The Express. — London, England, 1847-12-16 00:00:00

- - he Min lofted as the invidious necessity of excluding the nonnellea Val& •11110Isen. He espetholly addressed lake self en SY eireffar es the right hon. gentleman the Preeklent at the Beard of Trade (Mr. Labouebere), and to the Tem. and learned gentleman the member for Liverpool (ffir.C•rdwell) ,• and he assured them that seeking as he did to re-construct the committee in the least levities* , and personal manner, he had thought the bast coarse open to him was to take off the names of those two madmen on each aide who 'toad lowest down in official rank In the present and late government. (Hear, hear.) This amide ration, and this only, induced him to select, in the fir st place, the names of the President of the Board of Trade cod of the hon. and learned member for Liverpool. In the same manner, in 'electing the name of the hoo. member for Stoke.upon-Treat (Mr. Ricardo) for exclusion, he had done so because that hon. gentleman represented the small = manufacturing constituenet. Hs sought to exclude Sir Wm. Clay, because he thous t that both sides of the ques tion should be fairly represented, as it stood in the City of London, and that, besides the noble lord at the head of the government, there ought to be a member whose opinions were not fettered and tied down by being the author of a work on the currency. The right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer hail observed that if his (Lord George Sentinels's) proposition was adopted, there would be on the committee fourteen gentlemen who concurred in his (Lord George Bontinck's) views, and only five who agreed with bins (the Chancellor of the Exchequer). Now he was disposed to take an entirely different view of the matter. As the list of the committee stood now there were on it eight members of the late and the present cabinet, arid every one knew very well that every mother of a govern ment going into a committee went with his mind fettered, and dissembled from exercising his own judgment, but cem. palled to follow the course pointed out by his leader. Whether the noble lord opposite (Lord J. Rummell) or the right hon. baronet (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) would take the lead in the committee he (lid not know ; but this was certain, that the other members of the government would abstain from any inconvenient crome-emmination of the witticism, and would vote through thick and thin with their leader. When the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke of the committee being composted of members of the put, present, and future governments, he lost eight of the great distinction between thole who acted independently en their own judgments, and were bound together in no sort of way, and those members of the past and present govern ment who had "eaten the King's salt." (" blear," mad a laugh.) Again, the government, and the right hon. baronet. the member for Tamiworth, were agreed on the question—in foot, for all practical purposes, the right hoc. baronet was almost the government on this matter. Nothing was done on the subject of removing re strictions until the right hon. baronet came up to town, and had the interview which led to proceedings on the part of the government of which he had, in his speech the other a ght, expressed his approval. Would not a jury be dis posed from this to think that the right boo. baronet had himself dictated the letter sent to the Bank of England by the government in October last? Hence it wsa that his fundamental objection I. the committee proposed was that it was overwhelmed by eight place men and ex-placernen, who were bound together ao one man, while, on the other band, his (Lord G. Bentinek's) party, the protectionists, were not committed to particular new' on the various ques tions that might arise, and had nme of that union which belonged to parties who in honour and consistency were bound up in the maintenance of a bad law. (Hear, hear.) It was because such a committee would not be likely to form an impartial judgment that he objected to its proposed construction. True it was that the noble lord at the head of the government had consented to break through the bulwarks of the act of 1844, but not until houses had failed to tke amount of upwards of 15,000,0001., and he had been waited upon by a deputation from Liver pool. And now he (Lord G. Bentinck) must take leave to state, though not exactly in order of succession, the reasons which induced him to propose the name of Mr. W. Brown as a substitute for that of Mr. Cardwell. As the committee now stood there was upon it no representative of the cotton manufacturing districts ; for, though Mr. Cardwell was the menthe, for Liverpool, he could net represent the cotton in. tenets of Liverpool like the member for South Lancashire (Mr. W. Brown). Besides, the former was attached to the party of his leader, the rigt.t hon. baronet the member for Tamworth, and if on the committee would be placed in the difficulty of having to worship God and Mammon. (Laughter.) He had still a further reason for urging this whontution of names. So far as he could leant from the Imam in the public journals, it seemed that when the de =teflon from Liverpool waited upon the noble lord atthe bead of the government and upon the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, though Mr. Cardwell had been dragged to attend the deputation, he was only there to do the ornamen tal work as mutter of the ceremonies, while Mr. W. Brown was the man who did the working and useful part of the duty of the deputation. Therefore, as Liverpool had selected their county member, in preference to the representative of their borough, to represent the commercial distress which existed in that town, be thought Mr. W. Brown ought to be substituted for Mr. Cardwell. (Hear, hear.) But, re turning to the present constitution of the committee, with a prime minister, au ex-prime minister, one Chancellor of the Exchequer, two ex-Chancellors of the Exchequer, and one ex-Secretary of the Home Department, upon it—men who had been accustomed to lit in committees, he begged to ask what chance would independent memben have &garnet the ex rience of such men bound together as one man against them ? The main body of the house was only represented by one gentleman, an ex-cabinet minister. It would therefore be a most unequal match in quality, if not in numbers. Then there were six gentlemen who were stated to be " Peelites " —(laughter)--and eleven strong whiga, making in all seven teen of one way of thinking. (Hear.) In this number he did not include the hon. member for Montrose, who, he un derstood, declined to serve on the committee. In the names he had proposed there was only one gentleman who held the same opinions as he did. For Scotland, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said be had awned the hon. member for Perthshire, es one who had not taken en ache part in politics. But on this question the feeling of Scotland was very inadequately represented by that gentleman, whose views were rather in opposition to it. He had ventured to propose Mr. Pattison, as one whose opinions were entitled to much weight, and also that the Bank of England, being now put on its trial, might be represented by one conversant with all the transactions between it and the government, Without the presence of this honourable member, it might have been imagined that there was a perfect accord between government and the Bank es to the mode of action of the latter; while, in fact, the Bank hod been made the scapegoat of the government by the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The commer cial interests of London, which had, at the last, prevailed on government to relax the restrictions, ought certainly to be represented. Former deputations, from Liver poo l and Birminghanathad waited on government in vain ; the first were told there was no hope ; the second that government would not say whether they would interfere or not. When the London deputation waited on the noble lord, they found him unprotected by the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and, Meer a little reluctance, be had yielded to their request leniently, tens of thousands of bank notes came out of tens othousands of tin-boxes ; and there was an end of the panic. Mes City of London having been mainly instrumental in 'tug this about, it was duo to that community that the gift of Mr. Palm should be added to this committee; ihr the hem. bang (Sir W. Clay) whom he proposed to wen is bpd down to the opinions delivered in the look he had that he could not be said to enter the amesaittee Wand, The hon. member for Stoke-upon- TeletA (Mr. ItionalOweis said to represent the interest of the -deellearekent—ma WOO which was not looked on with amiffighear ht tie ennatry; be was besides hereditarily nftffilnite the steenplet opinions on the currency—opinions wdlli Std einme Wen proved erroneous ; for the late Mr. Ilissis W Teetilirea di* opinion that the act of 1819 would net prance a greater depreciation than three per cent. (Boar, hear. Mai WALLEY thought the resolution for appointing this earliallfteorght to be rescinded. Out of doors it was the emieemild that it had been proposed, merely Mahal's the faceilry end prolong the operation of the Bank Charter Act. (Hear, hear.) Tele right course would be to rescind the resolution and appoint a committee of 'practical ex perienced men, to inquire into the operation of the act of 1841. (anse9 The Chancellor of the Exchequer had had a moot diffieft took. It was difficult to prescribe for such a dimmer el the easay bad recently suffered from ; but the right !ea, geWasen had had to select the doctors ; and he had esteMd then who had already prescribed, and had elan* killed the patient. (Laughter.) Some said that esneilideg wee wreag with his head ; othersthoughtthe seat (lithe disease was the spine or the stomach ; and others kennel eftething was the matter with the circulation. (Orme latahesr.) The doctors woAd doubtless continue their old premelptkas, the consultation being a seas form. Why this waste of time ? What could the country gain by it ? An old hen sitting in a farm-yard it nix weeks would add more to the property of the tamer than this committee would increase the of the esuithey if they sat for six months. (Great arl i gre i r t .i It was ridiculous to take up the time of 26 gentleme.n for each a purpose. When would they come to the Bank Charter ? Perhaps in next June, or perhlei in June, 1849. (Hear.) Only one of the radical party had been pro reed on this committee—Mr. Home—and he had declined to set. In his place he would propose Mr. Muntz, a gentleman well =painted with iron, and who bad a hard head. (Laughter.) Having a great regard for the health of his boa. friend the member for Moatrose, he thought this duty ought not to be impo eel on him a' his time of life. (Hear, hoer.) The hon. member for Birmingham ess more ro bust he was beside" a commercial man, and one who under stood the question of the exchanges, which was said to be undenrood only by one oan in the house besides the right hon. baronet the member for Tamworth. That one man was said to be a very rich man, and to be desirous of in creasing his wealth • and a rich and avaricious man was the last who ought to d ecide on a question of this kind. That gentleman was not in this house, and be hoped the legal expenditure would not be incurred of obtaining bin a eat here. (" Oh, oh.") The men who were needed ware *see who had the wages of labour to provide every night, and who knew the difficulty of doing so. VII The hon. member for Birmingham had at fi rst objeeleabe serve on the committee, but had since cop seated to ae and he hoped the country would have the benefit of his oz. =thee knowledge and experience. Mr. HUME said he did not shrink from any duty that the house or the country might impose upon him. He was confined to bed on the day when the resolution amid for appointing this committee, otherwise he would have raised an objiction to it. For forty years the legislature had been attempting to regulate monetary affairs, and they might as well try to regulate the modems of the :heavenly Wits. (Rear, hear.) And now it wep proposed to hand over the to a set of gentlemen elle were identified with the ardent. (Hear.) Z es el i ght hon. baronet the It Teatwortk bed certain merchaate who ei r io == g yon credit, but, in the ofiallithment of the • ' THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 16, 1847. Mr, PATTISON said he had no wish to serve on the committee. The house divided—For Sir W. Clay For Mr. Pattison Sir W. Clay's name was then inserted. Kr. ANSTEY moved that the name of Mr. Thernely be omitted, iatimatieg that on a futon day he should move the substitution of the name of Mr. Hamilton. The gallery was cleared fer a division but none took plaos, and Mr. Thorriely's name wee inser ted, as were also the remaining names on the list, those of Messrs. J. Wilson, Home Drummond and 'Lament. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. . Mr. EROTHERTON moved, " That when any new busi ness is brought on after twelve o'clock at night, if it be moved and seconded, ' that the debate on such question be adjourned,' Mr. Speaker shall immediately declare the debate adjourned, without putting the question to the vote." He considered that the practice of sitting so late into the night war most prejudicial to the health of members them selves, and decidedly injurious to the transaction of public business. The good effect of the early sitting of the house on Wednesdays afforded a strong test of the beat& which would accrue from adopting early sittings altogether; but, at all events, he was most anxious that no new business should be brought on after midnight. Dr. BOWRING seconded the motion. Mr. SWART had intended to move " That this house do meet every day at twelve o'clock, and adjourn at six, as on Wednesdays, and that the business of committees be coin. menced at a proporionately earlier hour of the day," being convinced that the work of the public would be far more efficiently done if their representative, were to proceed to it with the clear heads and nafatigued bodies of mid day; but he would waive his amendment, and give his warm support to the motion of his hon. friend. Sir ft. GREY objected to the motion, as involving a chan,ge not merely inconvenient but impracticable. The practice of the Chamber of Deputies presented no analogy by which the House of Commons could regulate its sittings. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY suggested, that if the house were anxious to save their time there should be a standing order that no member should speak more than half an hour, or make more than fifty quotations in such half hour from blue or other books. (A laugh.) Mr. BROTHEBTON, in reply, observed that heretofore he had been able to de something in the way of checking discussion after midnight, but that latterly he had never been able to catch the Speaker's eye when he rose for such a PurPosvk The house divided—For the motion Against it 57-24 The house adjourned at five minutes to six. the Quakers, and their scruples were relieved by special enactment. It sometimes happens that when an angler cannot obtain a rise at his fly, he has the luck to entangle his hook in the side or the gills of a flab, which is then technically mid to be "hooked foul." This is exactly the case of the abjuration oath. There are no longer any Jasobites to catch between the bar and the Speaker's table : but the Jews, whose taste the original fisherman never thought of in dressing the hook, come casually by, and are hooked foaL This poaching sport is no proof of skill in the maker of