SCOTLAND.

The members of the Social Science Association dined together in the City Hall yesterday week. Besides Lord Brougham, Sir John Paking-

ton, the Lord Advocate, Sir David Brewster and other English notables,

M. Gamier Pages, M. Desmarets, and other foreigners, were present. Lord Brougham, as chairman of the banquet, made five or six speeches.

Among other speakers were Colonel Alison, the Lord Advocate, Sir John Pakington, Sir James E. Shuttleworth, Lord Neaves, Principal Barclay, Mr. Walter Buchanan, and Judge Marvin of New York. The speeches were full of personal compliments and much praise of social science. Sir John Pakington said, speaking of the success of the Association- " Never has that success been more remarkable than during this week in the great city of Glasgow—aweek of which we arenowjoining in the crowning scene, in a shape which proves that at least one social science is thoroughly

understood in Glasgow. (Loud applause.) If I wanted a proof of the general interest which this Association has excited, and more particularly

among that class of society whose welfare is most our object, I would ap-

peal to the magnificent gathering of the working classes which we saw in this room on Wednesday night ; a scene the more striking and the more impressive from the knowledge we felt that, crowded as this room was, there

were thousands of others who were kept away solely from the impossibility of finding space for them here." Lord Brougham spoke on the same topic and matters personal grow- ing out of it- " The great and important topic upon which he dilated is the great, grand success, greatly above any that has attended the important National Asso- ciation of which I have the honour to be president—not the founder cer- tainly. Mr. Hastings is the founder. I cooperated with him, and came into it as soon as it was proposed ; but in him it originated, and he, as you well know, performs to this hour the important and difficult and laborious

office of our general secretary. (Cheers.) But well might my right honour- able friend say that on no former occasion had our congress been attended

with greater success than here at Glasgow. I will go a step further, and

say that at no former Congress had we anything equal to the success which has attended us at Glasgow. In every respect, in all points of view, with all

classes, from the humblest to the highest, we have been received, we have been welcomed with a cordiality which can only be accounted for—and that is a most comfortable conclusion—by the deep, lasting interest felt in social

science. (Cheers.) I may add that certainly the reception which I per-

sonally received in all parts of this, the great capital—for capital I call 't- end from all classes, has been such as 1 never could have expected, never

could have dreamed of receiving. I have canvassed in all directions, in the most populous districts under the most varied circumstances, of the great county of York, which I represented for a short time ; I have canvassed in smaller counties, of an agricultural character alone ; but in all those canvasses I never have been received, even where I was what was called most popular—in all of them put together I never have had the reception which I have met with in Glasgow, and even in the suburb of Paisley, this morn- ing. Now' as my right honourable friend says as to his toast, that it di- vides itself into two parts, so I may say that this reception, this popularity of mine in these districts also divides itself into two branches. One part— nine parts in ten of the whole—belongs to the Social Science Congress. (Applause and cries of " no ") It is a demonstration in my person, as the president, as the leading member, it is a demonstration which can- not be rebutted of the strength of feeling, of the deep feeling, of the lasting feeling which pervades universally in favour of the Social Science Congress. With respect to the other trifling part, however gratifying to me personally, I account for it by the consideration that I am regarded, not as the advo- sate of a party, not as having any factious propensities—as having, if I ever had any, outlived them. (Cheers.) I have had many much dearer, many much worthier objects ; but still, if I ever was tainted with party prejudices and party feelings, I have outlived these prejudices and these feelings, and for many long years past I have been at the service of the people, of the great part of the people, the advocate of principles which I have always maintained, even in the worst times of party. (Loud cheers.) If any one who is a slave of party, be he in office or out of office, be he an expectant of office, be he one who has held office, or one who is devoted to party, as some people are very sickly, and slavishly devoted to party—who has had any hope of office or any wish of office—if any of these different descriptions of party men, with a view to party, had been present at any of these great demonstrations which we have witnessed with- in the last three days among all ranks of the people, from the demon- stration of last Monday to the demonstration to which Sir John Pakington referred on last Wednesday night—they would have seen—and so they would have seen today in the great suburb of Paisley, in the reception which I met with—a complete demonstration that the reign of party. in its bad sense, that the reign of faction as compared with the reign of principle, was now at an end. (Enthusiastic cheering.) I was very glad that my right honourable friend referred to the wonderful meeting on last Wednesday night. He was not more astonished than I was or more gratified than I was with that meeting. Three thousand and some odd hundreds were chosen out—for my right honourable friend is aware that there were about 30,000 applications, and we could only take a tithe of them—I don't as tithe out of any disrespect to the Church—(Laughter and cheers)—for I was always as agreeable to pay tithes as to receive them—when I say tithes I ought to say tem& (Laughter.) Tcind is your mode of saying tithes, though it don't quite follow, as my friend the Lord-Advocate said, the same rule. (Laughter.) But that tithe of the working classes—that magnificent assembly of between three and four thousand, sonic said it was even up- wards of 4000—I never in my life saw anywhere among any rank of the people, a more well conducted, candid, fair, apparently intelligent, well-be- haved, and, as to the subject of the meeting, discreet and judicious assem- bly, composed of any rank of my fellow-countrymen. This, therefore, is one of the greatest gratifications which we of the Social Science Congress have had during the whole of our meeting." (Cheers.)

