The Sun. — London, England, 1856-01-18 00:00:00

given by ►kley, and o U.-street St. Mary ery g reat n was • That I and ivs Lis house was wel deceased he s olfei• rears 4 0 is abilitf R estate mpts were frustrated much to •f the pri' IS induced some of 'ppm *nted bin oiciug Dn er, al . ugh lo s )d. That oneys on ansaction ards him► n. That ceased fe him be" not press trate dig" nter int o that be , I hall did lot kindnee , sancee he b• Weir That the ken into him or ervatione may 01 solicitor the late Laving 1 01 rivate for• prisoner I am ifY ct to the injured r , i n con husband, nd warms' DRICO. held this the oleo' the chair , the aitua' te, whet' re as lot' ....... 0 ....... 0 0 ....... 0 ....... 0 ....... 0 ' ....... 0 ........ 0 ........ 0 ........ 0 ►f Mr. i's ►r the pa' ;ion to 0 ►aid oboe that, at 0 sy, it lo g in at the ig as thef )d to 00 offer. e throug h nind tbs 3 3. s ton er were no t igton be d ,ded tbat to had re' ;honld be ►ndidete e two. A n !lonia be lent wee ntlenlen : n, Isaac' es should s and te e• ie Strooß ing been icts from o f Cool' ndidatee• is shoul d board• indicinteo lea to rhich h° ate cool' Olen th° sth. • med. S. NV. i—Bute' oolrich• -Reginh► as.—A" at, Rio ; ler aid rerpool 11 le, and i New a total I-Arc- sandris North In into ning• Aohoe, I Rose, r Pope, ling. id L. Lively Pearl, Wood, 7rento, earch, Elliot, Brmo liope, 'aiba ; MONEY MARKET AND COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. CITY, Two O'CLOCK. The Liverpool Cotton Market yesterday closed very firmly, at advanced prices, in consequence of the favourable news respecting the war. In the Railway Share Market there was a considerable business done, and in many instances prices rose upwards of 3 per cent. Although the aggregate transactions in the Colo nial Produce Markets have continued of a limited character during the week, there has been rather more disposition to make purchases. The inquiry for sugar has slightly increased, and former rates have been maintained. Coffee has ruled exceed ingly quiet, and no alteration in prices has oc curred. Tea at public sales has sold slowly, and Assam kinds declined 2d. to 3d. per lb. In Spices the dealings have been quite of a retail character, and Pimento is rather cheaper. Rice has been very dull, and has receded Od. to is. per cwt. Tallow has been steady, but quiet. Yesterday, however, an entire change was apparent in the markets for all the principal staples, and fuller prices were in most cases current. Holders of some articles declined to sell at previous quotations. The business transacted, therefore, was exceedingly limited, and the quotations were chiefly nominal. If the negotiations for peace proceed satisfactorily a very marked-alteration is expected in the condi tion of these markets. Messrs. D. Bell, Son, and Co. report the market for American Securities as still inactive. The pre sent quotations (for the most part nominal) are as follows : GOVERNMENT /SECURITIES. Redeemable. Per Cent. United States 6 per Cont. 1867-1865...104 United 15tates 6 per Cent. Bonds 1868...104 STATE SECURITIES. California 7 per Cent. Bonds Maryland 5 per Cent. (Sterling Bonds) Massachusetts 5 per Cent. (Sterl. Bonds) Mississippi CS per Cent. Pl. Bk. Bonds lB4l-1871... 43 43 Mississippi 6 per Cent. Union Bk Bonds ... 16 18 Pennsylvania 5 per Cent. Stock Pennsylvania 5 per Cent. Bonds 1877 ... 79 80 Virginia 5 per Cent. (Sterling Bonds) —lBBB 81.• 82i Tirginia 6 per Cent. Bonds 1886... 86 88 1870... 78 80 . 86 88 . 96 98 CITY SECURITIES. Topton 6 per Cent. Bonds (Divers) ... 90 N Montreal 6 per Cent. Bonds 1856-1865... 88 85 New Orleans 6 per Cent. Stook 1883... 77 79 RAILROAD BONDS. Illinois Central 7 per Cent. Ist Mortgage, not Convertible 1875... 74 7C Illinois Central 7 per Cent. Freeland Bonds 1860... 75 77 Michigan Central Bp. Cent. 1860... 92 94 New York Central 7p. Cent., Convert 1864... 9 2 91 New York Central 6 per Cant., not 79 81 Convertible - NSW York and Erie 7 per Cent. Ist Mort gage 1867... 98 100 , 'I evf York and Erie 7 per Cent. 3d Mort gage... 1883... 81. 83 N. York and Erie 7p. Cent. Convertible-1862... 72 74 N• York and Eri© 7 per Cent. Sinking Fund 1875... 80 81 Panama 7 per Cont., let Mortgage (Ster ling Bonds), not convertible 1859... 92 93* Ditto ditto 1864... 93 95 Pennsylvania Gentral6 p. Cent.. Ist Mort 1880... 83 87 * Ex dividend. The latest commercial advices from New York do not record any material alteration in monetary operations, and the market for speculative stocks had been very inactive. There has been a decrease In the revenue receipts in imports during the last year of 3,709,581 dols, the totals being 38,0 96 , 888 dols. f or 1854, and 34, , 387,307 dols. for the year which has just expired. The demand for money Continued, and though large amounts had been disbursed in payment of dividends, it does not ap pear to have diminished the stringency of the dis count market. Local writers take rather a gloomy vies. o f the condition of the market, and consider that some months must elapse before it will be re stored to even a moderately easy position. The market for breadstuffs was rather heavy ; but some large shipments of flour to Liverpool and London, as well as some of the Continental ports, had been sported. .Amongst the items of intelligence from Victoria, it Is satisfactory to see that the old staple product of the colony continues to increase annually. The quantity of wool shipped during the past year exhibits an increase of about 30 per cent. over that 9f the previous year. This is an unusual increase, but it must be remembered that in 1854 the pre valence of disease amongst the flocks, and the want of labour which caused the stockholders to boil down their sheep, had the effect of lessening the export of wool. In that year ending October 10th the quantity shipped was 11,104,130 lb., and in the year ending September 15, the shipments amounted to 15,231,381 lbs. weight, valued at 873,4781., showing an increase of 4,127,251 lbs. in less than a year. This improved state of the wool market is attributed chiefly to the abundant supply of labour throughout the year, in consequence of the number of labourers who, finding no occupation in the towns, proceeded into the interior where they found employment upon the stations. The English Stock Market is well supported, considering the material advance which has taken place, but there is less excitement, and the dealings are of a more limited character. The quotations are occasionally affected by active selling, but no important decline has yet occurred, although it is considered proba ble that a slight reactionary movement will goon commence. Consols for money have been from 891 to 891. For the 7th February the prices, after being 892 and 90, receded to 899 2, but they have since rallied to 90k. The New 3 per Cents. are 904 and 909. The Reduced have been active at 89! to 901. Exchequer Bills have risen to 6s. and Is. discount. At the meeting of Portuguese Bondholders held to-day the following resolution was agreed to :-- " That the agreement dated Dec. 13, 1855, be tween Mr. Thornton, chairman of Portuguese Bondholders' Committee, and his Excellency Senor Fortes, the Finance Minister of Portugal, and now read at this meeting, be approved ; and on the Caine being ratified by the Cortes and carried into effect, the Committee of the Stock Exchange be requested to give quotation to Portuguese Secu rities." There has been very little activity in the Foreign Market. Turkish Bonds are improved to 862 and 87 for account, and the New Scrip, after being 21, has advanced to 1 discount. Spanish Three per Cents. have risen to 39 7 6 , but the Deferred have ruled at 22k to 22i, and the Passive at 41 to 4i. Russian Small Bonds are 90, Mexican 20 to 20k, and Brazilian Five per Cents. 100. Dutch Two and-a-Half per Cents. are 1 per cent. higher, namely, 64 to 65, and the Four per Cents. are 96. The following are the nominal prices of Foreign Stocks:—Grenada Deferred Bonds, 61- 7; Mexican, 194-20 k ; Peruvian, 75 7 ; ditto 3 per Cents., 52 4 ; Portuguese 4 per Cents., 46 8 ; Russian 5 per Cents., 96 9 ; ditto 4-i per Cents., 86 9 ; Spanish 3 per Cents., 39 . • 40 ; ditto Deferred, 22 it ; ditto Certificates, 4-i 5 ; ditto Passive, 6 Railway Shares have been remarkably steady. Great Northern, Lancashire and Yorkshire, North- Eastern, Berwick, and some others have risen to even higher quotations than yesterday. Some of the Foreign are not quite so firm, and the Colonial undertakings have likewise slightly given way. Joint-Stock Bank Shares are in some cases higher. Canada Land have risen to 137, and Mining Shares are about the same as previously. BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY.—CLOSING PRICES. ( From the Ocial List. ) Elwin... done. 3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities Bl 901 89A 901 3 per Cent. Consols Annuities. ....... ~ 8981 i 1 1 90 891 New 3 per Cont. Annuities ................. India Bonds, £lOOO ........... .......... 2 d Consols ?or Account Exchequer Bills, lid. , 1 £lOOO £5OO 1 6 %nen 1 5 Ditto Bonds, 1858, 3. per Cent. Ditto, 1859 ... PRICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY. Brazilian Bonds, 6 per Cent. lOO Ditto 5 per Cent. (Rothschild's) Ditto New, 1852, 44 per Cent. Buenos Ayres Bonds, 6 per Cent 55 Danish Bonds, 3 per Cent., 1825 Ditto 5 per Cent Equador Bonds Ditto New Consolidated. Greek Bonds ... .. . Resican 3 per Cent. Ditto Account Ditto Account 76 7 Ditto 3 per Cent ...- . ... ... .. . . . ...... . Bu.ssian Bonds, 5 per Cent., ..... £ Ditto 4:i per Cent . Ditto Small .. . ...... . ... . Sardi n ian Bonds, 5 per Cent. Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent — Ditto Account Ditto New Deferred, 3 per Cent. Ditto Account .... Spanish Committee Cert. of Coup. 13-.)t fun 4l 1 p c Turkish Bonds, 6 per cent B6 Ditto for the Account ........................ 