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Leader (1850-1860), 24th March 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 9

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      The Fast Day. Tub Day Of" Fust, Humiliat...

      The daily papers smugly observe that the day was kept with great gravity and decorum ; and , if by this it be simply meant that the spirit of religious reverence inherent in the Eng lish mind forbade any outrage even upon the external show of piety , for the sake of the sincerity of those who recognise in Fast days some higher la . w than that of Privy Councils , we will not dispute the fact . We are not , indeed , aware of any extra debauchery , in the worst sense of the word , on Wednesday ; but , as fur as the metropolis is concerned , we take strong exception to the allegation of gravity . The general aspect of London was not that of " humiliation" austere denial , but rather of holiday-making and

      enjoyment . The myriads poured forth , from shop and warehouse , from work-room and office ( Belgravia was rolling to and fiom church in luxuriously stuffed carriages , since , having so much holiday time , it can afford , once in a way , to be severely pious ) poured forth , not in sackcloth and ashes , but in Sunday suits and jaunty trim ; not with faces of "humiliation , " . according to Court order , but with jovial looks , intent upoii a few hours' relief from the sleepless dragon of work . The chief thoroughfares were more than usually full ; the gallant guardsmen , with their girls upon their arms , sauntered along in full costume , and in all the bravery of their bearskin caps—thinking , perhaps , of their suffering

      comrades far away , but certainly not otherwise "humiliated ; " boys played at cricket in the parks , "in unreproved pleasures free ; " and we are awareof small dinner parties and extempore dancing parties having been got up on the spur of the occasion . The shops , it is true , were more strictly closed even than on Sunday ; but we doubt if the shop-keepers were fasting , or in anyway greatly mortifying themselves . As a consequence of the late Beer Bill , the publichouses were closed at the same hours as on Sundays ; but the dining-rooms continued open throughout the day , and in their several compartments the fasters feasted merrily— -entering with the look of men who had got time to enjoy themselves , and going out again unctuous and sleek with feeding .

      In the morning , as on the previous evening , a curious exhibition of our national piety Was to be seen , or rather heard , in the public ways . Men of the costermohger class , rough and dirty from the back alleys , and unwashed , pallid boys and girls from ditto—pariahs who ,, probably , have ho conception of the nature of prayer , or only knew tojscoff at itvociferated from the kerbstones , ' < JThe new Form of Prayer for the Fast Day—only one penny !" tuuc 1 i in the same manner as they would offer you a bill of the play . Verily it may be- said that Piety cried in the open streets : are we to add that » o man regarded her ?

      Doubtless , however , under our present darkened and truly " humiliating" circumstances , the day was not without its solemn and sincerely pious thoughts and aspirations . As a speeimen of these , we append the following extracts from . the chief sermons preached in London . The Leader has already expressed its disagreement with " Humiliation ex-officio ; " but it is pleasant to find the occasion in a measure redeemed bythe partial ~" gOod ^ sense ( not unmixed * however , with conventionality ) of those whose especial province it is to take it as their text : —

      The Bishop of Salisuuky at Westsiinstkr Abbey , before the House of Lords . —We might agree in the judgment which had been affirmed with such remarkable unanimity , that the war in which we are now engaged , is a just and necessary war . This remark he put in the very front of his discourse because a different judgment would introduce into the subject of our national humiliation other elements than those which now belonged to it . The justice and the necessity of the war did not , however , strip it of its many horrors ,

      its present perils , and its uncertain and most eventful issues ; and , instead of lessening or retarding , should increase , quicken , and confirm our endeavours to obtain success , and to secure the restoration of peace . Whatever skill , and genius , and prudence , and forethought , and manly energy could effect towards these ends should be accomplished . The deep conviction of the nation ' s heart , that the struggle was juat and necessary , made such a duty only the more imperative ; and he should indeed have a rich themo for his discourse if it wore his

      office to insist upon this to-day , and to help to further in any degree the * one hearty desire of this great empire , that every means should be used to bring its . efforts to a successful issue . But his part was rather to carry his hearers beyond secondary courses to the ordaining will of God . Thb Rev . Henry Melvill at St . Maroauet ' s , WesTMINSTEU , BUFOItB THIS HOUSE OF COMMONS . — Wo entered on this war with no selfish purpose . Wo

      saw Europe already darkened by the shudo of a colossal Power , which was ever pushing forward its boundary ; and it was not for England to sit tamely by while country after country lost its independence . If wo had had no fears for ourselves—if wo could not contemplate the probability that tho advancing tide would break on our own shores—at least it was in our charter not to suffer the weak to bo borne down by tho strong . Therefore did wo gird ourselves for tlio contest . It wan no war of umbition or of aggrandisement . Wo took up

