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 FROM AN ENGRAVING BY HENRY DAWE. 
 AFTER A PAINTING BY SAMUEL LANE. 
 
GEORGE BIRKBECK, 
 
 THE PIONEER 
 
 OF 
 
 POPULAR EDUCATION. 
 
 21 ZTfemoir anb a IReview. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN GEORGE GODARD. 
 
 
 '^ -i' f1 '- 
 
 BEMROSE & SONS, 23, OLD BAILEY 
 AND DERBY. 
 
 1884. 
 
 {All Rights Reserved.] 
 

 • • • 
 • • « 
 
 
 . > . * 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the popular education movement is 
 one of the most important outgrowths of a 
 most progressive era, probably little is known at 
 the present time concerning him who was its 
 pioneer. 
 
 No biographer has, I believe, narrated the 
 career of the founder of Mechanics' Institutions. 
 Repeated reference to his work is made in the 
 publications of his own time ; encyclopaedias 
 accord him an honoured place amongst the 
 names of Britain's worthies ; essayists on educa- 
 tion bestow upon him their meed of praise ; but 
 a volume devoted to him alone does not appear 
 to have been ever written : by the modern world 
 he is appreciated to a very limited degree — a new 
 generation has arisen which knows him not. 
 
 And yet merit and materials for a biography 
 are not wanting, and many who have found a 
 Boswell to chronicle their thoughts and deeds 
 accomplished less than did George Birkbeck. 
 In earliest manhood, in advancing years, the 
 education of the hitherto neglected classes was 
 
 449G14 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 made his earnest and anxious care ; and the 
 noble title he has justly earned is that of the 
 people's friend. To his bright conception and 
 assiduous labours — much more even than to the 
 philanthropic exertions of Andrew Bell and 
 Joseph Lancaster, the promoters of National 
 Schools — can without doubt be largely traced the 
 stupendous change the present century has 
 witnessed in the mental condition of the toiling 
 multitude. 
 
 In truth, the movement which Dr. Birkbeck 
 inaugurated has spread so rapidly and far, 
 and has evoked the co-operation of so many 
 able and gifted workers, at the time already 
 known to fame, that there is a possibility of his 
 being obscured by the very light he diffused 
 throughout the land — a danger that his national 
 services should be forgotten, and the honours 
 due to him awarded to others. His name more- 
 over has become associated with various enter- 
 prises of a commercial character, organised after 
 his death ; and in these his special mission has 
 to a large extent been merged in the public 
 mind. A combination of circumstances has, in 
 the absence of any chronicle of his life, save such 
 fragmentary sketches as have appeared in years 
 gone by, caused the interest in him to gradually 
 diminish until it is chiefly local. 
 
 To show then that George Birkbeck is worthy 
 
PREFACE, vii 
 
 of a more extended fame, to exhibit him as a 
 benefactor to his country and the world, and to 
 indicate when and under what circumstances 
 knowledge was first offered to the working 
 classes, and the manner in - which its influence 
 has spread, is the object of the present memoir. 
 
 Twelve years' participation in the benefits of 
 the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution 
 — the most important organisation of its kind — 
 has afforded me opportunities for acquiring some 
 amount of practical knowledge of the subject. 
 For the main facts of the narrative, the principal 
 authorities are alluded to in the text. To 
 obtain, however, the requisite information it has 
 been necessary to peruse or consult about three 
 hundred volumes, many of them by this time 
 musty and decayed ; and to have appended 
 references, therefore, to every statement made 
 would have been more embarrassing than service- 
 able. Upon some points research has failed, 
 at this distance of time, to throw any light 
 whatever ; but these, fortunately, are not very 
 material. 
 
 For some of the details of Dr. Birkbeck's 
 private life and incidents in the career of the 
 Institution after his death, I am indebted to his 
 son and successor in the presidentship, Mr. W. 
 Lloyd Birkbeck, M.A., who has kindly perused 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 the memoir in manuscript and proof, and favoured 
 me with suggestions on numerous points. Mr. 
 George M. Norris, the present indefatigable 
 manager, has also been good enough to supply 
 me with statistical information concerning the 
 period of his tenure of office, and to render aid 
 in other ways. Many of the interesting histori- 
 cal and other facts relating to the Doctor's 
 birthplace have been communicated by Mr. 
 Thomas Brayshaw of Settle, and the portrait is 
 from a mezzotint belonging to that gentleman. 
 His services, most courteously rendered, as also 
 the very- valuable assistance of my friends, Mr. 
 Sidney Webb and Mr. J. Seymour Bartlett, I 
 gladly take the present opportunity of acknow- 
 ledging. 
 
 I venture to add that, whatever be the defects 
 of the work, it will at least be found to contain 
 many interesting and important particulars, not 
 at present generally known, concerning a re- 
 markable man and a remarkable movement ; 
 and the hope therefore may be expressed that it 
 will serve to awaken or resuscitate an interest in 
 him who is at once its subject and inspirer. 
 
 J. G. G. 
 
 Brixton, 
 
 January, 1884. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCESTRY, BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE. 
 I776—I799- 
 Birthplace and Ancestry. Description of Settle ; 
 historical and commercial associations. The Birkbeck family ; 
 origin of name ; noteworthy members and incidents ; ancestors 
 of George ; present representatives. Birth and parentage. 
 Early predilections ; influence of surrounding scenes in mould- 
 ing character. Education. First studies; application to the 
 classics and mathematics. Profession selected ; tutors : dr. 
 
 GARNBTT. MEDICAL STUDIES. Removal tO EDINBURGH ; 
 
 interval at London ; further pursuits. Return to Edinburgh ; 
 Societies joined ; honours gained ; degree obtained. College 
 friends : Scott, Jeffrey, Smith and Brougham. Debut at 
 Glasgow, the andersonian institution ; its founder. 
 Appointment to professorship of Natural Philosophy. 
 
 pp. 1-16. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 EARLY EDUCATIONAL LABOURS. 
 1799— 1823. 
 
 A Good Genius. Ignorance of the masses. Education 
 to-day ; growth of the last eighty years. A glimpse of the 
 past ; approximate statistics. Origin of Educational 
 Work amongst labouring classes. The tinman's shop ; an 
 important model. Invitation to lectures ; an original scheme ; 
 its reception. The Mechanics' Class. Extract from pro- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 spectus ; crowded audiences. General comments ; practical 
 instruction ; homely phraseology. Continued success ; official 
 recognition. General Biography. Visit to Paris. Removal 
 from Glasgow ; provincial lectures ; settlement in London as 
 a physician. Marriage ; death of wife. Medical and scientific 
 appointments. Second marriage. Old Broad-street ; its asso- 
 ciations. Continued interest in working classes. Promotion 
 of London Institution, Moorfields ; lectures there. Prelude to 
 more extensive educational labours. pp. 17-33. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FORMATION OF THE LONDON MECHANICS' 
 
 INSTITUTION. 
 
 1823 — 1824. 
 
 Controversy as to origin of educational organizations for 
 artisan classes. A Retrospective Glance. The Birming- 
 ham Brotherly Society. The London Mechanical Institution. 
 The Edinburgh School of Arts. Haddington. FURTHER 
 History of Mechanics' Class. Address to its founder. 
 The Glasgow Mechanics' Institution. Scheme for London. 
 The Mechanics' Magazine: its editors, hodcsk/x and 
 ROBERTSON. Proposals for Institution ; the Doctor's imme- 
 diate co-operation ; Robertson's comments thereon. FRANCIS 
 PLACE, the Radical tailor; his interviews with editors and 
 Birkbeck. Meeting for formation of Institution ; extract from 
 Birkbeck's address ; letter from brougham ,■ resolutions 
 passed : press reports. OPPOSITION TO SCHEME. Difficulties 
 started ; action of the Committee ; antagonism of Mechanics' 
 Magazine. Second general meeting. The Institution 
 formed ; election of officers ; Birkbeck appointed President. 
 Continued opposition ; its nature. Opening meeting ; numbers 
 joined ; President's inaugural address. Sonnet. pp. 34-61. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RAPID GROWTH OF THE POPULAR EDUCATION 
 
 MOVEMENT. 
 
 1824—1825. 
 
 LOCALE of London Mechanics' Institution ; its historic asso- 
 ciations. Lecture-hall required ; appeal for donations ; the 
 President's letter ; amounts received ; inadequate response. 
 Indifference of wealthy classes ; apathy of Government. An 
 exception: huskisso.vs speech, byrows testimony. A 
 serious obstacle ; unexpected aid ; advance by Birkbeck 01 
 amount required. The foundation stone ; President's address. 
 RENEWED Opposition. Robertson's repeated attacks in the 
 Mechanics' Magazine ; comments thereon. Envenomed article 
 in St. fames $ Chronicle. Internal difficulties. Progress 
 made. Opening of lecture-theatre ; duke of svssbx presides ; 
 the Doctor's address ; Brougham's speech. Formation of 
 library, museum, etc. Popular lectures ; the President's topics ; 
 proposed testimonial ; general subjects. A special magazine ; 
 The London Mechanics' 1 Register ; its history. Spread of 
 the Movement throughout the country ; list of provincial 
 and suburban Institutions, sir EDWARD bainiis. Birkbeck's 
 addresses and corresponder.ee. Brougham's pamphlet. Other 
 educational societies ; City of London and Western Institutions. 
 General antagonism experienced ; special instances ; its 
 futility. The Movement abroad. Its origin in France ; 
 baron dupix ; his visits to England ; lectures in Paris ; 
 instruction in the provinces; Birkbeck's comments. Extension 
 to America ; Institution at Philadelphia ; letter from Boston. 
 Holland reached. Higher Class Education, loxdox 
 university ; the Doctor's connection with it ; Brougham's 
 testimony. Birkbeck's other Labours. Lectures at Moor- 
 fields. Presidency of Surrey Literary Institution, and of 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Medical Society. Addresses at Mechanics' Friendly Institution, 
 and Society for Superseding Climbing Boys. Interest in 
 scientific discoveries; Swan's sculling wheels ; Pope's mariners 
 compass; Evan's application of steam; Burnett's endless lever 
 action ; Sheffer's life-belt. Constant activity. pp. 62-100. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BY EVIL REPORT AND GOOD REPORT. 
 
 1826— 1830. 
 
 The narrative takes more rapid strides. The Parent 
 Institution. Additions to subjects ; the Doctor's lectures. 
 Untoward accident; sinking roof. Alteration of subscription ; 
 fluctuating attendance ; a generous creditor. Altercations as to 
 letting theatre to obnoxious sects. Further Attacks. 
 Squib in the John Bull; comments thereon. Another satire. 
 Diversified public sentiment. The Mechanics' Magazine again ; 
 failure of its publishers ; their charges against Robertson ; his 
 renewed opposition. Continued Progress. Sixth anniver- 
 sary ; the President's testimony ; Robertson's commentary. 
 Good friends and true ; establishment of prizes ; admission of 
 ladies. The Work generally. Provincial features ; new 
 suburban Institutions ; Birkbeck's assistance. Extension to 
 Wales. Further higher-class education ; KING'S college. 
 Other educational measures. society for diffusion of 
 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. Charles Knight's publications; co- 
 workers. The Doctor's illness. Visit to Cambridge. Literary 
 and General Labours. Translation and publication of 
 Dupin's Mathematics ; extract from preface ; nature of work. 
 The Steam-engine displayed. Meeting for reform of Patent 
 Laws. Publication of portrait in mezzotinto. Lectures to the 
 Moorfields' Institution. pp. 101-127. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 
 1830 — 1841. 
 
 The London University ; an unfortunate episode ; pro- 
 fessor pattison : Birkbeck's sympathy and aid. The 
 Mechanics' Institution ; enlargement of scope ; average 
 attendance ; benefits of extension. Institution's general work ; 
 the President's prize; reduction of debt ; exhibitions and social 
 features. Continued hostility of Mechanics' Magazine ; nature 
 of attacks ; final notice. Place's testimony ; the good accom- 
 plished. New Institutions. The metropolis. Birkbeck at 
 Westminster. List of additional provincial societies. Liver- 
 pool and Manchester ; Brougham's speech. The Lyceum sys- 
 tem. Conduct of the clergy ; Church of England Institutions. 
 Other Agencies. Charles Knight's further publications ; the 
 Brothers Chambers, central society of education. Educa- 
 tion of the young ; Government grants ; hostile attitude of the 
 Lords. Birkbeck's remaining work. Further lectures at 
 London Institution. Support of Grote's candidature for London. 
 Investigation of Kyan's process ; lecture to Society of Arts. 
 Other lectures, the nehspaper tax .■ movement for aboli- 
 tion ; Brougham's letter ; deputations and meetings ; the 
 Doctor's various speeches ; reduction of tax and of paper-duty. 
 Severe illness ; Place's letter. The General Dispensary. Medal- 
 lion portrait. Final lectures at London Institution, union of 
 the institutions ; West Riding of Yorkshire. Exhibitions; 
 Lancashire and London Unions. Meeting of delegates ; the 
 Doctor appointed president. Experiments in distillation. Visit 
 to Manchester. Growth of the movement abroad ; Russia ; 
 Australia ; China ; India. Associations at home. Report of 
 Society for Diffusion of Useful Knowledge ; number of organi- 
 zations ; position of parent Institution. pp. 128- 171. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 1 841. 
 
 Last Illness and Death. Farewell to the Mechanics ; 
 the Institution's anniversary. A panegyric revived. Post- 
 humous Honours. A funeral pageant. Medallion at the 
 Institution, the birkbkck laboratory of University Col- 
 lege ; Brougham's tribute ; public testimony. Memorial at 
 Settle. A colossal monument. A National Reformer. 
 The conservative spirit ; creed of society ; a grand change. 
 Character of the man. Opinions of the press : Gentleman's 
 Magazine; Morning Chronicle; Times; Standard; Examiner. 
 General Estimate. Political views. Theological tenets ; 
 religious opinions as expressed in lectures ; quotations. Scien- 
 tific and medical attainments ; contemporary testimony. 
 Literary style and oratorical powers. Professional qualities. 
 Private character; the domestic circle. The Pioneer's 
 Life-work ; difficulty in gauging it ; impossibility of revivi- 
 fying times. A splendid revolution ; its nature. Government 
 recognition. A noble warrior ; a crowning victory. Worthy 
 OFFSPRING. The eldest son \ ir. lloyd birkbuck. Second son. 
 The elder daughter. pp. 1 72- 196. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 RESULTS OF THE DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 A brief review. Benefits to the Individual. Highest 
 form of progress. Sight to the blind. Science the knowledge 
 of most worth ; Herbert Spencer's testimony. Subjective value 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 of knowledge. An ennobling gift ; a permanent source of 
 happiness ; an antidote to idleness and vice ; material rewards. 
 Benefits to the Nation. Nature of progression. The 
 sinews of the country ; education of the people of paramount 
 importance ; mental, moral and political progress thereby made. 
 Nation's intellectual status raised ; civilization advanced. 
 Results achieved. Influence of the democracy ; the Reform 
 Bill ; a cheap press ; diminution of pauperism ; mechanical 
 skill ; growth of science ; agriculture ; commercial supremacy ; 
 progressive legislation ; female education ; religious tolerance. 
 Work to be Done. Existing evils; social problems; probable 
 solutions. Theories of malcontents ; the alarmist cry ; still 
 echoed ; false in the past. A hopeful outlook. pp. 197-212. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FURTHER HISTORY OF THE PARENT INSTITU- 
 TION AND OF THE POPULAR EDUCATION 
 MOVEMENT. 
 1 841— 1883. 
 
 Completion of the record. A Venerable Institution. 
 Change of name ; the new President. A severe loss ; statistical 
 information ; revival meetings ; donations. Birkbeck schools. 
 Further difficulties ; memorial to the Treasury ; J. R. Taylor. A 
 crisis. Renewed efforts ; meetings and subscriptions ; advance 
 by Trustees ; purchase of lease. Financial schemes, francis 
 ravenscroft. george m. norris. Redawn of prosperity. 
 Continued success ; rapid progress ; a gratifying testimonial. 
 Present Educational Work. A comprehensive curriculum ; 
 quality of instruction ; eminent professors ; a munificent supporter ; 
 prizes and scholarships ; anniversary gatherings. Pleasure 
 and literature ; general advantages. A catholic scheme ; form 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 of government ; a low subscription. Just appreciation ; the 
 self-supporting principle. A further anxiety ; more room. New 
 building ; the foundation stone ; the duke of Albany. Archi- 
 tecture ; nature of accommodation ; estimated cost. The 
 Work generally. Provincial Institutions : enormous growth ; 
 diversified form. The City of London College ; the Polytechnic 
 Institute ; quintin hogg. The Institute at Settle. The Institu- 
 tions' Unions ; Society of Arts ; Science and Art Department ; 
 other unions. Young Men's Christian Associations : the earl 
 of Shaftesbury. Church of England Young Men's Societies. 
 Recognized legal status ; exemption from rates ; general 
 enactments. The foreign Institutions. Countries reached ; a 
 world-wide ramification. The Parliamentary Fiat. Pre- 
 vious agencies ; the Ragged School Union. Tardy assistance : 
 origin of demand ; Harriet Martineau's testimony. Completion 
 of the reformation ; a national triumph. pp. 213-238. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 VALEDICTORY. 
 
 A GREAT Exemplar. A goodly band; spirit of the age. 
 Permanent institution ; the rising generation ; the workman's 
 alma mater; a well-spring of benefit. Genius utilised ; multitudes 
 blessed. A patriot and philanthropist. Unostentatious 
 work ; impartial distribution ; humble gleaners ; food for all. 
 Just homage ; an immortal wreath. pp. 239-242. 
 
V 
 
 GEORGE BIRKBECK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCESTRY, BIRTH, AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 1776—1799. 
 
 TN the West Riding of Yorkshire, near the 
 border of the county, and prominent amongst 
 the districts of the celebrated deanery of 
 Craven, stands the picturesque market-town 
 and chapelry of SETTLE — the birthplace of 
 George Birkbeck. 
 
 It is a pleasant spot in the peaceful valley 
 of the Ribble, and the surroundings and asso- 
 ciations are of a romantic character. The river, 
 which rises twelve miles away to the north, 
 flows by the side of the town, and separates 
 it from the township of Giggleswick, in the 
 parish of which name Settle itself is embraced. 
 Immediately behind, to the height of some three 
 
 B 
 
2 DESCRIPTION OF BIRTHPLACE. 
 
 hundred feet, towers a limestone precipice known 
 as Castleberg, the pinnacle of which, according 
 to a local legend, once served as the gnomon 
 of a gigantic sun-dial, indicating the time to 
 the world below by its shadow on some 
 rocks which had been placed at intervals by 
 the ingenious native horologists. The summit 
 is reached by means of a winding path, and 
 commands an extensive and striking view. 
 Across the river, skirting the main road for 
 upwards. of a mile, stretches a noble range of 
 escarpments known as Giggleswick Scars, which 
 are in places decked with ivy, and from the 
 clefts of which grows the indigenous yew. At 
 their base, close to the road and a short 
 distance from the town, is a far-famed well, 
 long ago described by Drayton in verse as 
 "sometime a nymph," its peculiarity being 
 that it ebbs and flows many times a day in 
 a capricious and uncertain manner, so that 
 Whitaker has alluded to it in his History of 
 Craven as a spring of extremely irregular 
 habits. Two miles to the east are the rugged 
 and imposing Attemire rocks ; the mountain 
 scenery generally is very fine ; and from Rye- 
 loaf, 1794 feet high, an extensive tract of 
 
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 country is seen and a birds-eye view of the 
 town obtained. There are some very pretty 
 cascades in the neighbourhood, and the river 
 itself has several picturesque falls, notably one 
 known as Stainforth Force. Moreover the 
 district, abounding as it does in limestone 
 rocks and caves, possesses peculiar attractions 
 for the antiquary and geologist. The well 
 known Victoria Cave, in particular, has yielded 
 some important pre-historic specimens, includ- 
 ing bones of the primogenial elephant and 
 bear, the hyena, rhinoceros, bison, stag, goat, 
 badger, horse, fox, and dog, and also Romano- 
 Celtic ornaments, coins and pottery. 
 
 Settle is a quaint and venerable little town, 
 with a history extending back to a period 
 prior to the Conquest. Its name is traced back 
 to the Saxon word Setl, a seat or station 
 (of a tribe). The place was probably in the 
 successive occupation of the Britons and Ro- 
 mans ; but the oldest written reference to it 
 is contained in Domesday Book. It has had 
 several market-charters, the first having been 
 granted by Henry III. in 1249, with the name 
 of Simon de Montfort appearing as witness. 
 Many indications of age are Visible in the 
 
INDUSTRIES OF BIRTHPLACE. 
 
 town, and some houses more than two hundred 
 years old yet remain standing. Associations 
 with antiquity have also been preserved in the 
 numerous important modern edifices, which are 
 in the early English and Elizabethan styles. 
 
 The opening a few years ago, by the Midland 
 Railway, of the new line to Scotland via Settle 
 has brought the town into general notice of 
 late ; but it has long ranked as a compara- 
 tively wealthy and important place, although 
 exhibiting little growth in the matter of 
 population and numbering at the present time 
 only about two thousand persons. It has for 
 many years been associated with trade and 
 manufacture, leather and hides being formerly 
 its staple commodities. These, however, have 
 now long been superseded by the cotton in- 
 dustry, and there are at the present time 
 several large factories at work, as also a 
 tannery and a paper-mill. The town can 
 boast of having established, as long ago as 
 1770, what was probably the first circulating 
 library in the provinces, and of possessing as 
 the result a very fine collection of first editions ; 
 whilst its twin township of Gigglcswick is 
 widely celebrated for its Grammar School, 
 
ORIGIN OF NAME. 5 
 
 which was founded as far back as 15 12, and 
 endowed by Edward VI. forty years later. 
 And, finally, it can lay claim to having* nur- 
 tured at least three remarkable men. Thomas 
 Proctor, the sculptor, was one of its offspring ; 
 Archdeacon Paley received his education at 
 the Grammar School ; and its interest for us 
 centres in the fact that it was the native 
 place of the founder of Mechanics' Institutions. 
 
 The Birkbecks are an old established family 
 of distinction. They derive their name from the 
 little river Birkbeck {i.e. birch-stream), an affluent 
 of the Lune, rising in the mountains of West- 
 moreland, from which the " Birkbeck Fells," in 
 the same district, also receive their designation. 
 
 The first known occurrence of the name is in 
 13 18, when William de Birkbeck received from 
 the Parliament of Edward II. a pardon for 
 treasons and felonies committed before a certain 
 date, he being an adherent of Thomas, Earl of 
 Lancaster. In 15 15 arms were granted to 
 Thomas Birkbeck of Carlisle, for his defence of 
 that city against the Scotch ; and are described, 
 in heraldic language, as "Argent, a fess chequey 
 Or and Sable, between three lions' heads, erased 
 
THE BIRKBECK FAM1L Y. 
 
 Gules." Some forty years later, Hornby Hall in 
 the parish of Brougham, was granted to Edward 
 Birkbeck by the Earl of Cumberland, and long 
 remained the family-seat. The following cen- 
 tury the name again becomes prominent in con- 
 nection with Simon Birkbeck, an eminent 
 divine, who wrote an able treatise in defence 
 of Protestantism. About the year 1700 William 
 Birkbeck, the ancestor of George, migrated to 
 Settle and became a convert to the doctrines of 
 George Fox; for which change of religious 
 opinions he is said to have been disinherited. 
 He opened a general shop, and developed an 
 extensive trade as a wool-stapler, extending his 
 transactions to the receipt of money on deposit, 
 the making of loans, and the sale of bills upon 
 London. In this way was gradually established 
 the banking business which is still carried on 
 by members of the family, in conjunction with 
 other gentlemen, under the present style of The 
 Craven Bank. Only recently the Society for Psy- 
 chical Research have published a curious detailed 
 narrative of an alleged supernatural appearance, in 
 1739, of Mrs. William Birkbeck to her young 
 children in Settle, she having been taken ill 
 when returning from Scotland, and being then 
 
NOTEWORTHY MEMBERS. 
 
 on her death-bed at Cockermouth. In 1745 
 a member of the family was instrumental in 
 procuring the arrest for high treason of Dr. 
 John Burton, the Jacobite, by whom in acknow- 
 ledgment of this service he was subsequently 
 characterized as a Quaker abounding " more 
 with the evil spirit and malice than meekness 
 and truth." Other members of the family, 
 living in 1760, are incidentally referred to in 
 the biography of Dr. Lettsom (a celebrated 
 physician and writer^ who was intimate with 
 them in his younger days) ; and it is remarked 
 concerning them that they had from a state 
 of comparative indigence risen to great opu- 
 lence, but had never abused or disgraced their 
 riches by pride, extravagance, or want of 
 charity. Early in the present century one 
 of their descendants, Morris Birkbeck, emigrated 
 to America, and purchased sixteen thousand 
 acres of land in Illinois, where he founded 
 the town of New Albion, and became known 
 as the Emperor of the Prairies. He published 
 three volumes of travels, and opposed the 
 introduction of slavery into his adopted home 
 when the State was organized in 1818; and an 
 eminent career was untimely terminated by his 
 
8 LIVING MEMBERS OF FAMIL Y. 
 
 death in 1825 from drowning, as he was swim- 
 ming his horse across the Wabash on returning 
 from a visit to Robert Owen. A later descent 
 dant, Mr. John Birkbeck, has distinguished 
 himself by his daring explorations of the caves 
 and chasms of the Craven district, especially 
 of Helln Pot, a terrible abyss, as may be 
 gathered from its designation ; and there is also, 
 named after him, a Birkbeck Gallery in the 
 Victoria Cave. The family is at the present 
 time represented at Settle by this gentleman, 
 who is one of the principal landowners, and by 
 his son (equally well known as an intrepid 
 Alpine adventurer), both of whom are justices of 
 the peace. The Rev. William Birkbeck (George 
 Birkbeck's great-nephew) is the owner of land at 
 Stackhouse, a pretty little adjacent village, and 
 until recently also owned the family house in 
 Settle, now the Ashfield Hotel. Mr. Edward 
 Birkbeck, M.R for East Norfolk, and the lead- 
 ing promoter of the International Fisheries 
 Exhibition of 1883, is a descendant from the 
 same stock. 
 
 George Birkbeck was born on the icth 
 January, 1776. His father was William Birkbeck 
 
BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 
 
 of Settle, eminent as a banker and merchant, 
 and his mother the daughter of Mr. George 
 Braithwaite of Kendal. There were five children 
 of their marriage, four boys (two of whom died 
 in infancy) and one girl. The parents were 
 highly respected in the town, where the social 
 position and moral qualities of the banker 
 secured him considerable influence ; and they 
 gave to their offspring a high-class education, 
 and early instilled into their minds the unosten- 
 tatious religious principles of the Society of 
 Friends. They appear, however, to have had no 
 other characteristics calling for note ; and, as we 
 shall hereafter see, it was not for the possession of 
 rare intellectual power, gifted and erudite though 
 he was, that George Birkbeck has rendered his 
 name illustrious. Of the two surviving sons he 
 was the younger. His brother William suc- 
 ceeded to an interest in the banking business, 
 became a magistrate, and took a large share in 
 the management of the Leeds and Liverpool 
 Canal, and also an active part on the Whig 
 side in the county elections. He greatly 
 befriended the poor, assisted in the extension of 
 education ; and was widely lamented at his death 
 which occurred in 1838. 
 
io EARLY TASTES AND INFLUENCES. 
 
 Like many others destined to eminence, 
 young Birkbeck displayed signs of genius at 
 an early age, evincing a decided partiality for 
 mechanical and scientific pursuits. In child- 
 hood he was fond of visiting the different work- 
 shops and attempting to use the craftsmen's 
 tools. He especially exhibited great interest 
 in a large cotton-mill, which was worked by 
 the waters of the Ribble without disfiguring 
 the beautiful river; and with precocious intel- 
 ligence he endeavoured to follow the compli- 
 cated machinery and to understand the manu- 
 facturing processes. Undoubtedly the scenes 
 amidst which his early years were passed gave a 
 bent to his character. He was too young when 
 he left Settle for them to exercise a paramount 
 influence, but it may not be regarded as alto- 
 gether fanciful to trace in part to the busy 
 manufactories and solemnizing natural surround- 
 ings of his early home, that taste for practical 
 science and that calmness and modesty of de- 
 meanour which were conspicuous throughout 
 his later career. 
 
 At the age of eight he formally commenced 
 to study, being sent to school at Newton in 
 Lancashire, where in addition to the usual ele- 
 
EDUCATION: CHOICE OF PROFESSION. n 
 
 mentary knowledge he acquired the rudiments of 
 Greek and Latin. He remained here until he 
 was fourteen, when he became the pupil of Mr. 
 Dawson of Sedbergh, who, although originally 
 only a shepherd, had by perseverance made a high 
 reputation as a mathematician. With this gentle- 
 man he applied himself to the study of the 
 " Principia " of Newton ; and at the same time 
 under the guidance of Mr. Foster, of Hebble- 
 thwaite Hall, a scholastic relative with whom 
 he resided, set to work to acquire a thorough 
 mastery of the classics. 
 
 In these subjects he made such rapid progress 
 that it was soon necessary to decide for what 
 profession he should be trained. He had no 
 taste for commercial pursuits, and often expressed 
 his want of sympathy with those who made their 
 object in life to amass a large fortune. After 
 consultation with able friends, he elected to study 
 medicine, and was placed in the first instance 
 with Dr. Garnett, who had also been a pupil of 
 Mr. Dawson. To his new labours he devoted 
 himself with the ardour and assiduity he had 
 already shown ; and this early application was 
 soon to be recompensed. 
 
 After remaining some time with Dr. Garnett, 
 
12 UNIVERSITY STUDIES. 
 
 he continued his pharmaceutical studies under 
 the direction of Mr. Logan of Leeds. He also 
 became an expert in stenography, an accom- 
 plishment far more difficult of attainment in 
 those days than at the present time, when the 
 art has been brought to a high state of perfection 
 and simplicity. At eighteen he removed to 
 Edinburgh, where he joined the Royal Medical 
 Society and studied for a year. He then went 
 to London and became the pupil of Dr. Baillie, 
 practising dissection with a view to increase his 
 knowledge of anatomy, and also attending 
 lectures by Dr. Fordyce on physic, and Dr. 
 Pearson on chemistry. 
 
 In 1796 he returned to Edinburgh and laid 
 the foundation of future fame. He became a 
 student at the University, then at the height of 
 its reputation, and attended and took down in 
 shorthand the lectures of Dugald Stewart and 
 other celebrated professors. Possibly it was 
 from the Edinburgh rhetoricians that he derived 
 his taste for the well-rounded periods which 
 distinguished his speeches. He joined the Society 
 of Natural History, and was honoured by filling 
 the chairs both of that and of the Medical 
 Society. Natural philosophy, his favourite sub- 
 
HONOURS GAINED: DEGREE. 
 
 ject, then engaged his attention, and becoming 
 clinical clerk to Dr. Rutherford, a distinguished 
 professor, opportunities were afforded him of 
 adding to his scientific knowledge. 
 
 Laurels were in store for him thus early in life. 
 The Medical Society called him for the second 
 time to the presidential seat, although it was 
 an unusual event for the same individual 
 to be appointed twice ; and he graduated as 
 Doctor of Medicine at the termination of 
 his fourth session in 1799, his inaugural disser- 
 tation being "Tent amen physiologico-cJiemicum 
 de sanguine." 
 
 He formed friendships too, in addition to those 
 of his medical tutors and friends, whilst at the 
 modern Athens, honourable helpful and endu- 
 ring ; friendships which give us a view of his 
 character and exhibit to us the tastes he had 
 acquired. Professor Bain, in his life of the elder 
 Mill, states that he doubts if there were ever at 
 one time gathered together at one spot such a 
 host of young men of ability as were at Edin- 
 burgh College in the last ten years of the last 
 century ; and it is a satisfaction to be able to 
 add the name of George Birkbeck to the brilliant 
 list which the professor gives. " Tell me," says 
 
i 4 COLLEGE FRIENDS: PUBLIC DEBUT. 
 
 an old proverb, " the company you keep, and I 
 will tell you what you are." The associates our 
 youthful student chose were men who have made 
 their mark in the world ; men distinguished for 
 noble qualities and justly famed for intellectual 
 power. To mention only a few names ; here he 
 enjoyed the society of (the future Sir) Walter 
 Scott ; here he made his first acquaintance with 
 the gifted and indefatigable Francis Jeffrey ; here 
 he was charmed by the conversation of the 
 vivacious and witty Sydney Smith ; here he 
 commenced a life-long friendship with his great 
 co-worker, Henry Brougham. 
 
 But his stay at Edinburgh was comparatively 
 short. After completing his studies and re- 
 ceiving his rewards, he found an active and an 
 honourable post, and in the less attractive 
 Glasgow city made his ddbut into public life. 
 And by a curious coincidence, he who was soon 
 to prove a practical philanthropist was bidden to 
 an Institution the very existence of which was 
 due to philanthrophy. One indeed could almost 
 fancy that he was led by a directing hand to 
 that congenial sphere of labour, where all the 
 surroundings seemed in harmony with the spirit 
 by which he was moved. 
 
THE ANDERSONIAN INSTITUTION. 15 
 
 Mr. John Anderson, professor of physics, who 
 had died but a few years prior to this, had 
 bequeathed his museum of philosophical appa- 
 ratus, books and other property, to establish an 
 Institution for the scientific instruction of both 
 sexes ; and it was to the Institution which had 
 been thus founded that Dr. Birkbeck was 
 appointed professor when at the age of twenty- 
 three. By the will of the founder, the new 
 organisation was to be denominated ANDERSON'S 
 UNIVERSITY, to be managed by eighty-one 
 trustees, and to comprehend four colleges, 
 namely, of arts, medicine, law and theology ; 
 the general object being " the good of mankind 
 and the improvement of science." The Institu- 
 tion — for the title of University was not 
 accorded to it until many years afterwards — 
 was incorporated and formed into a body- 
 politic by charter ; and Dr. Garnett was 
 elected professor of natural philosophy. He 
 relinquished the post a few years afterwards 
 on obtaining a similar appointment at the Royal 
 Institution in London (which he only lived to 
 hold for two years) ; and then it was that, 
 through his assistance, coupled with that of 
 the many friends whom Birkbeck had made 
 
1 6 PHILOSOPHICAL PROFESSORSHIP. 
 
 during his stay at Edinburgh, the latter was 
 appointed to the vacant post. 
 
 The result justified the choice, and influence 
 had not been used to promote the unworthy. 
 Young as he was, he proved thoroughly qualified 
 for the post ; his lectures on natural and ex- 
 perimental philosophy and chemistry were 
 described as admirable, and his career at 
 Glasgow was bright and exemplary. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 EARLY EDUCATIONAL LABOURS. 
 
 1799— 1823. 
 
 F T is now that we first sec the Doctor as the 
 friend and instructor of the working classes 
 — a good genius they had seldom met with 
 before, and of whom they sorely stood in need. 
 
 Probably few persons living in the present 
 day have attempted to realize the condition of 
 the masses up to a period of our history as 
 comparatively recent as the commencement of 
 the present century. Education is now, liter- 
 ally and truly, placed within the reach of all. 
 Schools for the formation of the young mind 
 have been scattered throughout the country ; 
 colleges for the training of youth are to be met 
 with in every town ; institutions for the enlight- 
 enment of the operatives have been established 
 in all the industrial centres ; scholarships for the 
 advancement of the gifted have been generously 
 and freely granted. Public men have devoted 
 their time, talents and money to the move- 
 
 c 
 
1 8 EDUCATION TO-DAY. 
 
 ment ; Government has substantially encouraged 
 the work ; professors have practically assisted 
 with their brains. Rich rewards have been 
 offered as incentives to study ; legislators have 
 discussed the subject and sent their fiat forth ; 
 universities have opened wide their doors. 
 There is to-day none in the realm who need 
 be excluded from the blessings which know- 
 ledge has to bestow ; and few who may not, if 
 they will, claim her greatest and most precious 
 treasures. 
 
 But all this has been the outcome of the 
 last eighty years. Not until the dawn of the 
 nineteenth century was the fact discovered, or 
 first recognized, that the working man had an 
 average share of mental capacity ; and that 
 opportunities for its development being given, 
 his intellectual status might be greatly raised. 
 Peculiarly bright stars had undoubtedly arisen 
 from time to time, and dazzled even the entire 
 world ; but within their own immediate orbit 
 myriads had continued to exist secluded from 
 every ray of light. 
 
 The advantages of learning, in truth, were 
 during long ages confined to the compara- 
 tively few and favoured. Precise information 
 
A RETROSPECTIVE GLANCE. 19 
 
 upon the subject it is impossible to obtain, 
 for statistical science was almost unknown. 
 But we have sufficient data from which to 
 arrive at approximately accurate conclusions. 
 With the exception of some slight provision for 
 poor students by means of endowments, the 
 only instruction available to the bulk of the 
 people were the Sunday-schools, established by 
 Robert Raikes of honoured memory, the scope 
 of which was necessarily very limited ; and the 
 parochial charity-schools, which were of the 
 most inferior character. Not only academic and 
 university instruction, but also elementary tui- 
 tion, were luxuries in which few but the wealthy 
 could indulge. Two-thirds of the population 
 grew up without even a rudimentary education, 
 and could not write their own names. Reading, 
 for the majority, would have been little short of 
 a superfluous acquirement, for books were be- 
 yond the reach of their purse. A heavy paper 
 duty, imposed in 171 1, went a long way to 
 counteract the benefits conferred by printing ; 
 and a tax on newspapers of fourpence per copy 
 effectually prevented them obtaining a wide cir- 
 culation. Of science, as a matter of course, the 
 humbler classes were totally ignorant ; and the 
 
 C 2 
 
20 IGNORANCE IN THE PAST. 
 
 arts which they pursued as a means of liveli- 
 hood were practised in a manner that reduced 
 the workman almost to an automaton ; whilst 
 impolitic and vicious laws forbade him to leave 
 the country or enter into trade combinations. 
 
 In brief, to the " vulgar herd " the vineyard 
 of knowledge was as far removed as the distant 
 shores of some oriental land. And natural 
 obstacles were not sufficient : jealous guards 
 kept rigid watch lest any but the superior 
 caste should enter, and unfriendly hands 
 threw impediments in the way when any lowly 
 traveller passed. Thus, those only who pos- 
 sessed competence, time, perseverance and 
 courage, could ever hope to reach the goal 
 and enjoy the pure and luscious fruit. 
 
 Such then was the condition of things when 
 Dr. Birkbeck appeared upon the scene as 
 professor of natural philosophy at the Andcr- 
 sonian Institution. 
 
 The lectures he was in the habit of delivering 
 required to be illustrated by means of apparatus. 
 But there was at this time in the whole of the 
 large city only one maker of the necessary instru- 
 ments — and he apparently was not reliable — 
 
ORIGIN OF EDUCATIONAL WORK. 21 
 
 a fact which exemplifies how little had been 
 done towards the general diffusion of science. 
 Ordinary workmen had therefore to be em- 
 ployed, superintended by the lecturer himself. 
 And out of this apparently untoward circum- 
 stance arose the scheme which he after- 
 wards developed for the intellectual eman- 
 cipation of the mechanics of the town. Adverse 
 conditions have in the end frequently proved 
 highly beneficial ; and to-day we may be 
 thankful that in the Glasgow city of 1800 
 science took up her abode at a tinman's shop. 
 For the spark that flew from the workman's 
 anvil kindled a flame of knowledge for the 
 workman himself, which has been burning 
 brightly from that day forth ; and to it can 
 be traced, directly or indirectly, the educational 
 benefits which multitudes enjoy. 
 
 The professor entered the mechanics' shop, 
 and became at once their foreman and friend. 
 He visited, we are told, " the smith at his 
 forge, the glass-blower at his furnace, the 
 carpenter at his bench, and the turner at his 
 wheel ; and by describing to each what he 
 wanted done, and how it was to be done, 
 enabled them to construct for him many a 
 
AN IMPORTANT MODEL. 
 
 curious and delicate piece of mechanism, of the 
 principle and purpose of which they knew little 
 or nothing." In particular, it appears that he 
 required a model to be made of a centrifugal 
 pump, the construction of which created 
 amongst the workmen an interest bordering 
 upon excitement. They listened to his in- 
 structions, they plied him with questions, they 
 followed his actions and almost devoured his 
 words ; until his heart was touched at the thirst 
 for information evinced by these untutored 
 sons of toil, and he determined to minister 
 to their craving intellects and enlarge the 
 scope of the Institution. 
 
 He procured admission for the more intelli- 
 gent of the men to the lectures he was delivering, 
 and was amply repaid by the satisfaction and 
 gratitude they showed. Naturally, however, 
 but few could be accommodated where an 
 audience was already secured, and great dis- 
 appointment was expressed by those who were 
 not privileged to obtain admission. This led to 
 a decision to attempt greater things ; and after 
 due reflection the Doctor resolved to devote a 
 portion of his time entirely to the mechanics, by 
 delivering a course of lectures for their exclusive 
 
AN EDUCATIONAL SCHEME. 
 
 benefit. Professor Anderson had himself to 
 some extent endeavoured to popularize educa- 
 tion by establishing an " antitoga " or " gownless 
 class," but it was chiefly patronised by manu- 
 facturers and higher-class operatives; and 
 although some free tickets were distributed, the 
 fact that one guinea was the stated charge, and 
 that the class met at an hour inconvenient to 
 the majority of men employed during the day, 
 prevented him reaching the bulk of those whom 
 Dr. Birkbeck desired to instruct. 
 
 The new plan was submitted to the trustees of 
 the Institution, and as might have been expected 
 it experienced at their hands opposition and 
 condemnation. They smiled paternally at the 
 advocate's eagerness, looked upon him as a 
 youthful enthusiast, and pronounced his scheme 
 visionary and absurd. "If invited, the mechanics 
 would not come ; if they came, they would not 
 listen ; if they listened, they would not com- 
 prehend." Thus spake the " wise in their 
 generation," and speaking vetoed the beneficial 
 project. 
 
 But though repulsed for the time the young 
 man was not defeated. He returned to the 
 charge, and rested not until he succeeded in 
 
24 77/E NEW DESIGN. 
 
 carrying his point, the trustees apparently even 
 formally thanking him for his " liberal offer." 
 
 During his vacation, spent at his Yorkshire 
 home, the professor prepared his prospectus for 
 the next session, and in it the new design 
 received careful and prominent attention. 
 
 " I shall deliver," he says, " a series of lectures upon 
 the mechanical properties of solid and fluid bodies, 
 abounding with experiments and conducted with the 
 greatest simplicity of expression and familiarity of 
 illustration, solely for persons engaged in the practical 
 exercise of the mechanic arts ; men whose situation 
 in early life has precluded the possibility of acquiring 
 even the smallest portion of scientific knowledge, and 
 whose subsequent pursuits, not always affording more 
 than is necessary for their own support and that of 
 their dependent connections, have not enabled them 
 to purchase that information which curiosity, too active 
 for penury wholly to repress, or the prevailing bias of 
 their natural genius, might prompt them to obtain. 
 I am by no means sanguine in my expectation that 
 by~a course of instruction such as I have now pro- 
 posed, one artist will be directed to the discovery of 
 anything which is essential or important in his parti- 
 cular department, how much soever it may be con- 
 nected in principle with the subject to be discussed. 
 I am too well aware that the best contrivances in every 
 branch of the mechanic arts have resulted, and must 
 still continue to result, from the observation of prac- 
 tical defects, and from the gradual application of 
 
EXTRACT FROM PROSPECTUS. 25 
 
 suitable means, dictated by practical maxims, to 
 obviate or remove them. But whil st my slight 
 acquaintance with the subject has afforded this infor- 
 mation, I have become convinced that much pleasure 
 would be communicated to the mechanic in the 
 exercise of his art, and that the mental vacancy which 
 follows a cessation from bodily toil would often be 
 agreeably occupied by a few systematic philosophical 
 ideas, upon which at his leisure he might meditate. 
 It must be acknowledged, too, that greater satisfaction 
 in the execution of machinery must be experienced 
 when the uses to which it may be applied and the 
 principles upon which it operates are well understood, 
 than where the manual part alone is known, the artist 
 remaining entirely ignorant of everything besides ; 
 indeed I have lately had frequent opportunities of 
 observing with how much additional alacrity a piece 
 of work has been undertaken when the circumstances 
 were such as I have now stated. 
 
 " Perhaps to some it may appear that the advantages 
 derivable from these lectures will be inconsiderable, or 
 even that they will be disadvantageous, on account of 
 the extent of the subjects they embrace, and because 
 those to whom they are addressed do not possess the 
 means or enjoy the opportunities calculated for engraft- 
 ing upon the elementary truths they learn the 
 extensive researches of the illustrious philosophers by 
 whom the boundaries of science have been enlarged. 
 Whatever the arrogance of learning may have advanced 
 in condemnation of superficial knowledge, and how- 
 ever firmly I may be persuaded that the people cannot 
 be profound, I have no hesitation in predicting that 
 vast benefit will accrue to the community by every 
 
26 THE MECHANICS' CLASS: 
 
 successful endeavour to diffuse the substance of great 
 works which cannot be perused by the. people at 
 large, thereby making them reach the shop and the 
 hamlet and converting them from unproductive 
 splendour to useful though unobserved activity." 
 
 The prospectus was distributed in the chief 
 manufactories, and invitations given to attend 
 the lectures; the Doctor affording further proof 
 of his earnestness and generosity by himself 
 composing and printing with a simple press 
 the tickets of admission. The invitations were 
 eagerly- accepted, and in the autumn of 1800 
 was inaugurated, with an attendance of seventy- 
 five members, what for long after was a notable 
 feature of the Andersonian Institution, namely, 
 The Mechanics' Class. 
 
 Saturday evening was wisely chosen for the 
 lectures, and the first gave such great satisfac- 
 tion that its fame soon spread. On the succeed- 
 ing week there was an audience of two hundred 
 workmen ; on the third the numbers had swelled 
 to three ; and exactly one month after he 
 commenced his course, Dr. Birkbcck was listened 
 to with rapt attention by five hundred working 
 mechanics ! Ay, and even now the demand was 
 greater than the supply. The accommodation 
 of the lecture-hall was taxed to its utmost ; and 
 
ITS GREAT SUCCESS. 27 
 
 many applicants had still to be refused. Week 
 after week the lectures proceeded ; the men were 
 there eager and attentive ; letters were received 
 evidencing their intelligent appreciation ; and 
 the most sanguine expectations were realized. 
 So highly indeed did they esteem their privi- 
 lege, that their gratitude assumed a practical 
 form, and at the close of the term they pre- 
 sented their benefactor with a handsome silver 
 snuff-box. 
 
 It will be noticed that the information the 
 lecturer imparted was of a character specially 
 suitable to his audience. He wisely thought 
 that to instruct the mechanics in the sciences 
 that pertained to the occupations in which they 
 were engaged would be the best mode of con- 
 veying benefit; and that the knowledge which 
 they thus acquired would become to them of real 
 utility. The workman would cease to be a mere 
 machine, toiling on from day to day, accomplish- 
 ing he knew not what. Now he would under- 
 stand the laws on which his operations were 
 based ; now he would comprehend the reasons 
 for the results he saw attained. And by these 
 means would he perfect himself in his calling. 
 
28 COMMENTS ON SCHEME, 
 
 become qualified for higher branches, and reap 
 advantages in many ways. 
 
 Further, the teacher judiciously sought to 
 reach his end by the surest and most direct road. 
 What would have been to his humble pupils 
 merely grandiloquent language and bewildering 
 terms he unhesitatingly cast aside. The truths 
 of science were proclaimed, as far as possible, in 
 unscientific phraseology. He aimed, not at 
 dazzling his hearers by brilliant speeches which 
 they could not understand, but at explaining 
 to them in homely Saxon facts which they could 
 be made to grasp. 
 
 This, of course, added to his work ; for it is 
 more difficult in many cases to be simple than 
 profound. To discard at once the terms of the 
 laboratory and the familiar diction of the 
 schools is not accomplished without an effort ; 
 whilst with fervid youth, rich in imagination and 
 panting to be eloquent, the inclination is often 
 wanting. That the young lecturer, however, 
 succeeded in this is shown by the satisfactory 
 results of his labours, a success far beyond his 
 own expectations, and the more remarkable 
 when it is borne in mind that his audience was 
 not possessed even of that elementary general 
 
CONTINUED APPRECIATION 29 
 
 knowledge which is lacking in few science 
 
 students of the present day. His tact and 
 
 ability in this direction are not unworthy, 
 therefore, of passing notice. 
 
 Similar satisfactory results attended the 
 lectures which were delivered during the suc- 
 ceeding sessions. A sense of honest independ- 
 ence led the mechanics to subscribe a shilling 
 each to meet the incidental expenses. This they 
 subsequently increased to half-a-crown ; and 
 twenty pounds of the amount thus raised was 
 paid to the operator who assisted, and the re- 
 mainder given to the Institution. Later on, the 
 trustees — ready, now the movement prospered, to 
 co-operate in and benefit from it — resolved that 
 five shillings should be the charge, but as it 
 seemed probable this would prove too great a 
 tax upon the humble members, the lecturer 
 strongly resisted the attempt, and again prevailed 
 over those in office. 
 
 His vacation of 1802 the Doctor partly spent 
 abroad, availing himself of the brief suspension 
 of hostilities following the conclusion of the 
 Peace of Amiens to visit France. He spent some 
 time in Paris, where he saw Napoleon (already 
 
30 GENERAL BIOGRAPHY: MARRIAGE. 
 
 at the age of thirty-three holding the destiny of 
 nations in his hands) surrounded by his generals ; 
 and viewed with much interest the public works 
 which were being carried out by the great civil, 
 not less than military, commander. 
 
 A sad bereavement now awaited the mechanics. 
 After three years' service in the Andersonian 
 Institution, the professor decided to relinquish his 
 post and remove to another sphere of action. 
 
 He quitted Glasgow in 1804, an d after deliver- 
 ing courses of lectures on science in Birmingham, 
 Liverpool and Hull, which acquired for him 
 some fame and many additional valuable ac- 
 quaintances, he finally settled in London, estab- 
 lishing himself first in Finsbury Square and 
 subsequently in Cateaton Street, as a physician. 
 In May 1805 he married Catherine, the 
 youngest daughter of Mr. Sampson Lloyd of 
 " The Farm," near Birmingham, described as an 
 intelligent and accomplished young lady. But 
 his domestic happiness was of short duration. 
 The birth of a son in March 1807 robbed him 
 of his wife, to whom he was deeply attached, and 
 he remained a widower more than ten years. 
 
 Active occupation is the best anodyne for 
 
MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS. 
 
 grief; and he endeavoured by an increased 
 devotion to medicine, his first love, to assuage the 
 sharp pang of bereavement. He made steady 
 progress in his profession, and established a 
 sound reputation and a large practice. Soon 
 after his arrival in London, he became one 
 of the presidents of the Physical Society 
 of Guy's Hospital, a post to which he 
 was annually re-elected. In 1808 he was 
 admitted licentiate of the College of Phy- 
 sicians ; and shortly afterwards was appointed 
 physician to the General Dispensary in Aldersgate 
 Street, the earliest institution of the kind in 
 London, and one with which he remained iden- 
 tified throughout the greater part of the remainder 
 of his life. He joined the Medical and Chirur- 
 gical Society, formed about the same time, and 
 was elected on the council in 1808, and one of 
 the vice-presidents in 18 18. The Chemical 
 Society appointed him their president ; and on 
 the formation of the Meteorological Society in 
 1823, he was called by its members to a similar 
 exalted position. The list of his connections with 
 the learned bodies was completed by his joining 
 the Astronomical and Geological Societies. 
 
 In July 1 8 17 he married again, his wife being 
 
32 SECOND MARRIAGE: NEIGHBOURS. 
 
 Anna Margaret, the youngest daughter of Mr. 
 Henry Gardner of Liverpool, an amiable lady 
 whom he predeceased, and by whom he had 
 three sons (one of whom died in infancy' and 
 two daughters.- 
 
 About the year 1819 he removed to Old Broad 
 Street, where he resided for nearly twenty years. 
 The locality, now abandoned to the mysteries 
 of la haute finance, was then associated with the 
 names of many of the advanced thinkers of the 
 time. Close to the Doctor's house, Mrs. Grotc 
 was giving those dinners at u Threddle," as she 
 playfully called the bank in Threadncedle- 
 street, at which the economists and radical 
 leaders used to gather. Ricardo and Joseph 
 Hume were frequent visitors, as was also James 
 Mill, who had then entered upon his duties at 
 the India House ; whilst the still greater genius 
 pf his son found philosophical training within 
 the same walls. To the small but brilliant 
 assembly of young men which about this time 
 began to meet every morning at Grote's house, 
 can be traced the origin of much of the political 
 economy, logic and metaphysics current at the 
 present time. With Grote himself Dr. Birkbcck 
 formed a lasting friendship. 
 
THE LONDON INSTITUTION. 33 
 
 Meanwhile the Doctor's interest in the 
 working classes, and his desire to extend to 
 them the benefits of scientific knowledge, had 
 not in any degree abated; but his large 
 medical practice and professional engagements 
 left little scope for other employment, and this 
 portion of our chronicle therefore can be very 
 brief. He was active, nevertheless, in the cause 
 of education, and was one of the original 
 projectors of the LONDON INSTITUTION estab- 
 lished in 1809 in King's Arms Yard, and after- 
 wards in Moorfields, (now Finsbury Circus), for 
 the diffusion of science, literature and the arts. 
 In 1820 he delivered at the Institution an hono- 
 rary course of fifteen lectures on natural and 
 experimental philosophy to large and enthusiastic 
 audiences, and in the spring of 1823 seven lectures 
 on the atmosphere and its modifications. 
 
 The prominence acquired by the achieve- 
 ments of his later life have somewhat obscured 
 these labours of his earlier years. They form, 
 however, a fitting prelude to that magnificent 
 and imperishable work with which his name is 
 especially associated ; the rise and progress of 
 which will now engage our attention. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FORMATION OF THE LONDON 
 MECHANICS' INSTITUTION. 
 
 1 823-1824. 
 
 THERE has been some amount of controversy, 
 now long since forgotten, as to the precise 
 origin of Mechanics' Institutions. Little would be 
 gained by reviving this controversy, or entering 
 in detail into the merits of the question concern- 
 ing which it was waged ; but the topic is one so 
 nearly affecting the subject of our memoir that 
 it cannot be altogether passed by. A few words, 
 therefore, may be devoted to the various societies 
 existing prior to the London Mechanics' Institu- 
 tion, with which Dr. Birkbeck is more especially 
 identified, and which, in whatever esteem its pre- 
 decessors may be held, was the first to excite a 
 wide-spread public interest,or to give any distinct 
 impulse to the popular educational movement. 
 
 The earliest organization claimed as a 
 Mechanics' Institute was "The Birmingham 
 
EARLY EDUCATIONAL SOCIETIES. 35 
 
 Brotherly Society," originally formed in 1789 
 by Sunday-school teachers, under the title of 
 "The Sunday Society;" but adopting the former 
 designation seven years later. Its objects were 
 to afford instruction in reading, writing, arith- 
 metic, drawing, geography, natural and civil his- 
 tory and morals ; and in addition to these being 
 to some extent attained, a library was formed 
 and some free lectures were delivered, with a 
 view to diffuse a taste for scientific pursuits 
 amongst the artisans. The Society, however, 
 appears to have been of a transient character, 
 and rather limited in its operations, the sub- 
 scription of half-a-crown per annum scarcely 
 allowing of great efficiency, whilst it was ham- 
 pered by a rather peculiar rule excluding any 
 member who might habitually neglect public 
 worship. 
 
 In August 1 8 17 a small society, known as 
 * The Mechanical Institution " was established 
 in London by an enterprising operative, Mr. 
 Timothy Claxton ; he and a few artisans 
 meeting once a week in different places, when 
 lectures were delivered by the members relating 
 to the arts and sciences, upon which discussions 
 ensued. The meetings came to an end in 1820 
 
 D 2 
 
36 TIMOTHY CLAXTON. 
 
 when the promoter went to Russia ; and until he 
 called attention to the subject many years after- 
 wards, the existence of the society was only 
 known to a few. It was, however, a praise- 
 worthy effort to afford mutual instruction, and it 
 is deserving of note that at a much later date Mr. 
 Claxton published a homely little work entitled 
 "Hints to Mechanics" in which he pays an 
 honest tribute to Dr. Birkbeck as the " father of 
 the modern system of diffusing useful knowledge 
 among our class," and gives a woodcut of the 
 "birthplace of Mechanics' Institutions " being the 
 Glasgow tinman's shop. 
 
 A more successful attempt to promote the 
 extension of knowledge was made at Edinburgh 
 in the year 1821 ; when, chiefly through the 
 agency of Mr. Leonard Horner, a system, sug- 
 gested by and based upon that which Dr. Birk- 
 beck had originated at Glasgow, was introduced 
 under the title of " The Edinburgh School of 
 Arts." It was founded with the object of 
 imparting to the working classes a knowledge of 
 scientific principles ; but one of its special features 
 was that the mechanics had no voice in the 
 management, the idea being that persons of 
 education were better able to determine what 
 
EDINBURGH SCHOOL OF ARTS. 37 
 
 course of instruction would be most advan- 
 tageous to those whom it was intended 
 to benefit. More than half of its revenue 
 was derived from subscriptions of the middle 
 and upper classes ; and the whole manage- 
 ment was vested in fifteen directors, chosen 
 from the subscribing body. The artisans 
 paid fifteen shillings a year for permission to 
 attend the lectures and use the library; but 
 there their privileges and responsibility ended. 
 The Edinburgh School of Arts differed therefore 
 in its form of government from the Mechanics' 
 Institutions by which it was succeeded, and 
 objection was taken on this account to its being 
 ranked amongst them. Probably, however, its 
 own educational work was not the less bene- 
 ficial, if more prescribed and restricted ; but it 
 did not awaken any general enthusiasm or 
 interest. 
 
 A somewhat similar School of Arts was formed 
 at Haddington shortly afterwards, but this com- 
 manded little attention, and no information 
 concerning it appears to be now extant. 
 
 Contenting ourselves with this brief notice of 
 these earlier organizations, we come at length 
 
38 THE GLASGOW MECHANICS. 
 
 once more to Glasgow, where an unquestionably 
 genuine and enduring Mechanics' Institution 
 was established in the year 1823, as the direct 
 outcome of Dr. Birkbeck's former labours in 
 that city. Although he had never again made 
 Glasgow his home, his memory was cherished 
 by the people there, and of this he received 
 striking proof more than eighteen years after 
 leaving. 
 
 The Mechanics' Class had been continued by 
 his able successor Dr. Ure, at a remuneration 
 which, though inadequate to the services rendered, 
 was sufficient to show that the benefits obtained 
 were considered worth paying for. A library 
 was added in 1808, and a committee of 
 management chosen from members of the 
 Class. The attendance for a considerable period 
 was good, but in time a falling off took place. 
 The managers of the Institution relapsed into 
 comparative indifference to the interests of the 
 humble students, and the lectures were given at 
 wider intervals. The members, however, in the 
 spring of 1823, made a temporarily successful 
 effort to revive the Class; and with long sustained 
 gratitude to their first practical friend, they 
 resolved to enter into a subscription for the 
 
ADDRESS TO THE DOCTOR. 39 
 
 purpose of procuring a portrait of Dr. Birkbeck 
 with which to adorn their place of meeting, and 
 to acknowledge his labours as the " liberal- 
 minded founder of the Mechanics' Class " by 
 presenting him with a suitable address. Four 
 hundred signatures were affixed to this document, 
 of the salient portions of which the following 
 is a copy : — 
 
 " We members of the Mechanics' Class, Anderson's 
 Institution, Glasgow, impressed with a deep sense of 
 the benefits resulting from the course of lectures for 
 instructing artisans in the scientific principles of arts 
 and manufactures, beg leave, in this respectful manner, 
 to tender our grateful recollections to you, by whom that 
 plan was first projected, and carried into execution."... 
 
 " It was your distinguished lot, sir, to lay open more 
 widely than had been previously contemplated the 
 portals of philosophy, and to invite artisans of every 
 description to enter them, however scanty their means 
 or obscure their condition. For this truly philanthropic 
 deed we present you thus publicly with our most 
 heartfelt thanks ; and while from your approving 
 conscience you will derive the purest satisfaction, you 
 will not disdain the homage now offered you, after an 
 interval of nearly twenty years, by the students of that 
 class which you first called into being." 
 
 Upon receiving Dr. Birkbeck's acquiescence to 
 the proposal with reference to his portrait — 
 which was accordingly painted — the mechanics 
 
4 o LETTER FROM GLASGOW. 
 
 forwarded him a letter through their secretary, 
 an extract from which is introduced as a suitable 
 addendum to the address : — 
 
 " Perhaps when your philanthropic mind first 
 suggested the idea of diffusing useful knowledge 
 amongst mechanics, it did not occur to you that your 
 benevolent scheme would be crowned with such 
 eminent success as subsequent events have proved. 
 But the oak springs from the acorn ; — the triumphs of 
 truth over prejudice though slow are nevertheless 
 certain, and if properly directed permanently beneficial 
 to mankind. You formed your scheme of improve- 
 ment from an intimate acquaintance with human 
 nature ; and it must be gratifying to you to learn that 
 your philosophic foresight has not been disappointed. 
 You judged that the apparent mental lethargy of the 
 operatives towards science arose from no infirmity of 
 their mental powers — and you judged right. You 
 traced it either to a total neglect, or an improper 
 direction of their faculties to objects unworthy of their 
 notice. You undertook the generous task of giving 
 the first impulse, and of directing their attention to 
 studies worthy of their pursuit ; and the experience of 
 twenty years has proved beyond doubt the beneficial 
 effects resulting from your system of education." 
 
 Shortly after these events a disagreement again 
 took place between the members of the Class and 
 the managers of the Andersonian Institution. It 
 is not very clear what were the points in dispute, 
 but the general opinion seems to have been that 
 
FIRST MECHANICS' INSTITUTE. 
 
 the artisans were justified in the course they 
 pursued — which resulted in their leaving the 
 Institution. But they only withdrew to find a 
 more congenial home. They met together 
 and arranged their plan, and in July 1823 
 the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution was 
 formed ; their early friend and instructor con- 
 senting to become its patron. 
 
 At the time Dr. Birkbeck was presented with 
 the unexpected testimonial just referred to,he was 
 engaged in the preparation of an essay on the 
 scientific education of the working classes with a 
 view to the introduction into London of some 
 scheme of practical utility. His labours at 
 Glasgow had been most favourably reviewed in 
 the Encyclopaedia Britannica as long after- 
 wards as 18 17, and a letter on the subject 
 appeared in the Morning Chronicle in the year 
 1822. The Doctor had long desired that the 
 metropolitan artisans might receive instruction 
 of a similar character to that which he had 
 imparted to their Glasgow brethren. But cir- 
 cumstances, as he subsequently tells us, had not 
 seemed favourable to the accomplishment of this 
 object, and he had hitherto been deterred from 
 
42 SCHEME FOR LONDON. 
 
 offering any plan. Now, however, he felt 
 convinced, amongst other reasons from the 
 " unequivocal declarations and proceedings of 
 the mechanics of Glasgow" that the time was 
 ripe for conferring knowledge on the workmen 
 of the great metropolis ; and despite the heavy 
 demand made upon his time by his professional 
 practice, we find him entering heart and soul 
 into a scheme for the formation of a LONDON 
 Mechanics' Institution. 
 
 In August 1823 a weekly periodical had been 
 established under the title of " The Mechanics' 
 Magazine" the editors and part proprietors being 
 Thomas Hodgskin and Joseph Robertson, 
 to whom, the latter especially, repeated reference 
 will have to be made. The object of the 
 magazine was to spread amongst those employed 
 in the different manufactories a knowledge of 
 the history and principles of their arts, and 
 information as to inventions and improvements. 
 Apparently the publication was the first of its 
 kind ; and the sale it at once commanded 
 indicated that a spirit of inquiry had begun to 
 prevail amongst the working men, and that suit- 
 able means alone were needed to raise them to a 
 higher intellectual position. 
 
THE MECHANICS' MAGAZINE. 43 
 
 In its seventh number this magazine, in an 
 article from the pen of Robertson, after reviewing 
 Dr. Birkbeck's labours at Glasgow and the recent 
 movements of the mechanics there, issued pro- 
 posals for the formation of a London Institution ; 
 and invited correspondence on the matter as a 
 means of testing the probability of success. The 
 Doctor at once appeared upon the scene with a 
 most hearty and encouraging letter, and in the 
 next number Robertson announced that the first 
 gentleman who responded to the invitation was 
 the public-spirited and philanthropic individual, 
 who, to adopt the language of the mechanics of 
 Glasgow, "had the honour of unfolding first of 
 all, with the commencement of the nineteenth 
 century, the temple of science to the artisan." 
 This led to a more lengthened notice of the 
 Class at the Andersonian Institution, in the 
 course of which the writer forcibly inquired : 
 " Who but a man of a great and a generous mind, 
 flinging aside all the prejudices of education and 
 habit, soaring above most of those around him 
 in his views of human capability, could have been 
 the first in the long lapse of ages to step forward 
 and invite the humble artisan 'however scanty 
 his means or obscure his condition' to come and 
 
44 FRANCIS PLACE: 
 
 draw water at the same stream from which a 
 Galileo, a Bacon, and a Newton had drunk 
 immortality." 
 
 Further correspondence on the subject ensued ; 
 the original proposals for the formation of the 
 Institution were printed on separate sheets and 
 freely distributed, and the press generally took 
 favourable note of the scheme. 
 
 Amongst the earliest co-operators in the move- 
 ment was one of the most conspicuous men of 
 his day — FRANCIS Place " the radical tailor of 
 Charing Cross." His name is now almost for- 
 gotten, but as it will frequently appear in these 
 pages a description of him from Professor Bain's 
 work before referred to is here transcribed : — 
 
 " Reared as an apprentice tailor in the end of last 
 century, he had not much education, and to the last 
 was deficient in culture. He took a part in advanced 
 liberal politics from his earliest years, and bore the 
 stamp of the men that have achieved for us our 
 liberties. His house and shop in Charing Cross 
 became the resort of all liberal politicians. He 
 collected a considerable library which he made avail- 
 able to his friends. Although not either profound in 
 thought, or in any way accomplished or refined, he was 
 an admirable man of business, precise and methodical 
 in all his transactions. He was also very generous 
 
THE RADICAL TAILOR. 45 
 
 both to the public and to individuals. He kept a full 
 diary of what he saw and did, and preserved the 
 interesting pamphlets, squibs, and newspaper cuttings, 
 connected with all the exciting events. Fifty volumes 
 of MSS. now in the British Museum, are the result ; 
 and are essential to the historian of the first third of 
 the present century." 
 
 To this may be added that Place, who was 
 undoubtedly an indefatigable worker, appears to 
 have been fully impressed with his own merits 
 and importance, to have been very sensitive to 
 any slight whether real or imaginary, and to 
 have been peculiarly sharp in detecting the 
 weaknesses or faults of others. He was keen 
 and satirical, his language was strong and vigor- 
 ous, and frequently quaint and witty ; and he 
 was one whose friendship was worth having, and 
 whose opposition was by no means desirable. 
 Although taking part in most of the public 
 movements of his age, he appears not to have been 
 prominent as a speaker, but to have contented 
 himself with attending to the important duties 
 of organization. 
 
 Hodgskin, one of the editors of the new 
 magazine, had long been on intimate terms with 
 Place, and had consulted with him both as to the 
 starting of the journal and the formation of the 
 
46 FIRST LONDON MEETING. 
 
 proposed Institution. The latter, who had 
 recently had several conversations with Dr. Ure 
 as to the Glasgow Mechanics' Class, entered 
 heartily into the scheme, revised the original 
 address before it was published in the magazine, 
 and became the chief man of business in con- 
 nection with the movement. Several interviews 
 took place between him and the two editors, 
 when it was decided he should draw up sug- 
 gested resolutions, and with the approbation 
 of Dr. Birkbeck a public meeting was convened 
 and notified in the magazine, the newspapers 
 voluntarily copying the announcement. 
 
 This meeting was held on November i i.th, at 
 one of the then largest rooms in the metropolis, 
 belonging to the Crown and Anchor Tavern ; 
 and such was the interest which the subject 
 excited that upwards of two thousand persons 
 were present, chiefly consisting of working men. 
 The editors acted as secretaries for the time 
 being, Place rendered unofficial assistance, and 
 the Doctor occupied the chair and delivered a 
 long and interesting address. After stating that 
 if the important project which had occasioned 
 them to assemble resulted, as had been declared, 
 from the formation of the Glasgow Institution, 
 
THE DOCTOR'S ADDRESS. 47 
 
 which was confessedly derived from the original 
 Mechanics' Class, he might be permitted to con- 
 sider himself qualified to delineate the rise and 
 progress of that branch of public instruction ; he 
 gave an admirable sketch of the history of the 
 Class, alluding to the opposition shown to the 
 plan, dwelling with gratification on its success, 
 paying a high compliment to the intelligence 
 and attention of the mechanics, and rejoicing 
 that they had now provided for themselves 
 means of obtaining scientific knowledge. As 
 these facts have already been referred to, it is 
 unnecessary to quote from this the larger part 
 of the address, the concluding portion of which 
 was as follows : — 
 
 " There may, perhaps, be some amongst the large 
 number of mechanics whom I have now the gratifica- 
 tion of addressing, who may entertain doubts whether 
 the objects of science may be within their reach, or 
 if within their reach whether they are available for 
 practical purposes. To them I would say, that 
 although the august temple of science has generally 
 been represented to be situated on a rugged moun- 
 tain, accessible only by thorny paths to the privileged 
 few, yet it is really to be considered as situated on a 
 widely extended plain, approachable with ease in all 
 possible directions, and opening innumerable doors for 
 the admission of its votaries. So far from science 
 being inapplicable to the ordinary purposes of life, I 
 
48 THE DOCTOR'S ADDRESS. 
 
 will assert with Lord Bacon, one of the wisest of men, 
 that 'it comes home to men's business and their bosoms.' 
 To prove to you that the objects of science are to be 
 found scattered around us, I need only remind you 
 that the illustrious Galileo, by observing the oscillations 
 of a lamp suspended from the ceiling, was conducive to 
 the discovery of some of the most important laws of 
 motion ; that our immortal Newton, whilst contem- 
 plating the descent of an apple from the tree, laid a 
 foundation for the discovery of the law which connects 
 and regulates the motions of the planetary system 
 and pervades the most distant parts of the universe ; 
 that Cavallo by means of a soap-bubble, the amuse- 
 ment of pur boyhood, was enabled to exhibit the most 
 successful mode of aerial navigation ; and that Frank- 
 lin, who, for his honour and your encouragement, I 
 may remark was himself an operative, by means of 
 a common paper-kite achieved one of the greatest 
 discoveries of the last century, and secured for his 
 name a place ' amongst bards and sages old, immortal 
 sons of praise.' For instances of the applicability of 
 science to the purposes of the mechanic, I may refer 
 to the improvements of the steam-engine by the cele- 
 brated Watt, in consequence of his acquaintance with 
 the laws of heat ; improvements which have identified 
 him with the splendid achievements of the most extra- 
 ordinary, if not the proudest, period of British history : 
 I may refer to Bramah, who, by the application of a 
 proposition in hydrostatics commonly known by the 
 name of the hydrostatic paradox and often produced 
 ■ to amuse the learned and make the unlearned stare/ 
 has constructed a machine, the hydro-mechanical 
 press, which for convenience and power has never 
 
LETTER FROM BROUGHAM. 49 
 
 yet been equalled; and I may likewise refer to the 
 steam-engine invented by the distinguished mechanic, 
 Mr. Perkins, which, although time has not yet estab- 
 lished its merits, exhibits in a simple tube an ingenious 
 application of a principle respecting the transmission 
 of heat through fluids, discovered by Count Rumford, 
 and which shows in what manner ingenuity may apply 
 the refinements of science to the purposes of mechanics 
 and of civilised life. These are the results which con- 
 firm the declaration of Professor Dugald Stewart, that 
 ' when theoretical knowledge and practical skill are 
 highly combined in one person, the intellectual power 
 of man appears in its full perfection.' 
 
 " But I will not detain you longer— knowing that 
 there are around me gentlemen who may address you 
 with much greater effect — than to add that by your 
 proceedings this evening it will be decided whether the 
 firm and powerful voice of science shall pervade all 
 the workshops of the kingdom, or the feeble and 
 uncertain vote of experience shall in them still con- 
 tinue to prevail." 
 
 At the termination of the address, which was 
 
 enthusiastically received by the mechanics, a 
 
 long letter was read from Henry BROUGHAM 
 
 to the Doctor, expressing his sympathy with 
 
 the object of the meeting and enclosing a cheque 
 
 for ^"20. It concluded as follows : — 
 
 " As you were the original author of this admirable 
 scheme above twenty years ago, and then carried it on 
 a large scale into execution, allow me to congratulate 
 you on the prospect of its adoption in this great city, 
 
 E 
 
50 PROVISIONAL ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 where its benefits and its examples are likely to prove 
 of such inestimable value." 
 
 Various speeches were then made; but not- 
 withstanding the Doctor's complimentary allu- 
 sion to gentlemen who would address the 
 meeting with greater effect, there appears to 
 have been present to sustain him no person of 
 note ; if we except Cobbett, ' who said a few 
 words at the end. 
 
 Resolutions were passed of a somewhat elabo- 
 rate character, dealing with the formation, object 
 and development of the Institution, and fixing 
 the subscription at not more than a guinea a 
 year ; a provisional committee was appointed, 
 consisting of seventeen persons, chiefly mechanics, 
 but including Place ; and it was arranged that 
 Robertson and Hodgskin should continue secre- 
 taries ad interim. At the close several hundred 
 of the operatives present gave in their names as 
 members. 
 
 The Times devoted half a column to a report 
 of the meeting, and the Morning Chronicle, the 
 powerful press exponent of advanced liberal 
 thought — then directed by the radical politician, 
 John Black — had a verbatim record extending to 
 nearly five columns. The Examiner, a weekly 
 
UNEXPECTED OPPOSITION, 
 
 paper of similar views, also gave a very full 
 and prominent report. 
 
 Thus far everything had proceeded smoothly, 
 but the new project was not to be launched 
 without first overcoming difficulties and obsta- 
 cles ; and these arose from a quarter whence they 
 might have been least expected, namely from 
 two of the original promoters, the editors of the 
 Mechanics Magazine. From their later proceed- 
 ings, these individuals, Robertson in particular, 
 may well be suspected of having had ulterior 
 objects in view in giving prominence to the 
 scheme, probably of making it subservient to 
 the interests of the journal. 
 
 A sub-committee was appointed, consisting of 
 Dr. Birkbeck, Mr. Place, and a Mi\_Bailey, an 
 ironmonger; and of this the two secretaries were 
 members ex officio. Place drew up suggested 
 rules, which were ultimately agreed to by the sub- 
 committee and submitted to the general body, 
 together with a proposal for raising money. 
 Hodgskin, however, to the surprise of the leaders 
 objected to this, and was supported by the 
 majority of the mechanics; and Robertson, who 
 followed, by his language seemed to suggest that 
 
 E 2 
 
52 ANTAGONISM OF ROBERTSON. 
 
 the Doctor and his friends intended to use the 
 Institution for sinister purposes. Place openly 
 accused Robertson of duplicity, and with 
 having influenced the mechanics privately — a 
 charge he did not explicitly deny. It after- 
 wards appeared that his antecedents were not 
 good, and his subsequent ceaseless and syste- 
 matic attacks justified the strong strictures which 
 Place passes upon him, including an accusation 
 of a " design to break down the Institution to a 
 mere club, which might be under his control," 
 and also — in characteristic language — " of having 
 succeeded in making a fool, if not a rogue, of 
 Mr. Hodgskin." Objections were raised to the 
 rules — which had previously been agreed to in 
 sub-committee — with a view to the adoption of 
 another set, with which Robertson had come 
 provided ; but in this design he failed. The 
 meeting was prolonged until two in the morning; 
 was then adjourned to the following evening, 
 when it was continued until one the next 
 morning, and once more adjourned. Ultimately 
 the mechanics, whom Place exonerates from 
 blame on the ground that their minds were 
 poisoned, grew alarmed at the threatened 
 rupture, and the rules originally suggested 
 
FORMATION OF INSTITUTION. 53 
 
 were adopted, with some alterations not of 
 primary importance. 
 
 A general meeting of the entire body was next 
 convened, and it was decided as a matter of 
 policy that the disputes which had arisen should 
 not be made public, especially as the intended 
 appointment of a paid secretary would relegate 
 Messrs. Robertson and Hodgskin to the position 
 of private members. The meeting was held on 
 the 2nd December, when the Institution was 
 formally constituted, the rules and orders were 
 adopted, and arrangements concluded for the 
 election of officers. This election took place 
 by ballot, and Dr. Birkbeck was appointed presi- 
 dent — an appointment he held to the time of 
 his death. He was also named as one of the 
 four trustees, Brougham being another. An 
 official committee was elected, consisting of thirty 
 members, of whom more than two-thirds were 
 working mechanics. Place had intimated that 
 although he would continue to render assistance 
 he could not devote all his evenings to the 
 Institution, and he was therefore not nominated ; 
 nor was either Hodgskin or Robertson. 
 
 The committee met from time to time, but two 
 months elapsed before anything practical was 
 
54 CONTINUED OPPOSITION. 
 
 done, owing largely to the evil geniuses of the 
 movement, aided by a few kindred spirits, con- 
 tinuing to create distrust. It was felt by nearly 
 all the friends of the cause that there was no 
 probability of the object they had in view being 
 accomplished without public aid ; and the Doctor 
 had pertinently remarked, at one of the early 
 meetings, that if it had been possible, or if the 
 mechanics had thought it possible, that they could 
 of themselves commence and establish such an In- 
 stitution, the matter would have been left to them. 
 Under pretence, however, of promoting a spirit 
 of independence amongst the working classes 
 Robertson, with great inconsistency, made this 
 the chief ground for repeated attacks; although he 
 had previously concurred in the opinion of Place 
 that unless money was procured the Institution 
 could not be commenced with any reasonable 
 hope of being established, and had subsequently 
 approved of the resolutions of the public meeting 
 requesting donations, joined in the report which 
 announced that a banking account had been 
 opened to receive contributions, expressed his 
 unqualified gratification at one handsome sub- 
 scription which had been made, even warmly 
 replying to an unfavourable newspaper comment 
 
OPENING MEETING. 55 
 
 upon this gift and upon the Institution not being" 
 self-supporting, and finally put himself down 
 jointly with his co-editor for the sum of five 
 guineas. 
 
