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

bold , f the s seat L Im ees of e im- Aine ports, under from gdom finis verY it is 3 dip tanti- iecre- ment eport were loved 6rt of Ldrni ne of nuiral these i sea thout Drt of town '')'ibirb 3Titittiert• SUN OFFICE, 1 / 4 ix o'C'ock. ITALY. a TURIN MAY B.—Th e G aze tt a di Mil ano , o f the ,uth, cont a i ns a list of 160 persons, whose proper 'les Marshal Radetsky, in the name of the Em rtaror, declar es re li eve d f rom t h e seques t ra ti on posed thereon by the decree of February in last Year. The Duches s o f P arma h as lik ew i se ra i se d the Se q u estration t pla ce d u p on th e p ro p er ty of the gen ofelnen who composed the Provisional Government a farma in 1848. The Parmesans have no very guarantees for the continuance or develop elP, of a really progressive and enlightened policy. , The Chamber of Deputies was occupied during of greater part of last week with the discussion _, t he army estimates, which were passed General without opposition. The Minister of War, 1-111°Teral Alfonza Lamamora was very satisfactory h i " 18 replies t o th e var i ous cr iti c i s ms made upon ass a wninistration ; an d Count Lisio emphatically asserted the i mposs ibili ty o f ma ki ng , in the present position of affairs in Europe, any reduction in the Sardinian army. Th • SPAIN. m a i ri er ci e is not a single line of political news in the d a journals of the 7th. That day being Sun -7: the S tock Exchange was not open . Th e l o a , 1 418 of locu s t s w hi c h h a d appeared in Jevez de fo r ontera had been completely destroyed. In of days it is st a t e d th a t no t fewer than 60,0001b5. these insects were killed ! STATE OF TRADE. (Prom the Manchester Guardian of this day.) Ito ket cr iIISTER May 12.—The condition of our mar fore . 47 b e best expressed by a very general, and thee °°rnewhat vague, statement. The present state r of a t i:Pe, with the liability to increased monetary difficulties ng therefrom, keeps alive the feeling of caution ti c Z n gst all classes of buyers, and restricts their opera the 'to the mere supply of immediate wants. And , as )10Pera.tives at Stockport, Preston, and Blackburn lue re e x l3 ° A w yielded to their employers' terms, the The supply that must ensue has also some effect. agai "ns emuence is a continued general bias of prices Ya r ,, nst Produc ers , w hi c h i s mo re felt in goods than in lo w : 8 ; being i n d ee d b u t s li g ht, d ur ing the week, in the more and medium coun t s of the latter. Warps are I ler e affected than bundles. The spinners of rather .numbers, such as are spun at Bolton, are corn ttlng more than they have done for some time back. nnu B " 4l3ll.°ll D, May 11.—Wool—This has been a week of tut there ullness ; th e sa l e s are meagre in the extreme, are • is a good st o ck in the markt of such kinds asstaion request. Noils and brokes are only made in tear: q u antities ; hand combed noils are exceedingly loq.e' and command good prices. Piece goods are very XoT / sTn .rern TI ---nAlr May 11.—The trade here continues ex -ely t Liz / a • • eEs TER, May 11.—The home demand is still very las guld ' No alteration in the yarn and wool market Ilee our THE WOOLLEN TRADE. (Prom the Leeds Mercury of this day.) eetEEDS ay 12.—Thetrade in the warehouses has Lein q u iet this w ee k. Th e d eman d f or the spring trade s na g over, very few buyers are visiting this market, Th e whatever purchases are made are on a limited scale. rea c _ftplicated state of affairs at present induces the j i t 'st caution by all pers o n s eng aged in the trade. , t IM r) EItsPIELD, May 9.—There was a little improve goods to day in the Cloth-hall over last week. Fancy so me and black doeskin s a re ve t i n c hi e f reques t, and U w e houses, we understand, can hardly keep up with orr ders. Wools are inactive, but prices unchanged. k et raiDALE, May B.—We have had a still flannel mar -110'day, with very little doing. at'4l,lpAg, May 6.—There still continues great lack of Iraatioti in the worsted trade, both in the piece and gt, at o li ,,c l .partment, and prices inclined to relax, notwith ti„, um.' the ruinous disproportion they have for some . • h - le shown to those of the raw material, which exhibit 4 1 0 T:eased firmness on account of the bareness of stocks in spinners' and staplers' bands. MINING INTELLIGENCE. (From the Mining Journal of this day.) ot lik a _a e pric . e..of metals keeps up, and there is every . prospect thgr t, atei rise, at least in copper • and when it is considered oti;‘ e umbers of speculative min? ' s . have stopped,. and many to pay owing to the inability or disinclination of shareholders 147 P continued calls, have been curtailed in their operations, and materials must be cheaper, and so add to the tII th' s 9f the paying mines. Still there is a great stagnation ea taiglish hShare Market ; and when several parties are agar to sell, it generally happens few are anxious to buy, and general decline in price takes place. This, which is true . eeriptgri,,eat extent even in regard to the funds, and other ete- Pnr.l "of stock, is so in a tenfold degree with a property so th,jBlieculative as mining. In the absence of business, also 11,-„__giost e xtraordinary reports get in circulation, and in a few V e ", shares become depreciated cent. per cent. This week to, levidence have fallen to 16/.105., whilst three months l're;', W b e are informed, parties connected with the management 14 111 1 : 11 Y:ing at 351. The actual cause of the fall at present is kael"Jectural; but it appears that, from a breakage in the epee's erY, the dressing of tin was delayed three weeks, and e llie ntlY there will not be any dividend at the meeting. kiih.j:e4.Bignation of the purser at such a time has been the ilatetei‘ of much comment, but we understand it is not the tl lll/7 °ll of the shareholders to let it pass over without the A-4 investigation and inquiry by disinterested parties. th e int`l°og foreign mines, the reports from San Fernando . are of tie e h e ncouraming at one or L ard r discove k„ g taken ° place. In ' the 60 yard level, east of San NailVilte, the lode is yielding 10 tons of lead ore per fm. A t the 86 4 , li clue, the l o d e i n th e s h a ft i s wo rth 2 tons per fm. In 0 Nye et ti !re• level east the lode is worth 4 tons fin- ? lie r N ue lod e is worth 5 tons per fin. A rise yieldi4 n 2o tons Per cell ', Previous t o thi s di scover y the shares were paying 12 Th e Per annum from profits. tetanvl(l Mining Share Market this week has been a.lm.east 'liPt'n devoid of interest and in such discredit has this de a of stock fallen that even the shares iu the best chonave hilea- a re but slightly in demand. Nouveau Mondes anya trait considerably and the only stock that maintain ,calicar_ Ili a , " 8 are the Ague Fria, Quartz Rock, and Ang o- r f ia tinri az Th s e total amount ogold dust shipped from Ca orn t d g 1 1• 7 6 „, .Prst three months of the current year amoun e . ea It is the intention of the people of Marin ways-I_ritY to form a canal, so that the mines u c n a ts r ecei v , " Supplied with water. From the acco th t the q:", e lsewhere published, it will be seen cr a l P ar z Ptoek and Anglo-Californian Companies are stea y boa gold The latest accounts from Australia state that „'eX of ° ° i (l . fields have been discovered in that colony ; a %rwar(peeirriens, showing the character of the lode, has been 411etrap'd Goldpt Bell, the superintendent of the Ang o tram 'an Mining Company, to the offices, Essex-street, kite 7 -`be machinery is in course of erection, and, judging oftt 9s a 6 7 tia l in s eter of the lode, as soon as the power of reduc °f ir o ught into play returns will be mad e . Th e arrivals te.o__ 1 this week have been restricted. The Kate has ozs., of the value of 65,000/. -14 zrsa- AND NEUTRAL TRADERS IN THE BALTIC. I to l _ l le P e ex t ract of a letter f rom th e German port of t 'toek, the probabl e position both o f B r iti s h an d neu t ra . _ ners in the B a lti c, when the expected declaration of block- I ge shall have been made against St. Petersburg and Riga : t ' Some 60 ships bad got into Riga, and were load'ng the articles • freights ' 4, p• very high-10s. 6d per quarter to I ti e Firth for oats, and 101. per ton for flax to Dundee. The t i ga merchants do not know whether they are under t i l eekad e or no t ; three English vessels of war were seen off e P°rt but they allowed three sid e 4 From vessels to wind their way th,,,,,n , er the harbour. what I can learn from good au the",,y, the blockade will not . be strictly enforced until after tin.° 15 th inst., when it will be carried out with all possible ti all t i:s so that the ports not nototimardedvith ice will have a fair bilen t. ° to get off some, if of their stocks ready for ship sta, Those who have stuff at' St.. Petersburg will, however, ti,e but a poor chance, and many innocent persons, both Bri 4,,,aubjects and those of neutral States, particularly in Hol oirb, :will be ruined, which is very hard, consid er i ng that most It ~,,:i r Purchases were made in autumn or early in winter,when 11 4 , 8 * -8 never supposed that war between France, England, and sia _ sel ves would actually ensue, and the British Ministers them e,l3l., ! if their statements be true, .did not anticipate it would tis k : to extremes. As an illustration of the ‘ extent of these th o saetiens, I may mention this place ( Rostock ), which, 30 ,0 1 1 11 but a small port, is interested to the amount . of some (Br ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) haveb" quarters of rye, oats, and wheat, upon h w at h f i t c h h e a ani dv o a n n ti c t e . LIVERPOOL, Saturday, 10.30 a.m. lliii, , ee o Paid, varying from one-third to one-half if our merchants cannot get away their stuff, which they Wind, N.N.W. ; moderate breeze, and fine. The Marco Polo, from Melbourne , ' is off the port, after 1.4 aitherto been prevented from doing by ice, and after the a 9 n th o t o h f er N r o a v p e i na d passage. November last a n S d h She sailedas thus fro mperfo r Liverpool ed tho voony agethe l'oci: t i t l li be prevented by the blockade, the Rus i s n ia s n te s ad wi o l f l 17 14 the,,, e amount—viz., about 40,000/. Hence s o a u i t li a n nd fr h o o m me m i e n lb s o ix ur m ne on i t w h u s netn a eo n ar d mtaei f nr o . u G r days. Her date of -41/. 