The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, OCT. 28, 1890.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 2854, 28 October 1890, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, OCT. 28, 1890.

There are few who have not heard of Toynbee Hall, bat probably sis few who have a clear idea of its ( origin and of the noble work to ' which it is devoted. The story , illustrates the great saving elements in English life, on which the safety of the past from violent change has so much depended, and 011 which freedom from the revolu- ' tionarv movements that disturb less favoured nations will depend in the future. The movement from which Toynbee sprung, like many other national inspirations, began at Oxford some twenty years ago The ardent, well-born and often wealthy young students of that venerable seat of learning have given many devotees to the service of the poor and lowly, and foremost among the leaders of this last movement was Arnold Toynbee, a tutor at Balliol College. Of marked ability, he had been prevented by weak health from gaining the honours to which he might well have aspired. As a tutor, however, he soon became one of the prominent figures at the University. Political economy was his favourite subject, but he brought to it tho historical method universally adopted iu other countries, though leading to conclusions opposed directly to those of Kicardo and the men of the older abstract English school. To Toynbee the English system of hiissez /(lire, its dependence on the free play of greed and selfishness as sure to lead to the good of mankind, was intolerable. His sympathy with the suffering classes of his fellow countrymen was too keen to be satisfied with passive acceptance of any dogma however scientific it might claim to be. Deeds, not words, self-sacrifice, not self-seeking, were him to a knot of loving students, whom he embuod with his own spirit and who now carry on the work in which death stayed hisownlieart and hand. Toynbee was finally quickened into activity by opposition to the doctrines of Henry ( xKorge, which be believed likely to lead the suffering poor into paths that could only end iu delusion and disappointment. His plan of meeting distress was, by active organisation, and in pursuit of this plan he lectured in London to ever increasing audiences, often hostile, until his frail body succumbed to the strain. He [died in the autumn of 188:5, but ' his work was not allowed by his friends to die with him. They felt that 110 better monument could be erected to his memory than a building in which might be carried on, in the heart of the poorest parts of London, the work to which his life had been so faithfully devoted. Representatives were assembled from Oxford, Cambridge, and London, and their deliberations ended in the formation of an association incorporated as " The Universities' Settlement in East London." The main object of the " settlers" was defined to be provision for education and means of recreation for the poor of London, as well to aid inquiry into their true condition and to advance their welfare. For these purposes houses were built in a suitable locality and occupied by "settlers" from the Universities ready to undertake philanthropic or educational work. At Whitechapel, a few minutes walk from Aldgate station, a suitable site was , purchased, and on it was erected | the block of buildings already famous as Toynbee Hall. The buildings, comprising a large dinin" and reception room, lecture and class rooms, and a number of residential chambers, were put up partly by subscription and partly by loan, at a primary cost of £10,000, and havo sineo been extended malerially. Tho Kov. S. A. Burnett tho well known Vicar of St. Judes, "Whitnchapel, was appointed wardeu of Toynbee. At the openino- in 1881, nioro than a dozen ' members of the Universities took up their quarters as residents, and number rapidly increased to sixty. The value of their labours, cultured : and devoted men, among the seeth--3 ing population of East London is r inestimable, and to bo regarded

as the boginning of a movement from which the highest hopos are reasonably entertaiued. Careful to avoid every appearance of patronage, and themselves manly and vigorous specimens of humanity, they soon won the,'confidence of the people among whom they had cast their lot and who needed such missionaries as much as and porhaps more than, the savages of New Guinea,

The work of Toynbee Hall has already become important. The residents organise lectures, meetings and entertainments. Their labours are incessant. la the midst of poverty, squalor and degradation, they have introduced higher aud new aspirations with a success beyond themost sanguine expectations. Numbers have come to their aid and admitted as "Associates " have brought both gifts of money and an enthusiastic devotion to the service of the poor. Professor Gardiner, Mr Churton Collins, and other of the most eminent members of the University Extension Staff, give their services. Literature, science, and political ecouomy are becoming familiar to those among whom the very names were till lately unknown. Large audiences attend these lectures, and students at the " Whitechapel centre " have already carried off certificates at the University Extension examinations. Numerous other classes, reading parties, and art exhibitions are heicl. At these exhibitions pictures and works of the highest excellence are lent by the foremost people in the land, and they are supplemented by an excellent library already containing nearly five thousand volumes. The library has replaced the public house to so great an extent that its enlargement has become urgent. Social evenings, on which occasions the hall is brilliantly lighted by electricity, debates, concerts, and above all holiday excursions to the country, are among the recreations offered to the closely-packed denizens of what was so long an almost unknown and entirely neglected part of the city. The narrowness, stagnation, and monotony that so often killed the benevolent efforts of tract distribution and district visitors have been guarded against with special care in the foundation and conduct of Toynbee Hall. No effort has been spared to gain the confidence of those among whom the work is carried on, and to make them feel entirely at home. Men of many (Trades—among whom tlit? teachers of board schools are noteworthy—take part in the noble work and share in the benefits which, conferred upon others, re-act upon themselves. Toynbee Hall, scarcely yet five years old, is becoming the centre of a new life. Two other buildings, based upon it as a model, are being established, and the fame of Toynbee is spreading through the land. Who can despair of tlie futurG of the grand old country, whatever trials may be in store, while she possesses among her educated and higher classes, men and women mo\ed by the spirit of brotherhood and lofty patriotism thus to devote themselves to the welfare of thenweaker fellow-countrymen 1