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 REPORT 
 
 MEETING OF WORKING MEN, 
 
 A 
 
 mti 
 
 ADDRESSED BY 
 
 HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, THE EARLS NELSON AND 
 
 HARROWBY, THE DEANS OF YORK, CHICHESTER, CARLISLE, & CORK, 
 
 REV, CANON HEY, AND SIR ROUNDELL PALMER, Q. C, M.P., 
 
 HELD IX THE 
 
 CONORESS HALL, YOEK. 
 
 ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER IOth, isno, 
 
 PEEFACE BY HIS GEACE THE AEOHBISHOP OF YOEK 
 
 Y 11 K : 
 
 J. SAMTSON, 13, CONEY STREET.
 
 i
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 On the first day of the Church Congress a deputation 
 from the York Working Men's Club waited on the President 
 and requested that some of those who took part in the 
 Congress would devote a few hours to the instruction of 
 the working men, promising that large numbers would take 
 advantage of this opportunity, if it were given. As there 
 was only one vacant evening, and as everyone was already 
 engaged for every hour beside, there was no time to prepare 
 for such a gathering. But it was felt that this novel invi- 
 tation should not be received with coldness. Accordingly, 
 on the folloTving evening, the speakers and many other 
 leading members of the Congress met, in the Congress 
 Hall, a large body of the working men and their families, 
 all admitted by tickets distributed by their o^^ti Club. A 
 more intelligent and appreciative audience it might have 
 been hard to find, and some of the speakers much regretted 
 that, on such an opportunity, they were unable to concert 
 any general plan, or even to prepare, in the usual way, 
 their own addresses. Of this interesting meeting, it has 
 been thought desirable to preserve some record. The reader 
 must extend to the speakers the same indulgence that they 
 received from their hearers, and must remember that the 
 meeting is recorded not so much for what was said, as for 
 the fact that such a meeting was devised by the working 
 men themselves as an addition to the Church Congress. 
 
 W. EBOR.
 
 UIUC ^
 
 THE MEETING. 
 
 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER Wth, 1866, 
 
 His Grace the Archbishop of York took the cliair in the Congress 
 Hall, supported by Earls Nelson and Harrowby, the Deans of York, 
 Chichester, Ely, Carlisle, and Cork, the Eev. Canons Hey and Trevor, 
 the Lord Mavor, Sir Eoundell Palmer, Q.C., IM.P.. J. Lowther, Esq., 
 M.P., A. J. Beresford Hope, Esq., M.P., Sir M. Peto, &c., &c. 
 
 His Geace the President, who -was received with cheers, said — 
 Tliere is no feature of the present Congi-ess -which has been move 
 thoroughly gratifying to the promoters of this movement than the 
 meeting to-night. (Cheers.) It gives the greatest satisfaction to 
 every person on this platform to come forward and take part in a 
 meeting of this kind. Those who invited us to come here are not 
 regular members of the Congress, but by their invitation and by thus 
 meeting us they express that they are anxious and open to receive 
 instruction from those who compose the Congi-ess. AYe do not, 
 however, assume your entire agreement with us ; but merely that 
 your presence here shoAvs that you are willing to be instructed. I may 
 also say at the outset that, as President of the Congress, nothing has 
 given me half the alarm I feel in facing this audience to-night. (A 
 laugh.) It was an excellent thought — but it would have been more 
 excellent if it had come earlier, so that we might have appeared befoi*6 
 you with subjects pre-arranged and well considered, that we might 
 have done our best for you as we have done for the regular members 
 and meetings. We consented at once when it was proposed to get up 
 this extra meeting for your satisfaction ; although unprepared as we 
 are it is no form of speech, but a reality, when we say we throw our- 
 selves upon your indulgence. (Cheers.) I will also say at the outset, 
 and I hope there Avill be no mistake on the point, that we meet you 
 on equal terms ; and not as bringing our intellects down to anybody's 
 level, which would be wholly unnecessary. (Cheers.) Yesterday, in 
 this Hall, a member who comes from the other side of the Irish Channel 
 (^Ir. Napier) said, " I hate the words, 'working men ; ' every man that 
 is worth anything is a working man"' — (cheers) — and therefore in that 
 respect we are all on the same footing, and have no business to be call- 
 ing one another names. (Pienewed cheers.) And if that be true at all 
 times it is pre-eminently true at a Christian Congress ; for I think if 
 there be one thing more than another which the Church of England 
 may fairly claim, it is that instead of attempting to aggravate dis- 
 tinctions between class and class, she rather seeks to mediate between 
 class and class — ever putting it forward, in all places and at all times, 
 that in the sight of God. and in view of the great realities which
 
 6 
 
 Revelation presents to ns, all men are equal ; and that all distinctions 
 of wealth and position in the face of these great facts are so minute 
 as to be not worth taking into account. (Cheers.) It has been a 
 matter of difficulty to arrange on what subjects to speak so that the 
 sj)eakers may not tread over the same ground; but in the few minutes 
 in which we were assembled before taking our places on the platform, 
 it was agreed to leave each speaker at liberty to choose his own subject 
 and to treat it in his own way. I propose therefore to speak to yoii 
 for a few minutes, simply and nnpremcditatedly, about the highest 
 subject of all — What brings us here to-night? We come as the 
 servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is because our Lord taught 
 wdiat he did teach eighteen hundred years ago that a meeting of this 
 kind is possible. What has made the gentlemen on the platform 
 from Ireland come here but the love of Christ burning in their 
 hearts ? (Cheers.) What has brought from the other side of the 
 Atlantic the three prelates Avho sit behind me ? Whence is that 
 coincidence of feeling -which has brought some from Ireland, some 
 from the other side of the Atlantic, and others from all parts of 
 England, and gathered them together in a focus as it were at York, 
 but to hear Avhat each has to say about the Christian religion at this 
 time of its great trial in the world. (Cheers.) It is a most remark- 
 able fact that the word spoken by oixr blessed Lord should be 
 at this moment such a power in the Avorld — a power greater than 
 that of capital, machinery, industry, or political systems. Such 
 however is the power of the Word although it is w^orking more 
 quietly. The name of Christ has lately been coupled with specula- 
 tions tending much to detract from His glory, by robbing Him of that 
 attribute, which nevertheless I believe men will continue to assign to 
 Him to the end of the Avorld, namely, the eternal Sonship of God. 
 I know^that to whatever class you may belong, whether high or low, 
 these speculations are now-a-clays put forward not only in a hot- 
 pressed and expensive form, but in the penny serial and the dingy 
 tract. Their general purport is to deny that Christ is the Lord of 
 the world. IJut after all these speculations and all the criticisms 
 that have been of late years so lavishly poured forth, I know for 
 certain that He is the Lord of the world, and I will show you in a 
 rough way why I think so. (Cheers.) I will suppose the ease of a 
 man taking into his hands the four Gospels. I will not suppose that 
 every word is true ; but I will come down to a lower platform for the 
 sake of argument, and suppose it admitted that there is in them a 
 kei'nel of historic truth. That does not represent my own opinion — 
 I take much higher views ; but I believe if I take the lower ground and 
 convince you on that I may reach some whose premisses would not 
 be the same as my own. I lind in these books and from other 
 sources, that the time they treat of was one of peculiar barrenness — 
 that it was a time of most remarkable prejudices — that it was the 
 time of all others at which Jewish cultivation had got to a very low 
 ebb— and that therefore it was not a time at which one naturally 
 would expect a great law-giver or a great thinker would spring up. 
 In this lowest depth of Jewish mental degradation there comes 
 forward One who preaches the Sermon on the Mount. That particular 
 document is a most remarkable one. In the first place it is remark-
 
 able because it has, so to speak, no genealogy. It is impossible for 
 you to take ui> any book and there detect tlie main lines of that 
 sermon ; or find something out of which it might have been developed. 
 It is remarkable because all the research which adverse critics for ages 
 have bestowed upon it, have produced nothing of the sort. It is also 
 remarkable because it came at a time when Jewish teachers wex'e 
 wrapped up in the opinion that if anything were good it must come 
 out of themselves and be confined to Jewish limits in the course 
 of its development. But in the Sermon on the JNIount we see 
 these Jewish prejudices and limitations fall otf like fetters from the 
 limbs of a slave. It is world-wide in its application — it makes all 
 men brotheis — and although tbe law of Moses is recognised, its 
 restraints and limitations are taken away. Then in the next place we 
 find the author of that discourse speaks like a law-giver and as taking 
 upon himself the highest authority, for he alters and adjusts a law 
 which He and all that heard him knew to be divine. That discourse, 
 both for what it claims and what it teaches, is a document full of 
 the highest truth, and also of truth new to them that listened. It 
 has been said that there were at that time flitting about in the Jewish 
 mind abundant theories concerning the iNlessiah. Though they had 
 sunk so low, they looked for him to renew the glories of the days of 
 Solomon — they expected a Prince and an invincible leader in battle, 
 who Avould restore all that they had lost. I gi-ant that: but their 
 anticipations were all of an earthly kind — the triumphant general, 
 the great king, the renewed grandeur of their temple, but nothing 
 beyond. I say that when we apply the light of the Gospels we see 
 with perfect distinctness that the Messiah, sent by God, must bo 
 spiritual, divine, and a sufferer for the sins of men : but the Jews had 
 no ideas of this sort. "When the Messiah spoke to them of Himself 
 as the founder of a heavenly kingdom, that was a perfectly new and 
 original statement and could not be accounted for by anything floating 
 about in the minds of the Jews at that time. (Cheers.) I will go 
 farther : I say the morality taught by Christ has commended itself to 
 the mind of the world ever since — I say that it has worked and is 
 working in the minds of all people, and all over the foce of the earth 
 it has influenced law and order, even where theology has never been 
 thought about. I have not said a word about the miracles of the 
 Gospel ; for I believe Christianity proves itself to be true in a much 
 higher way. To my mind they are comparatively unimportant for 
 that purpose. The first miracle of the Gospel is Christ the Lord 
 himself. I get beyond the miracles ; and then I turn round upon 
 them, and look on them from the side of Him v\-hose presence on earth 
 was a greater miracle than all the others. If He, who was so nmch 
 above the common race of mankind, had not done wonderful things it 
 wouldhave been more marvellous than that he He did work them. \\'hat 
 I am saying to you is the iiierest rough sketch of an argument, but 
 I will turn to another point. AYhen it is said by many of the modern 
 speculators that Christ over-rated His own mission, and generated 
 within himself those high notions of his teaching — I reply that if 
 He were only man, one link, in the common course of the develop- 
 ment of hum.anity ; we ought to be able to see whence his doctrines 
 came and how he came to be the man lie was. And this leads
 
 8 
 
 us from the doctrine to the character of our Lord. This is a great 
 subject ; one more fit to be treated in a book than in a discourse 
 of twenty minutes. During the last eighteen hundred years and 
 more Clirist has ahvays had disciples and also enemies, and from 
 the nature of the case no one has undergone the same amount of 
 criticism as Christ the Lord. The cause is that He preached the 
 doctrine of an eternal kingdom of which God should be the head — to 
 which purity and holiness should be the title of admission, and from 
 ■which sin should be the sole cause of separation and exclusion. If 
 a man teaches a new mathematical system we judge it by what it 
 produces within the limits of its own principles — we have nothing to 
 do Avith the character of the man — we do not even think of it — but if 
 what the man produces is accurate and useful it is regarded as 
 worthy of admiration. But when a man sets himself up to be a king 
 and a leader in a new kingdom, the entrance to which is through 
 purity and holiness of heart, then in that king and leader, his 
 disciples expect to find pre-eminent holiness. Friends and enemies 
 alike will observe such a one, the friends to see how far the 
 same heart which he bids them carry into his kingdom is framed 
 already in himself; the enemies to find in his inconsistency some 
 justification for refusing to believe his message. And no doubt 
 an inconsistency in one who made such claims and bore such a 
 message could be fatal to his mission. Now we are able to interro- 
 gate both friends and enemies ; and we have a full account of 
 the results of their observations in the recorded history of the 
 one and in the eloquent silence of the other. The first class 
 was composed of the Apostles, who perhaps had not much to 
 lose, but Avhatever they had was staked on the purity and truth 
 of their Lord. They do aiot say in so many words that He was 
 a man of extreme holiness, but they describe a character of the most 
 wonderful holiness. And no enemy, however he may be disposed to 
 impugn other things about the Christian religion, has ever done 
 anything to deface that picture of singular holiness which we have in 
 the life of our Lord. (Cheers.) If that be so — if the apostles, who 
 staked all upon the truth of it, reported their Lord to be so holy in 
 all the acts of his which they describe — and if the learned in every 
 civilized nation in the whole earth for centuries have been able to come 
 to no other conclusion — and more than that, if they have not been able 
 even to point out one spot even of weakness in His character and 
 conduct — then I say in that respect, the picture of holiness Avhich 
 Christ presents to us is another great and convincing proof of the truth 
 of Christianit3\ (Cheers.) Do not think that any books, however 
 ingenious, can take that away. (Cheers.) I do not fear these things. 
 I should be sorry to see brother or friend doubt that Christ is the 
 Son of God, and therefore the revealer of the Father to us. I should 
 be sorry for any one here who had come into that state ; but to 
 suppose that the name of Christ sinks into a lower grade because 
 learned professors write ingenious works, is simply absurd. (Cheers.) 
 So long as this world rolls round upon its axis, all the good and 
 pious who Avish to crucify sin in themselves, Avill cherish in their 
 hearts the fact that the Son of the Most High in human form is 
 their Lord and their God. (Cheers.) It is of the greatest importance
 
 that we should all cling tenaciously to the truth ; and when anyone 
 attempts to rob you of that truth take up the gospels — road them 
 carefully — read other books if you have access to them, and see if 3'ou 
 can find there any law given by man like unto Christ's. This 
 question has been asked over and over again before, and the world 
 itself answers " No ! " (Cheers.) Then ask if ever there was another 
 character like His — combining the greatest purity and the greatest 
 tenderness and compassion towards us who sin — every extreme of 
 excellence, blended to make oar perfect whole. (Cheers.) All I 
 ask of you is to remember when people come to you and talk of 
 doubts and difficidties, that there is much more to be said on the other 
 side. Depend upon it Christianity has not got so iar on in its 
 journey without having over it the watchfulness of a Providence 
 which will take care of it to the end. Depend upon it the power in 
 the earth of the Lord Jesus will be as great a hundred years hence as 
 if these great thinkers had never thought at all. The things we 
 teach are true, and eternally true, because they have been told to 
 us by the Divine Being himself. (Loud cheers. j 
 
