The Sun. — London, England, 1837-12-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS Mr. Slaney made an excellent speech last night in mov ing the appointment of a Committee on the education of the lower orders ; it was full of convincing details, intro duced without any of the ostentation of oratory ; and al though Sir George Strickland stated his objection to the proposed, or rather suggested, rate of sixpence in the pound, he highly approved of the general object ; and Mr. Brotherton bore strong testimony to the want of education in Manchester and its vicinity. Lord John Russell ob served—and the cheers of the House showed its concur rence in the remark—that no system of education could succeed which did not consult the peculiar religious feelings of the country. He was most favourable to the increase of education by the enlargement of the means, but he was not yet prepared to say what those means ought to be. Inquiry was therefore important in the first instance ; but he was nevertheless impressed with the convic tion that it would be the duty of Parliament, when duly informed, to take some decisive steps upon the subject. The Committee was then appointed without further discussion. We have elsewhere noticed at some length the extraordinary discussion to which Colonel Per ceval's motion gave rise. The second reading of Mr. Baines's Municipal O ffi cers' Declaration Bill was the last business of the evening. Mr. Warburton and Mr. G. F. Young argued that its provisions were not sufficiently enlarged, and that it ought to include Jews as well as Quakers and Moravians. On the other hand, Sir Robert Inglis was shocked at the boldness of the proposition, and thought that the measure went too far already. He warned the House how it admitted Jews ; for if they were not excluded, what was to keep Hindocs or Ma hometans out of our corporations ? The danger of any concession always was that it led to still greater de mands. Mr. Hume, however reminded the House that the Church of England exposed itself to the only peril by which it was threatened by its want of liberality. Mr. Baines owned that he only confined the Bill to Quakers and Moravians, because he wished it to be carried. To nolude Jews would be to risk its rejection. The second reading was carried without a division. It is to be re marked, that when the Speaker called upen Colonel Ver ner, in pursuance of his notice for the production of the correspondence on his exclusion from the cornmiss:on of the peace of Tyrone, he was not forthcoming, and his ab sence at the early hour of half-past nine on such an occa sion produced a good deal of cheering and laughter. The Honourable and Gallant Gentleman will now have to give another notice for a future day, if indeed he mean to perse vere in his motion. It i 3 very posssible that he has taken this method of getting red of the question, impressed by the reception which the exhibition of his friend and brother Orangeman, Colonel Perceval, experienced, of the truth of the good old maxim ; that discretion is the better part of valour.—Morning Chronicle. An important petition, on the subject of education, is to be presented this day in both Houses. The pressure of Parliamentary matter prevented us from giving more than an incidental notice of a reprt which appeared last week in the Morning AdveTtiser of a meeting at the Mechanics' Institetion, under the presidency of Dr. Birkbeek, for the purpose of petitioning Parliament for the free admission of the people to the public monuments and works of art for which they pay in taxation. But an addres.i to her Ma jesty, and petitions to Parliament, founded oa the resolu tions carried unanimously at that meeting. are no-' to be presented, by Lord Brougham in the Lords ; and the ercumstance supplies us with the renewed opportu nity of a few general remarks. Our readers are aware of the importance which we have always attached to this subject, as involving one of these means of edu cating the people which are absolutely necessary for the proper enjoyment and appreciation of an en larged coed lion of liberty. The education of the public eye is one of the departments of education in the enlarged sense of the word for which we hare so often contended. There are still many obstacles in the way of the accom- plisliment of this great object ; and the Government (and the Board of Trade especially) deserve high credit for having brought forNard one effectual ihstrument fhr the purpose—we mean the establishment of those schools deign, which we were among the foremost to suggest and to support. The principal object of the diffusion of educational refinement by a familiarity with the great works of art is, that it raises the people from debasing pleasures to intellectual pursuits. It will render the gift of universal liberty, which of ri f yht to them, a safe and profitable boon, instead of being a mischievous gift, as it would be to them in an uninstructed state. A familiarity with the best models of art and science purifies and elevates a people. It refines manners, heightens enjoyments, and nerves the manly spirit of freedom, When was human liberty in the highest state of exaltation? When the highest degree of educatienal refinement was diffused in republ.can Athens and free Greece ; and when those unrivalled monuments of tote were preduced, from the si A lat of avVela the free Eng lish people are slavishly and absurdly debarred. It has been alleged against the English people that acy are inca pable of appreciating the monuments of taste which are open to them ; and they hare been charged with mutilating and ill-using them. That charge, which might have been made formerly, cannot be made now ; or, if made now, it is rather against the upper classes than the lower that it can be justly made. Greece, Italy, and Egypt bear witness to this charge against the former. Who has forgotten Lord Byron's bitter denunciation against the " modern Goth" who despoiled the Athenian monuments which Marie had spired ? The truth is, that the pri vileged classes fear lest the humiler el-asses should overtake them in the career of knowledge, and parti cipate with them in that power which is one of its ele mentary attributes. In France, in Italy, and Germany, the accessible character of the public galleries, museums, and monuments is productive of the best effects on the morals, manners, and conduct of the people. It raises them in the political as well as the social scale ; for the ap preciation of truth in taste is intimately associated with the just estimate of truth in politics. The democratic equality preponderant in France is fed and sustained by the equal diffusion of knowledge produced by daily familiarity with the best models of art. Again, the best ernest of the re viviscence of the tree of liberty in Italy, notwithstanding the baneful and repressive atmosphere of Austrian domina tion, is the ardent estimation of the people for the im mortal monuments of their past glories and refinements. Under these circumstances no individual living is better calculated than Lord Brougham to present such a petition. At a recent meeting of Reformers, at Liverpool, when his Lordship's health was drunk, Dr. Larduer justly said—" Whatever djfference of opinion might exist re specting him as a politician—and it should not be forgotten that he had contributed, by his advocacy for the extension of municipal privileges, to produce such meet ina, 4 as the present—every friend of humanity must award to him the most disinteretted praise for the continued ex ercise of his talents to advance education among the people. If there were one individual more than another who had produced the greatest results by unwearied and anxious labour for the advancement and education of the lower classes of his countrymen—on which their social and mo ral happiness so much depended—that individual was Lord Brougham. The richness of the fruit which his ge nius and philanthropy had planted, was now beginning to appear, and the cause of national education had received an impetus which could not be withstood." No tribute of praise was aver more deservedly awarded to marl. Yes ; if Lord Brougham has contributed, by his political exer tions, to widen the basis of human liberty, he has equally contributed, by his advocacy of the sacred cause of edu cation, to sink its foundation into materials of a steady, solid, and unfluctuating description.—Morn. Advertiser. Mr. Wentworth Beaumont and family have left Boulogne for Paris, Mrs. Wentworth Beaumont's health being much improved since she left England. 'EARLY ft IS I NG.