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Charles Dickens > Speeches: Literary and Social > BIRMINGHAM, DECEMBER 30, 1853

Speeches: Literary and Social

BIRMINGHAM, DECEMBER 30, 1853


[The first of the Readings generously given by Mr. Charles Dickens
on behalf of the Birmingham and Midland Institute, took place on
Tuesday evening, December 27, 1853, at the Birmingham Town Hall,
where, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, nearly two
thousand persons had assembled. The work selected was the
Christmas Carol. The high mimetic powers possessed by Mr. Dickens
enabled him to personate with remarkable force the various
characters of the story, and with admirable skill to pass rapidly
from the hard, unbelieving Scrooge, to trusting and thankful Bob
Cratchit, and from the genial fulness of Scrooge's nephew, to the
hideous mirth of the party assembled in Old Joe the Ragshop-
keeper's parlour. The reading occupied more than three hours, but
so interested were the audience, that only one or two left the Hall
previously to its termination, and the loud and frequent bursts of
applause attested the successful discharge of the reader's arduous
task. On Thursday evening Mr. Dickens read The Cricket on the
Hearth. The Hall was again well ruled, and the tale, though
deficient in the dramatic interest of the Carol, was listened to
with attention, and rewarded with repeated applause. On Friday
evening, the Christmas Carol was read a second time to a large
assemblage of work-people, for whom, at Mr. Dickens's special
request, the major part of the vast edifice was reserved. Before
commencing the tale, Mr. Dickens delivered the following brief
address, almost every sentence of which was received with loudly
expressed applause.]

My Good Friends,--When I first imparted to the committee of the
projected Institute my particular wish that on one of the evenings
of my readings here the main body of my audience should be composed
of working men and their families, I was animated by two desires;
first, by the wish to have the great pleasure of meeting you face
to face at this Christmas time, and accompany you myself through
one of my little Christmas books; and second, by the wish to have
an opportunity of stating publicly in your presence, and in the
presence of the committee, my earnest hope that the Institute will,
from the beginning, recognise one great principle--strong in reason
and justice--which I believe to be essential to the very life of
such an Institution. It is, that the working man shall, from the
first unto the last, have a share in the management of an
Institution which is designed for his benefit, and which calls
itself by his name.

I have no fear here of being misunderstood--of being supposed to
mean too much in this. If there ever was a time when any one class
could of itself do much for its own good, and for the welfare of
society--which I greatly doubt--that time is unquestionably past.
It is in the fusion of different classes, without confusion; in the
bringing together of employers and employed; in the creating of a
better common understanding among those whose interests are
identical, who depend upon each other, who are vitally essential to
each other, and who never can be in unnatural antagonism without
deplorable results, that one of the chief principles of a
Mechanics' Institution should consist. In this world a great deal
of the bitterness among us arises from an imperfect understanding
of one another. Erect in Birmingham a great Educational
Institution, properly educational; educational of the feelings as
well as of the reason; to which all orders of Birmingham men
contribute; in which all orders of Birmingham men meet; wherein all
orders of Birmingham men are faithfully represented--and you will
erect a Temple of Concord here which will be a model edifice to the
whole of England.

Contemplating as I do the existence of the Artisans' Committee,
which not long ago considered the establishment of the Institute so
sensibly, and supported it so heartily, I earnestly entreat the
gentlemen--earnest I know in the good work, and who are now among
us,--by all means to avoid the great shortcoming of similar
institutions; and in asking the working man for his confidence, to
set him the great example and give him theirs in return. You will
judge for yourselves if I promise too much for the working man,
when I say that he will stand by such an enterprise with the utmost
of his patience, his perseverance, sense, and support; that I am
sure he will need no charitable aid or condescending patronage; but
will readily and cheerfully pay for the advantages which it
confers; that he will prepare himself in individual cases where he
feels that the adverse circumstances around him have rendered it
necessary; in a word, that he will feel his responsibility like an
honest man, and will most honestly and manfully discharge it. I
now proceed to the pleasant task to which I assure you I have
looked forward for a long time.


[At the close of the reading Mr. Dickens received a vote of thanks,
and "three cheers, with three times three." As soon as the
enthusiasm of the audience would allow him to speak, Mr. Dickens
said:-]


You have heard so much of my voice since we met to-night, that I
will only say, in acknowledgment of this affecting mark of your
regard, that I am truly and sincerely interested in you; that any
little service I have rendered to you I have freely rendered from
my heart; that I hope to become an honorary member of your great
Institution, and will meet you often there when it becomes
practically useful; that I thank you most affectionately for this
new mark of your sympathy and approval; and that I wish you many
happy returns of this great birthday-time, and many prosperous
years.

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Index Index

EDINBURGH, JUNE 25, 1841
JANUARY, 1842
FEBRUARY 1842
FEBRUARY 7, 1842
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 18, 1842
MANCHESTER, OCTOBER 5, 1843
LIVERPOOL, FEBRUARY 26, 1844
BIRMINGHAM, FEBRUARY 28, 1844
GARDENERS AND GARDENING. LONDON, JUNE 14, 1852
BIRMINGHAM, JANUARY 6, 1853
LONDON, APRIL 30, 1853
LONDON, MAY 1, 1853
BIRMINGHAM, DECEMBER 30, 1853
COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS. LONDON, DECEMBER 30, 1854
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 1855
SHEFFIELD, DECEMBER 22, 1855
LONDON, FEBRUARY 9, 1858
EDINBURGH, MARCH, 26, 1858
LONDON, MARCH 29, 1858
LONDON, APRIL 29, 1858
LONDON, MAY 1, 1858
LONDON, JULY 21, 1858
MANCHESTER, DECEMBER 3, 1858
COVENTRY, DECEMBER 4, 1858
LONDON, MARCH 29, 1862
LONDON, MAY 20, 1862
LONDON, MAY 11, 1864
LONDON, MAY 9, 1865
NEWSPAPER PRESS FUND.--LONDON, MAY 20, 1865
KNEBWORTH, JULY 29, 1865
LONDON, FEBRUARY 14, 1866
LONDON, MARCH 28, 1866
LONDON, MAY 7, 1866
LONDON, JUNE 5, 1867
LONDON, SEPTEMBER 17, 1867
LONDON, NOVEMBER 2, 1867
BOSTON, APRIL 8, 1868
NEW YORK, APRIL 18, 1863
NEW YORK, APRIL 20, 1868
LIVERPOOL, APRIL 10, 1869
THE OXFORD AND HARVARD BOAT RACE. SYDENHAM, AUGUST 30, 1869
BIRMINGHAM, SEPTEMBER 27, 1869
BIRMINGHAM, JANUARY 6, 1870
LONDON, APRIL 6, 1846
LEEDS, DECEMBER 1, 1847
GLASGOW, DECEMBER 28, 1847
LONDON, APRIL 14, 1851
THE ROYAL LITERARY FUND. LONDON, MARCH 12, 1856
LONDON, NOVEMBER 5, 1857
LONDON, MAY 8, 1858
THE FAREWELL READING. ST. JAMES'S HALL, MARCH 15, 1870
THE NEWSVENDORS' INSTITUTION, LONDON, APRIL 5, 1870
MACREADY. LONDON, MARCH 1, 1851
SANITARY REFORM. LONDON, MAY 10, 1851
GARDENING. LONDON, JUNE 9, 1851
THE ROYAL ACADEMY DINNER. LONDON, MAY 2, 1870

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