The Press. — London, England, 1854-05-13 00:00:00

MAY 13, 1854. and a half as the number that ought to attend at one time, supposing each student to remain twelve years at school. Of course, if each, on an average, remains only seven or eight years, the same amount of attendance at one period will give a much larger total of students, though the term of study is, in the ease of every individual, shorter. And this we believe to be the fact. Instead of assuring five millions as the number of those who ought to be at school, subject to the deductions above named, we believe that two-thirds of that number, or less than three-and-a-half million, would be a fairer gross total. And this latter number, reduced in the same proportion, would give us two million and something over as the fair complement of our schools; which is the result actually obtained by the census. If our argument be sound, it results that neither in school accommodation, nor in willingness on the part of parents to have their children instructed, is there any material deficiency. Of course, in asserting this gene rally, we do not deny the prevalence of local exceptions, But it clearly appears from the report that the causes operating to keep chil dren untaught are, not inability nor unwilling ness to pay school fees, nor yet difficulty in finding teachers, but the value of juvenile labour, and the frequent employment of chil dren in domestic or other lucrative occupa• tions. These things may he evils, but they are evils which the want of an education bill did not create, and which the passing of one will not remove. The prevalent ignorance is due, moreover, in great part, to defective or injudicious teaching, and to the want of exer cise for the intellectual faculties of grown men, whose early knowledge soon deserts them when they find they have no occasion for it. But to this subject we shall return. THE WOODS AND FORESTS, AND MR. KENNEDY. WE observe that Mr. VERNON SMITH has pre sented a petition from Mr. KENNEDY, late Com missioner of Woods and Forests, praying that the circumstances of his recent ejectment from that office should be inquired into by the House of Commons. No doubt the indivi duals by means of whose intrigues that gen tleman has been forced to quit his place will strain every nerve to stifle any such inquiry ; and we may add, that their influence is great. But the public have a right to know why they have lost an able and upright officer, whose services, in a department which has been long notorious for mismanagement and something worse, have been eminently successful. We can tell them something of the matter, and we trust that a parliamentary committee will soon disclose the rest. Mr. KENNEDY received his late appointment some four years ago, when Lord JOHN RUSSELL was Premier, and Sir CHARLES WOOD Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been a consistent Whig ; and he was invited over from Ireland, where he held an important office, by his poli tical allies, to assist in the management of the Woods and Forests. But, with Lord SEYMOUR for his colleague and Sir CHARLES WOOD for his superior, be soon found he had undertaken a very arduous task. We believe we aro cor rect in stating that, from the first, Mr. KEN NEDY'S presence at the Woods and Forests was not agreeable either to the high-minded nobleman or the eminent financier we have just named. We know—at all events. from public sources—that very shortly after his appointment Mr. KENNEDY was unac conntably thwarted in the performance of his duties, and that various formal com plaints wero made by him upon the subject. But he soon found that his remonstrances were worse than vain. If he complained of the incompetence of his subordinates, the Treasury would forthwith supply him with men still more inefficient. What had Mr. KENNEDY done to deserve such treatment at the hands of his own friends? That question is soon answered. He was active and zealous in the discharge of his duties, of an indepen- THE PRESS. dent and uncompromising temper, and an enemy of jobbery in every shape. No wonder that the presence of such a man was unwel come at the Woods and Forests ; the only wonder is how he ever got there at all, anti that, perhaps, will yet be explained, along with the other particulars of this disgraceful affair. We have said that Mr. KENNEDY has ren dered good service in his late office, notwith standing the systematic obstructions thrown in his way. We can acknowledge merit in a political opponent; and the country will yet learn that it has gained many thousands a year through the judicious management of a public servant who has fallen the victim of a base intrigue. Mr. KENNEDY, we are sure, will be disposed to return our compliment by freely admitting that in carrying out his neces • sary reforms he received much more considera tion and support from Lord DERBY'S Govern ment than he ever experienced at the hands of his treacherous colleagues. UNAUTHORISED NEGOTIATIONS. ON Tuesday last Lord CAMPBELL moved the second reading of the Unauthorised Nego tiations Bill, which provides that any English subject who negotiates with the Sovereign of a foreign nation without the authority of his own shall be guilty of a misdemeanour. The Noble and Learned Lord based the necessity of the measure on an imaginary case, in which serious mischief might ensue from such proceedings ; but the real " negotiations " which occasioned the bill were the mission of Sir JAMES DUKE and other aldermen to Paris to tell the French Emperor that he enjoyed their confidence, and the more recent journey of their Excellencies the three bold Quakers to St. Petersburg. Lord LYNDHURST, with an intellect as clear and a wit as keen as inspired those speeches which a quarter of a cen tury ago dazzled, delighted, and convinced, after demonstrating that the words of the preamble were technically inapt, opposed the bill on account of the practical absurdities it would create. It is as well known that Lord CAMPBELL had an interview with the Pope as that his Most Sacred Majesty CHARLES 11. partook of a des jeune at Tillietudlem, the only difference being that in this case it is the visitor and not the old lady who occasionally mentions the circum stance. Now, if the proposed measure become law, this delightful intercourse can scarcely be renewed without some danger:of an► indictment for misdemeanour. His Lordship, indeed, says the visit would not fall within the pur view of the bill, and that he only spoke to the Pope as an individual; but—his Lordship's modesty is well known. Still, if that visit was lawful, another, which