—Poets talk of the charms of early rising—the cheerfulness of nature—and the joy of man com mencing his daily labour, &c. As Mr. Burchell used to say, g. it s all fudge." Nature (that is to say, hogs, dogs, and pigs) may be very brisk at the return of daylight, but biped animals who pass the night in feather beds and pillows (men going to be hanged, or persons in love, or out of their minds always ex cepted), feel differently. Look at the poor washerwoman sneaking through the street, whom not even the expected glass of geneva can comfort ; or the early chimney-sweeper, sighing over his half-pint of purl. Do they not look as if they had been dragged into the streets by the hair of their heads ? Let those people who walk abroad early in the morning (which in my life-time I have done on one or two special occasions) observe the labouring husbandman going to work—that fa vourite type of happiness among the poets. So far from dis covering anything like joy in their countenances, I have seen them winking and blinking, yawning, and drawling along, and rubbing their eyes, to ascertain whether they were really awake. Experience and observation tell me that very few Christians rise early. Man is a creature delighting in sleep. Even the savage who rises with the sun, takes eTeci 11 care to lie down with that luminary, and where he is neither hungry, nor in danger of being scalped, he is always ready to take a nap. In short, man is always engaged in the pursuit of happi ness, and happiness is sleep. " Hac iter Elysium riobis." 'Tis sleep alone that real pleasure yields, And wafts us mortals to the Elysian fields. From the Literary Bouquet. The Earl of Dartmouth and his family have this year got up a yrnnastic cxe:Tises at West Bromwich, which were eery well attended. The objeet of the Noble Lord was a most craiseworthy one—to put an end to bull-baiting and other barbarous practices in the colliery and mining districts of that part of the country. With this view prizes exceeding ~..:1 1 1friflue 50/. were given for competition. The substituted " ortiilp.ere foot-races, leaping, quoits, elirnbinz a pole, f00t ,.;. ,". T; - 7Nerialift'tts ack-jumping, &c. The Earl and Countess ' airiki_treo of?, , tie children were on the ground, as well as -ittarly•ill th<ge try of the vicinage, who helped in rais:ng the .ti c :,,ptstription• . r , 71_ _ P ... r -', • „ v:47 , ti 2- ' IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.—Ner. 30. The Loan CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at Five o'Clock. POST-OFFICE. The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition from the merchants, shopkeepers, and others, of Elgin, complain ing, in the first place, that their correspondence from the North is detained for a certain number of hours at Inverness. This, however, had been before his Noble Friend was at the head of the Post-office, and he was happy to find that it was the intention of his Noble Friend, when the Birmingham railway should be opened, to remodel that communication. The second part of the petition was one of much greater importance, and their 'lordships would not be surprised to hear that it had created great excitement in the north. The petitioners paid for the postage of a single letter, 14d. or 15d. They stated, that they had seen a pamphlet written by Mr. Hill, setting forth that one uniform rate of postage might be adopted. They had seen also that one of the Commissioners of the Post Office Inquiry, who was a Cabinet Minister, had reported that a trial ought to be made of that scheme ; and the petitioners considered that their Lordships ought to give them that boon.—( Hear, hear, hear.) He, however, was afraid that when the Select Com mittee appointed came to enquire into the details of that measure, that it would not be possible to carry out that plan in all its bearings, because he thought the Chancellor would not be able to spare that amount of revenue. But there was one point which he had urged when he was at the Post-office—a point which he had always urged, and a point which all the practi cal officers of that establishment were most anxious for, viz., the reduction of the postage, and which he had anxiously to press the necessity of upon their Lordships now. By a re duction of the postage, particularly in short distances, a great advantage would be conferred upon individuals and the public at large. Their Lordships would in that way very much get rid of the illegal conveyance of letters ; and, by charging a considerably less postage, would obtain the same amount of revenue, if not more. The Noble Duke, therefore, earnestly hoped that her Majesty's Ministers, if they found they could not follow up Mr. 11111's plan, would enquire into the subject at the Post-office. Look back to all the eostmasters and Secretaries, and enquire of them if it were not practicable to reduce the postage. In laying this petition upon their Lordships' table, which was most respectably signed, he was certainly anxious to ask his Noble Friend at the head of the Post-office, whether he had seen a statement in the public papers, respecting enor mous sums of money which bad been plundered by the Post office ? He would make no observation upon the statement, that it was the Postmaster who pocketed that money. Where his Noble Friend's character was concerned, such a statement needed no observation. As to his own character when he was Postmaster, he was likewise aware it was not necessary for him to say he would not have pocketed a farthing of it. Indeed, it was impossible for the Postmaster-General, if he was so dis posed, to put into his pocket any part of the Post-office revenue. He knew that an explanation could be given to this stateme; t, and he was anxious to have that explanation from his Noble Friend. Lord LICHFIELD said that the petition which his Noble Friend had presented to the -House was one of so much importance, that he felt assured that he would be excused for pointing to a statement, which had appeared in the public prints, by way of explanation to that state ment, and which he should do as briefly as possible. His Noble Friend had alluded to the great excitement which prevailed upon the subject throughout the country—that ex citement no doubt existed, and it had greatly increased since the publication of the plan which was proposed by Mr. Row land Hill.—(Hea a hear.) As to the manner in which that excitement had beer, raised by an individual to whom he would have occasion again to refer, he would only say that that individual had made a bad and very dangerous use of the position in which he was placed. Al that time he would not say one word as to the extraordinary coarse language in which that individual had thought proper to indulge when speaking of the Post-office authorities; but he considered it was his duty to take the first public occasion offered him to disabuse the public mind of those errors into which they had been led—errors which were calculated to do much mischief.—( Hear, hear. ) With respect to the plan of Mr. Hill, no one would rejoice more than he ( Lord Lichfield) would, if it were practicable to carry that proposition into effect, aithout at the same time materially injerieg the rove nue.—( Hear.) Such a plan having been proposed, it was his duty to examine it cdrofully, in order to see whether it was practicable or not? was opposed to it last year, and since then he had g iven it his best consideration, and he was then more opposed to it than before. The question was one of revenue. If this plan were adopted, in place of leaving now an excess of one minis!) and a half over the expenditure, there would be a severe loss, and the Post-office would feel it necessary to have recourse to the Government for money to maintain the establishment. Mr. Hill's plan was that there should be' one uniform rate of postage of one penny from one end of this country to the other. The number of the letters which were charged by the Post-office now was between 42 and 43 millions, and in arder to derive the same amount which the Post-office now drew of 2,200,0001. they would require to have a circulation of letters equal to the number of pence in that vast sum—they would require to have a circulation of letters to the number of 480,000,000 before they could obtain the same amount of revenue.—( blear.) It was iidiculous to suppose that the circulation of letters should increase to such a degree. He knew that it was the opinion of his pre decessors, certainly of his Noble Friend, and such certainly was his own opinion, that there should be reduction in the expense of carrying letters, and he did think that such a reduction might take place without injury to the revenue. It would be impossible, however, to carry Mr. Hill's plan into effect without having one uniform rate of postage so low as to satisfy those persons who received letters from only short distances.