 The committee, however, we are told, disre- 
 garded the attacks made upon them, and 
 advanced towards their purpose in spite of the 
 impediments and insinuations which divided the 
 members, being " greatly aided by the steady 
 attention and imperturbable temper of their 
 excellent president." 
 
 At length on February 20th 1824, an opening 
 meeting was held at a commodious chapel in 
 Monkwell Street, London Wall, of which the 
 temporary use was obtained on favourable terms ; 
 and so ready were the working men to avail 
 themselves of the advantages offered them that 
 nearly thirteen hundred had already been en- 
 rolled as members, of whom all but two hundred 
 had paid their subscriptions. Dr. Birkbeck was 
 supported by Brougham, Professor Millington, 
 and other gentlemen. 
 
 From the president's inaugural address one is 
 constrained to quote somewhat freely, as it ex- 
 plains his views, unfolds his character, and 
 exhibits his oratorical powers. 
 
56 OPENING MEETING: 
 
 "With feelings," he says, "of exultation unutterable, 
 I rise to offer my warmest heartfelt congratulations on 
 this momentous occasion. This hour is witness to 
 hopes, long, ardently and anxiously cherished by me, 
 now rapidly realising in the visible and effective 
 existence of a Mechanics' Institution in the 
 emporium of the world. 
 
 " Had you, gentlemen, beheld the small number of 
 artisans who in a large and flourishing city were 
 willing to accept the earliest invitations to enter 
 the temple of science, this striking scene would be 
 contemplated with gratitude and delight still more 
 lively and enthusiastic; with gratitude arising from the 
 permission to behold the extended impulsive operation 
 of the growing appetite for knowledge, one of the 
 noblest propensities of man ; with delight, from per- 
 ceiving that the mighty spirit of the age, which has 
 been pervading the whole rational creation, has at 
 length fructified the intellectual mass, and roused it 
 from death-like slumber to animation and activity. 
 The inquiring spirit of the age has loudly demanded 
 that the door of science should be thrown open, 
 and that its mysteries should be revealed to all man- 
 kind. This demand has been answered, here as well 
 as elsewhere, without reference to age, occupation, or 
 condition ; and, judging from the aspect of this 
 thronged assembly, the result must be most auspicious 
 to the progress of knowledge. ' There is a time ' the 
 wisest of mortals has declared, 'for all things'; and 
 the ardour with which the present project has been 
 embraced proves, beyond the possibility of question, 
 that this is the time for the universal diffusion of the 
 blessings of knowledge. 'There is a tide in the 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 57 
 
 affairs of men,' one of the most splendid examples of 
 human genius has affirmed, ' which, taken at the flood, 
 leads on to fortune.' The tide of knowledge within 
 a recent period has been rapidly rolling on towards 
 this elevation ; and if we do not neglect the golden 
 opportunity, we shall achieve that intellectual fortune, 
 in which consists, alike individually and aggregately, 
 the most substantial riches and the most substantial 
 glory. 
 
 "It is not my intention to place before you the vast 
 and various results of this projected union of science 
 and art ; or, in other words, of this combination of the 
 discoveries of the philosophic mind with the inventions 
 of mechanic genius. ... I shall content myself 
 with advancing the position that knowledge, by whom- 
 soever obtained, like virtue which it strikingly 
 resembles, is its own reward ; that, therefore, the 
 pleasure flowing from mental exercise, and the satis- 
 faction resulting from the attainment of truth, are 
 sufficient compensations for the labour of study, when 
 unattended by pecuniary or commercial advantage." 
 
 After illustrating this position at length by 
 quotations from Robert Hall, the speaker 
 proceeded: — 
 
 " One advantage which may perhaps be produced 
 by the introduction of science amongst the operative 
 classes, some recent legislative movements induce me 
 to mention. The wisdom of our present rulers is 
 likely soon to explode certain restrictive measures, 
 by which the want of wisdom or the superabund- 
 ance of its spurious representative in their long 
 extinct predecessors had fettered the artisan. To 
 
5S OPENING MEETING 
 
 accomplish this purpose it is probable that the most 
 splendid talents of both the great parties in the State 
 will be united j and it can scarcely be doubted that 
 they will succeed in repealing those laws which pro- 
 hibit the exportation of machinery, the emigration of 
 the artisan, and the combination of workmen for 
 purposes which may be deemed essential to their 
 prosperity. Now, extensive emigration, one probable 
 consequence of such repeals, we must deplore; 
 because with this portion of our population, the 
 strength and wealth of the nation must- depart from 
 our shores. If by improving the means of production 
 and increasing the sources of his comfort, we render 
 the artisan better satisfied with the fruits of his labour 
 and more strongly attached to his native land, we 
 shall effectually restrain his disposition to wander by 
 the influence of his free choice, without the operation 
 of statutes to which he reluctantly submits. Unless 
 allured by very strong temptations, the English 
 mechanic will seldom quit the home of his fathers : 
 he clings to the spot which gave him birth with the 
 
 fondest affection 
 
 1 * Far, however, be it from me to advocate the re- 
 tention within the circumference of our island of the 
 arts and sciences, which are our best possessions, our 
 brightest ornaments. Over the western world, now 
 in her sublime career of independence calling for 
 their aid, I would have them liberally diffused ; thus, 
 indeed, in part atoning for those wrongs which followed 
 in the train of the genius and enterprise of Columbus. 
 Let European arts and European sciences freely cross 
 the western main to enrich the gay savannahs and the 
 vast mountain chains, in regions distinguished alike by 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 59 
 
 their sublimity and inexhaustible fertility, until all that 
 
 can be wafted by the winds, or that can be impelled 
 
 by all-conquering steam, excepting European vices and 
 
 European warriors, may be found 
 
 Where Andes, giant of the western star, 
 
 Looks from his throne of clouds o'er half the world. 
 
 "It ought likewise ever to be remembered that a 
 relationship, and even a close alliance, has been es- 
 tablished betwixt this country and all the habitable 
 portions of the globe ; enforcing the duty of reciprocal 
 service, and demanding from us a full performance 
 of good offices, whenever and wheresoever we may 
 appear." 
 
 The speaker then gently dealt with the fact 
 that his friends and himself had not obtained 
 full credit for the singleness of their purpose, and 
 even in a liberal spirit passed a eulogium on the 
 Mechanics Magazine and its editors ; and aftcr 
 stating that for himself he could boldly declare 
 that the scientific cultivation of the mind of the 
 mechanic had been and still was his only object, 
 continued as follows : — 
 
 u All intention of interference with political questions 
 we do therefore disclaim, and not less cheerfully than 
 advantageously do we resign them to that ' patriot 
 eloquence ' which can shake the senate, and flash down 
 fire upon our country's foes. If indirectly we shall be 
 supposed to exercise any influence — and education 
 may expand the views of the mechanic — I am per- 
 suaded that we shall invigorate the attachment which 
 
60 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 must ever exist to every wise and well-constructed 
 
 system of legislation 
 
 "Whilst we also determine to avoid all direct inter- 
 ference with another subject of importance still more 
 vital and profound, we feel confident that by the light 
 which we propose to diffuse we shall strengthen rather 
 than invalidate its sanctions. That system of morality 
 which has for the basis of its social regulations the plain, 
 comprehensive, practical and persuasive - injunction 
 to do unto others that which we wish others should do 
 unto us ; and that system of religion which assures us 
 that ' this mortality shall put on immortality ', which 
 imparts to us a knowledge ' of things above this world, 
 and of their being who dwells in heaven ' j and which 
 promises, after the best and happiest employment of 
 this transitory condition, an endless progression in 
 knowledge and felicity, never can be defrauded of 
 their paramount influence upon the heart of man by 
 measures which are calculated to enlarge his intellectual 
 possessions. By looking abroad through nature it is 
 obvious likewise that our conceptions of the stupendous 
 power of its omniscient Author must be improved, 
 enlarged and exalted ; and a frequent reverential 
 scrutiny, during the search after final causes, into the 
 designs of creation will gradually and imperceptibly 
 unfold their wisdom and benevolence ; thereby un- 
 avoidably augmenting our instinctive and acquired 
 feelings of gratitude and veneration towards Omnipo- 
 tence." 
 
 Comment upon this address is unneccessary. 
 
 The Institution, started under such auspicious 
 
 circumstances and with so much enthusiasm, 
 
SONNET TO THE DOCTOR. 61 
 
 already gave promise of the great good it was 
 destined to achieve. New aims and aspirations 
 had been given to the mechanics of the metro- 
 polis, an educational pioneer had appeared, 
 and one literary aspirant even broke forth into 
 verse to sound his praises. The sonnet has not 
 immortalised the anonymous poet, but it will 
 doubtless be read with interest. 
 
 "The laurels of the brave, the wise, the great, 
 Be green upon their brow : may envy ne'er 
 From those that seek our weal the chaplet tear, 
 
 By useful service won. Tho' hapless fate 
 Closes too soon the patriot's bright career. 
 
 He lives in memory; — o'er his grave elate, 
 
 Binding .oblivion to his Lethean state. 
 
 Stands Fame immortal : distant ages hear 
 
 The glory of his doings, and rejoice 
 
 That once the earth was blest by his sojourn. 
 
 Thus, Birkbeck, guided by the public voice, 
 The Muse predicts thy name shall not return 
 
 To earth forgotten ; for thy generous mind 
 
 Hath brought fair Science forth to all mankind." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RAPID GROWTH OF THE POPULAR 
 EDUCATION MOVEMENT. 
 
 1824-1825. 
 
 ^T^HE London Mechanics' Institution had now 
 ■*■ been successfully established, but a " local 
 habitation" had yet to be found, capable of 
 meeting its extensive requirements. Offices 
 were temporarily hired in Furnival's Inn, 
 Holborn ; and the use of the chapel in Monkwell 
 Street was obtained until such time as more 
 suitable and permanent accommodation could 
 be secured. 
 
 Steps were taken by the committee for the 
 purpose; and eventually convenient premises 
 were obtained. The wisdom of the choice is 
 largely evidenced in the fact that the Institution 
 is still identified with the building which was 
 then selected ; although its capacity has of late 
 years proved insufficient to meet the ever in- 
 creasing demand. It has kept pace with the 
 times, has been altered and enlarged ; but the 
 
LOCALE OF INSTITUTION. 63 
 
 same edifice yet remains, and has now been 
 devoted for sixty years to the cause of popular 
 education. 
 
 In a retired quiet nook, away from the noise 
 and turmoil of the busy world, and yet almost 
 in the heart of the great metropolis, and over- 
 looking the abode of equity, science found a 
 home for her humble followers. A home too with 
 memorable surroundings, and rich in historic 
 associations. For on this site in early times the 
 Knight Templars established themselves, the land 
 around being owned by this powerful religious 
 order, prior to their removal to the locality now 
 known as the Inner and Middle Temple. Later 
 on Lord Southampton found here a prison, and 
 ere long a grave. And later still Lord William 
 Russell here also took up his abode, and passing 
 the spot on his way to execution tasted of the 
 bitterness of death. 
 
 Amid scenes then of chivalric and solemn 
 memories the mechanics of London were hence- 
 forth to assemble ; and the substantial erection 
 at Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, 
 though in a less finished form then than now, 
 became the seat of knowledge for the working 
 man. A lease was granted to the trustees, of a 
 
64 LECTURE-HALL REQUIRED. 
 
 dwelling-house and land adjoining, for a term 
 of a hundred and forty-six years at an annual 
 rental of £229, with liberty for the lessees to 
 purchase at any time for £3,500 the interest of 
 their lessor, who held from the Earl of Radnor 
 at a rent of £29 per annum. 
 
 But in addition to the accommodation thus 
 provided, a hall was necessary for the lectures 
 and meetings. Space had been obtained imme- 
 diately in the rear of the existing premises, but 
 the Institution, as will have been gathered, had 
 no funds to devote to the erection of the required 
 structure. The members' subscription had been 
 fixed at five shillings per quarter, that the me- 
 chanics might not be taxed beyond their means ; 
 and members' sons and apprentices above twelve 
 years of age were to be allowed to attend the 
 lectures and classes at half that fee. The income 
 which would thus be obtained would, it was 
 calculated, be sufficient to meet the current 
 expenses ; but it was evident there would be 
 little, if any, surplus available for capitalization. 
 An appeal to the public had, as already men- 
 tioned, therefore been resolved upon ; some 
 few donations were obtained, and the following 
 
APPEAL FOR FUNDS. 65 
 
 circular letter was now addressed by the presi- 
 dent to the nobility and others : — 
 
 " London Mechanics' Institution, 
 
 "15, FurnivaFs Inn, Holborn, 
 
 "My Lord, "April, 1824. 
 
 "Whilst every branch of science is contri- 
 buting its powerful influence in promoting the welfare 
 of society, the working mechanic is peculiarly situated, 
 being compelled either to obtain alone and by 
 expensive means the knowledge of those scientific 
 principles on which his art is founded, or to remain 
 in ignorance which is always paralyzing his best 
 efforts, and producing habits of carelessness or 
 despondency. 
 
 "To remedy this evil, and to promote that species 
 of knowledge so favourable to the best interests of a 
 commercial nation, this Institution has been established 
 under a system of rules and regulations, an abstract of 
 which I have the honour to enclose. 
 
 " I have the highest satisfaction in announcing that 
 although it has not yet been in existence four months, 
 it already contains 1,200 names in its list of members, 
 through whose exertions it has accumulated a very 
 respectable philosophical apparatus, a collection of 
 minerals, and a library which is daily increasing in extent 
 and value. Already courses of lectures on scientific 
 subjects have been commenced at a chapel in Monk- 
 well Street, Falcon Square, which has been obtained 
 as a temporary lecture-room until the Institution can 
 obtain suitable premises, in which it is alone delayed 
 by its present necessarily limited finances. 
 
 " To accomplish this, and to give proper effect to 
 
66 PRINCIPAL DONATIONS. 
 
 such an undertaking, every enlightened individual is 
 earnestly requested to give his cordial assistance, by 
 such contributions of money, books, models, speci- 
 mens, etc., as may to him appear best calculated for 
 effecting so desirable an object. 
 
 " Should this Institution be deemed by you worthy 
 of assistance and support, any intimation to that 
 effect will meet with grateful attention and acknow- 
 ledgment. 
 
 " I have the honour to remain,. My Lord, 
 " Your Lordship's most obdt. hble. servt, 
 
 "George Birkbeck, President."' 
 
 This circular enclosed a report setting out, in 
 addition to the abstract of the rules and orders 
 referred to, a list of sums already received. As 
 previously stated, Brougham had given ,£20 ; 
 Birkbeck gave a similar amount ; and amongst 
 other donations were ,£20 from Earl Spencer, 
 ;£io each from Wilberforce, Bickersteth and Dr. 
 Gilchrist; £$ $s. from Dr. Lushington, and £5 
 each from James Mill, Ricardo, Grote, Cobbctt 
 and Place. The proprietor of the Morning 
 Chronicle had at an early stage given 100 
 guineas ; and a few other large subscriptions 
 were now obtained, Bentham and J. C. Hob- 
 house contributing ;£ioo each, and Sir Francis 
 Burdett the munificent sum of ;£ 1,000, in 
 addition to a previous ;£ioo. These latter 
 
BYRON: HUSKISSON. 67 
 
 donations were mainly obtained by the exertions 
 of Place, through whose persistency many other 
 sums were also secured, and whom Mrs. Grote 
 describes as devoting his whole time to the 
 infant Institution. 
 
 Altogether something less than £2, 000 was 
 raised ; but this was little more than a third of 
 the sum required, and much disappointment was 
 experienced at the indifference exhibited by the 
 wealthy classes generally. Place significantly 
 remarks that the Institution was looked upon 
 favourably by most people excepting the high 
 aristocracy and the clergy. LORD BYRON, 
 however, gave in his adhesion to the movement, 
 in the following somewhat peculiar terms : — 
 
 " It affords me pleasure to think what a mass of 
 natural intellect this will call into action; if the plan 
 succeed, and I firmly hope it may, the ancient aris- 
 tocracy of England will be secure for ages to come. 
 The most useful and numerous body of the people in 
 the nation will then judge for themselves ; and, when 
 properly informed, will judge correctly. '"' 
 
 The Government afforded no aid ; and its 
 members were apathetic with the exception of 
 HUSKISSON, who fearlessly raised his influential 
 voice in favour of the new educational measure, 
 but attaching some qualification to his approval. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 THE PRESIDENT'S ADVANCE. 
 
 The following is an extract from one of his 
 speeches, dealing with the subject : — 
 
 " I have no difficulty in stating that I consider 
 Institutions of this nature as likely to be attended 
 with beneficial results, both to artisans and to the 
 public, if properly regulated and directed to those 
 objects to which such Institutions ought, in my opi- 
 nion, to be limited — I mean to the teaching of such 
 branches of science as will be of use to the mechanics 
 and artisans in the exercise of their respective trades." 
 
 Despite the general approbation, however, the 
 fact that sufficient money was not forthcoming 
 proved a serious obstacle ; and it seemed likely 
 that the proposed building would have to be 
 abandoned, when the president unexpectedly 
 came forward and offered to advance the amount 
 required, about £3,700, at four per cent, interest, 
 with no other security than that which he already 
 held as trustee of the Institution — a generous 
 offer which was gratefully accepted. 
 
 On the 2nd December 1824, being the anni- 
 versary of the formation, the foundation stone of 
 the edifice was laid by the Doctor. The usual 
 formalities were observed ; and the laws of the 
 Institution, the report of its first meeting, a vel- 
 lum roll with the names of the officers, and a 
 portrait of the president were placed in a bottle 
 
FOUNDATION STONE LAID. 69 
 
 and deposited in a cavity in the stone. Dr. 
 Birkbeck made a short address upon the occa- 
 sion, which was subsequently printed in colours 
 by one of the members, together with the inscrip- 
 tion on the stone, "in commemoration of the 
 important era in the progress of scientific know- 
 ledge which commenced with the establishment 
 of the Institution, and of the impressive cere- 
 mony by which its first anniversary was distin- 
 guished." The inscription records the event and 
 bears the names of the various officers, and the 
 address is as follows : — 
 
 " Now have we founded an edifice for the diffusion 
 and advancement of human knowledge. Now have 
 we begun to erect a temple, wherein man shall extend 
 his acquaintance with the universe of mind, and shall 
 acquire the means of enlarging his dominion over the 
 universe of matter. In this spot hereafter the charms 
 of literature shall be displayed, and the powers of 
 science shall be unfolded to the most humble in- 
 quirers ; for to the ' feast of reason ' which will be here 
 prepared the invitation shall be as unbounded as the 
 region of intellect. 
 
 " For an undertaking so vast in its design, and so 
 magnificent in its objects (nothing short, indeed, of the 
 moral and intellectual amelioration and aggrandize- 
 ment of the human race) the blessing of heaven, I 
 humbly trust, will not be implored in vain. If in this 
 Institution we seek to obey the mandate which has 
 
70 ADDRESS ON LAYING STONE. 
 
 gone forth, that knowledge shall be increased ; if we 
 act in obedience to the injunction, that in all our 
 gettings we should get understanding ; if we succeed 
 in proving that for the existence of the mental wilder- 
 ness, the continuance of which we all deeply deplore, 
 we ought 'to blame the culture, not the soil'; if by 
 rendering man more percipient of the order, harmony, 
 and benevolence which pervade the universe, we more 
 effectually 'assert eternal Providence, and justify the 
 ways of God to men ' ; and if thus we shall be the 
 happy means of rendering it palpable that the im- 
 mortal essence within us, when freed from the defor- 
 mity of ignorance and vice, has been created in the 
 express image of God — then may we confidently hope 
 that Omniscience will favourably behold our rising 
 structure, and that in its future progress Omnipotence, 
 without whose assistance all human endeavours are 
 vain, will confer upon us a portion of His powers. 
 
 " Whilst I remind you that the illustrious Bacon 
 long ago maintained that ' knowledge is power ', I 
 may apprise you that it has since his time been 
 established that knowledge is wealth, is comfort, is 
 security, is enjoyment, is happiness. It has been 
 found so completely to mingle with human affairs, 
 that it renders social life more endearing, has given 
 morality more uprightness, and politically has pro- 
 duced more consistent obedience ; it takes from 
 adversity some of its bitterness, and enlarges the 
 sphere as well as augments the sweetness of every 
 laudable gratification ; and lastly — unquestionably one 
 of its brightest influences — it becomes at once an 
 avenue and a guide to that temple which is not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 
RENEWED OPPOSITION. 71 
 
 Meanwhile the opposition to the executive 
 had been not only continued, but made public in 
 the pages of the Mechanics Magazine ; and the 
 Institution was likewise attacked in other quar- 
 ters. One of the early reviewers of the move- 
 ment declares that " never did a body encounter 
 more obstacles, or have to contend with more 
 calumny"; and Place remarks that "the Institu- 
 tion was saved by nothing but the most disin- 
 terested devotion of a few excellent men, whose 
 sole object was to serve the working people." 
 
 Robertson had for some time been the only 
 editor of the magazine, and he seized upon every 
 pretext for sneering. It chanced that some 
 lectures Dr. Birkbeck was to give were announced 
 as " gratuitous", whereas a course given by him 
 elsewhere had been referred to as "honorary"; 
 and upon this the inquiry was made as to 
 whether there was " any mechanic of so mean 
 spirit as not to perceive and feel the distinction." 
 Even the assistance which the Doctor had 
 rendered in advancing the money for the build- 
 ing of the lecture-hall, without which it could 
 not have been erected, was made the subject of a 
 special attack, as will be seen from the subjoined 
 envenomed paragraph : — 
 
72 ROBERTSON'S ATTACKS. 
 
 " Dr. Birkbeck, it appears, is to advance whatever 
 money may be wanted, at four per cent, interest. No 
 person who knows anything of the ways of the world 
 can be at a loss to perceive to what consequences this 
 must lead. If Dr. Birkbeck had no design of im- 
 posing himself in an attitude of undue influence on 
 the Society, why is not the loan made an open one — 
 why does Dr. B. monopolize the opportunity of 
 obliging the Society — more especially when money on 
 good security can be procured for so much a less rate 
 of interest than the Doctor is pleased to exact ? We 
 conceive this to be the most objectionable of all the 
 objectionable measures by which the management of 
 this Institution has been distinguished. It is placing 
 the Institution under the foot of one man ; it is 
 destroying utterly its freedom of action ; it is making 
 a private speculation of what was meant to rest on 
 the broadest basis of public co-operation and utility." 
 
 The charge was sufficiently answered by the 
 facts; but Place pertinently remarks that Dr. 
 Birkbeck must be judged by his actions and not 
 by the motives imputed to him by malignant 
 men ; adding that never had he on any occasion 
 shown the least desire to pervert the Institution 
 from any one of the purposes to which it was 
 originally intended it should be applied, but that, 
 on the contrary, he had on all occasions with 
 matchless zeal, and at great expense of time and 
 money, done all he could to carry those inten- 
 tions into full and complete effect. 
 
ST. JAMES'S CHRONICLE. 73 
 
 The Doctor's own unruffled temper and benig- 
 nant spirit may be gathered from the fact that, 
 notwithstanding these attacks, he, with an excess 
 of justice and with doubtful prudence, proposed 
 the health of the editors of the magazine at the 
 anniversary dinner for the part they had taken 
 in the formation ; stating that their labours were 
 able, and that although unfortunately they were 
 latterly estranged, the Institution was deeply 
 indebted to them. This conciliatory policy, 
 however, proved of no avail. 
 
 But the opposition was not confined to the 
 Mechanics' Magazine. Already had other jour- 
 nals criticized the new scheme adversely, and a 
 violent attack was made on the Institution in 
 the St. James s Chronicle for May 1825. It is 
 reproduced as another specimen of the nature of 
 the antagonism which had to be encountered. 
 
 " A scheme more completely adapted for the 
 destruction of this empire could not have been in- 
 vented by the author of evil himself than that which 
 the depraved ambition of some men, the vanity of 
 others, and the supineness of a third and more im- 
 portant class, has so nearly perfected. It is nothing 
 to the purpose to tell us that Mr. Brougham, or Dr. 
 Birkbeck, or Mr. Huskisson cannot design the ruin of 
 the country. Protesting against being understood to 
 acquiesce in this assumption of the lawyer's or 
 
74 INTERNAL DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 doctor's integrity, or the minister's wisdom, we say- 
 that whatever their motives may be, every step which 
 they take in setting up the labourers as a separate or 
 independent class, is a step taken, and a long one too, 
 towards that fatal result. Sylla, Cataline, and Caesar, 
 had all different objects, but they pursued their objects 
 by the same means, the severing of the lower classes 
 from their superiors, and this means, as usual, tended 
 to the same result. Mr. Brougham wishes, perhaps, 
 for merely political purposes, to count a noisy mob on 
 his side ; Dr. Birkbeck's motive may be purely pro- 
 fessional ; Mr. Huskisson's no more than innocently 
 pedantic ; they are all three, however, scattering the 
 seeds of evil, the extent of which the wisest amongst 
 them cannot anticipate." 
 
 Nor were these attacks from without the only 
 obstacles with which the Institution had to con- 
 tend. The honorary secretaries, when unable 
 to carry their measures, destroyed the official 
 books ; their paid successor proved incom- 
 petent or negligent, and had to be dismissed ; 
 and the accounts were found to be in the most 
 imperfect and disorderly condition. After much 
 labour on the part of some of the officers, 
 the state of the finances was ascertained, but 
 several sums collected by Robertson and 
 Hodgskin were, according to Place, not ac- 
 counted for ; the subscription book of the 
 publishers of the magazine was also missing, 
 
OPENING OF LECTURE-HALL. 75 
 
 and the committee were constrained to com- 
 promise the matter by accepting in discharge 
 the amount admitted to have been received. 
 
 Despite, however, of opposition and difficulty, 
 the work of the Institution was satisfactorily 
 proceeded with. 
 
 In the course of a few months the lecture- 
 theatre was completed, providing sitting accom- 
 modation for a thousand persons ; and on the 8th 
 July 1825 there was a grand opening ceremony. 
 The chair was occupied by the DUKE OF SUSSEX, ] 
 that royal patron of education, who had already 
 manifested the warmest interest in the Insti- 
 tution ; and a bevy of ladies and distinguished 
 personages imparted grace and dignity to the 
 scene, whilst every available nook was occupied. 
 The president was in an exultant mood, and 
 delivered a powerful address, in the course of 
 which he traced the development of mind 
 and the progress of knowledge in the past, 
 referring to the efforts made in almost every 
 period to arrest or circumscribe it, and illus- 
 trating by incidents in the career of ancient 
 and modern nations ; contrasted the theory 
 that the masses should be kept in ignorance 
 
76 THE DOCTOR'S SPEECH. 
 
 and subjection with the more enlightened views 
 then beginning to prevail, paying homage to 
 the men of distinction and influence who had 
 assisted in bringing about the change ; and 
 enlarged upon the benefits accruing from 
 the growth of mechanical science, concluding, 
 amidst reiterated cheers, with a glowing fore- 
 cast of the condition of the nations when the 
 treasures of knowledge should be liberally 
 disseminated. The great length of the address 
 necessitates its exclusion from these pages, and 
 selections would do it little justice ; but the 
 reader has already had a sufficient indication 
 of the general nature and style of the Doctor's 
 speeches, and will during the remainder of the 
 narrative be content with scant quotations from 
 his numerous public utterances. 
 
 Brougham also addressed the meeting with 
 great effect, dwelling on the progress which had 
 been made, and combating the arguments of 
 opponents. Amid some laughter, he dealt with 
 the objection that by educating the working- 
 classes they would be enabled to tread on the 
 heels of their superiors, and drew a forcible 
 contrast between those who make a " pleasure of 
 science " and those who make a " science of 
 
BROUGHAM'S TESTIMONY. 77 
 
 pleasure." To the labours of the Doctor he 
 paid the following testimony : — 
 
 " The recollection of his eminent services must be 
 indelibly impressed upon the minds of all of us, and 
 the strongest feelings of gratitude and respect must be 
 excited by the remembrance of the powerful exer- 
 tions he has hitherto made, and the gratifying con- 
 sciousness that he is now among us, renewing those 
 exertions for the benefit of his fellow-men. Of Dr. 
 Birkbeck, and of the gratitude that we all owe him, 
 and the vast obligations under which he has laid, not 
 only ourselves who are assembled here as his friends 
 and fellow-labourers, but the whole country likewise, 
 through which he is striving to spread the utility 
 "of his labours, it is only necessary to say what was 
 said of another great man in a former century — Sir 
 Christopher Wren — ' If you seek for his monument, 
 look here around, and you will find it' Our gratitude 
 is due to our president ; first because he is the author 
 of Mechanics' Institutions, of general Schools of Art, 
 or by whatever name they may be designated ; next, 
 because he has founded, and carried into effect this 
 great plan in London, with the assistance and co- 
 operation of those persons who, taking the hint from 
 what he had already done in Scotland, had united for 
 the purpose of circulating and adopting the same 
 system in England ; and lastly, because when it was 
 founded, not finding it attended with suitable honours 
 in the place lately engaged for the lectures, he became 
 impatient of the slow and tedious progress of public 
 subscriptions, and himself laid down the necessary 
 funds out of which this convenient and beautiful 
 theatre has been raised." 
 
78 IN WORKING ORDER. 
 
 The Duke of Sussex then made a few remarks 
 of a congratulatory and encouraging character, 
 and at the close of the meeting the distinguished 
 visitors and ladies partook of refreshments which 
 were provided at the expense of the president, 
 who being of opinion that nothing in the shape 
 of an entertainment ought to be charged to the 
 funds of the Institution, would not allow a prece- 
 dent to be formed even under such exceptional 
 circumstances as then existed. 
 
 The new establishment was now fairly in 
 working order. A circulating library had been 
 formed, and by this time contained nearly fifteen 
 hundred volumes, of which about a third had 
 been given and the remainder purchased. By 
 the end of the year the number had increased to 
 about two thousand. A commodious reading- 
 room was also opened and well supplied with 
 current literature. A valuable set of philosophi- 
 cal apparatus had been purchased at a cost of 
 two hundred and fifty guineas, some machines 
 on a large scale for illustrating the science of 
 mechanics constructed, various models maps and 
 diagrams procured, geological specimens obtained 
 and classified; and altogether a highly creditable 
 
THE PRESIDENT'S LECTURES. 79 
 
 museum was the result. A chemical laboratory 
 was also fitted up, and arrangements were made 
 for instruction by experiment and practical 
 illustration. Classes were formed one by one, 
 and elementary schools established. 
 
 But the most useful and attractive feature 
 consisted in the oft-recurring lectures. This 
 mode of teaching had a pleasant charm for the 
 mechanics, and through its channel knowledge 
 freely flowed. Facts were presented in an 
 interesting light ; laws were demonstrated by 
 curious illustrations ; instruction was conveyed 
 in a genial form. The attention was at- 
 tracted, the mind engaged, and the student 
 fascinated by the truths unveiled. 
 
 And so Dr. Birkbeck successfully pursued the 
 same course he had adopted at Glasgow. 
 Periodically he appeared amongst his scholars, 
 science ever being his handmaid. Amongst 
 the topics upon which he descanted within a 
 comparatively brief period, some of them occu- 
 pying several lectures, were acoustics, optics, 
 electricity, galvanism, the theory of the winds, 
 and the general principles of science — a list 
 which will give some idea of the diversified 
 nature of the subjects taught, and the compre- 
 
80 SUBJECTS TAUGHT. 
 
 hensive survey taken by the teacher. Nor did 
 his services fail to command the appreciation 
 accorded to his former labours. Very early in 
 the Institution's history were the members 
 anxious to present their president with a token 
 of their gratitude, and with difficulty could they 
 be restrained from making gifts whilst still 
 in debt. 
 
 Able teachers were also found to share in the 
 work of the Institution. The. first course of 
 lectures had been delivered by Professor Milling- 
 ton, at the Chapel in Monkwell Street, on the 
 elementary principles of mechanical philosophy. 
 Two nights a week were now regularly devoted 
 to this mode of instruction, and it was not long 
 before the range of the scientific world was 
 extensively, if not minutely, traversed. In 
 addition to the subjects already mentioned, 
 mathematics, chemistry, heat, steam, the blow- 
 pipe, astronomy, geology, mechanics, hydraulics, 
 pneumatics, and hydrostatics were dealt with in 
 their various branches. Other spheres were 
 likewise entered, and arithmetic, French, steno- 
 graphy, botany, mnemonics and phrenology had 
 each their numerous devotees. 
 
 A weekly journal also appeared especially 
 
LONDON MECHANICS' REGISTER. 81 
 
 to assist the Institution's work. The MecJianics 
 Magazine, in itself a valuable periodical, had 
 justly forfeited the confidence of many of the 
 members, and there was felt to be an opening for 
 a somewhat similar but friendly publication. 
 Accordingly in November 1824, the first number 
 of the London Mechanics' Registei' was published. 
 In its pages the proceedings of the Institution 
 were fully reported, and the . various lectures 
 reproduced, with drawings of the illustrations 
 employed, and thus the information given was 
 strengthened and preserved for future reference. 
 The first volume contained a portrait and short 
 memoir of Dr. Birkbeck, and was dedicated to 
 him. Unfortunately the constituency of the 
 magazine, being chiefly though not entirely local, 
 was scarcely large enough to make it a per- 
 manent pecuniary success : after four volumes 
 had been issued the price was raised from three- 
 pence to sixpence, and on the completion of 
 two more volumes the publication was discon- 
 tinued. It rendered good service, nevertheless, 
 during the early critical period of the work, and 
 was the means to some extent of giving it a 
 wider publicity, and of assisting in the extension 
 of knowledge. 
 
•\ 
 
 82 SPREAD OF MOVEMENT. 
 
 We have now taken a glance at the progress 
 made by the London Mechanics' Institution in a 
 brief period of two years, during which it had 
 continually to encounter bitter and unscrupulous 
 opposition. But great as was the success here 
 attained, the growth of the popular education 
 movement during this time, and the labours of 
 Dr. Birkbeck in connection with it, will be 
 very inadequately apprehended without a more 
 extended survey. 
 
 For it is one of the most noteworthy character- 
 istics of the new organisation that it speedily 
 became the progenitor of numerous other 
 Institutions in all parts of the United Kingdom. 
 In strict point of time, it is true, the honour of 
 being first in the field can be claimed by the 
 Glasgow mechanics. Their action, however, as we 
 have seen, was the outcome of Dr. Birkbeck's 
 labours ; and the scheme did not attract public 
 attention, or give rise to general practical results, 
 until London had led the way. For these 
 reasons, and from the fact that the metropolitan 
 Institution at once assumed gigantic proportions, 
 and became the inspirer and exemplar of all 
 that followed, it has generally been regarded, 
 not unjustly, as the parent of those athenaeums 
 
PROVINCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 83 
 
 which carry on the educational work long before 
 inaugurated by its worthy president. 
 
 In 1824 Institutions were established in 
 several of the large provincial towns, and by 
 the end of the following year they were to 
 be found scattered impartially throughout the 
 United Kingdom. The movement spread north 
 as far as Alnwick, Newcastle, Hexham, Durham, 
 Sunderland, and Kendal ; south, to Lewes, 
 Brighton, Reading, Portsmouth, the Isle of 
 Wight, Devonport, and Plymouth ; in the east 
 it embraced Hull, Louth, Norwich, Ipswich, and 
 Bury St. Edmunds; in the west, Lancaster, 
 Bolton, Liverpool, Manchester, Ashton, Stock- 
 port, Shrewsbury, Bristol, Bath, and Bridgewater; 
 and in the Yorkshire and midland districts it 
 enlisted Keighley, Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, 
 Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Sheffield, 
 Derby, Birmingham, and the Potteries. It 
 crossed the Irish channel, and found favour in 
 Dublin, Armagh and Cork ; and it extended 
 its influence in Scotland by taking in Inverness, 
 Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunbar, Hawick and Ayr. 
 The Institutions, we are told, " sprung up as if by 
 magic," "the whole country seemed moved by 
 one principle, and in a short time temples of 
 
 G 2 
 
84 SIR EDWARD BAINES. 
 
 science were reared in every corner of the 
 land." 
 
 The Institution founded at Leeds deserves 
 passing notice as having been mainly promoted 
 by that now veteran educational labourer, Sir 
 (then Mr.) EDWARD BAINES, the proprietor of 
 the Leeds Mercury, whose national services were 
 recognized about three years ago by the honour 
 of knighthood being conferred upon him at the 
 ripe age of eighty, on the occasion of the pre- 
 sentation to him of a testimonial of ^"3,000 
 raised by public subscription, which was devoted 
 by him to educational purposes principally in the 
 form of scholarships. In his speech on the occa- 
 sion he remarked that it was a crisis in his life 
 when, having heard of the strange novelty of 
 teaching science to mere mechanics, he went to 
 hear Dr. Birkbeck in an old chapel near Falcon 
 Square, London, and found him, with his old 
 friend and fellow-student, Henry Brougham, by 
 his side, lecturing and experimenting before five 
 or six hundred " unwashed artificers." Mr. Baincs 
 left the lecture full of enthusiasm for the new 
 scheme, and laboured successfully in the good 
 cause, the Institution at Leeds being the first 
 outcome of his efforts. 
 
SUBURBAN INSTITUTIONS. 85 
 
 In the metropolitan suburban district alone 
 six further Institutions were established, in the 
 formation of most of which Dr. Birkbeck took 
 an active part. At Spitalfields he addressed 
 two meetings convened in March 1825, and 
 after dealing with the general question, sketched 
 the history of the silk manufactures, referring 
 to weavers who had become celebrated, and 
 explaining the economic principles relating to 
 the use of machinery. Of the Institution then 
 founded he became patron. In August he pre- 
 sided at a meeting when the Hackney Literary 
 and Mechanics' Institution was formed, his 
 speech on the occasion being " delivered with 
 much animation and emphasis, and loudly ap- 
 plauded throughout." At Deptford he gave an 
 elaborate and efficient address to the mechanics, 
 on the establishment of an Institution there in 
 October ; the following month he moved the 
 resolution in favour of the establishment of the 
 Rotherhithe and Bermondsey Institution ; and 
 in December he rendered a similar service in 
 connection with the Hammersmith, Kensington, 
 and Chiswick Institution. 
 
 The Doctor was also in frequent corre- 
 spondence with the promoters of the movement 
 
86 BROUGHAM'S PAMPHLET. 
 
 in the country, and assisted in this way in the 
 formation of the Institutions at Liverpool, 
 Portsmouth, and Bridgewater. He was further 
 prevailed upon to attend in person at the 
 opening meeting of the Brighton Institution, 
 when he gave an eloquent and practical address. 
 At the formation of the Hull Institution, re- 
 ference was made to the lectures delivered by 
 him in that town more than twenty years 
 previously ; and with the Glasgow mechanics, 
 as already indicated, he continued to be identi- 
 fied as patron of their Institution. 
 