2 ° „ Russians harm b strictly blockacling ' St. Peters- , 0 46 1 , Vey will be benefited y I think that the allied Powers The g damage to the sere s to t h " ' 0 make arral nt's for granting letters of licenes ioned by her runninr , o foul of a sunk r e e n at- ro ß ek n , Reed °B6 Parties who g em b e our , ht and partly paid for their mks 8 (BY SUBMARINE AND EUROPEAN TELEGRAPH.) Dr ° oL or before a certain period, which might be Britain was oc- GRAVESEND, Sattllday, 10.11 S.M. 1 1::,1 1 by the letters of purchase their books, and corre- Wind, W.; weather very fine ; tide, one hour flood. tr uces 'nee, to be i l •o n d d uc t e e d sti a d n e d d sworn b to before the magis- Fr eti ,of the placer' prize) • Junatta, from Demerara ; ilie resident English and Arrived,l2(tithu—ssGiaenorgper.Henry, from Porto Rico ; Aland, a n.d. dell Consuls ' This would be a y boon to neutral nations, Copenhagen . Minde P'll b an ; T ' a . ' t ; Mary, Gi . le_ut . ,.. tie - , ° ,0 0 harm ' .to the British or French Government, and Arnie Kars --- i t am urgh , Seine(s), Boulogne , Bei It tl W B - ja ° ,l .zs the Russian. It is possible that the Emperor of Wilberfore t (s n ) ji. ell er m ight prevent ships and goods passing in and out, in pubijeTat the state of his fortresses, &c., might not be made 1 giu s i a n j o s k_R s j e nz ...........____ ina, for Dantzic. captains. If so, that would be tantamount to a I torthiibitron of exports, which would release the contracting' fin,de!,of their contracts, and the sellers would have to re- Li l t t ,Te amount they have received in advance. Thus none si t h je u ct Russians would suffer, and the buyers (British and tor est , Of neutral States) would lose nothing but the in- LAMBERTS' MAP OF THE SEAT OF WAR, Price ls. 6d . in neat case, 2 s. —lt would be difficul t to produce a Map more satisfactorily distinguished by the merits of clearness in printing and accuracy in arrangement. It cannot but be eagerly welcomed by our intelligent popu lation.—Sun.—lt is an easily intelligible, accurate, and complete delineation of a region with which every one should now be as familiar as with the Map of England or Palestine.—Nonconformist. —We have already found it of great use, for reference ; and can confidently re commend it to our readers, for, it is, in our opinion, the me,t useful Map of the Seat of War y et published.— , York Herald. London : Dobbs, Kidd, and Co.;• Edin ! burgh : Menzies ; Newcastle ; Lambert, and all Book sellers.—Aelvertinment. t0.1,13831.--The mercantile letters from Odessa reach lst of May. The inhabitants were beginning to Were to the town, and the shops and places of business few ° Pening again. With the exception, however, of a t ad(litional vessels having been chartered to proceed 1?(Ihe mouth of the Dnieper for cargoes of seed, there 1114 bee n scarcely any resumption of business. The bank be e n Some distance from the town. THE MEDITERRANEAN. (PY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) SOUTHAMPTON, SATURDAY, 9.45 A.M.—The Pe ninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company's steamers Sultan and Indus have arrived here, with dates from Constantinople, April 22; Smyrna, 25th; Malta, 30; Gibraltar, May 6. The Sultan brings a large number of passengers and a full cargo of Levant produce—fruit, flax, ivory, wool, silks, &c. The transport amps Eveline and Blundell, hav ing part of the 17th Lancers on board, arrived at Gibraltar on the 3d inst. Four horses were lost on the voyage. The transport St. Vincent passed Gibraltar on the 3d inst., and the Gomeln, arrived same day. Her Majesty's steamer Megvera., with the Highlanders on boa d, passed Gibraltar on the 7th instant. STEAM GUN-BOATS IN THE BALTIC. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. - - noticed my name in the course of the discussion on this important question, I hasten to cor roborate all that Mr. Scott Russell has said as far as I am concerned. It is perfectly true that I did feel it my duty to try what little influence circumstances justified me in think ing I possessed, more, however, privately than officially, with certain of the authorities, and anticipating a re quest for further information, I called upon Mr. Scott Russell to let me know whether, it invited thereto, he could take in hand any number of vessels either similar to the Pruth (now a Russian steam gun-vessel in the Danube), or to the Nix and Salamander, built by him self, which came under my observation, and which were still more heavily armed. Hearing that contracts had been taken by several eminent builders for a class of gun-vessel admirably designed, I have no kind of doubt, if approved by the Surveyor of the Navy for heavy guns, but wanting in what I conceive to be the point of the greatest, of first-rate importance, extremely light draught of water, I lost no time in sending his reply to a proper quarter. With respect to the class of vessel, I have thought it my duty, as a naval officer of some experience in steam navigation, to advocate, I can only say that I think one such vessel, unless, or until disabled, would, where she had room for action, in all senses be more than a match for all the armed launches of all the fleet England has at sea, or is able to send there. Anything like a boat of wood she ran at or that came in her way she would cut in two. If they were daring enough to hook on, and she at full speed, she would tow them under or smash them with her wheels.l She could follow them into the sane water, as there would be little or no difference in that respect between her and heavily armed gun row-boats ; and, as to firing broadsides from her eight guns (63's and 32's), it would be heavier than the one gun from either end (and they can only fire one with out winding) of the launches of a 20-sail of-the-line, unless they are more heavily armed than they were in the last war. On this point I speak from experience, having had the honour to command the crack launch of a fleet, I think of 12 sail-of-the line, on the Tagus, under the present gallant Admiral Berkeley, when a Lieutenant only. We drew when light over four feet of water. Our best speed was not much over four miles an hour, except on spirts, when, if the nerves of the men were not shaken by the whizzing and splash ing of shot, and consequent crab-catching, the speed might have reached five mileS, but that depending on wind and muscle never lasted long, and it is my firm belief now that one such x'essel as the Pruth in the hands of the enemy on the Tagus would have entirely prevented our acting, as we did under the admirable management of our commanding officer, for so many months as spies in advance, and almost in the face of the lines of our enemy—it would, in fact, have been impossible. We may be pi ecisely in this position in the Danube, where the enemy has hosts of gun boats of heavy arma ment, and certainly one at least with all the appliances I humbly venture to advocate, and would, if I were suf ficiently backed, send out with all despatch. I have the honour to remain your obedient servant, Battersea, May 11. C. CLAXTON. MARKET 1V EIVS-(THIS DAY.) COVENT GARDEN. Very large supplies of vegetables were here to-day, and an extensive business was transacted at the above quota tions. Fruit was tolerably firm. FRUIT.—Pine apples, English, 6s Od to 10s Od each ditto colonial, is Od to is 3d each ; hot-house grapes. 8s to lOs ; foreign ditto, is 6d to 3s Od per lb ; apples, Os to 8s per bush. ; pears, 3s to Os Od per doz. ; goose berries, 3s to 5s 6d per half sieve ; apricots, green, 6d to is per pottle • s t ra wberries, 6d to is Gd per small basket ; lemons, 9d to 2s ; oranges 4s Od to lOs per 100 ; almonds, 2s to 3sper lb.; Barcelona nut s, 24s p er bush.; co-nuts, 110 s to 120 s per 1001bs ; chesnuts, 2s to 4s per peck ; filberts, 85s to 100 s per 100 lbs ; walnuts, 8d to I s 6d per 100. VEGETABLES. —Cabbages, 9d to is Gd ; Brussels sprouts, is Od to 2s Od per half sieve ; brocoli, 9d to is 6d per bund.; greens, 3s Gd to 5s 3d per doz. bunches ; French beans, is 6d to 2s Od per 100 ; potatoes, 140 s to 180 s per ton ; new ditto, 6d to is 6d per, lb.; asparagus, 2s to 6s 6d per 100; sea-kail, 9d to 2s per punnet; garlic, 8d to is per lb. ; young turnips, is Gd to 2s young carrots, is lOs to 2s per bunch ; cucumbers, Os 3d to is Od each ; celery, 6d tc is 6d per bundle ; spinach, Is Ocl to 2s Od per sieve; spring onions, 4d to 10d per bunch ; Spanish ditto, is to 3s per doz. ; leeks, 1 d to 2d per bunch ; shallots, 5d to 8d : horse-raddish, 28 Od to 4s Oil per bundle ; parsley 3s Gd to 5s Od per half sieve ; rhubarb, Os 3,1 to Os 7d per bundle ; endive, 2s to 4s Od per score ; beet, is to 2s Od per dozen bunches; parsnips, 10d to 2s Cd per dozen ; small salad, 2d to 3d per punnet; mushrooms, Od to is 3d per pottle ; artichokes, 3s to 5s Ocl per doz. ; cabbage lettuces, 6d to 8d per score ; sorrel , 6 d to is Od per half sieve ; radishes Gd to is per dozen hands. NEWGATE AND LEADENHALL. Turkey poults, 5s to is ; Goslings, 5s 6d to 7s each ; Duck lings, 2s to 4s; tame Rabbits, is to is 6 d ; wild do., 8d to is 2d ; Guinea Fowls, 3s to 3s 3d ; Pigeons, 7d to 9d, each; Surrey Fowls, Os Od to Os Od ; ditto Chickens, 5s Od to 6s 6d; barn-door Fowls, 3s 0.1 to 4s 3d per couple; Capons, 3s to 4s Ocl ; Chickens, 2s Od to 2s 9d per couple ; leverets, 3s Oil to 4s Od each. English Eggs, 7s 6d. to 8s 6d; French ditto, 5s Od to 7s Od per 120 • Ostend fresh E butter, 9s to lls ; ngI LINGSGATEish, lOs to 15s per dozen. BIL. Turbots, 2s Od to lls ; Brills, is to 7s Od each ; Salmon is 2d to is 9cl per lb; Cod Fish, 2s to Os Od each ; Soles, 4d to is Gd per pair ; Eels, 8d to is per lb ; Lobsters, 6d to 2s 6d ; Crabs, 6d to 2s 6(1 ; Whitings, 35 Od to 12s per doz.; Doreys, 2s to 7s 2 - Mullets, Gd to 2s