—( Hear, hear, hear.) Suppose they were to make one uniform rate of postage of 6d. they would soon find that the public within 50 or GO miles of London would not be satisfied to pay the same sum as those persons residing in Edinburgh, whose letters were carried a much greater distance. He understood that t he matter was to be brought forward in the other House of Parliament ; he trusted, also, that it would be made a matter of con sideration by their Lordships, and then he would be better prepared to show the absurdity of this plan and its absolute inefficiency to the wants of the country. His Noble Friend had alluded to the enormous sums which appeared to have been lost from the Post-office. The public had been much abused upon that subject. The individual to whom he formerly alluded through his position in the other House had obtained returns which he had not yet had an op portunity of refuting—the statements made upon those returns by that individual were calculated to do great mischief in a manufacturing country like this. He was not inclined to use strong language ; but after he had read one or two paragraphs addressed to a public paper, he was sure that their Lordships would not think that he was not using stronger language than the necessity of the case demanded, when he denounced that letter as a scandalous and infamous libel. The Noble Lord then read a para graph from the letter addressed to the Editor of The Sun, front the Honourable Member for Greenock, which appeared in our paper about three weeks since. He would be glad to know whether such language was not of a nature to call for the strongest possible animadversion; but he had been put in possession of circumstances which enabled him to state that it was impossible there could be any thing like the loss which was alleged to be sustained ; for it was a question whether some of these letters contained any enclosure at all. The returns of the Post office was made from letters on which the postage had been charged—he denied that it was an evasive return, for it had been prepared according to the order of the House of Commons.— ( Hear, hear.) It was a return of the letters ascertained to have been posted and lost in the Post-office; that return was not considered satisfactory, and another was ordered which was to contain the amount of money applied for; but of the 600,0001. applied for, not less than 400,0001. had been restored to the parties, leaving altogether a sum of about 311,0001. unaccounted for, and it might be presumed, that at least one-half of that sum had never been posted at all. How many letters he would ask, had been stolen in their passage to the receiving Houses, before the letter became known to the Post Office, and how many cases were there in which it had been stated, that money had been dispatched, which had never been dispatched at all ? He did not deny that robberies had taken place in the Post-office, and he regretted they were so numerous ; but when they were spoken of as so numerous, it was impossible to suppose if they were of such an amount that an outcry would not be created. He would give their Lordships one tolerable proof that the letters said to be posted were not always placed .in charge of the Post-office. Upon his first being appointed to his present si tuation, he had received a letter from that individual (Mr. Wallace) from Kellygreenock, in Scotland, informing him that a petition and letter had been previously addressed to him Although so short a time in the Post-office, knowing perfectly well the individual he had to deal with, he took means to as certain the loss of the petition and letter. It occurred to him as a singular thing that in the same bag no other letter was missing on that day. He therefore wrote to Mr. Wallace, and in two or three days time the missing letter was produced, Mr. Wallace stating to him that inn the enormous quantity of business he had to transact the letter had been mislaid. Such was the result after having put the Department to a great deal of trouble and loss of time, and the fate of the petition was probably similar.—(Hear, hear.), Another point was, the violation of seals. Nothing was more erro neous than to suppose secrets were pryed into by the Post office, and he would give an instance of this point : M:. Wallace wrote to him to enquire whether it was possible to post letters after the mails had been dispatched at eight o'clock, and he ( Lord Lichfield) had written to sav that they might be posted until twelve o'clock at night. The box was left open, and on one occasion four letters were put into the box. Outside the seals of the letters was an intimation to his Correspondent, to notice if those seals were violated. He only wished he could show their Lordships the extraordinary manner in which those letters were sealed. One of them, from being dropped into the box, opened, and the others were fastened in the most insecure manner, so much so that Colonel Mala.srly Clought proper to take them down to the Chancellor of the Exchequrr for his inspection, and a letter was written to Mr. Wallace about it, but no answer had ever been received. He denied that such a thing had ever occurred. Sea's were never violated in the Post-office, and it was a libel upon that establishment to state such a thing. He had troubled their Lordships at too great length, but when he found that publications were put forth containing such statements, Le was bound in duty and honour to take advantage of the first opportunity that was afforded him, of vindicating the character of that establishment.—( Hear, hear, ) THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1837. Lord BROUGHAM had a petition to present from the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London on the same subject, which he had not an opportunity of pre senting earlier. The petitioners prayed for the adoption of the plan recommended by Mr. Rowland Hill. He (Lord Brougham) had been persuaded as well by the argu ments of the petitioners as by those of the ingenious and in dustrious originator of the plan. He would be prepared to listen to the answer of his Noble Friend at the head of the Department with the greatest possible disposition to have his present opinion altered ; but it was only fair to state that nothing that had fallen from him on the present oc casion had in the slightest degree altered his opinion. NATIONAL ZDUCATION. The Noble and Learned Lord then gave notice that to morrow he would bring in his Bill of last Session on the subject of National Education in the form of two Bills—the one being for the promotion of education among the people in England and Wales, and the other being for the better administration of charities. Messengers from the Commons brought up the Commis sioners of the Peace Bill, which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow. . Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Nor. 30. The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour. CHELTENHAM PETITIONS. Mr. C. BERKELEY presented a petition from the town of Cheltenham, on the subject of National Education. Before he did so, he must complain of a want of courtesy on the part of the Right Hon. Baronet, the Member for the University of Oxford. The Right Hon. Bart. had presented a petition a few nights since from the same town and upon the same subject ; and he thought it rather discourteous that he had not apprised him of his intention to do so, as he could set him right upon many facts. The present petition had been got up at a public meeting of the inhabitants of Cheltenham. The SPEAKER requested the Hon. Member to state the prayer of the petition. Mr. C. BERKELEY—The prayer of the petition was that the House would confer on the petitioners the benefit of some system of National Education, for no duty of a Govern ment was more important than that of providing a system of moral and intellectual education. ♦ Right Reverend Prelate in another place had chosen to say— The SPEAK E R—The Hon. Member must confine himself to the prayer of the petition. Mr. C. BERKELEY wished to make some remarks upon what had fallen from the Right Hon. Bart., for he had his ( Sir R. Inglis's) speech in his pocket, haling cut it out of a newspaper.—( A laugh.) A Right Rev. Prelate— The SPEAKER said the Hon. Member must be aware that he can make no allusion to what has passed in another place. Mr. C. BERKELEY—Why, Sir, the Right Rev. Pre late has taken an opportunity, in that place, to abuse and vilify those who have got up the present petition, and I feel bound to set myself right with this House and the public. ( Hear, and a laugh,) The SPEAKER. —Would he be good enough to state the contents of 11 7 s peti.•ion ? Mr. C. BERKELEY.—Sir, I wish first to set the public right with respect to statements made by the Right Hon. Bart. opposite, and by a Right Reverend Prelate in another House. The petition was stated by them to have been signed by 5,080, but the manner in which these signatures had been obtained was by sending the tax-gatherer round to all the poorer class of inhabitants. Another class of persons who signed it were a number of boys who were playing in the streets, and who had been induced to sign it, and when they got home they asked what they had been signing. Now, if a petition so signed had obtained the attention of the House— The SPEAKER would request o! the Hon. Member to state the substance of his petition. Mr. C. BERKELEY could not understand why the Right Hon. Baronet should have been allowed to make such state ments while he was prevented from replying to them. The SPEAKER said the Hon. Member was quite mis taken. If the Hon. Member would follow the example of the Right Hon. Baronet, he would merely state the sub stance of the petition, and the number of persons by whom it had been signed. _ Mr. C. BERKELEY—But, Sir, I have got his speech in my pocket, cut out of a newspaper.—( Much laughter.) The SPEAKER—The lion. Member mutt be perfectly aware that what has appeared in print is no evidence of vault has taken place in this House. Mr. BERKELEY then real the prayer of the petition, ,ALich was fail on the table. Sir ROBERT INGLIS said, that the Hon. Member was never more mistaken in his life than in the statements he had made at the present moment. He (Sir R. Inglis) had made no statement either on the one side or the other ; and if the Hon. Member would only give himself the trouble to read the document he had referred to, he would find that ho had made no speech at all, but had only stated the contents of the petition. Mr. C.BERKELEY said, that in consequence of the state ment of the Hon. Member, he should give notice of his inten tion to-morrow to more that the petition presented by the Right Hon. Baronet should be printed.—(Laughter.) Mr. MACKINNON gave notice that he should, shortly after the recess, move for the appointment of - a select Com mittee to inquire into the claims of Col. D'Arcy Talbot, on the French Compensation Fund. Sir THOMAS ACL AND presented a petition from Wells against the bill for merging the bishopric of Carlisle into that of Sodor and Mann. TURNPIKE TRUSTS. On the motion of Mr. S. LE FE VRE, returns were ordered relative to Turnpike Trusts. READING ELECTION. An HoN. MEMBER, whose name we could not ascertain, presented a petition against the return for Reading. STATE OF THE PEOPLE. Mr. SLANE Y was very sorry to bring forward his moton in the absence of the Noble Lord, the Secretary for the Home Department, as that Noble Lord was particularly interested in the subject which lie wagabout to bring under the notice of the House—namely, the moral state of the lower classes in this country. He had intended to move for leave to bring in a Bill on the subject ; but in deference to one, for whose opinions he had great respect, he hial abandoned that intention, and he would then move that a Select Com mittee be appointed to inquire into the subject. It would be his duty, in the first place, to bring under the notice of the House the vast increase which had taken place in the more humble portion of the community, especially in large towns ; and, in the second place, he would show that their condition had not been improved in the same ratio as the other classes, more especially with respect to the education of their chil dren.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") He would have to trouble the House with some details, uponi the subject, as there were so many new Members who might be unacquainted pith the immense increase which had taken place in the manufacturing population, and the absolute necessity there was for a better system of education for these classes ; and he would endea vour to show, which he fully believed to be the fact, that those classes could no longer be neglected with impunity.—( Cries of " Ilear, hear.") As compared with the agricultural population the manufacturing classes were in 1801, 65 per cent.; in 1811, as 97 ; in 1821 as 85, while in 1837 they had increased to more than two to one. In the 30 years the increase in the agricultural population bad been 45 per cent., white the manufacturing classes had in creased upwards of 100 per cent. He had made an es timate of five of the largest towns in the country. The increase had been during the thirty years as follows : In Manchester from 1801 to 1611 the increase had been 22 per cent., from 1811 to 1821, 40 per cent., and from 1821 to 1831, 47 per cent. In Glasgow the increase during the first period had been 30 per cent. ; during the second period 40 per cent. ; and in the third period 38 per cent. In Birmingham, during the same periods, the increase hrd been 16, 24, and 33 per cent. In Leeds the increase in the first period had been 18 per cent., in the second period 34 per cent., and in the third period 47 per eent. In Liverpool the increase had been in the first period 26 per cent., in the second 31, and the third 43. Within the last ten years the population of the com mercial and manufacturing towns had increased at three times the rate of increase of the whole kingdom, and four times that of the agricultural parts. Thus in the five largest towns of the United Kingdom, excluding the metropolis, the increase had been, in the first of the three periods, at an average of 22 per cent. ; in the se cond ten years, 37 per cent. ; and in the last, 42 per cent. In the manufacturing counties the increase had been to that of the agricultural counties in the following ratios : In Staffordshire, 3 to 1 ; in Warwickshire, 4 to 1 ; in Yorkshire, 6 to 1 ; in Lancashire, 10 to 1 ; in Middle sex, 12 to 1. He would not now take up the time of the House by dwelling upon the importance to the country at large of those articles of import, to the work ing up of which the manufacturing portion of the popu lation owed its prosperity. But he had-by him the returns which were at the service of any Honourable Member who had any desire to comment upon them. But he wished especially to call the attention of Hon. M em b ers to th e g rea t i ncrease which had, in the moan time, taken place in the means of comfort and luxury, which were at the command of the rich and middle classes. The Honourable Member then went through a detail of the increased duties which had accrued within the last ten years upon taxed ar ticles of luxury and convenience, chiefly enjoyed by the upper and middle classes. Amongst these he stated the in_ crease of the duty on tea within that period to have been 24 per cent. ; on sugar 13 per cent., and on coffee 126 per cent. —( Hear.) He showed also the corresponding increase i n th e duties upon stage coaches, riding horses, and mail servants ; of those dwelling in the large towns th ere were t wo classes— the skilled and the unskilled—.and while he acknowledged that the skilled had in many instances improved in condition, and had a greater command over the necessaries of life than at any former period, he would be enabled to show to the House that the unskilled had many privations, and even those in the com mand of higher wages were worse off than at f ormer pe riods ; or if not worse off, in that low state, in that humble and depressed condition--above all the children, which called upon them to endeavour to do something for their improvement. Without going into details, he would refer those interested in the condition of the working classes to different Reports on their condition—to the Report upon Education, 1835—the Factory Gaurnis,ioners Report in 1833—the Report upon manufacturing cmploym “nt 1730; and the Report upon the handloom-weavers, 1834. In the latter Report it was stated that there was no less than 800,000 weavers dependent upon this e mployment, in a most miserable condition. (Hear) hear, hear.) There were statements made in the Report of Education in the year 1835, to which he begged t h e attention of the House. From a return by the Stati st i ca l SJciety of Mancheste r, it a pp eared that in the town of Man ches'er one-tenth of the entire population lived in cellars ; and in Liverpool one-seventh, that is to say 31,000 lived in:cellars, and most of them in courts with only one outlet. From a close examination of 166 houses in Bristol, it appeared one third were without drains, half of them without water, and 208 children above 7 years old were sleeping in the same room with their parents. In a district in Marylebone, the neigh bourhood of the most wealthy houses of that opulent parish, were 578 families, 380 of whom had only one room. It might be stated that if he turned to the increase o f de p osits in Savings'-banks, he would find that the humbler classes had improved in their condition ; but when the return came to be analyzed, it would appear that of the workmen in the staple trades of large towns, the proportionate number of deposits was very small. In Nottingham, of 6,100 deposits only 790 were traced to be made by persons in the staple trade of that town. In re spect to those of the humble classes engaged in friendly societies, the amount deposited in 1830 was 714,0001., and the number of the depositors 4,553 ; and, in 1836, the amount of deposits had only increased to 726,0001., the number of depositors to 5,300, an increase very small in six years. It might be thought that some of these matters were irrelevant to the subject before the House ; but he trusted if the House would give him its attention for a few moments, when he came to a statement of the in crease of crime within the kingdom, he would convince them that it was absolutely necessary to take some steps for the im provement of the condition of the humbler classes in the large towns.