86 r 1 6 7 6i 7 Ditto Small B7 Ditto New Scrip, 4 per Cent. • Ditto Account ll 21 1i i Dividends on the above payable in London. Dutch Exchange, 26 per Cent., 12 Guil 64 5 Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates THREE 0' CL 0 C.K. Consols (money) Ditto foz Account Fib. 7 • of 90 I 102, AUSTRALIA. LIVERPOOL JAN. 17. By the arrival of tle White St; kr Royal mail packet-ship Ben Nevis, Captain Herron, we have advices from Melbourne to the 13th of October. She left Port Philip Heads on the 19th of October, and brought 45,000 ounces of gold on. freight ; also a large cargo, consisting of 500 to 600 bales of wool, 300 bales of rags, 2,400 hides, 4,600 horns, copper ore, She was off Cape Clear on the Ist inst. The packet-ship Shalimar arrived at Melbourne on the 11th of October ; and the Qhampion of the Seas was to leave for Liverpool. on the 25th of October. The Ben Nevis having brought a very scanty supply of newspapers our summary of intelligence is necessarily brief. Her advices aro 15 clays later than those by the Donald M'Kay, which arrived on the 28th ult. From the diggings we learn that the Eureka dis trict was yielding itnprovingly. Some " tubfuls" yielded 15 lb. to 30 lb. of clean gold. At Mount Blackwood some heavy finds are reported. The mi nia. was for quartz reefs, which were being ope'ned in all directions. A Geelong correspondent of a Melbourne paper writes : " The locality of the late gold discovery is no longer a secret—at least, the discoverers have been found at their work, and have shown the claim from which they brought the first quantity to town. They had taken the precaution immediately on coming upon the treasure to fill the hole with water until they could secure their claim, and commenced working another close by. Two gentlemen who arrived from Steiglitz yesterday went down to see them ; and although they did not see the vein, on account of the water, they saw enough in the other claim the same party is working to satisfy them of the prodigious richness of the place. Other quartz veins in the same neighbourhood, although not exhibiting any indication of copper, are proving exceedingly rich in gold. A large number of claims are marked out already along the supposed course of the reef ; and same hundreds of people have gone off to secure their miners' rights.' Several parties talk of starting from this immediately, some to establish stores, and others to work the reef. The precise spot where the gold and copper are found in such abundance is about 20 miles from Geelong, as the crow flies,' or about 24 miles by the road. It is situated between two small creeks, which, after they unite, are known as Suther land's creek, a❑d is distant about seven miles south-east from Meredith. The road to it is excellent, and runs between the Moorabool and Sutherland's-creek. Parties going from this will keep upon this beaten road until they come to that well-known hut known as the One armed Shepherd's ;' from this hut it is only two miles and a-half to the locality, in a north-eastern direction." A meeting of the principal dealers in the wool trade had been held at Melbourne, at which the following resolution was unanimously adopted : " That purchasers of wool at this market shall agree to accept only the following tare and draught—viz., not less than 10th per bale tare and llb. per cwt. draught." Sir Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, died on the sth of October, aged 64. His funeral was a public one, the deceased having been much respected. From Adelaide we learn that the quantity of gold deposited for assay up to the 9th of Oct. was 113,350 oz. 14 dwt. and 18 grains. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. MELBOURNE, OCT. 16. The gold market has opened with more activity this week, 31. 15s. 3d. being the ruling buying price at the brokers'. Duty was paid on 11,337 ounces at the Cus toms (luring the day, of which 8,809 ounces were for the Champion of the Seas, for Liverpool ; 2,205 ounces for the Ben Nevis, for Liverpool ; and 323 4,unces for Hong Kong, in the hands of Chinese passengers in the J. W. A. Lorenzan. Tea, 71. 10s. per chest ; coffee, ls. 3J. per lb.; sugar, 565. per cwt.; potatoes, 40s. per cwt.; rice, , qd. per lb.; butter, Is. 6d. per lb.; flour, 581. per ton. The demand fur supplies at the various diggings still continues, and great activity is at present evinced in despatching stores and merchandise of all kinds. GEELONG, OCT. 16. A marked improvement has taken place in the labour market since our last circular, the demand considerably exceeding the supply for all descriptions of hands, except mechanics, for whom the call is stall comparatively small. The Geelong Advertiser says— " We think that the week has shown some signs of improvement in regard to trade ; apparently more has been going on than usual, and though in part this activity may be traceable to the Brilliant and other ♦essels now discharging, we believe also that more business has been done. The imports for the week are of the estimated value of 23,1241., and they com prise fair quantities of a number of articles now in de mand, besides a large stock of haberdashery, a con siderable weight of tea, and ample supplies of beet and brandy. On the other hand, the exports have been limited to sundry small consignments to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, &c., which are estimated at 9421. The week's receipts at the Custo►n-house have been 4,702/. 6s. The total Customs' receipts during the past month have exceeded 17,0001. ; the excess over the revenue collected in the corresponding month in the pre vious year has chiefly been occasioned by the higher rates levied on spirits, &c., under the new tariff, and ' the taxation of sugar and molasses, which were at that time admitted to be free." MARKET NEWS.—(This Day.) CORN EXCHANGE The quantity of English wheat on sale, in to-day's mar ket, was very limited. Owing, however, to the rumours of peace with Russia, the trade was in a most depressed state, and the quotations were nominal. To have effected sales, a considerable decline in prices must have been sub mitted to. Foreign wheat commanded no attention : indeed, we heard of no transactions in any kind. The demand for barley was heavy, at barely Monday's prices. In malt very little was passing. Oats—the show of which was tolerably good—moved off slowly, at about previous rates. Beans, peas, and flour were excessively heavy. ARRIVALS THIS ►HIM. ... Wheat. .. Barley. Dials. bats. Flout, 1,290 1, 6 40 I 2,7 80 5,21 J 1,830 I 500 - - eke I I 9,710 brls 4hglish .. 1 Irish .... roroign } 1 METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET. The supply of beasts in to-day-s market was but mode rate. Owing to the change in the weather, and the dull state of the dead markets, the beef trade was heavy, and prices were from 2d to fully 4d per Slbs lower than o❑ Monday. Sheep, the show of which was tolerably good, were excessively heavy, and the quotations wore almost nominal. We had a depressed sale for calves, at a further decline in ♦alue of 4d per Sibs. Pigs were heavy, and lower to purchase. Mulch cows sold at from 141. to 196. each, including their small calf. Per Sibs to sink the offals. N. d. s. d. e. d. n. d. Inferior Beasts.... 3 oto 32 Prime Southdown 4 6 410 Sec6)nd quality.... 3 4 3 B;Large crse. calves 4 2 410 Prime large oxen 310 1 2;Prime small d 0... 5 0 5 4 Prime Scots, die. 4 4 4 6iLargc hogs llO 4 2 Inferior Sheep ...3 0 3 4)8=11 porkers 4 4 5 C Second quality ...3 6 3 101Suekling calves.. 22 0 29 0 Prime crse.-wlled.4 0 4 41Quarter old p igs.2l 0 27 0 _ _ _ FOAEION SUPPLY. Beasts ...... ............ 1.0200 Sheepil Beasts. . • • 200 3 400 Calves . . Pigs ... 400 TOTAL SUPPLY. NEWGATE AND LEADENHALL. The supplies were large, and the trade ruled heavy, at drooping prices. Per 81hs by the carcase. s. d. s. d. P. d. s. d. Beef, interior 2 8 3 0 M u tton, Inferior 210 3 4 Do., middling 3 2 3 4 Do., middling ..... 3 6 3to Do. prima large 3 6 3 8 Do., prime 4 0 4 4 De , do. small ....3 10 4 2 i Veal 3 8 4 8 Pork, large 3 S 4 2; Pork, small ........ 4 4 5 2 BOROUGH HOP. We are well supplied with all kinds of hops, in which a steady business is doing, at full quotations. This week's imports are 76 bales from Antwerp. Mid and East Kent pockets, 3/ 15e to 61 10s per .cwt ; Weald of Kent, 3/ 108 to 5/ Os ; Sussex, 3/ 5s to 4/ 15s. COLONIAL. TEA.—The public sales concluded on Wednesday with out any material alteration in values, with the exception of Assam, which sold at 2d to 3d per lb decline. Common congon realised per lb. SUGAR—Prices have again been rather lower, although greater confidence has been exhibited by purchasers, both exporters and grocer , . West India—St. Kitt's brown brought 375, Bourbon 40s to 41s, low to mid soft brown 39s to 40s per cwt. Mauritius brown 33s to 345. Foreign also experienced a reduction in price ; ordinary to fine brown Bahia brought 36s 6d to 40s, brown to fine yellow Pernam 37s to 42s ' low to fine white 414 Gd to 46s 6d. Bengal also sold at fully is decline, mid to fine yellow date kind 41s to 44s per cwt. In the refined market more business has been doing, but at lower prices ; fair Settlers 525, crushed 49s to 50s, fine and good 46s to 47s par cwt. COFFEE. —.The publio sales have gone off with rather more animation, and but a small proportion only realised former rates. Plantation Ceylon, mid 6 Os 6d to 615 6d ; fine fine ordinary t o m id co l or y, 588 to 61s 6d • triage, 47s to 565, triage 52s 6,1 to 565. Native Ceylon ine ordinary 545, ordinary and good ordinary 49s 6d to 50s per cwt. East India Sumatra 38s 6d, and Mocha mid brownish, partially garbled. COCOA. —There has been but few transactions of any importance to note in this article, prices being almost nomi nal. Good grey brought 49s per cwt. RIDE.—An active demand has arisen, and a considerable business has been done at rathe r lowerr atos. Bengal new crop 15s 3d to 1556 d for good middling, Madras 15s 6d fair pinky. Rum.—The market has been quiet. Pale Demerara 288 d to 2s 10d per proof gallon, ordinary leewards 2s 6d par proof gallon. SPlCES.—Pepper has been in good demand. Good clean Borneo 54d to 50, heavy s: r l . P eenlaouvge,s realisedrather dusty, previ 0 - 4to 5d per lb ; Singapore white realised 7d to 70 per lb. Pimento brought 4d to 4 i (l 1 ous rates, fair Zanzibar Sid to 53d per lb. Mace has re mained firm, mid to good 2s to 2s id per lb. Nutmegs, the better kinds cold at higher rates, fine bold ss, good 2s 13,1 to 3s 4d, mid 2s 4d to 2s 7d. COCHINEAL has been quiet at former rates. SALTPETRE. — There has been rather more inquiry ; Bengal 51b per cent sold at 36s per cwt. TALLOW remains very depressed, P.Y.C. on the spot 68's 6d per cwt. GREEN FRUIT.—A fair demand exists for all kinds. The stock of oranges is diminishing, two cargoes of St. Michael, one from Terceira, sold by Keeling and Hunt at public sale, sustained the prices obtained last week. Black Spanish nuts may be quoted is per barrel lower, and Bra t 4 leper barrel higher. No alteration in Barcelona. THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EvE"NING JANUARY 18 1856. ADMINISTRATIVE AND ACADEMIC REFORM. On Monday evening, James Heywood, Eq., M.P. For North Lancashire, delivered an address on .A.dminis- ;rative and Academic Reform, to the members and friends of the Athenaztum, in the library hall of the insti tution. Alderman Sir E. Armitage, president of the Athenaeum, took the chair, and most of the directori were upon tho platform ; but the attendance otherwise was small. The CHAIRMAN briefly introduced Mr. Heywood, re marking that that gentleman laid the foundation•stone of the institution, and for many years took an active in terest in its prosperity, as a tnanaging director. Only his more important duties in the House of Commons pre vented his appearance more frequently amongst the members. (Applause.) Mr. HEYWOOD said he felt that he owed a debt of gra- titude to the institution, in connection with which: - he first had an opportunity of learning public business, which had since been very useful to him. We were now at a very important period of our history ; for the Go vernment of the country was gradually giving up the old system of favouritism and patronage, and adopting that of competition and merit as the test of fitness for public appointments. He had thought, therefore, that a few remarks upon our transition state would not he un interesting. Last session he put upon the paper a notice of motion for the adoption of a system of open competition for entrance into the Royal Engineers and Artillery at Woolwich, and he was very much pleased silently to drop that motion, when he found that the Govern ment were going to adopt the principle. This step, he believed, was very much due to the exertions of Mr. Aleutian, clerk to the Board of Ordnance, who took the responsibility of recommending the competitive system. The first examination was to take place next Monday, at Burlington House ; and the examination paper was upon the whole satisfactory. The importance of this would be seen when it was recollected that our engineers at first thought that Sebastopol could be taken in three days ; although the earthworks that they then slighted cost the labour of the batter part of 12 months, and were only at last taken by a desperate act of valour. Great military achievements were not generally the result of accident •r bravery ; but of skill, gained by careful training and matured by experience. In the line the _ _ system had hitherto been one purely of favouritism and patronage ; and Lieut.-Colonel Adams told the coin- rnittee on promotions that the officers in tho line had generally not sufficient education to enable them to in terest themselves in things which could tend to promote their efficiency. Mr. Layard had told him some time ago, that while out in the East he dined one day with the late Lord Raglan and his staff, and the next with General Canrobert and the French staff. At the former, the conversation amongst young men was upon Lon don patties, horses, and things of that sort ; at the latter Mr. Layard said that all present were aoconi- plished engineers, thoroughly acqua,inted with the pro gress of the siege, and conversing upon the prospects before the allied armies. Mr. Sidney Herbert, while at the head of ti,e Department of War, recommended that, for the line, there should be local means of education for regimental officers ; but it had not been adopted. He (Mr. Heywood) thought that Mr. Herbert was in the right. Our army was supported by the taxes, to fight for our benefit ; and we had a right to insist that the officers should be thoroughly skilled men. (Applause.) It was a very bad investment, to pay a number of igno rant people merely that they might amuse themselves ; especially as we knew that whenever called into active service they would have to contend with officers who were skilled as a result of training, and more efficient frDm the interested attention they paid to the practicAl details of their profession. (Applause.) The appoint. ments to the Indian civil service had been a complete matter of patronage, of which the ministers of the day had no doubt had their share ; and the places were good ones, beginning with 6001. and increasing to 3,0001. a year. But next July a competitive system was to be introduced. undone should be allowed to be examined for appointment ; for we should never thoroughly gain the affections of the people until we showed that they might themselves rise by the opening to them of the civil service. A case bad occurred of two young Hin doos who were admitted to be qualified ; but new offices were created for them, rather than allow them to take any position that had been before kept solely for Eng lishmen. This should not be ; it was of no importance to this country whether there were five or six English men more or less in the Indian service, but it was im portant how this country stood in the affections of the millions of nativ, s under our government. (Applause.) In the new department of nurses, we had at the head Miss Nightingale—an excellent example of " the right lady in the right place"—(applause)—but in that department candidates were subjected to some examination, and to a test as to whether they possessed the nerve which would enable them to endure the hospital scenes through which they must pass at Scutari and Belaklava. As to our consuls, he was not aware that the competitive system had ever been introduced. He thought that the exclu sive selection of men for that department, from the aris tocracy, was a mistake, especially when he saw how things could be managed in foreign countries, as to pecu lation, bribery, and corruption. There might be very many cases in which it would be better to select as con suls men otherwise qualified, but also acquainted with trade ; and who might know how to deal with those who showed an inclination to cheat. Sir R. Peel took a step in the right direction, as regarded the principal ministers of state, when he selected for appointments such men as Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Sidney Herbert, Lord Lincoln (now the Duke of Newcastle), and Mr. Cardwell. Those gentlemen had distinguished themselves at Oxford. Al though that university was purely a Church institution, still within those limits there was competitions ; and Sir Robt. Peel, when he selected for distinction in his minis try those who had distinguished themselves at college, acknowledged the value of the competitive system. Coming to the question of academic reform, Mr, Hey wood said that a change was needed, for although the universities produced some good men, they also turned out many very dull ones. Both clergy and laity suffered from this ; but as a large number of the students be came clergymen, it was especially injurious to the coun try that the system of education was not adapted to the times. Ile thought that the late act as to Oxford would have introduced a better system ; but he was afraid that it had not done so. In fact, while the colleges had so much influence in the university, he did not think that any important change could very well be effected, unless the Government interfered more directly than they had hitherto done. He be hewed that the commission, with Lord Ellesmere as chairman, had exerted themselves very much. Next session he expected a bill would tee brought in as to Cambridge, under the charge of the Lord Chancellor, which he hoped would destroy the oligarchic government of the heads of colleges, and substituting one approach ing somewhat to a municipal constitution. After real ing the memorial to Prince Albert, as chancellor of Cain bridge, which was agreed to by the public meeting en university reform held at Birmingham, on the 30th of October, and sonic correspondence showing that his Royal Highness had forwarded the document to the Vice- Chancellor, " for the consideration of the resident uni versity authorities," Mr. Hey wood said that the object of the movement was to open the universities to all sects. He remarked that the agitation in favour of a reduction of academical expenses had brought much support to the movement ; and lie described what was done in support of it by the Parliamentary committee of the British Association, and by the " Civil and Religious Liberty Committee," consisting of members of Parliament. Something was needed in the way of local education ; and if there could not be an agreement as to what should be taught in schools supported by local rates, the next best thing would be a thorough investigation of old en dowments and charities connected with the city and neighbourhood. With respect to the grammar school : doubtless at the time of its foundation by Bishop Old ham, in 1515, the vesting the appointment of its head master in the president of Corpus Christi College was a good arrangement, but at the present clay the school had as good a body of trustees as any in the king dom, and who were perfectly competent to make a suit able appointment ; he should recommend that the presi dent of Corpus Christi should be constituted one of the trustees, and the appointment then be vested in that body. Such an arrangement would not ignore the will of the founder of the charity, but would yet adapt the institution more to the requirements of the pre sent day. He (Mr. Heywood) was very much in clined to bring a bill into Parliament in relation to such schools. (Hear, hear.) There was a great deal that wanted reforming about them. Many of them still continued to teach the Catechism, and to force the pupils to go to church on the Sunday, even when it was quite at •ariance with their religious professions or the desires of their parents or friends. There was a trust which many of them perhaps knew but little about, be longing to this locality—the Huhn° Trust. It was ori ginally for the purpose of enabling poor bachelors of art to study divinity at Oxford, but it could not now be ad vantageously employed in that way, and