Gd each ; Common Oysters, 9s Od to lOs Od; Natives, 40s Od to 48s Od per bsh; Mackerel, 32s to 40s per 100; Smelts, is Oil to 5s pr doz.; Skate, 6d. to Od per lb; Shrimps, is 6d to 2s 6d per gallon; ; Bloaters, is 6d to 2s Od per doz. Fresh Herrings, 8s Od to Os Od per 1 00 ; Haddocks , Os to 12s per doz. •, Plaice, 4d to is Od each ; Carp, 2s Ocl per brace ; Tench, 2s Od to Os Od per brace ; Gurnets, 4d to is Od each ; Halibut, 6d per lb. • Salt Fish, 2d to 5d per lb. ; Prawns, 2s Od to 4s Od per lb. ; Flounders, is to is Gd per dozen ; Sturgeon, Od per lb.; Pike Od per IbBRE. ; spAD.rats, 3s Od per bushel. The prices of wheaten bread in the metropolis are froni 10d to lid; of household ditto, Sid to 9d per 41b loaf. 1 NEWPORT. Beef from 3s 4d to 4s 4d ; mutton, 4s Od to 4s 10d ' • lamb, 5s 6cl to 6s 6cl; veal, 4 s 4 d to 54 4 d ; por k, 3s Bcl. 4s 10d per 81bs. WHITECHA.PEL. Beef, from 3s Od to 4s Od ; Mutton, 3s 8d to 4s 10c1 ' • 1 Lamb, 5s 2d to Os 2 d ; Veal , 4 s 0:1 to 5s 2d ; Pork, 3s 4d to 4s 8d per 81bs. by the carcase. HIDES AND SKINS. Market hides, 561 b to 64.1 b, 24d to 3d; 641 b to 721 b, 3.1 to Ocl; 721 b to 801 b, 3d to aid ; 801 b to 881 b, 3td to 3id ; 881 b to 961 b, 3id to 4d ; 961 b to 1041 b, Od to Ocl ; 1041 b to 1121 b Od to Od. Horse hides, 6s 6d to Os Od; calf skins, light, 2s Od to 3s Od; ditto, full, 5s Od to Os Od; polled sheep, Os Od to Os Od; Kents, 7s Ocl to 8s Od; Half-breds, Os Od to Os 0(.1 ; Downs, 5s Od to Os 3d; Lambs, 2s Od to 3s Od; Shearlings, is 61. to is 7d. HAY MARKETS. SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, 2/ 15s to '5/ Os ; clover ditto, 3/ 15s to Cl Os ; and straw, 1/ 16s to 2/ 2s per load. A full average supply, and a sluggish demand. UIIMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, 2/ 16s to 5/ 5s ; clover ditto, 3/ 15s to Cl Os ; and straw, 1/ 16s to 21 4s por load. Supply moderately good, and trade rather dull. WHITECEIAPEL.—Meadow hay, 21 12s to 51 Os; clover ditto, 31 15s to 6/ 6,3 ; and straw, 1,16 s to 2/ 2s per load. Both hay and straw sold slowly, on former terms. LLOYD'S SHIPPING-(THIS DAY.) LONDON, May 13.—Wind this day at Noon, W. ; light breeze, and cloudy. DOVER, March 12.—Wind, N. to E. Sailed—John Wesley, for Quebec, after repairing. Off Port—lsabella, from Rotterdam, for New York. OFF HOLYHEAD, May 13.—(Per Elec. Tel.)—Marco Polo, from Port Philip OFF THE WIGHT.—Sir Bevois, from Singapore. SOUTHAMPTON, May 12.—Arrived—Thames (s), from the Brazils. FALMOUTH, May 12.—Wind, variable. Off Port Hilda, from Singapore, for Hamburgb. LOWESTOTF, May 12.—The Ruby, of and from Sunder land, for London, grounded on Holm Sand last night, and was assisted off this morning. by ice. othing has yet been seen of the English fleet. PERNAMBUCO, April 20.—The Countess of Zetland, from London to the C a p e o f Good Hope, which put into Paraiba, Feb. 16, leaky, having been on shore, has been condemned and sold. TIIE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 13, 1354. SHARE MARKETS. (THIS DAY.) IMPEIdAL PARLIAMENT, HOUSE OF LORDS--(YESTERDAY. ) CHURCH BUILDINGS ACT AMENDMENT ---~--- BRITISH RAILWAYS. BI LL The hotwe then went into committee upon this I); RAIL WATS. Closing Prices yesterday. Basiiiess don , - this day. On the firs, t clamsebeing r;:ad, Earl NELSON complained of the power given by th bill to sell churchyards after they were closed and t: pull down churches. He should not object to this power being applied to London, but he did object to its general character, because the reasons which might exist for its exercise in the metropolis would not apply in the country. If cases could be shown in the provinces where it might be desirable to apply it, a schedule might be made of such places. In Chichester, Lincoln, and Norwich it was said there were too many churches ; but he found on inquiry, and from private information which he had received, that they were all well attended. The noble earl was understood to conclude by moving an amend ment in accordance with his views. The Bishop of LONDON said that, with reference to the cessation of the powers confided to the Church Building Commissioners, it was quite true that the powers conferred upon those commissioners would come to an end in two years ; but he ventured to think, con sidering that the duties performed by that body were so valuable and of such a nature, that when that period arrived it would be absolutely necessary to confer the power which they now exercised upon some one. The Bishop of LINCOLN quite concurred in the view that this measure was required in the country as well as in London. After a few words from the Earl HARROWBY, the house divided. Contents 27 Non-contents- 2B Majority against the amendment —1 The remaining clauses then went through committee, and the bill was ordered to be rennrted. HOUSE OF COMMONS-(YESTERDAY.) TAKING OF CRONSTADT. Lord D. STUART asked the First Lord of the Admi ralty whether any information had been received relating to the capture of a number of Russian transports near the ireland of Serpenti, and whether those transports had troops or ammunition on board, and from what ports they had come, and where they were bound to. The noble lord wished also to ask whether the Admiralty had received any account from the Baltic relative to the taking of Cronstadt which had resulted in great loss to our fleet. Sir J. GRAHAM said, Sir, with the permission of the house, I will answer the last question first being the most important, I have received no account whatever by tele graph from the Baltic, and, therefore, I can have no doubt that there must be some error in the report to which my noble friend has referred. I have received a letter this morning from Sir C. Napier, dated May 3, when he was still on the coast of Sweden, but I am reminded by a noble friend that there is a post as late as the sth inst., but Sir Charles Napier states in his letter of the 3d that the fogs were so thick that he did not think it would be safe for some time to move the fleet. The right hon. hart. then proceeded to give a lengthened explanation with regard to the first question. It was true the Tiger had made such a capture of ships, but the ships were not filled with troops. They were only laden with ammunitions of war. EDUCATION (SCOTLAND) BILL. The LORD ADVOCATE having moved the second reading of this bill, Mr. NEWDEGATE presented a number of petitions against it from various places in Scotland. Mr. STIRLING rose, pursuant to notice, to move that the bill be read a second time that day six months. He regretted to have to oppose a bill for so laudable an object as that of promoting the education of the people, but he thought more consideration should be given to the subject than it was possible to devote to it in the present session. Although the system of national education inScotland was to some extent defective, it should be remembered that it was still superior to that which existed either in England or Ireland, and the proof of this was to be found in the nu merous instances in which boys educated in the parish schools of Scotland attained to distinguished positions in after life. The hon. gentleman proceeded to state the number of parish schools in connexion with the church of Scotland, of which the established church had 905, and even the episcopal church had increased of late years the number from 12 to 93, and argued that great good had been done in that respect. He, however, did not think that the mere multiplying of schools would prevent vice and irreligion any more than you prevent hunger by multiplying bakers' shops. He thought Scotland might be proud of her parish schools, and if they required reform it should be carried on with a careful and kindly hand, but let them not be swept away as was proposed by the present bill. They might have faults ; their schoolmasters might be ill-paid, and their salaries already too small, would be further reduced by the operation of a law which was about to take effect, and against that law they ought to be protected. It was impossible to deal with this question without touching on religious grounds ; but he was not about to enter on the question of secular and religious education. He believed, however, that the great majority of the people of Scotland were in favour of religious education, and it was not the intention of the Lord Advocate's bill to weaken the religious element in the schools, though it provided for it in a very clumsy way. It was only rea sonable that the church should be allowed to give a gua rantee for the quality of the teaching in the schools ; and the connexion between the church and the schools had existed so long with advantage that it ought to continue. He bud been in corn munication with many clergymen on this subject, and th sir views were very reasonable ; for they had no objection to be associated with a Government inspector in the schools. With regard to grants 'of money, although he would not ask the house to give money for parochial schools connected with the church, yet he was not prepared to vote Looney for schools which were not so connected. There wei-e about 9,00. schools, and the Lord Advocate asked that they might each be endowed with a sum of 161. a year, and ?deo that half of the retiring pension toschool masters should lee paid out of the grant, which he calculated would requires 25,0001. a year, and the sum asked was 18,503., and h e thought that the Lord Advo cate might have asked for it without the offensive condi tions contained in the bill, with reference both to the Church and the Dissenting bodies in Scotland. There was one part of the plan of the bill he should like to see tried, which was to set up side schools which should be open to all denominations where tlney were required, and if that experiment succeeded, let the Government come down to the house, and propose to extend the system. The hon. gentleman then entered i tato a defence of the Presbytery with reference to the conduct of the schools, and expressed his regret that the Lord .h.dvocate, in his speech, had said that the condition of the s chools