had some thought of travelling by it, but the early hour prevented. How deeply grievous to think of the sad fate of probably thirty persons, hurried in an instant into eternity, and yet what mercy in the conviction, now I hope proved to be correct, that death was probably instantaneous ! I believe it is now ascertained to be the fact that no sound was heard — not a cry of any, kind ! And there was I, dining the same day, with several friends, at my brother-in-law's, near Chester, rejoicing over my preservation, as I have so often done before — for, in truth, I have never experienced any approach to accident that I have been aware of, and, at the same time — the same moment — thirty bodies lay in an unrecognizable form, who left their homes that morning as full of life and anticipation as myself. How true it is that ' in the midst of life we are in death ' ! I was, indeed, glad to see my boys yesterday, after a terrible passage from Glasgow. I never encountered anything like the passage round the Mull of Cantire, with the full swell of the Atlantic down upon us. The boat, the Clydesdale, did her duty nobly, and the captain is, I believe, a good 270 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. sailor ; but we felt as if we were, indeecl, going on with our lives in our bands. Prom eight to eleven on Monday night, I quite believe there was in the mind of each one of the small number of passengers, a feeling of anxiety, which found great and most welcome relief when we found our- selves under shelter of the islands of Islay and Jura. There had been on the previous two days, at Liverpool and elsewhere, a heavy storm, which had involved sad loss> of life. Again we have to sing of goodness and mercy. I found my sons in excellent health and spirits — their work for the present over, and the party of ten breaking up. The last detachment left by the maU this morning at seven, and we are left alone. When the time drew near for the election struggle to commence (for Mr. Miles, his old opponent, who was eligible to contest the seat in the new Parliament, was again in the field), Mr. Morley, accompanied by his son Arnold, who was with him throughout this and all his subsequent elections, went down to Bristol, and, night after night, at the Colston Hall, addressed thousands of his constituents on the questions of the day, the chief of which was the Disestablishment of the Irish Church. He regarded that measure, he said, as necessary for the government of Ireland, and was convinced that Protestantism would be strengthened by the removal of that which was, in his opinion, a memorial of past aggression and a menace to the Irish nation. Not even during election time did Mr. Morley lay aside altogether his customary duties, and we find him filling up the odd moments, which were not devoted to the public at large, in correspondence with individuals. Many inquiries were addressed to him by letter, and to each inquirer he sent his usual short, 1868.] LETTER TO HIS DAVGETEB. 271 prompt, and explicit reply. Here is one, as a specimen, relating to marriage with a deceased wife's sister : — Dear Sie, — I should support a Bill to legalize marriage with a deceased wife's sister, not because I wish to see such marriages increased, but because I have no doubt that existing restrictions have led to much immorahty, especially among the poorer classes, and because I behove marriage to be a civil contract, and therefore, though, individually, I would wish to see it associated with a religious service, I am opposed to any ecclesiastical interference with the freedom of those who hold a different opinion. Very anxiously were Mr. Morley's letters to tlie home circle awaited at Craven Lodge. The following was written to his second daughter : — Clifton, Oct. 30, 1868. Many thanks for your welcome notes ; they are always refreshing. What a blessed thing it is that, amidst all the turmoil and excitement of the world, we can fall back on the love and affection of those who are near and dear to us ! I remember once hearing a man I knew, refer to the joy ha felt when, under much suspicion of having done wrong in some matter connected, I think, with his business, in the thought that he had at home hearts that beat with love towards him, and entire confidence in his integrity. I am engaged here in an arduous conflict which is most honourable, and surrounded by circumstances which may be called flattering, but it is of course exciting, and our opponents are, of course, unscrupulous ; but let us be thankful they cannot touch character. We are really going on swim- mingly, but, with old recollections, we are aiming not to be over-confident. ■ The returns are capital. Dear love to the dear ones at C. L. Ever your loving father, S. MOELBY. On the 17th of November, that useless and mis- chievous ceremonial, satirised by pen and pencil from Hogarth to Dickens, of nominating candidates 272 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. publicly, by speeches at the hustings, was gone through at the Bristol Exchange. An American journalist, who chanced to pass that way, has thus described the scene : — "Monday morning (November 17th), at eight o'clock, the rising sun struggling with a November fog, I went past the Exchange, and found its whole front occupied about ten deep with Tory roughs, each with a blue card on his cap, in high good-humour at being first on the ground, and ready to rush into the central court, where the nominations were to be made, as soon as the great doors were thrown open. An im- patient street full of annoyed Eadicals was behind them ; and the prospect of getting in or out, with a whole coat, was not encouraging. Examining the position, I judged it might be flanked, and soon dis- covered a narrow side-passage, and, by paying a shilling, I was allowed to go upon the roof overlooking the hustings, a high staging of boards built up on one side of the court, full of committeemen, officials, reporters, candidates, and their friends. The clock struck nine ; the doors were opened, and there rushed in a yelling, howling mob of 8,000 or 10,000 roughs — so very rough that it was a perfect marvel where they could have come from. Three times as many blocked up the streets outside. Then commenced one of those extraordinary displays of popular sovereignty, majesty of the people, British Constitution, and so on, of which no other country can boast. The Sheriff of the county read the proclamation and the writ. 1868.] NOMINATION DAY. 273 He might as well have given them a passage out of "Eobinson Crusoe." Gentlemen nominated candi- dates and seconded them. . They might have been making bets on the next Derby. Eeporters stood up heroically, note-book in hand, leaning round the pillars, and the speakers shouted into their ears, and they guessed what was said or intended. Not one single word was heard, one yard from the mouth of the speaker. ,It was all one deafening confusion of roar, howl, screech, yell, cat-calls, dog-whistles, every con- ceivable sound, inside, mingled with rotten oranges, raw potatoes, and other missiles, which hit several of the speakers. Mr. Morley spoke, or was supposed to be speaking, behind a brown umbrella, held up to shield him from the heavy fire. Mr. Miles stood up and risked the shots, but was no more heard than Mr. Morley. The Sheriff called for a show of hands — or was supposed to do so— for the time had come for that ceremony, and the Blues held up their hands with the Blue committee, and the Beds with the Bed committee. As the Beds had the most roughs within the enclosure, in spite of the Blues getting the start of them, it was decided that the show of hands was for the Liberals, and a poll was demanded for the Tory candidate. This wonderful proceeding lasted half an hour. It could have been spent, with more advantage, in the roar of Niagara. It was of no more use than if each man had yelped, groaned, hissed, or hurrahed in his own private domicile, but as they did this sort of thing in the days of the Tudors, and, for 19 274 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. aught I know, in the days of the Dxuids, they will have to keep doing so. An advertisement in the newspapers would have answered every purpose, but even that was needless. Everybody knew there would be an election on Tuesday. Why, then, get together for a general yell, a big row, a pelting of the candidates and each other, on Monday? Yet this stupid, farcical, red tape ceremony, — useless, expen- sive, and dangerous as it was, — had to be carried out all over the country." " Nomination Day," with all its absurdities and evils, was swept away by the Ballot Bill, three years later, together with a great deal of bribery, corrup- tion, intimidation, and other of the monstrous wrongs that had prevailed during the continuance of the open voting system* In consequence of the illness of Mr. Berkeley, the Liberal candidature had to be worked single-handed, and arduous work it was. Tuesday, the 18th of November, wiU be fresh in the memory of many a Bristolian. At nine o'clock the polling began, and with it the constitutional reign of terror. The streets were gay with banners and mottoes ; pink ribbons, stamped in gold, with the city arms, and " Berkeley and Morley for ever ! " adorned the bonnets of women, while cards with the Union Jack in startling colours, and the device — "Vote for Morley, the Champion of Liberty, the Promoter of Commerce, the Sup- porter of Charity, the Friend of the people," were stuck in the hats of the men. Cartoons, repre- .1868.] RETUBNED M.P. FOB BBISTOL. 275 senting Moiiey's workmen smiling at J£2 10s. a week, and Miles's workmen starving at 9s. a week, were scattered freely in the shape of handbills. The old and once familiar scenes, of gangs of roughs parading the streets ; of raids upon taverns ; of free fights ; of broken windows and broken heads, need not be told again. In the midst of the uproar, a stone was flung at Mr. Morley, and narrowly missed its mark, or the consequences would have been serious. This was the signal for the Reds to show their valour, and had it been necessary to carry the election by physical force alone, they were equal to the occasion. But the polling went steadily on, with the result that Mr. Morley defeated his old opponent, Mr. Miles, by more than two thousand votes, the figures at the closing of the poll being: Berkeley, 8,759; Morley, 8,714; Miles, 6,694. Hurray ! Hoorali ! ! (wrote Dr. Binney on the evening of the same day) . All right. More than two thousand ahead. Glorious ! ! ! We have had three telegrams, each more and more encouraging. We waited anxiously for the last. It has just come, and we are so glad. All possible congratu- lations. This day twenty-two years ago you were down at Brighton and Hove seeing us married ! We have been spending a Darby and Joan anniversary together, and now we drink to the Member for Bristol, and shaU. go up and see his wife. Ever, my dear friend. Yours affectionately, T. Binney. The voting that day placed Mr. Morley in a posi- tion unprecedented in relation to the Bristol consti- tuency, and for seventeen years afterwards he was the 276 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. faithful representative in Parliament of the ancient city. Among the many who congratulated him was Mr. Berkeley, who wrote : — " I think you have a right to he proud of your new constituency. I know them well. More good feeling and intelligence is not to be met with in any city of England ; " and Mr, Goldwin Smith, who said : — " I most heartily wish you joy, and heartily rejoice myself that in that plutocratic as- sembly — and it is just as plutocratic as ever — there will be at least one rich man who has kept his heart above his wealth." When, in 1865, Mr. Morley was contesting Not- tingham, and again in 1868 at Bristol, he had made certain statements and explanations with regard to his views on the separation of Church and State, and of his connection with the Liberation Society, which gave some offence to out-and-out Liberationists, among whom were many of his most intimate friends. Some of his utterances in 1865 we have already noticed. We must turn now to those of 1868. While the election was pending, the following cor- respondence took place : — The Bev. Canon Oirdlesione to Mr. Samuel Morley. Canons House, Beistol, Oct. 26, 1868. Dear Sir, — I was obliged by your call at Canons House last Friday. The explanations which you were then kind enough to give me, relieved me from some doubt and difficulty as to the disposal of my vote at the approaching election for Bristol, and enabled me, with satisfaction to my- 1868.] LETTER FROM REV. CANON QIRDLE8T0NE. 277 self, to support, as I wislaed, the Liberal cause in your person as well as in that of Mr. Berkeley. You are, I know, aware, from a letter of mine to the editor of the Daily News, that I consider Mr. Gladstone's Irish Church policy as no more than that which justice to Ireland demands, and as likely to strengthen rather than endanger the Church of England, and that it was, therefore, not on that account that I had doubts about my vote as regards yourself. But I was aware that you are a member of the Liberation Society. I therefore thought it not uuhkely that you might be under the influence of that active and, under all circumstances, unmitigated hostility to the Church of England which has often been expressed by members of that society. Tou have assured me, however, that this neither is, nor ever has been, the case with you. If I understand you rightly, you explained that, though in your judgment Establishment is not conducive to the spread of true religion, and though public opinion is, as you think, gradually coming over to this view, yet you have no wish to see any attack made upon, or any scheme originated for, the Disestabhsh- ment and Disendowment of the Church of England, which, equally with myself, you believe has more to fear from within, and nothing from with- out as long as it remains zealous, active, and true to its Protestant prin- ciples, and so, by the blessing of God, retains its hold upon the affections of the nation. I shall give you my vote, then, in the full belief that if returned to the House of Commons, you will promote all wise — both pohtical and social — reforms, specially those connected with the working classes, in whose welfare and improvement I am deeply interested, and at the same time, instead of uniting with any who are banded against the Church of Eng- land, simply because it is established and endowed, will rather have sympathy with those who would enable it to free itself from everything which may impair its influence as a witness for the truth, or weaken its hold on the love of the people. I have always held that the Church of England has much more in common with most Protestant Dissenters, than with either the Eoman or Eastern Churches, union with which is, at the present time, by some Churchmen so much desired. The Church of England has, in my opinion, nothing to fear from Dissenters like your- self; much, on the other hand, from those of its own communion, who are prepared to endow the Church of Bome in Ireland, and to promote, or connive at, the introduction into the Church of England of Eomish doctrine and practice, and a poor imitation of Eomish ritual. 278 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap; XV. If, in tliis note, I Imve put a wrong interpretation upon your conversa- tion with me, you will, I am sure, be kind enough to undeceive me. If, on the other hand, I have understood you correctly, you are at liberty to mate any use you please of this note. Your faithful servant, Edwakd Gikdlestone. Mr. Samuel Morley to the Bev. Canon Girdlestone. Clifton Down Hotel, Oct. 29, 1868. Dear Sie, — The statements which you have been good enough to place in writing, correctly describe my sentiments towards the Church of England. They are not now newly adopted, but (as my friends know) I have held them for many years. With respect to the Liberation Society, my name has been on its committee, and I have contributed to its funds, but I have not attended the meetings of the committee, nor do I take any active part in the management. I belong- to the society, because I think that by directing public attention to the spiritual nature of the Church of Christ, and its independence of all Acts of Parliament, the society has done, and is doing, good service to the nation generally, and, not least, to the Church of England itself, which I believe would be the better, and not the worse, if released from its connection with the State. I. have thought many times that my want of concurrence in some of 'the objects ' of the society, as defined in the prospectus, and my dislike of extreme statements made by some of its supporters, render it doubtful if I ought to belong to the society at all, but I am not accustomed to be over-scrupulous in helping societies which, in the main, are doing good. I am pleased to be assured that among my friends you, at least, will not misimderstand me, and will favourably interpret what may appear to some a formal inconsistency. I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, Samuel Moeley. The publication of this correspondence produced a great outcry, but it was drowned in the excitement of the General Election. Shortly after that event, and as an almost necessary sequel to his letter to 1868.1 THE LIBERATION SOCIETY. 279 Canon Girdlestorie, Mr. Moiiey resigned his seat on the Executive Committee of the Liberation Society. His resignation was couched in the following terms : — Mr. Samuel Morley to Mr. William Edwards, Treasurer of the Society for the Liberation of Religion. WooB Street, Dec. 3, 1868. Dear Sir, — It will scarcely surprise you and some others of my friends who have noticed the proceedings connected with the Bristol election, and the comments upon them ,by the public press, that I have arrived at the conclusion that my name ought not any longer to appear on the list of the Executive Committee of your society, and I must therefore ask you to be good enough to withdraw it. In doing so, permit me to assure you of my undiminished respect for yourself and the other of&cers of the society, and my continued sense of the value of the work in which the society is engaged, in indoctrinating the public mind with sound views a§ to the true and separate functions of the Church and the State, upholding the spiritual nature of the Church of Christ, and promoting and stimulating the growth of a public opinion which renders inevitable great changes in the relation of civil government to the religious communities of the country. I am conscious, notwith- standing some anonymous representations to the contrary, that I am, as I have ever been, most deeply and sincerely anxious that we should arrive at a time in the history of this country when the Churches of Christ shall become disentangled from their injurious associations with the State, and be free to carry on the good work of instructing and directing the people. It has been, however, a matter of difficulty with me for a long time past, as to how far I can accept the third branch of the object of the society, respecting the secularization of all national property held in trust by the churches. It is not part of my ' object,' in supporting the society, to effect this secularization of property, and, although it may seem a necessary condition of the ultimate separation of the Church and the State that the property should be secularized, I am not prepared to pledge myself to accept no settlement which does not involve secularization. I have found, practically, that this proposal of secularization, while it is one which I do not accept, is an offence to many who would otherwise be 260 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. XV. disposed to entertain favourably the idea of separation, and becomes an abundant source of misrepresentation which no explanations are sufficient to avert. Hence I have been compelled, among those by whom it was incumbent on me that I should not be misunderstood, to disclaim sympathy, in part, with the society, and have thus exposed myself to the charge of inconsistency. While in no degree disowning my principle as a conscientious Noncon- formist, it has never been as a ' Nonconformist champion or authority,' but as a staunch supporter of the party now led by Mr. Gladstone, and as connected with commerce, that I have sought to enter Parliament ; and, in representing the city of Bristol, I am constrained to regard questions of religious liberty and equality, not from a limited or a denominational standpoint, but in connection with a national poHey and the widest interest of the commonwealth. At present, the work to do is to dis- establish and disendow the Church of Ireland, and a scheme to accomplish this is before Parliament and the country, which will receive my heartiest support. I have no wish to see a similar scheme originated for the dis- establishment and disendowment of the Church of England. The cir- cumstances and conditions of the two are entirely different, and it is most unwise to originate schemes which are practically useless. It is my con- viction that changes are impending, but they will come from within rather than from without — from the awakened intelligence and conviction of those whose religious life wUl no longer bear restraint and hindrance, and who will demand changes, beneficial to themselves and to the nation. It was so in the great disruption of the Church of Scotland ; it is so in reference to the Church of Ireland. The advocates of Establishments, themselves require, in the interest of national policy and justice, that the Establishment in Ireland shall cease ; and, to meet this exigency, they modify their theory of Establishments. For us prematurely to force on other changes, and to define rigidly what th'ey shall be and how they shall eventuate, appears to ine likely to retard the progress of truth and right, which is dearer than any increase of Dissent, and I am anxious to place myself in an attitude, not of antagonism, but of friendship, with all truly devout men by whose co-operation the religious future of England may be determined. The Society for the Liberation of Eeligion has been most successful, by moderation of tone and earnestness, to appeal to the conscientious judgment of our fellow-countrymen in favour of the principles it 1868.] LETTER FROM MS. J. CABVELL WILLIAMS. 281 advocates, and by assisting, rather than originating, schemes for their application in Parliament ; and in this educational labour I hope to con- tinue to give it my cordial support. I am, dear Sir, Yours very faithfully, S. MORLEY. Mr. Morley's letter was submitted to the Executive Committee, who rephed to the points he had raised in relation to their policy, in the following letter : — Mr. J. Carvell Williams to Mr. Samuel Morley. 2, Sergeant's Inn, Fleet Street, Dec. 7, 1868. Dear Sir, — Your letter to the society's treasurer, asking that your name may be withdrawn from the list of the Executive Committee, has been submitted to the committee, who have accepted your resignation, though not without surprise and regret at the occurrence which has rendered it necessary. The committee do not feel called upon to offer any remark on the view taken by yourself of your duty as a Member of the House of Commons, except to disavow, as strongly as you do, any desire to occupy a ' denominational standpoint,' or to act otherwise than ' in connection with a national pohcy, and the widest interest of the commonwealth.' Neither is it, in their judgment, necessary to comment on the fact that, while heartily supporting the proposal to disendow the Irish Church, and to secularize its revenues, you have no wish to see the same principle applied in England. They, however, feel it to be their duty to endeavour to remove the erroneous impression respecting the society's proceedings which your letter is calculated to produce. They have no knowledge of the schemes for the disestablishment of the English Church, to which you object as unwise and practically useless. They have taken no step, and do not contemplate any step, which can be described as prematurely forcing on other changes than that which now chiefly engages public attention, or as being likely to retard the pro- gress of truth and right. Their poUcy is, at this moment, what it has been during the many years of your connection with the society. All the parliamentary measures which they have hitherto sought to carry, whether 282 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. originated by themselves or by others, have, they believe, had your con- currence, and they venture to anticipate that future measures of the same character will equally receive your support. In regard even to the future disposal of Church property, the society has prepared no rigidly deflaed or, indeed, any scheme. It has simply af&rmed what is believed to be a sound principle — -a principle which it holds in common with the ablest statesmen and writers T^ho have devoted attention to the subject. The committee have no intention of relaxing those strictly educational efforts, the moderation and the success of which you acknowledge ; but the fundamental purpose for which the society exists would be frustrated were it to confine itself to the advocacy of its principles to the exclusion of measures for the application of those principles in the work of practical legislation. They are, therefore, unable to concur in your suggestion that proposals for legislative changes, in regard to the Established Churches, should emanate from the members of those churches, whose views are necessarily affected by the merely sectional requirements and feelings of the bodies to which they belong. The responsibility involved in such changes is shared by the whole community, and the advocates of voluntaryism would not be acting either wisely or patriotically were they to waive the right to participate in a work in which every citizen has a deep interest. The awakened intelligence and conviction to which you advert, as the cause of the dissatisfaction existing within the English Establishment, has, the committee believe, resulted in no small degree from the political action, as well as the teaching, of those who are without, and there is nothing in the character of passing events to indicate that they may with safety abandon the idea of assisting to extricate both the Church and the State from the accumulated difficulties resulting from their alUance. In compliance with your request, publicity will be given to your letter, and it will be accompanied by a copy of this reply. On behalf of the committee, I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, J. Caevell Williams. Under the heading of " Mr. Morley's Defection," this correspondence was threshed out in most of the so-called "religious" newspapers, and, in many 1868.1 "MB. MOBLETS DMFSGTION." 283 instances, with the bitterness that characterizes some of those papers. Mr. Peter Bayne, in the Christian World, charged him with repudiating the principle of a free Church in a free State, and added : " He repudiates this principle at a critical moment — a moment when the signs of the times, written by God's finger in facts and events as clearly as when the lightnings of His presence flashed from the smoke enveloping the Mount of Fire, impel men to decide either for this principle or its opposite." Under the heading of " Fainting Standard Bearers," the Freevian pathetically mourned over the loss of one of the leaders among voluntaries : "A standard bearer who falls," it said, "may arouse the anger of his troops to victory, but when he faints, gives ground, yields more or less to the foe, all hearts are but too apt to sink." On the other h-and, the Guardian, an influential Church of England journal, pointed to the occurrence as one which showed " the sobering effect of practical life, and its responsibilities on broad and ambitious views;" and, after stating that "the Society and its friends are naturally not well pleased with Mr. Morley," it added, "It is rather hard when one of your leading committeemen gets into Parliament for a great city like Bristol, to have him turn round on you, and tell you that the connection with you will not suit him any longer, and that, in fact, he has thought you wrong in your chief practical end for a long while." 284 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XV. Other of the newspapers urged that, under the in- fluence of a desire to conciliate, amiable in itself but mischievous when it jeopardizes principle, Mr. Morley had publicly taken a step which he would as openly recall. But these writers did not know Samuel Morley, and he Ivas wise enough not to attempt to enlighten them in a warfare of words. In a letter to his son Arnold, he sets forth, in a word, in the midst of other matters of private and public interest, what his true position was, and why he had sought to define it at this " critical moment." To Mr. Arnold Morley. Cbaven Lodge, Deo. 13, 1868. Dearest Arnold, — I expected that next week would be given up to the debate which was to precede the rejection of the Ministry. But by Disraeli at once acting on the verdict of the country, he has saved a great delay of valuable time, and has entitled himself to the hearty acknowledgments of the Liberal party. He really has some good points about him. I don't know whether you have seen a correspondence between myself and the Liberation Society. I refer to it only to add, that I have not in the least degree changed my opinions, which are precisely what they were when I ioined the society ; but, in the prospect of taking part in the debates in the House, I have felt it best to set myself right on a point connected with the property of the Chm-ch which, except in the event of its becom- ing as effete as the Irish Church, I maintain should be held as belonging to the Church . I shall be glad to explain further when we meet. Much love to the brothers and yourself. Your loving father, S. MOKLEY. CHAPTBE XVI. THE BUSINESS OF PHILANTHEOPT. Wealth — Supposed Effects of Business on Character — Particular Providence — Be¥. W. Pennefather — Miss Marsh — Sympathy — Catholicity — The Hartog Scholarship — Wales — Mr. Henry Eichard, M.P. — Education Agitation in Wales — University College, Aberystwith — Encroachment of the English Language — South Wales English Congregational Society — Memorial College, Brecon — Welsh Political Obligations — South Wales Eegistration Society — Evictions— Congregational College, Bala — Occasional Magnificent Donations — Scarcity of Givers — Humility — The Title of " Founder " — Financial Eeform Association — Inspiring Others to Give — Eefusals — Beggars — De- faulters — Poor Literary Men — George Cruikshank — Poor Ministers — "Name- less Unremembered Acts." Wealth, in itself, has no moral attribute. It is not money, but the love of money, which is the root of all evil. The essential thing is, the relation between wealth and the mind and character of its possessor. To Mr. Morley, wealth was only a means to an end ; he valued it only as it could be employed for noble purposes ; he held it in trust for the good of others ; he felt that it laid upon him the most binding obli- gations, and that he was accountable not only for making a right use of it, but the best use possible. The distribution of his money was therefore the main business of his life. It was a great responsi- bility to have the management of such a business 28G SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Chap. XVI. as his ; it was a far greater responsibility to have the money that business brought him. To accumulate it for its own sake was utterly foreign to his thought and feeling ; to amass it for the highest ends, and be neglectful as to its wise distri- bution, was, in his view, worse than folly; to shirk the responsibility, and make others the almoners of his munificence, he regarded as being unfaithful to the trust reposed in him by the One " who giveth power to get wealth." Mere giving, however enormous the amount be- stowed, is, in itself, nothing, and may be worse than nothing. It may be done selfishly, simply to gratify an impulse ; it. may be done pompously, simply to gratify pride. As Lavater says, " The rnanner of giving shows the character of the giver more than the gift itself." Therefore, when Mr. Morley found riches to increase, he felt it to be a religious duty to make the disposal of his money a matter of earnest and most careful solicitude. There was placed in his hands a mighty power for good or for evil, and he felt himself under obligation to, God and man to spare no pains in using it to the best advantage for the Church and the world. The Eev. Baldwin Brown wrote many things con- cerning money-making and the influence of business on character. In one of his books or sermons he wrote : — • " The business of life has, without doubt, a harden- COBBESPONDENCE. 287 ing influence. The selfishness, the meanness, the wickedness, which men have to encounter in their daily round of duties, the pure worldliness which reigns in the sphere where much of their life-task lies, tend terribly to mould round the spirit a thick shell of indifference, through which the whispers of light celestial voices and the touches of light celestial fingers can find no way. Tell me, busy men, is the ear as keen as it once was to the appeals of misery ? Is the touch as fine to the maimed and bruised ones who press by you in the throng, feeling feebly for the virtue which once went forth from you, and took joy in the effort to heal and to save ? Does life grow larger, freer, nobler, more full of promise, more rich in hope ? Or, does the wheel drag more wearily and the spirit cleave closer to the dust ? " Neither contact with the business of city life, nor contact with the business of philanthropy, ever pro- duced these effects on Mr. Morley. On the contrary, it was proverbial among all who knew him well, that, as the years went on, his character mellowed and softened, his ear was keener, his touch was finer, his life grew larger, as the boundaries of liis life-task widened. The business of a philanthropist can only be per- formed satisfactorily when it is done in a business-like fashion. Among the correspondence of Mr. Morley there is a mass of letters, some hundreds in number yearly, the burden of each being a cry for help. In course 288 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. of time it became possible for him to detect, almost at a glance, the appeals that were likely to arouse his sympathy, and, to a certain extent, the genuine- ness of the need. It is interesting to look through these letters : they are full of strange stories of thwarted lives, of ruined fortunes, of conflict and failure in the battle of life ; or of hope and aspiration, of a bright and successful future, all hanging upon the question of a little im- mediate help. There lies before the present writer a packet of such appeals ; each one was evidently read carefully by Mr. Morley, and each bears in the left-hand top corner a note in his handwriting, brief and business- like. The large majority bear the simple word " Yes," indicating that a ready response has been given to the appeal ; others are marked " litho," which means that a lithograph letter of refusal should be sent ; while on many there is an emphatic " No." On some of the letters the words, " Inquire further," " Impos- sible," " Sorry," " Unable," " Acknowledge," " Don't know," "Apologise for delay," are indications to his secretary how to reply ; others show the amounts which have been sent in response to appeals for money, the figures £10, £100, &c., standing as the sole memorandum of the affair. It is not difficult to conjure up some interesting scenes from merely turn- ing over this correspondence. There is a letter, for instance, with a note in the corner in Mr. Morley's handwriting : " Correct this. Meant entirely as a PABTICULAB PBOVIDENCE. 289 personal gift." It is a letter frora a poor minister who has been calling Mr. Morley's attention to the spiritual need of a neglected neighbourhood, and who has only incidentally mentioned his own struggle with grinding poverty. The response has been princely, and it has been acknowledged with profound grati- tude ; but it is evident that it has never entered into the thought of the poor minister that it was a habit of Mr. Morley to attend first to the need of the labourer, and then to inquire into his work. There is the outline of a story worth the telling, as one imagines the joy in the household, when the letter arrives, written from Mr. Morley's brief instructions, " Meant entirely as a personal gift." Mr. Morley was often the means of confirming the belief of his correspondents in the doctrine of a particular Providence. He might have said, in the language of the Patriarch Job, " The cause that I knew not, I searched out," and when, as the result of that search, he found good work languishing for want of means, he would, unsolicited, send a contribution adequate to meet the need. Over and over again, the recipients, of his bounty, receiving it just at the moment when their want was deepest, have attri- buted his "searching out of their cause " to the direct interposition of the Almighty. The following letters, from the well-known Mr. and Mrs. Pennefather, of St. Jude's, in Islington, taken almost at random from a bundle, will serve as. illustrations : — 20 290 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. The Bev. W. Pennefather to Mr. Samuel Morley. EiDGE House, Baenbt, July 10, 1867. My DEAE Mb. Moeley, — My dear wife and I had been praying to the Lord for help, when your kind letter, and its munificent donation, reached UB. I have not words wherewith to thank you, my heart is too full. But I can pray for you, and, while doing so, I can also bless my heavenly Father, who, having seen our great need, has sent us help through your willing hands. For twelve years we have been led to care for ' the fatherless,' and for seven years we have sought to train women for posts of usefulness in the Church of Christ. Some of these agents are now labouring in Syria and China in connection with Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Taylor. Some are employed at home, and others are at work in Africa. These institutions are not much known, though the Lord has been pleased to put the mark of His approbation upon them. My wife and I have not means (by ourselves) to carry them on, but God has given us reason to trust Him, and though there are times when we are tempted to be over-anxious, He has never failed us. As we do not confine our female agents to work exclusively in connection with the Church of England, our ' French Mission House ' does not receive much help from members of the Church of England ; and, as I am a minister of the Church of England, it is not to be expected that I should be largely aided by Nonconformists. I mention these facts, because they account (in some degree) for the great straits we are sometimes brought into. Just now we are specially needing succour ; and your timely help has brought us to our knees in thanksgiving to our gracious God and heavenly Father. I feel sure, my dear Mr. Morley, that if you could see our daily schools (where upwards of 700 children are taught the simple truths of the Bible) your heart would rejoice. Many of these children are gathered out of peculiarly neglected streets in the neighbourhood of ' Kingsland Gate.' The congregation attending St. Jude's Church are mostly persons of very humble means, and in the Iron Boom we have, thank God, a goodly company of the poor, who have ' nothing to pay ' for their sittings. I know you would bless God for drawing such to hear of a Saviour's love. I am here for a few days, while moving into a new home (70, Mildmay Park), not far from my old one. With our united kindest regards to Mrs. Morley and your daughter, Ever, with warmest gratitude, Yours affectionately and obliged, William Pennefather. LETTER FBOM MISS MARSH. 291 Mrs. Pennefather to Mr. Samuel Morley. July 10, 1867. My dear Sir, — I am sure you will allow me to add a line of grateful thanks to my husband's letter. Could you know how often we have been on om: knees to ask for this money, and how distinctly it has come at the moment of urgent need, you would surely thank God that you have been His chosen instrument to answer the cry of His poor children. Oh, how we shall praise Him by and by, that He gave ua a Uttle ministry of love to exercise, for His name's sake, in this sorrowful world ! (2 Cor. ix. 12.) Believe me, my dear Sir, Yours very gratefully, C. Pennefather. In the same strain is the following letter from Miss Marsh : — Miss Marsh to Mr. Samuel Morley. Feltwell Bbctory, Brandon, Norfolk. My dear Mr. Morley, — How shall I ever thank you for your wonder- ful goodness and kindness ? But indeed you must take back a part of your princely promise, if it should press you, when the time comes. I cannot say how your sympathy, as well as your noblest kindness, has cheered and comforted me upon my sick bed. It came like a voice from heaven, our Father's voice, saying, ' Fear thou not, for I am with thee ; . . . yea, I wUl keep thee (through one of My dearest, most honoured servants).' Ever praying God to bless you a thousand-fold in that generous heart and purse, as well as in your home and Hfe and health, and, first and most of all, with yet more and more of the light of the countenance of the altogether lovely One — our Saviour, our King, our Friend — Ever yours most gratefully, Catherine Marsh. Mr. Morley' s benefactions partook of that higher ministry, of giving himself with his money. If he gave to societies, he personally acquainted himself 292 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. with, their work, and stirred them up to greater dili- gence ; if he assisted churches, he generally visited those churches to express his personal interest in their labours ; if he put his name upon a subscription list, it was that he might stimulate the liberality of others. He could not see evil without being moved to check it ; he could not see suffering without seek- ing to relieve it ; he could not see ignorance without seeking to impart knowledge. The mere giving of money was the least part of what he did. He spent upon every cause he took up heartily — and that is tantamount to saying he spent upon almost every cause — time, thought, energy, and all those capa- cities which make the real value of gifts. He took infinite pains to select the right recipients of his beneficence. He liked nothing better than to cheer the heart and sweeten the life of some struggling minister of religion, burdened with the sense of a great duty solemnly undertaken. He had a special aptitude for discerning the societies most needing assistance, and was often able to carry out ideas of his own by means of agencies which others had established. He had a heart so large that it could not bear a. sense of unrelieved suffering, or permit struggling merit to go unrewarded, or refuse help to men who were doing any good work in the world, by whatever name they chose to call themselves. He was munificent to the Church as well as to Dis- sent, and ecclesiastical dignitaries spoke as highly MAGNIFICENT DONATIONS. 293 of him as the humbler men he had helped in small villages and cottage missions. When the Hartog Scholarship was established, to commemorate the early fame and brilliant scholastic achievements of the Jewish Senior Wrangler, Mr. Morley was among the first and most munificent contributors, following in the steps of Sir Francis Goldsmid and Baron Lionel de Eothschild. Hartog was a contemporary at Cambridge with two of Mr. Morley' s sons, and the object of the Scholarship is to enable poor boys to proceed from the public elemen- tary schools to the highest educational advantages in the country. Mr. Morley occasionally inade magnificent dona- tions, unprecedented in the history of philanthropy. Thus, as we have seen, he aided the Home Mis- sionary Society; he gave £6,000 towards the Bicen- tenary Memorial Hall, and £5,000 towards the purchase of Exeter Hall for the Young Men's Christian Association. One more of the series of large gifts may be recorded here, and the story cannot be told better than in the words of Mr. Henry Eichard, M.P., who was asked by the present writer kindly to furnish an account of Mr. Morley's munificence to the insti- tutions of Wales, and of Mr. Eichard's persorial intimacy with him. The following narrative illus- trates not only the tenacity with which Mr. Morley clung to old friendships, and confided in old and trusty co-workers, but also the persistency with 294 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. which he persevered in aiding any cause, or people, whose need he recognized : — My acquaintance with Mr. Morley (says Mr. Bichard) extended over a period of about fifty years. I first met him at the Committee of the Congregational Union. . I have a distinct remembrance of travelling with him outside the coach — ^for there was no railway at that time — to attend the autumnal meeting of the Union at Bristol in the year 1840. Since then I have been associated with him on many occasions, and for many objects, religions, educational, political, and philanthropic. But so, of course, have many others. Any specialty that may attach to my re- membrances of him wiU be in connection with his deep interest in, and abounding hberality towards, my own country of Wales. When I first came to London, fifty-seven years ago, Wales was prac- tically much further from England than it is now. There was very little intercourse or active sympathy even between the Nonconformists of the two countries. In the year 1844, I formed one of a deputation, sent by the Congregational Union, to visit South Wales, to try to bring my countrymen of the same faith and order in that part of the Principality, into nearer relation with their brethren in England. As one result of that mission, I read a paper at the autumnal meeting of the Union, which was held that year at Norwich, on the religious, political, and social con- dition of Wales, which was very kindly received, and which did some- thing, I have reason to know, to engage the attention and enlist the sympathies of Mr. Morley on behalf of my fatherland. Much personal intercourse with him on the same subject tended to deepen this friendly impression, and, fi:om that time to the day of his death, his heart never cooled and his liberahty never was stinted, towards my countrymen. Often after that, it was my pleasure and privilege to accompany him on various visits of beneficence to Wales. Indeed, there was a time when his friendly partiality to me led him to attach an exaggerated value to my co-operation, and he would scarcely consent to go without me. In one of his letters to me, on which I dwell now with melancholy pleasure, referring apparently to some suggestion I had made that the presence of another gentleman would supersede the necessity of mine, he says : — ' My going to Brecon and Cardiff, &c., depends on your also going. I shall be most glad to meet Mr. , but I hold it to be very important that you should be with us. I have MB. HENRY BICHABD, M.P. 295 accepted each invitation on the understanding that yoa were, to be with me. I leave all arrangements to you, only trusting that we may do good sei-vice by our visit.' The first of these visits I can remember was in or about the year 1853. Aa one fruit of the Nonconformist educational agitation, in which Mr. Morley bore a very conspicuous part, arising out of Sir James Graham's Bill, an important conference had been held at Llandovery, in South Wales, which led to the formation of a ' South Wales Committee on Education,' and to the establishment of a Normal College, first at Brecon, and theni at Swan- sea — a work in which he had actively co-operated. This had given rise to a considerable movement in favour of education in that part of the Princi- pality. But it was thought that a new impulse might be given to the movement if a visit were paid to some important places in Wales by gentlemen known to be connected with the same work in England. Accordingly a deputation, consisting of Mr. Morley, Mr. {now Sir) Edward Baines, Mr. G. W. Alexander (a member of the Society of Friends, then a very active and generous friend of education), and myself, held meetings in different parts, to confer with Welsh friends as to the best mode of ex- tending the work of education. The one I most distinctly remember was a conference at Merthyr, which was well attended by a considerable number of influential persons in that district, and which, I believe, ren- dered valuable service to the cause it was sought to promote. . A few years later, there sprang up an agitation in favour of a college, or university, for Wales. Dr. Nicholas, who was then the secretary and active agent in that agitation, came to me, and begged me to accompany him to Mr. Morley, with whom, it was supposed, I had some influence on all matters relating to Wales. I consented with some reluctance, as my own mind was at that time rather inclined in favour of a system of inter- mediate education as the necessary prehminary to a collegiate institution. But we went, and laid our case before Mr. Morley, and, after some careful inquiries on his part, he gladdened our hearts by promising to contribute j61,000 towards the enterprise. This was not all, for he afterwards gave divers sums to the University College at Aberystwith, amounting altogether to another ^61,000. In 1860, 1 accompanied Mr. Morley to Wales in connection with another important matter. The friends of religion in the Principality, especially those connected with the voluntary churches, had begun to look with some anxiety on the gradual encroachment which the English language was making, especially in some of the large towns and along the border- 296 SAMUEL MOBLEY. . [Chap. XVI. land between the two eountries. Many of my countrymen, whose attachment to their native tongue is a passion, looked with no complacency upon this rolling foreign tide which threatened to swamp them. Some ■of the older men, even among the ministers, were unwilling to recognize the unwelcome fact, by providing rehgious services in the English lan- guage for those invading Saxons. There were others, however, who felt that there were interests higher than poetic patriotism, and that if they did not make some efforts to Christianize the immigrants, they might, in process of time, if left uncared for, tend to paganize their own people. A Conference was therefore called at Cardiff, in 1860, to which I had the pleasure of accompanying Mr. Morley, to consider this whole question. It was attended also by Mr. Wills of Bristol, Mr. Jupe of Mere, and other English friends interested in the PrincipaUty. Mr. Morley presided at this Conference, the issue of which was the formation of a society which ultimately came to be called ' The South Wales English Congregational Society.' For some years it diligently pursued the work it was established to promote. But Mr. Morley, who had taken the matter warmly to heart, was not satisfied with the rate at which the work was proceeding. Therefore, in 1867, he made the muni- ficent offer to contribute ^65,000 within the next three years towards the erection of English chapels in those districts of South Wales where the necessity for them most pressingly prevailed. But, as was his wont, the offer was made subject to certain conditions calculated to stimulate local effort. The result was reported at the annual meeting of the Society, held at Cardiff in 1870, which was to this effect — that in three years twenty-one chapels had been built in six different counties with accommodation for nearly 10,000 persons. For many years afterwards, Mr. Morley sub- scribed £50 to the Society ; altogether, as the fruit of the Cardiff Con- ference in 1860, upwards of fifty churches were formed, many of which are still powerful, centres of Christian labour. But Mr. Morley did not confine his generous aid to South Wales. In 1876, a Conference was held at Chester to promote a similar movement in North Wales, where the need of English places of worship was beginning to be seriously felt. He entered into this project also with fervid interest. He presided over the first annual meeting of the Congregational Union for North Wales, and announced his intention to contribute ^61,000 to the object in four annual instalments, and, at the expiration of that time, he generously renewed his promise for the subsequent five years, NONCONFOBMITY IN WALES. 