<table><tr><th>Omeka ID</th><th>Omeka URL</th><th>Title</th><th>Subject</th><th>Description</th><th>Creator</th><th>Source</th><th>Publisher</th><th>Date</th><th>Contributor</th><th>Rights</th><th>Relation</th><th>Format</th><th>Language</th><th>Type</th><th>Identifier</th><th>Coverage</th><th>Is Required By</th><th>Is Referenced By</th><th>Is Replaced By</th><th>Is Version Of</th><th>Has Version</th><th>License</th><th>Mediator</th><th>Medium</th><th>Provenance</th><th>References</th><th>Replaces</th><th>Requires</th><th>Rights Holder</th><th>Spatial Coverage</th><th>Table Of Contents</th><th>Temporal Coverage</th><th>Date Copyrighted</th><th>Access Rights</th><th>Accrual Method</th><th>Accrual Periodicity</th><th>Accrual Policy</th><th>Alternative Title</th><th>Audience</th><th>Audience Education Level</th><th>Bibliographic Citation</th><th>Conforms To</th><th>Date Accepted</th><th>Date Available</th><th>Is Part Of</th><th>Date Created</th><th>Date Issued</th><th>Date Modified</th><th>Date Submitted</th><th>Date Valid</th><th>Extent</th><th>Has Format</th><th>Has Part</th><th>Abstract</th><th>Instructional Method</th><th>Is Format Of</th><th>Original Format</th><th>Venue</th><th>URL</th><th>Transcription</th><th>To</th><th>TEI File</th><th>Summary</th><th>Publication Type</th><th>Publication</th><th>Pseudonym</th><th>Physical Dimensions</th><th>Bibliography</th><th>Occupation</th><th>Ngram Text</th><th>Ngram Date</th><th>Location</th><th>From</th><th>Event Type</th><th>Death</th><th>Birthplace</th><th>Birth</th><th>Biographical Text</th><th>Files</th><th>Tags</th></tr><tr><td>344</td><td>https://dickenssearch.com/items/show/344</td><td>Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting 1855</td><td></td><td>Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting (14 March 1855).</td><td>Dickens, Charles</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1855-03-14&quot;&gt;1855-03-14&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1855-03-14_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Dickens, Charles. 'Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting' (14 March 1855). &lt;em&gt;Dickens Search&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Eds. Emily Bell and Lydia Craig. Accessed [date].&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1855-03-14_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&quot;&gt;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1855-03-14_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=97&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Royal+Literary+Fund&quot;&gt;Royal Literary Fund&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;In the interval, he said, perhaps the chairman would permit him to &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;proceed with a motion which he had to submit to the meeting. The resolution went to recognize the necessity of the society being reincorporated under a new Charter, and he would state the grounds on which he moved it with all possible plainness. The existing Charter was so excessively ridiculous, so absurdly inconsistent, and so manifestly preposterous, that it ought to be abandoned by all men of sound mind, memory, and understanding. Whether the construction that had been put upon it by the Committee were legal or illegal he did not know; but this he did know, that it was sheer nonsense, and he was therefore of the opinion that steps ought to be taken to procure an amended Charter from the Government.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;He need scarcely remind them how this question arose. About seven years ago the administrative body of the Corporation, which then consisted of the Council and Committee together, ascertained that for thirty years or so all their proceedings had been illegal. The respected outlaws, on whose minds this conclusion had forced itself, immediately rushed off to the Attorney General, and, in the most laudable manner, exerted themselves otherwise to effect a reconciliation with the outraged majesty of the Law. The result of their deliberations was, that one of the governing bodies of the society called the Council, which had hitherto been recognized as having a right to sit and vote with the General Committee, was thenceforward entirely set apart as having no business to do so, was understood to be for ever banished from the light of the General Committee&rsquo;s countenance, and had taken no part in the management of the society.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;Now, before he followed the Council into their extraordinary position in space, let him inquire under what authority these two bodies, the Council and the General Committee, had come into existence. Necessarily, under the authority of the Charter, which declared that there should always be a Council, General Committee, President, Vice-Presidents, and so forth, who, in the words of the Charter should have &lsquo;the entire direction and management&rsquo; of the affairs of the institution. In the very next paragraph, the Charter referred to &lsquo;Meetings of the Council&rsquo;, regularly and plainly expressing, in the most roundabout and the most homely English, that the Council should meet. and that it should have as much share in the government of the institution as the General Committee or the other officers of the society had. This intention the Charter further most emphatically expressed by requiring that the Council should be a very notable body indeed, composed of the most potent, grave, and reverend signiors&rsquo; that the society could discover. It demanded as a qualification that they should have dissected for years every limb of the cases brought before the General Committee, and it regularly stipulated that the Council should be composed of the President and Vice-Presidents and not more than twenty other members of the Corporation, who should &lsquo;have served for three years at least upon the General Committee&rsquo;. The Council being, in this express manner, thus constituted and limited, he hoped they would excuse him for suggesting that outside the Literary Fund itself, and outside those two large establishments of St. Luke&rsquo;s and Bedlam, there surely could not be in the metropolis a single human being who could for one moment doubt that the Council was intended to have a real existence, and ought to have something to do. But had it a real existence? Had it anything to do? Why, he appealed to facts which were within the knowledge of every gentleman at that table, and to his own personal experience too; for he had had the honour of being elected a member of that august body, and also of retiring from it as soon as he found out how it was situated.