—( Hear, hear.) He would now call their attention to the number of criminals committed in England and Wales, which in the year 1805 was 4,600 ; in 1810, 5,100 ; in 1815, 7,800 ; in 1821, 13,000 ; in 1828, 16,500; in 1831, 19,600; and in 1832, 20,000. The number had increased in the following years, and had very little diminished down to the hour when he had the honour of addressing them. That was to say, that in 20 years (from 1810 to 1832) the committals had increased four-fold, while the population had only increased 32 per cent. If they took the average of seven years, taking the first at 1819, the second at 1826, and the third at 1833, they would find that in the first period the number of committals had been 72,000 ; in the second pe riod, 95,000 ; and, in the third, period, it had increased to 131,000—50 that while the population had in creased in the same period only 18 per cent., the committals for crime had been 90 per cent. Taking the numbers as compared with the population, it would appear that the committals for crime in 1811 had been one in 1,600 ; in 1821 it had been one in 860 ; and in 1831 it had been one in 686. The number had been something smaller in the last year, but it was by no means satisfactory evidence of an im provement in the condition of the people. It varied from 100 per cent. diminution in isloithamptonshire, to an increase in Staffordshire and Wsewickshire of from 10 to 19 per cent. He held in his band a rather curious return from the Metro politan Police Officers, from which it appeared that in the year 1831, the number committed was 72,800, and in the year 1832, it was 77,500. The particular class he wished to call attention to was those committed for drunken ness, of whom it appeared there were, in 1831, 23,700, and in 1832, 25,700; of these 1,500 were men, and 10,000 were women. 1 here had been since then, he was happy to say, a decrease in the number of committals. There were 72,000 committals in 1831, and in 1836 only 63,000 ; this decrease, however, was partly to be accounted for by the police guarding persons in a state of intoxicatioe to their homes instead of bringing them to the police offices as before. When, therefore, he came to the conclusion that a slight im provement had taken place in the morals of the people, he was bound to state that it was in some measure owing to the improved state of the police. He now wished to call their attention to the state of Liverpool, and he regretted that he did not see the Noble Lord the Member for that town in his place, as he was sure that he would bear him out in the statement he was about to make. By a return laid before the statistical section of Liverpool, it appeared that out of a population of 230,000, the criminal population of that town was 4,400 males and 4,080 females. What he was now about to state related to the well-being of the humbler classes of Society, and he hoped that Hon. Gentlemen would give theiz attention to what he conceived to be a subject fraught with the deepest interest. He wished now to call their attention to the proportion of crime to the population in dif ferent parts of the kingdom. In England and Wales it was 1 in 619. In Bristol, 1 in 290. In the county of Middlesex, 1 in 336. In the County of Lancaster 1 in 480. In the county of Chester, 1 in 490 ; and in the county of Anglesea, 1 in 8,000. There was now another subject to which, after stating the vast increase of crime, he wished to call their attention—a subject which he hoped t. onld be explained consistent with the well-being of society. lid held in his hand a return of the number of gallons of spirits which had been used in the United Kingdom for the last twenty years. In 1317 there were used 9,200,000 gallons ; in 1827, 18,230,0 )0 ; in 1837, 39,227,000 ; that is to say, the consumption of spirits had trebled in 20 years ; while the population had increased only one-third. The result therefore was, that the consumption of spirits had increased in a nine-fold degree with respect to the popula tion A statement had been made by a gentleman well known for his accuracy relative to the consumption of spirits, and according to that calculation the consumption of spirits had increased to such a degree that every person drinking ale who was more than twelve years of age consumed no less than a gallon and a half of raw spirits. He should feel indebted to to Henourable Members who would answer that state. ment satisfactorily. He could not but think that it was necessary to direct the attention of Parliament to this sub ject, because lie was convinced that the statements he was about to make were inconsistent with the welfare and happi ness of the people. He had stated that the amount of the consumption of spirits was no less than a gallon and a-half per head. But if the House were to look to the calculation in another point of view, and consider who really were the consumers of spirits, they would find that the amount was increased nearly double. There were those who were willing to cast great blame upon the humble classes for their indulgence in spirits. No man more lamented it than he did, because he felt convinced that it was a most fertile source of crime; but still it must be remembered that spirits were in fact the poor man's opium. It was spirits that gave him some little relaxation from the misery by which he was surrounded. His object in bringing forward the present motion was, to direct the attention of the House, not so much to the whole body of the population of the country as to those who inhabited large towns, and it was to them and their children's condition, that he wished to direct the House's attention. That condition, he would ven ture to say, increased disease, created feuds, and deprived the poor of almost every comfort of life. Having adverted to the state of their parents, he would now, with the leave of the House, make a few observations relative to their children, and in doing so he trusted that the House would favour him with its attention for a very short period. He would not trouble the House upon the subject if he did not believe that the claims of the unfortunate individuals he was about to bring under its attention most imperatively demanded the consideration of the House. In speaking of the educa tion of the lower classes, he could not but feel the great debt of gratitude that ,was due to a Noble Lord (Lord Brougham) for the great exertions that he had rnade to improve the education of the lower classes. There could be but one feeling of gratitude towards him, for all that he had done, and was still doing, to improve the education of the lower classes. In addressing the House upon the subject, he could not help mentioning the name of the Hon. Member for Waterford, to whom great praise was due for his exertions in the cause of the poor. He would now turn to the state of education in this country, and in doing so he would not found himself upon those returns alone that had been made relative to Manchester and some of the large towns, as they had been shown to be defective, but would refer to returns which he knew to be accurate, and which he would confidently state de served the attention of the House.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") As there were no general returns upon the subject, he was compelled to avail himself of those partial returns which he had been able to procure. He wculd trouble the House with reading some extracts from a publication issued from the Statistical Society, relating to the condition of the labouring poor. The Hon. Member then read a comparative statement of the numbers of the labouring poor in the towns of York, Bury, Manchester, Liverpool, and the township of Ashton and Staley-bridge, but we could not correctly catch his figures. For the purpose of showing the state of education in these populations, he had taken the proportions of the numbers of those who received instruction in public or private schools. He had divided the instructed part of the labouring people into two classes—those who went to day schools, and those who went to Sunday schools. In the city of York, those who went to day schools were to the rest of the population in the ratio of 17 per cent., whilst those who attended Sunday schools were only 3 per cent., making a total of 20 per cent. In Bury the attendants of the Day-schools were 13 per cent., of the Sunday-schools 15i per cent., making the total of those who received instruction of any kind in this large town only 28 and a fraction per cent. In Manchester and Salford, 101 per cent. went to the Day-Schools, and 11i per cent. to the Sunday-schools, making a total of 22 per cent., or scarcely one in four. In Liverpool the attendants at the day schools were 12i per cent., at the Sunday-schools only total, 14 per cent. In Bolton 6 per cent. went to the day_ schools, and to Sunday-schools so much as 151 per cent ; making, however, a total of only 21)r per cent. In the large commercial town of Bristol, but 4 per cent. of its large population receive the benefits of instruction in the daily schools—and only 8i per cent. attended the Sunday schools—making a total of 13 per cent. In Ashton and Staley-bridge, the Sunday-schools were attended by 2, not quite 3 per cent., but the Sunday-schools showed a rate of 23 per cent., making a total for this township of 26 per cent. not quite. Now, in the five parishes of Westminster in which they (the House) were then assembled, the proportion of those who attended day-schools was, to the whole population of the city, no more than 10 per cent—( Hear)—whilst those who attended Sunday-schools were only 3 per cent. It appeared therefore, from those returns, that the number of those who went to any kind of school was in York only, as 1 in 5 to the population of that city. In Bury as 1 in 33. In Manchester as 1 in 4i. In Liverpool as I in 7. In Bolton as 1 in 5. In Bristol as 1 in 7. In Ashton and Staley Bridge as 1 in 4. And in Westminster as 1 in 8. Now, however valuable the instruction in Sunday Schools might be, no one cou ld thi n k that, Sunday instruction alone could be sufficient.