297 He took part in various meetings of the Union at Mold, Chester, New- town, and Ehyl. The next occasion on which I went with Mr. Morley to Wales, was on the laying of the foundation-stone of the Congregational Memorial CoUege at Brecon, in June, 1867 ; a ceremony which was performed by him, while I had the honour of delivering one of the addresses on the occasion. Mr. Morley contributed ^1,000 towards the building. Two years later, I accompanied him again to the opening of the same insti- tution. He presided at the inaugural meeting, which was attended by leading Congregationahsts from all parts of Wales, and to his -pre- vious liberal contribution to the college added ^250 towards laying out the grounds and furnishing residences for the Professors. This was not all the service he rendered to Brecon College. When the Bev. John Davies of Cardiff, and the Eev. John Thomas of Liverpool, undertook to canvass London, and some of the larger towns in England, for pecuniary aid towards the object, he wrote with his own hand a number of letters to leading Nonconformists, earnestly commending the Welsh case to their friendly consideration, which no doubt greatly contributed to the success of their enterprise. But this expedition of 1869 was not confined to the opening of Brecon College. We had a meeting also at Cardiff, in connection with a new English chapel about to be erected there, promoted by a most excellent and energetic man, the Bev. John Davies, who had done much by his indefatigable activity to give effect to Mr. Morley's offer of ^5,000 already described. I believe it was also on the same joinrney that I had the pleasure of assisting him at the. laying of the foundation-stone of a new chapel at Mountain Ash, a portion of what became afterwards my own constituency. On both these occasions, as was his wont, he opened largely his generous purse. But apart altogether from his pecuniary contributions, his very presence, and the cordial and cheering words he uttered, were felt to be an inspiration and an impulse. I must refer to one other service which Mr. Moriey helped to render to Wales, in which I had the pleasure of co-operating with him. About twenty-five years ago, some of us became a little dissatisfied with the political apathy which, at that time, prevailed in the Principality. Though the Welsh had become, in a large measure, a nation of Non- conformists, they were represented in the House of Commons wholly by Churchmen, many of them Tories of a very pronounced character, and others rather weak-kneed and halting Liberals, so that, in all the conflicts 298 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. XVI. going on in Parliament on questions of religious freedom, the Welsh vote was almost always predominantly adverse. In the year 1862, an important Conference was held at Swansea, attended by Mr. Miall, Mr. Carvell Williams, and myself, with a view to stir up the Welsh people to a fuller sense of their political obligations. Two or three years later, similar Conferences, attended by the same deputation, were held in Cardiganshire and in various leading towns of North Wales. At all these meetings, county committees were formed, to prepare for future political action. These operations had done a good deal to stimulate right feeling and to create something like a public spirit among my countrymen. But we found, on inquiry, that much remained to be done in the way of organization and practical activity. It was determined, therefore, to call into existence an agency in South Wales to give form and permanence to the salutary sentiment awakened. But there was con- siderable difiSculty in finding the means to accomplish this, as the wealthy classes in Wales belonged, for the most part, to the opposite party. In this emergency, I turned again to Mr. Morley. He entered heartily into our design and gave us almost carte blanche to draw upon his purse. But what was, in some respects, of more importance, he attended, with Mr. Edward Miall and myself, a Conference which was held at Carmarthen to launch our movement, at which a South Wales Begistration Society was formed, and all arrangements were made for an active, practical campaign. The effect of these measures became apparent at the next election in 1868, when the Welsh people generally arose, it might almost be said for the first time, to assert their political independence, and returned a larger number of Liberals to Parliament than they had ever done before, including several Nonconformists. But some of them had to pay dearly for it. That election was conducted by open voting, for the Ballot Act was not yet passed. The defeated and exasperated Tory landlords wreaked their vengeance on the people by turning scores of tenants, farmers and others, from their holdings. I had the satisfaction of dragging these culprits before the House of Commons and the country, and to aid in raising a considerable fund to succour the sufferers, to which Mr. Morley was, as usual, one of the most generous contributors. He was, indeed, deeply moved with indignation at such wanton abuse of power, and at the meeting at Brecon, to which I have already referred, he gave utterance to his feelings in the foUowiog language: — 'He felt it to be a great privilege to take part in those proceedings, and to meet Welshmen, and especially to meet them at the present time. COLLEGES IN WALES. 299 He did not want to obtrude eubjeets that were foreign to their great object, but he wished to express sympathy with large numbers of Dis- senters in Wales, who were suffering because they happened to have a political conscience, and, what was more than that, because they chose to act upon that conscience. There were men being discharged from their holdings, and exposed to danger in their worldly circumstances, because they had chosen to trust the greatest leader the Liberals ever had, and had voted as their consciences dictated. He should be forgiven making reference to those men, because they were not there. But they were suffering, and it would be pleasant for them to feel that there were men, not connected with Wales, who sympathized with them.. He referred to the matter, also, because that was largely a represeiitative meeting, and he wanted to say to them, "If you will help yourselves, we will help you." If these landlords were to be taught that property had its responsibilities as well as its rights, they must all learn to speak out. He was prepared to say they could not do that more effectually than by every congregation making a small collection. If a small collection were made in every congregation in Wales on a certain day, they would raise a substantial sum, which would justify an appeal to friends in England who had means and sym- pathy. These men would then be recouped the expenses that would be utterly ignored by their landlords, and it would lead to stemming the spirit which would try to ride roughshod over the country. He hoped every word he said would be reported, in order that the public outside might know that men who lived hundreds of miles away could not hear these things without holding out brotherly hands and saying, " We are insulted in the insult offered to you." ' I must refer to one other generous act of Mr. Morley towards my countrymen. A year or two before his death, he sent a communication to the Committee of the Congregational College at Bala, suggesting that they should remove their institution to Bangor and affiliate it with the University College in that city. In his letter he said : ' Would it not be advisable that you should move your college to Bangor, where your students could have their secular education in the National College? Since the Universities of England are open to Nonconformists, and the national colleges in Wales are estabUshed, I feel it to be of the first im- portance to us, as Nonconformists, to have our denominational colleges in closer union with them, and especially would I advocate this union in your case. In case this were done,' he added, ' I propose to contribute the sum of i61,500 towards the object.' This has accordingly been done. 300 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. I feel I have given a very imperfect record of what Mr. Morley has done for Wales. Among my correspondence, I have many letters relating to the liberal help he rendered for several years towards the establishment of a Welsh newspaper for the advocacy of sound poli- tical and ecclesiastical principles. Another fact lives freshly iu my memory, which I believe is only a sample -of innumerable private benefactions of the same kind, known only to himself and the recipients. There was an excellent man of the name of Grif&ths, better known in Wales by his nom de plume ' Goheleydd,' who was a very able contributor to the Welsh press. Mr. Morley had met him occasionally at Welsh meetings, and had learned the value of his services as a writer. He was a man of delicate health, suffering severely from a chronic asthma. One day he received a letter from Mr. Morley asking to see him. When he went, he put a cheque for ^100 in his hand, and said, ' You cannot well encounter the coming winter in this country. Take this and go for a few months to Mentone.' And it proved a most timely and acceptable service. Most of the facts just naentioned came within my personal knowledge. But there are others well worthy of record which have been communi- cated to me by Welsh friends. The Bev. Dr. Thomas, of Liverpool, who was in intimate relation with him on matters relating to the Princi- pality, has reported to me several instances of his munificence to my countrymen. In 1864, he intimated to Dr. Thomas that he was prepared to give il,000 to some fifteen or twenty places in North Wales that mostly needed help in reducing their debts, in sums of not less than ^50 and not more than iBlOO. A list of such cases was submitted to him, and the whole of the promised sum was forthwith expended. As I have already said, he generally prescribed certain conditions by way of elicit- ing the liberality of the congregations which he befriended. In this instance Dr. Thomas says : ' To my certain knowledge, that ^1,000 called forth at least ^5,000 more.' When the amount he first specified was exhausted, it was found that there were three or four other cases, well worthy of help, which were not covered by the ^61,000. Dr. Thomas made a special appeal on behalf of these, and received an additional ^200. Again, in 1866, a number of churches in Denbighshire and Flintshire were heavily burdened with debt. Their case was brought to the know- ledge of Mr. Morley. He promised a sum equal to the interest of the whole debt for two years, if the churches themselves made an effort to cancel or reduce their debts. Towards this operation he contributed QBE AT GIVERS. 301 some ^600, aad, as a consequence of his challenge, ^£4,000 of the debts were cleared. The fame of his liberahty brought upon him, of course, numberless apphcations, not only of a public, but of a private and personal, character, which must have often sorely tried his patience. He seldom turned a deaf ear to such appeals, especially when they came from Christian ministers. But he took pains, before giving relief, to ascertain something as to the worthiness of the appUcants. He frequently sent such applica- tions to me, and a Welsh friend writes to me : ' I am certain I should be within the mark in saying that he has consulted me on a hundred cases of individuals who applied to him for help in their difficulties. But in every case, if I said it was deserving, he would send relief in sums varying from £5 to ^625, and I have no doubt, in the course of the twenty- five years that I knew him, the whole of such private benefactions would amount to at least ^2,000.' It was natural, of course, that he should give most to those of his own denomination. But his liberality was far from being confined to that body. He gave largely to churches and persons of other communions. Cases have come within my know- ledge where he has contributed generous donations towards objects connected with the Church of England. Mr. Morley's " occasional magnificent donations," as we have called them, do not represent the best aspects of his philanthropy. Neither do his endless contributions to the funds of charitable institutions. Lord Shaftesbury was wont to say that the great givers of London could be enumerated on the fingers of both hands, and that every subscription list was a repetition of another. The secretary of one of the largest distributing organizations in England once declared that " the disappearance of two thousand families from the world would stop, or suspend, all charitable work throughout Great Britain." Both of these views are probably exaggerated, but it is a fact, established beyond dispute, that the main burden of 302 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. all charities is sustained, not by the general public, but by a limited number of contributors, the great proportion of them being far from wealthy ; and it is equally a fact that among the millionaires, the chief burden-bearer was Samuel Morley. If the money tTiat he expended in these occasional- large gifts, and in the innumerable subscription lists, alone, had been concentrated on one object, it would have defrayed the cost of some immortal monument, that would have surpassed the princely gifts of Guy and Alleyn, Bass and Crossley, Peabody and Hollo- way. But it was never an ambition of his that any one institution should be connected with his name. He felt that the great work of the world's ameliora- tion and redemption must proceed from every di- rection, and under every form of organization, and he chose rather to help forward the schemes already in progress than to originate one of his own. Nor was it an ambition of his to be the "chief" of any organizations, or to covet the highest places in them. It was a matter of total indifference to him what position he held in connection with the societies to which he contributed — whether he were president, vice-president, treasurer, or merely subscriber. He would not give to a society until he had satisfied him- self that it was worth supporting, and, once having pledged himself to its support, he took equal interest in it, whether he held office under its constitution or not. Nor did he attach the least importance to the title MB. MOBLEY AND LOBD SHAFTE8BUBY. 303 of " Founder." As a matter of fact he tvas the founder of many important institutions, still flourish- ing and likely to flourish, which would not have come into existence but for his bountiful monetary help, and the support of his name and influence. But others have claimed the honour of the foundership, and Mr. Morley was far too single-minded to care. No one knew this better than Lord Shaftesbury, who on one occasion said to the present writer, when speaking upon the vanity that sometimes accompanies really good Christian work, " There is that dear man, Samuel Morley, content to be anything or nothing so that good is being done. No one has ever trans- gressed against him as I have, and I could tell you of a hundred instances in which he did all the work and I had all the honour." It was a perfectly true state- ment, and, were it worth while, it could be shown how often Mr. Morley pioneered Lord Shaftesbury's labours and successes. Lord Shaftesbury felt that he was perfectly safe in giving his name and influence to any philanthropic cause in which Mr. Morley was -taking the initiative, or to which he was in any way pledged. This position is exactly, although unin- tentionally, defined by Miss Marsh in a letter urging Mr. Morley to continue his trusteeship to a certain fund : — " We cannot," she says, " do without you as a trustee, dear and honoured friend. You are the sheet-anchor of it all. It was you who, God-taught, first proposed the trust, and that is of vital im- portance. Besides, I allured Lord Shaftesbury into 304 SAMUEL MOBLET. [Chap. XVI. it, by saying that I hoped and believed that you would consent to be one of the trustees, and perhaps you do not know what an exceeding regard and admiration he has for you." This modesty, or diffidence, or contentment to be in the background, ran through all he said and did. To have heard him speak at the annual meetings of the Mission at the Lambeth Baths, no one would ever have dreamed that that institution, by which hundreds of working men benefited spiritually and temporarily, for many years owed its entire support to himself. No one, at the meetings over which he presided in the month of May, at Exeter Hall and elsewhere, would ever have guessed, from the way in which he made light of his own share in the movements they were met to discuss, and the honour he gave to every other worker in the cause, that he was the mainspring of the whole. Hundreds of poor ministers and students have received some useful volume which has aided them in their work, but have never known to this day that it was the forethought and liberality of Mr. Morley that caused them to receive the gift for which, in all probability, they have thanked the publishers. Everybody has heard of the wonderful little penny copy of the New Testament, published by' the British and Foreign Bible Society, but few people knew that it was pub- lished at Mr. Morley's suggestion, and how liberally he contributed to the funds. His fidelity to any cause he espoused could always MILTON MOUNT COLLEGE. 305 be relied upon, and this greatly augmented the value of his gifts. Pitful and spasmodic giving, sometimes does more harm than good, hut he was not a man to help a cause and leave it. If it were not deserving of support he would not help it at all, but if it were deserving, and he helped it, he would stand by it and see that it did not languish for want of assistance. Many cases might be cited, let the following suffice : — " Now tell me about your scheme for our ministers' daughters," said Mr. Morley one day to the Eev. William Guest, who had conceived the idea of found- ing a school for the education of the daughters of Congregational ministers. Mr. Guest spoke of the dying out of girls' local seminaries through the growth of School Boards, just then established, and of the inability of most pastors to make their daughters independent, or to obtain for them the advantage of educational certificates, which would open their way to good positions, but which might be won by the recently introduced University Examinations. "With that intense heartiness of acquiescence," says Mr. Guest, " which many will recall, when a scheme met his view, he assured me that the movement should have his countenance, and, as far as possible, his support." How that support was given, and how Milton Mount College, the handsome and imposing structure which crowns Milton-next-Gravesend, was built upon the flank of its highest hill, is thus told by Mr. Guest :— 21 806 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. On my sending him a paper of proposed arrangements for the institu- tion, Mr. Morley invited me to talk with him over the subject in Wood Street, and in the end gave J1,000 to the building fund, and i£200 a year, as a start, to the maintenance account. ' Keep the matter in your own hands,' was at first his advice, but he subsequently aided me in calling together gentlemen who would co-operate in advancing the scheme, assisted with his counsel in the choice of a healthy site, and concurred in the justness of the principle that pubhc support should be followed by public control. In order to help the, scheme yet further, Mr. Morley sent out an appeal, which bore his name and that of Mr. Joshua WUson, of Tunbridge Wells, and which was written to accompany the papers I was then widely circulating. This appeal contributed towards the success which ulti- mately secured ^20,000, so as to complete a building which should provide accommodation (according to the original intention) for 160 pupils, and also in obtaining goodly promises to meet the annual expenditure. The foimdation-stone, which was laid by Mr. Morley, October 5, 1871, bears his single name. He afterwards contribute'd some hundreds of pounds, which encouraged generous-minded men to erect a place of worship, which should be within easy distance of the college, and which is convenient for its now upwards of 180 students. There is, however, little need to dwell on his munificence, for a church-building object such as this was usual with him ; but the foregoing facts in relation to the origin of a well-known educational establishment are due to his memory. For more than thirty years Mr. Morley gave the Financial Eeform Association his confidence. He thought its objects were good, and its literature admirable. " What I like about your publications," he said to one of the officers, "is the grit in them." Whenever he could say a good word for the Associa- tion he did, whether in public or private, flinching least in times of special attack, when weaker men would have framed excuses for retirement. From the first he contributed liberally to the funds, FINANCIAL REFORM ASSOCIATION. 307 and on one occasion he said, " I am so satisfied with the very moderate investment I have made in the Association, that I am ready to act in any substantial scheme it may set on foot." Like most other societies, it had varying fortunes, and in one critical year its income fell short by about £800, and fears were enter- tained whether it would be possible to weather the storm of adversity. The work was flagging, and the energy of the Council drooped, but when Mr. Morley appeared upon the scene at once the aspect of affairs was altered. " Money must be forthcoming, upon broad public grounds," he said, " to maintain your Association and your Almanack. Dissolution would be a permanent disgrace to the Liberal party." Forthwith he called some friends together in the House of Commons, and raised a four years' guarantee fund of several hundred pounds, which was largely supplemented from his own purse, with the result that the Association soon regained a prominent place in public usefulness, and enjoyed a greater increase of support than it had ever done before. Convinced that a too lavish distribution of money sometimes tended rather to check than to stimulate the zeal of less wealthy persons in giving, Mr. Morley rarely promised a donation until he had satisfied him- self that it would be the means of drawing out the liberality of others. One favourite method of his, was to say to struggling Churches and societies, where there was not much wealth among them, " Whatever 308 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. you can raise among yourselves, I will make it double; that is to say, if you can raise J660 this year, I will give another £60, and if you can increase this sum next year to £100, I will make my donation £100." By this means he aroused the spirit of giving, and brought home to each member of a Church or a society that much-neglected lesson, that it is the duty of every man to give to Christian work and service a proportionate amount of his income. It is a mistake to suppose that Mr. Morley gave away money indiscriminately, or that he never refused a personal application made to him if it were pre- ferred by any one in whom he had confidence. The principle that governed him was that the object, on. behalf of which the application was made, should commend itself to his judgment. For example, in one of the neighbourhoods where he dwelt, he was urged to assist in enlarging and beautifying a church where some of the members of his family attended. But the poor of the place first demanded his care, and he sent the following reply to the appeal : — Dear Me. , I regret that I am unable to offer you any co-operation in the proposed step of enlarging the church. We have had much con- versation here on the subject, and the chief ground of objection which has weighed with us is, that there is at present room for at least one- fourth more persons than now attend the church, and when the chancel is repewed the available accommodation will be considerably increased. I might add, as a reason why there should be at least postponement, that a considerable addition must be made immediately to the school- ropm (especially for the infant classes), in consequence of the greatly SOMETIMES DECEIVED. 309 increased number of children now in daily attendance. This will involve a large outlay, and we shall not find it very easy, I fear, to raise the money. Nor must it be supposed that Mr. Morley was always in such an amiable humour that he re- ceived every applicant for money with smiles and welcomes, and at once handed over the required cheque. Such was certainly not the experience of a nervous divine, who would insist upon seeing him in business hours, notwithstanding the fact that he had been told that Mr. Morley was much occupied. Ushered into the room at Wood Street he stood face to face with Mr. Morley. " Now, sir, tell me what you have to say in five minutes, if you please." The nervous divine began a pompous statement, but broke down as he caught the austere glance of Mr. Morley, who reminded him, in the midst of his stuttering and stammering, that the five minutes had elapsed. Without having come to the point, he beat a hasty retreat, exclaiming, as he left the house, " he had never been treated so abruptly before ! " Nor must it be supposed that Mr. Morley was never " taken in." He was deceived over and over again, and it could not be otherwise. "It is better to help a drone than to let a bee perish," he would say, and let the matter pass. Many a time he has made the remark, " I would rather help a large number, and find I had been taken in once in ten times, than close my purse altogether because I am sometimes deceived," SIO SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Chap. XVI. Mr. Morley made the "business of philanthropy" as distinctly a business as that in Wood Street. His correspondence on philanthropic matters was as ex- tensive as, that on commercial affairs, and he gave to every communication his personal attention. He seemed, as a rule, to know intuitively which were the cases of real distress and which were the appeals of mere idlers or ne'er-do-wells ; yet, while bountiful as the harvest, he was as just as Equity herself. A friend saw him one day with a pile of correspon- dence before him. "I know them all," he said; "they are all beggars, but I shall look into their cases. I feel it is my duty to do so, and then I act according to what I feel is right." If he had to refuse a request — and of course he had to do so many times daily — his standing instructions to his secretary were, " Eeply in such a way that their feelings cannot be hurt ; make them feel almost as well satisfied, if you can, that their application has been refused as if it had been granted!" Prompt as he was in dealing with the cases brought before him, he not unfrequently altered or reversed the decision at which he had at first arrived. Thus, on some of the letters endorsed by him for reply, the " No " originally written on the application is run through, and "Inquire further," or " Send £10," is written above it. The heart of the largest giver would become narrow, perfunctory, and hard, if he did nothing else but give ; and day by day, week by week, year by A TALE OF WOE. 311 year, Samuel Morley was quietly, regularly, diligently, systematically giving. But, as we have said, with every gift he gave himself. He was a man of deep feeling and of intense sympathy. Those who merely saw in him a cold, business-like man, saw only one side, and that not the truest side, of him. It was said of him, " Some people feel for the poor from the bottom of their hearts, Morley feels for them from the bottom of his pocket." The dis- tinction was not true ; he felt for them from his heart, and he showed his sympathy practically by his purse. More than this, he was an extremely tender- hearted man. A tale of woe, told with the true emphasis of real need, touched him to the quick, and notwithstanding the fact that thousands of appeals for help passed through his hands, when there occurred a case in which the cry came straight to him from some breaking heart, the tears would gather in his eyes, and he was impatient and restless till the supplies which he could furnish were safely in the hands of the suppliant. It is difficult, if not impossible, to gather up That noblest portion of a good man's hfe ; His Uttle nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love ; but a few specimens, out of hundreds that might be quoted, shall be given here. 312 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. A minister (one of his almoners) writes to him : — Mrs. is sinking fast. It was most affecting to see her. Her mind is in perfect peace, but oh, it was saddening to look into her emaciated countenance and have to feel that her life had become a sacrifice to the cruel oppression and neglect of the elder sons and relatives of her late husband. I told her t^at I had seen you last night, and that you had kindly said that everything shotild be done that she required, when she looked up, and with a feeble voice, but a heavenly smile, said, ' Oh, how kind 1 what a friend he has been to me ! Give him my last thanks, and say that I have had no such friend in the world.' I could not stand it, and feel as if I shall never forget the scene. The following, written by a mother, a member of the Society of Friends, is an acknowledgment of kindness shown to her son who had got into trouble : — May the Lord bless thee, my dear, good, kind, and true friend. Thee have done beautifully, far beyond all I dared ask or think or hope. I won't try to thank thee — I cannot ; and aU common phrases of thanking are such feeble rushlights for illuminating the text I desire to unfpld. I am deeply, lastingly obliged to thee, not only for thy true kindness, but for the singular tact and skilful way in which thee have so thoroughly and admirably carried out my wishes in every particular. When poor came home, he poured forth his feelings of gratitude, and then added, with a voice choked by emotion, ' Thee would have loved Samuel Morley if thee had heard how he pleaded for thy boy; why, he said some of the very things thee have so many times laboured to lay before me, and I would not listen to thee.' So thee see, my dear friend, thee have proved thyself a skilful general, and oh, such a good and true friend I Again I thank thee for all thy generous, noble heart has done for my darling child. "It is no use half doing a thing," was a frequent saying of Mr. Morley. He never left a case, if he could help it, until he had carried it through. He MEN WHO FAILED. 3ia would not throw a plank to a drowning man and leave him struggling in the water if there was the least chance of pulling him to shore. A trader had got into difficulties, and had sunk again and again in a sea of adversity. Again and again Mr. Morley had helped him, but the man could not free himself, and had given up in despaiir, determined never to appeal to Mr. Morley again. But a common friend took up his case, and wrote : — I have a note from this morning, in which he states it is of the utmost consequence that he should be prepared to make a heavy pay- ment on Monday morning. I thought it only right you should know this. Poor fellow, he is overwhelmed with gratitude for your great kindness, such as he finds it easier to express by tears than by words. It is an act of kindness which I feel sure you will not regret. The heavy payment was met, and the act of kind- ness was never regretted. Mr. Morley was not, as many rich men are, a . worshipper of success. He had a very tender sympathy for men who failed, and the cases are innumerable in which they received from him sub- stantial assistance and practical encouragement. Two instances may be taken as specimens of many more. A young man in a manufacturing town started in business, and was on the high road to success when, from no fault of his own, his trade was swept away from him. He had to compound with his creditors, among the largest being the firm of "I. and E. Morley." He came up to London with his cheque ; 314 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. Mr. Morley saw him and had compassion on him, found out that he was a man of considerable abihty, and, moreover, that he was a member of a church under the care of a minister he greatly respected. Inquiries were instituted, and on all hands the reports as to the character and conduct of the man were most satisfactory. Immediately, therefore, Mr. Morley not only returned to him the value of his cheque, but assisted to place him in the way to pay his creditors in full, and attain even a higher position than he had occupied before his failure. Another, who had failed, sent in his composition — a cheque for d690. It came into Mr. Morley' s hands ; he recognized in the sender one with whom he had been associated long before in Christian work, and at once sent back his own cheque for the amount, with a letter of brotherly sympathy. Another class for whom Mr. Morley had un- bounded compassion, was that of men who were doing good work in the world — men of talent in literature or art, who had to struggle with poverty. Fre- quently when he went to see Mr. Eobinson, the manager of the Daily News, he would ask him if he could not tell him of some really necessitous Literary people. " I wish you would bring such cases to me," he would say; "it would give me genuine pleasure to help them." As a matter of fact few cases were brought to him from that quarter, but those that were, he helped. His great interest in the circulation of healthy LITEBABY MABTYBS. 315 literature induced him to enter into business rela- tions, which involved him in all sorts of complica- tions, on which it -is not necessary to dwell in this narrative. It resulted not only in very considerable financial loss to himself, but in annoyance and anxiety arising especially from the fact that the use of his name had been the means of inducing others to take part in the undertaking, and so incur what might be to them serious loss. One of the literary creditors went to Mr. Morley personally and made an angry appeal to him for payment. " I wiU leave the question of justice," he said, "to any one you like to decide — to Mr. Spurgeon, or to Mr. Eobinson of the Daily News." Mr. Eobinson looked into the matter, and found that Mr. Morley had been paying ten shillings in the pound to all trade creditors. " I will do just what you think right in the matter," said Mr. Morley. " Well," said Mr. Eobinson, " you are not legally bound to pay a single farthing to anybody, but, if you pay at all, it matters little to large trading firms, but it is life or death to poor literary men, and they should have the first claim" — a decision in which Mr. Morley heartily concurred. A journalist, a man clever and refined, whose articles were read and admired by tens of thousands, died, as so many journalists do, a martyr to his work. His wife and family were left quite desti- tute; some of the children, through the kindness of friends, were placed in Orphan Asylums, and 316 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. the widow struggled on, barely able to support her young family and herself. One day a letter came from a relative in a far-off Colony offering her and her children a home and a start in life, but expressing regret that it would be impossible to pay the cost of emigration. Mr. Morley heard of the case casually, but at once made the fullest inquiries. It was just the kind of case he loved to ferret out and to help. He forthwith took away the children from the asylums and restored them to their mother ; he supplied the whole family with new and ample outfits, he paid the passages of all to the distant Colony, and he caused to be handed to the mother a handsome sum of money, " so that she should not be dependent when arriving at her destination." The sequel is soon told. Happiness and prosperity followed, and there dwells to-day, across the seas, a united, thriving family, whose gratitude has been expressed in letters which are full of the tenderest pathos. In the year 1865, George Cruikshank, the inimit- able artist, was in great financial difficulties. Mr. Morley was appealed to on his behalf, but, instead of giving a contribution and then letting the matter drop, he took up the case into his own hands, organized a subscription, to which he appended his own name for a large sum, and sent out the list, with autograph letters, to men on whose assistance he thought he could count with safety. Among those who responded at once to the appeal was Mr. Ruskin, CHABACTEBISTIC INCIDENTS. 317 then living at Denmark Hill, who replied that he "had heard with sincere regret of the embarrassment of this great artist and good man," and enclosed a cheque, with the promise of another for the same amount if it was required. It is needless to say that Mr. Morley did not desist until he had accomplished his object and relieved George Cruik- shank from his embarrassments. We have alluded to the thoughtful kindness of Mr. Morley in seeking out cases, and his sympathetic nianner of relieving them. One or two examples may be furnished here. Dr. Allon, writing in 1886, says, " Not very long ago, in a heavy rain, I saw him get out of his carriage in the Green Lanes. When I saw him, I asked if I could direct him. He had heard that a lady whom he had known thirty years ago in better circum- stances, was reduced to comparative poverty. Not even knowing her exact address, he had, that rainy afternoon, driven from Grosvenor Street on the chance of finding her, that he might proffer her some assistance. This little incident was character- istic of the man. He might have sent a servant." A friend once appealed to him on behalf of a poor woman whose husband had died suddenly, and named a certain sum for a subscription. Spontaneously Mr. Morley doubled the amount for which he had been asked, and sent, in addition, a letter expressing his warm and deep sympathy, with a request that he might be kept informed how she was going on. 318 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. Poor ministers and teachers — in multitudes — were constantly writing to him. Many letters begin in this manner : — Mx DEAE SiE, — I remember hearing you say, upon one or two occasions when attending meetings of teachers at Homerton, that if any of the students or teachers should at any time be in trouble, you would be glad to assist them in any way in your power, simply because they had passed through Homerton Training Institution. I, sir, am in trouble — ^-" and here follow the details. On all such letters there is, in the corner of the. letter, the significant " £5," " £10," " £20," or whatever the amount might be, the sum sent always showing a proportion to the necessity of the case. Nothing touched Mr. Morley more than a narra- tive of privation and suffering in the home of a poor minister, especially if the sufferer were his wife. He sympathized with the straits in which the husband would be placed with the strain of the burden of his pastoral work, and the addition of domestic affliction, and he not only never refused any application for help in such cases, but generally gave far more abundantly than they asked. Very often, too, he devised means for their assistance, of which they knew nothing ; and it would amuse him, when receiving their acknowledgments for what he had done, to hear also of the kindness of some unknown benefactor ! Another form of generosity, was to make their NOT COUNTING THE COST. 319 homes comfortable. He could not bear to see a minister, especially if he were married, in miserable lodgings or in a comfortless house. One writes to him thus : — " Our house is at last furnished, and I cannot refrain from writing to tell you how comfort- able it is made through your generous gift and thought of us ; and now that we are settled, and I look upon all the comforts surrounding us, my heart is full of gratitude." It is amusing to notice the variety of ways in which Mr. Morley interested himself on behalf of ministers. It is well known that, as a rule, they are the most unbusiness-like of men, and in their troubles, arising from lack of knowledge, or skill, in this respect, there was no one to whom they could appeal with such confidence as to Mr. Morley. One good man conceived the idea of building a new chapel, and the further idea of writing to various architects "to furnish plans, elevations, sections, and specifications," being under the impression that these would be as free of charge as estimates from a local builder for erecting an outhouse. The surprise of the poor minister may be imagined when, the scheme of building having fallen through, the architects' bills came pouring in, each claiming two and a half per cent, on the estimated cost of the building ! — the whole amounting to a sum total which would have utterly ruined the unfortunate minister, had not Mr. Morley taken the matter out of his hands and settled it for him. 320 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVI. There was one position in which ministers were sometimes placed which commanded the deepest sympathy of Mr. Morley — namely, when, it might be after years of labour, they had been forced to the painful conclusion that they had mistaken their vocation. He was brought sometimes into contact with men who, in their early life, before they knew themselves or the world, and perhaps before they had ever thoroughly realized the vital truths of the Christian faith, had believed that they were called to the ministry, and who, after years of labour, crushed with the responsibilities of their work, and disheartened at its want of success, had come to the conclusion that they had made a grievous mistake. With such men, when they gave him their con- fidence, Mr. Morley dealt very tenderly. It was hard for them, after a long collegiate course designed to prepare them for a certain sphere of duty, and after settling down into the habits which belong to a con- templative life, to start afresh in the world under totally different circumstances ; but Mr. Morley never hesitated to say that, if their minds were fully made up, and they were convinced that they were not fitted for the Christian ministry, it was their duty to give up, and it would be dishonourable for them to remain. With this advice he would, if it were in his power — and it generally was — give them the opportunity they sought, either to emigrate, to find a tutorship, or to enter upon trade. USEFUL LITERATURE. 321 Dr. J. H. Wilson says, in a letter to the present writer :— The amount of Mr. Morley's gifts will never be known. One or two instances may be given here. About forty years ago a very earnest minister, in preaching at St. Thomas's Square Chapel, so impressed Mr. Morley with a sense of his responsibiUty as a Christian, that he urged him to use his gifts in seeking for the conversion of souls, without ' carefulness," and gave him a hundred a year in addition to what he received from the churches and societies by whom he was employed. This was continued until his death last year in America, where he had to spend his last days from family reasons, and then he spent fifty pounds to bury him and put a stone on his grave. Three cases of ministers' famihes in distress were relieved by gifts of i650 to each, and in all our intercourse he never refused to recognize any recommendation which we put before him. Mr. Morley was liberal also in encouraging the publication of useful hterature. The late Dr. Waddington was more indebted to him than any other author we had any knowledge of as coming within the hnes of his encouragements. But for the hberal gifts of Mr. Morley, those volumes of ' Congregational History ' which he brought out would never have seen the hght. When the last one was in a somewhat uncertain stage of its preparation, Dr. Waddington, after being at Wood Street, called on us, and, holding a cheque for ^100 in his hand, said, ' That will do it, and this will end my literary work.' It did end it, for not long after this he died. We have but glanced in the most cursory manner at some aspects of the great business of philanthropy which occupied so much of the thought and energy of Mr. Morley. Time would fail to tell of the thousand schemes, practical and otherwise, which were submitted to him for approval and encourage- ment ; of the instances in which he brought obscure but promising ministers to London and introduced them to spheres of widening influence ; of the care he 22 &22 SAMUEL MOBLEt. [Chap. XVI took for old chapels he had known in younger days ; of the prizes he offered for essays and lectures ; of the time he spent in selecting, and the money he spent in distributing, literature that should improve the habits, and brighten the homes, of the working classes; of the "testimonials" he devised for old and faithful servants in the cause of religion and pohtics ; of the help he gave to poor schoolmasters, who, by changes in the system of public education, found their de- nominational schools being killed before their eyes ; of his efforts to obtain employment for deserving men ; of the endless pains he took to rescue young men from situations of misery into which they had drifted, and where all the spiritual life in them was being crushed out by their surroundings ; * of his readiness to accept public and even private responsi- bilities, when he found they were being shirked by others ; of his willingness to arbitrate in matters which, for want of thorough investigation and ex- planation, were separating men and families ; of his interest in men, or their connections, with whom he had done business in former years ; of his defence of young girls who had been wronged ; of his sympathy with the sick and the overworked, and the countless times in which he furnished the means to such * One case was that of a young man who had lost a situation and had drifted until, in despair, he was obliged, although a Christian man, to accept a place in a hotel in the Haymarket. Here his soul was vexed from day to day ; he saw vice in its native ugliness, and loathed it. Mr. Morley heard of the case, found him thoroughly repentant, and rescued him from his position, providing for his maintenance until he could find suitable employment. A NEW CABEEB. 323 sufferers to obtain rest and recreation at the seaside, and of a thousand other labours included in "the business of philanthropy." But we have shown enough to indicate that Mr. Morley was no ordinary philanthropist, and that he was no ordinary worker ; for, side by side with these benevolent labours, there was ever going on, and ever increasing, the business in Wood Street, and, in addition, there was opening up to him, as we shall now see, an influential and absorbing parliamentary career. CHAPTEE XVII. 1869—1871. The Irish Church Question — Bankruptcy Bill — Speech thereon — The Need of the Trading Classes — Debts to Landlords — Overtrading— Settlements — Customs and Inland Bevenue Bill — National Education — Change of Attitude — A Beview of Voluntaryism — British Schools — National Schools — Mr. Forster's Elementary Education Bill — Speech thereon — The "Eeligious Difficulty " — The Metropolitan School Board — The "Com- promise " — Bible Bevisiou — ^Alleged Employment of Foreigners — Parlia- mentary Session of 1871— Seconds Address to the Crown — America — University Tests — Licensing Laws — Parliamentary Waste of Time. On the 16th of February, 1869, the new Parliament was opened by commission, and on the 1st of March, Mr. Gladstone obtained leave to introduce a Bill " to put an end to the Established Church in Ireland, to make provision in respect of the temporahties thereof, and of the Eoyal College of Maynooth." It was inti- mated in the Eoyal Speech, that " the legislation which would be necessary in order to the final ad- justment " of thQse arrangements " would make the largest demands on the wisdom of Parliament." Mr. Morley took no part in the protracted debates on the Irish Church question in Parliament, although, out of doors, he was much engaged in influencing public opinion on the matter. They were stormy times, and the wildest excitement prevailed ajuong the 1869—1871.] TEE IBI8E CEUBCH. 