the fly, or of love for Christianity in the fram?rs of poli tical teats. If the declaration bad been clenched by such a form as " on the honour of a gentleman," it would have been open to every man, Jew or Christian, to adopt it if he chose. If a member obstinately declared that he was not a gen tleman, and must therefore decline the test, can there be a doubt that parliament would have substituted a formula better adapted to the special nee? The relief afforded to the Quakers is a precedent in point . Even the Jews themselves are provided for by the act 10 (leo. 1., so far as the oath was then compulsory on private persons ; and the recent act for admitting them to municipal offices, dispenses with the ob noxious words as they occur in the Test and Corpora tion Repeal Act of 9 Geo. IV. There is no intelligible sense in which the legisla ture, as a body, is Christian, although all or most of its members may belong to some Christian sect. It represents no particular confession ; and a number of reciprocally hostile confessions cannot be represented in common. Any practical question affecting reli gion which parliament can decide, must concern, not the abstraction of Christianity in general, but the rights or claims of some Christian sect or sects. The church of England must submit to the interference of hostile minorities of catholics and dissenters, and every other sect for the present, to a majority which professedly adheres to the church. There is no reli gious body which has not professed opponents in parliament. It is a great error, moreover, to suppose that the religion of the members of the legislature determines the religious character of the country. The constitu encies form the basis of the constitution ; and they ' already include Jews. The class from which mem bers of parliament are principally taken insures an immense preponderance in the house of members of the church of England ; but many of them are returned by dissenting influence, and eager to promote dissenting objects. If there were Jewish constituencies, and if the Jews had special political designs, they could effect their purpose . without " unchristianising " the legislature. The existing bar is in truth neither a political nor religious security, but merely a personal disqualification. To protect religion it might possibly be worth while to violate the theory of religious equality ; but it can never be desirable to continue an anomaly and injustice for the sake of keeping up a nominal conformity of every member of the house to some one or other of the innumerable Christian sects. Although the " unchrudianusing fallacy is in tended to attract all sects equally, we do not think it likely that the dissenters, or those who are under their influence will oppose the new enabling bill. Brought forward as it is by the political party which they support, and pledged as they are for the most part to the abolition of religious distinctions in civil matters, they will advocate the cause of the Jews all the more willingly, because they will expect support from them in their own favourite objects. The oppo sition will almost entirely consist of those who are afraid of the admission of a new class of enemies to the church, as well as of a supposed change in the Cbriatian character of the legislature. It is impossible to answer the ravings of the more violent declaimers against the Jews. Those who wish to see how far nonsense on the subject can be carried, may consult the last number of Blackteoode Magazine ; in which a writer whose style is curiously compounded of the pulpit brawler and the pamphleteer has indulged in a bel lowing recapitulation of all the fictions and fallacies which can well be hung about the real question. This valuable public instructor as serts that the Jews are disqualified from corporate offices—which they are not—because corporate officers are generally magistrates, which is not the case; and that Jews cannot fitly be magistrates' because they could not give due weight to the oaths of Christian witnesses. This last assertion or argument may ' safely be left to the judgment of even the most modest believers in all that appears in print. There are, we hope, even among fools, few whose intellectual stature is so low as to be represented by such a foolometer as the writer to whose trash we refer. To others we would urge that the principle of pro tecting the church by excluding from power those who do not belong to it has been long renounced by the legislature. The admission of the catholics into parliament settled the question for ever. It is most unwise to attempt to retain the shadow of a substance which has long been taken away. No wise church man regrets the loss of the anomalous privileges of which the church has been deprived ; but in their day, however unjust, however ultimately unprofitable, they were definite and tangible privileges. It is no privilege to the sect which once had the exclusive right of entering parliament, to maintain the exclusion of one small body when all its more powerful rivals have been placed on an equality with it. We are not among those who think that the maintenance of any church can be the primary duty of a state, so as to supersede the fundamental considerations of political justice and civil equality. Those who prefer any sub ordinate organisation, civil or religious, to the nation are, so far, bad citizens. But in the question of ad mitting the Jews there is no necessity to treat of ab struse questions of precedence between religions and political duties. It is quite certain that the Jews, as Jews, are not agitators against any form of Christianity. Baron liontscnti.b,we believe, professes, in common with many dissenters, the anti-establish ment faith. Mr. 5AL05401.48, on the other hand, is a benefactor of as endowed church school. Let the inclinations of Jewish members be what they may they must be returned by constituencies who are not Jewish. The City of London, which has a greater proportion of Jewish electors than any other elective district, contains a vast majority of Gentile voters. A Jewish member who does his worst can do no more than is within the power of any member for the same constituency, though he may not be a Jew. We have endeavoured to anticipate some of the arguments which may be put forward by the oppo nents of the Jewish claims. The more positive reasons in favour of the measure of to-night need scarcely be urged again. We have little doubt that the House of Commons will adopt it. It will probably not be presented to the House of Lords till after the recess. THE present state and recent events of Portugal cut an indelible die upon the British name. No Englishman can read these accounts without blushing at once for his country, and for that party in his country which holds power en the condition of sup porting liberal principles abroad and at home. We need not recapitnlatethe events of Portugal. It is well known that, ere we undertook to meddle with that country, a successful insurrection, justly pro voked by the tyrannic, corrupt, and anti-constitu tional government of the CABRALS, had driven those abhorred individuals—the SEJANI of a weak and cruel court—from Lisbon. The insurgents were masters of the second city of the kingdom, and were only prevented from being equally masters of the capital by the position of the British fleet, with its cannon pointing up the streets and across the squares of Lisbon. In addition to this check, which produced the retreat and defeat of en army of the insurgents, we captured their fleet, and forced the liberals to surrender, solemnly promising, both to the Portu game and the British nation, that the liberties of Portugal should be respected, and that a free and fair Cortee should be elected. How has Queen DONNA MARIA kept this promise, or how have we enforced it? After long delays, and tedious preparations, the elections have taken place, almost universally under the pres sure and with the direct intervention of the soldiery. The bayonets intruded everywhere, and the soldiers voted in platoons. The CABRALB have again ascended to the seat of power. Marshal SAL DANIIA himself has bowed to them, and consents to be their colleague and instrument. After a show of resistance on the part of the KING-CONSORT, and un availing shrugs of the shoulders on the part of our envoy, the very men, and that same coterie which followed the councils and served the interests of France, and which during the time of their former pre-entinenoe insulted the envoys of Eng - - land, as well as even the semblance of Portuguese freedom, these same men coolly and triumphantly take a new lease of despotic power, and stretch the hand to NABvAFZ and CHRISTINA, and the other French vicegerents of Spain, to establish a permanent military rule over the entire peninsula. We cannot conceive how Lord Pant/m . 