The Press. — London, England, 1858-10-23 00:00:00

THE PRESS, OCTOBER 23, 1858. of returning to their native country, it would be wet' if copies of the Scriptures, in Chinese, could be placed in their hands, so that they might learn the great trutbsof Christianity. It is, pursued the noble earl, the secret of the greatness of our empire that we have been called to this great work. It is the secret of our wealth, that amid much imperfection and many sad fallings off, this book (the Bible) has nevertheless been professedly and really the law of our public an , l private life. It is the secret of our safety that, not neglecting the subordinate means of defence that God has placed at our disposal, our main hope and sole assurance lie in obedience to His will and in the performance of His service ; and when any one shall come to this country to spy out the strength or the weakness of the land, we will not, like Hezekiab, take him to see our gold and our silver and the host of our armies; but we will take him to the storehouses of the Bible Society ; we will exhibit the treasures there lying ready for distriuution; we will tell him what, by God's blessing, we have done, and what we are going to do; we will bring him to meetings such as this, and let him behold the vigour of the empire, and the spiritual and intellectual sinew and muscle of old England. And then, he shall see with his eyes, and hear with his ears, and judge with his judgment, that we have given life, and truth, and holiness, to a proverb of the day, and that we have proved beyond doubt, and beyond the possibility of contradiction, that there is a work in which " knowledge is powei." THE EARL OF CARLISLE ON EDUCATION. THE EARL OF CARLISLE, in distributing the certiti• cates of merit awarded by the Society of Arts to the successful candidates in connection with the classes of the Manchester Mechanics Institution, addressed his audience on the subject of education. The noble Earl, who on rising was received with loud cheers, contrasted the mechanics' institution of that day with the mechanics' institution which he visited in Man chester twenty-five years ago, and gave an interesting account of the present state of the institution. He then cordially congratulated the successful candi dates on the success which they had achieved, and earnestly exhorted them to persevere in the laudable and honourable career on which they seemed to have entered. lie would exhort them, one and all, both those to whom be was about to deliver those marks of well.earned honour and distinction, and those who had laudably, though not in this instance success fully, joined in the struggle—he would earnestly en deavour to impress upon them all, wherever their future destinies might lead them, to remember this, that the work of education, properly so considered, did not terminate with the class room, or professor's lecture, or the mechanics' institute. Each succeeding day of their lives might add to their knowledge, and every passing moment of that time promote their personal improvement, which was more important will. Let them strive by every means in their power to attain the highest degrees of usefulness to the ge neration in which they lived. This was an aim and an ambition which all men might lawfully and laud ably propose to themselves. But while they used their utmost endeavours to attain to the highest degrees of usefulness, let them at the same time be content with any opportunity which might be afforded to them of being useful even in the smallest way. The statues of Watt and of Dalton adorn one of the noblest spaces in this town. But it was not every one who could hope to become a Watt or a Dalton, any . more than it w as g i ven to any set o f men to b ecome bliaksper es or Miltons. Fur, in the words of the wet-- Not to one in this benighted age le that diviner inspiration given That blows in Milkin's or in Shalcespere's page— The pomp and prodigality of Heaven. But, because they could not attain the very brightest and most immortal chaplets of literature, it was no reason why the common, smooth, current paths of literature and knowledge should be neglected. All could not be at the very summit of the mountain, ail could not be at the very top of the tree. The aristocracy of genius was still more limited than the other aristocracies of birth, of wealth, of personal arength, or beauty. But the aristocracy of virtue, Which might not, he feared, perhaps contain a larger actual number of persons, yet had this pecu liarity in it, distinguishing it from all other aristocra cies —that it might be co extensive with mankind, and it was every man's own fault if he did Snot make one of that peerless aristocracy. He did not know how many of them, or if any of them were destined to be great, but he felt confident that every one of theta, if he would only make a conscientious endea vour, and if he would only in so doing rely upon the Divine assie4nce--ever7 one of them might be good 244 happy, MR. GLADSTO NE ON OXFORD MIDDLE CLASS EXAMINATIONS. AT the meeting held ou Saturday last at St. George's hall, Liverpool, for the purpose of witnessing the award of prizes and cutificates to the successful can didates at the recent Oxford middle•elass examina tions, presided over by the Earl of Carlisle, the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone made a speech in proposing one of the resolutions. He said I have undertaken to propose to you a resolution by which, if you adopt it, you will express your gratitude to the University of Oxford for having organized a system of local examinations throughout the country, which has