 The Deax of Cork : I really and honestly feel it to be for any one 
 a very great privilege to be allowed to address such a meeting as this. 
 I feel it to be a j)rivilege in my own case, not being a working man, 
 and not being an Englishman, to address a meeting of English 
 working men. I feel with his Grace that I should have liked a little 
 time to think over what I should say to such a meeting as this ; 
 because if there is any kind of meeting for which a speaker should 
 more carefully, respectfully, and anxiously prepare than another his 
 thoughts and words, it should be a meeting composed of the working 
 men of England of the present day. (Cheers.) I cannot look now-a-days 
 at a meeting of working men without feeling I am addressing those who 
 are becoming more and more a great power, both in the State and in 
 the Church. Whether men like it or not, that is a simple, great, 
 and most certain fact. As the working classes of England then have 
 an increasing power both in the State and in the Cburch, I must 
 address this meeting as the representatives of such a power, and that 
 is no light task, and one which requires careful preparation and 
 anxious thought. But under the circumstances in which we meet you 
 at your own request, and without the least time for preparation, I 
 must at the risk of being called " horsey " remind you of the proverb, 
 that it is an ungracious thing " to look a gift horse in the mouth." 
 (Cheers and laughter.) I beg you to take in all kindness and goodwill 
 the open and honest speeches that you will get. (Cheers.) Allow me 
 to pay you the highest compliment I can, in not saying one word of 
 flatteiy. The worst compliment you can pay any man is to flatter him. 
 (Cheers.) Whatever I know about " blarney," I left behind me in 
 Ireland. (Great laughter.) And I therefore say to you in all candour 
 that the working classes are in imminent danger of being too much 
 flattered just at present. (Cheers and laughter.) I think any body of 
 men in possessioia of power is in danger of encountering a certain 
 amount of servility ; for it is in human nature to flatter poAver 
 wherever it may be situated. If we have a contempt for the flunkey 
 who bows himself down before a single individual, Ave must feel
 
 10 
 
 that it is just as base to flatter and fawn upon a multitude. (Cheers.) 
 Tlie man who iiaiters a multitude because it is strong, or likely to be 
 strong, is just as much a flunkey as tiie man who bows himself down 
 before a monarch. A mere demagogue is nothing more than a 
 flunkey inside out. (Great cheering and laughter.) I will now say a 
 word or two on the distinctions of class. In the sense in Avhich his 
 Grace spoke there is no distinction of class, for all men in this 
 country are, or ought to be, working men. But there is a sense in 
 which there is a marked distinction. Men will at once be recognized 
 as divided broadly into two classes ; those who work mainly with their 
 hands and those who work mainly with their heads. What, however, 
 we call, and what you call the working men of England, are those 
 who work mainly with their hands. And representing to night that 
 class, you represent a distinct body in the State. Besides these 
 it must also be admitted, that thei*e arc different grades and 
 distinctions of class in English society. Now I say that the 
 existence of different classes in this realm is an ordinance 
 of God's providence as much for the good and benefit of the 
 State, as any other institution or creation of God in this Avorld. 
 Instead then of trying to efface these class distinctions — what you 
 cannot do— let us distinctly recognise them. (Cheers.) Let us 
 acknowledge and honour them, and study them as God's appoint- 
 ment, and use them as the best means of elevating this realm of 
 England in the scale of happiness and greatness. (Cheers.) Then 
 if we say there are these classes by God's appointment ; we must also 
 remember that God made nothing without some express purpose, and 
 that each class must have distinct duties for which it exists. That the 
 place of each in society gives it those particular duties, and out of it 
 arise temptations and dangers against which it must guard. Let us 
 for a moment look at tbe duties and dangers which affect ourselves. 
 Let us first say a word on the rights of classes. The working classes in 
 this kingdom have their rights ; and I believe those rights are given 
 them by God. If so, it is their most solemn, their bounden, their 
 religious duty, to find out what those rights are, and to hold them 
 against the world. (Cheers.) I am not afraid to say that where the 
 working classes have found out what their rights are, whether civil, 
 ecclesiastical, or political, they have a right to maintain them at their 
 live's risk. (Cheers.) But let them recognize honestly and frankly, 
 that it is the duty and privilege of every other class to do the same. 
 Other classes believe that they have their rights. An honest, honour- 
 able, righteous, chivalrous, patriotic feeling it is which induces one 
 class to say to another, '•' We have our rights — we stand up for our 
 rights — even as you stand up for your rights." (Cheers.) There 
 must come of such a state of things, discussion, argument, a certain 
 amount of contention, but the end to be sought is a righteous, 
 peaceful, and lasting settlement of rights. But if these feelings have 
 no -counterpoise they would — as tbe rights of classes must some- 
 times clash— result in mere selfish contention, perhaps in war and in 
 strife. Do you claim your rights ? Let no man take them from you, 
 but recognize also the rights of other classes in society, and in the 
 end, I believe, the good providence of God will bring out of it a 
 righteous and peaceful settlement of all such questions in this king-
 
 11 
 
 dom and realm of England. (Cheers.) So much for the rights of 
 classes. Then, the next thing is, what is often confused with our 
 rights, and that is, our interests. A man's right is one thing ; his 
 interest is another. To stand up for our rights is often ennobling, 
 but to contend for our interest is a lower and a baser thing. It is a 
 man's right to be free — it may be his interest to be rich ; but he is a 
 base and cowardly man who barters his freedom for riches. (Cheers.) 
 Eight is a matter of principle — interest a matter of feeUng, and very 
 often short-sighted, seltish feeling. It therefore is the duty of all 
 classes to stand up for their rights, and to be exceedingly jealous 
 of themselves when they think tliey are doing so, that they are not 
 contending merely for their interest. (Cheers.) We have, then, to 
 dread collision not so much from the assertion of rights as from the 
 seltishness of interest. Interested motives encase a man in prejudices, 
 through which the voice of brotherly kindness never succeeds in 
 penetrating. I do not dread any contention for rights, but it would 
 be a low, miserable, paltry, selfish craving in any class for mere 
 class interests. (Cheers.) I say, then, stand for your rights and be 
 ready to forego your interests. (Cheers.) Again, it is a solemn and 
 serious truth tlnit with rights and interests God has always given 
 great duties. Years ago, it was said by one who had in him the 
 elements of a great statesman, that property had duties as Avell 
 as rights attached to it. That is the case with every gift of God. 
 Wealth and rank, intelligence of mind, cunning and skill of hand, 
 have all attached to them solemn responsibilities. Every class, 
 therefore, has not only its rights, but its duties. (Cheers.) But I ask 
 you, men of York, what is the gravest charge that could be brought 
 against the Bishops and Archbishops — or rather, as I will not be 
 personal to your Grace — against the Deans of our Church ? (Laughter.) 
 What would be the highest charge you could bring against me and my 
 class, or any class in the State ? And what is the charge so often 
 brought against the higher classes ; — it is that of being tenacious of 
 rights and neglectful of duties. (Cheers.) They who enjoy Avealth 
 and rank are apt, it is said, to forget the duties which are attached to 
 wealth and rank, and any class, whether high or low, which does that, 
 is altogether wrong. (Cheers.) It would be a miserable and degrading 
 thing for any class, whether of dukes or earls, of bishops or deans, of 
 landowners or labourers, of merchants or tradesmen, of manufacturers 
 or artizans, to be contending for and insisting upon mere class interests 
 regardless of duties ; and what we earnestly wish for ourselves and for 
 you, and what the ministers of God desire for all classes, is that 
 while they stand for their rights like men, they should be anxious, 
 as before the All-seeing Presence, to know and do their duty like 
 Christian men. (Cheers.) What is the message of Christ's Church. 
 It is not to be delivered only to the rich and Avell-to-do in this 
 woi'ld, but to everyone — to those excluded from this hall by crime, 
 or vice, or poverty, as well as to those who are here. ^Yhat is 
 this one message that we have. Is it not this. That there is a bond 
 strong enough and wide enough to eml)race every class. It is the 
 interest, the privilege, and the duty of every member of every class to 
 come within that bond — the loving embrace of the great Catholic 
 Church of the Christ of God. (Cheers.) What is it that we dread ?
 
 12 
 
 — separation of class from class by the strength of their individual 
 interests. The ties of family, of neighbourhood, of town, of county, of 
 kingdom, are bonds of union to all inside them, and elements of 
 disunion to all outside ; but the society, the family, the brotherhood 
 to which we should look, is that which consists in our sonship to the 
 Almighty Father, that human brotherhood, the head of which is the 
 Divine Incarnate Son, full of grace and truth. That is the bond 
 which, by the power of the Holy Spirit, will draw men together— a 
 power which exists in the Avorld, that men may be one, even as He 
 and His Father are one. (Cheers.) This is a kingdom wider and 
 grander than this fair realm of England, and all they who own its 
 King, ai-e members one of another. It is the mission of the Church 
 to preach this kingdom to all classes of society without distinction of 
 persons. It is the peculiar privilege of the Church of England — it 
 long has been and it will be more and more her privilege — to be thus a 
 mediator between class and class. She has a right to speak her 
 message to men of all ranks, and that whether they will hear, or whether 
 they will forbear. The clergyman is not only the friend of the rich, 
 but of the poor, and he honours poverty as a form of God's blessing 
 and discipline, even lor his dearest children. I say to all and every 
 inhabitant of this kingdom, that the post of the Church of England 
 in this day is in the fi'ont — (cheers) — and that in spite of all the 
 dangers which surround her — in spite of open and covert assaults on 
 her faith — in spite of avowed enemies and ialse friends — she has as 
 glorious and hopeful a mission as God ever gave to man. (Loud 
 cheers.) Let me say to all here, in conclusion — stand for your rights 
 — be comparatively careless of your interests — be jealous of a due 
 performance of your duty — and you will play a noble part in the 
 maintenance of the Christian faith and the promotion of religious 
 freedom, worthy of this nineteenth century and of this realm of 
 England. (Lovid cheers.) 
 
 The Earl of Harrowby : I might address you to-night my friends 
 as members with me of the same commonwealth, of the same Chris- 
 tian Church ; as men who have with me the same interests here, and 
 the same hopes hereafter ; but in the language of the day I address 
 you as the woi-king classes, and now what shall I say ? I am always 
 willing to come forward when I have something to say — something 
 to discuss — some error to attack, or some truth to defend — but to- 
 night I am asked to speak without a subject — but to come forward 
 and say something. (A laugh.) It is difficult enough to know what 
 to say under these circumstances, and that difficulty is enhanced 
 tenfold when I remember that I have to follow the accomplished 
 Irish orator who just addressed you. (Cheers.) Following up, how- 
 ever, some of the remarks of previous speakers, I will remind you 
 that the working classes now-a-days are assuming to themselves 
 great functions. They are taking up the position of a great and 
 distinct class in the comumnity, and they must show themselves 
 worthy of that assumption. You know tliat as mere workers with 
 the hands you have no title to govern, because it is the head that 
 governs and not the hands. If you are to govern you must elevate 
 your character and improve your understanding by the acquisi-
 
 13 
 
 tion of all such knowledge as will fit you for the discharge of such 
 important functions. (Cheers.) "We are sometimes told that the great 
 thing which the working classes want is greater facilities for education, 
 but I am not so sure that the means of education are so much wanting 
 as a desire to make use of them. If all the schools in the country 
 were well filled, there would be something in that plea, but the facts 
 of the case represent a very different state of things. There is 
 now far more school accommodation than is made use of, and it 
 follows that there are parents who will not make the requisite 
 sacrifice of time or money, or something or other. (Cheers.) I 
 say that if the working class would show themselves worthy of 
 the high position to Avhich they aspire, they will send all their 
 children to school as early and as regularly as possible, and take 
 every opportunity within their reach of gaining knowledge for 
 themselves. (Cheers.) There are a great number of jNIechanics' In- 
 stitutes, Free Libraries, and others almost free ; and Reading Eooms 
 in every part of the country, but do you take advantage of these 
 means of acquiring knowledge? Are the halls of these institutions 
 crowded with working men anxious to learn their duties as well as 
 their rights '? If this were so they might come forward and demand 
 an increased supply of the means of education, but until they are 
 it is ridiculous to talk of a want of facilities. (Cheers.) I had the 
 other day an opportunity of addressing a similar assemblage to this 
 at Birmingham. I spoke to them in someAvhat the same language, 
 and I also took the liberty of saying that in our present educational 
 institutions much Avas taught that the working men cared little about, 
 and that politics and religion were too much excluded. It was 
 thought in former times that those were subjects that could not be 
 discussed in safety. It was thought that men then were so intolerent 
 that it would not be safe to enter upon topics of that nature for the 
 purpose of instruction in mixed multitudes ; but I believe the public 
 mind at the present moment is in no such dangerous state ; I believe 
 that while the people are thirsting for information on those subjects 
 they are willing to listen on both sides of the question, and give all 
 the faculties of their minds to the solution of difficulties. (Cheers.) 
 I do think it desirable that questions of politics and religion should 
 be more freely discussed in one way or another. It is a grievous 
 thing to exclude such topics from the courses of instruction which 
 are offered to adults. I hope there will be a bolder handhng of 
 these matters in future. I believe it may be done Avith perfect 
 safety, and greatly to the advantage of those classes of men who desire 
 to assume such high functions. (Cheers.) I suppose at a Church 
 Congress I must say something upon the object which has called us 
 together, A'iz. : the best means of promoting the welfare and extension 
 of the Church. I do not mean the best way of extending the revenues 
 of the Church, and making the parsons richer. Not at all. What 
 we want is to extend the power of the Church to instruct, and train, 
 and come into contact with those vast populations which are the 
 result of modern progress. Those are the questions discussed amongst 
 us, and which have brought hundreds of clergy and laity from all 
 quarters of the country to consult together. We have not met to 
 increase the power and wealth of anybody, but to find out the best
 
 14 
 
 means of extending the benefits of religion to all classes of our fellow 
 countrymen. (Cheers.) It is sometimes said, by thoughtless working 
 men, " What do we want with an established Church ? — why can't 
 we be left to provide for ourselves?'' Should you like to see the 
 clergyman withdrawn from every parish in the country? Should 
 you like to see him no longer as the kindly friend, temporal and 
 spiritual, of all in those parishes? Should you like to see the 
 agricultural districts stripped of all the advantages of well educated 
 gentlemen, compelled by the functions of their high office to reside 
 in those districts ? Do you think it would be to your advantage 
 to get rid of the settled maintenance of the clergy — which is the 
 object of those who seek to destroy the established Church? Ai-e 
 the working men aware at whose expense the clergy and the 
 churches are maintained ? They arc maintained as a charge upon 
 the land. No poor man pays, or need pay, a six])ence, unless he 
 likes, for such purposes. Would you then wish the land to be 
 relieved from this burden which it now bears ? If it Avere, the 
 churches might be in ruins, and the clergy would be driven elsewhere 
 for subsistence. Such a catastrophe might not be felt so severely in 
 towns as in the country. Towns may not be so sensible of the 
 advantages derived from the clergy ; but let us see what would be the 
 result of an Act of Parliament stripping every parish of its parsons. 
 I have already spoken of what would happen in the country, but in 
 towns the difficulty would not arise so much from the scarcity of 
 preachers as from the absence of any settled standard of doctrine — a 
 thing which even townsmen would regret. (Cheers.) These are facts 
 which may not be altogether palatable to every one ; but I have in 
 years past had to addi-ess large multitudes in one of the greatest cities 
 of the empire in times of great political excitement, and have never 
 shrunk from telling them the truth; and I always found when the 
 ebullition of electioneering tumult was over, the woi'king men were 
 always ready to listen to fair argument, even when they did not 
 agree with my conclusions. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 The Dean of Chichester : At a recent confex-ence at Leeds it 
 was asked, " What has Christianity, which has been at work for 
 so many hundred years, done for the working man ?' A Iriend of 
 mine, a Avorking man, gave the answer to that question. And here 
 let me bear Avitness to the truth of Avhat his Grace the President said 
 in his opening address about the deficient state of the intellectual 
 acquirements of the Avorking classes. They do not of course under- 
 stand the dead languages and are not good grammarians, but in point 
 of eloquence they often excel. At some anniversaries of Odd Fellows 
 I liaA'e heard extemporaneous addresses of remarkable eloquence : and 
 AA'hen I have had to prepare myself for preaching to large bodies 
 chiefly of the Avorking classes, I found hoAv necessary it was to read 
 up the subject well. Thirty years ago, the controversies then raging 
 did not relate to those vital subjects Avhich have been so ably and so 
 piously treated by the Archbishop, but it AA-as not less necessary for 
 the sake of the Avorking men to be able to take a part in those 
 controversies. I have knoAvn some Avorking men of great acquire- 
 ments. I kncAV one man avIio as a botanist Avas forty or fifty years
 
 15 
 
 ngo quite an authority ; and many others who by study improved 
 their minds and prepared themselves for the intellectual enjoyments 
 jjrovided for them in Mechanics' and other Institutions. It was one 
 of these men who made the reply to which I have referred. He 
 said — If you want to know Avhat Christianity has done for the 
 humbler classes of society have recourse to history. My friend was 
 quite right. If you look at history, you will find that before the 
 coming of our Lord the great object of the rulers and chieftains 
 was to make wars in order to obtain captives for slaves. No one in 
 those days would work unless they were compelled to work, and 
 the great wars we read of were undertaken to make captives and to 
 reduce whole nations to slavery. From the very first the Church 
 resolutely resisted that system, as Christianity regarded all men 
 equal in the sight of God. When we come to the history of our 
 own country, we find that the Saxons invaded England to make the 
 Britons slaves. We have fifty or si.^y British words now in use 
 which all relate to servile employment, and show that the Britons 
 were slaves to the Saxons. When Christianity was established in 
 this country it resolutely opposed slavery ; so that at the time of 
 the Norman invasion it had become reduced to little moi-e than serf- 
 dom. Still the Christian Church laboured on slowly to abolish 
 villainy and serfdom, and steadily until the principle was established 
 that every man born in England is a freeman from his birth. 
 (Loud cheers.) That is one great work amongst others that 
 Christianity has accomplished for the working classes. They were 
 made free men — they were admitted to equal rights, and they were 
 regarded as Christian brethren ; so that it now depends upon the 
 working classes themselves whether they will themselves continue 
 that elevation! of character which Christianity in asserting their 
 rights, and in educating and preparing them ibr the enjoyment of 
 those rights established for them. It remains for you to elevate your 
 great and important class to the level of the classes above it. Look 
 at the upper and middle classes — how have they advanced ? Many 
 of us must have heard our fathers and grandfathers state what were 
 the drinking practices of the last century. It was bad enough when 
 I was young ; but by all accounts it was much v^-orse in my father's 
 time. I recollect him saying that forty years before if a man gave 
 a dinner party and any guest came away sober it was the greatest 
 insult that could be offered to him. (A laugh.) An old gentleman 
 told me that in his younger days it Avas the practice for a certain 
 number of bottles to be placed on the sideboai'd. When the guests 
 were assembled the door would be locked, the key thrown out of the 
 window, and the host would say — '' Gentlemen, you see what you 
 have to do : no one leaves this room till all that wine is drunk." 
 (Great laughter.) How different is the case now. Drunkenness is 
 looked upon as degrading by the middle classes. They were looked 
 down upon then and had very little respect shown them by the upper 
 classes ; but by their industry, providence, and sobriety, they have 
 become the most influential class of society. This is a great lesson 
 for the working classes. Many of them in this neighbourhood have 
 arrived by the same virtues to positions of respectability and opulence; 
 but as a rule they have the great failing of intemperance. When I left
 