      the championship of the oppressed ; and if we looked beyond the immediate case , it was that we saw the world ' s liberties in peril , and resolved , ere too late , to make a stand for civilisation , for enlightenment , for human progress and human happiness . . . . They had assembled there that day to confess the hand of the Almighty in the calamities with which we had been visited , and to beseech of Him that , in His own good time , He would vouchsafe to us " a secure and prosperous peace . " They were not in that place , at least , to look at second causes , but meekly and submissively to o-wti that , whether or not we had done all that might have been done towards procuring success , we had been smitten of God , to whom human errors , as well as human

      triumphs , were but instruments for furthering His will . But , at the same time , we ought thankfully to acknowledge that there were many bright points in an otherwise dark picture . The war , for example , had set before the world the noble spectacle of two great nations , long separated by jealousies and rivalries , laying aside ancestral enmities , and combining in the cause of civilisation and freedom . All honour to our brave allies ! It was a fine augury for the interests of our race that France was one with England in resisting oppression . Then , again , there was the evidence of a better education , of a wider diffusion of enlarged and religious sentiments than one had ventured to look for . Why , many of the published letters of our privates would do credit

      to the heads and the hearts of men trained by all the processes of a refined Christian instruction . Above all , the war had : called forth one . fine and noble trait ; it had shown that numbers of the weaker sex , though born to wealth and bread in luxury , -were ready to renounce every comfort and to brave every hardship that they might minister to the suffering , tend the wounded in their agony , and soothe the last struggles of the dying . God bless them in this their heroic mission—it might almost be said , in then : heroic martyrdom!— -for , in walking those long lines of sick beds , in devoting themselves to all the ghastly duties of a hospital , they were doing a harder thing than had been allotted to many who had mounted the scaffold or dared the stake .

      There- recently came sudden tidings to England ; with 'bated breath men whispered them one to the other —they seemed almost iacredible , and yet they were authentic . The potentate who had been foremost in this contest , the man who stood out from the rest of his race , the most conspicuous , perhaps , in power , in energy , in strength of will , in firmness of purpose , in sweep of enterprise—he was-dead , —dead , with _ countless squadrons waiting his bidding , —dead , with convulsed kingdoms watching his throes , —dead , while a whole world , it might almost be said , was being shaken by his tread . Then , who would presume to count upon to-morrow ? At once , lest death overtake us , let each resolve to be a better patriot by being a better Christian .

      The Bishop of London at St . Paul ' s , —Was there not one topic of self-abasement directly arising out of the circumstances that had given cause for this solemn act of humiliation ? Had we not reason for self-reproach in the secure and overweening pride and self-confidence which we had exhibited ? Did we enter on the struggle in which we are engaged , in humble reliance on the over-ruling power and mercy of our God ? Did we not rather manifest-something of-vainglory- ? - How , loudly did we boast of our inexhaustible resources—of the number and bravery of our naval and military armaments , lories of Trafal

      that were to rival , if not surpass , the g gar and Waterloo ! And , now , how were we shorn of our strength ? How little did we think of tho instruments by which the Almighty had disappointed our eager anticipations ? How little did we think of the unknown power and resources of tho foe—of the imperfections of our own system of warfare ? Of that noble and highminded band of men who went forth amid the cheers and plaudits of this country to fight our battles in a distant land , how many thousands lie festering in the shallow trenches of the Crimea , or in the waters that wash its shores ?

      Mab0h 24, 1855.J The Deader, 273

      MAB 0 H 24 , 1855 . J THE DEADER , 273

      A Vision Before A Fast. I Uueamt Last Ni...

      A VISION BEFORE A FAST . I uueamt last night that the Man in tho Moon ( In dreams my particular crony ) Dropt in to spend a long forenoon , So ho begged I'd go out , as a very great boon , And act as his Cicerone . You see ho ' s Prime Minister up chcz lui , And tho' they ' re at peaco , lie had comu to see How wo managed our martial labours ; For , like a wiso statesman , he said he know That tho' statesmen bo ever so wiso , there arc few Who might not tako a hint from their neighbours . Ho shouldered Ins sticks and ho whistled his dog ; I gave him my arm and forth wo jog : Said I , ' « You must understand , That to-day wo arc holding a solemn Fast , Which wo hope will pay up for the sins of tho past , And leave us a balance in hand . " Then mcthought we stood by a portal wide , Where carriages clustered about ; Fair damea were waiting their turn inside , Grave gentlemen stopping out . Wo took our place with tho pious throiig , And into tho church wo wore borno along . A clergyman preached—but ho spoke of no wrong ,

      Th'o ' much of the judgments of Heaven : How war was sent for the sins of mankind-How famine and pestilence stalked behind-Then he dwelt on " rebukes" of wave and wind With a sentimental leaven . He begged that his hearers would fast and pray , And humble themselves that particular day , Then probably Heaven might deign to stay The ills that its wrath had given . My friend with the sticks looked rather perplexed ; For me , I was thinking , instead of the text , Of a sentence of doubtful gentility r As lords and ladyships outward prest , I whispered , " The pride that the Devil loves best , Is the pride that apes humility . " 1 suppose I went off in an absent way , For my friend with a nudge began to say" Now , tell me the meaning of all this pother ? It has , I presume , some meaning or other ?" " Well then—you know we ' re a very great nation—But tho' we may boast of our information , We make a mistake here and there . Our governing classes don't quite know their trade , And a few insignificant blunders they ' ve made Have cost us many a good brigade . As for beggarly millions—who'd care ? With fleets and navies that rule the main , And merchants that girdle the globe for gain , We have left , unclothed in the pelting rain , Our bravest to spend their lives in vain , Tho '( their spoil no enemies share . And when we would ask the reason why , A chorus of gentlemen raise the cry' There ' s no one to blame—not I—nor I ! Do ye dare to insist ? Then we'll say good by !' So they call the nation to prayer !" " By my lady ' s horns and their golden tips , " Said the Man in the Moon , " if we made such slips , We should pray for a speedy lunar eclipse And hide our humility there ! I will give you a little advice , if I may—Be counselled—and try a better way : First sweep and garnish—then go and pray , And Heaven may , perchance , give heed . But he who raises his unwashed hands , And supplicates Heaven , to cleanse them , stands Small chance of a blessing at need !"_ My friend had flourished , while thus he spoke , A stick from his bundle * which suddenly broke , And I , with a start , as sudden awoke . Was it all but a dream , indeed ? Q .

      State Of Trade, Labour, And The Poor. Th...

      STATE OF TRADE , LABOUR , AND THE POOR . The state of the country , speaking generally , is decidedly more cheerful than it has been for many weeks past ; yet considerable depression still exists in different localities , and the reduction of workmen ' s wages in several branches of trade is contemplated . The iron trade of South Staffordshire exhibits some degree of improvement ; American orders aTe becoming more numerous ; and there is an increase in the home trade , ' lie v " eFtliele ^ r prices "ifrfestillso low , in comparison with the state of the markets a year or a year and a half since , that a fall in tho price of labour is talked of , and by some considered inevitable . The coalmasters have held a meeting at

      Stourbridge for the purpose of reducing colliers' miners' wages , and notices will bo forthwith given accordingly . As a matter of course , the price of coal will fall in proportion . The step is taken , as it is stated , to meet the condition of the iron trade , and not in consequence of any particular falling off in the demand for coal . The colliers will be reduced Is . per day , and stonemen 9 d . The reduction of wages and the suspension of work is not confined to the immediate neighbourhood of Staffordshire , but

      extends to tho iron districts of Shropshire . The workmen employed in the collieries of the Madeley Wood Company have had notice of reduction to the extent of 6 tl . per day , and those employed in the extensive iron works of thu Conlbrookdale Company , at the llorseliayes , have received notice of a reduction ot ten per cent . In the Potteries of North Staffordshire the sjinie process is in operation . TJio miJuros in the iron trude , to which allusion was mnde last week , have not led to any further senous results . Thocopuer market remains extremely firm , ami , acis i

      cording to tho statements of practical men , meiy to continue so . Tho urticle is scarce , and the demand improving . At Bloxwieh there arc good orders for locks , and the business of the neighbourhood is stated to bo decidedly improving . Within tho last fortnight tho demands from factors have been much lnrcer than fjr-Bomo time past . The same may be S 3 Kftho trade of Willenlmll . The staple trado of the district is looking up . At Waball tho sodd era ' ironmongery trade is somewhat flat , but in that town and i » Birmingham military ordern are brisk . Tho makers of agricultural . implements represent themselves ns busy in every branch . At present , however , the retail tradesmen of Birmingham describe their various businesses across tho counter as

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 24, 1855, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24031855/page/9/