1.0N can wash his hands of the vile, treacherous, and despicable part which England has been degraded to play in these politics of Portugal. In Spain we may plead our inability, in Greece our good inten tions, whilst in Switzerland, as yet, we have success to point to and be proud of ; but Portugal, the weakest and the nearest country, the oldest ally, the most easily managed, for us to have allowed the free dom and best interests of that country to have been overthrown, and despotism established there, not only against our interests but by our very instrumen tality:—this, we repeat, is a disgrace to England, to its Foreign-office, and to its whig administration, which no meanness of a ministerial organ can cover, and no glozing of a parliamentary explanation can conceal. A JUDGE'S assize charge may be looked on as a kind of lay sermon. His text is the state of the dis trict, which he is supposed to " improve" for the edi fication of the grand jury. Mr. Baron ALDERSON, is charging these gentlemen at the Liverpool Winter Assizes, had but a sorry text, and, we cannot but think, preached a sorry sermon from it. Ho had to encounter a calendar unusually rich in cases of vio lence. It contains the names of nine prisoners charged with murder, twelve with stabbing not followed by death, and nine with manslaughter. Besides this amount of bloodshed to be dealt with, there was the usual number of robberies and such minor offences. On this hint spoke the learned baron. He hoped that, out of the regular course of their duty, the grand jury would think about so lamentable a state of things. " Education," continued the learned judge, " might do something, but it would not do much, be cause he believed the prevalent cause of crime was not the want of information, but the want of good principles. He trusted, therefore, that the gentry would not only educate their people, but give them good prineiples,which would stand them in stead when temptation came before them." It is unfortunate, to say the least of it, that a judge, from hie high place on the bench, should give the countenance, which these words must give, to the notion that education means the imparting of information, rather than the formation of sound prin ciples through good habits. Such a use of words shows how insufficient a conception of education and its province exists even among cultivated men in Eng.- land. Baron ALDERSON says education will not do much, and then explains himself, by expressly con fining the term to the least important of the notions involved in it. He seems to think he has a peculiar and original conception of education, when he defines it "the bringing up of people in the way they should go." But who that has thought or written anything of value on the subject in our time defines it other wise ? This is education. And it le a sorry sight to see a man in the position of Baron ALDERSON re cognising any other vulgar and outworn definition, and then employing it to depreciate "education" in the minds ot a Lancashire grand jury. None ought to know better than our judges that education, even in the narrowest sense of the word, is hardly ever found associated with crime in the gaol calendar. It is impossible to detach a certain formation of good habits from the acquisition of even that miserable modicum of information that common schools impart. And if Baron ALDERSON can tell us of any road to the formation of good principles in the present state of society, except by way of reading and writing, we shall be much obliged to him. What is the influence of religion, for example, on the untaught labourer ? How appeal to reverence for GOD through an tin awakened conscience ? How is the sun of responsi bility to be stirred into life in the being whom no quickening of intelligence has ever helped to raise above the pigs he feeds or the horses he drives ? It is true great crimes may be made to breed remorse through the agency of legal terrors, and abject fear may be awakened by the preacher's pictures of hell and judgment. But a sense of responsibility acting in the common affairs and ordinary temptations of life can not be produced (putting aside exceptional cases), where the intelligence has not been roused by such efforts as are implied, even in the mastery of those master keys of knowledge, reading and writing, if followed by any use of these instru ments The statistics of our prisons and assize courts afford remarkable illustration of this truth. It is true we must set against them the weighty dictum of Sir PETER LAURIE, that clime increases with educa tion. And the City knight may now fortify his posi tion by the assertion of Baron ALDERSON, that edu cation cannot do much to diminish offences of violence. It is with due deference to such authorities that we venture to submit the following figures and results. We are indebted for them to the November number of the journal of the Statistical Society, and the name of their compiler, Mr. G. A. PORTER, is the best guarantee for their trustworthiness. Taking all the counties of England and Wales, during a period of eleven years, from the beginning of 1836 to the end of 1846,we find that, on the average, more than one half of these counties fail to furnish any accusation against persons instructed beyond reading and writing, or, in other words, persons who hare used reading and writing. The centesimal proportion of instructed persons during that whole time being 0.41, we have a yearly average of 106 such persons out of an average annual aggregate of 25,412 accusa tions. Among the male population generally, while one person in every 370 was on the average yearly charged with an offence, and among the female one in 1,680, of persons educated beyond the mere rudi ments of reading and writing, there were no more than one accused in 76,227 of the male, and 2,034,133 of the female population. In the year 1845, 22 counties of England and Wales, comprising a population of 11,183,718 persons, furnished 45 convicts, who had received instruction beyond reading and writing ; while the remaining 30 counties, containing 4,728,039 inhabitants, did not furnish one single case where that amount of educa tion had been imparted. Further, of the 8,136,333 living that year in England and Wales, to only one of those who were adjudged to have outraged the law of his country had the page of knowledge been opened. The same result is given by the returns of 1846. In 15 English counties, no educated person was convicted in either of these two years. On these and similar results, equally startling, Mr. PORTER re marks : The small number of persons to whom the blessing of edu cation has been imparted, who are thus found to place them selves in positions to call down upon them any degree of punishment under the laws of their country, is calculated to inspire a doubt whether some considerable errors may not be committed on the part of