Lord Brougham having proposed the distinguished foreigners present, M. Desmarets said ho had the honour, upon the present occasion, of re- presenting the French, Russians, Germans, Italians, and Spaniards. He expressed thanks for the hospitality the foreigners had received during

their sojourn in Glasgow, and he hoped with Lord Brougham that eter- nal peace would reign between the two sister lands—France and Britain.

He was happy that in past times the soldiers and sailors of the two countries had fought side by side, and they were again upon the same side in China, so as to extend the benefits of civilization, which were not sufficiently understood by their countrymen of the world—the Chinese nation. He complimented the people of this country on their gallant Army and Navy and gallant Volunteers, and added that, in having taken

part in the Social Science Congress proceedings, he was a volunteer him- self—a volunteer in the gallant army of peace. (Cheers.) He expressed his satisfaction at seeing ladies taking part in the business of the various sections, and concluded by expressing the deep debt of gratitude he owed to his venerable and learned friend, Lord Brougham.

Judge Marven, of New York, having been loudly called for, also rose amid loud cheers to acknowledge the toast, and in doing so said there were now 2,000,000 of persons living in the United States that were born in Great Britain and Ireland. They, on the other side of the At- lantic, were immensely interested in the education of the poorer classes of Great Britain, that when they emigrated to the United States, they might bring along with them sound principles of religion and of morality, and thereby their gaols might be relieved. In the United States, there was room for 300,000,000 of a population, and they had only 60,000,000—so that they had room for all the surplus population of this country, beggars and all. (Laughter and cheers.)

Towards the close of the evening, the Reverend Dr. Norman M'Leod said, " Before we part with the venerable old man who presides oven this meeting, I propose that we give him three hearty cheers."

Lord Brougham answered-

" Instead of that I will do a much better thing ; I will tell you a story. (Cheers.) It is in illustration of the position which I took upon myself when returning thanks for the ladies. I was sitting one day in my room, and in came two learned judges, one of them neither more nor less than a late Lord Chief Justice of England, and the other one of the puisne judges. They saw two volumes lying on the table. The Lord Chief Justice said, What is that ? ' I said, These are the two volumes I have just pub- lished.' The one said, They have not sent them to me,' and the other said, They have not sent them to me.' I said, No; these are works for respectable old ladies, and you do not wish them, I suppose.' What do you mean,' said they ; what do you take us for ? We may not be old ladies, but we are old women.' (Cheers and laughter.) At all events, the result was that they carried off the books with them."

The freedom of the city of Paisley was conferred on Lord Brougham yesterday week.

Mr. Grant Duff met his constituents at Elgin on Tuesday, and de- livered a sensible speech on the session and contemporasy events abroad. One or two passages are of general interest. Speaking of the French treaty he said- " It is most surprising that those who look upon the commercial treaty as a blunder and a misfortune should think that the late session was wasted;

but I cannot understand language of this sort in the mouths of those who believe it to be a great blessing to us all. From the first, I have been strongly in its favour. I was in Paris when it was announced, and wit- nessed the profound irritation which it caused amongst the French protec- tionists. I was much gratified by receiving, a month or two ago, a note from an English gentleman, not at first a partisan of the measure, with

whom I had discussed it at the beginning of the session, and who since has had the very best official opportunity of knowing exactly what was passing in France. Ile assured me that everything had turned out infinitely better than he had expected, and that the details of the treaty were being arranged with great fairness by the French authorities. Mr. Duff spoke in favour of a free Italy. He looks upon a free Russia as the natural ally of England. He characterized Austrian concessions as " too late." Speakiug of Parliamentary reform, he said—" No one can, however, have watched with attention the course of the discussion on the Reform Bill without observing that the Act of 1832 has, at least, insured this—that public opinion is so well represented by the present Parliament, that a Reform Bill is quite cer- tain to be passed as soon as a considerable majority, I do not say of the con- stituency, but of the liberal party in the constituency, is heartily in its fa- vour. The worst feature in the reform movement up to this time is that it has been rather a Parliamentary than a popular movement. There is but

one way in which the Reform Bill can be made a good one. Do you, each one of you, form your own judgment as to what it ought to be. This is preeminently a question in which a wise legislator will follow, not lead, public opinion. A cry has been got up in connexion with this subject by the Quarterly Review, and other anti-Liberal organs, that there is a Conser-

vative reaction in the country. I think this is a mere delusion. The people are puzzled about the method of reform, but as to having given up

the wish for reform, that is quite another affair. To talk of reactions in the politics of this island is, I would fain hope, an anachronism." (Ap- plause.)