 Brougham assisted in the good work by the 
 publication of a pamphlet entitled " Practical 
 Observations upon the Education of the People, 
 addressed to the Working Classes and their 
 Employers." It was dedicated to Dr. Birkbeck, 
 and was stated to be published chiefly in de- 
 ference to his opinion. As a matter of course, 
 it contained a review of his labours, whilst 
 stating that to him " the people of this island 
 owe a debt of gratitude, the extent of which it 
 would not be easy, perhaps in the present age 
 not possible, to describe." 
 
 Two other educational societies, of a somewhat 
 higher grade, also emanated from the estab- 
 
HIGHER GRADE SOCIETIES. 87 
 
 lishment at Southampton Buildings ; namely 
 the City of London Literary and Scientific 
 Institution, formed in March 1825 ; and the 
 Western Literary and Scientific Institution, 
 established in November of the same year. 
 Their object was the " diffusion of useful know- 
 ledge amongst persons engaged in commercial 
 and professional pursuits " by means of libraries, 
 reading-rooms, classes, and lectures on literary 
 scientific and philosophical subjects. Of the 
 latter Institution the poet Campbell became 
 president, Dr. Birkbeck and Place taking an 
 active part in the formation. The subscription 
 was fixed at £2 per annum. 
 
 But although the new educational measures 
 were extensively adopted, they were not always 
 received with favour, being destined to frequently 
 experience opposition both from press and 
 platform. The difficulties which the parent 
 Institution encountered were to some extent 
 shared by many of its offspring, and as the 
 system spread, it drew forth the increased 
 hostility of certain schools of thought. 
 
 At the meeting for the establishment of the 
 Rotherhithe Institution disorderly opposition 
 
88 GENERAL ANTAGONISM. 
 
 was manifested, and an amendment proposed in 
 a speech wherein it was alleged that the mechanic 
 would be unfitted for his occupations, and that 
 ambition, excitement and insubordination were 
 always the consequences of a train of scholastic 
 education. At Armagh the Institutions were 
 denounced on the ground that they were likely 
 to produce an " agrarian law of intellect " — what- 
 ever that might be — and were fraught with 
 danger to the state ; whilst a clergyman, whose 
 zeal seems equal to his ignorance, expressed his 
 fears that the mechanics would not have time to 
 say their prayers if they became scientific. 
 Another reverend gentleman was so alarmed at 
 the idea of the common people acquiring a 
 knowledge of science that he was moved to 
 publish a philippic against the establishment of 
 the Institutions, in which the usual hollow argu- 
 ments were brought forward. The John Bull 
 newspaper, inflamed by party rancour, made a 
 similar attack of a violent nature, apparently 
 with the view of venting its spleen against that 
 " squalid hypocrite, Squire Brougham." Lord 
 Grosvenor — the father of the present liberal- 
 minded Duke of Westminster — in a conversation 
 with Place, recorded by the latter, expressed his 
 
FUTILITY OF OPPOSITION. 89 
 
 apprehension that the education of the people 
 would make them discontented with the govern- 
 ment, and considered the upper classes must 
 take care of themselves ; and another sage 
 individual, writing presumably in the interests 
 of those his lordship considered so far beneath 
 him, remarked that the diffusion of knowledge 
 amongst the mechanics would make a glut of 
 good workmen, and the artificer would receive 
 less wages instead of more. The clergymen of 
 the Established Church generally exhibited the 
 most uncompromising hostility ; and although 
 this was of slight avail in the metropolis, their 
 influence in the smaller provincial towns was to 
 some extent successfully exerted in the cause of 
 ignorance. 
 
 The opposition, however, which was offered to 
 the extension of education was in the main 
 merely the usual frantic protest of an inequitable 
 but happily moribund monopoly. It was deter- 
 mined to die hard, but die it must. The fatal 
 blow had been struck ; the era of the limited 
 reign of science was passing away ; and all the 
 panic cries of " vested interests " were powerless 
 to prolong it. Not only did the movement 
 spread throughout the United Kingdom, in 
 
90 THE MOVEMENT IN FRANCE. 
 
 the manner we have already seen ; but the spirit 
 of the enterprise was caught upon the breeze, 
 and wafted across the seas and oceans. Alike 
 from our French neighbours and our American 
 cousins inquiries came, and by them too were 
 educational Institutions founded. 
 
 The history of this, for once peaceful, revolu- 
 tion in FRANCE is especially noteworthy and 
 interesting, on account of its being the direct 
 result of Dr. Birkbeck's educational labours. 
 
 In the early part of the century, while he 
 was lecturer at the Andersonian Institution, a 
 professor of the Paris Lyceum spent a few days 
 with him in Glasgow, and was present at one of 
 the meetings of the Mechanics' Class. The sight 
 was so gratifying to the professor that he brought 
 the matter under the notice of Napoleon, with 
 a view to the adoption of similar measures in 
 France ; but political events proved an obstacle 
 to any practical steps being taken. Some 
 fifteen years afterwards, however, a celebrated 
 member of the Institute and of the Academy 
 of Sciences, Baron Charles DuPiN,a man who 
 had acquired great practical knowledge in the 
 course of many years spent in workshops and 
 
BARON DUPIN. 91 
 
 manufactories, visited Glasgow, where his atten- 
 tion was attracted by the educational work of 
 the Andersonian Institution. A few years later, 
 in 1824, he once more crossed the channel, and 
 found what rapid progress the movement had 
 made. He fully acquainted himself with the 
 details of the scheme; and on his return to 
 his native country, formed a plan for the 
 scientific instruction of the artisans of Paris, 
 delivering in November of the same year a 
 powerful address at the Conservatoire des Arts 
 et Metiers. In the course of his remarks he 
 sketched the history of the labours of " the 
 learned Scotch professor ", quoting at length his 
 original prospectus, and alluding to him as the 
 individual to whom Great Britain was indebted 
 for the extension of scientific instruction to the 
 working classes. England, he considered, was 
 at a remarkable epoch, which had prepared for 
 her a destiny new and more magnificent than 
 all her prosperity had hitherto obtained. The 
 whole industrial class was awakened to a new 
 existence, and had been snatched from routine 
 and withdrawn from ignorance. His desire was 
 that the French artisans should enjoy the same 
 benefits ; and in furtherance of this object he 
 
92 PROGRESS IN FRANCE. 
 
 delivered to large audiences a course of lectures 
 on geometry and mechanics applied to the arts 
 and manufactures. 
 
 His efforts were countenanced and aided by 
 the Government and were eminently successful. 
 More than five hundred members of the working- 
 classes attended his lectures, and at the end of a 
 year a system of similar gratuitous instruction 
 had been established in nearly sixty of the large 
 towns, including Marseilles, Bordeaux, Rouen, 
 Nantes, Havre, Caen, Dunkerque, Bayonne, Brest, 
 Toulon, Lorient, and Cherbourg ; at all of 
 which, by the direction of the authorities at 
 Paris, lectures were given by the resident 
 professors of hydrography. 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck, commenting shortly afterwards 
 on this enormous spread of popular education, 
 indicated that Great Britain might appear to 
 have been outstripped in its career of improve- 
 ment by her active and ingenious neighbours; 
 but at the same time pointed out that not one 
 name in connection with the Government of this 
 country, the splendid name of Huskisson alone 
 excepted, had lent its influence to accelerate the 
 progress of Mechanics' Institutions, whereas in 
 France public functionaries of every description, 
 
EXTENSION TO AMERICA. 93 
 
 local and general, had vied with each other in 
 extending this intellectual impulse. 
 
 America likewise, as has been indicated, 
 adopted similar educational measures. A 
 "Mechanics' Scientific Institution " had already- 
 been established in New York ; but it was from 
 the example set in England that the movement 
 received a decided impetus. 
 
 In June 1824 the committee of the parent 
 Institution were favoured with a letter from 
 Philadelphia, announcing the formation of the 
 Franklin Institute there on similar principles, 
 and desiring information upon various matters, 
 which, of course, was promptly supplied. A 
 year later, Dr. Birkbeck received from Dr. 
 Webster, of the Harvard University, a commu- 
 nication as to the establishment of Institutions 
 in Boston, the letter being as follows : — 
 
 "Boston, United States, April 11, 1825. 
 
 " Sir, — The great interest you are known to have 
 taken in promoting Institutions for the instruction of 
 mechanics, induces me, a stranger, thus to obtrude 
 myself upon you. 
 
 " Convinced that similar Institutions may be of un- 
 speakable benefit to the mechanics of this city, I have 
 for some time been exerting myself to obtain all the 
 
94 HOLLAND REACHED. 
 
 information I can in regard to those in Europe, and 
 have ventured to request of you any information you 
 may feel disposed to afford. Should there be any 
 pamphlet or set of regulations, they would be 
 peculiarly acceptable. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 " To Dr. Birkbeck." " J- w - Webster." 
 
 The request contained in the letter was at 
 once complied with. Copies of the rules, of 
 Brougham's pamphlet, and of the first volume 
 of the Mechanics' Register were forwarded to 
 Dr. Webster ; and in a short time Boston had 
 its Mechanics' Institute. 
 
 Holland, also, soon came under the influence 
 of the movement. Speaking shortly after this, 
 the King of the Netherlands remarked that 
 public instruction was becoming more and more 
 adequate to the wants of society, and that in 
 some towns a beginning had been made to give 
 to the working classes scientific instruction, with 
 a view to increase their practical knowledge. 
 
 And so we find that the good seed had taken 
 root in foreign as well as British soil, and that 
 the labours of Dr. Birkbeck already gave indica- 
 tions of world-wide results. 
 
FIRST LONDON UNIVERSITY. 95 
 
 But the impetus which was given to education 
 was not confined to the artisan class ; and it is 
 highly gratifying to note that another beneficial 
 establishment for imparting knowledge, which 
 was formed about this time, can in its origin be 
 distinctly connected with the foundation of 
 Mechanics' Institutions. This was no less 
 important an organization than the LONDON 
 University, renamed University College, 
 on receiving a charter in 1836, at the same 
 time that, by another charter, the present 
 University itself was established. The object 
 of the organization was stated as being to bring 
 the means of a complete scientific and literary 
 education home to the doors of the inhabitants 
 of the metropolis, so that they might be enabled 
 to educate their sons at a very moderate expense, 
 and under their own immediate and constant 
 superintendence. 
 
 At the meeting which was held in July 1825 
 for the purpose of taking the matter into con- 
 sideration, Dr. Birkbeck, who was one of the 
 provisional committee, supported the resolutions ; 
 and he was afterwards elected on the permanent 
 council. Brougham also took a most active part 
 in the scheme, and with other speakers based its 
 
96 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. 
 
 necessity on the fact that scientific and literary 
 knowledge was at length being disseminated 
 among the people. "When the progress" he 
 said "of the Mechanics' Institution was con- 
 sidered, and the progress that was made by the 
 •lower classes all over the kingdom estimated, 
 it occurred to his friends that unless some 
 advance was made by those who were called 
 the superior classes, they would not much longer 
 continue superior. To find their carpenters, their 
 bricklayers, and their shoemakers, with greater 
 knowledge than they possessed themselves, would 
 be a strange and dangerous solecism." 
 
 And thus it came to pass that whilst the 
 artisans and others in the humble walks of life 
 were being lifted from their ignorant condition, 
 facilities were afforded to the middle and 
 upper classes of society of attaining the higher 
 branches of knowledge. 
 
 There remain for brief reference a few other 
 measures with which Dr. Birkbeck was asso- 
 ciated during the period covered by the present 
 chapter. 
 
 His connection with the London Institution in 
 Moorfields from the time of its formation, and 
 
LECTURES AND APPOINTMENTS. 97 
 
 some of the addresses which he delivered there, 
 have already been referred to ; and it need only 
 be added at this portion of the narrative, that 
 in May 1824 he gave to the members a course 
 of four lectures on magnetism and electro- 
 magnetism. 
 
 Early in 1825 he was elected one of the vice- 
 presidents of the Surrey Literary Institution, 
 which assembled at Camberwell, and of which 
 he became one of the active supporters. It was 
 a proprietary association, established to provide 
 a subscription library of philosophical, historical 
 and classical works, and a reading-room supplied 
 with newspapers and periodicals, lectures also 
 forming one of the features. 
 
 In March of the same year he became presi- 
 dent of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of 
 London, having previously served as vice-presi- 
 dent, and having for many years been a member 
 of the council. 
 
 In May he presided at the first general meeting 
 of the London Friendly Institution of Mechanics 
 and Artisans, which had been established on life 
 insurance principles to enable the labouring 
 classes to provide themselves with medical 
 attendance and a weekly allowance in illness, 
 
 H 
 
98 GENERAL LABOURS. 
 
 and to secure the payment of a sum of money 
 at death. 
 
 The same month he spoke at considerable 
 length at a meeting of the Society for Super- 
 seding the Necessity of Employing Climbing 
 Boys, and exerted his influence to obtain the 
 introduction of mechanical appliances for sweep- 
 ing chimneys, and thus to rescue the unfortunate 
 children from the barbarous drudgery and cruelty 
 which had so long been imposed upon them. 
 
 That he was at all times greatly interested in 
 scientific discoveries and improvements, will be 
 readily believed. 
 
 In January 1825 some new rotary sculls, 
 invented by John Swan, for facilitating the 
 locomotion of barges excited his attention, and 
 he addressed a long letter on the subject to 
 the Mechanics' Register. 
 
 In May of the same year he gave publicity to 
 an improved mariner's compass, combining the 
 advantages of the dipping-needle with those of 
 the ordinary compass, and was the means of 
 making its merits widely known. He also 
 corresponded with the inventor, William Pope, 
 and added his testimony to the merits of the 
 invention. 
 
INTEREST IN DISCOVERIES. 99 
 
 In August he devoted considerable attention 
 to the investigation of a new method of applying 
 steam to the purposes of combustion, by which 
 the evolution of heat was increased, and gave 
 some prominence to the subject. The discovery, 
 made by Richard Evans, proceeded from the 
 desire to meet a growing demand for coffee 
 roasted by a new process, which the Doctor 
 had also some eighteen months before inspected 
 and approved, and which under his advice had 
 been patented. 
 
 In September he brought under public notice 
 a patent taken out by Henry Burnett for 
 improvements in machinery by a new rotatory 
 or endless lever action, applicable alike to the 
 steam-engine and the most delicate mechanism. 
 Amongst other results, it enabled clocks to be 
 made which required winding only once a year ; 
 and one of these clocks was exhibited and ex- 
 plained by the Doctor in a lecture which he 
 delivered to the mechanics. 
 
 Shortly afterwards he called attention to a 
 new life-belt for use at sea, which he had seen 
 tested whilst staying at Brighton. It was in- 
 vented by a Mr. Scheffer, and the (then) novelty 
 consisted in the preserver being filled simply 
 
 H 2 
 
CONSTANT ACTIVITY. 
 
 with air, whereby it was rendered more buoyant 
 than the cork belts hitherto alone in vogue, 
 whilst it possessed the advantage of perfect 
 portability. 
 
 A detailed account of these various schemes 
 and appliances would be uninteresting at this 
 distance of time ; and in any case would be 
 foreign to the purpose of this memoir. Suffi- 
 cient notice of them has been given to show 
 that Dr. Birkbeck was ever on the alert to 
 promote the advancement of science, and assist 
 in objects for enhancing the welfare of his fellow 
 creatures. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 BY EVIL REPORT AND GOOD REPORT. 
 1826— 1830. 
 
 THE early history of Mechanics' Institutions 
 has been dwelt upon at considerable 
 length, both because they inaugurated an im- 
 portant era in the popular education move- 
 ment, and because the narrative affords a key 
 to Dr. Birkbeck's life-work. 
 
 The further development of this movement, 
 however, and the remainder of the career of its 
 pioneer, need not be so fully detailed ; and 
 indeed, if so treated, would be somewhat weary- 
 ing, since but little novelty can be imparted to 
 it. Henceforth his public work chiefly consisted 
 in sustaining and extending the means of useful- 
 ness he had called into being, and the means 
 themselves, whilst becoming more widely 
 adopted, presented but few additional charac- 
 teristics. The history, therefore, can now take 
 more rapid strides, and be chronicled in a more 
 general form ; the object being to exhibit simply 
 
102' THE PAR&NT INSTITUTION. 
 
 the salient and noteworthy features of the intel- 
 lectual campaign, not omitting to notice the 
 hinderances and checks it received, and the 
 manner in which it was assisted by our zealous 
 and indefatigable philanthropist 
 
 During the next few years the routine of the 
 parent Institution appears to have undergone 
 but little change. The classes and lectures were 
 continued, additions to and variations in the 
 programme being made from time to time. 
 Professor Millington, who was always a faithful 
 and welcome friend, delivered some valuable 
 courses on mechanics, pneumatics, hydrostatics, 
 hydraulics and the application of mechanical 
 science; and amongst the new subjects of a 
 scientific character may be mentioned geology, 
 mineralogy, metallurgy, combustion, elasticity, 
 the laws of motion of falling bodies, the general 
 properties of matter, the chemical properties of 
 the atmosphere, aerostation, and mensuration. 
 In the more general department, lectures were 
 given on the classification of human knowledge, 
 the structure of invertebrate animals, the stability 
 of floating bodies, the strength and stress of 
 building materials, stereometry, pumps, archi- 
 
PRESIDENT'S LECTURES. 103 
 
 tecture, meteorites, the history of the world, the 
 antiquities of Greece, Rome, and Britain respec- 
 tively, Latin, jurisprudence, friendly societies, 
 savings banks, the mind, imagination, prejudices, 
 and eloquence. 
 
 The president's activity continued undi- 
 minished, and he made known to the members 
 the wonders of the steam-engine, explained the 
 process of weaving and the principles of the 
 power-loom, described the process of paper- 
 making, descanted upon such felicitous themes 
 as mummies and the ancient and modern 
 method of preserving animal substances, imparted 
 information as to the construction of chimneys, 
 and, in particular, delivered three highly interest- 
 ing and instructive courses upon some modern 
 mechanical inventions, the application of animal 
 power, and the structure and functions of the 
 human body, the last being copiously illustrated 
 and listened to throughout by crowded audiences. 
 Indeed, such intense appreciation did they call 
 forth that the concluding lecture evoked the 
 following commentary from the reporter : — 
 
 " It is almost superfluous to add that the worthy 
 lecturer, as he withdrew from the theatre, was greeted 
 by the enthusiastic cheers of the thronged assembly ; 
 
104 ACCIDENT TO ROOF. 
 
 and that the members seemed to vie with each other in 
 their expressions of applause and of gratitude to their 
 esteemed president for the high treat which he had 
 afforded them by his lucid illustration of a science, 
 hitherto supposed to possess no attractions for the 
 class of society constituting the great majority of the 
 audience. During the whole of the lectures which 
 have been delivered, the eagerness of the members to 
 acquire a knowledge of the beautiful mechanism of 
 the human body has appeared rather to increase than 
 diminish; and perhaps no course of lectures ever 
 afforded more general satisfaction, or more amply 
 realised the warmest anticipations of those to whom 
 they were addressed." 
 
 An unfortunate accident in 1827, the result of 
 gross carelessness or negligence, cost the Insti- 
 tution some £300. The roof of the new theatre 
 was found to be in a sinking condition, owing to 
 the girders having been inefficiently trussed, and 
 to the abutment-pieces proving inadequate. It 
 was not very clear with whom the blame lay, 
 save that the building committee of thirty-six 
 persons, who had been chosen from the mechanics, 
 were generally responsible; thus illustrating the 
 homely proverb that " too many cooks spoil 
 the broth," rather than the more refined and 
 ancient one that " in the multitude of coun- 
 sellors there is safety." 
 
FLUCTUATING ATTENDANCE. 105 
 
 This proved a severe tax upon the Institution, 
 which was endeavouring to diminish its large 
 debt ; and with that view had recently raised 
 the amount of the subscription from five to six 
 shillings per quarter and imposed an entrance 
 fee of half-a-crown. 
 
 The policy of this step may be doubted. At 
 any rate, it — especially the entrance fee — had 
 the effect, as might have been anticipated, of 
 diminishing the number of the members ; or per- 
 haps it should be stated that it contributed to 
 that result, for the period was one of great distress 
 and stagnation. In 1826 the average had been 
 1,470, the following year it fell to 1,200, and 
 the next to 1,100; and at one time, during the 
 height of the distress, it became as low as 950. 
 It is really matter for surprise, however, that 
 when the novelty had worn off it should have 
 gone no lower ; and as it rose again to over 
 1,100 no anxiety was experienced. 
 
 The members were naturally anxious that their 
 pecuniary debt to the Doctor should be more 
 rapidly liquidated, but it was obvious that this 
 must be a work of time ; and he himself assured 
 them that he could safely confide in their honour, 
 and that if he knew he should not live to see the 
 
106 ATTACKS ON COMMITTEE. 
 
 amount repaid, he should never feel any discon- 
 tent or anxiety. He likewise stated that he had 
 never contemplated holding the office of presi- 
 dent in perpetuity, and hoped the members would 
 consider themselves fully acquitted of any 
 obligation to him, and at perfect liberty to 
 exercise their own judgment — a freedom of 
 which they availed themselves by unanimously 
 re-electing him every year. 
 
 Another unfortunate episode occurred. With 
 a laudable desire to make the Institution as self- 
 supporting as possible, the committee, who 
 seemed doomed to attacks both from without 
 and within, incurred some amount of odium by 
 letting the theatre for Sunday meetings which 
 were characterised as " radical and infidel " in 
 their character. It had been one of the funda- 
 mental principles of the Institution that while 
 its advantages were open to all, without distinc- 
 tion of religious or political creeds, with a view 
 to preserve this catholicity discussion respecting 
 such creeds should be strictly forbidden ; and the 
 Duke of Sussex had on one occasion warned 
 the mechanics against debating political or 
 theological subjects. The action of the com- 
 mittee was no infringement of this rule, but 
 
OBNOXIOUS SECTS. 107 
 
 doubtless it would have been wise to avoid 
 laying the organization open to the charge, 
 however unfounded, of being instrumental in 
 promoting party views ; especially as some of 
 the members appear to have been desirous of 
 imparting to the Institution a political char- 
 acter. This attempt was happily frustrated ; 
 but much mischief seems to have been caused 
 by allowing the " Cobbettites/' the " Owenites," 
 the " Huntites," and the disciples of Carlile and 
 Taylor to assemble on the Sunday. A stormy 
 discussion ensued, the obnoxious sects were 
 stigmatised as " Church and state tinkers " ; and 
 in the result a motion was carried by a large 
 majority recommending the discontinuance of 
 the practice of letting the hall for the pur- 
 poses in question. The committee had evi- 
 dently been actuated by the best of motives, 
 but there seems little reason to doubt that 
 injury was done to the Institution. 
 
 It was not to be supposed that the attacks 
 which had been made by some of the press 
 organs in the early days of the Institution, 
 when everything was progressing satisfactorily, 
 should be discontinued now that there was a fair 
 
108 SQUIB IN THE IOHN BULL. 
 
 pretext for criticism. The episode of the roof 
 called forth, amidst other adverse notices, the 
 following squib from \h& John Bull : — . 
 
 " Brickbat and his Whistle. — A whistb is a 
 fine plaything ; but, as Dr. Franklin long ago taught 
 us, we may pay too dearly for it. We fear this is the 
 case with Dr. Brickbat. Intoxicated with the praises 
 of Brougham, and of a radical royal Duke, he advanced 
 no less than ^3,000 of his money to assist to build a 
 lecture-room for the mechanics ; but such has been 
 the skill and honesty with which it has been laid out, 
 that about ^2,500, at least, is a dead loss j and a 
 crazy-roofed edifice has been the result. Dr. Brick- 
 bat's principal would scarcely fetch ^500 at an 
 auction, on such a security ; and so poor is the Insti- 
 tution that they are unable to pay his interest. It 
 may be very flattering to him to exhibit himself there 
 to greasy mechanics ; but, as Franklin says, it is 
 paying too dear for his whistle." 
 
 It was a pity for the credit of the paper that 
 this attempt at smart writing should contain 
 nothing but a tissue of falsehoods. There might 
 have been some force in it, if it had happened to 
 be true, but as almost every line contained a 
 gross inaccuracy or exaggeration, it probably 
 caused more amusement than consternation. 
 Whether the " greasy mechanics " pelted the 
 editor with "brickbats ", as one might almost feel 
 he deserved, has not been recorded. 
 
ANOTHER SATIRE. 109 
 
 A somewhat more witty but equally extrava- 
 gant satire appeared shortly afterwards in the 
 same paper. It resorted to the well known 
 device of giving a little drama ; scene, the house 
 of the Duke of Bedford ; time, 1926. The Lady 
 Elizabeth was occupied in making the beds, the 
 females whom, were it not contrary to law, the 
 Duke would call " housemaids " having gone on 
 a sketching tour. The breakfast things had not 
 been removed, as the Lady Maria who had gone 
 to the " assistants' drawing-room " to give the 
 necessary instructions, had been requested to 
 remain to sing to the said assistants. " The 
 young person who was good enough to look after 
 the horses " was having a dispute with the "lady 
 who assisted in dressing the dinner" as to 
 whether it was necessary to say " check to the 
 queen " when the queen was in danger. Duggins 
 — presumably the footman — had been elected 
 for Westminster, and had gone down to the 
 House (there was but one) having told the 
 "gentleman who cleaned the plate" that he 
 could not be back to attend at dinner, however 
 consonant with his wishes, because he had pro- 
 mised to wait for the division. Lord John Russell 
 appears, hot and tired, with a large parcel under 
 
no DIVERSIFIED PUBLIC OPINION. 
 
 his arm which he has just brought from his 
 tailor's, and announces that the coachman has 
 gone to the Society of Arts to hear a lecture 
 on astronomy. General consternation ensues, 
 and the denouement comes in the shape of a 
 revolt in the stables, and the determination ot 
 the family to quit the country. 
 
 The diversified public sentiment which pre- 
 vailed is well described in an article that 
 appeared in a Liverpool paper, from which an 
 extract' is appended. 
 
 " Whilst the general diffusion of knowledge is 
 regarded by one party as the only means of effecting 
 any real and permanent improvement in the condition 
 of mankind, it is denounced by the other as a most 
 mischievous machine, fitted for the destruction of 
 morality and religion and for the subversion of all the 
 settled relations of society. A third party takes a 
 more moderate view; and, neither anticipating the 
 benefits promised by the former, nor fearing the 
 dangers apprehended by the latter, considers know- 
 ledge a useless if not a troublesome appendage to 
 one whose livelihood depends on manual labour ; and 
 moreover affects to feel a concern for the inconveni- 
 ence which the possession of it will entail upon him." 
 
 The Mechanics Magazine, or rather its editor, 
 
 Mr. Robertson, continued as a matter of course 
 
 to favour the Institution with advice and 
 
 censure. 
 
THE MECHANICS' MAGAZINE AGAIN. Ill 
 
 The preface to its fifth volume contained a 
 bitter complaint by its publishers, Messrs. 
 Knight and Lacey, who had been recently made 
 bankrupts, that they were practically ruined 
 through Robertson's instrumentality, and in 
 particular by his rancorous and unreasonable 
 disposition, which had led him to quarrel with 
 Dr. Birkbeck and other intelligent public- 
 spirited gentlemen who took an interest in the 
 London Mechanics' Institution, and by which 
 the hope they had cherished of mutual co- 
 operation in the cause of science had been 
 destroyed. They further complained that he 
 had issued pamphlets with a view to injure them 
 and had attempted at the meetings to influence 
 their creditors against them, but stated this 
 had only succeeded in calling forth honest in- 
 dignation and in accelerating their obtaining 
 their certificate. Place, however, does not 
 exonerate the publishers themselves from blame. 
 
 The magazine was carried on for a short 
 time, presumably for the benefit of the creditors ; 
 and Robertson appears likewise to have con- 
 tinued it, with the result that there was a double 
 issue during a portion of one of the volumes. 
 Ultimately it came under his entire control ; 
 
H2 ROBERTSON'S RENEWED ATTACKS. 
 
 and although his attacks on the Institution were 
 disregarded, he continued them year after year 
 upon the slightest pretext, every opportunity 
 being seized for indulging in a sneer or a rebuke. 
 The gravamen of the charge seems to have 
 been that it had become the custom, when 
 referring to Dr. Birkbeck at the anniversary- 
 gatherings and elsewhere, to allude to him 
 as the founder of the Institution — an honour 
 which Mr. Robertson was disposed to arrogate 
 to himself. The point was scarcely worth a 
 moment's discussion, nor can the services of the 
 two men be placed in the slightest comparison. 
 The' history of the formation has been given ; 
 and it is no doubt true that the original pro- 
 posal issued from the pen of Robertson. That 
 proposal, however, was the outcome of the 
 action of the Glasgow mechanics, which action 
 was traceable distinctly to the early labours of 
 the Doctor ; whilst the latter by immediately 
 coming forward to assist in the scheme he had 
 for some time been contemplating, by presiding 
 at the preliminary meetings, by subsequently 
 becoming president of the Institution, and last 
 but not least by advancing the necessary funds 
 for the erection of the building, had certainly 
 
PLACE'S COMMENTS. 113 
 
 become so identified with the movement that 
 few would have gainsaid the claim which was 
 made for him by others — not by himself — of 
 being considered the founder of the Mechanics' 
 Institution. Place, indeed, if anybody, had a 
 right equal to if not greater than Robertson to 
 occupy the position taken up by the latter ; but 
 as his services were of an unostentatious character 
 no one seems to have thought of regarding him 
 as the founder. It is, perhaps, not without some 
 little jealousy he remarks, that whilst no oppor- 
 tunity was lost by Robertson and Hodgskin to 
 claim the merit of having originated and mainly 
 assisted to establish the Institution, there could 
 have been no Institution if nothing had been 
 done but what they did, and that in fact they 
 did nothing but mischief. 
 
 Robertson, however, was by no means disposed 
 that his readers should forget the part he origin- 
 ally played ; and as often as any reference to 
 Dr. Birkbeck was made, the well-worn tale was 
 dished up, spiced with vituperation. Criticisms 
 were also continued on the system of gratuitous 
 lectures, which to some extent prevailed, and a 
 long correspondence was inserted on the subject. 
 A complaint was further made as to there being 
 
114 THE PRESIDENT'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 two boys on the committee, although it turned 
 out on inquiry that they were boys of the larger 
 growth ; and the boasted success of the organiza- 
 tion was eloquently described as " all fudge." 
 
 However, the Institution having happily sur- 
 vived the early antagonism of its foes and rene- 
 gade friends, was not likely to succumb to their 
 later onslaughts ; although undoubtedly, from 
 the circumstances which have already been 
 mentioned, it underwent a period of somewhat 
 diminishing prestige. 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck, who possessed an exceedingly 
 placable temper, appears throughout, save on 
 one occasion, to have taken no notice of the 
 repeated attacks ; and probably their bitterness 
 and venom were greatly due to the fact that he 
 continued to treat them with silent contempt. 
 Presiding at the sixth anniversary meeting, he 
 said the friends of the diffusion of knowledge 
 would hail with exultation and delight the 
 prosperous existence of the Institution, which 
 had passed through six years of perils and 
 evil-prophesyings, and had inflexibly adhered 
 throughout its triumphant career to the great 
 educational purposes for which it was at its 
 
CRITICISM AND SUPPORT. 
 
 commencement unreservedly announced to be 
 founded ; and that the only imputation of 
 departure from it had grown out of the letting 
 of its theatre as a measure of finance to a 
 society obnoxious to many persons by its 
 title, its object and its affairs. Robertson's 
 comments upon this were that the exultation 
 of Dr. Birkbeck was to be easily accounted 
 for and easily excused. It was the make- 
 belief shift of a man in a state of desperation. 
 His reputation, in as far as it was connected 
 with the cause of popular instruction, and a 
 sum of between .£3,000 and £4,000 which he 
 had lent to the Institution, were both at stake. 
 And later on the magazine kindly suggested 
 that " it would have been far better if Dr. 
 Birkbeck had continued to doze on in pill- 
 prescribing obscurity, and never meddle more 
 with Mechanics' Institutions." 
 
 These continued attacks were counterbalanced 
 by the steadfast assistance of Dr. Birkbeck's 
 early co-adjutors. The Duke of Sussex remained 
 steadfast to the cause, and presided at some of 
 the anniversary assemblies. Brougham proved 
 a constant friend ; and the Register of Arts and 
 Sciences, a weekly magazine, gave frequent 
 
 I 2 
 
u6 PRIZES. FEMALE EDUCATION. 
 
 reports of the lectures and proceedings. Prizes 
 were offered for the encouragement of the 
 students, the Rev. Mr. Fellowes in particular 
 establishing two annually of £\o each, one for 
 the best essay and the other for the best inven- 
 tion. The results were highly satisfactory, and 
 one of the essays on the subject of the lever 
 called forth the warmest eulogiums of the 
 Doctor, and was deemed worthy of publication — 
 first in the pages of the magazine just referred 
 to, and afterwards as a separate pamphlet. A 
 workshop, fitted with lathes and tools of every 
 description, was opened for the use of the mem- 
 bers who were practically inclined, and proved a 
 valuable acquisition. 
 
 In 1830 a resolution was passed enabling 
 females to avail themselves of the benefits 
 of the Institution — a progressive measure which 
 called forth the sneers of a contributor to 
 the Mechanics Magazine, who suggested that 
 it was now necessary to have a class for getting 
 up linen and chronicling small beer. Happily 
 the principle that sex should be no barrier to 
 education is now so fully recognised, that the 
 taunt seems indicative of the lowest depth of 
 ignorance ; but it is gratifying to note that 
 
NEW INSTITUTIONS, 117 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck's Institution was almost the first 
 to appreciate and act upon the principle. 
 
 The provincial Institutions continued to 
 multiply and to cany on the good work through- 
 out the country. It was not of course to be 
 expected that they should increase so rapidly 
 as in their early days. Novelty had largely 
 given the impetus ; and there was not the same 
 scope for its continuance. Nor is it surprising 
 some of the organisations should in time have 
 fallen into decay, when familiarity had robbed 
 them of part of their attractions It needs 
 not, however, to say to those living in the present 
 day that the movement on the whole was 
 characterised by progress, and that education 
 once in the hands of the people was never again 
 to be taken from them. 
 
 In the metropolis new Institutions were 
 founded at Poplar and Southwark, Dr. Birkbeck 
 as a matter of course being in request to assist 
 in their formation. At the former the audience 
 proved so large that an adjournment had to be 
 made to the bowling-green, and the Institution 
 was established under novel circumstances. At 
 Southwark the meeting was stormy ; an amend- 
 
n8 THE- DOCTOR'S ADDRESSES. 
 
 ment was moved in the usual bigoted style, and 
 the motion opposed on the ground that it was 
 intended to give " the common people " accom- 
 plishments which ought to be exclusively 
 possessed by persons of high rank, and that as 
 the result the mechanics' constitution would be 
 debilitated, the aristocracy would have to sweep 
 the streets, society would be uprooted, the 
 Government overturned, and anarchy estab- 
 lished ! A dreadful forecast, which we must be 
 thankful has never been realized. 
 
 At Deptford a new lecture-room was opened, 
 the Doctor being present and addressing a 
 crowded meeting. He pointed out the nume- 
 rous advantages, both general and individual, 
 which had arisen from the establishment of the 
 Institutions, and stated he g had lately visited 
 many of them in different parts of the country 
 and found they were going on successfully, and 
 were strictly confining their proceedings to the 
 purposes for which they were founded, namely the 
 diffusion of knowledge amongst their members. 
 
 In 1830 the first Mechanics' Institution was 
 established in Wales, near Merthyr-Tydvil ; but 
 it was some time before much progress was made 
 in that part of the kingdom. 
 
UNIVERSITY COLLEGES. 119 
 
 The measure for promoting higher-class edu- 
 cation, to which reference has already been made, 
 was speedily brought to a successful issue. On 
 the 30th April 1827 the foundation stone of the 
 present University College was laid in Gower 
 Street by the Duke of Sussex, the names of the 
 members of the first council, including ".Georgius 
 Birkbeck ", being engraved on brass and de- 
 posited in the stone. The University was 
 formally opened on the 2nd October of the 
 following year. 
 
 Another scarcely less important and in many 
 respects similar scheme was, chiefly in a spirit 
 of rivalry, also successfully floated. The London 
 University had been largely promoted by liberal 
 politicians; and one of its features was a purely 
 secular curriculum. This aroused the conser- 
 vative and clerical party; the University was 
 described as a " God-excluding seminary", and a 
 meeting was held in June 1828 for the formation 
 of King's College and a charter obtained 
 the following year. It declares that instruction 
 in the doctrines and duties of Christianity, as 
 taught by the United Church of England and 
 Ireland, shall be for ever combined with other 
 branches of useful education ; and that no person, 
 
CHEAP LITE RAT UK E. 
 
 not a member of this Church, shall be competent 
 to act as governor, or (with certain few excep- 
 tions) be eligible for the council or any office. 
 The imposing building in the Strand, adjoining- 
 Somerset House, was shortly afterwards erected, 
 and the educational work commenced. 
 
 Other measures were taken to advance the 
 popular cause. The new movement had created 
 a demand for books, which were still very dear. 
 To meet this demand, THE SOCIETY FOR THE 
 Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was 
 established in 1826, under the presidency of 
 Lord Brougham, and instructive literature was 
 soon in the hands of the people. 
 
 The Society's works at first appeared in 
 sixpenny fortnightly numbers, and elementary 
 treatises were issued on various branches ot 
 knowledge ; the president prefacing them by a 
 " Discourse on the objects, advantages and plea- 
 sures of Science." Charles Knight superintended 
 the publications ; and in 1829 he produced his 
 " Library of Entertaining Knowledge", to which 
 George Lillie Craik contributed. John Murray 
 also aided in providing intellectual food for the 
 people. , 
 
SEVERE INDISPOSITION. 
 
 But we must return to Dr. Birkbeck himself. 
 Neither his professional engagements nor his 
 labours at the Institution were allowed to satisfy 
 his untiring energy; and although the latter 
 obtained the lion's share of his leisure, he con- 
 trived to take part in other educational measures 
 and in literary pursuits. 
 
 Unfortunately, though a physician, he was by 
 no means free from those ills to which flesh is 
 heir. In 1826 he had a long and severe indis- 
 position, which prevented him attending to his 
 ordinary duties and called forth the sympathy of 
 the mechanics. He seems to have been a victim 
 to the fashionable but distressing malady of 
 dyspepsia, arising in his case from inflammation 
 of the liver. The disease was aggravated by 
 injudicious treatment, his professional advisers 
 — for, in accordance with the somewhat general 
 practice of the medical faculty, he seems to 
 have abstained from prescribing for himself — 
 attributing the illness, not to hepatitis but to a 
 torpid condition ; and not until this erroneous 
 treatment had been persisted in for some time 
 was the true nature of the case discovered, and 
 recourse had to remedies which were eventually 
 the means of restoring him to health. 
 
1 22 TRANS LA riON OF D UPIN 'S BOOK . 
 