825 defenders of the Established Church. Denunciations were hurled at Mr. Gladstone from pulpit and plat- form, and he was stigmatized, at a great meeting in Exeter Hall, as " a traitor to the Queen, his country, and his God ; " while the Government was branded as " a cabinet of brigands." Mr. Morley stood up for his chief, for whom he had the most profound admiration both as a politician and a man, and not only supported the measure with his vote, but used every endeavour to influence public opinion in its favour. The Irish Church question did not monopolize the whole of the session, and many measures of public utility were introduced. One, in which Mr. Morley was particularly interested, was Sir Eobert ColUer's Bankruptcy Bill. Bankruptcy legislation professed three distinct objects — first, the distribution of the bankrupt's estate equitably among his creditors ; second, to give an insolvent debtor, when it was shown that he had acted honestly, a discharge from his liabilities as a sort of counterpoise to the policy of imprisonment for debt ; and, third, to punish fraudulent debtors. Sir Eobert Collier's was a Consolidation Bill, the main principle of which he stated to be " to collect the bankrupt's estate and distribute it among the creditors as fairly, cheaply, and speedily as possible." In the course of the debate on the second reading (April 6th) Mr. Morley spoke, and his practical commercial experience enabled him to speak with 326 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. authority. Eeferring to the preamble of the Bill, he said : — The preamble of the measure might run somewhat in this way : if the creditor class of England desire to secure for themselves promptitude and economy in the realization and distribution of assets, they must mind their own business ; in 'other words, the time for the employment of officials had gone by. He was thankful that the hon. and learned gentleman [the Attorney- General] had decided upon sweeping away the officials in Basinghall Street, and saying to the trading class for the future, ' You must meet and conduct your own business for yourselves. We have tried to help you by messengers, by brokers, by official assignees, by all conceivable agencies, which have involved an enormous outlay of money ; henceforth, if your business is to be conducted expensively, it will be your own fault.' After criticising some of the provisions of the Bill, he proceeded to show what was the great need of the trading classes in a new Bankruptcy Bill : — The trading classes wanted no favour, but they desired that, in the arrangements of the Court, every proper faciUty should be given them in dealing with bankrupts. They contended that if protection against vindictive treatment on the part of his creditors were extended to the insolvent debtor, then every facility should be given to the creditors to secure possession of property, which they alleged belonged to them, and not to any one else. ... He saw an increasing need of a pubhc prose- cutor. They had no guarantee, at present, for the prosecution of a fraudu- lent trader. Action in that matter was made to depend upon the, will of the creditors ; and he (Mr. Morley) was enabled to state, from many years' experience of these matters, that when a body of creditors met to consider a bankrupt's state, they were unwilling, very frequently, to add to the heavy loss which might already have been incurred, the enormous expense which would be entaUed by the prosecution of a fraudulent trader. He had known, however, cases in which a small number of creditors, unassisted by the general body, had undertaken to bear the expense of such a prosecution rather than allow the trader to go free. If 1869—1871.] BANKRUPTCY BILL. 327 such agency could be devised, irrespective of the creditors, for prosecuting fraudulent traders, it would be an immense improvement. The Bill was read a second time, but with the understanding that several matters of principle should be open to discussion on going into Com- mittee ; and Mr. Morley took a prominent part in those discussions. The subject is not one of general interest, and we shall therefore only briefly indicate some of his arguments, by one or two extracts from his speeches. On debts to landlords and debts to ordinary trades- men — He moved, in page 15, line 3 (Bankruptcy Bill), after ' one ' insert ' half,' the object being to enable the landlord to claim full payment in respect only of half a year's rent, instead of a whole year. He had never been able to understand why a landlord should be placed in a better position with regard to his rent, than the ordinary tradesman with refer- ence to the debts that were due to him. He proposed the amendment on this further ground — that landlords, in allowing their rent to run into arrear for twelve months, often prejudiced the estate. On " overtrading," he said : — In general, the remark of ' overtrading ' did not apply to the trade of England. The great staple trades of the country were based upon capital, and a majority of the traders who were brought down, are more the objects of sympathy than of punishment. . . . The cases were constant and numerous in which kindly treatment, instead of a hard judicial bearing, was the best course to adopt. On paying " ten shillings in the pound " — He believed that he spoke the sentiments of the Chambers of Commerce throughout the country, except Liverpool, when he objected to this ten- 828 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. shillings line. They saw no virtue in ten shillings as a guide to the integrity of a man in his dealings. Many of the Chambers recommended six shillings and eightpence, but generally they objected to have any sum stated. A man who was in difficulties might be below the ten-shillings line, and might go into the market and buy goods in order to place his assets above this line. On " giving fresh power to discharge a bankrupt," he said : — He had given notice of his intention to move amendments that the majority of the creditors should have power to discharge the bankrupt, without any reason except through sympathy with him ; that the judge, when satisfied that the bankrupt's failure arose from unavoidable misfor- tune, should have power to discharge him ; and that, in the absence of either of these conditions, the Court should be able to assess his fature- acquired property to such an extent as the justice of the case might require. If they were to draw a line, five shillings might be ample in one case, and fifteen shillings not too much in another. Therefore he proposed to leave it to the Court to say what amount of the future- acquired property should be appropriated in discharge of the liabilities of the bankrupt. On the subject of " settlements " — He expressed his behef that, if the existence of settlements were better known, tradesmen would not give so much credit. He had that morning received a letter from Bristol, illustrating the wrong that was sometimes perpetrated with these settlements. A solicitor and colhery proprietor in Wales, made, previous to marriage, a settlement binding himself to trustees to pay to them J500 on the birth of each child. He had six children (^3,000 worth !), and, subsequently becoming bankrupt, the trustees stepped in, proved for ^3,000, and cut out all the other creditors. The Bill became law, and at a meeting of the London Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Morley took the opportunity of stating his belief that it was the best measure that had been secured during the life-time 1869—1871.] CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE BILL. 329 of any trader in this country, and that the thanks of the whole trading commtinity were due to the Government for the manner in which it had hstened to the representations of the Chambers of Commerce on the question. Whenever any question affecting the trade of the country was under discussion in the House, Mr. Morley's opinion always carried considerable weight. Sometimes he broached theories from a point of view with which the House was wholly unfamiliar. Thus, on the 27th of May, when the Customs and Inland Eevenue Bill was being debated, he introduced one of his favourite topics — the necessity of modifying the Bank system in accordance with the needs of commerce. In the course of his speech he said : — The Bank of England was nothing more than a very large and admir- able joint-stoek company, its object being to provide for its proprietors their regular half-yearly dividend. On behalf, not of the banking interest, but of the trading interest, he ventured to express the opinion that the trade of the country was exposed, by the present system, to such oscilla- tions and variations, not only of the rate of discount, but in the pressure of the money market, as to deserve the attention of the House. Sir John Lubbock, the honorary secretary of the London Bankers' Associatiom, inserted in the Times of the 8th of May a letter in which he stated that the amount which passed through the clearing-house during the year ending in that week, was ^£3,534,000,000 sterling. Again, Lord Overstone had stated that we were adding ^150,000,000 to our capital every year. Yet we are told by hon. Members that the withholding or withdrawal of a very few rnillinna from the Bank of England by the Government, would put the trade of the country into a state of paralysis. His hon. friend the Member for Cambridge (Mr. W. Fowler) had stated, that on the 7th of May, Consols could not be sold in the market. Money on that day was nearly double the price it was a month or six weeks before, and orders were cancelled by post, owing, he believed, to the fear of impending panic 380 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. which led to thousands of operatives being placed on short work. No commodity, in fact, changed in value more rapidly than money, but, although the Bank of Prance had discounted to the extent of ^67,000,000 in a single week, no confusion had, as a consequence, been created in the money market. He felt sure, however, his hon. friend the Member for London [Mr. Crawford] would admit, that if a demand for ^7,000,000 were made on the Baijk of England, a rise in the rate of discount, pro- bably to the extent of 1 or 2 per cent., would be the immediate result, to the great embarrassment of the trading and manufacturing classes. The subject was, in his opinion, a far larger one than was indicated by the speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Our present monetary system was, he believed, the laughing-stock of every money market in Europe, and ought to be grappled with. As one who had for years watched the course of trade in this country, he must say that he looked upon the whole tendency of our money system as being to throw trade into fewer hands. The small traders were every year being absorbed, and he was glad that attention had been directed to the sabject, because he felt satisfied that, in the existing state of things, there was something essentially wrong. Ha would, if he might be allowed to do so, advise the Chancellor of the Exchequer to look to the general money market, and not to the Bank of England only, when he might have occasion to borrow. Several other matters of trade-interest were taken up by Mr. Morley during the Session, which are not of sufficient general interest to justify special reference. It may be mentioned, however, that, in 1870, he brought forward a motion to inquire into the operation of the Commercial Treaty with France. The motion, which was defeated, gave an opportunity to one of the younger Members of the Administration, Mr. Shaw-Lefevre, to distinguish himself by a striking and comprehensive speech. The legislation of 1868-70, during Mr. Gladstone's first Administration, comprised a number of measures of Eeform, unparalleled in the history of England. 1869—1871.] NATIONAL EDUCATION. 331 One of the most important, and one in which Mr. Morley took the deepest possible interest, was the introduction of a scheme of National Education. For many years educational controversies had been raging between the advocates of different views ; much time, money, and temper had been wasted; and the result was that England remained behind every other great country in the world, in the matter of the education of the poor. More than two-thirds of the children of Great Britain were left entirely without instruction — a state of things unknown in Germany, America, and other countries. There had long been an idea prevalent, that it was not the function of the Government to interfere in promoting education, and that to allow such interference would be to act in a manner unworthy of the sturdy independence of the British character. Such had been Mr. Morley's view, and for twenty-five years he had been contending earnestly against Government action in this respect. He had clung to the belief that the people — using that term in its broadest sense — the working classes on the one side, and their influential and wealthy friends on the other, co-operating in a spirit of hearty sympathy, might have educated themselves. Latterly, however, his opinions had undergone a change ; he saw that the voluntary system could not grapple with the need of the nation, and he felt it to be a necessity, as the only remedy for existing evils, that there should be Government action, and that on a large scale, in order to secure 332 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. the result, that every child in the kingdom should receive a good education. In any action that he might take to assist in bringing this about, he determined not to take his stand upon Noncon- formist grounds only. As he said, " We want a measure for all England. It will be my object to secure, or help to secure, a measure which, giving to the people the best popular secular education, shall yet leave reasonable freedom for religious teaching." In order to account for Mr. Morley's change of attitude towards this great question, we must glance rapidly at some of the previous movements in the history of primary education. The theory of the English Church Establishment supposes that the youth of the country are directly, or indirectly, under the care of the clergy, for the purposes of education ; and there was a period in which none but the clergy were engaged in the business of instruction. In course of time, as population increased and Dissent asserted itself, it became obvious that this state of things could not continue. Towards the end of last century, the difficulty was faced, and, as a result, a series of efforts were originated. The first that marks an epoch, was the foundation, in 1808, of the British and Foreign School Society. In 1797, Andrew Bell, a chaplain in Madras, published a pamphlet entitled " An Experiment made at the Male Asylum at Madras, suggesting a System by which a School, 1869—1871.] BRITISH AND FOBEIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY. 333 or Family, may teach itself under the superinten- dence of the Master or Parent." A copy of this pamphlet fell into the hands of Joseph Lancaster, a member of the Society of Friends, who opened a school in South wark for poor children, on Bell's monitorial system. He was eminently successful ; the Duke of Bedford of that day was attracted to him, and even George III. gave him audience, and said, " I wish that every poor child in my dominions may be able to read his Bible " — a remark which, being freely repeated, carried great weight. Joseph Lancaster, declining, on conscientious grounds, various overtures of worldly advantages which could be enjoyed only by his joining the Established Church, spent some years in lecturing, and thus gave a great impulse to elementary education. It was out of his labours that the British and Foreign School Society sprang, and the " Lancasterian Schools," as they were called, came under its patronage. In these schools, the Bible was read and explained by the teacher, but no denominational formularies were allowed. It was not in the nature of things that the Church party could look on the success attending this movement with approbation, and, in 1811, the National School Society was established, with the object of educating the children of the poor and instructing them in the distinctive doctrines of the Church of England. Side by eide, these two great societies lived and 334 SAMVEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. flourished, both based upon religious instruction as an essential element of education, but viewed from altogether different standpoints ; and when, in 1833, building grants, amounting to £20,000 a year, were made by. the Grovernment, they were divided equally between these two societies. There was, however, on the part of many Non- conformists, a feeling that State assistance should not be accepted — a feeling that grew stronger in 1839, when the Committee of Council on Education was appointed, and offers of aid for school maintenance were made. To accept such subsidy, it was argued by some, would fetter the independence of the voluntary principle ; while others maintained that State aid, in so far as secular education was con- cerned, was indispensable. On the other hand, certain sections of the Church party held that public money ought not to be in any way diverted from schools in connection with the Church of England. Thus the controversy raged, not only between Church and Dissent, but between various sec- tions of Dissenters ; and although union was effected amongst the latter in resisting Sir James Graham's Bill of 1843, and the Minutes of 1846, the old differences soon afterwards revived. It became obvious that, with the growing demand for education, the voluntary system could not last long. It had done its work well, and it had prepared the way for a large scheme of national education, which, 1869—1871.] THS " CONSCIENCE CLAUSE." 335 however, could never be carried unless the principle of unsectarian religious instruction were recognized. When Mr. Forster introduced his Bill on the 17th of February, 1870, " to provide for pubhc elementary education in England and Wales," it was received, at first, with greater favour than could have been expected. But not many days elapsed before the general harmony was broken by the "religious difficulty," as it was called. To meet it, the Government proposed a " conscience clause," by means of which the rehgious convictions of parents and children should be scrupulously regarded in the instruction given during the regular school hours. This was the great bone of contention. The mass of the Nonconformists laid it down as a,' principle that no State aid whatever should be given to any schools, save those which were con- ducted on strictly secular and undenominational principles, and that the duty of teaching religion should be left to the ministers of religion and the parents of the children. Expression was given to these views by Mr. Henry Eichard, who, on the 19th of June, moved in the House of Commons, " That in any national system, the religious instruction should be supplied by voluntary effort, and not out of public funds." This was not the view taken by Mr. Morley, and in the debate which followed the motion of his old friend and coadjutor, he explained the reasons which would compel him to vote against the motion, and 336 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. which placed him in opposition to so many of his old friends and associates. He said : — No doubt they had reached a great crisis, and, unless they were willing to make mutual concgssions of their extreme views, they miglit prevent the accomplishment of what the majority desired to see realized — ^the passing of a measure greatly extending the education of the people. Their difficulties arose, in a great degree, from the determination with which EngUshmen of all creeds held by their own denominational and ecclesiastical preferences. He did not deny that, in some places, there might be a need for secular schools, but such schools ought to be left to spring up where there was a call for them on the part of the people. His own behef was, that the people were generally opposed to secular schools, and his own experience, as the treasurer of a training college, and as one who had been brought largely into contact with schools, was that the parents did not object to the Bible in the hands of an honest teacher. What they objected to was, to their children being made use of to swell the number of this or that denomination, whether Established or Dissenting. He himself could not be a party to any general system which would wither up all that was fresh and vital in our rehgious communities, while, at the same time, he would oppose any attempt to enforce a particular religious teaching on those who were unwilling to receive it. . . . He confessed he had a dread that, unless they saw their way to some common groimd of action, there would be no alterna- tive before them but a choice between a secular system and a denomi- national one. If it had not been for the religious men, he would like to know where the education of England would be ? Let them drive forth reKgion in all its forms from the schools, and where would religion or education be fifty years hence ? because then they would detach from the work of education what he regarded as of inestimable value, the religious earnestness of those engaged in it. Out of 15,000 or 20,000 schools in England, there were not 500 secular schools; he doubted whether there were 50 ; and he took that to be a proof that the secular system of schools had not been called for by those who were the best judges of what they wanted — the parents of the children. The amendment of the hon. Member for Mertliyr suggested that the ministers of religion should be brought into the schools to give religious instruction at other 1869—1871.] RELIGION IN SCHOOLS. 337 than Bohool-hours. His own opinion was that such a plan would work most disastrously. He protested, on Nonconformist grounds, against the esolusion, by legislative action, of religion from the schools. They had heard of late a great deal about Nonconformist principles, but his opinion was that those principles would be as much outraged by the exclusion of religion by legislative enactment as by its enforcement. Take the case of a Baptist teacher, one who knew nothing of catechisms or formularies. What he wanted was, that such a teacher should be told that the principle on which the school should be conducted was that the best secular instruction should be imparted, that the Holy Scriptures should be read and explained, that the school should be pervaded by a religious spirit, but that there should be an absence of any attempt at spreading anything like denominational teaching. ... In a report made by Mr. Matthew Arnold with respect to Homerton College, of which he (Mr. Morley) had been treasurer twenty-five years, it was stated that such schools were better suited to become the schools of the future than either the National or Wesleyan on the one hand, or the British or secular on the other. The shrewdest Member of that HoTise might spend several hours in examining these schools, and in not one instance could he discover to what denomination the school belonged. He confessed he sympathized very much with his right hon. friend who had charge of the BUI, on account of the way in which he had been assailed during the past few weeks, as if he were not true to the principles which he had so often enunciated. But no one who was not aware of the undoubted right which the Church had to be considered in this matter, could understand the difficulties of his right hon. friend's position. His own earnest desire was, that in order to prevent the country from being divided into two hostile camps during the coming autumn, they should try to pass a measure this Session, and, with that view, he promised to give his right hon. friend the best assistance he could render. We shall not here discuss the further history of the Bill. During the whole of the time that it was in progress, and long afterwards, the strain upon Mr. Morley was enormous. He had placed himself in opposition to the views of the large majority of Nonconformists; and in Parliament, on the 23 338 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. platform, and in the press, he had to vindicate his position. After the Bill had become law, Mr. Morley ex- pressed his opinion upon it to his constituents at a soiree given in the Colston Hall to the two Liberal Members. When he rose to speak, the whole of the assembly stood, cheering again and again so vociferously that some minutes elapsed before he could commence. In the course of his remarks he said : — • He believed the Government measure to be the best Bill ever passed, looking at the character and opinions of the people at large. It would have been an injustice, even if it had been possible, to force upon England a Bill in all respects carrying out mere Nonconformist views. There were Churchmen as well as Dissenters in the country ; and therefore, whUst protecting the consciences of every parent — and he was prepared to say the Bill did that — he was anxious to secure secular teaching for the whole of our population. There was nothing to prevent their having as many secular schools as they liked, but the Bill did not compel every one to have secular schools; and he urged the working classes to have their children placed under the secular teaching of Christian men. He protested against the exclusion of both the Bible and every kind of religious teaching from schools, and he observed that it his friends at Bristol were in any sense unanimous on that point, he would at once admit himself, in that respect at all events, an unfit Member for them. Parliament enacted that School Boards should be elected, and the novel and peculiar principle of the cumulative vote was tested for the first time in those elections. Four seats on the Metropolitan School Board were allotted to the City of London, and Mr. Morleyj yielding to the wishes of many whose friend- 1869—1871.] THE METROPOLITAN SCHOOL BOARD. 839 ship and judgment lie highly valued, was one of the candidates. Personally, he shrank from this new responsibility, but having taken up the position he had done in the recent controversies, he could not draw back. In his address to the ratepayers, he said it would be his aim, if elected, to administer the Act in the same spirit of impartiality in which it had been framed. Mr. Morley was elected, and he was faithful to his trust. He approached his duties in a religious spirit, joining heartily in the proposal that came before the first meeting of the Board, that the proceedings should be opened with prayer. The proposal was not carried, but a compromise was effected ; a room was set apart for the purpose, where those who were like-minded could gather for this devotional exercise ; and Mr. Morley was always found among the number. The "religious difficulty " soon cropped up in the meetings of the Board, and a resolution was proposed which it was hoped would solve it. It was, " That in the schools provided by the Board, the Bible shall be read, and there shall be given such explanations and such instruction therefrom in the principles of morality and religion as are suited to the capacity of children ; provided always that, in such explanations and instruction, the provisions of the Act in Sections VII. and XIY. be strictly observed, and that no attempt be made in any such schools to attach children to any particular denomination," 840 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. This resolution was warmly supported by Mr. Morley and his. friend and ally, Mr. (afterwards Sir) Charles Eeed, with the result that it was carried with only three dissentients. Thus it came to pass that all for which Mr. Morley had contended was realized. Most of the School Boards throughout the country adopted "the compro- mise," as it was called, and the "religious difficulty" was practically solved. Year by year, the reports of the inspectors coincided with that of Mr. Noble's, given in 1876 : " I am convinced," he said, "that, as a body, our teachers are faithful men and women, imbued with a high sense of the importance of the relation in which they stand to their Scripture teaching ; they earnestly inculcate those great truths as essential to the moral and religious well-being of the children." Before we pass on to consider further actions of Mr. Morley in connection with the reforms that marked the first Administration of Mr. Gladstone, we must glance at a few other matters in which he was interested. . On the 10th of February, 1870, the Bishop of Winchester, in the Upper House of Convocation, carried a resolution for the appointment of a Com- mittee to report upon the desirableness of a revision of the Authorized Version of the Old and New Testa- ments. Four days afterwards. Lord Shaftesbury wrote to Mr. Morley :— 1869—1871.] BIBLB BS VISION. 341 How will you and your friends be affected towards a new translation of our (at present, God be praised !) common Bible ? I dashed at once into the conflict, not having had time to consult any one. To the question asked by Lord Shaftesbury, Mr. Morley sent the following reply : — My impression is, that my friends are more anxious about the integrity and efficiency of the translators, than as to the mere fact of a new trans- lation. The late Dr. Pye Smith, one of our most distinguished Noncon- formist ministers, felt that something ought to be done, but done with care and with a general concurrence among scholars of every school. My feeling about the matter is this. I believe the Bible to contain a revelation from God to man. If He has spoken to man by His Spirit-r-if He has given us a revelation — then it is of supreme importance that the people should know precisely what He has said ; and if, in any case, our version says what God has not said, it so far misrepresents God's words, and for us to persist in giving that to the people as Divine, which every scholar agrees not to be, is, in reality, dishonest. I feel great difficulty in the way of asking the Government to authorise any version. I don't think that it is the business of the Government. Mr. Morley took no very active part in the con- troversy that arose on the question of the Eevision, but he never altered the views he expressed in the foregoing letter. About this time, his visits to Bristol and Notting- ham were very frequent. He -was concerned in everything that affected the welfare of the two towns, and had in progress a series of schemes for their benefit, especially as regarded the working classes. It was in relation to Mr. Morley's dealings with the latter town that, as Dr. Paton said in an 342 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. article in the Contemporary Review, "that 'grace,' which is recognized to be the pecuhar and richest fruit of Christian culture, shone radiantly in Mr. Morley's conduct." It was at Nottingham he had received the injury that had bitterly wounded his spirit, "and the* revenge he sought," continues Dr. Paton, " wherewith to comfort himself, and repay the wrong done to him, was this : he asked the Rev. Canon Morse of Nottingham, and another, to confer with him, and advise him in what ways he could do most for thp good of a town where this great wrong had been done him." It often happened, in the heat of electioneering controversies in Bristol, that Mr. Morley's large business in Nottingham was referred to, and that charges were made against him with regard to it. Thus, in 1870, at a meeting in the Colston Hall in support of the candidature of Mr. Hodgson for the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Berkeley, Mr. Morley took occasion to refer to a statement, made by an old opponent of his, that "he employed a large number of foreigners, because he could get labour from them cheaper than from English workmen." Mr. Morley said " he referred to it simply to say that it was an unmitigated falsehood. The firm paid seven thousand people their wages every week, and there was not a single foreigner in their service. He did not attempt to discuss his right to employ a foreigner if he chose, but he held that a good English workman was worth a 1869—1871.] LEAVES GRAVEN LODGE. 343 foreigaer and a half any day. Therefore, as a matter of his own interest, to say nothing of the fact that he had a large body of men who had worked for their firm almost as long as he had lived, and to whom he looked as personal friends, he dismissed the statement with an absolute denial." The greatest event in the private life of Mr. Morley in this year, was his removal from Craven Lodge, Stamford Hill, to the beautiful mansion at Hall Place, Tonbridge. It was a neighbourhood for which he had long had an affection, and ten years before, in a letter to Mr. Joshua Wilson, he had expressed the hope that some day he might make his home there. In another chapter we shall see something of his country life. In the meantime we must follow him awhile in his public career. The Parliamentary Session of 1871 was opened on the 9th of February by the Queen in person, and the Speech from the Throne was of unusual length. On the 18th of the previous month, Mr. Gladstone had written to Mr. Morley asking him to second the motion for an address to the Crown — " a duty," he said, " with which I am sure the whole House will be glad to see you charged." To this request Mr. Morley acceded, and, before a brilliant House, made one of his best and longest speeches in that assembly. The times were critical and interesting ; abroad, a renewal of war between France and Germany was •344 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. pending ; the King of Prussia had just accepted the title of Emperor of G-ermany ; our relations with the United States were gravely complicated ; at home, the marriage of the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lome was approaching. Bills had been promised for the better regulation of the Army and Auxiliary Land Forces, on Eeligious Tests in Universities, Ecclesiastical Titles, Disabilities of Trade, Combi- nations, Courts of Justice and Appeal, Adjustment of Local Boundaries, Licensing, Secret Voting, and Primary Education in Scotland. Allusion to all these subjects was made in the Speech from the Throne. On most of them Mr. Morley touched in his speech. In one felicitous sentence he said, " he regarded it as a matter of national congratulation that Her Majesty should, by sanctioning the marriage between a daughter of the Eoyal House and one of her dis- tinguished subjects, have cast aside a custom more honoured in the breach than in the observance, and that Her Majesty, by approving a marriage dictated by the heart's affections rather than by reasons of State expediency, should add another example in the Royal Eamily, of domestic happiness and virtue." Referring to the unfortunate misunderstandings between this country and America, he considered that mistakes had been made on both sides, aipd that it was due to ourselves, as well as to our Transatlantic kinsmen, that we should show a disposition to make amends for any injury we may have done them, if 1869—1871.] SECONDS ABDliESB TO THE OBOWN. 345. any such could be shown to have arisen from intention or from default. He added : — Can nothing be done to lead to the establishment of some international tribunal to which might be referred misunderstandings between one country and another, which, although serious in their results, are generally trifling in their origin ? I should be glad to know, too, whether we cannot do something that might lead to a system of general disarmament, by which a constant source of danger would be at once removed, so that we might all breathe more freely, and not be continually exposed to the danger of witnessing, or being engaged in, conflicts and slaughter against which our civilization so strongly revolts. Our commerce, our oivUization, and above all our Christianity, ahke protest against the enormous wicked- ness and inhumanity of war. It may be Utopian, in face of the war now raging on the Continent, to hope that the common sense of the world will ever be strong enough to adopt such a plan of setthng the disputes of nations ; but I speak under the influence of the agony and desolation to which the people of France have lately been subjected, and I cannot help pressing the subject on the attention of the Leaders on both sides of the House, and I believe all wiU agree that some attempt at least should be made in this direction. On the proposed Bill for the Abolition of Univer- sity Tests, he said : — I will now venture, with all earnestness, to appeal to Members on the other side of the House, to assist in a settlement of the long- vexed question with regard to University Tests. There has never been less bitterness with reference to this controversy than now, and the moment is, there- fore, in my belief, one peculiarly suitable for arriving, once and for ever, at a final settlement of the question. The Tests are most felt among the great middle class of the country. The middle class, in which the great strength of Dissent lies, has been rising in wealth and social influence for years past, and they appeal confidently to the Legislature to give them, on fair and equal terms, that higher cultivation which they feel they need, and which they know well enough how to employ, if the opportunity for its acquirement were afforded them. It is only recently that I witnessed the reception given in the Senate House of Cambridge to Mr. Hopkinson, 346 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVII. the Senior Wrangler, who has since become Smith's Prizeman, and who, because he has a conscience, is unable to avail himself of the prizes which are invariably offered by his University to those who secure his position. What the Dissenters desire, are terms of equality, and it is with these terms alone that they will be satisfied. The fountain is large enough both for those who are now receiving from it and those who desire to receive ; it is large enough for J;he whole nation. . . . University Tests once abolished, and a fair Burials BiU agreed to, the House will have disposed of the two last of a number of measures which used to be spoken of as ' Dissenters' grievances.' As matters stand, a Nonconformist, who is also a Master of Arts, is prevented from voting for a Member of Parliament for his own University — the only case, I beUeve, in which rehgious opinion is still a barrier to the exercise of the franchise in this country. On the proposed amendment of the Licensing Laws, Mr. Morley spoke vigorously, and urged the Grovernment to deal with the question with a bold hand, and place some restriction on the extension of public-houses, by giving to the inhabitants of a district a power, of veto upon the granting of new licenses — some large and courageous measure not too much in advance of public opinion to endanger its acceptance by the House. Perhaps there were few Members of Parliament who felt more strongly than Mr. Morley the urgent need for the introduction of the Ballot. Referring to the proposed legislation on the subject, he said : — There will be wide-spread satisfaction at the mention, for the first time in a speech from the Throne, of the Ballot Bill, and if I may presume to offer advice to the Government, it will be to let the Bill be one which will really secure secret voting. No other measure will satisfy the country, or accomplish — what is so much desired — the securing to every voter, however humble, an opportunity of voting in accordance with his con- victions. No other measure, again, will put a stop to the practice of can- 1869—1871.] A SUCCESSFUL SPEECH. 347 vassing, and to those scenes on the day of election which have made our electoral system a scandal and a reproach. Even so far off as 1871, there was one subject on which Mr. Morley felt strongly, and the days were coming when the feeling would grow still stronger — the terrible waste of time in parliamentary discus- sion. He concluded his speech with a reference to this : — Desiring, as I do earnestly, to see all these measures carried, I venture, young though I be in parliamentary experience, to suggest that in order to accomplish the work we must husband our time. I vie with the most earnest Member of the extremest section, in my desire to see measures passed to reform abuses, and to remove hindrances that impede the material and social progress of the people ; but it is clear that to pass more Bills in the same space of time, we must discover some method of using our time more economically, and with larger practical results. In saying this, I know that I am trenching upon ground which, as a young Member, I have no right to occupy ; but I belong to the large class of what may be called comparatively silent Members, who have opportunities of listening at times to what appear rather profitless discussions, and who, accordingly, are anxious that arrangements may be made, while there is yet time, to facilitate the passing, if not of the whole, at least of the greater portion of the promised measures. Mr. Morley' s speech — characterized in the press as that of " a sound political thinker and an experienced man of business " — was eminently successful, and repeatedly called forth cheers from both sides of the House. Mr. Disraeli, who followed, made frequent allusion to it in his review of the state of affairs, and especially approved of Mr. Morley's remarks on religious equality. CHAPTEE XVIII. 1871—1876. Trade Questions — Mat-making in Prisons — Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister — University Tests Bill — Burials Bill — Letter from Archdeacon Allen — Strikes and Look-outs — The National Agricultural Labourers' Union — The Lock-out in Lincolnshire — Farmers' Defence Association — The Agricultural Labourer " A Commodity " — ^Letter to the Daily Neios — Boards of Conciliation — Cottage Accommodation— Letters from Sir W. V. Harcourt, the Bishop of Manchester, and Lord Shaftesbury — Death of Dr. Binney — Funeral — Letter to his Second Daughter — Completion of the Memorial Hall in Parringdon Street — Presentation of Portrait — The Holyoake Tes- timonial Fund — Tory Calumniators — Warnings and Encouragements — Betires from London School Board. Although Mr. Morley, in his speech seconding the address to the Crown on the opening of the Session in 1871, described himself as " a silent Member," his voice was nevertheless very frequently heard in the councils of the nation. Upon all questions of trade, he was regarded, on both sides of the House, as an authority, and there were few Members upon whom greater demands were made from all quarters, and on all trade subjects, than on him. Thoroughness characterized everything he undertook, and it is only by a careful examination of his correspondence that an estimate can be formed of the pains with which he investigated every subject for which his help was solicited. For example, he would not ask a question 1871—1876.] MAT-MAKING IN PRISONS. 349 in the House until he had ascertained all available facts in connection with it. Thus, in 1871, there was dissatisfaction loudly expressed in many- quarters at the manufacture of mats as a part of prison labour. Several of the Metropolitan prisons were selling their mats at prices less than that for, which the manufacturers could produce them, and it was felt to be an injustice that the manufacture of mats and matting, which gave employment to about 3,000 honest workmen, should be monopo- lized by 2,000 prison rogues. Mr. Morley was urged to ask a question on this subject in the House. He would not, however, take any action in the matter until he had written to many of the governors of the chief prisons in the country for exact information as to the number of prisoners employed in mat-making, and had placed himself in communication with the Howard Association, which was instituted to promote the best methods of prison discipline, penal treatment, and crime prevention. The result was, that the Mat-weavers' Association, and others who had solicited his aid, obtained what they sought for — namely, the cessation of the selling, under cost price, the produce of convict labour. It was not as a speaker in the House of Commons that Mr. Morley's greatest influence was felt, al- though he took infinite pains to acquaint himself with the bearings of every subject upon which he spoke. It was because his character commanded the respect of all, and because his ixafluence was 350 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. felt to be a force not in the House only, but in the country, that whenever he spoke he was listened to with attention and respect. It was known, too, that though on many questions he represented the senti- ments of intolerant people, he himself would be tolerant. When, in the early part of Mr. Glad- stone's first Administration, many subjects were discussed in Parliament of vital interest to Noncon- formists, there was not, on any one occasion, a word spoken in the House of Commons by Mr. Morley that could give offence ; for, while faithful to his own special views, he would not assert them in a way that should give pain to those who differed from him. He sought, moreover, on every question in which the working classes were concerned, to represent faithfully their opinions. Thus, on February 15, 1871, in the debate on the second reading of Mr. Chambers's Bill for legalising Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister, he said : — He was quite in a position to state, from his knowledge of the working classes, that, in consequence of the restriction imposed by the existing law, concubinage was extending amongst them, and that they were losing their regard for the sacredness of the law of marriage. Some mode of settUng the question should be discovered, for the present law led to bad results. The ecclesiastical authorities had given up the Bible argument against the proposed change. A large number of bishops, the clergy of the EstabUshed Church, the Koman hierarchy, and the Jewish Babbis had given expression to their conviction that these marriages were not contrary to the law of God, and it was a fact that they were sanctioned in every country in the world except Great Britain, and two or three of the Colonies. The House of Commons had repeatedly passed the Bill, and he trusted it would now give its usual imprimatur in favour of an altera* 1871—1876.] THE BURIALS BILL. 851 tion of the law. He should at all events join the hon, and learned gentle- man in sending the Bill to ' another plaoe ' in the hope that it would at last receive there the only treatment it ought to receive. The University Tests Bill was watched by Mr. Morley with keen interest, and as his influence out of doors would, he was convinced, be more emphatic than within the House, he made it the subject of many of his platform speeches in order to move not only his audiences, but the public through the press. Nor did he desist until it was declared that the Universities " shall be freely accessible to the nation." Mr. Morley took part in the debate on the second reading of the Burials Bill in 1872. One by one he had seen the " Dissenters' grievances," as they were called, removed, and civil and religious inequalities, that had pressed on the consciences of Nonconformists, rectified. One, however, remained, and that was the question of burial. It was claimed, on the one hand, that Englishmen only had the right of burial in their parish churchyards when there was no public cemetery in the district, and no other means of interment. Mr. Morley, on the other hand, urged that inasmuch as the churchyards of England belonged to the English people, the people ought not only to have a right of burial in those churchyards, but the right to exercise, under fair and reasonable limits, their own religious observances at their respective funerals. "When this point should be conceded," he said, "it seemed to him that the question of the continuance or otherwise of the Established Church ceased to be 352 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. a Dissenting question ; it became then, in the strictest and broadest sense, a national question, and he should henceforth decline to regard the matter as one with which he, more than his Church neighbour, had to do, although willing and anxious to enter with him into a calm, earnest, thoughtful, and friendly- discussion upon that question." Upon the Burials question generally, Mr. Morley made many inquiries, and amassed considerable information, from correspondents at home and abroad, and placed himself in communication with many clergymen, in order that he might be thoroughly acquainted with all the grounds of their objections. Thus, one of his old friends. Archdeacon Allen, wrote to him, and, in setting forth his own views, expressed the sentiments of a vast number of the more liberal clergy — views in which Mr. Morley heartily concurred : — Archdeacon Allen to Mr. Samuel Morley. Peees Vioaeage, Sheewsbuey, Nov. 29, 1875. Dear Me. Morley, — . . . As to the Burials Bill, I have done what I could to set before my bishop and my brethren in this archdeaconry my convictions. (1) There is a natural desire to lay our dead with those who have gone before. (2) Some of our parishioners may have a kind of special property in part of our churchyards. Some of the soil of our churchyards represents what was once the kindred flesh and blood of those who are now Kving. (3) If a sick person be ministered to by a Nonconformist minister up to the time of death, may not the relatives be excused for desiring to have that ministes speaking to them at the grave ? (4) It is possible to conceive the case of an incumbent, by his own iU- conduct, making himself displeasing to the sorrowing survivors. (5) There is a sanitary necessity for burying a dead body. If I have not 1871—1876.] STRIKES AND tiOCK-OViS. 353 been able to draw the living man to worship in the church, why should I fasten on the dead body, and enforce my claim to read the service over it ? (6) We must treat the dead bodies of Christians with reverence ; those bodies have been the temples of the Holy Grhost, and we shall see them reanimated. (7) It seems to me dishonourable to our Master that I should claim to read the burial service to unwilling hearers. (8) I want to be excused from burying dogs with a form of religion sadly in- applicable. By dogs I do not mean Nonconformists, but those who in Holy Scripture are called dogs. (9) As for security against a disorderly service in our churchyards, provision might be made for that requirement. Speaking generally, we must all feel that the Nonconformists as a body are as desirous of having an orderly service as Church people can be. Yours very truly, John Allen. The sequel is a matter of history. In 1880, an Act was passed permitting hurial in churchyards, either " withotit any rehgious service, or with such Christian and orderly service ' ' at the grave as the person responsible might think fit ; and the principle was established that churchyards belong to the nation, and not to any particular denomination. In 1874, strikes and lock-outs were of frequent occurrence, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk, or East Anglia, properly so called, and chiefly among agri- cultural labourers. Wages were very low; for the previous twenty years they had not exceeded 9s. a week, with fourpence or sixpence a day for a child of the family to act as "scare-crow." Machinery had displaced the old hand-sickle,. and the gleaning of the corn, which was calculated as enough to pay the rental of a cottage — that rent ranging from ,£3 to £5 24 B54 SAMUEL MOBLEt. [Chap. XVIII. — was no longer available, the horse-reaper, or horse- rake, gathering up what was formerly the perquisite of the labourer. Moreover, the rate of wages was unequal, a difference of some shillings a week existing in. parishes only a few miles apart. To diminish these inequalities ; to raise the status of the agricultural labourer in view of the extension of the electoral franchise ; to relieve him from the thraldom in which, for generations past, he had lived ; and, generally, to make his condition that of a man rather than a serf, a movement was organized in 1872, which Mr. Morley cordially supported. Its origin may, perhaps, be ascribed to Canon Girdlestone, who, in 1868, at a meeting of the British Association held in Norwich, urged that combination was absolutely necessary to effect any permanent improvement in the condition of the peasantry. This gave rise to considerable discussion, and Mr. Joseph Arch became conspicuous in the ad- vocacy of what was called the Labour Movement. In 1872, the National Agricultural Labourers' Union was established, its object being to improve the general condition of agricultural labourers in the United Kingdom ; to encourage the formation • of branch and district unions, and to promote co-opera- tion and communication between unions already in existence. Mr. Jesse CoUings and Mr. Edward Jenkins were among the trustees ; Mr. Joseph Arch was the president of the Executive Committee, and three Members of Parliament — Mr. Samuel 1871—1876.] THE AOBIGVLTUBAL LABOUBEBS' UNION. 355 Morley, Mr. George Dixon, and Mr. Edward Jenkins — were among the Consulting Committee. The Labourers' Union Chronicle was at once issued, and circulated among the peasantry. Strikes and lock-outs followed, as a necessary con- sequence. The rules of the Lincolnshire Labour League, for example, specified that the minimum rate of wages should be 18s. weekly, and this inspired the labourers in neighbouring counties to make a like demand. Hitherto the position of the labourer had been what the employer chose to make it ; for gene- rations past he had_ been virtually tied to the soil, without any actual freedom of contract. Now, he could dictate terms, and the result was — a series of lock-outs. They began in Norfolk and Suffolk, and extended to other parts of the country, particularly to Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. Farmers' De- fence Associations were organized, and then the elements of war were complete. The lock-out in Lincolnshire had lasted some months, when Mr. Morley, in conjunction with Mr. Dixon, intervened to bring about a better under- standing. They were successful in their mission ; the farmers came to terms with their men, and con- sented to recognize the existence of Labourers' Unions, provided that any rules prescribing a minimum rate of wages should be abolished, and that the notice to be given of a strike should be de- termined by the custom of hiring prevailing in the district. 356 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. An arrangement was made, that on a certain day (May 23, 1874) the agricultural labourers' strike and the farmers' lock-out for the county of Lincoln should be withdrawn simultaneously, and that work should be resumed on the following day. A notifi- cation of this was signed by Mr. Morley and Mr. Dixon, and it cleared the way to the solution of kindred difficulties throughout the country. It is needless to say that Mr. Morley had a much higher end, in view than merely to arbitrate in differences between employers and employed. He was anxious to see agricultural labourers treated as men, and not as mere machines ; he wanted to see Boards of Conciliation established to settle disputes between masters and men ; he wanted to have the whole of the relations between farmers and labourers put upon a better footing. Further still, he wished to excite interest in the hardships of a large class of men, thousands of whom were living in miser- able hovels on the estates where they worked; while others, to secure decent dwellings, lived miles away from the scene of their labours, and spent their strength for nought in journeying to and fro. He sought to secure for every labourer a fair mte of wages, and a cottage with a garden. And to a large extent he succeeded. In the face of a Labourers' Union, influentially supported, farmers could never again retain the labourers in their former subjection ; nor would the men be any longer treated as children. They became different men as soon as ever 1871—1876.] PLOUaHS AND PLOUGHMEN. 