—( Hear.) It appeared from this Report, that in many cases the school-rooms we re so small and badly ventilated, that the a t mos ph ere was quite oppressive and dangerous. In ene instance, forty children were bound in a room only ten feet by nine. The vast proportion of children who went to Day-schools received no instruction at all worthy of the name (speaking of Manchester, Liverpool, Sal ford, Sac.) The greater proportion of the teachers were quite incompetent to their task, and in many cases were only induced to undertake it because unable in any other way to support themselves. One waster being asked if he used the globes in teaching geography, replied in the affirmative, adding that one globe was for one half of the earth, and the other for another half. —( Laughter.) Another being asked whether he taught reading, writing, Latin,: Greek, &c., answered " Yes," to every query, and the visitor remarking, " that is indeed multum in pan's," eagerly said, " Ycs— you may put that down too."---(Laughter.) In another CM the mistress said she gave the children instruction both as Protestants and Catholics, for she " let both catechisms go together, so that no harm could come." He (Mr. S. ) asked those who felt an interest upon this subject, who were desirous of benefiting the humbler classes, to turn their at tention to these documents, and see how melancholy a picture they exhibited.—( Hear, hear.) It would appear that in the large manufacturing towns to which he had referred, the proportion of children below the age of five years (as we understood) was 25 per cent., or one-fourth of the whole. For these, certainly, instruction ought to be provided; but the daily schools in Bolton, furnished instruction only for one sixth—Bristol only for one-twenty-fourth ; in the popu lous districts of Lancashire only one-forty-sixth of the population. But numbers were - no criterion of improve ment ; and he had shown the House how grossly ignorant were many of those to whom the instruction of the rising genera tion in these districts was committed. He did not deny that there were many excellent schools ; but he said there ought to be the means of instruction provided for all, which sow were only available to few. By the returns of Mr. Hor ner who had made a report on the state of the factories, it ap peared, frail an examination of the children ot• the ages of 13 and 14, above the operation of the education clauses of the Factory Act, that there were of the boys forty nine and a half per cent. who could not read, and sixty seven per cent. who could not even write their names. Of the girls there were 57 per cent. who could not read, and 88 per cent. who could not write their names. As a general result, it appeared that half the children in all the manufacturing towns had no means of obtaining education ; and he could with confidence assert that three-fourths of the poorer children throughout the great towns of this country were without any effective education. Let them compare the state of education in England with other countries. He had returns in his hand which showed how much we were behind in this respect. In Nassau, the population were educated in the proportion of 1 in 6 ; in Saxony 1 in 6 ; in the State of New York, 1 in 4 ; in Switzerland, 1 in 5, and in England only 1 in 8, and in some of the large manufacturing towns only lin 17. He was sorry to be under the necessity of troubling the House with these details ; but it was necessary that he should do so, in order that they might arrive at a proper conclusion on the subject.— ( Hear, hear.) These returns he had obtained with considerable trouble ; for owing to the indifference of the Government to the subject, no returns had been procured in relation to it.—[The noise and impatience of the House drowned the remainder of the sentence.] —He begged that Gentlemen would not consider these de tails so uninteresting.—( Hear.) He appealed to them on behalf of the people of these countries. Was there any gentleman in that House who as a father did not feel the deepest interest in the • welfare of his children, and who did not regard their education as a primary object? He called upon both sides of the House to lay aside their party animosities, and to turn their . serious attention to this important subject.—( Hear, hear.) He lamented to think that Gentlemen who represented large communities, should be so indifferent on a subject which was so deeply inte resting to their well-being and happiness. It was shameful for Gentlemen, who were such a short time since before their constituencies, and who pledged themselves to promote their interests in Parliament, to betray such inattention when a subject which so deeply concerned them was under discus sion. It was not for himself he claimed their attention. If the subject were disregarded in that House, he could tell Hon. Gentlemen that they would have to account for it when they presented themselves elsewhere. He called on the Noble Lord who sat near him, he called on the Gentlemen who supported him, to give their aid to his plan, for it was a Reform measure.—( Hear, hear.) He called on the Right Hon. Baronet opposite to give his assent to it, for it was Conservative measure; for it was a measure that would uphold the interests and promote the comforts of the humbler classes. It would be presumption in him to hope that his plan would be received by the House more than as a matter of suggestion. He ventured to suggest to the House that a plan could be devised by which education could be given to all classes. He begged, however, before he entered into the details of such a plan to call their attention to some facts. It must be admitted by every one that a separate plan of education must be framed for Churchmen and Dissenters. He would suggest that it should be done by the British and Foreign and the National Schools ; and he would further suggest that a school- rate of not more than 6d. in the pound should be raised in places consisting of not above 5,000 inhabitants, to be voted by Commissioners in vestry ; and this being raised, or any less sum by subscriptions or donations, the Government should add a fourth to it, or any proportion that might be deemed proper, from the Consolidated Fund, and that the whole should then be divided between the British and Foreign and the National Schools, according to their respective number of scholars. If it were divided among them according to the number of scholars, it would be divided according to the wants of the particular places. He was convinced that' if facilities were thus given to persons to exert themselves they would imme diately take advantage of it. There ought likewise to be a Board or a Minister of Education appointed, from whom proper returns on the subject might at all times be obtained. He did not pretend to say that this was the plan that ought to be adopted—he merely threw it out as a suggestion ; but having spoken to several persons interested in the subject, he had not found that there was any objection to such a scheme. —( Cries of " Hear, hear.") Where there were many Dis senters, the proportion of them would be large, and they would pay largely ; where, again, there were many Church men, they would have large proportions of land, and they would pay largely also—so that there would be a due appor tionment. One individual could not perform anything important by himself in this country; he could only bring the subject before the public and Parliament, and trust to receiving the support of the Government in it. He did not believe that the House was aware of the proportions of the different denomi nations that existed in the large towns of this country. He held in his hand a return of the number of Sunday scholars in several towns, and to what denomination they belonged:— In Liverpool, in the Church schools, there were 6,118 