provement. I feel the delicacy, and, in some respects, danger, in exceptional legislation; but do not know how it is to be avoided in this case." A measure, accordingly, was proposed by Mr.Villiers-the Public Works Billand carried. Its object was to promote the class of works which would afford employment for the largest amount of unskilled labour. The public works loan commissioners (by no means a new body) were to be the depositaries of the fund applicable to the purposes of the bill; who were to advance loans upon the authority of orders of the Poor-Law Board, after the Board had satisfied themselves that the borrowing powers were valid, and through the inspection and report of their officers that the plans were correct, the estimates reasonable, and the works such as were sanctioned by the provisions of the bill. The measure gave universal satisfaction. The Manchester Guardian, on the day following the introduction of the bill, said "As soon as it has become law, no locality which possesses the power of levying rates, will be able to allege its want of means as an excuse for not finding employment for its distressed population." It was also equally approved of by the members for the cotton districts, and the central executive committee. Nor was this all that was done in this session of parliament. The House of Commons devoted a night to Mr. Caird's motion for a select committee, to inquire whether any further measures could be taken within the legitimate functions of the Indian government, for increasing the supply of cotton from that country. Mr. Caird, who was distinguished for his agricultural knowledge, stated that the Indian field of production was unlimited; and that, though the climate of India was warmer by 12° than the Southern States, yet that the deficiency of rain might easily be obviated by works of irrigation. It was contended by Mr. Cobden, as the representative of the manufacturers, that the government, the gigantic absentee landlord of this Indian farm, was blamable for refusing to encourage the production of cotton by the remission of the land-tax. Sir Charles Wood had declined to allow the remission even upon small patches of land in Madras. He maintained that the distress of the cotton districts ought not to be relieved at the expense of the people of India. But the moral of the debate was spoken by Mr. Bright, in the words, that "there was no short cut to that which it was wanted to obtain." In committee upon the new Continuance Bill of the Union Relief Aid Act, Mr. Villiers proposed two amendments, which were both agreed to the first being, that six shillings should be substituted for five, as the charge to be borne upon the net rateable value of the Unions, before they were empowered to call for contributions from their counties. Experience of the worst season of distress had shown that this amount would render the county rate in aid practically inoperative, as no Union would endure rates amounting to six shillings while possessed of the power of borrowing. This power Mr. Villiers now proposed to facilitate by his second amendment, authorising the loan commissioners to make advances to the Union, chargeable to the common fund, and repayable in twenty years, with interest at 3 per cent.-a concession, says Mr. Arnold, "not quite guiltless of wise indulgence." Lancashire has owed much to the exceptional circumstances which caused her distress; much to their incidence upon the national policy; much to the influence and the dread of her concentrated population. All this, together with the temporary nature of the crisis, and the desirability of excluding discontent from the district, pleaded for allowance of this easy postponement of local burdens, with a force which it might well be thought could rarely so establish a subsequent claim; and the power was given as one strictly exceptional. In 1864, the good effect of the Public Works Act was everywhere felt. It raised the spirits of the operatives by giving them remunerative employment, the results of which they, and their children after them, would enjoy; and it produced an excellent effect upon the numerous class of small shopkeepers, who had suffered grievously through the distress. In his Report, November 7th, 1864, Mr. Rawlinson says "It is impossible to calculate precisely the effect of such an expenditure upon local employment. During the last twelve months, it was the opinion of many well-informed persons, that the production of cotton manufactures had fallen to as low a point as in the corresponding period of 1862. For the week ending the 29th of October, 1864, 6,424 men were employed; of whom 2,422 were skilled. I estimate the number engaged in getting stone and other materials at not less than 2,000, which will make a total of 8,424; who, with their dependent families, will represent a population of from 30,000 to 40,000 persons, deriving their subsistence from these works." The story of the Lancashire distress need not be further told. The crisis was past; and, by the sufferers, it had been bravely borne. England had never given her working classes credit for such self-control-such wisdom-such endurance. The nation had done her duty; a better understanding had been created between the upper and lower classes of society; and the bitter feeling often cherished by the men towards the masters was softened and removed. The cotton famine was not an unmixed calamity. It inculcated habits of providence and co-operation; and it gave an impulse to education and sanitary improvement, which must issue in permanent and beneficial results. It, besides, taught the mill-owners of the north not to be dependent on one country alone for a supply of cotton; and thus it gave an additional impulse to commerce and friendly relations between ourselves and other states. Twenty years ago the cotton famine would have nearly plunged us into civil war. That such was not now the case shows the marvellous triumphs of popular education and a cheap press. The lesson is to be deeply pondered over by our rulers, too much inclined to fear the people, and to shrink from contact with them. To each and all of them, the history of the cotton famine says, in the language of one of