357 tliey had struggled with their masters. Hitherto they had never dreamed of disputing the master's terms ; henceforth they could not only dispute them, but, with an organization to fall back upon, they could, if necessary, dispute them for weeks, perhaps for a whole season. It was a necessity of those reforming times that action should be taken on their behalf, and Mr. Morley threw himself heartily into the advocacy of their cause, and in the press, as well as in public meetings and conferences of the Union, he stood forth as one of their champions. An able political economist wrote of the agricul- tural labourer, in one of the leading newspapers, as a commodity, " No man," he said, " is bound' to give more for a commodity than it is worth, be that com- modity ploughs or ploughmen." To this, Mr. Morley replied in a letter occupying a column of the Daily News : — It may be perfectly true that when the supply of ploughs, or of plough- men, exceeds the demand in any given market, their price or value in that market will fall ; but it does not follow, therefore, that there is no difference between ploughs and ploughmen, or that the same principle in political economy can be rigidly applied to both, without any modifica- tion. The plough, as a commodity, is a manufactured' implement, as simple in its structure as in its relations to surrounding objects. The ploughman is a being of flesh and blood, with flesh and blood or family relations, which the plough is not ; he is a mental and moral being, capable of much good or evil, according to his circumstances and con- dition, which the plough is not ; and he is a social being, a member of a community composed of other mental, moral, and social beings, to which the good and the evil of which he is capable, may become matters of 858 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. vital importance, which the plough is not. Ploughs and ploughmen, im- plements and labourers, may alike be deemed commodities of marketable value, but is it possible to maintain that the same law or principle is alike applicable to both ? I think not. If the supply of ploughs be in excess of the demand for them in any given market, the owners can send or export them to other markets, where the demand is greater and the supply less. But if the supply of ploughmen or labourers be in excess of the demand in any given market or locality, what is to be done with them, or what are they to do for themselves ? The excess vrill be indicated, as it is now being indicated in the eastern counties, by low wages ; and by the time that indication appears, the in- dividual labourer will have become so impoverished as to be incapable of migrating or emigrating to another and better market, even if he, or the better educated employers of labour, have any notion of such a remedy. If he remains, he reduces the wages of himself and of all the other labourers in that locality ; and if the reduced wages are insufficient to procmre for him an adequate supply of wholesome food to sustain his physical strength, he will become incapable of doing a strong man's daily work, or of earning more than the reduced wages he has been compelled to accept. And in such case his health, or the health of his family, may suffer, and, as a deficiency of wholesome food frequently leads to the craving for stimulating drink, he may become an utterly demoralized drunkard, and he and his family may rapidly sink into pauperism, or even into crime. And in any of these cases, the man and his family may become either a burden or a curse, or both, to the community in which they ' live and move and have their being.' Has that com- munity no interest in preventing all this ? I maintain that it has ; and, if itbe the interest of the community, it becomes its duty to do all that can be done to prevent it. What can the labourers themselves do, and what ought they to do, when they find that the supply of labour in their market or locality exceeds the demand for it ? Individually, they must be, except in very exceptional cases, incapable of doing anything to help themselves, and the most natural, obvious, and rational thing for them to do is to combine and organize themselves in union for the purpose of helping each other. That is precisely what the agricultural labourers have done, and that is precisely what the farmers and their friends are denouncing them for doing. They have organized a Union, the main objects of which are to ascertain where labourers are in excess of the demand for them, and the 1871-1876.] CAPITAL AND LABOUR. 359 wages consequently depressed, and to relieve those localities of the surplus hands by migration or emigration, so that those who remain may obtain better wages. And this wise and provident policy on the part of these poor men, the farmers— and, I am sorry to see, in many cases their landlords — resent, and have enrolled themselves in an association for the avowed purpose of stamping out the Union. But surely, if it be lawful and right for the farmers and employers of labour to combine for the protection of their capital and interests, it cannot be unlawful or wrong for the labourers to combine for the protection of their labour, which is their capital and their interests. And if they are guilty of no wrong in so doing, I would ask, Is it a just, or an honourable, or a manly thing for a great body of capitalist farmers and landowning noblemen and gentlemen, to band themselves together for the avowed purpose of punishing them for so doing by a general lock-out ? That, I believe, is the true statement of the case. Only some 300 men in the village of Exning struck for a rise of Is., from 13s. to 14s. per week, and, because those 300 men struck, the farmers have locked out some 3,000 or 4,000 men ! Now I care not whether 13s. a week be an ' equitable wage ' or a ' marketable wage,' but I cannot reproach the labourers of Exning if they deemed it an ' insufficient wage,' and endeavoured by a strike to obtain 14s. a week. And I think the Labourers' Union was perfectly justified in supporting these men in their strike, and the men who have been ' locked out ' in consequence of it, and I hope and trust that the public opinion of the country will approve and support the Union. Holding these views, Mr. Morley expressed his determination to stand by the labourers so long as they continued to act with moderation ; and he was faithful to his word. For many years he strove to increase the number of Boards of Conciliation and Arbitration, to adjust the differences that might arise between capital and labour, and to check the evil and misery which necessarily arose from lock- outs and strikes. In 1876, he brought in a Bill " to enable the Public 860 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. Works Loan Commissioners to make advances to the limited owners of entailed estates and other landowners, for the building, rebuilding, and im- provement of labourers' cottages in rural districts, repayable by a rent-charge upon the inheritance, and to amend the Improvement of Land Act, 1864." The Bill was backed by Mr. Whitwell and Mr. Stanhope. It was a glaring evil that the cottage accommoda- tion for agricultural labourers and their families, in the rural districts, was greatly deficient in quantity and defective in quality, especially as regarded those sanitary conditions necessary for the moral and social well-being of the occupants. The provisions on the subject, made by the Improvement of Land Act, 1864, had been found to be almost inoperative. Some of the objects sought to be obtained by Mr. Morley's measure, and the methods for obtaining them, will be seen from the following extracts from letters in acknowledgment of the receipt of draft copies of the Bill. Sir W. V. Harcourt wrote : — I will consider your Bill and get a conveyancer's opinion upon it. I have always been for the entire abrogation of the power of entail and against the creation of 'limited owners.' The more closely we can get the powers of limited owners assimilated to those of an owner in fee, the better it will be for this country ! The Bishop of Manchester (Dr. Fraser) wrote : — I am glad to be assured that any remarks of mine, in the Beport to which you refer, have given this direction to your thoughts for the well- 1B71— 1876.] LABOUREBS' COTTAGES. 861 being of the people. There is no subject more urgently requmng atten- tion, and upon which the pressure of strong public opinion needs to be more directly brought. Only to-day I heard of a large estate, of one of our wealthiest Lancashire noblemen, on which the cottages are described to me by the clergyman of the parish as 'in a disgraceful state.' I believe that the owner has never seen them. I rejoice to think with you that there are subjects on which our religious differences need not keep us asunder. I only wish there were more. The Earl of Shaftesbury described, without identi- fying them, the cottages upon his own estate at St. Giles's, which stood in marked contrast to many on the Dorsetshire estates : — Your BiU, if you can put the Commissioners imder some kind of restriction as to the construction of the cottages — to the extent, I mean, of not insisting upon too much in the way of accommodation — may be of real service. A pair of cottages with three bedrooms, back and front kitchen, pigsties, and other appurtenances, may now be built, in many localities, for ^6300 the pair. That sum, by your arrangement of 4 per cent, and forty years, would amount to ^480, the fuU burden on the estate. ... But the Commissioners are, in general, very absolute and very priggish. Although highly approved by many, the proposed Bill was threatened by strong opposition. Exception was taken by some to the provision that advances should be made by the Public Works Loan Com- missioners, while others considered the Bill was not required, inasmuch as owners could effect all that was needed by the agency of the Land Improvement Company, working under the control of the Enclosure Commissioners. 862 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. Moreover, other and wider schemes were in con- templation, and as there was no probabihty that the Bill would be passed that Session, it was deemed advisable to let it drop. Mr. Morley did good service, however, in calling attention to the subject, and in paving the way for larger measures. On the 24th of February, 1874, Mr. Binney, who had retired from the pastorate of the Weigh House in 1869, died, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. Mr. Morley keenly felt his loss. It was through the instrumentality of his old friend and pastor that his spirit had been moulded to a finer temper, to broader sympathies, to higher aims, and to greater capabili- ties of service. He had admired him as a man, a teacher, a personal and intimate friend, and he had looked up to him as the patriarch of Nonconformity in his day. And truly Mr. Binney had done more for Dissent than a whole generation of men who had preceded him. He had shown that it could be raised above all narrowness and vulgarity; that it need not of necessity stand in an attitude of antagonism to the Established Church ; that its form of worship could be fall of beauty and culture, and that it was capable of indefinite growth. Eeferring to Mr. Binney and his influence on Samuel Morley, the Kev. Joshua Harrison says, in a letter to the present writer, from which quotations have already been made : — 1871—1876.] DEATH OF THOMAS BINNEY, 363 Mr. Binney has so recently passed away, that many can recall his tall figure, his massive head, his keen eye, his commanding presence, and his marvellous intellectual power. He drew around him crowds of young men, who, as they listened to his clear, manly, unconventional sermons, felt that a new prophet had risen among them. Samuel Morley attached himself to this great preacher, the strong-headed, large-hearted man, and became not only his devoted hearer, but his warm friend. Mr. Binney had the rare art of getting to the very core of the Scriptures, seizing on just what they taught, and then presenting it with such luminous distinctness, that, without argument, it was felt to be the truth of God. But he was not satisfied with this. He made himself acquainted with every form of scepticism, every new objection to the Christian faith, saw just where its power of mischief lay, and then, instead of adroitly giving it the go-by, met it fairly, ably, convincingly, and thereby checked doubt at the very beginning. Then, further, while skilfully expounding the Evangelical faith, and using it as the great instrument of converting the soul, he dwelt largely on its intended influence on character and action. He strove to make noble, manly Christian lives. He did his best to stir up young men to think for them- selves, whilst he excited in them at the same time such veneration for the word of God, that they never felt safe if they had reason to fear that they had not this on their side. My friend often told me that Mr. Binney had marvellously helped him to aim at independence of cha- racter, to take large views of Mfe, to form definite purposes as to the way of using life, to attempt great and generous things in life. I cannot say to what extent such teaching struck in with the latest instincts and aptitudes of his own mind, but I know that naturally he abhorred littleness, stinginess, and self-seeking, and had a certain largeness of feeling and aim which saved him from aU that was narrow and contracted. In fact, I beheve that the seed fell on good and very congenial soil, and therefore yielded so rich and abundant a harvest. On the 9th of March, Mr. Binney was borne to the grave in Abney Park Cemetery. Karely had such a funeral been seen. The carriage procession was a third of a mile in length ; and, among the mourners, 364 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. Clmrchmen mingled with Dissenters in a common sorrow and a common esteem. When the coffin was borne up the aisle of the Stamford Hill Congrega- tional Church, it was preceded by the Eev. J. C. Harrison and Dr. Halley, two veteran friends; while immediately behind were Dean Stanley, the Eev, Dr. Stoughton, and the Earl of Shaftesbury. Probably there was no one there who mourned the loss of a friend more deeply than Samuel Morley, who, with the venerable Dr. Moffat, Sir Charles Keed, and a host of others, stood around the bier. In August of the same year, Mr. Morley lost his old and well-beloved friend, Joshua Wilson, with whom, for over thirty years, he had been associated in every kind of Christian and philanthropic work. Mr. Wilson was a man of a singularly retiring dispo- sition and of secluded habits, and yet, by his counsel and his unstinted liberality, he was known and revered in all the churches of the Congregationalists, A gentleman, a scholar, and a Christian, Mr. Morley found pleasure in his companionship, and rarely entered upon any great religious enterprise without taking counsel with him. When Mr. Morley stood beside his open grave at Abney Park, he must have felt that one of the strong links that bound him to the past had broken, and that there was henceforth a blank which no new friend could ever fill. The following letter to his second daughter refers to the events of this period, some of which have been already mentioned : — 1871-1876.] LETTER TO HIS DAUGBTEB. 865 Hall Place, Sunday Morning, August, 1874. My own de ak Child,— I tliiak I must just send you a few lines in answer- to your inquiries. My holiday, thus far, has been a somewhat chequered one, and, as I have long felt that my children have always been interested in what goes on at home, I therefore Hke giving details. You know I went with our dear child* and Gracie to the yacht, a noble vessel, at Cowes, and certainly our first experience was rather trying ; too much wind to be pleasant. I came home to attend the funeral of Mr. Joshua Wilson, who has left me one of his executors. I returned to the, yacht at Dartmouth on Thursday, and on Friday we had a glorious sail across the Chaimel to Brest, which we reached mid-day on Saturday, but we had to ' lay to ' during the night, as the captain had never entered the harbour. On Sunday, after service at the Protestant Church, we found two telegrams telling me of the destruction of our noble factory at Nottingham, and I at once determined to leave by the mail train next day (last Monday) . I left at two o'clock, and reached London at six on Tuesday (710 miles). I had a capital bath in Paris very early on Tuesday, and really felt very little fatigue. I went to Nottingham early on Wednesday, and was greatly pained at what I found. I spent three days there, returning home yesterday. The entire factory is destroyed. It was very perfect and full of very valuable machinery. Our insurance does not nearly cover the loss, but I do not care so much about that, although it is mortifying to lose through our own neglect. The property of all kinds in the factory has been increasing each year — new machinery, new material, new goods — and we had not increased the insurance. I have endeavoured to meet the difficulty about the workpeople by telling them we shall pay them two-thirds of the wages they earned for a month, within which time I shall expect to fiud they have found work elsewhere. They fuUy recognized the desire to meet the case fairly. I had also a meeting with all the young men in the warehouse, who evinced a nice spirit. My great grief is that I fear the fire was caused by some outside agency. There is no doubt a feeling of jealousy about the machinery. It has been a trying time, but we have been cheered by very much kind sympathy. All the dear ones well here, and especially our precious Bebekah has been most mercifully dealt with, and we have each this morning a note in her handwriting inviting us to a drawing-room party * He always spoke to his daughter Augusta of bis youngest daughter Mary as "our dear child." S66 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XVIII. on Saturday next. I felt at Brest that, if the telegram had contained a doubtful word about her, I should have felt it more than if the loss had been double. Dear mamma is just ready to go with me to our morning service. I now close, having accomplished what I wished — to give you a clear account. The yachters were to leave Brest on Wednesday, and would probably reach you on Friday. . Ever your loving father, Samuel Mokley. P.8. — I was indeed glad to get back to this lovely spot. In 1875, the Memorial Hall to commemorate the Bicentenary of Nonconformity was opened, £70,000 having been expended on its erection, and on the 15th of May, Mr. Samuel Morley and Mr. John Eemington MiUs were entertained at a public break- fast in the Hall, to receive a presentation of their portraits painted in life-size by Mr. Wells, E.A. It was a large and thoroughly representative gathering, about three hundred well-known Nonconformists being present, including a goodly array of the more eminent of their ministers. The duty of presenting to Mr. Morley his portrait devolved upon Mr. WiUiam Spicer, on behalf of the Home Missionary Society. " When it became known," he said, "that the Society had requested Mr. Morley to allow his portrait to be painted, so many friends in connection with the Society expressed a desire to co- operate, it was found necessary, to enable them to do so, to limit the amount contributed by each, and it was now given to him to express the affectionate regard in which he was held by the various churches 1871—1876.] PRESENTATION OP POBTBAIT. 367 of the denomination, and to fulfil their desire that not only they, but their children in time 'to come, might be able to look upon a well-executed memorial of one who had attracted to himself, in a greater degree than most men, the sincere admiration and attachment of a large portion of the Church of Christ." In a few graceful words, Mr. Morley acknowledged the compliment paid to him, and in the course of his remarks referred to "men who had passed away, with whom in his early youth he took sweet counsel, and whose words and example were at once a stimulus and an encouragement." " Time would fail," he said, " and it would be an invidious task, to allude individually to such men. I may, however, mention the name of one of the earliest friends of my youth, the late Dr. Pye Smith, to whom I refer not only with the highest possible admiration, but with a most loving respect ; and I may add the name of one of the oldest of those friends — I mean the late Thomas Biniiey, with whom I was on terms of the most intimate friendship through the whole of his life in London. I trace to his teaching, influences which have moulded my pablic religious life; and I trust, if God spares me, I shall see, in this day, a further stimulus to the work in which I have interested myself, and shoulder to shoulder shall unite with those who fight, those who work, and those who think, against the common enemies — ignorance and sin." 368 SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Ohap, XVIIl. The portrait still hangs in the library of the Memorial Hall. An incident occurred in 1875, insignificant in itself, but interesting as an illustration of the breadth of Mr. Morley's practical Christianity. Mr. Greorge Jacob Holyoake was stricken down by illness and blindness, and a Testimonial Fund was raised on h'is behalf, to which Mr. Morley, in com- pany with other Members of Parliament, literary and scientific men of eminence, and persons of many shades of opinion in politics and religion, including Conservatives, Churchmen, a-nd clergymen, contri- buted. This was made the occasion of some severe and scurrilous attacks upon Mr. Morley by " Tory calum- niators." For over thirty years — that is, throughout the whole of his political life — he had, known. Mr. Holyoake " as the constant, disinterested, and judi- cious friend of the working classes." When they were going wrong he had, on many occasions, with a moral courage and an authority which won Mr. Morley's admiration, stepped forward and put them right. He had contributed largely to the abolition of the taxes on knowledge and the establishment of the penny press, and had for many years been an earnest teacher on political and economical questions. Withal, Mr. Morley knew him t^o be a man of up^ rightness, refinement, and irreproachable life. And yet, in subscribing to a fund to aid him in afliiction, 1871—1876.] A GBEAT VOCATION. 369 Mr. Morley was censured for aiding a man "who was not a believer in Christianity." His position was simple and intelligible. " Much as he might deplore that Mr. Holyoake was not a be- liever in Christianity, aild impossible as it was that he could have any sympathy with him in that unbe- lief, he was not absolved thereby from the common obligations of humanity." He sympathized with the man who had laboured hard and well for the working classes, and, in the spirit of the parable of the Good Samaritan and of the Sermon on the Mount, he went forth willingly and gladly to his aid. ,No man, having taken the stand that Mr. Morley had taken, ever had the whole of his career watched with keener scrutiny. There were those who " eyed him curiously," waiting for his fall; there were others who, believing that he had a great vocation in the world, which, in its faithful fulfilment, would have a marked influence upon society in general, as well as upon the Church in particular, followed all his move- ments with anxiety, knowing that, if he fell, the fall would be great. There were others, and they were many, who felt for him the liveliest feelings of con- fidence and regard, and who were persuaded that he would not touch a subject, or follow a cause, that was unworthy of him, or which would detract from the reputation which he had so deservedly acquired. Among these classes were many who gave expres- sion to their views from time to time, both publicly and in private, and especially when Mr. Morley was 25 370 SAMUEL MORLEY. [Chap. XVIII. engaged more prominently than usual in public work. From the position Mr. Morley had taken up during the passage of the Elementary Education Bill, he had felt it incumbent upon him to give way to the pressure brought to bear upon him, and to offer himself as a candidate for a seat on the London School Board. It had never been his intention to remain long in that position, as, in the nature of things, it would be im- possible for him to devote the time that was necessary to deal with the enormous amount of work it in- volved. In 1876, therefore, he retired from the Board, and in doing so he issued to the ratepayers of the City of London an address in which the following passages occurred : — I am unwilling to retire from the position on the School Board for London, to ■which I was elected six years ago, without bearing my testi- mony to the ability, high integrity, and wonderful devotion of the members generally of the Board, and offering my most hearty thanks for the great honovir which your confidence has conferred on me, of in some degree sharing in its wise and great work. The Board has conceived its duty to be, to provide a school place for every child of school age, and to see that every child of school age is in a school place. Of the magnitude and manifold difficulties of such a work, none of us, at its outset, had any true idea. To this work the Board has given six years of almost ceaseless labour, of which, as a citizen, I cannot speak with sufficient admiration and gratitude. I believe that it has been done with the greatest consideration for the parents of neglected children, and with every regard to rational economy ; for I hold that the economy which would have forborne from necessary measures of compulsion, which would have provided unsubstantial buildings, or an impoverished teaching, would have been irrational economy. ... 1871—1876.] THE LONDON SCHOOL BOABD. 371 As to the education which the Board provides, it is plain, sound, and thorough. Its religious instruction is simple Bible teaching, which, I am scarcely surprised to see, is by certain religious leaders called ' colourless.' Let me take the liberty of warning — as I do with all my heart — ratepayers against this ' colouring ' party. I cannot conceal my fear that it is pre- pared, in the interest of its own personal sectarianism, to go any lengths which the mere letter of the law will permit. Nothing would more serve the cause of those who would put religious teaching out of the school altogether, than the triumph of such a party. The educational condition of our scholars, it is said, is inferior, after all our expenditure, to that of denominational schools. I rejoice in the fact. Our children are in the lowest standards. Our schools are mainly filled with the most neglected, far too long neglected, classes of children. The sneer is too soon. It wiU be deserved when the Board is found guilty of leaving them as it found them — a result which Her Majesty's Inspectors' Eeports are giving little reason to fear. • CHAPTEE XIX. AT HALL PLACE. 1870—1886. Hall Place — The Village of Leigh — Improvements — Temporal and Spiritual Wants — An " Undenominational Chapel " — Plymouth Brethrenism — " Think and let Think"— The Squire of the Parish— The Eqv. Hugh CoUum— School Committees — Benevolent Projects — Bible Society Meetings — A New Vicarage House — Lectures — The Clergy — Church and Dissent — A Christian Man — Marriage of Miss Morley — Her Early Death — Duties at Leigh — The Kev. Dr. Moffat. We must leave the narrative of Mr. Morley's more public life, and go back to the year 1870, vphen he left Craven Lodge and took up his abode at Hall Place, Leigh, near Tonbridge. Leigh, originally spelt and still pronounced Lyghe, is a parish about a mile and a half from Hilden- borough Station on the South-Eastern Railvray, four miles •west from Tonbridge, and six miles south from Sevenoaks. Approaching Hall Place from Hildenborough, the entrance is situated close by the parish church of Leigh, a building of flint and stone, in the Early English styl^; and then a drive, gradually rising through the park, and beside a broad sheet of water, leads to the house. 1870—1886.] WORK AT LEIGH. 373 Hall Place is a handsome Elizabethan mansion of red brick and stone, standing in a wooded park of nearly two hundred acres. The house is covered with ivy, save where the purple clematis and other creepers throw their clustering flowers. Ah old house, part of which dated back to the reign of Elizabeth, stood near to the present site, and constituted one of the principal attractions in in- ducing Mr. Morley to purchase the property. The house had, however, been very badly built, and re- quired considerable alteration to meet modern re- quirements. Finding at length that it could not be adapted, Mr. Morley, after careful consideration, decided to have it pulled down and an entirely new building erected. But the ivy covering it has grown so rapidly, it is difficult to realize that the present Hall Place only dates from 1870. When Mr. Morley went to Leigh, he found there was much work to be done. He did not, however, proceed at onee to bring about certain changes which he thought would be of benefit to the neighbourhood, but gradually, and in the course of several years, he effected one improvement after another, until he wrought a transformation in the village. We may summarize here the beneficial work accomplished at Leigh during Mr. Morley's residence there. The drainage of the village was very imperfect : he had it put in a state of thorough efiiciency, almost entirely at his own expense. The water was not good or abundant : he had a well dug. 374 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIX. and machinery erected to pump and filter the water into a reservoir holding 13,000 gallons ; he caused four fountains to be placed in the village, so that pure and good water could be within the reach of all, and a plentiful supply in a granite trough for dogs and horses'. He found that there was no proper recreation ground for the villagers : he caused one to be made and planted with trees, with a good road round it, and paths across it. The cottages needed radical improvement : he had some reconstructed, and new ones built of a model type. The villagers had no ground to cultivate as gardens : he set aside a plot of land for the purpose, cut it up into sections, and let them at a low rate. Cottage gardening was at a discount : he offered prizes for the best kept gardens and plants, and gave his gardener carte blanche to supply, free of charge, trees and shrubs to ornament the cottage gardens. In short, he found it a neglected village, and, as the gradual work of years, he trans- formed it into one of the neatest and prettiest in the country. But if the temporal wants of the village folk of Leigh needed relief, much more so, to his thinking, did their spiritual necessities. The vicar of the parish was a man of considerable age, who had filled the post for nearly half a century, and who prided himself in having only on three occasions been absent from his pulpit on Sunday during that period. There was only one other place of worship — ^in a small room, where the Associated Methodists met 1870—1886.] MISS MOBLEY. 375 for religious services, but they had not constituted themselves into a church. Among these people, Mr. Morley's eldest daughter cast in her lot, and nourished the little cause with help such as it had never had before. In all her efforts she had the sympathy and support of her father, with whom her influence was very great. She had long devoted herself to Christian work, and at Stamford Hill, and elsewhere, her labours had been attended with remarkable success. She had the rare gift of speaking straight to the hearts of people in simple but stirring language, and winning them into paths of righteousness. Moreover, she had considerable literary skill, and carried on an important "ministry" by means of her pen. One of the first steps to arouse the religious interest of the people at Leigh was to invite Mr. Hurditch, a popular evangelist, to hold a series of mission services in a tent — a proceeding which raised grave doubts in the mind of the good vicar. One of those who took part in the meetings was a Mr. Maxted. He, more than any other of the "evangelists" who visited Leigh, seemed to be the right man to work among the neglected poor of that neighbourhood, and his services were, therefore, permanently retained. In course of time, as spiritual interest was aroused, and the gospel was accepted, those who professed to have become Christians naturally asked, " What are we to do for the future ? and what ordinances are we to have ? " These were 376 SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Chap. XIX. difficult questions, but the first step towards an answer was to build a chapel. This Mr. Morley did. A substantial building was erected on an excellent site in the village as an " undenominational chapel," and behind it a red- brick cottage was added, in which were rooms for Sunday-school purposes. Chapel, schoolhouse, and grounds were made not only attractive, but really beautiful, and soon the buildings were adorned with ivy and climbing plants, and surrounded by flowering shrubs. Into this new movement Miss Morley threw her- self heart and soul, and success attended it increas- ingly. But it was impossible for matters to remain as they were ; the question of sacraments had to be settled. Mr. Morley was in profound sympathy with his daughter, whose influence was so powerful for good ; her views on religious questions, if not entirely identical, were very nearly in accordance with those held by the religious community known as Plymouth Brethren, and, although he had the greatest interest in the work which his daughter was carrying on, he totally disagreed with the opinions of many branches of the religious community with which she was con- nected. Mr. Maxted was not an ordained minister, and professed to be unsectarian, or, in other words, was in full sympathy with Plymouth Brethrenism. Mr. Morley saw that he was doing a good work, and. 1870—1886.] LEIGH CHAPEL. 377 although in doubt " whereunto this would tend," he did not feel himself free to alter a system of things which satisfied the people, and was leading them into a higher and better life. Under these influences, and seeing that there was no intention of "founding a Church," he consented that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper should be celebrated from time to time, but in the schoolroom, not in the chapel. Later on, a discussion arose as to what is termed Believers' Baptism, and, yielding to the wish of the people, Mr. Morley erected a baptistery at his own expense. And so it came to pass that, although, to all intents and purposes, the chapel was unde- nominational, the Sacraments were administered in a manner identical with those of the Plymouth Brethren. But Mr. Morley was not in any sense or degree a Plymouth Brother. He never swerved for a moment from his earliest belief on the question of Infant Baptism; he loved the orderly and usual method of administering the Lord's Supper; and he remained, what he had always been, a Congregationalist. He nevertheless attended the ordinary services at the chapel, and, occasionally, the Communion. When asked why he did so, he would reply, "Why? because I like the simplicity of the meeting, that is all." " Think and let think " had ever been his motto with regard to the religious tendencies of his children, and some of them were Nonconformists, and some were 378 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIX. members of the Established Church. He had never been anxious that they should be Dissenters, still less that they should espouse any particular form of Dissent. He had pursued in his own family the policy that his father had pursued in the early home in Well Street? He set before them his own life, and, when asked to do so, his own views, but he never by one word urged them to be either Noncon- formists or Conformists. "Be real, be true; follow out the dictates of your own conscience as in the sight of God." This was the sum of his exhortations. On the other hand, he said many a time how great his delight had been, and what a source of gratifica- tion it was to him to be brought into contact with the Church of England through his own children. And many a time he declared that if the lifting up of his finger would have led them back to Noncon- formity, he would not have done it. In the selection of a minister his principal thought was for the poor — his family were now grown up, and could care for themselves. To many men it would have been a matter of the utmost difficulty, as the Squire of a parish, to have taken up the position that Mr. Morley assumed. To him, however, it presented no difficulty whatever. Although not agreeing in some things with Mr. Maxted, and looking at the majority of religious questions from a totally different standpoint, he yet worked harmoniously with the village evangelist, always yielding to him in spiritual things, and thus 1870—1886.] LETTER FROM BEV. HUGH COLLVM. 379 acting in sympathy with one portion of his family circle. Opposed as he was to the Church Establishment, and caring very little for Church ritual, he was never- theless on the most cordial and friendly terms with the old vicar of the parish, and entered into schemes of usefulness originated by the new vicar with the utmost hberality, thus acting in sympathy with another portion of his family circle. The following extracts from a long letter to the present writer, from the Eev. Hugh Collum, Yicar of Leigh, will be read with interest, as it not only gives a good insight into Mr. Morley's relations with him, but also into some of the useful work carried on in the parish : — I ' read myself in,' as Vicar of Leigh, on Sunday, March 12, 1876. On the following day, anxious to lose no time in making the acquaint- ance of all my parishioners, beginning with my somewhat formidable (as I supposed) Nonconformist Squire, I set out for Hall Place. In the avenue I met Mr. Morley, on his way to town for the Parlia- mentary Session. In a few well-chosen and incisive words, he expressed regret that he was on the point of leaving home ; hoped, however, shortly to have the opportunity of becoming better acquainted with me. On that occasion I could, of course, form no opinion of the character and disposition of one who was to be so near a neighbour, and, as the event proved, so true a friend ; with whom it rested, to some extent, whether my position as vicar of a parish, largely Nonconformist, should be as comfortable as circumstances might admit, or whether it should be one of continual friction. My next interview with Mr. Morley was on March 30, 1876, at a School Committee meeting at Hall Place, when, in the room of the ex-vicar, I was elected Chairman. On that, as on every other subsequent occasion, I was treated by Mr. Morley with studied deference and com-tesy. He 380 SAMUEL MORLEY. [Chap. XIX. availed himself, however, of the opportunity to express his personal preference for a thoroughly unsectarian school system. At the same time, he gave his ready adhesion to the compromise, which had already been arrived at in the case of Leigh School, that the Conscience Clause should be loyally and fully carried out, and no attempt made by the clergyman to impose distinctive Church teaching on the children of those parents who might be conscientiously opposed to it. This modus vivendi being perfectly in accord with law, reason, and conscience, I expressed myself as fully satisfied with. And here I may perhaps be permitted to mention that, during the ten years in which I was so closely associated with Mr. Morley in the management of the Leigh Schools, though from time to time questions of difficulty and delicacy arose, owing to the eccle- siastically divided condition of the parish — questions requiring in their solution tact, judgment, and good temper — I invariably received from my lamented friend the most loyal and generous support. Over and over again he expressed himself as being perfectly satisfied with the impartial manner in which matters were conducted. Though an admirer and supporter of the Board School system, he said there was ' no need for its introduction into Leigh parish.' As some evidence of his increasing confidence in the management of our village school, Mr. Morley buUt, entirely at his own expense, a new infant department, costing upwards of JSOO. And one of the last pubHc acts of his fruitful and benevolent life was, in conjunction with Mr. Hills of Eedleaf, a generous member of our committee, to build an admirable play-room for the use of the chUdren. He was full of the idea of estab- Ushing penny dinners for the benefit of the children coming firom out- lying districts. The annual autumnal school treat, which he generously gave at Hall Place to all the school-children, and as many.of their teachers and friends as chose to attend, was an occasion which he specially enjoyed, and in which his genial, sunny character showed to the greatest advantage. He had a shake of the hand, a friendly greeting, a kindly look for all. When distributing the prizes to the eager and expectant children, he had always something practical and interesting to say, and well deserving of attention. . . . On the occasion of these pleasant gatherings, he was ready to welcome any one, whether Churchman or Nonconformist, and to give them an opportunity of addressing the children. . . . On Tuesday evening, the 23rd of May, in the same year, we held our first meeting in the schoolroom, since my induction, on behalf of the 1870—1886.] SQUIBE OF THE PARISH. 381 British and Foreign Bible Society. Mr. Morley, accompanied by his son Henry, came down expressly from town in order to be present, returning by the last train. It was snrely characteristic of the thoroughness, in- defatigable energy, and ardent zeal of the man, now no longer young, full of public and parliamentary business, undertaking the fatigue of a con- siderable journey in order to support by his presence a simple village meeting. . . . With one, or perhaps two, exceptions, Mr. Morley never faUed to attend these annual Bible Society meetings, which were specially interesting, during the too brief residence among us of the revered and venerable Afrioan missionary, the late Dr. Moffat. It was most touching to see, as on Friday, November 21, 1879, side by side, two svioh grand old men as Moffat and Morley witnessing for the truth and power of those Holy Scriptures which are able to make wise unto salvation. One of the many subjects engaging my attention on becoming vicar, was the raising of the necessary funds to buUd a new vicarage house — the old one, by reason of progressive decay, having been condemned by the Diocesan surveyor. It became, accordingly, my not very congenial duty, to apply to some twenty-three owners of property in the parish, and Mr. Morley was one of the few who promptly and generously responded to my appeal. On Monday, the 5th of March, 1877, Mr. Morley, as Sijuire of the parish and the largest contributor to the building fund, laid the foundation-stone of the new vicarage house, in presence of a large and representative gathering of about three hundred parishioners and neighbours, besides some two hundred school-children. He toqohed upon the typical character and charm of EngUsh homes, and their influence upon the life and tone of the nation. The Archdeacon of Maidstone, who was also present, offered a few appropriate observations, and closed the proceedings with the bene- diction. . . . On the 16th of April, 1879, being Wednesday in Easter Week, our new organ, to which Mr. Morley had liberally contributed, was opened by a festival service in the church, the preacher being the Archdeacon of Maid- stone. Divine worship was followed by a luncheon laid for about sixty, in a tent pitched in front of the vicarage house. At my request, the chair was taken by the Archdeacon, who, after the usual loyal toasts, proposed the Houses of Lords and Commons, coupling with the former the name of Lord De L'Isle, and with the latter, that of Mr. Morley. 382 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIX. Mr. Morley made an excellent speech, touching on the somewhat delicate question of the mutual Constitutional relations between the two Houses. He was glad, he said, to be able to bear testimony to the thorough and careful way in which some important' questions were debated and revised by the Upper House. When Mr. Morley happened to be at home in the autumn, and dis- engaged, he made a ppint of being present at our bright and thronged Harvest Thanksgiving Festivals — and thoroughly entered into the spirit of them — contributing liberally to the offertory. ... In our numerous penny readings, improving lectures, Church and schoolroom mission services, and temperance meetings, Mr. Morley took a lively interest, and was a most generous supporter with his purse, and Kkewise with his presence, when he could make it possible to attend. I have frequently known him, after a hard and harassing day's work in town or elsewhere, sitting out a sometimes by no means lively lecture, and never complaining or regarding himself as a martyr of circumstances. Some of our lectures had a useful and practical outcome — that on the management of bees, in several of the villagers becoming possessors of hives ; that on fires and firemen, in the starting of an excellent, well- equipped, and well-drilled fire brigade. I must not omit to make special mention of the cookery classes, started after a lecture by Mr. Buckmaster, and a vegetarian supper, attended by probably a couple of hundred people, given and presided over by Mr. Morley, under the auspices of the London Vegetarian Society. The drainage and water supply of the village, involving an outlay of many thousands of pounds, the school penny bank and library, numbering nearly four hundred volumes, are schemes with which Mr. Morley 's name will ever be gratefully and honourably associated. At the beginning of each new year, Mr. Morley was wont to give a substantial tea to the workmen in his employ at Leigh, and their families, to the number of some 150, after which he presented, with friendly and appropriate words, a present, consisting of some useful articles, to each one who worked on the estate. He was always kind enough to wish that I should be present on these interesting occasions and say a few words to the people. He himself was never weary of dilating on the overwhelming evil of intemperance as productive of pauperism, domestic strife and misery, and national waste and injury ; of the advantages of total abstinence ; of the happiness of honest and conscientious toil. He was wont, on such occasions, to say, that he himself worked harder and more constantly than 1870—1886.] THE CLERGY. 383 any of those whom he addressed, though in work of a different kind to theirs, and that his, unlike their work, was never finished. He said he wished the connection between tliem to be not a mere matter of work and wages — that he desired that they should regard him as their friend and counsellor, to whom they could freely come for advice and help in any difBculty. . . . Speaking of the clergy of the Church of England to me one day, he said, ' You have some magnificent men among you ; superior to ours.' On the other hand, he had a strong impression that there were those among us who had entirely mistaken their vocation, and were a source of weakness rather than of strength to the Church. To which I rejoined, that it was impossible to find a sufficient supply of men of the highest qualifications ; that, even as it was, there was a lamentable deficiency of labourers ; that, in the present imperfect condition of civiHzed and religious life, you must work with such tools as may be forthcoming. To which Mr. Morley sternly and energetically repUed, that it would be far better that many of the pulpits should be entirely empty, than filled with some of those who now occupy them. . . . There were certain anomalies involved in the existing union between Church and State of which he disapproved and could not reconcile with the New Testament — e.g., the nomination of bishops by the Prime Minister of the day, who might be a man of no belief or any behef — the conge d'elire, the retrograde or negative action, as he considered, of the bishops in the House of Lords on questions of hberal pohey and social amelioration and progress. He was an admirer of Archbishop Tait, as also of individual bishops and dignitaries of the Church with whom he had been brought in contact in pubhc and private life. He had a great r'egard for Canon Basil WUberforoe in his capacity, more especially, as a great temperance promoter and orator. He invited him to address a meeting of his employes at Wood Street, at which I was present. He also contributed hberaUy to the building of the Canon's new church in Southampton, and, with my hearty concurrence, invited him to preach in Leigh Church, which, much to my regret, he was unable to do. He had, as might be supposed, a great admiration for the services rendered to civil and religious liberty, and the evangelization of the peoijle by the Nonconformists. He once asked me, ' Where would Christianity have been in Cornwall if it had not been for the Methodists ? ' At the same time, he was painfully conscious that both the Church and the Nonconformists had signally failed in touching and getting a hold of 384 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIX. multitudes of people who were leading practically heathen lives. He more than once spoke to me about the utter insufficiency of church and chapel accommodation if all who might attend some place of worship were suddenly to make up their minds to do so. He was deeply impressed by the serious character of the times. Mr. Morley has, I am well aware, been censured by Churchmen for introducing and maintaining in their parishes, Nonconformist machinery and agencies. His justification was, that, on coming to reside in this part of Kent, he did not find what he considered to be adequate machinery of a modern kind on the part of the Church for evangelizing and elevating the people — that there were ' dark ' places where there ought to be abundant light ; that there was abundant room for all workers. He once said to me, when I ventured to touch upon the evils of religious divisions, the waste of energy, &o., ' Let any impartial and competent person (I care not who) who knew the past and present condition of certain parishes, honestly declare his opinion, and he will be constrained to admit that a considerable improvement in a variety of ways has taken place. Let it be explained how you will, say, if you please, it has been brought about by some system of hocus-pocus, never- theless the fact remains.' Mr. Morley's idea evidently was, that so long as the people are reached by personal sympathy and friendly contact, rescued from sin and won to Christianity, it mattered comparatively little by what particular ecclesiastical agency or means the result was obtained. He was accordingly thankful if church or chapel, lay or female agency, free lance or delegate of some recognized body, succeeded in this. Hence he highly approved of, and liberally supported, such remarkable move- ments as that of Moody and Sankey, and the Salvation Army in its earlier and purer stage. Not having made a special study of eeclesiastical history, he did not seem to appreciate, or attach any special importance to, what Churchmen would call the Divine origin, historic character, and claims of the Church of England, as a true and living branch of the Catholic and Apostolic Church. ' You know,' he was wont to say to me, ' I am a thorough Non- conformist.' He once said to me, ' All my hfe long I have stoutly pro- tested against the claims of authority in matters of religion as against the Divine right of private judgment and conscience. I am a firm beUever in personal character and personal influence. I am ready to yield all due deference to that, but am not prepared to yield to ecclesiastical authority as such.' . . . 1870—1886.] JOYS AND SOBBOWS. 