theee functionaries by whom the returns are made. I am assured, however, that every pos sible care is taken to prevent such errors, that statements are frequently, and whenever any doubts arise are; always sent back to the prisons for verification, but that they are never found erroneous, except in having sometimes included with the persons better instructed some prisoners who read and write well without having acquired any other branch of knowledge. In most cases the returns in this respect are examined by the chaplains of prisons, whose competency for the task cannot be doubted. If, under these circum stances, we cannot rely upon the accuracy of the accounts, I know not upon what testimony any fact should be received. Before we can discredit these returns we must believe that a great number of men of education and high character throughout the country have entered into a conspiracy to gether to deceive the government and the public, and that toe in a matter where they can have no interest in deceiving, and in which they can hardly be themselves deceived. It must be confessed that it would be difficult upon less reliable testimony to believe, that in the county of .Middlesex, in cluding the metropolis with its two millions of inhabitants, exposed to temptations of such various kinds, there should have been in 1845 no more than three persons of education convicted of any crime, and that it; 1846 there should have been only one such person rendered amenable to the laws of his country. It may indeed be said that only one such person was actually punished in either of the two years, felt in 184,5 one of the three convicted was discharged from custody, the judgment having been arrested, and another having been found guilty of an assault was tined only one shilling:and dis charged. This fact is rendered still more extraordinary when we consider that the proportion of well-educated persons is probably muck greater in the metropolis than in any other part of the kingdom. On referring to the only teet ens: ling upon this subject, the return of the Registrar-General Of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, stating the proportionate number of persons who affix a arose instead of their ugh' stare to marriage registers, we shall rose, that while in all England the proportions so signing with mosses in each 100, are 32•4 males and 491 females, the proportions in the metropo lis are only 12.1 melee and 24'8 females. It is certain that of our criminals • large proportion are born, suckled, tutored, and reared in crime ; the number of youthful offenders thus becoming an im• portent element in criminal statistics. Now, during the two years 1845-6, of all the educated crim inals , there was not one below the age of 15, although the number of charges against boys under that age amounts to 3,189. In an analysi s of ret-7ree Scotland, famished by the Advocate-General, the results are analogous. Nor are we driven to coaaby a a Utopia, in order to find a pop u l at i on where the gaoler has been ousted by the schoolmaster p er own colonies furnish us with such a happy teem* " In the province of Nova Scotia," says Mr Posta, Ample provision is made for the education of every person. For this purpose one-fifteenth pert of the W 7, revenue is every year set apart, in aid o f still lure -"` contributions, and the result has long been most • Owing to a want of faith in the efficacy of these sues the repression ef crime the legislature of the proef t , provided courts of justice and constructed gaols ie county, and has authorised the appointment t.f mi en ; 74 here their task has ended, since it has not hitherto hens found necessary to appoint any such functionary- My m axi Mr. M'Oregor, in his excellent work on British Amer* written in 1833, thus incidentally speaks of the people d Nova Scotia. "Itis a matter of doubt whether mom Fn. ral end useful knowledge among all grades of the popui at can be discovered in any country Clan will be found to.. vail in this province. Many of those born sad educated is u have distinguished themselves, not only at home but in a ferent parts of the world, and the natives generally po w , ready power of apprehension, a remarkably distinct kne e . ledge of the general affairs of life, and the talent of adapt er themselves to the circumstances of such situations u direction, or necessity may place them in." It app.: int l., these our highly-favoured fellow-subjec's ate pl ace d , br t i,' training of their minds and characters, in a conclitiosp 3 bring home to their practical conviction that proverb .bu s y indeed meets with universal assent, but elsewhere is hues, generally neglected in practice, that " Honesty is the N g policy." Full of resources which have been impart e d to L iz by ha instructors, the Nova Scotian is, as Mr. Ist.G s .. tells us, enabled to adapt himself to circumstances ; .1, one honest course be closed against him can open for hi /m y another, looking beyond the present moment, and holda ll . the conviction that, even as regards his worldly and teepee! interests, he has everything to lose by swerving fro path of virtue. The man whose mind has not been opened as, on the contrary, east down by the fi rst disappoug. mt that overtakes him ; under the pressure of his immeshes wants he unhappily lees sight of the interests of the tee n, and too often yields himself, in the hopelessness of his hub,. lity, to the first temptation that besets his path. We do not wish to strain the above facts so figures to cover too wide a conclusion. We are hot Quixotic enough to anticipate that our gaols can eve be effectually drained by any possible system st schools, however excellent and numerous. We se fully prepared to for all the deductions the venous circumstances in our social state require us to make from the force of these calculations. fa o uneducated man is generally the poor man, sad distress may share with ignorance in tempting him t o crime. This is the great argument of those who under-estimate the deterring force of education. Be it is not often that offences against the laws are actually prompted by misery. Drunkenness is Me monster source of them. incontinence, unbridled desires, vanity, impatience of restraint, are also potent influences, acting in the came evil direction. And these are precisely the habits and vices, at the mot of which education, if it deserve the name, should directly and effectually strike. We trust that when next Mr. Baron ALDERSON takes " education " as a theme for comment, he will not admit the miserable definition which limits it to " the giving of information," unless indeed he show at the same time how, even in this process, the seed of good habits must, pro tanto, be sown, which it should be the first aim of the schoolmaster to educe into fruit ful and perennial activity. The result of the prosecution of the Naliond was the general subject of discussion and comment in Paris on Tuesday. That journal was prosecuted on three charges, on two of which it was acquitted, but found guilty on the third. The subject of this last was the reform banquet held at Orleans, and the offence charged was a libel against the person of the King. The sentence of the court was a fine of 6,000 francs and eight months' imprisonment. It is announced that the Lyons and Avignon Rail way will be opened for traffic in the first week of January. The case of Count Mortier before the Cour de k Premiere Instance was brought to a conclusion on Monday. The court announced that it would give its decision on NVedaesday. The Prince of Syracuse, brother of the King of Naples, arrived in Paris on Monday. It was supposed that hie retirement from the Neapolitan dominions was produced by political causes. It is announced that the Count de Sartiges is ap pointed minister plenipotentiary and ambassador ex traordinary from France to the court of Persia. M. Sauzet