under the superintendence of the Presbytery was degraded beyond imagination. If those words implied a grave charge against living men it ought to have been substantiated, but if it was intended in a historical sense it would have been better to have made that sense appear. Ho urgent that legislation was com menced in the absence of sufficient information ; and he thought that there ought to be inquiry by a royal commis sion before legislation, but the Lord Advocate had put the cart of legislation before the horse of inquiry. It was said that the opponents of the bill admitted the defects of the educational system, and yet wished to reject the bill ; but he could answer to that, that the question had been con sidered by the opponents of the bill, and a draft of a mea sure prepared. which in the event of his motion for reject. ing the present bill being carried, would be introduced into the house. The hon. gentleman concluded by e xpressing his regret that he had been compelled by a sense of duty to oppose this bill, which might be construed into an opposi tion to the first step towards the establishment of a system of national education. The Earl of DALKEITH seconded the amendment, and said he regretted that in addressing the house for the first time he should be speaking in opposition to a bill intro duced by the Government. His main objection to the bill was that it laid down the principle of the disruption of parochial schools from their connection with the church. The result of the present system had been so satisfactory as regarded the education of the people o f Scotland, that it ought not to be hastily thrown over by abill founded entirely on theory. He did not say that the parochial s chools were not capable of improvement — f or he admitted that they were—and he should be glad to see th em improved. In the preamble of the bill the Lord Advocate affi rme ools had d that the superintendence of the church over the sch been defective, and therefore that the church s hould no longer have the same control ov e r them as before. Al though the system of superintendence had been defectively carried out, it was not defective in i tself, and a declar oa tion to that effect had been signed by 2,000 proprietors f land in Scotland, while in 19 out of 22 counties where meetings had been held with reference to this bill the opi- the nion expressed had been against it. He t hou s that legislature was not justified in opening c h a rges against the Church of Scotland on the mere words of the Lord Advo cate and the Government without sufficient substantiation of them by proof. There was no mention in the bill what religion was to be taught, or whether any religion was to be taught in the schools. lie was ready to concur in any improvements in the parochial schools consistently with the he wished the preservation of the present systems but house to consider whether a system which had made the people of Scotland the bet educated in the world should be put aside, and a mere theoretical plan set up in its place. Lord ELCHO said his hon. friend who had moved this amendment expressed his regret at finding that he was obliged to move an amendment in opposition to the bill brought in by the Government. He regretted to find that a gentleman from whom they had expected better things, should have permanently enrolled himself among the ranks of their opponents. He considered that his hon. friend's position was untenable, because he on the one hand said there was a deficiency in the means of education, and on the other hand he asked the house to maintain a system which had caused the nece ssity of such a measure as this. He was far from denying what had fallen from his hon. friend and from the seconder of t un he amendment, in favour of the present system. It was der that sys tem in a great measure that Scotchmen had become what they are. But when his honottrable friend the mem ber for Perthshire stated th at the parochial schools were of an unsectarian character, he begged to differ with him in that respect ; for though the teaching was nnsectarian, the door stood open whether they were Presbyterian or Roman Catholic. Yet he thought no one acquainted with those schools would deny that their con stitution was sectarian. What was required was an es sential alteration in the parochial schools, of Scotland, which would bring them in harmony with the altered cir cumstances of the times in which we lived, and would bring them back to what they were intended to be, namely, the public schools for Presbyterian Scotland; and it was vith this object and intention that his hon. and learned f i lend had brought in this bill, In advocating th f is change t i n their public schools he wished toguard ag bei. ig supposed to have any hostility to the Established Church of Scotland. He entertained the greatest respect for th. tt valuable institution, he fully appreciated the be nefits it had conferred upon the country, and he did not wish L n any way to impair its effic. He would now call dm 3 attention of the house to the difficulties with which this question was surrounded, because, although there was a genet. ll opinion that something should be done the great. est difl:ei once prevailed as to what that something should be. It api neared to him there were but three ways of estab lishing as, vsuem of public education in Scotland. In the first place% by extending the system which sat present existed ; la: the second place, by establishing yst of mei e seimlar education ; and in the third place, by estab ' lishiug a system founded on a religious basis. In the first nlnes, with reference to continuing the existing system, a lenoiniustional system. ortintained by the Privy Council ;rant, it appeareti to him that there were three main ob •,ctions to it. In the first place it was a systein which hail ,risen from sectarianism, which was an evil. Another 4,b -setion was that the Privy Council grants fell short most here they were require 1 moat. Another re Lson was tint system hail b. en already triel and found wanting. ith reference to the secular system or the separation of .scular from religious instruction, it aopeare.l to him that sat system was most deserving of being called national .vhich was likely to bring within its pale the largest num oar of people. With the present state of feeling on this questiou he believed that if they were to establish schools in Scotland on the secular system, they would be schools without scholars. If the people were divided on all other points they were agreed on this, that in their public schools secular education should not be dissociated from religious. He next came to the system of his hon. and learned friend —schools on a religious basis—taking as the basis that which was the religion of nine-tenths of the people of Scot land. His honourable friend had done justice to the speech of the Lord Advocate. That speech had met with great approval. He wished ho could say as much for the bill, which had encountered great opposition in Scotland. It might be supposed that it established a system of education without religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although the superintendence of the presbytery was removed, and tests were abolished, yet it must be remembered that the minister of the parish would still remain a member of the parochial school board. fhe preamble of the bill especially referred to, and ac knowledged the necessity of religious instruction being im parted in the schools, and the 27th clause provided that the school committee should set apart certain hours for religious instruction, at which children should not be bound to attend if their parents or guardians objected. There were special enactments on the subject of religion, and he did not see how any one could say that religion was not cared for. He apprehended, however, that the chief objection to the bill was, that it removed the superintend ence from the presbytery, and abolished tests. It was impossible to say that the presbyteries could efficiently perform their duty. The presbytery had the power of ex amining the master, of visiting the school, but they had nothing to say to the appointment of the master, which rested with the heritors. They could not prescribe the books to be used, or the nature of the instruction to be given ; and with reference to the power of removal, it was practically inoperative. It was on this account that his right hon. friend proposed to establish a system of inspec tion by a general board. If they looked to history they would find that the connection between the church and the schools was not for the benefit of the church, but that the youths of Scotland might be well brought up. The other objection on the part of the church was the aboli tion of the tests. To take a proper view of these tosts they must look to the history of the times in which they were imposed, and they would find that they wore established for the purpose of securing and maintaining the Presbyterian faith. Did any man now pretend to say that they would injure the Presbyterian faith by abolishing the tests? Unquestionably this was the object of the act of 1690, which was subsequently embodied in the Act of Union. By providing that the schoolmasters should not be confined exclusively to the established church, he maintained that they did not infringe in the slightest legree on the spirit of those acts. By the returns published with the census of the number of persons attending religious worship in Scotland on Sunday morning, the 30th of March, 1851, he found that the number of attendants belonging to the established church were 228,000; belonging to the free church 235,000; and belonging to the united presbyterians, 143,000. They therefore found that, taking the whole of Scotland, there was a vast majority of those who held the presbyterian faith who did not belong to the established church. But this inequality was still more striking in the counties. In the county of Edinburgh the numbers attending the este silished church were 15,000, and the free church 18,000. In Aberdeen the numbers