385 He was a born leader of men. What his reason and conscience dictated, that he was prepared to carry through, in spite of all difficulties and ob- stacles. He was, at the same time, a humble and simple-minded Christian ; happily for himself, unruffled and undisturbed by those terrible waves of destructive criticism and philosophic scepticism which mercilessly lash and upheave from their inmost depths many great and noble minds differently constituted from his. While strongly feeUng the importance of supporting such bulwarks of the faith as the Christian Evidence Society, in the face of the varied and highly aggressive forms of modern thought antagonistic to the Divine claims of Christianity, he himself was not personally moved. He could say with the apostle of old, 'I know whom 1 have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.' We must now glance briefly at some of the "joys and sorrows, the labour and repose," of life at Leigh. Mr. Morley's sons and daughters were taking, or had taken, their places in life, and still there was the old strong affection, the same mutual love, the same home tenderness. Just as pleasurably as he had watched their school and college careers, he followed them in their travels and their avocations. in 1872, two of his sons, Howard and Arnold, made a tour in America, and it was with no little interest he received from them long filial letters, telling him, as frankly as in days of yore, all that they had seen and done and heard. These little partial separations did but add to the family union. There was a separation of another kind, however, which took place in this year. His eldest daughter was engaged to be married to Mi:. Herbert Wilbraham Taylor. Keferring to this in a letter to his daughter Augusta, Mr. Morley said : — 26 386 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIX. Wood Stbeet, March 29, 1872. I cannot think at present about her leaving us without a leeling of desolation, which I can hardly describe, but I am sure wUl yield to further thought, and especially as I see so clearly her Heavenly Father's hand guiding in the most important step. I feel thankful in the conviction that there wUl be a union of service as well as of affection. On the 16th of May in that year, the marriage took place, and Mr. and Mrs. Morley and all their children were present at the ceremony. It proved to be a union of affection as well as of service, and in all parts of the country there were those who traced the beginning of new life to her loving ministrations. But the period of work in her new sphere was limited, and in November, 1877, shortly after the birth of her fourth child, her life-task was done. Hardly any sorrow has more pathos in it than for a young wife and mother to be suddenly taken away from the love that cherished her, and from those duties which only she could fulfil to her family. To Mr. Morley, with his warm home-affections, no loss, save one, could have been more severe. It was the first gap — and happily the only one — in that united domestic circle, and none knew the strength of the ties which bound them together until that cord was broken. It was their joy to believe that for her "to depart was far better," but the very strength of this belief made those who were left behind more painfully conscious of their loss. The fact that she was so ripe for heaven, made the survivors all the more desirous to have detained her awhile longer on the earth. 1870—1886.] DEATH OF A DAUGETEB. 387 Very touching and beautiful were the letters from every place in which she had dwelt or visited, telling of the extent of her activities, the gracefulness of her charities, and the depth of her devotion. " We remember with such joy her beauty in the Lord, wrote one, "as we saw it when she was with us, and many women among us got great blessing through her marvellous ministrations." And not then only. Long after she had entered upon the higher ministry, her influence lived ; she still spoke tenderly by her memory and by her written words.* Mr. Morley wrote many letters at this sorrowfiil time. We select two. The first is to his daughter Augusta : — Hall Place, Nov. 11, 1877. Think of our never hearing again her voice, or taking sweet counsel together ; and yet I can already realize much mercy. She is at rest ; she is realizing what she has often pictured to others. She is seeing her Lord ' face to face.' Oh, let us pray that great hlessing may come to us all out of what looks at present so dark and mysterious. The next letter was written to his neighbour, the . Eev. Hugh CoUum : — Hall Place, Nov. 23, 1877. My deae Sir, — Let me assure you of our grateful appreciation of your kind sympathy with us in our present deep sorrow. The kindness of our friends has been most comforting, but the gap remains unfilled, and, while I can truly say our faith in the love, as well as the wisdom, of our Heavenly Father, remains unshaken, we have impressions as to the * " The Desert Path and the Heavenly Hope." By Mrs. Herbert W Taylor. " Letters of Mrs. H. W. Taylor." Edited by her Husband. 388 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XIX. mystery of His dealings with us, which we dispose of by a thorough con- viction, as you most truly remind us, that all will one day be made plain, and ' what we know not now we shall know hereafter.' In the meantime we are thankful to call to mind the pure, unselfish, active life which was lent to us ' for a while.' Yours very truly, • S. MOBLEY. There was great heart - sadness in the httle meeting-house at Leigh, where she was so well known and loved, and where her rich and beautiful voice had so often led the singing. This endeared the " undenominational chapel " yet more and more to Mr. Morley, who engaged actively in establishing similar organizations in other villages near Leigh, where he felt a need existed. In every way in which Mr. Morley could advance the interests of the neighbourhood in which he dwelt, he did it heartily. He accepted the Commission of the Peace ; he performed all the duties of the Squire of the parish ; he rendered valuable assistance to the Liberal cause in that part of the county of Kent, and on the alteration of the parliamentary divisions, brought about by the Eedistribution Bill, he took a most active share in the reorganization of the Liberal party in the Tonbridge Division, besides assisting the candidates who sought the suffrages of the electorate. In the letter from Mr. Collum, quoted in this chapter, reference was made to the Eev. Dr. Moffat. It was in 1879 that the venerable missionary took up 1870—1886.] THE BEV. DB. MOFFAT. 389 his abode in the village of Leigh, in a picturesque little house known as Park Cottage, embosomed in shrubs and evergreens. On his arrival, a warm welcome awaited him from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Morley, whose tenant he had become, and their thoughtful attention to the com- fort of the grand old hero never wavered from that day until he had " finished his course." He attended the chapel regularly every Sunday morning, and often in the afternoon, and was always glad to help in the services. It was curious, to see, in that remote little village meeting-house, two such men as Samuel Morley and Eobert Moffat — men whose names were of world-wide reputation. Those years at Leigh formed a calm and happy time for the aged missionary. " He was so pleased," says his biographer,* "to show his visitors Mr. Morley's beautifal grounds, upon the charms of which he would expatiate with all the zest of a connoisseur." It was not for long, however, that he was to tarry in this world. One day in May, 1888, Mr. and Mrs. Morley being at Hall Place for a day or two, he went up to see them. He had gone there intending to stay for half an hour, but fully two hours they spent together, and it was the last visit he paid to Hall Place. Then came a day, a few months later, when the venerable missionary lay dying. " He was very * " The Lives of Eobert and Mary Moffat," p. 409. By their Son, Joh^ S. Moffat, 390 SAMUBL MOBLEY. [Chap. XTX. pleased to receive a visit from Mr. Morley, whom he truly loved, and thanked him warmly for sparing time from his many engagements. He talked with wonderful vigour of the mysteriousness of Providence, and was evidently clinging to the hope of the restitu- tion of all thingi, but wound up with the words, ' It is all a mystery. Will not the Judge of all the earth do right ? '" A few days later, Mr. Morley stood beside the grave, at Norwood Cemetery, of his friend and neigh- bour, the great Apostle of South Africa. CHAPTEE XX. 1871—1881. The Artizans', Labourers', and General Dwellings Company — A Timely Inter- position — James Parsons, of York — ^Retirement from Bristol contemplated — The Secret of Strength — The Paris Exhibition — Trades Uniotas — Mistaken Identity — Curious Appeals — Home Rule — Middle Class Education — Caven- dish College — Letter from Rev. Canon Brereton — Attachment to Mr. Glad- stone — Letter from Mr. Gladstone — Letter from Earl Granville — Seventieth Birthday — The " Hasty Telegram " — Mr. Bradlaugh and Northampton — A Great Sorrow — International Conference of Young Men's Christian Associa- tions — Delegates at Hall Place — A Tour in America — Notes thereon. In 1871, Mr. Morley became a small shareholder in the Artizans', Labourers', and General Dwellings Company. It was at an early stage of its history, when its capital was only about £18,000, that he joined the Company, not by way of investment, but to show his interest in the work of providing im- proved dwellings for the working classes at low rent, a work which also commanded the influence of Lord Shaftesbury. It was largely by the use of such names as these, and by reason of the warm interest these, and some other distinguished men, took in the enterprise, that, up to the year 1886, about a million and a half of capital had been invested in erecting some 4,400 dwellings at Shaftesbury Park, Queen's Park, and Noel Park, in the suburbs of the 892 SAMUEL MOBLMY. [Chap. XX. Metropolis. In the year 1877, there was reason to fear that the Company was being dishonestly ad- ministered. Strong representations to this effect were made to Mr. Morley, and with the utmost impar- tiality, hoping rather to disprove the truth of what was then only tmsupported rumour, he readily con- sented to join a Committee of Investigation, of which the Hon. Evelyn Ashley was Chairman. This Com- mittee brought to light nefarious practices on a large scale, which led to the criminal prosecution and conviction of three persons, including the Chairman and Secretary of the Company. This calamity created a panic amongst the shareholders, many of whom were clergymen, ladies of limited means, and others, to whom the dividends received from the Company were of great importance ; and it was mainly by the confidence created by Mr. Morley, Mr. Ashley, and other responsible gentlemen becoming active Directors, that the Company was at that time saved from ruin. The Queen's Park Estate, upon the Harrow Eoad, now housing some 15,000 resi- dents, was then in course of erection, and its progress depended upon the continuous applications for new shares, which at once ceased upon the disclosures of fraud. In order to prevent even a single week's break in the building operations, which would have been calamitous to many hundreds of workpeople, and would have damaged the credit of the Company, Mr. Morley and Mr. F. D. Mocatta joined in giving their personal guarantee to the London and Westminster 1871—1881.] JAMES PABS0N8, OP YORK. 393 Bank for a large loan pending subsequent financial arrangements. Mr. Morley remained a Director of the Company, without remuneration, until a deficiency of some £70,000 was transformed into a surplus. After some years' service as a Director,* and upon his being satisfied that the Company had recovered its lost ground, and was working upon a substantial and prosperous basis, he retired from its active manage- ment ; but his counsel and co-operation were always at the disposal of his former colleagues, and only a few months before his death, at his request, he was taken by Mr. Farrant, the Managing Director of the Company, to see Morley Avenue, Noel Park, which was named after him to perpetuate his connection with the Company. On the 20th of July, 1877, Mr. Morley received a' letter from Mr. (now Sir) Edward Baines, in which he said : — You will hear, with interest, that our dear friend, James Parsons, who has been very dangerously ill of heart disease, is considerably better. I went to see him yesterday, and was allowed to have an interview. He seemed comfortable, and was as calm, cheerful, and even playful, as usual. But he knows that he must never preach again, and he looks back with solemn thankfulness on the long period of his ministry, honoured by such unsurpassed usefulness. A few months later, Mr. Morley's old friend, coun- sellor, and "spiritual father," James Parsons, of York, * This is one of the few, if not the only instance of Mr. Morley's consenting to be a Director of a Public Company, and then only as the best way of saving it from ruin. 394 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. .XX. passed away, full of years and full of honour, and longing, as he said, " to be utterly at rest." In 1878, Mr. Morley completed ten years of service as Member of Parliament for Bristol. He was beginning to feei, not so much the weight of years as the need of rest from the constant strain of public business in London, as well as the cares of a large constituency. It leaked out that, in the event of a dissolution, he would not offer himself for re-election. Then came from Bristol such an expression of feeling that could not be other than intensely gratifying ; private friends and public societies appealing to him not to let this be a final decision. In reply to a memorial on behalf of the Bristol Operatives' Liberal Association, he wrote : — The experience I have had, during the ten years of my political con- nection with Bristol, of the intelligence, independence, and exceeding personal kindness and confidence of the great body of working men, has not only endeared them to me, but has led me to determine that, what- ever my position may be, I shall consider it a privilege, as well as a duty, to co-operate in every effort that may promote their personal and social welfare. I dare not trust myself to refer to the termination of our political relations, further than to say that reasons connected with my health, my family, and other claims, compel me to retire from a position which I feel I cannot longer fill satisfactorily. But Mr. Morley soon found that retirement from Parliament was for him almost an impossibility. Nottingham again sought to open up negotiations with him, Cardiff was ready with a hearty invitation, and other constituencies were waiting for him. To all 1871—1881.] THE 8ECBET OF 8TBENGTH. 395 these Mr. Morley turned a deaf ear, but he could not resist the appeal of Bristol, and in the end he yielded, determining to find a respite from one strain of work by placing his business arrangements more completely under the control of his sons, while, for a little longer, he continued his representation of Bristol. It would perhaps have been wise had Mr. Morley determined not to continue his parliamentary career. Every year the business of philanthropy was in- creasing, and the demands made upon him were incessant, not for money in particular, but for the influence of his personal assistance. Time had not dulled the ardour with which he threw himself into every new enterprise, nor had it made him grow weary in sustaining the old ones. The increase of wealth and influence and position had not in the least degree altered the simplicity of his life, or the tendencies of his character. The secret of his strength may, perhaps, be found in the following extract from a note to his daughter, with whom he had one day been present at a meeting at Mildmay Conference Hall before proceeding to the House of Commons. It is dated 4th of March, 1878 : — The subject of discussion was a glorious one, and I felt refreshed as I wended my way to the House to a very different scene, but with strong desire that in every act, and on all occasions, we may have in our constant recollection the fact that we belong to a better country, and that we should make that to be felt, not by our much speaking, but by our holy lives and conversation, 396 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. It is impossible, from this time forward, to follow Mr. Morley's career step by^tep. There was scarcely a movement of the times, whether relating to the political, social, or religious life of the people, in which he did not, in greater or less degree, take a part. Nor wex6 his labours confined exclusively to this country. He was one of the Eoyal Com- missioners of the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878, and, in addition to the services he rendered in connection with that Commission, he sought to do good in other spheres. He gave largely to the support of the Congregational Chapel in the Eue Eoyale, Paris, under the charge of the Eev. T. Baron Hart, whom he greatly cheered and encouraged. He became one of the guarantors for the establishment of a Coffee Palace in the neighbourhood of the Exhibition; Mr. Thomas Cook, the well-known and philanthropic tourist agent, being the Treasurer. At the close of the Exhibition there was a considerable debt, and, when the Treasurer called upon Mr. Morley, he settled the matter, as he did so many others, in this way : " Now, Mr. Cook, don't let us worry our- selves about the debt ; join me — you pay half, and I'll pay half; the thing will be done, and we shall both be saved from endless controversy." Controversy, Mr. Morley was continually seeking to avoid, but not always successfully. A speech, de- livered by him in Bristol in 1878, having been incorrectly reported, he became involved in a tedious discussion with Trades Unionists. 1871—1881.] TRADES UNIONS. 397 His views on this question are given in the following letter to the Secretary of Trades Councils : — . . . While I believe Trades Unions have done good service in bringing workpeople to act unitedly, so that in many districts they have ceased to be ' a rope of sand,' and have thus been able to ensure better and more just consideration from their employers, they have, by transferring all negotiations as to wages and conditions of work to middle men, who have often no connection ■^iih. the work generally, none whatever almost always with the particular employer, altered materially the character of the relationship between the two classes — there is, I fear, ceasing to be the intimacy between masters and men which existed some years ago. Speaking for my own manufactory, we know scarcely anything of men who have come into our service of late years, because strangers negotiate most of the arrangements which are made. I believe this is a misfortune for both parties. Then, as to the lessened number of hours for work, I am clearly of opinion that unless some different arrangements are made, involving some concessions, the demand for English manufactures will gradually diminish. Unhappily, in spite of Mr. Brassey and others, we know, to our cost, that some markets, or certain classes of goods, are gradually closing to us ; and while this is perhaps to be expected, I feel anxious, before it is too late, to try whether I can induce representatives of both sides who have influence, to meet and consider whether some amendments in our methods of conducting these negotiations, and other points seriously affecting the interests of the men, could not be brought into action. English manufactures cannot be consumed in England alone, and I confess I tremble for the future of large masses of English workmen, unless some changes are made. I hope, before long, to have more leisure, and I know of no subject to which I would more gladly devote time and thought and influence, than the one I have thus briefly indicated. I have not the slightest hostility to Trades Unions. I never had, and could easily specify points in which employers have been benefited by their existence. I have written very hastily, and have not time to read what I have written, but I know that you hold a meeting to-morrow. I should gladly, at some convenient time, meet you and your friends on the subject. Controversy arose sometimes in unexpected quarters 398 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. and from unexpected causes. In the course of his pubho hfe, Mr. Morley was, on more than one occasion, the victim of mistaken identity. It was reported in the papers that at a meeting of agricul- turalists he had spoken of the ignorance prevailing among agricultural labourers, and had attributed the guilt of this to the clergy and squires. Indignant letters were written in disavowal of the charge, and the discussion was waxing warm when Mr. Morley wrote to say that he was not present at the meeting in question, and of course, therefore, did not use the expressions attributed to him. He had been mistaken, not for the first or last time, for Mr. John Morley, the Editor of the Fortnightly Review ! Year by year, the demands upon time, thought, energy, and purse increased. In turning over a bundle of correspondence in any month of his later years, it is surprising to find the endless variety of causes he was asked to assist. Now it was an appeal to help a fresh chapel-building scheme, a home missionary crusade, or some literary venture that should " supply a need." Sometimes the appli- cations are of an amusing character. One writes : " We have just at this time (1879), opportunity by which we could bring thousands of the coloured people of America to join our Total Abstinence Society if we had command of money." Another : " I have invented a scheme that will make any passage of Scripture quite plain to every reader at a glance, but," it was added, " it would require a 1871—1881.] 0UBI0U8 APPLICATIONS FOB HELP. 399 large sum to start the scheme effectually ! " One, on the ground of the interest Mr. Morley took in " the employed," begs him " to decide a dispute between my employer and myself." Another urges him to " induce the Government to take over all the Institutions called Life Insurance Companies, with their Keserve Fund of one hundred and twenty millions, and form one Grand National Insurance Scheme, and thus wipe off the National Debt in fifty years, reduce all rates, and effect insurance on lessened terms. This," adds the correspondent, " will beat anything we are likely to get out of Cyprus or the Suez Canal ! " Whether Mr. Morley ever took, as security, the policies of insurance that were offered to him by those who asked him to lend money upon them, we do not know, but, if he did, he must have had as vast a collection as any insurance office in London. Among the coolest of the demands is that of a writer, who, " knowing Mr. Morley's desire to thoroughly understand the various phases of working men's thoughts, ventures to send him the MS. of a book, which it is hoped is of an instructive and amusing character ; which he will, perhaps, kindly peruse and pass an opinion upon its merits." Another request is, that as a certain hospital had refused to take in a patient who, as it turned out, did not belong to the particular class of invalids treated there, the appli- cant " would be much obliged if, with his known impartiality, he would investigate the case." 400 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. One of the most amusing letters is from a ' lady, who, " having been struck by an expression in a speech recently delivered by Mr. Morley, in which he had said that ' he hoped a bridge would be formed to connect class with class more immediately,' begged to invite him to take tea with her at five o'clock on Wednesday next, to meet a few friends of the lower orders, who were entirely dependent upon charity for their support ! " Electors not unfrequently wrote to him to ask his opinion on current political questions. We insert a letter written by him in reply to one relating to Home Kule — a subject on which his views, a few years later, considerably changed : — 16, Upper Bkook Street, W., July 16, 1878. Dear Sir, — I can send you no other answer than the one I have abeady given you with respect to the claims of our Irish fellow-subjects. I would support any resolution for a specific inquiry into any alleged grievances, but I cannot support a motion which points directly or indirectly to separation, which is another name,for Home Eule. If the motion were, that the principle of local government should be applied to every county in the three kingdoms, I would support it with all my heart, because I believe an immense amount of work is done at the House of Commons, in a manner which involves loss of time, enormous expense, and incom- parably less efficiency than would be the result if such work were done in the districts immediately interested in the proposed legislation. Yours faithfully, S. MORLEY. It was in this year .that Mr. Morley secured the able services of Mr. J. W. G-raham as his private secretary — an office he filled with great ability until Mr. Morley's death. 1871—1881.] CAVENDISH COLLEGE. 401 One subject in which he took a deep interest was the higher education of the middle classes ; and one of the schemes for accomplishing this was, to put a university degree, with the implied training and associations of a three years' residence, within the reach of those who, as a rule, cannot afford to pro- tract the period of academic education beyond the age of nineteen or twenty. The proposed scheme for founding Cavendish College, Cambridge, seemed to offer what was required, and the following letter, kindly sent by the Eev. Canon Brereton at the re- quest of the present writer, very lucidly explains the project in which Mr. Morley was so closely associated with him : — Keotory, Little Massingham, Aug. 17, 1887. Dear Sir, — You have asked me to give you some account of the part which the late Mr. Samuel Morley took in the foundation of Cavendish 'College at Cambridge. As it is stUl a question whether that college will survive the difficulties it has encountered, and against which Mr. Morley was one of its most .strenuous and powerful supporters, I, think JI shall but do justice to Mr. Morley by endeavouring to explain the nature of these difficulties. The public education of the middle class in England has been utterly neglected, while that of the upper class in connection with the endowed .schools and the universities, and that of the lower classes in connection with the State and the denominations, have received very great national encouragement, and have flourished accordingly. A serious attempt was made, about thirty years ago, to find a basis for the foundation of public schools for the middle classes in connection with the ' County,' as a common and honourable local area within which Churchmen and Nonconformists might co-operate in building up schools that would satisfy the best wishes of the average English parent. It was resolved that such schools must be self-supporting, dependent, that is, jupon the parents' .payments. 27 402 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. Tlie capital necessary to establisli and support them was, therefore, to be raised on corumercial principles. The intention and prospect of earning a dividend was publicly announced. It was recognized, however, that, in the case of public schools, this commercial principle should be limited and subordinated to the educational object. More than one successful ' County School ' on this basis was established, and attained success. But it was evident from the first, to those who were undertaking this experiment, and became more evident as they proceeded, that the public character of separate provincial schools could not be sustained without a connection, more or less direct, with some higher educational.'system or authority. In attempting to find the best support against which to lean the ladder as it rose, the promoters pi the county schools were led, both by circumstances and by deliberation, to think that a college for junior students in one of the old univei'sities might supply the want which had been foreseen, and was beginning to be felt. Boys who had risen to the top of the County Schools, had still a year or two to spend for education, even though it was essential that they should enter upon their practical or professional pursuits much earlier than had become customary for graduates of Oxford and Cambridge. A rough plan of a County College for Junior University students was issued, on the responsibility of one person, in 1873. This aroused suflS.oient attention in the University of Cambridge to lead to a memorial being addressed to the Duke of Devonshire as Chancellor, and to other practical steps for trying the experiment. It was, I think, in 1875, after the County College Association had been fully formed, and tlie first block of buildings erected, and on the occasion of the Duke of Devonshire laying the foundation-stone of a lecture hall, that Mr. Morley first appeared among those who were interested observers and attentive listeners, but no more. Prom that day, however, tUl the last year of his life, Mr. Morley took a very strong personal interest in the college. To say that he became a most hberal contributor of money, is perhaps only to say that in this, as in all matters which seemed to him to deserve his support, his liberality was unstinted. But what most impressed me in all the many conversa- tions that, as Chairman of the County College Association, I had with Mr. Morley, and in all the matters, personal or public, that grew out of these communications, was the simplicity of his purpose to be at once generous and right. I am convinced that he was deeply impressed with the educational. 1871—1881.] CAVENDISH COLLEGE. 403 deficiencies wliioli lower tlie tone and lessen the usefulness of the com- mercial middle class. He seemed, to me, to think himself called to be their champion in this cause, even though they might not feel the want themselves as he felt it for them. He was disappointed that his personal friends, to whom he appealed to help him iu raising the capital required for Cavendish College, responded rather to please him personally than as showing their sense of the importance of the work. Since his death the support of the public has languished, and Cavendish College has been going back. But no other public institution has yet been projected to take its place. There it stands, on the skirts of the University of Cambridge, an un- finished, but striking, experiment. Its name, ' Cavendish College,' testifies to the interest which the much- honoured Chancellor of the University has taken, and still takes, in its object. With the Duke of Devonshire, Mr. Samuel Morley worked, and spent, and risked much, to found a new college for the sons of the middle classes of England, who would not otherwise have obtained a residential con- nection with that great University. But the Duke of Devonshire and Mr. Morley wisely appealed to the middle class itself to take part in the foundation. That appeal has yet to be responded to. It was made with a large heart and an earnest sincerity. There was no political or sectarian object aimed at. The one purpose that Mr. Morley had in contributing, and in asking others to contribute, to Cavendish College, was to bring more and more of the youth of England, and especially those who were to be engaged in com- mercial pursuits, into a real and hving connection with the best educa- tional influences of their time. He said to me once, ' Perhaps, Mr. Brereton, if there had been a Cavendish College when I was a youth, Samuel Morley might have been able to do more for his country than he has done.' ' I am. Sir, Yours very truly, J. L. Beeeeton. With the growing years, Mr. Morley's attachment to his great pohtical chief grew and deepened. He entertained an unbounded admiration for the personal 404 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. character and public services of Mr. Grladstone which was difficult to distinguish from hero-worship. Although he would not aver that his illustrious chief could never go wrong, he was clearly under the im- pression that in nineteen times out of ^twenty he was right. In 1879, Mr. Gladstone attained his seventieth year, and Mr. Morley was anxious that it should be cele- brated in a manner that should mark the high esteem in which he was held. The following correspondence relates to this subject : — The Bight Hon. W. E. Grladstone to Mr. Samuel Morley. 73, Haeley Street, Oct. 28, 1879. My dear Mb. Morley, — I reached London on Saturday, and I liave since been laid up by a severe cold, wliich has not entirely left me, so that I must write more hastily than I could wish. But I think it necessary to address you, without delay, in reference to a plan, most gratifying to my feelings, on which you were the first to speak to me in the spring of this year. The design of honouring me with a banquet on the anticipated completion of my seventieth year is so flattering to me that I am naturally reluctant to withhold my assent from it. Had cir- cumstances permitted me to remain in that degree of political quietude which I was able to maintain in 1874 and 1875, I should thankfully have accepted the proposal, without fear of its being misunderstood. But the necessities of the period from 1876 onwards, have forced me into a constant activity ; while I remain as desirous as heretofore to do nothing which could appear to compromise, or tend to alter, my position as a private member of the Liberal party. The prospect of a General Election has led to my undertaking, in the county of Midlothian, a full share of the labour and excitement of the crisis, but this appears to render it especially needful that I should not, at such a period, be the object of a public demonstration elsewhere, whether in the form of a banquet or otherwise. I hold it to be, at this time, a duty of special obligation, for every 1871—1881.] LETTEB FBOM SABL GRANVILLE. 405 member of the party individually, to avoid whatever might tend to disturb its organization under its excellent leaders, ' or to weaken its action in pursuit of the greatest and most urgent national aims which have for many years been presented to it. I therefore respectfully and gratefully ask you to convey to those who have thus far been engaged in the design, my request, on public grounds, that it may not be further prosecuted. I remain, my dear Mr. Morley, Very faithfully yours, W. E. Gladstone. The Bight Hon. Earl Granville to Mr. Samuel Morley. Walmer Castle, Deal, Nov. 2, 1879. My dear Me. Morley, — Many thanks for your letter. It is only by a lucky chance that I have received it at Walmer. We have been packed up for some days, and were prevented, by an accidental circumstance, from starting last week. I need not say how glad I am of any excuse to get you under our roof, but I am bound to tell you that I can be of no use for the object of your letter. George Howard spoke to me about it last summer. I immediately sounded Gladstone, who gave me his reasons against it, of which I informed Howard. I have seen Gladstone twice since his return from abroad. We did not allude to the subject of the dinner, because we were neither aware that it was still being entertained. But last week he informed me that having heard that a circular had been printed, he thought it right at once to send a strong request that the plan might be dropped. I expressed my concurrence, and I know of no new circum- stances which would enable me consistently to press him to change his mind. I have been right, up to this time, in totally disbelieving that the Government would dissolve this year. There are obvious reasons why Lord Beaconsfield should wish to delay a dissolution. The Cabinet, generally, believe their great enemy to be the depression of trade and of agriculture. They have great hopes of an improvement. Our political demonstrations have been very successful ; the only danger is, lest their effect may evaporate before the moment of action arrives. It is, however, to be said that people's memories in the provinces are long. In London everything is forgotten in ten days. As regards the prospects of an election, the boroughs, both great and small, seem to be doing well. Our weak point is in the want of county candidates, and on this I should like much to say a few words to you which I have not ventured to write. In London, is it speeches, of which 406 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. the Londoners read so many every morning, that are required, or is it more attention to the business of organization ? I heard a Liberal voter complain the other day that he got the most business-like circulars from the Tories, but nothing from his own side. Yours sincerely, Granville. In this year, Mr. Samuel Morley also celebrated his seventieth birthday, and many were the con- gratulations he received. In 1880, an event occurred which caused him greater anxiety than any other event in the whole course of his long public life. There was no one whose influence was more powerful in Liberal Nonconformist centres than his, and to many constituencies, where the Non- conformist element was strong, he had, at the time of the General Election, been asked to send, and had dispatched, telegrams calling upon the electors to unite their efforts to keep out Tory candidates. When a similar application was received from Northampton, Mr. Morley was asked, " Shall we send the usual telegram? " and, without pausing to con- sider what was involved in the decision, he answered, " Yes, let it go." The telegram, similar to many others which he was constantly sending, was as follows : — I strongly urge the necessity of united effort in all sections of the Liberal party, and the sinking of minor and personal questions, with many of which I deeply sympathize, in order to prevent the return, in so •pronounced a constituency as Northampton, of even one Conservative., 1871— 1881.J NORTHAMPTON ELECTION. 407 Addressed to Northampton, it was a call to the electors to unite in returning Mr. Bradlaugh to Parliament ; it involved Mr. Morley in the apparent support of atheism and impiety, and of opinions on social questions which were hateful to all right- minded men. It was an inadvertence pure and simple ; but not until it was too late did Mr. Morley realize it,. Then, he did what only an honest, upright, and Christian man could do. Overwhelmed with grief that he, who had devoted his whole life to maintain the Christian faith, and exemplify it in the Christian hfe, should have become a stumbling-block to his brethren, he wrote, in a frank and simple way, the following letter to the JRecord, in which paper the circumstance had been fully discussed : — To tlie Editor of the ' Becord.' April 13, 1880. Sir, — I have only this evening had brought to my notice several state- ments and comments which have appeared in the Becord with reference to the Northampton election. I feel it is due to myself, and to many friends, that I should state what actually took place. Two or three days before the election at Northampton, and during the height of. the excitement, unusually great, of the election at Bristol, I received a letter asking for an immediate reply as to whether I would join with Mr. Adam in urging upon the Liberal electors the deshableness of union. In reply to that letter, in the hurry of the moment, I gave my assent to a telegram being dispatched in the af&rmative. I did not write a letter, as originally stated, and I did not, as a fact, write the telegram, although I do not in any way seek to avoid any responsibility for the transmission of the message. No feehng of pride, however, pre- vents my saying that I deeply regret the step I took, which was really 408 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. the work of a moment, and I feel assured that no one who knows me will doubt that I view with intense repugnance the opinions which are held by Mr. Bradlaugh on religious and social questions. I am, &c., S. MOELEY. Mr. Morley dM more than this. He did that which was hard for any man to do, and especially so for one of his temperament. In the protracted struggle and angry discussions which arose out of the question whether Mr. Bradlaugh was competent or entitled to take his seat, Mr. Morley separated himself from his Leader and from his party, and voted steadily against the ad- mission into the House of Commons of the man whose return had been assisted by his interposition — thus, in effect, confessing his regret for the action he had in- advertently taken. And further still, he offered to his constituents to resign his seat in Parliament rather than support Mr. Bradlaugh's claim to take his seat in the House. " If a substantial body of my constituents expect me to support that claim," he said, " I shall not hesitate an instant in placing the seat I hold at their disposal, although I value it more than anything I possess at the present moment." Further than this, Mr. Morley took an opportunity, not long afterwards, to declare explicitly his views on the point in question : — Mr. Bradlaugh (he said to the Bristol electors) is confessedly at the head of a party who are seeking persistently, and I may say offensively, to attack a faith which I hold more dearly than my political opinions. He is disseminating opinions which are calculated to undermine the 1871—1881.] MB. BBABLAVGE. 40» purity of our families. Therefore I feel indisposed to be a party to any change merely for the purpose of admitting Mr. Bradlaugh. I have the deepest oonvictiou that the time has come when we should make a stand as to the ground we should take as a nation, and I will not he a party by a hair's breadth in bringing about any arrangement for admitting a man whose principles I hold in detestation. I say this frankly and distinctly, and I am thankful that the question has been brought lap, so that there may be no mistake aboat it. This is the condition in which I find myself, and I place the position before you in the clearest manner. Mr. Morley did not resign his seat, and the in- cident, as far as he was concerned, soon ceased to be a matter of public discussion. But he could not so soon forget the painful episode, and it is not too much to say that the recollection of it remained as a bitter memory as long as he lived. For himself, he cared little ; for injury inadvertently done to the cause of Christ and morality, he grieved as only a whole- hearted Christian man can grieve. The admission of Mr. Bradlaugh to the House of Commons became, as will be remembered by most, readers, a party question, and for several sessions it engrossed a great deal of parliamentary time and public patience. Eventually, that is to say on the opening of Parliament on the 18th of January, 1886, with the consent of all parties, he took his seat, and has, from that time, acted in the capacity of a Member of Parliament. The first Session of the new Parhament of 1880 was a trying one for Mr. Morley. It continued well into September, and heated and disorderly controversies interfered with the debates proper to a deliberative 410 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. assembly. He was anxious to bring in a short Bill relating to the Bankruptcy Laws, and ventilated the qu.estion in a long letter to the Daily News, exposing the sinister uses to which the existing system was turned so as to defraud the creditor, facilitate dis- honesty on th5 part of the debtor, and further the interests of lawyers and accountants only. The question was fully discussed in the papers, but Mr. Morley was unable to do much with it in Par- liament. His health had been greatly shaken, but in August, writing to his daughter Augusta, he recorded : — • I am thankful to say Gladstone is very much better, and I am tboroughly myself again. You little thought how sadly your poor old father was out of sorts, but that is once more a thing of the past. Would that we lived more constantly in a daily spirit of recognition of the abounding mercy which surrounds us at every step! On the 12th of August, that daughter was married to the Eev. Marmaduke Washington, the present Yicar of St. George's, Tufnell Park. Por forty years Mr. Morley had been the friend and helper of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion. In August, 1881, an International Conference of these Associations was held in London, and he invited the delegates to spend a day at Hall Place. About 350 gentlemen and a few ladies, chiefly Americans, accepted the invitation, A special first-class train conveyed them to Hildenborough 1871—1881.] IN AMERICA. 411 Station, where carriages were ready to take those who wished to drive, to Mr. Morley's house. A luncheon, given in a large marquee, was presided Qver by the host, who expressed his pleasure at receiving, as his guests, Christian workers from all quarters of the globe. The entertainment to the Young Men's Christian Association was given on the eve of Mr. Morley's departure, in company with his youngest daughter and his son Arnold, for a tour in America, where he expected to meet another son, who had been for some months in Australia. No sooner was he on board the Gytliia, settled down to the enjoyment of sea life, than he declared "he could hardly conceive of anything so comfortable and refreshing as to find himself where not a single letter could reach him." This immunity from care continued throughout the tour. In order to ensure this, it was arranged that no correspondence, except that which it was absolutely imperative he should receive, should be forwarded, and this gave him a freedom to which, ever since he had been in business, he was a stranger. He employed a good deal of his leisure in writing to old friends and associates, as well as to members of his own family — not the short, terse notes which, in the ordinary course of things, he could only find time to write, but long friendly and descriptive letters which are greatly cherished by those who were for- tunate enough to receive them. The reception given to Mr. Morley in the United 412 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. States was worthy of the hospitality of the American people. Wherever he went, " honours " were paid to him; the newspapers chronicled his movements; the inevitable interviewers drew from him an expression of his " views " ; and paragraphists gave more or less accurate infornfe,tion as to his antecedents. In most of the large cities, the travellers were welcomed by the leading people of the place, and the represen- tatives of philanthropic and religious institutions, notwithstanding the fact that, as he assured his hosts, " he was not there in any representative capacity whatever." The kindness and cordiality of the people greatly impressed Mr. Morley, and in every respect he was pleased and gratified with his visit. On his return he gave to his friends and neighbours at Leigh a " Talk about America," in the National Schoolrooms of the village. The following rough notes of his lecture indicate the course of his travels and the things which most interested him : — New YorTt. Great heat. Elevated railways. Wonderful network of telegrapli and telephone wires. Marvellous Telegraph Office. Safe- Deposit Company. Newport (by sea). Up the harhour. Under great Brooklyn Bridge- Inside Long Island. Unique watering-plaee. Best New York society^ Each house a gem, in lovely gardens. Boston. Head-quarters of culture and learning. University of Har- vard, at Cambridge, close by. Visit to Longfellow, &c. Saratoga. Wonderful hotel ; 1,500 people ; season over, though still gay ; great sight when full. Judge Hilton, proprietor of hotel. Large, castle. 1871—1881.] NOTES OF TOUB IN AMEBICA. 413 By LaTie George — Lahe Ohamplain. Bxciuisite scenery, not unlike some of our Scotch lakes. Montreal. Great bridge over St. Lawrence. Lacliine Bapids. French population. Quebec by night boat down St. Lawrence. Saw great floating rafts. ' Lumber trade.' Only one-fourth of the population Protestant. By Montreal to — Ottawa. Seat of central government. Splendid Parliament Houses. ' Lumber ' yards, tJie trade of the country. Lucifers. Pail manufac- tories. By rail and boat down — St. Lawrence, through the One Thousand Islands and Lake Ontario, to— Toronto. Fine city. Good schools. Normal school. Niagara. Indescribable grandeur. As much water goes over in an hour as is supplied to London by various companies in a weele. Cleveland. Bemains of funeral ceremonies of President Garfield. Flourishing town on Lake Erie. By sleeping cars to — Chicago. Wonderful commercial activity, and recovery from terrible effects of several great fires. ' Pullman.' Pig -killing establishment. Stock-yards. Field, Leiter, and Co., ' dry goods stores.' Fire Patrol Company. St. Paul and Minneapolis. Flour mills. Governor Pillsbury. Min- nesota. Lemars, Iowa. Captain Moreton. Close and Benson. By Chicago to — Cincinnati, Ohio. Many Germans. Musical. Mammoth Caves, Kentucky. Enormous extent.. Short route, nine miles ; long route, eighteen miles. Only equalled by oaves at Adelsberg, in Austria. By Louisville and Cincinnati to — Pittsburg. Centre of coal and iron district. By beautiful Horse Shoe Bend, Through the Alleghany Mountains, to — Washington. Splendid public buildings. Capitol, most magnificent iDuilding in the world. ' City of magnificent distances.' Baltimore. Great hospital. Bequests. John Hopkins University. 414 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XX. Law of Executors in Maryland. Trustees under wills, 5 per cent, if one person, 8 if two, 10 if three. Philadelphia. Formerly Quaker city. Wanamaker ' Stores.' Girard College. Penitentiary (Dickens). Independence Hall. New YorTc. Corrupt government. Fine streets. Fifth Avenue. Central Park. Magnificent private palaces. CHAPTEE XXI. 1881—1884. Aoeumulation of Letters — The Bankruptcy Laws — Payment of Wages in Public- houses — Mr. Bradlaugh — Mr. Gladstone's Ecclesiastical Appointments — National Liberal Club — Dons the Blue Eibbon — Temperance Legislation — Licensing Laws — Eoyal Commissions — Pocket-book Entries — Threatened Retirement from Parliament — ^Visitors at Wood Street — A Serious Warning — At Cannes — Letters to Mr. Arnold Morley — Franchise and Eedistribution Bills — Ideas of Eeoreation — The Eoyal Victoria Hall — Miss Cons — Working Men's Clubs — Christmas and the Poor. When Mr. Morley returned from America, he found an accumulation of 2,000 letters requiring his personal attention — enough in itself to greatly diminish the advantage of the recreation he had allowed himself, had he not acquired a happy facility of making " short work" of correspondence. Immediately after his return, he threw himself with renewed vigour into all his old pursuits, and took up an almost endless variety of new subjects to deal with. Every year his engagements multiplied, insomuch that it is almost impossible to enumerate them. In Parliament, he rendered important service in calling attention to the defective working of the Bankruptcy Act, and among city men he advocated 416 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. the duty of assisting to lessen fraudulent bankruptcy by insisting upon good book-keeping. To one of bis correspondents on this subject he wrote : — It is not easy to suggest a mode by whicli to secure this. I have nearly lost all faith in the creditor class. Their practice, for some years, has been, on the occurrence of a failure, at once to divest themselves of all further power to interfere by executing proxies almost to the first com.er, by which they transfer, either to a solicitor or an accountant, a power which has been most grossly abused to the enormous cost of •creditors. The history of the working of the 125th and 126th Clauses of the Bankruptcy Act of 1869 is a record of infamy. I lose heart on the subject, but mean, while I remam in Parliament, to do my best to lessen the power which third-rate lawyers and accountants have, by a system, as I am assured, of playing into each other's hands to feather their own nests. Mr. Morley's greatest parliamentary effort during this session was in taking charge, in the House of Commons, of Earl Stanhope's Bill "to prohibit the payment of wages to workmen in public-houses and certain other places." It involved him in a vast amount of labour, as he sent far and wide to collect information as to the existence of the custom. But he was more than repaid for his efforts, inasmuch as the Bill passed into law, and a system, which had wrought nothing but mischief, was s-wept away. While the question as to the admission of Mr. Bradlaugh to the House of Commons was being warmly discussed, a clergyman in Northampton wrote to Mr. Morley asking how he would vote if he were an elector of that borough. He answered as follows : — 1881—1884.] ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS. 417 My dear Sie, — I have no right to decline a reply to your inquiry in reference to your present contest. If I were an elector of Northampton, I should vote for the Conservative candidate. I should do this as an act of allegiance to God and to pubUo morality, and without the slightest compromise of my attachment — never so strong as at the present moment — to Liberal principles. I am, dear Sir, Yours very faithfully, S. MOKLEY. Early in this year, Mr. Morley wrote to the Prime Minister on the subject of an ecclesiastical appoint- ment which Mr. Morley was anxious to see conferred upon one whose claims, in his opinion, entitled him to special consideration. The following is an extract from Mr. Gladstone's reply :— I do not know of any new See likely to call for a nomination within a limited period, eixcept Newcastle. I look on all episcopal recom- mendations as entailing on me the very highest responsibility, and the circumstances of a new See tend even to enhance this responsibility. Moreover, I am grievously shocked, and seriously alarmed, at the sad disclosures made in the large towns by the late religious censuses. They are not flattering as respects the Nonconformists ; but as respects the EstabUshed Church, they are (not to use a stronger word) deplorable. Everything conduces to bind me to recommend the man who, to the best of my judgment, with the best aid I can get, will give the most powerful evangelical impulse to his flock. In this light I should be happy to examine the claims of . In November, a meeting was held to discuss the establishment of a National Liberal Club. The resolution, proposing that such a club be established, was moved by the Marquis of Hartington, and 28 418 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. seconded by Mr. Morley, who felt strongly the neces- sity of such a step, as calculated to do hiestimable service both to the Liberal cause and to the members of the Liberal party. But the subject that, more than any other, claimed the attention *of Mr. Morley this year, and indeed to the end of his life, was Total Abstinence. An impetus was given to his zeal by attending a meeting, in January, 1882, in the Colston Hall, Bristol, of the Gospel Temperance Mission, under the conduct of Mr. E. T. Booth. " I 'have come," said Mr. Morley, "to enlist under the Blue Eibbon; " and when he had addressed the meeting on "the greatest evil the world had ever known," Mr. Booth pinned the " bit of blue" — the sign of pledged teetotalism — on Mr. Morley's coat amid the enthusiastic cheering of the vast audience, to whom, as he left the platform, he said, " his departing prayer was, that they might none of them be ashamed of their colours." Mr. Morley was never ashamed of his. » He wore it in the House, in the home, on all occasions, and on every coat. Up to the year 1878, he had been under the con- viction that moral suasion was sufficient to cope with the evil of intemperance. The speech in which he announced himself to be a convert of Sir WUfrid Lawson, was delivered at a meeting of young men, in the warehouse in Wood Street, early in that year. He used these words — characteristic of his respect for the individuality of others : — 1881—1884.] THE TEMPEBANCE MOVEMENT. 419 I have come reluctantly to the opinion that we must have legislation. I do not see a chance of getting any substantial relief without some form of legislative action, and I am in this mind, that while the subject is large, and requires to be dealt with on a broad basis, I am prepared to accept any form of legislation that would give me a substantial part of the remedy I want. I do not desire to oppress those who differ from me, and I am unconscious of ever having uttered an intemperate word upon the Temperance question ; yet I should fall short of my duty if I did not raise a warning voice against this great and growing evil. The services that Mr. Morley rendered to the Tem- perance cause throughout his hfe, and especially in the later years of it, can never be told. He was presi- dent of a large number of Temperance Societies (not the least influential being the City of London Total Abstainers' Union) ; he rarely made a speech without introducing the subject, and he spent money freely in causing the circulation of healthy literature on the question. It was at his instance that Mr. Gustafson prepared his great work, " The Foundation of Death," some hundred copies of which Mr. Morley presented to friends whom he thought were open to the influence of its arguments and evidence. When forwarding a copy to Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Morley wrote : — May I ask for this really striking volume a perusal when, if ever, you may have a spare hour or two ? Very many earnest men are engaged in efforts to induce the people to be a law unto themselves, and the rapid spread of the Blue Eibbon is giving encouraging evidence that we are not working without results. We are not, however, sanguine enough to believe that we can reach the great end at which we aim, without some form of legislative action, and you will permit nae to add that very many of your heartiest and truest friends are indulging the hope that it maybe your crowning honour to lead them to a iSnal and victorious onslaught 420 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXL against this greatest of all modern social evils — greatest because so dis- tinctly the parent of other evils. A sermon preached by Canon Wilberforce under the dome of St, Paul's, in favour of total abstinence, upon the text,," Sound an alarm," greatly pleased Mr. Morley, who sent a copy of it to every Nonconformist minister in England and Wales, with a note, litho- graphed in fac-simile, requesting that it might be read. In response to this request, the sermon was read from several hundred Nonconformist pulpits. He acquired considerable information as to the licensing laws of other countries, and turned it to excellent account. We append an extract from a letter written by an Austrian gentleman of position : — In some parts of Austria, and particularly in Trieste, there exists a municipal law, \jfhich compels every proprietor of a cafe, or heer, or spirit- seller, to keep an urn of pure water at the disposal of the public, andl any man, woman, or child can go in, help themselves, or ask for a glass of water (or more) gratis, and, in case of refusal, which seldom happens, the proprietor is heavily fined. Further, these estabhshments are com- pelled to keep at the entrance-door a tub constantly filled with water for the use of the dogs. The above laws are part and parcel of the license granted by the Municipality. Through these laws, every cafe, beer, or spirit establishment in the town and environs, is converted into a drinking- fountain, not only for human beings, but also for dogs. Many institutions, societies, and movements sup- ported by Mr. Morley, and apparently unconnected with temperance, were made by him powerful auxiliaries to that cause. He gave his aid to several of 1881—1884.] BOYAL COMMISSIONS. 421 the societies for protecting the Sabbath. For many years he was vice-president of the Working Men's Lord's Day Eest Association, and warmly supported Mr. Broadhurst's opposition to the opening of Museums and Galleries on Sunday. But he looked at the question, to a large extent, in the light of the Temperance cause. In the same way, when he was appointed one of the Eoyal Commission for Housing the Poor, his office became an important auxiliary to the Tem- perance movement. He had not sat long upon the Commission before he publicly asserted, on the strength of the evidence brought before him, "that three-fourths of the misery of London was self- inflicted." Later, he said, " he had consulted all the relieving officers of London, and their testimony, which was unvaried, was to the effect that at least three-fourths of the people receiving parish relief, attributed their condition to the results of drink," His experiences and observations, in connection with the Eoyal Commission, made him more than ever a Prohibitionist ; and he declared his behef that " a new party, having Prohibition for its basis and aim, whose existence should be wholly bound up in the success of Prohibition, was the only adequate means for the abolition of the traffic." This was not the only Eoyal Commission on which Mr. Morley was placed. He was one of the members of the Executive Committee of the Fisheries Ex- hibition and of the Health Exhibition, and he 422 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. rendered important service on both, but especially on tbe former ; be sought also to make it the occasion of a reform in tbe fisb trade, so as to place a plentiful supply at a cbeap rate witbin tbe reacb of tbe poorest of "tbe people." It was from*tbe standpoint of "tbe people" that Mr. Morley viewed many important subjects and assisted many important institutions. Tbe Hospital Saturday Pund, for example, found in bim a zealous advocate and a most willing helper.' "I look upon tbe Saturday Hospital Fund as a great blessing to the working classes," he said on one occasion. " Trades Unions teach them to think for themselves, tbe Saturday Fund teaches them to think for others, and there true blessedness begins." Mr. Morley was in the habit of carrying with him a pocket-book, in which he kept rough notes of engagements. These books were always of the same kind, and contained a number of blank pages in front, on which he was wont to jot down thoughts as they arose, or quotations which may have struck bim as being of value. In the note-book for 1883, immediately after a list of promises to various benevolent objects, amounting in all to £6,195, are tbe following entries : — May the new year bring with' it stronger faith, brighter hopes, and enlarged capacities for usefulness, leading me to a fuller trust in Him who is strength to the weak and comfort to the mourner, and a very present help in the hour of our greatest need ! 1881- 1884.] JOTTINGS FROM A POCKET-BOOK. 423 Eemember that the Christian never can laclc comfort so long as he lacks not faith. ' Let not your heart be troubled,' &c. Be Thou with us in all, and give us -wisdoui and grace always to see Thy hand, and to accept Thy decision, and to trust Thy love. Man's wisdom is to seek His strength in God alone An angel would be weak Who trusted in his own. A selfish Christianity is a contradiction in terms. Oh the power of words ! once spoken, they can never be recalled ; they will vibrate through the universe for ever. Speak kindly. Horrible ! At a meeting of Freethinkers, held in Chambers Street Hall, to consider the prosecution of the Freethinker, the Chairman said : ' It raight be considered a bold thing to say, but he held that the liberty to worship was bondage if there was not also liberty to blaspheme.' Meeting was held March 11, 1883. Reported in Scotsman March 12, 1883. ' If you have nothing to do with God,' says Baxter, ' He will quickly let you know that He will have nothing to do with you.' I think, for all of us, it must surely be good to be more to ourselves as the shadows lengthen, while awaiting the dawn of the everlasting Foresee and prepare everything ; trust nothing to chance ; ' the chapter of accidents is found only in the Bible of fools.' We lose what on ourselves we spend. We have, as treasure without end. Whatever, Lord, to Thee we lend — • Who givest all. In the spring of 1883, Mr. Morley announced to his constituents that, in the event of a dissolution of 424 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. Parliament, he should not again seek re-election. Many reasons combined to make it imperative that he should take this step. He had received warnings with regard to his health, which no man who had passed the age of threescore years and ten could neglect with impunity ; he had suffered from the strain of late hours; he longed for leisure to devote himself more exclusively to works of philanthropy. "When he entered Parliament, his sole object was to be of use to his country ; the national distinction and the social advantages attaching to a seat in the Legislature, never weighed with him for a moment. Now, it seemed to him, he could serve his country better by withdrawing from Parliament than by remaining there. The results of all the strife and turmoil of parliamentary life were comparatively barren and transitory ; those of labour in works of benevolence and piety were abundant and permanent, and he chose the latter. Conservatives as well as Liberals joined in ex- pressions of regret at his decision, which was con- veyed in terms that rendered it impossible to hope that he would again yield to the wishes of his friends, and continue to represent the great Western port in the House of Commons. It was not, however, until the General Election, two years later, that he vacated his seat. It would, without doubt, have been better for him, personally, if he had done so at an earlier date. The strain upon him of increasing toil was more than any man could 1881—1884.] ILLNSSS. 425 well endure. Frequently in a single day he attended to most important matters in connection with his own business, then spoke at meetings and worked on Committees, and finally was in his place in the House of Commons to support any, good cause that needed help. Mr. Morley's public and private influence were at their height. From all quarters, and on every con- ceivable subject, his opinion was sought. He was in constant communication with Lord Shaftesbury on the great subject of Housing the Poor, Sabbath Observance, and a number of other questions ; he had the confidence of all the leaders of the working men — Mr. Cremer, Mr. Howell, Mr. Broadhurst, and others. Earl Fortescue was one of his frequent -visitors in Wood Street, and the Duke of Devonshire was one of his correspondents. Professor Jowett sometimes conferred with him, and Mr. Spurgeon wrote : " Perhaps no two persons are more at one upon most things, and therefore it is right pleasant to be associated distinctly and formally." Men of all ranks and of every shade of opinion consulted him, and ungrudgingly he yielded himself, his time, his talents, and his money, to the public good. But he had reached the limit of human endurance. One day, in December of this year, he was attacked with faintness and giddiness while at the Eeform Club, but was well enough, a few minutes later, to ride in a cab to 34, Grosvenor Street, his town house, where he saw Dr. Harper, and, by his advice, Dr. 426 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. George Johnson, who met him in consultation on the following morning. Mr. Morley was sufficiently recovered to return to Hall Place on the following day, and he appeared soon to regain his usual health, hut for some weeks he complained ctf giddiness when walking. It was the beginning of the end, although the only indication that the time of decay and failure was at hand was the occasional appearance of lassitude and weariness. But those who knew him best, despite his still untiring labour and his cheeriness of spirit and manner, feared that the end was not very far off. Early in the new year (1884), Mr. Morley, accom- panied by several of his family, visited Cannes, staying at the Hotel Paradis, which had been recommended to him by his brother-in-law, Mr. Justice Denman, and where he made the acquaint- ance of Sir Henry Keating. He enjoyed fairly good health while at Cannes, frequently held conversa- tions with his friend, the late Sir John Mellor, who was staying at a neighbouring hotel, and visited Lord and Lady Wolverton and other friends. Although Mr. Morley had been relieved by his sons for some years of all attention to details of business, he did not relinquish its general oversight, and during his visit to the South of Prance his interest in all that concerned the business was as keen as ever, and especially in that part of it which related to the interests of his employes. He had long wished 1881—1884.] AT CANNES. 427 to be able to introduce a system of " profit sharing ; " lie took with him to Cannes, Sedley Taylor's work on the subject, and read it through, and, as he said, " thought the whole matter over a hundred times, but could not see his way to it." It was easy to see how it would work in successful years, but not in years of depression. A few extracts from the correspondence of Mr. Morley at this time will indicate some of the currents of his thoughts : — Mr. Morley to his Son Arnold. Cannes, Fei. 17, 1884. My DEAR Arnold, — . . . Letmetliank you for two or three letters giving me information, and during the next fortnight one or two in addition will be very acceptable. I don't want the fact to be too generally known, only because it may lead to demands for service, but it is our intention, all being well, to put in an appearance at Hall Place on Saturday, the 1st of March. I hope you may be able to give us a meeting there. I am be- ginning to inquire about the train being stopped at Tonbridge. I have had a very pleasant, and I think beneficial, change. I think, however, I have learnt that I must do less. I have had repeated chats with Mellor and Keating, both capital Liberals. I am glad to hear from E. Walkin, who is here, that the majority will be about sixty. He intended to vote against Government, but I found him a pair (Stewart). Direct for a week to Poste Eestante, Mentone. My two companions unite in much love with Yours affectionately, S. Morley. Mr. Morley to his Son Arnold. Mentone, Feb. 20, 1884. Dear Arnold, — Tour telegram to Cannes informing me of the division was forwarded to Nice, where we spent part of to-day. I consider forty- nine a good majority, if the Home Eulers went with the Tories. Events 428 SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Chap. XXI. in the Soudan have certainly gone adverse to the Government. I trust ■we shall have no more disasters ; I am anxious to see some particulars of defaulters and pairs. You would kindly, at my request, see that I was entered as having paired. I had not secured such an entry before ; I shall hope to be at home at the time named, 1st of March. I considered Dilke's request * carefully, but was somewhat hurried, as ho was anxious to have the list ready. He so emphasized the wish that I would give him my name, even although I could not attend regularly, that I felt bound to comply, especially as I might support him in his resistance to overmuch legislation. I had observed the line he and Harcourt took, in two long speeches, to a rather important deputation, and so felt safe in connecting myself with the move. I don't know whether Blest has seen you about presiding at a meeting of the young men in Wood Street, at the annual meeting of their Missionary Society. I hope either you or Charlie will consent. The subject of a dozen sentences would appropriately be the fact that men's sympathies aU round are being excited by the condition in which the people are living, and there is a loud call on every one who has influence — and who has not ? — to exercise it for the benefit of others ; and you might add, as I have often done, that you feel a pride in being indirectly connected with a house where so many are giving practical proof of this sympathy. I was greatly disappointed at finding the result of the Northampton Election. It would have been an immense relief to have had a different result. With our united love, Your affectionate father, S. MOELEY. Mr. Morley to his Daughter, Mrs. Marmaduhe Washington. Paris, Feb. 28, 1884. One more line of love. We are thus far on our way to dear home — dearer than ever. I forget who it was, but I believe a distinguished man who had travelled much, offered this testimony : ' The longer I live, and the more extensive my travels and my opportunities of seeing other peoples, and their customs and modes of life, the more I find reason for thankfulness that I am an Englishman.' But the greatest cause for thankfulness is, that heart is knit to heart, and it is that * The request referred to was that Mr. Morley would act on the Eoyal Commission for Housing the Working Classes. 1881—1884.] FRANCHISE AND BEDISTBIBUTION BILLS. 429 which makes home so dear. . . . We have a most beautiful portrait on china of that very dear mother of yours, which dear Howard has had done, and of which I should like to give you a copy. It represents her as sweet and attractive as she looked forty years ago. There ! what do you say to that ? Soon after his return from the South of Prance, Mr. Moiiey was present at the marriage of his eldest son, Hope, who, two years previously, had been admitted a Director of the Bank of England. In this year, too, Mr. Morley greatly interested himself in the Eoyal College of Music, of which his son Charles is the Secretary, and, partly in connec- tion with this movement, paid a visit in November to the Prince and Princess of Wales at Sandring- ham, from which place he wrote, " Nothing could exceed our pleasant reception here." In the Eoyal Speech on the opening of Parliament, on the 5th of February, 1884, a measure was promised "for the enlargement of the occupation-franchise in parliamentary elections throughout the United Kingdom," and the same evening Mr. Gladstone gave notice that " on the first available day, he would move for leave to bring in the Bill." Of the pro- gress of that Bill, and of the Government Kedistribu- tion Bill — of the action of the Lords in setting aside, in two days, the Franchise Bill, which had cost the House of Commons exactly four months of labour, of the excited feeling of the country, and the threatened determination " to mend or end the House of Lords," we have no need to write particularly, as it is a 430 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. matter of such recent history. Throughout the long struggle, Mr. Morley threw all his old energy on to the side of "the people," and took part in public meetings at Bristol and elsewhere on the subject. As the years advanced, the sympathies of Mr. Morley broadened and deepened in many ways. In his earlier life he had taken somewhat narrow views of recreation, and had a Puritan dread of what are termed "worldly amusements." The fact was that he had never felt any need of them himself; the home of his childhood had been full of attraction for him ; his own home had been made bright and beau- tiful by all that love and wealth could bring to it, and, as regarded his family, he had given them every facility to find their enjoyments in what he considered innocent amusements. It was impossible, however, that with his " open mind" he could view the rapid changes that were taking place in general opinion on the question of public amusements, and retain the exact attitude towards them that he had done in his earlier years. He had been constantly urging that " the people must have recreation," and the question forced itself upon him, "What shall that recreation be?" It was good for men to read, but it was no recreation to many, unless, when the day's work was done, they could smoke their pipes at the same time. There was a smoking-room in his own family mansion, a smoking-room in the young men's quarters in 1881—1884.] AMUSEMENTS. 431 Wood Street — why should not men smoke in their clubs and institutes and reading-rooms and coffee palaces ? There was no good reason to the contrary, and so Mr. Morley freely conceded the point, although he retained his dislike to smoking to the last. The evil of smoking was mainly in its association with drink, and there he drew the line. Then came the question of billiards. In his earlier days bagatelle had, by some absurd distinction, been regarded as a permissible game, whereas billiards had been branded as a " worldly " game. If men played games of these kinds at all, it was surely a sensible thing that they should play the best, and those which required the exercise of the greatest skill. There was a billiard- room at Hall Place, where Mr. Morley often enjoyed a game with his sons and their friends — why should there not be one wherever it could be afforded, in club and institute and coffee palace ? There was no good reason to the contrary, and Mr. Morley conceded this point freely. It was not until quite late in life that he turned his attention to the whole question of amusements. JSTor is this to be wondered at, for, in the first place, he had been intensely engaged upon questions which he had deemed to be of more vital importance ; and, in the second place, it is only in quite recent years that professedly Christian people have begun to look into the matter in a really tolerant spirit. It seemed to Mr. Morley, that as the masses would have amuse- ments, and as they were increasingly in demand, it 432 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. would be wiser to seek to purify them of evils, which are not of necessity their essential elements, than to denounce them altogether. One aspect of this question, when it was brought before him, he faced with Christian common sense. The Yictoridr Theatre, in the Waterloo Bridge Eoad (formerly known as the " Old Vic," or " Queen Vic- toria's Own Theayter"), was once the resort of the lowest of the low, the scum of the New Cut and its miserable courts and alleys. It was the meeting- place of the beggary and rascality of London, the focus of every form of vice. It was, as Charles Kingsley says in "Alton Locke," " a licensed pit of darkness, a trap of temptation — profligacy and ruin triumphantly yawning night after night." The testimony of the police was unanimous, that it was hardly safe for decent people even to pass by it. " Seldom a Saturday passed without seven or eight police cases, sometimes thirty or forty, and on Boxing nights we have had to clear the gallery." The bloodthirsty tragedies performed on the stage, with " Bravo Hicks " as the hero ; the wretched dramas of the " Jack Sheppard " and " Claude Duval" type; the unlimited sale of intoxicants between the acts, and the saturnalia in the streets at midnight, when the performances were over — combined to make the " Old Vic " a hotbed of crime. All this was greatly changed in 1880, when, at Christmas time, the " Vic " was reopened as the "Victoria Temperance Music Hall," the staple at- 1881—1884.] THE BOYAL VICTOBIA HALL. 438 traction being a "Variety Entertainment," consisting of coraic songs, clog-dancing, hornpipes, acrobatic performances, nigger minstrelsy, performing animals, comic ballets, and such like — the ordinary entertain- ment at music-halls, but cleansed from objectionable matter. The movement was originated by a com- pany, and it was hoped that the Hall would be self- supporting, and perhaps yield a dividend. A short time sufficed to prove that the hope was ill-founded, and the company was wound up by voluntary liqui- dation. "When the Yictoria Hall was first started, Mr. Morley did not join the movement, on the ground that the promoters did not contemplate anything beyond music-hall performances, and of these he strongly disapproved. There were, however, many who had watched the scheme, and were convinced that it had been a moral success, although a financial failure. They accordingly formed themselves into a committee, raised subscriptions to help them in the work, and determined to reorganize the affair on a different plan, namely, to improve the quality of the performances, and to devote certain evenings to ballad concerts, temperance meetings, and science lectures, as well as to the inevitable ''Variety Entertainment." Mr. Morley satisfied himself that few things were more wanted for the poorer classes than a reform in their amusements. He took into consideration the tastes and the habits of the people to be catered for, 29 484 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. quite apart from his own tastes and habits, and when he was assured that nothing would be permitted that could reasonably be construed as wrong, he gave in his adhesion to the movement. On the 19th of June, 1882, he warmly advocated the cause at the annual meeting, held that year at the Mansion House,. and, in the course of his speech, told a quaint story of a Quaker who at a certain meeting had said, "My friends, there is a vast amount of feeling being spoken about, but I should like to know how much your feelings amount to ? " Mr. Morley added, " I should like to ask the same question of this meeting. I feel £500 a year for five years, and I hope many others will do the same." It was not, however, until after his return from Cannes, in 1884, that he joined the Executive Com- mittee, and threw himself heart and soul into the movement. It was at a most important period, in fact, a crisis in the history of the committee, that he came forward. But for his so coming, the work would, in all probability, have collapsed. The annual rent was a burden that the funds could not bear ; but an opportunity presented itself of buying the remainder of the lease, and, if this could be done, the funds would be relieved for a period of thirteen years from the greater part of the rent. Towards the purchase, a lady gave the munificent sum of £1,000 to Miss Cons, who from the first had been the mainstay of the whole movement. She brought the matter before Mr. Morley, and he, without 1881—1884.] THE BOYAL VICTORIA HALL. 435 a moment's hesitation, said, " I will give the same if you can get the remaining a62,000 to make up the required sum." The influence of his name worked wonders ; the old committee, dispirited by the long continued strain of their uphill work, took fresh courage, the required sum was subscribed, and the Eoyal Victoria Hall started forth on a new career of usefulness. He felt, however, that the cause needed moral support and personal service no less than gifts of money, and he determined to devote his energies to the work. At first he was quite inexperienced in the business, so, with his usual persistent earnestness, he began at the beginning, went thoroughly into every detail, made himself master of all the machinery of the concern, and, as he said, "qualified himself for partnership." Miss Cons, in a letter to the present writer, says : — He constantly expressed his determination to do his share in our ' happy partnership,' as he always termed our work together. And indeed it was a happy partnership for us, as his clear head and warm, sympathetic heart were always a tower of strength to us against worries and petty troubles which fritter away one's powers. His speeches aroused pubUo attention, so that money and helpers came to our aid, and I was thankful not to have to claim his oft-repeated promises, ' Now, don't you worry about money. I will not let this important work flag for want of that. It is not fair that you workers should be troubled on that score.' He took such interest in every detail that, in spite of his many engage- ments, he continually made Httle appointments to see me and consult about matters rather than trust to letter discussions. Then he would run into the Hall for an hour, and see what lecture or other entertainment was going on, and his rare keen enjoyment was quite refreshing to us who are tired out with such things. On other nights he would come to 436 SAMUEL MOSLEY. [Chap. XXI. take the chair at the Science Lectures, and encourage the men to a higher life. On November 24, 1884, he came to open our then newly-formed Working Men's Club, and gave a splendidly inspiriting address to the men. His cheery, hearty way, and his grandly broad tolerance of differences of creed or of poUtics, endeared him to all, and the men admired him so much . that, whenever he came to meet them, they all (over one hundred) crammed into their small roo^, so that on his coming out he laughingly declared ' he had been in a vapour bath all the evening ! ' Deeply as he was interested in the working men and their culture, yet his pure, child-like nature enjoyed greatly some of the entertainments ; and one night, when he was going into the club-rooms to address the men, he ran back to laughingly beg me ' not to have the boy's head out off until he came back to see it.' This referred to the performance of a conjuror we had at that time, who, amongst his tricks, cleverly pretended to cut off a boy's head and put it on again. It will be well in this place to give Mr. Morley's own words with regard to this subject, and we do, so in the hope that the perusal may induce some to con- tinue and extend the scope of this and kindred work. It is needed not only among the poor and the outcast, but to quite as great an extent among the young men of our large cities, in order to place before them the highest and best forms of amusement. Clerks and shop assistants and others are not often attracted by the entertainments provided for them by Young Men's Associations, and they have no other choice than to seek their amusements in the midst of the pernicious surroundings that environ them. A meeting for the purpose of hearing an account of the work, connected with the Eoyal Victoria Coffee Hall was. held at G-rosvenor House, under the presidency of the Duke of Westminster, and, in moving a resolution^ Mr. Morley said : — 1881—1884.] AMUSEMENTS FOB THE PEOPLE. 437 I remember hearing of a charity sermon in which the clergyman, having given out his text, ' He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord,' instead of preaching a sermon, said, ' My friends, you have heard the terms ; if you approve of the objects of this charity, down with the dust.' I may say then, briefly, that I honestly believe this movement to deserve the utmost support we can give it. I have giveji some proof of it, by joining heartily a band who are determined to stand by Miss Cons, She, and other noble ladies and gentlemen, are coming to the front, which is just what is wanted in connection with the down-trodden condition of our poor, and we, who are in better positions, should get into contact vrith them, not so much by giving large sums of money as by making them feel that we sympathize with them. I have been to the Victoria Hall several times. I don't know that I have ever laughed so much as on these occasions. I believe in good hearty laughter, it tends to health. The proceedings have consisted of music, fun, and temperance addresses, in which I believe as ardently as my friend who has just addressed you. The great object of these attractive entertainments is to win people from the public-house. I have seen thousands Ustening to good music. On one occasion tumblers occupied the stage. I am not a theatre-goer, but I did most heartily enjoy the real fun, absolutely divested of anything gross or immoral. I feel that in our enormous London population there are vast bodies of people socially depressed, and there are very many who know little about what is going on below the surface. Can people con- ceive what is meant when told that husband, wife, and six children are living in a single room ? These people will go somewhere in the evenmg to seek amusement. I hold it to be a Christian duty to give them amuse- ment. I took occasion to acquaint myself with the character of the entertainments at the Victoria Hall, and the amount of work being done. I cannot resist my share of responsibiUty in this work, and I hold that those who are workers in such an enterprise are entitled to be clear of financial anxiety. Evidence is accumulating as to the conditions of filth, depression, and moral ruin, in which vast masses of the population of London are hving. At our peril we must do something to win them to a better and a higher life. I beheve this movement to be a legitimate mode of at least doing something to forward that work. I join it heartily; and what we want is an extended partnership — more partners in an enterprise which involves no liabiUty. This partnership can bring only satisfaction, because ' the work is already proved by results which afford ample compensation 438 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXI. for any pecuniary outlay you may make ; for 240,000 persons attended the Victoria Hall during last year. Out of that vast number, many must hate been won to a better life by the kind of entertainments offered, including as they do admirable lectures, which are listened to with deepest interest by large audiences. Christmas was always a happy season in the home of Mr. Morley, and he strove to make it, as far as it lay in his power, a happy time also among the poor. The masses of evergreen that made the Victoria Hall and its club and class-rooms so beautiful at Christmas time, were sent by him from his park at Leigh. By speech, by purse, by personal influence, by con- stant attendance at the committee meetings, and by study of every detail calculated to promote the interests of the cause, Mr. Morley became the warmest and most active friend the work had ever known, and he only relinquished his labours on its behalf with his life. Had his life been spared a few more years, a dream that he had dreamed would probably have " come true," and the " Old Yic." would have developed into " The People's Palace for South London," not, perhaps, on the giant scale on which it has been attempted at the East End, but with an object as comprehensive. CHAPTEE XXII. NOTES OF SPEECHES. The Art of Speaking — Voice — Manner — Methods — Sir James Graham's " Re- volvers " — Dr. Arnold — Half-sheets of Paper — Political Subjects — The House of Commons and the House of Lords — Quotations — Parliamentary Waste of Time — Mr. Gladstone— Education— A Word to Boys — Thrift — Sunday Labour — England's Greatness — "Texts" for Speeches — Tem- perance — Speeches on Eeligious Questions — Congregationalism — Church and State — Missionary Work — To Young Men — Apt Illustrations — Allu- sions and Quotations — Foreign Missions — The Bible — Religious Difficulties. There were few men of his generation who took a larger share in pubhc speaking than Mr. Samuel Morley. As we have seen, he began at a very early age and continued his labours on the platform till the close of his long career. It is an illustration of his indomitable energy that he was so good a speaker as he was. He had many difficulties to overcome before he could speak in public with ease, and these difficulties increased rather than diminished as he grew in popularity, and was called upon to address audiences night after night upon almost every con- ceivable subject. But, having convinced himself in his youth that he could not serve his generation unless he could express himself with ease and fluency, he qualified himself for the task, and it was remark- 440 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXII. able how well he succeeded, and how each successive stage in his career exhibited an increase of power as a speaker — an increase, in fact, in proportion to the widening of the sphere in which his influence was to be exercised. " Speak not.at all in anywise," says Carlyle in one of his Essays, " till you have somewhat to speak ; care not for the reward of your speaking, but simply, and with undivided mind, for the truth of your speaking." It was in the spirit of this advice that all Mr. Morley's speeches were conceived. They were simple, straightforward, honest utterances, spoken without the least regard for effect, never approaching florid rhetoric, rarely rising to the height of what is termed eloquence, but always full of that " discretion of speech" which. Lord Bacon tells us, "is more than eloquence." In his influence as a speaker he was not indebted to his voice, for, although it was full and manly and pleasant, it had no striking variety of tones, or rich melodiousness ; nor did he owe his influence to diction, for he never indulged in flights of fancy, never in words of poetic tenderness that " like flakes of feathered snow melted as they fell;" he rarely spoke argumentatively, and never passionately. He seldom broached a new theory, never excited an audience with appeals to their imagination, never sent them to their homes with minds confused with manifold speculations. And yet everybody liked to hear him speak. They ON TEE PLATFORM. 441 knew, of a certainty, that they would not hear a bril- hant oration, but they were equally certain that they would hear good common sense, expressed with clear- ness and force ; they knew that whatever the subject might be, he would throw into it earnestness and conscientiousness, and that they would not have to search for his meaning in a multitude of words ; they knew it would not be one of "those cart-rope speeches that are longer than -the memory of man can fathom," of which old Owen Feltham complained generations before public speaking became a vice ; they knew that, without the least particle of affecta- tion in style or manner, and with a clear ringing voice, he would go straight to the point under discus- sion, and, in correct language and with grave and dignified mien, would express only broad, generous, and practical opinions. Towards the latter period of his life, there is little doubt that Mr. Morley's best speeches were made on religious and social subjects. These filled his heart and occupied almost all his thoughts, and when he urged upon his hearers practical benevolence, sobriety, and righteousness, there was a pleading earnestness in his tones that few could resist, because they carried in them so patently the strong convictions, no less than the sympathy, of the whole man. Many a score of young men have listened to Mr. Morley as they never listened to any other human being, fascinated with the easy flow of words which went straight to their hearts, and convinced that the words were 442 SAMUEL MOBLMY. [Chap. XXII. intended directly for them. Into those speeches, distinctively religions, the strength of conviction was expressed as much in the voice, the anxious coun- tenance, and the whole bearing of the man, as in the paternal counsels he offered, or the views he expressed. Speech at its "best is, as George Eliot says, "but broken light upon the depth of the unspoken," and thousands can testify to the sense of relief they have experienced at public meetings, where eloquence has been poured into their ears by poetical, imaginative, and argumentative speakers, to listen to the sober, simple, sympathetic, and earnest words of Mr. Morley. It is interesting to know what were the " methods " employed by men who have exercised a wide influence in the world, in the preparation of their works, whether of speech or pen. Among Mr. Morley's papers were found innumerable pamphlets, news- paper cuttings, extracts from speeches of leaders of men, quotations from great authors, and such like. The margins of many of the pamphlets attest the attention with which they had been studied, and suggest the uses he intended to make of them. They were to him what Sir James Graham's " revolvers " were to that statesman. It is recorded by his biographer that " he kept everything — letters, memoranda, copies of official minutes, excerpts from speeches, resolutions of public meetings, passages from leading articles, comparative statistics, and casual publications of innumerable kinds. He seldom • BB. ABNOLD. 443 went to the House of Commoiis unarmed with what he used playfully to call his revolvers. By these he meant the envelopes in which he placed the materials for defence of his opinions upon the variety of sub- jects which he anticipated might arise in debate."* Such, to a great extent, was the habit of Mr. Morley, with this difference — that he did not take with him to the House, or to the public platform, his " pacquets of combustibles," as Sir James Graham did, but carried on half-sheets of paper rough headings of subjects, notes almost unintelligible to any stranger into whose hands they might fall, but suggestive to him of marked passages in speeches and pamphlets locked up in his black bag, or lying on the table in his study. With many of the views of Dr. Arnold on social and political questions, Mr. Morley was deeply impressed, and among his papers there were notes of Dr. Arnold's sayings, and extracts from his letters, which were treasured up for use as occasion might require. It has interested the writer to trace this influence. For example, the following is an extract copied by Mr. Morley from a letter written by Dr. Arnold to Mr. Justice Coleridge, under the date, December 16, 1835 : "I think there runs through your letter, perhaps unconsciously, a constant assumption that the Conservative party is the orthodox one — a very natural assumption in the friends of an existing system, or, as I think, in any * " Life and Times of Sir James Graham." By W. M. Torrens, M.P. 444 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXII. one who has not satisfied himself, as I have, that Conservatism is always wrong. I think Conservatism far worse than Toryism, if by Toryism be meant a fondness for Monarchical or even Despotic Govern- ment, for despotism may often further the advance of a nation, and a good dictatorship may be a very excellent thing, as I believe of Louis Philippe's government at this moment, thinking Guizot to be a great and good man, who is steadily looking forwards ; but Conservatism always looks backwards, and therefore, under whatever form of government, I think it the enemy of all good." There may not appear to be anything remarkably suggestive to the ordinary reader in these words, but they made an impression on the mind of Mr. Morley, and, in rough notes of his speeches, portions of this letter are on several occasions quoted, and it would seem that he had committed the whole to memory. He was in the habit of thinking over the subject on which he had to speak, and then making notes of some leading thoughts, and oftentimes of an appo- site quotation wherewith to enforce or illustrate his theme. Many of the half-sheets of paper on which these notes were written were kept by him as memoranda, and in the course of years they accumulated into a large pile, which is now before the writer. The notes are for the most part written in pencil; many of them were evidently jotted down while driving, or in railway carriages ; not one of them is dated, nor is the special question NOTES OF POLITICAL SPEECHES. 445 under consideration indicated in any instance by a heading or title. Fragmentary as they are, they are nevertheless interesting as showing the processes of his thought in dealing with a subject, the methods employed in presenting his views, the scope of his reading, and the general bent of his mind upon a variety of important matters. Some selections are given here. They are grouped only under general headings to illustrate his views on political, social, and religious questions, and without any reference to dates, to which, except by their internal evidence, no clue is furnished in Mr. Morley's handwriting : — Bough Notes of Speeches on Political Subjects. The public business of England should be the private business of every Englishman. Send men to the House of Commons who have given evidence of their deep attachment to the principles which have secured the rights of the many, rather than the benefit of the few. The franchise is not a right to every man, but a trust committed by the nation to each capable and qualified citizen. I am prepared to insist, that as in matters of finance, so in questions of franchise, the House of Commons, when it speaks by large and consistent majorities, is entitled to the acquiescence of a House which has no repre- sentative character. The problem that exercises many minds is the possibility of reconciling free representative government with the continued existence of an irre- sponsible assembly. The demand of the peers for an appeal to the people, I oppose as giving to that House the means in the future of fatal obstruc- tion to any measure in favour of popular rights. How long the House 446 SAMUEL MOBLBY. [Chap. XXII. of Lords shall remain out of sympatiiy with the nation depends on the nation itself. It is the old question revived once more, whether a self-governed nation, like Great Britain, will any longer submit to be fettered and obstructed in its progress towards absolute political freedom by a House of hereditary legislators, non-elected, and irresponsible to the people, and whose only right to legislate is that they are the sons of their fathers. The following are isolated passages from longer notes : — Our great object is to do away with class government and introduce national government in its place, What is the Liberal party ? A party of progress, a party whose desire is to keep pace with the times and with the requirements of the nation — not seeking change for sake of change, but for improvement; to promote the nation's welfare in the broadest and best sense, consulting not the interest of a class, however influential or noisy, but the happiness and well-being of the whole people. As the whole is greater than a part, so the nation is greater than a class. I am prepared to contend that, with the rarest exceptions, this has been the rule of the Liberal party. The waste of time in Parliament was always a source of vexation to the active practical Member, to whom every moment of life was precious, and on innumerable occasions there are in his notes, brief but sufficiently explanatory entries to show how keenly he felt upon the subject : — Extent of playing with parliamentary time disgraceful. Some mode of economizing time. Some curtailment of rights of private members. Some independent method of deciding as to measures to be considered. About 1,200 hours in a full session, less than two hours each, if we had fair play. We turn night into day. A physical as well as intellectual qualification required. MB. GLADSTONE. 447 On Arbitration he writes : — The claims of property and the claims of labour are totally opposed ; so opposed that — as the present state of Paris shows — there is war to the knife between them. I don't believe that the only solution is to be found in bloodshed. More faith in a recent utterance : ' Conference is always good.' ' Come, let us reason together,' was always better than ' Come, let us fight each other.' Many of the notes contain references to Mr. Grlad- stone : — I regard Mr. Gladstone as the greatest, purest, and ablest Statesman of the present age, and, if of the present age, of all ages or of any age. How great the sympathy during his recent iUness throughout the whole civilized world ! With what ? Not with Gladstone as M.P. for Midlothian, not with Gladstone as Premier, or Statesman, but simply with Gladstone as the embodiment of the highest and purest aspirations of that patriotism which desires the best of all good things for the greatest number of his own fellow-countrymen, and that the countrymen of all other countries may become partakers in these good things also. His life, his health, his genius, his power, and influence are of more consequence to the country than all or any of the most pressing questions now before Parlia- ment. A Government which acts must make enemies, and a Government which moves must leave some followers behind. For Tories to ask public suffrages in the face of Mr. Gladstone's budget, is hke nothing, in the history of impudence, but the story of the French criminal, who, having murdered his father and mother, threw himself upon the mercy of the court because he was an orphan. Conservatives have the credit of hating progress, hindering improve- ment, and being jealous of popular liberty and power. The ballot would never have passed if the Conservatives had been stronger. ' Conser- vatism always looks backward, and therefore, under whatever form of government, I think it the enemy of all good.' 448 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXII. Must regulate our forces by the principle on which we have intercourse with other nations. Earl Bussell : ' Great commercial States have always been hated and dreaded by great military States.' Lord Derby : ' Great Britain is only bound to place herself beyond all reach of invasion.' Mr. Gladstone : ' The ships that travel between this land and that, are like the shuttle of the loom that is weaving a web of concord between the nations.' Bough Notes of Speeches on Social Questions. The following is one of the most complete set of notes found among the papers of Mr. Morley. There is no indication of date or place, but it is probable that the " old town " referred to was either Notting- ham or Bristol : — Invitation to preside accepted. Not c[ualified, but glad to keep in asso- ciation with old town, and to offer congratulations. Middle-class educa- tion. Elementary schools. Strides. Middle class will do well to prepare for the competition from below which is coming on. Great principle of competition. Life is really a continued competitive examination. De- ' cided impression that the rule is, superficial training, in spite of utmost care of the best masters, owing to too early removal. Feeling of desire to get sons into harness. Looking at number of subjects in the modern courses of instruction, the time which sufficed for our schooling will not do for our sons. Tliey will have to live in a different world from that in which we have lived, and they must stand or fall as they prepare for it. I suppose a large proportion of the boys in this school are intended for trade or manufactures. Thankful for my own connection with trade. England owes much of her greatness to the inteUigence, industry, per- severance, and integrity of those connected with trade and commerce. Accept the sneer of Napoleon that we are a nation of shopkeepers. The trading class has any future in this country it pleases, on one condition, that we qualify. What we need, as a class, is the refinement and power which result from a cultivated intelligence ; no investment will bring a better return; no sacrifice willjpaj/ better than the lengthening the school SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLBOYS. 449 life of our sons. I would also remind you of those magniflcent endow- ments at Cambridge and Oxford, which, originally intended for the whole nation, have now been made distinctly national. I would inspire you with an ambition for your sons that they should go up and possess the land thus opened to them. I would specially press the point of adapta- tion. ... I pray you, whatever else you may secure for your sons, take care that you secure that education which will fit for future duty. How many parents, anxious to give their children bread, have only succeeded in giving them a stone ! A friend of mine was only yesterday, mourning over the fact that her son, who has just completed five years at Harrow, knows nothing of either French or Grerman, and he has had an appoint- ment offered, in which a knowledge of those languages is a requisite. I cannot press too strongly the value of composition, the ability to write a good letter. Have you not seen the estimate formed of a man who can, off-hand, draw up a report, or draft resolutions, who has, in fact, the pen of a ready writer ? Then, good legible penmanship and a thorough knowledge of arithmetic and mathematics are most important. In short, whatever else is secured, make a good English education a sine qua non; but I would also urge the exceeding practical value of raodern languages — extent of valuable reading of French and German authors. Increas- ing commercial relations with the Continent. Vastly greater enjoyment in ti'avelling. No intention to disparage classical training — most impor- tant, absolutely essential for those who desire to extend their education ; the very discipline is most valuable ; but, keeping in mind the value of adaptation, I would entreat you, while attending to the one, not to neglect the other. To the boys : Wish you happy holidays. Eeminds me of old times to look at you. Impossible to put the experience of forty or fifty on fifteen, and not desirable if we could. But let me press the word thoroughness on your attention. Whatever else you are, be thorough. Never be willing to shuffle through a lesson ; do not be satisfied not to understand any lesson. My observation is that young men who have been superficial in school work are unreal in performance of duty in after life. Know- ledge is power, pleasure, happiness. Be on your guard in forming intimacies. Unspeakable mischief in a school by one or two boys of low tastes and pursuits. Avoid whatever is impure or profane. Be coura- geous in standing aloof. The next notes are evidently of a speech on the 30 450 SAMUEL MOBLEY. ' [Chap. XXII. Opening of Museums on Sunday. They illustrate Mr. Morley's habit of fortifying himself with apposite quotations : — The Earl of Beaconsfield : ' Of all Divine institutions, the most Divine is that which secures a day of rest for man. I hold it to be the most valuable blessing ever conceded to man. It is the corner-stone of all civilization ! ' Count Montalenibert : ' There can be no religion without public worship, and there can be no public worship without a Sabbath.' An Experienced Engineer (quoted in the Artizans' Eeports) : ' Looked at solely from a material point of view, England has been an immense gainer by the habit of resting thoroughly on the one day in seven ; for this reason I should view with great alarm any attempt to introduce the Continental system of making Sunday a day of amusement. What we want on Sunday, is not so much amusement as rest.' The decision of this question is in the hands of working men. The House of Commons must obey a general demand. I would gladly help you. My experience leads me to warn working men against the inevitable result of opening the door. The employment of Government servants will end in increased work for all servants. From a bundle of loose notes we extract a few paragraphs on a variety of subjects : — The chaplain of one of our London prisons has stated, as the result of his intercourse with criminals, that disobedience to parents was the root of the criminal life of those he had to deal with. Do not be ashamed to be obedient to authority, whether of your masters, your teachers, or your parents. Obedience to law is the condition of intelligent life. Education. Tou are touching the higher motive when you teach a child that crime is not only an offence against man, but a sin against God. Tou may teach a man how to make a lock, but you give him at the same time power to pick that lock, unless, by this appeal to his higher nature, you bring in the controlling motive. " TEXTS " FOB SPEECHES. 451 Let me remind you that attendance at places of worship is still the exception. More are absent than attend — i.e., not one-fourth of the popu- lation. Never forget that our various institutions and societies are mere mechanism — skeletons — unless filled and inspired with spiritual life. It wiU be just as we are anxious to make men Christians, rather than mere members of this or that sect, church, or chapel, that we shall secure attentive hearing from those we desire to benefit, or receive a blessing from Him whom we profess to serve.* The true secret of England's greatness, and the best guarantee for the maintenance and extension of the liberties we enjoy, are found in the intelligence, the perseverance, and, above all, the integrity which, in spite of hideous occasional developments, I assert is the rule in connection with the great trading and mercantile transactions of the country. ... I have often regretted the existence of a feeling on the part of parents, when selecting occupation for their sons, in favour of an appointment in the public service or the counting-house, where the pen is the instrument to be used, rather than in the more independent scene of labour — the work- shop or the warehouse. The "texts" upon which Mr. Morley was in. the habit of framing his speeches are brief and to the point. Thus : — Education is what somebody else does for us. Self-culture is what we do for ourselves. Education puts tools into a man's hands ; self-culture ■enables him to use them. I am content to be regarded as an enthusiast, but I rely more on electric telegraphs, steam navigation, cheap postage, international exhi- bitions, peace congresses — anything that brings peoples together, as dis- tinguished from their rulers — than all the armies in the world. '•■' A. saying of Dr. Arnold was often quoted by Mr. Morley : — " I have one great principle which I never lose sight of — to insist strongly on the difference between Christian and non-Christian, and to sink into nothing the differences between Christian and Christian." 452 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIL Some of Mr. Morley's views on Temperance are given elsewhere in this book, but a few of his rough notes of speeches upon this subject may be quoted here : — I believe that the safety and strength of a nation may be tested by the purity of its homes and the virtue of its people infinitely more than by the extent of its wealth or the number of its armies. I should be thankful to see the people a law unto themselves, but I am compelled to look for legislative interference in matters in which the in- terests of society are so deeply concerned. It is the duty of those who govern to make it easy to do right, and difficult to do wrong. As to causes, many people begin at the wrong end. They say people drink because they hve in bad dwellings ; I say they live in bad dwellings because they drink. It makes all the difference which way you put it. The first essential is not to deal with the habitation, but the habit. In his speeches on Temperance, Mr. Morley was wont, over and over again, to plead for the omni- potence of example, and would often cite a saying of the Bishop of London, that it made all the difference in the world whether you urged people to go along or to come along in a good cause. He had also a selection of quotations from authorities on the Tem- perance question, which he kept in reserve for use when required, and these frequently figure in his brief notes. The following are a few of his most favourite ones : — Mr. Gladstone : ' The calamities inflicted upon mankind by the three great scourges, war, famine, and pestilence, are not so great as those inflicted by intemperance.' SPEECHES ON RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS. 453 Mr. Cobden : ' The Temperance question lies at the basis of all moral and all political reform.' Canon Farra/r : ' If any one should ask whence comes this " bitter cry of outcast London," I answer, as one who knows the whole depth of misery, and say, unhesitatingly, that it comes from drink.' Bishop of London : ' I urge the importance of ministers of religion associating themselves with the Temperance movement, and setting an example of total abstinence to the hundreds of thousands who are crying aloud to be helped to withstand temptation.' And again : ' Temperance is the first step towards the promotion of religious life.' Lord Coleridge : ' Persons in my position are almost tired of making ■the statement that drunkenness is a vice which fills the gaols of England, and that if we could make England sober we could, do away with nine- tenths of our prisons. In the large majority of cases which come before a judge and jury, it is shown that they began, ended, or were in some way connected with, the national sin of drunkenness. It is a duty laid on all in our position, not to throw the matter aside as if there were no use in doing anything to check a vice which is a national disgrace, which injures our character, which lets us down in the estimation of foreign countries, and which, I cannot doubt, is a considerable factor in any distress under which the working classes suffer.'; Bev. Philip Brooks (Boston) : ' If ever a cause justified fanaticism, the Temperance cause does. To me there is nothing more disgusting or more disheartening to the cause of humanity than the selfish, ease-loving, luxurious man indulging in dissipation and denouncing Temperance fanaticism.' EouGH Notes of Speeches on Religious Questions. Many of Mr. Morley's addresses were delivered at the laying of foundation-stones or the opening of chapels, and in his utterances on such occasions he not unfrequently took the opportunity of speaking upon the relations of Church and State, and the present and future prospects of Nonconformity. Prom the notes of such addresses the following ex- tracts are taken : — 454 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXII. The erection of our chapels may he regarded as an act of aggression, but it is not directed against other Christian brethren, who, though differing from us, are yet labouring for the same end as ourselves. I trust all our hostility will be reserved for the common enemy ; against the evU which exists around us ; against that sinfulness which is so fatal to the interests of mankind, both here and hereafter. Our object, as Protestant Dissenters, is to find out and hold fast by that which is the truth, — that principle of Christianity most consistent with the teaching of the New Testament. If we can persuade the people that our principles and teaching are consistent with the teaching of the New Testament, they will learn that, just as it has risen to a position of power and influence in the country, so will they continue to increase and flourish in the estimation of the people of England. Just as when civil freedom was conceded us, the stability of government was confirmed ; just as when commercial freedom was conceded, the most wonderful development of commercial greatness known in history followed ; so, when the last barrier of protection is removed by the concession of religious freedom, our Government shall teach the nations also the great secret of religious power. Then shall there be nothing but free churches in the land, and Episcopalians, Congregationalists, Methodists, and all other Christians, shall vie with each other only as common allies against a common foe. Our mission, is to bring the world to the rule of Christ. Our authority, is to preach the gospel to every creature (as binding to-day as 1800 years ago). Our system, is essentially democratic, and that principle will alone reach the people. Our principles, fully carried out, furnish the surest guarantee for the maintenance of the truth. We have little faith in creeds and confessions, scarcely more in legal instruments and trust-deeds ; not the slightest in the intervention of the civil power or any external influence for the guardianship of orthodoxy, but we have great faith in the organization and discipline of a church as involved in our theory. Congregationalism makes the evidence of conversion the sole and indispensable term of communion, and unites such as are the subject of conversion in a society in whom is invested the right of choosing their pastor, and transacting their own affairs. This constitution, when honestly enforced, ensures purity, and in that purity there is the pledge of a scriptural choice as to the ministry. We hold that the Bible alone is the rule of faith and SPEECHES ON BBLiaiOnS QUESTIONS. 455 practice, and that every man has not only the right of judging for him- self as to its meaning, but that it is his duty to exercise that right. That each church should have its bishops, or pastors, or elders (synonymous) to oversee and provide for its spiritual concerns, and deacons to attend to the more secular concerns. That all such churches are eq^ual, and that the constitution of such churches is in perfect harmony with civil govern- ment, and that the bearing of such churches on society is most beneficial, tending to love, to order, and to happiness. The whole world is moving in the direction of absolute severance between the civil and ecclesiastical powers. The struggle of Church and State for supremacy is proving the ill-assorted character of their union, and it will inevitably lead at length to a complete divorce. I would not utter a word of antagonism to the Established Church. I am a Nonconformist because I believe that the action of political parties has depressed and hindered the action of that which is essentially spiritual. I believe that an ounce of spontaneous action is worth more than a ton of compulsion. I am prepared to contend that to rely on the legislative enforcement of any Church system, would be to wither up all that is fresh and vital in our religious communities. Believing, too, that religion is the only real basis of morals, and therefore the truest safe- guard of national virtue, I am quite content to submit to sundry incon- veniences connected with what we call the voluntary principle, because of the freedom, and consequent power, we thus possess. We meet, thankful for the laws so different to two hundred years ago, which we have won by persistent struggles — we meet as peaceable and loyal citizens, loving the Queen, thankful for her constitutional reign, but behevers in one Head of the Church, and unwilling that that Headship should be shared, or set aside, by any earthly sovereign. There is a great controversy going on as to what shall be the principle on which the Church of the future shall ultimately and exclusively rest ; whether that of Christian life operating by agencies, voluntary and free, the outgrowth of its own spirit, or. Christian life working by machinery created by political law. We are endeavouring to work out an answer to this inquiry. But no one, looking at the present dis- tracted condition of the Established Church, can doubt that, between 456 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXII. rationalism on the one hand, and ritualism on the other, the future is a dark one. Among a mass of rougli notes of addresses on religious subjects, written on scraps of paper, the following are selected almost at random : — When I look at the state of the times and think of the religious future of England, I confess I do so with dismay. My only hope is, under God's blessing, in the waking up to this conviction, ' Every Christian should be a missionary.' What is the mission of the Church of Christ ? not, surely, the culture of the life of the Church only, but the endeavour to bring tha world to the rule of Christ. If we were asked, ' How much owest thou thy Lord ? ' we must answer, ' All I am and all I have.' The real keystone of a nation is the hearthstone. The strength of a nation lies not in the wealth, but in the virtue, of its people. Personal morality is the best safeguard of national liberty. No form of pohtioal organization can secure freedom to a people who live for mean aims and low passions, who despise the moral bonds which secure the purity and harmony of society, and who care less for duty than for pleasure. Any one who has thoughtfully considered the moral enervation of France during the twenty years which preceded the Franco-Prussian War, as it has been exhibited in her literature, in the amusements most favoured by the people, and, perhaps, above all, in the laxity of personal conduct in the private relations of life, will have seen good reason for the fact that, both physically and morally, they were no match for the German army. Mr. Morley was not unfrequently charged with allowing the whole of his sympathy to be absorbed in Home Missions to the exclusion of any interest in FOREIGN MISSIONS. 457 Foreign Missions. The following notes, evidently of an address on behalf of Foreign Missions, indicate his views and his diflSculties on the subject : — It was most pleasant to hear of the arrangement, made many months ago, by which the agents of the Church Missionary Society, and of our Society, undertook to work in parallel lines in their joint attack — shall I say ? — on the centre of Africa, so that there should he no danger of clashing in the dehvery of the message. I wonder what the effect would be if each party, the one going to the right, the other to the left, had been composed of an equal number of Churchmen and Dissenters. We each profess to have the bread of life to give to the people ; why should we differ as to the shape and size of the loaves ? I venture, treading on dehcate ground, to urge that this work of preaching the gospel to the heathen should be pressed on individual conscience as one of allegiance to Him whom we profess to serve, rather than in the interest of any par- ticular organization. I have a clear recollection that, years ago, contrast used to be drawn as to the relative advance made in the respective incomes of the various missionary societies. I have no doubt that we have got rid of a good deal of that feeling, but I am not at all sure that the service would not be greatly more prospered if men were seen going out rather to tell the old, old story, than to represent the interests of any special section of the Church. Mr. Morley was a firm believer in " the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible," and the following extracts from his rough notes of speeches — some of which were delivered in advocacy of the claims of the British and Foreign Bible Society — give his views with regard to " the Book of God and the God of books." The Bible is the Ught and life of any dwelhng. The home-Hfe of this country owes everythuig that is pure and true and virtuous to the Word of Grod. No false rehgion fosters the virtues of a happy fireside. 458 , SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXII. I believe that in putting into a missionary's hand the Bible, you give to him the one key by which the dark places of the earth may be opened to the light, so that such work as that which this Society achieves is the pioneer work of all missionary effort. Thus, when we meet at our various missionary gatherings, and rejoice in the work accomplished in the dif- ferent mission-fields, we are to a great extent exhibiting the trophies of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Well may we all rejoice to meet on a common platrarm to thank God for such a Society and such a work I It has been well said that the Bible is the one manual of duty for those who preach and those who hear. While, on the one hand, it binds the preacher to faithfulness under the spell of a tremendous anathema, on the other it imposes on the hearer obligations which he cannot violate without sin. We need to stimulate the common people to believe that in God's Word there is a full and complete rule of faith and practice, and that it is their right and their duty to read and judge for themselves. The best evidence of the Divine origin of the Bible is in the life of those who are living up to its precepts. . . . An infidel gave this testimony, that the greatest hindrance he had met with was the want of evidence that Christians believed the Bible. If ever Christian union is to be a fact, it must be by Christians meeting around the Bible. The Bible will make its own way and do its own work. It is its own best witness. Let us hold fast, then, by the Bible with no wavering faith, but manfully stand up for it in the family, in the pulpit, and in the pew. It was never more powerful than at the present time, never more popular among the common people. Faith in His Word is what God is teaching us as our first duty. Let us, then, sink our denominational differences and cleave to those good old principles which we shall the more clearly recognize as the great spiritual forces of the Bible get firm hold of the heart and the conscience. I would say to any earnest struggler with difficulties who may be present, Don't lose heart, my brother ; there is a good time coming, the THE BATTLE OF LIFE. 459 coming of which, so far as you are concerned, you may greatly hasten. . , . There is within your reach, and easy of comprehension, without the aid of any human teacher, a safe and precious guide — God's Word. And there is, too, a Saviour waiting to guide and bless you. With such help you may bravely fight the battle of life, you may endure manfully, and you will, in the end, overcome. CHAPTBE XXIII. 1885—1886. railing Health — Correspondence with Lady Spencer — Offer of the Peerage — Declined — The Criminal Law Amendment Bill — Letter to Miss Marsh — Death of the Earl of Shaftesbury — A Farewell Letter — Resigns his Seat for Bristol — The General Election of 1885 — ^Anxiety — Letter to Eev. J. C. Harrison — Last Visit to Nottingham — Mr. Arnold Morley appointed Patronage Secretary — Correspondence with Mr. Gladstone — Unwonted Tenderness — Letter from Mr. Mundella — Young Men's Christian Association — Last Public Meetings — Illness — Home Bule — Hopes and Fears — ^Last Days — Death — At Abney Park — " A Servant of Jesus Christ " — Conclusion. In 1885, Mr. Morley, apparently recovered from his indisposition, threw himself into the movements of the times with an energy that would have sorely taxed the strength of younger and stronger men. Those who met him only occasionally, saw an active, hale, and hearty man, who looked ten years or more younger than he actually was — a "picture of health," as the saying is. Those who knew him most inti- mately watched him with anxious solicitude. For himself, there was borne in upon his heart the con- viction that the time was short, and that he must work while it was called to-day. Before following him into the great political conflict that made such heavy demands upon him in this year, we must refer to one or two circumstances that marked its earlier course. 1885—1886.] LETTER TO LADY SPENCEB. 461 In June, when Mr. Morley was staying with the Lord-Lieutenant, Earl Spencer, at the Yice-Eegal Lodge, during a visit to Dubhn as a member of the Eoyal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes, some hissing among the people in the streets and other unfriendly demonstrations were directed against^[Lady Spencer. Mr. Morley was a witness of the scene, and on his return to London, an account of the incident having been published in the newspapers, he wrote to her as follows : — Mr. Samuel Morley to Lady Spencer. 34, Geosvbnob Stkeet, June 19, 1885. Dear Lady Spencer, — I cannot resist the impulse to convey to you the expression of my sympathy and, I should add, vexation, which were excited on reading a brief account of rudeness exhibited towards you by the crowd in Dublin lately. The self-denying and generous services rendered by you and Lord Spencer to Ireland during so many years, and the inconvenience and, doubtless, danger to which you have exposed yourselves, would, it might be thought, have rendered so unseemly an exhibition of feeling impossible. I beg you to accept this expression of my sympathy with you in re- ference to the circumstance to which I refer, and of "the hope that the time is not far distant when, under happier influences, the Irish people will remember gratefully the kindly way in which a necessarily firm rule was exercised during the Viceroyalty of Lord Spencer. I feel sure that in thus venturing to write to you, I am only giving voice- to a feeling which is universal amongst those who know how to appre- ciate high public service ungrudgingly given. BeUeve me, dear Lady Spencer, Yours very sincerely, S. MOELEY. In reply to this letter, Lady Spencer wrote : — Tour kind letter of sympathy in one of the small trials to which we have been subjected during our reign in Ireland, has touched me vary 462 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. much, and it is a satisfaction to know that you appreciate my husband's rule during these last three difficult years. . . . In June of this year, Her Majesty conferred upon Mr. Morley the distinguished honour of offering him a peerage. The intimation was conveyed to him by Mr. Grladstofce in the following terms : — The Bight Eon. W. E. Gladstone to Mr. Morley. 10, Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W., June 24, 1885. My dear Me. Moeley, — The Queen graciously permits me to offer you the honour of a peerage, and I do not know that I have ever had a more genuine pleasure in conveying a proposal of this nature than now, when I make it to one who has earned so many irrefragable titles to the honourable regard and warm reverence of his countrymen. Believe me always, Most faithfully yours, W. E. Gladstone. Perhaps no Statesman ever proifered an honour which accorded more with popular feeling than when Mr. Gladstone conveyed this intimation to Mr. Morley. Individuals of all shades of opinions united in the declaration that few men of his time had done more than Mr. Morley to deserve the honour. His reply was awaited by his friends with much interest. It was hoped by many that he would accept it on the ground that no one so closely identified with the leadership of Nonconformity, or who had maintained its traditions with equal courage and independence, had ever before had the opportunity of entering the House of Lords. A similar distinction had been offered to Baron de 1885—1886.] OFFEB OF THE PEEBAOE. 403 Eothschild, and many wished that the great Noncon- formist and the distinguished IsraeHte might take up their honours together — a signal illustration of the late Premier's advocacy of the principles of civil and religious equality. Others urged that as Mr. Morley had always advocated modifications and changes in the House of Lords, and that its efficiency de- pended much upon the new blood infused into it, he should accept the offer of the peerage, in order that, in some measure, his influence and views might tend to place the Hereditary Chamber of the Legislature more in harmony with the House of Commons. The rumour found its way into the newspapers that Mr. Morley had accepted the honour, and at once he was inundated with congratulations from Members of both Houses of Parliament, from men of the most diverse views in politics and religion, as well as from personal and intimate friends. Congratulations upon his acceptance of the peerage were, however, premature. Mr. Morley had no difficulty in arriving at a deci- sion, and, on the next day, sent the following letter to Mr. Gladstone : — Mr. Morley to the Bight Hon. W. E. Gladstone. 34, Geosvenoe Street, W., June 25, 1885. My deae Mr. Gladstone, — I have received your letter in which, hy the 'Queen's permission, you convey to me the proposal that I should accept the honour of a peerage. Whilst gratefully and heartily acknowledging the very kind terms in 464 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII wliicli you write, and which, used by one whom I so highly honour and esteem as yourself, will always make the recollection of the event one of the most pleasant of my Ufe, I beg respectfully to ask permission to decline the proposal. I sincerely value Her Majesty's gracious kindness, and trust that the personal grounds on which my decision is based, may not be considered as manifesting any want of a dutiful sense of the Queen's favour, which I do very heartily appreciate. I am, dear Mr. Gladstone, Yours very faithfully, S. MOELEY. Had public opinion been challenged as to whether Mr. Morley should have declined or accepted the peerage, it is probable that a large majority would have favoured its acceptance. Many, nevertheless, rejoiced at his determination, and admired the discretion " which declined a dignity traditionally and inevitably associated with class privilege and resistance to the popular will," while many more said in effect, what an old and intimate friend expressed in writing, "I cannot but admire the nobility of motive which caused you to refuse the title and position you so richly deserve. The name Samuel Morley will be more and more dear to us now, on account of the sacrifice you have made to retain it. Now that you are about to retire from the strife of politics I hope that name may more and more shine forth in the cause of Christ, as well as in that of mankind in general." Probably nothing could have happened to have intensified the respect and affection in which Mr. Morley was held, than the decision at which he had 1885—1886.] TEE PEERAGE DECLINED. 465 arrived. Many of his political friends, knowing how frequently he had declared his objection to an heredi- tary and irresponsible Chamber, rejoiced that he had shown the courage of his opinions. "The people" were rejoiced that he would not take a step that should have even the appearance of removing him from their midst ; his name was a household word throughout the kingdom as a synonym of every quality that gives nobility to character, and they would have regretted that it should have been lost in some aristo- cratic title. As for Mr. Morley himself, he never hesitated for five minutes as to the answer he would give. Like Eichard Cobden and John Bright, he preferred " to dwell among his own people," and by refusing a peerage at the same time and in the same manner as Mr. Gladstone, he, so far, placed himself on a level with his great Leader. There was in Mr. Morley a great deal of that moral courage which constitutes the highest form of heroism, and during this year a heavy demand was made upon it. There had appeared in the Pall Mall Gazette a series of articles purporting to give a true account of the perpetration of certain crimes of a most revolting nature, of which the law did not take proper cogniz- ance. Mr. Morley was horrified when these revela- tions were made, and the truth of them having been questioned in many quarters, the Editor of the paper announced that if a Committee of Investigation were 81 4C6 SAMUEL MOSLEY. [Chap. XXIII. appointed, including the names of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Manning, Lqrd Shaftesbury, and Mr. Morley, he would place before them ample proof of the truth of the statements made in his journal. Although he shrank from the work with an intense dislike, Mr. Morley felt it to be his duty to accept the challenge. He went into the investigation of the matter with an open mind, and, before a hostile assembly in the House of Commons, declared " that the evidence laid before himself and his colleagues had shown that the facts stated in the newspaper in question, notwithstanding their terrible character, yet concealed half the extent of the horrors with which they dealt." He presided over a large and enthu- siastic meeting on the subject in Prince's Hall, and in many other ways assisted in influencing public opinion. Nor did he desist even when the Criminal Law Amendment Bill became law, but sought out and stimulated a variety of agencies for the pro- tection of young and defenceless girls. After the excitement of this agitation, Mr. Morley went to Tenby for a change of air and scene. But neither at Tenby, nor anywhere else, did he relin- quish his engagements, or slacken his correspondence. There was observable in his speech and writing, and in his whole bearing at this time, an unwonted tenderness, which many, who knew him well, regarded with mingled pleasure and anxiety. He had been saddened and depressed by his recent contact with sin and misery, and his heart went out in fuller 1885—1886.] LETTER TO MISS MABSH. 467 spiritual sympathy with all who were working for the world's redemption. This spirit is breathed in a marked degree in the following letter to Miss Marsh, referring to a proposal he had made to contribute £500 towards the rebuild- ing of the Blackrock Convalescent Home : — Mr. Samuel Morley to Miss Marsh. Aug. 26, 1885. Dear Miss Marsh, — I must send you a few lines, which please accept as a postscript to my last, though really meant as a grateful acknowledg- ment of your reference to my proposal. I was quite in earnest in pro- posing to do what I suggested, and will hope, life and health permitting, to carry out my proposal. I believe that Convalescent Homes are among the greatest, the most pressing, wants of the times. If we consider the physical condition of depression to which the poor are not unfrequently reduced, and especially the fact how open they are to the kindly influences of Christian sympathy at such times, then, on the one condition that everything in the shape of sectarian influence should be excluded, and that et;er2/thing should be done to exalt Him who is at once Lord and Master and Friend, there is room for a very large expenditure of time, of personal service, and of money, as a most legitimate mode of winning many to the rule of Christ. I was led, dear friend, somewhat to enlarge my contribution, because I knew that you were invalided, and I trust may be helped, by restored health and strength, to carry through the work on which you have set your heart, and which I am sure our God will bless. Believe me. Yours very sincerely, S. MOELEY. On the 1st of October, in this year, there passed away from earth the good and noble Earl of Shaftes- bury. For many years Mr. Morley had been working side by side with him in innumerable efforts to benefit 468 , SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. their fellow-men; they had stood together on the same platform on hundreds of occasions, and in great efforts for the common good had worked shoulder to shoulder, each in his own sphere, but both towards one end. " Talk of religious difficulties ! " exclaimed Lord Shaftesbury one day, when addressing Christian workers, "what have we to do with religious diffi- culties ? My dear, good friend Mr. Samuel Morley and I have worked together for many years, and we have never known a,ny thing about religious difficulties. But if, in our conversations, one or other of us were to plunge into discussion about Catechisms or Estab- lishments, then perhaps there would be fire and fury on both sides." That defined the position of these two men, who for decades had stood before the whole of Christendom as the representatives of the philanthropy of England. They laboured for souls, not for systems; they sought, by diff'erent methods, but from one motive, to raise men to a higher level socially, politically, and religiously. They worked side by side in the same great harvest-field, under the guidance of the same great Husbandman, and for the same i;eward — ^the honour of being counted worthy to serve Him. And now one was taken and the other left ; and while the whole nation mourned the loss of the " Good Earl," there was no one of his colleagues who did so with a fuller heart than Samuel Morley. The following touching letter was written by Lord 1885—1886.] BESIQNS EI8 SEAT FOB BBISTOL.. 469 Shaftesbury on the morning of the day he left London for Folkestone, never to return: — Lord Shaftesiury to Mr. Samuel Morley. 24, Geosvenob Squaeb, July 25, 1885. Dear Me. Moeley, — I acknowledge, with muoli gratitude, your bounty of i650 (fifty) in aid of Groom* and his institution. He will heartily thank you for such a contribution, nor wUl he forget you in his prayers to Almighty God. I cannot describe to you half the good that this association has done to the bodies and souls of thousands of poor defenceless girls. I am, by God's very special mercy, better in essentials, though very weak, as the disease has now had hold of me for a full year to-morrow (26th). I am going, this day, to Folkestone, where I hope to recover a little strength, and so be permitted to ' die in harness.' But I fear that, if I live, all my powers of effectual activity will be gone. However, God's wUl be done. I may never see you again, but I rejoice in this opportunity of saying how deeply I feel all your unwearying kindness, friendship, and generosity towards myself in all places, and on all occasions. It is, indeed, a com- fort to learn that much sympathy has been expressed for me in my long enforced idleness. If we do not meet again on earth, may we meet again in the blessed presence of our common Lord and Master ! Tours very truly, SHAFTESBnEY. The intention announced by Mr. Morley in 1883, to resign his seat for Bristol at the next Dissolution or General Election, was carried into effect in November, 1885. In his farewell address to the electors, he said : — It would be impossible to emimerate all the measures fraught with far- reaching possibilities which the past seventeen years have seen enacted. * Mr. J. A. Groom, Honorary Superintendent of the " Watercress and Flower Girls' Mission." 470 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. Two only, appear to roe, to call for special notice — the Elementary Education Act of 1870, which I consider was the greatest achievement of Mr. Gladstone's first Government, and the Acts for the Extension of the Franchise and Eedistribution of Seats, which will always make his second tenure of office memorable in the parliamentary history of the United Kin gdom. It will continue to be to me a source of satisfaction and gratitude that, as your representative, and armed with your mandate, I was permitted to share in securing these and many other measures, the fruit of Which will be gathered by coming generations. Mr. Morley had been much more than a mere Member for Bristol during the seventeen years of his parHamentary career. He was a representative man in the widest sense of the term; the interests of trade and commerce, and of " the people " of the whole country, were advocated by him ; but, more than any other Member of the House of Commons, he was regarded as the special representative of Noncon- formity, and in consequence was credited with an influence which few other Independent Members possessed — an influence he used in the interests of popular liberty, and for the advancement of the welfare of the general community. Mr. Morley' s popularity in Bristol continued to the end, and^truly few constituencies owed more of per- sonal gratitude to their representative than Bristol owed to him. It was not only his connection with trade and commerce which enabled him to obtain a hold upon its inhabitants, but the interest he manifested] in all the movements of the city, educational, philanthropic, social, and religious, at a time when Bristol was en- 1885—1886.] BRISTOL. 471 larging her borders, and vastly increasing her trade. " There is not," remarked a prominent inhabitant, not long after Mr. Morley became a representative of the western city, " a congregation attached to any of the numerous chapels stowed away in the city's narrow old street, or challenging attention in every direction along its rapidly growing suburbs, but would bear witness to the fact that his name is now a household word among them." There was nothing narrow in his benefactions, he helped to restore Bristol Cathedral with as hearty a will as he joined in the David Thomas Memorial Chapel ; he was as popular on the Executive Council of the Associated Chamber of Commerce as in the Young Men's Christian Association, whose fine hall he assisted to found. He supported a local attempt to popularize music by providing cheap and good concerts for the people, with as much zeal as he helped the Temperance missions ; he showed prac- tical sympathy with all the best interests of the people, moral, intellectual, and commercial ; he was always willing to render service to the humblest of his constituents, and he has left his good name em- balmed in the annals of the city. Of Mr. Morley's whole parliamentary career, it may be said that his earnest and steadfast devotion to the principles he professed won for him the grati- tude, as well as the confidence, of the Liberal party. While battling manfully for what he believed to be right, and absolutely fearless in controversy, he 472 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. never said anything to forfeit the respect of his opponents, or to leave room for any one to question the sincerity of his convictions. His share in the political affairs of the country was influential rather than conspicuous ; his opinions and actions were the guides to majiy others ; and his sentiments, on the subjects with which he was intimately conversant, carried weight wherever and whenever they were expressed. Although he was not a frequent speaker in the House of Commons, whatever he said in that assembly was always marked by practical common sense. He did much to raise the tone of political debate, and he gained the esteem and respect of both sides of the House. Although not intending to continue a Member of Parliament, the approach of the General Election of 1885 stirred him to the exercise of an energy almost unprecedented even by him. He brought, the whole power of his influence to bear in that great conflict ; he turned in every direction to gain allies, to secure the triumph of the Liberal cause. Among the numerous political pamphlets issued under Mr. Morley's auspices, as being useful for the electors, may be mentioned " Five Years of Liberal Legislation, 1879 to 1884," and "A Comparison of Taxation between Liberal and Tory Governments, 1874 to 1884." Mr. Morley's enthusiasm and munificence during this campaign were unbounded. " His whole soul," 1885— 1886.J THE GENERAL ELECTION. 473 says one who was associated witti him in electioneer- ing work, " was stirred, as it had seldom heen stirred before, to place Mr. Gladstone not simply at the head of the Government, but at the head of affairs, strengthened and stimulated by a powerful majority to carry out popular reform, and to extend the bounds of popular fi:eedom." To this end he used all legitimate means in his power, wherever his help was needed, to assist Liberal candidates to carry on the struggle to a successful issue. No one ever knew, and probably no one ever will know, how arduous were his labours, how generous were his gifts, or how powerful was his influence. The result was a cause of great rejoicing to Mr. Morley, and amply repaid him for all his labours. Notwithstanding abundant Tory prophecies to the contrary, the elections resulted in Mr. Gladstone forming his Third Administration. Although Mr. Morley' s action in this great elec- tioneering contest was watched by the majority with nothing but pleasurable interest, there were others who looked on with grave anxiety. Among these was his son Howard, who wrote to Mrs. Morley in November: "We are all much concerned about the dear father's health. He was far from well yesterday, and ought to have been quietly resting at home, instead of moving about in the damp, foggy weather. He would be surprised, if not alarmed, were he to hear all that is said to me every day about 474 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. him. Only on Tuesday night, Mr. , whom I met at dinner, begged me to get him complete rest, ' although,' as he added, ' I ought not perhaps to say it, seeing he is going to preside for me at a monster meeting at .' This is only one of a number of cases. Don't you think it would be well if all engagements were to be absolutely cancelled, with the promise that, should health and strength permit, Mr. Morley would attend ? It is no use speaking too late, or being ' wise after the event ' ; but what a pity that such a good and useful life should be needlessly jeopardized ! " This was excellent advice, and it was opportunely given. Under medical directions, Mr. Morley ab- stained, during the whole of the ensuing winter, from attendance at public meetings held in the evening, and there can be little doubt that this precaution tended to the prolongation of his life. In 1886, the Congregationalists paid him the highest honour in their power by electing him to the Chair- manship of their Union, but he was unable to accept the of&ce. It was evident to all who observed him narrowly, that he was losing strength. He still paid his visits to London, often leaving Hall Place at half-past eight in the morning, and driving in his open phaeton to the train ; but he confessed to a want of physical power, especially to a shortness of breath, and a greater tendency to rely upon the use of a stick, owing to a want of steadiness in his gait. 1885—1886.] LETTEB TO BEV. J. C. HABBI80N. 475 There was observable, too, a forgetfulness of names and places, even the most familiar ; and at times a weariness, and uncontrollable sleepiness, combined with an indisposition to set about work that would cost an effort, and a listlessness of manner, altogether unusual. He was fully alive to the change that was taking place in himself, but in an ordinary way he referred to his physical ailments only with an occasional, and sometimes even a jocular, allusion. To those with whom he was most intimate, however, he spoke differently, as will be seen in the following letter to the old friend of his youth, for whom he entertained a very lively affection : — Mr. Samuel Morley to the Bev. J. C. Harrison. Jan. 21, 1886. My dear Friend, — I am truly sorry that your last most kind letter should not have been acknowledged long ago. I have just destroyed the beginning of a letter dated some weeks since, but alas ! put aside for some more pressing duty. I felt deeply grateful to you for your kind and pleasant thoughts in reference to my leaving Parliament. I have, happily, had no misgivings on the subject. I have many evidences that the shadows are lengthening, and the stakes and the cords of the tent are loosening, and I am thankful for the prospect of leisure to think of the way in which I have been led, and of the daily and hourly mercies which have been vouchsafed. I am conscious, too, of much sympathy with work which still needs to be done. But my object was specially to thank you for your kind thought of me, and to assure you that I look back with thankfulness on the friend- ship which commenced in Wood Street, and has continued without the slightest interruption to the present hour. I was much interested to hear of your son, and hope he is really regaining former health. Can I do anything that would promote his further recovery ? 476 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. I beg my kind regards to Mrs. Harrison and your daughter if at home. Believe me, dear Friend, Yours very affectionately, S. MOELBY. There was one change in Mr. Morley that no one who knew him well could fail to notice — the some- what severe expression of his face gave place to one of mildness and benevolence. There was, more- over, in his manner a gentleness and tenderness which is reflected in all his correspondence at this, time. Nor in that only ; and on the occasion of his last visit, in December, 1885, to Nottingham, the old town he loved so well, this was remarked by more than one. No one can tell what thoughts were in his heart as he looked upon those old familiar scenes for the last time ; but they should have been happy ones, for few had ever done more for the welfare of the people than he. It would be an impossible task to chronicle what he had done for Nottingham — its people, and its institutions ; we can only indicate the breadth of his. sympathies by referring to a few of his benefactions. On the occasion of the opening of the University College he expressed a desire to do something that would show his interest in the great work undertaken by the town, and the idea of a Children's Library in connection with the Free Library in the new Uni- versity Buildings having been suggested to him, he gave a handsome donation, which was the means of founding one of the best children's libraries in the 1885—1886.] NOTTINGHAM. 477 kingdom. He offered £2,000 to the University College as an endowment, if ^610,000, in all, were raised; he gave over J61,000 for a scholarship at the High School ; £500 towards the erection of the Congregational Institute, and £200 per annum towards its funds, as well as suhscribing to the " Extension Fund " and the Annual Prizes ; £1,000 to the Castle Museum ; £500 to the Hospital when he was President for the year, besides liberal sub- scriptions to all kinds of institutions in the neigh- bourhood — Bands of Hope, Temperance Societies, orphanages, and schools of various denominations. In addition to all this, he had his agents in the town to inquire into the need of those who applied to him for help, or on whose behalf others applied. He was never known to neglect any deserving case, and in many instances he followed up the pecuniary assist- ance with the expression of his personal sympathy, thereby greatly enhancing the value of his gifts. "I cannot tell you," says Dr. Paton, one of his friends and correspondents in Nottingham, in a letter to the present writer, " how much his loving gentleness, combined with wisdom and strength, won me, as it did many others. He had one of the sweetest natures I ever knew, veiled under those j&rm, somewhat severe, lines of expression on his face. And it was wonderful the change when his coun- tenance was lit up with the light of sympathy and affection. It was as if a steel visor w;as raised from a face radiant with noble feeling." 