 In October 1826 he paid a visit to Cambridge 
 and its venerable University, and was delighted 
 at surveying the relics of Sir Isaac Newton. 
 While there he enjoyed the society of Sedgwick, 
 Whewell, Thirlwall and other distinguished 
 members of Trinity College, by whom he was 
 cordially welcomed. 
 
 In the year 1827 further substantial proof 
 was given by the president of his interest in the 
 Institution and the work of education by his 
 translating and adapting for use in England a 
 recently published work of his friend Baron 
 Dupin, entitled "Mathematics practically applied 
 to the useful and fine arts." 
 
 The book consisted of the course of lectures, 
 already referred to, which the Baron had de- 
 livered at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, 
 and was published by the Doctor for use in the 
 English Institutions, in view of nothing of the 
 kind having arisen to meet the new want. The 
 original publication had formed the basis of 
 the instruction given in the numerous towns 
 of France ; and it was thought the translation 
 might prove of equal service in England. The 
 views of the Doctor will be best gathered by 
 
EXTRACT FROM PREFACE. 
 
 an extract from the preface, in which, alluding 
 to the lectures, he says : — 
 
 " That they will require some adaptation to the 
 leading pursuits of the particular places into which 
 they may be introduced, by extending the discussion 
 to topics of considerable local interest, and curtailing 
 those which may have but slight connection with the 
 operations of the inhabitants, need not be questioned. 
 That they may, however, with the greatest advantage, 
 be made the text-books of the courses delivered in 
 this country, as well as in France, I have no hesitation 
 in asserting; and no one, I think, can doubt after 
 perusing the following lessons, that if they were illus- 
 trated and occasionally expanded with distinctness 
 and intelligence, although nothing whatever should be 
 done in the way of adaptation or improvement, many 
 important benefits must result to the attentive and 
 competent students. 
 
 " Where a professor, who is capable of preparing 
 for himself an elementary treatise, may undertake 
 courses of geometry and mechanics with a view to 
 their practical application, it is not my wish, or, I 
 venture confidently to believe, the wish of the eloquent 
 and patriotic author of this work, that he should be 
 compelled to servilely copy it, or indeed to do more 
 than select from it and make it his model, so far as his 
 approbation of its contents may render it desirable. . . . 
 
 " Whilst this species of public instruction continues 
 likely to extend through Great Britain, some minds of 
 adequate qualifications and powers may at length be 
 influenced to attempt an equally clear and still more 
 complete exposition of geometry to the arts than is 
 
124 FRANCE AND ENGLAND. 
 
 to be found in the following pages. That this has 
 yet been effected by any British author, no well- 
 informed or competent mathematician will venture to 
 
 assert In a nation, however, abounding with 
 
 successful cultivators of mathematical knowledge, and 
 with the most refined cultivators of the arts, both 
 useful and elegant — in which indeed many of them 
 have originated, and all of them have been improved — 
 appropriate scientific talents united with sufficient 
 practical skill may appear, and if my wishes be 
 answered soon will appear, to surpass and therefore 
 to supersede this work, which with every feeling of 
 satisfaction and confidence, I now offer to the accept- 
 ance, to the criticism, and to the competition of my 
 countrymen." 
 
 The book was extended to three hundred 
 pages crown octavo, was divided into fifteen 
 chapters or lessons, illustrated with fourteen 
 double sheets of elaborate plates, and seems to 
 have formed a very full and intelligible expo- 
 sition of the subjects with which it dealt. Its 
 career of usefulness in England was probably 
 not very long ; for the growing demands doubt- 
 less led to the Doctor's wish being speedily 
 fulfilled by an English author presenting for 
 English students a text-book which should 
 satisfy the want ; but it is gratifying to note 
 that France shared with England, through the 
 medium of Dr. Birkbeck, some portion of 
 
FURTHER LITERARY WORK. 125 
 
 the benefit she had derived from the adoption 
 of his educational measures, and that a spirit of 
 good will and reciprocity was thereby promoted. 
 
 The same year, 1827, Dr. Birkbeck embarked 
 in another literary enterprise, which however 
 was of short duration. He commenced, in con- 
 junction with Messrs. Henry and James Adcock, 
 two civil engineers, what was intended to be a 
 serial production, entitled " The Steam-Engine 
 theoretically and practically displayed." It was 
 a demy quarto publication, with clear bold 
 letter-press and elaborate and splendidly exe- 
 cuted steel engravings, designed to show the 
 most recent forms and applications of the 
 steam-engine, and to supply the deficiencies 
 and correct the inaccuracies of previous pro- 
 ductions. Its price however, six shillings per 
 number, although necessitated by the nature 
 of the work, proved too high for it to command 
 an adequate sale, and it was discontinued after 
 the second number. 
 
 In June of this year the Doctor presided at a 
 meeting convened for the purpose of considering 
 the state of the patent laws, and after com- 
 menting on the expense to inventors of obtain- 
 ing proper protection for their labours and the 
 
126 PORTRAIT IN MEZZOTINTO. 
 
 oppressive nature of the law, he moved that the 
 existing regulations for granting letters patent 
 for mechanical inventions and chemical dis- 
 coveries were ineffectual and oppressive — a 
 motion which was unanimously carried. Some 
 years, however, elapsed before any change was 
 effected in the law ; and, when made, the 
 alteration was not in the nature of a very 
 brilliant reform. 
 
 About this period of his career the mechanics' 
 illustrious friend appears to have been so far 
 recognised as public property as to have his 
 portrait engraved. It was taken from a painting 
 by Mr. Samuel Lane, and was executed by Mr. 
 Henry Dawe in mezzotinto, the result being 
 deemed highly creditable to both artists. The 
 picture previously painted for the Glasgow 
 Mechanics' Institution had been esteemed a good 
 portrait, but the present one was spoken of as 
 being in point of likeness highly superior and 
 strikingly life-like, so much so that it was 
 stated to be the u Doctor all over ; his head, 
 his features, his expression, his very manner 
 and attitude."* 
 
 * The portrait in the present volume is a reproduction of 
 this engraving. 
 
LECTURE ON INVENTIONS. 127 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck's connection with the London 
 Institution, Finsbury Circus, has already been re- 
 ferred to, and will call for further comment later 
 on. It need only here be said, in bringing the 
 narrative up to 1830, that he delivered to the 
 members in that year a lecture on some inven- 
 tions for preserving life and property from fire 
 and for resisting heat — a subject in which he 
 had taken great interest. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 
 
 1830-1841. 
 
 r I A HE narrative portion of our memoir is 
 ■*■ drawing to a close, and it merely remains 
 in the present chapter briefly to chronicle the 
 rest of the events of Dr. Birkbeck's life and 
 work, ere an attempt is made to gauge his 
 character and to present such reflections as 
 the subject may legitimately call forth. 
 
 A discreditable episode in the early career ot 
 the then London University first of all calls 
 for notice, on account of the name of the 
 Doctor frequently appearing in connection with 
 it — in a manner, be it premised, highly 
 honourable to himself. 
 
 Mr. G. S. Pattison, who had at one time been 
 professor of anatomy, physiology and surgery in 
 the Anderson Institution, Glasgow, was induced, 
 shortly after the formation of the University, 
 to resign a similar professorship he then held 
 
A UNIVERSITY SCANDAL. 129 
 
 in Maryland, United States, from which he 
 derived with his professional practice upwards 
 of ^"2,000 per annum, to occupy the chair of 
 anatomy at the new institution. He had not, 
 however, long entered upon his duties before he 
 appears to have been somewhat arbitrarily 
 deprived of a part of the emoluments of his 
 office, by the appointment of an independent 
 " administrator " of the dissecting-room who 
 received the fees attaching thereto. The pro- 
 fessor naturally raised some objection, and this 
 led to the new administrator regarding him 
 with hostility and taking steps to injure his 
 credit. His authority was diminished ; some of 
 the students openly defied him, and were 
 supported by the warden — who evidently had a 
 personal animus against Mr. Pattison, — a few of 
 them were grossly insulting, and in the end a 
 riot took place. 
 
 The professor brought the matter under the 
 notice of the council ; and, to the surprise of 
 nearly everybody, they solved the problem by 
 dismissing him from his post, stating at the 
 same time, pour encourager les mitres, that 
 they had investigated the charges against him 
 and found them groundless, and that " nothing 
 
 K 
 
130 PROFESSOR PATTISON : 
 
 came to their knowledge to impeach his general 
 character or his professional skill and know- 
 ledge." The resolution seems as ludicrous as 
 it was unjust ; and, as may be imagined, the 
 governing body did not escape censure. One 
 of the other professors immediately resigned, 
 another followed suit ; and the Morning Chronicle 
 took up the matter with great earnestness. But 
 the council had gone too far to withdraw ; thcin 
 resolution remained unrescinded, and Professor 
 Pattison once more crossed the Atlantic, to find 
 in the new world that just and generous treat- 
 ment he had failed to receive in the old. 
 
 Before doing so, however, he published in a 
 pamphlet form a narrative of the entire case, 
 which was prefaced by a letter from Dr. 
 Birkbeck. The latter had throughout proved 
 the staunch friend of the professor, had ad- 
 vocated his cause at meeting after meeting, 
 actuated by a strong sense of its justice, not 
 less than by a natural desire to support a 
 professional brother ; and now he gallantly 
 came forward once more to give the weight of 
 his name and unblemished reputation to the 
 professor's apologia. 
 
 The Doctor's various speeches on the sub- 
 
DR. BIRKBECK'S LETTER. 131 
 
 ject would be uninteresting, since, without a 
 more detailed statement of the facts than it 
 has been thought necessary to give, his con- 
 tentions could not be fully appreciated ; but his 
 letter, which follows, will sufficiently indicate 
 his opinion as to the merits of the case. 
 
 " 50, Broad Street, August 10th, 1831. 
 
 u My dear Sir, — I have perused with painful interest 
 your statement of the extraordinary events which have 
 occurred since you were appointed professor of 
 anatomy in the University of London. I know that 
 it has always been your anxious wish to detail with 
 perfect accuracy the transactions connected with this 
 appointment, and I therefore regret that the council 
 have not granted you access to all the documents 
 which you require for that purpose. I can assure you, 
 however, that, recurring to a memory too strongly 
 impressed by the occurrences to allow them easily to 
 escape, the facts belonging to your case, with which I 
 have been conversant, are always substantially and 
 generally minutely correct, and your statements alto- 
 gether remarkably free from exaggeration. 
 
 "What may be the result of your appeal to the public, 
 I cannot determine : it will, however, I believe be very 
 different from that which I have had the misfortune to 
 witness amongst men making large pretensions to the 
 possession and exercise of just and liberal sentiments. 
 To three parties allowed to fall into confusion and 
 hostility — insubordinate students, a governing council 
 and an insulted professor — these individuals have been 
 unable to apply any means of correction, excepting 
 the expulsion of the party whose only discoverable 
 
 K 2 
 
132 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE EPISODE. 
 
 share in the mischief has been enduring unmerited 
 opposition. It is surely possible that another view of 
 what is just, and what is necessary for the preservation 
 of the London University, may be entertained by 
 rational and unprejudiced judges. 
 
 " I remain, with sincere regard, 
 
 " My dear Sir, ever faithfully yours, 
 " George Birkbeck. 
 " G. S. Pattison, Esq." 
 
 A subsequent attempt was made to obtain for 
 the professor some compensation for the loss 
 which' had been so arbitrarily inflicted upon him, 
 and a special meeting was convened for that 
 purpose in October 1831. But although the 
 proposed grant was only £200, no readiness 
 was exhibited to make it ; and the matter was 
 adjourned to the annual meeting of the following 
 February. It was then again discussed and 
 again postponed, and eventually the proposal 
 appears to have fallen through. 
 
 It is a matter for deep regret that the council 
 of the worthy and justly celebrated College 
 should have acted in the manner indicated ; but 
 it is scarcely necessary to remark that no stigma 
 rests upon the College itself for the eccentricities 
 of its early executive. If in its corporate 
 character it never dies, its individual members 
 arc mortal ; and as those concerned are un- 
 
CHANGE IN PARENT INSTITUTION. 133 
 
 named and have long since passed away, this 
 incident in the life of Dr. Birkbeck may be 
 revived without inflicting injury upon others. 
 
 Coming once more to the London Mechanics' 
 Institution, we notice that a change had to 
 some extent been taking place in the class of 
 students by whom it was patronised, and that 
 this was now becoming decidedly marked. 
 Being close to the sacred precincts of the law, 
 it had attracted to itself several solicitors' clerks 
 and legal copyists ; whilst shopkeepers and their 
 apprentices were also to be found accompanying 
 the mechanics to the lectures and classes. The 
 scope of the Institution was thus gradually 
 widened ; but some of the artisan class, jealous 
 perhaps at such an extension, fell off in their 
 allegiance; and the new friends therefore only 
 maintained, and did not increase, the number of 
 members. For many years there was but little 
 fluctuation in the attendance. The reform agi- 
 tations, indeed, of 1830-2, caused some slight 
 diminution, and the average for these years was 
 about a thousand ; but it subsequently rose to 
 over eleven hundred, and there long remained 
 almost stationary. 
 
134 REVIEW OE INSTITUTION. 
 
 To the partial variation in the constituent 
 elements of the body little objection can be 
 raised. No doubt it was originally formed for 
 the mechanic class alone, and it would have been 
 more satisfactory had the new supporters been 
 a clear addition to the ranks. So long, however, 
 as means were afforded to individuals who would 
 not otherwise have possessed them of obtaining 
 a higher-class education, the Institution re- 
 mained true to its work, and substantially if 
 not literally fulfilled the object for which it was 
 established, whether its members consisted ex- 
 clusively of artisans or not. Indeed, it was a 
 distinct gain in some respects that its sphere of 
 usefulness should be less prescribed. There are 
 thousands outside the operative world who are 
 occupied throughout the day ; and to them such 
 an abode of knowledge furnishes a boon of price- 
 less value, attended in their case not less than in 
 that of mechanics with results most beneficial 
 alike to the community and the individual. 
 
 As to the general work of the Institution, 
 sufficient indication of its nature has already 
 been given, and it is unnecessary to continue to 
 record it in detail. One year's history neces- 
 sarily resembled another to a great extent ; and 
 
GENERAL WORK. 135 
 
 nothing would be gained by a reiteration of the 
 titles of the subjects taught, or by giving a list of 
 the professors and their themes. The numerous 
 classes maintained their prosperous condition, 
 and new ones were formed from time to time. 
 Wednesday and Friday evenings were still 
 devoted to lectures on the different branches of 
 experimental philosophy, the fine arts, etc. ; the 
 president continuing to take his share in the 
 work of instruction. Various prizes were given, 
 and the Doctor encouraged the students by 
 awarding £20 for the best essay on the steam- 
 engine — a subject in which, as will have already 
 been gathered, he took a great amount of in- 
 terest. Some slight progress was also made in 
 liquidating the debt. The library was gradually 
 increased ; the museum still formed an important 
 feature ; interesting exhibitions were held, and 
 dramatic readings given ; and the social element 
 was developed and the members were united by 
 means of occasional concerts and soirees. 
 
 Other incidents of a less pleasant character, 
 which had constantly attended the development 
 of the Institution, continued to characterise its 
 history. 
 
136 THE MECHANICS' MAGAZINE 
 
 It is somewhat wearying to have again to 
 refer to that quondam friend but now implacable 
 enemy, the Mechanics Magazine; but a few 
 further brief references must be made to its 
 persistent hostility, as illustrative of the amount 
 of opposition the cause experienced. For the 
 magazine, it must not be forgotten, was a very 
 influential organ, and undoubtedly a powerful 
 means of promoting in one direction that edu- 
 cational work which it opposed in another. 
 
 Robertson, as may be imagined, did not pass 
 unnoticed that partial constitutional change to 
 which reference has been made. Did Dr. Birk- 
 beck express his gratification at the good which 
 was being accomplished ? He was told by his 
 vulgar and obtrusive critic that it would not suit 
 his vanity or his purse to have it known that the 
 Mechanics' Institution was a lamentable failure. 
 Was it said that a steady afflux for a period of 
 ten years of more than a thousand members was 
 an irrefragable proof that the information the 
 Institution was founded to diffuse was efficiently 
 supplied ? The reply was that the information 
 was not supplied to mechanics; and that the 
 Institution was a Mechanics' Institution only in 
 name. Did a friendly correspondent venture to 
 
PERSISTENT HOSTILITY. 137 
 
 take up the cudgels? He only added fuel 
 to fire, and was answered that the organi- 
 sation had been utterly " ruined " through the 
 Doctor's instrumentality. There was even re- 
 vived (somewhat inconsistently with this alleged 
 ruinous state of things) the old sneer at the 
 president having found a good investment for 
 his money, but the rate of interest had now risen 
 in the editorial mind to four and a half per cent. 
 Possibly loanable capital was more in demand 
 at the time, and it was felt that the charge would 
 appear rather lame if based upon a simple four 
 per cent. 
 
 Year after year the same venomous spirit 
 was exhibited, and the same hostile criticism 
 continued. Lord Brougham was dragged into 
 the arena, in consequence of his having again 
 referred to Dr. Birkbeck as the founder of the 
 Institution ; and a long correspondence took 
 place, which Robertson published. Finally — and 
 here we are happy to part company once for all 
 with the Mechanics' Magazine and its editor — 
 annoyed by the small notice taken of his attacks, 
 he descended to the most flagrant untruth, of 
 which an illustration may be given in his alle- 
 gation that the subjects to which the greatest 
 
138 TESTIMONY OF PLACE. 
 
 degree of attention had been paid since the 
 establishment of the Institution had probably 
 been phrenology and the drama ! 
 
 After these exhibitions of temper and male- 
 volence, it is refreshing to come across a few 
 lines of a different character from the friendly 
 pen of Place. 
 
 Writing in 1833 he intimates that of the 
 Mechanics' Institution, and the important conse- 
 quences which resulted from its establishment, it 
 would be utterly impossible to give either a cor- 
 rect or precise account at all commensurate with 
 its vast utility. Its good teaching, the right 
 thinking it had produced, the advancement it 
 had promoted in morals and manners, in self- 
 education, and in the improved circumstances of 
 many, was matter for high congratulation. The 
 numerous Institutions of a similar and even 
 dissimilar kind to which it had given rise 
 throughout Great Britain attested its vast 
 importance, and would in time, when they had 
 ramified in every part, help not only to produce 
 the improvement of the working people morally, 
 physically and mentally, but to exalt the nation 
 to a higher degree of prosperity than had 
 
NEW METROPOLITAN INSTITUTIONS. 139 
 
 hitherto been attained by this or any other 
 country. 
 
 The foundation of the London Mechanics' 
 Institution in truth was sound, its progress sure ; 
 and the principle upon which it had been estab- 
 lished had taken root throughout the land. 
 
 Every district of the metropolitan area was 
 reached ; new Mechanics' or Literary and Scien- 
 tific Institutions being formed at Barnet, 
 Bishopsgate, Brentford, Chelsea, Croydon, Fins- 
 bury, Greenwich, Hampstead, Highgate, Isling- 
 ton, Marylebone, Peckham, Poplar, Richmond, 
 Shoreditch, Stratford, Stepney, Tottenham, and 
 Woolwich. The subscription varied in amount 
 according to the neighbourhood and the nature 
 and extent of the instruction, in some cases 
 being as low as six shillings per annum, and in 
 several as high as two guineas. The more 
 general rates, however, were ten shillings and one 
 pound ; and in several of the Institutions ladies 
 were admitted at reduced fees. There was of 
 course a great similarity in their scope, a library, 
 reading-room, classes and lectures being the prin- 
 cipal features, to which some few added museums. 
 In one or two cases a single lecture could be 
 attended on payment of sixpence or a shilling. 
 
140 WESTMINSTER AND THE PROVINCES. 
 
 An important Institution was formed at West- 
 minster in April 1837, Dr. Birkbeck occupying 
 the chair at the inaugural meeting, Place taking 
 an active part in the arrangements, and Lord 
 Brougham supporting his friend. The Doctor "in 
 an eloquent speech which was heard throughout 
 with deep attention " sketched the history of the 
 movement, and stated that the new organisation 
 was to be " based on the plan of the London 
 Mechanics' Institution which had proved so 
 eminently successful", and pointed out the " great 
 advantages both physical and moral which had 
 resulted from the establishment of such Institu- 
 tions." The Right Hon. C. Shaw Lefevre (now 
 Lord Eversley) afterwards became the President. 
 
 In the provinces Institutions were established, 
 amongst other places at Wellingborough in 
 1832; at Rochdale, Hastings and St. Leonards 
 in 1833 ; at Doncaster and Stockport in 1834, 
 at Beccles, Stourbridge, Guildford and Banbury 
 in 1835 ; at Gateshead, Chatham, Dover and 
 Devizes in 1836; at Evesham and Maidstone 
 in 1837; at Worthing in 1838; at Darwen, 
 Swansea, Northampton, Corsham and Tun- 
 bridge Wells in 1839; and at Dunse, Longton 
 and Huntingdon in 1840. 
 
LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER. 141 
 
 Liverpool and Manchester, in particular, dis- 
 tinguished themselves. The former erected a 
 new building, probably then the largest of its 
 kind, at a cost of £15,000 ; the foundation stone 
 being laid in July 1835 by Lord Brougham, who 
 also presided at a dinner given to celebrate the 
 occasion, without which of course such a gigantic 
 undertaking could not have been properly 
 launched. He stated in his speech that the In- 
 stitutions in twelve years had spread prodigiously 
 over the country; but that twelve years was not 
 to be taken as the time of their origin, and for this 
 they must go back to Dr. Birkbeck's lectures 
 in Glasgow. The new Institution eclipsed its 
 London parent, obtaining before long more than 
 three thousand members, and employing fifty 
 teachers. Liverpool, however, only possessed 
 four Institutions in all, whereas London and its 
 suburbs numbered about thirty. 
 
 Manchester, whilst more ambitious, was less 
 successful than Liverpool. An " Athenaeum " 
 was opened in March 1836, and a new building 
 completed three years later at a cost of £ 1 8,000. 
 The expenditure however had been greater than 
 could be coped with, and the Institution long 
 had a chequered career. 
 
142 THE MANCHESTER LYCEUMS. 
 
 But it was in Manchester that the so-called 
 LYCEUMS originated. They were established in 
 the year 1838 by several of the friends of the 
 Mechanics' Institute, with a view to extend the 
 benefits of education to the poorest classes whom 
 the Institutions failed to reach. The subscriptions 
 in some cases were as low as is. 6d. per quarter; 
 and for this sum news-rooms, miscellaneous 
 lectures, elementary classes, and social enter- 
 tainments were provided, special attention being 
 given to female instruction. They were emi- 
 nently successful for a period, the people eagerly 
 availing themselves of " the novelty which was 
 presented to them of cheap newspapers, recreation 
 and mental improvement." 
 
 The early opposition of the clergy has already 
 been referred to ; but even this in time proved 
 helpful to the cause. The dissenting ministers 
 lent their countenance and aid ; and as the bene- 
 ficial results of the movement became apparent 
 and it was found that hostility was of little avail, 
 some of the ecclesiastics deemed it better to 
 patronize it, and " Church of England Institu- 
 tions" were formed, where the educational work 
 was carried on, membership of the Church 
 being a prerequisite to admission. This exclu- 
 
LITERATURE FOR THE PEOPLE. 143 
 
 sive spirit, however, as might have been predicted, 
 did not aid the new organisations ; and the 
 restriction gradually died out. 
 
 The schoolmaster was indeed abroad : the 
 popular education movement had become 
 one of the signs of the times. Kindred spirits 
 had caught the enthusiasm of the founder of 
 Mechanics' Institutes, and were assisting in 
 other ways in carrying on the work he had 
 commenced and was sustaining. 
 
 The establishment of the Society for the 
 Diffusion of Useful Knowledge has already 
 been mentioned. In May 1832 it was incor- 
 porated by charter. Charles Knight, who had 
 superintended its work, had recently published 
 his " Quarterly Journal of Education", and this 
 year he issued his " Penny Magazine", which 
 was shortly followed by his "Penny Cyclopcedia." 
 About the same time the brothers Chambers 
 published their " Edinburgh Journal", and in 
 1833 their " Information for the People", suc- 
 ceeded in 1835 by tne i r "Educational Course." 
 
 Shortly afterwards THE CENTRAL SOCIETY OF 
 Education was formed under the presidency 
 of Lord Dcnman, the Chief Justice of the King's 
 
144 CENTRAL SOCIETY OF EDUCATION. 
 
 Bench, with Sir Thomas Wyse, M.P. — another 
 active labourer in the good cause — for its chair- 
 man of committee. Its objects were to collect, 
 classify and diffuse information concerning the 
 education of all classes, in every department ; 
 and with this view to publish articles on the 
 systems already established, either in England 
 or abroad, to discuss the value of various 
 branches and means of acquiring knowledge, 
 and to give accounts of books, maps, models, 
 etc. Active measures were taken for carrying 
 out these objects ; and volumes of interesting 
 essays were published from time to time, in which 
 due attention was bestowed upon Mechanics' 
 Institutes and their worthy founder. 
 
 Progress was also made in the education of 
 the young, and in fifteen years the proportion of 
 the population receiving elementary instruction 
 was increased from one in seventeen to one in 
 eleven. But it was slow and uphill work, and 
 the number of schools was totally inadequate to 
 the requirements of the nation. Various attempts 
 had been made to induce Parliament to deal 
 with the matter. Early in the century the 
 warm-hearted Samuel Whitbread advocated in 
 
EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG. 145 
 
 the House of Commons a plan of general edu- 
 cation, with no other result than of being regarded 
 as a visionary whose doctrines were of a perni- 
 cious character. Later on, Brougham succeeded 
 in obtaining the appointment of a committee to 
 inquire into the educational condition of the 
 lower orders in London, Westminster, and 
 Southwark ; but it had no practical outcome. 
 A few years afterwards he introduced a bill 
 for the " Education of the Poor in England and 
 Wales", of such a character, however, as to call 
 forth sectarian feeling and lead to its being 
 withdrawn. 
 
 At length the Government was aroused: public 
 opinion compelled the reformed Parliament to 
 take the matter in hand; and in 1834 a grant of 
 £20,000 was made to the National and the British 
 and Foreign School Societies, and continued 
 annually. In 1835 Brougham once more returned 
 to the subject, and moved in the House of Lords 
 a series of elaborate resolutions ; and two years 
 later he introduced another bill, which was not 
 proceeded with. In February 1839 the Govern- 
 ment constituted a Board of Education, consist- 
 ing of members of the Privy Council ; and in 
 June the House of Commons voted a grant to 
 
 L 
 
146 GOVERNMENT GRANTS: OPPOSITION. 
 
 the Board for that year of ^30,000. Even this 
 slight concession was only obtained with great 
 difficulty, the motion being carried by a majority 
 of but two. The opposition chiefly proceeded 
 from the Church party, who condemned every 
 educational plan that placed the control in other 
 hands than those of the clergy ; their hostility 
 in the present instance arising from the fact that 
 part of the grant was to be paid to the unsec- 
 tarian British and Foreign School Society. 
 This, coupled with the democratic tendency 
 of the measure, led the Lords, on the motion 
 of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to adopt an 
 address to Her Majesty praying for the revo- 
 cation of the Order by which the Board had 
 been appointed — a retrograde movement which 
 was approved by a two-thirds majority. Happily, 
 however, the Government remained firm ; the 
 young Queen listened to the voice of wiser 
 counsellors ; and the censure of the Church and 
 the Upper Chamber was unheeded. 
 
 As a whole, the tendency was in the right 
 direction ; but the amount voted was infinitesimal 
 in comparison with what was required. The 
 day of national education was yet far distant. 
 
THE REFORM BILL. 147 
 
 During this period Dr. Birkbeck, in addition 
 to continuously labouring at the Institution, 
 had been actively engaged in various ways. 
 
 He formed one of the staff of lecturers at the 
 London Institution in Finsbury Circus, and 
 enjoyed a high reputation for presenting scientific 
 subjects in an easy and interesting style. In 
 1 83 1 he discoursed upon some newly-invented 
 musical instruments ; and the following year his 
 subjects were railroads and steam-carriages — 
 then in their infancy — and the manufacture of 
 cotton by machinery. 
 
 The Reform Bill received the Doctor's hearty 
 support ; and indeed, by the educational move- 
 ment he had inaugurated — though it was strictly 
 of a non-political character — he had undoubt- 
 edly materially assisted in rendering possible 
 and promoting a popular form of Government. 
 It was not often, however, that he entered into 
 the political arena, but in the elections fcr the 
 new Parliament, in December 1832, he seconded 
 the nomination for the City of London of his 
 friend and neighbour already referred to, Mr. 
 George Grote, the banker and future historian. 
 In his speech on the occasion he remarked 
 that it was not possible for him to undertake 
 
 L 2 
 
148 SUPPORT OF GROTE. 
 
 any service of a public nature which afforded 
 him a higher gratification than that of sup- 
 porting a candidate to represent the great 
 city, who was eminently qualified to render 
 beneficial the effects of the noblest triumph in 
 legislation ever achieved by the people of this 
 empire. The victory he believed to be owing 
 to the intelligence and moral energies of the 
 people ; and he therefore considered it their 
 duty to elect such persons as were able to make 
 the legislation suitable to the moral and intel- 
 lectual progress of the age. In his friend's 
 opinions he completely concurred, and particu- 
 larly in the principle, as applied to all the opera- 
 tions of Government, of promoting the happiness 
 of the greatest number. Mr. Grote, who was 
 deservedly popular, was, as is well known, 
 triumphantly returned at the head of the poll, 
 and fully vindicated the choice of the electors. 
 
 In 1834 the Doctor lectured at the London 
 Institution on the principles of the oxy-hydrogen 
 miscroscope ; and the same year he devoted con- 
 siderable attention to a new process, patented 
 by Mr. J. H. Kyan, for preserving timber from 
 dry-rot, and delivered in December, before the 
 Society of Arts, an elaborate lecture upon the 
 
LECTURE ON KYAN'S INVENTION. 149 
 
 subject, with illustrations. In the course of his 
 remarks he gave an historic sketch of the various 
 methods which had been employed to preserve 
 vegetable matter from decay and the defects 
 which had characterised them, and explained 
 how the new method was more, effectual than 
 any which had preceded it, entering at consider- 
 able length into the rationale of the process. 
 Tne details of a fifty years' old invention, which 
 has long been superseded, would be uninteresting 
 now ; but it may be stated that Kyan received 
 the most gratifying reports as to the utility of 
 his method for preserving the timber of ships 
 and buildings ; and Dr. Birkbeck's lecture was 
 regarded as sufficiently important to be sub- 
 sequently printed as a shilling pamphlet. It 
 contained an appendix with testimonials as to 
 the process and plates illustrating it, and ex- 
 tended to forty-eight pages. 
 
 In 1835 the Doctor assisted the Belgrave 
 Institution and the Eastern Athenaeum, by 
 delivering lectures to the members. He also 
 lectured at the London Institution on the sub- 
 ject of improvements in artificial illumination; 
 and in the following year on the manufacture 
 of steel pens, illustrated by Mordan's apparatus ; 
 
150 THE NEWSPAPER TAX: 
 
 on the history properties and application ot 
 caoutchouc, and on the structure habits and 
 instincts of insects. That he had been a warm 
 and sincere friend of the establishment from its 
 foundation, has already been shown ; and after 
 having long served as one of the managers, he 
 now accepted the office of vice-president. 
 
 In this same year of 1835, acting once more in 
 conjunction with Brougham and Place, the Doctor 
 took a prominent part in the movement for 
 obtaining the abolition of the Newspaper Tax. 
 This much needed reform had been persistently 
 advocated for a considerable period ; and public 
 indignation on the subject was now becoming 
 intense. The tax, originally imposed with a 
 view rather of enabling the Government to pre- 
 vent seditious publications than of raising 
 revenue, was notoriously evaded in the most 
 open manner. Over a hundred thousand un- 
 stamped newspapers circulated weekly, despite 
 of frequent seizures, prosecutions and imprison- 
 ments. It was in fact impossible for the 
 Government to suppress them : the spread of 
 knowledge amongst the working classes had 
 created a demand for intelligence, too powerful 
 
MOVEMENT FOR ITS ABOLITION. 
 
 for officialism to stifle, that was largely met by 
 these weekly publications, many of which were 
 greatly superior to the stamped productions of 
 the daily press. Most of the latter organs, being 
 firmly established and fearing competition if the 
 monopoly they enjoyed were swept away, were 
 antagonistic or apathetic ; but some were found 
 to advocate the cause of the people, whilst the 
 weekly Examiner had, to use its own language, 
 laboured for nearly ten years, in season and out 
 of season, for the repeal of the tax, and regularly 
 announced underneath its title that its price of 
 jd. was composed of " paper, print, etc., ^d. ; 
 taxes on knowledge, 4^." 
 
 The objections to the vicious duty were suffi- 
 ciently obvious; but as with most hoary anomalies 
 and anachronisms, much agitation was necessary 
 ere any change could be effected in the law. 
 Mr. E. Lytton Bulwer (afterwards Lord Lytton), 
 at this time attached to the Whig party, and 
 already famous as the author of " Pelham", had 
 for some time past championed the cause of 
 reform in the House of Commons; and a promise 
 had been obtained in 1833 from Lord Althorp, 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which however 
 he had not found it convenient to fulfil when 
 
152 LETTER OF BROUGHAM. 
 
 towards the end of the following year he became- 
 Earl Spencer on the death of his father, and a 
 change of Government took place. The advent 
 to power, in 1835, of the new Melbourne ministry 
 was felt to be' an opportunity not to be lost. 
 Some of the influential radicals took the matter 
 up with great earnestness ; and Dr. Birkbeck, 
 though not a prominent politician, was, as the 
 great educational pioneer, invited at the instance 
 of Lord Brougham to lead their deliberations. 
 The .following letter on the subject from the 
 illustrious peer to his brother reformer will be 
 read with interest: — 
 
 "H. of L., Tuesday. 
 
 "My dear Friend, — There are some highly- 
 respectable persons in the city who are resolved to 
 have a great London meeting on Newspaper Taxes. 
 But they feel that you should come forward, and 1 
 feel also how important it is that you should. The 
 bearer will save you all trouble, and I will attend the 
 meeting if I can be of use, and, in any way in which I 
 can, help it. 
 
 " The country is up on the subject. 1 have seen 
 F, Place on this, who feels all you and I do and has 
 been working like a horse for it. 
 
 " Yours ever, u „ ^ ., 
 
 The Doctor's ready aquiescence being ob- 
 tained, a meeting of some of the leading men 
 
DEPUTATION TO THE GOVERNMENT. 153 
 
 was held ; when, in view of the previous as- 
 surance of Lord Althorp, it was resolved that 
 a deputation should attend the new Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, Mr. Spring- Rice, and en- 
 deavour to obtain from him a pledge which 
 should obviate the necessity of calling a public 
 meeting. Accordingly, a long memorial was 
 drawn up, and in May the deputation waited 
 upon the right hon. gentleman. Amongst those 
 who attended on the occasion were Joseph Hume, 
 George Grote, Rowland Hill, Charles Knight and 
 Francis Place; the deputation being introduced 
 by Dr. Birkbeck. He made a long speech, 
 reviewing the history of the tax, showing in a 
 lucid manner the evils to which it had given 
 rise, dealing with the objections commonly 
 urged to its repeal, especially those of a fiscal 
 character, and making a powerful plea for the 
 removal of this artificial barrier to the dis- 
 semination of knowledge. No report of the 
 proceedings of the legislature, no account of the 
 manner in which the laws were administered, 
 no information respecting passing events, could 
 be published in a form accessible to the poor 
 man, without a violation of the law. This state 
 of things had called into existence a class of 
 
154 SPEECH AT DEPUTATION. 
 
 men who were practically engaged in destroying 
 that respect for legislative authority which the 
 people might otherwise have retained. Of all 
 taxes of this country this particular duty was 
 the most obnoxious and impolitic, since only 
 by the spread of knowledge could men be 
 made useful members of society. It was the 
 first duty of Government to raise the moral 
 and intellectual condition of the people ; and a 
 mere consideration of revenue could not justify a 
 system of taxation tending, and perhaps origin- 
 ally designed, to repress the energies of man- 
 kind and perpetuate ignorance. He concluded 
 by deprecating the idea of any partial reduc- 
 tion of the tax, as this would still prevent 
 the authorised newspapers reaching the hum- 
 blest portion of the community. Other leading 
 members of the deputation also spoke ; and 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in replying, 
 fully concurred in the objections to the tax, 
 and whilst feeling some difficulty upon the 
 revenue question, appeared anxious to meet 
 the wishes of his visitors, who withdrew after 
 a two hours' audience in the conviction that 
 their mission had been successful. 
 
 The same month Lord Brougham presented 
 
PUBLIC MEETING. I5S 
 
 to the Upper Chamber a petition from the 
 Court of Common Council, and entered into 
 the question at some length. It was generally 
 believed that the matter would be dealt with 
 in the next budget ; and several of the leading 
 newspapers now advocated a partial repeal 
 of the duty. To protest against this policy 
 and emphasize the public cry for total abolition, 
 a meeting was held at the Crown and Anchor 
 Tavern on July 18th, when the large room 
 was crowded. Brougham took the chair, and 
 called upon Dr. Birkbeck to move the first 
 resolution, referring to him as one of the 
 soundest friends of knowledge, one of the 
 greatest patrons of human improvement, 
 and one of the most tried and zealous 
 supporters of their cause. The resolution was 
 to the effect that the prosperity of every com- 
 munity depended on the knowledge diffused 
 amongst its members, that the newspaper press 
 was a great instrument for diffusing knowledge, 
 and that the stamp-duty impaired the efficiency 
 of this instrument and tended to perpetuate the 
 evils of moral and political ignorance. After 
 alluding to his labours for the education of 
 the people as explaining the position he 
 
156 SPEECH AS TO NEWSPAPER TAX. 
 
 occupied at the meeting, the Doctor said that 
 it was superfluous to dwell upon a defence of 
 the terms of the comprehensive resolution he 
 proposed, for a resolution containing more truth 
 was never submitted to any meeting. He did 
 not believe that the change which was sought 
 would interfere with any fair and legitimate 
 advantage at present possessed by the organs 
 of the press, but on the contrary was of opinion 
 that their circulation would be marvellously 
 increased. No individual or Government or 
 people could be injured by the extension of 
 knowledge of any kind ; truth never did harm 
 whether it were of a political or moral nature. 
 They should firmly demand the removal of 
 the grievance of which they complained ; and 
 he trusted soon to see the day when taxes 
 imposed for other than fiscal purposes should 
 be all swept away, and perfect freedom in 
 gratifying the public appetite for information 
 should prevail. The meeting, which was ad- 
 dressed by several other influential men whose 
 names have already been mentioned in con- 
 nection with the movement, pronounced em- 
 phatically in favour of the total repeal of the 
 duty ; and a petition was entrusted to the care 
 
RENE WED A GIT A TION. 1 57 
 
 of Mr. Grote for presentation to the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 Numerous other meetings were held through- 
 out the country, and petitions poured in. 
 Nevertheless, when in August the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer introduced his budget, to the 
 surprise of everybody and the indignation of not 
 a few, neither the reduction nor the abolition of 
 the duty formed any part of his financial pro- 
 posals. Bulwer made another attempt to induce 
 the Government to deal with the question, and 
 was supported by Grote and Hume; but all that 
 could be obtained was a conditional pledge 
 that it should receive attention in the next 
 budget. A week later Hume took the lead in 
 another unsuccessful attempt to bring about the 
 desired reform. 
 