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-ccp-props=&quot;{&amp;quot;201341983&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559739&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559740&amp;quot;:276}&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;Having forfeited his seat on the General Committee, he received a most obliging letter from the secretary, in which he could detect nothing like latent pleasantry or a practical joke, asking if he would like to be elected a member of the Council. He felt extremely diffident about aspiring to such an honour. He pictured to himself a body of sages, peaceably meeting, whose large consumption of midnight oil for the benefit of the society and in administration of the Literary Fund might possibly account for the great expenditure which had been incurred. After much thought he came to the conclusion that by study, and fasting, he might perhaps become fit for such companionship, and replied to the secretary that he would accept the office. So much was he impressed with the importance of the function, that for months afterwards he never left home without leaving word where he might be found, in the event of the Literary Fund wanting him to take counsel with them. He found, however, that they got on without requiring his assistance, and he was then induced to inquire when this Council met, where it met, and what it had to do when it did meet. To his inexpressible amazement he discovered that, according to the construction of the Charter, it never had met as a Council, that it never could and never did meet at any place whatsoever, that it had nothing to do, and that in short it was the only thing in all creation that had no end, purpose, or object in being in existence.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;I ask the meeting &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;Dickens continued &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;to consider what the public would say to such a mode of doing business in any other institution with similar pretensions: to a board of directors never meant to direct, to a body of highly qualified judges never allowed to judge, to a jury convened by solemn writ and summons, never to deliberate and find a verdict. Imagine a physician appointed never to prescribe &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; a&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt; surgeon, never to set a bone. Conceive a corps of firemen who are especially enjoined under no circumstances whatever to go within fifty miles of a fire, or imagine the picked officers of the Royal Humane Society particularly, and strictly, tied up by law from approaching the water.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;But this is the case of your Council at this moment &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;that Council which the Charter expressly mentions as one of the governing bodies which shall have &lsquo; the entire direction and management&rsquo; of the affairs of the institution. Now I beg to suggest that if no such pretence would be tolerated in any other institution under the sun, it is least likely to be endured once known and understood out of doors, in the case of a public institution having control over the very large sum of money which has been subscribed by the public, with one plain, distinct, and undeniable object. Firstly, because anything like a false pretence of any kind in such an institution, most properly and justly lays it open to particular suspicion; and, secondly, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;because the continued endurance of this ridiculous and absurd state of things will always suggest most infallibly and dangerously either that the Council is used as a shelf on which to place uncomfortable members of the General Committee, or as a means of propping up the faults of the concern with the mere names of eminent literary men, who have and can have really nothing to do with it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;I submit that this Charter is utterly defective and rotten, inasmuch as it appoints among the governing bodies of the institution a Council; inasmuch as it regulates and sets forth the duties and functions of the other governing bodies, but omits to name those of the Council; the consequence of which is, not only nonsense, as I have already said, but a distinct perversion both of the letter and the spirit of the Charter; and inasmuch as the Council does not discharge, and to the end of time never can discharge, these functions which we solemnly confide to it by the Charter, I have not only the hope &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;the present hope &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; b&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;ut the ultimate certainty of setting this very foolish matter right; and, therefore, I beg to move:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-ccp-props=&quot;{&amp;quot;201341983&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335557856&amp;quot;:16777215,&amp;quot;335559739&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559740&amp;quot;:276}&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;That whether the General Committee&rsquo;s construction of the existing Charter be legal or illegal (as to which there are differences of opinion), it is manifestly absurd, as constituting a body expressly to be elected from Members of the General Committee, with at least three years&rsquo; experience, called a Council, to which it confides no powers, and no duties, and which never meets, because it cannot even be called together, by any authority, for any purpose; and that it is, therefore, desirable to apply for a new Charter, and that a committee be specially appointed with this object.