28 



ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WKST SUS 

 SEX (EvG.) AGItlCULTURAL ASSOCIA- 

 TION—SPEECH FROM MR COLMAN. 

 The Mark-lane (London) Express .,f June 2fi, 

 contains an account of the .ibove named festival, 

 which, in the absence of any'thing of greater in- 

 terest, we copy in extcnso. Henry Colinan, F.sq., 

 late At'ricultural Coinmissionor of this State, it 

 will be seen was present and addressed the assem- 

 bly in an appropriate and eloquent response to a 

 toast to his health. The Express says : 



At two o'clock the company assembled for din- 

 ner ir. the Tennis Court, at Waterbeach. The 

 company was honored with the presence of the la- 

 dies of the noble house of Lennox and others of the 

 neighborhood; and his Grace the Duke of Rich- 

 mond presided, supported on the right by the Lord 

 Bishop of Chichester, the Hon. and Rev. L. V 

 Harcourt, and the Venerable Archdeacon Man- 

 ning ; and on the left by Charles Scrace Dickins 

 Esq., Col. Charles Wyndham, Mr. Colmnn, and 

 Archdeacon Webber. A very large numiier of the 

 neighboring clergy were also present. Grace 

 having been said by the Lord Bishop, upwards of 

 two hundred gentlemen, exclusive of a large num- 

 ber of the successful candidates, sat down to an 

 excellent collation, served up in Mr. Wood's usual 

 excellent style. The company were preceeded by 

 a band playing " The Roast Beef of Old En-land " 

 Thanks being returned by the Lord Bishop, the 

 cloth was removed. 



After the usual loyal toasts had been drunk, the 

 Chairman proposed the health of the "Lord liishop 

 ot Chichester, and the Clergy of the Diocese." 

 The Lord Bishop returned thanks. 

 The distribution of the prizes here commenced ; 

 and the Lord Bishop addressed appropriate remarks 

 lo the laborers who obtained his prizes. 



The Chairm.*n then rose and said— I beg to 

 call upon the Venerable Archdeacon Mannin- to 

 propose the hcshh of the" Successful Candidates." 

 It 13 not, my friends, because I do not feel interest- 

 ed ,n you that I refrai.T from prcpoMpgyo.r health: 

 but because I shall have a great deal of speakin- 

 to-day, and because I know that Archdeacon Mun! 

 ning can speak a great dea 1 better than myself. 

 (Cheers.) ' 



Archdeacon Manning, on rising, was received 

 with reitrrated rounds of applause. He said— 

 your Grace has rendered the task imposed upon me 

 extremely difficult, not only by reason of my unfit- 

 ness, but by the manner in which it has been in 

 troduced. But, notwithstanding mv feelino- of un- 

 worthine..^ I may not decline the task, lest I should 

 appear to be slack in supporting the objects of the 

 Association. My" Lord Duke, I speak sincerely 

 when I .say that I think none are so bound and l/y 

 their practice and habits, so competent to .spenk on 

 the condition of the poorer classes as the cleray „f 

 the Church of England; and it is for this reason that I 

 accept the present task. Of a 11 men, the cler^ most 

 penetrate into the condition of the workin.r classes 

 No other men ki... w them so well or so thoroucrhly 

 I he clergy know them in the season of adver°sity 

 and see their arduous struggles with regard to ihei^ 

 worldly e.,tate. I mny say this, though J be the 

 east of the body of the clergy here present, as to 

 the knowledge of their conditron. Although this 

 IS an Association for the promotion of agric'ulture 

 yet in us terms there is recognised the base upon 

 which all property rests. It reminds us that prop- 

 erty has its duties as well as rights. We are too 



x\ E \V ENGLAND FARMER, 



J ULY 36, 1843. 



-re-s"; and it is" as true n Z a ! L ,1 " ' FT '" ''T'' ' '"''' ' ""'' ' "^ "'- •'"'- 

 tl-tscarcelyanythi ri, L':,^\r''":?'''"""' ° ^--harge a duty which we owe to the nobi 

 dcnce of G^l tliL i^p::::::sZ":!^;^;^/'y:;, t::!::!Z '^^'^^^-^ ^-^ f neouragement of this A 

 these considerations render it of infinite importance 

 that men should be reminded that these posses- 

 •sions are not committed to them, to you, my lord 

 duke, and to others, for your own gratification but 

 that they are coupled with responsibilities w'hicl 



z:zrz":^:':.j-"'b''- - - •---".- r.s';::.-;;„^:". 



you hold them as a charge, for which account must 

 be given at the great and awful day. There was 

 a time in by-gone days, rudo though it mi"ht have 

 been, when the lord of the soil looked not^mly up- 

 on his castles and broad lands, but also upon his 

 laborers as objects of his own peculiar care, and 

 with all his faults, felt that he ought to make pro- 

 vision for the spiritual interests of his people. Al- 

 I though, it may, perhaps, be considered an ill choice 

 I to touch upon such a subject at the present meet- 

 ing, I will take upon me to say, that although we 

 may advance our agriculture, or extend our com- 

 merce and manufactures, yet, be assured, posterity 

 will look back with the greatest satisfaction and 

 pride to those lords of the soil, on which churches 

 were built and provision made for the moral and 

 religious improvement of the people. I think I 

 may gather that this Association recognizes, as the 

 most prominent object of pursuit, the promotion of 

 the moral conduct of the people ; and I am sure 

 that in so doing you take the surest mode of pro- 

 curing prosperous fields, and that you will he am- 

 ply repaid for all, in the happiness difTused amontr 

 the people. If we doubt this, we have only to look 

 at other lands, or to those districts of our own, 

 where towns of immense extent have, within a 

 •comparatively short time, sprung up in the room of 

 village-s "■lieie .property has been accumulating, 

 and the moans of moral and religious leachina 

 ave not been procured, where the mass of the po° 

 pulation have been festering in their unsoundness. 