for its object the benefit of the community at large, not espe cially of the middle classes of our fellow-subjects. It is sometimes thought—and, perhaps, not without reason— that it is in the nature of such bodies, as the University of Oxford, to be tardy in meeting the exigencies of the day. But there has been, I may take upon me to assert, no tar diness upon the part of the Universities, at least upon the present occasion. From the bosom of the Universities themselves proceeded the impulse—the very first impulse --which led to this great movement; and the formal and corporate action of the Universities seconded and gave form to that impulse at the very earliest moment which its most ardent friends could have desired. The right hou. gentleman then noticed the various objections which were raised against the system of competitive examinations, and especially the argu ment that the etlect of competition is to introduce an ungenerous rivalry into the minds of youth. He said : I say, frankly and fearlessly, that there is nothing more generous than the sentiments which are inspired in the breasts of youths by rivalry such as that to which lam now referring. It is in itself essentially in compatible with selfish fleas and objects. Learning is not a limited quantity in such sense that he who obtains it causes his neighbour to lose it. On the contrary, every one who obtains it becomes a standard bearer for others; and the treasure to which he invites them is a treasure which is acceptable to all mankind. I see in this resolution, and in the subject to which it relates, not the close and con summation of the examinations which have lately been held, but the beginning of greater things. I see in them the resumption by the ancient Universities of the country of their true relation to all climes of the community, as institutions which have been the pride and glory of Christendom, and which ought to dispense their benefits to all ranks of our fellow-citizens. This was the true aim of the Universities upon their fir-t foundation. They never were intended to he the monopoly of the rich. They were intended to work the deep mines of capacity and character which exist throughout the whole of every great civilized community. They were intended to draw forth frim hidden corners and recesses, wherever they existed, the materials of genius and excellence for the glory of God, and the advantage of the country. And that aim they fulfilled. Go hack to the periods when the great move ments of the human mind commenced, and where it was that those processes were elaborated, and whence it was that four hundred, five hundred, six hundred, seven hun dred years ago, light flowed into England. It was from the Universities ; and as one great poet, Milton, has called Athens the eye of Greece, so well and truly may it be reference to their early history, that the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were the eyes of England. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not say that at present that function is fully discharged. On the contrary, we see that for several centuries those Universities have performed duties most important indeed, and most useful, but compara tively limited. In the main, their utili►y has been chiefly confined to the rich. They have educated the clergy, and in so doing have performed a great service to the country. They have educated the greater number—almost the whole, indeed—of the sons of our high nobility. They have educated the principal part of the sages of the law. But that is nut the whole cf their duty. We have in England vast classes of men who are not comprised in the category to which I have referred— vast classes of whom the great assembly now before me is a tmecimen—and I must confess that I have never come into South Lancashire, whether into this town of Liverpool, or into the great and intelligent community of Manchester, without feeling deeply what a blank there was—what a void existed requiring to be filled up—and how the con nection between the Universities and this great community of South Lancashire had so dwindled away that it would make but little difference in the Universities if South Lan cashire were swallowed up, or in South Lancashire if Oxford and Cambridge were in ruins. My lord,—this is, I hope, a frank,it is certainly a sincere, confession—describing what, in my view, is a great social evil. At any rate, it shows that we have fallen far short of that which our forefathers designed. Am Ito be told that because Liverpool is a great commercial community, therefore, the higher culture of the human mind is to be banished from its boundary? There cannot be a grosser error. Commerce and learning have been united in many communities; and Florence was among the first of commercial cities at the very time when it gave birth to a greater amount of intel lectual force, and did more for the civilization of man kind, than any other community at any period of Christian history. Do not, therefore, let us submit to the degrading belief that if commerce is to flourish and grow in Liverpool, Liverpool must of necessity lag behind in reference to those pursuits which do so much to refine and elevate the human mind, and which form the prin cipal subjects of our consideration to-day. Mr. Gladstone concluded amid load applause, by moving a resolution of thanks to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and to the examiners, the Rev. Dr. Thompson, Provost of Queen's College; and 1023 to the Rev. W. Hedley, Fellow of University College. Lord Ingestre seconded the motion, which was responded to by the Rev. Dr. Thompson for