the money had accumulated to the extent of from 40,0001. to 50,0001., till the trustees had obtained from Parliament permis sion to lay out the money in church livings. The Oxford commission had recommended that no more money should be laid out in the purchase of livings, and he should say the trustees had better stop, and as the origi nal intention of the founder had died out, they had bet ter apply the money for the good of the neighbourhood in which the property was situate. The only question would be, perhaps, whom should they assist. He would recommend that a local committee should be appointed, with the mayor at its head, for the purpose of adminis tering such trusts. He should be very glad if some of the residents iu the town would take this matter of the old trusts in hand. They did not have the first-rate education in Manchester which they ought to have ; and now, as there were many really valuable places thrown open for competition, the cleverest young men ought to be able to obtain them. The inhabitants of Manchester ought to have the same chances as those in other places, and as he fully believed the competition would be fair, as well as open, he was sure they would take as good a stand as any others. He should be very glad if the public would take this matter up for consideration, and he would with pleasure attend another meeting, if one could be called, although he understood there would be a difficulty in fixing one to take place immediately. Mr. EDWIN CHADWICK said he had been requested by the directors to move a vote of thanks to Mr. Heywood, for the highly instructive and interesting address they had heard, which he (Mr. Chadwick) had great pleasure in doing. They had also requested him to state his own views upon it, which he would do as briefly, as shortly as the time permitted. Undoubtedly Mr. Heywood had acted wisely in connecting administrative reform with academical reform ; because the first step in administra tive reform is the substitution of well-regulated, fair and open competitive examinations, for mere pass examina tions would be the only trustworthy test of the success of academic reform, and the best security for its Fro anis. lie (Mr. Chadwick) had been asked to attend meeting of the delegates of educational institutions in connection with the — Society of Arts, held at Southamp ton. It had been attended by persons of every party, and there the question of administrative reform was considered, and by pasty corporations even it was unani mously agreed that every place given as mere patron age, of whatsoever political party, was a prize schlar ship taken from some one educational institution, stolen to the detriment of education, and to the injury of the state, by corrupt influence, and to the waste of the pub lic means by inefficient and dear service. He was glad, therefore, to find it moved for consideration in Manches- ter as an educational as well as a political question. At the meeting of delegates, to which he re- ferred, it was recognised by persons of opposite po litical parties, that it would be far better that the post- man's uniform, or mechanics' service in a Government dockyard, should designate the fact that the person pc, s sessin,g it had gained it by a competitive examination, by qualifications gained, possibly, in a mechanics' insti• tute, or as a prize scholar in a diocesan or other school, than as a mere hanger-on of a❑ electioneering committee. Now he could state to them that defective and errono- 0118 as he and others considered the subject matters of most of the competitive examinations already instituted to be—new as were the examiners to the duties—seri- ously niggard and imperfect as were the means which wet e yet allowed to the commissioners, the competitions had yet been attended with decided success, and great promise for the future. The first effect of them had been to display the gross ignorance and almost incredibly low condition of the great proportion of the candidates for admission to the public service—of those who, from the known influence of their supporters, generally mem bers of the House of Commons, it was well known would, in the ordinary course of things, have been permanently charged upon the departments. The examinations had more than justified all that had been said by Sir Charles Trevelyan, Sir Stafford Northcote, by himself, and other official administrative reformers as to the cacti- nary character of the parties commonly got into the public servioe by the usual course of patronage, and had demonstrated the ignorance at the least of those official opponents to the reform of the civil service who had bit terly reproached them with having libelled it. He be lieved that Sir E. Ryan and the other commissioners bad acted honestly, and directed the examinations efficiently, as far as their means permitted, and were fully entitled to the public support. On the mere pass examinations, for the departmental service, which had been reluctantly permitted, more than two-thirds of the candidates coming from the usual sources had. been rejected. Between one and two hundred rejected candidates complained through their patrons, the members, that they bad been rejected on unfair, or recondite, or irrelevant poirt;, but the re jections bad been on the commonest and most relevant elementary points of a common education, and for gross and scandalous deficiencies. The Government would be unable to try the appeals on the commissioners' deci- sions arising, as was foreseen from the expedient of mere pass or private examinations, and the only means of ol)- viating continued influential complaints would be to abandon them, and have recourse to open and public competitive examinations. (Applause.) Whether in peace or in war, in the civil or for the whole military service, the abolition of patronage, the sub stitution of service and merit, tested by competi tive examinations, would be the best securities for eco- nomy and efficiency. A popular general, Sir De Lacy Evans, was reported to have said that it took three campaigns to make an English army efficient. Three years' expenditure in lives and money then, according to that military authority, and to the historical evidence of actual experience, might be taken as the cost of patronage, of political corruption, of reckless ignorance, of the want of that training and education by which foreign forces, made up of inferior military stamina, are yet made ready in a shorter time or at once. (Ap plause.) And yet he did not appear to manifest any consciousness that any responsibility attaches to him as a political reformer and public representative in allow ing all these sources of waste and insecurity to go on from year to year, so that at the earl of forty years of enormous expenditure, every military institution was, according to the declaration of Sir J. Burgoyne, before the Sebastopol Committee, in an imperfect state ; all this had been allowed to go on without the attention of the country being called to the magnitude of the waste and the danger, and without any one specific measure being proposed by him, until after disaster, for its preven tion. (Hear, hear.) The real fact is, that to object was one thing—to investigate, to systematise, and elabo rate practical measures of amendment was another, re quiring labour or qualifications out of the course of corn mon political agitation. To those who might not see the bearing of the great question of administrative re form, or of the first step, competitive examinations, upon military efficiency as well as upon the efficiency of the civil service, he would refer to the fact that the artillery is the only arm of our service which was proved, accord ing to common professional acknowledgment, to be superior to any other in the field. Now, the ar tillery (which is without purchase) owes such superiority as it at present possessed to the speciality of persons, tested by such merely pass examinations as have hitherto been conceded ; and for the artillery as well as the en gineers competitive examination has been conceded, as Mr. Heywood had stated, as the proved and acknowledged means of its further advancement. Why, then, should not purchase be abolished and competitive examinations be introduced, as a tried and proved practical means of improvement, for the cavalry and the line ? Why ? be cause the army commissions are a source of political pa tronage, distributed to reform members or-others of the House of Commons, as a means of influence, expected by the local constituencies and supporters. Mr. Heywood himself would have proved an exception to other reform members if he had not been ap plied to from constituents for commissions and ob tained them, in common with others, and, as a matter of course, in ignorance on his part as to whether those for whom the commission had been obtained possessed the first qualification of command over others, which has not been displayed in common scenes of barrack life, namely, command over themselves. It must be far more s4tisfactory to him to see the qualifications in question tested by a competent examination. It must he more satisfactory to him to see a commission obtained by a pupil of the Owen's College, of Manchester, of which he is a trustee ; to see the tuition in the practi cal sciences taught in that institution, and, possibly, in the mathematical or other classes of this institution, tested by competition with the pupils trained at Oxford and Cambridge, to be satisfied that lives and the in terests of the country had been placed under a high order of intelligence, calculated for leadership in peace as well as in war. (Applause.) The bulk of the constituents ought not to he satisfied without this measure, and those of them who take an especial interest in the educational in stitutions ought especially to come forward to correct the bi as o r the indifference of those who, as party or political leaders, participate in the patronage and the corruption which are the source of weakness and oppressive changes. Whilst speaking of the responsibility attaching to poli tical reformers for failures, to propose specific measures for the prevention of the failures experienced, and claim ing to administrative reform, and above all to official administrative reformers, the first elementary