scholars; of the Roman Catholics, only 700 ; and the Dissen ters, 7,000 or 8,000. In Bolton, in the Churclaschools, there were 6,769 scholars. In Manchester and Salford, in a popu lation of 250,000, in the Church schools there were 13,000 scholars; Catholics, 4,500; and Dissenters, 25,280, being 59 per cent on the whole population. In Bristol, with a population of 120,000 the number of scholars attending the schools of the Established Church was 4,370 ; Wesleyan and other Dis senters 8,860, being double the number of the scholars who attended the schools of the Established Church. Ile had also a return of the number of the heads of families and lodgers in Manchester and Salford, and according to those returns 26,000 belonged to the Established Church, there were 12,000 Dissenters, and upwards of 7,000 Catholics, and there were no less than 4,000 that professed no religion all. Nov, he would ask, whether that was not a state of things which called loudly for enquiry ? He fearlessly asserted that it was, and he called upon the House and the country to give him its assistance. He would not believe for a moment that the House, when it came to look more into detail upon this important subject, that it would not allow it to pass by unnoticed. He called upon the House to give its best consideration in the name of humanity and justice. —( Hear, hear.) Was i i just, he would ask, to pass penal enactments to send poor men's children to distant settle ments, when he had no means of judging right from wrong ? There were several gentlemen, few he hoped in that House, to whom it would be useless for him to address himself on the score of humanity ; but perhaps the ground of safety would awaken them to a consideration of this subject. What had been the result of not extending education? Why the County Rates had increased, and the prisons had been filled with criminals. [The Hon. Member was fer some minutes inaudible, from the noise in the House.] He said he should not detain Hon. Gentlemen very long. —( Hear, and laughter.) He was confident that affording a good education would be the greatest economy. Ignorance was the most costly thing the State could possess. In the immediate neighbourhood of the House there was a penitentiary which had cost the country more than 250,0001. of which nearly the whole might have been saved by educating the children of the poor.—( Hear.) But the Government of the country took those who were hardened in iniquity, and subjected them to a process of penal discipline which was relied upon for effecting a change more miraculous than what was sought for by the alchemist of old. It was impossible to convert the hardened criminal into that innocent state in which he might have been preserved if the Government of the country had done its duty to him. Had the Legislature begun with the best means of preventing crime, namely, the education of the helpless youth, ten times as much good would have been done at ten times less cost. He assured them that he did not believe that the splendid edifices which he saw around him stood upon safe foundations. The great body of the humbler classes in this crowded town were aggrieved, and what else could they feel when they saw their children exposed to strong temptation, whilst the Government had ' provided for them only severe and fruitless punishments, but had made no provi sion for their instruction or support.—(Hear, hear, hear.) When he saw her Majesty in her splendid palace, sur rounded by the Nobility of the land, he wished to God he could present to her some of the children of her poorer subjects, and he was sure she would not turn from them with contempt.—( Hear.) He called upon that, her first Parlia ment, to do something for them, if it were but for her sake. He hoped her Majesty's Ministers would take the subject up_. he hoped that Honourable Gentlemen on the other side, who were loud in their advocacy of the poor, would assist him, so that in this matter at least all sides in that House might unite, omitting all party considerations for the good of the community.—( Cheers.) The Hon. Member concluded by moving for a Select Committee to inquire into the condi tion of the labouring classes. Sir G. STRICKL AND thought the House and the country were much obliged to the Hon. Member for his assi duity upon such au important subject. His Hon. Friend, however, had forgot to mention that the Government and that House had at various times granted a sum of 20,0001. for for the purpose of building schools—thus meeting the very difficulty started by his Honourable Friend. He could not agree in that proposition of his Honourable Friend, which went to raise a sixpenny rate upon all property in the country. It would be a most dangerous principle, for it would teach the people to depend for educa tion upon the Government in place of the parents, upon whom all such responsibility ought to rest. Let them grant money for building schools, and let them promote education in every way that was possible ; but let them not teach parents to neglect the education of their offspring. With these few observations, he had much pleasure in seconding the motion. Mr. BROTHERTON said—As the Hon. Member for• nee R . df: Shrewsbury has alluded to the state of ignores gradation in which the humble classes of Manchester to state neighbouring towns were placed, he felt called u p o n 4 s that he must reluctantly admit the truth o f his gatemen. He had the honour to present lately a petition from theroalthy of Salford for a system of education that would g ive t.it; class of her Majesty's subjects the benefits of educatio n; and he had attended one of the largest and most respecta ble meet ingswes h imself d in ise t o h s e se t d o . wn He of eo M ol a d nt' i li ak e e ste u r p , on at of higher System of Education. No subject certainly could strong feeling in that neighbourhood in behalf ofhta; National an un es House wbieh t t o h e say sa m e eresuvibjeeseat importance, but it was at all times impolitic to ad d dr t e h s willing audience, and, therefore, as he perceive was anxious to proceed to other business, he should reserve what he had to say for a fitter opportunity. des L e o n rd es J th O e H g N r,,o ß te U st S c S re E di L t L fe — r S th ir o , a l h t l h e in to k a tl o ie ne H r o i 7;: h l i e c r et: has lheh he hiss ipresented stated.—(Hear, eetu(ar House the hear.) nume I feel it eo rousandvaluaboledeestsVis v The He n ' on this occasion to say but a very few wor ds. Sir, to the Member has moved for a Committee of Inqu ir y . appointment of that Committee I can have no objectioon.tioaut the same time, I agree in what I collected to be his s in n , e , upon this subject, that if there be any large and eff ectual of education to be introduced into Parliament, it oug ht t o originate in, or to have the decided support of her M r_Y •s , Government.— ( Hear, hear.) I certainly have been . :7 1 persuaded that great benefit would result from any pnLmnore Education which would make the benefits of Educatin generally diffused in this country.—(Cheers.) Wh _ a r t d ev in e s t the proportion of scholars in the different schools, 0 Il t c tee of to the Statistical Returns made to the Comm which my late lamented friend, Lord Kerry, was hi it must undoubtedly be acknowledged that there is st i l l Hear, mcntable degree of ignorance in this country. — Of this hear.) Sir, a decisive, though a melancholy proof of is to be found in the Reports of the Inspectorsao. Prisons, and of the Chaplains of the different g Chm a ge ( Hear, hear)—from which it appears that Ileest. et the rrisoners Jho come ender their care are totally of the first rudiments of knowledge. When I consider, ho" ever, what plans should be introduced,. there are various 02): stacles that present themselves, which prevent me now verf pdsing to the House a plan on the subject. One, and a el obvious reason is, that the time of this House B a ss to be occupied for some time by measures which. haveigalreeasg been under the consideration of Parliament, be further considered, and which will oce°PY some time. Another is, that it requires the utmost d eliberation f to consider how the various obstacles which- are in the waY_ io ° , a general plan car, be surmounted. I am quite carts °f that if a plan were adopted in which the religious feeling,t the country were not consulted—( Hear)—it would only I . e: , to a decided failure, and would be an obstacle to the r . t i. r it which descry duction of any plan hereafter.—( Cheers. ) But agreeine,l“ the religious feelings of the country should be consui.Tch there is the next consideration, which is the way in which we should reconcile the opinions of the Church an d, Dissenters en this subject?—( Loud cries of ‘, Hear, beef s _,. the Church being anxious that the catechism and doctrine e ° . ' the Chuch should be taught in the schools; the Dissent r_. being exceedingly jealous and sensitive with respect to 0 ti, 3 1 1 introduction of any measure which they might think wo cir trench on their principles and creed.