 16 
 
 Leeds, I put the question to one of the leadmg temperance advocates 
 as to how much improvement had been effected in his time. He said 
 that the mass of drunkenness was one quarter less than it was twenty 
 years ago. (Cheers.) I mention this to show that temi:)erance societies 
 have done an immense amount of good. (Cheers ) It is all very well to 
 say that men ought to be actuated by higher motives ; they ought, but 
 they are not. We must, therefore, begin with the lower motives and 
 rise to the higher; but for my own part I am willing to take any motive 
 that will make men temperate. (Cheers.) I long ago came to the 
 conclusion that such did much good by helping to form habits of 
 temperance. I never belonged to those societies. (Great laughtei'.) 
 I had no occasion, because I am a teetotaler, and therefore speak to 
 you with greater effect on the subject. (Cheers.) My objection to 
 these societies is that that which is a great assistance for one man, 
 may not be required by another, and that we ought not to force upon 
 others a discipline which m!»\^ be iiseful for ourselves. I found 
 intemperance the great banc of my parish, but I found that I could 
 not say anything with effect without being a teetotaler. 1 will tell 
 you how it happened. I had a working man in the parish who 
 earned 18s. a week, out of which he gave his wife 7s., and took the 
 rest for drink. (Sensation.) He was a good sort of a man for all 
 that. (Laughter.) I went to him and remonstrated with him, and 
 advised him to be a teetotaler. He said, " Suppose I abstain for six 
 months, will you do the same"? "Yes, I will," I said. (Laughter.) 
 " What," he said, " will you give up beer and spirits and wine ! How 
 shall I know?" I said, " You shall ask my missus and I shall ask 
 yours." (Roars of laughter.) Thus the bargain was made ; and just 
 before the six months had expired, his wife came and told me that ho 
 had been saying it would be all right next week, and he would have a 
 jolly time of it. Upon this I went to the man and said, "Suppose 
 we agree for six months more." He said, " my missis has been to 
 you (a laugh), but I only said it to chaff her ; I am not such a 
 fool now, I have got over it, to begin drinking again." We, however, 
 agreed for another six months, ayd eventually it proved the greatest 
 blessing to him. He became provident as well as temperate, and is 
 now in very good circumstances. This shows that witliout even 
 belonging to a society each man may be useful to his fellow-men, 
 if he will only make a little sacrifice himself. (Cheers.) But there is 
 another thing observable in the middle classes, viz. : their prudence 
 and foresight, and their desire to save money, and put it out to the 
 best advantage. That is what the working men should do. You 
 should get into building societies, and saving banks, and it cannot be 
 denied, that when you get your money out of your pocket, you cannot 
 spend it in drink. (Cheers.) It is a great blessing that so many 
 means have been now invented to enable those wdio have but a small 
 capital to lay out their money to advantage. It is a great encourage- 
 ment to habits of temperance, prudence, and forethought. Let me 
 add that although it is right to look forward to the future in this 
 world, it is more important to look on to the world beyond the grave 
 and seek to have an interest there. His Grace has exhausted that 
 subject, and I will not say more, only remark this, that we cannot 
 know anything of a future state, unless it is revealed by God.
 
 17 
 
 Eeasou might conjecture that there is a future hfe, but as a fact, 
 we can only know it by being told of it by God himself. God has 
 assured us of this great fact — there is a world beyond the grave., there 
 is an eternal heaven and hell. God has connected that great fact 
 with another, viz. : that we can only realize eternal bliss by our union 
 with Him, who is the Son of God. To unite us to Him is the object 
 of the Church from first to last. Her first great duty is to say, " Turn 
 ye, turn ye, why will ye die," when God has provided a Divine Saviour 
 for you ? The Church then goes on with her ordinances and sacra- 
 ments to unite us closer to Him in whom only is life, and who is 
 omnipotent to save. Therefore let us cling to these great truths. 
 As you desire to be happy here on earth be temperate, be prudent, be 
 saving. As you desire to be eternally happy in heaven, accept the 
 only Saviour ; and, if you do not deny Him before men, we know^He 
 will not deny you before his angels in heaven. (Loud Cheers.) 
 
 Sir Eoundell Palmer, Q.C., M.P. : I could not have presumed 
 to address any words to this assembly had it been necessary for every 
 speaker to enter into those higher topics touched upon, and with so 
 much authority by those who have preceded me. I jDerceive, however, 
 it has been recognized by all the speakers this evening — that it is 
 germane to the business of this Congress to address ourselves to the 
 best means of elevating the condition of all classes of our countiy- 
 men, and especially of that most numerous class — the one least 
 gifted with the advantages of wealth and education — of which the 
 majority of those here assembled consist. And, at the same time, 
 there is no more important jiart of the duty of a Christian Church, 
 and of all who meet together to consult with each other on subjects 
 connected with its efficiency, than that they should carefully watch 
 for and promote the mutual good will and harmony of all classes of 
 society. That is a matter on which all classes may feel sympathy for 
 one another. I cannot stand before such an assembly as this without 
 feeling a profound and hearty sympathy with those who compose it, 
 and giving expression to that sympathy. Taking counsel of preceding 
 speakers, I shall abstain from all flattery, but still endeavour to give a 
 definite expression to those things that I wish to say to such an 
 assembly of my working fellow-countrymen. If we are to suppose you 
 are bent on elevating your own condition and the condition of each 
 other, you must bind yourselves together with all the difterent classes 
 of society in our land. What, then, is the first thing for every man to 
 consider and answer for himself ? He ought to ascertain what he is 
 and for what purpose he came into the world. The foundation of all 
 union between classes must be a right conception of what a man is ; 
 for, unless he recognizes the truth that he is a spiritual and immortal 
 being, he will not be susceptible of elevation himself. That is the 
 foundation, and on it must be built that morality, without which no 
 good can exist, Avhether in one class or another. I quite agree that 
 intellectual improvement is of no value w-ithout moral improvement ; 
 without moral goodness and virtue, no intellectual attainments will be 
 of the slightest value whatever. Let us reflect for a moment on the 
 reason of this. Why is despotism not a good form of government ? 
 It may bo that a despotic governor is a man of the highest intellect :
 