step, it was due to advert to others, civilians, to whom a similar responsibility may be proved to attach. Thus—before the war there were two committees of Parliamentary investigation—the committee on the Ordnance estimates, and the committee on the civil salaries, before which, in thoe unsound branches of the public service, the seed plots of future waste and disaster were displayed. Now if any one would look over the reports and the exami nations before those two committees, and consider what has been displayed since the war. by the more conspi cuous trial of the branches of service then submitted for investigation ; if they would from what has since tran spired consider what ought then to have been found and provided against ; if they will see what ought to have been elicited and proposed by reforming members, some thingo li of ofu give him credit when he said that qualities, great in ordinary political agitation, weld deal with th em i n th e or dina r y course of stcfh be the failure ho might es t a bli s h i n th ese t w o corn wt heeey il tu or agitation, mittecs a case of imbecility or of political corruption against one at least of their own representatives ; but he did not so put it. He put it as showing how much the subject of a dministrative reform was out of the ordinary track of political discussion, and how much active sup port was particularly needed from those who usually took little part in them, but were interested in the re form and progress of educational institutions. One cause of disaster during the war appeared from the evidence to have been the want of knowledge of the resources and position of the enemy. As displayed on the committee of inquiry, our first proceedings in relation to the Crimea were immense gropings in the dark, and at vast hazards. Now, for much of this state of ignorance the consular as well as the diplomatic service was surely responsible, if net for preceding information available for the war, for the want of means of getting it ; and from our con suls, especially from our wider commercial relations, more should be expected than from those of any other country. Of the difference between the information de rivable from our service, particularly in the East, and that derivable from the French service there, he had himself means of jedging, in consequence of the part he had with his colleagues to take in the sanitary congress for the abolition of the impediments to commerce by qua rantines. He could not more strongly describe the deficiencies of our service than by repeating statements made to him by eminent and competent members of that same service, all referable to the same source of infirmity as that in the military service—party or political patron age. The people of Manchester must have seen the commercial affairs as well as the political affairs of Eng land, the business of an important foreign port, entrusted to the hands of Beau Brurnmel. Members of the con sular service, Englishmen who travel, would indicate to you later minor diplomatic or consular appointments, if are e t n s t o a the conspicuous, ordinaryn u political really no better in character. What litical doctrines as to such au appoint othsapticwhich he had indicated ? The evil is that the patronage is Tory, it should be Whig, said one; that it is aristocratical, said another, and it should be democratical. The remedy of one of their members on the Civil Sa laries Committee, and Mr. fume's remedy would have been to have reduced Beau Brummell's salary. But that measure would scarcely have given to the Beau Brumeaslls the qualities most required, those which in sure efficiency. On examining the qualities required in a consul, for the promotion of the commercial intercourse and affairs of a country_not to speak of its political affairs—and trying the market value of such qualities even in Manchester, it would, be (Mr. Chadwick) appre hended, be found that higher rather than lower pay ments were needed. With our neighbours the French, in whatsoever foreign country a Frenchman is, the French Consul must be his notary, his advocate, his adviser in affairs of difficulty, and stand in the stead of the legal and administrative institutions of France. The French have profited by the experience of the deficiencies of their consular service, and have found that the qualities required can be insured by a training tested by examinations, and no one can now be made a consul of France who has not obtained some de- gree, not obtainable as a matter of course or without examination, which entitles him to practise as an advo cate. He (Mr. Chadwick) had in his possession a draft of regulations proposed to insure a training yet more special, to be tested for this branch of the civil service, as with us now for the artillery, by competitive examinations. So far as the regulations already in force in France have been carried they have been attended by increased efficiency everywhere, and often by marked superiority. Of this he could give them an example : The Bey of Tunis, seeing and experiencing how well the business of France was done at Tunis by the French Con sul, M. Lesseps, offered to him a double salary if he would undertake in France the business of Tunis. The French Government did not refuse, and the former French Consul now acts as the Charge d'Affaires of Tunis at the French Court. (Applause.) He might, if time permitted, show at length what a support the com petitive examinations for public appointments in France are to the educational institutions of that country—how far they influence beneficially the commercial affairs of that country—how much private and professional ser vice is now assisted by being recruited from the talent developed by the competitive examinations for the pub lic service ; and how much was to be expected from them in this country, it the reform commenced were effec tually supported by the constituencies, and properly con ducted. It was stsconded by the Rev. H. H. JONES, and carried unanimously. Asi Armitage milarkno acknowledgment was also accorded to Sir Elkanah THE NIGHTINGALE FUND. A meeting was held at the Town-hall, Manchester, yesterday morning, to determine upon the steps to be taken for promoting the Nightingale Fund. 111 r. Jas. Watts, the Mayor, presided, and was supported by the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, M.P., Lord Stanley, M.P., Mr. Monckton Milnes, M.P., Mr. James Heywood, M.P., Mr. James Kershaw, M.P., Mr. Mark Philips, 'ate member for Manchester, Sir Elkanah Armitage, Sir John Potter, Mr. Thomas Bazley, Mr. J. A. Turner, Mr. W. Entwistle. Mr. Oliver Heywood, and other leading gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood. A considerable number of ladies were present. The MAYOR very briefly opened the business, and Mr. J. A. TURNER moved the first resolution : " That the noble exertions of Miss Nightingale and her associates in the hospitals of the East, and the invaluable services rendered by them to the sick and wounded of the British forces, demand the grateful re- cognition of all classes, and, in the opinion of this meeting, it is desirable to perpetuate in a substantial manner the memory of Miss Nightingale's signal devo tion, and thereby to record the gratitude of the British nation." _ _ The Right Hon. SIDNEY HERBERT, M.P., who was re ceived with much cheering, then addressed the meeting. He said,—Mr. Mayor, the two gentlemen who have pre ceeded me have spoken of the degree of experience they have had in addressing meetings in this hall. I have had no such experience, and must ask you, therefore, to bestow upon me that indulgence which is well required by any gentleman whose lot it is for the first time to ad dress a public meeting in a place so important as Manches ter. I have come down on this occasion with two gentle men, members of the central committee, not so much to ad dress you, as to be here to give any information that may be required, or to auswerany questions that may be asked by those who are anxious for information as to the nature of the proceedings of the committee. The committee has been formed with a studious attention to this point—that it should represent, as far as it is possible, all classes, all professions, all creeds, and all political opinions ; and we appeal, therefore, to the names upon the committee as a guarantee that nothing sectarian of any kind is in tended—(hear)—in the plans which we have to submit. Now, there has been, I believe, upon one or two points, some misconception as to the intentions of the central committee, and I am glad to have the opportunity of re moving any erroneous impression as far as it is in my power. It has been said, in the first place, that this movement has been premature. Well, I think I can show to this meeting that we had no choice as to time. Tho feeling, with regard to Miss Nightingale has been universal in this country. (Hear.) It has been very strong ; it is of that kind, in fact, which is not easily repressed ; and in the summer, when the reports came home of the wonderful success she bad achieved, coin- pared with the great difficulties she had had to encounter, there broke out in different parts of the country a feeling for an emphatic and instantaneous expression of public gratitude to her. (Hear.) Isolated portions of the com munity were organising committees, and preparing to make gifts to her of different kinds, but inappropriate, because, when service is given, you destroy the very merit of the gift if you attempt to reward it by some tangible compensation. (Hear, hear.) What is it, to a person of affluent circumstances, to give a pecuniary reward for services that are clearly beyond all such re• ward, or to give ornaments, suitable very often, per haps, for ladies, but inapplicable to one who devotes her life to the peculiar objects in which Miss Nightin gale has become so distinguished I We, therefore, felt that it was wise to lose no time in giving an appropriate direction to this generous feeling which animated the country from one end to the other. And how is this movement to be viewed in an other respect ? Do you think that, to Miss Nightin gale, it is not a cheering thing in the midst of her labours and in the midst of the dangerous illness which she has undergone—an illness contracted in the performance of