attending the established church were 20,000, the free church 23,000 ; in Argyll, the estab lished church, 4,238, free church 6,305 ; in Lanark, the established church 24,000, and the free church 26,000; in Caithness, the established church 442, and the free church 9,779, and in Ross and Crornarty established church 1,411, and free church 20,237. He asked then was it right to maintain a test which excluded all but those who belonged to the established church from teaching in the public schools. The abolition of the test, ho conceived, was called for not only in the interest of the free church, but also in that of the established church, as it would remove a source of heart-burning and hostility, which would exist as long as the test remained. Having alluded to the objec tions of the established church, he would now allude to the objections taken by those who held the voluntary principle. What they said was, that they could not sup port any system of education by which religion in pub lic schools was to be taught by the state, and in order to carry out their views they were prepared to support, if necessary, a system of secular education, or rather of secular education disassociated from religious in struction. (Hear.) He believed that by advocating such a system they were outraging the feelings of at least three-fourths of the people of Scotland. But they must admit that this bill, though it fell short of their principle, was a great improvement on the existing system. Objec tions had been likewise taken by the episcopalians and Roman Catholics. As an episcopalian he did not see any objection to this bill, and he assured the Roman Catholics that he would be no party to a bill which made no provi sion for the education of Roman catholics, because he was not one of those who thought it the duty of a Protestant state to allow the children of Roman Catholics to grow up in ignorance. He assured the Roman Catholics that their interests were not forgotten ; his right hon. friend would assist them in committee ; and at any rate they would not find themselves in a worse position. Although he had spoken hitherto only of the objections to the bill, it must not be assumed that there were no parties in Scotland who were not in favour of it. They had the free church, who, though they were not satisfied with its provisions, yet con sidered the will would form a good basis. They were anxious for the second reading. They had also a large body of the established church, quiet thinking men, who saw the evils with which they had to grapple, and who were not blinded by prejudice and party feeling, and who wished that this bill should pass into a law rather than that they should have no measure. Then there had been 44,000 signatures to the petitions in favour of the bill, 28,000 against it, and 10,000 for alterations. He thought they might add these 10,000 to the 41,000 who were in favour of the prin ciple of the bill. (Laughter.) Then turning to the state of education among the prisoners, he found that out of 21,000 prisoners 4,338 could not read at all, 10,482 could only read with difficulty, 10,282 could not write at all, 531 could only sign their names, and 8,336 could write with difficulty ; and the chaplain of ono of the gaols said, speaking of the prisoners : As regards their moral and religious condition, the generality of the prisoners are, on admission, deplorably ignorant. Many of them, indeed, are insensate, and, humanly speaking, impervious to con viction. Nothwithstanding, however, this their natural depravity of heart, their innate propensity to every evil, their intaught aversion to any good—the result of a God less, Christless upbringing, it is gratifying, nevertheless, to observe the anxiety with which they, sooner or later, in the course of their confinement here, avail themselves of the many advantages they possess of acquiring religious knowledge." The language of his right hon. friend who brought in the bill had been said to be exaggerated, but it found an echo in the General Assembly in Scotland, be cause Dr. Robertson, speaking in reference to the state of education in Scotland, said, "We cannot disguise from ourselves the truth that, be the cause of the evil what it may, thousands, and even tens of thousands, are growing up in the midst of us, from youth to manhood, whose education is grievously neglected. For these masses of society nothing is done, either intellectually or morally, to fit them for the important place which they ought to occupy, and which, were they qualified for its duties and privileges, is waiting to receive them. In the degraded condition to which their parents have been reduced it is scarcely too much to say that the training which they re ceive is but fitted to make them pests and plagues of so ciety." He said, then, it was their duty, as far as was in their power, to endeavour to meet this great and growing evil, and he hoped that the members of that house, unin fluenced by sectarian or party feeling, would 'stable them to resist the amendment. He believed it would be an evil day for Scotland if they rejected this bill. Mr. C. BRUCE said the Free Church had done a great deal to forward education, and their scholars were perhaps more numerous than they could conveniently maintain, and they were therefore in favour of this bill. Those opposed to the bill were the whole of the Establishment, the landed proprietors, and those who held the voluntary principle, and who had passed a resolution that this measure was un sound in principle, hostile to liberty, and opposed to the Word of God. The bill had swept away a system of which they had had a long and happy experience. The hon. gen tleman quoted a statement made by a Scotch clergyman with the view of showing that one in seven of the popula tion of Scotland were under education. This statement represented that the scholars in the schools attached to the Free Church numbered only 59,896, while those in the schools connected with the Established Church reached to 259,688; clearly proving (the lion. member contended) that the parochial system was highly popular with the people of Scetlands This bill, then, would act iu a manner most prejudicial to the interest of the schoolmasters engaged in carrying out that system ; it would most unjustly reduce their stipends for, the next 30 years, whereas it should have been the wish, as it was the duty, of the Government, to introduce a measure to fix their remuneration at the pre sent maximum rate. It would have been easy enough in such a measure as that to have introduced those alterations in the parochial system which experience hail taught them I were necessary to render it perfect, while provision might have been made in it for granting pensions to deserving and meritorious schoolmasters whose health had failed them, or who were no longer competent to perform the duties of tuition. A short bill of that sort, he insisted, it was the duty of the Government to have introduced, and then the Legislature would have been iu a position to take up the whole question, with the view of taking steps to extend the parochial system of education in Scot land, which, he admitted, was capable of great ex pansion. For instance, the parochial schools might be very properly extended to large towns, where, ho be lieved, the infidelity of which they had heard so much in connection with this bill, was much more the child of false reasoning than barbarism. According to thei r own pro fessions,Governmeet desired to establish a union between religious and secular education • but they forgot that the parochial system had already solved that problem, or they would have been slow to introduce this bill, which would greatly interfere with it, if it did not go far to destroy it altogether. The longer these schools existed the more they seemed to improve and benefit Scotland, never at any former period had they been so efficient as they were at present ; while the average attendance of children was greater than that of any other class of schools in Scotland, which by no means made out the allegation of the Govern rrient that the majority of the people were hostile to them. He was quite willing, however, that they should have b aunt o pportunity of testing the value of th eir new s ystem, t at the same time the house should re q uire an assur»nrcueteso. be given that some fixed test of ChristianiTtyheor tantism would be applied to the teachers. at S o the h p e t le t preamble p uf ro s f c e u ss t e la d u t d o , h in av t e ha so t regardsome e spect the phraseology of the whole bill butf o r ithe cfeelings mists to the ear to break it to the sense* H© for one did "kept” the word of pro not choose to rely upon a preamble which was couched in such general and indefinite terms, professing to have a regard for the feelings of the majo.rit y able to the of the people, that it would be just as much applic Christianity of Spain or Ital y .as that of Scotland ; to be given in these and what safeguard was there in the absence of any test that the spirit of the education now schools would be drawn from the fomer, and not the latter source? Depend upon it the legacy which Wash ington left to his count r y men in the United States was well worthy the study of modern statesmen ; in his fare wellofepnl Americ a,ecnece Washingt on t o ld of a state, as we ll t hd e m a th aes a r tt s h teolitbhe liberty ypeaonpe independence as its material and political prosperity could only be sus tained by the establishment of a system of education that was founded upon the religious element. Now this bill ~~!/{~ had a directly contrary tendency, it altogether disreg nrded religion by dispensing with any test of Christianity to he applied to the teacher, and this heavy blow and great dis courage:Bent, were to be dealt cut to the Estah' ished Church, for the sake of gratifying the dem.suds of free church. }{td it not I oui for the c:amour of the free church, we F , hould never have heard of this bill, and lie should like to know what the free kirk ha 1 done to deserve -this immense consideration at the hands of ministers. 