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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



never require to be guided in their conduct by the fear, of 

 censure from their neighbours ; but although there is great 

 value attached to the approbation of others, yet believe me 

 there is no approbation which a man who has a proper eeti- 

 male of things will more highly value than his own approba- 

 tion. Other men may be mistaken. They may unduly ap- 

 preciate conduct which after all, when its motives are known, 

 may not deserve the approbation which it has received. Men 

 may unduly blame others, not knowing exactly the truth of 

 the conduct they blame, and not bemg aware of all the cir- 

 cumstances which might explain or excuse that which they 

 think fit to condemn ; but a man's own conscience never mis- 

 leads him. He knows full well whether he deserves praise or 

 censure, and if he is conscious that he is deserving of commenda- 

 tion and praise, he may hear with calmness the accents of praise 

 from others, and with composure the censure which he feels 

 not to have deserved. Now, my friends, it is needless among 

 80 many who have distinguished themselves in their different 

 vocations to give advice as to their future conduct. You have 

 only to continue to tread in the same path which has led you 

 to be prizemen upon this and upon former occasions. I would, 

 however, remind you that there are, perhaps, functions of life 

 and duties not precisely connected with those kinds of conduct 

 which have distinguished you upon this occasion, but which, 

 nevertheless, are greatly conducive to your wellbeing, and to 

 the respect which you would wish to receive from others. I 

 would particularly impress upon you the great importance of 

 attending to the manner in which you rear your children. 

 Impressions made in early life we all know are lasting, and 

 there are no impressions that go deeper into the mind of a 

 child than those which he receives from his parents in his 

 tender years. Bend the twig as you like, and so the tree will 

 grow. Probably those who are employed out of doors all day 

 long have fewer opportunities than others of attending to the 

 instruction of their children; but you, all of you, have mo- 

 ments which you can devote to that purpose, and you should 

 not omit any opportunity which family intercourse affords 

 you to impress strongly upon your children the distinction 

 between right and wrong. You may be sure that if you 

 attend to the moral and religious instruction of the family 

 that surrounds you, you will see them grow up to be an honour 

 to yourselves, and a comfort to you to the latest daj's of your 

 life. I am not aware, ray friends, that I have anything else 

 to say to you. I am sure that those who have earned these 

 prizes to-day need no advice from others as to the course 

 which they ought to pursue ; because I am certain that men 

 who are so much masters of their conduct, of their passions, 

 and of their inclinations, as to have obtained, by a strict at- 

 tention to their agricultural duties, the rewards which it has 

 been my good fortune to distribute, must also have those high 

 feelings, that deep sense of right and wrong, those high prin- 

 ciples of morality and of religion, which will lead them to 

 attend to the rearing of their families, and to their intercourse 

 with their neighbours, without any advice or recommendation 

 from anybody, save perhaps from their religious pastor and 

 preceptor. Again I congratulate you upon the prizes you 

 have obtained ; and I have no doubt that next year many 

 who have not been successful competitors to-day will put 

 themselves upon the list of prizemen. 



Mr. George called upon the labourers for three cheers for 

 Lady Palmeroton, which was cordially responded to. 



Lord Palmerston, in ackuowledging the compliment, 

 said — I beg to thank you sincerely for the kind and hearty 

 manner in which you have responded to the call just made 

 upon you. I can assure you that these opportunities of meet- 

 ing familiarly with these whom one does not meet every day 

 in the year are most gratifying to me, and must be to every 

 rightmiuded man. The fabric of society is constructed by an 

 infinite gradation of ranks and conditions : and those who are 

 perhaps separated from each other, and have not often an 

 occasion of meeting, when the opportunities do occur should 

 meet in order that they may reciprocally understand each 

 other. I am sure that all classes of EngUshmen, if they do 

 understand each other, will value and love each other. I am 

 not led away by any national vanity in that opinion, but I have 

 that conviction with regard to the character of my country that 

 I am sure theoftener the different classes of society meet toge- 

 ther, the more the whole fabric of society will be cemented 

 the stronger the nation will be, and the more each class will 

 look to the other without jealousy, without suspicion, without 



enmity, with a conviction that there are no antagonistic in- 

 terests, but that the interests of all are bound up in one general 

 aggregate which forms the interest of the country at large. 