old-"Oh, thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt?" CHAPTER XIX. PUBLIC FESTIVITIES, AND THE ROYAL FAMILY. WE turn from the record of war and national calamity to other and more joyous themes. In 1862 there was another International Exhibition in London. It was opened, May the 1st, with great pomp and ceremony. Lord Palmerston, of course, officiated in it; and, whenev er visible, was loudly cheered. The foreign nations whose contributions were displayed in this vast area, were represented by thirty-four acting commissioners. There were thirty to watch over the products of the British colonies and dependencies. London was alive with the men of commerce from all lands, who came to compare and to learn; and, besides, there came the critics, to record and to judge. Even Japan sent her ambassadors to take notes. The annual meeting of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science was held in the capital of England this year. The Royal Agricultural Society held its annual exhibition at Battersea Park. There was a Handel festival, with 4,000 performers, at the Crystal Palace. The volunteers met at Wimbledon, and Lord Palmerston distributed the prizes. There never had been such feasting in London before, in spite of the cloud of sorrow which rested heavily on the home of the English queen. The city feasted the Viceroy of Egypt; and, besides, gave a ball to 3,000 persons. There was a great Social Science soirée, in the queen's palace of Westminster. At a friendly dinner given to the foreign workmen who came over to visit the Exhibition, a letter from Lord Palmerston to the secretary was read. "I am glad," wrote his lordship, "that you are going to give a welcome to the working-men of France, who have come to visit our Exhibition; and I hope you will explain to them that there ought to be emulation, but no jealousy, between the productive industries of England and France." In 1862, 6,087,000 persons visited the Exhibition in Brompton. The following were the words (by the poet-laureate) sung to Professor Bennett's music at the opening : "Uplift a thousand voices full and sweet, In this wide hall with earth's inventions stored, And praise th' invisible universal Lord, Who lets once more in peace the nations meet, Where Science, Art, and Labour have out-poured "O, silent father of our Kings to be, For this, for all, we weep our thanks to thee! "The world-compelling plan was thine, Steel and gold, and corn and wine, Of wonder, out of West or East, Brought from under every star, And mixt, as life is mixt with pain, "O ye, the wise who think, the wise who reign, And mix the seasons and the golden hours, And gathering all the fruits of peace, and crowned with all her The building, by Messrs. Kelk and Lucas, in Brompton, was not much admired; but it was very large, and was well filled with the products of the industries of all the nations of the earth. The death of the Prince Consort was, however, to it a very heavy blow. There was no one with authority, or tact, or knowledge, or judgment to take his place. Had he lived, and been enabled to preside over it, the Exhibition would have been of a far higher character; but it was a success nevertheless. Fortunately there were no great expectations formed; we had no hopes of universal peace; little was said about the brotherhood of nations; and the allusions to the millennium, even on the part of clerical gentlemen, were few and far between. At the distribution of the medals and rewards, in July, Lord Taunton read the report of the council of chairmen on the work of the juries, which we subjoin in full. "The work of the several juries having been brought to a termination, it becomes the duty of the council of chairmen to explain the manner in which the juries were constituted, and the result of their labours. "The juries consist of English and foreign members in varying proportions. The English jurors were, in the first place, nominated by exhibitors; and these nominations having been carefully considered, her majesty's commissioners invariably appointed such persons as appeared to be named by the general agreement of a trade or district. In cases where the nominations were not made on a common understanding, the royal commissioners were guided in their choice by the number of votes given to particular individuals; and, in some instances, by the desire expressed by exhibitors, that the commissioners should themselves select persons possessing the necessary qualifications. "The British colonies were represented by jurors recommended by the several colonial commissioners. "Foreign nations taking part in the Exhibition had a right to nominate one juror for every class in which they were represented by twenty exhibitors, and for every section of a class in which they had fifteen exhibitors. As an alternative, each nation had a certain number of jurors allotted to it, in proportion to the space which it occupied in the building; and several countries accepted this alternative. Her majesty's commissioners, without fixing any arbitrary proportion between foreign and English jurors, appointed as many of the latter to each jury as the experience of past Exhibitions showed to be necessary for its efficiency. "The juries were sixty-five in number, grouped so as to form thirty-six classes, or head juries, corresponding to the thirty-six industrial classes, under which the objects are arranged in the Exhibition. Each of these head juries, when subdivided into sections, acted as a united body for the confirmation of awards. Before, however, these awards were considered final, they were brought before, and received the sanction of, a council, consisting of the chairmen of the thirty-six head juries. The chairmen forming the council which regulated the affairs of the juries were nominated by her majesty's commissioners from the jurors of different nations, a number being allotted to each country relatively to the space assigned to it in the building. The council was presided over by a chairman appointed by her majesty's commissioners. "Her majesty's commissioners decided that only one description of medal should be awarded by the juries. This decision considerably facilitated their labours, as it became necessary