1-1,. repeated, iu conclusion, that they had n-) right to disturb the existing system ; it hal worked exceedingly well f the people, and to replace it by schools which would afford the parent no positive security or test of the Christianity of the teachers, would be so highly distasteful to the people of Scotland, that they would never obtain their confidence. Divested of all assurances or test of the Christianity or pro„ testantism of the teachers, he believed these schools would prove a curse instead of a blessing to Scotland, and he should therefore give his most cordial support to the amendment. Mr. J. MACGREGOR denied that this bill was a con cession to th e F ree Ch urc h of Scotland, w h ose m i n i s t e rs in relinquishing their former livings in the church of Scotland had set an example of forbearance which had never been witnessed by the world before. They had shown through ou t th e i r career an utter abnegalion of every thing that was s e lfi s h, an d i t was unjust to men of suc h great moral worth to say that this bill was an offering to their demands. He hoped the house would agree to the) principle of the bill, although there might be some de tails which it would be necessary t o amend in committee. Mr. G. DUNDAS regrett e d th a t th e l earned lord should have struck such a blow as he had clone at a system which the experience of centuries h a d s h own to have worked well. He was ready to admit that there wa s a great f need of education in Scotland, and he would even to say that the poor neglected children of countryigheesear as ought to be taken possession of and e d uca t e d by force, and, if possible, made useful members of society. What he found fault with in the bill was that it changed the whole character of education in Scotland. It abolished the existing tests, and by opening the parish schools to masters of all denominations, would prove a fruitful sourse of hostility between the schoolmaster and the cler gyman. He also objected to the bill because it professed to constitute the supervision of inspectors for that of the clergy. The parish schools were fosinded about 200 years ago in connexion with the church, and since that time the clergy had considered their care a sacred duty. Surely, then, the Government might have devised some plan of removing unworthy and incompetent masters without de stroying the existing system. (Hear, hear.) He objected, further, to the centralisation of management which the bill would introduce. Almost everything would be re ferred to the central board, and there had always been a strong feeling in this country against that principle. He was sorry to find a clause in the bill allowing children to absent themselves during the hours of religious instruction. He thought that that provision would lead to many children withdrawing themselves whose parents and guardians would never otherwise have thought of desiring them to do so. In fine, he regretted that the bill should be of such a sweeping character, for he thought that a much more simple measure would have answered the purpose. No doubt that the salaries of tke teachers required augmentation, but he was sure that the heritors of the different counties would have been glad to have contributed the necessary funds if an appeal had been made to them. (Hear, hear.) Mr. G. DUFFY said that though the bill did not flatter my sectarian prejudices, it went honestly to amend the laws relating to education where they were defective. As a member of the Scottish establishment, he regretted that so much hostility should have been displayed against all the provisions of the bill relating to parish sell )ols by a majority of the Established clergy ; and he firmly believed that the course they had taken would prove to be exceed ingly prejudicial to the Church of that country. (Hear, hear.) He considered that the general board would form a body that would be really responsible for the character and qualifications of the schoolmasters, and that candi dates for that office of superior attainments would no longer be excluded as they were under the present system. He thought, too, that the superintendence of the presbytery would be well replaced by those of the hoard. (Hear, hear.) He believed that the plan of tt Government was an ingenious, a comprehensive, and a liberal measure, and as such it had his unqualified approval. (Cheers.) He hoped, in conclusion, that no fears lest there was a kind of pilot balloon, sent up to ascertain how the wind would be for some other measure, would prevent the English members from supporting a measure which had been earnestly sought for, and which was earnestly desired by the people of Scotland. (Cheers.) Mr. MIALL objected to any scheme of what was called national education ; but conceding that he was mistaken in his views upon the subject, what was the present bill in tended to accomplish ? Its object was to grapple with what was considered to be the alarming growth of ignorance in Scotland. Well, if Scotland was really going back to her ancient barbarism, it was certainly strange that the learned lord should have omitted to furnish the house with any evidence of a fact at once so melancholy and so significant. (Cheers.) If any such evidence existed it must have been quite within the learned lord's reach, and he should have stated it for the information of the house. It was quite trite that the Scottish census tables had not been published when the learned lord introduced the measure, but still he was probably in a position to have ascertained the leade ig fact which those tables disclosed—namely, that one in seven of the whole population was under scholastic train ing, and that four-fifths of that training was administered by agencies other than those produced by public provision. (.dear.) No doubt there was a vast mass of ignorance and immorality ; but was not that symptomatic ? Would it cease if the means of instruction were afforded ? Or was it not clue to deeper causes? The proletaire class was pecu liar to all large cities and crowded towns. It was to be met with not only in England end Scotland, but in Prus sia and France, and even in the United States. (Hear.) I Even in America, where employment was general and its rewards large and sure, it would be found in the large towns that this class was both numerous and troublesome. (Dear, hear.) Nor was it hard to account for this ; for the unfortunate, the idle, the profligate, and those who wished to bury crime in obscurity, naturally flocked into the great cities. Now take the case of a single family of this class. If they visited it they would have to go into the most crowded district, where every room was tenanted Iby a household. There was no privacy, no distinction between the sexes, nothing to comfort or cheer. Vice, squalor, wretchedness, and misery were everywhere to be seen ; curses, blasphemy, and obscenity were to he heard on every side. Let them take that family and ask them selves how it was possible by the aitivie construction of an educational macSinery, to bring it under the influences which they wished ? Did they think that to teach it reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography, could do much to elevate it, or to civilise ? (Cheers.) This was an argument which appeared to him unanswerable, but it was also fully borne out by the educational report of Mr. Horace Mann. Let them construct what machinery they would of a general character, it was impossible by that means to reach the lowest class, out of whom sprung the great mass of crime. The bill before the house was of a too general character ; it was not specific enough to grapple with the evils which it professed to remedy; it left out the very class who most needed instruction. There was another class, the labouring poor, who in England, what ever they do in Scotland, showed great indisposition to avail themselves of the educational advantages provided for them. Mr. H. Mann stated that the school fee was the very least obstruction in the way of their receiving educa tion. While the school fee was but ld. or 2d. a week, the parents would lose ls. or ls. 61 by depriving themselves of the child's labour ; and there was a strong disposition among the poor to get their children into earnino. b at as early an age as possible. On this ground Mr. Mann came to the conclusion that no mere extension of schools would suffice to bring education within the reach of the children of the poor. And yet this class were will ing to spend fifty millions a year on the gratification of their taste for strong drink. (Hear, hear.) The schools proposed by the bill might be scattered all over Scotland, but they would not secure a better education for the chil dren ' • it would merely transfer the expense of the schools from the parishes to the state. The parochial system had prevailed for a number of years, and the house ought not lightly to take it entirely away. Had the bill proposed merely to extend and liberalise the parochial system, he would have supported it. But ho saw in it the embryo of a vast scheme in future. These commissions were increas ing on all hands ; we had commissions to regulate every thing, and very soon not only our comforts but our liber ties would be buried under a mass of commissions. (Hear.) He could not conceive how any national system of religi ous teaching could be established which would not be either latitudinarian or unjust. (Hear.) Mr. BOUVERIE said the reasons given by the hon. gentleman for voting against the bill were very strong ones in its support. He altogether lost sight of the fact that if the provisions of this bill did not reach a certain class, there were others which they did reach. (Hear.) The hon. gentleman, though evidently not knowing much of Scotland, must know that a system of national education had existed there for 200 years, and that in consequence of that system there wore fewer of the miserable class he d described than there would othe rwise have been. (Hear ha , hear.) He would not discuss the question on the narrow ground of religious