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;; &lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt;He could not accede to this suggestion, he said, since that Committee had already reported against any alteration. As to the present constitution of the Corporation not being inconvenient, all he had to say was that everything foolish was inconvenient&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot; data-ccp-charstyle=&quot;normaltextrun&quot; data-ccp-charstyle-defn=&quot;{&amp;quot;ObjectId&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;b16eb7e5-4c87-4983-b1da-6cea1ee4c271|34&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;ClassId&amp;quot;:1073872969,&amp;quot;Properties&amp;quot;:[201342446,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,201342447,&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;,201342448,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,201342449,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,469777841,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,469777842,&amp;quot;&amp;quot;,469777843,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,469777844,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,201341986,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,469769226,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,268442635,&amp;quot;22&amp;quot;,469775450,&amp;quot;normaltextrun&amp;quot;,201340122,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,134233614,&amp;quot;true&amp;quot;,469778129,&amp;quot;normaltextrun&amp;quot;,335572020,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,469778324,&amp;quot;Default Paragraph Font&amp;quot;]}&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt;a foolish arrangement just as a foolish person. He thought that members of the Council were now placed in a ridiculous position in relation to the public; and would be placed also in an inconvenient position when the truth, with respect to their want of duties or of power, became known. He should press his &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt;resolution, but&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW151248918 BCX0&quot;&gt; would be ready to confer with the General Committee as to the names to be placed upon the special committee of the society. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>18550314</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=4&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=London&quot;&gt;London&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>345</td><td>https://dickenssearch.com/items/show/345</td><td>Royal Literary Fund Special General Meeting 1855</td><td></td><td>Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Special General Meeting (16 June 1855).</td><td>Dickens, Charles</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1855-06-16&quot;&gt;1855-06-16&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1855-06-16_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Special-General-Meeting</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Dickens, Charles. 'Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Special General Meeting' (16 June 1855). &lt;em&gt;Dickens Search&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Eds. Emily Bell and Lydia Craig. Accessed [date].&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1855-06-16_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Special-General-Meeting&quot;&gt;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1855-06-16_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Special-General-Meeting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=97&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Royal+Literary+Fund&quot;&gt;Royal Literary Fund&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;As his speech, he said, was in the report which he had presented to the chairman, he would not be able to renew the gratification which the learned gentleman, the seconder of the amendment, said he felt at hearing his speeches. He regarded, moreover, the complaint of the lamentable deficiency of their funds, after the astounding and unanswered statement made by Mr. Dilke of their financial resources, as about the most bitterly ironical thing which the human mind could conceive of that society.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;The honourable gentleman who had moved the amendment had appeared, in common with other gentlemen who had addressed the meeting, to approach the proposal entirely in the character of a lender; but let him approach it in the character of a borrower, and put the question to them as a matter of feeling, whether they could not conceive the case of a high-spirited literary man, who would refuse to apply for a gift of money but who would be willing to come to the Fund for a loan to assist him in his difficulties. The noble lord had said, &lsquo;Oh! he can regard it as a loan, and can pay it back again in the form of a donation.&rsquo; But, he would ask, was there a man in that room, who, having received a loan of, say, a hundred pounds, would have the audacity to put down his name in the list of subscribers as a donor to the society of one hundred pounds, when he repaid it? The suggestion was founded on a perfect misconception of the literary character and honour of the country which it was amazing to hear from such lips.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;; &lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;A gentleman in the room interrupted to say that it was understood that Chateaubriand had done so. DICKENS.