 18 
 
 but if a man can do what he likes, he will often like to do what is not 
 right, and then it will become a detestable form of government, not- 
 withstanding its intellectual superiority. With regard to the working 
 classes, if it is said that to the faults and vices which exist in all 
 other classes, and which are not spoken of as characteristic of classes, 
 they add some others, it is natural they should resent it ; but it would 
 be best to answer such a charge by showing practically that the accu- 
 sation is unjust and untrue. The working classes ought, whenever 
 they hear something to their discredit, at once to consider how they 
 can best remove such a misapprehension. If, for instance, it were 
 said that any large portion of them was intemperate, let the public 
 opinion of the class be felt strongly as condemning intemperance 
 wherever it may be found amongst them, and in encouragement of 
 the 0]:iposite quality. If they are charged Avith being too often open 
 to bribery, let the class, as a class, set its face against any man who 
 gives or takes a bribe. Let such a man be excommunicated, as it were, 
 from society. Set a brand and a mark on that man in public and in 
 jDrivate, and you will not only vindicate yourselves as a class from that 
 charge, but confer a great benefit upon the country at large. (Cheers.) 
 So, with regard to improvidence ; let every workman in the receipt of 
 excellent wages meet that charge by saving and investing his savings, 
 and so rise, by degrees, above the rank in which he was born : he will 
 in that way exemplify one excellence of our institutions, namely, the 
 flicility with which one class may pass into another which is above it. 
 (Cheers.) I need not go far to-night to remind you of a striking 
 exanqile of this, and one of which the nation is most justly proud. 
 (Cheers.) In this country there is no such thing as any exclusive 
 caste, and the secret of advancement is — practice virtue, cultivate in- 
 telligence, and save your money. (Cheers.) There is another thing on 
 which I would say a few words. You are all aware of the mighty 
 power of co-operation, and how, when members of any numerous and 
 powerful class unite and let their will and voice be known, it is almost 
 impossible to resist them. It is a mighty power, whether used for 
 good or for evil. ' What I am most anxious to see is that the working- 
 classes should appreciate the dignity of their position, ard never allow 
 themselves to be tempted to use that power for evil — that they should 
 respect the liberty of each other, and set their faces against all sorts 
 of combinations, the object of Avhich is to prevent their fellow work- 
 men from working where they can find employment. Nothing tolls 
 more against union than acts of this kind, by which particular mem- 
 bers of a class disgrace the whole. I am sorry to say I have observed 
 that there exists in parts of this country a system of violence and 
 intimidation to prevent men from getting a livelihood on their own 
 terms, Avhicli tells more than anything else against the just estima- 
 tion for virtue and excellence of the class to which those unworthy 
 members belong. I am addressing working men, and I feel the 
 deepest respect for working men as a class — I feel the greatest desire 
 for their welfare, and that they should get their due in every- respect — 
 and I entreat you to take this to heart. It rests with you to indicate 
 your own reputation and character, and your qualification for that poli- 
 tical advancement of which you think yourselves worthy. Set up a 
 sound public opinion in j^our class — condemn all those vicious excesses
 
 I'J 
 
 — and shew that they do not belong to the class, but to individuals. 
 (Cheers.) The more this is done, the more it "svill do to elevate, not 
 this particular class or that, but all classes, for all are bound together, 
 and entitle them to a fair share in the benefits of any new distribution 
 of power which the national system may require and eflfect. (Loud 
 cheers.) 
 
 Earl Nelson : I am anxious to express in a very few words a 
 hope that this will be the beginning of Church Congress of the 
 "Working Men of England. The Church of England is especially 
 the Church of the Avorking men. It was endowed for your benefit, 
 and is so expansive in its formation as to be fully capable of meeting 
 your wants. All that is required is, that you should form yourselves 
 into a Church Congress, and tell us your wants. The doctrine 
 of the Church cannot be changed, as it is essential to its vitality, 
 but the times for holding the daily sei'vice, their duration, their 
 frequency, or any other subject on which her rules could be made 
 more suitable to your wants would be gladly considered by us. It 
 must never be forgotten tbat the Churcli of England is essentially 
 your heritage. It was endowed for your benefit, that whilst you 
 were toiling for your daih' bread, and to put forv%ard your children in 
 the world, those who cannot provide religious services for themselves 
 should have them ready at hand. (Cheers.) The voluntary system 
 does not aid the Working ]Men, it always passes on to the richer dis- 
 tricts. Coming from the South of England I have been struck by the 
 pleasing sight of your hives of industry in the North, of the teaming 
 wealth of many of your district*, of the intelligence of your jieople. I 
 would beg the Working Men of this part of the world to demand free 
 access to their churches — to have them open all day as places to which 
 they can retire going to and from your daily work. It is right we 
 should call you together to consult -on the work of our Common I^ord 
 and Master. (Cheers.) Some people Avhen they read the subjects 
 brought before this Congi-ess will think we have not sufficiently 
 limited the questions to be brought before us, and may consider " the 
 social condition of the people " beyond the limits of a Church Congress 
 discussion, but we must not forget that it is our duty as Christians to 
 walk in the steps of our Lord and Master, Avho went about doing 
 good, healing all that Avere diseased or vexed of the devil. And 
 in following His example v.-e may do more than heal, by r^arrying 
 out the means which the Science of Sanitary and Social Eefonn 
 have brought to our notice, we may prevent many diseases and the 
 fruitful cause of many sins. I rejoice that this has been accepted as 
 a Church work of this Congress, for it is a question which cannot be 
 effectually dealt with, however efiiciently clergymen or laymen may 
 labour among 3"ou, unless you yourselves remember that you are a 
 real part of the Church of Christ, and are bound each one of you, as 
 members of the Christian Commonwealth, to do your utmost for 
 Christ's sake to abate the moral and social work by which you are 
 surrounded, not only for your own sakes, but in accordance with the 
 Christian law of love, for the benefits of your fellow-men. (Cheers.) 
 
 The Dean of Carlisle : 1 trust your Grace will allow one of our 
 injured class of individuals, the class of deans (a laugh), to say a few
 