Oxford, and the Bishop of Chester for Cambridge. The Right Hon. W. Cowper proposed, and Mr. Riley seconded, a vote of thanks to the Earl of Carlisle, which was carried with three times three cheers. Lord Carlisle responded, and the proceedings closed. MR. BAXTER, M.P., ON THE FALL OF LORD PALMERSTON. Mn. BAXTER, M.P. for the Montrose Burghs, corn. menced his annual tour among his constituents on Tuesday, and on that evening addressed the electors of Arbroath in the Corn-exchange. In the course of his speech the hon. gentleman, having adverted to the fall of L Palmerston's Government, in COOSe• quence of the introduction of the obnoxious Con spiracy Bill, proceeded to say : The consequence was the resignation of the Ministry, and Lord Derby being sent for by the Queen. Now, see what you have done, said our friends, the Whigs; you have prevented the passing of an India Bill this year (we have got one nevertheless) ; you have stopped a Reform Bill ( which, by the way, it has since turned out never had an existence) ; and, most horrible of all, you have given our places to the Tories. All true, but some how or other I, for one, could get up no tears for the occasion. lam not a Tory ; but then neither am I finality a Whig, or a mere hanger.= of any party ; and when I saw a Liberal Prime Minister making a joke of such a question as the abolition of church rates, and refusing to introduce any bill on that subject, giving high appoint. ments to men without character, and prepared with no Mils of a progressive nature; when I found not only in. etheiency, but incivility in some of the public depart mems ; and when I reflected nn the rewards which had been bestowed on men who had not even done their duty in the Crimean war, so far from hesitating about throwing out the Conspiracy Bill, I felt rather inclined than other. wise to throw out the Ministry too. The fact is that Pal merston had waxed fat and kicked, and his plunges not even a House of Commons of his own electing could stand. Well, the Whigs were actually out. Fur a few days they could not believe it; thinking that no other set of men could govern the e3uotry, they were naturally stunned, and it was some time before they were aroused to the sad reality of their situation. Considering that very bad charioteers had got hold of the reins, they immediately began to agitate for a restoration to power, and we were entertained with doleful accounts of the utter inefficiency of their successors, who it was generally supposed could not hold office many weeks. Having commented on the India Bill, Mr. Baxter observed that he anticipated the happiest results from bringing the Indian peninsula more directly under the control of public opinion and the Parliament of Great Britain : The next danger (continued the hon. gentleman) that threatened the Government was of a more formidable nature still, and this time Lords J. Russell and Palmerston were agreed. It arose from the transmission and publi cation of a despatch from Lord Ellenborough to Lord Canning, finding fault in the most reprehensible terms with a proclamation which had been issued by the Governor-General to the talookdars of Oude. That danger was warded off by the course taken by the Independent Liberal party, who had previously held their much talked. of meeting in Committee-room No. 11, who disapproved very strongly of Lord Ellenborough's conduit, but who were unwilling to be parties to any mere factions move, and who, when the President of the Board of Control resigned his office, thought that Mr. Cardwell's resolu tion of censure ought to have been withdrawn. Indeed, there are some grounds to believe that in this opinion they were not singular. It has been freely stated that the Whig leaders took the same view, but were over ruled by their more anxious and impetuous subordi nates. NVell, they persevered, and you know how one fine evening, finding the Liberals could not he kept together on the question, the motion fell to the ground, and with it all those schemes of coalition and embryo Minis tries which had been so much discussed for a week before. I have referred to a meeting in Committee room No. 11, and as 1 was asked to take a prominent part in the proceedings there, perhaps you will allow me now to repeat in substance what I then said, especially as I believe it expressed the general sentiments of those pre sent. We had met, I remarked, to protest against the con• stitution and the policy of recent Whig Governments, as composed exclusively of aristocrats, who were not acquainted with the opinions of the great body of the people, and as abandoning when in office those great prin ciples of progressive reform which they advocated so Jody in opposition. We for the future would support no so-called Liberal Ministry which was not formed on a broader leads, and which was not prepared to keep pace with the requirements of the country. But I further stated —and it was the cheers which greeted that statement that made the Whigs AO angry, and led them to publish so many groundless stories as to the part I have taken in this movement—that, in my belief, the time had not yet ar rived for forming such a Liberal Government, hut the cause of true reform would be benefited by keeping the members of the late Government on their seats of penitence fur • considerably longer period, until in adversity they had time to learn wisdom and make up their minds to b• liberal in deeds as well as in words. They flatter them. selves, I hear, that this indepen :ant party is dead. Next session may show them their mistake. They may And that it possesses quite as much life, and a little bettey