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot; data-ccp-charstyle=&quot;normaltextrun&quot; data-ccp-charstyle-defn=&quot;{&amp;quot;ObjectId&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;a910b0d7-d005-48fc-ba31-8678fc05619c|36&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;ClassId&amp;quot;:1073872969,&amp;quot;Properties&amp;quot;:[201342446,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,201342447,&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;,201342448,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,201342449,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,469777841,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,469777842,&amp;quot;&amp;quot;,469777843,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,469777844,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,201341986,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,469769226,&amp;quot;Aptos&amp;quot;,268442635,&amp;quot;22&amp;quot;,469775450,&amp;quot;normaltextrun&amp;quot;,201340122,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,134233614,&amp;quot;true&amp;quot;,469778129,&amp;quot;normaltextrun&amp;quot;,335572020,&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;,469778324,&amp;quot;Default Paragraph Font&amp;quot;]}&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;Then he did extremely wrong. JOHN MURRAY.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot; data-ccp-charstyle=&quot;normaltextrun&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;I would do so, too.&lt;br /&gt;DICKENS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot; data-ccp-charstyle=&quot;Heading 1 Char&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; lang=&quot;EN-US&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot; data-ccp-charstyle=&quot;normaltextrun&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot; xml:lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; class=&quot;TextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;NormalTextRun SCXW266286389 BCX0&quot;&gt;Then you would be extremely wrong, likewise.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;With respect to the proposal of the Committee to establish a place for the reunion of literary men, it had been objected by one honourable gentleman that the Athenaeum and other clubs already existed, to which literary men might resort. Why, there was also a fine building known as the London Tavern, which was equally open and accessible to literary men. But did they think that Mr. Bathe, the respectable and enterprising owner of that establishment, would keep his house open for such a purpose? The accommodation proposed to be provided by the committee was of a character suited to the requirements of persons who were altogether unable to avail themselves of privileges such as those to which he had referred. It had been said that the committee wished to take a very large proportion of the &pound;30,000 belonging to the Fund, and appropriate it to other purposes. Nothing of the sort was intended; and the committee had expressly stated in their report that the funds required would be supplied by those persons who would avail themselves of the privilege of the proposed new institution. The object of the literary institution was to induce literary men at home and abroad to take a greater interest in the society, and in case of success the committee anticipated that the increased interest would ensure a corresponding increase in contributions to the Literary Fund; and they proposed that the experiment should first be made on a very small scale, and at almost nominal expense, and then, if unfortunately they should fail in exciting among the profession an increased interest in the objects of the institution, and so did not gain an accession of subscribers, no possible harm would have been done, and the project need not be carried any further. Mr. Milnes had asked the advocates of the scheme why they did not found such a society as they wanted; but they might just as reasonably ask him, and the other conductors of that institution, why this was not done by them as they had their &pound;30,000 of reserved fund, their &pound;200 a year, with which to fulfil these original intentions of the founders that they now altogether blinked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-ccp-props=&quot;{&amp;quot;201341983&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559739&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559740&amp;quot;:276}&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;He would ask any gentleman present to consider whether the Literary Fund was capable of an extended interest among Literary men? Let him look around the room, and, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;he said it without any disrespect &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; a&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;t the representatives of Literature on the platform, and ask himself whether he could not imagine a better representation of Literature, brought together under the name of the Literary Fund. The alterations proposed in the report, in the mode of assisting literary men, were suggested by literary men animated with a feeling in favour of their art, who desired to do it good; and actuated also by an earnest desire to rouse up this slumbering society and make it do more for Literature than it had ever yet done, or was likely to do, if left to itself. They knew well that being awakened was, at all time, and under any circumstances, an extremely disagreeable process. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;They all knew this, for they objected to it every day of their lives.But beyond all question the Literary Fund had overslept itself by a great number of years, and it was absolutely necessary to knock it up; and, please God, they would get it out of bed by some means or other.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-ccp-props=&quot;{&amp;quot;201341983&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559739&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559740&amp;quot;:276}&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>18550616</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=4&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=London&quot;&gt;London&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>315</td><td>https://dickenssearch.com/items/show/315</td><td>Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting 1856</td><td></td><td>Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting (12 March 1856).</td><td>Dickens, Charles</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1856-03-12&quot;&gt;1856-03-12&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1856-03-12_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Dickens, Charles. 'Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting' (12 March 1856). &lt;em&gt;Dickens Search&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Eds. Emily Bell and Lydia Craig. Accessed [date].&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1856-03-12_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&quot;&gt;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1856-03-12_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=97&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Royal+Literary+Fund&quot;&gt;Royal Literary Fund&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Sir, I shall not attempt to follow my friend Mr. Bell &ndash; who, in the profession of literature, represents upon this Committee a separate and distinct branch of the profession, that like: The last rose of summer Stands blooming alone, His lovely companions All faded and gone, &ndash; into the very ingenious maze of bramble-bushes with which he has contrived to beset this question. In the remarks I have to make I shall confine myself to four points. One, that it would appear from Mr. Bell&amp;#039;s speech that the Committee find themselves in the painful condition of not spending enough money, and will presently apply themselves to the great reform of spending more. Two, that with regard to the house, it is a positive matter of history, that the house for which Mr. Williams was so anxious, was to be applied to uses to which it never has been applied, and which the administrators of the Fund decline to recognize. Three, that with respect to Mr. Bell&rsquo;s endeavours to remove the Artists&rsquo; Benevolent Fund from the ground of analogy which it unquestionably occupies in reference to the Literary Fund, by alleging that it continually relieves the same people, I beg to say that Mr. Bell, as well as every gentleman sitting at that table, knows perfectly well, that it is the business of this Fund to relieve the same people over and over again; and, indeed, I hold in my hand a report for 1855, from which I find out that out of forty-eight cases relieved, thirty were those of persons relieved from the second to the tenth time.  I can only oppose to that statement my own experience when I sat on that committee, and when I have known persons relieved, as a matter of course, on many consecutive applications, without further inquiry being made. As to the suggestion that we should select the particular items of expenditure that we complain of, I think it is according to all experience that we should first affirm the principle that the expenditure is too large. If that be done by the meeting, then I will immediately proceed to the selection of the separate items. Now, in rising to support this resolution, I may state at once that I have scarcely any expectation of its being carried, and I am happy to think it will not. Indeed, I consider it the strongest point of the resolution&amp;#039;s case that it should not be carried, for it would be impossible to convey to the public a more convincing proof of mismanagement, and the determination of the managers to mismanage it to the death, than would be involved in the recital for the second time within twelve months, that the attention of the Committee had been called to the incontrovertible facts of its great expenditure, and that at the same time the Committee had asserted that it considered the expenses were not unreasonable. I cannot conceive a stronger case for the responsibility of the reform urged for the second time and I rejoice that this statement of facts  and the assertion that the expenses are not unreasonable will go forth together. Now, to separate this question from details, let us remember what the Committee and their supporters asserted last year, and I hope will reassert this year: that it was rather a model kind of thing than otherwise now, that if you get &pound;100 you are to spend &pound;40 in management; and if you get &pound;1000, of course you may spend &pound;400 in giving the rest away. Now, in case there should be any ill-conditioned people here, who may ask what occasion there can be for all this expenditure, I will give you my experience. I went last year to a highly respectable place of resort, Willis&rsquo;s Rooms, in St. James&rsquo;s, to a Special General meeting of this Corporation, for the purpose of hearing and seeing all I could, and saying as little as I could prevail on myself not to say. Allowing for the absence of the younger and fairer portion of the female sex, the general appearance of the place was very much like Almack&rsquo;s in the morning. A number of stately old dowagers were ranged in a row on one side, and old gentlemen sat on the other. The ball was opened with due solemnity by a real marquis, who walked a minuet with the Secretary, at which the audience were much affected. Then another party advanced, who, I am sorry to say, was only a member of the House of Commons &ndash; but a gentleman highly connected &ndash; and he gracefully took the floor. To him, however, succeeded a distinguished lord, then a bishop, then the son of a distinguished lord; after which the minor church rose, with a member of the Stock Exchange and the Bar; and, at last, in an interval of the theatricals, a man more immediately connected with Literature, though not