282 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC. 



condensity which give it the character of an aphorism. It is marked by a frank- 

 ness and a boldness worthy of the English gentleman ; the man of wealth whose 

 acres are counted by thousands ; the lord of estates whose unbroken circuit is 

 measured by miles. A.nd shall a man holding so large a stake in the country fear- 

 lessly avow his conviction that from knowledge diffused with measureless liberality, 

 no evil need be feared, but that it is the ground of the most lively hope ? And shall 

 the leaders of a sagacious and active commercial manufacturing community, with 

 prudish coyness, coldly hesitate their doubts of the safety of diffused intelligence, 

 look on indifferently, or prefer to remain ignorant of the proceedings of the institu- 

 tion, an allusion to which called forth the burst of zealous philanthropy just quoted? 



*' When the value and capacity of the human mind are considered, how mon- 

 strous seems the absurdity, how culpable the waste, of suffering that inestimable 

 gift of the Creator, which causes its possessor to rank but ' a little lower than the 

 angels,' to be disregarded — such a mine of wealth to lie unworked — such a treasure 

 to be hidden in a napkin, instead of being put out to profitable usury by action and 

 cultivation ! Who would not laugh at the prodigal stolidity of the man who, having 

 the command of a machine with power to move mountains, should employ it only 

 in drawing of corks and polishing of boots ? But such folly were but a type of 

 that which would forbid and impede, or would wilfully neglect to assist in the 

 improvement of the minds of men and of women !" 



" Of all the powers put into action for the attainment of the great end, to which 

 I alluded at the close of my last letter, namely the intellectual improvement of the 

 people ; and many persons would be surprised were they conscious of the total 

 under-current of thought and reflection already excited by the people, but un- 

 observedly by the careless eye; — of all these acting powers, I say, none are so well 

 organized, — so well calculated to be effective, as Mechanics' Institutions." 



" Yet are they not the originators of the spirit of inquiry, of the excited thirst 

 for knowledge which exhibit themselves on every side, but the agents to guide that 

 spirit, the benign mediums for satisfying that thirst. It was finely said by Lord 

 Brougham, when he first moved the establishment of these Institutions : — ' The 

 question is not now, whether the people shall have knowledge or not : but whether 

 the knowledge obtained shall be such as will be useful.' 



" Mechanics' Institutions claim to be considered the guides and directors to 

 useful knowledge; they are the regulators, the safety-valves, the governors of the 

 great intellectual machinery, the million-mind-power-engines, which circumstances 

 will call into action. The advance of intellectual improvement, it is true, ' cometh 

 not with observation ;' that is, those who are indifferent to it, may continue for a 

 time unconscious of its progress. The impetus given by the energetic mind of 

 Lord Brougham, though not generally seconded by persons eminent for wealth and 

 station, still, however, continues in wholesome activity. New Institutions are con- 

 tinually being announced. The philanthropist may lament over their comparatively 

 slow progress; and the admirer of antiquity, the slave of precedent, the blind 

 laudator temporis acti may sneer at their small visible effects. But both are in 

 error. The seed is sown, and will duly spring into life ; and its fruit will be for 

 the healing of the nations." 



The writer of these letters, we understand, is Mr. W. Hawkes Smith, the 

 Vice-President of the Institution. We have before us the MS. copy of a lecture 

 lately delivered by this gentleman, " On the Tendency and Prospects of Mechanics' 

 Institutions," in which his views, both general and individual, are freely developed. 

 It is our intention in our next number to offer some connected extracts from this 

 lecture, which, in our opinion, contains some valuable reflections, accompanied by 

 useful practical observations. 



the want of solidity in the lower part of the structure. These are not the times in which 

 it is safe for a nation to repose in the lap of ignorance. ' 



"I am one of those who always considered the intelligence of the working people to be 

 much undervalued by the prejudices of some and the pride of others. This intelligence, 

 overruling times and circumstances, often shoots up by the native force of the seminal 

 principle ; but when aided and assisted by such institutions as yours, will unceasingly, in 

 time, bring forth the richest fruits. 



" I do not think the people can know too much, but they can easily know too little', and a 

 half- reasoning multitude, when their passions sire excited, is one of the most dreadful 

 moral scourges ever inflicted on humanity. 



" Let me congratulate you on having such a liberal and well-informed President as Sir 

 E. E. Wilmot at the head of your institution. That that institution may go forward in 

 harmonious accordance with the ' spirit of the age' is my sincere wish." 