 It was now evident that nothing would be 
 done during the current session of Parliament ; 
 but the public was not in a mood to be 
 continually dallied with, and early in 1836 
 the party of reform again took action. A 
 further meeting was held, and another depu- 
 tion headed by Dr. Birkbeck waited upon the 
 Government, being received on this occasion 
 by Lord Melbourne. The Doctor called at- 
 
158 SPEECH AT SECOND DEPUTATION. 
 
 tention to the fact that the subject was being 
 regarded chiefly from a revenue point of view, 
 and stated that in his opinion it was of such 
 extreme importance as to justify financial 
 considerations giving way to the wishes of the 
 people. The increase in the circulation of the 
 unstamped newspapers had been so great, and 
 the demands of public opinion were so irre- 
 sistible, that it was impossible the stamp laws 
 should remain in their present state. There was 
 a general impression abroad that at least 
 a reduction of the duty would be made, 
 but nothing short of its entire abolition would 
 enable the authorised newspapers to reach the 
 working classes. A penny stamp-duty, more- 
 over, could not be enforced without more severe 
 measures being taken to put down the present 
 unstamped press ; and whatever might be said 
 as to the manner in which some of these papers 
 was conducted, they were of great use in 
 creating that habit of reading which was the 
 first step in human improvement. The mass 
 of the people sympathised with those who were 
 prosecuted under the existing regulations, and 
 he regretted that laws should remain on the 
 statute-book which had the tendency of bring- 
 
FURTHER MEETINGS. 159 
 
 ing all law into disrepute, and of making those 
 who lived in its habitual violation respected 
 by the community. The Premier in reply stated 
 that he felt the arguments advanced were of 
 great weight, and admitted that the financial 
 part of the subject was not the most important 
 He could not, however, at that early period 
 of the session announce what course the Govern- 
 ment would take, but assured the deputation 
 that the various reasons they had adduced 
 should have the serious and anxious considera- 
 tion they certainly deserved. 
 
 The general impression produced upon the 
 public mind was that the tax would be 
 abolished, and the Examiner even went the 
 length of congratulating its readers upon the 
 certainty of the removal of the duty. The news- 
 paper dealers took concerted action with a view 
 to obtain a reduction only, and in March passed 
 a resolution upon the subject, which was 
 forwarded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 The same month another public meeting was 
 held, this time at the Guildhall under the presi- 
 dency of the Lord Mayor, when Dr. Birkbeck 
 again advocated the repeal, and supported a 
 resolution to the effect that the duty was a 
 
i6o SPEECH AT THIRD DEPUTATION 
 
 direct tax upon knowledge. Numerous addi- 
 tional petitions were presented, and the question 
 again formally raised in the House ; whereupon 
 the Government announced that the duty- 
 would be reduced to one penny. 
 
 This excited the Doctor and his friends to 
 renewed activity. Once more, attended by his 
 old companions, he waited upon the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer (Lord Melbourne also being 
 present at the interview), when he stated the 
 deputation felt they should not be doing their 
 duty without making another appeal in favour 
 of a line of policy worthy of the character of 
 a liberal and enlightened administration. The 
 proposal of the Government, if carried out, 
 would have the result of extinguishing or 
 preventing the existence of a multitude ot 
 useful publications, especially those accessible 
 to the working classes, almost as effectually 
 as the existing stamp ; and he failed to under- 
 stand why this description of literature should 
 be practically prohibited to industrious and 
 deserving men. The Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer replied to the effect that he should 
 not be able to carry a measure for the total 
 abolition of the tax, but he proposed to lower 
 
REDUCTION OF NEWSPAPER TAX. 161 
 
 the paper-duty, and considered this would be 
 more useful than the abandonment of the 
 penny stamp. The deputation, however, feel- 
 ing that if the newspaper-tax were reduced 
 its total repeal would be indefinitely post- 
 poned, exhibited great pertinacity ; and in the 
 end considerable feeling was manifested by 
 some of its members, who spoke very warmly 
 on the subject, one of them advocating the 
 general purchase of unstamped newspapers if 
 the Government would not yield to public 
 opinion. 
 
 Nearly a hundred further petitions were pre- 
 sented to the House ; but the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer adhered to his original proposal, and 
 in May brought in his budget, and announced the 
 intended reduction of the stamp to one penny. 
 He stated he also proposed to make an important 
 reduction in the paper-duty — an impost equally 
 indefensible, but one which the advocates of total 
 abolition had been willing should be continued 
 for the present, if their immediate object could 
 have been attained. Further strenuous efforts 
 were made by them, but without success ; and 
 even the reduction of the tax was not carried 
 without considerable opposition. The counter- 
 
 M 
 
[62 THE DOCTOR'S ILLNESS. 
 
 cry of " cheap soap " was raised by some worthy 
 members, who had not hitherto been particularly 
 solicitous for the welfare of the "great un- 
 washed ", but who now ingeniously contended 
 that it was more important the people should be 
 clean than learned. This theory, however, the 
 House would not allow to prevail ; and the 
 proposals of the Government were ultimately 
 adopted. 
 
 The reform was another stage in the march 
 of intellect, but the predictions of the friends of 
 knowledge proved correct. Nearly twenty years 
 were destined to elapse, and George Birkbeck 
 had long passed away, before the newspaper- 
 tax was abolished, and the country could boast 
 of possessing in every sense of the term the 
 great boon of a " free press." 
 
 In the early part of 1837 the Doctor was 
 attacked with a severe catarrh of a highly in- 
 flammatory description, which prostrated him 
 for several months before it was overcome. The 
 following letter from Place to the honorary 
 secretary of the Westminster Literary Institu- 
 tion, which was in process of formation at the 
 time, shows the serious nature of the illness. It 
 
PLACE'S LETTER. 163 
 
 will be remembered that the Doctor eventually 
 
 presided at the meeting when the new venture 
 
 was floated. 
 
 " 1 8th February, 1837. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I saw Dr. Birkbeck yesterday, and 
 read to him a long letter I had carefully written 
 respecting your project. I wrote the letter intending 
 to leave it if he were from home. He is far from well ; 
 he said he had been very ill, was still very weak, 
 and that repose was absolutely necessary. He had 
 been subpoenaed and had attended a trial in the Court 
 of King's Bench, the consequence of which was he 
 was thrown back and had not recovered. He said his 
 powers were leaving him, and he had been compelled 
 to give up several things with much reluctance, and 
 that still he should think the chair of your meeting an 
 honour, but should certainly be unable to undertake 
 the office until the beginning of April. In my letter 
 I said if he could take the chair, I would go at once 
 to Lord Brougham, who would probably be induced 
 to sit by his side ; though we both know he would not 
 do so by any other person. He said he certainly 
 would consent to take the chair, were it not that the 
 personal risk was such as to compel him to decline 
 doing so until the weather was more genial and his own 
 strength to a considerable extent restored. 
 
 " You must decide for yourselves what you will do, 
 and then I will do whatever I can to aid you. 
 
 ^' " Francis Place." 
 
 It was shortly after this that Dr. Birkbeck 
 severed his connection with the General Dis- 
 
 M 2 
 
1 64 THE GENERAL DISPENSARY. 
 
 pensary of Aldersgate Street, with which he had 
 been connected for more than a quarter of a 
 century. The cause was not one very creditable 
 to the institution, as it rose out of the determi- 
 nation of the treasurer and committee to main- 
 tain a system of "virtually putting up to sale, as 
 it were, all the most efficient offices of the 
 charity." Such a course sufficiently condemns 
 itself, and was so strongly censured that the 
 whole of the medical establishment, together with 
 the patron and president, the Duke of Sussex, 
 resigned their offices. The Doctor received, in 
 common with those with whom he had acted in 
 concert, the thanks of the Medical Society, with 
 which he had been so long connected, for their 
 practical and emphatic protest against this 
 system; and the occasion was a noteworthy 
 one, inasmuch as it was the last on which he 
 stood upon the platform of this Society. 
 
 The same year, 1837, an enterprising engraver, 
 Mr. C. Bunning, junior, took advantage of the 
 Doctor's popularity to issue a steel medallion 
 portrait of that " truly patriotic and highly 
 esteemed gentleman ", dedicated amid many 
 flourishes of the pen to Lord Brougham and 
 Vaux, and addressed " to the admirers and 
 
MEDALLION PORTRAIT: LECTURES. 165 
 
 promoters of the diffusion of useful knowledge 
 amongst all classes of. society." The engraving 
 occupied but a rather meagre portion of the 
 elaborate card upon which it was mounted ; 
 but it was a very creditable production, and 
 gave a pleasing expression to the countenance. 
 Mr. Bunning, however, paid the usual penalty 
 for a dedication, and attributed to Lord 
 Brougham a somewhat greater share in the 
 promotion of Mechanics' Institutes than his 
 Lordship, despite his eminent services to the 
 cause of popular education, could or would have 
 wished to claim. 
 
 The last of Dr. Birkbeck's lectures to the 
 London Institution were on the construction 
 and power of modern telescopes and micro- 
 scopes, delivered in April 1837, and on the 
 measurement of time, delivered in March of the 
 following year. With these appears to have 
 terminated his active connection of about thirty 
 years with the Institution. 
 
 An important step was taken in this same year 
 of 1837 to consolidate and extend the usefulness 
 of the Institutions, by the establishment of 
 UNIONS between those within a defined area 
 
166 UNION OF INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 The scheme was another important item in the 
 successful educational work of Sir Edward Baines, 
 the suggestion having originally been made by 
 him in the Leeds Mercury, and being chiefly car- 
 ried out by his indefatigable exertions. Dele- 
 gates from various Institutions met in Leeds 
 in December, when the West Riding Union, 
 embracing about twelve Institutions, and iden- 
 tifying the further progressive step with the 
 Doctor's native county, was formed. The object 
 was to amalgamate their resources for the com- 
 mon good, principally by engaging lecturers who 
 should make the circuit of the different towns, 
 and give regular courses of instruction in such 
 subjects as mechanics, chemistry, political econ- 
 omy, and statistics. 
 
 The same year a successful exhibition of 
 works of art, pictures, statues, models of 
 machinery, etc., was held at Manchester, lasting 
 for several weeks, and being visited by upwards 
 of fifty thousand persons, who were highly 
 gratified. On the recommendation of the York- 
 shire Union, similar exhibitions were held in 
 1839 at Sowerby Bridge and at Ripon. Others 
 were held at Derby and Leeds, the one at the 
 latter town realising about ^1,600 net. 
 
PRESIDENT OF LONDON UNION 167 
 
 Two new Unions were also formed in this 
 year, namely those of Lancashire and London. 
 The latter arose out of a work (which extended 
 to upwards of three hundred pages) published 
 by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful 
 Knowledge, in the especial interests of the In- 
 stitutions, for the purpose of promoting the 
 cause by the establishment of new societies, 
 and by adding to the utility of those already in 
 existence. Special allusion is of course made 
 to the labours of the originator of the scheme, 
 and to the Mechanics' Institution, the writer's 
 testimony being to the effect that it was in 
 a high degree flourishing and had been the 
 parent of most of the organisations of the 
 same class throughout the country. In further- 
 ance of the objects contemplated a circular was 
 issued, inviting delegates from the various 
 London committees to attend a meeting in the 
 Society's rooms, in order to establish a corre- 
 spondence among the different Institutions for 
 mutual assistance and profit. The invitation was 
 cordially accepted ; and, on the motion of Dr. 
 Birkbeck, several practical resolutions were 
 passed, and he added to his educational labours 
 by becoming president of the new association. 
 
1 68 EXPERIMENTS: MANCHESTER VISIT. 
 
 Not long afterwards, at the instance of the 
 Government, the Doctor undertook a series of 
 experiments for the purpose of testing the 
 merits of an invention by Mr. Rudkin, intended 
 to furnish a mode of ascertaining the quantity of 
 alcohol obtained by distillation more accurate 
 than the rude existing system of excise super- 
 vision. He devoted much time to these experi- 
 ments, and incurred considerable expenses in 
 making them — an outlay which he was never 
 repaid. 
 
 In 1840, in company with his eldest daughter, 
 he paid a visit to Manchester, where his second 
 son was then residing. The opportunity was 
 seized by the operatives * of the town and some 
 of their employers to give a public reception to 
 the founder of Mechanics' Institutions ; and it 
 was noticed that he experienced great fatigue 
 in addressing the large audience — a weakness 
 which proved the forerunner of a fatal malady. 
 
 During all this time the confines of the educa- 
 tional movement abroad had been gradually 
 extended. It had, as will be remembered, early 
 embraced America and France. Since then, it 
 had found its way to Russia ; soon after it 
 
THE M0VEMEN1 ABROAD. 169 
 
 reached Australia ; and later on China and 
 India were brought under its influence. It was 
 in October 1831 that a Mechanics' Institute was 
 established at St. Petersburg, 132 pupils being 
 educated at the expense of the State, and others 
 being admitted on prescribed terms. In 1833 
 a " Mechanics' School of Art " was formally 
 organised at Sydney, under the patronage of 
 the Governor. A Society for the Diffusion of 
 Useful Knowledge was established at Canton 
 in 1837; an d two years later a Calcutta Me- 
 chanics' Institution was formed, lectures being 
 delivered on the physical sciences, manufac- 
 tures, commerce, agriculture and the arts. VAN 
 Diemen's Land was also reached ; and we 
 actually have an account of a Mohawk Me- 
 chanics' Institute, established at an Indian 
 village about two miles from Brandtford, where 
 instruction was given in handicraft trades ; it 
 being stated that many of the members by 
 making steady progress afforded sufficient 
 evidence of their capacity to be weaned from the 
 dissolute habits of half-reclaimed savages. 
 
 The tree of knowledge had been planted in 
 nearly every corner of the globe. 
 
170 NEW ASSOCIATIONS: STATISTICS. 
 
 At home, the action taken by the Society 
 for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge led to 
 efforts being made to unite the different bodies 
 in bonds of friendship and common interest. The 
 secretary visited a great number of them, 
 and submitted the Society's proposals ; and as 
 the result six associations were formed, with 
 London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, 
 Bristol, and Lewes for their centres, embracing 
 in all about eighty Institutions. 
 
 This led to the publication in 1841 of a 
 further work, containing a record of what had 
 been done, a report on the condition of the 
 various organisations, and numerous suggestions 
 for the advancement of the cause. The total 
 number of Institutions in existence was about 
 two hundred and twenty, of which thirty-six 
 were in the metropolis and suburbs. This of 
 course takes no note of all those societies which 
 had carried on the work for a time, but had 
 failed to continue it from several causes, in par- 
 ticular from the opposition which some of the 
 smaller bodies were unable to withstand, and 
 from the lack of sufficient preparatory schools. 
 A grand total of upwards of thirty thousand 
 members — who, it must be borne in mind, were 
 
THE PARENT INSTITUTION. 171 
 
 carrying the knowledge they acquired into their 
 homes and the world, and gradually making 
 way for new pupils — gives some idea of the 
 good which was being accomplished through the 
 agencies Dr. Birkbeck had called into existence. 
 The parent Institution maintained its position. 
 The number of students was over eleven hundred, 
 and of these more than eight hundred were 
 mechanics. It had been rendered nearly self- 
 supporting, and the debt had been reduced by 
 about ,£1,300 — no inconsiderable sum, although 
 it still left a balance of ^2,500 owing to the 
 president. A hundred lectures were delivered 
 annually, the fees paid to the professors averaging 
 £3 per lecture ; and the issue of books during 
 the same period was upwards of twenty thou- 
 sand. The evening classes for instruction in 
 various branches of knowledge were also in 
 active operation. 
 
w 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 1841. 
 
 E have now seen the extent to which 
 the educational movement had spread, 
 when he who had originated, and so actively 
 sustained it, was called away from the scene 
 of his labours. 
 
 With substantial records of the work he had 
 accomplished existing in all parts of the land, 
 the pioneer of popular education terminated his 
 earthly career. He had been attacked some 
 eighteen months previously with severe bron- 
 chitis, and this was shortly followed by a 
 distressing complaint — enlargement of the pros- 
 tate gland, accompanied by great local irritation. 
 Notwithstanding that his habits and mode of 
 life had been simple and abstemious almost to 
 an extreme, the disease proved too powerful for 
 human skill to combat, and was attended with 
 the formation of a calculus. He was confined 
 for weeks to his bed, his acute sufferings being 
 
LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 173 
 
 heroically and even cheerfully borne. On one 
 occasion he expressed in a note to the secretary 
 of the Institution his strong wish to attend a 
 meeting, when some special business rendered 
 his presence desirable, adding, however, " but it 
 is not permitted." He lived till within six weeks 
 of the sixty-sixth anniversary of his birth, his 
 usual serenity remaining undisturbed and his 
 intellect unclouded to the last. 
 
 The date of the death is worthy of notice. As 
 though the spirit of his work hovered over his 
 couch, and decreed that even the solemnity of 
 the soul's transition should be identified with 
 his pure and noble earthly mission, it was on 
 the eve of the anniversary of the Institution that 
 the members lost their esteemed president. 
 On the 2nd December 1823 the London Me- 
 chanics' Institution was formed ; on the \st 
 December 1841 its illustrious founder ceased to 
 breathe. Almost his last thoughts were of the 
 mechanics. But a few hours before his death 
 he dictated to his daughter a letter to the mem- 
 bers, expressing his wish to have been present 
 at the forthcoming annual meeting, and stating 
 that he had read the programme and felt con- 
 fident of its success. It is scarcely necessary to 
 
174 A PANEGYRIC REVIVED. 
 
 say, however, that the programme was not 
 carried out, and that the meeting adjourned 
 after a resolution had been passed amidst 
 profound sorrow. 
 
 Looking forward to this period, one powerful 
 writer had already gauged the life-work of the 
 great humanitarian, and pronounced an eloquent 
 panegyric, which although stamped with the 
 impress of an ardent enthusiast, may be not 
 unfittingly echoed at this distance of time. 
 
 "When," says the writer, " the irrevocable decree 
 shall be fulfilled which mingles the dust of the 
 enlightened philosopher with that of the untutored 
 Indian, and confounds all distinction in the ' cold 
 obstruction ' of the grave j when the heart that now 
 glows with virtue and benevolence shall cease its 
 pulsations for ever, and the hand that is stretched 
 forth to the assistance of unobtrusive merit shall be 
 extended no more ; the name of Dr. Birkbeck will be 
 remembered by countless multitudes with respect and 
 veneration; in ages yet unborn it will be associated 
 with those of the greatest benefactors of mankind; 
 and the establishment of Mechanics' Institutions will 
 be his passport to a glorious immortality!" 
 
 The organs of the press paid to him the 
 tribute of respect usually accorded to the de- 
 parted great. Several of them devoted long 
 articles to his career ; and such poor honours as 
 
A FUNERAL PAGEANT. 175 
 
 this world can give were freely bestowed upon 
 the deceased philanthropist. How sincerely the 
 mechanics mourned can well be imagined. 
 " When," says Harriet Martineau, "the departure 
 of this excellent man was known, there was 
 sorrow over all the land where the working men 
 met for self and mutual instruction." Nor were 
 they alone in their grief. Social and educational 
 friends who realised that a gap had been made 
 in their circle, and men of scientific research 
 who missed an earnest and an honest worker, 
 mingled with the members of the Institution 
 and other societies, who assembled in hundreds 
 to pay their last tribute of respect to the man 
 that had proved himself their life-long friend. 
 Exiles from a foreign land, the unhappy Poles, 
 whom he had greatly befriended, attended to 
 mourn a benefactor lost, and homage was paid 
 him by the great and noble. His remains were 
 laid in Kensal Green Cemetery. The mechanics 
 headed the funeral procession four abreast ; 
 twenty-four mourning coaches followed the 
 hearse ; fifteen private carriages succeeded, 
 including those of Lord Brougham, the Turkish 
 Ambassador, and several of the deceased's 
 medical friends ; and the committee of the 
 
176 POSTHUMOUS HONOURS. 
 
 Polish refugees and several of their countrymen 
 joined the mournful pageant in its progress. In 
 all there numbered a thousand persons who, 
 despite of inclement weather, stood at the grave 
 of George Birkbeck. 
 
 Visible mementoes were also forthcoming. A 
 marble medallion of the Doctor was executed 
 by Mr. Foley at the expense of the members, 
 and placed above the lecture platform of the 
 Institution ; and the " Birkbeck Laboratory of 
 Practical Science" at University College was 
 made the formal and substantial expression 
 of the public sentiment. 
 
 Meetings were convened for deciding on 
 the form the memorial should take ; and a 
 committee was elected which recommended the 
 appointment of a special professorship at the 
 University, in the formation of which the Doctor 
 had borne so prominent a part. 
 
 Lord Brougham presided on the occasion of 
 the report of the committee being taken into 
 consideration, and stated that, although he had 
 laid down a rule for himself not to attend public 
 meetings, he should ever most cheerfully break 
 through it when called upon to testify his sense 
 
THE BIRKBECK LABORATORY. 177 
 
 of gratitude, in common with that of the whole 
 country, for obligations such as the man whose 
 memory they were then met to perpetuate had 
 conferred upon society. He spoke from a know- 
 ledge of upwards of forty-five years of Dr. 
 Birkbeck, and could bear testimony to the 
 talent, the skill, and the moral worth of the man, 
 and to the steady devotion of all his powers to 
 the best interests of mankind. His whole life 
 was framed upon the maxim that the noblest of 
 all pursuits was the pursuit of truth, and the 
 highest of all duties was the diffusion of it among 
 his fellow creatures. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Hume supported the proposal, and 
 Lord John Russell moved a resolution to the 
 effect that the meeting desired " to record their 
 deep sense of the many services which Dr. 
 Birkbeck had rendered to the education of the 
 people by founding, in 1800, and teaching a class 
 for mechanics at Glasgow, and by his munificent 
 aid in founding and his constant care in superin- 
 tending the London Mechanics' Institution, and 
 by his ready assistance in forming similar bodies 
 throughout the kingdom." 
 
 A little over £700 was raised, and was appro- 
 priated by the council of the College, together with 
 
 N 
 
178 MURAL TABLET AT SETTLE. 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck's name, to a laboratory for practical 
 instruction in organic and general chemistry and 
 the principles of chemical research, as applied 
 more particularly to the manufacturing arts. 
 The " Birkbeck course for persons practically 
 engaged in manufactures " was also established, 
 at reduced fees for evening instruction. 
 
 Several years later the inhabitants of Settle 
 erected to their illustrious townsman, by public 
 subscription, a handsome mural tablet having a 
 medallion head, sculptured by Mr. Layland of 
 Halifax. Itwas originally intended for the church ; 
 but owing to delay, consequent on the prolonged 
 illness and ultimate death of the sculptor to 
 whom the work was originally entrusted, and 
 to some misunderstandings which arose, it was 
 eventually placed in the Mechanics' Institute in 
 the town. The inscription, which was penned 
 by Lord Brougham, is as follows :— 
 
 "Sacred to the memory of George Birkbeck, M.D., 
 who with unwearied industry and inflexible perse- 
 verance devoted his great natural talents, his extensive 
 and accurate learning, under the guidance of a sound 
 judgment, to the fearless but unpretending exposition 
 of his principles and the general improvement of his 
 fellow-men. Eminent as a teacher of science, he 
 accomplished his favourite design of bringing philo- 
 
A COLOSSAL MONUMENT. 179 
 
 sophy down to the acquaintance of the people. 
 Having successfully taught the working men of Glasgow, 
 while professor in the Anderson College in 1798, he 
 afterwards extended to England the inestimable bene- 
 fits of his wise and generous plan, by founding in 1824 
 the London Mechanics' Institute, to which he was 
 likewise a most munificent patron. He was born 1776, 
 and died 1841." 
 
 But no grander monument could be erected 
 to Dr. Birkbeck than is seen in the Institution 
 over which he presided from its birth to his own 
 death — a colossal monument indeed. His epitaph 
 is written in the tomes of its library ; on its very 
 walls his name is engraved. Its classes, its lec- 
 tures, its members, its workers, all bear witness 
 to his benevolent labours, and unite to sound 
 his praise. And wherever a kindred Institu- 
 tion exists, there too his fame is proclaimed. 
 Throughout the length and breadth of the land 
 indications are seen of what he achieved ; and 
 enduring testimony reminds us to-day that he 
 was indeed " the people's friend." Si monii- 
 mentum reqiiiris, circwnspice. 
 
 George Birkbeck was in fact a NATIONAL 
 REFORMER. 
 
 Never before had one belonging to his rank of 
 society made a serious and sustained effort to 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o A NATIONAL REFORMER. 
 
 educate the lower classes, or condescended 
 voluntarily to give instruction to the English 
 mechanic. We have seen the opposition the 
 scheme encountered from many powerful and 
 influential quarters ; and this may be considered 
 fairly typical of the general sentiment which at 
 the first prevailed, and which long continued to 
 exercise a pernicious sway. 
 
 It is an observation often made — and every 
 progressive mind has realised its truth — that man 
 is largely conservative in his ideas. All changes 
 of an important character are viewed with diffi- 
 dence and distrust, if not with strong antipathy; 
 and reforms have to be advocated year after year 
 ere they can be accomplished. With some, of a 
 timorous disposition, the fear of flying to ills 
 they know not of, makes them content to bear 
 those they have. Others deem it their special 
 duty to hold in check what they consider a 
 revolutionary and iconoclastic spirit. Some 
 discover that the time is not ripe for schemes 
 which are being advocated, but hint that at a 
 future date they would view the matter in a 
 different light. Others are satisfied with things 
 as they are, and boldly oppose any interference 
 with existing institutions, in the apparent belief 
 
THE CONSERVATIVE SPIRIT. 181 
 
 that human perfection has at length been 
 attained. And yet others seem to be of 
 opinion that we have already advanced with 
 too rapid strides, and themselves would be 
 quite prepared to move in a backward direc- 
 tion. All are united, therefore, in the common 
 object of placing obstacles in the reformer's 
 path. 
 
 And in scarcely anything has the conservative 
 spirit been more conspicuous and active than 
 in its approval of the ignorant condition of 
 the masses and its opposition to the diffusion 
 of knowledge. It was looked upon as being 
 perfectly right that the people as a whole 
 should remain in ignorance of almost everything 
 save their particular crafts. For them ever to 
 attain to the higher branches of knowledge 
 would have been regarded as impracticable, had 
 the practicability of the question been considered. 
 But, in truth, it had not advanced so far ; it had 
 not even reached the stage of calling for serious 
 attention. And when, at length, it was forced 
 upon the public mind, it was met with doubts 
 and disapproval. The possibility of the masses 
 devoting themselves to the study of the sciences 
 was at once ridiculed and challenged. They 
 
1 82 FORMER CREED OF SOCIETY. 
 
 lacked both capacity and inclination ; and, above 
 all, education would be a sure means of rendering 
 them envious and discontented. It would — 
 terrible calamity! — make the people study poli- 
 tics, and lay them open to the arts of designing 
 men. Science and learning, if universally dif- 
 fused, would, said a metropolitan' magistrate, in 
 a pamphlet on Indigence published in the early 
 part of the century, speedily overturn the best 
 constituted Government on earth. Later on 
 the .assertion was gravely made in Parliament 
 that in France there was least crime where 
 ignorance was most dense ; the inference being 
 that education would render the people vicious. 
 " The principle was reverenced," says Lord 
 Cockburn, "as indisputable, that the ignorance 
 of the people was necessary to their obedience 
 of law." Nor, despite the progress that had 
 been made, had this spirit by any means died 
 out at the time of Dr. Birkbeck's death. 
 Writing shortly after, the Morning Post, in a 
 sneering article, gave him credit for being a 
 well-meaning sort of man, deeply imbued with 
 partialities for the promotion of popular edu- 
 cation, the prevailing theories upon which the 
 writer declared to be connected as a cause 
 
CHARACTER OF THE REFORMER. 183 
 
 with much of the misery that might be 
 witnessed in the world. 
 
 Such eighty years ago was the generally 
 accepted creed of society ; whilst even forty 
 years afterwards it was still widely prevalent. 
 To-day its shibboleth is so rarely pronounced 
 that its exponents excite only pity or contempt 
 
 The man, therefore, who could initiate and be 
 the chief instrument in bringing about such a 
 vast change of public opinion was no ordinary 
 individual. Apart from what we actually know r 
 of him, it is not difficult to read his character. 
 A clear head, a ready hand, a benevolent heart ; 
 originality of idea, depth of emotion ; firmness 
 in resolve, promptness in action ; unbounded en- 
 thusiasm, unwavering devotion ; proficiency, 
 erudition ; perseverance, pertinacity; generosity, 
 self-denial ; nobility, manliness — such must have 
 been the attributes of the mechanics' friend. 
 
 A writer of an obituary notice in the Gentle- 
 viens Magazine gives us the following por- 
 traiture : — 
 
 " He was mild and equable in his temper and 
 disposition, benevolent in spirit, and possessing great 
 suavity of manners. Whenever he appeared among 
 the mechanics he was welcomed as a father ; he was 
 highly appreciated by a very large circle of private 
 
TESTIMONY OF THE PRESS. 
 
 friends, and was held in great esteem by the most 
 eminent public literary and scientific men of the day. 
 He possessed a reflective, beneficent countenance, a 
 venerable and very unpretending aspect." 
 
 Says the Morning Chronicle — which never 
 
 swerved in its allegiance to him and the cause 
 
 he advocated — in the course of a long article : — 
 
 " The grave cannot be permitted to close over the 
 remains of this estimable man, without some tribute 
 of respect to his worth being paid in the columns of a 
 public journal. He was a Liberal in his politics, 
 but science is of no party ; over it and its votaries 
 the storms of party war and civil strife should 
 alike roll innocuous. The subject of this sketch 
 never allowed party motives to influence the exer- 
 cise of his beneficence ; and those who have exerted 
 themselves to ameliorate the condition of their fellow- 
 men are entitled to commemoration, whatever be 
 their political or religious creed." 
 
 The Times, Standard, Examiner, and other 
 newspapers rendered similar testimony, which it 
 is not necessary to repeat. In one memoir Dr 
 Birkbeck's name was referred to as " part of the 
 history of the day and its efforts at self-advance- 
 ment"; in another he was introduced as the 
 "well-known medical and philanthropic indi- 
 vidual"; and another closed its biographical 
 sketch by stating it had been " drawn from 
 one not accustomed to bestow undue praises on 
 
POLITICAL VIEWS. 185 
 
 a member of the faculty ; but, in the language 
 of Junius, 'the panegyric will wear well, for it 
 has been nobly earned.' " 
 
 As will already have been gathered, as a 
 politician the Doctor was not frequently active, 
 perhaps fortunately for the cause he had es- 
 poused; and he studiously avoided arousing a 
 party spirit. But his sympathies, as exemplified 
 in speech and action, were all in the direction of 
 progress. In his inaugural address to the In- 
 stitution he advocated the abolition of those 
 laws which prevented free trade and placed 
 restrictions upon workmen ; his hearty support 
 of Mr. Grote, and his services in connection 
 with the partial repeal of the newspaper-tax 
 have been referred to ; and it will be readily 
 believed that he was the friend of all reform. 
 
 His theological tenets, equally with his politi- 
 cal, he never sought to parade ; but it will be 
 remembered that he was originally connected with 
 the Society of Friends, to which, as already 
 stated, his family had for generations belonged. 
 In his later life he does not appear to have 
 identified himself with any special denomination ; 
 and he listened with pleasure to the various 
 talented and popular preachers of his day, irre- 
 
1 86 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS: 
 
 spective of their particular opinions. He was 
 strongly in favour of complete toleration for all 
 religious beliefs ; but he regarded the profession of 
 atheistical views as explicable only on the sup- 
 position that it proceeded from an affectation of 
 singularity or a mental incapacity. Whilst he 
 made no ostentatious display of piety, he was 
 too sincerely devout to repress in his public 
 utterances a recognition of his belief in a divine 
 Providence which was the controlling principle 
 of his actions. Science and theology were not 
 so antagonistic in his day as they now some- 
 times are ; and in all his studies he was led to 
 a more profound faith in a wise and beneficent 
 Creator. His address, already quoted, on the 
 occasion of the laying of the foundation stone 
 of the Institution fairly exhibits his religious 
 spirit ; but two other illustrations, taken from his 
 lectures to the mechanics on the winds and on 
 the structure and functions of the human body, 
 may not be out of place. The first he concluded 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Difficult as it may appear to reconcile all the 
 variable and capricious phenomena of the atmosphere, 
 there cannot exist a doubt that from a system so 
 impressively stamped with design and intelligence, 
 fortuitous occurrences must be universally excluded. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM LECTURES. 187 
 
 He who at the creation proclaimed ' This be thy just 
 circumference, O world!' who declared to the impe- 
 tuous ocean ' Thus far shalt thou go and no further, 
 and here shall thy proud waves be stayed', and who 
 by his immediate mandate ' has stopped the thunder 
 in mid-heaven', has not allowed, we maybe persuaded, 
 the subordinate phenomena to proceed without equal 
 control. Every breeze which murmurs through the 
 air must have received its commission in accordance 
 with unchangeable laws, and when we have extended 
 our inquiries into second causes to the utmost limits 
 to which science can aspire, we must terminate our 
 researches by reverently admitting the existence of a 
 presiding Intelligence, a great First Cause." 
 
 His remarks on the human body he closed by 
 some observations struck in a similar key: — 
 
 " In the lectures which I have already delivered, 
 and to which your attention has been intense and 
 unvarying, I hope I have succeeded in pointing out 
 to you the structure and situation of the chief organs 
 which constitute the beautiful fabric of the human 
 body, and in showing the various purposes which the 
 parts enumerated were intended to answer. These 
 purposes, which it is always delightful to contemplate, 
 philosophers have called final causes ; they may be 
 called also the intentions of the Deity; and as the 
 counsels of God I have not refused to deliver them to 
 you. Where we have been capable of detecting the 
 final cause, or the counsels, as they may be termed, 
 I have also been anxious to proclaim to you the great 
 wisdom with which they may have been introduced, and 
 their unquestionable superiority over the contrivances 
 and arrangements of the human artificer. I have 
 
1 88 SCIENTIFIC ATTAINMENTS. 
 
 likewise endeavoured to render the subject as plain 
 and intelligible as possible, whilst presenting to your 
 minds those instances of design in the mechanism of 
 the body which human sagacity has been able to pene- 
 trate. I hope I have made you discover in this 
 curious structure, something more valuable and more 
 deserving of your care than you had previously known 
 to exist in it ; and I trust also that I have sufficiently 
 verified the assertion with which I commenced these 
 lectures — that ' man is a miracle to man.' " 
 
 Of the extent of the Doctor's scientific attain- 
 ments we have abundance of evidence. Such 
 rapid strides, however, have been made of late 
 years, and the doctrine of teleology, which he 
 ever taught as it was proclaimed by Socrates 
 and Newton, has been in many eminent quarters 
 either attacked or ignored, that some may be 
 inclined to under-estimate his accomplishments. 
 Sufficient, nevertheless, has been said to indicate 
 the appreciation in which he was held in his own 
 day ; and, whilst he was distinctly in advance of 
 his times in the work with which he is especially 
 identified, he took great care to keep abreast of 
 the age in his personal knowledge. In more 
 than one quarter regret was expressed that he had 
 not devoted himself entirely to general science, 
 rather than have embraced the medical pro- 
 fession ; and, on the other hand, it was confi- 
 
MEDICAL SKILL: LITERARY STYLE. 189 
 
 dently stated that had his time and his talents 
 been directed exclusively or even principally to 
 the study of medicine, he would unquestionably 
 have enlarged its boundaries. Upon this subject 
 the Morning Chronicle remarks : — 
 
 " As a medical man, Dr. Birkbeck enjoyed con- 
 siderable practice, much more so than is generally be- 
 stowed on those given to scientific or literary pursuits. 
 .... The physician who cultivates letters will be 
 baulked of his professional expectations, and stigma- 
 tised as a paper-stainer by the chief of his professional 
 brethren. Dr. Birkbeck, from some fortunate acci- 
 dent, was not a sufferer to this extent ; but we believe 
 it was generally expected that on the accession of 
 Her Majesty to the throne his scientific services would 
 have been acknowledged by the appointment to an 
 honorary medical office in the royal household ; but 
 this expectation was not realized." 
 
 The Doctor's literary style, and to some extent 
 his powers as a public speaker, have been 
 exhibited by the extracts from his addresses 
 which have been introduced. His diction was 
 clear and expressive, his sentences were rhyth- 
 mical, his language was well sustained, and he 
 had a musical voice. He made a judicious use of 
 simile and metaphor, was felicitous in his intro- 
 duction of quotations, and occasionally illustrated 
 with effect from the poets, of whom Gray 
 
1 90 OR A TORICAL PO WERS. 
 
 occupied a high place in his estimation. Perhaps 
 the chief criticism which could be passed upon his 
 style would be that it was at times too formally 
 polished ; and some of his special addresses bear 
 internal evidence of careful preparation. But 
 whilst he indulged in rhetorical embellishments, 
 he cannot be accused of sacrificing sense to 
 sound. In his ordinary lectures to the mechanics 
 — which, on account of their purely technical 
 and didactic character, have been but very 
 scantily quoted — he was studious to employ 
 such expressions as were best suited to convey 
 instruction to their minds ; and he addressed them 
 in an easy manner, employing only a few notes. 
 Contemporary testimony was to the effect that 
 as a public speaker he acquitted himself with 
 credit, speaking with singular neatness and 
 fluency ; and that his ideas were always sound 
 and practical, and were as clear as his language. 
 Of his professional character, Dr. Henry 
 Clutterbuck, one of his colleagues in the presi- 
 dency of the Medical Society of London, has 
 left on record the following testimony, originally 
 given to the members of the Society : — 
 
 " His claim to notice was of he highest stamp. 
 Acute in observation, discriminating in judgment. 
 
PROFESSIONAL AND PRIVATE LIFE. 191 
 
 patient and cautious in prescribing and administering 
 remedies, he was, as might have been expected, 
 eminently successful in practice j thereby, as well as 
 by" suavity of demeanour, ensuring the entire con- 
 fidence of his patients. He was thoroughly imbued 
 with a knowledge of the principles and practice of 
 our art as at present subsisting." 
 
 As to his private character, it is needless to 
 reiterate the testimony which has been given 
 throughout these pages ; but further reference 
 may be allowed on this point to the authority 
 just quoted, who — after stating that he had been 
 associated with Dr. Birkbeck in office for nearly 
 thirty years, during which time not a single un- 
 kindly feeling existed between them — states that 
 as a man he was unassuming and artless in 
 his manners, of unbounded benevolence and 
 inflexible integrity ; and that he was beloved as 
 well as esteemed by a large circle of private 
 friends; was admired respected and lamented by 
 multitudes of all ranks, who had profited by his 
 instruction or by his benevolence; and was 
 almost adored in his domestic circle. 
 
 Of the life-work of Dr. Birkbeck the present 
 generation can scarcely form an adequate 
 estimate. 
 