of course considered very respectable, was allowed to step in and sustain the part of Pangloss, in the adventures of Candide, and delight the audience by explaining that this was the best of all possible societies, conducted under the best of all possible managements, at the least of all possible expenditure from the best of all possible funds. It is in these things &ndash; it is in our fondness for being so stupendously genteel, by keeping up such a fashionable appearance, by giving way to the vulgar and common social vice of hanging on to great connexions at any price &ndash; that the money goes. Why, sir, the very last distinguished writer of fiction whom you caught for your public dinner, told you, in return for drinking his health, somewhere towards the small hours of the morning, that he felt like the servant in plush who is permitted to sweep the stage down, when there are no more great people to come on; and  I myself, at a dinner some twelve years ago, felt like a sort of Rip Van Winkle reversed, who had gone to sleep backwards for a hundred years; and, waking, found that Literature instead of being emancipated, had to endure all manner of aristocratic patrons, and was lying at the feet of people who did nothing for it, instead of standing alone and appealing to the public for support. Why, this Bloomsbury house is another part of the same desire for show, and the officer who inhabits it. (I mean, of course, in his official capacity, for, as an individual, I much respect him.) When one enters the house it appears to be haunted by a series of mysterious looking ghosts, who glide about in some extraordinary occupation; and, after the approved fashion of ghosts, but seldom condescend to disclose their business. What are all these meeting and inquiries wanted for? As for the authors, I say, as a writer by profession, that the long inquiry said to be necessary to ascertain whether an applicant deserves relief, is a preposterous pretence, and that working literary men would have a far better knowledge of the cases coming before the board than can ever be attained by that Committee. Further, I say openly and plainly, that this Fund is pompously and unnaturally administered at great expense, instead of being quietly administered at small expense: and that the secrecy to which it lays claim as its great attribute, is not kept; for through those &lsquo;two respectable householders&rsquo;, to whom reference must be made to enlighten the ignorance of the Committee, the names of the most deserving applicants leak out, and are, to numbers of people, perfectly well known. The members have now got before them a plain statement of fact as to these charges; and it is for them to say whether they are unreasonable, or justifiable, becoming, and decent. I beg most earnestly and respectfully to put it to those gentlemen who belong to this institution, that they must now decide, and cannot help deciding, what the Literary Fund is, and what it is not &ndash; what it is for, and what it is not for. The question raised by the resolution is whether this is a public corporation for the relief of men of genius and learning, who may be reduced to distress by unavoidable calamities or deprived by enfeebled faculties or declining life of the power of literary exertion; or whether it is a snug, traditional, and conventional party, bent upon maintaining its own usages with a vast amount of unnecessary parade, upon its own annual puffery at costly dinner tables, and upon a course of expensive toadying once every twelve months, to one or two members of the aristocracy, with a view to recruiting its finances. This is the question that you must decide today, and it is a question from which you cannot escape.</td><td>18560312</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=4&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=London&quot;&gt;London&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>346</td><td>https://dickenssearch.com/items/show/346</td><td>Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting 1857</td><td></td><td>Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting (11 March 1857).</td><td>Dickens, Charles</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1857-03-11&quot;&gt;1857-03-11&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1857-03-11_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Dickens, Charles. 'Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting' (11 March 1857). &lt;em&gt;Dickens Search&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Eds. Emily Bell and Lydia Craig. Accessed [date].&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1857-03-11_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&quot;&gt;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1857-03-11_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=97&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Royal+Literary+Fund&quot;&gt;Royal Literary Fund&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;As, he said, he should not speak seven minutes, he hoped he should not incur the sacred wrath of the gentlemen in the middle of the room who were so impatient of any waste of time when those opposed to the Committee spoke, but who did not feel the slightest annoyance however long the speeches of the honourable gentlemen at the table might be. He, however, wished it to be distinctly understood that if he were going to speak seven hours instead of seven minutes, although he did not represent Literature in the attitude in which it was there most favourably received &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;namely, in the person of a suppliant certified by two householders &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;he should most strenuously though respectfully maintain his claim to be heard in this place above all others; for, in whatever manner it was treated elsewhere, there, at all events, every other consideration should yield to its dignity.