those labours—to see this mark of affection and grati tude to her on the part of the English nation ? In other countries the public recognition of public services is ex clusively in the hands of the Government; but we in England do not intrust to the hands of Government the same powers that other nations do, The Government in other countries is the representation of the country, and the individual is merged in the Government ; but here, on the contrary, we take pride in our system of self-government, and that all the expressions of our feel ing are spontaneous, and that the nation offers, through its individual component parts, the expression of its gra titude. (Cheers.) In other countries Miss Nightingale might be rewarded by honours and distinctions offered by the Sovereign, but here it is for the people of Eng land themselves to reward her services. Well, those services are to be rewarded ; but how ? Miss Nightin gale has devoted many years of her life—for the work in which she is engaged is not new to her- —to the study of hospital treatment. There is, perhaps, no one so con versant, not only with English hospitals, but with hos pitals all over Europe—ay, and even out of Europe—as she is. She has resided fur weeks upon weeks within their walls, herself actively taking part in their duties, and she is, therefore, thoroughly conversant with the whole system. Well, the great object, the great hope of her life has been to have some day the means of found iug an institution which should lay the axe to the root of the very great evil by which our hospital system is contaminated. You have here in Manchester, I believe, a very admirable hospital ; and I have no doubt that you find, even here, with the great means at your disposal, with the perfect organisation you possess, that the great difficulty you have is to get proper nursing attendance for them. I know that in some of the very best Lon don hospitals it seems almost hopeless to supply this want. You get in the hospitals of England the most skilful and eminent surgeons and physicians—the highest kind of skilled labour ; and that skilled labour is often wasted because it is employed in doing duties which ought to be performed by skilful trained nurses. I my self have seen a good deal of the interior management of a county hospital, and there I know that the class from which you have to choose nurses is a class which would he better employed as domestic servants, foe they know no more about nursing in hospital than about conic sec tions. They enter the hospital entirely ignorant, and they learn their duties—how ? By their experience in the hospital, and at the expense of the patients neces sarily. Well, now let me point out what my reason is for saying that if there is oae person in England—l care not which sex or what profession be chosen for compa rison—if there is one person in England to whom we ought to intrust with full confidence the conduct of such a reform of this kind, it is Miss Nightingale. Just see what she has done in the East. Gentlemen have spoken of her self-devotion. Her self-devotion has been great, hut not greater than those of the other ladies who ac companied her ; and, mind you, when we talk of a tes timonial to Miss Nightingale, it is to the honour not of Miss Nightingale only, but to the honour of all those ladies—all those persons, of whatever class—who have accompanied her, and rendered her their assistance. (Cheers.) You had ladies going out, you had hospital nurses going out; you had persons of different creeds— Roman Catholics among them, who consented, much to their honour, to put themselves strictly under the guidance and under the command of Miss Nightingale, a Protestant—(hear)—and you had Presbyterians, members of the Church of England, and Nonconfor mists among them ; and I think they have set us an example that we should do well to follow at home. (Cheers.) They did not show their Christianity by quarrelling among themselves as to their different paths to Heaven ; but they forgot those differences in the common object which they had of following the com mands of the blessed Redeemer, and assisting those who are suffering. Well now, recollect in the commence ment of this war, when much that is deplorable took place through the inexperience of almost every one in the duties they had to perform after a long peace, you had to supply several assistances to the army from with out ; but in almost every case you had the means of do ing it from some analogous profession and employment at home. You wanted an Army Works Corps ; well, you had the whole railway staff to choose from, and a large band of navigators was immediately sent out. You wanted to make a railway , your civil engineers instantly supplied you with the persons to meet that requirement. But when you wanted nurses for the hos pitals in the East you had no analogous profession from which to select. In England, to our disgrace be it said, we have not got any profession from which we could se lect persons suitable for nurses. Therefore, Miss Night ingale had to do this—to command a band of strangers to her, strangers also to one another, and strangers to their duty, and holding different creeds—and she had to amalgamate all that mass together and make it work in perfect harmony ; and then she had this further difficulty —she was introducing an innovation into a military hos pital. Now, I need not say, that perhaps of all institu tions, military institutions are those which, from the habit of long obedience to command, are the most likely to re sent any interference with established usage. They look naturally upon the introduction of a new system as a reproach upon the old system —as an innovation--and upon the person who introduces it almost as an enemy, almost as a spy. Well, all th ese p re j udices Miss Night ingale had to overcome by a n ice tact but b y g reat firm ness ; and in no instance — wi th many on the watch, no doubt, to point out and to cry out at the slightest failure —in no instance has there been any accusation brought against her which can show that her mission has not been attended with complete success. These prejudices are overcome ; all now admit the immense services she has I rendered ; and, in the lust accounts I have seen of the hospitals in the East, it has been asserted by no mean authority that there is no London hospital, under the difficulties that have to be encountered ha the East, that could for one moment compare with the hospitals of Scutari. Well, now that for once the Government has got ahead of us, our business is to overtake them, and' see if we cannot bring the English hospitals up to the high level that the army hospitals have attained in the East ; and the first thing to be done is to have the means of establishing—of creating—a profession of nurses. I be lieve some doubts have been expressed as to the mode in which this shall be done. Miss Nightingale, as I have said before, is thoroughly mistress of her art ; and if you want the thing well done, trust me that you cannot do better than put it into her hands. Don't shackle and fetter her by yourselves making :minute regulations, which her experience may show to be impolitic or per , haps impracticable. You must trust her with all the details and arrangement, and for this reason, that she is more competent than anybody else. (Hear.) You have got, to use the slang term of the day, "the right woman in the right place"—(cheers)-- and, having got her,trust her. And trust her—why? Trust her for your own interest, be cause she is the one who will carry out this reform the best. Trust her for another reason—because the whole grace of your compliment to her consists in the confi dence the people of England have to place in her, hav ing seen what her talent, her integrity, her self-devotion can accomplish. (Cheers.) Well, then, supposing, as I do for I find on this point but one feeling— that she should be the one person to decide the details of how this institution should be conducted then - people say, " This is all vague and indefinite ; there is no plan." In the first place, let me say that the thing is proved not to be impracticable, by the existence of two institutions in London, though very small and ineffective from want of strength, to send nurses all over the country. There is one, founded by Mrs. Fry, in London, from which nurses are sent out to any places that apply for them ; and therefore I say the thing is practicable, Lecause it has been done. What, then, is the diffidhlty to be encountered by Miss Night ingale ? Why, it has been said, " You cannot have an institution to train nurses without hospitals to train them in." That is true ; but there are hospitals in plenty throughout England, and there is no difficulty in finding a practising school, as it were, in which the nurses are to be trained. Is it to be confined to London ? Well, I say for my part I hope the nature and amount of this subscription will be such that the institution shall be put on such a footing that Miss Nightingale may be enabled to make it ramify throughout the whole country. Why are we not to send nurses up from the country to the central institution, to be trained and returned to us ca pable of undertaking the most difficult hospital duties ? or why should Miss Nightingale not send to us, on ap plication, nurses capable of conducting wards in our pro vincial hospitals, and capable, on emergency, of taking the whole superintendence of such an institutioa ? I see no limit to which it cannot be carried, if we get money enough. (Hear.) lam afraid I have been trespassing on your time, but I wished to point out, first of all, the nature of the difficulties Miss Nightingale has had to en• counter. She is distinguished, in common with others, by her self-devotion ; but distinguished above all others in that power of command which genius possesses, in the influence she can exercise over others, and by the extra- ordinary powers of organisation and administration which she has displayed. These are the peculiarities of Miss Nightingale which point her out as the person to whom this great reform of our hospital system at home should be intrusted. With regard to herself, I can add little to the expression of gratitude which is in the heart and in the mouth of every one, and