478 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. On the fall of the Salisbury Administration (January 26, 1886), Mr. Gladstone was summoned by the Queen to again take office, and it was a source of tmqualified pleasure to Mr. Morley, that his son Arnold should be appointed by Mr. Gladstone to so impofrtant a position as that of Patronage Secretary to the Liberal Government in succession to Lord Richard Grosvenor. The appointment, coming as it did when Mr. Morley felt that his own career was nearing its close, gave him profound satis- faction. This feeling found expression in the following letter : — Mr. Samuel Morley to the Bight Eon. W. E. Gladstone. Hall Place, Feh. 8, 1886. My dear Me. Gladstone, — Although most anxious not to increase, even by a brief note, the burden of correspondence, which has been, I am sure, heavy enough to bear, I may, I hope, be allowed, in a sentence or two, to assure you of the pleasure I have felt in hearing of the appoint- ment my son Arnold has lately accepted. My pleasure has arisen not only from the fact that there lies before him an opening sphere of influence, which wiU, I hope, be increasingly attractive, but that he will be brought into personal contact with a Leader who has long since secured his admiration and confidence. I believe you will find him capable of rendering reliable service, as he masters the details of his work, and I feel it to be a privilege, as I am withdrawing from more active service, to see him buckling on his armour under circumstances which are to me most gratifying. I am, my dear Mr. Gladstone, Yours most faithfully, S. MOELBT. To this letter Mr. Gladstone promptly replied : — 1886.] LETTER TO MISS CONS. 479 10, Downing Street, Whitehall, Fei. 9, 1886. My dear Mr. Moeley, — OfiBcial association with your son would have been highly agreeable to me on the simple ground that he is your son. But it does not require a long acquaintance to appreciate him for himself; and I am entirely confident that the official relations, with me, in par- ticular, upon which he has entered, wiU be not only agreeable, but to him full of honour, and to the public most advantageous. BeUeve me. Sincerely yours, W. E. Gladstone. If Mr. Morley had any presentiment that his time for doing good was fast drawing to a close, it only very occasionally betrayed itself. He relaxed none of his old occupations more than was absolutely necessary, and formed plans for the future as though a long term of life remained to him. One more instance may be given here of the interest he continued to take in philanthropic work, and of his thoughtfulness for his co-workers. Miss Cons, upon whom the great burden of responsibility fell in the management of the Eoyal Victoria Hall, broke down under the strain, and he wrote : — .34, Geosvenoe Street, April 9, 1886. Dear Miss Cons, — I was, I assure you, very glad to hear a slightly improved account of you to-day at our committee meeting. But we all feel that if we are soon to have the pleasure of seeing you again amongst us, you must consent to transfer to others, some of the anxieties which I beheve have been too great for you. I have the impression that you have denied yourself the ease and comfort of having a competent manager because of the expense. Now, I quite agree that it is our duty, in the management of this institution, to exercise rigid economy, but it really is not economy to refuse to secure all the help you can in carrying out the details of such a large business as you have on hand at the ' Vio.,' and I must ask you to oblige me by losing no time in securing such help as is 480 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. competent, at whatever cost may be necessary, in order that we all may be relieved from the distress we really feel, that you have had a great deal more on your hands than it has been kind in us to allow. I have really thought whether, if I were to come and engage some rooms at Surrey Lodge, I could do anything that would be helpful. The result of my cogitations has been, that perhaps I should only be in the way. Sincerely hoping soon to see you quite yourself again, ' T I am. Yours sincerely, S. MORLEY. Sympathy begets sympathy, and whenever Mr. ■ Morley suffered from any indisposition, the hearts of his friends went out to him in warm assurances of regard. Thus an old ally in many a well-fought fight, wrote : — Mr. A. J. Mwndella, M.P., to Mr. Samuel Morley. Eefokm Club, Pall Mall, Jan. 29, 1886. Dear Me. Moeley, — I hope you are stronger and better in health, and in fuller enjoyment of the blessings and pleasures of Ufe, from your retirement from the strife and anxiety of politics. If our loss is your gain, all your old friends will rejoice ; but that it is a loss to many of us to miss you from your accustomed place, you may feel assiu'ed. Don't forget us. You will always be loved and esteemed by those of us who have enjoyed your friendship in and out of Parliament. And by none iQore than by Yours very faithfully, A. J. Mtjndella. On the 6th of April, Mr. Morley, with Mrs. and Miss Morley, came to their town house at 34, Grosvenor Street, as usual. On the 8th, he was present in the House of Commons at that ever- to-be-remembered scene when Mr. Gladstone intro- 1886.] YOUNG MEN'S CEBISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 481 duced the Bill for the Better Government of Ireland ; and, notwithstanding the fact that it was a time of great excitement and mental strain, he went — con- trary to the advice of his physicians and friends — straight from that assembly to attend the annual meeting of the Young Men's Christian Association at the Mansion House, Ever since the year 1845, when he supported a resolution at the first annual meeting of the Associa- tion emphasizing the value of the work, he had taken the most lively interest in its welfare, and had proved himself to be one of its staunchest friends. From the commencement of its history his name had been on the Executive Committee, and he had not only performed his fall share of labour in that capacity, but had encouraged the Association in the City and its numerous branches with abounding generosity, besides contributing liberally to Eecreation Clubs and other subsidiary efforts for the welfare of young men, to whom, as he often said in his public addresses, he, as a business man, felt a deep sense of indebted- ness. In a variety of ways he sought to aid them. Thus in seasons of commercial depression, which he knew pressed heavily on unemployed young men, he entrusted sums of money to the Secretary of the' Association to assist anonymously any specially deserving case of need. It was 'not, however, as a financial supporter of the Association that Mr. Morley's influence was most strongly felt. His whole heart went out in sympathy 32 482 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. with the young men of great cities, exposed as they are to innumerable temptations, and deprived, in the majority of instances, of the restraints and encourage- ments of home life. He was never tired of urging them to persevere in courses of virtue, integrity, and Christian mknliness, and to avail themselves of the educational advantages that were open to them. He was anxious that all young men who came up from the country " with the laudable intention," as he once said, " of making their way in the world, but leaving behind them all the omnipotent influences of home, pious parents, and various attractions that kept them in the right path," should, when finding them- selves alone in London, be able to cast in their lot with those who would hold out the hand of fellowship and make them feel that they had friends to whom they could look for guidance and companionship. To this end, although, as we have seen elsewhere, he had contributed j65,000 towards the purchase of Exeter Hall for the purposes of the Association, he had it in his heart to secure a more convenient and better adapted building for the young men of the City, and had made a personal offer of £1,000 a year for the remaining forty years of a lease for premises adjoining the present site in Aldersgate Street. As an alternative scheme, plans were prepared, by his instructions, for covering an eligible site in the neigh- bourhood. But his generous purposes were frustrated by illness, and on the night of the 8th of April, he rendered his last service to the Association he loved 1886.] YOUNO MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 483 SO well. In a clear and ringing voice, with perfect calmness and concentration, notwithstanding the fatigue and excitement of the day, he spoke, for the last time in public, of the value of Young Men's Christian Associations generally, and particularly of the Aldersgate Street Branch, with which — as a citizen — he felt himself more especially identified. " It is the business of these Associations," he said, *' to seek out young men fresh from the influences of pure home life, who find themselves desolate and lonely in London, and to get the earliest possible hold upon them before they form connections which are deteriorating or destructive of morals and personal character. I have known those who have been ruined, simply because, humanly speaking, they needed a friend to guard them against the temptations of city life." Eeferring to the religious character of the Institution, he added : " I attach immense importance to the word ' Christian,' and hope it will always stand in front of the Association. Let young men have all the intellectual cultivation they can secure ; let them have all kinds of mental and gymnastic exercises ; but let us never forget that the religious element is our main point, and that our aim is to gather around us the religious young men of London, and then set them to work." In conclusion, he said: "With all my heart I wish God-speed to this Institution, and, as long as I live and am connected with the City of London, I shall go in for Aldersgate Street — a branch that has done its work nobly in the past, is doing it 484 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. nobly now, and has ample scope for doing even better things in the future." Two days later, . Mr. Morley was present at the closing meeting of the season at the Lambeth Baths, and sppke with unusual force and earnestness on the evils of intemperance. On the 12th, he invited a number of gentlemen to luncheon at the Devonshire Club, to promote the interests of the new Mansfield College at Oxford. These were the last public meetings he ever at- tended. He could no longer disguise from himself that he had not the strength of former days. He soon began to remain in bed for breakfast, his sons calling to see him for a few minutes' conversa- tion on the way to their occupations of the day. Then he would rise about half-past ten, and look over his immense correspondence. Formerly, he was very particular about his letters, and was always anxious to get them, but now, his interest had very much lessened, and he was content to allow them to be opened for him, only looking at those which seemed to need his personal attention. On the 20th of the same month, he was to have attended a meeting in the City in connection with the Home Eule Bills then before Parliament, but he felt himself unequal to the task, and wrote a letter instead, in support of Mr. Grladstone's policy, which appeared in the daily papers on the following morning. A few days later, his medical man came in and found him sitting at work at his table, — which was 1886.] HOME BVLE. . 485 covered with letters and papers, — but in such a state of weakness that he peremptorily ordered him to bed. For many weeks he was confined to the house, but the attack yielded to medical treatment, and on fine days he was able to take a drive. With the return of summer weather, there was an improvement in his health, and once more he was able to attend to cor- respondence, and take up some of the dropped threads ■of his work. He was much interested in the circulation of a leaflet he had drawn up and signed, and was causing to be delivered from house to house throughout the poor neighbourhoods of London, urging parents to abstain from allowing their children to be sent to public-houses to fetch beer and spirits, thus exposing them to " familiarity ■yyith sights and sounds which are certain to weaken the effects of all religious and moral training." He watched too, with anxiety, the course of public affairs, and longed to be able to take an active part in supporting the Irish Policy of Mr. Gladstone, for whom he retained to the last a chivalrous attach- ment, and whose policy he had come to regard as offering the foundation of a settlement of the Irish Question. He could not remain wholly silent, and he wrote the following letter to one of his former constituents in Bristol. It was published in the Liberal papers, and placarded all over Bristol with the address of one of the candidates for a division of the city. 486 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. It was Mr. Morley's last published letter, and the writing of it was his last distinctly political act : — Mr. Morley to Mr. A. J. Stevens. » 34, Geosvenoe Street, June 25, 1886. Dear Sis, — I do not think that we have anything to fear from the adoption of the policy towards Ireland which Mr. Gladstone is now advocating. On the contrary, I am of opinion that a measure of self- government, with proper and adectuate safeguards for the rights of the Crown and the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament, if carried, will prove to be the means of cementing the union of Great Britain and Ireland in a manner of which we have hitherto had no experience. Coercion has manifestly failed in the past, and we have no reason to believe that a similar policy, however it may be described, wiU, if con- tinued in the future, lead to any more favourable result. The time is ripe for yielding to the clearly expressed wishes of the Irish people, and for showing that Liberal principles, when applied to that section of the United Kingdom, will produce the same beneficial effect they have often produced when wisely and faithfully apphed to other great problems of our national life. Believing this, I need scarcely add that if I had been in the late House of Commons, I should have unhesitatingly supported our great Leader, and should have voted for the second reading of the now defunct BUI. No one deplores more than I do, the division which has arisen between those who are, I am sure, one in the end they have in view, but I am clear as to the side I should have taken. I trust that Bristol will, at this Election, give forth no uncertain sound, and that we are really approaching a settlement of the long pending con- troversy between England and Ireland which, once dealt with, wiU leave the way open for many other grievously needed reforms. I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, S. MOELET. On the 26th of June, Mr. Morley was well enough to go, accompanied by Mrs. Morley and other 1886.] ILLNESS. 487 members of his family, for a visit to Coopers, Chislehurst, the residence of his son Charles. He spoke hopefully of restored health and of renewed service. " This illness shows," he would say, " that I must in the future do less." He had only been a few days at Chislehurst, however, before he decided to return to London, appearing to wish to he near his doctor. A week later, a severe attack of pneumonia set in ; he was directed to keep his bed, and then began the long and anxious time during which he lingered on the borderland. His last and only visitor outside the family circle was the Eev. Joshua Harrison, who wrote to him a few days afterwards as follows : — July 14, 1886. My dear Peiend, — I was so thankful to be allowed to see you on Tuesday, and once more to unite with you in earnest prayer to our Father in heaven. I do rejoice with you, more than I can teU you, that you have so firm a trust in our gracious Lord, so clear a hope of the future blessed- ness. This is the special grace of ' Him who has loved us, and given Himself for us.' I was grieved indeed to find you so weak and exhausted in body, though in no way cast down in spirit. I do indeed hope, that through the fervent prayers of the many who are now pleading for you, you may stUl be spared to us. But this you know, that He, our loving Saviour, never makes a mistake — ' our Jesus hath done all things well.' You can leave yourself in His hands, and say with Eichard Baxter : ' What Thou wilt, where Thou wilt, when Thou wilt.' For, indeed, He has dealt bountifully with you. He has been with you all through, from those days of youth, when you enjoyed a home of such happiness and such spiritual advantage ; in the time of vigorous manhood ; and up to this hour of advanced age. How happy have you been in your own sweet home ; how useful in the Church and the great world around ; how peaceful and confident in your own personal history ! And now 488 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. how can you doubt ? No, as you said, ' with regard to our Lord, there can be no doubt, not a shadow of doubt.' * Since I saw you, I have been recalling those young days when we listened with such eagerness to the wonderful appeals of James Parsons, and then talked over them, and yielded our hearts fully and joyfully to our all-sufficient Saviour; and when you settled under the manly, large- souled preaching of Mr. Binney. And I have thanked God for those times of deep feeling and final decision — thanked Him still more that He has kept us both steadfast in the faith. Oh, that He, who did sueh great things for us at the beginning, may do still greater things at the end ! May He so manifest His love to your heart in this time of bodily weak- ness, that ' your joy may be full,' and your soul may express itself in fervent praise ! I commend you, my very dear friend, and all your dear ones, to the grace of our covenant Lord, who will never cease to bless us till He has given us the victory through His Cross. Peace be with you. My best love to you all. Yours faithfully and affectionately, J. 0. Haeeison. Hope, now faint, now bright, alternated witli the darkest fears, as the weary weeks dragged on, and thousands throughout the land watched anxiously for the latest published bulletin. His son Charles was his constant attendant night and day, and was enabled to keep his post of privilege as well as re- sponsibility to the end. When asked if he suffered any pain, Mr. Morley invariably answered that he was not conscious of any. All the old impatience and irritability had gone for ever, and throughout that long and weary time not one single murmur or complaint escaped his lips. Por weeks he lay in a state too weak and prostrate ' * These words were used by Mr. Morley in reply to a remark of Mr. Harrison " on the preciousness of Christ as his Saviour." 1886.] " THE LABOUBBB'S TASK IS O'EB." . 489 fully to realize his surroundings; conscious, but quite unable to bear conversation or reading. At night, when restless, he would sometimes imagine he was addressing meetings, generally of young men, and would urge them to improve their time and opportu- nities ; and, whenever his mind wandered slightly, he never on any one occasion referred to anything save the subjects which had chiefly interested him, and had constituted the work of his life. On Saturday, the 4th of September, when Mrs. Morley went into his room, he looked up, and, hold- ing out both his hands, exclaimed : " How bright you look ! " Then he became very drowsy, and in the evening the nurse, seeing that he was in a fainting condition, instantly summoned the members of his family. It seemed to them that he was in a quiet sleep — it was the beginning of that long sleep from which he would only awake on the morning of the resurrection. Soon after midnight, in the first still hour of the Sabbath morning, without a struggle, or any sign or sound of pain, the tired heart ceased to beat, and he who had worked so hard on earth entered into the eternal rest. There was sorrow in ten thousand homes. The poor had lost their friend and helper ; young men had lost their pattern and their guide ; London had lost her noblest merchant ; the nation had lost her most munificent philanthropist. And this sorrow found expression, a few days later. 490 SAMUEL MOBLMY. [Chap. XXIII. in a way that can never be forgotten by those who saw the thousands of mourners assemble to pay their last tribute of affection and respect. More than a hundred institutions — religious, social, political, and philanthropic — sent their representatives, Members of Parliament, of both Houses and of all shades of opinion, clergymen and Nonconformist ministers, students and teachers, merchants and tradesmen, shopmen and milliners, the poor and the friendless — all met around the grave of Samuel Morley in Abney Park Cemetery, sharers in a common loss and a common sorrow. Upon that grave the flower-girls of London, rescued from the streets, placed the wreath of flowers their own hands had woven, and little Indian orphans laid their floral offering — "In sweet memory, with grateful blessing and tears, for our kind and noble Sahib." A plain stone monument in Abney Park Cemetery, the " family vault of the late John Morley of Hack- ney," bears this inscription :-^ Samuel Moeley, of Hall Place, Tonbridge, Son of the late John Morley, Bom October 15, 1809, Died September 5, 1886. ' A servant of Jesus Christ.' These simple words, "a servant of Jesus Christ," 1886.] " A 8EBVANT OF JESUS CHBIST." 491 furnish the clue to Samuel Morley's success, and hold in them the great lesson that his life teaches. From his youth he " served the Lord," and, as the years went on, all that he did, he did heartily, " as unto the Lord." It was this that gave grace to his fatherliness, and beauty to his home-life. His simple, genuine faith, his tolerance, his humility, his sympathy, his earnest desire to be doing good, his appreciation of good being done by others — these were lessons that he taught unconsciously day by day. The atmosphere of the home always seemed purer and more bracing when he was in it. He did not talk Christ, but he lived Christ ; he did not speak of his intercourse with God, but his life and conversation showed the results of that intercourse ; he was reticent upon the subject of his own spiritual life, and shrank from those open revelations of personal religious experience to which some are prone. He held these as too sacred for words, as things which human breath would rob of their bloom. In his conversation he was not in the habit of using texts of Scripture or religious phrases, but he believed, with all his soul, in the spirituality of the gospel. When his children were about him, they saw in his character and conduct an example which they fain would follow as their highest earthly ideal of Christian consistency. They felt the potency of his prayers ; they knew that his chief concern in life was to see them "cleaving to that which was good." 492 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. There is a charming little picture in the following extract from a letter, written to his youngest daughter when a child : — When I am away from home, I am often in the habit of picturing to myself the home scene. I fancy I see dear mamma at the head of the table, where I wish she would consent to see one of her dear daughters, and BO on during the day, when perhaps I am busily engaged, I fancy what is going on in various parts of the house, and I very often picture to myself the quiet scene in the schoolroom where my dear youngest child is, I hope, storing her mind with what will be power and happiness to her by and by ; and then a prayer wiU often rise for a blessing on her and all the dear ones around her, that she and they may be the special objects of God's tender care and blessing, and that they may love and serve and honour Him in their future lives. And again, when writing about his sons to one whom he tenderly loved, he says : " Oh, that their minds, dear precious boys, may open to the truth as it is in Jesus, and that we may be spared to enjoy together the thought that, while engaged in many various ways in this world, we are citizens of the better country, where we may look forward to the time when we shall be united a happy family in heaven." " A servant of Jesus Christ." This was the secret of his inner life, and Samuel Morley cannot be under- stood unless that inner life, the key to his public career and private character, is made clear. His whole life was dominated by a sense of responsibility to God ; he felt that necessity was laid upon him to devote his time, talents, energy, and wealth, unre- 1886.] "A SEBVANT OF JESUS CHRIST." 493 servedly to his Master's service. His was that simple, old-fashioned, practical Christianity which the world stands in danger of losing, without gain- ing anything truer or better in its place. He knew very little of philosophy and speculative theo- logy ; to him it was of comparatively little moment what men thought, but of infinite importance what men loere. The artificial excitements by which some seek to stimulate spiritual life, he did not seem to need ; he did not feel the efl&cacy of those " aids to faith " which many find to be essential; he was content to know of the doctrine in proportion as he did the will of G-od. His was the old, simple, sturdy puritanism of his fathers, and, as Mr. Spur- geon testified, "his heart was ever with the old, old gospel." He rarely argued upon religious subjects ; his best argument was the spotless and irreproachable life he led. From the time when he became fixed in his religious convictions, he never encouraged any perplexing doubts, or sufi'ered himself to be seduced into the region of theological difficul- ties. He had faith in religious life a thousand times more than in religious creed, and from first to last he believed as a child, prayed as a child, trusted as a child. Where others groped and were in doubt, he walked straight forward in the light. Being fully persuaded in his own mind, neither mysticism nor metaphysics, misgivings nor scepticism, ever troubled him. Nevertheless, he had a strong sympathy with the men who, in the open arena of controversy, met 494 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. the enemy, and defended Christianity against the attacks of infidelity. It was this that made him take so strong an interest in the Contemporary Bevieiu, of which he was part proprietor. "We must allow those who have an argument against Chris- tianity to ' out with it ' in faith, sincerity, and fear- lessness," he once said, " but we must find men who will meet them with the sword of truth. I cannot oppose infidelity myself, but you, who are qualified by special education and bent, can. Go you and fight ! " Mr. Morley was far too practical a man to care for, or take part in, controversies between Christians. Speaking one day to young men, he said : "If Christ be our Master, one thing only is our foe in this world. It is not Dissent, or Catholicism, or Methodism, or Unitarianism, or Calvinism ; in all these there may be, more or less, of error, but they who hold them are our brethren, battling against the same evil as we are. Our foe in this world is sin — the evil nature in each one, in you and in me. It is in ourselves that our foe is. Conquer that, spend half the time in stamping that out (Grod helping us) which is spent in religious controversy with Christians, and the kingdom of Grod would soon be established in the world." "A servant of Jesus Christ." It was this that was the motive-power of his benevolence — to give as freely as he had received, whereby " he endeared his name to all of our countrymen, and will go down to 1886.] "A SlEBVANT OP JESUS CHRIST." 495 posterity as one of the greatest philanthropists of the age." * It was this that sustained him in his abundant labours for the people, that he might, as he so often said, raise them to a higher life ; it was this that influenced him in his political actions, to make men not political dissenters, but Christian politicians ; and it was this that enabled him to preserve his child- likeness and simplicity in all things to the end. Wealth, influence, position, honours, had no power to corrupt or alter Samuel Morley. Of flattery he had more than the common share, for no one is flattered more than the possessor of great wealth. But it made no impression upon him ; he was, in the zenith of his popularity, exactly what he was as a young man, at the outset of his career. In society, he was at home among princes, and yet stood on just the same friendly terms with struggling country ministers and with simple, iUiterate village folk ; popular among all classes, caressed and compH- mented, he retained his whole-hearted sincerity ; possessor of great wealth, he never abused it, or re- linquished the unostentatious habits of his home life ; credited with an almost boundless influence, he set loosely by worldly honour; placed in the midst of the temptations of commercial and political life, he stood steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. * Speech of the Prince of Wales at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Eoyal College of Music, July 15, 1887. 496 SAMUEL MOBLEY. [Chap. XXIII. "A servant of Jesus Christ." This was the great inspiration of his diligence in business, that he might " serve the Lord; " and to this end he consecrated his clear, strong common sense, his foresight, promptitude, and decision, and all his "well-balanced faculties. He, carried his religion into Ms business, as much as into his church, quietly and unostenta- tiously. Sincere and upright, he could neither say, nor act, that which was untrue ; pure-hearted, he could not tolerate that which was base or mean or impure; having definite convictions, he acted up to them, but it was a favourite remark of his that " he had no respect for a man whose religion consists in reading a tract behind a bale of goods." It was because he was a simple Christian man, living his hfe out in the open, holding his own loyally and valiantly, and carrying his head high above every- thing that savoured of impurity of motive, that he helped to work a revolution in the character of the trade in which he came to be regarded as a patriarch, whose opinion every one sought, and whose example has passed into a proverb. "A servant of Jesus Christ." It is this that, brings Samuel Morley within the sphere of every man's imitation. He was not a genius ; he was not a man of great intellectual gifts ; he was not in any respect an unattainable ideal. He was a man faithful to the responsibilities of life ; who used aU his trusts and talents to the extent of his ability ; who. 1886.] CONCLUSION. 497 redeemed the time because the days were evil ; who did small things or great with equal diligence and thoroughness ; who hated littleness and meanness and selfishness ; who strove to make the world purer and wiser, and therefore happier ; and who lived and died a simple, God-fearing man. 83 APPENDIX. The following is a list of religious, philanthropic, and other Institutions represented by deputations at the funeral of the late Mr. Samuel Morley, Abney Park Cemetery, September 10, 1886, with all of which he was more or less directly connected : — Band of Hope Union. Bangor College. Baptist Total Abstainers' Association. Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. Blue Bibbon Gospel Temperance Mission. Brecon Memorial College. Bristol Corporation. Bristol Federal Liberal Association. Bristol Liberal Operatives' Association. Bristol Temperance Society. Bristol Young Men's Christian Association. British and Foreign Bible Society. British and Foreign Anti- Slavery Society. British and Foreign School Society. British and Foreign Sailors' Society. Cavendish CoUege. Christian Colportage Association. Christian Instruction Society. Christian Evidence Society. Church Aid and Home Missionary Society. Christ Church, Westminster Bridge Eoad. 500 APPENDIX. Church of England Temperance Association. City of London Total Abstainers' Union. Congregational Board. Congregational Institute, Nottingham. Colonial Missionary Society. Congregational Chapel Building Society. Congregational Pastors' Retiring Fund. Congregational School, Caterham. Congregational Total Abstainers' Association. Congregational Union of England and Wales. Dalrymple Home for Inebriates. Deputies of Protestant Dissenters. Earlswood Asylum. Early Closing Association. Evangelical Continental Society. Evangelistic Mission. English Congregational Union of North Wales. Knsbury Eadical Association. Gohebyb Memorial Chapel. Hackney College. Hackney Juvenile Mission. Homerton College. Hospital Saturday Fund. Howard Association. International Arbitration and Peace Association. Kent Congregational Association. Kingsland Institute for Girls. Lambeth Baths Committee of Working Men. London Congregational Union. London City Mission. London Chapel Building Society. London Baptist Association. London Missionary Society. Mansfield College, Oxford. Mansion House Council on the Dwellings of the Poor. Memorial HaU Trustees. Milton Mount College. Mutual Provident Alliance. National Liberal Club. APPENDIX. 501 National Temperance League. National Vigilance Association. New College. Nottinghamshire Congregational Union. Nottingham Corporation. Nottinghamshire Band of Hope Union. Open Air Mission. Orphan Workiag School. Peace Society. Presbyterian Church of England (Presbytery of London). Provident Association of Warehousemen and Clerks. Bagged School Union. Eailway Mission. Beligious Tract Society. Eoyal College of Music. Boyal HoUoway College. Eoyal Victoria Hall Workmen's Club Temperance Society and Band of Hope (11 Deputations). St. George's (Hanover Square) Liberal Association. School for the Daughters of Missionaries. Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. ' Sunday Closing Association. Sunday School Union. Sussex Congregational Association. Sussex Home Missionary Society. St. Giles' Christian Mission. Tolmers Square Congregational Church. Trades Union Congress. Tunbridge WeUs Liberal Association. University College of Wales. Warehousemen and Clerks' Schools. Weigh House Congregational Church. Welsh Congregational Union. Workmen's Peace Association. Working Lads' Institute. Wyclif Society. Young Men's Christian Association (National Council). Young Women's Christian Association. INDEX. ABBOTSrOBB, 48 Abolition of Universities Tests, Bill for, 345, 351 Act of Uniformity, 155 Administrative Eeform Association, 122, 124-126 Allen, Archdeacon, 352 AUon, Dr., 317 American Civil War, 161 " Ancient Merchants' Lecture," 110 Arch, Mr. Joseph, 354 Arnold, Dr., 443 Arthur, Bev. W., 204 Artizans', Labourers', and General Dwellings Company, 391 Ashley, Hon. Evelyn, 392 Ashton, Rev. E., 133 Bacon, Lord, 440 Baines, Mr. Edward, 147, 148, 149, 221, 393 Baines, Mr. William, 66, 76 Ballot, The, 346 Bank Act and Currency Eeform Com- mittee, The, 149 Bank Charter Act, 149 Bankruptcy Bill, 325, 415, 416 Bateman, Mr. , 81 Bates, Dr., 51 Bayne, Mr. P., 283 Bellamy, Rev. W., 72 Berkeley, Hon. F. H. F., 267, 274, 275, 276, 342 Bicentenary Memorial Fund, 156 Bicentenary of Nonconformity, 154, 155, 866 Binney, Rev. T., 15, 59, 60-63, 64, 76, 84, 85-87, 89-92, 108, 111, 165, 204, 221, 362, 363 Bishop of Winchester, 340 Blackrock Convalescent Home, 467 Blackwood, Mr. Stevenson, 176 Blue Eibbon Movement, 418, 419 Booth, Mr. R. T., 418 Borough Boundaries Act, 2 Borough Franchise, 147 Bradlaugh, Mr. C, 407, 408 Brereton, Eev. Canon, 401 Bright, Et. Hon. J., 133, 143, 152, 217, 223, 250, 465 Bristol Operatives' Libera,l Association, 258, 394 British and Foreign Anti-Slavery So- ciety, 161 British and Foreign Bible Society, 55, 304, 381, 457, 458 British and Foreign School Society, 332, 333 Broadhurst, Mr. 421, 425 Brook, Eev. W., 204 Brown, Eev. Baldwin, 286 Buller, Mr., 13 Bunhill Fields, 109, 241 Burder, Eev. H. F., 26, 27, 91 Burials Bill, 351 Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, 206 Cantekbdet, Archbishop of, 466 504 INDEX. Carver, Mr., 12 Chartism, 108 Christianity v. Secularism, 114 Church and State, 212-215, 245, 276- 279 Church Bates, 58, 66, 77, 217, 280 Church Rates Abolition Bill, 58, 216, 222 Clayton, Eev. Geor^, 25 Clayton, Eev. John, 13, 25 Clayton, Eev. John, the elder, 25, 59 Clifton, Sir E., 209, 210, 215, 266 Cobden, Eichaid, 133, 141, 148, 151, 152, 158, 465 Coleridge, Mr. Justice, 448 Colleges— New, 137 ; Spring Hill, 137; Cheshunt, 137, 138 ; Lancashire, 138; Eotherham, 188; Airedale, 138; Homerton, 25,188; Cavendish, 401 ; Mansfield, 484 Collier, Sir E., 325 Collings, Mr. Jesse, 354 CoUum, Eev. Hugh, 379, 387 Conder, Eev. Josiah, 88 Congregational Home Missionary Society, 180, 185 Congregational Union, 131, 249 Cone, Miss, 484, 435, 479 Conventicle and Five Mile Acts, 155 Cook, Mr. Thomas, 896 Corn Laws, 259 Cossham, Mr. Handel, 254 Council on Education, Committee of, 68, 834 County Franchise, 147, 429 Cremer, Mr., 425 Crimean War, 121, 122 Criminal Law Amendment BiU, 466 Cruikshank, George, 316 Customs and Inland Eevenue Bill, 829 " Daily News " started, 244 David Thomas Memorial Chapel, 471 Deceased Wife's Sister Bill, 350 Denman, Mr. Justice, 426 Derrick, John, 7 Devonshire, Duke of, 425 Dickens, Charles, 127, 244 Dilke, Mr. C. W., 244 Dilke, Sir C, 428 Disestablishment, 212-215, 245, 276- 279 Disraeli, Mr., 347 Dissenters' Parliamentary Committee, 100 ; letter of, 100-108 ; appeal to Nonconformist electors, 103, 104, 106 Dixon, Mr. G., 855, 356 Duke, Sir James, 144 "Eagles, The," 11 Education, 68, 79, 331-340, 370 Edwards, Mr. W., 279 Exeter Hall, 154, 293, 325 Pactoeies Education Bill, Opposition to, 79 Peltham, Owen, 441 Financial Eeform Association, 306 Fleming, Eobert, 51 Forster, Mr. John, 244 Forster, Et. Hon. W. E., 885 Portesoue, Earl, 425 " Foundation of Death," The, 419 Eraser, Dr. (Bishop of Manchester), 360 Free Church of Scotland formed, 79 Froude, Eiehard Hurrell, 55 GiKDLESTONE, Eev. Cauon, 276, 354 Gladstone, Et. Hon. W. E., 152, 217, 222, 223, 246, 324, 325, 340, 843, 350, 404, 405, 429, 447, 462, 465, 473 Goldsmid, SirF., 293 Gotch, Dr., 263 Graham, Mr. J. W.,400 Graham's, Sir James, Factories Edu- cation Bill, 79 ; his " revolvers," 442, 443. Grant, Eev. Brewin, 114 Granville, Earl, 405 Greeves, Eev. P., 204 Grosvenor, Lord E. , 478 Guest, Eev. W., 805 Guizot, M. , 444 INDEX. 505 Gustafson, Mr., 419 Guthrie, Dr., 2i0 Hacknkt, 10, 51 Hadfield, Mr. G., 77, 82 Hall, Eev. Newman, 219 Halley, Dr., 364 Haroourt, Sir W. V., 360 Hardy, Mr. Gathorne, 217 Hargrove, Eev. J., 229, 230 Harper, Dr., 425 Harris, Dr., 137 Harrison, Bev. J. C, 30, 33, 39, 111, 204, 362, 364, 475, 487 Hart, Eev. T. Baron, 396 Hartington, Marquis of, 417 Hartog Scholarship, 293 Henry, Matthew, 51 Hermitage, The, 2 Hill, Mr., Editor of Daily News, 246 Hill, Mr. T., 189, 191 Hinton, Eev. Howard, 115 Hodgson, Mr., 342 Holyoabe, Mr. G. J., 114, 368, 369 Home Missionary Society, 131, 293, 366 Homerton, birthplace of Samuel • Morley, 10 Homerton Theological Academy, 24, 51, 69, 111 Home Eule, 400, 484-486 Hope, Miss E. M. (see Mrs. Samuel Morley) Hope, Mr. Beresford, 217 Hope, Mr. Samuel, 70, 71 Hospital Saturday Fund, 422 Houldsworth, Mr. W., 40 Housing the Poor, Eoyal Commission for, 421, 425, 428, 461 Howard, Mr. E., 176 Howell, Mr. George, 268, 425 Hurditch, Mr., 375 "I. AND E. MOELEY," 4, 7, 9, 118, 187, 188, 313 Irish Church Question, 324, 325 James, Eev.. John Angell, 137 Jay, Eev. William, 74, 75 Jeffery, Lord, 40 Jenkins, Mr. E., 354, 355 Jewish Disabilities, 259 Johnson, Dr., 426 Jones, Mr. Ernest, 250 Jowett, Prof., 425 Keating, Sir Henry, 427 Keble, Eev. J., 55 Kingsley, Charles, 432 " King's Weigh House," 59 ; first three pastors of, 59 Knill, Eev. E., 94, 95, 144 Lambeth Baths, 304 Langton, Mr. Walter, 39, 47 Lawson, Sir Wilfrid, 418 Layard, Mr. , 128 Letter from Samuel Morley to Mr. J, Wilson, 99, 109, 138, 146, 147, 156, 159, 179, 180 ; A. B., 160 ; Mr. L. A. Chamerovzow, 161 ; electors of Nottingham, 224; the women of Fletcher Gate, 226; Lord Shaftes- bury, 236, 242, 341 ; Pall Mall Gazette, 250 ; Mr. T. Worth, 264 ; his second daughter, 271 ; Eev. Canon Girdlestone, 278 ; Mr. W. Edwards, 279; Mr. J. Carvell Williams, 281 ; Mr, Arnold Morley, 284, 427 ; Daily News, 357, 359 ; his daughter, 365 ; Eev. H. CoUum, 387 ; his daughter Augusta, 387, 410 ; the Record, 407 ; a clergyman, 417; Mrs. M. Washington, 428; Lady Spencer, 461 ; Miss Marsh, 467; Eev. J. C. Harrison, 475; Et. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, 478; Miss Cons, 479 ; Mr. A. J. Stevens, 486 Letter to Samuel Morley from Dr. J. Pye Smith, 68 ; Eev. T. Binney, 76, 85 ; Mr. G. Hadfield, 78 ; Mr. J. Morley, sen., 88; Eev. E. Knill, 95, 96; Mr. S. Laing, 123; Mr. W. S. Lindsay, 124; Eev. J. A. James, 137 ; Eiohard Cobden, 142, S06 INDEX. 151 ; Lord John Russell, 143 ; Mr. E. Baines, 148, 393 ; Eev. W. Brock, 212 ; Kev. Newman Hall, 219 ; Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, 222, 404, 417, 419, 462, 478 ; from women of Fletcher Gate, 225 ; Lord Shaftesbury, 235, 238, 242, 341, 361, 469 ; Dr. T. Guthrie, 240; Mr. A. J. Mundella, 256, 480; Dr. Paton, 257 ; Mr. D. Thomas, 263 ; Dr. Gotch, 263; Mr. Goldwin Smith, 267 ; Eev. Canon Girdlestone, 276 ; Eev. W. Pennefather, 290; Miss Marsh, 291 ; Archdeacon Allen, 352 ; Sir W. Haroourt, 360 ; Dr. Fraser, 360; Earl Granville, 405; Eev. J. C. Harrison, 487 Liberation Society, The, 80, 218, 279 Licensing Laws, 346 Lincolnshire Labour League, 355 Locke King, Mr., 147 London Chamber of Commerce, 328 London City Mission, 144 London School Board, 370 Lytton, Sir E. B., 128 Maguiee, Eev. E., 204 Mann, Mr. Horace, 132 Manning, Cardinal, 466 Manor House, 3 Marsh, Miss, 467 Martin, Mr. A. G., 209, 215 Martin, Eev. S., 204 Martineau, Miss Harriet, 244 Mat-weavers' Association, 349 Maxted, Mr., 375, 376, 378 McCarthy, Mr. Justin, 244 McCree, Eev. G. W., 204 Melbourn Boarding School, 12, 13, 84 Mellor, Sir John, 427 Melrose, 48, 49 Memorial Hall, Farriugdon Street, 157, 293, 366 Miall, Mr. Edward, 76, 221 Mildmay Conference Hall, 395 Miles, Mr., 254, 262, 270, 273, 275 Mills, Mr. J. R , 366 Milton Mount College, 305 Mocatta, Mr. F. D., 392 Moffat, Dr., 364, 381, 388 Morley, Arnold, son of S. Morley, 165, 171, 227,284,410,478 Morley, Arthur, son of Eiohard Morley, 189 Morley, Augusta, daughter of . S. Morley, 165 Morley, Benjamin, cousin of S. Morley, 93 Morley, Charles, son of S. Morley, 165, 227, 429, 488 Morley, Howard, son of S. Morley, 165, 169, 170, 174, 227, 411, 473 Morley, John, the father of S. Morley, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 21, 22, 69, 88, 109, 187 Morley, John, brother of S. Morley, 20, 32, 65, 69 ; retires from business, 118 Morley, Mary, daughter of S. Morley, 165 Morley, Mrs., wife of S. Morley, 70, 489 Morley, Eebekah, daughter of S. Morley, 165 Morley, Mr. John, Editor of the Morn- ing Star, 244, 246 ; editor of the Fortnightly Revieio, 398 Morley, Eichard, uncle of S. Morley, 3, 4, 67 Morley, Samuel, Ancestors of, 2-10 ; his birthplace, 10 ; his brothers and sisters, 12 ; his parents' characters, 12 ; sent to boarding school, 12 ; school life and character, 13, 14 ; holidays, 15 ; home influences, 16,17; leaves school and goes into business, 17 ; at the desk, 20 ; home attrac- tions, 22, 23; attends Dr. Pye Smith's ministry, 24, 25 ; treasurer of Homerton College, 25 ; acquaintance with Eev. J. Clayton, 25, 26 ; rela- tions with Rev. J. Parsons, 27-31 ; Eev. J. C. Harrison's sketch of him, 33-36 ; business prosperity, 36, 37 ; principles in business, 37 ; a sum- ■INDEX. 507 mer tour, 39-49 ; takes part in public movements, 50, 51, 56 ; spe- cial interest in Independency, 57, 58; hears Rev. T. Binney preach, 59 ; influenced by Binney and Parsons, 63, 64 ; journeys through Belgium and Switzerland, 65, 66 ; opposed to Church Rates, 67; mother dies, 69 ; introduced to the Misses Hope, 69 ; married to Miss E. M. Hope, 72 ; honeymoon, 74, 75 ; settles at Lower Clapton, 75 ; helps the Anti- Corn Law agitation, 77 ; Avorks for the Dissenting Colleges, 80 ; takes with wife a driving tour in Soot- land, 81, 82 ; his friendships, 83, 84; correspondence with friends, 85-93 ; , declines toholdoffioeinWeighHouse Church, 92 ; his early liberality, 94 ; his concern at position of Dissenters in Parliament, 97, 98 ; elected chair- man of "Dissenters' Parliamentary Committee," 100 ; opposition to Lord John Eussell's return, 105 ; increasing responsibilities, 107, 108; death of his father, 109 ; accepts treasurership of " Ancient Mer- chants' Lecture," 110 ; testimonials to Dr. Pye Smith and James Parsons, 111-114 ; chairman at public dis- cussion on Secularism, 116-117 ; re- moves to Craven Lodge, 117; his brother John retires from the busi- ness, 118, 119 ; interest in Adminis- trative Reform, 122-127; leader of the movement, 129 ; accepts office of treasurer to Congregational Union, 131 ; visiting county associations, 133-135 ; becomes a total abstainer, 140; urged to enter Parliament, 141 ; encourages religious services at theatres, 144, 145 ; sympathizes with franchise reform, 147, 148 ; engaged in national currency ques- tions, 149, 151 ; connection with Cobden, 151-153; increasing interest in Temperance, 153, 154 ; supports movement for Bicentenary of Non- conformity, 154-157 ; help to chapel building, 157, 158; his views of a "minister," 159, 160; declines to co-operate with British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1863, 161 ; his children, letters and advice to them, 165-174 ; opinions on sports and amusements, 175-180 ; at home and travelling, 180-185; business affairs, 186-190; treatment of his workmen, 191 ; general character- istics, 192-194 ; character of the firm, 195, 196 ; treatment of young men, 197, 203 ; encourages the Young Men's Missionary Associa- tion, 203, 207 ; candidate for Not- tingham, 209, 214 ; elected as representative to Parliament, 215 ; maiden speech in House of Com- mons, 216, 218; last speech as Member for Nottingham, 220; un- seated on petition, 220, 221 ; sym- pathy of friends iu this trial, 221, 223 ; his letter to Nottingham electors, 224 ; presented with a Bible, 225 ; with his sons at Cam- bridge, 227-229 ; correspondence with Lord Shaftesbury, 235-239 ; interest in Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, 241, 242 ; connection with daily press, 244-248 ; Railway Com- panies' action, 249 ; writes to the Pall JIall Gazette, 250 ; decides to stand for Bristol, 254 ; goes to South of France, 254; a wail from Notting- ham, 256 ; address to electors, 257 ; reception at Bristol, 258; his speech, 258-261 ; defeated at the election, 262 ; hopes revive at Nottingham, 264 ; popularity at Bristol, 265, 266; aids Liberal candidates, 268, 269 ; escapes an accident in journey to Scotland, 269 ; renews contest at Bristol, 270-275 ; wins the seat, 275 ; offends hisLiberation Society friends, and resigns seat on Executive Com- mittee, 276, 284 ; his wealth, 285 ; how he dispensed it, 286-289 ; 508 INDEX. catholicity, 292, 293 ; account of his generosity to Welsh institutions, 294-301; his humility, 302, 303; further characteristics, 304, 305 ; support of Financial Eeform, 306, 307; stimulating others to give, 307, 308 ; the " business of philanthropy," 309, 310 ; treatment of defaulters, 313, 314; poor lit|i-ary men, 314-816; poor ministers, 318 ; his gifts unre- corded, 320, 323 ; supports the Irish Church Question, 324, 325; speech on Sir E. Collier's Bank- ruptcy Bill, 326-328 ; speech on Customs and Inland Eevenue Bill, 329, 330 ; attitude on the schemes of National Education, 331-340 ; on the Eevision of the Bible, 340, 341 ; removal to HaU Place, Leigh, near Tonbridge, 343 ; seconds the Address to the Crown, February 9th, 1871, 343; his speech, 344-347; his interest in trade questions, 348, 349; takes part in Burials Bill agitation, 351-353; also in the extension of the franchise to agricultural labourers, 354-362 ; keenly feels loss of Eev. T. Binney, 362; presented with his portrait at the opening of the Memorial Hall, 366, 367; connection with London School Board, 370, 371; at Hall Place, Leigh, 372, 373 ; temporal and spiritual welfare of Leigh promoted, 374, 375 ; builds an " undenominational chapel," 376 ; the Plymouth Brethren, 377 ; the village Squire, 378, 379 ; Eev. Hugh Collum's account of him, 379-385 ; eldest daughter's marriage, 385 ; her death, 386 ; Dr. Mofiat becomes his tenant, 389 ; becomes shareholder in Artizans', Labourers', and General Dwellings Company, 391 ; becomes director, 392, 393; death of his friend, Eev. J. Parsons, 394; desires to give up parliamentary life, but overcome, 395 ; various labours, 396 ; controversy with Trades Unionists, 397 ; curious specimens of his cor- respondence, 398, 400 ; middle class education, 401 ; Canon Brereton's letter about Cavendish College, 401- 403; attachment to Mr. Gladstone, 403-404 ; his hasty telegram, and his opposition to the admission of Mr. Bradlaugh to Parliament, 406-410 ; goes to America, and reception there, 411-412; notes of a lecture, 412-414 ; parliamentary occupations, 415-417 ; dons the " Blue Eibbon," 418 ; his efforts for Temperance, 419, 420 ; ap- pointed one of the Eoyal Commission for Housing the Poor, 421 ; member of the Executive Committee of the Fisheries and Health Exhibitions,. 421 ; some of his pocket-book en- tries, 422, 423 ; decides to give up parliamentary life, 424 ; his visitors at Wood Street, 425 ; his health breaks down, and visits the South of France, 425, 426 ; visits Sandring- ham, 429 ; later ideas of recreation,. 430, 431; joins the Victoria Hall movement, 484 ; account of its work, 436, 437 ; manner, method, and power as a public speaker, 439 ; notes of political, social, tem- perance, and religious speeches, 445^56 ; interest in Foreign Mis- sions, 457 ; is a firm believer in the Bible, 457-459; failing health, 460 ; his letter to Lady Spencer,, and her reply, 461 ; offered a peerage by Mr. Gladstone, 462 ; declines the honour, 463 ; public opinion respect- ing it, 464, 465 ; acts on Committee of Investigation to inquire into Pall Mall Gazette revelations, 465, 466 ; his friendship with Lord Shaftes- bury, 468, 469 ; resigns his seat for Bristol, 469 ; farewell address to the electors, 469, 470 ; his connection with Bristol, 470, 471; the esteem gained as M.P., 472 ; interest in General Election of 1885, 472, 473 ; grave anxiety for his health, 473,. INDEX. 509 4 W ; elected Chairman of Congrega- tional Union, 474 ; unatle to accept the office, 474 ; last visit to Notting- ham,' 476 ; last days, 476, 482 ; supports Mr. Gladstone's Irish policy, 484-485 ; last illness, 487- 489 ; death, 489 ; burial, 490 Morley, Samuel, grandfather of S. Morley, 2 Morley, Samuel Hope, son of S. Morley, 165, 227, 429 Morley, Sarah, sister of S. Morley, 25,26 Morley, William, brother of S. Morley, 32, 39, 69 Morning Star started, 243 Morse, Rev. Canon, 342 Mundella, Mr. A. J., 210, 256 Mursell, Eev. A., 200 Museums and Galleries, Opening of, on Sundays, 421 Nationaii Agricultural Labourers' Union, 354 National School Society, 333 Newman, John Henry, 55 Newspaper Stamp and Paper Duty, Abolition of, 259 Noel, Eev. Baptist, 204 Nonconformist established, 76 Nottingham, 4, 5, 6, 187 O'DoNOGHUE, The, 216 Paget, Mr. C, 209, 215 Palmer, Eev. Samuel, 26 Palmerston, Lord, 141 Paris Universal Exhibition, 396 Parsons, Eev. James, 27, 29-31, 63, 112, 113, 221, 393 Patou, Dr., 256, 341, 342, 477 Pattison, Mr., 77 Pennefather, Eev. W.,'230, 231,289 Penny Postage, 259 People's Palace for South London, 438 Peto, Sir Morton, 253, 261 JPhilippe, Louis, 444 Plymouth Brethrenism, 376 Poulton, Mr. E., 12 Poulton, Sarah, married to John Morley, 3, 15, 16, 69 Pryce, Mr. E. S., 255 Pubhc Works Loan Commissioners, 360, 361 Punshou, Eev. Morley, 204 Queen Viotoeia, 7 Queen's Park Estate, The, 392 Eatples, Dr. T., 108 Ealeigh, Eev. Alex., 204 Bawson, Mr. Henry, 244, 245 Bedistribution Bill, 429 Beed, Mr. Charles, 221, 241, 340, 364 Eeform Bill of 1832, 51 ; of 1867, 243 BeUgious Tract Society founded, 54 Eevision of the Authorized Version, 340 Eiohard, Mr. Henry, 221, 293, 335 Eobinson, Mr. J. E., 247, 314, 315 Eoebuck, Mr., 128 Bogers, Prof. Thorold, 267 Boman Catholic Disabilities, 259 Eothsohild, Baron, 144 Eothsohild, Baron Lionel de, '. Boyal Victoria Coffee Hall, 436 Eoyal Victoria Hall {see Victoria Theatre) Buskin, Mr., 194 Eussell, Lord John, 54, 58, 67, 98, 100, 104, 129, 143, 144 Sawell, Mr. C. M., 144 School Boards, Introduction of, 338 Scott, Sir W., 48, 49 Shaftesbury, Lord, 234, 235, 236, 288, 301, 303, 340, 341, 361, 391, 425, 466, 467, 468 Shaw-Lefevre,Mr., 330 Slave Trade AboHtion, 259 Smith, Dr. John Pye, 24, 25, 84, 111 Smith, Mr. Goldwin, 267, 276 Sneinton, 1, 2, 4, 8 Sommerrille, Mr. W. , 255 Special Sunday Services, 146 Spencer, Earl, 461 510 INDEX. Spencer, Lady, 461 Spicer, Mr. Wm., 366 Spurgeon, Eev. 0. H., 95, '204, 235, 315, 425 Spurgeon, Rev. James, 95 Stanhope, Mr., 360 Stewart, Mr. Mark, 40 Stocking-Making, 6, 7 Stockings, Fame of Morley's, 7 Stoughton, Dr., 36*4 Stovel, Eev. C, 204 Strikes and Look-outa, 353 Sturge, Joseph, 133 Sunday School Union started, 55, 130 Sussex, Duke of, 54 Syme, Eev. E. , 115 Taine, M., 192 Taylor, Mr. H. W., 385 Tests Abolition Bill, 220 Test and Corporation Acts, 54, 58, 259 Theological Institute, Nottingham, 159 Thomas, Mr. David, 263 Thomas, Mr. G., 254, 255 Thompson, Mr. T., 130 Three Graves, 2 Toleration Act, 53 Torrens, Mr. McCuUagh, 244 Total Abstainers' Union, City of London, 419 Tottenham Court Eoad Chapel, 27 Trades Unions, 397, 422 University College, 476 Upper House of Convocation, 340 VicTOEiA Theatre ("Old Vic"), 432,. 479 Viney, Eev. Josiah, 64 Wages, Payment of, in Public-houses, Bill for preventing, 416 Wales, Prince and Princess of, 429, 495 Walker, Mr. T., 246 Wardlaw, Dr., 43 Weigh House Chapel, 27, 29 Well Street, Hackney, 9, 10, 24, 51 Wells, Mr., E.A., 366 Westminster, Duke of, 436 Whitwell, Mr., 360 Wilberforoe, Eev. Canon, 420 Wills, Messrs. W. H. and H. 0., 254 Wiseman, Eev. Luke, 204 Wilson, Dr., 132, 133, 135, 182, 195, 269, 321 Wilson, Mr. Joshua, 70, 99, 343, 364 Wilson, Mr. Thomas, 69 Wolverton, Lord and Lady, 427 Wood Street, 9, 18, 19, 33, 178, 186, 425 Working Men's Lord's Day Eest Asso- ciation, 421 Young Men's Christian Association, 293, 410, 471, 481-484 Young Men's Missionary Association,. 203, 204, 206 DNWIN BROTHERS, THE GKESHAM PRESS, CHILWORTH AND LONDON.