tests ; bat believing that it would pro mote education amongst all, he should support the second reading of the bill, though objecting to some of its pro visions. He believed there could be nothing like educa tion unless combined with moral training founded on reli gious principles. But the best security for this was found in the religious character of the people of Scotland. (Hear, hear.) There was nothing in the old statutes re tuiring religious instruction to be given ; the legistlhae ura knew full well that they could rely religious feelings of the peopl e ; and ho regretted tha o t on a t l h so e noble and learned lord had not done the same objected to the provision for perpetuating ltea d s e t p o ar k . a e t e e p s c o l oo r l e s . for different sects ; ho feared v‘ tl e s nd ad been asked what w as ligious animosities. (H ea r .) the necessity of such of a bill as this for Scotland. Twelve years ago, the Commissioners of Poor-law Inquiry in Scot land reported that all means of suppressing pauperism would prove insufficient unless accompanied by some mean s for promoting e ducation ; for, instead of an improvement in this respect, there was rather a deterioration. The re turns of the prison inspectors showed that, while the popu lation had increased 10 per cent. from 1841 to 1851, the ave rage daily numb er of female p risoners in co nfinement in Scotlande had increased 35 per cent., and that of males 54 per cent. —a proof of the deterioration spoken of by the commissioners, and of the necessity for improving educa tion in that country. Tho house must bear in mind that there must be some legislation this year, or the schoolmas ters would be in a worse position than ever. By the act of isee, their salaries were fixed according to the price of grain, and a reversion was provided for every 25 years. This was the year in which it should take place ; and it was the more necessary, by reason of the great advance in the price of provisions. (Hear, hear.) The noble and learned lord was therefore compelled to bring in a bill on the subject ; and h a d h e mere l y propose d t o increase the schoolmasters' salaries, without endeavouring to introduce any improvement i n the system of education, it would have had a very little chance of being ca• lied. The secret of all this dissension was that the national system, up to a few years ago, was national in fact, as well as in name ; it was the system of the national church, but that church was the national church no longer. (Hear.) Hence they could not extend the system on the basis of the so-called national church. The provisions of this bill were briefly these : the masters were at present appointed by the heritors, subject to the approval of the Presbytery, who afterwards exercised very little control over the mas ters. It was proposed to get rid of the religious test alto gether and the superintendence of the presbytery; and that was the strong objection of the national church to the bill. But he contended that the security for the religious education of the people was not in the control of the pres bytery, or in the tests applied to the master, but in the re ligious feeling of the people generally. (Hear.) If they found that their children were not properly d they would remove them from the school , or g et the school master removed. Who, in this country , would retly4o o for r the religious instruction of his children on some paper signed by the schoolmaster? (H ear.) change proposed by the bill was the establishment offurther e : ii 1 :.: E ii.„ 1 "..., t , ' -:‘=''..:Et.,-:7; iti., & ~:, et:. \..„,ise. 1 7 :: • --% i -. - -7 , —.: ••• .:,-,' - schools in parishes at the expense Of ilia iatTepayersl uric the superintendence of a local board of management; - c4;',A controlled by a general board and visiting inspectors. TWi'l4. was about the best system which could he devised ; it se-, - care,l both local responsibility advantazcs of cen-' tral supervision and direccion. By thi4 toe:..ns boh the quantity and qual.ty of education 1.3 improved. He disapproved of the clause which g Lye the ceotr..l 1303 rd the .00v.rer of di,oiissing the schoolmaster, and trusted that that provi ion would be altered. (Hear.) He was con& thnt that the measure as a whole would greatly promote the interests of Scotland ; and it was the duty of the legit. , lature to take care that they did not hand down those in terests to those who should come after them in a worse condition than they found them. (Hear.) Mr. HACKIE said the system at present pursued was of a most liberal description. The effect of the proposed i'.‘l - would be to substitute for the guiding care of the clergyman, who was always on the spot, the casual in structions of a gentleman, who knew nothing whatever of the local wants of the district. He objected to the aboli tion of the tests ; this would leave no security whatever for the religious character of the teachers. He would sup port the second reading of the bill if the Government took security that the schoolmasters should be protestants ; but if not, he would support the amendment of the hon. mem ber for Perthshire. (Hear.) Mr. HUME said that he desired to state explicitly OR the present occasion the opinions of those whom he repre sented. Although there were many differences of opinion on the mode of regulating the system of education, there was great unanimity that education should be improved and extended. The present measure, although there were parts of it which he objected to, and which he would en deavour to amend in committee, was on the whole satis• factory. The hon. gentleman who had just spoken heel asked why they meddled with the old parochial establish ments ? For this reason, that alterations had taken place in the opinions of a large portion of the people of Scot. land, which rendered a change in the school system neces sary. The people of Scotland desired to have an extended religious and secular education, but it was impossible that a minority could have the superintendence of the schools. Formerly Scotland was distinguished for the education of her people, but whilst other nations were advancing Scot land was deteriorating. When he was a boy Otero was no distinction or debate as to religion. All met together in the school, and he wished to bring things back to that po sition again. (Hear, hear.) He did not mean to' say that the parochial system had not done immense good,. or that the Presbyterian body in general had not done their duty. He did not vote for the second reading on that huonatla but because circumstances and opinions had altered, and is was their d u ty t o a d a pt th e i r l eg i s l at i on t o th e new state of things that had arisen. If it was in his power to I tarry out his own viows, he would have the expense of educa tion defrayed, not from the public funds, but like the pver laws from local rates. (Hear, hear.) He believed that by such a system the members of the education cominitt ee would, like the ho and of guardians, be a check on Prn proper conduct. In New York, Kentucky and Massachu setts, that system hart been adopted, and was found to wor most admirably. Secular education was what was given tce those schools, yet ther e was as great a desire to obtain SI sound religious educati on, according to their views, in those I states, as in any part of Scotland. (Hear, hear.) The sta tistics of crime in America showed that it was only in very small proportion to• the population that the native educated American was g uilty of crime. But, as he was not able to carry out his own views on this subject, he was willing to accept the next best thing —namely, government aid combined with local rates. He was sorry to say, that there was a w ant of inclination ou the part o parents to send their children to school. In the county of Norfolk, where he resided there was plenty of school-room, but the parents, ignorant of the value of education to the future welfare of their childron, did not send them. Looking at the number of persons who were lost to society from igno rance, the crime which was engendered, and the violation of property which took place frora the same cause,he hoped they would all unite in promoting and extending educa tion. (Hear, hear.) The nob.° lord said he would give up one clause of the bill. He (Mr. Hume) hoped that he would also give up the 27th clause. He thought that no school mastr should be dismissed till he had been tried and had au opportunity of defending himself. The principle of the bill was to provide an united and improved system of re ligious and secular education, and on that ground he would support the snood reading. (Hear, hear.) Col. BLAIR denied that the opponents of this bill were opposed to the extension of education in Scotland, but he differed from the Lord Advocate as to the inefficiency with which the parochial schools were conducted at present. Nor did he rest upon his own judgment merely in defend ing those institutions. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had in his speech at Manchester warmly eulogised the pa rochial schools of Scotland, and attributed to their exist. ence the success of Scotchmen in all the pursuits of life. His (Col. Blair's) opinion was that the Scottish system of education was one that you might extend but could not possibly improve. The hon. and gallant member pro ceeded to show what bad been done already for education, both by the national and free churches in Scotland. The Established Church and the assembly had together 1,000 schools providing education for several thousand children. The assembly was annually increasing its number of schools, and was prepared to go still farther should the educational necessity of the country require it. It had been alleged that the Government bill was popular is Scotland, but he believed the contrary to be the case. The General Assembly of the Established Church had pronounced against it, and in the free church several of the most eminent leaders had expressed hostile opinions concerning it. The hon. and gallant member proceeded to quote the opinions of free church divines against the bill, and contended fuither, that the laity were opposed to it as well as the clergy. He was not opposed to a measure for extending education in Scotland, but he was strongly op posed to a proposition which would interfere with those institutions, the parochial schools, from which the popula tion of Scotland had derived so much benefit. Mr. COWAN repuliated a statement which, he said, if not made in distinct terms in that house, hal been hazarded in Scotland and out of doors, that this bill was to encou rage infidelity. He had the highest respect for the parish schools of Scotland, but he hoped to see them so improved that they would be the means of bringing a sound and cheap education to all classes of the community. The ob jection that the system proposed by the Government was one of godless education had been advanced over and over again against the national system of education in Ireland ; yet the success which had attended the establishment of that measure could not be disputed, and he believed it would be found one of the most efficient means towards the regeneration of that country. (Hear, hear.) He hoped the members for Ireland would support a measure which would confer upon Scotland those benefits which they now enjoyed. He considered that was a most valu able provision of the bill which took out of the hands of the clergy the educational superintendence of the people. He implored the house to consider the responsibility that would attach to them if they threw out a measure which was intended to confer the blessings of education upon the rising generation of Scotland. Mr. NAPIER admitted the responsibility which their de cision upon the principle of this bill imposed upon the house, but he thought they ought, before they assented to it, to take care that that principle was sound. The bill pro posed to introduce a national system of education for Scot land, and the arg ument upon which it proceeded was, that the established curch of Scotland, in which the control of the existing system rested, did notrepresent the feelings of the majority of the community. The objection he took to it was, that it was not supplementing the agency of the Established Church, but was superseding that agency, which was bound up in the feelings of the people—that in stead of reforming the parochial schools, and supplement ing upon them something that should fill up the unoccu pied ground, it proposed to overturn the existing agency altogether. A civil board was to be appointed under the control of the Government, and an inspection was provided, but that religion should be connected with the system of teaching was not provided either in reference to the inspec tion or the teachers. If religion were, as he contended it was, an essential element of education, it ought not to be superintended exclusively by a Government board, but should be insome degree under the superintendence of the ministers of religion. One clause of the bill provided that the board should, from time to time, make regulations, opar ticularly as to the inspection of schools and exan d i tiel? schoolmastersenforce the in regulationsreligious the they andmade. Th M e m o knowledge, t e g ul e r , a w a n a d s to te board—the was to be entirely enrolled by the Governmentnts ate be a member of the school committee, but that committe• the_ Scotch minister would be powerless, and his intenrestr of y diminished, if not destroyed. Vie chart. to to be proud, was now people, which had been formed by their system of educa tion, and of which they had reason to be moulded by this board, and instead of taking up this old and valued system, and, if necessary, improving it, it was to be cast aside for what ho thought a wild and delusive experiment. As ho objected to this attempt to transfer the education of Scotland from the hands of its religions instructors to a Go vernment board, he should oppose the bill. Mr. COBDEN said that he should not have intruded himself in the debate but that one English member had spoken whose remarks required some observations. His honourable friend, the member for Rochdale, had a mind so logical and acute, that if he made a speech which failed to convince his audience, it must be because he had an impossible case to deal with. His hon. friend said that he was opposed to all state provision for education. But no one wanted it. Every one wanted a local system regu lated by Act of Parliament. His hon. friend went on with a defence of his objections to a system of national education, and there he thought that his bon. frfend had landed them in the slough of despond altogether, for he pointed to large cities with teeming populations immersed in ignorance, and asked how they were to be educated. He thought that there was hope for his honourable friold, even from the Scottish view of the question. Large cities did not reproduce their population, which, if they weals left to themselves, would die out in a few generations:. but their populations were reproduced because they were recruited from agricultural districts. If, then, you wanted to improve the character of the populations of towns, you must have not merely education for great cities but general education(—hear, hear)—and in proportion to the progress of general education would the character of life in cities be improved. His hon. friend said that if you went into the narrow courts of cities, where there was no ventila tion and no scavenging, you would find an outcast and dee graded population. Where did they come from ? Did they come from that part of Great Britain which for a cen tury had had a national education ? Did you find in this degraded population any considerable number of Scotch men ? Why was that ? Why was it, as an hon. gentleman had said, when a Scotchmen appeared in a place in Austra• lie with his blue bonnet on that he was surrounded by • mob of persons anxious to engage his services. It wa because he came from a country where there wa t s o som e s national education. His (Mr. Cobden's) plan w that a improved, but generally. ve His 11 811 1 )lished, the national education, not only that in Scotlandriaendfrievenend said, if a system of national education w as ds said that the somewhat inconsistent, for lie and his frien people would not come to it. In that his noble e friend was one in eight, and yet seven went to school, and in Scotland le would not send population was educated; that in England one child in he said that if you had good schools peop _ e ) bd s experience tshheoiwrodchhiilmdretnhatot if T h e e m re . w il as is a flood school, and especially where there was a good master, there was an . instinctive . desire on th e themselves, they part of the people to send their children to them, and even when they, were i gnor a nt . had an instinctive knowle ige when the ir children werein2- proving. A good master sent a child home in good spirit' from school, and not languid and depressed, for a good master must himself have good physical spirits and energy. and thus the children were enlivened by going to school, and the parents soon saw it. His hon. friend and his party were opposed to any (national education, and deny that the question of education ought to be dealt with by this house or the Government. Now, tha topinion was calcu lated to raise a party in England and Scotland, whit& would tend to the abandonment of all hope of a national. education, since there was no scheme on which all parties could agree, and then the people moist take th e m atter into their own hands. He (Mr. Cobde]t) thought th is bill WWI Aberdeen Anibg Nottng. Bost and Eastn. Janet Belfast & Ballymena. Binning. Wolverh. & Stour Valley Birkenhd. Lancsh. & Cheshire Juliet Do. Chesil. & Birk., £5O and .£25 Cons. Do., £2O Blyth & Tyne original .£25 (issd. at £45; Bristol and Exeter Caledonian _ Chester & Holyhead. Cork and Bandon Cork, Black, & Pass Cornwall Crieff Junction Dubliu&BelfastJuuc Dundee Perth &Aber deen Junction Do. New East Anglian.... Do., (XlB E & H) Eastern Counties Eastern Union, A Stock De., B. Stock Do., New A..... East Lancashire Edinburgh & Glasgow' Edinb. and Peebles Edin. Pith &T)undee Forth & Clyde June. Glasgow & S. Weston, Great Northern Stk . Do., A. Stock Do., B. Stock Gt. 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Royal Mail ... _ ~• 10 4 Berlin Wa ter Works ... 5 0 40 3rit. American Land 65 ,th 5 1 Brit. & Coln. Smeltg. and Reduction Co ... 100 321 Canada 75 _ 6 5 5 :"rysta.l Palace 6i 61 6 i 5 4 Do. New.... ..... ... 4 2 .;rystal Pal. of France ... ... 20 3 Eastern Steam ••• ... 25 20 ElectritTelegraplgA) 16 18 25 all Do. (B) .............. .. . ... ... 1 1 Electric Teleg. of Ir. ... ... 15 14 Gen. Steam Navigat. ... ... 20 18 General Screw Steam ... .... 20 7 Irish Beet Toot Sugar ... ... 20 10 Magdalena St. Navig. ... ... 1 all Nat. Pat. Steam Fuel ... ... 10 3 Netherlands Land.... ... ... 2 1 N. S. W. Coal & Inter. Steam Navigat. Co. . . 1 all N. B. Australasian... i —1• i 1 / Do. New .. .. 20 10 Nrth.ofEuropeSteam ... . 5 all Peel Rr. Ld. & Minrl. i —. s d4k 50 all Peninsular& Orieutal ... ... 50 35 Do. 2 all Portland Iron Co i iP 100 60 Royal Mail Steam - 1 all Scot. Austral. Invest 2l 2A 25 25 South Austral. Land 33 35 1 all Submar. Telegraph i i 1 all Do. 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Bonds (Ist is.)'s7 Hamilton & Torouto Do. 6 per cent. Lake Const. & Basle ILucca & Pistoja 5 p.c. pref Luxembourg Do. (Railway) Do. Pref Do. (Canal) Do. 6 p. ct. pref Lyons and Geneva Lyons & Mediterran Madras Maria Antonia Do. do. New Melbourne Dk. & Ry Namur & Liege (with interest) Do. (ex interest) :northern of France..' Do. 201. 3 p. c 8d5..1 (fmy.B.&Ams.Slis.)‘ NorwegianTrunkPre‘. Paris and Lyons Ditto Bonds ...... . 1 Paris and Orleans—. 'Paris and Rouen Paris and Strasbourgi ParisCaen &Cherbrg. Quebec & Richmond Rouen and Havre Royal Dan' •`t Royal Swett' Sambre and Meuse Do. 54 p. cent. Pref Southern of France St. Andrew's and Quebec (A) West Flanders Do SA, per c. Pref... Western of France... 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