 Let us call to mind t'le t'. :ju.s of last year when 



sociution, by doing ourselves the honor of drinl 

 ing his health. It has I.een observed that this i 

 an association, the objects of which are such as ar 

 best calculated to promote the welfare of the la 

 boring classes of the community. But whcthe 

 this orothers be the best, we all know that ih 



often t 



the streets of the towns were reeking witlijthe blood 



ot their inhabitants, and remember that the neglect 

 of those responsibilities which attach to property 

 will recoil upon us with redoubled force. This 

 great moral principle lies at the root of this Asso- 

 ciation ; and because it gives pledges on the part 

 of the clergy and laity to promote this object, I 

 advocate it. I should, however, be greatly want- 

 '>,z in gratitude, did I fail to testify the zeal with 

 "hich the laity, whether high or low, have assisted 

 me in the promotion of this object. lean speak 

 from my short official connexion ; and my convic- 

 tion founded upon an experience of two years is 

 this, that there is no class of men more careful of 

 the moral and religious condition of the Iaborin<r 

 cln.sses than the gentry, clergy, and the farmer! 

 It was well observed by a martyr of our church 

 that we have two plows—one plow for the 

 laymen and the other for the clergy ; but that we 

 are not to plow across each other, but side by 

 side. If you, by caring for the poor cottaners,wii| 

 speed our plow, we, the clergy, by pleading wi-h 

 you for purity, honesty, and truth, will do olir ut- 

 most to speed your plows. I beg to propose the 

 health of the " Lnboring Classes and the Success- 

 ful (.andidites." (The Venerable Archdeacon 

 was repeatedly and loudly applauded in various 

 parts of his speech, and sat down amidst a torrent 

 or applause.) 



be found in the presiding hand that influences t,. 

 whole. The interest felt by his grace in the a..ri 

 cultural prosperity of the country, and the deep^ir 

 tercst manifested by him in this anniversary, whe. 

 we meet the humble classes, and to whom wo an 

 now met to do honor, you are well aware ot 

 You know his care. The pains he takes to for 

 ward the interests of this association, what sacrifi 

 ces of personal convenience he makes to preside 

 at our meetings, how much we are indebted to him 

 and feel that it could not prosper without his aid 

 and we are indebted for all this to a nobleman who 

 in early life, abandoned the comforts and enjoy 

 ments of his home to embark in an arduous ser- 

 vice. Nor since his return has he given himsell 

 up to ease and self-indulgence. The nation at 

 large knows that he not only inculcates upon others 

 their peculiar duties, but sets them an example in 

 his own person, and shows how rank and wealth 

 may be made to contribute to the welfare of the 

 country. I shall not attempt to fill up the picture 

 because you, gentlemen, are much better able to' 

 do so than I am ; but I can only say that we owe 

 a debt ot gratitude to him, and I should be ungrate- 

 ful if I did not personally acknowledt^e my debt to 

 his grace, for his example; for it is of great im- 

 portance to us all that persons of his grace's hi-rh 

 standing in society should set a noble exampFe, 

 and I feel that we are indebted to him for that, and 

 also for the manner in which he presides over this 

 association. I therefore propose the health of hii 

 grace, with three times throe. (Loud cheers, and 

 one cheer more). 



His Grace then rose to acknowledge the toast, 

 and said — I am too much accustomed, when meet-' 

 ing with the farmers of Sussex, to receive their 

 kind expressions of regard, to feel surprised at this 

 expression of your esteem, and most sincerely do I 

 thank you for it. The Lord Bishop has alluded to 

 my early life. I lelt it was one of the preroga- 

 tives of my station to bear a part in the field against 

 the enemies of my country ; and I therefore did not 

 think u my duty to indulge myself in the amuse- 

 ments of hunting and racing (veiy good amuse- 

 ments in their way), but to take my part in the field 

 of battle, through the Peninsula and at Waterloo. 

 I h^ive, since my return, always found the farmers 

 of Sussex ready to co-operate with me in every ob- 

 ject calculated to promote the welfare of the la- 

 boring classes; and I support, with pleasure, this 

 Association, and am particularly proud that this 

 was the first at which the successful candidates sat 

 down with us to dinner. I felt persuaded that the 

 laborers would like to dine with us here, althourrh 

 we do not forget the distinctions of rank; and°I 

 felt assured that they would not forget that their 

 employers are those to whom they must apply in 

 seasons of difficulty, and who are ready at all times 

 to assist them as much as possible. I have always 

 the greatest satisfaction in meeting the farmers 

 and especially at this Association, where wc meet 