—(Hear, hear.) it would shock these feelings—the political and civil fee l, ..„ ings of this country—if we introduced any plan adopted 17: those foreign countries which my Hon. Friend has mentioned _,, if we endeavoured to square and regulate, like the schoolsr'' Prussia and Russia, the schools of education in this coup This consideration presents many obstacles which occur in n to way of introducing any plan on the subject. I wish likewise, another motive for delay—l wish to see the effect of tll°2o discussions which have lately taken place in the country , 21 a which I expect will take place in Parliament on the subjec,' . I am delighted to see the public attention of the country. ei. rected to it— I cannot but expect, from the various rneeti n f; which have taken place, that a most valuable light will o given as to any plan which may be adopted, and as to .a Y_ scheme which may conciliate the views of various!. sects and parties.—( Hear.) I happen to know, moreove,s that a Noble and Learned Friend of mine, whose name identified with the cause of education—l mean Lord Brougu a ' i —(Cheers)--has lately introduced a Bill with respect to tl2 subject, and has turned his attention to the m a n ner in which elit t " s cation might be more extensively introduced, and made Me re general throughout the country. Seeing this attention ex; cited, it appears to me that we will have further means dt judging what is best to be adopted; and in giving my a '", sent to the motion of my Hon. Friend, I may obser y that it will be necessary, in my opinion, for Parlionee'' to take decisive measures for the promotion of education .--- ", (Cheers.) The question is one which Gove r nment ought ° , to take up hastily, lest they might in tro d uce a plea 1017 either met with the resentment and rep ugnanc e of the pe e l ) / of this country on account of religious feelings, or which woe, make an additional motive of di ssens i on b etween the Chur c h and the Protestant Dissenters. That would not be further ing, but obstructing the cause of education; and when I W e that such a plan may be adopted, I shall not commit myself el ly solutely to any plan on th e su bj ec t, b u t k eep my atten ti o n stew fixed upon it as one of the most important and practically ici teresting to the great mass of the people of this country. Lord SANDON trusted that the great interest of the qtles" tion which had been brought before the House would ell him for taking up a short p er i o d o f i ts ti me . H e ag reed wi l l the Noble Lord who had just s a t d own , th a t it was desirab'e that Government should pause before it took any definitive, measure upon such a subject as the present ; but he thong some plan ought to be devised by a Select Committtee or other, wise upon the subject. Wh en th e neg l ect o f the toe n , and physical condition of the working classes was sidered, it was no wonder that the gaols were fe . If the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would allow him (L ot Sandon) to give his humbl e ass i s t ance , h e wou ld d o all in power to promote his object.--( Hear, hear.) Mr. SL ANE Y, in e x pl ana ti on , sa id h e never con:till' plated that a compulso r y ra t e s h ou ld be imposed- 11 0 ° ,( wished that rate-payers should have the tibwer assessing themselves for the purposes of education. • The motion for a Committee was then agreed to, to he ° P , pointed to-morrow (this day.) Sir HARRY VERNEY r ose t o move th e fi rs t read i l of the Bill to rend e r owners o f sma ll tenements li a ble to t he parochial rates. He said th a t h e wou ld not trou bl e the 1-I ° l l at any length, as there would be another opportunity for dis c 'Ta sing the details of the Bill. It gave to t h ose occup i er s whogl,lhe the rate power to deduct it from the amount of the rent. L i , Bill did not affect either Parliamentary or Municipal ° a c e s - t He hoped the House would a ll ow th e Bill to b e r ead a - a time, but he would not p r e ss th e secon d rea di ng un til the e ° of February. Lord SAND ON was understood to express himself 1113 fr vourable to the Bill. Mr. BROT HE RTON supported the Bill. The Bill was then brought in and read a first time. , LIEUT. BLAKE—IRISH CONSTABULAg Colonel PE RC EVAL, in rising to bring forward the aia , tion of which he h a d g i ven not i ce , h a d h ope d that her that jesty's Ministers would have conceded to him the par rs ,ea he had asked the House to give him in the first notice ent e tbo in his name; for from the conversation he had had w itb e ald Noble Lord the Secretary a t W ar , h e cons idered the 14 1 , the Lord to have on his pa r t no o bj ect i on to t h e production o f the charge against, and th e s en t ence upon Lieut. Blake , °bo 55th Regiment, at th e period stated in the pope fort the House of Commons. I n t h e papers t h at h e so ught diar y ground of dismissal was stated with respect to the stiW i magistrate Blake—that very stipendiary magistrate being, o f same Mr. Blak e w h o h a d b een cas hi ere d w h en an offie, io the 55th regi ment . He asked of the House to grant P oo those charges aga i ns t M r . Bl a k e, an d t h at sen t e nce, w it . vi td approbation of the Prince Regent thereon, with a I' o o l show how h e (C o l one l Perceval), an individual in the e° st ill which be had th e h onour to represent, and, w hat he fe lt bad more, those whom h e b a d the honour of representing; been treat e d b y h er M a j esty ' s Government in Irels t it ( Hear, bear, from the Opposition. H e un derstood tna had been s t a t e d th at Mr. Blake b ad been appointed to ie. , commission of the pea ce t en y ears a go. With that aPlrs,,se' ment he had nothing to do. In May last, when a returutioce made of the stipendiary magistrates appointed la , ar the existing Government, his attention was drawn to t iew pointment of Mr. Blake by a Noble Lord, with a L o ge; bringing the conduct of the Government before the ri_ vet ai but he felt a delicacy in drawing attention to by-gond 0 with a view of injuring au) , individual.—(Hear, !tae_arHialse was not until subsequent events brought the same o'!.rj t bees into a prominent, position before the public that he r' s b t ca self compelled to recur to by-gone transactions. It ti!°,, „ ca . stated by that high authority-that he ( Col. Perceval):La_".4.l,a ferred certain charges against Mr. Blake, and that. that T . : b „,l Government most readily granted the investigation tpatil'awetosi prayed for. He felt that the Irish Government h a d in very differently towards him, when he prayed for an_ .. ` ll ,o tigation, than they did to others when the attack w as Hosea against that high-minded individual, Major Browne.. e from the Opposition Members.) The high individual b , a alluded to had sent Major Browne and Mr. Crossley a' to Hoe. 11°4 Blake. Mr. Blake had accompanied, in January be and Learned Mt mber for Dublin from Castlebar _be was present at the speeches made by that Hon. 11 7 .j usri tho had dined in company with that Hon. Member i infect eiuseel e la o s o t n , t w y hen those spirits came from other places to e.se to it, and by which those individuals bad re of Sligo with agitating turbulence, hither On the county to the degraded state in which it novewa.s_.. vote! Ist of Febrear afterwards the same individual, (mr. Government magistrate. It appeared that re sponsible for this, dir was appointed to the ostensible and responsible th:itNuaotbsioen Lobourl who represented her Majesty was not respons a. . , n the the individual (Mr. Blake) was sent down to c Z t l y an d traction of his (Colonel :Perceval's) reduced th be at pebiriseeonG6alovesime- as "t t° was sent down in a situation of t r ust n , a h t h i a v y e in a g o language expressed his politieal partisan o s_t o p t , e d p P p hr o is sit °l , lu° : sl !:: l l li i o l l t int too him (Colonel Perceval.) The Nobl theL a first daY'' 13°11 to collect that in the contest for Sligo he wro te 0 , the Ist of August, and on the 19thof at A at tl in g; st h i; opirnoinoinci; the Under Secretary Mr. Drummond, the Gove eiy the conduct of Mr. Blake, and calling upon _ u. He re:lie : 4 s4 to grant him an investigation into that con ss d iog t . the r an answer from Mr. Drummond e tt Pr_ e stigaton , but o c oswo . of the Government to grant him an f v° he sent ant upon him for details. By return o posttat certain - s od t° to Mr. Drummond, in which the truth of which he ba t : to which, perhaps, he should have . When he found that the investigation e , s tated ' l ' a b o ut .d to the charg „ t w ere be duct was to be solely confined ter he bad written,d been g to „y that sort of liberal investigation which offence.t a. 9 n at 41;0 the to throw their shieldhooss-aerw Blake; that it w la nted —(Cries Oh. oh I" and laug was grit the Radicals. He said it w ithou h t te m o _ o l , e l " mean nt ! i s n w t o e a rA, c og nizance, r .bliefl°_rkeet h'sel along' to be that sort of investigation which I I