will be again the ministerial candidate for the presidency of the chamber. MM. Dnpin and Dufaure both decline being candidates, and it is not yet known who will be the opposition candidate. The Madrid mails of the Bth have arrived. Tha debate on the address in the senate was continued at the ith. The Montemolinist insurrection in Cata lonia appeared to be nearly suppressed. Several ea becillas were killed or captured, and Moneal, the moat celebrated of them, had been defeated at the Col d'Oriel, where he had collected three or four hun dred men, the wreck of several bands. The people of the country, who had hitherto shown great apathy, are represented as giving active assistance to the royal troops against the insurgents. Letters from Naples of the 4th have been received, which afford information of a definite kind respecting the popular movements which were reported to have taken place at Palermo on the last days of November. We give the following, without abridgment, from the correspondent of the Nourelliste, of Marseilles : In the evening of the 29th ult. the populace still crowded the streeta, and one of the leaden, who had a tricolour flag, placed himself at the head of an immense group in the street of Toledo. This asamblage proceeded to the square of the Dome, where their leader got upon the pedestal of the statue of Sainte Rosalie, the patroness of Palermo, and shouted" Long live the King!" ' Long live Italy !" " Long live the Constitution !" He then harangued the crowd on the political condition of Italy, and made it promise to con fide in the councils of the intelligent classes. " The object which you propose," said he, is also their object, and it can only be secured by unanimity. When justice and mode ration shall have been tried in vain, if it be necessary to have recourse to arms, you will do so with dignity and resolution." The people declared with enthusiasm that they would follow this wise counsel. Whilst this was going on in the square, the elite of the population were deliberating at the Casino, on the means of pacifically utilising the popular enthutium. Some instants afterwards the crowd stepped in front of the Casino, to learn the decisioa of its members, the principl of whom had been sent for by Gen. Vials , commandant of the garrison, and chief of the police, who invited them to call on the King's lieutenant. This per sonnet declared to these notables that he wee ready to grant the institution of a civic guard, and recommended them to call on the following day with the municipal council to receive the authorisation. This deeisica satisfied the people, who withdrew in the greatest order. But, in answer to the instruction, demanded front Naples by the telegraph, the King's lieutenant was positively or dered not to authorise the formation of a civic guard, and enjoined to repress with the greatest energy even Po- pular demonstration. On the 30th these instructions were communicated to the popular committee and the municips lity, who withdrew in consternation, and would no longer show themselves to the people. Placards were posted up, prohibiting under the severest penalties all public meeting' and cries of every description ; but these placards were im mediately pulled down. During this time a group was passing by the office of the commissariat, and, without any provocation en its part, was fired upon by the soldiers on guard. One person was killed, and four were dangerously wounded. The population of Palermo no longer seeing its chiefs, cries of " treason " were raised, and the agitatioa increasing the chief' at length resolved to show them selves. After great efforts to restore confidence, the chief' succeeded in calming the people, by promising consular to aid them with the same ardour in their struggle for reform. Letters from Rome, of the sth, report the death of M. Silvani, a distinguished lawyer of Bologna. 'the success of the Swiss Diet in its war against the Soa derbund produced a great sensation in all parts d Italy. On the evening of the 3rd, on the arrival d the news of the surrender of Lucerne, there was great popular demonstration at Rome. The porde* preceded by bands of music, and holding umerese able torches, proceeded to the hotel of the Stria Consul, whom they saluted with the usual patziodl exclamations. The principal streets of the rah through which the procession passed, were Mg' minted. The flags of the several Swims canton!, t ll 2 tricolour Italian flag, and that of the Pope, wee air played in great numbers on the occasion. The gal' mations referring to the capture of Lucerne Wel especially vociferated in front of the college of the Jesuits. A declaration of the government dirt proving of these proceedings appeared in the Dion* of the 4th. Lord Minto gave a plaid dinner on the lat, which Cardinal Antonellt, President of the Councils State •, M. Minghetti, Deputy of Bologna ; the Mu quis Paaolini, Deputy of 'Ravenna ; the Mauls' Audio, and many others, were present. The Diario of Rome publishes the following u th. I reply of the Pope to the address of Prince Coreini, the name of the municipality : The words which you have just addressed to me, my lei country, it was allowed to commence and savvy on bu•iarsse entirely without capital. (Hear, hear) The government W been obliged to borrow six, seven, or eight millions pureet the payment of the dividends ; and had the Bank n then in difficulties, into what a state would the country have been thrown ? Such a condition of things ought not to continue; and the house was the proper tribunal to deal with the quirtion. (Hear.) As it had been decided that all reetrEctions on trade were injurious, that monopolies were the bane of commerce,—what 0e...1d be said of a mono poly in banking ? Did it not fall under the same principle ? Let the house ascertain and decide—not by means of a select committee of pre-determined opinions—but by a committee of the whole house—whether there was any thing to take banks of issue out of the regular laws of mm :mice. The continued fluctuations and panics had been most injurious. In the late panic it was estimated that 150 millions had been Yost ; and this I was as nothing ' compared with the amount of individual suffering and damage. (Hear, bear.) Our great banking establish meat, to which all the world looked with reverence, had in fact been bankrupt from the first, having been carried on without capital. This was altogether wrong on i. rineiple; while the principle of convertibility was pro fesstd to be maintained, the bank notes were made a 'riga tender ; and thus country bankers were induced to take foes precaution. But if any extraordinary circuitries's@ &mac, as an employment of capital out of the ordi nary channels, the Bank was p:unged into difficulties; it had nothing to rely on but its deposits. On the 30th of October there were twenty millions of deposits in the I Bank, to meet which they had only 1,150,0001., and out of that nn advance had been made to a bank in the north which was is difficulties. In the face of all that, the government had a ithorised the Bank to issue more notes, thus incurring the e'onger of positive bankruptcy. The experiment had certainly turned out well ; but it was a most unwarrantable interference. And the men who had dose this were to be on this committee ! (Hear.) The banks of issue in So* land, previous to 1846, afforded an instance of the advents/et of leaving men to manage their own affairs; for, during their whole history, there had been no variation in the amounted the issues,except at two periods, the spring and autumn rem. days—the only variation being from 3 millions to 3) millisme. With this example, it was a most unfortunate proceeding pus the act of 1844. The evil day having come, let the tore retrace its steps. Let a committee of the whole house take uo the subject: end he pledged himself to show that with the free system of banking in the United States not the least mischief had taken place. It would be folly in the extreme to appoint a select com mittee. One committee had sat two years; and let any one look over the 7,000 questions that they had put, and sec what had been the result. He had no hesitation in saying that the right hon. baronet the member for Tam. worth, in the whole of his legislation on this subject, had acted under the direction of Mr. Jones Loyd, and no one had given utterance to more absurd opinions. In proof of this the hon. gentleman read some extracts from his evi dence. Doubtless he would be examined again by the con, mittee new proposed. Mr. Loyd held that deposits were's.