 Difficult is it to-day to realise how great was the 
 
192 THE PIONEER'S LIFE-WORK. 
 
 reformation which he effected. Nearly a century 
 has elapsed since his self-appointed task began, 
 and the spirit by which he was actuated has now 
 permeated the land. Even for a moment to 
 take that spirit from our midst and to retrocede 
 some four score years does not admit of possi- 
 bility. We may attempt to portray the con- 
 dition of the country, but the portraiture lacks 
 distinctness and vividness ; at the best it is 
 but a feeble reproduction of what he saw and 
 felt. . 
 
 And as impossible is it to gauge his labours 
 as to revivify the times in which he lived. He 
 found a society in which caste was dominant; 
 and he became the means of raising the humble 
 Sudras to the dignity of manhood, until the 
 haughty Brahmins were compelled to acknow- 
 ledge their claims. He discovered men with 
 mental powers which hitherto had been neglected ; 
 and he furnished the means by which those 
 powers could be developed and employed. He 
 opened out a path to science along which the 
 poor might journey ; and he guided and sus- 
 tained them on the road. Almost before the 
 demand existed, he created the supply ; and 
 as the supply re-acted and gave rise to an 
 
A SPLENDID REVOLUTION. 193 
 
 ever-increasing demand, he laboured unweary- 
 ingly to satisfy the want. 
 
 Thus he effected a splendid revolution. In 
 its origin almost imperceptible, quietly it was 
 carried out ; yet with great and enduring results. 
 " Peace hath her victories no less renown'd than 
 war," and this will rank amongst her most 
 renowned. It was a triumph the magnitude 
 and glory of which can scarcely be overrated — a 
 triumph of knowledge over ignorance, conviction 
 over prejudice, zeal over apathy, esteem over 
 disdain. And it was gained by one whose 
 avocation was to heal, and not to slay : it left no 
 blasting pestilence in its train, but prosperity 
 and joy for thousands. 
 
 For all these truly national services, intimates 
 a writer of thirty years ago, not without a touch 
 of sarcasm, "the Government had the generosity 
 the other day to offer £50 per annum to Dr. 
 Birkbeck's widow — an offer which was declined!' 
 
 Better was it that it was not accepted. Alone 
 he struck the first blow for the intellectual 
 emancipation of his lowly friends ; without State 
 aid or grant he fought the battle with his own 
 right arm ; and with the army which he himself 
 had raised, from amongst those won to him by his 
 
 o 
 
194 A NOBLE WARRIOR. 
 
 genial manner, he gained the mighty and glori- 
 ous victory. Better far that the name of the 
 noble warrior with ignorance, bigotry and vice 
 should figure not in civil list or pension roll. 
 Let these be reserved for the generals who but 
 too often desolate and destroy, and who receive 
 not their fifties but their thousands from the 
 public revenue. For George Birkbeck was 
 reserved the higher reward of the lasting esteem 
 and gratitude of his humble brethen. 
 
 As already indicated, the second partner of 
 the Doctor's home survived him ; and her grief 
 was assuaged, as far as it could be, by the con- 
 solation and support of her two sons and two 
 daughters ; whilst the son by the first wife also 
 remained long to follow in the footsteps of his 
 father. 
 
 The career of Mr. William Lloyd Birkbeck, 
 the eldest son, has been worthy of the distin- 
 guished name he bears. In 1826, at the age 
 of nineteen, he entered Trinity College, Cam- 
 bridge ; and in January 1830 graduated as 
 Bachelor of Arts. In October of the same year 
 he was elected a Fellow of his College, and 
 in 1833 took his degree of Master of Arts. The 
 
WORTHY OFFSPRING. 195 
 
 next year he was called to the bar, and in 
 1852 was appointed reader in equity to the 
 Society of Lincoln's Inn — a position which he 
 occupied for twenty years. In i860 he became 
 Downing professor of the laws of England in 
 the University at which he had obtained his 
 honours, the duties of which office he still dis- 
 charges. Like his father, he has proved a friend 
 to the Poles, having been the co-adjutor of the 
 late Lord Dudley Stuart in his measures on 
 behalf of this oppressed nation and its exiled 
 children, and having now been for forty years 
 honorary secretary of the Literary Association 
 of the Friends of Poland, in many parts of which 
 country he is well known. He has also identified 
 himself with the cause of popular education ; 
 and has been the president of the parent Institu- 
 tion from the death of its founder, and taken an 
 active part in measures for its welfare. 
 
 The Doctor's second son, Mr. George Henry 
 Birkbeck, of Rock Ferry near Birkenhead, has 
 also attained some distinction. From an early 
 age he gave signs of great aptitude for me- 
 chanical pursuits. At sixteen he entered the 
 workshops of the celebrated Mr. (afterwards 
 Sir) William Fairbairn of Manchester, for the 
 
 O 2 
 
196 THE ELDER DAUGHTER. 
 
 purpose of studying engraving, and he subse- 
 quently became a civil engineer of eminence. 
 Of the daughters, the elder, Anna Margaret, 
 was a lady of some genius, celebrated also for 
 her remarkable beauty. She was the author of 
 " Rural and Historical Gleanings from Eastern 
 Europe", a work, published in 1854, which 
 dealt in an interesting form with the history 
 customs and legends of the Magyars and 
 Slavonians of Hungary. In 1857 she married 
 Colonel Mednyanszky of Eperies, the aide-de- 
 camp of General Klapka. She died in 1863, 
 having by her will bequeathed £ 1,000 to Trinity 
 College Cambridge for the establishment of a 
 "Birkbeck Lectureship" in ecclesiastical history, 
 in memory of her younger brother and sister, 
 who died shortly before her. There was also 
 established pursuant to her will, at the Institu- 
 tion her father had founded, an annual " Medny- 
 anszky Prize" of the value of £3, for the best 
 essay by younger members on the subject ot 
 education. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RESULTS OF THE DIFFUSION OF 
 KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 T T would be superfluous to point out in detail 
 -*< all the benefits which have accrued, alike 
 to individual and nation, from the noble reform 
 the history of which has been narrated. To a 
 great extent they may be incidentally gathered 
 from what has already been said ; and, apart 
 from this, they can be seen and felt, and need 
 not to be tabulated to be appreciated. 
 
 Not, however, to rest content with a mere 
 general survey, and in justice to the subject of 
 our memoir, let us take a glance at some of the 
 chief advantages arising from the diffusion of 
 knowledge amongst the people. 
 
 Looked at first from the individual point ol 
 view, the benefits conferred upon the poorer 
 classes it is scarcely possible to over-estimate. 
 For they are those manifold benefits which 
 
198 KNOWLEDGE AND THE MASSES. 
 
 knowledge always bestows, and which to ade- 
 quately indicate would require a volume alone. * 
 
 So long as the vast majority of the people 
 were allowed to remain in a state of ignorance, 
 the inquiry might well have been made, what 
 boots it all our talk about progress ? If know- 
 ledge is a partial benefactress, and like society 
 smiles upon broadcloth alone, whilst to the 
 eyes of the humble poor " her ample page, rich 
 with the spoils of time," she ne'er unrolls, what 
 matter it to nine-tenths of the population how 
 ample or how rich that page may be? To 
 the warm-hearted humanitarian, nay to all but 
 the absolutely selfish, no advancement can be 
 hailed with unmixed satisfaction which is 
 chiefly confined to a class, and that the class to 
 whom fortune has already been specially 
 gracious. Increased learning, like increased 
 wealth, unless accompanied by general distri- 
 bution, fails to exercise its maximum power 
 for good. The highest form of progress consists 
 in the elevation of the masses. 
 
 With justice, then, does Miss Martineau refer 
 to the establishment of the London Mechanics' 
 Institution as one of the most cheering incidents 
 of the period, and observe that men of her 
 
HERBERT SPENCER ON SCIENCE. 199 
 
 generation might well distinguish the year 1823 
 with a mark of honour in the catalogue of their 
 years. Like a minister of light, Dr. Birkbeck 
 appeared amongst the mechanics and artisans, 
 dispelling the darkness which enshrouded their 
 minds. He unsealed the eyes, he strengthened 
 the vision, he opened out to view a radiant land- 
 scape ; until at length his dazzled and delighted 
 beholders felt that they had entered a brighter 
 existence, and that whereas they were blind now 
 they could see. 
 
 Science, we are told by a high authority, is the 
 knowledge which is cf most worth. Says Mr. 
 Herbert Spencer, after an exhaustive analysis of 
 the subject : — 
 
 " For direct self-preservation, or the maintenance 
 of life and health, the all important knowledge is — 
 Science. For that indirect self-preservation which 
 we call gaining a livelihood, the knowledge of greatest 
 value is — Science. For the due discharge of parental 
 functions, the proper guidance is to be found only in — 
 Science. For that interpretation of national life, past 
 and present, without which the citizen cannot rightly 
 regulate his conduct, the indispensable key is — Science. 
 Alike for the most perfect production and present 
 enjoyment of art in all its forms, the needful prepara- 
 tion is still — Science. And for purposes of discipline, 
 intellectual, moral, religious, the most efficient study 
 is, once more — Science." 
 
200 BENEFITS TO THE INDIVIDUAL. 
 
 This, it may perhaps be said, is the view of a 
 specialist in those branches of study to which 
 he awards the palm ; but recently, indeed, it 
 has been to some extent condemned as being 
 one-sided and partial ; and possibly it does not 
 represent the entire truth. But though it need 
 qualification, it bears unimpeachable testimony 
 to the fact that in opening the doors of science 
 to his humble brethren Dr. Birkbeck conferred 
 upon them a boon invaluable for every purpose 
 and department of life. 
 
 Apart, however, from the fact that a wise selec- 
 tion was made in the class of knowledge primarily 
 offered to the working man, any effective scheme 
 for his mental enlightenment could not fail to be 
 productive of good. All knowledge, be it of the 
 comprehensive character of science or of a more 
 restricted nature, is attended with great gain to 
 the individual, as has been demonstrated in elo- 
 quent language on many an educational platform. 
 That it is power has become proverbial ; but it 
 is more than this — it is an important subjective 
 control ; in its effect upon the recipient himself 
 its utility is of the supreme degree. 
 
 Knowledge has a refining influence; it elevates 
 
AN ENNOBLING GIFT. 
 
 its rich possessor, and dignifies the lowliest roof. 
 Since it is the mind which raises man above the 
 brute creation, it is by the cultivation of the 
 intellect that he becomes truly manly ; since it 
 is the mind which most nearly approaches the 
 divine, it is by the cultivation of the intellect 
 that he' becomes godlike. Whether it be true 
 or not that there is only a " missing link " 
 between the lowest type of humanity and the 
 highest type of the animal race, to the outward 
 eye the grinning, gaping, chattering ape scarcely 
 seems more removed from the civilized being 
 than does the wild ferocious cannibal. 
 
 " The mind's the standard of the man;" 
 and the noble form without the intellect is one 
 of the saddest spectacles in the wide creation. 
 Dr. Birkbeck's gift to the labouring classes 
 was therefore of the most exalted character. 
 
 Nor does knowledge simply impart nobility ; 
 it is also a permanent source of happiness. Other 
 forms of pleasure are fleeting. The gratification 
 of the senses brings but a spasmodic and 
 ephemeral enjoyment ; the bacchanalian cup 
 may satiate — it cannot satisfy. But a culti- 
 vated intellect, as has been frequently pointed 
 out, is a fountain of perennial and all-sufficing 
 
A SOURCE OF HAPPINESS. 
 
 happiness. The excitement of the busy world, 
 the stimulus of external objects, are not needed ; 
 the mind has resources of its own, and in quiet 
 meditation finds repose and content. The 
 educated man is not dependent upon special 
 circumstances, is not at the mercy or caprice ol 
 others ; he may be denied extrinsic means of 
 pleasure, but none can rob him of the treasury of 
 thought. Should health fail him or friends prove 
 false, he has staunch companions who will never 
 forsake him ; ennui shall neither haunt his 
 couch nor disturb his retirement ; he can live in 
 a world peopled by memory or imagination ; he 
 " holds communion with the immortal dead." 
 Once more, then — Dr. Birkbeck was the means of 
 creating for the working man a sublimer and 
 happier life. 
 
 But, further — we find there was brought into 
 play a counteracting influence to idleness and 
 vice. To the individual who has no resources 
 within himself, leisure hours are often a burden 
 and a bane. He is carried away by every passing 
 wind, becomes a mere creature of circumstances, 
 and ofttimes, from want of occupation, finds his 
 way to the haunts of profligacy and dissipation. 
 The love of study, on the other hand, is an anti- 
 
A MORAL INFLUENCE. 203 
 
 dote to indolence, and the full employment of 
 the mental powers tends to subdue the sensual 
 passions. Higher aims and aspirations are 
 created, and immoral tendencies are curbed. 
 True, alas ! education is not a safeguard 
 from depravity and crime ; and the mere 
 development of the intellect, if the emotions 
 be dwarfed, produces anything but a lovable 
 character. But this does not depreciate the 
 advantages of knowledge, or detract from the 
 general truth of what has been said ; and there 
 can be no doubt that ignorance is greatly 
 responsible for a large share of the moral evil 
 that is in the world. By rendering the people 
 better informed, an encouragement is given to 
 industry and thrift, and thereby to sobriety and 
 virtue ; and — again — Dr. Birkbeck's mission, 
 therefore, was of the most beneficial character. 
 
 Nor are material rewards wanting. Know- 
 ledge, in addition to ennobling the mind, 
 gladdening the heart, and elevating the moral 
 tone, is the means of obtaining those substantial 
 blessings which are indispensable to physical 
 comfort. It is, in fact, a marketable commodity, 
 possessing commercial and pecuniary advan- 
 tages. And, however enthusiastic we may 
 
204 MA TERIAL RE WA RDS. 
 
 become when dealing with the sublimer products 
 of learning, this is a practical aspect of the 
 subject which is by no means to be disregarded. 
 The bread and cheese question is one which 
 cannot be ignored ; nay, it of necessity demands 
 primary attention. And from this point of 
 view, a high-class education is' the greatest boon 
 a man can receive. Merit, it cannot be denied, 
 in some instances fails to command adequate 
 remuneration ; but skilled or mental labour does 
 as a rule obtain a higher recompense than mere 
 mechanical handiwork. Knowledge is a pass- 
 port to posts of responsibility ; it claims as its 
 rewards the emoluments of the State. Other 
 things being equal, it gives its possessor an 
 immense advantage in the struggles of life, and 
 is a means, not simply of adding to the aggre- 
 gate wealth, but of bringing about a more 
 equitable distribution. Whilst, therefore, it is 
 worthy of pursuit for its own sake — and indeed 
 is never more attractive than when so pursued — 
 this concrete outcome of the quest calls for 
 special recognition, and may be justly enumer- 
 ated amongst the benefits which Dr. Birkbeck 
 bestowed on the working classes. 
 
BENEFITS TO THE NATION. 205 
 
 We have hitherto looked at the results of the 
 diffusion of knowledge so far as the individual is 
 concerned : a few observations may now be offered, 
 before leaving the subject, as to its effect upon 
 the nation. This, at first sight, may seem to 
 resolve itself into a mere generalization of the 
 advantages already enumerated ; since the gain 
 to the community may be said to consist in the 
 aggregate gain of the units composing it. But, 
 as a matter of fact, this method of simple 
 addition gives an inadequate sum total. For 
 when education, from being confined to a small 
 class, is extended to all sections of society, more 
 powerful forces are brought into action, greater 
 division of labour and co-operation are possible, 
 and progression is in a geometrical rather than 
 a simple arithmetical direction. 
 
 However valuable and indispensable the great 
 men of a nation may be, by far the larger 
 part of its resources remains but partially 
 utilised, so long as vast numbers of the 
 population are allowed to live in a state of 
 comparative ignorance. The philosophers and 
 the statesmen — the aristocracy of talent — are 
 but a small section of society ; and although 
 they justly exercise an enormous influence, 
 
2o6 MATERIAL AND MORAL PROGRESS. 
 
 the sinews of the country are found in its toiling 
 masses. 
 
 Hence, from the standpoint alike of the 
 political economist and the social reformer, that 
 the people should be liberally educated is of the 
 highest importance. The peculiarly gifted are 
 thereby rescued from an obscurity from which, 
 in all probability, they would otherwise never 
 emerge ; and latent genius is developed and 
 made available for the good of all. Habits of 
 endurance attention and industry, which a large 
 class perforce acquire, are brought into combina- 
 tion with superior intelligence ; and practical 
 skill becomes united with theoretical knowledge, 
 producing — to use language already quoted — the 
 full perfection of intellectual power. And the 
 general tendency is to render men, even when 
 actuated by no unselfish motives, more mutually 
 helpful, better citizens, and of greater service to 
 the State. Thus moral progress is likewise made, 
 and important reforms are brought about. The 
 companions of ignorance, as we have seen, are 
 too often poverty, vice and crime; and if we would 
 effectually deal with these pernicious outgrowths, 
 we must strike at the root of the evil. No doubt 
 it partly arises from other causes, and especially 
 
LEGISLATION AND CIVILIZATION. 207 
 
 from the prevalent appetite for intoxicating 
 drink ; but even these are reached by increased 
 knowledge, which not only tends to subjugate 
 the sensual nature, but makes the social ban 
 more rigorous and more keenly felt. And 
 similarly, in the realm of politics, wiser and 
 more righteous laws are the outcome of general 
 education. Legislation, it is truly observed, is 
 never in advance of the people ; and a reliable 
 index to the condition of the nation is to be 
 found in its parliamentary annals. An ignorant 
 mobility is invariably accompanied by a paternal 
 and probably a despotic Government: only with 
 an enlightened community are free institutions 
 possible. 
 
 To raise, then, the intellectual status of the 
 nation is to give the greatest impetus to material 
 and moral progress ; and this can only be accom- 
 plished by scattering broadcast the seeds of 
 knowledge. By his educational labours amongst 
 the people, Dr. Birkbeck contributed substantially 
 to the prosperity of his country, and promoted 
 the growth of civilization. 
 
 To fully chronicle the progress which has 
 been actually made would be to narrate the 
 
208 INFLUENCE OF THE DEMOCRACY. 
 
 history of the century. When the pent-up 
 waters of science were set free a new stream of 
 life traversed the country in all directions. And 
 that stream has never ceased to flow. Though 
 many have tried to stem its progress, it has 
 swelled in time into a mighty river, gathering 
 increased volume as it rolls along, and sending 
 forth innumerable tributaries, until at length it 
 promises to fertilize all the land, and not to 
 leave one barren acre. 
 
 The working classes have now become a 
 powerful factor in the State, bringing into 
 constant play a vast amount of mental force 
 which for long ages had been lying dormant. If 
 they have as yet justified the early opinion of 
 the great educational reformer that the people 
 cannot be profound, they have equally justified 
 its accompanying prediction, uttered at a time 
 when he stood almost alone, that great good 
 would accrue to the community by the general , 
 diffusion of knowledge. Breathing a more 
 invigorating air, and thereby acquiring greater 
 strength, they impart to the body-politic addi- 
 tional life and increased vigour. To-day it is 
 their voice which to a great extent decides who 
 shall regulate the affairs of the nation. Few 
 
A PROGRESSIVE ERA. 209 
 
 are there who will not admit that they give 
 stamina to the constitution ; and measures for 
 the increased dissemination of knowledge are 
 lauded to the skies. 
 
 With the Reform Bill of 1832 a new era was 
 inaugurated, and the system of representative 
 government first established on a sure basis. 
 Since then the franchise has been still further 
 extended ; a cheap daily press has made all men 
 politicians ; and the nation, it may now be said, 
 is governed largely by the nation. Pauperism 
 has enormously decreased ; the standard of living 
 has been raised ; and there has been a steady 
 accession to the ranks of the middle classes. 
 The mechanical skill of former ages will scarcely 
 bear comparison with that of the present century ; 
 the average number of inventions per annum has 
 risen from two hundred and fifty to upwards 
 of four thousand, and this notwithstanding the 
 hitherto unsatisfactory state of the patent law ; 
 the domain of science has been enlarged beyond 
 the wildest dreams of the past ; agriculture, 
 despite its depression in recent years, is in a new 
 phase of existence; and the commercial supre- 
 macy of England has been established. Unjust 
 restrictions upon workmen have been abolished ; 
 
 P 
 
2io REFORMS, PAST AND PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 the Factory Acts have rescued women and 
 children from a bitter drudgery ; and female 
 education is raising the weaker sex to her true 
 position, and enlarging for her the scope of em- 
 ployment. Drunkenness is far less prevalent 
 than it formerly was ; a revolution has taken 
 place in sanitary affairs ; a more just and 
 merciful penal code has gradually been estab- 
 lished ; and religious tolerance has at length 
 been largely secured. 
 
 Such are the more important triumphs 
 which have been achieved, to a great extent — 
 directly or indirectly — by means of the diffusion 
 of knowledge amongst the people, and the 
 change, incidental thereto, from a practically 
 oligarchic to a democratic form of govern- 
 ment. In recognizing these, we need not be 
 unmindful of the fact that there is no discern- 
 ible finality to reform, and that still further 
 development awaits us as knowledge continues 
 to enlarge its area. With all that has been 
 accomplished, we are only yet in the early morn 
 of the new era ; and what splendour shall attend 
 its meridian we can at present but vaguely fore- 
 see. Undoubtedly, many of the existing evils 
 arise from a too marked inequality in the distri- 
 
THEORIES OF MALCONTENTS. 
 
 bution of wealth ; and whilst communistic and 
 socialistic schemes are for the most part so 
 impracticable or inequitable as to render them 
 unworthy of serious attention, to an increasing 
 co-operation between capital and labour, a more 
 extended recognition of the law of population, 
 and a judicious revision of the landed system — 
 all of which, there is little doubt, will come to 
 pass as the people learn to appreciate the 
 principles of economics — together with a still 
 wider adoption of temperance principles, we 
 are warranted in looking for a solution of the 
 problems of the day. 
 
 Of course malcontents are to be found who 
 will take a contrary view to all that has been 
 advanced. There are always some, of a reaction- 
 ary character, who mourn or affect to mourn for 
 the good old times, talk of the degeneracy of 
 the age, and reversing the happy creed of Pope, 
 go about gloomily muttering that " whatever is, 
 is wrong" Hence, we still occasionally meet 
 with individuals who oppose the education of 
 the masses, who yet believe in government by 
 the few, who talk with regret of the period when 
 the lower orders knew their position and did not 
 
 P 2 
 
FALSE ALARMS. 
 
 aspire to equality with their betters, and who 
 would rather "let wealth and commerce, laws 
 and learning die " than that the people at large 
 should share in the power formerly centred in 
 " our old nobility." 
 
 But to these little attention need be paid ; 
 they serve principally to illustrate a rule to 
 which they are not very brilliant exceptions ; and 
 experience justifies no apprehension of the dire 
 calamities they predict. The alarmist cry, which 
 was uttered at the outset, has been echoed at 
 every stage, but has proved unfounded and of no 
 avail. The disasters which were foretold have 
 not come to pass ; the country has not gone to 
 ruin ; anarchy and turbulence have not resulted ; 
 the people have not become iconoclastic ; and 
 the despised plebeian, when fairly tried, has been 
 found to possess as much wisdom as his haughty- 
 censors, and ofttimes more common sense. 
 
 We need not therefore fear the future. The 
 past affords a basis for sound judgment, and 
 verifies the conclusions at which we have arrived 
 deductively; and with the educational forces 
 now in play, we may look forward with hope 
 and confidence. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FURTHER HISTORY OF THE PARENT 
 
 INSTITUTION AND OF THE POPULAR 
 
 EDUCATION MOVEMENT. 
 
 1 841-1883. 
 
 ' I ^HE present record would be incomplete 
 -* without a parting glance at that now 
 veteran Institution the progress of which has 
 been traced down to the death of its illustrious 
 founder, and a brief notice of the development 
 of the educational movement during the period 
 which has since elapsed. 
 
 Years ago the name of the venerable athenaeum 
 was changed in honour of him with whom it 
 mainly originated, and in indication of its 
 extended scope ; and it became known by its 
 present title of " The Birkbeck Literary and 
 Scientific Institution." As already indicated, 
 upon its founder's decease his eldest son was re- 
 quested to occupy the presidential chair; and ably 
 
2i 4 REVIVAL MEETINGS. 
 
 has he filled the position for more than twice the 
 period of his father's tenure. 
 
 The loss, however, sustained in Dr. Birkbeck's 
 death, was not one from which the Institution 
 easily recovered ; and it has undergone periods 
 of great vicissitude and trial. The number of 
 members had somewhat declined during the 
 period of the Doctor's illness ; and, still further 
 diminished by the depression of trade, it reached 
 in 1844 as low a figure as 750. The receipts 
 being 'less, the expenditure had been reduced ; 
 and fewer lectures were consequently given. 
 The members were specially convened to consider 
 the state of affairs ; a committee was appointed ; 
 and in May 1845 a public meeting was held, at 
 which Lord Brougham (although he had then 
 retired from public life) took the chair, and was 
 supported by Bishop Thirlwall, Lord Dudley 
 Stuart and others. Brougham made a donation 
 of £25, Prince Albert sent £20, and various 
 other subscriptions were obtained amounting 
 altogether to about £500, with which some 
 material improvements were effected. 
 
 In 1847 a prospectus was issued for the for- 
 mation of a " Birkbeck School." It stated 
 that a desire had long been felt to render the 
 
BIRKBECK SCHOOLS. 215 
 
 Institution complete as an educational estab- 
 lishment, by connecting with it a school to 
 which members and friends might send their 
 children, and insure for them education of the 
 highest character. An efficient schoolmaster 
 undertook the charge, and the plan adopted 
 was that of the British and Foreign School 
 Society, save that religious instruction was 
 not included. The fees were sixpence and a 
 shilling per week, according to age ; and in 
 time not less than three hundred children 
 attended. The school was held in the lecture- 
 theatre of the Institution, for the use of 
 which an annual rent was paid ; and it con- 
 tinued its beneficent operations until it had 
 given rise to several large similar agencies in 
 various parts of the metropolis. 
 
 But although the Institution continued to 
 carry on the good work, it was for a long time 
 on a more limited scale ; and never, perhaps, did 
 any organization suffer more from the with- 
 drawal of its guiding spirit. The rent of ^"229 
 per annum was a serious burden, and neither it 
 nor the interest on the building debt could 
 be paid. At one time a memorial, bearing 
 
216 A CMS/S AT THE INSTITUTION. 
 
 several influential signatures, was presented by 
 the secretary of the special committee, Mr. 
 John R. Taylor (who devoted considerable time 
 to the matter) to the Lords Commissioners of 
 the Treasury, praying for a grant of public 
 money on the special ground of the Insti- 
 tution having been the parent one ; but, 
 although the London University was subsidized 
 by the State, no aid was granted to the people's 
 athenaeum. 
 
 At length a crisis was reached. An action was 
 brought against Lord Brougham, as surviving 
 trustee of the building, to recover the arrears of 
 rent, and a plan was even prepared for convert- 
 ing the premises into chambers, when some of 
 the more energetic members, grateful for benefits 
 they had derived from the Institution, determined 
 to make a supreme effort to save it. A com- 
 mittee was appointed, with Mr. Pearsall for its 
 energetic secretary ; a meeting held at Willis's 
 Rooms, under the presidency of Lord Morpeth, 
 (afterwards Earl of Carlisle) ; and a dinner given 
 at the Albion Hotel, when Mr. Thomas Baring 
 took the chair. In the result about £2,000 was 
 raised, large subscriptions being obtained from 
 the personal friends of Lord Brougham, chiefly 
 
FINANCIAL SCHEMES. 217 
 
 through the exertions of two of them, Mr. 
 Henry Vane and Mr. Alfred Montgomery. 
 This amount, however, was still insufficient 
 to accomplish what was desired ; but the 
 executors of Dr. Birkbeck, carrying out what 
 they felt would have been his wish if living, 
 advanced out of his estate the further sum of 
 ,£2,000. With the total amount obtained the 
 existing liabilities were discharged, and the 
 option of purchase contained in the lease 
 was exercised by the payment of the requisite 
 £3,500, the rent being thereby reduced to 
 ^29 per annum. 
 
 The threatened dissolution of the Institution 
 was thus averted, and the educational work pro- 
 ceeded. In 1869 new financial arrangements 
 were made, with a view to the gradual freeing 
 of the organization from debt, and of supplying 
 additional class-rooms. Dr. Birkbeck's surviv- 
 ing trustee, with the generous consent of the 
 beneficiaries, released ;£ 1,000 of the amount 
 then owing for principal and interest, thereby 
 largely adding to the obligations the cause of 
 popular education was already under to its 
 pioneer ; and the balance of their claim was dis- 
 charged by means of a new loan obtained upon 
 
2iS RED AWN OF PROSPERITY. 
 
 specially favourable terms. This was effected 
 through the instrumentality of Mr. Francis 
 RAVENSCROFT, an old member of the Institution, 
 who had testified in many ways his sense of 
 benefits received, and who now arranged for an 
 advance of .£4,000 for fifty years upon mortgage 
 of the lease, at the low interest of two and a 
 half per cent. As the complement of this 
 arrangement, a sinking-fund was established by 
 Mr. George M. Norris, who had three years 
 previously been appointed secretary ; and in 
 this way provision was made for paying off the 
 mortgage within the fifty years. 
 
 Prosperity now once more dawned upon the 
 Institution ; and from this time it has gone on 
 increasing its power and extending its area, until 
 it not only enjoys its old reputation, but is 
 flourishing to a degree which its early friends 
 would scarcely have deemed possible of attain- 
 ment. This is largely due to Mr. Norris^who by 
 his attention to the students' wants, by opening 
 new classes from time to time, by promoting 
 important improvements in the constitution, 
 and by ably superintending the work gene- 
 rally, has laid the members under permanent 
 obligations. Public recognition was made ot 
 
MAGNITUDE OF WORK. 219 
 
 his services in 1872 by the presentation to him 
 of a handsome testimonial at a special meeting, 
 and since that time he has, as manager, continued 
 to be chiefly instrumental in bringing about the 
 progress that has taken place, and is still the 
 guiding genius of the Institution. 
 
 Of the magnitude of the work at present 
 carried on an adequate estimate can only be 
 formed by looking at the various topics dealt 
 with. They present indeed a formidable ap- 
 pearance ; and the enumeration of the titles 
 alone might well bewilder the uninitiated mind. 
 Not only do they comprise the scientific and 
 technical subjects to which at the first almost 
 exclusive attention was paid, but all the depart- 
 ments of knowledge are represented. Every 
 branch of mathematics ; of natural science, com- 
 prising theoretical mechanics, chemistry, physics, 
 botany, the principles of agriculture, biology v 
 animal and vegetable morphology and physi- 
 ology, physiography, geology, mineralogy and 
 metallurgy ; of applied science, embracing 
 mechanics, steam, engineering, geometry, 
 machine and building construction, surveying, 
 iron and steel manufacture, watch and clock 
 
220 A COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM. 
 
 making, electric lighting, and photography ; and 
 of mental and moral science, comprehending 
 logic, psychology and political economy; 
 together with the various departments of 
 language, law, music and art, the curriculum 
 of the Institution includes. In addition are 
 of course to be found the more conventional 
 subjects of English grammar, history and 
 literature, writing, bookkeeping, and geography. 
 Eight modern and five ancient languages are 
 taught, and for French alone there are nine 
 grades. Six classes, at various stages of pro- 
 gress, are devoted to shorthand ; and a similar 
 number to drawing, besides those for painting 
 and modelling. There is a high-class debating 
 society ; rhetoric and elocution find a place ; 
 and dramatic performances are given by the 
 members. Students for the Civil Service and 
 London University have special facilities 
 offered for their preparation ; and, in all, 
 nearly seventy distinct subjects are opened 
 out to view, these again having numerous 
 ramifications. The cause of female education, 
 which the Institution was almost the first 
 to espouse, has continued to receive its 
 powerful support ; the classes and cxamina- 
 
PROFESSORS AND REWARDS. 
 
 tions are open alike to both sexes, and many 
 of the competitive honours are obtained by 
 the ladies. 
 
 Nor is quality sacrificed to quantity. The 
 instruction imparted is of the highest order ; 
 and the teachers are men who have taken 
 degrees in Science, Philosophy, Literature,. 
 Medicine, Arts and Laws ; Fellows of the 
 learned Societies of England, and renowned in 
 their various departments. 
 
 Incentives to application are supplied ; and 
 prizes of upwards of a hundred pounds in value, 
 and certificates according to merit, are annually 
 given. In addition, Mr. Ravenscroft alone awards 
 every year no less than ten prizes of five guineas 
 each to the candidates who receive the highest 
 marks in certain special examinations ; and he 
 has recently given to the Institution the 
 capitalized value of these prizes, so that they 
 are insured in perpetuity. The members are 
 also entitled to compete for more than forty 
 scholarships, of the aggregate value of upwards 
 of six thousand pounds, which are awarded by 
 the Science and Art Department of the Com- 
 mittee of Council on Education; and although 
 these are open to all residents in the United 
 
222 ANNIVERSARIES : AMUSEMENT. 
 
 Kingdom, the Colonies, and India, no less than 
 eight were during the past year obtained by the 
 students of the Institution. The anniversary 
 gatherings have been presided over, and the 
 prizes and certificates distributed, by some of 
 the most celebrated men of their day ; and it is 
 gratifying to note that the last session was 
 inaugurated by an address from a former 
 member who has risen to eminence, Professor 
 Tomlinson, F.R.S., the chair being occupied 
 by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, the distin- 
 guished daughter of a distinguished father 
 who was one of the warmest friends of the 
 Institution in its early days. 
 
 Amusement is represented in various forms, it 
 being however in most instances of an intel- 
 lectual character ; and entertainments or popular 
 lectures are provided weekly for the members 
 and friends. The reading and magazine rooms 
 are supplied with all the current newspapers and 
 periodicals, including the ponderous quarterlies 
 and the foreign reviews ; and the library has 
 about nine thousand volumes. 
 
 In short, it is difficult to devise any important 
 addition or improvement. The most humble 
 individual may here receive a university edu- 
 
A CATHOLIC SCHEME. 223 
 
 cation, and obtain many of the advantages of a 
 social club, with several others of a varied 
 nature. 
 
 The Institution is open to all above a pre- 
 scribed age ; it is thoroughly catholic in its 
 character, and gives prominence to no particular 
 shade of thought. Its government is vested in 
 an executive consisting of the president, six vice- 
 presidents — at the present time Lords Carnarvon, 
 Derby and Aberdare, and Sir Stafford Northcote, 
 Mr. Forster and Mr. Goschen — and a committee 
 of twenty elected by the members. In addition 
 to these officers there are librarians, trustees, a 
 treasurer, auditors, and the manager, who is also 
 honorary secretary of the educational council. 
 The subscription varies in certain events, but the 
 highest rate is only eighteen shillings per annum, 
 with moderate additional fees for the classes. 
 
 Of course the very existence of such a com- 
 prehensive Institution is in itself an indication 
 of how greatly it has been and is appreciated. 
 It has now long been self-supporting — save so 
 far as its many friends encourage its work by 
 the gift of prizes — and in that fact is seen at once 
 how largely it is supported. Between three and 
 four thousand members or students are entered 
 
224 A NEW ANXIETY. 
 
 on its books ; and it is no uncommon occurrence 
 to find in some of the more popular classes a 
 hundred persons assembled at the same time. 
 The annual receipts are more than four thousand 
 pounds, which sum is sufficient to meet the 
 expenditure and leave a considerable balance on 
 the right side. 
 
 Of late years, however, a new source of anxiety 
 has arisen — the Institution has outgrown itself. 
 The accommodation has been greatly increased 
 from time to time, and the appearance of the 
 building has undergone a great improvement ; 
 but there is a limit to the elasticity of bricks and 
 mortar, whilst no restraint can be placed upon 
 the thirst for knowledge. Clear indications 
 were long since given that even greater good 
 might be achieved on a more extended field of 
 labour. Some five years ago a meeting was held 
 at the Mansion House, when it was resolved that 
 contributions should be solicited for the purpose 
 of erecting a new building ; and the result has 
 been that the members are at length about to 
 migrate. For, unfortunately, they must do this 
 to obtain sufficient accommodation, since addi- 
 tional space is not available in the immediate 
 vicinity. A suitable site has, however, been 
 
THE FOUNDATION STONE. 225 
 
 secured within a few hundred yards, in a new 
 wide and quiet thoroughfare leading from 
 Chancery Lane, and known as Bream's Build- 
 ings ; and the foundation stone of the edifice 
 was laid on 23rd April 1883 by H. R. H. 
 the Duke of Albany, the patron of the 
 Institution, A spacious marquee was erected, 
 and the chairman was impartially supported by 
 the primate, by several eminent professors and 
 members of the nobility and of Parliament, and 
 by other distinguished individuals. The worthy 
 president of the Institution delivered a suitable 
 address, the Archbishop offered prayer, and 
 speeches were made by the Lord Mayor (Sir 
 H. E. Knight) and Professor Tyndall, amongst 
 others ; the royal visitor acknowledging a vote 
 of thanks in felicitous terms, and referring to 
 the important work of the Institution, and be- 
 speaking a favourable response to the appeal for 
 contributions to the building fund. 
 
 The new Institution will have the advantage 
 of abutting on two thoroughfares, will be in 
 every way greatly superior to the present, and 
 will provide accommodation for six thousand 
 students. The architectural appearance is 
 pleasing, being a modern adaptation of the 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE WORK GENERALLY. 
 
 Elizabethan style ; special attention has been 
 paid to lighting, warming, ventilation, and 
 protection from fire ; and the lecture-hall, which 
 has a frontage in Rolls Buildings, is constructed 
 to seat twelve hundred persons with comfort. 
 The total estimated cost of the entire edifice is 
 ;£ 19,000 ; and of this (including the amount to 
 be received for the existing premises) upwards 
 of £12,000 has been raised. Amongst the 
 principal donors are several noblemen, members 
 of Parliament, and city Companies ; and the 
 students and friends are also doing their share. 
 
 And now a few words as to the popular 
 education movement generally. 
 
 Whilst their metropolitan progenitor has pros- 
 pered in manner indicated, its offspring have like- 
 wise flourished, and have enormously increased 
 in numbers. In the year 1850 there were about 
 seven hundred Institutions : now, the greater 
 London alone possesses two hundred and fifty ; 
 and in all there are about two thousand, most of 
 them in a satisfactory condition. England, natur- 
 ally, has by far the largest number ; but Wales 
 owns about forty, Scotland a hundred and sixty, 
 and Ireland nearly fifty. Many of them adhere 
 
CITY OF LONDON COLLEGE. 227 
 
 to the original title of "Mechanics' Institution "; 
 others adopt the modest designation of " Working 
 Men's Club" or " Institute " or "College"; others 
 employ the prefix of " Literary and Scientific " ; 
 and others — probably about a tenth of the total 
 number — ,with a religious as well as an educa- 
 tional bearing, are known as " Young Men's 
 Christian Associations " or " Church of England 
 Young Men's Societies." There is of course 
 some difference in the scope and extent of 
 the various societies, but they are all engaged 
 in the noble work of the diffusion of knowledge 
 amongst the people. 
 