At a later period of the day the members of the Association 

 dined together at the White Horse Inn. Lord Palmerston 

 presided. 



The usual loyal toasts having been given. 



The Chairman gave " The health of the Members for 

 the County." 



The Hon. Kalph Button, M.P., in responding, said that, 

 after the able address which had been delivered by Lord Pal- 

 merston to the labourers, he would confine his remarks to 

 subjects affecting only the employers of labour. The Romsey 

 Association had been before the public for some years. It 

 had been, as it were, on trial, and what good had it done to 

 benefit the condition of the labourer? For his own part he 

 believed that it had accomplished a vast amount of good, not 

 so much directly as indirectly, inasmuch as it had turned 

 men's minds into the right channel, and had induced them to 

 pay more attention than formerly to the condition of those 

 whom they employed as labourers. Now, he would ask, what 

 was the condition of the English labourer? He was born to 

 his work, like a horse, and the harder he worked the sooner he 

 was worn out. It was clearly, then, the duty of those to whom 

 the Almighty had given a higher station to provide for the 

 labourer in his lifetime, and for his old age also. It could 

 be accomplished in a very simple manner — namely, by giving 

 the labourer good cottages, fair wages, and insuring him work 

 throughout the winter. In that way alone the employer could 

 keep his staff of labourers about him. He knew he might be 

 met by the remark that the supply and demand ought always 

 to regulate each other ; but they must remember that that 

 precious text of the political economist almost deprived the 

 farmers of labour last harvest when they wanted it most. He 

 had himself seen many crops standing throughout the hot 

 weather, losing from 25 to 50 per cent, of their value from 

 want of labour to get them in ; and in his opinion it arose in 

 a great measure from the evil of not employing a sufficient 

 number of labourers throughout the winter. He believed that 

 there was no outlay upon the land so judicious as the employ- 

 ment of capital liberally. Cottages were now being improved, 

 the labourers were getting fair wages, and he had no doubt that 

 this association, by turning the minds of the employers of 

 labour in that direction, had been the means of doing much 

 good. It would always give him great pleasure to give his 

 humble assistance at that and similar institutions. He be- 

 lieved that the duty of a county member was not merely to 

 attend in his place in Parliament and add his voice to the 

 councils of the State, but to go among his constituents to 

 listen to any suggestions they might have to make, and to en- 

 courage those societies which had for their aim and end the 

 social elevation of the people. 



The Chairman, in giving " Prosperity to the Romsey 

 Association for the Encouragement of Labourers," said : 

 We are met here as a body of employers, and I hold that 

 these associations affect the interests of the employers quite 

 as much as they do the interests of those who are employed ; 

 for it is manifest that no agriculturist can pursue his vocation 

 with advantage if he does not inspire in the minds of those 

 he employs zeal in their calling, energy, industry, and espe- 

 cially good conduct. Agriculture has undergone a great change 

 in the last few years. It used to be a practice ; it is now 

 raised to the condition of a science ; and no man can be a suc- 

 cessful agriculturist who does not raise his mind beyond the 

 mere traditions of those who went before him, and who does 

 not study the principles on which success in agriculture must 

 mainly depend. A farmer ought now to know something, 

 and perhaps not a little, of chemistry. He ought to know 

 what are the ingredients of the soil which different crops take 

 out for their nourishment. He ought to know how, by various 

 manures or by various processes, to restore to the soil thosie 

 ingredients essential to the growth of plants which former 

 crops have taken out. He ought also, to a certain extent, to 

 know the fundamental principles of political economy, and to 

 be aware that he does not prosper by grinding down those 

 who labour on his farm — that it is no real saving to give in- 

 adequate wages to those who work for him — that he gains 

 nothing by avoiding to employ labour in the winter months — 

 and that, in fact, there is no more advantageona and profitable 

 investment in the cultivation of the laud than labour. It is 