* circulation. The great operation bad not been on the circa- Istkn, but on the deposits; and es the gold was lessened in the Bank e deposits decreased. This was a question offs's* trade, and .the repeal of the corn laws was nothing to it. They should have • free trade in banking as well as in corn. He did not think any good would be done by a committee, for the system itself must be changed. Mr. CARDWELL referred to &speech of Mr. Horner in. 1811. When that gentleman was charged with entering on committee with preconceived opinions, he stated that the same might be said of every memberof tbecommittee, and yetthe ! inquiry was conducted with impartiality, and every member of the committee suspended his judgment until the inquiry had terminated. The same observation would no doubt apply to this committee. (Hear, hear.) He had no objec tion to serve on it, but he should not feel disappointed if the name of Mr. Brown was substituted for his own. If, how ever, he remained on the committee, he hoped he should have credit for a desire to give security to the future trans actions of commerce, and to p , if possible, the recur rence of the evils which had recently afflicted the commercial community. Mr. A. STAFFORD defended Mr. Jones Loyd from the - R y 11U imputations which had been east upon him member for Montrose. the hon. —„..--. Mr. J. B. SMITH attempted to address the house, but was met with loud cries of " Divide." After he had pro ceeded a short time, Mr. FITZROY requested the Speaker to state what the question before the house wu. The SPEAKER said the question wu whether the Chan cellor of the Exchequer should be a member of the committee. Several members then attempted to address the house, but much confusion prevailed, and it was impossible to hear what passed. After order had been restored, The SPEAKER proceeded to put the names of the diffe rent members of the committee. Mr. PATTISON (taking advantage of a pause) said, that the committee wee, as he expected, a very unfair one, and no good could possibly result from it. He verily believed the right hon. gentleman the member for Tamworth, if again at the head of affairs, would propose an alteration of the act of 1844. He had no wish to be a member of the committee, but he had no doubt the Chancellor of the Exchequer h►d omitted his name bonus* he knew be was opposed to the act of 1844. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER m►de some observations which were inaudible in the gallery. The SPEAKER again proceeded to put the names of the members of the committee proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, On the question that Mr. Labouehere be a member of the committee, Mr. LABOUCHERE said, if the house required him, he should be very happy to serve on the committee, but he had i no wish to be on the committee if the house was desirous of dispensing with his services, and he thought the hon. mem- bar for Paisley, who it was proposed to substitute for him, would make a Tory desirable member of the committee. Lard G. BENTINCK having intimated that he should divide the house on the amendment, that the name of Mr.' Hestia be substituted for that of Mr. Labouchere on the committee, the house divided— For the original motion For the amendment 77-117 The house again divided on the statism, that the name of Mr. W. Brown be substituted for that of Mr. Cardwell,when the numbers were— For the original motion For the amendment lOl-66 The name of Mr. Cardwell was consequently retained. On the motion that Mr. Hume form one of the com mittee. Mr. HUME said, he hoped the house would excuse him from attendance._ Mr. WAKLEY moved the rubstaution of the name of Mr. Munts for that of Mr. Hume, who declared to him hie hoed determination that he would not attend. He also I;;;TredlOtake that opportunity of retracting an expression which he bad need in reference to an individual who was not a member of that house. (Hear, hear.) He was not jastified in making use of such an expression, and he was sorry that he had used it. (Hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER entertained • strong °Maio& that Mr. Hume ought to be a member of the committee. The house divided—For the original motion 188 For the amendment Mr. WAKLEY said that after the public and priests de. elanstiou of the hon, member for Montrose that he would not attend, he thought it was an improper proceeding to persist is retaining his name. If the attempt wan persevered in, he would more the adjournmeat of the debate. The govern. ment seemed to him to have some dread of the name of Mr. Hunts._ Col. Summit. seconded the motion. Lord J. RUSSELL said that if Mr. Hums persisted in his declaration that he would not attend, his right hon. friend would have no objection to the came proposed by the hon. member for Finsbury, or my other that the house thought fit. Ho could aware the hon. member for Finsbury that the government were not so much frightened by the name of Mr. Manta as he supposed. (Laughter.) Dr. BOWBINO thought that if the name of Mr. Hume wu retained, he would give his services on the committee. His declaration was a sort of nolo spiscopeici on his part. Mr. BROTHERTON said the impression on his mind was that Mr. Hume would attend the committee if his name was retained. Mr. ANSTEY mid that he would support the amendment of the hon. member for Finsbury. Biz B. PEEL said, that if the house deemed any particu lar member well qualified to serve on any committee, they ought not lightly to abandon the power they had of ex pressing their opinion upon it. Re voted for retaining the name of Mr. Hume, became he thought thathe ought to be a member of the committee ; but, in doing so, the last thing in his:mind was any desire to exclude Mr. Munta, who, from the attention he had devoted to the subject, end from his position as a member for Birmingham, was also well qualified to be a member. If Mr. Hume persisted in his resolution not to attend, he would be ready to vote for the name of Mr. Monts or Mr. Haiti,. After a short discussion, Mr. WAILLET withdrew his amendment. _________ . Lord G. BENTINCH moved that the name of Mr. Henley be substituted for that of Mr. Ricardo. Capt. HARRIS thought it was but fair, as there was not • single country gentleman on the committee, that the name of Mr. Henley should be substituted for that of Mr. Ricardo. The house divided—For the original motion.. 172 For the amendment .... 