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-ccp-props=&quot;{&amp;quot;201341983&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559739&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559740&amp;quot;:276}&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;As to the denial of Mr. Bell as to the analogy to be drawn between the Literary Fund and the Artists&rsquo; Benevolent Fund, he at once took issue with him; he was very well acquainted with both funds, and protested that he knew of no difference between them, and of no reason whatever why this society should not be managed as cheaply as the other. With reference to the claims of Mr. Blewitt, and Mr. Dilke&rsquo;s frequent acknowledgement of those claims, he impressed upon the meeting that there had been no change in the sentiments of his friend. All that they wanted was, that this society should avail themselves of the valuable services of Mr. Blewitt, in a wider and more efficient manner; and they had declared again and again that nothing would delight them more than to double or even treble Mr. Blewitt&rsquo;s salary, on the society&rsquo;s extending his sphere of operations. He passed over the somewhat lengthy case of Mr. Haydn, which, he submitted, with all due deference, had nothing whatever to do with the present discussion, and would endeavour to bring the attention of the meeting to the point at issue.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;The question as to the existence or not of the House fund, was not a question of 1821, but of last year; because, on the second Wednesday of last March, they &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;the conspiring reformers &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;were put down by the solemn assertion that there was a House fund of some &pound;6,400. The subscription for that fund was a complete failure. He took it upon himself to say that it did not exceed &pound;600. And the way in which this imaginary sum was got at was as follows: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt; the Prince Regent allowed two hundred guineas a year to pay the rent of the house inhabited by the society, paid yearly or half-yearly; but the sums paid for the rent had been put down as an accumulated fund, precisely as if they had it in hand at the present moment, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;so the extraordinary statement made last year as to the existence of this sum, never had any real foundation. If statements were so rashly made in that expensive little room he thought it would not be long before the society itself would fall into disrepute.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-ccp-props=&quot;{&amp;quot;201341983&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559739&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559740&amp;quot;:276}&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;He would, with their permission, give a short illustration of the mode in which this question had been dealt with. Let him suppose the case of a clerk in the receipt of one hundred pounds a year, paid half-yearly, and every farthing of which was anticipated before he received it. His having received that income twenty years, would not make him the possessor of &pound;2,000. But he would carry the case further. Let them suppose a family picture representing an estimable old gentleman bestowing the hand of his only daughter upon the man of her heart, and saying to them, while tears of generosity coursed down his cheeks, My darling Emma, my dear Edward! take my blessing upon you each; and with my blessing accept my twenty years&rsquo; receipts of my rent at &pound;200 a year, which your filial affection will at once enable you to perceive are equal to &pound;4,000 Consols, in perpetuity.&rsquo; Or let them, without any derogation of dignity, just fancy themselves for a moment upon an Old Bailey jury, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;none&quot;&gt;&ndash; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-contrast=&quot;auto&quot;&gt;would they, or would they not decide that such a representation was a false one? His assertion was, most distinctly, that they (the reform party) were put out of court last year on an utterly false pretence; and that part of the resolution, at all events, every gentleman in the room was bound to consider before he decided.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-ccp-props=&quot;{&amp;quot;201341983&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559739&amp;quot;:0,&amp;quot;335559740&amp;quot;:276}&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>18570311</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=4&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=London&quot;&gt;London&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>322</td><td>https://dickenssearch.com/items/show/322</td><td>Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting 1858</td><td></td><td>Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting (10 March 1858).</td><td>Dickens, Charles</td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1858-03-10&quot;&gt;1858-03-10&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1858-03-10_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Speech at the Royal Literary Fund Annual General Meeting (10 March 1858). &lt;em&gt;Dickens Search&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Eds. Emily Bell and Lydia Craig. Accessed [date].