Mr. Goschen, as president for the year, delivered a very
interesting address to the Birmingham and Midland Institute in the Town Hall, Birmingham, on Thursday. The address, which was in Mr. Goachen's happiest manner, and was full of thought and suggestions for thought, had for its subject international prejudice. It began with a strong protest against the neglect of contemporary history. Who now understood the causes of the Revolution of 1848 or of the wars which produced Italian unity ? Men know their Livy or their Tacitus, and yet are ignorant of these things. But worse still was the ignorance of the characteristics of foreign nations which was shown in every country. Abroad the British character was altogether misunderstood. We were looked on as an utterly selfish nation. " To our neighbours we still were the English
of the time of Pitt, or rather the English such as Frenchmen conceived them to be in the time of Pitt." In fact, England, in the minds of foreigners, was largely represented by an out- of-date caricature. The study of our literature ought to help foreign nations to an understanding of our spirit, but, un- fortunately, it did not seem to have done so. Our novels, from Richardson to Dickens, were widely read in Germany, yet the Germane failed to understand our character. We also failed to realise the feelings of foreign nations, and to understand their position. That is quite true. What is wanted is what YDe Qaincey called the sympathy of comprehension even more than the sympathy of approbation. We have not, however, much hope of any very satisfactory results. The nations may become like brothers in intimacy, but we fear that for all that they will be " all Caine and Abels."
Previous page