106-67 On the motion that Mr. Carr Olyn form one of the com mittee, Mr. OSBORNE moved that the name of Mr. Glyn be struck out, and on a future occasion he would move, if it was not competent to do so at present, that the name of the hon. member for Dublin (Mr. Reynolds) be substituted in hie stead. The hon. member for Finsbury said that competence was stamped on the appearance of tkehoe. member for Bir mingham. (Laughter.) He believed that any person who looked at the hon. member for Dublin must be satisfied that he wu equally qualified in that respect. (Laughter.) He did mot think that Ireland was fairly represented on the com mittee. . _ Lord G. BENTINCH hoped that this hon. member for Middlesex would not persevere in his motion. He had no doubt that the hon. member for Dublin would form a very useful member of the committee ; but all persona would,. he thought, agree that no person had a better title to serve upon it than Mr. Glyn, who was one of the largest bankers inlys world. Mr. REYNOLDS thanked the hon. member for Middle sex for the double compliment which he paid to him. (Laughter.) He should, if elected, give his services on the committee, but he begged to decline being placed on it in the room of so eminent a member as Mr. Glyn. He did not think that Ireland wu fairly represented. (Hear, hear.) Mr. OSBORNE withdrew his amendment, and Mr. Olyn's name was then inserted. Lord O. BENTINCE. moved the substitution of the name of Mr. Parham for that or Sir W. Clay. T.LTlit eilxintoo. --- The malls for Vigo, Oporf o, Lisbon, Madeira, Cadiz, and Gibraltar will be made up on the morning of the 17th December. The Welt India Math, excluding Bermuda, Naomi, Havana, Honduras, New Oricans, Vera Cruz, Tampico, and Porto Rico, and including those for Madeira, JacrueL thrtbagens, Santa Martha, Chapels Panama, West Coast of South America, and St. Juan-de- Nicaraista, will be mode up on the morning of the 17th December. The mails for British North Americo, Bermuda, end the Cuitc ,l dtatee, will be made up on the evening of the 11th December. The overleaf malls for Gibraltae, Malts, Gases*, the lonian IsLansle, ZrtAden, Ceylon, India, Hong-liong,and=s Southampece, made up on the morning of the 20th The overland Mooed Mareellke, to the * Mediterranean Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, India, hang Kong, he., will be made up on the evening of the 24th December. The mails for New South Wake, Van Diemen's Land, sad New Zealand will be made up oh the evening of the 31st December. the mails for the Brag* the Weer Plate, Monte Yates, Persians; e ßeht ..4 7= GM Baum /tyro, will be made up on t.). TO 0011112/ITONDRKTA ... A.~11011•1•11• 1•11101.11 ON . Tbe Ewan.. Ladd. rands( . moat be ea Übe WOO. 1116 theado*aosaag byTana Welded aa tam day dt oa. ZION WATII AT LONDON ■ilDOt. Tue. D • —Haulms II MA. past 111 At 91 WA lost 8. To. Mos mar —Margie& NI Wm paw 9, A/term" 31 nl.. put 9. LONDON, THURSDA Y, DEC. 16. IN resuming the question of the removal of Jewish disabilities for the last time before the debate on the subject in the House of Commons, which is fixed for this evening, our only difficulty is to select the class of objections with which we are to deal. The argu ment against admitting Jews into parliament which I has the greatest show of theoretical plausibility is that which is drawn from their national character, as distinguished from their religious profession. It is said that they are united amongst themselves by a tie stronger than that which connects them with the country in which they reside ; that they form as it were a Sonderbund for special objects in the midst of every Christian nation. The practical solution of the difficulty is to be found in the fact, that there is no Jewish state politically constituted, although, in one sense, there is a Jewish nation. There can be no reason why as English Jew should prefer the in terest of any foreign country to that of Eng land till he can find a Jewish government ruling over a Jewish nation. It may, indeed, reasonably be expected that, in or out of parliament, a Jew will act under a strong bias on the rare occasions when political measures affect the peculiar interests of his race ; but it is not thought undesirable that West Indians should be admitted to the house to vete on sugar questions, or that catholic. should watch the in terests of their co-religionists, or even that particular colonies should have recognised agents to further their views in parliament. We do not remember any Jewish question which has come before parliament in modern times. If such had arisen, it would have been extremely convenient that some member of the community interested in the decision should have been present to represent their feelings; if these feelings were hostile to this country or to its prevail ing religion, the Jewish representatives would pro bably find themselves in a minority. It would be very inconvenient to exclude from the House of Com mons all advocates of crotchets which might be dan gerous if realised. The members of the Peace Society are not disfranchised for fear they should persuade us to disarm ourselves as the best security against the aggressions of France or America. We will under take to say that the Jews will never suggest so singu lar an innovation Even if the se pa rate nationality of the Jews were not for practical purposes a chimera, we have long ago precluded ourselves from treating it as a ground of political disqualification. The Jews have long en joyed all the rights of English subjects, except some from which they have been debarred by the operation of particular statutes. They are qualified to hold land, to vote ►t election, to set as sheriffs, to possess muni cipal offices of every rank, and to hold commissions in the army. If we had been the fortunate country men of the great captain, who, as Mr. DISRAELI in forms us, was erroneously called MASSENA, we might perhaps have seen Marshal MANASSEH reigning at the Hone Guards as commander-in-chief. Even under the law as it stands, Mr. SALOMONS will, in a few years be Lord Mayor of London, as he has already been high sheriff of Kent. We confess that although we have given this argu ment of nationality the post of honour, as the moat plausible and intelligible reason for excluding the Jews, we do not suppose that it will affect the votes of half-a-dozen members of either house. It may be used as a make-weight, as an excuse, as a matter of declamation; but few persons will be really influ enced by it. The English public is too entirely na tional to have any very distinct or sensitive con minuses of its nationality. It knows very well that will remain English, though all the gym io as world were to combine to Frenchit, or or Judaise it. What the English publie really to is any suggestion of an encroach ment on any of its numerous religions, or on the common element which pervades them all. The only . cry which the Jews or their ad voca t es h ave to fear is that their admission will " unchristianise the legislature "—a phrase it is true which has no very definite meaning, but which contains all the proper materials of a popular fallacy. It seems to be intel ligible, it professes to be religious, and it appears to countenance the real objections which various classes of persons feel to the measure. On the other Bide, perhaps, it will be met by eulogies of the Jewish character, assertions of the indifference of the Jews' to proselytism, and general declarations in favour of religious equality. There are, however, some addi tional reasons which we would submit to those who, being anxious to do right, are very properly un willing to act in any way which can be represented as hostile to Christianity. In the first place, we would remind them that if the Christian character of the constitution depends on the exclusion of the Jews from parliament, it has only been secured by the mere accident of the form "on the faith of a Christian" being used to give solemnity to the poli tical oath of abjuration. The dominant party under WittLus In and GEORGE I. and 11., found it expe dient to exact a renunciation of the descendants et the STUARTS, in which the obnoxious formula was introduced. The oath, as it was then framed, al though its object has long ago become obsolete, re mains, like most English ceremonies, among our legal fictions. In the meantime, a new class has grown up, to whom it was never intended to apply. and who have not the smallest objection to its con tents. The form only is obnoxious to them; and for that reason only their opponents insist on the form. For a different reason the form was objectionable to -;