272 



LAST YEARS IN ENGLAND. [Chap. VI. 



school, with open roof, like Cairo Street; and the voices of the 

 men, as they heartily repeated it, were something unusually 

 solemn. We then sang averse of 'Auld Lang Syne.' Next 

 day was the concluding meeting. I had settled it not to have 

 a tea-party, but to emigrate a man instead ; but we did not 

 know how they would take it. However, I explained : and 

 when I asked those who thought I should have given a tea 

 instead, to hold up their hands, not one hand rose. So just 

 then the hungry bookbinder came in, who had not heard he 

 was to go : so I said, ' Robert Gordon, the men have all agreed 

 to go without a meal to send you to Canada. 7 This way of 

 putting it produced an immense effect : and fortunately, at the 

 end, I escaped all votes of thanks, etc." 



After a visit to London, for Natural History work, he 

 preached three Sundays at Halifax, in my absence, and then 

 went to the meeting of the British Association at Newcastle, 

 of which he wrote a lively account to Dr. Henry. He came too 

 late for " the great Negro fight : " — Dr. Hunt read a paper 

 enforcing the natural degradation of the negro race : " It 

 might pass with blockade-runners and pirate-builders in Liver- 

 pool, or cotton manufacturers in Manchester; but the New- 

 castrians are plain English folk, who don't choose for science 

 to be used for slave-holding purposes ; so they hissed him : I 

 believe the first time such demonstrations have been made in 

 a meeting. Of course, there was a lively discussion, in which 

 Dr. H. was well cut up, and W. Craft (a piece of Southern 

 property) was very well received, and laid some very good 

 lashes on Hunt's back. The affair was well reported ; and, 

 being rather novel to English ideas, was widely copied into the 

 papers, up and down the country. ... I met Craft at the 

 evening soiree, who appeared an object of special interest to 

 the fashionable ladies : also Elihu Burritt,* who (like me) is 

 still a Peace-man ... he thinks if they had followed his plan of 

 gradual emancipation it would have been far cheaper and 

 better than fighting ! 



" In the committee of Section D. we had an animated 



* Died March 7, 1879 : see p. 174. 