 20 
 
 words. The question wfis once asked in the House ui Commons — 
 " What is the use of deans ? "' (a laugh,) but I hope it will be allowed 
 they have been of some use to-night, and have spoken some good 
 things to you. (Cheers.) The Dean of Chichester has touched on a 
 topic dear to my heart. It has rejoiced me greatly to hear that he 
 has come to the conclusion that he cannot get on without total absti- 
 nence ; and I hope this meeting will appreciate the fact that he was 
 driven into it by his symj)athy with the wants of the working classes. 
 (Cheers.) In one respect it is true, as my very reverend brother says, 
 the upper and the lower classes have changed places. He has truly 
 described the drunkenness of the past generation, and I rejoice that 
 we cannot point to it now in the upper classes. It is utterly dis- 
 countenanced, and even at the mess table it is not for a moment 
 admitted. This is a great advantage, but unfortunately the dispos- 
 sessed demon has flown to the working classes. There are twenty- 
 seven millions sterling paid annually as taxes on drink, which must 
 represent a quantity consumed in the year of the value of sixty mil- 
 lions. It is the great hindrance to all the efforts made to elevate the 
 lower classes ; and to meet the evil Sunday School teachers, district 
 visitors, and clergymen have found it necessary to become total 
 abstainers themselves. The names of 593 clergymen are published 
 who have taken the pledge of total abstinence, not so much because 
 they think the moderate use of stimulating di'inks absolutely wrong, 
 but simply out of benevolence, and love for the Avorking classes. 
 (Cheers.) And I can assure your Grace that there is nothing a 
 clergyman can do which will so greatly call forth from the people 
 warm expressions of gratitude and attachment as this personal sacri- 
 fice, in order to set them an example. I will state to you, my friends, 
 a truth Avhich cannot be denied. It is, that if you never drink, you 
 will never get drunk. (Cheers and laughter.) Do not be afraid of 
 total abstinence. When you see two such stout well looking teetotal 
 deans as those of Carlisle and Chichester (great laughter), you need 
 not fear that it will do you any harm. (Cheers.) For eleven years 
 I have never tasted anything stronger than Avater, and I am fully 
 persuaded that I am much the better for it. Now, I am going to say 
 something on politics. Do not be alarmed ; I am neither Whig, Tory, 
 nor Radical. (A laugh.) I hear a rumour that there is- to be a great 
 increase of the franchise for the working classes, but I can tell you, 
 that by total abstinence, you will get the franchise for yourselves long 
 before friend Bright will get it for you ; and what is more, you will 
 not only get it, but prove you have a right to it by previous self-denial 
 and virtue. (Cheers.) The Earl of Harrowby has spoken of the 
 failure of Mechanics' Institutions ; but I believe when they break 
 down it is because they are managed by gentlemen. They do mnch 
 better where they are managed by the working men themselves. 
 A very great number of what are called Mechanics' Institutions, are 
 not intended really for the working men, but for gentlemen who like 
 to look at the papers cheap. (A laugh.) We have thirteen or fourteen 
 reading-rooms in Carlisle, varying from thirty or forty members each, 
 vip to a hundred or more ; and we find that the working men are 
 perfectly well able to manage their own business if they are let alone. 
 Gentlemen may help them by giving them good advice : but if they
 
 21 
 
 fail, the reason is that they are over] aid by persons of a different class 
 in life. The working classes have some most excellent qualities which 
 the rest of the world knows little about. It is said that some mothers 
 are indifferent about sending their children to school, and no doubt 
 they are ; but in Carlisle we have three (and we shall have four this 
 winter I hope) lai'ge night schools, the pupils in which consist of 
 factory girls. They pay Gd. or 8d. each a week to be instructed ; and 
 these poor girls often working ten hours show their desire for self- 
 improvement by going home, getting their tea, cleaning themselves, 
 and then devoting an hour and a-half to the school. (Cheers.) Can 
 it then be said that the working classes have no desire for improve- 
 ment, for what the girls do the youths do also '? I find them very well 
 informed, and some of our weavers at Carlisle would, I can tell you, 
 pose a good number of those who call themselves well educated. 
 (Cheers.) These meetings prove an increasing earnestness in all 
 members of the Church of England. This very platform Avith its 
 array of church dignitaries ai:id clergymen, the two noblemen who 
 have shown by addressing you how much men in their position are 
 interested in your welfare ; the influential laymen who have come 
 from all parts to join in our discussions — these are all encouraging 
 things, and it is besides a very firm conviction that there is a growing 
 disposition in the w'orking men to attach themselves to the Church of 
 England. (Cheers.) Tliey give an enlightened preference to the 
 simple worship and pure faithful gospel preaching of the Church to 
 ■which we belong. And I almost wonder at it. I am going to do 
 penance. (A laugh.) It is, I say, a wonder that thej' should care for 
 the Church, when, for so long bishops and deans, and dignitaries of 
 all classes have cared so little for them. If we have not shut the doors 
 of the Church in their faces we have shut the pew doors. (Cheers.) I 
 sjieak individually, but from long experience, and I believe that the 
 working men have been driven into chapels, and away from the Church, 
 by our system of locked up pews. I was once addressing a class of 
 w^eavers, and I said, " Suppose you could build a fancy church, how 
 would you like if? " They said they should not like it all open, but 
 that they should like to pay for their sittings. They would have half 
 free, and the other half pay, but no distinction made between the one 
 and the other. Working men have great delicacy of feeling, and their 
 expression was — " I should not like to do anything to show I could 
 afford to pay for a sitting, and my poor brother could not," (Cheers.) 
 There is an ample field before us in which we may all work according 
 to our various convictions. I know everything that Dr. Hook has told 
 you is true, and for ray part I leave this with you. There is a time 
 coming to us all when we shall not be asked what was our opinion 
 upon this or upon that ; but whether we have a firm and unshaken 
 trust in the dying love of our Divine Redeemer, as it is only by faith 
 in Him that we can be saved from eternal perdition. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 The Dean of York, who was received with loud cheers, said — I 
 have to make to your Grace a very humble request. I am deputed 
 by the members of the Working Men's Institute to ask your Grace 
 and those noblemen and gentlemen Avho have spoken this evening to 
 accept from mo on behall' of (lie wui'king men their expression of
 
 22 
 
 grateful aclaiowledgment for those addresses delivered with so much 
 success and ability. (Cheers.) In preferring this request, I -wish it 
 to be distinctly understood that I make it not only on their behalf 
 but on my own, because in conmion with them I claim the title of a 
 working man. (Cheers.) In making this request I shall only add 
 the expression of my own sincere conyiction and my humble thank- 
 fulness to Almighty God that this magnificent gathering here to-night 
 has supplemented the meetings of our Church Congress. (Loud 
 cheers,) It is well known that in common with many others, I have 
 felt an anxious desire that this Congress should not merely be a 
 success, but that it should leave a favourable and permanent impression 
 behind it ; but I honestly confess it never entered my thoughts that 
 one of its first fruits would be this magnilicent assemblage here of 
 the working men of this city. (Cheers.) My lord, I heartily recipro- 
 cate the wish of Earl Nelson that this may be followed by another 
 Church Congress of working men held by themselves. (Cheers.) I 
 have only to present again to your Grace the request I have been 
 deputed to make. (Cheers.) 
 
 The Rev. Canon Hey seconded the request. There is an old 
 saying, " More pigs and less parsons ;" but no one can have attended 
 this meeting without concluding that it Avould be better to have 
 "more pigs and fewer public-houses." (Cheers.) The York Working 
 Men's Club is an institution which provides in the evenings agreeable 
 recreations and improvements free from the temjitations which beset 
 so frequently the Avorking man. (Cheers.) 
 
 Hts Grace, in closing the proceedings, expressed his satisfaction. 
 The speakers had not scrupled to give the w^orking men advice, but it 
 Avas rather as friends and brothers than as assuming any authority ; 
 and he beHeved the result would be the promotion of a mutual good 
 and kindly feeling. (Cheers.) 
 
 His Grace then dismissed the assembly with the Apostolic 
 Benediction. 
 
 I 
 
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