in its way did almost as much good—that which resulted in the liberation of the MADlAl—would clearly have been illegal. Lord CAMPBELL, indeed, pro poses that any deputation to any foreign po tentate should be legitimatised by a licence from a Secretary of State. But such a licence would change the nature of a mission : instead of being a private deputation, it would become a public embassy ; for no licence would be granted unless the purpose for which it was sought was sanctioned by Government. Many, as Lord SHAFTESBURY observed, objecting to submit their purposes, perhaps inspired by the loftiest motives, to thc unenthusiastic scrutiny of a Secretary State, would not apply for a licence, and much good might be prevented. It is we, the measure was not law when Lady HAMU Tor; procured the order by virtue of whi, Lord NELsoN's fleet was enabled to contin►. its course to victory, otherwise Lady HAMIL TON might have been punished for a misdc meanour instead of only being permitted die of hunger. But, instead of objecting " unauthorised negotiations," we are not sure whether they might not be turned to a useful account in war. If our memory is not i: accurate, the only pickpocket who sueceede , in entering the Great Exhibition was dresse , in the garb of a Roman Catholic bishop. the Quaker deputation have any young engi neering friends, a deputation of them to the 435 Governors of Cronstadt and Sebastopol might not be unprofitable if a safe return to England could be ensured. Not only do we think these missions occa sionally useful and often amusing, but the only instance we can conceive in which an amateur ambassador could injure the coun try is, if he revealed to a foreign State the existence of disaffection here, yet that revela tion would equally serve to place the home authorities on their guard. if treachery lurk within, let every facility be granted to the traitors to stand out and aloof from the good men and true. But it is idle to talk of serious disaffection ; none has existed since the re bellion of '9B ; and, when we carried to a suc cessful close that mortal struggle with France which commenced with a rebellion in Ireland and a mutiny at the Nore, without the aid of such a law, surely we may dispense with one now, when our enemy is Russia, France our ally, and Great Britain and Ireland really the United Kingdom. The only deputation of late years savouring of disaffecuon was that headed by poor SMITH O'BRIEN, with his green flag, to Paris in 1848 ; but this ought to be classed in the same category as the freaks of an ex-Lord Mayor in search of fame, or the extravagances of three most respectable Qua kers in midwinter. So plain were the objec tions to the bill that even Lord ABERDEEN at length comprehended them ; and so merci lessly were they laid bare by Lord LYNDHURST that even Lord BROUGHAM pitied its author and came to his aid ; and this, too, with so much effect that the bill was read a second time on the understanding—which a short conversation in the House on Thursday has confirmed—that it was never to become law. COMMISSARIAT COMPLAINTS. WHEN our army embarked for the East we all re member how the Times blazoned forth the merits of the Ministry in providing for the comfort of the troops. Barclay and Perkins's stout, Bass's pale ale, tea, coffee, and chocolate, were to be served out .to them as regularly as if their camp was pitched within hearing of St. Martin's clock, instead of on the shores of the Thracian Bosphorus. Yet in the let ters of a certain special correspondent we read no thing but complaints of misery endured by the expeditionary army. Do these complaints emanate from the officers? Are they true? The Duke of NEWCASTLE on Thursday, in answer to Lord ELLENBOROUOYL asserted that the commie sariat arrangements were excellent, and, to prove it, • mentioned that on the 30th of April, out of 5,0(X) men at Gallipoli, only twenty were sick. If this be so, we trust we shall hear no more unmanly moans about the hardships of breakfasting on "brown bread, " goats' milk, and strong eggs ;" and of dining on "ethereal beef, and ration biscuit washed down with " raki." If a man is not made for war, war cannot be made for him. If he cannot eat beef and biscuit, he deserves to starve—if he dislikes raki, perhaps water would be as palatable and as goo d for his health. "An Old Soldier" has a technical meaning, and we heartily hope the young officers of our army in the East are not veterans in that sense. It may, however, amongst young men be thought very fine to play with death, and solemnly to study the mysteries of a trance ; but, if they ch to affect such folly, for the sake of the En name they bear, and the English fame they herit, they should abstain from publishing it in the newspapers. War, with its attendants, death, desolation, the pestilenr and the fr and its . I . tve water Would oe as patatante ana as goou 'or ms ro health. "An Old Soldier" has a technical meaning, .0r po- and we heartily hope the young officers of our army nee in the East are not veterans in that sense. ~ OCC It may, however, amongst young men be thought ,ad very fine to play with death, and solemnly to i i me study the mysteries of a trance ; but, if they choose be to affect such folly, for the sake of the English name they bear, and the English fame they in- herit, they should abstain from publishing it in the newspapers. War, with its attendants, death, ed, desolation, the pestilence, and the famine, and its . aps results, the rise and fall of nations, may appear the trivial to a lisping philosopher fresh from a French of novel, but the air of ancient Thrace on which he is MS encamped might inspire him with other thoughts. yell But perhaps we do injustice to our army: perhaps • 111.- these whining moans come not from our officers, but ja i only from " our special correspondent." If so,some of sue our remarks are inapplicable. A civilian may sigh, or cry if he pleases, for " the sweet shady side of ,';.• 41L- Pall-mall," but a soldier should restrain the aspire.- de- tion, at least until he is on half pay. -.-. to to ure MR. BARON ALDERSON ON BILL. f . :ful DISCOUNTING. in- . Is the course of the trial of a bill-stealing case last led . . week Mr. Baron ALDERSON said:— . • sect If " I think I could cure this bill system in bill•disconnting matters by making it a felony. It is perfectly disgraceful. ll' It would be a most beneficial act if any gentleman would the take the subject in hand, and bring .. , • in a bill making such a : 1 • ; :i ilh , ',O l St ; I lIMIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII