41-0 THE HICK AND THK POOR. 



racier, and that, too, in a variety of ways ; first, by attaching them, 

 not in the literal but moral sense of the word, to their own soil, giving 

 them an interest in, arid fondness for, it a circumstance which, 

 though apparently overlooked by the generality of political economists, 

 is of the highest importance to that which is the primary object with 

 every sound philanthropist, the real and not apparent happiness of the 

 population ; secondly, in inspiring gratitude and goodwill in the 

 humbler classes towards the higher, and yet without ai:y sense of 

 humiliation or dependence a circumstance beautifully dwelt on in 

 the speech of the Bishop of Litchfield, one distinguished for good 

 sense and philanthropy in the highest degree, and the best of all made 

 at the meeting (though not given by a single one of the papers, except 

 the Morning Chronicle, and which gives it as that of " a Reverend 

 Gentleman, whose name we could not learn] ; thirdly, in giving them 

 habits of industry, morality, and religion the natural consequence 

 of the first ; and all these, be it remembered, are facts and not theories. 



But besides these advantages in the object promoted by this insti- 

 tution, which are shared more or less by other institutions, it pos- 

 sesses in the mode of attaining it advantages altoger unique and un- 

 paralleled by any other. In the first place, there are very few mea- 

 sures in which all persons even well-meaning persons can even 

 agree : such as reform in parliament, in law, in the church, the poor 

 laws, the corn laws, and innumerable other things. But secondly, 

 even where they do agree in approving of the object, yet it is gene- 

 rally one that cannot be attained but at the expense of some other good: 

 thus the money spent on schools, hospitals, charities of all sorts, is so 

 much given up to that object, and therefore necessarily detracted 

 from some other ; in short, in order to benefit the poor, the rich must 

 be contented to lose but here we have not even that for the poor 

 man is enriched (besides being benefitted in still more important 

 respects) without the rich being the poorer for it a most singular 

 and important feature, and which was pointed out with merited em- 

 phasis at the meeting. And what is more, this is true not only 

 literally but morally ; for while the former acquires additional inde- 

 pendance and self-respect, the latter loses nothing ; but then it is a 

 relation of mutual good-will and attachment, like that of the head 

 and the members of a family, in which authority and distinction is 

 without oppression, and respect without servility. In short, it is 

 exactly that relation which ought always to exist between the rich 

 and the poor, and in which the latter are decidedly happier. It is, in 

 fact one of the happiest expedients that ever was hit upon for making 

 the interest of all classes amalgamate. 



But we may hope there is a better motive than interest on both 

 sides, and that, if several have been led to patronize this scheme at 

 first from such a motive, the effect has been similar to that produced 

 by the preaching of Dry den's incomparable " Parish Priest," 

 " And fools who came to scoff remained to pray." 



So in this case, those who had been led to patronize it on calculation 

 of good to themselves, have caught the contagious enthusiasm of be- 

 nevolence and generosity, and found their greatest reward in the good 