&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1858-03-10_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&quot;&gt;https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1858-03-10_Speech_Royal-Literary-Fund-Annual-General-Meeting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=97&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Royal+Literary+Fund&quot;&gt;Royal Literary Fund&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>In response to that very graceful appeal, will you allow me to say at once that I have not only the pleasure of assuring you that I am not going to make a speech, but I have also the pleasure of hoping that the course I am going to take will be equally satisfactory to both parties in the room. This may appear, at first sight, rather a romantic expectation, but I will show you in half a dozen words what a practical expectation it is. On the former occasions we have met here, the majority who supported the Committee in the existing state of things &ndash; of which majority the committee itself formed so influential, so satisfied, so laudatory, and so very large a part &ndash; have very strongly objected to drawing a comparison between this institution and any like institution in the known world. Now, no such comparison shall be heard from me today. Upon former occasions I have observed that dry details which are utterly inseparable from questions of figures are extremely unpalatable here, and apt to be received with considerable resentment; and I hope my abstinence and resolve thereon will be quite agreeable to both parties. I will only plainly say on that head (if there be any member of the Literary Fund attending here for the first time) that if under any circumstances I were to venture to enter in detail into the last accounts, I am quite sensible that it would look like the wanderings of a lunatic if I were to point out in detail how a fund of this kind had drawn forty-one charitable drafts on the society&rsquo;s bankers, at a cost of &pound;13 each&ndash; absolutely more, in three cases, than the sum drawn for; how upon these forty-one cases there was a cost of more than forty-five per cent; while only fifteen of those cases were new ones after all &ndash; all the others having already been relieved from once to eight times. Well now, for that reason, and for the promotion of general good will amongst us, I will confine myself to the assertion of a principle. Before the public, who, as I said on a previous occasion, are indeed the real judges of this matter, I entertain the single wish to fasten upon myself, and those who act with me in this matter, the distinct assertion of a plain principle; and to fasten on the Committee, and those who support them, the distinct assertion of a principle equally plain and manifest. Now, the very moderate amendment I have to move is this:  That the accounts of the Literary Fund, showing a systematic expenditure of from 40 l. to 45 l. in the giving away of every 100 l. of grants, are not quite satisfactory; that such an appropriation of money, subscribed with a clearly defined charitable object, is not quite right; that its continuance as a distinctive feature of the Literary Fund is not so consistent with the professions of the Literary Fund as to tend to uphold that Institution in general confidence; that such continuance, therefore, ought not to be sanctioned from year to year, and is now protested against. Very well; this resolution will, no doubt, be duly seconded, duly put from the Chair, and duly negatived. The majority will be glad to negative it, I shall be content to have it negatived, and we shall all be satisfied. It will then be distinctly proclaimed &lsquo;that the accounts of the Literary Fund, showing a systematic expenditure of from 40 l. to 45 l. in the giving away of every 100 l. of grants&rsquo;, are &lsquo;quite satisfactory&rsquo;; and, further, that the continuance of &lsquo;such an appropriation of money, subscribed with a clearly defined charitable object&rsquo;, is &lsquo;quite right&rsquo;, that &lsquo;its continuance as a distinctive feature of the Literary Fund&rsquo;&rsquo; is so consistent with its professions as &lsquo;to tend to uphold that institution in the general confidence&rsquo;; and, &lsquo;that such continuance, therefore&rsquo;, should &lsquo;be sanctioned from year to year&rsquo;, and is not &lsquo;protested against.&rsquo; Now, to the acceptance of this responsibility for myself, and to the putting of their responsibility on the Committee, I have steadily resolved to confine myself today. I am here wholely and solely for that purpose, and no consideration whatsoever shall induce me to swerve from it. In connexion with two friends who are now near me, I have written a letter and caused it to be equally circulated amongst all members of this society without any distinction, and we have had it printed, in which we have set forth what seem to us to be very grave, self-evident objections to the administration and expenditure. If any champion of that administration and expenditure will impugn any one of those statements in writing, as we have done, upon his own personal honour, upon his personal responsibility, and with the fixed association of answer to assertion which belongs to productions in print, we will immediately answer him, and prove that case whatever it may be. But I wish it to be distinctly understood that I am not skirmishing to escape here from the one unqualified declaration that the present system of expenditure in the Literary Fund, as a charitable institution, is in principle and practice quite right, is calculated to attract public confidence, and does not require revision. We will not permit ourselves, under any circumstances whatsoever, to be led away from that, and therefore I can communicate to you, Lord Stanhope, the very comfortable intelligence, that after the resolution I have read has been put and disposed of, not one other word will be heard in this room from my lips, and not one from Mr. Dilke, and not one from Mr. Forster, until this time next year. We assume, as we are bound in courtesy to assume, that our opponents have no greater desire to shrink from a broad open, manly acceptance of their responsibility, than we have desired to shrink from ours. Here in this resolution, read affirmatively and read negatively, are two responsibilities, for and against. Let each side please to take its own, and let both sides go on their way rejoicing.</td><td>18580310</td><td>&lt;a href=&quot;/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=4&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=London&quot;&gt;London&lt;/a&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></table>