 One of the metropolitan Institutions has long 
 been the friendly rival of the parent society, and 
 has recently commemorated the thirty-fifth year 
 of its existence by the erection of a new building 
 near Moorgate Street Station at a cost of ,£16,000. 
 It was founded' in 1848, being then known as 
 the Metropolitan Evening Classes, meeting at 
 Crosby Hall ; but in i860 it received its present 
 title of the ClTY OF LONDON COLLEGE, and it 
 now affords instruction to two thousand students. 
 It has an extensive programme, comprising 
 theological as well as secular subjects ; and the 
 names of several bishops and clergymen arc 
 
 Q2 
 
228 THE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE: 
 
 found on its prospectus, whilst the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury is its president. It is also under 
 the patronage of Her Majesty ; and the new- 
 building was formally opened by H. R. H. the 
 Prince of Wales. 
 
 Another important metropolitan educational 
 agency, the existence and maintenance of which 
 is almost entirely due to the philanthropy of 
 one individual, is worthy of special notice. This is 
 the Polytechnic Young Men's Christian Institute; 
 to which public attention was called some time 
 since by Archdeacon Farrar, who has taken 
 great interest in popular education, and who 
 three years ago inaugurated the fifty-seventh 
 session of the Birkbeck Institution by the 
 delivery of one of the most memorable 
 addresses ever heard within its walls. The old 
 Polytechnic was an establishment very well 
 known, not only to residents but to all visitors to 
 London; and with it,but forming a distinct branch,, 
 were associated numerous evening classes. The 
 career of these, however, was necessarily termi- 
 nated when the establishment came to an end in 
 the form in which it had existed so long ; but 
 happily the building was purchased by Mr. 
 Qutntin HOGG, and by him dedicated entirely 
 
QUINTIN HOGG. 229 
 
 to educational, religious and social purposes. 
 Mr. Hogg had established as long ago as 1863 
 and supported a small school ; and the scope and 
 accommodation of this he extended from time 
 to time, until at length in 1877 it developed into 
 an Institute in Long Acre, with a gymnasium 
 and several special features ; and ultimately, the 
 demand increasing and the Polytechnic coming 
 into the market in 1881, he secured it at enor- 
 mous cost, and founded the present noble Insti- 
 tution. Young men between sixteen and 
 twenty-three are alone eligible as members; 
 and to these it offers, in addition to the usual 
 educational advantages, facilities for learning 
 practical trades, physical as well as mental 
 recreation, and not a few home comforts, at fees 
 which are insufficient in any case to make the 
 Institute a commercial success. The large 
 hall is appropriated for the gymnasium; there 
 are various athletic clubs, a volunteer com- 
 pany and three bands. Provision against sick- 
 ness and accident is afforded ; and among 
 other agencies are a total-abstinence society, 
 a savings-bank and a parliamentary debating 
 society. There is also a Christian workers' 
 union ; and religious services are held on Sundays. 
 
230 THE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 
 
 Already has it become necessary to utilize the 
 whole of the extensive premises in order to 
 accommodate the large number of members, 
 now amounting to over two thousand ; whilst the 
 names of upwards of one thousand applicants are 
 on the books waiting election as opportunity 
 may offer. The Institution is especially worthy 
 of recognition, as being the outcome of the 
 unostentatious work of a single individual, as 
 having received no grant or public aid, and as 
 doing in some respects a unique work, preserving 
 as it does hundreds of youths of the humblest 
 class from the manifold temptations of London 
 life and training them up to become useful 
 members of society. The name, therefore, of 
 Quintin Hogg — a man of so kindred a spirit to 
 that of George Birkbeck — can with peculiar 
 fitness be introduced into these pages. 
 
 In 1853 an effort was made to revive the 
 Mechanics' Institute at Settle, which had fallen 
 into decay ; and, by the exertion of several phi- 
 lanthropic gentlemen in the neighbourhood, a 
 commodious hall was erected, which was opened 
 in January 1855 by the Earl of Carlisle, who 
 was a friend of the president, Mr. John Birkbeck. 
 For some time the new Institution flourished, 
 
THE SETTLE INSTITUTE. 231 
 
 but at length it once more declined, and it has 
 now practically ceased to exist ; although the 
 building is still devoted to educational purposes, 
 being used as a school. This chequered career 
 is doubtless largely traceable to the fact that the 
 Literary Society, Friends' Institute, political 
 Clubs, and other similar agencies keep the in- 
 habitants well supplied with intellectual food ; 
 but it is nevertheless to be regretted that the 
 particular movement with which Dr. Birkbeck's 
 name is associated throughout the country should 
 have lacked continuous support in his native 
 town ; and it is to be hoped that Settle may yet 
 see a rejuvenated Mechanics' Institute doing 
 useful educational work. 
 
 The measures which were adopted for joining 
 the Institutions in a common bond have been 
 successfully carried on. In 1852 a union was 
 effected between about a hundred and fifty of 
 them and the Society for the Encouragement of 
 Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the prin- 
 cipal objects being to render the experience and 
 information of each available to all, and to 
 establish systematic simultaneous examinations. 
 The Institutions also hold examinations in con- 
 
232 UNIONS OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 flection with the Science and Art Department of 
 the Committee of Council on Education, already 
 referred to ; and some idea of the extent of 
 the work carried on by this Department may 
 be gathered from the fact that last year over 
 eighty thousand papers were worked in science, 
 and over fifty thousand in art (exclusive of those 
 worked by children — between six and seven 
 hundred thousand) in addition to which four 
 hundred and fifty thousand art " works " were 
 submitted for examination. 
 
 Local unions were established for Lancashire 
 and Cheshire and for the Midland Counties in 
 1847 \ an d in 1848 the Northern and Scottish 
 Unions were formed, as was some years later the 
 Worcestershire Union. Under the direction of 
 the Yorkshire Union — the origin of which was 
 dealt with earlier, and which now embraces two 
 hundred and seventy Institutions — a hand-book 
 was issued in 1856, somewhat similar in scope 
 to the earlier publications of the Society for 
 the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, but bringing 
 the information up to date, and being replete 
 with practical suggestions. A "Working Men's 
 Club and Institute Union ',' was established in 
 1862, with a view more especially to combine 
 
RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. 233 
 
 social recreation with mental improvement; and 
 with this about five hundred and fifty Institu- 
 tions are at present affiliated. 
 
 Unions have also been effected between the 
 various religious Institutions. The alliance of 
 the Young Men's Christian Associations was 
 formed in 1855 ; and there are now some three 
 thousand agencies extending to all parts of the 
 world. Only a small fraction of these, however, 
 come within the category of popular education 
 organizations ; but several, nevertheless, those in 
 the large towns in particular, provide classes 
 for instruction in various departments of useful 
 knowledge. As is generally known, the central 
 establishment is now at Exeter Hall, London ; 
 and the Earl of Shaftesbury — another de- 
 voted labourer in the field of popular education 
 — is president of the Association. The Church 
 of England Young Men's Society, which was 
 constituted in its present form in 1856, has in 
 all about twenty-five branches, several of which 
 also offer secular instruction. 
 
 In 1854, at the instigation of the Society of 
 Arts, an Act was passed " to afford greater faci- 
 lities for the establishment of Institutions for 
 the promotion of Literature and Science and 
 
234 FOREIGN INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the Fine Arts, and to provide for their better 
 regulation." This gave a recognised legal 
 status to the various Institutions, empowered 
 them to hold lands, and enabled governing 
 bodies to make binding laws. A previous Act 
 had exempted the Institutions, under certain 
 conditions, from the payment of local rates. 
 
 The completion in 1855 of the reform Dr. 
 Birkbeck had so zealously advocated, namely 
 the abolition of the newspaper-tax, still further 
 promoted the dissemination of knowledge ; as 
 also did the abolition of the paper-duty a few 
 years later. 
 
 As to the foreign Institutions, their numbcr 
 and scope, it is difficult to obtain reliable 
 statistics ; nor is detailed information called for. 
 
 It has already been shown how the move- 
 ment long since extended to America, France, 
 Holland, Russia, China, India, New South Wales, 
 and Tasmania (Van Diemcn's Land). In many of 
 these countries it has been attended with rapid 
 development ; and, in addition, it has reached 
 Belgium, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Syria, 
 Madagascar, Egypt, South Africa, New Zealand, 
 Queensland and the Sandwich Islands. In 
 
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION. 235. 
 
 short, its beneficent influence has spread to 
 the whole of the civilized and semi-civilized 
 parts of the globe. 
 
 How Parliament has given its powerful aid to 
 the educational movement in recent years, by 
 the passing of the Elementary Education Acts, 
 — with which the name of Mr. Forster will ever 
 be honourably associated — is too well known to 
 be dwelt upon here. 
 
 It was long felt that the work of the various 
 Institutions was greatly restricted by the absence 
 of sufficient means of elementary education, 
 whereby the people might receive that rudi- 
 mentary knowledge which would fit them for the 
 higher branches of study pursued in the adult 
 societies. The various existing agencies to 
 which reference has been made, valuable as they 
 were, could only very inadequately cope with 
 the difficulty, and did not reach the poorest 
 and most ignorant classes. Fortunately, here 
 also philanthropy had stepped in ; and the 
 numerous branches of the Ragged School Union, 
 established in 1 844, and over which the Earl of 
 Shaftesbury also presides, had been, as they still 
 are, doing a most useful and praiseworthy work. 
 
.236 DEMAND FOR KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 But a system which should insure instruction 
 being given to every child was alone capable of 
 banishing ignorance from the land. 
 
 The early efforts of Brougham and others, 
 and the slight assistance of the Government, 
 have already been referred to. It was not, how- 
 ever, until the neglect of the mental faculties 
 had come to be regarded as a national disgrace, 
 and educational Institutions had been established 
 in all the important and many of the small 
 towns of the kingdom, that the Legislature fur- 
 nished the prerequisite to their extensive work 
 being rendered fully efficient, by providing the 
 means whereby ultimately all shall obtain that 
 preliminary instruction which is the foundation 
 of learning, and which imparts the desire for its 
 acquisition that such Institutions happily gratify. 
 
 The authoritative decree of 1870 was a noble, 
 though tardy, contribution to that cause of 
 popular education which private enterprise had 
 ■originated and brought to so successful an issue. 
 And even this was undoubtedly chiefly due to 
 the ever-growing demand which had been created 
 by Dr. Birkbeck and his fellow-labourers in the 
 cause ; though it was not until thirty years after 
 his death that the Government effectually at- 
 
THE PARLIAMENTARY FIAT. 237 
 
 tempted to satisfy that demand. Miss Martineau,. 
 writing long before this full result had been 
 attained, truly observes that it was impossible 
 the members of the Institutions should not be 
 more anxious to procure education for their chil- 
 dren than if the advantages and charms of 
 museums, libraries, lectures and reading-rooms, 
 had not been opened to themselves ; and that, 
 although at the time of the establishment of the 
 Institutions the chief advantage contemplated 
 was the most obvious one of opening means of 
 knowledge to working men who desired it, they 
 of a somewhat later time saw a yet more 
 important result accruing, in the exaltation of 
 the idea of education in the popular mind, and 
 the quickening of parental as well as personal 
 desires for knowledge. 
 
 And at length, after much delay and many 
 wearying struggles, the means of satisfying these 
 desires were obtained. The fiat which was alone 
 wanting to complete the great reformation has 
 gone forth. It has not yet fully accomplished its 
 object, for no great measure can be rendered 
 effectual in a day ; but time and the experience 
 which time brings with it alone are wanting ; 
 and now that poverty need be no barrier to 
 
J238 A MIGHTY REVOLUTION. 
 
 knowledge, it remains only to extend and im- 
 prove. Seldom has the British Legislature 
 enlisted in a nobler cause, seldom has it ob- 
 tained a more glorious and enduring triumph, 
 than when it unfurled the banner of National 
 Education, and grappled in his last strong- 
 hold with the giant of ignorance. The mighty 
 revolution, once effected, is bearing, and shall 
 bear, fruit for all generations. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 VALEDICTORY. 
 
 WE have thus seen that Dr. Birkbeck's 
 labours were not only great and bene- 
 ficent in themselvds, but that they were at- 
 tended by the great and beneficent result of 
 inducing others to share in and continue to 
 carry them on. His work did not die with 
 him. Its success was not compassed by one 
 brief life, or measured by one bright career ; 
 but is as unlimited as philanthropy, as un- 
 bounded as time. 
 
 Noble characters beget noble characters ; and 
 he who first opened the portals of science to the 
 working man, proved the forerunner of a goodly 
 band of educational reformers. His followers 
 in turn have given rise to theirs, until to-day 
 the spirit of the movement has taken possession 
 of all — has become a Zeitgeist, which is almost 
 deified. Few examples have been more widely 
 followed ; few men have obtained, in so com- 
 
240 A WELL-SPRING OF BENEFIT. 
 
 paratively short a period, a larger number of 
 conscious or unconscious disciples. 
 
 The athenaeums which Dr. Birkbeck called 
 into existence have become one of the perma- 
 nent institutions of the age. Found as they 
 are in every corner of the land, we can scarcely 
 imagine what the country would be without 
 them. At a period of life when a place of 
 resort must be had, they offer to the rising 
 generation social and intellectual advantages 
 which cannot be obtained outside their walls ; 
 they furnish the means of pure enjoyment, of 
 profitable intercourse and of mental culture. 
 Upon the working classes they confer benefits 
 similar to but greater in degree than, in their 
 early days, their founder was able to give to 
 a comparatively small number of mechanics. 
 And to the community at large they are a well- 
 spring of morality, law, order and progress. 
 But for their invaluable liberal aid thou- 
 sands who have attained to nobility and com- 
 petence would have necessarily remained in a 
 lower condition, labouring simply for daily 
 bread, and knowing little or nothing of the 
 pleasures of the intellect. Of those who have 
 been gathered within their fold, many are dis- 
 
A PATRIOT AND PHILANTHROPIST. 241 
 
 tinguished at the present time in science, art, 
 literature, and law; and a far larger number, who 
 may never be known to fame, have nevertheless 
 been incalculably blest. 
 
 In conclusion, then, it may well be said that 
 this noble and true-hearted gentleman is worthy 
 of honour and renown, as a wise patriot, a prac- 
 tical philanthropist, a chevalier sans feur et sans 
 reproche. 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck dazzled the world by no brilliant 
 or wonderful discoveries ; nor did he leave be- 
 hind him trophies of a colossal genius. But 
 with quiet unostentation, he inaugurated and 
 achieved a reform which has at length revo- 
 lutionized society, and been productive of as 
 general and lasting good as the labours of many 
 more widely known and revered. He ranks not 
 with the Bacons or the Newtons of our land, 
 but he has brought the imperishable products of 
 their master intellects within the reach of the 
 lowliest mind, and on a thoroughly impartial if 
 unpretentious scale has been the means of dif- 
 fusing the blessings of science, and of offering 
 to all the advantages of learning. If he added 
 but few sheaves to the world's rich intellectual 
 
 R 
 
242 JUST HOMAGE. 
 
 harvest, he opened the fields to the humble 
 gleaners, and induced the husbandmen to share 
 the grain with the mentally ill-nourished masses. 
 
 By the " people", therefore, should he espe- 
 cially be held in lasting and grateful remem- 
 brance. 
 
 Yet not by them alone. 
 
 When statesmen rejoice in the extension of 
 knowledge ; when reformers glory in the victories 
 of the past ; when historians rehearse the tri- 
 umphs of the century ; when biographers sound 
 the praises of the great ; let them not forget 
 him who was a worthy compatriot of Romilly, 
 of Wilberforce, of Clarkson, and of Cobden ; 
 but let them, one and all, as they render honour 
 impartially to whom honour is due, find a laurel 
 for the brow, an immortelle for the grave of 
 George Birkbeck, the Pioneer of Popular 
 Education. 
 
 the END. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Aberdare, Lord 
 
 223 
 
 Acts of Parliament 
 
 210,233-8 
 
 Adcock, H. &J 
 
 125 
 
 Agriculture 
 
 209 
 
 Albany, Duke of 
 
 225 
 
 Albert, Prince 
 
 214 
 
 Albion, New 
 
 7 
 
 Althorp, Lord 
 
 151-2 
 
 America 7, 93-4, 12< 
 
 Amiens, Peace of 
 
 29 
 
 Anderson, Professor 
 
 15, 23 
 
 Andersonian Institution 
 
 14, 15, 20-7 
 
 „ 39-41 
 
 43, 90-1, 128 
 
 Ashfield Hotel 
 
 8 
 
 Attemire Rocks 
 
 2 
 
 Australia 
 
 169, 234 
 
 Bailey, Mr 51 
 
 Baillie, Dr 12 
 
 Bain, Professor 13, 44 
 
 Baines, Sir Edward S4, 166 
 
 Bank, Craven, The 6 
 
 Baring, Thomas 216 
 
 Bentham, Jeremy 66 
 
 Bickersteth, E 66 
 
 Birkbeck, Anna M 168, 173, 196 
 
 ,, Arms 5 
 
 ,, Course 178 
 
 „ Edward 6 
 
 M.P 8 
 
 ,, Family 5 
 
 Fells 5 
 
 ,, Gallery 8 
 
 Birkbeck, George : 
 
 {and see Content sand Index 
 generally) 
 
 Address to 39, 40 
 
 Addresses and Speeches of : 
 
 Anniversary 114 
 
 Brighton, at ... 86 
 
 Climbing Boys, as to 98 
 
 Formation of Institution 46-9 
 Foundation Stone, at ... 69-70 
 
 Grote, on 147-8 
 
 Hall, opening of 75-6 
 
 Inaugural 56-60 
 
 Manchester, at 168 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Birkbeck, George— continued: 
 Addresses and Speeches of, contd. : 
 Newspaper Tax, as to ... 153-60 
 Surburban Instns.87, 117, 118, 140 
 Western Institution, at ... 87 
 Westminster Institution, at 140 
 
 Ancestors of 6 
 
 Andersonian Institution ...16, 20-30 
 Appointments of, 16, 31, 53, 97, 
 „ „ ... 150, 167 
 
 Attacks on 72-4, 108, 112, 115, 136-7 
 Benefits conferred by ... 199-207 
 
 Birth 8 
 
 Birthplace 1 
 
 Brougham, and (see Brougham) 
 Character ... 179,183-191,241-2 
 
 Children 30, 32, 194-6 
 
 Death .. 173 
 
 Dupiris Mathematics ... 122-4 
 
 Education 10-11 
 
 Experiments by 16S 
 
 French Institutions, and... 92-3 
 Friends of, 13-14, 32,115,122,147,191 
 
 Funeral 175-6 
 
 Government, and 168, 193 
 
 Graduates 13 
 
 Grote, G., and, (see Grote) 
 
 Illnesses 121, 162-3, 172-3 
 
 Institutions Promoted by 33, 43, 
 85, 86, 95, 97, 117, 118, 140 
 
 Kyan, J. H., and 148-9 
 
 Lectures of : 
 Anderson's Instn. 20, 22, 26-7, 29 
 
 Arts, Society of 148-9 
 
 Belgrave Institution 149 
 
 Eastern Athenaeum 149 
 
 Glasgow 20, 22, 26-7, 29 
 
 London Institution 33, 97, 127 
 
 „ 147 : 50, 165 
 
 London Mechanics' Institution, 
 
 79-80, 99, 103-4, 186-8 
 
 Provincial 30 
 
 Letters 
 
 Of 43,65,86,131-2 
 
 On 163 
 
 To 49, 93, 152 
 
 Literary Work 41, 122-5 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Birkbeck, George — continued: 
 London Mechanics' Institution : 
 Addresses at ... (see Addresses) 
 
 Advance to .., 68 
 
 Donation to 66 
 
 Founder of 112-13, 137 
 
 Lectures at ... (see Lech/res) 
 
 President of 53,106 
 
 Trustee of 53 
 
 London, settles in 30 
 
 Marriages 30-2 
 
 Medical profession ... 11, 31, 190-1 
 
 Mementoes to *176-8 
 
 Memoir of 81 
 
 Newspaper Tax, and ... 152-60 
 
 Parentage 9 
 
 Patent laws, and 125 
 
 Pioneer ... 101, 152, 179, 239, 242 
 
 Place, F., and (see Place) 
 
 Politics 147, 152, 184-5 
 
 Portraits of 39, 68, 81, 126, 164-5 
 
 Presentation to 27 
 
 Prospectus by 24-6 
 
 Religion 185-8 
 
 Robertson, J., and (see Robertson) 
 Science 10, 13, 98-10Q, 125, 188-9 
 
 Sonnet to 61 
 
 Speeches of ... (see Addresses) 
 
 Style, literary 28, 189-90 
 
 Testimony to 43, 55,61, 72, 77, 86 
 „ 91, 141, 174-7, 193, 236-7 
 
 Tinman's shop, at 21-2 
 
 Trustees of ... 217 
 
 Visits to 
 
 Birmingham 
 
 Brighton. 
 Cambridge 
 
 ... 86 
 ... 122 
 
 France 
 
 Hull 30 
 
 Liverpool 30 
 
 Manchester 168 
 
 Birkbeck, George H 195 
 
 „ Mrs. 30, 32, 193-4 
 Birkbkck Institution : 
 
 (and see Loiuion Mechanics 
 Institution.) 
 
 Building, new 224-6 
 
 Curriculum 219-21 
 
 Entertainments 222 
 
 Finances 215-18, 224, 226 
 
 Government 223 
 
 History 213-26 
 
 Lease, purchase of 217 
 
 Meetings of ... 214,216,224-5 
 
 Officers 216, 218, 221, 223 
 
 Prizes 221 
 
 Professors 221 
 
 Scholarships 221-2 
 
 Statistics 214, 223-4 
 
 Trustees 223 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Birkbeck, John 8, 230 
 
 ,, Laboratory 176-8 
 
 ,, Morris 7, 8 
 
 ,, River 5 
 
 School 214-5 
 
 ,, Simon „ ... 6 
 
 ,, Thomas 5 
 
 ,, William 6, 9 
 
 de 5 
 
 Lloyd 194-5, 213-4 
 
 „ Mrs 6 
 
 „ Rev 8 
 
 Birmingham 30, 170 
 
 ,, Brotherly Societv ... 34-5 
 
 Braithwaite, G .* ... 9 
 
 Breams Buildings 225 
 
 Bristol 83, 170 
 
 British Schools 145-6, 215 
 
 Britons, The 3 
 
 Brougham, Henry Lord: 
 
 Attacks on 73-4,88,137 
 
 Birkbeck G. 
 
 Friendship with ... 14, 115, 152 
 
 Inscription to 178-9 
 
 Letters to 49, 152 
 
 Portrait of, dedication... 164-5 
 Testimony to 49,77, 86,141,176-7 
 
 Edinburgh, at 14 
 
 Educational work, 76-7, 86, 94, 96 
 1401, 145, 236 
 
 Letters of 49, 152 
 
 Liverpool, at 141 
 
 London Mechanics' Institution : 
 
 Donations to 49. 66, 214 
 
 Speeches at ... 76-7,176-7,214 
 
 Trustee of 53, 216 
 
 London University 95-6 
 
 Newspaper Tax, and 150, 152 1 M •> 
 
 Pamphlet by 86, M 
 
 Speeches of 76-7, 96, 141, 155, 1 7(1-7 
 Westminster Institution ... 140, 168 
 
 Brougham, Parish ti 
 
 Bulwer, E. Lytton 151, 157 
 
 Bunning, C 164 
 
 Burden, Sir F 06, 828 
 
 Burnett, R !»!• 
 
 Burton, Dr. J 7 
 
 Byron, Lord (17 
 
 Cambridge 122, 104. 166 
 
 Campbell, Thomas 87 
 
 Canterbury, Archbishop of ... -22.., 2 28 
 
 Carlile, disciples of 107 
 
 Carlisle, city 5 
 
 Earl of 210. BO 
 
 Carnarvon, Lord 223 
 
 Castleberg 2 
 
 Central Society of Education 143-4 
 
 Chambers, Brothers 143 
 
 Charity-schools 19 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Cheshire Union 232 
 
 China 169, 234 
 
 Church Institutions ... 142, 227, 233 
 City of London College .... 227-8 
 
 Clarkson, Thomas 242 
 
 Claxton, Timothy 35-6 
 
 Clergy, The 67, 89, 142, 146 
 
 Clutterbuck, Dr. H 190-1 
 
 Cobbett, W 50, 66 
 
 Cobbettites, The 107 
 
 Cobden, R 242 
 
 Cockburn, Lord 182 
 
 Cockermouth 7 
 
 Common Council 155 
 
 Conservative spirit 180-1 
 
 Coutts, Burdett, Baroness 222 
 
 Craik, G. Lillie 120 
 
 Craven 1, 2, 6 
 
 Cumberland, Earl of 6 
 
 Dawe, H... 126 
 
 Dawson, Mr 11 
 
 Denman, Lord Chief Justice ... 143 
 
 Derby, Lord 223 
 
 Domesday Book 3 
 
 Drayton 2 
 
 Drunkenness 210 
 
 Dupin, Baron 90-2, 122 
 
 Economics 211 
 
 Edinburgh 12, 13, 36 
 
 Education : 
 
 Elementary 19, 144-6, 235-8 
 
 Female 116, 142, 210, 220 
 
 Past 18, 19, 181-3 
 
 Popular (see 
 
 Contents and Index generally) 
 
 Present 17, 18, 208 
 
 Edward II 5 
 
 „ VI 5 
 
 Encyclopedia Britannica 41 
 
 Europe, Eastern, Gleanings ... 196 
 
 Evans, R. ..I 99 
 
 Eversley, Lord 140 
 
 Examiner, TJie 50-1, 151, 159, 184 
 Exhibition, Fisheries 8 
 
 Factory Acts 210 
 
 Fairbairn, Sir W 195 
 
 Farrar, Archdeacon 228 
 
 Fellowes, Rev. Mr 116 
 
 Female Education ...116, 142, 210, 220 
 
 Fisheries Exhibition 8 
 
 Foley, Mr 176 
 
 Fordyce, Dr 12 
 
 Forster, Mr 223, 235 
 
 Foster, Mr 11 
 
 France 29, 90-2, 124, 168, 182 
 
 Friends, Society of 6,7,9,185 
 
 Furnival's Inn 62 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Garnett, Dr 11, 15 
 
 General Dispensary ... 31, 163-4 
 
 Gentleman s Magazine 183 
 
 Giggleswick 1, 2, 4, 5 
 
 Gilchrist, Dr 66 
 
 Glasgow .. 14, 21, 38, 41, 86, 90-1 
 
 Goschen, Mr 223 
 
 Gray, Poet 189 
 
 Grosvenor, Lord 88 
 
 Grote, G. 32, 66, 147-8, 153, 157, 185 
 „ Mrs. 32, 67 
 
 Haddington 37 
 
 Henry III 3 
 
 Hill, Rowland ... 153 
 
 Hints to Mechanics 36 
 
 Hobhouse, J. C 66 
 
 Hodgskin, T 42, 50, 51, 74 
 
 Hogg, Quintin 228-30 
 
 Holland 94, 234 
 
 Hornby Hall 6 
 
 Horner, Leonard 36 
 
 Hull 30, 83, 86 
 
 Hume, Joseph 32, 153, 157, 177 
 
 Hungary 196 
 
 Huntites, The 107 
 
 Huskisson,W 67-8,73-4,92 
 
 Illinois 7 
 
 India 169, 234 
 
 Ireland 83,226 
 
 Jeffrey, Francis 14 
 
 John Bull 88, 108, 109 
 
 Kendal 9 
 
 King's Col lege... 119-20 
 
 Knight and Lacey Ill 
 
 „ Charles ... 120, 143, 153 
 
 „ Sir H. E 22f. 
 
 Knights Templars 63 
 
 Knowledge, ... 25, 47-9, 57-60, 69 70 
 
 ... 110, 198-211, 235, 240 
 
 Kyan, J. H 148-9 
 
 Lancashire Union 167, 232 
 
 Lancaster, Thomas Earl 5 
 
 Land system 211 
 
 Lane, Samuel 126 
 
 Laws against workmen 20, 185, 209 
 
 Layland, Mr 178 
 
 Leeds 9, 12, 83, 84, 166, 170 
 
 Leeds Mercury 84, 166 
 
 Lefevre, C. Shaw .. ... 140 
 
 Lettsom, Dr 7 
 
 Lewes ... 83, 170 
 
 Literary and Scientific Institutions 
 
 (see Mechanics' Institutions) 
 Literary Association, Poland ... 195 
 Literature, cheap 120,143 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Liverpool 9, 30, 83, 110 
 
 Logan, Mr 12 
 
 London Friendly Institution ... 97 
 
 Instn. 33,96-7,127,147-50,165 
 
 ,, Literary Institution ... 87 
 
 London Mechanics' Institution 
 
 {and see Birkbcck Institution) 
 
 Anniversaries, 68, 73, 112, 114, 173 
 
 Attacks on, 51-4, 71-4, 107-8, 116 
 
 „ 136-138 
 
 Building 63-4, 68-9, 75-8 
 
 Curriculum... 79-80, 102-3, 134-5 
 Difficulties ... 51-4, 68, 71-4, 104-7 
 
 Entertainments 135 
 
 Females admitted 116 
 
 Finances 64-8, 104-5, 171 
 
 Formation 53 
 
 Government 53 
 
 History ... 43-81,102-16,133-8,171 
 
 Influence of... 34, 82, 91, 93, 95-6 
 
 138-9, 198-9, 240 
 
 Lease of 64 
 
 Lecture-hall ... 68, 75-8, 106 
 
 Locale of 63 
 
 Meetings 46, 53, 55, 68, 73, 75-8 
 107,112, 114-16 
 
 Prizes 116, 135 
 
 Proposals for 43-4 
 
 Roof, accident to 104 
 
 Scheme for 42 
 
 Statistics, 55, 64, 78, 105, 133-5, 171 
 Testimony to, 77, 138, 167, 198-9 
 
 Workshop 116 
 
 London Mechanics' Register, 81, 94, 98 
 
 London Union 167 
 
 ,, University ... 95-6, 119 
 „ 128-33, 176-8, 216 
 
 Lune river 5 
 
 Lushington, Dr 66 
 
 Lyceums ... 142 
 
 Lytton, Lord (see Bnlwer) 
 
 Magyars, The 196 
 
 Manchester ... 83, 141-2, 166, 170 
 Martineau, Miss ... 175, 198, 236-7 
 
 Maryland 129 
 
 Mechanical Institution 35 
 
 Mechanics' Class, 26, 29, 38-40, 90 
 
 Mechanics, Hints to 36 
 
 Mechanics' Institutions: 
 
 Armagh 83, 88 
 
 Belgrave 149 
 
 Benefits of, 138, 197-210, 236, 240-1 
 
 Birthplace of 86 
 
 Bridgewater 83, 86 
 
 Brighton 83, 86 
 
 Controversy as to 34 
 
 Deptford 85,118 
 
 Eastern 149 
 
 Exhibitions at 166 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mechanics' Institutions— contd. 
 
 Foreign 90-4, 168-9, 234-5 
 
 Glasgow 41, 43, 82, 86 
 
 Hackney 85 
 
 Hammersmith ... 85 
 
 Leeds 83, 84 
 
 Liverpool 83, 86, 141 
 
 London (see 
 
 London Mechanics' Institution). 
 
 Manchester 83, 141 
 
 Metropolitan 85, 117-18, 139, 226-7 
 Opposition to 87-9, 109-10, 118, 180 
 
 Poplar 117, 139 
 
 Portsmouth 83, 86 
 
 Provincial 83, 117, 140, 22(1-7 
 
 Rotherhithe 85, 87-8 
 
 Settle 178, 230-1 
 
 Southwark 117 
 
 Spitalfields 8;') 
 
 Statistics ... 83, 139-41, 170, 226-7 
 
 Union of 165-7, 170, 231-3 
 
 Welsh 118, 226 
 
 Mechanics Magazine, The, 42-3, 59, 
 
 71-2, 81, 110-11, 116, 136-8 
 
 Medical Society 12, 13, 31, 97, 164, 190 
 
 Mednyanszky, Mrs 196 
 
 Melbourne, Lord 152, 157, 160 
 
 Midland Railway 4 
 
 ,, Union 232 
 
 Mill, James 13, 32, 66 
 
 ,, John Stuart 32 
 
 Millington, Professor .. 55, 80, 102 
 
 Model, an important 22 
 
 Mohawk Institution 169 
 
 Monkwell Street Chapel 55, 62, 65, 80 
 
 Montfort, Simon de 3 
 
 Montgomery, A 217 
 
 Morpeth, Lord 216 
 
 Morning Chronicle... 41, 50, 66, 180 
 
 ,, „ 184, 189 
 
 Morning Post 182 
 
 Murray, John 120 
 
 Napoleon ... 29-30, 90 
 
 National School Society 145 
 
 Natural History Society 12 
 
 'New Albion 7 
 
 Newspaper Tax, 19 r 150-62, 185, 234 
 
 Newton, Sir Isaac 11, 48 
 
 Newton, town 10 
 
 Norris, G. M 218-9 
 
 Northcote, Sir S 223 
 
 Northern Union 888 
 
 Old Broad Street 
 
 Owenites, The 
 
 Owen, Robert 
 
 88 
 
 107 
 
 8 
 
 Paley, Archdeacon 5 
 
 Paper-duty 19, 161, 234 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Paris 29, 90-1 
 
 Patent laws 125-6, 209 
 
 Pattison, G. S 128-32 
 
 Pauperism 209 
 
 Pearsall, Mr 216 
 
 Pearson, Dr 12 
 
 Penal code 210 
 
 Physicians, College of 31 
 
 Place, Francis : 
 
 Birkbeck, G., and, 46, 72, 150,162-3 
 
 Character ... ...44-5 
 
 London Mechanics' Institution, and 
 46, 50, 52, 66-7, 71-2, 74, 113, 138 
 Newspaper Tax, and 150, 152-3 
 Observations by, 52, 67, 71, 74 
 88-9, 111, 113, 138 
 Westminster Institution, 140, 163 
 
 Poles, The 175-6, 195 
 
 Polytechnic Institution 228-30 
 
 Pope, Poet 211 
 
 „ William 98 
 
 Population, law of 211 
 
 Proctor, Thomas 5 
 
 Psychical Research 6 
 
 Quakers, The 
 Queen, The 
 
 6, 7, 9, 185 
 146, 189, 228 
 
 Radnor, Earl ok 64 
 
 Ragged School Union 235 
 
 Raikes, Robert 19 
 
 Railway, Midland 4 
 
 Ravenscroft, Francis 218, 221 
 
 Reform Bill 147, 209 
 
 Register of Arts 115-16 
 
 Religious tolerance 210 
 
 Ribble, river 1, 10 
 
 Ricardo, David 32, 66 
 
 Rice, Spring ... 153-4, 157, 159-61 
 
 Ripon 166 
 
 Robertson, James : 
 
 Birkbeck, G., and,... 43,51,71-2 
 „ „ ...112-15, 136-8 
 
 Brougham, Lord, and 137 
 
 Knight and Lacey, and Ill 
 
 LondonMechanics' Institution, and 
 
 Defaultin 74 
 
 Formation 42-3 
 
 Hostility, 51-4,72, 112-15,136-8 
 
 Secretary 50 
 
 Mechanics' Magazine, 42-3, 71, 111 
 
 Rolls Buildings 226 
 
 Romans, The 3 
 
 Romilly, Sir S § 242 
 
 Rudkin's invention 168 
 
 Rural Gleanings 196 
 
 Russell, Lord John 177 
 
 „ William 63 
 
 Russia 169, 234 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Rutherford, Dr 13 
 
 Rye-loaf 2 
 
 St. James's Chronicle 73 
 
 Sanitation 210 
 
 Schools, Arts of 36-7 
 
 Birkbeck 214-5 
 
 British 145-6, 215 
 
 Charity 19 
 
 ,, National 145 
 
 ,, Sunday 19 
 
 Science ... 24-6, 47-9, 65, 98, 123-4 
 
 188-9, 199, 208 
 
 Science and Art Department, 221, 232 
 
 Scotland 4, 5, 226, 232 
 
 Scott, Walter 14 
 
 Scottish Union 232 
 
 Settle 1-4, 178, 230 
 
 Shaftesbury, Earl of 233, 235 
 
 Sheffer, Mr 99 
 
 Slavonians 196 
 
 Smith, Sydney 14 
 
 Societies : 
 
 Arts of... ... 110,148-9, 231, 233 
 
 Astronomical 31 
 
 Birmingham Brotherly 34-5 
 
 British School 145-6, 215 
 
 Central of Education ... 143-4 
 
 Chemical 31 
 
 Chirurgical 31, 97 
 
 Climbing Boys 98 
 
 Diffusion of Knowledge, for, 120 
 „ 143, 167, 170, 232 
 
 Geological 31 
 
 Lincoln's Inn, of 195 
 
 Medical 12, 13, 31, 97, 164, 190 
 
 Meteorological 31 
 
 National School 145 
 
 Natural History 12 
 
 Physical 31 
 
 Psychical Research 6 
 
 Sonnet 61 
 
 Southampton, Lord 63 
 
 Sowerby Bridge 166 
 
 Spencer, Earl 66, 152 
 
 Herbert 199 
 
 Stainforth Force 3 
 
 Standard, The 184 
 
 Stewart, Professor D 12, 49 
 
 Stuart, Lord 195, 214 
 
 Sunday-schools 19 
 
 Surrey Literary Institution 97 
 
 Sussex, Duke of 75, 78, 106, 115, 164 
 Swan, John 98 
 
 234 
 
 107 
 
 216 
 
 211 
 
 ..122, 214 
 
 Tasmania 
 
 Taylor, disciples of 
 , J. R. ...... 
 
 lemperance 
 
 Thirlwall, Bishop .. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "Threddle" 
 
 32 
 
 Webster, Dr. 93-4 
 
 Times, The 
 
 50, 184 
 
 Western Institution 87 
 
 Tinman's shop 
 
 21 
 
 Westminster, Duke of 88 
 
 Tomlinson, Professor . 
 
 222 
 
 „ Literary I nstn. 140, 162-3 
 
 Tyndall, Professor ... . 
 
 225 
 
 Westmoreland 5 
 
 Whitaker, Rev. T 2 
 
 University College . 
 
 .. 95-6, 119, 
 
 Whitbread, S 144 
 
 >) )> 
 
 128-33, 176-8 
 
 Wilberforce, W 66, 242 
 
 Ure, Dr 
 
 38, 46 
 
 Worcester Union 188 
 
 Workmen, laws against 20, 185, 209 
 
 Van Diemen's Land . 
 
 169, 234 
 
 Workmen's Clubs 227,232-3 
 
 Vane, Henry 
 
 217 
 
 Wyse, SirT 144 
 
 Victoria Cave 
 
 3, 8 
 
 Yorkshire 1, 9, 166 
 
 Wabash, Rivek ... . 
 
 8 
 
 Union ... 166, 232 
 
 Wales 
 
 . ... 118, 226 
 
 Young Men's Christian Associations 
 
 ,, Prince of ... . 
 
 228 
 
 227, 233 
 
 IJemkose &. Sons, 23, Old Bailey, London ; and Derby. 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 Crown 8vo., 206 Pages. Cloth, Gilt. Price 3/6. 
 
 CONTINENTAL SCAMPER. 
 
 BEING 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF A RUSH 
 
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 AND SWITZERLAND. 
 
 SRlmt J rafo, aitir fojrat J thought. 
 
 BY "PERISCOPE." 
 
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