of that feeling of— as I really may call it—affectionate attachment to Miss Nightingale, for all she has done for this country. But some have objected, " If she has done so much, why saddle her with more ?" They do not know Miss,Nightingale who utter that opinion. She is one to whom life is earnest, and life is real ; she looks for her reward in this country, in having a fresh field for her labour; and the means of extending the good she has already begun. Depend upon it, you cannot pay her a compliment dearer to her heart than in giving her more work to do. (Cheers.) She wants the means of continuing the work she has begun, and I look upon this meeting as most important, because I know the po sition Manchester occupies in England, and the influence Manchester has acquired through that restless activity of mind which has placed it so high in the intellectual scale of the country ; and I know how much this meeting may'do to set an 'example that will spread. It was therefore that I arid some friends of mine thought if our duty to attend this meeting, in order that the stateineets we might make, and the questions we might answer, if put, might have the effect of making it understood ; and I trust the example of this meeting will be followed throughout the country, and that the testimonial to Miss Nightingale shall be one to snake her usefulness felt all over England, and at the same time be worthy of the occasion which has called it forth—worthy of the lady in whose honour we are met—and worthy, I meet also say, of the gratitude of a great nation to whom she has rendered immortal services. (Loud cheers.) Lord Seetzerzy, M.P., who was received with cheering, said—When one of the first authors of this project re quested use to give it by public speech or otherwise such aid as was in my power, I accepted the offer very gladly, because it seemed to me to involve the fulfilment of two duties—one appealing to the intellect, the other to the feelings ; one the duty of gratitude and recognition for public service rendered ; the other, that of aiding, according to our means, an important and promising social movement. It can be shown, I think, that the Nightingale Fund combines both these object's. Of the service rendered by Miss Nightingale to our army in the field it is quite too late to speak. There is no part of England, no city or county, scarcely a con siderable village, where some cottage household has not been comforted amid its mourning for the loss of one who had fallen in war by the assurance that his last mo ments were watched, and his worst suffering soothed by that care, at once tender and skilful, which no man, and few women, could have shown. But it is not merely in dividuals who have been thus helped. The State also has received benefit, and that to a degree which we hardly appreciate, for where a danger has been warded off its magnithde is seldom realised. The present war— and if the rumour which has just reached me be true, I hope I may say the past war—l do not refer to any purpose that can provoke controversy or contradiction —has been commenced and carried on under new con ditions of society. In all past wars waged abroad little was known, at least to the masses, respecting the every day details of life before the enemy. Men who stayed at home read of battles won or towns taken, skilful ma noeuvres of generals, daring acts of personal courage performed by soldiers ; but never since man began to live and fight on earth (two events nearly contempora neous) has the entire existence of an army, its daily do mestic life, been sketched for the satisfaction of those who stayed behind in England. The newspaper corre spondence from the Crimea, with its benefits and its abuses, is a feature of war singularly characteristic of our time, and impossible in any other. What was the effect of these disclosures ? They dispelled a good many illusions, they stripped war of much of its romance, and showed beneath a splendid exterior scenes painful and horrible. They told the masses of this country—the class from which soldiers are taken—fairly what they had to expect; and thus enabled them, before deciding to nerve, to make an intelligent choice, and not a blind one. Well, then, under these circumstances, it was no slight service to the State as such, no slight aid given to the country in the crisis of its struggle, that the recruit hero in England should know and feel that, wherever else apathy, or ignorance, or carelessness might prevail, there was one condition of his military career, and that the most trying of all, in which his sufferings would not be overlooked, and his wants would be efficiently cared for. Bet more than this, and without reference to the special emergencies of the time, I believe most of those who have thought on social subjects will incline to confirm the last words of that good man, Talfourd, to the effect that the disunion of classes is the worst evil of modern society. Now, what makes that disunion ? Allowing for external causes, I say still, in the main, it Is individual selfishness. Each class is apt to give too little and expect too much. The • rich think themselves distrusted, the poor neglected. • I One often claims confidence which has not been earned; the other sometimes asks aid which cannot be given. And in this condition of things those are benefactors to the community by example and teaching who, by any act of real sacrifice—not the mere giving of superfluous wealth or equally superfluous leisure, but the giving of themselves, their labour, their health, perhaps their life —prove practically that they hold the faith of universal human brotherhood—that they hold that faith in action as well as speculation, on week days as well as Sundays, outside the church as well as within it. Such efforts, whatever direction they take, admonish the prosperous, encourage the afflicted, humanise and harmonise all. These, then, are the claims of Miss Nightingale. She and those who went forth with her have relieved a vast mass of suffering, saved many lives, made many deaths easy, aided the State, and by an example of personal heroism Now, true raised the moral tone of the community. heroism is not so plentiful that we can afford to let it pass unrecognised—if not for the honour of those who show it, yet very much for our own. And with the except ion of Howard, the prison reformer, I know no person besides Miss Nightingale who within the last hundred ye ars , i n this island, or perhaps in Europe, has voluntarily encoun tered dangers so imminent, and undertaken offices so re pulsive, working for a large and worthy object, iu foreman ure spirit of duty towards God and compassion . (Applause.) But there is another point of view in which Miss Nightingale's expedition stands out from the com mon courses of human action. (Applause.) It is not easy anywhere, e specially in Engl an d, t o set about doing what no one has done before. Many persons will un dergo c onsiderable risks, even that of death itself, when they know that they are engaged in a cause which, be sides approving itself to their consciences, commands sympathy and approval—when they know that their motives are appreciated and their conduct applauded. But in this case custom was to be violated, precedent broke through, the surprise, sometimes the censure, of the world to be braved. And, don't underrate that ob stacle. We hardly know the strength of those social ties that bind us until the moment when we attempt to break them. There is a pressure which custoraiand convention exercise upon the members of society, which modifies conduct and which seems often to leave to the weaker among us scarcely any share in forming their own cha racters and careers. Now mark what, by breaking through customs and prejudices, Miss Nightingale has effected for her sex. (Hear.) She has opened to them a new profession—a new sphere of usefulness. I don't suppose that, in undertaking her mission, she thought much of the effect which it might have on the social po sition of women. Yet probably none of those who have made that question their special study has done half so much as she towards its settlement. A claim for more extended freedom of action, based en proved public use fulness in the highest sense of the word, with the whole nation to look on and bear wham, is one which must he list ened to, and cannot be easily refused. (Applause.) t this point I may notice some objections which may ha v e been ce- may be urged against our proposition. Y may be told that, though Miss Nightingale deserves all honour, the promoters of this fund are only seekini to acquire popularity at her expense—to share her triumph without having shared her labours. The f. Lets refute that charge. We claim no credit, for we nierit none. We are simply giving utterance to a sentiment which we did not originate, which we do not profess ex clusively to represent, and which we find already diffused through the length and breadth of the land. On the monument which we desire to raise no name will be _in scribed save one. Again, suspicions have been uttered, though without one particle of proof, that the desig submitted to you had in it something of a sectarian or supers titious character. One gentleman has said, "Were the fact so, I for one would wash my hands of it, and advise alt whoml could reach to do the same." But the only organisation we propose or desire to establish is one of ptire, general, unsectarian benevolence—a sen timent whici), I rather imagine, belongs to no particular era or opinion, but is just as old and as widely spread as the human race itself. Lastly, and in that plea there is more weight, I have heard it said that, before apply ing for money in a city like Manchester, we ought to have been prepared with a plan more definite and de tailed than that laid before you. My answer is, much must be left undecided, if free play is to be giv en t o th e judgment and experience of Miss Nightingale. It is not rules, not forms, not paper cheeks or guarantees that make an enterprise prosper ; it is the living, unfettered human energy. You ought to know that in Manches ter, if others don't ; and I believe you do know it. Without a rare original talent this work could not be done at all, and with such a talent the best thing you can do is to