Mechanic's Institution - The Irish Question - Newspapers
On the 11th of February, a deputation consisting of Dr. Birkbeck, Mr. Hume, and other gentlemen, waiting on Lord Melbourne to ask for an entire abolition of the stamp duty on newspapers,and his lordship promised to give it his most serious attention. How faithfully and generously he kept the promise will be shown further on. But the name of Dr. Birkbeck - honourably associated as it was with the Mechanics' Institutions - calls to mind the gratifying prosperity of the Hastings institution of that ilk, and of which I was proud to be a member at that time.
It was in January, 1836, that a new series of lectures and discussions was commenced, the principal members taking part therein being Messrs. Hawkins, Jolly, Bean, Pictor, Melrose, Edwards and Banks. The prevalent belief was that Mechanics' Institutions would be a national plant productive of good fruit, and that the efforts of a certain class to restrict its growth would in the end prove abortive. "Knowledge is power" was the adopted motto, it being argued that riches make not the man, unaccompanied by a rich store of knowledge. That the Hastings Mechanics' should many years afterwards, decline, and ultimately become defunct, was greatly to be deplored, but that Mr. Womersley, Mr. Ransom, Mr. Huggett, and a few other persons are still amongst us to testify to the good which was effected by some fifty years' existence of that institution is at least a source of gratification. Mr. George Hawkins, who was one of the successful debaters at the Institution in 1836, became the proprietor, in the same year, of a shoe-shop in George street, previously in the possession of Mr. Roberts, and at a later period, was many years Traffic Manager to the London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway Company.
Turning again to local associations of imperial matters, it will be remembered that during the election contest in 1835 between Messrs. North, Elphinstone, Planta and Brisco, the almost paramount questions were those concerning Ireland. These continued to be debatable topics in 1836, and as the non solution of the problems was due to the anti-Catholic feeling of the Upper House, the irritation of the Reformers even in aristocratic St. Leonards was very strong. It was boldly declared at some of the social gatherings that the sooner the House of Lords was abolished, the better. Quite early in the session, the then Irish Attorney-General (Mr. O'Loughlin) introduced a Bill for the Better Regulation of Irish Corporations. There will remain, he said, 71 corporations which included within their territories a population of 900,000, while the number of corporators was only 13,000. So exclusive had been the system that although since 1792 Roman Catholics had been eligible, not more than 200 had ever been admitted as Members. He contended that there was only one way by which to pacify Ireland and promote a real union, and that was to ameliorate her institutions, to treat her fairly, and to give her equal rights and privileges with England. This sentiment was largely shared by the Dissenters, as well as by others among the middle and lower classes of Hastings and St. Leonards. The Liberals at that time were in the ascendant, and their friendly feeling towards the land of Erin - real or affected - was very pronounced. The Conservatives, however both here and elsewhere, were quite appalled at the prospective evils which were threatened by Mr. O'Loughlin's proposed measure; and, on their behalf, it was moved in the Commons by Sir Francis Egerton that the Irish Corporations be abolished, rather than that their privileges should be enjoyed by Roman Catholics. This motion was lost, and the Bill was ultimately carried by a majority of 61. But on being sent to the Lords, several new clauses were added, whilst as many as 106 out of 140 were so altered as to destroy their original character and purpose. Lord John Russell afterwards carried a motion by a majority of 66 that the Lord's amendments be rejected. Then came the tug-of-war betwixt the two Houses, in which Lord Stanley, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Lyndhurst, Mr. Shield, and Mr. O'Connell, distinguished themselves in the debates by a flow of oratory that has rarely been equalled since that event. Many excited meetings were held throughout the country and Mr. O'Connell from that time became especially popular.
He visited Hastings, and to me, among others, was afforded the pleasure of hearing him as he addressed the people from the balcony of the Marine Hotel. The agitation continued for a period of four years, and the bill, even in its greatly modified form, was not finally passed till 1840. But its provision as now read by the light of history, were barely of a nature to effect the pacification of which its framers were so sanguine; and the fact brings to mind an evening's gossip on that subject which, a few years later, I had with an Irish gentleman who, during one of his visits to St. Leonards took up his abode at East Ascent. In politics whis gentleman was a Liberal of the first water; but whilst he deplored the evils of "absenteeism," and advocated such legislation as should give to the English and Irish an equality of political and civil rights, he nevertheless feared that many generations would come and go before tranquility and contentment would take root in Ireland. So easily excited, he remarked, were the majority of his countrymen against English rule, and so impulsive was the national temperament, that grievances would be always laying hold of the imagination, and popular discontent, with agrarian outrages, would be sure to follow. One has only to think of the rebellious acts of 1848, the Fenian conspiracies of a later period, and the late Home-rule propaganda, to be convinced of the accurate "forecast" of the gentleman to whom I have referred. And as immediately bearing upon this spirit of disaffection and lawlessness it may be mentioned that a great sensation was created at midnight of the 8th of February, 1836, by the blowing up of the King's statue on College Green.
I have stated that Lord Melbourne promised Dr. Birkbeck, Mr. Hume and other members of a deputation to give his most serious attention to their application for a repeal of the stamp duty on newspapers. That promise was made on the 11th of February,and during the following May the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his Budget speech (after placing in a strong light the long-standing anomaly of agricultural distress in contrast with the general commercial prosperity), proposed to reduce the duty on first-class paper from 5d to 3 1/2d., to remit the duty altogether on stained papers, and to reduce the duty on newspapers. This important measure came into operation on the 15th of September, when the newspaper stamp was reduced from 3d with its 20 per cent. discount, to one penny. The net reduction was therefore 2 1/2d: and an agreeable sensation was at once created by the fact that the London dailies were to be obtained post free, for 5d. instead of 7d. Many of the weekly papers, however, were only reduced by a penny, but in most cases they were considerably enlarged. Previously to this mitigation of duty there was no provincial paper published oftener than once a week, and the ordinary price of a provincial weekly even after the remission of duty, was 4d. or 5d., including the penny stamp. Without such stamp no paper could be published oftener than 26 days. There was at that time no newspaper published in Hastings or St. Leonard the first Local paper Hastings and Cinque-Ports Iris and St. Leonards Chronicle, which came into existence on Saturday, Oct. 23rd, 1830, having ceased to exist after July 2nd, 1831, and its successor (Cinque-Ports Chronical) not having made its appearance until Sept. 8th, 1838. During this interregnum of the local literary monarchy, the sceptre of the press was conjointly swayed by the city of Canterbury, the royal-pavilioned Brighton, the county-town of Lewes, and the ancient port of Dover. The sayings and doings of the good and bad folk of Hastings and St. Leonards were meagrely reported in those days notwithstanding that nearly a dozen papers professed, more or less, to cater for our information or amusement. These, with their ages in 1836, were the Kentish Gazette, 119 years; Sussex Advertiser, 91; Kentish Chronicle, 68; Kent Herald, 44; Brighton Herald, 30; Brighton Gazette,15; Dover Chronicle, 11, Brighton Guardian, 9; Kentish Observer, 4; and the Kentish Telegraph, 2. Of the journals here enumerated, the three best known in Hastings were the Sussex Advertiser, the Dover Chronicle and the Brighton Guardian. The last-named was spiritedly conducted by Mr. Cohen, who on one occasion was sued for libel, but on whose behalf a subscription was energetically got up, both in Hastings and Brighton. Mr. Cohen was very persistent in asserting the rights and privileges of the public as represented by the press, and I remember on one occasions when he was ordered out of the Hastings Government House during the investigation of a smuggling transaction, he stood his ground manfully, and dared the coastguard officers to expel him. He had, if I rightly remember, an able backer in the person of the late Mr. Langham, who was at that time the smugglers' trusty advocate. But what a change in the price in the number, and in the character of newspapers if we compare those of 1836 with those of 1896! I am almost tempted to enlarge upon this theme, but will forbear until I have to note the further removal of restrictions in 1855. Yet, having made special allusion to the Brighton Guardian, it may be apropos to note that when I first knew it its price was sevenpence, but, like the other provincial papers, it came down to fivepence after the reduction of the stamp duty, and since then its prices has been further reduced to a penny. The years-ago local agents were successively Messrs. Glandfield, of George street; Perry, of ditto; Foster, of the Pelham Arcade; Mose, of George street; Payne, of Wellington place; and Brett, of Norman road.
Having referred to Mr. O'Connell's popularity in 1836, and to his visit to this locality, it may not be out of place to mention that of the £9,000 subscribed by Liberal politicians to recoup him for his expenses in defending his election, some few of the Hastings and St. Leonards people were known to have contributed rather liberally. So important at that time was O'Connell held to be to the Liberal party, that after his election and that of his colleague for Dublic had been declared void by the Committee appointed to try them, a friend of the "Great Agitator" placed his own seat for Kilkenny at his disposal.
The only other incidental allusion to Parliamentary matters of 1836 which I shall make is that in which Hastings and St. Leonards shared the interest with the whole country. It was the passing of two very important measures - one for the marriage of Dissenters without the formality of the church ritual, and the other for the registration of births, marriages and deaths. The first had been long demanded, and the second had been long desired. The Marriage Act enabled parties to be married before a public officer in any registered place of worship or in the office of the Superintendent-Registrar. These measures were passed in the month of August, but they did not come into operation until July 1st of the following year, at which time Mr. Samuel Smale, a grocer, of George street, obtained the appointment of Registrar for Hastings.
Opening Dinner at the Swan - Government Petition for a Recreation Ground
Having described in Chap. XV the purchase by Mr. Eldridge of the "Royal Swan," and his removal thither from the "Royal Saxon," together with his efforts to restore the former to something like its ancient significance, I will now add that after several months spent in the alterations and improvements, the new tenancy was celebrated by an opening dinner which took place on the 20th of Dec. The chair was occupied by the Mayor, who was supported by the Borough Members (Messrs. Elphinstone and North), and about ninety other gentlemen. In the same year and at the same house a well-conducted Harmonic Society was established whose first meeting was held on the 14th of March, when the large room was occupied by about 100 gentlemen, presided over by Francis Smith, Esq. -