only to reward excellence wherever it was found, without reference to competition between exhibitors. As the work of the juries advanced, it was ascertained that many articles possessed excellence of a kind which deserved a special mention, without, however, entitling them to a medal; and, although it involved some departure from the principle that had been originally laid down, yet the council of chairmen acceded to the wish of the juries, and permitted such cases to be classed and published under the title of 'honourable mentions.' "The jurors and their associates engaged in examining the objects of the Exhibition, amounted to 615 persons; of whom 287 were foreigners, and 328 English. They are men of high social, scientific, and industrial position, drawn from nearly every civilised country in the world. Their labours have occupied two months, and have been of the most arduous description, as they had to examine the objects. displayed by at least 25,000 exhibitors. It can scarcely be expected that none of the articles exhibited have escaped their attention. In a few instances, the delay of arrival or of arrangement has rendered it impossible for the juries to examine every article now within the building; while in other cases, errors in classification have rendered it doubtful to which of the juries the duty of examining some particular objects should fall. Every effort, however, has been made to conquer these obstacles; and the omissions, if any, must be very few in number, and are not owing to the want of attention of the juries or of the officers engaged in facilitating their work. "The number of medals voted by the juries amounts to nearly 7,000; and the 'honourable mentions' to about 5,300. The proportion of awards to exhibitors is greater than in the International Exhibition of 1851, but less than in that of 1855. "Notwithstanding the varied nationalities represented in the juries, it is gra tifying to record that the utmost harmony has prevailed during the whole time that the jurors have been associated in their labours. The mutual dependence and intimate alliance between the industries of the world, have been illustrated by the zealous and impartial efforts of the jurors of different nations to recognise and reward the merit displayed in the exhibitions of their industrial competitors. "We are glad to observe that the state of industry shown in the International Exhibition, gives evidence of a singularly active and healthy progress throughout the civilised world; for while we find every nation searching for new raw materials, or utilising products hitherto considered as waste, we are struck especially with the vast improvement in the machinery employed to adapt them to industrial purposes, as well as with the applications of science, and with the great and successful attention which is now given to all the arts necessary to gratify our taste and sense of beauty. "We cannot conclude this report without expressing our obligations to Dr. Lyon Playfair, the special commissioner for juries, for the constant and intelligent assistance which he has rendered to us throughout our labours, as well as to the deputy commissioners and secretary, who have acted under his direction, and have afforded efficient aid to the several juries during their inquiries." Lord Palmerston himself was a great man for opening Exhibitions. one by working-men in the Westminster Road, he thus spoke :— At the "Ladies and gentlemen,-I must, in the first place, express the deep gratification it has afforded me to be allowed to take part in what has been truly one of the most interesting ceremonies I have ever witnessed in my life. What can be more interesting to any man who takes an interest in the welfare and happiness of his fellow-countrymen, and the development of talent among them, than to have seen pass before him that goodly thread of men, women, and children, recipients of prizes awarded for the merits which they have displayed in the Exhibition just closed this day? If there be some whose not unreasonable expectations of higher rewards have been disappointed, they should recollect that the judges appointed by the body of exhibitors had a most difficult task to perform; difficult exactly in proportion to the amount of talent displayed by the exhibitors. Because where there are 600 candidates for distinction, and 300 prizes to be awarded, great, indeed, must be the difficulty of picking out the 300 best. It is impossible that the most accurate judgment, and the most sedulous care in selecting half the names of so large a body, where all have displayed great merit, could satisfy every man that his merits have been duly appreciated, and the reward assigned to him which he thinks ought to have been his meed. It is indeed remarkable that such intellectual distinction should have been exhibited by persons of all ages, of both sexes, even by some whose military uniform showed that their leisure hours are occupied in the service of their country; and by those also who, from their affliction, might be supposed disqualified from competing in such an Exhibition as this. I have seen many recipients of medals pass before me to-day, whom you could scarcely see on account of the lowness of their stature-children, almost, of precocious talent, from whom we may fairly expect that, in their maturer age, they will arrive at great distinction in their respective careers. This Exhibition, and the works which it contained, are extremely significant of the happy constitution under which we have the good fortune to live-that constitution which opens to every man having talent, industry, perseverance, and good conduct, any honours and distinctions which his turn of mind and attainments may qualify him to aspire to. We live under a constitutional monarchy; and of such a monarchy, an aristocracy of wealth and an aristocracy of rank are essential ingredients. It is true that aristocracies of wealth and rank exist in many other countries; but, unfortunately, there are almost impassable barriers separating them from the rest of the nation. But no such barriers exist in this country. With regard to the aristocracy of wealth, the medals distributed to-day have inscribed on them the names |