let it work out its own ends in its own way. We promise to leave Miss Nightingale free and unham pered ; and we believeithat is the best guarantee for efficiency we can give. "But why not wait till Miss Nightingale herself come home ?" I will ten you why. We do not fear that Miss Nightingale, will be forgotten, even in the hurry and bustle o f modern affairs ; yet it seems more expedient and morns suitable to the temper of the public that the ac - knowledgment of her service should not be deferral I until that service itself is no longer new. Also, .i life like Miss Nightingale's is valuable. No year of it should be lost to mankind. Better that she should find; the materials of her future work ready to her hand on re turning than have to wait inactive, though willing to labour, for the slow process of their raising. And now,. turning from the personal part of the question, a word as to the project which, though her friends, Miss Nightingale has put forth to the people of England. She wishes to establish here a superior class of trained hospital curses. That the thing is possible no one doubts. On the conti nent it has existed for more than 1,000 years. We hear of it in France as early as the 7th century ; we hear of it again in the time of the crusades, when soldiers, return ing from war in Palestine, filled Europe with wounds and disease ; and in Flanders, towards the end of last, century, an association of this kind called forth the ad miration of the Protestant pl.ilanthropist, Howard. (Ape plause.) But it is not only in Roman Catholic countries that such institutions have existed. At Kaisersworth,, near Dusseldorf, on the Rhine, a similar association has been set up during the last a 0 years, under Protestant management, which now includes about 190 nurses, either employed or in training. These are instances of success actually achieved ; and, if you want proof that some thing of the kind is needed in England, remember that, not many years ago, Sir E. Parry, the Arctic diScoverer (whom we have all heard of), seeing the faults of the existing system of hospital nursing, endeavoured to re medy its defects at the Naval Hospital, Hasler, by a public appeal for nurses of a higher class. That appeal_ was not answered. Prejudice and habit were too strong.. The attempt fell to the ground, and I believe it would. fail now—l at least should despair—were there not enlisted in the cause talents and energy such as few men or women possess, and were there not, at the sa me time, a degree of enthusiasm roused by the exertion. of those talents such as rarely exists on any subject of social and peaceable interest. It is that combination which renders the enterprise hopeful and success more than probable. One further word and I have done. /- suppose no one has reflected seriously on the social tendencies of the age, without seeing that to provide for women fitting employment of the higher sort is one of its problems—not the least important, and not the most, easy to solve. It is idle to say that a woman's whole sphere of duty lies at home. Many have no homes ; many who have are not required to give to them—cannot employ in them—all the energy which they possess. For such what active pursuit does the world supply The bustling life of men is unsuited for them—and happy it is so. Mere study and contemplation cannot suffice for any one. The temperament which makes author. s and artists is rare. To visit the poor is well ; but visits of mere friendship and sympathy cannot form a largos part in the life of any one. And as the form which re ligion in the present day assumes is eminently that of benevolence, and as we begin to recognise that the best way—some would say the only way—of serving God is by helping man, it is natural to expect that many in all ranks, and especially those who in their private relations are solitary, cheerless—it may be afflicted—should find the greatest satisfaction to conscience and the most suitable remedy `for their own distress in alleviating human suffering, in its simplest and severest forms. Pat this in their power, and you will set them free from the most painful of all sensations which can afflict an active mind and a sensitive temperament—the pain of compul sory idleness, of duty undischarged, faculties consciously unemployed, opportunities of good passing by uniin prove]. In the hope of this deliverance I commend this project to your patronage—asking you, by one and the same act, to honour merit, to lessen suffering, and to give to female energy and charity free scope in a new channel. (The noble lord resumed his seat amid applause.) The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. ENTWISLE moved the second resolution, to the effect that the only worthy mode of acknowledging Miss Nightingale's services was the establishment of such an institution as had been indicated. Mr. 13Azt.EY briefly seconded the resolution. Mr. MONCKTON MILNES, M.P., said if had been told that when he knew Miss Nightingale in the obscurity of private life that the time would come when before such a meeting as this, and in such a place as this, he should hear her name mentioned and her praises re-echoed, be should have very much doubted the prophecy. The main characteristics of her temperament and her dis poeition were such as might rather lead to an absolute avoidance of all publicity, a disregard, perhaps singular, of public opinion, regarded merely as public opinion. and a profound belief that all great works were best ac complished in the privacy and in the conscience of the individual man. But it was one of the most mysterious dispensations of Providence that the great heroes and heroines of the world— the men and women around whom the praise of men clustered the most fully—the men and women who were held up to our children an examples, and regarded with piety and delight by man kind, were often those who were drawn out of private life by some mysterious process of divine circumstance of which they themselves were the least likely to be con scious. It was thus that Miss Nightingale bad been drawn from her privacy into the dusty highway of public fame, and, being there, she was the last person, and she would, in the justice of her mind and the clearness of her intellect, necessarily be the last person who would wish to avoid the new conditions of that publicity, and attempt to combine the advantages of notoriety with the secresy of private station. If Miss Nightingale was a public personage, as a public personage she was ready to stand. She was ready that you should know every thing about her, and investigate to the utmost, as the public had a right to do, all about her before she re ceived your good will and acquired your fullest confi dence. It was for this that he and other friends of Miss Nightingale had come there, and because they were ready to speak upon every point that might be necessary for explanation or the removal of any suspicion or mis apprehension as to her position. Their object was to tell the meeting simply what she was and what she bad done ; but it was true that, being a woman who had been drawn by a singular circumstance into the sphere of public notoriety, it did become them to be somewhat delicate in investigating the operations of her mind or the peculiarities of her intentions. They could only say that she was a person of the most devout and pious mind ; that her family, on the side of her father and mother, bad been non-Dissenters for generations, of the highest respectability, and held in the greatest esteem ; and, so far as be could learn, she eminently belonged to that church of which the terms of communion were rather good deeds than good words, and whose condi tions of fellowship were rather in definite acts than definite doctrine. (Loud cheers.) She was not held up to notice here, however, because she had merely left a comfortable home and gone to a situation desti tute of all the comforts of life, or because she had abandoned the pleasant Hadition of her high station in this country, and gone to a place where she had to work with the meanest aid to serve with the low est, --things which women in ally station of life were often ready to undertake, and of which we as English men had a right to be proud,—but it was because with that spirit of devotion and benevolence she combined in the most remarkable degree the power of command, the power of organisation with the common sense which was ever necessary in the most trying circumstances and on the most exciting occasions. (Hear.) It 'was 'for this reason that, if they believed this work to be a good work and one in which they could co-operate, they should place her at the head of an establishment where she could best give her country the benefit of such ser vices as it was in her power to render. The hon. gen tleman went on to show that no time should be lost in promoting this object, so that the means might be ready to Miss Nightingale's hand immediately on her return, and expressed a hope that the report just telegraphed of peace might be true, so that she might return to this country. (Cheers.) The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. M. PHILIPS, formerly one of the members for Manchester, moved a committee to carry out the ob jects of the meeting, expressing a high sense of Miss Nightingale's services in m itigating the suff er i n gs and miseries incidental to war. He believed the war to be a just and necessary one. They had determined, re gradless of cost, not to stand by and see the weak op and it Was a true English feel pressed by the strong , ing ; and he bad no s y m p a thy with those who ap peared m uch for our enemies rather than for - to feel so the sufferings- of our own brave warriors. (Loud and repeated cheering.) Mr. BRANDT , judge of the County Court, seconded the motion, and it was adopted unanimously. Mr. HERON, the town-clerk, then read a long list of subscribers of 10 guineas, which includes the names of the Mayor, Mr. Houldsworth, Mr. S. Fletcher, Mr. Kershaw, M.P., Mr. Callender, Mr. Bazley, Mr. NVray, Sir J. Potter, Mr. Souchay, Mr. J. A. Turner. Sir B. Heywood, Mr. 0. Heywood, Mr. Jas. Heywood, m.P., and other gentlemen. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding. ,y.) Eliza, -once, Lang ; Otero Sava ()oafs, Good m. ion. ince, 9, in